The Early Christian Church: The Immaculate Conception And It's Biblical Values!
Understanding The Dogma
This is one of the most discussed and online search keywords on
Google by people so far. Specially, non-Catholics, who are staunch critique of
Catholic Dogma of The Immaculate Conception. They Rejects this as unbiblical
man-made teaching. The dogma of the Immaculate Conception was officially
defined in The Catholic Church by Pope Pius IX in 1854. When Protestants claim
that the dogma was “invented” at this time, they misunderstand both the history
of dogmas and what prompts the Church to issue, from time to time, definitive
pronouncements regarding faith or morals. However, I’m going to elaborate and
broadly discuss about this topic, whether it is biblical or unbiblical. I will
also draw an outline, to show, that how our Early Christian Church saw this dogma
and explained it. Ready? Let’s begin!
What is The Immaculate Conception?
Understanding the definition: The
Immaculate Conception is an Early Christian doctrine which teaches its believer
that the Virgin Mary, from the moment of her conception in her mother’s womb
(St. Anne), was preserved by God from The Original Sin in anticipation for her
role as the mother of Jesus. She was made sinless and pure, making her a
fitting vessel to give birth to Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Trinity.
The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception emphasizes that Virgin
Mary was preserved from the stain of original sin from the moment of her
conception by God’s grace. This is not due to any inherent quality, but in
preparation for her sacred role as the bearer of God Incarnate (Theotokos). In
His Divine foreknowledge and providence, God predestined Mary from all eternity
to be the Mother of the Word Incarnate and thus preserved her from original sin
for this role. This is evidenced in Galatians 4:4-5 where it states that God
predestined that His Son should be born of a woman.
Article from The Catechism of The Catholic Church
(CCC)
To become the mother of the Saviour, Mary “was enriched by God with gifts appropriate to such a role.” (LG 56) The angel Gabriel at the moment of the annunciation salutes her as “full of grace”. (Lk 1:28) In fact, in order for Mary to be able to give the free assent of her faith to the announcement of her vocation, it was necessary that she be wholly borne by God's grace. (CCC 490)
Through the centuries the Church has become ever more aware that Mary, “full of grace” through God, (Lk 1:28) was redeemed from the moment of her conception. That is what the dogma of the Immaculate Conception confesses, as Pope Pius IX proclaimed in 1854: The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Saviour of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin. (Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus (1854): DS 2803.) (CCC 491)
The “splendour of an entirely unique holiness” by which Mary is “enriched
from the first instant of her conception” comes wholly from Christ: she is “redeemed,
in a more exalted fashion, by reason of the merits of her Son”.(LG 53, 56) The
Father blessed Mary more than any other created person “in Christ with every
spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” and chose her “in Christ before the
foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless before him in love”. (Eph
1:3-4) (CCC 492)
The Fathers of the Eastern tradition call the Mother of God “The
All-Holy” (Panagia) and celebrate her as “free from any stain of sin, as though
fashioned by the Holy Spirit and formed as a new creature”. (LG 56) By the
grace of God Mary remained free of every personal sin her whole life long.
“Let it be done to me according to your word. . .” (CCC 493)
At the announcement that she would give birth to “the Son of the
Most High” without knowing man, by the power of the Holy Spirit, Mary responded
with the obedience of faith, certain that “with God nothing will be impossible”:
“Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be [done] to me according to
your word.” (Lk 1:28-38; Rom 1:5) Thus, giving her consent to God's word, Mary
becomes the mother of Jesus. Espousing the divine will for salvation
wholeheartedly, without a single sin to restrain her, she gave herself entirely
to the person and to the work of her Son; she did so in order to serve the
mystery of redemption with him and dependent on him, by God's grace: (LG 560)
(CCC 494)
Non-Catholic Objections
Every non-Catholic I have ever met, they always start with,
“Where it is in the Bible?”. Sounds good?
Well, before presenting the legitimate evidences from The Holy Scripture
(Bible), we need to first address the tendency of questioner, who asks this
type of questions. The question “Where ‘X’ in the Bible?”, is the fruit of
Protestant teaching Sola Scriptura, which is itself a contradictory and
unbiblical teaching. I wrote the refutation for Sola Scriptura and have asked
several questions using that very method to prove why it is inaccurate teaching
to understand and define a particular Christian belief. To start with a solution, we need understand
that, the person who asking this type of questions, believes that the Bible is
the only rule of faith. One of the reasons why our separated brethren
(Protestants and Evangelicals) have difficulty accepting certain Marian Dogmas
that they do not understand the scriptural role of sacred Tradition and the
magisterium (Acts 16:4-5; 2 Thes 2:15).
The Catholic Church was commissioned by Jesus Christ to teach
all nations infallibly until the end of the world (John 14:26, 16:13). The mere
fact that the Church teaches that something is definitely true is a guarantee
that it is true (see Matt. 28:18-20, Luke 10:16, 1 Tim. 3:15).
Objection 1: Where is The Immaculate Conception of
Virgin Mary Mentioned in The Bible?
Understanding the Biblical Typology
Virgin Mary is The New Eve! In Genesis 3:15, God says that there
will be an enmity between the “woman” and the serpent, and this enmity is
between seed of the woman and seed of the serpent. Her seed is the Messiah, who
stands in opposition to the seed of the serpent. The mother of the messiah is
said to share the same enmity—total opposition—with Satan. Remember that, Jesus
addressed his Mother as “Woman” (Jn 2:4), to show us who is She. Now, if Mary,
“the woman,” had any sin, then she would not be in complete opposition to the
Serpent (Devil). Some argue that the “woman” refers to Eve, but this cannot be
the complete meaning of the text, as Eve is always associated with her
collaboration with the serpent, not her opposition to him. Only Mary, the new
Eve, fits the description of the woman in Genesis 3:15.
Another reference can also be found in the angel’s greeting to Mary in Luke 1:28: “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you.” The phrase “full of grace” is a translation of the Greek word “kecharitomene”. This word represents the proper name of the person being addressed by the angel, and it therefore expresses a characteristic quality of Mary. Kecharitomene is a perfect passive participle of charitoo, meaning “to fill or endow with grace.” Since this term is in the perfect tense, it indicates a perfection of grace that is both intensive and extensive. It means, the grace Virgin Mary received was not a result of the angel’s visit, and was not only as “full” or strong or complete as possible at any given time, but it extended over the whole of her life, from conception onward. She was in a state of sanctifying grace from the first moment of her existence to have been called “full of grace.”
Virgin Mary is the New Ark of Covenant! Since first century the
Early Church Fathers and Doctors of the Church spoke often about the
fittingness of the privilege of Mary’s Immaculate Conception. The dogma is
especially fitting when one examines the honor that was given to The Ark of the
Covenant in Old Testament. It contained The Manna (bread from heaven), stone
tablets of the Ten Commandments (the word of God), and The Staff of Aaron (an
instrument of Israel’s redemption) – (Heb 9:4). If this Wooden box was created
with such honor—to carry a stick, some bread, and stone tablets—how much more
should Mary be made a worthy dwelling place for God himself? She is the New Ark
of the Covenant because she carried the real bread from heaven, the Word of
God, and the instrument of our redemption, Jesus’ body. There is an argument
that, the new ark is not Virgin Mary but the body of Jesus. Even if this is
true, then it is worth noting that 1 Chronicles 15:14 tells us that the persons
who bore the ark were to be sanctified. There would seem to be no sense in
sanctifying men who carried a box and not sanctifying the womb who carried the
Holy One himself. After all, wisdom will not dwell “in a body under debt of
sin” (Wis 1:4).
Objection 2: If Virgin Mary is Sinless, that means
She is equal to God!
No! She is not. In contrary, it shows us how the Immaculate
Conception of Mary glorifies God. There is a misconception among protestants
and other evangelical Christian denominations, that human beings cannot be
sinless, only God is sinless! They use this verse from the Bible: “all have
sinned” (Rom. 3:23). But this verse is talking about our personal sin, due to
our fallen human nature. Have all people committed actual sins? Consider a
child below the age of reason. By definition he can’t sin, because sinning
requires the ability to reason (knowledge) and the ability (Free will) to
intend to sin. Jesus taught us: “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father
is perfect” (Mt 5:48). But just as He who called you is Holy, so be Holy in all
you do; for it is written: “Be Holy, because I AM Holy” (1 Pet 1:15-16). That’s
why, when we think or say that no one can be sinless, it violates our very
human nature which is created in The Holy Image of God. “For he chose us in him
before the creation of the world to be Holy and Blameless in his sight” (Eph
1:4). So when we sin, we are not fully human beings. Now think for a moment. If
Adam and Eve never committed sin eating forbidden fruit by disobeying God, they
would stay sinless. Would they become equal to God? Obviously not! In the beginning, God created no one (neither
angel nor human) with sin, and yet no one was equal to God. When Adam and Eve
sinned, they acted in a manner that was beneath to their dignity as beings made
in God’s image and likeness. It was their sin that downgraded from the glory of
God, not their original sinlessness. God’s goodness is most clear when he
sanctifies his creation by entering into it fully with the life of his grace.
That’s why the sinless souls in heaven give the most glory to God. The unique
glory of the Trinity is manifested most clearly in heaven—where is he
surrounded by sinless beings. In their sinlessness, God has made them most
fully what he intended for them to be. In Mary’s case, her sinlessness gives
the most glory to God, since his work is made perfect in her. She is his
masterpiece.
Objection 3: But Mary says in The Magnificat that,
“and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior” (Lk 1:47)? How can be Mary sinless
when she says God is her Saviour?
The Catholic Church does teach that Mary needed a savior. It is
not big issue to address if this question arises. It was by the grace of
God—and not the work of Mary—that she was saved from sin in a most perfect
manner. By what is called “preservative redemption,” Mary was preserved from
sin at the time of her natural conception. John the Baptist was sanctified in
the womb prior to his birth (Luke 1:15), and Mary was sanctified at her
conception. Jesus Christ distributed the grace of Calvary some forty-five years
or so before it happened, just as he bestows it upon us 2,000 years after the
fact. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says, that this gift was given to
Virgin Mary, making her “redeemed in a more exalted fashion, by reason of the
merits of her Son” (492). She has more reason to call God her Savior than we
do, because he saved her in an even more glorious manner! The fundamental
difference here, the way we are redeemed by God is not the same way Virgin Mary
is redeemed!
Take this analogy: Suppose a man falls into a deep pit, and
someone reaches down to pull him out. The man has been “saved” from the pit.
Now imagine a woman walking along, and she too is about to fall into the pit,
but at the very moment that she is to fall in, someone holds her back and
prevents her. She too has been saved from the pit, but in an even better way:
She was not simply taken out of the pit, she was prevented from getting stained
by the mud in the first place. This is the illustration Early Christian Church
have used for a thousand years to explain how Mary was saved by Christ. By
receiving Christ’s grace at her conception, she had his grace applied to her
before she was able to become mired in original sin and its stain.
Objection 4: Didn’t the Catholic Church invented
this Dogma in 1854?
Short answer, No! Long answer, Pope Pius IX officially defined
the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in 1854. When Fundamentalists claim that
this was “invented” at this time, they misunderstand both the history of dogmas
and what prompts the Church to issue, from time to time, definitive pronouncements regarding faith or morals. They are under the impression that no
doctrine is believed until the pope or an ecumenical council issues a formal
statement about it. For example: In 325 CE, the First Council of Nicaea defined
The Persons of the Godhead and their relationship with one another, decisions
which were ratified at the First Council of Constantinople in 381 CE. So does
that mean, Christian before 381 CE didn’t believed in Holy Trinity? Or the
Doctrine of The Holy Trinity invented in 325 CE at Council of Nicaea? I hope
you got the point. Doctrines are defined formally only when there is a
controversy that needs to be cleared up or when the magisterium (the Church in
its office as teacher; see Matthew 28:18–20, 1 Timothy 3:15, 4:11) thinks the
faithful can be helped by particular emphasis being drawn to some already
existing belief. The definition of the Immaculate Conception was prompted by
the latter motive; it did not come about because there were widespread doubts
about the doctrine.
The Early Church
In the early Christian writings of the first two centuries,
there are evidences of the reverence and high regard given to Virgin Mary. Many
early Christian theologians drew parallels line between Mary and Old Testament
figures like Eve and the Ark of the Covenant, symbolizing her unique role in
bearing the Son of God. While not part of the canonical Bible, The
Protoevangelium of James, written in the 2nd century, contains records of
Mary’s birth and upbringing and implies Mary’s sanctity from a young age. St.
Ephrem, a Church Father from the Syrian tradition, expressed belief in Mary’s
purity and her role in salvation: “You alone and your Mother are more beautiful
than any others; for there is no blemish in you nor any stains upon your
Mother.” (Nisibene Hymns 27:8).
Both Augustine and Jerome acknowledged Mary’s unique
holiness while discussing the topic of sin:
“Having excepted the holy Virgin Mary, concerning whom, on
account of the honor of the Lord, I wish to have absolutely no question when
treating of sins.” - St. Augustine [De Natura et Gratia, 36, 42]
“You alone and your Mother are in all things fair; there is no
flaw in you and no stain in your Mother.” – St. Jerome [Letter to Eustochium,
22:21]
The Immaculate Conception of Mary was not formally defined as a
dogma by the Catholic Church until 1854. Therefore, you won’t find explicit
references to the Immaculate Conception in the writings of the early Church
Fathers because it was not a fully developed doctrine at that time. However,
theological concepts and doctrines can evolve and become more defined over time
within the Christian tradition. The Immaculate Conception became a fully
articulated doctrine in the 19th century, based on centuries of theological
reflection and development. The Church Fathers made many references to Mary’s
holiness and purity in their writings. The belief in the fittingness of her
unique status as the Mother of Jesus had widespread acceptance, but the
specific doctrine of the Immaculate Conception took time to develop and be
formally defined.
Early Church Father on Immaculate Conception of
Virgin Mary
1. The Ascension of Isaiah
“[T]he report concerning the child was noised abroad in
Bethlehem. Some said, ‘The Virgin Mary has given birth before she was married
two months.’ And many said, ‘She has not given birth; the midwife has not gone
up to her, and we heard no cries of pain’” (Ascension of Isaiah 11 [A.D. 70]).
2. The Odes of Solomon
“So the Virgin became a mother with great mercies. And she
labored and bore the Son, but without pain, because it did not occur without
purpose. And she did not seek a midwife, because he caused her to give life”
(Odes of Solomon 19 [A.D. 80]).
3. Justin Martyr
“[Jesus] became man by the Virgin so that the course which was
taken by disobedience in the beginning through the agency of the serpent might
be also the very course by which it would be put down. Eve, a virgin and
undefiled, conceived the word of the serpent and bore disobedience and death.
But the Virgin Mary received faith and joy when the angel Gabriel announced to
her the glad tidings that the Spirit of the Lord would come upon her and the
power of the Most High would overshadow her, for which reason the Holy One
being born of her is the Son of God. And she replied ‘Be it done unto me
according to your word’ [Luke 1:38]” (Dialogue with Trypho the Jew 100 [A.D.
155]).
“Consequently, then, Mary the Virgin is found to be obedient, saying, ‘Behold, O Lord, your handmaid; be it done to me according to your word.’ Eve, however, was disobedient, and, when yet a virgin, she did not obey. Just as she, who was then still a virgin although she had Adam for a husband—for in paradise they were both naked but were not ashamed; for, having been created only a short time, they had no understanding of the procreation of children, and it was necessary that they first come to maturity before beginning to multiply—having become disobedient, was made the cause of death for herself and for the whole human race; so also Mary, betrothed to a man but nevertheless still a virgin, being obedient, was made the cause of salvation for herself and for the whole human race. . . . Thus, the knot of Eve’s disobedience was loosed by the obedience of Mary. What the virgin Eve had bound in unbelief, the Virgin Mary loosed through faith” (Against Heresies 3:22:24 [A.D. 189]).
“The Lord then was manifestly coming to his own things, and was
sustaining them by means of that creation that is supported by himself. He was
making a recapitulation of that disobedience that had occurred in connection
with a tree, through the obedience that was upon a tree [i.e., the cross].
Furthermore, the original deception was to be done away with—the deception by
which that virgin Eve (who was already espoused to a man) was unhappily misled.
That this was to be overturned was happily announced through means of the truth
by the angel to the Virgin Mary (who was also [espoused] to a man). . . . So if
Eve disobeyed God, yet Mary was persuaded to be obedient to God. In this way,
the Virgin Mary might become the advocate of the virgin Eve. And thus, as the
human race fell into bondage to death by means of a virgin, so it is rescued by
a virgin. Virginal disobedience has been balanced in the opposite scale by
virginal obedience. For in the same way, the sin of the first created man
received amendment by the correction of the First-Begotten” (ibid., 5:19:1
[A.D. 189]).
5. Tertullian of Carthage
“It was while Eve was still a virgin that the word of the devil
crept in to erect an edifice of death. Likewise through a virgin the Word of
God was introduced to set up a structure of life. Thus what had been laid waste
in ruin by this sex was by the same sex reestablished in salvation. Eve had
believed the serpent; Mary believed Gabriel. That which the one destroyed by
believing, the other, by believing, set straight” (The Flesh of Christ 17:4
[A.D. 210].
6. Pseudo-Melito
“If therefore it might come to pass by the power of your grace,
it has appeared right to us your servants that, as you, having overcome death,
do reign in glory, so you should raise up the body of your Mother and take her
with you, rejoicing, into heaven. Then said the Savior [Jesus]: ‘Be it done
according to your will’” (The Passing of the Virgin 16:2–17 [A.D. 300]).
7. Ephraim the Syrian
“You alone and your Mother are more beautiful than any others,
for there is no blemish in you nor any stains upon your Mother. Who of my
children can compare in beauty to these?” (Nisibene Hymns 27:8 [A.D. 361]).
8. Ambrose of Milan
“Mary’s life should be for you a pictorial image of virginity.
Her life is like a mirror reflecting the face of chastity and the form of
virtue. Therein you may find a model for your own life . . . showing what to
improve, what to imitate, what to hold fast to” (The Virgins 2:2:6 [A.D. 377]).
“The first thing which kindles ardor in learning is the greatness of the teacher. What is greater [to teach by example] than the Mother of God? What more glorious than she whom Glory Itself chose? What more chaste than she who bore a body without contact with another body? For why should I speak of her other virtues? She was a virgin not only in body but also in mind, who stained the sincerity of its disposition by no guile, who was humble in heart, grave in speech, prudent in mind, sparing of words, studious in reading, resting her hope not on uncertain riches, but on the prayer of the poor, intent on work, modest in discourse; wont to seek not man but God as the judge of her thoughts, to injure no one, to have goodwill towards all, to rise up before her elders, not to envy her equals, to avoid boastfulness, to follow reason, to love virtue. When did she pain her parents even by a look? When did she disagree with her neighbors? When did she despise the lowly? When did she avoid the needy?” (ibid., 2:2:7).
“Come, then, and search out your sheep, not through your
servants or hired men, but do it yourself. Lift me up bodily and in the flesh,
which is fallen in Adam. Lift me up not from Sarah but from Mary, a virgin not
only undefiled, but a virgin whom grace had made inviolate, free of every stain
of sin” (Commentary on Psalm 118:22–30 [A.D. 387]).
9. Augustine of Hippo
“That one woman is both mother and virgin, not in spirit only
but even in body. In spirit she is mother, not of our head, who is our Savior
himself—of whom all, even she herself, are rightly called children of the
bridegroom—but plainly she is the mother of us who are his members, because by
love she has cooperated so that the faithful, who are the members of that head,
might be born in the Church. In body, indeed, she is the Mother of that very
head” (Holy Virginity 6:6 [A.D. 401]).
“Having excepted the holy Virgin Mary, concerning whom, on
account of the honor of the Lord, I wish to have absolutely no question when
treating of sins—for how do we know what abundance of grace for the total
overcoming of sin was conferred upon her, who merited to conceive and bear him
in whom there was no sin?—so, I say, with the exception of the Virgin, if we
could have gathered together all those holy men and women, when they were
living here, and had asked them whether they were without sin, what do we
suppose would have been their answer?” (Nature and Grace 36:42 [A.D. 415]).
10. Timothy of Jerusalem
“Therefore the Virgin is immortal to this day, seeing that he
who had dwelt in her transported her to the regions of her assumption” (Homily
on Simeon and Anna [A.D. 400]).
11. John the Theologian
“[T]he Lord said to his Mother, ‘Let your heart rejoice and be
glad, for every favor and every gift has been given to you from my Father in
heaven and from me and from the Holy Spirit’” (The Falling Asleep of Mary [A.D.
400]).
“And from that time forth all knew that the spotless and
precious body had been transferred to paradise” (ibid.).
12. Gregory of Tours
“The course of this life having been completed by blessed Mary,
when now she would be called from the world, all the apostles came together
from their various regions to her house. And when they had heard that she was
about to be taken from the world, they kept watch together with her. And
behold, the Lord Jesus came with his angels, and, taking her soul, he gave it
over to the angel Michael and withdrew. At daybreak, however, the apostles took
up her body on a bier and placed it in a tomb, and they guarded it, expecting
the Lord to come. And behold, again the Lord stood by them; the holy body
having been received, he commanded that it be taken in a cloud into paradise,
where now, rejoined to the soul, [Mary’s body] rejoices with the Lord’s chosen
ones and is in the enjoyment of the good of an eternity that will never end”
(Eight Books of Miracles 1:4 [A.D. 584]).
“But Mary, the glorious Mother of Christ, who is believed to be
a virgin both before and after she bore him, has, as we said above, been
translated into paradise, amid the singing of the angelic choirs, whither the
Lord preceded her” (ibid., 1:8).
Non-Catholic Writings on Immaculate Conception of Virgin Mary
Martin Luther, Father of the Protestant Reformation
“. . . she is full of grace, proclaimed to be entirely without
sin. . . . God’s grace fills her with everything good and makes her devoid of
all evil. . . . God is with her, meaning that all she did or left undone is
divine and the action of God in her. Moreover, God guarded and protected her
from all that might be hurtful to her.” – [Ref: Luther’s Works, American
edition, vol. 43, p. 40, ed. H. Lehmann, Fortress, 1968]
“It is a sweet and pious belief that the infusion of Mary’s soul
was effected without original sin; so that in the very infusion of her soul she
was also purified from original sin and adorned with God’s gifts, receiving a
pure soul infused by God; thus from the first moment she began to live she was
free from all sin” – [Sermon: “On the Day of the Conception of the Mother of
God,” 1527]
“She is full of grace, proclaimed to be entirely without
sin—something exceedingly great. For God’s grace fills her with everything good
and makes her devoid of all evil.” – [Personal {“Little”} Prayer Book, 1522]
“God has formed the soul and body of the Virgin Mary full of the
Holy Spirit, so that she is without all sins, for she has conceived and borne
the Lord Jesus. . . All seed except Mary was vitiated [by original sin].” –
[Immaculate conception 23-24, Luther’s Works, 1532. Martin Luther, D. Martin
Luthers Werke, Kritische Gesamtausgabe, 61 vols., (Weimar: Verlag Hermann
Böhlaus Nochfolger, 1883-1983), 52:39 [hereinafter: WA]. WA, 39, II:107.]
“Mother Mary, like us, was born in sin of sinful parents, but
the Holy Spirit covered her, sanctified and purified her so that this child was
born of flesh and blood, but not with sinful flesh and blood. The Holy Spirit
permitted the Virgin Mary to remain a true, natural human being of flesh and
blood, just as we. However, he warded off sin from her flesh and blood so that
she became the mother of a pure child, not poisoned by sin as we are. For in
that moment when she conceived, she was a holy mother filled with the Holy
Spirit and her fruit is a holy pure fruit, at once God and truly man, in one
person.” –[Luther (1996), p. 291]
“But the other conception, namely the infusion of the soul, it is piously and suitably believed, was without any sin, so that while the soul was being infused, she would at the same time be cleansed from original sin and adorned with the gifts of God to receive the holy soul thus infused. And thus, in the very moment in which she began to live, she was without all sin…” –[Martin Luther, Weimar edition of Martin Luther’s Works]
“…above all it is necessary for us to see what original sin is in order to be able to understand how the holy Virgin Mary was released from it…as to the conception of the Virgin Mary whose body was procreated in the fashion of other children, until the soul was infused, it was not necessary that she should be conceived as was Christ; for she was able to be brought forth under the law of original sin, up to the time when her soul was bestowed. But, in that which concerns the other conception [the passive conception], that is to say the infusing of her soul, one believes with devotion and holiness that she was brought forth without original sin, in such a way that at the moment of her soul being infused she was also similarly purified from original sin, and at the first instant in which she began to live she was without sin, adorned with the gifts of God.” – [Sermon on the Day of the Conception of Mary, Mother of God, 1527; cited in Thurian, page 197]
