Behold The Truth
Discovering the What & Why of the Catholic Faith

Virgin Mary

L'Innocence, William-Adolphe Bouguereau, 1893

L'Innocence, William-Adolphe Bouguereau, 1893

WE BELIEVE MARY IS EVER-VIRGIN
The Church has always proclaimed the perpetual virginity of Mary, meaning she was a Virgin before and after the birth of Christ, and retained her virginity throughout her lifetime. The Church carefully guards this sacred mystery as it is directly connected to the truth of the Incarnation of the Son of God.

WHY DO WE BELIEVE MARY IS EVER-VIRGIN?
An excerpt from the book Come and See

Mary's perpetual virginity is an outward sign of her inner sanctity. Ultimately, though, it is a sign that points to the holiness of Christ Her Son and the uniqueness of the Incarnation. As the Bible makes clear, in fact, the Virgin Birth was a principal sign of Christ's divinity. Therefore, it was fitting that this sign endured throughout Mary's lifetime. It is unthinkable, indeed, to imagine fallen children (sinners) entering into the world through the same womb that bore Christ, the spotless Lamb of God (cf. 1 Pet. 1:19). The Church finds a prophecy of Mary's perpetual virginity in the Song of Solomon: "A garden locked is my sister, my bride, a garden locked, a fountain sealed" (4:12); as well as in the words of Ezekiel: "This gate shall remain shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it; for the LORD, the God of Israel, has entered by it; therefore it shall remain shut" (Ez. 44:2). That Mary bore no children after Jesus is confirmed, too, by the Lord's entrustment of her to the Apostle John at death (cf. John 19:27). If she had had other children, Jesus would obviously not have needed to ask someone outside of the family to care for her.

We find Mary's perpetual virginity proclaimed and defended in the early Church historical writings. "This Mother alone was without milk," wrote Saint Clement of Alexandria in about the year 200, "because she alone did not become a wife. She is at once both Virgin and Mother" (The Instructor of the Children 1:6:42:1). His pupil, Origen, wrote in about 230, "Mary, as those declare who with sound mind extol her, had no other son but Jesus" (Commentaries On John 1:6).