May 10
“Mary exercises her role as ‘Advocate’ by co-operating both with the Spirit, the Paraclete, and with the One who interceded on the Cross for his persecutors (cf. Lk 23:24), whom John calls our ‘advocate with the Father’ (1 John 2:1). As a mother, she defends her children and protects them from the harm caused by their own sins.”
-Pope St. John Paul II
May 9
“By her maternal charity, [Mary] cares for the brethren of her Son, who still journey on earth surrounded by dangers and difficulties, until they are led into their blessed home. Therefore the Blessed Virgin is invoked in the Church under the titles of Advocate, Helper, Benefactress, and Mediatrix.”
-Documents of Vatican II, Lumen Gentium, 62
May 8
“I have placed you in the care of my holy Mother, as a deposit in trust, so that she may fashion you according to my pattern.”
-Jesus to St. Margaret Mary Alocoque
May 7
“When at the annunciation the Most Blessed Virgin gave the consent which was expected by the Eternal Word before becoming her Son, she from that moment asked our salvation of God with intense ardor, and took it to heart in such a way that from that moment, as a most loving mother, she bore us in her womb.”
-St. Bernardine of Siena
May 6
“God the Father wishes to have children by Mary till the consummation of the world…”
-St. Louis Grignion de Montfort
May 5
“Although in the most pure womb of Mary there was but one grain of corn, which was Jesus Christ, yet it is called a heap of wheat because all the elect were virtually contained in it.”
-St. Ambrose
May 4
“If Jesus Christ, the Head of men, is born in [Mary], then the predestinate, who are the members of that Head, ought also to be born in her by a necessary consequence. One and the same mother does not bring forth into the world the head without the members… So in like manner in the order of grace, the head and the members are born of one and the same mother.”
-St. Louis Grignion de Montfort, True Devotion, 32
May 3
“This motherhood of Mary in the order of grace continues uninterruptedly from the consent which she gave in faith at the Annunciation and which she sustained without wavering beneath the Cross, until the fulfillment of all the elect.”
-Documents of Vatican II
Lumen Gentium, 62
May 2
“Tradition ascribes to Mary the titles Mother of Divine Grace, Mother most amiable, Mother most admirable, Mother of Mercy… God has chosen her to be treasurer and dispensatrix of all His graces.. . . Since Mary has formed the Head of the predestined, Jesus Christ, it pertains to her to form also the members of the Head, who are the true Christians . . . She has received from God a special power to nourish souls and to make them grow in Him. St. Augustine goes so far as to say that the predestined in this world are enclosed in Mary;s womb and that they come to the light only when their good Mother brings them forth to eternal life. It is to her that the Holy Ghost has said; 'Take root in my elect' (Eccl. xxiv, 13) ---- roots of profound humility, of ardent charity and of all the virtues.”
-Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P.
May 1
“The Blessed Virgin … as Mother of the divine Redeemer here on earth, above all others and in a singular way was the generous associate and humble handmaid of the Lord. She conceived, brought forth, and nourished Christ, she presented him to the Father in the temple, shared her Son’s sufferings as He died on the cross. Thus in a wholly singular way she cooperated by her obedience, faith, hope, and burning charity, in the work of the Savior, in restoring supernatural life to souls. For this reason she is a mother to us in the order of grace.”
- Documents of Vatican II LumenGentium, 61
