The Immaculate Conception

Protestant might say:
Why do you Catholics believe that Mary was without sin? It cannot be found in Scripture that she was without sin. It directly contradicts Romans 3:23. 

The "all" in Romans 3:23 was translated from the Greek word pas. Like the usage of the word "all" today, it does not necessarily mean each and every person with no exceptions. 
For instance:
• In the same letter to the Romans (11:26), St. Paul says that "all Israel will be saved." 
• In Matthew 2:3 it says "all of Jerusalem" were troubled. Yet, were all of Israel going to be saved, or was each and every person in Jerusalem troubled? 

There are plenty of other examples like these found all throughout the Bible. The main point is that the word "all" had many different meanings in the Greek language, and that it does not rule out the possibility of exceptions in Romans 3:23

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The fact remains that the words "Mary was without sin" are not found in the Bible. Why do Catholics continue to believe in it?
True, the words "Mary was without sin" cannot be found in the Bible. However, one will not find the direct wording of "Mary was with sin" either. 

As shown above, Catholics believe that the Immaculate Conception has implied evidence for it within scripture. Add this to the large amount of early Church writings on the topic, and it is no wonder why Catholics continue to believe in it

Is the Immaculate Conception Biblical?
Yes, but only if you accept typology as a valid interpretation of Scriptural texts (i.e. a method used by the Apostles and Fathers to interpret Old Testament people, things, and events as types foreshadowing New Covenant realities). Below are three common arguments used by the early Church Fathers, the Popes, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church to justify Mary’s title as the Panagia or “All-Holy.” The first is straight-forward, the latter two rely on typology.

Argument #1 Mary is Full of Grace

Luke 1:28: “And he came to her and said, ‘Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!’”

The term traditionally translated “full of grace” or “highly favored” is κεχαριτωμένη or kecharitomene. This perfect passive participle form denotes something that happened in the past and continues into the present. She was perfectly graced in the past and continues in that state. Luke 1:28 has served as the locus classicus for the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady.

Argument #2 Mary as New Eve Having Enmity with Satan

Gen 3:15 “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall crush your head, and you shall strike at His heel.”

In this verse God addresses Satan. The Seed here is Christ. The Woman is His Mother, that is, Mary. Thus Satan has perfect enmity with Christ and with His Mother. The Catholic Church has interpreted this as indicating the sinlessness of Christ and Mary. If either actually committed sin, then they would not be at enmity with Satan but actually a cooperator with Satan at times.

Argument #3 Mary as Ark of the Covenant

In the Old Covenant the Ark of the Covenant contained the Word of God on stone. In the New Covenant, the Word made Flesh was also contained – and that in the womb of the Blessed Virgin. The Catholic Church has therefore understood Mary as the mystical Ark of the New Covenant. This connection is made in the book of Revelation.

Rev 11:19-12:2 Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple; and there were flashes of lightning, voices, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail. And a great portent appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; she was with child.

The Ark of the Covenant appears in Heaven and then in the next breath (and next verse) St John describes a pregnant woman appearing in Heaven. This Woman “contains” the Messiah.
The thinking goes that if Mary is the fulfillment of the Ark of the Covenant, then she must be “all holy”. Remember that in the Old Covenant a man was killed for touching the ark. It was holy. If the box that held stone tablets was so restricted – so also would be the woman who actually carried God Himself. And so she is all pure and all holy, without the stain of sin.


More info @ Catholic Apologetics Notebook

The Catechism of the Catholic Church beautifully states the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, that is, that Mary was herself conceived without original sin:

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. That is what the dogma of the Immaculate Conception confesses, as Pope Pius IX proclaimed in 1854:

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.
492 The “splendor of an entirely unique holiness” by which Mary is “enriched from the first instant of her conception” comes wholly from Christ: she is “redeemed, in a more exalted fashion, by reason of the merits of her Son”. The Father blessed Mary more than any other created person “in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” and chose her “in Christ before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless before him in love”. 

It is important to focus on the fact that Mary was redeemed and that she was “redeemed in a more exalted fashion, by reason of the merits of her Son.” 

Rather than being redeemed later in life she was redeemed at the moment in which she was conceived. There is one primary reason for why Christ would save His mother in this way: Christ perfectly fulfilled the Law and thereby fulfilled the commandment “Thou shalt honor thy father and thy mother.” We know that Christ perfectly honored His Father. He also perfectly honored His Mother. The most honorable thing He could do for His mother was to redeem her “in a more exalted fashion” as the Holy Father taught.

Source: http://taylormarshall.com/2013/12/3-easy-arguments-for-the-immaculate-conception-of-mary.html

The Visitation (Edward Sri)

Our CIA boys have been studying the typology of Mary in the Old Testament. 
• We started our study with a close inspection of our much loved Hail Mary Prayer. 
• We read the the source of the prayer, which is Scripture, specifically Luke1:28, and 41-43. 
• We then entered into the deeper vocabulary waters of typology, foreshadowing, and pre-figuration. Our study of the three "types" of Mary in the OT has been approached with gusto and attentiveness. 
• Mary as the new Eve
• Mary as the Ark of the New Covenant
• The Queenship of Mary
 


The following notes are not proofed yet:
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 Mary went in haste to serve Elizabeth - what a great model for us!

The way Elizabeth greets Mary is utterly remarkable!
She bestows titles upon Mary that have not been used for centuries in the Jewish tradition.

One title is: Blessed Art thou Among Women! 
There are only three women in all of Scripture who are called, "blessed among women."
Jael and Judith, who both cut off the heads of their enemies. And, Mary.
What does Mary have to do with these warrior Old Testament women?
These OT women cut off the head of their pagan enemy!

Harkens back to the first prophecy of the Bible, Genesis 3:15 (the Protoevangelium!)

The OT women were preliminary fulfillments of this prophesy.
Mary is the New Eve. The Ultimate Fulfillment of Genesis 3:15  is . . . The Blessed Virgin Mary! Because it is her son, Jesus Christ, who will defeat the devil.

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Another title is: The Mother of my Lord
This shows us the Queenship of Mary.
Elizabeth refers to Mary as the Mother of My Lord.  Luke 1:43
God is "my Lord." 
"My Lord" is mother of the King, Mother of the Messiah; Mother of the Great Sons of David
 
Mary is being associated with that role of the Queen Mother because she is the mother of the new Davidic King, Jesus Christ. --- "The Mother of My Lord."


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Another title is: The Ark of the Covenant which is great image in the Visitation scene.
This scene of The Visitation draws out those connection between the Ark of the Covenant of the Old Testament and Mary.

The Ark of the Covenant goes on a journey and stays in the house of Obed-edom for 3 months bringing great blessings upon that household.   
Mary goes on a journey. Mary journeys to the house of Zechariah for three month bringing great blessings upon that household.

David feels unworthy and says, "How can the Ark come unto me?"  
Elizabeth say, "How is it that the Mother of My Lord comes to me?"

Davis dances (leaping) before presence of the Ark of the Covenant.  2 Samuel 6
John the Baptist leaps in his mother Elizabet's  womb! Luke 1: 28

All of these things prophetically foreshadow Mary and the great journey she makes!


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Elizabeth EXCLAIMS -- Luke chose this particular (Greek) word. It is used in the Septuagint (The Old Testament Greek translation) only 6X and each time it is used to describe the Ark of the Covenant  and -- people praising God before the Ark of the Covenant.
 
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The Prayer of the Magnificat important!
Mary responds to Elizabeth by directing it all to God. 
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source: http://www.spreecast.com/events/the-visitation-of-mary?referring_sid=146a7e615822b17ee3e:web.tab 

At the 45 minute mark, Dr. Sri has a WONDERFUL answer for those who ask us why we "worship" Mary. It is truly beautiful. 

3 Important Examples of Marian Typology

St. Augustine said that "the New Testament lies hidden in the Old and the Old is fulfilled in the New."

3 Important Terms to Understand: 
Typology  (detailed definition here)
Pre-figuration
Foreshadowing 

Today we are studying the typology of Mary in the Old Testament so that we can defend our Blessed Mother. And, of course the typology, pre-figuration and foreshadowing of Christ is always right next to Mary.

Gotta love the way the Holy Spirit works! More young men have joined us. . . .Nick, Roman, and Jaden.

3 Important Examples of Marian Typology to Remember:

1) Mary is the New Eve    
• and Jesus as the new Adam  -- Romans 5:14
• Genesis 3:15 protoevangelium 

2) Mary is the New Ark of the Covenant    
•    Both (the Ark and Mary) were places of very important and sacred creations (the Covenant and Jesus).

The Ark contained  • the  Ten Commandments (the words of God in stone), •  a pot of manna, and •  Aaron's rod that came back to life [Deuteronomy 10:3-5; Hebrews 9:4].

The womb of the Virgin contained Jesus: •  the living Word of God enfleshed, • the living bread from heaven, •  "the Branch" (Messianic title) who would die but come back to life [Luke 1:35].

 

•   The story of Uzzah and the Ark of the Covenant is found in 2 Samuel 6:1-7 and 1 Chronicles 13:9-12. As the ark was being transported, the oxen pulling the cart stumbled, and a Levite named Uzzah took hold of the ark. God's anger burned against Uzzah and He struck him down and he died

•   The Virgin Mary is the living shrine of the Word of God, the Ark of

the New and Eternal Covenant. In fact, St. Luke’s account of the Annunciation of the angel to Mary nicely incorporates the images of the tent of meeting with God in Sinai and of the temple of Zion. Just as the cloud covered the people of God marching in the desert (cf. Nm 10:34; Dt 33:12; Ps 91:4) and just as the same cloud, as a sign of the divine mystery present in the midst of Israel, hovered over the Ark of the Covenant (cf. Ex 40:35), so now the shadow of the Most High envelops and penetrates the tabernacle of the New Covenant that is the womb of Mary (cf. Lk 1:35).

SOURCE: Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, The Shrine: Memory, Presence and Prophecy of the Living God

3) Mary's Queenship is pre-figured in the Old Testament.
We will review and add this wonderful Queenship information at our next meeting

The Cookie Questions: 

QUESTION 1:  
What is the protoevangelium?  You must also be able to spell it correctly.
ANSWER:
It is the first prophesy in the Bible and it is a prophesy about Mary and Jesus.
QUESTION 2:
Where is it in the Bible?
ANSWER:
Gen 3:15

LAGNIAPPE:
Can you memorize it? Memorizing would be cupcake-worthy! I have included the DR and the NAB quotes - your choice.

Douay-Rheims:  God is speaking to the serpent/snake . . . .
I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel.

NAB:  God is speaking to the serpent/snake . . . .
I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; They will strike at your head, while you strike at their heel.



In summary, Genesis 3:15 has a prophetic nature to it, for there is a promise in the future of redemption, that someone will crush the head of the serpent. God's judgement upon the serpent contains a promise of ultimate victory through the woman by her offspring. This concept will be developed in a spiritual sense throughout Scripture and the Fathers of the Church.  source: http://biblescripture.net/First.html
If you want to read more, more, more  about the protoevangelium  . . . . try these sites:http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/audiences/alpha/data/aud19861217en.html

http://www.amsterdamapparitions.com/the-woman-and-the-serpent-genesis-315/

TOPIC: Sola Scriptura & Sola Fide

We are still working on these topics . . . . This post is a work in progress

How to Answer the Sola Scriptura & Sola Fide Challenge

aka:  "The Bible Only & Only Faith is Needed"

TOPIC: Sola Scriptura

OrbisCatholicusSecundus

Q: What is Sola Scripitura? 

In the Protestant view, the whole of Christian truth is found within the Bible’s pages. 

Q for a Protestant friend:  Where is that in the Bible?    

A:  It isn't 

Q: Do Catholics believe that the Bible is the only rule of faith?
A: No.

Catholics recognize that the Bible does not endorse this view and that, in fact, it is repudiated in Scripture.
The true "rule of faith"—as expressed in the Bible itself—is Scripture plus Apostolic Tradition.

Apostolic Tradition is manifested in the living teaching authority of the Catholic Church, to which were entrusted the oral teachings of Jesus and the apostles, along with the authority to interpret Scripture correctly.

#1) Protestants will usually go to 2 Timothy 3:16-17

¹⁶ All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
¹⁷ so that the servant of God^[a] may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

 Response to a Protestant friend:  Yes, Catholics agree with 2 Timothy 3:16-17, but where in the Bible does it tell us to use only the Bible? 
A:  It doesn't

DIG DEEPER: Go to the Scriptures to learn that Apostolic Tradition is also needed:  

2 Thessalonians 2:15: *

¹⁵ Therefore, brothers, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught, either by an oral statement or by a letter of ours.

1 Corinthians 11


See also: 2 Thess 3:6

⁶ We instruct you, brothers, in the name of [our] Lord Jesus Christ, to shun any brother who conducts himself in a disorderly way and not according to the tradition they received from us.

MEMORIZE THIS: 

Obeying St Paul, the Church bases its doctrines on Sacred Scripture and Apostolic Tradition. (Tradition with a "Capital T")

Human tradition is condemned in the Bible. Apostolic Tradition is necessary and prescribed.

Read Newman’s argument @

http://www.catholic.com/tracts/scripture-and-tradition

see also: 1 Corinthians 11:2 

TOPIC: Sola Fide

#1) Protestants will often go to Romans 5:1 which is a wonderful verse but insufficient, in and of itself, to be a scriptural proof for faith "only."

#2) Protestants will also refer to John 20:31 as a proof text for Sola Fide.

      (Upon closer inspection, it actually refutes both Sola Scriptura AND Sola Fide)

"These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name"

First, the verse from John refers to the things written in that book. Read it with John 20:30 (the verse immediately before it) to see the context of the statement in question. If this verse proved anything, it would not prove the theory of sola scriptura but that the Gospel of John is sufficient.
 
Second, the verse from John’s Gospel tells us only that the Bible was composed so we can be helped to believe Jesus is the Messiah. It does not say the Bible is  a) all we need for salvation, much less that 
b) the Bible is all we need for theology; 
c) nor does it say the Bible is even necessary to believe in Christ. 

After all, the earliest Christians had no New Testament to which they could appeal; they learned from oral, rather than written, instruction. Until relatively recent times, the Bible was inaccessible to most people, either because they could not read or because the printing press had not been invented. All these people learned from oral instruction, passed down, generation to generation, by the Church.

In order to explain and defend Catholic teaching go to:

James 2:14-26 

 • James 2:17  See how Faith without works is dead

 • James 2:19  Even the devil "believes" but his faith is obviously dead

 • James 2:24  "See how a person is justified by works and not by faith alone." 

Roman 3:28  (Martin Luther added a word)

1 Corinthians 13:2 (Faith without love is nothing)

SCOTT HAHN: 

"Sola Fide. That's a Latin phrase which means Faith Alone or By Faith Alone. It's actually the phrase that Martin Luther used to launch the Protestant Reformation. He said that we are justified, we are made right with God by faith alone, not by any works that we might do. And for him, that was the article on which the church stands or falls, as he put it."

~Conversion Story

" I came to the conclusion that sola fide is wrong. 

First, because the Bible never says it anywhere. 

Second, because Luther inserted the word "alone" in his German translation, there in Romans 3, although he knew perfectly well that the word "alone" was not in the Greek. 

Nowhere did the Holy Spirit ever inspire the writers of Scripture to say we're saved by faith alone. Paul teaches we're saved by faith, but in Galatians he says we're saved by faith working in love."

~The Fourth Cup



sources:
http://www.catholic.com/tracts/scripture-and-tradition
http://orbiscatholicussecundus.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-protestant-heresy.html
http://backoftheworld.com/2013/05/28/i-dont-believe-in-sola-fide-and-neither-do-you/

TOPIC: "HAIL MARY" DAY 1

Why do Catholics worship Mary?
We don't.  We merely honor her. Jesus honored his mother, and so do we.

 

Well, then . . . what is all that Hail Mary stuff?
It is a wonderful prayer that all comes from Scripture

How the Hail Mary Prayer Came to Be  -- 4 Point Reminders

A) Luke 1:28  Hail Mary, Full of grace. The Lord is with thee

B) Luke 1:41, 42  Blessed art thou amongst women & blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

C) Luke 1:43  Holy Mary, Mother of God. Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen

D) John 20:28  God = The Lord

The Hail Mary prayer derives from two verses in Saint Luke's Gospel: "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee" 

and 

"Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb." 

The last part that we pray, 
"Holy Mary Mother of God pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death," is not in Scripture. Although it is not a quote from Scripture, this is an ending that makes sense in this prayer.
• Remember that Elizabeth says, "How is it that the Mother of my Lord should come to me?" 
•  John (20:28) clearly states that God = Lord.
• Thus Elizabeth acknowledges that Mary is the mother of God . . . and we are simply asking her to pray for us.

Who added this last sentence to the prayer?
This is an interesting Catholic side question.
 
The Dominicans and Jesuits have to fight this one out. 

Girolamo Savonarola

On the Dominican side, Girolamo Savonarola that ascetic Florentine Dominican priest who was burned at the stake is sometimes credited as including the words, "Holy Mary Mother of God pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death."

On the other side, the Jesuits claim that the last part of the Hail Mary was officially added by Saint Peter Canisius, a Doctor of the Church.

Regardless of where and when this last sentence came from, it was officially made a part of the "Hail Mary" in 1566 when it was printed in the form we have it today in the Roman Catechism of the Council of Trent.

If you benefited from this post, please say a Hail Mary for me!
Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for the CIA!


Taylor Marshall SOURCE: http://cantuar.blogspot.com/2011/02/how-hail-mary-prayer-came-to-be.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+taylormarshall+%28Canterbury+Tales+by+Taylor+Marshall%29

The Side Effects of Dating (YouTube)