mariologydogmati00pohl - Carmel Apologetics
mariologydogmati00pohl - Carmel Apologetics
mariologydogmati00pohl - Carmel Apologetics
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DIGNITY OF DIVINE MOTHERHOOD 23<br />
touching heaven." 20 She is the ladder by which the Son<br />
of God descended from, and by which men ascend to<br />
heaven. 21 Other favorite Patristic metaphors are a<br />
ring (annulus) and a bridge (pons) restoring the lost<br />
connection of mankind with God. St. Proclus (+466)<br />
combined all these similes in an enthusiastic eulogy.<br />
" Mary, I say, maiden and mother, virgin and heaven,<br />
the singular bridge between God and men, the astonishing<br />
weaver's beam of humanity, on which in an ineffable<br />
manner was woven the garment of that [Hypostatic]<br />
Union, the Holy Ghost Himself being the weaver, the<br />
connecting thread the power from above, the wool that<br />
ancient fleece of Adam, the woof the immaculate flesh<br />
taken from the Virgin, the shuttle the immeasurable<br />
grace of the bearer, the artist the Logos, entering through<br />
her hearing." 22<br />
The objection that these prerogatives are not all ex-<br />
pressly enumerated in Holy Scripture is met partly by ref-<br />
erence to certain Old Testament texts and types, and partly<br />
by the statement that the dignity of the Blessed Virgin<br />
Mary is sufficiently indicated in the pregnant passage:<br />
" From her was born Jesus, who is called the Christ." 23<br />
20 Gen. XXVIII, 12 sq. Die Marienverehrung in den ersten<br />
21 Cfr. Zschokke, Die biblischen Jahrhunderten, 2nd ed., pp. 213 sqq.,<br />
Frauen, p. 448. Stuttgart 1886.<br />
22 Or at. de Laud. S. Mariae, 1. 23 ". . . ex qua natus est Iesus,<br />
(Migne, P. G., LXV, 679 sqq.) qui vocatur Christus." (Matth.<br />
For further details consult Lehner, I, 16).