A Little Piece of Glory

From Mark Shea, with bits borrowed from Pius IX, John Paul II, and all thanks to the BVM (fourth office on the right in the hallways of Heaven).  Excerpts follow:

...by Mary’s creaturely humility and God’s subsequent exaltation of her through the grace of Christ, she gives the lie to every proposition upon which the Philosophies of Pride were founded and reminds us again that salvation is found not by saying with Shelley’s hero Satan "Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven" but by saying "Let it be unto me according to your word."

Because Mary is the icon of the Church and highest of God’s creatures (yet not herself divine), she gives the lie, in her very person, to the Philosophies of Pride and their promise of liberation through rebellion by showing that

• The human person is in the image of God.
• The human person comes from God and is made for union with God.
• The depth of Christ’s power to save from sin is most fully displayed in Mary, so we may know He holds that same power to save us, no matter how grave our sin.
• The human person is the product of fathomless divine love.
• Sin, though real, is neither the foundational nor the final truth about Man. Jesus Christ is.
• The human person is defined by Love, not enmity.
• The human person is called to love God and neighbor.
• The human person is a reflection of the reason, order, and love of God Himself.
• The human person finds his life in losing it and receiving the love of God.
• The human person only becomes more human through love, mercy, and humility.
• The human person grows in love by caring for the "least of these" since they are precious to Christ, Who humbled Himself to be born in a stable.
• The human person should seek self-donating love here on earth and a reward in heaven, because this life is not all there is.
• It is humble for us to think of ourselves "made in God’s image" because that is what we are. The place for humility is when we recognize our need of grace.
• Since God is the Lord of nature, we are merely stewards of creation. We find ourselves, not by worshiping nature or ourselves, but by worshiping God Who made and redeemed us through Jesus Christ.

O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.

Mary contains within her person the fullness of the Christian response to God's grace--the model and exemplar of all Christian life.