Marian Dogmas

The Catholic Church believes four things about the Blessed Virgin Mary. They are known as the Four Great Marian Dogmas. They are:

1. Her Immaculate Conception 2. Her perpetual virginity 3. Her Divine maternity 4. Her Assumption

1. The Immaculate Conception. Joachim and Ann were an elderly couple with a home in Nazareth. But in their old age, God granted their prayers for a child. But unknown to them, and through no merit of their own, God preserved the child (Mary) from Original Sin. Original Sin is a human defect not intended by God, but incurred due to introduction of sin into the lives of humanity. Mary was not preserved from Original Sin for her own glory, but to be a perfect living temple for the coming of Jesus Christ. Since Joachim and Ann were elderly, they entrusted Mary to the Temple priests, where she was consecrated as a Temple Virgin. She remained in the Temple until she reached puberty, then she returned to Nazareth.

2. Perpetual Virginity. The Gospels relay that Mary was a virgin when the Archangel Gabriel visited her to announce the conception and birth of Jesus. The Church has always held that Mary remained a virgin before, during and after the birth of Jesus. The Church also holds that Jesus was the only child of Mary. Finally, the Church holds that Joseph and Mary observed a celibate-chaste love throughout her marriage. The Gospels are not in opposition to this belief and when they refer to the “brothers of Jesus,” it should be noted that two possibilities exist. One is that Joseph had been a widower and he brought children from a previous spouse to the marriage to Mary. The other option is that the use of the word “brother” is used because the word “cousin” does not exist in Arameic. The belief that Mary remained a virgin indicates that she considered the Holy Spirit her true spouse. Some traditions indicate Joseph was older and “married” Mary, respecting that she had been consecrated to virginity as a child in the temple.

3. Divine Maternity. This dogma refers to the belief of the indivisibility of Jesus’ divinity and humanity. Mary cannot be the mother of the human part of Jesus without being mother to his divinity, too. Again, like the Immaculate Conception, Mary is not meant to be glorified by the title, but this title expresses the foundational belief that the humanity of Jesus and the Divinity of Jesus constitute one existence and one person.

4. The Assumption. At the end of Mary’s earthly life, tradition holds she returned with St. John from Ephesus where he presided over the Christians in Ephesus to Jerusalem. She stayed in a Christian compound that was part of the family home of St. Mark, where Jesus celebrated the Last Supper. The Apostles gathered around Mary and they were at prayer when Mary closed her eyes one last time trusting in God. The Risen Christ, Himself, appeared with St. Michael and Jesus received the soul of the Blessed Mother. The Apostles prepared the body of Mary for burial in the Garden of Gethsemane. After three days, Mary’s body was resurrected by Christ and both body and soul were assumed to heaven where Mary was crowned Queen of Heaven and Earth. This tradition demonstrates that, preserved from Original Sin, Mary’s body was spared from decay and it venerates the Blessed Mother for her fidelity by showing us the promise of the Resurrection for believers.