Amazing Catechists

Teaching and learning the faith together

Mary’s Perpetual Virginity and the new normal

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Today’s Gospel reading is a short one.  In fact, I can copy it in its entirety right here:

The mother of Jesus and his brothers came to him but were unable to join him because of the crowd.  He was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside and they wish to see you.” He said to them in reply, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it” (Luke 8:19-21)

When discussions or debates are held about Mary’s perpetual virginity – the teaching that she remained chaste even after giving birth to Jesus – inevitably two scripture references are brought up.  The first one is the one I quoted above which refers to the Jesus’ “brothers.” The second is from the first chapter of Matthew’s Gospel:

When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took his wife, but knew her not until she had borne a son; and he called his name Jesus (Mt 1:24-25, my emphasis added)

The implication when these two verses are combined is Joseph didn’t have sexual relations with Mary while she was pregnant with Jesus, but afterwards they adopted a “normal” marital relationship which produced additional offspring (i.e. Jesus’ brothers).

That line of argumentation is one of those “zingers” Protestant fundamentalists like to throw at Catholics.  For Catholics who are not grounded in the bible, which sadly is many of them, and who do not know the development of the doctrine on Mary’s Perpetual Virginity, this argument comes across as rather convincing.  I remember a well-intentioned Baptist deacon rattling off these two quotes in quick succession at me when I was 19 years old and I had no idea how to respond (until I got this book, published two years earlier).

The debate on this topic is not a new one.  A man named Helvidius published a tract in Rome (c. 383), arguing against Mary’s Perpetual Virginity.  The great linguistics expert and biblical scholar, St. Jerome, who was also in Rome when Helvidius put forth his ideas, wrote a rebuttal, defending the Church’s teaching.

There is one part of Jerome’s response to Helvidius every Catholic should be able to grasp with the use of reason alone.  It doesn’t require an in-depth knowledge of scripture nor does it require one to know the 2000 history which comprises the Church’s teaching on Mary’s virginity.  No, all a person needs to ponder for a moment is the idea that nothing about Mary and Joseph’s life was going to be “normal” after their respective angelic visitations (cf. Lk 1:26-38 and Mt 1:18-25).

Think about it.  How was anything in the lives of these two people going to be “normal” after angels come to inform them of the miraculous conception of Jesus and tell them they will be the earthly parents of the Son of God?  I’m sure their lives were many, many things, but normal probably wasn’t one of them.

I feel comfortable making that kind of assumption (<– Marian pun) because it puts me in company with St. Jerome (not bad company to be in).  He wrote in his treatise, Against Helvidius: The Perpetual Virginity of Blessed Mary:

In short, what I want to know is why Joseph refrained until the day of her delivery? Helvidius will of course reply, because he heard the angel say, “that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost” (Mt 1:20) And in turn we rejoin that he had certainly heard him say, “Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife” (ibid) The reason why he was forbidden to forsake his wife was that he might not think her an adulteress. Is it true then, that he was ordered not to have intercourse with his wife? Is it not plain that the warning was given him that he might not be separated from her? And could the just man dare, he says, to think of approaching her, when he heard that the Son of God was in her womb? Excellent!

We are to believe then that the same man who gave so much credit to a dream that he did not dare to touch his wife, yet afterwards, when he had learnt from the shepherds that the angel of the Lord had come from heaven and said to them, “Be not afraid: for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people, for there is born to you this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord;” (Lk 2:10)and when the heavenly host had joined with him in the chorus, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men of good will;” (Lk 2:14) and when he had seen just Simeon embrace the infant and exclaim, “Now lettest thou thy servant depart, O Lord, according to thy word in peace: for mine eyes have seen thy salvation;” (Lk 2:25-34) and when he had seen Anna the prophetess (Lk 2:36-38), the Magi, the Star, Herod, the angels; Helvidius, I say, would have us believe that Joseph, though well acquainted with such surprising wonders, dared to touch the temple of God, the abode of the Holy Ghost, the mother of his Lord?

Jerome uses a lot of words (an admirable trait) to basically say, “Whatta stupid?”

I think there are two things that we, as modern 21st century people, struggle to get our heads around.  First is the radicalness of Mary and Joseph’s experience.  Ideas such as angelic visitations, voices from the heavens, pregnancy without intercourse, parenting the “Son of God,” etc. lay just out of our reach to comprehend.  We struggle with them (understandable) because we likely have nothing comparable in our own lives.  Our children didn’t come to us through divine intervention and they seem a little less than divine when they are throwing a fit about not getting their way.

The second concept is the idea of forsaking sexual intercourse for life.  That certainly doesn’t seem “normal” by today’s standards, perhaps not even by 1st century Palestinian standards either.  It would seem much more likely that Helvidius’ position, the one maintained by most Evangelicals, is right: Joseph and Mary refrained from intercourse “until [Mary] had borne a son” but afterwards they adopted a “normal” sexual relationship.  But what we must seriously consider is that Joseph’s and Mary’s standard for “normal” had been radically changed because of God’s intervention in their lives.

Just reflect on the magnitude of the responsibility this couple was being given.  Think about the mind-blowing, life-altering experiences they had before Jesus’ birth and after. What would you be willing to give up to be part of the plan to being salvation to the entire world?

You are part of that plan to bring salvation to the world you know, or at least to your corner of it.  God has intervened in your life in many different ways (e.g. sacraments, prayer life, through family/friends), your definition of “normal” is now different from the world’s definition (cf. 1 Pt 2:11, Rm 12:2 and Jn 17:16) .  Because your version of normal is different than the world’s, ask yourself: “What sacrifice am I willing to make in order to bring Christ to others?”

The Graces of the Immaculate Conception Belong To You!

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Today the Universal Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. I think of all the teachings of the Catholic Church, the Immaculate Conception is one of the most misunderstood by our Protestant brothers and sisters and, sadly, by Catholics. Take for example, the art that is associated with it (both pieces are titled “The Immaculate Conception”):

Picture of Mary 1Picture of Mary 2


Artwork such as this, while attractive, doesn’t really help us to understand what the dogma is all about. Actually, it steers us in a direction away from what the dogma is about. If art doesn’t help us to understand the teaching, perhaps the Mass readings would help us understand it better. Unfortunately, the Gospel reading from Luke actually provides the most common misunderstanding of the dogma; specifically, that the Immaculate Conception is about Jesus’ conception. In fact, the teaching is not about Jesus’ conception, but about Mary’s conception.

So here is the exact wording that defines what the Church is teaching; it comes from the Apostolic Constitution Ineffabilis Deus issued by Pope Pius IX on December 8, 1854:

Declaramus, pronuntiamus et definimus doctrinam quae tenet beatissimam Virginem Mariam in primo instanti suae conceptionis fuisse singulari Omnipotentis Dei gratia et privilegio, intuitu meritorum Christi Jesu Salvatoris humani generis, ab omni originalis culpae labe praeservatam immunem, esse a Deo revelatam, atque idcirco ab omnibus fidelibus firmiter constanterque credendam

Oh, I suppose you want that in English…

“We declare, pronounce, and define that the doctrine which holds that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin, is a doctrine revealed by God and therefore to be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful.”

So what is important to ask once we have the definition is: What does that really mean and why did God do this?

First, what does the definition mean? It has to do, primarily, with “original sin,” a concept that is unique to Christianity. That is why the first reading in the Mass for the Solemnity is from the third chapter of Genesis. Man was originally created in a “state of holiness and justice” whereby man would not have to suffer or die.” Instead of choosing to remain in such a state, “man preferred himself to God and by that very act scorned him” (CCC 375-376, 398). The net effect of “Adam’s sin” was a loss of his original holiness, not just for himself, but for “all human beings” (CCC 416). St Augustine taught that Adam and Eve’s sin was then passed down biologically to all human beings so that we all suffer from “the original sin,” even while we may not have done anything ourselves.

The idea behind the dogma of the Immaculate Conception is that Mary was preserved from original sin, not because of anything Mary did so right, remember she hasn’t been born yet, but because of what Jesus Christ would do. We know (believe) that Jesus Christ was the Son of God who saved us from original sin so therefore he must be without original sin himself. However, if he was born of a human mother, how could he avoid being affected by the original sin in her? This is where the idea of the Immaculate Conception comes in. Mary was immaculately conceived in her mother’s womb. Now when Jesus is born of Mary, he would not be affected by that same sin.

So putting the technical aspects aside for a moment, we can turn to the second question; specifically, what was God’s motivation? If God is capable of preserving someone from original sin, why not just do it to Jesus while he is in Mary’s womb? Why Mary first? As I already stated, Mary’s sanctification was as a result of the merits of Jesus Christ in advance of his birth. God the Father granted Mary this “singular grace” to show what Jesus would do for all of humanity, for you and I. Sounds confusing? Stay with me, it’s going to get good.

The dogma of the Immaculate Conception is not really about Mary. I have to keep stressing, the dogma defines something that happened before her birth! The dogma is really about God wanting to restore the relationship that was lost with humanity and his plan to do that through his son, Jesus Christ. Sadly, Catholics are not taught the faith too well these days and so a combination of ignorance, along with some romanticized notions about Mary, tend to obstruct what this is all about. When we read that Jesus was tempted the same as us but never sinned (Heb 4:15), I think that we say, “Well, of course he isn’t going to sin, he is God.” But then Jesus sets the bar pretty high for us by telling us to be as perfect as our heavenly father (Mt 5:48). Now we think, “Hey, hold up. How am I supposed to do that, I’m not God?” There is a way and Mary’s Immaculate Conception prefigures it for us.

The Immaculate Conception is important for us today because it is integrally related to our baptism. What God did for Mary at her conception, he does for us at our baptism! Yes, it does! Read what the Catechism says: “Baptism, by imparting the life of Christ’s grace, erases original sin and turns a man back towards God, but the consequences for nature, weakened and inclined to evil, persist in man and summon him to spiritual battle” (CCC 405). Did you catch that? Our baptism “erases original sin!” What did the Immaculate Conception do? Kept Mary preserved free “from all stain of original sin.” The graces we receive in our baptism are the same as those Mary received in her mother’s womb! They both come from the same wellspring of love and mercy. Now that doesn’t mean that after our baptism we can’t sin anymore, we obviously still do, but the Immaculate Conception didn’t mean that Mary couldn’t sin any more either. God did not take away her free will, just like he didn’t take away Adam and Eve’s. This makes people squirm a bit, but Mary could have sinned, Catholics just believe she didn’t because to sin is to choose something other than God. By always choosing to put God first, Mary was able to rise above the evils of the world. We have been given the same graces as Mary, our choices just don’t seem to be as good as hers.

All of this is pure gift because of what Jesus Christ has done for us. It is certainly not because we are virtuous; we never could have earned it. But then again, Mary did not earn it either because she wasn’t born yet to earn it. Do you know what a consolation this is? You should immediately feel encouraged by this! God has not held anything back from us. In Mary we have such a beautiful model of a human being, not a god or goddess, living fully in cooperation with the abundant graces God provides. And now that we have learned that we are gifted with the exact same graces through our baptism, we should feel even more encouraged, not discouraged, when we contemplate her perfect submission to the will of God. In fact, we have the benefit of additional graces she didn’t (e.g the Eucharist).

Hopefully this post will help to clear up the definition of the Immaculate Conception, as well as, provide some hope and encouragement. God freely chooses to share his grace with us, to share his own self with us, as a pure gift all because of Jesus Christ. We need not earn God’s gifts to us, in fact, we never could earn God’s love and grace in a million years. And because we are so richly blessed with it, we are given the power to cooperate, like Mary, with God’s plan and to rise above the evils of this world.

I’ll close by taking some liberties with the Immaculate Conception definition from Ineffabilis Deus: “In the first instance [after your baptism], by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, [set YOU] free from all stain of original sin.”

Now go and live fully in that grace!

How did I get to Amazing Catechists?

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In Canto I of Dante’s Inferno, Dante is “lost in the wood” and comes upon a hill.  Looking up the hill, he sees “three wild beasts” before him.  Terrified, he runs away, finds Virgil and begs his help.  Virgil tells Dante, he “must traverse the unseen world if he would escape the perils of the wood.”  In other words, “You need to go up that hill Dante.”

Well that is not much of a choice, is it?  Stay lost in the woods, “wherein the way of truth was seen no more” or head up a hill where it appears certain death waits.  Dante laments his situation and ponders:

“How first I enter’d there I scarce can say; so heedless was I and so full of sleep that hour wherein I swerved from the straight way.”

Dante is basically asking, “How did I get here?” or “How did I get myself into this situation?”

Ever been there?  Ever been in a seemingly impossible situation wondering how you got there?  I have.

Were you willing to admit that perhaps it was the choices you made when you were “heedless” (syn: careless, inattentive, reckless) and “full of sleep” that led you there?  I have, but only in recent times.  In my younger years, there probably wasn’t much of a chance that I was going to own up to my own poor decision making.

One of the benefits of growing older, and hopefully wiser, is that we take a little more time making decisions; we tend not to be so “heedless.”  A benefit that comes from careful decision making is the amount of times we find ourselves in seemingly impossible situations, like Dante, actually decreases.  I can’t promise that you will never be faced with difficult choices ever again (I don’t even have that expectation for myself).  Some times we are thrust into situations that are beyond our control.  But there is a difference, you see?  The circumstances are beyond our control.  The difficult choice before us may not be a result of poor decision making.  Real wisdom comes in being able to distinguish the difference.

I am new to Amazing Catechists and this is my first posting.  Lisa very generously offered me the opportunity to post here alongside the many other outstanding contributors.  There were a lot of different ideas floating around in my head about what to write for my “introductory post” and I chose the theme of decision making because I wanted to share with you the first bible verse I ever read.  However, before I do, I should provide you with some background.

I grew up in a nominally Catholic home.  We went to Mass on Sunday and I received all of my sacraments “on time,” but none of us, except my mother, really sought to live their faith.  She fervently and diligently pray for all of us kids and for my dad.  I know she prayed for me because I was the “headless” one of the group.  My brother went off to college with a full tuition scholarship and my sister got married to a Marine.  Good choices.  My choices, even as far back as high school, led me into situations where facing three beasts would have seemed like an easy day.  All these bad choices ushered in a lot of pain and served as the basis for wondering: “How did I get here?”

My 20’s weren’t that much better.  Those early years in the Navy provided me with a lot of opportunities for trouble.  By the time I was 25, I had a failed marriage, a mountain of debt, and an addictive personality that I didn’t keep in check as I desperately reached for anything to help ease the pain.  Bad choices.  More pain.  More wondering: “How did I get here?”

Now going back in time to when I was 18 and fresh out of boot camp.  I picked up a bible and opened it to a random page.  The first verses I read were Jer 29:11-13:

For I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me; when you seek me with all your heart….

I didn’t know it at the time, but a seed was planted.  A seed that would grow with the passing of time into a steady and sure anchor.  That seed was the Word of God.

A least a million things have happened since I first read that verse at 18.  There were my turbulent 20’s, my mellowing 30’s and now I’m beginning my peaceful 40’s (at least I hope they’re peaceful).  But all of those things through the years have lead me to compose this blog entry today.

So how did I get here, on Amazing Catechists?  Well, it wasn’t through “heedless” decision making.  Heck, it wasn’t even through careful planning.  It was the Holy Spirit prompting Lisa to reach out to me and she said, “Yes” to the Spirit.  It was the Holy Spirit prompting me to say, “Yes” to her offer.

Remember when I said earlier that as poor decision making decreases so do the times we find ourselves in seemingly impossible situations?  Basically, I find myself with only one decision to make most days, the decision to say “yes” to God, to say “yes” to the promptings of his Holy Spirit.  It’s when I say, “No” that things get hard for me.  But why should I, or anyone else, say “yes?”  Just look back to that verse from Jeremiah: the plans the Lord has for me (and you) are for good and a future filled with hope.  God isn’t planning anything bad for me or for anyone.  His plans are for our good (cf. Rom 8:28).  We just have to be willing to say, “YES!”

When you say, “Yes” to the Lord, the question of, “How did I get here?” is easy to answer.  We can reply that the Lord led me here, to this green pasture, to lie down and he accompanies me through the dark valleys, just like the one Dante had to walk through, and comforts me in the midst of many enemies (beasts) (cf. Ps 23:2, 4, 5).  It is that reaching out in faith in the midst of uncertainty that the Lord honors (cf. Gen 15:6,  Rom 4:3).  If you need another example, may I recommend you skip ahead in the Mass readings to Thursday, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception and read how the young girl Mary said, “Yes” to the Lord and offered herself as his “handmaid” (Lk 1:38).

How did I get to Amazing Catechists?  The Lord brought me here.  I just had to say, “Yes.”