In Luke 1:28, the angel greets Mary, "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you." The phrase "full of grace" is a translation of the Greek word kecharitomene.
The traditional translation, "full of grace," is better than the one found in many versions of the New Testament, which state "highly favored daughter." Mary was indeed a highly favored daughter of God, but the Greek implies more than that and never mentions "daughter." Kecharitomene is a perfect passive participle of charitoo, meaning "to fill or endow with grace." Since this term is in the perfect tense, it indicates that Mary was graced in the past but with continuing effects in the present. So, the grace Mary enjoyed was not a result of the not a result of the angel’s visit. In fact, it extended over the whole of her life, from conception onward. She was in a state of sanctifying grace from the first moment of her existence.
2007-09-12
06:49:54
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