THE GLORY OF JESUS AND MARY.
Before entering upon the contemplation of the excellent glory which
surrounds the blessed in heaven, we must endeavor to form a correct
idea of God's grace, which enabled them to perform the great and
noble actions we are now to consider. They were all, except Jesus and
Mary, conceived in sin, and, therefore, subject to the same
temptations that daily assail us. They never could have triumphed and
reached the supernatural glory which now surrounds them, had they
been left to their own natural strength, or rather, weakness.
When we enter a well-cultivated garden, filled with flowers of every
shade of color and every degree of beauty, it never enters into our
minds that they grew so of themselves, or gave to themselves their
delicate and exquisite perfumes. We know that the skill of the
gardener had something to do with their growth and beauty; we know,
moreover, that rain and sunshine, the quality of soil, and other
natural influences, did what was totally beyond the power of the
gardener; and finally we come to God, who is, ultimately, the sole
Author of their very life, growth, and perfection.
We are now to enter God's glorious garden to contemplate the beauty
of the flowers which He has planted and beautified by His grace.
Every saint is like a flower, beautiful in proportion to the amount
of grace he received, and in proportion, also, to the amount of his
own free co-operation with this grace. Some received the grace of the
apostleship, and all, except one, corresponded with that grace.
Others received the grace of martyrdom; others received the grace of
the priesthood; others the grace of trampling under foot the honors
and pleasures of this world, by consecrating themselves to God in
religious communities; while others, again, received the grace of
becoming saints, while living in the world. Thus every one, by
corresponding with his own grace, which gave him a supernatural
strength, reached the glory to which he is entitled. No one in the
whole of heaven can say that he enjoys its happiness by his own
natural endeavors; for, without the grace of God, we cannot even have
a good thought, nor pronounce the name of Jesus, so as to deserve a
supernatural reward. Hence, the highest in heaven must say, with St.
Paul: "By the grace of God I am what I am: and His grace in me hath
not been void: but I have labored more abundantly than all they: yet
not I, but the grace of God with me."*
* 1 Cor. xv. 10.
It is by the aid of this grace that the blessed have reached the
glory of heaven; it is by this all-powerful grace that they have
deserved the unfading crown, whereof St. Paul speaks so boldly and
confidently, when he says: "I have fought a good fight, I have
finished my course, I have kept the faith. As to the rest, there is
laid up for me a crown of justice, which the Lord, the just Judge,
will render to me at that day; and not to me only, but to them also,
who love His coming."* This is the glorious crown we are now to
consider; and first of all, in Jesus Christ, who, in His human
nature, is elevated and glorified far above all, in heaven.
* 2 Tim. iv. 7.
Jesus is the Son of God; but He is also "the Son of Man." As God, His
glory is from everlasting to everlasting. It had no beginning, and it
shall have no end. As its source is in His very essence, it can
neither be increased nor diminished. But it is far different with the
glory of the human nature which He assumed. That had a beginning, and
could be increased, and, as a matter of fact, was increased, until He
exalted it above all that is not God, in heaven. Let us now
contemplate His bright glory, and rejoice with him in his surpassing
blessedness.
See Him enthroned at the right hand of God his Father, clothed with
"great power and majesty." The personal union of the eternal Son of
God with the human nature gives Him, as man, undisputed pre-eminence
over all, in power, holiness, beauty, and every other attribute
communicable to a created nature. He is so completely possessed,
embraced, and penetrated by the Divine Nature, that His adorable
heart is the throne of the most perfect happiness ever enjoyed by
man. That loving heart, which is purer than the sun's brightest rays,
is filled to overflowing with the most exquisite joys emanating from
the very bosom of the most Holy Trinity.
While on earth, no one ever loved God and man as He did; and now
there is none in all the heavens who is equally loved in return, both
by God himself and the bright throngs that surround this throne. No
man, therefore, ever did, or ever can enjoy a happiness so pure, so
exquisite, and in so eminent a degree as He does.
While on earth, His soul was sorrowful even unto death; but now it
is inebriated with torrents of joy, too great for poor human language
to express. While on earth, He likewise suffered in all his senses.
He endured hunger and thirst, cold and heat, fatigue, and the
numberless privations which His poverty entailed upon him. But it was
especially during His cruel passion that his sight, hearing, taste,
and particularly his sense of feeling, were tortured to the utmost;
and now His glorified senses have become the avenues of the most
exquisite and refined pleasures. He now sees himself surrounded by
the thousands whom His precious blood has sanctified and beautified;
and he continually hears the sweet harmony of their grateful songs.
His sacred body, which had been bruised and mangled, disfigured and
dishonored by the filthy spittle of His enemies, is now the most
beautiful, perfect, and resplendent in the whole kingdom of heaven.
It is the very sun which, by its splendor, gives beauty and life to
the whole of heaven. In a word, Jesus, as man, is above all in power,
majesty, wisdom, glory, and enjoys the most perfect and complete
happiness that ever came from God.
But you will, perhaps, say: Does not Jesus enjoy all this unspeakable
glory, simply and exclusively in virtue of His high privileges? Is it
not on account of the Hypostatic Union that He is thus exalted above
all in glory? I answer: Although the Hypostatic Union, by its very
nature, gives Him the right to the first place in heaven, it gives
him neither the glory nor the rewards which are due to Him as the
Redeemer of mankind. The Hypostatic Union is a high privilege, a free
gift of God, which He did not merit; for that privilege, in the
designs of his Father, involved the office of Redeemer. This was His
vocation in this world, and he corresponded to it faithfully. He
taught the world, first by example, next by His heavenly doctrines.
Then He submitted willingly, and even cheerfully, to all the
indignities of his bitter passion, and finally consummated the great
work of man's redemption by expiring upon the cross.
It is for all this life of poverty, suffering, and humiliation, that
He is rewarded, and so wonderfully glorified, and not exclusively on
account of the Hypostatic Union. Listen to St. Paul, and he will tell
you why Jesus is exalted above all in heaven: "He humbled Himself,
becoming obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. For which
cause God hath also exalted Him, and hath given Him a name which is
above all names, that in the name of Jesus, every knee should bow of
those that are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth."* Surely
this is far from saying that Jesus enjoys the highest glory of
heaven, exclusively on account of the Hypostatic Union. It is given
Him by his Father as a "crown of justice," which he really deserved
by his sufferings and obedience unto the death of the Cross.
* Phil. ii. 8.
It is, moreover, the beautiful canticle which forever resounds
through the vaults of heaven. Listen to it: "Thou art worthy, O Lord,
to take the book, and open the seals thereof: because Thou wast
slain, and hast redeemed us in Thy blood, out of every tribe, and
tongue, and people, and nation."* It is evident, then, that Jesus is
rewarded in His human nature with the highest glory of heaven, on
account of his own individual merits.
* Apoc. v. 9.
Let us now spend a few moments in contemplating the glory of the
Blessed Virgin. Jesus is the King of heaven; Mary is the Queen. She
certainly comes next to Jesus in dignity and merit, and her glory is,
therefore, next to His in splendor and magnificence. She is the woman
of whom the beloved disciple speaks when he says: "And a great wonder
appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under
her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars."* This certainly
expresses the highest glory and splendor imaginable. Human words can
say nothing more; for our highest ideas of glory are borrowed from
those beautiful worlds that shine above us in the blue ether. On her
bosom she wears a jewel of unsurpassed splendor, whereon are written
her three singular privileges. These are Immaculate, Mother of God,
Virgin. These are high privileges which she alone enjoys, and which
single her out at once as the Queen of angels and of men. The
Eternal, by assuming flesh from her, united her to Himself by a bond
of intimacy which is second only to that of the Hypostatic Union. He
shed His own bright glory around her, and enthroned her at the right
hand of Jesus. The Almighty Father looks upon her with complacency,
as his own beloved daughter, faultless in beauty and every other
perfection. The Holy Ghost calls her His own spotless and faithful
Spouse, over whom the breath of sin never passed; while Jesus who, in
all His glory, is still flesh of her flesh, and bone of her bone,
calls her his own sweet and loving Mother. Can we conceive any
greater glory unless it be that of the Hypostatic Union?
* Apoc. xii. 1.
In this world, a great king may see with grief that many other women
surpass his own mother, daughter, or spouse, in beauty, intelligence,
virtue, and other perfections; but, however grieved he may be, he is
totally powerless to remedy the evil, and he must continue to see
others outshining those who are the dearest to his heart. Not so in
heaven. Never shall it be said there that there are women holier,
purer, more intelligent, or more beautiful than the Blessed Virgin.
For God has the power to clothe her with attributes that will forever
make her superior to any mere creature. Not only has He the power,
but, as a matter of fact, he has adorned her by bestowing upon her
every gift of nature, grace, and glory, in an eminent degree. She,
above all saints, is "full of grace," and is made a partaker of the
Divulge Nature, and, therefore, her Immaculate Heart, which is purer
than crystal, is the home of the most perfect happiness ever enjoyed
by woman.
But, remember well, she does not enjoy all this excellent glory
exclusively on account of her glorious privileges. These are, like
those of Jesus, free gifts of God, which she did not merit. But she
freely and generously corresponded to all the designs of God, and,
therefore, she is rewarded with the highest glory of heaven. She too,
as well as Jesus, was obedient unto death. She too was submissive to
the most trying dispensations of Providence. She too suffered
patiently from every manner of privation; for she was poor. She too
endured the most bitter anguish during the passion of her beloved
Son, and had her pure soul overwhelmed with agonies whereof we can
form no adequate conception. Hence, God hath also exalted her, and
given her a name which is above every name except that of Jesus.
Thus we see that even Jesus and Mary, the bright King and Queen of
heaven, are exalted above all angels and men in glory, on account of
the heroic virtue they both practised in this world, and not
exclusively in virtue of their dignity and high privileges. They both
labored for it, both suffered for it, and both deserved it as a
"crown of justice," which a just Judge bestowed upon them as a reward
of merit.
It is impossible to think of Jesus and Mary without, at the same
time, thinking of the illustrious St. Joseph. He is so intimately
bound up with them, that we can neither forget him nor separate him
from them. He was emphatically a hidden saint. He was truly "a just
man," as the Holy Ghost calls him. He was so humble, so pure, so
unspeakably charitable to the Blessed Virgin. Then, too, he loved
Jesus so much, so tenderly, and took so great a care of Him during
his infancy. Whenever he received a command, he always obeyed so
promptly, without excuse or murmur, though at times the commands
involved great privations and sufferings. In a word, St. Joseph, too,
corresponded with the grace of his sublime vocation; and he now
shines with exceeding glory near Jesus and Mary. He too is glorified
on account of His tender love for God, for Jesus and Mary, and for
his neighbor, and not exclusively in virtue of the glorious privilege
of having been the guardian of Mary's purity, and the foster-father
of Jesus. Therefore, His exceeding glory is also "a crown of
justice," wherewith a just Judge has encircled his brow.