[Rank]
In Octava Concept. Immac. Beatae Mariae Virginis;;Duplex majus;;4;;vide Sancti/12-08

[Rule]
vide Sancti/12-08;
9 lectiones;
Doxology=Nat

[Lectio4]
!From the Dogmatic Bull of Pope Pius IX. 
From of old time continual prayers have~
been offered to this Apostolic See not only by Bishops, Churchmen, and the~
Regular Orders, but also by Emperors and Kings, beseeching that the sinlessness~
of the Conception of the Mother of God might be made the subject of a Dogmatic~
Definition. These prayers have been still more urgently addressed in recent~
times to Our Predecessor, of happy memory, Gregory XVI., and to Ourselves, by~
the Bishops, by the Secular Clergy, by the Regular Orders, and by the most~
eminent Christian Princes and nations. The knowledge of these things hath caused~
Our heart to rejoice, and they have been the serious occupation of Our thoughts~
ever since, in spite of our unworthiness, the inscrutable Providence of God was~
pleased to set Us in this supreme Chair of Peter, and to put His Church into Our~
hands, for Us to govern. Since then, We have had nothing so much at heart as to~
yield to the desires of the Church in this matter, to the increasing of the~
veneration of which the most holy Virgin is already the object, and to the~
setting in a clearer light the singular graces with which God hath adorned her,~
being Ourselves especially drawn to the same by the reverence, love, and~
affection with which We have been from Our childhood animated towards the same~
most holy Virgin Mary, Mother of God.

[Lectio5]
And now We trust in the Lord that the time is come to define as a truth of faith~
the doctrine of the stainless Conception of the most holy Virgin Mary, Mother of~
God, that doctrine already set forth by Holy Scripture, by the ancient tradition,~
by the unbroken belief of the Universal Church, by the one common opinion of the~
Catholic Episcopate and laity, and by the marked acts and decrees of Our~
Predecessors. We have weighed everything in Our mind, and We have without~
ceasing implored the help and light of God's Holy Spirit by earnest prayer, and~
We are of opinion that it is Our duty no longer to delay, but by Our Supreme~
Decision to settle and declare that the Virgin was conceived without sin, and~
thus to satisfy the godly cravings of the whole Christian world, as well as the~
instinct of Our own love for the said most holy Virgin, and, above all, because~
she is His Mother, to glorify our Lord Jesus Christ by this act, since whatever~
we do rightly to honour the Mother must redound to the glory of the Son.

[Lectio6]
Therefore, having in all fasting and humbleness of heart continually implored~
God the Father through His Blessed Son, to hear Our own prayers and those of His~
whole Church, and to teach and strengthen Our mind by the power of His Holy~
Spirit, having begged the intercession of the Church Triumphant, and, above all,~
with groans called on the Holy Ghost the Comforter, We now, moved by Him, for~
the honour of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, for the greater praise and~
exaltation of the Virgin Mother of God, the glory of the Catholic Faith, and the~
good of Christianity, in the name and authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the~
Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and in Our own, declare and define that That~
doctrine which declareth that the most blessed Virgin Mary was, in the first~
instant of her Conception, preserved, by a special grace and privilege granted~
to her by Almighty God, through the merits of Christ Jesus, Saviour of mankind,~
which He foreknew, from any stain of original sin, is a doctrine taught and~
revealed by God, and therefore from this time forward must be held by all~
faithful Christians firmly and constantly. Wherefore if any one, which God~
forbid, shall at any time think in his heart any thing contrary to this Our~
definition, let him know that he is condemned by his own judgment, that he hath~
made shipwreck of the faith, and that he hath cut himself off from the body of~
the Church.

[Lectio7]
From the Holy Gospel according to Luke
!Luke 1:26-28
In that time the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, called~
Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of~
David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And so on.
_
Homily by St Epiphanius, Bishop (of Salamis-in-Cyprus.)
!Discourse in praise of the Blessed Virgin.
I am at a loss what words or terms I ought to employ in speaking of this~
illustrious and holy Virgin. She is raised above all things except God; she was~
made much higher than the Cherubim and Seraphim, and the whole host of heaven;~
neither the voices of heaven nor of earth are full enough to set forth her~
majesty, no, not the voices of Angels. O blessed Virgin! O pure dove and Bride~
of heaven! O Mary! At once the heaven, the temple, and the throne of God! Mother~
of the Sun that shineth both on heaven and on earth, even Christ! Bright cloud,~
through which the Son of Man hath come as the lightning, that lighteneth from~
the East even unto the West! Hail, gate of heaven, full of grace, of whom the~
Prophet in the Song of Songs openly speaketh in the course of his prayer, saying, A~
garden enclosed is My sister, My Spouse, a garden enclosed, a fountain sealed.~
(iv. 12.)

[Lectio8]
The Virgin is that stainless lily whence hath sprung the Rose that fadeth not,~
even Christ. O Holy Mother of God! Ewe without spot, that hast borne the Lamb~
That took flesh of thee, even Christ! O Maiden whose holiness hath dazzled the~
heavenly armies! There hath appeared a great sign in heaven, a woman clothed~
with the sun, and with the Light in her arms; a great sign in heaven, the~
Virgin's womb the chamber of the Son of God; a great sign in heaven, the Lord of~
angels made the Virgin's child. The angels accused Eve, but now they praise Mary,~
who hath raised Eve fallen, and restored to heaven Adam banished from Paradise.~
For Mary is the bridge between heaven and earth, the ambassadress who hath~
reconciled them in her womb.

[Lectio9]
We cannot measure the grace bestowed upon this holy Virgin. Hence the salutation~
addressed to her by Gabriel, Hail, thou glorious heaven, full of grace. Hail,~
Virgin adorned with many graces, yea, full of grace. Hail, thou vessel of gold~
that holdest the manna that came down from heaven, full of grace. Hail, thou~
unfailing fountain, that satisfiest the thirsty soul with sweet waters, full of~
grace. Hail, holy, sinless Mother of Him That was before thee, even Christ. Hail,~
thou Queenly purple, mantle of the King of heaven and earth. Hail, thou Book~
that no man can understand, and yet which the Eternal Word, the Son of the~
Father, hath opened for earth to read.
&teDeum
