Part ten, Chapter IX: "he Hath Showed Might in his Arm"

"he Hath Showed Might in his Arm"

IN THE preceding verse the Blessed Virgin Mary praised and glorified the effects of divine Mercy originating in the Incarnation of the Saviour and extending from one generation to another to all who fear God. In this verse she magnifies and exalts the prodigies of Divine Might which shine forth so admirably in this same mystery.

The great God, she says, hath put down the mighty with His arm. What arm is this? St. Augustine, St. Fulgentius and St. Bonaventure all maintain that it is the Word Incarnate, according to the prophet Isaias; "And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?" (1) which text St. John applies to the Son of God.(2) Since it is with his arms that man performs his actions, it is similarly through His Divine Son that God accomplishes all things. "Just as man's arms," says Albert the Great, "extend from his body, and his hands from both the arms and body, so also does the Son of God extend from the Almighty Father, while the Holy,Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son." But what is the meaning of the words "He hath showed might?" They mean that God has acted powerfully, and that His power has produced admirable effects in his arm, through His Only-begotten Son and Incarnate Word, who is His arm. It is through Christ that the Eternal Father created all things; it is through Christ that He redeemed the world; through Christ He vanquished the devil and triumphed over hell; it is through Christ that God opened heaven to us; it is through Him that He performed an infinite number of other miracles. "The words that I speak to you," says the Son of God, "I speak not of myself. But the Father who abideth in me, be cloth the works." (3) Oh, what wonders are wrought by Divine Might in this ineffable mystery of the Incarnation! What a miracle to behold two natures, infinitely removed from each other, so closely united that they form but a single person! What a (1). Isa. 53, 1 (2). John 12,38. (3). John 14, 10.

Miracle to behold the Word Incarnate come forth from the consecrated womb of a virgin without destroying that virginity! What a wealth of miracles in the institution of the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar! What a miracle, last of all, for Divine Might to have elevated a daughter of Adam to the dignity of Mother of God, and to have enthroned her as Queen of the angels and of the whole universe!

Among the works of God, some are attributed to His hands and fingers, like the heavens: "The heavens are the works of thy hands" (4) of will behold the heavens, the works of thy fingers." ( 5 ) Others are attributed to one of His fingers, "This is the finger of God," (6) like the wonders that He performed through Moses in Egypt. But the incomparable work of the Incarnation is attributed neither to the hands or fingers of God; it belongs to the arm of His divine Might because i t incomparably surpasses all the other works of His adorable Majesty.

"It is an admirable thing," says St. John Damascene, "that He who is perfect God becomes perfect man. This God-Man is the newest of all things; indeed, He is the only new being that has ever appeared or ever can appear under the sun, in whom the infinite power of God is made manifest far more than in all that the universe encompasses. For what is there greater and more admirable than to behold God made man?" (7)

Let us listen now to Richard of Saint Victor who, in explaining these words of the royal prophet, Descendet sicut pluvia in vellus, (8) exclaims: "0 the glory of the Blessed Virgin! 0 marvellous grace! Admirable dignity of the Mother of this divine Child! Oh, what goodness on the put of this adorable Child who, being the Son of God, wills to become the Son of Mary I Oh, what dignity of the Mother of Jesus to possess the fruit of fertility together with the flower of virginity! What a marvel to behold a virgin who bears a son, not just an ordinary son but a son who is God! Truly the glory of Mary is a glory altogether unique. Descendet sicut pluvia in vellus, 'He will descend like rain upon fleece.' Who will descend? The Only-begotten Son of God. Whence and to what place will He descend? From the adorable bosom of the divine Father into the virginal bosom of His Mother." ( 9 ) So speaks Richard of Saint Victor.

Will you listen, after that, to the holy Cardinal Hugues as he explains these words of the Psalmist: "Sing ye to the Lord a new canticle: (4). Ps. 101, 26. (5). Ps. 8, 4. (6). Exod. 8. 19. (7). St. John Eudes does not give the reference for this quotation. (8). Ps. 71, 6. (9). Adnot. in Psal. 71.

because he hath done wonderful things." (10) What are these marvellous things? "They are," says this saintly cardinal, "that He has caused God to be made man, a virgin to become a Mother, and the hearts of the faithful to believe these two mysteries. It is a wonderful thing that God delivered up His own Son to the spite of slaves, His beloved Son to the hatred of His enemies, the sovereign Judge to the ignominy of criminals and condemned creatures, the First to the last (for a man is the least of all creatures), and the Innocent to the impious. (11)

Here are two additional factors of the highest importance. The first is that nowhere is divine Might more apparent than in the remission and destruction of sin, according to these words of holy Church: "0 God, Who dost manifest Thine omnipotence more in forgiving us our sins and showing us mercy than in anything else." The wrong done to God through sin is so great. that only the infinite might of an immense bounty can pardon it, and sin is such a frightful monster that only the arm of the Almighty can crush it.

The second wonderful manifestation of this adorable Might is the virtue and strength that i t imparts to holy martyrs and to all persons who suffer extraordinary afflictions, that they may bear them generously and in a true Christian manner for the love of Him Who suffered the torments and death of the Cross for their sake.

This is a brief summary of the countless miracles performed by the all-powerful arm of the Word Incarnate, miracles which He continues to perform daily for the glory of His divine Father, the honor Of His most admirable Mother and the salvation and sanctification of mankind, to incite men to love and serve Him with all their hearts, as He loves them with all His Heart. 10). Ps. 97, 1 (11). In Ps. 97. 309-