Sign of No Peace
St. Joseph Was Quite A Guy
Photo By: Flickr/midiman
Let's set aside any doubt about Mary's vow of perpetual virginity for the moment.
To be "bethrothed" meant a state of marriage without cohabitation¹. Only a formal divorce could dissolve a bethrothal. So, Joseph would have known about Mary's vow of perpetual virginity. Yet, he "married" her anyway! This obviously implies Joseph's own vow of perpetual virginity!
When Joseph learned that Mary was pregnant (St. Matthew 1:19-20), part of his dismay was based on her vow of perpetual virginity - "Mary! What do you mean you're pregnant? I thought you took a vow to be a virgin for life? I was planning to do this along with you!"
Getting back to Mary, when she "said to the angel: How shall this be done, because I know not man?" (St. Luke 1:34, DRB), Mary was stating not only her present condition of virginity, but her intention of her future state (the Greek present tense of "know" implies current and future).²
Truly indeed this couple was planning a remarkable marriage!
¹http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/3229-betrothal
²http://forums.catholic.com/showthread.php?t=737470
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About the Author
Born in Peterborough, NH, Dan is a God-fearing Catholic husband and father. He is a graduate of Merrimack College in North Andover, MA where he received a Bachelors of Science in Computer Science. He received a Certification in Youth Ministries from the Diocese of Manchester in 1999. A former volunteer director of Youth Ministries at St. Christopher Parish, Nashua, NH, Dan was most also a part-time Youth Ministry Coordinator at St. Kathryn Parish in Hudson, NH. He was most reccently an IT Systems Administrator at St. Michael's Media/Church Militant.
Dan and his wife Joan of 33 years have three children and two grandchildren. He and his wife are currently full-time RVers!
