One thing I remember from my younger days growing up in Kitchener, Ontario is the immaculate state of our living room. Our house was not very large, just one and a half stories. The upstairs had two bedrooms, each with sloped ceilings reflecting the pitched roof. The main floor had a kitchen, den, bathroom, and living room. My mother always made sure the living room was very clean with no mess lying around. If anyone in the household left something lying about or misplaced it was quickly straightened and things put in place as they should be positioned. It was immaculate, even if visitors were not expected. The other rooms could be in a state of disarray, although my mother’s definition of disarray involved neat and tidy. But the living room . . .
Immaculate comes from the Latin immaculatus, a combination of ‘in or im’ (without) and ‘macula’ (stain). Macula is still used by scientists for spots on the skin, on the wings of insects, or on the surface of celestial objects. Macular degeneration is an eye disease that affects central vision. This means that people with macular degeneration can’t see things directly in front of them. The macula is the round spot at the centre of your retina, at the back of your eyeball. Something is labelled immaculate if it has no stain or blemish or spots.
Immaculate is a word that morphed into everyday use from its origin in religious meaning. The word was first used in English during the early 1400s in connection to Mary, the mother of Jesus. It is a common misconception that the Immaculate Conception refers to the virgin birth of Jesus, that the conception of Jesus in Mary’s womb happened with no sexual activity. However, the Immaculate Conception is the belief that Mary herself was sinless from the moment of her conception. The idea is that Mary was conceived without the stain of original sin.
The view that Mary had been spared from the disposition to evil inherent in original sin was not clearly expressed until the 12th century, when considerable debate was centred on an English celebration of Mary’s conception. When the Catholic Church in England began producing more theological documents in the English language, rather than in Latin, the term Immaculate Conception was used. It was not until Pope Pius IX on December 8, 1854, issued the Apostolic constitution Ineffabilis Deus, "The most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instant of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the saviour of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin,” that the teaching became doctrine. Since the conception of Mary is observed on December 8, nine months prior to her birth celebration on September 8, it falls during the Advent and Christmas season, which leads to its confusion about whether the Immaculate Conception refers to Jesus or Mary.
From this sacred beginning for the English use of immaculate, the meaning expanded to an expression used in various ways outside of religious usage. Immaculate can refer to the state of cleanliness or perfection of an object to something having no flaw or error. Yesterday I went to my friend’s house, and it had a perfectly flawless, immaculate kitchen. The restaurant across the street offers fast, immaculate service. I think my aunt has one of the most immaculate hearts in the world because of her social conscience and efforts in the community. His outfits are always immaculate. It was an immaculate event, as all went exactly as planned.
The Christian Church has now moved into the Season of Advent, officially beginning December 3, the first of four Sundays before Christmas Day. I usually set up our Christmas tree on the weekend of Advent One, so our house was not immaculate this past weekend with boxes and containers of Christmas decorations strewn about the house. At least this year, with the weather so warm in November, I put up the outside lights in reasonably warm temperatures rather than the usual -25C I try to do it.
John would like to know if anyone has a sincere interest in a relevant word that he could possibly research for an upcoming column. If so, please send your requests to wordwisdom2021@gmail.com. Words will be selected according to relevance and research criteria. We cannot confirm that all words will be used.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
