MONTH OF MARY
APRIL 30
As the devout servants of Mary usually have three
times in each day to venerate her, morning, mid-day, and evening; and in every
week a day, viz. Saturday; so in every year it seems reasonable for them to
consecrate to her one whole month.
And since, in making offerings it is the best which
should be presented, therefore of all the months, they have chosen that to give
to her which is the most beautiful of the whole year, that is May, which, with
its flowery pleasantness, invites us to crown the Queen of Heaven with fair
acts of virtue.
The Homemade Altar (Sacred Space)
In one's own house, and in that room in which the
family is used to assemble to say their prayers, or else in some church or
oratory, a devout image of Mary may be exposed, which should be adorned in the
best possible manner that the family's means allow; as, for instance, with
candles, or with some vessel of the fresh flowers which the season supplies. It
will be anything but ill if it be the very same place where we study, or play,
or take recreation, or labour, in order to sanctify that place, and to regulate
our actions as if done under the purest of eyes, those of the most Blessed
Virgin.
The evening before the first day of May, let the
family be assembled before the aforesaid little altar, with lights on it, and
let there be recited the Rosary or Chaplet, or at least the Litany of the
Virgin most holy. Other prayers also may be added, according to the custom or
various needs of the family. Care, however, should be taken, that in wishing to
increase the number of the prayers, the devotion is not diminished by making
those which are said to be gone negligently over, or those who say them to be
over-tired, especially if children or people of business.
Month of Mary
By St. Alphonsus
Liguori
INTRODUCTION FOR THE 30TH OF APRIL
It is an article of faith, not only that it is lawful, but also that it
is useful, to invoke and pray to the Saints, and especially to the Queen of
Saints, the most holy and ever Blessed Virgin Mary, in order that they may
obtain us the Divine grace. This truth has been defined by General Councils,
against heretics who condemned it as being injurious to Jesus Christ, who is our
only Mediator. But if a Jeremias, after his death, prayed for Jerusalem; if the
ancients of the Apocalypse presented the prayers of the Saints to God; if St.
Peter promises his disciples that after his death he will be mindful of them;
if holy Stephen prays for his persecutors; if St. Paul prays for his companions;
if, in fine, the Saints can pray for us, why cannot we beseech the Saints to
intercede for us? St. Paul recommends himself to the prayers of his disciples:
'Brethren, pray for us.' St. James exhorts us to pray one for another: 'Pray
one for another, that you may be saved.' Then we can do the same.
No one denies that Jesus
Christ is our only mediator of justice, and that He by His merits has obtained
our reconciliation with God. But, on the other hand, it is impious to assert that
God is not pleased to grant graces at the intercession of His Saints, and more
especially of Mary, His Mother, whom Jesus desires so much to see loved and
honoured by all. Hence the learned Suarez justly remarks, that if we implore
our Blessed Lady to obtain us a favour, it is not because we distrust the
Divine mercy, but rather that we fear our own unworthiness and the
absence of proper dispositions; and we recommend ourselves to Mary, that her
dignity may supply for our lowliness. That it is most useful and holy to
have recourse to the intercession of Mary can only be doubted by those who have
not faith. But that which we intend to prove here is, that the intercession
of Mary is even necessary to salvation; we say necessary, not
absolutely, but morally. This necessity proceeds from the will itself of God,
that all graces that He dispenses should pass by the hands of Mary, according
to the opinion of St. Bernard, and which we may now with safety call the
general opinion of theologians and learned men.
But let us examine what the
Saints say on the subject. St. Bernard says, 'That God has filled Mary with all
graces, so that men may receive by her means, as by a channel, every good thing
that comes to them.' He says, ' that she is a full aqueduct, that others may
receive of her plenitude.' On this the Saint makes the following significant
remark: 'Before the birth of the Blessed Virgin, a constant flow of graces was
wanting, because this aqueduct did not exist.' But now that Mary has been given
to the world, heavenly graces constantly flow through her on all. And on this
account she is called the Moon, according to the following remark of St.
Bonaventure: 'As the moon, which stands between the sun and the earth, transmits
to this latter whatever she receives from the former, so does Mary pour out
upon us who are in this world the heavenly graces that she receives from the
Divine Sun of justice.' Again, the holy Church calls her ' the happy gate of
heaven;' for as the same St. Bernard remarks, ' As every mandate of grace that
is sent by a king passes by the palace gates, so does every grace that comes
from heaven to the world pass through the hands of Mary.' St. Bonaventure says
that Mary is called 'the gate of heaven because no one can enter that
blessed kingdom without passing by her.'
And thus Father Suarez
concludes that it is the sentiment of the universal Church 'that the
intercession and prayers of Mary are, above those of all others, not only
useful, but necessary.' Necessary, in accordance with what we' have already said,
not with an absolute necessity; for the mediation of Jesus Christ alone is
absolutely necessary; but with a moral necessity; for the Church believes with
St. Bernard, that God has determined that no grace shall be granted otherwise
than by the hands of Mary. 'God wills,' says the Saint, 'that we should have
nothing that has not passed by the hands of Mary;' and before St. Bernard, St.
Ildephonsus asserted the same thing, addressing the Blessed Virgin in the
following terms: 'O Mary, God has decided on committing all good gifts, that He
has provided for men, to thy hands; and, therefore, He has intrusted all
treasures and riches of grace to thee.' And hence St. Peter Damian remarks, 'That
God would not become man without the consent of Mary; in the first place, that
we might feel ourselves under great obligations to her; and in the second, that
we might understand that the salvation of all is left to the care of this
Blessed Virgin.'
St. Bonaventure, on the words
of the Prophet Isaias, 'And there shall come forth a rod out of the root of
Jesse, and a flower shall rise up out of his root, and the Spirit of the Lord
shall rest upon Him,' makes a beautiful remark, saying: 'Whoever desires the
sevenfold grace of the Holy Spirit, let him seek for the flower of the Holy
Ghost in the rod,' — that is, for Jesus in Mary; 'For by the rod we find the
flower, and by the flower, God.' And he adds: 'if you desire to possess this
flower, bend down the rod, which bears the flower, by prayer; and so you will
obtain it. Otherwise,' says the seraphic Father, 'in vain shall we seek Jesus
unless we endeavour to find Him with Mary. 'St. Ildephonsus also says: 'I
desire to be the servant of the Son; but because no one will ever be so without serving the
Mother, I desire to be the servant of Mary.'
Domina Nostra Refugium
Peccatorum ora pro nobis!
Example
In Germany a man fell into a
grievous sin; through shame he was unwilling to confess it, but, on the other
hand, unable to endure the remorse of his conscience, he went to throw himself
into a river. On the point of doing so he hesitated, and, weeping, he begged
that God would forgive him his sin without his confessing it. One night in his
sleep he felt some one shake his arm, and heard a voice which said, Go to
confession. He went to the church, but yet did not confess. On another night he
again heard the same voice. He
returned to the church; but when he got there,
he declared that he would rather die than confess that sin. But before returning
home, he went to recommend himself to the most Blessed Virgin, whose image was
in that church. He had no sooner knelt down than he found himself quite
changed. He immediately got up, called a confessor, and, weeping bitterly
through the grace which he had received from Mary, made an entire confession of
his sins; and he afterwards declared that he experienced greater satisfaction
than had he obtained all the treasures of the world.
Prayer
O my soul, see what a sure hope of salvation and eternal life our Lord
has given thee, by having in His mercy inspired thee with confidence in the
patronage of His Mother; and this, notwithstanding that so many times, by thy
sins, thou hast merited His displeasure and hell. Thank thy God, and thank thy
protectress, Mary, who has condescended to take thee under her mantle; for of
this thou mayest be well convinced, after the many graces that thou hast
received by her means. O yes, I do thank thee, my most loving Mother, for all
thou hast done for me, who am deserving of hell. And from how many dangers hast
thou not delivered me, O Queen! How many inspirations and mercies hast thou not
obtained for me from God? What service, what honour, have I ever rendered thee,
that thou shouldst do so much for me?
I know that it is thy sole
goodness that has impelled thee. Ah, too little would it be, in comparison with
all that I owe thee, did I shed my blood and give my life for thee! for thou
hast delivered me from eternal death; thou hast enabled me, as I hope, to
recover Divine grace; to thee, in fine, I owe all I have. My most amiable Lady,
I, poor wretch that I am, can make thee no return, but that of always loving
and praising thee. Ah, disdain not to accept the tender affection of a poor
sinner, who is inflamed with love for thy goodness. If my heart is unworthy to
love thee, because it is impure and filled with earthly affections, it is thou
who must change it. Ah, change it, then! Bind me to my God, and bind me so that
I may never more have it in my power to separate myself from His love. Thou
askest of me that I should love thy God, and I ask of thee that thou shouldst
obtain this love for me, to love Him always; this is all that I desire. Amen.
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