MARY, OUR MOTHER

CHAPTER L: TWO HEARTS OF WIT & WISDOM

There is a quotation in Scriptures, in the Gospels, which is a real stumbling-block to many Protestants and also some Catholics. Taking this quotation on face-value--yes there is a difficulty--!
Actually it says one thing and means really something else, (once you look at the entire Gospels--the Bible.) How true it is: "the Bible explains the Bible."
The difficult quotation found in Matthew 13/15:
"Is not this the carpenter's son? Joseph's son. Is not his mother called Mary, and his brethren James and Joseph and Simon and Jude? And his sisters, are they not all with us?"
An evangelist declared on T.V. just the other day that Jesus had four brothers . . .
Yes, taking this quotation as is--without considering the rest of the Scriptures--the answer seems obvious.
BUT - - - let's look at the whole picture:

1. St. Matthew is not making a statement of fact, he is telling, he is repeating the words of Jesus' home-town people, who would not accept His teachings. "A prophet is not accepted in his own country," as Jesus put it. The first mistake the people made in this statement is: "Jesus is the son of Joseph." He is not! - - -
2. In the Biblical terminology--'brethren, brothers,' is understood to mean (as often today) relations, cousins but not blood-brothers!
3. To sum up these quotations of St. Mt. 27/56 and St. Mk. 15/40 and Mt. 10/1-4, we find there is no visible connection between Zebedee's family and the family of Jesus. The Bible tells us--that a "sister" of the mother of Jesus, whose Father's name was Cleophas and whose husband's name was Alpheus, had four sons, named James, Joseph, Simon, and Jude, and that she also had daughters, and that all of them were related to Jesus on their mother's side and were called brothers and sisters of Jesus. They were cousins!
4. The Jews were very exacting in their Tradition to take care of their immediate family. The sons would always take care of their widowed mother. So then why would Jesus tell St. John (Jn/19/27) as He was dying on the Cross: "Behold thy Mother." And from that hour the disciple took her into his home. If there were any 'brothers' any children of Mary--they would have taken Mary in--and not a 'stranger,' like St. John! - - -

Indeed no Catholic in his right mind would accept any interpretation except the one that Mary is the VIRGIN forever--as God the Father so pre-ordained it. As prophesized by Isaias (14/7).

"Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold a VIRGIN shall conceive, and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel." (Which means God with us.)

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