The beauty of devotion to Blessed Virgin Mother
AT the foot of the Cross our Lord relayed this request to His Beloved Mother: “Woman behold Your Son,” and to St. John, His beloved disciple, He said: “Son behold your Mother.”
The gospel says that from that hour the “disciple took her into his home” (cf. Jn.19:27).
The Fathers of the Church tell us that St. John represents all Christians who faithfully and willingly follow our Lord Jesus Christ. The disciple took Mary into his home would mean he took her into his heart.
The last will and testament of our Lord is that we, who are now the beloved disciples of the Lord, must take Mary into our home, into our hearts.
As the Catholics celebrate the solemnity of Mary Mother of God on January 1, the devotion to Our Lady is a great incentive to our spiritual life. The more we become close to Our Lady the more we appreciate our discipleship to our Lord Jesus Christ.
Never would devotion to the blessed Mother distract us or turn us away from our love and commitment to Jesus, Our Lord and Saviour. On the contrary, far from straying our path to Jesus, it actually facilitates our easy union with Jesus Christ.
St. Louis Monfort reminds us that Mary does not keep a soul for herself. Anyone who comes to Our Lady will be formed and fashioned by her so that the soul would be fit to come to our Lord.
St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus imagines herself to have been adorned by Our Lady and fixed in dress and hair before she comes to receive Jesus in Holy Communion.
There is no way that devotion to our Lady would conflict in our love and service to Jesus, Our Lord.
Treasurer of the whole heavenly goods
ACCORDING to St. Bernard Clairvaux, it is by the will of God that graces that come to earth should pass through the hands of Our Lady. He says that it is God’s prerogative to make that decision. Mary is a powerful advocate who can obtain from the Judge all graces for her servants.
St. George, Archbishop of Nicomedia, says that the Redeemer, as if to discharge the obligation, which He owes to His mother for having given Him his human nature, hears all her prayers.
Hence, St. Theophilus, Bishop of Alexandria, has written: “The Son is pleased that His Mother should pray to Him because He wishes to grant her whatsoever she asks, in order to repay her for the favor received from her in giving Him flesh.”
One day St. Bridget heard the conversation of Jesus and His beloved Mother Mary. Jesus was addressing His mother in the following words: “Ask from Me what you wish; for your petition cannot be fruitless. My mother, ask as much as you please; for I shall hear all your prayers.”
He then tells the reason: “Because you refused Me nothing on earth, I will refuse nothing to you in heaven.” You refused Me nothing when I lived on earth; it is just that I should refuse nothing to you now that you are with me in heaven. (Cf. St. Alphonsus de Ligouri meditation on the power of Mary’s prayer.)
Being the treasurer of the whole heavenly goods we can always ask her of all the graces we need so that we can persevere in following, serving and loving God all throughout our life.
According to St. Alphonsus de Ligouri there is no sinner, however abandoned, whom Mary cannot save by her intercession.
St. Peter Damian, likewise, says that nothing is impossible to her who can raise even those who are in despair to a hope of salvation. She is rightly called as “refuge of sinners” and in the prayer of Hail Mary we say at the last part “Holy Mary Mother of God pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.”
In an exorcism performed by a renowned exorcist, he was told by the devil that Mary is his antithesis. From the mouth of the possessed, the devil was forced to say that as long as we hold our Rosary and pray it fervently the devil cannot destroy us.
In fact, the reason why the devil could not totally destroy the society and the Church is because we still have devotion to Mary.
Furthermore, the devil says that he is the most proud but Mary is the most humble, he is the most disobedient but Mary is the most obedient, and he is the most impure and Mary is the most pure.
Hence, the devil writhed and confessed that if we have devotion to Mary he cannot anymore destroy us.
Let us continue our devotion to the Mother of God. St. Alphonsus believes that devotion to her is a great assurance to our salvation for she will procure for us the graces we need in order to persevere in our love and service to Jesus our Lord. Through her we shall overcome our weaknesses and failures.
We shall, in not for long, be able to live a life in total conformity with our Savior.
Ave Maria!