CHAPTER IV.
AD TE CLAMAMUS EXULES FILII HEVÆ.
To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve.
SECTION I.
HOW READY MARY IS TO SUCCOR THOSE WHO CALL UPON HER.
We poor children of the unhappy Eve, guilty before God of her sin, and condemned to the same punishment, go wandering through this valley of tears, exiles from our country, weeping and afflicted by innumerable pains of body and soul! But blessed is he who in the midst of so many miseries turns to the consoler of the world, to the refuge of the unhappy, to the great mother of God, and devoutly invokes her and supplicates her! “Blessed is the man that heareth me, and that watcheth daily at my gates.”[302] Blessed, says Mary, is he who listens to my counsels, and incessantly watches at the door of my mercy, invoking my help and intercession! The holy Church instructs us her children with how great attention and confidence we should have continually recourse to this our loving protectress; ordaining special devotions to her, that during the year many festivals should be celebrated in her honor; that one day of the week should be especially consecrated to her; that every day, in the divine office, all ecclesiastics and members of religious orders should invoke her in behalf of the whole Christian people, and that three times a day all the faithful, at the sound of the bell, should salute her. This will suffice to show how, in all seasons of public calamity, the holy Church always directs her children to have recourse to the divine mother with novenas, prayers, processions, visits to her churches and altars. This, Mary herself wishes us to do, namely, always to invoke and supplicate her, not to ask our homage and praise, which are too poor in comparison with her merit, but that our confidence and devotion to her thus increasing, she may aid and console us more. She seeks such as approach her devoutly and reverently, says St. Bonaventure; these she cherishes, loves, and adopts as her children.[303]
The same St. Bonaventure says, that Mary was prefigured by Ruth, whose name, being interpreted, signifies seeing, hastening;[304] for Mary, seeing our miseries, hastens to aid us by her compassion.[305] To which Novarino adds, that Mary is so desirous to do us good, that she can bear no delay; and not being a miserly keeper of her favors, but the mother of mercy, she cannot restrain herself from dispensing, as soon as possible among her servants, the treasures of her liberality.[306]
Oh, how ready is this good mother to aid him who invokes her! “Thy two breasts are like two young roes.”[307] Richard of St. Laurence, explaining this passage, says that the breasts of Mary readily, like the roe’s, give the milk of mercy to those who ask it.[308] The same author assures us that the mercy of Mary is bestowed on all who ask it, though they offer no prayer but a “Hail Mary.” Hence, Novarino affirms, that the blessed Virgin not only hastens, but flies to aid those who have recourse to her. She, says this author, in exercising mercy, cannot but resemble God; for, as the Lord hastens to succor those who ask help from him, being very faithful to observe the promise which he has made to us—Ask, and you shall receive[309]—so Mary, when she is invoked, immediately hastens to help those who call upon her.[310] And by this is explained who was the woman of the Apocalypse, with two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the desert.[311] Ribeira explains these two wings to signify the love with which Mary always hastens to God.[312] But the blessed Amadeus says, remarking on this passage, that the wings of an eagle signify the velocity with which Mary, surpassing in swiftness the seraphs, always comes to the help of her children.[313]
We read in the Gospel of St. Luke, that when Mary went to visit St. Elisabeth, and bestow blessings on all her family, she was not slow, but travelled that whole journey with haste.[314] But we do not read that it was so on her return. For the same reason, it is said in the sacred Canticles, that the hands of Mary are turned.[315] For, as Richard of St. Laurence explains it, The art of turning is easier and quicker than other arts, so Mary is more ready than any other of the saints to aid her suppliants.[316] She has the greatest desire to console all, and she scarcely hears herself invoked before she graciously receives the petition and comes to our aid.[317] Justly, then, St. Bonaventure calls Mary, The salvation of those who invoke her: “O salus te invocantium!” signifying, that to be saved it is sufficient to appeal to this divine mother, who, according to Richard of St. Laurence, is always ready to aid those who pray to her.[318] For, as St. Bernardine de Bustis says: This great Lady is more desirous to confer favors upon us than we are to receive them.[319]
Neither should the multitude of our sins diminish our confidence that we shall be graciously heard by Mary, if we cast ourselves at her feet. She is the mother of mercy, and there would be no occasion for mercy, if there were no wretchedness to be relieved. Therefore, as a good mother does not hesitate to apply a remedy to her child, however loathsome its disease, although the cure may be troublesome and disgusting; thus our good mother does not abandon us, when we recur to her, however great may be the filth of our sins, which she comes to cure.[320] This sentiment is taken from Richard of St. Laurence. And Mary intended to signify the same when she appeared to St. Gertrude, spreading her mantle to receive all who had recourse to her: at the same time it was given the saint to understand, that the angels are waiting to defend the devout suppliants of Mary from the assaults of hell.[321]
So great is the love and pity which this good mother has for us, that she does not wait for our prayers before giving us her aid. “She preventeth them that covet her, so that she first showeth herself unto them.”[322] These words of wisdom St. Anselm applies to Mary, and says that she anticipates those who desire her protection. By this we are to understand, that she obtains many graces from God for us before we ask them from her. Therefore Richard of St. Victor says: Mary is called the moon: Pulchra ut luna;[323] not only because she hastens as the moon to shine on those who seek her light,[324] but because she so earnestly desires our welfare that in our necessities she anticipates our prayers, and in her compassion she is more prompt to help us than we are to have recourse to her.[325] For, adds the same Richard, the breast of Mary is so full of pity that she scarcely knows our miseries before she offers us the milk of her mercy, neither can this gracious queen perceive the necessities of any soul without relieving it.[326]
And truly, Mary manifested to us while she was on earth, in the nuptials of Cana,[327] her great compassion for our sufferings, which prompts her to relieve them before we pray to her. This kind mother saw the trouble of that pair who were mortified to find that their wine had failed at the wedding banquet; and without being requested, moved only by her compassionate heart, which cannot look upon the afflictions of others without pity, prayed her Son to console them by merely mentioning to him the necessities of the family: They have no wine:[328] “Vinum non habent.” After which, her Son, to comfort that family, and still more to satisfy the compassionate heart of his mother, performed, as she desired, the well-known miracle of changing the water contained in vases into wine. Novarino here remarks, that if Mary, though unasked, is so ready to aid us in our necessities, how much more so will she be when we invoke her and implore her aid![329]
If any one doubts that he shall be assisted by Mary when he has recourse to her, let him listen to the words of Innocent III.: Who has ever invoked this sweet Lady, and has not been heard by her?[330] Who, oh holy Virgin, exclaims the blessed Eutychian, has ever sought thy powerful protection, which can relieve the most miserable and rescue the most degraded, and has been abandoned by thee? No, this has never happened, and never will happen.[331] Let him be silent concerning thy mercy, oh blessed Virgin, whose necessities have been neglected by thee after he has implored thy aid.[332]
Sooner will heaven and earth be destroyed, says the devout Blosius, than Mary fail to aid those who, with a pure intention, recommend themselves to her and put their confidence in her.[333] And to increase our confidence, St. Anselm adds, that when we have recourse to this divine mother, we may not only be sure of her protection, but that sometimes we shall be sooner heard and saved by invoking her holy name than that of Jesus our Saviour.[334] And he gives this reason: Because it belongs to Christ, as our judge, to punish, but to Mary, as our advocate, to pity.[335] By this he would give us to understand, that we sooner find salvation by recurring to the mother than the Son; not because Mary is more powerful than her Son to save us, for we know that Jesus is our only Saviour, and that by his merits alone he has obtained and does obtain for us salvation; but because when we have recourse to Jesus, considering him also as the judge to whom it belongs to punish the ungrateful, we may lose the confidence necessary to be heard; but going to Mary, who has no other office than that of exercising compassion towards us as mother of mercy, and defending us as our advocate, our confidence will be more secure and greater. We ask many things of God and do not obtain them; we ask them from Mary and obtain them; how is this? Nicephorus answers: This does not happen because Mary is more powerful than God, but because God has seen fit thus to honor his mother.[336]
How consoling is the promise that our Lord himself made on this subject to St. Bridget! We read in her revelations, that one day this saint heard Jesus speaking with his mother, and that he said to her: “My mother, ask of me whatever thou wilt, for I will refuse nothing that thou dost ask;[337] and be assured,” he added, “that all those who for love of thee seek any favor, although they are sinners, if they desire to amend, I promise to hear them.”[338] The same thing was revealed to St. Gertrude, who heard our Redeemer himself say to Mary, that he had in his omnipotence permitted her to exercise mercy towards sinners who invoke her, in whatever manner it should please her.[339]
Every one invoking this mother of mercy may then say, with St. Augustine: “Remember, oh most compassionate Lady! that since the beginning of the world there never has been any one abandoned by thee. Therefore pardon me if I say that I do not wish to be the first sinner who has sought thy aid in vain.”[340]
EXAMPLE.
St. Francis of Sales, as we read in his life, efficaciously experienced the power of this prayer. At seventeen years of age he was living in Paris, engaged in study, and at the same time wholly devoted to pious exercises and holy love of God, which gave him a perpetual foretaste of heavenly joy. At this time the Lord, to try his faith, and attach him more strongly to his love, permitted the devil to represent to him that his efforts were in vain, because he was already condemned by the divine decree. The darkness and dryness in which it pleased God to leave him at the time for he was insensible to all consoling thoughts of the divine goodness, caused this temptation to have more power over the heart of the holy youth; so that through great fear and desolation he lost his appetite, sleep, color, and cheerfulness, and excited the compassion of all those who looked upon him.
Whilst this horrible conflict lasted, the saint could conceive no other thoughts and utter no other words but those of sorrow and distrust. “Shall I, then,” he said, as it is related in his life, “be deprived of the favor of my God, who hitherto has shown himself so gracious and so kind to me? Oh love! oh beauty! to which I have consecrated all my affections, shall I never more enjoy your consolations? Oh Virgin mother of God, the most beautiful of all the daughters of Jerusalem, am I then never to see thee in paradise? Ah, my Lady! if I am never to see thy lovely face, do not permit me to be forced to blaspheme and curse thee in hell.” These were the tender sentiments of that afflicted heart, still so enamored of God and the Virgin. This temptation lasted for a month, but at length the Lord was pleased to deliver him from it by means of the consoler of the world, most holy Mary, to whom the saint had before made a vow of chastity, and upon whom he used to say he had placed all his hopes. One evening, on returning home, he entered a church, where he saw a small tablet suspended from the wall; he found written on it the prayer of St. Augustine above mentioned: “Remember, oh most merciful Mary! that no one, in any age, was ever known to have fled to thee for help and found himself abandoned.” He prostrated himself before the altar of the divine mother, and recited with deep feeling this prayer; he renewed his vow of chastity, promised to recite daily the rosary, and then added: “Oh my queen, be my advocate with thy Son, whom I dare not approach. My mother, if in the other world I should be so unhappy as not to be able to love my Lord, whom I know is so worthy to be loved, at least obtain for me that I may love him as much as I can in this world. This is the grace that I ask of thee, and from thee I hope for it.” Thus he supplicated the Virgin, and then abandoned himself to the divine mercy, resigning himself entirely to the will of God. But hardly had he finished his prayer, when by his most sweet mother he was suddenly freed from temptation; he immediately recovered his interior peace, and with it health of body, and from that time continued to live a most devout servant of Mary, whose praises and mercies he never ceased to proclaim in his preaching and his writings to the end of his life.
PRAYER.
Oh mother of God! oh queen of angels! oh hope of men! listen to him who invokes thee and has recourse to thee. Behold me to-day prostrate at thy feet; I, a miserable slave of hell, consecrate myself to thee as thy servant forever, offering myself to serve and honor thee to the utmost of my power all the days of my life. I know that thy honor is not increased by the service of so vile and wretched a slave as I am, who have so grievously offended thy Son and my Redeemer, Jesus. But if thou wilt accept one so unworthy as I for thy servant, and, changing him by thy intercession, wilt render him worthy, thy own compassion will confer upon thee that honor which I, vile as I am, cannot render thee. Accept me, then, and do not reject me, oh my mother! The eternal Word came from heaven upon earth to seek the lost sheep, and to save them, became thy Son. And wilt thou despise a poor sheep, who comes to thee to help him find Jesus? The price has already been paid for my salvation; my Saviour has shed his blood, which is enough to save infinite worlds. It only remains that this blood should be applied to me; and to thee it belongs, oh blessed Virgin! to thee it belongs, as St. Bernard says, to bestow the merits of this blood on whomsoever it may please thee. To thee it belongs, as St. Bonaventure also says, to save whom thou wilt.[341] Oh my queen, help me, then! my queen, save me! To you this day I commit my soul; and do thou secure its safety. Oh, salvation of those who invoke thee! I will exclaim with the same saint, save me.[342]
SECTION II.
HOW POWERFUL IS MARY IN PROTECTING THOSE WHO INVOKE HER IN TEMPTATIONS OF THE DEVIL.
Not only most holy Mary is queen of heaven and of the saints, but also of hell and the devils, for she has bravely triumphed over them by her virtues. From the beginning of the world God predicted to the infernal serpent the victory and the empire which our queen would obtain over him, when he announced to him that a woman would come into the world who should conquer him. “I will put enmities between thee and the woman; she shall crush thy head.”[343] And what woman was this enemy if not Mary, who, with her beautiful humility and holy life, always conquered him and destroyed his forces? St. Cyprian affirms that the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ was promised in that woman:[344] and hence he remarks, that God did not use the words I put, but I will put, lest the prophecy should seem to appertain to Eve.[345] He said, I will put enmity between thee and the woman, to signify that this his vanquisher was not the living Eve, but must be another woman descending from her, who was to bring to our first parents greater blessings, as St. Vincent Ferrer says, than those they had lost by their sin.[346] Mary, then, is this great and strong woman who has conquered the devil, and has crushed his head by subduing his pride, as the Lord added: “She shall crash thy head.”[347] Some of the commentators doubt whether these words refer to Mary or to Jesus Christ, because in the Septuagint version we read: “He shall crush thy head.”[348] But in our Vulgate, which is the only version approved by the Council of Trent, it is She, and not He. And thus St. Ambrose, St. Jerome, St. Augustine, St. John Chrysostom, and many others have understood it. However this may be, it is certain that the Son by means of the mother, or the mother by means of the Son, has vanquished Lucifer; so that this proud spirit, as St. Bernard tells us, has been ignominiously overpowered and crushed by this blessed Virgin.[349] Hence as a slave conquered in war, he is forced always to obey the commands of this queen. St. Bruno says, that Eve, by yielding to the serpent, brought into the world death and darkness; but that the blessed Virgin, by conquering the devil, brought us life and light: and she has bound him so that he cannot move to do the least harm to her servants.[350]
Richard of St. Laurence gives a beautiful explanation to these words of Proverbs: “The heart of her husband trusteth in her, and he shall have no need of spoils.”[351] Richard says: The heart of her husband, that is, Christ, trusts in her, and he shall have no need of spoils, for she will endow him with the spoils which she has taken from the devil.[352] God has intrusted the heart of Jesus, as à Lapide expresses it, to the care of Mary, that she may procure for it the love of men; and thus he will not be in need of spoils, that is, of the conquest of souls, for she will enrich him with those souls of which she despoils hell, and which she has rescued from the demons by her powerful aid.
It is well known that the palm is the emblem of victory, and for this reason our queen has been placed on a high throne in the sight of all potentates, as a palm, the sign of certain victory, which all can promise themselves who have recourse to her. “I was exalted like a palm-tree in Cades.”[353] That is, for a defence,[354] as blessed Albertus Magnus says: Oh, my children, Mary seems to say to us with these words, when the enemy assails you, lift your eyes to me, behold me and take courage; for in me, who defends you, you will behold, at the same time, your victory. So that recourse to Mary is the most certain means of overcoming all the assaults of hell; for she, as St. Bernardine of Sienna says, is queen over hell, and ruler of the spirits of evil, for she controls and conquers them.[355] And therefore Mary is called terrible against the power of hell, as an army set in array. “Terrible as an army set in array.”[356] Set in array, because she knows how to array her powers, that is, her compassion and her prayers, to the confusion of the enemy and the benefit of her servants, who, in their temptations, invoke her powerful aid.
“As the vine I have brought forth a pleasant odor.”[357] “I, like the vine, as the Holy Spirit puts it in her mouth to say, have given fruits of sweet odor.” “It is said,” adds St. Bernard, on this passage, “that every venomous reptile shuns the flowering vines.”[358] As from vines all poisonous serpents flee, thus the demons flee from those fortunate souls in whom they perceive the odor of devotion to Mary. On this account she also is called a cedar: “I was exalted like a cedar in Libanus,”[359] not only because as the cedar is free from corruption, so Mary is free from sin, but also because, as Cardinal Hugo remarks upon this passage, as the cedar with its perfume puts serpents to flight, so Mary with her sanctity puts to flight the devils.[360]
Victories were gained in Judea by means of the ark. Thus Moses conquered his enemies. “When the ark was lifted up, Moses said, Arise, oh Lord, and let thy enemies be scattered.”[361] Thus Jericho was conquered; thus were the Philistines conquered; “for the ark of God was there.”[362] It is well known that this ark was the type of Mary. As the ark contained the manna, thus Mary contained Jesus, whom the manna also prefigured, and by means of this ark, victories were gained over the enemies of earth and over hell.[363] Wherefore St. Bernardine of Sienna says that when Mary, the ark of the New Testament, was crowned queen of heaven, the power of hell over men was weakened and overthrown.[364]
“Oh, how the devils in hell,” says St. Bonaventure, “tremble at Mary and her great name!”[365] The saint compares these enemies to those of whom Job makes mention and says: “He diggeth through houses in the dark.... If the morning suddenly appear, it is to them the shadow of death.”[366] Thieves enter houses in the dark to rob them, but when the dawn comes they flee, as if the image of death appeared to them. In the same manner, as St. Bonaventure expresses it, the demons enter into the soul in times of darkness, that is, when the soul is obscured by ignorance; they dig through the houses of our minds in the darkness of ignorance; but then, he adds, as soon as the grace and the mercy of Mary enter the soul, this beautiful aurora dissipates the darkness, and the infernal enemies flee as at the approach of death.[367] Oh, blessed is he who always, in his conflicts with hell, invokes the beautiful name of Mary!
In confirmation of this it was revealed to St. Bridget that God has given Mary such power over all evil spirits, that whenever they assail any of her servants who implore her aid, at the slightest sign from her they flee far away in terror, preferring that their pains should be redoubled rather than that Mary should domineer over them in this manner.[368]
À Lapide remarks upon the words with which the divine spouse praises his beloved bride, when he calls her the lily, and says that as the lily is among thorns, so is his beloved among the other daughters;[369] that, as the lily is a remedy against serpents and poisons, so the invocation of Mary is a special remedy for overcoming all temptations, particularly those of impurity, as they who have tried it have universally experienced.[370]
St. John of Damascus said, and every one may say the same who is so happy as to be devoted to this great queen: Oh, mother of God, if I trust in thee, I shall surely not be vanquished; for, defended by thee, I will pursue my enemies, and opposing to them thy protection and thy powerful support as a shield, I shall surely conquer them.[371] James the Monk, reputed a doctor among the Greek fathers, discoursing of Mary to our Lord, says: Thou, oh my Lord, hast given us this mother for a powerful defence against all our enemies.[372]
It is related in the Old Testament that the Lord guided his people from Egypt to the promised land, by day in a pillar of cloud, by night in a pillar of fire.[373] This pillar, now of clouds, now of fire, says Richard of St. Laurence, was a type of Mary and her double office, which she exercises continually in our behalf; as a cloud she protects us from the heat of divine justice, and as fire she protects us from demons.[374] Fire, as St. Bonaventure adds, for as wax melts at the approach of fire, thus the evil spirits lose all power in the presence of those souls who often call upon the name of Mary, and devoutly invoke her, and more than all, strive to imitate her.[375]
Oh, how the devils tremble, exclaims St. Bernard, if they only hear the name of Mary uttered![376] As men, says Thomas à Kempis, fall to the earth through fear, when a thunderbolt strikes near them, so fall prostrate the devils when but the name of Mary is heard.[377] How many noble victories have the servants of Mary not gained over these enemies by the power of her most holy name! Thus St. Anthony of Padua conquered them, thus the blessed Henry Suso, thus many other lovers of Mary. It is related in the accounts of the missions to Japan, that a great number of demons appeared in the form of ferocious animals to a certain Christian of that country, to alarm him and threaten him, but he spoke to them in these words: “I have no arms with which to terrify you; if the Most High permits it, do with me according to your pleasure. Meanwhile I use as my defence the most sweet names of Jesus and Mary.” Hardly had he uttered these words, when behold, at the sound of those fearful names, the earth opened and those proud spirits were swallowed up. St. Anselm also asserts that he had seen and heard many persons who at the mention of the name of Mary were delivered from their dangers.[378]
Very glorious, oh Mary, and wonderful exclaims St. Bonaventure, is thy great name. Those who are mindful to utter it at the hour of death, have nothing to fear from hell, for the devils at once abandon the soul when they hear the name of Mary.[379] And the saint adds, that an earthly enemy does not so greatly fear a great army, as the powers of hell fear the name and protection of Mary.[380] Thou, oh Lady, says St. Germanus, by the invocation alone of thy most powerful name, dost render thy servants secure from all the assaults of the enemy.[381] Oh, if Christians were only mindful in temptations to invoke with confidence the name of Mary, it is certain that they would never fall; for, as blessed Alanus remarks, at the thunder of that great name, the devil flees and hell trembles.[382] This heavenly queen herself revealed to St. Bridget, that even from the most abandoned sinners, who had wandered the farthest from God, and were most fully possessed by the devil, the enemy departs as soon as he hears her most powerful name invoked by them, if they do it with a true intention of amending.[383] But the Virgin added, that if the soul does not amend, and with contrition quit its sins, the demons immediately return to it and hold it in their possession.[384]
EXAMPLE.
In Reisberg there lived a Canon regular named Arnold, who was very devoted to the blessed Virgin. Being at the point of death, he received the sacraments, and calling his religious to him, begged them not to leave him at the last moment. Scarcely had he said this, when he began to tremble violently and roll his eyes; cold sweat fell from him, and with an agitated voice he exclaimed: “Do you not see those demons who would seize me and carry me to hell?” Then he cried: “My brothers, invoke for me the help of Mary; I trust in her that she will give me the victory.” They immediately began to recite the Litany of our Lady, and at the words, Holy Mary, pray for him, “Sancta Maria, ora pro eo,” the dying man cried: “Repeat, repeat the name of Mary, for I am even now at the tribunal of God.” He stopped for a moment, and then added: “It is true that I did it, but I have done penance for it.” Then turning to the Virgin, he said: “Oh Mary, I shall be delivered if thou wilt help me.” The demons soon after made another attack, but he defended himself by blessing himself with the crucifix, and invoking Mary. Thus he passed the whole night, but when morning dawned, Arnold, restored to serenity, joyfully said: “Mary, my Lady and my refuge, has obtained for me pardon and salvation.” Then beholding the Virgin, who summoned him to follow her, he said: “I come, oh Lady, I come.” He made an effort to rise, but not being able to follow her with the body, gently expiring, he followed her with his soul, as we hope, to the blessed kingdom of glory.[385]
PRAYER.
Behold at thy feet, oh Mary my hope, a poor sinner who many times, through his own fault, has been the slave of hell. I know that I have often been conquered by the devil, because I have neglected to recur to thee, oh my refuge. If I had always sought thy protection, if I had invoked thee, I should never have fallen. I hope, oh my Lady, most worthy of love, that by thy help I have escaped the powers of hell, and that God has pardoned me. But I tremble for the future, lest I again fall into their power. I know that these enemies of mine have not lost all hope of reconquering me, and at this moment they are preparing new assaults and temptations. Oh, my queen and refuge, aid me. Shelter me beneath thy mantle, let me not become again their slave. I know that thou wilt succor me and give me victory whenever I invoke thee. I fear only that in my temptations I may forget thee, and neglect to call upon thee. This, then, is the grace, oh most holy Virgin, that I seek and wish from thee, that I may always remember thee, and especially when I find myself in conflict with the enemy; let me not then fail to invoke thee often with the words: “Oh Mary, help me, help me, oh Mary.” And when at length the day of my last conflict with hell, the day of my death arrives, oh, my queen, powerfully assist me then, and remind me thyself to invoke thee more frequently, with the voice or with the heart, that expiring with thy most sweet name, and that of thy son Jesus on my lips, I may go to bless and praise thee, and never leave thy feet in paradise through all eternity. Amen.