On December 8, 1854, Pope Pius IX, through his apostolic constitution, Ineffabilis Deus, solemnly declared as a Catholic dogma of faith that Mary was preserved, by Christ’s merits, from original sin and completely filled with sanctifying grace which is instantly received at baptism. Catholic theology upholds that, since Jesus became incarnate of the Virgin Mary, it was appropriate she be totally free of sin for expressing her fiat.
As the dogmatic definition text unravels: “We declare, pronounce and define that the doctrine which holds that the Blessed Virgin Mary, at the first instant of her conception, by a singular privilege and grace of the Omnipotent God, in virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of mankind, was preserved immaculate from all stain of original sin, has been revealed by God, and therefore should firmly and constantly be believed by all the faithful.” Thus, Mary acquired sanctifying grace from the first moment of her existence and never experienced the absence of grace within her as brought about by the “original sin” committed by our first parents.
This third Roman Catholic Mariological dogma can be explained in the following fivefold points. First, the substance of original sin is made up of the lack of sanctifying grace. In being preserved from original sin, Mary was born into this world in a state of sanctifying grace. Second, Mary’s freedom from original sin was the result of an unmerited gift of God’s grace. Third, the efficient cause of the Immaculate Conception was Almighty God. Fourth, the meritorious cause was the redemption by Jesus Christ. Fifth, the final cause of Mary’s Immaculate Conception is her Motherhood of God. How could her seed prevail over the serpent’s by bruising his head (Gen 1, 15) if Mary were to be under the power of sin, thus in bondage to the serpent?
Furthermore, do not the angel Gabriel’s salutation “Hail, O favoured one, the Lord is with you!” (Luke 1, 28) coupled with the Song of Song’s verse: “You are all fair, my love; there is no flaw in you” (4, 7), point at the same direction? Reflecting on the 40th anniversary of the closure of Vatican Council II, December 8, 1965, Pope Benedict XVI highlighted Mary’s closeness to us, sinful humanity. “The closer a person is to God, the closer he is to people. We see this in Mary. The fact that she is totally with God is the reason why she is so close to human beings.
“For this reason she can be the Mother of every consolation and every help, a Mother whom anyone can dare to address in any kind of need in weakness and in sin for she has understanding for everything and is for everyone the open power of creative goodness.
“In her, God has impressed his own image, the image of the One who follows the lost sheep even up into the mountains and among the briars and thorn bushes of the sins of this world, letting himself be spiked by the crown of thorns of these sins in order to take the sheep on his shoulders and bring it home. As a merciful Mother, Mary is the anticipated figure and everlasting portrait of the Son. Thus, we see that the image of the Sorrowful Virgin, of the Mother who shares her suffering and her love, is also a true image of the Immaculate Conception. Her heart was enlarged by being and feeling together with God. In her, God’s goodness came very close to us.
“Mary thus stands before us as a sign of comfort, encouragement and hope. She turns to us, saying: ‘Have the courage to dare with God!
“Try it! Do not be afraid of him! Have the courage to risk with faith!
“Have the courage to risk with goodness! Have the courage to risk with a pure heart! Commit yourselves to God, then you will see that it is precisely by doing so that your life will become broad and light, not boring but filled with infinite surprises, for God’s infinite goodness is never depleted!”
With every reason let us invoke her: O Mary, who by your holy Immaculate Conception did enter the world free from stain, in your mercy obtain for us from Jesus the special favour that we leave this world free from the stain of sin. Amen.