catholicsphere

Today, we celebrate the solemnity of the Annunciation of our Lord; commemorating that moment when the angel visited Mary to tell her that she has been chosen to be the mother of our Lord and Savior, Jesus - the Second Person of the Trinity taking on a human nature, including a human body, and entering human history.

While a mystery, the Catholic Church proclaims Mary as Ever-Virgin, despite her giving birth to Jesus.

Many non-Catholics think this at odds with the Scriptures, and many Catholics do not understand some of the finer points of the dogma; especially how Scripture gives indication of Mary’s intent to remain a virgin.

In an entry last week, I wrote in response to an objection to Mary’s perpetual virginity by a non-Catholic. One of the points I raised was a historical statement that Mary and Joseph had both consecrated themselves to the temple. While not quite a dogmatic position of the Church, the idea is not as far fetched as it might sound at first … especially if we consider the biblical account of the Annunciation:

And in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, called Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David: and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. Who having heard, was troubled at his saying and thought with herself what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said to her: Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God. Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb and shalt bring forth a son: and thou shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father: and he shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever. And of his kingdom there shall be no end. And Mary said to the angel: How shall this be done, because I know not man? And the angel answering, said to her: The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore also the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And behold thy cousin Elizabeth, she also hath conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her that is called barren. Because no word shall be impossible with God. And Mary said: Behold the handmaid of the Lord: be it done to me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her. — Luke 1:28-38

Something to take note of here is Mary’s response to the angel at hearing that she would conceive and give birth to a son: Mary said to the angel: How shall this be done, because I know not man?

You can see Mary’s confusion at being told that she would become pregnant. This confusion should seem odd if she were planning to have children. She was betrothed to Joseph — in fact nearing the end of the betrothal period — and so it should not have been confusing if they were planning to get pregnant shortly after the betrothal period ended. So why the confusion?

This makes sense if Mary was not intending to have sexual relations with Joseph, and that their marriage was in order for Joseph to be her guardian and protector. See, Mary was not pregnant when the angel appeared; the angel wasn’t telling her she was already pregnant. Rather, she was telling her that she would become pregnant. If it was the case that she intended to have sexual relations with Joseph, she wouldn’t question how she would become pregnant. In time she would “know man”, her husband Joseph, and would expect to become pregnant.

But, she never intended to “know man”, even her husband as he was to be guardian and protector, and thus could not understand how she would become pregnant.

A July 2000 article from This Rock magazine explains this as follows:

[As a consecrated virgin] when she reached puberty, her monthly cycle would render her ceremonially unclean and thus unable to dwell in the temple without defiling it under the Mosaic Law. At this time, she would be entrusted to a male guardian. However, since it was forbidden for a man to live with a woman he was not married or related to, the virgin would be wed to the guardian, and they would have no marital relations.

So, as a consecrated virgin, she could not just “live in the temple”, thus having no need for a male guardian, as some might be thinking. The Mosaic Law would not allow it. So, Joseph was to be her guardian, and she would live in his home. But, they must be married … and so it was.

This explains both Mary’s confusion over the announcement that she would become pregnant and give birth, and the fact that she was getting married though there was no intent to have sexual relations.

Scripture does give credibility to the Catholic position, given the reaction of Mary to the Annunciation.

[tags]catholic, doctrine, Mary, Joseph, Jesus, christian, non-catholic, faith, annunciation, dogma, perpetual virginity, ever-virgin, religion, anti-catholic, scripture, bible, catholicsphere, holy spirit, gospel, church[/tags]