MAY DEVOTIONS TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY (WEEK 3)

May 15th – The Son of Mary is the Son of Man
from the Venerable Bede

     “As (Jesus) spoke (to the multitudes), a certain woman from the crowd, lifting up her voice, said to Him: ‘Blessed is the womb that bore Thee, and the paps that gave Thee suck’, But He said: Yea, rather, blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep it” (Luke 11:27,28).
     It is plain that this was a woman of great devotedness and faith, for while the Scribes and Pharisees were at once tempting our Lord and blaspheming Him, she acknowledges His Incarnation with so much sincerity, and confesses it with so much confidence before them all, as to confound both the calumny of those personages who were actually present and the bad faith of heretics who were yet to come.  For, just as the Jews at that time, blaspheming the works of the Holy Ghost, denied that the Son of God was verily consubstantial with the Father, so also in a later day, by denying that the ever-virgin Mary, under the mighty operation of the Holy Ghost, did supply flesh to the only-begotten Son of God when He was to be born in a human body, in like manner did these heretics deny that the Son of Man could be confessed to be consubstantial with His Mother.
     But if we say that the flesh of the Word of God Incarnate was other than the flesh of His Virgin-Mother, then the womb that bore Him and the breasts that gave Him suck are proclaimed blessed without any reason.  But the Apostle saith: “God sent His Son, made of a woman, made under the law” (Galatians 4:4); and we must not listen to them who think we ought to read, “born of a woman, made under the law,” but, rather, “made of a woman”; for, conceived in the Virgin’s womb, He took His flesh of the flesh of His Mother, and not out of nothing or from any other source, for, had He not been of human origin, He could not have been called the Son of Man.  Then, having said so much in answer to Eutyches, let us lift up our voices also in union with the Catholic Church, of which this woman was the figure; let us raise up our hearts from amidst the crowd, and say to our Saviour: “Blessed is the womb that bore Thee; and the paps that gave Thee suck.”
     “Yea, rather, blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep it.”  Our Saviour sweetly acquiesces in the woman’s testimony, declaring that not only was she blessed who was found worthy to bring forth the Word of God in the flesh, but that all those also are blessed who, by faith which cometh of hearing, study to conceive spiritually this same Word, and, by keeping Him through good works, bring Him forth and nurse Him, as it were, in their own hearts or in the hearts of others; yea, and that the Mother of God herself was blessed because she was in time the handmaid of the Word made Flesh, and still more because by her love of Him she keeps Him hers for ever and ever.   

Let us pray
     O God! whose mercy is infinite, grant to us, by the intercession of the most holy Mother of Thine only-begotten Son, that we may merit to obtain mercy abundantly on earth and glory in heaven.  Through the same our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.  Amen.

May 16th – The Cause of Our Joy
from Saint Sophronius

     What does this blessed Angel say who is sent to the most pure Virgin?  How does he break to her the most happy tidings which he brings?  “Hail, full of grace! the Lord is with thee.”  The messenger of joy strikes a joyful note in his first word to her.  For well he knew, and well he realized, that his message would bring joy to every man and to every creature too, and cast out every sorrow from every one of them; he knew that the world would be enlightened by the divine knowledge of this mystery; he knew that the darkness of error would be dispersed by it; he knew that the sting of death would be blunted by it; he knew that the power of corruption would be broken by it; he knew that from hell victory would be snatched by it; he knew that salvation would shine on fallen man, who had hitherto been oppressed with the yoke of all these evils, since the day when he was shut out from the delights of Paradise and was banished from that happy home.  This is why he opens on a happy note the matter of his embassy; this is why he sends out happy words as forerunners of his message; this is why in these joyful heralds joy goes on before, for what shall follow shall bring joy to all who shall believe.
      And, indeed, it was only meet and just that the divine announcement of our joy should begin with words and accents that call forth gladness.  And this is the reason why the Angel speaks of joy before anything else, because he is not ignorant of what will be the result of his auspicious legation, and knows well that the colloquy that was held will manifestly bring joy to the whole world.  And, certainly, what joy or jubilation can there be at all comparable to the words which were addressed to the Blessed Virgin, the mother of our joy?  Rejoice, O Mother of super-celestial joy!  Rejoice, O thou who nurturest joy the most sublime!  Rejoice, O principal seat of the joy of salvation!  Rejoice, O source of joy immortal!  Rejoice, O mystic hostel of joy ineffable!  Rejoice, O most blessed fountain of unfailing joy!  O divine storehouse of everlasting joy!  Rejoice, O most flourishing tree of life-giving joy!  Rejoice, O Virgin-Mother of God!  Rejoice, O Virgin, after childbirth most inviolate!  Rejoice, O wonder above all wonders most to be wondered at!
     Who shall be able to tell forth thy glory?  Who shall dare to say in words the marvel that thou art?  Who can trust himself to set forth thy magnificence?  Thou hast exalted our human nature; thou hast surpassed all the Angelic choirs; thou hast cast into shade the splendours of the Archangels; thou pointest to the lofty seats of the Thrones placed beneath thee; thou dost lower the height of the Dominations; thou takest precedence of the Principalities; the power of the Powers is weak beside thine; thou in thy virtue hast gone forth more mighty than the Virtues themselves; thine earthly eyes have pierced beyond the reach of the strong-eyed Cherubim; thy soul, on wings sustained of God, has flown beyond the flight of the six-winged Seraphim – in a word, thou hast far surpassed all other things created, for thou didst shine with a purity excelling that of every other creature, and thou didst conceive within thee the Creator of all creatures, and didst bear Him in thy womb, and didst give Him birth: of all creatures thou alone wast made the Mother of God.

Let us pray
     Grant, we beseech Thee, O Lord God! that we, Thy servants, may enjoy continual health of mind and body, and by the glorious intercession of the Blessed Mary, ever a Virgin, may be delivered from present sadness, and may enter into the fruition of everlasting joy.  Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.  Amen.

May 17th – “Thou Hast Found Grace with God”
from Saint Sophronius

     Blessed indeed art thou amongst women, for thou hast changed the curse of Eve into a blessing; for thou thyself hast brought a blessing upon Adam, who lay smitten by the primal curse.  Blessed indeed art thou amongst women, for the blessing of the Father dawned on men through thee, and delivered them from the olden malediction.  Blessed indeed art thou amongst women, for through thee thine own ancestors found salvation; for thou wast destined to bring forth a Saviour, by whom their divine salvation should be wrought.  Blessed indeed art thou amongst women, for thou, a Virgin, didst bear Him for thy fruit, who blesses all the earth and delivers it from the curse of bringing forth thorns.  Blessed indeed art thou amongst women, for, though by nature a mere woman, thou wast made in very truth the Mother of God.  For if He who is to be born of thee be verily God Incarnate, thou art rightly and truly called the Mother of God, since most truly thou dost bring forth God.
     “Fear not, Mary! for thou hast found grace with God” (Luke 1:30) – grace that passes not away; thou hast found grace with God, grace that excels all other grace; thou hast found grace with God, such as with all desire may be desired; thou hast found grace with God, the most surpassing of all graces; thou hast found grace with God, that never fails away; thou hast found grace with God, grace which has power to save thee; thou hast found grace with God, such grace as by no onslaught can be shaken; thou hast found grace with God, grace that is all invincible; thou hast found grace with God, which shall endure for ever and for ever.  Others, and many others, have flourished before thee, remarkable for their sanctity, but to none of them, as to thee, has the plenitude of grace been given; no one has been raised to such a height of magnificence as thine; no one has been preserved like thee with purifying grace; no one has shone with such a heavenly light as thou hast; no one has been exalted beyond all height like thee.
     And this was only just, for no one came so near to God as thou didst; no one was so richly endowed with the gifts of God as thou wast; no one received so fully of the grace of God as thou.  Thou surpassest anything and everything that is excellent among men; thy gifts are greater far than have ever been bestowed by the bounty of God upon all others.  For thou art richer far than others, in the possession of the God who dwelt within thee.  No one could ever so comprehend God as thou didst; no one could so enjoy the presence of God; no one was found worthy to be so illuminated by God as thou wast; and, therefore, not only didst thou harbour God, the Creator and the Lord of all things, within thee, but He took flesh in an ineffable manner of thee, and was borne in thy womb, and was afterwards born of thee, to redeem all men from His Father’s condemnation, and to bestow upon them everlasting salvation.  This is why I have cried out to thee, and why with all my strength I will cry out to thee once more: “Hail, full of grace! the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women.”

Let us pray
     O God! who didst give us the Mother of Thy beloved Son to be our mother also, and didst vouchsafe to glorify her beautiful picture by a wonderful apparition, grant, we beseech Thee, that, always following closely her counsels, we may be enabled to live according to Thy Heart, and happily come to the heavenly fatherland.  Through the same our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.  Amen.

May 18th – An Ave Maria
from Saint Tharasius

     O Mary! what praises shall we accumulate upon thee?  O Maiden undefiled!  O Virgin inviolate!  O glory of daughters and pride of womanhood!  O holy Maiden-Mother! “blessed art thou amongst women”; renowned art thou for thy purity; with virginity thou art signed and sealed.  Thou art an expiation for the curse of Adam; thou art a payment of the debt of Eve.  Thou art Abel’s most pure oblation, the chosen of his firstlings, his spotless sacrifice.  Thou art the hope of Enos, his hope in God, that knew no blush of shame.  Thou art the grace that Enoch enjoyed, and his translation to a better life than this.  Thou art the ark of Noah, and the second birth which reconciled us unto God.  Thou art the refulgent glory of the kingship and the priesthood of Melchisedech.  Thou art the unshaken trust of Abraham, and his obedient faith in the promise of future progeny.  Thou art the new sacrifice of Isaac and his reasonable holocaust.  Thou art the cause of that going-up on the ladder of Jacob, and the most noble evidence of the enduring fruitfulness of the twelve tribes.  Thou hast come forth, the daughter of the race of Juda; thou art the modesty of Joseph, and the overthrow of that old Egypt, to wit, the synagogue of the Jews, O spotless One!  Thou art the book of Moses, the Lawgiver, in which, divinely prepared, was written the mystery of our redemption, and on whose tablets the law was scriptured by the finger of God, as though on Mount Sinai, wherein the new Israel shall be freed from the slavery of a spiritual Egypt, as of old that people in the desert were filled with manna and with water from the rock – that Rock which was Christ, who was to come forth from thy womb like a bridegroom from his bridal-chamber.  Thou art the flowering rod of Aaron; thou art that daughter of David who was clad in cloth of gold wrought upon with divers colours.  Thou art the mirror of the Prophets and the fulfillment of all that they foretold.  It is thou whom Ezechiel boldly proclaimed in prophecy as the closed gate, by which no man shall ever pass save the Lord God alone, who shall leave it still unopened, Thou art the rod of Jesse, of whom Isaias, that great master of speech, foretells, from which the flower, which is Christ, shall bloom, who, rooting out the fruits of vice, shall set in His field the plants of a knowledge that is divine.  Thou art she whom Jeremias pointed out beforehand in the words: “Behold! The days shall come, saith the Lord, and I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Juda, not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers” (31:31,32), thereby signifying the coming and the birth of thy Son, and calling all the nations to worship God even to the very ends of the earth.  Thou art also the great mountain spoken of by Daniel, the man of desires, whence should be hewn the corner-stone which shall reduce to ruin and utterly destroy the image of the serpent of many shapes.
     Thee I honour as an immaculate ewe-lamb; thee I proclaim as full of grace; thee I sing as the pure and spotless tabernacle of God.  And indeed, “Where sin abounded, grace did more abound” (Romans 5:20).  By a woman we have death for heritage; through a woman He once more shall restore all things.  Through the serpent we have had given us food of bitter taste, but through Him we shall partake of the food of immortality once again.  Eve, our first mother, brought Cain into the world, the head of all hatred and of all wickedness; thine only-begotten Son shall be the first-begotten of life and resurrection.  O unheard-of prodigy!  O marvellous new thing!  O wisdom which no words can fitly tell!
     And we, the people of God, a holy nation, an acceptable congregation, progeny of the dove and children of grace, let us, with pure minds and unpolluted lips, raise in many divers tongues our sweet-sounding hymns on this our Lady’s festival.  Let us celebrate this high and illustrious festivity, this primal solemnity, which is a joy to the Angels, and is most worthy of the praise of men, honouring, as is meet, that Ave of Gabriel with reverence and with holy joy.  Hail! delight of the Father, through whom the knowledge of God has flowed to the uttermost bounds of the earth.  Hail! dwelling-place of the Son, whence He came forth incarnate.  Hail! tabernacle of the Holy Ghost, whose praise no words can tell.  Hail! thou that art more holy than the Cherubim; hail! thou that art more glorious than the Seraphim; hail! thou that art more comprehensive than the heavens; hail! thou that art more splendid than the sun; hail! thou that shinest brighter than the moon; hail! thou manifold glory of the stars; hail! light cloud that droppest down in rain from heaven; hail! holy breeze, that clearest the earth of the breath of sin.  Hail! noble subject of the praise of the Prophets; hail! sound gone forth into all the earth from the lips of the Apostles; hail! excelling theme of the praise of the Martyrs; hail! worthy of all the loud-voiced praise of the Patriarchs; hail! thou greatest glory of all the saints; hail! source of health to all mortals; hail, O Queen! for us achieving peace; hail! spotless glory of all motherhood.  Hail! advocate of all beneath the sky; hail! reparation of the whole world.  “Hail, full of grace! the Lord is with thee” – who was before thee, and who was born of thee, and who is with us.  To Him, with the Father and the most holy and life-giving Spirit, be praise now and ever, world without end.  Amen.

Let us pray
     Grant, we beseech Thee, Almighty God! that, by the intercessions and prayers of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the souls of the faithful departed may obtain forgiveness, and we the gifts of Thy grace and the rewards of everlasting life.  Who livest and reignest, world without end.  Amen.

May 19th – “Eva’s Name Reversing”
from Saint Bernard

     Rejoice, O Father Adam! but do thou exult still more, O Mother Eve! – you who were the first parents of us all, and the ruin of us all, and, what is still worse, our ruin before you gave us life.  Be comforted (I say), both of you, in your daughter, and such a daughter, but chiefly thou from whom at first the evil came, and whose reproach has passed upon all women.  For now the time is nigh in which the reproach shall be taken away, and the man no longer have any cause of complaint; for he, indeed, when unwisely he was trying to excuse himself, did not hesitate cruelly to accuse her, saying, “The woman, whom Thou gavest me, gave me of the tree, and I did eat” (Genesis 3:12).  Therefore, O Eve! have recourse to Mary; Mother! have recourse to thy Daughter; let the Daughter answer for the mother; let her take away her mother’s reproach; let her make satisfaction to her father in her mother’s stead; for, lo! if man fell through a woman, it is only through a woman that he is raised up again.  What didst thou say, O Adam?  “The woman, whom Thou gavest me, gave me of the tree, and I did eat.”  These are wicked words, and by them thou dost aggravate thy fault rather than diminish it.  Nevertheless, Wisdom overcame thy malice, for, in questioning thee, God endeavoured to elicit from thee some occasion for forgiveness, but in vain; so He found it in the treasure of His own unfailing mercy.  For, a woman answers for a woman, a prudent one for a foolish one, a humble one for a proud one – one who, instead of the tree of death, gives thee to taste of life, and, instead of that poisonous fruit of bitterness, brings forth the sweetness of everlasting fruit.  Change, then, those iniquitous words of excuse into a word of thanksgiving, and say: “Lord! the woman whom Thou gavest me, gave me of the tree of life, and I did eat, and it became sweeter than honey to my mouth, for by it Thou hast given me life.”
     For, behold, it was for this that the Angel was sent to the Virgin.  O admirable Virgin! and most worthy of all honour; O Woman! deserving of especial veneration, more wonderful than all women, repairing thy first parents’ fault, and giving life to them that come after thee.  If it is not she, who is it that seems to you to be foretold of God when He says to the serpent: “I will put enmities between thee and the woman” (Genesis 3:15)?  And if you are still in doubt whether He spake of Mary, listen to what follows: “She shall crush thy head.”  To whom but to Mary was this victory reserved?  She, beyond all doubt, crushed his venomous head; for she brought to naught every suggestion of the Evil One, whether the allurement of the flesh or the pride of the spirit.  Whom else did Solomon seek after when he said: “Who shall find a valiant woman” (Proverbs 31:10)?  For the Wise Man knew well the weakness of woman – how weak she is in body and how unstable in mind.  Yet, because he had read that God promised that he who had prevailed by a woman by a woman also should be overcome (and he himself saw that this was meet), in great admiration he said: “Who shall find a valiant woman?” – which is as though one should say: If the salvation of us all, the restitution of our innocence, and our victory over the enemy, lies thus in the hands of a woman, we must needs find a woman of such great virtue as will fit her for so great a work.

Let us pray
    O Lord Jesus Christ! who hast willed that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, Thy Mother – who was from the first Immaculate – should shine forth in innumerable miracles, grant that, always imploring her patronage, we may attain to everlasting joy.  Who livest and reignest, with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.  Amen.

May 20th – The Mother of the Son of God
from Saint Bernard

     Mary calls God, the Lord of the Angels, her Son, saying, “Son! why hast Thou done so to us?” (Luke 2:48).  Which of the Angels would dare to do so?  It is enough for them, and they esteem it greatly, that, being spirits by nature, they should by grace be made and be called Angels, according to that of David: “Who maketh spirits his Angels” (Psalm 103:4 and Hebrews 1:7).  But Mary, conscious of her motherhood, with confidence calls that Majesty her Son, whom with awe and reverence they serve; and God does not despise to be called what He has deigned to become.  For, a little further on, the Evangelist adds: “And He was subject to them” (Luke 2:51).  Who, to whom?  God to men.  God (I say), to whom the Angels are subject, whom Principalities and Powers obey – God was subject to Mary.
     Marvel at both these things, and choose at which you will marvel the more – whether at the most benignant condescension of the Son or the most sublime dignity of the Mother.  On either side is surprise, nay, wondering amazement.  That God should obey a woman, is humility without parallel; that a woman should rule over God is an exaltation quite unique.  To the praise of virgins only is it sung that “these follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth” (Apocalypse 14:4).  Of what praise, then, do you deem her worthy, who even goeth before Him?  Learn, O man! to obey; learn, O earth! to be subject; learn, O dust! to submit.  Speaking of thy Maker, the Evangelist says: “He was subject to them.”  Blush, O proud ashes!  God humbles Himself; and dost thou lift thyself up?  God subjects Himself to men; and dost thou, seeking to rule over men, set thyself above thy Maker?
     O happy Mary! in whom neither virginity nor humility was wanting – a virginity so singular, indeed, that motherhood left it inviolate, and added to its honour.  And, no less singular humility, which fruitful virginity took not away but still more ennobled; a fruitfulness far beyond compare, which both virginity and humility accompanied.  Which of these is not wonderful?  Which is not incomparable?  Which is not without parallel?  It would be a wonder if, weighing these things, you did not doubt which ought most to excite your wonder – motherhood in a virgin or virginity in a mother; her exaltation from such progeny, or her lowliness under such an exaltation.  Unless, indeed, without any hesitation, we are to prefer to any one of these things the combination of them all, and to deem it incomparably more excellent and more blessed to have received them all rather than to have received only some of them.  And what wonder is it if God, who, as we see and read, “is wonderful in His saints” (Psalm 67:36), should have shown Himself to be wonderful in His Mother?  Honour, then, ye Spouses! this inviolate virginity in corruptible flesh; and you, ye holy Virgins! honour this Virgins fecundity.  O all mankind! imitate the humility of the Mother of God.

Let us pray
    O Lord Jesus Christ! who, subject to Mary and to Joseph, didst consecrate domestic life by Thine unspeakable virtues, grant that, with the help of both one and the other, we may learn from the example of Thy Holy Family, and may attain to everlasting fellowship with them.  Who livest and reignest with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.  Amen.

May 21st – The Loss of Jesus in Jerusalem
from Saint Bonaventure

    That which is possessed with great love is not lost without great grief, and so it was that, deprived of the bodily presence of her only and beloved Son, whom she loved with the most tender love and above all things else, the Blessed Virgin was smitten in her soul with manifold sorrow.  And she hardly allowed any sleep to her eyes or any rest to her feet until she found Him in the midst of the doctors in Jerusalem.  “There, as soon as she saw His most gracious face once more, rejoicing with great joy and ineffable delight, she uttered a timorous word – though, indeed, her speech was brief, as is a maiden’s – which, nevertheless, was a word of pre-vision and of great wisdom, saying, “Son, why hast Thou done so to us?”  And, indeed, in saying this, she, like a most prudent Virgin, puts forth first her sweetness in that speech of her lips: “Son, why hast Thou done so to us?”  In the second place, she expresses the bitterness of the vast tribulation of her heart when she continues: “Thy father and I (have sought Thee) sorrowing.”  In the third place, she tells of her solicitude throughout the course of her discreet inquiries for Him when she adds: “Have sought Thee.”  So, in those words, the Blessed Virgin, with great prudence, quietly insinuates that she had given to God the thoughts of her heart, the words of her mouth, and the labour of her entire person.  First, then, is seen in the words set forth the sweetness of the speech of her lips, when she says: “My Son.”  For so good a Son as Jesus well deserved to be spoken to so sweetly, for, like every good son, He is the joy and the delight of His Virgin-Mother.  In the second place, she says: “Thy father and I – sorrowing,” in which we note the bitterness of the profound grief of her heart.  In sooth, O glorious Virgin! I do not wonder if thy heart is suffering, if there is bitterness in it, if there is sorrow; I should wonder rather if thou didst not suffer in the loss of that personal presence of thy beloved Son, which had filled thy soul with manifold consolation.  The glorious Virgin suffered in this world many sorrows, many tribulations, many bitter griefs, because of her Son; but for the present we shall speak of her sorrow as a triple sorrow.  For she grieved, first, because of the absence of her Son; secondly, because of her vision of the Passion of our Lord; and thirdly, in her co-passion, seeing the blindness of the Jews.  In the third place, Mary alludes to her anxiety in her prudent search and in all she did when she says: “(We) have sought Thee.”  For the Blessed Virgin was very anxious in seeking for her Child, although she had not been careless in losing Him; for it was a custom of the Jews – so the commentators tell us – that, in their processions and their journeyings, when they went up to the Temple – and while they remained in the Temple – the men and women did not travel together but in separate bands. The children, however, were not bound by this rule, and sometimes went with their fathers, and sometimes with the women.  This was why Mary, the Virgin Mother, thought that the Child Jesus was with Joseph in the company of the men, and Joseph that he was among the women’s company.  (This custom had been introduced for the sake of right conduct and chastity of life.)  Therefore it is plain that Mary was not negligent in losing Jesus; but she was very anxious and very diligent in her search for Him, for she sought Him, first, with a good conscience and in faith; then, with a wide charity, in her love of Him; and, finally, with hope, in certitude and confidence.

Let us pray
    O God! in whose Passion, according to the prophecy of Simeon, a sword of sorrow transpierced the most tender soul of Thy most glorious Virgin-Mother, Mary, mercifully grant that we, who with veneration call to mind her Dolours, may experience the happy effect of Thy Passion.  Who livest and reignest with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.  Amen.