Chapter VI (cont'd)
Eia ergo, Advocata nostra!
O Gracious Advocate

Chapter VI (cont'd)
Eia ergo, Advocata nostra!
O Gracious Advocate

by Saint Alphonsus Liguori

Chapter VI, Section III
Mary is the Peace-maker between Sinners and God

The grace of God is the greatest and the most desirable of treasures for every soul.  It is called by the Holy Ghost an infinite treasure; for by the means of divine grace we are raised to the honor of being the friends of God.  These are the words of the Book of Wisdom:  "For she is an infinite treasure to men; which they that use become the friends of God" - ("Infinitus enim thesaurus est hominibus quo, qui usi sunt, participles facti sunt amici iae Dei"—Wisdom 7:14).  And hence Jesus, Our Redeemer and God, did not hesitate to call those His friends who were in grace: "You are my friends" - ("Vos amici mei estis"—John 15:14).  O accursed sin, that dissolves this friendship!  "But your iniquities", says the prophet Isaiah, "have divided between you and your God" - ("Iniquitates vestrae diviserunt inter vos et Deum vestrum"—Isaiah 59:2).  And putting hatred between the soul and God, it is changed from a friend into an enemy of its Lord, as expressed in the Book of Wisdom: "But to God the wicked and his wickedness are hateful alike" - ("Odio sunt Deo impius et impietas ejus"—Wisdom 14:9).

What, then, must a sinner do who has the misfortune to be the enemy of God?  He must find a mediator who will obtain pardon for him, and who will enable him to recover the lost friendship of God.  "Be comforted, O unfortunate soul, who hast lost thy God", says Saint Bernard; "thy Lord Himself has provided thee with a mediator, and this is His Son Jesus, Who can obtain for thee all that thou desirest?"  "He has given thee Jesus for a mediator; and what is there that such a Son cannot obtain from the Father?" ("Jesum tibi dedit Mediatorem, quid non apud talem Patrem Filius talis obtineat?"—De Aquad).

But, O God, exclaims the saint, and why should this merciful Savior, Who gave His life to save us, be ever thought severe?  Why should men believe him terrible, Who is all love?  O distrustful sinners, what do you fear?  If your fear arises from having offended God, know that Jesus has fastened all your sins on the Cross with His own lacerated hands, and having satisfied divine justice for them by His death, He has already effaced them from your souls.  Here are the words of the saint: "They imagine Him rigorous, Who is all compassion; terrible, Who is all love.  What do you fear, O ye of little faith?  With His own hands He has fastened your sins to the Cross" - ("Severum imaginantur, qui pius est; terribilem, qui amabilis est.  Quid timetis modicae fidei? Peccata affixit cruci suis minibus"—In Cant. s. 38).  "But if by chance", adds the saint, "thou fearest to have recourse to Jesus Christ because the majesty of God in Him overawes thee—for though He became man, He did not cease to be God—and thou desirest another advocate with this divine mediator, go to Mary, for she will intercede for thee with the Son, Who will most certainly hear her; and then He will intercede with the Father, Who can deny nothing to such a Son" - ("Sed forsitan et in ipso majestatem vereare divinam, quod licet factus sit homo manserit tamen Deus; advocatum habere vis et ad ipsum?  Ad Mariam recurre; exaudiet utique Matrem Filius, et exaudiet Filium Pater").  Thence Saint Bernard concludes, "this divine Mother, O my children, is the ladder of sinners, by which they re-ascend to the height of divine grace; she is my greatest confidence, she is the whole ground of my hope" - ("Filioli, haec peccatorum scala, haec mea maxima fiducia est, haec tota ratio spei meae"—De Aquad). 

The Holy Ghost, in the sacred Canticles, makes the most Blessed Virgin use the following words:  "I am a wall; and my breast are as a tower, since I am become in His presence as one finding peace" - ("Ego murus, et ubera mea sicut turris; ex quo facta sum coram eo quasi pacem reperiens"—Canticles 8:10); that is, I am the defender of those who have recourse to me, and my mercy towards them is like a tower of refuge, and therefore I have been appointed by my Lord the peace-maker between sinners and God.  "Mary", says Cardinal Hugo, on the above text, "is the great peace-maker, who finds and obtains the reconciliation of enemies with God, salvation for those who are lost, pardon for sinners, and mercy for those who are in despair" - ("Ipsa reperit pacem inimicis, salutem perditis, indulgentiam reis, misericordiam desperatis").  And therefore was she called by the divine bridegroom, beautiful as the "curtain of Solomon" - ("Formosa . . . sicut pelles Salomonis"—Canticles 1:4).  In the tents of David, questions of war alone were treated; but in those of Solomon, questions of peace only were entertained; and thus does the Holy Spirit give us to understand that this Mother of mercy never treats of war and vengeance against sinners, but only of peace and forgiveness for them.

Mary was prefigured by the dove which returned to Noah in the Ark with an olive-branch in its beak (Genesis 8:11), as a pledge of the peace which God granted to men.  And on this idea Saint Bonaventure thus addresses our Blessed Lady: "Thou art that most faithful dove; thou wast a sure mediatress between God and the world, lost in a spiritual deluge" - ("Tu enim es illa fidelissima Columba Noe, quae inter Deum ei mundum, diluvio spirituali submersum, Mediatrix fidelissima extitisti"—Spec. B. M. V. lect. 9); thou, by presenting thyself before God, hast obtained for a lost world peace and salvation.  Mary, then, was the heavenly dove which brought to a lost world the olive-branch, the sign of mercy, since she in the first place gave us Jesus Christ, Who is the source of mercy; and then, by His merits, obtained all graces for us - ("Nam ipsa Christum nobis detulit, Fontem misericordiae"—Spinelli, Mar. Deip. c. 16).  "And as by Mary", says Saint Epiphanius, "heavenly peace was once for all given to the world" - ("Per te pax coelestis donate est"—Hom. In Laud. B. M.), so by her are sinners still reconciled to God.  Wherefore Blessed Albert the Great makes her say: "I am that dove of Noah, which brought the olive-branch of universal peace to the Church" - ("Ego sum Columba Noe.  Ecclesiae ramum olilvae et pacis deferens universalis"—Bibl. Mar. Cant. 16).

Again, the rainbow seen by Saint John, which encircled the throne of God, was an express figure of Mary:  "And there was a rainbow round about the throne" - ("Et iris erat in circuitu sedis"—Apocalypse 4:3).  It is thus explained by Cardinal Vitalis: "The rainbow round the throne is Mary, who softens the judgment and sentence of God against sinners" - ("Iris in circuitu sedis est Maria, quae mitigate Dei judicium et sententiam contra peccatores"—Spec. S. Script. De B. V. M.); meaning, that she is always before God's tribunal, mitigating the chastisements due to sinners.  Saint Bernardine of Sienna says, "that it was of this rainbow that God spoke when He promised Noah that He would place it in the clouds as a sign of peace, that on looking at it He might remember the eternal peace which He had covenanted to man".  "I will set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be the sign of a covenant between Me and between the earth . . . and I shall see it, and shall remember the everlasting covenant" - ("Arcum meum ponam in nubibus, et erit signum foederis inter me and inter terram; videbo illum, et recordabor foederis sempiterni"—Genesis 9:13,15).  "Mary", says the saint, "is this bow of eternal peace" - ("Ipsa est Arcus foederis sempiterni"—Pro Fest. S. M. s. 1, a. 1, c. 3); "for, as God on seeing it remembers the peace promised to the earth, so does He, at the prayers of Mary, forgive the crimes of sinners, and confirm His peace with them" - ("Fructus iridis est recordation divini foederis; et per Virginem gloriosam, offense reis remittitur, foedus stringitur"—In Apoc. iv).

For the same reason Mary is compared to the moon, in the sacred Canticles: "Fair as the moon" - ("Pulchra ut luna"—Canticles 6:9).  "For", says Saint Bonaventure, "as the moon is between the heavens and the earth, so does Mary continually place herself between God and sinners in order to appease our Lord in their regard, and to enlighten them to return to Him" - ("Sicut luna inter corpora coelestia et terrene est media et, quod ad illis accipit ad inferiora refundit; sic et Virgo Regina inter nos et Deum est media, et gratiam ipsa nobis refundit"—Spann. Plyanth. litt. M. t. 6).

The chief office given to Mary, on being placed in this world, was to raise up souls that had fallen from divine grace, and to reconcile them with God.  "Feed thy goats" - ("Pasce haedos tuos"—Canticles 1:7), was Our Lord's command to her in creating her.  It is well known that sinners are understood by goats, and that as at the last judgment, the just, under the figure of sheep, will be on the right hand, so will the goats be on the left.  "These goats", says the Abbot William, "are intrusted to thee, O great Mother, that thou mayest change them into sheep; and those who by their sins deserve to be driven to the left, will by thy intercession be placed on the right" - ("Pasce haedos tuos, quos convertis in oves, ut, qui a sinistris in Judicio errant collocandi, tua intercessione collocentur a dexteris").  And therefore Our Lord revealed to Saint Catherine of Sienna, "that He had created this His beloved daughter to be as a most sweet bait by which to catch men, and especially sinners, and draw them to God" - ("Ipsa est a me velut esca dulcissima electa pro capiendis hominibus, et animabus praecipue peccatorum"—Dial. c. 139).  But on this subject we must not pass over the beautiful reflection of William the Angelical on the above text of the sacred Canticles, in which he says, "that God recommended her own goats to Mary"; "for", adds this author, "the Blessed Virgin does not save all sinners, but those only who serve and honor her.  So much so indeed, that those who live in sin, and neither honor her with any particular act of homage, nor recommend themselves to her in order to extricate themselves from sin, they certainly are not Mary's goats, but at the last judgment will, for their eternal misery, be driven to the left hand with the damned" - ("Suos vocat, quia non omnes haedi vocantur Mariae, sed qui Mariam colunt ac venerantur, licet sceleribus contaminate.  Qui vero peccatis irretiti sunt, nec Beatam Virginem speciali obsequio prosequeentur, nec preces fundunt in ejus cultum, ut aliquando resipiscant, haedi profecto sunt, non Mariae, sed ad sinistram Judicis sistendi").

A certain nobleman, despairing of his salvation, on account of his many crimes, was encouraged by a monk to have recourse to the most Blessed Virgin, and, for this purpose, to visit a devout statue of Mary in a particular church.  He went there, and, on seeing the image, he felt as if she invited him to cast himself at her feet and to have confidence.  He hastened to prostrate and kiss her feet, when Mary extended her hand, gave it to him to kiss, and on it he saw written these words: "I will deliver thee from those who oppress thee" - ("Ego eripiam te de affligentibus te"); as though she had said, my son, despair not, for I will deliver thee from the sins and sorrows that weigh so heavily on thee.  On reading these sweet words, this poor sinner was filled with such sorrow for his sins, and, at the same time, with so ardent a love for God and his tender Mother, that he instantly expired at the feet of Mary.

O, how many obstinate sinners does not this loadstone of hearts draw each day to God!  For thus did she call herself one day, saying to Saint Bridget, "As the loadstone attracts iron, so do I attract hearts" - ("Sicut magnes attrahit ferrum, sic ego attraho Deo dura corda"—Rev. l. 3, c. 32).  Yea, even the most hardened hearts, to reconcile them with God.  We must not suppose that such prodigies are extraordinary events; they are every-day occurrences.  For my own part, I could relate many cases of the kind that have occurred in our missions, where certain sinners with hearts harder than iron, continued so through all the other sermons, but no sooner did they hear the one on the mercies of Mary, than they were filled with compunction and returned to God.  Saint Gregory (Moral. l. 31, c. 13) says, that the unicorn is so fierce a beast, that no hunter can take it; at the voice only of a virgin crying out, will this beast approach, and without resistance allow itself to be bound by her.  O, how many sinners; more savage than the wild beats themselves, and who fly from God, at the voice of this great Virgin Mary approach and allow themselves to be sweetly bound to God by her!

Saint John Chrysostom says, "that another purpose for which the Blessed Virgin Mary was made the Mother of God was, that she might obtain salvation for many who, on account of their wicked lives, could not be saved according to the rigor of divine justice, but might be so with the help of her sweet mercy and powerful intercession" - ("Ideo mater Dei praeelecta es ab aeterno, ut quos justitia Filii salvare non potest, tu per tuam salvares pietatem").  This is confirmed by Saint Anselm, who says, "that Mary was raised to the dignity of Mother of God rather for sinners, than for the just, since Jesus Christ declares that He came to call not the just, but sinners" - ("Scio illam magis propter peccatores, quam propter justos, esse factam Dei Matrem; dicit enim ipse bonus Filius ejus, se non venisse vocare justos, sed peccatores"—De Excell. V. c. 1).  For this reason, the holy Church sings, "Thou dost not abhor sinners, without whom thou wouldst never have been worthy of such a Son" - ("Peccatores non exhorres, sine quibus nunquam fores tali digna Filio"—Crasset. Vér. Dév. p. 1, tr. 1, q. 10).  For the same reason William of Paris, invoking her, says: "O Mary, thou art obliged to help sinners for all the gifts, the graces, and high honors which are comprised in the dignity of Mother of God that thou hast received; thou owest all, so to say, to sinners; for on their account thou wast made worthy to have a God for thy Son" - ("Totum quod habes, si fas est discere, peccatoribus debes; omnia enim haec propter peccatores tibi collate sunt"—De Rhet. Div. c. 18).  If then, "Mary", concludes Saint Anselm, "was made Mother of God on account of sinners, how can I, however great my sins may be, despair of pardon?" - ("Si ipsa propter peccatores facta est Domini Mater, quomodo immanitas peccatorum meorum cogere me poterit desperare veniam?"—De Excell. V. c. 1).

The holy Church tells us, in the prayer said in the Mass of the Vigil of the Assumption, "that the divine Mother was taken from this world that she might interpose for us with God, with certain confidence of obtaining all" - ("Quam idcirco de praesenti saeculo transtulisti, ut pro peccatis nostris apud te fiducialiter intercedat").  Hence Saint Justin calls Mary an arbitratrix:  "The Eternal Word uses Mary", he says, "as an arbitratrix" - ("Verbum usum est Virgine sequestra"—Expos. Fid. de Trin.).  An arbitrator is one to whose hands contending parties confide their whole case; and so the saint meant to say, that as Jesus is the Mediator with the Eternal Father, so also is Mary our mediatress with Jesus; and that He puts all the reasons that He has for pronouncing sentence against us into her hands.

Saint Andrew of Crete calls Mary "a pledge, a security for our reconciliation with God" - ("Fidejussio divinarum reconciliationum, quae dato pignore fit"—In Dorm. B. V. s. 2).  That is, that God goes about seeking for reconciliation with sinners by pardoning them; and in order that they may not doubt of their forgiveness, He has given them Mary as a pledge of it, and therefore he exclaims, "Hail, O peace of God with men!" - ("Salve, Divina hominibus Reconciliatio"—In Deip. Annunt).  Wherefore Saint Bonaventure encourages a sinner; saying: "If thou fearest that on account of thy faults God in His anger will be avenged, what hast thou to do?  Go, have recourse to Mary, who is the hope of sinners; and, if thou fearest that she may refuse to take thy part, know that she cannot do so, for God Himself has imposed on her the duty of succoring the miserable" - ("Si contra te, propter tuas nequitias, Dominum videris indignatum, ad Spem peccatorum confugias; sibi pro miseris satisfacere ex officio commissum est"—Stim. Div. am. p. 3, c. 12).  The Abbot Adam also says, "Need that sinner fear being lost to whom the Mother of the Judge offers herself to be Mother and advocate?" - ("Timerene debet ut pereat, cui Maria se Matrem exhibit et Advocatam?")  "And thou, O Mary", he adds, "who art the Mother of mercy, wilt thou disdain to intercede with thy Son, Who is the judge, for another son, who is a sinner?  Wilt thou refuse to interpose in favor of a redeemed soul, with the Redeemer Who died on a cross to save sinners?"  No, no, thou wilt not reject him, but with all affection thou wilt pray for all who have recourse to thee, well knowing that "that Lord Who has appointed thy Son a mediator of peace between God and man, has also made thee mediatress between the Judge and the culprit" - ("Rogabis plane; quia, qui Filium tuum inter Deum et hominess oosuit Mediatorem, te quoque inter reum et Judicem posuit Mediatricem"—Marial. s. 1).

"Then, O sinner", says Saint Bernard, "whoever thou mayest be, imbedded in crime, grown old in sin, despair not; thank thy Lord, Who, that He might show thee mercy, has not only given His Son for thy advocate, but, to encourage thee to greater confidence, has provided thee with a mediatress who by her prayers obtains whatever she wills" - ("Age gratias ei, qui talem tibi Mediatricem providit"—In Sign. Magn.).  Go then, have recourse to Mary, and thou wilt be saved.

Example

In Braganza there was a young man, who, after giving up the confraternity, abandoned himself to so many crimes that one day, in despair, he went to drown himself in a river; but before doing so, he addressed our Blessed Lady, saying: "O Mary, I once served thee in the confraternity; help me".  The most Blessed Virgin appeared to him and said: "Yes, and now what are you going to do?  Dost thou wish to lose thyself both in soul and body?  Go, confess thy sins, and rejoin the confraternity".  The young man, encouraged hereby, thanked the Blessed Virgin, and changed his life (Auriem. Aff. p. 2., c. 4).

Prayer

O my most sweet Lady, since thy office is, as William of Paris says, that of a mediatress between God and sinners ("Officium tuum est, mediam te interponere inter Deum et hominess"—De Rhet. Div. c. 18), I will address thee in the words of St. Thomas of Villanova: "Fulfil thy office in my behalf, O tender advocate; do thy work ("Eja ergo advocate nostra . . . officium tuum imple, tuum opus exerce"—In Nat. B. V. con. 3). Say not that my cause is too difficult to gain; for I know, and all tell me so, that every cause, no matter how desperate, if undertaken by thee, is never, and never will be, lost.  And will mine be lost?  Ah no, this I cannot fear.  The only thing that I might fear is, that, on seeing the multitude of my sins, thou mightest not undertake my defence.  But, on seeing thy immense mercy, and the very great desire of thy most sweet heart to help the most abandoned sinners, even this I cannot fear.  And who was ever lost that had recourse to thee?  Therefore I invoke thy aid, O my great advocate, my refuge, my hope, my mother Mary.  To thy hands do I entrust the cause of my eternal salvation.  To thee do I commit my soul; it was lost, but thou hast to save it.  I will always thank our Lord for having given me this great confidence in thee; and which, notwithstanding my unworthiness, I feel is an assurance of salvation.  I have but one fear to afflict me, O beloved Queen, and that is, that I may one day, by my own negligence, lost this confidence in thee. And therefore I implore thee, O Mary, by the love thou bearest to Jesus, thyself to preserve and increase in me more and more this sweet confidence in thy intercession, by which I hope most certainly to recover the divine friendship, that I have hitherto so madly despised and lost; and having recovered it, I hope, through thee, to preserve it; and preserving it by the same means, I hope at length to thank thee for it in heaven, and there to sing God's mercies and thine for all eternity.  Amen.  This is my hope; thus may it be, thus will it be.

Amen