April 9th - St. Mary "of Cleophas"
"And there were standing by the cross of Jesus His mother and His mother's
sister, Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalen." How should we understand
"His
mother's sister," literally, as in having the same parents, or in the same
sense
that Jesus' "brothers" are to be understood as close relatives?
The short answer is that Mary of Cleophas is probably the Blessed Virgin's
sister-in-law. Mary of Cleophas may have had a previous husband named
Alpheus,
or this Alpheus may have been Cleophas. The Blessed Virgin Mary, of
course,
only
had one husband (Joseph) and remained a virgin. The long answer follows.
Jesus' relatives
Reading the Bible, we find that Jesus had brethren named James, Joseph,
Simon
(Simeon) and Jude (Mt 13:55). We also know that His mother Mary had a
"sister"
called Mary. This other Mary in turn had a husband named Cleophas (Jn
19:25). I
hope here to summarize and untangle this maze of relatives. I do not seek
to
prove the Blessed Virgin Mary's perpetual virginity here; there are many
other
sources for that purpose that I will list below.
First, let us see what the Gospels tell us. At the death of Jesus, we are
told
that Mary wife of Cleophas/Clopas (Jn 19:25) was present. She was
described
as
the mother of James and Joseph (Mt 27:56) in one account, and mother of
James
the Less and Joses in another (Mk 15:40). On the other hand, James is
described
as the son of Alphaeus in the synoptic Gospels' listing of the Apostles
(Mt
10:3, Mk 3:18, Lk 6:15). We can infer that Mary wife of Cleophas is
unlikely
to
be a true sister of the Virgin Mary, since they bear the same name.
However,
they are related in some way. This parallels the semitic use of "brother"
in
relating James to Jesus.
An ancient historian named Hegesippus can shed further light. A native of
Palestine, Hegesippus finished his Memoirs in the reign of Pope
Eleutherius
(AD
175-189) when he was an old man. He draws his information from personal
sources,
as he was able to question some surviving members of Jesus' family.
Hegesippus
can tell us that:
"After the martyrdom of James, it was unanimously decided that Simeon, son
of
Clopas, was worthy to occupy the see of Jerusalem. He was, it is said, a
cousin
of the Saviour;" Hegesippus recounts in fact that Clopas was a brother of
Joseph
(Eusebius, Hist. eccl., III, 11).
St. Epiphanius (Haer., LXXVII, 7) says the same and adds (ibid., 14) "that
this
Simeon, the son of Clopas, was a cousin of James the Just," as Hegesippus
says
in another passage. (Prat, Jesus Christ, p. 505).
Cleophas is the brother of Joseph (Jesus' adopted father). It follows that
Cleophas' wife Mary is the Virgin Mary's sister in law, which explains why
they
can have the same name and are called sisters. It also follows that James
is
Jesus' cousin. Ferdinand Prat reasons:
"We know, then that the mother of two of the brothers of the Lord was Mary
of
Cleophas, the sister of the Blessed Virgin. We also know that Cleophas, St
Joseph's brother, was the father of a third, called Simon or Simeon. Since
the
remaining one, Jude, is always connected with Simon and is, like him, part
of
the family of David, it is natural to suppose that he was also a son of
Cleophas.
All the points that remain obscure would be cleared up, in our opinion, if
two
hypotheses are risked. Mary, the sister of the Blessed Virgin, having two
sons,
James and Joseph, by a first marriage, was married a second time to
Cleophas,
brother of St. Joseph, who also had two sons, Simon and Jude, by a former
marriage. In light of the customs of the country and the age, there was
nothing
extraordinary in the marriage of a widow and a widower, each with
children.
The
second hypothesis is that the sister of the Blessed Virgin had as her
first
husband a man of the tribe of Levi, called Alpheus.
In this fa****on nine or ten problems would be solved. Thus one could
explain
why
James, Joseph, Simon and Jude are always named in that order, as brethren
of
the
Lord; why James and Joseph are a pair distinct from Simon and Jude; why
Mary,
sister of the Blessed Virgin, is called the mother of James and Joseph and
not
the mother of Simon and Jude; why, according to Hegesippus, Simon and not
James
is the son of Cleophas; why, again according to Hegesippus, Simon and Jude
are
of the family of David; why, according to tradition, James was of
sacerdotal
ancestry; why the common opinion of Catholics identifies James, son of
Mary,
sister of the Blessed Virgin, with James the Apostle, the son of Alpheus;
why
Mary of Cleophas is called in the Gospel sister of the Blessed Virgin,
when
she
was really her sister-in-law, being the wife of St. Joseph's brother;
finally,
why, after the deaths of Joseph and Cleophas, the two sisters brought
their
families together, so that thereafter the two families seemed to be but
one."
(Prat, Jesus Christ, p. 136-137).
We do not hear of Cleophas or Joseph (Jesus' adopted father) in the
Gospels
during Jesus' adult life. We can imagine that after their deaths, the two
families-deprived of their protectors and heads-came together under one
roof.
This would further strengthen their ties: the two Marys as "sisters" and
Jesus
and His cousins as "brothers". Gospel and tradition kept these names
without
denying Mary's perpetual virginity.
Saint Quote:
One must pass through the desert and spend some time there in order to
receive
the grace of God; it is there that one empties oneself, that one drives
away
from oneself everything which is not God and that one empties completely
the
house of one's soul in order to leave all of it to God alone.
-Blessed Charles de Foucald
Bible Quote:
8 Blessed is the rich man that is found without blemish: and that hath not
gone
after gold, nor put his trust in money nor in treasures. 9 Who is he, and
we
will praise him? for he hath done wonderful things in his life.
(Ecclesiasticus 31:8-9)
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Consecration to the Present Moment
"Dear Heavenly Father, I surrender this present moment to Your Holy Will.
I choose through the Hearts of Jesus and Mary to be purified. I surrender
to every cross and grace You choose for me. I trust in Your Divine
Providence. I am, in this present moment, your servant of Holy Love.
Amen."
Present Moment Prayer
"Jesus, be King of this present moment. Take my heart, my soul, and will
and make them your own."
Morning Consecration to the Holy Spirit
"Most Holy Spirit, I consecrate to You this day in time. Open my heart to
Your promptings. Inspire me to do the Divine Will of God. Amen." (When
you begin the day in such a way, the Holy Spirit will be with you and
guide
you. You will not fear any consequence of the day as you will be under His
protection.
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