What is a DOGMA?

- an article of faith revealed by God, which the

magisterium of the church presents as necessary to
be believed if one freely chooses to be Catholic.

- more narrowly defined as that part of a doctrine

which has been divinely revealed and which the
church has formally defined and declared to be
believed as revealed. Revealed through holy
scripture or catholic tradition.
- may be based on the bible, tradition, or
magisterium of the church.
We must not confuse a
dogma with a doctrine.

Doctrines are all church teachings in

matters of faith and moral.

Dogmas are doctrines that are proposed

by the church that have been revealed
through scripture/tradition.
3rd Dogma:
 13TH CENTURY 15th Century 1854
-John Duns Scotus
-Franciscan Monks
-St. Bernard of Clairvaux, St.
- Franciscan Pope - Pope Pius IX
Thomas Aquinas and Dominican Sixtus IV - Ineffabilis Deus
Friars
 - proclaimed as an independent dogma by
Pope Pius IX in his Apostolic Constitution
UNDERSTANDING "Ineffabilis Deus“.

THE DOGMA • stresses the dignity and holiness

required to become "Mother of God."
 - That Mary of Nazareth was
conceived without original sin.

UNDERSTANDING
THE DOGMA
- "Full of grace," Mary is "the most
excellent fruit of redemptions"
 The modern Catholic Church teaches dogmatically
that Mary was conceived without sin. The Catechism
(paragraph 491) states:

UNDERSTANDING The most Blessed Virgin Mary was,

THE DOGMA 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.
 The phrase “full of grace” is a
UNDERSTANDING translation of the Greek word
THE DOGMA kecharitomene.
• Some people think the term refers to Christ’s
conception in Mary’s womb without the intervention
of a human father.

• Mary was conceived “by the power of the Holy

Spirit,” in the way Jesus was, but that, too, is
incorrect.

• We are told that “all have sinned” (Rom. 3:23).

- Mary said her “spirit rejoices in God my
Savior” (Luke 1:47), and only a sinner needs a
Savior.
Consider an analogy:

Suppose a man falls into a deep pit, and someone reaches down to pull him
out. The man has been “saved” from the pit. Now imagine a woman walking along,
and she too is about to topple into the pit, but at the very moment that she is to fall
in, someone holds her back and prevents her. She too has been saved from the pit,
but in an even better way: She was not simply taken out of the pit, she was
prevented from getting stained by the mud in the first place. This is the illustration
Christians have used for a thousand years to explain how Mary was saved by Christ.
By receiving Christ’s grace at her conception, she had his grace applied to her
before she was able to become mired in original sin and its stain.
• What about Romans 3:23, “all have sinned”?
- Consider a child below the age of reason. By
definition he can’t sin, since sinning requires the ability
to reason and the ability to intend to sin.

• If Mary were without sin, she would be equal to

God.

• When Protestants claim that the doctrine was

“invented” at this time
- Doctrines are defined formally only when there is a
controversy that needs to be cleared up or when the
magisterium, thinks the faithful can be helped by
particular emphasis being drawn to some already-
existing belief.
I. The First Meeting
II. Holy Water
III. The Lady Speaks
IV. The First Candle
V. In Silence
VI. Aquero
VII.The Secret
VIII.Penance
IX. The Spring
X. Silence
XI. The Ecstasy
XII.The First Miracle
XIII.Message to Priests
XIV.A Smile
XV.The Day All Were Waiting For
XVI.The Name They Waited For
XVII.The Miracle of the Candle
XVIII.The Final Apparition
• http://justforcatholics.org/immaculate.htm
• https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/resources/mary/general-
information/the-four-marian-dogmas
•https://www.agapebiblestudy.com/documents/The%20Four%20Maria
n%20Dogmas.htm
•https://www.gotquestions.org/immaculate-conception.html
•https://www.lourdes-france.org/en/apparitions/
•https://piercedhearts.org/treasures/shrines/lourdes.htm?fbclid=IwAR
2iq5wgrB9pzMxZqN1fyuD3nEcVtlZ8bgyp3_wYBN-K9WBLqy3s5AWZ7S4
•https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/resources/mary/popular-
marian-devotions/our-lady-of-lourdes?fbclid=IwAR3qj-
Vs4T278teQtuEmv5DN88GFYe1cgKkBSKzJDgH39NVS3cAkN-ANzoU