On September 8 – we will celebrate the birthday of Mary, conceived without sin.
Mary was conceived without sin, hence she is called the Immaculate Conception.
Many people may have, however, mistakenly think that the Immaculate Conception refers to the conception of Jesus Christ in the womb of Mary.
This article will clear that misunderstanding.
Mary is the Immaculate Conception.
What does that mean?
It means that from the very first moment of her conception in the womb of her mother, Saint Anne, Mary didn’t have the stain of original sin.
How has Mary Become Sinless?
Through a special grace from God, Mary’s sinless conception was made possible.
How?
God applied to Mary the saving grace of Jesus Christ on the Cross in a unique and extraordinary way – from the very beginning of her life.
Like all of us, Mary was saved by Jesus Christ. But Mary’s salvation happened to her at the time of her conception. And so, from her very birth, she never had the stain of original sin.
What this means is that Mary doesn’t have the fallen nature like all of us have.
She will never fall. She will never strive for holiness and purity to become pleasing to God, because she is already perfectly holy and pure herself.
As for us – our fallen nature has made us susceptible to committing sin continuously. We struggle in fighting temptations, we struggle to become holy and pure. We desperately need the grace of God to achieve holiness in ourselves.
But Mary has already been endowed with the fullness of grace from God. Holiness, purity, righteousness is , therefore, her true nature.
Why would God endow a State of Perfection on Mary?
Because Mary was destined to become the Mother of God in view of God’s plan for the salvation of mankind.
God was preparing Mary for a mission unlike any other: to carry the Son, Jesus Christ, in her womb, to give birth to Him, to care for Him, and to walk with Him throughout His life.
God Needs a Pure Dwelling Place
And so, God must be born, but he must be born of a woman who is holy, pure, and sinless because God cannot dwell in a sinful place.
And so from the very beginning God created Mary pure, holy, and sinless so that the Son of God who will come to redeem man from Satan can have a holy dwelling place suitable to the holy One who was about to come.
How was Mary’s Immaculate Conception Came About?
I feel fortunate to have read the book, “Poem of the Man-God” by Maria Valtorta, an Italian mystic who received dictations from God and Mary. Valtorta claimed the text came from visions and dictations given to her by Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary, aiming to fill in details of Jesus’ life not written in the biblical Gospels.
Volume 1 of the book, “Poem of the Man-God” relates experiences of Mary’s parents, Anne and Joaquin, with the elders in the temple, or the pharisees.
The pharisees wouldn’t accept the offerings of Mary’s father, St. Joaquin, even though he gives them the best offerings, because they looked down on him for being childless. The pharisees consider childlessness as a sign of sinfulness. For them, childlessness is God’s punishment for sins, and they bluntly show Joaquin that he is a sinner.
This upsets St. Joaquin until one day he ran away. To the wilderness.
For six months, he didn’t come home. Mary’s mother, (St.) Anne was already wondering if he was still alive.
But during a festival in Jerusalem, Anne and several relatives encamped around the temple in Jerusalem. Anne wondered about Joaquins whereabouts. Incidentally, Joaquin came down for the festival.
Yet, by that time, and unknown to them, Anne was carrying the child, Mary, in her womb.
My own interpretation: Mary and Jesus’ birth have some similarity. While Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, Mary, also, was conceived supernaturally, without the participation of man and woman, hence, the Immaculate Conception.
