Who then knows, not just in their heads but in their hearts, the secret of Mary most intimately? One might assume that theologians, bible scholars, and priests understand and live this secret most deeply since they are regularly immersed in the Word of God, the Sacraments, and the spiritual life in general. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. St. Louis de Montfort believes that “an infallible and unmistakable sign by which we can distinguish a heretic, a man of false doctrine, an enemy of God, from one of God’s true friends is that the heretic and the hardened sinner shows nothing but contempt and indifference for our Lady.”[1] What St. Louis de Montfort is attempting to teach us, I believe, through his challenging words, is that Mary is the ultimate sign of orthodoxy! If you want to know how Catholic someone is you could simply ask them, how Marian are they? A friend of mine who has a deep love for Mary recently once said to me somewhat jokingly, “If you don’t take Mary seriously, I don’t take you too seriously.”
Mary is the ultimate sign of orthodoxy!
Those who know the secret of Mary most intimately are the saints. For it is the saints who know and live this truth better than anyone. Throughout the entire history of Christianity, there has never been a saint, and there never will be a saint, who has had only a moderate love for Mary. One can search extensively to try and find one and they wouldn’t be able to because such a saint doesn’t exist. There has never been a saint who has said, “I’m not so sure about Mary. I don’t think Mary is that important for my relationship with God or that love for Mary is optional.”
Even though this truth can be seen in all the saints of every time and place, I would like to highlight this truth in several saints of the 20th century. The 20th century experienced much bloodshed through two world wars, and great political and cultural turmoil through the rise of Communism and atheistic regimens. There were concentration camps, the loss of faith, and a whole host of other things that have forever changed life as we once knew it. Yet amid all this upheaval, God raised up many men and women as saints during this time. Even though I could single out many others, in my opinion, four of the greatest saints of the past century were St. Padre Pio, St. Theresa of Calcutta, St. John Paul II, and St. Maximillian Kolbe. Each one of these saints, in their own unique ways, lived lives of magnificent holiness both as mystics and lovers of humanity. Even though their ethnicities, talents, and vocations were all different, each one of these saints had a common denominator. They all had a deep love for and a great devotion to Mary. Each one of them prayed the rosary almost continually, lived out their consecration to Mary as fully as possible, and spread devotion to Mary wherever they went. Because each one of these saints loved Mary deeply and allowed her to form them, they in turn were filled with Jesus.
St. Padre Pio bore the stigmata, the very wounds of Christ. St. Teresa of Calcutta served Jesus among the poorest of the poor, and when people encountered her, they were often led to tears because they experienced and saw Jesus in and through her. St. Maximillian Kolbe, while in Auschwitz concentration camp imitates Jesus perfectly by laying down his life for another person. St. John Paul II witnessed to the entire world, the love, mercy and the true life that can only be found in Christ. He did this by his own personal example, but also by his teaching and his extraordinary missionary life. Did Mary get in the way of any of these extraordinary saints? Of course not! Because these saints loved Mary and allowed her to form them, she paved the way for Jesus to live and act in an extraordinary and unique way in each of these saints.
What is true then for the saints is even more true for Jesus. If one is having a difficult time with Mary, they could sincerely ask Jesus in prayer, “Jesus, did you ever consider love for your mother as being optional. Did your love for Mary ever become an obstacle to the Father? Were you ever suspicious of Mary?” He would answer, of course, “no” to all these questions. Hence, neither Jesus nor the saints, ever considered Mary and love for her as something that is optional. Rather, they considered it a necessity and so we must we.
[1] The Writings of St. Louis Marie De Montfort: True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, 298.
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