The Enduring Legacy of Our Lady of the Snows (Part 1)
Virgo Potens- Mary, Most Powerful; Source of Strength for Our World
Photo by Birmingham Museums Trust on Unsplash
The title “Virgo potens” (powerful Virgin) expresses the power of Mary. She is depicted with the crown on Her head and the scepter in Her hand, which are the symbols of Her sovereignty When Our Lady was on this earth, She gave us an example of Her power and precisely at the wedding of Cana. Jesus was at the beginning of public life, He had not yet performed any miracles and did not intend to do so, since the hour had not yet come. Mary expounded Her desire and Jesus rose from the table, ordered the servants to fill the containers with water and immediately the miracle of the change of water into a fine wine took place.
Now that Our Lady is in the state of glory in Heaven, she exerts Her power on a larger scale. All the treasures of grace which God bestows passes through Her hands. Both the Celestial Court and humanity, after that to God, praises the Queen of Heaven. It is written that “Someone who wants to obtain graces from the Lord and not to turn to Mary the Dispenser of God’s gifts, is as if one wanted to fly without wings.” Virgo Potens/Virgin Most Powerful is the 19th invocation of the 52 title Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary or Litany of Loreto. This title invokes Mary's intersession as the most powerful and most influential saint one could possibly call upon.
Mary is often spoken of in context of Eve and Creation. Unlike Eve who yielded to the demonic suggestion that was put to her by a fallen angel (Satan) and thus plunged our race into spiritual, physical and moral chaos, Mary, on the other hand, verified the statements of an unfallen angel (the Archangel Gabriel) and thus emerged as the breathtakingly beautiful and victorious Woman spoken of in the books of Genesis and the Apocalypse.
It is her physical, moral, and spiritual beauty which has served and now serves to reverse the ancient curse by her assistance to her Savior, our Savior and the One Savior of All - Jesus the Christ. Virdo Potens is looked upon as our force in the embattled existence of Christian life. Virgo Potens is one of the titles of Our Lady and it means Virgin Most Powerful. Devotion to The Most Blessed Virgin under the title of Virgo Potens is especially efficacious in spiritual warfare.
Life on earth is a continuous spiritual battle according to St. Paul. In this war there is no neutral ground. Whether we are cognizant of it or not, each of us ultimately chooses a side either implicitly or explicitly. We are either citizens of what St. Augustine classifies as the City of God or of the City of Man. We are either for God or against Him, there is no in between. In this spiritual warfare we will be attacked. The deposit of faith equips us with the necessary weapons to vanquish the assaults of the evil one.
Our Lady in her Immaculate Conception is Virgo Potens... the Virgin Most Powerful. Pope Pius XII tells us her power is nearly infinite ... being associated intimately with Her Son and King. He explains that she has this power not only by divine association but also by conquest. This is because she was conceived immaculate in the Divine Mind at the beginning of the Creation at the same time as Her Lord and King. This places her outside of the envelope of sin opened by the devil and Adam. This places her before the creation of all other things...angels, men, Sun, Moon, etc. Thus, she has dominion over them all! This means she can conquer all things...demons, temptations, sinful habits, etc... if only we turn to her... Virgo Potens, ora pro nobis!
Saint John Henry Newman in his “Meditations and Devotions” writes;
“This great universe, which we see by day and by night, or what is called the natural world, is ruled by fixed laws, which the Creator has imposed upon it, and by those wonderful laws is made secure against any substantial injury or loss. One portion of it may conflict with another, and there may be changes in it internally; but, viewed as a whole, it is adapted to stand for ever. Hence the Psalmist says, “He has established the world, which shall not be moved.”
Such is the world of nature; but there is another and still more wonderful world. There is a power which avails to alter and subdue this visible world, and to suspend and counteract its laws; that is, the world of Angels and Saints, of Holy Church and her children; and the weapon by which they master its laws is the power of prayer.
By prayer all this may be done, which naturally is impossible. Noe prayed, and God said that there never again should be a flood to drown the race of man. Moses prayed, and ten grievous plagues fell upon the land of Egypt. Josue prayed, and the sun stood still. Samuel prayed, and thunder and rain came down. Elias prayed, and brought down fire from heaven. Eliseus prayed, and the dead came to life. Ezechias prayed and the vast army of the Assyrians was smitten and perished.
This is why the Blessed Virgin is called Powerful—nay, sometimes, All-powerful, because she has, more than anyone else, more than all Angels and Saints, this great, prevailing gift of prayer. No one has access to the Almighty as His Mother has; none has merit such as hers. Her Son will deny her nothing that she asks; and herein lies her power. While she defends the Church, neither height nor depth, neither men nor evil spirits, neither great monarchs, nor craft of man, nor popular violence, can avail to harm us; for human life is short, but Mary reigns above, a Queen forever.”
Mary, Most Powerful, Virgo Potens, is not exalting Mary to a level of Divine power. She is never to be the object of faith, but an aide to faith. However, due to her favor with God and motherhood to Jesus, and all Christians, no power is denied to her from the Lord.
