ry man unto profit," which would not result
from the sanctification of anyone unless it were made known to the
Church.

And although it is not possible to assign a reason for God's
judgments, for instance, why He bestows such a grace on one and not
on another, yet there seems to be a certain fittingness in both of
these being sanctified in the womb, by their foreshadowing the
sanctification which was to be effected through Christ. First, as to
His Passion, according to Heb. 13:12: "Jesus, that He might sanctify
the people by His own blood, suffered without the gate": which
Passion Jeremias foretold openly by words and by symbols, and most
clearly foreshadowed by his own sufferings. Secondly, as to His
Baptism (1 Cor. 6:11): "But you are washed, but you are sanctified";
to which Baptism John prepared men by his baptism.

Reply Obj. 1: The blessed Virgin, who was chosen by God to be His
Mother, received a fuller grace of sanctification than John the
Baptist and Jeremias, who were chosen to foreshadow in a special way
the sanctification effected by Christ. A sign of this is that it was
granted to the Blessed Virgin thenceforward never to sin either
mortally or venially: whereas to the others who were thus sanctified
it was granted thenceforward not to sin mortally, through the
protection of God's grace.

Reply Obj. 2: In other respects these saints might be more closely
united to Christ than Jeremias and John the Baptist. But the latter
were most closely united to Him by clearly foreshadowing His
sanctification, as explained above.

Reply Obj. 3: The mercy of which Job speaks is not the infused
virtue; but a certain natural inclination to the act of that virtue.
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QUESTION 28

OF THE VIRGINITY OF THE MOTHER OF GOD
(In Four Articles)

We now have to consider the virginity of the Mother of God;
concerning which there are four points of inquiry:

(1) Whether she was a virgin in conceiving?

(2) Whether she was a virgin in His Birth?

(3) Whether she remained a virgin after His Birth?

(4) Whether she took a vow of virginity?
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FIRST ARTICLE [III, Q. 28, Art. 1]

Whether the Mother of God Was a Virgin in Conceiving Christ?

Objection 1: It would seem that the Mother of God was not a virgin in
conceiving Christ. For no child having father and mother is conceived
by a virgin mother. But Christ is said to have had not only a mother,
but also a father, according to