Mary's Sinlessness

[MichaelFilo]

[quote]How is Mary sinless? I don't understand this one... She was only sinless in the fact that she was a virgin when she had Jesus...or so I( & Protestants in general i believe) believe. There was only one person to ever walk the face of the earth as perfect/sinless and that was Jesus.


Now i'm ready for the Catholics to criticize me on this...

Freak[/quote]

I'll give an answer tommorow. It is actually to late to think.... I'm sorry I promised an answer, but if none is provided by someone here (and again I hope someone does), I'll respond tommorow (including at school).

God bless,
Mikey

[Cam42]

Me too.....but I will give it run tomorrow or the next day.....

God Bless,

Cam

[Paphnutius]

Does it irk anyone else that they always fail to recongize that Adam and Eve were created without sin?

[MichaelFilo]

I know what you mean... but they don't see the reason why Mary should be sinless.

God bless and Bonum Noctum,
Mikey

[point5]

1. New Eve
2. New Ark
3. "Hail full of grace"
4. Early church support

makes sense too

[guardsman]

I believe the doctrine of "The Immaculate Conception" covers this question. I would suggest googling around and reading up on it if you want to understand Catholic teaching on this difficult topic. But to basically summarize my personal understanding, Mary was preserved from original sin in order to be the "ark" or "vessel" by which God Himself was delivered in human form to walk amongst us. It only seems fitting to me that God would choose to inhabit the body only of the purest of all humans.

[franciscanheart]

another of our phatmassers, highely skilled in marian theology, has posted two papers on mary as the new ark of the covenant and another on mary as the new eve. that might help some.

[url="http://phorum.phatmass.com/index.php?showtopic=19313"]--Mary - Ark of the New Covenant[/url]

[url="http://phorum.phatmass.com/index.php?showtopic=19851"]--Mary - The New Eve Foretold[/url]

[Fides_et_Ratio]

One thing most Protestants often think without too much thought--is that they assume we believe Mary to be sinless of her own merits. This is simply not true. Mary was given a GRACE-- a beautiful gift from God to be the Mother of the Savior Jesus Christ. And as such, it is fitting (not necessary, but very fitting and appropriate) for her to be sinless.
This is alluded to in the Scriptures... Luke 1:28 "full of grace"-- the Greek "kecharitomene" (or however it's spelled.. I need to look it up!) is a perfect particple. This means it was an action completed in the past but it has relevance to the present moment--that of the Angel's greeting and message for Mary. The better translation would read "Hail, you who have been graced". What was this grace? The Immaculate Conception-Mary's being preserved even from the stain of Original Sin. Furthermore, in Genesis 3:15, (this is also in regards to Mary's being the new Eve) regardless of the pronoun situation (i.e., "he/she" will crush the head of the serpent) the woman (Mother of the Seed of Victory... only choice is Mary) is intimately connected and shares in the SAME enmity that exists between her Seed (Jesus) and the seed of the serpent (Satan, demons, evil, whatever..). If Mary had ANY sin then she would not participate in the SAME radical opposition (enmity).


...hopefully I didn't just repeat what was in the above links.

[Timothy]

[quote]Mary is truly "Mother of God" since she is the mother of the eternal Son of God made man, who is God himself, Jesus Christ. Mary is known as the Blessed Virgin Mary. She is Blessed because God found her to be holy. (Luke 1:30). She is a Virgin because she had no relations with a man, and yet conceived a Child (Luke 1:34-35).[/quote]

Definition

As God preserved Mary from acquiring original sin, so He preserved her by His grace from ever committing a sin during her life. This teaching essentially follows from the last.

How This Teaching Exalts Christ

As with the Immaculate Conception, this teaching shows that Jesus' holiness demanded that He be born of a holy woman, and that He can save to the uttermost.

Biblical Basis

Essentially the same as with the Immaculate Conception. Had Mary ever committed a sin during her life, she would not have been an enemy of the devil or a holy vessel; thus her Immaculate Conception would have been in vain! Her fullness of grace would have helped prevent her from committing sin.