Did Mary always know she was sinless from her conception, or did she only find out she was without sin when the angel Gabriel appeared to her in Luke’s Gospel announcing that she would be the Mother of God? On that note, how much did Mary know and understand about Jesus and Him being the Son of God, having to die for our sins, and then rising from the dead to open the gates of Heaven?

John in Jacksonville

The first part of your question concerns Mary’s knowledge of herself and her role in God’s plan prior to the Annunciation. Let me first say that any answer to this question will be somewhat speculative. To my knowledge, there is no definitive Church teaching about what Mary knew about herself before the Annunciation. However, I think we can deduce certain things with a good degree of confidence.

First, there is a difference between knowing something intuitively or implicitly and knowing it explicitly. For example, it is fair to assume that none of the Apostles could have elaborated the Nicene Creed (written in 325 AD), but this does not mean they did not believe everything the Creed states, at least implicitly or in a basic form. One does not need a technical and philosophically precise definition of something to understand and believe it. Highly intelligent people often have more objections and hang-ups that demand more detailed explanations, but this does not necessarily mean that they more deeply understand the mysteries of the faith. Recall Jesus’ own words, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children” (Mt 11:25). Saints are the best theologians, because the pure in heart shall see God (Mt 5:8).

Applying these points to Mary, she could have been deeply aware of the unique graces she received even if she did not have (or need) the technical language to explain them. We certainly must say that Mary enjoyed deep spiritual communion with God from the moment of her conception. This intimacy with God surely had practical consequences for her knowledge of Him and herself as she grew up. Of course, like any human being, Mary’s knowledge and understanding would have corresponded to her level of development. For example, her awareness of being uniquely blessed and chosen by God at age 14 would have been quite different at age 4.

Second, Mary would have been aware of her sinlessness through her conscience. The Catechism defines conscience as “a judgment of reason whereby the human person recognizes the moral quality of a concrete act that he is going to perform, is in the process of performing, or has already completed” (CCC 1778). Because she was sinless, Mary’s conscience would have been clear of all guilt; she would have known that she was innocent in the eyes of God. This certainly applies to personal sins. However, the concept of original sin was not well developed in the Jewish faith. For this reason, we do not know how Mary would have understood her own conception and her connection to fallen, sinful humanity despite being sinless herself. 

Now let us turn to the scene of the Annunciation. The angel Gabriel greets Mary, saying, “Chaire kecharitōmenē” (Lk 1:28). This literally means, “Hail, she who has been filled with grace.” Luke then recounts how Mary “was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be” (v. 29). A couple of factors can explain Mary’s uneasy response. First, she is supremely humble and therefore, taken back by such high praise, especially coming from this messenger of God. Second, if she is not yet fully aware of her exalted status in the eyes of God, there could be a feeling of, “Who, me?”

After Gabriel announces that she will conceive Jesus, the Son of God, Mary asks, “How will this be, since I do not know a man [have a husband]?” This question also implies that, even if she was already aware of being set apart by God for some special purpose, Mary did not yet know His specific plan for her life. However, this lack of knowledge did not in any way prevent her from assenting completely to God’s plan: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word” (Lk 1:38).

The second part of your question concerns Mary’s knowledge about Jesus’ identity and various aspects of His mission as Savior. I assume you are referring to her knowledge of these things afterthe Annunciation. The first question you raise is easy to answer. Mary knew that Jesus would be the Son of God because Gabriel said that she would conceive through the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit and not through relations with a man. Gabriel also said explicitly that “the child to be born will be called holy — the Son of God” (Lk 1:35).

Regarding Jesus’ death for our sins, an angel said to Joseph in a dream, “You shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” (Mt 1:21). We can also look ahead to the Presentation, when Simeon prophesies that Jesus will be “a sign that is opposed” and that “a sword will pierce” Mary’s soul as well (Lk 2:34-35). This implies that both Jesus and Mary will suffer on account of His mission. True, there is no direct statement about the crucifixion, death, or resurrection of Jesus during the immediate lead-up to His birth. However, both Mary and Joseph would have been steeped in the prophecies of the Old Testament through their participation at the synagogue and their own prayer. These prophecies foretold the coming of the Messiah as the Son of God who would come to bring salvation (e.g., Dan 7:13-14). There are also many prophecies about God’s chosen “Servant” who will suffer unjustly but through whom God will deliver His people. These include especially the four “Songs of the Suffering Servant” in Isaiah chapters 40-55. Psalm 22 and Wisdom 2 also refer very explicitly to God’s chosen one suffering a violent death at the hands of men, and God vindicating Him in the end. Of course, we cannot know exactly how Mary and Joseph understood these prophecies or how and when they applied them to Jesus. We should consider the possibility that God wanted to reveal the fate of Jesus to them gradually so that they were not overwhelmed with anxiety and grief in anticipation of it.

Finally, the scene of the finding in the temple shows that Mary and Joseph did not yet understand the consequences of Jesus’ identity and mission. When they finally find Him, they express their anxiety and confusion over what He did. He tries to reassure them, saying, “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” But then we read, “And they did not understand the saying which He spoke to them” (Lk 2:49-50). Mary did not know many of the details of Jesus’ mission in advance, but she “kept all these things in her heart” (Lk 2:51). She too had to ponder God’s plan, which was not given to her all at once. She knew that God would ultimately bring about definitive salvation through Jesus, but she did not know how exactly God would do this. Her posture was always one of humility, obedience, and trust. She did not need to know everything in advance, but simply said “yes” to the nextthing, knowing that God would accomplish His ultimate purpose no matter what happened. Mary is our model of discipleship. Like her, we do not know all the details of God’s plan for our lives, but we know enough to say “yes” and to walk by faith. Also like her, God has given all the grace we need to do so.

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Father Christopher Trummer, S.T.L., is parochial vicar at St. Boniface Parish in Edwardsville, associate delegate for Health Care Professionals, associate chaplain of the Springfield Chapter of the Catholic Physicians Guild/Catholic Medical Association and has a license in Sacred Theology in Moral Theology at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome, Italy.