The Old Testament Foretold that Mary Would Give Birth Without Pain (Catholic Caucus)

Cantaur ^ | December 22, 2012 | DR. TAYLOR MARSHALL

[NYer]

Painting: Michaelangelo's Prophet Isaiah

Dear friends,

We are all familiar with Isaiah's well known prophecy of Christmas:

“Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold a Virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son and his name shall be called Emmanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14)

However, Isaiah made another (lesser known) prophecy of Christmas:

"Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a Manchild" (Isa 66:7)

This verse is the basis for the Catholic teaching that Mary experienced no pain when she delivered Christ at Bethlehem. The Roman Catechism teaches that Christ passed through her "as sunlight passes through glass."

The reason for this is that Mary is the New Eve who gives birth to the promised Savior (see Gen 3:15). As New Eve, the Blessed Virgin Mary escapes the curse of Eve - labor pains.

This might be something interesting to discuss this Christmas with family or below in the comments. Keep in mind that all the Church Fathers before AD 600 believed that Mary's delivery was painless.

[AnAmericanMother]

I don't think the phrase "as sunlight through glass" means that the baby Jesus was incorporeal. His mother wasn't glass either (glass being transparent and breakable and all that).

It's just a poetic turn of phrase meaning that Jesus' birth did his mother no harm, without getting into the nitty-gritty details of labor and delivery.

Since I have known plenty of moms who gave birth with no anesthesia and very little pain (my own mom and my self among them, mom being one of the first generation of American followers of Grantley Dick-Read M.D.), I would expect that the Blessed Mother's 'childbirth experience' would be at least that good, and better.

[Tax-chick]

It's just a poetic turn of phrase ...

Oh, that kind of thing always throws me off.

[AnAmericanMother]

It does my husband too.

All you scientific types . . . ! on the other hand, I couldn't balance my checkbook if you held a gun to my head.

A liberal education (in the old-fashioned 'trivium' sense) is not entirely wasted. But we have divided it from the 'quadrivium', and I think both sides suffer in consequence.

[Tax-chick]

I like epic poetry ... it’s all narrative and sequential and stuff ... and ballads of the Kipling or Robert Service sort, and Housemann and the War Poets. For theological matters, though, give me facts!

I have no problem with the “no pain” part: I’ve known people who had very easy deliveries, and my 6th one was pain-free until I had to push him out rear-end-first. (That was batty Pat, who turned 11 on Dec. 22.)

Merry Christmas to you and your family!

[MarkBsnr]

Ask any man.

I could, but I imagine that would tend to cause me to despise him, which is hardly the Christmas spirit.

I was referring to the excuse of PMS that enables the female to engage in egregious behaviour whilst excusing all of it and blaming it on the males in her life.

[MarkBsnr]

Since I have known plenty of moms who gave birth with no anesthesia and very little pain (my own mom and my self among them, mom being one of the first generation of American followers of Grantley Dick-Read M.D.), I would expect that the Blessed Mother's 'childbirth experience' would be at least that good, and better.

My wife is 4'11" and 95 pounds. She has given birth five separate times and never had anaesthetic during any of those births. Of course, I always made sure that her nails were clipped short...

[Tax-chick]

I’ve never met that female, so I’m sure it’s understandable that I thought you were talking about something totally different. The original topic, after all, was childbirth.

[MarkBsnr]

My bride is wonderful, attractive, and so appealing that I have to have concealed carry in order to protect her. However, she winds up irrational one week out of four and I cannot fathom it. I am a perfectly rational engineer doncha know?

[Tax-chick]

I understand. I’ve never met a man who wasn’t perfectly rational. It must be fascinating to be one.

Personally, I think rage is a perfectly rational response to bleeding buckets for a week. Perhaps if you had a catastrophic bowel problem, that would be a glimpse of what it’s like.

[MarkBsnr]

I understand. I’ve never met a man who wasn’t perfectly rational. It must be fascinating to be one.

And, I'm rather tall for my height.

Personally, I think rage is a perfectly rational response to bleeding buckets for a week. Perhaps if you had a catastrophic bowel problem, that would be a glimpse of what it’s like.

I've had influenza out of both ends at once. Will that qualify?

[Tax-chick]

I've had influenza out of both ends at once. Will that qualify?

Nope, doesn't last long enough or recur. A good malignant malaria might do.

[MarkBsnr]

I've had influenza out of both ends at once. Will that qualify?

Nope, doesn't last long enough or recur. A good malignant malaria might do.

How about gout?

[Tax-chick]

I’ve never had gout. Does it produce gross discharges?

[MarkBsnr]

I’ve never had gout. Does it produce gross discharges?

I don't consider blood to be gross. However, gout is more painful than anything else I've experienced including broken bones and torn ligaments.

[Tax-chick]

If it was just blood, I’d agree.

I’ve heard kidney stones are the worst thing in the world.