Mary Was Born a Saint, and a Great Saint
Mary was born a saint, and a great saint; for great was the grace with which our Lord enriched her from the very beginning, and great was the fidelity with which Mary at once corresponded to it.
Men are accustomed to celebrate the birth of their children with joy and feasting; but they ought rather to weep, and to give signs of grief and mourning, when they consider that these little ones are born, not only destitute of merits and of reason, but moreover infected by sin, children of wrath, and therefore condemned to misery and death. With reason, however, do we celebrate, with feasting and universal praise, the birth of our infant Mary; for she came into this world an infant in age, it is true, but great in merits and in virtue.
Mary was born a saint, and a great saint. But to grasp the degree of holiness in which she was born, we must consider, first, how great was the grace with which God enriched Mary at the beginning, and second, how great was the fidelity with which Mary at once corresponded to it.
First Point. Beginning with the first point, it is certain that the soul of Mary was the most beautiful soul God ever created. Indeed, next to the Incarnation of the Word, this was the greatest and most worthy work the Almighty could accomplish in this world—a work, as St. Peter Damian calls it, which God alone surpasses: Opus quod solus Deus supergreditur. Hence the divine grace did not descend upon Mary in drops, as upon the other saints, but, as David foretold, like rain upon the fleece: Sicut pluvia in vellus (Ps. 71:6). The soul of Mary was like wool, which happily drank in that whole great shower of grace without losing a single drop. The holy Virgin, says St. Basil, drew into herself all the grace of the Holy Spirit. And so she herself said, by the mouth of Ecclesiasticus: “My abode is in the full assembly of saints” (Ecclus. 24:16)—In plenitudine sanctorum detentio mea—which St. Bonaventure explains thus: I possess in fulness all that the other saints possess only in part. And St. Vincent Ferrer, speaking expressly of the holiness of Mary before her birth, said that she surpassed in sanctity all the saints and angels.
The grace of the Blessed Virgin surpassed the grace not only of each saint in particular, but of all the saints and angels together, as the most learned Father Francis Pepe, of the Society of Jesus, proves in his admirable work on the grandeur of Jesus and Mary. He asserts that this opinion, so glorious for our Queen, is now common and established among modern theologians—as Cartagena, Suarez, Spinelli, Recupito, Guerra, and others, who have examined it expressly, which the ancients did not do. He relates further that the divine Mother sent Father Martin Gutierrez to thank Father Suarez in her name for having so courageously defended this most probable opinion; and Father Segneri asserts, in his work titled The Devout Client of Mary, that it was afterward maintained by the common consent of the school of Salamanca.
Now if this opinion is common and certain, the other opinion is also very probable: namely, that Mary received from the first moment of her Immaculate Conception this grace, superior to the grace of all the saints and angels together. This same Father Suarez powerfully defends, and Fathers Spinelli, Recupito, and La Colombière follow him. But besides the authority of the theologians, there are two great and convincing reasons sufficient to prove this opinion.
The first reason is that Mary was chosen by God to be the Mother of the divine Word. Hence Blessed Denis the Carthusian says that, having been chosen for an order superior to all creatures (for in a certain sense the dignity of Mother of God, as Father Suarez affirms, belongs to the order of the hypostatic union), gifts of a superior order were justly bestowed upon her from the beginning of her life, so that her graces far exceeded those granted to all other creatures. And indeed it cannot be doubted that, at the same moment when in the divine decrees the person of the Eternal Word was predestined to become man, a Mother was also destined for him, from whom he was to take his human nature; and this was our infant Mary. Now St. Thomas teaches that the Lord gives to each one grace proportioned to the dignity for which he destines him. St. Paul had taught this before, when he said: “Who also hath made us fit ministers of the New Testament” (2 Cor. 3:6)—signifying to us that the Apostles received from God gifts proportioned to the great office to which they were chosen. St. Bernardine of Siena adds that when a man is chosen by God for any state, he receives not only the dispositions required for it, but also the gifts necessary to fill the office worthily. Now if Mary was chosen to be the Mother of God, it was fitting that God should adorn her, even from the first moment, with an immense grace of an order superior to the grace of all other men and angels; for it was required that her grace should correspond to the most high and immense dignity to which God exalted her. In this all theologians agree with St. Thomas, who says: The Virgin was chosen to be the Mother of God, and therefore there can be no doubt that God, by his grace, rendered her fit for it. Hence Mary, before being made Mother of God, was adorned with a holiness so perfect that it rendered her fit for this great dignity. In the Blessed Virgin, therefore, says the holy doctor, there was a perfection, as it were preparatory, by which she was fitted to become the Mother of Christ; and this was the perfection of sanctification.
And St. Thomas had said before that Mary was called full of grace, not on account of the degree of grace—since she did not have grace in its highest possible degree. For even the habitual grace of Jesus Christ (as the same doctor says) was not the highest possible, such that God by his absolute power could not have made it greater; although it was grace sufficient to correspond to the end for which his humanity was destined by the divine Wisdom, that is, for the union with the person of the Word. The divine power, although it might form something greater and better than the habitual grace of Christ, yet could make nothing destined to anything greater than the personal union with the only-begotten Son of the Father—a union to which such a measure of grace would sufficiently correspond, according to the design of divine Wisdom.
The same angelic Doctor teaches that the divine power is so great that, however much it gives, there always remains something more to give; and although the natural power of the creature to receive is in itself limited, so that it can be entirely filled, yet the power of its obedience to the divine will is unlimited, and God can always increase its fulness by making it more capable of receiving. And hence—to return to our subject—St. Thomas declares that the Blessed Virgin, although not full of grace in respect to absolute grace, is yet called full of grace in respect to herself, since she possessed a grace immense, sufficient, and corresponding to her great dignity, which rendered her fit to become the Mother of a God. Hence the blessed Fernandez says that the measure by which we may know how great was the grace communicated to Mary is her dignity as Mother of God.
Justly, then, did David say that the foundations of this city of God, Mary, should be laid upon the summits of the mountains: “The foundations thereof are in the holy mountains” (Ps. 86:1)—Fundamenta ejus in montibus sanctis. By this we are to understand that the beginning of the life of Mary was more exalted than the completed lives of all the saints together. “The Lord loveth the gates of Sion,” the prophet continues, “above all the tabernacles of Jacob” (Ps. 86:2). And David himself gave the reason: because God was to make himself man in her virginal womb—“Man is born in her” (Ps. 86:5). Hence it was fitting that God should give to this Virgin, from the first moment he created her, a grace corresponding to the dignity of the Mother of God.
Isaias foretold the same when he said that in time to come the mountain of the house of the Lord—which was the Blessed Virgin—should be prepared on the summit of all the other mountains, and that therefore all the nations must hasten to this mountain to receive the divine favors (Isa. 2:2). St. Gregory explains this, saying: Yea, the mountain on the top of the mountains, because the glory of Mary shone above that of all the saints. And as St. John Damascene expresses it: The mountain which it pleased God to choose for his dwelling. Mary was called a cypress, but a cypress of Mount Sion; she was called a cedar, but a cedar of Lebanon; an olive tree, but a fair olive tree; chosen, but chosen as the sun. For, as the sun by its light so far exceeds all the splendor of the stars that they are seen no more when it appears, says St. Peter Damian, so the great Virgin Mary surpasses, by her sanctity, the merits of the whole celestial court. And as St. Bernard elegantly puts it: Mary was so sublime in sanctity that none but Mary was a fitting Mother for God, and no other Son than God was befitting Mary.
The second argument, which proves that Mary, in the first moment of her life, was more holy than all the saints together, is founded upon the great office she held from the beginning: that of mediatrix of men. For this it was required that she should possess a greater treasure of grace than the whole human race together. It is well known how universally this title of mediatrix is applied to Mary by theologians and by the holy Fathers, since by her powerful intercession and her merit de congruo she has obtained salvation for all, procuring for the ruined world the great blessing of redemption. We say “by merit de congruo,” because Jesus Christ alone is our mediator by way of justice and by merit de condigno, as the schools express it—he having offered to the Eternal Father his merits, which the Father has accepted for our salvation. Mary, on the other hand, is the mediatrix of grace by way of simple intercession and of merit de congruo, since she offered to God (as the theologians say with St. Bonaventure) her merits for the salvation of all men, and God, through grace, has accepted them in union with the merits of Jesus Christ. Hence Arnold of Chartres says: She effected our salvation in common with Christ. And Richard of St. Victor likewise: She desired, sought, and obtained the salvation of all; indeed, the salvation of all was effected through her. So that every blessing and every gift of eternal life which each of the saints has received from God has been obtained for them by Mary.
This is what Holy Church would have us understand when she honors the divine Mother by applying to her these passages of Ecclesiasticus: “In me is all grace of the way and of the truth” (Ecclus. 24:25)—In me gratia omnis viae et veritatis. “Of the way,” because through Mary all graces are dispensed to those still on the road to heaven; “of the truth,” because through Mary is given the light of truth. “In me is all hope of life and of virtue”—In me omnis spes vitae et virtutis. “Of life,” because through Mary we hope to attain the life of grace on earth and the life of glory in heaven; “of virtue,” because through Mary virtue is obtained, and especially the theological virtues, which are the chief virtues of the saints. “I am the mother of fair love, and of fear, and of knowledge, and of holy hope” (Ecclus. 24:24). By her intercession Mary obtains for her servants the gifts of divine love, of holy fear, of heavenly light, and of holy confidence. And from this St. Bernard infers that the Church teaches Mary to be the universal mediatrix of our salvation: “Extol the finder of grace, the mediatrix of salvation, the restorer of the ages. This the Church sings to me of her, and has taught me to sing the same.”
Therefore, as St. Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusalem, asserts, the archangel Gabriel called her full of grace—Ave, gratia plena—because, as that saint remarks, while to others grace is given in limited measure, to Mary it was given in fulness. And this was ordained, as St. Basil attests, that in this way she might become the worthy mediatrix between God and men. For if the Virgin had not been full of divine grace, as St. Lawrence Justinian adds, how could she be the ladder of paradise, the advocate of the world, and the true mediatrix between God and men?
The second argument is now perfectly clear. If Mary, even from the beginning—as the Mother already destined for the common Redeemer—received the office of mediatrix of all men, and consequently of all the saints as well, then it was necessary that she should have, from the beginning, a greater grace than all the saints had, for whom she was to intercede. To explain myself more clearly: if by means of Mary all men were to become dear to God, it was fitting that Mary should be more holy and more dear to God than all other men together. Otherwise, how could she intercede for all the rest? For an intercessor to obtain from his prince a favor for all the prince’s vassals, it is absolutely necessary that he, more than all the other vassals, should be dear to his monarch. And so Mary, concludes St. Anselm, merited to be the worthy restorer of the ruined world, because she was the most holy and most pure of all creatures.
Mary, then, was the mediatrix of men, someone will say; but can she be called also the mediatrix of angels? Many theologians hold that Jesus Christ obtained by his merits the grace of perseverance for the angels as well; so that, as Jesus Christ was their mediator de condigno, Mary too may be called their mediatrix de congruo, having hastened by her prayers the coming of the Redeemer. At least, having merited de congruo to be chosen Mother of the Messiah, she merited for the angels the restoration of their seats, which had been lost by the demons; so that she merited for them at least this accidental glory. Hence Richard of St. Victor says: Every creature is restored by her; the ruin of the angels is repaired by her, and human nature is reconciled. And St. Anselm had said before: All things are reclaimed and restored to their former state by this Virgin.
So that our heavenly child, both because she was appointed mediatrix of the world and because she was predestined Mother of the Redeemer, received from the first moment of her life a grace greater than that of all the saints together. How lovely, then, in the sight of heaven and earth was the beautiful soul of that happy infant, though still enclosed in her mother’s womb! In the eye of God she was the creature most worthy of love, because, already full of grace and of merit, she could even then exult and say: “When I was a little child, I pleased the Most High”—Cum essem parvula, placui Altissimo. And at the same time she was the creature most full of love for God that had ever yet appeared in this world; so that Mary, had she been born immediately after her most pure conception, would have come into the world richer in merits and holier than all the saints together. Now let us consider how much holier she was at her birth, coming to the light after gaining all those merits during the nine months she remained in her mother’s womb. Let us go on, then, to consider the second point: how great was the fidelity with which Mary at once corresponded to the divine grace.
Second Point. It is no longer the private opinion of a few divines, says a learned author, but the opinion of the whole world, that the holy infant, when she received sanctifying grace in the womb of St. Anne, received at the same time the perfect use of reason, together with a great divine light corresponding to the grace with which she was enriched. Hence we may believe that, from the first moment when her pure soul was united to her most pure body, she was enlightened with the fullness of divine wisdom to comprehend the eternal truths, the beauty of virtue, and above all the infinite goodness of her God, and how much he deserves to be loved by all men—but especially by her, on account of the singular graces with which he had adorned her and distinguished her from all creatures: preserving her from the stain of original sin, bestowing on her a grace so immense, and destining her to be the Mother of the Word and the Queen of the universe.
Hence Mary, grateful to her God from that first moment, began at once to do all that she could, faithfully employing that great treasure of grace she had received, and wholly applying herself to please and love the divine goodness. From that moment she loved him with all her strength, and so she continued to love him throughout all those nine months that she lived before her birth, in which she did not cease for a single moment to unite herself ever more closely to God by fervent acts of love. She was free from original sin, and therefore also exempt from every earthly attachment, from every disordered movement, from every distraction, from all conflict of the senses, which might have prevented her from constantly advancing in the divine love. All her senses were in harmony with her blessed spirit in hastening toward God. Hence her pure soul, freed from every hindrance, without ever pausing, always rose to God, always loved him, and always increased in love for him. Therefore she called herself a plane tree planted by the waters: “As a plane tree by the water was I exalted” (Ecclus. 24:19)—Quasi platanus exaltata sum juxta aquam; for she was indeed that noble tree of God which always grew beside the stream of divine grace. She also called herself a vine: “As the vine I have brought forth a pleasant odor” (Ecclus. 24:23)—Ego quasi vitis fructificavi suavitatem odoris; not only because she was so humble in the eyes of the world, but also because, as the proverb says, the vine never ceases to grow: Vitis nullo fine crescit. So the most holy Virgin always increased in perfection. The growth of other trees—the orange, the mulberry, the pear, and the rest—has its fixed limit; but the vine always grows, and grows in proportion to the height of the tree by which it is supported. Hail, O vine, ever vigorous! So St. Gregory Thaumaturgus salutes her; for she was always united to her God, who was her only support. Thus it was of her that the Holy Spirit spoke when he said: “Who is this that cometh up from the desert, flowing with delights, leaning upon her beloved?” (Cant. 8:5). Commenting on this, St. Ambrose says: Who is this that, accompanied by the divine Word, grows like the vine supported by a lofty tree?
Many grave theologians teach that the soul which possesses a habit of virtue, whenever it faithfully corresponds to the actual graces it afterward receives from God, always produces an act equal in intensity to the habit it possesses; so that each time it acquires a new and double merit, equal to the sum of all the merits acquired before. This increase, they say, was granted to the angels in the time of their probation; and if it was granted to the angels, who shall say that it was not granted also to the divine Mother while she lived on this earth—and especially in the time of which I am speaking, when she remained in her mother’s womb, and was certainly more faithful than the angels in corresponding to grace? Mary, then, during all that time was continually redoubling that sublime grace which she possessed from the first moment; for, corresponding with all her power and perfection in every act she performed, at each successive moment she redoubled her merits. Hence, if in the first moment she received a thousand degrees of grace, in the second she had two thousand, in the third four thousand, in the fourth eight thousand, in the fifth sixteen thousand, in the sixth thirty-two thousand—and we have reached only the sixth moment. But multiply in this way for a whole day, multiply for nine months, and consider what treasures of grace, of merit, and of sanctity Mary brought into the world when she was born.
Let us rejoice, then, with our infant, who was born so holy, so dear to God, and so full of grace; and let us rejoice not only for her, but also for ourselves, since she came into the world full of grace not only for her own glory, but for our good. St. Thomas says the most holy Virgin was full of grace in three ways. First, she was full of grace in her soul, so that from the beginning her holy soul belonged entirely to God. Second, she was full of grace in her body, so that she merited to clothe the Eternal Word with her pure flesh. Third, she was full of grace for the common benefit, so that all men might share in it. Some saints, adds the angelic Doctor, have so much grace that it is enough not only for themselves but also to save many others—yet not all men. To Jesus Christ and to Mary alone was given so great a grace that it was sufficient to save all men. If anyone had enough for the salvation of all, that would be the greatest of all; and this was found in Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgin. Thus St. Thomas writes. Hence what St. John said of Jesus—“And of his fulness we all have received” (John 1:16)—the saints say of Mary. St. Thomas of Villanova says: Full of grace, of whose fulness all receive. And so St. Anselm remarks that there is no one who does not share in the grace of Mary. Is there anyone in the world to whom Mary is not merciful, and on whom she does not bestow some favor? From Jesus, however (we must understand), we receive grace as from the author of grace, and from Mary as the mediatrix; from Jesus as the Savior, from Mary as the advocate; from Jesus as the fountain, from Mary as the channel.
Therefore St. Bernard says that God has established Mary as the channel of the mercies he wishes to dispense to men; and for this reason he filled her with grace, that everyone might receive his portion from her fulness. A full channel, that the rest might partake of its fulness, but not receive the fulness itself. Hence the saint exhorts all to consider with how much love God wishes us to honor this great Virgin, since in her he has placed all the treasure of his blessings; so that whatever we possess of hope, of grace, and of salvation, we may thank our most loving Queen for it, since it all comes to us through her hands and by her intercession. Miserable is that soul who closes for herself this channel of grace by neglecting to commend herself to Mary! When Holofernes wished to make himself master of the city of Bethulia, he ordered its aqueducts to be cut off: “And he commanded their aqueduct to be cut off” (Judith 7:6). This is exactly what the devil does when he wishes to make himself master of a soul: he makes her abandon devotion to most holy Mary. Once this channel is closed, she will at once lose the light and the fear of God, and at last eternal salvation. By the following example it will be seen how great is the compassion of the heart of Mary, and what ruin he brings upon himself who closes this channel and abandons devotion to this Queen of heaven.
Example
Trithemius, Canisius, and others relate that in Magdeburg, a city of Saxony, there lived a certain man named Udo, who from his youth had been so dull of mind that he was the laughingstock of all his schoolfellows. One day, being more than usually disheartened by his own incapacity, he went to pray to the most holy Virgin before an image of her. Mary appeared to him in a dream and said: “Udo, I will console you; and not only will I obtain from God abilities enough to free you from ridicule, but talents that will make you admired. Moreover, I promise that after the death of the bishop you shall be chosen in his place.” So Mary said, and so it all came to pass. Udo made great progress in the sciences and obtained the bishopric of that city. But he proved so ungrateful to God and to his benefactress for these favors that he abandoned all his devotions and became the scandal of the whole place.
One night, while he lay in bed with a sacrilegious companion, he heard a voice say to him: “Udo, cease this sinful sport; you have sinned enough”—Udo, cessa de ludo; lusisti satis, Udo. The first time, he was angered at these words, thinking it was some man reproving him; but hearing them repeated a second and a third night, he began to fear a little that it might be a voice from heaven. Yet for all that, he continued in his wicked life. After God had given him three months to repent, behold the punishment. One night a devout canon named Frederick was in the church of St. Maurice, praying that God would put an end to the scandal the prelate was giving, when suddenly the door of the church was burst open by a strong wind. Two youths entered, with lighted torches in their hands, and stationed themselves on either side of the high altar. Then two others followed, who spread a carpet before the altar and set upon it two thrones of gold. After them came another youth, in military attire, with a sword in his hand; and stopping in the midst of the church, he cried: “O you saints of heaven whose relics are preserved in this church, come and assist at the great act of justice which the sovereign Judge is about to execute.” At this summons many saints appeared, and also the twelve Apostles, as assessors in this judgment. Last of all, Jesus Christ entered and seated himself on one of the thrones. Then Mary appeared, attended by many holy virgins, and was placed by her Son upon the other throne, at his side.
The Judge now ordered the culprit to be brought forward; and it was the wretched Udo. St. Maurice spoke, and in the name of the scandalized people demanded justice for his infamous life. All present raised their voices and said: “O Lord, he deserves death.” “Let him die, then,” said the eternal Judge. But before the sentence was carried out—see how great is the mercy of Mary—the merciful Mother, that she might not be present at that dreadful act of justice, left the church; and then the heavenly minister who had entered among the first with the sword approached Udo and with one blow struck the head from his body, and the vision vanished. The place was left in darkness. The canon, trembling, went to get a light from a lamp that was burning below the church, and when he returned he saw the body of Udo with its head cut off, and the pavement all covered with blood. When daylight came and the people thronged the church, the canon related the whole vision and all the circumstances of that fearful tragedy. And on that same day the wretched Udo, condemned to hell, appeared to one of his chaplains, who knew nothing of what had taken place in the church. The body of Udo was thrown into a marsh, and his blood remained, as a perpetual memorial, upon that pavement, which was thereafter always kept covered with a carpet; and from that time it became the custom to uncover it when a new bishop took possession of the church, so that at the sight of such a punishment he might be mindful to lead a good life, and not to be ungrateful for the graces of the Lord and of his most holy Mother.
Prayer
O holy and heavenly infant Mary, you who are the destined Mother of my Redeemer and the great mediatrix of miserable sinners, have pity on me. Behold at your feet another ungrateful creature, who has recourse to you and implores your mercy. It is true that, for my ingratitude toward God and toward you, I deserve to be abandoned by God and by you. But I have heard, and so I believe—knowing how great is your compassion—that you do not refuse to help whoever commends himself to you with confidence. Therefore, O most exalted of all creatures, since there is none above you but God, and beside you the greatest in heaven are small; O Saint of saints, O Mary, abyss of grace and full of grace, help a miserable sinner who has lost grace by his own fault. I know that you are so dear to God that he denies you nothing. I know also that you rejoice to employ your greatness in relieving the distressed. Ah, then, make known how great is your favor with God by obtaining for me a divine light and a flame so powerful that it may change me from a sinner into a saint, and, detaching me from every earthly affection, may wholly inflame me with divine love. Do this, O Lady, because you can do it; do this for the love of that God who has made you so great, so powerful, and so merciful. Thus I hope. Amen.
Points for Reflection
1. “Mary was born a saint, and a great saint; for great was the grace with which our Lord enriched her from the very beginning, and great was the fidelity with which Mary at once corresponded to it.”
2. “The soul of Mary was like wool, which happily drank in that whole great shower of grace without losing a single drop.”
3. “God has established Mary as the channel of the mercies he wishes to dispense to men; and for this reason he filled her with grace, that everyone might receive his portion from her fulness.”