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Feast
of Immaculate Conception
The Solemnity of the
Immaculate Conception of the
Blessed Virgin Mary is celebrated every year on the eighth of December.
Even though this feast day occurs in the liturgical season of Advent,
which prepares for the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Immaculate
Conception refers to the conception of Mary in the womb of her mother,
St. Anne. The dogma of the Immaculate Conception asserts that, " from
the first moment of her conception, the Blessed Virgin Mary was, by the
singular grace and privilege of Almighty God, and in view of the merits
of Jesus Christ, Savior of Mankind, kept free from all stain of
original sin."
Theological debate
concerning the absence of original
sin in the person of Mary began as early as the second century with the
writings of Saints Justin and Ireneus. St. Ephraem of Syria wrote in
the Nisibene Hymns: "Certainly You alone and your mother are from every
aspect completely beautiful for there is no blemish in Thee, my Lord,
and no stain in Thy mother." (Hymn. B. Maria 13:5-6)
This feast day had a
very long and slow development. In
the Eastern Church, the feast of the Nativity of Mary, September 8th,
was celebrated as early as the late 6th century. In the early 7th
century, the feast of the Mary's conception was observed in the East.
The feast of the Conception of Mary was introduced in Naples around 850
and in England around 1030. After the Norman conquest in 1066, it
passed then to Normandy, France, Spain, Germany and Belgium.
In the Middle Ages, Sts.
Bernard of Clairvaux, Albert
the Great and Thomas Aquinas as well as the first Franciscan
theologians all objected to this feast based on the universality of sin
and the need to be redeemed by Christ. The Franciscan theologian,
Blessed John Duns Scotus (1266-1308) wrote on the question of Mary's
sinlessness in his theological treatises and defended Mary's privilege
in its fullness from the beginning of her life. Mary's conception
without original sin was not seen as an "exception" but rather
"preservation" from original sin. Mary was truly redeemed by the future
merits of Jesus Christ, since she is not outside the universal need for
redemption. She was preserved immune by the intervention of God. The
Second Vatican Council uses the language of Duns Scotus and states that
Mary was "redeemed in a more excellent fashion, by reason of the merits
of her Son." (Lumen Gentium, 53)
After several centuries
of controversy, Pope Sixtus IV
intervened in the year 1476 with the constitution, Cum Praeexcelsa,
whereby he permitted the liturgical celebration of the Mass and Office
of the feast. He also dedicated a chapel to the Immaculate Virgin in
St. Peter's Basilica. The Mass and Office of the Immaculate Conception
was approved for the whole Church by Pope Innocent XII in 1695 and the
feast was made a holy day of obligation by Pope Clement XI in 1708.
The apparitions of Mary
to St. Catherine Laboure in
1830 under the image of the Miraculous Medal helped to give further
support , with its invocation, "O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for
us who have recourse to thee."
In 1847, Pope Pius IX
(1846-1878) consulted the
cardinals of the church about the possibility of defining the doctrine
of the Immaculate Conception, An encyclical, Ubi Primum, was sent to
the 603 bishops of the world asking their thoughts . Only four or five
bishops opposed definability and several others questioned the
"opportuneness" of the definition. On December 8, 1854, Pope Pius IX
solemnly defined the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception with the papal
bull, Ineffabilis Deus. Several years later, in 1858, the Blessed
Mother gave her name to St. Bernadette at Lourdes stating, "I am the
Immaculate Conception."
As we celebrate the
beautiful solemnity of the
Immaculate Conception of Our Lady, may Mary's holiness encourage us to
seek her help and continued protection in our own efforts to overcome
sin and lead holy, sanctified lives.
http://www.udayton.edu/mary/meditations/MaurImmac.html |
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