St. Alphonsus de Liguori and Mary Mediatrix of All Graces

In this chapter of From the Housetops, Brother Matthew reflects on the teaching of St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori, founder of the Redemptorist Order and Doctor of the Church, drawing from Father Leonard Feeney’s Saints to Remember and from St. Alphonsus’ own work, The Glories of Mary. Renowned for his profound devotion to the Holy Eucharist and to the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Alphonsus defends with solid Catholic theology the doctrine of Mary as Mediatrix of all graces. Responding to critics who accused him of exaggeration for affirming that God grants no graces except through Mary, he appeals to the teaching of St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Augustine, and especially St. Bernard, showing that God willed to honor His Mother by associating her intimately with the distribution of the graces merited by Christ.

St. Alphonsus explains that Mary first received the fullness of grace in receiving Jesus Christ Himself, the source of all grace, and that she then received another consequent fullness by which she dispenses graces to all through her intercession. Citing St. Bernard, he teaches that Mary was given this plenitude so that all might receive from her abundance, for no one can hide himself from her warmth. As we have access to the Father only through the Son, so we have access to the Son through His Mother, whom God has appointed as the universal advocate of all men. For this reason, the saints exhort us never to cease honoring Mary and to have recourse to her with great confidence, since God has deposited in her the fullness of every blessing, making her the sinner’s ladder, the greatest confidence of the faithful, and the whole ground of their hope.