Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Advent

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/122011.cfm

Farewell to Victoria BC --
the last of my October vacation
photos

Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign:
the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and shall name him Emmanuel.

Scripture scholars are quick to point out that Isaiah's original Hebrew word meant maiden or young woman, and not virgin in the sense we use it today, a woman with no sexual experience. But that factoid misses the point; Saint Matthew and Saint Luke wanted us to understand Mary's virginity has many dimensions and multiple meanings: 

First, we celebrate her innocence. We celebrate the Immaculate Heart of Mary and recall the Beatitude: Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God. (Matt 5:8) Mary has truly seen God face to face. She has borne him, and nursed him at her breast, cleaned and clothed him, prayed and played with him. She taught him how to be a good boy and child of God, to speak the language of her people and to revere their traditions. She has seen God face to face even in his agony, as he died upon the cross. 

A woman recently told me of her suffering as she listened to her son. He had recently suffered a personal tragedy and abruptly been transferred to a distant city. She could not see him or touch him; she could only cling to his voice by telephone. Sometimes his pain was so intense he could only text her. Her heart was breaking for him and she could only listen and listen again as the difficult days and weeks passed. I had to think of this wonderful mother as our own dear Mother Mary. She too agonized with her son as he endured God’s heartbreak beyond the walls of Jerusalem.

Mary’s innocent purity perfects the fidelity of the Jewish nation throughout their long historic covenant with God. The child of Joachim and Anna (according to ancient tradition), she is the glory of Jerusalem, the great pride of Israel, the great boast of the nation! (see Judith 15:9) 

Secondly, Mary’s virginity speaks of her desirability. Her innocence, beauty and intense piety are so charming that God must answer her prayers when she begs him to send the Messiah.  

Ah, you are beautiful, my love;
   ah, you are beautiful;
   your eyes are doves.
Ah, you are beautiful, my beloved,
   truly lovely.

Arise, my love, my fair one,
   and come away.
O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,
   in the covert of the cliff,
let me see your face,
   let me hear your voice;
for your voice is sweet,
   and your face is lovely.  (Song of Songs)

Finally, Mary’s virginity is fertile, but there are two senses to this: first we honor fertility as potentially abundant. Fertile soil can bear a rich harvest, and a fertile woman can have many children. Mary's fertile virginity will bear innumerable children as Jesus commands her from the cross to "Behold your son" in each of us. 
Secondly, her virgin fertility is miraculous, as she will bear the Son of God who has no human father. In her story we hear the words of the Prophet Isaiah fulfilled: 

Sing, O barren one who did not bear;
   burst into song and shout,
   you who have not been in labor!
For the children of the desolate woman will be more
   than the children of her that is married, says the Lord.
 Enlarge the site of your tent,
   and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out;
do not hold back; lengthen your cords
   and strengthen your stakes.
 For you will spread out to the right and to the left,
   and your descendants will possess the nations
   and will settle the desolate towns. (Isaiah 54: 1-3)

During the first weeks of Advent we did penance with prayers, fasting and almsgiving. We are ready now to hear the Good News:

Look, he comes,
leaping upon the mountains,
   bounding over the hills.
⁹ My beloved is like a gazelle
   or a young stag.
Look, there he stands
   behind our wall,
gazing in at the windows,
   looking through the lattice.
¹⁰ My beloved speaks and says to me:
‘Arise, my love, my fair one,
   and come away;
¹¹ for now the winter is past,
   the rain is over and gone.
¹² The flowers appear on the earth;
   the time of singing has come,
and the voice of the turtle-dove
   is heard in our land.  (Song of Songs)