



Virgin and Child

BARNABA DA MODENA

1361-1383













From the Apostolic Digest







CHAPTER ONE

DEVOTION TO OUR LADY

IS NECESSARY FOR SALVATION



In me is all hope of life and virtue, in me is all grace of the way and the truth.



Ecclesiasticus 24:25





O chosen Queen of Heaven! You alone are the refuge of guilty mortals to whom so many a tearful eye, so many a wounded and miserable heart is raised . . .

You, O elect Queen, are the gate of all grace, the door of compassion that has never yet been shut!



Bl. Henry Suso



Mary is the key to the gates of Heaven.



St. Ephrem



Open to us, O Mary, the gate of Paradise, since you have its keys!



St. Ambrose



God has entrusted the keys and treasures of Heaven to Mary.



St. Thomas Aquinas



No one can enter into Heaven except through Mary, as entering through a gate.



St. Bonaventure



This is the House of God and the Gate of Heaven.



Genesis 28:17



Mary is called "The Gate of Heaven" because no one can enter Heaven but through her means.



St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori



Holy Scripture was written for Mary, about Mary, and on account of Mary.



St. Bernard



Who is this Gate if not Mary? Mary is the Gate through which Christ entered this world!



St. Ambrose



We had closed Paradise; you, O Mary, opened the entryway to the tree of life again . . . You are the bridge to life, the staircase to Heaven!



St. John Damascene



She is the stairway to Heaven, and the gate of Paradise!



St. Lawrence Justinian



All the Saints have a great devotion to Our Lady: no grace comes from Heaven without passing through her hands. We cannot go into a house without speaking to the doorkeeper. Well, the Holy Virgin is the doorkeeper of Heaven.



St. John Mary Vianney



All gifts, virtues, and graces of the Holy Ghost are administered by the hands of Mary to whomsoever she desires, when she desires, and in the manner she desires, and to whatever degree she desires.



St. Bernardine of Siena



She opens the abyss of God's mercy to whomsoever she wills, when she wills, and as she wills, so that there is no sinner however great who is lost if Mary protects him . . . All men: past, present, and to come, should look upon Mary as the means and negotiator of the salvation of all ages.



St. Bernard



Through you, Most Holy Lady, all glory, honor, and holiness vouchsafed to the human race from Adam to the last ages has been granted, is being granted, will be granted to apostles, prophets, Martyrs, and all the just and humble of heart.



St. Ephrem



Mary is the dispensatrix of all the graces God bestows on man.



St. Bernardine of Siena



No man is delivered or preserved from the world-wide snares of Satan except through Mary; and God grants His graces to no one except through her alone.



St. Germanus of Constantinople



God has decided that we should receive everything from the Father, from the Son, and from the Holy Spirit, and from the Immaculata. This is the only path that each and every grace can follow.



St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe



Every grace granted to man in this life has three successive steps: from God it comes to Christ, from Christ to the Virgin, and from the Virgin it descends to us.



St. Bernardine of Siena



All graces that have ever been bestowed on men, all of them came through Mary.



St. Antoninus



Every grace and blessing possessed by the Church, all the treasures of light, holiness, and glory that abide in her, on earth as well as in Heaven, all are due to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary . . . Let us acknowledge, then, that her heart is the origin of everything noble, rich, and precious in all the holy souls who form the universal Church in Heaven and on earth. It is the source of salvation.



St. John Eudes



The Lord has placed in Mary the plenitude of all good, so that if any hope, or grace, or salvation is in us, we know that we derive it all from Mary.



St. Bernard



Every good, every help, every grace which men have received and will receive from God until the End of Time, came, and will come, to them by the intercession and through the hands of Mary . . . the whole Trinity gave thee a name, O Mary, which after that of thy most holy Son is above every name, so that at thy name every knee should genuflect in heaven, on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue should confess the grace, the glory, and the power of thy most holy name.



Bl. Raymond Jordano



The admirable name of Mary came forth from the treasury of the Divinity, and through it Redemption was effected.



St. Peter Damian





All the Elect obtain eternal salvation through the means of Mary.



St. Ildephonsus



With reason did the Most Holy Virgin predict that all generations would call her blessed, for all the Elect obtain eternal salvation through the means of Mary.



St. Ildephonsus



There is no reconciliation, O Mary, except that which thou didst conceive in thy virginity, no justification save that which thou didst nurture inviolately in thy womb, no salvation but that which thou didst immaculately bear. Therefore, O Lady, thou art the mother of justification and of the justified, thou art the begetter of reconciliation and of the reconciled, the Mother of salvation and of the saved. O blessed assurance, O refuge without fear! The Mother of God is our mother, too! The mother of Him in Whom alone we hope, Whom alone we fear, is our mother. We have for our mother the mother of Him Who alone can save us, Who alone will be our judge!



St. Anselm



For this reason, all creatures are obligated to render her respect and homage as to their Queen and Sovereign to whom they belong and upon whom they depend, and will depend, for all eternity.



St. John Eudes



Mary became for herself and for all men the cause and foun tain of salvation.



St. Francis de Sales



Eve became the cause of death; Mary became the cause of our salvation.



St. Ephrem



Seeing Our Lord made incarnate from thee, O chaste Virgin, we confess thee to be in very deed the Mother of God who didst become ----- we do not hesitate to proclaim it ----- the cause of the regeneration of all things . . . Hail, Cause of our Union with God! Hail, Destroyer of the Curse! Hail, O thou who didst call from their exile the children of this earth!



Greek Menaea, Octave of Christmas

Eve believed the serpent; Mary believed Gabriel. Thus, what had been laid waste in ruin by this female sex was by the same sex re-established in salvation.



Tertullian



Even as Eve, having become disobedient, was made the cause of death, both to herself and to the entire human race, so also did Mary . . . by being obedient, become the cause of salvation, both to herself and to the whole human race ----- and therefore, as the human race was made subject to death by a virgin, so is it saved by a virgin.



St. Irenaeus of Lyons

God wills that Mary exact from His goodness peace for the earth, glory for Heaven, life for the dead, and salvation for all who are lost.



St. Peter Chyrsologus



Mary desired, sought, and obtained the salvation of everyone; nay, she even effected the salvation of everyone!

St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori

Just as we are indebted to Jesus Christ for His death, so likewise are we indebted to Mary for the salvation of the world.



St. Albert the Great



Who can worthily thank thee and adequately praise thee, O Blessed Virgin, who by thy Fiat hast saved a lost world!

St. Augustine



Mary has the greatest and clearest claims to our homage and praise: she is the salvation of the world . . . Our dependence upon the august Mary is complete and universal . . . There is neither on earth nor in Heaven any justified soul, anyone of the Elect, who does not owe Mary his justice and his glory.



Ven. William Joseph Chaminade

All those who, to the end of time, shall receive the blessing of our heavenly Father . . . shall receive their graces only as a result of their perfect obedience to Mary.



St. Louis Marie de Montfort

Through thee, O Holy Virgin, Heaven was populated, Hell emptied, and the ruins of the heavenly Jerusalem rebuilt!



St. Bernard

Answer, then, O Sacred Virgin! Why do you delay the salvation of the world, which depends upon your consent?



St. Augustine

O salvation of all who call upon thee, save me!



St. Bonaventure

Pure and Immaculate Virgin, save me and deliver me from eternal damnation.



St. John Damascene

May we, who are unable to please Thee, O Lord, by our own acts, be saved by the intercession of the Mother of Thy Son.



Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary



Immaculate Virgin, you have to save me!



St. Philip Neri



O Mother of the salvation of everyone!



St. Agnes



Many have proved invincibly, from the sentiments of the Fathers ----- among others: St. Augustine, St. Ephrem, St. Cyril of Jerusalem, St. Germanus of Constantinople, St. John Damascene, St. Anselm, St. Bernard, St. Bernardine, St. Thomas, and St. Bonaventure ----- that devotion to Our Most Blessed Virgin is necessary for salvation, and that it is an infallible mark of reprobation to have no esteem or love for the Holy Virgin while, on the other hand, it is an infallible mark of predestination to be entirely and truly devoted to her. The figures and words of the Old and New Testaments prove this. The sentiments and examples of the Saints confirm it. Reason and experience teach and demonstrate it. Even the Devil and his crew, constrained by the force of truth, have often been obliged to avow it in spite of themselves.



St. Louis Marie de Montfort

O Lady, since thou art the dispenser of all graces, and since the grace of salvation can come only through thy hands, our salvation depends on thee.



St. Bernardine of Siena

O Most Holy Vifgin, receive us under thy protection if thou wouldst see us saved, for we have no hope of salvation but through thy means.



St. Ephrem



O my sweet Mother Mary, I consign my soul to you; have pity on me and save me.



St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori

If our life were not under the protection of Mary, we might tremble for our perseverance and salvation . . . In her hands Jesus has placed His almighty power in the order of salvation. He has confided to her all the means of salvation. All the graces of salvation, both natural and spiritual, will be given to us by Mary. She is rich with the riches of God Himself.



St. Peter Julian Eymard

O Mary, we poor sinners know no other refuge but thee, for thou art our only hope, and on thee do we rely for our salvation.



St. Thomas of Villanova

Unless the prayers of Mary interposed, there could be no hope of mercy.



St. Bridget of Sweden

Mary is the whole hope of our salvation.



St. Thomas Aquinas

The foundation of all our confidence is found in the Blessed Virgin Mary. God has committed to her the treasury of all good things, in order that everyone may know that through her are obtained every hope, every grace, and all salvation. For this is His will: that we obtain everything through Mary.



Ven. Pope Pius IX

O, my Lady, next to thy Son Jesus Christ, thou hast always been the chief instrument of our salvation.



St. Dominic



We are debtors to the Blessed Virgin, after Christ, for the redemption of the human race.



St. Peter Damian

Sinners receive pardon by the intercession of Mary alone.



St. John Chrysostom

Only at the intercession of Mary do sinners obtain forgiveness . . . They receive pardon only by the intercession of Mary.



St. Peter Chrysologus



There is no one in the world who, if he asks for it, does not partake of the Divine mercy through the tenderness of Mary.



St. Agnes

O Mary, come to my aid or I am lost!

St. Alphonsus Rodriguez

Our salvation rests in thy hands, O Mary!

St. Bernardine of Siena

You, O Lady, were filled with grace, so that you might be the way of our salvation and the means of ascent into the heavenly kingdom.



St. Athanasius

A gentle maiden, having lodged a God in her womb, asks as her price the salvation of those who are lost, and life for those who are dead.



St. Peter Chrysologus

All the world rejoices because it was redeemed through Mary.



Alcuin of York





Our Lady was the powerful means of our Redemption, and to her we owe our Redemption on many counts.

Ven. Mary of Agreda

A mediator, then, was needed with the Mediator Himself, nor could a more fitting one be found than Mary.

St. Bernard

Mary is this glorious intermediary; she is the mighty Mother of God.

Pope Leo XIII

We need a mediator with our Mediator.

Council of Rheims



She is the mediator between us and Christ, just as Christ is the mediator between us and God.



St. Bonaventure

You must intercede, O Lady, because God, Who placed His Son as Mediator between man and Heaven, has placed you as mediator between His Son and guilty man!

St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori

As the moon is placed between the sun and earth, so is Mary stationed between God and us, to pour out His graces continually upon us.



St. Bernard

Mary is our necessary and universal Mediatrix . . . If no one knows the Father but the Son and those to whom the Son has revealed Him, likewise no one knows the Son but His Mother and the Church to whom she has revealed Him ... How is it possible to find Jesus without Mary, since Jesus Himself did not come to us except with the consent of Mary? No one can go to the Son but by Mary, just as no one can go to the Father but by the Son. Only through Mary do we reach Jesus since Jesus came to us only through Mary; and because of this great truth, we should desire nothing but to make known to all nations this path, which is so sure to reach Heaven.



Ven. William Joseph Chaminade





Mankind was unworthy to receive the Word directly from God, so Mary was our Mediatrix in the Incarnation, and she continues to exercise that function. No one comes to the knowledge of Jesus Christ and embraces His holy law except through her; no one obtains the saving gift of faith except by her prayers. Her mission, to which she is ever faithful, is to give us Jesus. He must be received from her hands, and in vain do we seek Him elsewhere.

St. Peter Julian Eymard

Every grace which is communicated to this world has a threefold origin: it flows from God to Christ, from Christ to the Virgin, and from the Virgin to us . . . Nothing comes to us except through the mediation of Mary, for such is the will of God. Thus, just as no man goes to the Father but by the Son, so likewise no one goes to Christ except through His Mother. Whosoever will not have recourse to her is trying to fly without wings . . . O Virgin Most Holy, no one abounds in the knowledge of God except through thee; no one, O Mother of God, attains salvation except through thee!



Pope Leo XIII



There is no one, O most holy Mary, who can know God except through thee; no one who can be saved or redeemed but through thee, O Mother of God!



St. Germanus of Constantinople

To reach the Eternal Father, we must go to Jesus, our Mediator of Redemption . . . To go to Jesus, we must go to Mary: she is our Mediatrix of Intercession.



St. Louis Marie de Montfort

As you cannot come to God except by means of Jesus Christ, you likewise cannot come to Christ except by means of His Mother . . . As we have access to the Father only by means of the Son, so do we have access to the Son only by means of the Mother.



St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori

Through thee do we have access to thy Son, O Blessed Discoverer of Grace, O Mother of Life, O Mother of Salvation!

St. Bernard

By the will of God nothing is conferred upon us except by means of Mary; and just as no one is able to approach the Most High Father except through His Son, so too no one approaches Christ but through Mary His Mother.

St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe

We cannot approach Jesus but through Mary; we can see Jesus and speak to Him only by means of her.



St. Louis Marie de Montfort

If anyone wishes to contact a President, for instance, or some other high worldly dignitary, he does not go about it by himself; he takes an intermediary with him. The same thing is true when we approach God: let is always be with Mary and through Mary.



St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe

For, since it is the will of Divine Providence that we should have the God-Man through Mary, there is no other way for us to receive Christ except from her hands.



Pope St. Pius X

Our sanctity depends on the degree of our nearness to Mary. She is the nearest to God, and if we are the nearest to her then we therefore will be nearest, through her, to God Himself.



St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe



Behold, there came wise men from the East . . . and entering into the house, they found the Child with Mary His Mother.



St. Matthew 2:1, 11

No one ever finds Christ but with and through Mary. Whoever seeks Christ apart from Mary seeks Him in vain.



St. Bonaventure

He who wishes to find Jesus will do so only by having recourse to Mary.



St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori

What, therefore, God hath joined together, let no man put asunder . . . Take the Child and His Mother.



St. Matthew 19:4; 2:20

The Incarnation is so indissoluble that what it has once joined together has never been, nor ever can be, separated.



St. Denis the Areopagite

He who desires to find Jesus will not find Him otherwise than through Mary.



St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori

The Child is not found without Mary, His Mother . . . If, then, it is impossible to separate what God has united, it is also certain that you cannot find Jesus except with Mary and through Mary.



Pope St. Pius X

Where Mary is, there is the Son!



St. Paul of the Cross

You must never separate what God has so perfectly united. So closely bound up with each other are Jesus and Mary that whoever beholds Jesus sees Mary; whoever loves Jesus loves Mary; whoever has devotion to Jesus has devotion to Mary . . . Thus, you may never separate the Son from the Mother, nor the Mother from the Son; and you may behold nothing but Jesus in Mary and Mary in Jesus . . . Whoever sees Jesus sees Mary, and he who sees Mary beholds Jesus! I cannot look upon Thee, O my Lord Jesus, without beholding her who sits at Thy right hand!



St. John Eudes



He who sees Jesus also sees the Mother of Jesus.

St. Robert Bellarmine



Nothing is more inseparable in the pious remembrance of Christians, nothing more inseparable in their confidence, their invocation, their love, than Jesus and Mary.



St. Ignatius of Loyola

It would be easier to separate the light from the sun than Mary from Jesus: so we might call Our Lord "Jesus of Mary," and Our Blessed Lady "Mary of Jesus."



St. Louis Marie de Montfort

The same Person Who is the only-begotten of the Father is also the only-begotten of Mary, and he who separates them is himself separated from the kingdom of God.

St. Ephrem



We must never separate Jesus from Mary: we can go to Him only through her . . . Without Mary, we shall never find Jesus. Whoever would say "I have no need of Mary" would be guilty of blasphemy! Our eternal salvation is at stake, and we are bound to honor her as the Mother of God and our Mother.



St. Peter Julian Eymard





The spirit of Mary is the same as that of her Divine Son; whoever belongs to her cannot therefore be far from Him.



St. Joseph Cafasso

Hail Mary, Mother of God, through whom every creature imprisoned by the bonds of idolatrous error comes to the knowledge of truth! Through whom every faithful soul is saved!



St. Cyril of Alexandria



Through thee, a Lady, Heaven is opened, Hell emptied . . . and life granted to those who expected only eternal death . . .

If we have some chance of salvation, we have it all from Mary. Go, then, have recourse to Mary, and you will be saved.



St. Bernard

What, then, is the conclusion we must draw from the teaching and practice of the Church? It is this: our salvation must be wrought through Mary.



Ven. William Joseph Chaminade

The way of salvation is open to no one except through Mary.



St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori



Alas, O Lord! I am so wretched that without this dear Mother I would certainly be lost. Yes, Mary is necessary for me . . . that she may save me from the eternal punishment of Thy justice . . . Would that everyone might know that I should be already damned were it not for Mary!



St. Louis Marie de Montfort





The Divine Mother is the only hope of those who are in despair; she is our safeguard from Hell.

Through the intercession of Mary many souls are in Paradise who would not be there had she not interceded for them, for God has entrusted her with the keys and treasures of the heavenly kingdom.



St. Thomas Aquinas

Because God wishes to saved everyone, He has given us this great protectress in His mercy. There is no sinner, however abandoned by God, for whom if he invoke her aid she will not obtain the grace to return to God and find mercy.

St. Bridget of Sweden

To thee, O my Queen, nothing is impossible, since thou canst succor and save even those who have despaired of salvation.

St. Peter Damian

Thou, O Mary, art omnipotent in saving sinners!

St. Germanus of Constantinople

The help of Mary is all-powerful in saving us from sin and from Hell.

St. Cosmas of Jerusalem

Mary, by being the Mother of God, was the means of saving sinners; so sinners, by proclaiming her praises, will obtain salvation.

St. Anselm

The name of Mary is the name of salvation . . . Hence, let us always pray to this Divine Mother if we desire to ensure our salvation.

St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori

Sweet heart of Mary, be my salvation!



Bl. Pope Pius IX

The heart of Mary is the source of universal salvation: all salvation springs from Mary's heart . . . The salvation of man having taken place in the heart of Mary, all Christians must consider her, after God, as the source of their life, and as the cause and center of their happiness . . . They must always be turned towards her heart, gaze upon it unceasingly, and make it the object of their aspirations and desires. Outside the heart of Mary, there is only trouble, fear, anxiety, death, and Hell.



St. John Eudes

O man, whoever you are, understand that in this world you are tossed about on a stormy and tempestuous sea . . . Remember that if you want to avoid being drowned . . . you must call on Mary . . . O Lady! O Ark in which those who take refuge will never suffer the shipwreck of eternal perdition!



St. Bernard

We pray thee, O Lady, Star of the Sea, shine upon us in our distress on the sea of life, and lead us to safe harbor and to the ineffable joys of eternity.



St. Anthony of Padua

Mary is called the Star of the Sea, because, as sailors are guided to their port by the polar star which is the star of the sea, so also are Christians guided in their voyage to eternal glory by her.



St. Thomas Aquinas

Mary is our salvation, our life, our hope, our counsel, our refuge, our help.



Ven. Bernardine de Bustis

Thou art the Lady of all men, and thou art the universal salvation of Christians.



St. Ephrem

Hail, O certain salvation of Christians! Hail, fortress of the faithful and salvation of the world!



St. Ephrem

O Agent of Paradise!



St. Andrew Avellino



O Ark of Glory! O Chamber of Salvation!



St. Vincent Ferrer



Except for God Himself, Mary is higher than everyone.



St. Andrew of Crete

Nothing, O Lady, is equal to thee; for whatever exists must be either above or below thee. God alone is above thee, and everything else is below thee!



St. Anselm

The salvation of everyone is left to the care of this Blessed Virgin



St. Peter Damian

My Lady, he whom you desire to be saved will be saved . . . God will not save us without the intercession of Mary.



St. Bonaventure

It is enough, O Lady, that you will it, and our salvation is secure.



St. Anselm

Hasten, Most Blessed Lady: do not delay the salvation of the world, which depends upon thy consent!



St. Bernard

Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee! St.



Luke 1:28

If God is on our side, who can ever be against us?



Romans 8:31

If Mary be for us, who shall be against us?



St. Antoninus

Happy is the Christian who has the Most Blessed Virgin for him; and miserable is that Christian who does not have the Blessed Virgin on his side!



St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori

Mary is the center of the universe, the Ark of God, the cause of creation, the business of the ages. Towards her turn the inhabitants of Heaven and the dwellers in the place of expiation, the men who have gone before us, and we who are now living, those who are to follow us, our children's children, and their descendants. Those in Heaven look to her to have their ranks filled up; those in Purgatory look for their deliverance; the men of the first ages look to her that they may be found faithful prophets; those who come after, that they may obtain eternal happiness. O Mother of God, Queen of Heaven, Sovereign of the world, all generations call thee blessed, for thou hast brought forth life and glory for all. In thee the Angels always find their joy, the just find grace, sinners pardon; in thee, and by thee, and from thee, the merciful hand of the Almighty has reformed the first creation.



St. Bernard

All praise to you, holy Mother of God! . . . Through you the heavens exult, the Angels and Archangels rejoice, the demons flee, and man himself is once more admitted to Heaven. Through you, souls bound by the chains of idolatry have been brought to know the truth and led to Holy Baptism . . . By your help nations have come to repentance. Through you, the prophets have spoken and the Apostles have preached salvation to all nations. Mary, Virgin and Mother, who can worthily proclaim the praises of your power?



St. Cyril of Alexandria

Let us honor the Divine palace of the King, in which it was His will to dwell: the Virgin and Incomparable Mother of God. Let us sing praises to her through whom we are deified. The most blessed choir of the prophets of old, Divinely inspired by the Spirit, called thee, O Most Chaste One, the Gate and Mountain Overshadowed in their sacred prophecies. Enlighten, O Virgin, the eyes of my heart, and pour over me the bright ray of compunction; deliver me from eternal darkness, O thou Gate of Light and Refuge of all Christians who faithfully praise thee. I praise thee, the creature alone worthy of all praise; I glorify thee, O thou who hast been forever glorified by God; and I bless thee, O Virgin, most happy in a Divine blessedness, who art called Blessed by all generations. The refulgent splendor of thy delivery of the Savior has shone forth and shed a most joyful light over the whole earth, and has destroyed the prince of darkness, O Most Chaste Mother of God, thou joy of the Angels and protectress of all who honor thee with unceasing praises!



St. Joseph the Hymnographer











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