In the Bible
The holiness of Mary is described in the Gospel: the angel greets Mary as "full grace," literally "rendered full of grace," kekharitomene (Lk 1: 28).
The Gospel of St John refers to Mary as "woman" and presents her standing close to Jesus during the Passion, which begins and ends in a garden. This gospel suggests that Mary is the New Eve and immaculate.
The Old Testament announced a deep and interior restoration. God spread clear water over the earth ... God will recreate ... The Immaculate is the success story of the covenant, the sign of God's faithfulness.
Two Important Balances
The Balance of Our Relationship with Mary
Of all humans born after the fall, she was made "full of grace" in view of her divine motherhood, and there is only one mother of the Son of God.
The grace of the Immaculate concerns us all. The beginning of Redemption took place in Mary’s womb. The Immaculate is a gift for all of us from the Most High. We are all called to bond with Mary in order to also live "holy and faultless" in the presence of God (cf. Eph 1). The Second Vatican Council gave this aspect of doctrine new value, and so did John Paul II and Benedict XVI after the Council.
Keep God’s gift and our response to this gift tied together
We should keep grace and the response to grace together: Mary received grace and she has been faithful. Being immaculate is not just a privilege, it is definitely held on to by personal holiness. (St Gregory Palamas and Nicholas Cabasilas pointed this out and ecumenical agreements have indicated the role of human responsibility.)
Situating reflection in the history of the dogma of the Immaculate:
1 - The Fathers of the Church first admitted that Mary was immaculate at the time she became the Mother of the Son of God. Theotecnos of Livias (Palestine, 6th century) was the first to consider that she was imbued with the Holy Spirit from the moment of her birth, and spoke of a new creation, which would have important consequences for the world. This is the beginning of redemption.
2 – For a long time, Christians did not dare to say that Mary was free from original sin because they did not know then how to express that Jesus was Mary’s Redeemer. The Church had to wait for Duns Scotus (d. 1308) to link these two realities and understand that they are not mutually exclusive, on the contrary.
3 - Luther readily accepted the Immaculate Conception, but he could not admit the liturgical feast, which he deemed unnecessary and misplaced. Consequently many authors of the Reformation attacked the sanctity of Mary. Afterwards some misunderstanding between Catholics and Protestants occurred about the question of grace and human responsibility. Since that time agreements have been found.
4 - The word "conception" is not easy to define or grasp. Whether we are talking about St Thomas Aquinas, Luther or the Orientals, the difficulty arises from the different opinions on conception and the beginning of human life. These opinions have varied over the centuries.
NB Let us not confuse the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception (Mary conceived without sin) with Mary’s virginity (she remained a virgin all her life) or that of her parents. The Church also speaks of the “virgin birth of Christ,” an element of Mary’s virginity. These are very different ideas.
5 - The Orientals have another way to present original sin, because of this they are not very comfortable with the way Roman Catholics talk about the Immaculate Conception.
The main lines of current theological research:
Post-conciliar theology explored the fact that Mary is the daughter of Zion, Zion representing the small remnant of saints in Israel. The Immaculate Conception is the fulfillment of the Creator’s plan and the success of the covenant history. This approach greatly simplifies biblical reasoning and enlivens the doctrine.
F. Breynaert
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