Excellence of the Holy Slavery of Love
I should require much
supernatural light to describe perfectly the excellence of this
practice.
I shall content myself
with these few remarks.
Imitation of the Trinity
35. To give ourselves
to Jesus through Mary is to imitate God the Father, Who has given us
His Son only through Mary, and Who communicates to us His grace only
through Mary. It is to imitate God the Son, Who has come to us only
through Mary, and Who, "by giving us an example, that as He has
done, so we do also" [John 13: 15], has urged us to go to Him by
the same means by which He has come to us
- that
is, through Mary. It is to imitate the Holy Spirit, Who bestows His
graces and gifts upon us only through Mary. "Is it not fitting,"
asks St. Bernard, "that grace should return to its Author by the
same channel which conveyed it to us?"
It Honors Jesus
36. To go to Jesus
through Mary is truly to honor Jesus Christ, for it denotes that we
do not esteem ourselves worthy of approaching His infinite holiness
directly and by ourselves because of our sins; that we need Mary, His
holy Mother, to be our advocate and Mediatrix with Him, our Mediator.
It is to approach Jesus as our Mediator and Brother, and at the same
time to humble ourselves before Him, as before our God and our Judge.
In a word, it is to practice humility, which is always exceedingly
pleasing to the heart of God.
It Purifies and Embellishes Our Good Works
37. To consecrate
ourselves thus to Jesus through Mary is to place in Mary's hands our
good actions, which although they may appear to us to be good, are
often very imperfect and unworthy of the sight and the acceptance of
God, before whom even the stars are not pure. Ah! Let us pray, then,
to our dear Mother and Queen, that having received our poor present,
she may purify it, sanctify it, embellish it and thus render it
worthy of God. All that our soul possesses is of less value before
God, the Heavenly Householder, when it comes to winning His
friendship and favor, than a worm-eaten apple presented to the king
by a poor farmer in payment of the rent of his farm. But what would
such a farmer do if he were wise and if he were well liked by the
queen? Would he not give his apple to the queen? And would she not
out of kindness to the poor man, as also out of respect for the king,
remove from the apple all that is worm-eaten or spoiled, and then
place it in a gold dish and surround it with flowers? Would the king
refuse to accept the apple then? Or would he not rather receive it
with joy from the hands of the queen, who favors that poor man? "If
you wish to present something to God, no matter how small it may be,"
says St. Bernard, "place it in Mary's hands, if you do not wish
to be refused."
38. Great God, how
insignificant everything that we do really is! But let us place all
in Mary's hands by this devotion. When we have given ourselves to
Mary to the very utmost of our power, by despoiling ourselves
completely in her honor, she will far outdo us in generosity and will
repay us a hundredfold. She will communicate herself to us, with her
merits and virtues; she will place our presents on the golden plate
of her charity; she will clothe us, as Rebecca clothed Jacob, with
the beautiful garments of her elder and only Son, Jesus Christ
- that
is, with His merits, which she has at her disposal; and thus, after
we have despoiled ourselves of everything in her honor, we shall be
"clothed in double garments"; that is, the garments, the
ornaments, the perfumes, the merits and the virtues of Jesus and Mary
clothe the soul of their slave, who has despoiled himself and who
perseveres in his despoliation.
Charity in the Highest Degree
39. Moreover, to give
ourselves thus to Our Lady is to practice charity towards our
neighbor in the highest possible degree, because we give her all that
we hold most dear and let her dispose of it at her will in favor of
the living and the dead.
It Increases the Grace of God in Us
40. By this devotion we
place our graces, merits and virtues in safety, for we make Mary the
depository of them all, saying to her: "See, my dear Mother,
here are the good works that I have been able to do through the grace
of your dear Son; I am not able to keep them on account of my own
weakness and inconstancy, and also because of the many wicked enemies
who attack me day and night. Alas! One may see every day the cedars
of Lebanon fall into the mire and the eagles, which had raised
themselves to the sun, become birds of night; and so do a thousand of
the just fall on my left hand and ten thousand on my right. But you,
my most powerful princess, sustain me lest I fall; keep all my
possessions for fear I may be robbed of them. All I have I entrust to
you. I know well who you are; therefore, I entrust myself entirely to
you; you are faithful to God and to men; you will not allow anything
to perish that I entrust to you; you are powerful, and nothing can
hurt you nor rob you of anything you hold in your hands." "When
you follow Mary, you will not go astray; when you pray to her, you
will not despair; when you think of her, you will not err; when she
sustains you, you will not fall; when she protects you, you will not
fear; when she leads you, you will not become tired; when she favors
you, you will arrive safely." And again: "She keeps her Son
from striking us; she keeps the devil from hurting us; she keeps our
virtues from escaping us; she keeps our merits from being destroyed;
she keeps our graces from being lost." These are the words of
St. Bernard. They express in substance all I have said. Were there
but this one motive to incite in me a desire for this devotion
- namely,
that it is a sure means of keeping me in the grace of God and even of
increasing that grace in me, my heart ought to burn with longing for
it.
It Renders the Soul Free
41. This devotion truly
frees the soul with the liberty of the children of God. Since for
love of Mary we reduce ourselves freely to slavery, she, out of
gratitude, will dilate our heart, intensify our love and cause us to
walk with giant steps in the way of God's commandments. She delivers
the soul from weariness, sadness and scruples. It was this devotion
which Our Lord taught to Mother Agnes of Jesus as a sure means of
delivering her from the severe sufferings and perplexities which
troubled her. "Make yourself," He said, "My Mother's
slave." She did so, and in a moment her troubles ceased.
Obedience to the Counsels of the Church
42. To show that this
devotion is rightfully authorized it would be necessary to mention
the bulls of the Popes and the pastoral letters of the bishops,
speaking in its favor; the indulgences granted to it; the
confraternities established in its honor; the examples of the many
Saints and illustrious persons who have practiced it. But all that I
shall leave out.
