Chapter 1 - 2

As the glorious Virgin Mary has been raised to the dignity of Mother of the King of kings, it is no wonder that the Church honors her and wishes every Christian heart to reverence her under the royal title of Queen.

“If the Son is a King,” says St. Athanasius, “then the Mother who gave Him birth is rightly and truly considered a Queen and Sovereign.”
“No sooner had Mary,” adds St. Bernardine of Siena, “consented to be the Mother of the Eternal Word, than she merited by that very consent to be made Queen of the world and of all creatures.”

St. Bernardine concludes beautifully:

“As many creatures as there are who serve God, so many are there who serve Mary; for as angels and men, and all things in heaven and on earth, are subject to the empire of God, so they are also under the dominion of Mary.”

Mary, then, is a Queen—but for our comfort, she is a Queen whose very nature is sweetness and mercy. The Church, knowing she longs to help us in our miseries, teaches us to salute her as the Queen of Mercy.

St. Albert the Great explains that the title of queen differs from that of empress: empires carry severity and rigor, while queenship is marked by compassion and gentleness toward the poor and suffering.

Seneca wrote that the greatness of kings “consists in relieving the wretched.” Any ruler who cares for the misery of the lowly carries the true heart of a king. How much more Mary, who reigns only to show mercy.

At a king’s consecration, he is anointed with oil—a sign of mercy—to remind him how essential compassion is in ruling. He must be just, yes, but he must also be merciful to those who fall into sin.

Mary, though truly a Queen, is not a queen of stern justice. She is not intent on punishing the guilty, but on pardoning and welcoming the repentant. For this the Church calls her the Queen of Mercy.

It is as if Christ, the King of Justice and Mercy, reserved justice to Himself while giving nearly all mercy to His Mother. Christ will return in justice on the Last Day, but Mary, anointed with the oil of gladness, shows only tenderness in her intercession.

St. Albert beautifully compares her to Queen Esther. When the king had decreed death to the Jews, Esther entered his presence and pleaded: “If I have found favor with you, O King, give me my people.”

The king, moved by love for Esther, granted salvation to her people.

How then could God refuse the prayers of Mary—loving her far more than Ahasuerus loved Esther—when she pleads for us, His poor, miserable children? Mary knows she is beloved by the Holy Trinity. Each of her prayers is, in a way, a holy law upon God’s own heart: that He must show mercy to all for whom she intercedes.

St. Bernard asks: Why does the Church call Mary the Queen of Mercy?

He replies: “Because we believe that she opens the abyss of God’s mercy to whomever she wills, when she wills, and as she wills; so that there is no sinner, however lost, for whom her prayers cannot obtain mercy.”

Pope St. Gregory VII adds: “The holier she is, the greater is her sweetness and compassion toward sinners who seek her help.”

And St. Bernard reminds us: “Why should human frailty fear to go to Mary? In her there is nothing austere. It is all sweetness, offering support to all.”

Even the Emperor Titus once said he preferred to grant a favor rather than send a petitioner away disappointed. If an earthly king felt such compassion, how much greater must be the mercy of our heavenly Queen!

Mary cannot deceive. She can obtain all that she asks for her children. When a repentant sinner approaches her, he may be sure he will be heard. St. Bonaventure tells us:

“Who are the subjects of mercy, if not the miserable? Have pity, then, on us, O Queen of Mercy, and help us along the way of salvation.”

St. George of Nicomedia exclaims:

“Say not, O holy Virgin, that you cannot help us because of the number of our sins. Your power and compassion outweigh them all. Nothing resists your power, for the Creator Himself honors you as His Mother and fulfills your petitions as though He were paying a debt.”

Though Mary is under infinite obligation to her Son for being chosen as His Mother, it is just as true that He is under obligation to her for having taken His human nature from her. And so Jesus delights to honor her by granting all her requests.

How great, then, should be our confidence in this Queen—knowing her power with God and her overflowing mercy! There is not a single soul on earth who cannot share in her compassion and favor.

Our Blessed Lady herself revealed to St. Bridget:

“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. There is no sinner on earth so accursed as to be deprived of my mercy.”

PRAYER

O Mother of my God and my Lady Mary, just as a beggar presents himself before a great queen, so I come before you—Queen of Heaven and Earth. From your lofty throne, do not hesitate to look upon me.

God has made you rich so that you may help the poor, and He has made you the Mother of Mercy so that you may help the miserable.

I know I merit nothing. I know I deserve to be deprived of help because I have been ungrateful for God’s graces. Yet in your mercy, take me into your service and help me to be one of your most loving and faithful servants.

O exalted Virgin, Queen of the Universe, help me in this desire to serve you more faithfully.

Chapter 1 - 1

It is no accident that those devoted to Mary love to call her Mother. They seldom use any other title, and they never grow tired of it. And rightly so—Mary truly is our Mother in the life of grace.

Sin robbed our souls of divine grace, and therefore of life. But Jesus, our Redeemer, overflowing with mercy and love, came to restore what had been lost. By His death on the Cross, He returned life to us and even gave it more abundantly. As He Himself said: “I have come that they may have life, and have it more abundantly.”

The blessings won through His redemption exceed the harm caused by Adam’s sin. By reconciling us to God, Jesus became the Father of souls reborn in grace, fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy: “He shall be called the Father of the world to come, the Prince of Peace.”

And if Jesus is our Father in this new life, then Mary—who gave Him to us—must truly be our Mother.

The saints teach that Mary became our Mother in two great moments.

The first was at the Annunciation. When Mary consented to become the Mother of the Son of God, she also embraced God’s plan for our salvation. From that moment forward, she loved us with a mother’s heart. St. Bernardine of Siena says that the instant she gave her “yes,” she conceived us spiritually in her love and carried us with her from that hour.

St. Luke tells us she “brought forth her first-born Son,” but the Church teaches that Mary had no other children according to the flesh. Instead, she has countless spiritual children—every soul who receives grace. Jesus explained to St. Gertrude that while He was Mary’s first-born in the flesh, all the redeemed are her second-born in the spirit.

The second moment Mary became our Mother was on Calvary. There, with a heart pierced by sorrow, she offered her beloved Son to the Eternal Father for our salvation. St. Augustine teaches that just as a woman suffers in childbirth, Mary suffered with Jesus in giving birth to us in grace. By willingly uniting her heart to His sacrifice, she became the spiritual Mother of all who belong to Him.

Jesus confirmed this from the Cross. Seeing His Mother and St. John standing nearby, He said to Mary: “Behold your Son.” In that moment, He entrusted to her not only John, but the entire human race redeemed by His sacrifice. Then He said to the disciple: “Behold your Mother.”

St. Bernardine explains that Jesus used John as a symbol of all the faithful, giving Mary as Mother to every soul who would follow Him.

How blessed are we to live under such a tender Mother! Even David, centuries before Mary was born, placed himself under her care in faith, praying: “Save the son of your handmaid.”

The saints echo this trust. St. Robert Bellarmine asks who could ever tear a child from the arms of such a Mother. No temptation of hell can conquer the soul that takes refuge in Mary.

Mary herself said to St. Bridget: “As a mother who sees her son in danger will do everything to save him, so do I for sinners who seek my mercy.”

In every trial, in every struggle, those who turn to the Mother of God with confidence will not be defeated. This is why the Church has prayed from ancient times: “We fly to your patronage, O holy Mother of God.”

St. Bonaventure teaches: “Whoever loves this good Mother and trusts in her protection will grow strong in confidence, knowing that Jesus is our Brother and Mary is our Mother.”

St. Anselm adds with joy: “O happy confidence! The Mother of God is my Mother.”

Our trust should be firm and peaceful, for our salvation rests in the hands of a loving Brother and a tender Mother.

Scripture speaks in Mary’s voice when it says: “He that is a little one, let him turn to me.”

Just as little children cry for their mother in fear or danger, so should we call upon Mary. This is the very reason our confidence in her should be strong and unwavering—because she truly is our Mother.

PRAYER

O most holy Mother Mary,
you are so holy, and I am such a sinner.
You are rich in virtue, and I am poor.
If I cannot deserve to be your child,
then at least let me be counted among your servants.
Still, I trust in your powerful intercession with your Son.
Help me turn to Him with sincere repentance
and a firm purpose of amendment.
Cleansed from sin by His redeeming death,
accept me as your child now,
and at the hour of my death.

Amen.

Introduction

My beloved readers, brothers and sisters in Mary:

The same devotion that moved me to write this work is the devotion that moves you now to read it. Some may say there are already enough books about Mary to satisfy every need of her devout children. Yet I answer with the words of Abbot Francone: “The praise of Mary is an inexhaustible fountain: the more it is enlarged the fuller it becomes, and the more you fill it, the more it expands.” In truth, the Blessed Virgin is so great and so sublime that the more she is praised, the more there remains to be praised.

In this work I have tried to gather, from as many authors as possible, the choicest passages that inspire love for Mary. I hope as well that these pages may help priests when they preach on this tender subject.

Worldly people freely praise those they love, so that the beloved may be honored and admired by others. So too with the lovers of Mary. They gladly take every opportunity to kindle in others the flame of love for her—both publicly and privately.

St. Bonaventure teaches that those who make it their mission to announce the glories of Mary are assured of heaven. “Rejoice then,” he cries out, “rejoice, my soul, and be glad in her; for many good things are prepared for those who praise her.”

Through preaching the love of the Mother of God, St. Bernardine of Siena sanctified Italy, just as St. Dominic converted entire provinces. St. Louis Bertrand never omitted in his sermons an exhortation to love Mary, and many other saints have done the same.

In the missions we Redemptorists preach, it is an unbreakable rule that one sermon be devoted to Mary. The subject that most moves hearts is the mercy of Mary. As St. Bernard explains: “We praise her virginity, we admire her humility; but because we are poor sinners, mercy attracts us more and tastes sweeter. We embrace mercy more lovingly; we remember it more often; and we invoke it more earnestly.”

Her merciful and powerful intercession is beautifully expressed in the prayer Salve Regina, which is recited daily in the Divine Office and has always been a favorite of the devout.

Therefore, the plan of this work is to divide and explain this great prayer in separate chapters. I will also add reflections on the principal feasts and virtues of the Mother of God.