Virgo Potens

2 of 2 Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary ~ August 22nd We find also in this period numerous references to the Heart of Mary in connection with the sufferings of the Blessed Mother, especially on Calvary. The Heart of the Blessed Virgin is depicted as the mirror of the Passion of Christ, suffering with Him. In his sermons on the Assumption, St. Thomas of Villanova frequently makes references to the virginal Heart of Mary as united with her suffering Son. It is with St. Bernard, however, that we see the first direct association of the Immaculate Heart with the virtue of charity, and it is in his writings also, that according to some, we find the first real evidence of a particular devotion to the Immaculate Heart itself. St. Bernard writes in connection with the charity of the Heart of Mary, that an arrow of love pierced her Heart, that with all her powers of heart and soul she might love God and man and become the mother of charity. And again: as Christ died in body, so she died in heart, thereby alone among all creatures possessing a charity approaching that of her divine Son. We find expressed an ardent love and a special devotion to Mary's Immaculate Heart in the following words of a sermon sometimes attributed to the great saint: "Open, oh Mother of Mercy, the portals of thy most generous Heart to the longing prayers of the sons of Adam. . . . It is no wonder, Oh Lady, that the abundant mercy of thy Heart is a place of solace, since the ineffable work of mercy which God predestined for our redemption was first formed by the architect of the world in you.". Contemporaneous with St. Bernard, Hugh of St. Victor also writes explaining the love of the Blessed Virgin and its role in the Incarnation. —— Footnotes omitted. ~ Fr. John F. Murphy, Mary’s Immaculate Heart. (1951)

1 of 2 Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary ~ August 22nd St. Bernard himself, Richard of St. Lawrence, and St. Bonaventure associate the consent of the virginal Heart of Mary with the virtue of faith. From the faith which adorned her Heart there proceeded the Fiat of consent. (continued)

2 of 2 Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary ~ August 21st Especially in these centuries preceding St. John Eudes we find an abundance of material connecting the Heart of Mary with her consent at the Annunciation. Just prior to St. Bernard this early tradition of St. Augustine is carried on by St. Bruno de Segni and Pope Innocent III, who speak of the Word Incarnate as being received in the Heart of the Blessed Mother. Contemporaneous with St. Bernard, Guerric, abbot of Igny, very beautifully reiterates this identical notion, and in the ensuing four centuries we have many further elaborations on the Heart of the Virgin at the Annunciation. The great St. Albert, who wrote extensively on the consent of the Blessed Mother, also mentions her most holy Heart in connection with the Word Incarnate. In a similar manner, St. Thomas in his Catena Aurea remarks that from the time of the Incarnation Mary conceived and fostered in her Heart the meaning of her association with her divine Son. —— Footnotes omitted ~ Fr. John F. Murphy, Mary’s Immaculate Heart. (1951)

1 of 2 Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary ~ August 21st It will perhaps be clearest, and not out of keeping with our chronological procedure, to consider then the testimonies from these centuries grouped under the above headings: the Immaculate Heart in relation to the consent at the Annunciation, and the Immaculate Heart in Mary's sufferings, especially on Calvary. The outgrowth of this first relationship is the association of the Heart of Mary with the virtue of faith; and the outgrowth of the second consideration is the association of the charity and sanctity of Mary's Heart with her love for God and man. (continued)

2 of 2 Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary ~ August 20th Not at all in the literary testimony of the saints and ecclesiastical writers of the middle centuries do we find any express treatise on the Heart of Mary, but we do find authors carrying on the earlier tradition of associating the Heart of the Blessed Mother with her consent at the time of the Annunciation, and also the tradition of associating the Heart of Mary with her sufferings and compassion with Christ, the roots of which tradition lie, as we have seen, in the prophecy of Simeon. But along with these associations we find in St. Bernard and after him a further development and elaboration, namely, the associating of the Heart of Mary with the virtues, first of faith, then of charity. It is at this time that we see the first and early formation of the concepts which have resulted in the true and precise understanding of the object of the veneration of the Immaculate Heart. —— Footnotes omitted ~ Fr. John F. Murphy, Mary’s Immaculate Heart. (1951)

1 of 2 Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary ~ August 20th THE HEART OF MARY IN SUBSEQUENT PRE-PUBLIC CULT As we advance in our observations down through the centuries we see that ascetical writers and theologians come more and more to associate the perfections of the Blessed Mother with her Immaculate Heart. The various references and allusions come to a quick crescendo in the writings of St. Bernard, and with his advent there is noticeable a widespread awareness of the particular importance of the Heart of the Blessed Mother, as well as the more definite beginnings of a devotion to the Immaculate Heart itself. In the years following St. Bernard we see the inception of the theological determination of the place of the Immaculate Heart in the schema of hyperdulia. (continued)

2 of 2 Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary ~ August 19th There is reference to her heart in connection with her joys and sorrows, and in a work often attributed to St. Anselm but quite certainly written by his disciple Eadmer, there is one instance where the author seems to associate the Immaculate Heart with Mary's role as Coredemptrix. For the most part, however, in these centuries we have but little reference to the Heart of the Mother of God. Certainly we have still no traces of a special devotion to her Heart, but we do have carried on in tradition the seeds of the devotion which were present in the Scriptures, and which soon through the instrumentality of St. Bernard, and later through St. Bernardine of Siena, and then especially through St. John Eudes, grew into the marvelous devotion of the Immaculate Heart. ~ Fr. John F. Murphy, Mary’s Immaculate Heart. (1951)

1 of 2 Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary ~ August 19th EARLY ECCLESIASTICAL WRITERS In the centuries following the Patristic era up to the time of the great St. Bernard in whose writings, according to some, we see the first traces of a devotion directed especially toward the Heart of Mary, we find but few allusions to the Heart of the Blessed Mother. St. Ildephonse mentions the Heart of Mary in a sermon on the Assumption. But it seems it is not until just prior to St. Bernard that we have writings which again mention the Heart of Mary in any way repeatedly. (continued)

2 of 2 Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary ~ August 18th We shall see shortly how this tradition of associating the Heart of the Blessed Mother with the evidences of her suffering and her love for God and man on Calvary is carried on in the writings of the saints and theologians of succeeding centuries. Apart from these instances of the Annunciation and Calvary the Fathers occasionally make allusions to the Heart of Mary in various figurative ways, and in connection with one or the other of her prerogatives. Nowhere, however, do the Fathers give us any elaborate or detailed insight into what we regard today as the theology of the Immaculate Heart. Nor do they explicitly indicate any particular devotion directed toward the Heart of the Blessed Mother. It is evident, nonetheless, in the above excerpts from their writings that even in the earliest centuries of doctrinal development Patristic literature has laid the foundation for what centuries later, especially through the zeal and instrumentality of St. John Eudes, has become the great devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. —— Footnotes omitted. ~ Fr. John F. Murphy, Mary’s Immaculate Heart. (1951)

1 of 2 Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary ~ August 18th In connection with the Blessed Mother at the foot of the cross, the Fathers again make mention of her Immaculate Heart. In their comments on Simeon's prophecy of the sword of sorrow (Luke 2:35) we have already seen some of these references. In considering the Blessed Mother as actually beneath the cross on Calvary, it is her Heart which the Fathers have singled out as the most significant and symbolical indication, firstly, of Mary's sorrow and, ultimately and basically, of her interior sanctity and love. (continued)

2 of 2 Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary ~ August 17th This figurative usage of the word "heart" employed by St. Augustine and the liturgy emphasizes, among other things, the psychological preparation of Mary for the conception of the Word Incarnate. The fact that the Incarnation was brought about in a marvelously miraculous manner ought not to obscure the role of Divine Providence in fittingly preparing Mary for the conception of Christ. Hence it is not unusual that the word "heart" should be employed by the Fathers in a non-literal sense to refer to this psychological preparation, and it occurs therefore in texts referring to the Annunciation. —— Footnotes omitted. ~ Fr. John F. Murphy, Mary’s Immaculate Heart. (1951)

of 2 Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary ~ August 17th The conception of Christ in the Heart of Mary is of course used figuratively, not literally (proprie) ; but figuratively with a foundation in the sense that, prior to receiving the Incarnate Word in her womb, Mary had first to conceive Him in faith and spirit, which mental and spiritual orientation is symbolized by her Heart. It is with this understanding that the liturgy on the Feast of the Circumcision of our Lord uses the phrase Confirmatum est cor Virginis, in quo dimna mysteria, angelo nuntiante, concepit? (continued)

2 of 2 Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary ~ August 16th We cannot expect to find in Patristic times the use of the word in the full and exact sense or understanding with which it is employed today; yet many of the texts have a direct bearing on the present-day devotion in that they have greatly influenced the saints and theologians of later centuries through whom the clarification and promulgation of the devotion to the Immaculate Heart has been effected. A goodly number of the Fathers make some mention of the Heart of Mary; most of them mention it in connection with the references to her Heart in Sacred Scripture, some of which texts we have already seen. A few Fathers refer to it in relation to her person or her prerogatives. The majority of the Patristic texts can perhaps best be divided, for the main part, into those referring to Mary at the time of the Annunciation, and to Mary standing at the foot of the cross. In connection with the Annunciation and Incarnation of our Lord, St. Augustine speaks of the Heart of Mary as playing a definite role in the conception of the Word Incarnate. He regards the Blessed Mother as having formed and carried Christ in her heart prior to her conceiving Him in her womb. It is these very words of St. Augustine which St. Thomas later uses to show the congruity of the Annunciation to Mary prior to her consent and the Incarnation. —— Footnotes omitted. ~ Fr. John F. Murphy, Mary’s Immaculate Heart. (1951)

1 of 2 Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary ~ August 16th There are innumerable references to the mind and interior life of the Blessed Virgin, and to her sanctity; and though often many of these texts have a direct relationship to the object of the devotion to the Immaculate Heart, at present we will concern ourselves with only the passages wherein the Fathers actually use the word cor. (continued)

2 of 2 Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary ~ August 15th The seeds of the devotion are certainly contained therein, but to see the germination of what the Scriptures have implanted we must now examine the writings of the Fathers, who with their knowledge and understanding of the Scriptures begin to give us a clarification of what is implicitly contained in the recordings of the Evangelists concerning the Heart of the Blessed Mother. With their clarifications and insights into the texts, they lay an even further foundation for the development of the devotion to the Immaculate Heart. In the writings of most of the Fathers we find innumerable allusions to the Blessed Virgin; many passages in fact relate especially to her; and yet none of the Fathers treat of the Blessed Virgin ex professo. Had mot the Fathers of the first four centuries been so occupied with the defense of the doctrine of the Holy Trinity and the clarification of Christological concepts, we might have received more from them on the various prerogatives of the Blessed Mother. They have, nonetheless, left us sufficient texts for a clarification of her exalted position among men and her close relationship with God. We find in their writings many texts which present a further foundation for those doctrines which logically and naturally led to the special devotion to the Immaculate Heart, and a few texts which pertain to the Immaculate Heart itself. —— Footnotes omitted. ~ Fr. John F. Murphy, Mary’s Immaculate Heart. (1951)

Le coeur de Marie nous aime comme elle aima Jésus. Aimons-la comme Jésus l’aimait. The Heart of Mary loves us as she loved Jesus. Let us love her as Jesus loved her. 1 of 2 Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary ~ August 15th THE HEART OF MARY IN TRADITION THE FATHERS We have seen how references to the Heart of Mary in Sacred Scripture could well serve as a foundation for a consequent development of a devotion to the Immaculate Heart. It is to be noted, however, in connection with the Immaculate Heart, that as in the case of the doctrine of the Assumption with which the Feast of the Immaculate Heart is connected not only liturgically, being celebrated on the Octave Day of that Solemnity, but also dogmatically, as we shall later explain, we do not look to Sacred Writ for explicit texts depicting the full dogmatic content of this devotion. (continued)

Novena for the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary August 6th - 14th Prayer Lord Jesus Christ, Thou hast destroyed the power of death and given the hope of eternal life for body and soul. Thou hast granted Thy Mother a special place in Thy glory, and didst not allow decay to touch her body. As we rejoice in the Assumption of Mary, grant us renewed confidence in the victory of life over death. Amen. DAY 9 - August 14th O Blessed Mother Assumed into Heaven, after years of heroic martyrdom on earth, we rejoice that you have at last been taken to the throne prepared for you in Heaven by the Holy Trinity. Lift our hearts with you in the glory of your Assumption above the dreadful touch of sin and impurity. Teach us how small earth becomes when viewed from heaven. Make us realize that death is the triumphant gate through which we shall pass to your Son and that someday our bodies shall rejoin our souls in the unending bliss of heaven. From this earth, which we tread as pilgrims, we look to you for help. In honor of your Assumption into Heaven, we ask for this favor (Here mention your request). At the hour of our death, lead us safely to the presence of Jesus to enjoy the vision of God for all eternity together with you. Pray for us, O Queen assumed into heaven. Pray for us, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Amen.

2 of 2 Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary ~ August 14th The exact nature of this sword of sorrow in the commentaries of the Fathers is a much mooted question, but seems universally accepted today as Mary's sorrow in the realization of the division among men concerning her divine Son, and for her this sword is greatest when it pierces her Heart beneath the cross. Here she sought not whatever encouragements and consolations she might have received, but by her deep suffering and compassion she shared more fully in the Passion of her Son. Paradoxically, it was here beneath the Cross that Mary's love for all mankind was, through the will of Christ, augmented in her maternal Heart. She saw beyond the immediate surroundings of Calvary and willingly made the sacrifice of her divine Son that all souls of all ages might through the love of her maternal Heart be born to a new life in God. Thus we see how the references in Sacred Scripture to Mary's Heart along with the words of Simeon will serve as a basis and foundation for the development of the devotion to Mary's Immaculate Heart. It remains now for us to investigate, in the writings of the Fathers and in the literature left by other early saints and ecclesiastics, the use of the term "Heart of Mary" and the associations connected therewith. —— Footnotes omitted. ~ Fr. John F. Murphy, Mary’s Immaculate Heart. (1951)

1 of 2 Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary ~ August 14th It is in St. Luke's Gospel again that we find recorded another text which centers our attention on Mary's Heart namely, the text containing the words of the aged Simeon to our Blessed Mother: And thy own soul a sword shall pierce, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed (Luke 2:35). It is certainly from this text that one of the most popular representations of the Heart of Mary has been adapted; that of the heart pierced by a sword. Even in Patristic times the sword is understood as piercing the Heart of Mary. (continued)