SERMON 1
On the glorious name of Mary, namely, her title ‘star of the sea’
The virgin’s name was Mary as in Luke 1:27 and today’s Gospel. Grant me, glorious Virgin, the strength, ability and words to be able to preach the glory of your name to those who are faithful and devoted to you. Not for the sake of announcing its greatness nor nature, but that I, your little one, may proclaim even a fraction of your immense praises for your glory, my devotion and the comfort of all who read or hear me.
Indeed, the name of Mary in its interpretation touches on enlightenment, bitterness and domination. Rightly, there is, in my opinion, more than one interpretation of the name for one name would be unable to express the glory of the Virgin; for this reason, perhaps, the Angel did not name her in today’s Gospel, wishing rather to show reverence in silence to something that could not be spoken/. Indeed it is a mark of reverence at times not to refer to a person by using a proper name but to refer to the person in a roundabout way. He states only the proper name of the person, not the circumstances of dignity or status. Therefore, Mary has not only one but many meanings; and so, just as we name God not by one single name but by many to indicate the incomprehensibility of God; so we refer to the glorious Virgin by many names, now as light, now as the sun, and such like. We do this to reach some slight knowledge of her grandeur.
§ The immensity of her glory exceeds the poverty of human speech. Hence, Anselm, in his book De ortu Virginis,[1] expounding her praise, says: ‘Lady, what more can we say? The mind is inadequate, the tongue too weak for anyone who wants to contemplate the immensity of your grace and glory’. Therefore, in so far as we are able, we put forward three meanings in this one blessed name.
She was indeed a star of the sea in her birth because of her sanctification or preservation in the womb; she was a bitter sea in her way of life because her way of life was in poverty; she was a lady in her death by her assumption in glory. Or she was a star of the sea in her virginal integrity; a Lady in conjugal honour and reverence; a bitter sea in her care as a widow. She was a star because she was enlightened by God by whom she sheds light; she was a bitter sea from tasting bitterness and being incited to bitterness out of compassion; she was a Lady as perfected and perfecting.
For now, reference will be made only to the first point, namely, that the blessed Virgin is compared to a star. She can be compared to a star in three ways: firstly, to a star in the sky; secondly, to the polar star; thirdly, to a star of the sea.
ARTICLE 1
That the blessed Virgin is compared to a star in the sky, and this for three particular reasons
Firstly, I say, she is compared to a star in the sky especially for three reasons: firstly, because of her name; secondly, because of her dignity or place; thirdly, because of what she does.
CHAPTER 1
That the blessed Virgin is called a star especially because of her double stability
Firstly, the blessed Virgin is compared to a star in the sky because of her name; a star is so named from the verb to stand because it remains fixed in the sky. Therefore, it points to Mary as fixed in her sky as she remained without moving in her Son. She did this, firstly, in her life by irradiating a light of all the virtues and, secondly, in her death by suffering death. On the first point the Prophet says: The queen, that is, Mary, stood on your right hand in gilded clothing [Ps 44:10 (45:9)]. On the second point John 19:25 says: She stood by the cross of Jesus. She stood without moving like a star in the sky, that is, in her Son, because as the other stars, that is, the Apostles, fell from heaven, she alone stood, according to what is said in Habakkuk 3:11: The sun and the moon, that is, Christ and Mary, stood still in their habitation; or, according to another translation[2]: The sun rose, that is, Christ on the cross, and the moon, that is, the blessed Virgin, stood still in their habitation. But this was a place of mourning, full of sorrow. Therefore, Augustine[3] brings the human race to Christ as it says: Laughing to myself, Eve rejoices, weeping over you, Mary suffers with you. Indeed, as the Son of God says in Isaiah 63:3: I have trodden the winepress alone, and of the Gentiles there is not a man with me, namely, but you alone, Mary, who truly suffered with me.
CHAPTER 2
On the double height of the perfection of the blessed Virgin
Secondly, the blessed Virgin is compared to a star in the sky because of her dignity or position. A star by its position is high in that it is placed high in the firmament; hence Sirach 43:1 says: The firmament on high is his beauty. So the blessed Virgin is most high in that her Son is more eminent than all others. But it is clear that Mary was most humble and so most high. Accordingly, in Sirach 24:7 she says: I dwell in the highest places. Indeed, she is the person of whom John is speaking in Revelation 12:1: A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun and the moon under her feet. The woman between the sun and the moon is the blessed Virgin between Christ and the Church. So Sirach 40:19 says: The building of a city, the Church, shall establish a name, she shall firmly believe in Christ; and above this, the city, an immaculate woman, Mary, shall be counted.
It is clear that she is highest of all creatures. Indeed, a creature is higher in dignity when it is higher in a degree of goodness; therefore, the best of all creatures is the highest. But this is the blessed Virgin because her degree of goodness is in accord with her level of love. Hence, to enquire how good a person is, is to enquire into how much the person loves, according to Augustine.[4] But it is sure that she exceeds every creature in the measure of both natural and freely given love; natural, because she exceeded humans and angels in this; humans because a cause of natural love is likeness and closeness. Hence, there is written in Sirach 13:19 [13:15]: Every beast loves its like, so also everyone loves the one him nearest to oneself. Surely, between no son and his mother was there such closeness and likeness, because he was wholly from the substance of his mother; accordingly, between no others was there such great love. She also exceeded the angels in this for no angel had the Son of God as a natural son as did the blessed Virgin; because nowhere does he take hold of the angels, but of the seed of Abraham he takes hold [Heb 2:16].
That she exceeded both in freely given love is evident because the measure of freely given love is in accord with the measure of grace; but above all creatures she was full of grace; hence she was overflowing with love. Of this fullness, blessed Ignatius says in his Epistola ad beatum Ioannem[5]: ‘They speak of Mary as abounding in all graces and fruitful in all virtues’. And so in love ‘she exceeds every creature’ as Anselm[6] says: ‘Indeed, the greatness of the love of the Virgin for her son and the immensity of her delight in him exceeds the loves and delights of all creatures’.
Truly, then, her dignity is the highest as befits her utmost goodness. This is prefigured mystically in the tree in Daniel 4:7 of which is said: Behold a tree in the midst of the earth, that is, Mary in the midst of every creature; the height thereof was exceedingly great because it is incomprehensible to any mere creature.
CHAPTER 3
On the seven workings of a star that were present spiritually in the blessed Virgin
Thirdly, the blessed Virgin is compared to a star in the sky because of the way it works. A star works in seven ways: firstly, it gives a signal; secondly, it illuminates; thirdly, it purifies; fourthly, it gives life; fifthly, it regulates; sixthly, it adorns; seventhly, it arranges.
Firstly, it gives a signal. In Genesis 1:14 there is written of the stars: Let them be for signs. Therefore, Albumasar[7] says in the beginning: Praise to God who created the stars and placed them as an ornament and as lights to give signs so as to serve as a guide to rational creatures. By reason of this way of working the name of star is suitable for Mary because she was a sign as is written of her in Isaiah 11:10: O root of Jesse who stands as a sign for the people. A sign is something that presents itself to the senses but leaves something else in the mind. Mary presented the incarnate God to the senses, because he was seen upon earth and conversed with men, as stated in Baruch 3:38. But she left something else in the mind because by showing the Son of God visible in his flesh, she laid open his divinity to the mind through faith. Therefore, she was truly a sign as the Lord said to Ahaz in Isaiah 7:11-14: Ask you a sign of the Lord your God. And there is added: Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel. In Revelation 12:1-2 there is written of this sign: And a great sign appeared in heaven: A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars, and being with child. Rightly is it said that she was with child because she did not draw male seed into her womb but conceived by the working of the Holy Spirit.
Secondly, a star lights up the darkness of night; so also the blessed Virgin. In fact, before the coming of this Virgin the darkness of sin gripped the whole world so that no one was able to see the light of truth. All people were like clouds tossed with whirlwinds, as said in 2 Peter 2:17; hence they dwelt in darkness. In Nahum 1:8 it is rightly written of such: darkness shall pursue his enemies. Finally, the blessed Virgin arose like a bright star putting darkness to flight, so that Sirach 50:6 can be applied to her: As the morning star in the midst of a cloud. Bernard, Super Missus est,[8] says: ‘She is the noble star risen from Jacob, whose ray lights up the whole universe whose splendour shines above and penetrates the depths’. Therefore, Sirach 24:45, speaking for her, says: I will penetrate to all the lower parts of the earth, namely, to where it is cold and obscure, and I will look with eyes of mercy on all that sleep, that is, on the blind and the negligent, and will enlighten all that hope in the Lord, that is, by my enlightenment I will arrange it so that they may know the Lord and hope in him.
Thirdly, a star purifies the night; by its rays it clears the thickness of the cold of night and purifies by thinning it. Mary does this; before the coming of this star there was darkness in the whole earth, as is written in Isaiah 60:2: Behold darkness shall cover the earth, and a mist the people. On this mystery Exodus 10:22 says: there came horrible darkness upon the whole land of Egypt. Finally, there rose a star out of Jacob,[9] namely, Mary who purified and cleared this darkness. Indeed, she is a certain pure emanation of the Almighty God, as stated in Wisdom 7:25. So Bernard[10] says of her: ‘Take away this sun-like body that illuminates the world that it might become day. Take away Mary, the star of the great and broad sea, and what are left other than an enveloping obscurity, the shadow of death and thickest darkness?’
Fourthly, a star gives life, as the Philosopher[11] states; therefore, the first sky has many stars because it is the main cause of life in things below. For this reason also, Mary is a star; indeed death reigned from Adam, according to the Apostle in Romans 5:14; so much so that it is said in 2 Samuel 14:14: We all die, and Psalm 88:49: Who is the person that shall live and not see death? But with the coming of that star everything dead is restored to life. Indeed she is the tree of life offering blessed fruit [Gen 2:9] by which one tasting death shall not taste it forever but shall live forever, as John 6:52 says. She it is who offers the bread of life,[12] Jesus, as said above.
Fifthly, a star regulates or controls, namely, the globe of the earth; indeed a star regulates the icy cold of night, and so fosters and controls what is born from the earth. For this reason also Mary is a star. The malice of this world is cold; hence, in Jeremiah 6:7 the Lord says: As a cistern makes its waters cold, namely, the world, she makes its wickedness cold. At the time when the blessed Virgin came forth, the wickedness of the human race was complete, according to Isaiah 40:2: her evil is come to an end, and so there was great cold in the world; John 18:18: It was cold, and so Peter warmed himself; since the cold north wind, that is, the devil, blew and the water is congealed into crystal [Sir 43:22]. Zechariah 14:6 had foretold this: In that day there shall be no light but cold and frost. But Mary came forth as a star warming and shining and consequently fostering. So Bernard, Super Missus est, hom. 1,[13] says: ‘She is a noble star crossing the world, warming minds rather than bodies, fostering virtues, purifying vices’. She is the valiant woman of whom Proverbs 31:21 says: She shall not fear for herself on a cold day; all her domestics are clothed with double garments, namely, with the love of God and neighbour, or because they have the promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come [1 Tim 4:8]. These are very good as when Rebecca clothed her son Jacob so that he might be able to get the blessing of his father [Gen 27:15-27].
Sixthly, a star adorns, namely, the sky; hence, Sirach 43:10 says: The glory of the stars is the beauty of heaven, enlightening the world. Mary is a most splendid adornment of the heavens, for she regulates what is below and adorns what is above. Hence, in Sirach 26:21, speaking of her under a general title, there is written: As the sun when it rises to the world in the high places of God, so is the beauty of a good wife for the ornament of her house. Also, if we call the higher world an angelic creature, it is clear that she adorned the higher world because she refashioned it completely and in this way adorned the broken stones and inaccessible rocks of the number of angels. This indeed was foretold in Isaiah 60:13, for he says: The glory of Lebanon, that is, the blessed Virgin Mary, shall come to you to beautify the place of my sanctuary.
Seventhly, a star arranges and unites, namely, the universe; she raises up the lower world and, as far as it is capable, unites it to a higher power and in this way reconciles it to some extent. So this Lady and Queen of the world reconciled the Church militant, as the lower world, with the Church triumphant in the higher world, and announced peace to those who are near and peace to those who are far away, that is, to the Church triumphant and militant. Indeed, she is the ark of the eternal covenant placed in the clouds of the sky lest all flesh be killed [Gen 9:11]. For she gave birth for us to him who made both one, making peace, to reconcile both in one body [Eph 2:14-16].
ARTICLE 2
That the blessed Virgin is likened to the polar star, especially under three headings
Secondly, the blessed Virgin is compared to the polar star, especially under three headings; firstly, because this star is closest to the pole; secondly, because she is descriptive of the pole; thirdly, because among the stars of the pole she is primary or first.
CHAPTER 1
On the fourfold closeness the blessed Virgin had to her Son
Firstly, the blessed Virgin is compared to the polar star because this star is closest to the pole or pivotal point of the sky. To understand what has to be said, it must be noted that there is a double pole in this world: one is invisible, namely, the southern; the other is visible, namely, the north; and both are immovable for on their immobility the whole world depends in its circular movement. Therefore, rightly is the double pole understood of the Son of God and the Word of the Father who is the beginning of everything in relation to one, and the goal of everything in relation to the other; the one in the south, that is, in the brightness of his majesty, is completely invisible to us, but the one in the north has been made visible in our humanity; so in Revelation 22:3 he says: I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last. Show me where you lie down in the midday.[14] Of the north, Job 37:22 says: Gold comes out of the north, because the brightness of wisdom comes from the incarnate Christ. He indeed is immobile for on his immobility everything is based in its movement, ‘immobile and remaining still he gives all things movement’.[15] This star, namely Mary, was closest to this pole especially in four things: firstly, in the incarnation; secondly, in her way of life; thirdly, in compassion, fourthly, in her assumption.
Firstly, I say, she was closest to him in the incarnation, namely, through an identity of flesh; because the same flesh that belonged to the Virgin Mother, was made the flesh of the Son of the Father in a unity of person entered into by God. Therefore, he was so close to her that he was at the one time with her and in her. Rightly, then, on the basis of this unity was it said to her: The Lord is with you [Lk 1:28].
Secondly, she was closest to Christ in her way of life by her management. She was mystically prefigured by Noemi in Ruth 4:16 of whom is said there that she took the child born and she laid it her bosom and she carried it and was a nurse to it. She it was who could not bear his absence for, sorrowing, she searched for and found him in the temple [Lk 2:43-48]. She it was who, standing outside with his brothers, asked for him, as stated in Mark 3:31 towards the end.
Thirdly, she was closest to him by her compassion in his suffering; because when the disciples ran away she did not leave; John 19:25: There stood by the cross of Jesus, his mother.
Fourthly, she was closest to him in her assumption by receiving glory. That she has been exalted above all the choirs of angels is certain and it is unlawful to doubt it, as Bernard[16] says. For if incorruption brings near to God, as Wisdom 6:20 says, she is most incorrupt, because she is the mother of incorruption; she is closest to the pole, that is, to her Son. Those who have the same nature, also are in the same place, but she and the Son have the same nature, therefore they will be in the one place. Accordingly, by merit and place she will be closest to her Son, that is, to her pole.
CHAPTER 2
On the multiple intelligible sphere and that the blessed Virgin is nearer to Christ than all other creatures
Secondly, the blessed Virgin is compared to the polar star because this star is descriptive of the pole since its circuit around the pole is the shortest. We should reflect on how this is possible. The whole world represents a certain intelligible sphere of which the centre is Jesus, the Son of God, since he is like the centre in a circle from which all the lines go out, that is, all creatures, as blessed Dionysius, De divinis nominibus, chapter 4,[17] shows. But this sphere has within it many circles arranged one with another. So a circle is shorter the closer it is to the centre. The largest circles around this intelligible centre are bodily substances, whether they are heavenly or earthly and they all complete their circle according to a greater or less distance and link with the first. As a result, living vegetable matter completes another circle, living sensitive matter another, and living intellectual matter a third. Among all these the shortest circle is made by the blessed Virgin Mary who by her devotion of mind held him more closely and enclosed and carried him within her blessed womb so that she became as it were a universe, as the Prophet indicates when he said: your lightnings enlightened the world [Ps 76:19 (77:18)], that is, of Mary who was made the universe of the Son of God who is earth that remains forever [Sir 1:4]. Sirach 24:8, when speaking for this person, says: I alone have compassed the circuit of heaven.
CHAPTER III
That the blessed Virgin exceeds all other creatures in glory
Thirdly, she is compared to the polar star because this star is the primary or first of the stars. Stars may be now always visible as they go around the North Pole, or always hidden as are those in the lower south, or they may be at one time visible and at another hidden as those that are situated in the middle. But the blessed Virgin is primary or first in relation to the greatness of glory and the height of dignity. She is first among all lower bodies that are visible, or among all rational bodies that are invisible, or also among those heavenly lights that are in the middle because they share substance with the first and eternity with the others.
In relation to the first she is the first, as written in Wisdom 7:9: Neither did I compare unto her any precious stone for all gold in comparison of her is as a little sand and silver in respect of her shall be counted as clay. And these are the more precious among things that are visible.
In relation to the others, that is, to rational and invisible matter, she is first since she transcends all spirits in excellence; hence, in Sirach 24:11, she says: By my power I have trodden under my feet the hearts of all the high and low,[18] or of the sublime.
In relation to the others, namely, to the heavenly lights, she is the first as is clear in what Wisdom 7:29 says: because compared with the light she is found before it.
This can be distinguished in another way, namely, that stars always hidden may be contemplatives who always wait on God and stars always visible may be active people always concerned with what they are doing. Bodies at one time visible and another time invisible, middle or mixed, are people who sometimes contemplate and sometimes work.
In relation to all these the blessed Virgin is first and so Sirach 24:9-10 says: In every people and in every nation I have had the chief rule.
Therefore, this star must be admired. Rightly, then, does the Holy Spirit say of her at the end of Wisdom 7:29: She is more beautiful than the sun, and above all the order of the stars, being compared with the light, she is found before it.
ARTICLE 3
On the triple nature of the star of the sea that is proven to suit the blessed Virgin
Thirdly, the blessed Virgin is compared to a star of the sea. This star has three properties that are proven to suit in an excellent way the blessed Virgin: firstly, it moderates cold; secondly, directs navigators in danger; thirdly, points out or leads to and accompanies into harbour.
CHAPTER 1
That the blessed Virgin is a star illuminating and warming the world
Firstly, the star of the sea tempers the deepest cold; its gaze is always over the sea by the direction of its rays and consequently by emitting warmth. In this way, the gaze of Mary is always over the world by the shining of eternal splendour, namely, of her Son, and consequently by communicating the warmth of the Holy Spirit. Indeed, she is the way by which light is spread and heat divided upon the earth [Job 38:24]. For eternal light is dispersed, that is, made present, through her upon the dark world. Indeed, she is the one through whom to the Jews, that is to those professing, a new light seemed to rise, joy, honour, and dancing [Esther 8:16]. And so heat is divided upon the earth that is, the warmth of the love of the Holy Spirit is distributed, and there is no one who can hide himself from this heat [Ps 18:7 (19:6)], and indeed no heart is so hard and stone-like that it is not melted by his heat. In Job 28:2 is written: Stone melted with heat is turned into brass, that is, anyone who was hard and obstinate before is softened by the sweetness of Mary. Rightly, therefore, does this name, star of the sea, belong to her.
CHAPTER 2
That the faithful in the dangers of this world are guided by the blessed Virgin
Secondly, a star of the sea directs navigators in dangers. By it sailors know to where they are sailing, to the north, south, west or east, because it is located in the north. In this way also through Mary all dangers and hazards are avoided, all journeys made safe. So Bernard, Super Missus est, hom. 2[19] says:
Whoever among you feel driven by the flow of this world between storms and tempests rather than walking on the earth, do not take your eyes off the brightness of this star, if you do not want to be overwhelmed by the storms. If attacks of wind rise up, if you run into dangers from storms, look at the star, call on Mary.
It is appropriate that the position of this star, since it is in the north, suits Mary. Indeed, persecution or trouble is usually represented as being in the north on account of the force of the winds and storms. So the position of Mary is in the north, so that through her the severity of a hostile persecution might be tempered and lessened.
A sinner is usually represented by the north. So Jeremiah 1:14: From the north shall all[20] evil break forth. Therefore, it is fitting that a northern position is given to her and she is placed midway between sinners and her Son so that on one hand his anger is softened and on the other he wipes out sin. According to Alexander of Hales, Super Psalterium,[21] the blessed Virgin should be represented on the left of Christ who, fixed on the cross, turned his face to the east; and so to the left, that is, to the north, the blessed Virgin stood to pray for sinners who are on the left side of Christ. So the Prophet, speaking for Christ hanging on the cross, says: I looked on my right hand, and beheld, and there was no one that would know me [Ps 141:5 (142:4)]; because the Virgin was not there as she was on the left side most perfectly knowing Christ. Accordingly, it is said to her by a sinner in Song 4:16 at the end: Arise, O north wind, and come, O south wind, blow through my garden, and let the aromatical spices thereof flow. When Mary rises up by pious intercession, the south wind comes, that is, the Holy Spirit through an outpouring of grace, and flows through the garden by receiving sweetness, and the aromatical spices flow from the receiving of multiple gifts. Of this north and south wind, Isaiah 43:6 says: I will say to the north, give up, and to the south, keep not back; that is, I will ask Mary to give from her grace; and to the north wind, that is, to the Holy Spirit, do not keep back, but rather send out gifts through her more abundantly. This is the rod of Moses with which he struck the waters of the Red Sea, and so divided them that the people of God crossing between the waves entered the desert [Ex 14:16].
CHAPTER 3
That the blessed Mary is a star pointing out the harbour of eternal salvation
Thirdly, the star of the sea points the way to harbour; because Mary quells many disturbances and acts as guide to the land of promise. Hence Bernard, Super Missus est, hom. 2,[22] says:
Following her you do not go astray, asking her help you are not desperate, thinking on her you do not err, holding on to her you do not fall, with her protection you are not afraid, with her as leader you do not tire, when she is gracious you arrive; and so in yourself you experience what was rightly said: the name of the Virgin is Mary.
In the night of this life she shines with the light of virtues so that she might show the way of truth and lead to the harbour of salvation. Indeed, she is the gate of heaven, as stated in Genesis 28:17: This, namely, Mary, is no other but the house of God and the gate of heaven. She is the ladder of Jacob, Genesis 28:12, of which the top reached heaven, and so leads to him, and on it the angels ascend and descend, because through her the angelic spirits descend for our protection and through her holy people ascend to receive the glory of heaven. And, so that I may use the words of Bernard,[23] it is necessary for all Christians navigating in the turbulence of this world to pay attention to this star of the sea who is close to the supreme point, that is, to God, and by example directs the course of life. Whoever does this, will not be tossed about by wind, nor broken by the rocks of adversaries, nor will they be dragged under by the Scyllan whirlpool of pleasures, but will arrive favourably in the harbour of eternal quiet, so that together with the glorious Virgin they will enjoy the eternal delights of her Son, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit is the glorious reward of the blessed Virgin herself and of her devout followers through infinite ages of ages. Amen.
SERMON 2
On the glorious name of Mary and that it means ‘a bitter sea’
The text, the Virgin’s name was Mary, is taken from Luke 1:27 and from today’s Gospel. Most dear Brothers, as long as human ability lives in this mortal body it cannot reach fully the praise of the glorious Virgin, the Mother of God, who surpasses every person and voice and overpowers the mind. Which mortal, unless enlightened by a divine oracle, would presume to utter anything slight or grand of the only Mother of God and man. Rather who would not fear to speak in this way with polluted lips of her whom God, the Father of mercies, before all ages predestined [see 1 Cor 1:7; 2 Cor 1:3] as the most worthy Virgin forever, whom the Son chose as his Mother and the Holy Spirit prepared as a dwelling of new grace? What praises could a human servant bring to the Queen of angels? What commendations could a limited mortal pronounce or what services could he or she offer to her for whom they prepare what is heavenly and pledge allegiance? With what praises will human applause on earth be worthy of her whom the companies of blessed spirits in heaven continually venerate? But because we are not able to praise her as she deserves, we can at least manage to extol her name.
We said in the previous sermon that the name of Mary means ‘a star of the sea’; now we add why it is understood as ‘a bitter sea’. Literally, the strong heat of the sun cause the bitterness of the sea by lifting up and drawing out its finer parts, scorching the earthly parts that remain and so making it bitter. Hence, in the bitterness of the sea three things can be noted: firstly, the separation of sweet from bitter; secondly, the burning of what remains; thirdly, the intermingling of what was burnt. Accordingly, the blessed Virgin was a bitter sea in the passion of her Son, because that was the drawing out of the sweetest Son, the burning of what was left, the mixture of all that is bitter.
ARTICLE 1
That, for four reasons, separation from her Son at the time of the passion was most bitter to the blessed Virgin
Firstly, there is indeed in the sea a separation of sweet from bitter. In the same way in the passion of the Lord there was a distancing and separation of the blessed Virgin, since it was for her the taking away of her most loved Son. This was most bitter to her for four reasons: firstly, from the condition; secondly, from knowledge; thirdly, from love; fourthly, from delight. Step by step, these are interconnected and follow one another.
CHAPTER 1
That the separation of her Son in the passion was bitter for the blessed Virgin because of his condition
Firstly, in the passion of the Lord the separation and taking away of her most loved Son was bitter for the blessed Virgin because of his condition, namely, as her Son. It is surprising that the worst bitterness was when her Son was completely sweet and all lovely, as stated in Song 5:16. Also the Prophet says: The Lord is sweet and righteous [Ps 24:8 (25:8)]. Because of this taking away the same Prophet says in the name of the Virgin: My heart is troubled within me[24], my strength left me, and the light of my eyes itself is not with me [Ps 37:11 (38:10)]. Or, according to another translation[25], she says more clearly: My heart wavered, my courage left me, and also even the light of my eyes. Indeed, her Son was her strength and courage in all difficulties, the light of her eyes and the joy of her heart in every success.
So her sorrow was extreme in intensity, extension and visible.
Firstly, it was extreme in intensity because it penetrated to her soul, as Simeon had predicted to her, Luke 2:35, when he said: Your own soul a sword shall pierce; this text on the two souls of Christ and the Virgin, when reflected on by looking forward and backwards, indicates a wonderful sharing and transformation of sorrow, as if he had said: A sword shall pierce his and your soul or your own soul.
Secondly, it was extreme in extension because it lasted through four continuous days. Her sorrow began in an extreme way on Wednesday because then the death of Christ was discussed and confirmed; it continued on Thursday in that he was captured, struck and mocked on that night; it increased into Friday because then her Son was crucified; but it extended until Saturday because then her Son was enclosed in the tomb.
Thirdly, it was extreme in how it was seen in that she showed and made her sorrow obvious by sobbing, by an abundance of tears, by lamenting in a loud voice, by striking her breast and clapping her hands. Indeed, her bitterness was extreme in that the taking away of her Son happened to her by a most shameful death.
CHAPTER 2
That his separation was most bitter to the Virgin on account of her knowledge
Secondly, the separation from her sweet Son was bitter to the blessed Virgin because of her knowledge. Three things contribute to compassion in one suffering with another for whom one feels compassion: firstly, the vehemence of the suffering; secondly, knowing how vehement it is in the one suffering; thirdly, the love and friendship in the one who is compassionate.
Firstly, I say, it is the vehemence of the suffering. The harshness of the passion of Christ was such that it cannot be expressed by any angelic or human tongue; it exceeds the ability of every mere creature, as Jeremiah indicates in Lamentations 1:12 when he says: O all you who pass by the way, attend, and see if there is any sorrow like to my sorrow!
Secondly, the pious mother was fully aware of this suffering because she stood by her dying Son whom she knew to be the Son of God. So John 19:25 says: There stood by the cross of Jesus, his mother.
Thirdly, there was love and friendship for the one suffering because the intensity of suffering is proportionate to the intensity of love as will be stated below. Hence, she suffered intensely because she loved him intensely. Indeed, she would not have been so afflicted had she not seen his torment; but when, as Anselm[26] says, ‘she would hear the sentence passed on him; when she saw the cross on which she was to be hung, which he, with grief, had to carry on his shoulders’, and even more when she saw him hanging on the cross already black and blue, scourged, wounded, bloody, ‘is there anyone, I ask, who can see the depth of sorrow in her heart?’ So she could say: What, O my beloved, what, O beloved of my womb, what, O the beloved of my vows [Prov 31:2]? What, O my beloved, do you not gaze on your friend, your daughter standing by you at this very moment, as you are collapsing and suffering from grief? What, O beloved of my womb, do you not look at your mother weeping, sorrowing and fainting from distress at this very moment? What, O beloved of my womb, do you not notice your handmaid and carer who followed you to the cross with laments, sighs, shedding most bitter tears and at this very moment is close to dying of sadness? Do you allow most wicked hands to treat you in this way, to raise you on a cross with all your limbs extended, to expose to view all your inner organs so that in this way a sword might pierce my heart?
Truly, Mary was a bitter sea so that Lamentations 1:4 can be applied to her: She is oppressed with bitterness, that is, she had been.
CHAPTER 3
That especially for five reasons the blessed Virgin loved Jesus and for these reasons separation was most bitter
Thirdly, however, the separation was bitter for the Virgin because of her love. As has been stated above[27], the intensity of sorrow depends on the intensity of love: hence, in John 11:36 the Jews realized the love of Jesus for Lazarus from his sorrow and weeping; and so they said of him: Behold how he loved him. But Christ was loved most perfectly by his Mother; therefore, his separation was extreme bitterness for her. Indeed likeness is a cause of love. So Sirach 13:19 says: Every beast loves its like, so also everyone his or her neighbour. Christ was most like the blessed Virgin because he was born totally from the substance of his Mother. For this reason, he was loved most perfectly by her.
As a result there were in her all the reasons why a mother loves a child, and she had these most fully. The Lord Jesus Christ was more powerful, wiser, nobler, more handsome and better than all others. These are the reasons why mothers love their children so much.
Firstly, indeed, he was more powerful than others; 2 Maccabees 15:4: There is one Lord, he is mighty in heaven. The Prophet also says: The Lord is strong and mighty [Ps 23:8 (24:8)]. And Joshua 24:19: The Lord is holy and mighty.
Secondly, he was wiser than others. In a mystical sense he is David sitting in the chair, that is, on the cross, the wisest, as stated in 2 Samuel 23:8.
Thirdly, he was nobler than others, because as stated in Isaiah 53:8: Who shall declare his generation? Fourthly, he was more handsome than others because as the Prophet says: You are beautiful above the sons of men [Ps 44:3 (45:2)].
Fifthly, he was better than others because as Wisdom 7:14 says: He is an infinite treasure to men.
Because of all these and similar things the love of the Mother was most intense and consequently her sorrow was most intense. So, Anselm[28], setting out her love, says:
Let the one who is able, weigh such great love, with what sorrows, what laments, what sighs was she tormented when he was taken from her by the hands of cruel people, when he was led away for condemnation, when she saw him stand in the tribunal to be condemned to death by the sentence of a wicked judge.
CHAPTER 4
That because of the delight the Virgin had from Christ, separation for her was most bitter
Fourthly moreover, the separation of her beloved Son was bitter because of delight. For the greater the joy from the presence of another, that much the greater is the sorrow in an absence. Anselm, De ortu Virginis[29]: ‘Who could understand with what joy her soul was filled when she was eating with him whom she loved with all her heart, whom she knew to be the Creator and Lord of all things, and whom she had taught with a sweet word as she saw fit?’ For this reason her separation was most bitter and sorrowful, so that the text of Ruth 1:20 can be used: Call me not Noemi, that is, beautiful, but call me Mara, that is, bitter, for the Almighty has quite filled me with bitterness.
ARTICLE 2
On the four affections or passions from which the blessed Virgin suffered the utmost bitterness over the death of her Son
Secondly, in the sea the remaining material is burnt. Being burnt by the sun represents a burning and scorching completion or torment, according to a text of the Prophet: The sun shall not burn you by day [Ps 120:6 (121:6)].
In the blessed Virgin, besides this bitterness that came from the separation from her Son, there was a most intense bitterness on account of her state of mind or the burning of her sufferings. Seeing her only child and the only begotten of God made to suffer undeservedly so much and so severely, she was afflicted interiorly with a vehement scorching and, as a result, was much burnt and so made bitter without limit. But, so that this be more clearly understood, we should ponder the kind of suffering over the death of a friend. There are four sentiments or passions that arise from the death of a friend, according to what Augustine, drawing from his experience, says in Book IV, Confessions[30]: the first is a darkening of the heart; the second, the appearance of death; the third, adverting to or reflecting on what is troubling; the fourth, the wavering between death and life. These four can fittingly be applied to the blessed Virgin at the death and suffering of her Son.
CHAPTER1
That the heart of the Virgin was darkened in a wonderful way at the death of her Son and so she was made bitter
The first feeling or suffering at the death of a friend is a darkening of the heart, as Augustine[31] says about the death of his friend: ‘My heart is darkened’. If this happened over a social love, how much more in a maternal, natural, freely given and social love? In fact the blessed Virgin was united to her Son by a mother’s love, linked to him by a natural love, joined to him most strongly by a freely given love and lived with him for thirty years in social love. Therefore, when she saw him hanging between two thieves, lacerated and pierced by so many blows, would not her heart have been darkened? Hence the verse of the Prophet says aptly: My heart is troubled within me [Ps 37:11 (38:10)], as has been said above in the first chapter of the present sermon[32]. And so where there is such darkness in the heart, bitterness is extreme, and so it was rightly said in Lamentations 1:20: My heart is turned within me, for I am full of bitterness.
CHAPTER 2
That in everything the blessed Virgin saw of the death of Christ, she experienced bitterness
The second feeling or suffering, following the death of a friend, is the appearance of death; for when one is sorrowing at the death of a friend, whatever one sees about the person dying and of the cause of death looks like death to the one looking, according to Augustine in IV Confessions[33]. For he says:
Whatsoever I saw was death. If, then, between friends, where communication comes only from their closeness and yet death makes such an impact, how much more would it have happened in the blessed Virgin and her beloved Son, between whom such a close friendship was shared in birth, education, caring and most tender love? The strongest impact of death on her would have been from what she saw in his death, and consequently she experienced extreme bitterness of heart.
Truly, then, the voice of lamentation in Sirach 41:1 is particularly applicable to her: O death, how bitter is your remembrance? And that of 1 Samuel 15:32: Does bitter death separate in this manner?
CHAPTER 3
That the sight, reflection on and memory of what afflicted Christ, caused extreme bitterness in the Virgin
The third suffering is the finding or reflection or memory of what caused the torment; whatever is remembered is an affliction. So Augustine, as above[34], says: ‘My homeland was for me a distress and my family home a strange unhappiness; and whatever I used to eat with him, without him was changed into torment’. If this was what happened in a love for a mere man, how much more was it in the love of God and humans, and not only of a companion but of an only begotten Son? For whatever the glorious Virgin saw, it became torment and torture, especially when she looked at her friend and Son killed with such cruelty. If Rachel bewailing her children would not be comforted, as said in Matthew 2:18, how much more the Virgin Mary? So the text of Jeremiah 6:26 can be applied to Christ as he was being lifted up on the cross: Make the mourning of an only son, a bitter mourning.
CHAPTER 4
That the love of the Virgin for her Son was so great that she would have wanted to die for him unendingly
The fourth suffering is a wavering between life and death. Augustine says in the same IV Confessions[35]: ‘I do not know if I would want to do for him what is said of Orestes and Pylades, if they would want to die for one another or at the same time; because death was worse than not being alive at the same time’. All who love in this way want to die for one another. There is no doubt that this type of love was in the blessed Virgin so that, were it possible, she would have died for her son unendingly. If David wanted to do this for his son, how much more would she have done it for her Son. So that the text of 2 Samuel 18:33 is more fitting for her: Who can allow me to die for you, my son? Indeed, she loved him as her own soul [1 Samuel 18:1].
Question. Why, then, did the blessed Virgin not die if she was filled with such sorrow? Indeed, we have heard this of the wife of Phinehas in 1 Samuel 4:19-20; at the capture of the ark and the death of her husband she died from sorrow.
Anselm[36] gives an answer to this, namely, that she would have died had the Holy Spirit not comforted her. So he says:
Pious Lady, I could not have believed that you could have in any way sustained the torment of such suffering without dying unless the very Spirit of life, the Spirit of consolation, the Spirit of sweetness of your Son for whom you were so tortured, had comforted you, consoled you, that the Spirit might teach you he was not dead but was being taken up, rather he was triumphant from subjecting all things to himself, that you saw happening in him as he was about to die before you.
So it is clear what effect the death of her Son had on Mary, effects that filled her with such bitterness. This was prefigured in the Shunammite, 2 Kings 4:27, of whom, at the death of her son, Elisha said: Let her alone for her soul is in bitterness.
ARTICLE 3
Of the four things mixed together from which extreme bitterness was caused in the Virgin
Thirdly, in the sea the burnt remnants are mixed one with another; and so in the passion of the Lord extreme bitterness was caused in the blessed Virgin by the mixture of the causes of sorrow. There were four factors, as from a particular mixture, that gave rise to the great bitterness in the blessed Virgin: firstly, what she saw in her Son; secondly, what she saw about her Son in his friends running away; thirdly, what she saw about her Son in the enemies who persecuted him; fourthly, on what she reflected in these events. These were in her and were seen as intermingled: the first, concerning her Son; the second, concerning the friends; the third, concerning the enemies; the fourth, concerning herself.
CHAPTER 1
The many amazing things that she saw in her Son were a cause of bitterness in the Virgin
Firstly, those things she saw in her Son were a cause of bitterness and sorrow in the Virgin. For she saw the price of the world torn apart for a paltry price; the fortitude of ages reduced to agony; he who was handsome above the sons of men [Ps 44:3 (45:2)], in a sweat of blood; the Lord of the world taken as a thief; the power of the heavens bound by restraining bonds; he who makes the pillars of heaven shake bound to a pillar; the founder of the earth bloody from blows; he who held life and death in his hand broken and lacerated from scourging; the judge of the world brought for judgement before wicked people; he who is glorified and honoured in heaven, scorned by most evil people; the King of heaven mocked by the wicked; the first of all princes and powers, struck with a reed so that he was bloody from flows of blood, from being crowned with thorns, and finally condemned to death by an unjust judge. She saw the highest, brought low in contempt; the most pleasant, afflicted with punishment; the wealthiest, surrounded with poverty; the clearest light, hidden in darkness; the most honoured, disordered in dishonour; the most lovable, grieved from taunts. Moreover, she saw clearly his naked chest, his side reddened with blood, that the inner organs are stretched and stand out, that bright lights grow dim, that the royal light pales, that the long arms become stiff, that the legs hang like marble, that a flow of blood wets the darkened feet.
Truly, then, the soul of Mary was in bitterness as she watched and pondered these things, so that she could utter the verse of Lamentations 3:15: He has filled me with bitterness and inebriated me with wormwood.
CHAPTER 2
What she saw in the disciples and friends of Christ at the time of his passion caused great bitterness in the blessed Virgin
Secondly, the things she saw about her Son when his friends ran away were a cause of bitterness and sorrow in the Virgin. This was so when the disciples, Peter and the others chosen for the apostolate, knowing his secrets and made his companions in everything, took to flight at the moment of the passion; and he, for whom shortly before they had promised to die themselves, left him alone with only his mother. Therefore, Anselm[37] represents her as saying:
You go as one atoning to be immolated for all. Peter who said: I will die for you [Mt 26:35], does not meet you; Thomas who said: We all may die with him [Jn 11:16] abandoned you; and none of these other than yourself alone will lead, you who kept me chaste, my Son and my God.
But you will say, that it was much comfort to her that John received her into his care. But what is the consolation in this when there is an exchange between eternal for temporal? O unwelcome exchange! For the eternal and incommunicable God, she receives a mere mortal man; for a natural and only Son, she accepts another as son. O Lady, who, I ask, thought this would happen to you, namely, that you would hear from him whom you loved above all, that such an unspeakable exchange would happen to you. Truly, a sword of great sorrow pierced your soul.
Therefore, ponder what great bitterness was in the heart of the blessed Virgin.
CHAPTER 3
That great bitterness was caused in the blessed Virgin by what she saw done by those persecuting Christ
Thirdly, however, the things she saw in the persecuting enemy were a cause of bitterness and sorrow to the Virgin. There was deep bitterness in the Virgin when she saw the impious Jews attacking her only Son with evil threats, affronting him with most criminal abuse, slapping with blows him on whom the angels desire to look [1 Peter 1:12], spitting upon him with the dirtiest filth, binding, scourging, blindfolding the blessed eyes and mocking with the ugliest words, crowning with a crown of thorns, crucifying, piercing the hands and feet, hanging him between thieves; and this on a solemn day, in the royal city, in a frequent meeting place of people and in a place for the condemned. She saw that he was between the laments of those nearby, between the weeping of neighbours, between the insults of his accusers, between the scoffing of his mockers, between the abuses of those cursing.
CHAPTER 4
That because the blessed Virgin was present at the passion of her Son, with no one able to help or support her in any way, she was severely tormented
Fourthly, moreover, the things on which she pondered in the events were a cause of bitterness and sorrow for the Virgin. She pondered in a particular way three things in those events and these increased her bitterness and sorrow: the first, her presence; the second, her powerlessness; the third, her ignorance.
The first was her presence because she was present to see that before her eyes her Son was to be crucified and torn. Indeed, the Mother was sorrowful when she hears her son is to die a horrible death, but even more is she tortured when before her eyes she sees her son wounded and killed. With what sorrow the blessed Virgin was tortured when she saw her Son dead from such confusion and torture, and this before her very eyes!
The second was her powerlessness because she was powerless to help. It is deeply consoling for a mother when she assists a dying son and is able to support him in some way, but the blessed Virgin was unable to support him in any way. She heard that he was thirsty but was unable to give him a drink. She saw his body torn from wounds but was unable to bind up the wounds and apply some remedy. She saw his bleeding body but was unable to wipe and care for it with a linen cloth. She pondered that he could hardly hold his head up and she was unable to support him. She watched him weeping on the cross but was unable to wipe away his tears. She looked at his blood flowing onto the ground and was unable to gather it up. She watched as he died and was unable to kiss and embrace him. So she could say what is written in 1 Samuel 1:15: I am an exceedingly unhappy woman.
The third is ignorance, because she did not know to whom she could turn for help or advice. All the disciples had run away and there was no one present of whom she could ask advice or help, and she and her Son found no helper in such torment; hence, Sirach 51:10 says in the person of the Lord or the Virgin: I looked for the succour of men, and there was none; he had no companion when suffering, and the Prophet also, speaking in the person of the Lord, says of this: I looked for one who would comfort me and I found none [Ps 68:21 (69:20)]. And what is more surprising is that she had no one to console her; so the text continues: I looked for one that would grieve with me, but there was none. Further, she had no companion, so Job 9:14 says in the person of Christ: My kinsmen have forsaken me, and they that knew me, have forgotten me. And again the Prophet speaking in the person of the benumbed Christ, says to the Father: Friend and neighbour you have put far from me [Ps 87:19 (88:18)], that is, you have allowed them to be put far, O Father, ah misery, as if it were the interjection of one astonished; or from misery, that is, from an intrusive misery, namely, friend and neighbour are put far from me.
Therefore, when the blessed Virgin saw all these things and joined all these together in herself, would she not have felt extreme bitterness? Truly, then, Mary was a bitter sea into which so many streams and rivers entered. The single details of the passion are like a single river of sorrow and so of bitterness. Therefore, the text of Lamentations 2:13 can correctly be applied to her: Great as the sea is your destruction. And this sea was not driven back by unwillingness to suffer, but all these rivers were absorbed in her by her endurance, as Ecclesiastes 1:7 wrote with a mystical meaning: All the rivers run into the sea, that is, into Mary, yet the sea does not overflow, namely, by unwillingness to suffer. However, it flows back into us through her from the sea of divine bounty, because of his fullness we all have received [Jn 1:16], grace now and glory in the future. May he mercifully grant these to us, he who is her most pleasant and beloved Son, who with God the Father and the Holy Spirit is the glory of all the blessed forever and ever. Amen.
SERMON 3
Further, on the glorious name of Mary and how Mary means ‘Lady’
The name of the Virgin was Mary, again Luke 1:27. God is the witness of my conscience that when, from an outpouring of heavenly grace and being free from external cares, I am able to be busy all the time or for a short time with the praises of the Virgin, I am struck by such joy of spirit, inspired by such interior sweetness that, spurning all the vanities and desires of the world, I prefer or desire nothing other than with a spirit of joy, should it be given, to go immediately to the Lord before the spiritual joy is taken away, cares again return and moved by the memory of the delights, the harp is turned for me to mourning [Job 30:1], and, unfortunately, the song of joy into lamentation [1 Macc 9:41].
In heaven, the Mother of God and the blessed Virgin surrounded by the ranks of angels, accompanied by the choirs of virgins, presides on the throne of her dignity. So, see how great is the happiness and glory when one is able to reflect on that face, now revealed with a totally full appearance of graces, and that once lived in the mean condition of flesh while she remained in the mire of the world. The contemplation of her name makes one so joyful that the name of Mary is to be contemplated again, and it is a pleasure to go to it again and again.
Enough has been said above on the meaning of the name Mary as ‘star of the sea’ and ‘a bitter sea’; now it is a pleasure to move to the third meaning of the name according to which Mary means ‘Lady’. We should reflect on three things in this matter: firstly, the definition or property of sovereignty; secondly, the extent of her sovereignty; thirdly, the numbers under her sovereignty.
ARTICLE 1
On the true definition of sovereignty that is shown to belong to the blessed Virgin
Firstly, indeed, we should reflect on the definition or property of sovereignty. A true sovereignty is one that is not subject to any authority, does not rely on the help of anyone, does not need subjection to anyone, and is for all people most abundant or profuse in sharing its goodness. Since, therefore, these properties are found firstly and per se in God alone, as a result they are found in Mary. That this may be made clear we are to treat of them singly.
CHAPTER 1
That the sovereignty of the blessed Virgin, or the blessed Virgin herself, is subject to no mere creature
Firstly, sovereignty is true when it is not under any authority; such was the blessed Virgin who was not under the authority of any mere creature. How could she be subject to any creature when she was made the Mother of the Creator? More, she is the Mother of the Lord of every creature and so was made Mother of all creatures. Hence the text of Genesis 16:9 can be spoken to any creature: Return to your mistress and humble yourself under her hand. Literally, this was spoken to Agar by Sarai. But Mary is the true Sarai, which means ‘princess’,[38] who gave birth to the true Jacob, namely, the Son of God, in whose seed all people are blessed and through whom she received authority over every creature. So Sirach 24:9-10, while speaking in the person of the Virgin, says: In every people and in every nation I have had the chief rule. Indeed, if it is lawful to say it, she became not only the Lady of every Creature but also of the Creator, as is written in Luke 2:51: And he was subject to them. Hence, this is true: every creature is subject to God and to the blessed Virgin; every creature and God are subject to the blessed Virgin. Hence, Bernard, Super Missus est, hom. 1[39], says: ‘God whom the empires serve and the powers obey, was subject to Mary, and not only to Mary, but to Joseph on account of Mary. This is humility without equal, a dignity like no other’. Truly, therefore, the blessed Virgin is named ‘Lady’.
CHAPTER 2
That the rule of the glorious Virgin needs no help from any creature
Secondly, the blessed Virgin does not rely on the assistance or help of anyone. On whom would she rely, she who is supported by the eternal King, the Son of God? In a mystical sense, she is Esther, to whom the king leaps from his throne, that is, the Son of God from heaven, holding her up in his arms [Esther 15:11].[40] Esther means raised up among the people and she rightly signifies the blessed Virgin, the Lady of all people. Moreover, on whose help would the blessed Virgin rely, other than on her Beloved in whom is the abundance of all consolations, a richness of all goods, the delight of all and an affluence of sweetness? Hence, in Song 8:5, the angels admire and say: Who is this that comes up from the desert, flowing with delights, leaning upon her beloved? Hence, Bernard, in his sermon on the Vigil of the Nativity,[41] says: ‘She is full of graces, full of heavenly dew, leaning upon her beloved, flowing with delights, a young woman prepared and chosen by the most high Son’. Justly, then, is she called Lady.
CHAPTER 3
That the sovereignty of the glorious Virgin has no need of subjection to anyone
Thirdly, the blessed Virgin has no need of subjection to anyone for she has a Son in whom are all things according to the Apostle [Rom 11:36]. Therefore, she who has all things in her Son, how could she need anything else? In a mystical sense, this is Anna who can say with complete truth with Joseph the words of Tobit 10:5: We having all things together in you alone, ought not to have let you go from us, when, namely, after coming back from Jerusalem in a day’s journey and sorrowing looked for him [Lk 2:44-48]. Moreover, all need comes from getting something not already possessed or from guarding what is possessed. But what does the Lady of the world not have, she who was named by the Angel as full of grace [Lk 1:28]? She is the Mother of all things [Wisdom 7:11-12 and so needs nothing. What protection does she need who felt the Holy Spirit coming down on her, the power of the Most High overshadowing her, the Son of God being born from her, and later being assumed and seated at his right hand? Indeed, a throne was set for the king’s mother, who sat on his right hand, as expressed in 1 Kings 2:19 in the mystical sense about the blessed Virgin. Rightly, therefore, is she named Lady.
CHAPTER 4
That the blessed Virgin distributes gifts and kindnesses most generously
Fourthly, the glorious Virgin Mary is most plentiful in her most affluent and generous goodness towards all. This belongs to sovereignty or pre-eminence, namely, an abundant holding of gifts or kindnesses; hence, Esther 2:18 said of King Ahasuerus that he bestowed gifts according to princely magnificence. And so the blessed Virgin is most generous. Bernard[42] says: She comes to all who invoke her. ‘Finally, she became all things to all [1 Cor 9:22], she opens the hiding place of mercy, so that all might receive from her fullness [Jn 1:16]’. If some do not find this, then the blockage is in the recipients; it is not a fault in her generosity. With the help of her Son, as long as people bring vessels she fills them with the oil of gladness and mercy, as stated in a mystical sense in 2 Kings 4:5. This is the queen of Sheba who brought precious spices, that is, gifts of power, to Jerusalem, that is, to the holy Church. Hence, in a mystical sense, 1 Kings 10:10 has: There was no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon. Truly, therefore, she is called Lady.
ARTICLE 2
On the extent of the sovereignty of the blessed Virgin and that in her four kingdoms she is seen as great
Secondly, we should reflect on the extent of the sovereignty of the Virgin. A lord is as much greater as his sovereignty is greater. Speaking in her person, Sirach 24:8-10 says of the extent of her sovereignty: I alone have compassed the circuit of heaven, and have penetrated into the bottom of the deep, and have walked in the waves of the sea. I have stood in all the earth, and in every people and in every nation I have had the chief rule. It expresses in these words the extent of her sovereignty, namely, because she rules in four kingdoms: firstly, in heaven; secondly, in hell; thirdly, in purgatory; fourthly, in the world.
CHAPTER 1
That the blessed Virgin is the Queen and Lady of heaven and is above all the blessed in glory
Firstly, she says she rules in the kingdom of heaven and so she states: I alone have compassed the circuit of heaven. As Lady she compassed the heaven and everywhere took her sovereignty. Or she is said to compass the circuit of heaven, because she compasses all the saints and circuits and excels them in everlasting glory; she is the Mother of God.
It is greater to be the Mother of God than to be the Lady of the creatures of God. The title Lady depends on the title Mother of God as a branch depends on the root. It is to be held as certain that she is exalted in glory above every pure creature, since she fulfils and constitutes a complete and total category to which by right reason it is not fitting for another person to be added, because this state of its very nature admits one only. Just as it is in no way fitting that there be several Christs nor that God became many humans, so in no way is it fitting for the Son of God to have more than the one natural Mother.
Natural reason directly and openly dictates from the law of favour that the mother of a king of all is to have the throne of queen, seated above all the orders of ministers and soldiers. Because Mary was chosen as Mother, she has been chosen for this dignity that is above all the dignities of ministers and servants. By reason of the motherly love which she bears for God as her real Son, no one else apart from her can share in this dignity on the basis of any kind of affection which is not in reality that of the Mother of God.
Likewise, the soul of Christ, and Christ in so far as he is a man, transcend every order of pure creature. The rank of Mary is conformable to Christ the man, whose human reality transcends the whole order of the first creation to the extent that it is completely outside and above the whole order of the universe. Therefore, she could not be held within the universe. The dignity of the motherhood of God is so connected to the work of the incarnation that the incarnation could not have happened without it.[43]
Hence the Church[44] says to the Virgin: ‘Heaven itself cannot contain the One whom you bore in your womb’. Rightly, therefore, does the blessed Virgin say: I alone have compassed the circuit of heaven. On this, Bernard crying out said in a sermon[45]: O womb more spacious than the heavens, wider than the earth, more extensive than the elements, that was able to contain him whom the whole world was unable to enclose and who with three fingers poised the bulk of the earth [Isa 40:12]. Therefore, her sovereignty is great and she is rightly named Lady by antomasia. This is treated more fully in almost the whole of the Lenten sermon, De christiana religione, sermon 61, art. 3, a.[46]
CHAPTER 2
That the blessed Virgin rules over all the demons of hell
Secondly, she rules over the kingdom of hell and so she says: I have penetrated into the bottom of the deep. She rules not only over the demons who are on the surface of this hell, nor only over the middle demons, that is, those who are, as it were, in the middle, but also and especially over those who are in the depths. So she does not say: I have penetrated the surface or the middle, but the bottom of the deep. Hence, the etymology of this name applies to her for, according to Catholicon[47] and Papias,[48] ‘lord’ or ‘lady’ means ‘a controlling hand’ because she controls the hands of the demons and powers. So, in a mystical sense, Genesis 3:15 says: She shall crush your head. And she says in Sirach 24:11: By my power I have trodden under my feet the hearts of all the high and low.
Just as the serpent overcame the human race through the sin of Eve who led Adam to eat the forbidden fruit and the destruction was complete when Adam ate; so through the merit of the Virgin, drawing God to assume her flesh, there began the crushing of Satan and our restoration that was completed by the incarnate God.[49]
In a mystical sense, Revelation 12:1-3 says: a woman clothed with the sun, that is, with the deity, with the solar wisdom and love of Christ, having the moon under her feet, that is, everything temporal and created, and standing in heaven, that is, firmly fixed on the heavenly in her mind and in contemplation, being with child, that is, with the Son of God and the whole mystical Christ in her mother’s womb, with the head and the whole body of the elect, and victorious over the red dragon with its seven heads and ten horns, that is, victorious over the devil who is the beginning of every poisonous malice. All the capital vices and every violation of the commandments of God took their beginning from him.
That the blessed Virgin rules also over those who are in purgatory
Thirdly, she adds that she has sovereignty in the realm of purgatory and so she says: And I have walked in the waves of the sea. The punishment of purgatory is called a wave because it passes; but she adds of the sea, because it is bitter. Hence, on distinction 25, of the canon Qui in aliud saeculm, Augustine[50] says: ‘Who at another time produces the fruit of conversion, will be first cleansed by the fire of purgation’. Even though this fire is not eternal it is severe in a strange way for it overcomes any pain that anyone has incurred in this life or that can be suffered. The same is found in De poenitentia, last distinction[51], towards the end, where is added: ‘Such pain is never found in this life, even though the martyrs suffered extraordinary torments and often in misery many endured so many tortures’. The blessed Virgin frees from these torments, especially her devotees. And this is what she says: I have walked in the waves of the sea, namely, visiting and coming to help her devotees in their needs and torments; in fact, she comes to all who live here, because they are her children since they are children of grace, confirmed in grace and made sure of glory.
CHAPTER 4
That the blessed Virgin rules over all the ranks of souls in the world
Fourthly, she adds that she rules over the kingdom of the world. Of this she says: I have stood in all the earth, and in every people and in every nation I have had the chief rule. There are three kinds of people found in the world: the first are carnal; the second, spiritual; the third, animal; or the first are fearful; the second, fervent; the third, careless; or some are evil, some good, and some lukewarm.
Firstly, she rules over the wicked and earthly who mind earthly things [see Phil 3:19], by leading them back to penitence; so she says: I have stood in all the earth, because among sinners who are earth or earthly, she does not lie down nor sit but stands upright to help, protect and draw them back from vice. Sinner, listen to Bernard, in one of his sermons[52] say:
If you are troubled by the vastness of sins, if confused by foulness of conscience, if frightened by the horror of judgment, if caught up in a depth of despair, think on Mary, invoke Mary; do not let her name depart from your heart, nor depart from your mouth. Thinking on her you do not make mistakes, following her you do not go astray, speaking to her you do not despair, holding on to her you do not stumble; under her protection you do not fear; under her leadership you do not get tired; when she is kind you endure. In this way you will be able to experience in yourself how rightly it is said: And the Virgin’s name was Mary.
Secondly, she rules over the good by increasing and preserving them in grace, and so she says: and in every people; the word people comes from ‘polis’ that means a city. For, according to Cathlicon,[53] ‘a people is a large group of humans bound together by an agreement on law and by a mutual harmonious sharing.’ It represents good people among whom there is a union of wills. Among such the blessed Virgin has the chief rule and fosters them by the grace of God.
Thirdly, she rules the lukewarm by making them advance in fervour of love, and so she adds: and in every nation I have had the chief rule. The word nation comes from the word ‘to give birth or someone born’ because they exist as people born; indeed a person is born through baptism. Hence, in 1 Corinthians 4:15, the Apostle says to the Corinthians: In Christ Jesus, by the gospel, I have begotten you. There are individuals who make no progress in good and acquire no virtue but, as people not born in innocence, they live in carelessness and idleness. In Revelation 3:15-16, the Lord says to such: I would that you were cold or hot! Hot from love, or cold from fear; but because you are lukewarm, that is, sluggish in good work, neither hot nor cold, that is, neither diligent nor fearing, like an infant newly baptised, I will begin to vomit you out of my mouth. Such people, by divine judgment, become hateful to God and to the world. Over such the blessed Virgin holds the chief rule because she cares for and leads them to love or fear.
ARTICLE 3
On the size of the sovereignty of the blessed Virgin and on the fourfold number of her subjects
Thirdly, we should reflect on the size of the sovereignty of the Virgin. The larger the number of subjects, the more excellent is the sovereignty. Mary has many subjects over whom she rules nobly. These can be divided into four groups: the first are servants; the second, friends; the third, children; the fourth, however, are enemies. Song 6:9, in its mystical sense, describes this: Who is she that comes forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army set in array?
CHAPTER 1