In Defense of Mary: Responding to Objections

Objection 5: Objection Against the Perpetual Virginity of Mary

Objection: Mary could not have remained virginal after the birth of Christ for several reasons: a) because there are scriptural references to the "brethren of the Lord" (Mt 12:46; Mk 3:31; Lk 8:19); b) because it would negate the true marriage between Mary and Joseph if it were never consummated; c) because Scripture speaks of Mary being found with child before she and Joseph came together: "When his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child" (Mt 1:18), which infers that they "came together" after the birth of Jesus; and d) Scripture says Jesus was the first-born Son of Mary (Lk 2:7; Mt 1:25), which infers that additional children were born later.

Response: a) The Greek word for brother, "adelphos," is often used in the Bible to mean brother, cousin, or near relative. In fact, there are several instances in the Bible where the word "adelphos" is used and, by examining the context, we know that it could not possibly refer to a relation of biological brother.

For example, in Genesis 13:8, Lot is called Abraham's "brother" (adelphos), although Lot was Abraham's cousin (Gen 12:5). In Genesis 29:15, Jacob is referred to as the "brother" (adelphos) of Laban, although Jacob was actually Laban's nephew (Gen 29:10).

Hence the term "brothers of the Lord" could refer to Jesus' cousins, His near relatives, or even His disciples, as Christians today refer to themselves as "brothers and sisters of the Lord." The term "brothers of the Lord" does not create a valid scriptural objection to Mary's perpetual virginity.

b) The perpetual virginity of Mary does not constitute an impediment to a true marriage between Mary and Joseph. The essence of marriage consists in the vow of a total gift to other which includes the marital right of conjugal relations. The validity of the marriage bond lies not in the exercise of this right, but rather, in the true gift of self to the spouse. To agree mutually to offer even the material exercise of the marital rights of relations as a gift to God does not violate or prevent the essence of an authentic and valid marriage vow.

Therefore, Mary and Joseph experienced a true marriage with the total gift of self to other, even though they did not exercise the marital gift of conjugal relations.

c) The biblical words "before" and "until" state merely what has not yet taken place; it does not establish that it will take place afterwards. Let us look at other passages of the Bible where these words are used. In 2 Samuel 6:23, it says: "Michal, that daughter of Saul, had no child until the day of death." Does this establish, therefore, that Michal had a child after the day of death? Obviously not.

Psalm 110:1 prophesies about the reign of Christ the King: "Sit then at my right hand, until I make thy enemies thy footstool." Does this establish that after the defeat of the enemies of Christ that Jesus will no longer sit at the right hand of the Father? This obviously could not be the case.

Even in terms of present usage, if one were to say, "the thief refused to give back the stolen goods before he died," does this mean that he gave back the stolen goods after he died?

Therefore, the scriptural passages that state that Mary and Joseph did not come together before Mary was with child, in no sense establishes the fact that they did so after the birth of Christ, but simply that their coming together had not taken place before Christ's birth.

d) The term "first-born Son" neither infers nor establishes that other children were born later. In the Mosaic law the term "first-born" was applied to the child whose birth had not been preceded by another, regardless of whether other children followed or not. According to the Law, every mother was required to go through certain rituals after the birth of her first child (whether followed by other children or not).

Moreover, Jesus is rightly called "first-born of the Father" and "first-born of Mary." Does this infer that the Father, too, had other divine sons? Certainly not.

According to accurate scriptural exegesis and Church teaching, the perpetual virginity of Mary remains a firmly grounded doctrine.

Objection 6: Objection to the Assumption of Mary

Objection: Mary had to remain in the grave after her death since death is a result of the sin that all humanity experiences (cf. Rom 3:23, 5-8; Heb 2:14-15). Therefore, Mary's bodily assumption is a human impossibility, due to her human and therefore sinful condition.

Response: As Pope Pius XII explained in the infallible definition of the Assumption in 1950, Genesis 3:15 reveals Mary, the woman and mother of the seed of victory (Jesus Christ) over Satan, as sharing in the same absolute victory in her complete opposition or "enmity" to sin. As St. Paul states, the effects of the seed of Satan (evil) are twofold: sin and death. Mary, sharing in the same enmity as her Son towards Satan's seed of evil, triumphs over sin in her Immaculate Conception and over the corruption of death in her glorious Assumption of body and soul into Heaven at the end of her earthly life.

A further distinction needs to be made regarding an accurate understanding of "death" as it results from sin. The death that takes place as a result of sin is associated with the corruption of the body. Jesus Christ, for example, also experienced death, but not as a result of the corruption of the body due to sin. Rather the death of Jesus consisted of a separation of soul from body on the Cross.

In regards to Mary, the Church has never officially defined the fact of her earthly death, but it remains a strong secondary tradition in the Church. What we do know is that if Mary died, it was not as a result of the corruption of the body due to sin (in light of her Immaculate Conception and sinless earthly life), but rather, as a willed acceptance of a temporary separation of soul and body in imitation of her Son as Jesus' perfect disciple.

In short, the bodily Assumption of Mary is the effect of her Immaculate Conception and a fitting close of that earthly life that ended in the same sinless state that it began, by God's unique gift and privilege.

Moreover, there is nothing in Sacred Scripture that would forbid a bodily assumption by God's power before His second coming. In fact the Gospel reference in Matthew 27:52-53 affirms its possibility: "...and the graves were opened, and many bodies arose out of them, bodies of holy men gone to their rest" (Mt 27:52).

Mary's bodily Assumption is, therefore, the appropriate conclusion of her Immaculate Conception, her sinlessness, her participation in man's redemption, and her share in Christ's glorious triumph over sin and death. It is the fitting tribute of Christ to Mary in the fulfillment of the Fourth Commandment to "honor your mother."

Objection 7: Objection to Mary as Mediatrix of All Graces

Objection: How can it be said that all graces of Christ come to humanity through Mary, if we consider a) the saving graces of Christ applied to humanity before the time of the Redemption; and b) the sanctifying grace which, according to the infallible teaching of the Church, is produced automatically in the souls of those who properly receive the sacraments?

Response: a) After the Redemption of Christ Mary distributes the graces of her Son at least as a "secondary moral cause," by her willed acts which are always subordinate and in conformity with Jesus the Redeemer and Mediator of grace.

As for those people living before the Redemption of Christ, they received graces through Mary's mediation with Mary as a "final cause." In other words, in view of the future merits and intercession of Mary by virtue of her participation with her Son in the world's Redemption, Mary also mediated graces to those living before the Redemption. Because Mary had an exalted participation in the Incarnation and Redemption of Jesus, which merited the graces of Redemption, she can be seen as having a secondary mediating effect in all those who receive the saving graces of Jesus, which necessarily include the saved of the Old Testament.

b) As for the sanctifying grace which the sacraments automatically confer, Mary nonetheless mediates it in several ways. First, Mary mediates the grace of the sacraments by being Mother of Jesus, the Author of Grace and the First Sacrament to the world. Secondly, Mary mediates the grace of the sacraments by her role as Co-redemptrix. By Mary's direct and meritorious participation in the Redemption of the world by Jesus Christ, she shares in the acquisition of the graces of Calvary which are distributed through the sacraments of the Church. So in this foundational and pivotal manner, Mary mediates the grace of the sacraments through her association with Christ.

Thirdly, it is through Mary's direct mediation that we receive the actual graces to desire the reception of the sacraments and to prepare us for worthy reception of the sacraments. Through Mary's direct distribution of actual graces, we receive a temporary enlightening of the mind and strengthening of the will to perform the meritorious acts of receiving the sacraments, which constitute the spiritual backbone of the Christian life. Mary's mediating presence is at every baptismal font, leading people by actual graces into the sacramental life of Jesus Christ and the Church.

Moreover, Mary's profound union with the Holy Spirit, the Sanctifier, leads to her role as Mediatrix of every grace bestowed to the human family. As St. Maximilian Kolbe taught, the Holy Spirit is so deeply united to Mary in the work of sanctification, that their inexpressible spousal union resembles (without fully reaching it) the union of the divine nature and human nature in the one person of Christ. And since the Holy Spirit always acts through the Virgin Mary in His sanctifying action, then all graces must come through Mary as Mediatrix of all graces. As St. Maximilian Kolbe describes:

The union between the Immaculata and the Holy Spirit is so inexpressible, yet so perfect, that the Holy Spirit acts only by the Most Blessed Virgin, His spouse. This is why she is the Mediatrix of all grace given by the Holy Spirit. (2)

Again, many prominent mariologists of the twentieth century (Garrigou-LaGrange, O.P., Roschini, O.S.M., Cardinal Lepicier, O.S.M., Hugan, O.P., etc.) propose Mary's physical instrumentality in the distribution of graces. One author explains Mary's mediation of the grace of the sacraments in this more proximate and direct way: "Grace begins in the Divine Nature (of Jesus), passes through the Sacred Humanity of Christ (a physical instrument), passes through Mary (also a physical instrument), and finally passes through the sacrament (also a physical instrument)." (3)

Through her foundational role as Mother of the Redeemer and Co-redemptrix, Mary's role as Mediatrix of all graces inclusively extends to the precious graces of the sacraments of the Church.

Objections to Marian Devotion

Objection 8: Objection to the Rosary

Objection: The repetitious nature of the Rosary is condemned by Jesus in the Gospel where He said, "And in praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think they will be heard for their many words" (Mt 6:7).

Response: The false type of prayer that Jesus condemns in the gospels is the heaping of "empty phrases." Surely, no Christian would consider the Our Father or the scriptural salutation of the Hail Mary (Lk 1:28, 42) as "empty phrases," without meaning or content.

And the legitimacy of repetitious prayer is obvious by its unquestionable presence in Sacred Scripture. For example, Psalm 117 is completely structured upon the frequently repeated phrase: "His mercy endures for ever." So, too, is repetitious prayer an integral part of the canticle of Daniel 3:52-88, which is built upon the constantly repeated phrase, "praise and exalt him above all forever." Also, the angels give unceasing praise in the account of Heaven in the book of Revelation (cf. Rev 4:8).

The repetitious nature of the Rosary prayer (as discussed in Chapter 4) is a means of entering more deeply into the revealed Gospel mysteries of Jesus Christ thereby promoting Christian meditation. Far from being an empty repetitional structure, the peaceful repetition of Hail Marys is an incarnational way of keeping the body focused on the disposition of the soul in order to penetrate the mysteries of Christian salvation.

What Our Lord condemns in the Gospel passage is the "empty" repetition and quantity of words that are bereft of the attention of the mind and devotion of the heart. The Rosary is vocal and mental prayer form that utilizes a prayerful repetition of the Gospel-based Our Father and Hail Mary and has no intrinsic connection with the "heaping of empty phrases" condemned by Christ.

But it is important to remember that every prayer form can be abused by a type of formalism that practices the external act without the proper internal intention of the heart to "communicate with the One whom you know loves you," in the words of St. Teresa.

When the Rosary is used as an authentic form of Christian vocal prayer and meditation and is prayer with the proper internal disposition of love of God, necessary for any true Christian prayer form, it is then a litany-like succession of Hail Marys that, in the words of Pope Paul VI, "becomes in itself an unceasing praise of Christ."