Overcoming Jealousy in Feminine Friendships
King Solomon and Our Lady: Parallel Stories
I appreciate the symmetry of parallels: the ones found in nature or man-made…from the parallel stripes on a tiger to the parallel stripes of a spiral staircase. In my life and my best friends’ lives, many times, we go through parallel situations. One might be wrestling through one situation, while I am going through something similar. In the gospel, Mary and Elizabeth go through parallel situations as they both find themselves pregnant with little boys that would have drastic changes on the world.
Today, I would like to draw your attention to one such parallel found between the Old and the New Testament. I stumbled upon it accidentally as I was reading the book of Kings for my morning prayer. Allow me to rewind and take you back to the days of King Solomon for a moment to the scene where he has just completed the construction of the temple in Jerusalem. Then, I will bring the reader to the scene of the Annunciation.
In the Old Testament, King Solomon offers a prayer to the Lord after constructing the first temple in Jerusalem. In awe of the majesty and mystery of God, he says, “Can it indeed be that God dwells among men on earth?” (1 Kings 8:27). Moments before, “the cloud filled the temple of the Lord,” and the cloud was “the Lord’s glory.” The Lord came to dwell among his people in the form of a cloud over the Ark of the Covenant so that he could be with them. As we contemplate the humility of the all-powerful God as he comes to dwell among men, we cannot help but be reminded of another time where God lowered himself to dwell among men.
Fast forward to a little town of Nazareth, when the angel Gabriel tells Mary: ‘And the angel said to her in reply, “The holy Spirit will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the son of God” (Luke 1:35 New American Bible). Just as the Lord’s presence filled the Ark of the Covenant in the temple, thus revealing his glory and making it holy, Mary’s virginal body became a temple of the Holy Spirit as she was “overshadowed” by him. This concept of parallelism between the Ark of the Covenant and Our Lady being “overshadowed” was taught to me in a podcast I listened to by Fr. Mike Schmitz.
When Christians of the past ages prayed the words of the Angelus: “And the word became flesh, and made his dwelling among us,” they were echoing the prayer of King Solomon. This is why we, like Solomon, can pray: “Can it indeed by that God dwells among men on earth? (1 Kings 8:27).”
Parallels, I love them--not just in nature or in man-made things, but in the Old and New Testaments as well.
References
Schmitz, Mike. UMD Newman Catholic Ministry (Producer). 2015, December 6). The Promise: The Mother of the Promise. Retrieved from http://itunes.apple.com 12/7/15
Rissian, L. C. (Producer). (2012, May 4). Twelve parsecs [Audio podcast].
Retrieved from http://itunes.apple.com 12/6/15 The Promise: Mother of the Promise UMD Newman Catholic Campus Ministry
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About the Author
Andree graduated with her master’s in Marriage and Family Counseling from Our Lady of Holy Cross College. At Holy Cross, she was the secretary of the Association of Graduate Students in Counseling and a member of Chi Sigma Iota, an International Honor Society forcounselors, counselor educators, and students. She joined the team at Crescent City Counseling until April of 2016. She completed her internship at Catholic Counseling Service, a ministry of the Archdiocese of New Orleans. Her undergraduate degree is from the University of Dallas, with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies: English Language Arts 6-8th.
