Besides the duration Mary suffered, Mary is known as the Queen of Martyrs due to the greatness in the point of its intensity. Not only is Mary the Queen of martyrs because her martyrdom was longer than that of all others as previously mentioned, but because it was also the greatest of all martyrdoms. First of all, unlike martyrs who endure tortures through fire and other materials to the body, Mary suffered her martyrdom within her soul. This is foretold by St. Simeon “And thy own soul a sword shall pierce” (The Holy Bible, 1899; Luke 2: 35). Unlike the other martyrs being torn, Marys soul was transfixed and martyred by the passion of Her own Son. “Now, as the soul is more noble than the body, so much greater were Mary’s sufferings than those of all the martyrs” (St. Alphonsus, 1954 pg 467 St. Alphonsus). Jesus Christ himself said to St. Catharine of Sienne “between the sufferings of the soul and those of the body there is no comparision” (St. Alphonsus, 1954 Catharine of Sienne pg 467 St. Alphonsus). To understand the strength at which Mary suffered during her life in martyrdom we can look at the words written by many of our saints in the past. St. Anselm said, that “had not God by a special miracle preserved the life of Mary in each moment of her life, her grief was such that it would have caused her death” (St. Alphonsus, 1954 pg467). St. Bernardine of Sienna also mentioned in regards to Marys martyrdom “that the grief of Mary was so great that, were it divided amongst all men, it would suffice to cause their immediate death” (St. Alphonsus, 1954 pg 467). In order to grasp the greatness in Marys martyrdom we need to understand that Mary was not only the Mother of Jesus, but she was also born with no stain of sin on Her. Her immaculate conception made her of no sin and in perfection in the eyes of God, that every moment of her life she gave her entire heart and soul to God even before His birth. Marys perfection caused Her to love not only suffering for the sake of God, but continuously prayed to God for Him to let Her suffer more in order to relieve some suffering that Our Lord had suffered and was going to suffer throughout His life. The more She loved God, the more she prayed for suffering, therefore the more Mary grew in love of Our Lord each day, the more she suffered knowing what was lying ahead for Him. St. Laurence Justianian writes “the heart of Mary, by compassion for her Son, became a mirror of his torments, in which might be seen faithfully reflected the spittings, the blows, the wounds, and all that Jesus suffered” (St. Alphonsus, 1954 pg 481 V. Of M.). “We can therefore say that Mary, on account of the love she bore him, was in heart, during the Passion of Her Son, struck, scourged, crowned with thorns, and nailed to the very cross of Her Son” (St. Alphonsus, 1954 pg 481 V. Of M.). It must also be said that Abbot Arnold of Chartres revealed “that whoever had been present on Mount Calvary, to witness the great sacrifice of the Immaculate Lamb, would there have beheld two great altars, the one in the body of Jesus, the other in the heart of Mary; for, on that mount, at the same time that the Son sacrificed his body by death, Mary sacrificed her soul by compassion” (St. Alphonsus, 1954 pg 467-468). Mary suffered all the torments, scourges, thorns, nails, and His Cross; and just as Jesus flesh was tortured the same torture entered into the heart of Our Mother Mary, in order for Her martyrdom to be achieved. St. Alphonsus reveals that the Blessed Amadeus declared “He (Jesus) suffered in the flesh, and she the heart” (St. Alphonsus, 1954 pg 468). St. Alphonsus wrote the remarks made by St. Bonaventure in which she spoke when considering Mary on Mount Calvary, “O Lady, tell me where didst thou stand? Was it only at the foot of the cross? Ah, much more than this, thou wast on the cross itself, crucified with thy Son” (St. Alphonsus, 1954 pg 469). It is written in the book of love, the bible, Isaias the prophet wrote “I have trodden the wine-press alone, and of the Gentiles there is not a man with me” (bible). Richard of St. Laurence heard of these words of Our Redeemer, and said “it is true, O Lord, that in the work of human redemption Thou didst suffer alone, and that there was not a man who sufficiently pitied Thee; but there was a woman with Thee, and she was Thine own Mother; she suffered in her heart all that Thou didst endure in Thy body” (St. Alphonsus, 1954 pg. 469).
Marys sufferings is unimaginable and incomparable to other martyrdoms, as human intellect can neither comprehend its depth nor compare to even all martyrdoms added together, as Marys martyrdom could have killed any human being over and over again. Through the grace and power of God, He allowed Our Mother to suffer these things to its maximal level. St. Bernardine of Sienna said that “the sufferings of Mary were such, that had they been divided amongst all creatures capable of suffering, they would have caused their immediate death.” (St. Alphonsus, 1954 pg 484 V.O M.). When Saint Anselmn addressed the Blessed Virgin He said, “The most cruel torments inflicted on the holy martyrs were tribling or as nothing in comparison with Thy martyrdom, O Mary” (St. Alphonsus, 1954 pg 484 V.O M.). “ Indeed, O Lady, in each moment of Thy life Thy sufferings were such, that Thou couldst not have endured them, and wouldst have expired under them, had not Thy Son, the source of life, preserved Thee.” (St. Alphonsus, 1954 pg 484 V.O M.). Indeed, it is difficult to understand the level of Marys martyrdom just as even contemplating the level of suffering that Jesus suffered throughout His life. Yet, we must realize that the suffering Mary received were from the witnessing that Her beloved Son Jesus endured, than if she were to have endured all these trials and death Herself. Just as any mother would be cruelly tormented by their childrens suffering, moreso was Mary as she loved Her Son more than Herself. St. Alphonsus writes that “it evidently was so; for it is certain that she loved her Son and his life beyond all comparison more than herself or a thousand lives of her own” (St. Alphonsus, 1954 pg 470). Looking at this from the eyes of another beholder, Blessed Amadeus “rightly affirms, that ‘the afflicted Mother, at the sorrowful sight of the torments of her beloved Jesus, suffered far more than she would have done had she herself endured his whole Passion” (St. Alphonsus, 1954 pg 470). Since Marys heart lay fully in Her beloved Son, and gave every moment and morsel of Herself to Him even before His birth, it is of no surprise that Her suffering in Her soul and heart, exceeded more so by witnessing all tortures, persecutions, and death of Her Son Jesus than through suffering these things by Her own flesh. St. Alphonsus mentions the quote given by St. Bernard that “the soul is more where it loves than where it lives” (St. Alphonsus, 1954 pg 470). It has been revealed to St. Alphonsus that Our Lord himself said that “where our treasure is, there also is our heart” (St. Alphonsus, 1954 pg 470). We must bear in mind that Mary lived more in Her Son than by Herself, and as a result Mary must have endured greater torments through the sufferings and death of Her Son Jesus.
In comparison to other martyrs of the past, one area we must consider is Marys severity to Her martyrdom shown in the fact that Her martyrdom was not alleviated during Her sufferings. Martyrs in the past that suffered torments imposed by their persecutors were lessened by the love of Jesus which turned their pains amenable and sweet. St. Augustine commented on St. Vincents tortures that he suffered, tortures on a rack, with pincers, and burnt with hot iron, that “it seemed as if it was one who suffered, and another who spoke” (St. Alphonsus, 1954 pg 470). Even in the death of the martyrs St. Mark and St. Marcellinus when they were suffering bound on the stake “having their feet pierced with nails”, they were asked by their executioners “wretches, see to what a state you are reduced; save yourselves from these torments”, yet they answered “of what pains, of what torments dost thou speak? We never enjoyed so luxurious a banquet as in the present moment, in which we joyfully suffer for the love of Jesus Christ” (St. Alphonsus, 1954 pg 471). The more the holy martyrs loved Jesus, the lesser amount of torments and death they did feel. Knowing and keeping in their minds the the sufferings of God crucified was gave them consolation. St. Augustine said, “Ah!...inebriated with the wine of divine love, he felt neither torments nor death” (St. Alphonsus, 1954 pg 471). Yet, Mary unlike all other martyrs, did not attain this consolation and relief. Mary was not consoled by love she had for Her Son, nor from the sight of His torments He suffered. In fact, Mary was without relief, for Marys love she bore for Her Son was Her most and only cruel executioner, since Marys martyrdom entailed seeing and pitying Her innocent Son who suffered so immensely. St. Alphonsus writes, “Queen of Heaven, love hath mitigated the sufferings of other martyrs, and healed their wounds; but who hath ever soothed thy bitter grief? Who hath ever healed the too cruel wounds of thy heart?” (St. Alphonsus, 1954 472). To Mary, the more she loved Jesus, the more bitter Her suffering was for Him, and the more inconsolable was this anguish and sorrow. In the writings of St. Alphonsus he expresses to Our Mother, “Who shall heal thee, since that very Son who could give thee consolation was, by his sufferings, the only cause of thine, and the love which thou didst bear him was the whole ingredient of thy martyrdom” (St. Alphonsus, 1954 472). Martyrs in the past have been represented by their sufferings through instruments of their sufferings, and for Mary her instrument is that of Her Son. St. Alphonsus mentions that “Mary is represented with her dead Son in her arms; for Jesus himself, and he alone, was the instrument of her martyrdom, by reason of the love she bore him” (St. Alphonsus, 1954 471).
Through help from the saints, especially those that have been visited by Mary and Our Lord in their lives, we will only begin to grasp a morsel of the sufferings endured by Our Mother of Sorrows, Queen of Martyrs. Mary was always obedient as she was perfect in all ways, having no stain of sin, therefore her obedience to God and love of Him caused Her martyrdom to be most intense and surpassed all others. “St. Thomas says, ‘that to have the glory of martyrdom, it is sufficient to exercise obedience in its highest degree, that is to say, to be obedient unto death’” (pg. 463 Victories of Martyrs). Since Marys obedience was to perfection, Her martyrdom was more excruciating, painful, and was furthermore to perfection. St. Antoninus says, “they suffered in the sacrifice of their own lives; but the Blessed Virgin suffered by offering the life of her Son to God, a life which she loved far more than her own” (St. Alphonsus, 1954 pg 484 V.O M.). So great was her love for God and perfect in Her ways, that her greatness in suffering and martyrdom cannot be measured. Just as great as the love we may have of something, the more pain we would bear and suffer in losing it. In order to fully comprehend the greatness that Marys grief, the more we must fully understand Her greatness in the love of Her Son. Blessed Amadeus said, that “in the heart of Mary were united two kinds of love for her Jesus – supernatural love, by which she loved Him as her God, and natural love, by which she loved Him as her Son” (St. Alphonsus, 1954 473). If Marys love was so immense (as we may come to understand), so great must have been the anguish Mary suffered in His Cross on Calvary. St. Victor mentions that “as there was no love like her love, so there was no sorrow like her sorrow” (St. Alphonsus, 1954 pg 473). This is why Mary is not only known as the Queen of Martyrs but also as the Queen of Sorrows, because Her heart was always full of continual sadness and with suffering. St. Laurence said, that “nor has there ever been a mother who more tenderly loved her son than Mary! But since there never has been in the world a love like unto Mary’s love, how can any sorrow be found like unto Mary’s sorrow?” (St. Alphonsus, 1954 474). St. Alphonsus reviewed many of the saints who had been visited by Mary and Our Lord, and also saints who studied throughout their lives the martyrdom Mary suffered. By gaining knowledge in the letters and writings of the saints, especially those given by Our Lady and Her Son, we too may begin to scratch the surface in understanding even a minute portion on the martyrdom of Mary. St. Ildephonsus mentioned that, “to say that Mary’s sorrows were greater than all the torments of the martyrs united, was to say too little” (St. Alphonsus, 1954 474). Mary is our mother and the Mother of Sorrows, and not only does She deserve to be recognized as such, but as the Queen of Martyrs since Her martyrdom surpassed all others. We must keep our minds and hearts on our Mother and not ignore this grief she Herself suffered and bore and still suffers and bears, for not only did She suffer for the love of God and the sake of Her son, but suffers for the salvation of Her children as well. When you love someone, especially a Mother full of Love, we should try to offer Her our love through the contemplations of Her suffering. We should try to do this in order to comfort and relieve Her of the sorrows that She suffered or suffers each day; through her attack of Her: Immaculate Conception, Her Virginity, Her Divine Maternity or the refusal of those that do not accept her as the Mother of all mankind, for those who publicly implant indifference or hatred of our Immaculate Mother in the minds and hearts of little children, and for those who insult her directly in her sacred images. I will leave the bitter sweet words said from the lips of Our most Sorrowful Mother, Queen of Martyrs, “O you who spend your lives upon earth, and pity me not, stop a while to look at me” (St. Alphonsus, 1954 pg 474).
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