We have no reason to suppose that, after Jesus' Resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit, Mary the Mother of Jesus, maintained absolute silence about herself and the part she played in the life and mystery of Jesus. The early community would have wanted to know more about her, about Jesus. Nevertheless, there still remains a good deal that we do not know. What we do not know can raise many intriguing questions. Our curiosity might be satisfied by such knowledge, but in reading and especially in praying over the New Testament we must be guided and consoled by the general principle that everything we need to know for salvation is contained in the Bible. Thus the Bible has nothing to tell us of the birth, on the birthplace or the parents of Mary. And so there is no need to speculate on such matters. The verse at the end of the genealogy in Matthew's Gospel, pinpoints precisely Mary's glory and what we need to know about her for the sake of our salvation: "It was of her that Jesus, who is called the Messiah, was born."