Brother Adam Posted January 31, 2004 Share Posted January 31, 2004 (edited) Mrs. Bro. Adam has a question, which I think is a pretty good one, and since we're not up to reading a bizzillion arguments in 13 pages on it, i'm hoping for an answer here. Thanks! Why would have Mary and Joseph refrained from having sexual relations after Christ's birth? Genesis tells us that a man and a woman becomes one in marriage, would that make sense in this case too? What reason would Mary have for remaining a virgin forever? Wouldn't it have been unfair to Joseph for them to be married and chaste? Edited January 31, 2004 by Brother Adam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyperdulia again Posted January 31, 2004 Share Posted January 31, 2004 hopefully everyone is married and chaste.... as for perpetually virginity, far better minds than mine will answer you shortly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmotherofpirl Posted January 31, 2004 Share Posted January 31, 2004 Which do you think is more important: having sex with your wife, or raising the Son of God? Mary and Joseph were one in heart, which is far more important than one in body. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don John of Austria Posted January 31, 2004 Share Posted January 31, 2004 okay I am trying to say this without being coarse( which when regarding the Holy family makes me extremly uncomfortable, but look at it from josheps poin of view, she had had a baby with GOD. Wouldn't it be blashemous to have carnal knowledge of her, to be carnal at all with her when GOD Himself had been the father of her Child. Think about it, do you think you even could . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyperdulia again Posted January 31, 2004 Share Posted January 31, 2004 (edited) Our Lady's ever-virginity points to the uniqueness of Christ. Our Lady's Immaculate Conception points to the mystery of the incarnation, it is all about the God-Man. His Mother could have had other children without it affecting her holiness or His divinity, but the faact remains that there is no evidence to say she had other children and the constant teaching of the Catholic (and Orthodox) Church (not to mention the Muslims) is that she was "Virgin, Ever-Virgin". The New Eve as Christ was the New Adam. And yes, I imagine that Saint Joseph a man with all the normal impulses and desires of his sex and married to a woman he loved, must ahve found her virginity (and living with two sinless people) to be a bit trying. I also think she may have found it trying as well (she was tempted in the same ways that we all are); but she realized the importance of the role she had been given as Mother of God, it wouldn't have been fair to her other children. There's something from one of the apocryphal books about a nurse who helped with the delivery of Our Lord doubting Our Lady's virginity. She checked and I do believe her entire hand was consumed by flames. Might give a new perspective on Saint Joseph. Edited January 31, 2004 by hyperdulia again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brother Adam Posted January 31, 2004 Author Share Posted January 31, 2004 Being married aren't you suppose to be one, and one of the ways of being one should be sexual intimicy? In other words, how could Mary be one with her husband, if she didn't know him intimately. Where does it say Mary was sinless anyways? It says she was a godly woman, but not sinless. If she was sinless, she would not need Christ to atone for her sins and would meet God's requirements to enter heaven w/o Christ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyperdulia again Posted January 31, 2004 Share Posted January 31, 2004 i find it interesting that no intimately and being one seems to mean sexual intercourse in your mind... Mary was/is full of grace. Free from all sin original and personal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyperdulia again Posted January 31, 2004 Share Posted January 31, 2004 Just because she was sinless does not mean she didn't need Christ. That's absurd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brother Adam Posted February 1, 2004 Author Share Posted February 1, 2004 Teresa nor I are Catholic, so we don't start with the same assumptions that you do. Teresa, especially, hasn't done the studing I have. I'm hoping a Catholic may be able to explain this to her in terms that are easily understood. Thanks, Bro. Adam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyperdulia again Posted February 1, 2004 Share Posted February 1, 2004 I get you Adam...and I called the statement "absurd" not the person. You and Teresa rock. I'm not good at explaining things. *goes to play in the open mic* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicole Posted February 1, 2004 Share Posted February 1, 2004 i find it interesting that no intimately and being one seems to mean sexual intercourse in your mind... Well, for a married couple it does. It was to my understanding that when a man and woman get married, their union is emotional, and spiritual, as well as physical. I think that makes perfect sense, unless you are a dualist. I think it's important for one to not give oneself to his or her spouse in pieces. However, with Mary, well, she's the Lord's mama for heaven's sakes. I'm sure her marriage with Joseph was indeed a special one, in many respects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willguy Posted February 1, 2004 Share Posted February 1, 2004 Mary needed Christ. It was because of Him that she was sinless. However, God, in His ultimate wisdom and mercy, needed a sinless vessel to carry His Son, so He redeemed Mary before Christ's birth. From the Catechism: The Immaculate Conception 490 To become the mother of the Saviour, Mary "was enriched by God with gifts appropriate to such a role."132 The angel Gabriel at the moment of the annunciation salutes her as "full of grace".133 In fact, in order for Mary to be able to give the free assent of her faith to the announcement of her vocation, it was necessary that she be wholly borne by God's grace. 491 Through the centuries the Church has become ever more aware that Mary, "full of grace" through God,134 was redeemed from the moment of her conception. That is what the dogma of the Immaculate Conception confesses, as Pope Pius IX proclaimed in 1854: The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Saviour of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin.135 492 The "splendour of an entirely unique holiness" by which Mary is "enriched from the first instant of her conception" comes wholly from Christ: she is "redeemed, in a more exalted fashion, by reason of the merits of her Son".136 The Father blessed Mary more than any other created person "in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" and chose her "in Christ before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless before him in love".137 493 The Fathers of the Eastern tradition call the Mother of God "the All-Holy" (Panagia), and celebrate her as "free from any stain of sin, as though fashioned by the Holy Spirit and formed as a new creature".138 By the grace of God Mary remained free of every personal sin her whole life long. "Let it be done to me according to your word. . ." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KennC Posted February 1, 2004 Share Posted February 1, 2004 Which do you think is more important: having sex with your wife, or raising the Son of God? Mary and Joseph were one in heart, which is far more important than one in body. ... well said, and I can't help thinking Joseph was a far bigger man than to be concerned with self gratification in the first place. Times then are far different from times today, people think too much with todays sense of "getting my needs met", a huge contributor to divorce in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyperdulia again Posted February 1, 2004 Share Posted February 1, 2004 nicole i meant as in *only* means ______. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
God Conquers Posted February 1, 2004 Share Posted February 1, 2004 Other traditions maintain that Mary was a consecrated Virgin to God. A lady of the temple, like a present day nun (this is where monastic roots lie) would have been chaste for their whole lives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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