Blessed Mary is the "Hope of Christians", because in the ways God has glorified her, we also hope to receive His blessings. The Catechism of the Catholic Church reads in no. 966:
DRSJ: Jesus is the
"blessed hope" of Christians according to Paul. Titus 2:13 -- 13Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin is a singular participation in her Son's Resurrection and an anticipation of the resurrection of other Christians: "In giving birth you kept your virginity; in your Dormition you did not leave the world, O Mother of God, but were joined to the source of Life. You conceived the living God and, by your prayers, will deliver our souls from death." (Note 509 - Byzantine Liturgy, Troparion, Feast of the Dormition, August 15th)
DRSJ: Jesus is the firstfruits of the resurrection according to Paul. 1 Cor 15:20 -- 20But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. [2] ...as our deliver and savior. (compare: Mathew 1:21 -- and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.) ..... Mary is our salvation not because she redeemed us from sin, which Christ did alone, but because she brought us and still brings us grace and truth. DRSJ:
DRSJ: Notice how many of the things ascribed to Mary by the Catholic Church are ascribed to Jesus in the Bible.
Illuminating Egypt with the Light of Truth, you cast away the darkness of error. For the idols, unable to stand your might, fell down, and those who had been delivered from them cried out to the Mother of God:At that time, I sent off an e-mail to one of the priests asking him to explain why addressing Mary as Manna and the Pillar of Fire should not be considered blasphemous. (In retrospect, I wish I had also asked him about addressing Mary as the Rock (Petra : )) I received the following reply that I think is instructive toward addressing your concerns:Hail, O Resurrection of mankind!
Hail, O Downfall of the Demons!
Hail, O you who crushed the error of deceit!
Hail, O you who exposed the fraud of idols!
Hail, O Sea who drowned the symbolic Pharaon!
Hail, O Rock who quenched those who thirst for Life!
Hail, O Pillar of Fire who guided those in darkness!
Hail, O Shelter of the World, wider than the clouds!
Hail, O Food who took the place of Manna!
Hail, O Handmaid of holy delight!
Hail, O Land of the promised good!
Hail, O you who flow with milk and honey!
Hail, O Bride and Maiden ever-pure!
Sorry to keep you waiting...and yes, happy and graced Eastertide to you, too. You are referring to the Sixth Chant of the Akathist Hymn as presented on our website under Prayers/Litanies, and referring to the flight into Egypt.
The metaphors used to hail Mary are taken from the Hebrew scriptures and are indeed ambivalent, not to say ambiguous. The symbols used have typological meaning and are frequently applied to both Jesus and Mary corresponding to what is termed primary and secondary symbolization. For example, Christ is the new and definitive Manna; Mary is called Manna insofar as she nourished Jesus with her own flesh once he descended into the "desert" of human condition. Again, pillar of fire is used typologically, i.e., pillar of fire is a symbol of the definitive illumination and guidance received in Christ and his Spirit. Mary is the dawn preparing the coming of the Risen sun (Christ), thus a "pillar of fire" in her own and limited right.
Read within their proper context, these metaphors are theologically of interest and even challenging. Separated from their context they have indeed a blasphemous ring. Not to forget the following: the Akathist Hymn is an Annunciation hymn hailing Mary not for herself but for her role in the Incarnation. Thus, the hymn is primarily a christological spiritual poem.
DRSJ: Jesus is the firstfruits of the resurrection according to Paul. 1 Cor 15:20 -- 20But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
The Resurrection and Assumption are not opposed to each other, but joined together. Matthew 27.52 notes that many Old Testament Saints arose with Christ. These were later taken up into heaven at the Ascension (Eph. 4.8-10). It is entriely fitting that Blessed Mary was assumed into heaven after her death to foreshadow the resurrection. Both events can give us Hope, because they are inextricably linked. Nobody denies that all these events are dependent upon the Reusrrection of Christ.
DRSJ: Grace and truth come through Jesus according to John. John 1:18 -- 17For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
Since grace is a participation in the divine life of the Holy Trinity, it inevitably "comes from" Jesus. But we say that it is mediated by the prayers of Mary. Our Lady does not originate the grace, but directs it to us her children through her prayers and supplications before the throne of God.
DRSJ: Notice how many of the things ascribed to Mary by the Catholic Church are ascribed to Jesus in the Bible.
I really don't see it that way at all. You are equating Jesus and Mary in a way that is quite foreign to Catholics (and Orthodox). Jesus is a divine person, one of the Holy Trinity, while Mary is just an ordinary human person who is filled with the life of God, both spiritually for her whole life, and physically for nine crucial months. There is an unbridgeable ontological divide there that no amount of praise to Blessed Mary for her divine maternity could ever breach.
Yoyur objections are the Nestorianism that underlies Protestantism coming to the surface.