Discourse II — The Nativity of Mary

Mary was born holy and greatly holy, for great was the grace with which God enriched her from the very beginning, and great was the fidelity with which Mary immediately corresponded to God.

Men are accustomed to celebrate with signs of festivity and joy the birth of their children; but they ought rather to mourn with signs of sorrow and grief, considering that these children are born not only deprived of merit and reason, but stained with sin and children of wrath, and therefore condemned to misery and death. The birth of our child Mary, however, is right to celebrate with universal festivity and praise, since she comes into the light of this world a child in age, but great in merit and virtue.

Mary is born holy, and greatly holy. But to understand the degree of holiness with which she was born, we must consider first how great was the first grace with which God enriched Mary; and second how great was the fidelity with which Mary immediately corresponded to God.

Point I

Beginning with the first point, it is certain that the soul of Mary was the most beautiful soul God ever created; indeed, after the Incarnation of the Word, this was the greatest work, the most worthy of himself, that the Almighty accomplished in this world: Opus quod solus Deus supergreditur, as St. Peter Damian calls her. Hence it came to pass that divine grace in Mary did not descend in drops as in the other saints, but sicut pluvia in vellus, as David foretold (Ps. LXXI, 6). The soul of Mary was like wool that happily absorbed the entire great rain of grace without losing a single drop: Virgo sancta totam sibi hauserat Spiritus Sancti gratiam, says St. Basil. Hence she then said through the lips of Ecclesiasticus: In plenitudine sanctorum detentio mea (ch. XXIV, 16). That is, as St. Bonaventure explains: Totum teneo in plenitudine, quod alii sancti tenent in parte: I possess in fullness all that the other saints possess in part. And St. Vincent Ferrer, speaking specifically of the holiness of Mary before her birth, says that she surpassed the holiness of all the saints and angels: Virgo sanctificata fuit in utero super omnes sanctos et angelos.

The grace the Blessed Virgin received surpassed the grace not only of each individual saint, but of all the saints and angels together, as the most learned Father Francesco Pepe of the Society of Jesus proves in his fine work on the Grandeurs of Jesus and Mary (vol. 3, lesson 136); and he asserts that this opinion, so glorious for our Queen, is today common and certain among modern theologians — as held by Cartagena, Suarez, Spinelli, Recupito, Guerra, and many others who have examined it ex professo, something the ancients did not do. He further relates that the divine Mother sent word through Father Martin Guttierez to thank Father Suarez on her behalf for having so valiantly defended this most probable opinion, which — as Father Segneri also attests in his work The Devotee of Mary — was subsequently upheld by the common judgment of the School of Salamanca.

Now if this opinion is common and certain, very probable also is the further opinion that Mary, from the very first instant of her Immaculate Conception, received this grace superior to the grace of all the saints and angels together. This is strongly defended by the same Father Suarez, and followed by Father Spinelli, Father Recupito, and Father La Colombiere.

But beyond the authorities of the theologians, there are two great and convincing reasons by which the aforementioned opinion is sufficiently proved.

The first reason is that Mary was chosen by God to be the Mother of the divine Word. Hence, says Blessed Denis the Carthusian, since she was chosen for an order superior to all creatures — for in a certain way the dignity of Mother of God, as Father Suarez asserts, belongs to the order of the hypostatic union — it was fitting that from the beginning of her life she should be given gifts of a superior order, incomparably surpassing the gifts granted to all other creatures. And in truth it cannot be doubted that at the same time the person of the Eternal Word was predestined in the divine decrees to become man, there was also destined the mother from whom he was to take his human nature — and this was our infant Mary.

Now St. Thomas teaches (3 p., q. 27, a. 5, ad 1) that the Lord gives to each one the grace proportionate to the dignity for which he destines him: Unicuique datur gratia, secundum id ad quod eligitur. And St. Paul taught the same when he wrote: Qui et idoneos nos fecit ministros novi testamenti (II Cor. III, 6), signifying that the Apostles received from God gifts proportionate to the great office to which they were chosen. St. Bernardine of Siena adds that when anyone is chosen by God for some state, he receives not only the dispositions necessary for it, but also the gifts needed to sustain that office with honor: Regula firma est in sacra Theologia quod quandocumque Deus aliquem eligit ad aliquem statum, omnia bona illi dispenset, quae illi statui necessaria sunt et illum copiose decorant.

Now since Mary was chosen to be the Mother of God, it was most fitting that God should adorn her from the first instant with an immense grace of a superior order to the grace of all other men and angels, since the grace had to correspond to the immense and most exalted dignity to which God raised her, as all the theologians conclude with St. Thomas, who says: Virgo fuit electa ut esset Mater Dei, et ideo non est dubitandum quin Deus per suam gratiam eam ad hoc idoneam reddiderit. So that Mary, before being made Mother of God, was adorned with a holiness so perfect as to make her fit for this great dignity: In beata Virgine fuit perfectio quasi dispositiva, per quam reddebatur idonea ad hoc quod esset Mater Christi, et hoc fuit perfectio sanctificationis. So speaks the holy Doctor.

And he had earlier said (3 p., q. 7, a. 10, ad 1) that Mary was called full of grace, not as regards grace itself, since she did not have grace in the highest degree of excellence possible — just as the habitual grace of Jesus Christ was not of the highest possible degree, as the same holy Doctor says — so that the divine power could not have made it greater by absolute power; but rather it was a grace sufficiently corresponding to the end to which his humanity was ordained by divine Wisdom, namely, the union with the person of the Word: Virtus divina licet possit facere aliquid maius et melius quam sit habitualis gratia Christi, non tamen posset facere quod ordinaretur ad aliquid maius quam sit unio personalis ad Filium unigenitum a Patre; cui unioni sufficienter correspondet talis mensura gratiae, secundum definitionem divinae Sapientiae. For the Angelic Doctor himself teaches that the divine power is so great that however much it gives, it always has more to give; and although the natural capacity of the creature to receive is in itself limited, so that it can be entirely filled, nevertheless its obediential potency to the divine will is unlimited, and God can always fill it more by making it more capable of receiving: Potentiam naturalem ad recipiendum posse totam impleri, non autem potentiam obedientiae.

And therefore — returning to our subject — St. Thomas said that the Blessed Virgin, although she was not full of grace as regards grace itself, is nonetheless called full of grace in relation to herself, since she had an immense grace, sufficient and corresponding to her immense dignity, such as to make her fit to be the Mother of a God: B. Virgo est plena gratia, non ex parte ipsius gratiae, quia non habuit gratiam in summa excellentia qua potest haberi, nec ad omnes effectus gratiae; sed dicitur fuisse plena gratia per comparationem ad ipsam, quia scilicet habebat gratiam sufficientem ad statum illum, ad quem erat a Deo electa, ut esset Mater Unigeniti eius. Hence Benedict Fernandez adds that the measure for knowing how great the grace communicated to Mary was is her dignity as Mother of a God: Est igitur dignitas Matris Dei regula, per quam metiendum quidquid Virgini ab eo collatum credimus.

With good reason, then, David said that the foundations of this city of God, Mary, were to be planted upon the summits of the mountains: Fundamenta eius in montibus sanctis (Ps. XXVIII); that is, the beginning of Mary's life was to be higher than all the consummated lives of the saints: Diligit Dominus, continues the Prophet, portas Sion super omnia tabernacula Iacob. And David himself gave the reason for this: because God was to become man in her virginal womb: Homo natus est in ea. Hence it was fitting that God should give to this Virgin, from the first moment he created her, a grace corresponding to the dignity of a Mother of God.

The same Isaiah wished to signify when he said that in future times the mountain of the house of the Lord — which was the Blessed Virgin — was to be prepared upon the summit of all other mountains, and that therefore all nations were to run to this mountain to receive the divine mercies: Et erit in novissimis diebus praeparatus mons domus Domini in vertice montium, et elevabitur super colles; et fluent ad eum omnes gentes (Is. II, 2). St. Gregory explains: Mons quippe in vertice montium, quia altitudo Mariae supra omnes sanctos refulsit. And St. John Damascene: Mons in quo beneplacitum est Deo habitare in eo: a mountain in which God was pleased to choose his dwelling. Therefore Mary was called a cypress — but a cypress of Mount Zion; she was called a cedar — but a cedar of Lebanon; an olive — but a resplendent olive; a chosen one — but chosen as the sun. For, says St. Peter Damian, just as the sun so far exceeds with its light the splendor of the stars that they no longer appear: Siderum rapit positionem, ut sint quasi non sint; so the great Virgin Mother surpasses with her holiness the merits of the entire heavenly court: Sic Virgo merita singulorum et omnium antecedit. So that St. Bernard elegantly says that Mary was so sublime in holiness that no mother other than Mary was befitting for God, and no son other than God was befitting for Mary: Neque enim decebat Deum alia mater quam Virgo, neque Virginem alius filius quam Deus.

The second reason, proving that Mary in the first instant of her life was holier than all the saints together, is founded on the great office of mediatrix of men that she held from the very beginning; hence it was necessary that from the beginning she should possess a greater capital of grace than all men together. It is already well known how commonly the theologians and holy Fathers attribute to Mary this title of mediatrix, for having by her powerful intercession and merit of congruity obtained salvation for all, procuring for the lost world the great benefit of the Redemption. We say merit of congruity, because Jesus Christ alone is our mediator by way of justice and by merit de condigno, as the Schools speak, having offered his merits to the Eternal Father, who accepted them for our salvation. Mary, on the other hand, is mediatrix of grace by way of simple intercession and by merit de congruo, having offered to God, as the theologians say with St. Bonaventure, her merits for the salvation of all men, and God by grace accepted them together with the merits of Jesus Christ. Hence St. Arnold of Chartres says: Ipsa in nostra salute communem cum Christo effectum obtinuit. And Richard of St. Victor: Omnium salutem desideravit, quaesivit, obtinuit: imo omnium salus per ipsam effecta. So that every good, every gift of eternal life, that each of the saints has received from God, was dispensed to them through Mary.

And this is what the holy Church wishes us to understand when she honors the divine Mother by applying to her the words of Ecclesiasticus, chapter XXIV, 25: In me gratia omnis viae et veritatis. It says viae, because through Mary all graces are dispensed to wayfarers; veritatis, because through Mary the light of truth is given. In me omnis spes vitae et virtutis. Vitae, because through Mary we hope to obtain the life of grace on earth and of glory in heaven; et virtutis, because through Mary the virtues are acquired, and especially the theological virtues, which are the principal virtues of the saints. Ego mater pulchrae dilectionis, et timoris, et agnitionis et sanctae spei. Mary by her intercession obtains for her servants the gifts of divine love, of holy fear, of heavenly light, and of holy confidence. From all this St. Bernard deduces that it is the teaching of the Church that Mary is the universal mediatrix of our salvation: Magnifica gratiae inventricem, mediatricem salutis, restauratricem saeculorum. Haec mihi de illa cantat Ecclesia, et me eadem docuit decantare.

Therefore St. Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusalem, asserts that the Archangel Gabriel called her full of grace — Ave, gratia plena — because, the same saint says, while to others grace was given in a limited way, to Mary it was given in its entirety: Bene plena, quia ceteris sanctis datur gratia per partes: Mariae vero tota se infudit plenitudo gratiae. And this took place, as St. Basil attests, so that in this way she might be the worthy mediatrix between men and God: Ave gratia plena, propterea Deum inter et homines mediatrix intercedens. Otherwise, says St. Lawrence Justinian, if the Blessed Virgin had not been filled with divine grace, how could she have been the ladder of paradise, the advocate of the world, and the true mediatrix of men with God? Quomodo non est Maria plena gratia, quae effecta est paradisi scala, interventrix mundi, Dei atque hominum verissima mediatrix?

Behold, then, the second proposed reason is made abundantly clear. If Mary from the beginning — as the already-destined mother of the common Redeemer — received the office of mediatrix of all men and consequently of all the saints as well, it was necessary that she from the beginning should have a greater grace than all the saints for whom she was to intercede. Let me explain more clearly: if through Mary all men were to become dear to God, it was necessary that Mary be holier and dearer to God than all men together. Otherwise, how could she have interceded for all the rest? For a mediator to obtain from a prince the favor sought for all his subjects, it is absolutely necessary that he be dearer to the monarch than all the other subjects. And therefore Mary, concludes St. Anselm, merited to be made the worthy restorer of the lost world, because she was the holiest and purest of all creatures: Pura sanctitas pectoris eius, omnis creaturae puritatem sanctitatemque transcendens, promeruit ut reparatrix perditi orbis dignissima fieret.

Mary was therefore the mediatrix of men, someone will say; but how can she be called the mediatrix also of the angels? Many theologians hold that Jesus Christ merited the grace of perseverance for the angels as well; hence, just as Jesus was their mediator de condigno, so Mary may be called the mediatrix also of the angels de congruo, having hastened by her prayers the coming of the Redeemer. At the very least, by meriting de congruo to become the mother of the Messiah, she merited for the angels the restoration of their seats lost by the demons. She therefore at least merited for them this accidental glory; hence Richard of St. Victor said: Utraque creatura per hanc reparatur, et angelorum ruina per hanc restaurata est, et natura humana reconciliata. And before him St. Anselm said: Cuncta per hanc Virginem in statum pristinum revocata sunt et restaurata.

Thus our heavenly maiden — both because she was made mediatrix of the world, and because she was destined to be the Mother of the Redeemer — received from the very beginning of her life a grace greater than that of all the saints together. What a lovely spectacle it was for heaven and earth, the beautiful soul of this happy child, though still enclosed in her mother's womb! She was the creature most lovable in the divine eyes, already filled with grace and merit, and even then she could say: Cum essem parvula, placui Altissimo. And she was at the same time the creature most loving of God that had ever yet appeared in the world. In such a way that had Mary been born immediately after her most pure Conception, she would already have come into the world richer in merit and holier than all the saints together. Now consider how much holier she was born, coming to the light after the merits she acquired during all those nine months she remained in her mother's womb. Let us therefore pass to consider the second point: how great was the fidelity with which Mary immediately corresponded to divine grace.

Point II

It is not a mere opinion, says a learned author (Father La Colombiere), it is the opinion of the whole world, that the holy infant, upon receiving in the womb of St. Anne sanctifying grace, received at the same time the perfect use of reason, together with a great divine light corresponding to the grace with which she was enriched. We may therefore well believe that from the first instant in which her beautiful soul was united to her most pure body, she was illumined with all the lights of divine wisdom, so as rightly to know eternal truths, the beauty of the virtues, and above all the infinite goodness of her God and the claim he had to be loved by all — but especially by her, in view of the singular privileges with which the Lord had adorned and distinguished her above all creatures, preserving her from the stain of original sin, giving her so immense a grace, and destining her to be the Mother of the Word and Queen of the universe.

Hence, from that first moment Mary, grateful to her God, immediately began to do all she could, trading faithfully from then on that great capital of grace bestowed upon her; and applying herself entirely to pleasing and loving the divine goodness, she loved him from that moment with all her strength, and continued always to love him throughout those nine months she lived before birth, during which she never ceased for a single moment to unite herself ever more to God by fervent acts of love. She was already free from original sin, and hence free also from every earthly attachment, from every disordered impulse, from every distraction, from every resistance of the senses that might have hindered her from ever advancing in divine love. All her senses were in harmony with her blessed spirit in running toward God; hence her beautiful soul, freed from every impediment, without ever stopping, always flew to God, always loved him, and always grew in loving him. Therefore she called herself a plane tree planted by running waters: Quasi platanus exaltata sum iuxta aquam (Ecclus. XXIV, 19); for she was that noble plant of God that always grew beside the current of divine graces. Similarly she called herself a vine: Ego quasi vitis fructificavi suavitatem odoris (Ecclus. XXIV, 23) — not only because she was so humble in the eyes of the world, but also because, just as the vine always grows — according to the common proverb, Vitis nullo fine crescit (other trees, the orange, the mulberry, the pear, have a determined height, but the vine always grows, and grows as high as the tree to which it clings) — so the Blessed Virgin always grew in perfection. Ave vitis semper vigens, St. Gregory Thaumaturgus greeted her; and she was always united to her God, who was her sole support. Hence the Holy Spirit spoke of her when he said: Quae est ista quae ascendit de deserto deliciis affluens, innixa super dilectum suum? (Cant. VIII, 5). St. Ambrose comments: Hoc est, quae ascendit ita ut inhaereat Dei Verbo sicut vitis propago? Who is she who, accompanied by the divine Word, grows like a vine clinging to a great tree?

Several weighty theologians hold that the soul which possesses a habit of virtue, as long as it faithfully corresponds to the actual graces it receives from God, always produces an act equal in intensity to the habit it possesses, so that it comes each time to acquire a new and doubled merit equal to the accumulated total of all the merits previously acquired. This increase, as they say, was granted to the angels in the state of their probation; and if it was granted to the angels, who could deny it to the divine Mother during her life on earth, but especially in the time of which I speak — while she dwelt in her mother's womb — during which she was certainly more faithful than the angels in corresponding to grace? Mary, then, during all that time came to double at every moment that sublime grace which she possessed from the first instant; for, corresponding with all her strength and perfection, in every act she performed she subsequently doubled her merits at every instant. So that if in the first instant she had a thousand degrees of grace, in the second she had two thousand, in the third four thousand, in the fourth eight thousand, in the fifth sixteen thousand, in the sixth thirty-two thousand. And we are now only at the sixth instant; but multiply thus for an entire day, multiply for nine months, and consider what treasures of grace, of merit, and of holiness Mary brought into the world when she was born.

Let us therefore rejoice with our infant Mary, who is born so holy, so dear to God, and so full of grace. And let us rejoice not only for her but also for ourselves, since she comes into the world full of grace not only for her own glory but also for our good.

St. Thomas considers in Opusculum 8 that the Blessed Virgin was filled with grace in three ways. First, she was filled with grace in her soul, so that from the beginning her beautiful soul was wholly God's. Second, she was full of it in her body, so that from her most pure flesh she merited to clothe the Eternal Word. Third, she was full of it for the common benefit, so that all men might participate in it: Fuit etiam gratia plena, quantum ad refusionem ad omnes homines. Some saints, adds the Angelic Doctor, have so much grace that it suffices not only for themselves but also to save many others, though not all men. Only to Jesus Christ and to Mary was given such a grace as to suffice for the salvation of all: Sed quando quis haberet tantum quod sufficeret ad salutem omnium, hoc esset maximum; et hoc fuit in Christo et Beata Virgine.

Thus what St. John says of Jesus (chapter I, 16) — Et de plenitudine eius accepimus omnes — the saints say likewise of Mary. St. Thomas of Villanova: Gratia plena, de cuius plenitudine accipiunt universi. So much so that, says St. Anselm, there is no one who does not share in Mary's grace: Ita ut nullus sit qui de plenitudine gratiae Virginis non sit particeps. And who in the world is there to whom Mary is not benign and does not dispense some mercy? Quis umquam reperitur cui Virgo propitia non sit? Quis, ad quem eius misericordia non se extendat?

From Jesus, however, we must understand that we receive grace as from the author of grace; from Mary, as from the mediatrix. From Jesus as Savior; from Mary as advocate. From Jesus as the source; from Mary as the channel.

Hence St. Bernard says that God constituted Mary as the aqueduct of his mercies, which he wished to dispense to men; and therefore he filled her with grace, so that from her fullness each one might be given his share: Plenus aquaeductus, ut accipiant ceteri de eius plenitudine, non autem plenitudinem ipsam. Hence the saint exhorts all to consider with how much love God wills that we honor this great Virgin, since in her he has placed the entire treasure of his blessings — so that whatever we have of hope, of grace, and of salvation, for all of it we may thank our most loving Queen, since everything reaches us through her hands and her intercession. Here are his beautiful words: Intuemini quanto devotionis affectu a nobis eam voluit honorari, qui totius boni plenitudinem posuit in Maria; ut proinde, si quid spei in nobis est, si quid gratiae, si quid salutis, ab ea noverimus redundare. Wretched the soul that closes this channel of grace by neglecting to commend itself to Mary! Holofernes, when he wished to take possession of the city of Bethulia, had the aqueducts cut off: Incidi praecepit aquaeductus illorum (Judith VII, 6). And this is what the devil does when he wishes to make himself master of a soul — he causes it to abandon devotion to Mary most holy. Once this channel is closed, it will easily lose the light, the fear of God, and finally eternal salvation.

Read the following example, in which you will see how great is the compassion of Mary's heart, and what ruin befalls anyone who closes this channel by abandoning devotion to this Queen of Heaven.

Example

Trithemius, Canisius, and others relate that in Magdeburg, a city of Saxony, there was a certain man called Udo, who as a youth was of such poor understanding that he was the laughingstock of all his fellow students. One day, more afflicted than ever by his incapacity, he went to commend himself to the Blessed Virgin before one of her images. Mary appeared to him in a dream and said to him: "Udo, I wish to console you, and not only do I wish to obtain for you from God enough ability to free you from ridicule, but such a talent as will make you admirable; and furthermore, I promise you that after the death of the bishop you will be chosen in his place." So Mary told him, and so everything came to pass. He quickly advanced in learning and obtained the bishopric of that city.

But Udo was so ungrateful to God and to his benefactress that, having abandoned all devotion, he became the scandal of everyone. One night, while he lay in bed in sacrilegious company, he heard a voice that said to him: Udo, cessu de ludo: lusisti satis, Udo: "Udo, cease from the sport of offending God; you have played enough." The first time he grew angry at these words, thinking it was some man correcting him. But hearing them repeated the second and third night, he felt some fear that it might be a voice from heaven. Yet he continued his wicked life all the same. But after three months that God gave him to repent, behold the punishment.

One night a devout canon named Frederick was praying in the church of St. Maurice, asking God to remedy the scandal given by the prelate, when suddenly the church door was flung open by a great wind. Then two youths entered with lighted torches in their hands and placed themselves on either side of the high altar. After them came two others who spread a carpet before the altar and placed upon it two golden chairs. Next came another youth in soldier's garb with a sword in his hand, who, standing in the middle of the church, cried out: "O you saints of heaven whose sacred relics are in this church, come to attend the great act of justice which the sovereign Judge will now execute!" At this voice, many saints appeared, and also the twelve Apostles, as assessors of this judgment. Finally Jesus Christ entered and seated himself in one of those two chairs. Then Mary appeared, attended by many holy virgins, and was placed by her Son in the other chair. The Judge then ordered that the accused be brought forth — and this was the wretched Udo.

St. Maurice spoke and demanded justice for the prelate's infamous life on behalf of the scandalized people. All raised their voices: "Lord, he deserves death." "So be it — let him die," said the eternal Judge. But before the sentence was carried out — behold how great is the compassion of Mary — the merciful Mother, so as not to be present at that fearsome act of justice, departed from the church. Then the heavenly minister who had been among the first to enter with the sword approached Udo and with one stroke severed his head from his body; and the vision vanished.

The place was left in darkness. The trembling canon went to light a lamp from one burning beneath the church, returned, and saw Udo's body with its severed head and the pavement all drenched in blood. When day broke and the people gathered in the church, the canon narrated the entire vision and the events of that horrible tragedy. And on the same day, the wretched Udo, damned in hell, appeared to a chaplain of his who knew nothing of what had happened in the church. The body of Udo was therefore cast into a swamp, and his blood remained as a perpetual memorial on that pavement, which is always kept covered with a carpet. And from then on the custom was adopted of uncovering it when the new bishop takes possession, so that at the sight of such a punishment he may think to order his life well and not be ungrateful for the graces of the Lord and of his most holy Mother.

Prayer

O holy and heavenly Child, you who are the destined Mother of my Redeemer and the great mediatrix of poor sinners, have pity on me. Behold at your feet another ungrateful soul who has recourse to you and asks your compassion. It is true that for my ingratitude to God and to you I would deserve to be abandoned by God and by you; but I hear it said, and so I believe — knowing how great is your mercy — that you do not refuse to help anyone who commends himself to you with confidence. Therefore, O most exalted creature in the world — since above you there is none but God, and before you the greatest in heaven are small — O Holy of Holies, O Mary, abyss of grace and full of grace, help a wretch who has lost it through his own fault.

I know that you are so dear to God that he denies you nothing. I know also that you delight in using your greatness to relieve poor sinners. Come, then, show how great is the grace you possess before God, by obtaining for me a divine light and flame so powerful as to change me from a sinner into a saint, and, detaching me from every earthly affection, to set me all ablaze with divine love. Do this, my Lady, for you can do it. Do it for the love of that God who has made you so great, so powerful, and so compassionate. So I hope. Amen.