Apologetics / Reflections Bible Catholic Church Catholic Faith Christian

HOLIEST OF ALL WOMEN pt2: MOTHER OF THE LORD

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By: Admin Pastor Manny

Today, we are celebrating the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. This is the date the celebrates the belief in the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This is the official definition of the Immaculate Conception according to the Church. 
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“We declare, pronounce, and define that the doctrine which holds that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin, is a doctrine revealed by God and therefore to be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful [1].”
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Because of this feast, I find it appropriate to finish the series that I started during the feast of the nativity of Mary where I discussed how Mary is the “most blessed among all women” [2]. The verse where we got the idea that she is the most blessed comes from Luke 1:42 as seen below and the challenge for us is to prove that the blessedness of Mary is related to her holiness.
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Luke 1:42
42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “BLESSED are you AMONG WOMEN, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! [emphasis added]
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This is why last October, I provided one evidence that Mary is the holiest among all women by arguing from the blessed fruit [3]. This time, I will present another reason why this is the case and it’s arguing from the fact that Mary is the mother of Jesus Christ. This is seen in verse 43 of Luke 1.
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Luke 1:43
43 And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
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This is important because Elizabeth just shows the connection between the blessedness and the motherhood of Mary. This is what Matthew Henry, a reformed theologian, said in his commentary with regards to Luke 1:39-56.
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Matthew Henry:
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“It is very good for those who have the WORK OF GRACE begun in their souls, to communicate one to another. On Mary’s arrival, Elisabeth was conscious of the approach of her who was to be the MOTHER of the great Redeemer. At the same time she was filled with the Holy Ghost, and under his influence declared that MARY and her expected child were MOST BLESSED and happy, as peculiarly honoured of and dear to the Most High God [4].” [emphasis added]
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The next question that should be answered is “how does this relate to Mary’s holiness?”. Fortunately, in the same chapter of Luke, it’s revealed by Angel Gabriel that she is going to be a mother of the Son of God.
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Luke 1:30-31
30 And the angel said to her,[a] “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.
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In another commentary by Matthew Henry, this is what he said.
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“The angel then assured her that she had found FAVOUR with God, and would become the MOTHER of a son whose name she should call Jesus, the Son of the Highest, one in a nature and perfection with the Lord God [5].”
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In Luke 1:30, Luke used the Greek word charin (or favor), and this is the same root word that Paul used in Ephesians 1:6 where he talked about being spiritually blessed and holy. Because of these connections, we can then say that the favor or the grace that Mary received for being the mother of the Lord is why Elizabeth called her blessed. Since Mary is the most blessed among women, then the conclusion that we can have is that she is the holiest of all women.
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Just like what I did in my previous articles, I will be showing the premises that we proved, and the conclusion that we have to accept if we are going to be honest with the biblical facts.
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Premise 1: Mary is the “most blessed of all women”.
Premise 2: The word “blessed” is related to her holiness and grace.
Conclusion: Mary is the “holiest of all women”.
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Let us pray,
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O God, who by the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, didst prepare a worthy dwelling place for thy Son, we beseech thee that, as by the foreseen death of this, thy Son, thou didst preserve her from all stain, so too thou wouldst permit us, purified through her intercession, to come unto thee. Through the same Lord Jesus Christ, thy Son, who lived and reigned with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen [6].
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References:

[1] https://www.ewtn.com/faith/teachings/marye1.htm
[2] https://www.facebook.com/1926549144236044/posts/2666252730265678/
[3] https://www.facebook.com/dcfvanguardsoftruth/posts/2704995276391423?__tn__=K-R
[4] https://biblehub.com/commentaries/mhc/luke/1.htm
[5] https://biblehub.com/commentaries/mhc/luke/1.htm
[6] https://www.catholic.org/prayers/prayer.php?p=112

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