Mary’s name is a fortified tower, Mary: Day 175

Mary’s name is a fortified tower

St. Alphonsus declares that the name of Mary, like the name of Jesus, is powerful in spiritual battle.

The Blessed Virgin herself revealed to St. Bridget: “On earth there is no sinner, however devoid he may be of the love of God, from whom the Devil is not obliged to flee immediately, if he invokes her holy name with a deter- mination to repent.” On another occasion she repeated the same thing to the saint, saying, “All the demons venerate and fear her name to such a degree, that on hearing it they immediately loosen the claws with which they hold the soul captive.”

Our Blessed Lady also told her: “In the same way as the rebel angels fly from sinners who invoke the name of Mary, so also do the good angels approach nearer to righteous souls who pronounce her name with devotion.” St. Germa- nus declares: “Just as breathing is a sign of life, so also is the frequent pronuncia- tion of the name of Mary a sign either of the life of divine grace, or that it will soon come. For this powerful name has in it the virtue of obtaining help and life for him who invokes it devoutly.”

To sum up, “This admirable name of our sovereign Lady,” says Richard of Saint Lawrence, “is like a fortified tower. If a sinner takes refuge in it, he will be delivered from death; for it defends and saves even the most abandoned.” But it is a tower of strength that not only delivers sinners from chastisement, but also defends the righteous from the assaults of hell. —St. Alphonsus Liguori, The Glories of Mary

IN GOD’S PRESENCE, CONSIDER . . .
What does it mean to say that Mary’s name is strong and powerful? Why would the demons flee from it?

CLOSING PRAYER
Your name, Mary, like the name of your Son, “is a strong tower; the righteous run into it and are safe” (see Prv 18:10).

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