Monday, March 18 : Saint Basil

Typology points out what is to be expected, indicating through imitation what is to happen before it happens. Adam was a type of Him who was to come (Rom 5:14); “the Rock was Christ” (1 Cor 10:4) typologically, and the water from the rock was a type of the living power of the Word, for He says, “If anyone thirst, let him come to Me and drink.” (Jn 7:37) The manna was a type of the living bread which came down from heaven (Jn 6:41), and the serpent suspended on the pole was a type of the saving passion accomplished on the cross (Nb 21:8f.), since the life of every one who looked at the serpent was preserved. Similarly, the history of Israel’s exodus was recorded to typify those who would be saved through baptism. The firstborn of the Israelites were saved (…) through grace given to those who were marked with blood. The blood of the lamb is a type of the blood of Christ (…) At the time of the exodus, the sea and the cloud led the people from amazement to faith, but they also typified the grace which was yet to come. “Whoever is wise, let him understand these things”: how the baptism in the sea, which brought about Pharaoh’s demise typifies the washing which makes the devil’s tyranny depart. The sea killed the enemy in its waves, and baptism kills the enmity between us and God. The people emerged from the sea unharmed, and we come up from the water as alive from the dead, saved by the grace of Him Who has called us. The cloud is a shadow of the Spirit’s gifts, for He cools the flames of our passions through the mortification of our bodies.
Roman Extraordinary (Tridentine) Daily Readings – rosary,team