Over the past 100 years both materialism and commercialism have grown in their influence, especially in the Western world.
They are everywhere and are a driving force behind the modern economy.
Pius XII recognized the rise of these two errors in the 1950s, and in the midst of it he pointed to Our Lady of Lourdes.
School of Mary
He reflected on the Virgin Mary's role in combatting commercialism and materialism in a letter he wrote in 1957 after a pilgrimage to Lourdes.
First, Pius XII points out this temptation, which was gaining influence at the time:
[T]he world, which today affords so many justifiable reasons for pride and hope, is also undergoing a terrible temptation to materialism which has been denounced by Our Predecessors and Ourselves on many occasions.
He then explains the many errors of this philosophy of life, which was being driven by large commercial operations:
It rages also in a love of money which creates ever greater havoc as modern enterprises expand, and which, unfortunately, determines many of the decisions which weigh heavy on the life of the people. It finds expression in the cult of the body, in excessive desire for comforts, and in flight from all the austerities of life. It encourages scorn for human life, even for life which is destroyed before seeing the light of day.
Furthermore, he pointed out that commercialism and materialism focus too much on the pleasures of life:
This materialism is present in the unrestrained search for pleasure, which flaunts itself shamelessly and tries, through reading matter and entertainments, to seduce souls which are still pure...[a] concept of life which regulates everything exclusively in terms of material prosperity and earthly satisfactions.
The antidote, according to Pius XII, is the "school of Mary":
In the school of Mary they will learn to live not only that they may give Christ to the world, but also, if need be, to await with faith the hour of Jesus and to remain at the foot of the cross.
He then encouraged everyone to consecrate themselves to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and to learn from her true humility and trust in God.
The Immaculate Virgin holds the key to combatting the temptations of commercialism. She who was simple and poor shows us the way of Christian perfection.
She was able to live a joy-filled life without any of the modern conveniences and her greatest treasure was her Son, Jesus Christ.
St. Bernadette can also inspire us in her simplicity and total trust in God. After the Lourdes apparitions concluded, she lead a hidden life, away from the spotlight and in union with God.
While the things of this world may seem like they can satisfy our deepest longings, the Virgin Mary reminds us that only God can give us the lasting happiness that we desire.
