Why is it important that Mary was immaculately conceived in her mother’s womb?
The answer lies in the identity of Christ. The Immaculate Conception is, in part, a clarification of how Mary—a humble human being—could be the Mother of the all-holy God.
After all, mankind is fallen. Each person inherits original sin from parent to child, going back to the sin of Adam and Eve.
Wouldn’t Mary, then, also inherit original sin? And if she did, how could she give birth to the Son of God? For God is holiness itself, and cannot coexist with sinfulness.
This question has led some to reject Christ’s humanity; others His divinity. But rejecting either one of these fails to understand God’s identity and cheapens His loving generosity.
Yes, the Word became Flesh. Yes, God was born of a woman. But to keep the purity of God unsullied, the woman who conceived Him could not be stained by any sin. How was this done?
The answer is that Mary was spared from original sin because God applied the graces of Her Son’s suffering to her preemptively (in other words, in advance—knowing that these graces would come to fruition) at the moment of her conception.
Just as the redemptive power of Christ’s suffering is transported over time and space to each of us in Baptism, so too was this salvific power miraculously transported to Mary at the moment of her conception.
Therefore, she was conceived immaculate, able to give birth to the Second Person of the Trinity and be a pure tabernacle for Him.
That is why the Immaculate Conception is an essential part of Christian belief: it reveals the identity of Christ
To reject this dogma is to have an incomplete, and incorrect, idea about God. Likewise, to know Our Lady is to know Our Lord.
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