Saints LightEver Virgin: And What About Jesus' Brothers?
Mary remained a virgin all her life, and the 'brothers of Jesus' in the Gospels were close relatives, not her children.
What this lesson teaches
- Mary was a virgin before, during and after Jesus' birth, and all her life: this is dogma.
- In biblical usage 'brothers' could mean cousins or close relatives, as with Abram and Lot.
- Matthew names a different Mary as mother of James and Joseph, and Jesus entrusted his mother to John.
- The Church teaches that the 'brothers' were not Mary's children without defining exactly how they were related.
Catechism paragraphs this lesson cites
- CCC 496
- CCC 499-501
- CCC 510
CCC means the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Saints Light teaches it in its own words and never quotes it. Look up any paragraph in a printed copy or at vatican.va. See every lesson by paragraph in the Catechism index.
Scripture read in this lesson: Isaiah 7:14 (Isaias in Douay-Rheims); Matthew 27:56; John 19:26-27.
A sample question from this lesson
What does the Church teach about Mary's virginity?
- She was a virgin only until Jesus was born
- It is a pious opinion Catholics may reject
- She was a virgin before, during and after Jesus' birth, all her life
- Only the Eastern Churches believe it
Show the answer
She was a virgin before, during and after Jesus' birth, all her life. The lesson presents Mary's perpetual virginity as dogma, as St Augustine put it (CCC 499, 510).
The lesson in the app has three questions, each with an explanation.
Words to know
- Perpetual virginity
- The dogma that Mary remained a virgin before, during and after the birth of Jesus, for her whole life.
More terms in the Catholic glossary. More passages in the Scripture index.
Read the full lesson in the app
"Ever Virgin: And What About Jesus' Brothers?" is lesson 3 of Mary and the Saints. In Saints Light you get the whole teaching, the Scripture quoted in full, all three questions and a step to live it this week.
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- who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary (The Creed, free)