Mary, the Immaculate Mother of God, shines forth as the Arx of the faithful. The stronghold raised by the hand of the Almighty, against which the gates of Hell cannot prevail. Conceived without sin, she is the impregnable fortress where the Word took flesh, the dwelling in which the enemy found no breach.

As Judith once guarded Israel with her courage (cf. Judith xiii. 20), and as the Ark of the Covenant bore within it the law, the manna, and the rod (cf. Hebrews ix. 4), so Mary bears in her very being the New Covenant, the true Bread from Heaven, and the eternal Priesthood of Christ. In her Magnificat she declares the Lord’s triumph over the proud and the mighty (cf. Luke i. 51–52), and thus she stands as a rampart for the humble, a citadel of refuge for sinners who take shelter within her intercession.

As Saint Bernard teaches, “In dangers, in perplexities, in doubtful cases, think of Mary, call on Mary,” for to hide within this fortress is to be secured in the protection of Christ Himself, who made her the chosen stronghold of His Incarnation.