Mater Christi: Meditations on Our Lady

Mary's Marriage

"Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, Who is called Christ." (St Matt. i. 16.)

1st Prelude. Picture of the marriage of Our Lady and St Joseph.

2nd Prelude. The grace of confidence in God.

Twelve years have passed since the little child mounted the Temple steps to present herself to God. Never, during that time, has she taken back the smallest part of her offering. Always has she been presenting herself as a living sacrifice; always has she been full of grace, doing God's will perfectly, glorifying Him by her every thought, word, and action, as no human creature had ever glorified Him. How much Mary added during those twelve years to the Treasury of merits from which the Church was to draw, through all time, in answer to the appeals of her children, who were anxious to make satisfaction for their sins! In return for a little Indulgenced Prayer, or Act, the Church unlocks the Treasury, and the superabundant merits of Mary, added to the infinite merits of her Divine Son, are given to the suppliant, either to make satisfaction for his own sins, or, if he will, to be applied to the souls in Purgatory, and thus lessen the debt they owe to God, and shorten the distance that lies between them and the Beatific Vision, for which they so earnestly long.

Oh, blessed Treasury of merits! Jesus, Who poured into it His infinite merits, has an interest in it. Mary, whose wondrous merits all went into it, has an interest in it. The Saints, whose superabundant satisfactions are stored up there, have an interest in it. The Holy Souls must watch with the keenest interest for the moments when the Church, coming with the keys, entreats from Him, Who alone has jurisdiction in Purgatory, that her treasures may be handed to this or that particular soul; and He, Whose justice, as well as His mercy, is infinite, will distribute them as He will. And shall not I, too, take an interest in this wondrous Treasury? Let me never forget to make use of it; and let my prayer every morning be a fervent and a heart-felt one: "I desire to gain all the Indulgences that I can this day."

But the time came when Mary had to leave the seclusion of the Temple, and give herself in marriage. She was helpless to prevent this, for her Vow was a secret, unknown even to her parents. All she could do was to leave the matter in God's Hands. It was to Him she had offered her virginity, and she trusted Him to guard it. How simple and child-like was her trust! The path pointed out to her appeared to be directly opposite to the one she had chosen, but it was pointed out by those whom God had chosen to represent Himself to her – the priests of the Temple, or her parents, or both. Her faith was great enough to believe that God can make no mistakes, that He cannot call in two different directions, that all will work together to fulfil His Will, if only His Will is put first. What a lesson for us! How often in my life has something happened, some way opened, which seemed to cut at the very root of some cherished plan! And yet, on looking back, I see that had I not followed God's call along the path which seemed to be leading the wrong way, I should never have been able to carry out that plan which I had made for His glory. Why was Abraham called the friend of God? Was it not because of his confidence in God – confidence shown in his readiness to follow wherever God called – even when He called him to sacrifice the child of the promises? God loves to lead us about, by circuitous paths, and thus to bring out our love and trust and obedience. Had Mary taken a line of her own, and refused to marry because of her Vow, she would have frustrated God's plans for the Incarnation.

I do not want to frustrate His plans for me. Let me remember this the next time I am tempted to turn a deaf ear to a call of His, which does not fit in with my tastes and desires and hopes.

The husband, chosen by God for this most delicate and most responsible position, was our dear St Joseph. He was the one man in all the world of whom God could be sure. He was "a just man," one who would put no obstacle to God's designs, but would, by his silence, tact, self-sacrifice, and fidelity lend himself to further them.

Let me dwell for a little while on these qualities – qualities which God values and looks for, when He wants someone to whom He can entrust His work or His secrets; and perhaps I shall discover things which may help me to be more zealous in His service, to be less for self and more for Him.

Some have thought that Mary confided her secret to Joseph; and that he showed his sympathy, and readiness to enter into all her interests, by taking the Vow of Virginity too, thus preparing himself to be the husband of Mary and the foster-father of Jesus.

And so this most beautiful marriage took place; and the Holy Spirit, Who was ever watching over His spouse, blessed and sanctified the union of these two virgin souls. It was a union in which the body was forgotten – or rather, the spiritual life had reached such heights by means of the body, that is, of the senses, that the soul was able to live entirely in those heights. The soul was helped upwards by the body, as God intended it to be. When the body is dead, the soul can grow no more. The level of the spiritual life, at which I am found at death, will be mine through all eternity. The converse of this truth is, that the body is necessary for the growth of the spiritual life, and that the soul grows in proportion to the help it gets from the body. These thoughts will help me to understand how much the chaste marriage of Joseph and Mary must have aided their spiritual life, and how the Angels must have rejoiced at a union which savoured so much more of Heaven than of Earth.

Now, all was ready. The Virgin who was to conceive and bear a child, Whose name was to be Emmanuel – God with us – had got a guardian. God could work His stupendous miracle, and keep it hidden, as He willed it to be for the present, from the curious gaze of unbelievers. Mary, by her self-abandonment, was supplying God with all He needed, never thwarting Him, nor putting the least obstacle in His way.

And so we leave her, doing the work of the little cottage at Nazareth, while her carpenter-husband labours to support her. Mary has changed her abode; her outward circumstances have altered; but her union with God suffers no change; it remains unbroken, undisturbed; nothing has the power to disturb her thoughts of Him. And Mary is my model. What I have to aim at, too, is a union with God so real and so close that the changes and chances of this mortal life have no power to interrupt it. This blessed lot will be mine when I have faith enough to see God's Hand in every circumstance of my life. If I know that He is there, why need I trouble so much about the ups and downs? The sea of life is bound to have waves. What I have to do is to see to it that my little barque rides on the top of them in the most perfect security and peace. The Master is at the helm, and I am with Him in the boat. My thoughts, surely, will be fixed on Him rather than on the changes in the weather!

Colloquy with Our Lady, asking her to get me more faith.

Resolution. To let nothing interrupt my union with God.

Spiritual Bouquet. "Sancta Virgo virginum, ora pro nobis."

Hail Mary!

"The Angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, called Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the Virgin's name was Mary. And the Angel, being come in, said unto her: Hail! full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women!" (St Luke i. 26-28.)

1st Prelude. Gabriel saying the first Hail Mary.

2nd Prelude. Grace to say my Hail Maries well.

When all was ready and God's moment had arrived – "when the fulness of the time was come" (Gal. iv. 4) – heaven opened, and one of God's messengers, Gabriel, an Archangel, was sent to Nazareth on a secret errand to Mary. He knew her well, and he expressed his knowledge in the first Hail Mary that was ever said. Let us meditate on these familiar words, and try to find a few thoughts which may help us to say our Hail Maries better.

Reverently he salutes her; for though she is not yet the Mother of God, she is immaculate, and worthy of all honour; besides, he is in the secret, and knows God's designs. "Hail! full of grace."

What does it mean – this word "Ave," Hail! with which Gabriel begins his message? It is an expression of respect, honour, and reverence. It was the salutation always given to the Roman Emperor: Ave! Cæsar Imperator. But it is not only a form of greeting; it implies also that he who uses it is anxious to attract attention because he has something to say or some favour to ask.

How often I say it! —Hail Mary! What do I mean by it? I ought to mean that I am saluting the Queen of Heaven with all respect, honour, and reverence; and also that I, her child, am calling my Mother's attention. When she hears my Hail! she expects that I have something to say to her, or that I want something. Is it so? And if Mary turned and said: "Yes, my child, what is it?" should I know?

My Hail! should be also to call my Mother's attention to the fact that I am there if she has anything to say to me, or if she wants anything. Hail Mary! Your child is here, ready to do anything for you. When she turns at my Hail! to ask me for something, does she always get it? Or is she disappointed to find that her child's thoughts are not really with her at all?

What shall I do, for I know that I stand convicted; and much though I should like each Hail Mary that I say to mean all this, I know that it does not? Would it be better not to say it at all, than to risk any want of respect to that Mother whom I love so dearly?

Oh no. Does not a mother love to hear the voice of her babe in its cradle, even though the sounds it makes are quite inarticulate, and it cannot say what it wants? She always understands, and is able to interpret the baby language, and will give it what is good for it, though it may be all unconscious of its needs. None but the mother would recognise that the babe was calling her attention – not even the babe itself. Is not this something like my Hail Maries carelessly and lightly said? I say them because I am Mary's child; it is the most natural thing to do; and she will interpret them as her Mother's heart knows how. And, like the babe in its cradle, I love to feel that she is at my side, because I have attracted her attention, even though I may have done it almost from habit, and may not know exactly why.

Hail Mary! I will say the blest words as often as I can, putting into them all the meaning and fervour of which I am capable, and leaving it to my Mother to make up all deficiencies.

How is Mary full of grace?

1. Because she was conceived without sin: that is, her soul was full of grace instead of original sin. She was full of grace always – even before she was the Mother of the Author of grace.

2. Because of her correspondence to grace. She was always faithful to grace. She never let one single opportunity pass by her unused. The more faithful I am to the inspirations of grace, the fuller shall I be of grace. It is a question of my fidelity, not of God's generosity. He never fails – the grace is always there waiting for me.

3. Because she was always meriting grace. Each correspondence to grace entitled her to more, as it does me. It is by virtue of her merits that she can obtain from her Divine Son all the grace that her children need. Confidently may they appeal to her, for she is the "Mother of Divine Grace."

"In me is all grace of the way." (Ecclus. xxiv. 25.) So Mary says to her children, and she has all I need for the way – that is, for my journey through life. The way is hard – it is the Highway of the Cross, the way that Jesus trod before me. Let me never attempt to tread it alone – not for a single hour, for the pitfalls are many; but let me ask Mary to accompany me – Mary with her never-failing supply of grace. It was Jesus Himself Who gave me His Mother, and He gave her also all the grace that He knew I should need for the way. What a provision He has made for me! If I drew upon my stores more confidently, I should be much fuller of grace than I am.

Hail Mary! full of grace, thou art my Mother. Let me put my hands in thine and keep close to thee. So shall the way have no terrors for me, and so shall I be able to tread in the Footsteps of thy Son, along His Own Highway of the Cross.

The Lord is with thee. These words were often said of or to those to whom God was about to entrust some special work. He was "with Joseph" while he was in Putiphar's prison, preparing him for the great work of serving the nation during the famine. (Gen. xxxix. 21.) "I will be with thee," God said to Moses at the burning bush, when He told him that it was he who was to bring the children of Israel out of Egypt. (Ex. iii. 12.) And to Josue, who had to bring the chosen people into the promised land, He said: "As I have been with Moses, so I will be with thee. Fear not, and be not dismayed: because the Lord thy God is with thee in all things whatsoever thou shalt go to." (Jos. i. 5-9.) "The Lord is with thee, O most valiant of men." This was the message the angel brought to Gedeon at the threshing floor, for he was to leave his wheat and go to deliver God's people from idolatry and from their enemies. (Jud. vi. 12.)

And now when Mary is being singled out for the greatest work that was ever entrusted to any child of Adam – that of being the Mother of Him Who was to save not one nation only, but the whole world, God sends an Archangel and bids him say to her: The Lord is with thee. God was with Mary always; but now all three Persons of the Blessed Trinity are to be with her in a very special way, to enable her to co-operate with God's designs for her. But the message goes further: "Blessed art thou among women." Gabriel tells her that God's message to her is that she is blessed, and more blessed than all other women! It is praise indeed, and praise from God Himself. But God can trust Mary with praise. She is full of humility, for she is full of grace; and God knows that she will look at things from His point of view – not from her own.

I may get some consolation from these words for myself. God sometimes gives me work to do for Him. How blessed I am to be picked out and chosen by Him! And I may be quite sure that He is with me for it. It is His own work, and He will look after it Himself; but He needs an instrument. The workman is never far from his tools, unless he has thrown them on one side as useless. "The Lord is with thee." If I see to it that I am an instrument fit and ready for His service, I need have no other anxiety. He will use me when He wants me; the responsibility of the work will be all His, and He will be with me, doing His work by means of me.

O Mary, my Mother, help me to see things from God's point of view, as thou didst. Obtain for me the grace to be full of confidence about any work with which God may entrust me. And while I rejoice to be amongst those blessed ones whom He picks out to do His work, obtain for me the grace of humility. And if the Workman should allow any words of praise to be given to the instrument, may it be because He can count on the humility of His instrument – because He knows that the praise will all be passed on to Himself.

Colloquy with my Mother as we walk along "the way" together – a colloquy about correspondence to grace, about being never alone in my work, about the blessedness of being chosen by Him, about humility.

Resolution. To let my Rosary recall some of these thoughts to-day.

Spiritual Bouquet. "Among the blessed she shall be blessed." (Ecclus. xxiv. 4.)

Mary's First Word

"And Mary said to the Angel: How shall this be done, because I know not man?" (St Luke i. 34.)

1st Prelude. A picture of the Annunciation.

2nd Prelude. That my love for God may be great enough to separate me from all else.

We do not know what Mary was doing when the heavenly visitor arrived with his message. She is generally represented as kneeling in contemplation. She may have been: or she may have been about her work. In any case, she was engaged in prayer, for Mary's heart and mind were ever lifted up to God; and that is prayer. And God can reveal His secrets just as easily to those who are working as to those who are given up to contemplation.

No wonder Mary's attention is arrested, for not only does she see one of God's Archangels, but it is to her that he has come, to her that he is showing such reverence and honour, to her that he is now delivering his message: "Hail! … full of grace; the Lord is with thee… Blessed art thou among women." Each sentence of the message seems more wonderful and startling than the last. Mary does not speak, but she is troubled, as she thinks within herself what manner of salutation this is. Her intelligence is perfect, and she knows at once what the message means. It means that she, the one woman who has cut herself off from every prospect of being the Mother of the Messias; that she, who has felt herself so utterly unworthy that legend tells us she used to pray that she might be His Mother's servant; that she has been singled out by God as the one who was to be blessed among women. And she is troubled. It is not the presence of the Angel nor the dignity of his message which is disquieting her – her trouble goes deeper; but still she does not speak – she waits in silence for God to explain Himself or to direct her.

How much wiser in most cases it would be for me, if I kept silence, for a time at any rate, when I am face to face with trouble, or difficulty, or perplexity. Of one thing I may be sure – that the trouble is a message from God, and if I wait patiently, He will reveal more to me, and throw light upon what seems so obscure. Nothing is gained by making complaints, and losing my calm and self-possession. Much is gained by silence; for silence to man, at such times, generally means converse with God, and to obtain this more intimate union with my heart is one of His chief reasons for sending me His messages.

Gabriel, seeing that she is troubled, hastens to reassure her: "Fear not, Mary." He is God's messenger, and he is giving God's consolation, so he calls her by her name. Consolation is never far off when it is to God alone that we turn for it. Gabriel then tells her quite plainly what are God's intentions concerning her, if she gives her consent and co-operation – that she is indeed to be the Mother of the Messias; that she is to call Him Jesus; that her Son is to be great, and is to be called the Son of the Most High; that God will give Him a throne and a kingdom; and that of His kingdom there shall be no end.

She has pondered in her heart, and now she speaks: "How shall this be done?" St Bernardine, who calls the seven recorded words of Our Lady, "Seven Flames of Love," calls this first word "A Flame of Separating Love" (flamma amoris separantis). Let us try to find out why.

"How shall this be done?" Her question shows clearly what is the cause of her trouble. It is the thought of her vow of virginity – that precious offering which, as a little child, she had made to God. This it is which forces Mary, who so values silence, to speak. "How shall this be done," and yet my vow be left intact? To it at any cost I must be faithful. Mary, by her first word, shows that her love for God is so intense that it separates her from all else besides. It was out of love for Him that she made that vow. It was a flame of separating love that burnt within her, making a clear division between God and anything, however lawful and even desirable in itself, which might hinder her union with Him. And it is the same flame of love which now impels her to speak: "How shall this be done?" seeing that I am separated, consecrated to God. Her love so detaches her from all else that even the honour of being singled out to be the Mother of God has no attraction for her in comparison with keeping that contract made with God, by which she promised to be wholly His.

Am I, like Mary, absolutely faithful to any contract that I may have made with God? Do I say: "How can this be done?" seeing I have made that promise, seeing I am a Christian, seeing I have been to Holy Communion, seeing I have taken certain vows. All these are so many cords of love which should separate me from the world. My contract with God must come before everything else – all turns upon my fidelity to it. Mary was troubled because she feared her vow was in danger; and her trouble was pleasing to God.

Mary's separating love for God was the outcome of God's separating love for Mary. Her very vow of virginity, which, humanly speaking, made it impossible for her to be the Mother of the Messias, was part of God's plan, separating her from the rest of the world for this honour. When God wants something done, He separates the soul which He has chosen to do it, though at the moment the soul may be wholly unconscious of the reasons for the process which gives it so much pain. The separation may be one of place, or family, or affections, or cherished hopes and plans. God's separating love takes various forms: but in some way or other He must and will separate from self those whom He intends to use for His service. St Paul says of himself that God separated him from his earliest infancy. (Gal. i. 15.) None would have guessed that he was separated when he was haling the Christians to death and persecuting the Church of God beyond measure. We understand so little of God's plans, and of His preparation of souls for His service. St Paul tells us that later he was "separated unto the Gospel of God." (Rom. i. 1.) And when Our Lord wanted him for a special mission, the order went forth to the Church: "Separate me Saul and Barnabas for the work whereunto I have taken them."

Help me, my Mother, to co-operate with grace, lest I hinder God's designs for me; and while His love is a separating one, may mine be the same – a love strong enough to separate me from all but His Will.

Colloquy with Mary, asking her to obtain for me the grace to say with her: "How shall this be done?" whenever the least thing comes between me and my duty to God.

Resolution. To let nothing to-day separate me from the love of God. (Rom. viii. 39.)

Spiritual Bouquet. "How shall this be done?"

Mary's Second Word

"The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore also the Holy, which shall be born of thee, shall be called the Son of God. And Mary said: Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to Thy word." (St Luke i. 35, 38.)

1st Prelude. Picture of the Annunciation.

2nd Prelude. Grace to meditate more deeply on the First Joyful Mystery.

In answer to Mary's question, the Angel explains quite simply how God's plans are to be brought about. "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee." No prophecy had ever said a word of this; the agency of the Holy Ghost had never been hinted at till the Angel made it known to Mary to quiet her legitimate trouble. And as soon as Mary knew that it was to be the work of the Holy Ghost, she was at rest – all trouble disappeared. Do I follow my Mother's example in this? As soon as I know that whatever is being asked of me is the Holy Spirit's doing, am I at rest? Is there no more trouble, no more indecision, no more questioning, even though the inspiration may seem to be going to upset my plans, and may be contrary to all that has hitherto seemed right? It is not necessary to understandGod's dealings with me, but as soon as I know that they are His dealings, it is necessary to co-operate at whatever cost – otherwise there will be trouble in my soul. The co-operation with the work of the Holy Spirit will produce a calm and a peace which no exterior things, however changed they may be, will have the power to disturb.