All the things that belong to God by His very nature, now belong to Our Blessed Mother by Grace…
In 2018, the Global Slavery Index estimated that there are approximately 40.3 million people who are modern slaves, of which almost three-quarters are female and a quarter are children.
And I have been reflecting on this predicament of slavery as I have been reflecting on the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God because as I have been thinking about her, I have been thinking about slavery and enslavement.
You see, there are three types of slavery. Slavery can be natural, enforced or voluntary. Natural slavery relates to the natural state of all creation. Because we have been created by God, it is only natural that we are naturally His slaves to do with as He wills because “The world and all that is in it belong to the Lord…” (Psalm 24:1). Enforced slaves as the devils and the damned. But voluntary slaves are the most perfect of all slaves because voluntary slaves voluntarily submit their will to the Holy Will of God. And this is why the Angels and the Saints can be called voluntary slaves – because they deliberately enslave themselves to God by choice to submit to His Holy Will…
And I have been thinking about what this true submission – this true slavery to God – really is… You see a slave is not a servant. While a servant remains free and separate from their master – being paid for their labour and being free to leave their master, a slave is completely under the dominion of their master. And I have been considering this fact as I have been considering the actions of the Blessed Virgin – Queen of Heaven.
You see, the Blessed Virgin called herself the slave – the “handmaid” – of the Lord (Luke 1:38) and that means that she considered herself a voluntary slave of God. And Christ Himself – enslaved Himself to the Will of God the Father when He voluntarily submitted to the Father’s Will to suffer and die on the Cross… And that means that all the things that belong to God by His very nature, now belong to Our Blessed Mother by Grace. And this marvellous thing is only possible through the service of the Blessed Virgin to the Holy Will of God. You see, the Latin word, “servus” meant slave (because there was no Latin word for servant during Christ’s time). In this way, when the Blessed Virgin so perfectly submitted to the Holy Will of God, she was effectively becoming more united with Him - because a slave is the property of their Master.
For the Blessed Virgin submitted as the Slave of God, and it was in this way that she was crowned Queen of Heaven… For had she tried to keep herself separate from God in any way – through the implementation of her own Will as opposed to God’s Will – she would have denied herself the things that God awarded her through Grace.
And when I stop and think about that, it is truly extraordinary… For all the things that belong to God by His very nature, now belong to Our Blessed Mother by Grace.
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
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