Consideration XXXII — Confidence in the Patronage of Most Holy Mary

"Qui invenerit me, inveniet vitam, et hauriet salutem a Domino" (Prov. 8:35).

Point I

How much we ought to thank the mercy of our God for having given us Mary as our advocate, who by her prayers can obtain for us all the graces we desire. "O certe Dei nostri mira benignitas, qui suis reis te Dominam tribuit advocatam, ut auxilio tuo quod volueris valeas impetrare." O admirable goodness of our God, exclaims St. Bonaventure, who has given You, O Lady, as advocate to His guilty ones, so that by Your help You may obtain whatever You wish. Sinners, my brothers, if we find ourselves guilty before divine justice and already condemned to hell for our sins, let us not despair; let us have recourse to this divine Mother, let us place ourselves under her mantle, and she will save us. Good intention is needed to change our life: good intention and great confidence in Mary, and we shall be saved. And why? Because Mary is a "powerful" advocate, a "compassionate" advocate, an advocate "who desires to save all."

In the first place, let us consider that Mary is a "powerful" advocate, who can do all things with the Judge for the benefit of her devoted ones. This is a singular privilege, granted to her by the Judge Himself, who is her Son: "Grande privilegium, quod Maria apud Filium sit potentissima." Jean Gerson says that the Blessed Virgin asks nothing of God with absolute will that she does not obtain; and that she as queen sends the angels to enlighten, purify, and perfect her servants. Therefore the Church, in order to inspire confidence in us toward this great advocate, has us invoke her by the name of Virgin most powerful: "Virgo potens, ora pro nobis." And why is the patronage of Mary so powerful? Because she is the Mother of God. "Oratio Deiparae," says St. Antoninus, "habet rationem imperii, unde impossibile est eam non exaudiri." The prayers of Mary, since she is Mother, have a certain reason of command before Jesus Christ; and therefore it is impossible that she, when she prays, should not be heard. St. George, Archbishop of Nicomedia, says that the Redeemer, as if to discharge the obligation He has to this Mother for having given Him His human nature, grants all her requests: "Filius quasi exsolvens debitum, petitiones tuas implet." Hence St. Theophilus, Bishop of Alexandria, left this written: "The Son is pleased to be prayed to by His Mother, because He wishes to grant her whatever she asks, so as to repay the favor received from her in having given Him flesh." Therefore the martyr St. Methodius exclaimed: "Euge, euge, quae debitorem habes Filium! Deo enim universi debemus, tibi autem ille debitor est." Rejoice, rejoice, O Mary, for you have the good fortune of having as debtor that Son to whom all of us are debtors, since all that we have is His gift.

Hence Cosmas of Jerusalem said that the help of Mary is omnipotent: "Omnipotens auxilium tuum, o Maria." Yes, it is omnipotent, Richard of St. Lawrence confirms, since it is just that the Mother share in the power of the Son; the Son, then, who is omnipotent, has made His Mother omnipotent: "Cum autem eadem sit potestas Filii, et Matris, ab omnipotente Filio omnipotens Mater facta est." The Son is omnipotent by nature, the Mother is omnipotent by grace; that is to say, she obtains by her prayers whatever she asks, according to that celebrated verse: "Quod Deus imperio, tu prece, Virgo, potes." And this very thing was revealed to St. Bridget. One day this saint heard Jesus speaking to Mary and saying to her: "Pete quod vis a me, non enim potest esse inanis petitio tua." My Mother, ask Me whatever You wish; You know that any request of Yours cannot but be heard by Me. And then He added the reason: "Quia tu mihi nihil negasti in terris. Ego nihil tibi negabo in coelis." You denied Me nothing while living on earth; it is right that I deny You nothing now that You are with Me in heaven.

In short, there is no one, however wicked, whom Mary cannot save by her intercession. "Habes vires insuperabiles," St. Gregory of Nicomedia said to her, "ne clementiam tuam superet multitudo peccatorum. Nihil tuae resistit potentiae; tuam enim gloriam Creator existimat esse propriam." O Mother of God, nothing can resist Your power, since Your Creator regards Your glory as His own. You can do all things, St. Peter Damian also says to her, since You can even raise the desperate to the hope of salvation: "Nihil tibi impossibile, quae etiam desperatos in spem salutis potes relevare."

Affections and Prayers

Dear Queen and Mother of mine, I will say to You with St. Germanus: "You are omnipotent to save sinners, and You need no other recommendation before God, for You are the Mother of the true Life." Therefore, my Lady, if I have recourse to You, all my sins cannot make me lose confidence in salvation. You obtain by Your prayers whatever You wish; if You pray for me, I shall certainly be saved. Pray then for wretched me (I will say to You with St. Bernard), O great Mother of God, for Your Son listens to You and grants You whatever You ask of Him: "Loquere, Domina, quia audit Filius tuus, et quaecunque petieris impetrabis." I am a sinner, it is true, but I wish to amend, and I boast of being Your special servant. I am unworthy, it is true, of Your protection, but I know that You have never abandoned anyone who has placed his confidence in You. You can and wish to save me, and I confide in You. When I was lost and did not think of You, You thought of me and obtained for me the grace of coming to my senses; how much more must I now confide in Your compassion, now that I have dedicated myself to Your service and commend myself to You and hope in You? O Mary, pray for me and make me a saint. Obtain for me holy perseverance; obtain for me a great love for Your Son and for You, my most lovable Mother. I love You, my Queen, and I hope to love You always. Love me in return, and by Your love change me from a sinner into a saint.

Point II

Let us consider in the second place that Mary is an advocate as powerful as she is "compassionate," who does not know how to refuse her patronage to anyone who has recourse to her. The eyes of the Lord, says David, are turned upon the just; but this Mother of mercy (as Richard of St. Lawrence says) keeps her eyes upon the just as well as upon sinners, so that either they do not fall, or if they have fallen, by her intercession she lifts them up: "Sed oculi Dominae super iustos et peccatores, sicut oculi matris ad puerum, ne cadat; vel si ceciderit, ut sublevet." St. Bonaventure used to say that when he looked at Mary, it seemed to him he was looking at mercy itself: "Certe Domina, cum te aspicio, nihil nisi misericordiam cerno." Hence St. Bernard exhorts us to commend ourselves in all our needs to this powerful advocate with great confidence, since she is all sweetness and kindness to everyone who commends himself to her: "Quid ad Mariam accedere trepidat humana fragilitas? nihil austerum in ea, nihil terribile, tota suavis est." Therefore Mary is called the olive: "Quasi oliva speciosa in campis" (Sirach 24). Just as from the olive nothing comes but oil, a symbol of compassion, so from the hands of Mary nothing comes but graces and mercies, which she dispenses to all who take shelter under her patronage. Hence Denis the Carthusian rightly calls her the advocate of all sinners who have recourse to her: "Advocata omnium iniquorum ad se confugientium." O God, what pain a Christian who damns himself will have, thinking that in life he could have saved himself so easily by having recourse to this Mother of mercy, and he did not do so, and then it will be too late to do so! The Blessed Virgin said one day to St. Bridget: I am called the Mother of mercy, and truly so I am, because the mercy of God has made me merciful: "Ego vocor ab omnibus mater misericordiae, et vere misericordia illius misericordem me fecit." And truly, who has given us this advocate to defend us, if not the mercy of God, because He wants us saved? "Ideo miser erit," Mary added, "qui ad misericordiam, cum possit, non accedit." Miserable, she said, and eternally miserable will be he who, though he can in this life commend himself to me, who am so kind and compassionate with all, unhappily does not have recourse and damns himself.

Perhaps we fear, says St. Bonaventure, that if we seek help from Mary, she will deny it to us? No, says the saint: "Ipsa enim non misereri ignorat, et miseris non satisfacere nunquam scivit." No, Mary does not know, nor has she ever known, how to fail to pity and help any wretch who has had recourse to her. She does not know, nor can she, because she has been assigned to us by God as queen and mother of mercy: as queen of mercy she is bound to care for the wretched. "Tu Regina misericordiae," St. Bernard says to her, "et qui subditi misericordiae, nisi miseri?" Hence the saint then humbly added: Since You, then, O Mother of God, are the queen of mercy, You must have more care of me, who among all am the most wretched sinner: "Tu regina misericordiae, et ego miserrimus peccator, subditorum maximus; rege nos ergo, o regina misericordiae." As mother, then, of mercy, she must attend to freeing from death her sick children, of whom her compassion alone makes her mother. Therefore St. Basil calls her "publicum valetudinarium" — a public hospital. Public hospitals are made for the poor sick, and whoever is poorest has the most right to be received; and so, according to St. Basil, Mary must receive with greater compassion and attention the greatest sinners who have recourse to her.

But let us not doubt the compassion of Mary. One day St. Bridget heard the Savior say to His Mother: "Etiam diabolo misericordiam exhiberes, si humiliter peteret." Lucifer, the proud one, will never humble himself to do this; but if the wretch were to humble himself before this divine Mother and beg her to help him, Mary by her intercession would drive him out of hell. By this Jesus Christ wished to make us understand what Mary herself then said to the saint: that when a sinner has recourse to her, no matter how great he may be, she does not look at the sins he brings, but at the intention with which he comes; if he comes with good will to amend, she receives him and heals him of all the wounds he has: "Quantumcunque homo peccat, si ex vera emendatione ad me reversus fuerit, statim parata sum recipere revertentem: nec attendo quantum peccaverit, sed cum quali voluntate venit. Nam non dedignor eius plagas ungere et sanare; quia vocor, et vere sum mater misericordiae." Hence St. Bonaventure encourages us: "Respirate ad illam, perditi peccatores, et perducet vos ad portum." Poor lost sinners, do not despair; raise your eyes to Mary and breathe, confiding in the compassion of this good mother. Let us seek, then (says St. Bernard), the lost grace, and let us seek it through Mary: "Quaeramus gratiam, et per Mariam quaeramus." This grace lost by us, she has found, says Richard of St. Lawrence; therefore we must go to her to recover it: "Cupientes invenire gratiam, quaeramus inventricem gratiae." When St. Gabriel went to announce to Mary the divine maternity, among other things he said to her: "Ne timeas Maria, invenisti gratiam" (Luke 1). But if Mary was never deprived of grace — indeed, she was always full of it — how could the angel tell her she had found it? Cardinal Hugh answers that Mary did not find grace for herself, because she always possessed it, but for us who had lost it; hence Hugh says we must go to her and say: Lady, what is found must be restored to those who lost it; this grace You found is not Yours, because You always possessed it; it is ours; we lost it through our fault, and to us therefore You must return it: "Currant ergo, currant peccatores ad Virginem, qui gratiam amiserant peccando; secure dicant: Redde nobis rem nostram, quam invenisti."

Affections and Prayers

Here at Your feet, O great Mother of God, is a wretched sinner who not once but many times has willingly lost the divine grace that Your Son had purchased for him by His death. O Mother of mercy, I come to You with my soul full of wounds and sores; do not disdain me for this, but be moved to greater compassion and help me. See the confidence I have in You, and do not abandon me. I do not ask You for earthly goods; I ask You for the grace of God and love for Your Son. My Mother, pray for me and never cease praying. The merits of Jesus Christ and Your intercession must save me. Your office is to intercede for sinners; therefore, "Advocata nostra" (I will say to You with St. Thomas of Villanova), "officium tuum imple" — do Your office, commend me to God, and defend me. There is no cause, however desperate, that is lost when defended by You. You are the hope of sinners; You are my hope. O Mary, I will never cease to serve You, to love You, and always to have recourse to You; and You never cease to help me, especially when You see me in danger of losing the grace of God again. O Mary, O great Mother of God, have pity on me.

Point III

Let us consider in the third place that Mary is an advocate so compassionate that she not only helps those who have recourse to her, but she herself goes seeking the wretched to defend and save them. See how she calls everyone, encouraging us to hope for every good if we have recourse to her: "In me omnis spes vitae et virtutis: transite ad me omnes" (Sirach 24:25). The devout Pelbartus comments on this passage: "Vocat omnes, iustos, et peccatores." She calls all, the just and sinners. The devil, says St. Peter, goes about always seeking whom he may devour: "Circuit quaerens quem devoret" (1 Pet. 5). But this divine Mother, says Bernardine of Busti, goes about seeking whom she can save: "Ipsa semper circuit, quaerens quem salvet." Mary is the mother of mercy, because the mercy she has for us makes her pity us and always seek to save us; like a mother who cannot see her children in danger of being lost without helping them. And who, says St. Germanus, after Jesus Christ, has more care for our salvation than You, O Mother of mercy? "Quis post Filium tuum curam gerit generis humani sicut tu?" St. Bonaventure adds that Mary is so solicitous in helping the wretched that she seems to have no greater desire than this: "Undique sollicita es de miseris; solum misereri videris appetere."

She certainly helps us when we have recourse to her, and no one is ever turned away by her. "Tanta est eius benignitas," says the Idiota, "ut nemo ab ea repellatur." But this is not enough for the compassionate heart of Mary, adds Richard of St. Victor. She anticipates our supplications and applies herself to help us before we pray to her: "Velocius occurrit eius pietas, quam invocetur, et causas miserorum anticipat." Moreover, says the same author, Mary is so full of mercy that when she sees miseries, she immediately succors them, and she cannot see anyone's need and not relieve it: "Adeo replentur ubera tua misericordia, ut alterius miseriae notitia tacta, lac fundant misericordiae, nec possis miserias scire, et non subvenire." So she did even while she lived on this earth, as we know from the event at the wedding of Cana in Galilee, when the wine ran out and she did not wait to be asked, but pitying the affliction and embarrassment of the bride and groom, she asked her Son to console them, saying: "Vinum non habent"; and she already obtained that her Son by a miracle changed the water into wine. Now if, says St. Bonaventure, Mary's compassion for the afflicted was so great while she still lived in this world, certainly her compassion with which she helps us is much greater now that she is in heaven, where she better sees our miseries and pities us more: "Magna fuit erga miseros misericordia Mariae adhuc exsulantis in mundo, sed multo maior est regnantis in coelo." And Novarinus adds that if Mary showed herself so ready to help even without being asked, how much more attentive will she be to console those who pray to her? "Si tam prompta ad auxilium currit non quaesita, quid quaesita praestitura est?"

Ah, let us never cease to have recourse in all our needs to this divine Mother, who always makes herself ready to help whoever prays to her. "Invenies semper paratam auxiliari," says Richard of St. Lawrence. And Bernardine of Busti adds that she desires more to do us good than we desire to receive it from her: "Plus vult illa bonum tibi facere, et gratiam largiri, quam tu accipere concupiscas." And therefore he says that when we have recourse to her, we will always find her with hands full of graces and mercies: "Invenies eam in manibus plenam misericordia et liberalitate." So great is the desire Mary has to do us good and to see us saved, says St. Bonaventure, that she considers herself offended not only by those who do her some positive injury, but also by those who do not ask her for graces: "In te Domina peccant, non solum qui tibi iniuriam irrogant, sed etiam qui te non rogant." And on the other hand the saint affirms that whoever has recourse to Mary (always understood with the will to amend) is already saved; hence he calls her: "O salus te invocantium" — O salvation of those who invoke you. Let us always have recourse, then, to this divine Mother, and let us always say to her what this saint used to say: "In te Domina speravi, non confundar in aeternum." O Lady, O Mother of God Mary, no, I shall not be damned, having placed my hopes in You.

Affections and Prayers

O Mary, here at Your feet is a wretched slave of hell who seeks Your compassion. It is true that I deserve no good, but You are the mother of mercy, and compassion is shown to those who do not deserve it. The whole world calls You the refuge and the hope of sinners; therefore You are my refuge and my hope. I am a lost sheep, but to save these lost sheep the Eternal Word came from heaven and made Himself Your Son; and He wishes me to have recourse to You, and You to help me with Your prayers. "Sancta Maria Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus." O great Mother of God, You pray for all; pray to Your Son also for me. Tell Him that I am Your devoted servant and that You protect me. Tell Him that I have placed my hopes in You. Tell Him to pardon me, and that I repent of all the offenses I have committed against Him. Tell Him to give me, by His mercy, holy perseverance. Tell Him to grant me the grace of loving Him with all my heart. Tell Him, in short, that You wish me saved. He does whatever You ask of Him.

O Mary, my hope, in You I confide; have pity on me.