Mediatrix of All Graces

The mediator to the Father and the mediators to the Son

Christ is the one and only mediator and advocate between God the Father and us (1 Timothy 2:5, Hebrews 7:25).

But, who is our mediator and advocate to Christ? As per Christ’s command, many people are.

Now we can see the chain of mediation. When we pray for one another, the saints are offering our prayers through Mary to Christ, and Christ is advocating for us to God the Father.

---

Mary, as mediator for our prayers, prays for all of us

Mary, as mediator for our prayers, prays for everyone of us whether we ask for her help or not. This can be seen in three ways.

In the first way, this can be seen when Mary sang her Magnificat in front of St. Elizabeth. She, along with Israel, prayed to God for the Messiah and she glorified God for answering those prayers (Luke 1:46-55).

In the second way, at the Wedding Feast at Cana, when the newly married couple ran out of wine, though they did not ask Mary for help, she interceded for them (John 2:1-11).

In the third way, because Mary is the heavenly Ark of the Covenant, she is aware of our trials and receives our prayers from the saints (Revelation 5:8).

Mary, as mediator for our prayers, has God’s favor

Mary, as mediator for our prayers, has the ear of Christ. This can be seen in three ways.

In the first way, we know Mary has a special favor with Christ because Mary is His mother and, as a result, Christ submitted Himself to her and was obedient to her (Luke 2:52).

In the second way, at the Wedding Feast at Cana, Christ did not help the couple until Mary interceded for them (John 2:1-11).

In the third way, Mary has the office of Queen Mother. Just as Queen Bathsheba petitioned her son, the King, and was received warmly by him, Mary petitions her Son, the King of Kings, to help the people and she is received warmly by Him.

Mary, as mediator for our prayers, asks God rightly

Mary, as mediator for our prayers, has all the qualities necessary to have her prayers heard by God.

God said, “For every one who asks receives…” (Matthew 7:8). Why then don’t we receive everything we ask for? Because we do not ask rightly (James 4:1-10).

There are several qualities necessary for effective prayer. We must ask God for help (James 4:2) with faith (Matthew 9:22), confidence (James 1:6), humility (James 4:6), purity (James 4:3) and peace (1 Peter 3:7), all while having God’s will in mind (Isaiah 55:8-9).

This same criteria applies to us today, and if we honestly evaluate our prayers by this standard, we will see that our prayers lack many of these qualities, making them ineffective.

But, this is not the case for Mary. Mary’s prayers are consistently perfect. Mary asks God for help with faith, confidence, humility (see John 2:1-11), purity (see “Immaculate Conception“) and peacefulness (as there is no recorded instance of her ever being severe with anyone). Further, she always has God’s will in mind (Luke 1:38).

So, when our prayers lack the necessary qualities to be effective, Mary prays on our behalf and our prayers become effective by the quality of her prayers.

---

Mary, as mediator of God’s graces in the Incarnation

Mary was the mediator for all of God’s graces in at least one event: Christ’s Incarnation (Luke 1:26-38).

Jesus Christ is the fountain of all grace (John 4:14, Revelation 22:1). But before He began His life on Earth, He asked for Mary’s consent to come into the world (Luke 1:30-31). Therefore, in this one case, Mary was made the mediator of all God’s graces to mankind.

If Mary had so “no”, God would have respected her freewill. But, on behalf of humanity and being obedient to God, she said she was His handmaid (Luke 1:38). In this one case, Mary was the valve that had to be opened before grace would flow into the world; she mediated for mankind to Christ.

To prove that Christ would have respected Mary’s “no”, had she said it, consider the following. Christ began His ministry only after Mary requested it (John 2:1-11); Christ only healed those who permitted Him (Matthew 4:24, Matthew 13:58) and Christ’s night of suffering began after Judas chose to betray Him (John 13:25-27).

In the same way, Christ only entered the world because Mary said “yes.” This alone shows how much gratitude we owe Mary and how important Mary is in Christ’s work of redemption.

Mary, as mediator of God’s power at Cana

Mary was the mediator of God’s power at the Wedding Feast at Cana (John 2:1-12).

Only God has creative power, the power to create from nothing (John 1:3, Genesis 1:1). At the Wedding Feast at Cana, the couple ran out of wine. Christ did not help the couple and did not manifest His creative power until His mother asked Him to. In this case, Mary was the mediator of God’s power to this couple.

Mary, as mediator of God’s gift of faith at Cana

Mary was the mediator for God’s gift of faith at the Wedding Feast at Cana (John 2:1-12).

Christ is divine, but it takes the gift of faith to believe (1 Corinthians 12:1-11). When Christ called His first disciples, they called Him the Messiah and the Son of God (John 1:41, John 1:49). But, they did not have the gift of faith until after Mary prompted Christ to perform His first miracle. Only after the miracle did the “disciples believe in Him” (John 2:11). In this case, Mary was the mediator of God’s gift of faith to the disciples.

Mary, in acknowledging her office as mediator at Cana

During Christ’s ministry, just before the final moments of His life, St. James and St. John asked Christ if they could sit at the right hand of Christ in His glory (Mark 10:35-45). Christ questioned if they knew what they were asking. They said “Yes,” but Christ knew they did not know the consequences.

When Mary prompted Christ to conduct His first miracle, she began her office as mediator. And just as Christ questioned St. James and St. John, He questioned His mother. But, instead of Mary saying “Yes,” she simply affirmed her understanding by telling the servants what to do. And she knew the consequences.

She knew she would suffer (St. Simeon’s prophecy of the sword piercing her soul), she knew Christ’s mission (when Christ was lost at the Temple at age 12, He did not hesitate to disclose His mission to His parents), and she knew Christ could conduct miracles (that is why she asked for His help at Cana).

Mary knew that by asking for Christ’s help, her office as mediator would come with suffering, but she asked for it anyway.

---

Christ is the fountain of living water

Christ is the fountain of living water that leads to eternal life (Jeremiah 17:13, John 4:14, Revelation 22:1). When Christ met the Samaritan woman at the well, He told her that He would give her this living water if she asked (John 4:10-14).

And the woman did ask (John 4:15), but, Christ did not yet give it to her at that moment. Why? For two reasons:

The first was because Christ had to first secure our salvation by His suffering and death (1 Peter 1:3-9, Luke 24:46-47).

The second was because Christ had to prepare the system that would deliver the grace of salvation to us (John 16:7, Acts 1:1-5). And this would happen at “the hour.”

The Hour

At the Wedding Feast at Cana, when the couple ran of the wine, Mary asked Christ to help the couple. Christ said:

“O woman, what have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” – John 2:4

Christ questioned what role Mary had in His life. The most obvious was that she was His mother. But, Christ was not asking about His relationship with her as His mother now, but His relationship with her as “the woman” at “the hour”.

Why does He refer to her as “woman”? Because, Christ made her the New Eve.

And when was “the hour”? The hour was the end of Christ’s life, His suffering and death, in which His death would redeem mankind (John 7:30, John 12:23, John 12:27).

Let us move to this hour.

But standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Mag′dalene. When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.

After this Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfil the scripture), “I thirst.” A bowl full of vinegar stood there; so they put a sponge full of the vinegar on hyssop and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the vinegar, he said, “It is finished”; and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. – John 19:25-30

Notice, Christ’s last act to humanity before giving up His life and redeeming mankind was to make Mary the mother of St. John, because only after this does the Gospel say that Christ knew that “all was now finished”.

But, to be specific, the Gospel does not say Christ made Mary the mother of St. John. It says that Christ made the “woman” the mother of the “beloved disciple.”

Remember, at the wedding feast, Christ asked “the woman” what she was to Him at “the hour”. There are only two occasions Mary is called “woman”: at the wedding feast and at the cross. And the cross is the hour. Therefore, it is only now that Christ’s answers this question.

“O woman, what have you to do with me?” – John 2:4

“Woman, behold your son!” – John 19:26

At this hour, Christ declared that the “woman’s” relationship to Him was that she was to be the mother of the “beloved disciple.” And this raises several questions.

Why did Christ give this role to Mary at this time? As we shall see below, it was because Mary, by Christ’s will, had to share in His suffering.

Who is the beloved disciple? As we shall see below, it is you and me.

And what does this mean for us at the end? As we shall see below, it means that Mary is the Mediatrix of all graces.

Mary shares in Christ’s suffering

Why did Christ give His mother to St. John at this most painful point of the crucifixion and not anytime before? Being God, Christ knew His future and that His mother would need someone to care for her. So, there must have been another reason.

Because Mary had to share in Christ’s suffering to a degree unparalleled by any creature.

When Christ was just a baby, Mary and St. Joseph presented Christ to the Temple at her purification and St. Simeon prophesied:

“Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against, and a sword will pierce through your own soul also…” – Luke 2:34-35

As per the prophecy, God had ordained that Mary was to suffer with Christ; and the degree of her suffering had to equal that of a sword piercing through her soul. Mary had to suffer to this degree before Christ could accomplish His mission.

It is not unreasonable to think that when the Apostles fled on the night of Christ’s arrest (Matthew 26:56), they went and told Mary what happened (she had to be in Jerusalem, because she was standing by the cross the next day); and upon hearing the news, we can imagine she ran to find her God and her Son, just like when Christ disappeared in the Temple when He was twelve years old (Luke 2:46-52).

From the time she saw Him, every insult, slap, spit, whip and fall, every nail driven into His hands and feet, every groan He expressed at His suffering, and every moment she had to remain silent knowing this was the will of God, all of these moments would have been a deeper and deeper thrust of that prophesied sword into her soul. This is obvious because we know that no mother can bear to see her child suffer the Roman Empire’s most horrific execution method. The longer Christ hung on the cross, the deeper the sword went into her soul.

Christ had the power to lay down His life and to raise it up at will (John 10:17-18). As God, even a single drop of His blood would have atoned for the sins of all mankind for all of history. So, why did He suffer to this extent and hang on the cross for so long before He let go of His spirit?

Because, only after Mary saw His agony on the cross for so long (Luke 23:44) did the sword finally pierce through her soul. Only in the deepest levels of her sorrow could Mary share in His suffering to the greatest degree possible for any of God’s creation. And only at this point did He say, “Woman, behold your son!” and to the disciple, “Behold your mother.”

And we know this is the case because only after this moment does the Gospel say, “After this Jesus, knowing that all was now finished…” before proceeding to give up His life.

Mary, by being with her Son to the end of His life, had fulfilled the prophecy.

Why did Mary have to share in Christ’s suffering?

Every person’s life plays an important role in God’s plan.

Consider Adam and Eve. God could have created new children from the dust, just like He created Adam, but He chose for Adam and Eve to be the sole parents of the whole human race knowing that their life choices would have eternal consequences for all of humanity.

Consider us today. Our life choices either bring us closer to or push us further away from God. In fact, our very existence has eternal consequences for us and even those around us.

Now consider Mary. Mary had a choice at the Annunciation that would have eternal consequences, not just for her, not just for those around her, but for all of humanity (just like Eve). The choice God gave her would effect all of creation. And so, just as Eve was so central to the fall of man, Mary would be as central to the rise of man.

And this happened at the cross.

When Mary suffered to such a degree that only Christ could comprehend, He gave her a new office: mother of the beloved disciple. And only after this did He choose to give up His spirit.

This is affirmed when we study what Christ said to His Apostles before His arrest:

Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. When a woman is in travail she has sorrow, because her hour has come; but when she is delivered of the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a child is born into the world. So you have sorrow now, but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. – John 16:20-22

Here, Christ told the Apostles that they would be sorrowful at His death but would rejoice once He resurrected. In the analogy, the Apostles would be the mother, and Christ would be the baby.

But, the analogy fits well to anyone who loved Christ and fits exceptionally well to Mary. Mary will suffer even more than the Apostles at her Son’s death and will rejoice even more than the Apostles at His resurrection. This analogy is so fitting for Mary because, in the analogy, Mary would be the mother, and Christ would be her baby.

When we study this passage, we see that Christ said the Apostles would be sorrowful not because their hour has come but because the hour has come for their beloved master; but the analogy says that the woman who gives birth will be sorrowful because her hour has come, not because the hour has come for her beloved baby.

Again, in the analogy, Christ is saying the woman is going to suffer because her hour (not His hour) has come. The only suffering prophesied for Mary was the sword that was to pierce her heart. This was her hour. And the analogy states that during this hour, the mother would deliver her child; during Mary’s hour, Christ told Mary to “behold her son.”

Just as the mother’s suffering is greatest just before the delivery, Mary’s suffering is the greatest just before Christ died and delivered all His faithful from the devil. And as we saw above, this was the moment when the sword pierced through her soul, when Mary became the mother of the beloved disciple, and when Christ saw that everything that needed to be accomplished “was now finished.”

Mary is made mother of the beloved disciple

Many people assume that Christ assigned St. John to be Mary’s caretaker. However, this is not the order of Christ’s command. Instead, Christ first tells Mary what her new role is and then tells St. John to accept it.

When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. – John 19:26-27

Again, Mary is given her new office first by her title, “woman”. She is now the beloved disciple’s mother. Then, without referring to his name, Christ tells the beloved disciple to see this woman as his own mother.

The beloved disciple

Who is the beloved disciple? On the surface, St. John admits to being this disciple (John 21:24). However, there are two points to note.

The first is that, in the Gospels, St. John is identified as one of the first four disciples called by Christ (Matthew 4:21, Mark 1:19, Luke 5:10). This means that throughout the Gospel of John, St. John is present. Yet, the first time he refers to himself as the beloved disciple is at the Last Supper (John 13:23). Even when he admits to being both the author of the Gospel and the disciple whom Christ loved, he does so by referring to this same moment in the Last Supper (John 21:20-24) and not any time before.

In other words, He only became the “beloved disciple” starting at the Last Supper.

The second point is that Christ loved St. Martha, St. Mary, St. Lazarus (John 11:5) and all of His Apostles (John 15:9) and they were all His disciples. Why would St. John specifically call himself the disciple whom Christ loved and refer to everyone else by name when he also says that Christ loved these disciples too?

Because the beloved disciple is not only St. John. Instead, the beloved disciple is the one who meets certain criteria and St. John met those criteria only near the end of Christ’s life.

To see this, let us look at all the moments the disciple is declared “loved by Christ.”

St. John was with Christ from the beginning, but only in these key moments does he say he is loved by Christ. Why? Because St. John is not telling us about himself, he is telling us what a beloved disciple of Christ would do.

The beloved disciple is the one who stays close to the heart of Christ (the Eucharist), who partakes in the Last Supper (the Mass), who stands by the cross (sacrifice), who stays close to St. Peter (the Pope), who accepts being a child of Mary and who takes her as their own mother.

Yes, St. John was the beloved disciple in this case. But, if St. John was beloved because of this set of criteria, then anyone who fulfills this criteria is also beloved by Christ.

In other words, the beloved disciple is the practicing Christian. The beloved disciple is St. John, and it’s also you and me.

This is affirmed in two ways. The first way is when Christ said:

“And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.” He said this to show by what death he was to die. – John 12:32-33

When Christ was lifted up on the cross, He would draw all of us to Him. But, not all of mankind was there. Instead, one man who represents all of us was there: the beloved disciple.

The second way is when Christ said:

“Who is my mother, and who are my brethren?”And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brethren! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, and sister, and mother.” – Matthew 12:48-50

Here, Christ says that anyone who does the will of God is Christ’s brother, and sister, and mother. Mary did the will of God at the Annunciation and physically became the mother of Christ.

But, how can we possibly become siblings with God when we follow His will? Christ called us His disciples, His servants (Matthew 10:24) and His friends (John 15:15), and these titles make sense for anyone who follows His will. But how does following His will mean we become His siblings? Through two ways.

In the first way, when we follow the will of God, we become adopted children of God the Father (Galatians 4:4-6) and therefore adopted siblings of God the Son, Jesus Christ.

In the second way, at the cross, Christ’s will was that the beloved disciple take Mary as his mother. If we are His beloved disciples, we are to follow His will and take Mary as our mother. And by doing His will, because we become a child of Mary, we become actual siblings with Christ.

Mary is made mother of all Christians

If Christ declared Mary the New Eve and assigned her a new office, that of being the mother of the beloved disciple and if we are the beloved disciple, then Mary is our mother and we are her children; in other words, Mary is the mother of all Christians. This is affirmed in eight ways:

In the first way, just as the first Eve is mother of all the living in the Old Creation, Mary, the Last Eve, is mother of all the living in the New Creation (see “the New Eve“).

In the second way, as Eve co-operated with Adam to pass Original Sin to her children, Mary co-operates with Christ to pass grace to her children.

In the third way, just as any child that is born physically requires the action of a man and a woman, every child that is born spiritually will require the action of a man and a woman. That man is Jesus Christ who died to save us (John 3:16). The woman is Mary (John 19:26).

In the fourth way, Christ instructs us to be part of Him as the branches are part of the vine, and St. Paul teaches that Christians form the body of Christ (Romans 12:5). If Mary gave birth to Christ, then Mary spiritually gives birth to us when we become one with Christ as part of His body.

In the fifth way, just as no child can be prepared for the outside world without his mother, no soul can be prepared for Heaven without His mother, who is Mary. St. Augustine and St. Anselm both confirm that Mary prepares her children in her spiritual womb before they arrive in Heaven.^{b1, b2}

In the sixth way, Revelation tells us that the saints, those who keep the commandments and bear testimony to Christ, are children of the same mother who gave birth to the Son of God (see “The New Eve“). Mary gave birth to the Son of God and so is also mother of all the saints.

In the seventh way, as we saw above, Christ compared the suffering His Apostles would suffer to a woman giving birth to a new baby. We have already seen that this analogy fits Mary; the hour of her delivery is the hour of her greatest suffering and is the hour of her Son’s death. And it was at this moment, just before He saw that “all was now finished”, that He told His mother, “Woman, behold your son!” In this moment of her deepest sorrows, Mary would be like the mother who suffered to give birth to her baby, and if the mother in her suffering gives birth to a baby, then Mary in her suffering gives birth to all Christians.

---

The Holy Spirit is the living water

Earlier, we saw how Christ told the Samaritan woman at the well that if she asked, He would give her the living water that leads to eternal life.

God the Father and God the Son is the fountain of living water (Jeremiah 17:13).

This living water is God the Holy Spirit (John 7:37-39) and He came only after Christ’s Ascension (John 16:7, Luke 24:49).

St. Peter and St. Paul teach that when we receive the Holy Spirit, we are truly alive in that we receive the grace of salvation and the hope of Heaven (Acts 2:37-39, Ephesians 1:13-14, Ephesians 2:1-10, 1 Peter 1:3-12).

The channel of this living water

But, who is the channel for this new source of life? Christ is the fountain and the Holy Spirit is the living water. But, who is the channel? The channel is Mary.

If God gives the gift of life to babies through their mothers, then God also gives the gift of new life to Christians through their mother. If Mary is mother of all Christians, then Mary is the one who delivers this new life to us. This is affirmed in five ways.

In the first way, in Revelation, we see that the woman who gives birth to the Son of God has other children, these being Christians (Revelation 12:17). But the Scripture does not say that they are simply her children. Rather, they are her “offspring“, the spiritual equivalent of her biological children in that they come from her. This only possible if God chooses to give the gift of new life to the Christian through her.

In the second way, in Revelation, we see that the Tree of Life gives the fruit of eternal life to the righteous. If the fruit is Christ, the tree is Mary and Revelation states that the river of eternal life, the Holy Spirit, flows through the tree to us (see “The Tree of Life“).

Therefore, Mary is the channel of that living water that leads to eternal life. When Christ ascended to the Father, the fountain of living water let forth this living water and it flowed through the pierced channel from Heaven to us.

In other words, Christ let forth the Holy Spirit and it flowed through the pierced opening in Mary’s perfect soul, from Heaven to us. Just as Christ entered the world through Mary by the work of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit enters our hearts through Mary by the merits of Christ.

In the third way, we see that if Eve co-operated with Adam to give us original sin, then Mary co-operates with Christ to give us grace. It can even be said that if Eve fed herself from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, then Mary feeds her children from the Tree of Life.

In the fourth way, we must note that Christ uses human agents in His ministry. The prophets were His agents to prepare the Israelites for the Messiah. Mary was the agent He used to come into the world. Judas, the chief priests and the Roman soldiers were the agents He used to leave the world. The apostles and disciples are the agents He uses to spread the Gospel. And Mary is the human agent He uses to give grace to His followers.

In the fourth way, we know that Mary is the spouse of the Holy Spirit (see “Mary’s Relationship to God“). Where the Holy Spirit operates, Mary is with Him. And just as the Holy Spirit operated through her to create Christ in the flesh, He operates through her to create Christians in the spirit.

Mediatrix of all graces

The Holy Spirit is the one who gifts us with every good, gift and grace from God (1 Corinthians 12, CCC 2003). If Mary is then the channel of the Holy Spirit, then she is also the channel of every good, gift and grace from God.

We cannot approach God without Christ and we cannot approach Christ without Mary, because the Holy Spirit has chosen in His good pleasure to operate with Mary, His beloved spouse.

In conclusion, in this way, we can see that Mary truly is “Mediatrix of all graces”.

The most important matter to conclude this article is the following: that the Mother of God is also your mother and her love for you is equivalent to the power of her prayers for you. She is not your mother only by adoption. She is also the spiritual equivalent of your biological mother and, therefore, your true mother because she has given spiritual birth to you which is your true life. She loves you because you are literally her child. And she has the power by the Holy Spirit to help you in your daily life.

Turn to her when you have troubles in your life and she will come to your aid as a mother comes to her child’s aid because you are her child. She carries you until you arrive in Heaven, and if she carries you, she will console you when times get difficult because she is there with you.

If you struggle to believe, then ask Christ Himself for confirmation. You will get this confirmation.

---

References

[b1] “True Devotion to Mary” by St. Louis de Montfort

[b2] “The Glories of Mary” by St. Alphonsus de Liguori

---

Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Holy Family.