16th Tuesday "Mary Perfectly Did the Father's Will"

 

In the Gospel, when someone told Our Lord His Mother and brothers wanted to see Him, Jesus said, “Who are my brothers?” And stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are my mother, and brothers. For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister and mother.”

Protestants, often use this passage to disclaim Mary’s perpetual virginity. Scripture states, “His brothers wanted to see Him”. However, Protestants do not know Hebrew and Aramaic languages spoken by Christ and His disciples at that time, do not have separate words for “brother”, “cousin” or “near-relative”. For example, in Hebrew, Lot is called Abraham’s brother (Gen. 14:14), yet we know Lot was his nephew (Gen. 11:27). In another words, Jews used the word “brother” for a “near relative” without necessarily meaning “blood-brothers”.

Protestants also claim Jesus ignores Mary, and His cousins and so puts them down. Jesus stated, “Here are my mother, and brothers. For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister and mother.”

Jesus was not putting Mary down; rather, He did the opposite. He glorified His Mother, because She perfectly did the will of the Father.

Because of the merits of Our Lord’s passion, death and resurrection, granted to Mary, before He was born, at the moment of Her conception, Her soul was not touched by sin, and was preserved from sin, as She perfectly did the will of the Father all Her life, until She was assumed body and soul into heaven.

Today, let us pray for Protestants that they may come to accept Mary’s perpetual virginity, accept Her Immaculate Conception, accept the one true Church’s interpretation of scripture, and accept the Blessed Virgin Mary, as their loving Mother.