Note: i wrote this in defense of Mary and the Church, don't take any hard feeling from it please, I really do appreciate the math on the Adam to Noah thing. if you don't mind, I need to ask you how long do you think Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden, I am not finding any time length, I am marking that in my gestimation as a variable for I can't find anything on the length of time in the garden before the fall. I know Adam and Eve were created on the Sixth day, but from that point to the fall to me is unknown. Many thanks, I now know I did the math right, I'll take a + or - of 1 year. Thank you again..... Okay here we go......
Okay Rainrider, to address your question and to introduce this subject delicately, I will present my case on Mary, you asked this question, after countless attempts made by me to let it go. Now I will present only a small portion of the information on this part of the subject. The bottom line is, Mary was lifted up by God, and raised to the Queenship position, not by man but by Her Son. Remember the commandment, "Honor thy Father and thy Mother".......for all of us that grew up in both Catholic and Protestant homes to break this commandment was worse than a mortal sin, in my day! Oh by the way my roommate pointed out something about the first commandment, so I wondered what you thought, here it is in Exodus 20:1, "2 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved imageany likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments."-----now my roomate pointed out that God said, "You shall have no other gods BEFORE me." Now, my heart interprets that as many of us do, no other gods. However what does before mean?(food for thought)
I will refer you to the following gospel:(note I will underline the most important part of this verse, since you want chapter, verse, verbatium. First excerpt in blue is from the Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition, the second one will be in red, King James Version, and of course your favorite, and I will provide it in the DLNT too.) The purpose of Showing all four versions of this gospel is to show two things to note, one how the expression of the English language has changed. For Language is living and breathing animal. For any of the readers please, don't get hung up on language. This excerpt is from what I call the historian Gospel and my favorite of the Gospels. This is from Luke 1:22-56
To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.
And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
Who having heard, was troubled at his saying, and thought with herself what manner of salutation this should be.
And the angel said to her: Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God.
Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name Jesus.
He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the most High; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father; and he shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever.
And of his kingdom there shall be no end.
And Mary said to the angel: How shall this be done, because I know not man?
And the angel answering, said to her: The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore also the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
And behold thy cousin Elizabeth, she also hath conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her that is called barren:
Because no word shall be impossible with God.
And Mary said: Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
And Mary rising up in those days, went into the hill country with haste into a city of Juda.
And she entered into the house of Zachary, and saluted Elizabeth.
And it came to pass, that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the infant leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:
And she cried out with a loud voice, and said: Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For behold as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
And blessed art thou that hast believed, because those things shall be accomplished that were spoken to thee by the Lord.
And Mary said: My soul doth magnify the Lord.
And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid; for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
Because he that is mighty, hath done great things to me; and holy is his name.
And his mercy is from generation unto generations, to them that fear him.
He hath shewed might in his arm: he hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart.
He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble.
He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.
He hath received Israel his servant, being mindful of his mercy:
As he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed for ever.
And Mary abode with her about three months; and she returned to her own house.
And in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, called Nazareth,
To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.
And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
Who having heard, was troubled at his saying, and thought with herself what manner of salutation this should be.
And the angel said to her: Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God.
Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name Jesus.
He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the most High; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father; and he shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever.
And of his kingdom there shall be no end.
And Mary said to the angel: How shall this be done, because I know not man?
And the angel answering, said to her: The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore also the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
And behold thy cousin Elizabeth, she also hath conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her that is called barren:
Because no word shall be impossible with God.
And Mary said: Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
And Mary rising up in those days, went into the hill country with haste into a city of Juda.
And she entered into the house of Zachary, and saluted Elizabeth.
And it came to pass, that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the infant leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:
And she cried out with a loud voice, and said: Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For behold as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
And blessed art thou that hast believed, because those things shall be accomplished that were spoken to thee by the Lord.
And Mary said: My soul doth magnify the Lord.
And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid; for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
Because he that is mighty, hath done great things to me; and holy is his name.
And his mercy is from generation unto generations, to them that fear him.
He hath shewed might in his arm: he hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart.
He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble.
He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.
He hath received Israel his servant, being mindful of his mercy:
As he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed for ever.
And Mary abode with her about three months; and she returned to her own house.
Now in the chodesh shishi the malach Gavriel was sent from Hashem to a shtetl in the Galil called Natzeret,
To a betulah (virgin) given in erusin (betrothal, engagement) to an ish from the Beis Dovid named Yosef (ben Dovid), and the shem of the almah was Miryam.
And when the malach approached her, he said, Shalom, favored one! Hashem is with you!
But she was greatly perplexed at the message, and kept pondering what sort of Shalom greeting this might be.
And the malach said to her, Do not have pachad (fear), Miryam, for you have found chen before Hashem.
And in your womb you will conceive and bear BEN (YESHAYAH 7:14) and you will call SHMO YEHOSHUA. (ZECHARYAH 6:11-12)
He will be gadol (great) and will be called Ben HaElyon (Son of the Most High). Adonoi Elohim will give him the kisse Dovid Aviv,
And he will rule over the Beis Yaakov Olam vaed, and his Malchut will never come to an end. (SHMUEL BAIS 7:16; TEHILLIM 89:3,4; YESHAYAH 9:7; YIRMEYAH 33:17; DANIEL 2:44; 7:14,27; MICHOH 4:7)
But Miryam said to the malach, How will this be, vibahlt (since) I do not have daas of an ish?
And in reply, the malach said to her, The Ruach Hakodesh will come upon you and the gevurah of HaElyon will overshadow you. Therefore, also, the one being born will be called HaKadosh (The Holy One), Ben HaElohim.
And Elisheva your krovah also has conceived a ben in her old age, and this chodesh is hashishi (the sixth) for her who is called barren.
For nothing will be impossible with Hashem.
And Miryam said, Hinei! I am the shifcha of Hashem. May it be done to me according to your dvar. And the malach departed from her.
And in those yamim, Miryam got up and traveled into the hill country with haste to a shtetl of Yehudah.
And she entered into the bais of Zecharyah and gave Birkat Shalom greetings to Elisheva.
And it came about, when Elisheva heard the Birkat Shalom of Miryam, the yeled leaped in Elishevas womb, and she was filled with the Ruach Hakodesh.
And Elisheva cried out with a kol gadol (loud voice) and said, Brucha at miNashim (Blessed art thou among women), and baruch (blessed is) the pri (fruit) of your womb! (SHOFETIM 5:24)
And why has this happened to me that the Em Adoni should come to me?
For hinei! When the sound of your Birkat Shalom came into my ears, the yeled leaped with simcha in my womb.
And ashrey is the one having had emunah that there will be a fulfillment to the things having been spoken to Miryam by Hashem.
And Miryam said, My soul doth magnify Hashem (TEHILLIM 34:2,3)
ALATZ LIBI BAHASHEM (My heart rejoices in Hashem SHMUEL ALEF 2:1) and my neshamah exalts in Hashem Yishi (G-d my savior, Moshia) CHABAKUK 3:18, (TEHILLIM 18:46; YESHAYAH 17:10; 61:10)
For HASHEM VISHAFAL YIREH (TEHILLIM 138:6) looked upon the humble state of His shifcha (bond maid) for from now on kol hadorot ishruni (all generations will call me happy, BERESHIS 30:13) (TEHILLIM 138:6)
For Shaddai (the Almighty) did gedolot for me and Kadosh is Shmo, (TEHILLIM 111:9)
And the chesed of Hashem is DOR VDOR (TEHILLIM 100:5) to those with yirat Shomayim. (SHEMOT 20:6; TEHILLIM 103:17)
Hashem has done niflaot (wonders) with his zeroa (arm, YESHAYAH 53:1). He scattered those who in the machshavot (thoughts) of their levavot are the Gaayonim (the Haughty ones).
He brought down shalitim (rulers) from their kisot (thrones) and lifted up the Anavim (Humble),
The ones hungering, Hashem made full of tov, and the ashirim he sent away empty. (TEHILLIM 107:9)
Hashem helped his servant Yisroel, in remembrance of his rachamim (mercy),
Just as Hashem spoke to Avoteinu, to Avraham Avinu and his Zera ad Olam.
And Miryam remained with Elisheva about shlosha chodashim, and then Miryam returned to her bais.---This version I Hope you like, is from the OJB or Orthodox Jewish Bible. :)
And I will include this translation too:
In The Sixth Month, an Angel Appears To Mary, a Virgin Promised In Marriage To Joseph
Now in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent-forth from God to a city of Galilee for which the name was Nazareth, to a virgin having been promised-in-marriage to a man for whom the name was Joseph, from the house of David. And the name of the virgin was Mary. And having come-in to her, he said, Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you. But the one was very-troubled at the statement, and was pondering what-kind-of greeting this might be.
The Angel Tells Mary She Will Give Birth To a Son Jesus, The Son of God
And the angel said to her, Do not be fearing, Mary. For you found favor with God. And behold you will conceive in your womb and give-birth to a son. And you shall call His name Jesus. This One will be great, and will be called Son of the Most-High. And the Lord God will give Him the throne of David, His father. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever. And there will not be an end of His kingdom. And Mary said to the angel, How will this happen, since I am not knowing a man? And having responded, the angel said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most-High will overshadow you. For this reason also the Holy Child being born will be called Gods Son. And behold Elizabeth your relative also herself has conceived a son in her old age. And this is the sixth month for her, the one being called barren, because no word from God will be impossible. And Mary said, Behold the slave of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word. And the angel departed from her.
Mary Goes To See Elizabeth
And having arisen during these days, Mary proceeded to the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, and entered into the house of Zechariah, and greeted Elizabeth. And it came about that when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb.
Elizabeth Recognizes Mary As The Mother of Her Lord
And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and exclaimed with a loud shout and said, You are blessed among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold when the sound of your greeting came-to-be in my ears, the baby leaped with gladness in my womb. And blessed is she having believed that there will be a fulfillment to the things having been spoken to her from the Lord.
Mary Rejoices Over God Her Savior
And Mary said, My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoiced-greatly over God my Savior. Because He looked-upon the lowliness of His slave, for behold from now on, all generations will consider me blessed, because the Powerful One did great things for me. And His name is holy. And His mercy to generations and generations is on the ones fearing Him. He did a mighty-deed with His arm. He scattered ones proud in the thought of their heart. He brought-down rulers from their thrones, and lifted-up lowly ones. He filled ones being hungry with good things, and sent ones being rich away empty. He helped Israel His servant so that He might remember mercy, just as He spoke to our fathers to Abraham, and to his seed forever. And Mary stayed with her about three months, and returned to her house.
Now for non believers and for those who take offense at Mary, I ask you why? Let Mary be an example of God's Mercy. Anyway that's me on my soap box obiovously not understanding why people hate Mary so much. Any way, there are many examples that are set up in these passages which women and men alike should see and understand. From this point, I am talking to your heart through wisdom and not your mind.
Mary was the daughter of David, King of Israel; Joseph too was son of David, King of Israel, this was done in the geneology of both Luke and Matthew. Unlike the queens of the time like Cleopatra, Mary was of humble and contrite beginings. The embodiness of humility and servitute, some would comment as the perfect wife and mother. I ask you to use wisdom in what I am about to comment for without wisdom, there is no understanding, especially in this case.
It has been proposed by some that I am deluting the waters of pureness in some of my writings. This is true for the unwise. For I do have knowledge beyond my years and sometimes I foolishly release that knowledge without understanding that some are not ready for the knowledge. For as you can tell, i like to write commentary and I love debating but on some subjects like this one, I pray for those who do not understand. From the outside, it is easy for one to put down and condemn the practices of some. For example, it has just recently been brought to my attention while going through the history of ancient relics this story of the middle ages.
"After the fourth crusade, the knights templer returned with riches to their homes in Europe. Over time (as veterans do) they formed a secret society that the peasants claimed they were worshiping a disembodied head near a camp fire. Soon the church got wind of this and on Friday, October 13th(i forget the year), they went in and arrested all the knights and forced them to sign a decree of confession about devil worshiping to before the pope and were executed. "---History of the Shroud of Turin, by IAN Williams.
Now before I present more evidence of Mary, I want you to keep in mind the above paragraph. For it is important for the Mary issue, but for all issues concerning the Catholic Church, also keep in mind this story that Appeared in the Tombstone Ephitat, in Tombstone Arizona after the movie with Kurt Russel and Val Kilmer came out.
"They kept asking for the book that Doc Holiday gave to Wyatt Earp. There was never such a book. But as time went on I printed up on my computer a book, and they started selling like hot cakes."---a shop owner in Tombstone, Arizona.
Now, I am willing to answer any question about the Mother of Jesus Christ from Biblical Days, to the Devotion of St Dominic, to Fatima, where Mary made the sun dance in the sky, and brought it down to kiss the earth, and then returned it to its position in the sky, all the crippled that were there were cured. Many deny it but it was printed in the paper in Fatima Portugal in 1917.
These are not Ghost stories or stories that go boo in the night but rather they are stories that bear the fruits of Love and the Holy Spirit. How I was so proud of our grandparent's generation for praying to God for the reperation of His sacred Heart, when a promise of Mary, the Immaculate Conception's promise came true. For behold in August of 1990, the Berlin Wall came down and Russia was converted.
With all these miracles happening in the modern world, when the century was riddled with wars and wars and rumors of wars, it is nice to know that God is alive and well, and is doing miracles for all of us, just as He did when He was walking among us.
It is alright if you are skeptical, but don't shut the story out completely as heresy or against the commandments of God. For if Mary is not for God why would thousands be healed, and why would the Berlin Wall fall, and Russia be converted. There are so many more stories of Mary's interaction with man after her assumption it is not funny. I just ask that you let your curiousity take hold of you and give the story a chance.
Now, I read this story and the author Ann Barnhardt remined me of my mother, how she championed for the Church, I reposted it here as the rest of my commentary in defense of the fact that St. Luke said the Angel Gabriel declared on to Mary, "Hail Mary full of Grace", All translations agree to this, but as you can see from the above, they have put it in a more modern way. I know it as "Hail Mary full of Grace". Now using our minds what creatures in the whole realm of God's creation are addressed as "Hail", this is a salute. Given to Royality. In some culutures, Greetings favored one, is also used as a royal salutation. Why would an angel of the most High God, salute Mary in this manner. Then the angel continues with full of Grace. To my knowledge there were only a few, a limited few, human beings that were graceful enough to be lifted into heaven body and soul. That was Enoch, Elliajah, Jesus after the Ressurection, and Mary, there is no other human being on earth that has entered into heaven body and soul. I was told before writing this that St. John wrote about the death of Mary, and some of the brothers of the faith witnessed, St. John's account. However, I have not recovered that record yet. I'm still looking for it, however, in a book by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, writers of the Left Behind Series, wrote a book called "The Jesus Chronicles series: November 21, 2006, John's Story: The Last Eyewitness" where the paper I was aluding to the must have read for there is a brief story of the event I was speaking of.
Well, here is a better way of relating the same story of Mary, that I was going to relate, I think she is a better writer, enjoy:
The one about THE SCIENCE OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION AND ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
Originally penned and posted on August 15, ARSH 2011.
by Barnhardt
The Assumption is the Dogma that the Blessed Virgin Mary was assumed BODY and SOUL into heaven at the end of her life. The archaeological record is one of the most compelling confirmations of this truth. The veneration of burial places, tombs and relics of dead saints is universal and consistent in the early Church and has carried right through to this day. Everyone knows where St. Peter is buried, and the relics of St. Paul and the other apostles and saints, even recent saints like St. Bernadette are venerated and in some cases spread all over the earth. Almost every Catholic Church contains the relics of multiple saints.
But one saint has NEVER had any location venerated as her permanent burial place, nor have there ever been any relics purported to be part of her body. Never. Who is this person whom everyone has always agreed has no earthly tomb and for whom there are no earthly relics? Only the second-most-important person to ever walk the earth, and THE most important person who was NOT God Incarnate: The Blessed Virgin Mary.
The reason why she has no tomb and no relics is because at the end of her life (the Church is not sure whether or not she actually died, and so that question is intentionally left open) Our Lord immediately granted to her the promise made to all Christians of the resurrection and heaven, BODY AND SOUL. So, there are exactly two physical human bodies locally present in heaven right now: Our Lord and His Mother. We dont know exactly how to explain this, but I suspect that it has something to do with temporal or dimensional phase shifting, as Our Lord walked through walls, doors and other solid objects after the Resurrection (John 20:19). As Einstein discovered, mass and energy are equivalent, and thus can phase back and forth. We also know from the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass itself, which is a bending of time such that the moment of Calvary touches today, that while we experience time in a linear continuum, God is in no way constrained by linear time, and can manipulate, bend and intersect points in time. How? Oh, no clue. There is so much about physics that we dont understand. But hey, thats all part of the fun of the Mystery, right?
Only after the Second Coming and the Judgment will the rest of the Church be reunited to their resurrected (for those who have died) or glorified (for those who are alive at the Second Coming and Judgment) bodies, to be united to the Trinity, dwelling inside the Beatific Vision forever. But Mary is already there. She has already been ASSUMED into heaven, and is the proof of Gods promise of what lies in store for those who die in the Church, in friendship with Christ. And today, August 15th, is the Feast of the Assumption. This is a Holy Day of Obligation, which means that all Christians are required to attend Mass just as if it was a Sunday. So, what better time to talk about and explain the doctrines of the Immaculate Conception (the feast of which is December 8th, also a Holy Day of Obligation you MUST go to Mass that day as if it was a Sunday) and the Assumption, and the science that underpins both dogmas.
First, the Immaculate Conception. This doctrine and non-negotiable tenet of Christianity teaches that Mary was, by the grace of God, prevented from carrying the stain of Original Sin from the moment of her conception. This is a deal-breaker. The logical consequences of denying the Immaculate Conception inevitably lead to denying the Incarnation and Divinity of Jesus Christ Himself. The Blessed Virgin cleared all of this up herself when she appeared to Bernadette Soubirous at Lourdes, France and told her in no uncertain terms, I am the Immaculate Conception. Case closed. All that remained was for science to progress sufficiently to confirm this and that has now happened. More on that in a second.
Mary was saved from sin by her Son, like all of the other faithful, it is just that the timing of her salvation was different from everyone else. This is why Mary, sinless though she is, still calls God my Savior in her Magnificat in Luke 1:46-55. Instead of letting Mary fall in the mud puddle of sin like the rest of us, God stuck out His Arm back through time from the Cross and kept her from falling in the mud puddle but if it wasnt for Gods positive action of reaching out across time from the Cross and holding her from falling, she would have fallen. This is called grace, and is what the Angel Gabriel was referring to when he greeted Mary at the Annunciation with the words, Hail! Full of grace! The LORD is with thee. Blessed art thou among women. Luke 1:28
Full of grace means FULL. OF. GRACE. How full is full? Full is totally full. To the brim. Full does not mean half-full or mostly-full. Full means full. Mary was FULL OF GRACE.
And because Mary was FULL of grace, as we know directly from the inerrant words of the Gospel of Luke, there was absolutely no room for sin. Mary didnt sin because God her Savior had filled her with grace and therefore she just COULDNT sin. Most of us reading this have a tiny taste of what this is like. For example, Im guessing that everyone reading this would be incapable of killing a baby. We just COULDNT do it. No matter what threat was made against us, no matter what the adverse consequences to our own lives might be, we would take any adverse consequence before killing a baby. We are simply incapable of performing that act. Why? What is that internal force of energy that prevents us from committing acts of evil even when under intense duress and threat? It is grace. Pure and simple.
Sadly, most of us have a little grace, but are not in any way FULL of grace. I am personally much closer to being full of crap than of grace (which many of you have already pointed out to me thank you very much), hence the daily, persistent, repeated sinning on my part. And I suspect it is a similar situation with you, dear reader, with the grace-to-crap ratio being much higher for you than for me. I really am quite full of crap. With Mary there was no crap because God her Savior had FILLED her with grace, and thus there was no room for crap, and thus there was no sin. Its really just 2nd grade math if you think about it. But WHY? Why was it essential for Mary to be sinless and sinless from the moment of her conception? Thats where the science comes in.
There are two phases to Marys existence. The first phase was from the moment of her conception until the Annunciation, which is when Jesus was conceived in her womb. The second phase was from that moment of Jesus conception forward for all eternity. Each phase has its own physiological delight attached to it which required Mary to be a sinless vessel for Our Lord.
First, the pre-Annunciation period. As it has been discovered just within the last few decades, all baby girls have all of the eggs that are ever going to be in their ovaries fully formed not just at birth, but fairly early in their fetal development phase. Unlike men who are continuously producing new sperm, a womans eggs arent created and formed with each menstrual cycle. All that is happening during a cycle is that an egg, which has been fully formed in a womans body since she was a pre-born fetus, is released into the reproductive tract. What this means theologically is that the egg containing the 23 chromosomes that God would miraculously fertilize with 23 chromosomes that He miraculously supplied (including a Y chromosome) to become the Word Made Flesh, Jesus Christ, was physically present inside Marys body from the time that Mary was inside of her mothers womb. That egg, and those chromosomes, that physical constituent of Our Blessed Lord was present inside of Marys body, waiting to be . . . if I may use the word . . . consecrated. The word consecrate, when broken into its Latin components means:
Con: With
Secr: Holy
Ate: Territory of a Ruler
And so, Mary was, from the time she was inside St. Annes womb, already carrying a portion of Our Lords physicality, namely 23 of His chromosomes. And thus Mary was, from her very beginning, already a proto-tabernacle, already the Ark of the New Covenant, carrying within her what would be consecrated into The Law Incarnate, The High Priest, and The Bread of Life just like the Old Ark, except perfected and fully fulfilled as God Incarnate. And as we know from the book of Exodus, the Old Ark had to be perfect. And thus, the Ark of the New Covenant was TRULY perfect, except this perfection was a perfection that only God Himself could accomplish: the perfection of Mary, full of grace and thus saved from all sin, including Original Sin.
The second phase is actually broken into two sub-phases. The first sub-phase is when Mary was pregnant with Jesus and His entire body was inside of hers.
The second phase is that phase from the time of Jesus birth forward into all eternity. Jesus is STILL physically inside of Mary in a unique way. It was discovered just a few short years ago that immune cells pass from a pre-born child to the mother across the placenta. Not only do these immune cells, which are the childs and thus carry the exclusive and complete DNA of the child, pass across the placenta, but they persist in the mothers body for the rest of her life. A woman who has carried a son has immune cells with Y-chromosomes in her bloodstream that can now be filtered out of her blood and observed. Female children also pass cells to their mothers.
Thus, a woman truly does carry her children around inside of her, with their DNA coursing through her heart, for the rest of her life. That isnt just a sentiment it is a physiological fact.
Thus, Mary continued and continues to this day to be a perpetual, living physical tabernacle of her Son, as she carries cells with His DNA in her bloodstream. And so now we see why Mary was and had to be filled with grace and thus saved from the stain of sin from the moment of her conception eternally forward because she was and is a perpetual Ark of the New Covenant.
This also explains why Marys body was assumed into heaven immediately at the end of her earthly life, because her body literally contained living cells of Our Lord and thus her body could not remain on earth in physical death to decay in any way.
She simply was afforded the same physical resurrection that all of the faithful will receive, albeit instantaneously for her, given her very special state, both spiritually and physically. This is what is doctrinally referred to as The Assumption.
Finally, if you are a quasi-Christian Protestant-pagan reading this and it has made you the least bit angry, you need to sit down and ask yourself one excruciatingly simple question: WHY? Why are you so utterly consumed with hatred for the MOTHER. OF. GOD.?
Two down eight to go......
Note: i wrote this in defense of Mary and the Chur... (
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