Matthew 1:25 says that Joseph “had no relations with her at any time before she bore a son.” As Ludwig Ott explained in Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma, though, this verse “assert(s) that up to a definite point in time the marriage was not consummated, but not by any means that it was consummated after this” (Tan Books, 1960, p. 207). The goal of Matthew 1:25 was to affirm that Jesus had no earthly father, and was truly the Son of God. It was not meant to suggest anything about Joseph and Mary’s relationship after Jesus’ birth. Consider the Second Book of Samuel 6:23, which says that Mary “had no child to the day of her death.” Obviously, this does not mean she had a child after her death. In Matthew 28:20, Jesus promises to be with His followers “to the close of the age.” Again, this does not mean He will cease to be with them beyond that point.