Coffee vs. Milk

Mary: Woman of The Way

I couldn't resist the continued coffee analogy. Perhaps its the early morning foray into the wonders of theology. Bottom line is that there are many, many, many things about our faith that we grow to learn, appreciate, and proclaim. In the beginning we drink milk, until eventually we add some coffee, and finally we are ready for those Macchiatos.

More poignantly, we apply the title Mystical Rose to both the Church and to Our Lady (model of the Church). Just as we see a rose grow from a stem of a plant, turns to a bud, and slowly opens itself, so we slowly come to realize the beauty of the Church. It is mystical, because it is outside of time and space, and completely dependent on the grace of the Holy Spirit.

An important thing to remember, however, is that the rose is beautiful from bud to blossom, and always a rose. Also, there is nothing wrong with the process; it is the natural tendency of the rose to open up slowly. Analogously, the Church is complete and whole, because Christ is the Church. There is nothing new to be "invented." However, there are many things that we mere humans slowly come to discover and see. Note the important distinction between invention and discovery.

We invent nothing about the Faith, but we discover things all the time. "New" proclamations and teachings of the Church are simply elaborations, clarifications, or expressions of the Truth given to us by Christ. They never contradict the Sacred Scripture or Sacred Tradition. This may seem strange, however there are dogmas and doctrines of the Church that we assume were stated clearly from its foundation, but in fact, were only expressed, elaborated, or clarified when the sanctity of the people of God demanded it. Aside from the Immaculate Conception, which is our current topic, the seven sacraments were formally defined in the Council of Trent (1600s), Papal infallibility in 1870, and Christ as God-Man in the 5th century.

The dogma of the Immaculate Conception was proclaimed in 1854, but the arguments abounded for centuries. The most famous head to head was the battle of the Franciscans and the Dominicans (coffee vs. milk, heh heh).  Tomorrow we'll take a look a little closer look at the teaching of St. Thomas, St. Bernard, and others, in order to better understand the development of this doctrine.

Novena to the Immaculate Conception