since you asked...
“A friend told me that the Immaculate Conception means Mary was a virgin when Jesus was born. I think my friend is wrong. Could you explain what is meant by the Immaculate Conception?”
Many people do indeed confuse the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary with the creedal affirmation of the virginal conception of Jesus. The latter quite simply means that Jesus was conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary through the power of the Holy Spirit and without the intervention of a human father. The “infancy narratives” of both the Gospels of Matthew and Luke give witness to this great mystery of faith.
The Immaculate Conception of Mary, as defined by Blessed Pius IX in 1854, affirms that Mary “was, from the first moment of her conception, by the singular grace and privilege of Almighty God and in view of the merits of Jesus Christ the Savior of the human race, preserved from all stain of original sin.” In other words, Mary’s Immaculate Conception was a unique gift of grace given to her because of the extraordinarily important role she was destined to play in the history of salvation. Although the dogma cannot be found explicitly in the Scriptures, the angel Gabriel’s greeting to Mary that she is “full of grace” is certainly suggestive in this regard. The dogma, however, has a long history in the living tradition of the Church, both liturgically and theologically.
One of the great axioms of the Catholic tradition is that the “law of praying is the law of believing.” What we believe as Catholic Christians is rooted in what we pray. It is significant that a feast in honor of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary was celebrated in Eastern Christianity as early as the seventh century. This feast was taken up by the Western Church in the ninth and tenth centuries. Although the honor and reverence given to Mary during this period were profound, many distinguished theologians contested the Immaculate Conception. Among them were St. Anselm, St. Thomas Aquinas, and St Bonaventure. In their view this privilege ascribed to Mary removed her from the human race. To be a human being was by definition to be born in original sin and redeemed by Christ.
The great Franciscan philosopher and theologian, John Duns Scotus (d. 1308) argued in favor of the doctrine and his theological argument won the day. Scotus’s understanding of this teaching was rooted in his understanding of the redemptive role of Christ. Scotus contended that, because of the Scriptural witness given in Colossians, that Christ was the “first born of all creation” (1.16), He was destined to come into the world whether Adam and Eve had sinned or not. Because of sin He came as one who suffered in love as Redeemer; had they not sinned He would have come in triumph, as king, as the glorious embodiment of the true human being. Scotus further contended that, within this Christ-centered creation, Mary would play such a key role as the one in whom the Word became flesh, that she would be preserved from original sin in view of the foreseen merits of Jesus Christ. In other words, like all of us, Mary needed to be redeemed, but because of her privileged role in the drama of salvation her redemption by Christ was anticipated. Scotus’s argument, coupled with the living, prayerful piety of the faithful, laid the foundation for Pope Pius’s definition in 1854.
For those of us in The United States and in North Carolina this dogma should have special meaning. For it is under that title of the Immaculate Conception that Mary is patroness of the United States as well as patroness of the diocese of Raleigh. Thus, December 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, is a holiday of obligation in our country. It is also worth noting that in 2008 we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the apparitions of Mary at Lourdes. There she identified herself to St. Bernadette as the “Immaculate Conception.” Under her patronage and through her intercession may we continue to bring God’s grace-filled healing and redemptive love to our world.
Fr. William McConville, O.F.M., is parochial vicar of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Raleigh.