The King of kings got many of his natural virtues from his mother

Even in the years before Christ's birth, the Virgin did more for the glory of God than all the saints of the Old Covenant and of the Church. How did she do this? Because in her, everything was an effective act, everything was grace - since grace is the transmission of divine life to men. The least of her actions was accomplished with such grace that God was glorified by it. The Virgin was never unfruitful. In her, being was already a form of doing. The purity of her soul and spirit was reflected in her every move, so that in her the reign of God progressed on earth more rapidly than any battle David won.

Mary was certainly a discreet person, and her royal demeanor must not have gone unnoticed in Nazareth, but we can imagine that prejudice prevented many from guessing her greatness. Yet everything was so graceful, so orderly in her actions, that the evil kingdom was already receding at the slightest beat of her heart. Our Lady did not need to move much to sanctify the earth! Her stride was regal. Her natural and supernatural distinction was already enough to beautify humanity. Of course, Jesus increased this radiance and took our justification far beyond the level to which his Mother had raised it. But the King of kings got many of his virtues from his mother. It was from a true, albeit obscure and unknown, queen and from a despised village, that he drew the essential traits of his person.

The Virgin did not have to perform any feats to become the jewel of Creation: her mere walking in the streets of Nazareth was enough for God to remember his Covenant with humanity. The Virgin already had the elegance of the Spirit. The least of her movements delighted the Trinity. Her entire childhood and adolescence implicitly said to God, "Do as you say!" The Virgin never did anything but according to the Word. So much so that when the Word wished to become incarnate in her, it was easy for the humble woman from Nazareth to answer the angel: "Let it be done according to your word" (Lk 1:38). She had never done anything else since the first day of her existence!

After these considerations, let us stop thinking that the Virgin did nothing remarkable before the coming of Jesus! What she did was simply to put the infinity of grace into the finite things of everyday life.

Jean-Michel Castaing - Extracts from an article published on 12/11/22

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