Mary Grows in Love Through the Sacraments, by Raoul Plus, S.J.

By Raoul Plus, S.J., Catholic Exchange, May 11, 2021

Raoul Plus, S.J. (1882–1958) wrote more than forty books to help Christians understand God’s love for the soul. His works stress the vital role of prayer in the spiritual life and show how you can live the truths of the faith.

This article is adapted form a chapter in Fr. Plus’s book, The Little Book of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is available as an ebook or paperback from your favorite bookseller or online through Sophia Institute Press.

We can distinguish in Mary a triple motherhood: her joyful motherhood at the crib, her sorrowful motherhood at the Annun­ciation and the Crucifixion, and her glorious motherhood in the Cenacle. At Bethlehem, she gave birth to Jesus according to the flesh; at the Annunciation and Calvary, she gave birth to souls at the price of her crucifying acceptance; in the Upper Room, she witnessed the birth of the Church and guided its first steps.

The Holy Spirit communicated Himself to Mary for the first time in the home of her parents, Joachim and Anne, on the day of her Immaculate Conception. The second great effusion was in her humble dwelling at the Annunciation, when Mary uttered her fiat of immolation, which was brought to completion only on the hill of the infamous gibbet where her Son writhed in agony before the whole world. At Pentecost, again in prayerful seclusion, the Holy Spirit poured out upon her the infinite riches of His grace. May we not believe that, if her love for men hastened the first miracle of Jesus at Cana, it is again her ardent desire that invites a swifter and more abundant coming of the Divine Consoler? …

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