Was Mary Tempted to Sin?

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I got this question from someone and I didn’t have an answer. If it’s in the CCC, I couldn’t find it.

Mary was kept from any actual sin by special graces (or a special grace, whichever is correct) but does the Church teach whether or not she was tempted to sin? Could that special grace have operated by keeping her from temptation? Jesus was tempted in all things yet remained sinless (Heb 4:15) but He was not redeemed. Mary was redeemed. She didn’t need to be tested but this doesn’t mean she wasn’t. Does the Church address this?
 
Good question.

I don’t have a reference handy, by my recollection from RCIA is that Mary, like Jesus, was tempted but did not sin.

Being protected from original sin (Immaculate Conception), she did not have the kind of predisposition for sin that the rest of us have…but in her life she was faced with the same kinds of right-and-wrong decisions we make every day and, unlike most of us, she chose correctly ;).

Hopefully somebody has a better reference than my RCIA recollections 🙂 God bless you!
 
achmafooma said:
Good question.

I don’t have a reference handy, by my recollection from RCIA is that Mary, like Jesus, was tempted but did not sin.

Being protected from original sin (Immaculate Conception), she did not have the kind of predisposition for sin that the rest of us have…but in her life she was faced with the same kinds of right-and-wrong decisions we make every day and, unlike most of us, she chose correctly ;).

Hopefully somebody has a better reference than my RCIA recollections 🙂 God bless you!
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I remember reading somewhere that her “test” was to answer “yes” to the Angel Gabriel at the Annunciation because she had free will like the rest of us and could have refused.

But I also believe that God in his infinite wisdom when choosing her, and knowing that she would crush the heel of the serpent, ensured a grace upon her or perhaps prevented Satan from tempting her at all.

She wouldn’t have had the tendencies to sin because of her Immaculate Conception, but certainly she suffered more because of her Divine Son. That is why she should be a model for the rest of us, especially women.
 
Presumably Mary would have been tempted, just like the other three humans in history created without Original Sin were (Adam and Eve who gave in to it, and Jesus who of course did not). On the other hand we must be careful to distinguish the fact of temptation from the concupiscence we often associate with temptation. Concupiscence is a result of the disordering of our lower passions, which in turn is a result of Original Sin. Mary, having no Original Sin, presumably suffered none of its spiritual effects such as the concupiscence and weakening of the will that make it so easy to fall into sin. This helps us understand how Mary could have lived a lifetime without committing even the slightest venial sin, but it doesn’t mean Mary wasn’t sorely tempted during her life. I suspect she was.
 
My thought was that since she was free from the stain of original sin she would have been free from concupiscence and while she would have faced the same trials and temptations we all do day to day as a result of being human, sinning likely would have seemed much less appealing.
 
According to the joyful mysteries, God sent a message to Mary that she will have a son, High Priest Jesus Christ. He will carry the cross according to the sorrowful mysteries and God’s plan. Mary still had the responsibility of worshiping only the Heavenly Father, God.
 
Wait a second…

If I read correctly, did I read that Mary was sinless???

Forgive my skepticism but how do you know that? What priof do you have that she had no “original sin”? Or even existed?

Where and how does your CC get this info?? How do you know it’s not assumptions??
 
Chanel said:
Wait a second…

If I read correctly, did I read that Mary was sinless???

Forgive my skepticism but how do you know that? What priof do you have that she had no “original sin”? Or even existed?

Where and how does your CC get this info?? How do you know it’s not assumptions??
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Yes, you read correctly. It is a dogma of the Catholic Faith that Mary was free from original sin at the time of her conception and that God preserved her from actual sin for her entire life, until the moment of her death or assumption into heaven, whichever came first.

We can discuss the Church’s teaching that Mary was sinless but it is probably going to be a non-starter here on a Catholic website if we first have to prove that she even existed. :rolleyes:

Correct me if I am wrong but if an atheist does not believe in God, then does it follow that sin, which is disobedience toward God, also does not exist? If so, I don’t see why an atheist should have a problem with Mary being sinless. In a Godless world, are not all of us sinless?

I’m not trying to challenge and really ask this in a spirit of charity, interested in what you have to say.

-Tim-
 
Chanel said:
Wait a second…

If I read correctly, did I read that Mary was sinless???

Forgive my skepticism but how do you know that? What priof do you have that she had no “original sin”? Or even existed?

Where and how does your CC get this info?? How do you know it’s not assumptions??
Click to expand...
Yes, Mary was sinless.

But to be honest, what stock do you have in this? Aren’t you an atheist? Please don’t come to a catholic forum and tell us we are wrong.
 
This is a good place to ask this question.

“as the eunich who would steal the flower of a virgin, so is the man that would convince another of God using words.”

How do you know the charge of an electron?

peace
 
TheMc said:
Yes, Mary was sinless.

But to be honest, what stock do you have in this? Aren’t you an atheist? Please don’t come to a catholic forum and tell us we are wrong.
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Stock?? That makes me laugh.

I’m not saying you’re wrong. I’m just asking questions. When I was in the 9th grade back in high school, I questioned my English teacher when we studied Greek mythology, “what proof do the Greeks have that Zeus or Athena are real?” Blah, blah, blah. At the end, I knew she hated me lol.

It’s just a part of me, I have to ask questions even if they are stupid to others. I have to be skeptical, have to ask questions. I’m probably one of the most skeptical persons in the whole universe.

Have you ever been an atheist? Maybe not, otherwise you would know why I ask…even if it is a little abrasive. And sometimes you have to when it comes to these kinds of topics.
 
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