THE ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

THE ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

(15 August)

SERMON 1

Isaias 2:2: And in the last days the mountains of the house of the Lord shall be prepared on the top of mountains, and it shall be exalted above all the hills, and all nations shall flow unto it.

Triple metaphor of the praise of the Virgin

The Holy Spirit has pointed out in many ways the praise of the blessed Virgin under various metaphors of heavenly, earthly and intermediate realities. In the words of the Prophet quoted above there is the metaphor of a mountain from three points of view, namely, the summit of exalted virtues: And in the last days the mountains of the house of the Lord shall be prepared; the dignity of everlasting rewards: and it shall be exalted etc.; the protection of overflowing mercies: and all nations shall flow unto it. The first refers to the eminence of the state of grace; the second, to the dignity of the state of grace; the third to the effect of both states.

Part I: The summit of exalted virtues

It has to be noted about the first metaphor that the house of the Lord is triple, namely, what dwells in it by a Majesty without limit and this is the grandeur of the eternal Majesty; what dwells in it by a continuous influence and this is the capacity for earthly vastness; and also what dwells in loving goodwill and this is the calm of ecclesiastical unity.

Firstly, the grandeur of the eternal Majesty

Of this Baruch 3:24-25 says: O Israel, how great is the house of God, and how vast is the place of his possession! It is great, and has no end, it is high and immense. It is great because of incomprehensible Majesty, it has no end because of unending eternity, it is high because of incomparable virtue.[1] Job 11:7-9 touches on these four: Will you perhaps comprehend the steps of God? He is higher than heaven, because of the sublimity of power, deeper than hell, because of a wisdom that cannot be grasped; longer than the earth, because of the breadth of love; broader than the sea, because of the length of eternity.

Secondly, the capacity for earthly vastness

On this, we read in 2 Timothy 2:20: In a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth. Gold, refers to intellectual creatures, wood to vegetable matter, and earth to basic elements. The text continues: some indeed unto honour, but some unto dishonour, because it was the plan of God to place some creatures around the higher while some were left below in the centre. Of this house Jeremiah 18:2 says: Go down into the potter’s house.

Thirdly, the calm of ecclesiastical unity

On this third point we read in 1 Timothy 3:14-15: These things I write to you etc., that you may know how you ought to behave in the house of God which is the church of the living God. The foundation of this house is enduring truth; Psalm 118:89 says of this: For ever, O Lord, your word stands firm in heaven. The walls of this house are excellent virtue, its roof most eminent love. The Apostle in 1 Corinthians 12:31 says: I show you yet a more excellent way. The adornment of the house is shining wisdom, Ecclesiasticus 26:21: 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. This the house of which the Prophet said: And in the last days etc.

The mountain of this house is the blessed Virgin

The mountain of this house is the blessed Virgin because she gave its beginning by her grace of fertility, its height by her excellent and exalting grace, its stability by her confirming grace.

Firstly, the grace of fertility

Of this, Daniel 2:34-35 says: You saw, till a stone was cut out of a mountain without hands, that is, Christ born from the Virgin without human seed. This stone struck and broke the statue in pieces, that is, the height of human vanity; and it became a great mountain etc. Psalm 117:22 says: The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner. This the foundation stone of the Church and so we read in the Prophet: Behold, I will lay a stone in the foundations of Sion [Isaias 28:16]. Therefore, when the house of the Church was built upon this stone that was born from the blessed Virgin, it is clear that she gave to this house its beginning by her grace of fertility. The Church obtains from her its beginning by undoubting faith. Hebrews 8:5 says of Moses: Make all things according to the pattern which was shown you on the mount. The Church imitates the blessed Virgin Mary when producing spiritual children through faith. Just as the blessed Virgin conceived without human intervention, so the Church conceives by faith alone without human reason. This is well prefigured in 3 Kings 6:7 where we read that when the house of God was in building, no hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron was heard in it. By hammer and tool of iron are understood human reasons and arguments that are not found in the sacred Scriptures upon which the Church is built.

Secondly, her excellent and exalting grace

On the second, Ezechiel 40:2 says: He set me upon a very high mountain, upon which there was the building of a city, bending towards the south. Before the incarnation of the Lord the Church could feel ashamed to be cast down but now it can glory as it is built on the top of mountains, that is, on the blessed Virgin who is exalted above the choirs of Angels. The Church derives its height from the blessed Virgin by her excellent hope. Hebrews 3:6 says: But Christ as the Son in his own house, which house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and glory of hope unto the end.

Thirdly, the stability by her confirming grace

We read in the Canticle in Exodus 15:17: You shall bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of your inheritance etc. The Church draws stability from the blessed Virgin because of her unchanging love. 2 Corinthians 5:1 says: For we know, if our earthly house of this habitation be dissolved, that we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in heaven. For it is impossible given the unbreakable and unshaken bond of love that the Son would expel the Mother, the children and servants of the Mother from the kingdom of heaven.

Three mountains

The text continues: the house of the Lord shall be prepared on the top of mountains. As has been said, the Church draws its origin from the blessed Virgin by faith, its height by hope, and its stability by love. Hence, it is the mountain of the house of the Lord that has three houses to be built on the virtues mentioned above, virtues that were also strong in the Saints: in the Patriarchs was faith, in the Prophets hope, and in the Apostles love, while all the virtues were in all of them. These mountains are called the foundations of the house of the Church. Psalm 86:1 says: The foundations thereof are in the holy mountains; the Apostle says: Built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets etc. The Patriarchs are called aromatic mountains because of their firm waiting for the divine promises; the Prophets are called radiant mountains because of their revelation of divine secrets; the Apostles are called well watered mountains because of their infusion of divine charismata. At the summit of all these the blessed Virgin is called a mountain prepared, because whatever was promised or revealed to them is fulfilled in her, and whatever grace flowed into them, came from her and through her.

Firstly, the mountain of the Patriarchs

Of this mountain, Canticle 8:14 says: Flee away, O my beloved, and be like to the roe, and to the young hart upon the mountains of aromatic spices. The Virgin excels these and so is said of her: I will go the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense [Canticle 4:6]. She is myrrh by her compassion, frankincense by reconciliation; Ecclesiasticus 24:20: I gave a sweet smell like cinnamon and aromatic balm etc. Prelates should be such mountains but, on the contrary, it is said in Jeremias 51:25: Behold, I came against you, you destroying mountain, corrupting and giving scandal by bad example.

Secondly, the mountain of the prophets

Of the second mountain is said in 1 Machabees 6:39: The sun shone upon the shields of gold, that is, divine brightness on the angelic spirits who are called shields because of their beauty and perfection, and the mountains glittered from them, that is, the prophets enlightened by their revelations. Psalm 75:5 says: You enlighten wonderfully from the everlasting hills. Even so the blessed Virgin excels these. Exodus 24:17: And the sight of the glory of the Lord, in the Virgin, was like burning fire upon the top of the mount; in this way the Son who was God made his Mother godlike.

Admonition to clerics

Clerics should be mountains like this, namely, radiant; but on the contrary it is said about evil mountains in Jeremias 13:16: Give glory to the Lord your God, before it is dark and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains. The dark mountains are all who give false teachings against the truth of sacred Scripture, false counsels against the example of the Saints, false judgments against the decrees of the Fathers and the direction of laws.

Thirdly, the mountain of the Apostles

Psalm 103:13 says of the third: You water the hills from your upper rooms. Just as everything that flows from the mountains is poured out as adornments on the earth, so charismata come from the Apostles to the Church. The blessed Virgin excels these because grace comes from her to them. Psalm 132:3 says: As the dew of Hermon which descends upon mount Sion. Hermon[2] means an end of sorrow; as a figure of this the dew comes down first on the fleece of Gedeon, then onto the floor from the fleece [Judges 6:37]. Psalm 71:6 says: He shall come down like rain upon the fleece, and as showers falling gently upon the earth. Gregory says of this text that ‘showers of charismata came down from the roofs of the Apostles onto the earth of the Church’.[3] Joel 3:17 says: In that day the mountains shall drop down sweetness etc. We should all be mountains like this so that divine grace may come down on us and through us go on to others. But, on the contrary, it is said of the wicked: You mountains of Gelboe, let neither dew nor rain come upon you. All who are proud, envious or irreligious are such mountains.

Summary

Therefore, in this way the height of the virtues concerning the state of grace of the blessed Virgin is implied in what has been said. She is called the mountain of the house of God because she give it its beginning by her grace of fertility, its height by her exalting grace, its stability by her confirming grace. The Church has its origin in her by her undoubting faith, her excellent hope, and her unshaken love. She is called the mountain prepared on the top of mountains, because she excels the merits and virtues of the Patriarchs, Prophets and Apostles.

Part II: The dignity of everlasting rewards

The text continues: and it shall be exalted above all the hills, by which words she is commended for the dignity of her everlasting rewards. It seems wonderful that she is said to be exalted above the hills in her state of glory that is called on the top of the mountains with reference to her state of grace; mountains are higher hills. Note that it is the Holy Spirit who is speaking here.

Triple hierarchy

According to Hugh,[4] there is a triple hierarchy, namely, a super-heavenly hierarch of God, a heavenly of the Angels and a sub-heavenly of humans. These relate to one another as being below and being above; those below the higher are called hills and those above the lower are called mountains. Therefore, because the blessed Virgin is exalted above the sub-heavenly and the heavenly, called hills in relation to the super-heavenly, she is fittingly said to be exalted not over the mountains but over the hills.

Triple action of a higher hierarchy

Note that there is a triple action by a higher hierarchy on a lower, namely, to purify, enlighten, and perfect or complete. Isaias 40:12 says: Who has poised with three fingers the bulk of the earth, that is, the stability of the Church in its triple hierarchical actions? The blessed Virgin has this action on the hierarchies subject to her, namely, those of the Angels and of humans. Fittingly, then, Mary is called a bitter sea that purifies, someone who enlightens because she sheds light, and Lady because she perfects and completes. She is exalted above the angelic hierarchy that purifies, enlightens and perfects, and above the human hierarchy that has to be purified, enlightened and perfected.

Mary is exalted above the angelic hierarchy that purifies

She is exalted above the purifying angelic hierarchy of which Psalm 71:3 says: Let the mountains receive peace for the people namely, by offering prayers and reconciling with God; and the hills justice by punishing evil deeds and so purifying. But the blessed Virgin excels in this action. Hence, the Angels themselves wonder and call out in Canticle 3:6: Who is she that goes up by the desert, that is, the hierarchy of angels, a hierarchy abandoned by the apostate angels? As a pillar of smoke of aromatic spices, because they purify; of myrrh, because it purifies of every impurity; and frankincense, because it purifies from every impiety; and of all the powders of the perfumer, purifying from every evil.

Mary is exalted above the angelic hierarchy that enlightens

She is exalted above the enlightening hierarchy of which Numbers 23:9 says: I shall see him from the tops of the rocks, and shall consider him from the hills. The knowledge of divine revelations comes to humans through angelic spirits; they are called rocks because they are firmly set in a good eternity. The blessed Virgin excels these and so in Canticle 3:6 we read: 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? This text touches on the knowledge of all that is necessary, namely, what can be believed when it says: comes forth as the morning; of what can be done, when it says: fair as the moon; of what can be desired: bright as the sun; of what can be avoided: terrible as an army set in array.

The fourfold knowledge

The first knowledge is faith, the second, prudence, the third, wisdom and the fourth, knowledge. Apocalypse 12:1 says: A great sign appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, that is, with the brightness of wisdom, and the moon under her feet, that is, the angelic and human hierarchies, and on her head a crown of twelve stars, that is, the enlightenment of all knowledge.

Mary is exalted above the angelic hierarchy that perfects

She is exalted above the perfecting hierarchy. Genesis 9:26 says: The blessings of your father are strengthened with the blessings of his fathers, until the desire of the everlasting hills should come, that is, of the angelic spirits whose desire is to perfect the heavenly city. This is done by converting rational creatures to the Creator, not however by power over the object, but by being put under the subject, in the identity of the person, as in the Son of God. In the same way, as of one giving a beginning to what is begun as of a mother with her child. The blessed Virgin, therefore, represents a special form of perfection in the heavenly city and she excels the perfecting hierarchy. For this reason there is the cry in Canticle 8:5: Who is this that comes up from the desert, flowing with delights, leaning upon her beloved? So it can be stated that she is there bodily for she represents a special form of perfection in the heavenly city, namely, by a transferring that gives a beginning to the one begun. She gave a beginning with her body because the soul of Christ was not from her soul, since a soul is not transferred but a body comes from another body. It is clear that this form of perfection would not be there unless she was there bodily.

Another reason for the bodily assumption of the Virgin

It is proven also since it says leaning upon her beloved and flowing with delights, because of her complete blessedness. Blessedness would not be complete unless she was personally present and a person is not a soul but a union. It is clear that as a union of body and soul she is there, otherwise she would not have complete enjoyment, because, according to Augustine,[5] ‘the souls of the Saints in some way are held to the body by their natural inclination, and not totally centred on God’.

In this way the blessed Virgin is exalted above the hills of the purifying, enlightening and perfecting hierarchies.

Secondly, Mary is exalted in a triple way above the human hierarchy

She is exalted also above the hills of the hierarchy of souls to be purified, enlightened and perfected: purified from the vanity of pride, enlightened by the truth of knowledge, perfected by the sweetness of joy.

Firstly, the hierarchy of those to be purified

On the first, Isaias 40:4 says: Every mountain and hill shall be made low. The example of this purification is the blessed Virgin whose footsteps all Saints are to imitate by rejecting occasions of pride. Isaias 2:12-16 says: The day of the Lord, that is, the day of grace, upon all the tall and lofty cedars of Lebanon, and upon all the oaks of Basan, the glory of fortitude; and upon all the high mountains, the glory of dignity; and upon all the elevated hills, earthly favour; and upon every high tower, friendship attained; and every fenced wall, acquired knowledge; and upon all the ships of Tharsis, rich possessions. These are things over which heroes are accustomed to pride themselves.

Secondly, the hierarchy of those to be enlightened

Of the second, Isaias 41:18 says: I will open rivers in the high hills, and fountains in the midst of the plains, that is, knowledge in souls attentive to God. He adds the cause of this, namely, I will turn the desert into pools of water, that is, the blessed Virgin in her fullness of knowledge. Hence, she enlightens most of all by the truth of her knowledge.

Thirdly, the hierarchy of those to be perfected

Of the third, Psalm 64:13 says: The beautiful places of the wilderness shall grow fat, the blessed Virgin shall overflow with a fullness of grace; and the hills shall be girded about with joy, that is, holy souls shall rejoice.

Conclusion

In this way the blessed Virgin is exalted above the hills of the human hierarchy by purifying, enlightening and perfecting it, and in like manner she is exalted above the hills of the angelic hierarchy. Of all these together Deuteronomy 33:13-15 says: Of the blessing of the Lord be his land, that is, the blessed Virgin; of the fruits of heaven and of the dew, referring to the purification done by the purifying of the heavenly hierarchy; and of the deep that lies beneath, referring to the purifying done by the super-heavenly hierarchy; of the fruits brought forth by the sun and by the moon, referring to the enlightening of the hierarchy enlightening and to be enlightened; of the tops of the ancient mountains, of the fruits of the everlasting hills, referring to the perfection of the hierarchy perfecting and to be perfected. Both hierarchies are purified, enlightened and completed from the blessed earth of the Virgin; and so she is exalted above the hills.

Part III: The dignity of her everlasting rewards

Isaias 2:2 says: All nations shall flow unto her, by which words the dignity of her everlasting rewards is commended. Note that her mercy is necessary for all and so it is right for all to flow to her. All people are either preoccupied with evil deeds or practised in good deeds.

Three types preoccupied with evil

The first are of a triple kind for they are oppressed and look for her as a place of refuge. Genesis 19:17 says: Save yourself in the mountain. Bernard says[6]: ‘In dangers, in difficulties, when doubtful, think on Mary, invoke Mary, and so as to obtain the request for deliverance do not neglect to follow the example of her way of life’.

Or they are needy and are looking for a place of abundance. Psalm 67:16 says: A curdled mountain, a fat mountain. Isaias 25:6 says: The Lord of hosts shall make unto all people in this mountain a feast of fat things, a feast of wine, of fat things full of marrow, from the abundance of the incarnate Word; of wine purified from the lees, from the enjoyment of the Holy Spirit. Psalm 64:9 says: You have visited the earth and plentifully watered it.

Or they are afflicted and look for a place of quiet. Psalm 14:1: Lord, who shall dwell in your tabernacle, or rest in your holy hill? Ecclesiasticus 24:11 says: In all these I sought rest. So, let us be like the dove of which is said: But she, not finding where her foot might rest, returned to him in the ark.

Three types practised in good

Likewise there are three kinds in the second group. Some are devout and look for a place of prayer. It was said to Moses: You shall have for a sign that I have sent you. When you shall have brought my people out of Egypt, you shall offer sacrifice upon this mountain.

Others are studious and look for a place of learning. Exodus 3:1:

He drove the flock to the inner parts of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, Horeb. And the Lord appeared to him in a flame out of the midst of a bush, and he saw that the bush was on fire and was not burnt.

Whoever will come as a studious person to the mountain of God, that is, the blessed Virgin, will be able to understand divine mysteries. This is clear in blessed Bernard[7] who at first was uneducated, but reached a high perfection of knowledge through his friendship with the blessed Virgin. It is true also of John the Evangelist for the closer he came to her, the better he was able to understand the hidden and deep mysteries of God and was able to pass them on.

Some are cheerful and look for a delightful place. Apocalypse 21:10-11 says: He took me up in spirit to a great and high mountain, and he showed me the holy city of Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Therefore, since each finds in the blessed Virgin what he or she needs, rightly do all people flow to her.

SERMON 2

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.

Three commendations of Mary

In these words, the glorious Empress, raised up above the choirs of heavenly citizens, is commended by the Holy Spirit with a perfect approval relating to her assumption. She is commended for three things that make a noble lady most excellently commendable, namely, perfect beauty, most excellent nobility and brightness of wisdom. Her perfect beauty is commended when she is said to be more beautiful than the sun; her excellent nobility when she is placed with more honour and higher than all the stars, that is, than all the Saints; her brightness of wisdom when she is compared with the light of eternal wisdom, and is said to be renowned for being nearer to it than all other creatures.

Part I: Firsly, her perfect beauty

Firstly, she is commended for her perfect beauty when it is said: She is more beautiful than the sun. The most serene Virgin was indeed more beautiful than the sun in her assumption, because she was more similar than the sun to the source of all beauty; also because she was nearer than the sun to the source of all beauty with her greater ability to receive perfect beauty; and further because by her beauty she was more noble than the sun.

The first reason

She can be called more beautiful than the sun in her assumption because she was more similar than the sun to the source of all beauty. The brightest star is the star known to be most like the sun. So, among rational creatures the most beautiful is the one found to be more like the Sun of eternal light, the source and origin of all beauty. This creature was the royal Virgin. For if, according to Hugh,[8] ‘the power of love transforms the lover into a likeness of the person loved’, then Mary, more than any other creature, was so transformed into his likeness that she can be literally said to be the brightness of eternal light and the unspotted mirror of God’s majesty, and the image of his goodness [Wisdom 7:26]. Accordingly, she became more beautiful than the sun and other creatures. The text of Jeremias 6:2 can be applied to her: I have likened the daughter of Sion to a beautiful and delicate woman, as if to say: I have likened the daughter of Sion to the glorious and delicate Trinity, namely, the Virgin Mary. She is a delicate daughter according to what God says in Ezechiel 31:8-9: No tree in the paradise of God was like him in beauty, for I made him beautiful. Also Bernard[9]:

The royal Virgin, adorned with the precious stones of virtues and with an equal beauty of both soul and body, drew the gaze of the heavenly citizens onto her, so that she could incline the heart of the eternal King to desire her.

The second reason

She can also be said to be more beautiful than the sun because, due to her multiple grace, she was closer than the sun to the source of all beauty, more disposed to receive perfect beauty and, especially because of her virginal purity, was closer to it; also, exalted above the sun and stars, she was joined to her most sweet Son with a love beyond measure. She receives a fuller beauty beyond every creature, and for this reason what is said in 3 Kings 1:2-3 can be taken in the person of the Angels as a prefiguring of her: Let us seek for our lord the king a young virgin, and note the disposition of virginal purity; who might be with him and cherish him, note the closeness of love; and they sought a beautiful young woman in all the land of Israel.

The third reason

She can also be called more beautiful than the sun because she was nobler in her beauty. Because of her beauty she was called to the dignity of the imperial and eternal King. So it is said through the Prophet: With your comeliness and your beauty set out, proceed prosperously, and reign [Psalm 44:5].Neither the sun nor any other creature shall find this dignity, no matter how brightly they may shine outwardly in this life while lacking the beauty of grace and virtue.

Part II: Secondly, her most excellent nobility

Secondly, she is commended in a fitting way for her most excellent nobility since it is indicated that she is more sublime than all the stars. The stars are understood to be the Blessed illuminated with the brightness of glory, according to Baruch 3:34-35: The stars were called and they said, ‘Here we are’, and with cheerfulness they have shone forth to him that made them. Accordingly, since the sacred Virgin is said to be more sublime than the ordering of all the stars, it is indicated that she is nobler than all the Saints. There are three reasons that make a person spiritually nobler: the first is a profusion of spirituals delights, the second, an abundance of eternal riches and the third, an excellence of dignity or birth.

Firstly, a profusion of spiritual delights

She is said to be nobler and higher than all the Saints in the profusion of spiritual delights. For this reason the admiring Angels said at her assumption: Who is this that comes up from the desert, flowing with delights, leaning upon her beloved [Canticle 8:5]? She was profuse with these delights above the assembly of the Saints not only in her soul but also, as is believed and proven, in her body that was piously glorified in the assumption of her soul.

Secondly, an abundance of eternal riches

She is also said to be nobler than all the Saints because of the abundance of eternal riches. She abounded more than all the Saints with riches of glory and grace, of virtues and rewards, of gifts and happiness. Others abound by ministering glory by their prayers, others grace, others the forgiving of sins, others the building up of virtues. For this reason Proverbs 31:29 says: Many daughters have gathered together riches, you have surpassed them all. The text of Proverbs 8:17-18 can be applied to her: I love them that love me; and they that in the morning early watch for me, shall find me. With me are riches and glory, glorious riches, that is, sublime riches, and justice.

Thirdly, an excellence of dignity

She has been made noble also beyond all the saints both in the excellence of her dignity and birth; for she is the noblest of all creatures by birth and dignity since she is the Mother of the most high Emperor. For this reason she is rightly exalted and placed on the highest throne. This was excellently prefigured in 3 Kings 2:19. When Bethsabee came to King Solomon, that is, the Virgin Mary in her assumption to her peaceful and eternal Sun, the king arose to meet her, accompanied by the whole assembly of the Saints, and bowed to her, that is, showed her filial reverence, and the king sat down upon his throne and a throne was set for the king’s mother and she sat at his right hand, as one of noblest birth according to Apocalypse 22:16: I am the root and stock of David, the bright and morning star. An infant of the noblest descent came forth from her womb according to the text: He who shall be born of you shall be called the Son of God, without change, however, to her virginal condition. It was right that a glory proportionate to that grace, namely, a fullness of dignity and glory be given to her, while to others it is given partially; on her a fullness of grace is showered in general, even though it is given to others partially. For this reason in Apocalypse 12:1 she is said to be: 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. The woman is the royal Virgin who is said to be clothed with the sun, that is, with the beauty of the Sun of justice; and the moon under her feet, that is, trampling most vigorously on earthly glory that like the moon is now waning, and now increasing; and on her head a crown of twelve stars, that is, given every honour and dignity, glory, high position and nobility of birth in the twelve orders of Saints who are represented by the twelve shining stars, of which nine are the higher spirits, while three are of the triple state of humans, namely, active, contemplative and prelates. For whatever dignity and glory is given to these in a partial way, is conferred on the sacred Virgin in a complete way.

Part III: Mary is commended for the brightness of her wisdom

Thirdly, she is commended for the brightness of her wisdom that is found to be prior or higher when compared to the light of eternal wisdom. For just as uncreated Light, namely, divine Wisdom, transcends all things in enlightenment, knowledge and rule, so the Virgin transcends others in these three things.

Firstly, the enlightenment of creatures

Accordingly, compared to the light of divine wisdom she is said to be prior or higher in wisdom than other creatures. She it is who by the light of reason, in so far as it comes from her, illuminates and brightens all people by the light of grace, according to John 1:9: That was the true light which enlightens every man that comes into this world. Therefore, just as she transcends all by enlightening creatures, so this Virgin, enlightened by wisdom more than all the Saints, she more than all others, by her pious prayers, illumined the whole world with the light of grace. Therefore, Wisdom 16:28 says: We ought to adore you at the dawning of the sun; and Tobias 13:13: You shall shine with a glorious light, and all the ends of the earth shall worship you, as if to say: You are holy and on you shall shine a glorious light, that is, you shall obtain the splendour of grace for others. Likewise, Ecclesiasticus 36:1-2 says: Show us the light of your mercies, and send your fear on the nations, that have not sought after you that they may know that there is no God besides you.

Secondly, her knowledge

Compared to the light of eternal wisdom she is brighter than other creatures. Divine wisdom sees everything most clearly, according to Daniel 2:22: He reveals deep and hidden things, and light is with him; Ecclesiasticus 23:28:

He knows not that the eyes of the Lord are far brighter than the sun, beholding round about all the ways of men, and the bottom of the deep, and looking into the hearts of men, into the most hidden parts;

and Daniel 13:42: O eternal God who knows hidden things, who knows all things before they come to pass. Because divine light transcends all in the knowledge of all things, so this Lady, when compared to this light of divine wisdom, is found to be prior. So the text of Wisdom 6:24 can be applied to her: I will bring her wisdom to light.

Thirdly, her rule

None the less, when compared to eternal light, she is brighter in wisdom than other creatures. Divine light transcends all in its rule and direction of all things, according to Isaias 49:6: I have given you to be the light of the Gentiles that you may be my salvation even to the furthest part of the earth; for this reason it is said in Luke 1:79: To enlighten them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death, to direct our feet into the way of peace. Similarly, the blessed Virgin transcends all in this. So it is said in Wisdom 7:10: I chose to have her instead of light for her light cannot be put out. Likewise, Isaias 42:6-7 says: I have given you for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles that you may open the eyes of the blind and bring forth the prisoner out of prison. May she by her prayers obtain this for us before him who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.

SERMON 3

3 Kings 2:19: The king arose to meet his mother and bowed to her, and a throne was set for the king’s mother, and she sat on his right hand.

Introduction

In how many ways Solomon prefigures our Solomon is clear in what Augustine says in The City of God[10]: ‘The things said of Solomon apply only to Christ, so that in him a form is foreshadowed, but the truth is presented in Christ’. Therefore, the text quoted can be applied to the present solemnity in which we celebrate the glory of Mary, the Mother of Solomon. For he is the Solomon who is most wise in all wisdom; in fact the very Wisdom of the Father from whom comes the wisdom and understanding of everything in angelic spirits and in human beings. He is a person of peace, in fact our peace, who has made both one [Ephesians 2:14] and who by the blood of the covenant [Exodus 24:8] dissolved the ancient discord. He is that grand King whose face all the earth, his Mother Mary, desired to see. We should say then: The king arose to meet his mother etc.

Four honours of Mary

In the text quoted four honours are described for which today Mary, the Mother of God, is solemnly honoured in her assumption. They are:

§ The grand meeting because the king arose to meet his mother;

§ the most sweet and charming reception, because he bowed to her; a text about Joseph says: he embraced him [Genesis 45:14];

§ a most worthy enthroning: a throne was set for the king’s mother;

§ an immediate placing or nearness: and she sat on his right hand.

Brothers, what are we able to add to this? Bernard[11] says: ‘I confess my ignorance, I do not hide my own timidity. There is nothing pleases me more, nothing that terrifies me more than to speak of the glory of the Virgin Mother’. So we should hold as a principle that whatever praise is attributed to the blessed Mary, is not said as an hyperbole, but as inadequate according to the word of blessed Jerome[12]: ‘Whatever can be said in human words is less than the praise of God’.

Part I: The meeting with the king

Therefore, the first honour is the meeting with the great King. It must be believed totally and doubted in no way that today the Virgin ascending in solemn procession is met not only by the King but also by the whole heavenly court.

Meeting with the heavenly court

The Angels fly ahead to see their Lady; the Patriarchs come down to see their daughter; the Apostles run to see their teacher; the Martyrs hurry to see the one who encouraged them; married women and widows move eagerly to look on their companion and sister; religious sisters come together to see their prelate and abbess, so that the words of Ecclesiasticus 24:16 are justified: My abode is in the full assembly of saints; and the text of Judith 13:15-18:

And all ran to meet her from the least to the greatest. And lighting up lamps they all gathered round about her. She says: Praise you the Lord our God, who has not forsaken them that hope in him; and in me, his handmaid he has fulfilled his mercy.

Hence, blessed Bernard[13] says: ‘All creatures rightly gaze on you, because through you and from you the hand of the Omnipotent recreated whatever it had created’.

Meeting with the Creator

Whatever reverence the creatures may show it is as nothing compared to the most excellent honour given to her by the Creator. The whole Trinity meets her, not by moving from one place, but by a favourable influence, by a wonderful joy and godlike glory. For the whole blessed Trinity knew you, Mary, spouse of chaste love, palace of a holy indwelling, centre of a wonderful work. Or we should say clearly: The Father knew blessed Mary as the home of his majesty; Isaias 60:7: I will glorify the house of my majesty. The Son recognized the beginning of his humanity or humility. The Holy Spirit, recognizing again the shrine of his goodness, placed in it most fully and without measure the charisms of graces, in which, as it were in a public storehouse belonging to all, the Spirit brought together the grain of gifts so that they might reach the poor in a time of need [Genesis 41:47]. Canticle 7:2 says: Your belly is like a heap of wheat. But the text: The king arose to meet his mother, is rightly understood to refer to Christ, her Son. Coming from his throne, he moved the whole composition of his empire into a service of his Mother. He is Solomon who moved the princes and tribunes, leaders and magistrates of all Israel so as to bring in the ark of the covenant of the Lord into the Holy of Holies, that is, into the highest heaven, as in 3 Kings 8:1ff. For this reason, blessed Bernard,[14] comparing the ascension of the Lord and the ascension of the Mother and finding that the Lord’s ascension was more powerful in majesty while hers was more solemn in its procession, says in these words:

Turn our eyes to the assumption of the Virgin and, excepting the majesty of her Son, you will find the gathering of this procession not a little more becoming. Only Angels were able to meet the Redeemer, while all the Angels and the just met her solemnly, and carried her to the assembly of the blessed court.

Exhortation

Accordingly, my dearest brothers, even though God may treat us severely and speak to us rather harshly as if we were strangers, a time will come, when in all courtesy God shall appear to friends, come to meet them, gather them in God’s arms, and take them to heaven. If you doubt this is so, remember what blessed Gregory[15] wrote of Servulus, what is written of Martin, of Ambrose, of John the Evangelist,[16] and what is written in our days of blessed Clare,[17] who, at her death, when asked as she gazed with her eyes shut what did she see, she replied that she saw the Lord of glory. Isaias 64:5 says of such meetings: You meet the one who rejoices and does justice.

How unlike this is the meeting of a sinful soul! Isaias 34:14 says: Demons and monsters shall meet, and the hairy ones shall cry out to one another.

Part II: Her reception in sweetness and reverence

The second honour was the fullness of sweetness and reverence in her reception, for which reason it is said: and he bowed to her. Lord, what are you doing? You, the true Lord before whom all must bow down, do you bow down to a woman? He replies, I bow since two things compel me to bow down to her, namely, the fact of motherhood and the merit of humility. Her motherhood was singular and her humility without equal.

Three reasons for honouring her motherhood

Does a son act against the laws by bowing down to his mother? Therefore, Jesus does not bow down to any mother but to a mother who is singular in sufficiency, magnificence and diligence. She was singular in sufficiency because she was sufficient for this task without the mixture of male seed for the Holy Spirit gave her in a wonderful way the power to conceive. She was also singular in magnificence because she is the only mother to give birth to God and remain a virgin after giving birth. She was also a mother singular in diligence and care because no mother loved more and was more responsible.

Her humility

Further, honour was due to her because of her humility of which the Lord says in Luke 14:11: She that humbles herself shall be exalted. See on the one hand how the humility of Mary interacts with divine goodness on the other: Mary humbles herself, while God exalts her; Mary not only humbles herself but prostrates herself in humility and in this prostration empties herself and reduces herself to nothing so that she is conscious of nothing about herself other than being nothing; and God not only exalts her among the Saints and glorifies her over the Saints, but as a final honour he bodily bows down to her.

Exhortation

Therefore, brothers, do not feel you are great, mediocre, nor even minimal. Hand back to God whatever good you have, and reduce yourself to nothing; then wait for the divine hand to whom it belongs to make something out of nothing. Just as when the text says bowed it implies the great honour due to a mother from her son, so the text on Joseph that says he embraced him shows the love due to a bride from the bridegroom. Then from the women’s quarters, that is, the Church militant, she was brought to the chamber of Assuerus [Esther 2:16], and so the text of Psalm 72:24 may be applied to her: You have held me by my right hand, and by your will you have conducted me, and with your glory you have received me. Our souls are brought to this chamber provided they have been joined to Christ with a chaste love and are now guarded in the women’s quarters, that is, among the orders of just souls who keep themselves for the embraces only of Christ.

Part III: A most worthy enthronement

A throne was set for the king’s mother. The third honour is a most worthy enthronement. And since the throne is of an eternal royal title, no more is it to be said: A throne was set, but rather: The king married and made her queen [Esther 10:6], and rightly so. We read that Christ promises the kingdom of heaven to chastity, Matthew 19:12: There are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven; to poverty, Matthew 5:3: Blessed are the poor in spirit etc; to the humble, Matthew 18:3: Unless you be converted and become etc. Who is more chaste than Mary, who poorer than Mary, who more humble than Mary? Therefore, to these three virtues that flowered in her more notably, there corresponds a triple marvellous throne. The throne of ivory that King Solomon adorned in many ways corresponds to chastity, as we read in 3 Kings 10:18ff. The throne of sapphire of a heavenly colour corresponds to poverty that follows what is heavenly not what is earthly; Ezechiel 1:26: The appearance of the sapphire stone upon the likeness of a throne. The bright throne of the sun corresponds to humility that hides and conceals itself of which Psalm 88:38 says: His throne as the sun before me. Crowned, she sits in triumph for ever as all these endure.

Against sinners

But on what throne, sinful soul, shall you sit? It will be such a throne as you make by your evil deeds. I teach you to make a heavenly throne. You ask how? By following the footsteps of Christ; so Matthew 19:28 says: You who have followed me shall sit on seats etc. Therefore, to follow Christ is to build a throne. You ask, in what? In penance.

Part IV: Proximity to the King

And she sat on his right hand. This is the fourth honour, namely, to be placed next to the King. There are three reasons for this.

First reason

The first reason is the closeness of love of heart to heart. Just as nothing came between the heart of the Virgin and God, so there is nothing between one throne and the other; Esther 14:18 says: You know that your handmaid has never rejoiced since I was brought hither unto this day but in you, O Lord, the God of Abraham.

Second reason

The second reason is the frequency of her intercession for sinners. Having the duty of intercession and reconciliation, she cannot sit for long but must be close by to help and to approach as it were from one side, in fact she must be closely connected as a confidant, lest perhaps a cruel sentence be passed against those entrusted to her, and should that happen, she is provoked. You have an example of this in Esther 7:2: What is your petition, Esther? Immediately at her word the cruel sentence was revoked, the enemy hung, the enemies perished, the people were freed. So in Canticle 6:3 it is said that she is as terrible as an army set in array to help the world and overcome demons.

Third reason

The third reason is that the patriarchy that Adam had in the number of men and Eve in the number of women, so that they might sit at the right hand of God, was transferred to Christ and Mary, his Mother, because, just as they were the destroyers of the human race, so these restored it. In Esther 1:19 we read: That another that is better than her be made queen in her place. May she obtain for us forgiveness of sins, she who reigns with the Son for ever and ever.. Amen.

The end of the Sermon of Brother Bonaventure. Amen.

SERMON 4

Esther 11:10 and 10:6: The little fountain that grew into a very great river, and was turned into a light, and into the sun, and abounded into many waters, is Esther whom the king married and made queen.

Introduction

Knowledge is a fountain of life to him that possesses it [Proverbs 16:22]. Just as we see that the human body is sustained materially by food and drink so the rational soul desires food and drink. Its food is understanding, hence Ecclesiasticus 15:3 says: With the bread of life and understanding she shall feed him. Its drink is the sweetness tasted from the practice of devotion, so it is said: And give him the water of wholesome wisdom to drink. If learning is a way to truth, when it is possessed one has this sweetness. Accordingly, just as a hungry person hurries to the table and a thirsty person to drink, so a person should hurry to an understanding of the divine words. It says clearly: Knowledge to him that possesses it, because sometimes a person does not possess the wisdom he or she is teaching; then the person does not feed nor give drink to the soul, not from lack of words but from a defect in the one teaching; often the efficacy of a word is taken away from the hearer because of a lack of skill in the one teaching. But who is able to impart this fountain that gives the possession of knowledge? Certainly the Father and the Son can impart it for in them are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge [Colossians 2:3]; they have an abundance of bread and wine, that is, truth, love and charity; so we should ask them.

Knowledge is a fountain etc.

Sermon

Dear brothers, the distinguished sublimity of the glorious Virgin so transcends human ability that words are inadequate to explain it. It was the Holy Spirit who filled her with charisms of virtues and the same Holy Spirit, speaking through the Prophets and other doctors of sacred Scripture, praises her in many ways, not only expressly in words but also by people who prefigure her and by metaphors. While that text speaks of Esther, it is more excellently and fully interpreted of the blessed Virgin because Esther is a figure of the blessed Virgin both in her name and in her life. Esther means prepared in time or exalted among the people, and she was the wife of King Assuerus who was the prince of the monarchy. While she was a lowly person she was made queen and prefigures the blessed Virgin who was prepared in time and exalted among the people and was assumed into a marriage union with the supreme King so that she might become the Mother of God. Hence, this text is understood to apply to her in what is explained here as full of grace.

Three metaphors

She is described for us in the metaphor of a fountain, a river, and of the sun and light, in which she is praised for her fullness of all good things. She is put before us in the metaphor of a fountain because of the grace accepted in her origin; in the metaphor of a river because of the grace added to her in the conception of the Son of God; in the metaphor of the sun and light because of the perfecting grace in her glorification. The first is noted when it says: The little fountain; the second is noted when it says: that grew into a very great river; and the third when it says: and was turned into a light, and into the sun.

Today is the day of the perfecting of her glory, but we are not able to speak adequately of this perfection unless we speak first of her beginning and growth.

Part I: Mary is a fountain of good things

Understand that the blessed Virgin is called a fountain because of the origin of good things. This origin comes principally from God, then through Christ, and thirdly it overflows to the blessed Virgin and so she is called a fountain, and fourthly it applies to each person who shares in any good.

The first origin from God

First I say that the name of fountain belongs to God the Father; Psalm 41:2-3 says: My soul has thirsted after the fountains of water, so my soul pants after you, O God. My soul has thirsted etc. From this fountain originate industries, graces, and whatever other things we have, as from a principal fountain; hence, in the Canonical James 1:17: Every best gift, and every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights; the Prophet says in Psalm 35:10: For with you is the fountain of flight. This is the fountain to which good people hurry and evil people despise; so Jeremias 2:13 says: They have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and have dug for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.

The second origin through Christ

This fountain distributes its tributaries and influences through our Lord Jesus Christ, and so Christ is called a fountain gushing forth in heaven and on earth. He gushes forth in heaven, in so far as he is the uncreated Word; hence, Ecclesiasticus 1:5 says: The word of God on high is the fountain of wisdom. But he gushes forth on earth in so far as he is the incarnate Word; so we read in John 4:13-14:

Whoever drinks of this water shall thirst again, but he that shall drink of the water that I will give him, shall not thirst for ever. The water that I will give him, shall become in him a fountain of water, springing up into life everlasting.

It is of the nature of a fountain that in gushing forth it only goes as high as it comes down; so that fountain, having come down into the womb of the Virgin by accepting flesh, goes up in glory above the choirs of Angels. This is the fountain to which Christians should hurry so as to draw the waters of grace; Isaias 12:3 says: You shall draw waters with joy out of the saviour’s fountain.

The third fountain under four headings

The third fountain in which the Word of God on high overflows is the glorious Virgin of whom is said: The little fountain that grew into a very great river etc. The blessed Virgin is compared to a small fountain, a living fountain, a sealed fountain and a bountiful fountain. She was compared to a small fountain because of the prerogative of her humility; a living fountain because of her unfailing holiness; a sealed fountain because of her unstained purity; and a bountiful fountain because of the generosity of her mercy.

Mary, a small fountain

I say, firstly, that she is compared to a small fountain because of the prerogative of her humility. In the vision of Mardochai is written: The little fountain that grew into a very great river. The smallness of this fountain is only lessened externally because internally it increases; she was made small even to the conception of God. The statement was made: He that shall humble himself, shall be exalted [Matthew 23:12]. The more one exalts, promotes and glorifies oneself, so much the more is one lessened, corrupted and humbled, as is clear with Lucifer who exalted himself and so opened for himself the way to eternal damnation [Isaias 14:13]. Our Lord Jesus Christ exalted us by humbling himself and he says in the Gospel: Whosoever shall humble himself as this little child, he is the greater in the kingdom of heaven [Matthew 18:4]. And I say that whoever will have humbled him or herself, like this small woman, will be greater in the kingdom of God; even though she was the Mother of God, she wanted to be small in her own eyes.

Admonition

Note that this is the starting point of the Christian and divine profession; so the Apostle says in 1 Corinthians 1:26-28:

For see your vocation, brethren, that there are not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, but the foolish things of the world has God chosen that he might confound the wise; and the weak things of the world has God chosen that he may confound the strong. And the base things of the world and the things that are contemptible has God chosen, and things that are not, that he might bring to naught things that are.

Therefore, God looks for what is humble. It can be said of many: The fountains of the great deep were broken up, that is, abysmal hearts. It is not small praise to say of the Blessed Virgin that she is a little fountain, small in her own eyes because it is praiseworthy to say of someone: He or she is great; however, it is more praiseworthy to say: He or she is great but small in his or her own eyes, because a great spirit despises great things.

Mary, a living fountain

Secondly, the blessed Virgin is compared to a living fountain because of her unfailing holiness; hence, in Canticle 4:15 we read: The fountain of gardens, the well of living waters, which run with a strong stream from Lebanon. Something is living when it has within it the principle for its preservation; so a fountain is said to be living when it has within it whatever makes it flow continuously. The blessed Virgin has within her an unfailing holiness both in her origin and in her untiring devotion. There flows from her continuously an example of holiness because continuously she pours this out. When a fountain ceases to gush forth it loses the dignity of a fountain. Accordingly, people should pour out and receive because they are stupid who do not want to receive and share with others but who say: How will I give what I do not have? Worse are those who refuse to pour out what they have received, such as the greedy; but people are proud who experience nothing of God yet want to teach others. Some have never received spiritual illuminations and yet want to teach others: These are fountains without water, and clouds tossed with whirlwinds, to whom the mist of darkness is reserved [2 Peter 2:17]. Fountains without water are people deficient in doctrine; they are clouds tossed with whirlwinds when they propound imaginary arguments; just as a cloud brings turbulence and not tranquillity, so these stir up a storm through their imaginary arguments. If you have understanding then instruct your neighbour but if not put your hand on your mouth [Ecclesiasticus 5:14]. Do not put yourself up as a master in things you have not learnt. I would call myself stupid were I to want to diagnose a pulse rate when I had no knowledge of medicine.

Mary, a sealed fountain

Thirdly, the blessed Virgin is compared to a sealed fountain because of her unstained purity; Hence, in Canticle 4:12-13 we read: My sister, my spouse, is a garden enclosed, a fountain sealed up. Your plants are a paradise. The enclosing of a garden and the sealing of a fountain are joined together, because whoever wants to have the virtue of chastity should have the elegance of modesty. These close the garden of the blessed Virgin; she was fertile but was a virgin; an enclosed garden because she remained intact, clean and unstained; she was a sealed fountain because she was closed. The text says twice: a garden enclosed because she had the firmest discipline and the most elegant modesty; a modest person does not willingly get involved in the ugliness of passion. One who blushes before the Lord does not soil him or herself with lust; but some blush in the eyes of men not in the eyes of God or of an Angel; but a holy and shamefaced woman is grace upon grace [Ecclesiasticus 26:19]. A firmness of discipline restrains taste, closes sight and stops hearing, so as to restrain touch by which people become especially like beasts. Sobriety is the sister of chastity.

The bad example of prelates

But alas, today the text of Apocalypse 8:10-11 is fulfilled:

A great star fell from heaven, burning as it were a torch, and it fell on the third part of the rivers, and on the fountains of waters. And the name of the star was Wormwood, and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many people died of the waters because they were made bitter.

So when a prelate falls into a sin of corruption, he corrupts all who listen to him; and I say that a sin of a prelate makes two evils, namely, innocent people are corrupted and the other evil is that it makes it easier for the wicked to sin. When one says to them: You are doing wrong, why do you do this, they answer: If it was wrong they would not do it. Hence, we read in Proverbs 25:26: A just man falling down before the wicked is as a fountain troubled with the foot and a corrupted spring. It is better that a millstone should be hanged about his neck and that he should be drowned than have him scandalize one of these little ones [Matthew 18:6].

Mary, a bountiful fountain

Fourthly, the blessed Virgin is compared to a bountiful fountain on account of the generosity of her mercy; hence Zacharias 13:11 says: In that day there shall be a fountain open to the house of David, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for the washing of the sinner and of the unclean woman. The open fountain is the blessed Virgin who purifies and frees the Saints from the causes of sins, from sins committed and from desires leading to sin. Hence, Joel 3:18 says: A fountain shall come forth of the house of the Lord, and shall water the torrent of thorns, that is, sinners.

On the trust to be placed in Mary

There are many who were thorns but through their trust in the blessed Virgin became chosen trees. There is no thorny sinner who, if he or she has recourse to her, would not become a life giving tree. If we want to take refuge in her, we should be merciful; Proverbs 5:16: Let the fountains be conveyed abroad. And in Genesis 24:43 it is stated that Eliezer, the servant of Abraham, said: Behold, I stand by the well of water; and to Rebecca he said give me water to drink [Genesis 24:18], and Rebecca replied: Both drink you, and to your camels I will give drink [Genesis 24:46]. While he stood near the fountain …[18] and did not expect she would give him drink; standing near the fountain, that is near God the Father who gave everything to the Son,[19] who then gave it to this young woman, that is, to the blessed Virgin who gave us to drink as well as our camels because she gives herself to rational and simple creatures. As often as we call on her we will find her courteous because she says: I will give freely of the fountain of the water of life [Apocalypse 21:6].

Part II: Mary is a river for four reasons

This fountain increased more than a fountain growing into a great river because she became the Mother of God and from this fountain flowed a superabundance of all good things. It flowed as a most glittering river from the conception of the eternal splendour that enlightens our ability to know; as a most delightful river from the conception of eternal sweetness that rejoices our ability to feel; as a most fast flowing river from the conception of eternal life that strengthens our ability to work; and as a most fruitful river from the conception of eternal health that saves our powers of control.

Firstly, a most glittering river

Firstly, I say, the blessed Virgin grew into a most glittering river from the conception of eternal splendour that enlightens our ability to know. Apocalypse 22:1: And he showed me a river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. This throne is the blessed Virgin; the river is the Son of God who is the brightness of eternal light and the unspotted mirror [Wisdom 7:26] without whose illumination we receive nothing good or true. In this river are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge [Colossians 2:3]; from it flow illuminations and the first foundations of knowledge and ‘the causes of being, the manner of understanding and the order of living’.[20] The blessed Virgin is called the throne of God and of the Lamb, because in her God the Father would sit, the Lamb rested and she was the ‘resting place of the whole Trinity’.[21]

Secondly, a most delightful river

Secondly, the blessed Virgin grew into a most delightful river from the conception of eternal sweetness that rejoices our ability to feel. Psalm 45:5-6: The stream of the river makes the city of God joyful etc. God is in the midst thereof, it shall not be moved. And when a man is born in her etc [Psalm 86:5], that is, when the omnipotent Son of God, who created her, took flesh for himself from the flesh of the Virgin, and made glad the city of God, that is, the Church and the Patriarchs; so it is said: Abraham rejoiced that he might see my day; he saw it and was glad [John 8:56]. God gave this to his contemporaries, that is, to the Apostles of whom it can be said: Blessed are the eyes that see the things which you see [Luke 10:23]. It delights innumerable faithful because blessed are they that have not seen and have believed [John 20:29]. O how much rejoicing there should be over this river because all good things came to us together with her when light is risen to the just [Psalm 96:11]. Many rarely rejoice but those having hearts made glad exult greatly through God because the stream of the river makes the city of God joyful.

Thirdly, a fast flowing river

Thirdly, the blessed Virgin is a most fast flowing river from the conception of eternal life that strengthens our ability to work. Hence it is written: Behold my brook became a great river and my river came near to a sea [Ecclesiasticus 24:43]. My brook became a great river when the Holy Spirit came upon me; and my river came near to a sea, when that river of immense goodness and wisdom in the unity of a person was joined to you; unto the place from where the rivers come, they return, and Christ, just as he came out from the Father and came into the Virgin, so he returned again to the Father. Through Christ we have access in glory [Romans 5:2]; strength and power come from God who makes what a mother cleanses to be changed into milk. Hence, the Apostle in Philippians 4:13 says: I can do all things in him who strengthens me. Who? Certainly Jesus.

Fourthly, a most fruitful river

Fourthly, this fountain grew into a most fruitful river from the conception of eternal health that saves our power of control. Our power of control takes hold of and places us in the state of eternal happiness; we have this through its cause, Christ. So in Apocalypse 22:2 we read: On both sides of the river was the tree of life bearing twelve fruits. The uncreated Wisdom plants these fruits in us and the fruits are hope, joy, peace etc., as listed by the Apostle [Galatians 5:22]. These twelve fruits are twelve reasons for enjoyment in God and they come to us through the river flowing from the glorious Virgin. Blessed is the one who will be planted beside the flow of waters of this river because his leaf shall not fall off and all whatsoever he shall do shall prosper. Genesis 2:10-14 says that a river that went out of the place of pleasure is divided into four heads, namely, into the Phison, the Gehon, the Tigris and the Euphrates. Phison means a change in an opening and represents the most glittering river that enlightens our powers of knowing. Gehon represents the most delightful river that rejoices our affections. The Tigris represents the fast flowing river that strengthens our ability to work. But the Euphrates, that means fruitfulness, represents the most fruitful river that saves our powers of control.

Part III: Mary is the sun and light by her perfecting grace

Thirdly, she is compared to sunlight because of the perfecting grace in her glorification. It is rare that a fountain is changed into light; it is not by a work of nature that a bodily element is changed into a heavenly element, but the glorification of the Virgin was a work of grace. Apocalypse 12:1 says: 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.

Triple property of the sun and the Virgin:

First property

The sun is vigorous by power, is bright by shining and warms by its influence. The glorious Virgin is vigorous from her union with eternity of life by a dowry of possession. Canticle 3:4 says: I held him and I will not let him go. But where? She says her abode is in the full assembly of saints. Bernard:

Rightly is her dwelling in the full assembly of saints for in her the faith of the Patriarchs, the hope of the Prophets, the zeal of the Apostles, the constancy of the Martyrs, the sobriety of the Confessors, the chastity of the Virgins, the fruitfulness of married people and even the purity of the angels were not lacking.

Proverbs 31:29 says: Many daughters have gathered together riches, you have surpassed them all.

Second property

Likewise, she shines by knowledge with the clarity of light. Tobias 13:13 says: You shall shine with a glorious light and the ends of the earth shall worship you. You, Mother of God, shall shine with a glorious light in your spirit, your flesh and in special honour. Just as every knee of those in heaven, on earth, and under the earth is bent for her Son, everyone should bend the knee before her whether they so wish or do not wish. Esther 8:16-17 says: To the Jews a new light seemed to rise, joy, honour, and dancing for all peoples. Truly unhappy the person excluded from praising her. Those who love the Virgin are enlightened more in the truth of understanding, in good name and they are enriched in all good things.

Third property

Thirdly, she warms by love with the pleasant taste. Esther 2:16-17 says: Esther was brought to the chamber of king Assuerus and he loved her more than all the women and he set the royal crown on her head and made her queen. Bernard[22]:

Who is able to comprehend how glorious was the procession today of the Queen of the world whom the multitude of heavenly legions met, with what joyful embraces was she received by her Son and exalted above every other creature?