Why did Mary marry?

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If Mary was going to stay perpetually virgin, why did she marry? I know that sex isn’t a must when you are married but, still.

And why did Mary decieded to remain a Virgin even after she had Jesus? Why did she deciede to become a life long Celbiate? All this is kind of Curious to me? Thanks and God bless.
 
I don’t know if this is true, but I went to a presentation on beautiful paintings done in Padua (I think) of the life of Sts. Ann and Joachim and Mary. The priest who presented said that her vow of perpetual virginity was uncommon in those days, as it was the socially acceptable thing to marry, so her parents were to choose a spouse for her. St. Joseph was chosen because the man who’s rod was set at the altar and produced a flower was to marry Mary. His produced a lily (sign of purity) and he knew of her vow.
 
Joseph married Mary to save her from people who could accuse her of fornication.

She risked the death penalty.
 
Catholic Encyclopedia
newadvent.org/cathen/15464b.htm
When she was fourteen, the high priest wished to send her home for marriage. Mary reminded him of her vow of virginity, and in his embarrassment the high priest consulted the Lord. Then he called all the young men of the family of David, and promised Mary in marriage to him whose rod should sprout and become the resting place of the Holy Ghost in form of a dove. It was Joseph who was privileged in this extraordinary way.
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This is from the apocryphal writings of James. The reason Mary would be married was for protection and support. Women did not have access to jobs outside the home. St. Joseph has always been seen as Mary’s protector.
 
Deu 22:23 If a man have espoused a damsel that is a virgin, and some one find her in the city, and lie with her,
Deu 22:24 Thou shalt bring them both out to the gate of that city, and they shall be stoned: the damsel, because she cried not out, being in the city: the man, because he hath humbled his neighbour’s wife. And thou shalt take away the evil from the midst of thee.
 
Montie_Claunch said:
If Mary was going to stay perpetually virgin, why did she marry? I know that sex isn’t a must when you are married but, still.

And why did Mary decieded to remain a Virgin even after she had Jesus? Why did she deciede to become a life long Celbiate? All this is kind of Curious to me? Thanks and God bless.
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It seems fitting, to me, that Christ would be born of a woman whose womb would be reserved only for the Son of God and no other.

The *Protoevangelium *(c. AD 150) indicates that Mary’s mother had vowed to devote Mary to the service of the Lord and that Mary had taken a vow of virginity (life-long). She would have spent her life at the temple as a virgin. This was not entirely uncommon (1 Sam 2:22)
The custom was that she would then require a protector who would respect her vow of virginity… and Joseph was a widower who understood his role when he was betrothed to her.

For more information, you can go read the article:

catholic.com/library/Mary_Ever_Virgin.asp

newadvent.org/fathers/0847.htm
 
Montie_Claunch said:
If Mary was going to stay perpetually virgin, why did she marry? I know that sex isn’t a must when you are married but, still.
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On top of what others have said, Jesus would also be much better off with an earthly father.
 
Let me start by stating I have a great love for Our Lady and believe in what the Church teaches. However, this thread did bring a question to my mind for which I do not have the answer. According to tradition Mary was consecrated to the Temple and had vowed to remain a virgin, right? She married Joseph as a protection and he would honor her vow, right? So, my question is, when it became known that Mary had concieved, wouldn’t that have been a scandal? Not talking about the whole “betrothal” issue, but rather that she had taken a vow and “apparently” broken it. We know that she maintained the vow… but what about the people around her? Others in the Temple? Townspeople?

I had always heard from a rather fundamentalist friend that Mary was known in a very unflattering way after Jesus was conceived because she and Joseph had not yet taken their household. (in fact the word that she used was so disrespectful that I refuse to use it here). Anyway, I always counteracted that with the fact that Mary was able to enter the Temple to present Jesus so she couldn’t have been known in that way, she had to be “clean” to enter the Temple.

I agree with other posters on the necessity of Mary’s marriage to Joseph on a number of levels. Just curious as to what kind of reaction Mary got from the people at the Temple when it became known she was with child. Any ideas?
 
As far as the community’s response to Mary’s pregnancy, it isn’t certain how much they knew. Joseph was going to divorce her quietly (I have always wondered if this was against Mosaic law), and not expose her before he was visited by the angel. Even after his change of heart, he probably didn’t go around talking about it. Once Mary finally came to term, the Holy Family was out of town, and the people of Nazareth wouldn’t see them again for two years. Basically, it wouldn’t have seemed to have been too hard to keep the situation quiet. Since Mary and Joseph knew they were okay in God’s eyes, they probably didn’t worry too much about anyone else.
 
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