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Clergy view: Mary perpetual virgin
By DEACON ROGER MARKS Brainerd Area Catholic Churches Our modern culture traps us into thinking that there are only temporary virgins.
And we only think of the word virgin in regard to physical intimacy. Virgin has other meanings. Virgin means pure. It can mean a mental and spiritual state of being. It can mean set aside for a special purpose especially by God. These can be permanent or perpetual states. These meanings are attributed to Mary the mother of Jesus. God has chosen her for perpetual virginity. The perpetual state God has chosen her for makes her physical virginity perpetual.
Matthew inspired by the Holy Spirit quotes Isaiah 7:14 to explain to us, "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a sonÉ." She remains a virgin before, during and after the birth of her son. This is the miracle that tells us right from the beginning that He is God and our Savior. All this happens by the power of the Holy Spirit. A women is set aside, chosen by God, pure and with a mental and spiritual state of being consecrated solely for God by the eternal and permanent power of the Holy Spirit.
Luke 1:34 perhaps gives us a clue to her perpetual virginity. Mary responds to Gabriel, "How shall this be, since I have no husband?" Why would she have asked this if she already had a soon to be husband? In a short time she would be pregnant. That child could be "the child?" Has God chosen for her perpetual virginity from her birth?
Did Mary have other children? Some quote from Mark in 6:3 the names of a number of brothers (some translations use the word brethren) of Jesus, and in general to His sisters as a proof that Mary had other children. But the word "brother" does not necessarily mean son of the same parents. It can also indicate other degrees of relationship - cousins, nephew's, same tribe, etc. In Genesis 13:8 and 14:14 and 16 Lot is called the brother of Abraham, whereas we know that he was Abraham's nephew, the son of Abraham's brother Haran. The same is true of Laban, who is called the brother of Jacob. (Genesis 29:15) although he was his mother's brother (Genesis 29:15). There are other instances (1 Chronicles 23:21-22, etc.) This confuses us because it is not our way. The Hebrew and Aramaic languages used the same word, brother or sister, to also mean cousin, nephew, same tribe, etc. The same word designates different relationships. One needs to personally know the family in order to know the relationship.
Who belongs to whom? The Gospel of Matthew mentions James in 4:21 as the son of Zebedee (not Joseph) and John his brother. In 10:3 he writes "James the son of Alphaeus" was among the twelve. In 13:55, we see another group of "brothers" or "brethren" perhaps cousins named James and Joseph (Joses in Mark 6:3) and Simon and Judas. But we know that some of these 4 (if the names correspond) are not Mary's children.
In Matthew 27:56, another Mary is the mother of only James and Joseph. In Luke 6:15 which James is the father of Judas? And is this the same Judas mentioned in 13:55 of Matthew? In 27:56, Matthew states that Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and the mother of the sons of Zebedee were there looking on from afar. So we know that the mother of the sons James and John and the mother of another James and Joseph are two different mothers. Is Mary the wife of Clopas (John 19:25) the mother of any of these? John in 19:25 tells us that Jesus' mother Mary was at the Cross along with her sister, Mary the wife of Clopas and Mary Magdalene. Would one family have two daughters both named Mary? Or are they cousins? Or are they from the same community? We can't tell who or how they are related to each other. From these scriptures we can not say that Mary was not a virgin.
From the Cross Jesus entrusted His mother to John (John 19:26 - 27). If Jesus had brothers or sisters, He would have no need to do this.
Some claim that the words "her firstborn son" (Luke 2:7) imply that a 2nd child will be born. First born was a legal term that meant the one that "opened the womb." (Exodus 13:2) It does not imply that other children that might be conceived.
St. Matthew 1:18 says, "before they came together, she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit". Some try to read more into the word "before" than a simple statement of fact. Their opinion is that the word "before" implies "sometime in the future" they will come together. This interpretation does not fit the biblical passage. We don't even imply that meaning in our communications.
Joseph "knew her not until she had borne a sonÉ." (Matthew 1:25) The word "until" does not imply that she was physically intimate with Joseph after the birth of Jesus. In Matthew 28:20, Jesus says, "I am with you always, until the end of the age." He doesn't mean that at the end of the age He won't be with us. There are other similar uses of the word until in scripture. The Hebrew people used fixed time É to denote time without limitation as in Is 46:4 "Even to (until) old age I am He." Even to (until) doesn't mean that when they get old, God will cease to be.
The early Christian Fathers insisted that Mary was ever virgin. Luther, Calvin and Zwingli taught that Mary was "ever-virgin." The Catholic Church has always held that it is a lack of faith to not accept the fact that Mary is ever virgin.
What does Mary's perpetual virginity mean to us? Mary is consecrated to God as a virgin in God's time - eternal time for ever and always. Her consecrated relationship shows us a deeper meaning of our Baptism and our eternal relationship with God. God desires to dwell within us as consecrated virgins. He desires that we dwell within Him as consecrated virgins. Jesus tells us that He is the groom and we are His brides (His virgins). We are the wise (foolish) virgins.
God continues to call some to consecrated perpetual virginity as sisters and celibacy as brothers in religious orders like the Benedictines. Jesus tells us that in heaven we too will be consecrated virgins similar to Mary in Matthew 22:30. "For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like angels in heaven." The Father, Son and Holy Spirit will be our hearts desire.
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