69. Sanctification of the Blessed Virgin in the Womb

Subscribe in Podcast App | Download Transcript

Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

• Sanctification Before Birth: Whether sanctification of the Blessed Virgin occurred before her natural birth and what this means theologically
• Animation and Grace: The necessity of the rational soul as the subject for sanctifying grace, and implications for the timing of Mary’s sanctification
• Original Sin vs. Guilt (Culpa): The distinction between the state of original sin and the guilt (culpa) that attaches to it
• Concupiscence (Fomes Peccati): Whether and in what sense concupiscence remained in Mary after her sanctification
• Immaculate Conception Definition: Papal teaching from Pius IX (1854) on preservation from original sin from the first instant of conception
• The Role of Christ’s Merits: How Mary’s sanctification relates to and depends upon Christ’s redemptive work

Key Arguments #

On Sanctification Requiring a Rational Soul #

• Principle: Sanctification is fundamentally cleansing from original sin through grace, and grace can only have a rational creature as its subject
• Implication: Before the infusion of the rational soul, the Blessed Virgin could not be sanctified in the strict sense
• Evidence: Culpa (guilt) cannot exist before reason exists; therefore guilt cannot be cleansed before a rational soul is present
• Qualification: Original sin itself can attach to the matter of the body before animation, but its guilt requires a rational creature

On Interpreting Scripture and Tradition #

• Jeremiah 1:5 (“Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you”): Understood as God’s knowledge by predestination, not actual sanctification before formation
• John the Baptist: While said to be filled with the Holy Spirit in the womb (Luke 1:15), this does not mean he was sanctified before animation; rather, sanctification occurred at the moment of animation
• Ambrose on John the Baptist: The presence of the “spirit of grace” does not preclude the absence of the “spirit of life” (the soul) at an earlier stage

On Original Sin and Nature #

• Distinction: Although the Blessed Virgin’s parents were cleansed from original sin, she contracted original sin when conceived “according to the desire of the flesh” (from the union of male and female)
• Augustine’s Teaching: “Everything born from this union is a flesh of sin” (sin of nature, peccatum naturae)
• Note on Terminology: Peccatum can mean a defect in nature; culpa is specifically moral guilt requiring a will. The two must be distinguished.

On the Papal Definition #

• Ineffabilis Deus (1854): States that Mary “in the first instant of her conception, by singular grace and privilege of the Almighty God, in view of the merits of Christ Jesus, the Savior of the human race, was preserved immune from all stain of original sin”
• Key Language: Uses preserved (preservatio), not simply made holy (sanctificatio)
• Implications: This leaves open the question of whether animation occurred at conception or afterward; “first instant of conception” may not mean the same as modern biological conception

On Concupiscence (Fomes Peccati) #

• Definition: Concupiscence is a habitual, disordered desire of sensuality; it “inclines to evil” or “causes difficulty for the good”
• Thomas’s Mature Position: After sanctification, concupiscence remained in Mary but was bound (ligatum), not operating in disordered movements
• Mechanism: Through abundant grace and divine providence, the lower powers of the soul were so disposed that they never moved without the judgment of reason—similar to the state of Adam before sin or Christ’s condition
• Distinction from Removal: To say concupiscence remained but did not incline to evil is not contradictory; it remains in essence but is restrained in operation
• Difference from Christ: Christ had no concupiscence at all; Mary had it bound. This preserves the dignity of Christ as unique savior.

On Actual Sin #

• Position: The Blessed Virgin committed neither mortal nor venial sin
• Basis: Through divine providence preventing any disordered motion from concupiscence and the abundance of grace given to her
• Objection Met: Even if concupiscence remained, the prevention of its disordered operation prevents actual sin from arising

Important Definitions #

• Sanctificatio (Sanctification): The infusion of sanctifying grace that cleanses from sin and makes one holy; requires a rational creature as its subject
• Culpa (Guilt): Moral responsibility and stain from sin; can only exist in a rational creature with free will; distinguished from peccatum
• Peccatum (Sin/Defect): A defect in an act or in nature; can apply to natural defects (e.g., peccatum naturae—a defect of nature) as well as moral acts
• Fomes Peccati (Concupiscence): A habitual, disordered inclination of sensuality toward evil or away from good; the root tendency to sin that remains after original sin is forgiven
• Preservatio (Preservation): Being kept free from contracting a defect, as opposed to cleansing from an already-contracted defect; used in the papal definition
• Immaculata Conceptio (Immaculate Conception): Preservation from the first instant of conception from contracting original sin; unique to the Blessed Virgin

Examples & Illustrations #

• The Tabernacle Prefigurement: The sanctification of the tabernacle in Exodus 40 (after all was perfected, the glory of God filled it) is said to prefigure the sanctification of Mary; the text suggests sanctification comes after perfection of both body and soul
• Adam Before Sin: The state of concupiscence bound in Mary is compared to Adam’s state before sin, when he possessed original justice and the lower powers were subject to reason
• Christ as Unique: Christ had no concupiscence at all, marking Him as uniquely free from sin and establishing His singular status as universal savior
• Death and Other Penalties: Although sanctified from original sin’s guilt, Mary remained subject to death and bodily infirmities—not as punishment for sin, but as the common lot of human nature

Notable Quotes #

• “Culpa cannot be cleansed except through grace, whose subject is only the rational creature”
• “Before there’s a reasonable soul there, there can’t be grace, and before there’s grace, there can’t be sanctification”
• “If never the soul of the Blessed Virgin was stained by the contagion of original sin, it would detract from the dignity of Christ, according as he is the Savior, the universal Savior of all”
• “The sanctification takes place through grace, and the subject of grace is the reasonable soul. So before there’s a reasonable soul there, there can’t be grace”

Questions Addressed #

1. Was the Blessed Virgin sanctified before birth? Yes, but only at the moment of animation (infusion of the rational soul), not before.
2. Can sanctification occur before animation? No, because grace requires a rational creature as its subject.
3. Did Mary contract original sin? Yes, at conception, but she was preserved from its stain through the merits of Christ.
4. What is the difference between peccatum naturae and culpa? Peccatum can describe a natural defect; culpa is specifically moral guilt requiring a rational will. Augustine uses peccatum naturae; Thomas distinguishes this from culpa.
5. Did concupiscence remain in Mary? Yes, but bound through abundant grace and divine providence, so it never produced disordered motions.
6. How does Mary’s preservation differ from Jeremiah’s and John the Baptist’s sanctification? They were sanctified (cleansed from original sin after contracting it); Mary was preserved (never contracting it in the first place).
7. What does the papal definition mean by “first instant of conception”? It is ambiguous whether this means biological conception or the moment of animation; the definition leaves this open.

Berquist’s Methodological Notes #

• On Thomas’s Evolution: Berquist notes that Thomas’s position in the Sentences (Commentary on the Sentences) appears to differ from his later work, particularly his exposition on the Ave Maria (Expositio Salutationis Angelicae). This exemplifies how even great thinkers revise their positions.
• On Translation Issues: The rendering of peccatum as simply “sin” in English creates confusion; one must recognize that peccatum has a broader application in Latin than the English word “sin.”
• On Papal Teaching: The Church’s definition by Pius IX preserves Thomas’s essential insight while clarifying and refining it through the concept of preservation rather than mere sanctification.