Mary– The Maternal Face of Mercy
Just as there is no planet more like the sun, so there is no creature more like God.
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux
For centuries, Mary has been seen as a faithful reflection of the Eternal Light. In fact, Christ revealed himself as "he who visit us to shine on those who sit in darkness and death’s shadow" (Lk 1:78-79), and his mother as a living mirror that reflects all this splendor, capable to " guide our feet into the path of peace " (Lk 1:79). Mary, then, was filled with God: with his aspirations, with his promises, with all that spirituality has called his "character". Moreover, since Christ is the Truth and God in human flesh, He first became flesh in the womb of the Woman, the truth in her heart. Mary, being in this way a woman not only "full of grace" (Lk 1:28), but after her assumption and crowning, even becoming "the throne of grace" (Heb 4:16), continues to reflect God's mercy in herself. Misericordia is, after all, one of the deepest manifestations of the light brought by Christ.
Meanwhile, “the sunlight – wrote the poet – reveals both magnificence and misery, the beauty of the world and the decaying dead meat”. The light of the morning does not choose, it touches what it is right to show to the world, but also what man tries to hide even from himself. The true sun of justice (cf. Mal 3:20), that is, mercy itself, does so in order to transform, purify, heal and raise. And he always does it through the hands of Mary.
In the Catholic tradition, Theotokos is sometimes referred to as the "Mother of God's grace" and at the same time as the "Mother of Mercy". This is what the Litany of Loreto says about her, or the church song composed in the eleventh century, Salve Regina Mater misericordiae, which attributes certain aspects of Christ's love to Mary. This feminine face of God's mercy was wonderfully described and developed in the second book of “Treatise on True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary” (II, [209]) of St. Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort.
On the pages of this work, the French theologian admits that he used to recognize true Christians by the fact that they draw on the inexhaustible resources of the Father's love through the mother offered to them. Moreover, in every situation in life, "they look to her as their guiding star, allowing them to reach the port; with a wide open heart, they reveal to her their sufferings and needs." She is the guide of Christians, their companion on the paths marked out by Providence, the constant intercessor, who makes petitions before the throne of the Son. In the past, all these functions were performed by angels (cf. Tob 5:10; 12:12), today the Queen of Angels herself does so with a whole host of saints. However, since Jesus offered Mary to his disciples precisely as a mother (cf. Jn 19:25-27), her merciful protection has a specifically maternal feature.
Montfort says: Rebecca led her little Jacob and from time to time gave him good counsel either to bring his father's blessing upon him or to avoid Esau's hatred and persecution. Mary, who is the guiding star, leads all her faithful servants to a good port; shows them the ways of eternal life; allows them to avoid dangerous steps; leads them by the hand along the paths of justice; sustains them when they are close to falling; picks them up when they fall; she admonishes them as a merciful Mother when they have failed in something; sometimes she even chastises them with love.
The treatise presents the relationship of Christians with Mary as filial-maternal. It is a closeness similar to the intimate bond between Rachel and Jacob, but marked not only by parental care and love, but also by mercy. It is easy to see in this description some analogies to the pastoral care of Jesus Christ. As if Mary were also the instrument of "the shepherd and guardian of our souls" (2 Pet 2:25), thanks to whom he "comforts our soul and leads us on the straight path" (Ps 23:3). Mercy, in fact, is that form of love which meets weakness, unworthiness, confusion and misery; a love that frees and heals, finding what is lost. It is the Doctor's bending over the sick, the Pure over the dirty, the Strong over the weak, the Living over the dead.
So while Jesus Christ came into the world to reveal the Father rich in mercy (cf. Eph 2:4), Mary was given the fullness of this richness. In a special way, as an outlaw of sin, she experienced the care of God, who "exalted the humble" (Lk 1:52), but she was also chosen to be the advocate of man's encounter with the Son of Man. Following this path, it is possible to associate Malachi's prophecy of the "rising sun of righteousness" (Mal 3:20), which crowns the Old Testament, with the revelation of St John: "A woman clothed with the sun, the moon under her feet" (Rev 12:1; cf. Song 6:10). This means that Mary was completely covered with God's love. Thus, Our Lady, radiating the fullness of God's grace, directs the clarity of his mercy to everyone who calls her as his mother. It shields in battle, strengthens in the fall, sustains those who waver in faith.
The merciful protection of the Immaculate, however, always sends us to others. It is both a gift and a task because it conforms us to the Son, above all in his care and prayer for our neighbor. Mary herself – as the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke says – immediately after the Annunciation rushed to the mountains, to Elizabeth (cf. Lk 1:39), in order to serve her with the good news and to fill her with the Holy Spirit. For this reason, it inspires dedicated Christians not to seek only their own good, but to constantly care for the souls of others (cf. Phil 2:4). The Treaty can therefore read: (...) we give him [i.e. our neighbor – GJB] through the hands of Mary all that we have most dearly, that is, the propitiatory value of all our good deeds, not excluding the least good thought and the least suffering; we agree that all the reparations which have already become our own and which will continue to stand until death may be used, according to the will of the Blessed Virgin, for the conversion of sinners or for the release of the souls of Purgatory. Is this not a way of converting sinners without fear of falling into vanity?
On the basis of St. Montfort's reflections, it is easy to come to the following conclusion: Mary was called the Mother of Mercy not only because the fruit of her womb was the Merciful God himself, but also because she constantly generates mercy in the hearts of her children. Devotion to the Immaculate, however, is the perfect fulfillment of all the works of mercy for the soul, especially the two – consolation of the afflicted and persevering prayer for the living and the dead. The Rosary is precisely the instrument that enables our Lady to pray with us for others, as the Apostle did: " we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and powerfully bring to fulfillment every good purpose and every effort of faith " (2 Thess 1:11). The submission of Christians to the guidance of the Immaculate, therefore, is not confined to individual piety: there is no "I" and "me" in it, but always "we" and "us". If, according to the Gospel, the faith of some has obtained salvation for someone else (see Mt 8:8-13; Mk 2: 5; Lk 11: 5-13; Jn 4:49-50), this applies all the more to the power of the intercession of the Virgin Mary.
As Saint Montfort assures us, the Rosary and other forms of Marian devotion open to the needs of others, save us from the depths of sin or sorrow, restore our fullness of life (cf. 1 Jn 5:16), shorten the passions of Purgatory... To put it more clearly: they educate to a merciful attitude towards others, enabling Christians to participate in the mercy of the Virgin, who draws fully from God's mercy. This conclusion also emerges from the famous work on the Praise of Mary (VI, 2) of St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori. In many places it can be read that the true worshippers of the Theotokos even have the duty to give the unhappy and lost into her hands. Of course, there are frequent situations when the other person is not ready to receive light, healing or release, and even – resists grace.
Then Mary appears as the "Mother of good counsel", full of salutary recommendations for both the interceding and the needy to save. Henceforth, the conversion of one's neighbor does not depend solely on man's prudence, but on God's wisdom. Providence will never break the human will, but knowing the secrets of hearts (cf. 1 Cor 4:5) and speaking directly to the human interior, which is known to him as the bridegroom is (cf. Hos 2:16), he uses Mary as his instrument of gentle but powerful persuasion. Thanks to perfect union with the omniscient God, the Immaculate can always find in the soul of a lost man even a small gap through which she can let in a ray of light, and thus convince him of the Truth, so that in time he/she will give himself/herself into the hands of the God of peace, allow himself/herself to be transformed, healed and freed... Therefore, trust in Mary's intercession is at the same time faith in mercy more effective than all darkness.
As St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori affirmed, when Christians ask Our Lady to protect them and another person, she immediately "appears like a dawn, beautiful as the moon, brighter as the sun", but also "menacing as armed troops" (Song 6:10). This means that she is gentle and tender with the Christians devoted to her, wetting their wounds with "oil and wine" (Lk 10:34), but she deals with the enemy who torments them with all severity. In fact, the spiritual life often appears as a struggle, especially when it comes to the desire to save others who are in darkness. Mary then becomes the stronghold and tower of David (cf. Song 4:4), stimulating a change of heart for the person for whom prayers are offered, while at the same time protecting from doubt the one who intercedes for. In fact, caring love has the face of both obedient and faithful Ruth, as well as the valiant Judith or the Canaanite woman, who persistently asked for the healing of her daughter (cf. Mt 15:21-28).
Mary, Mother of Mercy pray for us.
Until Tomorrow
fr. george