Looking to Mary for hope

Have you ever lost control? Is there a part of you that you don’t like, or maybe even despise? Do you try to hide it, but it sometimes comes out, and you feel like you have no control of it? 

St. Paul describes this aspect of the human condition in very dramatic and relatable words: “For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin which dwells within me” (Romans 7:18-20). 

Did you know that among all the humans to ever exist, there was only one person (besides Jesus, of course) who never suffered from any of this from the very beginning of her life? That person was Mary. When Angel Gabriel first greeted her with the word “Hail”, The original Greek word that was written by St. Luke (Luke1:28) is  “Full of Grace”. To the heavenly beings, that was her name. That was her identity. What does that imply about Mary?


Grace is the life of God in one’s soul. If Mary was full of it, that means that there was no room for sin in Mary’s soul. The Catholic Church teaches that from the beginning of Mary’s life, she was preserved from original sin, which is the sin that all humans inherit from the first parents, Adam and Eve so therefore, they are born in a state of separation from God. Mary was not born like that. She was immaculately conceived. 

God chose Mary for this role because through her, he wanted to bring salvation to the world. Through Eve, sin came into the world; through Mary, Jesus came into the world. She is an example of faith, purity, and holiness for all of us. Every one of us should strive to be full of grace, so that as we live our lives, we can make our souls worthy of becoming dwelling-places of the Son of God like she was. 

We should not despair because of our bad habits and sinful ways; rather, we should look to Mary as a sign of hope for the whole human race. God gave her the grace to be preserved from sin, and he will also give us all the graces necessary to overcome the sins we struggle with, if only we unite with Jesus and be faithful to him in our lives.