12. What is the meaning of the Incarnation? Was Joseph the
biological father of Jesus?
As to your question about Joseph being the biological father of Jesus...
The Church's clear teaching, as expressed in the Catechism of the Catholic
Church, and in Tradition and Scriptures, is that Jesus was conceived
miraculously by a special divine intervention (C 484-507). For example,
The Catechism states: "From the first formulations of her faith, the Church
has confessed that Jesus was conceived solely by the power of the Holy
Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary, affirming also the corporeal aspect
of this event: Jesus was conceived "by the Holy Spirit without human seed"
(C 496).
I would recommend that you read these paragraphs in the Catechism. They
oint out that we are dealing with a miraculous intervention of God, not a
legend or theological construct. The theological implications of this
belief are spelled out in the Catechism. You might also want to read C.S.
Lewis' reflections on the Incarnation in his book, Mere Christianity.
A few other points: it is by no means certain that Mary was 14 years old
when she became the mother of Jesus. This is a presumption with no
particular basis in history. All women do not marry at the same age today,
and we can be sure that all women did not marry at the same age in Jesus'
time, especially in a small village like Nazareth. We should not assume
that she was a naive little girl. St. John Chrysostom's explanation that
an angel had to calm her is a pious legend without any basis in fact.
The fact that Jesus was conceived in the womb of Mary by the power of the
Holy Spirit was the greatest miracle in the history of the human race.
Jesus is uniquely God and human, and the Catholic Church has always
believed that he was conceived by God's power, not by human intervention.
We cannot understand this, but it is certainly not beyond the power of God
to accomplish. It results from the incredible Love God has for us.
We invite your questions on Mary.
Send them to Father at the Association.
The questions and responses 1-20 come from Catholic Home Study Service,
Rev. Oscar Lukefahr, C.M., Director. If you would like to enroll in a
free course of instruction in the Catholic faith, check out the
Catholic Home Study Service.
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