Blessed Virgin Mary | prayer | Behold Your Mother
Family Rosary continues our May reflections on the motherly role that the Blessed Mother plays in our lives.
Often times Catholics are questioned, "Why not go directly to God? Why do you go to Mary with your prayers?" Well, I propose a few reasons why we, as Catholics, turn to the Blessed Mother, gaze upon her beauty, and ask for her prayers.
I recently watched an interview with Fr. Chad Ripperger, a Catholic priest and exorcist. Fr. Ripperger spoke about his spiritual warfare experience between our Lady and demons, including the devil himself. He explained that performing exorcisms has helped him to understand how extraordinary Mary is. He explains that the devil and the other demons were originally good and beautiful angels. Unfortunately, though, the demons made a decision to reject God and His plan. They turned away from Him, and, as a consequence of their own decision, they are now in Hell for all eternity.
Lucifer (meaning light-bearer) would have been the most beautiful of all the angels. However, as Fr. Ripperger explains, when Lucifer learned of Mary, who she would be, and her place in God's plan, he realized he would be second to her. And this is one of the reasons why the devil despises Mary; he is filled with pride and jealousy and can't stand the thought of being second.
In fact, we're told that the Blessed Mother is so great and beautiful that the grace she has within her soul is greater than that of all the angels and saints combined. Her prayers have such an enormous power because there is no trace of sin, no trace of self-love, and no hint of selfishness anywhere, at any time, in all of Mary's existence.
Mary's prayers are so powerful that she obtains things from God that we could not obtain with our prayers. As a matter of fact, when she appeared at Fatima in 1917, she told the children to pray the Rosary daily. Why? Because, as she told them, only she could obtain an end to the World War from God.
And so, if anyone were to ask, "Why do you go to Mary?" You can tell them; I don't trust my weak human nature. I am not full of grace, but I know someone who is. And that person loves me as her son, as her daughter. When Juan Diego tried to trust in himself and took matters into his own hands in Mexico City, our Lady appeared to him and said, "Am I not here, I who am your mother?" In other words, "Why don't you trust me? Why are you taking matters into your own hands apart from me?"
St. Louis de Montfort, a French missionary priest from the 18th century, explains that when we turn to Mary for her prayers and help, we make more progress in a short amount of time than we would have over the course of many years, depending upon ourselves.
But not only does Mary obtain graces for us, but she also takes our prayers and good works and presents them to God. Unfortunately, when we offer our prayers and good works up to God, they can be tainted by self-love or sin; it would be like going to a restaurant and seeing someone serve you your meal but with unwashed hands.
St. Louis de Montfort has a great analogy which I'll borrow along with a bit of embellishment. De Montfort puts it this way: It would be like a king who is holding a grand and glorious feast in medieval Europe. And in order to celebrate the feast, the king is looking for people to serve, so he sends out his servants to recruit others from the town, and you are pressed into service. Well, it's medieval Europe, and there's not the same kind of indoor plumbing and sanitary expectations that we would have today. You show up a bit disheveled, may not have had the chance to bathe, and your hands may still be a tad dirty.
As you're serving, you start putting out some of the appetizer plates, and you look down and realize some of the residue is coming off your hands onto the plate and into the food. It's not a lot, but there is a little bit of dust on people's food. Suddenly, the head waiter grabs you and tells you to go and serve the king his dinner. You look down and think, "Ahh… I'm not really in any condition to do that…"
But that's when the queen looks over and notices your predicament out of the corner of her eye. She comes over, smiles, and tells you she can take the dish to the king on your behalf. You smell a beautiful perfume; her dress is immaculate without a single wrinkle, and best of all, she has clean hands. She takes the plate, passes by the kitchen, garnishes it, sets it in just the way the king likes, and walks over to the royal table. She sets it down before the king, whispers into his ear, and points to you. He turns around, looks at you and smiles, and begins eating.
Mary takes our prayers and good works and presents them to God on our behalf. Yes, they're not perfect because we're not, but our Lady takes our prayers and efforts and presents them to the king on our behalf. This analogy helps us understand better why Jesus gave Mary to us from the Cross! Our Lord knew that we would need—and would warmly welcome—the gift of a spiritual mother. At the end of time, we will see that Mary's prayers have saved many souls and brought them to heaven.
Let us thank God every day for the gift of our Lady, whose beauty is greater than that of all the saints and angels combined. She obtains graces, strength, clarity, and victories over sin that we could not obtain alone. And, as a powerful advocate, she takes our prayers and good works and presents them in a pleasing way to God for us. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
Father Matthew Gill is a priest in the Diocese of Fall River, MA. He is currently assigned as pastor of Holy Family parish in East Taunton. Father Matt also serves as chaplain to a Hispanic community and local Catholic school. During his free time, you can find him playing jazz and funk with priest friends in his band, Vatican III.
