Ambrose and the Immaculate Conception

 

I have seen the following quotations used to allege Ambrose' belief in Mary's immaculate conception (hereafter referred to as IC):

"Lift me up not from Sarah but from Mary, a virgin not only undefiled, but a virgin whom grace had made inviolate, free of every stain of sin" (Commentary on Psalm 118)

“Mary’s life should be for you a pictorial image of virginity. Her life is like a mirror reflecting the face of chastity and the form of virtue. Therein you may find a model for your own life . . . showing what to improve, what to imitate, what to hold fast to" (The Virgins 2:2:6 – 377 AD)

“The first thing which kindles ardor in learning is the greatness of the teacher. What is greater [to teach by example] than the Mother of God? What more glorious than she whom Glory Itself chose? What more chaste than she who bore a body without contact with another body? For why should I speak of her other virtues? She was a virgin not only in body but also in mind, who stained the sincerity of its disposition by no guile, who was humble in heart, grave in speech, prudent in mind, sparing of words, studious in reading, resting her hope not on uncertain riches, but on the prayer of the poor, intent on work, modest in discourse; wont to seek not man but God as the judge of her thoughts, to injure no one, to have goodwill towards all, to rise up before her elders, not to envy her equals, to avoid boastfulness, to follow reason, to love virtue. When did she pain her parents even by a look? When did she disagree with her neighbors? When did she despise the lowly? When did she avoid the needy?" (The Virgins 2:2:7 – 377 AD)

Regarding the first quote, there is a sense in which grace makes every belief free "of every stain of sin." 

The last two quotes don't say a word about Mary being free from original sin due to being immaculately conceived or anything like that. Viewing Mary as a model of living doesn't mean that Ambrose believed in IC. We could say that other biblical figures such as the Apostle Paul, for example, could (in some cases) be models for our lives.

Not only that, but Ambrose' teachings elsewhere are incompatible with any of so-called belief of his in IC:

"For wholly alone of those born of woman was our Holy Lord Jesus, Who by the strangeness of His undefiled Birth has not suffered the pollutions of earthly corruption, but dispelled them by heavenly majesty." (Exposition of the Gospel of Luke, Book 2, section 56, in PL 15:1571-1572)

"No Conception is without iniquity, since there are no parents who have not fallen" (PL 14:873)

[Latin text:  Nec conceptus iniquitatis exsors est, quoniam et parentes non carent lapsu]

"So, then, no one is without sin except God alone, for no one is without sin except God. " (On the Holy Spirit, Book 3, Chapter 18)

Ambrose scholar Boniface Ramsey says the following:

"We do not yet find the doctrines of Mary’s immaculate conception and her assumption in Ambrose, but his was the most comprehensive teaching on Mary produced up to that point, and it would help create an atmosphere conducive to further developments." (Boniface Ramsey, Early Church Fathers Series - Ambrose, pg. 51)