O, Gracious Advocate, Section III

This is the third in a series of three selctions by St. Alphonsus de Liguori on Our Lady as Advocate. -Asst.Ed.

Section III. Mary is the Peace-maker between sinners and God.

The grace of God is the greatest and the most de­sirable of treasures for every soul. It is called by the Holy Ghost an infinite treasure; for by the means of Divine grace we are raised to the honour of being the friends of God. These are the words of the Book of Wisdom: " For she is an infinite treasure to men; which they that use become the friends of God."¹ And hence Jesus, our Redeemer and God, did not hesitate to call those His friends who were in grace: " You are My friends." ² O accursed sin, that dissolves this friendship! " But your iniquities," says the prophet Isaias, "have divided between you and your God." ³ And putting hatred between the soul and God, it is changed from a friend into an enemy of its Lord, as expressed in the Book of Wisdom : " But to God the wicked and his wickedness are hateful alike." ⁴ What, then, must a sinner do who has the misfortune to be the enemy of God? He must find a mediator who will obtain pardon for him, and who will enable him to recover the lost friendship of God. ' Be comforted, O unfortunate soul, who hast lost thy God,' says Saint Bernard; ' thy Lord Himself has provided thee with a mediator, and this is His Son Jesus, who can obtain for thee all that thou desirest:' ' He has given thee Jesus for a Mediator; and what is there that such a Son can­not obtain from the Father? ⁵ But, O God, exclaims the Saint, and why should this merciful Saviour, who gave His life to save us, be ever thought severe? Why should men believe Him terrible who is all love? O distrustful sinners, what do you fear? If your fear arises from having offended God, know that Jesus has fastened all your sins on the cross with His own lacerated hands, and having satis­fied divine justice for them by His death, He has already effaced them from your souls. Here are the words of the Saint: ' They imagine Him rigorous, who is all compassion; terrible, who is all love. What do you fear, O ye of little faith? With His own hands He has fastened your sins to the cross.' ⁶  But if by chance,' adds the Saint, ' thou fearest to have recourse to Jesus Christ because the majesty of God in Him overawes thee-for though He became man, He did not cease to be God-and thou desirest another ad­vocate with this Divine Mediator, go to Mary, for she will intercede for thee with the Son, who will most certainly hear her; and then He will intercede with the Father, who can deny nothing to such a Son.' ⁷  Thence Saint Bernard concludes, ' this Divine Mother, O my children, is the ladder of sinners, by which they reascend to the height of Divine grace : she is my greatest confidence, she is the whole ground of my hope.' ⁸  The Holy Ghost, in the sacred Canticles, makes the most Blessed Virgin use the following words: "I am a wall; and my breasts are as a tower, since I am become in his presence as one finding peace;" ⁹  that is, I am the defender of those who have recourse to me, and my mercy towards them is like a tower of refuge, and there­fore have I been appointed by my Lord the peace­maker between sinners and God. ' Mary,' says Cardinal Hugo, on the above text, ' is the great peace-maker, who finds and obtains the reconciliation of enemies with God, salvation for those who are lost, pardon for sinners, and mercy for those who are in despair.' ¹⁰ And therefore was she called by the Divine Bridegroom, " beautiful as the curtains of Solomon." ¹¹  In the tents of David, questions of war alone were treated, but in those of Solomon, questions of peace only were enter­tained; and thus does the Holy Spirit give us to un­derstand that this Mother of Mercy never treats of war and vengeance against sinners, but only of peace and forgiveness for them.

 Mary was prefigured by the dove which returned to Noah in the ark with an olive-branch in its beak, ¹² as a pledge of the peace which God granted to men. And on this idea Saint Bonaventure thus addresses our Blessed Lady: ' Thou art that most faithful dove; thou wast a sure mediatress between God and the world, lost in a spiritual deluge;' ¹³ thou, by presenting thyself before God, hast obtained for a lost world peace and salvation. Mary, then, was the heavenly dove which brought to a lost world the olive-branch, the sign of mercy, since she in the first place gave us Jesus Christ, who is the source of mercy, and then, by His merits, obtained all graces for us. ¹⁴ ' And as by Mary,' says Saint Epiphanius, ' heavenly peace was once for all given to the world, ¹⁵, so by her are sinners still reconciled to God.' Wherefore blessed Albert the Great makes her say: ' I am that dove of Noah, which brought the olive-branch of universal peace to the Church.' ¹⁶

Again, the rainbow seen by Saint John, which, en­circled the throne of God, was an express figure of Mary: " And there was a rainbow round about the throne." ¹⁷ It is thus explained by Cardinal Vitalis: The rainbow round the throne is Mary, who softens the judgment and sentence of God against sinners;' ¹⁸ meaning, that she is always before God' s tribunal, miti­gating the chastisements due to sinners. Saint Bernardine of Sienna says, ' that it was of this rainbow that God spoke when He promised Noah that He would place it in the clouds as a sign of peace, that on looking at it He might remember the eternal peace which He had covenanted to man.' "I will set My bow in the clouds, and it shall be the sign of a covenant between Me and between the earth .... and I shall see it, and shall remember the everlasting covenant." ¹⁹ Mary,' says the Saint, ' is this bow of eternal peace :'²⁰  ' for, as God on seeing it remembers the peace promised to the earth, so does He, at the prayers of Mary, forgive the crimes of sinners, and confirm His peace with them.' ²¹

For the same reason Mary is compared to the moon in the sacred Canticles: " Fair as the moon." ²² ' For,' says Saint Bonaventure, ' as the moon is between the heavens and the earth, so does Mary continually place herself between God and sinners in order to appease our Lord in their regard, and to enlighten them to re­turn to Him.' ²³

The chief office given to Mary, on being placed in this world, was to raise up souls that had fallen from divine grace, and to reconcile them with God. " Feed thy goats," ²⁴ was our Lord' s command to her in creating her. It is well known that sinners are understood by goats, and that as at the last judgment, the just, under the figure of sheep, will be on the right hand, so will the goats be on the left. ' These goats,' says the Abbot William, ' are intrusted to thee, O great Mother, that thou mayest change them into sheep; and those who by their sins deserved to be driven to the left, will by thy intercession be placed on the right.' ²⁵  And there­fore our Lord revealed to Saint Catharine of Sienna, ²⁶ But on this subject we must not pass over the beautiful reflection of "William the Angelical on the above text of the sacred Canticles, in which he says, ' that God recommended her own goats to Mary ;' ' for,' adds this author, ' the Blessed Virgin does not save all sinners, but those only who serve and honour her. So much so indeed, that those who live in sin, and neither honour her with any particular act of homage, nor recommend themselves to her in order to extricate themselves from sin, they cer­tainly are not Mary' s goats, but at the last judgment will, for their eternal misery, be driven to the left hand with the damned.' ²⁷

A certain nobleman, despairing of his salvation, on account of his many crimes, was encouraged by a monk to have recourse to the most Blessed Virgin, and, for this purpose, to visit a devout statue of Mary in a par­ticular church. He went there, and, on seeing the image, he felt as if she invited him to cast himself at her feet and to have confidence. He hastened to prostrate and kiss her feet, when Mary extended her hand, gave it him to kiss, and on it he saw written these words : I will deliver thee from those who oppress thee; as though she had said, My son, despair not, for I will deliver thee from the sins and sorrows that weigh so heavily on thee. On reading these sweet words, the poor sinner was filled with such sorrow for his sins, and, at the same time, with so ardent a love for God and His tender Mother, that he instantly expired at the feet of Mary. O, how many obstinate sinners does not this loadstone of hearts draw each day to God! For thus did she call herself one day, saying to Saint Brid­get, ' As the loadstone attracts iron, so do I attract hearts.' ²⁸  Yea, even the most hardened hearts, to re­concile them with God. We must not suppose that such prodigies are extraordinary events; they are every­day occurrences. For my own part, I could relate many cases of the kind that have occurred in our missions, where certain sinners, with hearts harder than iron, continued so through all the other sermons, but no sooner did they hear the one on the mercies of Mary, than they were filled with compunction and returned to God. Saint Gregory ²⁹  says, that the unicorn is so fierce a beast, that no hunter can take it; at the voice only of a virgin crying out, will this beast approach, and without resistance allow itself to be bound by her, O, how many sinners, more savage than the wild beasts themselves, and who fly from God, at the voice of this great Virgin Mary approach and allow themselves to be sweetly bound to God by her!

Saint John Chrysostom says, ' that another purpose for which the Blessed Virgin Mary was made the Mother of God was, that she might obtain salvation for many who, on account of their wicked lives, could not be saved according to the rigour of divine justice, but might be so with the help of her sweet mercy and powerful inter­cession.' ³⁰

This is confirmed by Saint Anselm, who says, ' that Mary was raised to the dignity of Mother of God rather for sinners than for the just, since Jesus Christ declares that He came to call not the just, but sinners.' ³¹  For this reason, the holy Church sings, ' Thou dost not abhor shiners, without whom thou wouldst never have "been worthy of such a Son.' ³²  For the same reason William of Paris, invoking her, says: ' O Mary, thou art obliged to help sinners for all the gifts, the graces, and high honours which are comprised in the dignity of Mother of God, that thou hast re­ceived; thou owest all, so to say, to sinners; for on their account thou wast made worthy to have a God for thy son.' ³³ ' If then, Mary,' concludes Saint Anselm, ' was made Mother of God on account of sinners, how can I, however great my sins may he, despair of pardon?' ³⁴ The holy Church tells us, in the prayer said in the mass of the vigil of the Assumption, ' that the Divine Mother was taken from this world that she might inter­pose for us with God, with certain confidence of obtain­ing all.' ³⁵ Hence Saint Justin calls Mary an arbitratrix. ³⁶ ' The eternal Word uses Mary,' he says,' as an arbitratrix.' An arbitrator is one into whose hands contending parties confide their whole case; and so the Saint meant to say, that as Jesus is the mediator with the Eternal Father, so also is Mary our mediatress with Jesus; and that He puts all the reasons that He has for pronouncing sentence against us into her hands.

Saint Andrew of Crete calls Mary ' a pledge, a se­curity for our reconciliation with God.' ³⁷  That is, that God goes about seeking for reconciliation with sinners by pardoning them; and in order that they may not doubt of their forgiveness, He has given them Mary as a pledge of it, and therefore he exclaims, ' Hail, O peace of God with men!' ³⁸ Wherefore, Saint Bonaventure encourages a sinner, saying: ' If thou fearest that on account of thy faults God in His anger will be avenged, what hast thou to do? Go, have recourse to Mary, who is the hope of sinners; and, if thou fearest that she may refuse to take thy part, know that she cannot do so, for God Himself has imposed on her the duty of succouring the miserable.' ³⁹ The Abbot Adam also says, ' Need that sinner fear being lost to whom the Mother of the Judge offers herself to be Mother and advocate? ⁴⁰ 'And thou, O Mary,' he adds, 'who art the Mother of mercy, wilt thou disdain to intercede with thy Son, who is the Judge, for another son, who is a sinner? Wilt thou refuse to interpose in favour of a redeemed soul, with the Redeemer who died on a cross to save sinners?' ⁴¹  No, no, thou wilt not reject him, but with all affection thou wilt pray for all who have recourse to thee, well knowing that ' that Lord who has appointed thy Son a mediator of peace between God and man, has also made thee mediatress between the Judge and the culprit.' ⁴²,' Then, O sinner,' says Saint Bernard, ' whoever thou mayst be, imbedded in crime, grown old in sin, despair not; thank thy Lord, who, that He might show thee mercy, has not only given thee His Son for thy advocate, but, to encourage thee to greater confidence, has provided thee with a medi­atress who by her prayers obtains whatever she wills. ⁴³ Go then, have recourse to Mary, and thou wilt be saved.'

EXAMPLE

Alan de la Roche⁴⁴ and Boniface⁴⁵ relate, that in Florence there was a young woman of the name of Benedicta, who was leading a most wicked and scan­dalous life. Fortunately for her, as it turned out, Saint Dominic went to preach in that city, and she, out of mere curiosity, went one day to hear him. God, during that sermon, touched her heart, so much so that she went and, weeping bitterly, confessed to the Saint. Saint Dominic thereupon absolved her, and desired her to say the Rosary for her penance. From evil habits, the unfortunate creature again fell into her former mode of life. The Saint heard of it, sought her out, and again induced her to confess. God, in order to make her persevere, one day showed her hell, and pointed out some who were there on her account. He then opened a book, and in it made her read the frightful catalogue of her sins. The sinner was horrified at such a sight, and full of confidence, begged that Mary would assist her; and she understood that this good Mother had already obtained from God tune for her to weep over so many crimes. After the vision, Benedicta led a good life; but always seeing before her eyes that ter­rible catalogue, she one day began to implore her corn-fortress in the following terms: ' My Mother,' said she, ' it is true that for my crimes I ought now to be in the lowest abyss of hell; but since thou, by obtaining me time to repent, hast delivered me from it, I ask thee this one favour more, O most compassionate Lady, that my sins may be cancelled from the book, and I will never cease all the same to weep for them.' At this prayer Mary appeared to her, and told her that, to ob­tain what she desired, she must always remember her sins and the mercy that God had shown her, and be­sides, that she should often recall to her mind the suf­ferings which her Divine Son had endured for her love, and consider how many were lost for less sins than she had committed; and, at the same time, revealed to her that on that day a child only eight years of age would go to hell for one mortal sin. Benedicta obeyed our Blessed Lady faithfully; and behold one day Jesus Christ appeared to her, and showing her the book, said, ' See, the book is blank,-thy sins are cancelled; now write acts of love and virtue in their stead.' Doing this, Benedicta led a holy life, and died the death of a saint.

PRAYER

O my most sweet Lady, since thy office Is, as William of Paris says, that of a mediatress between God and sinners, ⁴⁶ I will address thee in the words of Saint Thomas of Villanova: ' Fulfil thy office in my behalf, O tender Advocate; do thy work. ⁴⁷  Say not that my cause is too difficult to gain; for I know, and all tell me so, that every cause, no matter how despe­rate, if undertaken by thee, is never, and never will be, lost. And will mine be lost? Ah no, this I cannot fear. The only thing that I might fear is, that, on seeing the multitude of my sins, thou mightest not undertake my defence. But, on seeing thy immense mercy, and the very great desire of thy most sweet heart to help the most abandoned sinners, even this I cannot fear. And who was ever lost that had recourse to thee ? Therefore I invoke thy aid, O my great Ad­vocate, my refuge, my hope, my mother Mary. To thy hands do I intrust the cause of my eternal salvation. To thee do I commit my soul; it was lost, but thou hast to save it I will always thank our Lord for having given me this great confidence in thee; and which, notwithstanding my unworthiness, I feel is an assurance of salvation. I have but one fear to afflict me, O beloved Queen, and that is, that I may one day, by my own negligence, lose this confidence in thee. And therefore I implore thee, O Mary, by the love thou bearest to Jesus, thyself to preserve and increase in me more and more this sweet confidence in thy in­tercession, by which I hope most certainly to recover the Divine friendship, that I have hitherto so madly despised and lost: and having recovered it, I hope, through thee, to preserve it; and preserving it by the same means, I hope at length to thank thee for it in heaven, and there to sing God's mercies and thine for all eternity. Amen. This is my hope; thus may it be, time it will be.