The Mother of Fair Love

What does ‘Full of Grace” mean? Where does it come from? The answer is found in scripture! Originally it was obvious to all, but Martin Luther broke the connection to the Old Testament and to Hebrew prophesy! The germ of the title “Full of Grace” was applied to the mother of the Messiah in about 200BC, by Joshua the Son of Sira! In his wisdom writings; Sirach, or Ecclesiasticus, depending upon the translation you’re using. Wisdom is often identified with the Messiah, we should note, though, that wisdom is most often referred to in the feminine, as is the case here, and is applied by the Church to the Blessed Virgin. This passage is virtually unknown to our Protestant brethren, and to the majority of Catholics as well! Those who pray the traditional Divine Office are familiar with the first verse, but not the meat of the passage! Here it is; Sirach 24:24-26 Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition (DRA):

24 I am the mother of fair love, and of fear, and of knowledge, and of holy hope.
25 In me is all grace of the way and of the truth, in me is all hope of life and of virtue.
26 Come over to me, all ye that desire me, and be filled with my fruits.

Verse 25 is the key to the passage; in me is “all grace.” The Blessed Virgin didn’t find grace, she wasn’t “graced” by God, she wasn’t even just full of Grace, in the sense of having all she could hold. No! In her was All Grace!! This speaks to the sinlessness, if All Grace is in her, there is absolutely no room for sin! This is indicated when she ends this verse saying that she is full of all hope of virtue!

Now many of our Separated Brethren will point out that St. Stephen, the first Martyr, was “…full of Grace and truth” Acts 6:8, but he was filled to capacity with God’s grace, and the truth of the Gospel, he did not contain All Grace though! Only Mary contained All Grace!

What, or who is “All Grace?” Jesus Christ is All Grace! The God-man, the unique person of the universe, the very presence of God! The Grace of God come down from Heaven! This is why Mary is also called the Ark of the New Covenant, and the “worthy vessel.” The Ark of the Old Covenant was covered inside and out with purest gold! So must the New Ark be pure, sinless! This leads us to the first reference to our passage in the New Testament, At the Annunciation, the Angel Gabriel refers back to Sirach 24:25 in Luke 1:28 when he greets the Virgin;
28 And he came to her and said, “Hail, full of grace,[a] the Lord is with you!”[b]
This grace, according to Joshua, our author, is the way and the truth and the hope of all life! This leads us to our second and most important New Testament reference! Confirmation by Our Lord himself! In John 14:6, Our Lord applies our verse to himself, and by extension to his Holy Mother, when he says;

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Jesus is the way, the truth and all hope of life, in the Blessed Virgin Mary! This is a reference to the incarnation, God made flesh in the womb of the Virgin!

The clincher is verse 26 where the “Mother of Fair Love,” the Blessed Virgin, invites us to partake of her fruits, as we have it from the lips of Elizabeth, the mother of the Baptist, Luke 1:42, echoed in the Ave Maria;

In a loud voice she exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!

When I first realized this, it floored me! The removal of those seven disputed books from the Protestant scriptures wrecked the continuity of the Old and New Testaments and cut half of Christendom off from this font of Grace! It is my hope that my fellow Catholics will be strengthened by this and that our Protestant brethren will approach it, prayerfully and with the guide each of the Holy Spirit!