The Mother of God

The Mother of God

The divine maternity is the foundation, source, and root of all Mary’s graces and privileges, both those that preceded it as preparation, and those that accompanied it or followed from it as its consequence. It was by way of preparation for the divine maternity that Mary was the Immaculate Conception, preserved from the stain of original sin by the future merits of her Son. He redeemed her as perfectly as was possible; not by healing her, but by preserving her from the original stain before it touched her soul for even an instant. It was because of her maternity that Mary received the initial fullness of grace which ceased not to increase till it reached its consummated plenitude. And because of the same maternity she was exempt from all personal fault, even venial, and from all imperfection, for she never failed in promptitude to obey the divine inspirations…. The dignity of Mary surpasses therefore that of all the saints combined.

Recall, too, that Mary had a mother’s authority over the Word of God made flesh…. The Word made flesh was subject to Mary in most profound sentiments of respect and love. How, then, could we fail to have the same sentiments in regard to the Mother of our God?

In one of the most beautiful books written about Mary, the Treatise on True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, Saint Louis de Montfort says: “God made Man found liberty in being enclosed in her womb; he showed his power by allowing himself to be carried by her, young maiden though she was; he found glory, and his Father found glory too, in hiding his splendor from all creatures of earth, so as to reveal them to Mary alone; he glorified his majesty and his independence by depending on the Virgin in his conception, his birth, his presentation in the temple, his hidden life of thirty years—and even up to the time of his death, for she was present then, and he offered one only sacrifice in union with her, and was immolated to the eternal Father with her consent as once Isaac was immolated to the divine will by the consent of Abraham. It is she who nourished and supported him, who brought him up and then sacrificed him for us. Finally, Our Lord remains as much the Son of Mary in heaven as he was on earth.”

Father Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, o.p.

Father Garrigou-Lagrange († 1964)