Immaculate Conception of Mary
One of the titles given to Mary is “Ark of the Covenant.” The Ark of the Covenant in the Old Testament was a chest made of wood to carry the two stone tablets containing the commandments God gave to Moses (Ex 25:16). Therefore, we could say the ark contained the word of God and Mary contained Jesus the Word of God in her womb, so for that reason Mary is sometimes called Ark of the Covenant. In the Old Testament those who were called on to move the Ark of the Covenant could not be sinners because the ark was considered so holy since it carried God’s word (1 Chron 15:14). In like manner, Mary, who is the new Ark of the Covenant, could not be touched by sin. It makes perfect sense that God would specially prepare Mary in holiness to carry Jesus in her womb. God and sin are opposites, and God prepared the sinless Virgin Mary to be a fitting mother to Jesus his Son.
It was not until December 8, 1854, after Pope Pius IX had consulted all the Bishops of the world, that he pronounced and defined in the Ineffabilis Deus the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This dogma states that the Blessed Virgin Mary, "in the first instance of her conception, by a singular privilege and grace granted by God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin, is a doctrine revealed by God and therefore to be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful."
In summary, this dogma proclaims that the soul of the Blessed Virgin Mary who was the tabernacle created by God Himself for the purpose of the incarnation, was never subject to original sin, but completely preserved from the original taint. In other words, the Blessed Virgin Mary was created immaculate by God as the new Eve, equal to the first Eve that was created immaculate by God.
When Our Lady appeared in Lourdes four years later in 1858 she said to St. Bernadette, “I am the Immaculate Conception” confirming the Pope’s decision to declare the dogma of the Immaculate Conception four years earlier. Our Lady herself confirmed the Pope’s declaration that she was immaculate.
The angel said to Mary, “Hail, full of grace!” (Luke 1:28) The particular word Luke used to describe Mary as “full of grace” (κεχαριτωμέη) means that Mary was full of grace all her life. It means that Mary is full of grace not just at the moment the angel comes to her but that she is full of grace since the beginning of her life.
In Adam and Eve's case, they were created immaculate in soul, spirit and body for the Divine purpose of being eternal children of God. In that original state of sinlessness, they could not die. They had eternal life.
But because they refused to trust and obey God, tempted by Satan who was an angelic being who had rebelled against God, they decided to do what they wanted. They disobeyed God by sinning. Consequently, sin was transmitted to the entire human race, depriving Adam and Eve's descendants of the original state of holiness and justice that they enjoyed. [CCC. 404]
Following the disobedience of our first parents in the Garden of Eden, God said, "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel." [Gen. 3:15] The seed of the woman who will crush the head of the serpent is Christ, the woman at enmity with the serpent being the Blessed Virgin Mary.
As soon as the Kingdom of God was corrupted by Satan, the holy and eternal soul, spirit and body of God's children became subject to death. Therefore, God instituted a redemptive plan to reinstate His eternal Kingdom. Through the new Adam, Christ, and the new Eve, the Blessed Virgin Mary, God planned to reclaim His kingdom and save His people from eternal death.
Every day we have to overcome temptation and sin. We ask Mary immaculate to help us overcome all temptation and sin in our lives. O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.
Amen.
One of the titles given to Mary is “Ark of the Covenant.” The Ark of the Covenant in the Old Testament was a chest made of wood to carry the two stone tablets containing the commandments God gave to Moses (Ex 25:16). Therefore, we could say the ark contained the word of God and Mary contained Jesus the Word of God in her womb, so for that reason Mary is sometimes called Ark of the Covenant. In the Old Testament those who were called on to move the Ark of the Covenant could not be sinners because the ark was considered so holy since it carried God’s word (1 Chron 15:14). In like manner, Mary, who is the new Ark of the Covenant, could not be touched by sin. It makes perfect sense that God would specially prepare Mary in holiness to carry Jesus in her womb. God and sin are opposites, and God prepared the sinless Virgin Mary to be a fitting mother to Jesus his Son.
It was not until December 8, 1854, after Pope Pius IX had consulted all the Bishops of the world, that he pronounced and defined in the Ineffabilis Deus the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This dogma states that the Blessed Virgin Mary, "in the first instance of her conception, by a singular privilege and grace granted by God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin, is a doctrine revealed by God and therefore to be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful."
In summary, this dogma proclaims that the soul of the Blessed Virgin Mary who was the tabernacle created by God Himself for the purpose of the incarnation, was never subject to original sin, but completely preserved from the original taint. In other words, the Blessed Virgin Mary was created immaculate by God as the new Eve, equal to the first Eve that was created immaculate by God.
When Our Lady appeared in Lourdes four years later in 1858 she said to St. Bernadette, “I am the Immaculate Conception” confirming the Pope’s decision to declare the dogma of the Immaculate Conception four years earlier. Our Lady herself confirmed the Pope’s declaration that she was immaculate.
The angel said to Mary, “Hail, full of grace!” (Luke 1:28) The particular word Luke used to describe Mary as “full of grace” (κεχαριτωμέη) means that Mary was full of grace all her life. It means that Mary is full of grace not just at the moment the angel comes to her but that she is full of grace since the beginning of her life.
In Adam and Eve's case, they were created immaculate in soul, spirit and body for the Divine purpose of being eternal children of God. In that original state of sinlessness, they could not die. They had eternal life.
But because they refused to trust and obey God, tempted by Satan who was an angelic being who had rebelled against God, they decided to do what they wanted. They disobeyed God by sinning. Consequently, sin was transmitted to the entire human race, depriving Adam and Eve's descendants of the original state of holiness and justice that they enjoyed. [CCC. 404]
Following the disobedience of our first parents in the Garden of Eden, God said, "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel." [Gen. 3:15] The seed of the woman who will crush the head of the serpent is Christ, the woman at enmity with the serpent being the Blessed Virgin Mary.
As soon as the Kingdom of God was corrupted by Satan, the holy and eternal soul, spirit and body of God's children became subject to death. Therefore, God instituted a redemptive plan to reinstate His eternal Kingdom. Through the new Adam, Christ, and the new Eve, the Blessed Virgin Mary, God planned to reclaim His kingdom and save His people from eternal death.
Every day we have to overcome temptation and sin. We ask Mary immaculate to help us overcome all temptation and sin in our lives. O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.
Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment