The Glories of Mary.

PART THE FIRST.

ON THE SALVE REGINA :

IN WHICH THE MANY AND ABUNDANT GRACES DISPENSED BY
THE MOTHER OF GOD TO HER DEVOUT CLIENTS, ARE

TREATED OF, UNDER DIFFERENT HEADS, TAKEN
FROM THE SALVE REGINA,

CHAPTER I.

HAIL, HOLY QUEEN, MOTHER OF MERCY!

SECTION I.-How great should be our confidence in Mary, who is the Queen of Mercy.

S the glorious Virgin Mary has been raised to the dignity of Mother of the King of kings, it is not without reason that the Church honours her, and wishes her to be honoured by all, with the glorious title of Queen. If the Son is a King,' says an ancient writer, the Mother who begot him is rightly and truly considered a Queen and Sovereign. 1 No sooner had Mary,' says St. Bernardine, of Sienna, consented to be Mother of the eternal Word, than she merited by this consent to be made Queen of the world and of all creatures.'2 'Since

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Siquidem is ipse qui ex Virgine natus est, rex est, et ipse Dominus Deus. Ejusque gratia, quae ipsum genuit, Regina, Domina, et Deipara proprie ac vere prædicatur.-Serm. de Deip. int. op. S. Athan.

Hæc autem Virgo in illo admirando consensu meruit dominium et primatum totius orbis.-Tom. iv, 90.

the flesh of Mary,' remarks the Abbot Arnold of Chartres, 'was not different from that of Jesus, how can the royal dignity of the Son be denied to the Mother.'1 'Hence we must consider the glory of the Son, not only as being common to, but as one with, that of His mother.' 2

And if Jesus is the King of the universe, Mary is also its Queen. And as Queen,' says the Abbot Rupert, 'she possesses, by right, the whole kingdom of her Son."3 Hence St. Bernardine, of Sienna, concludes that as many creatures as there are who serve God, so many there are who serve Mary: for as angels and men, and all things that are in heaven and on earth, are subject to the empire of God, so are they also under the dominion of Mary. The Abbot Guarricus, addressing himself to the Divine Mother, on this subject, says: continue, Mary, continue to dispose with confidence of the riches of thy Son; act as Queen, Mother, and Spouse of the King: for to thee belongs dominion and power over all creatures.' 5

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Mary then is a Queen: but, for our common consolation, be it known, that she is a Queen so sweet, clement, and so ready to help us in our miseries, that the holy Church wills that we should salute her in this prayer under the title of Queen of Mercy. The title of Queen,' remarks B. Albert the Great, differs from that of Empress, which implies severity and rigour, in signifying compassion, and charity towards the poor.' The greatness of kings and queens,' says Seneca, consists in relieving the wretched ;'6 and whereas tyrants, when they reign, have their own good in view, kings should have that of their subjects at heart. For this reason it is that,

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1 Nec a dominatione et potestate filii Mater potest esse sejuncta. Una est Mariæ et Christi caro.-De Laud. Virg.

2 Filii gloriam cum Matre non tam communem judico, quam eamdem.-Ib. 3 Prædicabitur de te quod sis.... Regina cœlorum totum jure possidens Filii regnum.-In Cant. 1. 3.

Tot creaturæ serviunt gloriosæ Virgini, quot serviunt Trinitati; omnes namque creaturæ, sive angeli sive homines, et omnia quæ sunt in cœlo et in terra, quæ omnia sunt divino imperio subjugata, gloriosæ Virgini sunt subjectæ.Tom. iv, Serm. 5, de B. V., c.6.

5 Perge, Maria, perge secura in bonis filii tui, fiducialiter age tamquam Regina, Mater regis et sponsa; tibi debetur regnum et potestas.-Serm. 3, in Ass. B. M. Hoc reges habent magnificum, prodesse miseris.

at their consecration, kings have their heads anointed with oil, which is the symbol of mercy, to denote that, as kings, they should, above all things, nourish in their hearts feelings of compassion and benevolence towards their subjects. Kings should then occupy themselves principally in works of mercy, but not so as to forget the just punishments that are to be inflicted on the guilty. It is however not thus with Mary, who, although a Queen, is not a queen of justice, intent on the punishment of the wicked, but a queen of mercy, intent only on commiserating and pardoning sinners. And this is the reason for which the Church requires that we should expressly call her the Queen of Mercy. The great Chancellor of Paris, John Gerson, in his Commentary on the words of David: "These two things have I heard, that power belongeth to God, and mercy to Thee, O Lord, says, that the kingdom of God, consisting in justice and mercy, was divided by our Lord the kingdom of justice He reserved for Himself, and that of mercy He yielded to Mary, ordaining, at the same time, that all mercies that are dispensed to men, should pass by the hands of Mary, and be disposed of by her at will. These are Gerson's own words: the kingdom of God consists in power and mercy; reserving power to Himself, He, in some way, yielded the empire of mercy to His mother.' 2 This is confirmed by St. Thomas, in his Preface to the Canonical Epistles, saying, 'that when the Blessed Virgin conceived the Eternal Word in her womb, and brought Him forth, she obtained half the kingdom of God; so that she is Queen of Mercy, as Jesus Christ is King of Justice.' 3

The Eternal Father made Jesus Christ the King of Justice, and consequently universal Judge of the world: and

1 Duo hæc audivi, quia potestas Dei est, et tibi Domine misericordia.--Ps. lxi, 12, 13.

2 Regnum Dei consistit in potestate et misericordia: potestate Domino remanente, cessit quodammodo misericordiæ pars Christi Matri sponsæque regnanti. -P.3, Tr. 4, s. Magnif

3 Quando filium Dei in utero concepit, et postmodum peperit, dimidiam partem regni Dei impetravit, ut ipsa sit Regina misericordiæ, ut Christus est Rex justitiæ. †

therefore the royal Prophet sings: "Give to the King Thy judgment, O God: and to the King's Son Thy justice." 1 Here a learned interpreter takes up the sentence, and says: 'O Lord, Thou hast given justice to Thy Son, because Thou hast given mercy to the King's Mother; and, on this subject, St. Bonaventure, paraphrasing the words of David, thus interprets them: 'Give to the King Thy judgment, O God: and Thy mercy to the Queen His Mother.'2 Ernest, Archbishop of Prague, also remarks, that the Eternal Father gave the office of judge and avenger to the Son, and that of showing mercy and relieving the necessitous to the Mother.' 3 This was foretold by the prophet David himself, for he says that God (so to speak) consecrated Mary Queen of Mercy, anointing her with the oil of gladness: ("God hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness") In order that we miserable children of Adam might rejoice, remembering that in heaven we have this great Queen, overflowing with the unction of mercy and compassion towards us; and thus we can say with St. Bonaventure, 'O Mary, thou art full of the unction of mercy and of the oil of compassion,' 5 therefore God has anointed thee with the oil of gladness. And how beautifully does not B. Albert the Great apply to this subject the history of Queen Esther, who was herself a great type of our Queen Mary. We read, in the 4th chapter of the Book of Esther, that in the reign of Assuerus, a decree was issued, by which all Jews were condemned to death. Mardochai, who was one of the condemned, addressed himself to Esther, in order that she might interpose with Assuerus, and obtain the revocation of the decree, and thus be the salvation of all. At first Esther declined the office, fearing that such a request might irritate the king still more; but Mardochai reproved her, sending her word

1 Deus judicium tuum Regi da, et justitiam tuam filio Regis.-Ps. lxxi, 2. 2 Deus judicium tuum Regi da, et misericordiam tuam Regina Matri ejus.— In Ps. Ixii, de B. V.

3 Pater omne judicium dedit Filio, et omne officium misericordiæ dedit Matri.† 4 Unxit te Deus oleo lætitiæ.-Ps. xliv, 8.

5 Maria plena est unctione misericordiæ et oleo pietatis.-Speculum B. M. Virg. lect. 7.