Mary's Virginity (II)

From the first centuries, the Church's tradition has upheld the virginal conception, as St Ignatius of Antioch testifies. Concerning Mary's perpetual virginity, there is the question of the Gospel's episodes which speak of "Jesus' brothers." While in Greek two words are used to designate "brother" (adelphos) and "cousin" (aneptios), Aramean and Hebrew use just one word. These languages designate close family ties by the words "brothers" and "sisters." Moreover, John's Gospel contains a passage which strongly points to the fact that Jesus was Mary's only child (Jn 19: 25-27). Mary is alone with her Son at the foot of the Cross and Jesus entrusts her to the apostle John. If Mary had had other children, wouldn't Jesus normally have entrusted his mother to them? Much more could be said about Mary's virginity and the profound beauty of this poignant reality.