I need to answer this question for someone,please help. If Mary came as the 2nd Eve and was cleansed of original sin why aren’t we free of original sin.
Hi,
God could have cleansed us from original sin by simply willing it. But we would have been left knowing of His infinite love for us as an abstraction. None of us has ever experienced anything that is indefinite—without limits. All our experience is of the finite—that which is limited.
So God took on our mortal flesh and joined us in our humanity. He showed us the kind of love he designed us for by showing us His mother’s loving example and by speaking about it Himslef. But He showed us most completely on Good Friday by suffering and dying as He did. We can’t understand the infinite, but we do understand what it is to suffer. He told us more about Himself on the cross than anywhere else.
Even though Mary was conceived without original sin, she suffered more than anyone, except for her son. This is why we call her the sorrowful Mother. Her son has taught us the sacrifice is the measure of love. We can verify this. We know how much we love others by how willing we are to put ourselves out for them.
Fr. Vincent Serpa, O.P.