Queen conceived without Original Sin . . .

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The word "conception" tells us that she is not eternal; that she had a beginning.  "Immaculate" tells us that from the first instant of her existence there never was in her the least conflict with God's will.  The Immaculata is the most perfect of all creatures.

The curse of Original Sin was not present in Mary, thus making her immaculate nature the most fitting and perfect dwelling for God's Son.  Mary is honored because, in her, the Son of God was conceived by God the Holy Spirit.  We are strengthened and can confidently say . . . Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you.  Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.  Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.

The Council of Trent made it clear in its canon that Original Sin affected all our race, with the exception of the Virgin Mary.  The most solemn Papal Letter by Pope Pius IX, entitled, "Ineffabilis Deus" defined in 1854 the dogma of the Immaculate Conception as an article of the Catholic Faith.  "For the honor of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, for the glory and honor of the Virgin Mother of God, for the exaltation of the Catholic faith . . . by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, we declare, pronounce and define that the doctrine which holds that the Blessed Virgin Mary, from the first instant of her conception, and by a singular grace and privilege of God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved from every stain of Original Sin, is a doctrine revealed by God; and that consequently it must be firmly and constantly believed by all the faithful." 

God wills that we should have nothing that has not passed through the hands of Mary.
  (1)  St. Bernard-abbot of Clairvaux

Because Mary was free from original sin, she found no obstacle in obeying God’ she was like a wheel, which was easily turned by every inspiration of the Holy Spirit. (2)  St. Bonaventure

It was becoming that the blessed virgin Mary, by whom our shame was to be blotted out, and by whom the devil was to be conquered, should never, even for a moment, have been under the influence of sin. (3)  St. Bonaventure

The history of the Church teaches us that the greatest saints are those who professed the greatest devotion to Mary.  (4)  St, John Bosco

Prayer is powerful beyond limits when we turn to the Immaculata who is queen even of God’s heart. 
  (5)  St. Maximilian Kolbe

Remember always that whoever honors or promotes the honor of the Immaculate Mother Mary assures himself/herself of eternal life. (6)  St. Vincent Pillotti

God cannot do otherwise than grant the petitions of Mary; for he cannot but acknowledge her for his true and immaculate Mother.
  (7)  St. Germanus

For the honor, therefore, of his Son, it was becoming that the Father should preserve his Mother from every stain of sin.  It was also becoming that he should do so, because he destined, this, his daughter to crush the head of the infernal serpent, who had seduced man. (8)  St. Alphonsus de Liguori

Mary was also destined to become the advocate of sinners; therefore it was also becoming that God should preserve her from sin, that she might not appear guilty of the same fault as men for whom she was to intercede.
  (9)  St. Alphonsus de Liguori

The Son chose Mary for his Mother.  It is impossible to believe that a son who could have a queen for his mother would choose a slave.  How then, can we imagine that the Eternal Word, who could have an ever-immaculate Mother, and one who had always been a friend of God, would have one defiled by sin, and at one time the enemy of God?
  (10)  St. Alphonsus de Liguori

But as Mary was always pure and immaculate, our Lord felt no horror at becoming man in her chaste womb. (11)  St. Alphonsus de Liguori

Mary was preserved from every actual sin, even venial; for otherwise she would not have been a becoming Mother of God. (12)  St. Thomas

Since God preserved the body of Mary after her death, how much more should we believe that he preserved her soul from the corruption of sin. (13)  St. Alphonsus de Liguori

It was becoming that the Blessed Virgin Mary, by whom our shame was to be blotted out, and by whom the devil was to be conquered, should never, even for a moment, have been under his dominion. (14)  St. Bonaventure

You were preordained in the mind of God, before all creatures, that you might beget God himself as man.  (15)  St. Bernardine of Sienna

How much more reasonable, then, is it not, to suppose that the sovereign architect, who destined Mary to be the Mother of his own Son, adorned her soul with all most precious gifts, that she might be a dwelling worthy of a God.
  (16)  St. Alphonsus de Liguori

Almighty and Eternal God, who, by the co-operation of the Holy Spirit, did prepare the body and soul of the glorious Virgin and Mother Mary, that she might become a worthy habitation of your Son. (17)  St. Alphonsus de Liguori

God, by a singular Providence, caused the most Blessed Virgin to be as perfectly pure from the very first moment of her existence, as it was fitting that she should be, who was to be the worthy Mother of Christ. (18)  St. Alphonsus de Liguori

Nothing was ever granted to any saint which did not shine in a much higher degree in Mary from the very first moment of her existence.       (19)  St. Thomas of Villanova

It was becoming that the Virgin, on whom the Eternal Father intended to bestow his only-begotten Son, should be adorned with such purity as not only to exceed that of all men and angels, but exceeding any purity that can be conceived after that of God.  (20)  St. Anselm

Our Lord had preserved the soul, together with the body of the Blessed Virgin, in that purity which became her who was to receive a God into her womb; for, as he is holy, he only reposes in holy places. (21)  St. John Damascene

The Creator of men becoming man, must have selected himself a Mother whom he knew became him. (22)  St. Bernard

Christ chose this vessel into which he was about to descend, not of earth, but from heaven; and he consecrated it a temple of purity. (23)  St. Ambrose

He loved her from the very beginning, and exalted her in sanctity above all others, as it is expressed by David: The foundations thereof are in the holy mountains: the Lord loves the gates of Zion above all the tabernacles of Jacob . . . a man is born in her, and the Highest Himself has founded her. (24)  Psalm 86

Immaculate Virgin, you  must save me.  Grant that I may always remember you; and do not ever forget me.  The happy day, when I shall go to behold your beauty in Paradise, seems a thousand years off: so much do I long to praise and love you more than I can now do, my Mother, my Queen, my beloved, most beautiful, most sweet, most pure, Immaculate Mary.     (25)  St. Philip Neri

Mary received this grace, exceeding that of all men and angels together, in the first instance of her Immaculate Conception.
  (26)  St. Alphonsus de Liguori

Mary never committed any sin of the slightest imperfection.  She not only never lost divine grace, and never even obscured it, but she never kept it idle; she never performed an action which, was not meritorious; she never pronounced a word, never had a thought, never drew a breath, that was not directed to the greater glory of God. (27)  Council of Trent

Mary possessed graces in such a degree that as the splendor of the sun exceeds that of all the stars united, so does Mary's glory exceed that of all the blessed. (28)  St. Basil of Seleucia

Dear Friends, what an immense joy to have Mary Immaculate as our Mother!  Every time we experience our frailty and the promptings of evil, we may turn to her and our hearts receive light and comfort. (29)  Benedict XVI, pope

As a merciful Mother, Mary is the anticipated figure and everlasting portrait of the Son.  Thus, we see that the image of the Sorrowful Virgin, of the Mother who shares her suffering and her love, is also a true image of the Immaculate Conception. (30)  Benedict XVI, pope

In presenting herself to Bernadette as the Immaculate Conception, Mary Most Holy came to remind the modern world, which was in danger of forgetting it, of the primacy of divine grace which is stronger than sin and death.
  (31)  Benedict XVI, pope

In your Immaculate Conception shines forth the vocation of Christ's disciples, called to become, with his grace, saints and immaculate through love. (32)  Benedict XVI, pope

Let us come once again as trusting pilgrims to draw faith and comfort, joy and love, safety and peace from this source, the wellspring of your Immaculate Heart. (33)  Benedict XVI, pope

Mary is greeted by the Angel as "full of grace," which means exactly this; her heart and her life are totally open to God, and this is why she is completely pervaded by his grace. (34)  Benedict XVI, pope

Mary, Immaculate in her conception . . . traveled her earthly pilgrimage sustained by undaunted faith, steadfast hope and humble and boundless love, following in the footsteps of her Son, Jesus.  She was close to him with motherly solicitude from his birth to Calvary, where she witnessed his crucifixion, transfixed by suffering but with unwavering hope.  She then experienced the joy of the Resurrection, at dawn on the third day, the new day, when the Crucified One left the tomb, overcoming for ever and definitively the power of sin and death.  (35)  Benedict XVI, pope

Mary is the "Woman of the Eucharist" par excellence, a masterpiece of divine grace: the love of God has made her immaculate, "holy and blameless before him." (36)  Benedict XVI pope

Every time  we approach the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharistic Liturgy, we also turn to her who, by her complete fidelity, received Christ's sacrifice for the whole Church.  The synod Fathers rightly declared that "Mary inaugurates the Church's participation in the sacrifice of the Redeemer."  She is the Immaculata, who receives God's gift unconditionally and is thus associated with his work of salvation.
  (37)  Benedict XVI, pope

Let us leave space for the word of God which we have the joy of receiving with open and docile hearts, like Mary, Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, so that, by the power of the Holy Spirit, Christ may once again take flesh in the "today" of our history.
  (38)  Benedict XVI, pope

He was the ark formed of incorruptible wood.  For by this is signified that His tabernacle was exempt from putridity and corruption. 
  (39)  St. Hippolytus

Thou alone and Thy Mother are in all things fair; there is no flaw in Thee and no stain in Thy Mother.  (40)  St. Ephraim

God showered her with heavenly gifts and graces from the treasury of His divinity so far beyond what He gave to all the angels and saints that she was ever free from the least stain of sin; she is so beautiful and perfect, and possesses such fullness of innocence and holiness, that under God a greater could not be dreamed, and only God can comprehend the marvel. (41)  Pius IX, pope

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