3. It is written in the
Gospel, of the mother and brethren of Christ, that is, His kindred
after the flesh, that, when word had been brought to Him, and they
were standing without, because they could not come to Him by reason
of the crowd, He made answer, “Who is My mother? or who are My
brethren? and stretching forth His Hand over His disciples, He
saith, These are My brethren: and whosoever shall have done the
will of My Father, that man is to Me brother, and mother, and
sister.”2029
What else
teaching us, than to prefer to
kindred after the
flesh, our descent
after the Spirit: and that men are not
blessed for this reason,
that they are united by nearness of
flesh unto just and holy men,
but that, by obeying and following, they
cleave unto their
doctrine
and
conduct. Therefore
Mary is more
blessed in receiving the
faith
of
Christ, than in conceiving the
flesh of
Christ. For to a certain
one who said, “
Blessed is the
womb, which bare Thee,”
2030
He Himself
made answer, “Yea, rather,
blessed are they who hear the Word of
God, and keep it.” Lastly, to His
brethren, that is, His
kindred
after the
flesh, who believed not in Him, what
profit was there in
that being of
kin? Thus also her nearness as a Mother would have
been of no
profit to
Mary, had she not borne Christ in her heart
after a more blessed manner than in her flesh.
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