How can Mary be without sin if she is human? It is human nature to sin and to not sin Mary would have to be divine or part “God”.
First, is it really human nature to sin? God created us. God gave us our human nature. We are made in God’s image (Gen 1:27). God even pronounced creation as being “very good” (Gen 1:31). God then gave His first human beings, Adam and Eve, a commandment (Gen 2:16-17). I think God expected Adam and Eve capable of following it. For Adam and Eve, it had to be possible not to sin. Yet, it was also possible to sin (which they did). That is what free will is about. God gave Adam and Eve everything they needed to be good. I don’t think God set them up for failure; that would make our God to be a mean and unjust God. The original human nature of Adam and Eve had within it the possibility of not sinning.
What then about us, poor children of Adam and Eve, what is our human nature like? Sorry, we have a fallen human nature. Sin comes with consequences, and suffer them we do, both from the original sin of Adam and Eve and from our own personal sin. For us we are inclined toward sin. It is hard for us to be good; it is easy to sin. Now, as Catholics we believe that we still bear the image of God in us, though it is shattered by sin. We believe we still can do good by God’s grace, by God’s help, even if it is hard for us. But fact is, all of us with fallen human nature have sinned.
Jesus has a human nature too. Yes, Jesus is God; He has also a divine nature. In Jesus, God takes on a human nature to save us, to do what we cannot do ourselves. Even if we went our whole lives without sinning (and we know that is not possible), we could only save our own life, not anyone else. Jesus offered a perfect life, sinless, human and divine, and in that He redeemed us all.
Which brings us finally to Mary. Can she really be sinless? Mary gave Jesus His human nature. Jesus could not have a fallen human nature, one that bears original sin and is so inclined toward sin. So Mary had to have an “unfallen” human nature to give to Jesus. That is our doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, that Mary was conceived without original sin. That is a work of God’s grace. Sin spreads and affects others, so God spared Mary of sin, to prepare the way for His Son. For Mary then, she would be in a similar position as Adam and Eve; it would be equally possible for her to sin or not sin. Mary then is like a “new Eve”, but one who is obedient and remains in God’s grace. It makes sense because Jesus is the new Adam (1 Cor 15:45). Yet, for Mary to not sin she still had to be “full of grace”; she still needed divine assistance like us. We too don’t have to be divine to not sin; we just need to be open to God’s grace. By grace, it is possible to not sin.
-Fr. Greg
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