Dirty Pictures

Understanding the perpetual virginity of Mary

12/20/2021

Lk 1:26-38 In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end.”

One of the most controversial teachings of the Catholic Church is the perpetual virginity of Mary. Are you aware of that doctrine, that Mary was perpetually virgin her whole life? That is, Mary did not have other children besides Jesus, and more to the point, she never had sexual relations with St. Joseph. Now I say that teaching is “controversial’ because it is flatly denied by most Protestants, and it even surprises some Catholics who should be more familiar with their faith.

The Protestant position is based on those passages in Matthew 13 and Mark 6 that refer to the “brothers” (and even some sisters) of Jesus. Hence, they argue that Jesus could not have had “brothers” if Mary and Joseph did not have marital relations and thereby produce other offspring.

The Catholic Church’s answer can be found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 500. It states strongly: “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 disciple of Christ, whom St. Matthew significantly calls, ‘the other Mary.’ They are close relations of Jesus, according to an Old Testament expression.” So, we have our ways of explaining these problematic passages.

Our Scriptures today also support the virginity of Mother Mary. In the 8th century B.C. Isaiah prophesied: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall name him Emmanuel.” And in today’s gospel from Luke, we read: “The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary.” In other words, both Isaiah and Luke explicitly affirm Mary’s virginity, at least prior to the birth of Jesus.

And the two thousand year tradition of the Church is emphatic about her perpetual virginity after the birth of Jesus. Why? Well, because our Christian faith not only sheds light on how we should live on earth, but also how we will live in heaven. And in heaven we will all be “virgins” in the sense of not being married. But don’t take my word for it, listen to the words from the lips of Jesus in Mt 22:30: “At the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like the angels in heaven.” And Mary is the model of both earthly life and heavenly glory, and that is why the Church teaches she was a perpetual virgin.

But the real reason, I believe, that this teaching of Mary’s perpetual virginity is so controversial has little to do with the biblical evidence, but rather it is based on our society’s obsession with sex. We cannot imagine life without sex and so we cannot imagine someone who could be a perpetual virgin. It’s like that joke about the guy who goes to see a psychologist. He says, “Doc, I got a real problem. I can’t stop thinking about sex.” The doctor says, “Well, let’s see about that.” He takes out a series of cards with ink blots.

He shows the man the first picture and asks, “What is this a picture of?” The man looks intently and answers, “That is a man and woman in bed making love.” The psychologist shows him the next picture and asks, “Now what do you see?” The man stares for a moment and says: “It’s a man and woman making love.” The psychologist presents a third ink blot and asks the man’s opinion. He answers: “That is a man and a woman making love.” The psychologist concludes: “Yes, you do seem to be obsessed with sex.” The man exclaims: “Me!? You are the one who keeps showing me the dirty pictures!”

And that is why we find it so hard to accept the doctrine of the perpetual virginity of Mary. Because everywhere our sex-saturated society looks all we can see is “a man and a woman making love,” even when we look at the Sacred Scriptures, even when we look at Mary and Joseph. But the Catholic faith, instructed by the inspired Word and taught by Tradition, shows us how to live and be happy not only in this life but also in the next life, where we “neither marry nor are given in marriage.” And Mother Mary is the model of both worlds. Why? Because she was Jesus’ first and best disciple, who learned his lessons both perfectly and perpetually.

Praised be Jesus Christ!