Back and Next - Back and NextImmaculate conception: what does it mean?
Friday, December 5, 2008
Towards the Feast of the Immaculate Conception - December 8, 2008
As we approach the feast of the Immaculate Conception usually solemnized in the Gambia by a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady Queen of Peace at Kunkujang in the Kombo South District of the Western Region of the Gambia.
I wish to share with my Catholic/Christian Brothers and sisters - indeed all who have ears and eyes for such a missive - the contents of an article germane to the subject which I read in the November 18-December 1 2007 edition of the Catholic magazine, the Good Shepherd. The article was written by the Reverend Fr James Akpaamo of the Archdiocese of Abuja in Nigeria.
This year marks the 22nd edition of the Kunkujang pilgrimage which will held on Saturday 6th December - the feast of St Nicholas (Santa Claus) 3rd century (sic) of Myra. This Saturday is the nearest to the actual feast date of 8 December.
The article is reproduced below in extenso on one of the most momentous dogmas of the Catholic Church declared ex Cathedra - from St Peter’s Chair in Rome - by His Holiness Pope Pius 1X on December 8, 1854 on Faith and Doctrine to be observed by all the Faithful.
The Church has been reflecting on the mystery of the Incarnation from her early days which also brought into focus the holiness of Mary his mother, considering Mary’s disposition to God’s will, regarding herself as handmaid of the Lord, which prompted her to accept the mission of mothering the son of God.
It follows that she could never have consented to sin against God her master. This idea of her exceptional holiness received a boost in 431 at the Council of Ephesus when the Church proclaimed her the "Mother of God". If so, then, Mary can equally be seen never to have rebelled against God in any way.
Having set her aside for this special mission of mothering His son, Mary must have enjoyed special favour in the sight of God which prepared her for the mission ahead, hence the Angel Gabriel called her "full of grace". The virtues displayed in her life are indicative of the presence of the Holy Spirit given to her from birth.
Her faith was instrumental to her acceptance of the mission to be Mother of the Saviour. This virtue of faith was the foundation of the other virtues found in her. Her faith was an act of submission, total surrender to the will of God: "I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me according to your word (Luke 1:38)". It was an Act of trust that enabled her to take upon herself God’s will not minding the consequence that were obvious for a Jewish girl of her time. Her Divine charity, humility, purity, obedience, patience and all other virtues in her life were founded on her solid and unshakeable faith in the God of her life. The Church had this to say at the second Vatican Council:
"It is no wonder then that it was customary for the Fathers to refer to the Mother of God as all holy and free from every stain of sin, as though fashioned by the Holy Spirit and formed as a new creature. Enriched from the first instant of her conception with the splendour of an entirely unique holiness, the virgin of Nazareth is hailed by the heralding angel, by divine command, as "full of grace..."
Committing herself wholeheartedly and impeded by no sin to God’s saving will, she devoted herself totally, as a handmaid of the Lord, to the person and work for her Son, under and with him, serving the mystery of redemption, by the grace of almighty God... the knot of Eve’s disobedience was untied by Mary’s obedience: what the virgin Eve bound through her disbelief, Mary loosened by her faith. Comparing Mary and Eve, they call her "Mother of the living" and frequently claim: ‘death through Eve, life through Mary’ (LG 56).
All holy, she was exempt from sin because sin means a denial of God. The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines sin as "offence against God. Sin sets itself against God’s love for us and turns our hearts away from it" (CCC par. 1850). Mary was never away from God but kept her eyes on her Lord to do his will as the least sign of it like the servant of Psalm 123:
I lift my eyes to you who are enthroned in heaven. Just as the eyes of slaves are on their masters’ hand, or the eyes of a slave-girl on the hand of her mistress, so are our eyes on Yahweh our God, for him to take pity on us (vv 1-2).
The title of the feast itself proclaims the complete absence of sin from the beginning of the Blessed Virgin Mary which also accounts for the fullness of grace given to her. If the grace was given to her right from the moment of her conception, it displays her perfection and holiness attributed to her by the Church.
God made her so in preparation for what will be demanded of her. This was a special privilege accorded the Virgin Mary contrary to the natural hereditary trait (original sin) that is transmitted to all humans at conception, The Greeks interpret the ‘Immaculate Conception’ as God preserving Mary from sin from the first moment of her life. In the late 13th Century, Duns Scouts argued that:
"Rather than detracting from the Redemption, the privilege of a total immunization, preserving Mary from all sin, even original, would represent the most glorious result of Christ’s work". X. Le Bachelet, sums up the above argument thus:
There are two kinds of ransom: one is ransom paid for an individual already prisoner, redemption by ‘liberation’; the other is ransom paid before the acquired right of servitude is exercised, redemption by ‘preservation’. In making to his mother an anticipated application of his merits to preserve her from the taint of original sin, which as a daughter of Adam she had naturally to incur, Jesus Christ became more fully her Redeemer. Far from being diminished, the excellence of Redemption is enhanced by Mary’s privilege (Dictionary of Mary pp 206-207).
At the council of Trent, the position of Duns Scotus was not objected to, though no definition was given because it was not the issue in contention. But there were indications of approval by the Fathers of the Church at the Council. It was on December 8, 1854 that Pope Pius IX Proclaimed Mary preserved from sin from the moment of her conception in these words:
"We, declare, proclaim, and define that this dogma is revealed by God and therefore to be firmly and unremittingly believed by all the faithful; namely, the dogma that holds that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege from Almighty God and in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, was kept free of every stain of original sin".
Analyzing this definition brings out the following points of note as highlighted by H. Holstein in the Dictionary of Mary: The original sin is a contagious nature of humanity that automatically affects every human being by birth except Jesus Christ who was God-Man. That means there is a natural evil infection that is suffered by all human beings and is also inherent in all human beings. If this could not be found in Mary, then, she must have enjoyed a special privilege by nature which immunized her against this infection.
It is a fact that Mary enjoyed this special privilege and singular grace "in view of the merits of Christ". But in tradition, we also find underscored that the special grace was rooted in the Divine plan of Salvation which from the beginning had destined the Blessed Virgin Mary to be Mother of God. To be suitable for this mission, God would not allow her nature to be in the power of the devil at any moment (208).
With this special privileged position enjoyed by Mary, We should be encouraged to fly to her help and protection in our battle against sin and struggle for holiness. Let us follow in her footsteps in generously responding to the promptings of the Holy Spirit so as to live up our baptismal commitments. As mother she will always attend to the needs of her children battling with the forces of evil in this sinful world.
Supplied by Rene-Geoffrey Renner
Past Supreme Knight,
Knights of Saints Peter and Paul,
The Gambia.
As we approach the feast of the Immaculate Conception usually solemnized in the Gambia by a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady Queen of Peace at Kunkujang in the Kombo South District of the Western Region of the Gambia.
I wish to share with my Catholic/Christian Brothers and sisters - indeed all who have ears and eyes for such a missive - the contents of an article germane to the subject which I read in the November 18-December 1 2007 edition of the Catholic magazine, the Good Shepherd. The article was written by the Reverend Fr James Akpaamo of the Archdiocese of Abuja in Nigeria.
This year marks the 22nd edition of the Kunkujang pilgrimage which will held on Saturday 6th December - the feast of St Nicholas (Santa Claus) 3rd century (sic) of Myra. This Saturday is the nearest to the actual feast date of 8 December.
The article is reproduced below in extenso on one of the most momentous dogmas of the Catholic Church declared ex Cathedra - from St Peter’s Chair in Rome - by His Holiness Pope Pius 1X on December 8, 1854 on Faith and Doctrine to be observed by all the Faithful.
The Church has been reflecting on the mystery of the Incarnation from her early days which also brought into focus the holiness of Mary his mother, considering Mary’s disposition to God’s will, regarding herself as handmaid of the Lord, which prompted her to accept the mission of mothering the son of God.
It follows that she could never have consented to sin against God her master. This idea of her exceptional holiness received a boost in 431 at the Council of Ephesus when the Church proclaimed her the "Mother of God". If so, then, Mary can equally be seen never to have rebelled against God in any way.
Having set her aside for this special mission of mothering His son, Mary must have enjoyed special favour in the sight of God which prepared her for the mission ahead, hence the Angel Gabriel called her "full of grace". The virtues displayed in her life are indicative of the presence of the Holy Spirit given to her from birth.
Her faith was instrumental to her acceptance of the mission to be Mother of the Saviour. This virtue of faith was the foundation of the other virtues found in her. Her faith was an act of submission, total surrender to the will of God: "I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me according to your word (Luke 1:38)". It was an Act of trust that enabled her to take upon herself God’s will not minding the consequence that were obvious for a Jewish girl of her time. Her Divine charity, humility, purity, obedience, patience and all other virtues in her life were founded on her solid and unshakeable faith in the God of her life. The Church had this to say at the second Vatican Council:
"It is no wonder then that it was customary for the Fathers to refer to the Mother of God as all holy and free from every stain of sin, as though fashioned by the Holy Spirit and formed as a new creature. Enriched from the first instant of her conception with the splendour of an entirely unique holiness, the virgin of Nazareth is hailed by the heralding angel, by divine command, as "full of grace..."
Committing herself wholeheartedly and impeded by no sin to God’s saving will, she devoted herself totally, as a handmaid of the Lord, to the person and work for her Son, under and with him, serving the mystery of redemption, by the grace of almighty God... the knot of Eve’s disobedience was untied by Mary’s obedience: what the virgin Eve bound through her disbelief, Mary loosened by her faith. Comparing Mary and Eve, they call her "Mother of the living" and frequently claim: ‘death through Eve, life through Mary’ (LG 56).
All holy, she was exempt from sin because sin means a denial of God. The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines sin as "offence against God. Sin sets itself against God’s love for us and turns our hearts away from it" (CCC par. 1850). Mary was never away from God but kept her eyes on her Lord to do his will as the least sign of it like the servant of Psalm 123:
I lift my eyes to you who are enthroned in heaven. Just as the eyes of slaves are on their masters’ hand, or the eyes of a slave-girl on the hand of her mistress, so are our eyes on Yahweh our God, for him to take pity on us (vv 1-2).
The title of the feast itself proclaims the complete absence of sin from the beginning of the Blessed Virgin Mary which also accounts for the fullness of grace given to her. If the grace was given to her right from the moment of her conception, it displays her perfection and holiness attributed to her by the Church.
God made her so in preparation for what will be demanded of her. This was a special privilege accorded the Virgin Mary contrary to the natural hereditary trait (original sin) that is transmitted to all humans at conception, The Greeks interpret the ‘Immaculate Conception’ as God preserving Mary from sin from the first moment of her life. In the late 13th Century, Duns Scouts argued that:
"Rather than detracting from the Redemption, the privilege of a total immunization, preserving Mary from all sin, even original, would represent the most glorious result of Christ’s work". X. Le Bachelet, sums up the above argument thus:
There are two kinds of ransom: one is ransom paid for an individual already prisoner, redemption by ‘liberation’; the other is ransom paid before the acquired right of servitude is exercised, redemption by ‘preservation’. In making to his mother an anticipated application of his merits to preserve her from the taint of original sin, which as a daughter of Adam she had naturally to incur, Jesus Christ became more fully her Redeemer. Far from being diminished, the excellence of Redemption is enhanced by Mary’s privilege (Dictionary of Mary pp 206-207).
At the council of Trent, the position of Duns Scotus was not objected to, though no definition was given because it was not the issue in contention. But there were indications of approval by the Fathers of the Church at the Council. It was on December 8, 1854 that Pope Pius IX Proclaimed Mary preserved from sin from the moment of her conception in these words:
"We, declare, proclaim, and define that this dogma is revealed by God and therefore to be firmly and unremittingly believed by all the faithful; namely, the dogma that holds that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege from Almighty God and in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, was kept free of every stain of original sin".
Analyzing this definition brings out the following points of note as highlighted by H. Holstein in the Dictionary of Mary: The original sin is a contagious nature of humanity that automatically affects every human being by birth except Jesus Christ who was God-Man. That means there is a natural evil infection that is suffered by all human beings and is also inherent in all human beings. If this could not be found in Mary, then, she must have enjoyed a special privilege by nature which immunized her against this infection.
It is a fact that Mary enjoyed this special privilege and singular grace "in view of the merits of Christ". But in tradition, we also find underscored that the special grace was rooted in the Divine plan of Salvation which from the beginning had destined the Blessed Virgin Mary to be Mother of God. To be suitable for this mission, God would not allow her nature to be in the power of the devil at any moment (208).
With this special privileged position enjoyed by Mary, We should be encouraged to fly to her help and protection in our battle against sin and struggle for holiness. Let us follow in her footsteps in generously responding to the promptings of the Holy Spirit so as to live up our baptismal commitments. As mother she will always attend to the needs of her children battling with the forces of evil in this sinful world.
Supplied by Rene-Geoffrey Renner
Past Supreme Knight,
Knights of Saints Peter and Paul,
The Gambia.
Author: by rev. Fr. James akpaamo
See Also - See Also