Monday, December 22 : Ludolph of Saxony

Our Lord’s conception was prefigured by the burning bush that burned but was not consumed (Ex 3,2) just as Mary conceived her divine son but did not lose her virginity. The same Lord who dwelt within the burning bush, dwelt also in Mary’s womb. And just as he came down into that bush to deliver the Jews by leading them out of Egypt, so he came down into Mary to redeem us by drawing us out of hell. God’s choice of Mary among all women to clothe himself in flesh was prefigured by Gideon’s fleece (Jg 6,36f.). For just as the fleece alone was covered with dew from heaven while all the ground round about remained dry, so too Mary alone was filled with that divine dew of which no other creature in all the world had been found worthy… The Virgin Mary is the fleece of which Jesus Christ fashioned a garment for himself. Gideon’s fleece received the dew from heaven without being damaged and Mary conceived the Man-God without alteration to her virginity… O Jesus, Son of the living God who, by the will of the heavenly Father and with the Holy Spirit’s cooperation, came forth from your Father’s side as the secret river from the Paradise of delights; you who, visiting the recesses of our valleys and seeing the humility of your servant, came down into the womb of the virgin where, by an ineffable conception, you put on your mortal flesh. I beseech you, O merciful Jesus, through the merits of this Virgin, your mother, to cover me, your unworthy servant, with your grace that I may burn with desire for you, may conceive you in my heart through this love, and by the aid of this same grace may produce the health giving fruits of good works. Amen.
Roman Catholic Ordinary Calendar – rosary,team