Today's the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, so I hope you managed to take some time off from storming hated Macron's green palace on the Champs D'Elysees and contemplated the mystery of Mary conceived without Original Sin.
She was, says the Angel, "full of grace," gratia plena, and who are we to discount Gabriel? Of course Mohammad gave it a shot but that's a different, less edifying story. So here's a few prayers to help on the way.
O GOD, Who, by the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin, didst prepare a worthy habitation for Thy Son, we beseech Thee, that as by the foreseen death of that same Son, Thou didst preserve her from all stain, so too thou wouldst permit us, purified through her intercession, to come unto Thee. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
...Do thou, then, O Blessed Mother, our queen and advocate, who from the first instant of thy conception didst crush the head of the enemy, receive the prayers which, united with thee in our single heart, we implore thee to present at the throne of God, that we may never fall into the snares which are laid out for us, and may all arrive at the port of salvation; and, in so many dangers, may the Church and Christian society sing once again the hymn of deliverance and of victory and of peace. Amen.
The hymn of deliverance and of victory, at Lepanto, Vienna and on. Be assured we'll sing it again.
Ave Eva,
LSP
The progressive cant that I've seen on-line and in the media is that Mary would be part of the #me too movement if she was alive today.
ReplyDeleteEquating the immaculate conception with rape shouldn't be surprising when you also note that these same people who suggest this revel in the murder of the unborn. Satan's minions.
LL is referring to the Immaculate Conception as if it referred to Christ's conception, not Mary's. Can't say I buy the Immaculate Conception of Mary.
ReplyDeleteWhere do you stand on the "perpetual virginity" thing?
I followed that story too, LL. The virgin birth was an act of rape? Whatever happened to "be it done unto me according to thy will." I guess they didn't bother to read that part.
ReplyDeleteEd, thanks for thee question.
ReplyDeleteI'm with the consensus of church on perpetual virginity, and think it's consonant with scripture and certainly looms large in the Fathers. It'd be odd for the church to get something like that completely wrong by the time you get to Nicea, not that far from apostolic memory. Of course the doctrine was challenged by the heretic Helvidius in the 4thC and he was roundly condemned!
Also, and this comes as a surprise to many modern evangelicals, perpetual virginity was upheld by Calvin, Luther, Zwingli and other reformers. So there's great weight behind the dogma. Here's a link which you might find helpful:
https://aleteia.org/2013/10/10/a-protestant-defense-of-marys-perpetual-virginity/
The Immaculate Conception's harder to conjure with and was denied by Aquinas and Bernard of Clairveaux, among others (though it seems Aquinas may have changed his thinking at the end of his life).
The problem, for many, is that it seems to elevate Mary above the need for redemption.But does it? God filled her with sanctifying grace (plena gratia) at the moment of her conception, leaving her free from Original Sin, and this is obviously redemptive.
My Father put it well, "Look, young LSP, all it's saying is that Mary was born with the same grace you get at baptism." I looked at him like a stunned Bass and said, "Oh, er, right. Now I get it." So that worked for me, maybe you too. Here's a link:
https://www.ewtn.com/faith/teachings/marya2.htm
Forgive the long answer but it's interesting stuff!