The Brides Of Christ

Brides of Christ is a study of professed nuns and life in the convents of colonial Mexico.

The early Christian writer Tertullian first applied the epithet "bride of Christ" to the uppity virgins of Carthage as a means of enforcing female obedience. Henceforth, the virgin as Christ's spouse was expected to manifest matronly modesty and due submission, hobbling virginity's ancient capacity to destabilize gender roles. In the early Middle Ages, the focus on virginity and the attendant anxiety over its possible loss reinforced the emphasis on claustration in female religious communities, while also profoundly disparaging the nonvirginal members of a given community. With the rising importance of intentionality in determining a person's spiritual profile in the high Middle Ages, the title of bride could be applied and appropriated to laywomen who were nonvirgins as well. Such instances of democratization coincided with the rise of bridal mysticism and a progressive somatization of female spirituality. These factors helped cultivate an increasingly literal and eroticized discourse: women began to undergo mystical enactments of their union with Christ, including ecstatic consummations and vivid phantom pregnancies. Female mystics also became increasingly intimate with their confessors and other clerical confidants, who were sometimes represented as stand-ins for the celestial bridegroom. The dramatic merging of the spiritual and physical in female expressions of religiosity made church authorities fearful, an anxiety that would coalesce around the figure of the witch and her carnal induction into the Sabbath.

Unveiling the Mystery of the Bride of Christ clears up the mystery of the bride by leading you on a journey through the scriptures, showing without a shadow of a doubt who the bride is and what her preparation is all about. The early church knew and understood that God, through his Holy Spirit, was preparing a people, a special group, who would embrace a coming revealed truth and be qualified to reign with Christ at his return when the kingdom of God would be set up on the earth. This special group is the bride of Christ, and understanding the mystery of the bride will captivate and motivate believers into achieving their destinies as ordained by Creator God. In this book, you will discover: The plan of God for mankind Why you were born for such a time as this What role the Bride will play What makes the Bride special What is covenant relationship Who are the jewels of God Why God must send Elijah in these last days What Torah is all about Why obedience is so important How the love of God is perfected in the believer The meaning of firstfruits What the key of David is all about The true meaning of the parable of the 10 virgins

The Letters of Gregory the Great, pope from 590 to 604, have long been viewed as an indispensable resource for scholars of the early medieval period. John Martyn’s knowledge of these letters is well nigh unsurpassed, In this book he turns his attention to a hitherto neglected subject; those letters of Pope Gregory which pertain to nuns and convents. Despite the fact that scholarship on the Middle Ages has in the last thirty years been transformed by feminist contributions, and there has developed, as a result, a heightened awareness of the presence of women in medieval life, both secular and religious, only two of the thirty-six letters identified by Martyn have previously been discussed by scholars. This edition of the letters in both Latin and English is therefore of inestimable value to scholars and will act as a spur for further research. This sizeable collection of letters are analysed in company with other, better-known, writings about nuns from Gregory’s dialogi. In the introduction Martyn argues that his upbringing, dominated by his mother and four devout aunts, might reasonably have inculcated in him a deep and abiding concern for women, the religious in particular. This is evidenced by his friendships with Theoctista and Gordia, the sisters of the Byzantine Emperor Maurice, and with his wife, the pious Constantina. and with a number of abbesses, including Respecta (from Marseilles) and Talasia (from Autun). Gregory’s deep interest in the religious life of women, and his concern for their safety and wellbeing, are apparent throughout the letters. Martyn’s translations are clarified and enhanced by a commentary.

Secrets of the Brides is a provocative study in typology which will introduce readers to the inner dimensions of Scripture. Typology was the predominant method of study in Jesus' day. Rabbis applied four levels of study to the Word of God. They are peshat (the simple meaning of the text), remez (allusion to something more), derush (inference and application) and sode (secrets). This book applies these principles to explore the accounts of seven biblical brides and their bridegrooms. Their lives were living allegories performed under the careful orchestration and gaze of the Holy Spirit and their stories are laced with prophetic codes for the Bride of Christ. From the first chapters the reader will be progressively led out of the shallows into deeper more complex revelations buried in the etymology of the Hebrew words, the Feasts of the Lord, the Millennial Week and the book of Revelation. The casual reading of the stories of these brides is like viewing the tip of an iceberg. It is beautiful on the surface of the water, but underneath that shining tip the enormity of its foundation sitting there in the deep stillness invokes a disquieting reverence. This book will introduce those who have not been exposed to the beauty of the types to another satisfying and exciting level of hermeneutics and interpretation. The investigative journey will not ask the student to subscribe to a certain eschatological scenario but will cause him to reconsider how he relates to the Word of God and how he worships its author. The author has been a student and teacher of Old Testament and Hebraic Studies for three decades. She waits for the midnight call in Texas with her husband of thirty - nine years, her two children, their spouses and six grandchildren. Maranatha!

The History of mankind is very cyclical. How often has it been said, "history repeats itself." Since time immemorial a repetitive theme in the human drama is Gnosticism, a teaching that special hidden knowledge leads to spiritual enlightenment. Gnostic myths have also focused on the sexual union of gods or goddesses with humans. The recent furor over the fictional novel and movie, The Da Vinci Code, has once again challenged the authenticity of the Christian Gospel, and brought new focus on Gnostic myths. Readers and movie-goers are encouraged to accept the dubious writings of "lost gospels" and reject the canonical teachings of the Bible. In those 2nd and 3rd century sources, the real Jesus who interacted with leaders, cared for the weak and sick, even loving the dregs of society, is exchanged for a strange creature that only appears to be human and bears no likeness to the Jewish man who died on a cruel Roman Cross. Beyond Da Vinci presents the real Jesus through the rich nuptial imagery of the Old and New Testaments. The reader meets the true Bride of Christ and learns of the incredible consummation of Bride and Bridegroom that is yet to come. Are there false Brides? Was Jesus of Nazareth married? Was he just a man or was he divine? Come partake of this incredible journey through the greatest romance of history; a journey to the truth.

Brides of Christ invites the modern reader to follow the histories of colonial Mexican nuns inside the cloisters where they pursued a religious vocation or sought shelter from the world. Lavrin provides a complete overview of conventual life, including the early signs of vocation, the decision to enter a convent, profession, spiritual guidelines and devotional practices, governance, ceremonials, relations with male authorities and confessors, living arrangements, servants, sickness, and death rituals. Individual chapters deal with issues such as sexuality and the challenges to chastity in the cloisters and the little-known subject of the nuns' own writings as expressions of their spirituality. The foundation of convents for indigenous women receives special attention, because such religious communities existed nowhere else in the Spanish empire.

This book is a clarion call from the Lord for us to see through Brides eyes and to get prepared for the greatest move of God in the history of mankind.