Was Mary Tempted?

[brycelaliberte]

Interesting.

But what exactly would we define the ‘earth’ as, in this instance?

 

[NicPais83]

Interesting.

But what exactly would we define the ‘earth’ as, in this instance?

Again, these are just my personal thoughts. I would assume the Earth is creation itself. Jesus calmed the waters, so the waters recognized its Lord. The Earth and the demons all recognize their creator and the Mother of God. I could be completely off base though…but creation, man, will defend Our Lady from attack. Our Lady gives us the means of our salvation, Jesus Christ. But I’m simply speculating.

Another source of information might be to see if our Eastern brothers and sisters have any traditions which the West might not have. For example, I know that the East talks about the dormition of Mary, as having gone to sleep instead of dying, whereas in the West, we don’t use that phrase. I wonder if any Maronites, Chaldeans, Byzantines, Melkites, Syro-Malabars, or any other Eastern Catholics have any ideas?

 

[brycelaliberte]

Do you think that ultimately everyone contributes to protecting Our Lady in some way, without our witting knowledge of it?

Or what about the natural world? Animals? Physics?

(Suddenly I get these Disneyish ideas of Mary walking through the woods, singing, and the birds singing along…)

 

[NicPais83]

Do you think that ultimately everyone contributes to protecting Our Lady in some way, without our witting knowledge of it?

Or what about the natural world? Animals? Physics?

(Suddenly I get these Disneyish ideas of Mary walking through the woods, singing, and the birds singing along…)

No, I don’t think it’s animals and physics and stuff like that. I think that creation is specifically us, man. Not that there isn’t more to creation, but we have the free will to act or not to act.

 

[holican]

In the garden of Eden, God spoke to the serpent and said “I will put an enmity between you and the woman…” The dictionary definition of enmity is mutual hatred. Satan uses lies and sweet talk to tempt but it is doubtful if this will work on Mary since they are sworn enemies. Furthermore, the grace of God which is full in Mary would be more than enough to thwart any temptation by the devil. The question then is, will the devil even try.

 

[ChadS]

In the garden of Eden, God spoke to the serpent and said “I will put an enmity between you and the woman…” The dictionary definition of enmity is mutual hatred. Satan uses lies and sweet talk to tempt but it is doubtful if this will work on Mary since they are sworn enemies. Furthermore, the grace of God which is full in Mary would be more than enough to thwart any temptation by the devil. The question then is, will the devil even try.

Why would Mary not have been tempted when even Jesus was subjected to it by the Devil in the wilderness?

The question asked was of course: Was Mary Tempted? But your answer seems to bear more on whether she was sinless or not, which of course she was. I still don’t think she wouldn’t have been tempted, perhaps even severely.

ChadS

 

[holican]

Was Mary Tempted?

I am seeing two interpretations of this question, the first being in the sense of " I was tempted to respond to your comment which I am doing now" and the second one is " I was tempted by your post to respond but I never did".

Now if one will ask, was I tempted, a negative answer according to the second interpretation is possible, for example Jesus was not tempted to do the devil’s pleading. It is in this latter sense that Mary was not tempted. God in Gen 3:15 put an enmity between her and the devil and between both of their offspring. Sworn enemies God made them be at the dawn of creation.

 

[tafan]

I suppose not, I was just curious.

I think it is important to consider this question, as it helps us understand many things about original sin, and God’s plan for salvation.

It would be hard to imagine the devil not tempting Mary. We know he tempted Adam and Eve, who did not have original sin; and we know he tempted Jesus.

But, and this is critically important, Mary did not suffer from concupiscence: the tendancy to sin. So while Mary was tempted by the devil, she was not attracted or had a desire to follow his temptation. So, in a sense, it was easier for her to avoid the types of temptations that we all fall for. However, this is not to take away from her perfect life without sin, it is highly likely the devil (just as he did with Adam and Even; and just as he did with Jesus), “pulled out all the stops”. We just don’t know the story.

 

[mardukm]

I think this is an important question because it shows Mary was human. This is an important consideration for Orientals because in the Oriental Tradition, Mary’s specialness is not so much due to the Graces she received, but due to her constant positive, free-will response to that Grace.

I also note that another poster stated that Mary did not sin because of the Grace of God. I don’t think this is what the Catholic Church teaches. The Catholic Church teaches that sinlessness for any human being is the result of BOTH the Grace of God AND the free-will response of the human person.

Blessings,
Marduk

 

[tafan]

I I also note that another poster stated that Mary did not sin because of the Grace of God. I don’t think this is what the Catholic Church teaches. The Catholic Church teaches that sinlessness for any human being is the result of BOTH the Grace of God AND the free-will response of the human person.

A very important not, IMO.