Immaculate Conception

[Guest confused christian]

Romans 3:23: "...all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." {NRSV}

I'm not Catholic, how can catholics accept the immaculate conception if it contradicts right there in scripture?

[cappie]

I am not sure this helps, I am never comfortable saying my bit of scripture is bigger than your scripture, but as a Catholic I take into account all of the below

Proofs:

( A ) From tradition:

It is a dogma originating from sound Christian tradition. Monks in Palestinian monasteries started celebrating the “Feast of Conception of Our Lady” by the end of 7th century. It got spread as the Feast of the Immaculate Conception in Italy (9th century), England (XI), and France (XII). Pope Leo VI propagated it and Pope Sixtus IV approved it as a feast. Finally in 1854 Pope Pius IX declared it a dogma of faith. Mary approved it by declaring to Bernadette at Lourdes: “I am the Immaculate Conception”.

( B ) From the Holy Scripture:

1 - God purified prophet Jeremiah in the womb of his mother and anointed John the Baptist with His Holy Spirit before John’s birth. (Jer. 1/5: Before I formed you in the womb of your mother I knew you and before you were born, I consecrated you”). Hence it is reasonable that God kept the mother of His Son, free from all sins from the first moment of her origin.

2 - The angel saluted Mary “full of grace”. It means that she was never, even for a moment, a slave of sin and devil.

3 - Gen. 3/15: “I will put enmity between you and the woman and her seed shall crush your head”. The woman stands for Mary and the promise would not be true if Mary had original sin.

( C ) Argument from reason:

1 - If we were allowed to select our mother, we would select the most beautiful, healthy and saintly lady. So did God.

2 - All-holy God cannot be born from a woman, who was the slave of the devil at least for a moment in her life.

[BLAZEr]

amesome Question! This is a toughy for a lot of people, myself included once upon a time . . . Along with what Cappie said, you might want to think about this:

But what about Romans 3:23, "all have sinned"? Have all people committed actual sins? Consider a child below the age of reason. By definition he can’t sin, since sinning requires the ability to reason and the ability to intend to sin. This is indicated by Paul later in the letter to the Romans when he speaks of the time when Jacob and Esau were unborn babies as a time when they "had done nothing either good or bad" (Rom. 9:11).

We also know of another very prominent exception to the rule: Jesus (Heb. 4:15). So if Paul’s statement in Romans 3 includes an exception for the New Adam (Jesus), one may argue that an exception for the New Eve (Mary) can also be made.

Paul’s comment seems to have one of two meanings. It might be that it refers not to absolutely everyone, but just to the mass of mankind (which means young children and other special cases, like Jesus and Mary, would be excluded without having to be singled out). If not that, then it would mean that everyone, without exception, is subject to original sin, which is true for a young child, for the unborn, even for Mary—but she, though due to be subject to it, was preserved by God from it and its stain.

The objection is also raised that if Mary were without sin, she would be equal to God. In the beginning, God created Adam, Eve, and the angels without sin, but none were equal to God. Most of the angels never sinned, and all souls in heaven are without sin. This does not detract from the glory of God, but manifests it by the work he has done in sanctifying his creation. Sinning does not make one human. On the contrary, it is when man is without sin that he is most fully what God intends him to be.

So here are the things to think about. Adam and Eve were created free from sin, and they committed no sin until they first ate of the apple. They might have lived for years without ever committing a sin, we don't know how long they had been in the garden before their fall.

Also, we know that little children (babies and children too young to know what they are doing) also do not commit sins right? So Paul wasn't referring to children when he said that "all have sinned" right? I would add to your consideration the mentally retarded. Do we think that people who do not have complete use of their will can sin? Of course not, because its impossible for them to choose the bad freely (though they might do it accidentally).

So, the Catholic Church teaches something similar about Mary. Its not that Christ wasn't her savior, it's just that she was saved from sin differently from the rest of us. She was saved from sin by God BEFORE she was conceived. Think of it this way, if there was a PIT you could be saved from the danger of the pit in two ways: being pulled out of the pit, or avoiding the pit altogether. Mary, through Christ and by grace, was saved from the pit of sin before she fell in.

Like Adam and Eve who were also without sin, Mary had the free choice to follow God or reject this gift of grace. Unlike Adam and Eve who said yes to temptation and fell into sin, Mary said yes to God and received in her womb the very presence of God.

[Pontifex]

I will simply add a few comments to the wonderful responses above:

Mary was kept free from Original Sin by a Grace that was already flowing from her Son.

At a first look, it seems as if we are making Mary divine. But that is simply not true and a misconception on the part of many good Christians. The Immaculate Conception is simply a declaration of Mary's special role in the plan of salvation, but salvation comes through Jesus Christ. Mary herself would not dispute that, in fact her role is to lead all of her children, (you and me) closer to her Son.

Mary's Immaculate Conception also gives us hope. Eve was the Mother of creation. Mary has been deemed the Mother of the new creation, the Church.

Thank God for Mary's eternal yes, and the mysterious closeness between Jesus and his Mother.

Peace to you,

Fr. Pontifex