Why aren't Mary's parents sinless?

[elephlux]

I’m currently reading some RCIA readings on the nature of Mary and my mind is having a difficult time understanding why the following line of logic is false:

Mary was conceived sinless so as to have a sinless human nature Jesus. But if this is true, wouldn’t Mary’s parents have needed to been sinless so as to raise Mary with a sinless (human) nature too? And so on and so forth…? How could Mary’s parents been stained with original sin, and still successfully raise a sinless child? How can sinful parents hand a nature to their child they do not have?

Thanks in advance…

 

[Fr.Vincent_Serpa]

Hi,

It’s simple, really. Anna and Joachim did not give birth to Jesus; Mary did. She was not free of original sin because of the spiritual state that her parents were in. God miraculously kept her free of the stain of original sin by simply willing it. She alone needed to be free of all sin because she alone was to conceive Jesus in her womb and to nurse Him at her breasts.

Fr. Vincent Serpa, O.P.