83. Mary was preserved from sin from the very beginning.

Mary was preserved from sin from the very beginning.

YOUCAT Catechism + Catechism of the Catholic Church Lesson 83

Ave Maria Series

83  What does the “Immaculate Conception of Mary” mean?

The Church believes that “the most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin” (Dogma of 1854)  [487-492, 508]

Saints Ann and Joachim were the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the maternal grandparents of Jesus. .....83

Belief in the Immaculate Conception has existed since the beginning of the Church.  The expression is misunderstood today.  It is saying that God preserved Mary from original sin from the very beginning.  It says nothing about the conception of Jesus in Mary’s womb.  By no means is it a devaluation of sexuality in Christianity, as though a husband and wife would be “stained” if they conceived a child.  68-69

“When faith in the Mother of God declines, faith in the Son of God and God the Father declines also.”  Ludwig Feuerbach (1804-1872, atheistic philosopher, in The Essence of Christianity)

“Mary’s response…is the most momentous word in history.”  Reinhold Schneider (1903-1958, German writer)

 [487-492, 508]

. . . .BORN OF THE VIRGIN MARY

487 What the Catholic faith believes about Mary is based on what it believes about Christ, and what it teaches about Mary illumines in turn its faith in Christ. --Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition

Mary's predestination

488 "God sent forth his Son", but to prepare a body for him, (Galatians 4:4; Hebrews 10:5.)¹²⁵ he wanted the free co-operation of a creature. For this, from all eternity God chose for the mother of his Son a daughter of Israel, a young Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee, "a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary": (Luke 1:26-27.)¹²⁶  --CCC

The Father of mercies willed that the Incarnation should be preceded by assent on the part of the predestined mother, so that just as a woman had a share in the coming of death, so also should a woman contribute to the coming of life. (Lumen Genrium 56; compare LG 61.)¹²⁷ –CCC

489 Throughout the Old Covenant the mission of many holy women prepared for that of Mary. At the very beginning there was Eve; despite her disobedience, she receives the promise of a posterity that will be victorious over the evil one, as well as the promise that she will be the mother of all the living. (Compare Genesis 3:15, 20.)¹²⁸ By virtue of this promise, Sarah conceives a son in spite of her old age. (Compare Genesis 18:10-14; Gen 21:1-2.)¹²⁹ Against all human expectation God chooses those who were considered powerless and weak to show forth his faithfulness to his promises: Hannah, the mother of Samuel; Deborah; Ruth; Judith and Esther; and many other women. (Compare 1 Corinthians 1:17; 1 Samuel 1.)¹³⁰ Mary "stands out among the poor and humble of the Lord, who confidently hope for and receive salvation from him. After a long period of waiting the times are fulfilled in her, the exalted Daughter of Sion, and the new plan of salvation is established." ( Lumen Gentium 55.)¹³¹ --CCC

The Immaculate Conception

490 To become the mother of the Savior, Mary "was enriched by God with gifts appropriate to such a role." (Lumen Gentium 56.)¹³² The angel Gabriel at the moment of the annunciation salutes her as "full of grace". (Luke 1:28.)¹³³ In fact, in order for Mary to be able to give the free assent of her faith to the announcement of her vocation, it was necessary that she be wholly borne by God's grace. –CCC

491 Through the centuries the Church has become ever more aware that Mary, "full of grace" through God, (Luke 1:28.)¹³⁴ was redeemed from the moment of her conception. That is what the dogma of the Immaculate Conception confesses, as Pope Pius IX proclaimed in 1854: --CCC

The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin. (Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus (1854): Denzinger-Schonmetzer 2803.)¹³⁵ --CCC

492 The "splendor of an entirely unique holiness" by which Mary is "enriched from the first instant of her conception" comes wholly from Christ: she is "redeemed, in a more exalted fashion, by reason of the merits of her Son". (Lumen Gentium 53, 56.)¹³⁶ The Father blessed Mary more than any other created person "in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" and chose her "in Christ before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless before him in love". (Compare Ephesians 1:3-4.)¹³⁷ –CCC

IN BRIEF

508 From among the descendants of Eve, God chose the Virgin Mary to be the mother of his Son. "Full of grace", Mary is "the most excellent fruit of redemption" (SC 103): from the first instant of her conception, she was totally preserved from the stain of original sin and she remained pure from all personal sin throughout her life. --CCC