We can now see that the initial fear and apparent disbelief of Mary did not come from doubt, but instead was the perfect prudent response of one who sincerely seeks to do God’s Will, and only God’s Will. That’s why when the angel told her that God now wanted her to conceive a son, she had to understand how this could be compatible with what God had previously asked her to do, which was to remain a virgin.įrom this, we can understand why Gabriel had to give a long explanation to Mary, and encourage her with the miraculous conception of Elizabeth that nothing would be impossible for God-in this case, virginal conception-, since otherwise, Mary would have thought she would conceive with Joseph after they lived together. The only explanation for her to say that, then, is that before the angel’s visit, Mary had already promised God perpetual virginity. And remember, at this point, the angel had not mentioned how Mary would conceive her son, so naturally she would think the son would be conceived with Joseph.īut in the original Greek, what she actually said was “I will continuously not know man”. Having children in the near future for Maria should not have been a foreign idea. The couple may live together and procreate. In the Jewish custom, engagement is similar to marriage. When Gabriel said she was “full of grace”, in her humility, she naturally felt uneasy since it could be the voice of the devil tempting her to pride.Īnd then when the angel told her that she would conceive and bear a son, she said, “How could this be, since I do not know man.” This is absurd, since she was already engaged to Joseph. Hence, Zechariah needed to be silent before the “voice” for the Messiah was born.Īnd in the conversation between Mary and Gabriel, if we look more closely, she was not acting out of doubt, but rather was concerned if the message was truly the will of God. The child to be born to them was John the Baptist, who was “the voice of one crying in the wilderness”. Moreover, there is also a parable for Zechariah to be struck dumb. It would be fair to conclude that Zechariah’s unbelief stemmed from him having given up on God answering their prayer, not believing that God could act outside of natural law. It would be reasonable and prudent for her to be cautious with Gabriel’s message.Īt the time of Gabriel’s visit, Elizabeth had long passed menopause. Why was it that when God finally answered their prayer through the Archangel Gabriel, Zechariah would not believe? Shouldn’t he be thankful and joyful instead?Ĭonversely, Mary had never asked to become the mother of the Messiah. First of all, Zechariah and Elizabeth had been asking God to grant them a child for a long time. Though the two events are similar, there are some significant differences. The Catechism does not provide a clear explanation on this. And the angel departed from her.This question was answered previously in Chinese. 26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,Ģ7 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David and the virgin's name was Mary.Ģ8 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.Ģ9 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.ģ0 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.ģ1 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.ģ2 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:ģ3 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever and of his kingdom there shall be no end.ģ4 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?ģ5 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.ģ6 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.ģ7 For with God nothing shall be impossible.ģ8 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord be it unto me according to thy word.
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