I have received more response over the issue of Mary then any other post in the short history of this site. Many of you I have repsonded to directly. Seeing as there is such an interest I will once again address the issues of Mary and her role in our relationship with Christ. Both Mary and Joesph were in a sense the first Christians for the believed and submitted to the will of God even when it seemed illogical. As you read you the scripture you will begin to understand two very important things: 1. Mary is the Mother of Jesus (God) 2. Mary always remained a virgin.
Matthew 1:18-24 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit; and her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved tosend her away quietly. But as he considered this, behold, anangel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; she will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and His name shall be called Emmanuel" (which means God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him.
St. Matthew relates here how Christ was conceived (cf. Luke1:25-38): "We truly honor and venerate (Mary) as Mother of God, because she gave birth to a person who is at the same time both God and man". According to the provisions of the Law of Moses, engagement took place about one year before marriage and enjoyed almost the same legal validity. The marriage proper consisted, among other ceremonies, in the bride being brought solemnly and joyously to her husband's house (Deuteronomy 20:7). From the moment of engagement onwards, a certificate of divorce was needed in the event of a break in the relationship between the couple. The entire account of Jesus' birth teaches, through the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14 (which is expressly quoted in verses 22-23) that: 1) Jesus has David as His ancestor since Joseph is His legal father; 2) Mary is the Virgin who gives birth according to the prophecy;3) the Child's conception without the intervention of man was miraculous. St. Joseph was an ordinary sort of man on whom God relied to do great things. He did exactly what the Lord wanted him to do, in each and every event that went to make up his life. That is why Scripture praises Joseph as `a just man'. He was therefore faced with a situation hecould not explain. Precisely because he was trying to do God's will,he felt obliged to put her away; but to shield her from public shame hedecided to send her away quietly. Mary's silence is admirable. Her perfect surrender to God even leads her to the extreme of not defending her honor or innocence. She prefers to suffer suspicion and shame rather than reveal the work of grace in her. Faced with a fact which was inexplicable in human terms she abandons herself confidently to the love and providence of God. We ought not to be surprised if we also undergo difficult trials in the course of our lives. There are some thing that are hard to believe and impossible to explain. We ought to trust in God during them, and remain faithful to Him, following the example they gave us. God gives His light to those who act in an upright way and who trust in His power and wisdom when faced with situations which exceed human understanding. The truth revealed to us by the sacred text is that Mary, in whom the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14 is fulfilled, was a virgin before and during the birth itself. The miraculous sign given by God that salvation had arrived was precisely that a woman would be a virgin and a mother at the same time. Such was the work of the HolySpirit, who at the conception and birth of the Son so favored the Virgin Mother as to impart fruitfulness to her while preserving her perpetual virginity. It is God who gave the world Mary as our perfect example of devotion to God.
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