CATHEDRAL OF MARY OUR QUEEN
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A Visual Catholic Catechism
 

 

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What do we believe about Mary?

Mary shows us how to have faith.

From the Catechism para. 149:

Throughout her life and until her last ordeal (cf. Luke 2:35) when Jesus her son died on the cross, Mary's faith never wavered. She never ceased to believe in the fulfilment of God's word. And so the Church venerates in Mary the purest realization of faith.

From the Catechism para. 494:

At the announcement that she would give birth to "the Son of the Most High" without knowing man, by the power of the Holy Spirit, Mary responded with the obedience of faith, certain that "with God nothing will be impossible": "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be [done] to me according to your word" (Luke 1:28-38; cf. Rom 1:5).
 

Why was Mary chosen to give birth to the Messiah???

From the Catechism para. 490:

To become the mother of the Saviour, Mary "was enriched by God with gifts appropriate to such a role." The angel Gabriel at the moment of the annunciation salutes her as "full of grace" (Luke 1:28). In fact, in order for Mary to be able to give the free assent of her faith to the announcement of her vocation, it was necessary that she be wholly borne by God's grace.

From the Catechism para. 494:

As St. Irenaeus says, "Being obedient she became the cause of salvation for herself and for the whole human race." Hence not a few of the early Fathers gladly assert...: "The knot of Eve's disobedience was untied by Mary's obedience: what the virgin Eve bound through her disbelief, Mary loosened by her faith."

How could Mary stay so faith-filled and obedient?
Was she born like Eve, without Original Sin?
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