MARY IS THE MOTHER OF REPENTANT SINNERS
Our Blessed Lady
told St. Bridget that she was the Mother not only of the just and innocent, but
also of sinners, provided they were willing to repent. 0, how prompt does a sinner
(desirous of amendment, and who flies to her feet) find this good Mother to
embrace and help him, far more so than any earthly mother! But whoever aspires
to be a child of this great Mother must first abandon sin, and then may hope to
be accepted as such. So long, then, as a sinner is obstinate, Mary cannot love
him; but if he (finding himself chained by some passion which keeps him a slave
of hell) recommends himself to the Blessed Virgin, and implores her, with confidence
and perseverance, to withdraw him from the state of sin in which he is, there
can be no doubt but this good Mother will extend her powerful hand to him, will
deliver him from his chains, and lead him to a state of salvation. The doctrine
that all prayers and works performed in a state of sin are sins, was condemned
as heretical by the sacred Council of Trent. St. Bernard says, that although
prayer in the mouth of a sinner is devoid of beauty, on account of its being
unaccompanied by charity, nevertheless it is useful, and obtains grace to
abandon sin ; for, as St. Thomas teaches, the prayer of a sinner, though
without merit, is an act which obtains the grace of forgiveness, since the
power of impetration is founded not on the merits of him who asks, but on the
divine goodness, and the merits and promises of Jesus Christ, who has said, '
Every one that asketh receiveth.' The same thing must be said of prayers offered
to the Divine Mother. 'If he who prays,' says St. Anselm, ' does not merit to
be heard, the merits of the Mother, to whom he recommends himself, will
intercede effectually.' Therefore, St. Bernard exhorts all sinners to have
recourse to Mary, invoking her with great confidence ; for though the sinner
does not himself merit the graces which he asks, yet he receives them, because
this Blessed Virgin asks and obtains them from God, on account of her own
merits. 'If a mother,' continues the same Saint, ' knew that her two sons bore
a mortal enmity to one another, and that each plotted against the other's life,
would she not exert herself to her utmost in order to reconcile them? This would be the duty of a good mother. And
thus it is, the Saint goes on to say, that Mary acts for she is the Mother of
Jesus, and the Mother of men. When she sees a sinner at enmity with Jesus
Christ, she cannot endure it, and does all in her power to make peace between
them. This most benign Lady only requires that the sinner should recommend
himself to her, and purpose amendment. When Mary sees a sinner at her feet,
imploring her mercy, she does not consider the crimes with which he is loaded,
but the intention with which he comes; and if this is good, even should he have
committed all possible sins, the most loving Mother embraces him, and does not
disdain to heal the wounds of his soul; for she is not only called the Mother
of Mercy, but is so truly and indeed, and shows herself such by the love and
tender ness with which she assists us all. And this is precisely what the
Blessed Virgin herself said to St. Bridget: ' However much a man sins, I am
ready immediately to receive him when he repents; nor do I pay attention to the
number of his sins, but only to the intention with which he comes; I do not
disdain to anoint and heal his wounds; for I am called, and truly am, the
Mother of Mercy.' Mary is the Mother of sinners who wish to repent, and as a
Mother she cannot do otherwise than compassionate them; nay more, she seems to
feel the miseries of her poor children as if they were her own. When the
Canaanitish woman begged our Lord to deliver her daughter from the devil who
possessed her, she said, ' Have mercy on me, 0 Lord, thou Son of David, my
daughter is grievously troubled by a devil.' But since the daughter, and not
the mother, was tormented, she should rather have said, 'Lord,' take compassion
on my daughter; and not, Have mercy on me; but no, she said, 'Have mercy on
me,' and was right; for the sufferings of children are felt by their mothers as
if they were their own. And it is precisely thus, says Richard of St. Lawrence,
that Mary prays to God when she recommends a sinner to Him who has had recourse
to her; she cries out for the sinful soul, 'Have mercy on me !' My Lord,' she
seems to say, ' this poor soul that is in sin is my daughter, and therefore,
pity, not so much her, as me, who am her Mother.' Would that all sinners had
recourse to this sweet Mother; for then certainly all would be pardoned by God!
'0 Mary,' exclaims St. Bonaventure, in rapturous astonishment, ' thou embracest
with maternal affection a sinner despised by the whole world, nor dost thou
leave him until thou hast reconciled the poor creature with his judge;'
meaning, that the sinner whilst in a state of sin is hated and loathed by all,
even by inanimate creatures; fire, air, and earth would chastise him, and
avenge the honor of their outraged Lord. But if this unhappy creature flies to
Mary, will Mary reject him? 0, no: provided he goes to her for help, and in
order to amend, she will embrace him with the affection of a mother, and will
not let him go, until, by her powerful intercession, she has reconciled him
with God, and reinstated him in grace.
EXAMPLE
In Turin, in the
year 1610, there was an obstinate heretic, who even on his death-bed would not
renounce his errors, notwithstanding all that was said to him by many priests
who attended upon him during eight successive days. At length one of them
almost forced him to have recourse to Mary, with these words: 'Mother of Jesus,
help me.' The heretic, as if awaking from a profound sleep, then said, ' I wish
to die a Catholic:' he was thereupon reconciled with the Church, and in two
hours expired.
PRAYER
0 my sovereign
Queen and worthy Mother of my God, most holy Mary: I, seeing myself, as I do,
so despicable, and loaded with so many sins, ought not to presume to call thee
Mother, or even to approach thee; yet I will not allow my miseries to deprive
me of the consolation and confidence that I feel in calling thee Mother; I know
well that I deserve that thou shouldst reject me; but I beseech thee to re
member all that thy Son Jesus has endured for me, and then reject me if thou
canst. I am a wretched sinner, who, more than all others, have despised the
infinite majesty of God: but the evil is done. To thee have I recourse; thou
canst help me: my Mother, help me. Say not that thou canst not do so; for I
know that thou art all powerful, and that thou obtainest whatever thou desirest
of God; and if thou say est that thou wilt not help me, tell me at least to
whom I can apply in this my so great misfortune. Either pity me, will I say,
with the devout St. Anselm, ' 0, my Jesus, and forgive me, or do thou pity me,
my mother Mary, by interceding for me, or at least tell me to whom T can have
recourse, who is more compassionate, or in whom I can have greater confidence
than in thee.' 0, no; neither on earth, nor in heaven, can I find anyone who
has more compassion for the miserable, or who is better able to assist me.
Thou, 0 Jesus, art my Father, and thou, Mary, art my Mother. You both love the
most miserable, and go seeking them in order to save them. I deserve hell and
am the most miserable of all. But you need not seek me, nor do I presume to ask
so much. I now present myself before you 'with a certain hope that I shall not
be abandoned. Behold me at your feet; my Jesus, forgive me; my Mother Mary,
help me.
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MONTH OF OUR BLESSED LADY - FOURTEENTH DAY
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