Salesian Literature

13. The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Sermon for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, December 8, 1622, concerning feasts, the essence of our Faith, Lucifer's sin, the fall of Adam and Original Sin, the transmission of Original Sin, miracles performed for Jeremiah and St. John the Baptist, the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady, and what Our Lady truly desires of us.

 

The shortness of time and leisure which the turmoil of the world leaves us is the reason why I shall talk to you very simply and familiarly (for it seems to me that in these matters it is better so) on the two points which I was not able to explain last Thursday, that is to say, how we should celebrate feasts and what are the feasts and mysteries which we celebrate. I have always been accustomed to announce the subject before speaking of it.

 

In the first place, we should know that there are three kinds of feasts: those which the Church commands us to celebrate, those which she recommends,[1] and political feasts, an example of which is celebrated today for the entry of the king into this city. Since it is ordained by the officials of the city, it is thus political.

 

The feasts are recommended to us in order to render to God the honor, the cult, and the adoration which we owe Him as our Sovereign Master and Lord, The Feast of the Conception of the Virgin is not commanded us, but is strongly recommended.[2] To invite us to the devotion and solemnity of this feast, the Church, as a charitable Mother, grants us indulgences, and with this intention she does the same for confraternities. St. Jerome and St. Bernard recommend it to us in the breviary and the homilies of this day.

 

But first, before entering more fully into our discourse, let me say this word for the instruction of Christians on the essence of our Faith. We must know, first of all, that there are four parts to it; The first is what we should believe, the second what we should hope for, the third what we should love, and the fourth what we should do and practice.

 

The first is included in the Apostles' Creed, which is so called because it was composed by the Apostles. In it is contained all that we are obliged to believe — if not in detail, at least in general. For example, it is not said in the Creed that there are angels. Nevertheless, it is a truth which we believe and find in Holy Scripture — and even that they are employed in ministries here below in this world. Heretics want to insist that the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is not included in our Creed. These unfortunate people have advanced this theory to see if anyone would be so weak-minded as to believe their errors. But, my dear souls, I tell you there are a hundred articles in our Faith which are not explicitly expressed in our Creed, which nevertheless all Christians ought to believe. They should not say: "I am content to believe what the Church believes," and so remain in that unpardonable ignorance.

 

All that we ought to hope for and ask of God is contained in the seven petitions of the Our Father, which we commonly call The Lord's Prayer and which Our Lord left us [Matt. 6:9-13].

 

For the third we have the divine commandments by which we are instructed to love God and our neighbor, for on these two commandments the whole Law is based, and the prophets as well [Matt. 22:37-40]. You know also those which follow, that is, the Ten Commandments and the precepts of the Church. The Church resembles a beautiful tree, or better, the orange tree which is always green — in all seasons. Indeed, in Italy on the coast of Genoa, and still more in this country of France — as, for example, in Provence — all along the waterfront the trees bear leaves, flowers and fruits at every season. (Assuredly, the orange tree is always in the same state, never withering, even when it is not nourished.) Thus the Church has her foliage, which are her ceremonies; her flowers, which are her actions; and her fruits, which are her good works and the good example which she gives to her neighbor on all occasions.

 

Further, there are the seven Sacraments. We are not, of course, obliged to receive them all, but only each according to his or her vocation. For example, the Sacrament of Holy Orders is for priests, and that of Matrimony is for those whom God calls to it. As for the others, we must use them according to time and place and receive them according as the Church commands us, for we are bound to this.

 

Let us come to our second point, namely, what feasts we are to celebrate. Let us consider first of all that God, despite being a pure and free spirit, willed to create something outside Himself and thus created the angels, and afterwards Adam and Eve in the state of innocence and original justice. Furthermore, He left them their free will, accompanied by all the prerogatives and privileges of grace which they could possibly desire. But what did Lucifer do, that spirit of revolt, when he saw himself endowed with so excellent a nature? He did not wish to subject himself in any way whatever.

 

Now, you know that all the angels were created in grace but were not confirmed in grace at once; God left them their free will and full liberty. When this first angel, Lucifer, saw that he was so beautiful and so excellent in his nature — for he was the most perfect of all — he said to himself: I will take my seat in the recesses of the North, which are the highest; I will be like the Most High! [Is. 14:13-14]. All will render me honor. When St. Michael saw that, he cried out: Who is like God! [Cf. Is. 40:18] and by this means he threw Lucifer into the recesses of the pit [Is. 14:11-15; Rev. 12:7-9], according to the writings of St. Bernard, for no one can be elevated unless he has first humbled himself [Cf. Matt. 18:14, 23:12; Lk. 14:11, 18:14].

 

Thus Lucifer became a rebel against his Creator and therefore against the image of his Creator, who is man. He addressed himself to our first parents and primarily to Eve, speaking to her in this way: If you eat of this fruit, you will know good and evil and will be like God. She listened willingly to this suggestion (for as soon as someone speaks of exalting us in some way, it seems that our whole being depends upon it); she gave her consent and ate the forbidden fruit. Even going further, she gave some to her husband to eat, both thus succumbing and becoming disobedient to God. At that very instant they became ashamed and confused, for sin brings such with it, and they hid themselves from God as far as it was possible for them [Gen. 3:1-11].

 

If they had remained in grace, we would have participated in that incomparable good, for it is from their fall that Original Sin has taken its source. It is the heritage which they left us, just as we might have had the same inheritance of that grace and justice in which they had been created, had they persevered. But alas, they remained in it for only a short while — it was only a moment; and since we are all of the same stock and seed as Adam, we are all tainted with Original Sin, This is what made the great royal prophet cry out: In guilt was I born, and in sin my mother conceived me. [Ps. 51:7]. This means that we are all conceived in sin, and all conceptions from the beginning of the world to the end will be made in sin.

 

It is true indeed that our first father, and Eve too, were created and not conceived. Nevertheless, every human conception is made in sin. Our Lady and holy Mistress alone was exempt from this evil—she who was to conceive God first in her heart and in her-spirit before conceiving Him in her chaste womb. All are born under God's wrath [Ps. 51:7; Eph. 2:3] because of Original Sin, which makes them enemies of God. But by Baptism they are regenerated and become His children, capable of His grace and of the heritage of eternal life. All have been stained with Original Sin, but some have been purified before their birth by a special miracle, as was St. John the Baptist and also the prophet Jeremiah. [Jer. 1:5]. At the words of the sacred Virgin Mary, St. John was sanctified by the presence of Him who was enclosed in her womb. Our Lord and St. John the Baptist visited each other in the wombs of their mothers (the wombs of our mothers are little worlds), and it is said that the glorious Precursor placed himself on his knees in adoration of his Saviour and that at the same instant he was given the use of reason.[3] But the world will believe, only what it sees. (Be this said in passing.)

 

However, St. John and Jeremiah were conceived in sin by the ordinary way of generation. This was not so with Our Lord, who was conceived of the Holy Spirit and of His sacred Mother [Matt. 1:18, 20; Lk. 1:35], without any father. This is why He could not reasonably inherit Original Sin. You may say: Since He has taken our nature, He is human. That is true, but He is also God, and because of this He is perfectly God and man without any separation or distinction whatsoever. He is not of Adam's seed through generation because He was conceived of His Mother without a father, as we have just said. He was of the stock of Adam, to be sure, but not of the seed [of Adam].

 

As for Our Lady, the most holy Virgin, she was conceived in the usual way of generation. But since in His plan God had predestined her from all eternity to be His Mother, He kept her pure and free from all stain, although by her nature she could have sinned. There is no doubt about that, as far as actual sin is concerned.

 

Let me make a comparison in order that you may understand better. Do you know how pearls are made? (Many ladies desire pearls but they do not care about their origin.) Mother-of-pearl fish do as the bees do. They have a king and choose for that role the largest among them, the rest following him. They come on ocean waves when the air is freshest, which is at break of day, principally in the month of May. When they are all there they open their shells toward Heaven, allowing drops of dew to fall into them. They then clamp shut upon these drops in such a manner that they incubate this dew drop and convert it into a pearl, which is then considered so valuable. But notice, they close their shells in such a way that no salt water enters.[4]

 

This comparison will serve my purpose well. The Lord has done the same for the Blessed Virgin, Our Lady, because at the instant of her Conception He placed Himself between her and sin — or rather, one might say, under her, to prevent her from falling into Original Sin. In the above example, if the drop of dew does not find the shell to receive it, it will fall into the ocean and be converted into briny and salty water. But if the shell receives it, it is changed into a pearl. In the same way the most holy Virgin was cast into the sea of this world by the common way of generation, but preserved from the salty water of the corruption of sin. It was fitting that she have this particular privilege because it was not reasonable that the devil be able to reproach Our Lord with the claim that she who had carried Him in her womb had [in Original Sin] been subject to him. It is for this reason that the Evangelist does not make mention of the father and mother of the Virgin, but only of Joseph, the husband of a Virgin named Mary. It was of her that Jesus who is called the Messiah was born.[5] [Matt. 1:16]. Thus by a special grace her soul possessed nothing [of Original Sin] from her earthly parents, as is the case with all other creatures.

 

Let me now say something of the devotion which we ought to have toward this holy Virgin. The worldly-minded imagine that devotion to Our Lady usually consists in carrying a rosary in their cincture. It seems to them that it is enough to pray it a number of times without doing anything else. In this they are greatly mistaken. For our dear Mistress wants us to do what her Son commands us [Jn. 2:5] and considers as done to herself the honor we give to her Son by keeping His commandments.

 

We have some examples of this. I shall content myself with citing one or two. When the mother of the Emperor Nero, that cruel monster who so persecuted the Church of God, was pregnant, she made the enchanters and soothsayers come in order to find out what her child would become. When they were being consulted, one of them announced that this child would be emperor, that he would reign and be great. However, another, perceiving that the first flattered her, told her that the child would indeed be emperor, but as emperor he would put her to death. Then this miserable mother replied: It does not matter "provided he reigns."[6] Notice how the vainglorious desire honors and pleasures which oftentimes are prejudicial to them. We have another example in the Third Book of Kings, chapter one,[7] where it is said that when Queen Bathsheba went to David, she offered him many acts of homage. [1 Kgs. 1:16-17]. In seeing that, the king well knew that she required something and asked her what it was Bathsheba answered: "Sire, that my son might reign after you." Now, if mothers are naturally so desirous that their children might reign and be honored, with much greater reason is Our Lady, who knows that her Son is her God. Thus the honor of the Son is also that of the Mother.[8]

 

But for our consolation let me say this word. You, my very dear Sisters, who have left the world to place yourselves under the patronage of the most holy Virgin,[9] if you Question her and say: "Mother, what can we do to please you?" no doubt she will answer that she desires and wants you to do what she directed to be done at that celebrated marriage feast of Cana in Galilee when the wine gave out. She said to those who had the care of it: Do whatever my Son tells you. [Jn. 2:5]. If then you listen to her faithfully, you will hear in your heart those very words addressed to you; Do whatever my Son tells you. May God give us the grace to listen to her in this life and in the other. Amen.

 

 

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[1] Cf. Volume 1 of this series, The Sermons of St. Francis de Sales on Prayer.

[2] The Feast of the Immaculate Conception was not a holy day of obligation in France at this time.

[3] Cf. Sermon for July 2, 1621.

[4] Cf. Introduction, Author's Preface.

[5] Apparently St. Francis de Sales finds support for Mary's Immaculate Conception in the fact that her parents are not mentioned by the Evangelist.

[6] Cf. Treatise on the Love of God, Book 10, Chapter 8.

[7] In newer editions of the Bible, this text is found in the First Book of Kings.

[8] Cf. Sermon for August 15, 1602.

[9] St. Francis is speaking to the Sisters of the Visitation of Holy Mary.

 

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