The Immaculate Conception: what does it mean?

Meeting at the Golden Gate, Giotto.

The Feast of the Immaculate Conception, celebrated on December 8, is often confused with the Virgin Birth. 
Some think that the Doctrine of the Immaculate Conception refers to Jesus’ conception by the Holy Spirit. Jesus being conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary without a human father is known as the Virgin Birth, not the Immaculate Conception.
Neither does the Doctrine of the Immaculate Conception mean that Mary was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit or that her own birth was a ‘virgin birth’. In the 4th century there was a popular belief that Mary’s birth was a virgin birth and in the 16th century the belief that she was born of the Holy Spirit circulated. The Church condemned both of these beliefs as error in 1677.
The famous painting, “The Meeting at the Golden Gate”, by Giotto, depicts Joachim kissing his wife, Anna as they celebrate the knowledge that they will be parents. Some interpreted the kiss as the moment of conception. The actual Doctrine of the Immaculate Conception does not say anything about the generative act of Mary’s mother and father. Most theologians, today, believe that Mary was conceived in the usual manner.

In the proclamation, Ineffabilis Deus of December 8, 1854, Pope Pius IX defined the Doctrine of the Immaculate Conception as follows: “The most Blessed Virgin Mary was from the first moment of her conception, by a singular privilege and grace granted of almighty God, and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the human race, was preserved immune from all stain of original sin.”

Some object to the doctrine because it seems to contradict St. Paul who says, “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23). Did Paul mean that everyone actually commits sins - even infants? Or could he have meant that everyone is subject to original sin, which then does not contradict the fact of Mary’s being preserved from original sin.
Examining the doctrine of the Catholic Church more closely, we see that like all descendants of Adam, Mary by her humanity, was subject to original sin. Because she was to be the mother of the Christ, God intervened in a special way and preserved her soul from the stain of that sin and its consequences. This intervention was ‘in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the human race”. Mary was then, saved by the death and resurrection of Jesus, as are all believers, but in ‘anticipation’ of those events. She said, ‘yes’ to God and accepted His will for her life. Because she was redeemed by Christ, she could declare in her Magnificat, “My spirit rejoices in Christ, my Saviour” (Luke 1:47).

The angel Gabriel's greeting to Mary, "Hail, Mary, full of grace", (Luke 1:26) is said to point to her sinlessness ie fullness of grace.

Others point out that this is a doctrine that sprang up out of nowhere when it was declared in 1854 and was not believed by the early church. An examination of the writings of the Church Fathers in the very early years of the Church will show:
- that the Church Fathers spoke of the Virgin Mary’s “exemption from defilement” (Hippolytus, “Ontt. in illud, Dominus pascit me”) Hippolytus ?-AD236
-that she was “worthy of God, immaculate of the immaculate” (Origen, “Homily i, in diversa”) Origen AD185-254
-that she was “immune through grace from every stain of sin (Ambrose, “Sermon xxii in Psalm cxviii). Ambrose c. AD337-397.
The theologian, Duns Scotus, developed the idea: "Decuit, potuit, ergo fecit, it was becoming that the Mother of the Redeemer should have been free from the power of sin and from the first moment of her existence; God could give her this privilege, therefore He gave it to her".
We see from this small sample of early theologians, that the doctrine of Mary’s preservation from sin was believed very early in the Church.
Early writers also referred to Mary as the ‘Second Eve’. Eve was created without original sin but sinned when she disobeyed God. Like Eve, Mary was without original sin, but unlike Eve, Mary agreed to do God’s will. She is the fulfillment of the proto-evangelium in Genesis 3:15 -16 “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike at your head while you strike at his heel.”


In the Catholic Church, Dogmas are defined when there is a controversy over them or when emphasis of a belief already in existence will help the faithful. In other words the belief is not new but is ‘defined’. In the case of the Doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, there was no controversy at the time it was defined, but Pius IX felt it would help the faithful by inspiring devotion to the Virgin.

Why all the Fuss Over the Pope? Is the Pope Infallible?

The Catholic Church teaches that the Pope is infallible. Many people wonder why this is so and where this teaching originates. Doesn't it give too much power to one person? How can an ordinary 'human being' be infallible? Does it mean that the Catholic Church believes that the pope is not an ordinary human being?

What Does Infallibility Mean?
Part of the problem stems from the fact that the meaning of the words 'infallible' and 'infallibility' are often misunderstood. Infallibility does not mean 'without sin'. That is impeccability. The Pope is not impeccable as all human beings have inherited original sin (the Virgin Mary is a special case which deserves an article of its own). The Pope goes to confession just like any other Catholic.
Infallibility does not mean 'all knowing'; that is omniscience. The Pope does not know what the weather will be like tomorrow (unless he listens to the weather report which may be wrong) nor does he know who will win the World Cup, although he may cheer for his favourite team.

What is Infallibility and When Does It Apply?
Infallibility is defined in the dictionary as 'the inability to err'. Does this mean that the Pope is never wrong? Of course, the Pope can be wrong about some things but not when certain conditions are applied. So when does infallibility apply?
• Infallibility applies only in matters of faith and morals
• Infallibility applies only when the Pope is speaking 'ex cathedra', that is, from the 'chair of Peter', in other words, as the Bishop of the Church over all Bishops.
• The Pope cannot change established doctrine. For example, the Pope cannot change the Doctrine of the Virgin Birth.
• The Pope cannot deny a truth revealed in Scripture. For example, the Pope cannot say that Jesus did not die on the cross.
Why is the Pope Infallible?
As Jesus and His disciples were at Caesarea Philipi Jesus asked His disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." Jesus replied, "Simon, son of Jonah, you are a happy man because it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. So now I say unto you: You are Peter and on this Rock I will build my Church. And the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: whatsoever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven, whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven." Matthew 16:18-19  In giving Peter (which means 'rock') the keys to the kingdom of heaven, Jesus was recalling the office of the Prime Minister which had existed in Israel during the time of King David and his words echo those of Isaiah 22:22 when a bad prime minister was let go and a new one was appointed by God: "In that day I will call my servant Eliakim, son of Hilkiah, and I will clothe him with your robe, ad will bind your girdle on hima, and will comit your authority to his hand, and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the house of Judah. And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and none shall shut; he shall shut , and none shall open."  The role of the pope is that of the Albayit or Prime Minister who would be called 'father' or Papa (pope).
Jesus promised "But when the Spirit of truth comes, he will lead you into complete truth." (John 16:13) It stands to reason that if Jesus established his Church on earth, he would also provide a way to keep that Church true to his teachings.
The Pope is only 'infallible' because Jesus promised to keep the Church true to him by sending the Holy Spirit. Although it is true that the Holy Spirit can guide Christians individually, we see in the world today many different interpretations of Scripture and many different denominations have arisen because of these interpretations. They all claim to have the guidance of the Holy Spirit. They cannot all be true. For example, some denominations say that baptism is for adults who have ‘accepted Jesus as their Saviour’ only, others say that baptism is for babies as well as adults and is a sign of their entrance into the family of God. Which is true? And how do we know which is true? Both groups would claim that their doctrine is found in Scripture.

When Has Infallibility Been Claimed?
It may be surprising to many that ex cathedra statements by the Popes have been very rare. In the past one hundred and thirty –four years there have been only three infallible proclamations made (not counting canonization of saints):
1854 – Doctrine of Infallibility by Pius IX
1870 – Doctrine of the Immaculate Conception by Pius IX
1950 – Doctrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin by Pius XII
These dogmas were universally held by the Church centuries before and can be found in the writing of the Church Fathers. In these most recent times and because there was a questioning of the doctrine they were 'defined' by these proclamations and not 'invented' by them. For example, on the infallibility of the Pope, Cyprian of Carthage (256 AD) wrote: "Would heretics dare to come to the very seat of Peter whence apostolic faith is derived and whither no errors can come?" (quoted in Keating, page 217)
Some point out that there have been bad popes - those who were openly sinful. It is true that there have been 'bad' Popes who often were appointed by kings or wealthy and powerful people. However, the Holy Spirit kept these Popes from writing error in the same way he has kept 'good' Popes from writing error. No bad pope ever changed doctrine - although, except for the restraint of the Holy Spirit, they could have. Perhaps they were too busy sinning to have time to write any papal bulls or encylclicals!
To summarize, infallibility means that the Holy Spirit prevents the Pope from officially teaching error in his official capacity as the Bishop of Rome ie Pope.

Sources
Catechism of the Catholic Church. New York: Doubleday. 1995
The Jerusalem Bible. New York: Doubleday and Company. 1968
Houghton –Mifflin Canadian Dictionary Markham, Toronto, ON: Houghton-Mifflin Canada Ltd. 1982
Keating, Karl. Catholicism and Fundamentalism. San Francisco: Ignatius Press. 1988