Saturday, August 15 : Blessed Columba Marmion

Upon what does this blessed certainty—of being a child of the Queen of Heaven—rest? Above all, upon the dogma of our incorporation into Christ as His members. Is a woman not a mother the moment she becomes a source of life for another? The moment she imparts the very life she herself enjoys? In the supernatural order, whence comes this divine life within us—a life destined not to end with death, as our bodily life does, but rather to blossom in glory throughout eternity? Eve gave us life according to nature and sin; yet the life of grace descended to us through Mary. Mary is the New Eve, associated by her predestination with the New Adam. How effective was her cooperation in the work of redemption! At the Annunciation—as we have noted—God willed, in a certain sense, to make the coming of His Son contingent upon her consent. From that moment on, the Virgin became the privileged creature who imparts God’s gift—supernatural life—to all; she embraced her motherhood in accordance with the full scope of the divine intentions. Now, God’s plan entailed that she be the Mother not only of Christ, but also of all His members. (…) By accepting to become children of Mary, we enter fully into the Lord’s merciful designs. Did the Father not “predestine us to be conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom 8:29)? (…) What a consolation! Through our veneration and love for Mary, we gradually perfect our likeness to the Savior.

Roman Catholic Ordinary Calendar – rosary,team