And why we must love the Blessed Virgin all the more!
Satan hates the Blessed Virgin Mary. For two millennia, he has done everything in his power to discourage her devotion and instill hatred towards her. Have you noticed that it is Marian devotions and dogmas that provoke the strongest reactions among those who reject the Church? Even some Catholics are embarrassed by devotion to the Blessed Virgin, arguing that we should not be too extreme in this veneration. Perhaps you too have already wondered why the Church holds the Immaculate in such high esteem. And why did God choose to use it in His work of redemption. Why such hatred of Satan towards the Virgin, and why should we be his devoted servants?
The scene takes place in the Garden of Eden. The characters are God, the serpent, Adam and Eve. The devil smirks, triumphant. He has just seduced Eve and, through her, Adam. He can be proud of himself. He succeeded in spoiling God’s work of creation and leading human beings – for whom God has a special love – into death and misery.God then appeared to repair the damage, launching the tragic curse that arose from sin, but also to proclaim the protoevangelium , the first allusion to the Gospel and the fate of the devil.God then tells Satan that he will eat earth all the days of his life. He also tells him some news that makes him sink into the depths of horror: his ultimate defeat will come from a woman. “I will put hostility between you and the woman, between your lineage and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike him in the heel” (Gen 3:15).Now, scholars argue over whether the pronoun is masculine or feminine: Will “he” or “she” crush your head? In other words, does the pronoun refer to the Virgin Mary or to Jesus Christ. I’ll tell you a secret: it doesn’t matter. Because, through Mary, it is Jesus who crushes Satan. She is Jesus’ instrument when He destroys his ancient enemy. With this in mind, it is just as legitimate to say, “He will crush your head” as it is to say, “She will crush your head . ” It’s a bit like saying to an armed attacker: “One more step and I’ll shoot you” or “One more step and my gun will tear you to pieces.”. Both are equally true statements.So why does being defeated by Mary bother the demon so much? Why does God use Mary to defeat him? Here is the explanation…
He overthrows the mighty from their thrones
The demon hates, he deeply hates the fact that his ultimate defeat will come from a “humble servant”. In a way, his pride could stand to be defeated by God Himself, who is all-powerful and omnipotent. But being crushed by a little woman from Nazareth? The thought is absolutely humiliating and drives him crazy. For if there is one thing that the proudest of creatures hates, it is to be humiliated.Because there is another, deeper reason why he fears being defeated by Mary to this extent: the Blessed Virgin is his replacement in Heaven. Lucifer was originally God’s greatest achievement. He was the most spectacular and powerful of all his creatures. He was so magnificent that he thought he could be above God. And the Virgin Mary is the humblest creature that ever existed… And by grace, God made her the most exquisite and glorious in the entire Universe – the title that Satan claimed.Thus, the Immaculate is the opposite of Satan. She replaces him and he knows it. This divine exchange – Mary taking Satan’s place – is revealed in Mary’s hymn, the Magnificat: “My soul exalts the Lord, my spirit exults in God, my Savior. He leaned on his humble servant, henceforth all ages will call me blessed. The Mighty One did wonders for me, holy is his name. His love extends from age to age to those who fear him. Deploying the strength of his arm, He scatters the proud. He overthrows the mighty from their thrones, He exalts the humble. He fills the hungry with good things, and sends the rich away empty-handed. He raises up his servant Israel, he remembers his love .
In the Magnificat we see Mary’s role in salvation beautifully summarized:- Mary’s humility: “He leaned over his humble servant”– The marvelous work of God’s grace in her: “The Mighty did wonders for me, holy is his name”– The defeat of Satan: “He scatters the proud, He overthrows the mighty from their thrones”– The exaltation of Mary in place of Satan: “He exalts the humble” . The worst thing for Satan is that the one who replaced him in Heaven is none other than the mother of the eternal Word, Jesus Christ, whose Passion and death redeemed humanity, the one that Satan seeks precisely to destroy. Mary’s “yes” to God untied the knot of Eve’s disobedience, opening the way for the saving work of the New Adam. The very weakness of Eve, which Satan so despised, gave way to the humble obedience of Mary, a total obedience to the will of God which made her omnipotent. This is God’s plan for the defeat of His enemy. This is Satan’s humiliation and his destiny.
Satan hates man
In case you don’t know, Satan hates you. His bitter envy inspires him to destroy God’s creation, to drag it into the abyss of hell. He would like nothing more for you – the image that bears God – than to join him in the eternal flames of the lake of fire.
But don’t be afraid. The ancient serpent is powerless against the Immaculate Virgin, because in God’s plan, she is the instrument that Jesus will use to humiliate Satan and destroy him. Do you want to crush the head of the demon in your life? Do you want to safely pass through trials, temptations, and storms to our eternal home? The answer is simple: call Marie. Love her, be her devoted servant and her apostle. Dedicate yourself totally and completely to her, for nothing that belongs to her will be lost. “Being devout, O Blessed Virgin, is a weapon of salvation that God gives to those whom He wants to save ,” says Saint John Damascene prettily.Satan goes on a rampage, causing as much havoc as he can, because he knows his time is running out. He is afraid and he is angry, because he knows that one day, very soon, he will be crushed by the woman who makes his heart tremble, the woman who ” appears like the dawn, beautiful like the moon, resplendent like the sun, formidable as battalions” (Song of Songs 6, 10).Auguste Queen of Heaven and Mistress of the angels,You who have received from God the power and the mission to crush the head of Satan,Send your celestial legions so that under your orders and by your power,they pursue the demons, fight them everywhere , repress their audacityand push them back into the abyss. “Who is like God? »O good and tender Mother, you will always be our love and our hope.O divine Mother, send the holy angels to defend usand repel the cruel Enemy far from us.Holy angels and archangels, defend us, keep us.
