The extraordinary dignity and sanctity of the Blessed Virgin is made manifest in the words of today's Gospel. Since she was to become the Mother of the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, it was not an ordinary messenger but an Archangel that was sent to announce to her this great dignity. And how worthy she was of such lofty honor the angel declares in his salutation. She is " full of grace," the abyss of all heavenly favors; "the Lord is with" her, she possesses holiness beyond all other creatures; she is " blessed among women," because, unlike all others, she was never subject to any sin.

I. The meaning of this dogma. I. The Immaculate Conception does not refer, as some non-Catholics imagine, to the virgin birth of our Lord, nor to His sinlessness; neither does it imply on the part of the Blessed Virgin that her conception, like our Lord's, was divine, in the sense that it was without a human father. 2. The meaning of this doctrine is that, by a singular favor and privilege of God, and through the foreseen merits of her Son, the Virgin Mary, from the first instant of her conception in the womb of her mother, was preserved free from all stain of sin. 3. Original sin is that moral guilt and stain of soul which we inherit from Adam, the moral head of the human race. Sanctifying grace and many other extraordinary privileges were conferred upon our first parents from their creation, but all these they lost through their sin; and the effect of their fall has descended upon all their posterity, with the exception of Christ, who was sinless by reason of the Hypostatic Union, and Mary, who was conceived immaculate by the special favor of God. 4. Hence, the Blessed Virgin from the first moment of her conception was free from sin and endowed with sanctifying grace. Jeremiah and John the Baptist were sanctified in their mothers' wombs and born free from original sin, but they were not conceived in this state. 5. The grace received by Mary in her conception was far superior to that ever attained by any of the saints throughout their lives, and this grace she never lost, but on the contrary continually augmented in her life. 6. Being a child of Adam, Mary was in need of redemption, not to free her from sin, but to preserve her against sin.

II. Reasons for this dogma. I. The dogma of the Immaculate Conception was not defined until December 8, 1854, by Pope Pius IX, but it had always been taught in the Church as a divinely revealed doctrine. 2. The Holy Scriptures, as interpreted by the Fathers of the Church, contain this doctrine: (a) "I will put enmities between thee and the woman, . . . she shall crush thy head" (Genesis iii. 15). (b) Types of the Immaculate Conception were the ark of Noah, Jacob's ladder, the burning bush, etc. (c) Many words of the prophets can be understood of Mary's sinless conception; e.g., what they say about the holy Jerusalem, the ark of sanctification, the house, built by eternal Wisdom, etc. (d) The salutation which the Angel addressed to Mary on the day of the Annunciation implies this doctrine. 3. The Fathers speak of Mary as the supreme miracle, as nearest to God and above all praise; they declare her superior to Eve in the latter's innocence; they called her the lily among thorns, the virgin earth from which the new Adam came forth, etc., etc.; they hold that sin should not be thought of when there is question of Mary; they call her immaculate, more holy than sanctity, more pure than purity, etc. 4. The Popes have promoted devotion to the Immaculate Conception and have inculcated the doctrine. The Council of Trent in its decree on sin excluded the Blessed Virgin. 5. This doctrine has been universally believed by all classes in the Church, although a few questioned it at different times. 6. The Immaculate Conception was altogether fitting since the Son of God was to take flesh from the Virgin Mary, and He could not permit that His Mother should ever have been subject to His enemy.

LESSONS. I. Rejoice over the Immaculate Conception, for Mary is truly the " honor of our people." 2. Ask Our Lady's intercession against temptation and sin. 3. Praise God for the great privilege granted to our Mother.




Acting upon the inspiration which the Holy Ghost is daily imparting to her, the Church has instituted feasts in commemoration of the chief mysteries in the Blessed Virgin's life. She celebrates in an especial manner the Immaculate Conception, the holy birth, the divine Motherhood, the sufferings, and the glorious death and assumption into heaven of the sweet Mother of Christ. Today the Church is celebrating the feast of her Immaculate Conception, and I wish to point out to you wherein the exalted privilege consists by which Mary was thus distinguished, and how she corresponded with this extraordinary grace with which God adorned her. Alone among all mankind Mary, by a special grace, was conceived without the stain of original sin, because it was befitting the dignity of Jesus Christ that His human mother should never be sullied by sin; never, not even for a moment, subjected to the dominion of Satan. This the Church has solemnly declared and prescribed for our belief.

It is truly a glorious privilege which was bestowed upon the Blessed Virgin at her conception. In order to form a proper idea of it, let us contemplate the unhappy state in which we all were born. Upon us rests the penalty of the fatal fall of our first parents. At our conception we were burdened with the stain of original sin and with its awful penalty. We all were born sinners, children of wrath, slaves of the devil.

Mary, alone of all mankind, has been exempt from this misfortune from the moment of her conception. Among mankind the Lord has at various times selected specially favored friends, but notwithstanding His love for them, notwithstanding His manifestations of grace bestowed upon these privileged souls, not one of them was ever freed from this baneful inheritance. It was their fate, as it was the fate of all children of Adam, to suffer the penalty.

How different was Mary's happy lot! Although a child of Adam, like the rest of us, although the offspring of a father fallen into sin, she did not inherit the penalty ordained for the rest of mankind. What an honor, indeed, is this prerogative of grace! Had God been pleased to sanctify her just before her birth, she would have shared this great grace with John the Baptist. Had God satisfied Himself with pouring out upon her His graces, she would have shared such honor with the apostles' and other saints. But God wished to make a marked difference even between the elect souls and His Mother, even between the saints and their queen, by exempting her from original sin, a privilege which no one ever shared with her.

And what were the results of this distinct sanctification of Mary ? The first result was this: that she never experienced an inclination to evil, she never experienced this direful consequence of original sin. From the first moment she was, in body and soul, completely subject to the spirit of God. From that very moment she could exclaim, " All generations shall call me blessed, for He that is mighty hath done great things in me."

The second blessed result of the special sanctification of the Immaculate Virgin was, that she ever remained zealous in preserving and increasing the grace which she had received. Although exempt from human infirmities and confirmed in God's grace from her conception, still she incessantly strove to be most faithful in the fulfillment of all her duties, and spent much time in prayer. Although absolutely free from sin, she accepted adversity and suffering with humility and patience. She had her full share in the sufferings of her divine Son and in the great sorrows of Golgotha. In such manner she daily even increased the grace with which she had been endowed from the very moment of her conception.

Let us rejoice, dear brethren, in this glorious Immaculate Conception. Let us thank the Lord that He has distinguished the blessed Virgin by so great and extraordinary a privilege; and let us in confidence seek our refuge in the purest of Virgins, so that she may obtain for us, through her powerful intercession, purity of body and soul, and victory over all temptations. Let us address to her in the hours of temptation that brief prayer: "Through thy most holy Immaculate Conception, O Mary, preserve my body and soul from all impurity." Let us often during the day salute the blessed Virgin with the short ejaculation: "Hail Mary, conceived without sin," and we may be sure that she, who is not only the Virgin of Immaculate Conception but also the Mother of God, will graciously hear our prayers and that she will intercede for us with her divine Son; and a more powerful mediator we could not desire. Amen.