Catechism of the Catholic Church
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494 At the announcement that she would give birth to "the Son of the Most High" without knowing man, by the power of the Holy Spirit, Mary responded with the obedience of faith, certain that "with God nothing will be impossible": "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be [done] to me according to your word." 139 Thus, giving her consent to God's word, Mary becomes the mother of Jesus. Espousing the divine will for salvation wholeheartedly, without a single sin to restrain her, she gave herself entirely to the person and to the work of her Son; she did so in order to serve the mystery of redemption with him and dependent on him, by God's grace: 140 As St. Irenaeus says, "Being obedient she became the cause of salvation for herself and for the whole human race." 141 Hence not a few of the early Fathers gladly assert. . .: "The knot of Eve's disobedience was untied by Mary's obedience: what the virgin Eve bound through her disbelief, Mary loosened by her faith." 142 Comparing her with Eve, they call Mary "the Mother of the living" and frequently claim: "Death through Eve, life through Mary." 143
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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PART ONE: THE PROFESSION OF FAITH |
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SECTION TWO: THE PROFESSION OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH |
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CHAPTER TWO: I BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST, THE ONLY SON OF GOD |
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ARTICLE 3: "HE WAS CONCEIVED BY THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, AND WAS BORN OF THE VIRGIN MARY" |
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Paragraph 2. "Conceived by the Power of the Holy Spirit and Born of the Virgin Mary" |
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II....BORN OF THE VIRGIN MARY |
Notes for the above paragraph:
139 Lk 1:28-38; cf. Rom 1:5.140 Cf. LG 56.
141 St. Irenaeus, Adv. haeres. 3, 22, 4: PG 7/1, 959A.
142 St. Irenaeus, Adv. haeres. 3, 22, 4: PG 7/1, 959A.
143 LG 56; St. Epiphanius, Panarion 2, 78, 18: PG 42, 728CD-729AB; St. Jerome, Ep. 22, 21: PL 22, 408.
English Translation of the Cathechism of the Catholic Church for the United States of America © 1997, United States Catholic Conference, Inc.