The Devil Admitted This About the Mother of Mercy…

What does the devil know about Mary… that we don’t?
In this powerful reflection, we explore a chilling moment from an exorcism recorded by St. Alphonsus Liguori. When a priest asked the demon, “What is Mary doing?” the response was shocking: “She is descending and ascending.” What does that mean? And what does it reveal about her role as the Mother of Mercy?

Transcript

St Alphonsus tells a story about a priest who is performing an exorcism over a possessed man and during the exorcism the priest asks the demon in the possessed man "What is Mary doing right now?" And the demon replied "She's descending and ascending." St Alphonsus offers the reflection and say and says that is everything that Mary does she descends to men to bring grace to us and then she ascends back to God to present our supplications and asks blessings upon them now have you ever wondered well how powerful then are Mary's requests before God st and some will say that sometimes we receive grace by Mary's intercession that we otherwise may have not received and number two we receive that grace quicker than compared to going directly to Jesus why St Alphonsus makes the point that when we go directly to Jesus we are asking the one who has mercy on us but also the one who executes justice also the one who can punish however when we go to Mary she only knows mercy think about this when we talk about Jesus we talk about him sometimes as the just judge yes we talk about his mercy but we also talk about his justice but never does the church use this language when it's when referring to Mary you you'll never hear Mary referred to as the just mother or the mother of vengeance she's not referred to that way but we have this title for her mother of mercy like you draw your attention to the Hail Holy Queen how does it go hail Holy Queen mother of mercy our life our sweetness and our hope see that's one value of praying traditional prayers it forms your theology it forms you how you pray informs what you believe and so here we have this traditional prayer informing us about the truth of Mary she is the mother of mercy in other words when you go to her with a request she only knows mercy now I want you to imagine that you have committed a crime you get caught you're brought before the judge and you plead your defense you say "I I made a mistake it was a lapse of judgment judge please have mercy on me." How will it go well the judge is not moved and so then you think what what else can you do well instead of trying to defend yourself maybe you bring in a high-profile lawyer and they make a defense for you asking for mercy but the judge is still not moved so what do you do well perhaps you bring in somebody that knows you really well a friend and he comes in and they he give testimony to your character and how you're a good person you just made a a lapse of judgment that this is really not you but the judge is still not moved what recourse then do you have then you have this wonderful idea i will bring in the judge's mother and so the judge's mother comes in and on your behalf speaks for you and he's moved why because the judge's mother Well by the time the judge was born he already owed her nine months of room and board we all owe something to our mother don't we and likewise it is with Jesus he is moved when his mother comes to him and says "Look my son this child here yes he may be guilty but I ask for mercy." St Alphonsus says "She knows so well how to appease the divine justice with her tender and wise entreaties that God himself blesses her for it and as it were thanks her." St Alphonsus quoting Richard of St Lawrence says "What poor sinners we should be if we had not this advocate so prudent and so wise that the judge her son cannot condemn the guilty if she defends them." How else can we understand Mary's requests before God well St Alphonsus says that Mary's requests appear to him as though they are commands but then adds one more thing that Mary's requests before God are all powerful he he uses the word omnipotent now that's confusing because that word omnipotent meaning all powerful typically refers to only God himself it's an attribute of God so it's confusing how is it possible that in the St Alphonsus' mind that Mary's requests are are all powerful St Alphonsus says "Thy help is omnipotent O Mary." As Cosma of Jerusalem exclaims "Yes Mary is omnipotent as Richard of St Lawrence since the queen by every law must enjoy the same privileges as the king for as the power of the son and the mother are the same the mother by the omnipotent son is made omnipotent as St Alphonsus says God has placed the whole church not only under the patronage but also under the dominion of Mary now St Alphonsus makes the distinction between Mary and Jesus later he says that Jesus is all powerful by nature but not Mary mary is all powerful by grace and then he goes on to refer to this mystical experience that St Bridget had when she overheard Jesus and Mary speaking Jesus said "Oh my mother you know how I love thee ask from me then whatever you desire for there is no demand of thine that will not be graciously heard by me." And the reason that Jesus gives this special privilege to Mary is this mother when you were on earth there was nothing you did refuse to do for love of me now that I am in heaven it is just that I refuse nothing which you ask of me so in what ways did Mary refuse Jesus nothing during her earthly life well in so many just think about the enunciation alone Gabriel angel Gabriel heaven to earth to Mary announces to her that she's going to have a king by the power of the Holy Spirit you know this is bad news for Mary why because she's engaged to Joseph it's going to look like she slept around and Deuteronomy 22:23 and 24 describes what should happen to a woman who's who's engaged to another man and sleeps with another and gets pregnant those two should be taken to the edge of the city and stoned to death so the proposition of the angel Gabriel to Mary is a potential death sentence yet she refuses Jesus nothing right from the very beginning how does she respond i am the handmade of the Lord let it be done to me according to thy word and then think about the unusual birth of Jesus they they go to the end but but there's no room so they end up in a stable usually a mom wants a nice comfy place to give birth mary didn't have this and then think about what happens after Herod sends out soldiers to kill all the firstborn off to Egypt just from the beginning of Mary saying yes there's all this inconvenience and threat to her life she never grumbles she never complains she never says "Oh why did I say yes to that angel?" She refuses Jesus nothing not from the beginning but of his life but right through to the end right up to the cross to the passion where Jesus dies mary is there at the foot of the cross refusing Jesus nothing so it's no wonder that St alasa says that Mary's prayers before Jesus are all powerful st and also says Mary is then called omnipotent in the sense in which it can be understood of a creature who is not capable of any divine attribute she is omnipotent because she obtains by her prayers whatever she wishes this is an incredible teaching by St Alphonsus who's a doctor of the church remember that he's saying that Mary obtains everything she wishes wow i mean what do you wish for i have a laundry list it's pretty long but Mary whatever her whatever is on her list she gets that which leads us to a very important question what does Mary wish for later in the glories of Mary St Alphonsus talks about a mystical vision again of St Bridget where she again overhears Mary and Jesus talking and Jesus again says to Mary ask from me whatever you wish now who else says that well who else could say something like that only a person in power right only a person of authority and my mind immediately went to another person in scripture with authority who said something very similar and it was Herod who said "Ask for me anything you wish and it will be granted to you." He says this to the daughter of Herodiius the daughter dances beautifully before Herod he's so moved and captivated captivated he's pleased with her and says "Anything you ask for it will be given to you." And what does she do goes to his her mother and she asks for the head of John the Baptist this is what happens when you give power to an evil person death but what happens if you give power to a very good person what happens life Mary not just good but perfected in all virtue no sin and her requests before Jesus are granted so again what does Mary ask for in this vision that St Bridget had of Jesus and Mary jesus going to Mary and saying "Ask of me anything you desire." What does Mary say she replies "I ask for

mercy." I ask for mercy you my friend have a mother of mercy practically how does this play out in our lives couple questions for you are you in over your head in life are you overwhelmed with worries and anxieties is your body sick do you got problems with your kids do you have problems with finances has your heart been hardened by sin and it feels like the love of God just cannot penetrate you do you struggle with faith intellectually you know you should believe in God but it doesn't translate to your prayer life doesn't translate to your actions you feel God is distant in your life i want to tell you you have a mother of mercy she's before Jesus and she says these words "My son I ask for mercy." So today I invite you place your life into the hands of Mary let her take her all your cares all your worries and anxieties and she presents them before Jesus as though they are her own and she says "My son I ask for

mercy." Friends thanks for watching share with me below what stood out to i'll see you soon