Problems that working women face!

Many women these days fallen into a worldly deception allow worldly values and place importance on riches, careers and status ignoring God's standards of living. Proverbs 31 describes a virtuous woman who would do variety of things. All of those things are home-centered jobs and to support for her family. .I am not condemning all mothers of little children who work outside their homes because some of them have no choice. But those who have a choice have to think what is important for them either noble duties of motherhood or their successful career.


For some women it is not possible to be stay at home to make a decent living and if they are single Moms or because of their poor financial conditions, debts,etc .Its very difficult for career oriented Mothers to enjoy the job and motherhood at the same time because their jobs becomes their first priority and they work so hard and become too busy to give their children all the luxuries they wanted in order to makeup for their lost time with their children . Some people who think they must have two incomes to survive might be surprised if they learned that other families live comfortably on less than half of their budget. God intended for women to be keepers at home. Titus 2:4-5 says, “That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.”

But often these women will forget at the end, the children needs mothers love, nurture, and quality time not the luxurious life or the gifts or any other material thing. God intended for a married couple to "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth" (Genesis 1:28). There are various problems a career oriented women will have to face. Some career women pursue careers at the expense of motherhood keep delaying to have children until they have achieved success or secured financial stability as a result they might have complications during their pregnancy in order to have children or end up in becoming barren or childless leading empty lives. Some other women wait and over time decide they do not want to become a parent for a variety of reasons and there are few who could not have children of their own might try to adopt someone’s kids. There are few women who pursue their career by living in sinful lifestyle of fornication, adultery and abortions and few of them have been subjected to exploitation and torture physically, sexually, mentally in working place. For some women they want to work outside the home just to exhibit her talents and abilities to prove that she is not less than a man.



When career women lives behind her precious children to be educated and taken care of outside strange people such as overcrowded day care centers, schools etc, the children tend to absorb someone else's values and morals instead of parents. A mother knows her children and their ways and needs but a baby-sitter will not care as much about their child as much as mothers do.



Hence their children’s are exposed to, filthy language, sexually immoral behavior, dishonesty, deceitness, self-centeredness, materialism, bullying, violence etc, We also know that our children’s are sometimes exposed to filthy and ungodly people who mistreat and abuse of the children some of them could be their teachers or caregivers who are pedophiles, and to those who have alternative life styles which is contrary against biblical teachings.



The career women have to sleeps lesser than before because she has to wake up early cook for the family, get themselves ready for the job, get their children ready for the schools and later to drop of her children to day care and she needs to hurry to go to her office, sometimes she can cook or sometimes she orders fast food which is bad for kids health. When the kids come home the children’s are left unsupervised and left in their own way in front of TV which is an electronic babysitter teaches them violence, rude and inconsiderate. First of all being a woman has to struggle a lot in the families more than men. When she chose to work outside the home she has too many responsibilities to be fulfilled as a role of mother, wife, guide, teacher and employee etc.. Her life becomes so stressful as a result many working women suffer a depression.

The main responsibility of women is to be God-fearing woman , be a helper of husband ( Genesis 2:18) , homemaker of the homes devoting herself to care for her family, to bear children and raise them up in the lord by providing their physical, spiritual, intellectual and emotional needs.”

There are many men who are greedy and selfish will try to push their wives into taking a job outside the house and leaving their children by exposing them to morally toxic society. When our old aged women are all out working and don't have time to teach the younger women how to be virtuous and self controlled have contributed partly responsible for the failures of the younger women as a result the family structure has too often collapsed. With both the parents working outside the home, the children's lives are often filled with loneliness, lack of training, and perhaps frustration, unloved and resentment. Also it has negative effect on the couples as well because they can’t spend quality time together either.

Was Mary Jesus' mother?

As time drew near for the Redeemer of the world to be born, there lived in the town of Nazareth, in Galilee, a man by the name of Joachim with his wife Anna. Joachim was a direct descendant of King David but lived a very modest and simple life. Both he and his wife were God-fearing people and were known for their humility and compassion. They never had children and, being very aged, had little chance at having any. However, not willing to despair, they continued to ask God to send them a child. They even made a vow that if they had an infant, they would dedicate that child to the service of God. At that time, to be childless meant to be punished by God for sins. Childlessness was especially difficult for Joachim since, according to prophecy, the Messiah-Christ was to be born into his family line. Owing to their patience and faith, the Lord finally sent them a great joy: Anna had a daughter. The newborn child was given the name of Mary, which means in Hebrew "Mistress-Hope."When the Virgin Mary became three years old, Her God-fearing parents prepared themselves to carry out their vow: they took Her to the temple in Jerusalem in order to consecrate Her to God. Mary was left to stay at the temple, in a special school for girls. There She, with the other maidens, was taught the Law of God as well as handiwork. She prayed and read the Scriptures. The Blessed Virgin lived at the temple for approximately eleven years and grew up to be deeply pious and obedient to Him, as well as very modest and industrious. Willing only to serve God, She gave a vow to never marry and to remain forever a virgin.

Since Joachim and Anna were in advanced old age, they did not live for long after Her presentation to the temple, and the Virgin Mary was left an orphan. When She reached Her fourteenth birthday, according to the law, She could no longer stay at the temple and had to wed. The High Priest, being aware of Her vow but reluctant to violate the law of marriage, formally betrothed Her to a distant relative of Hers, the widowed octogenarian Joseph, who promised to care for her and protect her virginity. Joseph lived in the town of Nazareth and also came from the lineage of King David. He was not a wealthy man and worked as a carpenter. Joseph had children from his first marriage: Judah, Simon, James (the Lesser) and Joses (Matthew 13:55), whom the Gospels refer to as "brethren" of Jesus. The Virgin Mary led as modest and solitary a life in the home of Joseph as She did in the temple.

Reasons for calling Mary as Jesus Mother are GOD called Mary Blessed, and He venerated her. GOD needed her to bear His Divine Son,Blessed Mary gave birth to the divine 'Incarnate Word'.The Blessed Virgin Mary is the one woman in the entire Bible who makes the claim, “All generations to come shall call me blessed” (Luke 1:48).


Mary was full of grace before Jesus was in her womb. And no one can be full of grace and have any room left over for sin; otherwise she wouldn’t be “full” of grace. “Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus” are the words of Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist. These words from scripture indicate that Mary is blessed more than any other woman, because Jesus is inside of her. Jesus said that you shall know a tree by its fruit, and since Jesus is the fruit of her womb and is sinless and holy, so must Mary be, since she is the tree which bore the fruit (Jesus), although she certainly is not God.

So The Blessed Virgin had to have a stainless sin-free body and soul in order for GOD incarnate to dwell within her "Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in Him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.

This verse is often cited as teaching that "genuine" believers will not practice sin. They will not sin habitually, 1 John 3:9 is said to teach.

(Job 1:1) - "There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job, and that man was blameless, upright, fearing God, and turning away from evil."

Mary is absolutely Mother of Jesus Christ ,she is also a Mother of God as well since Jesus Christ is God too.

All Christians believe that Mary was a virgin before and at the time of the birth of her son Jesus.

Is 7:14


The virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.

Mt 1:18-25

Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the holy Spirit. Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel," which means "God is with us." When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home. He had no relations with her until she bore a son, and he named him Jesus.

Lk 1:26-27

In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary.

Supporting verses:Luke 1:34, Luke 1:28, Isaiah 7:14, John 19:26-27, 2Corinthians 5:21, Romans 6:18, 1 John 5:18, Acts 26:18, Colossians 1:12, 2 Timothy 4:8, Isaiah 54:17

Mary's Assumption into Heaven

Gen. 5:24, Heb. 11:5 - Enoch was bodily assumed into heaven without dying. Would God do any less for Mary the Ark of the New Covenant?


2 Kings 2:11-12; 1 Mac 2:58 - Elijah was assumed into heaven in fiery chariot. Jesus would not do any less for His Blessed Mother.

Psalm 132:8 - Arise, O Lord, and go to thy resting place, thou and the Ark (Mary) of thy might. Both Jesus and Mary were taken up to their eternal resting place in heaven.

2 Cor. 12:2 - Paul speaks of a man in Christ who was caught up to the third heaven. Mary was also brought up into heaven by God.

Matt. 27:52-53 - when Jesus died and rose, the bodies of the saints were raised. Nothing in Scripture precludes Mary's assumption into heaven.

1 Thess. 4:17 - we shall be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and so we shall always be with the Lord.

Rev. 12:1 - we see Mary, the "woman," clothed with the sun. While in Rev. 6:9 we only see the souls of the martyrs in heaven, in Rev. 12:1 we see Mary, both body and soul.

2 Thess. 2:15 - Paul instructs us to hold fast to oral (not just written) tradition. Apostolic tradition says Mary was assumed into heaven. While claiming the bones of the saints was a common practice during these times (and would have been especially important to obtain Mary's bones as she was the Mother of God), Mary's bones were never claimed. This is because they were not available. Mary was taken up body and soul into heaven.

The saints are crowned in heaven, and Mary is the greatest saint of all.

2 Tim 4:8 - Paul says that there is laid up for him the crown of righteousness. The saints are crowned in heaven, and Mary is the greatest saint of all.


James 1:12 - those who endure will receive the crown of life which God has promised. Mary has received the crown of life by bringing eternal life to the world.

1 Peter 5:4 - when the chief Shepherd is manifested we will receive the unfading crown of glory.

Rev. 2:10 - Jesus will give the faithful unto death the crown of life. Jesus gave Mary His Mother the crown of life.

Rev. 12:1 - Mary, the "woman," is crowned with twelve stars. She is Queen of heaven and earth and the Mother of the Church.

Wis. 5:16 - we will receive a glorious crown and a beautiful diadem from the hand of the Lord. Mary is with Jesus forever crowned in His glory.

Joseph had relations with Mary after she bore a son.

Mary was a virgin when she bore Jesus. Here are other texts that prove "not until" means "not up to the point that":


Matt. 28:29 - I am with you "until the end of the world." This does not mean Jesus is not with us after the end of the world.

Luke 1:80 - John was in the desert "up to the point of his manifestation to Israel." Not John "was in the desert until after" his manifestation.

Luke 2:37 - Anna was a widow "up to the point that" she was eighty-four years old. She was not a widow after eighty-four years old.

Luke 20:43 - Jesus says, "take your seat at my hand until I have made your enemies your footstool." Jesus is not going to require the apostles to sit at His left hand after their enemies are their footstool.

1 Tim. 4:13 - "up to the point that I come," attend to teaching and preaching. It does not mean do nothing "until after" I come.

Gen. 8:7 - the raven flew back and forth "up to the point that" [until] the waters dried from the earth. The raven did not start flying after the waters dried.

Gen. 28:15 - the Lord won't leave Jacob "up to the point that" he does His promise. This does not mean the Lord will leave Jacob afterward.

Deut. 34:6 - but "up to the point of today" no one knows Moses' burial place. This does not mean that "they did not know place until today."

2 Sam. 6:23 - Saul's daughter Micah was childless "up to the point" [until] her death. She was not with child after her death.

1 Macc. 5:54 - not one was slain "up to the point that" they returned in peace. They were not slain after they returned in peace.

Mary, the Blessed Mother of Jesus

Lk 1:28, 30; -- angel Gabriel: "full of grace....found favor with God"


Lk 1:40; -- Elizabeth: "most blessed among women"

Lk 1:48; -- Mary: "all generations wil call me blessed"

Mary as the Mother of God:

Lk 1:43; -- Elizabeth calls her "mother of my Lord"

Mt 1:23; -- a virgin will bear a son, Emmanuel (means "God is with us")

Lk 1:35; -- child born will be called holy, the Son of God

Gal 4:4; -- God sent His Son, born of a virgin

The Assumption of Mary's Body into Heaven after her Death:

Gn 5:24; Hb 11:5; -- Enoch taken to heaven without dying

2 Kg 2:11; -- Elijah assumed into heaven in a fiery chariot

Mt 27:52; -- many saints who had fallen asleep were raised

1 Thess 4:17; -- caught up to meet the Lord in the air

1 Cor 15:52; -- we shall be instantly changed at the last trumpet

Rom 6:23; -- for the wages of sin is death

Rev 11:19; 12:1; -- ark in heaven is a woman clothed with the sun

Immaculate Conception (Mary was Conceived Without Sin):

Lk 1:28; -- hail full of grace, highly favored daughter; the Lord is with you

Lk 1:30; -- you have found favor with God

Lk 1:37; -- for with God, nothing shall be impossible

Gn 3:15; -- complete enmity between woman and Satan (sin)

Ex 25:11-21; -- ark made of purest gold for God's Word

Mary Ever-Virgin; Her Perpetual Virginity:

Lk 1:34; -- how can this be, since I do not know man

Lk 2:41-51; -- at age 12, Jesus was apparently the only child of Mary

Mk 6:3; -- "the" son of Mary, not "a" son of Mary

Mt 27:56; -- Mary the mother of James and Joseph is also...

Jn 19:25; -- Mary, the wife of Clopas

Jn 19:26; -- entrusted Mary to John, not a younger sibling

Jn 7:3-4; -- brothers advise like elders: "go to Judea, manifest...."

Mk 3:21; -- set out to seize him, "he is out of his mind"

Mt 28:20; -- I am with you always, until the end of ages

How can Catholics say Mary is Holy and Mother of God?

GOD and sin are mutually excludable... God cannot co-exist with sin. Rev 21:27.


Read Luke 1:28, 'And when the Angel had come to her, he said, "Hail full of Grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women'." Luke 1:30, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, for thou hast found Grace with GOD'. 'Full of Grace', and 'Grace with GOD', could only mean Mary was without sin. John the Baptist had not yet appeared to start the Sacrament of Baptism. If GOD created the entire universe out of nothing, don't you think the GOD who imposed Adam's Sin on mankind could make one little Jewish girl without original sin? She gave birth to GOD. Back to John 1:1 and 14, the 'Incarnate Word' was GOD. Jesus Christ is a divine person. Mothers give birth to persons, each with a nature. They do not give birth to natures. GOD Himself, calls Jesus Christ His divine Son (Heb 1:5-8).

The Church teaches that Jesus was both fully human and fully divine and his two natures cannot be separated. If Mary gave birth to Jesus, she gave birth both parts of him, both the part which is human and the part which is God. Mary gave birth to a divine/human being, one who is completely man and also completely God. Therefore Mary is the Mother of God.

Mary is worth honoring and emulating because she is the ideal example of perfect obedience to God. Knowing that she could be stoned to death for carrying a baby conceived out of wedlock, she still said “yes” to God: “Let it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). When she said “yes” to God she demonstrated perfect courage, perfect obedience and perfect faith.

GOD say through Gabriel in Luke 1:30-33? "You have found favor with GOD." Right there, GOD 'venerated' Mary over all other women. In verse 31 He tells her that she will conceive. Who will she conceive? None other than Jesus Christ, the second person of the Holy Trinity, who will manifest Himself as the 'Incarnate Word'. GOD Himself needed Mary to conceive His very own Son, and to carry Him for nine months to term. GOD needed Mary to be the vessel to give birth to His Divine Son. If GOD needed her, can we not need her also?

We know that Jesus is the second person of the Holy Trinity, the only Son of GOD. We know He is also the 'Incarnate Word' as explained in John 1:14, "...the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us." John 1:1 teaches us that the "WORD WAS GOD." Mary gave birth to the 'Incarnate Word', and the 'Word' was GOD.

GOD Himself, must have obeyed His mother's, everyday living, 'mother to child' commands as He was growing up. This is shown in Luke 2:51, "And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was SUBJECT to them." That is a very profound verse if you think about it. In effect it says, that for many years, the 'Creator of the Universe' obeyed the commands of a little Jewish girl, by the name of...Mary. Jesus also acted on her suggestion that the wedding guests were out of wine at Cana, by performing His first public miracle when He turned water into wine in John 2:1-5. Jesus Christ therefore kept the commandment 'honor thy mother', as well. If Jesus Christ honored His mother, can we do less? Jesus Christ loves His mother like any good son would. He will defend her from all attacks against her.

In Summary:

a. GOD called Mary Blessed, and He venerated her.

b. GOD needed her to bear His Divine Son.

c. GOD chose Blessed Mary above all women.

d. Blessed Mary gave birth to the divine 'Incarnate Word'.

e. As a child, Jesus Christ obeyed the commands of His mother.

f. Jesus Christ honors His very own mother.

g. Jesus Christ will defend His mother as any good son would. Doesn't that make Blessed Mary special?

"If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together" (1 Cor. 12:26).

There are several Old Testament images that are offered in support of virginity in partu. St. Ambrose in the above letter refers to Mary as the closed gate of Ezekiel 44:2. Isaiah 66:7 refers to the delivery of a male child born without labor pains. Lastly there is the reference in the Song of Songs (4:12) to the bride being an enclosed garden and a sealed fountain.

Matthew 1:22-23 is not the only New Testament reference cited in support of this teaching. There is the statement that Mary wrapped the Child in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger, which some conclude points to the absence of the usual pains and infirmities of childbirth—because Mary was able to wait on Jesus—and consequently to virginity in partu. There is also the reference in the account of the Presentation (Lk. 2:22-30) to Leviticus 12:8, which deals with the consecration of a child to God, but omits the part about taking away the uncleanness of the mother. A less obvious scriptural basis is found by some in the words “Blessed art thou among women,” (Lk. 1:42) understood in light of Genesis 3:15 and the New Eve image.

St. Ambrose wrote on the eve of the Synod of Milan in 390 that the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14 “declares not only that a virgin shall conceive, but also that a virgin shall bring forth.

Nowhere in Scripture is the Blessed Virgin Mary ever explicitly identified as the earthly mother of anyone other than Jesus. The Blessed Virgin Mary is the one woman in the entire Bible who makes the claim, “All generations to come shall call me blessed” (Luke 1:48).

Catholics believe that saints in Heaven, and especially the Blessed Virgin Mary, are still active in their roles to assist mankind in spiritual warfare. We know from James 5:16 that the prayers of the righteous are powerful, and we know from Matthew 22:32 that God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. In Revelation 5:8, it says that 24 elders in heaven present our petitions to God in the form of incense, which means that there are intermediaries in heaven who hear and present our prayers to God. If the dead rich man in hell can intercede for his brothers on earth with Abraham (Luke 16:27-28), how much more can Mary in heaven intercede for us here on earth with her son Jesus! Mary said in Luke 1:46 that her soul magnifies (To magnify means to enlarge, to make clearer, and to bring into focus) the Lord (her soul is still very much alive, as are all souls ever created by God). And since no one on earth was ever closer to Jesus in body, heart, and mind (Jesus got his flesh and blood from Mary), who better to intercede for us on our behalf than Mary? Giving honor and devotion to Mary (not worship) actually magnifies the Lord. To give honor to an artist's greatest creation (Mary) honors the creator (Jesus) !

The prayer, The Hail Mary, combines the words of Gabriel and Elizabeth with a petition at the end to pray for us. “Hail, Full of Grace, the Lord is with thee” are the words of Gabriel. These words indicate that Mary was full of grace BEFORE Jesus was in her womb. And no one can be full of grace and have any room left over for sin; otherwise she wouldn’t be “full” of grace. “Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus” are the words of Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist. These words from scripture indicate that Mary is blessed more than any other woman, because Jesus is inside of her. Jesus said that you shall know a tree by its fruit, and since Jesus is the fruit of her womb and is sinless and holy, so must Mary be, since she is the tree which bore the fruit (Jesus), although she certainly is not God. The last part of the prayer is a petition to Mary to “pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death”. Paul says in 1 Timothy 2:1- “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men.” So asking for intercessory prayer is a very biblical thing to do, especially from a holy person like Mary (James 5:16).

So how can Mary hear thousands of prayers said to her daily from all over the world? Isn’t she just a human being and not God? Catholics believe we share in God’s divinity when we are in heaven. Why? Because of the words of Peter, in 2 Pet.1:3: His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence 4: by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, that through these you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of passion, and become partakers of the divine nature. We see from these verses of Peter that saints in heaven are partakers in the divine nature, which includes hearing prayers.

Saints in heaven have no power of their own. All of their power comes from Christ Jesus, who shares it with them. We know that they witness for us, because of the words of St. Paul, in Hebrews 12:1: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses…” Witnesses testify to a judge on behalf of the accused, and Paul here is saying that the saints in heaven are our witnesses. Notice that Paul didn't say that they were mere spectators; he called them WITNESSES. Asking these witnesses, especially Mary, to help us with our problems is a very good thing to do. Some people make the mistake of thinking that praying to a saint equals worshipping that saint like he/she is a god, but “to pray” simply means “to ask”, not “to worship”. And since all of their power comes from the amazing grace of Jesus Christ, it is not like conjuring up the dead and seeking hidden knowledge, which is expressly forbidden in Deuteronomy 18:10-11. After all, Jesus appeared with the very dead Moses and Elijah during the Transfiguration (Luke 9:30). Since Jesus never sinned, and conjuring up the dead as an occult practice is a sin, we see here that there is a true distinction between praying to saints for their intercession and calling up the dead to seek arcane knowledge.

Mother Mary was a sinner and fallen short Glory of God?

These are the common questions from protestants:Sin is a universal human problem..Bible identifies Jesus as the sinless One, not Mary:


"For he hath made him (Jesus) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." 2 Corinthians 5:21

(Romans 3:9-10) - "What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; 10as it is written, "There is none righteous, not even one."

(Romans 3:23) - "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

(Psalm 14:3) - "They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one."

But the scripture hath concluded all under sin..." Galatians 3:22 .Mary knew she needed a Savior ."And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour." Luke 1:46-47

For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not." Ecclesiastes 7:20 "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:" Romans 5:12

My Answer:

When we are baptized, sin goes out and GOD comes in. Baptism to remove sin and allow GOD to come in was not instituted until after Jesus had started His ministry (John 3:22-23, 4:2).

So The Blessed Virgin had to have a stainless sin-free body and soul in order for GOD incarnate to dwell within her "Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in Him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.

This verse is often cited as teaching that "genuine" believers will not practice sin. They will not sin habitually, 1 John 3:9 is said to teach.

(Job 1:1) - "There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job, and that man was blameless, upright, fearing God, and turning away from evil."

(Genesis 7:1) - "Then the Lord said to Noah, "Enter the ark, you and all your household; for you alone I have seen to be righteous before Me in this time."

(Luke 1:5-6) - "In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah; and he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6And they were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord."

The Bible clearly teaches that all people have sinned -- except Jesus (1 Peter 2:22).

Romans 3:23 clearly condemns all under sin. But when it mentions people like Job, Noah, Zacharias, and Elizabeth as people who were "blameless" and "righteous" it is not saying that they are not sinners. It is saying that they were godly people, who kept the commandments of God and in that sense, they were righteous. But of course, we realize that no one can keep the commandments of God perfectly which is why all people are deserving of damnation (Eph. 2:3) and why we need a savior. If righteousness can come through the Law, then Christ died needlessly (Gal. 2:21).

The Immaculate Conception means the Blessed Virgin Mary was conceived and born without original sin. However this verse does not even address 'Original Sin', which is imputed to almost all of mankind by the sin of Adam and Eve. I said almost all, simply because a few did not have original sin imputed to them, namely Adam, Eve, Jesus Christ, and the New Eve, Blessed Mary.

Romans 3:23 addresses only the sins that we commit of our own free will.

Are there any exceptions to the word 'All'?

What about Jesus Christ? Did He in His humanity ever sin?

What about babies and those with a mental retardation who have no reasoning power? Have they sinned? Have children below the age of reason sinned? Have comatose and senile people sinned? As you can see, there are exceptions.

Luke 1:6, regarding Zachary and Elizabeth, the parents of John the Baptist, "Both were just before GOD, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord".

Luke 1:15, regarding John the Baptist, "For he shall be great before the Lord; he shall drink no wine or strong drink, and shall be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mothers womb".

Do these verses sound as if Zachary, Elizabeth, and John the Baptist have sinned?

You can readily see that there are many exceptions to the term 'All have sinned'. Since I have shown there are many exceptions to the word 'ALL', why then should anyone not allow one more exception, the Mother of GOD?

________________________________________

The Greek word, 'PAS', meaning 'ALL', can have different meanings as shown in other verses of Holy Scripture.

John 12:19, "The entire world has gone after him!" Did everyone in the entire world really go after Christ?

Mt 3:5-6, "Then went out to Him Jerusalem, and ALL Judea, and ALL the region about the Jordan; and they were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins."

Were all of the people of Judea, and the region about the Jordan baptized?

The phrase 'the whole world', does not really mean everybody in the world. The words 'whole world' and 'all' are used in several different senses of Scripture, and seldom do they literally mean all persons.

Rom 11:26, "ALL Israel shall be saved." We know for certain that 'ALL' in Israel will not be saved.

Rom 15:14, "...you yourselves are full of love, filled with 'ALL' knowledge..." Here we know for sure that the only person filled with 'ALL' knowledge is GOD Himself.

The Greek word 'pas' in many verses in Scripture simply means a 'great number', or 'a lot'. Since there are exceptions for Jesus Christ, and for others as shown above, the meaning could be seen as, 'ALL are subject to sin'. In the case of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a prevention of sin was brought about by a special grace from GOD.

“.... the whole world has gone after him” [John 12:19 ] Did all the world go after Christ?

“then went all Judea, and were baptized of him in Jordan.” [Matt. 3: 5-6] Was all Judea, or all Jerusalem, baptized in Jordan?

“Ye are of God, little children”, and the whole world lieth in the wicked one”. [1 John 5:19] Does the whole world there mean everybody?

The words are generally used to signify that Christ has redeemed some of all sorts -- some Jews, some Gentiles, some rich, some poor, and has not restricted His redemption to either Jew or Gentile ...

. Grace saves us.

. Grace gives us the power to be holy and righteous and without sin.

Therefore, for a person to be full of grace is to both be saved and to be exceptionally, completely holy. Thus we might re-apply the above two propositions as follows:

1. To be full of the grace which saves is to surely be saved.

2. To be full of the grace which gives us the power to be holy and righteous and without sin, is to be fully without sin, by that same grace.

Or, we could make the following deductive argument, with premises (#1 and #2) derived directly from Scripture:

1. The Bible teaches that we are saved by God's grace.


2. The Bible teaches that we need God's grace to live a holy life, above sin.


3. To be "full of" God's grace, then, is to be saved.


4. Therefore, Mary is saved.


5. To be "full of" God's grace is also to be so holy that one is sinless.


6. Therefore, Mary is holy and sinless.

7. The essence of the Immaculate Conception is sinlessness.

How could Mary be sinless when she sinned at Cana (John 2:3-4)? Jesus granted Mary's compassionate request that He help the young couple (John 2:5-11). The Bible says that God does not grant sinful requests (John 9:31; James 4:3), so her request could not have been sinful.

But she did sin in asking Jesus to reveal Himself publically before His time. That is not a sin, otherwise anyone throughout history who longed for the Second Coming would have been guilty of a sinful desire! Besides, Mary is not omniscient; she did not know it was not yet time. She was essentially asking Jesus "Perhaps this is a good opportunity for you to reveal yourself publically?". When He indicated it was not she did push for it, but arranged for the miracle to be performed in secret. Had she disobeyed his wish to keep it quiet, she would have been sinning! The fact that she did not further shows that she is submissive to the will of God.

Didn't Mary lose her faith in Jesus during His ministry (Mk 3:21, 31)? The text does not say that, and the very notion is absurd. Here is why:

Mary had seen an angel from heaven, who told her that she would bear a Son without having relations with a man. She knew such a thing was naturally impossible (Luke 1:34), yet she believed and it happened to her! This was clearly a miracle of God, which she experienced in her own body!

Based solely on the angel's message, she went to visit her cousin Elizabeth. There she found that Elizabeth was pregnant, as the angel had said - a confirmation of his words. Then Elizabeth suddenly prophesied, displaying knowledge of Mary's pregnancy and the identity of her Child which she could not have known except by divine revelation. Another clear miracle! Mary praised God for this wonder (Luke 1:46-53), in words which are full of faith in Him.

Mary's betrothed, Joseph, then had this miraculous dream revealing to him the divine nature of her pregnancy - yet another confirmation from God for Mary! She heard the shepherds tell of how they saw myrads of angels singing praises at Jesus' birth. She marvelled at Simeon's prophecy of Jesus' future. She never forgot any of these wonders; the Bible clearly states that she "treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart" (Lk 2:17; 51).

She saw the Wise Men come from a distant land to adore her Son, drawn by a mysterious star. She witnessed firsthand the fulfillment of every Messianic prophecy in her Son. She lived with God Incarnate for thirty years; prayed with Him daily and talked with Him of heavenly things for three whole decades!!!

She even instigated His first miracle at Cana, and witnessed Him change common water into the finest wine.

After all that, how could she possibly lose faith in Him?

Mark 3:31 may refer to His other relatives (but see Objection #6 below) who did not believe in Him during His ministry (Jn 7:5). They had not witnessed all these miracles or received the divine revelations, as Mary did. In contrast to them, Our Lady is the exemplar of discipleship. She did not always completely understand the ways of God (Lk 1:34; 2:33, 50), but she pondered them in her heart and clung to her faith, even at the foot of the Cross. She followed her Son till the very end, and is numbered among His followers in the Upper Room at Pentecost (Acts 1:14).

Mary was Jesus' Mother; she knew Him better than anyone other human being. She did not - could not - lose faith in Him after all that God had done in her life. Though others doubted, Mary never stopped believing in her Son; she knew Him too well!

I still believe Mark 3:21 clearly shows that Mary did lose faith in her Son, along with the rest of His family. Here is what Mark 3:21 actually says:

"And when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself". (KJV) -OR-

'And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for people were saying, "He is beside himself."' (RSV)

This verse does not say "His Mother said he was beside himself", nor that she lost her faith. In fact there is no explicit reference to Jesus' Mother in Mark 3:21 at all. She was not the only member of His family! Scripture does not "clearly" show any alleged sin on her part at all. This argument appears to be as follows: Jesus' family said He was crazy, His Mother is a member of His family, ergo His Mother must have said He is crazy. But this is a logical fallacy.

The Bible elsewhere tells us that, when Jesus was arrested in Gethsemane, "All the disciples forsook him and fled" (Matthew 26:56, Mark 14:50).

So if we apply your logic here, we could say "All of Jesus' disciples forsook Him, St. John was one of those disciples, therefore St. John forsook Him as well". But the Bible tells us that John, the beloved disciple, was at the foot of the Cross (John 19:26-27). He evidently did not go into hiding with the other Apostles.

So such reasoning just does not work. A general statement about a group of people does not always apply to every member of the group. There can be exceptions, such as St. John among the Apostles, and, I would submit, the Blessed Virgin among Jesus' relatives. Unlike the rest of His relatives, she knew Who He was, and so could never have thought He had lost His mind.

His mother and brothers were only human; they did not believe in Him because they did not understand at the time what God was doing in their son or brother's life. Why, if one apostle betrayed him, the others deserted him and his own hometown rejected him, should his family be any different? But of course he did have one faithful Apostle, St. John, and even though His cousins didn't believe in Him at first (John 7:5), He had one family member who remained faithful all along: His Mother. She had a better understanding of God's plan than the rest of His family because of the Annunciation, Visitation, etc.

But if his own family thought him insane; then we can assume that perhaps his parents, the heads of the family, had lost faith in Him at some point. No, we cannot assume that. Other family members could well have acted without Mary's support.

Also, if you go back to the original Greek text of Mark 3:21, you will find that St. Mark did not use the Greek word for "kinsman" (suggenes), or "family" (patria) or even "household" ("oikeios" or "oikianos") to refer to those who went to seize Jesus. Instead, he uses the phrase "hoi par autou", which literally means "those with him". This term refers to ones companions, not specifically to relatives.

This is why, if you look up Mark 3:21 in different Bible translations, you'll see that many call them Jesus' "friends" or "his own people" rather than "relatives" or "family". This is because the original Greek does not specify relatives.

So those who came to get Jesus may not have even been His family! I think the translators who render "hoi par' autou" as "family" or "relatives" are assuming that vs 21 is related to the events in vvs 31-35. That need not be the case.

But what if that were the case? Well, even if "those with Him" were His relatives, and were the same group mentioned in verse 31-35, it still does not prove that Mary did not believe in Jesus. She may have gone along, not because she approved of their actions, but to try to keep the situation calm, to reconcile this family squabble by offering guidance and restraint, lest it got out of hand.

Nowhere does the Bible say that Mary ever lost her faith in her Son. You could search the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you would never find a verse saying "even His mother did not believe in Him". Considering all she knew about His identity and mission, to think that she could lose faith in Him is absurd. His other relatives, however, had not been present at the Annunciation, Visitation, Nativity, etc., so they did not have as full knowledge as she had. This explains their unbelief.

You are reading too much into these verses by insisting that Mary thought her Son, Whom she knew beyond doubt was the Messiah, had lost His mind. They say nothing of the sort!

But didn't she lose her faith at Calvary (John 19:25-27)? There is no evidence whatsoever of that in Scripture. In fact her courage to stand at the foot of the Cross seems to indicate the opposite. You are again reading too much into this passage.

The Bible does not say that Jesus appeared first to His relatives after His Resurrection. But He did eventually appear to his brother James, and on the Day of Pentecost His mother and brothers were among His followers in the Upper Room. This seems to indicate that His whole family came to believe in Jesus only after His Death and Resurrection. Yet Mary was present at the foot of the Cross with those who believed in Him. This shows that she had faith in Him even in that dark hour.

Jesus didn't only appear to people who believed in Him; He appeared to St. Thomas the Apostle, though he didn't believe that Christ had risen (John 20:24-29). St. Matthew, recounting one of His post-resurrection appearances, writes: "And when they saw him they worshiped him; but some doubted." (Mt 28:17). So Jesus did not make faith in Him a prerequisite for post-resurrection appearances.

So why did the Church Fathers say that she sinned at Cana and/or the Cross? Not all of them taught that; many of the Fathers taught that she was sinless, such as Sts. Augustine, Ambrose and Ephraim the Syrian. As for the few who did, that was their personal opinion; it was never the official teaching of the Church.

It's not fair that everyone else has to struggle against the flesh but Mary is spared! I am sure that every Christian wishes she or he did not have to deal with sin, so it is understandable that some might be tempted to jealousy over Mary's prerogative or think it "unfair". Yet we should resist that temptation, for jealousy over the spiritual state of another is itself a sin-perhaps the worst infraction of the Tenth Commandment!

Is God "unfair" in preserving Mary and not us? "O man, who art thou that repliest against God?...Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor?" (Romans 9:20-21). This passage refers to God's dealings with Israel and the Church, yet it applies in this case as well. God can do as He wills with us and we have no right to question Him. If He chooses to exempt one human being from all sin - original and actual - by the merits of Jesus, He has every right to do so.

Was Mary free from temptation as well? That is highly doubtful. If Jesus Christ, the God-Man, had to endure temptation, surely Mary, a mere creature, was not spared. Surely the Devil, who tempted the first Eve, tried the New Eve as well. Yet unlike her foremother, Mary always relied on God's grace to resist, so she never gave in. This is not impossible (I Co 10:13). Adam and Eve did not have to disobey God; they could have resisted, but did not. Mary, by her reliance on God, triumphed where her forebears had failed.

As mentioned above, Mary most likely did not know that she was sinless. She may have experienced periods of spiritual dryness as we all do, and feared that she had somehow offended God (when in reality God was simply testing her faithfulness). She loved God with all her heart, soul, mind and strength, so she greatly feared offending Him. Therefore her sinlessness does not necessarily rule out temptation and spiritual struggle.

When God spoke to the serpent in Eden He said "I will make you enemies of each other: you and the woman, your offspring and her offspring. It will crush your head and you will strike its heel" (Gen. 3:15). The one referred to who will crush Satan (the serpent) and be attacked by him, must surely be Christ. He is also the child of the woman referred to by God, and in this respect Mary is called the New Eve. The enmity between Christ and Satan is complete and absolute, and the passage suggests that the enmity God put between the woman and Satan would be similar. The vision of the woman clothed with the sun (Rev. 12), who bore a son who was to rule all nations with an iron sceptre, can also be applied to Mary. This chapter relates her epic struggle with the devil, and how she was taken to a place of safety which God had prepared for her. She is protected from being swept away by the devil. This implies sinlessness. "We know that anyone who has been begotten by God does not sin., because the begotten Son of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him" (l Jn. 5:18). Mary and the devil were complete opposites, and the enmity that existed between them could not be, unless she was preserved from sin. "To lead a sinful life is to belong to the devil, since the devil was a sinner from the beginning" (1 Jn. 3:8).

To save Mary from ever sinning was an even greater mercy, which only God could bestow. It is true that Mary too required a Saviour. She was still a member of a fallen race and, like all descendants of Adam, she was by her nature subject to the necessity of contracting original sin. But by a special intervention of God, at her conception, she was preserved from the stain of original sin, possessed of grace at every instant She was therefore redeemed by the Saviour, but in a special way, by anticipation: by prevention rather than cure. In rejoicing in the God who had saved her, Mary herself anticipates the Redemption of the Cross. In the earlier verses (1 :39-45), Luke describes the visitation of Mary to her relative Elizabeth, and the sanctification of John the Baptist. At the approach of Mary, the child John leapt in his mother's womb and she was filled with the Holy Spirit, (cf. Lk. 1: 15), a sign that he had been freed from the burden of sin by her pure presence. Elizabeth then exclaims: "of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I be honoured with a visit from the Mother of my Lord?" If the Baptist's mother had been granted such a privilege from the visit of the mother of her Lord, then the Virgin Mary must surely have been granted a greater one.

But "all have sinned " only means that all are subject to original sin. Mary was spared from original sin by God, not herself. The popular analogy is God let us fall in the mud puddle, and cleaned us up afterward through baptism. In Mary's case, God did not let her enter the mud puddle.

Rom. 3:23 - "all have sinned" also refers only to those able to commit sin. This is not everyone. For example, infants, the retarded, and the senile cannot sin.

Rom. 3:23 - finally, "all have sinned," but Jesus must be an exception to this rule. This means that Mary can be an exception as well. Note that the Greek word for all is "pantes."

1 Cor. 15:22 - in Adam all ("pantes") have died, and in Christ all ("pantes") shall live. This proves that "all" does not mean "every single one." This is because not all have died (such as Enoch and Elijah who were taken up to heaven), and not all will go to heaven (because Jesus said so).

Rom. 5:12 - Paul says that death spread to all ("pantes") men. Again, this proves that "all" does not mean "every single one" because death did not spread to all men (as we have seen with Enoch and Elijah).

Rom. 5:19 - here Paul says "many (not all) were made sinners." Paul uses "polloi," not "pantes." Is Paul contradicting what he said in Rom. 3:23? Of course not. Paul means that all are subject to original sin, but not all reject God.

Rom. 3:10-11 - Protestants also use this verse to prove that all human beings are sinful and thus Mary must be sinful. But see Psalm 14 which is the basis of the verse.

Psalm 14 - this psalm does not teach that all humans are sinful. It only teaches that, among the wicked, all are sinful. The righteous continue to seek God.

Psalm 53:1-3 - "there is none that does good" expressly refers to those who have fallen away. Those who remain faithful do good, and Jesus calls such faithful people "good."

Luke 18:19 - Jesus says, "No one is good but God alone." But then in Matt. 12:35, Jesus also says "The good man out of his good treasure..." So Jesus says no one is good but God, and then calls another person good.

Rom. 9:11 - God distinguished between Jacob and Esau in the womb, before they sinned. Mary was also distinguished from the rest of humanity in the womb by being spared by God from original sin.

Luke 1:47 - Mary calls God her Savior. Some Protestants use this to denigrate Mary. Why? Of course God is Mary's Savior! She was freed from original sin in the womb (unlike us who are freed from sin outside of the womb), but needed a Savior as much as the rest of humanity.

Luke 1:48 - Mary calls herself lowly. But any creature is lowly compared to God. For example, in Matt. 11:29, even Jesus says He is lowly in heart. Lowliness is a sign of humility, which is the greatest virtue of holiness, because it allows us to empty ourselves and receive the grace of God to change our sinful lives.

Mary's Assumption into Heaven

Gen. 5:24, Heb. 11:5 - Enoch was bodily assumed into heaven without dying. Would God do any less for Mary the Ark of the New Covenant?


2 Kings 2:11-12; 1 Mac 2:58 - Elijah was assumed into heaven in fiery chariot. Jesus would not do any less for His Blessed Mother.

Psalm 132:8 - Arise, O Lord, and go to thy resting place, thou and the Ark (Mary) of thy might. Both Jesus and Mary were taken up to their eternal resting place in heaven.

2 Cor. 12:2 - Paul speaks of a man in Christ who was caught up to the third heaven. Mary was also brought up into heaven by God.

Matt. 27:52-53 - when Jesus died and rose, the bodies of the saints were raised. Nothing in Scripture precludes Mary's assumption into heaven.

1 Thess. 4:17 - we shall be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and so we shall always be with the Lord.

Rev. 12:1 - we see Mary, the "woman," clothed with the sun. While in Rev. 6:9 we only see the souls of the martyrs in heaven, in Rev. 12:1 we see Mary, both body and soul.

2 Thess. 2:15 - Paul instructs us to hold fast to oral (not just written) tradition. Apostolic tradition says Mary was assumed into heaven. While claiming the bones of the saints was a common practice during these times (and would have been especially important to obtain Mary's bones as she was the Mother of God), Mary's bones were never claimed. This is because they were not available. Mary was taken up body and soul into heaven.

Mother Mary was a sinner and fallen short Glory of God?

These are the common questions from protestants:Sin is a universal human problem..Bible identifies Jesus as the sinless One, not Mary:


"For he hath made him (Jesus) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." 2 Corinthians 5:21

(Romans 3:9-10) - "What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; 10as it is written, "There is none righteous, not even one."

(Romans 3:23) - "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

(Psalm 14:3) - "They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one."

But the scripture hath concluded all under sin..." Galatians 3:22 .Mary knew she needed a Savior ."And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour." Luke 1:46-47

For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not." Ecclesiastes 7:20 "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:" Romans 5:12

When we are baptized, sin goes out and GOD comes in. Baptism to remove sin and allow GOD to come in was not instituted until after Jesus had started His ministry (John 3:22-23, 4:2).

So The Blessed Virgin had to have a stainless sin-free body and soul in order for GOD incarnate to dwell within her "Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in Him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. This verse is often cited as teaching that "genuine" believers will not practice sin. They will not sin habitually, 1 John 3:9 is said to teach.


(Job 1:1) - "There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job, and that man was blameless, upright, fearing God, and turning away from evil."

(Genesis 7:1) - "Then the Lord said to Noah, "Enter the ark, you and all your household; for you alone I have seen to be righteous before Me in this time."

(Luke 1:5-6) - "In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah; and he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6And they were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord."

The Bible clearly teaches that all people have sinned -- except Jesus (1 Peter 2:22).

Romans 3:23 clearly condemns all under sin. But when it mentions people like Job, Noah, Zacharias, and Elizabeth as people who were "blameless" and "righteous" it is not saying that they are not sinners. It is saying that they were godly people, who kept the commandments of God and in that sense, they were righteous. But of course, we realize that no one can keep the commandments of God perfectly which is why all people are deserving of damnation (Eph. 2:3) and why we need a savior. If righteousness can come through the Law, then Christ died needlessly (Gal. 2:21).


The Immaculate Conception means the Blessed Virgin Mary was conceived and born without original sin. However this verse does not even address 'Original Sin', which is imputed to almost all of mankind by the sin of Adam and Eve. I said almost all, simply because a few did not have original sin imputed to them, namely Adam, Eve, Jesus Christ, and the New Eve, Blessed Mary.

Romans 3:23 addresses only the sins that we commit of our own free will.

Are there any exceptions to the word 'All'?

What about Jesus Christ? Did He in His humanity ever sin?

What about babies and those with a mental retardation who have no reasoning power? Have they sinned? Have children below the age of reason sinned? Have comatose and senile people sinned? As you can see, there are exceptions.

Luke 1:6, regarding Zachary and Elizabeth, the parents of John the Baptist, "Both were just before GOD, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord".

Luke 1:15, regarding John the Baptist, "For he shall be great before the Lord; he shall drink no wine or strong drink, and shall be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mothers womb".

Do these verses sound as if Zachary, Elizabeth, and John the Baptist have sinned?


You can readily see that there are many exceptions to the term 'All have sinned'. Since I have shown there are many exceptions to the word 'ALL', why then should anyone not allow one more exception, the Mother of GOD?

________________________________________


The Greek word, 'PAS', meaning 'ALL', can have different meanings as shown in other verses of Holy Scripture.

John 12:19, "The entire world has gone after him!" Did everyone in the entire world really go after Christ?


Mt 3:5-6, "Then went out to Him Jerusalem, and ALL Judea, and ALL the region about the Jordan; and they were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins."

Were all of the people of Judea, and the region about the Jordan baptized?


The phrase 'the whole world', does not really mean everybody in the world. The words 'whole world' and 'all' are used in several different senses of Scripture, and seldom do they literally mean all persons.

Rom 11:26, "ALL Israel shall be saved." We know for certain that 'ALL' in Israel will not be saved.

Rom 15:14, "...you yourselves are full of love, filled with 'ALL' knowledge..." Here we know for sure that the only person filled with 'ALL' knowledge is GOD Himself.


The Greek word 'pas' in many verses in Scripture simply means a 'great number', or 'a lot'. Since there are exceptions for Jesus Christ, and for others as shown above, the meaning could be seen as, 'ALL are subject to sin'. In the case of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a prevention of sin was brought about by a special grace from GOD.
“.... the whole world has gone after him” [John 12:19 ] Did all the world go after Christ?

“then went all Judea, and were baptized of him in Jordan.” [Matt. 3: 5-6] Was all Judea, or all Jerusalem, baptized in Jordan?

“Ye are of God, little children”, and the whole world lieth in the wicked one”. [1 John 5:19] Does the whole world there mean everybody?

The words are generally used to signify that Christ has redeemed some of all sorts -- some Jews, some Gentiles, some rich, some poor, and has not restricted His redemption to either Jew or Gentile ...

 Grace saves us. Grace gives us the power to be holy and righteous and without sin.

Therefore, for a person to be full of grace is to both be saved and to be exceptionally, completely holy. Thus we might re-apply the above two propositions as follows:

1. To be full of the grace which saves is to surely be saved.


2. To be full of the grace which gives us the power to be holy and righteous and without sin, is to be fully without sin, by that same grace.


Or, we could make the following deductive argument, with premises (#1 and #2) derived directly from Scripture:

1. The Bible teaches that we are saved by God's grace.

2. The Bible teaches that we need God's grace to live a holy life, above sin.

3. To be "full of" God's grace, then, is to be saved.

4. Therefore, Mary is saved.

5. To be "full of" God's grace is also to be so holy that one is sinless.

6. Therefore, Mary is holy and sinless.

7. The essence of the Immaculate Conception is sinlessness.

How could Mary be sinless when she sinned at Cana (John 2:3-4)? Jesus granted Mary's compassionate request that He help the young couple (John 2:5-11). The Bible says that God does not grant sinful requests (John 9:31; James 4:3), so her request could not have been sinful.


But she did sin in asking Jesus to reveal Himself publically before His time. That is not a sin, otherwise anyone throughout history who longed for the Second Coming would have been guilty of a sinful desire! Besides, Mary is not omniscient; she did not know it was not yet time. She was essentially asking Jesus "Perhaps this is a good opportunity for you to reveal yourself publically?". When He indicated it was not she did push for it, but arranged for the miracle to be performed in secret. Had she disobeyed his wish to keep it quiet, she would have been sinning! The fact that she did not further shows that she is submissive to the will of God.


Didn't Mary lose her faith in Jesus during His ministry (Mk 3:21, 31)? The text does not say that, and the very notion is absurd. Here is why:

Mary had seen an angel from heaven, who told her that she would bear a Son without having relations with a man. She knew such a thing was naturally impossible (Luke 1:34), yet she believed and it happened to her! This was clearly a miracle of God, which she experienced in her own body!

Based solely on the angel's message, she went to visit her cousin Elizabeth. There she found that Elizabeth was pregnant, as the angel had said - a confirmation of his words. Then Elizabeth suddenly prophesied, displaying knowledge of Mary's pregnancy and the identity of her Child which she could not have known except by divine revelation. Another clear miracle! Mary praised God for this wonder (Luke 1:46-53), in words which are full of faith in Him.

Mary's betrothed, Joseph, then had this miraculous dream revealing to him the divine nature of her pregnancy - yet another confirmation from God for Mary! She heard the shepherds tell of how they saw myrads of angels singing praises at Jesus' birth. She marvelled at Simeon's prophecy of Jesus' future. She never forgot any of these wonders; the Bible clearly states that she "treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart" (Lk 2:17; 51).

She saw the Wise Men come from a distant land to adore her Son, drawn by a mysterious star. She witnessed firsthand the fulfillment of every Messianic prophecy in her Son. She lived with God Incarnate for thirty years; prayed with Him daily and talked with Him of heavenly things for three whole decades!!!

She even instigated His first miracle at Cana, and witnessed Him change common water into the finest wine.
After all that, how could she possibly lose faith in Him?

Mark 3:31 may refer to His other relatives (but see Objection #6 below) who did not believe in Him during His ministry (Jn 7:5). They had not witnessed all these miracles or received the divine revelations, as Mary did. In contrast to them, Our Lady is the exemplar of discipleship. She did not always completely understand the ways of God (Lk 1:34; 2:33, 50), but she pondered them in her heart and clung to her faith, even at the foot of the Cross. She followed her Son till the very end, and is numbered among His followers in the Upper Room at Pentecost (Acts 1:14).

Mary was Jesus' Mother; she knew Him better than anyone other human being. She did not - could not - lose faith in Him after all that God had done in her life. Though others doubted, Mary never stopped believing in her Son; she knew Him too well!

I still believe Mark 3:21 clearly shows that Mary did lose faith in her Son, along with the rest of His family. Here is what Mark 3:21 actually says:

"And when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself". (KJV) -OR-

'And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for people were saying, "He is beside himself."' (RSV)

This verse does not say "His Mother said he was beside himself", nor that she lost her faith. In fact there is no explicit reference to Jesus' Mother in Mark 3:21 at all. She was not the only member of His family! Scripture does not "clearly" show any alleged sin on her part at all. This argument appears to be as follows: Jesus' family said He was crazy, His Mother is a member of His family, ergo His Mother must have said He is crazy. But this is a logical fallacy.


The Bible elsewhere tells us that, when Jesus was arrested in Gethsemane, "All the disciples forsook him and fled" (Matthew 26:56, Mark 14:50).

So if we apply your logic here, we could say "All of Jesus' disciples forsook Him, St. John was one of those disciples, therefore St. John forsook Him as well". But the Bible tells us that John, the beloved disciple, was at the foot of the Cross (John 19:26-27). He evidently did not go into hiding with the other Apostles.
So such reasoning just does not work. A general statement about a group of people does not always apply to every member of the group. There can be exceptions, such as St. John among the Apostles, and, I would submit, the Blessed Virgin among Jesus' relatives. Unlike the rest of His relatives, she knew Who He was, and so could never have thought He had lost His mind.

His mother and brothers were only human; they did not believe in Him because they did not understand at the time what God was doing in their son or brother's life. Why, if one apostle betrayed him, the others deserted him and his own hometown rejected him, should his family be any different? But of course he did have one faithful Apostle, St. John, and even though His cousins didn't believe in Him at first (John 7:5), He had one family member who remained faithful all along: His Mother. She had a better understanding of God's plan than the rest of His family because of the Annunciation, Visitation, etc.

But if his own family thought him insane; then we can assume that perhaps his parents, the heads of the family, had lost faith in Him at some point. No, we cannot assume that. Other family members could well have acted without Mary's support.

Also, if you go back to the original Greek text of Mark 3:21, you will find that St. Mark did not use the Greek word for "kinsman" (suggenes), or "family" (patria) or even "household" ("oikeios" or "oikianos") to refer to those who went to seize Jesus. Instead, he uses the phrase "hoi par autou", which literally means "those with him". This term refers to ones companions, not specifically to relatives.


This is why, if you look up Mark 3:21 in different Bible translations, you'll see that many call them Jesus' "friends" or "his own people" rather than "relatives" or "family". This is because the original Greek does not specify relatives.

So those who came to get Jesus may not have even been His family! I think the translators who render "hoi par' autou" as "family" or "relatives" are assuming that vs 21 is related to the events in vvs 31-35. That need not be the case.

But what if that were the case? Well, even if "those with Him" were His relatives, and were the same group mentioned in verse 31-35, it still does not prove that Mary did not believe in Jesus. She may have gone along, not because she approved of their actions, but to try to keep the situation calm, to reconcile this family squabble by offering guidance and restraint, lest it got out of hand.


Nowhere does the Bible say that Mary ever lost her faith in her Son. You could search the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you would never find a verse saying "even His mother did not believe in Him". Considering all she knew about His identity and mission, to think that she could lose faith in Him is absurd. His other relatives, however, had not been present at the Annunciation, Visitation, Nativity, etc., so they did not have as full knowledge as she had. This explains their unbelief.

You are reading too much into these verses by insisting that Mary thought her Son, Whom she knew beyond doubt was the Messiah, had lost His mind. They say nothing of the sort!

But didn't she lose her faith at Calvary (John 19:25-27)? There is no evidence whatsoever of that in Scripture. In fact her courage to stand at the foot of the Cross seems to indicate the opposite. You are again reading too much into this passage.


The Bible does not say that Jesus appeared first to His relatives after His Resurrection. But He did eventually appear to his brother James, and on the Day of Pentecost His mother and brothers were among His followers in the Upper Room. This seems to indicate that His whole family came to believe in Jesus only after His Death and Resurrection. Yet Mary was present at the foot of the Cross with those who believed in Him. This shows that she had faith in Him even in that dark hour.

Jesus didn't only appear to people who believed in Him; He appeared to St. Thomas the Apostle, though he didn't believe that Christ had risen (John 20:24-29). St. Matthew, recounting one of His post-resurrection appearances, writes: "And when they saw him they worshiped him; but some doubted." (Mt 28:17). So Jesus did not make faith in Him a prerequisite for post-resurrection appearances.

So why did the Church Fathers say that she sinned at Cana and/or the Cross? Not all of them taught that; many of the Fathers taught that she was sinless, such as Sts. Augustine, Ambrose and Ephraim the Syrian. As for the few who did, that was their personal opinion; it was never the official teaching of the Church.

It's not fair that everyone else has to struggle against the flesh but Mary is spared! I am sure that every Christian wishes she or he did not have to deal with sin, so it is understandable that some might be tempted to jealousy over Mary's prerogative or think it "unfair". Yet we should resist that temptation, for jealousy over the spiritual state of another is itself a sin-perhaps the worst infraction of the Tenth Commandment!

Is God "unfair" in preserving Mary and not us? "O man, who art thou that repliest against God?...Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor?" (Romans 9:20-21). This passage refers to God's dealings with Israel and the Church, yet it applies in this case as well. God can do as He wills with us and we have no right to question Him. If He chooses to exempt one human being from all sin - original and actual - by the merits of Jesus, He has every right to do so.


Was Mary free from temptation as well? That is highly doubtful. If Jesus Christ, the God-Man, had to endure temptation, surely Mary, a mere creature, was not spared. Surely the Devil, who tempted the first Eve, tried the New Eve as well. Yet unlike her foremother, Mary always relied on God's grace to resist, so she never gave in. This is not impossible (I Co 10:13). Adam and Eve did not have to disobey God; they could have resisted, but did not. Mary, by her reliance on God, triumphed where her forebears had failed.


As mentioned above, Mary most likely did not know that she was sinless. She may have experienced periods of spiritual dryness as we all do, and feared that she had somehow offended God (when in reality God was simply testing her faithfulness). She loved God with all her heart, soul, mind and strength, so she greatly feared offending Him. Therefore her sinlessness does not necessarily rule out temptation and spiritual struggle.

When God spoke to the serpent in Eden He said "I will make you enemies of each other: you and the woman, your offspring and her offspring. It will crush your head and you will strike its heel" (Gen. 3:15). The one referred to who will crush Satan (the serpent) and be attacked by him, must surely be Christ. He is also the child of the woman referred to by God, and in this respect Mary is called the New Eve. The enmity between Christ and Satan is complete and absolute, and the passage suggests that the enmity God put between the woman and Satan would be similar. The vision of the woman clothed with the sun (Rev. 12), who bore a son who was to rule all nations with an iron sceptre, can also be applied to Mary. This chapter relates her epic struggle with the devil, and how she was taken to a place of safety which God had prepared for her. She is protected from being swept away by the devil. This implies sinlessness. "We know that anyone who has been begotten by God does not sin., because the begotten Son of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him" (l Jn. 5:18). Mary and the devil were complete opposites, and the enmity that existed between them could not be, unless she was preserved from sin. "To lead a sinful life is to belong to the devil, since the devil was a sinner from the beginning" (1 Jn. 3:8).

To save Mary from ever sinning was an even greater mercy, which only God could bestow. It is true that Mary too required a Saviour. She was still a member of a fallen race and, like all descendants of Adam, she was by her nature subject to the necessity of contracting original sin. But by a special intervention of God, at her conception, she was preserved from the stain of original sin, possessed of grace at every instant She was therefore redeemed by the Saviour, but in a special way, by anticipation: by prevention rather than cure. In rejoicing in the God who had saved her, Mary herself anticipates the Redemption of the Cross. In the earlier verses (1 :39-45), Luke describes the visitation of Mary to her relative Elizabeth, and the sanctification of John the Baptist. At the approach of Mary, the child John leapt in his mother's womb and she was filled with the Holy Spirit, (cf. Lk. 1: 15), a sign that he had been freed from the burden of sin by her pure presence. Elizabeth then exclaims: "of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I be honoured with a visit from the Mother of my Lord?" If the Baptist's mother had been granted such a privilege from the visit of the mother of her Lord, then the Virgin Mary must surely have been granted a greater one.

But "all have sinned " only means that all are subject to original sin. Mary was spared from original sin by God, not herself. The popular analogy is God let us fall in the mud puddle, and cleaned us up afterward through baptism. In Mary's case, God did not let her enter the mud puddle.

Rom. 3:23 - "all have sinned" also refers only to those able to commit sin. This is not everyone. For example, infants, the retarded, and the senile cannot sin.

Rom. 3:23 - finally, "all have sinned," but Jesus must be an exception to this rule. This means that Mary can be an exception as well. Note that the Greek word for all is "pantes."

1 Cor. 15:22 - in Adam all ("pantes") have died, and in Christ all ("pantes") shall live. This proves that "all" does not mean "every single one." This is because not all have died (such as Enoch and Elijah who were taken up to heaven), and not all will go to heaven (because Jesus said so).

Rom. 5:12 - Paul says that death spread to all ("pantes") men. Again, this proves that "all" does not mean "every single one" because death did not spread to all men (as we have seen with Enoch and Elijah).

Rom. 5:19 - here Paul says "many (not all) were made sinners." Paul uses "polloi," not "pantes." Is Paul contradicting what he said in Rom. 3:23? Of course not. Paul means that all are subject to original sin, but not all reject God.

Rom. 3:10-11 - Protestants also use this verse to prove that all human beings are sinful and thus Mary must be sinful. But see Psalm 14 which is the basis of the verse.

Psalm 14 - this psalm does not teach that all humans are sinful. It only teaches that, among the wicked, all are sinful. The righteous continue to seek God.

Psalm 53:1-3 - "there is none that does good" expressly refers to those who have fallen away. Those who remain faithful do good, and Jesus calls such faithful people "good."

Luke 18:19 - Jesus says, "No one is good but God alone." But then in Matt. 12:35, Jesus also says "The good man out of his good treasure..." So Jesus says no one is good but God, and then calls another person good.

Rom. 9:11 - God distinguished between Jacob and Esau in the womb, before they sinned. Mary was also distinguished from the rest of humanity in the womb by being spared by God from original sin.

Luke 1:47 - Mary calls God her Savior. Some Protestants use this to denigrate Mary. Why? Of course God is Mary's Savior! She was freed from original sin in the womb (unlike us who are freed from sin outside of the womb), but needed a Savior as much as the rest of humanity.

Luke 1:48 - Mary calls herself lowly. But any creature is lowly compared to God. For example, in Matt. 11:29, even Jesus says He is lowly in heart. Lowliness is a sign of humility, which is the greatest virtue of holiness, because it allows us to empty ourselves and receive the grace of God to change our sinful lives.

How can Catholics say Mary is Holy and Mother of God?

GOD and sin are mutually excludable... God cannot co-exist with sin. Rev 21:27

Read Luke 1:28, 'And when the Angel had come to her, he said, "Hail full of Grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women'." Luke 1:30, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, for thou hast found Grace with GOD'. 'Full of Grace', and 'Grace with GOD', could only mean Mary was without sin. John the Baptist had not yet appeared to start the Sacrament of Baptism. If GOD created the entire universe out of nothing, don't you think the GOD who imposed Adam's Sin on mankind could make one little Jewish girl without original sin? She gave birth to GOD. Back to John 1:1 and 14, the 'Incarnate Word' was GOD. Jesus Christ is a divine person. Mothers give birth to persons, each with a nature. They do not give birth to natures. GOD Himself, calls Jesus Christ His divine Son (Heb 1:5-8).


The Church teaches that Jesus was both fully human and fully divine and his two natures cannot be separated. If Mary gave birth to Jesus, she gave birth both parts of him, both the part which is human and the part which is God. Mary gave birth to a divine/human being, one who is completely man and also completely God. Therefore Mary is the Mother of God.

Mary is worth honoring and emulating because she is the ideal example of perfect obedience to God. Knowing that she could be stoned to death for carrying a baby conceived out of wedlock, she still said “yes” to God: “Let it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). When she said “yes” to God she demonstrated perfect courage, perfect obedience and perfect faith.


GOD say through Gabriel in Luke 1:30-33? "You have found favor with GOD." Right there, GOD 'venerated' Mary over all other women. In verse 31 He tells her that she will conceive. Who will she conceive? None other than Jesus Christ, the second person of the Holy Trinity, who will manifest Himself as the 'Incarnate Word'. GOD Himself needed Mary to conceive His very own Son, and to carry Him for nine months to term. GOD needed Mary to be the vessel to give birth to His Divine Son. If GOD needed her, can we not need her also?

We know that Jesus is the second person of the Holy Trinity, the only Son of GOD. We know He is also the 'Incarnate Word' as explained in John 1:14, "...the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us." John 1:1 teaches us that the "WORD WAS GOD." Mary gave birth to the 'Incarnate Word', and the 'Word' was GOD.

GOD Himself, must have obeyed His mother's, everyday living, 'mother to child' commands as He was growing up. This is shown in Luke 2:51, "And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was SUBJECT to them." That is a very profound verse if you think about it. In effect it says, that for many years, the 'Creator of the Universe' obeyed the commands of a little Jewish girl, by the name of...Mary. Jesus also acted on her suggestion that the wedding guests were out of wine at Cana, by performing His first public miracle when He turned water into wine in John 2:1-5. Jesus Christ therefore kept the commandment 'honor thy mother', as well. If Jesus Christ honored His mother, can we do less? Jesus Christ loves His mother like any good son would. He will defend her from all attacks against her.

In Summary:
a. GOD called Mary Blessed, and He venerated her.

b. GOD needed her to bear His Divine Son.


c. GOD chose Blessed Mary above all women.

d. Blessed Mary gave birth to the divine 'Incarnate Word'.
e. As a child, Jesus Christ obeyed the commands of His mother.

f. Jesus Christ honors His very own mother.

g. Jesus Christ will defend His mother as any good son would. Doesn't that make Blessed Mary special?

"If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together" (1 Cor. 12:26).

There are several Old Testament images that are offered in support of virginity in partu. St. Ambrose in the above letter refers to Mary as the closed gate of Ezekiel 44:2. Isaiah 66:7 refers to the delivery of a male child born without labor pains. Lastly there is the reference in the Song of Songs (4:12) to the bride being an enclosed garden and a sealed fountain.

Matthew 1:22-23 is not the only New Testament reference cited in support of this teaching. There is the statement that Mary wrapped the Child in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger, which some conclude points to the absence of the usual pains and infirmities of childbirth—because Mary was able to wait on Jesus—and consequently to virginity in partu. There is also the reference in the account of the Presentation (Lk. 2:22-30) to Leviticus 12:8, which deals with the consecration of a child to God, but omits the part about taking away the uncleanness of the mother. A less obvious scriptural basis is found by some in the words “Blessed art thou among women,” (Lk. 1:42) understood in light of Genesis 3:15 and the New Eve image.

St. Ambrose wrote on the eve of the Synod of Milan in 390 that the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14 “declares not only that a virgin shall conceive, but also that a virgin shall bring forth.

Nowhere in Scripture is the Blessed Virgin Mary ever explicitly identified as the earthly mother of anyone other than Jesus. The Blessed Virgin Mary is the one woman in the entire Bible who makes the claim, “All generations to come shall call me blessed” (Luke 1:48).

Catholics believe that saints in Heaven, and especially the Blessed Virgin Mary, are still active in their roles to assist mankind in spiritual warfare. We know from James 5:16 that the prayers of the righteous are powerful, and we know from Matthew 22:32 that God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. In Revelation 5:8, it says that 24 elders in heaven present our petitions to God in the form of incense, which means that there are intermediaries in heaven who hear and present our prayers to God. If the dead rich man in hell can intercede for his brothers on earth with Abraham (Luke 16:27-28), how much more can Mary in heaven intercede for us here on earth with her son Jesus! Mary said in Luke 1:46 that her soul magnifies (To magnify means to enlarge, to make clearer, and to bring into focus) the Lord (her soul is still very much alive, as are all souls ever created by God). And since no one on earth was ever closer to Jesus in body, heart, and mind (Jesus got his flesh and blood from Mary), who better to intercede for us on our behalf than Mary? Giving honor and devotion to Mary (not worship) actually magnifies the Lord. To give honor to an artist's greatest creation (Mary) honors the creator (Jesus) !

The prayer, The Hail Mary, combines the words of Gabriel and Elizabeth with a petition at the end to pray for us. “Hail, Full of Grace, the Lord is with thee” are the words of Gabriel. These words indicate that Mary was full of grace BEFORE Jesus was in her womb. And no one can be full of grace and have any room left over for sin; otherwise she wouldn’t be “full” of grace. “Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus” are the words of Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist. These words from scripture indicate that Mary is blessed more than any other woman, because Jesus is inside of her. Jesus said that you shall know a tree by its fruit, and since Jesus is the fruit of her womb and is sinless and holy, so must Mary be, since she is the tree which bore the fruit (Jesus), although she certainly is not God. The last part of the prayer is a petition to Mary to “pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death”. Paul says in 1 Timothy 2:1- “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men.” So asking for intercessory prayer is a very biblical thing to do, especially from a holy person like Mary (James 5:16).

So how can Mary hear thousands of prayers said to her daily from all over the world? Isn’t she just a human being and not God? Catholics believe we share in God’s divinity when we are in heaven. Why? Because of the words of Peter, in 2 Pet.1:3: His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence 4: by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, that through these you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of passion, and become partakers of the divine nature. We see from these verses of Peter that saints in heaven are partakers in the divine nature, which includes hearing prayers.





Saints in heaven have no power of their own. All of their power comes from Christ Jesus, who shares it with them. We know that they witness for us, because of the words of St. Paul, in Hebrews 12:1: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses…” Witnesses testify to a judge on behalf of the accused, and Paul here is saying that the saints in heaven are our witnesses. Notice that Paul didn't say that they were mere spectators; he called them WITNESSES. Asking these witnesses, especially Mary, to help us with our problems is a very good thing to do. Some people make the mistake of thinking that praying to a saint equals worshipping that saint like he/she is a god, but “to pray” simply means “to ask”, not “to worship”. And since all of their power comes from the amazing grace of Jesus Christ, it is not like conjuring up the dead and seeking hidden knowledge, which is expressly forbidden in Deuteronomy 18:10-11. After all, Jesus appeared with the very dead Moses and Elijah during the Transfiguration (Luke 9:30). Since Jesus never sinned, and conjuring up the dead as an occult practice is a sin, we see here that there is a true distinction between praying to saints for their intercession and calling up the dead to seek arcane knowledge.