Mary’s heart was changed at
the moment of the death of
Christ. When Jesus said,
‘Woman, behold thy son,’
He filled His Mother’s
heart with such an influx
of grace that the same
maternal love She had
for Him became a
maternal love for all
mankind. Her compassion
for the sufferings of
Jesus became a universal
compassion for all the
miseries of the world. Jesus
filled her soul with unlimited
mercy towards sinful mankind.
Each of us is cherished by the Mother
of God as much as She cherished
Jesus Himself. We are souls regenerated
by the Blood of Christ; furthermore,
through the operations of the Holy
Spirit, we comprise the Mystical Body
of Christ. The spirit of filial love for
Mary is one of the graces which we
receive at Baptism together with
Faith. Indifference toward the Blessed
Virgin is an immeasurable and gross
ingratitude. With the descent of the
Holy Ghost on Pentecost, there began
Mary’s hidden life in the Church. The
Holy Ghost descended upon the
Apostles as He had first descended
upon the humanity of Christ; through
the mediation of Mary.
The term ‘church’ was not used before
Pentecost and designates concretely
Jesus and Mary, the Mystical Body of
Jesus, Child of Mary, His Mother. Christ
is its life; the fecundity of this life is
the Mother of Christ, or Christ living in
His Mother. The testimony of tradition
assures us that Mary cooperates
principally in the preservation
and the propagation of the
unity of the Church. Unity
is the fruit of the maternity
of Mary. (Pope Leo XIII)
For that reason, Mary is
called, ‘the pillar and
foundation of truth.’
She also preserves and
increases the sanctity
of the Church, for from
her Immaculate Heart
come forth those streams
of life which the Church
causes to flow into our souls
by means of the Sacraments.
Souls, then, are not sanctified
through the priesthood without being
sanctified at the same time by her who,
more than all priests together, has the
power to distribute graces. Mary does
not formally possess the sacerdotal
character but, in an eminent degree,
She possesses the power to reconcile
sinners and open paradise for them.
From Mary, through the power of the
Holy Ghost, the Apostles, the Prophets,
the just and the humble of heart have
received all glory, honor and sanctity.
Mary saves the world from the slavery
of the devil by giving Jesus Christ to
souls. Mary’s universal charity radiates
her Son’s presence throughout the
Church. As eager as we may be to give
Christ to suffering and sinful souls
before we attempt our heaven-inspired
activity, let us learn from God’s Holy
Mother, our Mother, to reproduce Christ
in our own soul through prayer, silence
and loving meditation.
(Excerpts from THE PRESENCE OF MARY
by Fr. Francis Charmot SJ - 1948)
As true militants of Christ, we must be in the
state of Sanctifying Grace. We must be holy
to carry the blazing torch of purity and charity
in the darkness of evil which surrounds us!