Recently, Pope Francis has come out to say some frightening words regarding the Theotokos that would make an Orthodox Catholic cringe. In an interview with the chaplain of the Padua – Father Marco Pozza – he stated: “From the moment she was born until the Annunciation, to the moment she encountered the angel of God, I imagine her as a normal girl, a girl of today, I can’t say she a city-girl, because she is from a small town, but normal, educated normally, open to marrying, to starting a family.” Link.
These are an interesting use of words considering that this statement not only contradicts the ancient dogmatic faith of the Church regarding the Perpetual Virginity of Mary, but it also lowers the Theotokos to the status of an ordinary female when he stated: “I imagine her as a normal girl, a girl of today.”
“I imagine her as a normal girl.”
In the East, we sing unto Mary in the ‘Axion Estin’ that she is “Higher in honor than the cherubim, far more glorious than the seraphim” since she is even superior to the angels for giving birth to God within her womb – which even caused St. Gabriel to have fear of her out of reverence.
“Gabriel is on his way to announce the glad tidings to the Virgin; He is ready to cry out in fear and wonder: Rejoice, O Full of Grace, the Lord is with You!” – (Feast of the Annunciation, Troparion Tone 4, Byzantine Rite). If she as the Theotokos was a “normal girl”, this would mean that she is equal to all other women and vice versa, also meaning that she isn’t “Blessed Among Women” as St. Gabriel the Archangel solemnly declared.
If Pope Francis truly means that Mary was a ‘normal girl’, it would seem to suggest that he believes that she had sinful inclinations. Not only that, but it would seem that he is also suggesting that she had worldly cares when stating that she was open to “starting a family”.
Such a suggestion would contradict the words of St. Augustine when he taught that Mary willed and chose to be a Virgin all of her life. “In being born of a virgin who chose to remain a virgin even before she knew who was to be born other, Christ wanted to approve virginity rather than to impose it. And he wanted virginity to be of free choice even in that woman in whom he took upon himself the form of a slave (Holy Virginity 4:4 [A.D. 401]).
“A girl of today.”
What’s also dangerous is the fact he stated that he imagines her as a “girl of today”. But when we look around us in this fallen world of today, what exactly do we see when we come across young teenage girls and young women? Do we not see young women dressing impurely and taking half – naked pictures for ‘likes’ on social media? Not that this applies to all young females, but we cannot deny that this is an unfortunately reality in today’s society within the secular west. To suggest that Mary would have been like a girl of today’s age – and a teenager at that – would be a sacrilegious rationalist ideology.
A scary quotation from Gustavo Raffi, the former Grand Master of the Masonic lodge of Rome, stated “With the election of Pope Francis nothing will be the same again.” (Thursday, March 21, 2013). See here.
Continue to pray for the church in these dark times we live in. St. Michael the Archangel, pray for us.
For more information on the Perpetual Virginity of Mary, click here.
Holy Synergy 