The Biblical Proof Of Mary’s Sinlessness

In Brief:

The Catholic Church believes that the Blessed Virgin Mary is sinless from the time of her conception until her assumption to heaven. By “sinlessness” we mean that she is in the state of being unsullied by sin or moral wrong.

What the Church teaches:

We declare, pronounce, and define that the doctrine which holds that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin, is a doctrine revealed by God and therefore to be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful.” Hence, if anyone shall dare which God forbid! To think otherwise than as has been defined by us, let him know and suffered shipwrech in the faith; that he has separated frm the unity of the Church; and that, furthermore, by his own action he incurs the penalties established by law of he should are to express in words or writing or by any other outward means the errors he think in his heart.

Pope Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus, 1854

The blessed virgin Mary’s Immaculate conception is not because of her own doing, personal piety and a reward for her obedience to God (Luke 1:38). Rather, it is a privilege granted by God to her because she was chosen to give birth to the Son of God, Jesus Christ. There are three important elements in the Papl Bull Ineffabilis Deus that we should know order to understand the teaching that Mary is sinless:

• Mary’s Immaculate conception begun at the first moment of her conception, not after her birth.
• Mary’s sinlessness is not the result of her own doing and personal piety but a privilege given to her by the Almighty God.
• Mary’s sinlessness is the effect of the foreseen merits of Christ on the cross

Mary’s Immaculate conception is the perfect form of redemption because she was prevented from being stained by original, mortal and venial sins, whereas, our redemption comes after our fall to sin. It is the grace of God working in Mary that keeps her from commiting sins. In the Gospel of Luke it demonstrates how God’s grace prevents Mary from being stained by sin.

The Ancient Christian Practice Of Praying For The Souls In Purgatory

The Catholic practice of praying for the souls of people who are in purgatory is not a medieval invention but an ancient Christian practice passed down from the Apostles down to their successors. Christians believe that souls in purgatory are already assured of their salvation (CCC 1030). However due to their imperfection due to venial sins and its consequences they are to be purified in purgatory because no defile can enter the Kingdom of God (Rev.21:27). In light of their condition Christians believe that we can help them through our intercession so that they can obtain the grace necessary for them to hasten their purification and finally enter the Kingdom of God. One of the misconceptions about this ancient Christian practice comes from the bigotry of Protestantism and that they believe that the Christian belief in purgatory is a second chance at salvation that by praying for souls in purgatory will save them. As stated souls in purgatory are already assured of their salvation we pray for them in order to hasten their purification so that they can finally enter the Kingdom of God. 

The Argument From Design In Carl Sagan’s “Cosmos”

One of the fallacies that atheists adhered to and used as an argument against theism is that the existence of God cannot be scientifically demonstrated, and no serious student of various sciences can believe in God and at the same time employ the scientific method in his studies. What the atheist is trying to tell us that we can’t be scientific minded and believe in the absurdity of myths and fables. In their point of view, faith and belief in the existence of God is not compatible with science. This type of argumentation by atheists has been refuted not by words but facts of history that they ignored and dismissed. In the history of mankind there have been people who are a man of faith and experts in various forms of science, to name a few we have Fr. Lorenzo Albacete who is a priest, a theologian and a physicist, Gregor Mendel an Augustinian monk and an geneticist, Fr. James Cullen a Jesuit priest and a mathematician who developed the number theory and many more people who are devoted to both faith and sciences.

If God Is Good, Why Is There So Much Suffering In The World?

One of the most difficult questions about the nature of God and His ways is the one that questions the eternal will of God. Our attempt in answering the question “why”in referring to the ultimate plan of God towards his creation leans more on speculative answers than absolute solution. Our finite intellect cannot fathom the magnitude of God’s infinity, our knowledge of Him and His nature is only limited to what has been revealed to us in Sacred Scripture and Apostolic Tradition. Even the greatest theologians and saints like St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Augustine of Hippo, St. Athanasius and St. Robert Bellarmine who wrote a lot of treaties and doctrinal exposition cannot fully comprehend the mysteries about God. How much more our untrained intellect and sin tarnished nature?

If God is good, why is there so much suffering in the world?

In order to answer this question we have to know that there are two types of suffering that is present in the world.

1. Suffering due to man’s abuse of his freedom
2. Suffering due to acts of nature that is beyond man’s control

The most prevalent form of suffering in the world today are the ones caused by man’s abuse of his freedom and will. When God created mankind He infused us with intellect and will (Gen.1:26)(Note: Let us make man in our image and likeness (Gen.1:26). “Image and likeness” means that we are spiritual beings for having a soul that is immortal and we have intellect and will, that is freewill.) this gives us the ability to perform acts and make decisions independently without intervention from God. Aside from our life God’s greatest gift to mankind is our freewill, a liberty to choose to either love or deny Him.