The uniqueness of Mary according to St.
Maximilian Maria Kolbe
"The Lord God decreed that we should receive everything from God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost— through the Immaculate. This is the unique route for all grace.
In the Old Testament one addressed God directly in fear and trembling. Our Lord Jesus Christ came and taught us to address ourselves to God the Father through His mediation, saying that no one comes to the Father but by Him (Jn. 14: 6). And from that time Holy Church especially emphasizes the honor due to Our Lord Jesus Christ and in all her prayers adds “through Christ our Lord.” Nonetheless, the relation of creatures to God was not yet ideal—creature and Creator, the infinite and the finite. Thus Jesus said to the Apostles: “Now you cannot understand this and you will understand only by the Holy Ghost” (cf. Jn 16:12-13). For far more perfect is the honor given to God through the Holy Ghost, that is, through the Immaculate, His Spouse, whom He penetrates entirely, to the point that He is, as it were, incarnate in her, only they remain two persons and two natures.
The will of the Immaculate is most intimately united to the will of the Holy Ghost in such a way that it is completely identified with it. That is why when we give ourselves to the Immaculate and accomplish her will, by that very fact we give ourselves to Jesus and we accomplish His will— but in the most perfect way that man can ever attain."
"I will say something more, and I will
say it boldly: if we are given up entirely to the
Immaculate, if we constantly strive to be so, then our bad works—although perhaps not done with
bad will, but still bad—she will repair them and even more: She will turn them into a greater good. And she will even work miracles, if it be necessary, because for the Immaculate to work a miracle is not something great. And then our
works and efforts will not be ours but hers, and they will have a value that is not our own but of the Immaculate".
"At any rate, the Immaculate knows everything and directs everything, on condition that we let ourselves be guided perfectly by her".
"Since we have given ourselves to her without limits, therefore she, for her part, leads us."
"If we belong to the Immaculate, then everything we have belongs to her also, and Jesus accepts everything that comes from us as if it came from her, as if it belonged to her. In this case she cannot leave these actions imperfect, but renders them worthy of herself, that is, immaculate, without the least stain..That is why Satan wants absolutely to separate souls from union with the Immaculate, because He knows that a soul who excludes the mediation of the Immaculate offers to Jesus gifts that are so full of imperfections that they are more worthy of chastisement than recompense. And the worst of it is that these gifts are poisoned with pride, because one believes that one has no need of the Immaculate."
#kolbe #mary
Maximilian Maria Kolbe
"The Lord God decreed that we should receive everything from God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost— through the Immaculate. This is the unique route for all grace.
In the Old Testament one addressed God directly in fear and trembling. Our Lord Jesus Christ came and taught us to address ourselves to God the Father through His mediation, saying that no one comes to the Father but by Him (Jn. 14: 6). And from that time Holy Church especially emphasizes the honor due to Our Lord Jesus Christ and in all her prayers adds “through Christ our Lord.” Nonetheless, the relation of creatures to God was not yet ideal—creature and Creator, the infinite and the finite. Thus Jesus said to the Apostles: “Now you cannot understand this and you will understand only by the Holy Ghost” (cf. Jn 16:12-13). For far more perfect is the honor given to God through the Holy Ghost, that is, through the Immaculate, His Spouse, whom He penetrates entirely, to the point that He is, as it were, incarnate in her, only they remain two persons and two natures.
The will of the Immaculate is most intimately united to the will of the Holy Ghost in such a way that it is completely identified with it. That is why when we give ourselves to the Immaculate and accomplish her will, by that very fact we give ourselves to Jesus and we accomplish His will— but in the most perfect way that man can ever attain."
"I will say something more, and I will
say it boldly: if we are given up entirely to the
Immaculate, if we constantly strive to be so, then our bad works—although perhaps not done with
bad will, but still bad—she will repair them and even more: She will turn them into a greater good. And she will even work miracles, if it be necessary, because for the Immaculate to work a miracle is not something great. And then our
works and efforts will not be ours but hers, and they will have a value that is not our own but of the Immaculate".
"At any rate, the Immaculate knows everything and directs everything, on condition that we let ourselves be guided perfectly by her".
"Since we have given ourselves to her without limits, therefore she, for her part, leads us."
"If we belong to the Immaculate, then everything we have belongs to her also, and Jesus accepts everything that comes from us as if it came from her, as if it belonged to her. In this case she cannot leave these actions imperfect, but renders them worthy of herself, that is, immaculate, without the least stain..That is why Satan wants absolutely to separate souls from union with the Immaculate, because He knows that a soul who excludes the mediation of the Immaculate offers to Jesus gifts that are so full of imperfections that they are more worthy of chastisement than recompense. And the worst of it is that these gifts are poisoned with pride, because one believes that one has no need of the Immaculate."
#kolbe #mary
she_leadeth_me_with_cover(1).pdf
751 KB
"She Leadeth Me" (on devotion to Mary)
according to Maximilian Maria Kolbe
"Our dependence on Mary is greater than we can imagine.We receive all graces, absolutely all of them, from God through the Immaculate, who is our universal mediatrix with Jesus."
"When you gird yourself in preparation to read something on the Immaculate, don’t forget that at that moment you are entering into contact with a living being who loves you and who is pure, free from all stain. . She herself will manifest herself through the intermediary of the thoughts you will read and will communicate thoughts, convictions, and sentiments that the author himself was utterly incapable of imagining. "
#kolbe #mary
according to Maximilian Maria Kolbe
"Our dependence on Mary is greater than we can imagine.We receive all graces, absolutely all of them, from God through the Immaculate, who is our universal mediatrix with Jesus."
"When you gird yourself in preparation to read something on the Immaculate, don’t forget that at that moment you are entering into contact with a living being who loves you and who is pure, free from all stain. . She herself will manifest herself through the intermediary of the thoughts you will read and will communicate thoughts, convictions, and sentiments that the author himself was utterly incapable of imagining. "
#kolbe #mary
The Symbol of the Crown in the Reign of Mary
Atila Sinke Guimarães
The Kingdom of Our Lord Jesus Christ over the earth, both in the spiritual and temporal orders, was installed when all the nations of the West recognized Him as King and Lord. This took place in the Middle Ages with the founding of Christendom. The forces of evil – the demon and his followers – strove to destroy this splendid order of things.
It is this effort of the evil that we call the Revolution. The first stages of the Revolution are marked by Humanism and the Renaissance, then by the Protestant Pseudo-Reform, the French Revolution, the Communist Revolution and more recently, by the revolution in customs which have as point of reference the student revolt in the Sorbonne in May of 1968. After these various assaults against Christendom, little remained of the old order of medieval things.
Here, however, we are dealing with restoration. To restore in this context means to carry out the Counter-Revolution. And the Counter-Revolution can be understood as the order counter-attacking the disorder, the good counter-attacking the evil.
For Catholics to destroy the Revolution, it is necessary to know it, to study it, to analyze its weak points and to take the necessary measures to attack it with the strategy proper to the sons of light. For this, it is necessary to be organized and to plan the counter-offensive. This is absolutely indispensable.
However, it is not possible to vanquish the demon and his followers without a devotion to Our Lady that is proportionate to the hatred that the enemies of the Church have for Her and for Our Lord. A love that does not translate into a hatred for the evil is a sentimental love that debilitates and prepares for the defeat. For this reason, St. Louis Grignon de Montfort explains all of History as an unrelenting fight between the race of the serpent and the race of the Virgin. It is the great reality that we have before us.
After the destruction of the Revolution, there will be the installation of the Reign of Mary. However, for the victory of the Counter-Revolution to be complete, it is necessary for something even more splendid than the reality of medieval Christendom to be established throughout the entire world. It will be something more splendid than the Reign of Christ in Christendom; it will be the Reign of Christ through Mary.
The establishment of the Reign of Mary will be the world’s official acknowledgment of Our Lady as Queen of the spiritual order and Queen of the temporal order. I imagine an Ecumenical Council in which the Pope, together with representatives of the temporal order, make a solemn coronation of Mary Most Holy. This act, in my opinion, would symbolize the victory of Our Lady over the devil and his followers, as the fulfillment of the sentence of God against the serpent: “I will place enmities between you and the Woman, between your descendents and Hers … and She will smash your head.”
#mary
Atila Sinke Guimarães
The Kingdom of Our Lord Jesus Christ over the earth, both in the spiritual and temporal orders, was installed when all the nations of the West recognized Him as King and Lord. This took place in the Middle Ages with the founding of Christendom. The forces of evil – the demon and his followers – strove to destroy this splendid order of things.
It is this effort of the evil that we call the Revolution. The first stages of the Revolution are marked by Humanism and the Renaissance, then by the Protestant Pseudo-Reform, the French Revolution, the Communist Revolution and more recently, by the revolution in customs which have as point of reference the student revolt in the Sorbonne in May of 1968. After these various assaults against Christendom, little remained of the old order of medieval things.
Here, however, we are dealing with restoration. To restore in this context means to carry out the Counter-Revolution. And the Counter-Revolution can be understood as the order counter-attacking the disorder, the good counter-attacking the evil.
For Catholics to destroy the Revolution, it is necessary to know it, to study it, to analyze its weak points and to take the necessary measures to attack it with the strategy proper to the sons of light. For this, it is necessary to be organized and to plan the counter-offensive. This is absolutely indispensable.
However, it is not possible to vanquish the demon and his followers without a devotion to Our Lady that is proportionate to the hatred that the enemies of the Church have for Her and for Our Lord. A love that does not translate into a hatred for the evil is a sentimental love that debilitates and prepares for the defeat. For this reason, St. Louis Grignon de Montfort explains all of History as an unrelenting fight between the race of the serpent and the race of the Virgin. It is the great reality that we have before us.
After the destruction of the Revolution, there will be the installation of the Reign of Mary. However, for the victory of the Counter-Revolution to be complete, it is necessary for something even more splendid than the reality of medieval Christendom to be established throughout the entire world. It will be something more splendid than the Reign of Christ in Christendom; it will be the Reign of Christ through Mary.
The establishment of the Reign of Mary will be the world’s official acknowledgment of Our Lady as Queen of the spiritual order and Queen of the temporal order. I imagine an Ecumenical Council in which the Pope, together with representatives of the temporal order, make a solemn coronation of Mary Most Holy. This act, in my opinion, would symbolize the victory of Our Lady over the devil and his followers, as the fulfillment of the sentence of God against the serpent: “I will place enmities between you and the Woman, between your descendents and Hers … and She will smash your head.”
#mary
Ecce Verbum
Immaculate Conception. — THE DOCTRINE. — In the Constitution "Ineffabilis Deus" of 8 December, 1854, Pius IX pronounced and defined that the Blessed Virgin Mary "in the first instance of her conception, by a singular privilege and grace granted by God, in…
The Perpetual Virginity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Church Fathers
The primary purpose of this article will be to show that the doctrine of the perpetual virginity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is consistently and widely taught by the Church Fathers. It has always been taught that Mary was always a Virgin and it has always taught with zeal, as shall become evident. I shall begin first by laying out some testimony from Holy Scripture about the superiority of virginity itself, as this is often questioned by Protestants I myself have come across who cannot understand why it would matter for Mary to be a virgin. I shall follow this up with a citation from St Thomas Aquinas's Summa Theologiae, where he defends the idea that virginity is indeed a virtue. Then we shall come to the main body of the article, wherein I shall provide abundant quotations from the Fathers of the Church affirming the divinely revealed truth that the Virgin Mary is an Ever-Virgin.
https://recta-sapere.blogspot.com/search/label/Mariology?m=0
#mary
The primary purpose of this article will be to show that the doctrine of the perpetual virginity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is consistently and widely taught by the Church Fathers. It has always been taught that Mary was always a Virgin and it has always taught with zeal, as shall become evident. I shall begin first by laying out some testimony from Holy Scripture about the superiority of virginity itself, as this is often questioned by Protestants I myself have come across who cannot understand why it would matter for Mary to be a virgin. I shall follow this up with a citation from St Thomas Aquinas's Summa Theologiae, where he defends the idea that virginity is indeed a virtue. Then we shall come to the main body of the article, wherein I shall provide abundant quotations from the Fathers of the Church affirming the divinely revealed truth that the Virgin Mary is an Ever-Virgin.
https://recta-sapere.blogspot.com/search/label/Mariology?m=0
#mary
Blogspot
Recta Sapere
Neo-Scholastic Philosophy and Theology
Ecce Verbum
Chastisement Sister Elena Aiello This remarkable nun lived in Italy from 1895-1961; her revelations enjoy full Church approval. She was a victim soul, a stigmatist who suffered the bloody sufferings of Our Lord's Passion on the Fridays in Lent from 1923…
"I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel."
Genesis 3:15, DRV
What chastisement more terrible than a hierarchy that has lost its direction! If we can believe Sister Lucy on this: that it is what Our Lady predicted in the third part of the Secret of Fatima: the Church and its hierarchy will undergo a 'diabolic disorientation '( Brother Michael of the Trinity, The Whole Truth on Fatima, Tome III) Yet still, according to Sister Lucy, the crisis corresponds to what the Apocalypse tells us of the combat of the Woman against the Dragon. Now, the Most Holy Virgin assures us that at the end of the struggle, "her Immaculate heart will triumph".
Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, They have uncrowned Him
#mary
Genesis 3:15, DRV
What chastisement more terrible than a hierarchy that has lost its direction! If we can believe Sister Lucy on this: that it is what Our Lady predicted in the third part of the Secret of Fatima: the Church and its hierarchy will undergo a 'diabolic disorientation '( Brother Michael of the Trinity, The Whole Truth on Fatima, Tome III) Yet still, according to Sister Lucy, the crisis corresponds to what the Apocalypse tells us of the combat of the Woman against the Dragon. Now, the Most Holy Virgin assures us that at the end of the struggle, "her Immaculate heart will triumph".
Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, They have uncrowned Him
#mary
Faber_The_foot_of_the_cross.pdf
37.1 MB
"The Foot of the Cross; or the Sorrows of Mary"
By Frederick William Faber
1
I. The Immensity of Our Lady's Dolours
II. Why God permitted Our Lady's Dolours
III. The Fountains of Our Lady's Dolours
IV, The Characteristics of Our Lady's Dolours
V. How Our Lady could rejoice in her Dolours
VI. The way in which the Church puts Our Lady's Dolours before us
VII. The Spirit of Devotion to Our Lady's Dolours
2-8
The Seven Dolours
9
I. The Divine Purpose of Mary's Compassion
II. The Nature of Her Compassion
III. The Actual Effects of Her Compassion
IV. Our Compassion with Her Compassion
V.-The Passion and Compassion Compared
VI. The seeming excess of the Compassion
VII. The measures of Mary's Compassion
#mary
By Frederick William Faber
1
I. The Immensity of Our Lady's Dolours
II. Why God permitted Our Lady's Dolours
III. The Fountains of Our Lady's Dolours
IV, The Characteristics of Our Lady's Dolours
V. How Our Lady could rejoice in her Dolours
VI. The way in which the Church puts Our Lady's Dolours before us
VII. The Spirit of Devotion to Our Lady's Dolours
2-8
The Seven Dolours
9
I. The Divine Purpose of Mary's Compassion
II. The Nature of Her Compassion
III. The Actual Effects of Her Compassion
IV. Our Compassion with Her Compassion
V.-The Passion and Compassion Compared
VI. The seeming excess of the Compassion
VII. The measures of Mary's Compassion
#mary
Ecce Verbum
Act of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary for purity Oh, Immaculate Heart of Mary, Virgin Most Pure, mindful of the terrible moral dangers threatening on all sides, and aware of my own human weakness, I voluntarily place myself, body and soul, this…
Mary’s Purity and Sinlessness
•Andrew of Crete
Today humanity, in all the radiance of her immaculate nobility, receives its ancient beauty. The shame of sin had darkened the splendour and attraction of human nature; but when the Mother of the Fair One par excellence is born, this nature regains in her person its ancient privileges and is fashioned according to a perfect model truly worthy of God.. The reform of our nature begins today and the aged world, subjected to a wholly divine transformation, receives the first fruits of the second creation. (Homily 1 on Mary’s Nativity; O’Carroll, 180) [LATE 600S]… alone wholly without stain… (Canon for the Conception of Anne; Graef, 152)
•The Protoevangelium of James
And Anna made a song to the Lord God, saying: I will sing a song to the Lord my God, for He has looked upon me, and has taken away the reproach of mine enemies; and the Lord has given the fruit of His righteousness, singular in its kind, and richly endowed before Him.
[A.D. 150]).
(Here Mary is called the fruit of justification, with the utilization of the Greek word Dikaiousune.)
•Hippolytus of Rome
At that time, then, the Saviour appeared and showed His own body to the world, (born) of the Virgin, who was the “ark overlaid with pure gold,” with the Word within and the Holy Spirit without; so that the truth is demonstrated, and the “ark” made manifest.”
Commentary on Psalm XXIII (ante A.D. 235)
•Gregory the Wonderworker
The Holy Virgin is herself both an honorable temple of God and a shrine made pure, and a golden altar of whole burnt offerings. By reason of her surpassing purity, she is the Divine incense of oblation, and oil of holy grace, and a precious vase bearing it itself the true nard, the priestly diadem, revealing the good pleasure of God, whom she alone approaches holy in body and soul. She is the door which looks eastward. The fertile olive from which the Holy Spirit took the fleshly twig of the Lord and saved the suffering race of men. She is the boast of virgins, and the joy of mothers, the declaration of archangels, even as it was spoken: “Be thou glad and rejoice, the Lord with thee”, and again, “From thee” in order that he may make new once more the dead through sin.
New radiance now of eternal light gleams forth for us in the inspired fitness (or harmony) of these words. Now is it meet and fitting for me to wonder after the manner of the Holy Virgin, to whom in seemly wise before all things the angel gave salutation thus: “Be thou glad and rejoice”; because with her are quickened and live, all the treasures of grace. Among all nations she alone was both virgin and mother and without knowledge of man, holy in body and soul. Among all nations she alone was made worthy to bring forth God; alone she carried in her Him who carries along all by His word. (Concerning the Holy Mother of God, ever-virgin [A.D. 240])
•Ephraim the Syrian
“You alone and your Mother are more beautiful than any others, for there is no blemish in you nor any stains upon your Mother. Who of my children can compare in beauty to these?”
(Nisibene Hymns 27:8 [A.D. 361]).
•Epiphanius of Salamis
“How will holy Mary not possess the kingdom of heaven with her flesh, since she was not unchaste, nor dissolute, nor did she ever commit adultery, and since she never did anything wrong as far as fleshly actions are concerned, but remained stainless?”
(Panarion haer 42:12; PG 41:777B)
“Mary, the holy Virgin, is truly great before God and men. For how shall we not proclaim her great, who held within her the uncontainable One, whom neither heaven nor earth can contain?”
(ibid 30:31; PG 41:460C)
“Whoever honors the Lord also honors the holy [vessel]; who instead dishonors the holy vessel also dishonors his Master. Mary herself is that holy Virgin, that is, the holy vessel.”
(ibid 78:21; PG 42:733A) [300s]
#mary
•Andrew of Crete
Today humanity, in all the radiance of her immaculate nobility, receives its ancient beauty. The shame of sin had darkened the splendour and attraction of human nature; but when the Mother of the Fair One par excellence is born, this nature regains in her person its ancient privileges and is fashioned according to a perfect model truly worthy of God.. The reform of our nature begins today and the aged world, subjected to a wholly divine transformation, receives the first fruits of the second creation. (Homily 1 on Mary’s Nativity; O’Carroll, 180) [LATE 600S]… alone wholly without stain… (Canon for the Conception of Anne; Graef, 152)
•The Protoevangelium of James
And Anna made a song to the Lord God, saying: I will sing a song to the Lord my God, for He has looked upon me, and has taken away the reproach of mine enemies; and the Lord has given the fruit of His righteousness, singular in its kind, and richly endowed before Him.
[A.D. 150]).
(Here Mary is called the fruit of justification, with the utilization of the Greek word Dikaiousune.)
•Hippolytus of Rome
At that time, then, the Saviour appeared and showed His own body to the world, (born) of the Virgin, who was the “ark overlaid with pure gold,” with the Word within and the Holy Spirit without; so that the truth is demonstrated, and the “ark” made manifest.”
Commentary on Psalm XXIII (ante A.D. 235)
•Gregory the Wonderworker
The Holy Virgin is herself both an honorable temple of God and a shrine made pure, and a golden altar of whole burnt offerings. By reason of her surpassing purity, she is the Divine incense of oblation, and oil of holy grace, and a precious vase bearing it itself the true nard, the priestly diadem, revealing the good pleasure of God, whom she alone approaches holy in body and soul. She is the door which looks eastward. The fertile olive from which the Holy Spirit took the fleshly twig of the Lord and saved the suffering race of men. She is the boast of virgins, and the joy of mothers, the declaration of archangels, even as it was spoken: “Be thou glad and rejoice, the Lord with thee”, and again, “From thee” in order that he may make new once more the dead through sin.
New radiance now of eternal light gleams forth for us in the inspired fitness (or harmony) of these words. Now is it meet and fitting for me to wonder after the manner of the Holy Virgin, to whom in seemly wise before all things the angel gave salutation thus: “Be thou glad and rejoice”; because with her are quickened and live, all the treasures of grace. Among all nations she alone was both virgin and mother and without knowledge of man, holy in body and soul. Among all nations she alone was made worthy to bring forth God; alone she carried in her Him who carries along all by His word. (Concerning the Holy Mother of God, ever-virgin [A.D. 240])
•Ephraim the Syrian
“You alone and your Mother are more beautiful than any others, for there is no blemish in you nor any stains upon your Mother. Who of my children can compare in beauty to these?”
(Nisibene Hymns 27:8 [A.D. 361]).
•Epiphanius of Salamis
“How will holy Mary not possess the kingdom of heaven with her flesh, since she was not unchaste, nor dissolute, nor did she ever commit adultery, and since she never did anything wrong as far as fleshly actions are concerned, but remained stainless?”
(Panarion haer 42:12; PG 41:777B)
“Mary, the holy Virgin, is truly great before God and men. For how shall we not proclaim her great, who held within her the uncontainable One, whom neither heaven nor earth can contain?”
(ibid 30:31; PG 41:460C)
“Whoever honors the Lord also honors the holy [vessel]; who instead dishonors the holy vessel also dishonors his Master. Mary herself is that holy Virgin, that is, the holy vessel.”
(ibid 78:21; PG 42:733A) [300s]
#mary
Ecce Verbum
Mary’s Purity and Sinlessness •Andrew of Crete Today humanity, in all the radiance of her immaculate nobility, receives its ancient beauty. The shame of sin had darkened the splendour and attraction of human nature; but when the Mother of the Fair One par…
Mary’s Purity and Sinlessness
2.
•Ambrose of Milan
“Come, then, and search out your sheep, not through your servants or hired men, but do it yourself. Lift me up bodily and in the flesh, which is fallen in Adam. Lift me up not from Sarah but from Mary, a virgin not only undefiled, but a virgin whom grace had made inviolate, free of every stain of sin”
(Commentary on Psalm 118:22–30 [A.D. 387]).
“The first thing which kindles ardor in learning is the greatness of the teacher. What is greater [to teach by example] than the Mother of God? What more glorious than she whom Glory Itself chose? What more chaste than she who bore a body without contact with another body? For why should I speak of her other virtues? She was a virgin not only in body but also in mind, who stained the sincerity of its disposition by no guile, who was humble in heart, grave in speech, prudent in mind, sparing of words, studious in reading, resting her hope not on uncertain riches, but on the prayer of the poor, intent on work, modest in discourse; wont to seek not man but God as the judge of her thoughts, to injure no one, to have goodwill towards all, to rise up before her elders, not to envy her equals, to avoid boastfulness, to follow reason, to love virtue."
(ibid., 2:2:7).
•Augustine
“Our Lord… was not averse to males, for he took the form of a male, nor to females, for of a female he was born. Besides, there is a great mystery here: that just as death comes to us through a woman, life is born to us through a woman; that the devil, defeated, would be tormented by each nature, feminine and masculine, as he had taken delight in the defection of both”
(Christian Combat 22:24 [A.D. 396]).
“That one woman is both mother and virgin, not in spirit only but even in body. In spirit she is mother, not of our head, who is our Savior himself—of whom all, even she herself, are rightly called children of the bridegroom—but plainly she is the mother of us who are his members, because by love she has cooperated so that the faithful, who are the members of that head, might be born in the Church. In body, indeed, she is the Mother of that very head”
(Holy Virginity 6:6 [A.D. 401])
“Having excepted the holy Virgin Mary, concerning whom, on account of the honor of the Lord, I wish to have absolutely no question when treating of sins—for how do we know what abundance of grace for the total overcoming of sin was conferred upon her, who merited to conceive and bear him in whom there was no sin?—so, I say, with the exception of the Virgin, if we could have gathered together all those holy men and women, when they were living here, and had asked them whether they were without sin, what do we suppose would have been their answer?”
(Nature and Grace 36:42 [A.D. 415]).
•Jerome
‘There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a flower shall grow out of his roots.’ The rod is the mother of the Lord–simple, pure, unsullied; drawing no germ of life from without but fruitful in singleness like God Himself… Set before you the blessed Mary, whose surpassing purity made her meet to be the mother of the Lord. (Letter XXII. To Eustochium, 19, 38; NPNF 2, Vol. VI, 29, 39; cf. Gambero, p. 213: “whose purity was so great that she merited to be the Mother of the Lord”)
•Timothy of Jerusalem
“Therefore the Virgin is immortal to this day, seeing that he who had dwelt in her transported her to the regions of her assumption”
(Homily on Simeon and Anna [A.D. 400]).
•John the Theologian
“The Lord said to his Mother, ‘Let your heart rejoice and be glad, for every favor and every gift has been given to you from my Father in heaven and from me and from the Holy Spirit. Every soul that calls upon your name shall not be ashamed, but shall find mercy and comfort and support and confidence, both in the world that now is and in that which is to come, in the presence of my Father in the heavens’” (The Falling Asleep of Mary [A.D. 400]).
“And from that time forth all knew that the spotless and precious body had been transferred to paradise” (ibid.).
#mary
2.
•Ambrose of Milan
“Come, then, and search out your sheep, not through your servants or hired men, but do it yourself. Lift me up bodily and in the flesh, which is fallen in Adam. Lift me up not from Sarah but from Mary, a virgin not only undefiled, but a virgin whom grace had made inviolate, free of every stain of sin”
(Commentary on Psalm 118:22–30 [A.D. 387]).
“The first thing which kindles ardor in learning is the greatness of the teacher. What is greater [to teach by example] than the Mother of God? What more glorious than she whom Glory Itself chose? What more chaste than she who bore a body without contact with another body? For why should I speak of her other virtues? She was a virgin not only in body but also in mind, who stained the sincerity of its disposition by no guile, who was humble in heart, grave in speech, prudent in mind, sparing of words, studious in reading, resting her hope not on uncertain riches, but on the prayer of the poor, intent on work, modest in discourse; wont to seek not man but God as the judge of her thoughts, to injure no one, to have goodwill towards all, to rise up before her elders, not to envy her equals, to avoid boastfulness, to follow reason, to love virtue."
(ibid., 2:2:7).
•Augustine
“Our Lord… was not averse to males, for he took the form of a male, nor to females, for of a female he was born. Besides, there is a great mystery here: that just as death comes to us through a woman, life is born to us through a woman; that the devil, defeated, would be tormented by each nature, feminine and masculine, as he had taken delight in the defection of both”
(Christian Combat 22:24 [A.D. 396]).
“That one woman is both mother and virgin, not in spirit only but even in body. In spirit she is mother, not of our head, who is our Savior himself—of whom all, even she herself, are rightly called children of the bridegroom—but plainly she is the mother of us who are his members, because by love she has cooperated so that the faithful, who are the members of that head, might be born in the Church. In body, indeed, she is the Mother of that very head”
(Holy Virginity 6:6 [A.D. 401])
“Having excepted the holy Virgin Mary, concerning whom, on account of the honor of the Lord, I wish to have absolutely no question when treating of sins—for how do we know what abundance of grace for the total overcoming of sin was conferred upon her, who merited to conceive and bear him in whom there was no sin?—so, I say, with the exception of the Virgin, if we could have gathered together all those holy men and women, when they were living here, and had asked them whether they were without sin, what do we suppose would have been their answer?”
(Nature and Grace 36:42 [A.D. 415]).
•Jerome
‘There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a flower shall grow out of his roots.’ The rod is the mother of the Lord–simple, pure, unsullied; drawing no germ of life from without but fruitful in singleness like God Himself… Set before you the blessed Mary, whose surpassing purity made her meet to be the mother of the Lord. (Letter XXII. To Eustochium, 19, 38; NPNF 2, Vol. VI, 29, 39; cf. Gambero, p. 213: “whose purity was so great that she merited to be the Mother of the Lord”)
•Timothy of Jerusalem
“Therefore the Virgin is immortal to this day, seeing that he who had dwelt in her transported her to the regions of her assumption”
(Homily on Simeon and Anna [A.D. 400]).
•John the Theologian
“The Lord said to his Mother, ‘Let your heart rejoice and be glad, for every favor and every gift has been given to you from my Father in heaven and from me and from the Holy Spirit. Every soul that calls upon your name shall not be ashamed, but shall find mercy and comfort and support and confidence, both in the world that now is and in that which is to come, in the presence of my Father in the heavens’” (The Falling Asleep of Mary [A.D. 400]).
“And from that time forth all knew that the spotless and precious body had been transferred to paradise” (ibid.).
#mary
Ecce Verbum
Mary’s Purity and Sinlessness 2. •Ambrose of Milan “Come, then, and search out your sheep, not through your servants or hired men, but do it yourself. Lift me up bodily and in the flesh, which is fallen in Adam. Lift me up not from Sarah but from Mary,…
Mary’s Purity and Sinlessness
3.
•Cyril of Alexandria
Hail, Mary Theotokos, Virgin-Mother, lightbearer, uncorrupt vessel. For you conceived without seed and gave birth divinely… Hail, Mary, you are the most precious creature in the whole world; hail, Mary, uncorrupt dove; hail, Mary, inextinguishable lamp; for from you was born the Sun of justice. Homily 11 [400s]
•Theodotus of Ancrya (d. 445)
Hail, O rejoicing of the churches;
Hail, unstained Mother of holiness;
Hail, ineffable Mother of a mystery beyond understanding;
Hail, best trader of the coin of virginity;
Hail, creature embracing your Creator;
Hail, little container containing the Uncontainable.”
(Theodotus, Homily 4:3; PG 77:1391B-C; Gambero, page 267-8)
“What did the divine messenger do then? Perceiving the Virgin’s interior dispositions and perspicacity in her outward appearance and admiring her just prudence, he began to weave her a kind of floral crown with two peaks: one of joy and one of blessing; then he addressed her in a thrilling speech of praise, lifting up his hand and crying out: ‘Hail, O full of grace, the Lord is with you, you are blessed’ (Lk 1:28), O most beautiful and most noble among women. The Lord is with you, O all-holy one, glorious and good. The Lord is with you, O worthy of praise, O incomparable, O more than glorious, all splendor, worthy of God, worthy of all blessedness..Through you, Eve’s odious condition is ended; through you, abjection has been destroyed; through you, error is dissolved; through you, sorrow is abolished; through you, condemnation has been erased. Through you, Eve has been redeemed. He who is born of the holy [Virgin] is holy, holy and Lord of all the saints, holy and Giver of holiness. Wondrous is he who generated the Woman of wonder; Ineffable is he who precedes the Woman beyond words; Son of the Most High is he who springs from this highest creature, he who appears, not by man’s willing it, but by the power of the Holy Spirit; he who is born is not a mere man, but God, the incarnate Word.”
(Theodotus, On the Mother of God and on the Nativity; Patrologia orientalis 19:330-1; Gambero, page 271)
"Even before the Nativity, she was consecrated to the Creator…"
(Theodotus, Hom 6:11; Gambero, page 268)
•Proclus of Constantinople (d. 446)
“Thanks to her all women are blessed. It is not possible that woman should remain under her curse; to the contrary, she now has a reason to surpass even the glory of the angels. Eve has been healed… Today, a list of women is admired [Sarah, Rebekah, Leah, Deborah, etc.]… Elizabeth is called blessed for having carried the Forerunner, who leapt for joy in her womb, and for having giving witness to grace; Mary is venerated, because she became the Mother, the cloud, the bridal chamber, and the Ark of the Lord.”
(Proclus, Homily 5:3; PG 65:720B; Gambero, page 256)
Count, then, the portents, and wonder at the superiority of the Virgin: she alone, in a way beyond words, received into her bridal chamber him before whom all creation kneels with fear and trembling.”
(Proclus, Homily 5:2; PG 65:717C-720A; Gambero, page 251)
•Leo the Great
For the uncorrupt nature of Him that was born had to guard the primal virginity of the Mother, and the infused power of the Divine Spirit had to preserve in spotlessness and holiness that sanctuary which He had chosen for Himself…
(Sermon XXII: On the Feast of the Nativity, Part II; NPNF 2, Vol. XII) [400s]
•Sophronius of Jerusalem
Others before you have flourished with outstanding holiness. But to none as to you has the fullness of grace been given. None has been endowed with happiness as you, none adorned with holiness like yours, none brought to such great magnificence as yours; no one was ever possessed beforehand by purifying grace as were you ..And this deservedly, for no one came as close to God as you did; no one was enriched with God’s gifts as you were; no one shared God’s grace as you did.
(In SS Deip. Annunt. 22; O’Carroll, 329) [600s]
#mary
3.
•Cyril of Alexandria
Hail, Mary Theotokos, Virgin-Mother, lightbearer, uncorrupt vessel. For you conceived without seed and gave birth divinely… Hail, Mary, you are the most precious creature in the whole world; hail, Mary, uncorrupt dove; hail, Mary, inextinguishable lamp; for from you was born the Sun of justice. Homily 11 [400s]
•Theodotus of Ancrya (d. 445)
Hail, O rejoicing of the churches;
Hail, unstained Mother of holiness;
Hail, ineffable Mother of a mystery beyond understanding;
Hail, best trader of the coin of virginity;
Hail, creature embracing your Creator;
Hail, little container containing the Uncontainable.”
(Theodotus, Homily 4:3; PG 77:1391B-C; Gambero, page 267-8)
“What did the divine messenger do then? Perceiving the Virgin’s interior dispositions and perspicacity in her outward appearance and admiring her just prudence, he began to weave her a kind of floral crown with two peaks: one of joy and one of blessing; then he addressed her in a thrilling speech of praise, lifting up his hand and crying out: ‘Hail, O full of grace, the Lord is with you, you are blessed’ (Lk 1:28), O most beautiful and most noble among women. The Lord is with you, O all-holy one, glorious and good. The Lord is with you, O worthy of praise, O incomparable, O more than glorious, all splendor, worthy of God, worthy of all blessedness..Through you, Eve’s odious condition is ended; through you, abjection has been destroyed; through you, error is dissolved; through you, sorrow is abolished; through you, condemnation has been erased. Through you, Eve has been redeemed. He who is born of the holy [Virgin] is holy, holy and Lord of all the saints, holy and Giver of holiness. Wondrous is he who generated the Woman of wonder; Ineffable is he who precedes the Woman beyond words; Son of the Most High is he who springs from this highest creature, he who appears, not by man’s willing it, but by the power of the Holy Spirit; he who is born is not a mere man, but God, the incarnate Word.”
(Theodotus, On the Mother of God and on the Nativity; Patrologia orientalis 19:330-1; Gambero, page 271)
"Even before the Nativity, she was consecrated to the Creator…"
(Theodotus, Hom 6:11; Gambero, page 268)
•Proclus of Constantinople (d. 446)
“Thanks to her all women are blessed. It is not possible that woman should remain under her curse; to the contrary, she now has a reason to surpass even the glory of the angels. Eve has been healed… Today, a list of women is admired [Sarah, Rebekah, Leah, Deborah, etc.]… Elizabeth is called blessed for having carried the Forerunner, who leapt for joy in her womb, and for having giving witness to grace; Mary is venerated, because she became the Mother, the cloud, the bridal chamber, and the Ark of the Lord.”
(Proclus, Homily 5:3; PG 65:720B; Gambero, page 256)
Count, then, the portents, and wonder at the superiority of the Virgin: she alone, in a way beyond words, received into her bridal chamber him before whom all creation kneels with fear and trembling.”
(Proclus, Homily 5:2; PG 65:717C-720A; Gambero, page 251)
•Leo the Great
For the uncorrupt nature of Him that was born had to guard the primal virginity of the Mother, and the infused power of the Divine Spirit had to preserve in spotlessness and holiness that sanctuary which He had chosen for Himself…
(Sermon XXII: On the Feast of the Nativity, Part II; NPNF 2, Vol. XII) [400s]
•Sophronius of Jerusalem
Others before you have flourished with outstanding holiness. But to none as to you has the fullness of grace been given. None has been endowed with happiness as you, none adorned with holiness like yours, none brought to such great magnificence as yours; no one was ever possessed beforehand by purifying grace as were you ..And this deservedly, for no one came as close to God as you did; no one was enriched with God’s gifts as you were; no one shared God’s grace as you did.
(In SS Deip. Annunt. 22; O’Carroll, 329) [600s]
#mary
Ecce Verbum
Mary’s Purity and Sinlessness 3. •Cyril of Alexandria Hail, Mary Theotokos, Virgin-Mother, lightbearer, uncorrupt vessel. For you conceived without seed and gave birth divinely… Hail, Mary, you are the most precious creature in the whole world; hail, Mary…
Mary’s Purity and Sinlessness
4.
•Gregory of Tours
“The course of this life having been completed by blessed Mary, when now she would be called from the world, all the apostles came together from their various regions to her house. And when they had heard that she was about to be taken from the world, they kept watch together with her. And behold, the Lord Jesus came with his angels, and, taking her soul, he gave it over to the angel Michael and withdrew. At daybreak, however, the apostles took up her body on a bier and placed it in a tomb, and they guarded it, expecting the Lord to come. And behold, again the Lord stood by them; the holy body having been received, he commanded that it be taken in a cloud into paradise, where now, rejoined to the soul, [Mary’s body] rejoices with the Lord’s chosen ones and is in the enjoyment of the good of an eternity that will never end”
(Eight Books of Miracles 1:4 [A.D. 584]).
“But Mary, the glorious Mother of Christ, who is believed to be a virgin both before and after she bore him, has, as we said above, been translated into paradise, amid the singing of the angelic choirs, whither the Lord preceded her”
(ibid., 1:8).
•Basil of Seleucia
“He who would exalt the Holy Virgin and Mother of God, will find a most ample subject for his praises..only those who have been intimately illuminated by the light of Divine Grace can worthily accord the praises which are due to the Mother of God..What fear ought to encompass me then, when I undertake to offer praise to the Mother of God; lest, through some indiscretion, I should utter words unsuited to her dignity…
“… the great mystery of the Mother of God transcends both speech and reason. When then I speak of the Mother of God incarnate, I will ascend to God by the help of prayer, and will seek Him for the guide of my speech, and will say to Him: O Lord Omnipotent, King of the whole creation, who, in an incomprehensible manner, dost infuse Thy spiritual light into incorporeal minds, illuminate my mind, that the subject set before me may be understood without error, may, when understood, be spoken with piety, and when spoken, may be received without hesitation…From what flowers of praise shall we cull a garland worthy of her? From her sprang the flower of Jesse; she clothed our race with glory and with honor. What encomiums can we offer her as she deserves, when everything of this world is beneath her merits? For if St. Paul pronounced these words of the other saints, that the world was not worthy of them, what shall we say of the mother of God, who shone with as great a splendor above the martyrs, as does the sun above the stars?
“It is clearly fitting we should greet her with these words of Solomon: ‘Many daughters have wrought virtue, but thou hast risen above them all.‘ O Sacred Virgin, well may the angels exult through thee, destined as they are to the service of men, from whom, in former times, they turned away. And let Gabriel now rejoice, for to him is intrusted the message of the Divine Conception, and he stands before the Virgin in great honor. Wherefore, in joy and grace he auspiciously begins the message: ‘Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.‘
“Hail, full of grace. Let thy face be joyful. For from thee shall the joy of all be born; and He shall take away their ancient execration, dissolve the empire of death, and give to all the hope of resurrection. Hail, full of grace. Most flourishing paradise of chastity; in which is planted the tree of life which shall produce for all the fruits of salvation; and from which the fountain of the gospels shall stream to all believers, in floods of mercy from their fourfold source and spring. Hail, full of grace. Mediatrix of God and men, through whom the middle wall of enmity is cleared away, and earthly things conjoined with those of heaven.
#mary
4.
•Gregory of Tours
“The course of this life having been completed by blessed Mary, when now she would be called from the world, all the apostles came together from their various regions to her house. And when they had heard that she was about to be taken from the world, they kept watch together with her. And behold, the Lord Jesus came with his angels, and, taking her soul, he gave it over to the angel Michael and withdrew. At daybreak, however, the apostles took up her body on a bier and placed it in a tomb, and they guarded it, expecting the Lord to come. And behold, again the Lord stood by them; the holy body having been received, he commanded that it be taken in a cloud into paradise, where now, rejoined to the soul, [Mary’s body] rejoices with the Lord’s chosen ones and is in the enjoyment of the good of an eternity that will never end”
(Eight Books of Miracles 1:4 [A.D. 584]).
“But Mary, the glorious Mother of Christ, who is believed to be a virgin both before and after she bore him, has, as we said above, been translated into paradise, amid the singing of the angelic choirs, whither the Lord preceded her”
(ibid., 1:8).
•Basil of Seleucia
“He who would exalt the Holy Virgin and Mother of God, will find a most ample subject for his praises..only those who have been intimately illuminated by the light of Divine Grace can worthily accord the praises which are due to the Mother of God..What fear ought to encompass me then, when I undertake to offer praise to the Mother of God; lest, through some indiscretion, I should utter words unsuited to her dignity…
“… the great mystery of the Mother of God transcends both speech and reason. When then I speak of the Mother of God incarnate, I will ascend to God by the help of prayer, and will seek Him for the guide of my speech, and will say to Him: O Lord Omnipotent, King of the whole creation, who, in an incomprehensible manner, dost infuse Thy spiritual light into incorporeal minds, illuminate my mind, that the subject set before me may be understood without error, may, when understood, be spoken with piety, and when spoken, may be received without hesitation…From what flowers of praise shall we cull a garland worthy of her? From her sprang the flower of Jesse; she clothed our race with glory and with honor. What encomiums can we offer her as she deserves, when everything of this world is beneath her merits? For if St. Paul pronounced these words of the other saints, that the world was not worthy of them, what shall we say of the mother of God, who shone with as great a splendor above the martyrs, as does the sun above the stars?
“It is clearly fitting we should greet her with these words of Solomon: ‘Many daughters have wrought virtue, but thou hast risen above them all.‘ O Sacred Virgin, well may the angels exult through thee, destined as they are to the service of men, from whom, in former times, they turned away. And let Gabriel now rejoice, for to him is intrusted the message of the Divine Conception, and he stands before the Virgin in great honor. Wherefore, in joy and grace he auspiciously begins the message: ‘Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.‘
“Hail, full of grace. Let thy face be joyful. For from thee shall the joy of all be born; and He shall take away their ancient execration, dissolve the empire of death, and give to all the hope of resurrection. Hail, full of grace. Most flourishing paradise of chastity; in which is planted the tree of life which shall produce for all the fruits of salvation; and from which the fountain of the gospels shall stream to all believers, in floods of mercy from their fourfold source and spring. Hail, full of grace. Mediatrix of God and men, through whom the middle wall of enmity is cleared away, and earthly things conjoined with those of heaven.
#mary
Ecce Verbum
Mary’s Purity and Sinlessness 4. •Gregory of Tours “The course of this life having been completed by blessed Mary, when now she would be called from the world, all the apostles came together from their various regions to her house. And when they had heard…
•Basil of Seleucia
“The Lord is with thee. For thou art a temple truly worthy of God, and odoriferous with the aromatics of chastity. In thee shall dwell the great High Priest, who, according to the order of Melchisedec, is without father and mother — of God without mother, of thee without father…And the most Holy Mother of the Lord of all, the true Mother of God, pondering these things in her heart, as it is written, inbibed full draughts of joy within her, and as the greatness of her Son and her God revealed itself more and more to the eyes of her soul, her awe increased with her delight.
“See what a mystery is wrought in her, how it passes both thought and speech. Who then will not admire the vast power of the Mother of God? Who will not see how far she is lifted above the saints? For if God gave to His servants a grace so great, that by their very touch they healed the sick, and the mere casting of their shadows across the street could do the same thing; if Peter, I say, with his shadow, could heal the infirm; and if when men took the handkerchief which wiped the perspiration from Paul, they drove the devils away with it, how much power, think you, did He give His Mother?
“But if to the saints He has granted to do things so wonderful as these, what has He given to His Mother for her nursing? With what gifts has He adorned her? If Peter is called blessed, and the keys of heaven are entrusted to him, because he called Christ the Son of the living God, how must she not be more blessed than all, who deserved to hear Him whom Peter confessed? And if Paul is called a vessel of election, because he carried the august name of Christ over the earth, what vessel is the Mother of God, who did not merely contain the manna, like the golden urn, but who in her womb bore that bread — that heavenly bread, which is the nourishment and strength of the faithful?
“But I fear, lest, whilst prepared to say more concerning her, I should say little that is worthy of her dignity, and bring the more shame upon myself. Wherefore I draw in the sail of my discourse, and retire into the harbor of silence.”
(Basil of Seleucia, Orat in S. Dei Gentricem, Combefis; Ullathorne, The Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God, page 14-18) [400s]
*Quotes summed up:
•Lifted above all Saints
•If God gave the Apostles the grace to cast the devils away, how much more power did He give His Immaculate Mother?
•Mediatrix of God and men, through whom the middle wall of enmity is cleared away, and earthly things conjoined with those of heaven.
• The great mystery of the Mother of God transcends both speech and reason.
•Worthy of praises and deserves to be venerated. Whoever honors the Lord also honors His Mother as His Creation.
•Taken to Heaven, soul and body.
•Chosen by God and preserved from all sin.
•Thanks to Her all women are blessed, as She reformed the nature of women, just as Christ reformed the nature of men.
•Mother of the Church of Christ
#mary
“The Lord is with thee. For thou art a temple truly worthy of God, and odoriferous with the aromatics of chastity. In thee shall dwell the great High Priest, who, according to the order of Melchisedec, is without father and mother — of God without mother, of thee without father…And the most Holy Mother of the Lord of all, the true Mother of God, pondering these things in her heart, as it is written, inbibed full draughts of joy within her, and as the greatness of her Son and her God revealed itself more and more to the eyes of her soul, her awe increased with her delight.
“See what a mystery is wrought in her, how it passes both thought and speech. Who then will not admire the vast power of the Mother of God? Who will not see how far she is lifted above the saints? For if God gave to His servants a grace so great, that by their very touch they healed the sick, and the mere casting of their shadows across the street could do the same thing; if Peter, I say, with his shadow, could heal the infirm; and if when men took the handkerchief which wiped the perspiration from Paul, they drove the devils away with it, how much power, think you, did He give His Mother?
“But if to the saints He has granted to do things so wonderful as these, what has He given to His Mother for her nursing? With what gifts has He adorned her? If Peter is called blessed, and the keys of heaven are entrusted to him, because he called Christ the Son of the living God, how must she not be more blessed than all, who deserved to hear Him whom Peter confessed? And if Paul is called a vessel of election, because he carried the august name of Christ over the earth, what vessel is the Mother of God, who did not merely contain the manna, like the golden urn, but who in her womb bore that bread — that heavenly bread, which is the nourishment and strength of the faithful?
“But I fear, lest, whilst prepared to say more concerning her, I should say little that is worthy of her dignity, and bring the more shame upon myself. Wherefore I draw in the sail of my discourse, and retire into the harbor of silence.”
(Basil of Seleucia, Orat in S. Dei Gentricem, Combefis; Ullathorne, The Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God, page 14-18) [400s]
*Quotes summed up:
•Lifted above all Saints
•If God gave the Apostles the grace to cast the devils away, how much more power did He give His Immaculate Mother?
•Mediatrix of God and men, through whom the middle wall of enmity is cleared away, and earthly things conjoined with those of heaven.
• The great mystery of the Mother of God transcends both speech and reason.
•Worthy of praises and deserves to be venerated. Whoever honors the Lord also honors His Mother as His Creation.
•Taken to Heaven, soul and body.
•Chosen by God and preserved from all sin.
•Thanks to Her all women are blessed, as She reformed the nature of women, just as Christ reformed the nature of men.
•Mother of the Church of Christ
#mary
Ecce Verbum
Mary's Charity Towards Her Neighbor Saint Alphonsus Liguori Love towards God and love towards our neighbor are commanded by the same precept: And this commandment we have from God, that he who loveth God love also his brother. [1 John 4:21] St. Thomas [2.…
glories_of_mary.pdf
530.8 KB
St. Alphonsus Liguori, The Glories of Mary
The Glories of Mary, widely regarded as Saint Alphonsus Liguori's finest masterpiece, has for two and a half centuries stood as one of the Catholic Church's greatest expressions of devotion to the Blessed Virgin. Written as a defense of Our Lady at a time when Jansenistic writers were ridiculing Marian devotion, this classic work combines numerous citations from the Fathers and Doctors of the Church with Saint Alphonsus' intense personal piety to produce a timeless treasury of teachings, prayers, and practices.
#mary
The Glories of Mary, widely regarded as Saint Alphonsus Liguori's finest masterpiece, has for two and a half centuries stood as one of the Catholic Church's greatest expressions of devotion to the Blessed Virgin. Written as a defense of Our Lady at a time when Jansenistic writers were ridiculing Marian devotion, this classic work combines numerous citations from the Fathers and Doctors of the Church with Saint Alphonsus' intense personal piety to produce a timeless treasury of teachings, prayers, and practices.
#mary
Ecce Verbum
Dogmatic Letter of St. Sophronius on the Incarnation (After the Synod of Jerusalem in 634, St. Sophronius, the patriarch of the city, sent a long letter in the form of a profession of faith to Sergius, the patriarch of Constantinople. The authority of this…
Why should we call Mary the “mother of God” instead of just the “mother of Jesus”?
Dr. Timothy Pawl
In the history of the church, there have been some claims that have been theological lightning rods. They took on great importance as tools for demarcating the limits of orthodoxy. For instance, at the first ecumenical council of Nicaea in 325, the promulgated creed included a final anathema which cursed those who, among other things, thought that “there once was [a time] when he [the Son] was not” (Tanner 1990, 5). This sentence, contrary to the full divinity of the Son, was affirmed by the Arian party; the orthodox bishops made use of it to counter Arianism.
So likewise, Nestorius, Archbishop of Constantinople, claimed that while Mary bore the Christ in her womb, she didn’t bear God in her womb – that is, she was not the theotokos – i.e., the Godbearer. At the ecumenical council of Ephesus in 431, the promulgated documents include the claim that Mary is the theotokos. This claim, affirming the singularity of person in the incarnation, was denied by the Nestorian party; the orthodox bishops made use of it to counter Nestorianism.
Why is this affirmation of the singularity of person important? Well, it safeguards the claim that it was really someone divine who became incarnate, really someone divine who entered creation for our redemption, really someone divine who suffered the ignobility of the cross.
Finally, the claim that Mary bore God follows straightforwardly from the orthodox understanding of the incarnation. Not only is it affirmed in the ecumenical councils, as I noted above. One can see how the claim must be included, given the traditional understanding of the incarnation. Whatever happened to the man, Jesus Christ, happened to God, on the traditional view. For that man, Jesus Christ, was no other than the God-man, the Word, the Second Person of the Trinity. And so, given that the man gestated in the womb of Mary, and given that the man is no other person than the Second Person of the Trinity, it must follow that a divine person gestated in the womb of Mary. But a divine person is rightly called “God” on traditional Christian teaching. So, God gestated in the womb of Mary. (For Aquinas on this question, see here.)
source
#mary
Dr. Timothy Pawl
In the history of the church, there have been some claims that have been theological lightning rods. They took on great importance as tools for demarcating the limits of orthodoxy. For instance, at the first ecumenical council of Nicaea in 325, the promulgated creed included a final anathema which cursed those who, among other things, thought that “there once was [a time] when he [the Son] was not” (Tanner 1990, 5). This sentence, contrary to the full divinity of the Son, was affirmed by the Arian party; the orthodox bishops made use of it to counter Arianism.
So likewise, Nestorius, Archbishop of Constantinople, claimed that while Mary bore the Christ in her womb, she didn’t bear God in her womb – that is, she was not the theotokos – i.e., the Godbearer. At the ecumenical council of Ephesus in 431, the promulgated documents include the claim that Mary is the theotokos. This claim, affirming the singularity of person in the incarnation, was denied by the Nestorian party; the orthodox bishops made use of it to counter Nestorianism.
Why is this affirmation of the singularity of person important? Well, it safeguards the claim that it was really someone divine who became incarnate, really someone divine who entered creation for our redemption, really someone divine who suffered the ignobility of the cross.
Finally, the claim that Mary bore God follows straightforwardly from the orthodox understanding of the incarnation. Not only is it affirmed in the ecumenical councils, as I noted above. One can see how the claim must be included, given the traditional understanding of the incarnation. Whatever happened to the man, Jesus Christ, happened to God, on the traditional view. For that man, Jesus Christ, was no other than the God-man, the Word, the Second Person of the Trinity. And so, given that the man gestated in the womb of Mary, and given that the man is no other person than the Second Person of the Trinity, it must follow that a divine person gestated in the womb of Mary. But a divine person is rightly called “God” on traditional Christian teaching. So, God gestated in the womb of Mary. (For Aquinas on this question, see here.)
source
#mary
cas.stthomas.edu
Timothy Pawl | Philosophy
Timothy Pawl is a Professor in Philosophy at the University of St. Thomas