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by Andrea Oliva Florendo (Author)
Be in Love! How often does love inspire us to sing? What song does Scripture sing if not the poetic incantation of the sublime word of God--- the Song of Songs? In Romance of the Enclosed Garden, you are invited to enter and a courtship, betrothal, and a wedding blossom before you. The story of the Bridegroom and the Bride seems at first glance a lover's quest. You may be surprised to know that it is a story about the Incarnation, and its characters are Christ and the Virgin Mary. Speakers in the Song are identified as Christ and the Church, or the loving soul. Mary, who is seen as the first bride, a type of Church, serves as a model for each believer. Andrea Oliva Florendo draws on the intimacy of a nuptial hymn and testimonies of early Fathers and saints to hear the Song's message: God loves us passionately like a bridegroom loves his bride. Human love whispered in and through the context of marriage point to the divine author and echoes Christ's love for the Church. Florendo's contemplation is a refreshing reminder that love is the essence of our true calling. A sense of solitude rooted in the word of God is an encounter with the sweet Mystery and Divine Lover. Once you are still and silent, He will sing to you. Be prepared to be wooed, pursued, and loved totally! Andrea Oliva Florendo, M.A., DDA, author of Liturgy of Flowers in a Mary Garden is an Adjunct Associate Professor of Theology and Religious Studies, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at St. John's University. A visual artist and landscape designer, she runs a Mary Garden Guild at a monastery, and coordinates a Mary Garden Academic Service-Learning on campus. Ms. Florendo is a harpist and Practitioner of Harp Therapy. With her husband, Romulo Florendo, M.D. on the violin has recorded a CD entitled: The Enclosed Garden. She calls Fresh Meadows, Queens her home.
