Mary is considered "full of grace" because her sins were forgiven...just as the sins of all who accept Christ as Savior. It makes no sense to say she is "full of grace" if she didn't need grace!! I don't understand why anyone would think differently. :clueless:
Christ was born without original sin because that sin passes through the father, from Adam on down. Christ's father was not a child of Adam, so He was born without...and never sinned in life, so He was the One pure enough to pay for all sin.
It is the common belief in Protestantism that babies, while born with "original sin" - or the sinful nature of all humans, are not responsible for their sins until they are old enough to comprehend right and wrong. Until you know what sin IS, you can't be held accountable for sinning. Once a human attains an age of understanding sin, and knowing he or she can choose the Light or the Darkness, he or she is at that time responsible for choosing the Light. Thankfully, our Light is patient and merciful, and will wait until the human in question actually "gets it!!"
Little did I know when I awoke this lovely Sunday morning that you Mrs. Smith would get me to go and get the Bible and reread the story of Mary and Joseph.
Now I am all confused. according to Luke, Mary and John the Baptist were first cousins.
Matthew gives not Marys line of family but Josephs and I find that odd. The Jews trace their ancestry back on the mothers side not the stepfathers.
I need to go slow here, try to visualise the people mentioned and the times they lived in.
I am not sure why Elisabeth, Marys Aunt became pregnant at an advanced age, but Mary when told she would become pregnant as a virgin was told to visit her Aunt to see for herself that God can work miracles. It was said that when Mary approached her Aunt the baby leaped in her womb.
It would be very interesting to have been there at that time and listened to Mary and her Aunts conversation about what was happening to them and who, what, why how and when.? Why these two woman, an Aunt and a Niece, were both chosen by God to bare children when both births were considered impossible.
I am looking at this as a TRUE story, trying to put myself in the place of a family member watching and gossiping about family going on's. You know sitting about the town well and having neighbors ask me about Elisabeth's pregnancy at her age and her husband at his age trying to explain hie wife's pregnancy to the good old boys in town.
BTW who were Marys parents.?? Since the family of Joseph was of the royal line and his new wife's Aunt was married to a prominent man, it seems like none of the family's on both sides were poverty stricken.
Poor Joseph, all these inexplicable happenings in his wife's family, it is no wonder the Church made him a SAINT.