http://harksarmiento.wordpress.com/I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. Revelation 21:2
It will be a shelter and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and rain.Is 4:6
Indeed, of Zion it will be said, "This one and that one were born in her, and the Most High himself will establish her." Ps 87 :5
Among all these I sought a resting place;
I sought in whose territory I might lodge.
“Then the Creator of all things gave me a commandment,
and the one who created me assigned a place for my tent.
And he said, ‘Make your dwelling in Jacob,
and in Israel receive your inheritance.’
From eternity, in the beginning, he created me,
and for eternity I shall not cease to exist.
In the holy tabernacle I ministered before him,
and so I was established in Zion.
In the beloved city likewise he gave me a resting place,
and in Jerusalem was my dominion.
So I took root in an honored people,
in the portion of the Lord, who is their inheritance.
Sirach 24 :7-12I am the mother of beautiful love, of fear, of knowledge, and of holy hope; being eternal, I therefore am given to all my children, to those who are named by him.
[Sirach 24 : 18 foot note]
"What a marvelous echo the prophetic words about the new Jerusalem find in her wonderful existence as the Virgin of Israel: "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall exult in my God; for he has clothed me with the garment of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels."[Isaiah 61:10] With Christ, she sums up in herself all joys; she lives the perfect joy promised to the Church: Mater plena sanctae laetitiae[Mother full of Holy Joy]. And it is with good reason that her children on earth, turning to her who is the mother of hope and of grace, invoke her as the cause of their joy: Causa nostrae laetitiae."-Pope Paul VI in GAUDETE IN DOMINO
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| According to Christian tradition, Mary fell asleep on Mount Zion before she was assumed into Heaven. Dormition Abby, errected on Mount Zion, houses a statue of Mary sleeping. |
The Second Vatican Council formally called Mary "Daughter of Zion" in the dogmatic constitution on the Church "Lumen Gentium" (No. 52). There is a rich Scriptural foundation for this. Mary illustrates the prophecies of the Old Testament that ascribed value to the eschatological role of woman as mother both of the Messiah and of the new people of God.The title Daughter of Zion evokes the great biblical symbolism of the Messianic Zion. Both at Cana and at Calvary (in John's Gospel), Mary represents not only her maternity and physical relationship with her son, but also her highly symbolic role of Woman and Mother of God's people. At Calvary, more than any other place in the fourth Gospel, Mary is "Mother Zion": her spiritual maternity begins at the foot of the cross.
As "Mother Zion," she not only welcomes and represents Israel, but the Church, the People of God of the New Covenant. At the foot of the cross, Mary is the mother of the new messianic people, of all of those who are one in Christ. http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/shout-for-joy-o-daughter-zionDaughter of Zion is the personification of the city of Jerusalem. Zion was the name of the Jebusite citadel that later became the City of David. In the many texts of the Old Testament that speak of the Daughter of Zion, there is no real distinction to be made between a daughter of Zion and the city of Jerusalem itself.In the Old Testament, the title Virgin of Israel is the same as the Daughter of Zion. The image of the bride of the Lord is found in Hosea, Chapters 1-3: It reflects the infidelity of the people to their God.Jeremiah 3:3-4 speaks of prostitution and the infidelity of the bride. Virginity in the Old Testament is fidelity to the Covenant. In 2 Corinthians 11:2, Paul speaks of the Church as a pure virgin. Here, virginity is the purity of faith.Throughout the Old Testament, it is in Zion-Jerusalem that God shall gather together all of his people. In Isaiah 35:10, the tribes of Israel shall gather in Zion. In Ezekiel 22:17-22, the prophet describes God’s purification of his people that shall take place “within” the walls of the city, in the midst of Jerusalem.
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Virgo Fidelis,Virgin Most Faithful http://campus.udayton.edu/mary/prayers/virgofidelis.html
Mary, offering the Son resting on her lap to the world, is depicted inside a heart-shaped medallion which bears the inscription, "Her heart is faithful" (2 Esdras 9), and, "Faithful woman" (1 Corinthians 7). The real reason for Mary's title is illustrated in the image below which features the crucifixion. Mary is indeed the "faithful woman." She is standing at the foot of the cross, her heart pierced with a sword. The scenes right and left of the crucifixion seem to be of allegorical meaning. The scene to the left may well allude to Ariadne and Theseus, the woman's thread leading the man safely through the labyrinth of Knossos. Faithfulness warrants safety and right direction in life. On the other side, the figure lowered from the window on a rope reminds of David. Michal, David's wife and Saul's daughter, let "David down through a window, and he made his escape in safety" (1 Samuel, 20:12). Michal is the loving and faithful wife standing by her husband, protecting him from her father's wrath. The following lemma is an invitation to unwavering fidelity:
"Be faithful unto death" (Revelation 2).
John Paul II on the virtues of Faith and Hope as seen in Mary, Mother of God.
On the virtue of Faith, the pontiff highlights three separate dimensions, referring to them as “the faith of Mary,” her “availability to receive the God’s Word and to fulfill it,” and that she is “a model of faith for all for the pastors of the Church.”
The faith of Mary is the “legacy of the faith of Israel, which in Mary has been ‘exceeded,’” he wrote, observing that in listening only to God’s word, “she conceived the Word – the Son, first spiritually, then physically.”
Her availability goes hand in hand “with being ‘poor in spirit’” noted the Blessed, adding that in her “persistent faith” she “never wavered,” and that she is truly a “Virgo fortis,” or “Brave Virgin.”
Looking to the virtue of Hope, Bl. John Paul II spoke of how St. Paul is a strong model, but that he was still a citizen of Rome, and because Mary had “no human connections, no human points of reference,” her hope “is more wonderful.”
“At the cross and especially later: with her hope she was holding the initial Church. And Her hope is deposited in the holy Church.”
Questioning to what extend we actively participate in Mary’s hope, the Blessed asked in his letter “Do we base ourselves fundamentally and exclusively on the grace of God? How do people feel after meeting us?”
Drawing attention to Mary’s optimism, he prayed “’Give me, Mother, your hope, ply my heart to permeate with Your hope.’”
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