Mary Is All Eyes to Pity and Relieve Our Miseries
St. Epiphanius calls the Blessed Virgin “all eyes”—that is, one who has many eyes, that she may relieve our miseries on this earth. One day, when a person possessed was being exorcised, the devil was asked by the exorcist what Mary was then doing. The evil one replied: “She is descending and ascending”—by which he meant that this gracious Lady does nothing else than descend upon the earth to bring graces to men, and ascend to heaven to obtain there the divine blessing upon our prayers. Rightly, then, was the holy Virgin named by St. Andrew Avellino the busy agent of paradise; for she is continually employed in deeds of mercy, imploring favors for all, for the just and for sinners. “The eyes of the Lord are upon the just,” says David; but the eyes of our Lady, as Richard of St. Laurence says, are upon the just and upon sinners. For, he adds, the eyes of Mary are the eyes of a mother; and a mother not only guards her child from falling, but if he falls, she hastens to raise him up.
Jesus himself revealed this to St. Bridget, when one day she heard him speaking to his Mother and saying: “Ask of me, my Mother, whatever you desire.” And the Son is always in heaven saying this to Mary, pleased to grant his beloved Mother whatever she asks. But what does Mary ask? St. Bridget understood the Mother to answer him: I ask mercy for sinners. As if she would say: My Son, you have already destined me to be the Mother of mercy, the refuge of sinners, the advocate of the miserable; now you tell me that I may ask whatever I wish. But what would I ask of you? I ask of you that you will have mercy on the sinner. You are, O Mary—St. Bonaventure tenderly says to her—so full of compassion, so watchful to relieve the wretched, that it seems you have no other desire, no other concern, than this. And because, among the wretched, sinners are the most wretched of all, the venerable Bede affirms that Mary is continually praying her Son on behalf of sinners.
Even while on earth, Mary was so kind and tender toward men that, as St. Jerome says, there never was any person so afflicted by his own sufferings as Mary was by the sufferings of others. She plainly showed the compassion she feels for the sufferings of others at the marriage feast of Cana (as has been mentioned in previous chapters), where, when the wine failed, without being requested—as St. Bernardine of Siena remarks—she assumed the office of a kind comforter. And out of mere compassion for the troubles of that family, she interceded with her Son and obtained the miracle of changing the water into wine.
But perhaps, says St. Peter Damian, now that you have been exalted to the dignity of Queen of heaven, you have forgotten the wretched? And then he adds: Let this never be thought; it does not belong to a mercy so great as that which reigns in the heart of Mary to forget such misery as ours. The common proverb, that honors change manners, certainly does not apply to Mary. It indeed applies to worldlings who, when raised to dignity, become inflated with pride and forget their old and poor friends; but not to Mary, who rejoices in her greater exaltation because it gives her more power to assist others. Considering this point, St. Bonaventure applies to the Blessed Virgin the words spoken to Ruth: “Blessed art thou, my daughter, and thy latter kindness has surpassed the former” (Ruth 3:10). He afterward explains his meaning: if the pity of Mary for the unhappy was great when she lived on earth, much greater is it now that she reigns in heaven. The saint gives the reason for this, saying that the divine Mother shows now, by the innumerable favors she obtains for us, this her increased compassion, because now she better understands our miseries. And he adds that, as the splendor of the sun exceeds that of the moon, so the mercy of Mary, now that she is in heaven, exceeds the mercy she had for us when she was upon the earth. And is there anyone living on earth who does not enjoy the light of the sun? Is there anyone on whom this mercy of Mary does not shine?
On this account she is called bright as the sun: “Bright as the sun” (Cant. 6:9); because, as St. Bonaventure says, no one is shut out from the warmth of this sun. And St. Agnes revealed this from heaven to St. Bridget, when she said to her that our Queen, now that she is united with her Son in heaven, cannot forget her innate goodness; hence she exercises her compassion toward all, even toward the most impious sinners. So that, as both the heavenly and the earthly bodies are illuminated by the sun, thus, through the goodness of Mary, there is no one in the world who does not, if he asks for it, share in the divine mercy. A great and desperate sinner in the kingdom of Valencia, in order to escape justice, had resolved to become a Turk, and was actually going to embark, when by chance he passed a church in which Father Jerome Lopez, of the Society of Jesus, was preaching—and preaching of the divine mercy. By that preaching he was converted, and he confessed to the father, who asked him whether he had practiced any devotion for which God had shown him so great a mercy. He answered that he had practiced no other devotion than praying to the holy Virgin every day not to abandon him. The same father found in the hospital a sinner who for fifty-five years had never been to confession, and had practiced only this little devotion: that when he saw an image of Mary he saluted it, and prayed to her that he might not die in mortal sin. And then he related that, in a quarrel with an enemy, his sword was broken, and he turned to our Lady, saying: “Alas, I shall be slain, damned; O Mother of sinners, help me!” When he had said this, he found himself, he knew not how, transported into a place of safety. He made a general confession, and died full of confidence.
St. Bernard writes that Mary becomes all things to all men, and opens to all the depths of her mercy, that all may receive of her: the captive his freedom, the sick man his health, the afflicted consolation, the sinner pardon, and God his glory; so that there is no one, since she is the sun, who does not partake of her warmth. And is there anyone in the world, exclaims St. Bonaventure, who will not love this lovely Queen? She is more beautiful than the sun, and sweeter than honey; she is a treasure of goodness, and is kind and courteous to all. I salute you, then—thus the enamored saint goes on to say—O my Lady and my Mother, my heart, my soul! Pardon me, O Mary, if I say that I love you; for if I am not worthy of loving you, you are truly worthy of being loved by me.
It was revealed to St. Gertrude that whenever anyone repeats with devotion these words to the Virgin—“Turn, then, toward us, O our advocate, your pitying eyes”—Mary never fails to listen to the prayer. Oh, let the immensity of your mercy, O great Lady, fill the whole earth, exclaims St. Bernard. Hence St. Bonaventure says that this loving Mother has such a desire to do good to all, that she feels herself offended not only by those who offer her some positive injury—for there are souls to be found so perverse, especially gamblers, who sometimes, to vent their anger, blaspheme and insult this good Lady—but she also looks upon herself as injured by those who neglect to ask of her some favor. So that, as St. Hildebert says, you instruct us, O Lady, to expect favors greater than our merits, for you never cease to dispense graces that far exceed what we deserve. The prophet Isaias foretold that, by the great work of human redemption, a great throne of divine mercy would be prepared for us: “A throne shall be prepared in mercy” (Isa. 16:5). Who is this throne? St. Bonaventure answers: This throne is Mary, in whom all, both the just and sinners, find the consolations of mercy. And he afterward adds: As the Lord is full of compassion, so also is our Lady; and as the Son, so the Mother cannot withhold her mercy from those who ask it. Hence Guerric the Abbot represents Jesus thus speaking to Mary: My Mother, upon you I will establish the seat of my kingdom, for through you I will bestow the graces that are asked of me. You have given me my human nature; I will give to you, as it were, a divine nature—that is, my omnipotence—by which you can assist all who invoke you to obtain their salvation.
When St. Gertrude was one day devoutly repeating these words to the divine Mother—“Turn toward us your merciful eyes”—she saw the Virgin pointing to the eyes of her Son, whom she held in her arms, and saying to her: “These are the most merciful eyes that I can turn toward all those who invoke me for their salvation.” A sinner once weeping before the altar of Mary, and imploring her to intercede with God for his pardon, was given to understand that the Blessed Virgin turned to the child whom she held in her arms and said to him: “My Son, shall these tears be in vain?” And he learned that Jesus Christ at once pardoned him.
And how can anyone ever perish who commends himself to this good Mother, when the Son, as God, has promised, for love of her, to exercise mercy—as far as it pleases her—toward all those who have recourse to her? This our Lord revealed precisely to St. Bridget, permitting her to hear these words which he spoke to Mary: “By my omnipotence, venerable Mother, I have granted you the pardon of all sinners who devoutly invoke the aid of your mercy, in whatever way it pleases you.” Hence the Abbot Adam Persenius, considering the great compassion that Mary has for all, full of confidence says to her: O Mother of mercy, your power is as great as your pity. As you are powerful to obtain, so you are merciful to pardon. And when, he adds, do you ever fail to have compassion on sinners, being the Mother of mercy? Or when are you unable to help them, being the Mother of omnipotence? Ah, you can as readily obtain whatever you will as you can listen to our woes. Take your fill, then, says the Abbot Rupert—take your fill, O great Queen, of the glory of your Son; and through your compassion, not indeed through our merit, be pleased to send down to us, your poor servants here below, whatever fragments may remain.
If our sins ever throw us into despair, let us say with William of Paris: O Lady, do not bring forward my sins against me, for I will bring forward your mercy in opposition to them. And let it never be said that my sins can rival, in the judgment, your mercy, which is more powerful to obtain my pardon than my sins are to obtain my condemnation.
Example
We read in the chronicles of the Capuchin Fathers that there lived in Venice a celebrated lawyer who, by fraud and evil practices, had become rich. His whole life was very bad, and it appears that he had but one good habit: that of reciting every day a certain prayer to the holy Virgin. Yet even this little devotion saved him from eternal death, through the mercy of Mary. It happened in this way.
Happily for himself, he had a great esteem for Father Matthew da Basso, and urged him so often to come and dine at his house that one day the Father granted him this pleasure. When he had arrived, the lawyer said to him: “Now, Father, I will show you something you have never seen. I have a wonderful ape, who is my valet. He washes my glasses, lays the table, and opens the door.” “This may not be an ape,” answered the Father. “It may be something more than an ape. Order him to come here.”
The ape was called again and again, and search was made for him everywhere, but he could not be found. At length he was discovered hidden under a bed in the lower part of the house, but he would not come out. “Come, then,” said the religious, “let us go and see him.” And he went with the lawyer to his hiding place. “Infernal beast,” he said, “come forth, and in the name of God I command you to tell me what you are.”
And behold, the ape answered that he was the devil, and that he was waiting until that sinner should one day omit to recite his accustomed prayer to the Mother of God; for the first time he should omit it, God had given him leave to strangle the man and carry him to hell. At these words the lawyer cast himself upon his knees to ask help of the servant of God, who encouraged him and commanded the devil to depart from that house without doing any injury. Only, as a sign that he had truly gone, he gave him permission to break a piece of the wall.
Scarcely had he finished speaking when, with a great crash, a hole was made in the wall. Although it was several times closed up with stone and mortar, God willed that it should remain open for a long time, until, by the advice of the servant of God, it was filled in with a slab of marble carved with an angel. The lawyer was converted, and, it is to be hoped, persevered until death in his new course of life.
Prayer
O creature, among all others the greatest and most sublime, most holy Virgin, I salute you from this earth—I, a miserable, unhappy rebel to my God, who deserve punishment and not favors, justice and not mercy. O Lady, I do not say this because I distrust your mercy. I know that you glory in being as merciful as you are great. I know that you rejoice in being so rich that you may share your riches with us sinners. I know that the more wretched are those who seek you, the greater is your desire to help and save them. O my Mother, it is you who once wept for your Son when he died for me. Offer, I pray you, your tears to God, and with these obtain for me a true sorrow for my sins. So much did sinners grieve you then, and so much did I too grieve you by my iniquities. Obtain for me, O Mary, that I may at least from this day forward no longer continue to afflict you and your Son by my ingratitude. What will your tears avail me if I should continue to be ungrateful to you? What would your mercy avail me if I should again be faithless and be lost? No, my Queen, do not permit it. You have supplied all my deficiencies; you can obtain from God whatever you will; you graciously hear everyone who prays to you. These two favors I ask of you, and from you, without fail, do I hope and desire them: namely, that you will obtain for me to be faithful to God by never more offending him, and to love him as much as I have offended him during the life that remains to me. Amen.
Points for Reflection
1. “For, he adds, the eyes of Mary are the eyes of a mother; and a mother not only guards her child from falling, but if he falls, she hastens to raise him up.”
2. “As the splendor of the sun exceeds that of the moon, so the mercy of Mary, now that she is in heaven, exceeds the mercy she had for us when she was upon the earth.”
3. “As you are powerful to obtain, so you are merciful to pardon.”