This week on Saturday the eighth of December we celebrate the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. This celebration focuses on our Catholic belief that the Virgin Mary from the moment of her conception within the womb of her mother Ann was free from original sin. This privilege which Mary received from Almighty God in the words of the Collect Prayer for the Immaculate Conception Mass indicates this was done by God to prepare ?a worthy dwelling for his son? for Mary was chosen to be the mother of God. Thus, the Angel Gabriel greeted her ?full of grace? which could only be true if she was preserved from original sin.
While it is true that there is no one line in the Sacred Scriptures that states ?Mary was from the beginning of her life free of sin,? it is also true that there are many passages which bespeak a specialness about Mary, regarding what God asked of her and her response which is called Mary?s Fiat--be it done unto me as you say, and so much more.
In the early Church there was an awareness of Mary?s special role in the life of Jesus, as she was the original Christ bearer in a very literal sense carrying the Child Jesus within her womb from conception to birth. At the great Council held in the city of Ephesus in 431, the bishops confirmed her title Mother of God.
By the eighth century in the Eastern Church her holiness was firmly believed and held in Catholic belief and devotion. And in the Western Church by 1099 St. Anselm wrote ?it was fitting that she be clothed with a purity so splendid that none greater under God could be conceived.?
As time moved on Catholics increasingly accepted that Mary was immaculately conceived, that is she never had original sin because God wanted a mother for his son who would provide a worthy dwelling for the savior of the world.
In 1846 the Catholic Bishops in the United States voted to have the Immaculate Conception be the title under which Mary would be the Patron of the Church in the United States. Thus, the great Basilica in Washington, D.C. built by the Catholic community in the United States is entitled the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception.
And in 1854 Pope Pius IX declared in the most solemn manner that ?the doctrine which holds that the most Blessed Virgin Mary was preserved from all stain of original sin in the first instant of her Conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God, in consideration of the merits of Jesus Christ, savior of the human race, has been revealed by God and must, therefore, firmly and constantly be believed by all the faithful.?
It is important for all of us to know and appreciate the most solemn teachings of our Catholic faith, for ultimately they teach us about God?s love for us and his providing for us. This solemn teaching is about God?s desire to send his son to save us thus preparing a worthy dwelling for the son and to give us an example of Mary?s faithfulness in embracing God?s will not only for her sake but for the sake of all of us.
Reflecting upon the Immaculate Conception and its significance in our religious lives invites us to appreciate the blessings we received at Baptism when original sin was removed and a new relationship was established by our becoming members of God?s family.
These blessings were bestowed upon us not only for our sake but for other people. Not unlike Mary, we are called by God to be Christ bearers by living our faith in Jesus Christ in such an authentic manner that people experience God through our lives.
I dare say that in large measure our present Year of Faith is focused on our living our relationship with Jesus Christ for our own spiritual growth and for the sake of making him known to others by the quality of our Catholic living.
As we celebrate and appreciate the Immaculate Conception we need to thank God for providing Mary for his plan of bringing Christ to the world and to beg God?s grace that we may bring Christ to the world as worthily as Mary did!
(The above column by the Most Reverend Richard Lennon, Bishop of Cleveland originally appeared in the Friday, December 7, 2012 issue of the Catholic Universe Bulletin, the official newspaper of the Diocese of Cleveland.