Mary’s Immaculate Conception was officially and solemnly declared a dogma in 1854 but has been a common belief since the beginning of the Christianity.
Even though the Immaculate Conception refers to Mary’s conception and not Jesus’, it is more about Him than her.
Mary was not picked to be the Mother of our Savior when she was a young girl praying in the garden. She was chosen long before she was even born. Because of this, from the moment of her conception she was sinless.
She was conceived, not by the Holy Spirit like Jesus, but through the natural conjugal act of her parents, Joachim and Anne.
The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary is celebrated on December 8 and is a Holy Day of Obligation for Catholics and patronal feastday of the United States of America.
If the Immaculate Conception falls on a Sunday, it is moved to Monday and the obligation to attend Mass that day is removed.
Even many Catholics are confused about the Immaculate Conception:
If you’re going to be the Mother of God, you need some help:
To become the mother of the Savior, Mary “was enriched by God with gifts appropriate to such a role.” The angel Gabriel at the moment of the annunciation salutes her as “full of grace”. 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.
Catechism of the Catholic Church 490
All of Mary’s goodness came from what God did in her life:
And he came to her and said, “Hail, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. “
Luke 1: 28-30
Mary was preserved from sin unlike us who are delivered from sin:
The New Eve is not tainted by the stain of Original Sin:
And indeed it was wholly fitting that so wonderful a mother should be ever resplendent with the glory of most sublime holiness and so completely free from all taint of original sin that she would triumph utterly over the ancient serpent. To her did the Father will to give his only-begotten Son — the Son whom, equal to the Father and begotten by him, the Father loves from his heart — and to give this Son in such a way that He would be the one and the same common Son of God the Father and of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It was she whom the Son himself chose to make his Mother and it was from her that the Holy Spirit willed and brought it about that He should be conceived and born from whom He himself proceeds.
Pope Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus, December 8, 1854
The celebration of the Immaculate Conception fits the season of Advent:
We can find hope in the Immaculate Conception:
The Immaculate Conception is a dogma of the Catholic Church:
The Truth, Goodness, and Beauty of the Catholic Church
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