Split: Another Marian Debate

[Damascus]

“This Virgin Mother of the Only-begotten of God, is called Mary, worthy of God, immaculate of the immaculate, one of the one.” Origen, Homily 1(A.D. 244).

“Let woman praise Her, the pure Mary.” Ephraim, Hymns on the Nativity, 15:23 (A.D. 370).

“Thou alone and thy Mother are in all things fair, there is no flaw in thee and no stain in thy Mother.” Ephraem, Nisibene Hymns, 27:8 (A.D. 370).

“O noble Virgin, truly you are greater than any other greatness. For who is your equal in greatness, O dwelling place of God the Word? To whom among all creatures shall I compare you, O Virgin? You are greater than them all O Covenant, clothed with purity instead of gold! You are the Ark in which is found the golden vessel containing the true manna, that is, the flesh in which divinity resides.” Athanasius, Homily of the Papyrus of Turin, 71:216 (ante AD 373).

“Mary, a Virgin not only undefiled but a Virgin whom grace has made inviolate, free of every stain of sin.” Ambrose, Sermon 22:30 (A.D. 388).

“We must except the Holy Virgin Mary, concerning whom I wish to raise no question when it touches the subject of sins, out of honour to the Lord; for from Him we know what abundance of grace for overcoming sin in every particular was conferred upon her who had the merit to conceive and bear Him who undoubtedly had no sin.” Augustine, Nature and Grace,4 2[36] (A.D.415).

“As he formed her without my stain of her own, so He proceeded from her contracting no stain.” Proclus of Constantinople, Homily 1 (ante A.D. 446).

“A virgin, innocent, spotless, free of all defect, untouched, unsullied, holy in soul and body, like a lily sprouting among thorns.” Theodotus of Ancrya, Homily VI:11(ante A.D. 446).

“The angel took not the Virgin from Joseph, but gave her to Christ, to whom she was pledged from Joseph, but gave her to Christ, to whom she was pledged in the womb, when she was made.” Peter Chrysologus, Sermon 140 (A.D. 449).

“[T]he very fact that God has elected her proves that none was ever holier than Mary, if any stain had disfigured her soul, if any other virgin had been purer and holier, God would have selected her and rejected Mary.” Jacob of Sarug (ante A.D. 521).

“She is born like the cherubim, she who is of a pure, immaculate clay.” Theotokos of Livias, Panegyric for the feast of the Assumption

 

[Damascus]

“Today humanity, in all the radiance of her immaculate nobility, receives its ancient beauty. The shame of sin had darkened the splendour and attraction of human nature; but when the Mother of the Fair One par excellence is born, this nature regains in her person its ancient privileges and is fashioned according to a perfect model truly worthy of God… The reform of our nature begins today and the aged world, subjected to a wholly divine transformation, receives the first fruits of the second creation.” Andrew of Crete, Sermon I, On the Birth of Mary (A.D. 733).

“[T]ruly elect, and superior to all, not by the altitude of lofty structures, but as excelling all in the greatness and purity of sublime and divine virtues, and having no affinity with sin whatever.” Germanus of Constantinople, Marracci in S. Germani Mariali (ante A.D. 733).

“O most blessed loins of Joachim from which came forth a spotless seed! O glorious womb of Anne in which a most holy offspring grew.” John of Damascus, Homily I (ante A.D. 749).

 

[Damascus]

Catholic Prayers
A Devotion in Honour of the Sorrowful Heart of Mary
V. Incline unto my aid, O Lord.
R. O Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory Be…

1. I compassionate Thee,
   sorrowing Mary,
   for that affliction which thy tender heart suffered
   at the time of the prophecy of the holy old man Simeon.
   O dear Mother,
   by thy heart thus afflicted,
   obtain for me the virtue of humility,
   and the gift of the fear of God.

Hail Mary…

1. I compassionate thee,
   sorrowing Mary,
   for those bitter pangs
   which thy most feeling heart suffered
   in thy flight and sojourn in Egypt.
   O dear Mother,
   by thy heart immersed in so great sorrows,
   obtain for me the virtue of liberality,
   especially towards the poor,
   and the gift of piety.

Hail Mary…

1. I compassionate thee,
   sorrowing Mary,
   for those griefs
   which thy solicitous heart experienced
   in the loss of thy beloved Son.
   O dear Mother,
   by thy heart filled with maternal anxieties,
   obtain for me the virtue of chastity
   and the gift of knowledge.

Hail Mary…
4. I compassionate thee,
sorrowing Mary,
for that sorrow which oppressed thy maternal heart,
in meeting Jesus carrying His Cross.
O dear Mother,
by thy most loving heart,
so much afflicted,
obtain for me the virtue of patience,
and the gift of fortitude.

Hail Mary…

1. I compassionate thee,
   sorrowing Mary,
   for that martyrdom which thy generous heart sustained,
   in being present with thine agonizing Jesus.
   O dear Mother, by thy heart undergoing so severe a
   martyrdom,
   obtain for me the virtue of temperance,
   and the gift of counsel.

Hail Mary…

1. I compassionate thee,
   sorrowing Mary,
   for those pangs which thine afflicted heart endured,
   when the lance pierced the side of Jesus,
   and wounded His most amiable Heart.
   O dear Mother, by thy heart transfixed,
   obtain for me the virtue of fraternal charity,
   and the gift of understanding.

Hail Mary…

1. I compassionate thee,
   sorrowing Mary,
   for that anguish which thy loving heart
   experienced in the burial of Jesus.
   O dear Mother,
   by thy sacred heart,
   thus steeped in bitter grief,
   obtain for me the virtue of diligence,
   and the gift of wisdom.

Hail Mary…

V. Pray for us, O most sorrowful Virgin,
R. That we may be made worthy of the promise of Christ.

Let Us Pray, - We beseech Thee,
O Lord Jesus Christ,
that the Blessed Virgin Mary
whose heart at the time of Thy passion
was pierced through with the sword of sorrow,
may intercede for us before the throne of mercy,
now and at the hour of our death;
who, with the Father and the Holy Ghost,
livest and reignest,
one God, world without end.

Amen.

:crying:

Imagine the horror of it all!:crying:

To Watch at the foot of the Cross her son …

I cant even type it…

The Horror, :crying:

 

[Eden]

:crying:

Imagine the horror of it all!:crying:

To Watch at the foot of the Cross her son …

I cant even type it…

The Horror, :crying:

Exactly. I truly don’t understand why Protestants give no thought to the extreme sufferings of the Blessed Mother. Has any holy figure in the Bible been treated with any less disdain by Protestants? They say they do honor her, but how? In what ways do Protestants honor Mary? No human being knew Jesus the way His Mother did. It’s horrifying to me that Protestants believe once Jesus was finished with her body and her maternal guidance, He died, ascended into Heaven and left His Mother, at her death, to rot in a stinking grave and be consumed by worms.

 

[Mattgkarl]

Mary is not the gate! Christ is!.
Mary is not the mediator! Christ is!
Mary is not the way to the Father! Christ is!
**It’s all there in the bible! **clear as day! I suggest all should read it.
A humble devotion? Christ says when you pray pray like this…
Our Father…Not our Mother.

I am going to look and see how many times Christ said come to me, and then count how many times people refer people to Mary…
BRB should take long.

Jesus first public miracle; it’s in the 2ND Chapter of the Gospel according to John. Mary becomes aware of the wine situation “when the wine ran short” and mediates the problem to her Son, who being surely already aware of it seems to balk at doing anything about it. Mary’s reply to the servants is what she continues to tell us, also servants of the Lord, to this day , “Do whatever he tells you.”

 

[FCEGM]

The experience of Catholics in our Communion with and in Christ which we enjoy with our Blessed Mother and our brothers and sisters the Saints, testifies to an ever-deepening awareness and love of God. Far from distracting us from love of the Most Holy Trinity, our unity within the Communion of Saints only fosters greater attentiveness to living faithfully in His Light.

“I reassure anyone who cares: Devotion to Mary brings us closer to Christ and does the job more quickly than ignoring her does,” (Fr. Mateo, “Refuting the Attack on Mary”, Catholic Answers).

 

[myfavoritmartin]

Oh yeah ! one example of this is when Mary said at Cana, " do whatever He tells you . ".

Cuz she knew he ruled! that’s all!

If Mary was an attention seeker, she would have said do whatever I tell you.".

She didn’t seek attention, attention has since been attached to her.

Don’t you see how Mary was able to change the heart of her son before his time, didn’t Jesus complain that His time hadn’t come ?

Do you honestly think Mary changed the will of God? ARGHH.
P.S. I’d feel better if you called Christ “Our Saviour” instead of her son.
Jesus calls her Woman, never calls her Mother.
Prioritize!

He is worthy to be sought!
Simon

PS. Lets all remember her birthday! when was it?

Mary had great influence on Jesus when He was on earth, and no less influence on Him now that she is In Heaven, someday we shall see that truth in reality.

Prove it!

 

[LilyM]

Do you honestly think Mary changed the will of God? ARGHH.
P.S. I’d feel better if you called Christ “Our Saviour” instead of her son.
Jesus calls her Woman, never calls her Mother.
Prioritize!

We do prioritise, that’s why we don’t address the prayers of the Mass to Mary, or claim that she died to redeem us or that the Eucharist is HER body and blood. The problem isn’t that we pay Mary too much respect, it’s that you don’t pay Jesus nearly enough (ie being kind enough to believe him when he tells you his flesh is real food, or that he intends to build a church on Peter f’rinstance)

'Woman" was in fact a title of great respect in Aramaic and Greek - not at all an insult or putdown to her, quite the contrary.

And are you suggesting that Jesus lied and said it wasn’t time to perform his miracle when in fact he knew all along that it was??? :ehh:

And I will continue to call Jesus her son as well as Our Saviour - he is in fact both! 100% Son of God and 100% Son of Mary.

PS. Lets all remember her birthday! when was it?

We celebrate it every 8 September Didn’t even need to look it up Notice we don’t give it the fanfare that we give Christ’s birthday - but we nonetheless celebrate it It’s all a question of correct proportion darl.

 

[Eden]

PS. Lets all remember her birthday! when was it?

You realize that Jesus was not born on Dec. 25th, right? It is a date chosen by the Catholic Church to celebrate the feast of His birth, not His birthday. We don’t know when He was actually born. The date is not in the Bible, so you have relied on the Catholic Church to decide when you will celebrate ChristMASS.

And LilyM already told you that we celebrate the feast of Mary’s birth on Septemer 8th. Nine months before that is December 8th, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.

ewtn.com/library/MARY/MARYBRTH.HTM

We celebrate the feast of the birth of St. John the Baptist on June 24th, since December 25th was selected for ChristMASS and Luke tells us St. John the Baptist was born about six months before Jesus.

What is unique about the Blessed Virgin and St. John the Baptist, is that they are the only two saints who have feast days for their births. All other saints have feast days commemorating the day that they returned to the Lord.

 

[AlegreFe]

Oh yeah ! one example of this is when Mary said at Cana, " do whatever He tells you . "

If Mary was an attention seeker, she would have said do whatever I tell you.

That’s for sure. Mary is nothing but humble and obedient to the Will of God.
Mary is also tuned in to our needs (such as in Cana) so she would not hesitate to tell Jesus what our needs are. Jesus has always been obedient to Mary so He would oblige her if it is God’s Will whatever we ask. And since Mary knows God’s Will, she would not ask for something that she knows is not best for us according to God’s Will.

3 When the wine ran out, the mother of
Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.”
4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what
does this have to do with me? My hour
has not yet come.”
5 His mother said to the servants,
“Do whatever HE tells you.”
John 2:4-5

Jesus is obedient to Mary and even Joseph because He obeyed the commandments that His Father gave. He HONORED His mother. And if we are to imitate Christ, then we should honor her too. The Greek word for “honor” in the commandment “Honor thy father and thy mother” actually means “to glorify” and not just to “honor” as you may think.

Here is another time where Jesus is obedient to Mary;

Luke 2:48-51
48 When his parents saw him, they were
astonished, and his mother said to him,
“Son, why have you done this to us? Your
father and I have been looking for you with
great anxiety.”
49 And he said to them, “Why were you
looking for me? Did you not know that I must
be in my Father’s house?”
50 But they did not understand what he said
to them.
51 He went down with them and came to
Nazareth, and was obedient to them;
and his mother kept all these things in her heart.

Eireann:

Don’t you see how Mary was able to change the heart of her son before his time, didn’t Jesus complain that His time hadn’t come?

Yes, and even after telling His mother that His time has not yet come, His mother told the servants to do whatever He told them to do. When his mother said that, He was obedient to her. It doesn’t say the word “obedient” in this particular verse but we know that He was obedient because after His mother said this to the servants, Jesus told them to fill the jars with water. If He disobeyed He would’ve never told the servants to fill the jars.

Eireann:

Mary had great influence on Jesus when He was on earth, and no less influence on Him now that she is In Heaven, someday we shall see that truth in reality.

:yup:

 

[myfavoritmartin]

Exactly. I truly don’t understand why Protestants give no thought to the extreme sufferings of the Blessed Mother.

we probably would if maybe she was scourged,flogged, mocked and humiliated, poked in the side with sword. YOU KNOW CRUCIFIED ! LIKE JESUS WAS!

Has any holy figure in the Bible been treated with any less disdain by Protestants?

In christianity about 1 figure?

In what ways do Protestants honor Mary? No human being knew Jesus the way His Mother did. It’s horrifying to me that Protestants believe once Jesus was finished with her body and her maternal guidance, He died, ascended into Heaven and left His Mother, at her death, to rot in a stinking grave and be consumed by worms.

Jesus never in scripture called her Mother, always woman!

 

[Eden]

By the way, I just saw that myfavoritmartin has changed his signature for the third time in as many days. I have to ask, mfm, what in the world are you immersing yourself in? I looked up this “Thyatira” statement and found this hilarious site:

revelationofjohn.com/Revel11.html

This is on the level of Jack Chick. I’m having a hard time respecting someone who would be reading and buying into this stuff.

In case myfavoritmartin has changed his signature again, this is the one he posted and I am commenting on: “Thyatira isn’t where I’d want to be come judgement (sic) day”.

 

[LilyM]

Jesus never in scripture called her Mother, always woman!

And I’ve already told you that ‘woman’ in the languages the bible was written in was never a dismissive term, it was in fact a very respectful and complimentary one. Do some study into it if you don’t believe me.

 

[myfavoritmartin]

I looked up this “Thyatira” statement and found this hilarious site:

".

Try the bible my friend. Revelation, okay?

In case myfavoritmartin has changed his signature again, this is the one he posted and I am commenting on: “Thyatira isn’t where I’d want to be come judgement (sic) day”.

I’ll give a verse BRB.

 

[myfavoritmartin]

And I’ve already told you that ‘woman’ in the languages the bible was written in was never a dismissive term, it was in fact a very respectful and complimentary one. Do some study into it if you don’t believe me.

You’ve not told me anything…
So everytime i see woman it should be considered respectful?

 

[AlegreFe]

Would God put his spirit in me? I sin!!!
Thankfully yes.
The temple argument is nonsense.

The Holy Spirit only resides in those who are in a State of Grace.

If you are in a state of mortal sin the “Divine guest” has departed. Father Corapi uses that phrase. The Holy Spirit departs from a soul in mortal sin.

In case you’re wondering, there is such a thing as mortal sin. Mortal means deadly.

16 If anyone sees his brother sinning,
if the sin is not deadly, he should pray
to God and he will give him life. This is
only for those whose sin is not deadly.
There is such a thing as deadly sin,
about which I do not say that you
should pray.
17 All wrongdoing is sin, but there is
sin that is not deadly. 1 John 5:16-17

MORTAL SIN
Mortal sin is defined by St. Augustine (Contra Faustum, XXII,
xxvii) as “Dictum vel factum vel concupitum contra legem
æternam”, i.e. something said, done or desired contrary to
the eternal law, or a thought, word, or deed contrary to the
eternal law. This is a definition of sin as it is a voluntary act.
As it is a defect or privation it may be defined as an aversion
from God, our true last end, by reason of the preference given
to some mutable good. The definition of St. Augustine is
accepted generally by theologians and is primarily a definition
of actual mortal sin. It explains well the material and formal
elements of sin. The words “dictum vel factum vel
concupitum” denote the material element of sin, a human
act: “contra legem æternam”, the formal element. The act is
bad because it transgresses the Divine law. St. Ambrose (De
paradiso, viii) defines sin as a “prevarication of the Divine law”.
The definition of St. Augustine strictly considered, i.e. as sin
averts us from our true ultimate end, does not comprehend
venial sin, but in as much as venial sin is in a manner contrary
to the Divine law, although not averting us from our last end, it
may be said to be included in the definition as it stands.
While primarily a definition of sins of commission, sins of
omission may be included in the definition because they
presuppose some positive act (St. Thomas, I-II:71:5) and
negation and affirmation are reduced to the same genus. Sins
that violate the human or the natural law are also included, for
what is contrary to the human or natural law is also contrary
to the Divine law, in as much as every just human law is
derived from the Divine law, and is not just unless it is in
conformity with the Divine law.

If you have not repented of your sins, then you are in a state of sin (I wouldn’t know whether that be mortal or venial, only God would know). To repent means to suffer a pain for the sins that you have committed, which Catholics call penance. You should also show a change in your life and be really sorry for your sins out of perfect love for God.
See now, if you were a Catholic, you could examine your conscience, make a good confession to the Priest. Then do your penance and then receive Jesus in Holy Communion.
Then you would be in a State of Grace and therefore a Temple of the Holy Spirit. http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i85/Alegre-Fe/Emoticons/Angelblinking.gif

If I could further suggest you read this on The effect of Penance, as regards the pardon of mortal sin? This is a long one but it’s good and would require more than one read over.

 

[LilyM]

You’ve not told me anything…
So everytime i see woman it should be considered respectful?

Every time you see ‘woman’ in the Bible - for sure it’s not disrespectful :nope:

 

[AlegreFe]

NO FULL OF GRACE HERE.

28 And the angel being come in, said unto her:
Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee:
blessed art thou among women.
29 Who having heard, was troubled at his
saying, and thought with herself what manner
of salutation this should be.
30 And the angel said to her: Fear not, Mary,
for thou hast found grace with God.
Luke 1:28-30 (DR-V)

That term “full of grace” does not fully explain what really happened to Mary. The Greek word or “name” that was given to Mary by God was Kecharitomene.
The full greeting that the Angel used was “Chaire, Kecharitomene” which really means “Hail, (one who has been made) Full of Grace!”

Looks like it’s a wee bit difficult to put that into one small phrase so my guess is that St. Jerome just used “Gratia Plena” as his Latin translation for the Greek term “Kecharitomene” instead of using a long phrase since it was a name that God chose for Mary. The translation from Latin to English (Douay-Rheims version of the Bible) then is “Full of Grace” if you use the Latin “Gratia Plena” that Jerome used. That word, which God chose as Mary’s name, is a perfect present participle. It means that Mary has been perfected in Grace and is also presently in Grace. This is a past action that occured. She has been made Full of Grace. Full to the point of overflowing.

Sorry I have no one single link for that explaination. I’ve explained this so many times that I just do it off the top of my head. But I’ll try to see if I could find something that has a lot of that information together. Tim Staples explains it really nicely but he doesn’t have a website where he explains it in written form. Here is an audio CD set that Tim has on Mary.

Here are some websites that might contain an explanation
of that phrase the Angel uses for Mary;
Mary’s Immaculate Conception
Kecharitomene Questions ← click then scroll down to that section.
The Immaculate Conception and the Assumption
…
okay, I found this which gives a good explanation for the meaning of the word Kecharitomene. I love it!! I never saw this one before but it’s the best and most complete explanation that I’ve seen so far. You can read the whole thing at the website but I put this section here;
Mary was most certainly saved by the grace of Jesus Christ;
in fact she was filled with His saving grace, which is why the
angel Gabriel called her “full of grace” (Luke 1:28). The Greek
term here is kecharitomene, from the verb charitoo, which
means “to fill or endue with grace”. (The root of this verb is the
noun charis, grace; the same word used in Ephesians 2:8,
Romans 11:6 and Acts 15:11, among other passages, to refer
to God’s saving grace.)

Kecharitomene is a perfect present participle of charitoo. A
perfect participle indicates an action completed in the past
with existing results, and a present participle denotes a
continuous, repeated action. So kecharitomene literally
means “one who was completed in grace in the past and who
continues to be full of grace”. Hence the traditional
translation “full of grace” is much more accurate than “highly
favored”, or any other such modern rendering.

The Bible never uses this particular tense of charitoo to refer
to anyone but the Virgin Mary! She alone among all human
persons is utterly embued with the grace of God. Since sin
and grace are opposed (Romans 5:20-21), and grace saves
us from sin (Eph 2:5, 8); Mary’s fullness of grace would
indicate a complete absence of sin (this is a biblical basis
for Catholic belief in Mary’s sinlessness).

This is obviously a gift she receives from God, since she does
not fill herself with grace. Are we to believe that He who began
this great work in Mary was unable to complete it (see
Philippians 1:6)? Did He utterly fill her with grace in the
beginning only to allow her to be damned in the end? No,
the Savior perfected His work in Mary; she is now in Heaven
with Him.

Ooh that’s nice! Tim Staples used something very very close to this (first two paragraphs) in his talks about Mary. I just thought I’d throw the other two paragraphs in there since all the versions that you used said “highly favored one” or the like.

 

[maryj]

Prove it! that what the RCC teaches of Mary was an oral tradition known since the beginning handed down from the apostles.

Alrighty then…
Mary’s perpetual virginity
St. Athanasius, the great doctor of the Incarnation who led the fight against Arianism, is highly respected by Protestants. In his discourse Against the Arians, he explicitly calls Mary “Ever Virgin” (Discourse Against the Arians, 2,70; Jurgens Vol. 1, #767a.)
At the end of the fouth century, when Helvidius questioned Mary’s perpetual virginity, the Church Fathers reacted with outrage. St Jerome penned a scathing defense, The Perpetual Virginity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Against Helvidius, condeming his teaching as novel and heretical. Both St. Augustine and St. Ambrose strongly defended Mary’s perpetual virginity. Augustine calls her," A Virgin conceiving, a Virgin bearing, and a Virgin pregnant, A Virgin bringing forth, a Virgin perpetual. ( See Sermons, 186, 1; Heresies, 56; Jurgens, Vol. 3, #1518 and 1974d.)
I’ve got more, Sinlessness, the Assumption, Protestant reformers that insist Mary is the Mother of God…I’ll share. Mary leads us straight to Jesus Christ, never away, always directly to Him. Praise God!

 

[AlegreFe]

we probably would if maybe she was scourged,flogged, mocked and humiliated, poked in the side with sword. YOU KNOW CRUCIFIED ! LIKE JESUS WAS!

Did you know that one of the titles that Mary has is Queen of Martyrs? That is because her soul was pierced with a sword also. She felt the pain of her Son being crucified.

Sorry if you don’t like me calling Jesus her Son but He is her Son. Yes He is our Lord, our Savior, our Redeemer, our King of Kings. He is our Divine Mercy! But right now we are speaking of Mary, and Jesus is her Son. He has her blood, her genes, her DNA. I’ll bet Jesus looks just like her too; almost like a fraternal twin because there is no other human genes that He has other than Mary’s!!
How d’ya like that?!!

I take it you are not a mother? I don’t know but I cannot imagine that you are a mother otherwise you would at least be able to imagine what it would feel like to have your son “scourged,flogged, mocked and humiliated, poked in the side with sword. YOU KNOW CRUCIFIED! LIKE JESUS WAS!” Only a mother can feel such emotional and yes physical pain in her heart and soul, to see her son go through such torture. http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i85/Alegre-Fe/Emoticons/Cry.gif

Simeon even told Mary that a sword shall pierce her own soul.

34 and Simeon blessed them and said to
Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is set
for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and
for a sign that is spoken against
35 (and a sword will pierce through
your own soul also), that thoughts out
of many hearts may be revealed.”
Luke 2:34-35

Ooh I found this webpage full of Marian goodies for you!! It’s pretty long. There’s a lot to read there; so take your time to actually study through that page before you start posting off the handle here. There are a lot of links there to lead you to other webpages or perhaps within the same page. You have to at least read and try to grasp and learn something before you go off on us okay?

Pray over this thread. Read each post again in a calmly manner and visit the links to read and then you could come back here with further questions okay?

myfavoritmartin:

Jesus never in scripture called her Mother, always woman!

There’s a reason why Jesus called His mother "woman" and it was not one of disrespect at all. She is the "woman" referred to in Genesis’ Proto-evangelium.
This "woman" Mary, is the New Eve.
Gen 3:15 I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your
head, and you shall bruise his heel." This is the only
occurrence of the phrase “her seed” in all of Scripture.
It is a reference to the coming of the Messiah and to the
special role a woman will play in the redemption of
mankind.

She is also the "woman" in Revelation!
Rev 12:1-2 And a great portent appeared in heaven, a woman
clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her
head a crown of twelve stars; 2 she was with child and she
cried out in her pangs of birth, in anguish for delivery.
While giving birth to Christ was a joy without pain, giving
birth to the Church was the searing pain of the Cross, a
pain she shared spiritually with her Son as no one else
could.