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1. Basic
principles of devotion to Mary
60. Having
spoken briefly of the necessity of devotion to the Blessed Virgin, I
must now explain what this devotion consists in. This I will do with
God's help after I have laid down certain basic truths which throw
light on the remarkable and sound devotion which I propose to unfold.
First principle: Christ must be the ultimate end
of all devotions
61. Jesus, our Saviour, true God and true man must be the ultimate end
of all our other devotions; otherwise they would be false and
misleading. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and end of
everything. "We labour," says St. Paul, "only to make all men perfect
in Jesus Christ."
For in him alone dwells the entire fullness of the divinity and the
complete fullness of grace, virtue and perfection. In him alone we have
been blessed with every spiritual blessing; he is the only teacher from
whom we must learn; the only Lord on whom we should depend; the only
Head to whom we should be united and the only model that we should
imitate. He is the only Physician that can heal us; the only Shepherd
that can feed us; the only Way that can lead us; the only Truth that we
can believe; the only Life that can animate us. He alone is everything
to us and he alone can satisfy all our desires.
We are given no other name under heaven by which we can be saved. God
has laid no other foundation for our salvation, perfection and glory
than Jesus. Every edifice which is not built on that firm rock, is
founded upon shifting sands and will certainly fall sooner or later.
Every one of the faithful who is not united to him is like a branch
broken from the stem of the vine. It falls and withers and is fit only
to be burnt. If we live in Jesus and Jesus lives in us, we need not
fear damnation. Neither angels in heaven nor men on earth, nor devils
in hell, no creature whatever can harm us, for no creature can separate
us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. Through him, with him
and in him, we can do all things and render all honour and glory to the
Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit; we can make ourselves perfect
and be for our neighbour a fragrance of eternal life.
62. If then we are establishing sound devotion to our Blessed Lady, it
is only in order to establish devotion to our Lord more perfectly, by
providing a smooth but certain way of reaching Jesus Christ. If
devotion to our Lady distracted us from our Lord, we would have to
reject it as an illusion of the devil. But this is far from being the
case. As I have already shown and will show again later on, this
devotion is necessary, simply and solely because it is a way of
reaching Jesus perfectly, loving him tenderly, and serving him
faithfully.
63. Here I turn to you for a moment, dear Jesus, to complain lovingly
to your divine Majesty that the majority of Christians, and even some
of the most learned among them, do not recognise the necessary bond
that unites you and your Blessed Mother. Lord, you are always with Mary
and Mary is always with you. She can never be without you because then
she would cease to be what she is. She is so completely transformed
into you by grace that she no longer lives, she no longer exists,
because you alone, dear Jesus, live and reign in her more perfectly
than in all the angels and saints. If we only knew the glory and the
love given to you by this wonderful creature, our feelings for you and
for her would be far different from those we have now. So intimately is
she united to you that it would be easier to separate light from the
sun, and heat from the fire. I go further, it would even be easier to
separate all the angels and saints from you than Mary; for she loves
you ardently, and glorifies you more perfectly than all your other
creatures put together.
64. In view of this, my dear Master, is it not astonishing and pitiful
to see the ignorance and short-sightedness of men with regard to your
holy Mother? I am not speaking so much of idolaters and pagans who do
not know you and consequently have no knowledge of her. I am not even
speaking of heretics and schismatics who have left you and your holy
Church and therefore are not interested in your holy Mother. I am
speaking of Catholics, and even of educated Catholics, who profess to
teach the faith to others but do not know you or your Mother except
speculatively, in a dry, cold and sterile way.
These people seldom speak of your Mother or devotion to her. They say
they are afraid that devotion to her will be abused and that you will
be offended by excessive honour paid to her. They protest loudly when
they see or hear a devout servant of Mary speak frequently with
feeling, conviction and vigour of devotion to her. When he speaks of
devotion to her as a sure means of finding and loving you without fear
or illusion, or when he says this devotion is a short road free from
danger, or an immaculate way free from imperfection, or a wondrous
secret of finding you, they put before him a thousand specious reasons
to show him how wrong he is to speak so much of Mary. There are, they
say, great abuses in this devotion which we should try to stamp out and
we should refer people to you rather than exhort them to have devotion
to your Mother, whom they already love adequately.
If they are sometimes heard speaking of devotion to your Mother, it is
not for the purpose of promoting it or convincing people of it but only
to destroy the abuses made of it. Yet all the while these persons are
devoid of piety or genuine devotion to you, for they have no devotion
to Mary. They consider the Rosary and the Scapular as devotions
suitable only for simple women or ignorant people. After all, they say,
we do not need them to be saved. If they come across one who loves our
Lady, who says the rosary or shows any devotion towards her, they soon
move him to a change of mind and heart. They advise him to say the
seven penitential psalms instead of the Rosary, and to show devotion to
Jesus instead of to Mary.
Dear Jesus, do these people possess your spirit? Do they please you by
acting in this way? Would it please you if we were to make no effort to
give pleasure to your Mother because we are afraid of offending you?
Does devotion to your holy Mother hinder devotion to you? Does Mary
keep for herself any honour we pay her? Is she a rival of yours? Is she
a stranger having no kinship with you? Does pleasing her imply
displeasing you? Does the gift of oneself to her constitute a
deprivation for you? Is love for her a lessening of our love for you?
65. Nevertheless, my dear Master, the majority of learned scholars
could not be further from devotion to your Mother, or show more
indifference to it even if all I have just said were true. Keep me from
their way of thinking and acting and let me share your feelings of
gratitude, esteem, respect and love for your holy Mother. I can then
love and glorify you all the more, because I will be imitating and
following you more closely.
66. As though I had said nothing so far to further her honour, grant me
now the grace to praise her more worthily, in spite of all her enemies
who are also yours. I can then say to them boldly with the saints, "Let
no one presume to expect mercy from God, who offends his holy Mother."
67. So that I may obtain from your mercy a genuine devotion to your
blessed Mother and spread it throughout the whole world, help me to
love you wholeheartedly, and for this intention accept the earnest
prayer I offer with St. Augustine and all who truly love you.
Prayer of Saint
Augustine
O Jesus Christ, you are my Father, my merciful God, my great King, my
good Shepherd, my only Master, my best helper, my beloved friend of
overwhelming beauty, my living Bread, my eternal priest. You are my
guide to my heavenly home, my one true light, my holy joy, my true way,
my shining wisdom, my unfeigned simplicity, the peace and harmony of my
soul, my perfect safeguard, my bounteous inheritance, my everlasting
salvation.
My loving Lord, Jesus Christ, why have I ever loved or desired anything
else in my life but you, my God? Where was I when I was not in
communion with you? From now on, I direct all my desires to be inspired
by you and centred on you. I direct them to press forward for they have
tarried long enough, to hasten towards their goal, to seek the one they
yearn for.
O Jesus, let him who does not love you be accursed, and filled with
bitterness. O gentle Jesus, let every worthy feeling of mine show you
love, take delight in you and admire you. O God of my heart and my
inheritance, Christ Jesus, may my heart mellow before the influence of
your spirit and may you live in me. May the flame of your love burn in
my soul. May it burn incessantly on the altar of my heart. May it glow
in my innermost being. May it spread its heat into the hidden recesses
of my soul and on the day of my consummation may I appear before you
consumed in your love. Amen.
Second
principle: We belong to Jesus and Mary as their slaves
68. From what Jesus Christ is in regard to us we must conclude, as St.
Paul says, that we belong not to ourselves but entirely to him as his
members and his slaves, for he bought us at an infinite price - the
shedding of his Precious Blood. Before baptism, we belonged to the
devil as slaves, but baptism made us in very truth slaves of Jesus.
We must therefore live, work and die for the sole purpose of bringing
forth fruit for him, glorifying him in our body and letting him reign
in our soul. We are his conquest, the people he has won, his heritage.
It is for this reason that the Holy Spirit compares us: 1) to trees
that are planted along the waters of grace in the field of the Church
and which must bear their fruit when the time comes; 2) to branches of
the vine of which Jesus is the stem, which must yield good grapes; 3)
to a flock of sheep of which Jesus is the Shepherd, which must increase
and give milk; 4) to good soil cultivated by God, where the seed will
spread and produce crops up to thirty-fold, sixty-fold, or a
hundred-fold. Our Lord cursed the barren fig-tree and condemned the
slothful servant who wasted his talent.
All this proves that he wishes to receive some fruit from our wretched
selves, namely, our good works, which by right belong to him alone,
"created in Jesus Christ for good works". These words of the Holy
Spirit show that Jesus is the sole source and must be the sole end of
all our good works, and that we must serve him not just as paid
servants but as slaves of love. Let me explain what I mean.
69. There are two ways of belonging to another person and being subject
to his authority. One is by ordinary service and the other is by
slavery. And so we must use the terms "servant" and "slave". Ordinary
service in Christian countries is when a man is employed to serve
another for a certain length of time at a wage which is fixed or agreed
upon. When a man is totally dependent on another for life, and must
serve his master without expecting any wages or recompense, when he is
treated just like a beast of the field over which the owner has the
right of life and death, then it is slavery.
70. Now there are three kinds of slavery; natural slavery, enforced
slavery, and voluntary slavery. All creatures are slaves of God in the
first sense, for "the earth and its fullness belong to the Lord". The
devils and the damned are slaves in the second sense. The saints in
heaven and the just on earth are slaves in the third sense. Voluntary
slavery is the most perfect of all three states, for by it we give the
greatest glory to God, who looks into the heart and wants it to be
given to him. Is he not indeed called the God of the heart or of the
loving will? For by this slavery we freely choose God and his service
before all things, even if we were not by our very nature obliged to do
so.
71. There is a world of difference between a servant and a slave. 1) A
servant does not give his employer all he is, all he has, and all he
can acquire by himself or through others. A slave, however, gives
himself to his master completely and exclusively with all he has and
all he can acquire. 2) A servant demands wages for the services
rendered to his employer. A slave, on the other hand, can expect
nothing, no matter what skill, attention or energy he may have put into
his work. 3) A servant can leave his employer whenever he pleases, or
at least when the term of his service expires, whereas the slave has no
such right. 4) An employer has no right of life and death over a
servant. Were he to kill him as he would a beast of burden, he would
commit murder. But the master of a slave has by law the right of life
and death over him, so that he can sell him to anyone he chooses or -
if you will pardon the comparison - kill him as he would kill his
horse. 5) Finally, a servant is in his employer's service only for a
time; a slave for always.
72. No other human state involves belonging more completely to another
than slavery. Among Christian peoples, nothing makes a person belong
more completely to Jesus and his holy Mother than voluntary slavery.
Our Lord himself gave us the example of this when out of love for us he
"took the form of a slave". Our Lady gave us the same example when she
called herself the handmaid or slave of the Lord. The Apostle
considered it an honour to be called "slave of Christ". Several times
in Holy Scripture, Christians are referred to as "slaves of Christ".
The Latin word "servus" at one time signified only a slave because
servants as we know them did not exist. Masters were served either by
slaves or by freedmen. The Catechism of the Council of Trent leaves no
doubt about our being slaves of Jesus Christ, using the unequivocal
term "Mancipia Christi", which plainly means: slaves of Christ.
73. Granting this, I say that we must belong to Jesus and serve him not
just as hired servants but as willing slaves who, moved by generous
love, commit themselves to his service after the manner of slaves for
the honour of belonging to him. Before we were baptised we were the
slaves of the devil, but baptism made us the slaves of Jesus.
Christians can only be slaves of the devil or slaves of Christ.
74. What I say in an absolute sense of our Lord, I say in a relative
sense of our Blessed Lady. Jesus, in choosing her as his inseparable
associate in his life, glory and power in heaven and on earth, has
given her by grace in his kingdom all the same rights and privileges
that he possesses by nature. "All that belongs to God by nature belongs
to Mary by grace", say the saints, and, according to them, just as
Jesus and Mary have the same will and the same power, they have also
the same subjects, servants and slaves.
75. Following therefore the teaching of the saints and of many great
men we can call ourselves, and become, the loving slaves of our Blessed
Lady in order to become more perfect slaves of Jesus. Mary is the means
our Lord chose to come to us and she is also the means we should choose
to go to him, for she is not like other creatures who tend rather to
lead us away from God than towards him, if we are over-attached to
them. Mary's strongest inclination is to unite us to Jesus, her Son,
and her Son's strongest wish is that we come to him through his Blessed
Mother. He is pleased and honoured just as a king would be pleased and
honoured if a citizen, wanting to become a better subject and slave of
the king, made himself the slave of the queen. That is why the Fathers
of the Church, and St. Bonaventure after them, assert that the Blessed
Virgin is the way which leads to our Lord.
76. Moreover, if, as I have said, the Blessed Virgin is the Queen and
Sovereign of heaven and earth, does she not then have as many subjects
and slaves as there are creatures? "All things, including Mary herself,
are subject to the power of God. All things, God included, are subject
to the Virgin's power", so we are told by St. Anselm, St. Bernard, St.
Bernardine and St. Bonaventure. Is it not reasonable to find that among
so many slaves there should be some slaves of love, who freely choose
Mary as their Queen? Should men and demons have willing slaves, and
Mary have none? A king makes it a point of honour that the queen, his
consort, should have her own slaves, over whom she has right of life
and death, for honour and power given to the queen is honour and power
given to the king. Could we possibly believe that Jesus, the best of
all sons, who shared his power with his Blessed Mother, would resent
her having her own slaves? Has he less esteem and love for his Mother
than Ahasuerus had for Esther, or Solomon for Bathsheba? Who could say
or even think such a thing?
77. But where is my pen leading me? Why am I wasting my time proving
something so obvious? If people are unwilling to call themselves slaves
of Mary, what does it matter? Let them become and call themselves
slaves of Jesus Christ, for this is the same as being slaves of Mary,
since Jesus is the fruit and glory of Mary. This is what we do
perfectly in the devotion we shall discuss later.
Third
principle: We must rid ourselves of what is evil in us
78. Our best
actions are usually tainted and spoiled by the evil that is rooted in
us. When pure, clear water is poured into a foul-smelling jug, or wine
into an unwashed cask that previously contained another wine, the clear
water and the good wine are tainted and readily acquire an unpleasant
odour. In the same way when God pours into our soul, infected by
original and actual sin, the heavenly waters of his grace or the
delicious wines of his love, his gifts are usually spoiled and tainted
by the evil sediment left in us by sin. Our actions, even those of the
highest virtue, show the effects of it. It is therefore of the utmost
importance that, in seeking the perfection that can be attained only by
union with Jesus, we rid ourselves of all that is evil in us. Otherwise
our infinitely pure Lord, who has an infinite hatred for the slightest
stain in our soul, will refuse to unite us to himself and will drive us
from his presence.
79. To rid ourselves of selfishness, we must first become thoroughly
aware, by the light of the Holy Spirit, of our tainted nature. Of
ourselves we are unable to do anything conducive to our salvation. Our
human weakness is evident in everything we do and we are habitually
unreliable. We do not deserve any grace from God. Our tendency to sin
is always present. The sin of Adam has almost entirely spoiled and
soured us, filling us with pride and corrupting every one of us, just
as leaven sours, swells and corrupts the dough in which it is placed.
The actual sins we have committed, whether mortal or venial, even
though forgiven, have intensified our base desires, our weakness, our
inconstancy and our evil tendencies, and have left a sediment of evil
in our soul.
Our bodies are so corrupt that they are referred to by the Holy Spirit
as bodies of sin, as conceived and nourished in sin, and capable of any
kind of sin. They are subject to a thousand ills, deteriorating from
day to day and harbouring only disease, vermin and corruption.
Our soul, being united to our body, has become so carnal that it has
been called flesh. "All flesh had corrupted its way". Pride and
blindness of spirit, hardness of heart, weakness and inconstancy of
soul, evil inclinations, rebellious passions, ailments of the body, -
these are all we can call our own. By nature we are prouder than
peacocks, we cling to the earth more than toads, we are more base than
goats, more envious than serpents, greedier than pigs, fiercer than
tigers, lazier than tortoises, weaker than reeds, and more changeable
than weather-cocks. We have in us nothing but sin, and deserve only the
wrath of God and the eternity of hell.
80. Is it any wonder then that our Lord laid down that anyone who
aspires to be his follower must deny himself and hate his very life? He
makes it clear that anyone who loves his life shall lose it and anyone
who hates his life shall save it. Now, our Lord, who is infinite
Wisdom, and does not give commandments without a reason, bids us hate
ourselves only because we richly deserve to be hated. Nothing is more
worthy of love than God and nothing is more deserving of hatred than
self.
81. Secondly, in order to empty ourselves of self, we must die daily to
ourselves. This involves our renouncing what the powers of the soul and
the senses of the body incline us to do. We must see as if we did not
see, hear as if we did not hear and use the things of this world as if
we did not use them. This is what St. Paul calls "dying daily". Unless
the grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a
single grain and does not bear any good fruit. If we do not die to self
and if our holiest devotions do not lead us to this necessary and
fruitful death, we shall not bear fruit of any worth and our devotions
will cease to be profitable. All our good works will be tainted by
self-love and self-will so that our greatest sacrifices and our best
actions will be unacceptable to God. Consequently when we come to die
we shall find ourselves devoid of virtue and merit and discover that we
do not possess even one spark of that pure love which God shares only
with those who have died to themselves and whose life is hidden with
Jesus Christ in him.
82. Thirdly, we must choose among all the devotions to the Blessed
Virgin the one which will lead us more surely to this dying to self.
This devotion will be the best and the most sanctifying for us. For we
must not believe that all that glitters is gold, all that is sweet is
honey, or all that is easy to do and is done by the majority of people
is the most sanctifying. Just as in nature there are secrets enabling
us to do certain natural things quickly, easily and at little cost, so
in the spiritual life there are secrets which enable us to perform
works rapidly, smoothly and with facility. Such works are, for example,
emptying ourselves of self-love, filling ourselves with God, and
attaining perfection.
The devotion that I propose to explain is one of these secrets of
grace, for it is unknown to most Christians. Only a few devout people
know of it and it is practised and appreciated by fewer still. To begin
the explanation of this devotion here is a fourth truth which is a
consequence of the third.
Fourth principle: It is more humble to have an
intermediary with Christ
83. It is more perfect because it supposes greater humility to approach
God through a mediator rather than directly by ourselves. Our human
nature, as I have just shown, is so spoilt that if we rely on our own
work, effort and preparedness to reach God and please him, it is
certain that our good works will be tainted and carry little weight
with him. They will not induce him to unite himself to us or answer our
prayers. God had his reasons for giving us mediators with him. He saw
our unworthiness and helplessness and had pity on us. To give us access
to his mercies he provided us with powerful advocates, so that to
neglect these mediators and to approach his infinite holiness directly
and without help from any one of them, is to be lacking in humility and
respect towards God who is so great and holy. It would mean that we
have less esteem for the King of kings than for an earthly king or
ruler, for we would not dare approach an earthly king without a friend
to speak for us.
84. Our Lord is our Advocate and our Mediator of redemption with God
the Father. It is through him that we must pray with the whole Church,
triumphant and militant. It is through him that we have access to God
the Father. We should never appear before God, our Father, unless we
are supported by the merits of his Son, and, so to speak, clothed in
them, as young Jacob was clothed in the skin of the young goats when he
appeared before his father Isaac to receive his blessing.
85. But have we no need at all of a mediator with the Mediator himself?
Are we pure enough to be united directly to Christ without any help? Is
Jesus not God, equal in every way to the Father? Therefore is he not
the Holy of Holies, having a right to the same respect as his Father?
If in his infinite love he became our security and our Mediator with
his Father, whom he wished to appease in order to redeem us from our
debts, should we on that account show him less respect and have less
regard for the majesty and holiness of his person?
Let us not be afraid to say with St. Bernard that we need a mediator
with the Mediator himself and the divinely-honoured Mary is the one
most able to fulfil this office of love. Through her, Jesus came to us;
through her we should go to him. If we are afraid of going directly to
Jesus, who is God, because of his infinite greatness, or our lowliness,
or our sins, let us implore without fear the help and intercession of
Mary, our Mother. She is kind, she is tender, and there is nothing
harsh or forbidding about her, nothing too sublime or too brilliant.
When we see her, we see our own human nature at its purest. She is not
the sun, dazzling our weak sight by the brightness of its rays. Rather,
she is fair and gentle as the moon, which receives its light from the
sun and softens it and adapts it to our limited perception.
She is so full of love that no one who asks for her intercession is
rejected, no matter how sinful he may be. The saints say that it has
never been known since the world began that anyone had recourse to our
Blessed Lady, with trust and perseverance, and was rejected. Her power
is so great that her prayers are never refused. She has but to appear
in prayer before her Son and he at once welcomes her and grants her
requests. He is always lovingly conquered by the prayers of the dear
Mother who bore him and nourished him.
86. All this is taken from St. Bernard and St. Bonaventure. According
to them, we have three steps to take in order to reach God. The first,
nearest to us and most suited to our capacity, is Mary; the second is
Jesus Christ; the third is God the Father. To go to Jesus, we should go
to Mary, our mediatrix of intercession. To go to God the Father, we
must go to Jesus, our Mediator of redemption. This order is perfectly
observed in the devotion I shall speak about further on.
Fifth principle: It is difficult to keep the
graces received from God
87. It is very difficult, considering our weakness and frailty, to keep
the graces and treasures we have received from God.
1. We carry this treasure, which is worth more than heaven and earth,
in fragile vessels, that is, in a corruptible body and in a weak and
wavering soul which requires very little to depress and disturb it.
88. 2. The evil spirits, cunning thieves that they are, can take us by
surprise and rob us of all we possess. They are watching day and night
for the right moment. They roam incessantly seeking to devour us and to
snatch from us in one brief moment of sin all the grace and merit we
have taken years to acquire. Their malice and their experience, their
cunning and their numbers ought to make us ever fearful of such a
misfortune happening to us. People, richer in grace and virtue, more
experienced and advanced in holiness than we are, have been caught off
their guard and robbed and stripped of everything. How many cedars of
Lebanon, how many stars of the firmament have we sadly watched fall and
lose in a short time their loftiness and their brightness!
What has brought about this unexpected reverse? Not the lack of grace,
for this is denied no one. It was a lack of humility; they considered
themselves stronger and more self- sufficient than they really were.
They thought themselves well able to hold on to their treasures. They
believed their house secure enough and their coffers strong enough to
safeguard their precious treasure of grace. It was because of their
unconscious reliance on self - although it seemed to them that they
were relying solely on the grace of God - that the most just Lord left
them to themselves and allowed them to be despoiled. If they had only
known of the wonderful devotion that I shall later explain, they would
have entrusted their treasure to Mary, the powerful and faithful
Virgin. She would have kept it for them as if it were her own
possession and even have considered that trust an obligation of
justice.
89. 3. It is difficult to persevere in holiness because of the
excessively corrupting influence of the world. The world is so corrupt
that it seems almost inevitable that religious hearts be soiled, if not
by its mud, at least by its dust. It is something of a miracle for
anyone to stand firm in the midst of this raging torrent and not be
swept away; to weather this stormy sea and not be drowned, or robbed by
pirates; to breathe this pestilential air and not be contaminated by
it. It is Mary, the singularly faithful Virgin over whom Satan had
never any power, who works this miracle for those who truly love her.
2. Marks of false and authentic devotion to Mary
90. Now that we
have established these five basic truths, it is all the more necessary
to make the right choice of the true devotion to our Blessed Lady, for
now more than ever there are false devotions to her which can easily be
mistaken for true ones. The devil, like a counterfeiter and crafty,
experienced deceiver, has already misled and ruined many Christians by
means of fraudulent devotions to our Lady. Day by day he uses his
diabolical experience to lead many more to their doom, fooling them,
lulling them to sleep in sin and assuring them that a few prayers, even
badly said, and a few exterior practices, inspired by himself, are
authentic devotions. A counterfeiter usually makes coins only of gold
and silver, rarely of other metals, because these latter would not be
worth the trouble. Similarly, the devil leaves other devotions alone
and counterfeits mostly those directed to Jesus and Mary, for example,
devotion to the Holy Eucharist and to the Blessed Virgin, because these
are to other devotions what gold and silver are to other metals.
91. It is therefore very important, first, to recognise false devotions
to our Blessed Lady so as to avoid them, and to recognise true devotion
in order to practise it. Second, among so many different forms of true
devotion to our Blessed Lady we should choose the one most perfect and
the most pleasing to her, the one that gives greater glory to God and
is most sanctifying for us.
1. False devotion to our Lady
92. There are, I find, seven kinds of false devotion to Mary, namely,
the devotion of (1) the critical, (2) the scrupulous, (3) the
superficial, (4) the presumptuous, (5) the inconstant, (6) the
hypocritical, (7) the self-interested.
Critical devotees
93. Critical devotees are for the most part proud scholars, people of
independent and self-satisfied minds, who deep down in their hearts
have a vague sort of devotion to Mary. However, they criticise nearly
all those forms of devotion to her which simple and pious people use to
honour their good Mother just because such practices do not appeal to
them. They question all miracles and stories which testify to the mercy
and power of the Blessed Virgin, even those recorded by trustworthy
authors or taken from the chronicles of religious orders. They cannot
bear to see simple and humble people on their knees before an altar or
statue of our Lady, or at prayer before some outdoor shrine. They even
accuse them of idolatry as if they were adoring the wood or the stone.
They say that as far as they are concerned they do not care for such
outward display of devotion and that they are not so gullible as to
believe all the fairy tales and stories told of our Blessed Lady. When
you tell them how admirably the Fathers of the Church praised our Lady,
they reply that the Fathers were exaggerating as orators do, or that
their words are misrepresented. These false devotees, these proud
worldly people are greatly to be feared. They do untold harm to
devotion to our Lady. While pretending to correct abuses, they succeed
only too well in turning people away from this devotion.
Scrupulous devotees
94. Scrupulous devotees are those who imagine they are slighting the
Son by honouring the Mother. They fear that by exalting Mary they are
belittling Jesus. They cannot bear to see people giving to our Lady the
praises due to her and which the Fathers of the Church have lavished
upon her. It annoys them to see more people kneeling before Mary's
altar than before the Blessed Sacrament, as if these acts were at
variance with each other, or as if those who were praying to our Lady
were not praying through her to Jesus. They do not want us to speak too
often of her or to pray so often to her.
Here are some of the things they say: "What is the good of all these
rosaries, confraternities and exterior devotions to our Lady? There is
a great deal of ignorance in all this. It is making a mockery of
religion. Tell us about those who are devoted to Jesus (and they often
pronounce his name without uncovering their heads). We should go
directly to Jesus, since he is our sole Mediator. We must preach Jesus;
that is sound devotion." There is some truth in what they say, but the
inference they draw to prevent devotion to our Lady is very insidious.
It is a subtle snare of the evil one under the pretext of promoting a
greater good. For we never give more honour to Jesus than when we
honour his Mother, and we honour her simply and solely to honour him
all the more perfectly. We go to her only as a way leading to the goal
we seek - Jesus, her Son.
95. The Church, with the Holy Spirit, blesses our Lady first, then
Jesus, "Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy
womb, Jesus." Not that Mary is greater than Jesus, or even equal to him
- that would be an intolerable heresy. But in order to bless Jesus more
perfectly we should first bless Mary. Let us say with all those truly
devoted to her, despite these false and scrupulous devotees: "O Mary,
blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb,
Jesus."
Superficial devotees
96. Superficial devotees are people whose entire devotion to our Lady
consists in exterior practices. Only the externals of devotion appeal
to them because they have no interior spirit. They say many rosaries
with great haste and assist at many Masses distractedly. They take part
in processions of our Lady without inner fervour. They join her
confraternities without reforming their lives or restraining their
passions or imitating Mary's virtues. All that appeals to them is the
emotional aspect of this devotion, but the substance of it has no
appeal at all. If they do not feel a warmth in their devotions, they
think they are doing nothing; they become upset, and give up
everything, or else do things only when they feel like it. The world is
full of these shallow devotees, and there are none more critical of men
of prayer who regard the interior devotion as the essential aspect and
strive to acquire it without, however, neglecting a reasonable external
expression which always accompanies true devotion.
Presumptuous devotees
97. Presumptuous devotees are sinners who give full rein to their
passions or their love of the world, and who, under the fair name of
Christian and servant of our Lady, conceal pride, avarice, lust,
drunkenness, anger, swearing, slandering, injustice and other vices.
They sleep peacefully in their wicked habits, without making any great
effort to correct them, believing that their devotion to our Lady gives
them this sort of liberty. They convince themselves that God will
forgive them, that they will not die without confession, that they will
not be lost for all eternity. They take all this for granted because
they say the Rosary, fast on Saturdays, are enrolled in the
Confraternity of the Holy Rosary or the Scapular, or a sodality of our
Lady, wear the medal or the little chain of our Lady.
When you tell them that such a devotion is only an illusion of the
devil and a dangerous presumption which may well ruin them, they refuse
to believe you. God is good and merciful, they reply, and he has not
made us to damn us. No man is without sin. We will not die without
confession, and a good act of contrition at death is all that is
needed. Moreover, they say they have devotion to our Lady; that they
wear the scapular; that they recite faithfully and humbly every day the
seven Our Fathers and seven Hail Marys in her honour; that sometimes
they even say the Rosary and the Office of our Lady, as well as fasting
and performing other good works.
Blinding themselves still more, they quote stories they have heard or
read - whether true or false does not bother them - which relate how
people who had died in mortal sin were brought back to life again to go
to confession, or how their soul was miraculously retained in their
bodies until confession, because in their lifetime they said a few
prayers or performed a few pious acts, in honour of our Lady. Others
are supposed to have obtained from God at the moment of death, through
the merciful intercession of the Blessed Virgin, sorrow and pardon for
their sins, and so were saved. Accordingly, these people expect the
same thing to happen to them.
98. Nothing in our Christian religion is so deserving of condemnation
as this diabolical presumption. How can we truthfully claim to love and
honour the Blessed Virgin when by our sins we pitilessly wound, pierce,
crucify and outrage her Son? If Mary made it a rule to save by her
mercy this sort of person, she would be condoning wickedness and
helping to outrage and crucify her Son. Who would even dare to think of
such a thing?
99. I declare that such an abuse of devotion to her is a horrible
sacrilege and, next to an unworthy Communion, is the greatest and the
least pardonable sin, because devotion to our Lady is the holiest and
best after devotion to the Blessed Sacrament.
I admit that to be truly devoted to our Lady, it is not absolutely
necessary to be so holy as to avoid all sin, although this is
desirable. But at least it is necessary (note what I am going to say),
(1) to be genuinely determined to avoid at least all mortal sin, which
outrages the Mother as well as the Son; (2) to practise self-restraint
in order to avoid sin; (3) to join her confraternities, say the Rosary
and other prayers, fast on Saturdays, and so on.
100. Such means are surprisingly effective in converting even the
hardened sinner. Should you be such a sinner, with one foot in the
abyss, I advise you to do as I have said. But there is an essential
condition. You must perform these good works solely to obtain from God,
through the intercession of our Lady, the grace to regret your sins,
obtain pardon for them and overcome your evil habits, and not to live
complacently in the state of sin, disregarding the warning voice of
conscience, the example of our Lord and the saints, and the teaching of
the holy gospel.
Inconstant devotees
101. Inconstant devotees are those whose devotion to our Lady is
practised in fits and starts. Sometimes they are fervent and sometimes
they are lukewarm. Sometimes they appear ready to do anything to please
our Lady, and then shortly afterwards they have completely changed.
They start by embracing every devotion to our Lady. They join her
confraternities, but they do not faithfully observe the rules. They are
as changeable as the moon, and like the moon Mary puts them under her
feet. Because of their fickleness they are unworthy to be included
among the servants of the Virgin most faithful, because faithfulness
and constancy are the hallmarks of Mary's servants. It is better not to
burden ourselves with a multitude of prayers and pious practices but
rather adopt only a few and perform them with love and perseverance in
spite of opposition from the devil the world and the flesh.
Hypocritical devotees
102. There is another category of false devotees of our Lady, -
hypocritical ones. These hide their sins and evil habits under the
mantle of the Blessed Virgin so as to appear to their fellow-men
different from what they are.
Self-interested devotees
103. Then there are the self-interested devotees who turn to her only
to win a court-case, to escape some danger, to be cured of some
ailment, or have some similar need satisfied. Except when in need they
never think of her. Such people are acceptable neither to God not to
his Mother.
104. We must, then, carefully avoid joining the critical devotees, who
believe nothing and find fault with everything; the scrupulous ones
who, out of respect for our Lord, are afraid of having too much
devotion to his Mother; the exterior devotees whose devotion consists
entirely in outward practices; the presumptuous devotees who under
cover of a fictitious devotion to our Lady wallow in their sins; the
inconstant devotees who, being unstable, change their devotional
practices or abandon them altogether at the slightest temptation; the
hypocritical ones who join confraternities and wear emblems of our Lady
only to be thought of as good people; finally, the self-interested
devotees who pray to our Lady only to be rid of bodily ills or to
obtain material benefits.
2. Marks of authentic devotion to our Lady
105. After having explained and condemned false devotions to the
Blessed Virgin we shall now briefly describe what true devotion is. It
is interior, trustful, holy, constant and disinterested.
106. First, true devotion to our Lady is interior, that is, it comes
from within the mind and the heart and follows from the esteem in which
we hold her, the high regard we have for her greatness, and the love we
bear her.
107. Second, it is trustful, that is to say, it fills us with
confidence in the Blessed Virgin, the confidence that a child has for
its loving Mother. It prompts us to go to her in every need of body and
soul with great simplicity, trust and affection. We implore our
Mother's help always, everywhere, and for everything. We pray to her to
be enlightened in our doubts, to be put back on the right path when we
go astray, to be protected when we are tempted, to be strengthened when
we are weakening, to be lifted up when we fall into sin, to be
encouraged when we are losing heart, to be rid of our scruples, to be
consoled in the trials, crosses and disappointments of life. Finally,
in all our afflictions of body and soul, we naturally turn to Mary for
help, with never a fear of importuning her or displeasing our Lord.
108. Third, true devotion to our Lady is holy, that is, it leads us to
avoid sin and to imitate the virtues of Mary. Her ten principal virtues
are: deep humility, lively faith, blind obedience, unceasing prayer,
constant self-denial, surpassing purity, ardent love, heroic patience,
angelic kindness, and heavenly wisdom.
109. Fourth, true devotion to our Lady is constant. It strengthens us
in our desire to do good and prevents us from giving up our devotional
practices too easily. It gives us the courage to oppose the fashions
and maxims of the world, the vexations and unruly inclinations of the
flesh and the temptations of the devil. Thus a person truly devoted to
our Blessed Lady is not changeable, fretful, scrupulous or timid. We do
not say however that such a person never sins or that his sensible
feelings of devotion never change. When he has fallen, he stretches out
his hand to his Blessed Mother and rises again. If he loses all taste
and feeling for devotion, he is not at all upset because a good and
faithful servant of Mary is guided in his life by faith in Jesus and
Mary, and not by feelings.
110. Fifth, true devotion to Mary is disinterested. It inspires us to
seek God alone in his Blessed Mother and not ourselves. The true
subject of Mary does not serve his illustrious Queen for selfish gain.
He does not serve her for temporal or eternal well-being but simply and
solely because she has the right to be served and God alone in her. He
loves her not so much because she is good to him or because he expects
something from her, but simply because she is loveable. That is why he
loves and serves her just as faithfully in weariness and dryness of
soul as in sweet and sensible fervour. He loves her as much on Calvary
as at Cana. How pleasing and precious in the sight of God and his holy
Mother must these servants of Mary be, who serve her without any
self-seeking. How rare they are nowadays! It is to increase their
number that I have taken up my pen to write down what I have been
teaching with success both publicly and in private in my missions for
many years.
111. I have already said many things about the Blessed Virgin and, as I
am trying to fashion a true servant of Mary and a true disciple of
Jesus, I have still a great deal to say, although through ignorance,
inability, and lack of time, I shall leave infinitely more unsaid.
112. But my labour will be well rewarded if this little book falls into
the hands of a noble soul, a child of God and of Mary, born not of
blood nor the will of the flesh nor of the will of man. My time will be
well spent if, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, after having read this
book he is convinced of the supreme value of the solid devotion to Mary
I am about to describe. If I thought that my guilty blood could help
the reader to accept in his heart the truths that I set down in honour
of my dear Mother and Queen, I, her most unworthy child and slave,
would use it instead of ink to write these words. I would hope to find
faithful souls who, by their perseverance in the devotion I teach, will
repay her for the loss she has suffered through my ingratitude and
infidelity.
113. I feel more than ever inspired to believe and expect the complete
fulfilment of the desire that is deeply engraved on my heart and what I
have prayed to God for over many years, namely, that in the near or
distant future the Blessed Virgin will have more children, servants and
slaves of love than ever before, and that through them Jesus, my dear
Lord, will reign more than ever in the hearts of men.
114. I clearly foresee that raging beasts will come in fury to tear to
pieces with their diabolical teeth this little book and the one the
Holy Spirit made use of to write it, or they will cause it at least to
lie hidden in the darkness and silence of a chest and so prevent it
from seeing the light of day. They will even attack and persecute those
who read it and put into practice what it contains. But no matter! So
much the better! It even gives me encouragement to hope for great
success at the prospect of a mighty legion of brave and valiant
soldiers of Jesus and Mary, both men and women, who will fight the
devil, the world, and corrupt nature in the perilous times that are
sure to come.
"Let the reader understand. Let him accept this teaching who can."
3. Principal
practices of devotion to Mary
115. There are
several interior practices of true devotion to the Blessed Virgin. Here
briefly are the main ones:
(1) Honouring
her, as the worthy Mother of God, by the cult of hyperdulia, that is,
esteeming and honouring her more than all the other saints as the
masterpiece of grace and the foremost in holiness after Jesus Christ,
true God and true man.
(2) Meditating on her virtues, her privileges and her actions.
(3) Contemplating her sublime dignity.
(4) Offering to her acts of love, praise and gratitude.
(5) Invoking her with a joyful heart.
(6) Offering ourselves to her and uniting ourselves to her.
(7) Doing everything to please her.
(8) Beginning, carrying out and completing our actions through her, in
her, with her, and for her in order to do them through Jesus, in Jesus,
with Jesus, and for Jesus, our last end. We shall explain this last
practice later.
116. True
devotion to our Lady has also several exterior practices. Here are the
principal ones:
(1) Enrolling in
her confraternities and joining her sodalities.
(2) Joining religious orders dedicated to her.
(3) Making her privileges known and appreciated.
(4) Giving alms, fasting, performing interior and exterior acts of
self-denial in her honour.
(5) Carrying such signs of devotion to her as the rosary, the scapular,
or a little chain.
(6) Reciting with attention, devotion and reverence the fifteen decades
of the Rosary in honour of the fifteen principal mysteries of our Lord,
or at least five decades in honour of the Joyful mysteries - the
Annunciation, the Visitation, the Birth of our Lord, the Purification,
the Finding of the Child Jesus in the temple; or the Sorrowful
mysteries: the Agony in the Garden, the Scourging, the Crowning with
thorns, the Carrying of the Cross, and the Crucifixion; or the Glorious
mysteries: The Resurrection of our Lord, the Ascension, the Descent of
the Holy Spirit, the Assumption of our Lady, body and soul, into
heaven, the Crowning of Mary by the Blessed Trinity.
One may also choose any of the following prayers: the Rosary of six or
seven decades in honour of the years our Lady is believed to have spent
on earth; the Little Crown of the Blessed Virgin in honour of her crown
of twelve stars or privileges; the Little Office of our Lady so widely
accepted and recited in the Church; the Little Psalter of the Blessed
Virgin, composed in her honour by St. Bonaventure, which is so
heart-warming, and so devotional that you cannot recite it without
being moved by it; the fourteen Our Fathers and Hail Marys in honour of
her fourteen joys. There are various other prayers and hymns of the
Church, such as, the hymns of the liturgical seasons, the Ave Maris
Stella, the O Gloriosa Domina ; the Magnificat and other prayers which
are found in all prayer-books.
(7) Singing hymns to her or teaching others to sing them.
(8) Genuflecting or bowing to her each morning while saying for example
sixty or a hundred times, "Hail Mary, Virgin most faithful", so that
through her intercession with God we may faithfully correspond with his
graces throughout the day; and in the evening saying "Hail Mary, Mother
of Mercy", asking her to obtain God's pardon for the sins we have
committed during the day.
(9) Taking charge of her confraternities, decorating her altars,
crowning and adorning her statues.
(10) Carrying her statues or having others carry them in procession, or
keeping a small one on one's person as an effective protection against
the evil one.
(11) Having statues made of her, or her name engraved and placed on the
walls of churches or houses and on the gates and entrances of towns,
churches and houses.
(12) Solemnly giving oneself to her by a special consecration.
117. The Holy
Spirit has inspired saintly souls with other practices of true devotion
to the Blessed Virgin, all of which are conducive to holiness. You can
read of them in detail in "Paradise opened to Philagia", a collection
of many devotions practised by holy people to honour the Blessed
Virgin, compiled by Fr. Paul Barry of the Society of Jesus. These
devotions are a wonderful help for souls seeking holiness provided they
are performed in a worthy manner, that is:
(1) With the
right intention of pleasing God alone, seeking union with Jesus, our
last end, and giving edification to our neighbour.
(2) With attention, avoiding wilful distractions.
(3) With devotion, avoiding haste and negligence.
(4) With decorum and respectful bodily posture.
4. The
Perfect Practice
118. Having read
nearly every book on devotion to the Blessed Virgin and talked to the
most saintly and learned people of the day, I can now state with
conviction that I have never known or heard of any devotion to our Lady
which is comparable to the one I am going to speak of. No other
devotion calls for more sacrifices for God, none empties us more
completely of self and self-love, none keeps us more firmly in the
grace of God and the grace of God in us. No other devotion unites us
more perfectly and more easily to Jesus. Finally no devotion gives more
glory to God, is more sanctifying for ourselves or more helpful to our
neighbour.
119. As this devotion essentially consists in a state of soul, it will
not be understood in the same way by everyone. Some - the great
majority - will stop short at the threshold and go no further. Others -
not many - will take but one step into its interior. Who will take a
second step? Who will take a third? Finally who will remain in it
permanently? Only the one to whom the Spirit of Jesus reveals the
secret. The Holy Spirit himself will lead this faithful soul from
strength to strength, from grace to grace, from light to light, until
at length he attains transformation into Jesus in the fullness of his
age on earth and of his glory in heaven.
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