Thursday, July 24
Continuing Dan's posts in his absence...
Mary in the Redemption by Adrienne von Speyr:
Mary from the Perspective of a Twentieth-Century Mystic -- Part II
Mary in the Redemption begins with a short discussion of Mary’s role as “handmaid of the Lord,” but then moves on to discuss the classic theological concept of the pre-redemption – that is, Mary’s having been redeemed by Christ’s suffering before its chronological occurrence. Speaking “in ecstasy,” von Speyr states that, “Mary is from the beginning a gift made by the Father and the Holy Spirit to the Son, almost as if the Mother, in her instrumentality, signified a form of pre-gift or deposit.” In effect, this “gift of Mary” functions as assurance to the Son of the “suitableness of the path upon which he has struck” (17). Thus, from the beginning, Mary’s existence is prepared by God for the accomplishment of the Incarnation. This gift within the Trinity thus becomes the model for all other gifts. Though von Speyr does not mention it herself, the obvious implication of this idea is that this gift is reciprocated by Christ in the great eschatological dowry coming from his marriage to the Church, of which Mary is the type and “mirror,” to use the image of Raniero Cantalamessa (in his book Mary:Mirror of the Church).
Mary in the Redemption by Adrienne von Speyr:
Mary from the Perspective of a Twentieth-Century Mystic -- Part II
Mary in the Redemption begins with a short discussion of Mary’s role as “handmaid of the Lord,” but then moves on to discuss the classic theological concept of the pre-redemption – that is, Mary’s having been redeemed by Christ’s suffering before its chronological occurrence. Speaking “in ecstasy,” von Speyr states that, “Mary is from the beginning a gift made by the Father and the Holy Spirit to the Son, almost as if the Mother, in her instrumentality, signified a form of pre-gift or deposit.” In effect, this “gift of Mary” functions as assurance to the Son of the “suitableness of the path upon which he has struck” (17). Thus, from the beginning, Mary’s existence is prepared by God for the accomplishment of the Incarnation. This gift within the Trinity thus becomes the model for all other gifts. Though von Speyr does not mention it herself, the obvious implication of this idea is that this gift is reciprocated by Christ in the great eschatological dowry coming from his marriage to the Church, of which Mary is the type and “mirror,” to use the image of Raniero Cantalamessa (in his book Mary:Mirror of the Church).
![[SMMMHDH]](http://www.mgilleland.com/music/smmmhdh.png){kind=small}
