諸先知之后（路2:16-21）
今天我們慶祝天主之母節。雖然聖母身為受造物，但在天主奧妙的安排之下，童貞瑪利亞竟然成為了造物主的母親！這是一端非常重要的「當信道理」，因為它捍衛著天主子耶穌基督，不可分割的天主性與人性。倘若聖母瑪利亞祇是天主子人性部份的母親，那麼，天主子的犧牲祇是祂人性部份的死。這人性部份的死，又怎能消除古往今來，億億萬萬人類的罪債呢？有興趣研究神學的讀者，自己再發掘下去罷！
首先，先知向人類宣佈天主的話，而聖母把天主聖言，誕生到世上來。而且，在耶穌基督行第一個神蹟時，聖母對僕役，即所有世人說：「他無論吩咐你們甚麼，你們就作甚麼。」（若2:5）所以先知的稱號，聖母當之無愧。她更是先知中的皇后！
其次，不少先知的預言，指出救世主由童貞女所生。例如：「看，有位貞女要懷孕生子，給他起名叫厄瑪奴耳」（依7:14）；「因為上主在地上正在創造一件新事：女人包圍男人」（耶31:22）「任何人不得由此門而入，因為有上主以色列的天主已由此門而入，為此常應關閉」（則44:2）；「一塊石頭，未經手鑿」（達2:34）等等，指出救世主由童貞女所生。這樣便保證了救世主並非來自人間，從而保證了祂的天主性！當然，在舊約時代，啟示尚未完滿，不能苛求先知們能說出，造物主願意由受造物所生的真理。先知們能夠指示出聖母瑪利亞是卒世童貞的，已經是可貴的成就了！
天主啊！讓我們效法聖母，把祢那「眼所未見，耳所未聞，心所未想」（格前2:9）的恩寵，默存在心中，反覆思想，體會這恩寵是何等甘飴。亞孟。
圖片鳴謝：https://www.salvemariaregina.info/SalveMariaRegina/SMR-176/QueenProphets.htm
"Prophet Series#3"
Queen of the Prophets (Luke 2:16-21)
Today, we celebrate the "Solemnity of the Mother of God". Although the BVM is only a creature, under God's ineffable arrangement, she became the Mother of the Creator! This is an extremely important dogma because it defends the inseparable union of the divinity and humanity of the Son of God. Had the BVM been the mother of only the humanity of the Son of God, then the sacrifice of the Son of God would only have been the death of His humanity. How could the death of this humanity be able to repay the debts of zillions of human beings throughout the ages? Interested readers continue to explore please!
The BVM is honoured with another title which may help us understand more the intricacy of the "Mother of God" dogma. The title, "Queen of the Prophets" is found in the Litany of the BVM. This title points out that the BVM is a great prophet herself. She deserves to be called the Queen of the Prophets. On the other hand, all the Messianic prophecies pronounced by the prophets mention without exception the special role of the BVM!
Firstly, prophets bring God's word to men. The BVM gave birth to the Word of God to all men. Moreover, during Jesus' first miracle, the BVM told the servers, i.e. all humanity, "Do whatever he tells you." (John 2:5) Therefore, the BVM deserves to be called a prophet. She deserves even to be called the "Queen of the Prophets"!
Secondly, many prophecies foretell that the Saviour shall be born of a virgin. For example, "A young woman, pregnant and about to bear a son, shall name him Emmanuel" (Isaiah 7:14); "The Lord has created a new thing upon the earth: woman encompasses man" (Jeremiah 31:22); "No one should come through this gate. Because the Lord, the God of Israel, came through it, it must remain closed" (Ezekiel 44:2) and "A stone was hewn from a mountain without a hand being put to it" (Daniel 2:34) etc. They point out that the Saviour would be born of a virgin. They guarantee that the Saviour does not come from the created world, thus guarantee the divinity of the Son of God! Of course, revelation is incomplete in the Old Testament. It is not right to demand Old Testament prophets to announce the mystery that the Creator is willing to be born of a creature. Their achievements are already superb when they were able to point out the perpetual virginity of the BVM!
Dear God! Let us imitate the BVM, keep reflecting in our hearts all those graces, those "eye has not seen, and ear has not heard and what has not entered the human heart" (1 Corinthians 2:9)which You have prepared for us. Savour how sweet these graces are. Amen.
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