Chapter I (cont'd)
Salve Regina, Mater Misericordiae
Mary, Our Queen, Our Mother

Chapter I (cont'd)
Salve Regina, Mater Misericordiae
Mary, Our Queen, Our Mother

by Saint Alphonsus Liguori

Chapter I, Section III
The Greatness of the Love which this Mother bears us.

Since Mary is our Mother, we may consider how great is the love she bears us; love towards our children is a necessary impulse of nature; and Saint Thomas (De Dil. Chr. c. 13) says that this is the reason why the divine law imposes on children the obligation of loving their parents; but gives no express command that parents should love their children, for nature itself has so strongly implanted it in all creatures, that, as Saint Ambrose remarks, "we know that a mother will expose herself to danger for her children", and even the most savage beasts cannot do otherwise than love their young - ("Natura hoc bestiis infundit, ut catulos proprios ament"—Hexam. l. 6. c. 4).  It is said that even tigers, on hearing the cry of their cubs taken by hunters, will go into the sea and swim until they reach the vessel in which they are.  Since the very tigers, says our most loving Mother Mary, cannot forget their young, how can I forget to love you, my children?  And even, she adds, were such a thing possible as that a mother should forget to love her child, it is not possible that I should cease to love a soul that has become my child: "Can a woman forget her infant, so as not to have pity on the son of her womb?  And if she should forget, yet will I not forget thee" - ("Numquid oblivisci potest mulier infantem suum, ut non misereatur filio uteri sui?  Et si illa oblita fuerit, ego tamen non obliviscar tui"—Isaiah 49:15).

Mary is our Mother, not, as we have already observed, according to the flesh, but by love; "I am the Mother of fair love" - ("Ego mater pulchrae dilectionis"—Ecclesiasticus 24:24); hence it is the love only that she bears us that makes her our Mother; and therefore some one remarks, "that she glories in being a mother of love, because she is all love towards us whom she has adopted for her children" - ("Se dilectionis esse Matrem merito gloriatur, quia tota est amor erga nos, quos in filios receipt"—Paciucch. In Psalm 86. Exc. 22).  And who can ever tell the love that Mary bears us miserable creatures?  Arnold of Chartres tells us that "at the death of Jesus Christ, she desired with immense ardor to die with her Son, for love of us" - ("Flagrabat tunc Virgo aestuanti charitate incense, ut pro humani generic salute, simul cum prole sua profunderet vitam"—Ibid. Exc. 1); so much so, adds Saint Ambrose, that whilst "her Son was hanging on the Cross, Mary offered herself to the executioners" - ("Pendebat in cruce Filius, Mater se persecutoribus offerebat"—Inst. Virg. c. 7), to give her life for us.

But let us consider the reason of this love; for then we shall be better able to understand how much this good Mother loves us.

The first reason for the great love that Mary bears to men, is the great love that she bears to God; love towards God and love towards our neighbor belong to the same commandment, as expressed by Saint John: "And this commandment we have from God, that he who loveth God, love also his brother" - ("Hoc mandatum habemus a Deo, ut, qui diligit Deum, diligat et iratrem suum"—1John 4:21); so that as the one becomes greater the other also increases.  What have not the saints done for their neighbor in consequence of their love towards God!  Read only the account of the labors of Saint Francis Xavier in the Indies, where, in order to aid the souls of these poor barbarians and bring them to God, he exposed himself to a thousand dangers, clambering amongst the mountains, and seeking out these poor creatures in the caves in which they dwelt like wild beasts.  See a Saint Francis de Sales, who, in order to convert the heretics of the province of Chablais, risked his life every morning, for a whole year, crawling on his hands and feet over a frozen beam, in order that he might preach to them on the opposite side of a river; a Saint Paulinus, who delivered himself up as a slave, in order that he might obtain liberty for the son of a poor widow; a Saint Fidelis, who, in order to draw the heretics of a certain place to God, persisted in going to preach to them, though he knew it would cost him his life.  The saints, then, because they loved God much, did much for their neighbor; but who ever loved God as much as Mary?  She loved Him more in the first moment of her existence than all the saints and angels ever loved Him, or will love Him; but this we shall explain at length, when treating of her virtues.  Our Blessed Lady herself revealed to Sister Mary the Crucified, that the fire of love with which she was inflamed towards God was such, that if the heavens and earth were placed in it, they would be instantly consumed; so that the ardors of the seraphim, in comparison with it, were but as fresh breezes.  And as amongst all the blessed spirits, there is not one that loves God more than Mary, so we neither have nor can have any one who, after God, loves us as much as this most loving Mother; and if we concentrate all the love that mothers bear their children, husbands and wives one another, all the love of angels and saints for their clients, it does not equal the love of Mary towards a single soul.  Father Nieremberg (De Aff. Ergo B. V. c. 14) says that the love that all mothers have ever had for their children is but a shadow in comparison with the love that Mary bears to each one of us; and he adds, that she alone loves us more than all the angels and saints put together.

Moreover, our Mother loves us much, because we were recommended to her by her beloved Jesus, when He before expiring said to her, Woman, behold thy son! for we were all represented in the person of Saint John, as we have already observed: these were His last words; and the last recommendations left before death by persons we love are always treasured and never forgotten.

Crucifixion - by LIEFERINXE, Josse - from Musée du Louvre, Paris

But again, we are exceedingly dear to Mary on account of the sufferings we cost her.  Mothers generally love those children most, the preservation of whose lives has cost them the most suffering and anxiety; we are those children for whom Mary, in order to obtain for us the life of grace, was obliged to endure the bitter agony of herself offering her beloved Jesus to die an ignominious death, and had also to see Him expire before her own eyes in the midst of the most cruel and unheard-of torments.  It was then by this great offering of Mary that we were born to the life of grace; we are therefore her very dear children, since we cost her so great suffering.  And thus, as it is written of the love of the Eternal Father towards men, in giving His own Son to death for us, that "God so loved the world as to give His only-begotten Son" - ("Sic Deus dilexit mundum, ut filium suum unigenitum daret"—John 3:16).  "So also", says Saint Bonaventure, "we can say of Mary, that she has so loved us as to give her only-begotten Son for us" - ("Sic Maria dilexit nos, ut Filium suum unigenitum daret").  And when did she give Him?  She gave Him, says Father Nieremberg, when she granted Him permission to deliver Himself up to death; she gave Him to us, when, others neglecting to do so, either out of hatred or from fear, she might herself have pleaded for the life of her Son before the judges.  Well may it be supposed that the words of so wise and loving a Mother would have had great weight, at least with Pilate, and might have prevented him from sentencing a Man to death whom he knew and had declared to be innocent.  But no, Mary would not say a word in favor of her Son, lest she might prevent that death on which our salvation depended.  Finally, she gave Him to us a thousand and a thousand times, during the three hours preceding His death, and which she spent at the foot of the Cross; for during the whole of that time she unceasingly offered, with the extreme of sorrow and the extreme of love, the life of her Son in our behalf, and this with such constancy, that Saint Anselm and Saint Antoninus say (P. 4, t. 15, c. 41, #1.), that if executioners had been wanting, she herself would have crucified Him, in order to obey the Eternal Father Who willed His death for our salvation.  If Abraham had such fortitude as to be ready to sacrifice with his own hands the life of his son, with far greater fortitude would Mary (far more holy and obedient than Abraham) have sacrificed the life of hers.  But let us return to the consideration of the gratitude we owe to Mary, for so great an act of love as was the painful sacrifice of the life of her Son, which she made to obtain eternal salvation for us all.  God abundantly rewarded Abraham for the sacrifice he was prepared to make of his son Isaac; but we, what return can we make to Mary for the life of her Jesus, a Son far more noble and beloved than the son of Abraham?  "This love of Mary", says Saint Bonaventure, "has indeed obliged us to love her; for we see that she has surpassed all others in love towards us, since she has given her only Son, Whom she loved more than herself, for us" - ("Nulla post eam creatura ita per amorem nostrum exardescet, quae Filium suum unicum, quem multo plus se amavit, nobis dedit, et pro nobis obtulit"—De B. V. M. s. 1).

From this arises another motive for the love of Mary towards us; for in us she beholds that which has been purchased at the price of the death of Jesus Christ.  If a mother knew that a servant had been ransomed by a beloved son at the price of twenty years of imprisonment and suffering, how greatly would she esteem that servant on this account alone!  Mary well knows that her Son came into the world only to save us poor creatures, as He Himself protested, "The Son of Man is come to save that which was lost" - ("Venit enim Filius hominis quaerere et salvum facere quod perirat"—Luke 19:10).  And to save us He was pleased even to lay down His life for us, having "become obedient unto death" - ("Factus obediens usque ad mortem"—Philippians 2:8).  If, then, Mary loved us but little, she would show that she valued but little the blood of her Son, which was the price of our salvation.  To Saint Elizabeth of Hungary it was revealed that Mary, from the time she dwelt in the Temple, did nothing but pray for us, begging that God would hasten the coming of His Son into the world to save us.  And how much more must we suppose that she loves us, now that she has seen that we are valued to such a degree by her Son, that He did not disdain to purchase us at such a cost.

Because all men have been redeemed by Jesus, therefore Mary loves and protects them all.  It was she who was seen by Saint John in the Apocalypse, clothed with the sun: "And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun" - ("Et signum magnum apparuit in coelo, mulier amicta sole"—Apocalypse 12:1).  She is said to be clothed with the sun, because as there is no one on earth who can be hidden from the heat of the sun—"There is no one that can hide himself from its heat" - ("Nec est qui se abscondat a calore ejus"—Psalm 18:7).  So there is no one living who can be deprived of the love of Mary.  From its heat, that is, as Blessed Raymond Jordano applies the words, "from the love of Mary" - ("A calore ejus, id est, a dilectione Mariae"—Contempl. De V. M. in prol.).  "And who", exclaims Saint Antoninus, "can ever form an idea of the tender care that this most loving mother takes of all of us" - ("Oh! Quanta est cura B. Virgini Matri de nobis!"), "offering and dispensing her mercy to every one" - ("Omnibus aperit sinum misericordiae suae"—P. 4, t. 15, c. 2); for our good Mother desired the salvation of all, and cooperated in obtaining it.  "It is evident", says Saint Bernard, "that she was solicitous for the whole human race" - ("Constat pro universo genere humano fuisse sollicitam"—In Assumpt. s. 4).  Hence the custom of some of Mary's clients, spoken of by Cornelius a Lapide, and which consists in asking Our Lord to grant them the graces that Our Blessed Lady seeks for them, succeeds most advantageously.  They say, Lord, grant me that which the most Blessed Virgin Mary asks for me.  "And no wonder", adds the same write, "for our Mother desires for us better things than we can possibly desire ourselves" - ("Ipsa enim majora optat, quam nos optare possumus").  The devout Bernardine de Bustis says, that Mary "loves to do us good, and dispense graces to us far more than we to receive them" - ("Plus desiderat ipsa facere tibi bonum et largiri gratiam, quam tu accipere concupiscas"—Marial. p. 2, s. 5).  On this subject Blessed Albert the Great applies to Mary the words of the Book of Wisdom: "She preventeth them that covet her, so that she first showeth herself unto them" - ("Praeoccupat qui se concupiscent, ut illis se prior ostendat"—Wisdom vi. 6:14).  Mary anticipates those who have recourse to her by making them find her before they seek her.  "The love that this good Mother bears us is so great", says Richard of Saint Laurence, "that as soon as she perceives our want, she comes to our assistance.  She comes before she is called" - ("Velocius occurrit ejus pietas, quam invocetur"—In Cant. c. 23).

And now, if Mary is so good to all, even to the ungrateful and negligent, who love her but little, and seldom have recourse to her, how much more loving will she be to those who love her and often call upon her!  "She is easily found by them that seek her" - ("Facile videtur ab his qui diligent eam, et invenitur ab his qui quaerunt illam"—Wisdom 6:13).  "O, how easy", adds the same Blessed Albert, "is it for those who love Mary to find her, and to find her full of compassion and love!"  In the words of the Book of Proverbs,  "I love them that love me" - ("Ego diligentes me diligo"—Proverbs 8:17), she protests that she cannot do otherwise than love those who love her.  And although this most loving Lady loves all men as her children, yet, says Saint Bernard, "she recognizes and loves (In Salve Reg. s. 1)", that is, she loves in a more special manner, those who love her more tenderly.  Blessed Raymond Jordano asserts that these happy lovers of Mary are not only loved, but even served by her; for he says that those who find the most Blessed Virgin Mary, find all; for she loves those who love her, nay more, she serves those who serve her - ("Inventa Virgine Maria, invenitur omne bonum; ipsa namque diligit diligentes se, imo sibi servientibus servit"—Contempl. de V. M. in prol.).

In the chronicles of the Order of Saint Dominic it is related that one of the friars named Leonard used to recommend himself two hundred times a day to this Mother of Mercy, and that when he was attacked by his last illness he saw a most beautiful queen by his side, who thus addressed him: "Leonard, wilt thou die, and come and dwell with my Son and with me?"  "And who art thou?" he replied.  "I am", said the most Blessed Virgin, for she it was, "I am the Mother of Mercy: thou has to many times invoked me, behold, I am now come to take thee; let us go together to Paradise".  On the same day Leonard died, and, as we trust, followed her to the kingdom of the blessed.

"Ah, most sweet Mary!" exclaimed the Venerable John Berchmans, of the Society of Jesus, "blessed is he who loves thee!  If I love Mary, I am certain of perseverance, and shall obtain whatever I wish from God".  Therefore the devout youth was never tired of renewing his resolution, and of repeating often to himself: "I will love Mary; I will love Mary".

O, how much does the love of this good Mother exceed that of all her children!  Let them love her as much as they will, Mary is always amongst lovers the most loving, says Saint Ignatius the Martyr - ("Cum devotis devotior, id est, cum amantibus amantior"—Auriemma, Aff Scamb. p. 1, c. 1).

Let them love her as did Saint Stanislaus Kostka, who loved this dear Mother so tenderly, that in speaking of her he moved all who heard him to love her.  He had made new words and new titles with which to honor her name.  He never did anything without first turning to her image to ask her blessing.  When he said her office, the Rosary, or other prayers, he did so with the same external marks of affection as he would have done had he been speaking face to face with Mary; when the Salve Regina was sung, his whole soul, and even his whole countenance, was all inflamed with love.  On being one day asked by a Father of the Society who was going with him to visit a picture of the Blessed Virgin, how much he loved Mary,—"Father", he answered, "what more can I say? she is my mother".  "But", adds the Father, "the holy youth uttered these words with such tenderness in his voice, with such an expression of countenance, and at the same time it came to fully from his heart, that it no longer seemed to be a young man, but rather an angel speaking of the love of Mary".

Let us love her as Blessed Hermann loved her.  He called her the spouse of his love, for he was honored by Mary herself with this same title.  Let us love her as did Saint Philip Neri, who was filled with consolation at the mere thought of Mary, and therefore called her his delight.  Let us love her as did Saint Bonaventure, who called her not only his Lady and Mother, but to show the tenderness of his affection, even called her his heart and soul: "Hail, my Lady, my Mother; nay, even my heart, my soul!" - ("Ave, Domina mea; Mater mea; imo cor meum et anima mea"—Stim. div. am. p. 3, c. 16).

Let us love her like that great lover of Mary, Saint Bernard, who loved this his sweet Mother so much that he called her the ravisher of hearts  - ("Raptrix cordium!"—Ib.); and to express the ardent love he bore her, added: "for hast thou not ravished my heart, O Queen?" - ("Nonne rapuisti cor meum?"—Med. In Salve Reg).

Let us call her beloved, like Saint Bernardine of Sienna, who daily went to visit a devotional picture of Mary, and there, in tender colloquies with his Queen, declared his love; and when asked where he went each day, he replied that he went to visit his beloved.

Let us love her as did Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, whose love for Mary burnt so unceasingly, that whenever he heard the sweet name of his Mother mentioned, his heart was instantly inflamed, and his countenance lighted up with a fire that was visible to all.

Let us love as much as Saint Francis Solano did, who, maddened as it were (but with a holy madness), with love for Mary, would sing before her picture, and accompany himself on a musical instrument, saying, that, like worldly lovers, he serenaded his most sweet Queen.

Finally, let us love her as so many of her servants have loved her, who never could do enough to show their love.  Father John of Trexo, of the Society of Jesus, rejoiced in the name of slave of Mary; and as a mark of servitude, went often to visit her in some church dedicated in her honor.  On reaching the church he poured out abundant tears of tenderness and love for Mary; then, prostrating, he licked and rubbed the pavement with his tongue and face, kissing it a thousand times, because it was the house of his beloved Lady.  Father James Martinez, of the same Society, who for his devotion for our blessed Lady on her feasts was carried by angels to Heaven to see how they were kept there, used to say, "Would that I had the hearts of all angels and saints, to love Mary as they love her—would that I had the lives of all men, to give them all for her love!"

O that others would come to love her as did Charles, the son of Saint Bridget, who said that nothing in the world consoled him so much as the knowledge that Mary was so greatly loved by God.  And he added, that he would willingly endure every torment rather than allow Mary to lose the smallest degree of her glory, were such a thing possible; and that if her glory was his, he would renounce it in her favor, as being far more worthy of it.

Let us, moreover, desire to lay down our lives as a testimony of our love for Mary, as Alphonsus Rodriguez desired to do.  Let us love her as did those who even cut the beloved name of Mary on their breast with sharp instruments, as did Francis Binanzio and Radagundis, wife of King Clothaire, or as did those who could imprint this loved name on their flesh with hot irons, in order that it might remain more distinct and lasting;; as did her devout servants Baptist Archinto and Augustine d'Espinosa, both of the Society of Jesus, impelled thereto by the vehemence of their love.

Let us, in fine', do or desire to do all that it is possible for a lover to do, who intends to make his affection known to the person loved.  For be assured that the lovers of Mary will never be able to equal her in love.  "I know, O Lady", says Saint Peter Damian, "that thou art most loving, and that thou lovest us with an invincible love" - ("Scio, Domina, quia benegnissima es, et amas nos amore invincibili"—In Nat. B. V. s. 1).  I know, my Lady, that among those that love thee thou lovest the most, and that thou lovest us with a love that can never be surpassed.

The Blessed Alphonsus Rodriguez, of the Society of Jesus, once prostrate before an image of Mary, felt his heart inflamed with love towards this most Holy Virgin, and burst forth into the following exclamation: "My most beloved Mother, I know that thou lovest me, but thou dost not love me as much as I love thee".  Mary, as it were offended on the point of love, immediately replied from the image: "What dost thou say, Alphonsus—what dost thou say?  O, how much greater is the love that I bear thee, than any love that thou canst have for me!  Know that the distance between heaven and earth is not so great as the distance between thy love and mine".

Saint Bonaventure, then, was right in exclaiming: Blessed are they who have the good fortune to be faithful servants and lovers of this most loving Mother.  "Blessed are the hearts of those who love Mary; blessed are they who are tenderly devoted to her" - ("Beati quorum corda te diligent, Virgo Maria.  Beati qui devote ei famulantur"—Psalt. B. V. ps. xxxi., cxviii).  Yes; for "in this struggle our most gracious Queen never allows her clients to conquer her in love.  She returns our love and homage, and always increases her past favors by new ones" - ("Numquam tamen in hoc certamine a nobis ipsa vincetur; amorem redhibet, et praeterita beneficia novis simper adauget"—Paciucch. in Ps. lxxxvi. Exc. 2).  Mary, imitating in this our most loving Redeemer Jesus Christ, returns to those who love her their love doubled in benefits and favors.

Then will I exclaim, with the enamored Saint Anselm, "May my heart languish and my soul melt and be consumed with Your love, O my beloved Savior Jesus, and my dear Mother Mary!  But, as without Your grace I cannot love You, grant me, O Jesus and Mary, grant my soul, by Your merits and not mine, the grace to love You as You deserve to be loved.  O God, lover of men, Thou couldst love guilty men even unto death.  And canst Thou deny Thy love and that of Thy Mother to those who ask it?" - ("Vestro continuo amore langueat cor meum: liquefiant omnia ossa mea.  Date itaque supplicanti animae meae, non propter meritum meum, sed proter meritum vestrum, date illi, quanto digni estis, amorem vestrum . . . O Amator hominum! tu potuisti roes tuos et usque ad mortem amare: et poteris te roganti amorem tui et Matris tuae negare?"—Orat. 51.

Example

Father Auriemma (Aff. Scamb. p. 2, c. 8) relates that there was a certain poor shepherdess, whose sole delight was to go to a little chapel of our Blessed Lady, situated on a mountain, and there, whilst her flocks were browsing, she conversed with her dear Mother and rendered honor to her.  Seeing that the little image of Mary (which was carved in relief) was unadorned, she set to work to make her a mantle.  One day, having gathered a few flowers in the fields, she made a garland, and climbing on the altar of the little chapel, placed it on the head of the image, saying, "My Mother, I would place a crown of gold and precious stones on thy brow, but, as I am poor, receive this crown of flowers, and accept it as a mark of the love that I bear thee".  With this and other acts of homage, the pious maiden always endeavored to serve and honor our beloved Lady.  But let us now see how the good Mother on her part recompensed the visits and the affection of her child.  The latter fell ill, and was at the point of death.  It so happened that two religious were passing that way, and, fatigued with their journey, sat down under a tree to rest: one fell asleep, and the other remained awake; but both had the same vision.  They saw a multitude of most beautiful young women, and amongst these was one who in beauty and majesty far surpassed them all.  One of the religious addressed himself to her: "Lady, who art thou, and where art thou going by these rugged ways?"  "I am", she replied, "the Mother of God, and am going with these holy virgins to a neighboring cottage to visit a dying shepherdess who has so often visited me".  Having said these words, all disappeared.  At once these two good servants of God said, "Let us go also to see her".  They immediately started, and having found the cottage of the dying virgin, they entered it and found her stretched on a little straw.  They saluted her, and she said, "Brothers, ask our Lord to let you see the company that is assisting me".  They immediately knelt, and saw Mary by the side of the dying girl, holding a crown in her hand and consoling her.  All at once the virgins began to sing, and at the sound of this sweet harmony her blessed soul left her body.  Mary placed the crown on her head, and taking her soul, led it with her to Paradise. (This account bears much resemblance to the account of the circumstances of the life and death of Saint Germaine Cousin, deceased in 1601 at Pibrac, near Toulouse, aged about twenty two years, beatified May 7, 1854, canonized June 29, 1867.—ED.)

Prayer

O Lady, O ravished of hearts! ("O Domina, quae rapis corda.")  I will exclaim with Saint Bonaventure: "Lady, who with the love and favor thou showest thy servants dost ravish their hearts, ravish also my miserable heart, which desires ardently to love thee.  Thou, my Mother, hast enamoured a God with thy beauty, and drawn him from heaven into thy chaste womb; and shall I live without loving thee?  "No, I will say to thee with one of thy most loving sons, John Berchmans of the Society of Jesus, I will never rest until I am certain of having obtained thy love; but a constant and tender love towards thee, my Mother, who hast loved me with so much tenderness" ("Nunquam quiescam, donec habuero tenerum amorem erga Matrem meam, Mariam"), even when I was ungrateful towards thee.  And what should I now be, O Mary, if thou hadst not obtained so many mercies for me?  Since, then, thou didst love me so much when I loved thee not, how much more may I not now hope from thee, now that I love thee?  I love thee, O my Mother, and I would that I had a heart to love thee in place of all those unfortunate creatures who love thee not.  I would that I could speak with a thousand tongues, that all might know thy greatness, thy holiness, thy mercy, and the love with which thou lovest all who love thee.  Had I riches, I would employ them all for thy honor.  Had I subjects, I would make them all thy lovers.  In fine, if the occasion presented itself I would lay down my life for thy glory.  I love thee, then, O my Mother; but at the same time I fear that I do not love thee as I ought; for I hear that love makes lovers like the person loved.  If, then, I see myself so unlike thee, it is a mark that I do not love thee.  Thou art so pure, and I defiled with many sins; thou so humble, and I so proud; thou so holy, and I so wicked.  This, then, is what thou hast to do, O Mary; since thou lovest me, make me like thee.  Thou hast all power to change hearts; take, then, mine and change it.  Show the world what thou canst, do for those who love thee.  Make me a saint; make me thy worthy child.  This is my hope.  

Amen