Sabbath the Bride and Our Lady of La Salette

As a Jew I was struck and deeply moved when I read that Mary's words at La Salette were: "Six days I have given you to labor, the seventh I have kept for myself." For from a Jewish perspective it is very natural, almost inevitable to associate Mary in a special way with the Sabbath.

In Jewish tradition the Sabbath is seen as a bride, and is referred to as the "Sabbath Queen." And it is understood to be the forecourt of the Messianic Kingdom, a sort of taste of what is to come. [The author offers as an explanation a free translation of "Lekha Dodi," a traditional Jewish song for the Shabbat dinner:]

"Come, my Beloved.

Let us welcome Sabbath the Bride, Queen of our days.

Come, let us all greet Sabbath, Queen sublime,

Fountain of blessings in every clime.

Annointed and regal since earliest time,

In thought she preceded Creation's six days.

Come, my Beloved.

Let us welcome Sabbath the Bride, Queen of our days.

Arise and shake off the dust of the earth.

Wear glorious garments reflecting your worth.

Messiah will lead us all soon to rebirth.

My soul now senses redemption's warm rays.

Come, my Beloved.

Let us welcome Sabbath the Bride, Queen of our days.

Awake and arise to greet the new light

For in your radiance the world will be bright.

Sing out, for darkness is hidden from sight.

The Lord through you His glory displays.

Come, my Beloved.

Let us welcome Sabbath the Bride, Queen of our days.

Then your destroyers will themselves be destroyed;

Ravagers, at great distance, will live in a void.

Your God then will celebrate you, overjoyed,

As a groom with his bride when his eyes meet her gaze.

Come, my Beloved.

Let us welcome Sabbath the Bride, Queen of our days.

All rise and turn to the entrance in a symbolic greeting

of the Bride, Sabbath

Come in peace, soul mate, sweet gift of the Lord,

Greeted with joy and in song so adored

Amidst God's people, in faith in accord.

Come, Bride Sabbath; come, crown of the days.

Come, my Beloved.

Let us welcome Sabbath the Bride, Queen of our days."

Almost every one of these words could be sung ever so appropriately to the Queen of Heaven, the Queen of La Salette, the Blessed Virgin Mary! It seemed only natural to me that Mary should identify herself with the Sabbath, that she should say "...six days have I given you to labor, the seventh I have kept for myself"!

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Roy Schoeman

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