10 May, Antonio, Cardinal Bacci: Meditations For Each Day

The Cardinal Virtues in Mary

1. Mary's soul has been appropriately styled the garden of all the virtues. In it the three theological virtues were wonderfully interwoven with the four cardinal virtues of justice, prudence, temperance, and fortitude.

As St. John Chrysostom observed, justice is nothing else but the perfect observance of all the commandments. (Homil. 12 super Matth.) The Blessed Virgin obeyed all the commandments in her relations with God, to Whom she dedicated herself from the moment when she gained the use of reason. She obeyed them in her relations with her Son, Jesus Christ, for she reared and instructed Him with loving maternal care, even though she knew that He was God and had no need of her attention. She fulfilled them in her relations with men, for whose salvation she united her sufferings and her merits to the infinite sufferings and merits of our Saviour.

Furthermore, Mary was prudence itself. This virtue shines forth in all her words and in all her actions. When the Angel appeared in human form and told her that she was to be the Mother of God, she was not flattered nor complacent. She thought calmly about the mystery which had been announced to her and asked the Angel how it could come to be since she had already consecrated her virginity to God. She pronounced her Fiat only when she was reassured by the Angel that through the intervention of the Holy Spirit she would be a virgin mother. This was the beginning of the miracle of the Incarnation. When she was greeted by St. Elizabeth as the Mother of the Lord, she did not boast about her distinction but composed a hymn of gratitude in which she attributed her glory to God alone. Mary's prudence is equally evident in her words of gentle reproof to Jesus after He had been lost and found again in the company of the Doctors. It is again obvious at the wedding celebrations in Cana, when she knew well how to snatch the first miracle from the heart of Jesus.

Mary possessed the virtue of temperance also, both in her external behaviour and in her perfect internal control over all her faculties. This was the result of her immunity from original sin, which has created such grave moral disorder in our poor human nature. This virtue was further perfected by the purity and holiness of her daily life.

Finally, the virtue of fortitude was Mary's to an heroic degree. But her fortitude was always calm and controlled. The elderly Simeon had foretold that the sword of sorrow would pierce her heart. Her whole life was interwoven with suffering and privation. From the manger in Bethlehem to the flight into Egypt, from the Circumcision, when Jesus first shed His blood, to the Hill of Calvary, where He gave all He had for our salvation, Mary offered her sufferings along with those of her divine Son for our redemption. Her fortitude never wavered, but was always serene, for her mind and heart were in constant communication with God.

2. Let us compare ourselves with Mary and consider how far we have succeeded in acquiring these virtues. If we are to possess fully the cardinal virtue of justice, we must direct all our thoughts, desires and actions towards God. Since everything comes from God, we should offer everything back to Him. If we fail to do this, we are guilty of injustice towards God. We take for ourselves something which belongs to Him. We must also be just to our neighbour. It is not enough to be charitable only, because there can be no charity unless it is founded on justice. This justice should characterise our thoughts and judgments as well as our words and actions.

Have we the virtue of prudence? Prudence demands constant self-control. How often do we lose control over ourselves and say things which we ought not to say or do things which we ought not to do? Prudence is a splendid virtue which can be obtained by the grace of God, by living a life of union with Him. It necessitates constant vigilance over our faculties and passions in order to ensure that nothing will interfere with our rational conduct and with our observance of the commandments of God.

Interior temperance is simply the result of prudence in so far as it obliges us to master ourselves and to abstain from everything which could upset the proper order of our faculties in relation to one another and to God. If we are inwardly temperate, we shall show external temperance in our words and deeds. We shall abstain, in other words, from everything suggested by our lower nature which is contrary to the commandments of God and the precepts of the Church. This means we shall observe among other things the Church's laws of fast and abstinence. We shall keep away from dangerous amusements and from anything else which could be harmful to ourselves or to our neighbour.

Finally, we must imitate the fortitude of Mary. We must be brave in the face of temptation to sin, in suffering and in all the difficulties of life. Looking always towards Heaven, our true home, we shall find at last the peace and happiness which have no end.

3. Holy Mary, make the cardinal virtues flourish in my soul as they did in yours. May they light my way through life and show me the way to Heaven. Protect me, my Mother, when I am in danger of losing any of these virtues, and obtain for me from your divine Son, Jesus, the grace which will nourish and restore them. Amen.