Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary Book Club Pt. 2 of 2 Show Notes: Part one is available here: CatholicCafeBookClub.com Introduction: Today is part II of reading Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary, Unveiling the Mother of the Messiah by Dr. Brant Pitre. Last week we went over chapters, one through three. This week I’ll be discussing chapters 4-8. Let’s get started with our review and summary of the book. __________________________________________________________ Recap of Part 1 – Chapters 1 - 3 If you haven’t watched part one of this month’s book series. Be sure to check that out first and then come back here to this video. For everyone else who did watch last week’s video, welcome back! I’m happy to have you be a part of the weekly book club. As quick recap, I’ll discuss one major theme or subject per chapter to help refresh your memory. So, chapter one was about Dr. Pitre’s own experience with Mary, Apologetics for Marian Dogmas, and how he started his journey learning about the Jewish traditions and scripture around Mary. Chapter two was a comparison and contrast of Mary against Eve in the Old Testament. And finally, Chapter three, was about Mary’s comparison and contrast to the Ark of the Covenant. The biggest take away from the first three chapters is that Mary is better understood when you take the Old Testament scripture into consideration. Now let’s move on to the next chapter, chapter 4 and see what Dr. Pitre has to tell us about Mary. Chapter 4 Looking at chapters two and three, you’ll notice that Dr. Pitre uses Old Testament typology to compare and contrast Mary to specific instances in the Old Testament scripture. In chapter two, it was about comparing Mary to Eve. In chapter 3, he compares Mary and the Ark of the Covenant. In chapter four, he continues this pattern, of comparing Mary to the Queen Mother of Solomon. Who has a royal title and is the great intercessor. The specific scripture we’ll explore in chapter four is from the first book of Kings, verses 19 & 20, reading, “So Bathsheba went to King Solomon, to speak to him on behalf of Adonijah. And the king rose to meet her and bowed down to her; then he sat on his throne, and had a throne brought for the king’s mother; and she sat on his right.” Before this point, Dr. Pitre does mention that in the first book of Kings in the genealogy, it’s important to note when a new king is introduced it is his mother that is also mentioned and not his wife. Here’s a quote from chapter 4 regarding the passage from the first book of Kings, “It is hard to overestimate the significance of this passage for understanding the dignity possessed by the mother of king. Although some English translations say that King Solomon has a “seat” brought for his mother, the actual word is… (Greek “thronos [or throne])… The obvious implication of seating his mother beside him on a throne is that she – and not his wife – is queen.” Chapter 5 – Mary’s Perpetual Virginity Chapter five is probably the most controversial chapter in the whole book. Not for Catholics but for people who are not Catholic and are not required to believe in Mary’s perpetual virginity. In the world of apologetics, Dr. Pitre, does a great job of supporting this belief we have as Catholics. I know that from now on, I’ll be referencing this chapter whenever someone wants to argue against the perpetual virginity of Mary. If you’re a listener who wants to know what this book is about but haven’t read this book. I would encourage you to at least read this chapter. I’ll summarize three points from this chapter: Point 1: Is a verse from Matthew 19 verse 12 that states, “Some are incapable of marriage because they were born so; some, because they were made so by others; some, because they have renounced marriage* for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Whoever can accept this ought to accept it.” According to the USCCB there are three classes mentioned, the last class is the one who has quote, “those who have voluntarily renounced marriage… or the sake of the kingdom… to devote themselves entirely to its service.” Point 2: Is that in final resurrection we will be a new creation and we will all be celibate. This is according to the Gospel of Luke 20 verse 34 – 35, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage; but those who are accounted worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage.” And to quote Dr. Pitre on that point, “…virginity points us to the world to come, in which death will be no more.” Point 3: In the book of Numbers 30 verses 6-8 and 13-16, there are the vows of virginity for married women. Dr. Pitre holds up this Jewish law to what Mary says to the Angel Gabriel, “How shall this be, since I do not know man?” Luke 1:20-34. Pitre ...
