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Of Mary  the  Mother  of  our  Lord and of  His  reputed  father,  Joseph,  the Gospels only  make  such  mention  as connects  them  with  His personal history. But when He  had  ascended mto Heaven,  and  when the religion  which  He had  founded  spread throughout the  East  and the West,  filling  not  only Palestine but  the  surrounding countries  with flourishing Christian churches, it  was  both  natural and  inevitable  that Every follower  of  His should feel  a  deep  interest in  knowing  all  about these revered  parents  of His  and  their  entire family. And this  inquiry was stimulated  by  the misstatements and  calumnies  of  the  Jews  regarding Mary  and  Joseph.

We  need  only  recall the names  of  a  few  of the    early    Christian writers who  record  the  traditions  collected in   Judsea  itself,  in    the  very places where  the  Mother  of  Christ  and her family  had  lived — traditions  coming down  to  us  from  the  age  of  the Apostles, put  in  writing  by  their  disciples,  and  repeated  by  the  most enlightened and  saintly  scholars  of  the  four  succeeding  centuries. Foremost among  these  names  stands  that  of  S.  Jerome;  not,  as everybody  knows,  that  he  is  first  in  the  order  of  time,  but  because, in the  opinion  of  all  who  believe  in  Christ,  he  labored  most  successfully  in  tne  native  land  of  Jesus  and  Mary  and  Joseph,  to  gather and transmit  to  all  coming  generations  the  inspired  writings  of the  Old  and  the  New  Testaments, together with  all  the  historical  knowledge which  could  throw  light  on  them. After S.  Jerome  come  S.  Justin  Martyr, the  great  Origen,  S. Epiphanius  and  S.  John Damascene (both  natives of  Palestine),  S.  Gregory of Nyssa  and  S.  Gregory Nazianzen,   natives    of Asia  Minor,  like  Origen; S. Cyril  of  Jerusalem,  S. John  Chrysostom  (a  native of  Antioch);  S.  Ambrose and  S.  Augustine, both contemporaries  of S.  Jerome. Such are  a few  of  the  sainted  names which vouch  for  the  existence and  the  authority of the  traditions  relating to the  parentage  of  the Blessed Virgin  Mary,  to lier  birth  and  early  life lip to  the  point  where  S. Luke    and    S.    Matthew take up  the  thread  of  the narrative  in   their  Gospels. The same  respected authorities    supply    the facts of  Mary's  life  after the Ascension  of  our  Lord. She was too  dear   to   the   heart   of  the  early church, to  the  grateful  veneration  of the  last  and  best  beloved  disciple  of the  Lord,  John  the  Evangelist,  not  to be  cared  for  reverently  and  tenderly  by  all  these  fervent  followers of the  Master;  so  that  the  details  of  her  latest  life  and  of  her blessed death  must  have  been  remembered  and  recorded  by  the first generations  of  Christians — her  own  spiritual  children  all  of them — most  of  them  her  own  countrymen,  and  many  of  them  her blood-relations.

With these  preliminary  remarks  we  may  confidently  enter  upon