A St. Anselm Reflection on this Feast of the Immaculate Conception

Amici,

We Catholics often can in no wise even begin to explain the importance of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the great theological sense of things. Tonight, one of my children asked me about this Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. I explained to her that Mary was conceived without sin, alone of all the people ever born. The child asked why, and I said she needed to be without Original Sin because Jesus had to be born without original sin, and as He received His human nature from His Mother, she couldn't have been born with Original Sin.

My child understood that. "That makes sense," she said. Indeed, it does.

But Mary is a full partner with her Son in Redemption, not just the means of his Incarnation into the human race. St. Anselm (died 1109) wrote the following, which I found in the Monday morning reading of the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It gives the reader a very strong idea of her essential role and why she is sometimes called "Co-Redemptrix" (something Bergoglio repudiated a good while ago, the ogre). I've sent it around before, in other contexts, but it is appropriate here, too.

As St. Anselm writes, "He who could create all things from nothing would not remake his ruined creation without Mary."

Monday Morning Prayers

From a sermon by Saint Anselm, bishop (1033/4–1109)

Blessed Lady, sky and stars, earth an rivers, day and night – everything that is subject to the power or use of man—rejoice that through you they are in some sense restored to their lost beauty and are endowed with inexpressible new grace. All creatures were dead, as it were, useless for human beings or for the praise of God, who made them. The world, contrary to its true destiny, was corrupted and tainted by the acts of human beings who served idols. Now all creation has been restored to life and rejoices that it is controlled and given splendor by those who believe in God.

The universe rejoices with new and indefinable loveliness. Not only does it feel the unseen presence of God Himself, its Creator, it sees him openly working and making it holy. These great blessings spring from the blessed fruit of Mary’s womb.

Through the fullness of the grace that was given you, dead things rejoice in their freedom and those in heaven are glad to be made new. Through the Son who was the glorious fruit of your virgin womb, just souls who died before his life-giving death rejoice as they are freed from captivity, and the angels are glad at the restoration of their shattered domain.

Lady, full and overflowing with grace, all creation received new life from your abundance. Virgin, blessed above all creatures, through your blessing all creation is blessed, not only creation from its Creator, but the Creator Himself has been blessed by creation.

To Mary God gave his only-begotten Son, whom he loved as himself. Through Mary God made himself a Son, not different but the same, by nature Son of God and Son of Mary. The whole universe was created by God, and God was born of Mary. God created all things and Mary gave birth to God. The God who made all things gave himself form through Mary, and thus he made his own creation. He who could create all things from nothing would not remake his ruined creation without Mary.

God, then, is the Father of the created world and Mary the mother of the re-created world. God is the Father by whom all things were given life, and Mary the mother through whom all things were given new life. For God begot the Son, through whom all things were made, and Mary gave birth to him as the Savior of the world. Without God’s Son, nothing could exist; without Mary’s son, nothing could be redeemed.

Truly the Lord is with you, to whom the Lord granted that all nature should owe as much to you as to himself.

A blessed feast to all of you!

An Préachán