Youcat commented through CCC - Question n. 80 - Part II.

YOUCAT Question n. 80 - Part II. Why is Mary a Virgin?

(Youcat answer - repeated) God willed that Jesus Christ should have a true human mother but only God himself as his Father, because he wanted to make a new beginning that could be credited to him alone and not to earthly forces.      

A deepening through CCC   

(CCC 488) "God sent forth his Son", but to prepare a body for him (Gal 4:4;  Heb 10:5), he wanted the free co-operation of a creature. For this, from all eternity God chose for the mother of his Son a daughter of Israel, a young Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee, "a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary" (Lk 1:26-27): The Father of mercies willed that the Incarnation should be preceded by assent on the part of the predestined mother, so that just as a woman had a share in the coming of death, so also should a woman contribute to the coming of life (LG 56; cf. LG 61).   

Reflecting and meditating 

(Youcat comment) Mary’s virginity is not some outdated mythological notion but rather fundamental to the life of Jesus. He was born of a woman but had no human father. Jesus Christ is a new beginning in the world that has been instituted from on high. In the Gospel of Luke, Mary asks the angel, “How can this be, since I have no husband?” ( do not sleep with a man, Lk 1:34); the angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you” (Lk 1:35). Although the Church from the earliest days was mocked on account of her belief in Mary’s virginity, she has always believed that her virginity is real and not merely symbolic.   

(CCC Comment)

CCC 489 a) Throughout the Old Covenant the mission of many holy women prepared for that of Mary. At the very beginning there was Eve; despite her disobedience, she receives the promise of a posterity that will be victorious over the evil one, as well as the promise that she will be the mother of all the living (Cf. Gen 3:15, 20). By virtue of this promise, Sarah conceives a son in spite of her old age (Cf. Gen 18:10-14; 21:1-2). (CCC 510) Mary "remained a virgin in conceiving her Son, a virgin in giving birth to him, a virgin in carrying him, a virgin in nursing him at her breast, always a virgin" (St. Augustine, Serm. 186, 1: PL 38, 999): with her whole being she is "the handmaid of the Lord" (Lk 1:38).     

(This question: Why is Mary a Virgin?  is continued)