Mary (mother of Jesus)

Mary, Virgin of the Passion.
Saint Catherine's Monastery, Mount Sinai, Egypt
16th century.

Mary (Judeo-Aramaic מרים Maryām "Bitter") was the mother of Jesus. Tradition names her parents as Joachim and Anne. According to the New Testament, she was the betrothed wife of Joseph (Matt 1:18-20, Luke 1:35) but conceieved Jesus miraculously without Joseph's involvement through the Holy Spirit.

Although she does not seem to have supported Jesus' public ministry, Mary was present and the crucifixion and is depicted as a member of the early Christian community in Jerusalem. Christian churches teach various doctrines concerning Mary, and she is venerated in the Catholic and Orthodox traditions. Several Protestant denominations, however, question or even condemn the above devotional and doctrinal attitude toward her.

Mary is the most prominent feminine figure in Christianity and is considered by millions to be the most meritorious saint in of the Church. She is said to have miraculously appeared to believers many times over the centuries. Mary also has a revered position in Islam. In Unification tradition, she is respected for risking her life in conceiving Jesus without her husband, but is criticized for her later attitude toward him. (See Unification Aspects.)

Mary in the New Testament

Gabriel delivering the Annunciation to Mary. El Greco (1575)

Mary was a relative of Elizabeth, wife of the priest Zechariah, who herself was of the lineage of Aaron. (Luke 1:5; 1:36) Mary resided at Nazareth in Galilee while betrothed to Joseph of the House of David (Luke 1:26). During their betrothal—the first stage of a Jewish marriage—the angel Gabriel announced to her that she was to become the mother of the promised Messiah.

He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end. (Luke 1:32-33)

Asking how this could be since "I have known no man," Mary was told about Elizabeth's miraculous conception and informed that the "power of the Most High will overshadow you." (Luke 1:35). Mary immediately left for Zechariah's house, where she was greeted prophetically by Elizabeth and remained for three months. Matthew's gospel tells us that Joseph intended to divorce her when he learned of her pregnancy. However, an angel informed him in a dream to be unafraid and take her as his wife, because the her unborn child is "from the Holy Spirit.)(Matthew 1:18-25)

According to the Gospel of Luke, a decree of the Roman emperor Augustus (Luke 2:1) required that Joseph and his betrothed should proceed to Bethlehem for an enrollment. While they were there, Mary gave birth to Jesus; but because there was no place for them in the inn, she had to use a animal manger as a crib.

The Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth, by Jacques Daret.

After eight days, the boy was circumcised and named Jesus. These customary ceremonies were followed by Jesus's presentation at the Temple of Jerusalem in accordance with the law that firstborn males must been redeemed. The Gospel of Matthew adds the visit of the Magi and the family's flight into Egypt, while Luke portrays them as returning to Nazareth without any mention of Egypt. In Matthew's account, they return to Nazareth after the death of King Herod the Great about 2/1 B.C.E.(Matthew 2) Mary apparently remained in Nazareth with her family thereafter. Mark 6:3 refers to Jesus having four brothers (James, Joseph, Simon and Judas) and at least two unnamed sisters, although traditions differ as to whether these are Mary's children, the children of a previous marriage of Joseph, or perhpas cousins.

Little is said of Mary's relationship with Jesus during his infancy and youth. However, one dramatic even is portrayed whe Jesus was 12 years old. Jesus separated from his parents and remained in Jerusalem without their knowledge after a Passover pilgrimage to the holy city. His family left for Nazareth and—thinking he was in another part of their caravan—only began to look for him after a day's journey, finally returning to Jersualem and discovering him after three days. Jesus had been in the Temple courtards among the teachers, hungrily "listening to them and asking questions." Luke adds that "everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers." (Luke 2:41-52) However, when Mary arrived at the scene she scolded him, demanding, "Why have you treated us like this?" Jesus replied, "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?" Mary and Joseph promptly end his dialog with the teachers and bring him back to Nazareth.

Luke says that Jesus was "obedient" to his parents thereafter but little else is said about their relationship until after Jesus began his public ministry. Most readers assume that sometime in the intervening period, Mary was widowed, for Joseph is not mentioned again.

"Marriage at Cana" by Giotto

In John's gospel, Mary occasioned Jesus' first miracle at the marriage in Cana when she informed him that the hosts have run out of wine. Jesus' response to her request is "Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come." (KJV) Nevertheless he satisfied her complaint by turning water into wine. (John 2:1-11)

If a strained relationship between mother and son is only hinted at here, it is openly described in a later episode in all thre synoptic gospels. Mark's account, thought to be the earliest, explains that Mary and Jesus' brothers had come "to take charge of him, for they said, 'He is out of his mind.'" Jesus rejected them, famously saying: "Who are my mother and my brothers?... Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother." (Mark 3:21-34)

Mary apparently remained uninvolved in supporting Jesus' ministry until the crucifixion. Jesus hints at continued estrangement from his family in teaching his disciples such principles as: "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters... he cannot be my disciple." Luke 14:26

Nevertheless, Mary is depicted as being present during the crucifixion standing near "the disciple whom Jesus loved" along with her sister and two other women named Mary—Magdalene and the wife of Clopas (John 19:25-26), and, in Matthew's account, "the mother of the sons of Zebedee." From the cross, Jesus tells her: "Woman, here is your son," and to the disciple, "Here is your mother."

Thereafter, Mary became associated with the community of disciples in Jerusalem. She is the only woman mentioned by name as present at the election of Matthias to replace Judas as one of the 12 apostles. (Acts 1:12-26) This, however, is her last appearance in the New Testament accounts, nor is her death recorded.

Other ancient sources

Non-Christian sources

Celsus, an eclectic Greek philosopher and polemic writer against Christianity of the late second century. Preserved in Origen's work is the claim of Celsus that Jesus was an illegitimate child of a certain Roman soldier named Panthera from Mary, who had been turned out by her husband because she was convicted of unfaithfulness. These claims are related to the references in the Talmud to the figure of Ben-Pandera. According to the early third century Acts of Pilate, a Christian apocryphal work, the elders of the Jews stated to Pilate during the trial of Jesus that he had been conceived through fornication.

Later Christian writings and traditions

The Annunciation by Fra Angelico

According to the apocrypthal Protoevangelism of James, Mary was the daughter of Joachim and Anna. Before Mary's conception, Anna had been barren, and her parents were quite old when she was conceived. They gave her to lifelong service as a consecrated virgin in the Temple in Jerusalem when she was three years old, as the prophet Samuel was devoted to God at the tabernacle by the high priest Eli, as recorded in the Old Testament. There, she is selected for the honor of sewing a new curtain for the Temple at the same time that Zechariah receives his vision from the angel Gabriel concerning the birth of John the Baptist. Mary presents her sewing to the high priest after the Annunciation before going Zechariah's houuse. Her perpetual virginity is affirmed graphically as a woman examines her after the birth of Jesus. [1]

According to Eastern Orthodox tradition, Mary died either in Jerusalem or Ephesus, surrounded by the apostles. Later, when the apostles opened her tomb, they found it empty, and concluded that she had been bodily assumed into Heaven. "Mary's Tomb," in Jerusalem, is traditionally attributed to Mary, but it was unknown until the sixth century. The House of the Virgin Mary near Ephesus, Turkey, is believed by some to be the place where Mary lived in later life with the apostle John.

Titles given to Mary

Virgin and Child. Wall painting from the early catacombs, Rome, 4th century.

Mary's most common titles include The Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady (Notre Dame, Nuestra Señora, Nossa Senhora, Madonna), Mother of God, and the Queen of Heaven.

Mary is frequently referred to by the Eastern Orthodox Church and related traditions as Theotokos, meaning "God-bearer," a title recognized at the Third Ecumenical Council, held in 431 C.E. at Ephesus, against the teachings of Nestorius. The name was used theologically to emphasize that Mary's child, Jesus Christ, was in fact fully God as well as fully man.

Mary in the Qur'an

And We Made the son of Mary and his mother a Sign ... (23.50)

Mary, mother of Jesus, enjoys a distinguished and honored position amongst women in the Qur'an, which relates detailed narrative accounts of "Maryam" in two places: 3:35-47 and 19:16-34.

She is the only woman directly designated in the Book to be a Ayat Allah or Sign of The God to mankind. (23.50) She is described as one who "guarded her chastity," (66.12) as an obedient one, (66.12) the chosen of her mother, and dedicated to Allah while still in the womb,(3.36) uniquely (among women) Accepted into service by Allah, (3.37) and cared for by one of the prophets, namely Zachariah. (3:37) As per the Infancy Gospel of James, she resided in the Temple during her childhood and uniquely had access to the Holy of Holies. She was provided with heavenly gifts by Allah (3:37). She is called Chosen One (3.42), a Purified One, (3.42) a Truthful one, (5.75) a fulfillment of Prophecy, (66.12) a vessel for the Spirit of God breathed into her. (66.12) Her child conceived through "a Word from God" (3.45); and she was "exalted above all women of The Worlds". (3.42)

The Qur'an affirms the virgin birth of Jesus:

(Remember) When the angels said O Mary! Allah Gives thee Good News of a son through a Word from Him! His name shall be the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, honoured in this world and in the next, and of those who Are Granted Nearness to Allah! (3.45)

She said My Lord! How shall I have a son when no man has touched me? He Said, That is as it shall be. Allah Creates what He Pleases. When HE decrees a thing HE says to it "Be" and it is! (3.47)

Marian Doctrines

Immaculate Conception of Mary

The Birth of the Virgin, by Francisco de Zurbarán

The Immaculate Conception is the doctine that states that Mary herself was conceived and born free of original sin. Only the Roman Catholic Church has officially adopted this teaching, and the title "Immaculate Conception" is one used only by Roman Catholics and those members of the Anglican Communion who describe themselves as "Anglo-Catholic."

Eastern Orthodox Christians tend to reject the Immaculate Conception. The Orthodox believe that Mary was conceived like any one of us, but was cleansed from the original sin when Christ took form within her. Most Protestants likewise reject the idea that Mary was without original sin, believing that she had to accept Jesus and be baptized in order to receive salvation, like any other person.

The Roman Catholic Church observes the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8. Similarly, the Orthodox Church observes the Feast of the Conception by Mary's mother, Saint Anna of the Most Holy Theotokos (meaning God-bearer) on December 9.

Virgin Birth of Jesus

The Apostles' Creed and Nicene Creed both refer to Mary as "the Virgin Mary." This alludes to the belief that Mary conceived Jesus through the Holy Spirit, and not through sexual intercourse. That she was a virgin at this time is affirmed by Eastern Christianity, Roman Catholicism and many Protestants. Rejection of this doctine is considered heretical by most traditional Christian denominations.

The Gospel of Matthew describes Mary as a virgin who fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14. Opponents point out that he Hebrew word word almah that appears in this verse means "young woman," not virgin. Jews, moreover, affirm that the prophecy was fulfilled long ago, refering not to the Messiah but to a boy called Immanuel who lived in the time of king Ahaz of Judah. Isaiah's prophecy concerning this child was not that he would be the Messiah, but that he would be a sign to King Ahaz: "Before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste."

However, regardless of the meaning of this verse, it is clear that the authors of the gospels of Matthew and Luke assert that Mary had "no relations with man" before Jesus' conception. (Matthew 1:18, 1:25), (Luke1:34)

Perpetual virginity

That Mary remained a virgin after the birth of Jesus is a doctrinal stance of the Catholic, Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches. The question of Mary's perpetual virginity is related to the interpretation of the New Testament references to the siblings of Jesus. Those who defend the doctrine of Mary's point out that Aramaic, the language spoken by Christ and his disciples, lacked a specific word for "cousin," so that the word "brother" was used instead. This is also true in Hebrew and there are several places in the Old Testament that use the word "brother" to mean nephew or cousin. Others argue that Jesus' "brothers" and "sisters" were sons of Joseph by a previous wife—and thus Jesus' stepbrothers.

Two of the most prominent leaders of the Reformation, Luther and Zwingli also defended the perpetual virginity of Mary against those who questioned the teaching. Further, John Calvin argued against the necessity of seeing Jesus' "brothers" as Mary's sons. However, most Protestants today reject the doctrine of Mary's perpetual virginity.

By the seventeenth century, the Catholic and Protestant churches came to see Mary as a major point of division, and Protestant theologians began arguing that Mary did not remain a virgin and that the "brothers" of Jesus were indeed his biological half-brothers, sons of Mary and Joseph. [2]

Assumption

File:Assumption.jpg

This painting, attributed to Bartolome Murillo, depicts Mary's Assumption into heaven with her body and soul.

The term "assumption" is distinguished from "resurrection" in that it implies that Mary did not die before her ascension, as Jesus did. The belief in the bodily assumption of Mary was formally declared to be dogma by Pope Pius XII in 1950. He stated in in Munificentissimus Deus:

"The Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory. Hence if anyone, which God forbid, should dare willfully to deny or to call into doubt that which we have defined, let him know that he has fallen away completely from the divine and Catholic Faith."

In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, the "Ever-Virgin" Mary, the Theotokos, seemed to die normally but was soon found to have ascended. Eleven of the apostles were present and conducted the funeral. The apsotle [Thomas]], however, was delayed and arrived a few days later. The tomb was opened so that Thomas could venerate the body; however the body had mysteriously vanished. It was their conclusion that she had been taken, body and soul into heaven. While virtually every Orthodox Christian believes this to be true, the Orthodox have never formally made it a dogma. The Eastern Orthodox celebrate this event on the 15th of August. The Oriental Orthodox celebrate it on August 22.

Optional feast days such as the Assumption (August 15) are celebrated by some Anglicans. Most Anglicans, however, hold that Mary died and that after her death, her sould was transported to heaven without her body. Churches of the Anglican Communion celebrate the Purification of St. Mary the Virgin (February 2) and the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary (March 25) as principal feasts of the Church. The Church of England requires that Holy Communion be celebrated in every parish church on these two feasts.

Christian Veneration of Mary

Our Lady of Vladimir, one of the holiest medieval representations of the Virgin.

Roman Catholic, Orthodox and some Anglican Christians venerate Mary, as do the non-Chalcedonian or Oriental Orthodox, a communion of churches that has been traditionally deemed monophysite (such as the Coptic Orthodox Church). This veneration especially takes the form of prayer for intercession with her Son, Jesus Christ. Additionally it includes composing poems and songs in Mary's honor, painting icons or carving statues representing her, and conferring titles on Mary that reflect her position among the saints. She is also one of the most highly venerated saints in both the Roman Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox Church; several major feast days are devoted to her each year.

Protestants have generally paid a relattively small amount of reverence to the Blessed Virgin compared to their Anglican, Catholic, and Orthodox counterparts, often arguing that if too much attention is focused on Mary, there is a danger of detracting from the worship due to God alone. The major origin and impetus of veneration of Mary comes from the Christological controversies of the early church - many debates denying in some way the divinity or humanity of Jesus Christ. So not only would one side affirm that Jesus was indeed God, but would assert the conclusion that Mary was "Mother of God", although some Protestants prefer to use the term "God-bearer".^{[citation needed]} Catholics and Protestants agree however, that "Mother of God" is not intended to imply that Mary in any way gave Jesus his Divinity.

File:Madonna catacomb.jpg

The oldest-known image of Mary depicts her nursing the Infant Jesus. 2nd centur], Catacomb of Priscilla, Rome.

The surge in the veneration of Mary in the High Middle Ages owes some of its initial impetus to Bernard of Clairvaux. Bernard expanded upon Anselm of Canterbury's role in making the sacramental ritual Christianity of the Early Middle Ages into a new, more personally held faith, with the life of Christ as a model and a new emphasis on the Virgin Mary. In opposition to the rationalist approach to divine understanding adopted by scholasticism, Bernard preached an immediate faith, in which the intercessor was the Virgin Mary. "The Virgin that is the royal way, by which the Savior comes to us."

Since then, Mary has continued to be a central object of veneration in the Catholic and some Anglican traditions.

On May 16, 2005, the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches issued a joint 43-page statement, "Mary: Hope and Grace in Christ" (also known as the Seattle Statement) on the role of the Virgin Mary in Christianity as a way to uphold ecumenical cooperation despite differences over other matters.

Appearances

Mary has often appeared to the faithful, including several Popes, in visions and revelations from the fourth century onward. Historical records of such Marian apparitions increase dramatically with the advent of the above-mentioned emphasis on the veneration of Mary in the Middle Ages. Well known apparitions includ:

[[

Mary, as the "Virgin of Guadalupe."

• 352 — Pope Liberius, in Rome.
• 12??— St. Bernard of Clairvaux.
• 1214 — Saint Dominic of Osma.
• 1513 — Juan Diego, a farmer, in Villa Guadalupe, Mexico.
• 1579 — Matrona, a 10-year-old girl, Kazan Russia.
• 1586 — María Ramos, a Spanish maid, Chiquinquirá, Colombia
• 1600 — Milkman and sailors, Vailankanni, India
• 1634 — Mariana de Jésus Torres, Quito, Ecuador
• 1717 — A group of fishermen, Aparecida, Brazil
• 1798 — A group of persecuted Catholics, La Vang, Vietnam
• 1830 — St. Catherine Labouré, Paris, France
• 1846 — Two cowherder children, La Salette, France
• 1850 — Peasant herder Mikołaj Sikatka, Licheń Stary, Poland
• 1858 — Bigourdane peasant girl Bernadette Soubirous, Lourdes, France
• 1876 — Three eight-year-old girls, Marpingen, Germany
• 1879 — Numerous witnesses, Knock, Ireland
• 1900 — Peking (Beijing) and Shanghai, China
• 1917 — Lucia dos Santos two other children, Fatima, Portugal

Numerous addition apparition of Mary have been reported in during the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.

See also

• Assumption of Mary
• Black Madonna
• Immaculate Conception
• The Madonna
• Marian apparition
• Theotokos

Further reading

• Orestes Brownson, Saint Worship and the Worship of Mary, Sophia Institute Press, 2003, ISBN 1-928832-88-1
• Vincent Cronin, Mary Portrayed, London: Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd., 1968, ISBN 0-87505-213-4
• Chantal Epie, The Scriptural Roots of Catholic Teaching, Sophia Institute Press, 2002, ISBN 1-928832-53-9
• Silvio Sirias, Bernardo and the Virgin, Northwestern University Press, 2005
• William A. Jurgens, The Faith of the Early Fathers
• Jaroslav Pelikan, Mary Through the Centuries: Her Place in the History of Culture, Yale University Press, 1998, hardcover, 240 pages ISBN 0-300-06951-0; trade paperback, 1998, 240 pages, ISBN 0-300-07661-4
• Hilda Graef, Mary: A History of Doctrine and Devotion, London: Sheed & Ward, 1985, ISBN 0-7220-5221-9
• Barbara Newman, God and the Goddesses, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2003
• Visions and prophecies of the Divine Feminine, Melbourne: Noyce Publishing, 2006
• Stephen Marley, The Life of the Virgin Mary, Lennard Publishing, 1988
• Prof. Mark Miravalle S.T.D. of Franciscan University of Steubenville Introduction to Mary, Queenship Publishing, 1993, Second Edition 2006, soft, 220 pages ISBN 1-882972-06-6

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Virgin Mary

External links

• 632 pictures of the Virgin
• Munificentissimus Deus
• St Mary in Indian Orthodox tradition
• See Mariology.com: A Study of the Blessed Virgin in the Scriptures
• The Sense of Mary and Shakespeare in Sixteenth-Century England
• American Catholic - Blessed Virgin Mary - The First Disciple
• The Unknown Lives of Jesus and Mary from the Apocrypha and other little known sources.
• Resources, essays and image concerning the Virgin Mary and the Rosary.
• Significance of Jesus being referred to as "son of Mary" in the Qur'an
• Article on Geza Vermes view that Mary was probably not a virgin in the modern sense of the word.

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