MARY IN GOD'S MIND
2. The Idea of Mary in Creation.
When a sculptor wants through his masterpiece to give the expression to his mental conceptions, first he tries in clay, and then only does he proceed with the actual carving of the statue. Now the whole of creation is just a practice or rehearsal that God has done till He came to shape Mary as the masterpiece of His hand. she is like the sum total of the whole of creation.
The graces and beauty that have been distributed amongst other beings are accumulated in Mary.
Thus when God shaped His Mother, He seems to have derived the inspiration from all His previous creatures so as to make Her far superior to all. He took inspiration from the Seraphim in order to make Her burn with love, from the angels for Her purity, from the Patriarchs like Abraham for Her fortitude in faith, from Ruth for Her modesty, from Judith for Her courage. But when it was a question of shaping Her heart as Mother, He could draw inspiration from nothing. There is nothing that could compare with the heart of Our Lady. It was then necessary that God should look at His own heart in order to give Her a heart similar to His. She would love God and men just as God loves Himself and us.
The Church applies to Her those words of the Book of Proverbs which was originally intended for the Divine Wisdom:
The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old.
I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.
When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water.
Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth:
While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the beginning of the dust of the world.
When he established the heavens, I was there: when he set a circle upon the face of the deep: When he made firm the sides above: when the fountains of the deep became strong:
When he gave to the sea its bound, that the waters should not transgress his commandment: when he marked out the foundations of the earth:
Then I was by him, as a master workman: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him. [Prov. 8:22-30]
That is why looking around everywhere in creation you should see Mary. The blue of the sky should remind you of Her mantle. The stars, Her crown; the sun, Her shining without shadows or spot; the moon, Her placid beauty; the sea, the immensity of Her grace; the flowers, Her incomparable beauty. And so on. You can, as a true lover, see everywhere the image of Mary for She is the image of God.
[Excerpted from 'Marian Meditations']
When a sculptor wants through his masterpiece to give the expression to his mental conceptions, first he tries in clay, and then only does he proceed with the actual carving of the statue. Now the whole of creation is just a practice or rehearsal that God has done till He came to shape Mary as the masterpiece of His hand. she is like the sum total of the whole of creation.
The graces and beauty that have been distributed amongst other beings are accumulated in Mary.
Thus when God shaped His Mother, He seems to have derived the inspiration from all His previous creatures so as to make Her far superior to all. He took inspiration from the Seraphim in order to make Her burn with love, from the angels for Her purity, from the Patriarchs like Abraham for Her fortitude in faith, from Ruth for Her modesty, from Judith for Her courage. But when it was a question of shaping Her heart as Mother, He could draw inspiration from nothing. There is nothing that could compare with the heart of Our Lady. It was then necessary that God should look at His own heart in order to give Her a heart similar to His. She would love God and men just as God loves Himself and us.
The Church applies to Her those words of the Book of Proverbs which was originally intended for the Divine Wisdom:
The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old.
I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.
When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water.
Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth:
While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the beginning of the dust of the world.
When he established the heavens, I was there: when he set a circle upon the face of the deep: When he made firm the sides above: when the fountains of the deep became strong:
When he gave to the sea its bound, that the waters should not transgress his commandment: when he marked out the foundations of the earth:
Then I was by him, as a master workman: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him. [Prov. 8:22-30]
That is why looking around everywhere in creation you should see Mary. The blue of the sky should remind you of Her mantle. The stars, Her crown; the sun, Her shining without shadows or spot; the moon, Her placid beauty; the sea, the immensity of Her grace; the flowers, Her incomparable beauty. And so on. You can, as a true lover, see everywhere the image of Mary for She is the image of God.
[Excerpted from 'Marian Meditations']
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