TODAY’S GOSPEL (Lk 1:26-38)

From Luke 1:34:

But Mary said to the angel,
“How can this be,
since I have no relations with a man?”

From Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture: The Gospel of Luke, page 44

“Like Zechariah, Mary asks a question of the angel regarding the fulfillment of the message: ‘How can this be?’ A more literal rendering is ‘How will this be?’ At first glance, it seems similar to Zechariah’s question, ‘How shall I know this?’ (Luke 1:18). Beneath the similarity in form, however, lies a greater dissimilarity in attitude. While Zechariah ‘did not believe’ the words of the angel (1:20), Mary instead will be called ‘blessed’ precisely for believing ‘what was spoken’ by the angel (1:45). The difference is that whereas Zechariah ‘wanted proof,’ Mary ‘wants instructions.’
The reason for Mary’s question is that she has ‘no relations with a man.’ Mary’s response is puzzling, since a betrothed woman would normally expect to begin sexual relations after the celebration of the second stage of marriage, when she moved into the home of her husband. One would think that after this delay the angel’s words would be fulfilled, as they were for Zechariah following the delay of his remaining days of ministry (1:23-24). Some interpreters have therefore explained Mary’s response as due to her interpreting the promise as having an immediate fulfillment, while she was still a virgin, although Gabriel’s words do not say this. Another explanation, offered by Church Fathers such as Gregory of Nyssa and Augustine, is that Mary did not plan to have relations with Joseph, but had already dedicated herself to God as a virgin. This idea is often dismissed as anachronistic, imposing a Christian ideal onto a Jewish context, since mainstream Jewish groups such as the Pharisees emphasized marriage. However, this possibility cannot be excluded, given the diversity of views in Judaism at the time (e.g., some Essenes practiced celibacy).”

From The Navarre Bible: St Luke, page 39

“The Blessed Virgin, who received a very special inspiration of the Holy Spirit to practise virginity, is a first-fruit of the New Testament, which will establish the excellence of virginity over marriage while not taking from the holiness of the married state, which it raises to the level of a sacrament (cf. Gaudium et spes, 48).”

From Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: The Gospel of Luke, page 19

“How can this be: Or, better, ‘How will this be …?’”’ Mary is not questioning God’s ability to give her a son, but she is inquiring as to how such a plan will unfold. I have no husband: The Greek text literally reads ‘I do not know man’, which refers to Mary’s virginal status rather than her marital status. Her concern is not that she is unmarried but that she is a virgin at present and that she intends to remain one in the future. The announcement of a miraculous conception (1:31) thus causes Mary to wonder aloud how God will bless her with a son and yet preserve her virginal purity. Her words are inexplicable otherwise. For nothing about the angel’s announcement should have perplexed Mary—whose betrothal to Joseph was already a legally binding marriage—unless she intended to forego ordinary sexual relations even as a married woman. See note on Mt 1:18. ● According to certain Church Fathers, such as St. Gregory of Nyssa and St. Augustine, Mary had previously taken a vow of lifelong virginity.”

My take

We celebrate the Annunciation on March 25, exactly nine months before the birth of Jesus. But it is good to be reminded of that episode just five days before Christmas.

I focused on Mary’s initial response to the angel because it is a source of controversy, particularly between Catholics and Protestants. It is Catholic dogma that Mary was a virgin before, during, and after the birth of Jesus. Protestants, generally, dispute this idea. I find it disappointing they are so invested in the notion that Mary had other children. As detailed in the commentaries presented above, it is simply “inexplicable,” as the Ignatius commentary, specifically, states, that Mary ever intended to remain anything else but a virgin. (For those who have trouble with the “brothers” of Jesus, see here. For those who have trouble with “no relations…until she bore a son,” see here. For those who have trouble with Jesus as “firstborn son,” see here.)

God blessed our Queen Mother and He blessed us by giving her to us. You might say that Mary really does have many children! When I contemplate the last Glorious Mystery, I imagine Jesus saying to His mom, “I’ve got a special mission for you,” and her replying, as echoed by St. Thérèse of Lisieux, the Little Flower:

Yes, I want to spend my heaven in doing good on earth.

And she does.

The Annunciation (1898) by Henry Ossawa Tanner

God bless!