Mary had a little lambTo fetch a pail of water.Along came a spider and sat down beside her,Down came the rain and washed the spider out.She swallowed a bird to catch the spider,And so the poor doggy had none.Selah.
This is generally considered one of the more troublesome Psalms, but in hindsight it prefigures the coming of Emmanuel. Mary and the Lamb are clearly the Blessed Virgin and her Divine Son, and the Pail of Water is the Rite of Baptism (although why Mary is portrayed as the motivating progenitrix of the practice – the implication that she bears the Son of God expressly in order to establish baptism – is not apparent from the text).
The Spider is Satan, Prince of Lies, who seeks to entangle the Mother of God in his webs of deceit, but the falling rain washes the Spider out (the baptismal “pail of water” has become a deluge, recalling the purging Flood of Genesis). Mary’s swallowing of the Bird (the dove of the Holy Spirit) is not meant to imply that the Spider sought refuge in Mary’s mouth; it’s merely that the internalizing of the Holy Spirit is an act which in itself “catches” the Spider/Satan, returning him to his bondage in Hell. The Doggy who “had none” is Satan in another animal guise, who is henceforth denied his claim on humanity’s souls through the act of Baptism (the use of the descriptor “poor” is NOT intended to evoke ‘Sympathy for the Devil/Doggy’, but to stress Satan’s impoverishment, that he has nothing of value to offer to Man).
Of course, nobody has EVER figured out what “Selah” means…
The centrality of the Madonna-figure in the work, and the absence of the Lamb himself after the first line, has proven divisive among exegetes, with one camp arguing that it supports the intercessionary function of the Saints, while others condemn it as encouraging Mariolatry.
Edcole1961 almost 14 years ago
It’s shanks were dark as coal. And everywhere that Mary belched, the lamb was sure to go.
orfreebird almost 14 years ago
“Mary had a little lamb, piece of cheese, slice of ham” –
Ringo from Yellow Submarine
runar almost 14 years ago
Mary had a little sheep With that sheep she went to sleep. The sheep turned out to be a ram So Mary had a little lamb.
ToborRedrum almost 14 years ago
Mary had a little lamb. She ate it with mint jelly. And everywhere that Mary went, The lamb went, in her belly.
mrgromit almost 14 years ago
Hey, Baldwin, Dot Warner (from “The Warner Bros & Sister”) beat you to that one.
Jml58 almost 14 years ago
Mary had a little lamb. The midwife had a heartattack.
barbfrost almost 14 years ago
Mary had a little lamb, a little toast, a little jam. An iceream soda topped with fizz. And oh how sick our Mary is.
fritzoid Premium Member almost 14 years ago
Mary had a little lamb To fetch a pail of water. Along came a spider and sat down beside her, Down came the rain and washed the spider out. She swallowed a bird to catch the spider, And so the poor doggy had none. Selah.
This is generally considered one of the more troublesome Psalms, but in hindsight it prefigures the coming of Emmanuel. Mary and the Lamb are clearly the Blessed Virgin and her Divine Son, and the Pail of Water is the Rite of Baptism (although why Mary is portrayed as the motivating progenitrix of the practice – the implication that she bears the Son of God expressly in order to establish baptism – is not apparent from the text).
The Spider is Satan, Prince of Lies, who seeks to entangle the Mother of God in his webs of deceit, but the falling rain washes the Spider out (the baptismal “pail of water” has become a deluge, recalling the purging Flood of Genesis). Mary’s swallowing of the Bird (the dove of the Holy Spirit) is not meant to imply that the Spider sought refuge in Mary’s mouth; it’s merely that the internalizing of the Holy Spirit is an act which in itself “catches” the Spider/Satan, returning him to his bondage in Hell. The Doggy who “had none” is Satan in another animal guise, who is henceforth denied his claim on humanity’s souls through the act of Baptism (the use of the descriptor “poor” is NOT intended to evoke ‘Sympathy for the Devil/Doggy’, but to stress Satan’s impoverishment, that he has nothing of value to offer to Man).
Of course, nobody has EVER figured out what “Selah” means…
The centrality of the Madonna-figure in the work, and the absence of the Lamb himself after the first line, has proven divisive among exegetes, with one camp arguing that it supports the intercessionary function of the Saints, while others condemn it as encouraging Mariolatry.
Kathleen Healey Premium Member almost 14 years ago
I had a bumper sticker that read “Mary had a little lamb, but I ate it.”
natureboyfig4 Premium Member over 13 years ago
I see Mike has been watching his Animaniacs.
I first saw that joke on a Dot’s Poetry Corner segment.
;-)