{"id":17303,"date":"2025-12-12T08:15:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-12T07:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/behold.mt\/?post_type=talba-bl-arti&#038;p=17303"},"modified":"2025-12-02T11:27:58","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T10:27:58","slug":"so-great-a-cloud-of-witnesses","status":"publish","type":"talba-bl-arti","link":"https:\/\/behold.mt\/en\/talba-bl-arti\/so-great-a-cloud-of-witnesses\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cSo Great a Cloud of Witnesses\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong><em>Second Reflection on the Panel of the Annunciation in St Paul\u2019s Cathedral, Mdina<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. <\/p><cite>Hebrews 12:1\u20132a<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Among the many innovative elements found in Bruschi\u2019s panel is the presence of several prophetic figures floating in the air\u2014almost as though they form a cloud\u2014each holding a scroll. Upon each scroll is written, in the original Hebrew, a quotation from the Old Testament which Christian tradition has understood as a foretelling of Christ\u2019s conception, of Mary\u2019s role within this mystery, or of her virginity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Moving from left to right, we find:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Isaiah, with the words \u201cyou shall call his name Immanuel\u201d (Is 7:14), a text explicitly referred to in Matthew 1:23 in the account of Joseph\u2019s dream;<\/li><li>Jeremiah, with the words \u201cFor the LORD has created a new thing on the earth: a woman encircles a man\u201d (Jer 31:22), a verse which the Fathers of the Church applied to the fact that Mary conceived in her womb the Son of God as man\u2014among them St Jerome in the first book <em>Against Jovinianus<\/em> (par. 32; PL 23.256);<\/li><li>King David, with the words \u201cUpon thee I have leaned from my birth; thou art he who took me from my mother\u2019s womb\u201d (Ps 71:6). Although not a prophet in the strict sense, Christian tradition and devotion nonetheless consider David a prophet, especially inasmuch as the Book of Psalms is attributed to him. Moreover, David receives the promise from the prophet Nathan which St Luke also regards as a messianic prophecy (2 Sam 7:12)\u2014the figure whispering into David\u2019s ear in the painting may perhaps allude to this;<\/li><li>Ezekiel, with the words \u201cfor the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered by it; therefore it shall remain shut\u201d (Ezek 44:2), a verse applied as a prophecy of Mary\u2019s perpetual virginity.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Each of these scriptural passages invites a moment of personal reflection. Yet the presence of these figures\u2014appearing almost as spirits\u2014deepens our sense of expectation during this holy season of Advent. Although no longer dwellers upon earth, Bruschi places them just below the heavenly light to highlight that these righteous ones were still awaiting the coming of Israel\u2019s Redeemer so that they might enter everlasting joy. Their waiting, however, is not frustrated; it is filled with trust in the Lord, confident that the hope he inspired within them will be fulfilled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>We are always waiting, but it is a waiting in the conviction that we have already seen God\u2019s footsteps.<\/p><cite>Henri Nouwen, Bread for the Journey<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>What are you waiting for? How are you waiting?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":13268,"template":"","rizors":[54],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v16.4 (Yoast SEO v16.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>\u201cSo Great a Cloud of Witnesses\u201d - Behold<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/behold.mt\/en\/talba-bl-arti\/so-great-a-cloud-of-witnesses\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u201cSo Great a Cloud of Witnesses\u201d - Behold\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Second Reflection on the Panel of the Annunciation in St Paul\u2019s Cathedral, Mdina  Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith... 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