Ever-Virgin and Immaculate

The big question

Mark’s Gospel names four “brothers” of Jesus. Doesn’t that mean Mary had other children? And if everyone is born with original sin (Lesson 4.4), how can the Church say Mary was conceived without it? Didn’t she need a Saviour like everyone else?

What the Church teaches

Mary remained a virgin before, during and after the birth of Christ (Lateran Synod, 649; DH 503; CCC 496–501). She is called “ever-virgin”.

How sure is this? De fide.

From the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace of God and in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, Mary was preserved from every stain of original sin (Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus, 1854; DH 2803; CCC 490–492).

How sure is this? De fide. One of the two papal definitions universally agreed to be ex cathedra.

Mary committed no personal sin throughout her life, by a special privilege of God (Trent, Session VI, canon 23; DH 1573; CCC 493).

How sure is this? Certain. Trent states it as what the Church holds; it has not been separately defined.

Where it comes from

Virginity. Mary asks the angel, “How can this be, since I have no husband?” (Luke 1:34), and both Matthew and Luke teach that she conceived without a human father (Lesson 5.4). At the Cross, Jesus entrusts his mother to the beloved disciple: “Woman, behold, your son!” and to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” (John 19:26–27). If Mary had other sons, it would have been strange to give her into the care of someone outside the family.

The “brothers”. Mark lists Jesus’ “brothers” as James, Joses, Judas and Simon (Mark 6:3). But later in the same Gospel, at the Cross, a different Mary appears as “the mother of James the younger and of Joses” (Mark 15:40). Hebrew and Aramaic had no separate word for cousin, and “brother” was used for relatives in general. When Abraham tells his nephew Lot, “we are kinsmen” (Genesis 13:8), the Hebrew word is literally “brothers”. St Jerome (died 420) argued that the brothers were cousins; many Eastern writers held they were Joseph’s children from an earlier marriage. Either way, none of them is called a son of Mary.

The Immaculate Conception. Scripture does not state it in so many words. The angel greets Mary as “full of grace” (Luke 1:28), as one already filled with God’s favour. In Genesis God promises enmity between the serpent and “the woman” (Genesis 3:15), which the Fathers read of Mary. The early Church spoke of her as all-holy. St Ephrem the Syrian (died 373) wrote that Christ and his mother alone were entirely beautiful, with no stain in her. St Augustine said that when it comes to sin, he would not raise any question about Mary, out of honour for the Lord.

How theologians explain it

Preserved, not exempted from redemption. The great medieval objection to the Immaculate Conception was serious: everyone needs Christ’s redemption, Mary included. If she never had original sin, how was she redeemed? This is why St Bernard and even St Thomas Aquinas hesitated (Summa III, q. 27, a. 2). Bl. John Duns Scotus (died 1308) gave the answer that the Church later adopted. There are two ways to be saved from a fall: to be pulled out after falling, or to be caught before falling. Mary was redeemed in the more perfect way: preserved from original sin, in view of Christ’s future merits. Mary herself says, “my spirit rejoices in God my Savior” (Luke 1:47).

A case of development. The Immaculate Conception shows how doctrine develops (Lesson 1.5). It was implicit in the early Church’s sense of Mary’s holiness, debated for centuries, clarified by Scotus, celebrated in a feast that spread across the West, and finally defined in 1854. It was not invented in 1854; it was recognised.

What virginity means. Mary’s perpetual virginity is not a statement that marriage or sex is bad. It expresses her total dedication to God and to her Son’s mission, and it is a sign that Jesus is the Son of God, with God alone as his Father (CCC 502–507). The tradition also holds that her virginity was kept in giving birth, as a sign of the new creation: Christ did not diminish his mother’s integrity, but consecrated it (CCC 499).

Two conceptions, often confused.

	The virginal conception	The Immaculate Conception
Whose conception?	Jesus’	Mary’s
What it means	Jesus was conceived without a human father	Mary was preserved from original sin from her conception
Where taught	The Gospels; the Creed	Ineffabilis Deus (1854)
Feast	The Annunciation (25 March)	The Immaculate Conception (8 December)

Philosophy bridge

Can an effect come before its cause? In our world, no. But God is outside time (Lesson 2.3), and sees all of history at once. So the merits Christ won on the Cross could be applied to Mary at her conception, decades earlier. The cause is Christ’s redemption; the effect, in time, came first.

What the Church does not claim

• Not that the Immaculate Conception is the virginal conception. They are different events, as the table shows.
• Not that Mary did not need a Saviour. She was redeemed in the most perfect way, by preservation.
• Not that Mary’s marriage to Joseph was not real. It was a true marriage, though not consummated.
• Not that virginity is better because sex is bad. The Church teaches that marriage and sexuality are good and holy.

Check your understanding

1. State the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in your own words.

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From the first moment of her conception, by a special grace of God and because of the merits of Christ, Mary was kept free from original sin.

2. How does the Gospel of Mark itself suggest that Jesus’ “brothers” were not Mary’s sons?

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Two of the “brothers” named in Mark 6:3, James and Joses, appear in Mark 15:40 as the sons of a different Mary. “Brother” was used for relatives generally.

3. What was the medieval objection to the Immaculate Conception, and how did Scotus answer it?

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The objection was that everyone, Mary included, needs Christ’s redemption. Scotus answered that Mary was redeemed in a more perfect way: preserved from sin in advance, rather than freed from it afterwards.

4. Explain the difference between the virginal conception and the Immaculate Conception.

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The virginal conception is about Jesus: he was conceived without a human father. The Immaculate Conception is about Mary: she was preserved from original sin from her own conception.

5. Why is the Immaculate Conception a good example of the development of doctrine?

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It was implicit in the early Church’s sense of Mary’s holiness, was debated for centuries, was clarified by theologians such as Scotus, and was defined only in 1854: recognised, not invented.