An December 8, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of the Immaculate Conception. If you now think that this is the day on which the Blessed Mother Mary became pregnant with Jesus thanks to the Holy Spirit, you are not alone – but you are wrong.
Was Mary conceived or did Mary conceive? Let’s do the math: December 8 plus 40 weeks of pregnancy does not equal December 25, the day Jesus was born. Instead, you end up with September 8th. On this day the Church celebrates the birth of Mary.
What do we celebrate at the conception of Mary?
On December 8th it is celebrated that Joachim and Anna “conceived” their daughter Maria. The full designation “Solemnity of the Virgin and Mother of God conceived without original sin” at least makes it clear who conceived whom. However, it opens a new question: Without original sin, what does that mean?
Mary is free from all evil and all sin, including original sin. According to Catholic teaching, everyone since Adam and Eve has lived with original sin. Therefore, the “conception” Mary is also referred to as “immaculate” through Anna. This does not mean a virgin conception, but immaculate means “without the stain of original sin”.
Without evil, Mary is free for God and good. This closeness to God is unique and distinguishes Mary from all other people. Later she will give birth to God’s Son. This uniqueness is celebrated on the day of the Immaculate Conception.
Pope Pius IX promulgated this “infallible dogma” on December 8, 1854, explaining it thus: “The Blessed Virgin Mary was made clean in the first moment of her conception by a unique gift of grace and privilege of Almighty God in relation to the merits of Christ Jesus, Redeemer of the human race preserved from every blemish of inheritance.”
Who is free on “Conception of Mary”.
“Mariä Impfängis” goes back to the feast of “Conception of St. Anne” of the Byzantine Church of the East. The focus was therefore on Mary’s mother, Anna. When the feast made its way via Italy to France and England, the focus also shifted away from Anna to Mary In Austria and Italy, Immaculate Conception is a public holiday when the Pope traditionally prays at the Marian Column on the Spanish Steps for the well-being of the city of Rome.
