Mother of Divine Graces

Sermon for Day 5 of Novena (Assumption Church Parish Feast)

Some of you may have visited the quaint little town of San Giovanni Rotondo, a town that is synonymous with its most illustrious inhabitant, St Pio of Pietrelcina, or popularly known as Padre Pio. The incorruptible body of this holy Capuchin saint and the miracles associated with his cult draws thousands of devotees to this little hamlet located near the Western Coast of Italy. But St Pio is not the only attraction in town. In fact, the Church where St Pio had celebrated Masses, heard confessions, performed miracles is dedicated to Our Lady, the Madonna delle Grazie, our Lady of Graces. The Madonna is not only the principle patron of this church but also the entire town. It is little wonder that St Pio had a profound devotion to this holy image of the Lady of Graces, which was his favourite painting. He would spend hours praying the rosary and meditating before this holy image. He would tell everyone he met, “Love the Blessed Virgin and help others to love her.”

What is interesting about this image of Our Lady of Graces in San Giovanni Rotondo is that it is a Virgin Lactans, a nursing or breastfeeding Madonna, a popular depiction of our Lady until the late Middle Ages. Just like other images of the Madonna, the picture is a composite of the mother and the child. It would be incomplete if one or the other was missing. Apart from the crucifix, nothing ranks higher than the image of the Blessed Mother and her Holy Infant in Catholic iconography. But what is unique about the image of the Virgin Lactans is that the Madonna is depicted as nursing the Baby Jesus with her milk. Here, in the image of the Madonna delle Grazie, the Holy Infant is trying to give us, also children of His Mother in the order of grace, His Mother’s milk.  He is inviting us to “drink.”  Mary spiritually takes all humanity to her breast, to nourish them with the spiritual milk of supernatural grace.

What is the significance of the mother’s milk? Milk was seen as “processed blood”, and the milk of the Virgin to some extent paralleled the role of the Blood of Christ. Similarly, the breasts of Mary were seen to be a parallel to our Lord’s Five Holy Wounds, both were physical testimonies of their passions and also evidence of God’s super abundant grace. But here, the image is intended to point us, the children of Mary to three significant events in the life of Mary and Jesus, which helps us to see why she is deserving of the title, “Mother of Divine Graces.”

The first event is the Incarnation. The image of a nursing mother, or as the Eastern Christians call her the “Nourisher of Life”, is the most poignant image of the deep maternal and biological bond between mother and child, which has no equivalence. The depiction of an exposed breast is certainly not meant to be sensual. Here, in this revered icon, it serves only to highlight and proclaim the truth about the Incarnation. The Divine Word became flesh, God became man through a mortal woman. Jesus is not just a demigod or an avatar or vessel of the divine. Jesus who is fully God, is also fully man. Mary is proof of it. The Virgin Mary who nurses her son Jesus is one of the most eloquent signs that the word of God truly and undoubtedly became flesh. With her free and active cooperation in the Incarnation and at the Annunciation, Mary mediates to us Jesus Christ, who is himself the Source and the Author of all sanctifying grace.

The second event where we see our Lady in her role as co-dispenser of graces is at the crucifixion. On Calvary, Mary is given as the spiritual mother to all “beloved disciples,” represented by John, and to all humanity. The Blessed Virgin co-operates with Christ in humanity’s spiritual rebirth. The Church, the Body of Christ, is born at the cross and it is only fitting that the Mother of our Lord is present. As she gave birth to His mortal body, she now cooperates with Him to give birth to His mystical body in the order of grace.

The final event is at the Final Judgment. Though scripture is silent on our Lady’s role, tradition has accorded to her an important role as intercessor. In the iconostasis (screen of icons) of Eastern Churches, an icon of our Lady has a special place on the right side of the Royal Door – She is depicted as the Holy Intercessor, pleading with her Divine Son on our behalf. A similar image is found in Western iconography. It is common in medieval paintings to depict the Glorified Christ, exposing His Holy Wounds, as Judge of the world. At His feet would be His mother. Here Mary bares her breast in a traditional gesture of female supplication to Christ when asking for mercy for sinners. There seems to be a poetic correspondence between these two figures. Our Lord bares His wounds which forms the basis of the world’s redemption and judgment; Mary, bares her wounds, her breast, in interceding for the world and begging for her son’s mercy. It is as if she is pleading with Him, “I was the one who gave birth to you, nursed you at my breast and nurtured you with my own milk.  Will you not look with pity and mercy upon these other children of mine?”

Closely related to her title of Mother or Lady of Graces, is the title which has been accorded to her by the Doctors of the Church, Saints and even popes, although it is a title that has never been dogmatically defined: Mediatrix of All Graces.  Mediatrix is the feminine form of mediator. St. Thomas Aquinas explained that a mediator is someone who is in the middle between two parties, and being both similar to and different from each side, the mediator unites the two sides. There is no issue with accepting Christ as the perfect and unique Mediator between God and man because Jesus is both God and man. But what about Mary and is her title “mediatrix” justifiable? Most objectors to this title, “Mediatrix of All Graces”, would quote St Paul in 1 Timothy 2:5, “For there is one God.  There is also one mediator between God and the human race, Christ Jesus.” The emphasis on the singularity of Christ seems to mean that no one other than Jesus is a mediator. Therefore, how can Mary be a mediatrix?

As a general rule, we should read any Scripture verse within its context. In the case of 1 Timothy 2:5, it comes right after verses 1-4, which contain St. Paul’s exhortation to pray for everyone. Thus, St. Paul presented prayer for others as a type of mediation between God and man and urged Christians to do this. He is implying that there is more than one type of mediation. For this reason, St. Thomas Aquinas carefully distinguished between Christ’s mediation which is unique, perfect, principal, independent, and sufficient mediation; and everyone else’s mediation which is imperfect, insufficient, subordinate to Christ’s, and dependent on Christ’s mediation. As part of Christ’s Body, we mediate in Christ, through Christ, and with Christ, to prepare others to believe in Christ and also to distribute to them the grace that ultimately comes from Christ.

Now, how is Our Lady a mediatrix? Sinless from the moment of her own conception in her mother’s womb, Mary has always been in a unique middle position between God and sinful human creatures. As the Mother of Jesus, Mary is a unique mediatrix of Jesus, who is the source of all graces. Thus, in at least an indirect way, the Blessed Virgin is the Mediatrix of All Graces. However, Mary’s mediation is in an entirely different category than Christ’s, because her creaturely mediation has always been imperfect and insufficient in the sense that she has never done any of this only by herself. She depends on God for everything. God, not Mary, is the true source of grace. Therefore, it is God Himself who made Our Lady to be a universal mediatrix. As St. Bernard taught, “It is God’s will that we receive everything through Mary.”

Notice the divine consistency in Mary’s role in the order of grace as designated by God’s will. First of all, Mary is conceived in sanctifying grace from the first instance of her existence by a unique act of God’s will.  Then, Mary gives birth to the source of all graces in Jesus Christ. With this birth of the Head of Grace, she also gives spiritual birth to the Body mystically united with the Head, the Church. This linkage is sealed by our Lord on the cross, as He gives His mother to the beloved disciple, the representative of the Church.  Furthermore, she participates with her Son in meriting the grace that redeems the world on Calvary. Just as Eve participated in Adam’s sin which led to the Fall, Mary, the new Eve, participates in the new Adam’s act of redemption. Finally, from Heaven, Mary distributes the graces of the Redemption to grant to each open heart of the human family the saving supernatural life of Our Lord. As Vatican II ascribes to her, Mary is truly “a Mother to us in the order of grace.”

As we come before our Lady and honour her as Mother of Divine Graces, let us remember that Mary’s mediation does not conflict with Christ’s mediation but is the highest form of sub-mediation under Christ. She is the Mother of Divine Graces because she is the mother of the fount of divine graces, our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. She is the aqueduct that channels the infinite grace and merits of Christ to the whole world, a world in need of sanctification and redemption.

Let us conclude by praying this prayer of St Pio to the Madonna of Graces:

“O Mary as Our Lady of Graces, merciful dispenser of divine graces, Mary most Holy, Mother of the Eternal Incarnate Word who has crowned you with His immense wisdom, look upon the greatness of my sorrow and grant me the grace I need so much. Hail Mary…”