THE TRUE UNDERSTANDING OF MARY THE MOTHER OF JESUS

Mary Assumed into Heaven

Ross Earl Hoffman sent a message to the members of The Lion's Training Ground: Catholic Apologetics.

Ross Earl HoffmanMay 29, 2010 at 11:51am

Subject: Roman Catholic Apologetic's!!!!

Wow, our Separated brother George got a taste, of what He is up against, coming into our Turf, at Roman Catholic Apologetic's, and trying to tell us, what is TRUTH!!!, I absolutly love, this Warrior sister, Margie, (we have become close, because we have been fighting, side by side, for months, now...almost a year),...as she responded, with MIGHT...to George, as he, belittles, OUR LADY....he is ignorant, its really amazing, to see, and be part of a growing, group...of hard core Catholics, that are going to town, defending Holy Mother Church....here is the post, that won my heart tonight, and I immediatly, copied it, and stashed it! As we build this army, please keep in mind...having, an armory, with posts like this stashed in it, is a must...

.Margie Prox Sindelar commented on Roman Catholic Apologetics's wall post:

"A true understanding of Mary and her role in salvation can come only from a full understanding of Scripture and the portrayal of Mary in Scripture. This full understanding comes from careful study of the two covenants between God and His people, the Old and the New. Mary is the bridge between the Old and the New Covenants. The two covenants are basic to the divine plan of salvation and Mary's role in salvation history becomes apparent when we see that she is the living embodiment of fundamental themes in the Old and the New Testaments: as the Daughter of Zion, the Ark of the Covenant, the new Eve working with the new Adam. Once you come to understand the scriptural Mary the entire understanding of the meaning of Scripture will be transformed!! . In fact the various Marian doctrines and devotions only dimly convey the full majesty of Mary as she is portrayed in Scripture. Continued reflection on Scripture is ESSENTIAL for a better understanding of the Mary that the first Christians, the Fathers of the Church and even the Protestant Reformers saw in Scripture.!!! Scripture must be seen as a WHOLE. The Holy Spirit who inspired it means it to be seen in ENTIRETY. Then the 'Woman' in Genesis will be answered by the Woman in the Book of Revelation , the Fall will go to the Annunciation, Adam with Christ, Eve with Mary. This is the way the earliest fathers saw Scripture and if we look through their eyes we will not be tempted to think that the Bible has little to say about Mary's place in the work of her divine Son, the one redeemer. And this is not only with Mary, but everything is prefigured and "worked out" from the OT to the NT...we cant read Scripture with tunnel vision! God's plan for the world works TOWARD accomplishment according to the slow cadence of human duration, slowed down by sin. God does not bring perfection to be all at once, but gradually. At each stage of the plan of salvation....Israel, the Church, heaven, one can discern the sketch and prefiguration of the PERFECT forms that will be reached AT THE END. Mary was prefigured not only by realities corresponding to her in nature or function, but also by words that announced her in advance.....Thus, we discover the "roots" of Mary in the "daughter of Zion" (Mic 4:8), in "the poor of Yahweh" (Ps 9), in "the strong woman" (Sir 26:2) who works for the regeneration and salvation of the people.

We find her prefigured by Sarah, Rebecca, and Rachel, by Miriam, the sister of Moses, by Deborah, Abigail and Ruth, by Judith and by Esther. We can read of the virtues and sanctity of Mary in the various and richly allusive biblical symbols, such as the burning bush, the fleece of Gideon, the holy ark, the rainbow, Jacob's ladder, and in many others

...SO, we see Mary of the New Testament, already sketched out in the Old Testament! In addition to prophecies, many of the individuals and events in the Old Testament pre-figure New Testament individuals and events. Just as the Israelites spent 40 years in the wilderness, for instance, Jesus spent 40 days in the desert. The twelve tribes of Israel pre-figure the coming of the 12 Apostles. Because Jesus exercised His Messianic Office as Priest, Prophet and King, all the priests, prophets and kings of Israel in some sense pre-figured Him. Similarly, many of the heroines of the Old Testament pre-figured Mary and at times the parallels are startling.

A table of comparisons is given below:

Sarah

"Free" wife of Abraham unlike Hagar the slave wife. Although sterile she bears Isaac in her old age through a miracle of God. Isaac is the father of a great nation [Genesis 11].

MARY

Mary is the "free" wife who is free of any subjection to sin—"whoever commits sin is the slave of sin" [John 8:34]. She is a voluntary virgin who nevertheless conceives and bears her Son through a miracle. Her Son Jesus is the Head of the Mystical Body, the "firstborn among many brethren." [Romans 8:29].

Rebecca

Wife of Isaac who played a key role in the history of salvation. Abraham asked his servant Eliezer to request Rebecca to be the wife of Isaac. Her brothers tell Rebecca: "May you increase to thousands of thousands and may your seed possess the gates of their enemies." [Genesis 24:60]. Rebecca dresses Jacob in the clothes of his older brother Esau to secure the blessing of Isaac.

MARY

God the Father asks the angel Gabriel to request Mary to be the Mother of God the Son. Mary's seed are the multitudes "which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." Mary clothes Jesus in human flesh and offers Him to the Father to secure His blessing on the human race.

Rachael

Jacob is entranced by Rachel's beauty. Rachel is the mother of Joseph who was sold for 20 pieces of silver. Joseph comes to power in Egypt and is the savior of his family.

MARY

Mary has "found favor with God". Her Son Jesus is sold for thirty pieces of silver. By His death He becomes the savior of the human race.

Miriam

Miriam the sister of Moses, the liberator of the People of God, and the sister of Aaron, the first priest of the Old Covenant.

Miriam is present with Moses and Aaron at the "Tent of Meeting" in which the Lord descended and spoke to them.

MARY

Just as Miriam was associated with the lawgiver of the People of God, Mary is associated with the Supreme Lawgiver Who Moses pre-figured. Similarly Mary is associated with the High Priest of the New Covenant who again is pre-figured by Aaron.

Deborah

Deborah saves her people from the Canaanites by helping Barak victoriously lead a small army against the much larger army of Sisera. Deborah is a prophetess and renowned for her mercy. Judges 5 is a song of praise from Deborah to the Almighty thanking Him for the victory over Sisera.

MARY

Mary assists Christ in His redemptive mission—a mission He performs against all odds. Mary is the Queen of Prophets and Merciful Mother. Deborah's song is a foreshadowing of the Magnificat.

Ruth

Ruth, a Moabite, is the wife of Boaz and the mother of Obed the grandfather of David. She leaves her people behind and declares herself the servant of Boaz.

MARY

Mary will bear a Son in the line of David. She offers herself as a handmaiden of the Lord.

Abigail

Abigail means "exaltation of the Father." Because of her great virtue David marries her and makes her queen of the house of David. In I Samuel 25:41, she tells David, "Behold your servant Mary." Mary's exaltation of the Father is seen especially in the Magnificat. Because she has won favor with Him, God the Father makes her the Spouse of the Holy Spirit and the Mother of the Son. At the Annunciation, Luke 1:38, she says, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord."

Esther

Esther is chosen to be queen by King Ahasuerus for her beauty. All of Esther's people have been condemned to death through the schemes of an enemy. She alone is excepted from this condemnation. Esther manages to foil the schemes of the enemy and saves her people from death.

MARY

Alone of her race, Mary was not subject to Original Sin, the condemnation to spiritual death. She assists her Son in His mission of defeating the enemy and rescuing her people from the decree of damnation. She continues to intercede for her people as they continue in their journey from death. people as they continue in their journey from death."