Chapter III
Spes nostra! Salve
Mary, Our Hope

Chapter III
Spes nostra! Salve
Mary, Our Hope

by Saint Alphonsus Liguori

Chapter III, Section I
Mary is the Hope of All

Modern heretics cannot endure that we should salute and call Mary our hope: "Hail, our Hope!"  They say that God alone is our hope; and that He curses those who put their trust in creatures in these words of the prophet Jeremiah: "Cursed be the man that trusteth in man" - ("Maledictus homo qui confidit in homine"—Jeremiah 17:5).  Mary, they exclaim, is a creature; and how can a creature be our hope?  This is what the heretics say; but in spite of this, the holy Church obliges all ecclesiastics and religious each day to raise their voices, and in name of all the faithful invoke and call Mary by the sweet name of "Our Hope,"—the hope of all.

The Angelic Doctor, Saint Thomas says (2. 2, q. 25, a. 1, ad 3), that we can place our hope in a person in two ways: as a principal cause, and as a mediate one.  Those who hope for a favor from a king, hope it from him as lord; they hope for it from his minister or favorite as an intercessor.  If the favor is granted, it comes primarily from the king, but it comes through the instrumentality of the favorite; and in this case he who seeks the favor is right in calling his intercessor his hope.  The King of Heaven, being infinite goodness, desires in the highest degree to enrich us with His graces; but because confidence is requisite on our part, and in order to increase it in us, He has given us His own Mother to be our Mother and Advocate, and to her He has given all power to help us; and therefore He wills that we should repose our hope of salvation and of every blessing in her.  Those who place their hopes in creatures alone, independently of God, as sinners do, and in order to obtain the friendship and favor of a man, fear not to outrage His divine Majesty, are most certainly cursed by God, as the prophet Jeremiah says.  But those who hope in Mary, as Mother of God, who is able to obtain graces and eternal life for them, are truly blessed and acceptable to the heart of God, Who desires to see that greatest of His creatures honored; for she loved and honored Him in this world more than all men and angels put together.  And therefore we justly and reasonably call the Blessed Virgin Our Hope, trusting, as Cardinal Bellarmin says, "that we shall obtain, through her intercession, that which we should not obtain by our own unaided prayers".  "We pray to her", says the learned Suarez, "in order that the dignity of the intercessor may supply for our own unworthiness; so that" ("Ut dignitas intercessoris suppleat inopiam nostram"), he continues, "to implore the Blessed Virgin in such a spirit, is not diffidence in the mercy of God, but fear of our own unworthiness" - ("Unde, virginem interpellare, non est de divina misericordia diffidere, sed de propria indignitate timere"—De Inc. p. 2, d. 23, s. 3).

It is, then, not without reason that the holy Church, in the words of Ecclesiasticus, called Mary the "Mother of holy Hope" - ("Ego mater . . . sanctae spei"—Ecclesiasticus 24:24).  She is the Mother who gives birth to holy hope in our hearts; not to the hope of the vain and transitory goods of this life, but of the immense and eternal goods of Heaven.

"Hail, then, O hope of my soul!" exclaims Saint Ephrem, addressing this divine Mother; "hail, O certain salvation of Christians; hail, O helper of sinners; hail, fortress of the faithful and salvation of the world!" - ("Ave animae Spes! Ave, Christianorum firma Salus! Ave. peccatorum Adjutrix! Ave. Vallum fideliuim et mundi Salus!"—De Laud. Dei Gen.).  Other saints remind us, that after God, our only hope is Mary; and therefore they call her, "after God, their only hope" - ("Post Deum, sola spes nostra"—Cant. p. Psalt).

Saint Ephrem, reflecting on the present order of Providence, by which God wills (as Saint Bernard says, and as we shall prove at length) that all who are saved should be saved by the means of Mary, thus addresses her: "O Lady, cease not to watch over us; preserve and guard us under the wings of thy compassion and mercy, for, after God, we have no hope but in thee" - ("Nobis non est alia quam in te fidueia, O Virgo sincerissima! sub alis tuae pietatis protégé et custody nos"—De Laud. Dei Gen.).  Saint Thomas of Villanova repeats the same thing, calling her "our only refuge, help, and asylum" - ("Tu unicum refugium, subsidium, et asylum"—In Nat. B. V. Conc. 3).  Saint Bernard seems to give the reason for this when he says, "See, O man, the designs of God,—designs by which He is able to dispense His mercy more abundantly to us; for, desiring to redeem the whole human race, He has placed the whole price of redemption in the hands of Mary, that she may dispense it at will" - ("Intuere, O homo, consilium Dei, consilium pietatis: redempturus humanum genus, pretium universum contulit in Mariam"—De Aquaed).

In the Book of Exodus we read that God commanded Moses to make a mercy-seat of the purest gold, because it was thence that He would speak to him.  "Thou shalt make also a propitiatory of the purest gold . . . Thence will I give orders, and will speak to thee" - ("Facies et propitiatorium de auro mundissimo . . . Inde praecipiam et loquar ad te"—Exodus 25:17,22).  Saint Andrew of Crete says that "the whole world embraces Mary as being this propitiatory".   And commenting on his words a pious author exclaims, "Thou, O Mary, art the propitiatory of the whole world.  From thee does our most compassionate Lord speak to our hearts; from thee He speaks words of pardon and mercy; from thee He bestows His gifts; from thee all good flows to us" - ("Te universus mundus continent commune propitiatorium: inde pientissimus Dominus nobis loquitur ad cor; inde response dat benignitatis et veniae; inde response dat benignitatis et veniae: inde munera largitur: inde omne nobis bonum emanate"—Paciucch. in Sal. Ang. Exc. 20).  And therefore, before the divine Word took flesh in the womb of Mary, He sent an archangel to ask her consent: because He willed that the world should receive the Incarnate Word through her, and that she should be the source of every good.  Hence Saint Irenaeus remarks, that as Eve was seduced, by a fallen angel, to flee from God, so Mary was led to receive God into her womb, obeying a good angel; and thus by her obedience repaired Eve's disobedience, and became her advocate, and that of the whole human race.  "If Eve disobeyed God, yet Mary was persuaded to obey God, that the Virgin Mary might become the advocate of the virgin Eve.  And as the human race was bound to death through a virgin, it is saved through a Virgin" - ("Quid est quod sine Mariae consensus non perficitur Incarnationis mysterium? quia nempe vult illam Deus omnium bonorum esse principium"—Ap. C. à Lap. In Prov. xxxi. 29).  And Blessed Raymond Jordano also says, "that every good, every help, every grace that men have received and will receive from God until the end of time, came, and will come, to them by the intercession and through the hands of Mary" ("Per ipsam, habet mundus et habiturus est omne bonum"—Cont. B. M. in prol.).

The devout Blosius, then, might well exclaim, "O Mary, O though who art so loving and gracious towards all who love thee, tell me, who can be so infatuated and unfortunate as not to love thee?  Thou, in the midst of their doubts and difficulties, enlightenest the minds of all who, in their afflictions, have recourse to thee.  Thou encouragest those who fly to thee in time of danger; thou succorest those who call upon thee; thou, after thy divine Son, art the certain salvation of thy faithful servants.  Hail, then, O hope of those who are in despair, O succor of those who are abandoned.  O Mary, thou art all-powerful; for thy divine Son, to honor thee, complies instantly with all thy desires" ("O Maria! quis te non amet? tu enim in dubiis es lumen, in moeroribus solatium, in periculis refugium.  Tu, post Unigenitum tuum certa fidelium salus.  Ave, desperantium Spes, ave, destitutorum Adjutrix! Cujus honori tantum tribuit Filius, ut, quiidquid volueris, mox fia"—Par. An. p. 2, c. 4).  

Saint Germanus, recognizing in Mary the source of all our good, and that she delivers us from every evil, thus invokes her: "O, my sovereign Lady, thou alone art the one whom God has appointed to be my solace here below; thou art the guide of my pilgrimage, the strength of my weakness, the riches of my poverty, remedy for the healing of my wounds, the soother of my pains, the end of my captivity, the hope of my salvation!  Hear my prayers, have pity on my tears, I conjure thee, O thou who art my queen, my refuge, my love, my help, my hope and my strength" - ("O Domina mea, tu sola mihi ex Deo solatium, itineris mei direction, debilitates meae potential, mendicitatis meae divitiae, vulnerum meorum medicina, dolorum meorum relevatio, vinculorum meorum solution, salutis meae spes; exaudi orations meas, miserere suspiriorum meorum, Domina mea, Refugium, Vita, Auxilium, Spes, et Robut meum!"—Encom. In S. Deip.).

We need not, then, be surprised that Saint Antoninus applies the following verse of the Book of Wisdom to Mary: "Now all good things came to me together with her" - ("Venerunt autem mihi omnia bona partier cum illa"—Wisdom 7:11).  For as this Blessed Virgin is the Mother and dispenser of all good things, the whole world, and more particularly each individual who lives in it as a devout client of this great Queen, may say with truth, that with devotion to Mary, both he and the world have obtained everything good and perfect.  The saint thus expresses his thought: "She is the Mother of all good things, and the world can truly say, that with her (that is, the most Blessed Virgin ) it has received all good things" - ("Omnium bonorum mater est, et venerunt mihi omnia bona cum illa scilicet virgine, potest dicere mundus"—P. 4, l. 15, c. 20, #12).  And hence the Blessed Abbot of Celles expressly declares, "that when we find Mary, we find all" - ("Inventa Maria, invenitur omne bonum"—De Cont. de V. M. in Prol.).  Whoever finds Mary finds every good thing, obtains all graces and all virtues; for by her powerful intercession she obtains all that is necessary to enrich him with divine grace.  In the Book of Proverbs Mary herself tells us that she possesses all the riches of God, that is to say, His mercies, that she may dispense them in favor of her lovers.  "With me are riches . . . and glorious riches . . . that I may enrich them that love me" - ("Mecum sunt divitiae, et . . . opes superbae . . . ut ditem diligentes me"—Proverbs 8:18,21).  And therefore Saint Bonaventure says: "That we ought all to keep our eyes constantly fixed on Mary's hands, that through them we may receive the graces that we desire" - ("Oculi omnium nostrum ad manus Mariae simper debent respicere, ut per manus ejus aliquid boni accipiamus"—Spec. B. V. lect. 3)").

O, how many who were once proud have become humble by devotion to Mary! how many who were passionate have become meek! how many in the midst of darkness have found light! how many who were in despair have found confidence! how many who were lost have found salvation by the same powerful means!  And this she clearly foretold in the house of Elizabeth, in her own sublime canticle:  "Behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed" - ("Ecce enim ex hoc beatam me dicent mones generations").  And Saint Bernard, interpreting her words, says:  "All generations call thee blessed, because thou has given life and glory to all nations" - ("Ex hoc Beatam te dicent omnes generations, quae omnibus generationibus vitam et gloriam genuisti"—In Pentec. s. 2), for "in thee sinners find pardon, and the just perseverance in the grace of God" - ("In te justi gratiam, peccatores veniam inveniunt in aeternum"—In Pent. s. 2).

Hence the devout Lanspergius makes Our Lord thus address the world:  "Men, poor children of Adam, who live surrounded by so many enemies and in the midst of so many trials, endeavor to honor my Mother and yours in a special manner: for I have given Mary to the world, that she may be your model, and that from her you may learn to lead good lives; and also that she may be refuge to which you can fly in all your afflictions and trials.  I have rendered this, my daughter, such that no one need fear or have the least repugnance to have recourse to her; and for this purpose I have created her of so benign and compassionate a disposition, that she knows not how to despise any one who takes refuge with her, nor can she deny her favor to any one who seeks it.  The mantle of her mercy is open to all, and she allows no one to leave her feet without consoling him" ("Matrem meam devotione praaecipua venerate.  Ego enim hanc mundo dedi, in puritatis exemplum, in praesidium tutissimum, ut sit tribulatis asylum.  Quam nemo formidet, nemo ad eam accedere trepidet; propterea namque adeo feci eam mitem, adeo misericordem, ut neminem aspernetur, nulli se neget, omnibus pietatis sinum apertum teneat; neminem a se redire cristem sinat"—Alloq. l 1, p. 4, can. 12).  May the immense goodness of our God be ever praised and blessed for having given us this so great, so tender, so loving a Mother and Advocate.

O God, how tender are the sentiments of confidence expressed by the enamored Saint Bonaventure towards Jesus our most loving Redeemer, and Mary our most loving advocate!  He says, "Whatever God forsees to be my lot, I know that He cannot refuse Himself to any one who loves Him and seeks for Him with his whole heart.  I will embrace Him with my love; and if He does not bless me, I will still cling to Him so closely that He will be unable to go without me.  If I can do nothing else, at least I will hide myself in His wounds, and taking up my dwelling there, it will be in Himself alone that He will find me".  And the saint concludes, "If my Redeemer rejects me on account of my sins, and drives me from His sacred feet, I will cast myself at those of His beloved Mother Mary, and there I will remain prostrate until she has obtained my forgiveness; for this Mother of Mercy knows not, and has never known, how to do otherwise than compassionate the miserable, and comply with the desires of the most destitute who fly to her for succor; and therefore", he says, "if not by duty, at least by compassion, she will engage her Son to pardon me" ("Quantumcumque me Deus Praesciverit, scio quod seipsum negare non potest.  Eum amplexabor, et, si non mihi benedixerit, nec tunc dimittam; et sine me recedere non valebit.  In cavernis vulnerum suorum me abscondam, ibique extra se me invenire non poterit.  Ad matris suae pedes provolutus stabo, ut mihi veniam impetret.  Ipsa enim non misereri ignorat, et miseris non satisfacere nunquam scivit.  Ideoque ex compassione maxima mihi ad indulgentiam Filium inclinabit"—Stim. Div. am. p. 3, c. 13).

"Look down upon us, then", let us exclaim, in the words of Euthymius, "look down upon us, O most compassionate Mother; cast thine eyes of mercy on us, for we are thy servants, and in thee we have placed all our confidence" ("Respice, O Mater misericordiosissima! Respice servos tuos; in te enim omnem spem nostram collocavimus"—Ap. Sur. 31 Aug.).

Example

Saint Gregory relates that there was a young woman named Musa, who was very devout to the Mother of God; to whom, when she was in great danger of losing her innocence by the bad example of her companions, Mary appeared one day with many saints, and said: "Musa, dost thou also wish to be one of these?"  On her answering "Yes", she added, "Well, withdraw from thy companions, and prepare thyself, for in a month thou shalt come".  Musa did so, and related the vision.  On the thirtieth day she was at the point of death, when the most Blessed Virgin again appeared, and invited her to come.  She replied, "Behold, I come, O Lady", and sweetly expired (Dial. 1. 4. c. 17).

Prayer

O Mother of holy love, our life, our refuge, and our hope, thou well knowest that thy son Jesus Christ, not content with being himself our perpetual advocate with the eternal Father, has willed that thou also shouldst interest thyself with him, in order to obtain the divine mercies for us.  He has decreed that thy prayers should aid our salvation, and has made them so efficacious that they obtain all that they ask.  To thee therefore, who art the hope of the miserable, do I, a wretched sinner, turn my eyes.  I trust, O Lady, that in the first place through the merits of Jesus Christ, and then through thy intercession, I shall be saved.  Of this I am certain; and my confidence in thee is such, that if my eternal salvation were in my own hands, I should place it in thine, for I rely more on thy mercy and protection than on all my own works.  My mother and my hope, abandone me not, though I deserve that thou shouldst do so.  See my miseries, and, being moved thereby with compassion, help and save me.  I own that I have too often closed my heart, by my sins, against the lights and helps that thou hast procured for me from the Lord.  But thy compassion for the miserable, and thy power with God, far surpass the number and malice of my sins.  It is well known to all, both in heaven and on earth, that whosoever is protected by thee is certainly saved.  All may forget me, provided only that thou dost remember me, O Mother of an omnipotent God.  Tell him that I am thy servant; say onl that thou defendest me, and I shall be saved.  O mary, I trust in thee; in this hope I live; in it I desire and hope to die, repeating always, "Jesus is my only hope, and after Jesus the most Blessed Virgin Mary" ("Unica spes mea Jesus et post Jesum Virgo Maria"). 

Amen