Why does the Catholic Church have a devotion to Mary?
Mary is the Immaculate Conception:
Mary was not born with original sin. Consequently, her Son, who had no human father, could not inherit original sin.
Jesus was also immaculately conceived but his conception is a little easier on most people of other religions.
Immaculate means: without stain
When discussing the Immaculate Conception, an implicit reference may be found in the angel’s greeting to Mary. The angel Gabriel said, "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you" (Luke 1:28). The phrase "full of grace" is a translation of the Greek word kecharitomene. It therefore expresses a characteristic quality of Mary (taken from www.catholic.com)
CCC 491 Through the centuries the Church has become ever more aware that Mary, "full of grace" through God was redeemed from the moment of her conception.
Pope Pius IX Ineffeabilis Deus in 1854 said: The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin.
Fundamentalist Objections:
Romans 3:23 "all have sinned"- The author of this article from http://www.catholic.com/ says that this statement obviously excludes Jesus and a later Scripture reference Romans 9:11 stating that when Jacob and Esau were unborn babies they had done neither good nor bad. So unborn babies are excluding from Romans 3:23 as well.
This would indicate that the New Adam, Jesus, is excluded from this verse. And consequently the New Eve, Mary could also be excluded from this verse.
So if Mary is without Sin is she equal to God?
No, and we only have to look at Adam, Eve and all the angels to know that although they were without sin they were not equal to God. Being sinless does not equate being a human being. More so it is when we strive to be sinless that we are fulfilling what God desires of us. www.catholic.com
Two fantastic books to read if you want to learn more about Mary: Introduction to Mary or Meet Mary: Getting to Know the Mother of God by Dr. Mark Miravelle. Dr. Miravalle is a Mariologist.
*************************************************************************************
It is of importance to note that Catholics believe in Scripture and Tradition regarding our faith. This means that we are not 'sola scriptura'. Our belief in the Immaculate Conception has evolved through Scripture references and Sacred Tradition. Vatican II issued the following statement about the Bible:
The Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation:
"Since everything asserted by the inspired authors or sacred writers must be held to be asserted by the Holy Spirit, it follows that the books of Scripture must be acknowledged as teaching firmly, faithfully, and without error that truth which God wanted put into the sacred writings for the sake of our salvation".
We acknowledge that the apostles were directed to preach the Gospel and to communicate the gifts of God to all men (CCC 75).
The apostolic preaching was handed down:
- orally: by the apostles who handed on, by the spoken word of their preaching, by the example they gave, by the institutions they established, what they themselves have received- whether from the lips of Christ, from his way of life and his works, or whether they had learned it at the prompting of the Holy Spirit.
-writing: by those apostles and other men who associated with the apostles who, under the inspiration of the same Holy Spirit, committed the message of salvation in writing. (CCC 76)
Of course this subject is a huge post in itself but I thought I would provide some background.
