68. Mary's Sanctification in the Womb and the Immaculate Conception

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

• Sanctification of the Blessed Virgin Before Birth: Whether Mary was sanctified in the womb and the relationship of this sanctification to her birth and animation
• Animation and Ensoulment: The timing of when the rational soul is infused and its relation to sanctification
• Original Sin and Preservation: The distinction between being cleansed from original sin versus being preserved from it
• The Immaculate Conception Definition: The papal definition of 1854 and its theological formulation
• Christ as Universal Savior: How Mary’s preservation from original sin relates to Christ’s redemptive work for all humanity
• The Four-Part Division of Christ’s Life: Introduction to the structure covering Christ’s entry, life, exit, and exaltation

Key Arguments #

Arguments Against Sanctification Before Birth #

• Scriptural basis (1 Cor 15:46): “Not first what is spiritual, but what is animal”—suggesting sanctification comes after natural birth
• Augustine’s position: Sanctification through grace occurs only in those already born; one must be born naturally before being born spiritually as a child of God
• The problem of origination: Original sin is contracted from our origin; one cannot be cleansed while in the act of originating in the maternal womb
• The timing problem: If sanctified before birth, Mary would have entered heaven before Christ’s passion, which appears impossible given that entry to the heavenly kingdom depends on Christ’s blood

Arguments For Sanctification Before Birth #

• Liturgical tradition: The Church celebrates the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin, which presupposes she was holy at birth
• Scriptural parallels: Jeremiah (Jer 1:5) was sanctified before coming out of the womb; John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Spirit even in the womb (Luke 1:15)
• Mary’s dignity: As Mother of God, it is reasonable to believe she would have greater privileges of grace than other saints
• The fullness of grace: The greeting “Ave gratia plenite” (Luke 1:28) indicates abundance of grace from the beginning

Thomas’s Resolution #

• The chronological distinction: In Mary, what was animal (fleshly conception) came first, then what was spiritual (sanctification through grace) afterwards
• Grace requires a rational soul: Sanctification presupposes a rational subject capable of receiving grace; before animation, there is no such subject
• God’s power transcends common law: While the common law of sacraments requires being born before being reborn, God’s power is not bound by this law and can confer grace before natural birth
• Guilt vs. personal stain: Mary was sanctified from original sin as regards the personal stain, but not necessarily freed from the guilt or punishment that all human nature is subject to
• Original sin and animation: Original sin is contracted insofar as through it human nature is communicated—this occurs when the offspring conceived is ensouled; therefore, after animation, sanctification becomes possible

Important Definitions #

Animatio (Animation) #

• The infusion of the rational soul into the body
• The moment when a human person begins to exist
• The necessary condition for sanctification, as grace requires a rational subject

Fomes (Concupiscence) #

• A disordered inclination of sensuality
• The difficulty in doing good or inclination to evil
• Related to but distinct from actual sin

Culpa (Guilt) #

• Moral responsibility for sin
• The accountability that accrues to a rational being
• Can apply to sin as contracted from origin (original sin’s guilt)

Peccatum Naturae (Sin of Nature) #

• The defect that remains in human nature after original sin
• Can be distinguished from culpa in some contexts

Examples & Illustrations #

• Neuter genus in grammar: A brief etymological note about Latin “neuter” relating to questions of neither male nor female, illustrating linguistic precision
• Reproduction vs. production: The distinction that in reproduction, the parents are reproduced, not the offspring; this clarifies the relationship between origin and originating beings
• The Lamb in the Ghent Altarpiece: Reference to the famous artistic representation of the Lamb standing on an altar and bleeding into a chalice, inspired by the Apocalypse and showing Christ’s sacrifice
• Church tradition and development: The practice of celebrating the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin before the definition of the Immaculate Conception provides evidence for the doctrine

Notable Quotes #

“In primo instante sui conceptionis, singulari omnipotentis Dei gratia et privilegio, intuitu meritorum Christi Jesu Salvatoris humani generis, ab omni originalis culpae labe praeservata fuisse” — Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus (1854)

“But God to this law of the sacraments does not bind his power, because to some from a special privilege he’s able to confer his grace before they are born from the universe”

“Everyone is saved from original sin through the merits of the Savior of the human race, which is Christ, right? But with the exception of Mary, it’s being washed from original sin, right, by the waters of baptism or something like that, right? But in the case of Mary, she’s saved by being preserved from contracting the sin”

Questions Addressed #

Question 1: Was the Blessed Virgin Sanctified Before Birth from the Womb? #

Resolution: Yes. While not explicitly stated in canonical Scripture, it is reasonably believed based on the Church’s liturgical tradition of celebrating her Nativity, the examples of Jeremiah and John the Baptist, and the dignity of the Mother of God who should have greater privileges of grace than other saints.

Question 2: Was the Blessed Virgin Sanctified Before Animation? #

Resolution: This question is posed but the full answer is not completed in this transcript. However, Thomas’s framework indicates that grace requires a rational soul as its subject, making pre-animation sanctification problematic.

Question 3: How Does Mary’s Preservation Relate to Christ’s Universal Redemption? #

Resolution: Everyone is saved from original sin through the merits of Christ. For most, this occurs through cleansing (washing away the sin through baptism). For Mary, it occurs through preservation from contracting the sin in the first place—but this preservation is itself a consequence of Christ’s merits, not an exception to his universal salvific work.

Connections to the Summa’s Structure #

These questions appear at the transition from Questions 26-27 of the Tertia Pars. The lecture explains that after treating the union of God and man in Christ and those things that follow upon this union, Thomas now considers what the incarnate Son of God did, suffered, or underwent in his human nature. This is divided into four parts corresponding to the Gospel of Matthew: (1) his entry into the world, (2) the course of his life, (3) his exit from the world, and (4) his exaltation after this life.