Mary’s perpetual virginity, Mary: Day 039

Mary’s perpetual virginity, Mary: Day 039 August 29, 2015

year_with_mary_jerome_1Mary’s perpetual virginity

In the fourth century, one Scripture interpreter cited a passage in the Gospel of Matthew to claim that Mary gave birth to other children after Jesus. In response, the great Bible scholar St. Jerome showed how the passage doesn’t contradict the Church’s ancient tradition that Jesus was Mary’s only Child.

Joseph had no relations with Mary, the Gospel says, “until she had borne a son” (Mt 1:25). In this passage, some people insist, until implies a fixed and defi- nite time after which the event that previously didn’t take place, now takes place. So this text, they say, means that she had sexual relations after she delivered her Son. Such relations were only delayed, not prevented, by her bearing a Child.

Our reply is briefly this. The word until in the language of Holy Scripture can have either of two meanings. The Scripture often uses this word to mean a fixed time, as we noted. But frequently the term refers instead to time without limitation, as when the Savior in the Gospel tells the Apostles, “Lo, I am with you always, until the close of the age” (Mt 28:20).

Does this mean, then, that the Lord, after the end of the world has come, will forsake His disciples, so that at the very time when they’re seated on twelve thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel, they’ll be abandoned by their Lord? (See Mt 19:28.) Of course not! And I could pile up countless examples of this usage in the Scripture.

In the same sense, then, that we interpret the word until in this and other passages, we must interpret what we’re told about St. Joseph. St. Matthew simply pointed out a circumstance that might have given rise to some scandal, namely, that Mary didn’t have relations with her husband until she delivered her Son. The Evangelist did this so that we might be all the more certain that she—the one with whom Joseph refrained from having relations while there was yet room to doubt the meaning of his dream—did not have relations after her delivery, either.
—St. Jerome, Against Helvidius

IN GOD’S PRESENCE, CONSIDER . . .
In ancient times as now, Catholic teaching is sometimes challenged by those who claim that it contradicts Scripture. Have I made good use of Catholic resources for defending my faith so that I’ll be prepared when someone challenges the Church’s teaching?

CLOSING PRAYER
Lord, the Scripture is your gift to the Church to help us know and follow you. Help me to read the Scripture with the mind of the Church so that I can understand more accurately what it teaches.

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