he Immaculate Conception.

God created the first man free from sin. But he transgressed the law of
God, and, by his transgression, all his posterity are born in sin and
conceived in iniquity. For St. Paul says: "By one man sin entered into
this world, and by sin death; and so death passed upon all men, in whom
all have sinned" (_Rom._ v. 12). But God promised that the woman, Mary,
should crush the head of the serpent. Now if she was to crush the head
of the serpent, it was fit that she should never be under his power,
that she should be pure, free from sin of every kind.

There have been exceptions to all general laws. At the time of the
deluge Noe was saved. Lot was saved from the destruction of Sodom. In
like manner, the Blessed Virgin is an exception to the general law that
all sinned in Adam. Isaias and St. John Baptist were sanctified in their
mother's womb. Was it any more difficult for God to sanctify Mary at the
moment of her conception, at the moment of the union of her soul with
her body? God chose His own Mother. If He had the power to choose her
did He not also have the power to preserve her from original sin? And
does it not appear to you most fitting that God, the Holy Ghost, should
preserve His spouse, and God, the Son, His Mother, from sin of every
kind?

"Hail, full of grace," the angel said to her. If she was full of grace,
no vacancy was left for sin. Grace denotes the absence of sin, as light
denotes the absence of darkness. Hence if Mary was full of grace, she
was never subject to sin; she was always pure and her conception
immaculate. It is but natural, then, that we arrive at the belief in the
Immaculate Conception, at the belief in the sinlessness, the
spotlessness of the Blessed Virgin from the very beginning of her
existence. If we honor Mary principally because the angel honored her,
because God honored her, we honor her, also, because of her immaculate
conception and total freedom from sin. She was a model of all virtues.
Is it not reasonable, then, to honor Mary, to love her, and to believe
that she loves us? If we honor the good and virtuous, where can we find
a nobler example of virtue than Mary? What a beautiful model Mary is for
Christians, and especially for Christian women! Good Catholic mothers
are continually urging upon their daughters the necessity of choosing as
a model Mary, the true type of female excellence. In Mary you find all
that is tender, loving, constant, and true. In