Now
the Catholic is the only Church whose children, generation after
generation, from the first to the present century, have pronounced her
blessed; of all Christians in this land, they alone contribute to the fulfillment of the prophecy.
Therefore, it is only Catholics that earn the approval of Heaven by fulfilling the prediction of the Holy Ghost.
Protestants
not only concede that we bless the name of Mary, but they even reproach
us with being too lavish in our praises of her.
On
the other hand, they are careful to exclude themselves from the
"generations" that were destined to call her blessed, for, in speaking
of her, they almost invariably withhold from her the title of blessed preferring to call her the Virgin, or Mary the Virgin, or the Mother of Jesus.
And while Protestant churches will resound with the praises of Sarah and Rebecca
and Rachel, of Miriam and Ruth, of Esther and Judith of the Old
Testament, and of Elizabeth and Anna, of Magdalen and Martha of the New,
the name of Mary the Mother of Jesus is uttered with bated breath, lest the sound of her name should make the preacher liable to the charge of superstition.
The
piety of a mother usually sheds additional lustre on the son, and the
halo that encircles her brow is reflected upon his. The more the mother
is extolled, the greater honor redounds to the son. And if this is
true of all men who do not choose their mothers, how much more strictly
may it be affirmed of Him who chose His own Mother, and made her
Himself such as He would have her, so that all the glories of His Mother
are essentially His own.
And yet daily we see ministers of the Gospel ignoring Mary's exalted virtues and unexampled privileges and parading her alleged imperfections; nay, sinfulness, as if her Son were dishonored by the piety, and took delight in the defamation of His Mother.
Cardinal Gibbons
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