Mary sinless? But she got anxious. Anxiety is a sin

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Catholics affirm that Mary was sinless. However, to worry, to be anxious, to be fearful, is forbidden numerous times in the scriptures (in fact, something along the lines of “do not fear” is referred to 366 times!). Clearly, anxiety is a sin.

Consider the following when Jesus went missing for three days in Jerusalem at age 12: Luke 2:48 (NRSV) "When his parents saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, “Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.” Note: not just “your father” but "your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.”

Have any Catholic theologians spoken to this? I’d like to know how they explain it.
 
Anxiety isn’t a sin. You’re misinterpreting “do not fear!” as “do not fear under pain of sin!”
 
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chaz said:
Clearly, anxiety is a sin.
Click to expand...
Where are you getting this from? “Do not fear” does not mean it is sin if you do have fear, or anxiety.
What a preposterous idea to even connect the two and then throw Our Lady, the mother of God, into the mix as well.
 
Anxiety isn’t always a sin. Fear to a certain extent in an instinct. It would only be natural if your son was missing and you were concerned. It would be weird if you weren’t worried. And it doesn’t mean she wasn’t trusting God. Think about situations where you didn’t know how God was going to work something out, and you trusted He would, but still, it’s on your mind! And I can’t imagine a human seeing an angel and not freaking out a bit!
 
Anxiety is not a sin per se. Only if it becomes excessive such that you dwell too much on it and lose trust in God could make it a sin.
 
Anxiety is an emotion, like being sad and neither are sins.
 
Anxiety isn’t a sin. Jesus was anxious and afraid before the Crucifixion.

The passages you refer to are meant as reassurances, not commandments.
 
This is actually a very hurtful thread. I have diagnosed anxiety and take medicine daily for it. You are claiming I am sinning daily because of a chemical imbalance in my brain…

Honestly, think before you post
 
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Man oh man!!! The lengths some Christians will go to knock my Good Mother down a peg!
 
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When Jesus was missing for 3 days, would you have preferred that Mary was not anxious or worried?

It seems like that would be a very normal reaction for the situation.

Perhaps you would like to know what needs to be present for a person to sin, according to Catholics. That has been discussed quite a bit on here.
 
Agreed. Anxiety is not a sin it is a human emotion. The type of anxiety I think you may be referring to isn’t anxiety like the feelings this entails, but a lack of trust in God.

The passage you quoted refers to the emotional worry, concern - the human aspect of slight alarm when you don’t know what’s happened. It has absolutely nothing to do with a lack of trust in God.

After all, we are not to be passive and not act when we should - God expects us to do our part, make decisions, work problems out for ourselves, make decisions, make plans for our earthly needs and sustenance etc. Not just think “oh, well, I don’t know where He is, but He’ll be fine, God will take care of Him” and do no more. Yes, God will take care of Him, but He also expects us to exercise our responsibilities in this life for ourselves and others - hence Mary and Joseph went searching for Him as good parents would.
 
I presume you are not Catholic from your profile and the fact that you are quoting the NRSV?

Are you getting this “anxiety is a sin” business from your own interpretation of the Bible, or your church’s?

Catholics generally don’t count anxiety as a sin regardless of whether Mary or someone else is having it. It’s either a normal human emotional response, which would have been the case for Mary in both of her situations you mention, or in some people when it’s free floating and doesn’t have an obvious cause, it is a physical/ mental disorder that gets treated through medication, therapy, diet and other medical means.

It’s also pretty clear that “do not fear” is intended as reassurance and not as “Thou Shalt Not Fear”. If anxiety were a sin, it would have been written into the Mosaic law. It’s not.

By the way, in Matthew 26:37-39 (NRSV), Jesus is “agitated” in the Garden of Gethsemane, and in Mark 14: 33 (NRSV), Jesus is “distressed and agitated”, and in Luke 22:44(NRSV) he is “anguished” to the point of actually sweating blood. In all three books Jesus also prays that God let this cup pass from him. It sure sounds like Jesus is having some anxiety about his impending torture and death. Did Jesus sin?
 
Other Christian churches have had the idea that Catholics hold Mary up too high. When we look at Luke 1:48, it’s recorded that Mary says ‘all generations will call me blessed’. And so, since that time, Catholics have been calling Mary the Blessed Mother. Rightly so.
 
chaz said:
Clearly, anxiety is a sin.
Click to expand...
No it isn’t.

Think of the Agony in the Garden where Jesus experiences anxiety so extreme, he began sweating blood.

Did he sin?

No.

Despair is a sin, anxiety isn’t.
 
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