A comment on the Old Testament prophecy “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and you shall call His name Immanuel” (Is 7:14)
“Let us read, then, the Scripture: “Ask for a sign from the Lord your God, in the depths or in the heights” (Is 7:11). Now then, a sign has to be something extraordinary. For the water from the rock was a sign, and the parting of the sea, and the turning back of the sun, and things of that sort. But what I am about to say has greater argumentative force against the Jews: . . the prophecy happened within the sixteen years [of Ahaz’s reign], Hezekiah was born at least nine years earlier. What need was there to make a prophecy about someone who had alrendy been born before his father became king? Indeed, he does not say: “she conceived”, but: “the virgin shall conceive”, in the style of a prediction.”
Cyril of Jerusalem, Catecheses 12, 22; PG 33, 753 B-C.
If you are interested in more quotes on Virgin Mary, you can find them in Mary and the Fathers of the Church on Amazon in both in Kindle and paperback formats.
References:
Gambero, L., 1999. Mary and the Fathers of the Church 1st ed. Translated by Buffer, T., San Francisco: Ignatius Press. p. 135-136
