Ineffabilis Deus
The Immaculate Conception
Given by Pope Bl. Pius IX, 1854
God Ineffable — whose ways are mercy and truth, whose will is
omnipotence itself, and whose wisdom “reaches from end to end mightily,
and orders all things sweetly” — having foreseen from all eternity the
lamentable wretchedness of the entire human race which would result
from the sin of Adam, decreed, by a plan hidden from the centuries, to
complete the first work of his goodness by a mystery yet more
wondrously sublime through the Incarnation of the Word. This he decreed
in order that man who, contrary to the plan of Divine Mercy had been
led into sin by the cunning malice of Satan, should not perish; and in
order that what had been lost in the first Adam would be gloriously
restored in the Second Adam. From the very beginning, and before time
began, the eternal Father chose and prepared for his only-begotten Son
a Mother in whom the Son of God would become incarnate and from whom,
in the blessed fullness of time, he would be born into this world.
Above all creatures did God so loved her that truly in her was the
Father well pleased with singular delight. Therefore, far above all the
angels and all the saints so wondrously did God endow her with the
abundance of all heavenly gifts poured from the treasury of his
divinity that this mother, ever absolutely free of all stain of sin,
all fair and perfect, would possess that fullness of holy innocence and
sanctity than which, under God, one cannot even imagine anything
greater, and which, outside of God, no mind can succeed in
comprehending fully.
Supreme Reason for
the Privilege: The Divine Maternity
And indeed it was wholly fitting that so wonderful a mother should be
ever resplendent with the glory of most sublime holiness and so
completely free from all taint of original sin that she would triumph
utterly over the ancient serpent. To her did the Father will to give
his only-begotten Son — the Son whom, equal to the Father and begotten
by him, the Father loves from his heart — and to give this Son in such
a way thhat he would be the one and the same common Son of God the
Father and of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It was she whom the Son himself
chose to make his Mother and it was from her that the Holy Spirit
willed and brought it about that he should be conceived and born from
whom he himself proceeds.[1]
Liturgical Argument
The Catholic Church, directed by the Holy Spirit of God, is the pillar
and base of truth and has ever held as divinely revealed and as
contained in the deposit of heavenly revelation this doctrine
concerning the original innocence of the august Virgin — a doctrine
which is so perfectly in harmony with her wonderful sanctity and
preeminent dignity as Mother of God — and thus has never ceased to
explain, to teach and to foster this doctrine age after age in many
ways and by solemn acts. From this very doctrine, flourishing and
wondrously propagated in the Catholic world through the efforts and
zeal of the bishops, was made very clear by the Church when she did not
hesitate to present for the public devotion and veneration of the
faithful the Feast of the Conception of the Blessed Virgin.[2] By this
most significant fact, the Church made it clear indeed that the
conception of Mary is to be venerated as something extraordinary,
wonderful, eminently holy, and different from the conception of all
other human beings — for the Church celebrates only the feast days of
the saints.
And hence the very words with which the Sacred Scriptures speak of
Uncreated Wisdom and set forth his eternal origin, the Church, both in
its ecclesiastical offices and in its liturgy, has been wont to apply
likewise to the origin of the Blessed Virgin, inasmuch as God, by one
and the same decree, had established the origin of Mary and the
Incarnation of Divine Wisdom.
Ordinary Teaching of
the Roman Church
These truths, so generally accepted and put into practice by the
faithful, indicate how zealously the Roman Church, mother and teacher
of all Churches, has continued to teach this doctrine of the Immaculate
Conception of the Virgin. Yet the more important actions of the Church
deserve to be mentioned in detail. For such dignity and authority
belong to the Church that she alone is the center of truth and of
Catholic unity. It is the Church in which alone religion has been
inviolably preserved and from which all other Churches must receive the
tradition of the Faith.[3]
The same Roman Church, therefore, desired nothing more than by the most
persuasive means to state, to protect, to promote and to defend the
doctrine of the Immaculate Conception. This fact is most clearly shown
to the whole world by numerous and significant acts of the Roman
Pontiffs, our predecessors. To them, in the person of the Prince of the
Apostles, were divinely entrusted by Christ our Lord, the charge and
supreme care and the power of feeding the lambs and sheep; in
particular, of confirming their brethren, and of ruling and governing
the universal Church.
Veneration of the
Immaculate
Our predecessors, indeed, by virtue of their apostolic authority,
gloried in instituting the Feast of the Conception in the Roman Church.
They did so to enhance its importance and dignity by a suitable Office
and Mass, whereby the prerogative of the Virgin, her exception from the
hereditary taint, was most distinctly affirmed. As to the homage
already instituted, they spared no effort to promote and to extend it
either by the granting of indulgences, or by allowing cities, provinces
and kingdoms to choose as their patroness God’s own Mother, under the
title of “The Immaculate Conception.” Again, our predecessors approved
confraternities, congregations and religious communities founded in
honor of the Immaculate Conception, monasteries, hospitals, altars, or
churches; they praised persons who vowed to uphold with all their
ability the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God.
Besides, it afforded the greatest joy to our predecessors to ordain
that the Feast of the Conception should be celebrated in every church
with the very same honor as the Feast of the Nativity; that it should
be celebrated with an octave by the whole Church; that it should be
reverently and generally observed as a holy day of obligation; and that
a pontifical Capella should be held in our Liberian pontifical basilica
on the day dedicated to the conception of the Virgin. Finally, in their
desire to impress this doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of the
Mother of God upon the hearts of the faithful, and to intensify the
people’s piety and enthusiasm for the homage and the veneration of the
Virgin conceived without the stain of original sin, they delighted to
grant, with the greatest pleasure, permission to proclaim the
Immaculate Conception of the Virgin in the Litany of Loreto, and in the
Preface of the Mass, so that the rule of prayer might thus serve to
illustrate the rule of belief. Therefore, we ourselves, following the
procedure of our predecessors, have not only approved and accepted what
had already been established, but bearing in mind, moreover, the decree
of Sixtus IV, [4] have confirmed by our authority a proper Office in
honor of the Immaculate Conception, and have with exceeding joy
extended its use to the universal Church.[5]
The Roman Doctrine
Now inasmuch as whatever pertains to sacred worship is intimately
connected with its object and cannot have either consistency or
durability if this object is vague or uncertain, our predecessors, the
Roman Pontiffs, therefore, while directing all their efforts toward an
increase of the devotion to the conception, made it their aim not only
to emphasize the object with the utmost zeal, but also to enunciate the
exact doctrine.[6] Definitely and clearly they taught that the feast
was held in honor of the conception of the Virgin. They denounced as
false and absolutely foreign to the mind of the Church the opinion of
those who held and affirmed that it was not the conception of the
Virgin but her sanctification that was honored by the Church. They
never thought that greater leniency should be extended toward those
who, attempting to disprove the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception
of the Virgin, devised a distinction between the first and second
instance of conception and inferred that the conception which the
Church celebrates was not that of the first instance of conception but
the second. In fact, they held it was their duty not only to uphold and
defend with all their power the Feast of the Conception of the Blessed
Virgin but also to assert that the true object of this veneration was
her conception considered in its first instant. Hence the words of one
of our predecessors, Alexander VII, who authoritatively and decisively
declared the mind of the Church: “Concerning the most Blessed Virgin
Mary, Mother of God, ancient indeed is that devotion of the faithful
based on the belief that her soul, in the first instant of its creation
and in the first instant of the soul’s infusion into the body, was, by
a special grace and privilege of God, in view of the merits of Jesus
Christ, her Son and the Redeemer of the human race, preserved free from
all stain of original sin. And in this sense have the faithful ever
solemnized and celebrated the Feast of the Conception.”[7]
Moreover, our predecessors considered it their special solemn duty with
all diligence, zeal, and effort to preserve intact the doctrine of the
Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God. For, not only have they in
no way ever allowed this doctrine to be censured or changed, but they
have gone much further and by clear statements repeatedly asserted that
the doctrine by which we profess the Immaculate Conception of the
Virgin is on its own merits entirely in harmony with the ecclesiastical
veneration; that it is ancient and widespread, and of the same nature
as that which the Roman Church has undertaken to promote and to
protect, and that it is entirely worthy to be used in the Sacred
Liturgy and solemn prayers. Not content with this they most strictly
prohibited any opinion contrary to this doctrine to be defended in
public or private in order that the doctrine of the Immaculate
Conception of the Virgin might remain inviolate. By repeated blows they
wished to put an end to such an opinion. And lest these oft-repeated
and clearest statements seem useless, they added a sanction to them.
Papal Sanctions
All these things our illustrious predecessor, Alexander VII, summed up
in these words: “We have in mind the fact that the Holy Roman Church
solemnly celebrated the Feast of the Conception of the undefiled and
ever-Virgin Mary, and has long ago appointed for this a special and
proper Office according to the pious, devout, and laudable instruction
which was given by our predecessor, Sixtus IV. Likewise, we were
desirous, after the example of our predecessors, to favor this
praiseworthy piety, devotion, feast and veneration — a veneration which
is in keeping with the piety unchanged in the Roman Church from the day
it was instituted. We also desired to protect this piety and devotion
of venerating and extolling the most Blessed Virgin preserved from
original sin by the grace of the Holy Spirit. Moreover, we were anxious
to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace in the flock
of Christ by putting down arguments and controversies and by removing
scandals. So at the instance and request of the bishops mentioned
above, with the chapters of the churches, and of King Philip and his
kingdoms, we renew the Constitutions and Decrees issued by the Roman
Pontiffs, our predecessors, especially Sixtus IV,[8] Paul V,[9] and
Gregory XV,[10] in favor of the doctrine asserting that the soul of the
Blessed Virgin, in its creation and infusion into the body, was endowed
with the grace of the Holy Spirit and preserved from original sin; and
also in favor of the feast and veneration of the conception of the
Virgin Mother of God, which, as is manifest, was instituted in keeping
with that pious belief. So we command this feast to be observed under
the censures and penalties contained in the same Constitutions.
“And therefore, against all and everyone of those who shall continue to
construe the said Constitutions and Decrees in a manner apt to
frustrate the favor which is thereby given to the said doctrine, and to
the feast and relative veneration, or who shall dare to call into
question the said sentence, feast and worship, or in any way whatever,
directly or indirectly, shall declare themselves opposed to it under
any pretext whatsoever, were it but only to the extent of examining the
possibilities of effecting the definition, or who shall comment upon
and interpret the Sacred Scripture, or the Fathers or Doctors in
connection therewith, or finally, for any reason, or on any occasion,
shall dare, either in writing or verbally, to speak, preach, treat,
dispute or determine upon, or assert whatsoever against the foregoing
matters, or who shall adduce any arguments against them, while leaving
them unresolved, or who shall disagree therewith in any other
conceivable manner, we hereby declare that in addition to the penalties
and censures contained in the Constitutions issued by Sixtus IV to
which we want them to be subjected and to which we subject them by the
present Constitution, we hereby decree that they be deprived of the
authority of preaching, reading in public, that is to say teaching and
interpreting; and that they be also deprived ipso facto of the power of
voting, either actively or passively, in all elections, without the
need for any further declaration; and that also, ipso facto, without
any further declaration, they shall incur the penalty of perpetual
disability from preaching, reading in public, teaching and
interpreting, and that it shall not be possible to absolve them from
such penalty, or remove it, save through ourselves, or the Roman
Pontiffs who shall succeed us.
“We also require that the same shall remain subject to any other
penalties which by us, of our own free will — or by the Roman Pontiffs,
our successors (according as they may decree) — shall be deemed
advisable to establish, and by the present Constitution we declare them
subject thereto, and hereby renew the above Decrees and Constitutions
of Paul V and Gregory XV.
“Moreover, as regards those books in which the said sentence, feast and
relative veneration are called into question or are contradicted in any
way whatsoever, according to what has already been stated, either in
writing or verbally, in discourses, sermons, lectures, treatises and
debates — that may have been printed after the above-praised Decree of
Paul V, or may be printed hereafter we hereby prohibit them, subject to
the penalties and censures established by the Index of prohibited
books, and ipso facto, without any further declaration, we desire and
command that they be held as expressly prohibited.”[11]
Testimonies of the
Catholic World
All are aware with how much diligence this doctrine of the Immaculate
Conception of the Mother of God has been handed down, proposed and
defended by the most outstanding religious orders, by the more
celebrated theological academies, and by very eminent doctors in the
sciences of theology. All know, likewise, how eager the bishops have
been to profess openly and publicly, even in ecclesiastical assemblies,
that Mary, the most holy Mother of God, by virtue of the foreseen
merits of Christ, our Lord and Redeemer, was never subject to original
sin, but was completely preserved from the original taint, and hence
she was redeemed in a manner more sublime.
The Council of Trent
Besides, we must note a fact of the greatest importance indeed. Even
the Council of Trent itself, when it promulgated the dogmatic decree
concerning original sin, following the testimonies of the Sacred
Scriptures, of the Holy Fathers and of the renowned Council, decreed
and defined that all men are born infected by original sin;
nevertheless, it solemnly declared that it had no intention of
including the blessed and immaculate Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, in
this decree and in the general extension of its definition. Indeed,
considering the times and circumstances, the Fathers of Trent
sufficiently intimated by this declaration that the Blessed Virgin Mary
was free from the original stain; and thus they clearly signified that
nothing could be reasonably cited from the Sacred Scriptures, from
Tradition, or from the authority of the Fathers, which would in any way
be opposed to so great a prerogative of the Blessed Virgin.[12]
Testimonies of
Tradition
And indeed, illustrious documents of venerable antiquity, of both the
Eastern and the Western Church, very forcibly testify that this
doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of the most Blessed Virgin, which
was daily more and more splendidly explained, stated and confirmed by
the highest authority, teaching, zeal, knowledge, and wisdom of the
Church, and which was disseminated among all peoples and nations of the
Catholic world in a marvelous manner — this doctrine always existed in
the Church as a doctrine that has been received from our ancestors, and
that has been stamped with the character of revealed doctrine. For the
Church of Christ, watchful guardian that she is, and defender of the
dogmas deposited with her, never changes anything, never diminishes
anything, never adds anything to them; but with all diligence she
treats the ancient documents faithfully and wisely; if they really are
of ancient origin and if the faith of the Fathers has transmitted them,
she strives to investigate and explain them in such a way that the
ancient dogmas of heavenly doctrine will be made evident and clear, but
will retain their full, integral, and proper nature, and will grown
only within their own genus — that is, within the same dogma, in the
same sense and the same meaning.
Interpreters of the
Sacred Scripture
The Fathers and writers of the Church, well versed in the heavenly
Scriptures, had nothing more at heart than to vie with one another in
preaching and teaching in many wonderful ways the Virgin’s supreme
sanctity, dignity, and immunity from all stain of sin, and her renowned
victory over the most foul enemy of the human race. This they did in
the books they wrote to explain the Scriptures, to vindicate the
dogmas, and to instruct the faithful. These ecclesiastical writers in
quoting the words by which at the beginning of the world God announced
his merciful remedies prepared for the regeneration of mankind — words
by which he crushed the audacity of the deceitful serpent and
wondrously raised up the hope of our race, saying, “I will put enmities
between you and the woman, between your seed and her seed”[13] — taught
that by this divine prophecy the merciful Redeemer of mankind, Jesus
Christ, the only begotten Son of God, was clearly foretold: That his
most Blessed Mother, the Virgin Mary, was prophetically indicated; and,
at the same time, the very enmity of both against the evil one was
significantly expressed. Hence, just as Christ, the Mediator between
God and man, assumed human nature, blotted the handwriting of the
decree that stood against us, and fastened it triumphantly to the
cross, so the most holy Virgin, united with him by a most intimate and
indissoluble bond, was, with him and through him, eternally at enmity
with the evil serpent, and most completely triumphed over him, and thus
crushed his head with her immaculate foot.[14]
This sublime and singular privilege of the Blessed Virgin, together
with her most excellent innocence, purity, holiness and freedom from
every stain of sin, as well as the unspeakable abundance and greatness
of all heavenly graces, virtues and privileges — these the Fathers
beheld in that ark of Noah, which was built by divine command and
escaped entirely safe and sound from the common shipwreck of the whole
world;[15] in the ladder which Jacob saw reaching from the earth to
heaven, by whose rungs the angels of God ascended and descended, and on
whose top the Lord himself leaned’[16] in that bush which Moses saw in
the holy place burning on all sides, which was not consumed or injured
in any way but grew green and blossomed beautifully;[17] in that
impregnable tower before the enemy, from which hung a thousand bucklers
and all the armor of the strong;[18] in that garden enclosed on all
sides, which cannot be violated or corrupted by any deceitful
plots;[19] as in that resplendent city of God, which has its
foundations on the holy mountains;[20] in that most august temple of
God, which, radiant with divine splendors, is full of the glory of
God;[21] and in very many other biblical types of this kind. In such
allusions the Fathers taught that the exalted dignity of the Mother of
God, her spotless innocence and her sanctity unstained by any fault,
had been prophesied in a wonderful manner.
In like manner did they use the words of the prophets to describe this
wondrous abundance of divine gifts and the original innocence of the
Virgin of whom Jesus was born. They celebrated the august Virgin as the
spotless dove, as the holy Jerusalem, as the exalted throne of God, as
the ark and house of holiness which Eternal Wisdom built, and as that
Queen who, abounding in delights and leaning on her Beloved, came forth
from the mouth of the Most High, entirely perfect, beautiful, most dear
to God and never stained with the least blemish.
The Annunciation
When the Fathers and writers of the Church meditated on the fact that
the most Blessed Virgin was, in the name and by order of God himself,
proclaimed full of grace[22] by the Angel Gabriel when he announced her
most sublime dignity of Mother of God, they thought that this singular
and solemn salutation, never heard before, showed that the Mother of
God is the seat of all divine graces and is adorned with all gifts of
the Holy Spirit. To them Mary is an almost infinite treasury, an
inexhaustible abyss of these gifts, to such an extent that she was
never subject to the curse and was, together with her Son, the only
partaker of perpetual benediction. Hence she was worthy to hear
Elizabeth, inspired by the Holy Spirit, exclaim: “Blessed are you among
women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.”[23]
Mary Compared with
Eve
Hence, it is the clear and unanimous opinion of the Fathers that the
most glorious Virgin, for whom “he who is mighty has done great
things,” was resplendent with such an abundance of heavenly gifts, with
such a fullness of grace and with such innocence, that she is an
unspeakable miracle of God — indeed, the crown of all miracles and
truly the Mother of God; that she approaches as near to God himself as
is possible for a created being; and that she is above all men and
angels in glory. Hence, to demonstrate the original innocence and
sanctity of the Mother of God, not only did they frequently compare her
to Eve while yet a virgin, while yet innocence, while yet incorrupt,
while not yet deceived by the deadly snares of the most treacherous
serpent; but they have also exalted her above Eve with a wonderful
variety of expressions. Eve listened to the serpent with lamentable
consequences; she fell from original innocence and became his slave.
The most Blessed Virgin, on the contrary, ever increased her original
gift, and not only never lent an ear to the serpent, but by divinely
given power she utterly destroyed the force and dominion of the evil
one.
Biblical Figures
Accordingly, the Fathers have never ceased to call the Mother of God
the lily among thorns, the land entirely intact, the Virgin undefiled,
immaculate, ever blessed, and free from all contagion of sin, she from
whom was formed the new Adam, the flawless, brightest, and most
beautiful paradise of innocence, immortality and delights planted by
God himself and protected against all the snares of the poisonous
serpent, the incorruptible wood that the worm of sin had never
corrupted, the fountain ever clear and sealed with the power of the
Holy Spirit, the most holy temple, the treasure of immortality, the one
and only daughter of life — not of death — the plant not of anger but
of grace, through the singular providence of God growing ever green
contrary to the common law, coming as it does from a corrupted and
tainted root.
Explicit Affirmation
. . .
As if these splendid eulogies and tributes were not sufficient, the
Fathers proclaimed with particular and definite statements that when
one treats of sin, the holy Virgin Mary is not even to be mentioned;
for to her more grace was given than was necessary to conquer sin
completely.[24] They also declared that the most glorious Virgin was
Reparatrix of the first parents, the giver of life to posterity; that
she was chosen before the ages, prepared for himself by the Most High,
foretold by God when he said to the serpent, “I will put enmities
between you and the woman.”[25]-unmistakable evidence that she was
crushed the poisonous head of the serpent. And hence they affirmed that
the Blessed Virgin was, through grace, entirely free from every stain
of sin, and from all corruption of body, soul and mind; that she was
always united with God and joined to him by an eternal covenant; that
she was never in darkness but always in light; and that, therefore, she
was entirely a fit habitation for Christ, not because of the state of
her body, but because of her original grace.
. . . Of a Super
Eminent Sanctity
To these praises they have added very noble words. Speaking of the
conception of the Virgin, they testified that nature yielded to grace
and, unable to go on, stood trembling. The Virgin Mother of God would
not be conceived by Anna before grace would bear its fruits; it was
proper that she be conceived as the first-born, by whom “the first-born
of every creature” would be conceived. They testified, too, that the
flesh of the Virgin, although derived from Adam, did not contract the
stains of Adam, and that on this account the most Blessed Virgin was
the tabernacle created by God himself and formed by the Holy Spirit,
truly a work in royal purple, adorned and woven with gold, which that
new Beseleel[26] made. They affirmed that the same Virgin is, and is
deservedly, the first and especial work of God, escaping the fiery
arrows the the evil one; that she is beautiful by nature and entirely
free from all stain; that at her Immaculate Conception she came into
the world all radiant like the dawn. For it was certainly not fitting
that this vessel of election should be wounded by the common injuries,
since she, differing so much from the others, had only nature in common
with them, not sin. In fact, it was quite fitting that, as the
Only-Begotten has a Father in heaven, whom the Seraphim extol as thrice
holy, so he should have a Mother on earth who would never be without
the splendor of holiness.
This doctrine so filled the minds and souls of our ancestors in the
faith that a singular and truly marvelous style of speech came into
vogue among them. They have frequently addressed the Mother of God as
immaculate, as immaculate in every respect; innocent, and verily most
innocent; spotless, and entirely spotless; holy and removed from every
stain of sin; all pure, all stainless, the very model of purity and
innocence; more beautiful than beauty, more lovely than loveliness;
more holy than holiness, singularly holy and most pure in soul and
body; the one who surpassed all integrity and virginity; the only one
who has become the dwelling place of all the graces of the most Holy
Spirit. God alone excepted, Mary is more excellent than all, and by
nature fair and beautiful, and more holy than the Cherubim and
Seraphim. To praise her all the tongues of heaven and earth do not
suffice.
Everyone is cognizant that this style of speech has passed almost
spontaneously into the books of the most holy liturgy and the Offices
of the Church, in which they occur so often and abundantly. In them,
the Mother of God is invoked and praised as the one spotless and most
beautiful dove, as a rose ever blooming, as perfectly pure, ever
immaculate, and ever blessed. She is celebrated as innocence never
sullied and as the second Eve who brought forth the Emmanuel.
Preparation for the
Definition
No wonder, then, that the Pastors of the Church and the faithful
gloried daily more and more in professing with so much piety, religion,
and love this doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin
Mother of God, which, as the Fathers discerned, was recorded in the
Divine Scriptures; which was handed down in so many of their most
important writings; which was expressed and celebrated in so many
illustrious monuments of venerable antiquity; which was proposed and
confirmed by the official and authoritative teaching of the Church.
Hence, nothing was dearer, nothing more pleasing to these pastors than
to venerate, invoke, and proclaim with most ardent affection the Virgin
Mother of God conceived without original stain. Accordingly, from
ancient times the bishops of the Church, ecclesiastics, religious
orders, and even emperors and kings, have earnestly petitioned this
Apostolic See to define a dogma of the Catholic Faith the Immaculate
Conception of the most holy Mother of God. These petitions were renewed
in these our own times; they were especially brought to the attention
of Gregory XVI, our predecessor of happy memory, and to ourselves, not
only by bishops, but by the secular clergy and religious orders, by
sovereign rulers and by the faithful.
Mindful, indeed, of all these things and considering them most
attentively with particular joy in our heart, as soon as we, by the
inscrutable design of Providence, had been raised to the sublime Chair
of St. Peter — in spite of our unworthiness — and had begun to govern
the universal Church, nothing have we had more at heart — a heart which
from our tenderest years has overflowed with devoted veneration and
love for the most Blessed Virgin — than to show forth her prerogatives
in resplendent light.
That we might proceed with great prudence, we established a special
congregation of our venerable brethren, the cardinals of the holy Roman
Church, illustrious for their piety, wisdom, and knowledge of the
sacred scriptures. We also selected priests, both secular and regular,
well trained in the theological sciences, that they should most
carefully consider all matters pertaining to the Immaculate Conception
of the Virgin and make known to us their opinion.
The Mind of the
Bishops
Although we knew the mind of the bishops from the petitions which we
had received from them, namely, that the Immaculate Conception of the
Blessed Virgin be finally defined, nevertheless, on February 2,
1849,[27] we sent an Encyclical Letter from Gaeta to all our venerable
brethren, the bishops of the Catholic world, that they should offer
prayers to God and then tell us in writing what the piety an devotion
of their faithful was in regard to the Immaculate Conception of the
Mother of God. We likewise inquired what the bishops themselves thought
about defining this doctrine and what their wishes were in regard to
making known with all possible solemnity our supreme judgment.
We were certainly filled with the greatest consolation when the replies
of our venerable brethren came to us. For, replying to us with a most
enthusiastic joy, exultation and zeal, they not only again confirmed
their own singular piety toward the Immaculate Conception of the most
Blessed Virgin, and that of the secular and religious clergy and of the
faithful, but with one voice they even entreated us to define our
supreme judgment and authority the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin.
In the meantime we were indeed filled with no less joy when, after a
diligent examination, our venerable brethren, the cardinals of the
special congregation and the theologians chosen by us as counselors
(whom we mentioned above), asked with the same enthusiasm and fervor
for the definition of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God.
Consequently, following the examples of our predecessors, and desiring
to proceed in the traditional manner, we announced and held a
consistory, in which we addressed our brethren, the cardinals of the
Holy Roman Church. It was the greatest spiritual joy for us when we
heard them ask us to promulgate the dogmatic definition of the
Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mother of God.[28]
Therefore, having full trust in the Lord that the opportune time had
come for defining the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
Mother of God, which Holy Scripture, venerable Tradition, the constant
mind of the Church, the desire of Catholic bishops and the faithful,
and the memorable Acts and Constitutions of our predecessors,
wonderfully illustrate and proclaim, and having most diligently
considered all things, as we poured forth to God ceaseless and fervent
prayers, we concluded that we should no longer delay in decreeing and
defining by our supreme authority the Immaculate Conception of the
Blessed Virgin. And thus, we can satisfy the most holy desire of the
Catholic world as well as our own devotion toward the most holy Virgin,
and at the same time honor more and more the only begotten Son, Jesus
Christ our Lord through his holy Mother — since whatever honor and
praise are bestowed on the Mother redound to the Son.
The Definition
Wherefore, in humility and fasting, we unceasingly offered our private
prayers as well as the public prayers of the Church to God the Father
through his Son, that he would deign to direct and strengthen our mind
by the power of the Holy Spirit. In like manner did we implore the help
of the entire heavenly host as we ardently invoked the Paraclete.
Accordingly, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, for the honor of
the Holy and undivided Trinity, for the glory and adornment of the
Virgin Mother of God, for the exaltation of the Catholic Faith, and for
the furtherance of the Catholic religion, by the authority of Jesus
Christ our Lord, of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and by our
own: “We declare, pronounce, and define that the doctrine which holds
that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her
conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God,
in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race,
was preserved free from all stain of original sin, is a doctrine
revealed by God and therefore to be believed firmly and constantly by
all the faithful.”[29]
Hence, if anyone shall dare — which God forbid! — to think otherwise
than as has been defined by us, let him know and understand that he is
condemned by his own judgment; that he has suffered shipwreck in the
faith; that he has separated from the unity of the Church; and that,
furthermore, by his own action he incurs the penalties established by
law if he should are to express in words or writing or by any other
outward means the errors he think in his heart.
Hoped-For Results
Our soul overflows with joy and our tongue with exultation. We give,
and we shall continue to give, the humblest and deepest thanks to Jesus
Christ, our Lord, because through his singular grace he has granted to
us, unworthy though we be, to decree and offer this honor and glory and
praise to his most holy Mother. All our hope do we repose in the most
Blessed Virgin — in the all fair and immaculate one who has crushed the
poisonous head of the most cruel serpent and brought salvation to the
world: in her who is the glory of the prophets and apostles, the honor
of the martyrs, the crown and joy of all the saints; in her who is the
safest refuge and the most trustworthy helper of all who are in danger;
in her who, with her only-begotten Son, is the most powerful Mediatrix
and Conciliatrix in the whole world; in her who is the most excellent
glory, ornament, and impregnable stronghold of the holy Church; in her
who has destroyed all heresies and snatched the faithful people and
nations from all kinds of direst calamities; in her do we hope who has
delivered us from so many threatening dangers. We have, therefore, a
very certain hope and complete confidence that the most Blessed Virgin
will ensure by her most powerful patronage that all difficulties be
removed and all errors dissipated, so that our Holy Mother the Catholic
Church may flourish daily more and more throughout all the nations and
countries, and may reign “from sea to sea and from the river to the
ends of the earth,” and may enjoy genuine peace, tranquility and
liberty. We are firm in our confidence that she will obtain pardon for
the sinner, health for the sick, strength of heart for the weak,
consolation for the afflicted, help for those in danger; that she will
remove spiritual blindness from all who are in error, so that they may
return to the path of truth and justice, and that here may be one flock
and one shepherd.
Let all the children of the Catholic Church, who are so very dear to
us, hear these words of ours. With a still more ardent zeal for piety,
religion and love, let them continue to venerate, invoke and pray to
the most Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, conceived without original
sin. Let them fly with utter confidence to this most sweet Mother of
mercy and grace in all dangers, difficulties, needs, doubts and fears.
Under her guidance, under her patronage, under her kindness and
protection, nothing is to be feared; nothing is hopeless. Because,
while bearing toward us a truly motherly affection and having in her
care the work of our salvation, she is solicitous about the whole human
race. And since she has been appointed by God to be the Queen of heaven
and earth, and is exalted above all the choirs of angels and saints,
and even stands at the right hand of her only-begotten Son, Jesus
Christ our Lord, she presents our petitions in a most efficacious
manner. What she asks, she obtains. Her pleas can never be unheard.
Given at St. Peter’s in Rome, the eighth day of December, 1854, in the
eighth year of our pontificate.
Pius IX
Footnotes
1. Et quidem decebat omnino, ut perfectissimae sanctitatis splendoribus
semper ornata fulgeret, ac vel ab ipsa originalis culpae labe plane
immunis amplissimum de antiquo sepente triumphum referret tam
venerabilis mater, cui Deus Pater unicum Filius suum, quem de corde suo
aequalem sibi genitum tamquam seipsum diligit, ita dare disposuit, ut
naturaliter esset unus idemque communis Dei Patris et Virginis Filius,
et quam ipse Filius, Filius substantialiter facere sibi matrem elegit,
et de qua Siritus Sanctus voluit et operatus est, ut conciperetur et
nasceretur ille, de quo ipse procedit.
2. Cf. Ibid., n. 16.
3. Cf. St. Irenaeus, Adv. Haereses, book III, c. III, n. 2.
4. C.A. Cum Praeexcelsa, February 28, 1476; Denz., n. 734.
5. Decree of the Sared Cong. of Rites; September 30, 1847.
6. This has been the constant care of the Popes, as is shown by the
condemnation of one of the propositions of Anthony de Rosmini-Serbati
(cf. Denzinger, nn. 1891-1930). This is how the 34th proposition runs
(Denzinger, n. 1924): “Ad praeservandam B. V. Mariam a labe originis,
satis erat, ut incorruptum maneret minimum sesmen in homine, neglectum
forte ab ipso demone, e quo incorrupto semine de generatione in
generationem transfuso, suo tempore oriretur Virgo Maria.” Decree of
the Holy Office, December 14, 1887 (AAS 20, 393). Denz. n. 1924.
7. Apost. Const. Sollicitudo Omnium Ecclesiarum, December 8, 1661.
8. Apost. Const. Cum Praeexcelsa, February 28, 1476; Grave Nemis,
September 4, 1483; Denz., nn. 734, 735.
9. Apost. Const. Sanctissimus, September 12, 1617.
10. Apost. Const. Sanctissimus, June 4, 1622.
11. Alexander VII, Apost. Const. Sollicitudo Omnium Ecclesiarum,
December 8, 1661.
12. Sess. V, Can. 6; Denz. n. 792. Declarat tamen haec ipsa sancta
Synodus, non esse suae intentionis, comprehendere in hoc decreto, ubi
de peccato originali agitur, beatam et immaculatam Virginem Mariam Dei
genitricem, sed observandas esse constitutiones felicis recordationis
Sixti Papae IV, sub poenis in eis constitutionibus contentis, quas
innovat.
13. Gn 3:15.
14. Quo circa sicut Christus Dei hominumque mediator, humana assumpta
natura, delens quod adversus nos erat chirographum decretia, illud
cruci triumphator affixit; sic Sanctissima Virgo, Arctissimo et
indissolubili vinculo cum eo conjuncta, una cum illo et per illum,
sempiternas contra venenosum serpentem inimicitias exercens, ac de ipso
plenissime triumphans, illus caput immaculato pede contrivit.
15. Cf. Gn. 6:9.
16. Cf. Gn 28:12.
17. Cf. Ex 3:2.
18. Cf. Sg 4:4.
19. Cf. Sg 4:12.
20. Cf. Ps 87:1.
21. Cf. Is 6:1-4.
22. Cf. Lk 1:28.
23. Ibid., 42.
24. Cf. St. Augustine: De Natura et Gratia, c. 36.
25. Gn 3:15.
26. Cf. Ex 31:2.
27. Cf. Ibid., n. 19ff.
28. Cf. Ibid., n. 27ff.
29. Declaramus, pronuntiamus et definimus doctrinam quae tenet
beatissimam Virginem Mariam in primo instanti suae conceptionis fuisse
singulari Omnipotentis Dei gratia et privilegio, intuitu meritorum
Christi Jesu Salvatoris humani generis, ab omni originalis culpae labe
praeservatam immunem, esse a Deo revelatam, atque idcirco ab omnibus
fidelibus firmiter constanterque credendam. Cf. Denz., n. 1641. world, have mercy on us.ld without end.
Amen.
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