Mary's Immaculate Heart - The Meaning Of The Devotion To The Immaculate Heart Of Mary

MARYS IMMACULATE HEART THE MEANING OF THE DEVOTION TO THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY JOHN F. MURPHY THE BRUCE PUBLISHING COMPANY MILWAUKEE Nihil obstat JOHN A. SCHULIEN, S. T. D., Censor librorum Imprimatur MOYSES E. KILEY, Archiepiscopus Milwaukiensis Die 22 a Novembris, 1950 Copyright, 19S1, Rev. John F. Murphy Made in the United States of America PREFACE IN CONNECTION with the extension of the Feast of the Im maculate Heart of Mary to the universal Church, our Holy Father, Pope Pius XII, pointed out that beyond serving as a memorial and reminder of his solemn consecration of the world to the Immaculate Heart in the Basilica of St. Peter, December 8, 1942, the feast might, with the assistance of her in whose honor we celebrate it, be instrumental also in pre serving peace among all nations and liberty for the Church of Christ and further, with the repentance of sinners, it might be a strengthening of the faithful in the love of purity and the practice of virtue. 1 Without question the observance of the Feast of the Im maculate Heart is today a highly significant celebration in the liturgical year. In view of the dogmatic implications of the feast, the various statements of the Holy See, and the response everywhere on the part of the faithful to the devotion to Marys Heart, the significance of both the feast and consecra tion of the world, and the importance of the devotion to the Immaculate Heart itself are readily recognized. It was the devotion to the Sacred Heart which in previous decades guided a cold and erring world back toward the love of Christ and the acknowledgment of the Kingdom that is rightfully His. It would seem that again the grace of God is poured forth abundantly on awar-torn and pagan world, and men, through a devotion to the Mother of God, the Hope of the World, are once more oSered an opportunity for eternal salvation in the love and service of Mary and her divine Son. In the devotion to the Immaculate Heart which prompts men to imitate the virtues of the Blessed Mother we see a true blending of love and sacrifice, the very core and spirit of the Christian life. Through a devotion to her Immaculate Heart 1 Pius xii, AAS, ypi. Xxyn, 19 . vi Preface Mary will certainly form in us the likeness and virtues of her Son, and seeing more perfectly His image in us, she will love Him anew in us and we, resembling our blessed Lord the more, will profit greatly from this closer union with Him. Our nearness to Mary is a measure of our union with Christ and an indication of the supernatural value of our lives. In uniting ourselves to Mary we necessarily draw near to our blessed Lord. Nam quid est maius hodie, Domina, quam habere cor iunctum cordi tuo . . . nonne cor tuum plenum est gratiae Illius Et si apertum est, gratia illanon decurrit in cor sibi iunc tum Stimulus AmortSj inter opera S. Bonaventurae editum. INTRODUCTION As IN her mortal life, so also in the science of Sacred Theology the Mother of God is associated always with Christ. She forms with Him the foundation and cornerstone as well as the capstone of the economy of salvation. She not only brought the Incarnate Word into the world, she intimately shared in the work He came to accomplish, the redemption of men. Because of the full implications of her relationship with God and men she occupies a unique and exalted place in the dogma and liturgy of the Church and in the entire divine plan ofCreation. Down through the centuries the best minds of Christianity have sung the praises and excellencies of Mary, . . . all genera tions shall call her blessed, the Mother of God, the Mistress of the world, the Queen of Heaven . . . who has given life and glory to all generations. For in her the angels find joy, the just grace, and the sinners forgiveness. Deservedly the eyes of all creatures are turned toward her, because in her, by her, and from her the benign hand of the Almighty re-created that which He had already created...