? For Catholics: if Mary remained a virgin, does this mean that her husband remained celibate---?

The Roman Catholic Church is full of false doctrine. It is a false religion. The popes just make stuff up, and say "It's a revelation from God."

Mary was a virgin in the beginning. But then after Jesus was born, she married Joseph, and they had several more kids together. So she did not remain a virgin, contrary to what the Catholics teach.

Mt 12:46-50; Mk 3:31-35, 6:3, Lk 8:4-8; 1 Cor 9:5; Gal 1:19 use the word adelphos that has several meanings; however, according the Thayer's Greek Lexicon, it means “brethren” because nowhere in the Gospels is the phrase "children of Mary" used. In fact, James the first bishop of Jerusalem is the son of the "other Mary" a close kinsman to Jesus.

Unfortunately the translation of adelphos is marred by the changing theology of Protestantism. The KJB translates this word as “brethren”, where the NIV translate the word as “brothers”. Because there is no Tradition used in Protestantism, meaning of biblical words must be used in context and consistent in everywhere. This is done by word study.

So let do a word study of James using NIV. There are two cases “son of” and “mother of”. In the Gospels, Jesus is the son of Mary, so if James is the brother of Jesus, there needs to be the phase “James son of Mary”. Using a search engine for “James son of” we have James son of Zebedee Mt 4:21, 10:2; Mk 1:19, 3:17, 10:35; Lk 5:10 and James son Alphaeus Mt 10:3; Mk 3:18; Lk 6:15; Acts 1:13. No James son of Mary.

For searching for “Mary mother of James”, we have Mt 27:56; Mk 15:40,16:1; Lk 24:10 . Is this Mary the mother of Jesus? Here is what we know: Mary the mother of Jesus was present at the cross and from Mt 27:56 Mary of James and Joseph and from Mark 15:40 Mary the mother of James the Younger and of Joseph. So there is a second Mary the mother James and Joseph. From Jn 19:23-27, we know that there are three Mary’s at the foot of the Cross, Mary, Mary’s sister Mary and Mary Magdalene, so Mary’s sister is the mother of James and Joseph, so James and Joseph are Jesus’s cousins. Based on that, the word adelphos must mean brethren not brothers.

Nowhere does the Bible say that Jesus had siblings. If He had their descendants would be venerated today.There were none. The mother of those children mentioned by St. Matthew are known and it was not the blessed mother of God.They were instead cousins.

This explains it in more detail with biblical support:

http://fiatvolvntastua.blogspot.com/2009/06/does-b...

I think the foremost reason that the blessed mother’s perpetual virginity is important is because it puts into question the very veracity of Christ as the messiah prophesied.

We see from Scriptures that it is likely that the blessed mother had made a vow of virginity even before the angel of the Lord visited her which is evidenced by her answer to the angel saying, “how can this be done because I know not man?” St Augustine and subsequent fathers of the Church and theologians have reasoned from this response that she indeed had made a vow of virginity and subsequently it would be unreasonable for one so faithful and obedient to God to have at any time abdicated her vow.

According to St. Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Theologiae there are three reasons why she was forever virgin:

First, it would follow that since Jesus was the only begotten Son of the Father that He should also be the only begotten Son of His mother.

Secondly, the virginal womb of the blessed mother is the shrine of the Holy Spirit where Christ was formed and subsequently nurtured.

Thirdly, such a premise would be derogatory to the dignity and holiness of God’s mother. It would suggest that she was ungrateful and unsatisfied to God for the gift of such a Son.

It is further fitting and logical that the blessed mother of God is the tabernacle of the Lord and her womb is the ark of the New Covenant. Just like the ark carried by the Israelites that contained the law of God, Aaron’s rod and manna from God it should be understood that no man could ever touch what God had consecrated to himself and live. So, it would follow that if St. Joseph, as some have claimed through eisegesis of Scripture, had consummated his marriage to the blessed mother of God and lived then it would put into question even the possibility that Jesus was the messiah prophesied which would mean that the world still awaits the messiah or Savior of the world.

One can find in the writings of Origen and St. Ambrose further explanation of the impossibility that the blessed mother of God was not the perpetual virgin as the Church has always claimed her to be for 2000 years. God bless!

In Christ

Fr. Joseph

Yes, Joseph was celibate for the rest of his life.

Jesus did not have brothers and sisters.

I explain your verse thusly:

Jesus and his apostles spoke Aramaic. There is no word for "cousin" in Aramaic or ancient Hebrew. To describe cousins they called them "kinsmen." In ancient Greek they described cousins as "brethren" in the Greek Septuagint. Hence, cousins are translated as brothers and sisters.

We interpolate that with the fact that we knew who were Jesus' cousins by name based on who the writers said they were related to. For instance, the father and mother of at least two of these "brethren" are known to us. James and Joseph, or Joses, are, as we have seen, the sons of Alpheus, or Clopas, and of Mary, the sister of Mary the Mother of Jesus, and all agree that if these are not brothers of the Saviour, the others are not. This last argument disposes also of the theory that the "brethren" of the Lord were the sons of St. Joseph by a former marriage. They are then neither the brothers nor the step-brothers of the Lord. James, Joseph, and Jude are undoubtedly His cousins. If Simon is the same as the Symeon of Hegesippus, he also is a cousin, since this writer expressly states that he was the son of Clopas the uncle of the Lord, and the latter's cousin. But whether they were cousins on their father's or mother's side, whether cousins by blood or merely by marriage, cannot be determined with certainty. Mary of Clopas is indeed called the "sister" of the Blessed Virgin (John 19:25), but it is uncertain whether "sister" here means a true sister or a sister-in-law. Hegesippus calls Clopas the brother of St. Joseph. This would favour the view that Mary of Clopas was only the sister-in-law of the Blessed Virgin, unless it be true, as stated in the manuscripts of the Peshitta version, that Joseph and Clopas married sisters. The relationship of the other "brethren" may have been more distant than that of the above named four.

Also, in the Bible Mary is overwhelmingly described as the Mother of Jesus, and Jesus alone. Wouldn't it be significant, especially regarding the way the writers wrote, that she wasn't described as the Mother of Jesus, James, Joseph, Simon and Judah? They would have included them to.

And how did Mary make an annual trek to Jerusalem when she was pregnant at least 4 times or with toddlers for years. That either couldn't really be annual, or it was quite an amazing feat for the times.

No, try as the Protestants might to refute the truth and wisdom of the Catholic Magisterium, Mary was ever virgin.

I used to fantasize, what if I were a chosen "mary" ... the unique relationship with God ... or the ability to carry a child placed there beyond our comprehension, the awesome responsibility of (in this day, being a single mom) ... but honestily, I'm not sure if such is real. I contemplated that there's alot of aspects to being refered to as a "virgin" ... and being a single mom is the toughest road I know ... she must have been a very strong women ... and then atleast God provided her with a companion ... How warm a compassion to have a true friend and confidant.

Yes.

Tradition tells us that he was an old man and a widower. His children were from a previous marriage. St. Joseph acted more as a father to the Theotokos (Mary) and a grandfather to Jesus than an actual husband/father. This is because Judaism had no adoption laws.

A couple of things:

1) Joseph was elderly, and married previously to Salome.

2) For ancient Jews it was not uncommon to name a "half-brother" a "brother", similarly with sisters. i.e. the children of Joseph's previous marriage were Jesus Christ's brothers and sisters - even without the Mother of God having another child.

Joseph did remain celibate. The word "brother" had a different meaning back when the Bible was written. Back then, it meant a cousin.

"Blessed be Mary, Virgin and Mother"

"Blessed be her Immaculate Conception."

"Blessed be St. Joseph, her chaste spouse."

Where in the bible does it say that she remained virgin forever?

Hmmm the satanic church has been lying methinks... Wonder what else they have lied about?

If you read the bible you will find that almost nothing they teach is true.

You are taking the wording out of context, For he who does the will of God is both his brother and his sister.