The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1954-02-26
Just Among Ourselves

every recent papal pr0nouncement has been the oc
casion for Anglican asperities is a sure sign that
the Church is making real progress in Great Brit
ain. 1t is also sign thai the Establishment, in its
politlcoregiouS spokesman is petulantly
of the poverty Of IFS own resources.
The ready irritation of certain Anglican clergy
men at the mere mention of things Catholic (Which
they insist quite fooishy, upon referring to as
Roman Catholic can quickly turn TO plain blind
folly Thus the Holy Fathers prayer TO Our Blessed
Mother leads the British critics TO sound Off in wild
statements which in flat contradiction with the
very words Of the printed prayer
They say that now Catholics have given to Mary
the place of God the Holy Ghost we'll as that OF
God the Son. Apart from the mere Stiffness of the
statement its folly appears in the fact that the
prayer praises Our Lady for 'the peerless richness
of sublime gifts with which God has filled her,
above every other mere creature !" If the beau
tiful SALVATION Of Mary addresses her mere
creature" is is surely blind nonsense TO claim that
the prayer puts her in the place Of God.
Catholics honor Mary-as all men should honor
her-because God has honored her above every
one else He Who is Marys Child is also Marys
Creator God chose and lowered Mary TO be the
Mother of God Incarnate surely the highest ano
hottest mission ever bestowed creature. AND
the Perfect Son gave TO his Mother every pertec-
Annunciaion hailed her as full OF grace
The Blessed Mother was filled with grace from
the first instant OF her existence. She was conceN-
ed in the bosom Of her mother ST Anne. without
nclrrnq the stain and guilt OF original sin which
is the dire heritage of the human race. From the
first instant OF her existence from the very moment
Of her conception she preserved free from orig
inal sin: that is her Immaculate conception, the
snocial privilege and gift bestowed on the Mother
oil God by her Divine Son
Cold reason. quite apart from the revealed
truth-and il is revealed truth, and part OF the
faith itsef-shows us that Mary must have been
conceived immaculate. For she was the woman set
to conquer Satan TO "crush the head OF the ser
pent." AT no time therefore could she have beeh
suhiecied 10 Satan She was to be the human
source OF the Sacred Humanity of Our loro; his
human nature could surely not have been drawn
from source that was ever, IN the least way
tainted by sin.
Gods GRACE and Providence so filled Our Lady
with "the peerless richness of sublime glftS lhat
she was not only preserved from incurring original
sin. she was also preserved from the committing oil
even the slightest actual sin throughout her IRE
She was ALWAYS full OF grace and IN her there
was no fault or stain. Mary Is the masterpiece Oh
Gods hands she is indeed the Queen OF the Uni
verse
Yet we must not forget that the Blessed Mother
had free.will She was not held by some sort oi
automatic or mechanical force from all evil NO
her own free-will conformed itself perfectly 10 lhe
will OF God That she never committed even the
least vena sin is indeed the fruit IN her OF grace ana
Of special Providence but il is also the fruit OF ner
completely obedient will which sought only to align
itself perfectly with the divine will
When the angel came to tell Our Blessed Lady
that she was to he the Mother of the Redeemer,
he made no mere statement. He delivered his mess
age from God and waited for Marys answer. lie
waited for her word of acceptance or refusal. For
Marys will was not forced; she was free to accept
or refuse She used the grace of her vocation, ana
answered the angel in those words which make her
the Queen of all Gods creatures and the greatest
creatural benefactor of mankind. Behold, She
said 1.-THE handmade of the Lord BE 1t done 10 me
according 10 thy word" AT that instant at that word
Of consent to Gods great plan for our saving, God
was made lncarnate in her sacred BOSOM and she
was, in literal fact the Mother of God
Mary is the Mother of God. For Christ is her
true Child and Christ is God. She IS His Mother,
and He has no human father For Mary, and Mary
alone of all creatures has the two shining elorieS
of womankind. holy motherhood and also perfect
virginity Thus is she blessed among women for
TO other woman was impaired the ooundless
honor of bearing the Incsrnate Redeemer and on
without the sacrifice of virginity.
And when in due course OF time the Birthday
Of Our Lord came round Mary brought forth her
Son without the inconvenience the pain, the phys
cal rupture OF the body which accompany ordinary
births She had no need of the kindly mlnistra-
tions of neiehoor women. She required no medical
care Our Lord came forth from her sacred and
virginal body as He later to come from the
tomb. for when He rose and left the Sepucher
the great stone still closed its entrance, and the
seal of Caesar was unbroken. II for the Apostles
and the holy women coming on Easter morning 10
the grave, that the stone was rolled away There
was no need or occasion for its removal for the
Risen Lord who. in Ills glorified flesh was TO come
among His followers through doors locked and
barred against entrance.
Catholics honor sod in all His works They
honor Him in His saints. And BY most special
honor they honor Him IN His Mother Honor paid
to Mary is not honor withheld from God On the
contrary. We initiate God when We honor Mary, and
never can we bring her such honor He brings
her The We honor the Blessed Mother. the
we honor her Son, and the more like 10 Him
do We become.
If the Anglican critics would take the trouble
10 find out what Catholic devotion TO Mary really