Mary, the Mother of Jesus

Never be afraid of loving the Blessed Virgin too much.

You can never love her more than Jesus did.

Saint Maximilian Kolbe

♱⃓♱⃓♱⃓

When the Blessed Mother arrived at the house of Her cousin, God tells us that it was He, Himself, who spoke through Elizabeth.

And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: And she cried out with a loud voice, and said: Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.

It should suffice without any other explanation that the Blessed Virgin is, indeed, special. For God to dwell in Her womb, to be nourished by Her throughout His most vulnerable years, and, by Divine Will, to spend ten times more of His earthly life with Her than He did with His chosen apostles, proves She is anything but ordinary.

She is God's dream girl, as Venerable Fulton Sheen tells us. Complete perfection in beauty, in grace, and in virtue. Not once, with all the blessings conferred to Her, did this virgin offend God but forever was and remains the refuge for the Victim of Sin.

It is unwise to regard Her with anything less than our greatest reverence. Instead, let us strive to understand as best we can just how pure, how lovely, how utterly indescribable She is...

It has been said that Her love and tenderness is so great it makes the hearts of even very good mothers appear as ice. This is confirmed by a visit Saint Bridget of Sweden received, when the Blessed Mother revealed to her that even the love of all the seraphim combined resembles only a calm breeze when compared to Her own love for God. And while this undoubtedly inspires awe, imagine now that it is with this very same heart, so aflame, that She loves us, embracing us as Her very own.

It is why the greatest saints will always be those who have a great devotion to Her. For She, who controls the will of God and obtains all that She asks of Him, will obtain all She needs for Her children, most especially those who honor Her. It is for this reason Our Lord gave Her to us, that through Her Immaculate Heart, Her motherly concern, and Her incomprehensible power before God, we would always be assured of obtaining His mercy; we need only to go to Her, to seek Her intercession.

Her power before God is so great that it could be described as a mystery. Saint Bonaventure tells us it is one of the most extraordinary wonders that She can be full of grace, yet not Grace Itself; that She is full of God--one with Him so completely the saints tell us Our Lord and Lady share one heart--yet, somehow, She is still not God Himself.

We see this in the story of the wedding at Cana:

And the wine failing, the mother of Jesus saith to him: They have no wine. And Jesus saith to her: Woman, what is that to me and to thee? My hour is not yet come. His mother saith to the waiters: Whatsoever he shall say to you, do ye.

"Woman, what is that to me and to thee?"

To me and to thee.

When Our Blessed Mother saw the need of the bride and groom, She could not resist helping them. She appealed to Her Son and by this, Our Lord revealed the influence She has over Him--but also shows us that Her interests are His very own. They do, indeed, share one heart, for Her distress is His distress.

He expressed, "My hour is not yet come." In other words, "I, God Almighty, Who Knows All Things, do not will this, that the bride and groom should be assisted in this moment but because you have asked me, Mother, I will oblige. For you desire it and I desire to please you, as you have only ever lived to please Me." Had Our Blessed Mother not appealed to Her Son's mercy, He would not have performed this miracle. Instead, He altered His entire plans, His first public miracle, at the simple request of His mother. Not by Her persuasion, not by means of an argument, but after a gentle request.

Yet, who among us can be surprised by this?

For what is bound on earth shall be bound in Heaven--this includes the ten commandments, the fourth of which is to honor one's mother and father. And just as Jesus honored Her in this life, He continues to do so in Heaven; that, no matter Her request, it shall be Hers. For God created and preserved Her heart that it would forever be so pure, so humble, and so noble, that it could only ever will that which is the greatest good for all of us--even when we are not deserving.

When we see Her undoubtable intercession in our lives, it is not difficult to love Her. This love can feel so intense at times that it can seem, initially, as though we love Her more than Her Son. But, despite what others may think, we must never be afraid of loving Her too much for, as Saint Maximilian Kolbe reminds us, "[we] can never love Her more than Jesus."

It is impossible that Ioving Her would distance a soul from Jesus. In fact, it is the very opposite.

Even in this broken world we know that good mothers never desire attention for themselves. They dote on their children day and night and rejoice seeing others delight in them. What mother would place her child aside to steal attention for herself, as so many accuse this Immaculate One of doing? Such a one would not be a good mother--certainly not the kind who would cling to her child at the foot of a cross, risking death for herself, when all others have run from fear. Such a one would not risk stoning to bring him into the world, as Our Lady did, and willingly submit so that her heart could be pierced--not once, but seven times--so ruthlessly that grace alone would keep it from falling apart.

Our Lord wished to see in Our Blessed Mother the fullest reflection of His mercy. For this to be accomplished, He created Her to have a heart so dear, so tender, so merciful that "never was it known that anyone who fled to Her protection, implored Her help, or sought Her intercession was left unaided." That is why when we fail to plead our cause before God, due to our own record of infidelity, we must not lose hope but go to Her, for She will plead on our behalf and will always be heard.

She has been given to us by Jesus for the very purpose of bringing us closer to Him and it is Her wish, too, that you should be so intimately united to Him. This intimacy you desire with God, I assure you, will be much greater than if you approached Him alone. By Her fervor, the Blessed Mother will obtain all you need to become what you were created to be.

With Her as your refuge, no evil will overtake you, and not even God Himself will exact His justice upon you. Instead, you will be abundantly blessed and, by this, may you then return all glory to God for having bestowed upon you the Most Unfailing Advocate.

I implore you to pray to Her always--when you rise and before you sleep. Pray Her rosary and speak to Her as Her child. And when you speak of Her to others, do your very best to call Her Blessed; for it is true, that those who called Her Blessed, shall be blessed.

Holy Jesus, Sweet Jesus, Loving Jesus....

♱⃓♱⃓♱⃓

While She holds your hand, you cannot fall.

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux