Divine Intimacy: Meditations on the Interior Life for Everyday of the Year

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175. EFFICACIOUS PRAYER
FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER

PRESENCE OF GOD - O Jesus, make me understand that my prayer is of no avail unless it is made in Your Name; that my faith is vain unless I convert it into works.


MEDITATION

1. In today’s Gospel, taken again from the discourse of Jan ‘after the Last Supper (Jn 16,23-30), the Church continues to prepare us for the Ascension and Pentecost. “I came forth from the Father and am come into the world,” Jesus said, “again I leave the world, and I go to the Father.” Thus He announces His approaching Ascension. Having reached the end of His ministry on earth, Jesus presents it in synthesis as a long journey from the Father to the world and from the world to the Father. These words repeat the idea of “ pilgrimage,” which every Christian should apply to his own life, considering it as “a night spent in a bad inn” (T.J. Way, 40), a “night” during which his heart is turned toward the radiant tomorrow of eternal life.

“The hour cometh when I will no more speak to you in proverbs, but will show you plainly of the Father.” Jesus is now referring to Pentecost, to the intervention of the Holy Spirit by whom Jesus will enlighten His Apostles, giving them a clear understanding of the divine mysteries, so that the Father will no longer be unknown to them. All that we can study and learn about the things of God is a dead letter if the Holy Spirit does not enlighten us concerning them. Our need for Him is absolute; our desire for His coming should be unbounded.

Yet another subject is brought to our attention in today’s Gospel. Jesus had spoken to the Apostles many times about prayer and the way they should pray; today He reveals the secret of efficacious prayer: “If you ask the Father anything in My Name, He will give it you.” Jesus is going, but He leaves the Apostles an unfailing means of approach to the Father: to present themselves in His own Name, the Name of the God-Man who, because He sacrificed Himself for the glory of His Father and for our salvation, deserves to be “ heard for His reverence” (Heb 5,7).


2. To pray “in the Name of Jesus” establishes the conviction that our prayers, as well as all our good works, have no value unless they are founded on the infinite merits of Jesus. We must be persuaded that, however much we do or pray, we are always “ unprofitable servants” (Lk 17,10); we have no sufficiency in ourselves, but all our sufficiency comes from the Crucified. Consequently, the first condition of prayer made “in the Name of Jesus” is humility, an ever deeper and more realistic sense of our nothingness. It must be complemented by the second condition, a boundless confidence in the merits of Jesus, which surpass all our poverty, misery, necessities, needs. In view of Jesus’ infinite merits, we can never ask too much in His Name; we can never be too bold in imploring the plenitude of divine grace for our souls, in aspiring to that sanctity which is hidden, perhaps, but genuine. There is no fault, no want of fidelity, no evil tendency, no sin, which, if sincerely detested, cannot be cleansed, purified, and pardoned by the Blood of Jesus; there is no weakness which He cannot cure, strengthen, and transform. Moreover, there is no creature of good will, no matter how weak and insignificant, who, in the Name of Jesus, cannot aspire to sanctity.

However, in order to make our prayer effective, a third condition is required: our life must correspond to our prayer, our faith must be translated into good works. “Be ye doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if a man be a hearer of the word and not a doer, he shall be compared to a man beholding his own countenance in a glass. For he beheld himself, and went his way, and presently forgot what manner of man he was.” This strong exhortation of St. James, which is found in today’s Epistle (1,22-27), is an urgent reminder of the practical character of the Christian life. Vain is our prayer, vain our confidence in God, if we do not add our generous efforts to perform all our duties, to live up to our high vocation. We can, and we should, hope for everything in the Name of Jesus, but He expects a constant effort on our part to be entirely faithful to Him.


COLLOQUY

“Almighty God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, You who are so merciful, be merciful to me, for whatever I can find that is most precious, I devoutly offer You; I present in humble supplication all that is dear to me. I have nothing that I have not offered to Your Majesty; I have nothing more to add, since I have sent You my Hope, my Advocate: Your beloved Son. I have sent Your glorious Son as a Mediator between You and me; I have sent Him as an Intercessor, by whom I hope to obtain pardon. I have sent that Word whom You sent to atone for my guilt, and I show You the Passion which Your Son suffered for me. He is the Sacred Victim whom I offer to appease You, so that You will look favorably upon me. Great, indeed, is my wrong-doing, but my Savior’s justice is much greater. Even as God is superior to man, so is my wickedness inferior to His goodness, in quality as well as in quantity.

“What fault committed by man has not been expiated by the Son of God made man? What pride can be so immeasurably inflated, that it could not be brought down by such humility? Truly, O my God, if we were to weigh both the offenses committed by sinners, and the grace of God the Redeemer, we would find that the difference equaled not only the distance between east and west, but the distance between hell and the highest heaven. O wonderful Creator of light, by the terrible sorrows of Your Son, pardon my sins! Grant, O God, that His goodness may overcome my wickedness, that His meekness may atone for my perversity, that His mildness may dominate my irascibility. May His humility make amends for my pride; His patience, for my impatience; His benignity, for my harshness; His obedience, for my disobedience; His tranquility, for my anxiety, His sweetness, for my bitterness; may His charity blot out my cruelty!” (St. Augustine).

176. MARY’S HUMILITY

PRESENCE OF GOD - O Mary, humblest of all creatures, make me humble of heart.


MEDITATION

1. St. Bernard says: “It is not hard to be humble in a hidden life, but to remain so in the midst of honors is a truly rare and beautiful virtue.” The Blessed Virgin was certainly the woman whom God honored most highly, whom He raised above all other creatures; yet no creature was so humble and lowly as she. A holy rivalry seemed to exist between Mary and God; the higher God elevated her, the lowlier she became in her humility. The Angel called her “full of grace,” and Mary “was troubled” (Lk 1,28.29).

According to St. Alphonsus’ explanation, “Mary was troubled because she was filled with humility, disliked praise, and desired that God only be praised.” ‘The Angel revealed to her the sublime mission which was to be entrusted to her by the Most High, and Mary declared herself “the handmaid of the Lord” (ibid., 38). Her thoughts did not linger over the immense honor that would be hers as the woman chosen from all women to be the Mother of the Son of God; but she contemplated in wonder the great mystery of a God who willed to become incarnate in the womb of a poor creature. If God wished to descend so far as to give Himself to her as a Son, to what depths should not His little handmaid abase herself? The more she understood the grandeur of the mystery, the immensity of the divine gift, the more she humbled herself, submerging herself in her nothingness. Her attitude was the same when Elizabeth greeted her, “Blessed art thou among women” (ibid., 42). Those words did not astonish her, for she was already the Mother of God; yet she remained steadfast in her profound humility. She attributed everything to God whose mercies she sang, acknowledging the condescension with which He had “regarded the humility of His handmaid” (ibid., 48). That God had performed great works in her she knew and acknowledged, but instead of boasting about them, she directed everything to His glory. With reason St. Bernardine exclaims: “As no other creature, after the Son of God, has been raised in dignity and grace equal to Mary, so neither has anyone descended so deep into the abyss of humility.” Behold the effect that graces and divine favors should produce in us: an increase of humility, a greater awareness of our nothingness.


2. “If you cannot equal Mary’s absolute purity,” says St. Bernard, “at least imitate her humility. The virtue of chastity is admirable, but humility is essential. A simple invitation calls to the first: ‘He that can take, let him take it’; for the second, we have an absolute command: ‘Unless you become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.’ Chastity, therefore, will be rewarded; humility will be demanded. We can be saved without virginity, but not without humility. Even Mary’s virginity would not have been pleasing to God without humility. Mary certainly pleased God by her virginity, but she became His Mother because of her humility. ”

The greatest qualities and gifts, such as the spirit of penance or of poverty, virginity, the call to the apostolate, a life consecrated to God, even the priesthood, are sterile if they are not accompanied by sincere humility. Furthermore, without humility, they might be a source of danger for the soul. Lucifer was pure but not humble and pride was his downfall. The higher the place we occupy in the Savior’s vineyard, the higher the life of perfection we profess, and the more important the mission which God has entrusted to us, the deeper we need to plant the roots of humility. Mary’s maternity was the fruit of her humility: humilitate concepit, she conceived in humility. Even so, the fruitfulness of our interior life, of our apostolate, will depend on our humility and will always be proportioned to it. Only God can accomplish great things in us and by us, but He will not do so unless He finds us completely humble. Humility alone is the fertile ground in which God’s gifts fructify, while it is always humility which draws down upon us divine graces and favors. “No queen,” says St. Teresa of Jesus, “ forces the King of heaven to give Himself, as does humility. It was humility that drew Him down from heaven into the Virgin’s womb ” (Way, 16).


COLLOQUY

“O Virgin! glorious stem, to what sublime height do you raise your corolla? Straight to Him who is seated on the throne, to the God of Majesty. I do not wonder, since you are so deeply rooted in humility. Hail, Mary, full of grace! You are truly full of grace, for you are pleasing to God, to the angels, and to men : to men, by your maternity; to the angels, by your virginity; to God, by your humility. It is by your humility that you attract the glance of God, of Him who regards the humble, but looks at the proud from afar. As Satan’s eyes are fixed on the proud, so God’s eyes are on the lowly ” (St. Bernard).

O Mother most humble, make me humble, so that God will deign to turn His eyes toward me. There is nothing in my soul to attract Him, nothing sublime, nothing worthy of His complacency, nothing truly good or virtuous; whatever good there is, is so mixed with wretchedness, so weak and deficient that it is not even worthy to be called good. What, then, can attract Your grace to my poor soul, O Lord? “Where will you look, but on him who is poor and humble, and contrite of heart?” (cf. Is 66,2). O Lord, grant that I may be humble; make me humble, through the merits of Your most humble Mother.

“O Mary, had you not been humble, the Holy Spirit would not have come upon you, and you would not have become the Mother of God... ” (cf. St. Bernard). Similarly, if I am not humble, God will not give me His grace, the Holy Spirit will not come to me, and my life will be sterile, unfruitful. Grant, then, O Holy Virgin, that your humility, which is so pleasing to God; may obtain pardon for my pride, and a truly humble heart.

177. MARY’S FAITH

PRESENCE OF GOD - O my Mother, show me how to have firm faith in God and how to entrust myself entirely to Him.


MEDITATION

1. Using St. Elizabeth’s words, the Church says in praise of Mary: “Blessed art thou that hast believed, because those things shall be accomplished that were spoken to thee by the Lord” (Lk 1,45). Great things indeed were to be accomplished in Mary; and she had the great merit of believing in them. On the word of God as announced by the Angel, she believed that she would become a mother without losing her virginity; she, who was so humble, believed that she would be truly the Mother of God, and that the fruit of her womb would really be the Son of the Most High. She adhered with entire faith to all that had been revealed to her, accepting, without the least hesitation, a plan that would upset the whole natural order of things: a virgin mother; a creature, Mother of the Creator. She believed when the Angel spoke to her; she continued to believe even when the Angel left her alone and she found herself in the condition of an ordinary woman who knows that she is about to become a mother.

“The Virgin,” St. Bernard says, “so little in her own eyes, was magnanimous in her faith in God’s promise! She, who considered herself nothing but a poor handmaid, never had the least doubt concerning her vocation to this incomprehensible mystery, to this marvelous change, to this inscrutable sacrament; she firmly believed that she would become the true Mother of the God-Man."

The Blessed Virgin teaches us to believe in our vocation to sanctity, to divine intimacy. We did believe in it when God revealed it to us in the brightness of interior light, and the words of His minister confirmed it; but we should also believe in it when we find ourselves alone, in darkness, amid difficulties that tend to disturb and discourage us. God is faithful, and He does not do things by halves: He will finish His work in us, provided we have complete confidence in Him.


2. It would be very far from the truth to think that the divine mysteries were so revealed to Mary, and the divinity of Jesus was so evident to her that she had no need of faith. Excepting the Annunciation and the events surrounding the birth of Jesus, we do not find any extraordinary manifestations of the supernatural in her life. Mary lived by pure faith, trusting in God’s word even as we must. The divine mysteries which took place in her and around her remained habitually hidden under the veil of faith, assuming an outward appearance common to the various circumstances of ordinary daily life. Hence, they were often concealed under obscure, disconcerting aspects such as, the extreme poverty in which Jesus was born, the necessity of fleeing into exile in order to save Him, the King of heaven, from the wrath of an earthly king, the toil undergone to procure for Him the strict necessities, and the lack of even these, perhaps. Yet Mary never doubted that this weak, helpless Child, who needed her maternal care and protection just like any other child, was the Son of God. She always believed, even when she did not understand. Witness for example, the unexpected disappearance of the twelve-year-old Boy who had remained in the Temple without His parents’ knowledge.

St. Luke relates that when Jesus explained His action, giving as a reason that He was carrying out the mission entrusted to Him by His heavenly Father, Mary and Joseph “did not understand His words” (cf. 2,50). Although Mary knew that Jesus was the Messiah, she did not know how He was to accomplish His mission; at this time, therefore, she did not see the connection between the divine will and His remaining behind in the Temple. Nevertheless, she questioned Him no further. She believed that Jesus was her God, and that was enough for her; she was certain, absolutely certain of Him.

Sometimes in our spiritual life, we come to a halt because we insist on understanding and searching into God’s plans for our soul. A faithful soul, on the other hand, does not linger to inquire about God’s actions; even though not fully understanding them, it believes, following blindly, if necessary, the manifestations of the divine will. This is pleasing to God who does not ask us to understand, but only to believe with all our strength.


COLLOQUY

“O Mary, overshadow me and I shall be calm and confident. Accompany me on my way and lead me by secret paths. I shall not be spared suffering, but you will arouse in me a real hunger for it, as for an indispensable food. Mary! Your name is sweet as honey and balm to my lips. Hail, Mary! who can resist you? Who can be lost if he says, ‘Hail, Mary?’ You are the Mother of the little ones, the health of the sick, the star in storms.... Oh! Mary! If I am helpless, without courage, without consolation, I run to you and cry: Ave Maria! You are the comfort of slaves, the courage of little ones, the strength of the weak, Ave Maria! When I say your name, my whole heart is inflamed, Ave Maria! Joy of angels, food of souls, Ave Maria!” (cf. E. Poppe).

Yes, O Mary, lead me by the short route of complete confidence in God. You who are blessed because you have believed, increase my faith; give me a strong, unshakable, invincible faith. We are indebted to your faith for the accomplishment of God’s promises; therefore, help me to share your faith, making me believe in Him, in His words, promises, and invitations, without any shadow of doubt, hesitation, or uncertainty. Doubt delays me, hesitation paralyzes me, uncertainty clips my wings.... O Mary, help me to have complete faith, so that I can give myself wholly to God, adhere to all His plans, accept with my eyes closed every disposition of divine Providence. Make me believe so that I shall be able to face storms with courage, abandon myself entirely to God’s action, and advance with confidence along the road to sanctity. If you are with me, O Mary, I shall have no fear. The strength of your faith will be the support and refuge of mine, so weak and languid.

178. MARY'S HOPE

PRESENCE OF GOD - O Mary, Mother of Good Hope, teach me the way of complete confidence in God.


MEDITATION

1. In the Magnificat, the canticle which burst forth from Mary’s heart when she visited her cousin Elizabeth, we find an expression which specially reveals Mary’s interior attitude. “My soul doth magnify the Lord...because He hath regarded the humility of His handmaid” (Lk 1,46-48). When Mary spoke these words, they revealed the “great things” which God had done in her; but, considered in the framework of her life, they expressed the continual movement of her heart, which, in the full awareness of her nothingness, would turn always to God with the most absolute hope and trust in His aid. No one had a more concrete, practical knowledge of her nothingness than Mary; she understood well that her whole being, natural as well as supernatural, would be annihilated if God did not sustain her at every moment. She knew that whatever she was and had, in no way belonged to her, but came from God, and was the pure gift of His liberality. Her great mission and the marvelous privileges which she had received from the Most High did not prevent her from seeing and feeling her “lowliness.”

But far from disconcerting or discouraging her in any way—as the realization of our nothingness and wretchedness often does to us—her humility served as a starting point from which she darted to God with stronger hope. The greater the knowledge of her nothingness and weakness became, the higher her soul mounted in hope. That is why, being really poor in spirit, she did not trust in her own resources, ability, or merits, but put all her confidence in God alone. And God, who “sends the rich away empty, and fills the hungry with good things ” (cf. Lk 1,53), satisfied her “hunger” and fulfilled her hopes, not only by showering His gifts on her, but by giving Himself to her in all His plenitude.


2. Mary’s hope was truly absolute. We have a typical example of it in her attitude toward Joseph at the time when he, aware of her approaching maternity (of whose origin he knew nothing), “was minded to put her away privately” (Mt 1,19). Mary certainly perceived something of the state of mind of her pure spouse and of the doubts he was experiencing. She knew, likewise, the risk she was incurring of being “put away,” because the Angel had said nothing which could have reassured her on this delicate point. However, completely confident in God’s help, she did not reveal her secret in any way. “ In silence and in hope shall your strength be” (Is 30,15), said the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of His prophet. These words were to have their most beautiful realization in Mary’s attitude. She remained silent, and did not try to justify herself in Joseph’s eyes; she was silent because she was filled with hope in God and absolutely certain of His help. Silence and hope permitted her to rely entirely upon God; strong with His strength, she remained serene and tranquil in an extremely difficult and delicate situation.

We also hope in God, but our hope is not absolute like Mary’s. Lacking her complete reliance on the divine assistance, we always feel the need of resorting to many little personal expedients to obtain some security, some human support. However, everything human is uncertain; if we base our hopes on these things, it is quite natural that we shall be constantly disturbed and anxious. By her silent hope, the Virgin Mary shows us the only way to real security, serenity, and inner peace, even in the most difficult circumstances: the way of total confidence in God. “In te, Domine, speravi, non confundar in aeternum,” In Thee, O Lord, have I hoped, let me not be confounded forever (Te Deum). No, God will never disappoint us if we hope in Him; just as He sent an Angel to Joseph to reveal the mystery of Mary’s maternity, He will always find a way to help and sustain a soul who entrusts itself wholly to Him.


COLLOQUY

“O Mother of holy love, our life, our refuge, and our hope, you well know that your Son Jesus, not satisfied with being our perpetual advocate with the eternal Father, has willed that you also, should implore divine mercy for us. I turn to you, then, hope of the unfortunate, hoping by the merits of Jesus and by your intercession, to obtain eternal salvation. My confidence is so great, that, if I had my salvation in my own hands, I should yet place it in yours, for I trust in your merciful protection more than I do in my own works. O my Mother and my hope, do not abandon me! The pity you have for sinners and your power with God are greater than the number and the malice of my faults. If all should forget me, do not you forget me, Mother of the omnipotent God. Say to God that I am your child and that you protect me, and I shall be saved

“Do not look for any virtue or merit in me, my Mother; look only at the confidence I place in you and my desire to improve. Look at all that Jesus has done and suffered for me and then abandon me, if you have the heart to do so. I offer you all the sufferings of His life : the cold He endured in the stable, His journey to Egypt, the Blood He shed, His poverty, His sweat, His sadness and the death He endured for love of me in your presence, and do you, for the love of Jesus, pledge yourself to help me. O my Mother, do not refuse your pity to one for whom Jesus did not refuse His Blood!

“O Mary, I put my trust in you; in this hope I live and in this hope I long to die, saying over and over: ‘Unica spes mea Jesus, et post Jesum virgo Maria,’ My only hope is Jesus, and after Jesus, Mary ” (St. Alphonsus).

179. THE ASCENSION OF OUR LORD
FORTY DAYS AFTER EASTER

PRESENCE OF GOD - O Jesus, who ascended into heaven, grant that I, too, may live there in spirit.


MEDITATION

1. The central idea in the liturgy today is the raising of our hearts toward heaven, so that we may begin to dwell in spirit where Jesus has gone before us. “Christ’s Ascension” says St. Leo, “is our own ascension; our body has the hope of one day being where its glorious Head has preceded it” (RB). In fact, Our Lord had already said in His discourse after the Last Supper, “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I shall go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to Myself; that where I am, you also may be” (Jn 14,2.3). The Ascension is, then, a feast of joyful hope, a sweet foretaste of heaven.

By going before us, Jesus our Head has given us the right to follow Him there some day, and we can even say with St. Leo, “In the person of Christ, we have penetrated the heights of heaven” (RB). As in Christ Crucified we die to sin, as in the risen Christ we rise to the life of grace, so too, we are raised up to heaven in the Ascension of Christ. This vital participation in Christ’s mysteries is the essential consequence of our incorporation in Him. He is our Head; we, as His members, are totally dependent upon Him and intimately bound to His destiny. “God, who is rich in mercy,” says St. Paul, “for His exceeding charity wherewith He loved us...hath quickened us together in Christ...and hath raised us up... and hath made us sit together in the heavenly places through Christ Jesus” (Eph 2,4-6). Our right to heaven has been given us, our place is ready; it is for us to live in such a way that we may occupy it some day. Meanwhile, we must actualize the beautiful prayer which the liturgy puts on our lips : “ Grant, O almighty God, that we, too, may dwell in spirit in the heavenly mansions” (Collect). “Where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also” (Mi 6,21), Jesus said one day. If Jesus is really our treasure, our heart cannot be anywhere but near Him in heaven. This is the great hope of the Christian soul, so beautifully expressed in the hymn for Vespers: “O Jesus, be the hope of our hearts, our joy in sorrow, the sweet fruit of our life” (RB).


2. Besides the hope and the joyful expectancy of heaven so characteristic of the Ascension feast there is a note of melancholy. Before the final departure of Jesus, the Apostles must have been very much disturbed : each felt the distress of one who sees his dearest friend and companion going away forever, and finds himself alone to face all the difficulties of life. The Lord realized their state of mind and consoled them once more, promising the coming of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter: “He commanded them,” we read in the Epistle (Acts 1,1-11), “that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but should wait for the promise of the Father... you shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost, not many days hence.” But even this time the Apostles did not understand! How much they needed to be enlightened and transformed by the Holy Spirit, in order to accomplish the great mission which was to be entrusted to them! Jesus continued: “You shall receive the power of the Holy Ghost coming upon you and you shall be witnesses unto Me...even to the uttermost part of the earth.” For the moment, however, they were there, around the Master, weak, timid, frightened, like little children watching their mother leave for a distant, unknown land.

In fact, “while they looked on, He was raised up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.” Two angels came to distract them from their great amazement and to make them realize what had happened. Then, placing their trust in the word of Jesus, which would henceforth be their only support, they returned to Jerusalem where, in the Cenacle, they awaited in prayer the fulfillment of the promise. It was the first novena in preparation for Pentecost: “ Ah, these were persevering with one mind in prayer with...Mary, the Mother of Jesus” (ibid. 1,14). Silence, recollection, prayer, peace with our brethren, and union with Mary: these are the characteristics of the novena we too should make in preparation for the coming of the Holy Spirit.


COLLOQUY

“O my God, O my Jesus, You are going away and leaving us! Oh! what joy there will be in heaven! But we have to remain here on earth. O eternal Word, what has Your creature done for You, that You should do so much for him and then ascend into heaven to glorify him even more? ‘Tell me, what has he done for You, that You should love him so much? What has he given You? What do You look for in him? You love him so much that You give Yourself to him, You who are all things, and besides whom there is nothing. You want from him his entire will and intellect, because when he gives them to You, he gives You all that he has. O infinite Wisdom, O supreme
Good, O Love, O Love so little known, little loved, and possessed by so few! Oh! our ingratitude, cause of every evil! O Purity, so little known and so little desired! O my Spouse, now that You are in heaven, seated at the right hand of the eternal Father, create in me a pure heart and renew a right spirit within me” (St. Mary Magdalen dei Pazzi).

“Alas! how long this exile is, O Lord, and how the desire to see You makes it seem longer still! O Lord, what can an imprisoned soul do?... I want to please You. Behold me, Lord! If I have to live longer in order to serve You further, I refuse none of the crosses which may await me on earth. But alas, Lord, alas! These are but words; I am capable of nothing else. Permit my desires, at least, to have some value in Your sight, O my God, and do not regard my lack of merit!

“Ah! my works are poor, my God, even if I could perform many! Then why should I remain in this life, so full of misery? Only to do Your will. Could I do anything better than that? Hope, therefore, my soul, hope. Watch carefully, for you know not the day nor the hour. Everything passes quickly, even though your desire makes a short time seem very long. Remember that the more you struggle, the greater the proofs of love you will be giving to your God, and afterwards the more you will enjoy your Beloved in happiness and felicity without end” (T.J. Exc, 15).

180. THE GROWTH OF CHARITY IN MARY

PRESENCE OF GOD - O Mary, Mother of fair love, teach me the secret of steady growth in charity.


MEDITATION

1. We must not think that the Blessed Virgin Mary was excused from all personal activity and progress because she had been established from the beginning in a higher degree of sanctity than that which even the greatest saint could ever hope to attain. Quite the contrary! For her, as for us, life on earth was a “way” where progress in charity was always necessary, where personal correspondence with grace was expected. The excellence of our Lady’s merit consisted in her heroic fidelity to the immense gifts she had received. The privileges of her Immaculate Conception, of the state of sanctity in which she was born, and of her divine maternity were, unquestionably, pure gifts from God; still, far from accepting them passively, as a coffer receives the precious things put into it, she received them freely, as one capable of willingly adhering to the divine favors by means of a complete correspondence with grace.

St. Thomas teaches that although Mary could not merit the Incarnation of the Word, by the grace she received she did merit that degree of sanctity which made her the worthy Mother of God (cf. III4, q. 2, a. 11, ad. 3), and she merited this precisely because of her correspondence with grace. Hence, even in Mary, we can consider progress in sanctity, a progress which did not depend solely on the new abundance of graces which God gave her at certain special times in her life—at the moment of the Incarnation for example—but also on her personal activity, wholly informed by grace and charity, by means of which she brought to fruition the treasure entrusted to her by God. Mary, in the truest sense of the word, is the “ faithful Virgin,” who knew how to increase a hundredfold the talents she received from God. Yes, the greatest amount of grace ever given to a creature was freely bestowed on her by the divine liberality, in view of the sublime mission for which she was destined, but she corresponded to it with the greatest fidelity possible to a creature. Thus there was plenitude of grace on God’s part, and complete fidelity on Mary’s, so that, as St. Alphonsus says, “Without ever stopping, her beautiful soul soared toward God, continually growing in love of Him.”


2. Theology teaches that the increase of grace and charity in us is the result of meritorious works, that is, good works performed under the influence of charity. When one does good works “with his whole heart, ” the merit acquired —always an increase of grace and of charity—is immediately given to him, and as a result, his spiritual life immediately grows in intensity. With this doctrine in mind, we can readily see at what rate the capital of charity and grace which God had placed in Mary’s soul at the very first moment of her existence must have developed. When we think, as St. John of the Cross points out, that Mary’s soul was never moved, and therefore never retarded, by any attachment to creatures, and that consequently, she never had any secondary motives, or any pettiness caused by selfishness, but always acted under the impulse of the Holy Spirit, we must conclude that she was ever growing in grace, and that charity in her became a veritable abyss.

This explains how Mary, although sanctified and established in union with God from the first moment of her life, was able to advance continually in sanctity, the constituent elements of which are grace and charity. It was the generous, faithful ardor with which she replied to the divine invitations, entered into every manifestation of God’s will, accepted all the dispositions of divine Providence, and fulfilled all her daily duties, which put her in that magnificent state of incessant and most rapid progress in love. May Mary’s
shining example encourage us to apply ourselves with all our heart to God’s service, so that we, too, may grow rapidly in charity.


COLLOQUY

“O Mary, you understood the gift of God; you never lost a particle of it. You were so pure, so luminous, that you seemed to be light itself: Speculum justitiae, mirror of justice. Your life was so simple, so lost in God, that there is scarcely anything to say about it. Virgo fidelis: the faithful Virgin, ‘who kept all things in her heart’” (E.T. J, 10).

O Mary, how marvelous to see your soul continually growing in love, to watch it scale the heights of sanctity without ever halting! Nothing retarded the divine action in you; no obstacle hindered the growth of charity. “ Who is this that cometh up from the desert, flowing with delights, leaning upon her Beloved?” (Ct 8,5). It is you, O Mother, you who, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and sustained by Him, ever rose from grace to grace, from virtue to virtue. O Mother of fair love, full of grace, O faithful Virgin, help me to correspond with fidelity to the gifts of God! Do not permit that my misery render sterile the grace within me. Help me, O Mother, to overcome the innumerable resistances of my weak, cowardly nature; draw me by the sweet charm of
your example, so that I may follow you with ardor in the way of perfect charity.

“O my Mother, you who were ever on fire with love for God, give me at least a spark of that love. You appealed to your Son on behalf of the bride and bridegroom whose wine gave out, saying : ‘vinum non habent,’ they have no wine; and will you not pray for me, lacking as I am in love for God, and yet owing Him so much? Say to Him : ‘amorem non habet,’ he has no love. And ask this love for me. No other grace do I ask of you but this one. O Mother, by your love for Jesus, hear me. Show me what great favor you have with Him by obtaining for me a divine light and a divine flame so powerful that it will transform me from a sinner into a saint, and, detaching me from every earthly affection, will inflame me wholly with divine love. O Mary, you have the power to do this. Do it for love of the God who made you so great, so powerful, and so merciful” (St. Alphonsus).

181. MARY AND FRATERNAL CHARITY

PRESENCE OF GOD - O Mother, whose love for man was so great, teach me how to fulfill, in all its perfection, the precept of fraternal charity.


MEDITATION

1. Charity is one in its essence, because of the oneness of its object: God loved in Himself, God loved in the neighbor. Hence, the more a soul loves God, so much the more does it love its neighbor. Now if charity toward God reached its peak in Mary, we must also say that her charity toward her neighbor was boundless. This is the peculiar quality of true love of God; far from narrowing the soul of one who possesses it, charity dilates the soul, that it may pour out on others the wealth it has accumulated. Such was the characteristic of Mary’s charity. Although she was completely filled with the love of God, wholly recollected in the contemplation of the divine mysteries which were taking place in and around her, her recollection did not hinder her from giving attention to her neighbor; on the contrary, we see her always gracious and attentive to the needs of others. Furthermore, her own interior wealth urged her to desire to share with others the great treasures which she possessed. This is the attitude described in the Gospel, when, immediately after the Annunciation, she undertook a journey “in haste,” as St. Luke says, to visit Elizabeth.

It would have been very pleasant for her to remain at Nazareth, adoring in solitude and silence the divine Word incarnate in her womb, but the Angel had told her of the imminent maternity of her aged cousin; this was enough for her to feel obliged to go to Elizabeth and offer her humble services. We can say, therefore, that Mary’s first act after becoming the Mother of God was an act of charity toward her neighbor. God gave Himself to her as a Son, and Mary, who gave herself to Him as His “handmaid,” wished also to give herself as the “handmaid” of others. The close union which exists between charity toward God and charity toward the neighbor is singularly evident here. Her act of charity toward Elizabeth is in perfect accord with the act of sublime love in which Mary gave herself wholly to God when she pronounced her “fiat.”


2. At the birth of Jesus, it was the same. Mary, in ecstasy, contemplated Him, her divine Son, but this did not prevent her from offering Him to the adoration of the shepherds. Here is Mary’s supreme charity to men: giving Jesus to them almost as soon as He gives Himself to her. She does not wish to be the only one to enjoy Him, but would with all men share her joy. And just as she offered Him to the shepherds and to the Magi who came to adore Him, she would later offer Him to the executioners who would crucify Him. Jesus was everything to Mary; yet, because of her great charity, she did not hesitate to immolate Him for the salvation of men. Can we imagine any more exalted, or more generous charity? Next to Jesus, surely no one loved mankind more than Mary.

Another aspect of her charity toward others is evidenced in her tactfulness. When Mary found Jesus in the Temple —after three days of anxious searching and keenest suffering—she concealed her own sorrow behind that of Joseph’s: “Behold Thy father and I have sought Thee sorrowing” (Lk 2,48). Delicate charity toward her spouse made her profoundly sensitive to his grief and she put it before her own deeper grief. The marriage in Cana gives us another example of Mary’s delicacy. While all were occupied with the feast, she alone, although so recollected, noticed the embarrassment of the bridal couple when the wine gave out, and handled the matter so delicately that it passed unobserved, even by the chief steward.

Mary teaches us that when our love of God is really perfect, it flows at once into generous love of our neighbor, because, as St. Thomas says, one who loves God, loves all that God loves. If then, we have to recognize that in dealing with our neighbor we are not very charitable, nor very kind to him, nor attentive to his needs, we must conclude that our love for God is still very weak.


COLLOQUY

“O Mary, with what sweetness and humility of heart you went to Elizabeth! You, the Queen, go to the servant; You, the Mother of God, visit the mother of the precursor... . And at Cana how graciously you went to the aid of the bridal couple! You took pity on their embarrassment, because you are merciful and kind. Can anything but tenderness come forth from the fountain of tenderness? Is it strange that a heart so full of kindness should produce kindness? If we hold in our hand a fragrant fruit for half a day, does not our hand retain the fragrance for the rest of the day? With how much virtue, O Mary, did not infinite Goodness fill your heart during the nine months He reposed within you! I know infinite Goodness filled your heart before entering your womb, and even when He left it, He did not leave your soul” (St. Bernard).

O holy Virgin, it is just this charity, the fruit of your intimate union with God, which you pour out upon all mankind, condescending to receive them in the wide embrace of your immense love. This same charity, which fires you with love for the Eternal, also inflames you with love for men, for you see them, not in themselves, but in God, considering them as His creatures and His children. This charity which has consecrated you to the service of the Most High, has also vowed you to the service of humanity, and so you have loved every creature, even me, despite my wretchedness.

It is true, O Mary, that on the day of my baptism the Holy Spirit diffused His charity in me; but my self-love has halted its growth, and I, who have so little love for my God, have likewise very little love for my neighbor. O most loving Mother, see how I need to have my heart dilated with charity! Stir up, then, and nourish that virtue in me and grant that, having given myself to the service of God, I may also give myself to that of my neighbor, with kindness and humility, promptness and generosity.