The Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
St. Alphonsus de Liguori, The Glories of Mary
. St. Catherine of Genoa one day said, "Lord, Thou
willest that I should love my neighbor, and I can love none but Thee." God
answered her in these words: "All who love Me love what I love." But
as there never was, and never will be, anyone who loved God as much as Mary
loved Him, so there never was, and never will be, anyone who loved her neighbor
as much as she did.
Father Cornelius à Lapide, on these words of the Canticles,
King Solomon hath made him a litter of the wood of Libanus ... the midst he
covered with charity for the daughters of Jerusalem, [Cant. 3:9] says, that
"this litter was Mary's womb, in which the Incarnate Word dwelt, filling
it with charity for the daughters of Jerusalem; for Christ, Who is love itself,
inspired the Blessed Virgin with charity in its highest degree, that she might
succor all who had recourse to her."
So great was Mary's charity when on earth, that she succored
the needy without even being asked; as was the case at the marriage feast of
Cana, when she told her Son that family's distress, They have no wine, [John
2:3] and asked Him to work a miracle. O, with what speed did she fly when there
was question of relieving her neighbor! When she went to the house of Elizabeth
to fulfill an office of charity, she went into the hill-country with haste.
[Luke 1:39] She could not, however, more fully display the greatness of her
charity than she did in the offering which she made of her Son to death for our
salvation. On this subject St. Bonaventure says, "Mary so loved the world
as to give her only-begotten Son." Hence St. Anselm exclaims, "O
blessed amongst women, thy purity surpasses that of the Angels, and thy
compassion that of the Saints!" "Nor has this love of Mary for
us," says St. Bonaventure, "diminished now that she is in Heaven, but
it has increased; for now she better sees the miseries of men." And
therefore the Saint goes on to say: "Great was the mercy of Mary towards
the wretched when she was still in exile on earth; but far greater is it now
that she reigns in Heaven." […]
Blessed is he, says the Divine Mother, who listens to my
instructions, pays attention to my charity, and, in imitation of me, exercises
it himself towards others: Blessed is the man that heareth me, and that watcheth
daily at my gates, and waiteth at the posts of my doors. [Prov. 8:34] St.
Gregory Nazianzen assures us that "there is nothing by which we can with
greater certainty gain the affection of Mary than by charity towards our
neighbor." Therefore, as God exhorts us, saying, “Be ye merciful, as your
Father also is merciful,” [Luke 6:36] so also does Mary seem to say to all her
children, "Be ye merciful, as your Mother also is merciful." It is
certain that our charity towards our neighbor will be the measure of that which
God and Mary will show us: Give, and it shall be given to you. For with the
same measure that you shall mete withal, it shall be measured to you again.
[Ibid., 38] St. Methodius used to say, "Give to the poor, and receive
paradise." For the Apostle writes,
that charity towards our neighbor renders us happy both in this world and in
the next: But piety is profitable to all things, having promise of the life
that now is, and of that which is to come. [1 Tim. 4:8] St. John Chrysostom, on
these words of Proverbs, He that hath mercy on the poor lendeth to the Lord,
[19:17] makes a remark to the same effect, saying, "He who assists the
needy makes God his debtor."
O Mother of Mercy, thou art full of charity for all; forget
not my miseries; thou seest them full well. Recommend me to God, Who denies
thee nothing. Obtain for me the grace to imitate thee in holy charity, as well
towards God as towards my neighbor. Amen.
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