Advent with Our Lady

The stupendous Mystery of the Incarnation means that Jesus is absolutely necessary for the salvation of every man. And by the exact same Mystery, Mary was necessary for Jesus, for without Her, there could have been no Incarnation.

But incredibly, over 0.8 billion Christians against 1.3 billion Catholics don’t believe that Mary is necessary for their own personal salvation! They think that Mary is an obstacle. For the other 6 billion inhabitants of the planet, She is excluded by the sin of unbelief.

It is therefore imperative that Mary be made known to the world of heresy and unbelief, and that Her true role be understood by all.

In the first place, consider that God the Father, in order to be known and loved, wished to send forth His Only-Begotten Son in the likeness of our nature, that we might recognize Him from Whom all fatherhood is named. But in this plan of God the Father, the services of the Virgin Mary were necessary, not absolutely, but in relation with this plan. He who proceeded from the Father for all Eternity, now proceeded from the womb of the Virgin-Mother in time. But this becomes personal to each man when Christ proceeds forth from the bosom of the Father in man’s heart and soul by Grace, a procession entirely contingent upon that time-bound human procession of Jesus from Mary’s womb. While this Mystery can be difficult to conceive clearly, it is absolutely clear that should anyone deny it, he would exclude himself from it. Thus, Mary is necessary for personal salvation!

Secondly, let us consider Christ the Lord, God the Son. To strengthen men’s hope and enable them to defeat their archenemy Satan, Christ labored His whole life, to end it in supreme sacrifice on the Cross. Yet Mary was His companion and assistant at every defining moment. That divine life, of whose fullness we have all received, was an association with Mary in its first instance, and a communication with a poor little sinner in its last. But to this last, Jesus gives Himself fully, nothing less. Thus, Jesus gives the sinner His own love of Mary, and She is thus necessary to his personal salvation.

Finally, let us consider the Spirit of Truth, Whom Jesus sent the Church from the Father. This Divine Person who formed Christ in the womb of Mary, forms Him again in the same way; in the mystic womb of Her prayers. For whom She prays, He works, and in no other. In this way alone the Holy Spirit renews the face of the earth and He alone can turn 6 billion non-believers or so many heretics into the most fervent Catholics. We can definitely guarantee ourselves the assistance of the Holy Spirit if we strive to make Her known and loved by all!

Let this Advent be our occasion for distributing Miraculous Medals, praying the Holy Spirit for the right words to explain it, and unite ourselves to the prayers of the Blessed Virgin Mary for the soul to whom we give it. Ave Maria!