Missæ de S. Maria in Sabbato (Tempore Adventus) - The Faith of Our Lady

PRESENTATION: The Light of Mary’s Faith

Without a doubt, the most striking aspect of the Rorate Mass is the interplay between light and darkness. We begin in the dark of night, with only the dim light of candles to assist us, then slowly, as the Mass unfolds, the light of the dawn begins to shine through the windows, illuminating the church.

Very often, the image of light is used as an image of faith, just as darkness is often said to symbolize ignorance and doubt. So, it is fitting that we should recall the faith of Our Lady in a special way today as we offer this Votive Mass, as her faith is so intimately connected to the mystery of Our Lord’s Incarnation that we look towards in this Advent Season.

St. Leo uses this very image when he says, applies to the Virgin this passage of Proverbs: “Non extinguetur in nocte lucerna ejus.” (Her lamp shall not be put out in the night.)

The Church Father Tertullian says, “Eve, because she chose to believe the serpent rather than the Word of God, brought death into the world, but our queen, believing the words of the angel, that she, remaining a virgin, was to become the mother of the Lord, brought salvation to the world.”

Father Suarez adds that the holy Virgin had more faith than all men and all the angels. She saw her Son in the stable of Bethlehem, and believed him the Creator of the world. She saw him flying from Herod, and yet believed that he was the King of kings. She saw him born, and believed him to be eternal. She saw him poor and in need of food, and believed him to be Lord of the universe, laid on straw, and she believed him omnipotent. She observed that he did not speak, and she believed him to be the infinite Wisdom. She heard him weeping, and she believed him to be the joy of paradise. Finally, she saw him in death, despised and crucified, but although the faith of others might have wavered, Mary remained firm in the belief that he was God.

She had faith in a most excellent degree; who, even when the disciples were doubting, did not doubt. Mary, therefore, by her great faith merited to become the light of all the faithful, as St. Methodius calls her.

EXPLANATION: The faith of Oskiloe

The light of faith is a most precious treasure, and our esteem for it should be greater than for anything else. Our desire to increase it should make us consider as nothing the difficulties we must meet in preserving it.

The following account is taken from the chronicles of the Jesuit missionaries in Canada:

“When holy Mass was done,” writes one of the missionaries in his letter, “Oskiloe, one of the chiefs, followed by a great many people belonging to his tribe, came to us, and asked to speak to us. Then, addressing himself to Fr. Marault, he said: ‘O my Father, you have come to us at last! How glad we are to see you! And for such a long time have we been waiting for you! It is now five Sundays since we came here expecting to find you. Our provisions are nearly done, and we cannot catch any fish because the rivers are in flood. What will become of us, Father? Nevertheless, we would rather die than go home without going to our confession this year. This, then, is what we have made up our minds to do. If the fishing still continues bad, we will fast for ten days, that we may remain with you and hear God’s holy Word. No doubt this will cause us to suffer much; but that does not matter; we will suffer it all with joy, that we may attend to our souls’ salvation. And if at the end of ten days the Great Spirit does not send us any fish, necessity will force us to go home; but it will cause us the greatest sorrow to go away.’”

IMPLICATION: Imitating Mary’s Faith

St. Ildephonsus exhorts us to imitate the faith of Mary: “Imitamini signaculum fidei Mariæ.” But how are we to imitate this faith of Mary? Faith is at the same time a gift and a virtue. It is a gift of God, in so far as it is a light which God infuses into the soul, and it is also a virtue in so far as it is exercised by the soul. Hence faith is given us not only to serve as a rule of belief, but also of action. Therefore St. Gregory says: He truly believes who, by his works, practises what he believes. And St. Augustine: Thou sayest, “I believe,” do what you say, and it is faith. And this is to have a lively faith, namely, to live according to our belief. “My just man liveth by faith.”

It was thus the blessed Virgin lived, very differently from those who do not live according to what they believe, whose faith is dead, as St. James says: Faith without good works is dead: “Fide sine operibus mortua est.” The Philosopher Diogenes went about seeking a man upon earth: “Hominem quæro;” but God seems to be seeking a Christian among the many faithful: “Christianum quæro.” For very few are they who have the works, the greater part have only the name; but to these should be said what Alexander said to that cowardly soldier who was also named Alexander: Change either your name or your conduct: “Aut nomen, aut mores muta.”

But, as Father Avila used to say: It would be better if these miserable creatures were put in confinement as madmen, believing as they do, that a happy eternity is prepared for him who lives well, and an unhappy eternity for him who lives ill, and yet living as if they did not believe this. St. Augustine therefore exhorts us to see things with Christian eyes, that is, to see according to faith: “Oculos Christianorum habete.” For St. Theresa was accustomed to say, that all sins arise from a want of faith. Let us therefore implore the holy Virgin, that by the merit of her faith she may obtain for us a lively faith. Oh Lady, increase our faith: Domina adauge nobis fidem.