Luke !:15

[Will_Pick]

Luke 1:15 ( for he will be great in the sight of (the) Lord. He
will drink neither wine nor strong drink. * He will be filled

with the holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb,"

Is this the verse that the Church is now saying that John was born without sin ? The KEY word here is BORN

 

[Della]

Will Pick:

Luke 1:15 ( for he will be great in the sight of (the) Lord. He
will drink neither wine nor strong drink. * He will be filled

with the holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb,"

Is this the verse that the Church is now saying that John was born without sin ? The KEY word here is BORN

Yes. This is why the Church celebrates St. John the Baptist’s birthday and not just the day when he died, as is usual for the saints. Only Jesus, Mary and JthB’s birthdays are celebrated in the Church because they were all born without sin (although Jesus was divinely conceived and Mary was conceived without sin, as well).

 

[SueKrum]

is this a new teaching? I have never heard such a thing!

 

[Della]

SueKrum:

is this a new teaching? I have never heard such a thing!

Nope, it’s not new. At the Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth, the Child Jesus in Mary’s womb consecrated John in Elizabeth’s womb (“behold the moment your voice sounded in my ear the babe in my womb leapt for joy”), thus John was born without the stain of original sin. This was granted to him because he was to be the “voice of one calling in the wilderness, make straight the path of the Lord” prophecied in the OT. John was the Herald of the Lord who introduced Jesus to Israel as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” It doesn’t mean that John never commited any actual sins, though, unlike Mary who was conceived without sin.

From the Catholic encyclopedia:

Now during the sixth month, the Annunciation had taken place, and, as Mary had heard from the angel the fact of her cousin’s conceiving, she went “with haste” to congratulate her. “And it came to pass, that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the infant” – filled, like the mother, with the Holy Ghost – “leaped for joy in her womb”, as if to acknowledge the presence of his Lord. Then was accomplished the prophetic utterance of the angel that the child should “be filled with the Holy Ghost even from his mother’s womb”. Now as the presence of any sin whatever is incompatible with the indwelling of the Holy Ghost in the soul, it follows that at this moment John was cleansed from the stain of original sin.

 

[SFH]

SueKrum:

is this a new teaching? I have never heard such a thing!

It’s definitely not a new theory. I wouldn’t say it’s a dogma, which Catholics would be required to believe like the Immaculate Conception, but it’s definitely been kicked around theological circles at least since the Middle Ages.