January 1, 2023, 12:00 PM
St. Augustine told us our life is a continuous process of “Faith seeking understanding.” Our Faith teaches us that Mary was without Original Sin (Immaculate Conception). So, here’s a Faith question to ponder, with some insight to help deepen our understanding. What did Mary mean when she said to Elizabeth during the Visitation, “My spirit rejoices in God my Savior?” Why would she need a Savior? Mary was a member of the human race, so she needed protection from the virus of Original Sin with which Adam and Eve infected all other descendants. Mary was preserved from Original Sin by the merits of Christ. The rest of us are redeemed from (not preserved from) Original Sin by the merits of Christ. Mary needed a Savior, but not, strictly speaking, a Redeemer.
We ordinarily use Savior and Redeemer interchangeably. The distinction between them is so subtle that we only need to make it in the case of the Immaculate Conception. Mary knew the distinction and spoke of her Son to Elizabeth as her Savior rather than as her Redeemer. The distinction is found in the basic meaning of the words Savior and Redeemer. To “save” basically means to “keep.” God kept Mary as His own. She was never handed over or lost to the devil through any sin. To redeem is to buy back something we once owned and somehow lost. Christ bought us back from the devil, who came to own us through Original Sin. Mary never needed such buying back since she was never subjected to the devil by any sin. So, though it might seem Mary needed to be redeemed, that is not true because Redeemer and Savior do not mean the same thing. Now you know!
