3.1 Prayer
STAGE 3: In Communion with Mary
MARY AND THE INCARNATION
THE NECESSARY WAY
PRAYER
Rosary
With St. Louis-Marie de Montfort, let us contemplate Mary as the mother, mistress and throne of divine Wisdom, ocean of the perfections of God, tabernacle of the Trinity (cf. LEW 204-208).
“Mary is Wisdom’s most worthy Mother because she conceived him and brought him forth as the fruit of her womb. […] She alone is the tree of life and Jesus alone is the fruit of that tree. Therefore those who wish to possess this wonderful fruit in their heart must first possess the tree that produces it; whoever wishes to possess Jesus must possess Mary” (LEW 204).
“Mary is mistress of divine Wisdom. Not that she is above him who is truly God, or even equal to him. To think or say such a thing would be blasphemous. But because the Son of God, Eternal Wisdom, by making himself entirely subject to her as his Mother, gave her a maternal and natural authority over himself which surpasses our understanding” (LEW 205).
“Mary is the royal throne of Eternal Wisdom. It is in her that he shows his perfection, displays his treasures, and takes his delight. There is no place in heaven or on earth where Eternal Wisdom shows so much magnificence or finds more delight than in the incomparable Virgin Mary” (LEW 208).
“Mary is an immense ocean of all the perfections of God, the great storehouse of all his possessions, the inexhaustible treasury of the Lord, as well as the treasurer and dispenser of all his gifts. Because God gave her his Son, it is his will that we should receive all gifts through her, and that no heavenly gift should come down upon earth without passing through her as through a channel” (LEW 207).
“Mary is the tabernacle of the divinity, the place of rest and contentment of the Blessed Trinity, the throne of God, the city of God, the altar of God, the temple of God, the world of God and the paradise of God. All these titles are most correct with regard to the different wonders which the Most High God has worked in Mary” (LEW 208).
Concluding Prayer
O Mary of all women,
You are the chosen one,
Who, ancient prophets promised,
Would bear God’s only Son;
All Hebrew generations
Prepared the way to thee,
That in your womb the God-man
Might come to set us free.
O Mary, you embody
All God taught to our race,
For you are first and foremost
In fullness of His grace;
We praise this wondrous honour
That you gave birth to Him
Who from you took humanity
And saved us from our sin.
[3-1] CALL RESPONSE COMMITMENT PRAYER