Was Mary completely without sin?

[JFJK]

Does the Catholic church teach that Mary was completely without sin through all her life? It seems like some passages of the scripture contradict this point.

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8)

When visiting Elizabeth, Mary proclaims:

“and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior” (Luke 1:48)

If Mary is completely free from sin, why would she call Jesus her Savior?

 

[I_A]

The church teaches Mary is without sin from the very moment of her conception. usccb.org/catechism/text/pt1sect2chpt2art3p2.shtml

In Luke 1 your assertion I assume is the following: “if she addresses the Lord as her saviour she must have been in a state of sin she needed saving from.” (Please correct me if I have misassumed.) This is statement is not true. The Lord preserved her from original sin and she persisted full of grace through her life. He rescued her from all stain of sin as she was conceived.

Let us approach this through analogy. If I fell into quicksand and the Lord Jesus extended a hand to pull me out he surely saved me. Likewise if Mary was walking along the Path and the the Lord reached out His hand in front of Mary preventing her from falling in the Lord still is her savior.

 

[kelvinf]

Does the Catholic church teach that Mary was completely without sin through all her life? It seems like some passages of the scripture contradict this point.

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8)

Jesus included???

When visiting Elizabeth, Mary proclaims:

“and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior” (Luke 1:48)

If Mary is completely free from sin, why would she call Jesus her Savior?

That should be verse 47. BTW it says “God” and not “Jesus”. She could be rejoicing that God freed her from original sin.

 

[I_A]

I apologize if my English is hard to follow. Here is a clarifying quote from the referenced portion of the Catechism.

492
The “splendor of an entirely unique holiness” by which Mary is “enriched from the first instant of her conception” comes wholly from Christ: she is "redeemed, in a more exalted fashion, by reason of the merits of her Son."136 The Father blessed Mary more than any other created person “in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” and chose her "in Christ before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless before him in love."137

So it is truly the sacrifice of her son Jesus that she is saved. We are saved in baptism after we have been born in sin after Jesus offered his life. But since the Lord is outside time He saved her before she was born to never know sin in anticipation of his death.

(this is how I understand it. Many people here should have a better understanding than me.)

 

[JFJK]

Thank you I_A for your explanation and for the link! I read through the link and it says clearly that Mary was not only conceived without sin but she lived her entire life without having sinned. I think you’re right that Saviour can be interpreted as the one who gave Mary the grace so that she did not commit any sin.

There’s one more verse that seems to be contradictory to me:
“For all have sinned and fall short to the glory of God”. Can we safely assume that Paul makes two exceptions in his statement: 1) Jesus and 2) Mary?

 

[I_A]

Also Mary is not blessed simply because she is the mother of God but because of all humans she heard the Word of the Lord so clearly and kept it even to the foot of the cross where her own heart was pierced with a sword.

Jesus said:
[BIBLEDRB]Luke 11:27-28[/BIBLEDRB]

Elizabeth said about Mary:
[BIBLEDRB]Luke 1:45[/BIBLEDRB]

And Simeon prophesied:
[BIBLEDRB]Luke 2:34-35[/BIBLEDRB]

 

[Little_One0307]

Thank you I_A for your explanation and for the link! I read through the link and it says clearly that Mary was not only conceived without sin but she lived her entire life without having sinned. I think you’re right that Saviour can be interpreted as the one who gave Mary the grace so that she did not commit any sin.

There’s one more verse that seems to be contradictory to me:
“For all have sinned and fall short to the glory of God”. Can we safely assume that Paul makes two exceptions in his statement: 1) Jesus and 2) Mary?

I looked up the commentary under this verse. It had something else to say that I thought interesting to post here as well.

“That there are exceptions is clear: Jesus was sinless; children below the age of reason do not willfully commit sin; and tradition holds that Mary, by the grace of God, lived her enitre life unstained by sin.”

Little One0307

 

[I_A]

If we read the verse right after it St. Paul makes it clear he is definitely not talking about Jesus.

[BIBLEDRB]Romans 3:23-24[/BIBLEDRB]

In fact that would contradict what he wrote not only in the next line but elsewhere.

[BIBLEDRB]Hebrews 4:15[/BIBLEDRB]

I don’t know if he is talking about Mary in that verse though. I don’t know if Mary comes up much in St. Paul’s writings at all. But we certainly know that verse does not apply to Jesus because it would make the rest of the paragraph nonsense.

 

[DJK100]

I think these articles will answer your questions, particularly the bolded one as it directly address the scriptual passages you are quoting.

catholic.com/library/Immaculate_Conception_and_Assum.asp

catholic.com/thisrock/2007/0709btb.asp

 

[BerhaneSelassie]

Does the Catholic church teach that Mary was completely without sin through all her life? It seems like some passages of the scripture contradict this point.

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8)

When visiting Elizabeth, Mary proclaims:

“and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior” (Luke 1:48)

If Mary is completely free from sin, why would she call Jesus her Savior?

1 John is about “deceiving” ourselves, that is pretending when we have no sin when we really do.

Luke 1:48 is acknowledging it is God’s grace working inside of Mary, since no one, even Mary, can by their own free will alone, be sinless, God’s grace is necessary to work with them. It is God’s grace that keeps us from falling (Jude 1). Theoretically, if Adam and Eve never committed one sin, they STILL would have had a savior in God. A savior is one that does combat and conquers and enemy, God conquers our enemy-sin, by His grace.

“That no one is saved except by God’s mercy. Even if human nature remained in that integrity in which it was formed, it would in no way save itself without the help of its Creator; therefore, since without the grace of God it cannot guard the health which it received, how without the grace of God will it be able to recover what it has lost?”–Council of Orange, Canon 19

 

[Godfollower]

Thank you I_A for your explanation and for the link! I read through the link and it says clearly that Mary was not only conceived without sin but she lived her entire life without having sinned. I think you’re right that Saviour can be interpreted as the one who gave Mary the grace so that she did not commit any sin.

There’s one more verse that seems to be contradictory to me:
“For all have sinned and fall short to the glory of God”. Can we safely assume that Paul makes two exceptions in his statement: 1) Jesus and 2) Mary?

Don’t forget that the Bible teaches us that Mary was full of grace:

And in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, called Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. Who having heard, was troubled at his saying, and thought with herself what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said to her: Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God.

Luke 1:26-30.

Unlike the rest of us, Mary was “full of grace” and “found grace with God.” She was sinless from birth, not on her own merit (because grace comes from God and by definition is not earned) but because God chose to keep her free from sin so she could bear Jesus. For nine months, she was the living tabernacle, holding God Incarnate in her womb; God kept her free from sin for that purpose – which is of course possible (for all things are possible with God), because Jesus’ Crucifixion and Resurrection saved her, because God is outside time.

 

[The_Old_Medic]

If you really are a Catholic, you already know the answer to the question you have posted. I can’t help but wonder why you would ask this.

Yes, the Church teaches that Mary was without sin, from her conception till her death. She would have said this because she was a pious Jew. She did NOT call Jesus her savior, as Jesus had not yet been born when she visited her cousin Elizabeth. She referred to “God her savior” as any pious Jew would do.

And Jesus was not a “Christian” either. He was born a Jew, remained a Jew all of his earthly life, and his human body died as a Jew. He was resurrected to save all of us, Jew and Gentile alike.

 

[Mojoala]

Does the Catholic church teach that Mary was completely without sin through all her life? It seems like some passages of the scripture contradict this point.

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8)

When visiting Elizabeth, Mary proclaims:

“and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior” (Luke 1:48)

If Mary is completely free from sin, why would she call Jesus her Savior?

Actually Mary is not callnig Jesus her Savior. She is calling God the Father her Savior.
Since Jesus has not performed his redemptive work upon the cross then there is no way Jesus could be her Savior.

 

[Mojoala]

Does the Catholic church teach that Mary was completely without sin through all her life? It seems like some passages of the scripture contradict this point.

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8)

When visiting Elizabeth, Mary proclaims:

“and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior” (Luke 1:48)

If Mary is completely free from sin, why would she call Jesus her Savior?

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8)

Is that verse talking about actual sin or original sin. Furthermore the verse is post Mary and post Jesus.

The context of the verse and others around it are about the first person. It does not prevent us from saying another is without sin.

 

[Godfollower]

Actually Mary is not callnig Jesus her Savior. She is calling God the Father her Savior.
Since Jesus has not performed his redemptive work upon the cross then there is no way Jesus could be her Savior.

Actually, yes: He could have saved her, for God is outside time.

But of this one thing be not ignorant, my beloved, that one day with the Lord is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

2 Peter 3:8.

A prayer of Moses the man of God. Lord, thou hast been our refuge from generation to generation. Before the mountains were made, or the earth and the world was formed; from eternity and to eternity thou art God. Turn not man away to be brought low: and thou hast said: Be converted, O ye sons of men. For a thousand years in thy sight are as yesterday, which is past. And as a watch in the night, Things that are counted nothing, shall their years be.

Psalm 89:1-5.

Jesus existed from before the beginning of the world:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him: and without him was made nothing that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

John 1:1-5.

Remember how God said, “Before I formed you in your mother’s womb, I knew you”? God exists and acts outside of time. That is how Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was able to be counted in Mary’s favor, even before He was born. She was saved from sin because of Jesus’ once-for-all sacrifice, even though (as far as we mere mortals can understand it) He hadn’t done so yet.

 

[Mojoala]

Actually, yes: He could have saved her, for God is outside time.

2 Peter 3:8.

Psalm 89:1-5.

Jesus existed from before the beginning of the world:

John 1:1-5.

Remember how God said, “Before I formed you in your mother’s womb, I knew you”? God exists and acts outside of time. That is how Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was able to be counted in Mary’s favor, even before He was born. She was saved from sin because of Jesus’ once-for-all sacrifice, even though (as far as we mere mortals can understand it) He hadn’t done so yet.

Let us keep this simple and plain and contextual to the time that this occured.

The Doctrine/Dogma that God is outside of time had not been formulated yet. The Jewish people at the time had no idea. The Church forumulated this much later.

Mary did not have knowledge of either John 1:1-5 nor 2 Peter 3:8.

As for the Psalms, they are a collection of Praises/Poems/Songs and really should not be used to help define Doctrines/Dogmas. It is only by 20/20 hindsight induced by the New Testament, that we can possibly say it might refer to Jesus.

Unless Mary had all this future knowledge, then the context is about God the Father, not Jesus ( or more correctly Joshua (even more correctly Yeshua) ).

With a reasonable understanding of Mary’s knowledge at that precise point in time, Mary could possibly only be referring to God the Father. The divinity of Joshua(Jesus) was established as Doctrine much later by the Church and the Doctrine of the Trinity much later than that.

The Bible does not stand alone. It somewhat need the Teaching Magisterium of the Church to provide understanding. The verses may seem obvious now, but that was not the case until the Magisterium gave us it’s understanding.

Keep it simple.

 

[Godfollower]

Let us keep this simple and plain and contextual to the time that this occured.

The Doctrine/Dogma that God is outside of time had not been formulated yet. The Jewish people at the time had no idea. The Church forumulated this much later.

Mary did not have knowledge of either John 1:1-5 nor 2 Peter 3:8.

As for the Psalms, they are a collection of Praises/Poems/Songs and really should not be used to help define Doctrines/Dogmas. It is only by 20/20 hindsight induced by the New Testament, that we can possibly say it might refer to Jesus.

Unless Mary had all this future knowledge, then the context is about God the Father, not Jesus ( or more correctly Joshua (even more correctly Yeshua) ).

With a reasonable understanding of Mary’s knowledge at that precise point in time, Mary could possibly only be referring to God the Father. The divinity of Joshua(Jesus) was established as Doctrine much later by the Church and the Doctrine of the Trinity much later than that.

The Bible does not stand alone. It somewhat need the Teaching Magisterium of the Church to provide understanding. The verses may seem obvious now, but that was not the case until the Magisterium gave us it’s understanding.

Keep it simple.

I understand, but here’s what I was responding to:

Actually Mary is not callnig Jesus her Savior. She is calling God the Father her Savior.
Since Jesus has not performed his redemptive work upon the cross then there is no way Jesus could be her Savior.

I wanted to be clear that, regardless of what Mary thought at the time, yes, there is “a way Jesus could be her Savior.” Because He was, in fact, her Savior.

 

[Evan]

Actually Mary is not callnig Jesus her Savior. She is calling God the Father her Savior.
Since Jesus has not performed his redemptive work upon the cross then there is no way Jesus could be her Savior.

Actually Mary was calling God her savior.

She did not know of the Trinity. She believed in One God and so she would be calling God, later revealed to be a Trinity of persons, her Savior. Not a particular person within that Trinity.

 

[DENNYINMI]

It is erroneous to believe that salvation history was not pre-emminent or pre-figured from the fall of Adam and Eve…

Genesis 3:15
And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel."

This is the only time in Scripture that a “womans” seed is mentioned it is always mentioned in the male species in regards to “seed”…also it is clear that the “seed” is Christ…further you can see that “emnity” was pre-figured.

God WILL PUT emnity between the woman (Mary)…and her seed (Christ)…
Mary was never under the domain of Satan, since emnity was placed by God between her and the serpant…(The devil)…

ALL…from the beginning…Genesis!

 

[ClamDigger]

Does the Catholic church teach that Mary was completely without sin through all her life? It seems like some passages of the scripture contradict this point.

Yes. Mary never sinned.

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8)

Infants who die in the womb never sin. Neither did Mary.

When visiting Elizabeth, Mary proclaims:

“and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior” (Luke 1:48)

If Mary is completely free from sin, why would she call Jesus her Savior?

God is still Mary’s savior, similar to the way that he is still the savior of children who die in the womb. Mary was saved from ever falling into sin, meaning that God still saved Mary. If someone grabs you and pulls you back before you fall into a hole, does he not still save you?