[1]

ENGLISH EDITION

Mary, the
mother.
The mother of Jesus in
a historical
perspective.
Paulo Roberto Candido dos Santos
©All rights reserved
 [2]

Mary, the mother is a work of historical and it is not a

religious book. I hope those who read it take into
account only the historical perspective. Not the author's
desire to light up the contents of this controversial book,
but reserves to itself the free expression, while
respecting the faith of millions of devotees of the Virgin
Mary.

The author.
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INTRODUTION

Although, after his son, or even as much as

Jesus, the most beloved figure of the Gospels, Mary
appears and speaks very little in the four books that tell
the life and ministry of Christ. Mary loved and venerated
by almost all Christians, Catholic or not, is much quoted
in the Koran, the holy book of Islam, than the Bible
itself.

On it, there was talk and talk a lot, but we know

of his life is very little. In this work, we will try to reveal
information about the most important female figure in
Western history.

We believe that love and reverence surrounding

the figure of Mary, mother of Jesus, also called Mother
of God, may cause many who read this book, be
shocked with some revelations. We ask that those
seeking a purely religious landscape in this study, not
read it, for here will be treated historical subjects,
though not intended to discredit or hurt the feelings of
the devotees of the Blessed Virgin.

The author.
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Figure 1. Map of Palestine in the time of Christ

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PROLOGE.

The name Mary comes from the Hebrew Miriam,

and means rebellion, to the surprise of many. In the
language of ancient Egypt, has a more plausible with
the personality of the mother of Christ: beloved or even
love. It is one of the most used names in the world, next
to Anna, his mother's name. Initially, Mary was known
for a series of titles: the Blessed Virgin, Mother of God,
Mother of the Savior, Our Mother and Our Lady, among
others. Then, because of the many Marian apparitions,
were usually names of places where it stated: Our Lady
of Lourdes, Fatima, Guadalupe, Medugorge, Nicolosi,
China, Marpingen, Knox and other various names,
according to the apparitions. It is curious to note that not
just for Catholics the Virgin appeared was in Zeitoun,
Egypt, it came to Muslims, mostly because it was seen
by hundreds of people between 1968-71, or Buddhist
(Our Lady of Taiwan or China). However, the "Marian
Apparitions" mostly occurred to Catholics. The first
apparition of Mary was seen in 39 years in Zaragoza,
Spain, and she expressed to James Major, the Apostle,
and son of Zebedee. Legend has it that Mary appeared
to James on top of a pillar, and the appearance was
renamed Our Lady of Pillar. Curiously, Mary was alive
when he is appearance. Apparitions occur periodically,
and in difficult times, the faithful are comforted and
greatly benefit from his grace, according to tradition.

It is not known when and where he was born,

but the Catholic Church celebrates the Nativity on
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September 8. Legend has it also that his father,

Joachim, was the brother of Joseph, father of Jesus.
Soon the couples, Mary and Joseph were first cousins.
Joaquin was a descendant of David and Anna, the
mother of Mary, Aaron, brother of Moses. Maria,
according to Catholic theologians, was born without the
stain of original sin that characterizes humanity, having
been, since birth, preserved by God, conceived without
sin, what is known as the dogma of the Immaculate
Conception, and Conception . Maria would not have
died, exactly, but, yes, dozing and ascended into
heaven, like Jesus, but this view is not supported by
many other Christian religions. Also, the tradition says
that Mary died in 42 and was buried in Gethsemane.

If the life of Jesus was poorly documented, that

of Mary also needs historical basis. However, faith and
love of his devotees through the centuries has created a
series of situations involving the Blessed Mother. Thus,
most information about Mary is the result of many
legends and oral tradition. This, however, is not enough
that millions of people get hung to his figure, like a
second mother, or even the mother of every devotee.

Of course it is impossible to speak of Mary not to

mention his son. However, I believe that what was said
about Jesus in this work is noteworthy, even if
sometimes obscure the presence of the main character
of this book, Mary, the mother.
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CHAPTER I

WHO WAS MARY

The only sources of information about Mary are

in the Gospels and the Koran, the sacred book of
Muslims. The place of his birth is unknown, but it must
be born in Sapphires or even in Jerusalem. Nazareth
was not his homeland for reasons that will appear
below. His parents, Joachim and Anna who were
already old to have a child, but by God they were able
to generate Maria. She must have been born 15 or 16
years before Jesus.

As both the Gospels and the Koran also contain

very little information about it, and his life is being told
through oral tradition, it is possible that Mary was very
different than you think. Starting with the appearance,
Mary, always remember, was Jewish, so Semite. It
should look like it is in paintings and sculptures, which
show Caucasian woman, blue eyes, light hair, almost
blond complexion and immaculate white. Probably it
was very dark, with eyes and perhaps lower. It is not
known exactly how and when he died and where he
was buried. Almost all his life is therefore the result of
oral tradition and much speculation. We will never know
exactly how it was and how he thought. His life is for us,
and we assume unclear about whether it can be quite
different from reality. Your date of birth, September 8,
was established by the Catholic Church, as well as the
date of the Assumption, August 15. There are many
legends about his death that had occurred when he was
around 55 years. Some say it would have also risen on
the third day, others say it was resurrected on the 15th
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day. And there is also some misconception when using

the words rise and assumption. The first rise, refers to
ascend, or rather, up physically, already taking refers to
the act or to take effect. If Mary ascended to heaven,
she would then have gone physically, his assumption is
that it has been assumed in the sky as the mother of
Christ and accepted, declared, as Mary Queen of
Heaven is not just canonized, because its importance is
beyond the saints we know. It is declared Blessed and
Queen of Heaven

The story of Mary has a lot of legends and a few

historically reliable facts, but it certainly enjoys among
Christians, a worship unprecedented. Is it called the
Mother of God, an expression which horrifies many
Muslims and Jews, who consider it impossible that God
has a mother, even as Jesus incarnate. Catholicism
believes that Mary napping, meaning a state between
life and death, and that his soul has risen, ascended to
the sky. Shortly after dormitação, his body went in to his
soul, and ascended, went up to heaven, was finally
crowned as the Queen of Heaven There is another
dogma when it says the rise, according to John, one
has ascended into heaven but he that came from
heaven, the Son of man which is in heaven (John 3:13).
Mary would have ascended to heaven in body and soul
taken by Jesus, the one who stood by their own unique
power. In the past, taking the term was used to refer to
saints, especially martyrs, which were made by God as
holy. Then the term was applied almost exclusively to
Mary. The great Pope Pius XII in November 1950 stated
that, through a divine dogma he revealed that the
Immaculate Mother of God, the Virgin Mary was
assumed into heaven, body and soul to complete the
course of his earthly life. In John's Gospel, there is a
verse that can perfectly explain the dogma of the
Assumption (John 14:3) - And if I go and prepare a
place for you, come again and receive you unto myself
that where I you may be also. An old story about Mary's
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death is told in an apocryphal book, attributed to John

the Evangelist, says she met with the apostles and was
assumed into heaven by Jesus himself, as he blessed
each one of them, and a choir of angels sang a song of
joy to her, saying, Blessed art thou among women.
Circulated in the Middle Ages, a text attributed to
Joseph of Arimetéia, called the passage of Mary, who
said he had been Thomas the Apostle, the only witness
of the Ascension of Mary into heaven, and the other
apostles witnessed his death and Thomas, I was in
India, was transported in a miraculous way to his tomb,
where watched the miracle.

A curious fact which is often discussed is what

John the Evangelist, although it was with Mary after
Jesus' death, nothing in his Gospel account of the
assumption of Mary. This Gospel must have been
written at the end of the century, so long after Mary's
death, but the evangelist does not talk about an event of
great importance as this. Is attributed to John and three
epistles, in none of the evangelist comment on
assumption. Thus, it is believed that the idea of taking
and assumption may have been caused by popular
mythology, not even correspond to an idea found in the
Gospels.

Mary is considered by Catholicism as mediator,

that is, a mediator of grace through Jesus and co-
redeemer of mankind, having been the mother of Christ
the Redeemer. There is in Catholic theology, a number
of studies on Mary, Mariology, which is divided into six
sections: the early church, the period since the
beginning of Christianity until the Council of Ephesus
(431), the period of Ephesus until the Gregorian
Reform, from the year 1000 by the Council of Trent, the
period of Trent to Vatican II and the time of Vatican II to
the present. In the latter, proclaimed that the
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Immaculate Virgin was taken up body and soul to

heavenly glory, the end of his earthly journey. She was
exalted by the Lord as Queen of all, so that could be
more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords. In
Catholic and Orthodox Churches, Mary has another
title: Theotokos, that means is one that carries God. ,
the bearer of God, the one who gives birth to God. The
title is justified by the Gospel of Luke, (Luke 1:43) And
where is this to me to me, that come to me the mother
of my Lord? Even the Catholic Church celebrates the
Theotokos, on 1 January. It is impossible to speak of
Mary without citing the Rosary. This form of prayer is
very old and many scholars believe that emerged
around the year 900, and in 1206, Santo Domingo
would have received directly from Mary, through an
appearance, as the rosary is known and, soon, all
Christianity came to know him. The Rosary is divided
into three thirds, where they celebrate the mysteries of
life and death of Christ.
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CHAPTER II

MARY IN THE GOSPELS

(1): The birth of Jesus, the flight into Egypt, brothers

and sisters of Jesus.

Inexplicably, Mary is hardly mentioned in the

Gospels, the importance it has. Only the Gospel of Luke
gives her a good space in the first chapter, which is his
famous song after learning she is pregnant with the
Holy Spirit. The first mention of it occurs in the Gospel
of Matthew, at the end of the genealogy of Jesus
(Matthew 1:16) and soon after, begins the account of
pregnancy, when Joseph, for being a good man and not
wanting it to be delivered to be punished, because
Jewish law was extremely severe for a single woman
who got pregnant. Consider these two verses from
Deuteronomy:

(Deuteronomy 22:20) - But if this is true, that is, that

virginity is not found in the girl,

(Deuteronomy 22:21) - Then take the girl to the door of

his father, and the men of his city shall stone him to
death: for she hath wrought folly in Israel play the harlot
in her father's house: so shalt thou put away evil from
among you.
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If Joseph, who was his cousin, terminates her

pregnancy, Maria certainly would killed by stoning,
according to the Law of Moses. Thus, the good and
wise José Maria saved from certain death. But there is
another problem in these facts: The Evangelists say that
Joseph wanted to leave it without surrender to the
Jewish priests to be judged. If Joseph would leave,
pregnant, the community would conclude, perhaps, that
he abandoned her because she was pregnant with
another man. Thus, it would also be judged and
condemned. Joseph would then abandon it, knowing
what would happen to Mary, but in a dream, had a
divine revelation, it was announced that Mary was
pregnant with the Holy Spirit and that he, Joseph, was
being entrusted with a sacred mission: be the earthly
father of the Messiah. The angel appeared to Joseph in
a dream also directed Joseph on behalf of the unborn
child, Jesus. Soon after, the evangelist writes that this
occurred in order to fulfill the prophecy about the
Messiah would be born of a virgin. (Isaiah 7:14) When
Mary's pregnancy was announced, she and Joseph
were married, contrary to what many think, they were
engaged, or committed. Lucas is the best account of the
Annunciation:

(Luke 1:28) - And the angel came in unto her, and said,
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art
thou among women.

(Luke 1:29) - And she saw him; he was troubled at his

saying, and considered what manner of salutation this
should be.

It is understandable that a young person has

been troubled by the appearance of an angel, not
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knowing how to discern what the divine envoy was

trying to say. Then we have:

(Luke 1:31) - Behold conceive in your womb and bear a

son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus.

(Luke 1:34) - And Mary said to the angel, how shall this
be, seeing I know not a man?

(Luke 1:35) - And the angel answered and said unto

him, come upon thee the Holy Spirit, and the power of
the Most High will cover you with his shadow, so also
the Holy Spirit, who of you is to be born will be called
Son of God.

Imagine the situation: a teen gets suddenly

visited by an angel who announces she's pregnant,
even without knowing any man, or without having had
intercourse, and that he hopes his son is the Son of
God. Actually, it would be an extremely traumatic for
any youngster in his place, but soon she understands
the situation:

(Luke 1:38) - And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of

the Lord: be it unto me according to thy word. And the
angel departed from her.

It is an attitude that shows the dedication, the

love of God and steadfastness of purpose of the young
Mary. She takes it all quickly, knowing that somehow,
God will cause your child to be born, and somehow she
will be spared of any penalty that may arise from their
state of single woman and pregnant woman in a
primitive society has socially who punished with death
cases like yours. Then Mary shows itself strong and
courageous, as all who know not ignore. It can be seen
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in the next verse, a small part of satisfaction, perhaps

even a well of pride, normal for a situation like this:

(Luke 1:48)-For behold, henceforth all generations will

call me blessed.

Interestingly, in the Gospel of Luke, Mary is

mentioned as if he was married to Joseph, but a virgin.
He mentions the angel came to Nazareth to find Maria:

(Luke 1:27) - To a virgin espoused to a man, whose

name was Joseph, a descendant of David, and the
virgin's name was Mary.

In this verse, Maria is married (betrothed) to

Joseph, but remains a virgin, and not engaged, or
committed as has been demonstrated. Matthew also
says they were already married at the Annunciation:

(Matthew 1:18) - Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on

this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to
Joseph, before they came together, was found to have
conceived of the Holy Spirit.

(Matthew 1:19) - Joseph her husband, as was just, and

did not want to flatten it brought her away secretly.

A highlight for the genealogy of Jesus: It is

reported in two Gospels of Matthew and Luke, with
differences between them. But the important is that the
genealogy is told from Joseph but Joseph is not the
biological father of Jesus. Joseph is a descendant of
David, but not the biological father. This would mean
that Jesus was not the house of David, the Messiah? It
would be more enlightening if the family tree of Jesus
was told from Mary. But she, despite press of Joseph,
was not a descendant of David, and yes, Aaron. Lucas,
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however, accounts, in chapter 3 of his Gospel, the

genealogy of Jesus from himself to Adam. Another
theory for his mother, Anna, was a descendant of David,
and in this case, the problem of descent of the Messiah
would be solved. Many wonder how the evangelist got
the information to trace the genealogy of Jesus to the
First Man, in a difficult time to check items like this.
Others will say that the genealogy was written at
random, and many will say that the data were passed to
Luke through revelation, since the Gospels were written
under divine inspiration.

There is a great resistance by many of the

Christians, particularly Catholics, to admit that Mary
may have had other children. Catholicism declares
Perpetual Virgin, that is, she remained a virgin even
after the birth of Jesus and thus to the Catholic Church
she had no other children. In the collective unconscious
of many, there is the idea that Joseph was much older
than her and that was probably a widower, to justify the
brothers of Jesus mentioned in the Gospels. So, if
Joseph had with Mary his second marriage, the
argument that she remained a virgin would ever
support. The idea that Joseph was much older than his
wife does not have any support in the four books. There
is absolutely nothing that would lead to think that the
couple had a big age difference. If so, the fact would be
exposed. If Mary was very young, a teenager, Jose
should be a little older, not much older. The virginity of
Mary after the birth of Jesus, the books do not
comment. If that were the case, a matter as important
as this would certainly be cited. Thus, from the Gospels,
we can conclude that Jesus was the first son of Mary
and, almost certainly, of Joseph To this end, we read
the verses that follow:

(Matthew 1:25) - And knew her not until she gave birth
to her son, the firstborn, and he called his name Jesus.
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(Luke 2:7) - And she brought forth her firstborn son and
wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a
manger, because there was no place for them in the
inn.

The verse from Matthew is particularly

interesting: in recent editions of the Bible is deleted, but
in all the older editions is found. First, says that Joseph
did not know Mary before the birth of Jesus. The term
known in the Bible, refers to sex, hence the term know
biblically, meaning the sex act. Another keyword is
firstborn. First-born, first child is different from the one
and only, only son. It is well known verse found in the
Gospel of John:

(John 3:16) - For God so loved the world that He gave

His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish but have eternal life.

First-born, first child, an only child, an only child.

There are other verses that prove Jesus had brothers
and sisters. The Gospels have a passage in common:
(Matthew 12:46) - And when he does the crowd, behold,
his mother and his brethren, seeking to speak to him.

(Mark3:31) - They came, then, his brothers and his

mother, and standing outside, sent him to call.

(Luke 8:19) - They came to him his mother and his

brethren, and could not approach him, because of the
crowd.

Thus, the three books mentioned above, there is

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this scene: her mother and brothers of Jesus want to

talk to you. We turn to Matthew again:

(Matthew 13:55) - Is not this the carpenter's son? And

not his mother called Mary, and his brothers James and
Joseph and Simon and Judas?

(Matthew 13:56) - And there are among us all his

sisters? Where it went and all this?
Those who are not convinced that the brothers
and sisters of Jesus were children of Mary, say they
have been errors of translation and interpretation,
arguing that his brothers could be cousins or close
relatives, but this theory fell to the ground, since we
know that the Gospels were written in Greek, not
Aramaic or Hebrew, as in the Greek language, the
words brother and cousin are distinct, these are not
considered synonymous. Brother in Greek means
adelphic as prime means anepsios. And of course he
could not deal with errors in translation or interpretation
of the texts, it would be a fantastic coincidence that
within the three Gospels and in the same report.
Moreover, there is nothing serious with the fact that
Mary had other children. This will only bolster his image
as a mother, and his brothers, being sons of the Mother
of God and brothers of the Son of God, would be
serious candidates for canonization as a result of a line
so special. What actually occurs is that no devotee of
Mary, and the millions, he likes to admit that she may
have had intimate relations with a man, even this man
was Joseph, an example of character and honor when it
was established not I have left to be judged. Maria,
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according to the Gospels, must have had four children,

James, Joseph, Simon and Judas) and must also have
had two daughters.

There are other verses that could be cited to

complete the reasoning about the virginity of Mary and
the brothers of Jesus, but those chosen are sufficient.
The truth is that sex is seen as unworthy of someone
like her. The fact that Mary is, by extension, the mother
of millions of Christians, especially Catholics, who are
thought to prevent sex linked to his figure, after all,
nobody likes to imagine his own mother in intimate acts,
even marriage. In addition it is thought the same about
Jesus.

Another point of interest is the birth of Jesus.

The Gospels say he was born in Bethlehem, of Judea,
and that their parents had to go there for the Roman
census, and to Lucas:

(Luke 2:1) - It happened in those days a decree went

out from Caesar Augustus that the entire world should
be taxed.

(Luke 2:2) - (This taxing was first made when Quirinius

was governor of Syria).

This census is true. Occurred when Quirinius, or

Cyrino, was governor of Syria, as Pilate was of Judea.
However, the census took place in year 6 of the
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Christian era, as we know through documentation,

including the great historian Josephus. Also interesting
is to know that King Herod, who tried to kill the infant
Jesus, died in 4 BC. This difference in dates may mean
that some historian made a mistake, even at the time
that Quirinius, the Roman commander, became
president of Syria, or that the text was mistranslated.
However, the text of the Gospel of Luke may be even
wrong. If Jesus was born under Herod, and he died four
years before the EC, Jesus must have been born at
least until shortly before the death of the king. How to
explain such a big difference in dates? Herod was born
in 73 BC and his life was relatively well documented.
After his death, was replaced by his son Herod
Archelaus, who ruled from 4 BC to 6 AD. However,
Matthew differs very Herod the Great of his son, calling
him Archelaus, and son of Herod. Thus, confusion
between the names of father and son is discarded.

The Roman census at the time of the birth of

Jesus and the journey that Joseph and Mary made from
Nazareth to Bethlehem, the flight into Egypt and the
return to Nazareth, we must explain the following: At the
time of the putative birth of Jesus, Palestine was divided
in two regions: the northern Galilee, which presumably
would be the city of Nazareth. To the south, Judea, the
most important region because of Jerusalem, the
spiritual capital of Judaism, there to locate. The emperor
was Octave Augusto who divided this way in Palestine
because of the demands of the sons of Herod the
Great, Judea was designed and will direct
administration of Rome. Galilee remained under
Herod’s administration. Thus, Judea was subject
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directly to Rome and required taxes. Already, the

Galilee, no. So, to know the number of inhabitants and
properties for the collection of taxes, there were the
censuses, controlled by Rome. How Galilee did not pay
taxes to the Romans, why Joseph had to leave
Nazareth to identify in Bethlehem? Another important
point: in the census, the inhabitants were counted in the
city where they lived, just to avoid inconvenience of
travel. It is an idea too cruel to think that a man who has
to leave from Nazareth to Bethlehem to be counted, will
have to take his wife about to go into labor for a long
and painful journey of 120 kilometers on a donkey. It is
known that Mary probably was not born in Bethlehem
Why, then had to get pregnant, to the city? If there was
a need to identify because they live in the Galilee, why
is this story? Why Joseph left his home in Nazareth with
his wife in recent weeks of gestation, to be counted in
one province reporting directly to Rome, living in a
province that did not require the census? Perhaps the
answer is this:

(Matthew 2:6) - And thou Bethlehem, land of Judah, art

not the least among the princes of Judah: For out of
thee shall come a Governor, that shall feed my people
Israel.

This prophecy is found in Micah:

(Micah 5:2) - And you, Bethlehem Ephrata, though thou

be little among the thousands of Judah, from you I will
come to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from
of old, from everlasting.
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Ephrata is the ancient name of Bethlehem

Perhaps to justify that Jesus was indeed the Messiah,
and he was sure of the prophet to be born in
Bethlehem, something was adapted so that even Jesus
was born in the city of David, the city where to be born
Anointed. Now let's look on this point:

(Matthew 2:14) - And he arose, he took the boy and his

mother by night and departed into Egypt.

(Matthew 2:15) - And was there until the death of Herod:

that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by
the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt I called my son.

This is what Matthew says. Lucas, however, tells

us the following:

(Luke 2:39) - And when they had performed everything

according to the law of the Lord, they returned to
Galilee, to their city Nazareth.

Thus, according to Matthew, the Holy Family

flees to Egypt to escape Herod's edict, to kill all
newborn babies, to preserve his throne of King of the
Jews. According to Luke, Jesus' family directly back to
Nazareth.

There is an old Christian legend, telling that

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when the flight into Egypt, an Egyptian thief helped the

family's journey, moved by the young age of Mary, and,
carrying a newborn. He would have guided and
protected from attack by robbers since it was the most
feared criminal at the time. This thief was called Dimas
and was crucified with Jesus thirty years later. The other
thief crucified with them was called Gestas. Just for
illustration, the fact that Jesus was crucified with two
thieves may have been written to justify another
prophecy about the Messiah:

(Isaiah 53:12) - So you give the part of many, and the

powerful, he shall divide the spoil, because he poured
out his soul unto death, and was numbered with the
transgressors.

Another curious fact: Matthew says that the

family went to Egypt in order to fulfill the prophecy of
Hosea (The 11:11). Lucas did not have this concern.
The massacre of the innocent, there is absolutely
nothing in the record time, to confirm this fact. A case as
serious as it should be cited by historians of the time,
but none mentioned this incident, not even Josephus,
who listed all the crimes of Herod the Great. The
historian, who lived from 38 to 100 AD, disliked very
much the king, and if this were true, it certainly would
have registered and are delighted to make Herod even
more detestable. It is almost impossible to think that an
important historian, indeed the greatest Jewish historian
of the history and the largest in the world could forget to
state a fact so vile as this. Historically, therefore, the
massacre did not occur. It may be that Matthew has
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narrated this episode to justify the prophecy of

Jeremiah:

(Jeremiah 31:15) - Thus saith the Lord: A voice is heard

in Ramah, Lamentation and bitter weeping, Rachel
weeping for her children, not to be comforted for her
children, because they are not.

Matthew wrote:

(Matthew 2:17) - Then was fulfilled what was spoken

through the prophet Jeremiah, who says:

(Matthew 2:18) - In Rama was there a voice heard,

lamentation, weeping and great mourning, Rachel
weeping for her children, and would not be comforted,
because they are not.

Again the question arises whether the flight into

Egypt was not written to justify another prophecy about
the coming of the Messiah.

Now, an extremely controversial. It is true that

the city of Nazareth did not exist at the time of Jesus.
Archaeological excavations have been carried out in 30
years of the twentieth century prove this theory.
Archaeological sites in the city, there is clear evidence
that the city began to be populated at the end of the first
century CE. A few kilometers from the city, found
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dozens of skeletons and a temple dating back to 9000

BC, and that was it. So if Nazareth did not exist, why is
it mentioned in the Gospels as a place of residence of
Joseph and Mary? No answer can be satisfactory in this
difficult case, but we will defend the idea that the
Gospels mention as a place of creation of Jesus and
home to his family, a prophecy of the Messiah
mentioned of course by Matthew:

(Matthew 2:23) - And he came and dwelt in a city called

Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by
the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.

However, the scriptures (Old Testament, a term

not used), there is this prophecy. Certainly refers to the
fact that Nazareth also means something like contempt.
According to some prophecies of Scriptures we have:

• (Psalm 22:6) - But I am a worm and no

man, scorned by men and despised by the
people.

•
(Psalm 109:3) - They surrounded me with
words of hatred and fought against me without
cause.

•
(Psalm 109:4) - For my love they are my
adversaries: but I do pray.
 [25]

•
Matthew was one of the apostles of
Jesus and was a publican, or tax collector,
despised by his countrymen, for having to
raise taxes of the Jews to Rome. Was chosen
by Jesus to be his follower and left the
profession. Therefore, if a publican, was
education: should read and write. As Nazareth
is not mentioned in Scripture, Matthew must
have been mistaken when he said in his
Gospel (2:23) it was a prophecy about the
Messiah, as this prophecy does not really
exist, or may have wanted to give Jesus a title
was not included in the Scriptures, may come
from oral tradition. There is another meaning
close to Nazareth: Down. It may be that the
evangelist has been referring to Jesus as a
descendant of David as the Messiah should
have this requirement, explaining the term.
Isaiah says

•
(Isaiah 11:1) - There shall come forth a shoot
from the stump of Jesse, and his roots are
fruitful.

•
(Isaiah 11:2) - rest on him the Spirit of God,
the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the
spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of
knowledge and fear of the Lord.
 [26]

•
Are prophecies concerning the
Messiah. The offspring (descendant) would be
Jesus. Jesse was the father of King David.
Thus, Jesus, a descendant of David and Jesse
would be the Messiah. Another thought is that
there may have been another fact: Matthew
could be referring to Jesus as a Nazarite, that
the Torah, this is a man devoted to God, even
if in a given period. Between Nazarite, the set
could not cut their hair, would not touch the
dead and not drink anything that was derived
from the grape, not even fruit juice. Samson
was a Nazarite, and Samuel and John the
Baptist. Paul of Tarsus also fulfill Nazarite
vow:
(Acts 18:18) - And Paul, which is still there for
many days, took leave of the brethren and
sailed thence into Syria, and with him Priscilla
and Aquila, having shorn his head in Cencréia,
he had a vow.

•
Although the Gospel of Mark is often
regarded as the oldest of four books, many,
including St. Augustine, argued that the book
was the first to be written, around 50 to 75 AD.
If this is true, it is easy to explain how a city
that does not stop there was in the Gospels.

In this first part, many aspects of Mary

are exposed. Without a doubt, the most
striking is the paradox of Joseph, in principle,
he thinks of abandoned wife who is pregnant.
 [27]

He brings leaves it without exposing the great

problem of youth: pregnancy. Joseph, a
righteous man, as the evangelist, will leave his
young wife without denouncing it to the Jewish
priests. The penalty, for it is death by stoning.
If Joseph did not surrender, believing they will
do nothing with it, is in great danger of
unwittingly be in any way, causing the death of
his wife. Anyone noticed that he, the husband
left her, pregnant, might well conclude that
Joseph left her for being pregnant by another
man and thus she would be judged and
condemned. Thus, only the continuity of the
same marriage that she would not go to the
Sanhedrin. Thus, Joseph in a dream is the
revelation that she is the mother of the
Messiah and him, the earthly father. The
Scriptures prophesied that the Messiah, the
deliverer of Israel, would be a direct
descendant of King David, who lived 1,000
years before. David is the prototype of the
Israeli hero: early stands out for its courage
and intelligence, defeating the Philistine giant
Goliath, in a story that everyone knows. Then
conquer Jerusalem and unifies Israel. David
son of Jesse, was born in Bethlehem, the city
that will one day, the Messiah was born.
Prophecies, therefore, announced that the
Messiah would be born in the same city of the
great king. The Messiah, according to the
prophecies of scripture, should come into the
world, suffer much, die, resurrect and then
become the ruler of Israel, which, in turn, rule
the world, as his people were the people of
 [28]

God. The messianic tradition of Israel from

afar. In the beginning, God decided to reveal
to the Patriarch Abraham, whose name means
leader of many, lived 1800 years BC and was
a descendant of Noah, the patriarch of the
flood, through Shem, the eldest son of Noah
likely From Shem came the Semitic, which
emerged from the Jewish people. Abraham
was also a descendant of Heber, whose
lineage led to the Hebrews. The Hebrews
came to the Jews and other Semitic peoples,
like the Arabs, the Arabs and the Syrians.
Thus, not all Semitic descent became Jews,
and also become the Arabs, Syrians and
Phoenicians. And not all descendants of the
Hebrews became the Jewish people. Jewish
means son of Judah, one of the sons of Jacob,
who after spending a whole night wrestling
with God, had its name changed to Israel.
Israelis are the descendants of Jacob / Israel.
During the Egyptian captivity, the Hebrew
prophets proclaimed a savior, a man who
freed the Hebrews from bondage in the Land
of the Pharaohs. It appeared the figure of
Moses, who fulfilled the prophecies of the
liberator and the Hebrews left Egypt towards
the Promised Land, or Canaan, located in the
Palestinian territories occupied by Israel today,
West Bank, Jordan, Syria and southern
Lebanon. The dramatic events that culminated
in military defeat for the people of Israel and
the occupation by the Babylonians led by
Nebuchadnezzar in 587 BC and by the
Romans in 70 AD that destroyed Jerusalem
 [29]

under the leadership of Tito, before becoming

Emperor. These two losses have caused the
dispersion of the people of Israel, known as
Diasporas. Fragile on both occasions, the
Jews developed the notion of messianic, that
is, a liberator who after winning all enemies,
institute a kingdom of Israel and more powerful
enemies. The notion of messianic is
considered to be too comfortable, because it
also means that the whole responsibility of a
successful military or religious is in the hands
of one man, while others expect and enjoy the
peaceful conduct of actions. How remote this
time, all nations were led by powerful rulers,
the notion of messianic is explained: a man
with extremely powerful, so powerful that it
would be guided by God himself, Israel would
be able to reign over the world and In parallel,
the other rule. It is a pretentious thesis and
finds support in the mystical-religious, because
only through a cosmic force, God, this could
happen. Not only Israel, but no kingdom has
known or had the ability to manage all the
other kingdoms of the planet. Prophets of
Scripture cast their predictions for the coming
of the Messiah and the people of Israel
expected to see them fulfilled. In times of war,
occupation and spread the Messiah was, of
course, best remembered and most needy.
Israel felt a privileged nation, it was with
Abraham, the Patriarch, that the covenant with
God was made. This agreement provided that
the descendants of Abraham would be more
numerous than the dust of the earth. (Gen. 13:
 [30]

14 to 18). God promised Abraham the land of

Palestine. This is why for Jews is so important
to the location of the modern State of Israel
exactly where you are. At the time of Jesus
was no different: under Roman occupation,
and an intolerable burden of taxes, Israel
called for the release, the unemployment and
the destruction of the hated Romans. It is
estimated that the taxes were around almost
70% of production, something unthinkable at
any time in history. So this time there were
many candidates for the Messiah, without
which the goals of the people of Israel were
met. Messianic is not an aspiration of the Jews
exclusively, as other cultures have adopted it
too. In Portugal,

• King Sebastian I, the Desired,

disappeared in Morocco in 1578 and for a long
time ran the news that he would return to take
their place in the Portuguese throne. This form
of messianic is named Sebastian. In Brazil, the
Wars and Straw, the spiritual leader of the
small village, Antonio Conselheiro, had a
messianic tone and rallied a huge number of
followers. Jesus, recognized by Christians as
the Messiah, is expected by various Christian
sects and religions, because there is, in
theory, promised a return with power and great
glory (Mt.24: 30).

•
So, imagine what must have thought
the couple should be parents of the Messiah,
 [31]

the Deliverer, the Anointed One, the beloved

of God. This must have left deep scars in the
pair, who must have spent sleepless nights
wondering how they should educate the
promise. But there is one more thing: Joseph
was not Jesus' father, would not automatically
your blood descendant of David to the Child. If
only Mary was a descendant of King David,
things would be okay and the Scriptures be
fulfilled this prophecy. Not being the son of
Joseph, Jesus could not inherit the blood of
David. This is an extremely debated, with
arguments made even academic, but no
conclusion possible, staying in the spiritual.

•
If Mary had more children or not, this is
a fact totally irrelevant and in no way diminish
its importance. Certainly the millions of Marian
around the world are not very concerned about
this. What is the difference if she had more
children? Of course, no. The keyword that
moves this discussion is sex. Having children,
often means sex. If Mary had other children,
they certainly require that the mother had sex
to conceive them. Jesus did not need,
according to Christian dogma, but his brothers,
yes. Imagine designing Maria is very difficult
for almost all Christians, Catholics or not. This
is the truth about this age-old argument: Mary
was perpetually a virgin or not? Had other
children or not? And the discussion going on.
Recently the western world found itself in an
impressive stir to discuss whether or not Jesus
 [32]

was married. In his case, the reasoning is the

same: Imagine Jesus in an act of the human,
lying with a wife, it is unacceptable for most
Christians.
The gospels disagree on one important
point: Matthew says that Jesus' family fled to
Egypt because Herod the Great wanted to kill
the child. This happened because of
prophecies about the birth of the Messiah, the
King of the Jews. Fearing for his throne, the
king ordered that all newborn males were
killed in the incident known as the massacre of
the innocents. Historically, this episode has no
support, limited to the area of folklore and
biblical traditions. Maybe it was told to bring
Jesus to Moses, who, when born, caused the
same fact in Egypt: the killing of newborns. But
Matthew, referring to Nazareth, speaks as if
the family was there the first time (Mt.2: 23),
while Luke says openly that they returned to
his hometown, Nazareth (Luke 2:39), after the
circumcision of Jesus. Matthew explains the
fact why the Messiah would be called a
Nazarene. It is believed that the evangelists,
because Luke also says that it was to this city
that the family headed, have somehow
confused with Nazarene Nazir, as stated
above. The fact is that the city of Nazareth
was never mentioned in the Scriptures and the
archaeological evidence argues that the city
did not exist at this time. Is another point of
discussion, but the city does not really exist
yet.
 [33]

• The prophecy of Egypt I called

my son (Os.11: 1), may refer to the two sons
of Joseph when the administration of the son
of Jacob in the Land of the Pharaohs.

The fact is that, especially Matthew, is a huge

concern to prove that Jesus was the Messiah, the
millimeter citing what happened to Jesus in relation to
the prophecies of the scriptures, it is possible to imagine
that the evangelist has added some events, not knowing
whether they were real or not, to justify that in Jesus,
the prophecies would be fulfilled.

A curious fact is noted that Jesus never calls her

mother and, yes, woman. This can be seen in the
verses that tell the story of the wedding feast of Cana
and at Calvary, where Jesus delivered the care of the
beloved disciple, probably John.

Mary, finally has a space in the Gospels

according to their achieved status. It appears relatively
small and most of his life comes from oral tradition,
without any evidence historically accurate. Most
Catholics are truly Marian, which is, devoted to Mary.
There are several Madonnas, expression for Maria,
according to the site of the apparitions, or even be
related to some object or event: Lady of Pillar, Our Lady
of Fatima, NS Aparecida and many others. Why is this
so great veneration by the Catholics? It must be
remembered that the Evangelical Christian religions, the
 [34]

cult of Mary there, and even in the same way that

occurs among Catholics. The figure of the mother of
Jesus, Mother of God, therefore, if we consider the
Trinitarism, is easy to call, because everyone has a
mother. Thus, it is easy to explain the devotion.
However, we believe that devotion to Mary did not exist
during his lifetime or after the death of Jesus. Since it is
hardly mentioned in the Gospels, it is assumed that she
might not have an importance that is now attributed to it.
Maybe it was a minor figure in a panorama
grandiloquent, as the life of Jesus. The Koran Muslim is
richer in information about it. Perhaps the cult of the
Virgin Mary has begun to occur after the final
establishment of Christianity as a great religion. The
famous Byzantine icons normally bring Mary with the
child in her arms. It might have been at this time that the
cult really took off.

The cult of Mary is not accepted by Evangelicals

as a result of obedience to the second commandment of
the Decalogue: Thou shalt not make unto thee any
graven image or. Of course, that the cult could exist
even without a picture, but it is also clear that a picture,
painted or carved, it is more likely to worship, a greater
devotion, as in Roman Catholicism. In fact, when God
tells Moses: Thou shalt have no other gods before Me,
and prohibiting any picture and sculpture, he was
ordering that he alone be worshiped and adored. In 787,
the Second Council of Nicaea, Pope Adrian I agreed
that images and relics were venerated, but as a
reminder of a loved one, as a father or a mother. Thus,
the Roman Catholic Church argues that there is no
worship of images bringing the phrase of Hadrian I to
 [35]

the present time the pictures were like pictures of

someone loved who is remembered with love, but not
revered. Of course this is a point of view very private,
but that is used to justify the existence of images. Those
who oppose the practice argue that the Catholic saints,
and Mary, are venerated as much as God, even more,
though, and a disrespect to the Decalogue.

There is, however, the good side in all this: imagine

that Catholics not carved or painted, how many
wonderful works of art would not exist today, the second
commandment was really taken seriously. It is almost
impossible to imagine the world without the frescoes in
the Sistine Chapel, the Pieta and the David of
Michelangelo, the paintings of Giotto, and many other
pieces called sacred. Without saying that the field of
secular art would not have the opportunity to enjoy
extraordinary paintings and sculptures. Later on this will
be widely displayed.

(2): The childhood and youth of Jesus.

Luke records that when Jesus was taken to the

synagogue to have done according to law, that is, that
the baby was circumcised, so eight days after being
born, a righteous man named Simeon, who had been
promised by the Holy Spirit, that would not die without
seeing the Messiah, the child recognized the promise.
 [36]

The evangelist then tells you the child's parents were

amazed at the words they heard. Then Simeon blessed
them, but the old man says to her a terrible phrase, a
harbinger of what she would in the future:

(Luke 2:35) - (And a sword shall pierce through thine

own soul), to manifest the thoughts of many hearts.
Thus, knowing the prophecies about the
Messiah, knowing what would happen to him, and
getting the revelation that the boy was the Messiah,
Simeon prophesied that Mary the pain you feel when
the prophecies were fulfilled. To better understand this
issue, it must be remembered that in the Scriptures, the
Messiah would die extremely painful: would be betrayed
by a friend to deliver for thirty pieces of silver, would be
to scorn, be spat upon, tortured, despised by the Jews,
abandoned by his apostles, accused by false witnesses,
mocked, hated, would have their hands and feet
pierced, killed along with wrongdoers, feel abandoned
by God, would be wounded in the chest by a spear, he
would die, but rise again, ascend to heaven and then
would return to establish the Kingdom of God, that is,
everything we know about Jesus in his imprisonment
and death.

Almost nothing is in the Gospels about Jesus'

childhood. The only passage that deals with it is in Luke
where Jesus was twelve years old lost his parents in
Jerusalem and after three days of searching, is found in
the temple discussing the Scriptures with scholars, a
fact which caused great astonishment. After being
finally found Jesus through Mary is admonished by the
 [37]

loss and anguish that caused the couple, but the boy
said:

(Luke 2:49) - Why is it that ye sought me? Not

know that I must be in my Father's business?

So that is how Jesus responded to their anxious

parents who sought desperately for three days. By the
way, there are other passages in the Gospels that
Mary's son does not behave exactly as would be
expected for someone like him. In this verse, it is clear
that the boy did not accept the rebuke of his mother
answered, perhaps, so little educated mother who was
looking for. Were cited passages in which Mary and his
brothers want to talk to you (page 4), but apparently he
did not receive:

(Mark 3:32) - And the multitude sat about him, and said
unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren seek
thee, and are out there.

(Mark 3:33) - And he answered them, saying, Who is

my mother and my brothers?

(Mark 3:34) - And, looking round at those sitting near

him, said, Behold my mother and my brothers.

Although it is written that Jesus has not

received, the logical deduction is that he did not, saying
 [38]

something like "My families now are the ones who do

the will of God," or "They are no longer my family."
Apparently this is what Jesus meant, but we recognize it
is speculation the meaning of the phrase. Yet, in Mark,
we can find another attitude reveals the character of the
child:

(Mark 3:20) - They went to a house. And surged again

the crowd, so that they could not even eat bread.

(Mark 3:21) - And when his friends heard it, they went to
arrest him, saying, He is beside himself.

This occurred shortly before Mary and his

brothers wish to talk to him. The evangelist makes clear
that Jesus was beside himself and went to arrest him, or
went out to stop him. Apparently he was irritated with
the crowd that was angry and looking to the point that
was beside him and had to be calmed by his friends.
This would explain the attitude towards the family soon
after?

The Gospel of Mark, as said, is accepted by

almost all scholars as the oldest, having been written in
70 AD. It is also the shortest of the four. No one knows
exactly who was Mark, and many believe it is an
anonymous book. Others believe that the author may
not have known Jesus personally, but many believe that
yes, citing a curious episode, which only this book is
told: When the arrest of Jesus in Gethsemane, one of
 [39]

those who followed him, terrified by the arrival of

soldiers, fled their naked:

(Mark 14:51) - And a certain young man followed him,

wrapped in a sheet over his naked body. And laid his
hand.

(Mark 14:52) - But he left the linen cloth and fled naked.

If the reasoning is correct, just as Marcos said

this episode, the naked young man could be his own
evangelist.

Another episode that justifies the exalted genius

of Jesus is the Gospel of John, when the famous
wedding at Cana:

(John 2:1) - And on the third day there was a marriage

in Cana of Galilee, and there was the mother of Jesus.

(John 2:2) - And were also invited Jesus and his

disciples to the marriage.

(John 2:3) - And when they wanted wine, the mother of

Jesus said to him: No more wine.

(John 2:4) - Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I

to you? Not yet come to my time.
 [40]

(John 2:5) - His mother said to the servants: Do

whatever he tells you.

In these five verses, some observations can be

made: Concerning the proposed issue, Jesus replied in
a somewhat rude to Mary when she says there is no
more wine, meaning a request that he solved the
problem. He responds as written above. But just
following the request of his mother, who behaves truly
as the host of the wedding party, both asking Jesus to
help the lack of wine, then heads to his servants and
ordered to obey her son. If Mary was a guest, why
would I bother with the wine, asks the child to address
this problem and also give orders to employees of the
house? Thus, it may be that she was the responsible
party. Some authors have suggested the idea that the
wedding at Cana may have been the wedding of Jesus
himself.

It is something that many believers, but in verse

2 of Chapter 2 is written clearly that Jesus was invited,
as well as his disciples. If Mary was the "hostess", could
deal with the marriage of a brother or sister of Jesus,
but never there, since he was invited. Also, generally,
not formally called a brother to attend a wedding,
assuming that there is no need to invite someone from
home. So, if it was not the wedding of one of the family
of Jesus, the attitude of Mary is really amazing.

Simeon is apparently the first to recognize in

Jesus the Christ, the Messiah, and comes to prophesy
that Mary would suffer a lot with the fate of the child.
 [41]

Certainly Simeon knew the prophecies about the

Messiah and, knowing that the Messiah would have to
live in the future, understand that Mary would have
heart pierced by a sword. (Lc.2: 35) This

information about Simon has a moral impressive: the

recognition of the figure of the Messiah and the
prediction of the suffering that Mary would bear when
the time came for his son. Simeon sees the child and
has the revelation of who this child. How the world
would react when the child became an adult. The old
man still had faith enough to recognize in a newborn,
the turning point for his people and the beginning of a
new era.

The Gospels are a great source of all life of

Mary and Jesus. All Jesus imagine a calm, gentle,
loving, unable to act rashly, and much less violent. The
famous episode of the attack on traders of the
Jerusalem Temple is considered an exception, because
Jesus is the man most well-behaved there, but that
does not seem true. In the episode reported by Mark, he
apparently has a nervous breakdown, so that had to be
calmed by his followers, since he was beside himself
(Mc.3: 21). In the next verse, soon after, so some Jews
thought he was possessed by the devil (Mc.3: 22). If the
scribes thought he was possessed, the nervous
breakdown must have been very serious, after all no
one would say that if it were a common mood disorder.

Analyzing this passage and those cited above,

when Jesus does not seem to get his brothers and
 [42]

mother, it is assumed that he had a genius somewhat

exalted. At the wedding of Canaan, he really seems to
have given an unexpected response to Mary (John 2:4).
Can the verse, was written with the intention of showing
any unwillingness to Jesus beginning his ministry and
his miracles a little ahead and that Mary, asking him to
arrange some more wine, has prompted him to initiate
immediate miracles. However, the way he answered the
mother, it seems a bit abrupt. It also appears that Mary
knew the power of his son, but she would not ask that
turns water into wine. Clearly, she asked him that, but
he would not have said has not yet come to my time. If
Mary had asked his son to just go buy more wine, or
bring a deposit into the house, he would not said that
his time had not yet arrived, for having merely to go out
and get more wine.

What happened in the Temple when Jesus was

12 years is another demonstration of indiscipline by the
then teenage Jesus. After disappearing for three days in
a big city like Jerusalem, is quite natural that their
parents have been very concerned about the fate of the
child. Any father would be upset with a disappearance
of three days. Still tense, they approach the young
Jesus and are reprimanded when they heard her son
say he was taking care of business of his Father Young
should have received them in a loving way and not with
a response somewhat ungainly, showing even lack
consideration for them. Normally such an attitude would
have been censored, but his parents, knowing who he
was, must have been no action at that time. Now, later,
when Jesus says that his mother and brothers were the
ones who obeyed the divine laws, may also have been
 [43]

written to emphasize that the pure are indeed a family,

but if someone is a close relative, to hear a response
so, would surely be a little perplexed.

The conclusion which we draw is that Jesus,

though good-hearted, was at the same time, temper and
perhaps a little rebellious against the parents. These
answers given by him can confirm this opinion, without,
however, belittle the great work.

Mary, an ordinary woman, with no great

aspirations, suddenly finds herself as the mother of
Christ. How will she created her son? As she wanted to
educate him? What could she do to shape your
personality, your character, or is, as the Son of God,
Jesus was born without requiring formal education? It is
clear that he was illiterate, as written and read in the
synagogues. Jesus would have been a good and loving
son, a good brother, a good student? These are
questions that will never have answers. And Mary, as
she and the mother of the Messiah? Was she afraid of
him, respect, authority and influence over it? It must
have been extremely difficult for her, a simple young
woman, having to live with this destination. However, it
was chosen, it should have unquestionable merits, but it
was a simple woman, caring for a child not simple.
 [44]

(3): At Calvary, the Revelation and the Scriptures.

Mary makes a emerge only when the death of

his son on the cross. The Gospels report that it is
present with Mary Magdalene, with a sister, therefore,
aunt of Jesus and other women also named Mary.
(Matthew 27:56) - Among which was Mary Magdalene,
and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the
mother of Zebedee's children.
(Mark 15:40) - And there were also women looking on
afar off: among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary
the mother of James and Joseph, and Salome.
(John 19:25) - And the cross of Jesus his mother, and
his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clophas, and Mary
Magdalene.

Mary, the wife of Clophas, apparently the sister

of Mary, Jesus' aunt, so.

Matthew does not say, but Mary the mother of

James, Joseph and Salome is the mother of Jesus. This
is because James and Joseph were two sons of Joseph
and Mary, parents of Jesus. Salome, Salome's
namesake niece of Herod, is the mother of James and
John, wife of Zebedee. Maria Magdalena is also
mentioned in these three verses as a witness the death
of Jesus. In this terrible moment, not to forsake Jesus
and asks one of his disciples, the beloved disciple,
usually associated with John, take care of her from then
on, saying his famous words: "Woman, behold your son,
and son, behold your mother. (John: 19:26-27)
 [45]

Nothing more is said in the Gospel of Mary. She

turns up, timidly, in the Acts of the Apostles:

(Acts 1:14) - These all continued with one accord in

prayer and supplication, with women, and Mary the
mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

Epistles, his name is not mentioned and the only

reference is given in Galatians, when Paul says that
Jesus was born of a woman. (Galatians 4:4) Some
scholars believe that Mary is mentioned several times in
the Book of Revelation, or Apocalypse: a woman
clothed with the sun, which has a crown of twelve stars
on her head and had a difficult birth, where she gave
birth to a son who will rule the nations with a rod of iron
and that his son has caught up to God and to his throne.
The woman looks like a dragon that has wanted to kill
his son and is transported to the desert, where God had
prepared a place for her. (Revelation 12:1-6)

Apparently, the woman clothed with the sun

symbolizes the heavenly place, the twelve stars that are
in its crown could be the twelve tribes of Israel, while the
dragon may well be the Antichrist. She flees to the
desert and receives care of God in person, such as
Hagar the Egyptian slave of Abraham, mother of
Ishmael. Then there is a battle where the Dragon joins
Satan to make war with Jesus and the angels, where
they are defeated and returned to trouble the woman
who had given birth, and was wroth with the woman,
went to make war with their descendants who follow the
 [46]

commandments of God and have the testimony of

Christ. (Revelation 12:17).

Possibly, the interpretation of the text of

Revelation, is that there is or there, chasing the
remnants of his seed, Christians, and the divine care,
both she and the followers of Christ, able to stay alive.
Another view is that the woman clothed with the sun
would be the Church of Christ. There is also an
association between Mary and the serpent in the book
of Genesis. She was the woman who steps into the
head of the serpent (Genesis 3: 15). The serpent in the
book of Genesis, as everyone knows, is the devil, the
great enemy of Creation. The woman who steps on the
serpent's head, or it can destroy the evil is Mary, who
with her pregnancy, gave the world Jesus and the
power to destroy, to kill the enemies of God.

In the book of Isaiah, she is quoted as follows:

(Isaiah 7:14) - Therefore the Lord himself will give you
a sign: Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son,
and shall call his name Immanuel.

In this case, as Matthew said, Immanuel means

God with us.

(Matthew 1:23) - Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and

bear a son, and call it will be the name Emmanuel,
which being interpreted is, God with us.
 [47]

Many scholars have interpreted these verses,

saying that as Jesus is part of the Trinity, is God also,
and, having lived among us, stayed with us for 33
years, he is, therefore, God with us, brilliantly played,
incidentally.

There is another often quoted verse in Isaiah:

(Micah 5:3) - So (Allah) will fail until the time they give
birth to one who is giving birth. Then the rest of his
brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.

Apparently states that God will give priority to

the advent of Christ, engaging Solely to this plan, and
leaving other tasks. It is a particularly difficult passage
to interpret, but is clearly an allusion to the birth of the
Messiah. In this case, the prophet says that God will
closely monitor the pregnancy that which is to give birth,
Maria, leaving them (the people of Israel). Thus God is
the Father and the Son of Mary.

In evangelical religions, Mary is seen as an

exceptional woman chosen by God to be the mother of
Christ and not to worship the Mother of God
Evangelicals do not worship, as in Catholicism. These
churches, there is usually the cult of saints, images, and
Maria.

Mary, when the crucifixion of Jesus, becomes

the second most remembered this time, only losing
 [48]

even his son. Renowned artists have painted it and

carved it, especially when the lifeless body of his son is
taken down from the cross. She hugs him while crying.
This scene, creepy and has touched millions of people
throughout history is often called the Pieta. Perhaps the
most famous pieta is a sculpted by Michelangelo
sculpted when the artist was so only 23 years old, and
that is the Vatican, just in the Vatican Basilica. The book
tries to show the sadness and disappointment of Mary
with the death of his son. Other pietas were carved and
painted, but the most famous of all is the Italian genius.

When dying, Jesus says to the beloved disciple,

probably John takes care of Mary as his mother and
asks Maria is for him as a mother. Someone who is
dying would never do that if I was not sure of the
character of both. Then Jesus orders them to each
other to become mother and son. Why did Jesus make
this request, he had other brothers who could very well
take care of Mary? We will never know the answer, but
some scholars agree that Jesus could not even
brothers, because by doing so, Mary could be in the
care of a child, not someone outside the family.

Others agree that the beloved disciple may even

have been the son of Jesus, to die, gives it to Mary, and
not the opposite, with it going from grandmother to
mother. Others argue that it may have been a purely
symbolic act in which Jesus allows John to take care
also of his mother as if it were a child. However, it is a
beautiful passage in the Gospels in which the child near
death, still worries about his mother. In Acts, the
presence of Mary is so nascent, that do not fit
comments.
 [49]

It is very curious parallel treaty between Mary

and Eve in Eden, God puts enmity between the woman
and the serpent, as it was in the form of a serpent that
Satan entered Paradise and deceived Eve with the
famous forbidden fruit, which cost the couple and
expulsion conviviality and gift god, has given us an
inheritance of original sin. The snake bites the heels of
the woman who, in turn steps on the head of the
serpent (Gen. 3:15). The meaning is clear: Mary is a
new mother to humanity and the act of stepping on the
serpent's head, which is an evil entity, symbolizes the
destruction of evil, which occurred through Jesus Christ.

Thus, with the destruction of evil, symbolized by

the serpent, the original sin could be removed. Already,
in Revelation, the symbolism on the woman clothed with
the sun is more debatable, as this image can mean the
Church of Christ, the original Church. The son to whom
she gives birth can symbolize Jesus, but can also mean
the faithful. Anyway, God takes the woman alongside
the desert and cherish it, as He did with Hagar and
Isaaque.

It is therefore deductible that Mary may have a

position of extreme importance if the prophecies come
to fruition. Micah gives a sense of extreme importance
to Mary at the prophesy that God would even pay
attention to the fair, to focus on the task of Maria coming
to this world. It is then something of great importance,
allowing the interpretation that God was preparing from
infinity and it was monitored from its inception
throughout ensures that her God that Jesus was born.
Few figures in the Bible had such privilege.
 [50]

The Seven Sorrows of Mary: Seven moments of

anguish in which Maria spent and are highly valued by
devotees as they are moments in your life. Are:

First Sorrow: The prophecy of Simeon.

Second Sorrow: The flight into Egypt.

Third Sorrow: Jesus lost in the Temple in Jerusalem.

The Fourth Sorrow: The encounter with Jesus carrying

the raw.

Fifth Sorrow: The death of Jesus.

Sixth pain: The body of Jesus is taken from the cross

and given to Mary.

Seventh Sorrow: Jesus is buried.

 [51]

Figure 2. Byzantine icon, a detailed account of

magnificent art.

Figure 3. Detail of "Pieta" by Michelangelo, an

eternal work.
 [52]

CHAPTER III

MARIA IN THE KORAN

The Koran, or Quran, (both Spellings are

correct) is the holy book of Islam. It was revealed to
Prophet Muhammad (Muhammad) from the year 610.
Muhammad was born in Mecca and in 570 and died in
Medina in 612. From forties began to receive divine
revelations through the angel Gabriel and almost every
day the Prophet had received a revelation until his
death. Islam, which means submission, claims that
Allah is the God of Moses and Jesus. Muslims, (word
that means "one who submits") does not acknowledge
the divinity of Jesus, and believe that he was not
crucified, and ascended to heaven before you go to
Calvary, because of the love God had for him.

He is considered an important prophet, but not

a divine being. The book tells the tale well known to
Christians as the Annunciation, the doubts about the
pregnancy and the danger has gone for being pregnant
without being married actually. In this case, God
provided it was to a secluded place and Jesus was born
under the shade of a palm tree. When he returns to
living there, it soon is admonished for having committed
a reprehensible act. The 19th chapter of the Koran is
devoted to Mary and his name. By the way, Mary is the
only woman called by name in the Koran. Maria's father
called Imran. Here are a few excerpts from this verse of
Sura preceded corresponding to the Annunciation:
 [53]

(Koran 3:45) - And when the angels said: O Mary,

surely God announces its verb whose name is Messiah,
Jesus son of Mary, illustrious in the world and the
hereafter, and that he is of the beloved of God "

(Koran 3:46) - will speak unto mankind in his cradle and

in maturity and he is of the righteous.

(Koran 3:47) - He (Maria) My Lord and I have a son

when the mortal hath touched me?

(Koran 19:27) - He put the baby to his people and say to

him, "Mary, have committed a reprehensible act."

(Koran 19:28) - The sister of Aaron. It neither was his

father a bad man nor was your mother a libertine.

(Koran 19:30) - But the child said, "I am indeed a

servant of God Gave me the Scripture and appointed
me a prophet."

The excerpts of the 3rd Sura are well known to

anyone who knows the Gospels. In 30 of Sura 19, the
Book is the Bible, which is always mentioned in this
way. Let us consider now the other verses of the Koran:

(Koran 3:55) - And when God said: "O Jesus, kill thee
and raise thee to Me, and purify thee of those who
disbelieve, and your followers will put up the unbelievers
until the resurrection. "
 [54]

(Koran 4:171) - People of the Book, do not be wasteful

in your religion: Nor say of God only the truth. The
Messiah, son of Mary was nothing more than a
Messenger of God, His word and a breath of His spirit
that He has sent down upon Mary. Believe me, in Allah
and His messengers and say not "Trinity". Refrain. It is
better for you. God is one God. Glory be Have a son?
How! To Him belongs all that is in heaven and on earth.
Just God bless you as champion.

(Koran 5:72) - They do blaspheme who say "God is

Christ the son of Mary, even when the Messiah said: O
Israel, worship Allah is my Lord and your Lord."

(Koran 5:73) - They do blaspheme who say God is the

third of three. There is no god but one God. And if they
desist not from saying a painful doom will come upon
them.

(Koran 5:75) - The Messiah. Son of Mary is but a

messenger.

(Koran 5: 110) - O Jesus, son of Mary, remember the

grace upon thee and thy mother.

(Koran 5: 116) - When God asked, "O Jesus, son of

Mary, did you say unto men: Worship me and my
mother as two gods besides Allah '? He said: 'Nay! How
would I do not belong to me? If he had said, Thou would
 [55]

know. You are the knower of the unseen. "

(Koran 43:10) - He, Jesus, is nothing but a servant who

provided them and We made him an example to the
Israelites.

(Koran 43: 81) - Say: "If the Most Gracious had a son, I
would be the first to worship him."

Thus we see in these excerpts from the Koran,

that Jesus is the Son of God, much less God Himself,
Jesus, to Islam, did not die on the cross and that Mary
was a woman worthy of gestating his son, the Messiah.
The Trinitarism is considered a blasphemy. Although
Islam has much in common with Christianity and
Judaism, the basic tenets substantially different from the
other two religions.

For Catholicism, Mary is the Virgin Mary, the

Mother of God and fruit of the Immaculate Conception,
among other titles that you receive. Her perpetual
virginity is declared by the Catholic Church. In
Evangelical religions it is not honored and for many was
a woman like any other and was chosen by God, in
virtue, to be the mother of the Savior. In the Catholic
Church it is considered as co-redeemer of humanity
along with his son. It is the patron saint of Brazil,
Portugal and several other countries, and taking names
in accordance with the apparitions, as seen in the
prologue.
 [56]

The dogma of the Immaculate Conception holds

that Mary was born without sin. The original sin, original
sin, the sin congenital, it is an inheritance, following
Christianity, coming from Adam and Eve, who, to
disobey God by eating the forbidden fruit in the Garden
of Eden, had created all human unhappiness, and
imperfection existence of evil. As is known, were
expelled from fellowship with God and their
descendants, i.e., humanity, carries this sin, original sin.
Thus, everyone is born with sin. The exception is that
Mary was born free of original sin, is the fruit of the
Immaculate Conception, and Conception. In this case,
Mary is the Immaculate Conception and, yes, the result,
the fruit of the Immaculate Conception. Of course,
Jesus, begotten by the Holy Spirit, being half human
and half divine, it was not carrying the original sin. For
many scholars, which occurred in the Garden of Eden
was in fact a sexual relationship between Adam and
Eve, and, metaphorically used the image of the
forbidden fruit. All human misery is a result of the
couple's disobedience to God's command.

According to Genesis, God warns that the

couple do not eat the forbidden fruit because, well,
surely die (Gen.3: 3). However, the subtle serpent,
identified as the Devil, causes the woman who eats the
fruit and gives it to Adam. Soon after they discover that
they were naked and cover his genitals. God then
discover that they had disobeyed his orders and asked
the man who showed him that he was naked (Gen.
3:11). That is, the couple had discovered that it was
naked and ashamed (Gen.3: 7). Apparently, by eating
the fruit, got aware of something that had not previously,
 [57]

that is the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 3:5). From

this moment they do not enjoy more protection and
confidence in God, having to leave Paradise.

This dramatic episode has filled the imagination

of millions of people since it became known and
generated heated debates. Many do not accept that the
descendants of the couple may be carriers of original
sin, it would be an unfair charge to the offspring of the
sins they have sinned. Pelagius (360-432), religious
Breton, wrote and published works in which disagrees
with the view punitive inherited from generation to
generation because of the disobedience of Adam and
Eve to God's orders, saying that salvation depends
solely of every human being, not depending therefore of
divine grace. This doctrine was named Pelagianism,
and fought hard for Christian theologians, including
Augustine, because this way, the redemption of
humanity is not at the sacrifice of Christ. The
Pelagianism holds that man is born morally neutral,
being able to check whether or not the salvation, without
any influence from God. Indeed Pelagius argued that
man has free will is solely responsible for their salvation
or damnation, depending on their actions. This doctrine
was considered heretical and the works of the monk
were properly incinerated. Pelagius wrote at least two
works in which he defended his doctrine of free will and
the nature, and was declared heretical at the Council of
Ephesus (431). Islam and Judaism deny that original sin
is inherent in human nature, considering something
unfair to humanity and, therefore, God would not allow
this to happen. Thus, original sin does not exist.
 [58]

However, not everyone accepts the theory that

Jesus may have been generated by the Holy Spirit. The
Greek philosopher Celsus (25 BC-50), and enemy of
Christianity, argued that Jesus was the son of a Roman
soldier named Tiberius Julius Abdes Panthera. The
Romans would have seduced the then teenager Mary,
who was engaged to Joseph Celsus also said that
Christians have no standing in the Scriptures, which
were stolen from Jews to the prophecies about the
Messiah were fulfilled in Jesus. The philosopher thought
absurd the idea that God is incarnate in one man and
considers this belief an insult to the deity. The Order of
the grail brotherhood on Earth also believe that Jesus
was the son of the Roman soldier.

The Talmud, the second most important text for

Judaism, leaving behind only the Scriptures, also says
that Jesus was hanged on a Friday before Easter,
because he practiced sorcery and led Israel to
apostasy. (Sanhedrin, or Sanhedrin, folio 43, which
reads: For forty days before the execution, a herald
went out and shouted, 'He's going forward to be stoned
because he practiced sorcery and led Israel into
apostasy). Anyone who has something to say to defend
him, to come forward and call your name '. But since
nothing was done to them, he was hanged on the eve of
Easter. He was not a solicitation, of whom it is written:
'Do not save or hide'? With Yeshu was different
because it was linked to the government). After
highlights that Yeshu was hanged.

This text is impressive importance. First, it is a

 [59]

document that attests to the historical figure of Jesus,

for there is incipient evidence of its existence on the
other hand, claims that Jesus was condemned for
practicing witchcraft, something unthinkable for any
Christian. Leaves the impression that Jesus was
somehow important, because it was linked to the
government. Finally, leaves in doubt whether he was
crucified or hanged. Of course, that the term witchcraft,
can meet the many miracles that Jesus may have
practiced as shown in the Gospels. Perhaps the fact
heals someone or turn water into wine, walking on water
and other metaphysical events have rendered him the
penalty. In fact, it is no wonder that Jesus was
considered a sorcerer, because we found some
evidence in the Gospels:

(Matthew 9:34) - But the Pharisees said, He casts out

demons by the prince of demons.

(Matthew 12:14) - And the Pharisees went out, took

counsel against him to slay him.

(Mark 3:22) - And the scribes who came down from

Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince
of demons he casts out demons.

(Matthew 4:24) - And his fame went throughout all

Syria, and brought to him all who were suffering from
various diseases and torments, possessed with
demons, epileptics, and paralyzed, and he healed them.

So we see that Jesus was regarded by some as

a sorcerer, who had, yes, a willingness of some Jews to
 [60]

kill him, and made famous by the cures he has made. It

is therefore impossible that he has been convicted as if
it were a witch or a wizard.

Mary is the only female character that has the

name mentioned in the Koran. Why this difference?
Clearly this is someone who inspires respect and
gratitude. Muhammad, the prophet of Islam had,
personally, great appreciation for Mary. Another curious
fact: Why is Jesus called the Son of Mary and not
Joseph's son, at a time and place where someone's
name was always accompanied by the name of his
father and not his mother? Those supporting the theory
that the real father of Jesus was the Roman soldier
Panthera is a good explanation, since it is not Joseph's
father and had left Mary's pregnancy would be called
Jesus son of Mary, the absence of the father.

Note that in the Koran, which the inhabitants of

the town where Mary lived criticized by coming up
pregnant (Koran 19:27) but the little Jesus calls his
mother in a way that must have caused confusion to
those who heard him talking and talking and . The book
talks about Jose, implying that he is absent from the life
of Mary. Maybe dead or has gone. Either way, the
passages of the holy book of Islam, even polemics are
somewhat illuminating. Jesus is all over it too, but it is
clear that it is not considered a child of God, but more a
prophet. Curiously, the Comforter which Jesus says that
God will send is identified in Islam as Muhammad (John
14:26 and 15:26).

The book considers the doctrine of Trinitarism

blasphemous, considering that God is unique and would
 [61]

not generate a child. Islam teaches that Allah is the God

of Moses and Jesus and has some similar to Christian
doctrines: Heaven, Hell and Doom.

The claim that Jesus was the son of a Roman

causes much indignation in those who listen. It is not
known exactly how and when this news came. In fact,
this theory has the approval of many people and it
seems that emerged in the second century AD. Von
Saas Roselis in his work the day of reckoning, state, all
known Mary knew that the father of her son - Jesus,
was a Roman. The author says that Jesus' father was a
Roman nobleman Kreolus and diverged from the
lineage, and that the cult statue of Mary was no more
than idolatry. It seems clear that the countless
sculptures of Mary are really worshiped by millions of
believers. Of course, many people get education and
culture, tend to worship images of saints, forgetting that
this is as we know, forbidden by the second
commandment of the Decalogue. Probably the Catholic
Church in the past, encouraged idolatry commercial
reasons, as in the case of relics, freely marketed mainly
in the Middle Ages, a fact which made the Church's
coffers are filled with money. There was a time in
Europe there were dozens of nails of the crucifixion,
countless fragments of the cross and traded even the
milk of the Virgin Mary that fed the baby Jesus. It seems
a joke, but unfortunately it is not.

If the 2nd commandment of the Decalogue

prohibits the worship of images, especially carved,
those who do differ from the divine guidance and break
this commandment. The amount of statues and other
images of Mary is huge and certainly those who worship
 [62]

such images are bound to do so because it is a tradition

of Catholicism. The second commandment of the
Decalogue says:

Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or

any likeness of anything in heaven above or below the
earth or the waters under the earth. Not bow down
thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God
am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers
upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of
them that hate me and showing mercy unto thousands
of them that I love and keep my commandments.

Without a doubt, the worship of images or any

other type of figure is forbidden by the Ten
Commandments received by Moses. Many detractors
argue that the Catholic image worship is a form of
idolatry. In the second part of this commandment, God
forbids the faithful bow before them, something very
common because many pray on their knees or even
prostrate before the sacred images. When the
ordination of priests, deacons literally worships images
of Jesus and Mary. The fact is that God, through Moses
unto His commandments, but the men tried to twist
them. The above example is readily apparent. Of course
many will say that Catholics do not worship images, and
they are memories, like a photograph of someone
virtuous.
 [63]

Figure 4. Byzantine Icon of rare beauty.

Figure 5. Another example of Byzantine art

immortal.
 [64]

CHAPTER IV

MARY IN THE APOCRYPHALS GOSPELS.

Many Apocryphal Gospels, those not recognized

as legitimate by the Christian Churches, but by no
means negligible. Some, like the Gospel of Pseudo-
Matthew, the Gospel of the infancy of Salvador, of
Gamaliel, of Bartholomew and the Proto-Gospel of
James, are interesting and can report situations other
than those everyone knows, but also have points in
common with Canonical Gospels: Almost all emphasize
the virginity of Mary, even after the birth of Jesus,
except for Felipe. The miracles, death, resurrection and
ascension of Jesus are reported. However, there are
some oddities, like the story that Mary became pregnant
through the ear, when I heard the angel of the
Annunciation, the fact that José Tues 93 years old when
he married Mary, who was 14, say the brothers of Jesus
who appear in the canonical, were actually, or cousins,
or siblings of creation, says the apostle John was loved
and he was also chaste and count as it was the
Assumption of Mary after the death on a Sunday.
Recognizing that Maria exercised strong leadership
among the disciples and apostles and that often,
arguing theological points with great wisdom, in contrast
with the assumption that it was an illiterate Jewish
 [65]

peasant. The apocryphal "Life of Joseph", reports the

flight into Egypt, the suffering of Mary after the death of
the husband and struggling to cope with their children,
among others. There are many texts with essays by
theological slant, establishing a parallel between Mary
and Eve, the first being considered as the New Mother
of humanity.

One of the best is the apocryphal Proto-gospel

of James, written about 150, and author James has
nothing to do with the apostle. She says that Mary was
the daughter of a wealthy man and was dedicated to
God, and from 3 years of age, he lived in the Temple of
Jerusalem. The fiancé of Mary was chosen by God
himself, who indicated a widower, Joseph, for your
spouse. Joseph was married almost by force, as
Zechariah reminded him that he could receive a severe
punishment from God for disobeying him. The carpenter
was concerned by the age difference between them,
thinking they would become subject of ridicule among
Israel.

The Pseudo-Gospel of Thomas reports on

aspects of the childhood of Jesus as the resurrection of
Jesus buddy, Zenon, who had died after falling from a
tree, tells a joke the boy Jesus making clay birds that he
had carved out a Saturday and the relationship between
their parents and siblings.

The Arabic Gospel of Jesus' childhood was, in

the opinion of many, written by Peter and was
discovered by Ahmed Ibn Idriz, who considered it as the
fifth Gospel. According to tradition, Mary was dictated
 [66]

by the fisherman. It narrates the birth, the flight into

Egypt and the miracles that Jesus performed in
childhood.

CHAPTER V

MARIAN APPARITIONS.

Since the beginning of Christianity, the Marian

apparitions have populated the imagination of millions of
believers. As was shown at the beginning, the first sign
was still living with Mary, turning out to James, and
becoming the Our Lady of the Pillar. According to the
site of the apparitions or certain facts, or even objects,
Maria assumes no other personality, but other names:
Our Lady of Guadalupe, Lady of the Rosary, which it
was the institution of the Rosary, and the sign was in
1208 in Prouille, France. The Our Lady of Carmel
regards the reception of the Scapular by Simon Stock
and occurred in England in 1251. Other appearances or
manifestations of Mary in almost all continents: North
America (Mexico, Canada and USA), Central America
(Nicaragua and Puerto Rico), South America (Brazil,
Argentina, Ecuador and Colombia), Europe (Italy,
France , Spain, England, Ireland, Portugal, Malta,
Ukraine, Belgium, Germany, Netherlands, Slovakia,
Hungary, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Lithuania, Poland,
 [67]

Slovakia and Russia), Africa (Rwanda and Egypt) and

Asia (Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, India and Japan).
Recently, in Limerick, Ireland, a log of wood from a tree,
took the form of a woman covered by a veil, and
immediately became an object for worship among Irish
Catholics, who are, incidentally, majority. Our Ladies
are 115 so far.

Certainly, most sightings occurred in countries

with predominantly Catholic population. In Africa and
Asia, few appearances, Europe and the Americas have
the highest number of appearances. Many question the
apparitions, and the skeptics attribute to several factors
such as excessive mysticism, fraud, psychics with
mental health problems and few are convinced of the
veracity of the visions. The Catholic Church is very strict
with this type of event, and often does not recognize, at
first, the character of its own facts, but almost always
after some time, eventually yielding to the wishes of the
parties involved. They celebrated the apparitions in
Fatima, Portugal, where in 1917 three pastors claimed
to have seen Our Lady. The small, poor town, 120 km
from Lisbon, made headlines in almost all European
newspapers and soon, crowds flocked to the city to
witness the apparitions. They say that there were
miracles and the sun began to turn on itself, and the
phenomenon was observed in a large area around the
city.

City is grown and, today, lives of thousands of pilgrims

who flock there, especially in the month of May to
celebrate the anniversary of the apparitions. In Lourdes,
in 1858, in Lourdes, southern France, a young girl,
Bernadette Soubirous, assured to have seen Mary on
 [68]

several occasions. She has dug itself, once the earth

and it sprouted a case of pure water, which, according
to testimony, is able to cure many seriously ill patients.
In 1846 in La Salette, France, two teenagers of 15 and
11 years claimed to have seen the Virgin, who was very
sad, for sinners. In almost all the sightings were made
prophecies, becoming the classic Fatima and La
Salette. The 3rd secret of Fatima has become an object
of discussion and a lot of anxiety on the part of
Catholics around the world, but when it was revealed
did not cause the expected impact, because it is a
possible attack on Pope John Paul II, which actually
occurred, in 1981, but was shot and not the arrows, as
Sister Lucia, one of the witnesses had said. The other
two secrets refer to wars, especially World War II. Much
has been made, then the conversion of Russia. The
Bolshevik Revolution had not yet been realized and
many mentioned that the conversion was actually a
prophecy about the future of this nation, who became
an atheist by the communist regime, and later
discovered that this prophecy was actually a
misrepresentation of words that had nothing to do with
the future USSR.

In 1981, the city of Medugorje, Bosnia-

Herzegovina, began the most famous Marian
apparitions today. A group of young people received
revelations from Mary, who calls the faithful to pray the
rosary and have no future. In nearly all Marian
apparitions, the rosary is often cited as a powerful
weapon against Satan and Mary asks where his
followers to pray and ask for the conversion of
unbelievers. In 1996 a Brazilian priest, Nelson Ricardo
dos Santos of Nova Iguaçu (RJ), visiting the city,
 [69]

received a revelation that will soon emerge in the city, a

clear evidence of God, which is pending at this time.

The apparitions of Mary are almost always

accompanied by miracles. In Lourdes, the water that
poured from the site where the apparitions occurred, is
considered miraculous, there are several reports of
cures in cases where a medicine considered as
irreversible neurological diseases and tumors; hundreds
were healed after drinking water miracle. In Fatima was
no different: Hundreds of healing occurred and many of
them inexplicably. Doctors ran out of words trying to
explain the cures. The impact of these cures was and is
so great that a group of Lutherans published in 1982, a
manifesto in a religious magazine, which became
known as the Manifesto of Dresden, where they ask that
everyone is aware of the miracles coming from the
apparitions of Mary. The following are some excerpts
from the manifesto:

"We know or should know that the cures of Lourdes and

Fatima are examined with high scientific standards for
medical and non-Catholic. We know the routine of the
Catholic Church, allowing many years elapse before
finding a cure as miraculous. So far in 1200 occurred in
Lourdes healings were considered scientifically
inexplicable. However, the Catholic Church saw only 44
of these cures as a miracle. "

"Only God could allow Maria manifest in appearances."

"We are risking committing a fatal mistake if we close

our eyes to this reality and not paying attention to
appearances."
 [70]

"It would be the height of stupidity to ignore that God

speaks to men through Mary."

It is clear that many of the appearances, there

are aspects to consider: there must be fraud, excessive
mysticism, and misinterpretation of messages, presence
of neurological and psychiatric diseases, and perhaps a
dose of narcissism on the part of some viewers.
However, it is true that faith and adoration of millions of
Marian is very strong and, increasingly, are noticeable
imprint Marian movements to push this ancient faith.
Another important issue in the cases of apparitions is
the possible manipulation by persons or institutions
concerned information and content of the messages.
Clearly, if a parish is interested in the propagation of a
certain appearance is related to Mary, will do anything
to the alleged seer believe to be the apparition of Mary,
even though perhaps not. Many scholars have come to
claim that the apparitions at Fatima were not Mary and
the three children who had visions were induced to say
that it was Our Lady. Certain trends plea was that it was
not a manifestation of an unknown entity, or an alien, no
matter how ludicrous it is. In many appearances seers
came to ask if in this case, it was not a manifestation of
the devil, as an example. The truth is that psychics can
make mistakes and, perhaps, Marian apparitions have
no history of scams or something more mysterious, our
ability to understand cannot reach to determine what
they are about such events. Everyone knows the story
of Joan of Arc, French heroine, who claimed to have
 [71]

visions and hear voices from God, encouraging her to

fight the British in the Hundred Years War. Through the
reports of the time, it is quite certain that the Maid of
Orleans was schizophrenic, as surely she suffered from
auditory and visual hallucinations. At first, the Catholic
Church usually takes a skeptical position, which then
becomes the investigative and other subsequent time,
often allows and encourages the cult, are recognizing
the apparitions of Mary. There are few reports in which
the Church has intervened in a similar case, recognizing
it is a scam, almost always win the demonstrations and
the popular worship once Our Lady appears. It is
therefore imperative that these cases be investigated so
sherloqueano to refrain from mobilizing the faithful for
no apparent reason. The trade in souvenirs, books,
pictures, candles and holy water is always great in
these cases, and many riders appear to fool the
unsuspecting people of faith.

The sightings occurred in Fatima in 1917 were

well documented. Three humble children, Lucia and her
cousins, siblings Jacinta and Francisco, have attended
six apparitions of Mary, from May to October. She
introduced herself as Lady of the Rosary, asking
everyone to pray the rosary daily. Almost immediately
the villagers came to visit the site of the apparitions, the
Pit of Iria, and shortly after a shrine was first erected
evolving into the current basilica, one of the busiest in
the world. The church was built taking into account the
request from the Lady, as the shepherd referred to it.
The eldest, Lucia, lived until 2005 and published his
memoirs. She was ten years old at the time of the
apparitions and became a Carmelite after spending
many years in closed convents in Portugal and Spain.
 [72]

She was the only one who spoke with the lady. His
cousin Jacinta only heard the voice of Lady, while
Francisco and neither spoke nor heard the apparition.
Francisco Marto, who was 9 years old when the
apparitions died in 1919, a victim of Spanish flu that
swept the world after the end of World War II. Jacinta,
who was 7 years old, also died prematurely, shortly
before completing ten years of age. The girl, after the
apparitions began having mystical experiences that
undermined his physical strength. For fast too willing to
suffer for Jesus and for sinners, was slowly getting sick
and died from heart problems arising from the same
Spanish flu that took his brother. In fact the child was
extremely weak due to starvation that his fragile body
has developed a heart disease that killed her. His
mysticism was impressive, and their sacrifices for Jesus
and sinners. She would sometimes take days without
water and without food. In 1935 his body was exhumed
and was virtually incorruptible, only increasing his fame
mystique. The three are buried in the Basilica of Fatima.
Famously the three secrets of Fatima: the first was a
vision of hell that Lucia had, the second the request to
the cult of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The third
secret, which was huge expectation because they said it
was a prophecy about the End of the World, was saved
by Lucia at the request of Jesus himself who appeared
to her in December 1927 and asked to be silent about
the third secret , which was sent to the Vatican and
there remains today. As it was revealed the third secret
was a prophecy of death for the murder of a Pope,
perhaps John Paul II, by arrows.

As for miracles, we must admit scientifically

inexplicable cures that occurred and were duly
 [73]

registered. Cures without a medical explanation are a

reality. If there was a cure through the intercession of
Mary, or if the cure came from thinking more positive
patient, who graduated from the belief that it would be
cured, do not ever know, but the fact that there were
miracle cures here.

____________________________________________
 [74]

CHAPTER VI

MARIA IN COUNCILS ECUMENICAL

Ecumenical Councils are regular church

gatherings that are promoted by the Catholic Church to
deal with matters pertaining to faith and usually pass on
matters of religious dogma. On several occasions dealt
with issues that were involved in some way, Mary. We,
as the most important:

Ephesus (431): It was decided that the motherhood of

Mary was God (Theotokos) and set your body as
sacred. In this council, Nestorius of Alexandria was
considered heretical by arguing that Mary was the
mother of Jesus, but not God. He advocated the use of
the word Cristotokos instead of Theotokos. Cyril of
Alexandria also said that the doctrine of Nestorius
destroyed the perfect union of divine and human
natures of Jesus.

Chalcedon (451): Having established that Jesus, having

been raised in eternity for our salvation through Mary,
the Mother of God, also redemptive.
Constantinople II (553): established as the definitive
dogma of the perpetual virginity of Mary.

Constantinople III (680): It was reiterated the dogma of

the divine motherhood of Mary.
Nicaea II (787): The permission for images in paintings
and sculptures of Jesus and Mary were objects of
 [75]

worship were obtained in this council.

Constantinople IV (869-870) renewed the worship of

images of Mary was legitimate and widely permitted,
and recommended.

Lateran IV (1205) reiterated that Jesus was begotten by

the Holy Spirit on Mary and again proclaimed its
perpetual virginity.

Lion II (1274): Similarly the Lateran II reaffirmed the

generation of Jesus as the Holy Spirit in Mary.

Florence (1438-1445): He reiterated that Jesus took on

human nature in the immaculate womb of the Virgin
Mary, joining her and taking human form. Valentine,
religious Italian was considered a heretic for claiming
that Christ became human through the Virgin Mary, but
none had received it, beyond the womb to be generated
in human form. In this case, the priest denied the
divinity of Mary, making it through a common woman.

Trento (1545-1563): He decreed that the original Maria

sin is free, reaffirming the dogma of the Immaculate
Conception and reaffirmed the legitimacy of the worship
of images of Mary.

Vatican I: (1962-1965): Mary is the Mother of God in the

mystery of Christ and the Church.

Thus, the Ecumenical Councils set aside a

portion of their discussions to the dogmas of the
Immaculate Conception of Mary, the legality of the
 [76]

service to their image, their position as the Mother of

God and his perpetual virginity. These dogmas, of
course, are debatable, at least in the light of history,
because there is no way to know for sure if Mary
remained a virgin or after the birth of Jesus, though the
Gospels make it clear that Joseph knew her after the
birth of Jesus (Matt. 1:25). The worship of images, this
is clearly forbidden, as stated above. It is
understandable that many lay people are difficult to
distinguish between the terms and Cristotokos
Theotokos. The first was defined at the Council of
Ephesus in 431, in which Mary is declared Mother of
God. The dogma of Cristotokos was rejected and his
counsel, Nestorius of Alexandria was considered a
heretic, as was argued that Mary Mother of Christ. In
this case, the council must have understood that the
dogma of Nestorius was insufficient to explain the
complexity of these mysteries, and that being the
Mother of Christ, there would perhaps limiting the role of
Mary and Jesus. The Trinitarism preaches that Jesus is
God, just as God the Father and of the same substance,
called dogma Consubstantiality in Greek, Homoousios.

Thus, God the Father and Jesus are the same

substance (ousia), and the son, begotten of the Father,
but not in the sense of a creation, which would not
support the theory, Jesus was then raised, but not
made, and without the connotation of something
material, as if there was a division of the Father, or the
substance that makes it up. Are subjects that 1500
years have challenged the thinking of millions and the
logic of trying to understand this real mystery. Think of
someone who was raised, but not created, requires
much thought of any person and it is difficult to
 [77]

understand exactly what the dogma of

Consubstantiality. Moreover, there is also the Holy
Spirit, who is also inseparable and that was not created
nor begotten, having the same procession, the same
source, being the same person and the same
substance. In this case, theologians have discussed
both as a consubstantial Trinity, generating doubts
about the correct interpretation of the words, phrases,
making rather more an exercise in linguistic than
theological.

Discuss the principles of Consubstantiality and

Trinitarism is extremely difficult. The apparent
complexity of the two dogmas may hide something
more difficult to understand, which eternity is. The
concept of eternity is extremely difficult for the human
mind that does not include periods of time too large. It's
easy to think of something that happened 2 or 3
thousand years, but try to imagine a chronological
distance of 1 million years since honey is difficult, and
the difficulty increases with the number of years in
which we try to imagine. Thinking about 18 million years
in the past, the probable date of the big bang is even
more difficult and is almost impossible to understand the
human mind's eternity as temporal, chronological. Thus,
concepts that involve the principle of eternity are difficult
to understand. The fact is that in the Nicene Trinitarism
won the battle against Arianism. Arius, Christian priest
probably born in Alexandria, argued that Father, Son
and Holy Spirit are separate entities. The Father eternal,
created the Son, and there was a time when the Son did
 [78]

not exist. The Trinitarism preaches that the Son always

existed, of course be both the Father Arianism found
favorable reception not to be true or not, but it is more
understandable when compared to Trinitarism.
Nevertheless, Arianism was rejected and condemned
Arius and was rebuilt shortly before his death in 336.
Some of the Christian spectrum, however, are not
Trinitarian, as Jehovah's Witnesses, the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Mormons, and
Kardecismo understand that the Father created the
Son, and therefore the only God. Many claim Trinitarism
is just a type of polytheism in disguise, and Islam and
Judaism refer to the Trinity as three gods. Jehovah's
Witnesses claim that Jesus is the Son of God, and that
was created, but deny the label of the Aryans, because
their beliefs are not based on the teachings of Arius
and, yes, in studies of their own theologians. Mormons
believe that God created the Son and the Holy Spirit is
the witness of the relations between the Father, the Son
and the community, serving also as inspiring.

In "Acts of the Apostles" there are two verses

that may cause controversy when it comes to
Trinitarism / Arianism:

(Acts 7:55) - But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked
up steadfastly into heaven and saw the glory of God,
and Jesus standing at God's right;
(Acts 7:56) - And said, Behold, I see the heavens
opened and the Son of man standing on the right hand
of God.

He, Stephen, saw that Jesus was God's right

hand, then in another different way, which may mean
 [79]

that these two entities and not one. The Nicene Creed
also makes a striking statement when he says that
(Jesus) ascended into heaven and is seated at the right
hand of God the Father Almighty. The age-old prayer
was compiled in the same council which condemned
Arianism and established the Trinitarism. Proponents
argue that the Trinity, even apparently in two forms, it is
only a divine being, though in the form of two.

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 [80]

CHAPTER VII

CURIOSITIES ON MARIA

There are more than a hundred Our Ladies. Some

are well known as those cited above, but there are
many little circulation and others with curious aspects:

Our Lady of Presentation: Mary is presented to the

temple.

Saudi NS: Although the minority Christian population,

Mary is the patron saint of the country.

O.L of Aquiropita: The Calabrian town of Rossano, a

statue of Mary has been painted by heavenly hands.

O.L of Help: According to Pope Pius VII, Maria helped

much the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte.

O.L of Good Time: Maria helps deliveries, so that

everything runs smoothly.

Our Lady of Good Death: Maria eases the transition

from this world to another.

O.L of Good Success: Maria helps those with trade and

need money.

O.L of Head: There was a statue of Mary in the Peak

 [81]

Head, Spain.

O.L Candelaria: Candeia means light, torch, or other

apparatus that illuminates.

Our Lady of Conception: Mary was conceived without

sin, Immaculate Conception.

Our Lady of Consolation: Mary is comforting the

afflicted.

O.L of Copacabana: This is a carved statue of Mary in

Copacabana, Bolivia. Mary is the patron saint of the
country.

O.L Undoer: Mary is able to facilitate difficult cases.

O.L of Exile: This is the trail of Jesus' family to Egypt.

O.L Divine Shepherdess: Cult emerged in Seville,

Spain, in the eighteenth century.

O.L of Sorrows: Allusion to the seven sorrows of Mary:

The prophecy of Simeon, the flight into Egypt, the loss
of Jesus in the Temple, Jesus' death, the spear that
pierced the chest of Jesus, the descent from the cross
and burial Jesus.

O.L of Ladder: Maria is similar to Jacob's ladder that

connects earth to heaven

O.L of Glory: Mary is crowned Queen of Heaven

 [82]

O.L of Guide: Maria Jesus educating.

O.L of Knock: Mary has appeared in the city of the

same name, the Republic of Ireland.

O. L of Lampadosa: Mary is the patron saint of the

island of the same name, located in the Mediterranean
Sea.

O.L of Cave: Refers to an image of Mary that was

hidden by Arabs in a cave, found centuries later by a
couple changes from birth that began to speak.

O.L of Lebanon: Reference to a church in Huracás,

Lebanon.

O.L of Seas: Maria protects sailors. It is one of the

oldest devotions to her.

O.L Mediatory: Mary intercedes for the faithful to Jesus.

O.L of Montserrat: A statue of Mary was kept in the

mountain of the same name, Spain.

O.L of the Snows: Maria would have made it snow in

summer in Rome.

O.L of O: This is also a very old devotion to the seven

on the O antiphons when the month of December; O
Wisdom, O my Lord, O Root of Jesse (father of David),
O Key of David O East O King of Nations and O
Emmanuel (God with us).
 [83]

O.L of Feather: Mary is patron of the literati.

O.L of the Rocks: A Brazilian rancher, Baltazar Castro,

was attacked by a poisonous snake and Mary saved
from certain death in a cliff.

O. L of Rock of France: Mary has appeared to a French

religious in this city which is in Spain.

O.L Pilgrim: It's the image of N.S of Fatima.

O. L of Pompeii: Mary has appeared on an Italian priest

in this city.

O.L Gate of Heaven: Mary helps the faithful to come in

heaven No one comes to him without it.

O.L of Pleasures: Recalls the pleasures of Mary: the

Annunciation, the visit to Elizabeth, the visit of the Magi,
the finding of Jesus in the Temple and the resurrection
of his son.

O.L of the Nostalgia: Maria feels nostalgic about his

Son.

O.L of Visitation: Mary visits her cousin Elizabeth.

 [84]

PATRON.

Patron means patron and protector. Mary, in

different denominations is the patron saint of several
countries in the Americas:

Argentina: O.L of Luján.

Bolivia: O.L of Copacabana.

Brazil: O.L Aparecida (Appeared).

Chile: O.L of Carmel.

Ecuador: N.S of Quinche.

United States: O.L of the Immaculate Conception.

Guyana and Suriname: N.S of Fatima.

Haiti: O.L of Perpetual Help.

Mexico: Our Lady of Guadalupe, who is also patron of

the Americas.

Puerto Rico: O.L of Divine Providence.

Trinidad Tobago: O.L Divine Shepherdess

Peru: O.L of Mercy.

Mary is also the patron saint of several countries

 [85]

spread over five continents.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Figure 6. Byzantine Icon of undeniable artistic

quality.
 [86]

Figure 7. Another example of the art of

Byzantium.

CHAPTER VIII

The CHRISTIAN MYSTICISM IN OTHER RELIGIONS

Many scholars believe that Christianity played

many principles, dogmas, and even characters from
Egyptian mythology and in Hinduism and Buddhism. At
first, the most popular god Osiris is murdered by Set, his
brother, but resurrected by his sister and wife Isis, but in
the form of a bird. The union between them, is born
Horus, who graduated with their parents, the Egyptian
Trinity, three gods in one. Since then, Osiris ruled the
underworld and Horus, the living world. Another
interesting fact is that the Lord's Prayer, Christian prayer
 [87]

par excellence, seems to have been written 1000 years

BC, as well as the Beatitudes. The notion that an
avatar, ie, the realization of a divine being would be
born of a virgin, is also quite old and not a privilege of
Christianity. Isis, the goddess, had a few titles and was
sometimes called the Mother of God, Theotokos and
Queen of Heaven was the most worshiped goddess of
ancient Egypt, just as Mary is worshiped today. Other
religions also claim that a divine being embodied by a
virgin, like Mary, such as Hinduism and Mithraism.

In Hinduism, Krishna, the supreme god, born of

a virgin, Devanaguy, and his birth was not announced to
the mother but the grandmother of divinity, when the
entity has also indicated the name of the child should
have. At birth, Krishna was visited by shepherds who
followed a star. Devanaguy’s cousin, the powerful
Rajah, Kamsa, while conducting the wedding ceremony,
he heard a voice prophesying that the eighth son of
Devanaguy to dethrone. He had to hold it while
pregnant, but miraculously she and her newborn son
escape and flee the Rajah, who ordered the murder of
all newborn babies, to try to kill his nephew, but he and
his mother once again escape the tyrant . Krishna
grows, begins to preach his doctrine of unity and
brotherly love, meets a group of disciples and speaks in
parables, while performing healing and raises the dead.
One night, the soldiers of a king trying to arrest him and
his disciples fled, leaving him alone, but he calls them
men of little faith, they return to face the soldiers.
Krishna was killed by an arrow and soon ascended to
heaven.

In Buddhism, Siddhartha, the Buddha first, had

 [88]

his birth announced in a dream, his mother, Mayadevi,

when a white elephant entered her womb. As a young
man, Siddhartha discussed with the wise men, their
religious views and to start his ministry, he remained for
49 days under a fig tree being tempted by the devil.

The Spanish writer and former Catholic priest

llogari Pujol, in his book Jesus 3,000 years before Christ
defends the thesis that the Gospels were written by
Egyptian priests, who just entered the life of Jesus in
ancient religious texts of their country.

However, it was Mithraism, a religion that

emerged about 4,000 years ago in the Mediterranean
region, spreading to the East, North Africa and into
Europe, becoming extremely popular in ancient Rome,
which has more parallels with Christianity. Mithras, the
god incarnate man and son of supreme god Ormuzd,
was born on December 25, always had with him twelve
apostles, they concluded with the Last Supper, lit the
sky and promised to return when doomsday. In the
ceremonies of consecration, the faithful have repeated
the following phrase: He who does not eat my body and
do not drink my blood, even that is in me and I in him
will not be saved. The Mithraism also took the host,
made with small round pieces of bread, soaked in holy
water.

The ceremonies also took place on Sunday and

was in Rome, 700 temples dedicated to Mithras.
Curiously, the hallowed image of Jesus as a lamb is an
ancient Mithraism image. In fact, Mithras is associated
 [89]

with the bull, which, according to legend, there were

cereals and wine Mithras after killing the animal as a
sacrifice. In ceremony of baptism was used the blood of
the bull or the ram for spraying. The religion was
banned in Rome from 391, when Emperor Theodosius
proclaimed that only Christianity could be practiced as a
religion in the Empire. The vestments of the Catholic
Church are very similar to those of Mithraism. Believe it
or not, many families who were going to Sunday
celebrations, took a phrase written on a scroll that read:
Mithras loves you.

According to some theologians, the goddess

Concordia, the Roman mythology, the daughter of
Aphrodite, has some parallels with Mary. Concordia was
the goddess of harmony, and each year, there were
processions in which the faithful cried Ave, Concord. It
was a very dear goddess, and many attributed to her,
graces received.

In Kadercismo, Mary is seen as an enlightened

spirit, but Jesus is not seen as divine, as well as Mary.
African-syncretism in Brazil, O.L of Conception and
Iemanjá and queen of the sea, are the same person,
others relate to Our Lady of the Navigators with the
entity.

As we can see, there is a vast array of subjects

that could be debated for months in this chapter. With
regard to Mithras, the association with Christianity, it's
frightening. This religion, missing for nearly 2,000 years
have many parallels and associations such as
Christianity. While present in Hinduism Krishna, several
points in common with Jesus, is in Mithraism that this
 [90]

association seems closer. The celebration of Christmas

as the birth date of Jesus is nothing more than an
adaptation of the nativity of Mithras to Christianity. The
host, the vestments and Mithraism doctrine were
transported to Christianity without any shadow of doubt
the unequivocal conclusion is that religion may have
changed, but people do not. Although more than 2,000
years later, the belief, the celebrations and the need to
worship something greater than themselves, it remains
in people and shows no signs that will disappear any
time soon day-to-day lives of millions of people on
Earth. Believe it or not, religion is an inexhaustible
source of promises, consolations and answers to many.
If one day this picture will change, it is not known. It is
only that for the time being. One answer to this issue, is
that since the beginning of human consciousness, the
people, wishing to perpetuate sought comfort in religion
and this picture has not changed. Religions have come
and gone, but faith and the need for life after death
leads to man to seek, sometimes without question and
find solutions to the impasse. The output, of course, is
religion. If in Mithraism and Christianity, the differences
are few, perhaps the name of the gods and some minor
details, one can say that Christians adopted and
adapted Christianity to Mithraism. Or is it the reverse?

(II Timothy 4:3) - Because time will come when they will
not endure sound doctrine, but having itching ears, will
head up for themselves teachers according to their own
lusts.

(II Timothy 4:4) - and turn away their ears from the truth
 [91]

and turn aside to myths.

Figure 8. The son of Mary.

 [92]

Figure 9.Ancient Byzantine Icon, perhaps the

firs century AD.

CHAPTER IX

CONSIDERATIONS:

We have seen this work, life, the tragedies and

joys of what is called the Mother of God, not only the
Mother of Jesus, but of God. The Blessed Virgin Mary
has a place in the hearts of all Christians, both Catholic
and has already expressed by the non-Christians in
China and Egypt, as we saw.

After having seen all the chapters of this little

book, the conclusion one gets is that Mary is not part of
 [93]

the history of Christianity, the Catholic Church and the

Evangelical, but is part of the lives of millions and
millions of people living longer and lived in this world.
Day and night the faithful to seek through prayer and
prayer and get relief from their problems, they trust her.
Mary must have been a special woman, for only thus
can we explain such love and such devotion to it
directed. His story, poor information, is rich in folk
tradition and oral tradition, which represents almost
everything they say about it.

Mary is certainly the most charismatic character

of the Gospels after Jesus, of course, and devotion of
the faithful shows no signs of abating. The big problem
when it comes to historical perspective, is the lack of
reliable historical data. Thus, in the absence of historical
evidence to build a path that leads to credibility are left
to work with what little you have and rely on the ability of
imagination and the oral tradition, although this is in
itself quite speculative. The truth is that both Jesus and
Mary has a few reliable sources. Even the Gospels are
not absolutely reliable and there are suspicions that
may have been manipulated in order to religious
interests, dogmatic and even cultural and political. The
Gospel of Matthew is an example: every occurrence
that may connect Jesus the Messiah prophesied in
Scripture the evangelist for a way to try to prove the
messianic of the Nazarene, even if it costs something
very important: credibility. It is undeniable that the flight
into Egypt was a way of trying to show that Jesus was
the Messiah, because a prophecy in the Scriptures say
of Egypt I called my son. Another occurrence that is
totally false evidence is the massacre of the innocent,
 [94]

which never happened, beyond the fact that Nazareth

did not exist at the time of Jesus. The prophecy about
the Messiah says that he will be born of a virgin, even
with evidence that Mary must have had more children is
not enough to silence the voices who prefer to see it
ever virgin.

Just as Jesus lacks the historical perspective, to

Mary things are not different. In the absence of historical
evidence, the legend and mythology are now becoming
commonplace sources of the biography of saints and
blessed. We also present the analogies between
Christianity and other religions, where history and Jesus
seems to exist since the beginning of time. What shows
that? Again, shows that although the change religions,
the essence remains, and inspire new generations of
believers and theologians to persist in faith, blind or not,
which leads to humankind since man first began to
meditate on death, which is the mother of religions.

We also saw that the Catholic Church proclaims

that Mary remained ever virgin. Indeed it is difficult to
understand why these position, after all, a virgin or not,
Mary is the same creature that inspires confidence in
the faithful. This debate should have as a goal, to show
the virtues of this admirable woman and not adhere to
moral principles and social exceeded.

Perhaps the exposure of the Roman soldier

Panthera, according to some, is the biological father of
Jesus is the most contentious issue in this study, but it
is something that has been told since that time, and that
 [95]

will certainly generate surprise to Marian who do not

know this story.

Thus, at the end of this study, we can conclude

that much is known about Mary in the oral tradition and
the little that has been consistent for a biography, are
still able to generate devotion and eternal fidelity to her
in trust and unconditional love.

THE END

REFERENCES:

Challit, Mansour. The Koran. Rio de Janeiro. Publisher

Acig. Year (?)

www.bibliahabil.com.br

The Holy Bible. Sao Paulo. Editora Ave Maria. 2001.

Sullivan, Randall. Detective miracles. Rio de Janeiro.
Objective Publisher. 2004.

SAAS, Roselis von. The book of reckoning. 12th

 [96]

Edição.São Paulo. Publisher Order of the Grail on

Earth. 2003.

OLSON, Roger. History of Christian Theology. Sao

Paulo. Zondervan. 2001.

JESUS, Maria Lucia. Memories of Sister Lucia. 7th

Edition. Fatima. 1997

BAIGENT, LEIGHT AND LINCOLN, El enigma sacred.

1st edition. Barcelona. Publisher Martinez Roca. 1985.
LEWIS, H. Spencer. The mystical life of Jesus. 3rd
Edition. Curitiba. Rosicrucian Order, AMORC. 1987.

CONTENTS

Page:

3 – Introduction.

5 – Prologue.

7 - CHAPTER I: Who was Mary.

11 - CHAPTER II: Part 1: Mary in the Gospels.

 [97]

34 - Part 2: Childhood and youth of Jesus.

43 - Part 3: At Calvary, the Revelation and the

Scriptures.

51 - CHAPTER III: Mary in the Koran.

63 - CHAPTER IV: Mary in Apocryphal Gospels.

65- CHAPTER V: The Marian apparitions.

79 - CHAPTER VI: Mary in Ecumenical Councils.

85 - CHAPTER VII: Facts about Maria.

85 - CHAPTER VIII: The Christian mysticism in other

religions.

91 - CHAPTER IX: Considerations.

 [98]

I dedicate this book to my wife, Sueli, which is devoted

to Our Lady of Fatima.
 [99]

From the author: Paulo Roberto Candido dos Santos is

a doctor and historian, an expert on Biblical history.

You can post reviews, comments and suggestions to

the e-mail the author: drpaulo12@uol.com.br

By:

The rebellion of Lucifer.

 [100]

Moses, a biography of the prophet of Israel.

The Gospels and history.

Posthumous Memoirs of Judas Iscariot.

The book of John / The book of Job reviewed.

Catholicism: 2000 years of deception.

Essay on anti-Semitism.

Essay on the personality of God in the three great

monotheistic religions: Christianity, Islam and Judaism.

Mary, the mother.

Rheumatism: Everything you need to know.

In preparation: Abraham, the first friend of God.

 [101]

Magnificent icons of Mary, art typical of the Byzantine

Church.
[102]