Quote/s of the Day – 9 December – The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception – From the Fathers

Quote/s of the Day – 9 December – The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception

From the Fathers

“He was the Ark formed of incorruptible wood.
For by this, is signified, that His Tabernacle
was exempt from putridity and corruption.”

Saint Hippolytus (c 170-c 235)

Hippolytus was one of the most important
second-third century Christian theologians.

“This Virgin Mother of the Only begotten of God is called Mary,
worthy of God, immaculate of the immaculate, one of the one.”

Origen (c 185-253)

Priest and Theologian
Origen of Alexandria, also known as Origen Adamantius, was an early Christian scholar, ascetic and theologian who was born and spent the first half of his career in Alexandria.

“Thou alone and Thy Mother are in all things fair,
there is no flaw in Thee
and no stain in Thy Mother.”

Saint Ephrem of Syria (306-373)

Both Father and Doctor
Deacon, Theologian, Hymnist

“Mary, a virgin not only undefiled
but a virgin, whom grace has made inviolate,
free of every stain of sin.”

Sermon 22, in the year 338

Saint Ambrose (340-397)

Both Father and Doctor – One of the original four Fathers of the Latin Church, Bishop of Milan

“A Virgin, innocent, spotless, free of all defect,
untouched, unsullied, holy in soul and body,
like a lily, sprouting among thorns.”

Saint Theodotus of Ancrya (Died c 446)

Bishop, Theologian

“The very fact that God has elected her,
proves that none was ever holier than Mary,
if any stain had disfigured her soul,
if any other virgin had been purer and holier,
God would have selected her and rejected Mary.”

Saint Jacob of Sarug (c 451-521)

Jacob of Sarug, also called Mar Jacob, was one of the foremost Syriac poet-theologians, perhaps only second in stature to Ephrem the Syrian and equal to Narsai. Where his predecessor Ephrem is known as the ‘Harp of the Spirit’, Jacob is the ‘Flute of the Spirit’.

“Today, humanity,
in all the radiance of her immaculate nobility,
receives its ancient beauty.
The shame of sin had darkened
the splendour and attraction of human nature
but when the Mother of the Fair One par excellence is born,
this nature again regains in her person.
its ancient privileges and is fashioned
according to a perfect model,
truly worthy of God….
The reform of our nature
begins today and the aged world,
subjected to a wholly divine transformation,
receives the first fruits of the second creation.”

Saint Andrew of Crete (650-740)

Bishop, Theologian

Saint Andrew of Crete, also known as Andrew of Jerusalem, was an 8th-century Bishop, theologian, homilist and hymnist.