J.M.J. There was--and remains--a strong link between Christ and His Chaste
Mother. Jesus, the Son of God, is the Son of Mary. Although authentic
disciples of the Master are extremely close to Him, their bond differs
from that enjoyed by the Madonna with Jesus.
Let us explore that unique link between the Son and the Mother.
When Mary uttered her history-altering fiat, she gave permission for the
Logos--the Eternal Word Who is the Second Person of the Most Blessed
Trinity--to take her flesh and dwell in her virginal womb. The physical
body of Jesus came from stainless Mary. Therefore, there is truth in the
statement: Body of Christ, Body of Mary.
But even before the Annunciation, Mary was filled with the supernatural
virtue of charity at the moment of her Immaculate Conception. Charity is
the virtue that renders one most like God. Of course, Jesus was rooted
in charity because He is God. That charity united Mary and Jesus.
The Heart of Christ was Our Blessed Mother's source of strength. She
fulfilled God's mysterious plan for her life by accepting sanctifying
grace--"God's life"--that only comes from the Lord. Mary enjoys
unsurpassed physical access to her Son in Heaven. She also has
unparalleled spiritual access to Him because of her unceasing prayer
directed towards Jesus.
Without exaggeration, we may assert: all that Mary accomplished was first inspired and completed in the Heart of Jesus.
Our Lady leads us to adore her Son. Our genuine veneration of the
Madonna ends in sincere adoration of Jesus. In Mary in Our Life (New
York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1954), Father William George Most, Ph.D.,
wrote that Pope Pius XI (1922-1939) declared in his encyclical
Miserentissimus Redemptor (May 8, 1928) the importance of authentic
devotion to the Most Sacred Heart. "True devotion to the Sacred Heart
consists in two things, which can readily be reduced to
one--consecration and reparation" (page 205). Consecration means that we
"dedicate ourselves and all that we have to the Divine Heart of Jesus"
(ibid.); by our love we return to the Creator the love that He bestowed
on us. Following consecration is reparation, which is necessary "if that
Uncreated Love (that is, God Himself) has been neglected by
forgetfulness or violated by offenses" (page 206).
It is through the Ever-Virgin that consecration and reparation are made.
Pope Pius XI penned: "May the most gracious Mother of God smile upon
and favor these our prayers and undertakings, she, who since she brought
forth Jesus the Redeemer for us, nourished Him, and offered Him as a
Victim at the Cross, and is called the Reparatrix, in virtue of her
intimate union with Christ, and an altogether singular grace of His"
(page 207). His Holiness prayed: "Loving Jesus, through the intercession
of the Blessed Virgin Mary, our model in reparation, deign to receive
the voluntary offering we make of this act of expiation. . . " (page
208).
Father Most maintained: "Thus it is clear that our need of Mary will
never end; she is the Mediatrix of All Graces; all (graces) descend to
us through her. And the way for us to ascend to the Sacred Heart of
Christ is through the Immaculate Heart of His Mother: ad Cor Jesu per
Cor Mariae!" (page 211). To the Heart of Jesus through the Heart of
Mary!
Father Most argued that since the two Hearts are so aligned, then they
"should also be closely united as objects of our devotion" (ibid.). We
adore the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and we venerate the Immaculate
Heart of Mary.
We cannot help but to draw the conclusion that seems very obvious: the
Pure Immaculate Heart constantly beats in unison with the Most Sacred
Heart, given the similitude between Mary and Jesus.
Although we do not measure up to Our Lady's outstanding holiness, may our hearts beat in union with the Two Hearts!
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