“What if ten should be found there? And [the Lord] said: I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.” [Gen. 18:32]
Editor’s Note: In the most recent Issue of The Fatima Crusader (#135), several writers explored how Catholics can best live the Fatima Message. Susan Vennari authored the article, “The Sacred and Immaculate Heart,” in this Issue. The article below, also by Mrs. Vennari, is one which could have been appended to the article, “Living Your Consecration: Practicing the Presence of Mary,” by Fr. Karl Stehlin.
The Power of Intercession
We know from the Old Testament story of the destruction of Sodom that not even ten “just” men could be found living in that city. Abraham alone walked in friendship with God, but despite his extraordinary merits and his great pleading for the city, God would not spare Sodom its deserved destruction.
But God will spare the world through the prayers of just one Woman, by virtue of the unfathomable merits of the Immaculata. He has promised to do so through Her words to St. Dominic, “One day through the rosary and the scapular, I will save the world.”
Pope Leo XIII magnificently reflects upon this truth. In Adiutricem (1895), one of his encyclicals on the Rosary, he teaches: “The mightiest helper of the Christian people is the Virgin Mother of God. [1] It is impossible to measure the power and scope of Her offices … to which the dignity and luster of Her merits entitle Her. [7] The power thus put into Her hands is all but unlimited … among Her many titles we find Her hailed as ‘the Reparatrix of the whole world,’ and ‘the Dispenser of all heavenly gifts’. [8]”
Let us ponder that extraordinary phrase, “Reparatrix of the whole world.” Is its power and truth not overwhelming? Yet the Pope’s teaching simply echoes holy tradition and the wisdom of the saints. For example, St. Bernadine of Sienna states, “If God did not destroy man after his first sin, it was on account of His singular love for this holy Virgin.” Again, St. Maximilian Kolbe explained, “Jesus honored Her before all ages, and will honor Her for all ages.” And the great Doctor of Moral Theology, St. Alphonsus Liguori, asserts, “Our Lord ordained that no one shall obtain salvation except through Her intercession.”
It is a truth of the Faith that the glory one has in Heaven and the intercessory power souls have before the throne of God are in proportion to the measure of sanctifying grace they possess.[1] Mary was ‘full of grace’ at the moment of Her conception and increased in grace throughout Her life. The saints teach that God loves Her more than all the angels and saints combined, as She possesses more grace than all of them united. This is why She has more intercessory power than all the angels and saints, and why She is ‘all-powerful’ with God by virtue of His grace.
Our Lord offered the Sacrifice that redeemed us, but it is through Our Lady that the great graces He obtained for us and for our salvation are applied to our souls. God disposes Himself to be at Her command, and He gazes on Her, awaiting Her word that it may be done quickly. The Blessed Trinity “lives” ever in the presence of Mary. The Blessed Virgin Mary will save the world, and to Her we should turn if we wish to save our own soul. [2]
How can we fathom this truth? [How shall this be?]
Eternal Wisdom from the Old Testament
We have the example of Esther to help us understand how God regards Mary: “And the king loved her more than all the women, and she had favor and kindness before him above all the women, and he set the royal crown on her head, and made her queen…” [Esther 2:17]
When Esther had to approach King Assuerus, risking her own life on behalf of her people, she first ordered her people to fast and pray. After three days of her own penance, she approached Assuerus, whereupon “she pleased his eyes, and he held out toward her the golden scepter…. What wilt thou, queen Esther? what is thy request? if thou shouldst even ask one half of the kingdom, it shall be given to thee.” [Esther 5:2-3]
The entire book of Esther is filled with lessons about Our Lady for our reflection.
Intercession for Our Time
If it pleases God, our King, to turn His face ever towards Our Lady, ought we not to emulate the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost in this regard? By an extraordinary act of love, God has invited each of us to share in the divine esteem for Mary, and Jesus, in behalf of the Trinity, urges us to love what He loves: He confirmed this with Her words to Lucia, Jacinta, and Francisco, “God wills to establish in the world devotion to My Immaculate Heart.”
Our salvation is not something that is attained haphazardly. One must be purposeful in intention to save one’s own soul. Our Lady has been abundantly clear: “Only Our Lady of the Rosary can help you.” Thus, as Esther ordered her captive people to fast and to pray, so She urges us to do the same. She will request of the King our salvation, but she must have the cooperation of the King’s people. If we comply with Our Lady’s instructions at Fatima, conforming our lives, offering sacrifices for souls, practicing the devotion of the Five First Saturdays – in short, if we look to Her, if we strive to live in Her Presence, we will give weight in Her petition to the King. And to our incomparable benefit, we will be made to resemble Her. For our salvation then, the more we are made to resemble Her, the more “irresistible” we are made to the Blessed Trinity.
Abraham’s intercession for Sodom failed, but Esther’s petition for the Israelites succeeded. Esther is but a pale type of Our Lady, who is Queen of the Blessed Trinity. God wishes that we love Her as He does, and wills that through Her intercession we save our souls. What disfigurement we may have caused to our own or others’ souls, we may repair by giving Her our full face, imitating Her obediently as She taught through the children at Fatima.
Our Lady of the Rosary, ora pro nobis!
FOR MORE ARTICLES ON LIVING THE MESSAGE OF FATIMA, PLEASE GET A COPY OF THE FATIMA CRUSADER, ISSUE 135.
ENDNOTES:
[1] Note that men can only acquire sanctifying grace while alive on this temporal earth. Once we leave this earth, we can no longer gain or grow in sanctifying grace. The amount of sanctifying grace a soul has at the moment of death is the measure of glory the soul will have for all eternity. Thus, the Christian should see every day as an opportunity to gain sanctifying grace. In His mercy, God grants us another day so that we may grow in His grace. Let us never waste a day and always be grateful that God has deemed it fit to allow us one more day of life.
[2] St. Ignatius of Antioch (+107), wrote: “No sinner can be saved except through your help and favor, O Virgin Mary.” St. John Chrysostom (+407) taught, “It is impossible to be saved without the help of the Most Blessed Virgin, because those who are not saved by the justice of God are saved by the intercession of Mary.” St. Germanus of Constantinople (+730), exclaims, “There is no one, O Most Holy Mary, who can know God except through thee; no one who can be saved or redeemed but through thee, O Mother of God; no one who can be delivered from dangers but through thee, O Virgin Mother.” And St. Catherine of Siena noted: “If I have the Mother of Mercy to defend me, who will dare to say that the Judge will refuse me mercy when I come before Him?”