Article II — Motives for This Consecration

First Motive

Which shows us the excellence of this consecration of oneself to Jesus Christ through the hands of Mary.

If we cannot conceive on earth a nobler employment than the service of God; if the least servant of God is more noble than all the kings and emperors of the earth, unless they too are servants of God; what are the riches, the power, and the dignity of the faithful and perfect servant of God who is devoted to his service entirely and without reserve, as much as he can be! Such is a faithful and loving slave of Jesus in Mary, who has given himself entirely to the service of this King of kings through the hands of his holy Mother, and has reserved nothing for himself. All the gold of the earth and all the beauties of heaven cannot repay him.

The other congregations, associations, and confraternities erected in honor of Our Lord and of his holy Mother, which do such great good in Christendom, do not require one to give everything without reserve. They prescribe to their associates only certain practices and actions to satisfy their obligations, and leave them free for all their other actions and for all the other times of their lives. But this devotion makes one give without reserve to Jesus and Mary all one's thoughts, words, actions, and sufferings at all times of life. So that whether one wakes or sleeps, whether one eats or drinks, whether one performs the greatest actions or the smallest, it is always true to say that what one does, even without thinking of it, belongs to Jesus and Mary by virtue of the offering, unless one has expressly retracted it. What consolation!

Moreover, as I have already said, there is no other practice by which one so easily rids oneself of a certain spirit of self-ownership that creeps imperceptibly into the best actions. And our good Jesus gives this great grace as a reward for the heroic and disinterested action one has performed in making over to him, through the hands of his holy Mother, the entire value of one's good works. If he gives a hundredfold even in this world to those who, for love of him, leave outward, temporal, and perishable goods, what will be the hundredfold he gives to the one who sacrifices even his interior and spiritual goods!

Jesus, our great friend, has given himself to us without reserve, body and soul, virtues, graces, and merits. Se toto totum me comparavit, says St. Bernard: "He has won me entirely by giving himself entirely to me." Is it not a matter of justice and gratitude that we give him all that we can give? He was generous to us first; let us be so in return, and we shall find him, during our life, at our death, and throughout all eternity, even more generous still: Cum liberali liberalis erit — "With the generous, he will be generous."

Second Motive

Which shows that it is just in itself and advantageous for Christians to consecrate themselves entirely to the Blessed Virgin by this practice, in order to belong more perfectly to Jesus Christ.

This good Master did not disdain to enclose himself in the womb of the Blessed Virgin, as a captive, a loving slave, and to be subject and obedient to her for thirty years. Here, I say it again, the human mind is lost when it seriously reflects on this conduct of the Incarnate Wisdom, who chose not to give himself directly to men — though he could have done so — but through the Blessed Virgin; who chose not to come into the world at the age of a fully grown man, independent of others, but as a poor little child, dependent on the care and support of his holy Mother. This infinite Wisdom, who had an immense desire to glorify God his Father and to save men, found no more perfect or shorter means of doing so than to submit himself in all things to the Blessed Virgin — not only during the first eight, ten, or fifteen years of his life, as other children, but during thirty years. And he gave more glory to God his Father during all that time of submission and dependence on the Blessed Virgin than he would have given by spending those thirty years in working wonders, in preaching throughout the whole earth, and in converting all men — had he done otherwise, since his heavenly Father had so ordained: Quae placita sunt ei facio semper — "I always do what is pleasing to him." Oh, how highly we glorify God by submitting ourselves to Mary, after the example of Jesus!

With so visible an example before our eyes, known to all the world, are we so foolish as to believe we can find a more perfect and shorter means of glorifying God than that of submitting to Mary, after the example of her Son?

Let us recall here, as proof of the dependence we should have on the Blessed Virgin, what I said above about the example the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit give us of this dependence. The Father has given and gives his Son only through her; he adopts children only through her, and he communicates his graces only through her. God the Son was formed for the world in general only through her; he is formed every day and begotten only through her in union with the Holy Spirit; and he communicates his merits and his virtues only through her. The Holy Spirit formed Jesus Christ only through her; he forms the members of his Mystical Body only through her; and he dispenses his gifts and his favors only through her. After so many pressing examples of the Most Holy Trinity, can we, without extreme blindness, do without Mary and fail to consecrate ourselves to her and to depend on her in order to go to God and to sacrifice ourselves to him?

Here are some Latin passages from the Fathers, which I have chosen to prove what I have just said:

Duo filii Mariae sunt, homo Deus et homo purus; unius corporaliter et alterius spiritualiter mater est Maria. (St. Bonaventure and Origen) — "Mary has two sons: the God-Man and the mere man; of the first she is the mother bodily, and of the second spiritually."

Haec est voluntas Dei, qui totum nos voluit habere per Mariam; ac proinde si quid spei, si quid gratiae, si quid salutis, ab ea noverimus redundare. (St. Bernard) — "This is the will of God, who willed that we should have all things through Mary. If therefore we have any hope, any grace, any salvation, let us know that it flows to us through her."

Omnia dona, virtutes, gratiae ipsius Spiritus Sancti, quibus vult et quando vult, quomodo vult et quantum vult, per ipsius manus administrantur. (St. Bernardine) — "All the gifts, virtues, and graces of the Holy Spirit are distributed through her hands, to whom she wills and when she wills, as she wills and as much as she wills."

Qui indignus eras cui daretur, datum est Mariae ut per eam acciperes quidquid haberes. (St. Bernard) — "You were unworthy to receive; therefore it was given to Mary, that through her you might receive whatever you would have."

God, seeing that we are unworthy to receive his graces directly from his hand, says St. Bernard, gives them to Mary, so that we may have through her all that he wishes to give us. And he also finds his glory in receiving through the hands of Mary the gratitude, the respect, and the love that we owe him for his benefits. It is therefore most just that we imitate this way of God's, so that, as the same St. Bernard says, "grace may return to its author by the same channel through which it came": Ut eodem alveo ad largitorem gratia redeat quo fluxit.

This is what is done by our devotion: we offer and consecrate all that we are and all that we possess to the Blessed Virgin, so that Our Lord may receive through her mediation the glory and the gratitude that we owe him. We acknowledge ourselves unworthy and incapable of approaching his infinite Majesty by ourselves; and so we use the intercession of the Blessed Virgin.

Moreover, this is a practice of great humility, which God loves above all other virtues. A soul that exalts itself humbles God; a soul that humbles itself exalts God. God resists the proud and gives his grace to the humble. If you humble yourself, believing yourself unworthy to appear before him and to approach him, he descends, he lowers himself to come to you, to take delight in you, and to exalt you in spite of yourself.

On the contrary, when one boldly approaches God without a mediator, God withdraws, and one cannot reach him. Oh, how he loves humility of heart! It is this humility that this practice of devotion calls for, since it teaches us never to approach Our Lord by ourselves, however gentle and merciful he may be, but always to use the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, whether to appear before God, to speak to him, to approach him, to offer him something, or to unite and consecrate ourselves to him.

Third Motive

First, the Blessed Virgin, who is a Mother of sweetness and mercy, and who never allows herself to be outdone in love and generosity, seeing that we give ourselves entirely to her to honor and serve her, stripping ourselves of what is most dear to us in order to adorn her — she likewise gives herself entirely and in an ineffable manner to the one who gives everything to her. She causes him to be engulfed in the abyss of her graces; she adorns him with her merits; she supports him with her power; she enlightens him with her light; she inflames him with her love; she communicates to him her virtues — her humility, her faith, her purity, and the rest. She makes herself his surety, his supplement, and his dear all before Jesus. In a word, as that consecrated person is entirely Mary's, Mary also is entirely his; so that we may say of this perfect servant and child of Mary what St. John the Evangelist said of himself — that he "took the Blessed Virgin for all his goods": Accepit eam discipulus in sua.

This produces in his soul, if he is faithful, a great distrust, contempt, and hatred of himself, and a great confidence in and abandonment to the Blessed Virgin, his good Mistress. He no longer relies, as before, on his own dispositions, intentions, merits, and good works; for having made an entire sacrifice of them to Jesus Christ through this good Mother, he has only one treasure where all his goods are, and that treasure is no longer with himself — that treasure is Mary. This is what enables him to approach Our Lord without servile fear or anxious scruple, and to pray to him with great confidence. This is what leads him to enter into the sentiments of the devout and learned Abbot Rupert, who, alluding to the victory that Jacob won over an angel, said these beautiful words to the Blessed Virgin: "O Mary, my princess, and immaculate Mother of a God-Man, Jesus Christ, I desire to wrestle with this man — namely, the divine Word — armed not with my own merits but with yours." O Domina, Dei Genitrix Maria, et incorrupta Mater Dei et hominis, non meis sed tuis armatus meritis, cum isto viro, seu Verbo Dei, luctari cupio. (Rup. Prolog. in Cantic.)

Oh, how powerful and strong we are before Jesus Christ when we are armed with the merits and the intercession of a worthy Mother of God, who, as St. Augustine says, has lovingly conquered the Almighty!

Second, since by this practice one gives to the Lord, through the hands of his holy Mother, all one's good works, this good Mistress purifies them, embellishes them, and makes them acceptable to her Son.

She purifies them of all the stain of self-love and of the imperceptible attachment to creatures that slips insensibly into the best actions. As soon as they are in her most pure and fruitful hands — those same hands that have never been soiled or idle, and that purify whatever they touch — she removes from the offering whatever may be spoiled or imperfect in it.

She embellishes them, adorning them with her own merits and virtues. It is as if a peasant, wishing to win the friendship and benevolence of the king, went to the queen and presented her with an apple — his entire income — so that she might present it to the king. The queen, having accepted the poor little present of the peasant, would place this apple in the middle of a great and beautiful golden platter and present it thus to the king on behalf of the peasant. The apple, though unworthy in itself to be presented to the king, would then become a gift worthy of his majesty, because of the golden platter on which it rests and the person who presents it.

She presents these good works to Jesus Christ; for she keeps nothing of what is given her for herself as its final end. She faithfully sends everything back to Jesus. If we give to her, we necessarily give to Jesus. If we praise and glorify her, she at once praises and glorifies Jesus. Now as then, when St. Elizabeth praised her, she sings whenever she is praised and blessed: Magnificat anima mea Dominum — "My soul magnifies the Lord."

She makes Jesus accept these good works, however small and poor the gift may be for this Holy of Holies and this King of kings. When we present something to Jesus by ourselves, relying on our own effort and disposition, Jesus examines the gift and often rejects it because of the stain it has contracted from self-love — just as he formerly rejected the sacrifices of the Jews, which were full of their own will. But when we present something to him through the pure and virginal hands of his Beloved, we take him by his tender side, if I may use the expression. He does not so much consider the thing we give him as the good Mother who presents it. He does not look so much at where the gift comes from as at the one through whom it comes. Thus Mary, who is never rebuffed and always well received by her Son, makes his Majesty accept with pleasure everything she presents to him, small or great. It is enough for Mary to present it for Jesus to receive it and be pleased with it. This is the great counsel that St. Bernard gave to those he was leading to perfection: "When you wish to offer something to God, take care to offer it through the most worthy and agreeable hands of Mary, unless you wish to be rejected." Modicum quod offerre desideras manibus Mariae offerendum tradere cura, si non vis sustinere repulsam.

Is this not what nature itself inspires in the little toward the great, as we have seen? Why should grace not lead us to do the same toward God, who is infinitely above us and before whom we are less than atoms — especially since we have an Advocate so powerful that she is never refused, so resourceful that she knows all the secrets of winning the heart of God, and so good and charitable that she repels no one, however lowly and wicked?

I shall report further on the true figure of the truths I am stating, in the story of Jacob and Rebecca.

Fourth Motive

This devotion, faithfully practiced, is an excellent means of ensuring that the value of all our good works is employed for the greater glory of God. Scarcely anyone acts for this noble end, although we are all bound to do so — either because we do not know where the greater glory of God lies, or because we do not desire it. But the Blessed Virgin, to whom we have ceded the value and merit of the good works we shall perform, knowing most perfectly where the greater glory of God lies and doing nothing except for the greater glory of God, a perfect servant of this good Mistress, who has consecrated himself entirely to her, can say boldly that the value of all his actions, thoughts, and words is employed for the greater glory of God — unless he expressly revokes his offering. Can anything be more consoling for a soul who loves God with a pure and selfless love, and who values the glory and interests of God above his own?

Fifth Motive

This devotion is an easy, short, perfect, and sure way of arriving at union with Our Lord, in which the perfection of the Christian consists.

First, it is an easy way. It is a way that Jesus Christ himself opened in coming to us, and in which there is no obstacle to reaching him. It is true that one can arrive at divine union by other roads; but it will be by many more crosses and strange deaths, and with much more difficulty, which we shall overcome only with great effort. One would have to pass through dark nights, through combats and strange agonies, over steep mountains, through the sharpest thorns, and across frightful deserts. But by the way of Mary, one passes more gently and more peacefully. There are indeed great battles to fight and great difficulties to overcome; but this good Mother and Mistress makes herself so close and so present to her faithful servants, to enlighten them in their darkness and their doubts, to strengthen them in their fears, to sustain them in their combats and difficulties, that in truth this virginal way to find Jesus Christ is a way of roses and honey, compared with the other ways. A few saints — though only a small number — such as St. Ephrem, St. John Damascene, St. Bernard, St. Bernardine, St. Bonaventure, St. Francis de Sales, and others, have passed along this gentle way to go to Jesus Christ, because the Holy Spirit, faithful spouse of Mary, showed it to them by a singular grace. But the other saints, who are the greater number, although they all had devotion to the Blessed Virgin, did not or scarcely at all enter this path. This is why they passed through harder and more dangerous trials.

But, some faithful servants of Mary will say to me, how is it that the faithful servants of this good Mother have so many occasions of suffering, and more than others who are not so devoted to her? They are contradicted, persecuted, slandered, and found unbearable; or they walk in interior darkness and in deserts where there is not the slightest drop of heavenly dew. If this devotion to the Blessed Virgin makes the way to find Jesus Christ easier, how is it that they are the most despised? I reply that it is indeed true that the most faithful servants of the Blessed Virgin, being her greatest favorites, receive from her the greatest graces and favors of heaven, which are crosses. But I maintain that it is also the servants of Mary who bear these crosses with more ease, more merit, and more glory; and that what would stop another person a thousand times, or cause him to fall, does not stop them even once, but makes them advance — because this good Mother, full of grace and of the unction of the Holy Spirit, preserves all the crosses she fashions for them in the sugar of her maternal sweetness and in the unction of pure love; so that they swallow them joyfully, as one would eat candied nuts, although in themselves they are very bitter. And I believe that a person who wishes to be devout and to live piously in Jesus Christ, and consequently to suffer persecution and carry his cross every day, will never carry great crosses, or will not carry them joyfully or to the end, without a tender devotion to the Blessed Virgin, who is the sweetening of crosses — just as a person could not eat green nuts without great and unsustainable effort unless they are preserved in sugar.

Second, this devotion to the Blessed Virgin is a short way to find Jesus Christ — both because one does not go astray on it, and because, as I have just said, one walks on it with more joy and ease, and consequently with more speed. One advances more in a short time of submission and dependence on Mary than in whole years of self-will and self-reliance. For an obedient man, submissive to the divine Mary, will sing of glorious victories over all his enemies. They will try to prevent him from advancing, or to make him retreat, or to make him fall — that is true. But with the support, the aid, and the guidance of Mary, without falling, without retreating, and even without slowing down, he will advance with giant strides toward Jesus Christ, by the same road by which Jesus came to us with giant strides and in a short time. Why do you think Jesus Christ lived so short a time on earth, and that in the few years he did live he spent nearly all his life in submission and obedience to his Mother? It is because, though perfected in a short time, he lived long — and longer than Adam, whose losses he came to repair, even though Adam lived more than nine hundred years. Jesus Christ lived long because he lived in great submission to his holy Mother and closely united with her, in order to obey God his Father. For "he who honors his mother," says the Holy Spirit, "is like a man who lays up treasure" — that is, he who honors Mary his Mother to the point of submitting to her and obeying her in all things will quickly become rich: first, because he amasses treasures every day by the secret of this philosopher's stone: Qui honorat matrem quasi qui thesaurizat; second, because it is in the womb of Mary — who surrounded and bore a perfect man, and who had the capacity to contain him whom the whole universe can neither hold nor contain — it is in the womb of Mary, I say, that the young become elders in light, in holiness, in experience, and in wisdom, and that one arrives in a few years at the fullness of the age of Jesus Christ.

Third, this practice of devotion to the Blessed Virgin is a perfect way to go to and unite oneself with Jesus Christ, since the divine Mary is the most perfect and the most holy of all pure creatures, and since Jesus Christ, who came to us most perfectly, took no other road for his great and admirable journey. The Most High, the Incomprehensible, the Inaccessible, He who is, willed to come to us, little worms of the earth who are nothing. How was this done? The Most High came down perfectly and divinely, through the humble Mary, to us, without losing anything of his divinity and holiness. And it is through Mary that the very lowly must ascend perfectly and divinely to the Most High, without anything to fear. The Incomprehensible allowed himself to be perfectly comprehended and contained by the little Mary, without losing anything of his immensity. And it is through the little Mary that we must let ourselves be perfectly contained and guided, without any reserve. The Inaccessible drew near, united himself closely, perfectly, and even personally to our humanity through Mary, without losing anything of his majesty. And it is through Mary that we must approach God and unite ourselves to his Majesty, perfectly and closely, without fear of being rejected. Finally, He who is willed to come to that which is not, and to make that which is not become God in He who is; and he did it perfectly by giving and submitting himself entirely to the young Virgin Mary, without ceasing to be in time He who is from all eternity. Likewise, it is through Mary that, though we are nothing, we can become like God by grace and glory, by giving ourselves to her so perfectly and entirely that we are nothing in ourselves and everything in her, without fear of deceiving ourselves.

Let someone make a new road to go to Jesus Christ, and let this road be paved with all the merits of the blessed, adorned with all their heroic virtues, lit and beautified with all the lights and beauties of the angels; and let all the angels and saints be there to guide, defend, and sustain those who wish to walk on it. In truth, in truth, I say boldly, and I say the truth, that I would take, in preference to this road however perfect it might be, the immaculate way of Mary: Posui immaculatam viam meam — a way or road without any spot or stain, without original or actual sin, without shadows or darkness. And if my lovable Jesus, in his glory, comes a second time upon earth — as is certain — to reign there, he will choose no other way for his journey than the divine Mary, by whom he came so safely and so perfectly the first time. The difference between the first and the last coming will be that the first was secret and hidden, and the second will be glorious and resplendent; but both will be perfect, because both will be through Mary. Alas! Here is a mystery that is not understood. Hic taceat omnis lingua — "Here let every tongue be silent."

Fourth, this devotion to the Blessed Virgin is a sure way to go to Jesus Christ and to acquire perfection by uniting ourselves with him.

First, because this practice that I teach is not new. It is so ancient that, as M. Boudon — who died recently in the odor of sanctity — says in the book he wrote on this devotion, one cannot precisely determine its beginnings. It is certain, however, that for more than seven hundred years, traces of it are found in the Church. St. Odilo, abbot of Cluny, who lived about the year 1040, was one of the first to practice it publicly in France, as is recorded in his life. Cardinal Peter Damian reports that in 1036 Blessed Marinus, his brother, made himself a slave of the Blessed Virgin in the presence of his spiritual director, in a most edifying manner: for he put a rope around his neck, took the discipline, and placed a sum of money on the altar, as a sign of his devotion and consecration to the Blessed Virgin — which he continued so faithfully all his life that he merited at his death to be visited and consoled by his good Mistress, and to receive from her lips the promises of paradise as a reward for his services. Caesarius mentions an illustrious knight, Vautier of Birbach, who about the year 1200 made this consecration of himself to the Blessed Virgin. This devotion was practiced by several individuals until the seventeenth century, when it became public.

Father Simon de Rojas, of the Order of the Most Holy Trinity for the Redemption of Captives, preacher to King Philip III, spread this devotion throughout Spain and Germany, and obtained from Gregory XV, at the request of Philip III, great indulgences for those who practiced it. Rev. Fr. de Los Rios, of the Order of St. Augustine, with his intimate friend Fr. de Rojas, applied himself to spreading this devotion by his words and writings in Spain and Germany. He composed a large volume entitled Hierarchia Mariana, in which he treats with as much piety as erudition the antiquity, excellence, and soundness of this devotion. The Theatine Fathers, in the last century, established this devotion in Italy, Sicily, and Savoy. Rev. Fr. Stanislas Phanicius, of the Society of Jesus, marvelously advanced this devotion in Poland. Fr. de Los Rios, in the book cited above, gives the names of the princes, princesses, dukes, and cardinals of various kingdoms who embraced this devotion.

Rev. Fr. Cornelius a Lapide, as commendable for his piety as for his profound learning, having received a commission from several theologians to examine this devotion, after having maturely examined it, gave it praises worthy of his piety; and several other great personages followed his example.

The Jesuit Fathers, always zealous in the service of the Blessed Virgin, presented, in the name of the members of the Congregation of Cologne, a small treatise on this devotion to Duke Ferdinand of Bavaria, then Archbishop of Cologne, who gave it his approbation and permission to have it printed, exhorting all the parish priests and religious of his diocese to promote this devotion as much as they could.

Cardinal de Berulle, whose memory is held in benediction throughout all of France, was one of the most zealous in spreading this devotion in France, despite all the calumnies and persecutions inflicted on him by the critics and the libertines. They accused him of novelty and superstition; they wrote and published a defamatory pamphlet against him; and they used, or rather the devil through their agency used, a thousand tricks to prevent him from spreading this devotion in France. But this great and holy man responded to their calumnies only with his patience, and to their objections, contained in their pamphlet, only with a short writing in which he powerfully refutes them, showing that this devotion is founded on the example of Jesus Christ, on the obligations we have to him, and on the vows we made at holy Baptism. And it is especially by this last reason that he silences his adversaries, showing them that this consecration to the Blessed Virgin and to Jesus Christ through her hands is nothing other than a perfect renewal of the vows and promises of Baptism. He says many beautiful things about this practice, which may be read in his works.

One may read in M. Boudon's book the various Popes who have approved this devotion, the theologians who have examined it, the persecutions it has endured and overcome, and the thousands of persons who have embraced it, without any Pope ever having condemned it — nor could it be condemned without overturning the foundations of Christianity. It remains, therefore, that this devotion is not new; and that if it is not common, it is because it is too precious to be relished and practiced by everyone.

Second, this devotion is a sure means of going to Jesus Christ, because it is proper to the Blessed Virgin to lead us safely to Jesus Christ, just as it is proper to Jesus Christ to lead us safely to the Eternal Father. And let the spiritual-minded not falsely believe that Mary is an obstacle to attaining divine union. For would it be possible that she who found grace before God for the whole world in general and for each person in particular should be an obstacle to a soul finding the great grace of union with him? Would it be possible that she who was wholly full and superabundant in grace, so united and transformed in God that it was necessary for him to become incarnate in her, should prevent a soul from being perfectly united with God? It is true that the sight of other creatures, however holy, might perhaps, at certain times, delay divine union; but not Mary, as I have said and shall say without ever tiring. One reason why so few souls arrive at the fullness of the age of Jesus Christ is that Mary, who is as much as ever the Mother of the Son and the fruitful Spouse of the Holy Spirit, is not sufficiently formed in their hearts. Whoever wishes to have the fruit, ripe and well-formed, must have the tree that produces it. Whoever wishes to have the fruit of life, Jesus Christ, must have the tree of life, which is Mary. Whoever wishes to have within himself the operation of the Holy Spirit must have his faithful and indissoluble Spouse, the divine Mary, who makes him fertile and fruitful, as we have said elsewhere.

Be persuaded, then, that the more you look upon Mary in your prayers, contemplations, actions, and sufferings — if not with a distinct and clearly perceived gaze, at least with a general and imperceptible one — the more perfectly you will find Jesus Christ, who is always with Mary, great, powerful, active, and incomprehensible.

Thus, far from the divine Mary, wholly lost in God, being an obstacle for the perfect in their progress toward union with God, there has never been until now, and never will be, any creature who helps us more effectively in this great work — both through the graces she will communicate to us for this purpose, since "no one is filled with the thought of God except through her," as a saint says: Nemo cogitatione Dei repletur nisi per te; and through the illusions and deceits of the evil spirit from which she will protect us.

Where Mary is, there the evil spirit is not. And one of the most infallible signs that one is led by the good Spirit is when one is truly devoted to Mary, when one thinks of her often, and speaks of her often. This is the thought of a saint, who adds that, just as breathing is a certain sign that the body is not dead, so the frequent thought and loving invocation of Mary is a certain sign that the soul is not dead in sin.

Since "Mary alone," as the Church and the Holy Spirit who guides her say, "has destroyed all heresies" — Sola cunctas haereses interemisti in universo mundo — however much the critics may grumble, a faithful devotee of Mary will never fall into heresy or illusion, at least not formal heresy. He may err materially, taking falsehood for truth or the evil spirit for the good, though less easily than another. But he will sooner or later recognize his mistake and his material error; and when he recognizes it, he will in no way persist in believing and maintaining what he had taken for true. Whoever, therefore, wishes to advance in the way of perfection and to find Jesus Christ safely and perfectly, without fear of the illusions that are common to persons of prayer, let him embrace with a great heart — Corde magno et animo volenti — this devotion to the Blessed Virgin, which perhaps he had not known before. Let him enter this excellent way that was unknown to him, and that I now show him: Excellentiorem viam vobis demonstro.

It is a way opened by Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Wisdom, our only Head: the member cannot go astray in passing through it. It is an easy way, because of the fullness of the grace and the unction of the Holy Spirit that fills it: one does not grow weary, nor does one turn back in walking on it. It is a short way, which in little time leads us to Jesus Christ. It is a perfect way, where there is no mud, no dust, not the slightest filth of sin. It is, finally, a sure way, which leads us to Jesus Christ and to eternal life in a straight and sure manner, without turning to the right or to the left. Let us, then, enter this way, and walk in it day and night, until we reach the fullness of the age of Jesus Christ.

Sixth Motive

This practice of devotion gives a great interior freedom — the freedom of the children of God — to those who faithfully practice it. For since by this devotion one makes oneself a slave of Jesus Christ, consecrating oneself entirely to him in this quality, this good Master, as a reward for the loving captivity in which one places oneself: first, removes from the soul all scruple and servile fear, which only narrows, captivates, and confuses it; second, enlarges the heart by a firm confidence in God, making the soul regard him as its Father; third, inspires it with a tender and filial love.

Without pausing to prove this truth by arguments, I will content myself with reporting a passage from history that I have read in the Life of Mother Agnes of Jesus, a Dominican religious of the convent of Langeac in Auvergne, who died in the odor of sanctity in that same place in the year 1634. When she was only seven years old and suffering great interior pains, she heard a voice telling her that if she wished to be delivered from all her pains and to be protected against all her enemies, she should make herself as soon as possible a slave of Jesus and of his holy Mother. She had no sooner returned home than she gave herself entirely to Jesus and to his holy Mother in this quality, although she had not known before what this devotion was. Having found an iron chain, she put it around her waist and wore it until her death. After this act, all her pains and scruples ceased, and she found herself in great peace and expansion of heart. This led her to teach this devotion to several others who made great progress in it, among them M. Olier, the founder of the seminary of Saint-Sulpice, and several priests and ecclesiastics of the same seminary. One day the Blessed Virgin appeared to her, and placed a golden chain around her neck to express her joy that she had made herself a slave of her Son and of herself. And St. Cecilia, who accompanied the Blessed Virgin, said to her: "Happy are the faithful slaves of the Queen of heaven, for they shall enjoy true freedom": Tibi servire libertas.

Seventh Motive

What may still lead us to embrace this practice is the great good our neighbor will receive from it. For by this practice, we exercise charity toward our neighbor in an eminent way, since we give him, through the hands of Mary, all that we hold most dear — which is the satisfactory and impetratory value of all our good works, without excepting the least good thought and the least little suffering. We consent that all we have acquired and all we shall acquire until death in satisfactions shall, according to the will of the Blessed Virgin, be employed either for the conversion of sinners or for the deliverance of souls from Purgatory.

Is this not loving one's neighbor perfectly? Is this not being a true disciple of Jesus Christ, who is recognized by charity? Is this not the way to convert sinners without fear of vanity, and to deliver souls from Purgatory while scarcely doing anything other than what everyone is obliged to do in his state of life? To know the excellence of this motive, one would need to know what a good it is to convert a sinner or to deliver a soul from Purgatory — an infinite good, greater than creating heaven and earth, since it gives a soul the possession of God. Even if, by this practice, one were to deliver only one soul from Purgatory in one's whole life, or convert only one sinner, would this not be enough to move every truly charitable person to embrace it? But we must note that our good works, passing through the hands of Mary, receive an increase of purity and consequently of merit and of satisfactory and impetratory value. This is why they become far more capable of relieving the souls of Purgatory and of converting sinners than if they did not pass through the virginal and generous hands of Mary. The little that we give through the Blessed Virgin, without self-will and with a most disinterested charity, becomes truly powerful to appease the wrath of God and to draw down his mercy. And it may well be found, at the hour of death, that a person truly faithful to this practice has by this means delivered many souls from Purgatory and converted many sinners, though he may have done only the ordinary actions of his state. What joy at his judgment! What glory in eternity!

Eighth Motive

Finally, what draws us most powerfully, in some sense, to this devotion to the Blessed Virgin is that it is an admirable means of persevering in virtue and being faithful. For why is it that most conversions of sinners are not lasting? Why do we fall so easily back into sin? Why is it that most of the just, instead of advancing from virtue to virtue and acquiring new graces, often lose the little virtue and grace they have? This misfortune comes, as I have shown above, from the fact that man, being so corrupt, so weak, and so inconstant, trusts in himself, relies on his own strength, and thinks himself capable of guarding the treasure of his graces, virtues, and merits. By this devotion, one entrusts to the Blessed Virgin, who is faithful, all that one possesses. One takes her as the universal depository of all one's goods of nature and of grace. It is to her fidelity that one trusts; it is on her power that one relies; it is on her mercy and her charity that one builds — so that she may preserve and increase our virtues and merits, despite the devil, the world, and the flesh, which do their utmost to take them from us. One says to her, as a good child to his mother and a faithful servant to his mistress: Depositum custodi — "Guard what has been entrusted to you." My good Mother and Mistress, I acknowledge that until now I have received more graces from God through your intercession than I deserve; and my sad experience teaches me that I carry this treasure in a most fragile vessel, and that I am too weak and too wretched to keep it by myself. I beg you, receive in trust all that I possess, and keep it for me by your fidelity and your power. If you guard me, I shall lose nothing. If you sustain me, I shall not fall. If you protect me, I am safe from my enemies. This is what St. Bernard says in express terms, to inspire us with this practice: "When she sustains you, you do not fall; when she protects you, you have nothing to fear; when she leads you, you do not grow weary; when she is favorable to you, you arrive safe at the port of salvation": Ipsa tenente, non corruis; ipsa propitia, pervenis.

St. Bonaventure seems to say the same thing in even more explicit terms: "The Blessed Virgin," he says, "is not only held in the fullness of the saints, but she also holds and keeps the saints in their fullness, so that it may not diminish. She prevents their virtues from dissipating, their merits from perishing, their graces from being lost, the demons from harming them; and she prevents Our Lord from chastising them when they sin."

Virgo non solum in plenitudine sanctorum detinetur, sed etiam in plenitudine sanctos detinet, ne plenitudo minuatur; detinet virtutes ne fugiant; detinet merita ne pereant; detinet gratias ne effluant; detinet daemones ne noceant; detinet Filium ne peccatores percutiat. (S. Bonav. in Specul. B. V.)

The Blessed Virgin is the faithful Virgin, who by her fidelity to God repairs the losses that the unfaithful Eve caused by her infidelity, and who obtains fidelity to God and perseverance for those who attach themselves to her. This is why a saint compares her to a firm anchor that holds them and prevents them from shipwreck in the stormy sea of this world, where so many perish for want of being attached to this firm anchor. "We fasten souls to your hope as to a firm anchor": Animas ad spem tuam sicut ad firmam anchoram alligamus. It is to her that the saints who have been saved have been most attached, and that they have attached others, in order to persevere in virtue. Happy, therefore, and a thousand times happy, are the Christians who now attach themselves faithfully and entirely to her as to a firm anchor! The efforts of the storms of this world will not cause them to be submerged or to lose their heavenly treasures. Happy those who enter into her as into the ark of Noah! The flood waters of sin that drown so many will not harm them; for, Qui operantur in me non peccabunt — "Those who work in me shall not sin," she says with Wisdom. Happy the unfaithful children of the unhappy Eve who attach themselves to the faithful Mother and Virgin, who "remains always faithful and never denies herself" — Fidelis permanet, se ipsam negare non potest — and who "always loves those who love her" — Ego diligentes me diligo — not only with an affective love, but with an effective and efficacious love, preventing them by a great abundance of graces from falling back in virtue and from losing the grace of her Son along the way. This good Mother always receives in pure charity whatever is given to her in trust; and once she has received it as a depository, she is obliged in justice, by virtue of the contract of deposit, to keep it for us — just as a person to whom I had entrusted a thousand crowns in deposit would be obliged to keep them for me, so that if, through her negligence, my thousand crowns were lost, she would be responsible in strict justice. But no, the faithful Mary will never allow what has been entrusted to her to be lost through negligence. Heaven and earth would sooner pass away than she be negligent and unfaithful to those who trust in her.

Poor children of Mary, your weakness is extreme, your inconstancy is great, your nature is deeply corrupted — I admit it. You are drawn from the same corrupt mass as the children of Adam and Eve. Yet do not be discouraged by this, but take consolation and rejoice in having the secret I teach you — a secret unknown to almost all Christians, even the most devout. Do not leave your gold and silver in your chests, which have already been broken into by the evil spirit who robbed you, and which are too small, too weak, and too old to hold so great and precious a treasure. Do not put the pure, clear water of the fountain into your vessels that are all spoiled and infected by sin: if sin is no longer there, its odor remains, and the water will be spoiled. Do not put your exquisite wines into your old casks that have been filled with bad wine: they would be spoiled and in danger of being spilled.

Although you understand me, predestinate souls, I must speak here more plainly. Do not entrust the gold of your charity, the silver of your purity, the waters of heavenly graces, or the wines of your merits and virtues, to a bag full of holes, an old and broken chest, a vessel spoiled and corrupted, as you are. Otherwise you will be plundered by the thieves — that is, the demons — who seek and watch day and night for the right moment to do so. Otherwise you will spoil, by the bad odor of your self-love, self-reliance, and self-will, everything that God gives you that is most pure. Pour, pour into the bosom and the heart of Mary all your treasures, all your graces and virtues. She is a "vessel of the spirit," she is a "vessel of honor," she is a "vessel of singular devotion."

Vas spirituale, vas honorabile, vas insigne devotionis.

Since God himself in person enclosed himself with all his perfections in this vessel, it has become wholly spiritual and the spiritual dwelling of the most spiritual souls. It has become honorable and the throne of honor of the greatest princes of eternity. It has become singular in devotion and the most illustrious abode of sweetness, graces, and virtues. It has become rich as a house of gold, strong as a tower of David, and pure as a tower of ivory. Oh, how happy is the man who has given everything to Mary, who trusts in her in all things and for all things! He is wholly Mary's, and Mary is wholly his. He can say boldly with David: Haec facta est mihi — "Mary is made for me." Or with the beloved disciple: Accepi eam in mea — "I have taken her for all my good." Or with Jesus Christ: Omnia mea tua sunt, et omnia tua mea sunt — "All that is mine is yours, and all that is yours is mine."

If any critic who reads this imagines that I speak here with exaggeration and with excessive devotion — alas! He does not understand me, either because he is a carnal man who does not relish the things of the spirit, or because he is of the world which cannot receive the Holy Spirit, or because he is proud and critical, condemning or despising everything he does not understand. But the souls who are born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God and of Mary, understand me and relish what I say; and it is for them that I write this.

However, I say for both groups, returning to the matter I had interrupted, that the divine Mary, being the most generous and the most liberal of all pure creatures, never allows herself to be outdone in love and generosity. For an egg, says a saintly man, she gives an ox — that is, for the little we give her, she gives much of what she has received from God. And consequently, if a soul gives itself to her without reserve, she gives herself to that soul without reserve — provided one places one's confidence in her without presumption, laboring on one's own part to acquire the virtues and to subdue one's passions.

Let the faithful servants of the Blessed Virgin, then, say boldly with St. John Damascene: "Having confidence in you, O Mother of God, I shall be saved; having your protection, I shall fear nothing; with your help, I shall fight and put my enemies to flight; for devotion to you is a weapon of salvation that God gives to those whom he wills to save."

Spem tuam habens, o Deipara, servabor; defensionem tuam possidens, non timebo; persequar inimicos meos et in fugam vertam, habens protectionem et auxilium tuum; nam tibi devotum esse est arma quaedam salutis quae Deus his dat quos vult salvos fieri. (John Damascene)