Church Fathers, Liturgical Texts, Ancient Sources on the Immaculate Conception.

[Xavier]

Please post in this thread your favorite patristic or other ancient sources that explain or teach the Theology of the Immaculate Conception.

[I ] Bishop St. Ambrose of Milan has handed down that Mother Mary is "a Virgin not only undefiled but a Virgin whom Grace has made Immaculate, free of every stain of sin". This testimony shows the Catholic Faith of the Latin Church has remained, by the Grace of God, one and the same for over 1700 years in the All-Immaculate perfection in Grace of the Immaculate Virgin Mother of God.

[II] Bishop St. Augustine of Hippo states, "We must except the holy Virgin Mary, concerning whom I wish to raise no question when it touches the subject of sins, out of honour to the Lord; for from Him we know what abundance of grace for overcoming sin in every particular was conferred upon Her Who had the merit to conceive and bear Him who undoubtedly had no sin. (1 John 3:5) Well, then, if, with this exception of the Virgin, we could only assemble together all the forementioned holy men and women, and ask them whether they lived without sin while they were in this life, what can we suppose would be their answer? ... would they not have exclaimed with one voice: If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us? (1 John 1:8 )"

St. Augustine's emphasis that original sin is truly sin, and the fact that he doesn't exclude infants here, but only the Blessed Virgin Mary, shows clearly that the holy Doctor of the African Church considered the Blessed Virgin Mary to be the Immaculate Conception.

In another passage, St. Augustine wrote, "We do not transfer Mary to the devil by the condition of Her Birth, for this reason, that that condition is dissolved by the Grace of Her New Birth". Another remarkable statement, that Mary's New Birth dissolves original sin.

In addition to these two great pillars of the Latin Church, are there testimonies from the Christian East to Mary's Sinless Perfection? Yes, certainly, consider these three from St. John Damascene and St. Sophronius, and St. Andrew of Crete.

[III] St. John of Damascus: "O most blessed loins of Joachim from which came forth a spotless seed! Oh glorious womb of Anne in which a most holy offspring grew."

[IV] Patriarch St. Sophronius of Jerusalem: "Many Saints appeared before You. But none was filled with grace as You. No one has been purified in advance as You have been." Another clear testimony that Mary the Sole Immaculate One was "Prepurified in Advance" (Prokathartheisa), as the Greek Fathers like to say.

[V] St. Andrew of Crete: "The stain of sin had cast a shadow over human Nature, but when the Mother of Him Who is Beauty Himself is born, this Nature regains in Her Person its ancient Privileges ... the firstfruits of the Second Creation". A remarkable teaching by St. Andrew that in the Blessed Virgin, human Nature has regained its ancient Priviliges, and is adorned with the firstfruits of the New Creation. Now, since the Second Creation cannot be less and must be greater than the first, and since our first parents in the original creation were created immaculate to begin with, it is manifestly evident that the Blessed Mother was created and preserved Immaculate.

A final patristic testimony from [VI] St. Fulgentius of Ruspe : "By these words [Hail, full of grace], the angel shows that She [Mary] was altogether excluded from the wrath of the first sentence, and restored to the full grace of blessing.

[VII] finally, as a historical source on the life of the Blessed Mother at age 3, Whose presentation in the Temple we are soon going to celebrate and commemorate, the infancy Gospel attributed to St. Matthew and handed down by Tradition: "And Mary was held in admiration by all the people of Israel; and when She was three years old, She walked with a step so mature, She spoke so perfectly, and spent Her time so assiduously in the praises of God, that all were astonished at Her, and wondered; and She was not reckoned a young infant, but as it were a grown-up person of thirty years old. She was so constant in prayer, and Her appearance was so beautiful and glorious, that scarcely any one could look into Her face. And She occupied Herself constantly with Her wool-work, so that She in Her tender years could do all that old women were not able to do. And this was the order that She had set for Herself: From the Morning to the Third Hour She remained in prayer; from the third to the ninth She was occupied with Her weaving; and from the ninth She again applied Herself to prayer. She did not retire from praying until there appeared to Her the angel of the Lord, from whose hand She used to receive food; and thus She became more and more perfect in the work of God. Then, when the older virgins rested from the praises of God, She did not rest at all; so that in the praises and vigils of God none were found before Her, no one more learned in the wisdom of the law of God, more lowly in humility, more elegant in singing, more perfect in all virtue. She was indeed steadfast, immoveable, unchangeable, and daily advancing to perfection. No one saw Her angry, nor heard Her speaking evil. All Her speech was so full of grace, that Her God was acknowledged to be in Her tongue. She was always engaged in prayer and in searching the law, and She was anxious lest by any word of Hers She should sin with regard to Her companions. Then She was afraid lest in Her laughter, or the sound of Her beautiful voice, She should commit any fault, or lest, being elated, She should display any wrong-doing or haughtiness to one of Her equals. She blessed God without intermission; and lest perchance, even in Her salutation, She might cease from praising God; if any one saluted Her, She used to answer by way of salutation: Thanks be to God. And from Her the custom first began of men saying, Thanks be to God, when they saluted each other. She refreshed Herself only with the food which She daily received from the hand of the angel; but the food which She obtained from the priests She divided among the poor. The angels of God were often seen speaking with Her, and they most diligently obeyed Her. If anyone who was unwell touched Her, the same hour he went home cured." So we can easily understand Her All-Immaculate Nature, Her great holiness and perfection in preparing the way for Israel before Her Son.

Thoughts? Any additional or further testimonies from the ancient Church on the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Mother of God?

[Xavier]

[VIII] Canon 3 of the 649 Lateran Council under Pope St. Martin I calls Mary Immaculate in passing, "Canon 3. If anyone does not properly and truly confess in accord with the holy Fathers, that the holy Mother of God and ever Virgin and immaculate Mary in the earliest of the ages conceived of the Holy Spirit without seed, namely, God the Word Himself specifically and truly, who was born of God the Father before all ages, and that she incorruptibly bore Him, her virginity remaining indestructible even after His birth, let him be condemned."

[IX] Nicaea II, 787 A.D., also confirms the decrees of Ephesus and Chalcedon and calls Mary Immaculate matter-of-factly, "With the Fathers of this synod we confess that he who was incarnate of the immaculate Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary has two natures, recognizing him as perfect God and perfect man, as also the Council of Chalcedon has promulgated," http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3819.htm

[X] Also, St. Symeon the New Theologian, leading exponent of Byzantine Theology, has explained, "[Jesus Christ]being Himself at once God and man, His flesh and soul were and are holy - and beyond holy. God is holy, just as He was and is and shall be, and the Virgin is immaculate, without spot or stain, and so, too, [namely, Eve,] was that rib which was taken from Adam. However the rest of humanity, even though they are His brothers and kin according to the flesh, yet remained even as they were, of dust, and did not immediately become holy and sons of God."