The Mother of Mercy

Mary is the antithesis of Satan, because she not only accepted God's grace, which Satan refused, but also the perfect forgiveness offered to her in the very creation of her soul. She welcomed the purity of her immaculate conception, not just as a free gift, but as a gift of mercy, a grace of forgiveness, since it would have been right for her to be included in the fall of the sons and daughters of Adam. Though she had never been defiled by sin, she was forgiven in a greater measure than anyone else, for she has been the object of a prepossessing forgiveness when she was shielded from the corruption of mankind, not only without any claim from her part, but also against the law which normally, had she not been made an exception, would have swallowed her.