In his explanation of another metaphor, the Living Flame of Love, St. John draws Our Lady as closely as possible into the circle of his imagery. In speaking about the glittering and shining of the lamps of God in us, about our absorption of that divine light like the pane of glass, about our participation in God’s qualities and works, he says that this figure has yet another aspect: to overshadow. For a clear understanding it must be understood, he says, that overshadow means to cover with a shadow, or to protect, favor, pour full of grace. For to say that one covers another with his shadow means to say that he whose shadow covers the other is ready to protect him and intercede for him. That is the reason why the Archangel Gabriel called the excessive favor conferred on Mary at the conception of the Divine Son an overshadowing, when he said ‘The Holy Ghost will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.’
To understand what this spreading of God’s shadow, or overshadowing, means, it must be borne in mind that every object throws a shadow according to its own particular shape and outline. So will the shadow thrown by the lamp of God’s beauty be another beauty, according to the kind and quality [83] of God’s beauty; and so will the shadow spread by the lamp of God’s strength be another strength, etc. Or in other and perhaps better words, all these shadows will be God’s beauty, God’s strength, etc., themselves, but in shadow, because the soul cannot understand perfectly here on earth. But because this shadow so well accords with the essence and the real being of God, indeed because it is God Himself, therefore the soul knows in shadow the exquisite loveliness of God. In this way we may say the soul equals Our Lady, upon whom the Holy Ghost descended in all His fullness and whom the strength of the All-High overshadowed in the most perfect way.”
St. Titus Brandsma
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