Our Lady of Compassion(8th April 2022)
My dear brethren,
Today, in the Society of Saint Pius X, we celebrate the feast of our Lady of Compassion as a first-class feast. Indeed, since the very beginning of the Society of Saint Pius X, Archbishop Lefebvre had a great devotion to our Lady of Compassion and chose her to be the principal patron of our Sisters. Last year, our Superior General decided to adopt not only for the Sisters but also for the priests and brothers that feast as first-class feast, for a greater unity among us. Therefore, we have the privilege to celebrate this great feast.
There is something very intimate in the contemplation of our Lady of Compassion. Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus has grown in the Church especially since the 17th century¡¯s apparition of the Sacred Heart to St Marguerite Marie. Similarly, devotion to the Immaculate Heart has grown especially since the apparitions of our Lady at Fatima. Both devotions look at the intimacy of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary. What were the affections of those Hearts? Perfect charity!
God is Charity. The very mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is a sublime mystery of Divine Charity at its highest level: Charity is the inner Life of the Most Holy Trinity. The mystery of the Incarnation is also a sublime mystery of Charity: ¡°God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting¡± (Jn. 3:16). And the mystery of the Redemption is also a sublime mystery of Charity: ¡°Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends¡± (Jn. 15:13).
Now one very important aspect of love is fidelity. It seems to me that the Compassion of our Lady at the foot of the Cross is precisely the revelation of the ultimate fidelity, ¡°even to the Cross¡±. It is easy to be faithful when everything prospers; it is easy to follow our Lord Jesus Christ on Palm Sunday when the whole crowd acknowledges Him as King. And on such day, our Lady remains hidden, rejoicing with our Lord but in a hidden way, because humility loves to be hidden. However, when that same crowd turns around and shouts ¡°Crucify him! Crucify him!¡± (Jn. 19:6), then the Blessed Mother comes forward and shows Him her support: she will be there till the very end, till the burial in the tomb. She is the Virgin most faithful, faithful to the end! Nowhere more than at the foot of the Cross is that perfection of the love of Mary for Jesus manifest. True love is faithful; there is no true love without fidelity. Fidelity is required for true love.
Now, in the modern world, that virtue of fidelity is very much neglected and offended. Both at the natural level and supernatural level: in marriage and in the Church; civil laws allow divorce and churchmen are not transmitting faithfully what they have received – and the love of God in the multitude grows cold, very cold. And by consequence, the love of the neighbour also! Selfishness reigns everywhere, and God is forgotten.
The very principle of the Society of Saint Pius X is a stand for fidelity to what we have received from the Church: fidelity to the Catholic faith, the Faith of the Fathers, fidelity to the Catholic liturgy transmitted from ancient times, fidelity to the Catholic morals, fidelity to the Church. All this can be summed up in one word: fidelity to our Lord Jesus Christ! This is what St Paul says: ¡°Let a man so account of us as of the ministers of Christ, and the dispensers of the mysteries of God. Here now it is required among the dispensers, that a man be found faithful¡± (1 Cor. 4:1-2).
So, we do need the help of our Lady of Compassion, perfect model of fidelity and true love. It was precisely when our Lord was hanging on the Cross that He gave us to His blessed Mother as her children, so that she would take care of us, and He gave her to us as our mother. Let us always honour her as our mother and ask her to help us to be faithful even unto death and the death of the cross, with her!
At each Mass the mystery of the Cross is renewed. So, we can say in all truth that at each Mass our Lord entrusts us again to His Mother as her children and recommends her to us as our mother.
And if we have run away, as most of the apostles have, let us ask our Lady to obtain for us the grace to come back with deep contrition and make up by a greater fidelity that which was lacking in the past. She is the mother of mercy also, always willing to help us to return to Christ. After the Resurrection the apostles were faithful even to the death of martyrdom.
By that fidelity, our Lady participated in the victory of our Lord Jesus Christ over sin, which is His greatest victory and the cause of the victory over death. Hence, she became co-redemptrix. See how fidelity has marvellous fruits!
Thus, let us ask our Blessed Mother today for that grace of fidelity, with her, at the foot of the Cross: fidelity to our Lord Jesus Christ, fidelity to the faith He has taught the Church, fidelity in the marriage for those who are married, each one fidelity to his duty, fidelity to the Mass of the Saints!
So that we might be able to hear one day those beautiful words: ¡°Well done, good and faithful servant¡¦ enter thou into the joy of thy Lord¡± (Mt. 25:21). ¡°Be thou faithful until death: and I will give thee the crown of life¡± (Apoc. 2:10). Eternal life is thus the fruit of fidelity!
Amen.
Father François Laisney