“Perhaps you will say to me: If she is a virgin, how can she bear children? Or, if she does not bear children, why have we given her our names, in order to be reborn from her womb?
Augustine of Hippo, Sermo Guelferbytanus 1, 8; Miscellanea Agostiniana, 447-448.
I answer: She is a virgin, and she bears children. Imitate Mary, who gave birth to the Lord. Did not holy Virgin Mary both give birth as a virgin and remain a virgin?
So also the Church: she gives birth, and She is a virgin. And, if you think about it, she gives birth to Christ, because those who are baptized are his members. The apostle says;
“You are the body of Christ and his members” (1 Cor 12:27).
If the
Church, then, gives birth to the members of Christ, then the Church greatly resembles Mary.”
If you are interested in more quotes on Virgin Mary, you can find them in Mary and the Fathers of the Church on Amazon in both Kindle and paperback formats.
References:
Gambero, L., 1999. Mary and the Fathers of the Church 1st ed. Translated by Buffer, T., San Francisco: Ignatius Press.
