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1. Mary's
part in the Incarnation
14. With the
whole Church I acknowledge that Mary, being a mere creature fashioned
by the hands of God is, compared to his infinite majesty, less than an
atom, or rather is simply nothing, since he alone can say, "I am he who
is". Consequently, this great Lord, who is ever independent and
self-sufficient, never had and does not now have any absolute need of
the Blessed Virgin for the accomplishment of his will and the
manifestation of his glory. To do all things he has only to will them.
15. However, I declare that, considering things as they are, because
God has decided to begin and accomplish his greatest works through the
Blessed Virgin ever since he created her, we can safely believe that he
will not change his plan in the time to come, for he is God and
therefore does not change in his thoughts or his way of acting.
16. God the Father gave his only Son to the world only through Mary.
Whatever desires the patriarchs may have cherished, whatever entreaties
the prophets and saints of the Old Law may have had for 4,000 years to
obtain that treasure, it was Mary alone who merited it and found grace
before God by the power of her prayers and the perfection of her
virtues. "The world being unworthy," said Saint Augustine, "to receive
the Son of God directly from the hands of the Father, he gave his Son
to Mary for the world to receive him from her."
The Son of God became man for our salvation but only in Mary and
through Mary.
God the Holy Spirit formed Jesus Christ in Mary but only after having
asked her consent through one of the chief ministers of his court.
17. God the Father imparted to Mary his fruitfulness as far as a mere
creature was capable of receiving it, to enable her to bring forth his
Son and all the members of his mystical body.
18. God the Son came into her virginal womb as a new Adam into his
earthly paradise, to take his delight there and produce hidden wonders
of grace.
God-made-man found freedom in imprisoning himself in her womb. He
displayed power in allowing himself to be borne by this young maiden.
He found his glory and that of his Father in hiding his splendours from
all creatures here below and revealing them only to Mary. He glorified
his independence and his majesty in depending upon this loveable virgin
in his conception, his birth, his presentation in the temple, and in
the thirty years of his hidden life. Even at his death she had to be
present so that he might be united with her in one sacrifice and be
immolated with her consent to the eternal Father, just as formerly
Isaac was offered in sacrifice by Abraham when he accepted the will of
God. It was Mary who nursed him, fed him, cared for him, reared him,
and sacrificed him for us.
The Holy Spirit could not leave such wonderful and inconceivable
dependence of God unmentioned in the Gospel, though he concealed almost
all the wonderful things that Wisdom Incarnate did during his hidden
life in order to bring home to us its infinite value and glory. Jesus
gave more glory to God his Father by submitting to his Mother for
thirty years than he would have given him had he converted the whole
world by working the greatest miracles. How highly then do we glorify
God when to please him we submit ourselves to Mary, taking Jesus as our
sole model.
19. If we examine closely the remainder of the life of Jesus Christ, we
see that he chose to begin his miracles through Mary. It was by her
word that he sanctified Saint John the Baptist in the womb of his
mother, Saint Elizabeth; no sooner had Mary spoken than John was
sanctified. This was his first and greatest miracle of grace. At the
wedding in Cana he changed water into wine at her humble prayer, and
this was his first miracle in the order of nature. He began and
continued his miracles through Mary and he will continue them through
her until the end of time.
20. God the Holy Spirit, who does not produce any divine person, became
fruitful through Mary whom he espoused. It was with her, in her and of
her that he produced his masterpiece, God-made-man, and that he
produces every day until the end of the world the members of the body
of this adorable Head. For this reason the more he finds Mary his dear
and inseparable spouse in a soul the more powerful and effective he
becomes in producing Jesus Christ in that soul and that soul in Jesus
Christ.
21. This does not mean that the Blessed Virgin confers on the Holy
Spirit a fruitfulness which he does not already possess. Being God, he
has the ability to produce just like the Father and the Son, although
he does not use this power and so does not produce another divine
person. But it does mean that the Holy Spirit chose to make use of our
Blessed Lady, although he had no absolute need of her, in order to
become actively fruitful in producing Jesus Christ and his members in
her and by her. This is a mystery of grace unknown even to many of the
most learned and spiritual of Christians.
2. Mary's
part in the sanctification of souls
22. The plan
adopted by the three persons of the Blessed Trinity in the Incarnation,
the first coming of Jesus Christ, is adhered to each day in an
invisible manner throughout the Church and they will pursue it to the
end of time until the last coming of Jesus Christ.
23. God the Father gathered all the waters together and called them the
seas (maria). He gathered all his graces together and called them Mary
(Maria). The great God has a treasury or storehouse full of riches in
which he has enclosed all that is beautiful, resplendent, rare, and
precious, even his own Son. This immense treasury is none other than
Mary whom the saints call the "treasury of the Lord". From her fullness
all men are made rich.
24. God the Son imparted to his mother all that he gained by his life
and death, namely, his infinite merits and his eminent virtues. He made
her the treasurer of all his Father had given him as heritage. Through
her he applies his merits to his members and through her he transmits
his virtues and distributes his graces. She is his mystical channel,
his aqueduct, through which he causes his mercies to flow gently and
abundantly.
25. God the Holy Spirit entrusted his wondrous gifts to Mary, his
faithful spouse, and chose her as the dispenser of all he possesses, so
that she distributes all his gifts and graces to whom she wills, as
much as she wills, how she wills and when she wills. No heavenly gift
is given to men which does not pass through her virginal hands. Such
indeed is the will of God, who has decreed that we should have all
things through Mary, so that, making herself poor and lowly,, and
hiding herself in the depths of nothingness during her whole life, she
might be enriched, exalted and honoured by almighty God. Such are the
views of the Church and the early Fathers.
26. Were I speaking to the so-called intellectuals of today, I would
prove at great length by quoting Latin texts taken from Scripture and
the Fathers of the Church all that I am now stating so simply. I could
also instance solid proofs which can be read in full in Fr. Poiré's
book "The Triple Crown of the Blessed Virgin". But I am speaking mainly
for the poor and simple who have more good will and faith than the
common run of scholars. As they believe more simply and more
meritoriously, let me merely state the truth to them quite plainly
without bothering to quote Latin passages which they would not
understand. Nevertheless, I shall quote some texts as they occur to my
mind as I go along.
27. Since grace enhances our human nature and glory adds a still
greater perfection to grace, it is certain that our Lord remains in
heaven just as much the Son of Mary as he was on earth. Consequently he
has retained the submissiveness and obedience of the most perfect of
all children towards the best of all mothers.
We must take care, however, not to consider this dependence as an
abasement or imperfection in Jesus Christ. For Mary, infinitely
inferior to her Son, who is God, does not command him in the same way
as an earthly mother would command her child who is beneath her. Since
she is completely transformed in God by that grace and glory which
transforms all the saints in him, she does not ask or wish or do
anything which is contrary to the eternal and changeless will of God.
When therefore we read in the writings of Saint Bernard, Saint
Bernardine, Saint Bonaventure, and others that all in heaven and on
earth, even God himself, is subject to the Blessed Virgin, they mean
that the authority which God was pleased to give her is so great that
she seems to have the same power as God. Her prayers and requests are
so powerful with him that he accepts them as commands in the sense that
he never resists his dear mother's prayer because it is always humble
and conformed to his will.
Moses by the power of his prayer curbed God's anger against the
Israelites so effectively that the infinitely great and merciful Lord
was unable to withstand him and asked Moses to let him be angry and
punish that rebellious people. How much greater, then, will be the
prayer of the humble Virgin Mary, worthy Mother of God, which is more
powerful with the King of heaven than the prayers and intercession of
all the angels and saints in heaven and on earth.
28. Mary has authority over the angels and the blessed in heaven. As a
reward for her great humility, God gave her the power and the mission
of assigning to saints the thrones made vacant by the apostate angels
who fell away through pride.
Such is the will of almighty God who exalts the humble, that the powers
of heaven, earth and hell, willingly or unwillingly, must obey the
commands of the humble Virgin Mary. For God has made her queen of
heaven and earth, leader of his armies, keeper of his treasures,
dispenser of his graces, worker of his wonders, restorer of the human
race, mediatrix on behalf of men, destroyer of his enemies, and
faithful associate in his great works and triumphs.
29. God the Father wishes Mary to be the mother of his children until
the end of time and so he says to her, "Dwell in Jacob", that is to
say, take up your abode permanently in my children, in my holy ones
represented by Jacob, and not in the children of the devil and sinners
represented by Esau.
30. Just as in natural and bodily generation there is a father and a
mother, so in the supernatural and spiritual generation there is a
father who is God and a mother who is Mary. All true children of God
have God for their father and Mary for their mother; anyone who does
not have Mary for his mother, does not have God for his father. This is
why the reprobate, such as heretics and schismatics, who hate, despise
or ignore the Blessed Virgin, do not have God for their father though
they arrogantly claim they have, because they do not have Mary for
their mother. Indeed if they had her for their mother they would love
and honour her as good and true children naturally love and honour the
mother who gave them life.
An infallible and unmistakable sign by which we can distinguish a
heretic, a man of false doctrine, an enemy of God, from one of God's
true friends is that the heretic and the hardened sinner show nothing
but contempt and indifference for our Lady. He endeavours by word and
example, openly or insidiously - sometimes under specious pretexts - to
belittle the love and veneration shown to her. God the Father has not
told Mary to dwell in them because they are, alas, other Esaus.
31. God the Son wishes to form himself, and, in a manner of speaking,
become incarnate every day in his members through his dear Mother. To
her he said: "Take Israel for your inheritance." It is as if he said,
God the Father has given me as heritage all the nations of the earth,
all men good and evil, predestinate and reprobate. To the good I shall
be father and advocate, to the bad a just avenger, but to all I shall
be a judge. But you, my dear Mother, will have for your heritage and
possession only the predestinate represented by Israel. As their loving
mother, you will give them birth, feed them and rear them. As their
queen, you will lead, govern and defend them.
32. "This one and that one were born in her." According to the
explanation of some of the Fathers, the first man born of Mary is the
God-man, Jesus Christ. If Jesus Christ, the head of mankind, is born of
her, the predestinate, who are members of this head, must also as a
necessary consequence be born of her. One and the same mother does not
give birth to the head without the members nor to the members without
the head, for these would be monsters in the order of nature. In the
order of grace likewise the head and the members are born of the same
mother. If a member of the mystical body of Christ, that is, one of the
predestinate, were born of a mother other than Mary who gave birth to
the head, he would not be one of the predestinate, nor a member of
Jesus Christ, but a monster in the order of grace.
33. Moreover, Jesus is still as much as ever the fruit of Mary, as
heaven and earth repeat thousands of times a day: "Blessed is the fruit
of thy womb, Jesus." It is therefore certain that Jesus is the fruit
and gift of Mary for every single man who possesses him, just as truly
as he is for all mankind. Consequently, if any of the faithful have
Jesus formed in their heart they can boldly say, "It is thanks to Mary
that what I possess is Jesus her fruit, and without her I would not
have him." We can attribute more truly to her what Saint Paul said of
himself, "I am in labour again with all the children of God until Jesus
Christ, my Son, is formed in them to the fullness of his age." Saint
Augustine, surpassing himself as well as all that I have said so far,
affirms that in order to be conformed to the image of the Son of God
all the predestinate, while in the world, are hidden in the womb of the
Blessed Virgin where they are protected, nourished, cared for and
developed by this good Mother, until the day she brings them forth to a
life of glory after death, which the Church calls the birthday of the
just. This is indeed a mystery of grace unknown to the reprobate and
little known even to the predestinate!
34. God the Holy Spirit wishes to fashion his chosen ones in and
through Mary. He tells her, "My well-beloved, my spouse, let all your
virtues take root in my chosen ones that they may grow from strength to
strength and from grace to grace. When you were living on earth,
practising the most sublime virtues, I was so pleased with you that I
still desire to find you on earth without your ceasing to be in heaven.
Reproduce yourself then in my chosen ones, so that I may have the joy
of seeing in them the roots of your invincible faith, profound
humility, total mortification, sublime prayer, ardent charity, your
firm hope and all your virtues. You are always my spouse, as faithful,
pure, and fruitful as ever. May your faith give me believers; your
purity, virgins; your fruitfulness, elect and living temples."
35. When Mary has taken root in a soul she produces in it wonders of
grace which only she can produce; for she alone is the fruitful virgin
who never had and never will have her equal in purity and fruitfulness.
Together with the Holy Spirit Mary produced the greatest thing that
ever was or ever will be: a God-man. She will consequently produce the
marvels which will be seen in the latter times. The formation and the
education of the great saints who will come at the end of the world are
reserved to her, for only this singular and wondrous virgin can produce
in union with the Holy Spirit singular and wondrous things.
36. When the Holy Spirit, her spouse, finds Mary in a soul, he hastens
there and enters fully into it. He gives himself generously to that
soul according to the place it has given to his spouse. One of the main
reasons why the Holy Spirit does not work striking wonders in souls is
that he fails to find in them a sufficiently close union with his
faithful and inseparable spouse. I say "inseparable spouse", for from
the moment the substantial love of the Father and the Son espoused Mary
to form Jesus, the head of the elect, and Jesus in the elect, he has
never disowned her, for she has always been faithful and fruitful.
3. Consequences
37. We must
obviously conclude from what I have just said:
First, that Mary received from God a far-reaching dominion over the
souls of the elect. Otherwise she could not make her dwelling-place in
them as God the Father has ordered her to do, and she could not
conceive them, nourish them, and bring them forth to eternal life as
their mother. She could not have them for her inheritance and her
possession and form them in Jesus and Jesus in them. She could not
implant in their heart the roots of her virtues, nor be the inseparable
associate of the Holy Spirit in all these works of grace. None of these
things, I repeat, could she do unless she had received from the
Almighty rights and authority over their souls. For God, having given
her power over his only-begotten and natural Son, also gave her power
over his adopted children - not only in what concerns their body -
which would be of little account - but also in what concerns their
soul.
38. Mary is the Queen of heaven and earth by grace as Jesus is king by
nature and by conquest. But as the kingdom of Jesus Christ exists
primarily in the heart or interior of man, according to the words of
the Gospel, "The kingdom of God is within you", so the kingdom of the
Blessed Virgin is principally in the interior of man, that is, in his
soul. It is principally in souls that she is glorified with her Son
more than in any visible creature. So we may call her, as the saints
do, Queen of our hearts.
39. Secondly, we must conclude that, being necessary to God by a
necessity which is called "hypothetical", (that is, because God so
willed it), the Blessed Virgin is all the more necessary for men to
attain their final end. Consequently we must not place devotion to her
on the same level as devotion to the other saints as if it were merely
something optional.
40. The pious and learned Jesuit, Suarez, Justus Lipsius, a devout and
erudite theologian of Louvain, and many others have proved
incontestably that devotion to our Blessed Lady is necessary to attain
salvation. This they show from the teaching of the Fathers, notably St.
Augustine, St. Ephrem, deacon of Edessa, St. Cyril of Jerusalem, St.
Germanus of Constantinople, St. John Demascene, St. Anselm, St.
Bernard, St. Bernardine, St. Thomas and St. Bonaventure. Even according
to Oecolampadius and other heretics, lack of esteem and love for the
Virgin Mary is an infallible sign of God's disapproval. On the other
hand, to be entirely and genuinely devoted to her is a sure sign of
God's approval.
41. The types and texts of the Old and New Testaments prove the truth
of this, the opinions and examples of the saints confirm it, and reason
and experience teach and demonstrate it. Even the devil and his
followers, forced by the evidence of the truth, were frequently obliged
against their will to admit it. For brevity's sake, I shall quote one
only of the many passages which I have collected from the Fathers and
Doctors of the Church to support this truth. "Devotion to you, O
Blessed Virgin, is a means of salvation which God gives to those whom
he wishes to save" (St. John Damascene).
42. I could tell many stories in evidence of what I have just said.
(1) One is recorded in the chronicles of St. Francis. The saint saw in
ecstasy an immense ladder reaching to heaven, at the top of which stood
the Blessed Virgin. This is the ladder, he was told, by which we must
all go to heaven.
(2) There is another related in the Chronicles of St. Dominic. Near
Carcassonne, where St. Dominic was preaching the Rosary, there was an
unfortunate heretic who was possessed by a multitude of devils. These
evil spirits to their confusion were compelled at the command of our
Lady to confess many great and consoling truths concerning devotion to
her. They did this so clearly and forcibly that, however weak our
devotion to our Lady may be, we cannot read this authentic story
containing such an unwilling tribute paid by the devils to devotion to
our Lady without shedding tears of joy.
43. If devotion to the Blessed Virgin is necessary for all men simply
to work out their salvation, it is even more necessary for those who
are called to a special perfection. I do not believe that anyone can
acquire intimate union with our Lord and perfect fidelity to the Holy
Spirit without a very close union with the most Blessed Virgin and an
absolute dependence on her support.
44. Mary alone found grace before God without the help of any other
creature. All those who have since found grace before God have found it
only through her. She was full of grace when she was greeted by the
Archangel Gabriel and was filled with grace to overflowing by the Holy
Spirit when he so mysteriously overshadowed her. From day to day, from
moment to moment, she increased so much this twofold plenitude that she
attained an immense and inconceivable degree of grace. So much so, that
the Almighty made her the sole custodian of his treasures and the sole
dispenser of his graces. She can now ennoble, exalt and enrich all she
chooses. She can lead them along the narrow path to heaven and guide
them through the narrow gate to life. She can give a royal throne,
sceptre and crown to whom she wishes. Jesus is always and everywhere
the fruit and Son of Mary and Mary is everywhere the genuine tree that
bears that Fruit of life, the true Mother who bears that Son.
45. To Mary alone God gave the keys of the cellars of divine love and
the ability to enter the most sublime and secret ways of perfection,
and lead others along them. Mary alone gives to the unfortunate
children of unfaithful Eve entry into that earthly paradise where they
may walk pleasantly with God and be safely hidden from their enemies.
There they can feed without fear of death on the delicious fruit of the
tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They can
drink copiously the heavenly waters of that beauteous fountain which
gushes forth in such abundance. As she is herself the earthly paradise,
that virgin and blessed land from which sinful Adam and Eve were
expelled she lets only those whom she chooses enter her domain in order
to make them saints.
46. All the rich among the people, to use an expression of the Holy
Spirit as explained by St. Bernard, all the rich among the people will
look pleadingly upon her countenance throughout all ages and
particularly as the world draws to its end. This means that the
greatest saints, those richest in grace and virtue will be the most
assiduous in praying to the most Blessed Virgin, looking up to her as
the perfect model to imitate and as a powerful helper to assist them.
47. I said that this will happen especially towards the end of the
world, and indeed soon, because Almighty God and his holy Mother are to
raise up great saints who will surpass in holiness most other saints as
much as the cedars of Lebanon tower above little shrubs. This has been
revealed to a holy soul whose life has been written by M. de Renty.
48. These great souls filled with grace and zeal will be chosen to
oppose the enemies of God who are raging on all sides. They will be
exceptionally devoted to the Blessed Virgin. Illumined by her light,
strengthened by her food, guided by her spirit, supported by her arm,
sheltered under her protection, they will fight with one hand and build
with the other. With one hand they will give battle, overthrowing and
crushing heretics and their heresies, schismatics and their schisms,
idolaters and their idolatries, sinners and their wickedness. With the
other hand they will build the temple of the true Solomon and the
mystical city of God, namely, the Blessed Virgin, who is called by the
Fathers of the Church the Temple of Solomon and the City of God . By
word and example they will draw all men to a true devotion to her and
though this will make many enemies, it will also bring about many
victories and much glory to God alone. This is what God revealed to St.
Vincent Ferrer, that outstanding apostle of his day, as he has amply
shown in one of his works.
This seems to have been foretold by the Holy Spirit in Psalm 58: "The
Lord will reign in Jacob and all the ends of the earth. They will be
converted towards evening and they will be as hungry as dogs and they
will go around the city to find something to eat." This city around
which men will roam at the end of the world seeking conversion and the
appeasement of the hunger they have for justice is the most Blessed
Virgin, who is called by the Holy Spirit the City of God.
4. Mary's part in the latter times
49. The
salvation of the world began through Mary and through her it must be
accomplished. Mary scarcely appeared in the first coming of Jesus
Christ so that men, as yet insufficiently instructed and enlightened
concerning the person of her Son, might not wander from the truth by
becoming too strongly attached to her. This would apparently have
happened if she had been known, on account of the wondrous charms with
which Almighty God had endowed even her outward appearance. So true is
this that St. Denis the Areopagite tells us in his writings that when
he saw her he would have taken her for a goddess, because of her
incomparable beauty, had not his well-grounded faith taught him
otherwise. But in the second coming of Jesus Christ, Mary must be known
and openly revealed by the Holy Spirit so that Jesus may be known,
loved and served through her. The reasons which moved the Holy Spirit
to hide his spouse during her life and to reveal but very little of her
since the first preaching of the gospel exist no longer.
1) God wishes to make Mary better known in the
latter times.
50. God wishes therefore to reveal Mary, his masterpiece, and make her
more known in these latter times:
(1) Because she
kept herself hidden in this world and in her great humility considered
herself lower than dust, having obtained from God, his apostles and
evangelists the favour of being made known.
(2) Because, as Mary is not only God's masterpiece of glory in heaven,
but also his masterpiece of grace on earth, he wishes to be glorified
and praised because of her by those living upon earth.
(3) Since she is the dawn which precedes and discloses the Sun of
Justice Jesus Christ, she must be known and acknowledged so that Jesus
may be known and acknowledged.
(4) As she was the way by which Jesus first came to us, she will again
be the way by which he will come to us the second time though not in
the same manner.
(5) Since she is the sure means, the direct and immaculate way to Jesus
and the perfect guide to him, it is through her that souls who are to
shine forth in sanctity must find him. He who finds Mary finds life,
that is, Jesus Christ who is the way, the truth and the life. But no
one can find Mary who does not look for her. No one can look for her
who does not know her, for no one seeks or desires something unknown.
Mary then must be better known than ever for the deeper understanding
and the greater glory of the Blessed Trinity.
(6) In these latter times Mary must shine forth more than ever in
mercy, power and grace; in mercy, to bring back and welcome lovingly
the poor sinners and wanderers who are to be converted and return to
the Catholic Church; in power, to combat the enemies of God who will
rise up menacingly to seduce and crush by promises and threats all
those who oppose them; finally, she must shine forth in grace to
inspire and support the valiant soldiers and loyal servants of Jesus
Christ who are fighting for his cause.
(7) Lastly, Mary must become as terrible as an army in battle array to
the devil and his followers, especially in these latter times. For
Satan, knowing that he has little time - even less now than ever - to
destroy souls, intensifies his efforts and his onslaughts every day. He
will not hesitate to stir up savage persecutions and set treacherous
snares for Mary's faithful servants and children whom he finds more
difficult to overcome than others.
51. It is
chiefly in reference to these last wicked persecutions of the devil,
daily increasing until the advent of the reign of anti-Christ, that we
should understand that first and well-known prophecy and curse of God
uttered against the serpent in the garden of paradise. It is opportune
to explain it here for the glory of the Blessed Virgin, the salvation
of her children and the confusion of the devil. "I will place enmities
between you and the woman, between your race and her race; she will
crush your head and you will lie in wait for her heel" (Gen. 3:15).
52. God has established only one enmity - but it is an irreconcilable
one - which will last and even go on increasing to the end of time.
That enmity is between Mary, his worthy Mother, and the devil, between
the children and the servants of the Blessed Virgin and the children
and followers of Lucifer.
Thus the most fearful enemy that God has set up against the devil is
Mary, his holy Mother. From the time of the earthly paradise, although
she existed then only in his mind, he gave her such a hatred for his
accursed enemy, such ingenuity in exposing the wickedness of the
ancient serpent and such power to defeat, overthrow and crush this
proud rebel, that Satan fears her not only more than angels and men but
in a certain sense more than God himself. This does not mean that the
anger, hatred and power of God are not infinitely greater than the
Blessed Virgin's, since her attributes are limited. It simply means
that Satan, being so proud, suffers infinitely more in being vanquished
and punished by a lowly and humble servant of God, for her humility
humiliates him more than the power of God. Moreover, God has given Mary
such great power over the evil spirits that, as they have often been
forced unwillingly to admit through the lips of possessed persons, they
fear one of her pleadings for a soul more than the prayers of all the
saints, and one of her threats more than all their other torments.
53. What Lucifer lost by pride Mary won by humility. What Eve ruined
and lost by disobedience Mary saved by obedience. By obeying the
serpent, Eve ruined her children as well as herself and delivered them
up to him. Mary by her perfect fidelity to God saved her children with
herself and consecrated them to his divine majesty.
54. God has established not just one enmity but "enmities", and not
only between Mary and Satan but between her race and his race. That is,
God has put enmities, antipathies and hatreds between the true children
and servants of the Blessed Virgin and the children and slaves of the
devil. They have no love and no sympathy for each other. The children
of Belial, the slaves of Satan, the friends of the world, - for they
are all one and the same - have always persecuted and will persecute
more than ever in the future those who belong to the Blessed Virgin,
just as Cain of old persecuted his brother Abel, and Esau his brother
Jacob. These are the types of the wicked and of the just. But the
humble Mary will always triumph over Satan, the proud one, and so great
will be her victory that she will crush his head, the very seat of his
pride. She will unmask his serpent's cunning and expose his wicked
plots. She will scatter to the winds his devilish plans and to the end
of time will keep her faithful servants safe from his cruel claws.
But Mary's power over the evil spirits will especially shine forth in
the latter times, when Satan will lie in wait for her heel, that is,
for her humble servants and her poor children whom she will rouse to
fight against him. In the eyes of the world they will be little and
poor and, like the heel, lowly in the eyes of all, down-trodden and
crushed as is the heel by the other parts of the body. But in
compensation for this they will be rich in God's graces, which will be
abundantly bestowed on them by Mary. They will be great and exalted
before God in holiness. They will be superior to all creatures by their
great zeal and so strongly will they be supported by divine assistance
that, in union with Mary, they will crush the head of Satan with their
heel, that is, their humility, and bring victory to Jesus Christ.
2) Devotion to Mary is especially necessary in the
latter times.
55. Finally, God in these times wishes his Blessed Mother to be more
known, loved and honoured than she has ever been. This will certainly
come about if the elect, by the grace and light of the Holy Spirit,
adopt the interior and perfect practice of the devotion which I shall
later unfold. Then they will clearly see that beautiful Star of the
Sea, as much as faith allows. Under her guidance they will perceive the
splendours of this Queen and will consecrate themselves entirely to her
service as subjects and slaves of love. They will experience her
motherly kindness and affection for her children. They will love her
tenderly and will appreciate how full of compassion she is and how much
they stand in need of her help. In all circumstances they will have
recourse to her as their advocate and mediatrix with Jesus Christ. They
will see clearly that she is the safest, easiest, shortest and most
perfect way of approaching Jesus and will surrender themselves to her,
body and soul, without reserve in order to belong entirely to Jesus.
56. But what will they be like, these servants, these slaves, these
children of Mary?
They will be ministers of the Lord who, like a flaming fire, will
enkindle everywhere the fires of divine love. They will become, in
Mary's powerful hands, like sharp arrows, with which she will transfix
her enemies.
They will be as the children of Levi, thoroughly purified by the fire
of great tribulations and closely joined to God. They will carry the
gold of love in their heart, the frankincense of prayer in their mind
and the myrrh of mortification in their body. They will bring to the
poor and lowly everywhere the sweet fragrance of Jesus, but they will
bring the odour of death to the great, the rich and the proud of this
world.
57. They will be like thunder-clouds flying through the air at the
slightest breath of the Holy Spirit. Attached to nothing, surprised at
nothing, troubled at nothing, they will shower down the rain of God's
word and of eternal life. They will thunder against sin, they will
storm against the world, they will strike down the devil and his
followers and for life and for death, they will pierce through and
through with the two-edged sword of God's word all those against whom
they are sent by Almighty God.
58. They will be true apostles of the latter times to whom the Lord of
Hosts will give eloquence and strength to work wonders and carry off
glorious spoils from his enemies. They will sleep without gold or
silver and, more important still, without concern in the midst of other
priests, ecclesiastics and clerics. Yet they will have the silver wings
of the dove enabling them to go wherever the Holy Spirit calls them,
filled as they are with the resolve to seek the glory of God and the
salvation of souls. Wherever they preach, they will leave behind them
nothing but the gold of love, which is the fulfilment of the whole law.
59. Lastly, we know they will be true disciples of Jesus Christ,
imitating his poverty, his humility, his contempt of the world and his
love. They will point out the narrow way to God in pure truth according
to the holy Gospel, and not according to the maxims of the world. Their
hearts will not be troubled, nor will they show favour to anyone; they
will not spare or heed or fear any man, however powerful he may be.
They will have the two-edged sword of the word of God in their mouths
and the blood-stained standard of the Cross on their shoulders. They
will carry the crucifix in their right hand and the rosary in their
left, and the holy names of Jesus and Mary on their heart. The
simplicity and self-sacrifice of Jesus will be reflected in their whole
behaviour.
Such are the great men who are to come. By the will of God Mary is to
prepare them to extend his rule over the impious and unbelievers. But
when and how will this come about? Only God knows. For our part we must
yearn and wait for it in silence and in prayer: "I have waited and
waited."
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