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Question: How can Catholics claim that Mary was free from sin from the moment of her conception? This is not stated in the Bible, neither is the doctrine of Mary's assumption into heaven stated in the Bible. Answer: Well, once again this question presupposes a statement. It presupposes that any doctrine that Christians believe in must be found in the Bible. Now, such a statement cannot be proved. It is an assumption that is unprovable and unproved. Now, there are certain things which cannot be in the Bible, and which I hope we accept nevertheless. The most obvious thing is the Canon of Scripture, the Canon of the New Testament; that is, what books exactly constitute the New Testament. There was a time, for instance, in the second century, when people believed that the first letter of Clement, the Shepherd of Hermas and the letter of Barnabas were part of the New Testament. So, it is only the church who can decide what belongs to the New Testament, and this decision was finally made about the year 400 of our era. So, as I say, everything does not have to be in the Bible and the fact that the Assumption of Mary and her Immaculate Conception are not explicitly found does not constitute a valid argument against its truth. On the other hand however, we can say that the roots of these two doctrine, namely, the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, are found in the New Testament. And I would look for the roots in Mary herself. She sums up the church in her whole self. The angel told Mary that nothing is impossible with God. The same thing was said to the matriarch, Sarah, in chapter 18 of Genesis, that nothing is impossible with God. So, what Sarah was in the Old Testament, Mary is in the New. Mary also says in the Magnificat, "My soul glorifies the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour." The second phrase is taken from the Prophet Habakkuk who was talking in the name of all Israel. You will get it at the end of chapter 3 of Habakkuk, "My spirit rejoices in God my Saviour." That is the collective chant of all Israel in Habakkuk, and Mary makes these words her own in the Magnificat. If you read the Magnificat carefully, you will see that Mary seems to think that the whole of salvation history in the Old Testament is focused on and concentrated in herself. So, Mary then is the Church in prototype; she is the Church in its perfection. Now, what we all hope for in salvation is ultimately to be free from sin and to be free from death. And these two grave freedoms from sin and from death are already anticipated in the Blessed Virgin Mary, because she is the new Israel herself. She is, as it were, the new creation; she is the church in its perfection. Hence our belief that Mary was assumed into heaven. She is fully saved, the only creature we know of who is fully saved. So, she has experienced Jesus' own Resurrection in her own Assumption and she is also free from sin. So, I think that we can, if we look, find the roots of the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception and of the Assumption of our Blessed Lady in the New Testament because primarily, Mary is the church in its perfection; Mary is the people of God in its perfection. (Source: "Questions People often Ask", a booklet dealing with some questions people often ask about our Catholic faith. The answers are provided by Fr. Sean Kelleher C.Ss.R., a well known biblical scholar and writer, based on the questions put by Fr. Paul Pang C.Ss.R.) | Back to Main Page | |