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The Blessed Virgin was named Mary, a name in Hebrew that has a very interesting meaning.
The Hebrew form of Mary is miryam. and some biblical scholars have seen in it the Hebrew words mar (bitter) and yam (sea). This first meaning can refer to Mary’s bitter suffering at the cross and her many tears of sorrow.
However, St. Bonaventure believed it was referring to Mary's role in spiritual warfare, as he explains in his Mirror of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
He then goes on to expand on this point, diving deeper into the meaning of Mary's name.
This reflection by St. Bonaventure, recalling Mary's power over demons, has been ratified by many exorcists.
Famed exorcist Fr. Gabriele Amorth confirmed this reality in his dialogues with the devil, when the devil said to him, “I am more afraid when you say the Madonna’s name, because I am more humiliated by being beaten by a simple creature, than by Him.”
While Mary's name can be interpreted a number of ways, it is interesting to see how one saint saw it in light of spiritual warfare.
