Find out the meaning of making ourselves slaves of Mary Most Holy and whether this devotion does not oppose our friendship with God.
Being slaves means firstly entering a path of perfection, increasing our degree of dependence on our Lord Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary. As we said in previous articles, all men are servants of Our Lady by nature. This is the first degree of dependence. Through the sacrament of Baptism, we become children of Mary. In this way we advance to the second degree of dependence. Not satisfied with ordinary ties that unite us to the Mother of God as creatures and as Christians, we wish to confirm this state of dependence, lovingly and radically giving ourselves to her, without reservations or restrictions.
Being a slave is the first degree in voluntary consecration to the Blessed Virgin. This is the foundation of the other degrees of consecration, which is in accordance with the words of the Gospel: “…he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Mt 23, 12b). We must humble ourselves before Our Lady, so that she may elevate us to Jesus. In other words, we must become her slaves, so that she can elevate us as much-loved children. There is nothing more inferior, insignificant, or more humble than a slave.
What is the slavery of love to the Blessed Virgin?
Before saying what slavery of love to Our Lady is, first let us see what slavery is in general. Slavery is the total and absolute dependence of a person on his master. The slave no longer belongs to himself, but becomes a “thing and property” of whoever owns him. It is under the absolute power of its owner, who can use it as he wishes, for his own benefit. The slave belongs totally and forever to his owner, with everything he owns, without any exception. He works without the right to demand a salary. His lord has all the right over him, being able to decide on his life and death. This is the most radical form of slavery, which unfortunately still exists throughout the world, especially in countries dominated by Islam and communism. However, despite the immorality of slavery, it can serve as a good example of total dependence, typical of the spirituality of consecration to Jesus Christ, at the hands of the Virgin Mary.
The servant, unlike the slave, is free and provides his services for a salary, for a determined period of time. Furthermore, the employee normally has the right to demand a decent salary, according to his needs and even to choose another boss, if the current one is not to his liking. With this simple definition, we see that we are not simply servants of Jesus Christ and Mary Most Holy, but truly their slaves.
Let us note that the slavery of love is not a new formula, suspicious or inspired by a devotion full of sentimental enthusiasm, typical of beginners. Slavery is the fundamental thought of religion, which has its roots in holy Baptism. In Him, we break the yoke of slavery to sin, the world and the devil, to become slaves of Jesus Christ (cf. 1 Cor 7:23; Rom 6:20-22). Slavery is the most radical surrender in our relationship with Jesus Christ.
Saint Louis Mary teaches us that there are three types of slavery, or at least three titles that express this dependence of the human race on God: 1) Slavery by nature. All creatures are God’s slaves in this sense; 2) Slavery by constraint, or coercion, in which someone is reduced to servitude, whether by violence, or by a just or unjust law. Such is the slavery of demons and the reprobate; 3) Slavery for love, or free will. In this, we choose God and his service above all things, even if nature does not force us to do so. “In short, and as an application of these three species of slavery: all creatures are slaves of God in the first way; the demons and reprobates, for the second; the righteous and holy, by the third.”
In practice, the consecration, or slavery of love, to Jesus by the hands of Mary is nothing other than the confirmation, by free will, of what we are already called by nature, that is, for the glory and happiness of the righteous and saints.
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The meaning of the terms servant and slave
The current meaning of the word servant is different from the time of Jesus Christ’s earthly life. At that time, the term “servus” was used, meaning servant in Latin, meaning slave. For servants, the Latin word used was “mercennariis”, which means employee or contractor. This is the word used in the passage from the call of James and John: “Et, relicto patre suo Zebedaeo in navi cum mercennariis, abierunt post eum”; which translates as: “They left their father Zebedee in the boat with the servants and followed him” (Mc 1, 20). Therefore, we must take the Latin words in the sense of slaves: servus – ancilla, which appear in several passages of the Holy Scriptures.
Let’s look at some biblical passages, in which the word servant appears, which we must interpret with the meaning of slaves: the prophets call the Messiah the servant of God, in Latin “Servus Dei” (Dn 6, 21; 9, 11); the apostle Saint Paul teaches us that Jesus Christ took on the appearance of a servant – “formam servi accipiens” (Phil 2:7); in the mystery of the Annunciation, the Virgin of Nazareth calls herself: “the servant of the Lord” – “ancilla Domini” (Lc 1, 38); the Apostle of the Gentiles gives himself the name of servant of God: “Paulus servus Dei” (Tit, 1, 1). In all these passages, the Latin words are used: servus – ancilla in the sense of slave.
The inaccuracy in the translation of the Bible sometimes does not help us to understand the original meaning of the text, which the sacred writer wanted to communicate. The word slave in Greek: δοῦλος – doulos, is translated into Latin as: servus, and in Portuguese it means slave. However, the same word: doulos, in Greek, and servus, in Latin, is most often translated as servant; and in its correct sense, which is slave, few times.
We saw above, in several passages, that the Latin word servus is translated as servant. Now let’s look at some passages from the same sacred text, in which the word servus is translated as slave. Regarding the condition of the faithful in his time, Saint Paul asks: “Servus vocatus es?” This same passage is translated as: “Were you a slave when God called you?” (1 Cor 7, 21). This may even scandalize us, but the Apostle of the Gentiles says “qui liber vocatus est, servus est Christi!”, that is, “whoever was free at the time of the call became a slave of Christ” (1 Cor 7, 23) . In another passage, Christ himself tells us about the greatness of becoming a slave: “et, quicumque voluerit inter vos primus esse, erit vester servus”, which translates as: “And whoever wants to become first among you, if make your slave” (Mt 20, 27). The Lord said this and set an example, because he was the first to lower himself, making himself similar to men: “sed semetipsum exinanivit forma servi accipiens” – “but he annihilated himself, assuming the condition of a slave” (Phil 2, 7).
Following the example of Jesus Christ, many saints became slaves: “’I am the slave of Christ – said Saint Agatha – and by this title I declare myself to be in a servile condition’. ‘To be a devoted slave of the Son – wrote Saint Ildelfonso – I sigh for becoming a faithful slave of the Mother’.
And Saint Bernard: ‘I am a vile slave, for whom it is too much honor to serve, as such, the Son of Mary’”. Many other pious and wise saints also spoke in this way, such as Saint Peter Damian, Saint Teresa, Saint John Eudes. Prayers such as that of Saint Ignatius of Loyola: “Receive, Lord, my freedom”, as well as that of Father Zucchi: “O my sovereign…”, are express formulas of holy slavery to Jesus and Mary. These and other consecration formulas were approved by the Holy See. Pope Urban VIII, in 1636, approved the Canons of the Holy Spirit, who consecrated themselves to Jesus and Mary as slaves. Two centuries later, Pope Leo XIII, in 1887, also approved the “Slaves of the Sacred Heart”, and enriched with indulgences the congregation inspired by Jesus Christ to Saint Margaret Mary of Alacoque, who thus declares her total dedication: “I want to make consist all my happiness in living and dying as your slave.”
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Slavery and friendship with God
Holy slavery is not in opposition to the spirit of childhood and love that animates Christianity. The Lord Jesus said: “Iam non dico vos servants, quia servus nescit quid facit dominus eius; vos autem dixi amicos, quia omnia, quae audivi a Patre meo, Nota feci vobis”; In this passage we see again the word servus translated as servant, not slave: “I no longer call you servants, because the servant does not know what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, for I have made known to you all that I have heard from my Father” (John 15:15). The fact that Christ called us friends and not slaves proves nothing against consecration. For, when a prince, through the friendship he has with one of his slaves, grants him countless benefits and calls him a friend, but does not remove him from the state he is in, he does not cease to be a slave, despite the friendship of the slave. Prince. The master could free his slave. However, God cannot free us, as slavery in relation to Him is essentially linked to our condition as creatures. Using the comparison above, like the slave made friends with his prince, we also become friends with Jesus, without ceasing to be slaves.
The history of Brazil, poorly told in our days, and the abuses of many masters towards their slaves have discredited the word slavery. Therefore, when propagating the idea of our slavery to God, we certainly reject the oppression of many masters towards their slaves and the lack of dignity with which they were treated. However, these accidental circumstances in no way characterize the essence of the condition of slaves. If in antiquity there were bad masters, there were also good ones, just as today there are good and bad masters.
We who, at times, boast of being “slaves” of duty, of honor, of a passing beauty, should not be ashamed of being slaves of God, of Jesus Christ, and of the eternal beauty of the Blessed Virgin. For, the Son of God and the Virgin Mary are infinitely above all the passing things of this world. These often attract us to what is illicit, immoral, sinful, while the beauty of our most holy Mother attracts us to her divine Son and to things above (cf. Col 3:1). In this way, slavery to Our Lady is an excellent way to place us in true friendship with Jesus Christ, our God and Lord.
The evangelical logic of consecration: whoever humbles himself will be exalted
Let us remember that our Master and Lord taught us that, in the logic of the Kingdom of God, what elevates and transfigures us is humiliation: “qui se humiliaverit, exaltabitur” – “he who humbles himself will be exalted”…