Mary: the vine, the cedar, the Ark, Mary: Day 010

Mary: the vine, the cedar, the Ark, Mary: Day 010 July 31, 2015

year_with_mary_alphonsus_3Mary: the vine, the cedar, the Ark

St. Alphonsus notes several additional images of Mary from the Old Testament.
Mary is said to be “terrible” to the powers of hell, “as an army in battle array” (Sg 6:10). She is called terrifying because she knows well how to array her power, her mercy, and her prayers, to the defeat of her enemies, and for the benefit of her servants, who in their temptations turn to her most powerful aid. “As the vine, I have brought forth a pleasant odor” (Ecclus 24:23). These words the Holy Spirit has Mary speak in the book of Ecclesiasticus. “We are told,” says St. Bernard in commenting on this passage, that “all venomous rep- tiles fly from flowering vines”: for as poisonous reptiles fly from flowering vines, so do demons fly from those fortunate souls in whom they perceive the perfume
of devotion to Mary.
She also calls herself, in the same book, a cedar: “I was exalted like a cedar” (Ecclus 24:17). Cardinal Hugo of St. Cher remarks on this text that this compari- son is made for two reasons. First, Mary was untainted by sin, just as the cedar is incorruptible. Second, “like the cedar, which by its fragrance keeps away moths, so also does Mary by her sanctity drive away the demons.”
Among the ancient Hebrews, victories were gained by means of the Ark of the Covenant. In this way Moses conquered his enemies, as we learn from the Book of Numbers. “And when the Ark was lifted up, Moses said: “Arise, O Lord, and let your enemies be scattered” (Num 10:35).
It is well known that this Ark was a foreshadowing of Mary. For as manna was in the Ark, so is Jesus (of whom manna was a foreshadowing) in Mary; and by means of this Ark we gain the victory over our enemies on earth and in hell. “In this way,” St. Bernardine of Siena well observes, “when Mary, the Ark of the New Covenant, was raised to the dignity of Queen of Heaven, the power of hell over men was weakened and dissolved.” —St. Alphonsus Liguori, The Glories of Mary

IN GOD’S PRESENCE, CONSIDER . . .
What other images, drawn from my own experience, would be fitting symbols of Our Lady?
CLOSING PRAYER
Blessed Mother, you are the great highway to heaven, stretching out across the hills and valleys to make the way straight and smooth on our journey home to your Son.

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