Notwithstanding Francis' Heretcial Statement-Mary IS Exempt From Every Fault and Sin.

[Dawn Marie]

The Mother of the Savior

Fr. Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, O. P.



The Divine Maternity and the Plenitude of Grace, Article III

Mary Exempt from Every Fault and Every Sin

The Council of Trent [1] has defined that 'after a justification a man cannot avoid, during the whole course of his life, every venial sin, without a special privilege such as the Church recognizes was conferred on the Blessed Virgin'. The soul in the state of grace can therefore avoid any venial sin considered separately, but cannot avoid all venial sins taken together by keeping itself always free from them. Mary however avoided all sin, even the least grave. St. Augustine affirms that 'for the honor of her Son Who came to remit the sins of the world, Mary is never included when there is question of sin'. [2] The Fathers and theologians consider, to judge from their manner of speaking, that she is free even from every voluntary imperfection, for, according to them, she never failed in promptness to obey a Divine inspiration given by way of counsel. Though a minor lack of generosity is not a venial sin, but simply a lesser good, or an imperfection, not even so slight a shortcoming was found in Mary. She never elicited an imperfect (remissus) act of charity, that is to say, one that fell short in intensity of the degree in which she possessed the virtue.

St. Thomas gives the reason for this special privilege when he says: 'God prepares and disposes those whom He has chosen for a special purpose in such a way as to make them capable of performing that for which He selected them.' [3] In that God differs from men, who sometimes choose incapable or mediocre candidates for important posts. 'Thus', continues St. Thomas, 'St. Paul says of the Apostles (2 Cor. iii, 6), "It is God Who has made us fit ministers of the New Testament, not in the letter, but in the spirit." But the Blessed Virgin was Divinely chosen to be the Mother of God (that is to say, she was predestined from all eternity for the Divine maternity). Hence, it cannot be doubted that God fitted her by grace for her mission, according to the words spoken her by the Angel (Luke i, 30): "Thou hast found grace with God. Thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name Jesus." But Mary would not have been a worthy Mother of God had she ever sinned, for the honor and dishonor of parents is reflected on the children according to the words of the Book of Proverbs: "The glory of children are their fathers."

Besides, Mary had a special affinity to Jesus, from Whom she took flesh, but "what concord hath christ with Belial?" (2 Cor. vi, 15). Finally, the Son of God, Who is Divine Wisdom, inhabited Mary in a very special manner, not in her soul only but in her womb also; and it is said (Wisdom i, 4): "Wisdom will not enter into a malicious soul, nor dwell in a body subject to sins." Hence it must be said without any reservation that the Blessed Virgin committed no sin, mortal or venial, so that the words of the Canticle of Canticles are fully verified in her regard (Cant. iv, 7): "Thou art all fair, my love, and there is not a spot in thee".'

Mary had therefore impeccantia (the term is parallel to inerrantia) or freedom from sin, and even impeccability. Her title to these endowments is not however the same as her Son's. In her case it was a matter of preservation from every sin through a special privilege. [4] This privilege includes first of all a very high degree of habitual grace and charity, which gives the soul a strong inclination to the act of love of God and withdraws it from sin. It includes also confirmation in grace, which when granted to a Saint is had normally through an increase of charity, especially that proper to the state of transforming union, and an increase of actual efficacious graces which preserve the soul de facto from sin and move it to ever more meritorious acts. Thus Mary enjoyed a special assistance of Divine Providence. This assistance-----more effective than even that which belonged to the state of innocence-----preserved all her faculties from faults, and kept her soul in a state of the most complete generosity. Just as confirmation in grace is an effect of the predestination of the Saints, so this preservative assistance granted to Mary was an effect of her peculiar predestination. Far from diminishing her liberty or free will, the effect of this preservation from sin was to confer on her full liberty in the order of moral goodness, with no inclination to evil (just as her mind never tended to error). Hence her liberty, following the example of that of Jesus, was a faithful and most pure image of God's liberty, which is at once sovereign and incapable of sin.