The Dogmatic Definition of the Immaculate Conception

The Immaculate Conception is one of those dogmas of faith that is solemnly defined for us. We're talking about a singular grace preserving Mary from all stain of original sin in view of the merits of Jesus Christ and from the first instance of her conception. There's a lot packed into there. For one thing, we have to have something of an understanding of what original sin is if we're going to talk about how Mary was preserved from every stain of it.