Mary was without even a venial sin, Mary: Day 181

Mary was without even a venial sin

In order to make Mary a mother worthy of her Son, St. Alphonsus observes, God preserved her even from venial sins.

Given that Mary was worthy to be the Mother of God, “what excellency and what perfection was there that was not fitting for her?” asks St. Thomas of Villanova. St. Thomas Aquinas, the “Angelic Doctor” of the Church, writes: “When God chooses anyone for a particular dignity, he renders him fit for it. So God, having chosen Mary for his mother, also by his grace rendered her worthy of this highest of all dignities. The Blessed Virgin was divinely chosen to be the Mother of God, so we cannot doubt that God had fitted her by his grace for this dignity. In fact, we are assured of it by the angel: ‘For you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a Son.’ ”

From this truth, the saint argues that “the Blessed Virgin never committed any actual sin, not even a venial one. Otherwise, she would not have been a mother worthy of Jesus Christ. For the disgrace of the mother would also have been the disgrace of the Son, for he would have had a sinner for his mother.”

A venial sin doesn’t deprive a soul of God’s grace. So if Mary, on account of a single venial sin, wouldn’t have been a mother worthy of God, how much more unworthy would she have been, had she contracted the guilt of original sin, which would have made her an enemy of God and a slave of the Devil? —St. Alphonsus Liguori, The Glories of Mary

IN GOD’S PRESENCE, CONSIDER . . .
If Mary was preserved from even venial sins, does that mean she can’t sym- pathize with us in our struggles against sin? Or does it mean that she can help us more perfectly, because her love for us and her wisdom about what we need is perfect?

CLOSING PRAYER
From the Liturgy of St. Basil: To you, O woman full of grace, the angelic choirs and the human race, all creation rejoices! O sanctified temple, mystical paradise, and glory of virgins!

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