In Defense of the Perpetual Virginity of the Blessed Mother of God!

Ralph B. HathawaIn Defense of the Perpetual Virginity of the Blessed Mother of God!

Our first implied original sin to all human beings becomes the theological fact that Mary was conceived Immaculately  freed from original sin.  For Christ to be incarnated he would take on humanity in a vessel that is as pure as he is also.  We are told that in order to enter heaven where God is pure and Holy, each one must also be holy as Jesus’ heavenly Father is.  

Mary, because God chose her for this most privilege of becoming his mother, she was already redeemed from sin and through grace would be kept free from committing sin.  The totality of her cooperation with grace corresponded with the abundance of Christ’s gifts to her, so that she is the first fruits of redemption.  (cf The Teaching of Christ - a Catholic Catechism by Donald Wuerl, Bishop 3rd edition).  

St. Thomas Aquinas says that the Blessed Virgin gave her consent “in place of the whole human race.”  Because Mary accepted God’s will for her, we are able to accept the fruits of Christ’s redemption into our own lives.  (cf Teaching of Christ).

Mary - ever-virgin:  “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.  And so the liturgy of the Church celebrates Mary as Aeiparthnos, the Ever-virgin.”  (499 CCC )

 A footnote;  Against this doctrine the objection is sometimes raised that the Bible mentions brothers and sisters of Jesus.  The Church has always understood these passages referring to other children of the Virgin Mary.  In fact James and Joseph, brothers of Jesus, are the sons of another Mary, a disciple of Christ, whom Matthew significantly calls the other Mary.  They are close relations of Jesus, according to an Old Testament expression.”

How easy it becomes to take segments of scripture out of context and use one or more words to suit the controversy of TV evangelists and other main-line denominations to incorrectly make an incorrect proclamation of the Catholic Faith.  For some reason, too many scripture teachers just dwell on putting Catholicism in a crucible and directing their congregations to believe that Catholicism is not correct.  Every time I hear one of them elaborate, Jesus's brothers, especially James, I want to pull them off the tube which cannot be done.  

James happens to be the brother of John, son of Zebedee, and if this is the James many ministers attribute as the brother of Jesus, they should take another look at the gospel of Matthew.   (Mt 4: 18 - 22).

The mother of God, Mary Most Holy, is not a co-redeemer with her Son, Jesus.  Neither is she the one who forgives sin.  However, Mary, the Blessed mother of God is the very human being that God chose even before she was conceived in her mother’s womb to be his mother on earth and in heaven as well.  She definitely is more than just an earthly being that God chose to accomplish his plan to forgive and redeem all of humanity and then discard her essence as a passing entity with no more importance.  The flesh of Mary and all that it entails became a spiritual entity that was created before time and is among the most essential graces that our creator God prepared to save you and me.  Mary is not divine, but without her Jesus did not become Incarnate and we are still in our sin, throughout eternity.

Ralph B. Hathaway