NOVENA IN HONOR OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION By St. Maximilian Kolbe - Day 2

Opening prayer to the Immaculata
V. How fair you are, 0 Mary!
R. How fair you are, 0 Mary!
V. The original stain is not in you.
R. The original stain is not in you.
V. You are the boast of Jerusalem,
R. You are the joy of Israel.
V. You are the pride of our people.
R. You are the advocate of sinners.
V. 0 Mary!
R. 0 Mary!
V. You are the wisest of virgins.
R. You are the kindest of mothers.
V. Pray for us.
R. Intercede for us with our Lord Jesus Christ.
V. Holy Virgin, you were spotless from the very moment of your conception.
R. Because you bore his Son, pray to the Father for us.


Through the spotless conception of the Virgin, 0 God, you made ready a dwelling place worthy of your Son. In anticipation of your Son's death you preserved her from every stain. Please purify us by her intercession, so that we might find our way to you. We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Day 2: The Immaculata as Spouse of the Holy Spirit
Reading: United to the Holy Spirit as his Spouse, the Immaculata is one with God in an incomparably more perfect way than can be predicated of any other creature. What sort of union is this? It is above all an interior union, a union of her essence with the "essence" of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit dwells in her, lives in her. This was true from the first instant of her existence. It was always true; it will always be true. In what does this life of the Spirit in Mary consist? He himself is uncreated Love in her; the Love of the Father and of the Son, the Love by which God loves himself, the very love of the most Holy Trinity. He is a fruitful love, a "Conception." Among creatures made in God's image the union brought about by married love is the most intimate of all (cf. Mt 19:6). In a much more precise, more interior, more essential manner, the Holy Spirit lives in the soul of the Immaculata, in the depths of her very being. He makes her fruitful, from the very first instant of her existence, all during her life, and for all eternity ("Sketches for a book," 17 February 1941.

Meditation: To grow in daily awareness of the Holy Spirit's presence within us is a constant challenge that God gives to each and all of us. May the Immaculata's perfect life in the Holy Spirit cause a sharpening of our own attentiveness to his presence at the core of our inner selves.

Novena Prayer to the Immaculata
I greet you, ever-blessed Virgin, Mother of God throne of grace, miracle of almighty power! I greet you, sanctuary of the most Holy Trinity and Queen of the universe, Mother of mercy and refuge of sinners! Most loving Mother, attracted by your beauty and sweetness and by your tender compassion, I confidently turn to you, and beg of you to obtain for me of your dear Son the favor I request in this novena (here mention you request).
Obtain for me also, Queen of Heaven, the most lively contrition for my many sins and the grace to imitate closely those virtues which you practiced so faithfully especially humility, purity, and obedience. Above all I beg you to be my mother and protectress, to receive me into the number of your devoted children, and to guide me from your high throne of glory. Do not reject my petitions, Mother of mercy! Have pity on me, and do no abandon me during life or at the moment of my death.

Daughter of the Eternal Father, Mother of the Eternal Son, Spouse of the Holy Spirit, temple of the adorable Trinity, pray for me. Immaculate and tender Heart of Mary, refuge of the needy and hope of sinners, filled with the most lively respect, love, and gratitude, I devote myself forever to your service, and I offer you my heart with all that I am and all that belongs to me. Accept this offering, sweet Queen of Heaven and earth, and obtain for me of your dear Son, Jesus Christ, the favors I ask through your intercession in this novena. Obtain for me also a tender, generous, constant love of God, perfect submission to his adorable will, the true spirit of a Christian, and the grace of final perseverance.
R. Amen.

Closing Prayer of Identification with the Immaculata
O Immaculate Conception, Mary, my Mother, live in me, act in me, speak in and through me. Think your thoughts in my mind, love through my heart. Give me your own dispositions and feelings. Teach, lead and guide me to Jesus. Correct, enlighten and expand my entire personality and life. Replace me with yourself. Incline me to constant adoration and thanksgiving; pray in and through me. Let me live in you and keep me in this union always.
R. Amen.

NOVENA IN HONOR OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION By St. Maximilian Kolbe - Day 1

Opening prayer to the Immaculata
V. How fair you are, 0 Mary!
R. How fair you are, 0 Mary!
V. The original stain is not in you.
R. The original stain is not in you.
V. You are the boast of Jerusalem,
R. You are the joy of Israel.
V. You are the pride of our people.
R. You are the advocate of sinners.
V. 0 Mary!
R. 0 Mary!
V. You are the wisest of virgins.
R. You are the kindest of mothers.
V. Pray for us.
R. Intercede for us with our Lord Jesus Christ.
V. Holy Virgin, you were spotless from the very moment of your conception.
R. Because you bore his Son, pray to the Father for us.

Through the spotless conception of the Virgin, 0 God, you made ready a dwelling place worthy of your Son. In anticipation of your Son's death you preserved her from every stain. Please purify us by her intercession, so that we might find our way to you. We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Day 1: The Immaculata's Relationship to the Trinity

Reading: From all eternity the Father begets the Son, and the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and Son. This life of the most Holy Trinity is re-echoed in numberless and various ways by the creatures that issue from God's hands. . . . Every act of love in God comes forth from the Father through the Son and the Holy Spirit. God creates, maintains in existence, gives life and growth in the natural as well as in the supernatural order. In his love God supports in existence all his innumerable limited created resemblances; and the love-reaction that is provoked in the creature can return to the Father only through the Holy Spirit and the Son.. . Among creatures, the summit of this love that goes back to God is the Immaculata, the one being totally with-out any stain of sin, all beautiful, all divine. At no time did her will ever deviate from God's will. With all its strength, her will was always at one with his. In her there came about the marvelous union of God with creation (Kolbe's "Sketches for a Book," 1940).

Meditation: Cultivating a personal relationship with each member of the Holy Trinity is an obligation for every individual. May the Immaculata's love-response to each of the Three Divine Persons serve as a model and stimulus for each of us.


Novena Prayer to the Immaculata
I greet you, ever-blessed Virgin, Mother of God throne of grace, miracle of almighty power! I greet you, sanctuary of the most Holy Trinity and Queen of the universe, Mother of mercy and refuge of sinners! Most loving Mother, attracted by your beauty and sweetness and by your tender compassion, I confidently turn to you, and beg of you to obtain for me of your dear Son the favor I request in this novena (here mention you request).
Obtain for me also, Queen of Heaven, the most lively contrition for my many sins and the grace to imitate closely those virtues which you practiced so faithfully especially humility, purity, and obedience. Above all I beg you to be my mother and protectress, to receive me into the number of your devoted children, and to guide me from your high throne of glory. Do not reject my petitions, Mother of mercy! Have pity on me, and do no abandon me during life or at the moment of my death.

Daughter of the Eternal Father, Mother of the Eternal Son, Spouse of the Holy Spirit, temple of the adorable Trinity, pray for me. Immaculate and tender Heart of Mary, refuge of the needy and hope of sinners, filled with the most lively respect, love, and gratitude, I devote myself forever to your service, and I offer you my heart with all that I am and all that belongs to me. Accept this offering, sweet Queen of Heaven and earth, and obtain for me of your dear Son, Jesus Christ, the favors I ask through your intercession in this novena. Obtain for me also a tender, generous, constant love of God, perfect submission to his adorable will, the true spirit of a Christian, and the grace of final perseverance.
R. Amen.

Closing Prayer of Identification with the Immaculata
O Immaculate Conception, Mary, my Mother, live in me, act in me, speak in and through me. Think your thoughts in my mind, love through my heart. Give me your own dispositions and feelings. Teach, lead and guide me to Jesus. Correct, enlighten and expand my entire personality and life. Replace me with yourself. Incline me to constant adoration and thanksgiving; pray in and through me. Let me live in you and keep me in this union always.
R. Amen.
 

MARY WAS FREE FROM ALL PERSONAL SIN- Blessed John Paul II on the Immaculate Conception of Mary

The special privilege by which Mary persevered in holiness throughout her earthly life invites us to contemplate her sublime growth in faith and love her entire life", the Pope said.
1. The definition of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception directly concerns only the first moment of Mary's existence, from when she was "preserved free from every stain of original sin". The papal Magisterium thus wished to define only the truth which had been the subject of controversy down the centuries: her preservation from original sin, and was not concerned with defining the lasting holiness of the Lord's Virgin Mother.

This truth already belongs to the common awareness of the Christian people. It testifies that Mary, free from original sin, was also preserved from all actual sin and that this initial holiness was granted to her in order to fill her entire life.

No sin or imperfection can be attributed to Mary
2. The Church has constantly regarded Mary as holy and free from all sin or moral imperfection. The Council of Trent expresses this conviction, affirming that no one "can avoid all sins, even venial sins, throughout his life, unless he is given a special privilege, as the Church holds with regard to the Blessed Virgin" (DS 1573). Even the Christian transformed and renewed by grace is not spared the possibility of sinning. Grace does not preserve him from all sin throughout his whole fife, unless, as the Council of Trent asserts, a special privilege guarantees this immunity from sin. And this is what happened with Mary.

The Council of Trent did not wish to define this privilege but stated that the Church vigorously affirms it: "Tenet", that is, she firmly holds it. This is a decision which, far from relegating this truth to pious belief or devotional opinion, confirms its nature as a solid doctrine, quite present in the faith of the People of God. Moreover, this conviction is based on the grace attributed to Mary by the angel at the time of the Annuncation. Calling her "full of grace", kecharitoméne, the angel acknowledged her as the woman endowed with a lasting perfection and a fullness of sanctity, without shadow of sin or of moral or spiritual imperfection.

3. Several early Fathers of the Church, who were not yet convinced of her perfect holiness, attributed imperfections or moral defects to Mary. Some recent authors have taken the same position. However, the Gospel texts cited to justify these opinions provide no basis at all for attributing a sin or even a moral imperfection to the Mother of the Redeemer.

Jesus's reply to his mother at the age of 12: "How is it that you sought me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" (Lk 2:49), has sometimes been interpreted as a veiled rebuke. A careful reading of the episode, however, shows that Jesus did not rebuke his mother and Joseph for seeking him, since they were responsible for looking after him.

Coming upon Jesus after an anxious search, Mary asked him only the "why" of his behaviour: "Son, why have you treated us so?" (Lk 2:48). And Jesus answers with another "why", refraining from any rebuke and referring to the mystery of his divine sonship.

Nor can the words he spoke at Cana: "O woman, what have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come" (Jn 2: 4), be interpreted as a rebuke. Seeing the likely inconvenience which the lack of wine would have caused the bride and groom, Mary speaks to Jesus with simplicity, entrusting the problem to him. Though aware of being the Messiah bound to obey the Father's will alone, he answers the Mother's implicit request. He responds above all to the Virgin's faith and thus performs the first of his miracles, thereby manifesting his glory.

4. Later some gave a negative interpretation to the statement Jesus made when, at the beginning of his public life, Mary and his relatives asked to see him. Relating to us Jesus' reply to the one who said to him: "Your mother and your brethren are standing outside, desiring to see you", the Evangelist Luke offers us the interpretive key to the account, which must be understood on the basis of Mary's inner inclinations, which were quite different from those of his "brethren" (cf. Jn 7:5). Jesus replied: "My mother and my brethren are those who hear the word of God and do it" (Lk 8:21). In the Annunciation account, Luke in fact showed how Mary was the model of listening to the word of God and of generous docility. Interpreted in this perspective, the episode offers great praise of Mary, who perfectly fulfilled the divine plan in her own life. Although Jesus' words are opposed to the brethren's attempt, they exalt Mary's fidelity to the will of God and the greatness of her motherhood, which she lived not only physically but also spiritually.

In expressing this indirect praise, Jesus uses a particular method: he stresses the nobility of Mary's conduct in the light of more general statements, and shows more clearly the Virgin's solidarity with and closeness to humanity on the difficult way of holiness.

Lastly, the words: "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!" (Lk 11:28), spoken by Jesus in reply to the woman who had called his Mother blessed, far from putting into doubt Mary's personal perfection, bring out her faithful fulfilment of the word of God: so has the Church understood them, putting this sentence into the liturgical celebrations in Mary's honour. The Gospel text actually suggests that he made this statement to reveal that the highest reason for his Mother's blessedness lies precisely in her intimate union with God and her perfect submission to the divine word.

Mary belonged completely to the Lord
5. The special privilege granted by God to her who is "all holy" leads us to admire the marvels accomplished by grace in her life. It also reminds us that Mary belonged always and completely to the Lord, and that no imperfection harmed her perfect harmony with God.

Her earthly life was therefore marked by a constant, sublime growth in faith, hope and charity. For believers, Mary is thus the radiant sign of divine Mercy and the sure guide to the loftiest heights of holiness and Gospel perfection.

The doctrine of Mary's perfect holiness was the subject of the Holy Father's catechesis at the General Audience of Wednesday, 19 June. This truth asserts "that Mary, free from original sin, was also preserved from all actual sin and that this initial holiness was granted to her in order to fill

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION DEFINED BY PIUS IX- Blessed John Paul II on the Immaculate Conception of Mary

According to this dogmatic definition, it has been revealed by God that Mary was preserved from original sin from the moment of her conception

At the General Audience of Wednesday, 12 June, the Holy Father continued his catechesis on the Immaculate Conception, this time discussing the dogmatic definition of the doctrine by Pope Pius IX. "We declare, pronounce and define that the doctrine which asserts that the Blessed Virgin Mary, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God, and in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, Saviour of the human race, was preserved free from every stain of original sin is a doctrine revealed by God and, for this reason, must be firmly and constantly believed by all the faithful", the Pope said in his Bull

 1. Down the centuries, the conviction that Mary was preserved from every stain of sin from her conception, so that she is to be called all holy, gradually gained ground in the liturgy and theology. At the start of the 19th century, this development led to a petition drive for a dogmatic definition of the privilege of the Immaculate Conception.

Around the middle of the century, with the intention of accepting this request, Pope Pius IX, after consulting the theologians, questioned the Bishops about the opportuneness and the possibility of such a definition, convoking as it were a "council in writing". The result was significant: the vast majority of the 604 Bishops gave a positive response to the question.

After such an extensive consultation, which emphasized my venerable Predecessor's concern to express the Church's faith in the definition of the dogma, he set about preparing the document with equal care.

Blessed Virgin is free from every stain of sin

The special commission of theologians set up by Pius IX to determine the revealed doctrine assigned the essential role to ecclesial practice. And this criterion influenced the formulation of the dogma, which preferred expressions taken from the Church's lived experience, from the faith and worship of the Christian people, to scholastic definitions.

Finally in 1854, with the Bull Ineffabilis, Pius IX solemnly proclaimed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception: "... We declare, pronounce and define that the doctrine which asserts that the Blessed Virgin Mary, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God, and in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, Saviour of the human race, was preserved free from every stain of original sin is a doctrine revealed by God and, for this reason, must be firmly and constantly believed by all the faithful" (DS 2803).

2. The proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception expresses the essential datum of faith. Pope Alexander VII, in the Bull Sollicitudo of 1661, spoke of the preservation of Mary's soul "in its creation and infusion into the body" (DS 2017). Pius IX's definition, however, prescinds from all explanations about how the soul is infused into the body and attributes to the person of Mary, at the first moment of her conception, the fact of her being preserved from every stain of original sin.

The freedom "from every stain of original sin" entails as a positive consequence the total freedom from all sin as well as the proclamation of Mary's perfect holiness, a doctrine to which the dogmatic definition makes a fundamental contribution. In fact, the negative formulation of the Marian privilege, which resulted from the earlier controversies about original sin that arose in the West, must always be complemented by the positive expression of Mary's holiness more explicitly stressed in the Eastern tradition.

Pius IX's definition refers only to the freedom from original sin and does not explicitly include the freedom from concupiscence. Nevertheless, Mary's complete preservation from every stain of sin also has as a consequence her freedom from concupiscence, a disordered tendency which, according to the Council of Trent, comes from sin and inclines to sin (DS 1515).

3. Granted "by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God", this preservation from original sin is an absolutely gratuitous divine favour, which Mary received at the first moment of her existence.
The dogmatic definition does not say that this singular privilege is unique, but lets that be intuited. The affirmation of this uniqueness, however, is explicitly stated in the Encyclical Fulgens corona of 1953, where Pope Pius XII speaks of "the very singular privilege which was never granted to another person" (AAS 45 [1953], 580), thus excluding the possibility, maintained by some but without foundation, of attributing this privilege also to St Joseph.

The Virgin Mother received the singular grace of being immaculately conceived "in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, Saviour of the human race", that is, of his universal redeeming action.

The text of the dogmatic definition does not expressly declare that Mary was redeemed, but the same Bull Ineffabilis states elsewhere that "she was redeemed in the most sublime way". This is the extraordinary truth: Christ was the redeemer of his Mother and carried out his redemptive action in her "in the most perfect way" (Fulgens corona, AAS 45 [1953], 581), from the first moment of her existence. The Second Vatican Council proclaimed that the Church "admires and exalts in Mary the most excellent fruit of the Redemption" (Sacrosanctum Concilium, n. 103).

Solemn definition serves the faith of God's People

4. This solemnly proclaimed doctrine is expressly termed a "doctrine revealed by God". Pope Pius IX adds that it must be "firmly and constantly believed by all the faithful". Consequently, whoever does not make this doctrine his own, or maintains an opinion contrary to it, "is shipwrecked in faith" and "separates himself from Catholic unity".

In proclaiming the truth of this dogma of the Immaculate Conception, my venerable Predecessor was conscious of exercising his power of infallible teaching as the universal Pastor of the Church, which several years later would be solemnly defined at the First Vatican Council. Thus he put his infallible Magisterium into action as a service to the faith of God's People; and it is significant that he did so by defining Mary's privilege.

CHRIST’S GRACE PRESERVED MARY FROM SIN - Blessed John Paul II on the Immaculate Conception of Mary

In proclaiming Mary’s Immaculate Conception, the Church shows that Christ not only frees us from sin but also preserves us from its power

1. The doctrine of Mary's perfect holiness from the first moment of her conception met with a certain resistance in the West, on account of St Paul's statements about original sin and about the universality of sin, which were taken up again and explained with particular force by St Augustine.

This great doctor of the Church certainly realized that Mary's status as Mother of a completely holy Son required total purity and an extraordinary holiness. This is why, in the controversy with Pelagius, he stressed that Mary's holiness is an exceptional gift of grace and stated in this regard: "We make an exception for the Blessed Virgin Mary, whom, for the sake of the Lord's honour, I would in no way like to be mentioned in connection with sin. Do we not know why she was granted a greater grace in view of the complete victory over sin, she who merited to conceive and give birth to him who obviously had no sin?" (De natura et gratia, n. 42).

Augustine stressed Mary's perfect holiness and the absence of any personal sin in her because of her lofty dignity as Mother of the Lord. Nonetheless, he could not understand how the affirmation of a total absence of sin at the time of conception could be reconciled with the doctrine of the universality of original sin and the need of redemption for all Adam's descendants. This conclusion was later reached by an ever more penetrating understanding of the Church's faith, explaining how Mary had benefited from Christ's redemptive grace from her conception.

Duns Scotus overcame the objections to the Immaculate Conception

2. In the ninth century the feast of Mary's Conception was also introduced in the West, first in southern Italy, in Naples, and then in England.

Around 1128, a monk of Canterbury, Eadmer, writing the first treatise on the Immaculate Conception, complained that its respective liturgical celebration, especially pleasing to those "in whom a pure simplicity and most humble devotion to God was found" (Tract. de conc. B.M.V., 1-2), had been set aside or suppressed. Wishing to promote the restoration of this feast, the devout monk rejected St Augustine's objections to the privilege of the Immaculate Conception, based on the doctrine of the transmission of original sin in human generation. He fittingly employed the image of a chestnut "which is conceived, nourished and formed beneath its bur and yet is protected from being pricked by it" (Tract. 10). Even beneath the bur of an act of generation which in itself must transmit original sin, Eadmer argues, Mary was preserved from every stain by the explicit will of God who "was obviously able to do this and wanted to do so. Thus if he willed it, he did it" (ibid.).

Despite Eadmer, the great theologians of the 13th century made St Augustine's difficulties their own, advancing this argument: the Redemption accomplished by Christ would not be universal if the condition of sin were not common to all human beings. And if Mary had not contracted original sin, she could not I have been redeemed. Redemption in fact consists in freeing those who are in the state of sin.

3. Duns Scotus, following several 12th-century theologians, found the key to overcoming these objections to the doctrine of Mary's Immaculate Conception. He held that Christ, the perfect mediator, exercised the highest act of mediation precisely in Mary, by preserving her from original sin.

Thus he introduced into theology the concept of Redemption by preservation, according to which Mary was redeemed in an even more wonderful way: not by being freed from sin, but by being preserved from sin.
The insight of Bl. Duns Scotus, who later become known as "the Doctor of the Immaculata", was well received by theologians, especially Franciscans, from the very beginning of the 14th century. After Sixtus IV's approval in 1477 of the Mass of the Conception, this doctrine was increasingly accepted in the theological schools.

This providential development of liturgy and doctrine prepared for the definition of the Marian privilege by the Supreme Magisterium The latter only occurred many centuries later, and was spurred by a fundamental insight of faith: the Mother of Christ had to be perfectly holy from the very beginning of her life.

4. No one fails to see how the affirmation of the exceptional privilege granted to Mary stresses that Christ's redeeming action does not only free us from sin, but also preserves us from it. This dimension of preservation, which in Mary is total, is present in the redemptive intervention by which Christ, in freeing man from sin, also gives him the grace and strength to conquer its influence in his life.

The dogma sheds light on the effects of grace

In this way the dogma of Mary's Immaculate Conception does not obscure but rather helps wonderfully to shed light on the effects in human nature of Christ's redemptive grace.

Christians look to Mary, the first to be redeemed by Christ and who had the privilege of not being subjected, even for an instant, to the power of evil and sin, as the perfect model and icon of that holiness (cf. Lumen gentium, n. 65) which they are called to attain in their life with the help of the Lord's grace.

The explanation of how Mary's Immaculate Conception came to be accepted and explained by theologians was the topic of the Holy Father's catechesis at the General Audience of Wednesday, 5 June. "Christians look to Mary, the first to be redeemed by Christ and who had the privilege of not being subjected, even for an instant, to the power of evil and sin, as the perfect model and icon of that holiness which they are called to attain", the Pope said. Here is a translation of his catechesis, which was the 22nd in the series on the Blessed Virgin and was given in Italian.

MARY’S ENMITY TOWARDS SATAN WAS ABSOLUTE - Blessed John Paul II on the Immaculate Conception of Mary

Mary’s faithful co-operation in the saving work of her Son made it fitting that she should be completely free from sin and share fully in Christ’s grace

The scriptural texts on which the dogma of the Immaculate Conception is based were the subject of the Holy Father's catechesis at the General Audience of Wednesday, 29 May. The images in these texts, "although not directly indicating the privilege of the Immaculate Conception, can be interpreted as an expression of the Father's loving care which surrounds Mary with the grace of Christ and the splendour of the Spirit", the Pope said.

1. In the doctrinal reflection of the Eastern Church, the expression "full of grace", as we saw in the preceding catecheses, has been interpreted since the sixth century as a unique holiness which Mary enjoys throughout her existence. She thus initiates the new creation.

Along with Luke's account of the Annunciation, Tradition and the Magisterium have seen in the so-called Protoevangelium (Gn 3:15) a scriptural source for the truth of Mary's Immaculate Conception. On the basis of the ancient Latin version: "She will crush your head", this text inspired many depictions of the Immaculata crushing the serpent under her feet.

On an earlier occasion we recalled that this version does not agree with the Hebrew text, in which it is not the woman but her offspring, her descendant, who will bruise the serpent’s head. This text then does not attribute the victory over Satan to Mary but to her Son. Nevertheless, since the biblical concept establishes a profound solidarity between the parent and the offspring, the depiction of the Immaculata crushing the serpent, not by her own power but through the grace of her Son, is consistent with the original meaning of the passage.

Mary was granted power to resist the devil

2. The same biblical text also proclaims the enmity between the woman and her offspring on the one hand, and the serpent and his offspring on the other. This is a hostility expressly established by God, which has a unique importance, if we consider the problem of the Virgin's personal holiness. In order to be the irreconcilable enemy of the serpent and his offspring, Mary had to be free from all power of sin, and to be so from the first moment of her existence.

In this regard, the Encyclical Fulgens corona, published by Pope Pius XII in 1953 to commemorate the centenary of the definition of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, reasons thus: "If at a given moment the Blessed Virgin Mary had been left without divine grace, because she was defiled at her conception by the hereditary stain of sin, between her and the serpent there would no longer have been—at least during this period of time, however brief—that eternal enmity spoken of in the earliest tradition up to the definition of the Immaculate Conception, but rather a certain enslavement" (AAS 45 [1953], 579).

The absolute hostility put between the woman and the devil thus demands in Mary the Immaculate Conception, that is, a total absence of sin, from the very beginning of her life. The Son of Mary won the definitive victory over Satan and enabled his Mother to receive its benefits in advance by preserving her from sin. As a result, the Son granted her the power to resist the devil, thus achieving in the mystery of the Immaculate Conception the most notable effect of his redeeming work.

3. By drawing our attention to Mary's special holiness and her complete removal from Satan's influence, the title "full of grace" and the Protoevangelium enable us to perceive, in the unique privilege the Lord granted to Mary, the beginning of a new order which is the result of friendship with God and which, as a consequence, entails a profound enmity between the serpent and men.

The 12th chapter of Revelation, which speaks of the "woman clothed with the sun" (12:1), is often cited too as biblical testimony on behalf of the Immaculate Conception. Current exegesis agrees in seeing in this woman the Community of God's People, giving birth in pain to the risen Messiah. Along with the collective interpretation, however, the text suggests an individual one in the statement: She brought forth a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron" (12:5). With this reference to child-birth, it is acknowledged that the woman clothed with the sun is in a certain sense identified with Mary, the woman who gave birth to the messiah. The woman-community is actually described with the features of the woman-Mother of Jesus.

Identified by her motherhood, the woman was with child and she cried out in her pangs of birth, in anguish for her delivery" (12:2). This note refers to the Mother of Jesus at the Cross (cf. Jn 19:25), where she shares in anguish for the delivery of the community of disciples with a soul pierced by the sword (cf. Lk 2:35). Despite her sufferings, she is "clothed with the sun—that is, she reflects the divine splendour—and appears as a "great sign" of God's spousal relationship with his people.

These images, although not directly indicating the privilege of the Immaculate Conception, can be interpreted as an expression of the Father's loving care which surrounds Mary with the grace of Christ and the splendour of the Spirit.

Finally, Revelation invites us more particularly to recognize the ecclesial dimension of Mary's personality: the woman clothed with the sun represents the Church's holiness, which is fully realized in the Holy Virgin by virtue of a singular grace.

4. These scriptural assertions, to which Tradition and the Magisterium refer in order to ground the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, would seem to contradict the biblical texts which affirm the universality of sin.

The Old Testament speaks of a sinful contamination which affects everyone "born of woman" (Ps 50 [51]:7; Jb 14:2). In the New Testament, Paul states that, as a result of Adam's sin, "all men sinned", and that "one man's trespass led to condemnation for all men" (Rom 5:12, 18). Therefore, as the Catechism of the Catholic Church recalls, original sin "affected human nature", which is thus found "in a fallen state". Sin is therefore transmitted "by propagation to all mankind, that is, by the transmission of a human nature deprived of original holiness and justice" (n. 404). Paul however admits an exception to this universal law: Christ, he "who knew no sin" (2 Cor 5:21), and was thus able, "where sin increased" (Rom 5:20), to make grace abound all the more.

St Irenaeus presents Mary as the new Eve

These assertions do not necessarily lead to the conclusion that Mary was involved in sinful humanity. The parallel, established by Paul between Adam and Christ, is completed by that between Eve and Mary: the role of woman, important in the drama of sin, is equally so in the Redemption of mankind.

St Irenaeus presents Mary as the new Eve, who by her faith and obedience compensated for the disbelief and disobedience of Eve. Such a role in the economy of salvation requires the absence of sin. It was fitting that like Christ, the new Adam, Mary too, the new Eve did not know sin and was thus capable of co-operating in the Redemption.

Sin, which washes over humanity like a torrent, halts before the Redeemer and his faithful Collaborator. With a substantial difference: Christ is all holy by virtue of the grace that in his humanity derives from the divine person; Mary is all holy by virtue of the grace received by the merits of the Saviour.

MARY WAS CONCEIVED WITHOUT ORIGINAL SIN - Blessed John Paul II on the Immaculate Conception of Mary

MARY WAS CONCEIVED WITHOUT ORIGINAL SIN

The Church’s reflection has made explicit the profound meaning of the words ‘full of grace’ spoken by the angel Gabriel to the Virgin of Nazareth

The perfection of holiness that Mary enjoys from the first moment of her conception was the subject of the Holy Father's catechesis at the General Audience of Wednesday, 15 May. The Pope went on to say that the recognition of this perfect holiness "required a long process of doctrinal reflection, which finally led to the solemn proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception". 

1. Mary, "full of grace", has been recognized by the Church as "all holy and free from every stain of sin", "enriched from the first instant of her conception with the splendour of an entirely unique holiness" (Lumen gentium, n. 56).

This recognition required a long process of doctrinal reflection, which finally led to the solemn proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception.

The title "made full of grace", addressed by the angel to Mary at the Annunciation, refers to the exceptional divine favour shown to the young woman of Nazareth in view of the motherhood which was announced, but it indicates more directly the effect of divine grace in Mary; Mary was inwardly and permanently imbued with grace and thus sanctified. The title kecharitoméne has a very rich meaning and the Holy Spirit has never ceased deepening the Church's understanding of it.

Sanctifying grace made Mary a new creation
 

2. In the preceding catechesis I pointed out that in the angel's greeting the expression "full of grace" serves almost as a name: it is Mary's name in the eyes of God. In Semitic usage, a name expresses the reality of the persons and things to which it refers. As a result, the title "full of grace" shows the deepest dimension of the young woman of Nazareth's personality: fashioned by grace and the object of divine favour to the point that she can be defined by this special predilection.

The Council recalls that the Church Fathers alluded to this truth when they called Mary the "all-holy one", affirming at the same time that she was "fashioned as it were by the Holy Spirit and formed as a new creature" (Lumen gentium, n. 56).

Grace, understood in the sense of "sanctifying grace" which produces personal holiness, brought about the new creation in Mary, making her fully conformed to God's plan.

3. Doctrinal reflection could thus attribute to Mary a perfection of holiness that, in order to be complete, had necessarily to include the beginning of her life.

Bishop Theoteknos of Livias in Palestine, who lived between 550 and 650, seems to have moved in the direction of this original purity. In presenting Mary as "holy and all-fair", "pure and stainless", he referred to her birth in these words: "She is born like the cherubim, she who is of a pure, immaculate clay" (Panegyric for the feast of the Assumption, 5-6).

This last expression, recalling the creation of the first man, fashioned of a clay not stained by sin, attributes the same characteristics to Mary's birth: the Virgin's origin was also "pure and immaculate", that is, without any sin. The comparison with the cherubim also emphasizes the outstanding holiness that characterized Mary's life from the very beginning of her existence.

Theoteknos' assertion marks a significant stage in the theological reflection on the mystery of the Lord's Mother. The Greek and Eastern Fathers had acknowledged a purification brought about by grace in Mary, either before the Incarnation (St Gregory Nazianzen, Oratio 38, 16) or at the very moment of the Incarnation (St Ephrem, Severian of Gabala, James of Sarug). Theoteknos of Livias seems to have required of Mary an absolute purity from the beginning of her life. Indeed, she who was destined to become the Saviour's Mother had to have had a perfectly holy, completely stainless origin.

4. In the eighth century, Andrew of Crete is the first theologian to see a new creation in Mary's birth. This is how he reasons: "Today humanity, in all the radiance of her immaculate nobility, receives its ancient beauty. The shame of sin had darkened the splendour and attraction of human nature; but when the Mother of the Fair One par excellence is born, this nature regains in her person its ancient privileges and is fashioned according to a perfect model truly worthy of God.... The reform of our nature begins today and the aged world, subjected to a wholly divine transformation, receives the first fruits of the second creation" (Serm. I on the Birth of Mary).

Then, taking up again the image of the primordial clay, he states: "The Virgin's body is ground which God has tilled, the first fruits of Adam's soil divinized by Christ, the image truly like the former beauty, the clay kneaded by the divine Artist" (Serm. I on the Dormition of Mary).

Mary's original holiness is beginning of Redemption
 

Mary's pure and immaculate conception is thus seen as the beginning of the new creation. It is a question of a personal privilege granted to the woman chosen to be Christ's Mother, who ushers in the time of abundant grace willed by God for all humanity.

This doctrine, taken up again in the eighth century by St Germanus of Constantinople and St John Damascene, sheds light on the value of Mary's original holiness, presented as the beginning of the world's Redemption.

In this way the Church's tradition assimilates and makes explicit the authentic meaning of the title "full of grace" given by the angel to the Blessed Virgin. Mary is full of sanctifying grace and is so from the first moment of her existence. This grace, according to the Letter to the Ephesians (1:6), is bestowed in Christ on all believers. Mary's original holiness represents the unsurpassable model of the gift and the distribution of Christ's grace in the world.

Blessed John Paul II on the Immaculate Conception of Mary

BLESSED VIRGIN WAS FILLED WITH GOD’S GRACE

The Evangelist Luke makes it clear that Mary’s being ‘full of grace’ is not due to any human merit but is wholly the result of God’s wonderful work





1. In the account of the Annunciation, the first word of the Angel's greeting, "Rejoice", is an invitation to joy which recalls the oracles of the Old Testament addressed to the "daughter of Zion". We pointed this out in our previous catecheses and also explained the reasons for this invitation: God's presence among his people, the coming of the messianic king and maternal fruitfulness. These reasons are fulfilled in Mary.

The Angel Gabriel, addressing the Virgin of Nazareth after the greeting, chaire, "rejoice", calls her kecharitoméne, "full of grace". The words of the Greek text, chaire and kecharitoméne, are deeply interconnected: Mary is invited to rejoice primarily because God loves her and has filled her with grace in view of her divine motherhood!

The Church's faith and the experience of the saints teach us that grace is a source of joy, and that true joy comes from God. In Mary, as in Christians, the divine gift produces deep joy.

2. kecharitoméne: this term addressed to Mary seems to be the proper way to describe the woman destined to become the mother of Jesus. Lumen gentium appropriately recalls this when it affirms: "The Virgin of Nazareth is hailed by the heralding angel, by divine command, as 'full of grace'" (Lumen gentium, n. 56).
The fact that the heavenly messenger addresses her in this way enhances the value of the angelic greeting: it is a manifestation of God's mysterious saving plan in Mary's regard. As I wrote in the Encyclical Redemptoris Mater: "'The fullness of grace' indicates all the supernatural munificence from which Mary benefits by being chosen and destined to be the Mother of Christ" (n. 9).

God granted Mary the fullness of grace

"Full of grace" is the name Mary possesses in the eyes of God. Indeed, the angel, according to the Evangelist Luke's account, uses this expression even before he speaks the name "Mary", and thus emphasizes the predominant aspect which the Lord perceived in the Virgin of Nazareth's personality.
The expression "full of grace" is the translation of the Greek word kecharitoméne, which is a passive participle. Therefore to render more exactly the nuance of the Greek word one should not say merely "full of grace", but "made full of grace", or even "filled with grace", which would clearly indicate that this was a gift given by God to the Blessed Virgin. This term, in the form of a perfect participle, enhances the image of a perfect and lasting grace which implies fullness. The same verb, in the sense of "to bestow grace", is used in the Letter to the Ephesians to indicate the abundance of grace granted to us by the Father in his beloved Son (Eph 1:6), and which Mary receives as the first fruits of Redemption (cf. Redemptoris Mater, n. 10).
3. In the Virgin's case, God's action certainly seems surprising. Mary has no human claim to receiving the announcement of the Messiah's coming. She is not the high priest, official representative of the Hebrew religion, nor even a man, but a young woman without any influence in the society of her time. In addition, she is a native of Nazareth, a village which is never mentioned in the Old Testament. It must not have enjoyed a good reputation, as Nathanael's question, recorded in John's Gospel, makes clear: "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" (Jn 1:46).

The extraordinary and gratuitous nature of God's intervention becomes even clearer in comparison with Luke's text, which recounts what happened to Zechariah. The latter's priestly status is highlighted as well as his exemplary life, which make him and his wife Elizabeth models of Old Testament righteousness: they walked "blameless in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord" (Lk 1: 6).

But we are not informed of Mary's origins either: the expression "of the house of David" (Lk 1:27) in fact refers only to Joseph. No mention is made then of Mary's behaviour. With this literary choice, Luke stresses that everything in Mary derives from a sovereign grace. All that is granted to her is not due to any claim of merit, but only to God's free and gratuitous choice.

God's mercy reaches the highest degree in Mary

4. In so doing, the Evangelist does not of course intend to downplay the outstanding personal value of the Blessed Virgin. Rather, he wishes to present Mary as the pure fruit of God's goodwill: he has so taken possession of her as to make her, according to the title used by the Angel, "full of grace". The abundance of grace itself is the basis of Mary's hidden spiritual richness.

In the Old Testament, Yahweh expresses the superabundance of his love in many ways and on many occasions. At the dawn of the New Testament, the gratuitousness of God's mercy reaches the highest degree in Mary. In her, God's predilection, shown to the chosen people and in particular to the humble and the poor, reaches its culmination.

Nourished by the Word of the Lord and the experience of the saints, the Church urges believers to keep their gaze fixed on the Mother of the Redeemer and to consider themselves, like her, loved by God. She invites them to share Our Lady's humility and poverty, so that, after her example and through her intercession, they may persevere in the grace of God who sanctifies and transforms hearts.

Teaching of Blessed John Paul II on the Blessed Virgin Mary - Mary is the Virgin Mother of God

MARY IS THE VIRGIN MOTHER OF GOD From the very beginning, the Church has recognized the virginal motherhood of Mary, who conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit 1. In the Constitution Lumen gentium, the Council states that "joined to Christ the head and in communion with all his saints, the faithful must in the first place reverence the memory 'of the glorious ever Virgin Mary, Mother of our God and Lord Jesus Christ'" (n. 52). The conciliar Constitution uses these terms from the Roman Canon of the Mass, thereby stressing how faith in the divine motherhood of Mary has been present in Christian thought since the first centuries. In the newborn Church Mary is remembered with the title "Mother of Jesus". It is Luke himself who gives her this title in the Acts of the Apostles, a title that corresponds moreover to what is said in the Gospels: "Is this not ... the son of Mary?", the residents of Nazareth wonder according to the Evangelist Mark's account (6:3); "Isn't Mary known to be his mother?", is the question recorded by Matthew (13:55). The motherhood of Mary also concerns the Church 2. In the disciples' eyes, as they gathered after the Ascension, the title "Mother of Jesus" acquires its full meaning. For them, Mary is a person unique in her kind: she received the singular grace of giving birth to the Saviour of humanity; she lived for a long while at his side; and on Calvary she was called by the Crucified One to exercise a "new motherhood" in relation to the beloved disciple and, through him, to the whole Church. For these who believe in Jesus and follow him, "Mother of Jesus" is a title of honour and veneration, and will forever remain such in the faith and life of the Church. In a particular way, by this title Christians mean to say that one cannot refer to Jesus' origins without acknowledging the role of the woman who gave him birth in the Spirit according to his human nature. Her maternal role also involves the birth and growth of the Church. In recalling the place of Mary in Jesus' life, the faithful discover each day her efficacious presence in their own spiritual journey. 3. From the beginning, the Church has acknowledged the virginal motherhood of Mary. As the infancy Gospels enable us to grasp, the first Christian continuities themselves gathered together Mary's recollections about the mysterious circumstances of the Saviour's conception and birth. In particular, the Annunciation account responds to the disciples' desire to have the deepest knowledge of the events connected with the beginnings of the risen Christ's earthly life. In the last analysis, Mary is at the origin of the revelation about the mystery of the virginal conception by the work of the Holy Spirit. This truth, showing Jesus' divine origin, was immediately grasped by the first Christians for its important significance and included among the key affirmations of their faith. Son of Joseph according to the law, Jesus in fact, by an extraordinary intervention of the Holy Spirit, was in his humanity only the son of Mary, since he was born without the intervention of man. Mary's virginity thus acquires a unique value and casts new light on the birth of Jesus and on the mystery of his sonship, since the virginal generation is the sign that Jesus has God himself as his Father. Acknowledged and proclaimed by the faith of the Fathers, the virginal motherhood can never be separated from the identity of Jesus, true God and true man, as "born of the Virgin Mary", as we profess in the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed. Mary is the only Virgin who is also a Mother. The extraordinary co-presence of these two gifts in the person of the maiden of Nazareth has led Christians to call Mary simply "the Virgin", even when they celebrate her motherhood. The virginity of Mary thus initiates in the Christian community the spread of the virginal life embraced by all who are called to it by the Lord. This special vocation, which reaches its apex in Christ's example, represents immeasurable spiritual wealth for the Church in every age, which finds in Mary her inspiration and model 'Mother of God' was expression of popular piety 4 The assertion: "Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary" already implies in this event a transcendent mystery, which can find its most complete expression only in the truth of Jesus' divine sonship. The truth of Mary's divine motherhood is closely tied to this central statement of the Christian faith: she is indeed the Mother of the Incarnate Word, in whom is "God from God ... true God from me God". The title "Mother of God", already attested by Matthew in the equivalent expression "Mother of Emmanuel", God-with-us (cf. Mt 1.23), was explicitly attributed to Mary only after a reflection that embraced about two centuries. It is third-century Christians in Egypt who begin to invoke Mary as "Theotókos", Mother of God. With this title, which is broadly echoed in the devotion of the Christian people, Mary is seen in the true dimension of her motherhood: she is the Mother of God's Son, whom she virginally begot according to his human nature and raised him with her motherly love, thus contributing to the human growth of the dime person who came to transform the destiny of mankind. 5. In a highly significant way, the most ancient prayer to Mary ("Sub tuum praesidium...", "We fly to thy patronage...") contains the invocation: "Theotókos, Mother of God". This title did not originally come from the reflection of theologians, but from an intuition of faith of the Christian people. Those who acknowledge Jesus as God address Mary as the Mother of God and hope to obtain her powerful aid in the trials of life. The Council of Ephesus in 431 defined the dogma of the divine motherhood, officially attributing to Mary the title "Theotókos" in reference to the one person of Christ, true God and true man. The three expressions which the Church has used down the centuries to describe her faith in the motherhood of Mary: "Mother of Jesus", "Virgin Mother" and "Mother of God", thus show that Mary's motherhood is intimately linked with the mystery of the Incarnation. They are affirmations of doctrine, connected as well with popular piety, which help define the very identity of Christ.

General Audiences: Teaching of Blessed John Paul II on the Blessed Virgin Mary

At his Wednesday General Audiences, from 6 September 1995 to 19 November 1997, the Holy Father gave a series of seventy catechetical reflections on the Blessed Virgin Mary.

MARY IS PATTERN OF CHURCH’S HOLINESS

In every age Mary is the loving ‘Mother of the Church’, who prays for the outpouring of the Spirit’s gifts and leads the disciples closer to Jesus

"The Blessed Virgin is the perfect realization of the Church's holiness and its model", the Holy Father said as he began a series of reflections on Mary's role in the Church at the General Audience of Wednesday, 6 September.
1. After pausing in the previous catecheses to reflect more deeply on the identity and mission of the Church, I now feel the need to turn our gaze to the Blessed Virgin, she who is the perfect realization of the Church's holiness and its model.

This is exactly what the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council did: after explaining the doctrine on the reality of the People of God in salvation history, they wanted to complete it with an illustration of Mary's role in the work of salvation. In fact, the purpose of chapter eight of the conciliar Constitution Lumen gentium, is to emphasize the ecclesiological significance of Marian doctrine, but likewise to shed light on the contribution that the figure of the Blessed Virgin offers to our understanding of the Church's mystery.

2. Before explaining the Council's Marian itinerary, I would like to take a reflective look at Mary just as, at the Church's beginning, she is described in the Acts of the Apostles. At the beginning of this New Testament text, which describes the life of the first Christian community, and after recording the names of the Apostles one by one (1: 13), Luke states: "All these with one accord devoted themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary, the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren" (1:14).

The person of Mary stands out clearly in this picture; she is the only one, with the Apostles, mentioned by name. She represents one face of the Church, different from and complementary to the ministerial or hierarchical aspect.

3. In fact, Luke's statement mentions the presence in the Upper Room of some women, thus showing the importance of the feminine contribution to the Church's life from the very beginning. This presence is closely linked to the perseverance of the community in prayer and harmony. These traits perfectly express two basic aspects of women's specific contribution to ecclesial life. Better suited to outward activity, men need women's help to be brought back into personal relationships in order to progress towards the union of hearts.

Mary's role had notable importance
"Blessed among women" (Lk 1:42), Mary eminently fulfils this feminine mission. Who better than Mary can encourage all believers to persevere in prayer? Who better than she can promote harmony and love?
Recognizing the pastoral mission entrusted by Jesus to the Eleven, the women in the Upper Room, with Mary in their midst, joined in their prayer and at the same time witnessed to the presence in the Church of people who, although they have not received that mission, are likewise fully-fledged members of the community gathered in faith in Christ.

4. Mary's presence in the community, which was waiting in prayer for the outpouring of the Spirit (cf. Acts 1: 14), calls to mind her part in the Incarnation of the Son of God by the work of the Holy Spirit (cf. Lk 1:35). The Virgin's role in that initial stage and the role she plays now, in the manifestation of the Church at Pentecost, are closely linked.

Mary's presence at the first moments of the Church's life is remarkably highlighted by comparison with her previous, very discreet participation during Jesus' public ministry. When the Son began his mission, Mary remained in Nazareth, even though this separation did not exclude significant contacts such as the one at Cana. Above all, it did not prevent her from taking part in the sacrifice of Calvary.

In the first community, however, Mary's role assumes notable importance. After the Ascension and in expectation of Pentecost, Jesus' Mother is personally present at the first stages of the work begun by her Son.

5. The Acts of the Apostles stress that Mary was in the Upper Room "with his [Jesus'] brethren" (Acts 1:14), that is, with his relatives, as has always been the Church's interpretation. It was not so much a family gathering as the fact that under Mary's guidance, Jesus' natural family came to be part of Christ's spiritual family: "Whoever does the will of God", Jesus had said, "is my brother and sister, and mother" (Mk 3:35).
On the same occasion, Luke explicitly described Mary as "the mother of Jesus" (Acts 1:14), almost as if he wished to suggest that something of the presence of the Son ascended into heaven has remained in the presence of the mother. She reminded his disciples of Jesus' face and, with her presence in the community, is the symbol of the Church's fidelity to Christ the Lord.

The title of "Mother", in this context, proclaims the attitude of thoughtful closeness with which Our Lady followed the Church's life. Mary was to open her heart to the Church to show the marvels done in her by the almighty and merciful God.

Mary is a teacher of prayer for Christians
From the very beginning, Mary carried out her role as "Mother of the Church": her action encouraged understanding between the Apostles, whom Luke describes as being of "one accord", far from the disputes that had occasionally arisen among them.

Lastly, Mary expressed her motherhood towards the community of believers not only by praying to obtain for the Church the gifts of the Holy Spirit necessary for her formation and her future, but also by teaching the Lord's disciples about constant communion with God.

She thus became the Christian people's teacher of prayer, of encounter with God, a central and indispensable element, so that the work of the Pastors and the faithful would always have its beginning and its inner motivation in the Lord.

6. From these brief remarks it can clearly be seen how the relationship between Mary and the Church is a fascinating comparison between two mothers. It clearly reveals Mary's maternal mission and the Church's commitment ever to seek her true identity in contemplation of the face of the Theotókos.

THE BLESSED VIRGIN IN THE FAITH OF THE CHURCH by Jean Danielou

Everyone feels how important the problem of faith is today. We know that faith is being fought against externally by all agnostic and atheistic forces. We also know that it is being questioned internally. In many Christians uncertainty exists both as to what concerns the foundation of faith itself or one or other of its tenets. Let us take one particular dogma of our faith, that regarding the Virgin Mary. We choose this one because the place of the Virgin Mary in Christian faith is actually one of the most difficult, most delicate and most discussed. On the other hand we feel sure, deep down in our hearts, that the place of the Madonna in the history of salvation and our love for her constitute a touchstone of our Catholic faith. Anything that would give offence in this matter would strike something essential in us. With the "Our Father", the Lord's Prayer, the "Hail Mary" is our daily Prayer. Possessing these we are heirs of all the Church's tradition. The Council of Ephesus proclaimed Mary the "Mother of God", thus attesting the reality of the Incarnation of the Word. We know how much the great Christian centuries exalted her; the cathedrals here in France that are dedicated to her, prove how much Our Lady was venerated in those ages. And without going back too far into the past, how many modern sanctuaries bear witness to the important place Mary occupies in the Church and in Christian life. Justifying Mary's place today If we were questioned today on the justification of Mary's place in our faith and devotions, or on the essential dogmas concerning her—the Immaculate Conception, her Assumption—we might often be disconcerted and lacking in arguments to justify what we believe. There is something disproportionate between the place Mary occupies in our Christian sentiments and the place she holds in our Christian convictions. We know whence our difficulty arises. In part it certainly comes from our Protestant brethren Whatever concerns Mary is one of the points that gives rise to the great difficulty in ecumenical dialogue. There is no difficulty at all with our Orthodox brethren who, on the contrary, give her an exalted place. Among their icons Mary is always seen near St. John Baptist at the sanctuary gate. But on the part of the Protestants, there is a fundamental dispute about both the Marian dogmas and the Marian devotions. On the other hand agnostic, atheistic circles connected with the sciences, would be much inclined these days to give a natural explanation to Mary's place both in Christian faith and devotion. They would willingly admit as true the uninterrupted. position held by certain figures in paganism. This is a universal fact in the history of religions. Or on the plane of psychology or psychoanalysis, the place given to Mary in Christian devotion would be the endowment of an ideal woman with the sublimated aspirations that a woman inspires. Expressing devotion to Mary not sufficient These difficulties and objections make us go to the very heart of things and ask ourselves what we mean by the various declarations of our faith regarding Mary. It would certainly be evading a duty to be content with merely expressing what the devotion to Mary is, if we do not declare the solid foundation on which it rests. And that, too, with such conviction that we could fully undertake its defense in this epoch of scientific development of technical progress and social change. Do we still have the right these days to talk about the Immaculate Conception, the Assumption, the Divine Maternity, of Mary our Mediatrix? Are we fully able to affirm these declarations, today, with entire intellectual certainty? This is the question. A Marian devotion that would merely consist in a certain emotional loyalty to childhood memories and fond traditions would not survive for long when confronted with modern life and thought. Faith finds itself face-to-face with a challenge. I prefer the word "challenge" to "crisis" which seems to imply a loss of integrity. Nothing has been lost in the faith of the Church. But the world of today is launching a challenge against her, and the only thing that matters is to know whether we can accept this challenge of proclaiming our faith before the modern world with real conviction. It is not by defeatism, by timidity or by asking questions, that we can soothe the anguish of the modern world, but by carrying our faith once again to its source, to show that the answer it brings today is as valid as it was in the past and will still be in the future. The person of Mary poses first problem. Here I shall recall only one point, the fundamental point of all that concerns the Virgin: it is from her that Jesus, our Savior, was born. This provokes certain questions, and in the first place, the problem of the person of Mary. Through certain representations we make, Mary ends up by seeming to be such a celestial personage that we may well ask ourselves whether she really lived. Indeed, she has become a kind of myth. It is necessary to say here that the very first declaration we have made about Mary is that she is really a daughter of Israel, a young Jewish girl, born of the Jewish race and whose historical existence is indisputable. The principal events that refer to her in the New Testament, namely, the fact she was engaged to Joseph, that she was the Mother of Jesus, that she presented Jesus in the Temple, that she searched for Him while on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, that she accompanied Him in His public life, that she was present at the Descent of the Holy Spirit, are so many declarations which on the historical level, in the strictest sense of the word, have absolutely no reason to be doubted. Establishing the historicity of events Because it is well, today, to establish the historicity of the events of Christ's life, I should like to say three things: 1. All real progress in our knowledge of the Jewish conditions of the time—and I am thinking particularly of the discoveries around the Dead Sea—gives surprising proofs of all the Gospel tells us about the milieu it describes, for example, Joseph's adoption of Jesus will find a surprising verification in the customs of the time. 2. Likewise we discover today the extraordinary I place the family of Jesus, his cousins, his uncles occupied in that primitive community. Such a position recalls what the Semitic conditions are when a person becomes important. Mohammed's family took possession of the prophet's inheritance. Historically, one can say the same Of Jesus’ family in Palestinian Judaism. So it is quite natural that the Evangelists received information regarding the childhood of Jesus from the witnesses themselves who had been associated with those events. 3. Finally, we learn that the holy places in Palestine, the home of Mary in Nazareth, the cave at Bethlehem, have been venerated since the very beginnings of Christianity. So it is easily seen that the historical reminders connected with the existence of Jesus and Mary stem from the original environment. Gospels agree on Virgin birth Therefore Mary is, first of all, a historical personage who once lived in a definite place. However, the texts in the New Testament produce more evidence that puts real problems before us. In the first place, I allude to what constitutes one of the doctrines of our faith, about which many people today are inquiring, and that is the fact that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of a virgin Mother. This is the essential declaration of the Gospels on the infancy. In Saint Matthew's Gospel the question is asked: How can Jesus be the son of David and at the same time the Prince of David foretold in. the Old Testament, since he is not the son of Joseph? This means that for the Evangelist Matthew, it is something absolutely certain that Jesus is the son of Mary alone and that therefore he has been conceived by the Holy Spirit. But as Mary is not a descendant of David, it is necessary to raise another question: How can Jesus be the son of David? Matthew answers this question by showing how Joseph legally recognized Jesus as his son and that, according to Jewish law, he is considered to be the descendant of David. The Evangelist Luke, more directly, shows us Yahweh sending his messenger to announce to Mary that she is to be the Mother of the Messiah although she is not married to Joseph, and that the Holy One to be born of her will be called the Son of God. Whenever we recite the Apostles' Creed which has been a tradition of our faith from the beginning, we continue to say that Christ was conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit. Here we find ourselves with our backs to the wall, so we must get to the bottom of the difficulty. The virginal conception seems to us, perhaps, more or less legendary, or do we take it seriously in a way that we could defend it before anyone who might ask us to explain it? Unbelievers are beginning to be bored with Christians who slip away as soon as a serious question is put to them. Christian traditions give further attestation One day an unbeliever remarked that we will not succeed in convincing the men of today with the Canon in French and birth control pills. This looks like demagogy to them. They are waiting for the Church to say something that appears to be valid about the virginal conception, the Resurrection, Heaven, Hell and the Real Presence in the Eucharist. In other words, what we are being interrogated about is the very foundation of our Faith. To the people around us, the rest is secondary. They are waiting for us to tell them why we, normal people, men and women of this age, with the same education as they, can still believe in the virginal conception. One must look at the situation just as it is, for we are actually united on this point. Are we ready to pledge our honour, life itself on the virginal conception, granted that it is an essential element of our Faith, and that on this point every diminution of it touches the very substance of this Faith? This fact is first of all attested by the total sum of the testimony of Holy Scripture and Christian Tradition without any exception: Catholic tradition, Orthodox tradition, Protestant tradition, and, I shall add, Moslem tradition, for Mohammed professed the virginal conception of Jesus. It would be strange indeed, if some day the Moslems still believed in the virginal conception while Christians no longer believed it. But is it enough to rely on these various kinds of testimony? Is it not necessary to understand what they mean? Are we living in a world of wonders? Perhaps belief in the virginal conception belongs to a pre-scientific period of the intellect, and cannot be accepted in a scientific age? If we should ask ourselves what is Faith, and what is the object of Faith, we must say that the object of Faith is that God intervenes in human existence. Jesus is not merely a lofty figure, a great example for us, a model of humility, charity and the interior life. If Jesus were nothing more than that, he would be a professor of morals, an exemplar. We have no need of a professor; we do need a Saviour. The object of Sacred Scripture is sacred history, and sacred history is the history of tile great things God has accomplished among men. It teaches us that if men accomplish great things that are the outcome of culture, politics and science, there are other works, however, which are divine works and they are infinitely greater. Pascal once said: "All the acts of the intelligence do not make one act of charity". And Pascal who was an admirer of St. Augustine, knew that love is what God alone can accomplish in hearts. God works through all human history creating the first man, making a covenant with Abraham, liberating his people from Egypt and staying in the Temple. Now the coming of Jesus into the world takes its place in the long line of God's great works. And the accounts of the conception and birth of Jesus are set down to portray these events, not merely as the touching story of a baby boy, but as a marvelous work of God taking place among us. Denial undermines our Faith It is extraordinary that the first Word in the New Testament recalls the first book in the Old Testament. It is "the genealogy (genesis) of Jesus Christ, son of Abraham". Now this word is found only once in the rest of Sacred Scripture, in the Book of Genesis itself, incidentally, in the account of the creation of Adam. And when the great Doctor of Lyons, St. Irenaeus in the second century, tells us that it is the same Word of God, who had created the first Adam from the virgin earth, and who came in the fulness of time to raise up this other Adam from the womb of the Virgin, he shows us the incomparable and perfectly intelligible meaning of the virginal conception. It is, as it were, a new creation of man. The same Word who had created man in the beginning, when he did not exist, comes to search for this man who belongs to him by right of creation. Why? in order to create him anew, not by taking him from the slime of the earth, but from the race of Adam itself, forming in it a new creation and a perfectly new beginning. The fact that Jesus was born of Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit is itself the expression of such a radical recommencement. And in this moment the mystery of the virginal conception does not appear to us anymore as a ridiculous tale of some ancient folklore, but as one of those simply Divine acts that are the true object of our Faith. If the Divine character of the birth of Jesus is denied, the object of our Faith is undermined in its very substance, which consists in believing we are in a world where God intervenes, and that there are many things God alone can do. As Guardini says: "Love does these things...". And what right have we to limit this sovereign freedom of Love?

Taken from: L'Osservatore Romano Weekly Edition in English 22 August 1968, page 6

Meditation for the feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary - November 21

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

O God, by Whose will the blessed Mary, ever Virgin, the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, was on this day presented in the temple, grant, we beseech You, that by her intercession we may be found worthy to be brought into the temple of Your glory.  Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the same Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end.  Amen.



Hail, holy Mother, who in childbirth brought forth to King Who rules heaven and earth world without end.

Ps 44:2
My heart overflows with a goodly theme; as I sing my ode to the King.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Hail, holy Mother, who in childbirth brought forth to King Who rules heaven and earth world without end.



A Reading from the book of EcclesiasticusEcclus 24:14-16

Before all ages, in the beginning, He created me, and through all ages I shall not cease to be. In the holy Tent I ministered before Him, and in Sion I fixed my abode. Thus in the chosen city He has given me rest, in Jerusalem is my domain. I have struck root among the glorious people, in the portion of my God, His heritage, and my abode is in the full assembly of Saints.

Thanks be to God.




Blessed and venerable are you, O Virgin Mary, who, without spot to your maidenhood, were made the Mother of the Savior.

O Virgin Mother of God, He Whom the whole world does not contain, becoming man, shut Himself in your womb. Alleluia, alleluia.

After childbirth you still remained an inviolate virgin: O Mother of God, intercede for us. Alleluia.




A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to LukeLuke 11:27-28

At that time, as Jesus was speaking to the multitudes, a certain woman from the crowd lifted up her voice and said to Him, Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts that nursed You. But He said, Rather, blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep it.

Praise be to Thee, O Christ.




Joachim married Anna a most excellent and praiseworthy woman. Once there had lived another Anna who overcame physical sterility through prayer and a promise to God, and then gave birth to Samuel. In a similar waY our Anne received from God the Mother of God through a vow and heartfelt petition; for she would not yield in any way to the illustrious women of previous ages. Accordingly grace (for the word Anne means grace) gave birth to the Lady (this is signified by the name Mary). Truly Mary became the Lady above all creation in her role as the Mother of the Creator. She was born in Joachim's house near the Probatica, and was presented in the temple. Thereupon "planted in the house of God" had nurtured by His Spirit; like a fruitful olive tree she flowered forth in every virtue. From her mind she drove every worldly or sensual desire; she preserved virginity of soul as well as of body, as was becoming to one destined to carry God in her very bosom.

Mirror of the Blessed Virgin Mary by St. Bonaventure - Chapters XVII - XVIII

CHAPTER XVII -- TO WHOM THE FRUIT OF THE WOMB OF THE BLESSED MARY BELONGS, AND TO WHOM IT IS DUE

"Benedictus fructus ventris tui." After we have seen, in some small measure, of what kind and how great the Fruit of the womb of Mary is and is believed to be, let us now see to whom it belongs and to whom it is due. For this Fruit is not only the fruit of the womb, but of the mind. It is the fruit of the womb of Mary alone; but it is the fruit of the mind of any faithful soul; the fruit of the womb according to the flesh; the fruit of the mind by faith. Therefore St. Ambrose says: "If, according to the flesh, one only is the Mother of Christ; nevertheless, according to the mind, Christ is the fruit of all. For every soul conceives the Word of God, if only it is immaculate and immune from vices." Therefore, according to St. Ambrose, anyone who wishes to have this fruit of the mind, should be free from all vice. For Christ is the fruit of the virtuous, not of the vicious mind: not of the mind vicious by the seven deadly sins; but virtuous against the seven capital vices. Therefore, this fruit is the fruit of the humble against pride, the fruit of those possessing fraternal love in opposition to envy, the fruit of the meek as opposed to anger, the fruit of the diligent as against sloth, the fruit of the liberal as opposed to avarice, the fruit of the temperate as against gluttony, the fruit of the chaste against lust.

First, let us see how this blessed fruit is that of the humble against pride. On this we may understand what is said in the Book of Kings: "Whatsoever shall be left of the house of Juda, shall take root downward, and bear fruit upward" (4 Kings XIX, 30.) The Blessed Virgin Mary was of the house of Juda, and every faithful soul is of the house of Juda; the former in the body, the latter in spirit; the former by blood, the latter by faith. And, therefore, not only Mary, but every faithful soul wishing to bear fruit upward, should take root downward. The root sending its shoots downward is humility; which, after the manner of roots, always tends to the lowest. The higher the tree, the deeper should be its root, according to that word of Ecclesiasticus: "The greater thou art, the more humble thyself in all things, and thou shalt find grace before God." Also, the taller a tree is, the more danger there is of its being uprooted by the winds of elation, if the root is not firmly fixed in great and deep humility. Let us, therefore, ponder how deeply the root of this rod was established (in humility), which was to grow to so sublime a height that it deserved to bear a fruit higher than the angels, that fruit indeed of which St. Ambrose says: "This fruit is the flower of the rod, of whom Isaias says: 'There shall come forth a rod from the root of Jesse, and a flower shall ascend from its root.' " Whatever soul shall have struck deeply the roots of humility, shall deserve to bear fruit upward; upward, I say, in high understanding, in high affection; upward in contemplation, upward in love. Thus this blessed fruit is that of the humble. Therefore Mary, above all human beings, was most worthy, because of all she was the most deeply rooted in humility. Well, therefore, doth St. Bernard say of her: "O Virgin, rod sublime, to what a height dost thou raise thy holy summit! Even unto the throne of majesty, because thou strikest deep down the root of humility."

Secondly, let us see how this blessed fruit is that of those who love God and fly envy. Of this we can understand the word of the Psalmist: "Behold the inheritance of the Lord, the fruit of the womb." Commenting on this passage, St. Ambrose says: "The inheritance of
the Lord is sons, which reward is the fruit of Him who came forth from the womb of Mary." Therefore, many sons are the reward of that only Son, who is the blessed fruit of the womb. But where or when did He merit that reward? Without doubt He merited it in being born, in lying in the manger; He merited it in bearing to be circumcised, in teaching; He merited it in doing the works of our salvation; He merited it by dying; He merited it, I say, in serving for us for thirty-three years. And because of this, He justly exacts this reward, saying: "If it seems good in your eyes, bring my reward" (Zach. XI, 12.) But without doubt it is not only sons who are the reward of the Fruit of the womb; but this Fruit of the most holy womb is Himself the reward of every son of adoption. Who are these sons? Listen and hear. It belongs to sons to love their father, and to the father to love his sons. Those, therefore, are sons of God and of the Church, who ever love God and their neighbor. Therefore, the Apostle says to the Ephesians: "Be ye imitators of Gad, as most dear children, and walk in love." And in St. Matthew it is said: "Love your enemies, do good to those that hate you, and pray for those that persecute and calumniate you, that you may be the children of your Father, who is in Heaven," etc. Such sons as these, therefore, that is to say, lovers of God and of men, are the reward of the Fruit of this blessed womb, and the reward of sons such as these is this blessed Fruit itself. Thus, therefore, is this Fruit that of those who love; and Mary above all men was most worthy of this Fruit, because she was the most affectionate in charity. Well, therefore, does St. Augustine say: "Who can doubt that all the bowels of Mary had passed into the love of charity, since within her rested for nine months that charity which is God?"

Thirdly, let us see how this fruit of Mary is that of those who are meek and patient and avoid anger. It is said in the Book of Job: "Submit thyself then to him, and be at peace, and thereby thou shalt have the best fruits" (Job. XXII, 21.) To submit and to be at peace belongs to the meek and to the patient; and those who are meek and patient have the best fruits by these very virtues. But the best fruit of the mind is charity, of which the Apostle says: "Now the fruits of the Spirit," etc. The fruits which are here enumerated are some, indeed, which are good, but there are some which are better; the first is best, namely, charity, by which all the others, as St. Augustine says, are good. The best Fruit of the womb is Christ: for whoever is sanctified in the womb, is the good fruit of the womb: therefore, good is the fruit of the womb of Elizabeth--John; better is the fruit of the womb of Anne--Mary; best is Jesus, the Fruit of the womb of Mary. Ponder, brother, who is this fruit, and from what earth it was produced, and thou shalt see that it is the best. St. Jerome says: "The fruit is a Virgin from a virgin, the Lord from the handmaid, God from man, the Son from the Mother, the fruit from the earth" O happy ones, who in the discipline of every sort of trial have a soul so patient, so just, so well prepared, that because of this they most justly reap the fruit of patience, that most peaceful fruit of which St. Paul says in the Epistle to the Hebrews: "Now all chastisement for the present indeed seemeth not to bring with it joy, but sorrow; but afterwards it will yield, to them that are exercised by it, the most peaceable fruit of justice" (Heb. XII, 11) Having had their patience tested, they reap the best fruit, according to St. Luke: "They bring forth fruit in patience." As this blessed fruit is that of the patient and the meek, Mary above all men was most worthy of this fruit, because she was above all most meek, so that neither in looks, nor in word, nor in deed did she ever show the very slightest sign of impatience, but
was most patient, as St. Ambrose says: "There was nothing fierce in the looks of Mary, nothing prolix in her words, nothing unbecoming in her deeds."

Fourthly, let us see how the fruit of Mary is that of those who labor and are diligent, and fly sloth. Of this it is said in the Book of Wisdom: "Glorious is the fruit of good works." This fruit, therefore, is to be sought by labor, as the bee seeks the fruit of honey; that fruit of which Ecclesiasticus says: "Small among flying things is the bee, and her fruit has the first sweetness." Consider, how the bee flies from garden to garden, from flower to flower, from tree to tree, in search of the fruit of honey; so do thou in meditations, in desires, and zealous imitation of virtues. exercise thyself about the examples of the just, and principally of the perfect. Fly, I say, from garden to garden, that is, from state to state; run from tree to tree, that is, from one just soul to another; from flower to flower, that is, from one virtue to another, from one good example to another. Above all, ruminate chiefly upon that flower in which you will find the whole fruit of the divine honey, upon that flower which is both flower and fruit, of which St. Ambrose says: "The Flower of Mary is Christ, who, like the fruit of a good tree, for our progress in virtue now bears fruit in us."
Note that this fruit is not of any labors whatsoever, but only of good works; it is not of those labors of which we read in the Book of Wisdom: "He that rejecteth wisdom and discipline, is unhappy: and their hope is vain, and their labors without fruit, and their works unprofitable" (Wisdom III, 11.) Thus is this blessed fruit that of those who exercise themselves in good and fly sloth. And therefore Mary above all human beings was most worthy of this fruit, because above all she was most diligent in good, as Bede well shows, when, in discoursing on the Magnificat, he puts these words into her mouth: "I offer the whole affection of my soul in the praises of thanksgiving; all my life, all that I feel, all that I discern in contemplating His magnitude, all this I employ in observing His precepts."

Fifthly, let us see how the fruit of Mary is of those who are liberal and fly avarice--principally of those generous souls who for the sake of this fruit renounce all temporal things, according to that word in the Canticle of Canticles: "Every man bringeth for the fruit thereof a thousand pieces of silver" (Cant. VIII, 11.) The commentator says, "by leaving all things." And again he says: "By 'a thousand' perfection, by 'silver' every worldly thing is meant." Whoever, therefore, has left all worldly things for Christ, as it were gives a thousand pieces of silver for this fruit. But he who is unwilling to give a thousand by leaving all things, let him at least give something for this fruit, by helping the poor, that he may be as the fruit-bearing olive by bearing the fruit of mercy. Because the highest fruit of mercy is the highest mercy, which is God; therefore Mary, who bore this fruit of mercy most abundantly, was most fittingly said to be like a fruit-bearing, a beautiful olive-tree in the fields. St. John Damascene well says: "Mary, planted in the house of the Lord and nourished by the Holy Ghost like a fruit-bearing olive-tree, became the dwelling-place of every virtue." Alas, how far from this fruit of mercy of the merciful, and of those detached from the love of earthly things, are the souls of the avaricious, of whom it is said: "Going their way they are choked with the cares and the riches and pleasures of this life, and yield no fruit" (Luke VIII, 14.) It is also said in Ecclesiastes: "He that loveth riches, shall
reap no fruit from them" (Eccles. V, 9.) Thus this blessed fruit is of the liberal and of those who despise earthly things; and, therefore, Mary was above all most worthy of this fruit,
because she was most generous in the contempt of temporal things, as St. Bernard says: "Whatever honor Mary had among her people, whatever she could have had of the riches of her father's house, she esteemed it all as dung, that she might gain Christ."

Sixthly, let us see how the fruit of Mary belongs to those who are temperate, and fly gluttony. And on this point we must note what is said by Solomon: "Of the fruit of his own mouth shall a man be filled with good things" (Prov. XIII, 2.)
The fruit of Mary can be said to be the fruit of the mouth, because it is acquired not only by the prayer of the lips and by teaching, but also by abstinence. With this fruit he is filled with spiritual things who for the sake of this fruit abstains from temporal goods. He shall be satisfied with the good things of this fruit who bears in his body hunger and thirst, but who hungers and thirsts spiritually with more eagerness for this fruit. Therefore St. Bernard says: "This is a good fruit, which is meat and drink to the souls who hunger and thirst after justice." It is well for those who thirst for this fruit in the world, because they shall be satisfied with it in Heaven, according to that word of the Savior: "Blessed are ye who thirst now, for you shall be filled." Here the blessing is for those who abstain for the sake of this fruit, there it will be for those who eat of this fruit. Wherefore Isaias says: "Say to the just, that it is well; for he shall eat of the fruits of his doings" (Is. III, 10.) Thus this blessed fruit is of those who are temperate and fly gluttony, and therefore Mary above all human beings is most worthy of this fruit, for she was the most temperate and shunned gluttony. Well, therefore, does St. John Chrysostom say: "Mary was never a great eater nor given to wine; she was not light, nor frivolous, not a loud talker, nor a lover of evil words; these things are always the consequence of intemperance."

Seventhly, let us see how the fruit of the womb of Mary belongs to the chaste and continent who fly lust. Of this the Wise Man says: "Happy is the barren; and the undefiled, that hath not known bed in sin, she shall have fruit in the visitation of holy souls" (Wisd. III, 13.) I say, in the visitation by grace, but more so in the visitation by glory. And truly, the fruit of the most chaste womb, of the virginal womb, is rightly the special fruit of those who are chaste. When, therefore, by the blessed fruit of the Virgin all the faithful in general are blessed, rightly the chaste are specially Blessed by Him, by whom also the blessed Queen of the chaste is blessed above all, as St. Bernard says: "Truly blessed is the Fruit of thy womb, in whom all nations are blessed: of whose fullness thou, too, hast received with the rest, and also differently from the rest." Woe to the lustful, who have no part in the virginal fruit: woe to the wretched, who have no branch which can bear a virginal fruit. Therefore is it said of the adulterous woman: "Her branches will not bear fruit" (Eccli. XXIII, 35.) Therefore does this blessed fruit belong to the chaste, who fly lust. And therefore Mary was above all worthy of this fruit, because she was most chaste, as St. Chrysostom well says: "O ineffable praise of Mary, Joseph trusted more to her chastity than to her womb, and more to grace than to nature; he rather believed it possible for a woman to conceive without a man, than that Mary could sin." O Mary most happy, who truly, as the most virtuous one, wast most worthy of the divine fruit, help us, that by our virtues we may be worthy to attain to this fruit, Our Lord Jesus Christ, thy Son. Amen.

CHAPTER XVIII -- TO WHOM THE RESULTS OF THE FRUIT OF THE WOMB OF MARY ARE NECESSARY, AND OF ITS TWELVE ADVANTAGES

Blessed is the fruit of thy womb. We have seen of what nature and quality the blessed fruit of the womb of Mary was; we have also seen to whom it rightfully belongs; we must now see to whom and to what effects it is needful. For this fruit is a remedy against evil, and it is necessary for good. It is necessary in six of its effects as a remedy against evil; and it is necessary in six other effects for the attainment of good. For this blessed fruit has twelve very useful effects, or remarkable advantages, on account of which all men rightly praise its effects, according to what is written in the Psalm: "Let all peoples praise thee, O God, let all peoples praise thee: the earth has given her fruit" (Ps. LXVII.) The first effect of this fruit is the expiation of mortal sin; the second is the pacification of the supreme enmity; the third is the healing of the wound of original sin; the fourth is the satisfying of the hunger of the mind; the fifth is the avoidance of the anger of the Judge; the sixth is deliverance from the pains of hell; the seventh is the renunciation of temporal goods; the eighth is the enrichment of the rational soul; the ninth is the consummation of the spiritual life; the tenth is the multiplication of the universal Church; the eleventh is the reintegration of the empyreal ruin; the twelfth is the perpetuation of eternal glory.

First, therefore, the blessed fruit of Mary is necessary for the expiation of mortal sin. Of this we can understand what is said in Isaias: "This is the whole fruit, that sin may be taken away" (Is. XXVII, 9.) By the whole fruit we may understand Him of whom St. Bernard says: "On the cross hangs all the fruit of life, because the tree of life itself is in the midst of Paradise." All the fruit, therefore, is the whole fruit, the whole of Him. This Fruit was given, born, and suffered that the sin of man might be taken away. For, as the Angel said: "He hath saved His people from their sins." He also is the one of whom John spoke: "Behold the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world!" This Lamb truly takes away the sins of the world, both mortal and venial. He who by this fruit is purged from mortal sins, may also be cleansed from venial sins, according to the word: "Every one who beareth fruit, He will purge, that he may bring forth more fruit."

Secondly, the blessed fruit of Mary is necessary for t-he removal of the mortal enmity which existed between God and man, between angels and men. Isaias says: "I created the fruit of the lips, peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near" (Is. LVII, 19.) The fruit of the womb of Mary may well be called the fruit of the lips of Mary, because while from her lips distilled the honey-flowing words, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done unto me according to thy word," she immediately conceived her most sweet Fruit. O truly honeyflowing lips, as it is said in the Canticle: "Thy lips are as the dropping honeycomb." It was God the Father who created this fruit, which is Our Lord Jesus Christ, or who made (in Him) peace; peace, I say, to him who is afar, by guilt, that he may become near by grace, and peace to him who is near by grace, lest he should be made far by guilt. For He, as the Apostle says, is "our peace, who maketh both one." This fruit also was made peace between man, who is far distant in this world, and the angel, who in Heaven is near; for Christ made peace with both on the gibbet of the Cross, according to the word of the Apostle: "Making peace by the blood of his Cross, both those things which are in Heaven and those which are on earth." Therefore, this fruit is peace from man to
man, peace from man to the angel, and peace between God and man. What wonder if by this fruit man has peace with God, when He Himself, the peace-giving Fruit, is both God and man? Bede gives testimony to this, saying: "Our earth will give its fruit, because the Virgin Mary, who had her body from the earth, brought forth a Son in divinity indeed, co-equal with the Father, but consubstantial with herself in the reality of His flesh."

Thirdly, this blessed fruit of Mary is necessary for the healing of the wound of original sin; for man, falling among thieves, was wounded with a grievous wound, nay, many grievous wounds, while by original sin he became so blind to the truth, so infirm in good, so prone to evil. But these wounds are healed by this fruit. In this life indeed they are only partially healed by grace; but in the future life they will be entirely healed in glory. Therefore, well is it said in the Apocalypse: "The Angel showed John the tree of life, bearing its fruits every month, and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of nations." The tree of life is Mary, the Mother of Life; or the tree of life is the tree of the Cross; or else the tree is Jesus Christ, the Author of Life, who is also the Fruit of Life. Those healing leaves are edifying words and deeds. If even the leaves are healing, how much more healing and life-giving is the fruit? Therefore, that we may be healed by this fruit, let us approach its tree; let us draw near, I say, to Mary. Let us pray with St. Anselm: "Hear me, O Lady! Heal the soul of thy servant who is a sinner, by virtue of the blessed Fruit of thy womb, who sitteth at the right hand of his Almighty Father."

Fourthly, the blessed fruit of Mary is necessary for the relief of hunger, or the famine of the soul, lest for want of due nourishment the animals of God should perish. Therefore it is well said by the Prophet Joel: "Fear not, animals of the region, for the beautiful places of the desert have blossomed, and the tree has brought forth its fruit." It is a desert or a wilderness because it germinates without culture, and brings forth food for animals. This desert may signify Mary, who without marital culture brought forth a Son, who is the food of all the faithful. Therefore it can be said of her: "That earth is uncultivated, it has become as a garden of pleasure" (Ezech. XXXVI, 35.) The beautiful blooms of this uncultured earth are the flowers of heavenly desires, the grasses of good works, the fair flowers of virtues and gifts, the lovely leaves of useful words, and the truly beautiful fruit of Mary's womb, which is the food of all the just. Mary is this beautiful desert. Mary is also this fruitful tree, of which it is said: "And the tree brought forth its fruit" (Joel II, 22.) Oh, truly wonderful fruit, by which both the hunger and the thirst of souls is relieved, as St. Bernard says: "Good Fruit, which is food and drink to hungering and thirsting souls." Do not fear, therefore, animals of God; fear not, ye faithful of Christ, that you will perish from want of food, because you have full pasture in the desert, full fruit on the tree, full food in the manger." For St. Bernard says: "The Child lies in the manger, that all the faithful--as it were, the beasts of burden --may find refreshment for their flesh." St. Augustine says: "O resplendent manger, in which has lain the food of animals, but also the food of angels!”

Fifthly, the blessed fruit of Mary is necessary for the avoidance of the anger of the Judge, which every unjust man has to fear, in the same way as every just man has by right that by which he may escape the anger of the Judge. Therefore it is said in the Psalm: "If indeed there is fruit to the just, God indeed judging them on earth," etc. "Them," that is, the unjust, for God will judge the unjust upon earth, while at the judgment the just will be in
the air, but the unjust will remain upon the earth, because they preferred to cleave to earthly things instead of God, so that they could truly say: "My soul hath cleaved to the pavement." There the Lord will be indeed a sweet fruit to the just, but to the unjust and wicked he will be a severe judge. Woe, therefore, to them who turn so sweet a fruit into a most bitter judgment for themselves, as it is said in Amos: "You have turned judgment into bitterness, and the fruit of justice into wormwood", (Amos VI, 13.) The fruit of justice is the fruit of the just. Just is the fruit of Mary, of whom the Psalmist truly says: "The just has borne fruit. The earth is the virgin, because truth has sprung forth from the earth."

Sixthly, the blessed fruit of Mary is necessary for the avoidance of the pains of hell, or eternal death, on which we can say that which we find in the fourth of Kings: "I will take you away to . . . a fruitful land, and plentiful in wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olives, and oil and honey, and you shall live, and not die" (4 Kings XVIII, 32.) All those who will be converted to her with their whole heart shall be taken away into the land of Mary, or the land of the Church. This land is exceedingly fertile, bearing fruit of bread, wine, oil, and honey, that is, Our Lord Jesus Christ. For He is to us the fruit of bread which strengthens, and puts to flight defect or failure; He is to us the fruit of the vine, for all perfection; He is to us the fruit of oil, illuminating the intellect; and He is moreover to us the fruit of honey, instilling sweetness into our affections. By this fruit ye shall truly live, dearly beloved, and ye shall not die. Blessed is the earth of this fruit; blessed above all be this fruit itself, by whom we are delivered from so many evils, as St. Anselm well says: "What praise shall I give that is worthy of the Mother of my Lord and God, by whose fecundity I, a captive, have been redeemed, by whose Child I am delivered from eternal death, by whose offspring I, a lost one, am restored, and led back from exile to my fatherland?" Blessed among women, all these things Christ, the blessed fruit of her womb, has given me in the regeneration of Baptism. Woe, therefore, to all those who are estranged from this fruit, for it is written: "Every tree, that bringeth not forth good fruit, shall be cut down and cast into the fire."

Seventhly, the blessed fruit of Mary is necessary for the renunciation or contempt of earthly goods. Therefore, it is said in the Canticle: "A man shall give for this fruit a thousand silver pieces," namely, leave all things. For, as the Gloss says, a thousand means perfection, and silver means all worldly substance. Therefore, anyone who perfectly renounces all earthly riches for Christ's sake, gives as it were a thousand silver pieces for this fruit, and rightly does he despise for the sake of this fruit all temporal things whoever diligently marks how exceedingly precious is this fruit, saying that word of the Proverbs: "My fruit is better than gold and precious stones, and my jewels than chosen gold" (Prov. XVIII, 20.) He is truly a man who has such virility as this; and this man ought manfully, for the sake of this fruit, to contemn not only possessions and riches, but also honors and dignities, saying: "Can I leave my sweetness, and my delicious fruits, and go to be promoted among the other trees?" (Judges IX, 11.) Most sweet are the fruits of Christ, and charity. The trees of the wood, says the Gloss, are barren men, prepared for the eternal fire.
Therefore, for the sake of these most sweet fruits he manfully contemns most dangerous honors which promote him above the trees of the wood; he manfully contemns all things for the sake of this blessed fruit, which is blessed above all, God forever.

Eighthly, the blessed fruit of Mary is necessary for the enrichment of the rational soul. It is said in Proverbs: "Each one shall be filled with the fruits of his mouth" (Prov. XVIII, 20.) We confess that the Lord Jesus is truly not only the fruit of the womb, but also the fruit of the lips, because we obtain Him by the preaching of the mouth or lips, by the praise of the lips, and by the prayer of the lips. With the external mouth we receive Him sacramentally, with the inward mouth we receive Him spiritually. Therefore St. Jerome says: "The Flower of Mary became fruit, that we might eat of it." With this fruit of the lips each one shall be filled with the goods of spiritual riches, the goods, I say, of virtues and graces. Of such goods the Apostle says: "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope and in the power of the Holy Ghost." O truly blessed fullness of this fruit, with which was filled not only the field of the Virgin which produced it, but also the soul of every faithful Christian who contains it, as is manifest by what St. Jerome says: "Truly is she called a full field, for the Virgin Mary is said to be full, from whose womb the Fruit of life came forth to believers, and all of us of His fullness have received grace for grace."

Ninthly, the blessed fruit of Mary is necessary for the perfection of the spiritual life. Therefore it is well said in the Psalm of the perfect man: "And he shall be like a tree planted by the running waters," etc. What should we understand by the running waters but the streams of grace, by which man gives or produces his fruit, the Lord Jesus Christ. Three conditions of a perfect life are signified which accompany the man who has this fruit. It belongs to the perfect not to waste their time, therefore it is well said: "It will give its fruit in its time." It is also a sign of perfection nor to overflow in useless words, which we understand to be signified in the words, "and his leaf shall not fall off." It is also a characteristic of perfection not to omit those things which are profitable to the soul; hence we find, "and all that he shall do shall prosper." Truly anyone who shall bear this fruit by charity shall find all things prosperous, for all things will work together unto good for him, as it is written: "We know that for those who love God, all things work together unto good." Blessed is the man who shall have borne this fruit so perfectly that he shall not pass his time uselessly, that he shall utter no idle word, that he shall let no opportunity of virtue pass, and so he shall be like the tree bearing fruit spiritually, as Mary did corporeally, of whom St. Bernard says: "O truly the tree of life, which alone was worthy to bear the fruit of salvation!"

Tenthly, the blessed fruit of Mary is necessary for the multiplication of the universal Church. Therefore is it said: "With the fruit of her hands she hath planted a vineyard" (Prov. XXXI, 16.) The Lord Jesus, as He is well said to be the fruit of the womb, because He was conceived in the womb, and as He is well said to be the fruit of the lips, because He is received in the mouth--so also is well said to be the fruit of the hands, because He is acquired by the labor of the hands in good works, and is ministered to the faithful by the hands of the priest. Therefore, this fruit is most fully the fruit of Mary: it is truly the fruit of her womb, because He was born in a most singular way from her womb. He is also the
fruit of her mouth, because by her mouth He was most sweetly communicated. He is also the fruit of her hands, because by her hands He was most devoutly handled. Of this fruit of her hands, Mary, or the primitive Church, planted a vineyard, that is, the universal Church, which is diffused throughout the world. Oh, how the branches of this vine, that is, the faithful members of the Church, have been multiplied by this fruit, while the rulers of the Church have caused this fruit to be spiritually born in the hearts of the faithful! Hence it is well said in the Psalm: "They yielded fruit of birth, and He blessed them, and they were multiplied exceedingly" (Ps. CVI, 37-38.) And because the Church in all ages has been multiplied by this fruit, therefore, the Virgin producing this fruit is rightly called blessed by all generations. As she herself well says: "Behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed." St. Bernard explains these words as follows: "Behold I see what is to come to pass in me, what fruit shall come forth from me, how great and how many good things will come to pass, by means of me, not to me alone, but to all generations."

Eleventhly, the blessed fruit of Mary is necessary for the restoration of the empyreal ruin, the ruin, I say, brought about in the high Heaven. On this we may note what the Lord, wishing to plant of the marrow of a high cedar, said: "On the high mountains of Israel I will plant it, and it shall shoot forth into branches, and shall bear fruit" (Ezech. XVII, 23) The high mountain is that sublime mansion, that sublime society of angels, which is well called the high mountain of Israel, because Israel is interpreted "the vision of God." And behold the angels always see God, as we find in the Gospel of St. Matthew: "Their angels always see the face of My Father, who is in heaven." On this high mountain, in this sublime society of angels, God planted that which He had chosen from the mass of perdition; He planted, I say, the marrow of a cedar, the marrow of the human race, that is, all the elect, of whom some, in reality, some in hope, are already planted on the angelic mountain. O fruit, truly to be loved above all things, on whose account every elect soul is planted on so sublime a height! We must joyfully bear this fruit, Our Lord Jesus Christ, for whose sake we are already planted in hope among the angels. Let us always give thanks to this fruit by whose grace we fill up the number of the angels. Therefore Mary, the Mother of this fruit, may well glory, and utter those words which St. Bernard, speaking as it were by her lips, says: "The number of the generations of the angels is by my Child filled up, restored, and the race of men, cursed in Adam, by the blessed fruit of my womb is regenerated unto eternal blessedness."

Twelfthly, the blessed fruit of Mary is necessary for the perpetuation of eternal glory, which would not be eternal, unless it was preserved by this fruit. Therefore, is it said in Proverbs: "The fruit of the just is a tree of life." Excellently is this fruit said to be a tree of life, because as the tree of life was to preserve the natural life in the terrestrial Paradise, so Christ is to preserve eternal life in the heavenly Paradise. St. Anselm notes all the good things which we obtain through the blessed fruit of Mary, and says: "All these good things came from the blessed fruit of the blessed womb of the Blessed Mary."

Thus you have heard how the blessed fruit of Mary is necessary, first, to expiate mortal sin; secondly, to placate the supreme enmity between God and man; thirdly, to heal the wound of original sin; fourthly, to relieve spiritual obstinacy; fifthly, to appease the anger of the Judge; sixthly, to escape the pains of hell; seventhly, to obtain the grace to despise
earthly things; eighthly, to enrich the rational soul; ninthly, to consummate the spiritual life; tenthly, to multiply the universal Church; eleventhly, to repair the empyreal ruin; twelfthly, to preserve eternal glory. And behold, these twelve effects or advantages of this fruit may be signified by the twelve fruits of the tree of life, all of which are in the fruit of Mary's womb. Of which twelve fruits we read in the Apocalypse, that the Angel showed John the tree of life, bearing twelve fruits.

Help us, therefore, O blessed among women, that by the fruit of thy womb we may obtain the blessing of these twelve fruits. Help us, O fruitful Virgin, that by thy fruit we may be made fruitful in these fruits; that by these fruits we may merit to enjoy thy fruit forever! Help us, O sweetest one, that Jesus may grant us to enjoy His sweetness, He, the most liberal communicator of the blessed fruit of thy womb, who with the Father and the Holy Ghost liveth and reigneth world without end. Amen.