The Sublime Dignity of Mother Mary:

The virtues of Mother Mary are more sublime than any other mortals’ virtues. While other saints excel in one or two virtues only, Mother Mary excels in all the virtues. The Italian poet Dante beautifully sang our Mother’s praises thus,

“Virgin, yet a mother,

Daughter of thy Son,

High beyond all other

Lowlier is none.”

“In thee is pity, in thee tenderness

In thee magnificence, in thee the sum

Of all that in creation most can bless.”

The most unique privilege of our Lady is not her virginity or her humility, but motherhood. The evangelist Matthew very crisply expressed the truth of Mother Mary’s motherhood when he said, “Of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ (1:16).” The motherhood of Mary is a unique dignity granted only to her and to her alone. It is an unrepeated and unrepeatable dignity granted to her. No other mortal can ever share in that dignity.

When mankind began to sink more and more into sin, God almost cried out in distress, “My spirit shall not abide in mortals forever, for they are flesh (Gen 6:3).” But God, to speak in human terms, changed His words only in the case of Mother Mary, when He willingly and joyfully took up residence in Mary’s womb. Admiring the motherhood of Mary, St.Bernard said, “Choose which you will most admire, the most beneficent condescension of the Son, or the sublime dignity of the Mother.”