Immaculate Conception in the Annunciation
One of the greatest controversies about Catholic teaching is the Dogmatic proclamation that Mary was free from sin from the moment of her conception. How outrageous that the Church teaches that when the Bible clearly says that “all have sinned all fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) How in the world does the Catholic Church come up with this stuff?!
There are plenty of hidden kernels of this doctrine throughout Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition. I just want to look at it from the perspective of the Annunciation for the moment.
“Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.” (Luke 1:28)
Here we have the words of the Angel Gabriel upon his visit to Mary, to let her know that she would give birth to a son. He would be named Jesus and would be great and be called “Son of the Most High.” He would bring salvation to the world.
Can we take from these words, that Mary was sin-free?
“Full of grace” means full of the very Life of God. If one is full of grace, is there room for more grace? Notice that Mary was already full when the Angel approached her. This is Mary’s first physical appearance in Scripture and she’s already full! When did Mary become full? Sacred Scripture doesn’t say. Sacred Tradition says that it happened at the very moment of her conception within her mother, Anne’s, womb. It had to happen sometime before the Angel Gabriel approached her. When? When she was born? Two years earlier? Eleven and a half? When?
“Hail” is also a salutation reserved for royalty. The Angel of the Lord, Gabriel, uses a royal greeting when he approaches this little peasant girl. Also, take a look at Mary’s demeanor – she’s not the least bit afraid of an Angel of the Lord stopping by for a visit! Throughout Scripture, whenever Angels are involved bringing a message from God Almighty, the person receiving the message is usually flat on his face, overwhelmed with the majesty of the celestial being. Not so, Mary. She was troubled, yes, but not afraid. But why was she troubled? Because of the greeting! She knew that this greeting was reserved for royalty and she knew she wasn’t. Royalty, that is.
The Angel goes on to tell her not to be afraid because she had found favor with God. She was the one chosen to carry His son. She was confused and said, “How can this be because I know not man.” (Luke 1:34)
Now one interesting thing about Mary’s response is this: “because I know not man” indicates that she was still a virgin and was planning to remain one. Otherwise, why wouldn’t she say, “How can this be because I know not man yet.” Mary knew how babies were born and she knew she didn’t plan on having any. Tradition has it that Mary was consecrated to God as a virgin and would live in service to God in the Temple. Her uncle was Zechariah, a Temple Priest, and Elizabeth’s husband. If Mary was a consecrated virgin, she would not be permitted to live in the Temple after puberty during her cycles without defiling Mosaic Law. During the time she was ceremonially unclean, a consecrated virgin would be entrusted to a male guardian. But since it was forbidden for a man to live with a woman who was not his wife, the virgin would be wed to the guardian. They would not share the intimate embrace of marriage. (Article with references can be found here: http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/2000/0007sbs.asp)
So here stood an Angel, announcing that she, a consecrated virgin, would not only give birth to a child but that her son would be given the throne of David? And she wasn’t married (yet) which means she was very, very young (and probably hadn’t started her periods).
What’s even more amazing is the language of what the Angel Gabriel said to her next:
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you….” (Luke 1:35)
“Will come upon you” and “overshadow you” are both phrases that imply the intimate language of the marital embrace. Now, there’s nothing in Church teaching that says there was a physical marital relationship in the way that we think of the marital embrace but this certainly indicates a SUPERNATURAL marital relationship. And we know it was physical in some way – after all, the seed of The Christ was somehow planted within her womb.
As a sign of this supernatural event, the Angel Gabriel told Mary about her elder cousin, Elizabeth and her miraculous conceiving of a child of her own. And here’s the clincher,
“…for nothing will be impossible for God.” (Luke 1:37)
So nothing will be impossible for God – not just the Virgin Birth but also the Immaculate Conception. I can’t figure out why one is any more incredulous than the other.
Most importantly, though, is the striking evidence of Mary’s faith – “…Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38)
And there we have it: Mary’s faith. God said it, she believed it. Why can we not do the same?
There are plenty of hidden kernels of this doctrine throughout Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition. I just want to look at it from the perspective of the Annunciation for the moment.
“Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.” (Luke 1:28)
Here we have the words of the Angel Gabriel upon his visit to Mary, to let her know that she would give birth to a son. He would be named Jesus and would be great and be called “Son of the Most High.” He would bring salvation to the world.
Can we take from these words, that Mary was sin-free?
“Full of grace” means full of the very Life of God. If one is full of grace, is there room for more grace? Notice that Mary was already full when the Angel approached her. This is Mary’s first physical appearance in Scripture and she’s already full! When did Mary become full? Sacred Scripture doesn’t say. Sacred Tradition says that it happened at the very moment of her conception within her mother, Anne’s, womb. It had to happen sometime before the Angel Gabriel approached her. When? When she was born? Two years earlier? Eleven and a half? When?
“Hail” is also a salutation reserved for royalty. The Angel of the Lord, Gabriel, uses a royal greeting when he approaches this little peasant girl. Also, take a look at Mary’s demeanor – she’s not the least bit afraid of an Angel of the Lord stopping by for a visit! Throughout Scripture, whenever Angels are involved bringing a message from God Almighty, the person receiving the message is usually flat on his face, overwhelmed with the majesty of the celestial being. Not so, Mary. She was troubled, yes, but not afraid. But why was she troubled? Because of the greeting! She knew that this greeting was reserved for royalty and she knew she wasn’t. Royalty, that is.
The Angel goes on to tell her not to be afraid because she had found favor with God. She was the one chosen to carry His son. She was confused and said, “How can this be because I know not man.” (Luke 1:34)
Now one interesting thing about Mary’s response is this: “because I know not man” indicates that she was still a virgin and was planning to remain one. Otherwise, why wouldn’t she say, “How can this be because I know not man yet.” Mary knew how babies were born and she knew she didn’t plan on having any. Tradition has it that Mary was consecrated to God as a virgin and would live in service to God in the Temple. Her uncle was Zechariah, a Temple Priest, and Elizabeth’s husband. If Mary was a consecrated virgin, she would not be permitted to live in the Temple after puberty during her cycles without defiling Mosaic Law. During the time she was ceremonially unclean, a consecrated virgin would be entrusted to a male guardian. But since it was forbidden for a man to live with a woman who was not his wife, the virgin would be wed to the guardian. They would not share the intimate embrace of marriage. (Article with references can be found here: http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/2000/0007sbs.asp)
So here stood an Angel, announcing that she, a consecrated virgin, would not only give birth to a child but that her son would be given the throne of David? And she wasn’t married (yet) which means she was very, very young (and probably hadn’t started her periods).
What’s even more amazing is the language of what the Angel Gabriel said to her next:
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you….” (Luke 1:35)
“Will come upon you” and “overshadow you” are both phrases that imply the intimate language of the marital embrace. Now, there’s nothing in Church teaching that says there was a physical marital relationship in the way that we think of the marital embrace but this certainly indicates a SUPERNATURAL marital relationship. And we know it was physical in some way – after all, the seed of The Christ was somehow planted within her womb.
As a sign of this supernatural event, the Angel Gabriel told Mary about her elder cousin, Elizabeth and her miraculous conceiving of a child of her own. And here’s the clincher,
“…for nothing will be impossible for God.” (Luke 1:37)
So nothing will be impossible for God – not just the Virgin Birth but also the Immaculate Conception. I can’t figure out why one is any more incredulous than the other.
Most importantly, though, is the striking evidence of Mary’s faith – “…Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38)
And there we have it: Mary’s faith. God said it, she believed it. Why can we not do the same?
posted by Dixie @ 10:18 AM
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