Mary, Perpetual Virgin:

The professes for belief that Mary was a virgin all her life. This means that before, during and after the birth of she remained a perpetual virgin.

I. Before the birth of Jesus Christ A. [CCC 496] From the first formulations of her faith, the Church has confessed that Jesus was conceived solely by the power of the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary, affirming also the corporeal aspect of this event: Jesus was conceived "by the Holy Spirit without human seed". The Fathers see in the virginal conception the sign that it truly was the Son of God who came in a humanity like our own. B. St. Matthew quotes Isaiah 7:14: “All this took place to fulfill what had said through the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means “God is with us.”

II. During the birth of Jesus Christ: A. [CCC 499] The deepening of faith in the virginal motherhood led the Church to confess Mary's real and perpetual virginity even in the act of giving birth to the Son of God made man. In fact, Christ's birth "did not diminish his mother's virginal integrity but sanctified it." B. Jesus was born in the “absence of any physical injury or violation to Mary’s virginal seal...This divine act would safeguard Mary’s physical virginity which is both symbolic and part of her perfect, overall virginity; a virginity both internal and external, of soul and body.” (Miravale, p. 46 - 47) C. Because pain in childbirth is a curse of original sin, and Mary was conceived without the original sin, Mary didn’t experience any pain in childbirth. “Jesus passed through Mary as light passes through glass.” ~ St. Thomas Aquinas

III. After the birth of Jesus: A. Mary took a vow of virginity to be entirely consecrated to the Lord. She was about to be married, so her question to , “How shall this be for I know not man,” (Luke 1:34) makes no sense if she hadn’t taken such a vow. Two important points can be observed from this: 1. Mary belongs entirely to God, not only because of her vow of chastity, but also because God preserved her from sin and perfected her in grace from the her conception! Then, when the fullness of time had come, her womb was claimed, sanctified, and consecrated by the Holy Spirit to conceive Jesus, making her the Mother of God. In light of all this, it wouldn’t be fitting that she would begin sexual relations with and give her womb over to natural conception. a) Remember, Mary is the NT Ark of the covenant. The OT ark was consecrated and preserved for the Holy Spirit. No common man could touch it and live. Remember Uzzah! Mary, the new Ark, was also set apart from man for God. 2. St. Thomas said it was fitting that Jesus, the only-begotten son of his heavenly Father, should also be the only-begotten son of Mary, his earthly mother.

Lesson 3: Mary, Perpetual Virgin Page 1 of 4 IV. Objections to Mary’s perpetual virginity after the birth of Jesus: A. Objection 1: What about the “brothers of the Lord” mentioned in Scripture? B. Responses: [CCC 500 ] “Against this doctrine the objection is sometimes raised that the mentions brothers and sisters of Jesus. The Church has always understood these passages as not referring to other children of the Virgin Mary. In fact James and Joseph, ‘brothers of Jesus’, are the sons of another Mary, a of Christ, whom St. Matthew significantly calls ‘the other Mary.’ They are close relations of Jesus, according to an Old Testament expression.” 1. There are about 10 references in the NT to the “brethren of the Lord”: Matt. 12:46; Matt. 13:55; :31–34; :3; Luke 8:19–20; :12, 7:3, 5, 10; :14; 1 Cor. 9:5. The four “brothers” usually referred to are James, Joseph, Simon and Jude. 2. In Hebrew and there is no word for “cousin.” If someone wanted to say “cousin,” they could use either the word for ‘brother’ or a circumlocution, such as “the son of my uncle.” But circumlocutions are clumsy, so the Jews often used “brother.” 3. When Greek became a common language some 100 years before Christ, the Greek speaking Jews continued to use this practice of using the word “brother” (adelphos) in a broad sense for relatives even though there is a word for “cousin” in Greek (anepsios). a) The Greek translation of the Old Testament, is proof of this: The OT, “shows that ‘brother’ had a wide semantic range of meaning and could refer to any male relative from whom you are not descended (male relatives from whom you are descended are known as ‘fathers’) and who are not descended from you (your male descendants, regardless of the number of generations removed, are your ‘sons’), as well as kinsmen such as cousins, those who are members of the family by marriage or by law rather than by blood, and even friends or mere political allies.” (Catholic Answers, Brethren of the Lord.) (1) In Gen 13:8 and 14:14 is called ’s adelphos, but Lot is Abraham’s nephew (Gen 11:27; 12:5). (2) In Gen 29:15 is called Laban’s adelphos, but Laban is Jacob’s uncle (Gen 29:10). (3) Examples of adelphos meaning “kinsmen” or “allies”: (Deut. 23:7; 2 Kgs. 10:13–14; Neh. 5:7; Jer. 34:9; 2 Sam. 1:26; Amos 1:9) 4. The writers of the continued this common linguistic practice of using the word for “brother” (adelphos) in general terms. a) There are tons of examples in the NT where adelphos is used in a broad sense. (1) Male descendants of the same parents (Acts 7:23, 26; Hebrews 7:5) (2) Any neighbor (Lk 10:29; Matt 5:22, 7:3) (3) Persons united by a common interest or calling (Matt 5:47; Rev 22:9) (4) Mankind in general (Matt 25:40; Heb 2:17) (5) All believers, Christ’s disciples (Matt 28:8, 10; John 20:17; Acts 1:15; Romans 1:13; 1 Thess 1:4; Rev 19:10)

5. Other important responses regarding Jesus’s “brethren”: a) Jesus was always known as “the son of Mary” not “a son of Mary.” (Mk 6:3) b) At the , Jesus is apparently the only son of Mary (Luke 2:41-51). People argue that Jesus had at least 4 brothers and 2 sisters. There is no indication of other siblings anywhere.

Lesson 3: Mary, Perpetual Virgin Page 2 of 4 c) The “brethren of the Lord” are never referred to as Mary’s children. d) The “brethren of the Lord” are always depicted as having some authority over Jesus. In that culture, older relatives, and not younger ones, would have such authority. (Jn 7:3-4; Mk 3:21). Therefore, these persons cannot be Jesus’s younger siblings. They must be older relatives. e) At the foot of the cross, Jesus entrusted his mother to John. If he actually had blood brothers, they would be the ones to take care of her, not John.

C. Objection 2: Mt 1:25 says that Joseph didn’t know Mary “un/till” she bore Jesus: 1. These words state that it hasn’t taken place up to a certain point in time. It does not imply that it did happen afterwards. Consider some examples: a) [Deut 34:6] (Moses) was buried in a valley in the land of Moab; to/till/until this day no one knows the place of his burial. b) [2 Sam 6:23] Saul’s daughter Michal was childless to/till/until the day she died. c) [Psalm 110:1] The Lord says to my lord, ‘Sit at my right hand till/until I make your enemies your footstool.’

D. Objection 3: Jesus is Mary’s “first-born son” implying that she had others: 1. This was required by Mosaic law to consecrate the child to God, and doesn’t imply subsequent children. (see Ex 13:2) 2. Jesus is also called the first born of God (Col 1:15). Did God have more sons?

E. Objection 4: This denies the validity of their marriage, making it unnatural: 1. Perhaps it was uncommon, but not unheard of. Besides, look at the miracles surround the conception and birth of Jesus! 2. Marriage is a sacrificial gift of self. Spouses can freely consecrate their sexuality to God without negating or diminishing the true nature of marriage as self-sacrifice.

V. Historical responses about Jesus’s “brethren” and Mary’s virginity: A. The Protoevangelium of James (120 A.D.) says that they’re Christ’s step-brothers. 1. Mary was consecrated at birth to the Lord and dedicated in the temple at age 3. 2. At age 12, she couldn’t stay at the temple any longer and needed a guardian. Joseph, an older widower with children of his own, was selected to take care of her.

B. Many early Christians believed this too: 1. "The Book [the Protoevangelium] of James [records] that the brethren of Jesus were sons of Joseph by a former wife, whom he married before Mary. Now those who say so wish to preserve the honor of Mary in virginity to the end, so that body of hers which was appointed to minister to the Word . . . might not know intercourse with a man after the Holy Spirit came into her and the power from on high overshadowed her. And I think it in harmony with reason that Jesus was the first-fruit among men of the purity which consists in [perpetual] chastity, and Mary was among women. For it were not pious to ascribe to any other than to her the first-fruit of virginity" (Origin, Commentary on Matthew [A.D. 248]).

Lesson 3: Mary, Perpetual Virgin Page 3 of 4 2. "If they [the brethren of the Lord] had been Mary’s sons and not those taken from Joseph’s former marriage, she would never have been given over in the moment of the passion [crucifixion] to the apostle John as his mother, the Lord saying to each, ‘Woman, behold your son,’ and to John, ‘Behold your mother’ [John 19:26–27), as he bequeathed filial love to a disciple as a consolation to the one desolate" (Hilary of Poitiers, Commentary on Matthew [A.D. 354]).

C. St. argued that they are Christ’s cousins: 1. A man named was the first to deny the belief around 380. St. Jerome said his remarks were “a novel, wicked, and a daring affront to the faith of the whole world.” He wrote an entire tract defending Mary called On the Perpetual Virginity of the Blessed Mary. a) “But as regards Victorinus, I assert what has already been proven from the —that he [Victorinus] spoke of the brethren of the Lord not as being sons of Mary but brethren in the sense I have explained, that is to say, brethren in point of kinship, not by nature. [By discussing such things we] are . . . following the tiny streams of opinion. Might I not array against you the whole series of ancient writers? Ignatius, Polycarp, Irenaeus, Justin , and many other apostolic and eloquent men, who against [the heretics] Ebion, Theodotus of Byzantium, and Valentinus, held these same views and wrote volumes replete with wisdom. If you had ever read what they wrote, you would be a wiser man." 2. Compare the accounts of the women before the cross (Mt 27:56; Mk 15:40; Jn 19:25). a) The mother of James and Joseph is the wife of Cleophas - not the wife of Joseph! b) Cleophas was thought to have been Joseph’s brother. Thus, James and Joseph are Jesus’ cousins.

D. Other quotations defending Mary’s virginity: 1. "[T]he Word himself, coming into the Blessed Virgin herself, assumed for himself his own temple from the substance of the Virgin and came forth from her a man in all that could be externally discerned, while interiorly he was true God. Therefore he kept his Mother a virgin even after her childbearing" (Cyril of Alexandria, Against Those Who Do Not Wish to Confess That the Holy Virgin is the Mother of God [A.D. 430]). 2. "Heretics ... are those who contradict the perpetual virginity of Mary and affirm that after Christ was born she was joined as one with her husband" (St. Augustine, Heresies [A.D. 428]). 3. and the reformers even supported it! a) “Christ...was the only Son of Mary, and the Virgin Mary bore no children besides Him...I am inclined to agree with those who declare that brothers really mean ‘cousins’ here, for Holy Writ and the Jews always call cousins brothers.”

E. It was defined and defended by: the 5th Lateran Council (553 A.D.), the Lateran Synod (649 A.D.), Council of Trent (1555 A.D.) and then restated at Vatican II (LG #52).

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