Introduction
Quaestio: Why did the Church dedicate Saturday to the worship of the mother of Christ? Six reasons: 1. Ratio passionis; 2. Quietness; 3. Completeness; 4. Blessing; 5. Mediation; 6. [Ratio] confessionis.
Divisio (see above)
1) First part: Mary was defined as a ship (allegory) because of her “load”, i.e. the virtues inherent to her: humility, virginity and fertility. 2) Second part: the dignity of the ship/Mary consists in its mainmast made from a cedar, i.e. in Christ (reference to Ezekiel); Christ = cedar: like the cedar fruit, Christ has sweetness (in his divine nature), bitterness (in his flesh) and sweetness and bitterness together (in his soul). 3) Third part: erat navis in medio maris (cf. above thema): the ship/Mary is “in the middle of the sea”, i.e. among sinners; Mary is a mediator between sinners and God. Mary is associated with three celestial elements (dawn, moon and sun; reference to Song of Songs): 1. Mary/dawn mediates between night and day, i.e. between sinners and God; 2. As the moon shines at night and is close to the earth, so Mary illuminates the minds of sinners and is close to them, i.e. she helps them; 3. As the sun is the noblest of all the planets and gives birth to everything on earth, so Mary is the noblest of all the creatures and through her the gifts and graces of God descend onto the earth.
Conclusion Mary as Noah’s ark, i.e. means of salvation. Exhortation to pray to the Virgin Mary to intercede for the salvation of humanity.