The argument that “full of grace” is used identically of both Mary and Stephen is not supported in the Greek. That's exactly right.
This is because the Catholics are depending on the Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible done by St. Jerome (4th Century.) Here, you find "ave gratia plena" translated "Hail full of grace.'"
We know that the New Testament was written in Greek--not Latin--but the Roman Catholic Church has derived its doctrine from the Latin translation--not the original Greek. They are using a false translation. Now they're stuck- since so much is invested in their worship, adoration, and prayer ("Hail Mary") to Mary. They would lose credibility if they corrected the error.
Unfortunately, this means that millions of Catholics will continue to look to Mary for help--not Christ who is truly full of grace.
Of Mary, the Greek word [Lk 1:28] is kexaritomena (highly favored), of Christ (and Stephen) the Greek phrase [Jn 1:14 and Acts 6:8] is plaras karitos (full of grace).
Of Mary, the Greek word [Lk 1:28] is kexaritomena (highly favored), of Christ (and Stephen) the Greek phrase [Jn 1:14 and Acts 6:8] is plaras karitos (full of grace).
Let me preface my remarks by saying that my computer is broken and I was reduced earlier to pecking out a reply on my blackberry. Having said that, I spent well over an hour trying to reply via blackberry, only to have it wiped out before I could even finish my reply, never mind post it. Since then, I've found a public computer to use, but I am still frustrated by my earlier experience, so please forgive me if my reply is not as thorough as I would like.
The word and phrase that we're looking at in the three verses cite at the head of this post (to which I will soon add a fourth) share a Greek radical (χάρις) meaning
grace, so there is some commonality among the verses, though they are clearly not identical. In Jn 1:14 and Ac 6:8, the phrase πλήρης χάριτος is used adjectivally to qualify Christ and Stephen in their respective verses; and since the phrase is used not only of the divine person Christ but also the human person Stephen, one can reasonably infer that the phrase πλήρης χάριτος could, in the proper context, be used of any Christian, including Mary.
But it is not used of Mary in Lk 1:28, which is the point of my post #73. In Lk 1:28, the word κεχαριτωμένη is used to address Mary. The word κεχαριτωμένη is a form of a rare Greek verb, χαριτόω (and I say rare because a form of the verb is used only one other time in the Gr NT, at Eph 1:6). A characteristic of Gr verbs ending in -όω is that they are causative; i.e., they signify actions that effect a change concerning the person or thing that the subject affects. (Cf., e.g., δολόω (to enslave) (see 2Cor 4:2); ἐλευθερόω (to make free) (see Jn 8:32).) So χαριτόω -- which as mentioned above is a verb incorporating the radical χάρις (i.e.,
grace) -- means something along the lines of
to effect a change by means of grace, or simply
to engrace. And what greater effect of grace is there than the removal of sin?
The form of χαριτόω that appears in Lk 1:28 -- κεχαριτωμένη -- is a perfect passive participle. It is passive with respect to Mary because only God can effect a change in someone by means of his grace. And it appears in the perfect tense to indicate a change that has already occurred in the past and that has a continuing effect in the present. The essential meaning conveyed by κεχαριτωμένη in Lk 1:28 is that Mary has been -- and continues to be -- radically changed by the grace of God.
One final remark: Earlier, I made the point that one could reasonably infer from the use of phrase πλήρης χάριτος in Ac 6:8 that, in proper context, the phrase could be used of any Christian. At this point, I'd like to suggest that the same could be said of the word ἐχαρίτωσεν in Eph 1:6 -- the only other NT occurrence of a form of the verb χαριτόω. ἐχαρίτωσεν could, in proper context, be said all Christians who have been changed by the grace of God, including Mary. But Gabriel addresses Mary in a unique way at Lk 1:28 -- κεχαριτωμένη. God prepared Mary -- and Mary alone -- to be the new Garden of Eden, if you will, prepared in advance for the new Adam, just as he had prepared the original Garden of Eden in advance for the original Adam in Genesis. And he prepared Mary as this new Garden of Eden by thoroughly transforming her by his grace -- and what greater effect of grace is there than the removal of sin? -- just as he had prepared the original Garden of Eden without defect in advance for the sinless first Adam.
Peace.