Day of Recollection given 12/8/98 at Lincoln
Topics include Our Lady's most intimate relationship to the Blessed Trinity, Our Lady's Service to God and our devotion to the B.V.M.
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Our Lady’s Most Intimate Relation with the Blessed Trinity
Conference Lincoln
December 8th, 1998
I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush
thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel. [Gen. 3:17]
Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear
a son and his name shall be called Emmanuel. [Isaiah7:15]
From the very beginning, before God created the heavens and the earth, the Second Person
of the Most Holy Trinity beheld in His Heart the vision of His Mother. With an infinite love, He
waited for the day in which He could bestow on her existence and life. So profound is His love for
her, that He could not wait to tell all of mankind of her coming. Immediately after Adam and Eve
had fallen, He predicted her coming in the proto-evangelium, i.e.
the promising of the coming of the Messiah from a woman
who would be Satan’s constant enemy. Throughout the Old Testament,
there are little indications that God was preparing the world
there are little indications that God was preparing the world
for the coming of a creature who would
be the pinnacle of His creation in the supernatural order.
be the pinnacle of His creation in the supernatural order.
While this creature being of humble nature,
would, nevertheless, rule the heavens and the earth. So great is God’s love for Our Lady, that He
bestowed on her a holy virginity and by a singular miracle
would, nevertheless, rule the heavens and the earth. So great is God’s love for Our Lady, that He
bestowed on her a holy virginity and by a singular miracle
so deigned that she would not lose that
virginity even though should would bare a Son.
In the Cloisters in New York, there exists a set of tapestries which depicts a Unicorn which
represents the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, Who no one could tame. So men in
desperation, called upon the aid of a virgin who would coax the Unicorn into being captured. This
depiction in these tapestries tells us of how man could not
virginity even though should would bare a Son.
In the Cloisters in New York, there exists a set of tapestries which depicts a Unicorn which
represents the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, Who no one could tame. So men in
desperation, called upon the aid of a virgin who would coax the Unicorn into being captured. This
depiction in these tapestries tells us of how man could not
persuade Our Lord to become man until
the Blessed Virgin was born. God so loved Our Lady that in seeing her grace, God decided that
finally there was creature that was a fitting dwelling for Him. He looked upon her with such love
for here was a creature that never possessed any guile or evil will;
the Blessed Virgin was born. God so loved Our Lady that in seeing her grace, God decided that
finally there was creature that was a fitting dwelling for Him. He looked upon her with such love
for here was a creature that never possessed any guile or evil will;
who never once violated even the
slightest of His commandments or precepts;
slightest of His commandments or precepts;
who exhibited such reverence and piety in His eyes that
He was moved to make her His tabernacle.
When we reflect upon how much God loved Our Lady, we begin to see the basis for the most
intimate relationship He chose to have with her. When she was immaculately conceived, God chose 2 to preserve Our Lady from any stain of sin.
He was moved to make her His tabernacle.
When we reflect upon how much God loved Our Lady, we begin to see the basis for the most
intimate relationship He chose to have with her. When she was immaculately conceived, God chose 2 to preserve Our Lady from any stain of sin.
While He allowed her to suffer the physical effects of
Original Sin, never once did she suffer the moral effects
Original Sin, never once did she suffer the moral effects
of Original Sin. She never once committed
even a venial sin; she never once harbored even
even a venial sin; she never once harbored even
the slightest thought against charity or purity;
she never once had a single inordinate desire or inclination.
Perfection and total beauty were her
companions all the days of her life.
companions all the days of her life.
Since sanctifying grace is the created participation in divine
nature and since Our Lady was full of grace,
nature and since Our Lady was full of grace,
it is clear that Our Lord wished to bestow on her
“every grace and blessing.”
God Who is Goodness Itself so loved Our Lady
that He wished that she should
be like Him and so He spared her not a single grace.
Throughout the course of her life,
be like Him and so He spared her not a single grace.
Throughout the course of her life,
Our Lady was taught by St. Anne the precepts of Our Lord
and how she burned with desire to keep them.
and how she burned with desire to keep them.
Like the Psalmist, God’s commands and His Laws
became the object of her mediation and joy.
became the object of her mediation and joy.
Throughout her life, God moved her to heights of
contemplation and prayer unseen since the time of
contemplation and prayer unseen since the time of
Adam and Eve; for she walked and talked in the
presence of her Lord.
presence of her Lord.
Her life of prayer provided a most intimate life with her Lord
until it came time for her marriage.
Our Lord chose a most just man, St. Joseph, to be the earthly spouse of Our Lady.
Our Lord chose a most just man, St. Joseph, to be the earthly spouse of Our Lady.
But God’s intentions were far deeper than even St. Joseph initially knew.
God so loved Our Lady that He
Himself chose to be the heavenly Spouse of Our Lady.
Himself chose to be the heavenly Spouse of Our Lady.
When the angel of the Lord appeared to Mary
and asked her if she would bear the Son of God, God was, in effect, asking her to be His Spouse.
Our Lady at first to not fully grasp that this meant that
and asked her if she would bear the Son of God, God was, in effect, asking her to be His Spouse.
Our Lady at first to not fully grasp that this meant that
God Himself would be the Father of the Child
she would bear and, consequently,
she would bear and, consequently,
the Holy Ghost and Our Lady would be bound in a mystical
marriage.
marriage.
We read in St. John of the Cross that those who
reach the highest levels of perfection are
given in a mystical form of marriage in which
given in a mystical form of marriage in which
God gives Himself to the person. This means that like
all marriage, it can only end in death.
all marriage, it can only end in death.
But since God’s mystical marriage is to the soul of the person,
once the person is mystically married to God, then the marriage will last forever.
once the person is mystically married to God, then the marriage will last forever.
In theology, we call this conservation in grace.
It means that before the mystical marriage
of Our Lady with God, she was only preserved in grace,
of Our Lady with God, she was only preserved in grace,
i.e. kept from committing sin.
But once she accepted the mystical marriage of Our Lord,
then the Spouse of Our Lady, i.e. Holy Ghost,
came to dwell with her.
Just as those who marry in this life and cohabitate together,
so the Holy Ghost came to overshadow or live with Our Lady.
It meant that just as in marriage we give bodily rights over
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to our spouse, so too did the Holy Ghost accept absolute bodily rights over Our Lady.
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to our spouse, so too did the Holy Ghost accept absolute bodily rights over Our Lady.
This is why He preserved her virginity.
For her virginity was a sign that Our Lady’s body was to be His alone;
not only because it would be the tabernacle of Christ,
not only because it would be the tabernacle of Christ,
but because only He had rights over her body.
This meant that her virginity would never be compromised.
This meant that her virginity would never be compromised.
It also meant that Our Lady was entitled to the name of the Holy Ghost.
It is the teaching of St. Maximilian Kolby that the reason Our Lady
said at Lourdes to St. Bernadette “I am the Immaculate Conception”
rather than “I was immaculately conceived”:
is because the real immaculate conception is the Holy Ghost.
For within the life of the Blessed Trinity,
God the Father and God the Son so loved each other,
that like husband and wife, they spirated a Third Person.
This “conception” if you will, within the Blessed Trinity is nothing else than
the love the Second Person and the First Person of the Trinity
have for each other.
In other words, the Holy Ghost is Pure Love Itself
and this Pure Love would become the Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
So much did God love Our Lady
that He desired that she become the spouse of His Very Own Love.
that He desired that she become the spouse of His Very Own Love.
The Holy Ghost is then in the proper sense THE Immaculate Conception.
But since Our Lady had become the Holy Ghost’s
mystical spouse, that meant she was entitled to His Name.
mystical spouse, that meant she was entitled to His Name.
The Immaculate Conception not only refers to the fact that Our Lady
was conceived without Original Sin, it also refers to her new name
as the spouse of the Holy Ghost.
as the spouse of the Holy Ghost.
And what more would be appropriate, for the fact that she was
conceived without Original Sin meant she was conceived
conceived without Original Sin meant she was conceived
in the state of grace and grace is nothing
other than an indwelling of the Holy Ghost in the soul
other than an indwelling of the Holy Ghost in the soul
.
So we see that she in whom the Holy Ghost took up His dwelling
by grace should also be she to whom the Holy Ghost would be mystically married.
Just as we engage in courtship before our marriages, so did the Holy Ghost dwell with Our
Lady before His Mystical marriage with her through sanctifying grace.
Lady before His Mystical marriage with her through sanctifying grace.
And just as in this world no greater union can two have than through marriage,
so too can no one have a greater union with Our Lord than Our Lady
to whom the first and greatest mystical marriage occurred.
Moreover, just as in any earthly marriage, children are the proper offspring
of their love, so too when Our Lady was mystically married
to the Holy Ghost did she bear offspring.
But not just any offspring, the Offspring of God,
i.e. Jesus Christ Who is fully God and fully man.
When in earthly marriages the woman is with child,
if her husband be a man of virtue, his joy and love of his
wife increases for there is now a new bond, viz. their new offspring,
wife increases for there is now a new bond, viz. their new offspring,
so too, is it with Our Lady. For once she became the mother of Our Lord,
the Holy Ghost took even greater pleasure and joy in her.
When a new bride is first married, her joy is very great
and she thinks and reflects often of her new
husband and the little favors he does for her gives her no end of joy.
husband and the little favors he does for her gives her no end of joy.
Our Lady, likewise, thought continually of God and the good things
He had done to her;
for the Magnificat of Our Lady is like
the conversation of an earthly bride
the conversation of an earthly bride
with a friend about her new husband.
She recounts the little things her new husband has done for her
and so too Our Lady recounts to Elizabeth the great things
God has done to her.
God has done to her.
But notice that Elizabeth, moved by the Holy Ghost, declares that Our Lady
is the mother of her Lord which is a sign that
is the mother of her Lord which is a sign that
St. Elizabeth is declaring the mystical marriage
between Our Lord and Our Lady;
between Our Lord and Our Lady;
for she knows that for those of virtue as Our Lady is,
are never with child out of wedlock and so
Our Lady must be mystically married to Our Lord.
According to St. John of the Cross, mystical marriage occurs
when the person has reached the highest level of prayer
called the transforming union.
The transforming union is a form of prayer
in which the person has a non-stop mystical experience of God’s presence.
in which the person has a non-stop mystical experience of God’s presence.
How fitting it is that Our Lady should, upon the mystical marriage
with her Spouse the Holy Ghost, likewise experience this level of prayer.
An earthly husband hates to leave his new wife
and while working he longs to be home keeping his wife company.
So too is it with God; for once He took Mary as His mystical bride,
she remained in His company through the prayer of transforming union.
Never did God leave her.
So great was the intimacy between Our Lord and Our Lady
that neither of them could stand to
be out of the presence of each other.
be out of the presence of each other.
When an earthly husband takes leave of his wife in order to go away on a business trip or
when he needs to do something which causes him to be away from his wife for a while,
he does not
abandon her. No, he sets about ensuring that everything she needs is provided for and if there is
something which must be done while he is gone and his wife cannot do it, he arranges for another
man to come and tend to the material affairs so that his wife will be provided for.
abandon her. No, he sets about ensuring that everything she needs is provided for and if there is
something which must be done while he is gone and his wife cannot do it, he arranges for another
man to come and tend to the material affairs so that his wife will be provided for.
Here we see the
Blessed Trinity ensuring that the Blessed Virgin would be taken care of by St. Joseph who was a
good and just man, who worked hard to provide well for Our Lord and Our Lady.
Like all virtuous men, he respects the marriage of the woman that he must take care of and
here we see why Our Lord not only appeared to St. Joseph to
Blessed Trinity ensuring that the Blessed Virgin would be taken care of by St. Joseph who was a
good and just man, who worked hard to provide well for Our Lord and Our Lady.
Like all virtuous men, he respects the marriage of the woman that he must take care of and
here we see why Our Lord not only appeared to St. Joseph to
tell him that Our Lady was with Child
by the power of the Holy Ghost, but also to indicate to him
by the power of the Holy Ghost, but also to indicate to him
that there is a special connection between
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the Holy Ghost and Our Lady. St. Joseph had to have known that his relationship with Our Lady
would not be one of a normal man and wife. Rather, he had to know
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the Holy Ghost and Our Lady. St. Joseph had to have known that his relationship with Our Lady
would not be one of a normal man and wife. Rather, he had to know
that he was the earthly adoptive
father to whom Our Lord would be committed and to whom the wife of the Holy Ghost would be
entrusted. We are not certain of how much St. Joseph knew,
father to whom Our Lord would be committed and to whom the wife of the Holy Ghost would be
entrusted. We are not certain of how much St. Joseph knew,
but I suspect that given the perfection
and virtuousness of Our Lady as well as her constant recollection as a result of the transforming
union, that he had some sort of knowledge of the constant
and virtuousness of Our Lady as well as her constant recollection as a result of the transforming
union, that he had some sort of knowledge of the constant
and intimate relationship Our Lord had with Our Lady.
As Jesus grew “in wisdom and grace before God and man” Our Lady’s intimate relationship
with God continued. But aside from a few instances of Mary’s presence in the Gospels, Our Lady
tends to fall into the back ground so that Her Son may
take the place that is rightfully His. But there
comes a time when Our Lady is in the midst of the most important act of all time, i.e. the Passion
and Death of Our Lord. There are several reasons
comes a time when Our Lady is in the midst of the most important act of all time, i.e. the Passion
and Death of Our Lord. There are several reasons
Our Lady was present; the first and most obvious
is that she represents the Church which St. Paul paints as a bride to Christ, i.e. to God, for she
represents the Church at the foot of the cross from which
is that she represents the Church which St. Paul paints as a bride to Christ, i.e. to God, for she
represents the Church at the foot of the cross from which
the blessings of salvation flow. Moreover,
Our Lord desired that the final sword shall pass indicating that
Our Lord desired that the final sword shall pass indicating that
since she is the co-redemptrix with
Christ the Redeemer, she ought to under go the Passion with her Son. But there is more.
The suffering of Our Lady was so intense, not only because Jesus was her Son, but also, by
virtue of God’s constant presence throughout Her Life, she knew
Christ the Redeemer, she ought to under go the Passion with her Son. But there is more.
The suffering of Our Lady was so intense, not only because Jesus was her Son, but also, by
virtue of God’s constant presence throughout Her Life, she knew
how serious and grave an act it was
to commit deicide, i.e. the killing of Jesus Christ who was God.
to commit deicide, i.e. the killing of Jesus Christ who was God.
She who experienced the goodness
of God throughout the entire duration of Her Life beheld with
of God throughout the entire duration of Her Life beheld with
her eyes and, in the end, held with her
arms the Source of all goodness, joy, happiness and end of all men,
arms the Source of all goodness, joy, happiness and end of all men,
i.e. the body which was joined
to God Himself. How could she not suffer in seeing the tremendous beauty of the Son of God
reduced to a scourged, whipped and crucified Body.
to God Himself. How could she not suffer in seeing the tremendous beauty of the Son of God
reduced to a scourged, whipped and crucified Body.
How much clearer can the vileness, wickedness
and malice of man be more clearly seen? Indeed.
and malice of man be more clearly seen? Indeed.
What a suffering it is to behold such evil and
malice in light of the constant goodness she knew being in
malice in light of the constant goodness she knew being in
God’s most intimate presence. Yet, what
joy she must have known when Christ resurrected!
joy she must have known when Christ resurrected!
And when Our Lord ascended into heaven, she
must have burned with desire to see Our Lord Face to face.
must have burned with desire to see Our Lord Face to face.
While Christ was gone, Our Lady knew
she must stay behind to give testimony to the fact that Jesus
she must stay behind to give testimony to the fact that Jesus
was Who the Apostles said He was
because she was His Mother.
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We do not know for certain if the Blessed Virgin died or not. If she did die, the Church is
very clear to point out that her body suffered no form of corruption. For how could it? It was the
tabernacle of God Himself! It was joined to the most pure of all the created souls! But the Church
also teaches that whether we believe she died or not,
because she was His Mother.
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We do not know for certain if the Blessed Virgin died or not. If she did die, the Church is
very clear to point out that her body suffered no form of corruption. For how could it? It was the
tabernacle of God Himself! It was joined to the most pure of all the created souls! But the Church
also teaches that whether we believe she died or not,
it is a fact of history that she was assumed, body
and soul, into heaven. At last, she was in the full company of Her Spouse. At last, nothing was
hidden and at last their intimacy was perfect and complete.
It was at this time that God gave her the place which He had destined for her from before the
world began, viz. that of Queen of Heaven and Earth.
and soul, into heaven. At last, she was in the full company of Her Spouse. At last, nothing was
hidden and at last their intimacy was perfect and complete.
It was at this time that God gave her the place which He had destined for her from before the
world began, viz. that of Queen of Heaven and Earth.
It seems to me that by her being the Queen
of heaven this actually has two meanings. The first is that she now rules over all of those present
in heaven and earth save God alone.
of heaven this actually has two meanings. The first is that she now rules over all of those present
in heaven and earth save God alone.
But it also means that she has a special relationship with God
Himself for she is His Queen as well. Not that she rules over Him in anyway, but that she is the
heavenly consort of the King of Heaven. In heaven, no other person, no angel, no creature has as
intimate relationship with God as Mary. Even the angels marvel at their relationship. There is no
good, no grace, no blessing which God does not give her. In fact, every grace God gives to us He
first gives to her. Just as an earthly husband seeks to please his wife,
Himself for she is His Queen as well. Not that she rules over Him in anyway, but that she is the
heavenly consort of the King of Heaven. In heaven, no other person, no angel, no creature has as
intimate relationship with God as Mary. Even the angels marvel at their relationship. There is no
good, no grace, no blessing which God does not give her. In fact, every grace God gives to us He
first gives to her. Just as an earthly husband seeks to please his wife,
so too does Our Lord seek to
please Our Lady by giving her everything and denying her nothing.
What a special grace it is for us to be able to even contemplate the wonder of their most
intimate relationship. How in awe we ought to reflect how God has given Himself so intimately to
Our Lady and how she, like her Divine Spouse, never denied God anything. For how can two who
love each other so perfectly and so intensely ever deny
please Our Lady by giving her everything and denying her nothing.
What a special grace it is for us to be able to even contemplate the wonder of their most
intimate relationship. How in awe we ought to reflect how God has given Himself so intimately to
Our Lady and how she, like her Divine Spouse, never denied God anything. For how can two who
love each other so perfectly and so intensely ever deny
each other anything. Mary, Queen conceived
without original sin, pray for us.
without original sin, pray for us.
Mary, Spouse of the Holy Ghost, pray for us.
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Our Lady’s Service to God
Conference Lincoln
December 8th, 1998
In our reflection of the most intimate relationship between Our Lady and Our Lord, we
cannot help but realize what a profound love Our Lord had for Our Lady. But the relationship was
not one sided, for we see through the Gospels that the Blessed Virgin likewise had a profound love
for Our Lord. Our Lord said when He was on this earth that “if you love me, keep my
commandments” (John 14:15) and Mary, as we mentioned before, never once broke a single
commandment of Our Lord. Never once did she even think a thought contrary to justice, charity or
purity and it is in this that we know that Our Lady kept the commandments, not only because God
preserved her from violating them, but because she loved God deeply and abhorred even the thought
of sin. Mary’s love for God, again, as we see in the Gospels, plays itself out over the course of her
life. We know that if someone loves someone, they do everything they can to please that person and
this is the story of Our Lady’s life: to please God in every moment, in every thought and in every
action.
Clearly, sanctifying grace is that which makes us pleasing to Our Lord and at the very
moment she was conceived, God infused in her soul sanctifying grace which made her most pleasing
to Him. We do not know much about Our Lady prior to the angelic salutation but tradition has it that
she was an exemplary child. St. Elizabeth and St. Zachary must have marveled at her wisdom and
demeanor as a child; how she never fought what they asked, how she always submitted to them in
her love for God. We know through tradition that Mary had a particular love and facility of grasp
of the Ten Commandments and that she had studied the Judaic law. Throughout her life, she served
Our Lord in prayer by never neglecting her obligation to pray which is part of the 3rd Commandment
as well as the virtue of religion. She lived an exemplary Jewish life which must have been one of
the things that attracted St. Joseph to her.
They always tell seminarians in protecting their vocation that a beautiful girl is never the one
to worry about, rather it is the virtuous one. For a virtuous man sees the good of her virtue and is
attracted to it. So too must it have been for St. Joseph in seeing not only her uncomparable earthly
beauty but also the magnificence of her moral and spiritual beauty, i.e. her virtuousness and holiness
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of life. We may ask ourselves why other men did not find her attractive. My suspicion is that some
did but I also believe that they had a certain fear of Our Lady. It seems to me that men who do not
lead good lives may find a virtuous woman attractive, but part of a virtuous woman’s make up is that
she tolerates very little nonsense. She loves holiness and virtuousness and will expect the same
desire in her husband. Men would have avoided Our Lady just as the doers of evil avoid the doers
of goodness, just as creatures of darkness avoid the light; so too men who did not lead lives of grace
would have avoided and feared Our Lady. But not so with St. Joseph; for he was a most righteous
and upright man, a man of justice and holiness. Like St. John the Baptist, it is believed that St.
Joseph was conceived in Original Sin but was sanctified in the womb of his mother. He lead a life
of holiness and virtuousness himself and upon the acceptance of Mary as his wife at the command
of Our Lord in his dream, upon that acceptance he was from that moment on preserved in sanctifying
grace. So when St. Joseph beheld the holiness, virtuousness and Mary’s incomparable earthly
beauty, he must have been moved with a profound sense of love for her. Perhaps this is why his
respect for her throughout his life was unimaginable.
Once he knew that That Which was in the womb of Our Lady was conceived by the Holy
Ghost, he could never see her as completely his own. His esteem for her only grew throughout their
life together and in reverence and awe, he must have beheld her. For he knew, that no other creature
had been given over so completely to Our Lord and no other creature had been deigned fit to be
called into the service of Our Lord as the person in whose womb God’s Son would dwell. St. Joseph
must have known that Our Lady’s role in salvation history was pivotal and so, as a faithful and just
Jew, he would respect the mother of all mothers, viz. the mother of the Messiah Himself.
This calling into service of Our Lord which Our Lady accepted was a sign of her perfect
submission to Her Divine spouse. She not only had an intimate relationship with her Divine Spouse,
but she also served her Divine Spouse and never once disobeyed Him. She always sought to know
His Holy Will so that she could set about fulfilling it in her daily life. When the angel of the Lord
was sent to Our Lady and spoke of God’s wondrous plans, she questioned the angel, not because she
disbelieved, but because she was perplexed about how what he said would come about. The angel
then informs her of God’s plan to take her as His Spouse and she, like a perfect slave, submits to the
plan of Her Master. Part of Our Lady’s perplexity has to do with the fact that “she knew no man”
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as Scripture says, which ultimately means that she never had violated the precepts of Our Lord
regarding conjugal relations. Moreover, even though she was espoused to St. Joseph, they had not
married and consequently, she did not know how God’s plan was to come about.
But tradition seems to have provided even more of a back ground. According to Holy
Tradition, it was believed that Our Lady had taken a private vow of celibacy. In recent years, modern
Scripture scholars mocked the idea, pointing to fact that at that time, the Jewish women knew that
the Messiah was due to come. And so no Jewish woman in her right mind would have taken a vow
of celibacy because she would have thereby eliminated herself as a possible mother of the Messiah.
Moreover, they argued that the Jews did not have a rite of celibacy, i.e. they do not take vows of
celibacy. But the findings of Qumran have demonstrated that just before and during the time of
Christ, the Essenes (a group of very conservative Jews) had a vow of celibacy. Consequently, it is
entirely possible that Our Lady would have taken the vow since it is believed that both her and Christ
may have had some contact with the Essenes. Moreover, it was believed that Our Lady took the vow
as a sign of her complete dedication to God. Just as today priests and nuns take a vow of celibacy
so that they can give themselves entirely to God and His Work, so too did Our Lady take a vow so
that she would be able to give herself completely to God and to no one else. What then of St.
Joseph’s betrothal? It is also believed according to pious tradition that St. Joseph was aware of Our
Lady’s vow and had no intention of violating it. We now understand a bit why Our Lady was even
more perplexed because even though she was betrothed to St. Joseph, there was no intention for
conjugal relations.
But in perfect submission to Her Divine Spouse, Our Lady said those most glorious words
every heard since the time of Adam and Eve “be done unto me according to thy word.” Unlike Eve
who had eaten the apple and then sought to convince her husband, i.e she tried to control and
dominate him and God since she had already been infected by sin, Mary never once tried to dominate
Her Divine Spouse. Mary’s submission to her Spouse, as St. Paul, moved by divine inspiration, calls
on all women to do, was perfect. She did not try to make the relationship with her Spouse on her
terms as Eve had done. She did not try to manipulate Him as Eve had done. She knew from the
depths of her soul that her relationship with God must be one HIS terms. Like all religion, like any
creature who will ultimately be saved, the way we worship God, the way we serve God is not ours
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to determine but God’s. Perhaps this is why religion has taken such a beating in the last few decades
because man thinks he can serve God the way he wants rather than the way God wants. And perhaps
this is why there is little love for Our Lady these days because she, above all other creatures,
demonstrated by her entire life that service to God is on God’s terms. It is God’s place to determine
how and when we will serve Him. This is why Mary is the anti-type of Eve, for Eve thought she
would determine her relationship with God, whereas Mary knew and submitted to the fact that her
relationship with God was on God’s terms. Why else would she say “I am the Handmaid of the
Lord.” In other words, I am God’s servant, I know my place, and any service He asks of me, in
perfect humility, I submit to.
In one act of submission to God, she entered into the most perfect form of service of God and
man the world had ever seen. But her service was not over, it was merely raised to a new level. For
nine months she carried Our Lord in Her womb. Her very body, her very self was the instrument of
her service to Him. And unlike all of us, as soon as Mary submits and then knows that she is the
Mother of God, she does not go around blabbing it like an old hen in a gossip session. No what does
she do? She tells no one and she immediately rises to go to St. Elisabeth for two reasons. The first
is to confirm that St. Elisabeth is pregnant but more so, as the Scripture tell us, to stay and help her.
Remember, St. Elizabeth is of advanced years and so her pregnancy must have been more difficult
than normal since she would not have the energy to take care of the household duties while she is
getting close to term. Consequently, Our Lady stays with St. Elizabeth as an act of service.
Imagine that! The woman who has God in her womb comes and cleans your house! We
should feel shame at such a thought of Our Lady cleaning our house because we know that we are
completely unworthy of such a thing. St. Elizabeth should have been cleaning Mary’s house! But
that was not God’s Will; for it was necessary for all to see that Mary’s truthfulness about what God
had done to her as we see in the Magnificat was in fact attested to by Our Lady’s perfect humility.
If she, as the mother of God, was asked by Our Lord to clean St. Elizabeth’s house, then that is what
God will get. For humility, that virtue by which we willingly live in accordance with the truth, gave
testimony to God’s presence. For God does not work among the proud but the humble alone, and
so it was a testimony to God’s working in Mary that she would submit to such humble work.
Which should be a moment of joy and hope on our part. For often we are beset by the
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temptation of the evil one who tries to get us not to ask Our Lady for certain things, especially small
things, because we feel that we are not worthy of it and that we cannot ask Our Lady to tend to such
menial things. But this is completely false, for we see that Our Lady wants to take care of our every
need regardless of how small, just as she did for St. Elizabeth. Granted we are completely unworthy,
but Our Lady, from the very beginning of her motherhood, was prepared and become accustomed
to serving man for the sake of God in ways which are, at times, on the scale of things rather
insignificant and unimportant. Moreover, she knew that we must always serve even those who are
unworthy of our services, for it is what God desires.
After St. Elizabeth has St. John, Mary returns home and now there is a problem. Because
Mary behaves in an opposite fashion to Eve, she does not avoid certain problems. But then again,
because she does not behave like Eve, God takes care of her. In other words, when Eve first ate the
apple, what was the first thing she did? She started talking and blabbing to Adam. She sweet talks
her husband into doing something he should not do and all of which is driven out of her new found
pride resulting from her sin. Eve was asked not to eat of the tree and disobeyed, Mary was asked to
bring the Man who would hang upon the Tree and she obeyed. Mary did not, like Eve, get puffed
up with pride and go blabbing, rather she submitted in humility and silence to the will of Our Lord.
Consequently, she did not tell St. Joseph before she left to see St. Elizabeth and so when she returns
St. Joseph is unaware of the circumstances and thinks he must put her away quietly since she is with
child. Had Adam put his wife away quietly, we would not be in the mess were are in. But St. Joseph
was not to do what Adam was supposed to, rather he was to accept his betrothed and her new
condition. Mary said nothing and was willing to accept the humiliation.. But deep down the words
of the Angel echoed in her ears that the power of the Most High will overshadow her and so she
knew God would take care of the situation. So indeed He did, He made sure that St. Joseph knew
what His Will was and what had happened. The story of Adam and Eve and St. Joseph and Mary
are complete opposites, for Eve fell and talked to Adam and he listened to her rather than God. Mary
became with child, St. Joseph thought of putting her away but accepted her not because of what she
said, for she said nothing, but because he listened to God.
Mary is then betrothed to St. Joseph and she carries Her Son to term. She gives birth to Her
Son and for the first twelve years we do not know too much of what happened. We know that they
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had to flee and that Our Lady acted in perfect submission to St. Joseph by doing as he asked. She
later returned with St. Joseph at his behest. Notice, that God knows that Our Lady will do what St.
Joseph asks. Our Lord does not appear to Our Lady and tell her to return, he tells St. Joseph because
He knows that Mary will follow the right order set up by the Natural Law and do what her husband
asks of Her. Again in a spirit of perfect submission and service, she does what she is asked. She
does not argue with St. Joseph but sets about doing what God has asked through her husband. And
God Himself is following the order which He set up, by informing the head of the household, viz.
the husband, so that the household will do His Will.
Our Lady then serves God by raising His Son. She feeds Him, clothes Him, does everything
necessary to bring Him to the age in which He shall leave her to do His Father’s Will. The next time
we see Our Lady’s service is in her search for Jesus when she and St. Joseph think He is lost but He
is actually in the temple. We see this is a sign of Our Lady’s commitment to being a good parent and
to be a good parent you must put the needs of your child before your own needs and wants, and so
she does that. The Gospel writers do not tell us much about Our Lady until it comes time for the
wedding at Cana.
At Cana, the bride and groom miscalculate how much wine to have around and so Our Lady
driven out of compassion for them, goes to Christ knowing that He is capable of straightening the
situation out. Our Lady tells Christ of the needs of the couple which tells us a great deal about the
relationship between Mary and Jesus. First, Mary seems to be in the habit of merely indicating what
must be done. She does not really put it in the form of a question, not because she is demanding, but
because she knows that her Son will never deny her anything. So as Jesus grew up, she merely had
to tell Him what was to be done and like an obedient child, He would do it. This also tells us
something about Her service to us. In other words, Mary is the intercessor between man and God.
We see that this is the case by the very fact that she goes to intercede for the married couple at Cana;
we also know that God will never deny her anything.
Christ says in return “woman, what is it to me and thee?” Not because He is telling her “no,”
but because it is a sign that some times things which God would not bother with or which He
normally would not grant, He will grant them, if Our Lady asks. This gives support to St. Louis De
Montfort’s teaching that a single sigh from Our Lady is more powerful than all the martyrdoms,
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prayers, sacrifices and good works of all the saints combined. For God may deny all the saints a
request, but He will never deny Our Lady anything. So what happens, Our Lady then turns to the
stewards and tells them the principle of her entire life and being, “do what ever He tells you.” For
the entire duration of her existence, she has done nothing but what God has told her to do.
Consequently, if we are to be like Our Lady, we must do as she does, viz. whatever God tells us.
Moreover, we must recognize that if we are going to press Our Lady into service for us by asking
for something from God, we must be prepared to do whatever God asks in return. Very often we will
ask Our Lord and Our Lady for something and we beg and beg for it and finally they give it to us and
then we complain because what they gave entails work, sacrifice, tribulations and difficulties. The
stewards, then, act the way Our Lady did at the Annunciation. The minute God asked Our Lady to
do something, she said yes and she did it. Moreover, she immediately got up and went to be of
service to St. Elizabeth. The stewards listen to the words of Christ and do what they are asked and
as a result the miracle takes place. We do not hear too much about Our Lady again until it comes
time for the Passion.
If Mary is to continue to serve man even after her Assumption into heaven, it is most fitting
that she be present for the Passion and Death of Our Lord. In other words, one of the reasons God
will deny nothing to Our Lady now is the fact that she stood by Him during His darkest hour. God
would never turn to Mary and say, why should I give you what you ask, you abandoned Me at My
darkest hour. No, if she was to be the Queen of Heaven and Earth, if Mary was to be the Mediatrix
of All Grace, i.e. the one standing between God and man, then she must stand at the foot of the Cross
next to the Mediator Himself, Jesus Christ the Eternal High Priest. She can lay claim to the title of
the Mediatrix between man and God because she participated in the suffering and death of Christ
the Mediator.
By standing at the foot of the Cross, she suffered tremendously. But she stood their willingly,
again, because it was something God asked her to do. Perhaps one of the reasons I have a particular
fondness for the Pieta by Michelangelo, is because of the expression on the face of Our Lady. It is
not the expression of uncontrollable blubbering as some depict her. It is not an indifference as others
have depicted her. No, it is the depiction of Our Lady the way it should be; for Our Lady was a
woman of tremendous virtue who wept the tears of a mother who has lost her Son. The statue
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depicts Our Lady as having completed all of the suffering, by her surrendering everything she is and
everything she has to God. Her face is the face of someone who can cry no more because she has
already lamented in the depths of her soul. No the statue depicts Our Lady as someone who is
completely emotionally exhausted. Our Lady served God so perfectly that she, like the Body of
Christ placed in her arms, could give no more. Just as we who after hard work become exhausted
or after the death of a loved one reach a point in which we are an emotionally exhausted, so too Our
Lady stood their, holding the Body of the Only Begotten Son of God the Father, in complete and
absolute desolation.
Man had killed God! Like Adam and Eve before them who killed the indwelling of God in
their soul by mortal sin, these men had ended the dwelling of God among men. Like all murderous
generations after Adam and Eve, man had laid waste to the work of God. Not only was Our Lady
emotional exhausted because her Son was dead, but also because she experienced the profound evil
deep in the heart of man affected by Original Sin. She who once held Goodness Itself in her arms,
now held a lifeless Body. There is a certain acceptance by those mothers whose sons are killed
because they have committed evil. But to Mary, she experienced what it meant to see Her Son killed
for doing what was right. Her Son was killed Who never committed a sin, who was Justice Itself,
and yet, He was to undergo an act of injustice. We would tend to get angry and seek vengeance, but
not Our Lady. She held the Lifeless Body of Her Son in her arms in total surrender. For as they have
killed her Son, they have, in a way, killed her. The whole reason for her existence, her life, the joy
of her life, the source of all the truth she knew, everything she held dear, lay lifeless in her arms. It
is as if the entire book of Lamentations by Jeremiah was written as he gazed upon the sight of Our
Lady holding Jesus’ lifeless Body: “Weeping she hath wept in the night, and her tears are on her
cheeks: there is none to comfort her among all them that were dear to her” (Lam.1:2). “And from the
daughter of Sion all her beauty is departed” (Lam. 1:6). “Therefore do I weep, and my eyes run down
with water: because the comforter, the relief of my soul, is far from me” (Lam.1:16). “My eyes have
failed with weeping, my bowels are poured out upon the earth, for the destruction of the daughter
of my people” (Lam. 2:11) “Their heart cried to the Lord upon the walls of the daughter of Sion: Let
tears run down like a torrent day and night: give thyself no rest” (Lam.2:18).
With psychological, emotional and physical exhaustion and agony, Our Lady accompanies
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the men to the tomb. As an act of charity, St. Joseph of Arimathaea places Christ’s Body in the tomb
he had intended for himself. As Christ was wrapped in the burial shroud, many thought that this
would be the last time Our Lady would gaze upon the Body of Her Son. She departs with the rest;
it is over, it is done. Her own death to self is complete and with Christ in spirit, she lays in the tomb
with His Body.
For three days she suffers interior death but upon the rising of Our Lord, her joy knows no
bounds. We do not hear much again about Our Lady. Pius tradition tells us that she was present at
the decent of the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles. It also tells us that afterwards she lived with St.
John until it came time for her to take her Role as Queen of Heaven and Earth. Once she became
Our Beloved Queen, her service grew to such an extent that she became the Mediatrix of All Graces.
Every grace you have ever received or will receive will come from the hands of Our Lady. No
greater service can any mere creature render to Her God. Our Lady of Jesus Christ Crucified, pray
for us. Queen of Heaven and Earth, pray for us.
16
Our Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary
Conference Lincoln
December 8th, 1998
In reflecting on the most intimate relationship Our Lady has with Our Lord and considering
the most perfect response of Our Lady in the service to God, we ought to be moved to a profound
devotion to her. We must always remember, however, that devotion is not based on emotion, even
though some emotions may accompany it. Rather, “devotion consists...essentially in the promptness
of the will to serve God, namely, to subordinate our whole life to His Glory and desires” (Parente,
Dictionary of Dogmate Theology, p. 76). Our devotion to Our Lady must first and foremost be an
imitation of her devotion to God. We have already mentioned Mary’s perfect service and complete
willingness to do anything that God asked whatsoever. We also mentioned the fact that when Our
Lady intervened on behalf of those at the Wedding at Cana, she told the steward to “do whatever He
tells you” which is an incitement of the steward to devotion to Our Lord. This willingness to always
do the Holy Will of God is a disposition most pleasing to Our Lord and He tends to bestow great
graces on those who foster this disposition.
A proud man is not capable of devotion, because a proud man has his own concerns at the
foremost of his mind and heart. Whereas, the humble man, the person who imitates the profound
humility of Our Lady, recognizes his place as a creature totally dependent on God for everything and
consequently, he will do whatever God asks. This is why it is very important for us to study the life
of Mary because by doing so we see those virtues and dispositions which we are capable of imitating
them and therefore advance in holiness. The more we become like Our Lady, the more we are made
over into her image, the more God will be pleased with us. And is this not the way it should be?
For the reason Our Lady is most pleasing to Our Lord is because she is a most perfect image of Her
Son who is justice itself. Justice is not only the virtue by which we render to someone his due, it is
also that thing which makes us “right” or “good” in the eyes of God. One of Mary’s titles is “Mirror
of Justice” because Christ who is Justice Itself since He is God, is perfectly reflected in Our Lady.
Devotion to Our Lady ought to be of such a sort that it never stops with her. Just as we do not look
at a mirror for the sake of inspecting or looking at the mirror itself but to see what is reflected, so too
is devotion to Our Lady like a spiritual mirror, if you will, in which we look to see all the glory and
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wonders of God as it is reflected through her. Her only choice of words at the Magnificat indicate
to us that she is something which the divine image somehow passes through. She said “my soul
magnifies the Lord,” and the reason she said it was because God’s Own Intrinsic Glory is perfect and
complete in itself and God needs no creature for His Own Glory. But by creating, God’s Glory was
extended outside of Himself and Mary who is the vessel of all virtues, perfections and graces reflects
and focuses, like a magnify glass, the perfection, grace and virtues of God Himself. Those who try
to argue against St. Louis Mary De Montfort who says that in having a total consecration to Our
Lady is ultimately a complete surrendering to God of everything that we are, do not recognize that
Our Lady is a mirror. We do not stop at her just as we do not look at the mirror itself, but in her we
see God focused, as it were, so that we can see Him more perfectly. If our devotion to God becomes
perfect, we will by like Our Lady, i.e. a mirror reflecting God’s glory. But like all mirrors, if the
glass is not perfect or damaged, then it does not reflect the image well and so we too must strive to
be perfect like Our Lady so that we may reflect God perfectly without the corruption of sin which
damages that reflection.
Devotion, then, to Our Lady, is ultimately devotion to God, for again, we do not stop with
Our Lady but instead she directs and focuses our attention on God Himself of Whom she is the
perfect image. In our devotion we must be totally disposed to the service of God, for Our Lady
would have it no other way. If you are to have a strong devotion to Mary, she will not allow it unless
your devotion to God is striving for perfection. Devotion to Our Lady, like devotion to God and to
the saints, has two parts, viz. interior and exterior.
The interior aspect to our devotion involves two things, viz. our intellect and will. We must
strive for a perfect knowledge of God and Mary, which demands exercising humility by which we
are able to live in accordance with the truth. Our commitment to truth must exceed even our own
life to live; Our Lady herself gives testimony to this by the very fact that when she agreed to be the
mother of Our Lord, she placed her life on the lines since she did not know what would happen to
her life. But her willingness to live in accordance with Truth Itself, i.e. God, was perfect. We must
therefore always try and foster a right disposition towards all of the teachings regarding Our Lady
taught to us by the Church and in that process our devotion will increase.
Our knowledge of Mary will provide a great deal of material for reflection. For example, if
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we accept and love the holy doctrine of Our Lady’s Immaculate Conception, we cannot but help to
love Mary herself. What kind of person cannot have a deep admiration, awe, respect and love for
something as good and as perfect as Our Lady? The only part of creation that does not love her is
that which is under the sway of or part of the demonic. For if one is cold, indifferent or hostile to
Our Lady, then you are part of the seed as mentioned in Genesis which has enmity with Our Lady.
Yet I cannot help but think that regardless of how hardened a soul is in this life, that if God was to
show him the wonder and grandeur of Our Lady that person would be moved to a profound love and
affection for her. After all, one of the titles of Our Lady is Mother most amiable. In order for us to
love Our Lady we ought to learn about her and reflect on her.
Moreover, out of a proper devotion to all of the teachings of the Church we should always
avoid scepticism about those teachings which the Church has formally taught about Our Lady. For
example, today, it is common practice to snicker and jest about Our Lady’s perpetual virginity. But
we must be very clear about the fact that the Church so loved and respected the teaching of Our
Lady’s perpetual virginity, that it formally defined it; in a word, if you do not believe that Our Lady’s
virginity remained in tact before, during and after she gave birth to Our Lord, then you are not a
Catholic. The sign of a vibrant Catholic faith in an individual is a sign that he is willing to defend
the teachings of the Church regarding Our Lady, that he loves those teachings greatly and finds great
joy in them. We must always remember that Our God is a God of honor and he will defend the
honor of Our Lady. Therefore, there is a great punishment and chastisement for those who speak ill
of Mary and their suffering will be great if they do not have a change of heart.
The second aspect of the interior part of our devotion to Our Lady corresponds to the will,
i.e. we must love Our Lady. We must be very careful to be clear that love is not an emotion or
appetite and that if we truly love Our Lady, it will not be based on our emotions or moods. Those
whose devotion is based on emotion tend to have short fits of devotion to her but when the emotion
wanes so does their devotion. Moreover, their devotion to Our Lady is governed by the appetite of
curiositas, i.e. curiosity. Consequently, they go around apparition chasing because they have a desire
not to love Our Lady more, but to gratify their desire to see supernatural phenomena. Consequently,
they believe everything that is told to them regardless of how fantastic it is and they do not act
reasonably. True devotion to Our Lady strives to act out of real love and not out of appetite,
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consequently it will guard against curiosity. As a result, the person will curb their appetites by being
sure they only give full assent to those apparitions approved by the Church. But if the person really
loves Our Lady, once they Church has given approval, the person will set out learning about the
apparition to come to know the will of Our Lady which is in perfect accord with the Will of God.
The person does not seek after the apparition to sate some inordinate desire to see miracles, but
rather will appreciate the miraculous work that God has done through Our Lady.
Yet, love is never satisfied with itself, i.e. it always seeks to go outside of itself and this
brings us to the second part of devotion, viz. the exterior part. If we truly love Our Lady, we will
express that love in proper ways by performing acts which are in accordance with that love. Those
who say they have a strong devotion to Our Lady but never do anything for her, are not telling you
the truth. If you really love someone, you want to do whatever you can for that person because you
want to please that person. The best way to love Our Lady and to please her is to make the total
consecration to her according to the teachings and mind of St. Louis De Montfort.
In his book on True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Louis observes that since Mary
is the Queen of heaven and earth, we are, in effect, her property. For it is a matter of fact that God
will deny her nothing, and so with respect to us, she can have anything she wants since God will give
it to her. Therefore, we are totally at her whim and we call this in common parlance “owning a
thing.” Since we are Mary’s property and if we are humble, then we will recognize that and act
accordingly. Consequently, since everything we have and are is hers already, then it is best that we
recognize that and offer everything that we have, everything that we are, all our prayers sufferings
and good works up to her.
We do this for two reasons. The first is for our own purification; for it is fact that we are all
in need of purification and if we surrender to Our Lady everything, our house, our family, our very
lives, we are placing in her hands those things which we hold most dear. Therefore, by doing so we
are on the way to perfect detachment which is necessary to advance in holiness. This surrendering
of everything that we are and have to her, by being a form of detachment, purifies our intentions and
lives. The second is that what we offer to God is always tainted with self will and imperfections and
so it is best if we first give it to Our Lady who will purify, sanctify and strip from our offering any
imperfections and unholiness. Since Our Lady by the act of her fiat, i.e. “let it be done to me
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according to thy word,” at the time of the Incarnation surrendered everything she has to God,
whatever we give her, she in turn gives it to God. But just as her offering of her immaculate self to
God at the incarnation was a perfect offering, so too does she make perfect and offer up perfectly
what little we have given her. If you want your prayers, sufferings and good work to be more
efficacious, you need to give them to Our Lady who can make it a worthy offering.
In addition to giving Our Lady everything, we will also do exterior acts of devotion towards
her. We will decorate her statues with flowers as a sign of love and reverence. We will say her
Rosary so that through it she can conquer heresy and evil and overcome Satan and his minions. We
will make acts of reparation for the sins committed against her and the holy doctrines taught by the
Church regarding her. We will turn to her in our every need, thank her for every gift, praise her for
her magnificence and ask mercy for our wrong doings. By asking her, as the Mirror of Justice, we
are in effect asking God and so He will grant us everything through her. We will do all those things
which show our love and devotion to her and by doing so we shall win her favor and in that alone
we can have perfect hope in our salvation.
7
Our Lady’s Service to God
Conference Lincoln
December 8th, 1998
In our reflection of the most intimate relationship between Our Lady and Our Lord, we
cannot help but realize what a profound love Our Lord had for Our Lady. But the relationship was
not one sided, for we see through the Gospels that the Blessed Virgin likewise had a profound love
for Our Lord. Our Lord said when He was on this earth that “if you love me, keep my
commandments” (John 14:15) and Mary, as we mentioned before, never once broke a single
commandment of Our Lord. Never once did she even think a thought contrary to justice, charity or
purity and it is in this that we know that Our Lady kept the commandments, not only because God
preserved her from violating them, but because she loved God deeply and abhorred even the thought
of sin. Mary’s love for God, again, as we see in the Gospels, plays itself out over the course of her
life. We know that if someone loves someone, they do everything they can to please that person and
this is the story of Our Lady’s life: to please God in every moment, in every thought and in every
action.
Clearly, sanctifying grace is that which makes us pleasing to Our Lord and at the very
moment she was conceived, God infused in her soul sanctifying grace which made her most pleasing
to Him. We do not know much about Our Lady prior to the angelic salutation but tradition has it that
she was an exemplary child. St. Elizabeth and St. Zachary must have marveled at her wisdom and
demeanor as a child; how she never fought what they asked, how she always submitted to them in
her love for God. We know through tradition that Mary had a particular love and facility of grasp
of the Ten Commandments and that she had studied the Judaic law. Throughout her life, she served
Our Lord in prayer by never neglecting her obligation to pray which is part of the 3rd Commandment
as well as the virtue of religion. She lived an exemplary Jewish life which must have been one of
the things that attracted St. Joseph to her.
They always tell seminarians in protecting their vocation that a beautiful girl is never the one
to worry about, rather it is the virtuous one. For a virtuous man sees the good of her virtue and is
attracted to it. So too must it have been for St. Joseph in seeing not only her uncomparable earthly
beauty but also the magnificence of her moral and spiritual beauty, i.e. her virtuousness and holiness
8
of life. We may ask ourselves why other men did not find her attractive. My suspicion is that some
did but I also believe that they had a certain fear of Our Lady. It seems to me that men who do not
lead good lives may find a virtuous woman attractive, but part of a virtuous woman’s make up is that
she tolerates very little nonsense. She loves holiness and virtuousness and will expect the same
desire in her husband. Men would have avoided Our Lady just as the doers of evil avoid the doers
of goodness, just as creatures of darkness avoid the light; so too men who did not lead lives of grace
would have avoided and feared Our Lady. But not so with St. Joseph; for he was a most righteous
and upright man, a man of justice and holiness. Like St. John the Baptist, it is believed that St.
Joseph was conceived in Original Sin but was sanctified in the womb of his mother. He lead a life
of holiness and virtuousness himself and upon the acceptance of Mary as his wife at the command
of Our Lord in his dream, upon that acceptance he was from that moment on preserved in sanctifying
grace. So when St. Joseph beheld the holiness, virtuousness and Mary’s incomparable earthly
beauty, he must have been moved with a profound sense of love for her. Perhaps this is why his
respect for her throughout his life was unimaginable.
Once he knew that That Which was in the womb of Our Lady was conceived by the Holy
Ghost, he could never see her as completely his own. His esteem for her only grew throughout their
life together and in reverence and awe, he must have beheld her. For he knew, that no other creature
had been given over so completely to Our Lord and no other creature had been deigned fit to be
called into the service of Our Lord as the person in whose womb God’s Son would dwell. St. Joseph
must have known that Our Lady’s role in salvation history was pivotal and so, as a faithful and just
Jew, he would respect the mother of all mothers, viz. the mother of the Messiah Himself.
This calling into service of Our Lord which Our Lady accepted was a sign of her perfect
submission to Her Divine spouse. She not only had an intimate relationship with her Divine Spouse,
but she also served her Divine Spouse and never once disobeyed Him. She always sought to know
His Holy Will so that she could set about fulfilling it in her daily life. When the angel of the Lord
was sent to Our Lady and spoke of God’s wondrous plans, she questioned the angel, not because she
disbelieved, but because she was perplexed about how what he said would come about. The angel
then informs her of God’s plan to take her as His Spouse and she, like a perfect slave, submits to the
plan of Her Master. Part of Our Lady’s perplexity has to do with the fact that “she knew no man”
9
as Scripture says, which ultimately means that she never had violated the precepts of Our Lord
regarding conjugal relations. Moreover, even though she was espoused to St. Joseph, they had not
married and consequently, she did not know how God’s plan was to come about.
But tradition seems to have provided even more of a back ground. According to Holy
Tradition, it was believed that Our Lady had taken a private vow of celibacy. In recent years, modern
Scripture scholars mocked the idea, pointing to fact that at that time, the Jewish women knew that
the Messiah was due to come. And so no Jewish woman in her right mind would have taken a vow
of celibacy because she would have thereby eliminated herself as a possible mother of the Messiah.
Moreover, they argued that the Jews did not have a rite of celibacy, i.e. they do not take vows of
celibacy. But the findings of Qumran have demonstrated that just before and during the time of
Christ, the Essenes (a group of very conservative Jews) had a vow of celibacy. Consequently, it is
entirely possible that Our Lady would have taken the vow since it is believed that both her and Christ
may have had some contact with the Essenes. Moreover, it was believed that Our Lady took the vow
as a sign of her complete dedication to God. Just as today priests and nuns take a vow of celibacy
so that they can give themselves entirely to God and His Work, so too did Our Lady take a vow so
that she would be able to give herself completely to God and to no one else. What then of St.
Joseph’s betrothal? It is also believed according to pious tradition that St. Joseph was aware of Our
Lady’s vow and had no intention of violating it. We now understand a bit why Our Lady was even
more perplexed because even though she was betrothed to St. Joseph, there was no intention for
conjugal relations.
But in perfect submission to Her Divine Spouse, Our Lady said those most glorious words
every heard since the time of Adam and Eve “be done unto me according to thy word.” Unlike Eve
who had eaten the apple and then sought to convince her husband, i.e she tried to control and
dominate him and God since she had already been infected by sin, Mary never once tried to dominate
Her Divine Spouse. Mary’s submission to her Spouse, as St. Paul, moved by divine inspiration, calls
on all women to do, was perfect. She did not try to make the relationship with her Spouse on her
terms as Eve had done. She did not try to manipulate Him as Eve had done. She knew from the
depths of her soul that her relationship with God must be one HIS terms. Like all religion, like any
creature who will ultimately be saved, the way we worship God, the way we serve God is not ours
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to determine but God’s. Perhaps this is why religion has taken such a beating in the last few decades
because man thinks he can serve God the way he wants rather than the way God wants. And perhaps
this is why there is little love for Our Lady these days because she, above all other creatures,
demonstrated by her entire life that service to God is on God’s terms. It is God’s place to determine
how and when we will serve Him. This is why Mary is the anti-type of Eve, for Eve thought she
would determine her relationship with God, whereas Mary knew and submitted to the fact that her
relationship with God was on God’s terms. Why else would she say “I am the Handmaid of the
Lord.” In other words, I am God’s servant, I know my place, and any service He asks of me, in
perfect humility, I submit to.
In one act of submission to God, she entered into the most perfect form of service of God and
man the world had ever seen. But her service was not over, it was merely raised to a new level. For
nine months she carried Our Lord in Her womb. Her very body, her very self was the instrument of
her service to Him. And unlike all of us, as soon as Mary submits and then knows that she is the
Mother of God, she does not go around blabbing it like an old hen in a gossip session. No what does
she do? She tells no one and she immediately rises to go to St. Elisabeth for two reasons. The first
is to confirm that St. Elisabeth is pregnant but more so, as the Scripture tell us, to stay and help her.
Remember, St. Elizabeth is of advanced years and so her pregnancy must have been more difficult
than normal since she would not have the energy to take care of the household duties while she is
getting close to term. Consequently, Our Lady stays with St. Elizabeth as an act of service.
Imagine that! The woman who has God in her womb comes and cleans your house! We
should feel shame at such a thought of Our Lady cleaning our house because we know that we are
completely unworthy of such a thing. St. Elizabeth should have been cleaning Mary’s house! But
that was not God’s Will; for it was necessary for all to see that Mary’s truthfulness about what God
had done to her as we see in the Magnificat was in fact attested to by Our Lady’s perfect humility.
If she, as the mother of God, was asked by Our Lord to clean St. Elizabeth’s house, then that is what
God will get. For humility, that virtue by which we willingly live in accordance with the truth, gave
testimony to God’s presence. For God does not work among the proud but the humble alone, and
so it was a testimony to God’s working in Mary that she would submit to such humble work.
Which should be a moment of joy and hope on our part. For often we are beset by the
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temptation of the evil one who tries to get us not to ask Our Lady for certain things, especially small
things, because we feel that we are not worthy of it and that we cannot ask Our Lady to tend to such
menial things. But this is completely false, for we see that Our Lady wants to take care of our every
need regardless of how small, just as she did for St. Elizabeth. Granted we are completely unworthy,
but Our Lady, from the very beginning of her motherhood, was prepared and become accustomed
to serving man for the sake of God in ways which are, at times, on the scale of things rather
insignificant and unimportant. Moreover, she knew that we must always serve even those who are
unworthy of our services, for it is what God desires.
After St. Elizabeth has St. John, Mary returns home and now there is a problem. Because
Mary behaves in an opposite fashion to Eve, she does not avoid certain problems. But then again,
because she does not behave like Eve, God takes care of her. In other words, when Eve first ate the
apple, what was the first thing she did? She started talking and blabbing to Adam. She sweet talks
her husband into doing something he should not do and all of which is driven out of her new found
pride resulting from her sin. Eve was asked not to eat of the tree and disobeyed, Mary was asked to
bring the Man who would hang upon the Tree and she obeyed. Mary did not, like Eve, get puffed
up with pride and go blabbing, rather she submitted in humility and silence to the will of Our Lord.
Consequently, she did not tell St. Joseph before she left to see St. Elizabeth and so when she returns
St. Joseph is unaware of the circumstances and thinks he must put her away quietly since she is with
child. Had Adam put his wife away quietly, we would not be in the mess were are in. But St. Joseph
was not to do what Adam was supposed to, rather he was to accept his betrothed and her new
condition. Mary said nothing and was willing to accept the humiliation.. But deep down the words
of the Angel echoed in her ears that the power of the Most High will overshadow her and so she
knew God would take care of the situation. So indeed He did, He made sure that St. Joseph knew
what His Will was and what had happened. The story of Adam and Eve and St. Joseph and Mary
are complete opposites, for Eve fell and talked to Adam and he listened to her rather than God. Mary
became with child, St. Joseph thought of putting her away but accepted her not because of what she
said, for she said nothing, but because he listened to God.
Mary is then betrothed to St. Joseph and she carries Her Son to term. She gives birth to Her
Son and for the first twelve years we do not know too much of what happened. We know that they
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had to flee and that Our Lady acted in perfect submission to St. Joseph by doing as he asked. She
later returned with St. Joseph at his behest. Notice, that God knows that Our Lady will do what St.
Joseph asks. Our Lord does not appear to Our Lady and tell her to return, he tells St. Joseph because
He knows that Mary will follow the right order set up by the Natural Law and do what her husband
asks of Her. Again in a spirit of perfect submission and service, she does what she is asked. She
does not argue with St. Joseph but sets about doing what God has asked through her husband. And
God Himself is following the order which He set up, by informing the head of the household, viz.
the husband, so that the household will do His Will.
Our Lady then serves God by raising His Son. She feeds Him, clothes Him, does everything
necessary to bring Him to the age in which He shall leave her to do His Father’s Will. The next time
we see Our Lady’s service is in her search for Jesus when she and St. Joseph think He is lost but He
is actually in the temple. We see this is a sign of Our Lady’s commitment to being a good parent and
to be a good parent you must put the needs of your child before your own needs and wants, and so
she does that. The Gospel writers do not tell us much about Our Lady until it comes time for the
wedding at Cana.
At Cana, the bride and groom miscalculate how much wine to have around and so Our Lady
driven out of compassion for them, goes to Christ knowing that He is capable of straightening the
situation out. Our Lady tells Christ of the needs of the couple which tells us a great deal about the
relationship between Mary and Jesus. First, Mary seems to be in the habit of merely indicating what
must be done. She does not really put it in the form of a question, not because she is demanding, but
because she knows that her Son will never deny her anything. So as Jesus grew up, she merely had
to tell Him what was to be done and like an obedient child, He would do it. This also tells us
something about Her service to us. In other words, Mary is the intercessor between man and God.
We see that this is the case by the very fact that she goes to intercede for the married couple at Cana;
we also know that God will never deny her anything.
Christ says in return “woman, what is it to me and thee?” Not because He is telling her “no,”
but because it is a sign that some times things which God would not bother with or which He
normally would not grant, He will grant them, if Our Lady asks. This gives support to St. Louis De
Montfort’s teaching that a single sigh from Our Lady is more powerful than all the martyrdoms,
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prayers, sacrifices and good works of all the saints combined. For God may deny all the saints a
request, but He will never deny Our Lady anything. So what happens, Our Lady then turns to the
stewards and tells them the principle of her entire life and being, “do what ever He tells you.” For
the entire duration of her existence, she has done nothing but what God has told her to do.
Consequently, if we are to be like Our Lady, we must do as she does, viz. whatever God tells us.
Moreover, we must recognize that if we are going to press Our Lady into service for us by asking
for something from God, we must be prepared to do whatever God asks in return. Very often we will
ask Our Lord and Our Lady for something and we beg and beg for it and finally they give it to us and
then we complain because what they gave entails work, sacrifice, tribulations and difficulties. The
stewards, then, act the way Our Lady did at the Annunciation. The minute God asked Our Lady to
do something, she said yes and she did it. Moreover, she immediately got up and went to be of
service to St. Elizabeth. The stewards listen to the words of Christ and do what they are asked and
as a result the miracle takes place. We do not hear too much about Our Lady again until it comes
time for the Passion.
If Mary is to continue to serve man even after her Assumption into heaven, it is most fitting
that she be present for the Passion and Death of Our Lord. In other words, one of the reasons God
will deny nothing to Our Lady now is the fact that she stood by Him during His darkest hour. God
would never turn to Mary and say, why should I give you what you ask, you abandoned Me at My
darkest hour. No, if she was to be the Queen of Heaven and Earth, if Mary was to be the Mediatrix
of All Grace, i.e. the one standing between God and man, then she must stand at the foot of the Cross
next to the Mediator Himself, Jesus Christ the Eternal High Priest. She can lay claim to the title of
the Mediatrix between man and God because she participated in the suffering and death of Christ
the Mediator.
By standing at the foot of the Cross, she suffered tremendously. But she stood their willingly,
again, because it was something God asked her to do. Perhaps one of the reasons I have a particular
fondness for the Pieta by Michelangelo, is because of the expression on the face of Our Lady. It is
not the expression of uncontrollable blubbering as some depict her. It is not an indifference as others
have depicted her. No, it is the depiction of Our Lady the way it should be; for Our Lady was a
woman of tremendous virtue who wept the tears of a mother who has lost her Son. The statue
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depicts Our Lady as having completed all of the suffering, by her surrendering everything she is and
everything she has to God. Her face is the face of someone who can cry no more because she has
already lamented in the depths of her soul. No the statue depicts Our Lady as someone who is
completely emotionally exhausted. Our Lady served God so perfectly that she, like the Body of
Christ placed in her arms, could give no more. Just as we who after hard work become exhausted
or after the death of a loved one reach a point in which we are an emotionally exhausted, so too Our
Lady stood their, holding the Body of the Only Begotten Son of God the Father, in complete and
absolute desolation.
Man had killed God! Like Adam and Eve before them who killed the indwelling of God in
their soul by mortal sin, these men had ended the dwelling of God among men. Like all murderous
generations after Adam and Eve, man had laid waste to the work of God. Not only was Our Lady
emotional exhausted because her Son was dead, but also because she experienced the profound evil
deep in the heart of man affected by Original Sin. She who once held Goodness Itself in her arms,
now held a lifeless Body. There is a certain acceptance by those mothers whose sons are killed
because they have committed evil. But to Mary, she experienced what it meant to see Her Son killed
for doing what was right. Her Son was killed Who never committed a sin, who was Justice Itself,
and yet, He was to undergo an act of injustice. We would tend to get angry and seek vengeance, but
not Our Lady. She held the Lifeless Body of Her Son in her arms in total surrender. For as they have
killed her Son, they have, in a way, killed her. The whole reason for her existence, her life, the joy
of her life, the source of all the truth she knew, everything she held dear, lay lifeless in her arms. It
is as if the entire book of Lamentations by Jeremiah was written as he gazed upon the sight of Our
Lady holding Jesus’ lifeless Body: “Weeping she hath wept in the night, and her tears are on her
cheeks: there is none to comfort her among all them that were dear to her” (Lam.1:2). “And from the
daughter of Sion all her beauty is departed” (Lam. 1:6). “Therefore do I weep, and my eyes run down
with water: because the comforter, the relief of my soul, is far from me” (Lam.1:16). “My eyes have
failed with weeping, my bowels are poured out upon the earth, for the destruction of the daughter
of my people” (Lam. 2:11) “Their heart cried to the Lord upon the walls of the daughter of Sion: Let
tears run down like a torrent day and night: give thyself no rest” (Lam.2:18).
With psychological, emotional and physical exhaustion and agony, Our Lady accompanies
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the men to the tomb. As an act of charity, St. Joseph of Arimathaea places Christ’s Body in the tomb
he had intended for himself. As Christ was wrapped in the burial shroud, many thought that this
would be the last time Our Lady would gaze upon the Body of Her Son. She departs with the rest;
it is over, it is done. Her own death to self is complete and with Christ in spirit, she lays in the tomb
with His Body.
For three days she suffers interior death but upon the rising of Our Lord, her joy knows no
bounds. We do not hear much again about Our Lady. Pius tradition tells us that she was present at
the decent of the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles. It also tells us that afterwards she lived with St.
John until it came time for her to take her Role as Queen of Heaven and Earth. Once she became
Our Beloved Queen, her service grew to such an extent that she became the Mediatrix of All Graces.
Every grace you have ever received or will receive will come from the hands of Our Lady. No
greater service can any mere creature render to Her God. Our Lady of Jesus Christ Crucified, pray
for us. Queen of Heaven and Earth, pray for us.
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Our Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary
Conference Lincoln
December 8th, 1998
In reflecting on the most intimate relationship Our Lady has with Our Lord and considering
the most perfect response of Our Lady in the service to God, we ought to be moved to a profound
devotion to her. We must always remember, however, that devotion is not based on emotion, even
though some emotions may accompany it. Rather, “devotion consists...essentially in the promptness
of the will to serve God, namely, to subordinate our whole life to His Glory and desires” (Parente,
Dictionary of Dogmate Theology, p. 76). Our devotion to Our Lady must first and foremost be an
imitation of her devotion to God. We have already mentioned Mary’s perfect service and complete
willingness to do anything that God asked whatsoever. We also mentioned the fact that when Our
Lady intervened on behalf of those at the Wedding at Cana, she told the steward to “do whatever He
tells you” which is an incitement of the steward to devotion to Our Lord. This willingness to always
do the Holy Will of God is a disposition most pleasing to Our Lord and He tends to bestow great
graces on those who foster this disposition.
A proud man is not capable of devotion, because a proud man has his own concerns at the
foremost of his mind and heart. Whereas, the humble man, the person who imitates the profound
humility of Our Lady, recognizes his place as a creature totally dependent on God for everything and
consequently, he will do whatever God asks. This is why it is very important for us to study the life
of Mary because by doing so we see those virtues and dispositions which we are capable of imitating
them and therefore advance in holiness. The more we become like Our Lady, the more we are made
over into her image, the more God will be pleased with us. And is this not the way it should be?
For the reason Our Lady is most pleasing to Our Lord is because she is a most perfect image of Her
Son who is justice itself. Justice is not only the virtue by which we render to someone his due, it is
also that thing which makes us “right” or “good” in the eyes of God. One of Mary’s titles is “Mirror
of Justice” because Christ who is Justice Itself since He is God, is perfectly reflected in Our Lady.
Devotion to Our Lady ought to be of such a sort that it never stops with her. Just as we do not look
at a mirror for the sake of inspecting or looking at the mirror itself but to see what is reflected, so too
is devotion to Our Lady like a spiritual mirror, if you will, in which we look to see all the glory and
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wonders of God as it is reflected through her. Her only choice of words at the Magnificat indicate
to us that she is something which the divine image somehow passes through. She said “my soul
magnifies the Lord,” and the reason she said it was because God’s Own Intrinsic Glory is perfect and
complete in itself and God needs no creature for His Own Glory. But by creating, God’s Glory was
extended outside of Himself and Mary who is the vessel of all virtues, perfections and graces reflects
and focuses, like a magnify glass, the perfection, grace and virtues of God Himself. Those who try
to argue against St. Louis Mary De Montfort who says that in having a total consecration to Our
Lady is ultimately a complete surrendering to God of everything that we are, do not recognize that
Our Lady is a mirror. We do not stop at her just as we do not look at the mirror itself, but in her we
see God focused, as it were, so that we can see Him more perfectly. If our devotion to God becomes
perfect, we will by like Our Lady, i.e. a mirror reflecting God’s glory. But like all mirrors, if the
glass is not perfect or damaged, then it does not reflect the image well and so we too must strive to
be perfect like Our Lady so that we may reflect God perfectly without the corruption of sin which
damages that reflection.
Devotion, then, to Our Lady, is ultimately devotion to God, for again, we do not stop with
Our Lady but instead she directs and focuses our attention on God Himself of Whom she is the
perfect image. In our devotion we must be totally disposed to the service of God, for Our Lady
would have it no other way. If you are to have a strong devotion to Mary, she will not allow it unless
your devotion to God is striving for perfection. Devotion to Our Lady, like devotion to God and to
the saints, has two parts, viz. interior and exterior.
The interior aspect to our devotion involves two things, viz. our intellect and will. We must
strive for a perfect knowledge of God and Mary, which demands exercising humility by which we
are able to live in accordance with the truth. Our commitment to truth must exceed even our own
life to live; Our Lady herself gives testimony to this by the very fact that when she agreed to be the
mother of Our Lord, she placed her life on the lines since she did not know what would happen to
her life. But her willingness to live in accordance with Truth Itself, i.e. God, was perfect. We must
therefore always try and foster a right disposition towards all of the teachings regarding Our Lady
taught to us by the Church and in that process our devotion will increase.
Our knowledge of Mary will provide a great deal of material for reflection. For example, if
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we accept and love the holy doctrine of Our Lady’s Immaculate Conception, we cannot but help to
love Mary herself. What kind of person cannot have a deep admiration, awe, respect and love for
something as good and as perfect as Our Lady? The only part of creation that does not love her is
that which is under the sway of or part of the demonic. For if one is cold, indifferent or hostile to
Our Lady, then you are part of the seed as mentioned in Genesis which has enmity with Our Lady.
Yet I cannot help but think that regardless of how hardened a soul is in this life, that if God was to
show him the wonder and grandeur of Our Lady that person would be moved to a profound love and
affection for her. After all, one of the titles of Our Lady is Mother most amiable. In order for us to
love Our Lady we ought to learn about her and reflect on her.
Moreover, out of a proper devotion to all of the teachings of the Church we should always
avoid scepticism about those teachings which the Church has formally taught about Our Lady. For
example, today, it is common practice to snicker and jest about Our Lady’s perpetual virginity. But
we must be very clear about the fact that the Church so loved and respected the teaching of Our
Lady’s perpetual virginity, that it formally defined it; in a word, if you do not believe that Our Lady’s
virginity remained in tact before, during and after she gave birth to Our Lord, then you are not a
Catholic. The sign of a vibrant Catholic faith in an individual is a sign that he is willing to defend
the teachings of the Church regarding Our Lady, that he loves those teachings greatly and finds great
joy in them. We must always remember that Our God is a God of honor and he will defend the
honor of Our Lady. Therefore, there is a great punishment and chastisement for those who speak ill
of Mary and their suffering will be great if they do not have a change of heart.
The second aspect of the interior part of our devotion to Our Lady corresponds to the will,
i.e. we must love Our Lady. We must be very careful to be clear that love is not an emotion or
appetite and that if we truly love Our Lady, it will not be based on our emotions or moods. Those
whose devotion is based on emotion tend to have short fits of devotion to her but when the emotion
wanes so does their devotion. Moreover, their devotion to Our Lady is governed by the appetite of
curiositas, i.e. curiosity. Consequently, they go around apparition chasing because they have a desire
not to love Our Lady more, but to gratify their desire to see supernatural phenomena. Consequently,
they believe everything that is told to them regardless of how fantastic it is and they do not act
reasonably. True devotion to Our Lady strives to act out of real love and not out of appetite,
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consequently it will guard against curiosity. As a result, the person will curb their appetites by being
sure they only give full assent to those apparitions approved by the Church. But if the person really
loves Our Lady, once they Church has given approval, the person will set out learning about the
apparition to come to know the will of Our Lady which is in perfect accord with the Will of God.
The person does not seek after the apparition to sate some inordinate desire to see miracles, but
rather will appreciate the miraculous work that God has done through Our Lady.
Yet, love is never satisfied with itself, i.e. it always seeks to go outside of itself and this
brings us to the second part of devotion, viz. the exterior part. If we truly love Our Lady, we will
express that love in proper ways by performing acts which are in accordance with that love. Those
who say they have a strong devotion to Our Lady but never do anything for her, are not telling you
the truth. If you really love someone, you want to do whatever you can for that person because you
want to please that person. The best way to love Our Lady and to please her is to make the total
consecration to her according to the teachings and mind of St. Louis De Montfort.
In his book on True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Louis observes that since Mary
is the Queen of heaven and earth, we are, in effect, her property. For it is a matter of fact that God
will deny her nothing, and so with respect to us, she can have anything she wants since God will give
it to her. Therefore, we are totally at her whim and we call this in common parlance “owning a
thing.” Since we are Mary’s property and if we are humble, then we will recognize that and act
accordingly. Consequently, since everything we have and are is hers already, then it is best that we
recognize that and offer everything that we have, everything that we are, all our prayers sufferings
and good works up to her.
We do this for two reasons. The first is for our own purification; for it is fact that we are all
in need of purification and if we surrender to Our Lady everything, our house, our family, our very
lives, we are placing in her hands those things which we hold most dear. Therefore, by doing so we
are on the way to perfect detachment which is necessary to advance in holiness. This surrendering
of everything that we are and have to her, by being a form of detachment, purifies our intentions and
lives. The second is that what we offer to God is always tainted with self will and imperfections and
so it is best if we first give it to Our Lady who will purify, sanctify and strip from our offering any
imperfections and unholiness. Since Our Lady by the act of her fiat, i.e. “let it be done to me
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according to thy word,” at the time of the Incarnation surrendered everything she has to God,
whatever we give her, she in turn gives it to God. But just as her offering of her immaculate self to
God at the incarnation was a perfect offering, so too does she make perfect and offer up perfectly
what little we have given her. If you want your prayers, sufferings and good work to be more
efficacious, you need to give them to Our Lady who can make it a worthy offering.
In addition to giving Our Lady everything, we will also do exterior acts of devotion towards
her. We will decorate her statues with flowers as a sign of love and reverence. We will say her
Rosary so that through it she can conquer heresy and evil and overcome Satan and his minions. We
will make acts of reparation for the sins committed against her and the holy doctrines taught by the
Church regarding her. We will turn to her in our every need, thank her for every gift, praise her for
her magnificence and ask mercy for our wrong doings. By asking her, as the Mirror of Justice, we
are in effect asking God and so He will grant us everything through her. We will do all those things
which show our love and devotion to her and by doing so we shall win her favor and in that alone
we can have perfect hope in our salvation.
Fr. Chad Ripperger, F.S.S.P., Ph.D.
Copyright © 2006
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