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Ecumenical and interfaith
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Mary
  • (28)
Our readers asked:

Where in the Bible does it say that Mary, mother of Jesus, is sinless? And if it is not in the Bible, why does the Catholic Church act like she is?

Fr. Joe Answers:

Catholics differ from some Christian Churches which accept the Scripture as the only source of God’s revelation. Catholics have a strong belief in the truth of Scripture, but we also believe in tradition as a way in which God continues to reveal truth to us. Tradition can include beliefs, customs, prayers, and worship, the teaching of popes, bishops, theologians and Church councils. It’s our process of continually reflecting on the way in which the Word of God encounters our own experience as a community of faith.

Catholic understanding is that tradition includes the Scripture, and began before the gospels and letters were written. We do believe that Scripture is a unique revelation from God and that the truths of tradition must always be tested and evaluated against the truths revealed in Scripture. They should not contradict Scripture. They should find their roots in Scripture.

The belief that Mary lived without sin from the moment of her conception springs from Church tradition. It evolved over a period of time, and was not formally defined as a teaching of the Church until 1854. It is not found explicitly in Scripture, but seems for Catholics to flow naturally from the testimony of Scripture that Mary was “full of grace” (Luke 1:28) and “blessed” (Luke 1:42).

In Catholic understanding the belief in Mary’s “immaculate conception” does not say so much about Mary as it is about Christ’s saving power. We believe that God created the human person to be in God’s own image. Grace is more original than sin. Our natural state was to be “full of grace.” Sin is our universal experience but it’s not what God intended for us in the past nor wants for us in the future. We are saved from sin through Christ. Mary’s being conceived without sin takes place in the context of the entire saving act of Christ. In being “full of grace” she is a model of what we human beings were intended to be and who we are redeemed to be through God’s saving power. She is the first sign of God’s victory over sin in Christ.

You also ask: “Why are Catholics who are baptized when they were infants, choose to lead unholy, even atheistic lives, die and then the priest at the funeral says they are going to heaven because they were baptized?”

The bishop of Rome, as head of the Catholic Church, sometimes declares certain people to be “saints” because they lived such exemplary and holy lives that we can believe with confidence that they are “with God in heaven.” Such a declaration only comes after a long investigation into the facts of that person’s life. The Catholic Church has never declared any deceased person to be “in hell.” Aside from this we don’t know and can’t presume the eternal state of any person who has died, although we believe that God desires all people to be with him in death as well as in life. Baptism does not automatically ensure that a person will go to heaven when he or she dies. We must try to live out our Baptism with lives of faith, hope and love.

The Catholic Church asks its members to pray for those who have died BECAUSE we know that we are all sinners, and even when we have tried to live a good life we can die short of the purity of heart that makes eternal life “with God” a reality. Yet we believe that God’s mercy is not thwarted by death and that God has the power to purify and transform the soul even after death so that it is fully open to participating in eternal life. Purgatory is not a place of “sentences”, like a prison, because it exists in eternity which is timeless.

We should certainly pray for the living as well, that they may accept God’s grace into their lives.

  • (28)
The Author : Fr. Joe
Fr. Joe Scott, CSP, has been a campus minister, pastor and editor as a Paulist priest.
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  • Michael R.

    Still waiting for an answer to this from an informed Catholic, from a Biblical standpoint, not one with their heads buried in the sand that just goes by previous false teachings as proof to back up their ideologies. I challenge anyone to give me a Biblically sound explanation please. I believe it can’t be done. I’m starting to think that the only people who are scripturally informed enough, or care enough to respond to peoples questions and concerns are the people who are not Catholic.

  • Michael R

    JD, Thank you for your response. I agree with you about Mary’s humanity being a crucial factor in her decision to say yes, as our own spiritual battle with sin will testify to the importance of our decision to say yes to Jesus. As far as the Catholic position of Mary being the new Eve, I am not sure I can agree with that either because of the simple fact that if Jesus is the new Adam, who has conquered sin, then wouldnt that make His bride (the church) the new Eve? Giving birth to the spiritual man/woman that we are to become through Christ, hence being born again in water and spirit. Since we are all responsible for our “yes” decision in conquering sin in our own lives and encouraged as believers to have an intimate and personal relationship with Jesus. I do believe however, Mary was an excellent example of nurturing this relationship and the decision on God’s behalf to have Jesus be born of a virgin birth is to be a display of the spiritual purity and chastity of Our Lord and not necesarily that of His mother. As it is written in scripture that she was to remain a virgin “until” the birth of Jesus. Also I cant help but question what merit spiritual purity would hold if it wasnt achieved through the refinement of the spirit through ones humanity. The way silver is refined of its impurities through the fire. (Holy Spirit) Thanks again Jd and I am also still looking forward to scripturaly sound clarification from a Catholic point of view. May God bless you in the truth of the Holy Spirit, in Jesus name. Amen

  • JD

    Michael R, I appreciate the message you have shared, and I agree with your current perspective. The question of who Mary is and why has been lingering with me for a few months. I was raised Protestant, but have come to appreciate many of the teachings and rituals of the Catholic church. However, I find the Catholic view of Mary confusing and spiritually and biblically unsound. Catholics refer to Mary as the new Eve, one who could undo what Eve had done by an active choice to obey God. I agree that by birthing the Christ child, she did, indeed, accomplish this. This I believe to be an act of God’s grace, and not due to Mary being an extraordinary person. I also believe that we are all called to say “yes” to God in our own lives. But, as you noted, declaring Mary to be without sin removes her from the honorable position as an example for the rest of us. If she isn’t like us, she is above us, and if she is above us, then Eve is below us, and then the whole scripture makes absolutely no sense. As Catholic’s note, it is her “yes” to God’s will that was important. But denying her a normal humanity removes all significance from her “yes.” Eve’s “no” and Mary’s “yes” mean nothing to us, unless each of these had a God given freedom to choose something else, just as our “yes” to Jesus means nothing without the freedom to deny him. At least as far as I can discern by the spirit of God which I believe is in me. Anyway, I would also greatly appreciate clarification from a Catholic. Thanks!!!

  • Michael R.

    As I am still eagerly awaiting someone to help me understand this circular logic in regards to the “Imaculate Conception”of our Savior’s mother, another question occured to me in light of Julia’s mention of God our Father’s incarnation to dwell among sinner’s in the fleshly body of the Son Jesus. The main theme of Jesus’ role as Christ being the Almighty humbly lowering himself to be a lowly servant and assuming the role as a “friend of sinners”,not only to be an example to us, but also a display of God’s mercy and will to reconcile us with Him. That being said, am I to assume that Our Lord, though being willing to live a comletely human life, (and a sub-par one so to speak as far as poverty and human struggle is concerned), was all of a sudden to proud to be born of a normal human birth? or to be contained in a vessel that may not have been completely perfect and sinless? Doesnt that reinforce the idea that the sinner is not worthy of God’s grace? Am I to believe that Our Heavenly Father would be that trivial in what seems to be an arbitrary judgement in matters of superficiality? “For God has consigned ALL to disobedience, so He may have mercy on ALL.” Am I to believe that Mary was beyond God’s mercy? I am sorry but it is just not biblical. I am not trying to bash the mother of our Lord, or disrepect her in anyway. I have a deep admiration and respect for in her holiness and her strength as a woman beyond all women, and I used to even pray to her. But in reading God’s word I realized my error and repented. It was not easy to break these old habits and I am still seeking clarity on these issues of Catholic dogma, from a catholic’s point of view. please explain…thanks

  • Michael

    Michael R. here again…this comment is in reply to “the other Michael” on this thread. You asked if an infant sins, or a mentally challenged person… and justified them as examples of there being an “exception” to the scripture.I feel that these are bad examples as they lack the mental capacity to recognise good from evil. Its the knowlege of good and evil and the choice between the 2,that makes us guilty of sin. That is why Adam and Eve hid from the Lord because they were ashamed of the sin that THEY KNEW THEY HAD COMMITED. Anyway I dont believe that mentally challenged people do not necesarily sin. Sin is anything that is counter to G-d’s law. NO ONE was able to fulfill G-D’s perfect law completely, hence the need for GRACE via our Savior, Jesus Christ who was the only one. If Mary was without sin then that would mean that she was able to fulfill G-d’s law, which goes against the very basis of our faith. The need for a Messiah.

  • Michael

    footnote to my previous comment….i am not the same Michael as in the comments posted earlier in the thread.lol man there sure are a lot of mikes in the world. just wanted to clear that up so there is no confusion. Call me Mike R. I suppose. Thanks G-d bless!

  • Michael

    I have a question. If Mary was born without sin then why didn’t the angel ask her to die on the cross for our sins, since only a perfect sacrifice of sinless blood was needed to atone for our sins? Also if she was a human being without sin wouldnt that make her without need of G-ds grace and Christs sacrifice making her in a sense equal to G-d in her divinity and disqualify the Holy trinity? While at the same time discrediting the arch angel Michael when he said “Who is like the Lord? and the many writers of scripture: ex “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us”. “He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the WHOLE WORLD.” “You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in HIM there is no sin.” “What is man, that he can be pure? Or he who is born of a woman, that he can be righteous? “Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.” “As it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one.” “And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.” “For as by the one man’s disobedience the Many were made sinners, so by the ONE man’s obediencece the Many will be made righteous.” “For ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”But the Scripture imprisoned EVERYTHING under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” “For there is ONE God, and there is ONE mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” etc. I dont mean any disrespect to my Catholic brothers and sisters but I was raised Catholic and when I read the Bible and weigh out the facts, it seems that one thing is clear…either all these writers are in some way lying or teaching false doctrine or the oppressive Roman Empire has led many astray with its man made traditions and doctrines for the sake of its power. Which one seems more likely? Please Catholics, read and study your Bibles and pray to the Holy Spirit for understanding. Follow Jesus (G-d’s Word) not popes. I pray for all of you , as well as myself, to be led in the Spirit of Truth concerning these difficult issues in Jesus’ name.

  • Linda Lally

    Why would Mary be the one leading us to our Saviour? His death for all my sins, his stripes at the scourging post – for my healing draws me. I appreciate her willingness to go through all her pain in order we have Jesus for our Saviour, but where in the Bible does it state that she was without sin. I thought Jesus was the only person ever…. without sin. I am very earnest to understand. Please help. Thank you!

  • Michael

    Kevin – does an infant sin? Does a severely retarded person sin? Did Jesus sin? Clearly there are exceptions.

    • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1539788445 Mahndisa S. Rigmaiden

      Yes some severely retarded people can sin, even if they’re ignorant of their offense! Jesus was SINLESS this is elucidated in the entire book of Hebrews! As to the question of babies, if you took the Bible literally, scripture says that those who believe ON JESUS will have everlasting life (John 3:16). If a baby cannot comprehend belief on Jesus then the converse would imply that they would not receive eternal life.

      However, the God with whom I am familiar is merciful! And Jesus said to his disciples that the children ought to be able to come to him and to get into Heaven one must be ‘like a child’. Therefore we can be assured that Jesus’ words supercede the converse reading of John 3:16. Matthew 19:14, Mark 10:14, Luke 18:16 all verify this assertion.

      Lastly here is Mark 10:15

      15 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.

  • Kathy

    Proverbslady: Mary leads us to her son ….just like someone can lead another to a closer relationship with Jesus through praying for them or teaching them.

  • Ann

    And our Blessed Mother leads us to Him!

  • Kevin

    Romans 3:23 clearly states that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” Scripture does not leave room for any exceptions. Jesus is the way. Thank you Proverbslady!

  • Proverbslady

    Whatever men are trying to prove theres only one statement that i believe and is 100% sure in the bible. Jesus said”No one comes to the father except through me”. Thanks.

  • Alcides Rios

    it says nothing against his divinity but on the contrary shows that when one allows his/herself to be lead by the Spirit and allow CHrist to live and reign in his/her body and soul, that person can live that holy saintly life. Mary is who we can become if we allow ourselves to be the humble handmaid of the Lord. And for with Christ nothing is impossible.

  • Julia

    One friend of mine pointed out that “Eve was full of grace too” – which makes some sense of Mary’s decision and how she could have responded differently.

    I’ve been drawn toward the Catholic Church and don’t see Mary as a make-or-break issue, but I do have one niggling immaculate conception question: what does it say about the divinity of Jesus if he is not the only person to have lived a sinless life?

    Actually, one more question. I’ve seen a beautiful icon of Jesus’ baptism that shows him submerged in dark water, surrounded by demon-like fish, symbolizing his incarnation as a descent among human sinfulness. It made me wonder, if he could descend so completely into the depths of our sin and hell, could he not have suffered to be born of an ordinary sin-prone person?

    I want to emphasize that these questions are not meant to be antagonistic, but they continue to haunt my mind amid my Catholic sympathies.

  • Jim

    When discussing the Immaculate Conception, an implicit reference may be found in the angel‚Äôs greeting to Mary. The angel Gabriel said, “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you” (Luke 1:28). The phrase “full of grace” is a translation of the Greek word kecharitomene. It therefore expresses a characteristic quality of Mary.

    The traditional translation, “full of grace,” is better than the one found in many recent versions of the New Testament, which give something along the lines of “highly favored daughter.” Mary was indeed a highly favored daughter of God, but the Greek implies more than that (and it never mentions the word for “daughter”). The grace given to Mary is at once permanent and of a unique kind. Kecharitomene is a perfect passive participle of charitoo, meaning “to fill or endow with grace.” Since this term is in the perfect tense, it indicates that Mary was graced in the past but with continuing effects in the present. So, the grace Mary enjoyed was not a result of the angel‚Äôs visit. In fact, Catholics hold, it extended over the whole of her life, from conception onward. She was in a state of sanctifying grace from the first moment of her existence.

  • mike

    Christy, thanks for the great question. We always have the ability as humans, Mary included to go against God’s wish for us. Even though Mary was not caught up in sin by birth, that doesn’t eliminate her from committing sin, first of all, but also doesn’t mean that she can’t make a decision counter to God’s wishes.
    That’s why her decision, made freely, is as you say, “so darn important.”

  • Christy

    So, my question is this: If Mary was conceived without sin on her soul, then wasn’t she predestined to carry the Christ child? So doesn’t that mean that it wasn’t really her choice? And therefore, if it wasn’t really her choice to carry Jesus in her womb, what makes her “decision” to say yes to God (via the angel Gabriel I believe) so darn special?

    I just find this doctrine very confusing & seems counter to our view of God giving us all free will. I would love for someone to shed some light on this.

  • Mike Hayes

    Good point, Mike in PA. Thanks for sharing that.

  • Mike in PA

    Another point to make regarding the theological language related to this issue, e.g. “Immaculate Conception”, is that the mammalian ovum was not discovered until 1827 by Baer. It seems logical that the title “Immaculate Conception” would not be found in scripture since the biological concept surrounding it was foreign. Another tip of the hat to science for giving us a fuller vocabulary to better articulate the tenets of faith.

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