Chapter II
Vita, Dulcedo
Mary, Our Life, Our Sweetness

Chapter II
 Vita, Dulcedo
 Mary, Our Life, Our Sweetness

by Saint Alphonsus Liguori

Chapter II, Section I
Mary is our life, because she obtains for us the Pardon of our Sins

To understand why the holy Church makes us call Mary our life, we must know, that as the soul gives life to the body, so does divine grace give life to the soul; for a soul without grace has the name of being alive but is in truth dead, as it was said of one in the Apocalypse, "Thou hast the name of being alive, and thou art dead" - ("Nomen habes quod vivas, et mortuus es"—Apocalypse 3:1).  Mary, then, in obtaining this grace for sinners by her intercession, thus restores them to life.

See how the Church makes her speak, applying to her the following words of Proverbs: "They that in the morning early watch for me, shall find me" - ("Qui mane vigilant ad me, invenient me"—Proverbs 8:17).  They who are diligent in having recourse to me in the morning, that is, as soon as they can, will most certainly find me.  In the Septuagint the words shall find me are rendered shall find grace.  So that to have recourse to Mary is the same thing as to find the grace of God.  A little further on she says, "He that shall find me shall find life, and shall have salvation from the Lord" - ("Qui me invenerit, inveniet vitam, et hauriet salutem a Domino").    "Listen", exclaims Saint Bonaventure on these words, "listen, all you who desire the kingdom of God: honor the most Blessed Virgin Mary, and you will find life and eternal salvation" - ("Audite qui ingredi cupitis regnum Dei: Virginem Mariam honorate, et invenietis vitam et salutem perpetuam"—Psalt. B. V. ps. 48).

Saint Bernardine of Sienna says, that if God did not destroy man after his first sin, it was on account of His singular love for this holy Virgin, who was destined to be born of this race.  And the saint adds, "that he has no doubt but that all the mercies granted by God under the old dispensation were granted only in consideration of this most Blessed Lady" - ("Omnes indulgentias factas in Veteri Testamento non ambigo Deum fecisse propter hujus benedictae Puelae reverentiam et amorem"—Pro Fest. V. M. s. 5, c. 2).

Hence Saint Bernard was right in exhorting us "to seek for grace, and to seek it by Mary" - ("Inventrix gratiae"—In Adv. D. s. 2); meaning, that if we have had the misfortune to lose the grace of God, we should seek to recover it, but we should do so through Mary; for though we may have lost it, she has found it; and hence the saint calls her "the finder of grace" - ("Inventrix gratiae"—In Adv. D. s. 2).  The angel Gabriel expressly declared this for our consolation, when he saluted the Blessed Virgin saying, "Fear not, Mary, thou hast found grace" - ("Ne timeas, Maria: invenisti enim gratiam"—Luke 1:30).  But if Mary had never been deprived of grace, how could the archangel say that she had then found it?  A thing may be found by a person who did not previously possess it; but we are told by the same archangel that the Blessed Virgin was always with God, always in grace, nay, full of grace.  "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee" - ("Ave, gratia plena!  Dominus tecum").  Since Mary, then, did not find grace for herself, she being always full of it, for whom did she find it?  Cardinal Hugo, in his commentary on the above text, replies that she found it for sinners who had lost it.  "Let sinners, then", says this devout writer, "who by their crimes have lost grace, address themselves to the Blessed Virgin, for with her they will surely find it; let them humbly salute her, and say with confidence, 'Lady, that which has been found must be restored to him who has lost it; restore us, therefore, our property which thou hast found'" - ("Currant igitur peccatores ad Virginem, qui gratiam amiserunt peccando, et eam invenient apud ipsam; secure dicant: Redde nobis rem nostrum, quam invenisti").  On this subject, Richard of Saint Laurence concludes, "that if we hope to recover the grace of God, we must go to Mary, who has found it, and finds it always" - ("Cupientes invenire gratiam, quaeramus inventricem gratiae, quae, quia simper invenit, frustrari non poterit"—De Laud. V. 1. 2, p. 5).  And as she always was and always will be dear to God, if we have recourse to her, we shall certainly succeed.

Again, Mary says, in the eighth chapter of the sacred Canticles, that God has placed her in the world to be our defense: "I am a wall: and my breasts are as a tower" - ("Ego murus, et ubera mea sicut turris, ex quo facta sum coram eo quasi pacem reperiens"—Canticles 8:10).  And she is truly made a Mediatress of peace between sinners and God; Since I am become in His presence as one finding peace.  On these words Saint Bernard encourages sinners, saying, "Go to this Mother of Mercy, and show her the wounds which thy sins have left on thy soul; then will she certainly entreat her Son, by the breast that gave Him suck, to pardon thee all.  And this divine Son, Who loves her so tenderly, will most certainly grant her petition" - ("Vade ad Matrem misericordiae, et ostende illi tuorum plagas peccatorum, et illa ostendet pro te ubera; exaudiet utique Matrem Filius").  In this sense it is that the holy Church, in her almost daily prayer, calls upon us to beg Our Lord to grant us the powerful help of the intercession of Mary to rise from our sins: "Grant Thy help to our weakness, O most merciful God; and that we, who are mindful of the holy Mother of God, may by the help of her intercession rise from our iniquities" - ("Concede, misericors Deus, fragilitati nostrae praesidium; ut qui sanctae Dei Genitricis memoriam agimus, intercessionis ejus auxilio a nostris iniquitatibus resurgamus").

With reason, then, does Saint Laurence Justinian call her "the hope of malefactors" - ("Delinquentium spes"—S. de Nat. V. M.); since she alone is the one who obtains them pardon from God.  With reason does Saint Bernard call her "the sinners' ladder" ("Peccatorum scala"—De Aquad); since she, the most compassionate Queen, extending her hand to them, draws them from an abyss of sin, and enables them to ascend to God.  With reason does an ancient writer call her "the only hope of sinners;" for by her help alone can we hope for the remission of our sins ("Tu es spes unica peccatorum, quia per te speramus veniam omnium delictorum"—Serm. 194, E. B. app.).

Saint John Chrysostom also says "that sinners receive pardon by the intercession of Mary alone" - ("Per hanc peccatorum veniam consequimur").  And therefore the saint, in the name of all sinners, thus addresses her: "Hail, Mother of God and of us all, 'heaven,' where God dwells, 'throne,' from which our Lord dispenses all grace, 'fair daughter, Virgin, honor, glory and firmament of our Church,' assiduously pray to Jesus that in the day of judgment we may find mercy through thee, and receive the reward prepared by God for those who love him" ("Ave igitur, Mater, Coelum, Thronus, Ecclesiae nostrae decus; assidue precare Jesum, ut per te misericordiam invenire in die judicii, et, quae reposita sunt iis, qui diligent Deum, bona consequi possimus"—Off. B. M. lect. 6).

With reason, finally, is Mary called, in the words of the sacred Canticles, the dawn; "Who is she that cometh forth as the morning rising?" - ("Quae est ista, quae progreditur quasi aurora consurgenus?"—Canticles 6:9).  Yes, says Pope Innocent III; "for as the dawn is the end of night, and the beginning of day, well may the Blessed Virgin Mary, who was the end of vices, be called the dawn of day" - ("Cum aurora sit finis noctis et origo diei, merito per auroram designator Virgo Maria, quae fuit finis vitiorum"—In Assumpt. s. 2).  When devotion towards Mary begins in a soul, it produces the same effect that the birth of this most Holy Virgin produces in the world.  It puts an end to the night of sin, and leads the soul into the path of virtue.  Therefore, Saint Germanus says, "O Mother of God, thy protection never ceases, thy intercession is life, and thy patronage never fails" (In Dorm. B. V. s. 2).  And in a sermon the same saint says, that to pronounce the name of Mary with affection is a sign of life in the soul, or at least, that life will soon return there.

We read in the Gospel of Saint Luke, that Mary said, "Behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed" - ("Ecce enim ex hoc beatam me dicent omnes generations"—Luke 1:48).  "Yes, my Lady", exclaims Saint Bernard, "all generations shall call thee blessed, for thou has begotten life and glory for all generations of men" - ("Ex hoc Beatam te dicent omnes generations, quae omnibus generationibus vitam et gloriam genuisti"—In Pentec.).  For this cause all men shall call thee blessed, for all thy servants obtain through thee the life of grace and eternal glory.  "In thee do sinners find pardon, and the just perseverance and eternal life" - ("In te justi gratiam, peccatores veniam, invenerunt in aeternum"—In Pentec. s. 2).  "Distrust not, O sinner", says the devout Bernardine de Bustis, "even if thou has committed all possible sins: go with confidence to this most glorious Lady, and thou wilt find her hands filled with mercy and bounty".  And, he adds, for "she desires more to thee good than thou canst desire to receive favors from her" - ("O peccator! non diffidas, etiamsi commisisti omnia peccata, sed secure ad istam gloriosissimam Dominam recurras; invenies enim eam in minibus plenam misericordia et largitate.  Plus enim desiderat ipsa facere tibi bonum, et largiri gratiam, quam tu accipere concupiscas"—Marial. p. 2, s. 5).

Saint Andrew of Crete calls Mary the pledge of divine mercy - ("Fidejussio divinarum reconciliationum, quae dato pignore fit"—In Dorm. B. V. s. 3); meaning that, when sinners have recourse to Mary, that they may be reconciled with God, He assures them of pardon and gives them a pledge of it; and this pledge is Mary, whom He has bestowed upon us for our advocate, and by whose intercession (by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ) God forgives all who have recourse to her.  Saint Bridget heard an angel say, that the holy Prophets rejoiced in knowing that God, by the humility and purity of Mary, was to be reconciled with sinners, and to receive those who had offended Him to favor.  "They exulted, foreknowing that our Lord Himself would be appeased by thy humility, and the purity of thy life, O Mary, thou super-effulgent star, and that He would be reconciled with those who had provoked His wrath" - ("Exsultabant autem praenoscentes, quod ipse Dominus, ex tua humilitate, et vitae puritate, O Maria, stella praefulgida! placaretur, et quod reciperet eos in suam gratiam, qui ipsum ad iracundiam provocaverant"—Serm. Ang. c. 9).

No sinner, having recourse to the compassion of Mary, should fear being rejected; for she is the Mother of Mercy, and as such desires to save the most miserable.  Mary is that happy ark, says Saint Bernard, "in which those who take refuge will never suffer the shipwreck of eternal perdition" - ("Arca in qua naufragium evadimus"—S. de B. V. M. Deip.).  At the time of the deluge even brutes were saved in Noah's Ark.  Under the mantle of Mary even sinners obtain salvation.  Saint Gertrude once saw Mary with her mantle extended, and under it many wild beasts—lions, bears, and tigers—had taken refuge (Insin. l. 4, c. 50).  And she remarked that Mary not only did not reject, but even welcomed and caressed them with the greatest tenderness.  The saint understood hereby that the most abandoned sinners who have recourse to Mary are not only not rejected, but that they are welcomed and saved by her from eternal death.  Let us, then, enter this ark, let us take refuge under the mantle of Mary, and she most certainly will not reject us, but will secure our salvation.

Example

Father Bovio (Es. E. Mir. p. 1, es. 2) relates that there was a wicked woman, named, Ellen, who entered a church, and by chance heard a sermon on the Rosary.  On leaving the church she purchased a set of beads, but wore them concealed, as she did not wish it to be known that she had them.  She began to recite them, and though she did so without devotion, our most Blessed Lady poured such sweetness and consolation into her soul during the whole time, that she could not cease repeating the Hail Marys.  At last she was filled with such a horror for her wicked life, that she could no longer find repose, and was obliged to go to confession.  She accomplished this duty with such contrition that the priest was filled with astonishment.  After her confession, she went to the foot of an altar of the most Blessed Virgin, and there, as a thanksgiving to her advocate, said the Rosary.  The divine Mother then addressed her from the image in the following words: "Ellen, thou has already too much offended God and me; from this moment change your life, and I will bestow a large share of my graces upon thee".  The poor sinner, in the deepest confusion, replied: "Ah! most Holy Virgin, it is true that hitherto I have been a wicked sinner; but thou canst do all, help me; on my part I abandon myself to thee, and will spend the remainder of my life in doing penance for my sins".  With the assistance of Mary, she distributed all her goods among the poor, and began a life of rigorous mortification.  She was tormented with dreadful temptations, but constantly recommended herself to the Mother of God, and thus was always victorious.  She was favored with many extraordinary graces, with visions, revelations, and even the gift of prophecy.  Finally, before her death, which was announced to her by Mary some days before it took place, the most Blessed Virgin came herself, with her divine Son, to visit her; and when she expired, her soul was seen flying towards Heaven in the form of a beautiful dove.

Prayer

Behold, O Mother of my God, my only hope, Mary, behold at thy feet a miserable sinner, who asks thee for mercy.  Thou art proclaimed and called by the whole Church, and by all the faithful, the refuge of sinners.  Thou art consequently my refuge; thou hast to save me.  I will say with William of Paris, Thou knowest, most sweet Mother of God, how much thy Blessed Son desires our salvation ("Tu . . . enim, dulcissima Dei Mater, nosti quantum placeat benedicto Filio tuo salus nostra"—Rhèt. Div. c. 18).  Thou knowest all that Jesus Christ endured for this end.  I present thee, O my Mother, the sufferings of Jesus: the cold that he endured in the stable, his journey into Egypt, his toils, his sweat, the blood that he shed, the anguish which caused his death on the cross, and of which thou wast thyself a witness.  O, show that thou lovest thy beloved Son, and by this love I implore thee to assist me.  Extend thy hand to a poor creature who has fallen, and asks thy help.  Were I a saint, I would not need seek thy mercy: but because I am a sinner, I fly to thee, who art the Mother of Mercies.  I know that thy compassionate heart finds its consolation in assisting the miserable, when thou canst do so, and dost not find them obstinate.  Console, then, thy compassionate heart, and console me this day; for now thou hast the opportunity of saving a poor creature condemned to hell; and thou canst do so, for I will not be obstinate.  I abandon myself into thy hands, only tell me what thou wouldst have me do, and obtain for me strength to execute it, for I am resolved to do all that depends on me to recover the divine grace.  I take refuge under thy mantle.  Jesus wills that I should have recourse to thee, in order not only that his blood may save me, but also that thy prayers may assist me in this great work; for thy glory, and for his own, since thou art his Mother.  He sends me to thee, that thou mayst help me.  O Mary, see, I have recourse to thee; in thee do I confide.  Thou prayest for so many others, pray also for me; say only a word.  Tell our Lord that thou willest my salvation, and God will certainly save me.  Say that I am thine, and then I have obtained all that I ask, all that I desire.

Amen