👉🏾👉🏾👉🏾About #Zemene #Tsige (#Mahlete #Tsige)
(Part 7)
Beloved brethren in Christ, peace and grace be multiplied unto you.
Today we reflect upon the mystery of Zemene Tsige, the Season of the Flower a time that reveals to us the hidden beauty of the Virgin, the Mother of God, and the fulfillment of divine prophecy.
1. “A Locked Garden” and “A Sealed Fountain”
King Solomon says in the Song of Songs:
👉🏾“My Beloved , my bride, is a locked garden, a sealed spring.” (Song of Songs 4:12)
👉🏾In this, the prophet speaks of Our Lady, the Virgin Mary, using the imagery of a garden and a fountain. Why does he call her “locked” and “sealed”?
A Locked Garden
✍🏾There is a garden within, but no one can enter it; it is locked. Since our Lady is enclosed in purity and virginity, only our God and Savior, Jesus Christ, was born from her.
✍🏾 A garden cannot bear fruit without seeds being sown or plants being tended. Yet this garden is locked, inaccessible to all, and still it bears fruit. Our Lady, remaining ever-virgin and pure, carried within her the Son of God and gave birth to Christ.
The Sealed Fountain
✍🏾The spring is sealed, yet it contains water. Likewise, our Lady, preserving her virginity and purity, gave birth to Christ through motherhood.
The Prophet Ezekiel spoke of this mystery:
👉🏾“Then He brought me to the outer gate of the sanctuary which faces east, and it was shut. And the Lord said to me, ‘This gate shall remain shut; it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter by it, for the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered by it; therefore it shall remain shut.’” (Ezekiel 44:1–3)
✍🏾The meaning of this vision is clear: the “Gate of the East” is the Virgin Mary. The Lord, the God of Israel Christ the Son.entered through her and was born as a perfect man.
✍🏾This vision should not be taken as referring to a literal temple. For what purpose would a temple be built, only to be closed forever? As it is written:
👉🏾“Let them build Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.” (Exodus 25:8)
👉🏾Ezekiel’s temple represents the Virgin, through whom God chose to dwell among His people. Later, in Ezekiel 46:12, the prophet adds:
👉🏾“When the prince enters, the gate facing east shall be opened for him.”
✍🏾Solomon and Ezekiel both spoke prophetically of her. Their words were fulfilled in Mary, the Mother of God (Theotokos).
2. The Prophecy and the Sign
God Himself gave a sign concerning her:
👉🏾“The Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14)
✍🏾This was the divine mark of forgiveness and the fulfillment of the covenant promise.
When the angel announced the birth of Christ to the shepherds, he said:
👉🏾“This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:12)
When the wise men arrived, Scripture says:
👉🏾“They saw the child with His mother Mary.” (Matthew 2:11)
✍🏾In all these signs, the pattern is clear: the true Christ is found with His Mother. The Virgin’s role is inseparable from the mystery of salvation and the revelation of the true faith.
3. Mary in the Fulfillment of Prophecy
✍🏾Our Lady was not only the Mother of Christ she remained united with Him in every trial: during His ministry, His suffering, His crucifixion, and even at Pentecost, when He sent the Holy Spirit upon the apostles.
✍🏾Therefore, as the prophets praised her under many names, we too honor her for the mystery revealed through her. Her praise is constant, and it brings spiritual benefit to those who honor her in truth.
Continues 👇🏾