The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
~ from The
Glories of Mary, St. Alphonsus de Liguori
Let us now
consider how our Saviour went forth from heaven to meet His Mother. On first
meeting her, and to console her, He said: “Arise, make haste, My love, My dove,
My beautiful one, and come. For winter is now past and gone." Come, My own
dear Mother, My pure and beautiful dove, leave that valley of tears, in which,
for My love, thou hast suffered so much: " Come from Libanus, My Spouse,
come from Libanus, come: thou shalt be crowned." Come in soul and body, to
enjoy the recompense of thy holy life. If thy sufferings have been great on
earth, far greater is the glory which I have prepared for thee in heaven. Enter
then that kingdom, and take
thy seat near Me; come to receive that crown, which I will bestow upon thee, as
Queen of the universe.
Behold, Mary
already leaves the earth, at which she looks with affection and compassion;
with affection, remembering the many graces she had there received from her Lord;
and with affection and compassion, because, in it she leaves so many poor
children surrounded with miseries and dangers. But see, Jesus offers her His
hand, and the Blessed Mother already ascends; already she has passed beyond the
clouds, beyond the spheres. Behold her already at the gates of heaven. When
monarchs make their solemn entry into their kingdoms, they do not pass through
the gates of the capital; for, they are removed to make way for them on this
occasion. Hence, when Jesus Christ entered paradise, the angels cried out:
" Lift up your gates, O ye princes, and be ye lifted up, O eternal gates:
and the King of Glory shall enter in." Thus also, now that Mary goes to
take possession of the kingdom of heaven, the angels who accompany her cry out
to those within: ' Lift up your gates, O ye princes, and be ye lifted up, O
eternal gates: and the Queen of Glory shall enter in.'
Behold Mary
already enters that blessed country. But on her entrance the celestial spirits,
seeing her so beautiful and glorious, ask the angels without, as Origen
supposes it, ' with united voices of exultation: " Who is this that cometh
up from the desert, flowing with delights, leaning upon her beloved?"' And
who can this creature, so beautiful be, that comes from the desert of the
earth, a place of thorns and tribulation? But this one comes pure and rich in
virtue, leaning on her beloved Lord, who is graciously pleased Himself to accompany
her with so great honour? Who is she? The angels accompanying her answer: 'She
is the Mother of our King; she is our Queen, and the blessed one among women,
full of grace, the Saint of saints, the beloved of God, the immaculate one, the
dove, the fairest of all creatures.' Then all the blessed spirits begin to
bless and praise her, singing with far more reason than the Hebrews did to
Judith: "Thou art the glory of Jerusalem; thou art the joy of Israel; thou
art the honour of our people." Ah our Lady, and our Queen, thou then art
the glory of paradise, the joy of our country, thou art the honour of us all ;
be thou ever welcome, be thou ever blessed; behold thy kingdom; behold us also,
who are thy servants, ever ready to obey thy commands.
All the Saints
who were in paradise then came to welcome her, and salute her as their Queen.
All the holy virgins came: “The daughters saw her and declared her most blessed;
and they praised her." 'We,' they said, 'O most blessed Lady, are also
queens in this kingdom, but thou art our Queen ; for thou wast the first to
give us the great example of consecrating our virginity to God ; we all bless
and thank thee for it.' Then came the holy confessors to salute her as their
mistress, who, by her holy life, had taught them so many beautiful virtues. The
holy martyrs also came to salute her as their Queen; for she, by her great
constancy in the sorrows of her Son's Passion, had taught them, and also by her
merits had obtained the strength to lay down their lives for the faith. Saint
James, the only one of the Apostles who was yet in heaven, also came to thank
her in the name of all the other apostles, for all the comfort and help she had
afforded them while she was on earth.
The prophets
next came to salute her, and said: ' Ah Lady, thou wast the one foreshadowed in
our prophecies.' The holy Patriarchs then came and said: ' O Mary, it is thou
who wast our hope; for thee it was that we sighed with such ardour, and for so
long a time.' But amongst these latter came our first parents, Adam and Eve, to
thank her with still greater affection. ‘Ah beloved daughter,' they said, 'thou
hast repaired the injury which we inflicted on the human race; thou hast obtained
for the world that blessing which we lost by our crime; by thee we are saved,
and for it be ever blessed.' Saint Simeon then came to kiss her feet, and with
joy reminded her of the day when he received the infant Jesus from her hands.
Saint Zachary and Saint Elizabeth also came, and again thanked her for that loving
visit which, with such great humility and charity, she had paid them in their
dwelling, and by which they had received such treasures of grace. Saint John
the Baptist came with still greater affection, to thank her for having
sanctified him by her voice. But how must her holy parents, Saint Joachim and
Saint Anne, have spoken when they came to salute her? Oh God, with what
tenderness must they have blessed her, saying: ' Ah beloved daughter, what a
favour it was for us to have such a child! Be thou now our Queen; for thou art
the Mother of our God, and as such we salute and adore thee.'
But who can
ever form an idea of the affection with which her dear spouse Saint Joseph came
to salute her? Who can ever describe the joy which the holy Patriarch felt at
seeing his Spouse so triumphantly enter heaven, and made Queen of Paradise? With
what tenderness must he have addressed her: 'Ah, my Lady and Spouse, how can I
ever thank our God as I ought, for having made me thy spouse, thou who art His
true Mother! Through thee I merited to assist on earth the childhood of the
Eternal Word, to carry Him so often in my arms, and to receive so many special
graces. Ever blessed be those moments which I spent in life, in serving Jesus,
and thee, my holy Spouse. Behold our Jesus; let us rejoice that now He no
longer lies on straw in a manger, as we saw Him at His birth in Bethlehem. He
no longer lives poor and despised in a shop, as He once lived with us in Nazareth;
He is no longer nailed to an in famous gibbet, as when lie died in Jerusalem
for the salvation of the world; but He is seated at the right hand of His
Father, as King and Lord of heaven and earth. And now, oh my Queen, we shall
never more be separated from His feet; we shall there bless Him, and love Him for
all eternity.'
All the
angels then came to salute her; and she the great Queen, thanked all for the
assistance they had given her on earth, and more especially she thanked the
arch angel Gabriel, who was the happy ambassador, the bearer of all her glories,
when he came to announce to her, that she was the chosen Mother of God. The
humble and holy Virgin, then kneeling, adored the Divine Majesty, and, all
absorbed in the consciousness of her own nothingness, thanked Him for all the
graces bestowed upon her by His pure goodness, and especially for having made
her the Mother of the Eternal Word. And then, let him who can, comprehend with
what love the Most Holy Trinity blessed her. Let him comprehend the welcome
given to His Daughter by the Eternal Father, to His Mother by the Son, to His
Spouse by the Holy Ghost. The Father crowned her by imparting His power to her;
the Son, His wisdom; the Holy Ghost His love. And the three Divine Persons,
placing her throne at the right of that of Jesus, declared her Sovereign of
Heaven and earth; and commanded the angels, and all creatures to acknowledge
her as their Queen, and as such to serve and obey her. Let us now consider, how
exalted was the throne to which Mary was raised in heaven!
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