The Seven Sorrows of Mary

 The Seven Sorrows with scriptural reference...

From CatholicLink

December 8 - Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception

The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. 

For a long time as a Protestant, and even up until I think my first celebration of the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception - I was under the impression that this referred to the conception of Jesus! Au contrare, mon ami!  This day commemorates the conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the womb of her mother, St. Anne. It is a miraculous event because at the very moment of her conception she was given a special grace - to be spared from the stain of Original Sin. This fact was defined, infallibly, by Pope Pius IX in 1854 in a sentence from the papal bull, Ineffabils Deus:

We declare, pronounce, and define that the doctrine which holds that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin, is a doctrine revealed by God and therefore to be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful. (Source).

Something else that I, as a Protestant, did not realize is that the entire papal bull is not wholey infallible - just that sentence! Just where the definition is made is considered infallible, not the whole document. That was yet another common misconception of Protestants and goes along with the thinking, "Catholics believe popes are infallible." Which can be a true statement, but in actuality, Catholics only believe a pope is infallible when he speaks "ex cathedra" - that is, "from the Chair" (of St. Peter).

Why do Catholics make such a big deal of Mary?

Well, she IS a big deal!  Much in the same manner of how sin first entered the world through a woman, Eve; Mary is considered "The Second Eve" - in that through her and her fiat, the redemption of the whole world is made possible. We commemorate this with every "Hail Mary" we pray. Keep in mind, the "Hail Mary" comes straight from Scripture! 

Luke 1:28 - And the angel (Gabriel) being come in, said unto her: Hail, (Mary), full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.Luke 1:42 - And she cried out with a loud voice, and said: Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb (Jesus).

Again, as a Protestant, I was not aware of how scriptural the "Hail Mary" prayer is.

What does it mean to be free from the stain of Original Sin?

As we have already said, and most Christians agree with, sin entered the world initially through the act of a woman, Eve, and we call this the Original Sin. Every human being, save four (Adam, Eve, Mary and Jesus) are born with this fallen nature - a stain upon their soul. This fallen nature is enough to keep us from entering into Heaven - for nothing impure can enter there (Rev. 21:27). Making each and every one of us in need of a Savior, a Redeemer, who would make it possible to have every stain of sin washed away.

Mary was preserved from this stain for she was chosen, by God, to be the Ark of the New Covenant, the God-Bearer, the one who was given the singular honor to be the "Mother of our Lord" (Luke 1:43). Being this vessel to carry our Lord and God within her, she was given this gift of having not even the stain of Original Sin.

Being preserved from the stain of Original Sin does not mean she was preserved from the penalty of Original Sin - which is physical death. There is some room for debate here because, again, this is not part of the definition of the Immaculate Conception. Did she die or did she merely fall asleep (the Dormition, as our Eastern Catholics and Orthodox refer to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin). This will be the topic for another blog entry (and has been) for August 15th.

Yes, January 1st is a Holy Day of Obligation

Madonna of the Streets by Roberto Ferruzzi

On January 1st, we, the Catholic Church, celebrate the Solemnity of the Holy Mother of God.  Why does this declaration make so many so uncomfortable?  Mary is the mother of Jesus.  We have declared what Jesus declared--that He is God.  His human mother, Mary, bore the God-man.  This solemnity, while a Marian Feast day, celebrates Christ's Godhead as well.  Every feast, every holy day, every title given to Mary is in honor of her Son.

495 Called in the Gospels "the mother of Jesus", Mary is acclaimed by Elizabeth, at the prompting of the Spirit and even before the birth of her son, as "the mother of my Lord".¹⁴⁴ In fact, the One whom she conceived as man by the Holy Spirit, who truly became her Son according to the flesh, was none other than the Father's eternal Son, the second person of the Holy Trinity. Hence the Church confesses that Mary is truly "Mother of God" (Theotokos).¹⁴⁵  144 Lk 1:43; Jn 2:1; 19:25; cf. Mt 13:55; et al.
145 Council of Ephesus (431): DS 251.

The Solemnity of the Holy Mother of God

115. On New Year's Day, the octave day of Christmas, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Holy Mother of God. The divine and virginal motherhood of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a singular salvific event: for Our Lady it was the foretaste and cause of her extraordinary glory; for us it is a source of grace and salvation because "through her we have received the Author of life"(127).

The solemnity of the 1 January, an eminently Marian feast, presents an excellent opportunity for liturgical piety to encounter popular piety: the first celebrates this event in a manner proper to it; the second, when duly catechised, lends joy and happiness to the various expressions of praise offered to Our Lady on the birth of her divine Son, to deepen our understanding of many prayers, beginning with that which says: "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us, sinners". [From the Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy]

We celebrate Mary's motherhood, Jesus Christ's Godhood, and the eternal connection between mother and Son. 

If you're Catholic, don't forget to go to Mass tomorrow.  If you're Christian of any other kind, think about Christ, His mother, and the message of peace on earth this day.

The Holy See shares the profound aspirations of man for peace. Since 1967, 1 January has been designated "world day for peace". [from sec. 117 of the Directory cited above]

Mary and the Christ Child by Raphael

Immaculate Mary, hymn whose author is unknown, using a traditional french tune:

Immaculate Mary, thy praises we sing,
who reignest in splendor with Jesus our King.
Ave, ave, ave, Maria, ave, ave Maria.

In heaven, the blessed thy glory proclaim;
On earth, we thy children invoke thy fair name.
Ave, ave, ave Maria, ave, ave Maria.

Thy name is our power, thy virtues our light,
They love is our comfort, thy pleading our might.
Ave, ave, ave Maria, ave, ave Maria.

We pray for our mother, the Church upon earth;
And bless, dearest Lady, the land of our birth.

Ave, ave, ave, Maria, ave, ave Maria.

1 - Immaculate Mary, thy praises we sing,
who reignest in splendor with Jesus our King.

Refrain: Ave, Ave, Ave Maria, Ave, Ave Maria.

2 - In heaven, the blessed thy glory proclaim;
On earth, we thy children invoke thy fair name.

3 - Thy name is our power, thy virtues our light,
Thy love is our comfort, thy pleading our might.

4 - We pray for our mother, the Church upon earth;
And bless, dearest Lady, the land of our birth. - See more at: http://www.wf-f.org/SolemnityMary.html#sthash.j52u9gfT.dpuf

What Catholics Believe: The Blessed Virgin Mary

On Catholic Debate Forum some time ago, a woman who seems to be wavering between her Protestant beliefs and the Catholic Church she says she grew up around, made a passing comment about how wonderful it is to be able to pray to Mary.  A Protestant, uneducated in the Catholic doctrines concerning Mary, decided she just had to chime in and make comments about how it was not biblical to pray to Mary.  She said that since Jesus didn't say any such prayer, like He did the Lord's Prayer, then it must not be true.  It is painfully obvious that she did not think her statement through. Mary was not in Heaven when Jesus was teaching His followers how to pray to God as their Father.  Since Mary was still alive when her Son was on earth, all He would have to do is turn to her and ask her to pray for Him.  Now, Mary is in Heaven with Jesus, and all Mary has to do is turn to her Son when we ask her to pray for us.  Huge big problem in Protestant "logic" when trying to analyze Catholic doctrine concerning Mary is that they frequently compare apples to oranges.  We pray to the Blessed Virgin (and the other saints, too) asking her to pray for us since she is so close to God and part of the same family to which we belong.  Jesus is God, so the Protestant's point is moot, as He has no need to ask anyone to pray for Him.

Now, what do Catholics believe about Mary?  Here are my personal top ten.
1) Mary is the Mother of God.
2) Mary is wholly united with her Son, Jesus.
3) She is the spouse of the Holy Spirit.
4) She is the queen of Heaven.
5) Mary is venerated, not worshiped.
6) Mary is a model of the Church.
7) Mary is a model for Christians.
8) Mary is the Immaculate Conception.
9) Mary has a special part in the order of grace.

10) Mary has and does make special appearances on Earth--called apparitions. 

Here is a presentation of each point:

1)  Mary is the mother of God.

Jesus is God.  Mary is the Mother of Jesus, therefore, Mary is the Mother of God.

No, Catholics do not believe Mary to be the progenitor of the Blessed Trinity.  That never was, nor never will be the claim of the Church.

"Called in the Gospels "the mother of Jesus", Mary is acclaimed by Elizabeth, at the prompting of the Spirit and even before the birth of her son, as "the mother of my Lord". In fact, the One whom she conceived as man by the Holy Spirit, who truly became her Son according to the flesh, was none other than the Father's eternal Son, the second person of the Holy Trinity. Hence the Church confesses that Mary is truly "Mother of God" (Theotokos)." --Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) 495.

The above statement from the Catechism succinctly states why we call her "Mother of God."  The Orthodox church honors her as the "Theotokos" or God-bearer.  I don't know about other people but I introduce the woman who carried me in her womb as "mother."  I don't call her 'mother of my body' or "my bearer" because she did not create my soul.  No, I call her "mother." In the same way, we call the bearer of Jesus (the second Person of the Trinity) the "Mother of God" for that is what Jesus is--God.

"For in the first place no common man was born of the holy Virgin; then the Word thus descended upon him; but being united from the womb itself he is said to have endured a generation in the flesh in order to appropriate the producing of His own body.  Thus [the holy Fathers] did not hesitate to speak of the holy Virgin as Mother of God." --Council of Ephesus, AD 431.

It is a belief that was thought over, fought over, and decided very early in the Church.  She is in reality the "Mother of God" not mother of an ordinary man or just His body.  She bore the second Person of the Blessed Trinity in her womb.

"And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth." John 1:14

"This is how you can know the Spirit of God: every spirit that acknowledges Jesus Christ come in the flesh belongs to God..." I John 4:2

The Church stated in Lumen Gentium (LG) (or Dogmatic Constitution on the Church) in chapter VIII, "Our Lady":   

"The Virgin Mary, who at the message of the angel received the Word of God in her heart and in her body and brought forth life to the world, is acknowledged as truly the mother of God and of the Redeemer." (LG 52)

 2) Mary is wholly united with her Son.

[Mary is] "Redeemed, in a more exalted fashion, by reason of the merits of her Son and united to him by a close and indissoluble tie, she is endowed with the high office and dignity of being the mother of the Son of God, and therefore she is also the beloved daughter of the Father and the temple of the holy Spirit.

"Mary's role in the Church is inseparable from her union with Christ and flows directly from it. 'This union of the mother with the Son in the work of salvation is made manifest from the time of Christ's virginal conception up to His death; [LG 57] it is made manifest above all at the hour of his Passion:

Thus the Blessed Virgin advanced in her pilgrimage of faith, and faithfully persevered in her union with her Son unto the cross. There she stood, in keeping with the divine plan, enduring with her only begotten Son the intensity of his suffering, joining herself with his sacrifice in her mother's heart, and lovingly consenting to the immolation of this victim, born of her: to be given, by the same Christ Jesus dying on the cross, as a mother to his disciple, with these words: "Woman, behold your son.'  [LG 58; cf. John26-27] (CCC 964)

At a general audience in October 1995, Pope St. John Paul II stated:

Mary is united to Christ in the whole work of Redemption, sharing, according to God's plan, in the Cross and suffering for our salvation. She remained united to the Son "in every deed, attitude and wish" (cf. Life of Mary, Bol. 196, f. 122 v.). Mary's association with Jesus' saving work came about through her Mother's love, a love inspired by grace, which conferred a higher power on it: love freed of passion proves to be the most compassionate (cf. ibid., Bol. 196, f. 123 v.).

Annunciation by Murillo, 17th cent.

3) She is the spouse of the Holy Spirit.

Mary was "overshadowed" by the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35).  She conceived Jesus by Him.  How else could we express in human terms the relationship between the Holy Spirit and Mary but spousal.  Although every woman is a cooperator with God in the miracle of creation, Mary's cooperation was a much deeper one.  She gave her whole self in her "yes" to God.  This is the type of "yes" God expects us to give in the marriage Sacrament, when two become one.  Mary truly became one with God.

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior.  For he has looked upon his handmaid’s lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed.  The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.  His mercy is from age to age to those who fear him.  He has shown might with his arm, dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart.  He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones but lifted up the lowly. The hungry he has filled with good things; the rich he has sent away empty.  He has helped Israel his servant, remembering his mercy, according to his promise to our fathers, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”  (Mary's "Magnificat", Luke 1:46-55)

The Crowning of the Virgin by the Trinity, Velazquez

4) She is Queen of Heaven.

"A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars."  --Revelation 12:1

The logic of this title escapes a lot of well-meaning Christians.  By virtue the fact that Christ is the King of the Universe, Mary is the Queen Mother.  Just as Queen Elizabeth's Mother was called "Queen Mother", so Mary merits the title.  And, like her title as the "Mother of God", "Queen of Heaven" is appropriate and true.  

We have a foreshadowing of this relationship in King Solomon and his mother, Bathsheba.  Solomon had many wives because of the tradition of taking wives of royal families for peace and trade treaties.  The nation of Israel wanted a king "like all the other nations" and they certainly achieved that.  Who was to be his queen?  His hostess?  He couldn't have a favorite and cause strife in the royal household.  Bathsheba, his mother, Queen mother fulfilled those duties.  I Kings chapter shows an incident of someone coming to her to beg a favor of her son, King Solomon.  It shows that she was the acknowledged queen; the one anyone should talk to if they wanted something from the king. In the same way we can go to Blessed Virgin Mary when we want to ask the King for His mercy and favor.

Our Lady of Grace from an old prayer card

5) Mary is venerated not worshiped.

The first person to venerate Mary was her cousin, Elizabeth.

When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.  And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy.  Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.” Luke 1:41-45

Mary is considered the first of the saints because of her role in the economy of salvation.  She bore the second Person of the Blessed Trinity in her body.  She was Christ's first disciple.  She is the Queen Mother, as Christ is the King of the Universe. 

"Mary has by grace been exalted above all angels and humanity to a place after her Son, as the most holy mother of God who was involved in the mysteries of Christ: she is rightly honored with a special cult by the church."

"This cult, as it has always existed, in the Church, while it is totally extraordinary, it yet differs essentially from the cult of adoration which is offered equally to the Incarnate Word and to the Father and the Holy Spirit, and is most favorable to this adoration.  The various forms of piety towards the Mother of God which, within the limits of sound and orthodox doctrine,...ensure that while the mother is honored, the Son through whom all things have their being and in whom it has pleased the Father that "all fullness should dwell" rightly known, loved and glorified and his commandments are observed."  [both quotes from Lumen Gentium (LG), Chapter VIII, para 66.

This is essentially saying that there has always been a following of Mary, but it has always come in second place the adoration and worship of God--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Despite the anachronistic accusations of  many anti-Catholics, praying to Mary is not worshiping her.  I, personally, have a difficult time in understanding how to a) hold onto a heritage that includes perfectly legitimate language while at the same time b) not sounding as if Catholics have to justify that perfectly legitimate language to the willfully ignorant.  To pray does include other meanings aside from the worship of God. The current Merriam-Webster online Dictionary has this definition of pray:

St. Louis de Monfort was devoted to Mary

: to speak to God especially in order to give thanks or to ask for something
: to hope or wish very much for something to happen

: to seriously ask (someone) to do something

transitive verb   1:  entreat, implore —often used as a function word in introducing a question, request, or plea; pray be careful;  2:  to get or bring by praying

 intransitive verb  1:  to make a request in a humble manner  2:  to address God or a god with adoration, confession, supplication, or thanksgiving

Examples of PRAY:  1. There's little else to do now but hope and pray.  2. The minister said, “Let us pray.”   3.  He prayed that they would have the strength to go on.   4. He prayed that he would find a parking spot.

Origin of PRAY
Middle English, from Anglo-French prier, praer, preier, from Latin precari, from prec-, prex request, prayer; akin to Old High German frāga question, frāgēn to ask, Sanskrit pṛcchati he asks

Any educated person can see that "pray" has had and still has more than one meaning.  It is not just a wording meaning worship or adoration or praising God.  What is that pray tell?  No, I am not worshiping you.

As for the kneeling, I kneel to weed my garden; I do not worship my flowers.  I kneel to scrub the floor; I am not worshiping linoleum.  There is a purpose for kneeling, but kneeling is not reserved just for worshiping God.  Kneeling in supplication to God in Church is for us; it humbles us before God.  Kneeling in prayer to Mary helps us quiet our body and our mind in asking the mother of Our Lord to pray for us to her Son.  So, when a Catholic prays a Rosary on their knees they are not worshiping Mary, they are praying through her to her Son, Jesus.  If one cares to investigate how Jesus is actually the co-star, as it were, of the Rosary, one may find this research on the Rosary done by David MacDonald of Catholic Bridge interesting.

Some important dates connected to remember because they are holy days of obligation are: January 1, the solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God; August 15, the Assumption of Mary; December 8, the Immaculate Conception of Mary (not moved to Sunday because Mary Immaculate is the Patroness of the United States), and, of course, Christmas, December 25th.

Other important feast days (though not obligations) are:  February 2, the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple; March 25, the Annunciation; May 31, the Visitation; August 22, the Queenship of Mary; September 8, Mary's birthday; September 12, the most holy name of Mary; November 21, the presentation of Mary at the Temple; May is the month of Mary; and October is the month of the Rosary.

Pentecote [Pentecost] by Jean II Restout 1732

6) Mary is a model of the Church.

"The Church becomes a mother, taking Mary as her model. In this regard the Council says: "The Church in deed, contemplating her hidden sanctity, imitating her charity and faithfully fulfilling the Father's will, by receiving the Word of God in faith becomes herself a mother. By preaching and Baptism she brings forth sons, who are conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of God, to a new and immortal life" (LG 64).

Analyzing this description of the Church's maternal work, we can note how the Christian's birth is linked here in a certain way to the birth of Jesus, as though a reflection of it: Christians are "conceived by the Holy Spirit", and therefore their birth, the fruit of preaching and Baptism, resembles the Saviour's.

Moreover, in contemplating Mary, the Church imitates her charity, her faithful acceptance of the Word of God and her docility in fulfilling the Father's will. By following the Blessed Virgin's example, she achieves a fruitful spiritual motherhood.  (Pope St. John Paul II, Mary is Model for Church's Motherhood, Section 3.)

St. John Paul II explained this point extremely well.  The Church must imitate Mary's charity and "her faithful acceptance of the Word of God."  There is nothing more important than having the Church as our Mother.  We have God as our Father and the Church as our Mother.  Those of us who have a true passion for Christ's Church are working hard in making sure the Church becomes more like Mary.


7) Mary is a model for Christians.

From the Church he [the Christian] learns the example of holiness and recognizes its model and source in the all-holy Virgin Mary...." (CCC 2030)

Mary was there from the first moment of His Conception, to every aspect of His public ministry, through His suffering, death, and burial to His joyful Resurrection.  She was there in the upper room when the fulfillment of Christ's promise, to send a comforter, was fulfilled and the Apostles and Mary received the Holy Spirit.  (See LG 58) She was there for it all and she is an example for us all.  She believed His words; she believed His promises.  She followed Him with the undying faith that we all should have.

"...the followers of Christ still strive to increase in holiness by conquering sin.(300) And so they turn their eyes to Mary who shines forth to the whole community of the elect as the model of virtues....For Mary, who since her entry into salvation history unites in herself and re-echoes the greatest teachings of the faith as she is proclaimed and venerated, calls the faithful to her Son and His sacrifice and to the love of the Father."  (LG 65)

She is the model for us in virtue and our call to her Son.  If we were to model our lives after the example of Mary's complete giving of self to God, we, too, will be prepared to meet Him in Heaven.

Immaculate Conception by Murillo 1678

8) Mary is the Immaculate Conception

First, in talking about the Immaculate Conception, one must clear up a major misconception, namely that the Immaculate Conception is not the Virgin Birth of Jesus.  One could say that Jesus was born with an immaculate soul.  However, the title Immaculate Conception refers to Mary, the mother of Jesus.  This, in simple terms, means that Mary was the one person since before "The Fall" that received an immaculate soul--free of Original Sin.

"To become the mother of the Savior, Mary "was enriched by God with gifts appropriate to such a role."¹³² The angel Gabriel at the moment of the annunciation salutes her as "full of grace".¹³³ In fact, in order for Mary to be able to give the free assent of her faith to the announcement of her vocation, it was necessary that she be wholly borne by God's grace."  [CCC 490;  132 LG 56.  133 Lk 1:28.]

This grace was not given to her because of anything she did but was a gift to her for her future "yes."  Now, how do we explain this concept?  Jesus, because He is God is not bound by time.  Yes, He voluntarily became man in time and space for a very short time on Earth.  However, Scripture makes it quite clear that He is God and has all the attributes of God.  By virtue of Mary's saying "yes" to God she was gifted an immaculate (or completely spotless) soul.

"The "splendor of an entirely unique holiness" by which Mary is "enriched from the first instant of her conception" comes wholly from Christ: she is "redeemed, in a more exalted fashion, by reason of the merits of her Son".¹³⁶ The Father blessed Mary more than any other created person "in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" and chose her "in Christ before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless before him in love"." ¹³⁷  [CCC 492;  136 LG 53, 56.  137 Cf. Eph 1:3-4.]

9) Mary has a special part in the order of grace.

This means she was full of God's life (grace).  She literally had God inside her.  There could be no more special way in which one could have God's life in you.  She therefore has a special part in the order of grace.

"This motherhood of Mary in the order of grace continues uninterruptedly from the consent which she loyally gave at the Annunciation and which she sustained without wavering beneath the cross, until the eternal fulfillment of all the elect. Taken up to heaven she did not lay aside this saving office but by her manifold intercession continues to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation . . . .

"Mary's function as mother of men in no way obscures or diminishes this unique mediation of Christ, but rather shows its power." (CCC 969, 970)

Our Lady of Kibeho

10) Mary has and does make special appearances on Earth--called apparitions. 

An apparition is defined as an appearance of Jesus, Mary, or another saint which may include a message to the person(s) who experiences the apparition. While most people think that the Vatican or a council of bishops must approve an apparition, it is actually the responsibility of the bishop (the ordinary) of the diocese in which the apparition occurs.  As a result there are many conflicting reports on just how many Marian apparitions are "approved".  However, many times the pope has made an official approval of certain apparitions, but he is usually putting his stamp of approval, so to speak, on apparitions approved by the local ordinary (bishop).  As far as this author can find, there is no comprehensive, up to date list of all "approved" Marian apparitions.  ("Approved" is defined as "worthy of belief by the Christian faithful" but by no means is it obligatory to do so.)  Some of those "approved" by proper Church authority are Our Lady of Guadalupe (1531), Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal (1830), Our Lady of LaSalette (1846), "Immaculate Conception" or Our Lady of Lourdes (1858), Pontmain (1871), Our Lady of Knock (1879) at Knock, Ireland, "Our Lady of the Rosary" aka Our Lady of Fatima (1917), Beauraing (1932-33), Belgium, Banneux (1933), Belgium, Our Lady of Kibeho also known as "Mary, Mother of the Word" (1981), Rwanda.

This is not a complete list, but I plan to address some of these Marian apparitions in a future post.

**********
So, there you have it--some basics on Mary.  These are my personal Top 10.  There could be things I didn't touch on or forgot to include.  This is not meant as a comprehensive treatise on the Blessed Virgin, but a starting point for non-Catholics (perhaps Catholics, too) in understanding who is this Mary, the mother of our Savior.

Further Reading:
Catechism of the Catholic Church, Part I, Section 2, Chapter 3, Paragraph 6. Mary--Mother of Christ, Mother of the Church.  
Churches teachings on Mary, EWTN index on various teachings.
General Audiences: Teaching of John Paul II on the Blessed Virgin Mary, Pope St. John Paul II, various dates.
Redemptoris Mater (or On the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Life of the Pilgrim Church), Pope St. John Paul II, March 25, 1987.
Rosarium Virginis Mariae (or Apostolic Letter on the Most Holy Rosary), Pope St. John Paul II, Oct. 16, 2002.
Marialis Cultus (or Apostolic Exhortation For the Right Ordering and Development of Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary), Pope Paul VI, Feb. 2, 1974.

What Catholics Believe: The Immaculate Conception

The Immaculate Conception [Francisco Pacheco]

"We declare, pronounce, and define that the doctrine which holds that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin, is a doctrine revealed by God and therefore to be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful."   [Pope Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus (or Apostolic Constitution on the Immaculate Conception)]

While the Immaculate Conception is a Catholic Dogma, most people, Catholic and non-Catholic, have no idea what it means.  For someone who has studied Catholic theology, the above statement is a pretty good description of the dogma.  Mary was given special grace because of her Son.  I really like the way Bishop Venerable Fulton Sheen said:

“Just suppose that you could have pre-existed your own mother, in much the same way that an artist pre-exists his painting....Would you have made her exteriorly and interiorly of such a character as to make you ashamed of her? Or would you have made her, so far as human beauty goes; the most beautiful woman in the world; and so far as beauty of the soul goes, one who would radiate every virtue, every manner of kindness and charity and loveliness; one who by the purity of her life and her mind and her heart would be an inspiration not only to you but even to your fellow men, so that all would look up to her as the very incarnation of what is best in motherhood?

"Now if you who are an imperfect being and who have not the most delicate conception of all that is fine in life would have wished for the loveliest of mothers, do you think that our Blessed Lord, who not only pre-existed His own mother but who had an infinite power to make her just what He chose, would in virtue of all the infinite delicacy of His spirit make her any less pure and loving and beautiful than you would have made your own mother?... Do you think that the Son of God, who hates sin, would have made His own mother sinless and He who hates moral ugliness would have made her immaculately beautiful?"  [Quote from here.  Likely from Venerable Fulton Sheen's book Mary, the Woman the World Loves, the blog does not cite the source]

This is the special gift God gave to Mary.  He created her as the perfect specimen of a woman and mother.  Mary was created as the person He meant Adam and Eve to be, but they disappointed Him.  Mary would be the pride in contrast to His disappointment.

To hopefully make it a little easier to understand here are ten facts on the Immaculate Conception:

1)  The Immaculate Conception refers to the special grace given by God to Mary at her conception.  It does not refer to the Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ.  However, this grace was given to her because of and for her Son, Jesus Christ.

2) The Church does not teach that Mary's Immaculate Conception was necessary to ensure that Original sin would not be passed on to Christ.  This was never a part of the teaching on the Immaculate Conception (despite what some sites on the internet purporting to explain the Immaculate Conception say).  The Immaculate Conception was an unmerited gift given to Mary in anticipation of Jesus' redemption of man and God's knowledge of Mary's "yes" to His plan. 

In the Immaculate Conception, therefore, God made a fitting or suitable dwelling place for His Son, Jesus, not out of necessity but out of love.

For it was certainly not fitting that this vessel of election should be wounded by the common injuries, since she, differing so much from the others, had only nature in common with them, not sin.  In fact, it was quite fitting that, as the Only-Begotten has a Father in heaven, whom the Seraphim extol as thrice holy, so he should have a Mother on earth who would never be without the splendor of holiness. (Pope Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus)

3) Gabriel addressed Mary: "Hail, Full of Grace, the Lord is with thee." (Luke 1:28).  She was filled with grace.  In Catholic parlance, this means that Mary was filled up with God's very life.  If she is filled with God's life or the Holy Spirit, there was no room for sin of any kind.

4) Mary's Immaculate Conception does not mean that she was divinely conceived.  St. Anna and St. Joachim are, traditionally, the names of Mary's parents; her conception was a human one.  She was, however, untouched by Original Sin.  Therefore, Mary remained sinless.

5) The Immaculate Conception is symbolic of the Immaculate bride of Christ (His Church) awaiting her Bridegroom.

"...the faithful, living in the liturgy the spirit of Advent, by thinking about the inexpressible love with which the Virgin Mother awaited her Son, are invited to take her as a model and to prepare themselves to meet the Savior who is to come. They must be "vigilant in prayer and joyful in...praise."(15) We would also remark that the Advent liturgy, by linking the awaiting of the Messiah and the awaiting of the glorious return of Christ with the admirable commemoration of His Mother, presents a happy balance in worship. This balance can be taken as a norm for preventing any tendency (as has happened at times in certain forms of popular piety) to separate devotion to the Blessed Virgin from its necessary point of reference-Christ."  [Marialus Cultus, 4]

6) The Immaculate Mary was prefigured by immaculate Eve.  Eve was created immaculate--without Original Sin.  Mary was conceived without sin.  Eve fell from grace and brought sin into the world.  Mary remained "Full of grace" and brought salvation, her Son Jesus Christ, to the world.

"As St. Irenaeus says, "Being obedient she became the cause of salvaton for herself and for the whole human race." Hence not a few of the early Fathers gladly assert..."The knot of Eve's disobedience was untied by Mary's obedience: what the virgin Eve bound through her disbelief, Mary loosened by her faith." Comparing her with Eve, they call Mary "the Mother of the living" and frequently claim: "Death through Eve, life through Mary."  (CCC 494)

So, Mary is called the new Eve and the mother of us all because her Son would be the new Adam and save the world from the sin of Adam.


7) Mary is the Immaculate Ark (and queen) seen in John's vision.  "Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of His covenant could be seen in the temple." (Revelation 11:19)

The Ark in the Old Testament	The New Ark -- Mary
Immaculate vessel made to God’s specifications (Ex. 25:10-22)	Immaculate vessel conceived to God’s  specifications (Luke 1:28)
Contained the Rod of Aaron (Num. 17:25; Heb. 9:4)	Bore the Rod of Jesse—Jesus (Isa 11:1;
Contained the manna from Heaven (Ex. 16: 32-33; Heb. 9:4)	Bore the manna from heaven (John 6:32, 48-51, 58)
Contained the Ten Commandments made of stone (Ex. 25: 21; Heb. 9:4)	Bore the Law made flesh (John 1:1-5)
Watched over by angels (Ex. 25:18-20)	Watched over by angels (Luke 1:26)
Covered by the Holy Spirit (Ex. 40:34-38;  Num. 9: 18-23)	Overshadowed by the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35)
Used in the battle (Josh. 6:3,4)	Used in the heavenly battle (Rev. 11:19)

8) The original "Immaculate Conception", the Holy Spirit, is her heavenly Spouse.  Joseph became her worldly spouse and protector on earth.

 "Among creatures made in God's image, the union brought about by married love is the most intimate of all. In a much more precise, more interior, more essential manner, the Holy Spirit lives in the soul of the Immaculata, in the depths of her very being." (St. Maximilian Kolbe, Final Sketch, source)

"...the Holy Spirit manifests his share in the work of Redemption through the Immaculate Virgin who, although she is a person entirely distinct from him, is so intimately associated with him that our minds cannot understand it. So, while their union is not of the same order as the hypostatic union linking the human and divine natures in Christ, it remains true to say that Mary's action is the very action of the Holy Spirit. For Mary as the spouse of the Holy Spirit is raised to such a height of perfection above all other creatures that she accomplishes in everything the will of the Holy Spirit who dwelt in her from the first instant of her conception. " (St. Maximilian Kolbe, Final Sketch, source)

9) The most well known Protestant "reformer", Martin Luther, believed in Mary's Immaculate Conception.  Even after he split from the Church and many of her centuries old doctrines, he did not waiver on this one:

"... so that while the soul was being infused, she would at the same time be cleansed from original sin ... And thus, in the very moment in which she began to live, she was without all sin." (Martin Luther's Works, vol 4, pg 694)

"God has formed the soul and body of the Virgin Mary full of the Holy Spirit, so that she is without all sins, " (ibid. vol 52, pg 39)

". . . she is full of grace, proclaimed to be entirely without sin. . . . God's grace fills her with everything good and makes her devoid of all evil. . . . God is with her, meaning that all she did or left undone is divine and the action of God in her. Moreover, God guarded and protected her from all that might be hurtful to her." (Ref: Luther's Works, American edition, vol. 43, p. 40, ed. H. Lehmann, Fortress, 1968)  [Source of quotes here]

10) The Feast of the Immaculate Conception is celebrated on December 8th.  It is a holy day of obligation.  This means that it is the duty of every Catholic to attend Mass on that day.  We remember what Christ did for His mother and how His mother was a willing participant in God's plan of salvation.  In this way, we honor Christ through Mary.

**Addendum: Some wonder why the Feast of the Immaculate Conception is not moved to Sunday (when on a Saturday or Monday like other Holy Days).  On May 10, 1846, Archbishop Eccleston and 22 bishops of the U.S. declared:  

With enthusiastic acclaim and with unanimous approval and consent, the Fathers [of the Council] have chosen the Blessed Virgin Mary, conceived without sin, as the Patroness of the United States of America. [source]

The bishops applied to Rome to make this declaration official and in all likelihood influenced the declaration of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception by Pope Pius IX on December 8, 1854.

“Just suppose that you could have pre-existed your own mother, in much the same way that an artist pre-exists his painting. Furthermore, suppose that you had the infinite power to make your mother anything that you pleased, just as a great artist like Raphael has the power of realizing his artistic ideas. Suppose you had this double power, what kind of mother would you have made for yourself? Would you have made her of such a type that would make you blush because of her unwomanly and un-mother-like actions? Would you have made her exteriorly and interiorly of such a character as to make you ashamed of her? Or would you have made her, so far as human beauty goes; the most beautiful woman in the world; and so far as beauty of the soul goes, one who would radiate every virtue, every manner of kindness and charity and loveliness; one who by the purity of her life and her mind and her heart would be an inspiration not only to you but even to your fellow men, so that all would look up to her as the very incarnation of what is best in motherhood?
Now if you who are an imperfect being and who have not the most delicate conception of all that is fine in life would have wished for the loveliest of mothers, do you think that our Blessed Lord, who not only pre-existed His own mother but who had an infinite power to make her just what He chose, would in virtue of all the infinite delicacy of His spirit make her any less pure and loving and beautiful than you would have made your own mother? If you who hate selfishness would have made her selfless and you who hate ugliness would have made her beautiful, do you not think that the Son of God, who hates sin, would have made His own mother sinless and He who hates moral ugliness would have made her immaculately beautiful?”
- See more at: http://fallibleblogma.com/index.php/quote-of-the-day-immaculate-conception-fulton-sheen/#sthash.137WfvUI.dpuf

“Just suppose that you could have pre-existed your own mother, in much the same way that an artist pre-exists his painting. Furthermore, suppose that you had the infinite power to make your mother anything that you pleased, just as a great artist like Raphael has the power of realizing his artistic ideas. Suppose you had this double power, what kind of mother would you have made for yourself? Would you have made her of such a type that would make you blush because of her unwomanly and un-mother-like actions? Would you have made her exteriorly and interiorly of such a character as to make you ashamed of her? Or would you have made her, so far as human beauty goes; the most beautiful woman in the world; and so far as beauty of the soul goes, one who would radiate every virtue, every manner of kindness and charity and loveliness; one who by the purity of her life and her mind and her heart would be an inspiration not only to you but even to your fellow men, so that all would look up to her as the very incarnation of what is best in motherhood?
Now if you who are an imperfect being and who have not the most delicate conception of all that is fine in life would have wished for the loveliest of mothers, do you think that our Blessed Lord, who not only pre-existed His own mother but who had an infinite power to make her just what He chose, would in virtue of all the infinite delicacy of His spirit make her any less pure and loving and beautiful than you would have made your own mother? If you who hate selfishness would have made her selfless and you who hate ugliness would have made her beautiful, do you not think that the Son of God, who hates sin, would have made His own mother sinless and He who hates moral ugliness would have made her immaculately beautiful?”
- See more at: http://fallibleblogma.com/index.php/quote-of-the-day-immaculate-conception-fulton-sheen/#sthash.137WfvUI.dpuf

More reading:
Pope Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus, December 8, 1854.
Pope Saint John Paul II, Marialis Cultus, February 2, 1972.
Catholic Church, Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Marion A. Habig, OFM, Land of Mary Immaculate

Conversation with a Non-Catholic

Questioner:  You know, when you pray to Mary you are introducing a mediator between God and man and that goes against God  because He said that “there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus.”

An adequate reply:  If that’s the way you feel then don’t you ever, ever ask me to pray for you ever again.  You see, the minute you ask me to pray for you in your time of need you are putting me between you and our one mediator, Jesus Christ.

What we Catholics are doing when praying to Mary is to ask her to pray to Jesus on our behalf in the same way as you would ask me to pray for you on your behalf.  When Paul spoke of the one mediator he introduced the subject by stating that it was good for us to pray for one another (1 Tim 2:1-5).  It is good for one member of the Body of Christ to pray for the well-being of another member of the Body of Christ and since not even (physical) death can separate us from the love of God that is in Jesus Christ (Rom 8:38-39) then even those members of the Body who have physically died are alive and well in heaven because Jesus tells us directly that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jabob is a God of the living implying that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are alive(Matt 22:32).  And because death will not separate us from the Body of Christ means that those who have died in friendship with God are not only alive but that they are STILL members of the Body of Christ.

Questioner: But they’re dead.  They can’t hear your prayers.

Reply: What would be the point of asking for intercessory prayers if the people we are asking are not aware of us or of our prayers?  Well we can find that they ARE aware of us in Heb 12:1 where it says: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”  Or in Luke 15:18 where Luke tells us that their “is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.”

We can see that the saints in heaven are not only alive just as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are alive but that they are indeed aware of what is happening here on earth.

And so ‘dead’ saints are alive in heaven, aware of what is happening on earth and can pray for our well-being just as we can pray for the well-being of others.

God Bless

Nathan