On Sat, 16 Aug 1997, John B. Wickstrom wrote:
> I recently read the following rather strange conceit in a sermon by Peter
> Canisius on the Assumption:
>
> "O happy day, which granted the long and ardent desire of the Bride
> (reference: Mary Assumed), faint with love, to find Him whom she had
> sought, to receive Him whom she had asked for, to possess securely what she
> had hoped for, resting competely in the perfect vision and enjoyement of
> that eternal good."
>
> Here we have the language of the Song of Songs applied to Mary, which
> suggests of course an incestuous relationship with Christ, the
> Son/Bridegroom. I've this sort of thing on occasion before, though I can't
> say where at the moment. But I was wondering if anyone writing in this vein
> ever mentions the problems that arise in applying the sensual language of
> the Song of Songs, not to the soul or the church, but to Mary.
> John B. Wickstrom
> Kalamazoo College
> [log in to unmask]
>
I have been out of my office for several days and am only now reading this
message. I don't see what precisely is _sensual_ in the above quotation.
Ardent desire, faint with love, possess the perfect vision and enjoyment
of eternal good all could be read in an entirely "Platonic" manner. I
don't see explicit allusions to the Song of Songs either. Am I missing
something?
Others have commented on the question of Mary and the Church--let me
simply add that in one sense Mary _is_ the Church in germ: she is the
first believer, by uttering "fiat." She is Christ's Bride even as each
Christian is Christ's Bride, whether male or female physically. She is
also his mother and his daughter--as Ephrem of Syria and others never tire
of pointing out.
Unless the passages has some explicitly _sensual_ language, I don't see
why the word _incest_ should even be considered in this case. Applying
that word when no clear sensual langugage is found in the original reveals
more about our hangups than anything else.
Dennis Martin
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