<strong>Ответ:</strong>
Мы не уверены, что Мария умерла естественной смертью, и что после этого ее тело было взято, или же она была взята без причастия смерти. В целом, Восточные Церкви и Православные Церкви считают, что она умерла естественной смертью, и ее тело вскоре было взято вверх. Это часто называется Усоновление Пресвятой Девы Марии. Здесь выражение усоновление относится к смерти.
Искупление через Марию: её роль в Церкви
Идея о рождении Иисуса Христа из Девы Марии имеет глубокие последствия не только для христианской веры, но и для человеческой истории в целом. Мария, как мать Иисуса, не просто рождает Сына Божьего, но также становится матерью всей Церкви.
Роль Марии в проведении Божественного плана
Мария сыграла ключевую роль в реализации плана Бога через своё безупречное подчинение воле Господней: Сказала Мария: вот, Раба Господня, да будет Мне по слову Твоему (Лука 1:38). Её послушание становится обращением диспозиции нашего первого предка, Адама, который нарушил Божью заповедь. Таким образом, Мария, в определённом смысле, выступает как новая Ева, через которую человечество обретает доступ к жизни, потерянной из-за дисобедиености первой Евы.
Мария, Мать Церкви
Хотя Иисус является сыном Марии, её духовное материнство распространяется на всех людей, которых он пришёл спасти. Мария принимает на себя роль матери для всех верующих, в сотрудничестве с любовью матери: Сын, которого она родила, тот, которого Бог утвердил как первенца многих братьев, к которым принадлежит верующее поколение, и к которым она содействует в сотрудничестве материнской любви.
Почитание Марии и её значение для Церкви
Церковь призывает к смирению Марии. Мы не можем поучиться на её примере, если не задумаемся о её святости. Почитая Марию, мы чтим Господа, являющегося источником славы Марии. Мария, будучи образцом веры и любви, является предником Церкви, и поэтому марианское почитание является важной частью католической традиции. И как отмечает Ратцингер: Церковь забывает о своём долге, когда она не прославляет Марию.
Мария — образ Матери Церкви и пример для каждого верующего. Её преданность Божественной воле и бескорыстие служения делают её идеальным образцом для подражания всем верующим.
A Celebration of Mary: The Mother of God
В течение этого месяца Марии и материнства, мы уверенно можем почтить Марию как Матерь Божью и Матерь Церкви. Через ее заступничество, пусть все матери получат благодать Христа и внушат ее своим детям.
The Magnificat: A Prophetic Message
Исключительной является та ситуация, что Магнификат является пророчественным посланием – через него Мария становится сосудом божественной коммуникации, предсказывая, что Бог сделает через ее нерожденного сына. Фактически, Рид видит Марию как образец богослова на протяжении первых двух глав Евангелия Луки. Лука сообщает нам, что она удивляется, что размышляет, что сокровенно хранит информацию, которую собирает в своем сердце. Через Магнификат она показывает понимание того, как несправедливые системы держат людей в бедности и голоде. Она не тиха, но сильна, способная не только выдержать частное и общественное изучение ее странной беременности, но и прославлять Бога на протяжении всего этого.
The Significance of Mary in the Gospel of John
Наконец, Рид видит значение в том, что в Евангелии Иоанна Мария – это та, кто знает, когда пришло время для Иисуса начать свою публичную деятельность. И хотя Иисус пытается поспорить с ней, в конце концов она права – Иоанн говорит нам, что именно после свадьбы в Кане люди действительно начинают верить в него. И хотя четвертое Евангелие не включает в себя детскую повесть, Рид видит мотив рождения повсюду – сначала с рождением служения Иисуса в Кане, а затем рождением нового христианского сообщества при его смерти. В обоих случаях Мария играет роль акушерки, облегчая переход между старым и новым.
The Council of Ephesus and the Title of Theotokos
В 431 году в Соборе в Ефесе, соборе епископов, представляющих весь христианский мир, официально было заявлено, что Мария является Богородицей, что означает рождение Бога на греческом языке. Это звание, используемое с третьего века в некоторых Восточных традициях, было предназначено для разрешения напряженности, присущей христианству: понимании Иисуса как полностью человеческого и полностью божественного. Из всех титулов Марии, этот мне больше всего нравится. Он не определяет ее через ее чистоту, как это делает Дева Мария, и не определяет ее исключительно через ее отношения со своим сыном, как это делает Мария, Мать Иисуса. Он признает необъяснимо священный акт, которой она описывается как совершающая, тот самый, когда она несет Бога внутри себя, ухаживает за ним своим телом, проводит девять месяцев, зная Иисуса так, как никто другой до того не мог, прежде чем изнести его на свет.
The Humanity of Jesus and the Role of Mary
Если Иисус божественен, то его человеческие моменты я люблю больше всего: моменты, когда он злится, когда он разочарован, когда он отчаивается в Getsemani, зная все, что должно произойти. Конечно, мы знаем, что как Божий Сын, он будет воскрешен после своей смерти. Но именно потому, что он сын Марии, мы можем видеть эти понятные проявления человечности.
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Описание истории Марии
Во время беременности моего сына я вернулась к Марии. Я не посещала мессы уже много лет, и пройдет еще десятилетие, прежде чем я вернусь туда снова. Но я стала часто посещать культовое место нашей Матери Непорочной Помощи, которое оказалось прямо по соседству с больницей, где я должна была родить сына. Перед каждым приемом врача я зажигала свечу и молилась: Пожалуйста, Мария, пусть все будет хорошо. Я не совсем знала, верю ли я в что-то, но это ритуал приносил мне утешение в это тревожное, неуверенное время.
Мысли о Марии
В последующие годы я часто думала о Марии, не как о высокомерной, надменной девочке, как я ее когда-то представляла, а как о женщине, занимающейся материнством, старающейся воспитать ребенка, которого она обожает, но полностью не понимает. Я представляла, что воспитание Спасителя – это не задача для слабых духом. Я согласна с сестрой Барбарой Рейд, что Бог знал точно, кого Бог выбирал для этой роли: кого-то сильного, кого-то находчивого, кого-то, кто мог бы помочь приготовить сына Бога к огромной задаче, которая его ожидала.
О Мэри
Anne Thériault – журналистка из Кингстона, Онтарио.
Эта история впервые появилась в декабрьском номере журнала Broadview в 2023 году под названием Другая Мария.
Мы надеемся, что вам понравилась эта статья из Broadview.
Наша команда усердно работает, чтобы предоставить вам больше независимой, награжденной призами журналистики. Но Broadview – это некоммерческая организация, и это трудное время для журналов. Пожалуйста, поддержите нашу работу. Есть несколько способов это сделать:
Спасибо вам, наши читатели, за вашу замечательную поддержку.
Заключение
Контентное примечание: Хотя это происходит косвенно, в этом материале затрагивается тема сексуального насилия.
Это время беременности Марии, ее округленный живот. Как ей было некомфортно, путешествуя на том ослике.
Представьте себе день, когда ангел Господень явился ей и принес страшную хорошую весть: Бог желает, чтобы она стала матерью Иисуса; ее ребенок будет с нами Иммануил.
И Мария отвечает: Вот, я раба Господня; да будет мне по слову твоему (Лука 1:38).
Мы не слышим об этом часто, но христианская традиция очень высоко ценит тот факт, что Мария сказала. Ее согласие является парадигмой для веры, и Божья работа через ее согласие показывает, как Бог действует в нашей жизни. И да, здесь есть некоторые последствия для того, как мы думаем о том, как Бог ценит женщин.
Вопрос от Томаса Аквинского
В третьей части своей Суммы Вопрос 30, Статья 1, Томас Аквинский спрашивает: Было ли необходимо объявить Благословенной Деве о том, что должно было произойти с ней?
Предполагаемый объектор Томаса (его жанр включает формулирование возможных возражений перед ответом на них) предполагает, что объявление было необходимым только потому, что его единственная цель – получить согласие Девы (возражение 1).
Ah, there it is, in that objection, the devaluing of Mary’s consent. And of yours and mine. Hear how it comes with the devaluing of her person. And of yours and mine. Hear the sin of patriarchy, the sin of hoarding power and using it for domination. Hear the cries of women, across the years, whose consent has been dismissed as nothing that matters.
Thomas’s delightful reply to the objection is a well placed proof text:
“You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus” (Luke 1:31)
He then offers four reasons that God acted so.
Here, Thomas quotes Augustine:
Luther would say much the same thing, as we’ll see at the end of this post.
Mary’s “yes,” is a testimony, a sermon, a song, a martyrdom. True witness to the true God must come in freedom, in consent—or consensus—with the God who is Love.
Ah now, hear how God values Mary’s person and how God values yours and mine. Feel how God cares for our agency. Know how God answers patriarchy with love. For the God of grace, free gift flows both ways: from God to us and from us to God.
Mary’s “yes,” is sacramental, signifying the way God works in human lives. In her “yes,” she stands for all of us—for human nature itself—and that makes her a priest. Mary is a witness to the priesthood of all believers created in her son’s priestly offering made for our sake.
The theology of this verse from “O Come all ye faithful” knocks me over every time.
True God of true God, Light from Light Eternal, Lo, he shuns not the Virgin’s womb; Son of the Father, begotten not created, O Come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.
A side note on original sin, the virgin birth, and sexuality, especially female sexuality:
Christian faith in the virgin birth is not about sexuality. It is certainly not a condemnation of sexuality or of sexual bodies or of women’s bodies.
He shuns not the Virgin’s womb.
Sin is not a sexually transmitted disease. The Doctrine of the Virgin birth is about WHO Jesus’s Father IS. It is about the identity of Mary’s baby, “Son of the Father, begotten not created.”
“Annunciation,” a collage icon by Beth Felker Jones.
My digital collage quotes Henry Ossawa Tanner’s “The Annunciation”Ghent altarpiece (1432), El Greco angels (top left and right), and a number of angels from European art history (ranged along the bottom). The angels of diverse tribe, tongue, and nation spanning the archway were prompted “in the style of El Greco” using Canva’s AI image generator. Who can say which among them might be Gabriel, among the heavenly host?
In her “yes,” Mary walks through the door Jesus has opened.
If you’re interested in hi-res prints or postcards of the collage, without the watermark, hop over to my Redbubble store
Martin Luther preaches to us from a Christmas 500 years past:
May we welcome Jesus. May it be with us according to God’s Word. Fiat. Come, Lord Jesus.
Grace & peace,
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It has only been in recent years that I have discovered why Mary was my lifeline and why God and Jesus seemed so distant and unapproachable. And before I go any further, I am keenly aware that it was me, not them, who created that distance.
A few weeks before I turned four years old, I experienced sexual abuse by an adult neighbor. It lasted for a period of a few weeks but, in an instant, it changed the trajectory of my life forever. It wasn’t until my mid-thirties, fully submerged in multiple addictions, that I began to have PTSD symptoms of flashbacks, dreams, crying jags, depression, and anxiety that led me to therapy to deal with the issue of childhood sexual abuse.
The initial years of therapeutic healing were hampered by my continued addiction bouts that I fled to when the pain of trauma and its memories proved too much. Compulsive sexual behavior that had begun at age 12 became a clandestine ritual of anonymous sexual acting out as an adult, and alcoholism that had its roots in my teens became a full-blown addiction around my mid-twenties. On the outside, I managed to continue with career, family, and the normal demands of life, but on the inside I was so wounded and broken I could barely hang on. I was living a fractured, compartmentalized double life.
During this period, I went to Mass, confession, and prayed fairly regularly, but I didn’t feel “connected” to God or spirituality very much. I also noticed times when I had an aversion to things that were religious or “Catholic,” and would even look away if I was driving somewhere and saw a cross on a church steeple. There was some attachment of pain to things “of God” that had been established deep within me, and any reminder of God would make me wince.
The exception to this aversion was the Blessed Mother. A statue of Mary in my purview evoked a warmth and attraction that I cannot quite articulate clearly. It was a feeling that whispered, She understands. She thinks I’m OK. She wants to comfort me. From a very young age, I was drawn to the beautiful Lady who exuded goodness and offered shelter and protection. I knew She had suffered and somehow endured. I ached for the respite of being embraced and shielded without having to offer anything back. And Mary always came through.
It’s hard to come to terms with anger and resentment towards God and Jesus. It feels like blasphemy, although, in actuality, it is not. As I grew up and learned about God and Jesus, I carried the misappropriated shame and guilt of what had happened to me, and I believed it was sin. This was not a conscious choice or decision; it simply was. By the time I was five or six years old, I knew I had done something very bad and that it was too vile to be forgiven.
Moreover, I was bad and couldn’t be forgiven. I remember looking at my Bible picture book that had an illustration of Jesus surrounded by children laughing and playing. I wanted to join them but I knew I never could because they were nice and good—and I was not. As I grew up, this misguided perception and fear of God the Father and punishment, coupled with the inability to see Jesus as the mediator of forgiveness, led to a deep, unconscious resentment. Eventually that resentment manifested in anger and defiance.
Mary was different. She was . She didn’t require any explanation, and she did not have the capacity nor interest in providing forgiveness. I went to her to weep and to rest. Sometimes I told her of my deep sadness and confusion, and other times I just cried for what felt like an eternity. And when I was exhausted from it all, I rested on her shoulder. She soothed my suffering, sometimes silently and sometimes with soft whispers that seemed to caress my heart. I have yet to complete the grieving and recovery from the deep ache and feeling of abandonment that came at the age of four. I am not sure if a lifetime is long enough to completely heal, and at 60 I am running out of time. But in Mary’s company, time stands still and there is no limit to the depth of her respite.
I never imagined myself as the lost sheep who Jesus left the entire flock to rescue because I always believed that I was unworthy of saving. I thought that I would have to be admonished, at the very least, in order to be picked up and brought home. I thought everything was transactional and had a price. And the price for me was telling what “I” had done—and what I had done was just too shameful to voice. I am sure that Jesus pursued me many times throughout my life but His approach elicited a desire to hide and disappear. A wounded animal never welcomes the rescuer, because it hurts to be picked up and taken to safety and refuge when broken. There are only two options: cower and hide, or lash out and repel. And I did both.
Mary didn’t come looking for me. She was always in my midst, and I sought . I brought my wounded, broken self to her and she embraced me. It seems that for most of my life, all I could do was seek and remain in her refuge. I wasn’t ready to move beyond her embrace because that might bring more pain. It has only been in recent years that I have trusted that I am ready to consider risking more. I know that Mary’s sole purpose is to bring me to Jesus, and her patience with me has been infinite and only that which a mother can offer. I have never felt coerced, nor even gently prodded to do anything except remain in her company until I am ready. She is the model of unconditional love that I have always so desperately sought.
Two years ago, I made a decision to return to the Church and to seek God the Father and God the Son. I believe it was the Holy Spirit, the Spouse of Mary, who opened my mind and heart to the possibility of returning, despite the fact that nothing much had changed in my disposition. I had stopped attending Mass and the sacraments regularly for many years and had an approach-avoidance, on-and-off relationship with God and Jesus.
Pope Francis’ words allowed me to consider that coming home was possible and that Jesus’ church was a field hospital and sanctuary for the wounded and broken, rather than a destination and prize for those who had already been cured. Mary accompanied me on my journey back and somehow it didn’t cause any further pain after all. Perhaps the most heartening aspect of my rescue has been the realization that the Blessed Mother hasn’t “dropped me off” at the doors of the Church and left me to sort things out by myself. She is with me at every Mass, confession, and all of the ministries of the Church that serve to strengthen and heal me. I am never alone, and she will never abandon me.
My commitment to remaining within the Church is non-negotiable and built on three simple, self-imposed requirements: go to Mass every Sunday and Holy Day; go to confession every month and tell the truth, and pray every day. God the Father has provided an abundance of gifts since my return to the Church. There is a Scripture study group for me to deepen my understanding of His nature and to learn alongside other Catholic men who are seeking Him. There is the Catholic In Recovery group to address my addictions, compulsions, and unhealthy attachments. There is a spiritual director who walks beside me as I face the challenges of seeking a life of doing God’s will rather than my own.
And Mary is still always with me, her Rosary my daily refuge and respite. Although I am still broken and wounded, it doesn’t seem to hurt as much anymore. I am beginning to understand there is meaning and purpose to pain, and I am more aware that everyone around me is hurting—many suffering a great deal more than I am. It’s good to be home. Thank you, Blessed Mother!
Listen to Mark L.’s beautiful song about Mary inspired by this very article!
Mark L. is a recovering alcoholic and sex and love addict. He lives in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and started a CIR General Recovery meeting at St. Joseph Parish in Downingtown, Pennsylvania. He has a particular devotion to St. Mark Ji Tianxiang, martyr and opioid addict.
Like many people, I have struggled very much with Our Lady’s place in my life. I have struggled to understand her or see the need to pray to her. I have resented devotions towards her and seen her as an unnecessary “addition” to our faith. Yet in all this, I longed very much to understand who she was and I wanted to know her love in the way that I saw my friends knew it. I knew I was missing out on something not only wonderful, but important and by the grace of God I was able to overcome my misconceptions. During this journey, I discovered many things that Mary is and in them, I came to discover what she is and how she has a place in my life.
Thoughts You Might Have Had If You’re Not Crazy About Mary
One criticism often levied at Catholics is that we worship Mary. This may be a struggle in our own faith as well- how is it right to pray to Mary? Well, we often ask other people to pray for us. Mary is a mediator between us and God. How can Christ reject His mother? She takes our prayers to Him and reminds Him of our sufferings. For a more in-depth explanation of this point, look here.
Mary is Not Judgmental or There to Point the Finger At You
Because Mary was born without sin, I believed that she judged everything I did and looked at my sins with disdain. Yet I did not realize that Mary can go to your darkest places with you and be the light that guides you home. St Augustine described Mary as being like the moon, which reflects the light of the Sun (Christ) a light in our darkness when the light of the Sun is too bright for us to look at. Mary is known as the ‘refuge of sinners’ and like all good mothers, she wants only to bring us home from our brokenness and into the Mercy of her Son. She does not stand in judgement before us, but she does keep nudging us, calling to us, encouraging us to return home.
Mary is Not Frightening
The number of apparitions of Our Lady can be a controversial topic. Did she really appear? Can we know for sure that people are telling the truth? Are we required to believe in them? They can seem downright and when we don’t understand something, it can be very frightening. It may take a visit to a place of pilgrimage of an apparition to feel any understanding or peace about it. However, all of Our Lady’s apparitions are motivated by her love of us and her messages come, like all good mothers, because she cares about us and wants us to be saved from the consequences of our sins. We are not obliged to believe in these apparitions. They are ‘private’ revelations. However, some devotions surrounding them are very beautiful and with time, you may find yourself drawn to the messages of them. See this link here to get you started.
Mary is Not Your Earthly Mother
In order to understand Mary, we naturally look to our own mothers as a model of motherhood. They are the lens through which we see her. However, no matter how wonderful our earthly mothers might be, they are never going to be perfect and so we tend to project the negative characteristics or experiences of our own mothers onto Our Lady, making her into a bigger, negative version of our own mother. This can be a particular problem if you have a very broken relationship with your earthly mother. But fear not. Mary was without sin, making her therefore the best kind of mother there is. She is all the positive attributes of your own mother and She is the best at motherhood! She cares for us and longs for us to know her son better!
Mary is Not Weak
This is a common misconception about Our Lady and comes from our lack of human understanding of the concepts of obedience and humility. Yes, Mary was obedient and humble, but that doesn’t mean she was a pushover, subservient or groveling. It means she always knew that God had a perfect plan, better than her own, greater than her understanding. It meant that she was generous with everything and cared deeply about those around her. Whilst maintaining her humility she was also assertive- think of Mary at the Wedding Feast at Cana (John 2:1) when she was persistent in asking Jesus to do something about the situation. It also takes a strong person to be obedient. It takes a strong person to be a refugee (Matt 2:13), to bring up a child in poverty, surrounded by suspicion and ridicule in a homeland ruled over by violent occupiers from another country. It takes a strong person to watch their only son publicly tortured, humiliated and eventually executed. There is nothing weak about Mary.
Mary is Not the Sum of Every Single Devotional Image You’ve Ever Seen Of Her
We are visual people, we build up ideas and concepts in our mind through what we see. Growing up in our faith or coming to the faith as an adult, we see a lot of images of Our Lady depicted in one way or another; fine art, prayer cards, statues, icons. These may be extremely helpful to us in our devotion to Our Lady but at the same time others may be hugely detrimental. They are all personal interpretations and therefore may suit one person more than another. If what you have previously seen isn’t your taste, keep searching. I was surprised by how much changed when I was able to find a picture of Our Lady that I identified with. We are a universal church; we have many cultures from which to draw from and these can all help us gain insights into who Our Lady is. In turn, this can strengthen our relationship with her and she then brings us closer to her Son.
Mary Is Not Distant and Uninterested in Your Life
Mary is Not Boring
Firstly, Mary cannot be boring- have you ever tried to raise the Messiah?! Mary lived with Jesus for thirty years of His life and then is present in the Gospels in the background for three years of His ministry. She witnessed the miracle of the Wedding Feast at Cana (John 2: 1), was present at the Crucifixion (John 19:25), must have met with the Risen Christ and prayed with the Apostles after the Ascension (Acts 1:14) to name but a few extraordinary events in her life. This does not a boring person make! Another sure-fire way to believe that Mary is boring is through a poor introduction to the Rosary. We may believe that Mary wants, inexplicably, to hear endless, dull monotonous prayers for some unspecified reason known only to her. Give the Rosary a second chance! Give it a third, or fourth, or fifth chance! Give it infinite chances! I love the rosary and yet I find praying it so difficult. The beauty of the rosary lies in its deceptive simplicity. The rosary, though we are right to pray it for our intentions, is not about us. It is about walking through Christ’s life with Mary at our side. It is about entering into the mysteries of our faith and meditating on them through the simplicity of repeating the Hail Marys. It is about asking your mother again and again and again for help. Switch off all the distractions, find a quiet space in your mind and heart and use your God given imagination to put yourself into the moments of Jesus’ life. Padre Pio said that the Rosary is the most powerful weapon we have. We have no idea what lies within its straightforward exterior. Pray the Rosary with complete confidence and trust and discover where it takes you.
Mary is Not Made Up
Where did all this devotion to Our Lady come from?! When in doubt, go back to the beginning. Meditate on the remarkable nature of a simple girl from a poor background. Read the Bible verses where Mary is mentioned; the Annunciation, the Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple, the Wedding Feast at Cana, the Way of the Cross. If you have struggled with all the exteriors of Mary in our faith then simply meditate on who she was in the Gospels. How would she have felt at these times? What would a mother feel like today experiencing these things? Too often we can get used to the miracles and extraordinary stories in the Gospel. Rediscover Mary’s story, and let it surprise you.
Mary is Not ‘Just For the Girls’
Surprisingly, it was the devotion of my male friends to Our Lady that most helped me on my way to understanding her. When I found the ultra girly, flowery approach to Mary too much, I saw how much strength my male friends drew from Mary. To them, she was a strong female role model who spoke both to the little child in them and encouraged them forward into the man they were made to be. It was a man, John, whom Christ gave His mother to, on the Cross. (John 19:27). Mary would have been around the disciples and even prayed with them (Acts 1:14). She brought up a son. She knows how to relate to men! This picture gallery from The Catholic Gentleman has some inspiring quotes about Our Lady from the saints, all aimed at a male readership. Mary has something to say to everyone, and her motherhood is for everyone.
I recently heard a podcast stating “that Mary lacked knowledge of Christ’s divine nature at some point in her life after his birth.” I’ll let that sink in. This was based on the producer’s private interpretation of Lk. 8:19-21.
If this sounds like a sour note in a piece of music, or more likely fingernails being scratched across a blackboard, thank your sensus fidelium. When we, in a state of grace (frequenting the Sacraments, prayer, fasting and alms giving) hear something that just doesn’t resonate, that is our sense of the Faith that indicates something is possibly wrong. We may not know the reasons why it isn’t quite right, but, we know something is amiss.
Let’s start with the basics.
The “Woman”
Why is this important? Because St. Jerome in his Vulgate translation; produced under the direction of Pope St. Damasus I, which, according to the dogmatic council of Trent, “has been approved by the Church, be in public lectures, disputations, sermons and expositions held as authentic, and that no one dare or presume under the pretext whatsoever to reject it,” translated “she” (ipsa) as the one who crushes the head of the serpent. It is no coincidence that many Marian apparitions show Mary standing on the head of the serpent. St. Augustine agreed with St. Jerome in correctly stating that she shall crush his head. The interpretation of “she” being the one who crushes the head of the ancient serpent, has the agreement of three saints, two popes, two doctors of the Church and a dogmatically pronounced papal bull over one thousand five hundred years.
Mary must have knowledge of her Son in order to triumph over Satan and be “eternally at enmity with the evil serpent.” In the Nestorian heresy this enmity is emptied.
In the Old Testament we see many prototypical women who give us facets of the role and activity of the Blessed Mother. Highlighting the role of advocate and co-redemptrix we see, Queen Esther, Jael, and Judith. Queen Esther places her own life at risk to advocate for her people to save them from the treachery the evil Haman. Jael destroys Sisera, by driving a spike through his head and Judith by lopping off the head of Holofernes, both enemies of Israel. But these were prototypes in particular virtues that the “woman” would have when she came into the life of the people of God. But there is the particular characteristic that was, beside the complete fullness of enmity with the ancient serpent (immaculate conception), that of the virginal conception and birth of the savior, Immanuel, God with us. “Hear then O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and call his name Immanuel.” (Is. 7:13-14).
The Prophecy of the “Woman” Fulfilled in the New Testament
In the New Testament, Luke’s account of the Incarnation, (Lk.1:26-35) seems explicit enough to dispel the nonsensical, illogical and unsupported Modernist position that Mary didn’t know who her Son was, but only came to this knowledge sometime after His birth in which her bodily virginity was preserved (second Marian Dogma). But there are more passages that when properly interpreted, according to the fathers and enduring magisterium, lay to rest the silly notion that Mary was unaware of the reality of the Incarnation within her virginal womb. Since all Marian Dogmas are intimately tied to and intertwined with the revelation of her Divine Son, we can ask what this position (that Mary didn’t know) says about God the Father and the action of the Holy Spirit?
To believe that Mary was unaware of how, and with Whom she became pregnant and by Whom and how, reduces the Blessed Mother of God to an empty vacuous vessel or worse, that the Father used her without her knowledge and consent by the action of God the Holy Ghost. Like all of what the Church teaches about the Blessed Virgin Mary, it has immediate consequences to what we believe about God, Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
For the messenger greets Mary as “full of grace”; he calls her thus as if it were her real name. He continues, “In the mystery of Christ she is present even ‘before the creation of the world,’ as one whom the Father has chosen as Mother of his Son in the Incarnation.” Notice in Luke’s account of the incarnation, the angel departs at the completion of Mary’s consent, “Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be to me according to your word.”
The dogma of Mary’s perpetual virginity; before, during and after the birth of Jesus, was dogmatically declared at Lateran Council I, in 649. “How will this be since I know not man?” Mary asks the angel, not in doubt, but rather, in light of her vow of virginity. This is a question of mechanism, not if, as the heretics say. St. Augustine would describe the miraculous birth of the unique immaculately conceived Virgin’s divine Son, “As light passes through glass without harming the glass, so Christ passed through the body of Mary.” Aquinas, in Sum. III q. 28 a. 2,3 addresses this very issue, “Without any doubt whatever we must assert that the Mother of Christ was a virgin even in His Birth: for the prophet says not only: ‘Behold a virgin shall conceive,’ but adds: ‘and shall bear a son.’ (Is. 7:14)” Aquinas continues his answer and in part writes,
But since she gave birth to the Word made flesh, God safeguarded her virginity so as to manifest His Word, by which Word He thus manifested Himself: for neither does our word, when brought forth, corrupt the mind; nor does God, the substantial Word, deigning to be born, destroy virginity.
Continuing Aquinas adds,
And secondly, this is fitting as regards the effect of Christ’s Incarnation: since He came for this purpose, that He might take away our corruption. Wherefore it is unfitting that in His Birth He should corrupt His Mother’s virginity. Thus Augustine says in a sermon on the Nativity of Our Lord: “It was not right that He who came to heal corruption, should by His advent violate integrity.”
Aquinas provides a second Scriptural verse for her perpetual virginity, “It is written (Ezekiel 44:2): ‘This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall pass through it; because the Lord the God of Israel hath entered in by it.’ Expounding these words, Augustine says in a sermon (De Annunt. Dom. iii): “What means this closed gate in the House of the Lord, except that Mary is to be ever inviolate? Even things that are holy, set apart for God’s singular purpose are not to be used or even touched in a banal or much less profane way (Dan. 5; 2 Sam. 6:6-7).”
The dogma of Mary’s perpetual virginity is an article of faith and like all dogmas of the Faith, all Christians must ascent to it in order to remain a viable member of the Body. But how do these dogmas of the faith relate to Mary’s intellectual perception of the reality of the divine nature of her miraculously conceived and born Son?
Mary is the Immaculate Conception, eternally in the mind of God, as the “woman” at enmity with the ancient serpent who crushes the ancient serpent’s head with her Immaculate foot. As the Immaculate Conception, Mary never knew sin or any of its consequences. Sin deprives us of the clarity of intellect that has possession and dominion over the lower aspects of the soul, particularly the irascible appetites. Our intellects become clouded in judgement and the ability to distinguish the truth from a lie is often muddled. In short, mortal sin makes one stupid.
Because Mary was gifted with the plenitude of grace, without the clouding of the intellect, she had perfect dominion over her lower spiritual faculties. And because her intellect was not clouded by concupiscence, she perceived the spiritual realities without ambiguity and equivocation. Since a very young age, Mary was reared in the temple and knew the Law, prophets and writings. To believe that Mary didn’t know, one has to believe that she was unaware of the prophecies of the Messiah, the appearance of an angel, being addressed as one “full of grace”, the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit and that the child will be called the Son of God; were not sufficient grounds for her to understand that the Child conceived within her was the One to rescue men from their sins. Mary knew.
Continuing in the Gospel according to Matthew, after the Incarnation, he writes,
Let them approach to hear this, who ask, Who is He that Mary bare? He shall save His people; not any other man’s people; from what? from their sins. That it is God that forgives sins, if you do not believe the Christians so affirming, believe the infidels, or the Jews who say, None can forgive sins but God only.
So it would appear that St. Joseph knew the Son to be born of Mary was in fact God. How utterly silly is it to think that Joseph, who came to know of the miraculous conception of the God-man after the Incarnation, would know prior to the one in whom the God-man was indwelling in the flesh? Mary knew.
When the wise men come to Jerusalem and then directed to Bethlehem (Mic.5:2), “they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him (pipto proskyneo autos).” This means prostrate (face plant!) oneself in homage; to adore. There is no mention of St. Joseph, “the just man” or Mary correcting the Magi by quoting the law in Deuteronomy 6:13 or in light of the law, becoming disturbed by their actions (Acts 14:11-15). They accept that these Gentiles are worshiping the infant Son of Mary, the Son of God. St. Augustine writes about the gifts given to the child: “Gold as paid to a mighty king; frankincense, as offered to God; myrrh as to one who is to die for the sins of all.” Mary was present at all of these events and yet we are to believe that she was unaware of her son’s identity and mission as the Divine Messiah, long awaited and foretold since Genesis and through Micah, the last of the prophets, who would, “save his people from their sins”? Mary knew.