"Conception" is not "The Immaculate Conception"

Dianne N. Irving
Copyright January 26, 2013
Reproduced with Permission

I. Introduction

The term "conception" as used by some in the debates involving the early human embryo is completely different from the term as used in the official teachings of the Roman Catholic Church on the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

II. "Conception" used in debates about the early human embryo

As used in debates concerning the early human embryo, the term "conception" is flawed, leading to protection of some human beings, but not all human beings. Even in this context the term has different meanings and refers to different things. In human embryology texts, the term "conception" has been rejected as unscientific and misleading. [For extensive details and references, see Irving, "Personhood 'Language' 2008 - 2011" (October 2, 2011), at: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/irv/irv_192personhoodlanguage.html; also "Errors in the 'Sanctity of Human Life Act', and the March For Life Principles 2013'" (January 15, 2013), at: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/irv/irv_208errorprolifeprinciples.html].

To be brief, the term "conception" in this context can variously mean:

In short, any document -- legal or otherwise -- that states or implies that all human beings begin to exist at "conception", at "fertilization", when "in the womb", or at "implantation" can only refer to some human beings, but not all. Those "other" human beings would then be available for the use of abortifacients, abortion, donation of "excess" embryos, destructive human embryo research, human cloning, human genetic engineering, etc.-- even legal and illegal trafficking in human embryos or "surrogacy". To promote such errors would also seriously corrupt the consciences of the faithful who rely on such authoritative "expertise", rendering them incapable of understanding why these actions and practices are inherently wrong.

III. The "Immaculate Conception"

The Immaculate Conception is a formal doctrine of faith of the Roman Catholic Church, celebrated on December 8 each year. It teaches that the Blessed Virgin Mary herself was conceived without the stain of original sin. It does not refer to Mary's Virgin birth, nor to biologically how Christ was "conceived". Indeed, if "conception" means "fertilization", and if Christ was so "conceived", then that would require the fusion of a sperm and an oocyte for Christ to have been so "conceived". That is, bluntly, absurd -- and is not what the Church teaches. The term "conception" here properly refers only to the state of Mary's soul when she was conceived; i.e., her soul was "immaculate", without sin.

To clarify this horrendous misperception of the Church's doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, let me simply quote directly from the official websites of the USCCB's Catechism of the Catholic Church, as well as from the official website of the Vatican. (I also end with another Catholic source with a nihil obstat). It is long past time to get this straight.

Doctrine of the Immaculate Conception as taught by the Roman Catholic Church:

USCCB: Catechism of the Catholic Church

http://old.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt1sect2chpt2art3p2.shtml#487

Through the centuries the Church has become ever more aware that Mary, "full of grace" through God,134 was redeemed from the moment of her conception. That is what the dogma of the Immaculate Conception confesses, as Pope Pius IX proclaimed in 1854: 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.135

492 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

493 The Fathers of the Eastern tradition call the Mother of God "the All-Holy" (Panagia) and celebrate her as "free from any stain of sin, as though fashioned by the Holy Spirit and formed as a new creature."138 By the grace of God Mary remained free of every personal sin her whole life long.

http://old.usccb.org/catechism/text/glossary.shtml#i

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION: The dogma proclaimed in Christian Tradition and defined in 1854, that from the first moment of her conception, Mary -- by the singular grace of God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ -- was preserved immune from original sin (491).


OFFICIAL VATICAN WEBSITE:

http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_P1K.HTM#3J

The Immaculate Conception

490 To become the mother of the Saviour, 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.

491 Through the centuries the Church has become ever more aware that Mary, "full of grace" through God,134 was redeemed from the moment of her conception. That is what the dogma of the Immaculate Conception confesses, as Pope Pius IX proclaimed in 1854: 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, Saviour of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin.135

492 The "splendour 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

493 The Fathers of the Eastern tradition call the Mother of God "the All-Holy" (Panagia), and celebrate her as "free from any stain of sin, as though fashioned by the Holy Spirit and formed as a new creature".138 By the grace of God Mary remained free of every personal sin her whole life long. "Let it be done to me according to your word. . ."


http://gsearch.vatican.va/search?q=cache:uslX6LPvmEoJ:www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/homilies/2004/documents/hf_jp-ii_hom_20041208_immaculate-conception_en.html+dogma+immaculate+conception&client=default_frontend&output=xml_no_dtd&proxystylesheet=default_frontend&ie=UTF-8&site=default_collection&access=p&oe=ISO-8859-1

HOLY MASS ON THE OCCASION OF THE 150th ANNIVERSARY OF THE DOGMA OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

HOMILY OF JOHN PAUL II

Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Wednesday, 8 December 2004

1. "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!" (Lk 1: 28). We address the Virgin Mary several times a day with these words of the Archangel Gabriel. Let us repeat them with fervent joy today, on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, remembering 8 December 1854 when Blessed Pius IX proclaimed this wonderful Dogma of the Catholic faith in this very same Vatican Basilica.

I cordially greet those who are gathered here today, especially the representatives of the National Mariological Societies who have taken part in the International Mariological Congress, organized by the Pontifical Marian Academy.

I then greet all of you present here, dear brothers and sisters, who have come to pay filial homage to the Immaculate Virgin. I offer a special greeting to Cardinal Camillo Ruini. I renew to him my warmest wishes for the jubilee of his ordination to the priesthood and express to him my deep gratitude for the service that with generous dedication he has and continues to render to the Church as my Vicar General for the Diocese of Rome and President of the Italian Bishops' Conference.

2. How great is the mystery of the Immaculate Conception that the Liturgy presents to us today! A mystery that never ceases to invite the contemplation of believers and inspires the reflection of theologians. The theme of the Congress that has just been mentioned: "Mary of Nazareth welcomes the Son of God into history", has fostered a deep examination of the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of Mary as a presupposition for receiving in her virginal womb the Word of God Incarnate, the Saviour of the human race.

"Full of grace", "6gP"D4JTµX<0": in the original Greek of Luke's Gospel, the Angel greets Mary with this title. It is the name that God, through his messenger, chose to use to describe the Virgin. This is how he had always seen and thought of her, ab aeterno (from all eternity).

3. In the hymn of the Letter to the Ephesians just now proclaimed, the Apostle praises God the Father "who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" (1: 3). What a special blessing God addressed to Mary from the beginning of time! Mary was truly blessed among women (cf. Lk 1: 42)!

The Father chose her in Christ before the creation of the world, so that she might be holy and immaculate before him in love, preordaining her as the first fruits of filial adoption through the work of Jesus Christ (cf. Eph 1: 4-5).

4. The predestination of Mary, like that of each one of us, is linked to the predestination of the Son. Christ is that "seed" that was "to bruise the head" of the ancient serpent, according to the Book of Genesis (cf. Gn 3: 15); he is the Lamb "without blemish" (cf. Ex 12: 5; I Pt 1: 19), immolated to redeem humanity from sin.

With a view to the saving death of the Son, Mary, his Mother, was preserved free from original sin and from every other sin. The victory of the new Adam also includes that of the new Eve, Mother of the redeemed. The Immaculate Virgin is thus a sign of hope for all the living who have triumphed over Satan by the blood of the Lamb (cf. Rv 12: 11).

5. Today let us contemplate the humble young girl of Nazareth, holy and blameless before God in love (cf. Eph 1: 4), in that "love" whose original source is God himself, one and triune.

How sublime an act of the Most Holy Trinity is the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of the Redeemer! Pius IX, in the Bull Ineffabilis Deus, recalls that the Almighty "by one and the same decree had established the origin of Mary and the Incarnation of divine Wisdom" (Pii IX Pontificis Maximi Acta, Pars prima, p. 559).

The Virgin's "yes" to the announcement of the Angel fits into the reality of our earthly condition, with humble respect for the divine will to save humanity not from history but in history. Indeed, ever preserved free from all taint of original sin, the "new Eve" benefited uniquely from the work of Christ as the most perfect Mediator and Redeemer. The first to be redeemed by her Son, she shares to the full in his holiness; she is already what the entire Church desires and hopes to be. She is the eschatological icon of the Church.

6. Consequently the Immaculate Virgin, who marks "the very beginning of the Church, Bride of Christ, without spot or wrinkle, shining with beauty" (Preface), always precedes the People of God in the pilgrimage of faith, bound for the Kingdom of Heaven (cf. Lumen Gentium, n. 58; Redemptoris Mater, n. 2).

In Mary's Immaculate Conception the Church sees projected and anticipated in her most noble member, the saving grace of Easter.

In the event of the Incarnation the Church encounters Christ and Mary indissolubly united: "he who is the Church's Lord and Head and she who, uttering the first fiat of the New Covenant, prefigures the Church's condition as spouse and mother" (Redemptoris Mater, n. 1).

7. To you, Virgin Immaculate, predestined by God above every other creature to be the advocate of grace and model of holiness for his people, today in a special way I renew the entrustment of the whole Church.

May you guide your children on their pilgrimage of faith, making them ever more obedient and faithful to the Word of God.

May you accompany every Christian on the path of conversion and holiness, in the fight against sin and in the search for true beauty that is always an impression and a reflection of divine Beauty.

May you obtain peace and salvation for all the peoples. May the eternal Father, who desired you to be the immaculate Mother of the Redeemer, also renew in our time through you, the miracles of his merciful love. Amen!


http://gsearch.vatican.va/search?q=cache:R0L-sDQfZQ8J:www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/angelus/2003/documents/hf_jp-ii_ang_20031208_en.html+dogma+immaculate+conception&client=default_frontend&output=xml_no_dtd&proxystylesheet=default_frontend&ie=UTF-8&site=defau

SOLEMNITY OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

JOHN PAUL II
ANGELUS
Monday, 8 December 2003

  1. "Tota pulchra es Maria - You are all fair, O Mary". Today the Church is celebrating the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. If Christ is the day that never fades, Mary is its dawn, shining with beauty. Chosen in advance to be the Mother of the incarnate Word, Mary is at the same time the first-fruits of his redeeming action. The grace of Christ the Redeemer acted in her in anticipation, preserving her from original sin and from any contagion of guilt.
  2. This is why Mary is "full of grace" (Lk 1: 28), as the Angel affirms when he brings her the announcement of her divine motherhood. The human mind cannot claim to understand so great a miracle and mystery. It is faith which reveals to us that the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin is a pledge of salvation for every human creature, a pilgrim on this earth. Again, it is faith which reminds us that by virtue of her unique position, Mary is our steadfast support in the arduous struggle against sin and its consequences.
  3. This afternoon, following a beautiful tradition, I will go to Piazza di Spagna. In this way, I will pay homage to the Immaculate Virgin. Blessed Pope Pius IX had a statue of her set on a column in eternal memory of the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception, proclaimed on 8 December 1854. With today's pilgrimage, therefore, we enter the 150th anniversary of that solemn act of the Church's Magisterium.

I invite you straightaway to join me in praying for the intercession of Mary Immaculate for the Church, for the city of Rome and for the whole world.


After leading the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father said: I am now pleased to greet Cardinal Andrzej Maria Deskur and the members of the Pontifical Academy of Mary Immaculate. I thank you, dear friends, for coming here and for your commitment to spreading the devotion to the Blessed Virgin.

I cordially greet the German-speaking pilgrims, especially the members and friends of the Schönstatt Association. Place your trust in the intercession of Mary, Mater Ter Admirabilis and Mother of the Church. May God's blessings go with you!

My affectionate greeting to the pilgrims present. May the Immaculate Virgin protect you all.

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