Part 2 of The Blessed Virgin Mary, from Genesis to Revelation
By Fr. Mark Perkins
Today I gave the second and final part in a series on the Blessed Virgin Mary in biblical typology (see Part 1 here). In addition to being a New Eve, A New Sarah, and a New Hannah, she is a New Ruth, a New Rachel, a New Esther, a New Ark of the Covenant, and the Queen Mother of the Kingdom of Heaven.
For those who wish to dive deeper, my most consulted and referenced source was Brant Pitre's Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary. Although I disagree with Pitre in places, his book offers an excellent overview of the biblical and traditional understanding of the Blessed Virgin Mary. (I added a PDF of a section from this book to my previous post arguing that Numbers 30 envisions vows of perpetual abstinence.)
I also strongly recommend The Sacramentalists' podcast episode with Presiding Bishop Chad Jones' overview of the theology of the Blessed Virgin Mary, as well as Bp. Jones two-part series on Marian devotional practices (here and here). Fr. Wesley Walker's shorter two-part series on Mary is also well worth your time (here and here).
E. L. Mascall's magnificent Christ, the Christian, and the Church contains a fantastic short section on the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Church, starting on page 132.
Finally, I drew from a book titled The Blessed Virgin Mary: Essays by Anglican Writers, edited by E. L. Mascall and H. S. Box. (Darton, Longman & Todd, 1963). Unfortunately this resource is long out of print and hard to find. (The library of the University of Virginia has a copy, which is how I originally encountered it.)
Editor's Note: A few more resources:
Only today did I read Peter Leithart's excellent essay on "Man's Marian Future," which echoes certain themes in my talk above.
I also cited significant sections from commentaries on the Gospel According to St. John by Edwyn Hoskyns, Rod Whitacre, and Raymond Brown.
I explain distinctions between veneration and worship here, and I argue for the propriety of the invocation of the saints here.
Fr. Mark Perkins is Curate at St. Alban's Anglican Cathedral in Oviedo, Florida and Executive Editor of Earth & Altar.