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Rob
wrote:
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Hi, guys —
Let me begin by saying that I am Baptist.
I am curious about one of your beliefs and
have not been able to obtain an answer from
any of my Catholic friends.
- Why do Catholics believe in the Immaculate
Conception of Mary and her subsequent lack
of sin throughout her life?
If you read Leviticus 12:8 we are told what
a new mother is to do in order to atone for
sin.
8 And if she cannot afford a lamb, then she
shall take two turtledoves or two young
pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the
other for a sin offering; and the priest
shall make atonement for her, and she shall
be clean."
Leviticus 12:8
Now, if we move forward to Luke 2:22-24 we
are told what Mary did:
22 And when the time came for their purification
according to the law of Moses, they brought
him up to Jerusalem to present him to the
Lord 23 (as it is written in the law of the
Lord, "Every male that opens the womb
shall be called holy to the Lord") 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what
is said in the law of the Lord, "a
pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons."
Luke 2:22-24
According to Leviticus, one of those sacrifices
was for sin. Thus, Mary was either offering
this sacrifice for her sin; or, she was offering
it for Jesus. Since Jesus is God and is without
sin,
the only plausible explanation I can gather
from this is that Mary was offering this sacrifice
for the atonement of her own sins.
- Can you clarify any misperception I have on this topic?
Rob
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Contrary to Leviticus, why
do you believe in the Immaculate Conception
and Mary's lack of sin? }
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John
replied:
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Hi, Rob —
Thanks for your question.
I believe
if you search our web site, we've
covered questions regarding the Immaculate
Conception at length.
Here is just one link:
I would invite you to search the data base for more.
Regarding the offerings brought to
the Temple by Mary; we must remember
that she was born under the Law and
as a good Jewish woman she would
have fulfilled the requirements of the
Law.
To draw an analogy, John the Baptist
performed a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, yet Jesus
submitted to it to fulfill
all righteousness . Certainly
Jesus didn't need to repent.
Finally, just to be clear. Catholics
believe that Mary was preserved from
Original Sin and then subsequently
lived her life without sinning. We
don't believe that she was sinless
by nature. It was a particular act
of grace which preserved her from
Original Sin and it was by grace that she didn't sin during her life.
She simply was saved prior to falling, and kept from falling, unlike the rest of us who are saved after falling into sin.
It is worth noting that she was not
the first human born without sin.
Adam and Eve were
[born|created] without sin. Eve
was sinless when she was tempted
by Satan. Likewise, Mary was sinless
when the Angel Gabriel asked her to assent
to be the Mother of the Messiah and
thus played a unique role in Salvation
History. If you read the first couple
of centuries of Christian authors,
you'll read that the early Church
called Mary, the Second Eve.
Mary
was given the same shot at saying, Yes to God as Eve had when she said, No. They were both sinless at the
time.
John
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Mary
Ann replied:
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Hi, Rob —
The two turtledoves were also the
substitute offering for the poor
who could not bring a lamb.
Mary would offer them to fulfill
the Law, and because by nature
she was capable of sin.
- Eve was created without sin,
but Fell.
- Mary was created without sin,
and didn't fall, by grace, but
she, herself, admits that she
is weak and lowly and dependent
on God, and without Him, would
be a sinner. (Luke 1:46-56)
Another thing, partly related: By the grace of God, Mary
did not sin throughout her life,
but she could
have sinned. She was not prevented
from sinning. She resisted temptation
and never sinned, by relying totally
on the grace of God. What a woman!
Mary Ann
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