II. The Blessed Virgin's Conception

ON THE CONCEPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN.^ " Fecit mihi magna qui potens est."

The subject of the Blessed Virgin's purity in her glorious Conception, which the Church celebrates and which will be treated of in all Catholic pulpits to-day, has for a long time exercised the greatest minds; and, of the many subjects that have to be expounded to the Faithful, it is perhaps one of the most difficult. I do not say this in the spirit of some orators, who exaggerate the poverty of their matter merely to exalt the rhetoric by which they intend to adorn it, for such a course would be utterly unworthy of a sacred theme; but because it is necessary, for clearly bringing out the real beauty and truth of Mary's Immaculate Conception, to begin by meeting some difficulties connected with the belief

The consideration of that terrible sentence pronounced by the Apostle against mankind in general '^ — " all are dead: all have sinned: by the offence of one, unto all men's condemnation " ^ — is alone enough

^ See Note p. 148, which forms an introduction to this Sermon.

2 2 Cor. V. 14. * Rom. v. 12, 16.

to make us wonder how an exception can be found to words of such wide application. But the universality of the curse is made still more plain by three different expressions used in Holy Scripture to represent the misfortune of our birth.

The Bible first announces a supreme law which it calls " the law of death ": a verdict of guilt pronounced indifferently against every man born into the world. Who can be exempt from this?

Secondly, it tells us of a hidden and imperceptible venom, whose source was in Adam, and which infects each of his descendants terribly and inevitably. This was what St. Augustine called " contagium mortis antiquce," and which made him say that the whole mass of the human race is contaminated. What preservative can be found against so subtle and penetrating a poison?

In the third place, we learn from Sacred Writ that all who breathe this infected air contract a stain which dishonours them, and destroys the image of God in them; and which thus makes them — as St. Paul says — " naturally children of wrath ".^ How hinder an evil that has actually become part of our nature for so long?

Such questions as these have disturbed the minds of some great thinkers — whose opinions, however, the Church does not condemn — by making it appear hard to prove Mary's perfect purity in her conception. It may be difficult, but I think we shall find it not im-

' Ephes. ii. 3.

On tJie Conception of the Blessed Virgin. 19 possible, to clear up doubts as to this great privilege of the Blessed Virgin.

It is quite true that a " law of death " exists, to which every person born is subject; but extraordinary people may always be dispensed from the most universal laws. There is undoubtedly an insidious and contagious poison that has infected our whole race; but we can sometimes escape contagion from a general epidemic by separating ourselves. We freely grant that an hereditary stain makes us natural enemies of God; but grace may anticipate nature. Hence, the line of thought to be followed, if we would prove an exception, is this: that we must find dispensation opposed to Law; separation, to Contagion; and prevention, to an expected natural evil. I propose to show that Mary was actually dispensed from the Law in question, by that supreme A uthority which was so often exerted in her favour; that she was separated from universal contagion by the Wisdom which plainly disclosed Its unsearchable designs upon her, from before all time, by thus setting her apart; and that the Eternal Love of God so prevented her, where His anger was concerned, as to make her an object of mercy before she had time to become an object of wrath.

If we can understand it aright, we shall find that in her own marvellous Canticle she herself announces all this.^ " He that is mighty hath done great things

1 Luke i. 49.

to me." She speaks first of power, to give honour to the absolute Authority by Whom she is dispensed: He thai is mighty. But what has this Almighty One done? "Ah!" she declares, "great things." It is clear that she here recognises her separation from others by the great and deep designs of the Wisdom that has called her apart. And what, we may ask, could possibly bring these great marvels to pass except the eternal Love of God, — ever active and ever fruitful, — without Whose intervention Omnipotence itself would not act, whilst Infinite Wisdom would keep Its thoughts unexpressed and bring forth nothing? It is this Love that does all things, and which consequently " has done great things to me ": this alone makes God to pour Himself forth upon His creatures: this is the cause of all existence, the principle of all bestowal: and hence it was this effectual love which, in working Mary's Conception, prevented the threatened evil by sanctifying her from the very beginning.

By proving these three points, then, I shall both fully expound the text chosen, and explain and justify the high honour we pay to Mary in her most blessed Conception.

It is decidedly a question whether, if it is the peculiar attribute of supreme authority to frame laws for whole nations, it is not even more perfectly characteristic of such authority to reserve for itself the right of dispensing from them where wisdom requires it; because the latter course, being extraordinary, seems to imply a higher degree of power and more independence than the former. If the majesty of Law is unequalled, and if to establish laws of his own is the highest and most sacred right of an absolute sovereign — which it undoubtedly is — then, when he makes those decrees themselves give way to his authority in special cases, he may be said with reason to raise himself above his own supremacy. This is God's mode of action when He works miracles, which are simply dispensations of things from the ordinary laws that He Himself had established; and which he performs to make his omnipotence more manifest. Hence, at first sight, it seems clear that the power of dispensation, or exception, is the most certain mark of authority.

On the other hand, equally strong arguments are put forward in favour of a different view. It is contended that because exceptions must always apply to an immensely smaller number than laws — or they could not be so called — and because a power exercised over numbers is surely more important than that exercised over a few, the establishing of universal Law is much the more absolutely authoritative work of the two. Again, it is urged that the continuous enforcement of permanent decrees is a truer sign of supreme power than the putting forth of occasional ones to counteract them — even though the latter act be in itself of a higher nature than the former.

The only way of reconciling these differences is to grant at once that the special characteristics of the highest authority appear equally in both forms of proceeding. This view is expressed by St. Thomas when he says that all Law comprises two things: — the general commandment and the particular application:. as, for example, when Ahasuerus made a decree condemning all the Jews to death, but excepted Esther in applying that decree. In this rule of St. Thomas's, then, we have just what we are seeking: — a statement of the equal greatness of the two acts; for the authority of law-giving is displayed in the " general commandment," and that of dispensing in the " particular application "; and as it belongs to the maker of universal rules to judge of their suitability to special cases, it follows that the power of framing laws and that of dispensing from them are equally noble and inseparable attributes of a Supreme Ruler.

These principles being granted, we may proceed with our subject. I am told that there is a Decree of Death pronounced against all men, and that to make an exception, even though in favour of the Blessed Virgin herself, would be to violate the authority of law. But according to the rule just laid down, I may reply to this that, the Legislator's power having two sides, you would impugn His authority no less by denying His power to dispense with the application in this particular case, than by disputing His right to promulgate the general law in the first instance. St. Paul certainly declares in formal terms that " all are condemned "; but this need not disturb us; for in fully acknowledging the universal extent of the law, he in nowise excludes such reservations as the Sovereign may choose to make. By the authority of the law, incontestably, Mary was condemned like the rest of mankind; but by the grace of special reservations, made for her by the Sovereign's absolute power, she was dispensed from having the decree carried out in her case.

It may be objected that the whole strength of Law is weakened when its sacred dignity is sacrificed to the granting of dispensations. This is true, unless each dispensation is accompanied with three things: — that it is granted only to an eminent person; that it is founded on precedent; and that the honour of the Lawgiver is concerned in it. The first condition is due to the law itself, the second to the public, and the third to the Ruler; and without them an exception cannot justly be made. But where these conditions are combined, we may reasonably expect a special favour. Let us see if they were not so in the Holy Virgin.

Where exceptions are made, or dispensations granted, amongst equals — even though they be equals in greatness— one may justly fear for the consequences of deviation from the common rule. It must, however.

be at once apparent that there can be no question of equality with any one where Mary is concerned; for in her case there is not only eminence, but ^r^-eminence. Is there a second Mother of God? Can there be another Virgin-mother to whom her prerogatives might possibly be extended? There can surely be no doubt in any minds that that glorious privilege of maternity, through which she has contracted an eternal alliance with God, places her in a quite peculiar rank that can suffer no sort of comparison.

From this very fact of her pre-eminence, it will of course be difficult to find a precedent for her exception from the law; and, in fact, it would be useless to seek for such in any other Saint. An example for God's dealings in this matter can actually be found only in Mary herself; and the observation of a not uncommon fact in all history will here help us.

It is very frequently the case that when Sovereigns have once begun bestowing favours in a certain direction they continue to bestow them there with ever-increasing liberality: benefits seem to attract, and make precedents for, one another; so that in a quarter where signal marks of favour have already been found, one may reasonably look for more. This principle is acknowledged by God Himself in the Gospels, when He says: " For to every one that hath shall be given";^ which means that, in the order of His favours, a grace never goes alone, but is the pledge of many others.

^ Matt. XXV. 29.

On the Conception of the Blessed Virgm. ^5

Now, apply this to the Blessed Virgin, Had she been subject throughout her life to ordinary rules we might easily believe her also " conceived in iniquity," in the same manner that others are. But when we find her enjoying a general dispensation from all common laws in every circumstance; when, according to Catholic faith and the teaching of the most approved Doctors, we see her not suffering in Child-birth, free from concupiscence, living a spotless life, and dying a painless death; when we learn that her reputed husband was but her guardian, her Son being the miraculous Child of Virginity, born through the power of the Holy Spirit instead of by the ordinary way of nature: — in short, when we find Mary singular in everything: — why should we expect her Conception to be the only part of her life that was not supernatural? It is much more logical to judge this event in the light of the rest, and to believe that it was a miracle in keeping with her whole life.

Thus, the two first conditions of a satisfactory dispensation — the superiority of the person concerned, and the existence of precedents in her favour — are clearly shown to be here fulfilled. I hope further to show that the third condition required is also present, and that the glory of the King — Jesus Christ Himself — is manifestly promoted by this dispensation.

It has been finely remarked that in certain circumstances " Princes themselves gain what they give, when their gifts are such as do them honour 'V Now, Our Lord certainly honours Himself when He honours His Mother; and thus it may be truly said that He gains all He bestows upon her, because it is certainly grander for Him to give than for her to receive. However, a yet closer reason for our Divine Saviour's action in this matter lies in the fact that, having Himself /)m^ on this human flesh, for the express purpose of destroying that fatal decree which we have called " the law of death," it was — if we may so speak — only becoming to His own greatness to leave no possible place where it could claim to hold absolute sway. We must follow up this design, and see what victories it has won, in detail.

This law of spiritual death reigns over all men, and over all periods of each man's life. When we incur its penalties at an advanced age, Jesus Christ defeats it by His grace; the new-born infant groans under its tyranny, and He effaces it in baptism; it condemns the unborn child in the womb of his mother, so Our Saviour has chosen to free certain illustrious souls from its dominion there, by sanctifying them before birth, as in the case of St. John the Baptist,^ But this terrible law goes yet farther back: it reigns over the very beginnings of man by seizing upon him the instant he is conceived [that is, animated]. Is Jesus

^ Alaric, in Cassiodorus, Variar., lib. viii., Epist. xxiii. ^ Also, according to the tradition of the Church, the Prophet Jeremias.

Christ, the all-powerful conqueror, to be defeated in this one spot alone? Shall His sacred Blood — the divine remedy that delivers us from all evil — be ineffectual to prevent it? Surely not. Then, shall Its power remain for ever unused, and not be exerted on any of Christ's members? No: — the Saviour of mankind cannot fail to choose at least one among His creatures, even for the sake of His own glory, in whom to show forth the full power of His Precious Blood: — and what specially chosen creature should this be but His mother?

There is another aspect of the question which must be most carefully considered, for it makes us feel even more strongly that to doubt Mary's Immaculate Conception would be almost to depreciate the value of the Blood of Christ. This most sacred stream, we must never forget, not only had to flow over Mary, as over the whole race, to redeem her; but it was to have lU human source in her body. This is a wonderful and overpowering thought; but it is absolutely true, or Christ would not be God and man; and, being true, can we doubt that Our Lord's honour requires the very channel whence He was to receive His own Blood to be purified in its beginning? But to bring this about Mary's Son must hinder the law of death from taking effect in her, at the first moment she becomes a living person: — that is, at the instant of her conception. Thus He pays due honour to the Life-giving Stream Itself, by honouring the spot whence it was to spring.

We must not, then, look for Mary's name in the catalogue of those condemned by the fatal decree: it has been blotted out simply by that Divine Blood drawn from her own chaste veins, and applied by her Son — to His own true glory — with fullest efficacy for her benefit.

The three conditions are thus shown to be complied with, and I have proved my first point: — that the Blessed Virgin was justly dispensed, by the rightful authority, from suffering under the general condemnation.

Tertullian has said that, because of the Supreme Majesty of God, it is not only glorious for His creatures to consecrate their lives to His service, but that it is even right for them to offer Him " the submission of flattery ": Non tantum obsequi ei debeo, sed et adulari: ^ — in other words, that we must not only obey His direct commandments, but keep every movement of our being so completely dependent on His will that we are ready to comply with the smallest sign of His pleasure. What Tertullian says of God Himself, our common Father, I would say of His Church, Mother of all the Faithful: — that we should be ready, as good Christians, not only to follow her precepts, but to respond to the slightest expression of her desires. Now, she does not compel our obedience by placing belief in the Immaculate Conception of Mary amongst her Articles of Faith which we must accept under pain

^ Tertull., de yejun., n, 13.

of sin; but by the very Feast of to-day she invites us to acknowledge it. Let us, then, say with perfect and fearless confidence that the Blessed Virgin was conceived without spot; and, in so doing, honour Jesus Christ in His Mother: — believing that He wrought a special work in her conception because she was chosen from among all others to conceive Him.

It is the very fact of this peculiar relation of Mother and Son between Mary and Christ — the fact that He Himself was conceived in her womb — which is the great argument for our second point to be proved: the belief that His Wisdom separated her in a peculiar manner from the universal contagion that all other souls contract when united to " flesh of sin ". And I say advisedly " in a peculiar manner ": for, observe, all who are saved by Baptism, actual or of desire — before or after Christ's coming — are separated, by being freed from the effects of the taint they have contracted, through grace. In fact, God has carried out this principle of " separation " in many forms from the beginning of all things: Holy Writ speaks of His " separating " one part of the universe after another from the first-formed matter; and, just as He first divided earth, sea, and sky from the shapeless mass, so He now parts the faithful from the mass of criminal humanity by that grace which is the work of the Holy Spirit, who has chosen them out from all eternity.

What else but this does St. Paul mean, when he speaks of" Him, who separated me from my mother's womb and called me by His grace? " ^ Hence, the/«d of the Blessed Virgin's separation is common to the whole body of the elect; it is the nature of it that is peculiar to herself, on account of the cawic.

We may take, as a help towards considering this mystery in detail, some beautiful words of Eusebius, in his second Homily on Our Lord's Nativity. He says, speaking of Mary's bliss in having conceived her Saviour: " Thou hast deserved to receive jirst Him whose coming was promised throughout all ages; and thou alone dost possess hy a peculiar gift the joy that is common to all men".^ If Jesus Christ is a common possession — if the Mysteries of His Life were wrought for the whole world — in what way could the Blessed Virgin possess Him " alone "? His death was a public sacrifice. His Blood the price of all sins, His preaching the doctrine for all nations: the fact that, directly the Divine Infant was born, the Jews were called to Him by angels and the Gentiles by a star, clearly shows that He belongs to the entire earth. The whole world has a right to the Son of God, because God's goodness bestowed Him on all. Nevertheless— O wondrous dignity of Mary! — amid this universal ownership she has a peculiar right of

1 Gal. i. 15.

' Per tot ssecula promissum, prima suscipere mereris adventum; et commune mundi gaudium, peculiari munere sola possides.

possessing Him alone, because she can claim Him as her Son: — a title which no other creature can share. God Himself and Mary, only, can call the Saviour " Son "; and by this most sacred tie Jesus Christ gives Himself to her in such a manner that the general treasure of all men may be truly called her particular property: sola possides.

But, it may be said, however glorious such a separation may be, what effect will it have in sanctifying her conception? To answer this question we must show that Our Saviour's own Conception exerts a secret influence over that of the Blessed Virgin, to which it imparts grace and sanctity; and we shall do this best by first calling to mind a truth full of comfort to all Christians: — namely, that the life of the Saviour of souls has a particular relation to every part of our own lives, that it may sanctify them. The Apostle expresses this truth when he says: " Jesus Christ died and rose again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and the living "} Observe the relation: — the Saviour's life sanctifies ours; our death is consecrated by His. And it is the same throughout: He clothed Himself with our weakness, which strengthens us in infirmity — He has felt our troubles, which consoles us in affliction and makes it holy and profitable to us: in short, Christ took upon Himself all that we are; and there is a secret relation between Him and us which causes our sanctification. And whence comes

^ Rom. xiv. 9.

this marvellous communication between His states and ours? The Apostle would reply that it comes from the fact that the Saviour, dying and suffering, belongs to us: He gives us His death and His sufferings; and in them we find graces that impart sanctity to our own, by making them like His. All Christians may say this; but there is one relation to Him which the Blessed Virgin only can claim: — she alone has the right to say " The Redeemer, when He was conceived as man, gave Himself to me by a peculiar title, and in such a manner that His conception breathed sanctity into mine by its secret influence ".

This, then, is the argument for Mary's being separated from the universal taint in her conception: — that she was chosen to be the parent of God made man; that He was given to her by the Heavenly Father, to conceive, and to bear within her sacred womb; and that whilst she thus bore Him — though for the rest of His life He was to belong equally to all men — she had a right of peculiar possession, as the Mother who had conceived Him: " peculiari munere sola possides ". Hence, it was surely just that Our Lord should do something singular for her who had been set apart by Divine wisdom to bear this singular relation to Him: — that the office for which she was destined should draw down a peculiar blessing of sanctification on her own conception? We must, then, acknowledge Mary as separated by an extraordinary operation of the Son of God. Divine

Wisdom Itself ordained the separation, because of the peculiar tie between her and her Son which made it just for her to share His privileges.

We see, further, that the Blessed Virgin in her separateness has something in common with all men and something peculiar to herself: for, as was said above, we are all separated from the mass by belonging to Christ. But Our Lord has a double tie with Mary: — one as Saviour, in common with the whole race; the other as Son, by which He belongs only to her. By the first tie, she is bound to be parted from the mass like all other men; by the second, she is bound to be set apart from it in an extraordinary manner. In this work, we behold the Divine Wisdom once more bringing order out of confusion as formerly in the case of the elements. Here is a mass of criminal humanity, from which a creature has to be separated in order to be made mother of her Creator. Jesus Christ is her Saviour: — hence she must be separated in the same way as others; but Jesus Christ is also her Son, and therefore she must be separated from others: — if others are delivered from evil, she must be preserved from it, so that its very course may be hindered. How can this be, except by some more special communication of her Son's privileges? He is exempt from sin: — Mary must be exempt also. Thus Wisdom has separated her from others; but still she must not be confounded with her Son, since she is of necessity infinitely beneath Him. How, then, are we to distinguish between them? In this way: — Jesus Christ is exempt from sin by nature, Mary by grace; Jesus Christ by right, Mary by privilege and indulgence.

It is clear, then, that she may say of her separation " He that is mighty hath done great things to me "; and we may now go on to see how grace iilled her so completely that the anger which threatens every child of Adam could not influence her conception, because it was forestalled by merciful love.

If Holy Scripture tells us that the Son of God, in taking our flesh, also took upon Him all our infirmities, sin alone excepted; if the plan that He had formed of making Himself like unto us caused Him not to disdain hunger, or thirst, or fear, or sadness, or a thousand other weaknesses that seem unworthy of His dignity: — then still more must we believe that He was deeply imbued with that just and holy love, impressed upon us by nature itself, for those to whom we owe life. This truth is, indeed, evident; but I wish to show here that it was that special love which prevented the Blessed Virgin in her happy conception — and I will explain my meaning fully.

I shall consider the filial love that Our Saviour bore to Mary under two conditions: — namely, in the Incarnation, and before the Incarnation, of the Divine Word. No Christian can find it hard to believe that it existed in the Incarnation, for as it was by this fact that Mary became the Mother of God, it was also in the accomplishment of that august mystery that God acquired the feelings of a Son for Mary. But it is not so easy to understand how filial love for His holy Mother can have been found in God before He became incarnate, as the Son of God is her Child only on account of the humanity He took upon Him. Nevertheless, if we look farther back we shall discover that love which "prevented" Mary by the profusion of its gifts, already existing; and the understanding of this truth will prove the love of God for our nature. There are three things that distinguish the Blessed Virgin from all mothers: — she gave birth to the Bestower of grace; her Son — differing in this from all others — could put forth His full powers from the first moment of His life; and, which is most wonderful of all, she was the mother of a Son Who existed before her. These three facts produce three magnificent effects in Mary. As her Son is the Bestower of grace He gives her a very large share of it; as He is able to act from the moment of His birth. He need not delay His liberality towards her, but begins to shower His gifts the instant she has conceived Him; lastly, having a Son Whose Being preceded hers, she is so miraculously placed that the love of that Son can go before her even in her own conception, and make that event innocent: it was indeed her right that such a Son should so benefit her.

This truth is made still clearer through a doctrine held by some of the Fathers about the way in which the Son of God has loved the Blessed Virgin from eternity. They have drawn the doctrine from something that we must have often wondered at ourselves: — from the way in which God, throughout Holy Scripture, appears to delight — if we may say so — in behaving as man: how He actually copies our actions, our manners and customs, our feelings and our passions. Now He will say, by the mouth of His prophets, that His Heart is seized with compassion; then, again, that it is inflamed with anger: — that He is appeased, that He " repents Him," that He is glad or sorrowful. What means this mystery? Does it become a God to act thus? For the Incarnate Word to speak in this fashion seems natural, for He was man; but for God, before He was man, to act and speak as men do seems truly strange. It may be reasonably suggested that He does it to bring His Sovereign Majesty within our reach; but the Fathers find a more mysterious reason for it. They tell us that God, having once resolved to unite Himself to our nature, judged it not beneath Him to adopt all its feelings beforehand: — nay, that He made them His own, and might even be said to have studied how to conform Himself to them.

If it is not irreverent to illustrate so great a mystery by a familiar example, I would suggest a parallel in the ordinary conduct of a man who is expecting a civil or military appointment. He has not got it; but he prepares for it by adopting in advance all the habits of mind that are proper to it; and he tries in good time to acquire either the gravity of a judge or the generous courage of a soldier. God has determined to become man: He has not done so in the days of the Prophets, but it is certain that He will. Hence, we are not to wonder if He takes pleasure in appearing to the Patriarchs and Seers in human guise, by speaking and acting like a man before He has become one. And why? Tertullian answers admirably: — to prepare for the Incarnation. He Who is to stoop so low as to assume our nature, is serving (with all reverence be it spoken) His apprenticeship, by conforming to our ways. " He accustoms Himself little by little to being man; and learns from the beginning what He is to be in the end." ^

Let none, then, think that God awaited His coming on earth to have a filial love for the Blessed Virgin. That He had resolved to become man was enough to make him adopt a man's feelings; and if He took those upon Him, would He be likely to forget the feelings of a Son — the most natural and human of them all? Hence He has always loved Mary as His Mother, and looked upon her as such from the first moment she was conceived: could He, therefore, look upon her with anger? Would sin in her be consistent with so many graces, vengeance with love, enmity with union? Sin, it is true, has raised a wall of separation

• " Ediscens jam inde a primordio, jam inde hominem, quod erat fiituius in fine." — Lib. ii., adv. Marcion, n. 27, between God and man — has established a natural enmity; but may not Mary say with the Psalmist: In Deo meo transgrediar murum? ^ Yes: she will not be shut off by a barrier — she will pass over the wall — and how? " In the name of my God: — of that God Who, being my Son, is mine by a peculiar right: that God Who has loved me as His mother from the first moment of my life: that God Whose all-powerful Sind prevenient Love has turned aside the wrath that threatens every child of Eve."

Such is the work that has been wrought in the Blessed Virgin; and we may, therefore, safely cry: " O Mary, miraculously dispensed, peculiarly separated, mercifully prevented, help our weakness by thy prayers, and obtain for us sinners this grace: — that we may so forestall by penance the punishment due to our sins, as to be at last received into the Kingdom of eternal peace, with the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ".

^ Ps. xvi. 32.