Next to Christ, Mary is the greatest glory of the Jewish people

In Christianity, Eve, the first woman, quickly dragged all humanity into the disaster of original sin, with the complicity of Adam. God promised them a Savior, and the mother of the Redeemer was announced at the same time, as we read in Genesis: "I will put enmity between you and the woman" (Gen 3:15).

Abraham, our "father in faith", obeyed God's promises totally and unconditionally, even when, because of external events, it was difficult for him to see how these promises would be fulfilled. Pope John Paul II, in his homily given in Nazareth on March 25, 2000, called the Virgin Mary "the most authentic of the daughters of Abraham" because, with great faith, she became the Mother of the Messiah and the Mother of all those who believe.

Here are the symbols of the Virgin Mary that can be found in the Hebrew Bible, which is the Christian Old Testament: the Virgin Mother promised in Genesis and in Isaiah; the Daughter of Zion; the Garden of Eden; the Beloved of the Song of Songs; and the Ark of the Covenant. Ruth, who providentially belongs to the family tree of Christ, is a symbol of Mary and of the Church. Esther and Judith are also symbols of Mary, as they are associated with the Savior in the unfolding of the divine plan of salvation.

Next to Christ, the Virgin Mary can be considered the greatest glory of the Jewish people. It is from within this people of the Covenant that God chose this exceptional woman who would give birth to the Savior of humanity. We can only pray to Our Lady to obtain from God the grace to promote Jewish-Christian relations ever more effectively.

Cardinal Francis Arinze

Reflections given during the Conference on "Mary in Ecumenical and Inter-religious Relations", in Lourdes, June 8, 2001.