“Mary has two sons, the one a God-man, the other, mere man. She is Mother of the first corporally and of the second spiritually.”(Saint Bonaventure).
I have been reflecting on Saint Bonaventure’s teachings about the Blessed Virgin Mary…
Saint Bonaventure said that “Mary has two sons, the one a God-man, the other, mere man. She is Mother of the first corporally and of the second spiritually.” And in understanding the role of the Blessed Virgin and the relationship that she has with both the Divinity and the Humanity of God, it becomes quite easy to understand how, according to Saint Bernard that it… “Is the will of God who willed that we should have all things through Mary. If then, we possess any hope or grace or gift of salvation, let us acknowledge that it comes to us through her.”
In understanding the importance of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the scheme of Creation, Saint Bernardine, “All the gifts, graces, virtues of the Holy Spirit are distributed by the hands of Mary, to whom she wills, when she wills, as she wills, and in the measure she wills.”
Saint Bernard goes so far as to say that all graces received in the world come through the hands of the Blessed Mother… And he explains it because he says that God understood that we are unworthy of His Grace, and so He first gives the Grace to the Blessed Virgin and she – receiving it with gratitude and humility, is able to pass that Grace on to us. This allows God to achieve His glory because He is able have His glory reflected back to Him through the reception of the Blessed Virgin.
And this is the reason why we are called to offer and consecrate ourselves and everything that we possess to the Blessed Virgin so that through her we may give glory to God.
You see, God does not reward the proud – only the humble… And if I can humble myself so that I am able to see myself as unworthy to approach Him, then He shall condescend to come down to me – through His Blessed Mother…
The Saints also explain that where we dare to approach God without an intercessor – without the Blessed Virgin Mary – then He vanishes and cannot be found by us.
And I have been thinking about that today, as I reflect on the humility of the Blessed Virgin. For she is so humble of heart that she has accepted the Holy Will of God in taking upon herself the task of mediatrix. And in that role, it is through the Blessed Virgin Mary that we all must go. For she has understood the purpose of creation in a way that perhaps only the angels can understand. She understands that the purpose of creation is God. And in understanding that it becomes imperative to humble ourselves to do whatever it is that the Holy Will of God calls us to do…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
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