In the Catechism in section 411 and sections 491-493 the Roman Catholic Church teaches the facts that Mary was conceived without the guilt of original sin, and that she never committed any personal sin throughout her entire lifetime. After a bit of study these facts can be proven from the Bible as well. First of all the Bible never mentions a single account of Mary committing even one sin. The Bible mentions Peter denying Christ three times in one night, Paul murdering Christians, and Thomas doubting the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and many other heroes of the Bible who sinned but it never once mentions Mary sinning. So in the first place to believe that Mary did sin is to believe something that is not written in the Bible. There are a few verses that certain groups have chosen to use to attack these Marian doctrines and one of them is Romans 5:12. Romans 5:12-13 says "Therefore, just as through one person sin entered the world, and through sin, death, and thus death came to all, inasmuch as all sinned---for up till the time of the law, sin was in the world, though sin is not accounted when there is no law." The obvious exception first of all is Jesus. We know from reading the rest of Scripture and keeping this verse in context with the whole of Scripture that Jesus never committed any personal sin, and that he was born without the guilt of original sin. Since Jesus is and always has been fully God, he could never have been guilty of a sin on any plane. By examining the rest of Sacred Scripture it can be determined that Jesus never sinned and so must be an exception to Romans 5:12. By the end of this article it will be shown through examining the rest of Scripture in the same fashion that Mary never committed a sin either and therefore must be an exception to Romans 5:12 also. Not to mention the fact that what Romans 5:12 actually means when it says "all have sinned" is that each person is culpable for his sins and cannot use the excuse "Adam made me do it, because if Adam hadnŠt sinned, sin would not have entered into the world." Because of the many translations of the Bible and the long period of time that has passed since the Bible was first written it is difficult to read the verses which show Mary to be free of sin. The first verse worthy of examining is Luke 1:28. This verse is the annunciation of the birth of our Lord. The angel Gabriel addresses Mary with respect but the problem with this verse is the way in which it has been mutilated through the many translations that it has been through. Some Bibles horrendously address Mary by saying "Hail, highly favored daughter" or simply "Hail, favored one", but the most accurate English translation would be "Hail, full of grace" which more closely resembles the Latin text of Jerome's Vulgate which remained the world's most popular Bible from the year 405 until long after the year 1300. The Vulgate, which was translated from Greek into Latin in the years between 397 and 405, uses the words "gratia plena", that is to say "full of grace". If a person were to only examine these modern translations of the biblical texts then there would be much to speculate about, however when the Greek is brought into play there is much more clarity as to what is said and meant by the salutations of the angel Gabriel. The Greek version uses the word kecharitomene. Kecharitomene means "graced" or "endowed with grace." In the Greek language verbs can have up to nine different stems, each one suggesting to what extent the verb is meant. In the English language people use adverbs to tell what extent. For example look at these two sentences "Ken never goes to town." and the sentence "Ken sometimes goes to town." In both sentences the same verb "goes" is used. However, in the first sentence the frequency at which Ken shows up in town is more extreme than in the second sentence. Just like the adverbs "never" and "sometimes" modify the verb "goes" so does the stem in the word "kecharitomene" modify the verb "charitoo". The way in which the verb "charitoo" is presented in Luke 1:28 not only means graced, or endowed with grace but the way it is actually presented in the Greek text is that Mary is completely filled with grace right now, from the very beginning, and up until the very end. It is written in a manner that plainly states Mary has always been free of sin, and always will be for she is so completely and totally filled with grace that there could never be any room for sin. For as the Bible tells us grace and sin are opposites and from this it can be discerned that if Mary is completely filled with grace then sin could not exist in her life. Another verse that is often targeted for use against the doctrines of Mary's sinless life is Luke 1:47 where Mary calls God her savior. The claim of some groups is that if Mary had never sinned, then she didn't need a savior. The Catholic Church does not deny the legitimacy of this verse; rather she expounds the truth from it, and every other sacred verse in God's Holy word. The way in which Mary needed a savior is not any different from ours, what is different however, is the point in time at which she was saved from sin. At the very moment of her conception God had preplanned to save her from the guilt of sin. God cleansed her of this guilt at conception just as we will be free from our guilt when we have repented of our sins, and we will be free from ever being able to commit sins at the moment of our death. The difference between the Lord saving her and us is only the point in life at which she was saved as opposed to the point in life at which we might be saved. It was necessary to save Mary from sin at an earlier age than it is for us because God handpicked Mary from the very beginning to be the provider of the flesh for the body of God. What age would have been the best for God to spare Mary from the damage caused by sin? Conception of course. Which sins would have been okay for Mary to commit, and yet leave her worthy to be the bearer of the body of God? None of course. God cannot be a part of sin, and no good can ever come from sin including the flesh of God. Would God have allowed Mary to commit the sin of say, prostitution with his body present in her womb? Of course not. And if not then why would he allow her to commit any other sin? The answer is he wouldn't and didn't. Mary did not commit any sins not because of her own personal strength, but rather it was because God supplied her with that special ability. So in no way does the Church give to Mary what belongs to God, rather the Church merely gives to Mary the respect that she is due. For even scripture says that all generations shall call her blessed (Luke 1:48). And also in Luke 1:41-43 Elizabeth while filled with the Holy Spirit accurately terms Mary the Mother of our Lord. And finally, we are all called to imitate Christ, how do you think He felt about asking His mother to pray for Him, and how much love do you think that He showed her? If we are to imitate Christ, how can we not love Mary as well? Christ loved his mother dearly, and if we cannot imitate Christ and love her dearly as well are we truly Christians at all?
Perpetual Virginity of Mary
Origin Different Christian denominations
The Bible, Church, and Tradition
Baptism
Purgatory
Flesh of Christ
Refresh
Confession
Peter the First Pope
