The greatest battle in history was announced by the Protoevangelium: “I will put enmities between thee and the Woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel” (Gn 3:15). Here we see the eternal struggle between the children of the Virgin and the offspring of the Serpent.
Unlike purely earthly battles, in this spiritual combat the fight is decided first and foremost by the fidelity of the rearguard, a condition for the success of the vanguard. In fact, contemplation is the prerequisite for good deeds, and prayer is the preamble to every apostolate. Suffice it to mention, as an example, that St. Therese of the Child Jesus became the beacon of the missions, though hidden in the shadows of Carmel.
In order to be a worthy receptacle for Jesus, the Blessed Virgin was preserved from all blemish, filled with graces and blessed above all women. Her “fiat” sprang from the intense love of the “handmaid of the Lord” (Lk 1:38).
The Incarnation of the Word motivated one of the greatest angelic exultations, the song of Gloria in excelsis Deo. Mary’s joy, on the other hand, was serene, peaceful and silent: She kept all the events to herself, meditating on them in her Heart (cf. Lk 2:19).
While Jesus confronted the Pharisees, unmasked the Sanhedrin or expelled the moneychangers from the Temple, His pious Mother remained serenely in the background, interceding with the Father. And during the Passion, with her Son lifted up from the earth as a “sign which will be contradicted” (Lk 2:34), Mary’s soul was pierced by a sword, but She remained in peace.
Nor did the Saviour’s death darken the Virgin’s soul, conceived without original sin, for “the sting of death is sin” (1 Cor 15:56). During the days when the Body of Jesus rested in the tomb, the Church remained as if asleep in Our Lady. The Apostles fled, the veil of the Temple was torn and darkness covered the world. Mary, however, remained faithful; her quietude was similar that before her “yes” to the voice of the Archangel.
The Ascension crowned the victory won in the triumph over death, the exordium of the glorification of the Mother of God. At Pentecost, the Spirit of Consolation rested on Our Lady and then emanated to the Apostles. Peter and John then brought about conversions by the thousands (cf. Acts 2:41) and performed even greater miracles than those of the Divine Master (cf. Jn 14:12). Mary, however, persevered in the background, waiting to be reunited with her Son in Heaven.
Preserved from original stain, the Immaculate Virgin was also exempt from its consequences, in particular the corruption of the tomb. Her transit to the homeland would therefore reflect her earthly life. She then reached the pinnacle of contemplation through sleep, the ecstasy of which led Her into the arms of Jesus.
At the Assumption, her serenity was consolidated with the martial note of triumph: “Who is she that cometh forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army set in array?” (Sgs 6:9). She rose to Heaven, not to abandon us, but to contemplate even more and thus conquer even more victories for her children. ◊
