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183. The Holy
Spirit gives us in Sacred Scripture, a striking allegorical figure of all
the truths I have been explaining concerning the Blessed Virgin and her children
and servants. It is the story of Jacob who received the blessing of his father
Isaac through the care and ingenuity of his mother Rebecca.
Here is the story as the Holy Spirit tells it. I shall expound it further
later on.
The Story of
Jacob
184. Several years
after Esau had sold his birthright to Jacob, Rebecca, their mother, who loved
Jacob tenderly, secured this blessing for him by a holy stratagem full of
mystery for us.
Isaac, realising that he was getting old, wished to bless his children before
he died. He summoned Esau, who was his favourite son, and told him to go
hunting and bring him something to eat, in order that he might then give
him his blessing. Rebecca immediately told Jacob what was happening and sent
him to fetch two small goats from the flock. When Jacob gave them to his
mother, she cooked them in the way Isaac liked them. Then she dressed Jacob
in Esau's clothes which she had in her keeping, and covered his hands and
neck with the goat-skin. The father, who was blind, although hearing the
voice of Jacob, would think that it was Esau when he touched the skin on
his hands.
Isaac was of course surprised at the voice which he thought was Jacob's and
told him to come closer. Isaac felt the hair on the skin covering Jacob's
hands and said that the voice was really like Jacob's but the hands were
Esau's. After he had eaten, Isaac kissed Jacob and smelt the fragrance of
his scented clothes. He blessed him and called down on him the dew of heaven
and the fruitfulness of earth. He made him master of all his brothers and
concluded his blessing with these words, "Cursed be those who curse you and
blessed be those who bless you."
Isaac had scarcely finished speaking when Esau came in, bringing what he
had caught while out hunting. He wanted his father to bless him after he
had eaten. The holy patriarch was shocked when he realised what had happened.
But far from retracting what he had done, he confirmed it because he clearly
saw the finger of God in it all. Then, as Holy Scripture relates, Esau began
to protest loudly against the treachery of his brother. He then asked his
father if he had only one blessing to give. In so doing, as the early Fathers
point out, Esau was the symbol of those who are too ready to imagine that
there is an alliance between God and the world, because they themselves are
eager to enjoy, at one and the same time, the blessings of heaven and the
blessings of the earth. Isaac was touched by Esau's cries and finally blessed
him only with a blessing of the earth, and he subjected him to his brother.
Because of this, Esau conceived such a venomous hatred for Jacob that he
could hardly wait for his father's death to kill him. And Jacob would not
have escaped death if his dear mother Rebecca had not saved him by her ingenuity
and her good advice.
Interpretation
of the story
185. Before explaining
this beautiful story, let me remind you that, according to the early Fathers
and the interpreters of Holy Scripture, Jacob is the type of our Lord and
of souls who are saved, and Esau is the type of souls who are condemned.
We have only to examine the actions and conduct of both in order to judge
each one.
(1) Esau, the elder
brother, was strong and robust, clever, and skilful with the bow and very
successful at hunting.
(2) He seldom stayed at home and, relying only on his own strength and skill,
worked out of doors.
(3) He never went out of his way to please his mother Rebecca, and did little
or nothing for her.
(4) He was such a glutton and so fond of eating that he sold his birthright
for a dish of lentils.
(5) Like Cain, he was extremely jealous of his brother and persecuted him
relentlessly.
186. This is the
usual conduct of sinners:
(1) They rely upon their own strength and skill in temporal affairs. They
are very energetic, clever and well- informed about things of this world
but very dull and ignorant about things of heaven.
187. (2) And they are never or very seldom at home, in their own house, that
is, in their own interior, the inner, essential abode that God has given
to every man to dwell in, after his own example, for God always abides within
himself. Sinners have no liking for solitude or the spiritual life or interior
devotion. They consider those who live an interior life, secluded from the
world, and who work more interiorly than exteriorly, as narrow-minded, bigoted
and uncivilised.
188. (3) Sinners care little or nothing about devotion to Mary, the Mother
of the elect. It is true that they do not really hate her. Indeed they even
speak well of her sometimes. They say they love her and they practise some
devotion in her honour. Nevertheless, they cannot bear to see anyone love
her tenderly, for they do not have for her any of the affection of Jacob;
they find fault with the honour which her good children and servants faithfully
pay her to win her affection. They think this kind of devotion is not necessary
for salvation, and as long as they do not go as far as hating her or openly
ridiculing devotion to her they believe they have done all they need to win
her good graces. Because they recite or mumble a few prayers to her without
any affection and without even thinking of amending their lives, they consider
they are our Lady's servants.
189. (4) Sinners sell their birthright, that is, the joys of paradise, for
a dish of lentils, that is, the pleasures of this world. They laugh, they
drink, they eat, they have a good time, they gamble, they dance and so forth,
without taking any more trouble than Esau to make themselves worthy of their
heavenly Father's blessing. Briefly, they think only of this world, love
only the world, speak and act only for the world and its pleasures. For a
passing moment of pleasure, for a fleeting wisp of honour, for a piece of
hard earth, yellow or white, they barter away their baptismal grace, their
robe of innocence and their heavenly inheritance.
190. (5) Finally, sinners continually hate and persecute the elect, openly
and secretly. The elect are a burden to them. They despise them, criticise
them, ridicule them, insult them, rob them, deceive them, impoverish them,
hunt them down and trample them into the dust; while they themselves are
making fortunes, enjoying themselves, getting good positions for themselves,
enriching themselves, rising to power and living in comfort.
191. Jacob, the younger son, was of a frail constitution, gentle and peaceable
and usually stayed at home to please his mother, whom he loved so much. If
he did go out it was not through any personal desire of his, nor from any
confidence in his own ability, but simply out of obedience to his mother.
192. He loved and honoured his mother. That is why he remained at home close
to her. He was never happier than when he was in her presence. He avoided
everything that might displease her, and did everything he thought would
please her. This made Rebecca love him all the more.
193. He was submissive to his mother in all things. He obeyed her entirely
in everything, promptly without delay and lovingly without complaint. At
the least indication of her will, young Jacob hastened to comply with it.
He accepted whatever she told him without questioning. For instance, when
she told him to get two small goats and bring them to her so that she might
prepare something for his father Isaac to eat, Jacob did not reply that one
would be enough for one man, but without arguing he did exactly what she
told him to do.
194. He had the utmost confidence in his mother. He did not rely on his own
ability; he relied solely on his mother's care and protection. He went to
her in all his needs and consulted her in all his doubts. For instance, when
he asked her if his father, instead of blessing him, would curse him, he
believed her and trusted her when she said she would take the curse upon
herself.
195. Finally, he adopted, as much as he could, the virtues he saw in his
mother. It seems that one of the reasons why he spent so much time at home
was to imitate his dear mother, who was so virtuous, and to keep away from
evil companions - who might lead him into sin. In this way, he made himself
worthy to receive the double blessing of his beloved father.
196. It is in a similar manner that God's chosen ones usually act. They stay
at home with their mother - that is, they have an esteem for quietness, love
the interior life, and are assiduous in prayer. They always remain in the
company of the Blessed Virgin, their Mother and Model, whose glory is wholly
interior and who during her whole life dearly loved seclusion and prayer.
It is true, at times they do venture out into the world, but only to fulfil
the duties of their state of life, in obedience to the will of God and the
will of their Mother.
No matter how great their accomplishments may appear to others, they attach
far more importance to what they do within themselves in their interior life,
in the company of the Blessed Virgin. For there they work at the great task
of perfection, compared to which all other work is mere child's play. At
times their brothers and sisters are working outside with great energy, skill
and success, and win the praise and approbation of the world. But they know
by the light of the Holy Spirit that there is far more good, more glory and
more joy in remaining hidden and recollected with our Lord, in complete and
perfect submission to Mary than there is in performing by themselves marvellous
works of nature and grace in the world, like so many Esaus and sinners. Glory
for God and riches for men are in her house.
Lord Jesus, how lovely is your dwelling-place! The sparrow has found a house
to dwell in, and the turtle-dove a nest for her little ones! How happy is
the man who dwells in the house of Mary, where you were the first to dwell!
Here in this home of the elect, he draws from you alone the help he needs
to climb the stairway of virtue he has built in his heart to the highest
possible points of perfection while in this vale of tears. "How lovely is
your dwelling-place, Lord, God of hosts!"
197. The elect have a great love for our Lady and honour her truly as their
Mother and Queen. They love her mot merely in word but in deed. They honour
her not just outwardly, but from the depths of their heart. Like Jacob, they
avoid the least thing that might displease her, and eagerly do whatever they
think might win her favour. Jacob brought Rebecca two young goats. They bring
Mary their body and their soul, with all their faculties, symbolised by Jacob's
two young goats, 1) so that she may accept them as her own; 2) that she may
make them die to sin and self by divesting them of self-love, in order to
please Jesus her Son, who wishes to have as friends and disciples only those
who are dead to sin and self; 3) that she may clothe them according to their
heavenly Father's taste and for his greater glory, which she knows better
than any other creature; 4) that through her care and intercession, this
body and soul of theirs, thoroughly cleansed from every stain, thoroughly
dead to self, thoroughly stripped and well- prepared, may be pleasing to
the heavenly Father and deserving of his blessing.
Is this not what those chosen souls do who, to prove to Jesus and Mary how
effective and courageous is their love, live and esteem the perfect consecration
to Jesus through Mary which we are now teaching them?
Sinners may say that they love Jesus, that they love and honour Mary, but
they do not do so with their whole heart and soul. Unlike the elect, they
do not love Jesus and Mary enough to consecrate them their body with its
senses and their soul with its passions.
198. They are subject and obedient to our Lady, their good Mother, and here
they are simply following the example set by our Lord himself, who spent
thirty of the thirty-three years he lived on earth glorifying God his Father
in perfect and entire submission to his holy Mother. They obey her, following
her advice to the letter, just as Jacob followed that of Rebecca, when she
said to him, "My son, follow my advice"; or like the stewards at the wedding
in Cana, to whom our Lady said, "Do whatever he tells you."
Through obedience to his mother, Jacob received the blessing almost by a
miracle, because in the natural course of events he should not have received
it. As a reward for following the advice of our Lady, the stewards at the
wedding in Cana were honoured with the first of our Lord's miracles when,
at her request he changed water into wine. In the same way, until the end
of time, all who are to receive the blessing of our heavenly Father and who
are to be honoured with his wondrous graces will receive them only as a result
of their perfect obedience to Mary. On the other hand, the "Esaus" will lose
their blessing because of their lack of submission to the Blessed Virgin.
199. They have great confidence in the goodness and power of the Blessed
Virgin, their dear Mother, and incessantly implore her help. They take her
for their pole-star to lead them safely into harbour. They open their hearts
to her and tell her their troubles and their needs. They rely on her mercy
and kindness to obtain forgiveness for their sins through her intercession
and to experience her motherly comfort in their troubles and anxieties. They
even cast themselves into her virginal bosom, hide and lose themselves there
in a wonderful manner. There they are filled with pure love, they are purified
from the least stain of sin, and they find Jesus in all his fullness. For
he reigns in Mary as if on the most glorious of thrones. What incomparable
happiness! Abbot Guerric says, "Do not imagine there is more joy in dwelling
in Abraham's bosom than in Mary's, for it is in her that our Lord placed
his throne."
Sinners, on the other hand, put all their confidence in themselves. Like
the prodigal son, they eat with the swine. Like toads they feed on earth.
Like all worldlings, they love only visible and external things. They do
not know the sweetness of Mary's bosom. They do not have that reliance and
confidence which the elect have for the Blessed Virgin, their Mother. Deplorably
they choose to satisfy their hunger elsewhere, as St. Gregory says, because
they do not want to taste the sweetness already prepared within themselves
and within Jesus and Mary.
200. Finally, chosen souls keep to the ways of the Blessed Virgin, their
loving Mother - that is, they imitate her and so are sincerely happy and
devout and bear the infallible sign of God's chosen ones. This loving Mother
says to them "Happy are those who keep my ways", which means, happy are those
who practise my virtues and who, with the help of God's grace, follow the
path of my life. They are happy in this world because of the abundance of
grace and sweetness I impart to them out of my fullness, and which they receive
more abundantly than others who do not imitate me so closely. They are happy
at the hour of death, which is sweet and peaceful for I am usually there
myself to lead them home to everlasting joy. Finally, they will be happy
for all eternity, because no servant of mine who imitated my virtues during
life has ever been lost.
On the other hand, sinners are unhappy during their life, at their death,
and throughout eternity, because they do not imitate the virtues of our Lady.
They are satisfied with going no further than joining her confraternities,
reciting a few prayers in her honour, or performing other exterior devotional
exercises.
O Blessed Virgin, my dear Mother, how happy are those who faithfully keep
your ways, your counsels and your commands; who never allow themselves to
be led astray by a false devotion to you! But how unhappy and accursed are
those who abuse devotion to you by not keeping the commandments of your Son!
"They are accursed who stray from your commandments."
Services of our Lady to her faithful servants
201. Here now are
the services which the Virgin Mary, as the best of all mothers, lovingly
renders to those loyal servants who have given themselves entirely to her
in the manner I have described and following the figurative meaning of the
story of Jacob and Rebecca.
1. She loves them.
"I love those who love me." She loves them:
a) Because she
is truly their Mother. What mother does not love her child, the fruit of
her womb?
b) She loves them in gratitude for the active love they show to her, their
beloved Mother.
c) She loves them because they are loved by God and destined for heaven.
"Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."
d) She loves them because they have consecrated themselves entirely to her
and belong to her portion, her inheritance. "In Israel receive your inheritance."
202. She loves
them tenderly, more tenderly than all the mothers in the world together.
Take the maternal love of all the mothers of the world for their children.
Pour all that love into the heart of one mother for an only child. That mother's
love would certainly be immense. Yet Mary's love for each of her children
has more tenderness than the love of that mother for her child.
She loves them not only affectively but effectively, that is, her love is
active and productive of good like Rebecca's love for Jacob -and even more
so, for Rebecca was, after all, only a symbolic figure of Mary. Here is what
this loving Mother does for her children to obtain for them the blessings
of their heavenly Father:
203. 1) Like Rebecca she looks out for favourable opportunities to promote
their interests, to ennoble and enrich them. She sees clearly in God all
that is good and all that is evil; fortunate and unfortunate events; the
blessings and condemnations of God. She arranges things in advance so as
to divert evils from her servants and put them in the way of abundant blessings.
If there is any special benefit to be gained in God's sight by the faithful
discharge of an important work, Mary will certainly obtain this opportunity
for a beloved child and servant and at the same time, give him the grace
to persevere in it to the end. "She personally manages our affairs," says
a saintly man.
204. 2) She gives them excellent advice, as Rebecca did to Jacob. "My son,
follow my counsels." Among other things, she persuades them to bring her
the two young goats, that is, their body and soul, and to confide them to
her so that she can prepare them as a dish pleasing to God. She inspires
them to observe whatever Jesus Christ, her Son, has taught by word and example.
When she does not give these counsels herself in person, she gives them through
the ministry of angels who are always pleased and honoured to go at her request
to assist one of her faithful servants on earth.
205. 3) What does this good Mother do when we have presented and consecrated
to her our soul and body and all that pertains to them without excepting
anything? Just what Rebecca of old did to the little goats Jacob brought
her. (a) She kills them, that is, makes them die to the life of the old Adam.
(b) She strips them of their skin, that is, of their natural inclinations,
their self-love and self-will and their every attachment to creatures. (c)
She cleanses them from all stain, impurity and sin. (d) She prepares them
to God's taste and to his greater glory. As she alone knows perfectly what
the divine taste is and where the greatest glory of God is to be found, she
alone without any fear of mistake can prepare and garnish our body and soul
to satisfy that infinitely refined taste and promote that infinitely hidden
glory.
206. 4) Once this good Mother has received our complete offering with our
merits and satisfactions through the devotion I have been speaking about,
and has stripped us of our own garments, she cleanses us and makes us worthy
to appear without shame before our heavenly Father.
She clothes us in the clean, new, precious and fragrant garments of Esau,
the first born, namely, her Son Jesus Christ. She keeps these garments in
her house, that is to say, she has them at her disposal. For she is the treasurer
and universal dispenser of the merits and virtues of Jesus her Son. She gives
and distributes them to whom she pleases, when she pleases, as she pleases,
and as much as she pleases, as we have said above.
She covers the neck and hands of her servants with the skins of the goats
that have been killed and flayed, that is, she adorns them with the merits
and worth of their own good actions. In truth, she destroys and nullifies
all that is impure and imperfect in them. She preserves and enhances this
good so that it adorns and strengthens their neck and hands, that is, she
gives them the strength to carry the yoke of the Lord and the skill to do
great things for the glory of God and the salvation of their poor brothers.
She imparts new perfume and fresh grace to those garments and adornments
by adding to them the garments of her own wardrobe of merits and virtues.
She bequeathed these to them before her departure for heaven, as was revealed
by a holy nun of the last century, who died a holy death. Thus all her domestics,
that is, all her servants and slaves, are clothed with double garments, her
own and those of her Son. Now they have nothing to fear from that cold which
sinners, naked and stripped as they are of the merits of Jesus and Mary,
will be unable to endure.
207. 5) Finally, Mary obtains for them the heavenly Father's blessing. As
they are the youngest born and adopted, they are not really entitled to it.
Clad in new, precious, and sweet- smelling garments, with body and soul
well-prepared and dressed, they confidently approach their heavenly Father.
He hears their voice and recognises it as the voice of a sinner. He feels
their hands covered with skins, inhales the aroma of their garments. He partakes
with joy of what Mary, their Mother, has prepared for him, recognising in
it the merits and good odour of his Son and his Blessed Mother.
a) He gives them
a twofold blessing, the blessing of the dew of heaven, namely, divine grace,
which is the seed of glory. "God has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual
blessing," and also the blessing of the fertility of the earth, for as a
provident Father, he gives them their daily bread and an ample supply of
the goods of the earth.
b) He makes them masters of their other brothers, the reprobate sinners.
This domination does not always show in this fleeting world, where sinners
often have the upper hand. "How long shall the wicked glory, mouthing insolent
reproaches?" "I have seen the wicked triumphant and lifted up like the cedars
of Lebanon." But the supremacy of the just is real and will be seen clearly
for all eternity in the next world, where the just, as the Holy Spirit tells
us, will dominate and command all peoples.
c) The God of all majesty is not satisfied with blessing them in their persons
and their possessions, he blesses all who bless them and curses all who curse
and persecute them.
2. She provides
for all their needs
208. Our Lady's charity towards her faithful servants goes further. She provides
them with everything they need for body and soul. We have just seen that
she gives them double garments. She also nourishes them with the most delicious
food from the banquet table of God. She gives them the Son she has borne,
the Bread of Life, to be their food. "Dear children," she says in the words
of divine Wisdom, "take your fill of my fruits," that is to say, of the Fruit
of Life, Jesus, "whom I brought into the world for you." "Come," she repeats
in another passage, "eat the bread which is Jesus. Drink the wine of his
love which I have mixed" for you with the milk of my breasts.
As Mary is the treasurer and dispenser of the gifts and graces of the Most
High God, she reserves a choice portion, indeed the choicest portion, to
nourish and sustain her children and servants. They grow strong on the Bread
of Life; they are made joyful with the wine that brings forth virgins. They
are carried at her breast. They bear with ease the yoke of Christ scarcely
feeling its weight because of the oil of devotion with which she has softened
its wood.
3. She leads and guides them
209. A third service which our Lady renders her faithful servants is to lead
and direct them according to the will of her Son. Rebecca guided her little
son Jacob and gave him good advice from time to time, which helped him obtain
the blessing of his father and saved him from the hatred and persecution
of his brother Esau. Mary, Star of the sea, guides all her faithful servants
into safe harbour. She shows them the path to eternal life and helps them
avoid dangerous pitfalls. She leads them by the hand along the path of holiness,
steadies them when they are liable to fall and helps them rise when they
have fallen. She chides them like a loving mother when they are remiss and
sometimes she even lovingly chastises them. How could a child that follows
such a mother and such an enlightened guide as Mary take the wrong path to
heaven? Follow her and you cannot go wrong, says St. Bernard. There is no
danger of a true child of Mary being led astray by the devil and falling
into heresy. Where Mary leads, Satan with his deceptions and heretics with
their subtleties are not encountered. "When she upholds you, you will not
fall."
4. She defends and protects them
210. The fourth good office our Lady performs for her children and faithful
servants is to defend and protect them against their enemies. By her care
and ingenuity Rebecca delivered Jacob from all dangers that beset him and
particularly from dying at the hands of his brother, as he apparently would
have done, since Esau hated and envied him just as Cain hated his brother
Abel.
Mary, the beloved Mother of chosen souls, shelters them under her protecting
wings as a hen does her chicks. She speaks to them, coming down to their
level and accommodating herself to all their weaknesses. To ensure their
safety from the hawk and vulture, she becomes their escort, surrounding them
as an army in battle array. Could anyone surrounded by a well-ordered army
of say a hundred thousand men fear his enemies? No, and still less would
a faithful servant of Mary, protected on all sides by her imperial forces,
fear his enemy. This powerful Queen of heaven would sooner despatch millions
of angels to help one of her servants than have it said that a single faithful
and trusting servant of hers had fallen victim to the malice, number and
power of his enemies.
5. She intercedes for them
211. Finally, the fifth and greatest service which this loving Mother renders
her faithful followers is to intercede for them with her Son. She appeases
him with her prayers, brings her servants into closer union with him and
maintains that union.
Rebecca made Jacob approach the bed of his father. His father touched him,
embraced him and even joyfully kissed him after having satisfied his hunger
with the well-prepared dishes which Jacob had brought him. Then inhaling
most joyfully the exquisite perfume of his garments, he cried: "Behold the
fragrance of my son is as the fragrance of a field of plenty which the Lord
has blessed." The fragrance of this rich field which so captivated the heart
of the father, is none other than the fragrance of the merits and virtues
of Mary who is the plentiful field of grace in which God the Father has sown
the grain of wheat of the elect, his only Son.
How welcome to Jesus Christ, the Father of the world to come, is a child
perfumed with the fragrance of Mary! How readily and how intimately does
he unite himself to that child! But this we have already shown at length.
212. Furthermore, once Mary has heaped her favours upon her children and
her faithful servants and has secured for them the blessing of the heavenly
Father and union with Jesus Christ, she keeps them in Jesus and keeps Jesus
in them. She guards them, watching over them unceasingly, lest they lose
the grace of God and fall into the snares of their enemies. "She keeps the
saints in their fullness" (St. Bonaventure), and inspires them to persevere
to the end, as we have already said.
Such is the explanation given to this ancient allegory which typifies the
mystery of predestination and reprobation. |
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