{"id":3827,"date":"2015-08-02T03:30:41","date_gmt":"2015-08-02T08:30:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicbookblogger\/?p=3827"},"modified":"2015-07-18T13:50:23","modified_gmt":"2015-07-18T18:50:23","slug":"mary-the-root-preserved-from-sin-mary-day-012","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicbookblogger\/2015\/08\/02\/mary-the-root-preserved-from-sin-mary-day-012\/","title":{"rendered":"Mary, the root preserved from sin, Mary: Day: 012"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"year_with_mary_lawrence_of_brindisi\"<\/a>Mary, the root preserved from sin<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the Old Testament, the prophet Daniel interprets a dream of the Babylo- nian king Nebuchadnezzar (see Dan 4:10\u201318). St. Lawrence Brindisi finds in that dream a foreshadowing of Jesus and Mary.<\/em><\/p>\n

Great was the happiness of human nature in the Garden of Eden\u00a0before original sin, as long as man remained in the state of innocence and origi- nal justice. Then, human nature was like that tree seen by King Nebuchadnezzar in his dreams. It was tall, with its top touching heaven; wide, with its branches filling the whole world; adorned with the loveliest fronds and flowers and the best of fruits in greatest abundance (see Dan 4:10\u201312).<\/p>\n

But soon, by virtue of the sentence of divine judgment executed by the angel, this tree was stripped of its fruits. With branches and trunk cut off, it was reduced to nothing\u2014or almost nothing; for the command was given that a root with a shoot be preserved safe and intact (see Dan 4:13\u201315). On account of sin, humanity tumbled from maximum good fortune to maximum misfortune; light was changed into darkness, the bright day into the cloudiest of nights; a full moon went into eclipse.
\nBut from the contagion of that sin, the shoot\u2014that is, Christ\u2014was pre- served, as well as the root\u2014that is, Mary\u2014from which that shoot was to rise. We see in the Book of Genesis the root with its shoot preserved; for before a penalty for sin was inflicted on man, it was said to the serpent: \u201cI will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; she will crush your head\u201d (see Gn 3:15).
\n\u2014St. Lawrence of Brindisi<\/p>\n

IN GOD\u2019S PRESENCE, CONSIDER . . .<\/strong>
\nIn which other dream of an Old Testament figure did the Church Fathers find a foreshadowing of Mary (see Gn 28:10\u201317)? Have I ever had a dream with symbolic significance that gave me a spiritual insight?
\nCLOSING PRAYER<\/strong>
\nMary, you are the shoot that came forth from the stump of Jesse, in the line of King David; and Jesus is the branch that grew out of that shoot; for the Spirit of the Lord rests mightily upon him, in the perfection of all spiritual gifts (see Is 11:1\u20133).<\/p>\n

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