With all of that said about the evidence for Mary's title of ever-virgin, I really want to get into the typology of the Holy Family, going in order of Joseph, Mary, and then Christ Himself.
First is Joseph, Christ's caretaker. One of the interesting things is that he is in the sort of classic role of a man who is the rightful king of the land but whose wicked relative has it taken over, a la Joash in 2 Kings 11. As seen from his genealogy, he has a direct descent from David, and yet the wicked Herod, a traitor to the Jewish people and exceedingly wicked man, is in the seat of power. From his being Christ's earthly father figure, Christ is the reformation of the Church under Joash's reign. In His body was the law of God, which the priests discarded but Joseph, the king, protected the body of Christ and brought the Word out of the place where idolatry was found, as the later Josiah did.
Another interesting connection is with king Solomon, David's heir. For one thing, both had a revelation of the Lord in their dreams, and both were given the Wisdom of God, Joseph in the person of Christ, and were called to guard the body of Christ with wisdom. Also of note is that Solomon's first wife of idolatry is the daughter of Pharaoh, whereas Joseph's sojourn into Egypt toppled the idols in the land. Also, just as Solomon was in charge of the building of the Lord's house, the temple, Joseph was a craftsman who payed for and perhaps literally built a house for our Lord.
The final figure he aligns with is David himself. David was called from the humility of shepherding to lead the body of Christ, and so too Joseph was called from humble carpentry to guard our Lord's incarnate body. Also, interestingly enough, his relationship with Abishag the Shunnammite also functions well with the Semper Virgo perspective of his marriage to the Holy Virgin. In this way, she tends to his needs and he provides for her and Christ, but the two know each other not.
Speaking of Mary, what about her? Well her typological significance is hard to overstate. First of all, she is the ark of the covenant, the one who bears the presence of God, which Joseph, the son of David, brings into Jerusalem and away from their enemies of Herod and the Egyptians. She also is the final and greatest of the line of Eve typology, the woman prophesied to bear the holy Seed which would crush the serpent's head, ultimately pointing to Israel's bearing of Christ into the world and the Church's bearing of Christ in our mouths and in our lives (see this post for more on that). One of these women is Hannah, whose miraculously-conceived son was Samuel, the last Judge and one of the greatest prophets of Israel, pointing to Christ who is the final Judge of the world and the greatest prophet as the Word and Angel of God Himself. Another is Jehosheba, the royal daughter who took the rightful king as a baby and hid him from the wicked king reigning.
Finally is Christ, in which all these symbols come together. Christ is David who slayed the demonic giants and brings the presence to all men through the gift of His Spirit. He is Solomon who bears the Wisdom of God in His body and who establishes His own body as temples of the Holy Ghost. He is Joah and Josiah, the young kings that had to be hidden from their wicked fathers and who brought great reformation to the wickedness of the Jews. He is king Hezekiah, who was met by the threat of death but conquered through the Lord's power. He is the king of all creation and the one too which all creation looks for its sense of self. May we join as doorkeepers in the house of the Lord, pointing to the true Door to heaven itself. Amen.
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