The Church Fathers- Mary: Ever Virgin

The Church Fathers ^ | 120AD-450AD

[marshmallow]

The Protoevangelium of James

“And behold, an angel of the Lord stood by [St. Anne], saying, ‘Anne! Anne! The Lord has heard your prayer, and you shall conceive and shall bring forth, and your seed shall be spoken of in all the world.’ And Anne said, ‘As the Lord my God lives, if I beget either male or female, I will bring it as a gift to the Lord my God, and it shall minister to him in the holy things all the days of its life.’ . . . And [from the time she was three] Mary was in the temple of the Lord as if she were a dove that dwelt there” (Protoevangelium of James 4, 7 [A.D. 120]).

“And when she was twelve years old there was held a council of priests, saying, ‘Behold, Mary has reached the age of twelve years in the temple of the Lord. What then shall we do with her, lest perchance she defile the sanctuary of the Lord?’ And they said to the high priest, ‘You stand by the altar of the Lord; go in and pray concerning her, and whatever the Lord shall manifest to you, that also will we do.’ . . . [A]nd he prayed concerning her, and behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him saying, ‘Zechariah! Zechariah! Go out and assemble the widowers of the people and let them bring each his rod, and to whomsoever the Lord shall show a sign, his wife shall she be. . . . And Joseph [was chosen]. . . . And the priest said to Joseph, ‘You have been chosen by lot to take into your keeping the Virgin of the Lord.’ But Joseph refused, saying, ‘I have children, and I am an old man, and she is a young girl’” (ibid., 8–9).

“And Annas the scribe came to him [Joseph] . . . and saw that Mary was with child. And he ran away to the priest and said to him, ‘Joseph, whom you did vouch for, has committed a grievous crime.’ And the priest said, ‘How so?’ And he said, ‘He has defiled the virgin whom he received out of the temple of the Lord and has married her by stealth’” (ibid., 15).

“And the priest said, ‘Mary, why have you done this? And why have you brought your soul low and forgotten the Lord your God?’ . . . And she wept bitterly saying, ‘As the Lord my God lives, I am pure before him, and know not man’” (ibid.).

Origen

“The Book [the Protoevangelium] of James [records] that the brethren of Jesus were sons of Joseph by a former wife, whom he married before Mary. Now those who say so wish to preserve the honor of Mary in virginity to the end, so that body of hers which was appointed to minister to the Word . . . might not know intercourse with a man after the Holy Spirit came into her and the power from on high overshadowed her. And I think it in harmony with reason that Jesus was the firstfruit among men of the purity which consists in [perpetual] chastity, and Mary was among women. For it were not pious to ascribe to any other than to her the firstfruit of virginity” (Commentary on Matthew 2:17 [A.D. 248]).

Hilary of Poitiers

“If they [the brethren of the Lord] had been Mary’s sons and not those taken from Joseph’s former marriage, she would never have been given over in the moment of the passion [crucifixion] to the apostle John as his mother, the Lord saying to each, ‘Woman, behold your son,’ and to John, ‘Behold your mother’ [John 19:26–27), as he bequeathed filial love to a disciple as a consolation to the one desolate" (Commentary on Matthew 1:4 [A.D. 354]).

Athanasius

“Let those, therefore, who deny that the Son is by nature from the Father and proper to his essence deny also that he took true human flesh from the ever-virgin Mary” (Discourses Against the Arians 2:70 [A.D. 360]).

Epiphanius of Salamis

“We believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of all things, both visible and invisible; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God . . . who for us men and for our salvation came down and took flesh, that is, was born perfectly of the holy ever-virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit” (The Man Well-Anchored 120 [A.D. 374]).

“And to holy Mary, [the title] ‘Virgin’ is invariably added, for that holy woman remains undefiled” (Medicine Chest Against All Heresies 78:6 [A.D. 375]).

Jerome

“[Helvidius] produces Tertullian as a witness [to his view] and quotes Victorinus, bishop of Petavium. Of Tertullian, I say no more than that he did not belong to the Church. But as regards Victorinus, I assert what has already been proven from the gospel—that he [Victorinus] spoke of the brethren of the Lord not as being sons of Mary but brethren in the sense I have explained, that is to say, brethren in point of kinship, not by nature. [By discussing such things we] are . . . following the tiny streams of opinion. Might I not array against you the whole series of ancient writers? Ignatius, Polycarp, Irenaeus, Justin Martyr, and many other apostolic and eloquent men, who against [the heretics] Ebion, Theodotus of Byzantium, and Valentinus, held these same views and wrote volumes replete with wisdom. If you had ever read what they wrote, you would be a wiser man” (Against Helvidius: The Perpetual Virginity of Mary 19 [A.D. 383]).

“We believe that God was born of a virgin, because we read it. We do not believe that Mary was married after she brought forth her Son, because we do not read it. . . . You [Helvidius] say that Mary did not remain a virgin. As for myself, I claim that Joseph himself was a virgin, through Mary, so that a virgin Son might be born of a virginal wedlock” (ibid., 21).

Didymus the Blind

“It helps us to understand the terms ‘first-born’ and ‘only-begotten’ when the Evangelist tells that Mary remained a virgin ‘until she brought forth her first-born son’ [Matt. 1:25]; for neither did Mary, who is to be honored and praised above all others, marry anyone else, nor did she ever become the Mother of anyone else, but even after childbirth she remained always and forever an immaculate virgin” (The Trinity 3:4 [A.D. 386]).

Ambrose of Milan

“Imitate her [Mary], holy mothers, who in her only dearly beloved Son set forth so great an example of material virtue; for neither have you sweeter children [than Jesus], nor did the Virgin seek the consolation of being able to bear another son” (Letters 63:111 [A.D. 388]).

Pope Siricius I

“You had good reason to be horrified at the thought that another birth might issue from the same virginal womb from which Christ was born according to the flesh. For the Lord Jesus would never have chosen to be born of a virgin if he had ever judged that she would be so incontinent as to contaminate with the seed of human intercourse the birthplace of the Lord’s body, that court of the eternal king” (Letter to Bishop Anysius [A.D. 392]).

Augustine

“In being born of a Virgin who chose to remain a Virgin even before she knew who was to be born of her, Christ wanted to approve virginity rather than to impose it. And he wanted virginity to be of free choice even in that woman in whom he took upon himself the form of a slave” (Holy Virginity 4:4 [A.D. 401]).

“It was not the visible sun, but its invisible Creator who consecrated this day for us, when the Virgin Mother, fertile of womb and integral in her virginity, brought him forth, made visible for us, by whom, when he was invisible, she too was created. A Virgin conceiving, a Virgin bearing, a Virgin pregnant, a Virgin bringing forth, a Virgin perpetual. Why do you wonder at this, O man?” (Sermons 186:1 [A.D. 411]).

“Heretics called Antidicomarites are those who contradict the perpetual virginity of Mary and affirm that after Christ was born she was joined as one with her husband” (Heresies 56 [A.D. 428]).

Leporius

“We confess, therefore, that our Lord and God, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, born of the Father before the ages, and in times most recent, made man of the Holy Spirit and the ever-virgin Mary” (Document of Amendment 3 [A.D. 426]).

Cyril of Alexandria

“[T]he Word himself, coming into the Blessed Virgin herself, assumed for himself his own temple from the substance of the Virgin and came forth from her a man in all that could be externally discerned, while interiorly he was true God. Therefore he kept his Mother a virgin even after her childbearing” (Against Those Who Do Not Wish to Confess That the Holy Virgin is the Mother of God 4 [A.D. 430]).

Pope Leo I

“His [Christ’s] origin is different, but his [human] nature is the same. Human usage and custom were lacking, but by divine power a Virgin conceived, a Virgin bore, and Virgin she remained” (Sermons 22:2 [A.D. 450]).

[mlizzy]

QUIX: However . . . quiet “Christian” places are not overly plentiful.

PNSN: for me it is....my home.

I agree, Quix. It used to be churches were open sometimes all day, but because of vandals, that's no longer the case. And PNSN, I think the joining with other prayerful people also intensifies the peace. I've never witnessed anything like it. I usually dose off a few seconds or so.

[Quix]

THANKS, THANKS.

I’ll be sure and not go around looking for it after dark, dressed like a Jihadi!

[Quix]

Thanks.

I understand.

Appreciate the info.

[Quix]

Welllllll my bedroom is certainly that.

And often enough my Laz-Y-Boy.

However, alternate spots can be refreshing as well.

[Alamo-Girl]

I shall pray for him!

[Alamo-Girl]

Thank you for sharing your concerns, dear brother in Christ!

[Quix]

Certainly warranted . . . prayers for such folks are greatly needed, imho.

However, you might ask The Lord where to spend your precious prayer time!

[Alamo-Girl]

Indeed. I’ll ask.

[presently no screen name]

And PNSN, I think the joining with other prayerful people also intensifies the peace. I've never witnessed anything like it. I usually dose off a few seconds or so.

You are making an assumption here - first that you assume you need to teach me about prayer and secondly that I don't join others in prayer. You might want to check yourself before making those major leaps.

I am fully aware of powerful prayer/worship and all it entails. Corporate Prayer isn't a one time or sometime event for me.

Nor do I pray with anyone that prays to anyone other than The Father.

[smvoice]

pnsn, do you pray when someone gives you a book that tells you how you should proceed with such prayer, tells you how many Hail Marys you must say at this moment or that, informs you that "have mercy on me, a sinner" is said often, offers recipes to celebrate your prayer time and leaves you with a final reflection of prayers that the priest says and you respond to.

And gives these 3 or 4 times a day. The morning prayer, where a saint of the day is listed and prayed to. A mid-morning prayer to sustain us as we go on to the afternoon, a late afternoon prayer for thanks for the word of the day and how it was used in prayer, and finally on to the evening vespers. The prayer to pray for more prayers to be written, so more prayer time could be arranged each day.

Nothing like pre-printed, pre-written pre-approved prayers to make it feel from the heart. I supppose God is happy. THey sent Him copies so He could keep up...

[Quix]

[Mad Dawg]

And often enough my Laz-Y-Boy.

Another reason I HAVE to have a lazy boy.

"It's for my relationship with God, honey. I have to have this. It's important!"

You think she'll go for it?

I am told that among the Dominican novices, slang for a nap is "St. Joseph meditation."
++++++++++++++++

Smvoice: I suppose your bitter mockery is directed at the "Daily Office", aka the "Liturgy of the Hours.(LOTH)" No Catholic lay person is obliged to "pray the hours" and few are obliged to pray all. Of my own free will I made a commitment to pray two of the hours and sometimes add two more.

One piece of mockery which the LOTH deserve came from Archbishop Cranmer who simplified the daily office when he made the Anglican Prayer Book. He said, more or less, that figuring what prayers to say on a particular day often took more time than it did to say them. Guilty as charged, except that there are little 'ephemeral' guides that do all the heavy lifting for one.

I guess the complaint is that it's all prescribed. Where's the spontaneity? I can see that, and if ALL one did was liturgical prayer, there would be a problem. But, even if read alone, the LOTH is about the communion. All over the world Catholics are praying more or less the same psalms and singing more or less the same hymns. Especially when, as I rarely do, I pray in Latin, I am doing what Catholics have done for hundreds of years: pleading, whining, praising, triumphing, complaining and not only with Catholics but with our older brothers who also pray the Psalms.

To dance together, a couple has to agree on the steps and then follow them. The kind of dancing where one improvises all the way is also fun, but it necessarily has less togetherness. Fun dancing will involve sometimes following steps, sometimes improvising. If someone who only knows how to Boogaloo were to mock me because I sometimes waltz with a lovely woman in my arms, that's fine. As the even ancient prophets, the Contours -- and by "ancient", I'm referring to the early sixties, have sung, "I can mash potato(e); I can do the twist ..." AND I can waltz. I like 'em all.

If you pray Matins, Lauds, Vespers, and Compline, you start and end your day with group prayer, even if you are alone. If you pray all the hours, you through almost the entire Psalter every four weeks. Is that bad?

If you pray Matins (now called the "Office of Readings" and released from being restricted to morning use) you get a sizable meditation from Scripture and from a work by the fathers or by a council.

If you look around in a Catholic parish you can tell who reads Matins because often they'll be saying to one another something like, "Wasn't that an amazing passage today?"

So mock on. The LOTH is a gift, prayer which spurs further prays and brings me closer to my friends as together we grow closer to God in His Word, especially in the Psalms.

[Mad Dawg]

But then, you could not go 100% of my distance on probably any topic save MAYBE that the sun is up ["and rejoices like a giant to run its course" -- showing us the all pervasiveness of the Torah]. . . in our time zones.

So, you call that big yellow-orange thing the "sun", huh? Let me consult the Fathers and get back to you.

;-)

I am content to move by inches as long as the motion is toward some kind of understanding.

[Quix]

I respect that some . . . e.g. you . . .

seem to benefit fromt the prescribed, scripted prayer thing.

And, even I sometimes write out prayers that others find great benefit from.

On the whole, I think I’d feel dead spiritually without spontaneous heart-felt prayer.

[Quix]

As Eric From wrote decades ago in THE ART OF LOVING

UNDERSTANDING

is a part of love.

Likewise back at ya.

[mlizzy]

You are making an assumption here - first that you assume you need to teach me about prayer and secondly that I don't join others in prayer. You might want to check yourself before making those major leaps. I am fully aware of powerful prayer/worship and all it entails. Corporate Prayer isn't a one time or sometime event for me. Nor do I pray with anyone that prays to anyone other than The Father.

I wasn't trying to teach you about prayer, or make any type of major leap. I was explaining Adoration of Our Lord, as to why I think it might be so peaceful there (in addition to the fact that Christ is present).

[Mad Dawg]

On the whole, I think I’d feel dead spiritually without spontaneous heart-felt prayer.

Me too.

[Mad Dawg]

Fr needs a ‘like’ button.

[MarkBsnr]

Of course I know Christ.

You hide it well. Does Christ know you?

[MarkBsnr]

Nor do I pray with anyone that prays to anyone other than The Father.

I believe that you have previously posted that you think that those who pray to Jesus and/or the Holy Spirit are committing blasphemy.