8 December, Antonio, Cardinal Bacci: Meditations For Each Day

The Immaculate Conception

1. Let us read the first chapter of St. Luke's Gospel in order to try and understand as far as possible the Immaculate Conception and the sublime holiness of Mary. “The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And when the angel had come to her, he said, ‘Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women.’” (Luke 1:26-28) The Blessed Virgin was troubled when she heard these words, but the Angel reassured her. He told her that she had found favour with God, and added that she would become the Mother of God, for the Word would become flesh in her womb through the power of the Holy Spirit in such a manner that in her nature the privileges of virginity and of the divine motherhood would be miraculously united. Mary then gave her assent to the will of God, and her 'fiat' placed her on a pedestal high above all the generations of humanity and all the choirs of the angelic kingdom.

It is on this passage of the Gospel that the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady chiefly depends. She was full of grace, and the supremely beloved of God. How then could she have been subject to the rule of sin which we inherited from Adam? If her soul had been stained with sin at the first moment of her conception, she would not have enjoyed the special favour of God and the plenitude of grace. She was, moreover, predestined to become the Mother of God. Was it possible that the divine Word, Who was to become her Son, could have permitted her soul to have been sullied even for a single instant by sin, which deprives us of grace and makes us enemies of God? It was on good grounds, therefore, that the Church defined that from the first moment of her conception Mary was free from all taint of sin, by a singular privilege conferred on her by God and through the merits of her divine Son, Jesus Christ.

2. By virtue of her Immaculate Conception the Blessed Virgin obtained four distinct privileges. (1) She was preserved free from the stain of original sin. (2) She never experienced the rebellion of the passions against the spirit. (3) She was confirmed in grace, so that, in the words of St. Augustine, (De natura et gratia, c. 36) one could not mention sin and the name of Mary in one breath. (4) She was perfected in grace and enriched with all the supernatural gifts to a degree far higher than any of the Saints and than the Angels themselves. Such is our Mother, Mary. We should rejoice with her, and we should have perfect confidence in her and have recourse to her in all our needs. Since her intercession is so powerful with God, she can obtain anything from Him. Above all, she is able and eager to obtain for us that which is most necessary and most important, namely, the avoidance of sin and absolute fidelity to God's grace in the execution of our duties.

3. Let its remember that Mary was not only preserved free from sin and endowed with every supernatural gift, but she never in her whole life committed the slightest fault and she advanced daily in holiness. It is true that we do not possess the privileges accorded to Mary, but we have nevertheless received many favours from God and continue daily to receive them.

Let us promise, therefore, that we shall not be unworthy children of so great a Mother. Let us promise to remain free from the slightest taint of sin in order to please God and her.

Let us promise, finally, to make daily progress towards that level of sanctity which God requires of us in the particular state in which He has placed us.