Immaculate Conception
The absolute sinlessness of Mary was taught for the first time by Pelagius and Augustine which was subsequently extended to her freedom from original sin. There was no express testimony of it in the west before 1000. Bernard of Clairvaux a fervent admirer of Mary and Thomas of Aquinas remained doubtful.
The problem was theologians could not harmonize the necessity of universal redemption with the thesis of the freedom of Mary from original Sin. It was controversial in its own time. Sides were taken. Pope Sixtus V recognized the general convictions of Catholics in this matter and forbade the opponents and the upholders of this mystery to brand each others as heretics. In came William of Ware and Duns Scotus who offered the notion that Mary was preserved from original sin by the redemptive act of Christ while the rest of humankind was freed from it. This view makes Mary a subject of the law of original sin but it did not actually take effect in her by reason of special divine decree. Mary too was redeemed but in a more excellent way. In Mary humanity never failed God. In Mary is the most perfect image and likeness of God. Put our sins altogether and God is still in love with the human being. Therefore devotion to Mary is extremely profitable. She is the most eminent teacher of faithfulness.
The Immaculate Conception gives glory and honor to the wisdom of God for entering into a covenant with humankind. Jesus is the faithfulness of God and Mary is the faithfulness of Jesus. Humankind has full coverage: Jesus the Man, Mary the Woman, the Mother. In Mary humankind is finally totally involved in faithfulness and love. We are back where we started Adam and Even before the fall. Nay even better than Adam and Eve. We are back to the future. And what about us who are not immaculate? What do we do? We rejoice at the privilege of Mary, we rejoice in her freedom of sinlessness. We rejoice because we can see in her what we were, what we would like to be and in faith what we will be. We rejoice and learn once more to give Thanksgiving because in spite of our sins we must learn how to appreciate the good outside us. This is our salvation. The moment we cannot recognize ourselves in another who is good then we are lost.
We must break away from the enslaving and embittering spirit of this age who turn in on themselves as hopelessly lost and only become embittered because there are good people around them. For them their only recourse is denial. This was what Jesus was for the sinners he met in his time. They saw in Jesus, themselves, a human being in its perfect form. That is what they wanted to be. Jesus was not far from them. They could touch his and therefore their own humanity in him. By the same token, this is why the devotion to Mary is very strong. There is in Mary her true humanity which we can easily see. A humanity that is very accepting. A motherly humanity. A spotless humanity that protects and pleads for the countless number of peoples who are not educated, not religiously versed, who are afraid of God, poor and powerless who are even afraid to dirty the church when they come in. They see in Mary someone who is very close to that unapproachable light. Close to the God whom they cannot understand because their minds are just too simple to go through all the doctrinal and spiritual lessons which others eagerly give to them. They don’t have the time and the money. They are satisfied with Mary. She is all they need. They know that in her hands and in her smile, somehow sometime they will approach this light which is too strong for them at the moment. . Mary’s Immaculate Conception is their access to the most Holy One. She will go in their stead to approach the Holy One. Mary will be their sinlessness.