Mary on Calvary Is the Mother of All Christians

Our Beloved Saviour had instituted the Sacrament of Love that He might remain amid His children. He had poured forth all His Blood for us, and He wished moreover to bequeath us a legacy in the last Testament of His Love. But what more could He give us? He casts a compassionate look upon His tender Mother, who stands immovable at the foot of the Cross with His beloved disciple. It is not to enrich her with His grace, for she already possessed it most excellently; nor is it to promise her glory, she was sure of it; but it is to infuse into her heart, before He died, a more tender and ardent love for men than she yet possessed. 'Woman,' says He to her, pointing to the beloved disciple, 'behold your son!' What an exchange was this! The servant instead of the Only Son - the creature in place of the Creator! And yet she does not refuse it, well knowing that she accepted for her children, in the person of John, all the followers of the Cross of Jesus, and that she was to become the beloved Mother of all Christians.

Although Our Lady gave birth to none but our adorable Saviour, yet, in a spiritual sense, she brought forth all Christians in the Person of Our Saviour; because this Blessed Seed has begotten us all by His death. A seed when planted produces a tree, from which are produced other seeds, all of which may be said to belong to the original fruit from which the tree came forth. Thus, as the Most Holy Virgin brought forth this mystic Seed, which when cast on earth, budded and brought forth many other seeds, she has consequently brought us all forth and has become the Mother of us all. How much we ought to love the Son and the Mother! for they are our Divine parents, and it is impossible to love one without loving the other.

Happy the soul who, like a good child in regard of her parents, sees only Jesus and Mary, converses only with Jesus and Mary, and whose only joy and desire in this world is to know Mary in Jesus and Jesus in Mary. This is a wonderful means, given us by God, of spending our lives holily during our sorrowful sojourn in this present life. - (J. J. Olier)

As Holy Church wishes to teach us to go to Jesus through Mary, she directs that the Angelical Salutation should follow the Our Father, that we may thus petition, through her, for all benefits, both spiritual and temporal, as far as these latter are conducive to our eternal salvation. We also implore the intercession of Mary in order to receive the Holy Ghost, as it was through her that Saint Elizabeth received His gifts.

Honour and revere with especial love the holy and glorious Virgin Mary, for she is the Mother of Our God and Saviour Jesus Christ, and therefore our most excellent Mother. Let us then have recourse to her as little children; let us cast ourselves upon her bosom on every occasion, and at every moment, with perfect confidence. Let us appeal to her maternal love, endeavour to imitate her virtues, and cherish in our heart the true sentiments of children.

In the ancient Law much honour was paid to the Ark, in which were preserved the manna, the rod of Aaron, and the tables of the Law. With much greater reason should we honour this living Ark of the new Covenant. Indeed, what does the manna prefigure but the Divinity of the Son of God, come down from heaven to unite Himself with our humanity? He is, also, the Miraculous Rod and the Living Stone upon which the commandments of the Law of Grace were written, being engraved upon His Sacred Body by the scourges, the thorns, the nails, and the lance. The immaculate bosom of Our Lady is then incomparably more worthy of honour than the ancient ark which prefigured it.

O Most Holy and Most Happy Lady, raised in Paradise to the highest degree of beatitude and happiness! we beg you to have compassion on us who groan in the desert of this world. You are in the abundance of delights, and we in the abyss of miseries; obtain for us strength to endure our tribulations virtuously, always leaning on your Beloved Son, the only pledge of our hopes and remedy of our evils. O Glorious Virgin, pray for the Church, assist the Holy Father, the Prelates, Bishops, and all Superiors; and assist England especially, which by your devoted servant Saint Edward, was consecrated to you as your dowry: Dota Mariæ. (Translator.)

You are the Mother of Jesus, Who has deigned to become our Brother, and hence you are our Mother; why, then, shall we not cast ourselves into your arms with perfect confidence, invoking your maternal love and imitating your virtues? O God, what a blessing for us to be sons of such a Mother! If we love and serve her with a truly filial love, she will enrich us with her favours. And, meanwhile, let us present her with the flowers of every virtue: but, above all, with the lily of purity, the rose of ardent charity, and the violets of holy humility and simplicity. She loves nothing so much as hearts deepened by humility, opened by simplicity, and enlarged by charity; and she prefers to be in the company of souls near the manger and at the foot of the Cross; that is, with the poor and the afflicted, in order to succour and console them.

Spiritual Flowers

Mary is like a lily amidst thorns: she loves and suffers at the same time. When the thorns are blown about by the wind, they tear the lily on all sides; but it revenges itself by causing to exhale, through the apertures of its wounds, a sweet fragrance, which perfumes the thorns that have so cruelly wounded it. In imitation of Mary, figured by the lily amidst thorns, let your only revenge for your afflictions be to increase your love for those who are the cause of your pains. - Père Avrillion

Mary is compared to the white lily, on account of her innocence and exemption from all sin; and as the lily is beautiful amongst the thorns where it has sprung up, so was Mary distinguished amidst the women of Judea. The lily loses nothing of its whiteness, although amongst thorns, and the august Virgin, tortured in the Person of her Son, by the Jewish Deicides, preserved the innocency of her soul and the purity of her heart, rendering good for evil. - Saint Francis of Sales

Mary is that most beautiful and lofty cedar, from which God detached the finest branch, to transplant it on Calvary. - Saint Francis of Sales

Lose not sight of eternity, and the adversities of this life will not trouble you. - Saint Francis of Sales

Example

The 'Regina Coeli'

Baronius and Saint Gregory of Nyssa relate that in the year 690 the city of Rome was in danger of becoming a desert, on account of the number of persons who became victims to a terrible pestilence. Saint Gregory, surnamed the Great, successor to Pope Gelasius II., who had fallen a victim to this disease, saw that all human precautions and resources were of no avail, and he resolved to have recourse to the Mother of God. He gave orders that the picture of the Most Holy Virgin - which is believed to have been painted by Saint Luke - should be carried in a general procession of all the Clergy and laity, as far as Santa Maria Maggiore. The violence of the plague was such that eighty persons perished during the procession; but before its termination an Angel was seen in human form above Adrian's Tower (called afterwards the Castle of Saint Angelo, in memory of this event), sheathing a sword tinged with blood, as in the time of David; and from that moment the pestilence completely ceased. At the same time many voices were heard in the air, singing: Regina cœli, lætare, alleluia; quia quem meruisti portare, alleluia; resurrexit sicut dixit, alleluia - 'Rejoice, O Queen of Heaven, for He Whom you deserved to bear has risen, as He said, from the grave; God be praised.' The Holy Pontiff immediately added: Ora pro nobis Deum, alleluia - 'Pray to God for us, God be praised.'

This having occurred at Easter, the Church from that time ordered all the Clergy and faithful to recite this Antiphon during Paschal season.

Prayer - Oh! most desolate of Mothers! what a sword has pierced your Heart! All the blows which wounded your Son Jesus fell upon you. By His pains you were tortured, by His wounds you were torn. His last adieu renewed all your sorrows; but when He breathed His last sigh with what anguish was your heart oppressed, O Mother of love and of sorrow! Obtain, I beg of you, that I may follow your example in loving and suffering! Yes, Queen of Martyrs, let me share your martyrdom. Love gave you the Cross, let the Cross fill my heart with love; and if, to enable me to love, it be necessary that I suffer and die, obtain for me this grace, that I may love all that comes to me from God, whether it be sorrows, afflictions, or death. Amen.

Ejaculation - Pray for me, O Queen of Martyrs!

Practice - When you are tempted to complain, or to be impatient under opposition, reflect upon Mary at the foot of the Cross.

- text taken from the book A Month of Mary According to the Spirit of Saint Francis de Sales, by Father Gaspar Gilli