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<\/a>The Old Testament foreshadowed Mary<\/strong><\/p>\nSt. John of Damascus provides multiple examples of the Old Testament foreshadowing of Mary.<\/em><\/p>\n 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\u2014he 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\u2019s virginity. He is lifted up as a baby in earthly arms\u2014the One who is the brightness of eternal glory, the form of the Father\u2019s substance, by the word of whose mouth all created things exist. Truly divine wonder!<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Noah\u2019s 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\u2019s communion with us, of him who took upon himself our weakness, uniting us to himself, and enabling us to see God. \u2014St. John of Damascus, First Homily on the Dormition IN GOD\u2019S PRESENCE, CONSIDER . . .<\/strong><\/p>\n How might Mary be foreshadowed by Eden, Noah\u2019s ark, Moses\u2019 burning bush, the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments, and Jacob\u2019s ladder? What is it about each of these that offers a parallel to her role in our salvation?<\/p>\n CLOSING PRAYER<\/strong><\/p>\n 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\u2019s rod that budded. You are like David\u2019s daughter, all glorious within, wrought about with diverse colors.<\/em><\/p>\n ________________________________________________________________________________________________
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