Taped to my desk is a Christmas card rendition of Herbert Tanner’s “The Annunciation”. It has become a permanent addition to my desk not just because it is beautiful, but also because it resonates a deep truth within me. The painting is of Mary, in a pose of the ‘yes’ that is prayer and a presence of light communicating to her that she has been chosen to be the mother of our Savior. I find this painting compelling, because what comes from God comes to us as light – light filling the quiet open heart, the light of dawn, the light of the world, light that darkness cannot overcome. This light fills us, infuses us, with Truth and the Word, if we are willing to receive it.
But with Mary, the light that fills her in her Fiat is no partial light that the rest of us might be able to withstand in tiny doses. No, it is The Light, The Word – it is God himself.
And who could stand such beatific Presence and not be annihilated?
There is a fashion in certain circles to scoff at the very idea of the Immaculate Conception of Mary — a fashion for those who believe they are too smart to believe such stuff of poetry.
One such scoffer, a bestselling author who has a background similar to my own (we attended the same girls’ Catholic Academy) told me she is annoyed with the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, because it implies that Mary is better than us.
At this revelation my eyes widened and my jaw dropped. Imagine that, the Mother of Our Lord, better than us!
I was dumbfounded by that bit of reasoning from someone I thought had a big enough brain to overcome postmodern-Catholic-university intellect.
Remember when Moses was harangued by his group of grumbling nomads (who, having escaped from Pharaoh, built a golden calf to worship while Moses was communing with YHWH receiving ten very sensible commandments to help this disparate group become a people) demanded to see YHWH for themselves? Who did Moses think he was anyway to be the only one able to be in the presence of the Almighty?
Harrumph!
So Moses badgered YHWH until He was worn down by the whining (think of Jesus and his parable of the importunate widow). So, YHWH finally agreed to pass by the gathered people to quiet their ignorant complaining.
What happened? Were the gathered people able to stand the glorious unimaginable purity of the Almighty? Of course not! They screamed in agony and begged Moses to tell YHWH to leave. They could not bear such transcendent beauty and power. It was their sin that stood between them and God, between them and the beatific vision. (Cue the teaching on Purgatory.)
So, how could a regular person, a regular sinful person carrying the stain of Original Sin, plus all the other petty and great sins we accumulate, bear to carry in her womb the Divine Child?
It is not poetry which persuades, but lived human logic and observation of fault-ridden humanity that testifies to the teaching that the Mother of Our Lord was and is pure, immaculate, in order to carry such purity.
Thus, we celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, which made possible the Annunciation, which made possible Christmas.
Author’s Note: Ancient Hebrew language was written without vowels. This is the type of Hebrew used to write Scripture. In the original Hebrew, God’s name is given as “YHWH.” This is known as the tetragrammaton. Because of the lack of vowels, Bible scholars debate how the tetragrammaton “YHWH” was pronounced. The most likely choice for how the tetragrammaton was pronounced is “Yahweh” or something very similar to that.
Immaculate Conception falls on Monday, December 8, 2014. Unlike certain other Holy Days of Obligation, where the requirement to attend Mass is abrogated when the date of the feast falls on a Saturday or a Monday, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception is so important that the obligation is not waived.
37 thoughts on “Immaculate Mary?”
Pingback: The Solemnity of The Immaculate Conception - BigPulpit.com
The story of the “immaculate conception” isnothing more than a rehash of a more ancient story (assyrian I believe) that was found written in stone and dated to roughly 2000 yrs befory the story of Mary’s immaculate conception.
Much as are many stories in the hebrew and christian bibles.
Ah, texastea2, it’s been so long since we’ve heard from you. i wasn’t aware the Assyrians even believed in original sin. Please elaborate.
Big bill, good to hear from you. Hope you
and your family are well.
I cannot state any knowlege of the assyrians belief in original sin. That is why I did not state anything about it in my post. I am ignorant on that matter.
As to the statement in my post I am simply saying that the ENTIRE myth of Mary’s annunciation the immaculate conception, the birth of the child god and his adoration including the three”wise men” are nothing more than the retelling (with slight changes) of ancient myths that were found on the walls of the temple of luxor in Egypt.which date back to the time of King Amenhotep (1538 – 1501 Bce)
As for the assyrians beliefs on original “sin” well I would defer to you on that matter.
You DO know, Texastea2, that the Immaculate Conception is not at all the same thing as the Virgin Birth?
Yes thanks bill.I was confusing my myths up.although both myths seem to be a means to the end. As most mythological stories the story of Mary’s immaculate conception was not was not settled until the 12th century. I understand that the interpretation of “original sin” is quite different in judeaism and islam when compared to christian belief.
None of it is true. It is simply another creation myth along with the approximately 10,000 other religions conceived in the mind of man in the last 12,000 years or so.
My intent was and is to show people that if one looks they will find that all modern religions are continuations of older religous beliefs.They have been reformatted to fit the needs of those seeking power and control over others
“My intent was and is to show people that if one looks they will find that all modern religions are continuations of older religious belief”
If that was your intent, Tea, you failed. Millions will persist in their faith whether you imagine they are mistaken or not. But I have to wonder why it is so important for you to take on this burden. Do you imagine we have not heard these and other arguments before, in fact hear them constantly? Isn’t it possible that you’re being just a wee bit arrogant to be lecturing us? Why this militance about what others believe?
Bill, see reply to Tea.
Bill I have run for awhile. I will reply to you later this afternoon. My apologies for the delay.
Failed! Oh I must differ. If I am unable to convince millions of people to look at the lack of evidence for their beliefs I still succeeded. Using your logic the first person to publicly state that slavery is wrong Failed.I argue he did not.
Nor do I imagine they are mistaken. The imagination comes into play on your side. I weigh the evidence and approach this subject with the same logic I apply to other subjects. You do not, and you know that you do not. Which is understandable, for that is the only wat to keep the “faith”.
Arrogance, lecturing? Really? Arrogance who knows we all have it so perhaps it plays its role. Lecturing! Hardly. When the religous lecture they. use the term “preaching”. So.
If others believed in gods or demons or whatever I could care less. I do not speak much about Hinduism nor Buddhism for they do not lecture or hope for the death of billions of humans. All in the belief that their
God told some guys to write a book explaining that the god will desttoy mankind in a horrific manner but when the blood dries all will be perfect. That is DANGEROUS!!!!!
I feel after weighing the evidence or total lack of evidence for ssid god or said genocidal “prophecy” it is my oblugation to speak up and state that such illogical beliefs need to end. When millions believe that the eagle lion bear etc etc… are destined to destroy humankind one can let it go saying hey that is what they have been taught. When you add the element of ” paradise” after the devine destruction of humans ( or at least those that are not convinced to worship something so powerful he invented EVERYTHING which includes nothing yet will not even show himself) well we arrive to danger again. All of you believe you are right All of you cant be right. In fact the greek thought they were right as well as the Inca aztec and countless others. It is time IMO to move on before someone lights the fuse on the largest stick of dynamite the world has ever known.
I will however say when the destruction of war in the middle east has run its illogical insane course and no saviour comes out of the sky and forms the coveted Paradise the religous will still not admit that they are wrong. They will not give up the power that they yeild over millions of us humans. Sad but I see nothing to dissuade me from such thinking.
no. need of preaching to the choir.
The world has been “lectured”
Tea, wow, thanks for the discussion with Bill. You have taken on a skilled sparring partner in Bill, especially since he was educated by the Jesuits.
But, that aside, take a moment to contemplate this counter proposal: leaving out the Original Sin complication: yes, countless religions have tales of a ‘virgin” birth and a divine child. Could not that be because in the soul of each one of us, and in the communities in which we cling to each other for safety and survival, our irresistible calling to understand God and the mysteries of life impel us to develop a Mythos (not a make believe story, but Mythos as our overarching attempts to make sense of the world and our deep need to begin to apprehend the Divine) that touches on the truths already implanted in our hearts and souls?
Before the birth of Jesus, before Mary was conceived without sin, humanity waited in anticipation and taught their own tales of how that would one day be accomplished because, in the souls truth, we knew that the divine child would have to come to us via extraordinary ways.
But it takes a leap of faith, it takes a person who is willing to admit, that smart and educated as they may think they are, there are mysteries and the graces of love that our beyond our contemplation, and we receive them for what they are: Gifts of love from a merciful Creator.
I learned a long time ago that one cannot argue faith, faith is to be experienced as one experiences falling in love.
I pray for such blessings for you.
” there are mysteries and the graces of love that our beyond our contemplation, and we receive them for what they are: Gifts of love from a merciful Creator.
Neither from itself nor from another, Nor from both, Nor without a cause, Does anything whatever, anywhere arise.”
– Nagarjuna, “Mulamadhyamaka-Karika”
Hi Julianne, I will agree with you about bill. Very knowlegable educated man. I have utmost respect for big bill.
Could not the many different creation stories be mans explanation for a question that could not be understood with the limited combined knowlege of the men who contemplated such questions? Imagine if you will you somehow were transported to today instantaneously from your normak life 20,000 years ago. Stayed for two months and then were transported back. I would speculate that after you explained what you had seen ( you would probably believe you had seen far superior beings or “gods” magic etc… )
“Today however our accumulated knowledge is much much greater.”
Not so much, tea. We — by which I assume you mean modern scientific inquiry– is no closer to answering the deepest, most fundamental questions than it was in Aristotle’s day. The deepest being “Why?” — a question modern science dismisses as unanswerable, even unaskable, given the range of evidence science by its nature is able to deal with.
So do we give up on this question, Why? Only if we believe there is only one kind of evidence, one kind of truth. But we know this is not so, even if we do not venture into questions of faith. Where does logic come from? Its laws do not seem to depend upon science. Rather, it is a tool we apply to scientfiic evidence. But were does this tool come from. It seems embedded in our minds in some mysterious way. From where? By whom? Proof of the operations of mathematics, especially higher mathematics, cannot be derived from within mathematics itself, but as Kurt Godel showed, must rest upon assumptions that are in themselves unprovable. Where, then, does mathematics come from? Likewise, our sense of justice and morality. And then there’s the big “Why.” For all our “accumulated knowledge,” there are any number of things — Big Important Things — that we must assume or take for granted. Or take on faith.
” Or take on faith.”
And your friend does not have this gift, period
It’s early yet, James. Give the Holy Spirit some time to work.
It would be great to know how many get this gift at the 11th hour.
Carl Sagan didn’t and he knew more about God’s handiwork than most.
Fortunately, James, we don’t get to decide these things. If we did, I suspect we’d be a great deal less merciful that the Lord. As to the state of Carl Sagan’s soul — or anyone else’s — how in the world do you know these things? This is the kind of smugness that gets us in trouble with our non-Catholic neighbors — and with God.
It was reported (on his deathbed) that he did not – i don’t know anything. And Bill, i believe in reincarnation so everyone gets
a chance to get it right – if they’re lucky.
Good morning bill. First just to touch on your first reply I do this simply because I feel it needs to be done. If these are the ” end times” it is, for no other reason than man destroying itself with the ludicrous belief that they ( no matter which spectrum of the religous rainbow you worship) are right and that they ” know” when we have destroyed this planet it is all good because the (book) lord said this is what he wants to see happen. For those of us who do not believe in the supernatural, well we fear for our offspring whom ee rent this rock from. That is why I do this.
Speaking of why you brought up the question of why. Why the universe is here. Why we are here. Why why why?
Curiosity seems to be in all of us. Probably in all mammals. Why are we curious? Unanswerable IMHO. Sure you could say it is hormones neurons etc… There no answer that will not lead one head first into another question. That question being WHY!
I submit to you that the question is ultimately unanswerable. We can answer with the big bang
The Big Bang is not an answer, tea. It’s a question. But if you’re satisfied with not knowing, not questioning, then I’ll leave it to you. et me say that nothing in my religion contradicts the big bang or evolution or anything else. It is a “value-added” religion. Value in the full philosophical sense. (See Thomas Nagel’s “Mind amd Cosmos.”)
Might I ask you if your religion ask of you to continuosly ask a question that iz not only irrelivent but unanswerable? Am I misunderstanding your religion? For you to be concerned with why ( perhaps obsessed) seems feeble and unfaithful. If your faith is true then you would believe that only God can answer that question. Trust me when I state that millions have done just that. Many probably believe he answered their question of why. If it was important or even relevent would not your God had put the answer in the Book? Is it of good faith for you to question your Gods reasons or motives.
I will also take issue with your statement that your religion does not contradict the big bang nor evolution. I argue that it most definitely does. The big bang does not show that the earth was created before the stars. Just as evolution does not show any evidence of humans just appearing out of some supernatural force. You DO know this is a contradiction? If not, please enlighten me.
Your notion of my religion — a religion I share with more that 1 billion people around the world — and of what we believe is unrecognizable. To take just one issue you raise: “The big bang does not show that the earth was created before the stars.
Just as evolution does not show any evidence of humans just appearing
out of some supernatural force.” Where in the world did you get the idea that we believe the earth was created before the stars? Or that human beings “just appeared”?
I have to wonder what you are doing around a Catholic website since you know so little about Catholicism, and about Chrisitianity in general. And what you do “know” you seem to have picked up from listening to certain — non-Catholic — TV and radio preachers. I also have to wonder why you’re hanging around a Catholic website with so little knowledge of what Catholics really believe. Is your aim to learn? Or to dispute? If you’re doing this “simply because I feel it needs to be done” then you’re wasting your electrons.
Uhmm from your religous book bill. That is where I get the idea. Of course the big bang theory does not show that the earth came before the stars. It comes directly from the first page of your bible. First the earth was created THEN came the “let there be light” . Also bill the big bang theory implies that there was no light at all for, lets just say longer than your bible implies the age of the EARTH is. Just to clarify that.
Of course the theory of evolution does not imply that humans just appeared.
According ( again) to the bible however it claims that god took some dirt shook it up or blew on it or whatever and it instantly became a living breathing creature same for every form of life. Dinos included. Again bill The bible. Not scientific theory.
As for your wonderining WHY LOL I read an article on a catholic website and write from the perspective of a non believer.When I have such little
knowledge of the faith. I have already addressed that question.
For the majority of the history or the catholic church
History of the catholic church has not been of men teaching of love compassion forgiveness. ( all the good stuff that gets money in the coffers). It has been more do as I tell you to do. Believe what I (the church) tell you to believe.OR DIE. And go to fiery hell of course. It has evolved. The book allegedly has not. The “interpretation has though.
Again friend why is irrelevent.
I would suggest giving up on the question of why? We are not children. Why are ee here? Why is the universe the way it is? Why do quarks hold the nucleus of a hydrogen atom together? WHY WHY WHY
Lets take on one. How about the why are we here? Well your parents had sex and you were conceived. Why? Answer.Why? Answer.Why? Answer. Well you see where this leads to. It is in us to ask why. What if the answer is because a god crested us. Why. Any answer you come up with. Why. Any answer Why.
Somethings cannot be answered. It is a blessing and a curse if you will this human curiosity of why.
i submit that why is irrelivent. A much
better question would be how to prevrnt war. How to teach humans the “sacredness” of clean pure water. How do we stop ( if possible) global warming. Overpopulation corruption and on and on. These are much more important questions than why. Humans could survive for hundreds of trillions of years if possible without knowing why. We will not last 250 years from now if we do not figure out the answer to these logical and necessary questions. At least for those of us who do not believe the end of days have already begun and it is futile and foolish to resist the genocide. Much less fricking embrace it.
I do not see my replies so I do not know if they got to you. Quickly I will argue that one logical option bill would be, instead of believing in something on blind faith simply admit that we do know. Why will ALWAYS lead to another WHY!!!!
Why is it relevant to know why? Now you know if you answer that question that my reply will simply be another question WHY?.
It is like some mathematics. It just is.
Our accumulated knowledge is almost inconceivably greater than it was one hundred thousand years ago. Whether that kniwledge be scientific knowledge or general knowledge. When humans first wondered how things work and how things came to be. When they could not understand what or why a tsunami came and caused such destruction one can ( now today thanks to that accumulated knowledge) one can now correctly explain how it happens. One can also understand now how it had to be seen as a supernatural act. For they had no knowledge of tectonic plates nor water displacement. That all come from us humans today standing on the shoulders of giants if I may.
I do not think you will find many of the nearly 8 billion humans who will disagree with my statement that our accumulated knowledg no mattrr what the subject might be, is vastly ( many factors) greater.
It is clear that it is time to turn the page on this brawl. The argument goes ’round and ’round and all we get is dizzy.
TexasTea2, I ask, along with Bill, why you choose this site to set up your attack on faith. From whatever place you stand, from whatever motive impels you to tackle faith, please pour your considerable energies into something that will do good, bring light instead of discord. Please do positive good, there are countless ways to accomplish this.
I wish you well. I wish you peace. But this exercise in sophistry is over today.
I agree it is time to move on. Though I will differ on the term brawl. Apparently it offends some out here to have someone disagree. I understand. Just as I take offense to organized religion being subsidized by the taxpayers of america through tax exempt status. Religous organizations throwing that considerable tax free money into influencing all of americas future through elections. National and local.
I will close by asking if it really sounds like a kind loving forgiving compassionate god that will slaughter and burn 7 out of 8 humans that HE created just simply because for whatever reason he refused to set the record straight. At any time while he watched as over 10s of thousands of explanation were formed and followed for what could not be explained ( religions).he could have stopped itall. All of the war and hate racism and slavery.
We humans today are decended from humans that erred on the side of better safe than sorry. That is how they survived. We no longer have to instantly decide if that was the wind or a lion rustling the grass. I submit that the lion that the religous fear is simply the wind. You need not be afraid. If it were ANY other human story then you might not agree but hopefully yiu would approach the subject logicallyand skeptically as you do any other supernatural story.
Peace be with you. Happy holidays I hope your family are safe and warm.
Billions will not be.
Henry Tanner
Mary spontaneously — out of the goodness of her heart and the promptings of grace — said “Yes” to the Holy Spirit. Most of us, of course, would have second or even third thoughts before we might hesitantly agree or place conditions on the deal. This is what it means to have been born without the taint and imperfection of original sin. This is why, precisely, Mary is better than us.
Marry IS better than us; and I think OK, suppose I am God, all power and all that, and I’m getting ready to make Jesus’ mother. I don’t go cookie cutter, I don’t choose Ford, not even Lamborghini, I don’t cut corners. I make Mary The Mother Of God -Mary of all the titles of the Litany Of Loreto. Because as I tried to convey in the Book Of Job, I’m God and you’re not. And for most of us, me included, there are so many many more who are better than me. And who else better to have as your own personal advocate than someone who can say “Son, he has no wine.” Julianne, thank you. Guy McClung, San Antonio
Gary, thanks for taking the time to reply. Things that are obvious to us who believe, as in the sinlessness of Mary and why it had to be that way, are cloudy to those who sight is obscured by hubris.
The thinking that nobody can be better than us is pure Council. It is well captured in the short story by one whom the modernists hold especially dear, Flannery O’Connor, the story “Revelation.” An annoying woman who happens to be virtuous and successful is taught her lesson in this story, and the lesson is intended for the Church. I have a post on it at my blog. Benedict just reaffirmed it, underlined in, in his recent statement at the blessing or consecration or whatever it was called the Magna Aula speech, about a week ago. The same message about the Church–She must never be seen as acting as if She were better than other churches, as if She knew something they don’t know, as if She weren’t sinful as all the rest. And it is Francis’ message as well, over and over.
It’s the Council, the poison buried at the heart of it.
This is a very good post, and I am so happy you see it, and recognize it. Our Faith is based on recognizing the superiority of virtue, and for that it is hated.
Dear White Lily. I am very glad you enjoyed this post. I did write in in contemplation of my conversation with the Catholic novelist and that led me to the other comparisons from the OT listed. The woman I had the initial conversation with was so very immersed in the sixties and seventies social and religious revolution, which though upsetting to some, really did open the conversations and study for many others. She is an intellectual and a professor at an esteemed university, but as she was stewed in all the equality and bringing Catholicism down to an ‘understandable’ level, perhaps she neglected the magnificence and the mystery which had a logic very different than our poor attempts at what passes for wisdom.
I do not think that poison is buried at the heart of the Council. Much needed ‘fresh air’ blew through the Church. Much was tossed in the whirlwind that followed, but I do believe we are guided by the Holy Spirit to sort these essential truths out.
Fifty years is too short a time to evaluate such a momentous Council.
Thanks for taking the time to reply.
I hope you will keep my comment regarding the Council in mind, and related, that you check out my analysis of O’Connor’s “Revelation,” comparing it to Pope Francis’ rendition of salvation, that it is for everybody, that no one is special, which is your friend’s ‘take’ also, in the specific application to Our Lady. It is all the same teaching, it is modernism, and its seeds are indeed in the constitutions of Vatican II.
Do you think the Council blew a fresh wind into the Church? Perhaps I once did, as well. I was in the convent, a novice, during that time. That wind blew us all out except for one. I worked in civil rights for the rest of my life, and the new ecumenism, the new approach, left us with only secular values to offer, and I can attest, we did our utmost to ruin the African American population, unaware. By not focusing on those stuffy values, those virtues, that the Council blew away, we abandoned them. It’s still a horse race as to whether they will survive. The piece is Please Don’t Ask, if you (or anyone) is curious.
If the Holy Spirit were a micro-manager, history would be so different. It’s still ours, our own, to lose–that’s speaking of souls, of course, not of the eventual outcome.