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 to 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 the 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 unto God. Of course, Jesus was
rooted in charity because He is God. That charity united Jesus to Mary.
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 that all that Mary
accomplished in her Immaculate Heart was first inspired and completed in the Most
Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Our Lady leads us to adore her Son. Our genuine
veneration of the Madonna ends in our sincere adoration of Jesus. In Mary in Our Life (New York: P.J. Kenedy
and Sons, 1954), Father William George Most, Ph.D. (1914-1999), wrote that Pope
Pius XI (1922-1939), in his encyclical Miserentissimus
Redemptor (May 8, 1928), emphasized 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 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 simultaneously with the Two Hearts!
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