The Sacred Scriptures were written by God Himself, through the pens of various authors. In this sense, the Bible bears a certain analogy to the hypostatic union, for, as the latter unites human and divine natures, the pages of the former involve the participation of both.
Now, even united to humanity, Christ possesses only divine personality. Therefore, an infinite distance separates Him from creation, made up of countless degrees of perfection.
This gradation also applies to Revelation, whose apex is the Word of God Himself. Given its infinite greatness, it was fitting that at the summit of the “book of creatures” there should be a bridge connecting the Divine Majesty to the rest of humanity. And the name of this blessed bridge is Mary.
Even before the Incarnation of the Word, the Angel announced that the Lord had already united Himself to her. Full of grace, She began to meditate, as a perfect exegete, on the words of God contained in the angelic announcement. Finally, the Paraclete overshadowed her, so that She might conceive the Father’s only Son (cf. Lk 1:28-38). In her, the Word not only revealed Himself, but also became flesh and dwelt among us (cf. Jn 1:14).
Our Lady is also a model for the interpretation of Scripture, owing to her humility – “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord” (Lk 1:38) – for “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (Jas 4:6). By her fiat, a new creation was made. Formerly, God had revealed Himself through the prophets; “but in these last days He has spoken to us by a Son” (Heb 1:2), born of Mary.
In her visitation to Elizabeth, the Blessed Virgin faithfully follows the Thomistic motto: more perfect than to simply contemplate is to transmit to others what one has contemplated (cf. Summa Theologiæ, II-II, q.188, a.6). She became a herald of the Word to her cousin, by whom She was acclaimed with the highest of praise: “Blessed are You among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb” (Lk 1:42).
At the wedding feast at Cana, the Mother of Good Counsel again manifests herself as the one who discerns God’s plans: “Do whatever He tells you” (Jn 2:5). Her lectio divina was essentially mystical: “Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart” (Lk 2:19).
As a distinguished exegete, She read the mystery of the Cross standing at the foot of it (cf. Jn 19:25), demonstrating her total fidelity to the Word. Finally, at Pentecost, She drew the Holy Spirit like a magnet, so that He would reveal Himself, as always, in medio Ecclesiæ – in the heart of the Church.
In short, as a masterpiece of creation, Our Lady is the aqueduct through which flows the source of living water of God’s Revelation. In her, it bears repeating, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
