I received a second thwack upside my head this morning when I read today's entry in the Magnificat Lenten Companion. (BTW, if you don't know about Magnificat, definitely check it out.
Monsignor Lorenzo Albacete goes in depth with the typology of Christ as the new Adam. In each garden, we have a "tree," a man, a woman, and a decision. Perhaps the tree represents that very decision. (Heh, just like a business diagram, no?) In each scene, a human decision takes place.
What I had completely missed was that this is such an excellent support for Catholic devotion to the Blessed Mother. Here at the foot of the cross, Christ (the seed of the woman) defeats the serpent (as Msgr. Albacete notes). At this very moment, Jesus says to the Blessed Mother, "Woman, behold your son" and to John, "Behold, your mother." That much, we often use to support our devotion. But Jesus lets us flesh out the rest of that connection. We are Mary's children, by extension, her seed. She has victory over the serpent, and we bruise the head of that serpent when we submit to God's will as well. Every decision for Christ is another crushing defeat for Satan, another reminder of God's weakness overcoming Satan's "strength."
2 comments:
I adore Albacete. He has a way of making thing clear. Last I saw him was a Lenten retreat for Communion and Liberation at Notre Dame and it really set the tone for all of advent for me.
If you've never seen him in person and you have an opportunity to do, I highly encourage it. He looks like he came straight from central casting in a James Bond movie. He would be perfect as a villain; every time I see him I think he needs a fluffy white cat on his lap.
I really enjoy your site by the way, thanks for all the great work.
Thanks for the kind comment. I would love to be somewhere where we could see more priests like Albacete.
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