User:Socrates2011/Blessed Virgin Mary--Her Birth and Childhood

Blessed Virgin Mary: Her Birth and Childhood The woman known as the Blessed Virgin Mary is the first-century Jewish woman who was the mother of Jesus of Nazareth, believed by Christians to be the Christ (Messiah) promised in the Old Testament. Because Jesus is also believed to be God incarnate in Christian theology, Mary has been hailed as the Mother of God since the third Ecumenical Council in 430 C.E. In the history of the Church, not all theologians have readily accepted the title; some have argued that it is not possible for God to have a human birth, though it is possible for the being in which God dwelt.[1]

CONTENTS •	1. Recognition in the Gospels •	2. Ancestry •	3. Parents •	4. Birth •	5. Ascension •	6. Liturgical Feast Day •	7. Primary sources

Recognition in the Gospels

Despite the privileged role she played in bringing the Messiah into the world, raising him, and sharing his life and mysteries, there is little about Mary in the New Testament. Though she appears in all four Gospels, it is only through Luke’s infancy narrative that we see scenes that reveal something of her character and personality, and her standing in the eyes of God. [2]  Luke accentuates her unique spirituality and stresses her acceptance of, and commitment to, her role as the mother of the Messiah; and he does it through very creative scenes and revealing dialogue. [3]  Matthew portrays her mainly in terms of her verification of an ancient prophecy, and John emphasizes her devotion to the Messiah. Mark’s references to Mary are highly debated in terms of his intent, for he seems to credit her as being no more important to her son than any other who does the will of God.

Ancestry

In speculative Christian theology where the eternal scheme of things has no beginning and no end, and in which the past and the future are all at once, Mary was selected to be the mother of the Messiah. The depth of the mysteries of her selection for such a role and the birth and life of Jesus of Nazareth cannot be fully understood except within the Christian concepts of God, the Triune mystery, and God’s relationship with man. [4]

Perhaps the words of Jesus to his disciples in the non-canonical text, History of Joseph the Carpenter, say it best. “And I chose her of my own will after counsel with the Holy Spirit and by agreement of my Father. And through her I was made flesh by a mystery beyond human understanding.” The passage confirms early Christian belief in Jesus of Nazareth as a member of the Holy Trinity.

As apocrypha, Joseph the Carpenter, is, of course, considered by Biblical scholars to be of uncertain origin and therefore unreliable, but today there is a trend among historians to give new attention to apocrypha for clues, as elusive or contadictory as they may be, to the true history of early Christianity. Indeed, much of the speculation about Mary’s birth and youth is based upon apocryphal works. These “lost” gospels were also the inspiration for many of the visions of Anne Catherine  Emmerich (1778-1842), who was beatified in 2004 by Pope John Paul II  (Karol Józef Wojtyła, 1900-2005).

These visions, as recorded by Clemens Brentano (1778-1852),[5] provide an interesting narrative of Mary’s birth, youth, and life based on oral traditions and apocrypha, though they are embellished by Emmerich’s intense empathy for what Mary may have gone through.[6] Visions, of course, are not always supernatural revelations but sometimes the result of imagination, and that is why the Church is careful to have claims of such gifts investigated only by those especially trained for the task..[7]  Though validated, they must be seen not as ends in themselves but rather as inexpressable religious experiences that exceed the realitiies of normal life. They comform to the the speciifc religious perspectives of the visionary [8] So, as the religious historian and philosopher, Karen Armstrorng, a former nun emphasizes, a Jew will see visions of the seven heavens and a Buddhist will see visions of buddhas. [9]

The answer to the question of Mary’s ancestry is of significant theological importance, for according to the Jewish law of the time, daughters of righteous families could only marry someone from the same tribe. Now, Sacred Scripture clearly states that the Christ was descended from the house of David, and this is confirmed through the words of Jesus of Nazareth in the Apocalypse. [10] The problem, therefore, is that while the Gospel of Luke traces the lineage of Mary’s husband Joseph to David, Mary’s lineage appears to be to the tribe of Levi.[11]  If Mary were indeed a virgin when she gave birth, then her son Jesus carried only her seed. If such is the case, then how could Jesus be from the family of David? And if he was not a descendent of David, how could he be the Promised One?

One explanation is that David was only one of many who traced his ancestry to the tribe of Juda. In short, it was, therefore, never contrary to Jewish law for a member of the royal tribe of Juda to marry into the priestly tribe of Levi. According to Alastruey, “it was fitting that the royal tribe of Juda and the priestly tribe of Levi be united through marriage in the lineage of Mary, to indicate Christ, true King and High priest, would be born of her.” [12]

Parents

The canon is not clear about whom Mary’s parents may have been, though some argue that the geneology Luke (3:23) gives us can be interpreted to be that of Mary rather than of Joseph and that through her father, Heli, she is the line  of David. Now, Heli has two variations, one is Eliachim and the other Joachim, and in the Protoevangelium (or Gospel of James), the name of Mary’’s father is Joachim—and her mother’s name is Anna (Anne), and she is a direct descendent of Aaron, the brother of Moses and the first high priest of the Hebrews. Thus does this apocyphal gospel tie Mary through her father to the royal family of David, and through her mother to the priestly family of Aaron., Some Biblical scholars hold Joachim and Anna were from Nazareth because of a passage in Luke (1:26) which puts her in Nazareth at the time the angel Gabriel appeared to her and told her she was with child (The Annunciation). Other traditions sourcing the Gospel of James place them in Sephorris when Mary was born, though St. Sophronius (560-638) wrote that they lived in Jerusalem. In the Protoevangelium, Joachim and Anna had waited many years for parenthood and it was only after many prayers, offerings, and fasting that an angel finally appeared to Anna and proclaimed that she would conceive and give birth to a child and that the child “would be spoken of wherever people were to be found.” According to the Roman Catholic dogma of the Immaculate Conception (1854), Mary was free from Original Sin since the moment of her conception. [13, 14] This idea of an immaculate conception had been hotly debated, particularly among Dominican Thomists and Franciscan Scotists, until it became Roman Catholic dogma in 1854. [15]

Birth Though she is often referred to also as Mary of Nazareth, and while some writers include Nazareth as her place of birth, there are traditions that she may have been born in Bethlehem, Jerusalem, or Sephorris. The principal apocryphal works dealing with her birth are The Protevangelium, The Book of the Nativity of the Virgin, Book of the Birth of the Virgin, and the Book of the Nativity of Mary. To arrive at her possible year of birth, scholars look at the customs of the time, apocrypha, the Gospels, and the writings of early Christian historians. The Gospel of the Nativity of Mary, origins of which are unknown, covers much of the same ground as The Protoevangelium, but it is a much more intelligent rendering of Mary’s early years. There are the usual angelic messages, references to visions, and indication of Mary’s exceptional ability, but these are written within the constructs by which the authors of the time were expected to utilize symbolism, Midrash haggada, and other prosaic and poetic techniques common to ancient Jewish literature [16]

The Gospel of the Nativity of Mary records how her mother Anna brought Mary to the Temple in Jerusalem when Mary was about three years of age. There Mary remained in the service of the Lord until she reached young adulthood. She learned to serve God day and night through prayer and fasting, while abstaining from everything unbecoming a servant of the Lord. According to tradition, she probably only visited with or saw her parents at irregular intervals; nevertheless, she adapted well to her separation from them, while growing in health and virtue. If indeed she spent most of her youth in the Temple, her life would have been very disciplined and dedicated to the service of God, but not void of the things that children enjoyed, including time for play and friendships. According to some traditions, she possibly remained in the Temple until age 13½ or 14—until she became betrothed to Joseph.

Considering that Herod the Great (73 -4 B.C.E.) was alive when Jesus was born but disappeared in 4 B.C.E., that Mary was still 14 when she gave birth to Jesus, that the Holy Family remained in Bethlehem for at least six months before the flight into Egypt, and that the Holy Family remained in Egypt for at least a year until Herod’s demise, it may be assumed that Mary was born about 20 B.C.E. To put things in historical perspective, her birth was 24 years after the death of Julius Caesar and three years after Augustus (formerly Octavian) Caesar resigned his consulship but accepted the title princeps (chief of the republic); Herod the Great had already been ruling Judea for 17 years.

Ascension

There is no date of death for the Blessed Virgin; there are but mysteries surrounding the subject. In 1950, the Roman Catholic Church dogmatized the belief held by the Roman Catholic Church and some Eastern Orthodox churches that Mary was physically taken up into Heaven at the end of her life.17 Cardinal  John Henry Newman (1801-1890) wrote that her death was unusual  in that she had “no special end”; there was only word that she was no longer among the faithful; her tomb was found and opened, but it yielded nothing but a growth of lilies.18  There appears to have been some sort of passing, a brief transition “as a debt to nature.”19  It is unlikely, however, that Mary witnessed the reign of  Nero (37-68), which began in 54 CE. 20

Liturgical Feast Day

The day set aside in celebration of the Blessed Virgin’s birth is September 8, quite appropriately nine months after the feast of the Immaculate Conception.

Notes 1.	Alastruey, 47-54 2.	Caes, 92 3.	Ibid. 4.	Ibid. 5.	Paileret, 4-71 for Mary’s ancestry, 73-86 for her Immacuate Conception 6.	Caes, 127 7.	Ibid. 8.	Armstrong, 214 9.	Ibid. 10.	Alastruey, 4 11.	Ibid., 5-6 12.	Ibid., 3 13.	McBrien, 1091 14.	The Immaculate Conception is not to be confused with the belief that Mary was a virgin when she conceived Jesus. 15.	Walker, 351 16.	Caes, 10 17.	Eastern Orthodox refers to the Greek Orthodox Church (Eastern Orthodox Church) and the smaller eastern churches that remain in communion with it. Eastern Orthodoxy represents those who believe in Roman Catholic dogma, the seven sacraments, and recognize the Pope in Rome as the hereditary and supreme head of the church. The Second Vatican Council (1962-65) recognized their canonical union with Roman Catholicism. 18.	Newman, 63 19.	Ibid. 20.	Caes, 127

PRIMARY SOURCES Altruey, Gregory, The Blessed Virgin Mary, vol 1; trans. Sister Janet La Gigkia, O.P.              St. Louis: Herder, 1963 Armstrong, Karen, A History of God. New York: Ballantine, 1993 Caes, Charles J., Seven Hundred Years to Bethlehem:The Story of the Magi and the Birth of Jesus of Nazareth. Bloomington, Ind., 2nd ed.: Xlibris, 2008 Calendarium Romanum (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1969) McBrien, Richard P., Catholicism. San Francisco: Harper, 1994 Newman, John Henry, The Mystical Rose. Princetn: Scetper,1996. Palairet, Sir Michael, ed. ,The Life of the Virgin Mary, from the visions of Anne        Catherione Emmerich. Trans. Rev. Sebastian Bullough, O.P., Rockford: Tan Books, 1970 Walker, Wilston,with Richard A Norris, David W. Lotz, Robert T. Handy, A History of the Christi an Church. New York: Scribner’s, 1985.