‘Mirror of the Blessed Virgin Mary’ by St. Bonaventure – Chapter II – pages 10-11
[Saint Bonaventure – XIII Century AD: Civita di Bagnoregio, Papal States/Lyon, Kingdom of Burgundy-Arles; (aged 52-53); Cardinal, Bishop, Doctor of the Church, Seraphic Doctor, Teacher of the Faith, Writer, Philosopher]“Thirdly, we have to consider that Mary was not only immune from the threefold woe of actual guilt, and from the threefold woe of original sin; but also from the threefold pain of hell. This threefold woe consists in the greatness, the multitude, and the duration of the punishments.
Woe, therefore, to the damned and to those who will be damned, because of the greatness, the multitude, and the duration of their torments! "Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth!" First, there is the greatness of the torments, as Ezechiel saith: "Woe to the bloody city, of which I will make a great bonfire" (Ezech. XXIV, 9.) The bloody city is the multitude of the impious, of whom there will be an immense bonfire made in the great conflagration of the damned. Oh, how far removed from this woe of greatness of torment was the greatness of the grace and glory of Mary, for whom, instead of the grievous torments of hell, was prepared by God so great a glory in Heaven, and as she was great and garbed in merit, so is she great in her reward. She herself is that great throne of which it is said: "King Solomon also made a great throne of ivory" (3 Kings X, 8.)
Mary is the Throne of Solomon, great in grace and glory. St. Bernard well says: "As much more grace than others as Mary obtained on earth, so great a degree of singular glory did she gain in Heaven." Rightly, therefore, is it said to her, Ave. There is also the multitude of the pains of hell. Isaias says: "Woe to their souls, for evil things are rendered to them" (Is. III, 9.) He says, evil things, in the plural, because there are many, yea, infinite evils rendered to evil-doers in hell. But to Mary, in contradistinction to the many evils prepared for the damned in hell, God hath prepared many good things in Heaven. No angel, no saint, can equal her in the multitude and accumulation of heavenly good things, as the Book of Proverbs says: "Many daughters have gathered together riches, thou hast surpassed them all." If we understand these daughters to be human souls or angelic intelligences, has she not surpassed the riches of the virgins, of the confessors, of the martyrs, of the Apostles, of the prophets, of the patriarchs, and of the angels, when she herself is the first-fruit of the virgins, the mirror of confessors, the rose of martyrs, the ruler of Apostles, the oracle of prophets, the daughter of patriarchs, the queen of angels? What is wanting to her of the riches of all these? St. Jerome says: "If you look diligently at Mary, there is nothing of virtue, nothing of beauty, nothing of splendor or glory which does not shine in her."
Now the pains of hell consist also in their perpetuity. In the Epistle of St. Jude it is said: "Woe to them, for they have gone in the way of Cain and after the error of Balaam, and have perished in the contradiction of Core." And a little further on: "to whom the storm of darkness is preserved forever" (Jude XI, 12.) Note that he says, forever, and think how great is the duration of these pains and of the darkness which will have no end. But against this eternal darkness in hell the Lord has prepared for Mary eternal light in Heaven, so that, as the sinful soul, the throne of the devil, will be miraculously dark forever, Mary, the Mediatrix, the throne of Christ, will be marvelously luminous forever according to the Psalm: "Her throne is as the sun in my sight, and as the moon perfect for ever" (Ps. LXXXVIII, 38.) Thus, therefore, as the Most Blessed Virgin Mary was free from the threefold woe of hell, yea, from all the nine woes, rightly is it said to her, Ave. Let every one of us salute her with Ave, and let us petition her that, through her own sweet Ave, she will pray that we may all be delivered from every woe by our Lord Jesus Christ, her Son.”
Image: Master Francke ~ ‘The Nativity’ panel from the St Thomas Altar from St Johns Church, Hamburg
Music: Tomas Luis de Victoria ~ ‘Litaniae de Beata Virgine’ a 8 · Ensemble Plus Ultra · Michael Noone
>>> youtube.com/watch?v=LrF3rQsi2dU