The Lord said to the serpent, I will put enmities
between thee and the woman (Gen. iii. 14, 15)
In these words the Immaculate Conception of
the Blessed Virgin Mary was announced to our first
parents. It was to be the reversal of the friendship
with the serpent, contrasted by Eve when she
listened to his voice and fell under his power. The
second Eve was never to be under the power of the
devil; the enmity between them was to admit of
no possible exception. This involved the grace of
being conceived Immaculate.
Mary's Immaculate Conception was the foundation
of all her graces. The absence of any stain
or spot of sin marked her off from all the rest of
mankind. It distinguished her from the holiest of
the Saints, since they, one and all, were sinners.
Her perfect sinlessness was the source of all her
glory and all her majesty; it was this which opened
the door to the unlimited graces that she received
from God; it is this which qualified her for her
Divine Maternity, and for her throne as Queen of
Heaven.
If sinlessness is such a priceless treasure, how
I ought to value it! and how I ought to hate sin
with a deadly hatred, and to detest and avoid even
what are called little sins! How eagerly should I
cry out to the Immaculate Mother of God, this
day and every day, in words that she herself
suggested to one of her servants--
O Mary, conceived without sin,
Pray for us who have recourse to thee!