Prologue To The Mirror of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Prologue To The Mirror of the Blessed Virgin Mary

There is no doubt, as Saint Jerome remarks, that whatever is worthily said of Our Blessed Mother redounds wholly to the praise and glory of God. Therefore, for the honor and glory of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and ardently desiring to produce a work which will tend to the praise of His most glorious Mother, I have judged it fitting to take for the subject-matter of my treatise the most sweet Salutation of this Blessed Mother. But I acknowledge my utter insufficiency for such an undertaking. First, because of the sublimity of the subject; secondly, because of the slenderness of my knowledge; thirdly, because of the aridity of my speech, and, finally, because of the unworthiness of my life, and the supreme glory and praiseworthiness of the person whose praises I wish to sing.

For who is there who would not deem that subject incomprehensible of which Saint Jerome does not hesitate to speak as follows: “That which nature possesseth not, which custom useth not, which eclipseth reason, which the mind of man is unable to compass, which maketh the heavens tremble, and striketh dumb the earth, which amazeth every inhabitant of Heaven, all this was divinely announced by Gabriel to Mary, and was fulfilled in Christ.” Therefore I confess myself unworthy to speak of such and so great a heroine. Again I say, how could my slender knowledge and my dull mind suffice to conceive praises worthy of Mary, when the illuminated mind of an Anselm faileth in presence of the task? For he saith: “My tongue faileth, Lady, for my mind is insufficient. Lady, all that is within me burns that I may render thee thanks for thy so great benefits. But I am unable to conceive worthy praise, and am ashamed to put forth that which is unworthy.”

Saint Augustine, addressing Mary, says: “What shall I, so poor in talent, say of thee, when whatever I may say of thee is less praise than thy dignity deserves?”

Again, how can my untrained tongue, my arid powers of interpretation not fail in the praises of Mary, when Augustine, that most eloquent of men, says: “What shall we, so little, so feeble, say in praise of Mary, when, if all our members were turned into tongues, no one of us would suffice to praise her?”

Again, if praise in the mouth of a sinner is unbecoming (Eccli. XV, 9), how shall I, a miserable sinner, a man of most unworthy life–how shall I dare to proclaim the praises of Mary, when I hear Jerome, a man of such great worth, hesitate ? For he saith: “I fear and tremble, all the while that I long to fulfill your expectations, lest I should prove to be an unworthy panegyrist. For there is in me neither sanctity nor eloquence, worthily to praise the Blessed and glorious Virgin.”

And again: “Why should I add to the sea a small cup of water? Why a stone to a mountain? And as Mary has already been so adequately praised by the tongues of men and angels, what can our puny efforts, and especially my own, add to these ?”

Finally, Saint Jerome, speaking of Mary, says: “If I am to speak the truth, whatever can be expressed in human words is less than the praise given by Heaven; for Mary has been excellently preached and praised by divine and angelic heralds, foretold by prophets, fore-shadowed by patriarchs, in types and figures, set forth and described by Evangelists, worthily and officially saluted by Angels.”

Having diligently weighed all these things, pious reader, I must beg your forgiveness for whatever insufficiency, whatever want of skill appears in this writing of mine. How shall I, so inefficient, succeed in a task before which Mary’s unique and zealous panegyrist, Saint Bernard, quailed ? For he saith: “There is nothing which gives me greater delight than to preach on the glory of the Virgin Mother.” And giving his reasons for this delight, he continues: “For all men honor, embrace, and receive her with the great affection and devotion that is fitting, yet whatever is said of one so unspeakably sublime, by the very fact of its being put into words, is less worthy, less pleasing, less acceptable.”

Yet Saint Jerome encourages and consoles me, saying: “Although none can be found who is worthy to praise her, yet let not even the sinner desist from glorifying her with all his might.”

And Saint Augustine, speaking of the manner in which the Son of God bestowed upon His Mother the gift of fecundity, yet took not away her integrity by being born of her, among other things says: “We who are so insignificant, cannot suffice to speak of so great a gift of God; and yet we are compelled to utter her praises, lest, by being silent, we should appear ungrateful. And certainly, that poor widow who made an offering so pleasing to God with her two brass mites, should not have withheld that offering because she could not give more; yea, rather by giving what she could, she pleased God exceedingly.”

Hence it is that I, so poor in talent, and equally devoid of knowledge and eloquence, have presumed to offer to so great a Queen this poor script of mine, that in it, so to speak, as in a dim mirror, the simpler lovers of this great Queen should in some imperfect manner perceive who and how great she is. And because this treatise is, as it were, a kind of mirror which reflects the life, grace, and glory of Mary, it is not unfittingly termed the Mirror of Mary. Oh, do thou, therefore, my most kind Lady and Mother, graciously accept this small gift offered to thee by thy poor lover! For with this puny gift, with this small work on thine own Salutation, I salute thee. On bended knee, with bowed head, with heart and lips, I salute thee, I wish thee blessing. Hail Mary, etc.

Taken from the Mirror of the Blessed Virgin Mary, by Saint Bonaventure

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On the Angelical Salutation

On the Angelical Salutation

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.

Hear, O most sweet Virgin Mary, hear things new and wonderful! Hearken, O daughter, and see, and incline thine ear ! Hear that glorious messenger, Gabriel! Hear what is to be the wonderful mode of thy fecundity! Incline thine ear to a fruitful consent. Hear what is announced to thee as a certainty by God the Father ! See in what manner the Son of God is to become Incarnate of thee! Incline thine ear to the Holy Spirit, who is about to operate within thee ! Because thou hast ears to hear, hear!

And in the beginning of thy hearing, listen to this unheard-of salutation:

Hail Mary. This name, Mary, is not inserted here by Gabriel, but by the devotion of the faithful, inspired by the Holy Ghost. And the last sentence, blessed is the fruit of thy womb, was not uttered by Gabriel in his salutation, but was pronounced by Elizabeth in the spirit of prophecy. Let us each and everyone say, Hail Mary. O truly gracious and venerable, O truly glorious and admirable salutation! As Bede says: “Inasmuch as it is unheard of in human experience, so much more is it becoming to the dignity of Mary.”

In this sweetest of salutations five sweet phrases are set forth, in which are contained five sweet prerogatives of the Virgin. Oh, how sweetly are these praises insinuated! For here is signified how most pure, how most full, how most firm and secure, how most worthy, how most useful was the Blessed Virgin Mary. She was most pure, because of the absence of all fault in her; she was most full and abounding, because of the plenitude of grace in her; she was most firm and secure, because of the Divine Presence within her; she was most worthy, because of the dignity of her person; she was most useful, because of the excellence of her Child. How pure Mary was because of the absence of all evil in her, is well expressed by the word Ave. Rightly is the word Ave addressed to her, who was ever entirely immune from the “vae” or “woe” of sin. Thus it behooved the Mother of God to be, as Saint Anselm testifies: “It was fitting that the conception of the God-Man should be of a most pure mother, that the purity of the Virgin-Mother, than which, under God, there was none greater, should be hers to whom God had designed to give His Only Son, whom He had begotten, equal to Himself, from His own Heart, that He should so give Him to her to be at the same time the Son of God and the Son of Man.”

Again, how full of grace was Mary by the abounding plenitude of her gifts is well signified when it is said to her: “Full of grace.” And truly full, and ever full, as Saint Anselm testifies, when he most devoutly exclaims: “O Woman full and overfull of grace, of whose abundance every creature is revived and refreshed.” Again, how secure and firm was Mary by the Divine Presence is well signified by the words, The Lord is with thee. Rightly is Mary safe and secure, when the Lord is present with her; for the Lord, God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, is with her, so that she is in an especial manner most intimately connected with God. Saint Bernard shows this when he says: “Nor is God the Son alone with thee, whom thou dost clothe with thy flesh; but also God the Holy Ghost, of whom thou dost conceive; and God the Father, who hath begotten that which thou conceivest.”

Again, how worthy was Mary, because of the dignity of her person, is well expressed when she is saluted in the words: Blessed art thou among women! For it could not be that her person, having been made venerable by such a blessing, was not most worthy. Therefore, Saint Anselm, overcome with amazement, exclaims: “O Blessed and ever Blessed Virgin, by whose blessing every creature is not only blessed by its Creator, but the Creator by the creature!” Again, how useful was Mary, by the excellence of her Child, is well expressed in the words: Blessed is the fruit of thy womb! For she availed to save the world, having brought forth the most excellent and powerful Fruit of salvation. Therefore doth the devout Saint Anselm say: “By thy fruitfulness, O Lady, the unclean sinner is justified, the condemned sinner is saved, and the exile is recalled. Thy Son, O Lady, redeemed the captive world, healed the sick, and raised the dead to life.”

You see, therefore, dearly beloved, in what manner Mary, because of her immunity from guilt, is rightly saluted with the Ave. Because of the abundance and immensity of her grace, she is rightly saluted as full of grace; because of the Divine Presence within her, and her intimacy with Our Lord, she is told: The Lord is with thee; because of the dignity and reverence of her person, she is rightly saluted as blessed among women; because of the excellence and utility of her Child, it is fittingly said to her: Blessed is the fruit of thy womb. We shall now treat of each of these points in order.

Taken from by Saint Bonaventure

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On the Mental and Mystical Excess, in Which Rest is Given to the Intellect

CHAPTER VII – ON THE MENTAL AND MYSTICAL EXCESS, 

IN WHICH REST IS GIVEN TO THE INTELLECT,  BY AN 
AFFECTION PASSING WHOLLY INTO GOD THROUGH EXCESS

1. Therefore with these six considerations having run out as the six steps of the throne of the true Solomon, by which one arrives at peace, where the true Pacifier rests in a pacifying mind as if in the interior of Jerusalem; as if also by six wings of the Cherub, by which the mind of the true contemplative is able to be driven above by a full brightening of supernal wisdom; as if also on the first six days, in which the mind has to be exercised, to arrive at last to the sabbath of quiet; afterwhich our mind has surveyed God outside of Himself through vestiges and in vestiges, within Himself through image and in image, above Himself through a similitude of the divine light glittering above us and in that light itself, according to that which is possible according to the state of the way and the exercise of our mind; when one arrives so far on the sixth step to this, that in the First and Most High Principle and the Mediator of God and men, Jesus Christ, one gazes upon those things the like of which can in nowise be discovered among creatures, and which exceed every perspicacity of the human intellect: it follows, that this (mind) by gazing transcends and passes over not only this sensible world, but also its very self; in which transit Christ is the Way and the Gate, Christ is the Stair and the Vehicle as the propitiatory located above the ark of God and the Sacrament hidden from the ages.

2. Towards which propitiatory he who looks at it with a full conversion of face, by looking at him suspended upon the Cross through faith, hope and charity, devotion, admiration, exsultation, appreciation, praise and jubilation; makes the Passover, that is the transit, together with Him, to pass over the Red Sea through the rod of the Cross, from Egypt entering the desert, where he tastes the hidden bread, and rests together with Christ upon the funeral mound as if exteriorly dead, sensing, nevertheless, as much as is possible according to the state of the way, that there is said to the thief handing on a cross with Christ: Today you shall be with Me in Paradise.

3. Which also has been shown to blessed Francis, when in an excess of contemplation on the exalted mountaing – where those things, which have been written, he treated with his mind – there appeared the Seraph of six wings fastened upon a cross, as I and many others have heard about in the same place from his companion, who was with him at that time; where he passed over into God through an excess of contemplation; and has been placed as an example of perfect contemplation; as first he had been of action, as if another Jacob and Israel, so that God may invite all truly spiritual men through him to a transit of this kind and an excess of the mind more by example than by word.

4. Moreover in this transit, if one be perfect, it is proper that all intellectual activities be relinquished, and the whole apex of affection be transfered and transformed into God. However this is mystical and most secret, bacause no one knows it, except him who accepts it, nor does he accept it unless he be one who desires it, nor does he desire it unless he be one whom the fire of the Holy Spirit, which Chirst sent upon earth, inflammes to the marrow of his bones. And for that reason the Apostle says, that this mystical wisdom has been revealed by the Holy Spirit.

5. Therefore since for this reason there can be nothing by nature, a limited amount by industry, a little by investigation, and much by unction; little must be given to the tounge, and most to internal gladness; little must be given by word and by writing, and the whole by a gift of God, that is by the Holy Spirit; little or nothing must be given to the creature, and the whole to the creative Essence, to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, by saying with (St.) Dionysius (the Areopagite) to God the Trinity: “O Trinity superessential and super-God and super-best of the Christians, inspector of Godly-wisdom, direct us into the super-unknown and super-shining and most sublime vertex of mytical speech; where the new and absolute and ineffable (because they are super-shining) mysteries of theology are hidden secretely in the greatest obscurity of the silence that teaches a super-splendant darkness, because it is the most super-manifest, and that in which everything glitters, and (which) super-fulfills invisible intellects with the splendors of invisible super-goods”. This to God. However to his friend these things are written, said together with the former: “Moreover you, O friend, concerning mystical visions, having been strengthened on the journey, desert both the senses and the intellectual activities, both sensibles and invisibles and everything not a being and a being, and unknowingly restore (yourself) to the unity, as is possible, of Him, who is above every essence and knowledge. For indeed deserting all things and absolved from all, you do ascend by yourself and by (that which is) unboundable by all and by an absolute excess of pure mind, to the super-essential ray of divine shadows”.

6. Moreover if you seek, in what manner these things occur, interrogate grace, not doctrine, desire, not understanding; the groan of praying, not the study of reading; the spouse, not the teacher; God, not man, darkness, not brightness; not light, but the fire totally inflamming, transfering one into God both by its excessive unctions and by its most ardent affections. Who indeed is the God of fire, and whose forge is in Jerusalem, and Christ ignites this in the fervor, of His most ardent Passion, which He alone truly perceived, who said: My soul has chosen suspense, and my bones death. He who loves this death can see God, because it is indubitably true: No man will see Me and live. Therefore let us die and step into the darkness, let us put on silence with its cares, and concupiscences and phantasms; let us pass over together with Christ Crucified from this world to the Father, that, by showing us the Father, we may say with Phillip: It suffices for us; let us hear with Paul: My grace is sufficient for you; let us exult with David saying: My flesh and my heart failed, God of my heart and my portion God forever. Blessed be the Lord forever, and let every people say: Fiat, Fiat. Amen. Here ends The Journey of the Mind into God by Saint Bonaventure of Bagnoregio; translated from the Quarrachi Edition of the Opera Omnia S. Bonaventurae. This document was derived from the text file version available from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library at Calvin College. Edited slightly to correct a couple of typos, and to remove the in-text Latin citations.

from Journey of the Mind into God by Saint Bonaventure

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On the Sight of the Most Blessed Trinity in His Name

CHAPTER VI – ON THE SIGHT OF THE MOST 
BLESSED TRINITY IN HIS NAME, WHICH IS THE GOOD

1. After the consideration of essentials the eye of the intelligence is lifted up to survey the Most Blessed Trinity, as the other Cherub placed alongside the other. Moreover as being itself is the radical principle and name of the vision of essentials, through which the others become known; so the good itself is the most principle foundation of the contemplation of emanations.

2. Therefore see and attend since the best is simply that than which nothing better can be thought; and thus it is such, because it cannot be rightly thought to not to be, because being is entirely better than non being; thus it is, that it cannot rightly be thought, rather let it be thought as triune and one. For ” the good is said to be diffusive of itself”; therefore the Most High Good is most highly diffusive of Itself. However the most hight diffusion cannot be, unless it be actual and intrinsic, substantial and hypostatic, natural and voluntary, liberal and necessary, unfailing and perfect. Therefore unless there be eternally in the Most High Good an actual and consubstantial production, and a hypostatis equally noble, as is one producing through the manner of generation and spiration – so that it be the eternal (production) of an eternally co-principating principle – so that it be beloved, co-beloved, begotten and spirated, that is the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit; it would never be the Most High Good, because it would not diffuse itself most highly. For there is no diffusion in time into creatures except (when it is) central and/or punctual in respect to the immensity of eternal goodness; whence also can any diffusion be thought greater than those, namely these, in which diffusing itself it communicates to another its whole substance and nature. Therefore it would not be the Most High good, if in reality, or intellect it could be lacking (anything). Therefore if you can with the eye of your mind survey the purity of goodness, which is the pure act of the Principle loving in a charitable manner with a love, free and owed and commingled from both, which is the fullest diffusion in the manner of nature and will, which is a diffusion in the manner of the Word, in which all things are said to be, and in the manner of the Gift, in whom all other gifts are given; (then) you can see, that through the most high communicability of the good the Trinity of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit is necessary. In whom it is necessary on account of the Most High Goodness being the Most High Communicability, and from the Most High Communicability the Most High Consubstantiality, and from the Most High Consubstantiality the Most High Configurability, and from these the Most High Co-equality, and for this reason the Most High Co-eternity, and from all the aforesaid the Most High Co-intimacy, by which one is in the other necessarily through the Most High Circumincession and one works with the other through an in-every-measure indivision of substance and virtue and activity of the Most Blessed Trinity itself.

On the Sight of the Divine Unity through Its Primary Name

CHAPTER V – ON THE SIGHT OF THE DIVINE 
UNITY THROUGH ITS PRIMARY NAME, WHICH IS BEING

1. Moreover since it happens that God is contemplated not only outside of us and within us, but also above us: outside through vestige, within through image and above through the light of Eternal Truth, since “our mind itself is formed immediately by Truth Itself”; those who have been exercised in the first manner, have entered alredy into the entrance-hall before the tabernacle; but they who in the second, have entered into the holies; moreover they who in the third, enter with the supreme Pontiff into the Holy of Holies; where above the ark are the Cherubim of glory overshadowing the propitiatory; through which we understand two manners or steps of contemplating the invisible and eternal things of God, of which one hovers around the things essential to God, but the other around the things proper to the persons.

2. The first manner at first and principally fixes its power of sight upon being itself, saying, that He who is is the first Name of God. The second manner fixes its gaze upon the good itself, saying, that this is the first Name of God. The first looks most powerfully towards the Old Testament, which preaches most the unity of the Divine Essence; whence it is said by Moses: I am who am; according to the New, which determines the plurality of persons, by baptising in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. For that reason Christ Our Teacher, wanting to raise the youth, who observed the Law, towards evangelical perfection, attributed the name of goodness to God principally and precisely. No one he said, is good except God alone. Therefore (St. John) Damascene following Moyses says, that He who is is the first Name of God; (St.) Dionysius (the Areopagite) following Christ says, that the Good is the first Name of God.

On the Sight of God in His Image Reformed by Gratuitious Gifts

CHAPTER IV – ON THE SIGHT OF GOD 

IN HIS IMAGE REFORMED BY GRATUITOUS GIFTS

1. But since not only when passing over through us, but also in us does it happen that the First Principle is contemplated.; and this is greater than the preceeding: for that reason this fourth manner of considering reaches the step of contemplation. Moreover it is wonderful to see, when it is shown, that God is so close to our minds, because to so few does it belong to gaze upon the First Principle in their very selves. But the reason (for this) is easy, because the human mind, distracted by cares, does not enter into itself through memory; beclouded by phantasms, it does not go back towards itself through intelligence; enticed by concupiscences, it turns back not at all towards itself through a desire for internal savor and spiritual gladness. For that reason lying down totally in these senses, it cannot reenter into itself as into an image of God.

2. And since, where one has fallen, there he will inevitably fall down again, unless someone places himself nearby and lies by its side, to raise him; our soul could not be perfectly revealed by these senses to survey itself and the eternal Truth in its very self, unless the Truth, having assumed a human form in Christ, became by Its own power the stairway repairing the prior stairway, which had been broken in Adam

For that reason, howevermuch one be illuminated by the light of nature and acquired knowledge, one cannot enter into himself, to delight in his very self in the Lord, unless by means of Christ, who says: I am the door. He who goes within through Me, shall be saved and he will step in and out and find pasture. Moreover we do not approach towards this door, unless we believe, hope and love. It is therefore necessary, if we want to reenter to the fruition of Truth as to paradise, that we step in through faith, hope and love of the Mediator of God and man, Jesus Christ, who is as the tree of life in the midst of paradise.

On the Sight of God through His Image Marked on Natural Powers

CHAPTER III – ON THE SIGHT OF GOD 
THROUGH HIS IMAGE MARKED ON NATURAL POWERS

1. Moreover since the two aforesaid steps, by leading us into God through His vestiges, though which He glitters in all other creatures, has lead us by hand even unto this, to reenter ourselves, that is our mind, in which the Divine Image glitters; hence it is that already in the third place, entering our very selves and as if reliquishing the outer entrance hall, in the Holies, that is in the anterior part of the Tabernacle, we ought to begin to see God as through a mirror; where after the manner of a candlestick the Light of Truth glitters upon the face of our mind, in which, that is, the Image of the Most Blessed Trinity glitters again. Enter therefore yourself and see, that your mind most fervently loves itself; nor can it love itself, unless it knows; nor does it know itself, unless it remembers itself, because we can sieze nothing through understanding, that is not present among our memory; and from this you advert, that your soul has a threefold power, not in the eye of the flesh, but in the eye of the mind. Therefore consider the activities and characteristics of these three powers, and you can see God through yourself as through an image, which is to see (Him) through a mirror in mystery.

2. Moreover the activity of the memory is the retention and representation not only of things present, corporal and temporal, but also of things coming afterwards, simple and sempiternal. For the memory retains things past through remembrance, things present through capture, things future through foresight. It also retains simple things, like the principles of continuous and discrete quantities, such as point, presence and unity, without which it is impossible to remember or think of those things which are derived by means of them. Nevertheless it retains the principles and ranks of the sciences, as sempiternal things and in a sempiternal manner, because it can never so forget them, while it uses reason, on the contrary it approves those things heard and assents to them, perceives (them) not as from something new, but recognizes them as things innate and familiar to itself; as is clear, is the self-evident: “The affirmation and/or negation of anything”; and/or “Every whole is greater than its part”, and/or whatever other rank, for which there is no contradiction “in accord with internal reason”. 

On the Sight of God in His Vestiges in this Sensible World

CHAPTER II – ON THE SIGHT OF GOD 

IN HIS VESTIGES IN THIS SENSIBLE WORLD

1. But since concerning the sensible reflection not only does it happen that God is contemplated through these as through vestiges, but also in these, inasmuch as He is in them through essence, power, and presence; and this is to consider Him higher than before; for that reason a consideration of this kind holds second place as the second step of contemplation, by which we ought to be lead by hand to contemplate God in all other creatures, which enter our minds through bodily senses. 

2. Therefore it must be noted, that this world, which is called a macrocosm, enters our soul, which is called a microcosm, through the gates of the five senses, according to (their) apprehension, enjoyment and dijudication of these sensible (images). That this is clearly so: because in it certain things are generating, certain things generated, certain thing governing the former and the latter. The things generating are the simple bodies, that is the celestial bodies and the four elements. For from the elements by virtue of a light unifying the contrariety of elements in mixtures there has been generated and produced, whatever is generated and produced by the activity of natural virtue. But the things generated are the bodies composed from the elements, as minerals, vegetables, sensibles and human bodies. The things ruling the former and the latter are the spiritual substances whether entirely conjoined, as are the brute animals, or conjoined in a separable manner, as are the rational spirits, or conjoined in an inseparable manner, as are the celestial spirits, whom the philosophers name Intelligences, we the Angles. To whom according to philosophers it pertains to move the celestial bodies, and for this reason to them there is attributed the administration of the universe, taking up from the First Cause, that is from God, the influence of virtue, which they pour back according to the work of governing, which respects the natural consistency of things. Moreover acccording to theologians there is attributed to these same the control of the universe according to the empire of the Most High God as much as regards the works of reparation, according to what is called the spirits of administration, sent on account of those who have siezed the inheritance of salvation.

On the Steps of Ascension into God

CHAPTER I – ON THE STEPS OF ASCENSION INTO GOD AND ON THE SIGHT OF HIM THROUGH HIS VESTIGES IN THE UNIVERSE

1. Blessed the man, whose assistance is from Thee, he has arrainged ascensions in his own heart in the vale of tears, in the place, which he placed them. Since beatitude is nothing other, than the fruition of the Most High Good; and the Most High Good is above us: no one can become blessed, unless he ascends above his very self, not by an ascent with the body, but with the heart. But we are not able to be raised above ourselves unless by means of a superior virtue raising us. For however much as interior steps are arrainged, nothing is done, unless the Divine Assistance accompanies. However the Divine Assistance accompanies those who seek it from their heart humbly and devoutly; and this is to long for it in this vale of tears, which is done through fervent praying. Let us pray therefore and say to the Lord Our God: Lead me forth, Lord, in Thy way, and let me step in Thy truth; let my heart be glad, that it fears Thy Name.

2. In praying this prayer one is illumined so as to become acquainted with the steps of the divine ascension. Since the university of things is the stairway to ascend into God; and among things there are a certain vestige, a certain image, certain corporal things, certain spiritual things, certain temporal things, certain aeviturnal things, and for this reason certain ones outside of us, certain ones inside us: for this purpose, that we arrive at considering the First Principle, which is most spiritual and eternal and above us, it is proper, that we enter into our mind, which is an aeviternal image of God, spiritual and within us, and this is to step in the truth of God; it is fitting, that we transcend to the eternal, most spiritual, and above us by looking towards the First Principle, and this is to be glad in the knowledge of God and the reverence of His Majesty.

Prologue

Prologue to the Journey of the Mind into God

1. In the beginning the First Principle, from whom all other illuminations descend as from the Father of lights, by whom is every best gift and every perfect gift, that is the Eternal Father, I do invoke through His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, with the intercession of the Most Holy Virgin Mary, the same Mother of Our God and Lord Jesus Christ, and of blessed Francis, our leader and father, to grant that the eyes of our mind (be) illumined to direct our feet in the way of His peace, which exceeds every sense; which peace Our Lord Jesus Christ has proclaimed and has given; the renewer of whose preaching was our Father Francis, announcing at the beginning and end of all his preaching peace, in every salutation choosing peace, in every contemplation longing towards ecstatic peace, as a citizen of that Jerusalem, concerning which that man of peace speaks, who with those who hate peace, was peaceable: Ask for those things which are for the peace of Jerusalem. For he knew, that the throne of Solomon was not but in peace, since it was written: In peace is made His place, and His dwelling in Sion.

2. When therefore by the example of most blessed Father Francis I sought with a panting spirit this peace, I a sinner, who, unworthy in all things ascend to the place of the most blessed father himself as seventh in the Minister generalship after his transitus; it happened that with the divine permission about the (time of) the Transitus of the Blessed himself, in the thirty-third year (of its celebration, 1259 A.D.), I turned aside with the love of seeking peace of spirit towards mount Alverna as towards a quiet place, and staying there, while I considered in mind some mental ascensions into God, among others there occured that miracle, which in the aforesaid place happened to blessed Francis himself, that is, of the vision of the Seraph winged after the likeness of the Crucified. In consideration of which it suddenly seemed to me, that that vision showed the suspension of our father himself in contemplating Him and the way, through which one arrives at that (suspension).

Mary Shares All Gifts with the Lord

Mary Shares All Gifts with the Lord

“Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum.” It has been shown above how Mary, because of the purity of her life, is rightly saluted by the Ave. It has also been shown how, because of the abundance of her graces, she is rightly called “full of grace.” We have now to show how, because of a most special presence of God within her, it is rightly said to her: “The Lord is with thee.” But tell us, in what measure, O great Gabriel, thou bringest tidings of a great thing to the great Mary from the great God! But tell us, in what measure, or how He is with her?

Behold Saint Augustine answering this question, as it were in the person of Gabriel: “The Lord is with thee, but more than with me. The Lord is with thee, but not as He is with me. For although the Lord is in me, the Lord hath created me; but by thee the Lord is to be born.” The Lord, therefore, O Mary, but who, how great? The Lord of the earth and of all things in general, the Lord who is especially the Lord of mankind, the Lord who is thine in a singular manner, O Mary. The Lord, I say, of all creatures in general, the Lord in a special manner of rational creatures, the Lord especially of thy virginal court, O Mary. We must consider, therefore, that this Lord, who is with thee, is in general the Lord of all creatures. Judith says: “The Lord of the heavens, the Creator of the waters, and the Lord of all creatures” (IX, 17.)

And the Wise Man: “The Lord of all things loved her” (Wisd. VIII, 3.) Therefore, the Lord of all things universally, of all things visible and invisible. This universal Lord of all things was in Mary in such a manner that He made her the universal Lady of all things–the Lady, I say, of Heaven, and the Lady of the world. Saint Anselm saith: “The Queen of heaven, and the Lady of the World, to the Mother of Him, who cleanseth the world, I confess that my body is exceedingly impure.” But lo! this universal Lord of all things is a most powerful Lord, a most wise Lord, a most rich Lord, a most unfailing Lord. A lord without power, without wisdom, without wealth, without permanence, would be a most imperfect lord. A feeble lord, one needy and insipid, or unable to keep his position, would be little esteemed. But Our Lord is universal, most powerful, most wise, most wealthy; His eternity is unfailing.

First note that the universal Lord, who is with Mary, is a Lord most powerful in will, and it is well said of Him: “All whatsoever the Lord hath willed, the Lord has done, . . . even in all abysses” (Ps. CXXXIV, 6.) Therefore, neither in Heaven, nor on earth, nor in all the infernal abysses, can anyone resist the will of so powerful a Lord, as Mardochai testifies, saying: “Lord King Almighty, in thy dominion are all things, and there is none who can resist thy will” (Esth. XIII, 9.) Behold, Mary, how great, how powerful is the Lord who is with thee! And because He is a most powerful Lord, He is most powerfully with thee: therefore, art thou most powerful with Him, by Him, through Him, so that thou canst truly say, “My power is in Jerusalem” (Ecclus. XXIV, 15 . ) Jerusalem signifies the Church triumphant in Heaven; it signifies also the Church militant upon earth. For truly both in Heaven and on earth the Mother of the Creator has power. How very powerful she is, Anselm recognizes when he says: “Hear us, loving one; be with us, be favorable to us; help us, most powerful one, that our minds may be cleansed from stains and our darkness illuminated.” The Lord, therefore, is with thee, O most powerful Mary.

Secondly, note that the universal Lord, who is with Mary, is a Lord most wise in truth. For He is the Lord, of whom it is said in the Psalm, “Great is our Lord, and great is His strength, and of His wisdom there is no number” ( Ps. CXLVI, 5. ) Oh, how wise is the Lord, whose wisdom nothing can deceive, nothing can be concealed from, because He knows all things. All our works, both good and bad, all our words, good and bad, all our thoughts and all our desires, good and bad, the Lord knows. Whence Saint Peter says: “Lord, Thou knowest all things.” Behold, Mary, what kind of a Lord, what a most wise Lord, is He who is with thee. And because the most wise Lord is most wisely with thee, therefore, thou too art most wise with Him and through Him. Thou art typified by that Abigail, of whom it was said: “She was a woman most prudent and most beautiful.” Mary was so prudent and so beautiful that Saint Anselm does not hesitate to say of her: “All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are in Mary.” The Lord, therefore, is with thee, O most wise Mary.

Thirdly, consider that the universal Lord, who is with Mary, is most wealthy in His possessions, as the Prophet testifies, saying: “The earth is the Lord’s, and all that dwell in it.”

Not only is the earth and its fullness the Lord’s, but also the Heavens and their fullness. For Thine, O Lord, are the Heavens, and thine is the earth, because “the heaven of heavens is the Lord’s.” Everything is the property of this Lord, Heaven and earth, bodies and spirits, all nature, all grace, all heavenly glory, all is the Lord’s own. Therefore, the Lord is most rich, as the Apostle says: “He is the Lord of all, rich unto all that call upon Him” (Romans 10:12.) Behold, Mary, how rich, how great is He who is with thee! And because the most rich lord is with thee so richly, therefore art thou most rich together with Him and because of Him, so that it can be truly said of thee: “Many daughters have gathered together riches, thou hast surpassed them all” (Proverbs 31:29.) The daughter Agnes, the daughter Lucy, the daughters Catherine, Cecilia, Agatha, and many other holy virgins and just souls, have gathered together riches of virtue and grace, of merits and rewards, but thou, O Mary, by thy universal riches hast surpassed them all. Oh, how rich is Mary in glory, who was so rich in misery! Oh, how rich is she in Heaven, who was so rich in this world! Oh, how rich is she in her soul, who was so rich in her body, that even Saint Bernard exclaims: “O Mary, rich in all and above all, of whose substance a small part being taken, was enough to pay the debt of the whole world!” The Lord is with thee, therefore, O Mary most rich.

Fourthly, consider that the universal Lord, who is with Mary, is the unfailing Lord of eternity. Whence we read in Exodus: “The Lord will reign in eternity and beyond.” And in the Psalm it is said: “But thou, O Lord, remainest for ever.” Behold, O Mary, how great a Lord, how unfailing a Lord is He who is with thee! And because He is unfailingly with thee, therefore, thou also art unfailing with Him in eternity. For thou art that unfailing, that everlasting throne, the throne of the Son of God, of whom the Father saith by the Prophet: “His throne is like the sun in my sight, and like the moon perfect for ever and truly in eternity.” Hence, we cannot only say with truth: “Thou, O Lord, endurest for ever,” but we can also truly say: “Thou, O Lady, endurest for ever.” What wonder if Mary, in her Son, remains forever, when even the benefits of Mary in her servants remain forever? For Saint Bernard says: “In thee, O Mary, angels find joy, the just grace, sinners pardon forever.” The Lord, therefore, is with thee, O neverfailing Mary! Rejoice, O Mary, rejoice! Behold the most powerful Lord is with thee in such a manner that thou art most powerful with Him. The most wise Lord is with thee in such a way that thou art most wise with Him. The most rich Lord is with thee in such wise that thou art most rich with Him. The never-failing Lord is with thee in such wise that thou, together with Him, shalt never fail or be deficient.

Now, therefore, most powerful Lady, be a helper to us who are so impotent! Now, most wise Lady, be to us who are foolish a helper and a counselor! O most wealthy Lady, be to us who are poor a benefactress! O most unfailing Lady, be to us feeble, failing creatures a perpetual support in every good deed!

Taken from the Mirror of the Blessed Virgin Mary, by Saint Bonaventure

Photo taken from Wikimedia Commons
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The Nine Plenitudes in Mary, Which Represent the Nine Choirs of the Angels in Glory

The Nine Plenitudes in Mary, Which Represent 

the Nine Choirs of the Angels in Glory

Ave, gratia plena. It was not enough for the Arch angel simply to commend the grace of Mary; he wished also to insist emphatically on its fullness, when he said: “Gratia plena.” O truly full, and fully full! Gabriel had not yet said: “Behold, thou shalt conceive in the womb.” He had not yet said: “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee.” If, therefore, before the coming upon her of the Holy Ghost, before the conception of the Son of God, Mary was full (of grace), how much more so afterwards? Therefore Anselm aptly says of her fullness and of the fullness of her gratitude: “She, being already a thousand times full (of grace), was saluted by the Angel, filled with the Holy Ghost, breathed upon by the divine plenitude.” Well, therefore, is Mary said to be full of the illumination of wisdom, of the outpouring of grace, of the riches of a good life, of the unction of mercy, of the fecundity of a pious offspring, of the perfection of the Church, of the redolence of fair fame, of the resplendence of divine glory, of the joy of eternal gladness. Let us consider these nine plenitudes in Mary, which represent the nine plenitudes of the angelic orders in glory.

First let us consider that Mary is full of the illumination of wisdom and understanding. 

She may aptly be symbolized by that which is said in the Book of Proverbs: “My husband is not at home, he is gone on a very long journey. He took with him a bag of money: he will return home the day of the full moon” (VII, 19 f.) This is that Man of whom Jeremias saith: “The Lord hath created a new thing upon the earth, a woman shall encompass a man” (XXXI, 32.) The woman is Mary–a woman indeed in sex, not in corruption; a mother of virtue, who encompassed Our Lord in her womb, clothed Him with our nature. This Man–if indeed, as Josephus saith, it be lawful to call Him a man– has three houses. It belongs to imperial majesty to have three mansions in the palace, namely, a reception-room, a supper- room, and a bedchamber. The reception-room is the place for conversation and discussions; the supper-room, for food; the bedchamber, for rest. So our Emperor, who rules the winds and the sea, has His reception-room, which is the world; He has His refreshment-room, which now is the Church, and was of old, the Synagogue; He has His place of rest, namely, the rational soul of man. But alas! this Man, the Lord of hosts, had been very far distant from His house of the world, His house of the synagogue, His house of the soul, for “far from sinners is salvation” (Ps. CXVIII, 155.) This Man was not in His house when Jeremias complained: “I have forsaken my house, I have left my inheritance” (Jer. XII, 7.) 

He took the bag of money with him when He hid the treasure of His mercies and His grace from the world. But lo! this Man came back on the day of the full moon–of that moon, I say, of which it is said in the Canticle of Canticles: “Fair as the moon.” This moon, therefore, is Mary. The full moon is Mary full of grace. Well is Mary compared to the moon, because by the Eternal Sun she is fully illuminated with the light of wisdom and truth. Therefore, the name Mary is well interpreted illuminatrix or illuminated. For she, who is our moon and our lamp, was illuminated by the Lord, and she was the illuminatrix of the world, according to that prophetic word: “For thou lightest my lamp” (Ps. XVII.) In the fullness of this moon, the Man came back to his house, when Christ came into this world in the flesh. O truly wonderful fullness of this moon! Behold, if Mary was full of the light of wisdom, which she received from the Eternal Sun, before she conceived Him; how much more full was she, when she so wonderfully conceived this Sun, and so entirely received Him within herself! Well, therefore, saith Saint Bernard, when commending the fullness of the wisdom of Mary: “Heavenly wisdom built for Himself a house in Mary: for He so filled her mind that from the very fullness of her mind her flesh became fecund, and the Virgin by a singular grace brought forth that same Wisdom, covered with a garb of flesh, whom she had first conceived in her pure mind.”

Secondly, let us consider that Mary is full of the outpouring of grace in her affections. 

For such was the inundation of grace, so great was its depth and magnitude in Mary, that she could well be called a full sea according to that word: “Let the sea roar, and the fullness thereof” (I Par. XVI, 32.) As in the sea there is a gathering together of waters, so in Mary is a gathering together of graces. Therefore it is written: “The gathering together of the waters was called (Vulg. “he called”) seas” (Gen. I, 10.) It is also said in Ecclesiastes: “All the rivers run into the sea” (I, 7.) All the rivers are the gifts of the graces, which entered into Mary, according to that word of Wisdom: “In me is all grace of the way and of the truth” (Ecclus. XXIV, 25.) How full is this sea, how full of grace is Mary, Saint Jerome declares, saying:

“Truly full, because on others it is only bestowed in part, but on Mary the whole plenitude of grace was outpoured at once.” This sea, therefore, being full, let us hear it roar against vices. Let the sea roar, therefore, and the fullness thereof, let the full sea, let the full Mary, roar. Let it roar against luxury, preach chastity, and say: “How shall this be done, for I know not man?” Let it also roar against pride, by humility, saying: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord.” Let it roar against ingratitude, giving thanks and saying: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord…. My soul doth magnify the Lord.” Of the fullness of this sea it is likewise said in the Psalm: “Let the sea be moved, and the fullness thereof.” Let the sea be moved, let Mary be moved, let her be moved by our sighs and mortifications, let her be moved by our tears and prayers, let her be moved by our alms and our other acts of veneration. Let her be moved fully, I say, that she may pour out on us of her fullness. Let us note what Saint Bernard says in speaking of her: “If a vessel full of liquid is moved, it is easily spilt, and lets drop its contents. So the Blessed Virgin Mary, if she is moved by our prayers, pours forth graces upon us.”

Thirdly, let us consider that Mary is in very truth full of the riches of a good life. 

Of this plenitude we can truly say: “The earth is the Lord’s.” By the earth is signified Mary, of whom we read in Isaias: “Let the earth be opened, and bud forth a savior!” What more lowly than the earth? What more useful? We all tread the earth under our feet, and draw from it the nourishment of our life. Whence have we food and clothing, bread and wine, wool and thread, flax. and all the necessaries of life except from the earth, and from the fullness of the earth? What, therefore, is more lowly, what more useful than the earth? In like manner, what is more humble, what more useful than Mary? She by her humility is the very least of all; by her fullness of grace, the most useful of all. For we have all that is needful for our spiritual life through Mary. Well therefore doth Saint Bernard say: “Let us look more deeply and see with how great a depth of devotion He wishes Mary to be honored by us who hath placed the fullness of all good in Mary, so that if we have any ground for hope, or for salvation, we should know that it is from her it springs.” (“Serm. de Aquaeductu.”) Hear now the Psalmist:

“The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof.” The fullness of the earth consists in fruits and divers riches, according to the Psalmist: “The earth is filled with Thy riches.” The fruits and the riches of this most full earth, Mary, are the works, the examples, and the divers merits of the most holy life of Mary. The Lord filled her with such riches and with so great gifts that it is said: “The Lord looked upon the earth, and filled it with his goods” (Ecclus. XVI, 30. ) Saint Jerome, speaking of this fullness, says: “It was fitting that the Virgin should be pledged with such gifts, that she should be full of grace, she who gave glory to the heavens, God to the earth, who restored peace, who gave faith to the nations, put an end to vices, brought back order to life, and discipline to manners.”

Fourthly, let us consider that Mary is full of the unction of mercy and of the oil of piety. 

Therefore she may be signified by that woman who, having closed the door of her house and gathered together within all her vessels, they were miraculously filled with oil, according to what Eliseus had prophesied to her, saying: “Thou shalt take them away, when they are full” (Kings IV, 4. ) This woman is Mary, who was called “woman” by her Son in the Gospel of Saint John, where we read: “Woman, behold thy Son.” The vessels of this woman are her affections and her deeds, her desires and her benefits, which in Mary are all full of the oil of mercy. Well, therefore, doth Saint Bernard say of this oil: “No wonder, Lady, if the sanctuary is so copiously anointed with the oil of the mercy of thy heart, when that inestimable work of mercy, which God had predestined from all eternity in our redemption, was first of all effected in thee by the Maker of the world. Let us, therefore, say to Mary: ‘Give us of your oil.’ Let us beg for the oil of her mercy in this world, lest we should ask in vain at the judgment.” That the house in which the vessels were filled should also have been closed, is admirably suited to Mary, of whose spiritual enclosure Ezechiel says: “This gate shall be closed, and it shall not be opened, and no man shall pass through it; for the Lord God of Israel has entered through it” (XLIV, 2.) The gate of Mary was closed by the lock of virginity; no man had passed through it by way of conjugal embrace; the Lord God came forth through her by a singular manner of birth. But certainly, because for the multiplication of the oil, vessels not a few were collected from the neighbors; therefore by these vessels may be signified all those who have been partakers of the mercies of Mary. Who these are, Saint Bernard declares when he says: “Mary has opened the bosom of her mercy to all, that all may receive of her fullness: the captive, redemption; the sick, healing; the sad, consolation; the sinner, pardon; the just, grace; the angel, joy; in fine, the whole Trinity, glory; the person of the Son, the substance of human flesh.”

Fifthly, let us consider that Mary is full of the fecundity of the divine offspring. 

Of this plenitude we may understand that word of Isaias: “I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and elevated, and the earth was full of His majesty” (Is. VI, 1.) That house on the throne of which God sits is the Blessed Virgin, on the throne of whose mind the Lord rested. O truly blessed and stable throne, as it is said in the third Book of Kings: “Thy most firm throne for ever” (VIII, 13.) This most high throne is in the intellect, raised up on the affections. It is also most high above men, raised up over men. On this throne, therefore, of Mary, on the throne, I say, of her mind, the Lord was seated, and the house of her body was full of the majesty of the Incarnate Word. Of this ineffable fullness St. Ambrose says: “Well is she alone said to be full of grace, who alone obtained the grace which none other ever had, of being filled with the author of grace.” O truly happy house, full of so happy a fecundity! For St. Bernard saith:

“Well was she full of grace, who both kept the grace of virginity and acquired the glory of fecundity.” The Lord, therefore, sat on the throne of the mind of Mary by grace, and filled the house of her body with His majesty by His assumed nature. Therefore, it is said in the third Book of Kings: “The glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord” (VIII, II.) Then saith Solomon: “The Lord hath said that He would dwell in the cloud” (ibid., 12.) Mary, therefore, the house of the Lord, was filled with the glory of the Divine Majesty by the cloud of the humanity assumed by God–that cloud, I say, of which we read in Ecclesiasticus: “The healing of all is in the hastening of the cloud” (XLIII, 24.) And again: “Like the morning star in the midst of a cloud.” For like the star in a cloud is the Word in the flesh assumed by Him.

Sixthly, let us consider in what way Mary was full of the perfection of the universal Church.  

The Church had and has diverse and marvelous perfections and graces in her various saints, in whose fullness it would seem that Mary abode, that she might truly utter that word of Ecclesiasticus: “My abode is in the full assembly of saints.” Truly was the abode of Mary in the plenitude of the saints, while in her own wonderful perfection the fullness of the perfection of the saints was not wanting to her. As Saint Bernard declares, when he says: “Rightly in the fullness of the saints was her abode, to whom was not wanting the faith of the patriarchs, the spirit of the prophets, the zeal of the Apostles, the constancy of the martyrs, the sobriety of the confessors, the chastity of the virgins, the fecundity of the married, yea, nor the purity of the angels.” For it is written in the book of Ecclesiasticus: “And shall be admired in the holy assembly” (XXIV, 3.) On account of this, the abode of Mary is in the fullness of the Saints, not in the fullness of the impious; because Mary remains willingly with those who are full of sanctity, not with those who are full of iniquity. She not only abides in the fullness of the Saints, but abides in fullness with the Saints, lest their fullness should grow less. She takes hold of virtues, lest they fly; she takes hold of merits, lest they perish; she takes hold of demons and keeps them in check, lest they do harm; she takes hold of her Son, lest He strike sinners. Before Mary there never was one who could dare thus to take hold of the Lord, as Isaias bears witness, saying: “There is none that calleth upon thy name, that riseth up and taketh hold of thee” (Is. LXIV, 7.)

Seventhly, let us consider how Mary is full of the redolence of fair fame. 

As a field is full of the scents of various flowers, so is Mary full of the fair fame of fragrant sprinkling. Of her fullness we may understand what we read in Genesis: “Behold the smell of my son is as the smell of a full field, which God hath blessed” (Gen. XXVII, 27.) This field is Mary, in whom the treasure of the angels, yea verily, the whole treasure of God the Father is hidden. Happy is he “who sells all that he has, and buys that field.” The full odor of this full field is the full fair fame of Mary, her full honor. Of this Saint Jerome saith: “Because she was filled with the many odors of the virtues, there came forth from her a most sweet odor, rejoicing the angelic spirits.” Of this odor she herself, glorying, could use the words of Ecclesiasticus (XXIV, 20): “I gave a sweet smell like cinnamon and aromatical balm.” The good odor of Mary was like cinnamon externally, in the rind of her conversation; like aromatical balm interiorly, by the unction of her devotion; like myrrh, in the bitterness of her suffering. The good odor of Mary was also like cinnamon in her deeds; like balm in her contemplation; like myrrh in her sufferings. O truly rich, and exceedingly rich she who, besides other aromas, was so full of the odoriferous balm of the Holy Spirit that Saint Bernard, speaking of that word, “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee,” says: “That precious balm flowed in on thee with such copiousness and plenitude that it overflows most abundantly on all around thee.” Well, therefore, could God the Father say: “Behold the odor of my Son is as the smell of a full field,” as though He said: “Behold the smell of my Son, the honor of my Son, is from the honor and the good fame of His mother.” Saint Jerome saith: “The maternal honor is His, who was born from her.”

Eighthly, let us consider how Mary was full of the reflection or resplendence, as it were, the expression of the divine glory, according to Ecclesiasticus: 

“The work of the Lord is full of His glory” (XXIV, 20.) Above all, the most wonderful work of the Lord is Mary, of whom it is said in Ecclesiasticus: “An admirable instrument the work of the Most High” (XLIII, 2.) Truly a wonderful work, for a similar one can never be found. Whence it is said of it: “There was no such work made in any kingdom” (3 Kings X, 20.) None indeed in the kingdom of Heaven, none in the kingdom of earth, nor in that of hell; for there never was such a work in Heaven, on earth, or in the nether regions. For this work is full of the glory of the Lord, because this glory shines most fully in Mary, above all pure creatures. For after the humanity assumed by the Word, there is no work, no creature, in whom there is such scope for the divine glory as in Mary. For the Lord has through Mary glory because of the restoration brought about in Heaven, glory in the Redemption accomplished in the world, glory for the deliverance wrought in hell –this glory He has in the fullness of grace in Mary. Therefore, well does Saint Anselm say: “I speak to thee alone, Lady; the world is full of thy benefits; they have penetrated hell, and surpassed the Heavens. For by the fullness of thy grace those who were in limbo rejoice in their deliverance, and those who were above the world have joy in their restoration.” Therefore, full of the glory of the Lord is His work, Mary, because, as it is said in Isaias, “The earth is full of His glory” (Is. VI, 3.) Full indeed is the whole earth, full is Mary of the divine glory, which shines in her most fully. Rightly above all the aforesaid is she said to be full of grace, who is most pleasing to all who are not ungrateful, as Saint Bernard shows when, speaking of the words, Ave gratia plena, he says: “Well is she fully pleasing because she is pleasing to God, to the angels, and to men; to men by her fecundity, to the angels by her virginity, to God by her humility.”

Ninthly, consider how Mary is full of the joy of eternal happiness. 

Who is ignorant that she is of those of whom her Son said: “Ask, and you shall receive, that your joy may be full”? If, therefore, the joy of the Apostles, of all those who are reigning with God, is full, how much more is the joy of the Mother of God full and complete? Of this plenitude Saint Jerome says: “Full indeed of grace, full of God, full of virtues, she could not but possess most fully the glory of eternal splendor.” What wonder, then, that she has full and overfull joy and glory in the kingdom, who had grace full and overflowing in her exile upon earth? What wonder if both in Heaven and on earth her fullness was above that of every creature, from whose fullness every creature has life? Therefore Saint Anselm saith: “O Woman full and overfull of grace, of the overflowing of whose plenitude every creature gains new life!”

Thus you see in Mary the fullness of illuminative wisdom, the fullness of overflowing grace, the fullness of a fruitful life, the fullness of helping mercy, of the perfection of the Church, of good fame, of divine glory, of eternal joy. Now, therefore, O Virgin full of grace, deign to make us, who are so empty, partakers of thy fullness, that we may at last attain to eternal fullness. By Our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen..

Taken from the Mirror of the Blessed Virgin Mary, by Saint Bonaventure

Photo taken from Wikimedia Commons
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