Chapter X — O Dulcis Virgo Maria

How sweet the name of Mary is in life and in death

The great name of Mary, which was given to the divine Mother, was not found on earth nor invented by the mind or will of men, as happens with all other names that are imposed; it descended from heaven and was given by divine ordinance, as St. Jerome, St. Epiphanius, and St. Antoninus, among others, attest. De thesauro Divinitatis Mariae nomen evolvitur, says Richard of St. Lawrence. From the treasury of the Divinity, O Mary, came your exalted and admirable name; for the entire Most Holy Trinity, the same author continues, gave you a name superior to every name after that of your Son, and enriched it with such majesty and power that at its utterance the Lord willed that all should prostrate themselves in veneration — heaven, earth, and hell: Dedit tibi, Maria, tota Trinitas nomen post nomen Filii tui supra omne nomen; ut in nomine tuo omne genuflectatur caelestium, terrestrium et infernorum. But among the other gifts that the Lord has bestowed upon the name of Mary, let us now see how sweet he has made it for the servants of this most holy Lady, both in life and in death.

And speaking first of the time of life, the holy anchorite Honorius said that the name of Mary is full of every divine sweetness: Hoc nomen Mariae plenum est omni dulcedine ac suavitate divina. So that the glorious St. Anthony of Padua found in the name of Mary the same sweetness that St. Bernard found in the name of Jesus: Nomen Iesu, said the one; Nomen Mariae, replied the other, iubilus in corde, mel in ore, in aure melos. The name of this Virgin Mother is joy to the heart, honey to the lips, and melody to the ear of her devoted ones. It is recounted of the Venerable Fr. Juvenal Ancina, Bishop of Saluzzo, as we have in his Life, that in naming Mary he tasted a sensible sweetness so great that he even licked his lips. Similarly we read that a certain woman in Cologne told Bishop Marsilius that whenever she pronounced the name of Mary she tasted a flavor sweeter than honey. And Marsilius, practicing the same, also experienced the same sweetness. From the Canticle of Canticles we learn that during the Assumption of the Virgin, the angels three times asked her name: Quae est ista quae ascendit per desertum sicut virgula fumi? (3:6). In another place: Quae est ista quae progreditur quasi aurora consurgens? (6:9). In another: Quae est ista quae ascendit de deserto deliciis affluens? (8:5). Now Richard of St. Lawrence asks why the angels repeat these requests for the name of this Queen, and he answers: Forsitan quia dulce nomen sibi desiderant responderi. The name of Mary was so sweet even to the angels that they made so many inquiries of it.

But I do not speak here of this sensible sweetness, for it is not commonly granted to all; I speak rather of the salutary sweetness of comfort, love, joy, confidence, and strength that this name of Mary commonly imparts to those who devoutly utter it. Speaking of this, Abbot Franco says that after the most sacred name of Jesus, the name of Mary is so rich in blessings that on earth and in heaven there resounds no other name from which devout souls receive so much grace, hope, and sweetness: Neque enim post Filii nomen aliud nomen caelum et terra nominat, unde tantum gratiae, spei, et suavitatis piae mentes concipiant. For, he continues, the name of Mary contains within itself something wonderful, sweet, and divine, so that when it meets friendly hearts, it breathes into them an odor of holy sweetness. And the marvel of this great name is this: heard a thousand times by lovers of Mary, it is always heard as something new, for they always experience the same sweetness in hearing it named: Nomen namque Mariae mirum quid, suave atque divinum in se continet, ut cum convenit amicis cordibus, amicae suavitatis odorem spiret. Et mirum illud est de nomine Mariae, ut millies auditum, semper audiatur quasi novum.

Blessed Henry Suso also spoke of this sweetness, saying that in naming Mary he felt himself so uplifted to confidence and so inflamed with love and joy, that between joy and tears, as he uttered the beloved name, he wished his heart would leap from his breast and out of his mouth; for he affirmed that this sweetest name melted like a honeycomb in the depths of his soul. Hence he exclaimed: O most sweet name! O Mary, what must you yourself be, if your name alone is so lovable and gracious?

Then the enamored St. Bernard, turning with tenderness to his good Mother, says to her: O magna, o pia, o multum laudabilis Maria; tu nec nominari potes quin accendas, nec cogitari quin recrees affectus diligentium te. O great, O compassionate, O most praiseworthy, most holy Virgin Mary, your name is so sweet and lovable that it cannot be uttered without inflaming with love for you and for God whoever names it; indeed, it suffices that it merely come before the thoughts of your lovers to kindle them further to love you and to console them. And if riches console the poor by relieving them of their miseries, oh how much better does your name, O Mary, console us wretched ones — says Richard of St. Lawrence — since far better than the riches of this earth, it relieves us from the anguish of the present life: Mariae nomen longe melius quam divitiae, quia melius angustiam relevat.

In sum, your name, O Mother of God, is all full of divine graces and blessings, as St. Methodius says to you: Tuum, Dei Genitrix, nomen divinis benedictionibus et gratiis ex omni parte refertum. So that, as St. Bonaventure attests, your name cannot be uttered without bringing some grace to whoever devoutly names it: Nomen tuum devote nominari non potest sine nominantis utilitate. Let there be a heart as hardened as you will, as distrustful as you please, says the Idiot: if he names you, O most kind Virgin, so great is the power of your name that it wonderfully softens his hardness, since you are the one who encourages sinners to hope for pardon and grace: Tanta est virtus tui sanctissimi nominis, semper benigna Virgo Maria, quod mirabiliter emollit duritiem cordis humani. Peccator per te respirat in spe veniae et gratiae. Your sweetest name, says St. Ambrose, is a fragrant ointment that breathes the perfume of divine grace: Unguentum nomen tuum. Descendat istud unguentum in animae praecordia, S. Maria, quod divinae gratiae spiramenta redolet. The saint prays to the divine Mother, saying: Let this ointment of salvation descend into the inmost recesses of our souls. Meaning: Grant, Lady, that we may remember often to name you with love and confidence; for to name you thus is either a sign of already possessing divine grace, or a pledge of soon recovering it. Yes, for to remember your name, O Mary, consoles the afflicted, restores to the way of salvation those who have strayed from it, and encourages sinners not to abandon themselves to despair, as Ludolph of Saxony says: O Maria, tui recordatio nominis maestos laetificat, errantes ad viam salutis revocat, et peccatores ne desperent confortat. And Pelbart says that just as Jesus Christ with his five wounds provided the world with the remedy for its ills, so Mary with her most holy name, which is composed of five letters, daily bestows pardon on sinners: Sic Maria suo sanctissimo nomine, quod quinque litteris constat, confert quotidie veniam peccatoribus.

For this reason the holy name of Mary is compared in the Canticle of Canticles to oil: Oleum effusum nomen tuum (1:2). Gloria nominis eius, comments Blessed Alan, oleo effuso comparatur. Oleum aegrotantem sanat, odorem parit, flammam accendit. As oil heals the sick, gives forth fragrance, and kindles flame, so the name of Mary heals sinners, refreshes hearts, and inflames them with divine love. Hence Richard of St. Lawrence encourages sinners to have recourse to this great name, for it alone will suffice to cure them of all their ills, saying that there is no disease so malignant that it does not immediately yield to the power of this name: Peccator es? ad nomen Mariae confugias. Ipsum solum sufficit ad medendum. Nulla pestis, quae ad nomen Mariae non cedat continuo.

On the other hand, the demons, affirms Thomas a Kempis, so greatly fear the Queen of heaven that at the naming of her great name they flee from whoever names it as from a fire that burns: Expavescunt caeli Reginam spiritus maligni, et diffugiunt, audito nomine eius, velut ab igne.

The Blessed Virgin herself revealed to St. Bridget that there is no sinner in this life so cold in divine love that, if he invokes her holy name with the resolve to amend, the devil does not immediately depart from him: Nullus est in hac vita tam frigidus ab amore Dei, qui si invocaverit nomen meum cum proposito poenitendi, statim diabolus ab ipso non discedat. And she confirmed it again another time, telling her that all the demons so venerate and fear her name that upon hearing it resound, they immediately release the soul from the claws with which they held it chained: Omnes daemones verentur hoc nomen et timent, audientes hoc nomen Mariae, statim relinquunt animam de unguibus, quibus tenebant eam.

And just as the rebel angels draw away from sinners who invoke the name of Mary, so on the contrary, the same our Lady told St. Bridget, the good angels draw closer to just souls who devoutly name it: Angeli boni, audito nomine meo, iustis magis propinquant.

And St. Germanus attests that just as breathing is a sign of life, so the frequent naming of the name of Mary is a sign either of already living in divine grace or that the life of grace will soon come; for this powerful name has the virtue of obtaining help and life for whoever devoutly invokes it: Quomodo corpus enim vitalis signum operationis habet respirationem, ita sanctissimum nomen tuum, o Virgo, quod in ore servorum tuorum versatur assidue, vitae et auxilii non solum est signum, sed etiam ea procurat et conciliat. In sum, this admirable name, adds Richard of St. Lawrence, is like a most mighty tower in which the sinner, taking refuge, will be delivered from death, since from this celestial tower the most desperate sinners are securely defended and saved: Turris fortissima nomen Dominae: ad ipsam fugiet peccator et liberabitur. Haec defendit quoslibet et quantumlibet peccatores.

But a tower of strength that not only frees sinners from punishment but also defends the just from the assaults of hell. So says the same Richard, asserting that after the name of Jesus there is no name in which so much help is found, from which so much salvation is conferred upon mankind, as from this great name of Mary: Non est in aliquo nomine tam potens adiutorium, nec est aliud nomen datum hominibus post nomen Iesu, ex quo tanta salus refundatur hominibus, sicut nomen Mariae. It is especially known everywhere, and daily experienced by the devotees of Mary, that her great name gives strength to overcome temptations against chastity. The same author reflects on the words of St. Luke — Et nomen Virginis Maria (1:27) — that these two names of Mary and of Virgin are named by the Evangelist together, so that we may understand that the name of this most pure Virgin must never be separated from chastity: Hoc nomen semper cum castitate coniunctum esse debet. Hence St. Peter Chrysologus says that the name of Mary is an indication of chastity: Nomen hoc indicium castitatis. Meaning that whoever, in doubts about having sinned in impure temptations, remembers having invoked the name of Mary, has a sure sign of not having offended chastity.

So let us always avail ourselves of the beautiful counsel of St. Bernard, who says: In periculis, in angustiis, in rebus dubiis, Mariam cogita, Mariam invoca. Non recedat ab ore, non recedat a corde. In all dangers of losing divine grace, let us think of Mary, let us invoke Mary together with the name of Jesus, for these names always go united together. May these two sweetest and most powerful names never leave either our hearts or our lips, for they will give us strength never to yield but always to conquer in all temptations. Too beautiful are the graces promised by Jesus Christ to the devotees of the name of Mary, as he himself, speaking to his holy Mother, made known to St. Bridget, revealing that whoever invokes the name of Mary with confidence and a purpose of amendment will receive three singular graces: perfect contrition for his sins, satisfaction for them, and the strength to attain perfection, and beyond all this, finally, the glory of paradise: Quicumque invocaverit nomen tuum et in te sperabit cum proposito emendandi, tria illi dabuntur, contritio peccatorum, eorum satisfactio et fortitudo ad proficiendum, et insuper regnum caelorum. For, the divine Savior added, the words of my Mother are so sweet and dear to me that I cannot deny her what she asks: Tanta enim est in me dulcedo verborum tuorum, quod negare non valeo quod tu petis.

St. Ephrem goes so far as to say that the name of Mary is the key to the gate of heaven for whoever devoutly invokes it: Nomen Mariae est reseratorium portae caeli. And therefore St. Bonaventure has good reason to call Mary the salvation of all who invoke her: O salus te invocantium. As if invoking the name of Mary were the same as obtaining eternal salvation; for the Idiot affirms that the invocation of this holy and sweet name leads to the acquisition of superabundant grace in this life and sublime glory in the next: Devota invocatio huius nominis ducit ad virorem gratiae in praesenti et ad virorem gloriae in futuro. If you seek, then, brothers, concludes Thomas a Kempis, to be consoled in every trouble, have recourse to Mary, invoke Mary, honor Mary, commend yourselves to Mary. With Mary rejoice, with Mary weep, with Mary walk, with Mary seek Jesus; with Jesus and Mary at last desire to live and die. By doing thus, he says, you will always advance in the way of the Lord; for Mary will willingly pray for you, and the Son will certainly hear the Mother. Here are his beautiful words: Si consolari in omni tribulatione quaeritis, accedite ad Mariam, Mariam invocate, Mariam honorate, Mariae vos commendate. Cum Maria gaudete, cum Maria dolete, cum Maria orate, cum Maria ambulate, cum Maria Iesum quaerite: cum Maria et Iesu vivere et mori desiderate. Fratres, si ista exercetis, proficietis. Maria pro vobis libenter orabit et Filius Matrem suam exaudiet.

Too sweet, then, in life is the most holy name of Mary for her devotees, for the supreme graces it obtains for them, as we have seen. But even sweeter will it prove to them in death, for the sweet and holy death it will obtain for them. Fr. Sertorio Caputo of the Society of Jesus exhorted all who found themselves attending the dying to name the name of Mary to them often, saying that this name of life and hope, uttered at the point of death, is enough by itself to scatter the enemy and comfort the dying in all their anguish. Likewise St. Camillus de Lellis earnestly recommended to his religious that they frequently remind the dying to invoke the names of Mary and of Jesus, as he himself always practiced with others; but more sweetly still he practiced it himself at the point of his own death, in which, as is narrated in his Life, he named with such tenderness his beloved names of Jesus and Mary that he inflamed with love even those who heard him. And finally, with his eyes fixed upon their adored images, his arms crossed, the saint was seen to expire with an air and peace of paradise, forming the very last words of his life by invoking the sweetest names of Jesus and Mary. This brief prayer of invoking the most holy names of Jesus and Mary, says Thomas a Kempis, is as easy to keep in memory as it is sweet to meditate upon and strong to protect from all the enemies of our salvation whoever uses it: Haec brevis oratio, Iesus et Maria, facilis est ad tenendum, dulcis ad cogitandum, fortis ad protegendum.

O blessed is he, said St. Bonaventure, who loves your sweet name, O Mother of God! Beatus vir qui diligit nomen tuum, Maria! So glorious and admirable is your name that all who remember to invoke it at the point of death do not then fear all the assaults of the enemy: Gloriosum et admirabile nomen tuum; qui illud retinent, non expavescunt in puncto mortis.

Oh, who would have the good fortune of dying as Fr. Fulgentius of Ascoli, a Capuchin, died — he who breathed his last singing: "O Mary, O Mary, the fairest there can be — I wish to go in your company"! Or as the Blessed Henry, a Cistercian, died, of whom it is narrated in the Annals of the Order (year 1109) that he ended his life articulating the name of Mary: Inter ipsam dulcissimi nominis articulationem.

Let us pray, then, devout reader, let us pray God to grant us this grace: that the last word of our tongue in death may be to utter the name of Mary — just as St. Germanus desired and prayed: Dei Matris nomen sit mihi ultimus linguae loquentis motus. O sweet death, O sure death, which is accompanied and protected by such a name of salvation — a name God does not grant to invoke in death except to those whom he wills to save!

O my sweet Lady and Mother, I love you dearly, and because I love you, I also love your holy name. I resolve and hope, with your help, always to invoke it in life and in death. For the glory of your name, then — let us conclude with the tender prayer of St. Bonaventure — when my soul departs from this world, come to meet it, blessed Lady, and take it in your arms: Propter honorem nominis tui, in exitu animae meae de hoc mundo occurre illi, Domina, et suscipe eam. Do not disdain, O Mary — let us continue to pray with the saint — to come and console it then with your sweet presence. Be its stairway and its path to paradise. Obtain for it the grace of pardon and eternal rest: Consolare eam vultu sancto tuo. Esto illi scala et iter ad paradisum; impetra ei indulgentiam pacis et sedem lucis. And the saint concludes by saying: O Mary our advocate, it is yours to defend your devoted ones and to take their causes upon yourself before the tribunal of Jesus Christ: Sustine devotos: suscipe causas eorum ante tribunal Christi.

Example

It is narrated by Fr. Rho in his Sabbati and by Fr. Lireo in his Trisagio Mariano that in Guelders, about the year 1465, a certain maiden named Mary was sent one day by her uncle to the market of the city of Nijmegen to buy some things, with orders that in the evening she should stay in the house of another aunt who lived there. The girl obeyed, but going in the evening to find her aunt, she was rudely turned away; so she set out again to return home. But night fell upon the road, and in a fit of anger she cried out to the devil. Behold, he immediately appeared to her in the form of a man and promised to help her, provided she would do one thing. "I will do anything," answered the wretched girl. "All I want," said the enemy, "is that from now on you no longer sign yourself with the sign of the cross and that you change your name." She replied: "As for the cross, I will no longer make the sign; but my name of Mary is too dear to me — I do not want to change it." "Then I will not help you," said the devil. At last, after much argument, they agreed that she would be called by the first letter of the name of Mary, that is, "M." And with this they set out for Antwerp, and the wretched girl lived six years with such an evil companion, leading a life so scandalous that she was the cause of general horror.

One day she told the devil that she wished to see her native land again; the enemy resisted, but was at last compelled to consent. As the two of them entered the city of Nijmegen, they found that a play about the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary was being performed. At this sight, poor "M," moved by what little devotion she had preserved toward the Mother of God, began to weep. "What are we doing here?" said her companion then. "Shall we put on another show?" He seized her to drag her from that place, but she resisted; and he, seeing that he was already losing her, angrily lifted her into the air and dropped her in the middle of the theater. Then the wretched girl narrated the whole story. She went to confess to the pastor, but the pastor sent her to the Bishop of Cologne, and the bishop to the Pope, who, having heard her confession, imposed as a penance that she should continually wear three iron rings, one around her neck and two around her arms. The penitent obeyed, and arriving at Maastricht, she enclosed herself in a convent of penitent women, where she lived fourteen years in harsh penances. And one morning, rising from bed, she found all three rings broken of their own accord; and two years later she died with a reputation for sanctity, and wished to be buried with those same three rings which, from a slave of hell, had made her a happy slave of her liberatrix.

Prayer

O great Mother of God and my Mother Mary, it is true that I am not worthy to name you; but you who love me and desire my salvation must grant me, though my tongue is unclean, that I may always invoke in my aid your most holy and most powerful name; for your name is the help of those who live and the salvation of those who die.

Ah, most pure Mary, most sweet Mary, grant that your name may be from henceforth the very breath of my life. Lady, do not delay in coming to my aid whenever I call upon you; for in all the temptations that will assail me, in all the needs that will beset me, I intend never to cease calling upon you, repeating always: Mary, Mary. So I hope to do in life, so I hope to do especially in death, that after death I may come to praise eternally in heaven your beloved name: O clemens, o pia, o dulcis Virgo Maria.

Ah Mary, most lovable Mary, what comfort, what sweetness, what confidence, what tenderness my soul feels in merely naming you, in merely thinking of you! I thank my God and Lord for having given me, for my good, this name so sweet, so lovable, and so powerful.

But, Lady, I am not content merely to name you; I wish to name you out of love; I wish that love may remind me to call upon you at every hour, so that I too may exclaim with St. Anselm: O name of the Mother of God, you are my love! O amor mei, nomen Matris Dei.

O my dear Mary, O my beloved Jesus, may your sweetest names live forever in my heart and in all hearts. May my mind forget all other names, to remember only and forever to invoke your adored names.

Ah Jesus my Redeemer and my Mother Mary, when the moment of my death shall come, when my soul must breathe its last and depart from this life, grant me then, by your merits, the grace to form my last words, saying and repeating: I love you, Jesus and Mary; Jesus and Mary, I give you my heart and my soul.