Chapter XV MARY IS BLESSED BY THE SEVEN VIRTUES AGAINST THE SEVEN CAPITAL VICES

Blessed art thou among women. Let us still speak of the blessing of our Blessed Virgin, let us still hear of it. Happy is the Blessed Mary; unhappy is every accursed soul to whom it shall be said: "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire!" Cursed without doubt is every sinful soul, but blessed art thou, O virtuous Mary. The world incurred malediction by the seven capital vices; but Mary obtained blessing by the contrary virtues. Blessed, therefore, art thou among women, O Mary. Blessed by humility against pride, by charity against envy, by meekness against anger, by diligence against sloth, by temperance against gluttony, by chastity against lust.

First let us hear how Mary is blessed by humility against pride. For the proud are accursed, as it is written: "Thou hast rebuked the proud; cursed are they who decline from thy ways." Against this curse of pride Mary obtained the blessing of humility. Thus she may be signified by that valley of which it is said in Paralipomenon: "They called that place the valley of blessing" (2 Paralip. XX, 6.) If every humble soul is, as it were, a valley of God, according to that word of Isaias, "Every valley shall be filled," how much more was Mary a valley, who was so deep in humility! What wonder if she were the valley of valleys, who was the most humble of the humble? Oh, how greatly is this blessed valley exalted with blessings for her humility, so deep, so useful, so pleasing! St. Augustine says: "O truly blessed humility of Mary, who brought forth the Lord to men, gave life to mortals, renewed the heavens, purified the world, opened paradise, and delivered the souls of men from hell." The deeper a valley is, the more is it a receptacle for waters; so was Mary for graces. A valley receives irrigation by waters, sometimes from above, sometimes from below; from above, when the rains flow down from the mountains; from below, when there are springs of water in it. In like manner the humble Mary received waters, as it were, both from above and from below; she was, as it were, irrigated from a mountain and from a spring, when from the divine and from the human nature of her Son so great a blessing of graces was poured into her. This is that blessing of which we read in the Book of Judges, when Axa said to her father: "Give me a blessing." Her father gave her a place well watered from above and from below. Axa was a type of Mary, who received a well- watered blessing from the heavenly Father. For God the Father gave her a blessing from above in the divinity of Christ, and from below in His humanity; again from above in her mind, and from below in her womb; from above in her charity to God, from below in her love for her neighbor; again from above in contemplation, from below, in action. Or the heavenly Father gave her an ineffable blessing, from above in Heaven, from below on earth, that in Heaven she might possess the blessing of glory, and on earth that of grace; and thus be blessed both in Heaven and on earth, according to what St. Bernard intimates when he says: "Remember, O Mary, that Christ bore the malediction of the cross, who blessed thee, His Mother, in Heaven. But thou wert blessed also on earth by the Angel, and art rightly called blessed on earth by all generations."

Secondly, let us hear how Mary is blessed for charity against envy. The envious are accursed, as it is said of the envious Cain: "Cursed art thou upon earth, which has opened its mouth, and received the blood of thy brother from thy hand." Against the curse of envy, Mary has received the blessing of charity. She may well, therefore, be signified by Sara, of whom the Lord said: "I will bless her, and out of her I will give thee a son, whom I will bless" (Gen. XVII, 16.) Sara is interpreted as "coal." This is well suited to Mary, who, like a coal, was on fire with the ardor of charity. Therefore, the burning bush is a fit figure of Mary, by whom the blessing of grace is ministered to every faithful soul. It is said in Deuteronomy: "The blessing of him, who appeared in the bush, may it come upon the head of Joseph." Joseph is interpreted as "increase," and signifies every faithful soul enriched by divine grace. Blessed is the bush, and blessed is He who by His Incarnation appeared in the bush, by whom so great a blessing came upon the faithful. O truly blessed coal, producing so blessed a flame, blessed Mary bringing forth so blessed a Child. "From her," saith the Lord, "I will give thee a son, whom I will bless" (Gen. XVII, 16.) Think, therefore, what great charity Mary had towards God, when God is her Son according to the flesh. Think also what charity she had towards her neighbor, when the good neighbor is spiritually her son. And if we are her sons, we are the brethren of her Son. Well, therefore, doth St. Anselm say of this blessed Mother: "O blessed and exalted one, not for thyself alone, but also for us, what is it, how great is it, how lovable, what we see happening by thee for us, which, seeing, I rejoice, which, rejoicing, I dare not utter ? For if thou, O Lady, art the Mother of God, are not thy other sons the brethren of God?"

Thirdly, hear how Mary is blessed for her meekness and gentleness against anger. For the angry are accursed, as it is written in Genesis: "Cursed be their fury, for it was stubborn: and their wrath, because it was cruel" (Gen. XLIX, 7.) Against this curse of wrath, Mary obtained the blessing of meekness. For truly her meekness was such that not only had she no anger of her own, but she even turned the anger of God to meekness. Therefore, she is well signified by Abigail, to whom David said: "Blessed be thy speech, and blessed be thou, who hast kept me to-day from coming to blood and revenging me with my own hand" (I Kings XXV, 32.) It is the property of meekness to soothe with kind words the anger of those who are offended, according to that word of Proverbs: "A mild word turneth away anger" (Prov. XV, 1.) The meek Abigail signifies the meek Mary. Do you wish to know how meek Mary was? Listen to St. Bernard: "Turn over," he says, "diligently in your mind the whole of the Gospel story, and if you note in Mary anything of rebuke, anything hard, or even the slightest sign of indignation, you may perhaps suspect her in other things, and fear to approach her. But if you find that in all things she was rather full of grace and loving kindness, full of meekness and mercy, give thanks to Him who with such kind compassion has provided thee with such a mediatrix, in whom thou hast nothing to fear." David signifies Christ, who by Mary's meekness is soothed and placated, lest He should take vengeance on the sinner by eternal death. Let every soul in danger of eternal death never cease to sigh to Mary in her great meekness, for which she is rightly so blessed. I say, therefore: Let every soul about to die say with St. Anselm: "O thou blessed above women, who conquerest the angels by thy purity, surpassest the Saints by thy loving kindness, let my dying soul sigh at the sight of such great kindness; but let it blush at such resplendent whiteness."

Fourthly, hear how Mary is blessed by her diligence against sloth. For the slothful are accursed, because they do not do the work of God faithfully and earnestly. Jeremias says: "Cursed is he who doth the work of God negligently." Against the curse of torpor, Mary deserted the blessing of earnestness. For she may be signified by that Jahel, who killed Sisara with a nail. Therefore, in the Book of Judges it says: "Blessed is Jahel among women." Jahel is interpreted as "going up," which suits Mary, who did not, like the slothful, go down, but most earnestly always ascended from virtue to virtue, from a lower to a higher grade, according to that word of the Canticle: "Who is this who cometh up from the desert, like a rod of incense?" What has this blessed Jahel done? She killed Sisara with a nail. Sisara is interpreted as "the shutting out of joy," and well does this signify the devil, because he himself, being shut out from eternal joy, tries also to keep others out of it. Alas, yes, by means of the first mother of the human race he excluded all of us, and the curse of this exclusion was lifted by the Mother of our Savior. Well, therefore, does the Venerable Bede say: "Blessed art thou among women, by whose virginal bringing forth the curse of the first mother was excluded from those born of women." But what is signified by the nail wherewith the head of Sisara was pierced? What is this nail but severity of discipline? What is strictness of life to the lazy, but a sort of nail through the eyes ? Strictness of discipline is, as it were, a nail painfully transfixing the devil, and sharply wounding him. The blessed Jahel, therefore, pierced the head of Sisara with that deathdealing nail, while the blessed Mary extinguished in herself the strength of Satan by strictness of discipline. Blessed, therefore, is Jahel among women, blessed is Mary among women. Among which women ? Listen to Bede, who says: "Not only art thou blessed among women, but among women who are blessed thou art eminent by a greater blessing."

Fifthly, hear how blessed is Mary by her liberality against avarice. For the avaricious are accursed, as St. Peter says: "Having their heart exercised with covetousness, children of malediction" (2 Pet. II, 14. ) Against this curse of avarice, Mary merited the blessing of generosity and profusion. For she was like a fountain ever flowing and ever giving, and therefore was truly blessed, according to that word: "Let thy vein be blessed" (Prov. V, 18.) In temporal things Mary, that vein, was more than generous, because she generously and liberally despised all things. Therefore, according to Haymon, the Blessed Mother of God had the moon beneath her feet because she despised all temporal things. Oh, how great graces have flowed on to men by means of this vein I Therefore, O Church, thy vein be blessed, by whom so great good gifts have come to thee. Truly a noble vein, a vein full of the Holy Ghost, a vein the fountain of life; Mary is to us a vein of salvation. For by this vein Christ, the fountain of life, came to us, and by this vein we come to Jesus Christ, who is the fountain of life; truly, therefore, is it blessed. St. Bernard says: "By thee, O blessed finder of grace, we have access to God, Mother of life, Mother of salvation, that by thee He may receive us, who by thee was given to us."

Sixthly, hear how Mary is blessed by temperance against gluttony. For the gluttons are accursed, as it appears in the greediness of our first parents, for which both they and the whole human race incurred a curse. Against this curse of gluttony Mary obtained the blessing of abstinence and of every kind of temperance. Rightly indeed, in opposition to the curses of gluttony in the material paradise, did the blessings of temperance abound in the spiritual paradise, according to that word of Ecclesiasticus: "Grace is like paradise in blessings." So great an abundance of grace was in Mary that she, the gracious Virgin, might almost be called grace itself. This grace, that is, the most gracious Virgin Mary, was as a paradise in blessings. For as in the material paradise the gluttony of Eve merited the curses of punishments, so in the spiritual paradise the temperance of Mary merited the blessings of graces. Therefore Augustine says: "The curse of Eve was turned into the blessing of Mary." As the gluttony of Eve brought forth a curse not only in the body, but also in the soul, so Mary obtained for us a blessing not only in the body, but also in the soul; not a spiritual blessing alone, but likewise a corporeal one. The malediction of the greedy Eve was to bring forth in pain; the blessing of the temperate Mary was to bring forth without pain, as St. Bernard says: "Blessed art thou among women, thou who hast escaped that general curse, in which it is said: 'In sorrow thou shalt bring forth children,' and yet at the same time too that other, 'Cursed is the sterile in Israel'; and thou hast obtained a singular blessing, that thou shouldst neither remain sterile nor bring forth in sorrow."

Seventhly, let us hear how Mary is blessed by her chastity against lust. To the lustful it is said: "Cursed is he who shall sleep with the wife of his neighbor; and all the people shall say, Amen." Against this curse of incontinence, Mary merited the blessing of continence, as it may be signified in the Book of Judith, where we read: "They all blessed her with one voice, saying: Thou art the glory of Jerusalem, thou art the joy of Israel, thou art the honor of our people: for thou hast done manfully, and thy heart has been strengthened because thou hast loved chastity, and after thy husband hast not known any other: therefore also the hand of the Lord hath strengthened thee, and therefore thou shalt be blessed for ever" (Judith XV, 10 f.)

In this blessing of the chaste Judith, the blessing of Mary may not only be signified, but by this passage we may pass to a higher conclusion. If such was the blessing of a chaste widow, how much more will be that of a chaste virgin? And above all, of such a virgin as merited to bring forth God, and to do this in such a manner as not to lose her virginity. Well therefore doth Bede say: "She is incomparably blessed, who both received the glory of the divine seed, and kept the crown of virginity." Note, however, that in Scripture we find a blessed wife, a blessed widow, and a blessed virgin. The blessed wife was Sara, of whom it is said in Tobias: "A blessing was pronounced over the wife of Tobias." The blessed widow was Judith, as we have pointed out. Of a blessed widow it is also said in the Psalm: "Blessing I will bless his widow." And the Blessed virgin was Mary, as the Angel testifies, saying: "Blessed art thou among women." She is blessed, therefore, because she was a wife; she is more blessed because she was a widow; she is blessed above all those who loved virginal chastity. She is blessed without doubt, who, like Sara and Susanna, was chaste in wedlock; she is more blessed, who, like Judith and Anna, was a chaste widow; she is blessed above all, who with Mary shall have been chaste as a virgin. Therefore St. Augustine says: "We praise Susanna as a model of conjugal chastity; but we prefer before her the virtue of the widow Anna, and much more that of the Virgin Mary." This is truly meet and just. It is just that she should be blessed who had known no other man than her husband; it is more just that she should be blessed who neither during her husband's life- time nor after his death had known any man. It is meet and just that she should be blessed above all who neither knew her own, nor any other man, yet conceived a Man so supreme. Therefore St. Augustine exclaims: "O woman blessed above women, who knew no man, yet encompassed a man in her womb!"

Thus, therefore, was Mary deservedly blessed for her humility, for her charity, for her meekness, for her diligence, for her liberality, for her sobriety, for her chastity; she who was most excellent in humility, most rich in charity, most patient in meekness, most fervent in diligence, most temperate in sobriety, most continent in virginity. Thus, therefore, thou who art so manifoldly blessed, thou more than blessed Mary, let us pray that by thy blessing thou mayest free us wretched ones from every curse, and mayest make us worthy of the divine blessing, through Our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.