Mary as a Mystical Paradise. A Concept of Symbolic and Mystical Mariology of Jacek Majewski OP

Abstract

A demonstration of the 17^th-century Mariology can be found in a book by Jacek Majewski, a Dominican monk, entitled Pustynia w Ray Zamieniona (“A Desert Made Into a Paradise”), which was published in Lublin in 1753. The author presents Mary as a mystical paradise indwelt by God and full of Divine gifts growing in her like the flowers and springs of the Paradise. J. Majewski's treatise differs from contemporary works especially in terms of the language and line of argument. Although Pustynia w Ray Zamieniona is steeped in symbols, comparisons, allegories and spiritual meanings, it evades the arbitrariness of free associations. Each symbol and metaphor refer to Scripture and concern God's true activity in human history. In order to fully appreciate the publication, we ought to bear in mind the existence of three levels of symbolism that we come across there: Biblical, mystical, which depicts God's activity in the souls of both Mary and believers, and regional, which is connected to the town of Krasnobród.