Did St. Joachim prevent the transmission of original sin to Mary by overcoming concupiscence?

Question

St. Joachim is known to live a pious and humble life. If St. Joachim lived according to God's will and followed His inspirations in making a marital procreative act with St. Anne under the grace of God, is this how original sin was not transmitted to Mary?

The Council of Trent defined the de fide dogma that original sin is transmitted by natural generation. It says:

propagatione, non imitatione transfusum omnibus. (D 790)

In the baptism of children that is expurgated which they have incurred through generation. (D 791)

As original sin is a peccatum naturæ, it is transmitted in the same way as human nature, through the natural act of generation. Although according to its origin, it is a single sin (D 790) that is the sin of the head of the race alone (the sin of Eve is not the cause of original sin) it is multiplied over and over again through natural generation whenever a child of Adam enters existence. In each act of generation human nature is communicated in a condition deprived of grace.

The chief cause (causa efficiens principalis) of original sin is the sin of Adam alone. The instrumental cause (causa efficiens instrumentalis) is the natural act of generation, which gives rise to the connection of the individual human being with the head of the race. The actual concupiscence associated with the act of generation, the sexual pleasure (libido) is, contrary to the view of St. Augustine (De nuptiis et concup. I 23, 25; 24, 27), neither the cause nor the inescapable condition for the reproduction of original sin. It is only an accompanying phenomenon of the act of generation, which in itself alone is the instrumental cause of the transmission of original sin. Cf. S. th. 1 II 82, 4 ad 3.

Based on the Council of Trent definition on concupiscence, it is the "instrumental cause of transmission" and in the Gospel the concupiscence can be overcome as testified by St. Paul (Galatians 5:24-25):

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

Galatians 2:20:

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God,who loved me and gave himself for me.

Is there a Church teachings or writings that states St. Joachim may have overcome "concupiscence" and thus prevented the transmission of original sin?

Answer 1

The Blessed Virgin Mary's immaculate conception was not due to the merits of St. Joachim but to "a special grace and privilege of God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ" (Ineffabilis Deus).

Also, St. Thomas writes (Summa Theologica suppl. q. 41 a. 3 arg. 3) that

the marriage act is always connected with concupiscence
_{actus matrimonialis habet concupiscentiam adjunctam (Super Sent., lib. 4 d. 26 q. 1 a. 3 arg. 3)}

^{(Certainly concupiscence in the marriage act can come in degrees, but, as your citation to the Summa mentions, original sin does not.)}

Even if the marriage act between Sts. Jochim and Anne involved no concupiscence, original sin would still be transmitted, if it were not for God's "special grace and privilege" to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Answer 2

We know virtually nothing about St. Joachim, but we do know that all sons and daughters of Adam, unless otherwise stated and excepted (the Blessed Virgin, Jesus) have concupiscence as a result of their having original sin (of which concupiscence is one of the major results). Not only is it not possible for St. Joachim to earn the redemption of another soul from original sin, but he could not redeem even his own. The Council of Trent stated that Jesus Christ "is alone our Redeemer and Saviour" (Council of Trent, Session XXV, Invocation, Veneration, and on Relics of Saints and Sacred Images). This is because the debt is of infinite value, being the grace of God of immeasurable worth, and earned only by the blood of Christ. In its Decree on Justification, the Council of Trent also declared (cap. 3):

But, though He died for all, yet do not all receive the benefit of His death, but those only unto whom the merit of His passion is communicated. For as in truth men, if they were not born propagated of the seed of Adam, would not be born unjust,-seeing that, by that propagation, they contract through him, when they are conceived, injustice as their own,-so, if they were not born again in Christ, they never would be justified; seeing that, in that new birth, there is bestowed upon them, through the merit of His passion, the grace whereby they are made just. For this benefit the apostle exhorts us, evermore to give thanks to the Father, who hath made us worthy to be partakers of the lot of the saints in light, and hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the Kingdom of the Son of his love, in whom we have redemption, and remission of sins.

Before Christ died, no one was truly free of original sin, or truly justified in the sense of being 'qualified' for heaven. They were all 'temporarily not damned' until Christ came to ransom them from Abraham's Bosom, and take them to heaven, at which time alone they were made fit for such.

Hebrews 11:39-40 (DRB) And all these [Old Testament saints] being approved by the testimony of faith, received not the promise; God providing some better thing for us, that they should not be perfected without us.

But most importantly of all, the document defining the Immaculate Conception (Ineffabilis Deus) says that her having original justice (the opposite of original sin) was a singular grace and privilege granted her by Almighty God:

...

We declare, pronounce, and define that the doctrine which holds that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin, is a doctrine revealed by God and therefore to be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful.

...

And as St. Paul writes:

Romans 11:6 (DRB) And if by grace, it is not now by works: otherwise grace is no more grace.

Passages which speak of the new man and the attitude of the Christian in light of his redemption never imply a complete loss of concupiscence, but a reorientation of life, and attitude to it (like other suffering, including death itself).

On this the Council of Trent states (Session V, On Original Sin):

But this holy Synod confesses and is sensible, that in the baptized there remains concupiscence, or an incentive [to sin]; which, whereas it is left for our exercise, cannot injure those who consent not, but resist manfully by the grace of Jesus Christ; yea, he who shall have striven lawfully shall be crowned. This concupiscence, which the apostle sometimes calls sin, the holy Synod declares that the Catholic Church has never understood it to be called sin, as being truly and properly sin in those born again, but because it is of sin, and inclines to sin.

Answer 3

Did St. Joachim prevent the transmission of original sin to Mary by overcoming concupiscence?

Answer

Yes, St.John of Damascus a Greek Father and Doctor of the Church speaks directly of the "spotless seed" that comes out from St.Joachim;

“O most blessed loins of Joachim from which came forth a spotless seed! O glorious womb of Anne in which a most holy offspring grew.” John of Damascus, Homily I (ante A.D. 749).

"O blessed loins of Joachim, whence the all-pure seed was poured out! O glorious womb of Anna, in which the most holy fetus grew and was formed, silently increasing! O womb in which was conceived the living heaven, wider than the wideness of the heavens." [Ibid, 2; "Fetus" means offspring in Latin. We mention this because in modern societies the term has lost its Latin and (and true) definition and has come to signify a "non-person" for all practical purposes, a distortion for political manipulation------The Web Master] http://www.catholictradition.org/Mary/mary19-2.htm

“She is born like the cherubim, she who is of a pure, immaculate clay.” Theotokos of Livias, Panegyric for the feast of the Assumption, 5:6 (ante A.D. 650). https://www.scripturecatholic.com/blessed-virgin-mary/#II_Marys_Immaculate_Conception

St.Catherine Laboure prayerful answer is Yes, as Mary ordered her to depict a medal with the powerful symbols and prayer.

"O Mary conceive without sin , pray for us who have recourse to Thee."

The Miraculous Medal (French: Médaille miraculeuse), also known as the Medal of Our Lady of Graces, is a medal, the design of which was originated by Saint Catherine Labouré following her apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary1 in Rue du Bac, Paris, France, and made by goldsmith Adrien Vachette.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miraculous_Medal

The word "conceive without sin", is a testament that the "transmission of original sin and all stain of sins was prevented.

Note: *We are only talking first of generating flesh thru "marital act" that would lead to conception and not on the creation of Mary's soul which is a separate phenomenon.Mary's soul is created only by the sole action of God. Mary clearly revealed the prayer to be invoked upon by all Her children depicting Her as "conceived without sin" therefore the "transmission of original sin was really prevented" by the "marital act free from concupiscence".*

This will be the contrasting verse when King David confessed the state of his conception;

Surely I was brought forth in iniquity; I was sinful when my mother conceived me. (Psalm51:5)

We now go to complete removal of the concupiscence of St.Joachim how it was accomplished by God as revealed by the vision of Blessed Catherine Emmerich;

To perfectly remove or wash away the stain of original sin or the concupiscence, the angel gave St.Joachim;*

The angel "gave him a shining morsel to eat and a luminous liquid to drink from a gleaming little chalice which he held between two fingers.

JOACHIM RECEIVES THE BLESSING FROM THE ARK OF THE COVENANT.

I saw now that the angel touched or anointed Joachim’s forehead with the tip of his thumb and forefinger, and that he gave him a shining morsel to eat and a luminous liquid to drink from a gleaming little chalice which he held between two fingers. It was of the shape of the chalice at the Last Supper, but without a foot. It seemed to me, too, that this food which he put in his mouth took the form of a little shining ear of corn and a little shining cluster of grapes, and I understood that thereafter every impurity and every sinful desire left Joachim. Thereupon I saw that the angel imparted to Joachim the highest and holiest fruit of the blessing given by God to Abraham, and culminating, through Joseph, in the holy thing within the Ark of the Covenant, in the presence of God among His people. He gave Joachim this blessing in the same form as I had been shown before, except that while the angel of benediction gave Abraham the blessing from himself, out of his bosom as it were, he seemed to give it to Joachim from out of the Holy of Holies. 30

Note: The angel describes the morsel and the drink this way; "It seemed to me, too, that this food which he put in his mouth took the form of a little shining ear of corn and a little shining cluster of grapes, " The host is wheat coming from corn and the wine is coming from grapes a perfect description of the Holy Eucharist the "body & blood" of Jesus Christ offered at the celebration of the Holy Mass.

In closing, the Mystery of removing the "concupiscence" was now revealed by the vision of Blessed Catherine Emmerich and Our Lady apparition to St.Catherine Laboure reveals the She was indeed "conceive without original sin". Without even mentioning the Dogma of Immaculate Conception, just by merely focusing on "marital act free from concupiscence" we prove that St.Joachim by the merit of the graces won by Jesus Christ was cleaned of all stain of original sin.

https://www.ccel.org/ccel/emmerich/lifemary.v.html

Answer 4

MARY’S ENMITY TOWARDS SATAN WAS ABSOLUTE (Pope John Paul II)

Mary’s faithful co-operation in the saving work of her Son made it fitting that she should be completely free from sin and share fully in Christ’s grace

The scriptural texts on which the dogma of the Immaculate Conception is based were the subject of the Holy Father's catechesis at the General Audience of Wednesday, 29 May. The images in these texts, "although not directly indicating the privilege of the Immaculate Conception, can be interpreted as an expression of the Father's loving care which surrounds Mary with the grace of Christ and the splendour of the Spirit", the Pope said. Here is a translation of his talk, which was the 21st in the series on the Blessed Virgin and was given in Italian.

1. In the doctrinal reflection of the Eastern Church, the expression "full of grace", as we saw in the preceding catechesis, has been interpreted since the sixth century as a unique holiness which Mary enjoys throughout her existence. She thus initiates the new creation.

Mary was granted power to resist the devil

2. The same biblical text also proclaims the enmity between the woman and her offspring on the one hand, and the serpent and his offspring on the other. This is a hostility expressly established by God, which has a unique importance, if we consider the problem of the Virgin's personal holiness. In order to be the irreconcilable enemy of the serpent and his offspring, Mary had to be free from all power of sin, and to be so from the first moment of her existence.

The first two paragraph stated Mary is a new creation and free from all the power of sin. This is an emphasis on the human nature of Mary not corrupted.

In this regard, the Encyclical Fulgens corona, published by Pope Pius XII in 1953 to commemorate the centenary of the definition of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, reasons thus: "If at a given moment the Blessed Virgin Mary had been left without divine grace, because she was defiled at her conception by the hereditary stain of sin, between her and the serpent there would no longer have been—at least during this period of time, however brief—that eternal enmity spoken of in the earliest tradition up to the definition of the Immaculate Conception, but rather a certain enslavement" (AAS 45 [1953], 579).

The absolute hostility put between the woman and the devil thus demands in Mary the Immaculate Conception, that is, a total absence of sin, from the very beginning of her life. The Son of Mary won the definitive victory over Satan and enabled his Mother to receive its benefits in advance by preserving her from sin. As a result, the Son granted her the power to resist the devil, thus achieving in the mystery of the Immaculate Conception the most notable effect of his redeeming work.

The words "a total absence of sin, from the very beginning of her life." pointed the absence of all stain of original sin even the slight concupiscence associated in the transmission of original sin as defined by the Council of Trent.

3. By drawing our attention to Mary's special holiness and her complete removal from Satan's influence, the title "full of grace" and the Protoevangelium enable us to perceive, in the unique privilege the Lord granted to Mary, the beginning of a new order which is the result of friendship with God and which, as a consequence, entails a profound enmity between the serpent and men.

The words "complete removal from Satan's influence" extends to "marital act", "conception" and and ofcourse the "spotless seed" of St.Joachim. Otherwise the "human nature" if coming from "corrupted seed", then Mary at the first instant of conception will entail Satan's influence.

St Irenaeus presents Mary as the new Eve

St Irenaeus presents Mary as the new Eve, who by her faith and obedience compensated for the disbelief and disobedience of Eve. Such a role in the economy of salvation requires the absence of sin. It was fitting that like Christ, the new Adam, Mary too, the new Eve did not know sin and was thus capable of co-operating in the Redemption.

Sin, which washes over humanity like a torrent, halts before the Redeemer and his faithful Collaborator. With a substantial difference: Christ is all holy by virtue of the grace that in his humanity derives from the divine person; Mary is all holy by virtue of the grace received by the merits of the Saviour.

https://www.ewtn.com/library/PAPALDOC/JP2BVM21.HTM

The above teaching was silent about St.Joachim but understanding the deep reflections that Mary's human nature demands not a slightest influence coming from Satan, fully expressed the need for a "spotless seed" coming from St.Joachim and a "marital act" free from concupiscence and a overflowing graces during "conception of St.Anne" to prevent any influence of Satan. From "spotless seed" to "immaculate birth" the singular grace of God is evident that's why St.Ireneaus teaches Mary as the New Eve meaning Her "human nature" was gotten from an "immaculate clay or a spotless seed".

The meaning of the name Joachim denotes it's significance why a "spotless seed" comes from him.

Joaquín is the Spanish language version of Joachim.[1] It is a male name which finds its origin in Hebrew יְהוֹיָקִים (Yehoyaqim) and literally means "lifted by Yahweh". Jojakim (originally Eljakim) was a king of Judah in the Old Testament. His son was Jojachin.

Hebrew Meaning:

The name Joachim is a Hebrew baby name. In Hebrew the meaning of the name Joachim is: May Jehovah exalt. God prepares.

The Hebrew meaning of the name Joachim denotes God purpose or his mission of providing the "human nature" of Mary thru a "spotless seed" by God intervention or preparation.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joaqu%C3%ADn

https://www.sheknows.com/baby-names/name/joachim/