If Mary was born without sin and sinless throughout her whole life, why is she being referred to as redeemed? The following quote will explain, “Some influential Catholic Christians expressed reservations about this doctrine, because it appeared to imply that Mary did not need Christ as her Savior. The church seemed to be caught in a dilemma: it did not seem correct that the mother of God was stained by sin, but it was necessary to believe that Mary had been redeemed from sin by Jesus Christ like everyone else.
Even such a great figure as St. Thomas Aquinas could not fully accept the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception for this reason. Fr. Raymond Brown, S.S., explains…Duns Scotus was able to win the day because of his insight that the Immaculate Conception came through God’s application of the grace of Christ beforehand…she was the first Christian…the Lord applied the grace of Jesus’ salvation to Mary in advance to prepare her for her special role in his plan.”10
She was not saved from sin, she did not sin and so she needs no savior, how could she need to be saved from sin she never committed How could she be redeemed before she was in need of redemption.
With regards to Catholic dogmas we often see, as we do here, that the dogmas are not justified by Scripture or history, but rather by lawyer like tactics of semantic, technicalities and loopholes. For example the Church realize that their devotees have been accepting a very questionable belief and so when it comes time for the church to make this belief an official teaching they come up with a loophole. Can you imagine such a scene, the elite of the Church stating, “Good job Duns Scotus, your brilliant technical loophole will go down in history as an inspired revelation from God! As well as the cause of damnation to hell for those who do not come to Church on the feast day (and are not forgiven for that mortal sin)!” Please note that John Scotus Duns was a “FRANCISCAN philosopher and theologian who attempted to create a new synthesis of Christian belief with Greek and Arab philosophy.”11
Supposedly, Mary is not a saved sinner; she was saved from having ever sinned. Mary was saved from sin before she ever sinning, it was impossible for her to sin because she was born without a sin nature (original sin). Then she was not saved from sin, she did not sin and so she needs no savior, how could she need to be saved from sin she never committed? How could she be redeemed before she was in need of redemption?
Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. writes, “After the Fathers and up to the early Middle Ages we find explicit references to Mary’s freedom from sin from the moment of her life. Paschasius Radbertus (ninth century), for example, wrote that she was exempt from sin since the beginning of her existence. As early as the late half of the seventh century, a feast of the Immaculate Conception was celebrated annually in the East under the title ‘Conception of St. Anne.’ St. Andrew Crete (d. A.D. 720) composed a hymn with the inscription: ‘The Ninth Day of December, Conception of the Grandmother of God, St. Anne.’”12 Mary is thought to have died in 48 AD13 consider just how long after her death these teachings came to be. For more on this, see our article A Review of Marian Dogma and Apparition Chronology. Just because a belief is old, it does not make it true.
Pope Leo I wrote, “Alone therefore among the sons of men the Lord Jesus was born innocent, because alone conceived without pollution of carnal concupiscence.”14
Catholic Theologian Ludwig Ott wrote, “Neither the Greek nor the Latin Fathers explicitly teach the Immaculate Conception of Mary….individual Greek Fathers (e.g., Origen, Basil, John Chrysostom, Cyril of Alexandria) taught that Mary suffered from venial personal faults, such as ambition and vanity.”15
WRT the verse in Genesis and "who" would bruise the head of the devil, the site http://www.truefreethinker.com/articles/roman-catholic-maryology-mary-roman-catholicism-part-9-will-she-%E2%80%9Ccrush-your-head%E2%80%9D says:
“Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil” (Hebrews 2:14).
“Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: ‘Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death’” (Revelation 12:10-11).
Justin Martyr wrote, “Christ is born of the Virgin, in order that the disobedience caused by the serpent might be destroyed.”10
Pope-Saint Leo the Great wrote, “at the beginning of the world [God], foretold the remedy his love had prepared for the restoration of us mortals, giving notice to the serpent that the offspring of the woman would come and, by his power, crush its baneful head as it was raised to strike.”
This link also goes on to explain that the ancient Targums and Midrashes - Jewish commentaries of the Bible - point to the Messiah being the SOLE one to crush the head of the adversary.
LOL. Now we're devotees. As opposed to what, devout Christians? LOL. I suppose there will always be an audience who enjoys antiCatholic material. This stuff certainly isn't written to engage a Catholic who understands the faith.
There can be seen predestination also. one thing at a time? hehheh
I see too another form of unspoken belief in imputed grace, for who has more unconsciously assumed to be imputed to them than faithful members of the RCC? Though some may be riding a bit upon their own provided cushion of grace granted to themselves as a sort of indulgence/righteousness accounting system (lots of Protestants do much the same thing!) which reassures and assists them that yes, they are now good enough for God to continue within themselves the good work the Lord Himself began, and so can be freely forgiven upon confession.
But what happens when one is "not good enough"? The honest people, those honest with themselves, hurt the most and led to believe they cannot be forgiven, or if so, only if going through certain motions (which one can soon enough figure out one is doomed to repeat) and only by making themselves beggars of the priesthood whom claim to be the fonts of forgiveness...(if they don't forgive you. your sins are retained, right?) while those more blind to their own true condition keep charging ahead, sometimes scarcely changed at all. Then a few of that latter sort work their way to positions of authority. Happens to every bureaucracy...including "Protestant" ones.
Ah, but there are a different kind of cheaters in there too, isn't there? Honest "cheaters". Some go boldly to the throne of grace themselves, not bringing every little thing to the priesthood to "forgive" but visiting the fountain of living waters in their own prayer life, if they have the Spirit dwelling with them...they may confess to most anyone, and that be part of being healed.
For it is not the act of confession itself so much, as it is a factor of accountability. We all must face our selves, and our sins, so that we may be better rid of them. NOT so that we may be further condemned by our looking upon the same, or need do "penance" (which has different definition than simply REPENTANCE) for we are truly ransomed prisoners already. Bought & paid for, in full.
There is no need for one to allow others, by mixing up, stirring up the Gospel into a confusing swirl, leave the danger of one becoming twice over the creature of hell that they themselves are. Teachings replete with reams of near impenetrable, subtly conflicting messages. Not forgiven until the church grants it --- otherwise sins retained, vs. already forgiven when or before confessing, for heart's intent is what is judged.
Mary needed a savior too, by her own admission, but was born sinless.
Jesus the One true Shepherd, except for that other shepherd called the Pope.
Call no man father as it is written, except for all the priests whom one MUST call "father".
Promise of salvation freely given, but after baptism, all bets are off.
God doesn't hear prayers of sinners. Have Mary pray for you instead!
The communion wafer is the body & blood of Christ. Some communion wafers are said to have had visible blood!
Only the priests can turn the wafer into Jesus. Thank Mary for this miracle.