DISCOURSE ON THE VISITATION OF MARY
Extract from “The glories of Mary” (Volume II) by Saint Alphonsus de Liguori:
Mary is the treasurer of all the graces of heaven. Thus, he who desires graces must resort to Mary; and he who resorts to Mary must be firmly convinced that he will obtain the graces he desires.
A family thinks itself happy when it is visited by a Prince of the royal blood, either because of the honor it receives, or because of the advantages it expects from it. But we must call much happier the soul which is visited by the Queen of the universe, by Mary, who cannot fail to fill with goods and graces the souls she deigns to visit. The house of Obededom was blessed when the Ark of the Lord was placed there (1 Par. 13); how could we not receive much more precious graces and blessings when we are visited by this living Ark of God by the Mother of the Savior? Mary, as soon as she entered the house of John the Baptist, filled the family with all the gifts from heaven, and it is for this reason that the feast of the Visitation is commonly called the feast of Our Lady of Graces. . Let us first consider that he who desires graces must have recourse to Mary; and then, that he who resorts to Mary must be convinced that he will obtain the graces he desires.
1st Point . When the Blessed Virgin learned from the Archangel Gabriel that her cousin Elizabeth was six months pregnant, interiorly enlightened by the lights of the Holy Spirit, she knew that the Word incarnate and become her Son wanted to begin to manifest to the world the riches of his mercy, by pouring out his first graces on this entire pious family. Instantly Marie left her dear solitude, and set out to see Elizabeth. As charity supports everything, and does not want any delay, says S. Ambrose, Mary, without worrying about the fatigue of a long and difficult journey, set out on her journey. As soon as she arrived at her cousin's house, she greeted her and greeted her first. This visit of the Virgin was not like those of worldly people, who are usually reduced to ceremonies and vain protests: Mary's visit provided this house with a treasure of graces. From the entry of the Virgin, and at her first word, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, John the Baptist was delivered from original sin, and sanctified; he showed it by trembling with joy in his mother's womb, as Elizabeth declared. So that, following the remark of S. Bernardin de Buste, it was by virtue of Mary's greeting that John received the grace of the Holy Spirit who sanctified him. “The voice of Mary penetrating Elizabeth through her ears, descended to the child, who received the Holy Spirit by the virtue of this greeting.»
Since these first fruits of redemption all passed through Mary, and she was the channel that communicated grace to John the Baptist, the Holy Spirit to Elizabeth, the gift of prophecy to Zechariah, and so many other blessings to this holy family, which were the first graces that we know to have been granted on earth by the Word, after his incarnation, it is very right to believe that God from then on established in Mary this universal aqueduct, as S. Bernard calls it, through which all the other graces that the Lord would like to grant us would then pass, as we said in Chapter V of the first Volume.
It is therefore with reason that the Mother of God is called the treasure, the treasurer and the dispenser of divine graces; This is what the venerable Abbot of Celles, S. Pierre Damien, Blessed Albert the Great, S. Bernardin, S. Grégoire Thaumaturge, Richard de Saint-Laurent, and others call it. S. Bonaventure, speaking of the field of which it is said in the Gospel that it contained a treasure, and that it had to be bought at all costs (Matt. 13. 44) assures that “this field signifies Mary, in which contains the treasure of God, who is Jesus Christ, and with Jesus Christ the source of all graces. » “All the graces that the Lord wants to grant us, he has placed in the hands of Mary, to show us that all the good that we receive, we receive through her intercession. » We learn it from Mary herself, who said: It is in me that are all the graces of true goods that you can desire in your life. (Eccli. 24) Yes, O our Mother and our hope, we know, said S. Peter Damien, “all the treasures of divine mercies are placed in your hands. » “O Mary, all the graces that God has decided to give to men, he wants to pass through you, he has entrusted you with all their treasures. » “There is therefore no grace that reaches us without your help. »
Blessed Albert the Great thus comments on these words of the Angel, You have found grace: (Luke 1) “O Mary, do not fear, for you have found grace. “You have not stolen it, as Lucifer wanted to do: you have not lost it like Adam: you have not bought it, as Simon the Magician wanted to buy it; but you found it, because you sought it.” You have found uncreated grace, which is God himself who has become your son, and with it you have found and obtained all created goods. »
S. Peter Chrysologue concludes that “the Mother of God found this grace, to procure salvation for all men. » And elsewhere he says that “Mary found a grace so abundant that it was sufficient to save all men. » “As God created the Sun to illuminate the earth, so he created Mary to dispense through him all divine mercies. » “As soon as the Virgin was made Mother of the Redeemer, she acquired a sort of jurisdiction over all graces. »
“If we therefore want to obtain some grace, we must have recourse to Mary, who cannot fail to obtain for her servants everything she asks, since she has found divine grace, and always finds it; » and this is exactly the feeling of S. Bernard. Let us therefore address Mary, the treasurer and dispenser of graces, “since such is the supreme will of the universal Master, that all graces are granted through Mary:” Who says everything, excepts nothing. But, as to obtain graces, we must have confidence, let us now see how convinced we must be that we will obtain them by having recourse to Mary.
2nd Point. Why did Jesus Christ entrust into the hands of his Mother all the riches of the mercies that he intended for us, if not so that she might enrich the faithful who love him, who honor him and who resort to it with confidence? “The riches are with me,” said Mary, “to enrich those who love me; (Prov. 8. 21)” because the Church applies these words to Mary. “It is only for our use that these riches of eternal life are preserved in the womb of the Virgin, where God has placed them, to enrich the poor. » S. Bernard adds that “Mary was given to the world as a channel of mercy, so that through her the graces of heaven could descend without interruption on men. »
The same Saint seeks the reason why the Angel Gabriel, having already found Mary full of grace by greeting her, then told her that the Holy Spirit was going to descend into her, to fill her with even more grace. If she was already full of grace, what more could the coming of the divine Spirit do? “Mary,” he replies, “was already full of grace, it is true, but the Holy Spirit gave her a superabundant measure of it, so that she could supply all our needs. »
Blessed is he who finds me by resorting to me (Prov. 8. 35), says Mary; he will find life, and find it easily; for, just as it is easy to find and draw from a large fountain as much water as one desires, so it is easy to find graces and eternal salvation by resorting to Mary! Just ask for them to get them. Before the birth of Mary, “we did not have on earth this great abundance of graces that we see there today, because we did not have Mary there, who is its admirable channel. » But now that we have this Mother of mercy, what graces could we fear not obtaining by having recourse to her? “I am,” she said, “the city of refuge for all who come to me. Come then, my dear children, and you will obtain graces from me more abundantly than you think. »
A servant of God saw in the Spirit the Mother of the Savior in the form of a fountain, from which several people drew lots of water, a symbol of grace, but what happened next? Those who carried whole vases retained the graces received, while those who carried cracked vases, that is to say souls laden with sins, received the graces, but they lost them almost immediately. Moreover, it is certain that through Mary, even the most ungrateful men and the most miserable sinners obtain innumerable graces every day.
Saint Augustine said to her: “It is through you that we, wretched, inherit mercy. sinners, of pardon; vile and groveling, of sublime gifts; of mortals, of life, of the fatherland
; to obtain graces and to increase it, let us constantly remember the two great qualities of this incomparable Mother, namely: the desire to do good and the power she receives from her Son to obtain everything that she asks. To fully understand Mary's desire to be useful and favorable to us, it is enough to consider the mystery of Mary's visit to Saint Elizabeth.
The length of a difficult journey did not prevent Mary, weak and delicate as she was, from setting out immediately; she was decided to do so by this spirit of charity with which her heart was constantly inflamed, to begin from then on her great office as dispenser of graces. It was not that Mary went to make sure if what the Angel had told her about Elizabeth's pregnancy was true; no: but completely delighted to be able to be useful to this family, transported with joy in the thought of the good that she was going to do to others, and completely occupied with this ministry of charity, she left with alacrity, an expression that the Evangelist does not not used when he speaks of the return of Mary, after she had fulfilled her mission and rendered service to this house.
“What other motive in fact could have induced the Mother of God to make this journey with such celerity, if not the desire to exercise her charity towards this family? »
Mary, in ascending to heaven, did not lose this spirit of charity towards men: on the contrary, it increased in her, because there she knows our needs better, and sympathizes more with our miseries. “Mary feels a greater desire to help us than we have to be helped; » “it is even an offense not to ask her for graces,” “since Mary's inclination is to distribute them to everyone, and she abundantly enriches her faithful servants with them. »
“To find Mary is to find all kinds of goods. Anyone can find it, even the greatest sinner in the world; for it is so beneficial that it rejects none of those who have recourse to it. » “I invite you all to have recourse to me (this is how Thomas a Kempis makes her speak), I await you all: I desire you all, and I never despise a sinner, however desperate he may be, when he implores my help. » Whoever invokes her always finds her willing to help him, and to obtain for him through her powerful prayers all the graces which lead to eternal salvation.
I said, by her powerful prayers, because the second reason which should increase our confidence in Mary is that she obtains from God everything she asks for in favor of those who honor her. “Observe the great virtue of Mary's words, since through her voice the grace of the Holy Spirit was conferred on Elizabeth and on John her son. »
“The Savior likes Mary to pray to him for us, because all the graces he then grants, he grants less to us than to his Mother. »
Jesus makes himself, in a way, obligated to grant all of Mary's requests, and to obey her in this regard as his true Mother; “the prayers of this Mother have a certain authority over the heart of the Lord, and she obtains forgiveness from the greatest sinners, when they invoke her. » At the wedding in Cana, Mary asked her Son for the wine that was missing: and although the time destined for miracles had not yet arrived, the Savior, to obey his Mother, performed the miracle that she asked, by changing the water into wine.
If we want graces, let us go to the throne of grace (Heb. 4. 16), it is Mary: and let us go there with the firm hope of being granted, since Mary obtains everything she asks of her son . The Blessed Virgin revealed to Saint Mechtilde that “the Holy Spirit, by filling her with all his sweetness, had made her so pleasing to God, that whoever asked for graces through her, obtained them. »
Saint Anselm thinks that “sometimes graces are granted to us rather by having recourse to Mary, than by having recourse to the Savior himself:” it is not that Jesus Christ is not the source and master of all graces, but the fact is that Mary's prayers being those of a mother, they have more force than ours. Let us therefore never move away from the feet of this dispenser of graces, and let us continually say to her: “O Mother of God, open to us the door of your heart, which is so compassionate; pray for us, for your prayers bring salvation to all men. » By resorting to Mary, it will be better to ask her to ask for us the graces that she found to be more suitable for our salvation. A good Religious finding himself ill asked Mary for healing. The Virgin appeared to him followed by Saint Cecilia and Saint Catherine, and said to him with great gentleness: What do you want me to do for you, my son? Such a beautiful offer embarrassed the patient and he did not know what to respond.
Then one of these Saints said to her: Ask nothing, place yourself entirely in her hands, because Mary will know how to give you a grace much more advantageous for you than anything you could ask of her. The sick man followed this advice, and the Mother of God obtained for him the grace of perfect healing.
If we wish to be visited by this Queen of Heaven, it will be very appropriate that we often visit her ourselves in some Church dedicated to her. The advantages of this practice are proven by the following example.
Example
Two religious people were heading towards a sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin. Surprised at night in a large wood, they did not know what to do. But as they moved a little further, they thought they saw a house through the darkness. They look for the door, knock, and immediately hear someone asking them who they are. They reply that they are two poor lost Religious, and that they are asking for lodging, so as not to be devoured by wolves. The door is opened for them, and they see two richly dressed Pages coming, who receive them with great politeness.
The Religious ask: who lives in this palace? The Pages respond that she is a very pious Lady.
We would like, they reply, to greet her, and thank her for her charity towards us. Precisely, say the Pages, it is to her that we are leading you, because she wants to speak to you. They go upstairs, they find the rooms all lit up, well furnished, and perfumed with an odor so pleasant that it seemed like that of paradise. They enter the room of the mistress of the house, see a majestic Lady of rare beauty, who welcomed them with extreme kindness, and asks them where they are going. They answer that they are going to a Church of the Blessed Virgin. When you leave, the Lady continues, I will give you a letter which will be very useful to you. The Religious felt themselves ablaze with the love of God, and tasted an interior joy that had been unknown to them until then.
They then went to rest, as much as joy allowed them. In the morning, they went to take leave of the Lady, and received the letter which she indeed gave them, and they left. But when they left the palace, they noticed that the letter had no address; they looked on all sides, and no longer saw the house. They read the letter, and recognized that it was the Blessed Virgin Mary who was writing to them, telling them that it was she they had seen at the castle, and that, to reward their devotion to her, she had provided them with a house. and refreshments in this forest; she exhorted them to continue to serve her and love her, and promised them on this condition to help them during their life and at their death.
Pray
Holy and spotless Virgin, since you are the universal dispenser of all the graces of God, you are therefore the hope of everyone, and mine. I continually thank my Lord and my God for having taught me that you are the means I must take to obtain graces and to save myself; you are the means, O Mother of God, since I know that it is first by the merits of Jesus Christ, then by your intercession, that I must save myself. Ah! my Queen and my Mother! you hastened to visit and sanctify by your visit the house of Elizabeth; deign also to visit, and soon visit my poor soul. Do not delay, O Mary; you know better than me how poor she is and overwhelmed with illnesses, disordered affections, bad habits and committed sins, contagious evils which would lead her to eternal death. You can enrich her, O Mother of graces, and heal her of all her infirmities. Visit me therefore during my life and especially at the hour of my death, because it is then that your assistance will be most necessary to me. I do not ask that you visit me on earth with your visible presence, as you have visited so many other Christians, your servants, who were not unworthy or ungrateful as I am. I only want to see you one day in heaven, to love you there more, and to thank you for all the kindness you have given me. Now it is enough for me that you visit me by your mercy, and that you pray for me.
Pray therefore, O Mary, and recommend me to your divine Son. You know my miseries and my needs better than I do. What more will I tell you? Have mercy on me. I am so miserable and so ignorant that I do not even know how to know or ask for the graces that are most necessary to me. Ask them yourself for me, and obtain them for me from your Son, these graces which you know to be the most useful and the most necessary for the good of my soul. I abandon myself entirely in your hands, and I only pray to the divine Majesty to grant me through the merits of my Savior Jesus Christ what you will ask of Him for me. Ask, therefore, for me, O Most Holy Virgin, what you judge appropriate. Your prayers are never rejected. These are the prayers of a Mother to a Son who loves you so much, and who takes pleasure in granting us everything you ask of him; to thus give you more honor, and at the same time show you the great love he has for you. So let us do this, O Mary: I put my trust in you; and you, deign to take charge of my salvation. So be it.
taken from: le-petit-sacristain.blogspot.com