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1. Basic principles
of devotion to Mary
60. Having spoken
briefly of the necessity of devotion to the Blessed Virgin, I must now explain
what this devotion consists in. This I will do with God's help after I have
laid down certain basic truths which throw light on the remarkable and sound
devotion which I propose to unfold.
First principle: Christ must be the ultimate end of all devotions
61. Jesus, our Saviour, true God and true man must be the ultimate end of
all our other devotions; otherwise they would be false and misleading. He
is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and end of everything. "We labour,"
says St. Paul, "only to make all men perfect in Jesus Christ."
For in him alone dwells the entire fullness of the divinity and the complete
fullness of grace, virtue and perfection. In him alone we have been blessed
with every spiritual blessing; he is the only teacher from whom we must learn;
the only Lord on whom we should depend; the only Head to whom we should be
united and the only model that we should imitate. He is the only Physician
that can heal us; the only Shepherd that can feed us; the only Way that can
lead us; the only Truth that we can believe; the only Life that can animate
us. He alone is everything to us and he alone can satisfy all our desires.
We are given no other name under heaven by which we can be saved. God has
laid no other foundation for our salvation, perfection and glory than Jesus.
Every edifice which is not built on that firm rock, is founded upon shifting
sands and will certainly fall sooner or later. Every one of the faithful
who is not united to him is like a branch broken from the stem of the vine.
It falls and withers and is fit only to be burnt. If we live in Jesus and
Jesus lives in us, we need not fear damnation. Neither angels in heaven nor
men on earth, nor devils in hell, no creature whatever can harm us, for no
creature can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. Through
him, with him and in him, we can do all things and render all honour and
glory to the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit; we can make ourselves
perfect and be for our neighbour a fragrance of eternal life.
62. If then we are establishing sound devotion to our Blessed Lady, it is
only in order to establish devotion to our Lord more perfectly, by providing
a smooth but certain way of reaching Jesus Christ. If devotion to our Lady
distracted us from our Lord, we would have to reject it as an illusion of
the devil. But this is far from being the case. As I have already shown and
will show again later on, this devotion is necessary, simply and solely because
it is a way of reaching Jesus perfectly, loving him tenderly, and serving
him faithfully.
63. Here I turn to you for a moment, dear Jesus, to complain lovingly to
your divine Majesty that the majority of Christians, and even some of the
most learned among them, do not recognise the necessary bond that unites
you and your Blessed Mother. Lord, you are always with Mary and Mary is always
with you. She can never be without you because then she would cease to be
what she is. She is so completely transformed into you by grace that she
no longer lives, she no longer exists, because you alone, dear Jesus, live
and reign in her more perfectly than in all the angels and saints. If we
only knew the glory and the love given to you by this wonderful creature,
our feelings for you and for her would be far different from those we have
now. So intimately is she united to you that it would be easier to separate
light from the sun, and heat from the fire. I go further, it would even be
easier to separate all the angels and saints from you than Mary; for she
loves you ardently, and glorifies you more perfectly than all your other
creatures put together.
64. In view of this, my dear Master, is it not astonishing and pitiful to
see the ignorance and short-sightedness of men with regard to your holy Mother?
I am not speaking so much of idolaters and pagans who do not know you and
consequently have no knowledge of her. I am not even speaking of heretics
and schismatics who have left you and your holy Church and therefore are
not interested in your holy Mother. I am speaking of Catholics, and even
of educated Catholics, who profess to teach the faith to others but do not
know you or your Mother except speculatively, in a dry, cold and sterile
way.
These people seldom speak of your Mother or devotion to her. They say they
are afraid that devotion to her will be abused and that you will be offended
by excessive honour paid to her. They protest loudly when they see or hear
a devout servant of Mary speak frequently with feeling, conviction and vigour
of devotion to her. When he speaks of devotion to her as a sure means of
finding and loving you without fear or illusion, or when he says this devotion
is a short road free from danger, or an immaculate way free from imperfection,
or a wondrous secret of finding you, they put before him a thousand specious
reasons to show him how wrong he is to speak so much of Mary. There are,
they say, great abuses in this devotion which we should try to stamp out
and we should refer people to you rather than exhort them to have devotion
to your Mother, whom they already love adequately.
If they are sometimes heard speaking of devotion to your Mother, it is not
for the purpose of promoting it or convincing people of it but only to destroy
the abuses made of it. Yet all the while these persons are devoid of piety
or genuine devotion to you, for they have no devotion to Mary. They consider
the Rosary and the Scapular as devotions suitable only for simple women or
ignorant people. After all, they say, we do not need them to be saved. If
they come across one who loves our Lady, who says the rosary or shows any
devotion towards her, they soon move him to a change of mind and heart. They
advise him to say the seven penitential psalms instead of the Rosary, and
to show devotion to Jesus instead of to Mary.
Dear Jesus, do these people possess your spirit? Do they please you by acting
in this way? Would it please you if we were to make no effort to give pleasure
to your Mother because we are afraid of offending you? Does devotion to your
holy Mother hinder devotion to you? Does Mary keep for herself any honour
we pay her? Is she a rival of yours? Is she a stranger having no kinship
with you? Does pleasing her imply displeasing you? Does the gift of oneself
to her constitute a deprivation for you? Is love for her a lessening of our
love for you?
65. Nevertheless, my dear Master, the majority of learned scholars could
not be further from devotion to your Mother, or show more indifference to
it even if all I have just said were true. Keep me from their way of thinking
and acting and let me share your feelings of gratitude, esteem, respect and
love for your holy Mother. I can then love and glorify you all the more,
because I will be imitating and following you more closely.
66. As though I had said nothing so far to further her honour, grant me now
the grace to praise her more worthily, in spite of all her enemies who are
also yours. I can then say to them boldly with the saints, "Let no one presume
to expect mercy from God, who offends his holy Mother."
67. So that I may obtain from your mercy a genuine devotion to your blessed
Mother and spread it throughout the whole world, help me to love you
wholeheartedly, and for this intention accept the earnest prayer I offer
with St. Augustine and all who truly love you.
Prayer of Saint
Augustine
O Jesus Christ, you are my Father, my merciful God, my great King, my good
Shepherd, my only Master, my best helper, my beloved friend of overwhelming
beauty, my living Bread, my eternal priest. You are my guide to my heavenly
home, my one true light, my holy joy, my true way, my shining wisdom, my
unfeigned simplicity, the peace and harmony of my soul, my perfect safeguard,
my bounteous inheritance, my everlasting salvation.
My loving Lord, Jesus Christ, why have I ever loved or desired anything else
in my life but you, my God? Where was I when I was not in communion with
you? From now on, I direct all my desires to be inspired by you and centred
on you. I direct them to press forward for they have tarried long enough,
to hasten towards their goal, to seek the one they yearn for.
O Jesus, let him who does not love you be accursed, and filled with bitterness.
O gentle Jesus, let every worthy feeling of mine show you love, take delight
in you and admire you. O God of my heart and my inheritance, Christ Jesus,
may my heart mellow before the influence of your spirit and may you live
in me. May the flame of your love burn in my soul. May it burn incessantly
on the altar of my heart. May it glow in my innermost being. May it spread
its heat into the hidden recesses of my soul and on the day of my consummation
may I appear before you consumed in your love. Amen.
Second principle:
We belong to Jesus and Mary as their slaves
68. From what Jesus Christ is in regard to us we must conclude, as St. Paul
says, that we belong not to ourselves but entirely to him as his members
and his slaves, for he bought us at an infinite price - the shedding of his
Precious Blood. Before baptism, we belonged to the devil as slaves, but baptism
made us in very truth slaves of Jesus.
We must therefore live, work and die for the sole purpose of bringing forth
fruit for him, glorifying him in our body and letting him reign in our soul.
We are his conquest, the people he has won, his heritage.
It is for this reason that the Holy Spirit compares us: 1) to trees that
are planted along the waters of grace in the field of the Church and which
must bear their fruit when the time comes; 2) to branches of the vine of
which Jesus is the stem, which must yield good grapes; 3) to a flock of sheep
of which Jesus is the Shepherd, which must increase and give milk; 4) to
good soil cultivated by God, where the seed will spread and produce crops
up to thirty-fold, sixty-fold, or a hundred-fold. Our Lord cursed the barren
fig-tree and condemned the slothful servant who wasted his talent.
All this proves that he wishes to receive some fruit from our wretched selves,
namely, our good works, which by right belong to him alone, "created in Jesus
Christ for good works". These words of the Holy Spirit show that Jesus is
the sole source and must be the sole end of all our good works, and that
we must serve him not just as paid servants but as slaves of love. Let me
explain what I mean.
69. There are two ways of belonging to another person and being subject to
his authority. One is by ordinary service and the other is by slavery. And
so we must use the terms "servant" and "slave". Ordinary service in Christian
countries is when a man is employed to serve another for a certain length
of time at a wage which is fixed or agreed upon. When a man is totally dependent
on another for life, and must serve his master without expecting any wages
or recompense, when he is treated just like a beast of the field over which
the owner has the right of life and death, then it is slavery.
70. Now there are three kinds of slavery; natural slavery, enforced slavery,
and voluntary slavery. All creatures are slaves of God in the first sense,
for "the earth and its fullness belong to the Lord". The devils and the damned
are slaves in the second sense. The saints in heaven and the just on earth
are slaves in the third sense. Voluntary slavery is the most perfect of all
three states, for by it we give the greatest glory to God, who looks into
the heart and wants it to be given to him. Is he not indeed called the God
of the heart or of the loving will? For by this slavery we freely choose
God and his service before all things, even if we were not by our very nature
obliged to do so.
71. There is a world of difference between a servant and a slave. 1) A servant
does not give his employer all he is, all he has, and all he can acquire
by himself or through others. A slave, however, gives himself to his master
completely and exclusively with all he has and all he can acquire. 2) A servant
demands wages for the services rendered to his employer. A slave, on the
other hand, can expect nothing, no matter what skill, attention or energy
he may have put into his work. 3) A servant can leave his employer whenever
he pleases, or at least when the term of his service expires, whereas the
slave has no such right. 4) An employer has no right of life and death over
a servant. Were he to kill him as he would a beast of burden, he would commit
murder. But the master of a slave has by law the right of life and death
over him, so that he can sell him to anyone he chooses or - if you will pardon
the comparison - kill him as he would kill his horse. 5) Finally, a servant
is in his employer's service only for a time; a slave for always.
72. No other human state involves belonging more completely to another than
slavery. Among Christian peoples, nothing makes a person belong more completely
to Jesus and his holy Mother than voluntary slavery. Our Lord himself gave
us the example of this when out of love for us he "took the form of a slave".
Our Lady gave us the same example when she called herself the handmaid or
slave of the Lord. The Apostle considered it an honour to be called "slave
of Christ". Several times in Holy Scripture, Christians are referred to as
"slaves of Christ".
The Latin word "servus" at one time signified only a slave because servants
as we know them did not exist. Masters were served either by slaves or by
freedmen. The Catechism of the Council of Trent leaves no doubt about our
being slaves of Jesus Christ, using the unequivocal term "Mancipia Christi",
which plainly means: slaves of Christ.
73. Granting this, I say that we must belong to Jesus and serve him not just
as hired servants but as willing slaves who, moved by generous love, commit
themselves to his service after the manner of slaves for the honour of belonging
to him. Before we were baptised we were the slaves of the devil, but baptism
made us the slaves of Jesus. Christians can only be slaves of the devil or
slaves of Christ.
74. What I say in an absolute sense of our Lord, I say in a relative sense
of our Blessed Lady. Jesus, in choosing her as his inseparable associate
in his life, glory and power in heaven and on earth, has given her by grace
in his kingdom all the same rights and privileges that he possesses by nature.
"All that belongs to God by nature belongs to Mary by grace", say the saints,
and, according to them, just as Jesus and Mary have the same will and the
same power, they have also the same subjects, servants and slaves.
75. Following therefore the teaching of the saints and of many great men
we can call ourselves, and become, the loving slaves of our Blessed Lady
in order to become more perfect slaves of Jesus. Mary is the means our Lord
chose to come to us and she is also the means we should choose to go to him,
for she is not like other creatures who tend rather to lead us away from
God than towards him, if we are over-attached to them. Mary's strongest
inclination is to unite us to Jesus, her Son, and her Son's strongest wish
is that we come to him through his Blessed Mother. He is pleased and honoured
just as a king would be pleased and honoured if a citizen, wanting to become
a better subject and slave of the king, made himself the slave of the queen.
That is why the Fathers of the Church, and St. Bonaventure after them, assert
that the Blessed Virgin is the way which leads to our Lord.
76. Moreover, if, as I have said, the Blessed Virgin is the Queen and Sovereign
of heaven and earth, does she not then have as many subjects and slaves as
there are creatures? "All things, including Mary herself, are subject to
the power of God. All things, God included, are subject to the Virgin's power",
so we are told by St. Anselm, St. Bernard, St. Bernardine and St. Bonaventure.
Is it not reasonable to find that among so many slaves there should be some
slaves of love, who freely choose Mary as their Queen? Should men and demons
have willing slaves, and Mary have none? A king makes it a point of honour
that the queen, his consort, should have her own slaves, over whom she has
right of life and death, for honour and power given to the queen is honour
and power given to the king. Could we possibly believe that Jesus, the best
of all sons, who shared his power with his Blessed Mother, would resent her
having her own slaves? Has he less esteem and love for his Mother than Ahasuerus
had for Esther, or Solomon for Bathsheba? Who could say or even think such
a thing?
77. But where is my pen leading me? Why am I wasting my time proving something
so obvious? If people are unwilling to call themselves slaves of Mary, what
does it matter? Let them become and call themselves slaves of Jesus Christ,
for this is the same as being slaves of Mary, since Jesus is the fruit and
glory of Mary. This is what we do perfectly in the devotion we shall discuss
later.
Third principle:
We must rid ourselves of what is evil in us
78. Our best actions
are usually tainted and spoiled by the evil that is rooted in us. When pure,
clear water is poured into a foul-smelling jug, or wine into an unwashed
cask that previously contained another wine, the clear water and the good
wine are tainted and readily acquire an unpleasant odour. In the same way
when God pours into our soul, infected by original and actual sin, the heavenly
waters of his grace or the delicious wines of his love, his gifts are usually
spoiled and tainted by the evil sediment left in us by sin. Our actions,
even those of the highest virtue, show the effects of it. It is therefore
of the utmost importance that, in seeking the perfection that can be attained
only by union with Jesus, we rid ourselves of all that is evil in us. Otherwise
our infinitely pure Lord, who has an infinite hatred for the slightest stain
in our soul, will refuse to unite us to himself and will drive us from his
presence.
79. To rid ourselves of selfishness, we must first become thoroughly aware,
by the light of the Holy Spirit, of our tainted nature. Of ourselves we are
unable to do anything conducive to our salvation. Our human weakness is evident
in everything we do and we are habitually unreliable. We do not deserve any
grace from God. Our tendency to sin is always present. The sin of Adam has
almost entirely spoiled and soured us, filling us with pride and corrupting
every one of us, just as leaven sours, swells and corrupts the dough in which
it is placed. The actual sins we have committed, whether mortal or venial,
even though forgiven, have intensified our base desires, our weakness, our
inconstancy and our evil tendencies, and have left a sediment of evil in
our soul.
Our bodies are so corrupt that they are referred to by the Holy Spirit as
bodies of sin, as conceived and nourished in sin, and capable of any kind
of sin. They are subject to a thousand ills, deteriorating from day to day
and harbouring only disease, vermin and corruption.
Our soul, being united to our body, has become so carnal that it has been
called flesh. "All flesh had corrupted its way". Pride and blindness of spirit,
hardness of heart, weakness and inconstancy of soul, evil inclinations,
rebellious passions, ailments of the body, - these are all we can call our
own. By nature we are prouder than peacocks, we cling to the earth more than
toads, we are more base than goats, more envious than serpents, greedier
than pigs, fiercer than tigers, lazier than tortoises, weaker than reeds,
and more changeable than weather-cocks. We have in us nothing but sin, and
deserve only the wrath of God and the eternity of hell.
80. Is it any wonder then that our Lord laid down that anyone who aspires
to be his follower must deny himself and hate his very life? He makes it
clear that anyone who loves his life shall lose it and anyone who hates his
life shall save it. Now, our Lord, who is infinite Wisdom, and does not give
commandments without a reason, bids us hate ourselves only because we richly
deserve to be hated. Nothing is more worthy of love than God and nothing
is more deserving of hatred than self.
81. Secondly, in order to empty ourselves of self, we must die daily to
ourselves. This involves our renouncing what the powers of the soul and the
senses of the body incline us to do. We must see as if we did not see, hear
as if we did not hear and use the things of this world as if we did not use
them. This is what St. Paul calls "dying daily". Unless the grain of wheat
falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single grain and does not
bear any good fruit. If we do not die to self and if our holiest devotions
do not lead us to this necessary and fruitful death, we shall not bear fruit
of any worth and our devotions will cease to be profitable. All our good
works will be tainted by self-love and self-will so that our greatest sacrifices
and our best actions will be unacceptable to God. Consequently when we come
to die we shall find ourselves devoid of virtue and merit and discover that
we do not possess even one spark of that pure love which God shares only
with those who have died to themselves and whose life is hidden with Jesus
Christ in him.
82. Thirdly, we must choose among all the devotions to the Blessed Virgin
the one which will lead us more surely to this dying to self. This devotion
will be the best and the most sanctifying for us. For we must not believe
that all that glitters is gold, all that is sweet is honey, or all that is
easy to do and is done by the majority of people is the most sanctifying.
Just as in nature there are secrets enabling us to do certain natural things
quickly, easily and at little cost, so in the spiritual life there are secrets
which enable us to perform works rapidly, smoothly and with facility. Such
works are, for example, emptying ourselves of self-love, filling ourselves
with God, and attaining perfection.
The devotion that I propose to explain is one of these secrets of grace,
for it is unknown to most Christians. Only a few devout people know of it
and it is practised and appreciated by fewer still. To begin the explanation
of this devotion here is a fourth truth which is a consequence of the third.
Fourth principle: It is more humble to have an intermediary with Christ
83. It is more perfect because it supposes greater humility to approach God
through a mediator rather than directly by ourselves. Our human nature, as
I have just shown, is so spoilt that if we rely on our own work, effort and
preparedness to reach God and please him, it is certain that our good works
will be tainted and carry little weight with him. They will not induce him
to unite himself to us or answer our prayers. God had his reasons for giving
us mediators with him. He saw our unworthiness and helplessness and had pity
on us. To give us access to his mercies he provided us with powerful advocates,
so that to neglect these mediators and to approach his infinite holiness
directly and without help from any one of them, is to be lacking in humility
and respect towards God who is so great and holy. It would mean that we have
less esteem for the King of kings than for an earthly king or ruler, for
we would not dare approach an earthly king without a friend to speak for
us.
84. Our Lord is our Advocate and our Mediator of redemption with God the
Father. It is through him that we must pray with the whole Church, triumphant
and militant. It is through him that we have access to God the Father. We
should never appear before God, our Father, unless we are supported by the
merits of his Son, and, so to speak, clothed in them, as young Jacob was
clothed in the skin of the young goats when he appeared before his father
Isaac to receive his blessing.
85. But have we no need at all of a mediator with the Mediator himself? Are
we pure enough to be united directly to Christ without any help? Is Jesus
not God, equal in every way to the Father? Therefore is he not the Holy of
Holies, having a right to the same respect as his Father? If in his infinite
love he became our security and our Mediator with his Father, whom he wished
to appease in order to redeem us from our debts, should we on that account
show him less respect and have less regard for the majesty and holiness of
his person?
Let us not be afraid to say with St. Bernard that we need a mediator with
the Mediator himself and the divinely-honoured Mary is the one most able
to fulfil this office of love. Through her, Jesus came to us; through her
we should go to him. If we are afraid of going directly to Jesus, who is
God, because of his infinite greatness, or our lowliness, or our sins, let
us implore without fear the help and intercession of Mary, our Mother. She
is kind, she is tender, and there is nothing harsh or forbidding about her,
nothing too sublime or too brilliant. When we see her, we see our own human
nature at its purest. She is not the sun, dazzling our weak sight by the
brightness of its rays. Rather, she is fair and gentle as the moon, which
receives its light from the sun and softens it and adapts it to our limited
perception.
She is so full of love that no one who asks for her intercession is rejected,
no matter how sinful he may be. The saints say that it has never been known
since the world began that anyone had recourse to our Blessed Lady, with
trust and perseverance, and was rejected. Her power is so great that her
prayers are never refused. She has but to appear in prayer before her Son
and he at once welcomes her and grants her requests. He is always lovingly
conquered by the prayers of the dear Mother who bore him and nourished him.
86. All this is taken from St. Bernard and St. Bonaventure. According to
them, we have three steps to take in order to reach God. The first, nearest
to us and most suited to our capacity, is Mary; the second is Jesus Christ;
the third is God the Father. To go to Jesus, we should go to Mary, our mediatrix
of intercession. To go to God the Father, we must go to Jesus, our Mediator
of redemption. This order is perfectly observed in the devotion I shall speak
about further on.
Fifth principle: It is difficult to keep the graces received from God
87. It is very difficult, considering our weakness and frailty, to keep the
graces and treasures we have received from God.
1. We carry this treasure, which is worth more than heaven and earth, in
fragile vessels, that is, in a corruptible body and in a weak and wavering
soul which requires very little to depress and disturb it.
88. 2. The evil spirits, cunning thieves that they are, can take us by surprise
and rob us of all we possess. They are watching day and night for the right
moment. They roam incessantly seeking to devour us and to snatch from us
in one brief moment of sin all the grace and merit we have taken years to
acquire. Their malice and their experience, their cunning and their numbers
ought to make us ever fearful of such a misfortune happening to us. People,
richer in grace and virtue, more experienced and advanced in holiness than
we are, have been caught off their guard and robbed and stripped of everything.
How many cedars of Lebanon, how many stars of the firmament have we sadly
watched fall and lose in a short time their loftiness and their brightness!
What has brought about this unexpected reverse? Not the lack of grace, for
this is denied no one. It was a lack of humility; they considered themselves
stronger and more self- sufficient than they really were. They thought themselves
well able to hold on to their treasures. They believed their house secure
enough and their coffers strong enough to safeguard their precious treasure
of grace. It was because of their unconscious reliance on self - although
it seemed to them that they were relying solely on the grace of God - that
the most just Lord left them to themselves and allowed them to be despoiled.
If they had only known of the wonderful devotion that I shall later explain,
they would have entrusted their treasure to Mary, the powerful and faithful
Virgin. She would have kept it for them as if it were her own possession
and even have considered that trust an obligation of justice.
89. 3. It is difficult to persevere in holiness because of the excessively
corrupting influence of the world. The world is so corrupt that it seems
almost inevitable that religious hearts be soiled, if not by its mud, at
least by its dust. It is something of a miracle for anyone to stand firm
in the midst of this raging torrent and not be swept away; to weather this
stormy sea and not be drowned, or robbed by pirates; to breathe this pestilential
air and not be contaminated by it. It is Mary, the singularly faithful Virgin
over whom Satan had never any power, who works this miracle for those who
truly love her.
2. Marks of
false and authentic devotion to Mary
90. Now that we
have established these five basic truths, it is all the more necessary to
make the right choice of the true devotion to our Blessed Lady, for now more
than ever there are false devotions to her which can easily be mistaken for
true ones. The devil, like a counterfeiter and crafty, experienced deceiver,
has already misled and ruined many Christians by means of fraudulent devotions
to our Lady. Day by day he uses his diabolical experience to lead many more
to their doom, fooling them, lulling them to sleep in sin and assuring them
that a few prayers, even badly said, and a few exterior practices, inspired
by himself, are authentic devotions. A counterfeiter usually makes coins
only of gold and silver, rarely of other metals, because these latter would
not be worth the trouble. Similarly, the devil leaves other devotions alone
and counterfeits mostly those directed to Jesus and Mary, for example, devotion
to the Holy Eucharist and to the Blessed Virgin, because these are to other
devotions what gold and silver are to other metals.
91. It is therefore very important, first, to recognise false devotions to
our Blessed Lady so as to avoid them, and to recognise true devotion in order
to practise it. Second, among so many different forms of true devotion to
our Blessed Lady we should choose the one most perfect and the most pleasing
to her, the one that gives greater glory to God and is most sanctifying for
us.
1. False devotion to our Lady
92. There are, I find, seven kinds of false devotion to Mary, namely, the
devotion of (1) the critical, (2) the scrupulous, (3) the superficial, (4)
the presumptuous, (5) the inconstant, (6) the hypocritical, (7) the
self-interested.
Critical devotees
93. Critical devotees are for the most part proud scholars, people of independent
and self-satisfied minds, who deep down in their hearts have a vague sort
of devotion to Mary. However, they criticise nearly all those forms of devotion
to her which simple and pious people use to honour their good Mother just
because such practices do not appeal to them. They question all miracles
and stories which testify to the mercy and power of the Blessed Virgin, even
those recorded by trustworthy authors or taken from the chronicles of religious
orders. They cannot bear to see simple and humble people on their knees before
an altar or statue of our Lady, or at prayer before some outdoor shrine.
They even accuse them of idolatry as if they were adoring the wood or the
stone. They say that as far as they are concerned they do not care for such
outward display of devotion and that they are not so gullible as to believe
all the fairy tales and stories told of our Blessed Lady. When you tell them
how admirably the Fathers of the Church praised our Lady, they reply that
the Fathers were exaggerating as orators do, or that their words are
misrepresented. These false devotees, these proud worldly people are greatly
to be feared. They do untold harm to devotion to our Lady. While pretending
to correct abuses, they succeed only too well in turning people away from
this devotion.
Scrupulous devotees
94. Scrupulous devotees are those who imagine they are slighting the Son
by honouring the Mother. They fear that by exalting Mary they are belittling
Jesus. They cannot bear to see people giving to our Lady the praises due
to her and which the Fathers of the Church have lavished upon her. It annoys
them to see more people kneeling before Mary's altar than before the Blessed
Sacrament, as if these acts were at variance with each other, or as if those
who were praying to our Lady were not praying through her to Jesus. They
do not want us to speak too often of her or to pray so often to her.
Here are some of the things they say: "What is the good of all these rosaries,
confraternities and exterior devotions to our Lady? There is a great deal
of ignorance in all this. It is making a mockery of religion. Tell us about
those who are devoted to Jesus (and they often pronounce his name without
uncovering their heads). We should go directly to Jesus, since he is our
sole Mediator. We must preach Jesus; that is sound devotion." There is some
truth in what they say, but the inference they draw to prevent devotion to
our Lady is very insidious. It is a subtle snare of the evil one under the
pretext of promoting a greater good. For we never give more honour to Jesus
than when we honour his Mother, and we honour her simply and solely to honour
him all the more perfectly. We go to her only as a way leading to the goal
we seek - Jesus, her Son.
95. The Church, with the Holy Spirit, blesses our Lady first, then Jesus,
"Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus."
Not that Mary is greater than Jesus, or even equal to him - that would be
an intolerable heresy. But in order to bless Jesus more perfectly we should
first bless Mary. Let us say with all those truly devoted to her, despite
these false and scrupulous devotees: "O Mary, blessed art thou among women
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus."
Superficial devotees
96. Superficial devotees are people whose entire devotion to our Lady consists
in exterior practices. Only the externals of devotion appeal to them because
they have no interior spirit. They say many rosaries with great haste and
assist at many Masses distractedly. They take part in processions of our
Lady without inner fervour. They join her confraternities without reforming
their lives or restraining their passions or imitating Mary's virtues. All
that appeals to them is the emotional aspect of this devotion, but the substance
of it has no appeal at all. If they do not feel a warmth in their devotions,
they think they are doing nothing; they become upset, and give up everything,
or else do things only when they feel like it. The world is full of these
shallow devotees, and there are none more critical of men of prayer who regard
the interior devotion as the essential aspect and strive to acquire it without,
however, neglecting a reasonable external expression which always accompanies
true devotion.
Presumptuous devotees
97. Presumptuous devotees are sinners who give full rein to their passions
or their love of the world, and who, under the fair name of Christian and
servant of our Lady, conceal pride, avarice, lust, drunkenness, anger, swearing,
slandering, injustice and other vices. They sleep peacefully in their wicked
habits, without making any great effort to correct them, believing that their
devotion to our Lady gives them this sort of liberty. They convince themselves
that God will forgive them, that they will not die without confession, that
they will not be lost for all eternity. They take all this for granted because
they say the Rosary, fast on Saturdays, are enrolled in the Confraternity
of the Holy Rosary or the Scapular, or a sodality of our Lady, wear the medal
or the little chain of our Lady.
When you tell them that such a devotion is only an illusion of the devil
and a dangerous presumption which may well ruin them, they refuse to believe
you. God is good and merciful, they reply, and he has not made us to damn
us. No man is without sin. We will not die without confession, and a good
act of contrition at death is all that is needed. Moreover, they say they
have devotion to our Lady; that they wear the scapular; that they recite
faithfully and humbly every day the seven Our Fathers and seven Hail Marys
in her honour; that sometimes they even say the Rosary and the Office of
our Lady, as well as fasting and performing other good works.
Blinding themselves still more, they quote stories they have heard or read
- whether true or false does not bother them - which relate how people who
had died in mortal sin were brought back to life again to go to confession,
or how their soul was miraculously retained in their bodies until confession,
because in their lifetime they said a few prayers or performed a few pious
acts, in honour of our Lady. Others are supposed to have obtained from God
at the moment of death, through the merciful intercession of the Blessed
Virgin, sorrow and pardon for their sins, and so were saved. Accordingly,
these people expect the same thing to happen to them.
98. Nothing in our Christian religion is so deserving of condemnation as
this diabolical presumption. How can we truthfully claim to love and honour
the Blessed Virgin when by our sins we pitilessly wound, pierce, crucify
and outrage her Son? If Mary made it a rule to save by her mercy this sort
of person, she would be condoning wickedness and helping to outrage and crucify
her Son. Who would even dare to think of such a thing?
99. I declare that such an abuse of devotion to her is a horrible sacrilege
and, next to an unworthy Communion, is the greatest and the least pardonable
sin, because devotion to our Lady is the holiest and best after devotion
to the Blessed Sacrament.
I admit that to be truly devoted to our Lady, it is not absolutely necessary
to be so holy as to avoid all sin, although this is desirable. But at least
it is necessary (note what I am going to say), (1) to be genuinely determined
to avoid at least all mortal sin, which outrages the Mother as well as the
Son; (2) to practise self-restraint in order to avoid sin; (3) to join her
confraternities, say the Rosary and other prayers, fast on Saturdays, and
so on.
100. Such means are surprisingly effective in converting even the hardened
sinner. Should you be such a sinner, with one foot in the abyss, I advise
you to do as I have said. But there is an essential condition. You must perform
these good works solely to obtain from God, through the intercession of our
Lady, the grace to regret your sins, obtain pardon for them and overcome
your evil habits, and not to live complacently in the state of sin, disregarding
the warning voice of conscience, the example of our Lord and the saints,
and the teaching of the holy gospel.
Inconstant devotees
101. Inconstant devotees are those whose devotion to our Lady is practised
in fits and starts. Sometimes they are fervent and sometimes they are lukewarm.
Sometimes they appear ready to do anything to please our Lady, and then shortly
afterwards they have completely changed. They start by embracing every devotion
to our Lady. They join her confraternities, but they do not faithfully observe
the rules. They are as changeable as the moon, and like the moon Mary puts
them under her feet. Because of their fickleness they are unworthy to be
included among the servants of the Virgin most faithful, because faithfulness
and constancy are the hallmarks of Mary's servants. It is better not to burden
ourselves with a multitude of prayers and pious practices but rather adopt
only a few and perform them with love and perseverance in spite of opposition
from the devil the world and the flesh.
Hypocritical devotees
102. There is another category of false devotees of our Lady, - hypocritical
ones. These hide their sins and evil habits under the mantle of the Blessed
Virgin so as to appear to their fellow-men different from what they are.
Self-interested devotees
103. Then there are the self-interested devotees who turn to her only to
win a court-case, to escape some danger, to be cured of some ailment, or
have some similar need satisfied. Except when in need they never think of
her. Such people are acceptable neither to God not to his Mother.
104. We must, then, carefully avoid joining the critical devotees, who believe
nothing and find fault with everything; the scrupulous ones who, out of respect
for our Lord, are afraid of having too much devotion to his Mother; the exterior
devotees whose devotion consists entirely in outward practices; the presumptuous
devotees who under cover of a fictitious devotion to our Lady wallow in their
sins; the inconstant devotees who, being unstable, change their devotional
practices or abandon them altogether at the slightest temptation; the
hypocritical ones who join confraternities and wear emblems of our Lady only
to be thought of as good people; finally, the self-interested devotees who
pray to our Lady only to be rid of bodily ills or to obtain material benefits.
2. Marks of authentic devotion to our Lady
105. After having explained and condemned false devotions to the Blessed
Virgin we shall now briefly describe what true devotion is. It is interior,
trustful, holy, constant and disinterested.
106. First, true devotion to our Lady is interior, that is, it comes from
within the mind and the heart and follows from the esteem in which we hold
her, the high regard we have for her greatness, and the love we bear her.
107. Second, it is trustful, that is to say, it fills us with confidence
in the Blessed Virgin, the confidence that a child has for its loving Mother.
It prompts us to go to her in every need of body and soul with great simplicity,
trust and affection. We implore our Mother's help always, everywhere, and
for everything. We pray to her to be enlightened in our doubts, to be put
back on the right path when we go astray, to be protected when we are tempted,
to be strengthened when we are weakening, to be lifted up when we fall into
sin, to be encouraged when we are losing heart, to be rid of our scruples,
to be consoled in the trials, crosses and disappointments of life. Finally,
in all our afflictions of body and soul, we naturally turn to Mary for help,
with never a fear of importuning her or displeasing our Lord.
108. Third, true devotion to our Lady is holy, that is, it leads us to avoid
sin and to imitate the virtues of Mary. Her ten principal virtues are: deep
humility, lively faith, blind obedience, unceasing prayer, constant self-denial,
surpassing purity, ardent love, heroic patience, angelic kindness, and heavenly
wisdom.
109. Fourth, true devotion to our Lady is constant. It strengthens us in
our desire to do good and prevents us from giving up our devotional practices
too easily. It gives us the courage to oppose the fashions and maxims of
the world, the vexations and unruly inclinations of the flesh and the temptations
of the devil. Thus a person truly devoted to our Blessed Lady is not changeable,
fretful, scrupulous or timid. We do not say however that such a person never
sins or that his sensible feelings of devotion never change. When he has
fallen, he stretches out his hand to his Blessed Mother and rises again.
If he loses all taste and feeling for devotion, he is not at all upset because
a good and faithful servant of Mary is guided in his life by faith in Jesus
and Mary, and not by feelings.
110. Fifth, true devotion to Mary is disinterested. It inspires us to seek
God alone in his Blessed Mother and not ourselves. The true subject of Mary
does not serve his illustrious Queen for selfish gain. He does not serve
her for temporal or eternal well-being but simply and solely because she
has the right to be served and God alone in her. He loves her not so much
because she is good to him or because he expects something from her, but
simply because she is loveable. That is why he loves and serves her just
as faithfully in weariness and dryness of soul as in sweet and sensible fervour.
He loves her as much on Calvary as at Cana. How pleasing and precious in
the sight of God and his holy Mother must these servants of Mary be, who
serve her without any self-seeking. How rare they are nowadays! It is to
increase their number that I have taken up my pen to write down what I have
been teaching with success both publicly and in private in my missions for
many years.
111. I have already said many things about the Blessed Virgin and, as I am
trying to fashion a true servant of Mary and a true disciple of Jesus, I
have still a great deal to say, although through ignorance, inability, and
lack of time, I shall leave infinitely more unsaid.
112. But my labour will be well rewarded if this little book falls into the
hands of a noble soul, a child of God and of Mary, born not of blood nor
the will of the flesh nor of the will of man. My time will be well spent
if, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, after having read this book he is convinced
of the supreme value of the solid devotion to Mary I am about to describe.
If I thought that my guilty blood could help the reader to accept in his
heart the truths that I set down in honour of my dear Mother and Queen, I,
her most unworthy child and slave, would use it instead of ink to write these
words. I would hope to find faithful souls who, by their perseverance in
the devotion I teach, will repay her for the loss she has suffered through
my ingratitude and infidelity.
113. I feel more than ever inspired to believe and expect the complete fulfilment
of the desire that is deeply engraved on my heart and what I have prayed
to God for over many years, namely, that in the near or distant future the
Blessed Virgin will have more children, servants and slaves of love than
ever before, and that through them Jesus, my dear Lord, will reign more than
ever in the hearts of men.
114. I clearly foresee that raging beasts will come in fury to tear to pieces
with their diabolical teeth this little book and the one the Holy Spirit
made use of to write it, or they will cause it at least to lie hidden in
the darkness and silence of a chest and so prevent it from seeing the light
of day. They will even attack and persecute those who read it and put into
practice what it contains. But no matter! So much the better! It even gives
me encouragement to hope for great success at the prospect of a mighty legion
of brave and valiant soldiers of Jesus and Mary, both men and women, who
will fight the devil, the world, and corrupt nature in the perilous times
that are sure to come.
"Let the reader understand. Let him accept this teaching who can."
3. Principal practices of devotion to Mary
115. There are
several interior practices of true devotion to the Blessed Virgin. Here briefly
are the main ones:
(1) Honouring her,
as the worthy Mother of God, by the cult of hyperdulia, that is, esteeming
and honouring her more than all the other saints as the masterpiece of grace
and the foremost in holiness after Jesus Christ, true God and true man.
(2) Meditating on her virtues, her privileges and her actions.
(3) Contemplating her sublime dignity.
(4) Offering to her acts of love, praise and gratitude.
(5) Invoking her with a joyful heart.
(6) Offering ourselves to her and uniting ourselves to her.
(7) Doing everything to please her.
(8) Beginning, carrying out and completing our actions through her, in her,
with her, and for her in order to do them through Jesus, in Jesus, with Jesus,
and for Jesus, our last end. We shall explain this last practice later.
116. True devotion
to our Lady has also several exterior practices. Here are the principal ones:
(1) Enrolling in
her confraternities and joining her sodalities.
(2) Joining religious orders dedicated to her.
(3) Making her privileges known and appreciated.
(4) Giving alms, fasting, performing interior and exterior acts of self-denial
in her honour.
(5) Carrying such signs of devotion to her as the rosary, the scapular, or
a little chain.
(6) Reciting with attention, devotion and reverence the fifteen decades of
the Rosary in honour of the fifteen principal mysteries of our Lord, or at
least five decades in honour of the Joyful mysteries - the Annunciation,
the Visitation, the Birth of our Lord, the Purification, the Finding of the
Child Jesus in the temple; or the Sorrowful mysteries: the Agony in the Garden,
the Scourging, the Crowning with thorns, the Carrying of the Cross, and the
Crucifixion; or the Glorious mysteries: The Resurrection of our Lord, the
Ascension, the Descent of the Holy Spirit, the Assumption of our Lady, body
and soul, into heaven, the Crowning of Mary by the Blessed Trinity.
One may also choose any of the following prayers: the Rosary of six or seven
decades in honour of the years our Lady is believed to have spent on earth;
the Little Crown of the Blessed Virgin in honour of her crown of twelve stars
or privileges; the Little Office of our Lady so widely accepted and recited
in the Church; the Little Psalter of the Blessed Virgin, composed in her
honour by St. Bonaventure, which is so heart-warming, and so devotional that
you cannot recite it without being moved by it; the fourteen Our Fathers
and Hail Marys in honour of her fourteen joys. There are various other prayers
and hymns of the Church, such as, the hymns of the liturgical seasons, the
Ave Maris Stella, the O Gloriosa Domina ; the Magnificat and other prayers
which are found in all prayer-books.
(7) Singing hymns to her or teaching others to sing them.
(8) Genuflecting or bowing to her each morning while saying for example sixty
or a hundred times, "Hail Mary, Virgin most faithful", so that through her
intercession with God we may faithfully correspond with his graces throughout
the day; and in the evening saying "Hail Mary, Mother of Mercy", asking her
to obtain God's pardon for the sins we have committed during the day.
(9) Taking charge of her confraternities, decorating her altars, crowning
and adorning her statues.
(10) Carrying her statues or having others carry them in procession, or keeping
a small one on one's person as an effective protection against the evil one.
(11) Having statues made of her, or her name engraved and placed on the walls
of churches or houses and on the gates and entrances of towns, churches and
houses.
(12) Solemnly giving oneself to her by a special consecration.
117. The Holy Spirit
has inspired saintly souls with other practices of true devotion to the Blessed
Virgin, all of which are conducive to holiness. You can read of them in detail
in "Paradise opened to Philagia", a collection of many devotions practised
by holy people to honour the Blessed Virgin, compiled by Fr. Paul Barry of
the Society of Jesus. These devotions are a wonderful help for souls seeking
holiness provided they are performed in a worthy manner, that is:
(1) With the right
intention of pleasing God alone, seeking union with Jesus, our last end,
and giving edification to our neighbour.
(2) With attention, avoiding wilful distractions.
(3) With devotion, avoiding haste and negligence.
(4) With decorum and respectful bodily posture.
4. The Perfect Practice
118. Having read
nearly every book on devotion to the Blessed Virgin and talked to the most
saintly and learned people of the day, I can now state with conviction that
I have never known or heard of any devotion to our Lady which is comparable
to the one I am going to speak of. No other devotion calls for more sacrifices
for God, none empties us more completely of self and self-love, none keeps
us more firmly in the grace of God and the grace of God in us. No other devotion
unites us more perfectly and more easily to Jesus. Finally no devotion gives
more glory to God, is more sanctifying for ourselves or more helpful to our
neighbour.
119. As this devotion essentially consists in a state of soul, it will not
be understood in the same way by everyone. Some - the great majority - will
stop short at the threshold and go no further. Others - not many - will take
but one step into its interior. Who will take a second step? Who will take
a third? Finally who will remain in it permanently? Only the one to whom
the Spirit of Jesus reveals the secret. The Holy Spirit himself will lead
this faithful soul from strength to strength, from grace to grace, from light
to light, until at length he attains transformation into Jesus in the fullness
of his age on earth and of his glory in heaven. |
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