Okay, let me try again. When we say Blessed Mary was conceived free of Original Sin, we mean that her soul, at the moment of its animation, was joined to her body already filled with the life of God. Thus, she did not share with us the condition of ever being in league with the devil and against God from lacking a participation in the life of grace.
Her body, however, was a body of sin and death from the same nature as Adam corrupted for all his descendants, since she was conceived and born in the normal way from normal parents.
Blessed Mary came forth able to suffer infirmities in the flesh and consigned to die, BUT, she was already filled with the Holy Ghost, and filled to such a degree that God enabled her to quell the movements of concupiscence so that she did not suffer from the disordered and self-centered desires of the flesh that lead to sin - the grace she was born with was sufficient to place the flesh in proper subservience to the spirit from her infancy, rather than only after much advanced spiritual trial, as with the Saints.
This is why I believe eastern Fathers such as St. Gregory Palamas claimed that the Virgin practiced hesychasm in her youth in the Temple - he meant that she already from that time was glorified and in intimate communion with God, and so could no longer sin - "Whosoever is born of God committeth not sin: for his seed abideth in him. And he cannot sin, because he is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil." (1 St. John 3.9-10). This is a fulfillment of the prophecy of Genesis: "I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: he shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for his heel." (Genesis 3.15). If Mary was at some point without grace, she was not at enmity with the Devil, but with God.
Lastly, the belief that the Virgin suffered no pain in childbirth stems from her privilege of perpetual virginity, not from the Immaculate Conception, or some imagined freedom from pain and suffering and death. Christ, unlike any other human, because He is God, was able to be born without disturbing His Mother with the pangs of childbirth, therefore, out of compassion to her, He did so.
The recent novelty of Mary not dying is a neo-scholastic invention of vain human reasoning with no foundation whatsoever in tradition. It is truly a shame IMHO that Pius XII contaminated the declaration on the Assumption with this.
Remember, the Orthodox do not believe in the Purgatory. We believe that we are judged by God at the moment of death and that this (particular) judgment will not be different in essence from the Final Judgment. The departed souls foretastes eternal bliss or eternal darkness.
Well, I think this is a confusion of our belief. Consignment to purgatory, so to speak, is nothing other than a declaration that a soul is saved, but still requires a completion of its spiritual perfection to clear away minor faults left undone on earth. It does not transfer a sinner from judgement to eternal life after death.
Looking over our Roman Liturgy, you are correct that the greatest beseeching for the salvation of the departed soul is in the funeral liturgy itself for us too, while in memorial masses, that vast majority of the prayers simply ask for the forgiveness of sins and faults, presuming the salvation to already be obtained, and eneding only perfection.
I think we can accept the word "foretaste" provided that it is clear that the soul actually experiences paradise (or damnation), although in a way that will be greatly heightened when it is reunited to the body. After all, Jesus promised St. Dismas "Amen I say to thee: This day thou shalt be with me in paradise." (St. Luke 23.43) And the rich man "I am tormented in this flame" (St. Luke 16.24).
The Church is "silent," as our Latin brethren say, on the issue of intercession of the saints, for there is no scriptural basis for it.
Careful!
"Then after he had encouraged them, he shewed withal the falsehood of the Gentiles, and their breach of oaths. So he armed every one of them, not with defence of shield and spear, but with very good speeches, and exhortations, and told them a dream worthy to be believed, whereby he rejoiced them all. Now the vision was in this manner. Onias, who had been high priest, a good and virtuous man, modest in his looks, gentle in his manners, and graceful in speech, and who from a child was exercised in virtues holding up his hands, prayed for all the people of the Jews: After this there appeared also another man, admirable for age, and glory, and environed with great beauty and majesty: Then Onias answering, said: This is a lover of his brethren, and of the people of Israel: this is he that prayeth much for the people, and for all the holy city, Jeremias, the prophet of God. Whereupon Jeremias stretched forth his right hand, and gave to Judas a sword of gold, saying: Take this holy sword, a gift from God, wherewith thou shalt overthrow the adversaries of my people Israel." (2 Maccabees 15.10-16)
For, if God forgives us our repented sin, they are either erased or they are not.
God forgives minor sins and faults, not mortal sins. He also accepts our completion of the canonical penance after death, should we die not having done so. It is the difference between the sins that can be forgiven by praying in the Our Father "forgive us our sins" and those sins which can only be forgiven by confession.
Thank you Hermann. Your efforts are well appreciated. What this does not explain, however, is how can we look up to her sainthood as our model and not something that she achieved with abundance of God's help that the rest of us don't have?
Consignment to purgatory, so to speak, is nothing other than a declaration that a soul is saved, but still requires a completion of its spiritual perfection
How can a soul perfect itself after death? Perfection of the soul is what we call theosis. It is a lifestyle that slowly defeats our fallen nature and converts us into the likeness of Christ through God's help (answering our prayers), through the Church's help (Sacraments and prayers), and through our own desire. And what to make of St. John Chrysostom's words that the departed is "near Him" and "without pain" if we continue to long for God after death?
this is he that prayeth much for the people, and for all the holy city, Jeremias, the prophet of God
For the living. It is one thing to ask saints to pray for us on earth, to strengthen our own prayers, but the Church says nothing of how the prayers help those who have already been judged after death -- which brings us back to the perfection of the soul issue and the enigma of just what this is, how is it accomplished, and why.
As far as I remember, there is only one sin that cannot be forgiven of a believer, and that has to do with the Holy Ghost. So, if God forgives us our sins at the moment of death, they are forgiven. God does not give us partial absolution, leaving us in torment over the rest. Remember that sin is separation from God -- when we choose and, worse, worship material things. When we are dead, the separation of the unrepentant sinner from God remains but there is nothing to attach itself to -- a sort of a "solitary confinement for ages." There is nothing to choose any more.
Since we are all to varying degrees sinners, we are all going to need 'perfection' after death -- which is achieved by God's mercy, as I understand it, and not of our own doing. If God perfects our souls out of His infinite mercy, then what is left for us and the saints to pray for, but saying praise and thanks?