THE NAME OF MARY
Continued
3. The Sea and the Star of the Sea.
The sea is a gathering together of the waters of the earth and of the rain from the skies. Genesis says that when God created the earth, He gathered all the waters in one place and called it the sea. So with Our Lady. God gathered in Mary all the graces which He had distributed amongst His creatures, whether angels or men. And therefore She is a Sea of graces where we can find whatever we want.
From the sea rise the clouds which later on come down upon the earth bringing with them rain which gives fertility to the fields. In the same manner Our Blessed Lady from the immense ocean of Her graces pours all the gifts that bear sanctity and virtue into the souls of men.
The waters of the sea are bitter, as were also the sorrows of the Heart of Mary, that veritable ocean of bitterness, since She suffered during the passion of Her Son more than all other human hearts together. On account of that She is called the Queen of Martyrs, because She suffered more than them all.
Finally, She is the Star of the Sea, because She is the light which guides those who are sailing across the ocean of this earthly life, across the sea of our passions where shipwreck is always possible, across the sea of darkness where we are groping for our bearings, where self-love, blindness and the violence of our passions carry us away.
She is the Star which shines from high so that no matter where we are we can find Her. God placed Her so high, that She might be seen from everywhere. But for that same reason unless we lift our eyes we cannot see Her. The more we lower them towards the things of the earth, the less we see Her rays. Hence how fitting is the name of Mary in each and every one of its connotations! Try to imitate Mary, try to keep Her always in view by ceaselessly repeating Her most sweet Name, just as the lover never grows tired of repeating the name of the person he loves.
[From 'Marian Meditations' Book]
The sea is a gathering together of the waters of the earth and of the rain from the skies. Genesis says that when God created the earth, He gathered all the waters in one place and called it the sea. So with Our Lady. God gathered in Mary all the graces which He had distributed amongst His creatures, whether angels or men. And therefore She is a Sea of graces where we can find whatever we want.
From the sea rise the clouds which later on come down upon the earth bringing with them rain which gives fertility to the fields. In the same manner Our Blessed Lady from the immense ocean of Her graces pours all the gifts that bear sanctity and virtue into the souls of men.
The waters of the sea are bitter, as were also the sorrows of the Heart of Mary, that veritable ocean of bitterness, since She suffered during the passion of Her Son more than all other human hearts together. On account of that She is called the Queen of Martyrs, because She suffered more than them all.
Finally, She is the Star of the Sea, because She is the light which guides those who are sailing across the ocean of this earthly life, across the sea of our passions where shipwreck is always possible, across the sea of darkness where we are groping for our bearings, where self-love, blindness and the violence of our passions carry us away.
She is the Star which shines from high so that no matter where we are we can find Her. God placed Her so high, that She might be seen from everywhere. But for that same reason unless we lift our eyes we cannot see Her. The more we lower them towards the things of the earth, the less we see Her rays. Hence how fitting is the name of Mary in each and every one of its connotations! Try to imitate Mary, try to keep Her always in view by ceaselessly repeating Her most sweet Name, just as the lover never grows tired of repeating the name of the person he loves.
[From 'Marian Meditations' Book]
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