Was just reading “the Glories of Mary”. In it St. Alphonsus describes the kingdom of God consisting of two components – justice and mercy.
The saint says that Christ reserved justice for himself, yielding the empire of mercy to His mother. St. Alhonsus also quotes St. Thomas (in his preface to the Canonical Epistles) as saying that "…when the Blessed Virgin conceived the Eternal Word in her womb, and brought him forth, she obtained half of the kingdom of God. So that she is the Queen of Mercy, as Jesus Christ is the King of Justice". Similarly, with other examples he seemingly makes the point that “mercy” is the Marian trait, and “justice” the trait of Christ.
I found this interesting – but I’m wondering about something.
In our now prevalent devotion to the Divine Mercy, St. Faustina points us to a rather different model – the focus of mercy is no longer so much Mary – but Jesus himself(!)
Perhaps there is no contradiction here. Perhaps Jesus and Mary both dispense mercies, and perhaps the “justice” of God is provided for somehow…
But does this not suggest that our Catholic thought and teaching on mercy has evolved over the years?
Hi. I find this sentence to be a little inflammatory:
‘In our now prevalent devotion to the Divine Mercy, St. Faustina points us to a rather different model – the focus of mercy is no longer so much Mary – but Jesus himself.’
- in the sense that it suggests that Mary was ever the sole focus. I would guess you didn’t mean it this way. But this is what I think some people in interdenominational branches of Christianity, that don’t understand, would suggest, as it appears to attack the due reverence one is to accord toward our Blessed Mother, as if Jesus and Mary could ever be separated by such blighted attempts at segregation.
‘The saint says that Christ reserved justice for himself, yielding the empire of mercy to His mother.’
First, it depends what you mean by ‘justice’? Some would say that if God IS Mercy, as another poster has suggested, then God’s Justice is Mercy (I think someone important said that recently) for justice is the bringing back of those who walk away from His Mercy (maybe interpreted clearer in terms of restorative healing).
‘The saint says that Christ reserved justice for himself, yielding the empire of mercy to His mother.’
Catholics believe - as written in the Catechism - that Mary is indeed Mediatrix of Grace, and therefore, any graces that flow from the Mercy of God will pass through her hands, and in this way, God has indeed made her the Queen of all things, in Heaven and on Earth. But this is not drawing opposites to God. She obtains graces for us as she is intercessor, as the mystical Spouse of the Holy Spirit. This term is not out-of-date. God wants all people to go to Heaven. He also doesn’t permit evil. Because humanity, though made good, is fallen, we are all sinners, and therefore need to appeal before the throne of Mercy. We do this by going to Confession through the power of the Church, and of course, through our Holy Mother, who, as St. Augustine of Hippo rightly stated, is both the Beginning and the Mother of the Church - she indeed prefigured the Church (stated in the LOTH). Mary intercedes for and with the Church to Christ, who appeals at the Father’s Right Hand.
‘In our now prevalent devotion to the Divine Mercy, St. Faustina points us to a rather different model – the focus of mercy is no longer so much Mary – but Jesus himself!’
It was in the Congregation of Sisters of Our Lady of MERCY that Divine Mercy was to be found! Something to contemplate. It could be said that devotion to Our Lady was the means throughout the centuries through whom we now draw the richness of understanding stemming from Scripture, to do with Divine Mercy, and she still is!
Such intercession from Our Lady was not only an optional extra but the way in which Jesus made necessary, as written in the few times that Our Lady is made known, and as such illumined throughout Salvation History.
‘But does this not suggest that our Catholic thought and teaching on mercy has evolved over the years?’
Different centuries produce different problems in the world to varying degrees of seriousness and this has meant that people’s devotions have taken on sometimes a very strong appeal to their Mother. And this is what we are to do. Because She is our Mother.
Our Lady is indeed ‘our life, our sweetness and our hope’ because she is perfectly conformed to the Will of God (Divine Motherhood), is the Mystical Spouse of the Holy Spirit, who IS the Spirit of God the Father and the Son (the Third Person). Of course, we know she is also Handmaiden to God who is our Eternal Life, Sweetness and Hope, but if we take the Catholic view that Our Lady is not in opposition to God’s Will, then we also say she is all of these things, as she obtains the graces necessary to keep returning to the Holy Trinity for reconciliation and healing.
The Triumph of the Immaculate can be traced to Scripture.
You can be sure that Our Lady is both Queen and Mother, put in this position by God Himself, and in this way nothing has changed, and never will. The Saints spoke most eloquently of Our Lady, by encouraging very strong devotion to her, and these sentiments and declarations of faith were for valid reasons, and if they were valid reasons then they would have been Holy reasons, and as Jesus Himself said: “Only God is Good”: He IS the reason, because He is our ultimate end, along with the rest of our Heavenly Family, to whom our most Holy Blessed Mother is dedicated to helping.
