80. The Virgin Mary's Role in Christ's Conception

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

• Active vs. Passive Generative Powers: The distinction between the male’s active generative power and the female’s passive/receptive generative power in ordinary generation
• The Nature of Motherhood: Why Mary is properly called the mother of Christ (supplying matter) but not the father (lacking active principle)
• The Problem of Active Power in the Virgin: Whether the Holy Spirit granted the Virgin an active generative power to compensate for the absence of male seed
• Preparation of Matter vs. Formation: The distinction between what the Virgin did actively before conception (preparing matter) versus what she did during conception (supplying passive matter only)
• Natural vs. Supernatural Agency: Whether the Virgin’s role in conception involved natural powers, supernatural powers, or neither

Key Arguments #

Arguments That Mary Acted Actively #

• From Damascene: The Holy Spirit “came upon” the Virgin, giving her a “generative power” (δύναμις γεννητική) in addition to her passive generative power as a woman
• All Powers of the Living Soul Are Active: The generative power pertains to the living soul, and all such powers operate actively, so both male and female should have active operation
• Matter Contains Active Principles: Nature is an intrinsic principle of motion; therefore, the matter the Virgin supplied must contain some active principle

Thomas’s Resolution: Mary Did Not Act Actively #

• Distinction of the Sexes Requires Distinct Operations: Nature would not distinguish male and female if their operations were identical; therefore, the active power belongs entirely to the male, the passive power to the female
• Matter Cannot Act for Its Own Formation: Matter is in potency and cannot effect its own actualization; only an agent in act can form matter
• A Thing Is Known by Its Operation: Since Mary would have been the mother (not father) of Christ, she cannot have had the active generative power proper to a father
• The Holy Spirit’s Gift Was Not Active Power: Damascene’s mention of the Holy Spirit giving “generative power” refers to the passive power to conceive and retain the Word, not an active forming power

The Virgin’s Active Role: Preparation of Matter #

• Prior to Conception: Mary did do something actively—she prepared her body, making the matter apt for conception
• The Art-Form Analogy: Just as in the arts, a lower art prepares matter while a superior art induces the form, the Virgin’s generative power prepares matter while the Holy Spirit’s infinite power forms it
• Passive Generative Power: Other mothers also “attain” passive generative power from the seed of the man; the Virgin’s case differs only in that the seed came from the Holy Spirit rather than a human male

Important Definitions #

• Active Generative Power (potentia activa generationis): The principle of generation proper to the male, which actively forms matter into offspring
• Passive Generative Power (potentia passiva generationis): The principle of generation proper to the female, which prepares and receives matter for formation by the active principle
• Ratio Seminalis (seed-like reason/principle): The active formative principle in seed that Thomas identifies as absent from Christ’s conception, according to Augustine
• Natural Transmutation: A transformation is natural when it has either an active or passive intrinsic principle, not necessarily both; matter itself constitutes a natural principle through its passive capacity
• Motherhood vs. Fatherhood: Motherhood follows from supplying matter in likeness of species; fatherhood requires being the active principle of generation

Examples & Illustrations #

• The Hare Born from a Man: Augustine’s example that offspring must have likeness to the generator to be properly called “son”; a hare born from a man is not the man’s son because it lacks the man’s form
• Plants Without Sex Distinction: In plants, where both active and passive generative powers are mixed, there is no distinction of male and female—illustrating that distinct sexual roles require distinct operations
• The Art Analogy: A lower art (e.g., carpentry) prepares matter while a higher art (e.g., architecture) induces the form; similarly, the Virgin’s generative power prepared matter while the Holy Spirit formed it
• Heavy and Light Bodies: Physics provides an example of natural motion in heavy and light bodies based on passive principles (heaviness, lightness) without active principles in the matter itself

Notable Quotes #

“The whole active power is on the side of the man, the passive power on the side of the woman” - Thomas Aquinas, establishing the fundamental distinction in generative roles

“Each thing is an account of its own operation” - Thomas’s principle explaining why the Virgin’s passive role (motherhood) is distinct from the father’s active role

“In the conception of Christ, the Blessed Virgin did nothing actively, but only administered the matter” - Thomas’s definitive conclusion on the Virgin’s role during conception proper

“She did something actively before conception, in preparing the matter, that it might be apt for conception” - Thomas’s acknowledgment of the Virgin’s active preparation prior to the moment of conception

Questions Addressed #

Article 4: Did the Blessed Virgin do something actively in the conception of Christ’s body? #

Resolution: No, the Virgin did not act actively during conception itself. She supplied matter passively, as all mothers do. However, she did act actively before conception in preparing her matter to be apt for receiving the Word of God. The active formative power came entirely from the Holy Spirit, not from the Virgin.

Key Distinction: Conception properly consists in the formation of the body, which belongs to the active principle (the Holy Spirit). The Virgin’s role is analogous to matter in any natural transmutation—it provides the passive principle necessary for natural change.

Connections #

• Aristotle’s Generation of Animals (II): Cited for the principle that the father gives the active principle while the mother provides matter
• Aristotle’s Physics (Book II): Discussed for the definition of nature as an intrinsic principle—both active and passive
• Aristotle’s Physics (Book VIII): Referenced for the principle that heavy and light bodies have passive natural principles without active ones
• Damascene’s Orthodox Faith (Book III): Key patristic source providing the interpretation that the Holy Spirit gave the Virgin a passive (not active) generative power
• Augustine’s Genesis Commentary (Book X): Cited for Augustine’s teaching that Christ’s body came from the Virgin “only according to bodily matter” without any human seed-like principle
• The General Principle: This lecture clarifies the distinction between motherhood and fatherhood essential for understanding Christ’s conception and corrects misinterpretations of patristic language about the Holy Spirit’s role

Pedagogical Notes #

Berquist emphasizes the importance of careful philosophical terminology: the Holy Spirit’s role in conception is to provide the active principle of formation, while the Virgin’s role is to provide matter in a passive mode. The confusion in the objections arises from equivocating on “generative power”—some interpreters conflate the passive power with an active power. The lecture demonstrates how Thomas uses Aristotelian natural philosophy (the distinction of active and passive principles) to clarify theological language about the Trinity and the Incarnation.