How old was Mary ?

Saturday December 24, 2022

How old was Mary ?

"The virgin will be pregnant, she will give birth to a son..." Matthew 1. 23

In the time of Jesus, parents arranged the marriage of their daughters when they reached the age of 13 or 14, that is, as soon as they could conceive. The boys were a bit older, at least 17-18, but often older. Why is this detail of interest to us today ? Because Mary had barely reached adolescence when the angel Gabriel came to tell her that she was going to be pregnant with Jesus, when she was not yet legally married. And yet she showed great spiritual maturity in responding as she did to the announcement of the angel. On the one hand her young age probably made her more likely to believe what Gabriel had just told her, on the other hand she quickly understood that her status as an unmarried young girl placed her in a delicate situation. She risked at best being ostracized from her society, at worst being stoned. If God had chosen her it was precisely for these two aspects of her personality. His faith corresponded to what God was looking for : “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the proof of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). His faith was the simple faith of a child, such as Jesus later spoke of : "Unless you be converted and become like little children, you will not enter the kingdom of God" (Matthew 18.3). What a lesson for us today ! Like Mary, our faith must resemble that of a child capable of accepting the implausible without flinching but at the same time demonstrating the spiritual maturity suggested by the author of the Letter to the Hebrews : “solid food is for adults, for those who, by reason of their experience, have the judgment exercised to discern what is right and what is wrong” (Hebrews 5:14).

Source (His Word for Today)