Virgin and Child
BARNABA DA MODENA
1361-1383
From the Apostolic Digest
CHAPTER ONE
DEVOTION TO OUR LADY
IS NECESSARY FOR SALVATION
In me is all hope of life and virtue, in me is all grace of the way and the truth.
Ecclesiasticus 24:25
O chosen Queen of Heaven! You alone are the refuge of guilty mortals to whom so many a tearful eye, so many a wounded and miserable heart is raised . . .
You, O elect Queen, are the gate of all grace, the door of compassion that has never yet been shut!
Bl. Henry Suso
Mary is the key to the gates of Heaven.
St. Ephrem
Open to us, O Mary, the gate of Paradise, since you have its keys!
St. Ambrose
God has entrusted the keys and treasures of Heaven to Mary.
St. Thomas Aquinas
No one can enter into Heaven except through Mary, as entering through a gate.
St. Bonaventure
This is the House of God and the Gate of Heaven.
Genesis 28:17
Mary is called "The Gate of Heaven" because no one can enter Heaven but through her means.
St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori
Holy Scripture was written for Mary, about Mary, and on account of Mary.
St. Bernard
Who is this Gate if not Mary? Mary is the Gate through which Christ entered this world!
St. Ambrose
We had closed Paradise; you, O Mary, opened the entryway to the tree of life again . . . You are the bridge to life, the staircase to Heaven!
St. John Damascene
She is the stairway to Heaven, and the gate of Paradise!
St. Lawrence Justinian
All the Saints have a great devotion to Our Lady: no grace comes from Heaven without passing through her hands. We cannot go into a house without speaking to the doorkeeper. Well, the Holy Virgin is the doorkeeper of Heaven.
St. John Mary Vianney
All gifts, virtues, and graces of the Holy Ghost are administered by the hands of Mary to whomsoever she desires, when she desires, and in the manner she desires, and to whatever degree she desires.
St. Bernardine of Siena
She opens the abyss of God's mercy to whomsoever she wills, when she wills, and as she wills, so that there is no sinner however great who is lost if Mary protects him . . . All men: past, present, and to come, should look upon Mary as the means and negotiator of the salvation of all ages.
St. Bernard
Through you, Most Holy Lady, all glory, honor, and holiness vouchsafed to the human race from Adam to the last ages has been granted, is being granted, will be granted to apostles, prophets, Martyrs, and all the just and humble of heart.
St. Ephrem
Mary is the dispensatrix of all the graces God bestows on man.
St. Bernardine of Siena
No man is delivered or preserved from the world-wide snares of Satan except through Mary; and God grants His graces to no one except through her alone.
St. Germanus of Constantinople
God has decided that we should receive everything from the Father, from the Son, and from the Holy Spirit, and from the Immaculata. This is the only path that each and every grace can follow.
St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe
Every grace granted to man in this life has three successive steps: from God it comes to Christ, from Christ to the Virgin, and from the Virgin it descends to us.
St. Bernardine of Siena
All graces that have ever been bestowed on men, all of them came through Mary.
St. Antoninus
Every grace and blessing possessed by the Church, all the treasures of light, holiness, and glory that abide in her, on earth as well as in Heaven, all are due to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary . . . Let us acknowledge, then, that her heart is the origin of everything noble, rich, and precious in all the holy souls who form the universal Church in Heaven and on earth. It is the source of salvation.
St. John Eudes
The Lord has placed in Mary the plenitude of all good, so that if any hope, or grace, or salvation is in us, we know that we derive it all from Mary.
St. Bernard
Every good, every help, every grace which men have received and will receive from God until the End of Time, came, and will come, to them by the intercession and through the hands of Mary . . . the whole Trinity gave thee a name, O Mary, which after that of thy most holy Son is above every name, so that at thy name every knee should genuflect in heaven, on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue should confess the grace, the glory, and the power of thy most holy name.
Bl. Raymond Jordano
The admirable name of Mary came forth from the treasury of the Divinity, and through it Redemption was effected.
St. Peter Damian
All the Elect obtain eternal salvation
through
the
means of Mary.
St. Ildephonsus
St. Ildephonsus
There is no reconciliation, O Mary, except that which thou didst conceive in thy virginity, no justification save that which thou didst nurture inviolately in thy womb, no salvation but that which thou didst immaculately bear. Therefore, O Lady, thou art the mother of justification and of the justified, thou art the begetter of reconciliation and of the reconciled, the Mother of salvation and of the saved. O blessed assurance, O refuge without fear! The Mother of God is our mother, too! The mother of Him in Whom alone we hope, Whom alone we fear, is our mother. We have for our mother the mother of Him Who alone can save us, Who alone will be our judge!
St. Anselm
For this reason, all creatures are obligated to render her respect and homage as to their Queen and Sovereign to whom they belong and upon whom they depend, and will depend, for all eternity.
St. John Eudes
Mary became for herself and
for all men the
cause and fountain of
salvation.
St. Francis de Sales
Eve became the cause of
death; Mary became
the cause of our salvation.
St.
Ephrem
Seeing Our Lord made
incarnate from thee, O
chaste Virgin, we confess thee to be in very deed the Mother of
God who didst become-----we do not hesitate to proclaim it-----the cause of the regeneration
of all things . . . Hail, Cause
of our
Union with God! Hail, Destroyer of the Curse! Hail, O thou who
didst call from their exile the children of this earth!
Greek Menaea, Octave of Christmas
Eve believed the serpent; Mary believed
Gabriel.
Thus, what had been laid waste in ruin by this female sex was by the same sex re-established in salvation.
Tertullian
Even as Eve, having become
disobedient, was
made the cause of death, both to herself and to the entire human
race, so also did Mary . . . by being obedient, become the cause of salvation, both to herself and to the whole
human race-----and therefore, as the human race was made
subject to
death by a virgin, so is it saved by a virgin.
St. Irenaeus of Lyons
God wills that Mary exact from His goodness
peace for
the earth,
glory for Heaven, life for the dead, and salvation for all who
are lost.
St. Peter Chyrsologus
Mary desired, sought, and
obtained the
salvation of everyone; nay, she even effected the salvation of
everyone!
St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori
Just as we are indebted to Jesus Christ for
His
death, so likewise are we indebted to
Mary for
the
salvation of the world.
St. Albert the Great
Who can worthily thank thee and
adequately
praise thee, O Blessed Virgin, who by thy Fiat hast saved a lost
world!
St.
Augustine
Mary has the greatest and clearest claims
to
our
homage and praise: she is the salvation of the world . . . Our
dependence upon the august Mary is complete and universal . . .
There is neither on earth nor in Heaven any justified soul,
anyone of the Elect, who does not owe Mary his justice and his
glory.
Ven. William Joseph Chaminade
All those who, to the end of time, shall
receive the
blessing of
our heavenly Father . . . shall receive their graces only as a
result of their perfect obedience to Mary.
St. Louis Marie de Montfort
Through thee, O Holy Virgin, Heaven was
populated,
Hell emptied,
and the ruins of the heavenly Jerusalem rebuilt!
St. Bernard
Answer, then, O Sacred Virgin! Why do you
delay
the
salvation
of the world, which depends upon your consent?
St. Augustine
O salvation of all who call upon thee, save
me!
St. Bonaventure
Pure and Immaculate Virgin, save me and
deliver
me
from eternal
damnation.
St. John Damascene
May we, who are unable to please Thee, O
Lord,
by our
own acts,
be saved by the intercession of the Mother of Thy Son.
Little
Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Immaculate Virgin, you have to save me!
St. Philip Neri
O Mother
of the salvation of everyone!
St. Agnes
Many have proved
invincibly, from the sentiments of the Fathers-----among
others: St. Augustine, St. Ephrem, St. Cyril of
Jerusalem, St. Germanus of Constantinople, St. John Damascene,
St. Anselm, St. Bernard, St. Bernardine, St. Thomas, and St.
Bonaventure-----that
devotion to Our Most Blessed Virgin is
necessary for salvation, and that it is an infallible mark of
reprobation to have no esteem or love for the Holy Virgin while,
on the other hand, it is an infallible mark of predestination to
be entirely and truly devoted to her. The figures and words of the Old
and New Testaments
prove this. The sentiments and examples of the Saints confirm it.
Reason and experience teach and demonstrate it. Even the Devil
and his crew, constrained by the force of truth, have often been
obliged to avow it in spite of themselves.
St. Louis Marie de Montfort
O Lady, since thou art the dispenser of all
graces,
and since the
grace of salvation can come only through thy hands, our salvation
depends on thee.
St. Bernardine of Siena
O Most Holy Vifgin, receive us under thy
protection
if thou
wouldst see us saved, for we have no hope of salvation but
through thy means.
O my sweet Mother Mary, I consign my soul
to
you;
have pity on me
and save me.
If our life were not under the protection
of
Mary, we
might
tremble for our perseverance and salvation . . . In her hands Jesus
has placed His almighty power in the order of salvation. He has
confided to her all the means of salvation. All the graces of
salvation, both natural and spiritual, will be given to us by
Mary. She is rich with the riches of God Himself.
St. Peter Julian Eymard
O Mary, we poor sinners know no other
refuge
but
thee, for thou
art our only hope, and on thee do we rely for our salvation.
St. Thomas of Villanova
Unless the prayers of Mary interposed, there could be no hope of mercy.St. Bridget of Sweden
Mary is the whole hope of our salvation.
St. Thomas Aquinas
The foundation of all our confidence is
found
in the
Blessed
Virgin Mary. God has committed to her the treasury of all good
things, in order that everyone may know that through her are
obtained every hope, every grace, and all salvation. For this is
His will: that we obtain everything through Mary.
Ven. Pope Pius IX
O, my Lady, next to thy Son Jesus Christ, thou hast always been the chief instrument of our salvation.St. Dominic
We are debtors to the Blessed Virgin, after Christ, for the redemption of the human race.
St. Peter Damian
Sinners receive pardon by the intercession of Mary alone.
St. John Chrysostom
Only at the intercession of Mary do sinners obtain forgiveness . . . They receive pardon only by the intercession of Mary.
St. Peter Chrysologus
There is no one in the world who, if he asks for it, does not partake of the Divine mercy through the tenderness of Mary.
St. Agnes
O Mary, come to my aid or I am lost!
St. Alphonsus Rodriguez
Our salvation rests in thy hands, O Mary!
St. Bernardine of Siena
You, O Lady, were filled with grace, so that you might be the way of our salvation and the means of ascent into the heavenly kingdom.
St. Athanasius
A gentle maiden, having lodged a God in her womb, asks as her price the salvation of those who are lost, and life for those who are dead.
St. Peter Chrysologus
All the world rejoices because it was redeemed through Mary.
Alcuin of York
Our Lady was the powerful means of our Redemption, and to her we owe our Redemption on many counts.
Ven. Mary of Agreda
A mediator, then, was needed with the Mediator Himself, nor could a more fitting one be found than Mary.
St. Bernard
Mary is this glorious intermediary; she is the mighty Mother of God.
Pope Leo XIII
We need a mediator with our Mediator.
Council of Rheims
She is the mediator between us and Christ, just as Christ is the mediator between us and God.
St. Bonaventure
You must intercede, O Lady, because God, Who placed His Son as Mediator between man and Heaven, has placed you as mediator between His Son and guilty man!
St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori
As the moon is placed between the sun and earth, so is Mary stationed between God and us, to pour out His graces continually upon us.
St. Bernard
Mary is our necessary and universal
Mediatrix .
. .
If no one knows
the Father but the Son and those to whom the Son has revealed
Him, likewise no one knows the Son but His Mother and the Church
to whom she has revealed Him ... How is it possible to find Jesus
without Mary, since Jesus Himself did not come to us except with
the consent of Mary? No one can go to the Son but by Mary, just
as no one can go to the Father but by the Son. Only through Mary
do we reach Jesus since Jesus came to us only through Mary; and
because of this great truth, we should desire nothing but to make
known to all nations this path, which is so sure to reach Heaven.
Ven. William Joseph Chaminade
Mankind was unworthy to receive the Word directly from God, so Mary was our Mediatrix in the Incarnation, and she continues to exercise that function. No one comes to the knowledge of Jesus Christ and embraces His holy law except through her; no one obtains the saving gift of faith except by her prayers. Her mission, to which she is ever faithful, is to give us Jesus. He must be received from her hands, and in vain do we seek Him elsewhere.
St. Peter Julian Eymard
Every grace which is communicated to this world has a threefold
origin: it flows from God to Christ, from Christ to the Virgin,
and from the Virgin to us . . . Nothing comes to us except through
the mediation of Mary, for such is the will of God. Thus, just as
no man goes to the Father but by the Son, so likewise no one goes
to Christ except through His Mother. Whosoever will not have
recourse to her is trying to fly without wings . . . O Virgin Most
Holy, no one abounds in the knowledge of God except through thee;
no one, O Mother of God, attains salvation except through thee!
Pope
Leo XIII
There is no one, O most holy Mary, who can
know
God except through thee; no one who can be saved or redeemed but
through thee, O Mother of God!
St. Germanus of Constantinople
To reach the Eternal Father, we must go to
Jesus, our
Mediator of
Redemption . . . To go to Jesus, we must go to Mary: she is our
Mediatrix of Intercession.
St. Louis Marie de Montfort
As you cannot come to God except by means
of
Jesus
Christ, you
likewise cannot come to Christ except by means of His Mother
. . . As we have access to the Father only by means of the Son,
so
do we have access to the Son only by means of the Mother.
St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori
Through thee do we have access to thy Son, O Blessed Discoverer of Grace, O Mother of Life, O Mother of Salvation!
St. Bernard
By the will of God nothing is conferred upon us except by means of Mary; and just as no one is able to approach the Most High Father except through His Son, so too no one approaches Christ but through Mary His Mother.
St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe
We cannot approach Jesus but through Mary;
we
can see
Jesus and
speak to Him only by means of her.
St. Louis Marie de Montfort
If anyone wishes to contact a President,
for
instance, or some
other high worldly dignitary, he does not go about it by himself;
he takes an intermediary with him. The same thing is true when we
approach God: let is always be with Mary and through Mary.
St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe
For, since it is the will of Divine
Providence
that
we should
have the God-Man through Mary, there is no other way for us to
receive Christ except from her hands.
Pope St. Pius X
Our sanctity depends on the degree of our
nearness to
Mary. She
is the nearest to God, and if we are the nearest to her then we
therefore will be nearest, through her, to God Himself.
St.
Maximilian Mary Kolbe
Behold, there came wise men from the East .
. .
and
entering into the house, they found the Child with Mary His
Mother.
St. Matthew 2:1, 11
No one ever finds Christ but with and
through
Mary.
Whoever seeks
Christ apart from Mary seeks Him in vain.
St. Bonaventure
He who wishes to find Jesus will do so only
by
having
recourse to
Mary.
St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori
What, therefore, God hath joined together,
let
no man
put asunder
. . . Take the Child and His Mother.
St. Matthew 19:4; 2:20
The Incarnation is so indissoluble that
what it
has
once joined
together has never been, nor ever can be, separated.
St. Denis the Areopagite
He who desires to find Jesus will not find
Him
otherwise than
through Mary.
St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori
The Child is not found without Mary, His
Mother
. . .
If, then, it
is impossible to separate what God has united, it is also certain
that you cannot find Jesus except with Mary and through Mary.
Pope St. Pius X
Where Mary is, there is the Son!
St. Paul of the Cross
You must never separate what God has so
perfectly
united. So
closely bound up with each other are Jesus and Mary that whoever
beholds Jesus sees Mary; whoever loves Jesus loves Mary; whoever
has devotion to Jesus has devotion to Mary . . . Thus, you may never
separate the Son from the Mother, nor the Mother from the Son;
and you may behold nothing but Jesus in Mary and Mary in Jesus
. . . Whoever sees Jesus sees Mary, and he who sees Mary beholds
Jesus! I cannot look upon Thee, O my Lord Jesus, without
beholding her who sits at Thy right hand!
St. John Eudes
St. Robert Bellarmine
Nothing is more inseparable in the pious remembrance of Christians, nothing more inseparable in their confidence, their invocation, their love, than Jesus and Mary.
St. Ignatius of Loyola
It would be easier to separate the light from the sun than Mary from Jesus: so we might call Our Lord "Jesus of Mary," and Our Blessed Lady "Mary of Jesus."
St. Louis Marie de Montfort
The same Person Who is the only-begotten of the Father is also the only-begotten of Mary, and he who separates them is himself separated from the kingdom of God.
St. Ephrem
We must never separate Jesus from Mary: we can go to Him only through her . . . Without Mary, we shall never find Jesus. Whoever would say "I have no need of Mary" would be guilty of blasphemy! Our eternal salvation is at stake, and we are bound to honor her as the Mother of God and our Mother.
St. Peter Julian Eymard
The spirit of Mary is the same as that of her Divine Son; whoever belongs to her cannot therefore be far from Him.
St. Joseph Cafasso
Hail Mary, Mother of God, through whom every creature imprisoned by the bonds of idolatrous error comes to the knowledge of truth! Through whom every faithful soul is saved!
St. Cyril of Alexandria
Through thee, a Lady, Heaven is opened, Hell emptied . . . and life granted to those who expected only eternal death . . .
If we have some chance of salvation, we have it all from Mary. Go, then, have recourse to Mary, and you will be saved.
St. Bernard
What, then, is the conclusion we must draw from the teaching and practice of the Church? It is this: our salvation must be wrought through Mary.
Ven. William Joseph Chaminade
The way of salvation is open to no one except through Mary.
St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori
Alas, O Lord! I am so wretched that without this dear Mother I would certainly be lost. Yes, Mary is necessary for me . . . that she may save me from the eternal punishment of Thy justice . . . Would that everyone might know that I should be already damned were it not for Mary!
St. Louis Marie de Montfort
The Divine Mother is the only hope of those who are in despair; she is our safeguard from Hell.
Through the intercession of Mary many souls are in Paradise who would not be there had she not interceded for them, for God has entrusted her with the keys and treasures of the heavenly kingdom.
St. Thomas Aquinas
Because God wishes to saved everyone, He has given us this great protectress in His mercy. There is no sinner, however abandoned by God, for whom if he invoke her aid she will not obtain the grace to return to God and find mercy.
St. Bridget of Sweden
To thee, O my Queen, nothing is impossible, since thou canst succor and save even those who have despaired of salvation.
St. Peter Damian
Thou, O Mary, art omnipotent in saving sinners!
St. Germanus of Constantinople
The help of Mary is all-powerful in saving us from sin and from Hell.
St. Cosmas of Jerusalem
Mary, by being the Mother of God, was the means of saving sinners; so sinners, by proclaiming her praises, will obtain salvation.
St. Anselm
The name of Mary is the name of salvation . . . Hence, let us always pray to this Divine Mother if we desire to ensure our salvation.
St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori
Sweet heart of Mary, be my salvation!
Bl. Pope Pius IX
The heart of Mary is the source of
universal
salvation: all
salvation springs from Mary's heart . . . The salvation of man
having taken place in the heart of Mary, all Christians must consider her, after God, as the source of their
life, and as the cause and center of their happiness . . . They
must always be turned towards her heart, gaze upon it
unceasingly, and make it the object of their aspirations and
desires. Outside the heart of Mary, there is only trouble, fear,
anxiety, death, and Hell.
St. John Eudes
O man, whoever you are, understand that in
this
world
you are
tossed about on a stormy and tempestuous sea . . . Remember that if
you want to avoid being drowned . . . you must call on Mary . . . O
Lady! O Ark in which those who take refuge will never suffer the
shipwreck of eternal perdition!
St. Bernard
We pray thee, O Lady, Star of the Sea,
shine
upon us
in our
distress on the sea of life, and lead us to safe harbor and to
the ineffable joys of eternity.
St. Anthony of Padua
Mary is called the Star of the Sea,
because, as
sailors are
guided to their port by the polar star which is the star of the
sea, so also are Christians guided in their voyage to eternal
glory by her.
St. Thomas Aquinas
Mary is our salvation, our life, our hope,
our
counsel, our
refuge, our help.
Ven. Bernardine de Bustis
Thou art the Lady of all men, and thou art
the
universal
salvation of Christians.
St. Ephrem
Hail, O certain salvation of Christians! Hail, fortress of the faithful and salvation of the world!St. Ephrem
O Agent of Paradise!
St. Andrew Avellino
O Ark of Glory! O
Chamber of Salvation!
St. Vincent Ferrer
Except for God Himself,
Mary is higher than everyone.
St. Andrew of Crete
Nothing, O Lady, is equal to thee; for
whatever
exists must be
either above or below thee. God alone is above thee, and everything else is below thee!
St. Anselm
The salvation of everyone is left to the
care
of this
Blessed
Virgin
St. Peter Damian
My Lady, he whom you desire to be saved
will be
saved
. . . God will
not save us without the intercession of Mary.
St. Bonaventure
It is enough, O Lady, that you will it, and
our
salvation is
secure.
St. Anselm
Hasten, Most Blessed Lady: do not delay the
salvation
of the
world, which depends upon thy consent!
St. Bernard
Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee!
St.
Luke 1:28
If God is on our side, who can ever be
against
us?
Romans 8:31
If Mary be for us, who shall be against us?
St. Antoninus
Happy is the Christian who has the Most
Blessed
Virgin for him;
and miserable is that Christian who does not have the Blessed
Virgin on his side!
St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori
Mary is the center of the universe, the Ark
of
God,
the cause of
creation, the business of the ages. Towards her turn the
inhabitants of Heaven and the dwellers in the place of expiation,
the men who have gone before us, and we who are now living, those
who are to follow us, our children's children, and their
descendants. Those in Heaven look to her to have their ranks
filled up; those in Purgatory look for their deliverance; the men
of the first ages look to her that they may be found faithful
prophets; those who come after, that they may obtain eternal
happiness. O Mother of God, Queen of Heaven, Sovereign of the
world, all generations call thee blessed, for thou hast brought
forth life and glory for all. In thee the Angels always find
their joy, the just find grace, sinners pardon; in thee, and by
thee, and from thee, the merciful hand of the Almighty has
reformed the first creation.
St. Bernard
All praise to you, holy Mother of God! . .
.
Through
you the heavens exult, the Angels and
Archangels
rejoice,
the demons flee, and man himself is once more admitted to Heaven.
Through you, souls bound by the chains of idolatry have been
brought to know the truth and led to Holy Baptism . . . By your help
nations have come to repentance. Through you, the prophets have
spoken and the Apostles have preached salvation to all nations.
Mary, Virgin and Mother, who can worthily proclaim the praises of
your power?
St. Cyril of Alexandria
Let
us
honor the Divine palace of the King, in
which it was His will to dwell: the Virgin and Incomparable
Mother of God. Let us sing praises to her through whom we are
deified. The most blessed choir of the prophets of old, Divinely
inspired by the Spirit, called thee, O Most Chaste One, the
Gate and Mountain Overshadowed in their sacred prophecies.
Enlighten, O Virgin, the eyes of my heart, and pour over me the
bright ray of compunction; deliver me from eternal darkness, O
thou Gate of Light and Refuge of all Christians who faithfully
praise thee. I praise thee, the creature alone worthy of all
praise; I glorify thee, O thou who hast been forever glorified by
God; and I bless thee, O Virgin, most happy in a Divine
blessedness, who art called Blessed by all generations. The
refulgent splendor of thy delivery of the Savior has shone forth
and shed a most joyful light over the whole earth, and has
destroyed the prince of darkness, O Most Chaste Mother of God,
thou joy of the Angels and protectress of all who honor thee with
unceasing praises!
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