Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception
In the years following the writing of the books of the New Testament, a number of other writings appeared in Christian circles. Some of these offered to tell their readers “the rest of the story”, as Paul Harvey famously said in his radio broadcasts. These books promised to fill in what was missing in the Biblical accounts.
Among these books was a work called the First Gospel (Protevangelium) of James. Written most likely between 150-180 AD, it recounts the story of Mary’s parents, Joachim and Anne, Mary’s birth and childhood, how she met and became betrothed to Joseph, and then gives us the story of Jesus’ birth (which is mainly drawn from the Gospels of Matthew and Luke). By the standards of the time, the “First Gospel” was a best-seller. Many copies of it have been found which date back to this time period.
Today, we could call this “First Gospel” a historical novel. It gives us historical people and events, but also contains some traditions or legends about them which may or may not be literally true. However, even the legends tell us something which is true. Think of the story of George Washington and the cherry tree. Historians now believe that the story didn’t literally happen. However, the story illustrates something that everyone in Washington’s day firmly believed: that he was a man of utter integrity and honor, who literally “would not tell a lie”.
The same can be said of this “First Gospel”. Even if not every story it tells us is literally, historically true, it still remains a valuable historical writing. Why? It shows us that, even very early in the Church’s history, there was already a strong interest in and devotion to Mary. It also shows us that Christians, from very early times, sensed that there was something unique about Mary’s birth and childhood. We won’t find the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception clearly stated here, but it strongly hints in that direction.
So, too, does today’s Gospel story, the account of the Annunciation according to Luke. The angel Gabriel addresses Mary with a word that is not applied to anyone else in Scripture, a word that translates as “full of grace”. These, and other hints in Scripture (such as the image of the Daughter of Zion in the Old Testament), led the Church to develop a faith in the Immaculate Conception of Mary that eventually was proclaimed as doctrine.
What does this doctrine mean? Simply put, it means that Mary, from the first moment of her conception, was preserved from any taint of or damage from original sin. She was made without sin so that she might be a suitable mother, a suitable tabernacle, for the Word who was to be made flesh in her.
I hope that these few words will help you to see that our belief in Mary’s Immaculate Conception has deep historical and theological roots, which may help when dealing with people who may question this belief. May it also strengthen your own devotion to Mary, Jesus’ mother and ours.