"Full of Grace" or "Favored one"

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This Advent the NAB lectionary for American’s will read full of grace

Us Australians are stuck with the old Jerusalem Bibles favour

“He [Tyndale] changeth grace into favour whereas every favour is not grace in English, for in some favours there is little grace…” –St Thomas More

As recorded in The Lives of the English Martyrs [Dom Bede Camm O.S.B., Burns & Oates, 1910, Vol. 1, p.162],
 
Did the NAB ever render it Full of Grace? I cannot lay hands on my 1970 edition at the moment, but I don’t think so?

tee
1970 NAB: “Rejoice, O highly favored daughter!”

1986 NAB: “Hail, favored one!”

USA Lectionary: “Hail, full of grace.” (cf. Douay-Rheims, RSV-xCE)
 
[Was that a typo? Otherwise I do not understand?]

Which, if my recollection is correct, it is disingnenuous of the OP to ask why *Full of Grace *was changed to *Favored one *-- It is a different translation than the Douay-Rheims (or whichever is being compared to), made according to different principles.

One might as well ask why the thousands of words surrounding Luke 1:28 were changed, no?

🤷 indeed
tee
yes, I did make a typo, sorry
 
This Advent the NAB lectionary for American’s will read full of grace

Us Australians are stuck with the old Jerusalem Bibles favour

“He [Tyndale] changeth grace into favour whereas every favour is not grace in English, for in some favours there is little grace…” –St Thomas More

As recorded in The Lives of the English Martyrs [Dom Bede Camm O.S.B., Burns & Oates, 1910, Vol. 1, p.162],
1970 NAB: “Rejoice, O highly favored daughter!”

1986 NAB: “Hail, favored one!”

USA Lectionary: “Hail, full of grace.” (cf. Douay-Rheims, RSV-xCE)
This is nice to know
 
To me, **both interpretations **adequately describes Mary and her earthly role as mother of the Christ child - she was both highly favored by God to fill such an incredibly important role and full of grace (TBD).

Perhaps that’s why they picked that Greek word - so our inadequate English language would have to include both definitions and give us ample opportunity to figure it out…

I personally prefer the ‘full of grace’ interpretation because grace is much more than an unmerited gift from God - it is actually something more tangible to me. But I’d be interested in knowing your thinking on that alone. What is grace?

As far as her living a sinless life … there was only one capable of that.

There is some great dialog on the fullness of grace, but what does that really mean too?
 
There is some great dialog on the fullness of grace, but what does that really mean too?
  • We are justified (meaning freed from sin) by grace (Romans 3:24).
  • God can make all grace abound is us (2 Corinthians 9:8).
  • He can know us before we are even formed in the womb (Jeremiah 1:5).
  • He is able to preserve us from sin (Jude 1:24).
  • Under grace sin will not have dominion over us (Romans 6:14)
  • Mary was redeemed to carry the redeemer (Luke 1:28)
Kecharitomene being the perfect passive participle means Mary was permanently graced sometime in the past before the angel’s visit.

Did God wake up one day and go hmmm? Or did he grace Mary upon her conception?

So if Mary was fully and permanently graced upon her conception then as grace frees us from sin, she never once sinned.

We must therefore confess simply that the Blessed Virgin committed no actual sin, neither mortal nor venial; so that what is written (Canticles 4:7) is fulfilled: “Thou art all fair, O my love, and there is not a spot in thee,” etc. - St. Thomas Aquinas question 27 article 4 Summa Theologica

Fullness of grace
pleres charitos = not currently sinning e.g. Acts 6:8
Kecharitomene = never have, not currently are, never will sin e.g. Luke 1:28
 
So which is it highly favored or full of grace. The original Greek is a very special word used no other time in all of Scripture. kecharitōmene is a perfect passive participle in the Greek. This word has both noun and verb properties so in essence Mary’s name is “full of Grace” ; see definitions above. There is not any English equivalent to this word. By definition a perfect Passive participle describes a perfectly completed action which has occurred in the past, with continuance of the same action in the present and an expectation of continuance of the same action into the future. So this is applied to the base word charitō in Kecharitomene. The base word charito means grace, so by definition Mary was perfectly and completely graced in the past with a continuance of the action at present and expectation of the same action into the future. That is the reason why a Baptist Greek linguist Archibald Thomas Robertson must admit that Saint Jerome’s Latin Vulgate was right to translate as full of grace. If Mary is completely and perfectly graced by God there is no longer any room what so-ever for sin.
I’m fascinated that the Greek words have so much nuance, and that some of this nuance wasn’t translated fully into English. Can you suggest a book or article that expounds upon this as Biblical analysis? I would much appreciate it if you can.
 
Fullness of grace
pleres charitos = not currently sinning e.g. Acts 6:8
Kecharitomene = never have, not currently are, never will sin e.g. Luke 1:28
While this is a fair conclusion to be drawn, the translations of the words have nothing to do with sin, only grace.

pleres charitos = “full of grace/favor” i.e. at this particular instant.
kecharitomene = filled with grace/favor some time in the past, and has continued on being filled with grace even up to the present. It does not say how far in the past it goes.

that is, of course, just the linguistics, not the theology.
 
While this is a fair conclusion to be drawn, the translations of the words have nothing to do with sin, only grace.

pleres charitos = “full of grace/favor” i.e. at this particular instant.
kecharitomene = filled with grace/favor some time in the past, and has continued on being filled with grace even up to the present. It does not say how far in the past it goes.

that is, of course, just the linguistics, not the theology.
Part I
Yes, you are right it doesn’t prove that there never was sin, nor does it prove the immaculate conception. However while Kecharitomene does prove that while it was in effect there could be no sin. I presume you aknowledge this statement

We cannot determine just how long Kechaitomene/full of grace was operative from this passage alone. So let us consider a number of other passages in relation to Mary being immaculate, I think I will have to split this in two to three segments.

Mary is engulfed by GodLuke 1:35 “And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the **Highest shall overshadow **thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”

This verse explicitly establishes a link between Mary as bearer of the New Covenant and the Ark of the Old Covenant. The Gk. word for **“overshadow” (“episkiasei”) was used of the bright cloud ****at the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ **(Mt 17:5; Lk 9:34) and is **reminiscent of the Shekinah of the OT, which represented God’s Presence **(Ex 24:15-16;40:34-8; 1 Ki 8:4-11). Mary became like the Holy of Holies in the Temple, where God dwelt. God gave extremely detailed instructions on constructing the ark, since it was to contain His Law (Ex 25-30 and 35-40). Mary had to be that much more holy, since she was to carry the Word of God in the flesh (Job 14:4). Further parallelism between Mary and the Ark is indicated in comparing Lk 1:43 with 2 Sam 6:9, Lk 1:44 with 2 Sam 6:14-16, and Lk 1:39-45,56 with 2 Sam 6:10-12.

The power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow(overshadow). And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God.” Luke 1:35-----

Luke 1:35 “overshadow–NT:1982 episkiazoo; **to throw a shadow upon, to envelop in shadow, to overshadow: **Tropically, of the Holy Spirit exerting creative energy upon the womb of the virgin Mary and impregnating it (a use of the word which seems to have been drawn from the familiar O.T. idea of a cloud assymbolizing the immediate presence and power of God): with the dative Luke 1:35. (from Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, Electronic Database…)

OVERSHADOW 1. episkiazo NT:1982, “to throw a shadow upon” (epi, “over,” skia, “a shadow”), “to overshadow,” is used (a) of the bright cloud at the Transfiguration, Matt 17:5; Mark 9:7; Luke 9:34; (b) metaphorically of the power of “the Most High” upon the Virgin Mary, Luke 1:35; (from Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, Copyright © 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers.)

OT Ark: "The cloud covered the Tent of meeting and the glory of Yahweh filled the tabernacle." Exodus 40:34------

Cloud-anan OT:6051, -CLOUD ……The word commonly means "cloud mass." Anan is used especially of the “cloud mass” that evidenced the special presence of God: “And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way…” Exod. 13:21>. In Ex 34:5, this presence is represented by `anan only: “And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him [Moses] there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord.”…….When the ark of the covenant was brought into the holy place, “The cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord” 1 Kings 8:10-11. Thus the “cloud” evidenced the presence of God’s glory (from Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, Copyright © 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers.)

Mary is called the Most blessed of All women in Luke: Luke 1:42 And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. With a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women (that is, most blessed of all women), (from Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary, Electronic Database.)
eulogeoo
eulogeemenos favored of God, blessed, Luke 1:42 b (compare Deut 28:4);
en gunaixi, blessed among women, i. e. before all other women, Luke 1:28, R, G, L, Tr text brackets; 42 a (compare W., 246 (231); (Buttmann, 83 (73))); (from Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, Electronic Database. Copyright)
 
Part II Mary Immaculate:

My estimation the following is the clincher

Old Testament Prophecy concerning Mary Most Holy
Genesis 3:15 I will put enmity(this means total opposition) between you(Satan) and the woman(Mary) between your seed(Satan seed the world) and **her seed(the woman-Mary seed is Jesus). **
There is enmity between Mary and Satan and between Jesus and Satan’s seed. If Mary is not filled with Gods Grace from the moment of conception to death she will never be in total opposition to Satan. If Mary were to be a sinner she could not be at enmity with Satan. Mary’s enmity oposition is spoken as equal to Christ enmity.

Mary Most Holy-Mary Immaculate because she is the Ark of the New Covenant
The orginal Ark was Holy, not because of the gold which coated the outside, but the Ten Comandment inside- the law that had been inscribed by the finger of God on the tablets of stone. What else was inside? Manna, the miracle bread that fed the people, Aron’s rod that blossomed as a sign of his office as high priest (see Nm 17) What makes the new ark holy? The old Ark contained the word of God written in stone; **Mary contained in her womb the Word of God **Who became man and dwelt among us. The Ark contained manna; **Mary contained the Living bread come down from heaven. **The ark contained the rod of the high priest Aaron; Mary’s womb contained the eternal high priest, Jesus Christ. In the heavenly temple, the Word of God is Jesus, and the ark in whom he resides is Mary, His mother Rev 12:1……
  1. "Hail, full of grace
The Fathers and Doctors of the Church “taught that this singular, solemn and
unheard-of-greeting showed that all the divine graces reposed in the Mother of God and that she was adorned with all the gifts of the Holy Spirit”, which meant that she “was never subject to the curse”, that is, was preserved from all sin. (Navarre Commentary

S. Augustine (Serm xviii de Sanctus) says, “Mary is filled with grace, and Eve is made clear from guilt; the curse of Eve is changed into the blessing of Mary.” Toletus (annotat. 67) shows that the **Blessed Virgin was full of all grace, both in body and soul. For she was free from concupiscence **(fomite concupiscentiæ), so that in her the flesh was subject to the reason and the spirit, as was the case with Adam in Paradise through original righteousness. Wherefore he adds that in her, nature conspired with grace and co-operated with it in every respect. See also what I have said concerning her in the Commentary on the Canticles, especially on those words (c. iv. 7), Thou art all fair, my love, there is no spot in thee.

S. Jerome (Serm. de Assump. B.V.) says, “It is well said that she was full of grace, because on others grace is bestowed partially (per partes), but the fulness of grace in complete treasure was infused into Mary.” And again, “The entire fulness of grace, which is in Christ, came upon Mary, although in a different way.”

Shall overshadow thee. S. Gregory (33 Moral. c. 2) explains thus, “The Word of God in thee will assume a body, which will be as it were a shadow of Deity, for it will as a shadow veil and conceal It.” And again he says (18 Moral 12), “The human body in thee shall receive the incorporeal light of Divinity.” Origen says also that the Body of Christ is called a shadow, because in the Passion it was humiliated and obscured after the manner of a shadow.
S. Ambrose (on Psalm 119) understands by the shadow this present and mortal life which the Spirit gave to Christ, for this is, as it were, a shadow of the true life and of eternity.
S. Augustine (Quæst. V. et N. T. c. 15) says,** The power of the Highest shall overshadow thee, i.e. shall attemper itself to thee, as a shadow adjusts itself to a body, for thy human weakness could not contain the fulness of its force and power. **

But more simply, the meaning is, It will cover thee as with a veil, i.e., will secretly work a mighty operation in thee; for it will be such and so great a one that no man or angel can penetrate into or comprehend it. For, first, it will form in thee the perfect humanity of Christ; and, secondly, it will unite the same in a certain ineffable manner to the Person of the Word.

St. Hippolytus (c. 170-c. 236)
“At that time, the Savior coming from the Virgin**, the Ark, brought forth His own Body into the world from that Ark**, which was gilded with pure gold within by the Word, and without by the Holy Ghost; so that the truth was shown forth, and the Ark was manifested…And the Savior came into the world bearing the incorruptible Ark, that is to say His own body” (S. Hippolytus, In Dan.vi., Patr. Gr., Tom. 10, p. 648) (Blessed Virgin, p. 77).
 
Part III The early church teachings, long before any controversy ever existed is almost endless speaking to the same truths

St. Ambrose (c. 339-397)
“The prophet David danced before the Ark.** Now what else should we say the Ark was but holy Mary? The Ark bore within it the tables of the Testament, but Mary bore the Heir of the same Testament itself. **The former contained in it the Law, the latter the Gospel. The one had the voice of God, the other His Word. The Ark, indeed, was radiant within and without with the glitter of gold, but holy Mary shone within and without with the splendor of virginity. The one was adorned with earthly gold, the other with heavenly” (Serm. xlii. 6, Int. Opp., S. Ambrosii) (Blessed Virgin, p. 77).

St. Cyril (315-387?)
“The Ark would be the type and image of Christ : for if we look back to the way of the Incarnation of the Only-begotten, we shall see that it is in the temple of the Virgin, as in an ark that the Word of God took up His abode. For in Him dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, as the Scripture saith. But the testimonies in the ark were the word of God, and the wood of it was imperishable, and with pure and choicest gold was it beautified within and without” (St. Cyril, De ador. In Spir. Et Verit, p. 293, St. Maximus of Turin and other Fathers apply the Ark of the Covenant to the Blessed Virgin Mary) (Blessed Virgin, p. 76).

St. Athanasius (c. 296-373; the main defender of the Trinity and the deity of Christ against the 2nd century Arian heretics.)
“Be mindful of us, most holy virgin, who after childbirth didst remain virgin; and grant to us for these small words great gifts from the riches of they graces, O thou full of grace. Accept them as though they were true and adequate praises in they honor; and if there is in them any virtue and any praise, we offer them as a hymn from ourselves and from all creatures to thee, full of grace, Lady, Queen, Mistress, Mother of God, and Ark of sanctification” (Orat. In Deip. Annuntiat, nn. 13, 14. Int. Opp. S. Athanasii) (Blessed Virgin, p. 80).

**ST Peter Chrysologus Called Mary the spouse of the Holy Spirit **

“He was the ark formed of incorruptible wood. For by this is signified that His tabernacle was exempt from putridity and corruption.” Hippolytus,Orat. Inillud, Dominus pascit me(ante A.D. 235),in ULL,94

“This Virgin Mother of the Only-begotten of God, is called Mary, worthy of God, immaculate of the immaculate, one of the one.” Origen,Homily 1(A.D. 244),in ULL,94
Origin more than 120 years before Jerome’s Latin Vulgate declared Luke 1:28 as Hail Full of Grace: THE ANGEL’S GREETING TO MARY UNIQUE. ORIGEN: The angel greeted Mary with a new address, which I could not find anywhere else in Scripture. I ought to explain this expression briefly. The angel says, “Hail, full of grace.” … I do not remember having read this word elsewhere in Scripture. An expression of this kind, “Hail, full of grace,” is not addressed to a male. This greeting was reserved for Mary alone. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 6.7. 14FC 94:26. Just, A. A. (2005). Vol. 3: Luke. Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture NT 3. (Page 14). Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press.

“Let woman praise Her, the pure Mary.” Ephraim,Hymns on the Nativity,15:23(A.D. 370),in NPNF2,XIII:254

“Thou alone and thy Mother are in all things fair, there is no flaw in thee and no stain in thy Mother.” "Ephraem,Nisibene Hymns,27:8(A.D. 370),in THEO,132
Epiphanius of Salamis

“We believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of all things, both visible and invisible; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God . . . who for us men and for our salvation came down and took flesh, that is, was born perfectly of the holy ever-virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit.” (The Man Well-Anchored 120 [A.D. 374]).

Epiphanius of Salamis
“And to holy Mary, [the title] ‘Virgin’ is invariably added, for that **holy woman remains undefiled” (**Medicine Chest Against All Heresies 78:6 [A.D. 375]).

“**Mary, a Virgin not only undefiled **but a Virgin whom grace has made inviolate, free of every stain of sin.” Ambrose,Sermon 22:30(A.D. 388),in JUR,II:166

"We must except the Holy Virgin Mary, concerning whom I wish to raise no question when it touches the subject of sins, out of honour to the Lord; for from Him we know what abundance of grace for overcoming sin in every particular was conferred upon her who had the merit to conceive and bear Him who undoubtedly had no sin." Augustine,Nature and Grace,4236,in NPNF1,V:135

in her sacred womb was wrought that most sacred mystery whereby, on account of the singular and unique unity of Person, as the Word in flesh is flesh, so Man in God is God." Vincent of Lerins,Commonitories,15 (A.D. 434),in NPNF2,XI:142-143

As he formed her without my stain of her own,so He proceeded from her contracting no stain." Proclus of Constantinople,Homily 1(ante A.D. 446), in ULL,97

A virgin, innocent, spotless, free of all defect, untouched, unsullied, holy in soul and body, like a lily sprouting among thorns.” Theodotus of Ancrya,Homily VI:11(ante A.D. 446), in THEO,339
 
It’s Full of Grace.

I verified this with a Greek friend of mine just today. 🙂
 
Part I
Yes, you are right it doesn’t prove that there never was sin, nor does it prove the immaculate conception. However while Kecharitomene does prove that while it was in effect there could be no sin. I presume you aknowledge this statement

We cannot determine just how long Kechaitomene/full of grace was operative from this passage alone. So let us consider a number of other passages in relation to Mary being immaculate, I think I will have to split this in two to three segments.

Mary is engulfed by God
Luke 1:35 “And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the **Highest shall overshadow **thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”

This verse explicitly establishes a link between Mary as bearer of the New Covenant and the Ark of the Old Covenant. The Gk. word for **“overshadow” (“episkiasei”) was used of the bright cloud ****at the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ **(Mt 17:5; Lk 9:34) and is **reminiscent of the Shekinah of the OT, which represented God’s Presence **(Ex 24:15-16;40:34-8; 1 Ki 8:4-11). Mary became like the Holy of Holies in the Temple, where God dwelt. God gave extremely detailed instructions on constructing the ark, since it was to contain His Law (Ex 25-30 and 35-40). Mary had to be that much more holy, since she was to carry the Word of God in the flesh (Job 14:4). Further parallelism between Mary and the Ark is indicated in comparing Lk 1:43 with 2 Sam 6:9, Lk 1:44 with 2 Sam 6:14-16, and Lk 1:39-45,56 with 2 Sam 6:10-12.

The power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow(overshadow). And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God.” Luke 1:35-----

Luke 1:35 “overshadow–NT:1982 episkiazoo; **to throw a shadow upon, to envelop in shadow, to overshadow: **Tropically, of the Holy Spirit exerting creative energy upon the womb of the virgin Mary and impregnating it (a use of the word which seems to have been drawn from the familiar O.T. idea of a cloud assymbolizing the immediate presence and power of God): with the dative Luke 1:35. (from Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, Electronic Database…)

OVERSHADOW 1. episkiazo NT:1982, “to throw a shadow upon” (epi, “over,” skia, “a shadow”), “to overshadow,” is used (a) of the bright cloud at the Transfiguration, Matt 17:5; Mark 9:7; Luke 9:34; (b) metaphorically of the power of “the Most High” upon the Virgin Mary, Luke 1:35; (from Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, Copyright © 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers.)

OT Ark: "The cloud covered the Tent of meeting and the glory of Yahweh filled the tabernacle." Exodus 40:34------

Cloud-anan OT:6051, -CLOUD ……The word commonly means "cloud mass." Anan is used especially of the “cloud mass” that evidenced the special presence of God: “And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way…” Exod. 13:21>. In Ex 34:5, this presence is represented by `anan only: “And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him [Moses] there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord.”…….When the ark of the covenant was brought into the holy place, “The cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord” 1 Kings 8:10-11. Thus the “cloud” evidenced the presence of God’s glory (from Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, Copyright © 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers.)

Mary is called the Most blessed of All women in Luke: Luke 1:42 And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. With a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women (that is, most blessed of all women), (from Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary, Electronic Database.)
eulogeoo
eulogeemenos favored of God, blessed, Luke 1:42 b (compare Deut 28:4);
en gunaixi, blessed among women, i. e. before all other women, Luke 1:28, R, G, L, Tr text brackets; 42 a (compare W., 246 (231); (Buttmann, 83 (73))); (from Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, Electronic Database. Copyright)
Yes, and I do not deny the Immaculate Conception. But to use the Greek words in terms of sin is not sound translation; that’s the point I was trying to make. They should be made in terms of grace, and from there, use reason to deduce the Immaculate Conception.

To say kecharitomene=never sinned is just not sound exegesis. It needs an analysis much like what you presented.

I would use the Greek to establish the state of Mary’s gracedness based on the continuing tense of the participle, and the fact that it’s used vocatively and substantivally. Then deduce the Immaculate Conception from there.
 
To say kecharitomene=never sinned is just not sound exegesis. It needs an analysis much like what you presented.

I would use the Greek to establish the state of Mary’s gracedness based on the continuing tense of the participle, and the fact that it’s used vocatively and substantivally. Then deduce the Immaculate Conception from there.
True and great points.

They way I see it is that a Catholic argues Kecharitomene is not just grace but a fullness of grace.

Then that the grace was before the angel’s visit and lasted throughout her life. So unless God woke up one day and thought hmmm… the grace would be from her conception. There are also arguments about the ark, Jesus in the womb receiving Mary’s DNA, blood etc.

Lastly dispel the Romans all have sined quote and the magnificat bit, then… If we are justified (freed from sin) by grace, and if with grace sin will have no dominion over us, then if Mary has always been completely full of grace, how could she have sinned.

Thus her sinlessness and immaculate conception.
AMDG 👍
 
True and great points.

Lastly dispel the Romans all have sined quote and the magnificat bit, then… If we are justified (freed from sin) by grace, and if with grace sin will have no dominion over us, then if Mary has always been completely full of grace, how could she have sinned.

Thus her sinlessness and immaculate conception.
AMDG 👍
I don’t believe it is to dispe the Romans all have sinned per say, it is demonstrating sound Scriptural exegesis of Scripture, Yes.

One of the rules for interpretation of Scripture is that one must take into acount all Scripture pertaining to a given doctrine, one can not be selective in Scriptural quotes. One cannot use a set of passages to demonstrate a point and simply dismiss passages or ignore passages which provide what appears to be contradictions. All Scripture must meld together.

So when we look at “All” have sinned, we need to ask are there tacitly understood exceptions to the word all. If this is so than Mary can be an exception, If Scripture and or Sacred Oral Tradition bare this out. Which of Course they do.

What about the Scripture and its teaching “ALL HAVE SINNED”

We will deal with Scripture which teaches Mary Immaculate shortly. We first have to do deal with the objection raised by Protestant Christians outside of the Church.

Rom 3:23 For **all **have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; So does this verse and a few others which are similarly stated in Scripture prove that Mary had sinned. No this passage in and of itself does not prove Mary had sinned. Why not, because we can show for **Scriptural purposes **that there are a number of tacitly understood exceptions to the word “all”. If there are tacitly understood exceptions to the word “all” than Mary could be exception. Let me explain:

It doesn’t say all men but says all, did all angels sin, was Adam and Eve originally created without sin. Does the unborn child sin, do babies sin. Do those who have not reached the age of reason sin?, do all mentally handicap or mentally disturbed sin? Is Christ being both **man **and God an exception?
Rom 5:12: Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinnedHeb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die,— the implication is **All men die. have all men died, two exceptions neither Enoch nor Elijah died. Gen 5:24 Enoch, and Enoch in Heb 11:15 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was found no more because God had taken him. Before he was taken up, he was attested to have pleased God.
Elijah in 2 Sam 2:1-14, **Elijah was taken up to heaven **in a chariot.
Gen 6:13…the **end of All creatures **of flesh is in my mind. (exception Noe and his Four sons and wives and creatures on the Ark)

1 Cor. 15:22 - in Adam all (“pantes”) have died, and in Christ all (“pantes”) shall live. This proves that “all” does not mean “every single one.” This is because not all have died (such as Enoch and Elijah who were taken up to heaven), and not all will go to heaven (because Jesus said so).

Rom 3:10 as it is written: There is **no one just, **not one, 11 there is no one who understands,
there is no one who seeks God. 12 All have gone astray; all alike are worthless; there isnot one who does good, (there is not) even one. But Paul is really quoting Psalm 14 here “
Psa 14:3 All have gone astray; all alike are perverse. Not one does what is right, not even one.”

Psalm 14 - this psalm does not teach that all humans are sinful. It only teaches that, among the wicked, all are sinful. The righteous continue to seek God.

Psalm 53:1-3 - “there is none that does good” expressly refers to those who have fallen away. Those who remain faithful do good, and Jesus calls such faithful people “good.”

Luke 18:19 - Jesus says, “No one is good but God alone.” But then in Matt. 12:35, Jesus also says “The **good man out of his good treasure…” **So Jesus says no one is good but God, and then calls another person good.

Luke 1:47 - Mary calls God her Savior. Some Protestants use this to denigrate Mary. Why? Of course God is Mary’s Savior! She was freed from original sin in the womb (unlike us who are freed from sin outside of the womb), but needed a Savior as much as the rest of humanity.

Luke 1:48 - Mary calls herself lowly. But any creature is lowly compared to God. For example, in

Matt. 11:29, even Jesus says He is lowly in heart. Lowliness is a sign of humility, which is the greatest virtue of holiness, because it allows us to empty ourselves and receive the grace of God to change our sinful lives.
 
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