Confidence in the intercession of the blessed virgin Mary

HER POWER TO HELP US

Consider how great are the grounds of hope the soul has that trusts in the intercession of the great Mother of God. Behold the words applied by the Church to Mary on her Festivals: He that shall find me shall find life and shall have salvation from the Lord (Prov. viii. 35). It is impossible for a true and persevering client of Mary to be lost, for she can want neither the power nor the will to assist him.

I. He that shall find me shall find life and shall have salvation from the Lord. He that shall find me, says Mary, shall find the life of grace here, and eternal glory hereafter. Addressing the Divine Mother, St. Anselm goes so far as to say that, as it is impossible for a person who is not devoted to Mary and protected by her, to be saved, so, on the other hand, it is impossible for him to be lost who recommends himself to Mary, and is regarded by her with love. St. Antoninus, says that all those that are defended by this great Queen are necessarily saved. St. Bonaventure writes that they that obtain the protection of Mary shall, even while they live on this earth, be acknowledged as companions by the Saints in glory, and that they that carry the badge of servant of Mary be written in the Book of Life. Thus to be devoted to Mary is a mark of predestination. The Angelic Doctor says that Mary is called the Star of the sea because, as navigators are directed to the port by means of the pole star, so Christians are guided to Paradise by Mary.

Should a person truly devoted to Mary be lost it would be because she is either unable or unwilling to assist him. "But no," says St. Bernard, "she can neither lack the power nor the will." It is impossible for a true and persevering client of Mary to be lost; because she can neither want the power nor the will to assist him. To inspire us with confidence, then, in this great advocate, the holy Church invokes her under the title of Powerful Virgin. Virgo potens, ora pro nobis! Yes, that God Who is omnipotent, has, as she herself has said, given her great power. He that is mighty hath done great things to me (Luke i. 49).

My Lady, if thou pray for me, I shall be saved; for thou dost obtain by thy prayers whatsoever thou wishest. Pray, then, for me, O great Mother of God: for thy Son hears thee, and grants whatever thou askest. It is true that I am unworthy of thy protection, but thou hast never abandoned a soul that had recourse to thee. O Mary, I consign my soul to thee; thou hast to save it. Obtain for me perseverance in the Divine grace, and the love of thy Son and of thee.

II. St. Theophilus, Bishop of Alexandria, has written: "The Son is pleased that the Mother should pray to Him, because He wishes to grant her whatever she asks, in order to repay her for the favour received from her in giving Him her flesh." St. Bridget heard Jesus say to Mary: "Ask what you wish from Me, for your petition cannot be fruitless." My Mother, ask of Me what you wish; you know that I cannot reject any of your petitions. He then added: "Because you refused Me nothing on earth, I will refuse nothing to you in Heaven." You refused Me nothing while I lived on earth; it is right that I refuse you nothing now that you are with Me in Heaven.

But what is the principal reason the prayers of Mary are so powerful before God? St. Antoninus says: "The prayer of the Mother of God partakes of the nature of a command; hence it is impossible that she should not be heard." The prayers of Mary, being the prayers of a mother, partake in a certain manner of the nature of a command, and therefore they cannot be rejected. Hence, Blessed Albert the Great, used to repeat the words of the Church: Show thyself a mother! — in this sense: O Lady, show thyself a mother! Ask thy Son, as His Mother, to have mercy on us. Cosmas of Jerusalem asserts that the protection of Mary is omnipotent: Omnipotens auxilium tuum, O Maria. Yes, says Richard of St. Laurence, it is but just that the Mother should share the power of the Son. The Son is omnipotent by nature, the Mother is omnipotent by grace; that is, she obtains by her prayers whatsoever she wishes.

Let a sinner be ever so abandoned, says St. Gregory of Nicomedia, if he has recourse to Mary, she will save him by her intercession. O Mother of God, thou hast invincible power that thy clemency may not be conquered by the multitude of our sins. Nothing can resist thy power since the Creator regards as His own the glory of His Mother. "Thou, then," says St. Peter Damian, "canst do all things, for thou canst inspire even those who are in despair with hopes of salvation." As often as the devil tempts us to diffidence, let us turn to Mary, and say to her, with St. Germanus: "Thou, O Mary, art omnipotent in saving sinners; thy prayers are all-powerful with God, because thou art Mother of true Life."

O my Queen, I love thee, and I hope always to love thee. Do thou also love me. Take me under thy protection and have pity on me: grant me this favour through the love thou bearest thy Son. Behold the confidence that I place in thy clemency, and do not cease to assist me in all my wants. I know that thou wilt not cease to help me as often as I recommend myself to thee; but obtain for me also the grace to have recourse to thee in all my temptations, and in all my dangers of losing God. Assist me, particularly at the hour of my death. Obtain for me the grace that with my last breath I may pronounce thy name, and the Name of thy Son, saying: Jesus and Mary, to you I recommend my soul!