The Mirror of the Blessed Virgin Mary : Chapter 14 : Blessed art thou among women (Pt 3)

The Annunciation, early 1460s; by

Willem Vrelant.The Getty Museum, L.A.

The following posts contain the text of a work by St Bonaventure (1221-1274) known as Speculum Beatæ Mariæ Virginis : The Mirror of the Blessed Virgin. 

It is referred to in the French work by Fr François Poiré called The Triple Crown of the Holy Mother of God (1630) which I translated on this blog starting on the 1st of May 2024.

I offer this annotated edition of St Bonaventure’s work as a small gift to our gentle Queen and Mother in gratitude for all her graces and favours, requesting her continued help and protection for the author and his family.

The Latin text and references are based upon Speculum Beatae Mariae Virginis (1904). The English text is based upon that attributed to Sr Mary Emmanuel O.S.B. (published by Herder in 1932). Amazon's various editions ackowledge that this text is in the Public Domain worldwide, attributing it to the text of a Dublin edition (author unknown) published in 1849.

Chapter 14 : Blessed art thou among women

Part 3

Mary is blessed because of her Child – not only by the Lord Himself being her blessing, but also by the Angel announcing her blessing. Gabriel says: 

“The Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women.” 

How “with thee”? St. Augustine explains[1]: 

“With thee in heart, with thee in the womb.” 

Therefore, blessed art thou together with Him, because thus is He with thee. With thee, not only as the Creator is with His creature, but also as the Child is with her who is to bring Him forth. Because of thy Child, thou art blessed before bringing Him forth; because of thy Child, thou art blessed in bringing Him forth; and because of thy Child, thou art blessed after bringing Him forth. Truly blessed art thou who hast brought forth thy Child in such a way that before His birth and after His birth thou hast remained a Virgin; and therefore thou hast deserved above all others to be called blessed. Thou hast brought forth neither a mere man nor an Angel, but the Lord of men and Angels. Therefore St. Bede well says[2]: 

“Truly blessed is she among women because she was unique among women in the way she combined the beauty of virginity with the honour of motherhood; and as was fitting for a Virgin Mother, she gave birth to God and the Son of God.”

Footnotes

[1] Serm. 194. append. (alias 18. de Sanct.) n. 1.

[2] Homil. in festo Annunt. B. M. V., int. homil. hiemal. de Sanctis.

Again, Mary is blessed because of her Child, not only by the Lord Himself being her blessing, not only by the Angel announcing her blessing, but by man prophesying her blessing. This is clearly shown in the way Elizabeth, when the infant in her womb leaped for joy, was filled with the Holy Ghost and cried out:

“Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.” 

Therefore, thou art blessed indeed because blessed is the fruit of thy womb, just as a field is blessed because the fruit it bears is blessed. Mary is that blessed field of which it is said[1]: 

“Behold the smell of my son is as the smell of a plentiful field, which the Lord hath blessed.”

Concerning this, St. Jerome writes as follows[2]: 

“Well is Mary called a plentiful field, because she is said to be full of grace and from her womb the Fruit of life came forth to all believers.” 

O field truly blessed above all fields because of thy fruit! O Mother truly blessed above all mothers because of thy Son! St. Augustine refers to this when he exclaims[3]: 

“O Woman blessed among women, who knew not man, yet fully encompassed a Man in her womb!” 

Behold we have seen, O most sweet Mary, that because of the blessed fruit of thy womb, thou art truly blessed with a blessing which is divine, Angelic and human. Alas, how far from this blessing of Mary are those who, because of the accursed fruit of their actions, have incurred a malediction which is divine, Angelic and human; for they will be cursed by God, cursed by Angels and cursed by men throughout all eternity.

Footnotes

[1] Gen. xxvii. 27.

[2] Epist. cit. n. 11.

[3] Sermo 119. append. (alias 9. de Temp.) n. 3.

+       +        +

The Virgin of Tenderness. >12th century.

SUB tuum præsidium confugimus, Sancta Dei Genitrix. Nostras deprecationes ne despicias in necessitatibus, sed a periculis cunctis libera nos semper, Virgo gloriosa et benedicta. Amen. 

 

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.

He that hearkeneth to me, shall not be confounded: and they that work by me, shall not sin. They that explain me shall have life everlasting. Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) xxiv. 30-31.30-31.

The Mirror of the Blessed Virgin Mary : Chapter 14 : Blessed art thou among women (Pt 2)

The Annunciation, early 1460s; by

Willem Vrelant.The Getty Museum, L.A.

The following posts contain the text of a work by St Bonaventure (1221-1274) known as Speculum Beatæ Mariæ Virginis : The Mirror of the Blessed Virgin. 

It is referred to in the French work by Fr François Poiré called The Triple Crown of the Holy Mother of God (1630) which I translated on this blog starting on the 1st of May 2024.

I offer this annotated edition of St Bonaventure’s work as a small gift to our gentle Queen and Mother in gratitude for all her graces and favours, requesting her continued help and protection for the author and his family.

The Latin text and references are based upon Speculum Beatae Mariae Virginis (1904). The English text is based upon that attributed to Sr Mary Emmanuel O.S.B. (published by Herder in 1932). Amazon's various editions ackowledge that this text is in the Public Domain worldwide, attributing it to the text of a Dublin edition (author unknown) published in 1849.

Chapter 14 : Blessed art thou among women

Part 2

Again, Mary is blessed not only because of the grace in gifts of her heart and of her lips, but also because of her manner of life. Of this blessedness can be understood the words in Jeremias[1]: 

“The Lord bless thee, the beauty of justice, the holy mountain.” 

The holy mountain is Mary, who is fitly called a mountain because of the excellence of her meritorious qualities and the loftiness of her life and manners. This is the mountain of which we read in Daniel[2]:

 “The stone was cut out of the mountain without hands.” 

This was when Christ was born of Mary without marital congress. The beauty of this mountain is the beauty of justice. So great was the beauty of the life and manners of Mary that it could justly be said of her, as in the Canticle[3]: 

“Thou art all fair, O my beloved.” 

She was fair indeed, fair in her life and fair in the discipline of her manners, so as to be all fair and beautiful in all things. How in all things? Hearken to the words of St. Jerome[4]: 

“Whatever was in Mary, was all purity and simplicity, all grace and truth, all mercy and justice, which hath looked down from Heaven[5].” 

Rightly did the Lord bless such beauty in Mary. Alas, how far from this blessing of Mary are they of whom it may be said, not what was said to Mary – “The Lord bless thee, the beauty of justice,” – but, “The Lord curse thee, the vileness of injustice!” Oh, what a malediction that will be for those who hear the words[6]: 

“Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire!” 

We can see, O most dear Mary, that thou art truly blessed because of thy fullness of grace; blessed, I am saying, because of the grace of thy conscience and of thy gifts; blessed, because of the grace of thy tongue and of thy lips; and blessed, because of the grace of thy life and thy manners.

Footnotes

[1] Jerem. xxxi. 23.

[2] Dan. ii. 45.

[3] Cant. iv. 7.

[4] Epist. saepe cit. n. 9.

[5] Psalm. lxxxiv. 12.

[6] Matt. xxv. 41.

Secondly, consider how truly Mary is blessed because of the majesty of her heavenly Child who is the blessed fruit of her womb. Rightly is that land blessed which produces so blessed a fruit, whence the Psalmist says[1]: “Lord, thou hast blessed thy land.” That land is Mary, of whom it is said in the same Psalm[2]: “Truth is sprung out of the earth.” The Truth is Christ, who said[3]: 

“I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life.” 

Blessed, therefore, is this earth, because of its blessed fruit; blessed is Mary, because of her blessed Son. Accordingly, St. Bernard says[4]: 

“Not because thou art blessed is the fruit of thy womb blessed; but because He hath prevented thee with blessings of sweetness[5], therefore art thou blessed.” 

Mary is blessed because of her Divine Child; blessed, I am saying, by the Lord, by the Angel, and by man. She is indeed blessed by the Lord on account of her Child who is Himself her blessing; blessed by the Angel, who announces her blessing; and blessed by man, who prophesies her blessing. 

Truly is Mary blessed by the Lord on account of her Child through the giving of Himself and His blessing. This is well signified in the second Book of Kings, where we read[6]: 

“And the ark of the Lord abode in the house of Obededom . . . and the Lord blessed Obededom.”

Obededom may be interpreted as meaning “Servant of blood.” Well doth he foreshadow Christ who, having become our servant, serves us miserable sinners even unto the shedding of His own blood. He became our servant, and shed His blood for us: the blood of His back when He was scourged, the blood of His head because of the crown of thorns, the blood from His side when opened by a spear, and the blood of His hands and feet pierced by the nails. The house of this servant is Mary, of whom it is said in the Psalm[7]: 

“We shall be filled with the good things of thy house.” 

The ark placed in that house also represents Christ, for Christ is our servant and our life. In the ark was a golden pot and manna[8]. The holy ark is the most sacred flesh of Christ; the golden pot is the most precious soul of Christ; and the manna truly signifies the divinity of Christ. Because of this ark, because of Jesus Christ the Son of Mary, the Lord blessed the house of Mary. O truly blessed house, from whence the life of all hath come forth! St. Augustine says[9]: 

“Blessed art thou among women, who hast brought forth life to men and women.”

Footnotes

[1] Psalm. lxxxiv. 2.

[2] Psalm. lxxxiv. 12.

[3] Ioan. xiv. 6.

[4] Homil. 3. super Missus est n. 5.

[5] Psalm. xx. 4.

[6] 2 Kings (2 Samuel)vi.11.

[7] Psalm. lxiv. v.

[8] Hebr. ix. 4.

[9] Serm. 120. append. (alias 21. de Temp.) n. 4.

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The Virgin of Tenderness. >12th century.

SUB tuum præsidium confugimus, Sancta Dei Genitrix. Nostras deprecationes ne despicias in necessitatibus, sed a periculis cunctis libera nos semper, Virgo gloriosa et benedicta. Amen. 

 

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.

He that hearkeneth to me, shall not be confounded: and they that work by me, shall not sin. They that explain me shall have life everlasting. Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) xxiv. 30-31.30-31.

The Mirror of the Blessed Virgin Mary : Chapter 14 : Blessed art thou among women (Pt 1)

The Annunciation, early 1460s; by

Willem Vrelant.The Getty Museum, L.A.

The following posts contain the text of a work by St Bonaventure (1221-1274) known as Speculum Beatæ Mariæ Virginis : The Mirror of the Blessed Virgin. 

It is referred to in the French work by Fr François Poiré called The Triple Crown of the Holy Mother of God (1630) which I translated on this blog starting on the 1st of May 2024.

I offer this annotated edition of St Bonaventure’s work as a small gift to our gentle Queen and Mother in gratitude for all her graces and favours, requesting her continued help and protection for the author and his family.

The Latin text and references are based upon Speculum Beatae Mariae Virginis (1904). The English text is based upon that attributed to Sr Mary Emmanuel O.S.B. (published by Herder in 1932). Amazon's various editions ackowledge that this text is in the Public Domain worldwide, attributing it to the text of a Dublin edition (author unknown) published in 1849.

Chapter 14 : Blessed art thou among women

Mary is blessed on account of her fullness of grace, the majesty of her Son, the abundance of her mercy and the greatness of her glory

Part 1

Blessed art thou among women. It has been shown in the previous chapters how Mary, because of the utter purity and innocence of her life, is saluted by the Ave; it has also been shown how she is rightly called “full of grace” because of the most copious outpouring of her grace; it has moreover been shown how, because of the most special presence of Our Lord with her, she is saluted with the words “The Lord is with thee.” Now we have to show how, because of the most pleasing reverence of her person, she is hailed as “Blessed among women.” 

Consider, therefore, how the Archangel Gabriel, by hailing the glorious Virgin Mary with a glorious salutation, consummated her blessedness most fittingly by saying, “Blessed art thou among women.” Commenting on these words, St Jerome says[1]: 

“Blessed art thou among women,”– that is, most blessed of all women. By this, whatever effect of malediction was passed on through Eve, it was taken away by the blessing of Mary.” 

Let Gabriel therefore say: “Blessed art thou among women.” Blessed, I say, because of the fullness of grace to be venerated in thee; blessed because of the majesty of the Person who is to be incarnated of thee; blessed because of the abundance of mercy to be bestowed by thee; and blessed because of the greatness of glory which is to be accumulated in thee.

Footnotes

[1] Epist. cit. n. 5.

Firstly, consider how Mary is truly blessed because of the fullness of grace to be venerated in her, as Gabriel shows most aptly when he says[1]: 

“Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women.” 

Blessed art thou, because thou art full of grace. Thou hast found grace with God[2], and therefore thou art blessed with the Lord. St. Bernard says most fittingly of this blessedness of Mary[3]: 

“Through thee we have access to thy Son, O blessed among women, who hast found grace, who art Mother of life and Mother of salvation.” 

Blessed art thou, O Mary, because of thy grace; blessed, I say, because of the grace in thy heart, in thy mouth and in thy works. Blessed in thy heart, because of the grace of gifts; blessed in thy mouth, because of the grace on thy lips; and blessed in thy works, because of the grace of thy moral ways. 

Truly is Mary blessed because of the grace of her heart, for the grace of the gifts of her heart; for her heart was most delightful, being like God’s paradise, so that the words in Ecclesiasticus[4] might be applied to this blessedness: “Grace is like a paradise in blessings.” Here the Interlinear commentary says[5]: “Bearing fruit in the different kinds of virtues.” Of these happy blessings of graces and virtues the Apostle says[6]: 

“Who hath blessed us with spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.” 

If, therefore, in the blessings of virtues grace makes the human mind  delightful like God’s paradise, how much more delightful must Mary’s mind and soul be, being like God’s paradise in the blessings of the Holy Spirit? Indeed, not only was the mind of Mary a Paradise of God but also her womb, containing within itself the tree of life[7], Jesus Christ. Whence St. Bernard says[8]: 

“Truly thou art the Paradise of God, for thou hast brought forth to the world the Tree of Life, of which he who eateth shall live forever.” 

Alas, how far from this blessedness of Mary is he whose mind is not a paradise of God in the blessings of grace, but a cess-pit of the devils in the curse of malice! Of such is it said in the Psalm[9]: 

“And he loved cursing, and it shall come unto him: and he would not have blessing, and it shall be far from him.”

Footnotes

[1] Luc. i. 28.

[2] Luc. i. 30.

[3] Serm. 2. de Adventu Dom. n. 5.

[4] Ecclus. xl. 17.

[5] Apud Lyranum in hunc locum. Apparently a reference by the editor of the Latin text to the Postillae by Nicholas of Lyra (1270-1349), commentaries bound alongside the earlier Glossa Ordinaria. 

[6] Eph. i. 3.

[7] Gen. ii. 9.

[8] Egbert., Serm. panegyr. ad B. M. V. n. 4.

[9] Psalm. cviii. 18.

Again, Mary is blessed, not only because of the grace of her heart’s gifts, but also because of the grace of her lips, according to those words of the Psalm[1]: 

“Grace is poured abroad in thy lips; therefore hath God blessed thee for ever.” 

Oh, how great a grace was on the lips of Mary in her prayers most devout and in her conversations most beneficial! Oh, how great a grace was always on Mary’s lips : for men, for angels and for the Lord! God Himself willingly hearkened to the words of her lips, as is attested by St Bernard who addresses her as follows[2]: 

“Him whom thou hast pleased by thy silence thou shalt henceforth please much more by thy words, since He Himself crieth to thee from Heaven: ‘O fairest among women . . . make me hear thy voice.[3]’”

Oh, how the utterances of Mary’s lips were most true, most pure, most discreet and most sincere! “Therefore hath God blessed her for ever[4].” Oh, how far from the blessedness of Mary are they whose lips are so unlike hers, for on their lips grace is not poured abroad, but rather they are confounded with malice; therefore, God hath not blessed but hath cursed and will curse them forever.

Footnotes

[1] Psalm. xliv. 3.

[2] Homil. 4. super Missus est n. 8.

[3] Cant. i. 7 & viii. 13.

[4] Psalm. xliv. 3.

+       +        +

The Virgin of Tenderness. >12th century.

SUB tuum præsidium confugimus, Sancta Dei Genitrix. Nostras deprecationes ne despicias in necessitatibus, sed a periculis cunctis libera nos semper, Virgo gloriosa et benedicta. Amen. 

 

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.

He that hearkeneth to me, shall not be confounded: and they that work by me, shall not sin. They that explain me shall have life everlasting. Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) xxiv. 30-31.30-31.