CHAPTER I — Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy

Section 1 — How great our confidence in Mary ought to be, since she is the Queen of Mercy

Since the great Virgin Mary was exalted to be the Mother of the King of kings, the holy Church with just reason honors her, and wills that she be honored by all, with the glorious title of Queen. If the Son is King, says St. Athanasius, then justly must the Mother be esteemed and called Queen: Si ipse rex est qui natus est de Virgine, mater quae eum genuit, regina et domina proprie ac vere censetur. From the very moment, adds St. Bernardine of Siena, that Mary gave her consent to be the Mother of the Eternal Word, from that moment she merited to be made Queen of the world and of all creatures: Haec autem Virgo in illo consensu meruit primatum orbis, dominium mundi, sceptrum regni super creaturas. If the flesh of Mary, reasons Abbot St. Arnold, was not divided from that of Jesus, how then can the Mother be separated from the dominion of the Son? Neque a dominatione Filii mater potest esse seiuncta. Una est Mariae et Christi caro. So it must be judged that the glory of the kingdom is not merely shared between the Mother and the Son, but is indeed one and the same: Filii gloriam cum matre non tam communem iudico, quam eamdem.

And if Jesus is King of the universe, Mary too is Queen of the universe. Regina constituta, totum iure possidet Filii regnum, says Abbot Rupert. Therefore, says St. Bernardine of Siena, as many as are the creatures that serve God, so many ought also to serve Mary; for since the angels, mankind, and all things that are in heaven and on earth are subject to the empire of God, they are likewise subject to the dominion of the Virgin: Tot creaturae serviunt gloriosae Virgini, quot serviunt Trinitati; omnes namque creaturae, sive angeli, sive homines, et omnia quae sunt in caelo et in terra, quia omnia sunt divino imperio subiecta, gloriosae Virgini sunt subiectae. Therefore Abbot Guerric, turning to the divine Mother, speaks to her thus: Perge, Maria, perge secura in bonis Filii tui, fiducialiter age tamquam regina, mater regis et sponsa; tibi debetur regnum et potestas. Go forward then, O Mary, go forward in confidence and dispose at will of the goods of your Son; for being the Mother and the Spouse of the King of the world, the kingdom and dominion over all creatures are due to you as Queen.

Mary, then, is Queen; but let everyone know, for the common consolation of all, that she is a Queen entirely sweet, merciful, and inclined to the good of us wretched creatures. Therefore the holy Church wills that we salute her in this prayer and call her the Queen of Mercy. The very name of queen, as Blessed Albert the Great considers, signifies compassion and care for the poor, in contrast to the name empress, which signifies severity and rigor. The magnificence of kings and queens consists in relieving the wretched, says Seneca: Hoc reges habent magnificum, prodesse miseris. So that whereas tyrants in reigning have their own good for their end, kings ought to have as their end the good of their subjects. Hence it is that at the consecration of kings their heads are anointed with oil, the symbol of mercy, to signify that in reigning they ought above all to nourish thoughts of compassion and kindness toward their subjects.

Kings, then, ought principally to employ themselves in works of mercy; but not so as to forget to exercise justice against the guilty, when it is due. Not so Mary; for although she is Queen, she is not a queen of justice, intent upon the punishment of evildoers, but a queen of mercy, intent only upon compassion and pardon for sinners. And therefore the Church wills that we expressly call her Queen of Mercy. The great Chancellor of Paris, Jean Gerson, considering the words of David — Duo haec audivi, quia potestas Dei est, et tibi, Domine, misericordia (Ps. 61:12) — says that since the kingdom of God consists of justice and mercy, the Lord has divided it: the kingdom of justice he has reserved for himself, and the kingdom of mercy he has yielded to Mary, ordaining that all the mercies dispensed to mankind should pass through the hands of Mary and be dispensed at her will. Here are the words of Gerson: Regnum Dei consistit in potestate et misericordia: potestate Deo remanente, cessit quodammodo misericordiae pars Matri regnanti. And this is confirmed by St. Thomas in the preface to the Canonical Epistles, saying that the Blessed Virgin, when she conceived in her womb the divine Word and brought him forth, obtained half the kingdom of God, becoming the Queen of Mercy, while Jesus Christ remains the King of Justice: Quando Filium Dei in utero concepit, et postmodum peperit, dimidiam partem regni Dei impetravit, ut ipsa sit regina misericordiae, ut Christus est rex iustitiae.

The Eternal Father constituted Jesus Christ King of Justice, and therefore made him universal judge of the world; hence the Prophet sang: Deus, iudicium tuum regi da, et iustitiam tuam filio regis (Ps. 71:2). Here a learned interpreter takes up the words and says: Lord, you have given justice to your Son, quia misericordiam tuam dedisti matri regis. Wherefore St. Bonaventure well turns the aforesaid passage of David, saying: Deus, iudicium tuum regi da, et misericordiam tuam Matri eius. So likewise Archbishop Ernest of Prague says that the Eternal Father has given to the Son the office of judging and punishing, and to the Mother the office of compassionating and relieving the wretched: Pater omne iudicium dedit Filio, et omne officium misericordiae dedit Matri. Therefore the same Prophet David foretold that God himself, so to speak, consecrated Mary as Queen of Mercy by anointing her with the oil of gladness: Unxit te Deus... oleo laetitiae (Ps. 44:8) — so that all of us wretched children of Adam might rejoice in the thought that we have in heaven this great Queen, all filled with the unction of mercy and compassion toward us, as St. Bonaventure says: Maria plena unctione misericordiae et oleo pietatis, propterea unxit te Deus oleo laetitiae.

And to this purpose, how beautifully Blessed Albert the Great applies the story of Queen Esther, who was indeed a figure of our Queen Mary. We read in the Book of Esther (ch. 4) that during the reign of Ahasuerus, a decree was issued throughout his kingdom commanding the death of all the Jews. Then Mordecai, who was one of the condemned, commended their salvation to Esther, that she might intercede with the king to obtain the revocation of the sentence. At first Esther refused to undertake this office, fearing to anger Ahasuerus further. But Mordecai reproved her and sent her word that she should not think only of saving herself, since the Lord had placed her on the throne to obtain the salvation of all the Jews: Ne putes, quod animam tuam tantum liberes, quia in domo regis es prae cunctis Iudaeis (Esth. 4:13). Thus Mordecai spoke to Queen Esther, and thus also we poor sinners may say to our Queen Mary, should she ever hesitate to obtain from God the remission of the punishment justly merited by us: Do not think, Lady, that God has exalted you to be Queen of the world only to provide for your own good, but so that you, made so great, may the better compassionate and the better assist us wretched ones.

When Ahasuerus saw Esther in his presence, he asked her lovingly what she had come to seek: Quae est petitio tua? The queen answered: Si inveni gratiam in oculis tuis, o rex... dona mihi... populum meum pro quo obsecro. My king, she said, if ever I have found favor in your eyes, give me my people, for whom I plead. And Ahasuerus granted her request, immediately ordering the revocation of the sentence.

Now if Ahasuerus, because he loved Esther, granted her the salvation of the Jews, how could God fail to hear Mary — whom he loves immeasurably — when she prays for wretched sinners who commend themselves to her, saying: Si inveni gratiam in oculis tuis, o rex — My King and my God, if ever I have found grace before you — and well does the divine Mother know that she was the blessed, the happy, the only one among all mankind to find the grace that had been lost — dona mihi populum meum, pro quo obsecro. If you love me, she says, give me, Lord, these sinners for whom I plead. Can it be possible that God would not hear her? And who does not know the power that the prayers of Mary have with God? Lex clementiae in lingua eius (Prov. 31:26). Her every prayer is as a law established by the Lord, that mercy be shown to all those for whom Mary intercedes.

St. Bernard asks why the Church calls Mary the Queen of Mercy, and he answers: because we believe that she opens the abyss of divine mercy to whomever she wills, whenever she wills, and however she wills; so that there is no sinner, however enormous his sins, who is lost if Mary protects him: Quod divinae pietatis abyssum cui vult, quando vult, et quomodo vult, creditur aperire; ut nemo tam enormis peccator pereat, cui Sancta sanctorum patrocinii suffragia praestat.

But can we perhaps fear that Mary would disdain to intercede for some sinner because she sees him too laden with sins? Or should the majesty and holiness of this great Queen frighten us? No, says St. Gregory; the higher and holier she is, the sweeter and more merciful she is with sinners who wish to amend and have recourse to her: Maria quanto altior et sanctior, tanto clementior et dulcior circa conversos peccatores. Kings and queens, with the majesty they display, inspire fear and make their subjects afraid to approach them. But what fear, says St. Bernard, can the wretched have of approaching this Queen of Mercy, since she gives no sign of anything terrible or austere to those who come to her, but shows herself all sweetness and courtesy? Quid ad Mariam accedere trepidat humana fragilitas? Nihil austerum in ea, nihil terribile; tota suavis est, omnibus offerens lac et lanam. Mary not only gives, but she herself offers to all of us milk and wool: the milk of mercy to animate our confidence, and the wool of refuge to shelter us from the thunderbolts of divine justice.

Suetonius relates of the Emperor Titus that he did not know how to refuse any favor to whoever asked it of him; indeed, he sometimes promised more than he could fulfill, and when admonished for this, he would answer that a prince should never send anyone away discontented who had been admitted to speak with him. Titus said this, but in reality he often either deceived or failed to keep his promises. But our Queen can neither deceive nor fail, and she can obtain whatever she wills for her devotees. Moreover, she has a heart so kind and compassionate that she cannot bear to send anyone away discontented who prays to her: Ita benigna est, says Louis de Blois, ut neminem tristem redire sinat. But how, St. Bernard speaks to her, could you, O Mary, refuse to help the wretched, when you are the Queen of Mercy? And who are the subjects of mercy, if not the miserable? Tu es regina misericordiae, et qui subditi misericordiae, nisi miseri? Tu regina misericordiae, et ego miserrimus peccator, subditorum maximus. Rege nos ergo, o regina misericordiae. You are the Queen of Mercy, and I the most wretched sinner of all; therefore, since I am the greatest of your subjects, you ought to have more care for me than for any other. Have compassion on us, then, O Queen of Mercy, and think of saving us.

Nor tell us, O most holy Virgin — so St. Gregory of Nicomedia seems to add — that you cannot help us on account of the multitude of our sins; for you have a power and a compassion that no number of offenses can ever overcome: Habes vires insuperabiles, ne clementiam tuam superet multitudo peccatorum. Nihil tuae resistet potentiae; tuam enim gloriam Creator existimat esse propriam. Nothing resists your power, for your and our common Creator, honoring you as his Mother, esteems your glory as his own. Et Filius in ea exsultans, quasi exsolvens debitum, implet petitiones tuas. This means that although Mary has an infinite obligation to the Son for having chosen her as his Mother, it cannot be denied that the Son too is greatly indebted to this Mother for having given him his human nature; hence Jesus, as if to repay what he owes Mary, rejoicing in her glory, especially honors her by always and fully granting all her prayers.

How great, then, should be our confidence in this Queen, knowing how powerful she is with God, and at the same time how rich and full of mercy — so that there is no one living on earth who does not share in the compassion and favors of Mary! The Blessed Virgin herself revealed this to St. Bridget (Rev. bk. 1, ch. 6): I am, she said, the Queen of heaven and the Mother of Mercy; I am the joy of the just and the door through which sinners are brought to God. Nor is there on earth any sinner who lives, however accursed, who is deprived of my mercy; for everyone, if nothing else, through my intercession receives the grace of being less tempted by the demons than he otherwise would be: Ego regina caeli, ego mater misericordiae: ego iustorum gaudium, et aditus peccatorum ad Deum. Nullus est adeo maledictus, qui quamdiu vivit careat misericordia mea; quia propter me levius tentatur a daemonibus, quam alias tentaretur. Moreover, she added, no one — unless he has been utterly accursed, that is, with the final and irrevocable curse given to the damned — no one, she said, is so cast off by God that, if he invokes me for aid, he will not return to God and enjoy his mercy: Nullus est ita abiectus a Deo, nisi fuerit omnino maledictus, qui, si me invocaverit, non revertatur ad Deum et habiturus sit misericordiam. I am called by all the Mother of Mercy, and truly the mercy of God toward mankind has made me so merciful toward them: Ego vocor ab omnibus mater misericordiae, et vere misericordia illius misericordem me fecit. And then she concluded, saying: Ideo miser erit, qui ad misericordem, cum possit, non accedit. Therefore he shall be miserable, and miserable forever in the next life, who in this life, being able to have recourse to me — who am so compassionate with all and so desirous of helping sinners — does not have recourse to me and is lost.

Let us have recourse, then, let us always have recourse at the feet of this most sweet Queen, if we wish to be saved with certainty; and if the sight of our sins frightens and discourages us, let us understand that Mary was made Queen of Mercy precisely for this purpose: to save through her protection the greatest and most lost sinners who commend themselves to her. These must be her crown in heaven, as her divine Spouse told her: Veni de Libano, sponsa mea, veni de Libano, veni, coronaberis... de cubilibus leonum, de montibus pardorum (Cant. 4:8). And who are these dens of wild beasts and monsters, if not wretched sinners whose souls become dens of sin, the most hideous monsters that can be found? Now of these very wretched sinners, as Abbot Rupert comments, saved through your intercession, O great Queen Mary, you shall then be crowned in paradise; for their salvation shall be your crown — a crown truly worthy and fitting for a Queen of Mercy: De talium leonum cubiculis tu coronaberis. Eorum salus corona tua erit.

And to this purpose, let the following example be read.

Esempio..

It is narrated in the Life of Sister Catherine of St. Augustine that in the place where this servant of the Lord lived, there was a woman named Mary who in her youth had been a sinner, and even in old age continued obstinately in her wickedness; so that, cast out by the townspeople and confined to live in a cave outside her village, she died there half decayed, abandoned by all and without the sacraments, and was therefore buried in the open field like an animal. And Sister Catherine, who was accustomed to commend with great affection to God the souls of all who passed to the next life, after learning of the wretched death of this poor old woman, did not at all think of praying for her, holding her, as everyone did, to be damned.

After four years had passed, behold, one day a soul from purgatory appeared before her and said: Sister Catherine, what an unhappy lot is mine! You commend to God the souls of all who die, and for my soul alone you have had no pity! And who are you? said the servant of God. I am, she answered, that poor Mary who died in the cave. But how — are you saved? asked Sister Catherine. Yes, I am saved, she said, through the mercy of the Virgin Mary. But how? When I found myself near the point of death, seeing myself so full of sins and abandoned by all, I turned to the Mother of God and said to her: Lady, you are the refuge of the abandoned; behold, at this moment I am abandoned by all; you are my only hope, you alone can help me; have pity on me. The Blessed Virgin obtained for me an act of contrition; I died and was saved. And still my Queen has obtained for me the grace that my punishment should be shortened, making me suffer intensely what I would otherwise have had to expiate for many more years; only some Masses are needed to free me from purgatory. I beg you to have them said for me, and I promise to pray always to God and to Mary for you.

Sister Catherine immediately had the Masses celebrated; and behold, within a few days that soul appeared to her again, more radiant than the sun, and said to her: I thank you, Catherine; behold, I am now going to paradise to sing the mercies of my God and to pray for you.

Prayer

O Mother of my God and my Lady Mary, as a poor man covered with sores and loathsome presents himself to a great queen, so do I present myself to you, who are the Queen of heaven and earth. From the high throne on which you sit, do not disdain, I pray you, to turn your eyes upon me, a poor sinner. God has already made you so rich in order to relieve the poor, and has made you Queen of Mercy so that you might assist the wretched. Look upon me, then, and have compassion on me. Look upon me, and do not leave me until you have changed me from a sinner into a saint.

I well know that I deserve nothing; indeed, I deserve for my ingratitude to be stripped of all the graces that through your intercession I have received from the Lord. But you, who are the Queen of Mercy, do not go seeking merits but miseries, in order to assist the needy. And who is more poor and needy than I?

O exalted Virgin, I know well that you, being Queen of the universe, are also my Queen; but I wish in a more particular way to dedicate myself entirely to your service, so that you may dispose of me as you please. Hence I say to you with St. Bonaventure: Domina, me tuae dominationi volo committere, ut mea plenarie regas et gubernes. Non mihi me relinquas. Govern me, my Queen, and do not leave me to myself. Command me, employ me at your will, and chastise me too when I do not obey you; for the chastisements that come from your hands will be most salutary for me.

I esteem it more to be your servant than to be lord of the whole earth. Tuus sum ego, salvum me fac. Accept me, O Mary, as your own, and as your own take care of saving me. I no longer wish to be my own; I give myself to you.

And if in the past I have served you badly, losing so many beautiful occasions of honoring you, for the future I wish to unite myself to your most loving and faithful servants. No, I do not wish that anyone should surpass me from this day forward in honoring and loving you, my most lovable Queen. This I promise, and this I hope to accomplish with your help. Amen, amen.

Section 2 — How much greater our confidence in Mary ought to be, since she is our Mother

Not by chance, nor in vain, do the devout clients of Mary call her Mother, and it seems that they cannot invoke her by any other name, and never tire of always calling her Mother — Mother indeed, because she truly is our Mother, not of the flesh, but the spiritual Mother of our souls and of our salvation.

Sin, when it deprived our souls of divine grace, also deprived them of life. And since they were left miserably dead, Jesus our Redeemer came with an excess of mercy and love to restore to us, through his death on the cross, this lost life, as he himself declared: Veni, ut vitam habeant, et abundantius habeant (Jn. 10:10). Abundantius, because the theologians say that Jesus Christ brought us more good by his Redemption than Adam caused us harm by his sin. So by reconciling us with God, he became the Father of souls in the new law of grace, as was foretold by the prophet Isaiah: Pater futuri saeculi, princeps pacis (Is. 9:6). But if Jesus was the Father of our souls, Mary was the Mother; for by giving us Jesus, she gave us true life; and then by offering the life of her Son on Calvary for our salvation, she brought us forth to the life of divine grace.

At two times, then, as the holy Fathers tell us, Mary became our spiritual Mother. First, when she merited to conceive in her virginal womb the Son of God, as Blessed Albert the Great says. And more distinctly, St. Bernardine of Siena tells us that when the most holy Virgin, at the Annunciation of the Angel, gave the consent that the Eternal Word awaited from her to become her Son, from that moment she asked God with immense affection for our salvation, and so dedicated herself to procuring our salvation that from that very moment she bore us in her womb as a most loving mother: Virgo per hunc consensum in incarnatione Filii, omnium salutem vigorosissime expetiit et procuravit; et omnium salvationi per hunc consensum se dedicavit, ita ut ex tunc omnes in suis visceribus baiularet, tamquam verissima mater filios suos. St. Luke says in chapter 2, speaking of the birth of our Savior, that Mary brought forth her firstborn: Peperit filium suum primogenitum. Therefore, says an author, if the Evangelist states that the Virgin then brought forth her firstborn, must we suppose that she afterward had other children? Si primogenitus, ergo alii filii secuti sunt secundogeniti? But the same author adds: Since it is of faith that Mary had no other children of the flesh besides Jesus, she must therefore have had other spiritual children, and these are all of us: Carnales nullos habet B. Virgo praeter Christum; ergo spirituales habeat necesse est. This same truth the Lord revealed to St. Gertrude, who, reading one day the aforesaid passage of the Gospel, was confused, not understanding how, since Mary was Mother only of Jesus Christ, he could be called her firstborn. And God explained to her that Jesus was her firstborn according to the flesh, but that all mankind were her children secondborn according to the spirit.

And by this is understood what is said of Mary in the Canticle of Canticles: Venter tuus sicut acervus tritici vallatus liliis (Cant. 7:2). St. Ambrose explains that although in the most pure womb of Mary there was only one grain of wheat, which was Jesus Christ, it is nonetheless called a heap of wheat, because in that single grain were contained all the elect, of whom Mary was also to be the Mother: Unum granum frumenti fuit in utero Virginis, Christus Dominus, et tamen acervus tritici dicitur; quia granum hoc virtute omnes electos continet, ut ipse sit primogenitus in multis fratribus. Hence Abbot William wrote: In illo uno fructu, in uno Salvatore omnium Iesu, plurimos Maria peperit ad salutem. Pariendo vitam, multos peperit ad vitam. Mary, by bringing forth Jesus, who is our Savior and our life, brought forth all of us to salvation and to life.

The second time, then, in which Mary gave us birth to grace, was when on Calvary she offered to the Eternal Father, with such great sorrow of her heart, the life of her beloved Son for our salvation. Hence St. Augustine attests that then, having cooperated through her love so that the faithful might be born to the life of grace, she thereby became the spiritual Mother of all of us who are members of our Head, Jesus Christ: Illa spiritu mater est membrorum Salvatoris, quia cooperata est caritate, ut fideles in Ecclesia nascerentur. This is precisely what is signified by what is said of the Blessed Virgin in the Canticle of Canticles: Posuit me custodem in vineis; vineam meam non custodivi (Cant. 1:5). Mary, to save our souls, was content to sacrifice the life of her Son by his death; as William comments: Ut multas animas salvas faceret, animam suam morti exposuit. And who was the soul of Mary, if not her Jesus, who was her life and all her love? Therefore St. Simeon foretold that one day her blessed soul would be pierced by a most grievous sword: Et tuam ipsius animam doloris gladius pertransibit (Lk. 2:35) — as indeed it was the lance that pierced the side of Jesus, who was the soul of Mary. And from that moment she, through her sorrows, brought us forth to eternal life; so that all of us can call ourselves children of the sorrows of Mary. This most loving Mother of ours was always and entirely united to the divine will; hence St. Bonaventure reflects that, seeing the love of the Eternal Father for mankind in willing the death of his Son for our salvation, and the love of the Son in willing to die for us, she too, to conform herself to this surpassing love of the Father and the Son for the human race, with all her will offered and consented that her Son should die so that we might be saved: Nullo modo dubitandum est, quia Mariae animus voluit etiam tradere Filium suum pro salute generis humani, ut Mater per omnia conformis fieret Patri et Filio.

It is true that in dying for the redemption of the human race Jesus wished to be alone: Torcular calcavi solus (Is. 63:3); but seeing the great desire of Mary to employ herself also in the salvation of mankind, he disposed that she, through the sacrifice and the offering of the very life of Jesus himself, should cooperate in our salvation, and thus become the Mother of our souls. And this is what our Savior signified when, before expiring, looking from the cross upon his Mother and the disciple St. John who stood beside her, he first said to Mary: Ecce filius tuus (Jn. 19:26), as if to say: Behold the man who, through the offering you make of my life for his salvation, is already born to grace. And then turning to the disciple: Deinde dicit discipulo: Ecce mater tua. By these words, says St. Bernardine of Siena, Mary was then made Mother not only of St. John but of all mankind, on account of the love she bore for them: In Ioanne intelligimus omnes, quorum B. Virgo per dilectionem facta est mater. Therefore the Silveira observes that St. John himself, in recording this event in his Gospel, wrote: Deinde dicit discipulo: Ecce mater tua (Jn. 19). Note that Jesus Christ did not say this to John, but to the disciple, to signify that the Savior assigned Mary as Mother in common to all those who, being Christians, bear the name of his disciples: Ioannes est nomen particulare, discipulus commune, ut denotetur quod Maria omnibus detur in matrem.

Ego sum mater pulchrae dilectionis (Ecclus. 24:24): I am the Mother of fair love, says Mary; for her love, as an author says, renders our souls beautiful in the eyes of God, and as a loving Mother she receives us as her children: Quia tota est amor erga nos, quos in filios recepit. And what mother loves her children and cares for their welfare as much as you, our sweetest Queen, love us and provide for our good? Nonne plus sine comparatione nos diligis, ac bona nostra procuras, quam mater carnalis? says St. Bonaventure.

O blessed are those who live under the protection of so loving and so powerful a Mother! The prophet David, although Mary had not yet been born, sought salvation from God by dedicating himself as a son of Mary, and prayed: Salvum fac filium ancillae tuae (Ps. 85:16). Cuius ancillae? says St. Augustine: quae ait, ecce ancilla Domini. And who, says Cardinal Bellarmine, will have the boldness to tear these children from the bosom of Mary, after they have taken refuge there to be saved from their enemies? What fury of hell or of passion can overcome them if they place their confidence in the patronage of this great Mother? Quam bene nobis erit sub praesidio tantae matris! quis detrahere audebit de sinu eius? quae nos tentatio aut turbatio superare poterit confidentes in patrocinio Matris Dei et nostrae? It is told of the whale that when she sees her young in danger, either from storms or from hunters, she opens her mouth and receives them into her bosom. Just so, says Novarinus: Fidelium piissima mater, furente tentationum tempestate, materno affectu eos velut intra viscera propria receptos protegit, donec in beatum portum reponat. Our Mother, when she sees her children in greater danger from the raging storm of temptation — what does she do? She hides them with love, as it were, within her own womb; there she protects them, and does not cease to guard them until she has brought them safely to the secure harbor of paradise. O most loving Mother! O most compassionate Mother! Be forever blessed, and forever blessed be that God who has given you to us as our Mother and our sure refuge in all the dangers of this life.

The Blessed Virgin herself revealed to St. Bridget (bk. 4, ch. 138) that just as a mother, if she saw her child surrounded by the swords of enemies, would do everything in her power to save him, ita ego facio et faciam omnibus peccatoribus misericordiam meam petentibus: so, she said, I do and will do with my children, however sinful they may be, whenever they have recourse to me for help. See, then, how in every battle with hell we shall always conquer, and conquer surely, by having recourse to the Mother of God and our Mother, saying and repeating always: Sub tuum praesidium confugimus, sancta Dei Genitrix: sub tuum praesidium confugimus, sancta Dei Genitrix. Oh, how many victories the faithful have won over hell by having recourse to Mary with this brief but most powerful prayer! That great servant of God, Sister Mary Crucified, a Benedictine, always conquered the demons in this way.

Be joyful, then, O you who are children of Mary! Know that she accepts as her children all those who wish to be so. Be joyful! What fear can you have of being lost when this Mother defends and protects you? Dic, anima mea, cum magna fiducia: Exultabo et laetabor, quia quidquid iudicabitur de me, pendet ex sententia fratris et matris meae. So says St. Bonaventure: everyone who loves this good Mother and confides in her protection should encourage himself and say: What do you fear, my soul? No, the cause of your eternal salvation will not be lost, since the sentence is in the hands of Jesus, who is your brother, and of Mary, who is your Mother. And on this same thought St. Anselm exclaims with joy and encourages us, saying: O beata fiducia, o tutum refugium, Mater Dei est mater mea! Qua certitudine igitur debemus sperare, quoniam salus de boni fratris et piae matris pendet arbitrio? Here then is our Mother who calls us and lets us hear: Si quis est parvulus, veniat ad me (Prov. 9:4). Little children always have their mother's name on their lips, and in every fright they feel, they immediately raise their voice and cry: Mother! Mother! Ah, sweetest Mary! Ah, most loving Mother! This is exactly what you desire — that we, become like little children, should always call upon you in our dangers and always have recourse to you, because you wish to help us and save us, as you have saved all your children who have had recourse to you.

Example

It is related in the History of the Foundations made by the Society of Jesus in the Kingdom of Naples (bk. 5, ch. 7), of a noble young Scotsman named William Elphinstonius. He was a relative of King James; born in heresy, he followed that false sect; but illuminated by the divine light, which revealed its errors to him, he came to France, where, with the help of a good Scottish Jesuit father, and still more through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, he at last recognized the truth, abjured his heresy, and became a Catholic. He then went to Rome, where a friend, finding him one day deeply afflicted and weeping, and asking the cause, was told that during the night his mother had appeared to him, already damned, and had said to him: Son, it is well for you that you have entered the true Church; I, because I died in heresy, am already lost. After this he became still more fervent in his devotion to Mary, choosing her as his only Mother; and she inspired him with the thought of becoming a religious, and he made a vow to do so. But as he was ill, he went to Naples to recover his health by a change of air. But in Naples the Lord willed that he should die — and die a religious; for having fallen seriously ill shortly after his arrival, with prayers and tears he obtained from the superiors the favor of being accepted. Thus, in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, at the time he received Communion as Viaticum, he made his vows and was declared a member of the Society.

After this he moved all to tenderness by the affections with which he thanked his Mother Mary for having drawn him out of heresy and led him to die in the true Church and in the house of God, amid his religious brethren. Therefore he exclaimed: Oh, how glorious it is to die amid so many angels! Urged to try to rest, he would answer: Ah, this is no time to rest, now that the end of my life draws near! Then, before dying, he said to those present: Brothers, do you not see here the angels of heaven assisting me? And when one of those religious heard him whispering some words, and asked what he was saying, he answered that his guardian angel had revealed to him that he would spend but the briefest time in purgatory, and would immediately pass to paradise. Then he returned to his sweet colloquies with his dear Mother Mary; and repeating Mother, Mother, like a little child who falls asleep in his mother's arms, he peacefully breathed his last. And shortly afterward a devout religious learned through a revelation that he was already in paradise.

Prayer

O my most holy Mother, how is it possible that, having so holy a Mother, I should be so wicked? A Mother all aflame with love for God, and I should love creatures? A Mother so rich in virtues, and I should be so poor? Ah, my most lovable Mother, it is true — I do not deserve to be your son any longer, for I have made myself too unworthy by my wicked life. I am content if you accept me as your servant; and to be admitted among the lowliest servants you have, I am ready to renounce all the kingdoms of the earth. Yes, I am content; but still, do not forbid me to call you my Mother.

This name wholly consoles me, softens my heart, and reminds me of the obligation I have to love you. This name gives me great confidence in you. When my sins and divine justice most frighten me, I feel entirely comforted in thinking that you are my Mother. Allow me then to say: My Mother, my most lovable Mother. So I call you, and so I wish to call you.

After God, you must always be my hope, my refuge, and my love in this valley of tears. Thus I hope to die, commending my soul in that last moment into your holy hands, and saying: My Mother, my Mother Mary, help me, have pity on me. Amen.

Section 3 — How great is the love this Mother bears us

If Mary, then, is our Mother, we may consider how much she loves us.

The love of children for their parents is a necessary love; and this is the reason, as St. Thomas reflects, why the divine law expressly imposes upon children the precept of loving their parents, while on the other hand there is no express precept for parents to love their children — because the love of one's own offspring is a love so strongly implanted by nature itself that even the wildest beasts, says St. Ambrose, cannot help loving their young: Natura hoc bestiis infundit, ut catulos parvulos ament. Hence historians relate that even tigresses, hearing the cries of their cubs captured by hunters, plunge into the sea to swim after the ships where the little ones have been taken. If, then, says our most loving Mother Mary, not even tigresses can forget their young, how could I forget to love you, my children? Numquid oblivisci potest mulier infantem suum, ut non misereatur filio uteri sui? Et si illa oblita fuerit, ego tamen non obliviscar tui (Is. 49:15). And even if, she adds, it were possible — though it is not — that a mother should forget her child, it is not possible that I should cease to love a soul that is my child.

Mary is our Mother, not of the flesh, as we have said, but of love. Ego mater pulchrae dilectionis (Ecclus. 24:24). Hence it is solely the love she bears us that makes her our Mother; and therefore she glories, says an author, in being a Mother of love, since, having taken us for her children, she is all love toward us: Se dilectionis esse matrem gloriatur, quia tota est amor erga nos, quos in filios recepit.

And who could ever describe the love Mary bears us wretched ones? Arnold of Chartres says that in the death of Jesus Christ she desired with immense ardor to die together with her Son out of love for us: Flagrabat Virgo, aestuante caritate incensa, ut pro humani generis salute simul cum prole profunderet vitam. So that, adds St. Ambrose, just as the Son hung dying on the cross, Mary offered herself to the executioners to give her life for us: Pendebat in cruce Filius, Mater persecutoribus se offerebat.

But let us consider the reasons for this love, for thus we shall better understand how much this good Mother loves us.

The first reason for the great love Mary bears mankind is the great love she bears God. The love of God and the love of neighbor, as St. John wrote, fall under the same precept: Hoc mandatum habemus a Deo, ut qui diligit Deum, diligat et fratrem suum (1 Jn. 4:21) — so that as one increases, so does the other. Therefore we know the saints, because they loved God so greatly, what did they not do for love of their neighbor? They went so far as to risk and lose their freedom and even their lives for the salvation of others. Read what St. Francis Xavier did in the Indies, where, to help the souls of those poor people, he went climbing over the mountains, braving a thousand dangers, in order to find those wretches in the caves where they lived like wild beasts and bring them to God. A St. Francis de Sales, who, to convert the heretics of the province of Chablais, risked for a whole year crossing the river daily on all fours over a frozen beam, in order to go to the other side and preach to those obstinate people. A St. Paulinus, who gave himself as a slave in order to obtain freedom for the son of a poor widow. A St. Fidelis, who, to draw the heretics of a town to God, was content to lose his life while preaching. If the saints, then, because they loved God so greatly, did so much for love of their neighbors —

Who has ever loved God more than Mary? She loved God more in the first moment of her life than all the saints and all the angels have loved him in the entire course of their existence, as we shall consider at length when speaking of the virtues of Mary. The Blessed Virgin herself revealed to Sister Mary Crucified that the fire of love with which she burned toward God was so great that if all heaven and earth were placed in it, they would be consumed in an instant; and that all the ardors of the Seraphim were, compared to hers, like cool breezes. Therefore, just as there is no spirit among all the blessed who loves God more than Mary, so we have no one, nor can we have anyone, who after God loves us more than this most loving Mother of ours. And if all the love that all mothers bear their children, all spouses their wives, and all the saints and angels their devotees were united together, it would not equal the love that Mary bears to a single soul. Father Nieremberg says that the love all mothers have borne their children is but a shadow compared to the love Mary bears to just one of us; she alone loves us more than all the angels and saints together.

Moreover, our Mother loves us greatly because we were commended to her as children by her beloved Jesus, when before expiring he said to her: Mulier, ecce filius tuus (Jn. 19:26), indicating to her in the person of John all of us, as we have considered above. These were the last words the Son addressed to her. The last remembrances left by beloved persons at the moment of death are too greatly esteemed, and the memory of them can never be lost.

Furthermore, we are children most dear to Mary because we cost her so much suffering. Mothers love more dearly those children whose lives have cost them the greatest pain and hardship. We are those children for whom Mary, in order to obtain for us the life of grace, had to endure the grief of herself offering to death the dear life of her Jesus, accepting for our sake to see him die before her eyes in the midst of torments. From this great offering of Mary we were then born to the life of divine grace. And so we are children most dear to her precisely because we cost her so much anguish. Hence, just as it is written of the love the Eternal Father bore mankind in giving his own Son to death for us — Sic... Deus dilexit mundum, ut Filium suum unigenitum daret (Jn. 3:16) — so also, says St. Bonaventure, it can be said of Mary: Sic Maria dilexit nos, ut Filium suum unigenitum daret.

And when did she give him to us? She gave him to us, says Father Nieremberg, first when she gave him permission to go to his death. She gave him to us when, while others failed either from hatred or from fear, she alone could have sufficiently defended before the judges the life of her Son; and it may well be believed that the words of a Mother so wise and so tender for her Son could have had great weight, at least with Pilate, to stop him from condemning to death a man whom he himself had acknowledged and declared innocent. But no — Mary would not say even one word in favor of her Son, lest she impede his death, on which our salvation depended. She gave him to us at last a thousand times over at the foot of the cross during those three hours she attended the death of her Son; for then at every moment she did nothing but sacrifice the life of her Son for us, with the utmost sorrow and the utmost love for us, and with such constancy that St. Anselm and St. Antoninus say that had the executioners been lacking, she herself would have crucified him in obedience to the will of the Father, who willed his death for our salvation. And if a similar act of courage in being willing to sacrifice a son with one's own hands was made by Abraham, we must believe that Mary would certainly have carried it out with even greater constancy, being holier and more obedient than Abraham.

But returning to our point: how grateful we ought to be to Mary for such an act of love! For the sacrifice, I mean, that she made of the life of her Son with such great sorrow on her part, in order to obtain salvation for all of us! The Lord richly rewarded Abraham for the sacrifice he was prepared to make of his Isaac; but what can we render to Mary for the life she gave us of her Jesus, a Son far more noble and beloved than the son of Abraham? This love of Mary, says St. Bonaventure, has obliged us too greatly to love her, seeing that she has loved us more than anyone else, since she gave us her only Son, whom she loved more than herself: Nulla post eam creatura ita per amorem nostrum exardescet, quae Filium suum unicum, quem multo plus se amavit nobis dedit, et pro nobis obtulit.

And from this arises the further motive for which we are so loved by Mary: because she sees that we are the price of the death of Jesus Christ. If a mother saw a servant who had been ransomed by her beloved son at the cost of twenty years of imprisonment and suffering, how greatly she would esteem this servant for that reason alone! Mary well knows that her Son came to earth for no other reason than to save us wretched ones, as he himself declared: Veni salvum facere quod perierat (Lk. 19:10). And to save us he was content to spend even his life: Factus obediens usque ad mortem (Phil. 2:8). If, then, Mary loved us little, she would show little esteem for the blood of her Son, which is the price of our salvation. It was revealed to St. Elizabeth, a nun, that Mary, even while she was in the temple, did nothing but pray for us, begging God to send his Son soon to save the world. How much more, then, must we believe she loves us, now that she has seen us so esteemed by her Son, who did not disdain to purchase us at such great cost?

And because all mankind have been redeemed by Jesus, therefore Mary loves and favors all. She was seen by St. John clothed with the sun: Et signum magnum apparuit in caelo, mulier amicta sole (Rev. 12:1). She is said to be clothed with the sun because, just as there is no one on earth who can hide from the heat of the sun — Non est qui se abscondat a calore eius (Ps. 18:7) — so there is no one living on earth who is deprived of the love of Mary. A calore eius, applies the Idiota, idest a dilectione Mariae.

And who, says St. Antoninus, can comprehend the care this loving Mother has for all of us? Oh quanta cura est Virgini matri de nobis! Therefore she offers and dispenses her mercy to all: Omnibus aperit sinum misericordiae suae. For our Mother has desired the salvation of all, and has cooperated in the salvation of all. Constat, affirms St. Bernard, pro universo genere humano fuisse sollicitam. Hence there is a most useful practice among some of the devout servants of Mary who, as Cornelius a Lapide relates, are accustomed to ask the Lord to grant them those graces that the Blessed Virgin seeks for them, saying: Domine, da mihi, quod pro me postulat SS. Virgo Maria. And with good reason, says the same author, for our Mother desires for us greater blessings than we ourselves can desire: Ipsa enim maiora optat, quam nos optare possumus. And the devout Bernardine de Busti says that Mary desires more to do us good and dispense graces to us than we desire to receive them: Plus ipsa desiderat facere tibi bonum et largiri gratiam, quam tu accipere concupiscas. Hence Blessed Albert the Great applies to Mary the words of Wisdom: Praeoccupat qui se concupiscunt, ut illis se prior ostendat (Wis. 6:14): Mary anticipates those who have recourse to her, making herself found by them before they seek her. So great is the love this good Mother bears us, says Richard, that when she perceives our needs, she comes to our aid before we ask for help: Prius occurrit quam invocetur.

Now if Mary is so good to all, even to the ungrateful and negligent who love her little and seldom have recourse to her, how much more loving will she be to those who love her and often invoke her? Facile invenitur ab his qui diligunt illam (Wis. 6:13). Oh, how easy it is, adds the same Blessed Albert, for those who love Mary to find her, and to find her all full of compassion and love! Ego diligentes me diligo (Prov. 8:17). She declares that she cannot help but love those who love her. And although the most loving Lady loves all mankind as her children, nevertheless, says St. Bernard, agnoscit et diligit — she knows how to recognize and love with distinction those who love her more tenderly. These happy lovers of Mary, the Idiota asserts, are not only loved by her but even served by her: Inventa Maria Virgine, invenitur omne bonum: ipsa namque diligit diligentes se, immo sibi servientibus servit.

As it is related in the Chronicles of the Dominican Order, a certain Brother Leonard, who two hundred times a day commended himself to this Mother of Mercy, lay dying. One day he saw at his side a most beautiful Queen, who said to him: Leonard, do you wish to die and come to my Son and to me? The religious answered: And who are you? I am, replied the Virgin, the Mother of Mercy: you have invoked me so many times — behold, I have come now to take you; let us go to paradise. And that same day Leonard died, and we may hope he followed her to the blessed kingdom.

Ah, sweetest Mary, blessed is he who loves you! The Venerable Brother John Berchmans of the Society of Jesus used to say: If I love Mary, I am sure of perseverance, and I shall obtain from God whatever I wish. And therefore the devout youth never tired of renewing his resolution and often repeating to himself: I will love Mary, I will love Mary.

Oh, how this good Mother surpasses in love all her children! Let them love her as much as they can — semper Maria cum amantibus est amantior, says St. Ignatius Martyr. Let them love her as much as a St. Stanislaus Kostka, who loved this dear Mother of his so tenderly that in speaking of her he inspired everyone who heard him with love for her. He had invented new words and new titles with which to honor her name. He began no action without first turning to one of her images and asking her blessing. When he recited the Office, the Rosary, or other prayers to her, he spoke with such affection and expressiveness, as if he were speaking face to face with Mary. When he heard the Salve Regina being sung, his whole soul would catch fire, and even his face would flame. Once asked by a Father of the Society, as they walked together to visit an image of the Blessed Virgin, how much he loved her: "Father," he answered, "what more can I say? She is my Mother." But then that Father said that the saintly youth uttered these words with such tenderness of voice, manner, and heart, that it seemed not a young man but an angel who was speaking of the love of Mary. Let them love her as much as Blessed Herman, who called her his Spouse of love, and was himself honored by Mary with the name of Spouse. As much as a St. Philip Neri, who found such consolation merely in thinking of Mary, and therefore called her his Delight. As much as a St. Bonaventure, who called her not only his Lady and Mother but, to express the tenderness of affection he bore her, even went so far as to call her his heart, his soul: Ave, domina mea, mater mea; imo cor meum, anima mea. Let them love her even as that great lover of Mary, St. Bernard, who so loved this sweet Mother that he called her the thief of hearts: Raptrix cordium; and to express the burning love he bore her, he said to her: Nonne rapuisti cor meum? Let them call her their Beloved, as St. Bernardine of Siena called her, who every day went to visit her before a devout image, to declare his love to her in tender colloquies with his Queen; and therefore, when asked where he went every day, he would say that he was going to see his Beloved. Let them love her as much as a St. Aloysius Gonzaga, who burned so constantly with love for Mary that scarcely had the sweetest name of his dear Mother sounded in his ear than his heart would catch fire and the flame would appear ruddy on his face for all to see. Let them love her as much as a St. Francis Solano, who, driven almost mad — but with a holy madness — by love of Mary, would at times set himself with a musical instrument before one of her images and sing of his love, saying that, just as worldly lovers do, he was serenading his beloved Queen.

Let them love her as much as all those servants of hers who could not find enough ways to show their love. Father Jerome de Trexo of the Society of Jesus would leap for joy at calling himself a slave of Mary, and as a sign of his servitude he would often go to visit her in one of her churches; and there, what would he do? On arriving at the church he would first bathe it with tears of tenderness for the love he felt toward Mary; then he would sweep it with his tongue and face, kissing a thousand times that pavement, thinking that it was the house of his beloved Lady. Father Diego Martinez of the same Society, whose devotion to Our Lady was such that on the feasts of Mary he was carried by angels to heaven to see with what honor they were celebrated, used to say: I would wish to have all the hearts of the angels and saints to love Mary as they love her; I would wish the lives of all mankind to spend them all for love of Mary. Let others reach the point of loving her as Charles, the son of St. Bridget, loved her — he who said he knew of nothing that consoled him more in the world than the knowledge that Mary was so loved by God; and he added that he would willingly have accepted any suffering to ensure that Mary might never lose, if she could ever have lost, a single point of her greatness; and that if her greatness had been his own, he would have surrendered it to her, since she was far more worthy of it than he. Let them even desire to give their lives in testimony of their love for Mary, as Alphonsus Rodriguez desired. Let them go so far as to engrave with sharp instruments upon their breast the beloved name of Mary, as did a certain Francis Binanzio, a religious, and Radegunde, wife of King Clotaire. Let them even, driven by love, use burning irons to imprint the beloved name upon their flesh so that it might be more deeply and enduringly impressed, as did her devoted servants Baptist Archinto and Augustine d'Espinosa, both of the Society of Jesus.

Let them, then, do or plan to do all that is possible for a lover who strives as much as he can to make his affection known to the person he loves; for the lovers of Mary shall never succeed in loving her as much as she loves them. Scio, Domina, said St. Peter Damian, quia amantissima es, et amas nos amore invincibili. I know, my Lady, he said, that among all who love you, you are the most loving, and you love us with an invincible love. The Venerable Alphonsus Rodriguez of the Society of Jesus was once at the feet of an image of Mary, and there, feeling himself burning with love for the holy Virgin, he cried out and said: "My most lovable Mother, I know that you love me; but you do not love me as much as I love you." Then Mary, as if offended on the point of love, spoke to him from that image and said: "What are you saying, Alphonsus, what are you saying? Oh, how much greater is the love I bear you than the love you bear me! Know," she told him, "that there is not as much distance between heaven and earth as there is between my love and yours."

St. Bonaventure has good reason, then, to exclaim: Blessed are those who have the good fortune to be faithful servants and lovers of this most loving Mother! Beati quorum corda diligunt Mariam! beati qui ei famulantur! Yes, for this most grateful Queen is never outdone in love by her devoted ones: Numquam in hoc certamine a nobis ipsa vincetur. Amorem redhibet, et praeterita beneficia semper novis adauget. Mary, imitating in this our most loving Redeemer Jesus Christ, repays with her benefits and favors double the love of those who love her. Vestri continuo amore, I too will exclaim with the enamored St. Anselm, langueat cor meum, liquefiat anima mea. May my heart always burn for you, and my entire soul be consumed with love, O my beloved Savior Jesus, and O my dear Mother Mary. Date itaque supplicanti animae meae, non propter meritum meum, sed propter meritum vestrum, date illi quantum digni estis amorem vestrum. Grant, then, O Jesus and Mary, since without your grace I cannot love you, grant to my soul through your merits, not mine, that I may love you as much as you deserve. O amator hominum, tu potuisti reos tuos usque ad mortem amare, et poteris roganti amorem tui et matris tuae negare? O God, lover of mankind, you were able to die for your enemies — will you deny to one who asks the grace of loving you and your Mother?

Example

It is related by Father Auriemma (Affetti scamb., vol. 2, ch. 7) that a poor shepherdess who tended her flocks loved Mary so much that her whole delight was to go to a little chapel of Our Lady on the mountain and there, while her sheep grazed, spend her time speaking and paying homage to her dear Mother. Seeing that the little image of Mary, which was in relief, was bare of adornment, she set about with the poor labor of her hands making a mantle for it. One day, having gathered some flowers from the field, she arranged them into a garland, and climbing upon the altar of the little chapel, placed it on the head of the image, saying: My Mother, I would wish to place a crown of gold and gems upon your brow; but since I am poor, accept from me this poor crown of flowers, and receive it as a sign of the love I bear you. With these and other acts of homage this devout young maiden always endeavored to serve and honor her beloved Lady.

But let us now see how the good Mother in turn rewarded the visits and the affection of this her daughter.

The maiden fell ill and was brought to the point of death. It happened that two religious, passing through that countryside, exhausted from their journey, sat down to rest under a tree: one slept and the other kept watch; but both had the same vision. They saw a company of most beautiful maidens, and among them one who surpassed all the others in beauty and majesty. One of them asked this lady: My Lady, who are you? I am, she answered, the Mother of God; and with these holy virgins I am going to visit a dying shepherdess in the nearby village, who so many times has visited me. So she spoke, and they vanished. After this both those good servants of God said: Let us go and see her too. They set out, and finding the house where the dying maiden lay, they entered a small hovel and found her lying on a bit of straw. They greeted her, and she said to them: Brothers, pray God that he may let you see the company that assists me. They knelt at once, and they saw Mary standing beside the dying girl with a crown in her hand, consoling her. Behold, the holy virgins began to sing, and at that sweet song the blessed soul departed from the body. Mary placed the crown on her head, and taking the soul, bore it with her to paradise.

Prayer

O Domina, quae rapis corda, I will say with St. Bonaventure: O Lady, you who with the love and favors you show your servants steal their hearts, steal mine too, wretched as it is, for it desires to love you greatly. You, my Mother, with your beauty have enamored a God and drawn him from heaven into your womb; and shall I live without loving you? No, I say to you with that other loving son of yours, John Berchmans of the Society of Jesus: Numquam quiescam, donec habuero tenerum amorem erga matrem meam Mariam. I will never rest until I am certain of having obtained a love — a constant and tender love — for you, my Mother, who have loved me with such tenderness even when I was so ungrateful. And what would have become of me now, O Mary, if you had not loved me and obtained for me so many mercies? If, then, you have loved me so much when I did not love you, how much more must I hope from your goodness now that I do love you?

I love you, O my Mother, and I wish I had a heart that could love you for all those unhappy ones who do not love you. I wish I had a tongue able to praise you for a thousand tongues, so as to make known to all your greatness, your holiness, your mercy, and the love with which you love those who love you. If I had riches, I would wish to employ them all in your honor. If I had subjects, I would wish to make them all your lovers. I would, in short, wish even to spend my life for you and for your glory, if need be.

I love you, then, O my Mother; but at the same time I fear that I do not love you, for I hear it said that love makes lovers resemble the persons they love: Amor aut similes invenit, aut facit. If then I see myself so unlike you, it is a sign that I do not love you. You so pure, I so defiled! You so humble, I so proud! You so holy, I so wicked! But this is what you must do, O Mary: since you love me, make me like you. You have all the power to change hearts; take mine, then, and change it. Show the world what you can do for those whom you love. Make me a saint; make me a worthy son of yours. So I hope; so be it.

Section 4 — Mary is Mother also of penitent sinners

Mary declared to St. Bridget (bk. 4, Rev., ch. 138) that she is Mother not only of the just and the innocent, but also of sinners, provided they are willing to amend: Ego sum quasi mater omnium peccatorum volentium se emendare. Oh, how readily, when a sinner who wishes to amend has recourse at her feet, does this good Mother of Mercy embrace him and help him, more than any mother of the flesh would do! This is precisely what St. Gregory wrote to the Princess Matilda: Pone finem in voluntate peccandi, et invenies Mariam (indubitanter promitto) promptiorem carnali matre in tui dilectione. Put an end to the will to sin, and you will find Mary — I promise you without a doubt — more ready than a mother of the flesh to love you. But whoever aspires to be a child of this great Mother must first leave sin and then hope to be accepted as her child. On the words Surrexerunt filii eius (Prov. 31:28), Richard reflects that the text says first surrexerunt and then filii: because, he adds, one cannot be a child of Mary who does not first endeavor to rise from the sin into which he has fallen: Nec dignus est, qui in mortali peccato est, vocari filius tantae matris. And St. Peter Chrysologus warns: Qui genitricis non facit opera, negat genus. He who does works contrary to those of Mary denies by his deeds that he wishes to be her child. Mary humble, and he wishes to be proud? Mary pure, and he unchaste? Mary full of love, and he wishes to hate his neighbor? He shows that he is not, and does not wish to be, a child of this holy Mother. Filii Mariae, says Richard again, imitatores eius in castitate, humilitate, mansuetudine, misericordia. And how could anyone have the boldness to claim to be a child of Mary while so greatly displeasing her with his life? A certain sinner once said to Mary: Monstra te esse matrem — Show yourself to be a Mother. But the Virgin answered him: Monstra te esse filium — Show yourself to be a son. Another invoked this divine Mother one day, calling her the Mother of Mercy. Mary said to him: You sinners, when you want me to help you, call me Mother of Mercy; and then you never cease with your sins to make me a mother of misery and sorrow. Maledictus a Deo qui exasperat matrem suam (Ecclus. 3:18). Matrem suam, idest Mariam, comments Richard. God curses whoever afflicts with his wicked life, or at the very least with his obstinacy, this good Mother.

I said with his obstinacy; because when the sinner, even though not yet free, strives nonetheless to free himself from sin and seeks for this purpose the help of Mary, this Mother will not fail to assist him and bring him back to the grace of God. Just as St. Bridget one day heard from the lips of Jesus Christ himself, who, speaking to his Mother, said to her: Conanti surgere ad Deum tribuis auxilium, et neminem relinquis vacuum a tua consolatione. While, then, the sinner remains obstinate, Mary cannot love him; but if he finds himself perhaps chained by some passion that holds him a slave of hell, let him at least commend himself to the Virgin and beg her with confidence and perseverance to free him from sin; without a doubt this good Mother will stretch out her powerful hand, loose him from his chains, and lead him to a state of salvation. It was already condemned as heresy by the sacred Council of Trent to say that all the prayers and works performed by one who is in sin are sins. St. Bernard says that the prayer on the lips of a sinner, though it is not beautiful because it is not accompanied by charity, is nonetheless useful and fruitful for escaping from sin; because, as St. Thomas teaches, the prayer of a sinner, while it is without merit, is well suited to obtain the grace of pardon, since the power of obtaining is founded not on the merit of the one who prays but on the divine goodness and on the merits and promise of Jesus Christ, who said: Omnis... qui petit, accipit (Lk. 11:10). The same must be said of the prayers addressed to the divine Mother.

If the one who prays does not merit to be heard, says St. Anselm, the merits of Mary, to whom he commends himself, will obtain his being heard: Si merita invocantis non merentur ut exaudiatur, merita tamen Matris intercedunt, ut exaudiatur. Hence St. Bernard exhorts every sinner to pray to Mary and to conceive great confidence in praying to her; for if the sinner does not merit what he asks, it is granted to Mary on account of her merits, and the graces she requests from God for the sinner are given to him: Quia indignus eras, cui donaretur, datum est Mariae, ut per illam acciperes quidquid haberes. This is the office of a good mother, says the same saint: a mother who knew that two of her sons were mortal enemies and that one lay in wait against the other's life — what else would she do but try in every way to reconcile them? So, says the saint, Mary is the Mother of Jesus and the Mother of man: when she sees a sinner who is an enemy of Jesus Christ, she cannot bear it, and does all she can to bring them to peace: O felix Maria, tu mater rei, tu mater iudicis; cum sis mater utriusque, discordias inter tuos filios nequis sustinere. The most gracious Lady asks nothing more of the sinner than that he commend himself to her and intend to amend. When Mary sees a sinner at her feet who comes seeking mercy, she does not look at the sins he brings but at the intention with which he comes; if he comes with good intention, though he may have committed all the sins in the world, she embraces him, and this most loving Mother does not disdain to heal all the wounds his soul bears; for she is not only called by us the Mother of Mercy, but truly is such, and shows herself to be such by the love and tenderness with which she helps us. All this the Blessed Virgin herself expressed to St. Bridget, saying: Quantumcumque homo peccet, statim parata sum recipere revertentem; nec attendo quantum peccaverit, sed cum quali intentione redit: nam non dedignor eius plagas ungere et sanare, quia vocor et vere sum mater misericordiae.

Mary is the Mother of sinners who wish to be converted; and as Mother she cannot help but compassionate them; indeed, she seems to feel their sufferings as her own. The Canaanite woman, when she begged Jesus Christ to free her daughter from the devil that tormented her, said: Miserere mei, Domine, fili David; filia mea male a daemonio vexatur (Mt. 15:22). But since it was the daughter, not the mother, who was tormented by the devil, it seems she should have said: Lord, have pity on my daughter, not have pity on me. But no; she said Miserere mei, and rightly so, because all the miseries of children are felt as their own by their mothers. And this, says Richard of St. Lawrence, is exactly how Mary prays to God when a sinner commends himself to her: Maria clamat pro anima peccatrice: Miserere mei. My Lord, she seems to say, this poor soul in sin is my daughter, and therefore have pity not so much on her as on me, who am her Mother.

Oh, would to God that all sinners would have recourse to this sweet Mother! All would surely be pardoned by God. O Mary, exclaims St. Bonaventure in wonder, peccatorem toti mundo despectum materno affectu complecteris; nec deseris, quousque miserum iudici reconcilies. The saint means that the sinner, being in sin, is hated and cast out by all; even the insensate creatures — fire, air, earth — would punish him and avenge the honor of their despised Lord. But if this wretch has recourse to Mary, will Mary reject him? No — if he comes with the intention of being helped to amend, she embraces him with a mother's affection; nor does she leave him until, by her powerful intercession, she has reconciled him with God and restored him to his grace.

We read in the second Book of Kings (ch. 14) that the wise woman of Tekoa said to David: "Lord, I had two sons; to my misfortune one has slain the other, so that I have already lost one son. Now justice would take from me my only remaining son. Have pity on me, a poor mother; do not let me be deprived of both my children." Then David, having compassion on this mother, freed the offender and restored him to her. This is exactly what Mary seems to say when she sees God angered against a sinner who commends himself to her: "My God," she says, "I had two sons, Jesus and man; man has slain my Jesus on the cross. Now your justice would condemn the man. Lord, my Jesus is already dead; have compassion on me, and if I have lost the one, do not make me lose my other son as well." Ah, certainly God does not condemn those sinners who have recourse to Mary and for whom she prays; for God himself has commended these sinners to Mary as her children. The devout Lanspergius thus represents the Lord speaking: Mariae peccatores in filios commendavi. Propterea adeo est sedula, ut officio suo satisfaciens, neminem eorum qui sibi commissi sunt, praecipue illam invocantium, perire sinat, sed quantum valet, omnes mihi reducat.

And who can ever describe, says de Blois, the goodness, the mercy, the faithfulness, and the charity with which our Mother seeks to save us when we invoke her for help? Huius matris bonitas, misericordia, fidelitas, caritas erga homines tanta est, ut nullis verbis explicari possit. Let us, then, prostrate ourselves before this good Mother, says St. Bernard; let us clasp her holy feet and not leave her until she blesses us and thereby accepts us as her children: Beatis illius pedibus provolvamur; teneamus eam, nec dimittamus, donec benedixerit nobis. And who could ever lose confidence in the compassion of this Mother? St. Bonaventure used to say: Etiamsi occiderit me, sperabo in eam; et totus confidens iuxta eius imaginem mori desidero, et salvus ero. And so must every sinner who has recourse to this compassionate Mother say: My Lady and Mother, for my sins I deserve to be cast out, and that you yourself should punish me as my demerits require; but even if you should reject me and slay me, I will never lose confidence that you will save me. In you I place all my trust; and if only I may have the good fortune to die before one of your images, commending myself to your mercy, I confidently hope not to be lost but to come and praise you in heaven in the company of so many of your servants who, dying and calling upon you for help, have all been saved through your powerful intercession.

Let the following example be read, and let us see if any sinner could ever lose confidence in the mercy and love of this good Mother, if he has recourse to her.

Example

It is related by Vincent of Beauvais (In Spec. histor.) that in the city of Rudolf in England, in the year 1430, there was a young nobleman named Ernest who, having given all his patrimony to the poor, became a monk in a monastery, where he led a life so perfect that the superiors greatly esteemed him, particularly for his special devotion to the Most Holy Virgin. It happened that a plague broke out in that city; the citizens had recourse to the monastery for the help of prayers. The abbot charged Ernest to go and pray before the altar of Mary, and not to leave until Our Lady gave them an answer. The young man, persevering there for three days, finally received from Mary the answer of certain prayers that were to be said; and so it was done, and the plague ceased.

But then it happened that this young man grew cold in his devotion to Mary; the devil assailed him with many temptations, especially of impurity and of fleeing the monastery. And the wretch, not having commended himself to Mary, had already resolved to flee by throwing himself from a wall of the monastery; but passing before an image of Mary that stood in the corridor, the Mother of God spoke to him and said: "My son, why do you abandon me?" Then Ernest, stunned and full of compunction, fell to the ground and answered: "But, Lady, do you not see that I can no longer resist? Why do you not help me?" And Our Lady replied: "And you, why have you not invoked me? If you had commended yourself to me, you would not have come to this. From this day forward," she told him, "commend yourself to me and do not doubt."

Ernest returned to his cell. But the temptations returned; he again failed to commend himself to Mary; and so he finally fled the monastery, and giving himself over to a most wicked life, passing from sin to sin, he at last became a highway robber, for he rented an inn where at night he would murder the poor travelers and rob them. Among these he murdered one night the cousin of the governor of that place; the governor, from the evidence gathered, brought the case to trial and condemned him to the gallows.

But meanwhile, while the trial was proceeding, a young cavalier stopped at the inn. The wicked innkeeper, making his usual plan upon him, entered the room at night to murder him; but behold, on the bed he did not see the cavalier but a Crucifix, covered in wounds, which, looking at him pityingly, said to him: "Is it not enough, ungrateful wretch, that I died once for you? Would you kill me again? Come now, quickly — stretch out your hand and kill me again." Then poor Ernest, overcome with confusion, began to weep, and weeping he said: "Lord, here I am; since you show me such great mercy, I will return to you." And immediately he left the inn to go back to the monastery and do penance; but being found on the way by the officers of justice, he was brought before the judge, and in his presence confessed all the murders he had committed. He was condemned to die by the rope, without even being given time to go to confession. Then he commended himself to Mary. He was thrown from the gallows, but the Virgin kept him from dying. She herself then untied him and said: "Return to the monastery, do penance; and when you see in my hand a paper with the pardon of your sins, then prepare yourself for death." Ernest returned, and having told everything to the abbot, did great penance. After many years he saw in the hand of Mary the paper of his pardon; and immediately he prepared for death and died a holy death.

Prayer

O my sovereign Queen, and worthy Mother of my God, most holy Mary — seeing myself so vile and so defiled with sins, I should not dare to approach you and call you Mother. But I do not wish that my miseries should deprive me of the consolation and confidence I feel in calling you Mother. I deserve, I know, to be cast out by you; but I beg you to look upon what your Son Jesus has done and suffered for me, and then cast me out if you can. I am a poor sinner who, more than all others, has despised the divine Majesty; but the evil is already done.

To you I have recourse; you can help me. My Mother, help me. Do not tell me that you cannot help me, for I know that you are all-powerful and obtain whatever you desire from your God. If then you say that you will not help me, tell me at least to whom I should have recourse to be relieved in my great misfortune. Aut miseremini misero, I will say to you and to your Son with St. Anselm, tu parcendo, tu interveniendo: aut ostendite, ad quos tutius fugiam misericordiores; aut monstrate, in quibus certius confidam. Either have pity on me — you, my Redeemer, by pardoning me, and you, my Mother, by interceding for me — or show me other persons to whom I should have recourse, who are more merciful than you and in whom I may place greater confidence. No — neither on earth nor in heaven can I find anyone who has greater pity for the wretched than you, or who can better help me.

You, Jesus, are my Father, and you, Mary, are my Mother. You love the most wretched and go seeking them to save them. I am a wretch deserving of hell, the most miserable of all; but you need not come seeking me, nor do I ask you to seek me. I present myself to you with certain hope that I shall not be abandoned by you. Behold me at your feet: Jesus, forgive me; Mary, help me.