Come, Let Me Show You the Bride |
| “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” And in the Spirit he carried me away to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God,having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.... And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. (Rev 21:9-11; 22-23) |
I. The Bride in Scripture and Tradition
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| The Shiddukhin: The Marriage Arrangement | |||
| The Eyrusin: The Betrothal Ceremony | |||
| The Nissuin: The Marriage Ceremony | |||
The banner above shows detail from Sandro Botticelli's painting, The Madonna of the Magnificat. All that we can see from the banner is a beautiful woman, her head bowed in humility while a crown is being placed upon her head. The complete painting gives us more context to the scene Botticelli is depicting. We recognize the woman is Mary and her son, Jesus, is sitting on her lap. Two angels, one on the left, the other on her right are placing a crown upon Mary's head. Two more angels are holding a book while another is looking over them to see what Mary is writing in the book while the child Jesus is looking up lovingly at His mother, his hand resting on hers suggesting His participation. What is Mary writing? She is writing her praise to the God of Israel:“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden.For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.And his mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation. |
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He has shown strength with his arm, he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts, he has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted those of low degree; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away.
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