Mary the Burning Bush Icon

BVM Icons ... 

THE BURNING BUSH

A SYMBOL OF THE THEOTOKOS

Moses was a great leader and lawgiver of Israel, who was born in Egypt. He spent forty years in Pharaoh’s court, forty years as a shepherd, and his last forty years leading the people through the wilderness to the Promised Land, which he saw but did not enter.

He reposed at a 120 years. He appeared with Elijah on Mt. Tabor at the Lord’s Transfiguration. His many accomplishments are recorded in his books: Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

On the Mount of Horeb (Ex. 3), God appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. Moses saw that the bush burned without being consumed, as a type of the Virgin.

St. Gregory of Nyssa, says: “From the image of the burning bush seen by Moses, we learn the Mystery of the Virgin: the Light of Divinity, which through birth shone from her into human life, did not wither the flower of her virginity, just as the burning bush was not consumed.”

In this icon, Moses beholds the bush in awe, while his sandals lay beside him according to God’s command since the ground whereupon he is standing is Holy. In the burning bush we see an image of the Theotokos, for which the bush represents.

http://themotherofgod.wordpress.com/the-burning-bush/

 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

A Reader's Guide to Orthodox Icons

Feeble words about powerful images

http://iconreader.wordpress.com/2010/12/20/discovering-the-unburnt-bush-icon/

Discovering the Unburnt Bush Icon

Posted on December 20, 2010by iconreader

Russian Icon of the Theotokos "Burning Bush" ("Неопалимая Купина")

The traditions and teaching of the Christian Church often appear to change and evolve over time. Yet from within it can be seen that it is not that the teaching itself changes, but that each generation brings new ways to express their Faith, which itself is eternal and unchanging. A perfect example of this is the Icon of the Theotokos – “Unburning Bush”. Indeed, the Icon in its current form weaves together numerous ancient teachings of the Church – on the Mother of God, the Incarnation, Old Testament Prophecies and Angelology – into a single, stunning composition. Peeling the layers of this Icon are both rewarding and illuminating…

Moses and the Burning Bush
(Byzantine Mosaic)

Moses and the Burning Bush (Byzantine Mosaic)

The name of the Icon, “burning bush” (sometimes “unburnt bush”) derives from the miracle witnessed by Moses on Mount Horeb. As described in the book of Exodus, whilst Moses was tending his Father-in-law’s flock, he witnessed a bush burning with fire, yet unconsumed. Drawing nearer, God called out to Moses from amid the flames, telling him to removes his sandals“for the place where you stand is holy ground” (Exodus 3:1-6). Moses was then called by God to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.  

Burning bush in Panagia Podithou, Galatia, showing the Theotokos (early C16th)

The Church established by Jesus Christ has always looked back on this event and seen the Unburnt Bush on Horeb as a type – a prefiguration – of the Most Holy Theotokos, who gave birth to Christ while still remaining a virgin (burning with fire yet unconsumed). This is found in ancient writings of the Church Fathers, and was afterwards reflected in the hymnography of the Church; for example:

The glorious myst’ry of your childbirth

Did Moses perceive within the burning bush…

…O undefiled and all-holy Virgin.

Therefore we extol you in hymns unto the ages.

(From The Service of the Salutations to the Most Holy Theotokos – 9th Century)

In time, it was also reflected in the Church’s iconography, with the Oranta Theotokos and Christ-child depicted within the burning bush.

Symbolism in the Unburnt Bush Icon

The image of the Mother of God as the Unburnt Bush has developed so that most examples of the Icon now have a rich and intricate symbolism.

The burning bush itself is represented by the two diamonds – one flame-red, one leaf-green – arranged as an eight pointed star in the midst of which the Mother of God and Christ are seated. The number of eight is well established in the Bible as a number symbolizing eternity and super-abundance. In between the eight points there are eight “petals” within which stand eight archangels – the highest ranking of the Heavenly Powers. The green diamond is decorated with more angels – seraphim and cherubim – and is often coloured slightly darker, almost blue, and is arrayed with stars to suggest the heavens. As discussed, green or blue can both symbolize “creation” as opposed to the divine, so the twin use of the blue to represent the bush and the Heavens is appropriate. The divine/flame red diamond is almost always decorated with the angelic tetramorph representing the four Evangelists (and in the above icon the names of the four Gospel writers does appear).

Around the border of the Icon more prefigurations and prophecies of the Incarnation of the Son of God are arranged. Different icons will contain different numbers of scenes, but the four most common scenes, shown clockwise from the top-right of the above icon, are:  

A seraphim feeding a hot coal to the Prophet Isaiah (Is. 6:7). Though burning with fire, the hot coal cleansed the lips of the prophet just as Christ inside of the Virgin cleansed her.

Jacob’s dream of the ladder (Gen. 28:12) in which angels were seen dancing up and down a ladder which stretched from the earth up to Heaven. The ladder is associated with the Mother of God, through whom the glory of God descended from Heaven to earth and was incarnate as Jesus Christ.

Ezekiel’s vision of the temple gate through which the Lord passed and was ever-after sealed (Ez. 44:2). This has always been recognized by Christians as a clear reference to Mary’s ever-virginity.

Finally in the top-left corner is Moses removing his sandals before the burning bush, the revelatory incident upon which the whole icon is based

Not present on all Icons, but seen in the bottom centre of the icon above is a form of the “Tree of Jesse“.

At the centre of all this, surrounded by the angelic powers, is Mary the Mother of God and her Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Besides the Christ-child, our Lady may also hold “Jacob’s Ladder”, or else a symbol of the Gates of the Heavenly Kingdom, or else an unquarried mountain – or perhaps all three. All of these Old Testament symbols point us towards the Mother of God, covered with a garment of Divine Fire, who in turn points us towards the birth or her Son, Our Saviour.

The miracle that Moses witnessed on Sinai in the burning bush
Foretold your virgin childbearing, O pure Mother.
We the faithful cry to you:
Rejoice, O truly living bush!
Rejoice, O holy mountain!
Rejoice, O sanctified expanse and most holy Theotokos!

%%%%%%%%%%%

Mary the burning bush Icon - search.

Abut 252.000 results (Google)

Images for Mary the burning bush Icon. Report Images

St. Gregory of Nyssa, Life of Moses, 'also symbolizes the mystery of the Virgin'.

mary_and_the_burning_bush - Russian

TWO YEAR LECTIONARY

PATRISTIC VIGILS READINGS

LENT  YEAR II

Saturday after Ash Wednesday Year II

A READING FROM the life of moses by St Gregory of Nyssa

Let us, like Moses, live a solitary life, no longer entangled with adversaries or mediating between them. Let us live among those of like mind who are fed by us, while all the movements of our soul are led by reason like sheep by their shepherd. Then, as we are living at peace, the truth will shine upon us and its radiance will illuminate the eyes of our soul.

Now this truth is God. Once in an ineffable and mysterious vision it manifested itself to Moses, and it is not without significance for us that the flame from which the soul of the Prophet was illuminated was kindled from a thorn-bush.

If truth is God and if it is also light – two of the sublime and sacred epithets by which the Gospel describes the God who manifested himself to us in the flesh – it follows that a virtuous life will lead us to a knowledge of that light which descended to the level of our human nature. It is not from some luminary set among the stars that it sheds its radiance, which might then be thought to have a material origin, but from a bush on the earth, although it outshines the stars of heaven.

This also symbolizes the mystery of the Virgin, from whom came the divine light that shone upon the world without damaging the bush from which it emanated or allowing the virgin shoot to wither.

This light teaches us what we must do to stand in the rays of the true light, and that it is impossible with our feet in shackles to run toward the mountain where the light of truth appears. We have first to free the feet of our soul from the covering of dead skins in which our nature was clad in the beginning when it disobeyed God’s will and was left naked.

To know that which is, we must purify our minds of assumptions regarding things which are not. In my opinion the definition of truth is an unerring comprehension of that which is. He who is immutable, who does not increase or diminish, who is subject to no change for better or worse, but is perfectly self-sufficient; he who alone is desirable, in whom all else par­ticipates without causing in him any diminution, he indeed is that which truly is, and to comprehend him is to know the truth.

It is he whom Moses approached and whom today all approach who like Moses free themselves from their earthly coverings and look toward the light coming from the bramble bush, at the ray shining on us from the thorns, which stand for the flesh, for as the Gospel says, that ray is the real light and the truth. Then such people will also be able to help others find salvation. They will be capable of destroying the forces of evil and of restoring those enslaved by them to liberty.

St Gregory of Nyssa, The Life of Moses, 2.17-26 (SC 1:36-39); from Word in Season II, 1^st ed.

Russian Icons -  ...

Mary and the Burning Bush

The icon is also known as the "unburned bush" or Neopalimaya Kupina. The Mother of God can be seen holding the Christ Child in her left arm and a ladder in her right arm set in a four point blue star. The symbols of the Four Evangelists: the winged man of Matthew, the eagle of Mark, the ox of Luke, and the lion of John are depicted in the red points of the star. Moses, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Jacob are also on the icon from the old Testament as seen by the Mother of God and her role in the Incarnation. The icon is also used as form of fire protection and to help stop a fire once it has begun. 

http://www.paleks.com/icons.htm

Friday after Ash Wednesday. Fr. Mattew, MSB, RIP

Friday, 07 March 2014

  Lent Mass. Introduction: Fr. Nivard   

Gospel St Matthew 9:14-15.

...The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.

Community Mass – today we had the special memory of Fr. Mattew OCSO,  who has died in Mount St. Bernard Abbey.       

Ash Friday . . . They will fast when the Bridegroom departs.org.uk 

On Friday, 7 March 2014,

Fr. Nivard: wrote:

Magnificat adapted

Ash Frid 7 Mar 2014 Mt 7_14-15

When the bridegroom departs they will fast

   Fasting is a form of self-deprivation that deepens our appreciation of and longing for the food we really need.    

   Christ's disciples do not fast because they have given themselves over to Jesus who is their Food.

   We fast in order to seek him day after day and to desire more to know his ways.

   We fast so that this Lent Christ will become our All.

Father, help us to hunger for you,

   to know you more.

   Let us now come to you:

   our hearts are yours;

   possess them always

   and only for yourself,

                      through Christ our Lord.

Fw: Fr Matthew Dunn. Some Memories and picture in Mount Saint Bernard Abbey.  

On Friday, 7 March 2014, 17:11,

From: Nivard . ...:

Fr Matthew Dunn. Some Memories ...

March 6, 2014:

 Father Matthew Dunn was born in 1936 in Liverpool (Great Britain).

Matthew went to Freshfield Mill Hill College for his secondary education. The college was mainly for boys aspiring to be Mill Hill Missionaries. He then went to the Mill Hill Missionary Major Seminary in Roosendal, Holland, to study Philosophy. While there his thoughts turned to the contemplative life and he visited the nearby Cistercian Trappist Monasery of Zundert. They suggested that he pay a visit to Mt Saint Bernard Abbey, Leicester.

He entered Mount St Bernard in 1957, made his solemn profession in 1962 and was ordained a priest in 1964. He was then sent to Rome where he obtained a degree in Sacred Scripture. He taught Scripture to the young monks for some time. He then took charge of the piggery with some success and enjoyed the work.

He then went on loan to Our Lady of Bamenda, Cameroon, as assistant novice master. He later became novice master, and after some years made his stability in Bamenda. He taught Scripture most of his time there. When signs of deterioration in his mental health began to increase he returned to Mt Saint Bernard and was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease. In his failing years Father was very well looked after by the Community, the Infirmarian and Carer with great kindness and understanding. For all this the monks of Bamenda are most grateful.

Father was a good community man with a ready smile. The young monks found him very approachable. He was very faithful to choir and the daily routine. As he approached the end he spent much time in his choir stall. Like Fr Andrew Ward of Mellifont Abbey, he was a true monk and missionary. He had pneumonia when he died peacefully in the Lord.

Father was 77 years old, had been in monastic vows for 54 years

and 49 years a priest when the Lord called him. 

Fr Donald and I said our Masses for the repose of his soul this morning. 

May he rest in peace.

Saint John Chrysostom, Prayer and converse with God is a supreme good:

Patristic Reading,  

Shepherd feeding the sheep -
preparing for the Lambing.

Breviary 

Friday After Ash Wednesday,
7 March 2014

READINGS

FIRST READING

From the book of Exodus

2:1-22, 18:4

The birth and flight of Moses

A certain man of the house of Levi married a Levite woman, who conceived and bore a son. Seeing that he was a goodly child, she hid him for three months. When she could hide him no longer, she took a papyrus basket, daubed it with bitumen and pitch, and putting the child in it, placed it among the reeds on the river bank. His sister stationed herself at a distance to find out what would happen to him.

....

SECOND READING

From a homily by Saint John Chrysostom, bishop

(Supp. Hom. 6 De precatione: PG 64, 462-466)

Prayer is the light of the spirit

Prayer and converse with God is a supreme good: it is a partnership and union with God. As the eyes of the body are enlightened when they see light, so our spirit, when it is intent on God, is illumined by his infinite light. I do not mean the prayer of outward observance but prayer from the heart, not confined to fixed times or periods, but continuous throughout the day and night.

Our spirit should be quick to reach out toward God not only when it is engaged in meditation; at other times also, when it is carrying out its duties, caring for the needy, performing works of charity, giving generously in the service of others, our spirit should long for God, and call him to mind, so that these works may be seasoned with the salt of God’s love, and so make a palatable offering to the Lord of the universe. Throughout the whole of our lives we may enjoy the benefit that comes from prayer if we devote a great deal of time to it.

Prayer is the light of the spirit, true knowledge of God, mediating between God and man. The spirit, raised up to heaven by prayer, clings to God with the utmost tenderness; like a child crying tearfully for its mother, it craves the milk that God provides. It seeks the satisfaction of its own desires, and receives gifts outweighing the whole world of nature.

Prayer stands before God as an honoured ambassador. It gives joy to the spirit, peace to the heart. I speak of prayer, not words. It is the longing for God, love too deep for words, a gift not given by man but by God’s grace. The apostle Paul says: We do not know how we are to pray but the Spirit himself pleads for us with inexpressible longings.

When the Lord gives this kind of prayer to someone; he gives him riches that cannot be taken away, heavenly food that satisfies the spirit. One who tastes this food is set on fire with an eternal longing for the Lord: his spirit burns as in a fire of the utmost intensity.

Practice prayer from the beginning. Paint your house with the colors of modesty and humility. Make it radiant with the light of justice. Decorate it with the finest gold leaf of good deeds. Adorn it with the walls and stones of faith and generosity. Crown it with the pinnacle of prayer. In this way you will make it a perfect dwelling place for the Lord. You will be able to receive him as in a splendid palace, and through his grace you will already possess him, his image enthroned in the temple of your spirit.

Thursday after Ash Wednesday - Benedict XVI: Following him

Thursday, 06 March 2014

See commentary below 

Benedict XVI: Following him

Book of Deuteronomy 30:15-20.

Moses said to the people: «Today I have set before you life and prosperity, death and doom.
If you obey the commandments of the LORD, your God, which I enjoin on you today, loving him, and walking in his ways, and keeping his commandments, statutes and decrees, you will live and grow numerous, and the LORD, your God, will bless you in the land you are entering to occupy. 

If, however, ...

Benedict XVI, pope from 2005 to 2013 
General Audience of 17/02/2010 (trans. © copyright Libreria Editrice Vaticana) 

Following him

The “favourable moment” (2Cor 6,2) of grace in Lent also reveals its spiritual significance to us in the ancient formula: "Remember, man, you are dust and to dust you will return" which the priest says as he places a little ash on our foreheads. Thus we are referred back to the dawn of human history when the Lord told Adam, after the original sin: "In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return" (Gen 3,19; 2,7)...

Man is dust and to dust he shall return, but dust is precious in God's eyes because God created man, destining him to immortality. Hence the Liturgical formula... finds the fullness of its meaning in reference to the new Adam, Christ. The Lord Jesus also chose freely to share with every human being the destiny of weakness, in particular through his death on the Cross; but this very death, the culmination of his love for the Father and for humanity, was the way to the glorious Resurrection, through which Christ became a source of grace, given to all who believe in him, who are made to share in divine life itself.

This life that will have no end has already begun in the earthly phase of our existence but it will be brought to completion after "the resurrection of the flesh". The little action of the imposition of ashes reveals to us the unique riches of its meaning. It is an invitation to spend the Lenten Season as a more conscious and intense immersion in Christ's Paschal Mystery in his death and Resurrection, through participation in the Eucharist and in the life of charity, which is born from the Eucharist in which it also finds its fulfilment. With the imposition of ashes we renew our commitment to following Jesus, to letting ourselves be transformed by his Paschal Mystery, to overcoming evil and to doing good, in order to make our former self, linked to sin die and to give birth to our "new nature" (Eph 4,22f.), transformed by God's grace.

“Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return

A cross of ashes _ forehead on Ash Wednesday

Turn away from your sins and believe in the Gospel”

Ash Wednesday Patristic Lectionary,

Night Office Readings  

See previous Wednesday, 13 February 2013  
http://nunraw.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/thomas-merton-reading-ash-wednesday-13.html  Thomas Merton Reading Ash Wednesday 13 Feb 2013

 

       ASH WEDNESDAY

Night Office -Alternative Reading

From  Thomas Merton, O.CS.O.

(Meditations on the Liturgy, 100-101)

A time of metanoia

TWO YEAR LECTIONARY

PATRISTIC VIGILS READINGS

EXORDIUM BOOKS 1982

LENT

ASH WEDNESDAY - YEAR 2

FIREST READING FROM THE PROPHET ISAIAH

(On the fast that pleases God: Isaiah 58:1-12)

“Cry aloud, spare not, lift up your voice like a trumpet; declare to my people their transgression, to the house of Jacob their sins. ...

SECOND READING

From a letter to the Corinthians by Saint Clement I, pope and martyr
(Cap. 7, 7-8, 3; 8, 5-9, 1;13, 1-4; 19, 2: Funk 1, 71-73, 77-78)

Repent

Let us fix our attention on the blood of Christ and recognize how precious it is to God his Father, since it was shed for our salvation and brought the grace of repentance to all the world.

If we review the various ages of history, we will see that in every generation the Lord has offered the opportunity of repentance to any who were willing to turn to him. When Noah preached God’s message of repentance, all who listened to him were saved. Jonah told the Ninevites they were going to be destroyed, but when they repented, their prayers gained God’s forgiveness for their sins, and they were saved, even though they were not of God’s people.

Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the ministers of God’s grace have spoken of repentance; indeed, the Master of the whole universe himself spoke of repentance with an oath: As I live, says the Lord, I do not wish the death of the sinner but his repentance. He added this evidence of his goodness: House of Israel, repent of your wickedness. Tell the sons of my people: If their sins should reach from earth to heaven, if they are brighter than scarlet and blacker than sackcloth, you need only turn to me with your whole heart and say, “Father”, and I will listen to you as a holy people.

In other words, God wanted all his beloved ones to have the opportunity to repent and he confirmed this desire by his own almighty will. That is why we should obey his sovereign and glorious will and prayerfully entreat his mercy and kindness. We should be suppliant before him and turn to his compassion, rejecting empty works and quarreling and jealousy which only lead to death.

Brothers, we should be humble in mind, putting aside all arrogance, pride and foolish anger. Rather, we should act in accordance with the Scriptures, as the Holy Spirit says: The wise man must not glory in his wisdom nor the strong man in his strength nor the rich man in his riches. Rather, let him who glories glory in the Lord by seeking him and doing what is right and just. Recall especially what the Lord Jesus said when he taught gentleness and forbearance. Be merciful, he said, so that you may have mercy shown to you. Forgive, so that you may be forgiven. As you treat others, so you will be treated. As you give, so you will receive. As you judge, so you will be judged. As you are kind to others, so you will be treated kindly. The measure of your giving will be the measure of your receiving.

Let these commandments and precepts strengthen us to live in humble obedience to his sacred words. As Scripture asks: Whom shall I look upon with favor except the humble, peaceful man who trembles at my words?

Sharing then in the heritage of so many vast and glorious achievements, let us hasten toward the goal of peace, set before us from the beginning. Let us keep our eyes firmly fixed on the Father and Creator of the whole universe, and hold fast to his splendid and transcendent gifts of peace and all his blessings.

RESPONSORY
Isaiah 55:7; Joel 2:13; See Ezekiel 33:11

Let the evil man give up his way of life,
and the sinful man his thoughts.
Let him turn back to the Lord,
and the Lord will have mercy on him.
– Our God is kind and compassionate,
always ready to forgive.

The Lord does not wish the sinner to die,
but to turn back to him and live.
– Our God is kind and compassionate,
always ready to forgive.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

Let us pray.

Lord,
protect us in our struggle against evil.
As we begin the discipline of Lent,
make this day holy by our self-denial.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
– Amen.

Or:

Grant, O Lord, that we may begin with holy fasting
this campaign of Christian service,
so that, as we take up battle against spiritual evils,
we may be armed with weapons of self-restraint.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
– Amen.

ACCLAMATION 

Let us praise the Lord.
– And give him thanks.
*************************

Alternative Reading 

FROM A SERMON BY ST JOHN CHRYSOSTOM

St John Chrysostom, Oratio 3 Adversus Iudaeos (PG 48, 867-868); from Word in Season II, 1st ed.

Explaining the great Lenten fast, Chrysostom emphasizes the work of purification this liturgical season is meant to accomplish in the people of God. The homily was delivered at Antioch in 336 or 387.

Why do we fast for forty days?             Insert jump break