Our Lady died of Divine love, like her adorable Son. The foundation of this belief is, that having but one life with her Divine Son, she could have but one and the same death. In reality, they were two distinct persons; but they had one heart, one soul, one mind, one life!
If this was said of the first Christians; if Jesus Christ lived in Saint Paul, because his spirit was dead in the Heart of his Saviour, with much greater truth could it be said that Jesus Christ and His Most Holy Mother had but one heart and one soul, and, consequently, one life; for there never was a Mother so loving or so much loved; and the quality of Mother and only Son gives us the idea of all that is most perfect and most excellent in love.
If the Apostle Saint Paul could say that he had no other life than that of his Divine Master, with greater reason could Mary, the Mother of this amiable Master, say: 'I have no other life than that of my Divine Son: He lives in me and I in Him.' And having lived the life of her Son, she must have died the death of her Son. This death was prophesied to her, by holy Simeon, in these words: 'Thy own soul a sword shall pierce.'
Three kinds of swords can pierce the soul: the first, the sword of the Word of God, which, in the saying of the Apostle, 'is more penetrating than a two-edged sword'; the second, the sword of suffering and sorrow, according to the prophecy of Simeon; and the third, the sword of Divine Love, of which Jesus Christ speaks: 'I came not to bring peace, but the sword.' Now, the soul of Our Lady was pierced by all these three kinds of swords in the death of her Son.
When a heavy blow falls upon an object, everything near it feels its effects. Thus, although the body of the Most Holy Virgin was not united to that of her Divine Son in His Passion, yet, her soul being inseparably united to Him, it follows that all the blows with which His Blessed Body was bruised wounded her soul.
Love causes us to feel the afflictions of those we love, as we see in Saint Paul, who was weak with the weak, afflicted with those in tribulation; and yet the soul of this Apostle certainly was not so closely united to the faithful as the soul of Our Lady to the soul and body of Jesus. No wonder, then, that the thorns, the nails and lance, which pierced the head, hands, feet and side of Our Lord, pierced also through and through the soul of His Mother.
Truly may we exclaim: O Most Holy Virgin! how deeply was your soul pierced by the love, the suffering, and the words of your Son! And, oh, how deep a wound love gave you, when you saw the Son, Who loved you so much, and Who possessed all the affections of your heart, expiring through love! How bitterly did sorrow, too, wound your soul, when you saw the sufferings that led your only Son to death! And, as for His words, like a strong wind they inflamed your love, excited your sorrow, and almost engulfed the vessel of your heart in an ocean of grief.
Love caused Mary to be penetrated with sorrow; and the sufferings of her Son were expressed in words that pierced her heart like darts. And, as a stag wounded by the hunter, flees with the arrow fixed in the wound, to die afar off, and sometimes, long after it has received the blow; so Our Lady, wounded by the sword of sorrow in the Passion of her Son upon Calvary, survived the wound she had received many years, but at last it caused her death. Oh, loving wound! Oh, sword of charity! how dear and beloved wast thou to the tender heart which thou didst pierce!
The philosopher Aristotle narrates that when the wild goats of Candia are wounded by a dart, they have recourse to the herb dittany, and by means of this plant the dart comes out of the wound. Ah! who is there that does not feel his heart wounded by the thought of the Passion of Jesus Christ, contemplating Him scourged, crowned with thorns and crucified? But, alas! I scarcely dare to say it: the greater number who are pierced by this dart run quickly, like those goats, to the dittany of worldly consolations in order to remove from their heart the wound of Divine love. The Blessed Virgin, on the contrary, zealously preserved this dart, and it formed all her glory and her triumph.
Spiritual Flowers
Thorns are the flowers of Calvary, and sufferings the flowers of the Cross; and this is the support sought for by the languishing love of Mary. - Bossuet
Oh how sweet will death be to the Christian who has done penance for his sins during life! He will pass instantly to the ineffable joys of Paradise. - Saint Teresa
Mystical death is accompanied by a sweetness and a satisfaction a thousand times greater than the full life of the senses. - P. Milley
The more a soul knows the perfections of God, the more does the desire to see Him increase within itself. - Saint John of the Cross
The happiness of dying without regret well repays us for living without pleasures. - Saint John of the Cross
Example
The Fourteen Joys of the Most Holy Virgin
Saint Thomas of Canterbury had the pious custom of reciting seven Ave Marias every day in honour of the Seven Joys of Our Lady upon earth: the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Birth of Our Lord, the Epiphany, the Finding in the Temple, the Resurrection, and the Ascension. One day the Blessed Virgin appeared to him, and said: 'Thy devotion, Thomas, is very pleasing to me; but why dost thou commemorate only the joys I experienced whilst on earth? Henceforth, be mindful also of those that I enjoy in heaven; I assure thee that I will console and present to my Son, at the hour of their death, all those who during life shall have honoured the latter, as well as the former joys.' The holy Archbishop, filled with consolation at these words, exclaimed: 'But how can I do so, Most Holy Virgin, when I know not these joys?' The august Mother of God then taught the Saint to recite seven Ave Marias in honour of the following joys: the honour that the Most Holy Trinity conferred upon her above all creatures; the excellence of her Virginity, which raised her above the Angels and the Saints; the splendour of her glory, which illuminates heaven; the veneration paid to her by the Blessed, on account of her dignity of Mother of God; her power with her Divine Son in our behalf; the graces with which she was enriched when on earth, and the reward reserved in heaven for those who are devout to her during life; finally, her accidental glory, which will continually increase until the Day of Judgment.
Many Saints have practised this devotion with fruit, and a great number of the devoted servants of Mary have made use of it to honour their august Mother.
Prayer of Saint Alfonso Maria di Liguori - Mary! I acknowledge that you are the most beautiful, the most holy, and most amiable of all creatures. Ah! would that all knew you, O Holy Virgin, and loved you as you deserve. I rejoice that you are so revered by all the Blessed in heaven, and by so many faithful souls on earth, but especially that you are so much loved by God. Most amiable Queen! I also love you, miserable sinner that I am, and I desire to love you more; obtain for me, then, this love, O my dear Mother, because it is a sign of predestination. I know that you will help me, and by your help I shall conquer, if I cease not to recommend myself to you. But I fear that I may not always invoke you in occasions of danger; succour me then always, O Mary, my good Mother, and never permit me to offend my God. Amen.
Ejaculation - In your love do I wish to live and die, my Blessed Mother!
Practice - Offer an act of mortification to God, through the Blessed Virgin, for those who are to die this day.
- text taken from the book A Month of Mary According to the Spirit of Saint Francis de Sales, by Father Gaspar Gilli