Did any Catholic theologians think that the prophecy of Is. 7:14 ("Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel.") inspired the Blessed Virgin to take a vow of virginity?
Add a comment
|
1 Answer
St. Elisabeth of Schönau, O.S.B. (1129-1164) received this ecclesiastically-approved private revelation, quoted in The Life of Mary as Seen by the Mystics ch. 5 "In the Temple":
Once when I [Mary] was thinking that I never wanted to be deprived of God’s grace, I arose and went to read in the Scriptures, desiring something to console my soul. When I opened the book, the first thing I saw was this passage of Isaias [7:14]: “Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son.” As I understood from this that the Son of God was going to choose a virgin to be His Mother, I immediately resolved in my heart, out of reverence for that virgin, to remain a virgin myself and to offer myself to her as a handmaid and always to serve her and never to leave her, even if I had to travel all over the world with her.
-
Possible, because the very first passage Jesus read on the synagogue also pointed to Him.. -Isaiah61 Dec 17, 2021 at 21:03
-
-
So, if Mary ponders that She might be the Virgin prophesied by Isaiah, don't you think, Mary after reading this passages, along the way are getting inspiration from the Holy Spirit, that She was the Virgin referred by Isaiah? And it's called the "fullness of time", when God heard that Mary pleaded with a desire to offer Her virginity for God to send the Messiah. And God, seeing Mary the Virgin expressing Her consent to the prophecy, immediately send St.Gabriel to cloth Her with royal robe as Queen and a Virgin Priest. What do you think? Dec 18, 2021 at 0:57
-
@jongricafort According to what I quoted, she didn't think "She might be the Virgin prophesied by Isaiah", but "a handmaid" to "the Virgin prophesied by Isaiah".– GeremiaDec 18, 2021 at 1:28
-
That's correct, and God works His way thru the Holy Spirit inspiring Her to accept the role, and to give up Her vow of virginity, because for over 4000 years, the Jews are waiting for the Messiah to come. But God respect, man's freewilll, and so, God waited for Mary to offer Herself to be the Mother, and when She expresses Her readiness, that was the sign, and God immediately send St.Gabriel, its called the "fullness of time", because the chosen Woman had conceived in Her heart, and is now ready, and St.Augustine saw Mary was pregnant with the desire to be the Mother of the Messiah.. Dec 18, 2021 at 2:29