WONDERING GURU
Interviewer: Fr Can you explain to us this dogma of IC in simple terms? Do you know what this Immaculate Conception (IC) means? Is it about Baby Jesus or Baby Mary?
Priest: Many Catholics think it is about the sinlessness of Jesus. This feast is not about Jesus but about the sinlessness of Mary. This feast also raises the debate between the Catholics and the Protestant sects. Catholics believe Mary was born sinless. Protestants believe that she too was a sinner and therefore needed a savior. Bible says two were created sinless-Adam and Eve. One was born without sin-Jesus. I say Mary was exception to the rule i.e. all were born sinners except Mary for the favour of God was upon her.
Interviewer: Did the Church give us a new dogma?
Priest: No! Church only
confirmed what it believed all along. At the beginning of his pontificate Pope
Pius IX received number of requests for a definition of the doctrine. Of the
603 bishops consulted, 543 favoured a definition. The result was the bull Ineffabilis Deus which was promulgated
on December 8, 1854. “The Blessed Virgin Mary in the first instant
of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by almighty God,
in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the human race, was
preserved from all stain of original sin”. It took 1854 years for the
church to confirm and define it.
Interviewer: Was there any opposition within the Catholic Church towards this dogma? If so why?
Priest: O Yes! Many
theologians opposed it. You see Devil’s advocate is necessary to come to the
truth. They said this dogma removed Mary from the company of those needing
salvation i.e. you and me. In other
words we need salvation but not Mary for she is already redeemed. O really! And
Interviewer: How that is possible?
Priest: Well we can understand this in two ways. Thanks to Blessed Duns Scotus (1309) who said that Christ can save us in two ways: Preventive or Medicinal redemption. Duns Scotus explained that falling into sin could be likened to a man approaching unaware a deep ditch. If he falls into the ditch, he needs someone to save him. But if someone were to warn him ahead, he could be saved from falling into the ditch. Mary was saved from sin by receiving the grace to be preserved from it. Preventive redemption-Mary was preserved from falling into sin. It’s like taking vaccination so that you will not contact any diseases. Medicinal Redemption-After sin we are purified through the sacrament of Confession. St. Alphonsus Ligouri in his book ‘The Glories of Mary’ explains by giving an example of consecration of the church. A church becomes consecrated only after the blessing so also Mary was made a sanctuary (a tabernacle) and was blessed (God’s favour was on her) through IC for the purpose of incarnation of Christ. CCC 490- Mary was enriched by God with gifts appropriate to such a role.
Interviewer: Does this mean Mary never sinned?
Priest: No! Neither original (for God preserved
her) nor personal (for God saved her) sin. Mary's sinlessness is
not something that Mary achieved by her own power. It is a pure gift of God,
God gave her this perfect human nature not as a reward for anything she did,
not on account of any merit on her part, but in view of the singular role she
was to play in life, namely, that of being the mother of God's Son. Protestants object to this quoting Romans 3:23 “All have sinned and fallen short of the
glory of God.” And 1John 1:8: “If any man says he has no sin he is a liar and
the truth is not in him.” If you take Rom 3:23 and 1 John 1:8 in a
strict, literal sense the expression “any man” could apply to Jesus as well.
The truth is Jesus Christ was an exception to Romans 3:23 and 1 John 1:8.
Hebrews 4:15 reads: “Christ was tempted in all points even as we are and yet he
was without sin.” Both Romans 3:23 and 1 John 1:9 deal with personal rather
than original sin.
Interviewer: Did Mary need Jesus to die on the cross for her?
Priest: Well ! In Magnificat Mary says-‘My soul magnifies the
Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour’. What she probably meant
was God saved her from falling into sin. Protestants tend to see God’s “salvation”
in connection with our actual committed sins. However, Scripture indicates that
salvation can also refer to man being protected from sinning. St. Jude writes “Now
to him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you without blemish
before the presence of his glory with rejoicing, to the only God, our Savior
through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority,
before all time and now and forever” (Jude 1:24-25). CCC 492 says she is redeemed by the reason of the merits of her son. CCC
494-St. Irenaeus says “Being obedient she became the cause of salvation for
herself and the whole human race”.
Priest: No! God could have kept Jesus pure in a sinful
womb of Mary. It is purely God’s favour
to keep Mary sinless.
Interviewer: What’s the message for us?
Priest: In celebrating the feast of IC, we recognise God’s goodness/favour/blessing towards Mary, his saving work of Grace on her life from the moment of her conception; signifying that Christ’s incarnation was not an accident of birth, but a planned, definitive intervention in humanity. Secondly, it is an example to us of God’s Grace intended for us, and which we will surely inherit because it was bought for us by the blood of the lamb. Karl Rahner says “Mary does not differ from us because she possessed special graces…the eternal Father could not intend anything for the Mother without intending it for us too…we too have been made the holy temple of God. In us too the triune God dwells. We too are anointed, hallowed, filled with the life and light of God”. In Mary Immaculate we have a glimpse of what God wishes for all of us. In his book “The world’s First Love’, Bishop Fulton Sheen says: “One look at her, and we know that a human who is not good can become better; one prayer at her and we know that because she is without sin we can become less sinful”. Yes! what Mary is by privilege we are called to become by grace and what she is by virtue of being the Mother of God, we are called to become like her aided by the fruits of her son’s redemption. St. Paul tells the people “imitate us, you have an example in us”. (1 Cor 11:1) We have an example in Mary; an example of obedience, humility, purity and generosity. Let’s imitate her virtues. Live and Die in God’s friendship-be obedient, be faithful. God says such (Immaculate) life is possible.
Happy Feast of the Immaculate Conception!
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