The Perpetual Virginity of Mary

Trent Horn answers a caller who objects to the Catholic teaching that Mary remained a virgin her entire life.

After his conversion to the Catholic faith, Trent Horn pursued an undergraduate degree in history from Arizona State University. He then earned a graduate degree in theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville and is currently pursuing a graduate degree in philosophy from Holy Apostles College.

Trent is a regular guest on the radio program Catholic Answers Live, a lecturer who speaks across the country on issues related to the Catholic faith, and the author of two books, Answering Atheism and Persuasive Pro-life, both of which are published by Catholic Answers Press.

If you are interested in booking Trent Horn for an upcoming event, please contact Catholic Answers at [phone]

[belovedchild]

What I love about my Catholic Church is that everything has an answer, everything has an explanation. Thats the fullness of the faith.

[josephpio]

These videos are very interesting. I'm a young Catholic (17) and they are helping me learn even more about God. Thank you and keep up the good work. :)

[tamatibryers]

I wish I could stay as calm as you guys on the show. I was in a Christian chat room and some fella asked what would happen if someone died before confessing their sins, naturally, I told him about purgatory and then all of a sudden was subject to a torrent of abuse from everyone else in the chat room. I then got a message from the administrator of the page saying, 'we dont allow catholic teachings to be discussed in here' Well, being an Irish/Maori Catholic I saw red and unleashed on everyone. Woops. So now I watch you guys and can articulate my arguments a lot better. Keep it up fellas.

[martinsandoval]

Mary, the Ark As Revealed in Mary's Visit to Elizabeth

Golden Box: Ark of the Old Covenant Mary: Ark of the New Covenant.

(OLD) The ark traveled to the house of Obed-edom in the hill country of Judea (2 Sam. 6:1-11).

(NEW) Mary traveled to the house of Elizabeth and Zechariah in the hill country of Judea (Luke 1:39).


(OLD) Dressed as a priest, David danced and leapt in front of the ark (2 Sam. 6:14).

(NEW) John the Baptist - of priestly lineage - leapt in his mother's womb at the approach of Mary (Luke 1:41).


(OLD)David asks, "How can the ark of the Lord come to me?" (2 Sam. 6:9).

(NEW) Elizabeth asks, "Why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" (Luke 1:43).


(OLD)David shouts in the presence of the ark (2 Sam. 6:15).

(NEW) Elizabeth "exclaimed with a loud cry" in the presence of the Mary (Luke 1:42).


(OLD) The ark remained in the house of Obed-edom for three months (2 Sam. 6:11).

(NEW) Mary remained in the house of Elizabeth for three months (Luke 1:56).


(OLD) The house of Obed-edom was blessed by the presence of the ark (2 Sam. 6:11).

(NEW)The word blessed is used three times; surely the house was blessed by God (Luke 1:39-45).


(OLD) The ark returns to its home and ends up in Jerusalem, where God's presence and glory is revealed in the temple (2 Sam. 6:12; 1 Kgs. 8:9-11).

(NEW) Mary returns home and eventually ends up in Jerusalem, where she presents God incarnate in the temple (Luke 1:56; 2:21-22).


Mary as the Ark Revealed by Items inside the Ark

Inside the Ark of the Old Covenant Inside Mary, Ark of the New Covenant
The stone tablets of the law - the word of God inscribed on stone The body of Jesus Christ - the word of God in the flesh
The urn filled with manna from the wilderness - the miraculous bread come down from heaven The womb containing Jesus, the bread of life come down from heaven (John 6:41)
The rod of Aaron that budded to prove and defend the true high priest The actual and eternal High Priest

[williampennjr.]

I as a Catholic always had trouble with explaining to protestants how the immaculate conception of Mary is biblical.

[thercbeliever]

Thank you Catholic Answers you have all the answers, it strengthens my faith more as Catholic.

[wardenphil]

Many people tell me I see things differently than do most people:  I don't claim to be any kind of religious scholar, but my first thought is that the subject of Perpetual Virginity is a red herring.Regardless of whether or not this doctrine is correct, Jesus still died on the cross and then rose from the dead, to atone for the sins of all men.Anyone want to explain to me why this subject is considered so critical?

[Zeus_DV]

He forgot to mention when Jesus was crucified, He entrusted Mary His mother to John the beloved, so where are His brothers and sisters, this is supposed to be a monumental event in His life and yet they are not present during His last breathe. If Jesus was their older brother, I cant feel that love, respect, sympathy, of all not from Jesus own family. They could have migrated out of Judea during Jesus ministry, but it would be weird to leave behind their mother isnt it? It just doesnt make sense!
I have no problem with Mary's perpetual virginity, my only problem is the veneration and prayers given to her, when there's no other name given under the heaven that men are saved, it's Jesus Christ. This Marian devotion is like competing with God for attention to men. God is a jealous God, we should only pray to God, in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Btw, you might want to check the Old testament, there's also that "Queen of Heaven" that angered God against Israelites for idolatry, let's not repeat the history but learn from it.

[PracticalBibleStudies]

Matthew 1:25

Look at all of the translations. Including the Greek.

[Cboiking]

Mark 6:3 3 Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, [a] Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.

[johnnyharp]

I always thought about Jesus, on the cross, giving his mother over to his disciple John. It seems to me that if Jesus had younger siblings, they would have been the ones to take care of their mother his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing near her, Jesus said to his mother 'Woman, this is your son.' Then to the disciple he said, 'This is your mother.' And from that hour the disciple took her into his home." John, 19:26-27.

[elcanaldeshackra]

Richard who? I couldn't distinguish the name of the protestant theologian. Some help, please?

[rootwiealexturnneroficial]

I gland this videos it is very interesting, I'm of Mexico but I love my Catholic Church

[robbarrett]

8:55 (video) Matthew 27:56 - 56z Among them were Mary Magdalene and >Mary< the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

But, it is Mary?

And could someone provide me scriptures stating that Mary would have been sinning had she had sexual relations with Joseph after having Jesus? I mean, I've never thought of the whole half brother thing and that could be true. But at 9:14 (video), when he talked about the apostle James as having a dad that wasn't Joseph, doesn't that kind of destroy the whole half brother theory if you think that the James in Galatians 1:19 and Luke 6:15 are the same guy? You need at least one parent in common to be a half-brother.

[lydiajames]

Aw the the cult of Marian devotion. Don't believe it! The idea that Mary remained a perpetual virgin, is impossible to reconcile with the fact that Jesus had half-brothers who are named in Scripture alongside both Joseph and Mary as their parents: “Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?” (Matthew 13:55). Furthermore Matthew 1:25 says that Joseph abstained from sexual relations with Mary only “until she gave birth to a Son."

[doug]

Sorry Mary was not ever virgin, she had other children, she is not a mediatrix, she is not the way to Jesu, God the father is, she is not co redeemer. She is blessed. She is favored by God,

[jessjess]

I'm a little confused about the "until" bit...Can someone explain it to me further?

[denisebraganza]

You guys are just wonderful -God Bless

[ThebossaruChamp]

You guys are so calm and very respectful on this show, excellent work!


However, I don't get why you guys keep mentioning Luther and Calvin to the Protestant you were talking to. Most protestants don't find them ultimately authoritative, although maybe he did since you knew him, but I did find it interesting what you said about them!


Also, the texts you mentioned about the until passages, I didn't find that point convincing because the ideas that are possible to get from the texts were nonsensical like the "childless until the day of her death" or other passages you mentioned showed the conclusions to be bizarre, but the idea that Mary had children afterward could absolutely make sense and in fact it seems that it would render the statement meaningless unless she did actually have children afterward.


The other points about the brothers was rather weak and just because the brothers were younger and it wouldn't have been very normal for them to correct him doesn't mean the outrageousness of Jesus' view didn't cause a break in the norm.

[dennisdumaua]

to all catholics, please read the Bible and ask God to open your mind and heart that you might discover the truth before its too late