Mary’s decision to remain a virgin would have been unusual in her
time, but we must not forget the remarkable presence of grace throughout
her life
"The extraordinary case of the Virgin of Nazareth must not let
us fall into the error of tying her inner dispositions completely to the
mentality of her surroundings, thereby eliminating the uniqueness of the
mystery that came to pass in her", the Holy Father said at the
General Audience of Wednesday, 24 July, as he reflected on Mary's
intention to remain a virgin. Here is a translation of his catechesis,
which was the 27th in the series on the Blessed Mother and was given in
Italian.
1. Mary asks a question of the angel who tells her of Jesus'
conception and birth: "How can this be since I do not know
man" (Lk 1:34). Such a query seems surprising, to say the least, if
we call to mind the biblical accounts that relate the announcement of an
extraordinary birth to a childless woman. Those cases concerned married
women who were naturally sterile, to whom God gave the gift of a child
through their normal conjugal life (1 Sm 1:19-20), in response to their
anguished prayers (cf. Gn 15:2; 30:22-23; 1 Sm. 1:10; Lk 1:13).
Mary receives the angel's message in a different situation. She is
not a married woman with problems of sterility; by a voluntary choice
she intends to remain a virgin. Therefore her intention of virginity,
the fruit of her love for the Lord, appears to be an obstacle to the
motherhood announced to her.
At first sight, Mary's words would seem merely to express only her
present state of virginity: Mary would affirm that she does not
"know" man, that is, that she is a virgin. Nevertheless, the
context in which the question is asked: "How can this be?",
and the affirmation that follows: "since I do not know man",
emphasize both Mary's present virginity and her intention to remain a
virgin. The expression she uses, with the verb in the present tense,
reveals the permanence and continuity of her state.
Mary co-operated fully with God's will
2. Mentioning this difficulty, Mary does not at all oppose the divine
plan, but shows her intention to conform totally to it. Moreover, the
girl from Nazareth always lived in full harmony with the divine will and
had chosen a virginal life with the intention of pleasing the Lord. In
fact, her intention of virginity disposed her to accept God's will
"with all her human and feminine 'I', and this response of faith
included both perfect co-operation with the ‘grace of God that
precedes and assists' and perfect openness to the action of the Holy
Spirit" (Redemptoris Mater, n. 13).
To some, Mary's words and intentions appear improbable, since in the
Jewish world virginity was considered neither a value nor an ideal to be
pursued. The same Old Testament writings confirm this in several
well-known episodes and expressions. In the Book of Judges, for example,
Jephthah's daughter who, having to face death while still young and
unmarried, bewails her virginity, that is, she laments that she has been
unable to marry (Jgs 11:38). Marriage, moreover, by virtue of the divine
command, "Be fruitful and multiply" (Gn 1:28), is considered
woman's natural vocation which involves the joys and sufferings that go
with motherhood.
3. In order better to understand the context in which Mary's decision
came to maturity it is necessary to remember that in the period
immediately preceding the beginning of the Christian era, a certain
positive attitude to virginity began to appear in some Jewish circles.
For example, the Essenes, of whom many important historical testimonies
have been found at Qumran, lived in celibacy or restricted the use of
marriage because of community life and the search for greater intimacy
with God.
Furthermore, in Egypt there was a community of women who, associated
with the Essene spirituality, observed continence. These women, the
Therapeutae, belonging to a sect described by Philo of Alexandria (De
Vita Contemplativa, 21-90), were dedicated to contemplation
and sought wisdom.
It does not seem that Mary ever knew about these Jewish religious
groups which practised the ideal of celibacy and virginity. But the fact
that John the Baptist probably lived a celibate life and that in the
community of his disciples it was held in high esteem would support the
supposition that Mary's choice of virginity belonged to this new
cultural and religious context.
4. However, the extraordinary case of the Virgin of Nazareth must not
lead us into the error of tying her inner dispositions completely to the
mentality of her surroundings, thereby eliminating the uniqueness of the
mystery that came to pass in her. In particular, we must not forget
that, from the very beginning of her life, Mary received a wondrous
grace, recognized by the angel at the moment of the Annunciation.
"Full of grace'' (Lk 1:28), Mary was enriched with a perfection of
holiness that, according to the Church's interpretation, goes back to
the very first moment of her existence: the unique privilege of the
Immaculate Conception influenced the whole development of the young
woman of Nazareth's spiritual life.
The Lord transforms Mary's poverty into riches
Thus it should be maintained that Mary was guided to the ideal of
virginity by an exceptional inspiration of that same Holy Spirit who, in
the course of the Church's history, will spur many women to the way of
virginal consecration.
The singular presence of grace in Mary's life leads to the conclusion
that the young girl was committed to virginity. Filled with the Lord's
exceptional gifts from the beginning of her life, she was oriented to a
total gift of self—body and soul—to God, in the offering of herself
as a virgin.
In addition, her aspiration to the virginal life was in harmony with
that "poverty" before God which the Old Testament holds in
high esteem. Fully committing herself to this path, Mary also gives up
motherhood, woman's personal treasure, so deeply appreciated in Israel.
Thus she "stands out among the poor and humble of the Lord, who
confidently hope for and receive salvation from him" (Lumen
gentium, n. 55). However, presenting herself to God as poor and
aiming only at spiritual fruitfulness, the fruit of divine love, at the
moment of the Annunciation, Mary discovers that the Lord has transformed
her poverty into riches: she will be the Virgin Mother of the Son of the
Most High. Later she will also discover that her motherhood is destined
to extend to all men, whom the Son came to save (cf. Catechism of the
Catholic Church, n. 501).
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