Sweet Words, Strong Words

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God; and the Word was God.”
John 1:1

“In like manner, of course, it was manifestly suitable that, even in the human generation of the Word of God, some spiritual property of the generation of a word should shine out. Now, a word as it proceeds from a speaker – whether conceived within or expressed without – brings no corruption to the speaker; rather, the word marks the plenitude of perfection in the speaker. It was in harmony with this that in His human generation the Word of God should be so conceived and born that the wholeness of His Mother was not impaired. And this, too, is clear: It became the Word of God, by whom all things are established and by whom all things are preserved in His wholeness, to be born so as to preserve His Mother's wholeness in every way. Therefore, suitably this generation was from a virgin.”
St. Thomas Aquinas
Summa Contra Gentiles, IV, ch. 45

“But in like manner the Spirit also helps our weakness. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself pleads for us with unutterable groanings. And he who searches the hearts knows what the Spirit desires, that he pleads for the saints according to God.”
Romans 8:26-27


Novices in the spiritual life often receive spiritually sweet experiences. Later their inner selves can suffer bitterness (Rev. 10). For now let us just consider the wonderful sweetness of the words of the Hail Mary.

God speaks:

Hail – Remember the joy when you greet someone whose mere presence lifts your spirits. Imagine, you are allowed to greet the loving Mother of God! Immediately, without distraction, she attends to
you. She listens to your mind and heart.
Mary – In every human language this name is feminine and beautiful. Ave Maria. “Mary” calls to mind the great blue-green oceans and forests. Mother Mary.

Full – Overflowing with life,
of
Grace – the life of God. How sweet to our sense and thoughts when someone is brimming over with life and goodness.

The Lord – Almighty God, our Creator, our existence, our glory...
is
with thee. – God is with Mary. Mary on earth has entered the Kingdom of Heaven already. When we are with Mary in this sacred prayer we are beginning contemplation, we are in Heaven.

Blessed art thou – Full of grace , again, but in the aspect of the overbrimming benefits God gives as the result of His Life of grace.
among women – not only the new Eve but, just as “man” should be understood generically, the queen of all mankind in Christ.

And blessed – The source of goodness is the sweet baby born with the cooperation of
is the fruit - the heart,mind and body of Mary, flowering under the light of the Holy Spirit in her
of thy womb, - innermost being. The Mother contains her child and yet is contained within Him
Jesus – There is no sweeter or stronger word than “Jesus”.

The Church resonds:

Holy Mary, - She shares the glorious holiness of God as we, too, her children are called to share.

Mother of God, - Isaiah 49:15
- Theotokos
- by Baptism, our mother.

Pray - How good it feels when we ask someone to pray for us who we know is prayerful and whose
prayers are powerful. At Cana Jesus tells his mother that it is not time. She simply turns to the
waiters ( and us) and says "Listen to him".
for us sinners - O happy fault! We come to a merciful mother and our sins make her more eager to
cleanse, discipline and teach us. And not just those whose clothes are dirty by venial
sins but grave sinners are embraced by the Mother of the Shepherd.

Now - At this moment, in these circumstances Mary will aid us.
and at the hour - And, no matter what kind of death we suffer, she stands
of our death. with us by our cross.

Amen.