Fulton J. Sheen
From the Imitation of Mary
PREFACE
No sooner had the incomparable Imitation of Christ appeared than the faithful began spontaneously to wish for an Imitation of Mary that might be set beside Kempis' great work. Finally, a sixteenth-century Spanish Jesuit, Francisco Arias, published a little book entitled The Imitation of Our Lady [Valencia 1588], and it seemed that the prayers of many devout souls had been answered. But the work was not what they were waiting for. It was a short pamphlet of twelve chapters that dealt in a very general way with the virtues of Mary and was in no way comparable to the great book that had already won the name of "Fifth Gospel."
The book here translated, on the contrary, was indeed what devotees of Mary had been looking for. It was published in French in 1768 and did not bear its author's name. Italian translations of a later date did, however, have an author's name on the title page: the Abbé d'Hérouville. Who was he and how is the initial anonymity to be explained?
The author was in fact a French Jesuit, Alexandre Joseph de Rouville [born at Lyons in 1716.] After the Society of Jesus had been suppressed by Pope Clement XIV in 1773, he took the name Abbé d'Hérouville, thus assimilating himself, as far as title went, to the secular clergy. But even before the suppression by the Pope, Louis XIV had expelled the Society of Jesus from France in 1764; for this reason when the Imitation of Mary was first published in 1768 it had to appear anonymously.
The book quickly won a wide readership in France and Belgium and was translated into many languages. The first Italian translation, for example, was published at Padua in 1772, only four years after the book first appeared.
In the Imitation of Mary the author follows the Blessed Virgin through the different mysteries and circumstances of her life, from her Immaculate Conception to her Assumption into Heaven. At each point he reflects on her conduct and her sentiments, thus providing instructive insights which will help every Christian in the varying situations of his or her own life.
In order to hold the reader's attention the author varies the manner in which he presents his reflections. Sometimes he speaks to God, sometimes to Mary, sometimes to the reader; at times he reflects as though he were by himself in meditation, and very often he has the Blessed Virgin speak to her child, the reader.
The reader will not judge this book as though its author were claiming to rival the perfection of his model, Kempis' Imitation of Christ; he professed, on the contrary, to be fully satisfied if only his book were not totally unlike its model. In fact, however, if we judge by the devotion and solid piety toward God and His Blessed Mother which fill these pages, we must say that author has not been unworthy of his more famous forerunner.
The excerpt Catholic Tradition has selected is taken from two chapters of the fourth book, on Recourse to Mary, and Confidence in Mary.
NIHIL OBSTAT: Richard T. Adams, M.A. Censor Deputatus
IMPRIMATUR: James P. Mahoney, D.D. Vicar General, Archdiocese of New York
From CHAPTER 9
RECOURSE TO MARY
Mary
MY CHILD, in whatever difficult situation you find yourself, invoke my aid and I will intercede for you. If there is anything you want that is not contrary to God's glory and your own salvation, ask me and I will always be ready to hear you.
Do not ask for anything unless you also want God's will to be done. Any prayer made to me in that spirit will never be fruitless. Many Christians ask me to obtain what they know is contrary to God's will. Can they deceive themselves into thinking their prayers will be answered?
Others think of turning to me only when they want earthly goods, but they are completely indifferent when it comes to God's graces. If I pray for such people, it is not in order to obtain the harmful thing they ask for, but to obtain for them that which would be advantageous to them and which they do not think of requesting.
I ask for them the afflictions that will detach them from this world and urge them to think of Heaven.
What you ought to ask of me before all is graces of conversion and salvation, graces whereby you may grow in virtue and win merit for Heaven. I always listen favorably to such prayers.
I do not ask temporal favors for those who invoke me, unless these may bring them genuine profit. The successful outcome of a lawsuit or an abundant harvest may be the worst thing in the world for the person who asks it, for people who are prosperous often fail to think of eternity.
Many sick people ask me for a cure, but I request of God only the graces they need in their illness. I am not the kind of mother who is blinded by feeling and fails to look for the true happiness of her children. My tender love for you, my child, will never lead me astray.
I intercede for you with Jesus only to obtain for you what is most useful in this life and the next.
Believe this and confidently ask my protection. Ask it in all your trials, whatever their nature be. Such trials are frequent. Let my name, therefore, after the name of Jesus, be ever on your lips and written indelibly on your heart.
The Believer
Holy and lovable name of Mary! Name that no one utters confidently without being the better for it! Happy the man who often recalls it with love, utters it devoutly, venerates it from the heart, and calls upon it often.
After the name of Jesus, that name that is above every other name [Phil 2, 9] , there is no other more worthy of respect, no other that is sweeter and dearer to the faithful than the name of Mary.
When the sinner invokes it, he feels a surge of hope in the Lord's mercy; the just man conceives a more ardent love; he who is tempted overcomes his own passions; he who is in tribulation feels consoled and inclined to be long-suffering.
After the name of Jesus, your name, Mary, will be my comfort in affliction, my counsel in
doubt, my strength in the struggle, and my guide at every step I take.
From CHAPTER 10
CONFIDENCE IN MARY
Mary
MY CHILD, you do not have perfect confidence in me. At times you are slow to call on me when you are in need, and at all times you seem unsure of my good will toward you.
I want you to have all the confidence in me that any son should have in his mother, knowing as he does her tender love and her goodness. Come to me always and everywhere, in all your .spiritual and temporal needs, in difficulties of soul and body, in the difficulties of your relatives and friends.
Is it a sign of any great confidence in me if you turn to me only from time to time, on my feast days, for example, as some Christians do? You should imitate the Church which asks nothing of God without appealing to my intercession.
The Church has recourse to me as dispenser of the Lord's graces; let her conduct be the norm for yours, and, like her, have unfailing confidence in me, a confidence that is all-embracing, ardent, sweet, and affectionate.
Turn to God through Jesus, but turn to Jesus through His Mother. I am the surest way of reaching Jesus, of finding Him, and of receiving a warm welcome from Him.
The Believer
Queen of Heaven, I acknowledge your power and goodness, but I fear that I am unworthy of you. Can a virgin so pure, so zealous for God's honor, and so perfect, turn to me in compassion?
Mary
My child, am I not the refuge of sinners? I intercede for all those who want to turn back to God's service and who call upon me with confidence.
Moved by my concern for their reconciliation, God has never said no to my prayer. For many sinners I am the only means left them and the only means God gives them of regaining His friendship. I have won pardon for sin, even enormous sins, for so many Christians. They asked my protection against God's justice, and I protected them until I won their reconciliation with their Judge.
Some sinners live stubbornly on in their sins while deluding themselves that I will win for them the grace of not dying in their sins.
That is presumptuous confidence and an insult to me. Others, however, groan beneath the weight of their sins and want to cast it off; they are aware of their weakness and put their trust and hope in me, praying that through my intercession I may win the grace of strength and forgiveness for them. Come! Draw near! I will not reject you but welcome you with love.
The Believer
Mother of my Lord, the moment your greeting sounded in my ears [Lk 1,43-44], all my disquiet vanished, and my confidence in you returned, stronger than ever.
To me you are like the dove that returned after the flood carrying an olive branch, the symbol of peace. Accept under your saving protection this sinner who is ashamed, deeply moved, and sorry for the sins of his lifetime, sins that he would like to expiate with his blood.
Obtain for me the grace to weep bitterly for the sins I have committed and to die rather than commit once again sins I so much detest. Through the holy Child of your womb, you won peace between God and men. Win peace for me as well, between me and my conscience, between me and my God.
Virgin, powerful and so full of kindness, how grateful I should be for all the blessings I receive from God through your intercession! Let all hearts be forever dedicated to you! Let all mouths voice the praises which Heaven speaks to earth: "May Mary be loved and glorified!" and which earth echoes back to Heaven: "May Mary be glorified and loved through all ages!"Sphere: Related Content
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