"Who is she that comes forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army set in battle array?" - Song of Songs 6:10
We are at the end of October and as we all know, October is the month of Rosary, and the month of our Lady. I hope and believe we have all recited the rosary more fervently this month because of the current challenges and crisis in the Church. Now I’d like to ask a few questions to start our reflections.
First question is, how many of you ask for Mary’s help and her protection when facing and dealing with challenges and crisis?
How many of you know that Jesus alone is the Savior and Redeemer of all mankind? As the first book of Timothy said: “For there is one God. There is also one mediator between God and the human race, Christ Jesus, himself human, who gave himself as ransom for all.”
How many of you know that if Jesus alone is the mediator, then why do we call Mary the Mediatrix of All Grace? Why ask Mary for help?
Do you know that the glory of Christ and all the graces of God must first pass through Mary in order to go to the body of Christ? But why?
All of the above questions are important for us to understand why Pope Leo XIII said that Mary is the Mediatrix of Divine Grace in his papal encyclical of Sept. 8, 1894. The Holy Church believes that all the gifts, virtues, and the grace of God are given to the world through Mary, and she knows where and whom to distribute it to. Although this principle has not yet been defined as a dogma, people have already believed Mary is the Mediatrix of all graces, and also believe that the Holy Spirit is always faithful to Mary who was chosen by God among all women. More specifically, there are three “times” or “stages” in her life that best show her role as Mediatrix. That is, First, in her “Fiat” which means “yes” to God, Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and it was she who gave Him the flesh for our salvation. In a very literal way, she brought salvation to the world. Second, during Jesus’ passion and crucifixion, she stood with Jesus at the foot of the cross, united her will and her suffering perfectly with the will and the suffering of her Son. This was undoubtedly rewarded with a tremendous outpouring of grace for the Church. Finally, after her assumption to heaven, she was crowned Queen of Heaven and Earth. She intercedes on our behalf. We can be sure that if anyone turns to Christ or does anything with grace, it is because she intensely desires and prays for it. Therefore Mary, in a subordinate role to Christ, had a "part with him in the redemption of the human race." For this reason her position in the body of Christ is to assist Christ in all aspects of the redemptive work. Her relationship to the body of Christ, equals neck to the whole body. Therefore, the glory of Christ and all the graces of God must first pass through Mary to reach to the rest of the body of Christ. She is, therefore, called by the Church the "the co-operatrix in man's redemption," "our co-redemptor." And “Mediatrix of all grace.” This is why the handbook says: “penetrated with belief in his office of Mary, the Legion enjoins it as a special devotion for all its members.” This is why we are full of Mary’s grace for sure. Let’s have our faith and work together to spread the grace we got to the needy.