Friday, February 15, 2013 - Litany Lane Blog:
Fast, Psalms 51:3-19, Isaiah 58:1-9, Matthew 9:14-15, St Claude, Via Dolorosa, Traditions of the Stations of the Cross, Catholic Catechism Part One Section 2 The Creeds Chapter 2 Article 3:3 Conceived by the Power of the Holy Spirit and Born of the Virgin Mary
Good Day Bloggers! Wishing everyone a Blessed Week!
Year of Faith - October 11, 2012 - November 24, 2013
P.U.S.H. (Pray Until Serenity Happens). It has a remarkable way of producing solace, peace, patience and tranquility and of course resolution...God's always available 24/7.
The world begins and ends everyday for someone. We are all human. We all experience birth, life and death. We all have
flaws but we also all have the gift of knowledge and free will,
make the most of these gifts. Life on earth is a stepping stone to our eternal home in
Heaven. Its your choice whether to rise towards eternal light or lost to
eternal darkness. Material items, though needed for sustenance and
survival on earth are of earthly value only. The only thing that passes
from this earth to Purgatory and/or Heaven is our Soul, our Spirit...it's God's perpetual
gift to us...Embrace it, treasure it, nurture it, protect it...
"Raise not a hand to another unless it is to offer in peace and goodwill." ~ Zarya Parx 2012
Heed the Solemnity of Lent! This Lent instead of "Giving Up" something, why not "Give" by volunteering time to a worthy cause, or extending a simple act of kindness!
34 “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 38 And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39 When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’(Matthew 25:34-40)
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Prayers for Today: Friday in Lent
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Prayer For the Holy Election of Our New Pope
May the Lord preserve the sanctity of the enclave as they embark on electing our new Holy Father, give him life, and make him blessed upon earth, and deliver him not to the will of his enemies.
LET US PRAY:
O God, the Shepherd and Ruler of all the faithful, in Thy mercy look down upon Thy servant, (Our New Pope), whom Thou will appoint to preside over Thy Church, and grant we beseech Thee that both by word and example he may edify those who are under his charge; so that, with the flock entrusted to him, he may attain life everlasting. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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February 2, 2013 Message From Our Lady of Medjugorje to World:
"Dear children, love is bringing me to you - the love which I desire to
teach you also - real love; the love which my Son showed you when He
died on the Cross out of love for you; the love which is always ready to
forgive and to ask for forgiveness. How great is your love? My motherly
heart is sorrowful as it searches for love in
your hearts. You are not ready to submit your will to God's will out of
love. You cannot help me to have those who have not come to know God's
love to come to know it, because you do not have real love. Consecrate
your hearts to me and I will lead you. I will teach you to forgive, to
love your enemies and to live according to my Son. Do not be afraid for
yourselves. In afflictions my Son does not forget those who love. I will
be beside you. I will implore the Heavenly Father for the light of
eternal truth and love to illuminate you. Pray for your shepherds so
that through your fasting and prayer they can lead you in love. Thank
you."
January 25, 2013 Message From Our Lady of Medjugorje to World:
"Dear children! Also today I call you to prayer. May your prayer be as strong as a living stone, until with your lives you become witnesses. Witness the beauty of your faith. I am with you and intercede before my Son for each of you. Thank you for having responded to my call."
"Dear children! Also today I call you to prayer. May your prayer be as strong as a living stone, until with your lives you become witnesses. Witness the beauty of your faith. I am with you and intercede before my Son for each of you. Thank you for having responded to my call."
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Today's Word: fast fast [fahst]
Origin: before 1000; Middle English fasten, Old English fæstan; cognate with German fasten, Gothic fastan, Old Norse fasta
verb (used without object)
1. to abstain from all food.
2. to eat only sparingly or of certain kinds of food, especially as a religious observance.
verb (used with object)
3. to cause to abstain entirely from or limit food; put on a fast: to fast a patient for a day before surgery.
noun
4. an abstinence from food, or a limiting of one's food, especially when voluntary and as a religious observance; fasting.
5. a day or period of fasting.
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Today's Old Testament Reading - Psalms 51:3-4, 5-6, 18-19
3 For I am well aware of my offences, my sin is constantly in mind.
4 Against you, you alone, I have sinned, I have done what you see to be wrong, that you may show your saving justice when you pass sentence, and your victory may appear when you give judgement,
5 remember, I was born guilty, a sinner from the moment of conception.
6 But you delight in sincerity of heart, and in secret you teach me wisdom.
18 In your graciousness do good to Zion, rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then you will delight in upright sacrifices,-burnt offerings and whole oblations -- and young bulls will be offered on your altar.
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Today's Epistle - Isaiah 58:1-9
1 Shout for all you are worth, do not hold back, raise your voice like a trumpet. To my people proclaim their rebellious acts, to the House of Jacob, their sins.
2 They seek for me day after day, they long to know my ways, like a nation that has acted uprightly and not forsaken the law of its God. They ask me for laws that are upright, they long to be near God:
3 'Why have we fasted, if you do not
see, why mortify ourselves if you never notice?' Look, you seek your own
pleasure on your fastdays and you exploit all your workmen;
4 look, the only purpose of your fasting is to quarrel and squabble and strike viciously with your fist. Fasting like yours today will never make your voice heard on high.
5 Is that the sort of fast that pleases me, a day when a person
inflicts pain on himself? Hanging your head like a reed, spreading out
sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call fasting, a day acceptable to
Yahweh?
6 Is not this the sort of fast that pleases me: to break unjust fetters, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break all yokes?
7 Is it not sharing your food with the
hungry, and sheltering the homeless poor; if you see someone lacking
clothes, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own kin?
8 Then your light will blaze out like the dawn and your wound be quickly healed over. Saving justice will go ahead of you and Yahweh's glory come behind you.
9 Then you will cry for help and Yahweh will answer; you will call and he will say, 'I am here.' If you do away with the yoke, the clenched fist and malicious words,
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Today's Gospel Reading - Matthew 9: 14-15
Then John's disciples came to him and said, 'Why is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not?' Jesus replied, 'Surely the bridegroom's attendants cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is still with them? But the time will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.
Reflection
• Today’s Gospel is a brief version of
the Gospel on which we already meditated in January, when the same
theme of fasting was proposed to us (Mk 2, 18-22), but there is a small
difference. Today, the Liturgy omits the whole discourse of the new
piece of cloth on an old cloak and the new wine in an old skin (Mt 9,
16-17), and concentrates its attention on fasting.
• Jesus does not insist on the practice of fasting. Fasting is a very ancient use, practiced in almost all religions. Jesus himself practiced it during forty days (Mt 4, 2). But he did not insist with the disciples to do the same. He leaves them free. For this reason, the disciples of John the Baptist and of the Pharisees, who were obliged to fast, want to know why Jesus does not insist on fasting.
• While the bridegroom is with them, therefore, they do not need to fast. Jesus responds with a comparison. When the bridegroom is with the friends of the spouse, that is, during the wedding feast, it is not necessary for them to fast. Jesus considers himself the spouse. The disciples are the friends of the spouse. During the time in which Jesus was with the disciples, is the wedding feast. One day will come in which the spouse will no longer be there. Then, they can fast if they so desire. In this phrase Jesus refers to his death. He knows and he becomes aware that if he continues along this path of freedom, of liberty, the religious authority will want to kill him.
• Fasting and abstinence from meat are universal practices which are actual. The Muslims have the fasting of the Ramadan, during which they neither eat, nor should they eat until the rising of the sun. Always more and for diverse reasons, persons impose upon themselves some form of fasting. Fasting is an important means to control oneself, and to dominate oneself, and this exists in almost all religions. It is also appreciated by sportsmen.
• The Bible has many reference to fasting. It was a way of making penance and of attaining conversion. Through the practice of fasting, Christians imitated Jesus who fasted during forty days. Fasting tends to attain the freedom of mind, self-control, a critical vision of reality. It is an instrument to maintain our mind free and not allow oneself to be transported by any breeze. Thanks to fasting, it increases the clearness of mind. It is a means that helps to take a better care of health. Fasting can be a form of identification with the poor who are obliged to fast the whole year and eat meat very rarely. There are also those who fast in order to protest.
• Even if fasting and abstinence are no longer observed today, the basic objective of this practice continues to remain unchanged and is a force which should animate our life: to participate in the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus. Surrender one’s own life in order to be able to possess it in God. Become aware or conscious of the fact that the commitment with the Gospel is a one way journey, without returning, which demands losing one’s life in order to be able to possess and to find all things in full liberty.
Personal questions
• Which is the form of fasting which you practice? And if you do not practice any, which is the form which you could practice?
• How can fasting help me to prepare better for the celebration of Easter?
• How can fasting help me to prepare better for the celebration of Easter?
Reference: Courtesy of Order of Carmelites, www.ocarm.org.
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Featured Item of the Day from Litany Lane
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Saint of the Day: St Claude
Feast Day: February 15
Patron Saint:
Attributes:
He entered the Society of Jesus in 1659. After fifteen years of religious life in the Jesuits, he made a vow,
as a means of attaining the utmost possible perfection, to observe
faithfully the Rule and Constitutions of his order under penalty of sin.
Those who lived with him attested that this vow was kept with great
exactitude.
In 1674, Claude was made superior at the Jesuit house at
Paray-le-Monial, where he became the spiritual director of Saint
Margaret Mary Alacoque and was thereafter a zealous apostle of the
devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In 1676, he was sent to England as preacher to Mary of Modena, Duchess of York, afterwards queen consort of Great Britain. He lived the life of a religious even in the Court of St. James
(the official residence of the British Monarchy), and was as active a
missionary in England as he had been in France. Although encountering
many difficulties, he was able to guide Saint Margaret-Mary by letter.
His zeal soon weakened his vitality and a throat and lung infirmity
seemed to threaten his work as a preacher. While awaiting his recall to France
he was suddenly arrested and thrown into prison, denounced as a
conspirator against the English throne. Thanks to his title of "Preacher
to the Duchess of York" and to the protection of the King of France, Louis XIV, whose subject Claude was, he escaped death but was condemned to exile in 1679. The last two years of his life were spent at Lyon, France,
where he was spiritual director to the young Jesuits, and at
Paray-le-Monial, where he returned to improve his health. His principal
works, including "Pious Reflections", "Meditations on the Passion", and
"Retreat and Spiritual Letters", were published under the title,
"Oeuvres du R. P. Claude de la Colombière" (Avignon, 1832; Paris, 1864).
He was beatified by Pope Pius XI on June 16, 1929, and canonized by Pope John Paul II on May 31, 1992.
His relics are preserved in the Jesuit Church around the corner from the monastery of the Visitation nuns at Paray-le-Monial.
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Today's Snippet I: Via Dolorosa
History
The Via Dolorosa is the modern remnant of one of the two main east-west routes (Decumanus Maximus) through Aelia Capitolina, as built by Hadrian. Standard Roman city design places the main east-west road through the middle of the city, but the presence of the Temple Mount in the middle of this position required Hadrian's planners to add an extra east-west road at its north. In addition to the usual central north-south road (cardo), which in Jerusalem headed straight up the western hill, a second major north-south road was added down the line of the Tyropoeon Valley; these two cardines converge near the Damascus Gate, close to the Via Dolorosa. If the Via Dolorosa had continued west in a straight line across the two routes, it would have formed a triangular block too narrow to construct standard buildings; the decumanus (now the Via Dolorosa) west of the Cardo was constructed south of its eastern portion, creating the discontinuity in the road still present today.The first reports of a pilgrimage route corresponding to the Biblical events dates from the Byzantine era; during that time, a Holy Thursday procession started from the top of the Mount of Olives, stopped in Gethsemane, entered the Old City at the Lions' Gate, and followed approximately the current route to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre;[2] however, there were no actual stops during the route along the Via Dolorosa itself.[1] By the 8th century, however, the route went via the western hill instead; starting at Gethsemene, it continued to the alleged House of Caiaphas on Mount Zion, then to Hagia Sophia (viewed as the site of the Praetorium), and finally to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.[1]
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| Via Dolorosa, Jerusalem. |
In fourteenth century, Pope Clement VI achieved some consistency in route with the Bull, "Nuper Carissimae," establishing the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land, and charging the friars with "the guidance, instruction, and care of Latin pilgrims as well as with the guardianship, maintenance, defense and rituals of the Catholic shrines of the Holy Land."[3] Beginning around 1350, Franciscan friars conducted official tours of the Via Dolorosa, from the Holy Sepulchre to the House of Pilate—opposite the direction traveled by Christ in Bible.[4] The route was not reversed until c. 1517 when the Franciscans began to follow the events of Christ’s Passion chronologically-setting out from the House of Pilate and ending with the crucifixion at Golgotha.[5]
From the onset of Franciscan administration, the development of the Via Dolorosa was intimately linked to devotional practices in Europe. The Friars Minor were ardent proponents of devotional meditation as a means to access and understand the Passion. The hours and guides they produced, such as Meditaciones vite Christi (MVC), were widely circulated in Europe.
Necessarily, such devotional literature expanded on the terse accounts of the Via Dolorosa in the Bible; the period of time between Christ’s condemnation by Pilate and his resurrection receives no more than one or two lines in all four gospels. Throughout the fourteenth century, a number of events, marked by stations on the Via Dolorosa, emerged in devotional literature and on the physical site in Jerusalem.
The first stations to appear in pilgrimage accounts were the Encounter with Simon of Cyrene and the Daughters of Jerusalem. These were followed by a host of other, more or less ephemeral, stations, such as the House of Veronica, the House of Simon the Pharisee, the House of the Evil Rich Man Who Would Not Give Alms to the Poor, and the House of Herod.[6] In his book, The Stations of the Cross, Herbert Thurston notes: "…Whether we look to the sites which, according to the testimony of travelers, were held in honor in Jerusalem itself, or whether we look to the imitation pilgrimages which were carved in stone or set down in books for the devotion of the faithful at home, we must recognize that there was a complete want of any sort of uniformity in the enumeration of the Stations."[7]
This negotiation of stations, between the European imagination and the physical site would continue for the next six centuries. Only in the 19th century was there general accord on the position of the first, fourth, fifth, and eighth stations. Ironically, archaeological discoveries in the 20th century now indicate that the early route of the Via Dolorosa on the Western hill was actually a more realistic path.[8]
The equation of the present Via Dolorosa with the biblical route is based on the assumption that the Praetorium was adjacent to the Antonia Fortress. However, like Philo, the late-first-century writer Josephus testifies that the Roman governors of Roman Judaea, who governed from Caesarea Maritima on the coast, stayed in Herod's palace while they were in Jerusalem,[9] carried out their judgements on the pavement immediately outside it, and had those found guilty flogged there;[10] Josephus indicates that Herod's palace is on the western hill,[11] and it has recently (2001) been rediscovered under a corner of the Jaffa Gate citadel. Furthermore, it is now confirmed by archaeology that prior to Hadrian's 2nd-century alterations (see Aelia Capitolina), the area adjacent to the Antonia Fortress was a large open-air pool of water.[8]
In 2009, Israeli archaeologist Shimon Gibson found the remains of a large paved courtyard south of the Jaffa Gate between two fortification walls with an outer gate and an inner one leading to a barracks. The courtyard contained a raised platform of around 2 square metres (22 sq ft). A survey of the ruins of the Praetorium, long thought to be the Roman barracks, indicated it was no more than a watchtower. These findings together "correspond perfectly" with the route as described in the Gospels and matched details found in other ancient writings.
The route traced by Gibson begins in a parking lot in the Armenian Quarter, then passes the Ottoman walls of the Old City next to the Tower of David near the Jaffa Gate before turning towards the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. The new research also indicates the crucifixion site is around 20 metres (66 ft) from the traditionally accepted site.[12][13]
Current Traditional Stations
Trial by Pilate: stations one and two
However, as mentioned above, scholars are now fairly certain that Pilate carried out his judgements at Herod's Palace at the southwest side of the city, rather than at this point in the city's northeast corner.[8] Archaeological studies have confirmed that the Roman pavement, at these two traditional stations, was built by Hadrian as the flooring of the eastern of two Forums.[8] Prior to Hadrian's changes, the area had been a large open-air pool of water, the Strouthion Pool mentioned by Josephus;[8] the pool still survives, under vaulting added by Hadrian so that the Forum could be built over it, and can be accessed from the portion of Roman paving under the Convent of the Sisters of Zion, and from the Western Wall Tunnel.
The three northern churches were gradually built after the site was partially acquired in 1857 by Marie-Alphonse Ratisbonne, a Jesuit who intended to use it as a base for proselytism against Judaism.[17] The most recent church of the three – the Church of the Flagellation – was built during the 1920s; above the high altar, under the central dome, is a mosaic on a golden ground showing The Crown of Thorns Pierced by Stars, and the church also contains modern stained-glass windows depicting Christ Scourged at the Pillar, Pilate Washing his Hands, and the Freeing of Barabbas. The Convent, which includes the Church of Ecce Homo, was the first part of the complex to be built, and contains the most extensive archaeological remains. Prior to Ratisbonne's purchase, the site had lain in ruins for many centuries; the Crusaders had previously constructed a set of buildings here, but they were later abandoned.
The three Falls: stations three, seven, and nine
The tradition of the three falls appears to be a faded memory of an earlier belief in The Seven Falls;[18] these were not necessarily literal falls, but rather depictions of Jesus coincidentally being prostrate, or nearly so, during performance of some other activity. In the (then) famous late-15th-century depiction of the Seven Falls, by Adam Krafft, there is only one of the Falls that is actually on the subject of Jesus stumbling under the weight of the cross, the remaining Falls being either encounters with people on the journey, the crucifixion itself, or the removal of the dead body from the cross.The first fall is represented by the current third station, located at the west end of the eastern fraction of the Via Dolorosa, adjacent to the 19th-century Polish Catholic Chapel; this chapel was constructed by the Armenian Catholics, who though ethnically Armenian, are actually based in Poland. The 1947–48 renovations, to the 19th-century chapel, were carried out with the aid of a large financial grant from the Polish army. The site was previously one of the city's Turkish baths.
The second fall is represented by the current seventh station, located at a major crossroad junction, adjacent to a Franciscan chapel, built in 1875. In Hadrian's era, this was the junction of the main cardo (north-south road), with the decumanus (east-west road) which became the Via Dolorosa; the remains of a tetrapylon, which marked this Roman junction, can be seen in the lower level of the Franciscan chapel. Prior to the 16th century, this location was the 8th and last station.[1]
The third fall is represented by the current ninth station, which is not actually located on the Via Dolorosa, instead being located at the entrance to the Ethiopian Orthodox Monastery and the Coptic Orthodox Monastery of Saint Anthony, which together form the roof structure of the subterranean Chapel of Saint Helena in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre; the Coptic and Ethiopian Orthodox churches split in 1959, and prior to that time the monastic buildings were considered a single Monastery. However, in the early 16th century, the third fall was located at the entrance courtyard to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and an engraved stone cross signifying this still remains in situ. Prior to the 15th century, the final station occurred before this point would even have been reached.[1]
The Encounters
Four stations commemorate encounters between Jesus and other people, in the city streets; one encounter is mentioned in all the Synoptic Gospels, one is mentioned only in the Gospel of Luke, and the remaining two encounters only exist in popular tradition.With Mary, Jesus' mother: fourth station
The New Testament makes no mention of a meeting between Jesus and his mother, during the walk to his crucifixion, but popular tradition introduces one. The fourth station, the location of a 19th-century Armenian Catholic oratory, commemorates the events of this tradition; a lunette, over the entrance to the chapel, references these events by means of a bas-relief carved by the Polish artist Zieliensky. The oratory, named Our Lady of the Spasm, was built in 1881, but its crypt preserves some archaeological remains from former Byzantine buildings on the site, including a mosaic floor.With Simon of Cyrene: fifth station
Prior to the 15th century, this location was instead considered to be the House of the Poor Man, and honoured as the fifth station for that reason;[22] the name refers to the Lukan tale of Lazarus and Dives,[23] this Lazarus being a beggar, and Dives being the Latin word for [one who is] Rich. Adjacent to the alleged House of the Poor Man is an arch over the road; the house on the arch was thought to be the corresponding House of the Rich Man.[22] The houses in question, however, only date to the Middle Ages,[24] and the narrative of Lazarus and Dives is now widely held to be a parable.[25][26][27]
With Veronica: sixth station
A medieval Roman Catholic legend viewed a specific piece of cloth, known as the Veil of Veronica, as having been supernaturally imprinted with Jesus' image, by physical contact with Jesus' face. By metathesis of the Latin words vera icon (meaning true image) into Veronica,[28] it came to be said that the Veil of Veronica had gained its image when a Saint Veronica encountered Jesus, and wiped the sweat from his face with the cloth; no element of this legend is present in the bible, although the similar Image of Edessa is mentioned in The Epistles of Jesus Christ and Abgarus King of Edessa, a late piece of New Testament apocrypha. The Veil of Veronica relates to a pre-Crucifixion image, and is distinct from the post-Crucifixion Holy Face image, often related to the Shroud of Turin.The current sixth station of the Via Dolorosa commemorates this legendary encounter between Jesus and Veronica. The location was identified as the site of the encounter in the 19th century; in 1883, Greek Roman Catholics purchased the 12th-century ruins at the location, and built the Church of the Holy Face and Saint Veronica on them, claiming that Veronica had encountered Jesus outside her own house, and that the house had formerly been positioned at this spot. The church includes some of the remains of the 12th-century buildings which had formerly been on the site, including arches from the Crusader-built Monastery of Saint Cosmas. The present building is administered by the Little Sisters of Jesus, and is not generally open to the public.
With Pious Women: eighth station
However, prior to the 15th century the final station in Jesus' walk was believed to occur at a point earlier on the Via Dolorosa, before this location would have been reached.
The present eighth station is adjacent to the Greek Orthodox Monastery of Saint Charalampus; it is marked by the word Nika (a Greek word meaning Victory) carved into the wall, and an embossed cross.
Modern re-enactments and processions
Each Friday, a Roman Catholic procession walks the Via Dolorosa route, starting out at the monastic complex by the first station; the procession is organized by the Franciscans of this monastery, who also lead the procession. Acted re-enactments also regularly take place on the route, ranging from amateur productions with, for example, soldiers wearing plastic helmets and vivid red polyester wraps, to more professional drama with historically accurate clothing and props.[30][31][32]Organized tours
Organized tours are arranged every Saturday morning including transportation from Tel Aviv.[33] The tour passes through all the 14 stations, which Jesus took: the conviction, the flogging and the force of the cross, the first fall, the meeting with the mother Miriam, Simon helps Jesus to carry the cross, Veronica wipes dry Jesus face, the second fall, Jesus speaks to the girls of Jerusalem, the third fall, the clothes distribution, the nailing to the cross, the crucifying, the lowering from the cross and laying in the tomb.References
- ^Jerome Murphy-O'Connor, The Holy Land, (2008), page 37
- ^ Oxford Archaeological Guide: The Holy Land (paperback, 4th edition, 1998), pages 34–36
- ^ Wharton, Annabel Jane. Selling Jerusalem: Relics, Replicas, Theme Parks. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2006. p. 109.
- ^ Thurston, Herbert. The Stations of the Cross. London: Burns and Oates, 1906. p.34.
- ^ Thurston, Herbert. The Stations of the Cross. London: Burns and Oates, 1906. p.55.
- ^ Thurston, Herbert. The Stations of the Cross. London: Burns and Oates, 1906. p. 21.
- ^ Thurston, Herbert. The Stations of the Cross. London: Burns and Oates, 1906. p.50.
- ^ Pierre Benoit, The Archaeological Reconstruction of the Antonia Fortress, in Jerusalem Revealed (edited by Yigael Yadin), (1976)
- ^ Pierre Benoit, The Archaeological Reconstruction of the Antonia Fortress, page 87, in Jerusalem Revealed (edited by Yigael Yadin), (1976)
- ^ Josephus, Jewish Wars, 2:14:8
- ^ Josephus, Jewish Wars, 5:2
- ^ Study shines light on final steps of Christ The Courier-Mail April 11, 2009
- ^ Archaeologist: Jesus took a different path 4VF News April 10, 2009
- ^ John 19:1–3
- ^ John 19.5
- ^ John 19:13
- ^ Encyclopedia Judaica, Ratisbonne Brothers, Volume 13, pp.1570–1571, Keter Publishing House, Jerusalem, 1972
- ^ Catholic Encyclopedia, entry on Way of the Cross
- ^ Mark 15:21
- ^ John 19:17
- ^ Simon of Cyrene – Bible Study
- ^ Dave Winter, Israel handbook, page 126
- ^ Luke 16:19–31
- ^ Catholic Encyclopedia, entry for Dives
- ^ The IVP Bible Background Commentary
- ^ N. T. Wright, Luke for Everyone
- ^ Joachim Jeremias, The Parables of Jesus
- ^ Catholic Encyclopedia, St. Veronica
- ^ Luke 23:27–31
- ^ Jerusalem of the heavens: the Eternal City in bird's eye view by Yehuda Salomon, Mosheh Milner 1993 ISBN 965-474-000-1 page 187
- ^ Frommer's Jerusalem Day by Day by Buzzy Gordon 2010 ISBN 0-470-67636-1 page 12
- ^ Frommer's Israel by Robert Ullian 2010 ISBN 0-470-61820-5 page 179
- ^ "Via Dolorosa Tour". The Holy Land Tours. Retrieved on 2013-01-16.
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Today's Snippet II: Tradition of the Stations of the Cross
Stations of the Cross (or Way of the Cross; in Latin, Via Crucis; also called the Via Dolorosa or Way of Sorrows, or simply, The Way)
is a series of artistic representations, very often sculptural,
depicting Christ Carrying the Cross to his crucifixion in the final
hours (or Passion) of Jesus
before he died, and the devotions using that series to commemorate the
Passion, often moving physically around a set of stations. The vast
majority of Roman Catholic churches now contain such a series, typically
placed at intervals along the side walls of the nave; in most churches
these are small plaques with reliefs or paintings, simpler than most of
the examples shown here. The tradition as chapel devotion began with St.
Francis of Assisi and extended throughout the Roman Catholic Church in
the medieval period. It is commonly observed in Lutheranism,[1][2]
and amongst the Anglo-Catholic wing of Anglicanism. It may be done at
any time, but is most commonly done during the Season of Lent,
especially on Good Friday and on Friday evenings during Lent.
History
The Stations of the Cross originated in pilgrimages to Jerusalem.
A desire to reproduce the holy places in other lands seems to have
manifested itself at quite an early date. At the monastery of Santo
Stefano at Bologna a group of connected chapels was constructed as early
as the 5th century, by St. Petronius,
Bishop of Bologna, which was intended to represent the more important
shrines of Jerusalem, and in consequence, this monastery became
familiarly known as "Hierusalem." These may perhaps be regarded as the
germ from which the Stations afterwards developed, though it is
tolerably certain that nothing that we have before about the 15th
century can strictly be called a Way of the Cross in the modern sense.
Although several travelers who visited the Holy Land during the twelfth,
thirteenth, and 14th centuries (e.g. Riccoldo da Monte di Croce, Burchard of Mount Sion, James of Verona),[3]
mention a "Via Sacra," i.e., a settled route along which pilgrims were
conducted, there is nothing in their accounts to identify this with the
Way of the Cross, as we understand it. The devotion of the Via Dolorosa,
for which there have been a number of variant routes in Jerusalem, was
probably developed by the Franciscans after they were granted
administration of the Christian holy places in Jerusalem in 1342.
The earliest use of the word "stations," as applied to the accustomed
halting-places in the Via Sacra at Jerusalem, occurs in the narrative
of an English pilgrim, William Wey, who visited the Holy Land in the
mid-15th century, and described pilgrims following the footsteps of
Christ to the cross. In 1521 a book called Geystlich Strass was printed
with illustrations of the stations in the Holy Land.[3]
During the 15th and 16th centuries the Franciscans began to build a
series of outdoor shrines in Europe to duplicate their counterparts in
the Holy Land. The number of stations varied between seven and thirty;
seven was common. These were usually placed, often in small buildings,
along the approach to a church, as in a set of 1490 by Adam Kraft, leading to the Johanneskirche in Nuremberg.[4]
A number of rural examples were established as attractions in their own
right, usually on attractive wooded hills. These include the Sacro
Monte di Domodossola (1657) and Sacro Monte di Belmonte (1712), and form
part of the Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy
World Heritage Site, together with other examples on different
devotional themes. In these the sculptures are often approaching
life-size and very elaborate. In 1686, in answer to their petition, Pope
Innocent XI granted to the Franciscans the right to erect stations
within their churches. In 1731, Pope Clement XII extended to all
churches the right to have the stations, provided that a Franciscan
father erected them, with the consent of the local bishop. At the same
time the number was fixed at fourteen. In 1857, the bishops of England
were allowed to erect the stations by themselves, without the
intervention of a Franciscan priest, and in 1862 this right was extended
to bishops throughout the church.[5]
Spiritual significance
The object of the Stations is to help
the faithful to make a
spiritual pilgrimage of prayer, through meditating upon the chief scenes
of Christ's sufferings and death. It has become one of the most popular
devotions for Roman Catholics, and is often performed in a spirit of
reparation for the sufferings and insults that Jesus endured during His
Passion.[6]
In his encyclical letter, Miserentissimus Redemptor, on reparations, Pope Pius XI called Acts of Reparation to Jesus Christ a duty for Catholics and referred to them as "some sort of compensation to be rendered for the injury" with respect to the sufferings of Jesus.[7] Pope John Paul II referred to Acts of Reparation as the "unceasing effort to stand beside the endless crosses on which the Son of God continues to be crucified".[8]
The Fourteen Stations
Traditional form
 |
| Collected enamel set, Notre-Dame-des-Champs, Avranches |
The early set of seven scenes was usually numbers 2,3,4,7,6 and 14 from the list below.[9] The standard set from the 17th to 20th centuries has consisted of 14 pictures or sculptures depicting the following scenes:
- Jesus is condemned to death
- Jesus carries His cross
- Jesus falls the first time
- Jesus meets His mother
- Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus to carry the cross
- Veronica wipes the face of Jesus
- Jesus falls the second time
- Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem
- Jesus falls the third time
- Jesus is stripped of his garments
- Crucifixion: Jesus is nailed to the cross
- Jesus dies on the cross
- Jesus is taken down from the cross (Deposition or Lamentation)
- Jesus is laid in the tomb.
Although not traditionally part of the Stations, the Resurrection of Jesus is sometimes included as a fifteenth station.[10][11]
Scriptural Way of the Cross
Out of the fourteen traditional Stations
of the Cross, only eight
have clear scriptural foundation. Stations 3, 4, 6, 7, and 9 are not
specifically attested to in the gospels (in particular, no evidence
exists of station 6 ever being known before medieval times) and Station
13 (representing Jesus's body being taken down off the cross and laid in
the arms of His mother Mary) seems to embellish the gospels' record,
which states that Joseph of Arimathea took Jesus down from the cross and
buried him. To provide a version of this devotion more closely aligned
with the biblical accounts, Pope John Paul II introduced a new form of
devotion, called the Scriptural Way of the Cross on Good Friday 1991. He
celebrated that form many times but not exclusively at the Colosseum in
Rome.[12][13] In 2007, Pope Benedict XVI approved this set of stations for meditation and public celebration: They follow this sequence:
- Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane,
- Jesus is betrayed by Judas and arrested,
- Jesus is condemned by the Sanhedrin,
- Jesus is denied by Peter,
- Jesus is judged by Pilate,
- Jesus is scourged and crowned with thorns,
- Jesus takes up His cross,
- Jesus is helped by Simon to carry His cross,
- Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem,
- Jesus is crucified,
- Jesus promises His kingdom to the repentant thief,
- Jesus entrusts Mary and John to each other,
- Jesus dies on the cross,
- Jesus is laid in the tomb.
Modern Tradition
The devotion may be conducted personally by the faithful, making
their way from one station to another and saying the prayers, or by
having an officiating celebrant move from cross to cross while the
faithful make the responses. The stations themselves must consist of, at
the very least, fourteen wooden crosses, pictures alone do not suffice,
and they must be blessed by someone with the authority to erect
stations.
In the Roman Catholic Church, Pope John Paul II led an annual public prayer of the Stations of the Cross at the Roman Colosseum
on Good Friday. Originally, the Pope himself carried the cross from
station to station, but in his last years when age and infirmity limited
his strength, John Paul presided over the celebration from a stage on
the Palatine Hill,
while others carried the cross. Just days prior to his death in 2005,
Pope John Paul II observed the Stations of the Cross from his private
chapel. Each year a different person is invited to write the meditation
texts for the Stations. Past composers of the Papal Stations include
several non-Catholics. The Pope himself wrote the texts for the Great Jubilee in 2000 and used the traditional Stations.
The celebration of the Stations of the Cross is especially common on the Fridays of Lent, especially Good Friday.
Community celebrations are usually accompanied by various songs and
prayers. Particularly common as musical accompaniment is the Stabat Mater. At the end of each station the Adoramus Te is sometimes sung. The Alleluia is also sung, except during Lent.
Structurally, Mel Gibson's 2004 film, The Passion of the Christ, follows the Stations of the Cross.[15]
The fourteenth and last station, the Burial, is not prominently
depicted (compared to the other thirteen) but it is implied since the
last shot before credit titles is Jesus resurrected and about to leave
the tomb.
Debates
Place of Christ's resurrection
Some modern liturgists[16] say the traditional Stations of the Cross are incomplete without a final scene depicting the empty tomb and/or the resurrection of Jesus,
because Jesus' rising from the dead was an integral part of His
salvific work on earth. Advocates of the traditional form of the
Stations ending with the body of Jesus being placed in the tomb say the
Stations are intended as a meditation on the atoning death of Jesus, and not as a complete picture of His life, death, and resurrection.
The Stations of the Resurrection (also known by the Latin name of Via Lucis) are used in some churches at Eastertide to meditate on the Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus Christ.
Ukrainian Byzantine Catholic Church
As part of a process of de-Latinization, the Ukrainian Byzantine
Catholic Church eliminated the devotion of the Stations of the Cross. In response to this, a schismatic group called the Society of Saint Josaphat (SSJK) has formed with a seminary of its own in Lviv with thirty students at present.
Music
Franz Liszt wrote a Via Crucis for choir, soloists and piano or organ or harmonium in 1879. David Bowie regarded his 1976 song, "Station to Station" as "very much concerned with the stations of the cross."[17]
Michael Valenti (known predominantly as a Broadway composer) wrote,
with librettist Diane Seymour, an oratorio depicting the fourteen
Stations of the Cross entitled "The Way." It was premiered in 1991. Stefano Vagnini's 2002 modular oratorio, Via Crucis,[18] composition for organ, computer, choir, string orchestra and brass quartet, depicts the fourteen Stations of the Cross.
As the Stations of the Cross are prayed during the season of Lent in
Catholic churches, each station is traditionally followed by a verse of
the Stabat Mater, composed in the 13th century by Franciscan Jacopane da
Todi.
References:
- ^ http://www.trinitycamphill.org/Way%20of%20the%20Cross/Introduction.htm
- ^ http://pastorzip.blogspot.com/2007/04/stations-of-cross.html
- ^THURSTON, Herbert: The Stations of the Cross
- ^ Schiller, Gertrud, Iconography of Christian Art, Vol. II, p. 82, 1972 (English trans from German), Lund Humphries, London, ISBN 0-85331-324-5
- ^ The Catholic Encyclopedia (1907)s.v. "The Way of the Cross."
- ^ Ann Ball, 2003 Encyclopedia of Catholic Devotions and Practices ISBN 087973910X
- ^ Miserentissimus Redemptor, Encyclical of Pope Pius XI
- ^ Pope John Paul II, Letter to Cardinal Fiorenzo Angelini, for the 50th anniversary of the Benedictine Sisters of Reparation of the Holy Face, 27 September 2000 (Vatican archives)
- ^ Schiller, 82
- ^ "The Official Web Site for the Archdiocese of Detroit". Retrieved 2012-02-13. "In some contemporary Stations of the Cross, a fifteenth station has been added to commemorate the Resurrection of the Lord."
- ^ "Fr. William Saunders". Retrieved 2009-04-04. "Because of the intrinsic relationship between the passion and death of our Lord with His resurrection, several of the devotional booklets now include a 15th station, which commemorates the Resurrection."
- ^ Joseph M Champlin, The Stations of the Cross With Pope John Paul II Liguori Publications, 1994, ISBN 0-89243-679-4
- ^ Pope John Paul II, Meditation and Prayers for the Stations of the Cross at the Colosseum, Good Friday, 2000
- ^ http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15569a.htm
- ^ Review, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2004
- ^ McBrien, Richard P.; Harold W. Attridge (1995). The HarperCollins encyclopedia of Catholicism. p. 1222. ISBN 978-0-06-065338-5.
- ^ Cavanagh, David (February 1997), "ChangesFiftyBowie", Q magazine: 52–59
- ^ Falcon Valley Music Ed., Stefano Vagnini, Via Crucis, Rome, Italy, 2002
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Catechism of the Catholic Church
Part One: Profession of Faith, Sect 2 The Creeds, Ch 2 Art 3:2
CHAPTER TWO
I BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST, THE ONLY SON OF
GOD
Article 3
"HE WAS CONCEIVED BY THE POWER OF THE HOLY
SPIRIT, AND WAS BORN OF THE VIRGIN MARY"
Paragraph 2. "CONCEIVED BY THE POWER OF
THE HOLY SPIRIT AND BORN OF THE VIRGIN MARY"
I.
CONCEIVED BY THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. . .
484
The Annunciation to Mary inaugurates "the fullness of
time",Gal 4:4 The time of the fulfilment of God's promises and
preparations. Mary was invited to conceive him in whom the "whole fullness
of deity" would dwell "bodily".Col 2:9 The divine response
to her question, "How can this be, since I know not man?", was given
by the power of the Spirit: "The Holy Spirit will come upon
you."Lk 1:34-35 (Greek)
485
The mission of the Holy Spirit is always conjoined and ordered to that of the
Son.Cf. ⇒ Jn
16:14-15 The Holy Spirit, "the Lord, the giver of Life", is
sent to sanctify the womb of the Virgin Mary and divinely fecundate it, causing
her to conceive the eternal Son of the Father in a humanity drawn from her own.
486
The Father's only Son, conceived as man in the womb of the Virgin Mary, is
"Christ", that is to say, anointed by the Holy Spirit, from the
beginning of his human existence, though the manifestation of this fact takes
place only progressively: to the shepherds, to the magi, to John the Baptist,
to the disciples.Mt 1:20 Thus the whole life of Jesus Christ will make
manifest "how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with
power."Acts 10:38
II.... BORN
OF THE VIRGIN MARY
487
What the Catholic faith believes about Mary is based on what it believes about
Christ, and what it teaches about Mary illumines in turn its faith in Christ.
Mary's
predestination
488
"God sent forth his Son", but to prepare a body for him,Gal 4:4; ⇒ Heb
10:5
he wanted the free co-operation of a creature. For this, from all eternity God
chose for the mother of his Son a daughter of Israel, a young Jewish woman of
Nazareth in Galilee, "a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph,
of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary":Lk 1:26-27
The Father of mercies willed
that the Incarnation should be preceded by assent on the part of the
predestined mother, so that just as a woman had a share in the coming of death,
so also should a woman contribute to the coming of life.LG 56; cf. LG 61
489
Throughout the Old Covenant the mission of many holy women prepared for that of
Mary. At the very beginning there was Eve; despite her disobedience, she receives
the promise of a posterity that will be victorious over the evil one, as well
as the promise that she will be the mother of all the living.Cf.
⇒ Gen 3:15, ⇒ 20 By
virtue of this promise, Sarah conceives a son in spite of her old
age.Gen 18:10-14;
⇒ 21:1-2 Against all human expectation God chooses those who were
considered powerless and weak to show forth his faithfulness to his promises:
Hannah, the mother of Samuel; Deborah; Ruth; Judith and Esther; and many other
women.I Cor 1:17; ⇒ I
Sam 1 Mary "stands out among the poor and humble of the Lord,
who confidently hope for and receive salvation from him. After a long period of
waiting the times are fulfilled in her, the exalted Daughter of Sion, and the
new plan of salvation is established."LG 55
The
Immaculate Conception
490
To become the mother of the Saviour, Mary "was enriched by God with gifts
appropriate to such a role."LG 56 The angel Gabriel at the moment of
the annunciation salutes her as "full of grace".Lk 1:28 In fact,
in order for Mary to be able to give the free assent of her faith to the
announcement of her vocation, it was necessary that she be wholly borne by
God's grace.
491
Through the centuries the Church has become ever more aware that Mary,
"full of grace" through God, Lk 1:28 was redeemed from the moment
of her conception. That is what the dogma of the Immaculate Conception
confesses, as Pope Pius IX proclaimed in 1854:
The most Blessed Virgin Mary
was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege
of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Saviour of the
human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin.Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus (1854): DS 2803
492
The "splendour of an entirely unique holiness" by which Mary is
"enriched from the first instant of her conception" comes wholly from
Christ: she is "redeemed, in a more exalted fashion, by reason of the
merits of her Son".LG 53, 56 The Father blessed Mary more than any other
created person "in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly
places" and chose her "in Christ before the foundation of the world,
to be holy and blameless before him in love".Eph 1:3-4
493
The Fathers of the Eastern tradition call the Mother of God "the
All-Holy" (Panagia), and celebrate her as "free from any stain of
sin, as though fashioned by the Holy Spirit and formed as a new
creature".LG 56 By the grace of God Mary remained free of every
personal sin her whole life long.
"Let it be done to me according to your word. . ."
494
At the announcement that she would give birth to "the Son of the Most
High" without knowing man, by the power of the Holy Spirit, Mary responded
with the obedience of faith, certain that "with God nothing will be impossible":
"Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be [done] to me according
to your word."Lk 1:28-38; cf. ⇒ Rom 1:5 Thus, giving her consent to God's word, Mary
becomes the mother of Jesus. Espousing the divine will for salvation
wholeheartedly, without a single sin to restrain her, she gave herself entirely
to the person and to the work of her Son; she did so in order to serve the
mystery of redemption with him and dependent on him, by God's grace:Cf. LG 56
As St. Irenaeus says,
"Being obedient she became the cause of salvation for herself and for the
whole human race."St. Irenaeus, Adv. haeres. 3, 22, 4: PG 7/1, 959A Hence not a few of the early Fathers gladly
assert. . .: "The knot of Eve's disobedience was untied by Mary's
obedience: what the virgin Eve bound through her disbelief, Mary loosened by
her faith."St. Irenaeus, Adv. haeres. 3, 22, 4: PG 7/1, 959A Comparing her with Eve, they call Mary "the
Mother of the living" and frequently claim: "Death through Eve, life
through Mary."LC 56;
St. Epiphanius, Panarion 2, 78, 18: PG 42, 728CD-729AB; St. Jerome, Ep. 22, 21: PL 22, 408
Mary's
divine motherhood
495
Called in the Gospels "the mother of Jesus", Mary is acclaimed by
Elizabeth, at the prompting of the Spirit and even before the birth of her son,
as "the mother of my Lord".Lk 1:43;
⇒ Jn 2:1; ⇒ 19:25;
cf. ⇒ Mt
13:55 In fact, the One whom she
conceived as man by the Holy Spirit, who truly became her Son according to the
flesh, was none other than the Father's eternal Son, the second person of the
Holy Trinity. Hence the Church confesses that Mary is truly "Mother of
God" (Theotokos).Council
of Ephesus (431): DS 251
Mary's
virginity
496
From the first formulations of her faith, the Church has confessed that Jesus
was conceived solely by the power of the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin
Mary, affirming also the corporeal aspect of this event: Jesus was conceived
"by the Holy Spirit without human seed".Council of the Lateran (649): DS 503; cf. DS 10-64 The Fathers see
in the virginal conception the sign that it truly was the Son of God who came
in a humanity like our own. Thus St. Ignatius of Antioch at the beginning of
the second century says: You are firmly convinced about our Lord, who is truly of the race of David according
to the flesh, Son of God according to the will and power of God, truly born of
a virgin,. . . he was truly nailed to a tree for us in his flesh under Pontius
Pilate. . . he truly suffered, as he is also truly risen.St. Ignatius of Antioch, Ad Smyrn 1-2: Apostolic Fathers, ed. J.
B. Lightfoot (London: Macmillan, 1889), 11/2, 289-293; SCh 10,
154-156; cf. ⇒ Rom 1:3; ⇒ Jn
1:13
497
The Gospel accounts understand the virginal conception of Jesus as a divine
work that surpasses all human understanding and possibility:Mt 1 18-25; ⇒ Lk
1:26-38
"That which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit", said the
angel to Joseph about Mary his fiancee.Mt 1:20 The Church sees here the
fulfilment of the divine promise given through the prophet Isaiah:
"Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son."Is 7:14
(LXX), quoted in Mt 1:23 (Greek)
498
People
are sometimes troubled by the silence of St. Mark's Gospel and the New
Testament Epistles about Jesus' virginal conception. Some might wonder if we
were merely dealing with legends or theological constructs not claiming to be
history. To this we must respond: Faith in the virginal conception of Jesus met
with the lively opposition, mockery or incomprehension of non-believers, Jews
and pagans alike;Cf. St. Justin,
Dial. 99, 7: PG 6, 708-709; Origen, Contra Celsum 1, 32, 69: PG 11, 720-721; et
al so it could hardly have been motivated by pagan
mythology or by some adaptation to the ideas of the age. the meaning of this
event is accessible only to faith, which understands in it the "connection
of these mysteries with one another"Dei
Filius 4: DS 3016 in the totality of
Christ's mysteries, from his Incarnation to his Passover. St. Ignatius of
Antioch already bears witness to this connection: "Mary's virginity and
giving birth, and even the Lord's death escaped the notice of the prince of
this world: these three mysteries worthy of proclamation were accomplished in
God's silence."St. Ignatius of Antioch, Ad Eph. 19, 1: AF 11/2 76-80: cf. I Cor
2:8
Mary -
"ever-virgin"
499
The deepening of faith in the virginal motherhood led the Church to confess
Mary's real and perpetual virginity even in the act of giving birth to the Son
of God made man.Cf. DS 291; 294; 427; 442; 503; 571; 1880 In fact, Christ's birth "did not diminish his
mother's virginal integrity but sanctified it."LG 57 and so the
liturgy of the Church celebrates Mary as Aeiparthenos, the
"Ever-virgin".Cf. LG 52
500
Against
this doctrine the objection is sometimes raised that the Bible mentions
brothers and sisters of Jesus.Cf. ⇒ Mk 3:31-35;
⇒ 6:3; ⇒ I Cor
9:5; ⇒ Gal 1:19 The Church has always understood
these passages as not referring to other children of the Virgin Mary. In fact
James and Joseph, "brothers of Jesus", are the sons of another Mary,
a disciple of Christ, whom St. Matthew significantly calls "the other
Mary".Mt 13:55;
⇒ 28:1; cf. ⇒ Mt 27:56 They are close relations of Jesus, according to an Old
Testament expression.Cf. ⇒ Gen 13:8;
⇒ 14:16;
⇒ 29:15; etc
501
Jesus is Mary's only son, but her spiritual motherhood extends to all men whom
indeed he came to save: "The Son whom she brought forth is he whom God
placed as the first-born among many brethren, that is, the faithful in whose
generation and formation she co-operates with a mother's love."LG 63; cf. ⇒ Jn 19:26-27;
⇒ Rom 8:29; ⇒ Rev 12:17
Mary's
virginal motherhood in God's plan
502
The eyes of faith can discover in the context of the whole of Revelation the
mysterious reasons why God in his saving plan wanted his Son to be born of a
virgin. These reasons touch both on the person of Christ and his redemptive
mission, and on the welcome Mary gave that mission on behalf of all men.
503
Mary's
virginity manifests God's absolute initiative in the Incarnation. Jesus has
only God as Father. "He was never estranged from the Father because of the
human nature which he assumed. . . He is naturally Son of the Father as to his divinity
and naturally son of his mother as to his humanity, but properly Son of the
Father in both natures."Council
of Friuli (796): DS 619; cf. ⇒ Lk 2:48-49
504
Jesus
is conceived by the Holy Spirit in the Virgin Mary's womb because he is the New
Adam, who inaugurates the new creation: "The first man was from the earth,
a man of dust; the second man is from heaven."I Cor 15:45, ⇒ 47 From his
conception, Christ's humanity is filled with the Holy Spirit, for God
"gives him the Spirit without measure."Jn 3:34 From "his
fullness" as the head of redeemed humanity "we have all received,
grace upon grace."Jn 1:16; cf.
⇒ Col 1:18
505
By his
virginal conception, Jesus, the New Adam, ushers in the new birth of children
adopted in the Holy Spirit through faith. "How can this be?" Lk 1:34; cf.
⇒ Jn 3:9[ETML:C/]
Participation in the divine life arises "not of blood nor of the will of
the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God".Jn 1:13 The acceptance
of this life is virginal because it is entirely the Spirit's gift to man. the
spousal character of the human vocation in relation to God Cf. ⇒ 2 Cor 11:2 is
fulfilled perfectly in Mary's virginal motherhood.
506
Mary
is a virgin because her virginity is the sign of her faith "unadulterated
by any doubt", and of her undivided gift of herself to God's
will.LG 63; cf. l Cor 7:34-35 It is her faith that enables her to become the mother of the
Saviour: "Mary is more blessed because she embraces faith in Christ than
because she conceives the flesh of Christ."St. Augustine,
De virg. 3: PL 40, 398
507
At
once virgin and mother, Mary is the symbol and the most perfect realization of
the Church: "the Church indeed. . . by receiving the word of God in faith
becomes herself a mother. By preaching and Baptism she brings forth sons, who
are conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of God, to a new and immortal life.
She herself is a virgin, who keeps in its entirety and purity the faith she
pledged to her spouse."LG 64; cf. 63
IN BRIEF
508 From among the
descendants of Eve, God chose the Virgin Mary to be the mother of his Son.
"Full of grace", Mary is "the most excellent fruit of
redemption" (SC 103): from the first instant of her conception, she was
totally preserved from the stain of original sin and she remained pure from all
personal sin throughout her life.
509 Mary is truly
"Mother of God" since she is the mother of the eternal Son of God
made man, who is God himself.
510 Mary "remained a
virgin in conceiving her Son, a virgin in giving birth to him, a virgin in
carrying him, a virgin in nursing him at her breast, always a virgin" (St.
Augustine, Serm. 186, 1: PL 38, 999): with her whole being she is "the
handmaid of the Lord" (⇒ Lk 1:38).
511 The Virgin Mary
"co-operated through free faith and obedience in human salvation" (LG
56). She uttered her yes "in the name of all human nature" (St.
Thomas Aquinas, S Th III, 30, 1). By her obedience she became the new Eve,
mother of the living.
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