Conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit

Catechism of the Catholic Church

The Annunciation to Mary inaugurates “the fullness of time”. Mary was invited to conceive him in whom the whole fullness of deity would dwell bodily. The divine response to her question, “How can this be, since I know not man?”, was given by the power of the Spirit: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you.”

The Holy Spirit, “the Lord, the giver of Life”, is sent to sanctify the womb of the Virgin Mary and divinely fecundate it, causing her to conceive the eternal Son of the Father in a humanity drawn from her own.

Born of the Virgin Mary

“God sent forth his Son”, but to prepare a body for him, he wanted the free co-operation of a creature. For this, from all eternity God chose for the mother of his Son a daughter of Israel, a young Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee.

Throughout the Old Covenant the mission of many holy women prepared for that of Mary. At the very beginning there was Eve; despite her disobedience, she receives the promise of a posterity that will be victorious over the evil one, as well as the promise that she will be the mother of all the living. After a long period of waiting the times are fulfilled in her, the exalted Daughter of Sion, and the new plan of salvation is established.”

To become the mother of the Saviour, Mary “was enriched by God with gifts appropriate to such a role.” The angel Gabriel during the annunciation salutes her as “full of grace”. For Mary to be able to give the free assent of her faith to the announcement of her vocation, it was necessary that she be wholly borne by God’s grace.

The Immaculate Conception

At the announcement that she would give birth to “the Son of the Most High” without knowing man, by the power of the Holy Spirit, Mary responded with the obedience of faith: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” Thus, giving her consent to God’s word, Mary becomes the mother of Jesus.

The Gospel accounts understand the virginal conception of Jesus as a divine work that surpasses all human understanding and possibility. The deepening of faith in the virginal motherhood led the Church to confess Mary’s virginity even in the act of giving birth to the Son of God made man. Christ’s birth “did not diminish his mother’s virginal integrity but sanctified it.”

Jesus is Mary’s only son, but her spiritual motherhood extends to all men whom indeed he came to save. Jesus is conceived by the Holy Spirit in the Virgin Mary’s womb because he is the New Adam, who inaugurates the new creation. From his conception, Christ’s humanity is filled with the Holy Spirit, for God “gives him the Spirit without measure.”

Divine life

By his virginal conception, Jesus, the New Adam, ushers in the new birth of children adopted in the Holy Spirit through faith. “How can this be?” Participation in the divine life arises “not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God”.

Mary is a virgin because her virginity is the sign of her faith and of her undivided gift of herself to God’s will. It is her faith that enables her to become the mother of the Saviour: “Mary is more blessed because she embraces faith in Christ than because she conceives the flesh of Christ. At once virgin and mother, Mary is the symbol and the most perfect realisation of the Church.

From paragraphs 484 – 511.