St. Thomas asserts, that Mary, being made mother of God, by reason of this close union with an infinite good, received a certain infinite dignity, which Father Suarez calls infinite of its kind.[1155] The dignity of mother of God is the highest dignity which can be conferred on a pure creature. The angelic Doctor teaches, that the humanity of Jesus Christ, though it might have received greater habitual grace from God, yet, as to the union with a divine Person, could not receive greater perfection; so, on the other hand, the blessed Virgin could receive no greater dignity than to be the mother of God. For as habitual grace (this is his reasoning) is a created gift, we must acknowledge that its essence is finite. The capacity of every creature is limited in measure, which however prevents not the divine power from being able to form another creature of greater capacity.[1156] Though the divine power may create something greater and better than the habitual grace of Christ, yet it could not destine it to any thing greater than was the personal union of the only begotten Son with the Father.[1157] The blessed Virgin, because she is mother of God, has a certain infinite dignity from the infinite good, which is God; and in this respect nothing greater can be created.[1158] St. Thomas of Villanova says the same thing: Certainly there is something infinite in being the mother of the Infinite One.[1159] And St. Bernardine says, that the state to which God exalted Mary as his mother was the highest, so that he could exalt her no higher.[1160] And this is confirmed by Albertus Magnus. The Lord conferred on the blessed Virgin the highest gift which any pure creature was capable of receiving, namely, the maternity of God.[1161] Therefore St. Bonaventure wrote that celebrated sentence, that God could make a greater world, a greater heaven, but could not exalt a creature to greater excellence than by making her his mother.[1162] But better than all others has the divine mother herself described the height to which God had elevated her when she said: He that is mighty hath done great things to me: “Fecit mihi magna qui potens est.”[1163] And why has the holy Virgin never made known what were the great favors conferred upon her by God? St. Thomas of Villanova answers, that Mary did not explain them, because they were so great that they could not be explained.[1164]