THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

Pope Pius IX when defining the doctrine in 1854 stated:  "The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin."  The great Solemnity is celebrated every 8th of December and is a Holy Day of Obligation. 

TWO COMMON OBJECTIONS TO THE DOCTRINE

Objection 1:  Romans 3:23 states: "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" how therefore can we say Mary was born sinless and remained sinless?

Answer:  At the risk of sounding like a politician, does all mean all?  If it does, then a child of 2,3,4, 5, 6 years of age can commit a sin so too can an individual suffering from severe mental illness or retardation, if all means all.  Jesus Christ born in the flesh would have sinned, in which case Hebrews 4:15 is incorrect in saying "... who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sinning." Of course this is not the case, therefore, there are exceptions to the "all" in Romans 3:23.  Now, in the old Adam we are dead in sin, "For just as in Adam all die but in Christ shall all be brought to life." (1 Corinthians 15:22)  Christ is the new Adam (see 1Corinthians 15:45-49), the new Adam of a new creation: "So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away, behold; all is new" (2Corinthians 5:17). If God was recreating all in Christ, then the new creation is not limited to only Christ, the new Adam, but also to a new Eve, since the old creation had both an Adam and an Eve. Mary is this new Eve because where the old Eve disobeyed, the new Eve, Mary, obeyed.  Is this a new concept?  No, it is not, for many early Church Fathers believed this to be so; here are two:  Justin Martyr:  "Jesus became man by the virgin so that the course which was taken by disobedience in the beginning through the agency of the serpent might be also the very course by which it would be put down.  Eve, a virgin and undefiled, conceived the word of the serpent and bore disobedience and death.  But the Virgin Mary received faith and joy... (Dialogue with Trypho the Jew [A.D. 155]).  Iranaeus of Lyon:  "Consequently, then, Mary the Virgin is found to be obedient, saying, ‘Behold, O Lord, your handmaid; be it done to me according to your word.’  Eve, however, was disobedient, and when yet a virgin, she did not obey... Thus the knot of Eve’s disobedience was loosed by the obedience of Mary... " (Against Heresies 3 [A.D. 189]). But why would God preserve Mary from original sin?  Because Mary is the new Eve of the new creation; God is at work here.  In Luke 1:28 we read, "And he came to her and said ‘Hail, full of grace... " The Greek word used here for "full of grace" is "Kecharitomne" which translates "you who are grace" grammatically being phrased as a past completed action resulting in a present and perfected state of being, a perfect passive.  God would not send an angel with such a greeting if he (God) had not already infused Mary, the new Eve, with his grace so that she may be sinless in her obedience to him, as the old Eve was sinless when she disobeyed.  

Objection 2:  If Mary was born without Original Sin and was sinless, then why did she call God "my Savior" as she did in Luke 1:47?  Only a sinner needs a savior.

Answer:  An individual can be saved before or after the fact.  If I fall into a pit and you throw me a rope and pull me up you have saved me but what if you grab me by the arm and pull me back before I fall into the pit, have you not saved me and isn’t this act of salvation even greater than saving me after the fact? This is precisely what God did with Mary he saved her at her conception, "... you knit me in my mother’s womb" (Psalm 139:13), before she fell into Adam’s sin by applying the merits of his Son to her.  All came to Mary from Christ, through Christ, and for Christ.