Topic: Was Mary sinless?

Source of this posting: Moderator response to emailed question

Date originally posted: March 25, 2002

Moderator who originally posted this source: B. Egan

Question:  I was reading that the Catholic church believes that Mary was a virgin for her entire life.  However, Jesus had brothers.  How would it be possible for Jesus to have brothers if Mary and Joseph never had sex?  Also, Mary is considered sinless because Jesus was.  Does this mean that Mary was sinless for her whole life, even before she conceived Jesus?  And just because Jesus was sinless, why does that mean Mary MUST have been as well?

Answer:

Ok, you touch on a couple of different issues here, so let's start from the top! 

If you would like to read even more on Mary's perpetual virginity, go to our FAQ Library and click on Mary.  There's LOTS of information there! 

As for Jesus' brothers, there are three possible explanations: 1) Mary had other children, and thus Jesus could have had brothers.  Because the Catholic Church holds that Mary was a perpetual virgin, though, this explanation doesn't work for us.  2) Joseph had children from a previous marriage, and thus Jesus could have had brothers (allbeit step-brothers).  3) Jesus did not have brothers.  The word that has been translated as "brothers" from the original Greek is the same word that is used for "cousins."  This last explanation is a popular one. 

And now to the issue of Mary's sinless nature.  Yes, the Church holds that Mary was sinless her entire life.  It is believed that she was born without original sin.  As the Catechism of the Catholic Church states: "Mary benefited first of all and uniquely from Christ's victory over sin: she was preserved from all stain of original sin and by a special grace of God committed no sin of any kind during her whole earthly life" (n. 411).  But why, you ask?  Again from the Catechism: "What the Catholic faith believes about Mary is based on what it believes about Christ, and what it teaches about Mary illumines in turn its faith in Christ" (n. 487).  The Church teaches that, if Jesus was without sin, it is fitting that the woman who bore him would have been without sin.  Knowing that Mary would be asked to give birth to the Son of God, God prepared her for this by creating her without the human inclination to sin.  God, in a sense, made her a "worthy vessel" for the Savior of the World from the very start.