THE DOCTRINE In the Constitution Ineffabilis Deus December 8, 1854

1. THE DOCTRINE In the Constitution Ineffabilis Deus December 8, 1854 Pius IX pronounced and defined 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 exempt from all stain of original sin." Immaculate Conception

2. Immaculate Conception "The Blessed Virgin Mary . . ." The subject of this immunity from original sin is the person of Mary at the moment of the creation of her soul and its infusion into her body.

3. The term conception does not mean the active or generative conception by her parents. Her body was formed in the womb of the mother, and the father had the usual share in its formation. • The question does not concern the immaculateness of the generative activity of her parents. Neither does it concern the passive conception absolutely and simply (conceptio seminis carnis, inchoata), which, according to the order of nature, precedes the infusion of the rational soul. The person is truly conceived when the soul is created and infused into the body. Mary was preserved exempt from all stain of original sin at the first moment of her animation, and sanctifying grace was given to her before sin could have taken effect in her soul. ". . .in the first instance of her conception . . ."

4. The formal active essence of original sin was not removed from her soul, as it is removed from others by baptism; it was excluded, it never was in her soul. Simultaneously with the exclusion of sin. • The state of original sanctity, innocence, and justice, as opposed to original sin, was conferred upon her, by which gift every stain and fault, all depraved emotions, passions, and debilities, essentially pertaining to original sin, were excluded. But she was not made exempt from the temporal penalties of Adam -- from sorrow, bodily infirmities, and death. ”. . .was preserved exempt from all stain of original sin. . ."

5. The immunity from original sin was given to Mary by a singular exemption from a universal law through the same merits of Christ, by which other men are cleansed from sin by baptism. Mary needed the redeeming Savior to obtain this exemption, and to be delivered from the universal necessity and debt (debitum) of being subject to original sin. The person of Mary, in consequence of her origin from Adam, should have been subject to sin, but, being the new Eve who was to be the mother of the new Adam, she was, by the eternal counsel of God and by the merits of Christ, withdrawn from the general law of original sin. Her redemption was the very masterpiece of Christ’s redeeming wisdom. ". . .by a singular privilege and grace granted by God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race."

6. But the first scriptural passage which contains the promise of the redemption, mentions also the Mother of the Redeemer. Genesis 3:15 • The sentence against the first parents was accompanied by the Earliest Gospel (Proto-evangelium), which put enmity between the serpent and the woman: "and I will put enmity between thee and the woman and her seed; she (he) shall crush thy head and thou shall lie in wait for her (his) heel." PROOF FROM SCRIPTURE No direct or categorical and stringent proof of the dogma can be brought forward from Scripture.

7. The conqueror from the seed of the woman, who should crush the serpent's head, is Christ; The woman at enmity with the serpent is Mary. God puts enmity between her and Satan in the same manner and measure, as there is enmity between Christ and the seed of the serpent. Only the continual union of Mary with grace explains sufficiently the enmity between her and Satan. The Proto-evangelium, therefore, in the original text contains a direct promise of the Redeemer, and in conjunction therewith the manifestation of the masterpiece of His Redemption, the perfect preservation of His virginal Mother from original sin. Mary was ever to be in that exalted state of soul which the serpent had destroyed in man, i.e. in sanctifying grace.

8. PROOF FROM SCRIPTURE chaire kecharitomene, Hail, full of grace indicates a unique abundance of grace, a supernatural, godlike state of soul, which finds its explanation only in the Immaculate Conception of Mary. But the term kecharitomene (full of grace) serves only as an illustration, not as a proof of the dogma. Luke 1:28 The salutation of the angel Gabriel

9. The Ark was the holiest object in the OT It was sacred because it carried the stone tablets of the Law that God gave Moses on Mount Sinai God gave meticulous instructions for constructing the Ark • Made of indestructible acacia wood • Plated inside and outside with pure gold • Kept free from impurity and profanation • (Ex 25) • God struck Uzzah dead because he dared to touch the Ark • (2 Sam 6:6-7)

10. Mary as the New Ark of the Covenant A cloud of glory covered the tabernacle and Ark (Ex 40:34-35; Num 9:15) Ark spent three months in the house of Obededom the Gittite (2 Sam 6:11) King David asked: “How can the ark of the Lord come to me? David leaped and danced before the Lord when the Ark arrived in Jerusalem (2 Sam 6:14-16 “And the angel said to her; ‘The holy spirit will come upon you, and the power of the most high will overshadow you’” (Lk 1:35) Mary spent three months in the house of Zechariah and Elizabeth (Lk 1:26, 40) Elizabeth asked Mary, “why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me” (Lk 1:43) John the Baptist leaped for joy in Elizabeth’s womb when Mary arrived (Lk 1:44)

11. PROOF FROM SCRIPTURE From the texts Proverbs 8 and Ecclesiasticus 24 (which exalt the Wisdom of God and which in the liturgy are applied to Mary, the most beautiful work of God’s Wisdom), or from the Canticle of Canticles 4:7 "Thou art all fair, O my love, and there is not a spot in thee", no theological conclusion can be drawn.

12. These passages, applied to the Mother of God, may be readily understood by those who know the privilege of Mary, but do not avail to prove the doctrine dogmatically, and are therefore omitted from the Constitution "Ineffabilis Deus". For the theologian it is a matter of conscience not to take an extreme position by applying to a creature texts which might imply the prerogatives of God.

13. Protestant Objections • Not supported by scripture and contradicts Rom 3:23 • They maintain the early church Fathers did not teach this doctrine. • The doctrine means Mary did no need redemption through Jesus Jack Chick

14. Romans 3:23 Paul is speaking of personal sins people commit, as opposed to original sin we inherit. Obvious exceptions are children below the age of reason, Jesus and Adam and Eve before the fall. We consider Mary to be another exception.

15. Paul quotes David who is using all in the collective , (a whole group gathered together), sense not in the distributive, (each and every individual) sense Paul is saying there is no distinction between circumcised and uncircumcised gentiles: Both groups commit personal sins and both need to be justified by faith. Paul does not mean ”all” in an absolute sense, which would include every single person. Rom 3:9-10

16. This doctrine only deals with original sin. However the Church also teaches that Mary was never touched by personal sin. The early church Fathers did not just teach Mary’s freedom from original sin they taught Mary’s complete sinlessness.

17. Mary as Second Eve The early Church Fathers realized that individual players in the Fall of man had NT counterparts • The angel Gabriel brought the words of life to Mary • Mary was Jesus mother and perfect disciple, who obeyed God and contributed greatly to Christ’s redemptive mission. • The devil a fallen angel brought the words of death to Eve • Eve our mother in the flesh, disobeyed God and cooperated greatly in Adam’s sin, which caused the fall of the human race The Fathers made the obvious connection: as Christ is the new Adam (1 Cor 15:45), Mary is the new Eve.

18. Mary as Second Eve The early Church Fathers including St Justin and St. Irenaeus were quick to realize this: • The human race fell through Adam but Eve’s role was crucial • Jesus redeemed the human race but Mary’s role was likewise crucial. Sacred Scripture continually shows Jesus and Mary together in the pivotal events of salvation

19. Jesus definitively crushed Satan’s head on Calvary.

20. Mary was at Christ’s side on Calvary Jesus refers to her not as mother but as woman the new Eve. • Mary is the woman of Gn 3:15 • The woman of Jn 2 who launched Jesus’ ministry at Cana • The woman at the foot of the cross in Jn 19 • And the woman of Rev 12 who fights against Satan with Jesus until the end. The new Adam and the New Eve are on the same victorious team.

21. Church Fathers Teach Sinlessness St. Justin Martyr and St. Irenaeus: Implicitly teach Mary’s freedom from all sin when they show her as the new Eve who reversed the first Eve’s disobedience. • When Eve disobeyed she was free from all sin and concupiscence (the inclination to sin) • Her no was a perfect choice of the will • For Mary’s obedience to undo Eve’s disobedience, Mary’s yes to god must be as perfect as Eve’s no This can only be true if Mary were free from both sin and inclination to sin.

22. Later Father’s explicitly teach Mary’s sinlessness St. Ephraim (The Nisibene Hymns) “You Christ alone and your Mother are more beautiful than any other; for there is no blemish in you, nor any stains upon your Mother, who of my children can compare in beauty to these.” St. Augustine (Nature and Grace) “Having excepted the Holy virgin Mary, concerning whom, on account of the honor of the Lord, I wish to have absolutely no question when treating of sins—for how do we know what abundance of grace for the total overcoming of sin was conferred upon her, who merited to conceive and bear Him in whom there was no sin?” St. Ambrose (Commentary on Psalm 18) “Lift me not up from Sara but from Mary, a Virgin not only undefiled but a Virgin whom grace has made inviolate, free from every stain of sin.”

23. The Immaculate Conception seems to imply that Mary didn’t need a savior. Sts. Bernard, Thomas Aquinas, Bonaventure and others felt this issued needed to be resolved before the Church could dogmatically define what Scripture and tradition seemed to already teach: Mary’s total sinlessness. Duns Scotus: Proved that Mary’s preservation from original sin did not remove her need for a redeemer.Mary’s preservation required a more perfect redemption: a preservative redemption.

24. Immaculate Conception If a man pulled you out of quicksand he would be said to have saved you. If the same man stopped you from falling in at all he simply saved you more perfectly. Christ’s merits keep Mary from falling in at all. On his merit the original sin of OT saints as well as any other sin was forgiven.

25. Immaculate Conception With this insight all debate over the Immaculate Conception and Christ’s universal Redemption ceased. Mary said yes to God with a perfect human nature which excludes all sin and concupiscence.