The Immaculate Conception of Mary Mother of Christ

On December 8, that is today, the Catholic world celebrates the Solemnity of the Virgin Mary's Immaculate Conception as she was conceived in her mother's womb St. Anne without the stain of Original Sin. The doctrine goes back to St. Luke's description of the annunciation of the angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary. The angel said to Mary "Hail, full of grace! the Lord is with you." to which she was greatly troubled. The angel continued "Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end". Mary said to the angel "How can this be since I know no man?" which means that she did not have sexual relations with any man..."And the angel said to her in reply, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God.' Mary said, 'Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.' Then the angel departed from her." (Luke 1: 26-38). 

In the 2nd century, the early Church Father, St. Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons, followed St. Polycarp who was a disciple of St. John the Apostle and called the Virgin Mary "The New Eve" based on Eve's disobedience of God through an angel which Mary full of grace conquered through her obedience of God through an angel (see Genesis 3: 6). (see here for more). Since the word "Eve" means "mother of the living", Mary becomes "mother of the new living". Mary was proclaimed "Mother of God" in the Ecumenical Council held in Ephesus in 431 AD which was championed by the Bishops of Alexandria reaffirming the incarnation of Christ the Lord from Mary who, against the Nestorian heresy, is, therefore, worthy to be called "Mother of God". St. Cyril of Jerusalem and St. Epiphanius of Salamis affirmed the interpretation of St. Irenaeus. A feast of the "Most Holy and All Pure Mother of God" was celebrated in Syria on December 8 perhaps as early as the 5th century.To St. Ephraem, the Virgin Mary was as innocent as Eve before her fall, most estranged from every stain of sin ("Carmina Nisibena").  Mary's complete sinlessness and concomitant exemption from any taint of sin from the first moment of her existence found expression in Byzantine theologians mostly St. Gregory Nazianzen as well as St. Sophronius of Jerusalem and St. John of Damascus (d. 750). St. Ambrose wrote that Mary is incorrupt , a virgin immune through grace from every stain of sin ("Sermo xxii in Ps cxviii"). The well-known words of St. Augustine of Hippo (d. 430) may be cited "As regard the mother of God, I will not allow any question whatever of sin." The Franciscan Blessed John Duns Scotus (c 1266-1308) taught at Oxford and later at the famed University of Paris. He wrote that through the redemption of Christ her son, Mary was preserved from the stain of sin (Original or personal) which meant the immaculate conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. He is considered, with St. Thomas Aquinas, one of the great Middle Ages scholastic theologians.  In 1439 the Council of Basel stated that belief in the immaculate conception of Mary was in accord with Catholic faith. In 1477, Pope Sixtus IV introduced a feast of the "Conception of  Immaculate Mary ever Virgin". In the  Ecumenical Council of Trent (1545-1563) opposition to a declaration of the immaculate conception of the Mother of God caused no further discussion. However, in 1830, Our Lord appeared to Sister Catherine Labouré telling her that he desired to be with everyone. This was followed by an apparition of  the Blessed Mother to St. Catherine Labouré and instructed her to make a medal that showed on one side a cross and the letter M (for Mary) with the sacred heart of Jesus together with the immaculate heart of Mary beneath it surrounded by stars and on the other side the Virgin Mary with rays emanating from her hands and an inscription "O Mary conceived without Sin, pray for us who have recourse to you."  Catherine informed her spiritual director of the request. In 2 years, the Bishop had ordered the printing and distribution of the medal with official approval by the Holy See...(see picture).

In 1854, Pope Blessed Pius IX as teacher of the Church in matters of dogmas and morals made the infallible declaration that the Virgin Mary was conceived without stain of sin.  
In its Dogmatic Constitution, the Ecumenical Second Vatican Council reiterated the dogma that Mary was conceived without the stain of original sin and that she lived a pure person all her life.
It is fitting therefore that we ask the Blessed Virgin Mary to intercede for all before the Lord and God her son.