The Old Testament foreshadowed Mary, Mary: Day 008

Last updated on: July 29, 2015 at 3:30 am by Pete Socks

The Old Testament foreshadowed Mary, Mary: Day 008 2015-07-18T09:20:18-05:00 Pete Socks

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The Old Testament foreshadowed Mary

St. John of Damascus provides multiple examples of the Old Testament foreshadowing of Mary.

Inexhaustible goodness of God! Boundless goodness! He who called what did not exist into existence, and filled heaven and earth, whose throne is heaven, and whose footstool is the earth—he has made the womb of his own servant a spacious dwelling place, and in it the mystery of mysteries is accomplished. Being God, he becomes Man, and is marvelously brought forth without injury to his mother’s virginity. He is lifted up as a baby in earthly arms—the One who is the brightness of eternal glory, the form of the Father’s substance, by the word of whose mouth all created things exist. Truly divine wonder!

Holy mother and Virgin, what is this great mystery accomplished in you? Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. You are blessed from generation to generation, you who alone are worthy of being blessed. Behold, all generations will call you blessed, just as you have said. You are the royal throne that angels surround, seeing upon it their true King and Lord. You are a spiritual Eden, holier and more divine than the Eden of old. For that Eden was the dwelling of the mortal Adam, while the Lord himself came from heaven to dwell in you.

Noah’s ark foreshadowed you, for you held the seed of the new world. You brought forth Christ, the salvation of the world, who destroyed sin and its angry waves. The burning bush foreshadowed you, and the tablets of the Law, and the Ark of the Covenant. Just as Jacob saw the ladder bringing together heaven and earth, so you are placed between us, and have become the ladder of God’s communion with us, of him who took upon himself our weakness, uniting us to himself, and enabling us to see God. —St. John of Damascus, First Homily on the Dormition

IN GOD’S PRESENCE, CONSIDER . . .

How might Mary be foreshadowed by Eden, Noah’s ark, Moses’ burning bush, the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments, and Jacob’s ladder? What is it about each of these that offers a parallel to her role in our salvation?

CLOSING PRAYER

From a prayer of St. Tarasius: O purest one! You are the book of Moses, the lawgiver, on which the New Covenant is written with the finger of God. You are Aaron’s rod that budded. You are like David’s daughter, all glorious within, wrought about with diverse colors.

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Saint John of Damascus

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Mary is more spacious than Noah’s ark, Mary: Day 007

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