"According to Aquinas, when the angel in Scripture said, 'Hail, Mary full of grace,' it was the first time in the history of mankind that an angel ever saluted a human being with such respect, because more often than not, human beings fell down cringing in terror and fright at angelic beings-- so otherworldly and powerful were they. But the angel said 'Hail,' only because she is higher than angels, higher even than the six-winged seraphim who guard the sacred throne. And when he said she is full of grace, he meant it--because her blood would mingle with the blood of God, who stayed inside her for nine whole months, while their hearts beat in sync in the same body. The heart of the mother, and the heart of the Son, so intimate, as to be One."
There are a few things about this that have been bugging me for more than a year now, but I had to make sure I understood them well enough to say something. A few months ago, I finally did.-J. Reyes
There are two points I would like to contest: physiology stuff. The passage explains that a literal meaning of "full of grace" is that Mary became almost one with Jesus when she carried him in her womb for nine months because of the intimacy of the mixture of the blood that their hearts pumped in sync in the same body. It sounds nice when taken metaphorically, but it is scientifically inaccurate: 1) Fetal blood and maternal blood do not usually mix during pregnancy, 2) Fetal heart rate and maternal heart rate are not synchronous.
1. Fetal blood and maternal blood do not usually mix during pregnancy:
"There are no direct communications between fetal blood, which is contained in the fetal capillaries of the chorionic villi, and maternal blood, which remains in the intervillous space."
-Cunningham, et al, Williams Obstetrics (23 ed.)In simpler terms, maternal blood and fetal blood have their own compartments. In the picture below, the red and blue structures on top labeled "chorionic arteries and veins" contain fetal blood produced by the fetus; the red spaces labeled "trophoblastic lacuna" contain maternal blood produce by the mother.
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| From https://www.studyblue.com/notes/note/n/gallicano/deck/7008504 The maternal side of the placenta on the third week of pregnancy |
So as you see, maternal blood and fetal blood are separated by a few layers of cells (the yellow things). They still are pretty intimate, though, as they do exchange oxygen, carbon dioxide, antibodies and nutrients through those cell layers. Whatever the mother takes in, the fetus partakes. Furthermore, for the first few weeks of the embryo's life-- before the embryo produces its own blood-- it relies solely on the mother's blood in the trophoblastic lacuna.
There are situations where fetal blood and maternal blood mix. One of them is during delivery. This may also happen during pregnancy in some cases, but, more often than not, it doesn't so there doesn't really seem to be enough reason to suspect that it did happen with Jesus and Mary. Occam's razor.
2. The heart of the mother and the heart of the fetus do not beat in sync.
The fetal heart beats faster than the mother's. Normal fetal heart rate ranges from 110-160 beats per minute (or even faster at the earlier stages), while that of a pregnant woman ranges from 70 to 90. In fact, during the 16th-19th week of pregnancy, this difference begins to be appreciable by means of the stethoscope. It is a positive (i.e., conclusive) sign of pregnancy that doctors listen for during prenatal check ups. (I have heard this myself, it's awesome!!!).
The difference is due to the relatively hypoxemic (i.e., low oxygen) state of the fetus in the womb. It needs a faster heart beat to be able to get more blood (therefore more oxygen) to supply its tissues.
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I don't know how accurate the other points of the quoted passage are, but Mary is my favorite biblical person (I love this song!) and Christ's incarnation is my favorite part in the history of redemption (I also love this song!):
As R.C. Sproul points out, the bible speaks of cases where old couples past their reproductive state would bear a child, yet never before had there been a virgin who conceived without a man. Mary is the first and only. Of all women, God had chosen her especially. That in itself renders her full of grace: merely being chosen. What she was chosen for is enough to gain the respect of angels.
She is the first Christian in that she had accepted Christ before anyone even knew who he was going to be. She is first to believe he is the Son of God. And what a special first it had been indeed for he was given to her not only spiritually (like he is given to us all) but also physically. For nine months, he shared her body in the most intimate relationship possible between humans.
Blessed is she for her purpose was of utmost importance. Through her, he came into the world. She kept him safe when he was weakest-- a small, defenseless infant. At one point of his human life, she was the most significant person to him.
Blessed is she for she had known him as a child. She had seen him grow in wisdom and in stature. She had treasured and pondered in her heart all those unwritten little anecdotes about him. No one else has that (except maybe the Father); greatly favored she was. She had been with him since he came into this world; he has been and will be with her for all eternity.
Blessed is she for she is allowed to love her son first and foremost, and love him more than anyone else for he is God, the rightful Beloved.
:)
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