In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,…
"Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you."
… for nothing will be impossible for God." Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her. (Lk 1:26-38)
Mary became the mother of Jesus because she was favoured by God. The passage brings to our attention the way God dialogued with Mary through the angel and how the angel convinced her of her importance in the history of Salvation. The whole narration is given in such a way anyone reading it would understand and get convinced that Mary was preferred to be the mother of Jesus.
There is no biblical reference here in this passage or any passage to say that Mary was conceived without the effect of original sin except that she was ‘favoured’. Mary received the grace of God. Grace is a free and gratuitous gift from God. The person who receives the grace is in no way worthy to receive it from the human point of view. Even the worthiness is given by God. God has found her worthy and god has chosen her to receive the merit of Jesus.
The salvation which Jesus brought forth through the death and resurrection is again a gift given to the whole humanity and the whole of creation. This gift is not merited but granted freely to all. Mary received this merit right from the beginning of her existence because she was going to be the helper in the plan of God. It is a grace given to her and it is God’s own choice and nothing is impossible to God.
