December 8, 2015
Today we celebrate the Feast of
Mary, the Immaculate Conception. In celebrating this feast, we are reminded of
the Catholic teaching that Mary was conceived without sin. But this teaching is
very difficult for some Christians to accept. Let me quote one Bible verse
which is being used to oppose this teaching. It is a passage from the letter of
Paul to the Romans 3: 22-23 saying, “For there is no distinction, for all have
sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” With this, it is clear that “all”
without exception have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. So how come
that we in the Catholic Church teaches that Mary was conceived without sin if
it is clear that “all” have sinned?
My dear friends, to answer this, let
me lead you back to the Gospel which we have read today. Our Gospel is taken
from Luke 1: 26-38 which says that an angel came to Mary and said, “Greetings, favored
one, the Lord is with you” and “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found
favor with God!” These verses reveal that Mary is sinless because the angel personally
declared that she is full of grace as the “Lord is with her”. These verses reveal
too that Mary does not fall short of the glory of God because the angel
personally declared that she has “found favor” with God.
As a personal note, if we based our
faith on the Scripture alone, then these verses are sufficient to establish the
special status of Mary among the faithful. Would you then choose to believe a
pastor who disregards Mary or the angel who announced that Mary is highly
esteemed by God?
Now, how do we settle the
conflict between the verses from the Gospel of Luke and from the letters to the
Romans? The letter to the Romans refers to a general application i.e., for all the
people of the earth while the Gospel of Luke is for particular application i.e.,
for Mary only. In other words, “all have sinned” refers to us, while being conceived
without sin refers to Mary. Moreover, it
is not impossible that Mary was conceived without sin because even Adam and Eve
were created without sin. So a pure state of grace is possible because of God. Mary
then as immaculate is actually God’s work which the Catholic Church only
declares and promulgates. The Catholic Church does not invent this teaching,
she just acknowledges the amazing work of God through Mary as written in the
Scripture.
This is why other Christians have
no reason to accuse the Catholic Church of giving importance to Mary because it
was God who first made Mary important in the history of salvation. The Catholic
Church merely affirms and confirms what God did to Mary as being a favored one.
This is why other Christians have no reason also to deny the Catholic teaching
that Mary is the mother of God because it was the angel of God himself
declared, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will
overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called
the Son of God” (with emphasis on the Son of God). Indeed, it is by necessary
implication that Mary was immaculately conceived because she would bear the Son
of God. The Son of God shall not just be placed in anybody’s womb but in a womb
made holy by God. To say this in another way; Mary would become the mother of
Jesus the Son of God, it is therefore necessary that she should have no sin. This
said necessary implication may be fully understood quoting a Biblical passage
stating, “Do not give what is holy to dogs or throw your pearls before pigs;
otherwise they will trample them under their feet and turn around and tear you
to pieces.”
To end, we Catholics should
continue to give our special devotion to Mary not only today on the feast of
Immaculate Conception, but every day. If God Himself gave favor to Mary, who
are we to refuse acknowledging her in her special role in the history of
salvation? Moreover, if there are still questions as well as doubts on the
holiness or immaculateness of Mary, just read Luke 1: 37 –For nothing is
impossible with God. Amen.
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