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(Please NOTE: With the apparent change in the attitudes of the Catholic Church in public towards other religious peoples, it becomes necessary to know what the Catholic church really teaches. The following clearly reveals that the Catholic Church has not changed at all, but is still the same as she was before–no matter what front she parades to the world! All statements given are from Catholic sources. These statements are found to be based upon pure tradition, and have no foundation what-so-ever in God’s word of truth. These statements are here provided to clearly show how the Catholic church instructs their membership to unquestionably submit to the traditions and commandments of men–which Christ declares to be vain worship (see Matthew 15:9) and which will bring His curse (see Jeremiah 17:5), as well as to help you avoid being trapped in this same snare.)
Amazing Catholic Statements Regarding Mary
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Mary Places Herself Between Christ and His People, Thus We ONLY Have Access to God and Jesus Through Mary
Between Christ and His People, Thus We ONLY Have Access to God and Jesus Through Mary "Thus there is a mediation: Mary places herself between her Son and mankind in the reality of their wants, needs and sufferings. She puts herself 'in the middle,' that is to say she acts as a mediatrix not as an outsider, but in her position as mother." Pope John Paul II, in Redemptoris Mater (On the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Life of the Pilgrim Church), Encyclical promulgated on March 25, 1987, #21.
"But, since Divine Providence has been pleased that we should have the Man-God through Mary, who conceived Him by the Holy Ghost and bore Him in her breast, it only remains for us to receive Christ from the hands of Mary." Pope Pius X, in Ad Diem Illum Laetissimum (On the Immaculate Conception), Encyclical promulgated on February 2, 1904, #6.
"...we only have access to the Father by means of the Son, who is the Mediator of justice, so we only have access to the Son by means of the Mother, who is mediator of grace, and who obtains for us, by her intercession, the gifts which Jesus Christ has merited for us....you cannot come to God except by means of Jesus Christ, nor can you come to Christ except by means of his Mother." St. Alphonsus Ligouri, The Great Means of Salvation and of Perfection (The Necessity and Power of Prayer), Chapter 1, The Necessity of Prayer, Section 4 "The Intercession of the Blessed Virgin".
"With equal truth may it be also affirmed that, by the will of God, Mary is the intermediary through whom is distributed unto us this immense treasure of mercies gathered by God, for mercy and truth were created by Jesus Christ. Thus as no man goeth to the Father but by the Son, so no man goeth to Christ but by His Mother....Mary is this glorious intermediary..." Pope Leo XIII, in Octobri Mense (On the Rosary), Encyclical promulgated on September 22, 1891, # 4.
"God chose her to be the treasurer, the administrator and the dispenser of all his graces, so that all his graces and gifts pass through her hands. Such is the power that she has received from him that, according to St Bernardine, she gives the graces of the eternal Father, the virtues of Jesus Christ, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit to whom she wills, as and when she wills, and as much as she wills.....
"We must never go to our Lord except through Mary, using her intercession and good standing with him. We must never be without her when praying to Jesus.....
"Beware, chosen soul, of thinking that it is more perfect to direct your work and intention straight to Jesus or straight to God. Without Mary, your work and your intention will be of little value. But if you go to God through Mary, your work will become Mary's work, and consequently will be most noble and most worthy of God.." St. Louis Marie de Montfort, in The Secret of Mary, #10, 48, 50.
God's Love Comes to us Through Mary
Love Comes to us Through Mary "The Father's eternal love, which has been manifested in the history of mankind through the Son whom the Father gave, 'that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life', comes close to each of us through this Mother and thus takes on tokens that are of more easy understanding and access by each person." Pope John Paul II, in Redemptor Hominis (The Redeemer of Man), Encyclical promulgated on March 4, 1979, #22.
It is Through Mary that Humanity Comes to a Knowledge of Truth
Truth "Hail, Mother and Virgin, imperishable temple of the Godhead, venerable treasure of the whole world, crown of virginity, support of the true faith on which the Church is founded throughout the entire world....
"Through you the human race, held captive in the bonds of idolatry, arrives at the knowledge of the truth. What more shall I say of you? Hail, through whom kings rule, through whom the only-begotten Son of God has become a star of light to those who were sitting in darkness and the shadow of death. Amen." St. Cyril of Alexandria, in Paean to Mary, Temple of the Godhead.
"And that through the Virgin, and through her more than through any other means, we have offered us a way of reaching the knowledge of Jesus Christ...it is through Mary that we attain to the knowledge of Christ" Pope Pius X, in Ad Diem Illum Laetissimum (On the Immaculate Conception), Encyclical promulgated on February 2, 1904, #7, 8.
"Whoever does not wish to have Mary Immaculate as his Mother will not have Christ as his Brother either; the Father will not send His Son to him; the Son will not descend into his soul; the Holy Spirit will not make him a member of the Mystical Body of Christ; for all these mysteries of grace take place in Mary Full-of-Grace, and in her alone. And, since the First-Born Son was conceived only through the specific consent of the Most Blessed Virgin, the same holds true for all other humans." St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe, ICS, p. 85, (quoted in Apostolic Digest, by Michael Malone, Book 1: "The Book of Mary," Chapter 3: "Those Who Refuse to Honor Our Lady Will Be Lost").
ALL Heavenly Gifts From the Father, Son, or the Holy Spirit, Including the Gift of Salvation, Come ONLY Through Mary
Gifts From the Father, Son, or the Holy Spirit, Including the Gift of Salvation, Come ONLY Through Mary "As you were not worthy that anything divine should be given to you, all graces were given to Mary so that you might receive through her all graces you would not otherwise receive....This is the will of God who willed that we should have all things through Mary. If then, we possess any hope or grace or gift of salvation, let us acknowledge that it comes to us through her." St. Bernard (Quoted by St. Louis de Montfort in Treatise on True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, #42.
"All the gifts, graces, virtues of the Holy Spirit are distributed by the hands of Mary, to whom she wills, when she wills, as she wills, and in the measure she wills." St. Bernardine (Quoted by St. Louis de Montfort in Treatise on True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, #42.
"If it is true to say that Mary is, in a sense, mistress of Wisdom incarnate, what control must she have over all the graces and gifts of God, and what freedom must she enjoy in giving them to whom she chooses. The Fathers of the Church tell us that Mary is an immense ocean of all the perfections of God, the great storehouse of all his possessions, the inexhaustible treasury of the Lord, as well as the treasurer and dispenser of all his gifts. Because God gave her his Son, it is his will that we should receive all gifts through her, and that no heavenly gift should come down upon earth without passing through her as through a channel. Of her fullness we have all received, and any grace or hope of salvation we may possess is a gift which comes to us from God through Mary. So truly is she mistress of God's possessions that she gives to whom she wills, all the graces of God, all the virtues of Jesus Christ, all the gifts of the Holy Spirit, every good thing in the realm of nature, grace and glory. These are the thoughts and expressions of the Fathers of the Church...(about) this sovereign and lovable Queen..." St. Louis de Montfort, The Love of Eternal Wisdom, #207.
"...the greatness of the benefits for which we are debtors to the Virgin Mother. No man can meditate upon these without feeling a new awakening in his heart of confidence that he will certainly obtain through Mary the fullness of the mercies of God. And to this end vocal prayer chimes well with the Mysteries. First, as is meet and right, comes the Lord's Prayer, addressed to Our Father in Heaven: and having, with the elect petitions dictated by Our Divine Master, called upon the Father, from the throne of His Majesty we turn our prayerful voices to Mary. Thus is confirmed that law of merciful meditation of which We have spoken, and which St. Bernardine of Siena thus expresses: 'Every grace granted to man has three degrees in order; for by God it is communicated to Christ, from Christ it passes to the Virgin, and from the Virgin it descends to us.'"Pope Leo XIII, in Iucunda Semper Expectatione (On the Rosary), Encyclical promulgated on September 8, 1894, #5.
"All gifts which the Author of all good (God) has deigned to communicate to the unhappy posterity of Adam, are, according to the loving resolve of His Divine Providence, dispensed by the hands of the Most Holy Virgin." Pope Benedict XV (AAS 9, 1917, 266) (quoted in "About Our Lady, our Blessed Mother", by Our Lady's Warriors).
"In another place, he (St. Bernardine of Sienna) not only says that all graces are transmitted to us by means of Mary, but also asserts that the Blessed Virgin, from the time she became Mother of God, acquired a certain jurisdiction over all the graces that are given to us: 'Through the Virgin the vital graces are transfused from Christ, the head, into his mystical body. From the time when the Virgin Mother conceived in her womb the Word of God, she obtained a certain jurisdiction (if I may so speak) over every temporal procession of the Holy Spirit; so that no creature could obtain any grace from God, except by the dispensation of his sweet Mother.' And he concludes, 'Therefore all gifts, virtues, and graces are dispensed through her hands to whom she wills, and as she wills.' St. Bonaventure says the same: 'Since the whole divine nature was in the womb of the Virgin, I do not fear to teach that she has a certain jurisdiction over all the streams of grace; as her womb was, as it were, an ocean of the divine nature, whence all the streams of grace must emanate.' On the authority of these saints, many theologians have piously and reasonably defended the opinion, that there is no grace given to us except by means of the intercession of Mary; so Mendoza, Vega, Paciucchelli, Segneri, Piore, Crasset and others, as also the learned Alexander Natalis who says: 'It is God's will that we should look to him for all good things, to be procured by the most powerful intercession of the Blessed Virgin, when we invoke her, as it is fit.' And he quotes in confirmation the passage of St. Bernard: 'Such is his will, who has determined that we should receive all through Mary.' Contenson says the same, in a comment on the words addressed by Jesus on the cross to St. John, 'Behold thy Mother' (Jn 19,273: as though he had said, 'No one shall be partaker of my blood except by the intercession of my Mother. My wounds are fountains of grace; but their streams shall Mow to no one, except through the canal of Mary. O my disciple John, I will love you as you love her!' For the rest, it is certain that if God is pleased when we have recourse to the saints, he will be much more pleased when we avail ourselves of the intercession of Mary, that she, by her merits, may compensate for our unworthiness, according to the words of St. Anselm: 'That the dignity of the intercessor may supply for our poverty. So that, to invoke the Virgin is not to distrust God's mercy, but to fear our own unworthiness.' St. Thomas, speaking of her dignity, calls it, as it were, infinite: 'From the fact that she is the Mother of God, she has a certain infinite dignity.' So that it may be said with reason, that the prayers of Mary have more power with God than those of all heaven together." St. Alphonsus Ligouri, The Great Means of Salvation and of Perfection (The Necessity and Power of Prayer), Chapter 1, The Necessity of Prayer, Section 4 "The Intercession of the Blessed Virgin".
"When we have recourse to Mary in prayer, we are having recourse to the Mother of mercy, who is so well disposed toward us that, whatever the necessity that presses upon us especially in attaining eternal life, she is instantly at our side of her own accord, even though she has not been invoked. She dispenses grace with a generous hand from that treasure with which from the beginning she was divinely endowed in fullest abundance that she might be worthy to be the Mother of God. By the fullness of grace which confers on her the most illustrious of her many titles, the Blessed Virgin is infinitely superior to all the hierarchies of men and angels, the one creature who is closest of all to Christ. 'It is a great thing in any saint to have grace sufficient for the salvation of many souls; but to have enough to suffice for the salvation of everybody in the world is the greatest of all; and this is found in Christ and in the Blessed Virgin.' (St. Thomas Aquinas, Super Salut. Ang.)." Pope Leo XIII, in Magnae Dei Matris (On the Rosary), Encyclical promulgated on September 8, 1892, #9.
"Moreover, Mary's profound union with the Holy Spirit, the Sanctifier, leads to her role as Mediatrix of every grace bestowed to the human family....And since the Holy Spirit always acts through the Virgin Mary in His sanctifying action, then all graces must come through Mary as Mediatrix of all graces." Mark Miravalle, S.T.D, in Introduction to Mary, p 167 (copyright 1993, bearing the "Imprimatur" and "Nihil Obstat" of the Catholic Church, published by Queenship Publishing Company, P.O. Box 42028, Santa Barbara, California, 93140-2028).
"'The motherhood of Mary in the order of grace,' as the Second Vatican Council explains, 'lasts without interruption from the consent which she faithfully gave at the annunciation and which she sustained without hesitation under the cross, until the eternal fulfillment of all the elect. In fact, being assumed into heaven she has not laid aside this office of salvation but by her manifold intercession she continues to obtain for us the graces of eternal salvation. By her maternal charity, she takes care of the brethren of her Son who still journey on earth surrounded by dangers and difficulties, until they are led into their blessed home.'" Pope John Paul II, in Dives In Misericordia (The Father of Mercies and God of All Comfort), Encyclical promulgated on November 30, 1980.
"The foundation of all Our confidence, as you know well, Venerable Brethren, is found in the Blessed Virgin Mary. For, God has committed to Mary the treasury of all good things, in order that everyone may know that through her are obtained every hope, every grace, and all salvation. For this is His will, that we obtain everything through Mary." Pope Pius IX, in Ubi Primum (On the Immaculate Conception), Encyclical promulgated on February 2, 1849, #5.
Mary is the Ladder, Chief Confidence, Whole Ground of Hope, Greatest Security, and the Door to God for Sinners
Ladder, Chief Confidence, Whole Ground of Hope, Greatest Security, and the Door to God for Sinners "Hence St. Bernard exhorts us to have continual recourse to the Mother of God, because her prayers are certain to be heard by her Son: 'Go to Mary, I say, without hesitation; the Son will hear the Mother.' And then he says: 'My children, she is the ladder of sinners, she is my chief confidence, she is the whole ground of my hope.' He calls her 'ladder,' because, as you cannot mount: the third step except you first put your foot on the second, nor can you arrive at the second except by the first, so you cannot come to God except by means of Jesus Christ, nor can you come to Christ except by means of his Mother. Then he calls her his greatest security, and the whole ground of his hope; because, as he affirms, God wills that all the graces which he gives us should pass through the hands of Mary. And he concludes by saying, that we ought to ask all the graces which we desire through Mary; because she obtains whatever she seeks, and her prayers cannot be resisted. 'Let us seek grace, and let us seek it through Mary; because what she seeks she finds and she cannot he disappointed.' The following saints teach the same as St. Bernard: St. Ephrem, 'We have no other confidence than from you, O purest Virgin!' St. Ildephonsus, 'All the good things that the divine Majesty has determined to give them, he has determined to commit to your hands; for to you are entrusted the treasures and the wardrobes of grace.' St. Germanus, 'If you desert us, what will become of us, O life of Christians?' St. Peter Damian, 'In your hands are all the treasures of the mercies of God.' St. Antoninus, 'Who seeks without her aid, attempts to fly without wings.'" St. Alphonsus Ligouri, The Great Means of Salvation and of Perfection (The Necessity and Power of Prayer), Chapter 1, The Necessity of Prayer, Section 4 "The Intercession of the Blessed Virgin".
"St. Lawrence Justinian asks: 'How can she (Mary) be otherwise than full of grace, who has been made the ladder to paradise, the gate of heaven, the most true mediatrix between God and man?'...
"Again, the holy Church calls her ‘the happy gate of heaven;’ for as the same Saint Bernard remarks: ‘As every mandate of grace that is sent by a king passes by the palace-gates, so does every grace that comes from heaven to the world pass through the hands of Mary’ (Serm. iii. In Virg. Nat. D). Saint Bonaventure says that Mary is called ‘the gate of heaven, because no one can enter that blessed kingdom without passing by her’ (Exposit. in cap. I. Luc)." St. Alphonsus Ligouri, in The Glories of Mary, Chapter V "To Thee Do We Sigh".
"How great, then, should be our confidence in this Queen, knowing her great power with God, and that she is so rich and full of mercy, that there is no one living on the earth who does not partake in her compassion and favor. Our Blessed Lady herself revealed this to St. Bridget, saying: 'I am the Queen of heaven and the Mother of Mercy; I am the joy of the just and the door through which sinners are brought to God.'" St. Alphonsus Ligouri, in The Glories of Mary, Chapter I "Hail Holy Queen", p 6.
"All our hope do we repose in the most Blessed Virgin..." Pope Pius IX, in Ineffabilis Deus (The Immaculate Conception) Apostolic Constitution issued on December 8, 1854, Section titled "Hoped-For Results".
Mary Has Reconciled Humanity With God, Assented to Rescue Our Fallen World, and is the ONLY Refuge and Sole Hope of Sinners
Reconciled Humanity With God, Assented to Rescue Our Fallen World, and is the ONLY Refuge and Sole Hope of Sinners "O Virgin most pure, wholly unspotted, O Mary, Mother of God, Queen of the universe, you are above all saints, the hope of the elect and the joy of all the blessed. It is you who have reconciled us with God, you are the only refuge of sinners and the safe harbor of those who are shipwrecked; you are the consolation of the world, the ransom of captives, the health of the weak, the joy of the afflicted and the salvation of all who have recourse to you, and we beg you to have pity on us." St. Ephrem of Edessa, in Prayer to Mary, Mother of Compassion.
"O Blessed Virgin Mary, who can worthily give you the just dues of praise and thanksgiving, you who by the wondrous assent of your will rescued a fallen world?
"Accept, then, such poor thanks as we have to offer here, though they be unequal to your merit; and, receiving our vows, obtain by your prayers the remission of our offenses. Carry our prayers within the sanctuary of the heavenly audience and bring forth the gift of our reconciliation....
"Take our offering, grant us our requests, obtain pardon for what we fear, for you are the sole hope of sinners. Holy Mary, help the miserable, strengthen the fainthearted, comfort the sorrowful, pray for your people, plead for the clergy, intercede for all women consecrated to God." St. Augustine of Hippo, in Thanksgiving and Prayer to Mary.
Mary Co-shared in the Offering and Sacrifice for Sin at Calvary
Calvary "In that one Sacrifice [of the Cross], Mary, the first redeemed, the Mother of the Church, had an active part. She stood near the Crucified, suffering deeply with her Firstborn; with a motherly heart she associated herself with his Sacrifice; with love she consented to his immolation (cf. Lumen Gentium, p 58; Marialis Cultus, p 20); she offered him and she offered herself to the Father." Pope John Paul II, in his Angelus/Regina Coeli address of 1983 (quoted in "Mary, Coredemptrix: The Significance of Her Title in the Magisterium of The Church", by Rev. John A. Schug, O.F.M. Cap., and Dr. Mark I. Miravalle, S.T.D., "NIHIL OBSTAT" by Fr. James Dunfee -- Censor Librorum, "IMPRIMATUR" by Most Reverend Gilbert Sheldon -- Bishop of Steubenville, March 7, 1995).
"(Continuing our catechesis on the Blessed Virgin Mary, we are considering her cooperation in the redemptive sacrifice of Christ)...Mary...co-operated during the event itself and in the role of mother; thus her co-operation embraces the whole of Christ's saving work. She alone was associated in this way with the redemptive sacrifice that merited the salvation of all mankind. In union with Christ and in submission to him, she collaborated in obtaining the grace of salvation for all humanity...In God’s plan, Mary is the 'woman’ (cf. John 2:4; John 19:26), the New Eve, united to the New Adam in restoring humanity to its original dignity. Her cooperation with her Son continues for all time in the universal motherhood which she enjoys in the order of grace. Trusting in this maternal cooperation, let us turn to Mary, imploring her help in all our needs." Pope John Paul II, in his General Audience of April 9, 1997, (quoted in "The Virgin Mary as Co-Redemtrix, Mediatrix and Advocate", by B.A. Robinson).
"Clearly, to affirm a coredemptive relation on the Virgin's part to her Son at the Annunciation necessitates affirming the same on Calvary and in heaven, and vice-versa. That necessity is not mathematical, but rather the necessity based on what God has willed freely as the fixed, unchanging central counsel of salvation.
"So projected the mediation of Virgin Immaculate, Spouse of the Holy Spirit, like that of her Son, necessarily is consummated on Calvary, and so is coredemptive....The virginity of Mary is the effective sign of the holy birth, holy life, and holy death of her Son terminating in the resurrection, and hence, if she is an actor at his birth and therefore in his anointing as Priest, so too is she an actor at his death and therefore in his consecration as Victim....
"3) Because it is virginal, Mary not only offers, but is offered with her Son and Savior. Her heart is transfixed, as Simeon foretold. For this reason the redeemed are not only consecrated to Jesus through her, but also to her...one with Jesus as victim...One is not unjustified in discovering here the basis for the traditional twofold aspect assigned the Virgin's maternal mediation: our Mediatrix with Jesus to which corresponds consecration to Jesus through Mary; and with and under Jesus victim for sin our Mediatrix with the Father to which corresponds consecration to the Immaculate (Mary) and so to Jesus as victim for sin, because the most perfect sacrifice of praise offered to the Father....
"In this approach, then, there is no need, as Fr. Galot thinks, to distinguish types of merit or object of merit to justify Mary's role as Coredemptrix. In that sublime alliance of the hearts Jesus and Mary, Redeemer and Coredemptrix, together merit de condigno the same work, our salvation, according to an order willed from all eternity.
"Because she is involved actively on Calvary in the work of salvation with and under her Son, and this redemptive work is a work of mediation, rightly is her subordinate role in this called coredemptive....
"In conclusion: we may say that, in virtue of the divine salvific counsels ordaining a most perfect redemption, our Lady as Coredemptrix is included with Christ, the One Mediator. Under him she merits de condigno all which he merits...she alone is the Coredemptrix, not only offering, but in some way part of the sacrifice of Christ....the unique, coredemptive role of Mary on Calvary...the offering of the Virgin at Calvary and on her becoming part of the offering..." Rev. Fr. Peter Damian M. Fehlner, F.F.I., professor of Catholic Theology, in Immaculata Mediatrix -- Toward a Dogmatic Definition of the Coredemption.
"Let me take no pleasure in this world except where you find it. Grant that I may always bear your sorrows in my soul, putting my glory and delight in being crucified with Jesus and Mary." St. John Eudes, The Suffering of the Co-redemptrix.
In Mary is to be Found the End of the Law and the Fulfilling of Figures
Fulfilling of Figures "...we find in Mary the end of the law and the fulfillment of the figures and oracles." Pope Pius X, in Ad Diem Illum Laetissimum (On the Immaculate Conception), Encyclical promulgated on February 2, 1904, #6.
Mary, Along With Christ, is Co-Redeemer, Mediator, Intercessor, Advocate, Restorer, and Minister
Co-Redeemer, Mediator, Intercessor, Advocate, Restorer, and Minister “Mary, though conceived and born without taint of sin, participated in a marvelous way in the sufferings of her divine Son, in order to be Coredemptrix of humanity.” Pope John Paul II, in remarks made to pilgrims after his General Audience on September 8, 1982 (quoted in Insegnamenti di Giovanni Paolo II, V/3 (1982) 404, quoted by Arthur Burton Calkins, “Pope John Paul II’s Teaching on Marian Coredemption”, Mary Coredemptrix, Mediatrix, Advocate:Theological Foundations II, ed. Mark I. Miravalle, (Santa Barbara: Queenship Publishing, 1996), p122.
"As she suffered and almost died together with her suffering and dying Son, so she surrendered her mother's rights over her Son for the salvation of the human race. And to satisfy the justice of God she sacrificed her Son, as well as she could, so that it may justly be said that she together with Christ has redeemed the human race." Pope Benedict XV, in Inter Sodalicia, Apostolic Letter of March 22, 1918.
The Church Teaches, published by the Jesuit fathers of St. Mary's College, bears the Imprimi Potest, Nihil Obstat, and Imprimatur of the Catholic Church, pages 210-211.
"O Mother of love and mercy who, when thy sweetest Son was consummating the Redemption of the human race on the altar of the cross, did stand next to Him, suffering with Him as a Coredemptrix..." Pope Plus XI, in a Radio broadcast from Lourdes, April 28, 1935, Prayer of the Solemn Closing of the Redemption Jubilee, (L'Osservatore Romano, 29-30 April, 1935).
"At Cana in Galilee there is shown only one concrete aspect of human need, apparently a small one of little importance ('They have no wine'). But it has a symbolic value: this coming to the aid of human needs means, at the same time, bringing those needs within the radius of Christ's messianic mission and salvific power. Thus there is a mediation: Mary places herself between her Son and mankind in the reality of their wants, needs and sufferings. She puts herself 'in the middle,' that is to say she acts as a mediatrix not as an outsider, but in her position as mother. She knows that as such she can point out to her Son the needs of mankind, and in fact, she 'has the right' to do so. Her mediation is thus in the nature of intercession: Mary 'intercedes' for mankind." Pope John Paul II, in Redemptoris Mater (On the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Life of the Pilgrim Church), Encyclical promulgated on March 25, 1987, #21.
"The power thus put into her (Mary's) hands is all but unlimited. How unerringly right, then, are Christian souls when they turn to Mary for help...How rightly, too, has every nation and every liturgy without exception acclaimed her great renown, which has grown greater with the voice of each succeeding century. Among her many other titles we find her hailed as 'our Lady, our Mediatrix,' (St. Bernard, Serm.II in Adv. 4) 'the Reparatrix of the whole world,' (St. Tharasius, Orat. in Praesentatione) 'the Dispenser of all heavenly gifts.' (On Off. Graec., 8 Dec.)." Pope Leo XIII, in Adiutricem (On the Rosary), Encyclical promulgated on September 5, 1895, #8.
"Thus, in the Franciscan school there is to be found a particular insistence on a double mediatory role on the part of our Lady: not only with Christ, the Redeemer, on our behalf within the economy of salvation already established (subjective redemption, dispensation of graces already won), but with God the Father in view of the Incarnation and praise of God in the perfect sacrifice....
"Thereby, in a felicitous comment of St. Maximilian on the Marian antiphon for the office of the Passion composed by St. Francis, Mary becomes, not merely by sanctifying grace, but by the grace of the Immaculate Conception, firstborn daughter of the Father, Mother of his Son and Spouse of the Holy Spirit. Her preservative redemption is the means of our liberation, because thereby she can be the Mother of the Redeemer at the Incarnation and our Mother as Coredemptrix, because our liberation from sin on Calvary is effected by her preservation, which there means coredemption. In a word: the one mediation of I Tim 2.5-6 includes both Redeemer and Coredemptrix...
"3) Because it is virginal, Mary not only offers, but is offered with her Son and Savior...One is not unjustified in discovering here the basis for the traditional twofold aspect assigned the Virgin's maternal mediation: our Mediatrix with Jesus to which corresponds consecration to Jesus through Mary; and with and under Jesus victim for sin our Mediatrix with the Father to which corresponds consecration to the Immaculate (Mary) and so to Jesus as victim for sin, because the most perfect sacrifice of praise offered to the Father....
"In conclusion: we may say that, in virtue of the divine salvific counsels ordaining a most perfect redemption, our Lady as Coredemptrix is included with Christ, the One Mediator." Rev. Fr. Peter Damian M. Fehlner, F.F.I., professor of Catholic Theology, in Immaculata Mediatrix -- Toward a Dogmatic Definition of the Coredemption.
"The teaching of the Second Vatican Council presents the truth of Mary's mediation as 'a sharing in the one unique source that is the mediation of Christ himself.'" Pope John Paul II, in Redemptoris Mater (On the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Life of the Pilgrim Church), Encyclical promulgated on March 25, 1987, #38.
"And from this community of will and suffering between Christ and Mary she merited to become most worthily the Reparatrix of the lost world (Eadmeri Mon. De Excellentia Virg. Mariae, c. 9) and Dispensatrix of all the gifts that Our Savior purchased for us by His Death and by His Blood....
"Nevertheless, by this companionship in sorrow and suffering already mentioned between the Mother and the Son, it has been allowed to the august Virgin to be the most powerful mediatrix and advocate of the whole world with her Divine Son (Pius IX. Ineffabilis)....
"We are then, it will be seen, very far from attributing to the Mother of God a productive power of grace--a power which belongs to God alone. Yet, since Mary carries it over all in holiness and union with Jesus Christ, and has been associated by Jesus Christ in the work of redemption, she merits for us 'de congruo,' in the language of theologians, what Jesus Christ merits for us 'de condigno,' and she is the supreme Minister of the distribution of graces." Pope Pius X, in Ad Diem Illum Laetissimum (On the Immaculate Conception), Encyclical promulgated on February 2, 1904, #12-14.
"Therefore the Blessed Virgin is invoked in the Church under the titles of Advocate, Helper, Benefactress, and Mediatrix." Pope Paul VI, in Lumen Gentium (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church), promulgated on November 21, 1964, #62.
"But in what way does Mary cooperate in the growth of the members of the Mystical Body in the life of grace? First of all, by her unceasing prayers inspired by a most ardent charity....she makes herself their Advocate, Auxiliatrix, Adjutrix and Mediatrix. Of this intercession of hers for the People of God with the Son, the Church has been persuaded, ever since the first centuries, as testified to by this most ancient antiphon which, with some slight difference, forms part of the liturgical prayer in the East as well as in the West: 'We seek refuge under the protection of your mercies, oh Mother of God; do not reject our supplication in need but save us from perdition, O you who alone are blessed.'" Pope Paul VI, Signum Magnum (The Great Sign), Encyclical promulgated on May 13, 1967.
"And now lastly may the most benign Virgin Mother of God smile on this purpose and on these desires of ours; for since she brought forth for us Jesus our Redeemer, and nourished Him, and offered Him as a victim by the Cross, by her mystic union with Christ and His very special grace she likewise became and is piously called a reparatress. Trusting in her intercession with Christ, who whereas He is the 'one mediator of God and men' (1 Timothy ii, 5), chose to make His Mother the advocate of sinners, and the minister and mediatress of grace..." Pope Pius XI, in Miserentissimus Redemptor (On Reparation To The Sacred Heart), Encyclical promulgated on May 8th, 1928, #21.
Mary Hears and Answers our Prayers Faster than Does Jesus
Prayers Faster than Does Jesus "St. Anselm reminds us that we may obtain mercy more quickly from Mary than from Jesus, because Jesus is also a judge who can punish, while Mary exercises mercy as a patroness. It is not as if Mary were more powerful than Jesus, for we know that Jesus Christ is our only Savior, and that He alone by His merits has obtained and obtains salvation for us. He reminds us: 'We often obtain more promptly what we ask by invoking Mary than by invoking Jesus. Her Son is lord and judge of all, and discerns the merits of each one; therefore, if He does not immediately grant the prayers of all, He is just. When however, the Mother's name is invoked, though the merits of the suppliant are not such as to deserve that his favor be granted, those of the Mother supply, that he may receive.' Many things are asked from God and are not granted; they are asked from Mary and are obtained. Now why is this? Because God has thus decreed to honor His Mother." St. Alphonsus Ligouri, in The Glories of Mary, Chapter IV "To Thee Do We Cry, p 48.
Mary is the First Born Daughter of God
Daughter of God "It was fitting, first of all, that the eternal Father should create Mary free from the original sin because she was His daughter and His first-born daughter. She herself attests — 'Before all ages, in the beginning, He created me' (Sirach 24:9) — in a passage that is applied to Mary by the Sacred Interpreters, by the Holy Fathers, and by the Church herself. Whether she is the first-born on account of her predestination, together with her Son in the divine decrees before all creatures, or, as others say, the first-born of grace as predestined to be the Mother of the Redeemer after the provision of sin, all agree in calling her the first-born of God." Saint Alphonsus Liguori, in The Glories of Mary "Her Special Privileges".
"We greet you, Daughter of God the Father!" Prayer of Saint Louis de Montfort, titled "Abide with us, Immaculate Mother".
"Let Us Pray.
"Hail, Mary, Daughter of God the Father..." Concluding Prayer of St. Louis Mary De Montfort, in "The Little Crown of the Blessed Virgin Mary".
"God predestined her from all eternity to be the Mother of the Incarnate Word, and for that reason so highly distinguished her among all His most beautiful works in the triple order of nature, grace and glory, that the Church justly applies to her these words: 'I came out of the mouth of the Most High, the first-born before all creatures' (Ecclus. xxiv., 5)." Pope Leo XIII, in Augustissimae Virginis Mariae (On the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary), Encyclical promulgated on September 12, 1897, #1.
Mary is the Lover and Spouse of the Godhead
Spouse of the Godhead "Mary was the only one who merited to be called the Mother as Spouse of God." St. Augustine of Hippo, in Sermons #208 (quoted by St. Alphonsus de Liguori in The Glories of Mary, p 304 (New York: Redemptorist, 1931).
"...St Godfrey of Admont wrote that each person of the Godhead is Mary's lover." See the book by Michael O'Carroll, titled "'Spouse of God', Theotokos: A Theological Encyclopedia of the Blessed Virgin Mary", p 158 (Wilmington, DE: Glazier, 1982).
Mary is the Bride and Spouse of God the Father
Father "...the mother of the Son of God can also be called in a special manner 'bride of the Father.' For, as mother she has received the Son of the Father through donation from His side as her Son; she possesses Him conjointly with the Father and is therefore connected with the Father by His Son as being hers also. (Fr. Matthias Joseph Scheeben, in Mariology, vol. 1, p 174-175 ("nihil obstat" by Innocentius Swoboda, O. F. M. Censor Librorum, "imprimatur" by Josephus E. Ritter, S.T.D., Archiepiscopus).
"Thus St. John Damascene, an outstanding herald of this traditional truth, spoke out with powerful eloquence when he compared the bodily Assumption of the loving Mother of God with her other prerogatives and privileges....'It was fitting that she (Mary), who had carried the Creator as a child at her breast, should dwell in the divine tabernacles. It was fitting that the spouse, whom the Father had taken to himself, should live in the divine mansions.'" Pope Pius XII, in Munificentissimus Deus (Defining the Dogma of the Assumption), Encyclical promulgated on November 1, 1950, #21.
Mary is the Bride and Spouse of God the Son
Son "Saint Ephrem the Syrian was probably the first early Christian to refer to Mary as the Bride of Christ...He was followed by the likes of Saint Peter Chrysologus, Rupert of Deutz, and Godfrey of Admont." See the book by Michael O'Carroll, titled "'Spouse of God', Theotokos: A Theological Encyclopedia of the Blessed Virgin Mary", p 333 (Wilmington, DE: Glazier, 1982).
“...(Mary is) the unique bridal, permanent helpmate and associate of Christ, who is the Head of the whole Church and world, in the entire work of redemption...” Fr. J. Kentenich, in Der Marianische Priester, p 38 (1941).
"The relation of the mother to her divine Son must be traced not alone to the mother's natural activity, but primarily to the activity of her divine Son Himself, who makes and accepts her as His mother, and gives Himself to her as her Son....Consequently the relation of the mother to the divine Son appears as a marriage with His divine person. Here now the Bridegroom gives Himself to the bride as her Son and dwells in her in virtue of this gift." (Fr. Matthias Joseph Scheeben, in Mariology, vol. 1, p 162-163 ("nihil obstat" by Innocentius Swoboda, O. F. M. Censor Librorum, "imprimatur" by Josephus E. Ritter, S.T.D., Archiepiscopus).
"(The Divine Being) Who is so singularly with Mary is the Lord Whose most beautiful spouse Mary is." St. Bonaventure, quoted in "Virgin Wholly Marvelous: Praises of Our Lady by the Popes, Councils, Saints and Doctors of the Church", Editor is David Supple (Still River, MA: Ravengate, 1981): p 37.
"Mary, as united with the Logos, is taken into complete possession by him; the Logos, as infused and implanted in her, gives himself to her and takes her to himself as partner and helper, in the closest, strictest, and most lasting community of life." (Fr. Matthias Joseph Scheeben, in Mariology, vol. 1, p 189 ("nihil obstat" by Innocentius Swoboda, O. F. M. Censor Librorum, "imprimatur" by Josephus E. Ritter, S.T.D., Archiepiscopus).
"As the new 'daughter of Zion' Mary in fact is particularly suited to entering into the spousal Covenant with God. More and better than any member of the Chosen People, she can offer the Lord the true heart of a Bride." Pope John Paul II, in Mary Responds to God with Spousal Love, General Audience in May 1, 1996, #5.
Mary is the Bride and Spouse of the God the Holy Spirit
Spirit "Through her divine maternity, Mary in a certain way entered the divine family as a spouse who enters a royal home. With regard to the Father she became the first born daughter: I came out of the mouth of the Most High, the first-born before all creatures (Ecclus 24:5). With regard to the Son, she was a mother; with regard to the Holy Spirit, she was a bride." Saint Alphonsus Liguori, in The Glories and Virtues of Mary, p. 43.
"...Unite, then, Venerable Brethren, your prayers with Ours, and at your exhortation let all Christian peoples add their prayers also, invoking the powerful and ever-acceptable intercession of the Blessed Virgin. You know well the intimate and wonderful relations existing between her and the Holy Spirit, so that she is justly called His Spouse. Her intercession was of great avail both in the mystery of the Incarnation and in the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles." Pope Leo XIII, in Divinum illud Munus, Encyclical promulgated on May 9,1897, #14.
“She (Mary) is a virgin who ‘keeps whole and pure the fidelity she has pledged to her Spouse’...The Holy Spirit had already come down upon her, and she became his faithful spouse at the Annunciation.” Pope John Paul II, in Redemptoris Mater (On the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Life of the Pilgrim Church), Encyclical promulgated on March 25, 1987, #5, 26).
“Let us turn our gaze to Mary, Christ’s first disciple, Spouse of the Holy Spirit and Mother of the Church, who was with the Apostles at the first Pentecost, so that she will help us to learn from her fiat docility to the voice of the Spirit.” Pope John Paul II, in his speech to the “World Congress of Ecclesial Movements and New Communities,” on May 27, 1998. http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/laity/documents/rc_pc_laity_doc_27051998_movements-speech-hf_en.html
"Let us praise and thank the Holy Spirit, Who took her for His spouse.
"R. Amen. Say an 'Our Father'." St. Joseph Calasanctius, Found in the Raccolta, quoted in "Mary:The Crown of Twelve Stars".
Mary is the Mother and Dwelling Place of God
Mother and Dwelling Place of God "Hail, Mother and Virgin, imperishable temple of the Godhead, venerable treasure of the whole world, crown of virginity, support of the true faith on which the Church is founded throughout the entire world.
"Mother of God, who contained the infinite God under your heart, whom no space can contain..." St. Cyril of Alexandria, in Paean to Mary, Temple of the Godhead.
"We greet you, Daughter of God the Father! We greet you, Mother of the Son of God! We greet you, spouse of the Holy Spirit! We greet you, dwelling place of the Most Holy Trinity!" Prayer of Saint Louis de Montfort, titled "Abide with us, Immaculate Mother".
"Let Us Pray.
"Hail, Mary, Daughter of God the Father; Hail, Mary, Mother of God the Son; Hail, Mary, Spouse of the Holy Ghost; Hail, Mary, Temple of the most Holy Trinity; Hail, Mary, my Mistress, my treasure, my joy, Queen of my heart; my Mother, my life, my sweetness, my dearest hope -- yea, my heart and my soul! I am all thine and all that I have is Thine, O Virgin blessed above all things! Let thy soul be in me to magnify the Lord; let thy spirit be in me to rejoice in God....Grant that for love of thee I may despise all earthly consolations and ever cling to those of Heaven until, through thee, His faithful spouse, Jesus Christ thy Son be formed in me for the glory of the Father. Amen." Concluding Prayer of St. Louis Mary De Montfort, in The Little Crown of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
"God's honor required that He bestow upon His mother such holiness as would enable her worthily to fulfill the service she was to render Him and that through this most intimate association she might be brought to a holiness like to His own. Moreover, the love of God, whereby Mary in an unparalleled way becomes Daughter, Bride, and Sanctuary of the Divinity, requires that she be perfectly prepared for this association with God and, to that end, be raised to a participation in His perfection" (Fr. Matthias Joseph Scheeben, in Mariology, p 4 ("nihil obstat" by Innocentius Swoboda, O. F. M. Censor Librorum, "imprimatur" by Josephus E. Ritter, S.T.D., Archiepiscopus).
It is Through Mary that God is Adored and Glorified
Adored and Glorified "Mother of God, who contained the infinite God under your heart, whom no space can contain: Through you the Most Holy Trinity is adored and glorified, demons are vanquished, Satan cast down from heaven into hell, and our fallen nature again assumed into heaven." St. Cyril of Alexandria, in Paean to Mary, Temple of the Godhead.
Mary is Divine, Sovereign, and Reigns on the Throne of God, Wielding Almost Limitless Royal Power, as Queen of the Earth, Angels, Heaven, and the Universe
Sovereign, and Reigns on the Throne of God, Wielding Almost Limitless Royal Power, as Queen of the Earth, Angels, Heaven, and the Universe "Let us, first, consider the moral necessity of the intercession of Mary for priests; and secondly, the confidence which they ought to have in the prayers of this divine Mother....
"Let us now pass to the confidence which we ought to have in the intercession of Mary, on account of her power and mercy.
"I. As to her power. Cosmas of Jerusalem has called the intercession of our Queen not only powerful, but omnipotent. And Richard of St. Laurence has written: 'From the omnipotent Son the Mother was made omnipotent.'...
"Let us always have recourse to this divine Mother, who knows not how to let any one who invokes her aid depart without consolation, says Blosius." St. Alphonsus De Liguori, in Dignity and Duties of the Priest or Selva, p 409, 414, 419 (edited by Rev. Eugene Grimm, published by the Redemptorist Fathers, copyright 1927 by Very Rev. James Barron, C.SS.R.)
"I declare with the saints: Mary is the earthly paradise of Jesus Christ the new Adam, where he became man by the power of the Holy Spirit, in order to accomplish in her wonders beyond our understanding. She is the vast and divine world of God where unutterable marvels and beauties are to be found. She is the magnificence of the Almighty where he hid his only Son, as in his own bosom, and with him everything that is most excellent and precious.
"I say with the saints, the divine Mary is the terrestrial paradise of the New Adam [Jesus], where He was made flesh by the operation of the Holy Ghost, in order to work there incomprehensible marvels. She is the grand and divine world of God, where there are beauties and treasures unspeakable. She is the magnificence of the Most High, where He hid, as in her bosom, His only Son, and in Him all that is most excellent and most precious....
"Mary, being altogether transformed into God by grace and by the glory which transforms all the saints into Him, asks nothing, wishes nothing, does nothing contrary to the eternal and immutable will of God....
"Be persuaded, then, that the more you look at Mary in your prayers, contemplations, actions, and sufferings, if not with a distinct and definite view, at least with a general and imperceptible one, the more perfectly you will find Jesus Christ, who is always, with Mary, great, powerful, active and incomprehensible - more than in Heaven or in any other creature. Thus, so far from the divine Mary, all absorbed in God, being an obstacle to the perfect in attaining union with God, there has never been up to this time, and there never will be, any creature who will aid us more efficaciously in this great work..." St. Louis-Marie Grignion De Montfort, in True Devotion to Mary, #6, 27, 165 (translated from the original French by Fr. Frederick William Faber, D.D., edited and annotated by the Fathers of the Company of Mary, copyright 1941, published by Tan Books and Publishers, Inc., Rockford, Illinois, 61105, ISBN 0-89555-279-5, Library of Congress Catalog Card No: 85-50571, bearing the "Imprimi Potest", "Nihil Obstat" and "Imprimatur" of the Catholic Church).
"Faithful to the religious example of our fathers, let us have recourse to Mary, our holy Sovereign. Let us entreat, let us beseech, with one heart, Mary, the Mother of Jesus Christ, our Mother. 'Show thyself to be a mother; cause our prayers to be accepted by Him Who, born for us, consented to be thy Son.'" Pope Leo XIII, in Octobri Mense (On the Rosary), Encyclical promulgated on September 22, 1891, # 6.
"HAIL MARY, BELOVED DAUGHTER OF THE ETERNAL FATHER.
"Hail MARY, admirable Mother of the Son. Hail MARY, faithful Spouse of the Holy Ghost. Hail MARY, my Mother, my loving Mistress, my powerful sovereign. Hail, my joy, my glory, my heart and my soul. Thou art all mine by mercy, and I am Thine by justice. But I am not yet sufficiently Thine. I now give myself wholly to Thee without keeping anything back for myself or others. If Thou seest anything in me which does not belong to Thee, I beseech Thee to take it and make Thyself the absolute Mistress of all that is mine." St. Louis De Montfort, Prayer to Mary.
"Jesus 'sitteth on the right hand of the majesty on high' (Hebrews i. b.). Mary sitteth at the right hand of her Son -- a refuge so secure and a help so trusty against all dangers that we have nothing to fear or to despair of under her guidance, her patronage, her protection. (Pius IX. in Bull Ineffabilis)." Pope Pius X, in Ad Diem Illum Laetissimum (On the Immaculate Conception), Encyclical promulgated on February 2, 1904, #14.
"And so because Mary was the first born daughter of the Father, the perfect Mother of the Word, and the Beloved Spouse of the Holy Spirit, she became, in effect, a close relative of the Blessed Trinity when she was crowned Queen of the Universe by her Son." Opus Sanctorum Angelorum, Formation Letter, "Mary - 'Regina Angelorum', April, 2000.
"Let all Christians, therefore, glory in being subjects of the Virgin Mother of God, who, while wielding royal power, is on fire with a mother's love." Pope Pius XII, in Ad Caeli Reginam (On Proclaiming the Queenship of Mary), Encyclical promulgated on October 11, 1954, #43.
"St. Louis de Montfort explains the reason for this (Mary's Queenship over the heavenly angels). He says that Mary has authority over the angels as a reward for her great humility on earth. And so because of this God gave 'her the power and the mission of assigning to men the thrones made vacant by the fallen angels.' God, therefore, as St. Louis goes on to explain, 'made Mary queen of heaven and earth, the leader of his armies, the keeper of his treasury, the dispenser of his graces, the worker of his wonders, the destroyer of his enemies and the faithful associate in his great works and victories.'
"Now there are some beautiful prayers from the Eastern Liturgies that express Mary's special position with regard to the angels. For example, a hymn for Morning Prayer in the Armenian Liturgy for the Feast of the Assumption reads: 'O Mother of God, you are born aloft in the triumphal cars of the Cherubim, with Seraphim for your escort and the arrayed army of heaven's hosts is prostrate before you.'...And so because Mary was the first born daughter of the Father, the perfect Mother of the Word, and the Beloved Spouse of the Holy Spirit, she became, in effect, a close relative of the Blessed Trinity when she was crowned Queen of the Universe by her Son." Opus Sanctorum Angelorum, Formation Letter, "Mary - 'Regina Angelorum', April, 2000.
"...Mary, the Virgin Mother of God, reigns with a mother's solicitude over the entire world, just as she is crowned in heavenly blessedness with the glory of a Queen.....
"The Blessed Virgin, sitting at the right hand of God to pray for us is hailed by another writer of that same era in these words, 'the Queen of mortal man, the most holy Mother of God.'
"St. Andrew of Crete frequently attributes the dignity of a Queen to the Virgin Mary. For example, he writes, 'Today He transports from her earthly dwelling, as Queen of the human race, His ever-Virgin Mother, from whose womb He, the living God, took on human form.'...
"Likewise St. Germanus speaks to the humble Virgin in these words: 'Be enthroned, Lady, for it is fitting that you should sit in an exalted place since you are a Queen and glorious above all kings.' He likewise calls her the 'Queen of all of those who dwell on earth.'
"She is called by St. John Damascene: 'Queen, ruler, and lady,' and also 'the Queen of every creature.' Another ancient writer of the Eastern Church calls her 'favored Queen,' 'the perpetual Queen beside the King, her son,' whose 'snow-white brow is crowned with a golden diadem.'
"And finally St. Ildephonsus of Toledo gathers together almost all of her titles of honor in this salutation: 'O my Lady, my Sovereign, You who rule over me, Mother of my Lord...Lady among handmaids, Queen among sisters.'
"The theologians of the Church, deriving their teaching from these and almost innumerable other testimonies handed down long ago, have called the most Blessed Virgin the Queen of all creatures, the Queen of the world, and the Ruler of all....
"Furthermore, the Latin Church sings that sweet and ancient prayer called the 'Hail, Holy Queen' and the lovely antiphons 'Hail, Queen of the Heavens,' 'O Queen of Heaven, Rejoice,' and those others which we are accustomed to recite on feasts of the Blessed Virgin Mary: 'The Queen stood at Thy right hand in golden vesture surrounded with beauty'; 'Heaven and earth praise thee as a powerful Queen'; 'Today the Virgin Mary ascends into heaven: rejoice because she reigns with Christ forever.'...
"....Likewise, for many centuries past Christians have been accustomed to meditate upon the ruling power of Mary which embraces heaven and earth, when they consider the fifth glorious mystery of the rosary which can be called the mystical crown of the heavenly Queen.
"Finally, art which is based upon Christian principles and is animated by their spirit as something faithfully interpreting the sincere and freely expressed devotion of the faithful, has since the Council of Ephesus portrayed Mary as Queen and Empress seated upon a royal throne adorned with royal insignia, crowned with the royal diadem and surrounded by the host of angels and saints in heaven, and ruling not only over nature and its powers but also over the machinations of Satan. Iconography, in representing the royal dignity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, has ever been enriched with works of highest artistic value and greatest beauty; it has even taken the form of representing colorfully the divine Redeemer crowning His mother with a resplendent diadem.
"The Roman Pontiffs, favoring such types of popular devotion, have often crowned, either in their own persons, or through representatives, images of the Virgin Mother of God which were already outstanding by reason of public veneration....
"As We have already mentioned, Venerable Brothers, according to ancient tradition and the sacred liturgy the main principle on which the royal dignity of Mary rests is without doubt her Divine Motherhood....So with complete justice St. John Damascene could write: 'When she became Mother of the Creator, she truly became Queen of every creature.'" Pope Pius XII, in Ad Caeli Reginam (On Proclaiming the Queenship of Mary), Encyclical promulgated on October 11, 1954, #1, 16-17, 19-22, 30-34.
"Pope Pius XII explains in an address on the Queenship of Mary, 'when the glorious Virgin Mary entered triumphantly into heaven and was elevated above the choirs of angels to the throne of the Most Holy Trinity.' And then Christ 'placed a triple crown of glory on her head, presented her to the heavenly court, seated her at his right hand and pronounced her Queen of the Universe.'...
"In other words, because Christ is 'by nature and by right the King of the Universe…Mary is through him, with him, and in him, queen by grace, by divine association, by conquest and by singular election.' And so because of this her kingdom is not only 'as vast as her Son's, since nothing of his kingdom is excluded from hers,' but also 'the Church salutes her as sovereign and as Queen of the Angels and Queen of the Universe and encourages us to invoke her day and night with the words of the Salve Regina: 'Hail Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, hail our life, our sweetness and our hope.'" Opus Sanctorum Angelorum, Formation Letter, "Mary - 'Regina Angelorum'", April, 2000.
"O Virgin most pure, wholly unspotted, O Mary, Mother of God, Queen of the universe, you are above all saints, the hope of the elect and the joy of all the blessed." St. Ephrem of Edessa, in Prayer to Mary, Mother of Compassion.
"The truth of the Assumption, defined by Pius XII, is reaffirmed by the Second Vatican Council, which thus expresses the Church's faith: "Preserved free from all guilt of original sin, the Immaculate Virgin was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory upon the completion of her earthly sojourn. She was exalted by the Lord as Queen of the Universe...For the Mother of Christ is glorified as 'Queen of the Universe'." Pope John Paul II, in Redemptoris Mater (On the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Life of the Pilgrim Church), Encyclical promulgated on March 25, 1987, #41.
God Himself is Subject, Submissive, and Obedient to Mary
Subject, Submissive, and Obedient to Mary "Since grace enhances our human nature and glory adds a still greater perfection to grace, it is certain that our Lord remains in heaven just as much the Son of Mary as he was on earth. Consequently he has retained the submissiveness and obedience of the most perfect of all children towards the best of all mothers....When therefore we read in the writings of Saint Bernard, Saint Bernardine, Saint Bonaventure, and others that all in heaven and on earth, even God himself, is subject to the Blessed Virgin, they mean that the authority which God was pleased to give her is so great that she seems to have the same power as God. Her prayers and requests are so powerful with him that he accepts them as commands in the sense that he never resists his dear mother's prayer because it is always humble and conformed to his will....
"Since the principal mystery celebrated and honoured in this devotion is the mystery of the Incarnation where we find Jesus only in Mary, having become incarnate in her womb, it is appropriate for us to say, 'slavery of Jesus in Mary', of Jesus dwelling enthroned in Mary, according to the beautiful, prayer, recited by so many great souls, 'O Jesus living in Mary'." St. Louis de Montfort, in Treatise on True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, #27, 246.
Everything We Do Must be for Mary
Do Must be for Mary "We must perform all our actions for Mary, which means that as slaves of this noble Queen we will work only for her, promoting her interests and her high renown, and making this the first aim in all our acts, while the glory of God will always be our final end. In everything we must renounce self- love because more often than not, without our being aware of it, selfishness sets itself up as the end of all we work for. We should often repeat from the depths of our heart: 'Dear Mother, it is to please you that I go here or there, that I do this or that, that I suffer this pain or this injury.'" St. Louis Marie de Montfort, in The Secret of Mary, #49.
It is Through Mary That We Have Salvation and Can Enter Heaven
Salvation and Can Enter Heaven "All our hope do we repose in the most Blessed Virgin -- in the all fair and immaculate one who has crushed the poisonous head of the most cruel serpent and brought salvation to the world: in her who is the glory of the prophets and apostles, the honor of the martyrs, the crown and joy of all the saints; in her who is the safest refuge and the most trustworthy helper of all who are in danger; in her who, with her only-begotten Son, is the most powerful Mediatrix and Conciliatrix in the whole world; in her who is the most excellent glory, ornament, and impregnable stronghold of the holy Church; in her who has destroyed all heresies and snatched the faithful people and nations from all kinds of direst calamities; in her do we hope who has delivered us from so many threatening dangers....
"Because, while bearing toward us a truly motherly affection and having in her care the work of our salvation, she is solicitous about the whole human race. And since she has been appointed by God to be the Queen of heaven and earth, and is exalted above all the choirs of angels and saints, and even stands at the right hand of her only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, she presents our petitions in a most efficacious manner. What she asks, she obtains. Her pleas can never be unheard." Pope Pius IX, in Ineffabilis Deus (The Immaculate Conception) Apostolic Constitution issued on December 8, 1854, Section titled "Hoped-For Results".
"Since faith is the foundation, the source, of the gifts of God by which man is raised above the order of nature and is endowed with the dispositions requisite for life eternal, we are in justice bound to recognize the hidden influence of Mary in obtaining the gift of faith and its salutary cultivation-of Mary who brought the 'author of faith' into this world and who, because of her own great faith, was called 'blessed.' 'O Virgin most holy, none abounds in the knowledge of God except through thee; none, O Mother of God, attains salvation except through thee; none receives a gift from the throne of mercy except through thee.'" Pope Leo XIII, in Adiutricem (On the Rosary), Encyclical promulgated on September 5, 1895, #9.
"Mary is the Virgin most faithful who by her fidelity to God makes good the losses caused by Eve's unfaithfulness. She obtains fidelity to God and final perseverance for those who commit themselves to her. For this reason St. John Damascene compared her to a firm anchor which holds them fast and saves them from shipwreck in the raging seas of the world where so many people perish through lack of such a firm anchor. 'We fasten souls,' he said, 'to Mary, our hope, as to a firm anchor.' It was to Mary that the saints who attained salvation most firmly anchored themselves as did others who wanted to ensure their perseverance in holiness.
"Blessed, indeed, are those Christians who bind themselves faithfully and completely to her as to a secure anchor! The violent storms of the world will not make them founder or carry away their heavenly riches. Blessed are those who enter into her as into another Noah's ark! The flood waters of sin which engulf so many will not harm them because, as the Church makes Mary say in the words of divine Wisdom, 'Those who work with my help - for their salvation - shall not sin.' Blessed are the unfaithful children of unhappy Eve who commit themselves to Mary, the ever-faithful Virgin and Mother who never wavers in her fidelity and never goes back on her trust. She always loves those who love her, not only with deep affection, but with a love that is active and generous. By an abundant outpouring of grace she keeps them from relaxing their effort in the practice of virtue or falling by the wayside through loss of divine grace." St. Louis de Montfort, in Treatise on True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, #175.
"In her power may the Virgin Mother, who once cooperated through her love with the birth of the faithful into the Church, now be the means and guardian of our salvation." Pope Leo XIII, Brief of September 8, 1901: 21 Acta Leonis XIII, p. 159-160 (Quoted by Pope Pius XII in Le Pelerinage De Lourdes (Warning Against Materialism On The Centenary Of The Apparitions At Lourdes), Encyclical promulgated on July 2, 1957, #20.
"Since faith is the foundation, the source, of the gifts of God by which man is raised above the order of nature and is endowed with the dispositions requisite for life eternal, we are in justice bound to recognize the hidden influence of Mary in obtaining the gift of faith and its salutary cultivation - of Mary who brought the 'author of faith' into this world and who, because of her own great faith, was called 'blessed.' 'O Virgin most holy, none abounds in the knowledge of God except through thee; none, O Mother of God, attains salvation except through thee; none receives a gift from the throne of mercy except through thee.' (St. Germ. Constantinop., Orat. 11, in Dortnitione B.M.V.)." Pope Leo XIII, in Adiutricem (On the Rosary), Encyclical promulgated on September 5, 1895, #9.
"There can be no doubt that by the merits of Jesus, Mary was made the mediatrix of our salvation - not, indeed, a mediatrix of justice, but of favor and intercession. St Bonaventure expressly calls her: 'Mary, the most faithful mediatrix of our salvation.'...
"That it is most useful and holy to have recourse to the intercession of Mary can only be doubted by those who have not faith. But, what we intend to prove here, is that the intercession of Mary is even necessary to salvation. We say necessary - not absolutely but morally....
"In the office appointed to be said on the feasts of Mary, this same holy Church, applying the words of Ecclesiasticus to this Blessed Virgin, gives us to understand that in her we find all hope, 'In me is all hope of life and of virtue' (Eccl. xxiv. 25); in Mary is every grace, 'In me is all grace of the way and of the truth' (Ib.). In Mary, finally, we shall find life and eternal salvation: 'Who finds me finds life, and draws salvation from the Lord' (Prov. viii. 35). And elsewhere: 'They that work by me shall not sin; they that explain me shall have everlasting life' (Eccl. xxiv. 30, 31). And surely such expressions as these sufficiently prove that we require the intercession of Mary." St. Alphonsus Ligouri, in The Glories of Mary, Chapter V "To Thee Do We Sigh", Section 1.
"He who neglects the service of the Blessed Virgin will die in his sins. He who does not invoke thee, O Lady, will never get to Heaven. Not only will those from whom Mary turns her countenance not be saved, but there will be no hope of their salvation. No one can be saved without the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary." St. Bonaventure, "Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary," Ps.116; DDP, p. 413; IPM, p. 90; GM, p. 221, 170; SOR, p. 30, (quoted in Apostolic Digest, by Michael Malone, Book 1: "The Book of Mary," Chapter 3: "Those Who Refuse to Honor Our Lady Will Be Lost").
"St. John Damascene did not scruple to say to Mary: 'Pure and Immaculate Virgin, save me, and deliver me from eternal damnation.' St. Bonaventure called Mary 'the salvation of those who invoked Her.'...And shall we scruple to ask Her to save us, when 'the way of salvation is open to none otherwise than through Mary?' as a certain author remarks. And before him St. Germanus had said the same thing, speaking of Mary: 'No one is saved but through You.'...'And thus,' says Richard of St. Laurence, 'our salvation is in the hands of Mary'...The Venerable Raymond Jordano repeats the same thing: 'Our salvation is in Her hands.' Cassian speaks in still stronger terms. He says absolutely, 'that the salvation of all depends on their being favored and protected by Mary.' He who is protected by Mary will be saved; he who is not will be lost. St. Bernardine of Sienna thus addresses this Blessed Virgin: 'O Lady, since Thou art the dispenser of all graces, and since the grace of salvation can only come through Thy hands, our salvation depends on Thee.' Therefore, Richard of St. Laurence had good reason for saying, that 'as we should fall into the abyss, if the ground were withdrawn from under our feet, so does a soul deprived of the help of Mary fall first into sin, and then into hell.' St. Bonaventure says, that 'God will not save us without the intercession of Mary.' And that 'as a child cannot live without a nurse to suckle it, so no one can be saved without the protection of Mary.' Therefore, he exhorts us 'to thirst after devotion to Her, to preserve it with care, and never to abandon it until we have received Her maternal blessing in heaven.' 'And who would ever know God,' exclaims St. Germanus, 'if it were not for Thee, O Most Holy Mary. Who would be saved?' Who would be free from sin?...
"The following are the beautiful words in which he expresses himself 'There is no one, O most holy Mary, who can know God but through Thee; no one who can be saved or redeemed but through Thee, O Mother of God; no one who can be delivered from dangers but through thee, O Virgin Mother; no one who obtains mercy but through Thee, O filled with all grace.' And in another place, addressing Her, he says, 'No one would be free from the effects of the concupiscence of the flesh and from sin, unless Thou didst open the way to him.'
"St. Bernard tells us that, as we have no access to the Eternal Father but through Jesus, so also we have no access to Jesus but through Mary. 'By Thee we have access to the Son, O blessed finder of grace, bearer of life, and Mother of Salvation, that we may receive Him by Thee, Who through Thee was given to us.' This is the reason given by the Saint why Our Lord has determined that all shall be saved by the intercession of Mary, and therefore he calls Her the Mother of Grace and of our salvation." St. Alphonsus Ligouri, in The Glories of Mary, Chapter V "To Thee Do We Sigh".
"However, consideration of a situation so pregnant with dangers must not depress your souls, Venerable Brethren. Instead...fly with greater confidence to the Mother of God. There, the Christian people have always sought chief refuge in the hour of danger, because 'she has been constituted the cause of salvation for the whole human race' (St. Irenaeus)." Pope Pius XII, Ingruentium Malorum (On Reciting the Rosary), Encyclical promulgated on September 15, 1951, #6.
"Besides these recollections, moreover, as the sacred Mysteries pass by they cause our prayers to be transformed into impulses of entreaty that have an indescribable power over the heart of Mary. Yes, we fly to thee, we miserable children of Eve, O holy Mother of God. To thee we lift our prayers, for thou art the Mediatrix, powerful at once and pitiful, of our salvation." Pope Leo XIII, in Iucunda Semper Expectatione (On The Rosary), Encyclical promulgated on September 8, 1894, #8.
"[Mary is called] the gate of heaven, because no one can enter that blessed kingdom without passing through her." St. Bernard (quoted in "The Virgin Mary as Co-Redemtrix, Mediatrix and Advocate", by B.A. Robinson).
No One is a True Christian Unless They Are Devoted to Mary
Devoted to Mary "A man is no true Christian if he has no devotion to the Mother of Jesus Christ and of all Christians. St. Anselm and St. Bonaventure assure us that it is impossible for persons who are not loved by the Mother of Christ to have any part with Him. Conversely, it is impossible for anyone to perish upon whom she looks with favor." St. John Eudes, Never Separate What God Has So Perfectly United.
It is Through Mary that we Gain Eternal Life
Eternal Life "Hence it follows, as We have already pointed out, that the Virgin is more powerful than all others as a means for uniting mankind with Christ. Hence too since, according to Christ Himself, 'Now this is eternal life: That they may know thee the only truly God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent' (John xvii., 3), and since it is through Mary that we attain to the knowledge of Christ, through Mary also we most easily obtain that life of which Christ is the source and origin." Pope Pius X, in Ad Diem Illum Laetissimum (On the Immaculate Conception), Encyclical promulgated on February 2, 1904, #8.
Mary is the Center of the Whole World, and is to be Praised, Venerated, Honored, Esteemed, and Worshipped
Center of the Whole World, and is to be Praised, Venerated, Honored, Esteemed, and Worshipped "From the earliest ages of the Catholic Church a Christian people, whether in time of triumph or more especially in time of crisis, has addressed prayers of petition and hymns of praise and veneration to the Queen of Heaven. And never has that hope wavered which they placed in the Mother of the Divine King, Jesus Christ; nor has that faith ever failed by which we are taught that Mary, the Virgin Mother of God, reigns with a mother's solicitude over the entire world, just as she is crowned in heavenly blessedness with the glory of a Queen....
"We have recourse to Mary Our Queen, making known to her those sentiments of filial reverence which are not Ours alone, but which belong to all those who glory in the name of Christian....
"Further: 'O just, O most blessed Joseph), since thou art sprung from a royal line, thou hast been chosen from among all mankind to be spouse of the pure Queen who, in a way which defies description, will give birth to Jesus the king.' In addition: 'I shall sing a hymn to the mother, the Queen, whom I joyously approach in praise, gladly celebrating her wonders in song...Our tongue cannot worthily praise thee, O Lady; for thou who hast borne Christ the king art exalted above the seraphim...Hail, O Queen of the world; hail, O Mary, Queen of us all.'
"We read, moreover, in the Ethiopic Missal: 'O Mary, center of the whole world,...thou art greater than the many-eyed cherubim and the six-winged seraphim...Heaven and earth are filled with the sanctity of thy glory.'...
"Let all Christians, therefore, glory in being subjects of the Virgin Mother of God, who, while wielding royal power, is on fire with a mother's love." Pope Pius XII, in Ad Caeli Reginam (On Proclaiming the Queenship of Mary), Encyclical promulgated on October 11, 1954, #1-2, 28-29, 43.
"The power thus put into her hands is all but unlimited. How unerringly right, then, are Christian souls when they turn to Mary for help as though impelled by an instinct of nature, confidently sharing with her their future hopes and past achievements, their sorrows and joys, commending themselves like children to the care of a bountiful mother. How rightly, too, has every nation and every liturgy without exception acclaimed her great renown, which has grown greater with the voice of each succeeding century." Pope Leo XIII, in Adiutricem (On the Rosary), Encyclical promulgated on September 5, 1895, #8.
"In the Heavens Mary commands the angels and the blessed. As a recompense for her profound humility, God has empowered her and commissioned her to fill with saints the empty thrones from which the apostate angels fell by pride. The will of the Most High, who exalts the humble (Lk. 1:52), is that Heaven, earth and Hell bend, with good will or bad will, to the commandments of the humble Mary, whom He has made sovereign of Heaven and earth, general of His armies, treasurer of His treasures, dispenser of His graces, worker of His greatest marvels, restorer of the human race, Mediatrix of men, the exterminator of the enemies of God, and the faithful companion of His grandeurs and triumphs....
"The most infallible and indubitable sign by which we may distinguish a heretic, a man of bad doctrine, a reprobate, from one of the predestinate, is that the heretic and the reprobate have nothing but contempt and indifference for Our Lady, endeavoring by their words and examples to diminish the worship (or veneration) and love of her, openly or hiddenly, and sometimes by misrepresentation. Alas! God the Father has not told Mary to dwell in them, for they are Esaus....
"There are several interior practices to true devotion to the Blessed Virgin. Here are the principle ones, stated compendiously: (1) to honor her as the worthy Mother of God, with the worship of hyperdulia; that is to say, to esteem her and honor her above all the other saints, as the masterpiece of grace, and the first after Jesus Christ, true God and true Man..." St. Louis-Marie Grignion De Montfort, in True Devotion to Mary, #28, 30, 115 (translated from the original French by Fr. Frederick William Faber, D.D., edited and annotated by the Fathers of the Company of Mary, copyright 1941, published by Tan Books and Publishers, Inc., Rockford, Illinois, 61105, ISBN 0-89555-279-5, Library of Congress Catalog Card No: 85-50571, bearing the "Imprimi Potest", "Nihil Obstat" and "Imprimatur" of the Catholic Church).
Devotion to Mary is NECESSARY For Salvation and Freedom From Sin
NECESSARY For Salvation and Freedom From Sin "Devotion to you, O Blessed Virgin, is a means of salvation which God gives to those whom he wishes to save." St. John Damascene (Quoted by St. Louis de Montfort, in Treatise on True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, #40.
"The pious and learned Jesuit, Suarez, Justus Lipsius, a devout and erudite theologian of Louvain, and many others have proved incontestably that devotion to our Blessed Lady is necessary to attain salvation. This they show from the teaching of the Fathers, notably St. Augustine, St. Ephrem, deacon of Edessa, St. Cyril of Jerusalem, St. Germanus of Constantinople, St. John Demascene, St. Anselm, St. Bernard, St. Bernardine, St. Thomas and St. Bonaventure. Even according to Oecolampadius and other heretics, lack of esteem and love for the Virgin Mary is an infallible sign of God's disapproval. On the other hand, to be entirely and genuinely devoted to her is a sure sign of God's approval." St. Louis de Montfort, Treatise on True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, #40.
"Those, alas! furnish us by their conduct with a peremptory proof of it, who seduced by the wiles of the demon or deceived by false doctrines think they can do without the help of the Virgin. Hapless are they who neglect Mary under pretext of the honor to be paid to Jesus Christ!" Pope Pius X, in Ad Diem Illum Laetissimum (On the Immaculate Conception), Encyclical promulgated on February 2, 1904, #15.
"Thousands of souls perish because Mary is withheld from them. It is the miserable unworthy shadow which we call our devotion to the Blessed Virgin, that is the cause of all these wants and blights, these evils and omissions and declines. Yet, if we are to believe the revelations of the saints, God is pressing for a greater, a wider, a stronger, quite another devotion to His Blessed Mother." Fr. Frederick Faber, in Preface of True Devotion to Mary, by St. Louis De Montfort, p. xxii (published by Tan Books and Publishers Inc., copyright 1941 by the Fathers of the Company of Mary, Library of Congress Catalog Card No.: 85-50571, ISBN 0-89555-279-5).
"And with this love of our Mother Mary, I leave you, my readers, saying to you: Continue joyfully to honor and love this good Lady. Try also to promote the love of her wherever you can; and do not doubt that, if you persevere in true devotion to Mary, even until death, your salvation is assured." St. Alphonsus Ligouri, in The Glories of Mary, Chapter "Her Special Privileges".
"Truly are those souls to be pitied who abandon this defense, in ceasing their devotion to Mary, and no longer recommending themselves to her in times of danger. If the sun ceased to rise, says St. Bernard, how could the world become other than a chaos of darkness and horror? Applying this question to Mary, he repeats it, 'Take away the sun and where will be the day? Take away Mary, and what will be left but the darkest night? When a soul loses devotion to Mary, it is immediately enveloped in darkness, and it is in that darkness of which the Holy Spirit speaks in the Psalms: 'You bring darkness and it is night; then all the beasts of the forest roam about.' (104:20)." St. Alphonsus Ligouri, in The Glories of Mary, Chapter II "Our Life, Our Sweetness", p 26-27.
"Jesus honored her before all ages, and will honor her for all ages. No one comes to Him, nor even near Him, no one is saved or sanctified, if he too will not honor her. This is the lot of angels and of men." St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe, International Center, Militia of the Immaculate, Rome, (quoted in Apostolic Digest, by Michael Malone, Book 1: "The Book of Mary," Chapter 3: "Those Who Refuse to Honor Our Lady Will Be Lost").
"St. Francis Borgia had great doubts about the salvation of those that have not a special devotion to Mary; because, according to St. Antonine, he who expects graces from God without the intercession of Mary attempts to fly without wings. St. Anselm has gone so far as to say: 'It is impossible to be saved if we turn away from thee, O Mary.' St. Bonaventure has said the same: 'He that neglects her will die in his sins.' Blessed Albertus Magnus says: 'The people that do not serve thee will perish.' And speaking of Mary, Richard of St. Laurence says: 'All those whom this ship does not receive are lost in the sea of this world.' But, on the other hand, he who is faithful in the service of Mary will be certainly saved. 'Oh Mother of God,' says St. John Damascene, 'if I put my confidence in you I shall be saved. If I am under your protection I have nothing to fear; for to be devoted to you is to have certain arms of salvation which God gives only to those whose salvation he wills in a special manner.'" St. Alphonsus De Liguori, in Dignity and Duties of the Priest, p 413-414 (published by the Redemptorist Fathers, copyright Very Rev. James Barron, C.SS.R., 1927, bearing the Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur of the Catholic Church).
"You (Mary) are the dispenser of all graces; our salvation is in your hands." St. Bernardine of Sienna (quoted by St. Alphonsus Ligouri, The Great Means of Salvation and of Perfection (The Necessity and Power of Prayer), Chapter 1, The Necessity of Prayer, Section 4 "The Intercession of the Blessed Virgin").