Did Mary Experience Labor Pains?
I think this article from the Catholic Exchange Editors, Dec. 24, 2002 gives a precise Catholic perspective of Rev.12:1-7.
"Greetings in Christ. We will address the issue of Mary’s having childbearing pain first, and then present what the Church teaches regarding the effects of original sin.
Regarding your first question, we can consider Revelation 12:1-7. This passage describes a woman clothed with the sun and crowned with 12 stars. Revelation 12:2 describes the woman as undergoing pangs of childbirth. You asked how the Church could use this passage in its defense of honoring Mary when the woman is described as having birth pangs. In other words, how can the Church reconcile its teaching that Mary didn’t experience labor pains with this passage from Revelation 12? Scripture is traditionally interpreted in four senses (please see our Faith Fact, Scripture Sense): literal, allegorical, moral, and anagogical. God not only teaches through words (literally), but also through the things, people, and events mentioned in scripture (see Catechism of the Catholic Church, nos. 115-19).
Hence, the woman in Revelation 12:2 has more than one meaning. On a most basic, literal level, we observe a woman, a child, and a dragon. However, the information conveyed indicates that these are Mary, Jesus, and the devil, respectively. In a spiritual sense, she is also Zion, Jerusalem, with her 12 stars, bringing forth the messianic era with the pangs of childbirth (cf. Isaiah 26:17). The woman is also the Church who gives birth to children of God (Mary herself is a figure or image of the Church). Mary is also the Mother of the Church that was born on Calvary, clearly in Mary’s pain (cf. Luke 2:34-35; Catechism, no. 766).
Thus, the Blessed Virgin Mother does not have pangs at Jesus’ miraculous birth into the world; rather, her “birth pangs” are deferred to the suffering she shares with Him on the Cross, as he is born into eternal glory. Indeed, Jesus takes up His throne only after he is glorified through His victory on Calvary. By sharing in her Son’s suffering, Mary also becomes the Mother of all His followers, i.e., the Body of Christ (Revelation 12:17), and thus the Mother of the Church. For those who argue for a more literal interpretation of Revelation 12, saying that Mary did have such labor pains, they would also have to believe that the devil was present in Bethlehem at Jesus’ birth as a dragon, ready to devour Jesus; that Jesus was swept up to heaven to safety upon His birth; and that Mary took refuge in the wilderness because of the devil’s threat. None of this, of course, is substantiated in the infancy narratives of the gospels. Given the figurative nature of the Book of Revelation, we need to rely on the God-given Magisterium to properly interpret it (Catechism, nos. 84-87).
Through the years the Church fathers have given many enriching exegeses of this passage. You may wish to consult a Catholic commentary on the Scriptures for insight into these and other interpretations. The Church teaches that the virgin birth was also a painless birth, without defining it dogmatically. However, as its inclusion in the Catechism of the Council of Trent affirms, it is a logical conclusion from the Church’s definitive teaching regarding Mary’s Immaculate Conception and Virgin Birth:
To Eve it was said: In sorrow shalt thou bring forth children. Mary was exempt from this law, for preserving her virginal integrity inviolate she brought forth Jesus the Son of God without experiencing, as we have already said, any sense of pain.
The virgin birth is that Christ miraculously passed from the uterus through the vaginal opening without altering the physical state of Mary. By way of analogy, consider that light passes through a glass window without altering the window. Mary’s miraculous birth would entail the absence of pain. The absence of labor pains is a logical conclusion from Mary’s dogmatically defined Virgin Birth. In addition, Mary’s being conceived without sin spares her from the temporal effects of original sin—including the curse of labor given to Eve and her descendants."
I found this part if the article quite interesting:
"For those who argue for a more literal interpretation of Revelation 12, saying that Mary did have such labor pains, they would also have to believe that the devil was present in Bethlehem at Jesus’ birth as a dragon, ready to devour Jesus; that Jesus was swept up to heaven to safety upon His birth; and that Mary took refuge in the wilderness because of the devil’s threat."
And that,,,, "None of this, of course, is substantiated in the infancy narratives of the gospels."
Would any Non-Catholic posters care to give their perspective on this?
Again, as the article states....."Given the figurative nature of the Book of Revelation, this is why we need to rely on the God-given Magisterium to properly interpret it." ----- (Catechism of the Catholic Church. nos. 84-87).
Have a Blessed Day
