[bdeaner]

Corinthians 5:21 proves my point that Romans 3:23 and 3:10 are not to be taken literally as referring to everyone, since obviously it does not refer to Christ. St. Paul does not contradict himself. If Christ can be made without sin, so could His mother.

Nothing in Luke 1:48 would cause me to pray to Mary or regard her as an intercessor for me.

That's your loss, unfortunately. Mary is worthy of our veneration (honor), although our worship is reserved for the Lord. Mary, unlike her Son, is not God. But she did bear the Lord in her womb, and raised Him to adulthood -- and because she is Our Lord's Mother, in accordance with the Fourth Commandment, we, as much as Our Lord, are obligated to respect and honor her. I fear for those who denigrate Our Lady. If someone disrespects my mother, they are worthy of my contempt. I can only imagine the wrath incurred from Our Lord by those who disparage His Mother--I would not want to be them. Likewise, blessings are given to those who honor her, just as any earthly child is endeared to those who honor his or her mother. It's just common sense. Those who love the Lord, will naturally love His blessed Mother.

[stfassisi]

I can only imagine the wrath incurred from Our Lord by those who disparage His Mother

We have historical writings of such an incident regarding Nestorius(nestorian heresy) ,as Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori records.."that same tongue which was so persistent in blaspheming the Virgin Mother of God and her Divine Son, contracted a deadly cancer and rotted in his mouth."