Of Blessing in Faith… on Mondays
- The Revelation of God in Heaven and Earth
- The Promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
- The Paschal Feast of Israel
- The Law and Testament of Moses
- The Prophecy of Christ the King, Son of David
MOTHER AND QUEEN OF MERCY
Excerpt from The Holy Family Rosary: CHAPTER II
In the Nicene Creed we profess our faith as:
“I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible.
“I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made; consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end.
“I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets.
“I believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. I confess one baptism for the forgiveness of sins and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.”[1]
This Creed is in summary of the beginning [first; Alpha] and end [last; Omega] of revelation of God in Creation (i.e., the Father, Son and Holy Ghost). Consequently, the genesis of the Merciful Mysteries pronounces the goodness of God in the necessary importance and value for each and every human life in creation, commencing with the revelation of His eschatological plan of salvation history with Mary’s Christocentric role as the Mother of God’s Son, Our Lord to come, Jesus Christ.
By contemplating creation with Mary before being hailed as “Full of Grace,” we confirm our belief that Mary’s Conception was the Immaculate will of God before the dawn of creation. We are also encouraged to consider the Old Testament covenants before the conception and birth of Our Lord with Mary as the Seat of Wisdom and New Eve and Ark of the New Covenant, predestined to be the Queen of Mercy and Queen of Peace. Such a beginning for our weekly prayers will enhance a divine belief that we were all individually known by God before our own creation – as was Mother Mary, now heralded as Queen of Heaven and Earth.
Remembering with certain knowledge of God’s promise to Abraham as our Father of Faith, Elizabeth was already mindful of this reason for her salutation to Mary as “Blessed art thou among women” and “blessed art thou that hast believed” [2]. This is reinforced by Mary’s concluding declaration (to Elizabeth) in her fiat (Magnificat), saying: “He hath received Israel his servant, being mindful of His mercy; as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed forever.”
This is precisely the reason why this work is being introduced as Mary’s School of Prayer. It is to unbind our resistance to hear the Word of the Lord (through Mary) as revealed to our Forefathers as a proven pathway of divine inspiration and infused knowledge of God since the beginning of time and later confirmed by grace through the Sacrament of Baptism. Truth directs our attention to Mary as Virgin most faithful and Mother of God’s Son to come. Through these meditations we are collectively led by the mirrored systematic inspirations of God the Father in catechesis of our faith, through God the Son and Holy Spirit – all present before time had begun. Extending our contemplation with this enhanced weekly devotion of daily rosary prayers, we begin to comprehend St. Anselm’s understanding that man does not live in God… God lives in us because if not, we would surely perish or not have existed at all.
The French missionary Doctor and Apostle of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary as well as the Founder of the Congregation of Jesus and Mary (Eudists) and the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity, St. John (Jean) Eudes ( November 14, 1601 – August, 19 1680) addressed the degree of faith that could be found within Mary when saying: “In order to render His admirable Mother paramountly able to exercise her double office of Mother and Mediatrix, so that she might protect, favor and assist us with greater efficacy in all our needs, Divine Mercy constituted her, first of all, most agreeable and holy. Secondly, Mercy gave her dominion over everything in heaven and on earth. Thirdly, it gave her the mildest, sweetest and most loving heart save that of the God-Man. To the Heart of Mary God communicated in great abundance His merciful inclinations and established in it the throne and reign of His Mercy more gloriously than in the heart of any other creature, save the sacred humanity of Christ. Divine Mercy reigns so perfectly in Mary’s Heart that she bears the name of Queen and Mother of Mercy. And this most loving Mary has so completely won the heart of God’s mercy that He has given her the key to all His treasures and made her absolute mistress of them. St. Bernard says: “She is called the Queen of Mercy because she opens the abyss and treasure of divine mercy to whom she chooses, when she chooses, and as she chooses.”[3]
Because the first meditation defines the wonder of the revelation of God in creation we find no better place for us to explore our relationship with God than starting with Genesis and the “Alpha and Omega”[4] of all created things – the Goodness of God the Father in His Holy Word – when Mary was already in the Heart, Mind and Will of the Most Holy Trinity, predestined to become our Mother and the inspiration for all of Heaven and Earth’s holy thoughts toward corporal and spiritual works of Mercy in the exercise of holy deeds – united in beatitude with God through Jesus Christ and their divine love shared by, with, and in unity of the Holy Ghost.
In our comprehension of these mysteries we learn in recollection of our Judaeo-Christian faith five major covenants that were prepared by God well before Mary’s physical creation or sinless participation in obedience to God the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Each Merciful meditation is successively fulfilled as presented and revealed in each of the preexisting and corresponding meditations of the Glorious Mysteries. From the acknowledgement of God the Father of the Immaculate Conception in Creation (with Life) is fulfilled in the Resurrection in Eternal Life; The Oath of God to Abraham and his descendants is fulfilled in Christ’s Ascension into the promised land; the celebratory remembrance of the Passover of death and Exodus of the Israelites is fulfilled in the Descent of the Holy Ghost (that was preceded by both the belief in Jesus Christ and the offering of Jesus Christ as the Paschal Lamb; from the Testimony (Law and Testament) of Moses to Mary’s place of honor in salvation history in recognition of her perfect obedience and surrender to God’s loving will, acknowledged and revealed by her Assumption into heaven and lastly; from the foretold covenant of the Messianic Son and His glorious reign in the Kingdom of God from David’s seed to the Crowning of Mary as Queen of God’s Kingdom in Heaven as physically renowned on Earth.
Amen. Amen indeed!
[1] Nicene Creed; Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 198.
[2] Lk. 1:45.
[3] The Admirable Heart of Mary, Part V, Chapter 1.
[4] Apoc. 1:8.
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