LUKE 1:26-38
10 In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, "Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you." But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, 11 and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." But Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?" 12 And the angel said to her in reply, "The holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived 13 a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God." Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.
I have to say that I am very familiar with this passage. It is a popular series of verses this time of year, especially for Catholics, especially today. December 8 is the feast of the Immaculate Conception. This was the Gospel reading at today's mass. It is also a chronically overlooked passage by opponents to two specifically Catholic beliefs regarding Mary. The first, is the Immaculate Conception itself. This post isn't dedicated to defending that particular belief. The early church fathers did more than enough to solidify that and I will just steer you to them. They go to great lengths to defend Mary as "mother of God" and as "free from original sin." Professional "anti-Catholics" like to point out that the original Greek translation (above) calls Mary "favored." It wasn't until the Latin translation that "full of grace" replaced it. They point out that since "full of grace" didn't appear in the original Greek that it is a false doctrine. But the word Trinity was never used either, so why isn't that false? The early church defined and defended the Trinity as well as the Immaculate Conception. The basic teaching is that Jesus, by virtue of choosing Mary to be his mother, preserved her from sin. Mary did nothing to merit it; she was saved like every other Christian, by the grace of Jesus Christ.
The second doctrine that is in question is the perpetual virginity of Mary. Again, for the sake of simplicity, I will be brief. The early church fathers (seriously, if you haven't read them you really should) covered this at great length. In case you don't get the chance I will make a few comments regarding Mary's virginity. While Christians essentially agree that Mary was a virgin at the birth of Christ, most disagree that she remained one. The passage above makes it clear that she was a virgin at the birth of Christ, but I think it also makes it fairly obvious she was a lifelong virgin. What does the angel tell her? "She will conceive and bear a son." She clearly isn't confused at the mechanics since she knows it will require relations with a man. Also, she was betrothed. So it would make perfect sense for her to conceive. I find it interesting that of all the the things the angel told her would happen, it was the conception that she questioned. A little copy and paste action might help here.
"He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, 11 and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end... The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God."
Mary doesn't question any of these phrases. She questions the likelihood of a married woman getting pregnant but not that her child would be called "Son of God." Again, I find it interesting. It is entirely probable that she had made a lifelong vow of celibacy (which Joseph supported). This would make perfect sense as to why she trusted the angel's promises about who Jesus was while at the same time questioning the process. It is not proof positive of her perpetual virginity, but that is kind of the point. Scripture isn't to be used as a proof text. Scripture doesn't "prove" much of anything.
On a day like today, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, I say a prayer of thanks for being a Catholic. I say a Hail Mary so that the mother of Jesus might pray for me. I marvel at how Jesus worked. He became a man. He preserved his mother from sin. He filled her with grace. He died and rose so that His grace might fill us. He established a Church to lead us to Him. What he didn't do was write a book.
