Postscripts From The Catholic Spitfire Grill

In Luke chapter 1 in the accounts of what Catholics call The Annuciation and the Visitation, Mary is greeted by the the Angel Gabriel as FULL of Grace. (Luke 1:28) Some translations render this “Hail favored one” or “Highly favored one” Notice that Gabriel does not call her by name but by a title….a title which Catholics believe capture the nature of God’s gift to her. This is the only place in scripture where an angel addresses a human by anything other than that person’s name. The Greek verb used here (and I am not a Greek scholar so I must trust others to tell this to me) carries with it the meaning that Mary has already been graced and is now “fully graced” but the angel cannot be referring to her forthcoming pregnancy (and thus, the presence of Jesus in her womb) because she has not yet consented to it. Even so, she is told “The Lord is WITH you”…present tense. And as I understand it, the Greek verb forms here differ slightly from those used to describe Stephan in Acts 6 in that it is a stronger assertion. So the angel’s greeting implies that was not only filled with Grace in the past but is also in the present moment filled with Grace. All BEFORE being granted the privilege of carrying Jesus in her womb. I believe that Gabriel greeted her as such because He, like me, was is awe of God’s amazing work in her life.

The contrast between the Annunciation in Luke 1 and the account of the birth of John in that same chapter is significant and part of the scriptural reason that Catholics believe that Mary retained her virginity throughout her life. The placement of these two accounts in Luke’s gospel indicates that he intended to to highlight the differences between the two angelic announcements. Notice that Mary responds not with disbelief at the angel’s statement but wonder “How this be, since I have no relations with man?” she does not say, I have not had relations with a man YET. Catholics believe that Mary was a Temple virgin and that her response to the angel Gabriel is indicative her her wonderment because even though she is betrothed she is a vowed virgin. Unless she is ignorant of the birds and the bees, her question makes no sense unless she never intends to consummate her forthcoming marriage. The angel answers her to reassure her that she is not to break her vow of virginity, that her child is to be miraculously conceived. And in fact the Dead Seas Scrolls show that this practice was far more common than previously believed.

And Zechariah says “How shall I know?” which expresses his disbelief (for which he is struck dumb).

Other passages that support the Perpetual Virginity of Mary:

Additionally, the fact that Jesus committed Mary to the care of John (John 19:26) is indicative that there were no brothers to care for her. It would have been illegal for Jesus to do this and for John to accept since by LAW Mary would have been cared for by any other children.

That Mary was perpetually Virgin is a long-standing (and not in the last 500 years sort of Tradition). Of course these are not scriptural references but I only provde them to show that defining a doctrine that has been around for about 2000 years does not make it new. Even the doctrine of the Trinity (which most but not all Protestants accept) was not defined until later in church history. I provide them to demonstrate my earlier assertion that Tradition (with a capital T) always comes from scripture and is supported by the understanding of those who have come before us.:

From the early church father regarding the Immaculate Conception:

Mary is believed to be in heaven (Assumption) because she plays a prominent role in the vision John had of heaven in Revelation 11:19-12:1. Catholics believe that she is the woman clothed in the sun because she is the Ark of the New Covenant [parallels to the OT Ark which contained the rod of Aaron (sign of priesthood); the stone tablets on which God himself wrote the commandments (the word of God); and manna (bread from heaven)....all of these are fulfilled in Mary who bore the Bread of Heaven, the Word made Flesh, and the Eternal High Priest]

I don’t have much time and don’t want to dig through this thread to find the most appropriate place to put this but I haven’t seen this mentioned so far and I’d like to just throw it into the mix. I know that even though as a evangelical-type Protestant I was very familiar with scripture that I completely missed things because the “authority” I listened to had very thoroughly inculcated a bias into me that prevented me seeing what might have otherwise been very plain indeed.

I have already briefly mentioned that in Luke 1:28 when the angel Gabriel greets Mary he uses a title instead of her name and that this is the only place in Sacred Scripture where an angel uses a title rather than a name for one of God’s creatures. “Fully-Graced One” as I have sometimes seen it rendered and that this title conveys a sense that she is not only now fully-graced but has always been and that this title cannot refer to her status as the Mother of God because she had not yet given her consent. It is from this passage that the scriptural basis for the Immaculate Conception is drawn.

Now let’s go to another passage of Sacred Scripture that I used to skip right over as interesting and primarily historical but with meditation and a loss of the previously mentioned inculcated bias….starts to look much, MUCH more interesting Luke 1:41-56…The Visitation.

Please note that in verse 42 we are told that the things Elizabeth says and does here are done while she is filled with the Holy Spirit. It was the sound of Mary’s greeting that caused the baby John to leap in the womb of Elizabeth and not just the presence of Jesus. Elizabeth is HONORED by the visit of the Mother of her Savior….not just the fact that Mary brought Jesus to her. Remember Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit here so we cannot just chalk up what she says to cultural greetings. Elizabeth could have said “Who am I that you should have brought my Savior to me?” No…it is that the Mother of her Savior visits and not just the presence of the Savior. Next she says that Mary is blessed among women and so is her baby and she uses the very same word to describe both (remember she is FILLED with the Holy Spirit….we cannot easily turn away from her choice of words here). What an amazing parallel! Do I think that she is saying that Mary is divine….NO!!!….but do I think that she is honoring and venerating Mary because of who she is? YES!! Elizabeth clearly honors Mary here independent from the honor she gives Jesus in this encounter.