Beholding the Beauty

In response to my previous post about the ever-virginity of Mary , a fellow on one of the forums I frequent asked: I'm wondering why Mary would choose to get married if she took that vow of virginity. Here is my response, the historical bits of which I drew from On Orthodox Veneration of Mary , by St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco. I also include my own speculation about the motivations of the priests, and several other things, based on the facts of the historical bits. ----------------------------- /begin forum post answer This is a very good question, and one that is not answered in the Scriptures. It is, however, answered by the teaching of the Church. Here is the answer, as best as I understand it: According to the Tradition, Mary's parents, Joachim and Anna, were aged and barren. They asked God for a child, and an angel informed them that they would bring forth a daughter. Overjoyed, they promised to consecrate their child to God, as Samuel was consecrated...

DISCLAIMER: When I ran this by my priest/pastor/spiritual father for review, he said that nothing immediately jumped out at him as incorrect. However, he did say that it reads like it is my own speculation, made without reference to the teaching of the Church. In this, he is correct. So take it for what it's worth, which is to say -- it's my so-far-uninformed opinion on the matter. :) I do look forward to delving into the teaching of the Fathers (old and new) on the Liturgy, but I haven't done so yet. ------------------------------------------ Ok, this is going to wander a bit, but bear with me. I find it interesting that in the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, prior to the invocation of the Holy Spirit upon the gifts, the offering is referred to as "this reasonable and unbloody service"; whereas after the invocation, they are referred to as "this reasonable service." Why the difference? Because the invocation itself calls upon the Holy Spirit...

There are some (I used to be among them) who say that Mary did not remain a virgin after the birth of our Lord, but rather consummated her marriage with Joseph and had several other children by him. The tradition of the Church is that she was raised as a virgin in the Temple, in accordance with the Law, and was betrothed to Joseph as a protector who was much older (and had several children by a previous wife who had died), and that she preserved her virginity according to her vows even after their marriage. I converted to the Church's viewpoint on this based on the fact that I thought the Scriptures were ambiguous about it (they do have explanations for those passages that might seem to indicate that she did not remain a virgin), and it did seem to be the majority (actually, the only) viewpoint until the Reformation — there was no reason to dis believe it. But I didn't hold it dogmatically; just as a "Ok, whatever you say, as long as it's not actually contradicted...