Mary asked how can this be

Not a single word from St. Joseph is ever recorded in the Scriptures. Like Mary, he too must have pondered all these things in his heart. The Protoevangelium of James , written around A. Luke is not "incontrovertible" proof of Her perpetual virgininty.

The best way to understand the way the Blessed Virgin Mary answered Archangel Gabriel is not only thru exegesis, but the best approach is to look deeply into Her character. Mary's embraced virtues are "humility and obedience" to Her parents, Church Authority and esp. The Apostle James has quoted an angel of the Lord as saying to Anna, "the Lord hath heard thy prayer, and thou shalt conceive and bring forth, and thy seed shall be spoken of in all the world.

Indeed God does move in a mysterious way. Mary consecrated Her virginity and obeyed what her parents had promised to God, to become a servant in the Temple of God. Mary had learned how to pray and especially, She had learned the scriptures and in particular the prophecy of the promised Messiah that will be born thru a maiden. The "fullness of time" , is related to Mary's "freewill or Fiat" , since She knows fully the Isaiah prophecy and the chosen Woman was Her.

As soon as God sees that Mary had now fully desired to be the Mother of the Messiah, the Eternal Father who had been waiting for this very moment, immediately sent Archangel Gabriel. The incontrovertible proof that Mary had fully desired to become the Mother of the Messiah and offered Her "vow of virginity" as a sacrifice in obedience to the Divine Will can be seen in the words of Archangel Gabriel "The Lord is with you".

This was affirmed by St. Augustine words saying;. Augustine, Doctor of the Church. Let us ponder the way Blessed Virgin Mary answered Archangel Gabriel, but this time, we already knew or understand that Mary are now willing to give up Her vow of virginity. With the way the Blessed Virgin Mary had answered, Archangel Gabriel had to explain to Mary that Her "vow of virginity" will not be violated by God, because Her conception of Messiah will not involve "sexual procreation".

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My understanding of the argument is that it's rather obvious how someone who is a virgin but is betrothed to a man as Mary was could conceive a child. There would be no need to ask Gabriel about this. KenGraham the opening words of the question I reference are my source for calling it a big deal.

Most of the writing I've seen about this focuses on the Protevangelium of James , part of Sacred Tradition, though it mentions this verse as well. MattGutting Be clear to distinguish between the deposit of the Faith Tradition and a document Protev. The Protevangelium of James isn't the 'source' of Mary's perpetual virginity any more than sermons are the source of the doctrines they expound or attempt to explain. Show 8 more comments. Active Oldest Votes.

If indeed this were to be the case with Mary and Joseph—the consummation—then why would Mary ask Gabriel: How shall this be since I do not know a man? How shall this be since I do not have sex with a man? Improve this answer. Community Bot 1. Her response indicates that she understood Gabriel to be talking about her conceiving before her marriage was consumated, otherwise she wouldn't have said what she said.

I doubt the plausibility of either. If she thought she was going to conceive with Joseph, there's no reason for the question. She would naturally assume that they'd consummate soon, and she would conceive. This would be any rational person's inclination. Add a comment. Establishing Context What does Gabriel say?

What does Mary say in response? The Fundamental Reasoning Behind Understanding a Vow of Virginity Gabriel said nothing of a miraculous conception, a virginal conception, or anything of the sort. Mary is at this point betrothed to Joseph.

To illustrate it in English, here are the different senses of the word: Jimmy: I will go to work earlier than the normal time tomorrow. Robert: But how will you go to work if you have no job! Robert: If you got a job yesterday, why didn't you tell me? Footnotes 1 Cf. For just as Adam was in the hour of his singing praise, and the serpent came, and found Eve alone, and completely deceived her, so it has happened to me also.

Why have you brought low your soul, you that wast brought up in the holy of holies, and that received food from the hand of an angel?

The Protoevangelium describes Mary and Joseph being summoned before a priestly tribunal. And why have you brought your soul low, and forgotten the Lord your God?

You that wast reared in the holy of holies, and that received food from the hand of an angel, and heard the hymns, and danced before Him, why have you done this?

Again, we must reiterate that the Protoevangelium of James is not part of the scriptural canon. It is not a divinely inspired text. Nor can we be certain about its historical veracity. But it does offer us a better understanding of the historical and cultural context of the gospel accounts.

It explains why so many artists depict Joseph looking rather grandfatherly in depictions of the Holy Family. It is because not only had she no relations with a man up to that point, she had no intention of ever having relations with a man, not even her husband, who married her knowing she was a consecrated virgin who vowed to spend her life in service to the Lord.

And that is exactly what she did, never breaking her vow, but fulfilling it in ways she never imagined would be possible. Husband of one. Father of six. Roman Catholic Deacon. Campus Minister. Kilt maker. Drinker of fine coffee. This is the personal blog of Deacon Matthew Newsome for the purpose of examining various aspects of life through the lens of Catholicism.

Deacon Matt is a college campus minister, husband and father of six. Sign in. Matthew Newsome Follow. Test Everything "Test everything: retain what is good" 1 Thes God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth with a message for Mary, who was promised in marriage to Joseph.

The angel told Mary that she would have a son, whom she was to name Jesus. Mary asked how this could be as she was a virgin.

When Matthew and Luke wrote their gospels they did so independently, using different sources and eyewitnesses. They also came from different backgrounds.