[hopefulpilgrim]

[Luke 1:28] That is what I said in Post 1651, "Mary is the subject acted upon by grace". It seems we are in agreement on this point. If I caused you confusion as to what I was saying, then I apologize.

Naw, your last sentence in 1651 threw me off: "She is the subject of the verb, not the Angel." She's the object of favor, or grace. At any rate, yes, we agree (?) that there was nothing in Mary which made her deserving of this privilege; the privilege of bearing the Son of God was a gift from God. Correct?

[IMRight]

(T)here was nothing in Mary which made her deserving of this privilege; the privilege of bearing the Son of God was a gift from God. Correct?

I can't speak for dignan3, but I agree with you completely. Just as the privilege of "bearing the Son of God" is also God's gift to you. She just got to do it in a completely unique way.

Many Protestants seem to think that the Catholic position is that Mary had somehow "earned" Christ by being the best person (works righteousness), or that we believe that she could have gotten to Heaven on her own (again because she was such a "good" person. Neither of the above is true (quasi-Catholic voodoo types in Brazil notwithstanding).