SERMON 5
On the most holy day of the Annunciation
In the morning
On the consent of the virgin
Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to your word, as in Luke 1:38 and in today’s Gospel. We are always bound to bless God with the Prophet [Ps 33:2 (34:1)], but in this feast particularly we should be more careful to set aside time for praise, offering something special in view of the special grace by which the Word of God wished to become man and the invisible God deigned to live in a visible form with us. All the feasts we venerate on earth in honour of our Saviour have but one author, one Lord Jesus Christ who is blessed forever. While, in view of the majesty of the Creator, they are all equal and are to be celebrated with equal devotion and zeal, however, each has a privilege of honour and grace as it is seen to contain a mystery of singular grace. It is the one Son of God who was conceived in the womb, born from the womb, circumcised and offered in the temple, crucified and buried, rose from the dead and ascended into heaven; but he works in one way in the person who conceived and differently in others. Therefore, the faithful, with one faith and one devotion in the various feasts in which they venerate and celebrate at different times the solemnities of Christ, honour each single one with the praises proper to the various deeds and signs.
Among the solemnities, as much as we are able, we recall and confidently extol the day of the Incarnation, not because of its dignity, but because we think of it as worthy of all and special honours and to be put first because it was the cause and content for us of the others. Rise up then, young men and women, the old with the younger [Ps 148:12], in praise of this sacred solemnity. Let all faithful souls and all Christians open their mouths in honour of our Redeemer and his glorious Virgin Mother, and let us proclaim with as much joy as possible the joys that we receive through them in our redemption.
Today, we turn the eyes of our mind more especially to that admirable sign and deep mystery in which the Virgin Mother in one word of consent drew God from heaven to earth, gave us that man and brought forth for us our Saviour. She had such great merit and virtue that she surpassed all the merits of angels and humans when she spoke the text quoted to the angel Gabriel: Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to your word.
A triple mystery of the glorious Virgin is stated in these most sacred words: firstly, an abyss of extraordinary humility, for she says: Behold the handmaid of the Lord; secondly, the excess of desirable love when she adds: Be it done to me; thirdly, a sense of shining fidelity when she says: according to your word.
ARTICLE 1
On the abyss of the humility of the glorious Virgin when she consented to conceive the Son of God
In the first mystery, the abyss of the wonderful humility of the glorious Virgin becomes evident when she said to the Angel: Behold the handmaid of the Lord. ‘She does not say: Behold the Lady, behold the queen, behold the bride, behold the mother, but: Behold the handmaid’[1]. This humility shines out from the consent of the Virgin in three ways: firstly, in a mental confusion; secondly, in an anxious waiting; thirdly, in her prompt dedication.
CHAPTER 1
That the abyss of the Virgin’s humility was evident in her confusion at the message of the Angel
Firstly, ‘the humility of the Virgin in this consent shone forth in her mental confusion’[2]. For, as said above from Luke 1:29: She was troubled at his saying.
This trouble arose from her complete horror of being praised. If the angel had said to her: Woe to you, most vile of all creatures, she would have rejoiced in a wonderful way because such was how she felt about herself, as being most unworthy and indescribable. On the contrary, when she heard herself called full of grace and blessed in a singular way among women, she could not tolerate the statement of such praise.
Therefore, after she conceived, she rightly rejoiced and said:
Because he has regarded the humility of his handmaid; for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed [Lk 1:48]. She says: He regarded the humility. She does not say nobility or dignity, because the Lord looks on the lowly and the high he knows from afar [Ps 137:6 (138:6)]. Nor does she say: He has regarded power because the Lord has put down the mighty from their seat and has exalted the lowly [Lk 1:52]. Nor does she say: He has regarded the wisdom, because God has made foolish the wisdom of this world [1 Cor 1:20]. Nor, finally, does she say: Because he has regarded the virginity, but the humility, because there are foolish virgins; Matthew 25:2: And five of them were foolish. Therefore Bernard[3] says: ‘Even if she pleased because of her virginity, she conceived because of her humility’. But even though all these were in the glorious Virgin, she gloried only in her humility because they pertain to secular glory; worldly people usually look for this humility in women. Rightly, therefore, does she add: behold from henceforth, that is, from the humility by which I pleased the Most High, all generations shall call me blessed, namely, heavenly, earthly and those in limbo, because Mary’s humility benefited all of these: a restoration for angels, reconciliation for humans, freedom for the captives in limbo; because she gave birth to the Restorer of angels, the Reconciler of humans and the Liberator of captives in limbo. This is what was said to her in the person of Judith 15:10: You are the glory of Jerusalem, namely, of the heavenly city because you repaired the damage in the angels; you are the joy of Israel, for the captives you freed, you are the honour of our people, that is, of the people for whom you gave birth to Christ Jesus, a brother and reconciler[4].
CHAPTER 2
That the humility of the glorious Virgin shone forth in the admirable coming of the Son of God
Secondly, her humility
shone forth in a trembling apprehension at the wonderful overshadowing of the divine majesty; she felt that this was about to come upon her like an immense mountain of infinite weight which would bury her under or within it and would hold her nothingness pressed down forever by the weight of its eternity and total immensity. If blessed Job 31:23 could say: I always feared the Lord as waves swelling over me, and his weight I was not able to bear, how much more would she fear, she in whom a stone was cut from the mountain of the divine majesty living in her, the stone which broke the statue of vanity and, as stated in a mystical sense in Daniel 2:34-35: became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. If we can hardly hear a syllable of the divine words without a feeling of reverence and fear, how much more did she tremble when she felt coming down directly upon her the thunder of the divine majesty with lightning of wonderful efficacy and power?[5]
CHAPTER 3
With how great humility the blessed Virgin dedicated herself to serve the Son of God
Thirdly, the humility of the Virgin shone forth
in her prompt dedication to all the needs and demands of God the Father and the Son. She expressed this dedication in the words: Behold, the handmaid of the Lord. It must be understood that the more a mind feels itself to be called to higher and deeper aspects of God, the more it feels itself bound to a greater service of God for which one must have more humility, reverence, fear, caution and solicitous diligence. Hence, I ask you: if we handle the sacrament of the Eucharist, that is, the Body of Christ, with such humility and reverence, with what humility and reverence did the Mother of Christ handle and carry her infant whether in her womb, in the cradle or in her arms?
Further, she knew that the Redeemer and intercessor for the expiation of all sins was to be conceived and nourished by her for the salvation of herself and of all, and that he was to be born from her and nourished by her for the salvation of all. For this reason, she felt herself to be inwardly and with a mother’s affection joined to these humble prayers that had to be offered to the eternal Father by the Son of God who carried all the sins of the world upon himself, as if he were made sin by God [2 Cor 5:21]. Therefore, when she consented she felt herself to be dedicated by her consent and joined to the humiliations and humble duties of the Redeemer. For this reason in praising God, as is clear in Luke 1:48, her humility is paramount because she remembers that God looked on her when, as stated above, she said: He has regarded the humility of his handmaid etc.[6]
Bernard[7] says correctly: Eve wanted to make herself equal to God in pride not thinking of herself as a handmaid of God; Mary, however, humbly called herself a handmaid as she looked down on herself before her Creator. So Eve was cast aside while Mary was chosen. The Virgin observed what is said in Judith 8:16: Let us humble our souls before him. Otherwise, she could not have been filled with grace had she not been humble of heart. For, as stated in 1 Peter 5:5: God resists the proud, but to the humble he gives grace. Also, Petrus Ravennas says on Super Missus est[8]: ‘Behold, the one whom the Angel called Lady knew and named herself a handmaid; because a devout soul from infused gifts increases in service, grows in grace, and is not puffed up from pride nor rise up in arrogance’.
ARTICLE 2
On the abyss of the humility of the glorious Virgin when she consented to conceive the Son of God
In the second mystery is indicated the excess of loving desire of the glorious Virgin because she says: Be it done to me.
I ask anyone how much love of God she expected to experience by her consent. If you can explain this to me I will tell you from how much love she consented to such great love. I have no doubt that this consent came from a flaming furnace of love in the abyss of infinite love. So it is not surprising if that consent was a fire of love[9].
The extent of the loving desire of the blessed Virgin is evident in three things: firstly, in the great promise; secondly, in the firm faith mentioned; thirdly, in her prompt consent.
CHAPTER 1
That the great desire of the glorious Virgin for the incarnation of the Son of God is evident in three things
Firstly, the great desire of the Virgin was evident in her great promise, for she heard what was desirable, understood what was desirable and asked for what was desirable.
Firstly, her desire was great because she heard what was desirable. When the Angel said to her in today’s Gospel: Behold you shall conceive and shall bring forth a son [Lk 1:31], she heard that she was to be the future Mother of God. She heard that the son to whom she would give birth would be the Saviour of the world because the Angel added: and you shall call his name Jesus, that is, Saviour; she understood that this is the meaning of Jesus. But more explicitly the same Angel in Matthew 1:21, as to one less intelligent, said to Joseph in a vision: You shall call his name Jesus for he shall save his people from their sins. She heard also that she was to conceive the Son of God in an overshadowing of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, Gabriel added [Lk 1:35]: The Holy Spirit shall come upon you and the power of the Most High shall overshadow you. Is it surprising then if her desire was so keen when she had heard such desirable things and knew that they were to be realized in her? So she could recite the text of Isaiah 26:9: My soul has desired you in the night, yes and with my spirit within me in the morning early I will watch for you. She says in the night that is, in that dark time. Of this night, Wisdom 18:14-15 says: While the night was in the midst of her course, your omnipotent word, O Lord, leaping down from heaven, came from your royal throne. For the Virgin conceived the Word of God between the time of law and the time of grace. Or understand in the night as in a shining bright darkness of contemplation; in this night the Virgin arose, took herself from the peak of affection to the eternal, seized the Word from the bosom of the Father, and restored him as the author and beginning for every creature, according to what is written of her under the image of the valiant woman in Proverbs 31:15: She has risen in the night and given a prey to her household.
Secondly, she desired much because she understood what was desirable. For if the memory of the Son of God, because he is most desirable, was an extreme desire of the soul in the holy prophets, according to Isaiah 26:8: Your remembrance is the desire of the soul; how much more excellent was his presence, not any kind of presence but a presence from assuming flesh? But since he was present in the strong desire of all the saints to the extent that Isaiah 64:1 could say: O that you would rend the heavens and come down, and his remembrance was present in them only by grace, how much more did she desire him for she felt his presence not only in her mind but also felt it in her flesh? So she could say in the words of Philippians 1:23: I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ. To be dissolved, that is, to be separated from all that is worldly, and to be with Christ; not only, like Paul, from a gift of grace, but one flesh, one life by giving of my flesh.
Thirdly, she also desired greatly because she sought for things that are desirable. We desire greatly the things for which we search diligently; so Luke 15:8 says: A woman lights a candle, sweeps the house and finds the coin she had lost. In a mystical sense the coin is the wisdom of God lost by human nature; but the woman, that is, Mary, lit a candle when she gave an example of virginity to an unstable world. She sweeps the house, when by the effort of her mind she sought for rest in all things and never found it other than in the lost coin, that is, in the wisdom of God. Hence Sirach 24:11 says: In all these I sought rest, and I shall abide in the inheritance of the Lord. Then God commanded the Angel who spoke to me, announcing the will of God concerning the incarnation of the Son, and I said: Be it done to me according to your word.
CHAPTER 2
That the blessed Virgin showed a great desire for the incarnation of the Son of God because she promptly believed the message of the Angel
Secondly, the strong desire of the glorious Virgin was evident in her believing as mentioned above; in fact, we believe readily in what we greatly desire. Just how strongly she wanted to believe is clear: firstly, because she believed what was incredible; secondly, because she believed what was wonderful; thirdly, because she believed what was lovable.
Firstly, she strongly desired because she believed what was incredible; for something that is extremely astonishing is also extremely incredible. This event was extremely astonishing. For if astonishment is an amazement of the mind arising from ignorance, the manner of the incarnation was unknown even to the highest order of angels, according to Dionysius who, in his book De divinis nominibus, ch. 26[10], says: ‘The divine forming of Jesus was secret and unknown to every mind and understanding, even to the most distinguished order of the most honourable angels’. It was then more astonishing and so more incredible than anything else. Accordingly, the desire of the Virgin was strong since she believed in such wonders so readily. In a mystical sense, she was prefigured in this by Anna, Tobit 11:5-6, who, while sitting on the top of a hill, that is, in the highest point of her mind or at the extremity of all that is created, she rests in contemplation where she waits in desire for her son.
Secondly, she desired strongly because she believed what was astonishing. We find it difficult to believe in what is new and what is newer seems to be more astonishing. But this event was extremely new, as predicted by Jeremiah 31:22: The Lord has created a new thing upon the earth. Dionysius, De divinis nominibus, ch. 10[11], says this, namely: ‘this is the newest of all that is new’. Truly, this event was most incredible; the Virgin believed readily without making excuses; she did not indicate impossibility or weakness, but she hoped it could happen through her. All she asked was how it was to happen: How shall this be done? Did she not then believe strongly?
Thirdly, she desired strongly because she believed what was lovable. According to Bernard, Super Cantica, hom. 9[12]: ‘Love is the highest point; it does not wait for judgment, is not influenced by advice, curbed by shame nor subject to reason’. True love does not think of energy, does not reflect on what is possible, makes no excuses over knowledge; but even hopes for what seems incredible, does not delay but hurries and hastens to the impossible to which it reaches out.
Mary heard that the Son of God was to become incarnate, she loved what she heard, desired what she loved, and hoped to realize her desire by faith. So she said: Be it done to me.
CHAPTER 3
Because the blessed Virgin quickly consented she showed that she had a strong desire for the incarnation of the Son of God
Thirdly, a strong desire was evident in the glorious Virgin in her prompt consent or by the wording of her consent. For indeed she did not remain silent, hide nor deny what she believed; but when she, as one co-operating, heard, she broke forth in a cry of joy and gave the consent daily desired by all the elect, saying: Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me. Bernard[13] says of this: O word worthy of full acceptance, for which she expressed so ardent a desire that she took the Son of God from the embrace of the Father! O fleeting word that takes hold of eternity! O pleasing response by which she takes the Son of God as her bridegroom! O virginal but valid word that draws the Lord to her! Indeed, she expressed a strong desire when she gave a ready consent to so great a work! According to John Damascene[14]: ‘What is greater than for God to become man?’
ARTICLE 3
The greatness of the faith of the blessed Virgin was most evident in three lights of faith
In the third mystery the meaning of the shining faithfulness of the blessed Virgin is shown, because at the end she says: according to your word. Indeed:
The highest and most basic foundations of our faith were put before the blessed Virgin so that she would not consent to things in which she did not strongly believe. Her faith had to be not only a total belief in general but also in particular, namely, as to how this affected her as she made or gave her consent, and so that at the very hour of her consent being given, this consent would lead in fact to the conception of the Son of God. It was not without reason then that her act of faith was commended in a singular way by holy Elizabeth who said: Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord [Lk 1:45][15].
Indeed, the greatness of her faith is clear in the three lights in this consent: the first light was that she believed something of which the world had not heard; the second, because she believed what she knew to be beyond nature; the third light was because she understood she was to co-operate in so great a thing.
CHAPTER 1
That the faith of the Virgin was great because she believed readily things never previously heard
Firstly, the great faith of the blessed Virgin was evident by the first light because she believed something not heard by the world; for faith comes by hearing, as stated in Romans 10:17. Hence, something heard frequently is more easily believed, and vice versa; but this had not been heard by the world, namely, that a virgin could give birth without pain and also still remain a virgin in giving birth. So Isaiah 66:7-8 says: Before she was in labour, that is, experienced the pain of birth, she brought forth, and before her time came to be delivered, that is, before she felt the pain of birth, she brought forth a man child. Who has ever heard such a thing? Nevertheless she believed this unheard of thing from a single word of the Angel. Therefore, she had strength of faith so that the Son of God could truly apply to her the text of Matthew 8:10: I have not found so great faith in Israel. Nor had the blessed Virgin seen an example of this. We believe more easily things of which we frequently see examples; what can be illustrated by an example is not incredible. There is no visible example of God becoming man; so there is written in Isaiah 66:8: Who has seen the like to this? As if to say: No one. Therefore, among all that has to be believed this is the most incredible. So Isaiah 53:1 says: Who has believed our report? Nothing, however, when believed, is more salutary. So, when she believed this most incredible thing with no visible example did she not have the strongest faith? Hence, the Church sings of her[16]: Alone, the Virgin pleased Christ without an example. In Luke 1:45 Elizabeth said to her: Blessed are you who has believed. For, although she said to the Angel: How shall this be done, because I know not man, she did not doubt but believed and questioned to find out how.
CHAPTER 2
The great faith of the Virgin was evident because she believed what she knew was beyond nature
Secondly, the faith of the blessed Virgin was great by the second light because she believed what she knew to be beyond nature. Something is wonderful when it is rarely found. But the rarest thing to find is something of this kind, namely, the incarnation of the Son of God; in fact from the beginning of the world it was not found until the coming of this glorious woman who found grace with God [Lk 1:30]. So Song 8:10 says: I am become in his presence as one finding peace, that is, him who is our peace [Eph 2:14]. Therefore, if she believed this rare and wonderful event, she had the strongest faith. Augustine, De bono virginitatis[17] says: ‘Mary was more blessed in conceiving the faith of Christ than in conceiving the flesh of Christ. Maternal closeness would have been of no benefit to Mary, unless she had been happier to carry Christ in her heart rather than in her flesh’.
In truth she believed strongly because she knew that what was utterly incredible was to happen in her. For, as Augustine says, De utilitate credendi[18]: ‘A wonder is something difficult and unusual that appears beyond the hope and ability of the one admiring’. But this event was difficult, in fact most difficult, since it could be done only by God. So the Angel said to her: The Holy Spirit shall come upon you and the power of the Most High shall overshadow you [Lk 1:35]. It was beyond the hope and ability of the one admiring. Who could have dreamt that the Lord of heaven would be enclosed in a mother’s womb, the Lord as the lowest servant, reigning in heaven and ministering on earth, containing all things but contained by the Virgin, the one who refreshes everything being nourished by a mother, the one who rules over all being ruled by a woman, and finally the eternal Word made flesh in time? Truly then this wonder was the greatest wonder. And yet this glorious woman believed. So she had such strength of faith that she merited for the Son of God to say to her: As you have believed, so be it done to you [Mt 8:13].
CHAPTER 3
The extent of faith in the Virgin was evident in that she knew she was to be an unworthy co-operator in this great mystery
Thirdly, the great faith of the glorious virgin was evident in the third light in that she realized and understood that, unworthy as she was, she was to co-operate in so great an event. She heard from the Angel: Behold you shall conceive and bring forth [Lk 1:31]. Perhaps she was disturbed by this because she recognized she was not capable of co-operating in so great a mystery. But enlightened by a divine ray, understanding the will of God, she announced herself as a handmaid co-operating in such great salvation. To this end the Angel was sent to her as a watcher to a watcher, Gabriel to the Virgin. In Daniel 4:10 [4:13] there is written in a mystical sense: Behold a watcher came down from heaven. Sleep was sent into the Virgin, not as it was to the first man so that woman could be formed from him but the Angel was sent to a virgin [Lk 1:26-27] so that the Wisdom of God might become incarnate in her: watcher to watcher so that she might be aware of so great a secret and also become a voluntary and prompt co-operator and minister. It was necessary then for the Angel to speak and draw out her consent in faith; it was also necessary for the Virgin to reply, to express her consent and so show her belief, and this is not possible without speech. How could the Virgin have believed had the Angel not announced? Or how could the Angel announce unless having been sent by God? According to the Apostle in Romans 10:14-15: How shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they be sent? The blessed Virgin had such great faith that the Angel could apply to her the words of Matthew 15:28: O woman, great is your faith. It became clear that she would conceive the Son of God as the Angel had said, and so she said: Be it done to me according to your word [Lk 1:38]. She said, to me, not for me; as if she had said: What I heard in my ear from the Angel’s greeting and in my mind by an act of faith, be it done to me, that is, in my womb by the incarnation of the divine word.
O word filled with every joy and delight, to hear the blessed Virgin say: Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to your word!
This is the word those above, namely, the angels waiting to be restored, wanted to hear; those in hell awaited, namely, the holy fathers waiting to be freed from hell; their descendents wanted, namely, to be redeemed by your Son; what foreigners longed for, namely, the desire of creatures to be satisfied by you. Blessed Virgin, you gave the word of your most worthy and virtuous consent and took the Word of your virginal conception from the embrace of your most divine Father[19]
Our Lady, hold on to what you have; keep for us what you hold; accept our prayer and devotion; and for us present before your Son effective prayers, so that we may reign together forever with you and with your Son, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit reign together in glory forever and ever. Amen.
SERMON 6
On the annunciation of the glorious virgin
During the day
Again on the virginal consent
Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to your word; again in Luke 1:38 and in the Gospel for today. May I use in a worthy and genuine way the words of glorious Bernard[20], ‘There is nothing pleases me more, nothing that terrifies me more than to speak of the glory of the Virgin Mother’. I state, my own unworthiness terrifies me, but the praise and excellence of the Virgin delight me. Hence, I want to stammer again and again over such admirable matters and beyond what was said above of the virginal consent. The blessed Virgin said to the Angel making the announcement: Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to your word. Three things should be reflected on in this admirable consent: the admirable object of the consent; secondly, its admirable action; thirdly, its admirable help.
ARTICLE 1
On the fourfold object the blessed Virgin had before her when she consented to conceive the Son of God
Firstly, we should reflect on the admirable object of this consent. Four objects are to be found in the consent. ‘Think, therefore: firstly, of the object for which she consented; secondly, the object according to which she consented; thirdly, the object to which she consented; fourthly, the object on account of which she consented’[21]. The first object was Jesus Christ, the second, the Holy Spirit, the third, the eternal Father, and the fourth, the human race.
CHAPTER 1
That the blessed Virgin in the annunciation consented to conceive a visible and mortal Son of God who was able to suffer
Firstly, we should reflect:
On the object for which she consented, and this was the Son of God, Jesus Christ, that he might be, as far as concerned her, her true and natural son, mortal, truly able to suffer, who was to die for the restoration of the whole world and to make satisfaction for the sins of all. But it was impossible for her to have consented worthily and correctly to such and so great an object without casting, raising and most sincerely opening all the affections of her soul to it. She must also have turned her attention most clearly, have felt most intimately and believed strongly but in total stillness. It was impossible also unless, faced with the remarkable nature and singular offering of the object or the way in which she related to it, she had submitted herself most humbly, making nothing of herself, so that, totally forgetful of self, she could be transformed into him and, in accord with what can happen in the way of love, she would become completely his, or become one and the same with Christ himself. This implied being extended and raised in the highest way into the abyss of the Trinity and unity, that is, into the personal and original condition according to which she existed in herself and according to which she related to the Father and to the Holy Spirit proceeding from him. Further it implied being deeply involved in the admirable humiliation that the Son of God wanted to take on, so that emptying himself he might become in her womb an infant able to feel pain, to submit later to most bitter punishments for the sins of all and to show a model of crucified life to all. Therefore, this is what it meant to consent to the Crucified one, or to the One to be crucified, to the price of the abundant satisfaction for all sins, to the merit or reward, to be an intercessor and mediator for the restoration of all the elect who were to be formed and formed from him and within him.
CHAPTER 2
That the blessed Virgin in the conception of the Son of God had as her object the Holy Spirit promised to her by God the Father through the Angel
Secondly, we should reflect on the object according to which she consented and this in truth was the Holy Spirit, that is:
The most wonderful overshadowing promised to her by the Angel, indeed by God through the Angel, to sanctify her in a worthy way for such a Son, to fill and change her even bodily into the child to be formed from her in a most spiritual and supernatural way. We shall see that the power that changed a lower state into a higher was as great as when one is in preparation for or actually going up to a high Order, or from a state of active life to the peak and state of contemplation, or going from this world to another; at such a time a person feels as if close to a kind of death, in which he or she dies to a whole state and to a former life. A person experiences a certain transcendent difficulty and a kind of strangeness, or unaccustomed newness numbing all the person’s senses and this at times causes in the body a great dread and rigidity. But the first state of the Virgin was further removed from the following state of her motherhood, than the state of the most faithful and good person differs from a previous state. Therefore, in the hour of her consent to that state she felt herself pass through a kind of unspeakable death when comparing her previous state to a state that was totally beyond this world; it belonged to a most extraordinary region or dwelling, namely, to certain secret and exalted depths of God, in which and by which she was settled and irrevocably contained. For a poor lady or handmaid, knowing of the imminent visit of a king to her, immediately begins to be astonished and fearful out of a great shame; she is full of anxiety and worry as to how she might welcome him worthily. How much more would the Virgin, aware that the superabundant and incomprehensible overshadowing of the majesty of the Son of God and of the Holy Spirit was soon to come upon her, be most fearful out of a divine fear and reverence; would she not be totally confused and trembling, most worried and trembling as to how to receive them worthily? Who would be able to say or think through just how much this was in her?
She knew what is written in Sirach 32:4: For your reverence great grace shall come to you.
CHAPTER 3
That the blessed Virgin knew she was chosen as the bride of the eternal Father for the conception of the Son of God
Thirdly, we should reflect on the object to which she consented:
namely, to God the Father who was offering his Son to her as to his bride and asking for her consent to this. Therefore I ask you, just how much in this offering did she feel obliged to God offering her such things? Did she feel obliged to love God above all much more than previously? Did she feel obliged to obey God above all, to serve, thank, and acknowledge such a singular grace and love? In this she would become the Father’s bride so that the Father and not another might send his Son into her soul and womb, and might inflame and change her by the most divine Spirit so that from her and in her the Father might form a body for his Son who would then be truly Son of God and son of the Virgin. I do not want to imply in what has been said above that she did anything other than what she was bound to do according to the measure and proportion of the Father’s offering and of the gift offered; this is sufficient to surpass incomparably the merits of all the saints. Note also, how much it was right and necessary for her to take hold of her whole soul and affection so as to assent and unite herself worthily to the eternal truth that was presenting to her, in a way incredible and inaccessible to us, unutterable truths equally of the present and the future or what was yet to be done. Nor were the aforementioned addressed to a simple old woman but to a person in whom the most basic foundations of the whole restoration of us and of the world were to be suddenly placed and built. And this through the medium of her faith, hope and great love that were at the same time a humble and submissive assent and consent.
CHAPTER 4
That the blessed Virgin understood she was to conceive the Son of God for the reparation of the human race
Fourthly, we should reflect:
why she consented, namely, to bring about the reparation and recovery of the whole world, in which her own salvation and reparation were included and this for the ensuing praise and glory of God. So I ask: How much did she love and desire this fruit and outcome? Augustine, in his sermon De nativitate,[22] says: ‘O blessed Mary, the whole captive world asks for your assent; you, Lady, have made the world a hostage of your faith. Do not delay, Virgin; answer the word quickly and take the Son. Give in faith and experience virtue’. If, therefore, her consent, in accord with the scope of the task proposed to her, had to be based on and extended to it; if also, in accord with the origin of divine predestination, the salvation of all the elect depended on this consent of the Virgin, would not reason demand that the predestining God give to this consent a worthy efficacy and virtue?
ARTICLE 2
On the fourfold perfect act of the virtues that the Virgin accumulated in the conception of the Son of God
Secondly, we should reflect on the admirable action of this consent. Concerning this, note carefully ‘how, in an ineffable transcendence, she accumulated for herself the perfections of all sublime actions’.[23] For the present I take only four actions of a virginal soul among the most perfect people: firstly, the act of martyrdom and patience; secondly, the act of piety and mercy; thirdly, the act of chastity and purity; fourthly, the act of both ways of life, namely, the active and the contemplative.
CHAPTER 1
That in a wonderful martyrdom the blessed Virgin dedicated and offered herself to God in the conception of the Son of God
Firstly:
I take the internal and highest act of martyrdom by which a martyr offers him or herself as a rich holocaust to the Lord. The Virgin offered herself to that ineffable death, as we have said above in chapter 2,[24] and to that ineffable fire by which in the very conception of Christ she was completely enkindled. And if before this she was more ready than others to offer herself to every death and martyrdom for the sake of God, how much more so in this hour! If all who have entered the state of Christ by baptism, are buried with him, according to the Apostle in Romans 6:3-6, by baptism into death, and their old self was crucified, how much more was the Virgin crucified with Christ in the hour of this conception! For from the moment of conception every inner act in the soul of Christ was directed to make satisfaction to God for all and that by his inner decision he opened himself to every punishment and death pleasing to or demanded by God. It is clear that the Angel, or God through the Angel, put before the Virgin that the Son to be conceived was to be the future redeemer and saviour of all. Otherwise she would hardly have been enlightened towards God, without understanding that the Son of God could not be mortal and born from her except under extreme and difficult conditions. Moreover, for a most honourable, chaste and married virgin girl to know that she is to become pregnant but not from her husband, nothing would come to her more quickly and reasonably, than that she would be thought of as an adulteress by her husband, and disgraced and rejected by him as an adulteress. Therefore, the blessed Virgin by consenting to pregnancy laid herself open to the confusion just mentioned, something more horrible to her than any other kind of confusion and death.
But it could be said that she was easily able to think that God, at least for the sake of avoiding insult against the Son, would not allow her to be exposed to such confusion; against this is the factor that because she knew he was to make satisfaction, he would have to bear confusion and punishment fitting for such satisfaction, and so she had little reason to think that God would not allow this and worse things to be done against her Son. Moreover, in this at the least the wonderful constancy in her heart appeared because, as far as can be seen in the Scriptures, she did not ask the Angel for protection against such confusion, nor for advice or any assurance about the event itself. As a sign that a crucified woman conceived the Crucified one, God in supreme wisdom decreed that on the same day as she conceived Christ, she also suffered.
CHAPTER 2
Out of admirable piety for the human race, the blessed Virgin chose to conceive the Son of God
Secondly:
I take the act of piety and mercy. By this consent she longed for most deeply and obtained the salvation of all the elect; by this consent she dedicated herself in a most singular way to the salvation of all and to their Saviour, so that from then she would carry all people in her womb as a most authentic mother carries her children. Augustine, in his sermon De Nativitate[25], says: ‘O blessed Virgin, who is able to offer you worthy expressions of thanks and commendations of praises, you who by a singular consent hastened to help a lost world? What praises may weak human nature offer you who by your action alone have found the way to recovery? So, by your merits accept every exile and inadequate thanks’, and as you take the offerings, by praying excuse our faults.
CHAPTER 3
That in her consent to the conception of the Son of God a triple chastity shone forth in the blessed Virgin
Thirdly, ‘I consider the act of chastity and mental cleanliness and purity that indeed shone forth in this consent in a triple way’: firstly, in the intention of virginity, secondly, in the increase of holiness; thirdly, in the experience of divinity.
Firstly, such chastity and purity shone in the intention of virginity; because, as far as it was in her, she shunned union with a man even for the conception of the Son of God. So, to the Angel announcing the conception of the Son of God, she said: How shall this be done, because I know not man [Lk 1:34]?
That is: Because I am in a state and vow of never knowing man. As if she had said: I know that God has many ways of doing this; but one way, as far as I am concerned and from the desire of my soul, is far from my spirit and completely alien to it, namely, that I might conceive by knowing a man carnally, even to conceive God. Note how she drew back from anything contrary to her beloved, that is, God, for she hated not only to offend God but also every corrupt and wrongful action, in so far as she could do this without being offensive to God; the conjugal act could be such a case, and especially if it was directed towards a divine child; and even this, as far as she was concerned and in an absolute sense, the blessed Virgin held in such distaste, that this was the reason why she spoke these words to the Angel. And I think the main reason why the method of conception determined by God from eternity was not revealed to her, was so that her intention and words would clearly indicate her most excellent love and zeal for virginity and purity, and this to the highest degree.[26]
Secondly, she shone in an increase of holiness:
From the promise of the Angel telling her of the coming of the Holy Spirit and the refreshing overshadowing of the Most High, she knew perfectly that she was to be purified of every original infection, and that what was to be born from her would rightly be clean and holy. Therefore, in this consent she agreed from within herself, from the marrow of her being and with all her heart to a total cleansing and purification.[27]
Thirdly, she shone in an experience of divinity;
God is the highest purity and chastity and entry to God is open only to a heart wiped clean not only from all that is carnal, but also from every vain thought. It is clear that the higher one ascends in divine matters, the more strongly is the soul affected by the whole gambit of divine purity. Therefore, when the Virgin ascended by this consent to God about to be conceived, it was necessary for the consent to be imbued ineffably with an experience and affection of divine chastity. Hence, by this action she was rightly made the Virgin of virgins. According to Anselm,[28] ‘it was fitting that the Virgin who was to conceive God should shine with such purity than which under God a greater could not be imagined’.
CHAPTER 4
That in her consent to the conception of the Son of God there were present elements of the active and contemplative ways of life
Fourthly:
I consider the actions of both ways of life, namely, the active and contemplative. With the soul centred on the conception of God, the action of itself and directly was totally contemplative. But since this conception had to be celebrated from her flesh and in her flesh, and since she had to be totally free for the care of the child to be born, her consent was also the noblest form of active life, belonging to no other than to the Mother of the Son of God.
From the four previous and other similar actions, it can easily be seen how all the actions of the most perfect virtues were accumulated in the often mentioned consent of the Virgin.
ARTICLE 3
On the fourfold help given to the blessed Virgin in the conception of the Son of God
Thirdly, we should reflect on the admirable help given to the virginal consent. Four helps came together in this admirable consent: the first was divine election; the second, virginal perfection; the third, angelic support; the fourth, paternal affection.
CHAPTER 1
That the blessed Virgin was chosen from eternity to be the Mother of the Son of God
The first help was divine election.
The discerning grace and love or will of God in choosing beforehand the Virgin as the Mother of the Son, in putting this election before her by the Angel and in asking her consent beforehand, provided a basic help for this admirable consent. It is clear that the discerning grace and love of God could not give a like or similar help to one of the saints. It is also clear that as the discerning charity of God is extended to someone from a greater and higher reason of love, this moves the person more strongly. Also if God fittingly and effectively chooses someone for a difficult task, it is necessary for the person to move in a way proportionate to the level of difficulty of the task for which God chooses the person, and especially where there is no rebellion or lack of good will on the part of the person responding. But the task of the motherhood of God, to which God chose the Virgin, was the highest task that could be given to a mere creature. Therefore, the discerning grace of God in the highest way came to and moved the heart of the Virgin for this work. Therefore, this work in the highest way shared the perfection and influence and Godlike likeness of the One discerning, of the loving charity of God from which charity it came.[29]
CHAPTER 2
That the perfection of the virtues and graces in the blessed Virgin provided a help in the conception of the Son of God
The second help for this consent:
was virginal perfection, that is, her formal grace and virtue, that, on the evidence of the Angel Gabriel in Luke 1:28, was so great that she was said to be in a singular way full of grace and blessed beyond others. And the Angel said to her: The Lord is with you in a singular way. Taking it as certain that she was also full of grace beyond others so that the habit of charity and other virtues was much stronger in her than it ever was in any saint while in this life, then I hold: Every holy and individual mind is more strongly equipped, prepared and ready to do some work in a worthy, reverent and faultless manner, the more the person feels and knows that the work demands every perfection, that is, that it is more divine, is done with greater strength, effort and caution so that it can be done worthily, fittingly and more pleasing to God the Father. But every faithful mind is aware that the highest task is to conceive God and become the Mother of God; therefore, everyone feels or should feel that the action closest to this is the most perfect action. But this was the consent of the Virgin; therefore, since she felt herself chosen and approached by God for this and that this consent was asked of her, it was necessary that, from her deepest self, with all her strength and virtues, she should equip, prepare and open herself to so great, singular and unusual grace by accepting it worthily and totally without sin. But this was done by her in her consent that was worthy and right; therefore, the consent proceeds from all her virtues and efforts, just as a huge stone in a machine is thrown by the strongest impulses of the whole machine and all its parts.
CHAPTER 3
That for the conception of the Son of God the whole angelic nature gave its support
The third help for this consent was angelic support.
For the hierarchical influence of all the angels was active in this to help and, according to Dionysius,[30] our whole hierarchy is ruled by their ministry. It is clear that in all their ministry to us, they desire and aim at nothing other than the universal healing and salvation of the elect. But in the hour in which Gabriel was sent to the Virgin, all knew that through the consent of the Virgin the head and source of our healing was to be formed, namely, Christ in so far as he is a man. Therefore, in that hour all the desires and efforts of the whole angelic curia or hierarchy were intent on helping the Virgin by their ministry in order that so great a work would be accepted and completed. They did this by praying for it to God with all their energy and also by influencing her in accord with the nature of their hierarchical order.
For all the seraphim, taking such help from God, had an influence on the cherubim, the cherubim on the thrones, the thrones on the dominations, the dominations on the virtues, the virtues on the powers, the powers on the principalities, the principalities on the archangels, the archangels on the angels, the angels on Gabriel, Gabriel on the blessed Virgin.
Nor is it important whether or not all had an immediate influence or whether it was one representing all. Nor should you wonder if one representing all could do more than could be done when representing a few or even when acting on its own. For that part of the string of a bow that is the only part to touch and fire the arrow shoots it much more strongly because it works with the strength of the whole bow rather than by its own strength. We see the same thing when the legate of a large community or city, or of some great and powerful army, moves more powerfully and strongly and influences the hearts of those to whom he is sent whether that be from fear or obedience or love, because he acts as the representative and with the authority of all the citizens and the whole community, and not as one coming with the authorization of only half or a third part or on his own personal authority.
CHAPTER 4
That the merits and prayers of the saints helped in the consent of the Virgin
The fourth support for this consent was a fatherly affection.
The whole body of the earlier saints who, certainly, either implicitly or explicitly, desired above all before God their Saviour for eternal life and they cooperated by helping as a reward. Therefore, for this reason, the intentions or holy desires and merits of all were virtually in agreement in asking for the Saviour to be sent by God; and, consequently, for her and her coming through whom and in whom the Saviour of the world was to be given. If then God paid attention in this work to the merits of all the earlier saints and fathers, it is clear that God gave to the Virgin grace predetermined by the merits of the saints.
If then all that has been said in the three preceding articles is taken into account, one grasps the final goal of this admirable consent:
The final goal was that she, endowed with every dignity and perfection, become the Mother of God in flesh and soul; this goes infinitely beyond anything else under God that a human being could think or say. If, therefore, such an ineffable goal was in proportion to her merit, it was necessary that the meritorious perfection of this consent also be in proportion to the perfection of the goal.
Objection:
But perhaps some foolish person will think and say against the preceding that the Virgin could not have thought of so many and important things in such a brief time.
Response: But such foolishness is overcome in a triple way: firstly, by a practical example; secondly, by faith; thirdly, by a spiritual experiment.
Firstly, it is overcome by a practical example. If the king of France, without any doubt and solemnly, were to make definite through one of his highest ranking leaders or companions, his intention to marry a poor girl of his kingdom, it is clear that immediately in that hour she would think with the highest admiration of the unspeakable courtesy, love, and the complete magnificence of the royal dignity or kingdom of the king and of all his counsellors. She would be conscious of how much and what things were being offered and given to her, to what she was being raised, with what variety of precious objects she was to be adorned, and to what offices and delights she was to be committed with the members of the king’s household in conversations and so on. Nor should you wonder that in a single action almost numberless objects at the same time are present in the mind, because with one glance of the eye there are presented at the same time as if in a flash to our sight the sky with the stars, the atmosphere with its clouds and birds, water with its waves, ships and fish, the earth with its grass, trees and beasts, castles and cities, and valleys and mountains, springs and rivers.
Secondly, it is overcome by faith. The Lord gave to the Prophets and Apostles wonderful enlightenments, both concerning divine and human matters, as fitted their apostolic and prophetical office. What reasonable person would feel that to her who was chosen to be the Queen of the world and the Mother of God, would not be given an enlightenment adequate and proportionate to her dignity and high standing, especially when such a consent and action is asked of her that without enlightenment and strength it could not be done by her in a worthy and correct manner.
Further, perhaps you believe that at that hour the Virgin was without knowledge of divine matters and ignorant like a common girl. Recall that before this she was said to be full of grace and blessed beyond other women and that God was present to her in a singular assistance. Recall also that she received so much grace from her first sanctification in the womb of her mother that she could and actually did avoid even the least venial sin. This could not have happened unless she had received the highest wisdom in what she was to do and avoid, love and obey, and believe or not believe.
Thirdly, even a beastly person is overcome by a spiritual experiment. According to the Apostle in 1 Corinthians 2:14: Sensual persons do not perceive these things that are of the Spirit of God, for it is foolishness to them, that is, firmly settled. When the Spirit of God subtly penetrates and inebriates a mind as it flows freely, innumerable rays of divine light and wisdom multiply and spread out in the mind. It enters the mind just as the rising sun enters the world. Wisdom 7:22-24 says: This Spirit is one, manifold, subtle and the wisdom from which it comes is more active than all active things, reaching everywhere by reason of its purity. Hence, as it wishes, it shows at the same time things both past and future; for, according to the Apostle as above in 1 Corinthians 2:10: The Spirit searches all things yes, the deep things of God, and so the spiritual person judges all things, as above in 1 Corinthians 2:14-15. And so Mary is rightly named as ‘enlightened’ or ‘enlightening’ even though, in matters of the Spirit and wisdom, what she had beforehand was minimal to what she received in the conception of Christ.
Finally, may I use the words of devout Bernard:
Through you blessed finder of grace, bearer of life, mother of salvation, we have access to the Son so that we might be accepted by him who was given to us by you. Your integrity excuses before God the sin of our corruption, your humility before God begs pardon for our vanity. Your abundant love covers a multitude of sins (1 Pet 4:8), and your glorious fertility bestows on us a fertility of merits,
so that finally by your merits we may possess your Son in glory, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit glorifies and rewards you and all the saints forever and ever. Amen.
SERMON 7
Tuesday after Palm Sunday
On the angelic greeting explained in an orderly way
She thought what manner of greeting this might be [Lk 1:29]. Because the Lord Jesus Christ held his Mother closer and dearer than other saints and more powerful in her intercession for us, so he wanted her to be loved, honoured, greeted and venerated more than all the saints. To contemplate her and her virtues most attentively and to be most ardently devoted to them enkindles the affections to the highest pitch, raises up and enlightens the mind to the highest virtues of Christ and to Christ himself. ‘In prayer and devotion it is simply better and more useful to turn to the Mother of Christ for help than to other lesser saints’.[31]
Hence, to stir up devotion and enkindle our affection for the Virgin Mary, I have set out the Angel’s greeting with her help so as to show the fourth religious element, namely, that of the Angel sent. To do this, I take the text of Luke 1:29 where it says of the greeting: She thought what manner of greeting this might be. In these words it is clear that this salutation was full, firstly, of admirable reflection: She thought; secondly, of admirable praise: what manner might be; thirdly, of an admirable greeting: what manner of greeting.
Firstly, it is shown to be full of admirable reflection because she thought, namely, the blessed Virgin, so that we might learn from her example to contemplate the mysteries of this greeting. And that its high mysteries may shine forth more clearly, three things should be reflected on and thought about. Reflect, firstly, on the state of virginity, secondly, on the Angel’s example, thirdly, on the wonderful gain.
Firstly, reflect on the state of virginity in this greeting. She is the queen of mercy, the temple of God, the dwelling of the Holy Spirit, always sitting at the right hand of Christ in eternal glory as the Prophet in Psalm 44:10 [45:10] says: The queen stood on your right hand, in gilded clothing, surrounded with variety, namely, of all the saints. So she is to be venerated, greeted, and adored with an adoration of special veneration. Solomon, in 1 Kings 2:19, prefiguring this and as a figure of Christ, arose from his throne to meet his mother and bowed to her. She sits at the right hand of the King so that as often as you adore Christ the King, you also adore the Mother of Christ; so she should be venerated frequently with this greeting.
Secondly, reflect on the example of the Angel. If angels greet her, how much more are we bound to do this? Luke 1:28 says: The Angel being come in to her said to her: Hail, full of grace etc. Bernard[32] says on this: ‘Who is this virgin so noble to be greeted by an angel yet so humble to be engaged to a carpenter?’ Therefore, learn from the Angel to greet Mary.
Thirdly, reflect on the wonderful gain. When one devoutly greets the Virgin, one is greeted in turn by her. The glorious Virgin Mary is a most courteous queen who cannot be greeted without returning a wonderful greeting. If you say a thousand Hail Mary’s in a day, you will be greeted back by the Virgin a thousand times. The Apostle, Romans 16:6, encourages us in this mystery when he says: Greet Mary. And so it is clear how much this greeting is worthy of reflection, because she thought.
Secondly, it is clear that it is worthy of admirable praise for she says: what manner. This greeting is to be praised for three reasons: firstly, for its dignity; secondly, for its sweetness or pleasantness; thirdly, out of gratitude.
It is praised, firstly, for the dignity contained in this greeting. The whole greeting is full of wonderful mysteries all of which give out and overflow with the scent and sweetness of our salvation. Who will be so ungrateful and stupid as not to recall with this greeting the beginnings of our salvation? The Angel says, Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Every word is full of high mysteries as will be clear further on.
Secondly, it is praised for its sweetness. The Prophet says of those who taste and savour this: How sweet are your words to my palate, more then honey to my mouth [Psalm 118:103 (119:103]. Sirach 24:27 [24:20] says: My spirit is sweet above honey, and my inheritance above honey and the honeycomb. The legacy of the Virgin Mary is her greeting from people; she inherited this by her devotion so that now the Hail Mary, like the Our Father, is willingly used by every Christian.
Thirdly, she is praised out of gratitude. It is a great ingratitude to take such gifts from our Lady, glorious Mary, and not acknowledge the giver or greet her with thanks. In reproaching such an ungrateful person, Sirach 41:21.25 [41:17.20] writes: Be ashamed of silence before them that greet you.
Thirdly, it is shown that it is an admirable greeting because she adds: this greeting. In the whole sequence of this angelic greeting the main mystery is stated in order: Firstly there is the greeting: Hail Mary; secondly there is the praise: blessed are you; thirdly, there is a petition: Holy Mary, pray for us sinners.
ARTICLE 1
On the triple excellence of the glorious Virgin, namely, of nature, grace and glory
The first mystery is in the greeting. In this greeting the triple excellence of the Virgin is shown: the first is of nature, the second, of grace, and the third of glory.
CHAPTER 1
That the blessed Virgin surpasses in many ways all others in nature
The first is the excellence of her nature. The excellence of this nature is shown in three ways in the word Hail.[33]
Hail, firstly means without woe. And this in three ways that cover the whole feminine experience, namely, of shame, labour and pain. She was without the woe of shame in conceiving, without the woe of labour in pregnancy, without the woe of pain in giving birth. For, as Bernard[34] says, she was ‘fertile without corruption, pregnant without discomfort, without pain in childbirth’.
The reason why she was without the woe of shame is that she conceived without corruption, not by human seed but by a mystical breathing forth, as the Angel said to her: The Holy Spirit shall come upon you [Lk 1:35].
She was also without the woe of labour because the power of the Most High overshadowed the weight of love and the gentle pregnancy.
Further, she did not have the woe of pain because the birth was without damage for the Angel said to her: The Holy who shall be born of you shall be called the Son of God. That entrance was reserved for the Prince alone; it was not violated as he went out any more than when he entered, as is mystically represented in Ezekiel 44:2-3. Apart from the blessed Virgin, in no woman was nature exempt from this triple curse. Hence, it is said of Eve in Genesis 3:16: I will multiply your sorrows, and your conceptions; in sorrow shall you bring forth children etc.
The excellence of nature in the Virgin is shown in a second way because she was immune from a triple woe, namely, of concupiscence, sin and punishment. In Revelation 8:13 the flying eagle calls out about this triple woe: Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth. The blessed Virgin was without the first woe, that is, without the harsh rule of concupiscence because she was conceived without it, as we have learnt from the testimony of Solomon who, in Song 4:7, says: You are all fair, O my love, and there is no spot, that is, of original sin, in you. Or it was totally cast out by the sanctification of the Holy Spirit; So the Psalmist in Psalm 45:5 [46:4] says: The Most High has sanctified his own tabernacle, that is, the blessed Virgin in whom the Lord Jesus Christ dwelt for nine months.
She was without the second woe, namely, of both mortal and venial sin. Augustine[35]: ‘Excepting the Virgin Mary of whom, I do not want any question to be raised when speaking of sin. Therefore, with the exception of the Virgin, if it were possible to gather together all the men and women Saints, and if they were asked if they had committed sin, what could they answer other than what 1 John 1:8 says: If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us?’
She was without the third woe of punishment that consists in the separation of body and soul, the turning to ashes and dissolution of the body. For just as the Lord did not allow his Holy One, that is, Christ, to see corruption [Ps 15:10 (16:10); Acts 2:27; 13:35], neither did the Lord allow the holy one from whom the Holy One was born to see corruption, but she was assumed body and soul into heaven.
Moreover, the excellence of nature in the Virgin is shown in a third way in the Hail because she was without the triple woe of the flesh, the world and the devil[36].
Or, the three things of which 1 John 2:16 speaks were absent in her: All that is in the world is the concupiscence of the flesh, and the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life. ‘She excluded avarice by poverty, lust by virginity, the devil or pride by humility, because she possessed these virtues most perfectly and so she was rightly addressed by the Angel with: Hail’.
From the practice of the Church, the name Mary is added immediately when the Hail Mary is recited; this was fore-shadowed by the evangelist Luke 1:27 when he said: And the Virgin’s name was Mary. It is correct that the name of Mary should be added. Mary means ‘star of the sea’, ‘a bitter sea’, ‘lady’ and ‘enlightened’.[37] She is a star for those who sail this great sea that stretches wide its arms, and in which there are creeping things without number [Ps 103:25 (104:25)]. But above all she is a star because through the birth of her Son she radiates a beam that enlightens our mind. She was also a bitter sea when, as foretold by Simeon in Luke 2:35, a sword pierced her soul during the passion. She became a Lady in her assumption when she was ‘exalted high above the choirs of angels’,[38] and declared ‘Queen of heaven and Lady of the angels’,[39] She was wonderfully enlightened when her soul was put into her body, more wonderfully in the conception of the Son of God, but most wonderfully in her assumption and glorification, when beyond the blessed angels and souls united together she remained enlightened by the divine vision. Behold the first virginal excellence by which she surpasses all others in nature.
CHAPTER 2
That the blessed Virgin in many ways far surpasses all others in grace
The second excellence is an excellence in grace to which the Anger refers: Full of grace [Lk 1:28] and it can be expounded by a triple interpretation.
The first is:
Full of grace. Grace, I say that is bodily, spiritual and singular. Her bodily grace was the grace of virginity in the flesh; so in Song 4:12 she is called a garden enclosed, a fountain sealed up. Her spiritual grace was an abundance of virtues in her soul; so in Song 4:15 her soul is called the fountain of gardens, the well of living waters. Her singular grace was the presence of the Son of God in her womb. So in Song 7:2 there is written: Your belly is like a heap of wheat, that is, full with the grain of which in John 12:24-25 is said: Unless the grain of wheat falling into the ground, that is, in the blessed Virgin by the incarnation, and dies in the passion, it remains a single grain etc.
The second interpretation of full of grace is: She had an emptiness or depth of humility, purity of virginity and firmness of charity, because she had these virtues most fully and in their highest form. Three things are necessary if a vase is to be filled and hold good liquid, namely, that the vase be empty or deep, that it be clean, and that it be solid or firm; all these were in the Virgin Mother. So in the words of Song 6:9 the angels ask reverently about her: Who is she who comes forth as the morning rising? Fair as the moon from virginity, for the moon is a cold body; bright as the sun from most fervent charity; terrible as an army set in array from her deepest humility than which nothing is more terrible to demons.[40]
The third interpretation of full of grace is: Every grace given in this world comes through a triple process: from God it comes to Christ, from Christ to the Virgin and is then distributed to us by the Virgin in a most orderly way.
Firstly, the Lord God is the giver of all grace according to what is written in James 1:17: Every best gift, and every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights.
Secondly, it comes from the Lord Jesus Christ as man. For he, living in this present world, merited for us every grace that God from eternity had decided to give this world, as is written in John 1:16: Of his fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.
The third step is from the blessed Virgin. From the time she conceived God in her womb, she had a certain jurisdiction or authority, if I may say so, over every temporal procession of the Holy Spirit, so that no creature received a grace of virtue from God other than through the distribution of the Virgin Mother. For while Christ is our head from whom every outpouring of divine grace flows into the mystical body, the blessed Virgin is the neck through which this flow passes to the members of the body; Solomon in Song 7:4 testified to this when he said while speaking of Christ: Your neck, that is, the blessed Virgin, is as a tower of ivory. So Bernard[41]: ‘No grace comes from heaven to earth without passing through the hands of Mary’.
Rightly, therefore, can she be said to be full of grace for from her all graces flow into the Church militant; in Genesis 2:6 this is prefigured by the spring that rose out of the earth and irrigated all the surface of the earth. In Psalm 45:5 [46:4], the Psalmist says: The stream of the river rejoices the city of God, that is, the Church militant.
CHAPTER 3
That the blessed Virgin in many ways far surpasses all in glory
The third excellence of the Virgin is her glory as implied by the Angel:
The Lord is with you [Lk 1:28]. But not with you in any ordinary sense as with others with whom the Lord is with them by a giving of grace, but the Lord is with you in a particular way for he is in you by a giving of natu