To Jesus through Mary
” We go to Jesus through Mary because that is the way He came to us, and He said, ‘As I have given you an example, so do you also.’’ St. John 13:15.
“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.” “She is a tree of life to them who lay hold on her, and he that shall retain her is blessed.” Proverbs 3:18.
True Devotion to Mary is a treatise that has inspired millions throughout the world and influenced many saints and popes. Pope John Paul II said, “Reading this book was a turning point in my life.” And he took his motto, Coat of Arms, Totus Tuus – Totally Yours from the reading of this book. No Catholic should reach the age of 20 without reading this book. If you have not read the book as of yet, do yourself a favor and get a copy. You will be glad you did.
St. Louis says, “Christ is not known and loved up to this time as He should be because Mary is not known and loved as she should be.” Scripture says of her, “I am the mother of fair love,” Ecclesiasticus 24:24; and it is said that one of the saints saw Mary going around dispensing a sweet liquid, and this liquid was divine love. All true devotees of Mary will acknowledge that they didn’t really learn to love Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament until they were devoted to Mary. Mary always leads us closer to her Son when we go to her. St. Louis said, “We go to Jesus through Mary because that is the way He came to us, and He said, ‘As I have given you an example, so do you also.” St. John 13:15. When Mary was appearing to the three shepherd children of Fatima, she told Sr. Lucy, “My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge, and the way which shall lead you to God.” Mary’s role as our mother is always to lead us to God and help us save our souls. Jesus being our Saviour and our God, she always leads us to Him. Thus the old saying, “To Jesus through Mary.” Jesus is the one mediator between God and man, a redemption for all,” St. Paul says to Timothy. “That is, as St. Alphonsus explains, “a mediator of redemption.” No one could redeem us but God himself, and this verse is talking about redemption, not intercession. If this verse were talking about intercession and that Mary couldn’t intercede for us, as protestants claim, then neither could protestants intercede and pray for one another, which they do!
St. Louis goes on to say, “As our salvation was begun by the Angelic Salutation, the Hail Mary, our salvation in a special manner is tied up to that prayer. “Hail, full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women.” St. Luke 1:28. * Drbo.org. It was through Mary that our salvation came into the world. It was through her greeting to her cousin Elizabeth that Christ blessed that house, (St. Luke 1:41), filling Elizabeth with the Holy Ghost, St. John as well, and sanctifying him in his mother’s womb. “He shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb.” St. Luke 1:15. It was also through Mary that Christ worked His first public miracle, even though His hour had not yet come, St. John 2:1-11; all because Mary interceded for them. Jesus told her, “My hour has not yet come,” yet at His mother’s request, He changed the water into wine. No doubt the wedding had more guests than expected and the wine ran out, so to save the newlyweds from embarrassment, Jesus granted the request of His blessed mother.
St. Louis de Montfort also explained the spiritual motherhood of Mary for all mankind. “This man and that man were born in her.” Psalm 86:5. “According to some of the early Fathers of the Church, the first man born in her was the Godman, Jesus Christ. The second man is mere man by adoption….When a mother is forming a child in her womb, she forms the head, body and members into one. The same mother that brings forth the head, also brings forth the body and its members…” St. Paul says Christ is the head of the Church and the Church is His body, Ephesians chapter one, and we are members of his body, 5:30. Therefore, Mary is the mother of the Church, and also our mother…