My friend argues that if God did really preserve Mary from sin at conception, wasn’t this a violation of her free will?
You would have to explain her reasoning a little bit; Free will doesn’t give one the ability to fly by themselves with no external augmentation… So, Gravity violates free will – I suppose one could choose to ignore it,(freely)… but at their peril.
So, if it is possible to NOT ignore gravity and pay attention to what it is going to do to the body – why is it impossible to pay attention to sin and what it will do to the soul?
There is a difference between a cripple whose legs are broken – and a person who is well – in what my statements would mean – and I don’t mean the analogy to be perfect;
The question is perhaps about how Mary can have remained sinless after the initial being saved from the “pit”? If so, point out that Jesus is true God and true Man – he had free will; (He is like us in
all things EXCEPT sin, He grew in wisdom…). Notice how He can say “I” am less than the Father in one place – and claim he is doing everything that the Father does in another. That’s because he can speak humanly, and divinely. Yet, what preserved him from sin is the unity of his person to God. That is true with every one of us who knows him, and does not sin (1John). It’s just that there was a time when we were not baptized and did not know him; and there are times that the baptized choose to ignore him and fall back into sin out of weakness.
BUT – One CAN choose to remain sinless so long as God continues to offer the gift of his grace. We’re just saying that Mary had that gift from the moments of her conception and never
wanted to sin. The deeper question in your friend is that of envy, or jealousy, for those who accuse others of sin often do so to make themselves feel better and more beautiful. They put themselves first by making everyone else the same or worse than them.
If you can provide a better idea of the argument, there might be better ways to approach the explanation. But, the parable of the pharisee and the tax collector is a decent starting point for one’s attitude about judging the sinfulness of others.
The scriptures themselves do not unilaterally and completely condemn every single human being to sin – there is room for at least one human being; in fact, I tend to think for scripture to be fulfilled there has to be one standing WITH the messiah.
It is a statement of the mercy of God, who for no reason of justice – gave an undeserved gift to at least one person. If he did not, then he is a strict payment only type of God; and that really is the crux of the belief – God’s goodness.
Even if we were in error (we’re not) – I can not imagine thinking more highly of another than myself would lead to condemnation.
Secondly, she’s quoted some Marian apparitions and related documents which she thinks ‘overly glorify’ Mary. She was asking about Marian consecration and wondering how that is Biblical.
The Marian devotions are not for everyone; I don’t particularly like certain Marian consecrations; and even the “Hail Holy Queen” from the end of the rosary, if not understood as a dramatization, would be problematic. In fact, historically, the first time it was used – riots broke out until those who wrote the prayer explained themselves. Spanish and French sentiments often include dramatic exaggeration.
That’s not to say they are wrong – just that it is their expression of a truth which is easy to misinterpret.
When a man and woman are in love, highly exaggerated statements usually come fourth – yet, in none of these truly Christian romantics, is there the slightest thought of rejection of Christ or reduction of his Glory. Who would turn a statement like: I love you more than
anyone else, your my
best friend ever – into a heresy?
Hail Holy Queen, Mother of mercy, our sweetness and conspirator of hope is the sense I understand of the prayer. I won’t cause a ruckus in a prayer group over this small modification – but I often use it when I do choose to pray the rosary alone. I’m just more comfortable that way. What one has to see in Marian devotions is that people think different things when they pray, and what you may think when you say those words may be different than me. They are perhaps less definite sounding to you. I am not your judge, and until proven wrong – I assume your understanding of it is in line with the church’s teaching.
I am going too long to speak on each of the apparitions; but it all boils down to whether one believes that God will glorify his children – and especially his mother.
That is, will the saints shine in Glory – not in diminishing Jesus – but in reflecting his Glory? Or does Jesus alone mean we will always be dark dim and dirty, because light requires darkness or something?
God isn’t merely a 6 foot man that can be lost in a crowd. He is in every one of us, and asked us to be the light of the world. God is glorified every time we feed the hungry, visit the sick, lift up the lonely – give a drink of water to the thirsty – because of HIM. It is no less with his mother than us.
