This Bible is approved for use in the United States by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). You are fine reading this edition.
The whole “full of grace / highly favored” debate is (as you have seen) nothing new. Translation is an inexact science, and arguments can be made either way. Most modern linguists prefer the “highly favored” translation, and you will find this in almost all modern translations.
While “full of Grace” might appear favorable to Catholic doctrine (especially Immaculate Conception), nothing in Catholic doctrine relies upon this English translation.
Protestants, of course, prefer “highly favored.” But, what they would REALLY PREFER is that the text said that Mary was just some girl that God picked at random - like a sailor in a bar. If Mary had NOT said “yes,” God would have simply moved on to some other girl, like a sailor in a bar. That is what most protestants believe. They do NOT believe that, if Mary had said “no” then Jesus (and our salvation) would have never happened. To them, no aspect of our salvation relies specifically upon Mary. She is not the New Eve, prophecized from the beginning of time, but simply a girl in a bar. She was not immaculately conceived, being the only woman to have been preserved from original sin from her creation since Eve. She was just a girl in a bar that God the Sailor (a rather novel Divine title) cast his eye upon.
The text can support “highly favored,” but it obviously cannot support “some girl that God hit upon.” Protestants can’t have what they want, so they pick the best that they can get. Which is “highly favored.”
That doesn’t make “highly favored” wrong. It’s not as strong as “full of grace,” but it is actually much more than protestants would prefer to accept. It confers SOME manner of uniqueness upon Mary. Had Mary said “no,” were there OTHER “highly favored” girls perched on other bar stools? Did God have a harem of “highly favored girls” to choose from?
Posting this reply has been repugnant to me, and my stomach is churning even as I type this. But that’s what protestants prefer to believe.
The Blessed Virgin Mary predicted,
For behold, from henceforth : all generations shall call me blessed. {Luke 46:48]
Where is this prophecy fulfilled in modern times? In protestant churches, who prefer to
ignore Mary, rather than confront her status even as “highly favored?”
