"Mary gave birth without having relations with a man. As in the beginning, Eve was born from Adam without a carnal relationship, so it happened for Joseph and Mary, his wife. Eve brought to the world the murdering Cain; Mary brought forth the life-giver. One brought into the world him who spilled the blood of... Continue Reading →
"Behold the world! To it were given two eyes;Eve was the left eye, the blind eye; the right eye, the luminous eye, is Mary. Because of the eye that grew dark, the whole world became dark.Then men, groping in the shadows,will consider every stone on which they stumble to be a god.They have called lies... Continue Reading →
"The Church gave us the living Bread, in place of the unleavened bread that Egypt had givenMary gave us the refreshing bread,in place of the fatiguing bread that Eve had procured for us." Ephrem the Syrian: Hymns for the Unleavend Bread 6, 6-7; CSCO 249, 11. It is amazing how the church feeds on the... Continue Reading →
"He walked upon the sea (cf. Mt 14:25-31); he appeared in the cloud (cf. Mt 17:5); he liberated his Church from the circumcision; he replaced Joshua, son of Nun, with the virgin John, and to him, he entrusted Mary (cf. Jn 19:25-27), his Church, as Moses consigned his flock to Joshua (cf. Dt 31:7-8)." Ephrem... Continue Reading →
"The womb and Sheol shouted with joy and cried outabout Your resurrection. The womb that was sealedconceived You; Sheol that was secured,brought You forth. Against nature,the womb conceived, and Sheol yielded.Sealed was the grave which they entrusted with keeping the dead man. Virginal was the womb that no man knew. The virginal womband the sealed... Continue Reading →
"Just as their very bodies have sinned and died, and as the earth, their mother is cursed (cf. Gen 3:17-19), so because of this body which is the incorruptible church, his earth is blessed from the beginning. This earth is Mary's body, the temple in which a seed has been deposited. Observe the angel who... Continue Reading →
"His death on the Cross attests to his birth from the woman. For anyone who dies must have been born as well... Therefore, the human conception of Jesus is demonstrated by his death on the Cross. If anyone denies his birth, the Cross proves him wrong." Ephrem the Syrian: Hymns on Nativity 4, 177; CSCO... Continue Reading →
"Only you [Jesus] and your Motherare more beautiful than everything. For on you, O Lord, there is no mark;neither is there any stain in your Mother." Ephrem the Syrian, Carmina Nisibena 27, 8; CSCO 219, 76. "The eye becomes pure when it is united with the Light of the sun,and receives strength from its vigourand... Continue Reading →
Virgin Mary 