“Christ is the head of the Church, and the Church is his body…And we are members of His body the Church.” Ephesians 1:22-23…5:30.
“This man and that man were born in her.” Psalm 86:5. While hanging on the cross dying, Jesus said to His mother, “Woman, behold thy son,” and to St. John, “Son, behold thy mother.” St. John 19:26. The Church teaches that Jesus was constituting His mother to be the mother of all Christians at that point, His future brethren, of which He was called, “The firstborn of many brethren.: Romans 8:29. However, to be more precise, let us hear the explanation of St. Louis de Montfort. He explains that the same mother that brings forth the head, also brings forth the body and its members. He begins with this quote: “This man and that man were born in her.” Ps. 86:5, says the Holy Ghost through the Royal Psalmist. According to the explanation of some of the early Fathers, the first man that is born in Mary is the Man-God, Jesus Christ; the second is mere man, the child of God and Mary by adoption. If Jesus Christ, the head of men is born in her, then, the predestinate, who are the members of that head, ought also to be born in her, by a necessary consequence. One and the same mother does not bring forth into the world the head without the members, or the members without the head; for this would be a monster of nature. So in like manner, in the order of grace, the head and the members are born of one and the same Mother; and if a member of the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ – that is to say, one of the predestinate – were born of any other mother than Mary, who has produced the head, he would not be one of the predestinate, nor a member of Jesus Christ, but simply a monster in the order of grace.” Number 32, TRUE DEVOTION TO MARY.
St. Louis is giving us an example of nature to prove a spiritual point. Romans 1:20 says that we can see the spiritual world and know there is a God by the things He has made, and also those who do not believe in God are inexcusable. ‘’ For the invisible things of him, from the creation of the world, are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made; his eternal power also, and divinity: so that they are inexcusable.” The invisible world is seen by the things that are made.
Furthermore, St. Augustine says, “The predestinate are hidden in the womb of Mary, where they are guarded, nourished, and brought up to made to grow by that good Mother until she has brought them forth to glory after death…” Numbers 33. We see this in Revelation chapter 12 where the woman is in travail to bring forth her Son. We know this child is Jesus Christ because it says he will ‘’rule them with an iron rod,’’ verse 5, and you go back to Psalms 2:6-9, the Father is speaking of His Son, and says He will rule them with an iron rod. So the woman has to be Mary His Mother, for no other woman ever gave birth to Jesus. But Mary was not in travail when she bore Jesus and gave birth to him, the head. However, she was in travail with His body the Church, and its members. Because of our sins, she suffered greatly in His Passion and death on the Cross for our salvation. So much so that she could say more than St. Paul, “My little children, of whom I am in labour again, until Christ be formed in you.” Galatians 4:19. These were her labor pains to bring us forth to eternal life, to “glory after death,” as St. Augustine says. A child should always be grateful to his mother for the labour she undertook to bring it into the world. A good child will always love and cherish his mother for what she has done for him. How much more so should we always love and cherish our Blessed Mother in heaven, who is not only Christ’s Mother, but as St. Louis de Montfort has proven, is also ours. Mary is the most special woman in the entire human race. What kind of holiness must the woman possess who was chosen by God to be the mother of His Son? ‘’ One is my dove, my perfect one is but one, she is the only one of her mother, the chosen of her that bore her. The daughters saw her, and declared her most blessed: the queens and concubines, and they praised her.” Canticles 6:8. The Church has always taught that Mary never sinned, and this is the passage that proves it. Speaking of a woman, it calls her ‘’my perfect one.” And how could it be otherwise? If you were God, would you choose to come into the world through a tainted vessel, when you had the power to come through a pure one? ‘’For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and made higher than the heavens.” [Hebrews 7:26]. “And how can it be said,” says St. Alphonsus, “that Jesus Christ was separated from sinners, if his own mother was a sinner?’’ As one man said, “If God had chosen your mother to be Christ’s mother, would you not expect people to honor her in a special way?”
But as you continue to read the 12th chapter, you see the dragon (the devil), tries to devour the Child, but he is taken up to heaven. The dragon then tries to destroy the woman, but she is taken out into the desert and protected by God. Finally, verse 17 says, “And the dragon was angry against the woman: and went to make war with the rest of her seed, who keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” We are the rest of her seed, and the dragon is making war against us. Here, St. John is pointing out that we are the spiritual children of Mary, if we are Christians and are keeping the commandments.
This all ties in together and shows Mary is our true spiritual Mother, once properly understood. The children of Mary are at enmity with the devil signified by the war against us. This is why, in Genesis 3:15, God not only foretold the enmity between the woman and the serpent, but also between the seed of the devil and the seed of the woman: ‘’ I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel.” Yes, Mary crushes the head of the serpent for us, if we call upon her, and this is why you will see in many of her images her foot is on the serpent. God has given her power over the devil, and the devils fear her, as a terrible army coming toward him: “Who is she that cometh forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army set in array?” Cant. 6:9.
Why did God give a woman the power to crush the serpent’s head? Because, as he overcame a woman in the Garden and caused her to fall, God put a curse on the serpent that a woman would overcome him, according to the Book of Wisdom: ‘’By what things a man sinneth, by the same is he tormented,” 11:17. By the way, can anyone explain why the protestants, when they rewrote the Bible, took the Book of Wisdom out of the Bible? The Catholic Bible still has it – the Douay Rheims, drbo.org.
King David foresaw this spiritual motherhood of Mary. Thus, he said to God, ‘’O Lord, for I am thy servant: I am thy servant, and the son of thy handmaid.” Psalm 115:16. And he prays to God to save him, the son of His handmaid, “Save the son of thy handmaid.” Psalm 85:16. “Of what handmaid,?” asks St. Augustine. “Of she who said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord.” St. Luke 1:38. Therefore, let no one ever tell you to have nothing to do with Mary. As our mother we are bound to honor her, to obey her in her messages, to love her as our very own, and to call on her for spiritual help as her children. What child refuses to call upon its mother? This is why the Scripture says, “Salute Mary who has laboured much among you.” Roman 16:6. We salute her every time we pray the Hail Mary and the Rosary: “Hail Mary, full of grace…and we ask her to help us with her prayers.
And have you ever noticed that each time we pray the Hail Mary, we bless Jesus also; “Blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus?” In the Scriptures in St. Luke 1:41-42 Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Ghost, and it says Elizabeth blesses Mary first and Jesus second. She knew Jesus was in Mary’s womb yet she praised Mary first. St. Louis de Montfort explains it this way: “The Church, along with the Holy Ghost, blesses Mary first and Jesus second. This is not to say that Mary is higher than God or even equal to Him. This would be intolerable heresy. But in order to bless Jesus more perfectly, we begin by blessing His mother.” This concludes our explanation of Mary our spiritual Mother. If we honor her each day; if we pray her Rosary daily; wear her Brown Scapular and Miraculous Medal, we will be greatly blessed and lay up great treasures in heaven. ‘’ And he that honoureth his mother is as one that layeth up a treasure.’’ Ecclesiasticus 3:5. Because, as St. Augustine said, “There are many graces that God wants to give to us, but we are not worthy. The only way He will give them to us is through the Blessed Mother.”
Now let us consider the value and beauty of the Holy Rosary. St. Louis de Montfort said, “The Rosary is a priceless treasure inspired by God.” The following story is from his book, THE SECRET OF THE ROSARY: The well-known Brother Alphonsus Rodriguez, used to say his rosary with such fervor that he often saw a red rose come out of his mouth at each Our Father, and a white rose at each Hail Mary. The red and white roses were equal in fragrance and beauty, the only difference being in their color. The Chronicles of St. Francis tell of a young Friar who had the praise-worthy habit of saying his rosary every day before dinner. One day for some reason or other he did not manage to say it. The Refectory bell had already rung when he asked his Superior to allow him to say it before coming to the table, and having obtained the permission withdrew to his cell to pray. After he had been gone a long time the Superior sent another Friar to fetch him, and he found him in his room bathed in a heavenly light facing Our Lady who had two angels with her. Beautiful roses kept issuing out from his mouth at each Hail Mary; the Angels took them one by one, placing them on Our Lady’s head, and she smilingly accepted them. Finally two other Friars who had been sent to find out what had happened to the first two saw the same lovely scene, and Our Lady did not go away until the whole rosary had been said.” 7th Rose, THE SECRET OF THE ROSARY. “Therefore,” St. Louis says, “Let all men, the learned and the ignorant, the just and the sinners, the great and the small, praise and honor Jesus and Mary, night and day, by saying the most Holy Rosary.” “Salute Mary who hath laboured much among you.” Romans 16:6.
Mary promises her special protection to all those who pray her rosary: 2nd Promise: I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who pray the rosary.
The Rosary, a Powerful Weapon Against The Devil – The Story of The Airplane Pilots , Protected by the rosary: https://motherofGodlibrary.org/2019/05/01. In this story, the Commander taught all the pilots how to pray the rosary everyday, even the non-Catholics, and one of them said after the war, “Ours was the only plattoon that never lost a plane, nor never lost a man!”
15th promise: Devotion to my rosary is a great sign of predestination.
Let us strive to share the faith. As Father Hannifin used to say: “Don’t just keep the faith! Spread the faith!” Know your Catholic faith. If you don’t know your faith, how are you going to live the faith? I recommend the book, THIS IS THE FAITH by Canon Francis Ripley. Reading this book, you will understand why the Church teaches what it does. “Knowledge is a fountain of life to him that possesses it.” Proverbs 16:22.
“I am the mother of fair love, and of fear, and of knowledge, and of holy hope. In me is all grace of the way and of the truth. In me is all hope of life and of virtue. Come over to me, all ye that desire me, and be filled with my fruits.” Ecclus. 24:24-26. Her fruits are the graces of Jesus Christ. “He who wishes to have the fruit of life, which is Jesus Christ, must have the tree of life, which is Mary. He who wishes to have the operation of the Holy Ghost, must have the divine Mary, who makes him fertile and fruit-bearing.” TRUE DEVOTION TO MARY, St. Louis de Montfort.
“She is a tree of life to them that lay hold on her: and he that shall retain her is blessed.” Proverbs 3:18.
For more interesting articles on the faith and various subjects, go to MotherofGodlibrary.org. Impressive Stories on the Miraculous Medal Dec. 2019 post and March 2021. Also look up Claude Newman on death row, and Fr. John Hardon and the 9 year old boy in a coma.