• all holy and free from every stain of sin [Church Fathers] 56
• impeded by no sin 56
• Immaculate Virgin preserved free from all stain of original sin [cf. Pius IX, Bull Ineffabilis, Dec 8, 1854:Acta Oi IX, 1, 1, p. 616; Denz.9 1641 (2803)] 59

• she, who was free from original sin 29

• preserved from all stain of original sin [16: cf. Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus, Acta, pars. I, vol. I, p. 616] 14
• the Immaculate 15

• who was preserved from all stain of original sin 68

• Special gifts bestowed on her by God include...her immaculate conception (her preservation from original sin) [sic]. 24

• Blessed be her holy and Immaculate Conception. (Divine Praises) 10
• He [God] chose Mary, prepared her, guided her to a fully human consent. 15
• Kept free from original sin, she was able to give herself wholeheartedly to the saving work of her Son. 18
• God's favor was expressed in the initial gift of grace to Mary which we call the "Immaculate Conception." 18
• "adorned with the radiance of a singular holiness from the first moment of her conception...." (LG 56) In this statement, the Council calls attention to the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception. 52
• In 1854 Pope Pius IX defined as revealed truth "that the Blessed Virgin Mary in the first instant of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God, in view of the foreseen merits of Jesus Christ the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin." [Ineffabilis Deus, 8 Dec 1854] 52
• [normal conception, birth, but gifted] The grace which others receive in Baptism, God gave to Mary even before her birth, through the foreseen merits of Christ, to prepare her to be the Mother of the Redeemer. The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception is doubly Christ-centered. ... no one is saved apart from Christ. ... the preservative redemption of Mary is totally and splendidly God's gift to her because she was to be the Mother of Christ. 53
• impeded by no sin (LG 56) 55
• early regarded by popular piety as singularly holy even in her origin, and a feast of the "conception of holy Mary" was celebrated in some countries as early as the eighth or ninth centuries.55
• Her privileged origin is the final step in preparing mankind to receive the Redeemer. 56
  More on Immaculate Conception: 54-56, 102, 104, 111

  Mary, the Immaculate Conception: Patroness of the United States [Appendix]

• [Dec 8, liturgical celebration of, one of four Marian solemnities in revised liturgy,] 3, 6, 11
• [liturgy, doctrinal theme] which texts recognize the beginning of the Church, the spotless Bride of Christ. (Preface) 11
• her holiness, already full at her Immaculate Conception yet increasing all the time 56

• Special gifts bestowed on her by God include...her immaculate conception (her preservation from original sin) [sic]. 106

• to Mary, the Immaculate One 30

• In the event of the Immaculate Conception the Church sees projected, and anticipated in her most noble member, the saving grace of Easter. 1 [See also 3]
• By virtue of the richness of the grace of the beloved Son, by reason of the redemptive merits of him who willed to become her Son, Mary was preserved from the inheritance of original sin. (Ftn lists Fathers) In this way, from the first moment of her conception-which is to say of her existence - she belonged to Christ, sharing in the salvific and sanctifying grace and in that love which has its beginning in the "Beloved," the Son of the Eternal Father, who through the Incarnation became her own Son. 10

• In view of this unique mission, God the Father preserved her from original sin .... (LG 56) 6
• In the field of dogmatic theology, the study of Mariology has contributed in the post-conciliar debate to a more suitable illustration of dogmas brought about in: the discussion on original sin (dogma of the Immaculate Conception) 12 ... [apply following to all four dogmas] This has required critical study of the historical circumstances in which these dogmas were defined, and of the language in which they were formulated, understanding them in the light of the insights of biblical exegesis, of a more rigorous understanding of Tradition, of the questions raised by the human sciences and with a refutation of unfounded objections. 12

• Not having known sin, she is able to have compassion on every kind of weakness. 120

• Two thousand years ago the Son of God was made man by the power of the Holy Spirit and was born of the Immaculate virgin Mary. 26

490 To become the mother of the Savior, Mary "was enriched by God with gifts appropriate to such a role." (LG 56)The angel Gabriel at the moment of the annunciation salutes her as "full of grace." (Lk 1:28) In fact, in order for Mary to be able to give the free assent of her faith to the announcement of her vocation, it was necessary that she be wholly born by God's grace.

491 Through the centuries the Church has become ever more aware that Mary, "full of grace" (Lk 1:28) through God, was redeemed from the moment of her conception. That is what the dogma of the Immaculate Conception confesses, as Pope Pius IX proclaimed in 1854:

The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin. (Pius IX Ineffabilis Deus)

508 From among the descendants of Eve, God chose the Virgin Mary to be the mother of his Son. "Full of grace," Mary is "the most excellent fruit of redemption" (SC 103): from the first instant of her conception, she was totally preserved from the stain of original sin and she remained pure from all personal sin throughout her life.

• Mary is the one who from the moment of her immaculate conception most perfectly reflects the divine beauty. "All beautiful" is the title with which the church invokes her 28