The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1959-10-30

VI luis SNWflts
Father carroII has written this
article on the meaning of the
lmmaculafe Conception. Fs.
Their Carroll teaches dosnatic
theology at the Catholic Uni
versity and is president of the
Neurological Society OF the
United States.
BY FIR. EAMoN r. CARROLL.
Q. Carm.
When Pope Plus *
solemnly proclaimed the
dogma of the Immaculate
conception in 1854, the
Church was assured be-
yond fear Of error that God
himself had revealed to us
the mystery of Mary's free
dom from original sin.
What is the meaning Of The
Immaculate Conception - the
significance of the technical
terms in which This doctrine is
stated, and the connection OF
This privilege of our Lady with
other truths of the Catholic
Faith?
In the first instant Of her
conception, stated Pope Plus
TX, the Blessed Virgin was pre-
served free from all stain of
original sin. The conception
of Our Lady must not be con
fused with the miraculous vir-
ginal conception of the Christ
Child. Mary was conceived
and born in the normal way
of marriage by her parents,
but her coming into being Tor
her conception was singular
ly holy. For from the first in
slant of her existence as a hui
man being, from the moment
of the joining of soul to body
in the womb of her mother,
Mary was free from the com
mon inheritance of sin left to
all men by Adam.
N is not sufficient TO say
merely that Mary was born
free from original sin. Some of
the saints, although eoneeiv.
ed in original sin, were prob
ably sanetified before they
were born. ST. John the Bsp.
fist, for example, was eIesnsed
from original sin when our
Lady, carrying the unborn
Christ, visited Johns mother
Elizabeth. God did ineompsr-
ably more for our Lady. She
was not only born free from
sin, but she entered existence
at her conception completely
untouched by the inherited
sin.
Original sin is the depriva-
ton Of something that should
be there; it is the lack of
friendship with God that the
Creator intended the first
parents to transmit to us. Our
Lady belonged to the race Of
Adam through her descent by
way Of human generation. She
was a sister human being to
all Of us. Yet through the I'm
maculate Conception Mary
was safeguarded from the
poison OF sin that had pollut-
ed the stream of human life.
One Of the difficulties that
delayed the full realization of
the truth of the Immaculate
Conception was the time it
took to grasp the mystery OF
original sin.
For some centuries, original
sin was looked upon as inev.
itably accompanying all hui
man origins with the single
exception of the miraculous
virginia. conception of Our
Lord 1t was only when
the fact was realized that or
iginal sin is not in any es-
sential sense something phys
icaI, but rather the depriva.
ton OF a spiritual quality, that
is, friendship with God
through sanctifying grace,
that the way was cleared to
admit the exception in our
Lady's case.
The Blessed Virgin belongs
TO human history, but shs ss-
capped ifs sinful aspect. In this
matter the ordinary pisty of
the faithful and the prayer
life of the Church srsspsd
the truth OF MarY's freedom
from sin long before thsoios.
isns agreed about ths Immse.
ulsts Conception.
The word Immaculate"
means that when she came in
to being, our Lady was abso-
Iutely sinless, free from all
stain OF sin, utterly without
fault in the eyes of God. The
only tragedy that separates
man from God is sin. Our Lady
was the first human being
since the fall OF the first par
ents who was completely
pleasing TO God, because she
was altogether free from sin.
Sin signifies pYivsiion, sin
ls nssafion, sin is spiritual
darkness. Our Lady was free
from sin because her soul was
flooded with the light OF Gods
grace in the first instant of
her formation. Her freedom