;m
•LT)
THE MONTH OF OUR LADY.
UNDER THE PATRONAGE OF
Our Tressed Lady of Victory.
FROM THE ITALIAN OF
REV. AUGUSTINE FERRAN,
BY
REV. JOHN F. MULLANY, LL.D.
NEW YORK, CINCINNATI, CHICAGO:
BROTHERS,
Printers to the Holy Apostolic See.
•ffUbfl ©betat
FR. D. REUTER, M.C.,
Censor Deputatus. SYRACUSE, N. Y.,
February 21, 1898.
fTmpnmatur.
* MICHAEL AUGUSTINE,
Archbishop of New York, NEW YORK, March 3, 1898.
JUN - 7 1954
COPYRIGHT, 1898, BY BENZIOFR BROTHERS.
PKEFflCE.
DEVOTION to our Blessed Lady has been so long established among the faithful and is so universally known and practised, that any explanation on my part is unnecessary and superfluous. The compiler and translator has been induced to think that he would render a service to religion, and at the same time pay a tribute of devotion to the Mother of God, by presenting this old work in a new English dress.
That this little book may promote and foster among the faithful deep and heart felt devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, is the prayer of
THE TRANSLATOR.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
FIRST DAY. — Motives of Devotion to
Our Blessed Lady 8
SECOND DAY. —The Honor which
should be paid to the Blessed Virgin
Mary l6
THIRD DAY.— Duty of Imitating the
Blessed Virgin 24
FOURTH DAY.— The Holy Name of
Mary 34
FIFTH DAY.— Mary, the Mother of
God 42
SIXTH DAY.— Mary, Our Mother . . 50 SEVENTH DAY.— Mary, Our Queen . 58 EIGHTH DAY. -- Mary, Queen of
Mercy 67
NINTH DAY.— Mary, Queen of Angels 77 TENTH DAY.— Mary, Queen of all
Saints 89
ELEVENTH DAY.— Mary's Co-opera tion in our Redemption 99
TWELFTH DAY. — Love which we owe
Our Lady m
THIRTEENTH DAY. — Mary, Mother of
Grace 123
FOURTEENTH DAY. — Virginity of
Mary 136
FIFTEENTH DAY. — Mary, Mother of
Chastity 148
SIXTEENTH DAY. — Holiness of Mary 160
6 CONTENTS.
PACK
SEVENTEENTH DAY.— Sorrows of Our
Lady 172
EIGHTEENTH DAY.— Mary, Mother of
Sinners 182
NINETEENTH DAY. — Goodness of
Mary. 194
TWENTIETH DAY.— Mary, Mother of
Humility 205
TWENTY-FIRST DAY.— Power of Our
Lady 216
TWENTY - SECOND DAY. — Mary,
Mother of Compassion 228
TWENTY-THIRD DAY.— Patronage of
Our Lady 239
TWENTY-FOURTH DAY.— Protection
of Mary 250
TWENTY- FIFTH DAY. — Mary, Our
Hope 259
TWENTY-SIXTH DAY.— Mary, Our
Guide to Heaven 271
TWENTY - SEVENTH DAY. — Mary,
Health of the Weak 280
TWENTY-EIGHTH DAY.— Mary, Help
of Christians 289
TWENTY-NINTH DAY.— Mary, Con soler of the Afflicted 298
THIRTIETH DAY. — Devotion to the
Immaculate Heart of Mary . . . 306 THIRTY-FIRST DAY. — Perseverance
in the Love of Our Lady . . . .315 PRAYERS IN HONOR OF MARY . . 325 LITANY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN . 335 LITANY OF OUR LADY OF VICTORY 338
MEDITATIONS
FOR THE
MONTH OF OUR LADY.
Mother of grace, O Mary blest !
To thee, sweet fount of love, we fly : Shield us through life, and take us hence
To thy dear bosom when we die.
FIRST DAY.
WHY WE SHOULD PRACTISE DEVOTION TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY.
"Her spirit is sweeter than honey, and her heritage than the honey-comb. They that eat her shall yet be hungry, and they that drink her shall still thirst. Whoso hearkeneth to her shall not be confounded, and they that work by her shall not sin."
flTS a woman was instrumental in the v1 fall of man, it was the will of God that a woman should co-operate in man's redemption. During forty centuries the Lord, in the language of Isaias, observed attentively the illustrious women who from time to time appeared, in order to choose her who should be most worthy of himself and best adapted to the plan of the redemption of man. Sara pre sented herself in the splendor of her wealth, Rebecca in the lustre of her beauty, and Rachel in the elegance of her grace; but their wealth, beauty, and grace had no attractions for the Most High. Ruth, Jahel and Judith, Abigail and Es-
THE MONTH OF OUR LADY. 9
ther, appeared in succession ; but none of these was chosen. They were all fig ures of that exalted maiden in whom the virtues and worth of each and all of them were to be united. Who then will be that illustrious woman foretold by the prophets, longed for by the patriarchs, foreshown from the earliest days in sym bols and figures so numerous and so var ious, and promised by the Almighty from the beginning? Lovely daughter of Joachim and Anne, thou art the chosen one ! Although many maidens have ar rayed themselves in garments of glory, Mary far surpasses them in abundance of merit and fulness and richness of reward. Mary, as well in the order of nature as in the order of grace and glory, far excels all women, all just souls, and even all angelic beings united ; for she alone at tracted the especial preference of Al mighty God, and was selected by him to be the mother of his Son, and thus to co operate in our redemption. Wishing to consecrate to the honor of Our Lady the month of May, we shall commence our exercises of piety by considering the principal motives which urge us, as Christians, to pay to her the tribute of our devotion. The first is because amongst all created beings she is adorned
10 THE MONTH OF OUR LADY.
with transcendent sanctity, the second because she is the mother of God and also our mother.
I.
It being our duty to love God principally because he contains essentially in himself every perfection, and it being likewise our duty to praise God in his saints, it be comes our duty to be especially devoted to Mary ; because amongst all the crea tures of God she is the most pure, the most holy, the most perfect. As such we discover her in the designs of the Lord; and the church of God's infallible truth applies to this great mother in a mystic sense whatever the Scripture says of the divine Wisdom. Hence Mary is made to say of herself: — I came out of the mouth of the Most High, the first born before all creatures (Eccl. xxiv. 5). The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his ways, before he made anything from the beginning. I was set up from eternity, and of old before the earth was made. The depths were not as yet, and I was al ready conceived ; neither had the foun tains of water as yet sprung out. . . When he prepared the heavens, I was present;
THE MONTH OF OUR LADY. \\
when with a certain law and compass he enclosed the depths, I was with him form ing all things (Prov. viii. 22). I was ex alted like a cedar in Libanus, and as a cypress tree on Mount Sion. I was ex alted like a palm tree in Cades, and as a rose plant in Jericho (Eccl. xxiv. 17).
Mary is thus celebrated by the spouse of the Canticles : Thou art all fair, O my love ; and there is not a spot in thee. Thou comest forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun (Cant. iv. 7). It is not surprising, therefore, that the angel of God, when in the ful ness of time he visited Mary as a mes senger from the Most High, exclaimed on beholding her, — Hail, full of grace ; the Lord is with thee : blessed art thou among women (Luke i. 28).
In like manner, the Fathers of the Church proclaimed Mary the most holy and most lovely creature that ever issued from the hands of Him that is mighty. The eternal God, says St. Bernardine, created in time his holy mother, such as he had chosen her from eternity, adorning her with all the gifts of nature and grace, which became the grandeur of his majesty. With the ex ception of Christ, and with the exception also of his most blessed mother, says
12 THE MONTH OF OUR LADY.
St. Cyril, we were all born in sin. Mary was an object of wonder to angels and to men, says Albertus Magnus, because all that human nature, all that a mere crea ture is capable of being endowed with, was found in Mary. What is more holy, says St. Thomas, than Mary? Neither Proph ets, nor Apostles, nor Martyrs, nor Pa triarchs, nor Thrones, nor Dominations, nor Cherubim,nor Seraphim. Amongst all created beings, visible and invisible, noth ing greater or more excellent than she can be found. According to Suarez, Mary surpasses in sanctity, not only every saint and every angel individually con sidered, but all saints and all angels united. Mary, therefore, is, in the words of the Church, Queen of all saints, be cause in holiness and perfection she far excels them.
II.
If we owe honor to Mary as the most holy of all creatures, what honor do we not owe to her as the mother of God ? Be hold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, says Isaias (vii. 14). This virgin is Mary, this son of Mary is the Son of
THE MONTH OF OUR LADY. 13
God. The angel Gabriel sent from God, said : Fear not, Mary; for thou hast found grace with God. Behold, thou shalt con ceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a son ; and thou shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the son of the Most High (Luke iv. 30).
In the motherhood of the Holy Virgin are founded her glories ; and the Church delights to address her by all those titles which correspond to so great a dignity. Nothing can be of so great honor to the creature as to be the mother of the Crea tor. To have given to the light of the world the divine wisdom, that was from the beginning with God, and in the be ginning was God; by whom all things were made, and without whom was made nothing that was made (John i), is un doubtedly the loftiest dignity that the mind is capable of conceiving in a mere creature. The blessed Virgin may be con sidered as the gate and dwelling place of the divine wisdom that cries aloud: — Blessed is the man that heareth me, and that watcheth daily at my gate, and wait- eth at the posts of my doors(/V0z/. viii. 34). She is the. gate of wisdom, because through her, and with a body taken from her, the Son of God entered into the world for our salvation. She is the dwelling place
14 THE MONTH OF OUR LADY.
of wisdom; because the divine wisdom, that is discovered in others by a com munication of light, is found in Mary in an especial manner by the abode which God made man took up in her bosom. We may therefore approach the divine wisdom by the same way in which he condescended to come to us.We may also learn how to re ceive the precepts and observe the coun sels of divine wisdom from the example of her who kept ali these things in her heart, and to whom the holy Elizabeth said, by inspiration of the spirit of God, — Blessed art thou that hast believed; because those things shall be accomplished that were spoken to thee by the Lord (Luke i. 45).
It was the intention of Almighty God that Mary, in becoming the mother of Christ, should become also our mother. And this is the third title by which she challenges our respect and honor. Mary, says William the Abbot,has one only Son; still she is the mother of many. By being mother of the head, she is the mother of many members. Hence she is called Mother of all Christians, and receives from them the honor which is due to such a mother. Mary is our mother, because she has restored to us the life of grace,of which we were deprived by our first mother. As Eve, says Richard of St. Law-
THE MONTH OF OUR LADY. 15
rence, was called the mother of the living, from the natural life which she gave to men, with greater reason is Mary called the mother of all the living, from the life of grace which men receive only through her agency. Mary is, moreover, our mother, because she is the mother of the Son of God, who deigned to call us his brothers. Let us all then rejoice, says St. Bonaventure; let us all cry aloud with exultation:— Blessed be the Brother through whom Mary is our mother; and blessed be the mother through whom Christ is our brother. Mary is our mother because she was given to us as a mother by our divine Redeemer, and adopted us as her children in the person of St. John. When Jesus, agonizing on the cross, saw his mother and the disciple standing, whom he loved, he saith to his mother: Woman, behold thy son. After that he saith to his disciple: Behold thy mother. And from that hour the disciple took her to his own (John xix. 21). From what has been said, we cannot but conclude that we are bound to love and honor Mary in an especial manner, both be cause she is the most pure and holy of all creatures, and because, whilst she is truly the mother of God made man, she is also our own most loving mother.
16 THE MONTH OF OUR LADY.
ASPIRATION.
Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners.
PRACTICE.
Be careful to utter no word that may be displeasing to your heavenly Mother.
LITANY.
Read a chapter of the Glories of Mary.
SECOND DAY.
HOW WE SHOULD HONOR THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY.
" Thou art the glory of Jerusalem; thou art the joy of Israel; thou art the honor of our peo ple." Judith xv. 10.
JUDITH, having returned from the As syrian camp, presented herself to the people of Bethulia and thus addressed them: Praise ye the Lord, our God, who hath not forsaken them that hope in him. And by me, his handmaid, he hath ful filled his mercy, which he promised to the house of Israel : and he hath killed
THE MONTH OF OUR LADY. 17
the enemy of his people by my hand this night (Judith xiii. 17, 18).
Who does not perceive in Judith vic torious over Holofernes our great mother Mary, through whom the world was delivered from the slavery of sin ? In the public homage paid to Judith by the people of Bethulia, who does not dis cover the homage which by Christians should be paid to Mary ? The Church, revering her as the most lovely, the most holy, and most noble of all mere crea tures, acknowledging her as the mother of God and the mother of all Christians, pronounces separation from the true fold against any one who should attempt to detract from the honor due to her, and to tarnish her glory (Council of Ephesus). Having considered the principal motives which should influence us to be devout to Mary, let us now consider in what manner we ought to love her ; and convince our selves that the honor which we should tribute to Mary consists in the first place in the feelings of the heart; and in the sec ond, in the external manifestation of these feelings.
I.
The true worship of God commences in the understanding, and is completed
13 THE MONTH OF OUR LADY.
in the heart. It is the part of the understanding to make us know and ad mire him, and of the heart to love and obey him ; so that, from a just knowledge of God, true love for him flows. From this principle it follows, that devotion to the great mother of God must be estab lished in the heart in order to prove sin cere and advantageous. Almighty God says : " My son, give me thy heart" (Prov. xxv. 26), showing that he requires us to love him with the heart, and that he de sires nothing so much as the offering of the heart. Hence, to be truly devout to Mary, we must be devout to her with the whole heart. Among the principal af fections of the heart are three : Love, sympathetic pleasure, and reverence. The affection of love is a feeling of the soul turned towards an object that attracts us. It has its origin in the es teem in which we hold the object and the worth which we discover in it. Who then will refuse to love Mary ? Was not she alone, amongst all creatures, unsul lied by sin in her conception? And did she not pass her whole life without blem ish in the sight of God ? Is she not the mother of God, and, as his mother, en throned in Heaven Queen of Saints and of Angels? And does she not, with a
THE MONTH OF OUR LADY, 19
mother's heart, earnestly desire the hap piness of all her children on earth ? Who. therefore, can withhold from Mary the warmest and most tender feeling of the soul : deep, unfeigned, heartfelt love ?
To find pleasure in the grace and favors bestowed upon Mary, belongs to the affection of sympathetic pleasure. To reflect that Mary was chosen by God, and elevated to the most sublime dig nity of being his mother ; that she was adorned with the most exalted graces, and enriched with the rarest gifts ; that in Heaven her glory is. inferior to that only of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; that for forty centuries the Prophets of the Lord had their eyes fixed upon her and foreshowed her by symbols and fig ures without number ; that she was the desire of the Patriarchs and of the souls of all the just deceased before Christ ;— to reflect upon all this, and to experience delight in the reflection, is to honor Mary and to furnish a great proof of love. Thus a friend rejoices in the welfare and prosperity of a friend.
This homage of sympathetic pleasure gives honor to the Blessed Virgin, and is so pleasing to her that she invites us with the Church to rejoice with her, be cause she pleased the Most High, and at
20 THE MONTH OF OUR LADY.
the appointed time became the mother of God made man. For this reason both the Church militant and the Church triumphant feel great complacency in the dignity and glory of Mary. St. Bonaven- ture exclaims: O Holy Virgin, in whose glory all the choirs of Saints exult and re joice ! The Church chants with jubila tion — Let us all rejoice, celebrating a fes tive day in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose assumption is a source of joy to the Angels of God. On this day the Blessed Virgin ascended to Heaven : re joice, because with Christ she reigns for ever.
But of what value would be our love for Mary and our rejoicing with her, if to love and pleasure we did not add the feeling of reverence ? The degree of rev erence, of humble respect due to a per son, is determined by that person's exal tation, dignity and greatness. Was not Mary saluted by an Angel as full of grace, and as having the Lord with her (Lukei. 28) ? Was it not announced to her that she was to become the mother of the Most High, without blemish to her vir ginal purity? Did not God become in some measure dependent on Mary, by be coming her Son? He was subject to them (to Mary and Joseph), says St. Luke.
THE MONTH OF OUR LA DY. 21
Mary, by being made tne motner of God, became our mother and the Queen of Heaven and Earth. The mother of the Lord is the most dignified of all mothers. A greater than she is, God himself can not form. A greater world than this world of ours, greater heavens, God can make ; but a greater mother than the mother of God, God himself cannot pro duce. And why? Because, according to St. Thomas Aquinas, Mary, by becoming the mother of God, approached the con fines of Divinity, and by being the mother of Him who alone is omnipotent and in finite, she also acquired a kind of in finity. Mary, says Peter Damian, is so per fect a wont, that there is naught above her but God himself. Let every creature be silent and tremble, says the same St. Peter, and let no one dare to lift his eyes to the immensity of so great dignity, — So great, subjoins St. Bernard, that only God can comprehend it. We must there fore conclude that it is ou r duty to rever ence Mary with the most profound sen timents of respect and veneration.
II.
Although God alone is in himself de serving of GUI invocations and our pray-
22 THE MONTH OF OUR LADY.
ers, and him alone we acknowledge as the bestower of every good gift, and the foun tain from which every blessing flows, still the very love which we cherish for God obliges us to have recourse to Mary by prayer and invocation. The Scriptures teach us that it is our interest to invoke the aid of the Saints who are reigning in heaven with Christ. We learn from the prophet Zacharias that the Angel of the Lord prayed for Jerusalem and the cities of Juda (Zach. i. 12) ; from the second book of Machabees (xv. 14), thatOnias and Jeremias after their death prayed much for the people and for all the holy city; in the Apocalypse (v. 8), the four and twenty ancients offer to the Lamb the prayers of the Saints. When impious men, such as Eunomius, Vigilantius, the Iconoclasts, and others, attempted to dis turb the peace of the Christian family by refusing to the Saints the honors which belong to them, the Fathers by their writings and discourses, and the Church by her anathemas, assembled and con demned the sin of heresy. May the martyrs pray for us, says the Council of Chalcedon. Let us do all things in the fear of God, expecting also the intercession of our spotless Lady, the Holy Virgin Mary, and of the holy Angels, and of all the Saints.
THE MONTH OP OUR LADY. 23
These are the sentiments of the second Council of Nice and of the Council of Ephesusi No one, exclaims St. Ger- manus, obtains salvation unless through thee, O most holy Virgin ! No one is de livered from evil unless through thy in tercession, O purest of the pure ! To no one is imparted a gift of grace, unless through thy mediation, O most chaste of the daughters of Eve ! Who then can hesitate to invoke the most holy name of Mary ? Who will not join in the saluta tion of the angel : Hail, full of grace ? Who will not say to her with deepest ven eration : Holy Mary, Mother of God? Who will not address her in the words of the Church of truth : Hail, holy Queen, Mother of Mercy? He who, says a Saint, apostrophizing Mary, he who shall assert of thee, O Holy Virgin, every thing that is illustrious and glorious, will never de part from the truth ; and yet, language will not be able to express the greatness of thy dignity. We may then affirm with St. Germanus that, as respiration is a cer tain sign of bodily life, so the assiduous invocation of the sacred name of the Blessed Virgin is not only a sign of spirit ual life, but a sure means of procuring choicest spiritual favors. It is our inter est, therefore, to invoke the name and im-
24 THE MONTH OF OUR LADY.
plore the assistance of Mary ; and sincere love for her should cause us to send forth our supplications from a heart throbbing with feelings of reverence, pleasure, complacency, praise, and gratitude.
ASPIRATION.
Teach me to praise thee, most Holy Vir gin.
PRACTICE.
Endeavor to excite devotion to Mary in the hearts of others.
LITANY.
Read a chapter of Father Faber's Foot of the Cross.
THIRD DAY.
HOW WE SHOULD IMITATE THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY.
"She is the unspotted Mirror of God's Majesty, and the image of his goodness." Wisd. vii. 26.
AMONGST the mystic titles which the •- Church applies to Mary, she calls her the Mirror of Justice ; that is, according to the Fathers, the Mirror of all virtues, God, and none but God, is the Sun of
THE MONTH OF OUR LADY. 25
Justice (Malach. iv. 2) ; but since Mary is adorned with gifts of grace far more abundantly than all other creatures, and since the reflection of her virtues reaches us, we very appropriately style her Mir ror of Justice. God, says St. Thomas, formed a mirror, of all mirrors the bright est, the purity of which is so great that in vain would we seek one more pure with out mpunting to God himself. This Mirror is the most glorious Virgin whom, ac cording to St. Bernard, God made the lively image of his own goodness. Let us then direct our view to this Mir ror, and behold in it how we ought to practise obedience, humility and purity. All will see in it the example of Mary teaching them the life of holiness that will render secure the attainment of eter nal bliss. Let us now consider that the interior honor which we owe to Mary, must seek its perfection in the imitation of her virtues and the avoidance of sin.
I.
Our Divine Redeemer says in the Gos pel of St. Matthew (vii. 15.21): Beware of false prophets, who come to you in the clothing of sheep, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. By their fruits you shall know them. Do men gather grapes of
26 THE MONTH OF OUR LADY.
thorns, or figs of thistles ? Even so every good tree yieldeth good fruit, and the bad tree yieldeth bad fruit. A good tree cannot yield bad fruit ; neither can a bad tree yield good fruit. Wherefore by their fruits you shall know them. Not every one that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven : but he that doeth the will of my Father, who is in heaven, he shall enter into the king dom of heaven. This language of Christ attentively considered, shows us clearly what we should do. These works have their source in the heart and we are taught that since we are bound to love God with our whole heart, we must mani fest this love by the purity of our actions. In like manner, the love which Mary's merits demand of us, can never be true and sincere, unless our faith in her is shown by our good deeds. Without these our devotion would be vain and illusory. Faith, says the Apostle St. James, faith without works is dead. No homage there fore is so worthy of the Saints as the im itation of their virtues. If we wish to en joy the society of the Saints, says St. Aug ustine, let us imitate them; for that we may be certain of their intercession in our behalf.it is necessary that they recognize in us something of their own virtues. If we
THE MONTH OF OUR LADY. 27
wish, consequently, our souls to be ani mated with genuine piety towards the most pure Virgin ; if we wish to experi ence her patronage in all our necessities ; if we wish to enjoy her company in the region of the Blessed, we must apply our selves to the study of her virtues, and exert ourselves to form our life in imita tion of hers. It is well to reserve our heart for Mary, and to direct towards her our affections ; it is well to rejoice in the favors which she has received and in the dignity to which she has been elevated ; it is well to bow with reverence before her and invoke assiduously her illustrious name ; but unless we employ ourselves in the imitation of her virtues, fruit less will be our devotion. To praise Mary, says St. Augustine, without striving to imitate her example, would be nothing but the merest adulation.
The Holy Virgin is the most pure mir ror of all virtues : in her we can discover what we ought to avoid, and what we ought to pursue. "Mary," says St. Greg ory, "is the support of believers, the per fect example of pious souls." "Such was Mary," says St. Ambrose, "that her life is a rule for all Christians; from her all may learn what they should correct, what they should avoid, what they should per-
28 THE MONTH OF OUR LADY.
form. The Divine Spouse finds far greatei pleasure in devout imitation, than in idle praise : and indeed the true praise of the heart is the imitation of the example." St. Jerome says: "Love Mary whom you honor, honor Mary whom you love. Then you truly honor and love her, if you study" to imitate her life of love." From her lips the Church causes to issue the words of the divine wisdom. "Now therefore, ye children, hear me : Blessed are they that keep my ways. Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not. Blessed is the man that heareth me, and that watcheth daily at my gates, and waiteth at the posts of my doors. He that find- eth me shall find life, and shall have sal vation from the Lord" {Wisd. viii. 32-35). We must now consider how and when especially we ought to imitate Mary. If you are assaulted by a temptation against pur ity, lift your eyes to the image of Mary, and the thought cannot fail to recur to you that the Virgin of Virgins held vir ginity in such esteem, that she would have renounced the dignity of Mother of God offered to her by the messenger of the Lord, rather than consent to any blemish of her virginal purity. If you are assailed by discouragement, in adver sity, turn to the image of Mary, and re-
THE MONTH OF OUR LADY. 29
calling to mind that this great Queen of Martyrs stood, with perfect resignation and submission to the will of God, at the foot of the cross, on which her only Son was dying in agony, you must feel encour aged to imitate her example. If you are tempted against faith or grow weak in the midst of the persecutions and disappoint ments of this life, lift your eyes to the im age of Mary, and you will gain vigor from the reflection that this Queen of Apostles, by her presence, her word, and her ad mirable life, animated the Apostles and first believers in Christ, whilst for fidel ity to Him they were subjected without intermission to every species of perse cution. Whatever may be your trials, whencesoever may arise the agitation of your soul, look at the image of Mary, and learn from her the virtues that will strengthen you in trial, that will soothe into order and calmness the troubled waters of your spirit. Thus will you practise the imitation of Mary.
Mary is very properly called a mirror without spot; because, as by means of the mirror the blemishes of the counte nance and the disorder of the garments are discovered and removed, so, by ob serving attentively the Holy Virgin, we learn how to frame our conduct and reg-
30 THE MONTH OF OUR LADY.
ulate all the actions of life. The Re deemer said to those Jews that believed in him: If you continue in my word, you shall be my disciples indeed (John viii. 31). If you be the children of Abraham, do the works of Abraham (viii. 39). We therefore being children of Mary, should imitate her chastity, her generosity, her humility, her benignity, her meek ness, and her mercy. By so doing we shall secure for ourselves a rich reward, since Mary says to those who imitate her: He that shall find me shall find life, and shall have salvation from the Lord (Prov. viii. 35). That is, he who hearkens to Mary and imitates her example shall have bestowed upon him in this life treasures of graces, and in the life to come im mortal glory.
II.
Most pleasing to Mary is the study of her devout servants to imitate her vir tues, and she derives honor from their zealous exertions ; but one homage she demands of them with especial earnest ness — an unceasing anxiety to shun sin. O, how great an evil is mortal sin ! It is the only true evil ; it is sovereign evil, unmingled, absolute evil. In committing
THE MONTH OF OUR LADY. §\
mortal sin, a covenant is made with hell (Is. xxviii. 15); the spirit of Satan against God is shared in ; God is disobeyed, is despised, is rebelled against, is insulted; and Christ is crucified anew. By sin the commandments of Christ are treated with scorn ; his blood is trampled under foot; his favors, his merits, his graces, his rewards, all the blessings of God, are contemptuously cast away, and men think unjustly, in their folly, that God shall be like to themselves (Ps. xix. 20). The sinner forfeits eternal salvation, sacrifices to his passions endless happi ness, draws down upon himself the thunderbolts of God's anger, and closes his earthly career by rushing headlong into the flames of everlasting perdition. If to God the wicked and his wickedness are hateful alike ( Wisd. xiv. 9), it follows that Mary must detest sin, and that she can never grant her protection to those who are hateful to God and declared ene mies of her Son.
If we wish, therefore, to do honor to Mary, we must be assiduous in our anx iety to avoid sin. It is our duty to give praise to Mary; but since praise is not seemly in the mouth of a sinner (Eccl. xv. 9), nor acceptable to the Almighty, in such praise Marv can never find comola-
32 THE MONTH OF OUR LADY.
cency. We should love Mary in sincer ity of heart; but if the heart is made the dwelling place of sin and sinful affections, how can our love for Mary be sincere? Mary is the Mother of God, the Queen of heaven and earth, the Treasurer of all heavenly graces, the Advocate of sinners. We must, therefore, if we value the favor of Heaven, offer to her our sup plications and our prayers. But, he that turneth away his ears from hearing the law, his prayer shall be an abomination (Prov. xxviii.9), therefore, that our prayers may meet with favor in the sight of Mary, they must proceed from a repentant heart, at the command of a will firmly resolved to preserve itself free from every sin.
Devotion to Mary, to be true, must be profound and fruitful, deep-seated in the heart, and proving the uprightness of the will by works. Mary, in the words of Ecclesiasticus mystically applied to her by the Church, says : The Creator of all things commanded and said to me; and he that made me rested in my tabernacle^ and he said to me: Let thy dwelling be in Jacob, and thy inheritance in Israel, and take root in my elect (EccL xxiv.12.14). And I took root in an honorable peo- pte, and in the portion of my God, his in heritance: and my abode is in the full as-
THE MONTH OF OUR LADY. 3?
sembly of saints (xxiv. 16). True devotion, therefore, must have its roots in the heart and not dwell merely upon the lips. Many ask of God and receive not be cause they ask amiss Barnes iv. 3). Like the Jews, they draw near to the Lord, and with their lips glorify him; but their heart is far from him (Is. xxix. 13). In like manner, many content themselves with reciting, in a hurried manner, the Rosary, or other prayers in honor of the Blessed Virgin, or with a careless visit to her image on festival days; but they never think of consecrating to her the throbbings of the heart, far more pre cious in her eyes than all mere bodily homage. Man seeth those things that appear, but the Lord beholdeth the heart (i Kings xvi. 7) ; and into the inmost recess es of the heart Mary wishes to penetrate, to cast root downward, and bear fruit up ward (Is. xxvii. 31).
ASPIRATION.
Holy mother, obtain for me purity of life.
PRACTICE.
Perform some acts of solid virtue in honor of Mary.
LITANY.
Read Mary Queen of May, by Brother Azart'as.
34 THE MONTH OF OUR LADY.
FOURTH DAY.
HOW WE SHOULD HONOR THE MOST HOLY NAME OF MARY.
"The Lord called thy name a great olive tree, fair, fruitful, and beautiful. "Jer. xi. 16.
hath exalted his Son, and hath given him a name which is above every name; that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, on earth, and in hell; and that every tongue should confess that the Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father (Phil. ii. 9). To Mary, also, says Richard of St. Lawrence, the most holy Trinity has given a name that is above every name after that of her Son, and has endowed it with so great majesty and power, that all the creatures of heaven, earth, and hell bow with reverence when they hear it pronounced. Blessed be the Lord because he has so exalted the name of Mary that her praise shall never cease amongst the children of men. From the treasures of the Divinity the name of Mary is drawn, and it is so august in giory and power that its mysterious sig-
THE MONTH OF OUR LADY. 35
nifications can never be fully explained. A shadow of this name was presented by the prophet Jeremias under the sym bol of an olive tree, fair, fruitful, and beautiful. The glory and majesty of Mary were likened by Ecclesiasticus to a fair olive tree in the plains. And the spouse of the Canticles expressed its virtue un der the figure of oil. Thy name is as oil poured out (Cant. i. 2). The significa tion of the name of Mary shows that it is a name of glory, expressing her most peculiar prerogatives of excellence; and it is also a name of the highest utility to men. As a name of glory we should fre quently repeat it. As a name of utility, we should frequently invoke it, both in life and in death.
I.
The Church commemorates, with annual solemnity, the heroic virtues and noble achievements of the saints. Every year also she not only commem orates the different virtues and triumphs of Mary but assigns a day to be es pecially consecrated to the honor of her most sacred name. To this dis tinction the Virgin of Nazareth has a rightful claim ; because, according to
36 THE MONTH OF OUR LADY.
the Fathers, her name issued from the treasures of the Divinity, and was im posed upon her by her parents, in obe dience to a revelation made to them by an angel of the Lord. Names imposed by the Almighty, says St. Thomas, signify the grace imparted to those to whom such names are given. The name of Mary, according to St. Ambrose, signifies Mother of God. And indeed, the Holy Virgin was designated in the eternal de crees as the first-born of creatures, only because she was to be the temple of the living God, and the mother of the eternal Word made flesh.
St.Bernardine reasons as follows: As the Son of God sits at the right hand of the Father on high, being made so much bet ter than the angels, as he has inherited a more excellent name above them, which name implies that he is the Son of God, of the same nature with his Father, so also the Virgin Mary, mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, has been made so much better than the angels as she has inherited a more excellent name above all pure creatures — the name of Mother of God. No other creature, says St. Bonaventure, can appropriately bear this illustrious name. The dignity of Mary is announced by her name, says St.
THE MONTH OF OUR LAD Y. 37
Chrysologus, Mary, that is, sovereign lady. Mary, adds St. Bonaventure, "is sovereign mistress of the angels in heaven, of the men on earth, and the de mons in hell." As soon as Mary was des tined to be the mother of the Lord she received a kind of supreme authority, in herent in this title, in this imcomparable dignity; just as, amongst men, the spouse of him who is elevated to distinguished power, assuming the title of the family, his state, condition, and name. Hence the Blessed Virgin at her birth received the name of Mary in view of that which she wa's to become, and of the dignity to which God had predestined her. If Christ, then, is the Lord and Ruler of the uni verse, Mary has been appointed the sover eign mistress of all creatures, and who ever bends the knee to Jesus should bow suppliantly in the presence of his mother Mary.
The name of Mary, moreover, is a name of most happy augury for him who shows it honor ; for it signifies also star of the sea. Hail, Star of the Sea, is a salutation addressed to Mary by the Church. The Holy Virgin, says St. Am brose, is the polar star that guides safely to the harbor of salvation. The world may be likened to a tempest-tossed ocean,
38 THE MONTH OF OUR LADY.
filled with rocks and shoals, and mon sters. How shall we escape destruction in navigating it ? Our only hope is to have recourse to Mary,our guiding-star. By fol lowing her we shall reach the port unin. jured. Mary, says St. Thomas, is called a Star ; and as mariners reach the haven under the guidance of the stars,Christians reach glory conducted by Mary. According to the Fathers of the Church, the name of Mary is also interpreted Sea, because, as the Sea is the receptacle of all the waters of the earth, Mary is the re ceptacle of all graces. The angel saluted her, HaU, full of grace (Luke i. 28), St. John Damascene calls her an abyss of grace. Hence, concludes blessed Denis, as no one can number the drops of water in the ocean, no one can express the abundance of the grace and the great ness of the glory of Mary.
St. Thomas and St. Bonaventure inter pret the name of Mary, Enlightened and Enlightening ; for she is the mother of Him who is the true light of the world, and approaching more nearly than any other creature the Sun of Justice— light by essence. None other has received light so abundantly, and none is so well prepared to communicate it to others. She is the dawn that ushered in Him who
THE MONTH OF OUR LADY. 39
enlighteneth e\ ery man that cometh into this world {John i. 9). Nations en lightened by Jesus Christ, people sitting before in darkness and in the shadow of death (Luke i. 79), you have seen a great light. But by means of whom ? By means of Mary, who gave to the world the Sun of Justice. She is the great wonder that appeared in heaven to St. John — a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon un der her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars (Apoc. xii. i). She with her light enlightened the world, but she her self was irradiated by infinite light, and in virtue of her name was enlightened and enlightener. Let then the glorious name of Mary, telling of her grandeur, be re-echoed with hope and trust, joy and triumph, by all her children.
II.
The name of Mary is, besides, replete with grace and benedictions, and can never be uttered without advantage to him who devoutly invokes it. According to St. Ambrose, the name of Mary is a sweet ointment that breathes the odor of divine grace. It has been compared in its virtue to oil, for it heals the sick, dif fuses around a delicious odor, and en-
40 THE MONTH OF OUR LADY.
kindles in the heart the fire of divine love. So great is the virtue of the name of Mary, that devoutly invoked, it softens the hardness of the sinner's heart, and encourages him to hope for pardon for the past, and for grace to lead a virtuous life. The name of Mary is a tower of strength; if the sinner flies to her for succor, all tenderness and compassion as she is, he shall assuredly obtain salvation. No infirmity is so malignant that it will not yield without delay to the efficacy of her name (St. Ambrose). Take courage then, O sinners ; if your sins be as scar let, they shall, through the intercession of Mary, be made as white as snow ; and if they be red as crimson, they shall be white as wool (Is. i. 18). The invocation of the name of Mary, says the pious a Kempis, is a short prayer, easy to be re membered, sweet to be thought of, and powerful to protect us against all our en emies.
Everyone knov/s, from sad experience, how his soul is harassed by the rebellion of passion and the assaults of temptation. But Mary is our shield in youth and in old age, in life and in death. The spirits of darkness, says a Kempis, dread the name of Mary, ajal^l^Nt hey hear it invoked, they ^
THE MONTH OF OUR LADY. 41
flames (L. iv. ad. Novif). Not more rap idly, adds St. Bonaventure, is wax melted before the fire, than the demons turn in precipitate flight at the sound of the most holy name of Mary (in Spec?). Satan assails us with all the fury of temp tation in the last hour of life, but the de vout invocation of the name of Mary dissipates every fear (St. Bon. Spec.). Hence we may affirm again with St. Ger- manus, that as respiration is a certain sign of life in the body, so the frequent invoca tion of the name of Mary is either a sure sign of the life of grace, or that grace will soon be obtained. For she has power, says Gerson, to accomplish the reconciliation of the sinner with God, to open the gates of heaven, to give strength to us against all the power of the air, and to render assistance in every necessity of soul and body. The name of Mary therefore expresses her greatness, and is beneficial to those who devoutly invoke it, in life and in death.
ASPIRATION.
Hail, Queen of Heaven ! Queen of An gels!
PRACTICE.
Invoke frequently the name of Mary, a
42 THE MONTH OF OUR LADY.
name of joy to angels, of usefulness to men, and of terror to demons.
LITANY. Read Father Fader's Hymns.
FIFTH DAY.
HOW WE SHOULD HONOR MARY AS MOTHER OF GOD.
"There shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up out of his root." 7s. xi. i.
TXIHILST the Jews were becoming "* every day more deeply immersed in iniquity, and when Jerusalem had re nounced the covenant of the Lord by idolatry and depravity of morals, the prophet Isaias arose, who foretold to the people of Juda their future captivity in Babylon and their subsequent liberation. These prophecies, as sacred commenta tors understand them, symbolized other events far more sublime and important : the slavery of the human race under the power of Satan, and its future liberation by Jesus Christ. And the prophet, in^
THE MONTH OF OUR LADY. 43
deed, with his mind filled with the spirit of God, and eyes fixed on the ages to come, exclaimed : There shall come forth a rod from the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up out of his root. And the spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of counsel and of fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and of godliness (Is. xi. 12). But the mystic rod and the pro phetic flower, what do they signify? The Fathers of the Church with one voice re ply, the rod is Mary, the flower is Jesus Christ, her Son. Isaias himself had al ready declared to Achaz: Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and shall bear a son ; and his name shall be called Emmanuel (Is. vii. 14). Mary therefore, under the ob scurity of symbols and figures, was pro phetically pointed out to the people of the Lord before the coming of our divine Redeemer; and we, who live under the peaceful empire of the law of grace, hold as a dogma of our religious faith, that Mary is the true mother of God. And as from her motherhood arise all the great ness, the gifts, and the privileges of Mary, and all the good that descends to us through her, we owe to Mary especial honor : first, because she is the mother of God; secondly, because she enjoys the
44 THE MONTH OF OUR LADY.
greatest dignity that can be bestowed on a mere human creature.
I.
The oracles of the prophets had ceased, and the sceptre had been taken away from Juda (Gen. xlix. 10). Just souls had begun to discern the termination of their sighs in the completion of the seventy weeks predicted by Daniel (Dan. xi. 25) ; with Mary had appeared the dawn which announced the approaching rising of the Sun of Justice : then the angel Gabriel descends from the highest heavens, and presents himself before the youthful Virgin Mary, and says to her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God: behold, thou shalt conceive, and bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father; and he shall reign in the house of Jacob forever (Luke i. 28-32). Mary, however, being a virgin, and having consecrated herself to God from her earliest years, and wishing to preserve unsullied her virginal
THE MONTH OF OUR LADY. 45
purity, said to the angel: How shall this be done, because I know not man? And the angel answering,said to her: The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee, and therefore also the Holy One who shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God (Luke i. 34, 35).
Heaven and earth awaited with anxiety the answer of Mary ; for in the eternal decress of God, her consent was one of the requisite conditions of the incarna tion. The souls of the departed just prayed for the consent of the Virgin, that heaven might be opened to their en trance. The angel was anxious to bear a speedy answer to the Father from whom he had received his mission. The Son of God waited only to hear her speak,— Be it done to me according to thy word, — to descend from heaven and unite in her bosom the divine with the human nature. Return, OMary! cries out St. Bernard, the reply wished for by heaven and earth. The sovereign Lord of all things, who de sires thy comeliness, now desires thy con sent, on which depends the salvation of the world. And him, to whom thou wast pleasing in silence, thou wilt please still more by speaking.
Mary became the mother of God. Ris-
46 THE MONTH OF OUR LADY.
ing up she went into the mountainous country with haste, into a city of Juda; and she entered into the hguse of Zach- ary and saluted Elizabeth. And it came to pass when Elizabeth heard the saluta tion of Mary, the infant leaped in her womb : and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost, and she cried out with a loud voice and said : Blessed art thou among women; and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me (Luke i. 39-43)? And when Mary's days were accomplished that she should be delivered, she brought forth her first born son (Luke n. 6, 7). And after eight days were accomplished that the child should be circumcised, his name was called Jesus, which was called by the an gel, before he was conceived m the womb (21). And not long after, an angel of the Lord appeared in sleep to Joseph, saying: Arise, and take the child and his mother, and fly into Egypt; and be there until I shall tell thee. For it Will come to pass that Herod will seek the child to destroy him (Matt. ii. 13). And at the marriage in Cana of Galilee, the wine failing, the mother of Jesus saith to him: They have no wine ; and she saith to the waiters: Whatsoever he shall say to you, do ye
THE MONTH OF OUR LADY. QJ
(John ii. 1-5). And is it not writterr.There stood by the cross of Jesus, his mother and his mother's sister, Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene (John xix. 25)? Rest ing upon these reasons and these author ities, theChurchcutofffromher Commun ion those who, with heretical wickedness, should attempt to take away from the glory of Mary by denying that she was the moth er of God (Council of Ephesus, an. 431).
II.
Mary, being the mother of God, is evidently exalted in dignity above all creatures. Although she is of most il lustrious race, of the blood of the Pa triarchs, and of the royal family of David, this is naught in comparison with the no bility, incomparably greater, which she acquires from her Son (St. Pet. Damascen). The more noble the son is, the greater the honor of the mother ; and the son of Mary being of infinite dignity and author ity, the honor of his mother must be al most immeasurable. She alone can say with the eternal Father to the eternal Son: Thou art my son ; this day have I begotten thee (Is. ii. 7). The Father says to Jesus, by the mouth of the Prophet: Thou art my son in virtue of eternal gen-
48 THE MONTH OF OUR LADY.
eration. Mary, by the Evangelist, says also to Jesus : Thou art my son in virtue of generation in time. And, as the tree Is known by its fruits, the dignity of Mary, the mother of Jesus, is almost infinite (Alb. Mag.). Great is the elevation of Angels, Archangels, Thrones, Domina tions, Powers, Cherubim, and Seraphim; but they are all far inferior to Mary. Great are the Patriarchs, the Piophets, the Apostles, the Martyrs, the Confessors but Mary is their Queen. Mary., says St. Gregory the Great, fs the mountain of Isaias on the summit of the other moun tains ; for she transcends in loftiness of glory all angels and men. Mary is the silvery moon that illuminates by night the path of the traveler. Mary is the sun that by its effulgence eclipses the light of all the stars, and rules in splendor as if the stars had no existence. Fair as the moon, bright as the sun.
The intimate union also between Mary and God declares the sublimity of her dignity. Christ, the Son of God, received his human nature from Mary. By her di vine maternity, therefore, Mary is most closely united with the infinite person of Christ ; hence accrues to Mary a dignity almost infinite.
Mary, according to St. John Damascene,
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by becoming the mother of the Creator, became at once the Queen of all crea tures. Hence, says Gerson, there belongs to Mary a kind of natural dominion over the whole universe. All creatures, says St. Bernard, in whatever rank of being, whether merely spiritual, as angels ; or rational, as men ; or corporeal, as purely material beings ; all in the heavens and on the earth, and in the places under the earth, that are subject to the omnipotent dominion of God, are subject also to the authority of the Holy Virgin Mary. The Church sanctions these assertions by sa luting Mary as Queen of Heaven, Queen of Angels, Queen of the World.
ASPIRATION.
After this our exile, show us Jesus, the
blessed fruit of thy womb.
PRACTICE.
Say your beads daily in honor of the Mother of God.
LITANY.
Read one of Cardinal Newman's Sermons on the Mother of God.
50 THE MONTH OF OUR LAD'.
SIXTH DAY.
HOW WE SHOULD HONOR MARY OUR MOTHER.
"The valiant men ceased, and rested in Israel until Debbora arose, a mother arose in Israel." Judges v. 7.
After the death of Aod, the children ot Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord ; and the Lord delivered them up in to the hands of Jabin, king of Chanaan, who reigned in Asor (Judges iv. i, 2), and Asor subjected them for twenty years to all the hardships of servitude. Then the Lord bethought himself of his mercy to Israel, and raised up a woman to rule and deliver his people. She was Debbora, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth,and she sat under a palm tree which was called by her name, between Rama and Bethel, in Mount Ephraim ; and the children of Is rael came up to her for all judgment (Judges iv. 4, 5). So just were her judg ments, and so mild and grateful her rule, that the people with acclamation saluted her as mother. The valiant men ceased and rested in Israel, until Deb bora arose, a mother arose in Israel. This is an image of the vicissitudes which
THE MONTH OF OUR LADY. 51
should both sadden and rejoice the hearts of men. Our first parents did evil in the sight of God, and instead of preserving for their children the sanctifying grace which had been intrusted to them, they transmitted to them a woful inheritance of evils. We experience every day the deadly effects of this inheritance. Our understanding is darkened and our heart is constantly exposed to the fury of a thousand raging passions. But, thanks to the goodness of God, if the tribes of Is rael had, to comfort and rule them, their mother, we have for our support and guide a far greater mother than Deb- bora — Mary, the mother of God. Debbora was only a passing figure of the glorious Virgin who came to us in the fulness of time. Debbora was a mother for a brief period, and to the Israelites alone ; Mary is a mother for all the children of men, and for all the ages of eternity. She, by addressing continual prayers to Jesus, discharges the office of a mother in our re gard, and she never fails to turn her coun tenance of love to him who with confi dence invokes her aid.
I.
Whilst the prophecies were every mo ment receiving fulfilment, and the work
52 THE MONTH OF OUR LADY.
of man's redemption was approaching its consummation on Calvary ,a most moving spectacle touched the loving heart of the Savior. Some holy women, who had ministered to him during the course of his preaching, and who would not abandon him in the extremity of his sufferings, stood near his cross. Amongst themjesus beheld his mother, his tender mother whom a superhuman effort of love and courage had led to that mournful scene. The sight of her sufferingSon fills her with desolation ; but faith in her Son, the Sav ior of the world, consoles her again ; and whilst the death of the Redeemer causes all nature to tremble, Mary looks on firm and immovable. Mary, at the foot of the cross, unites her heart with the heart of Jesus hanging on the cross, and well ac quainted with the designs of Providence, she shares in spirit the sacrifice which is offered onGolgotha. Near his motherjesus observes his beloved disciple, he who leaned on his breast at the last supper. At the sight of the two persons so dear to him, the Savior, though tortured with pain, exhausted, and humbled by the insults, the outrages and the blasphe mies of his persecutors, gathers his en ergy, revives his tenderness, and gives them a final proof of his love, by making
THE MONTH OP OUR LADY. 53
his last testament in their favor in the face of heaven and earth. But what can he bequeath them ? lie had not in life whereon to lay his head. His garments had been divided amongst his execution ers, and his very blood had been poured out to the last drop. But his love dis covered the means of leaving to each a precious legacy by bequeathing them mutually to each other. He saith to his mother, Woman, behold thy son. After that he saith to the disciple, Behold thy mother. And from that hour the disciple took her to his own (John xix. 26, 27). The Fathers recognize in the beloved dis ciple the representative of all the faith ful whom the Savior loves with most tender and most perfect love. In the per son of John we have been given to Mary as children, and Mary has been given to us as mother. It has been the will of God that Mary should adopt us as children, and he required of us that we should ac knowledge her as mother.
Man may be considered under a twofold aspect, as regards the body, and as regards the soul. A twofold life is thus found in man: the one corporal, the other spirit ual. Again the soul of man is to be con sidered, not only with reference to natural life, but much more with reference to su-
54 THE MONTH OF OUR LADY
pernatural life produced by sanctifying grace. On these grounds Richard of St. Lawrence thus reasons : If Eve is called the mother of the living, because from her descends to all men the life of nature, much more should Mary be called the mother of the living, because she is the mother of him from whom all receive the life of grace. St. Bernardine teaches, that when the Virgin gave her consent to the incarnation of the Lord, from that mo ment she bore us all spiritually in her bosom with all the affection of a most lov ing mother. One was the Son, says Wil liam of Paris, borne by the Virgin Mary, and he was the Savior of the world ; but in giving to the world him who is life, she brought forth many to the life of grace. Mary is then the mother of Christ by nature, and she is at the same time the mother of all Christians by grace.
11.
Mary is not only our mother in name, but she performs every day the part of a most loving mother. In the kingdom of glory she implores continually her Son in our behalf, for it is he who has consigned usto heraschildren. If Christ is ouradvo- cate with his Father, she is our advocate
THE MONTH OF OUR LADY. 55
with her Son, Christ Jesus, our Savior. She is the mother of grace for the just man, that he may persevere and advance in the way of virtue; and she is the mother of mercy for the sinner who has the will to be converted to God. To all she says in the words of divine wisdom: I am the mother of fair love, and of fear, and of knowledge, and of holy hope. In me is all grace of the way and of the truth: in me is all hope of life and of virtue. Come over to me, all ye that desire me, and he filled with my irmts(Eccl. xxiv. 24, 26). Blessed is the man that heareth me, and that watcheth daily at my gates, and wait- eth at the posts of my doors. He that shall find me shall find life, and shall have salvation from the Lord (Prov. viii. 34, 35). Mary, says one of her devout servants, loves us ardently because she adopted us as children, and wishes us to call her Mother of Love. No precept has been given to parents to love their children. This is a love of natural necessity. Wild beasts even are taught by nature to love their own offspring. Can a woman, says Isaias, forget her infant, so as not to have pity on the son of her womb ? And if she should forget, yet will not Mary forget us. She ardently desired to die with Jesus out of love for
56 THE MONTH OF OUR LADY.
us, whom he so excessively loved. The Son was expiring on the cross, says St. Ambrose, and Mary was in spirit offering herself to die with him for our benefit. The love of Mary for men arises from her love for God. The love of God and the love of our neighbor are embraced in the same precept. This commandment we have from God, that he who loveth God must love also his brother (i John iv. 21). The more love for God increases, the more increases love for our neighbor. What did not an Alphonsus Liguori per form in the kingdom of Naples, a Charles Borromeo in the territory of Milan, or a Father Damian among the lepers? And why ? Because they were inflamed with a strong and active love for God. But in love for God, Mary far excels all the Saints ; therefore in love of her neigh bor, Mary is more ardent and earnest than they were. Mary loves us because we are her children, given to her by the dying Savior. And she loves us fer vently, because Jesus Christ has pur chased us at the infinite price of his pas sion and death. She knows full well that her Son came into the world to seek and save that which was lost. She knows that Jesus Christ, although God, emptied himself, taking the form of a servant,
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being made in the likeness of men, and in habit found as a man ; that he humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Mary must then love those whom God loves ; and as God loves in order to save, and most ardently desires that we all be saved, Mary is for us a loving mother, whose whole solicitude is employed to conduct us to heaven.
ASPIRATION.
Show thyself a mother, O most sweet Virgin Mary.
PRACTICE.
On bended knees offer yourself to Mary as a child, and entreat her blessing,
LITANY.
Read a chapter of Father Muller's De- •vction cf the Holy Rosary.
58 THE MONTH OF OUR LADY.
SEVENTH DAY.
HOW WE SHOULD HONOR MARY OUR QUEEN.
"The king loved her more than all the women ; and he set the royal crown on her head, and made her queen instead of Vasthi." Esther ii. 17.
7TSSUERUS having repudiated Vashti, V*- sent persons all through the prov inces, to look for beautiful maidens and virgins, and to conduct them to the city of Susan, that he might appoint the one who should please him most, in Queen Vashti's place. There was a man in the city of Susan, a Jew named Mardochai, who had under his protection a niece, named Esther, exceedingly fair and beau tiful. She also, among the rest of the maidens, was delivered up, to be kept in the number of the women. And she pleased Assuerus and found favor in his sight. And the king loved her more than all the women ; and he set the royal crown on her head, and made her queen instead of Vasthi (Esther ii).
Many historical facts, recorded in Holy Writ, have an allegorical significance. In Assuerus God is shadowed forth, and in
THE MONTH OF OUR LADY. 59
Esther, the most blessed Virgin. As As- suerus preferred Esther to all others for her beauty, and elevated her to the con dition of Queen of the Persians, so God loved Mary amongst all creatures for her sanctity, and exalted her to the rank of Queen of all Christians. To heighten our sentiments of respect and devotion for Mary, let us consider how greatly she is loved by God, and that God has crowned her in heaven as our Queen.
I.
The Scriptures and the Fathers of the Church teach us that God loved Mary above all created beings. In the book of Proverbs, Mary declares of herself, in the words applied to her by the Church — The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his ways, before he made anything from the beginning. I was set up from eter nity, and of old before the world was made. The depths were not as yet, and I was al ready conceived ; neither had the foun tains of waters as yet sprung up ; the mountains with their huge bulk had not as yet been established ; before the hills, I was brought forth. He had not as yet made the earth, nor the rivers, nor the poles of the world. From the beginning,
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and before the world, was I created. I was exalted like a cedar in Libanus, and as a cypress tree on Mount Sion. I was ex alted like a palm tree in Cades, and as a rose plant in Jericho ; and as a fair olive tree in the plains, and as a plane tree by the waters in the streets, was I exalted. I gave a sweet smell like cinnamon and aro- matical balm ; as the vine I have brought forth a pleasant odor, and my flowers are the fruit of honor and riches.
If from Proverbs and Ecclesiasticus we pass to the mystic book of Canticles, we find still more vividly expressed the love of God for the Holy Virgin ; for it is the celestial Spouse himself who celebrates her praises. As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters (Cant. ii. 2). Who is she that cometh forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army set in array (Cant. iv. 9) ? The daughters saw her, and declared her most blessed ; the queens praised her (vi. 8). Such are the various mystic expressions employed by Scripture to describe the especial love cherished by the Almighty for Mary, and the supreme complacency with which he has always regarded her. These expres sions have indeed been turned into rid icule by the impious; but the sensual man
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perceiveth not the things that are of the spirit of God, for it is foolishness to him, and he cannot understand , but the spir itual man judgeth all things (i Cor. n. 14), for to him only is given the peace of God which surpasseth all understanding (Phil, iv. 7), whilst to the wicked it is utterly unknown.
To be convinced that Mary is dearer to Almighty God than all othercreatures.it is sufficient to reflect that she has been called the first-born daughter of the Father, that she is the mother of the Son, and the spouse of the Holy Ghost. Mary says of herself, in the words of Ecclesias- ticus: I came out of the mouth of the Most High, the first-born before all creatures (Eccl. xxiv. 5). God created her in the Holy Spirit, made her great in his sight, never suffered her to be sullied by sin, but preserved her from her conception pure and immaculate. The Blessed Vir gin, says A Lapide, is the first amongst mere creatures : in her conception, nativ ity, sanctification, and glorification, God displayed his greatest power. God made in her as the first and most noble crea ture, an image of himself and of all his works, that in her he might always and by all beings be praised and glorified. God loved Mary with especial love because he
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designed her to be the Mother of his only- begotten Son. This is an honor which ex alts Mary above all the excellence of creatures, visible and invisible, whether they be considered separately or all com bined. In view of this dignity, God con ceived her distinctly in his mind, and chose her from all eternity, and adorned her with holiness, and beautified her with every virtue, that she might be rendered worthy to be his mother. This dignity be ing reserved for her alone, is it surpris ing that God should love her above all creatures ? Mary is the spouse of the Holy Ghost. How great, then, must be the love of God for Mary ! It has been announced that God sanctified his taber nacle, that holiness belonged to his abode, and that he who would create it would repose in it. This was accomplished when the Angel said to Mary : The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore, also, the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God (Luke i. 35). And Mary re plied : Behold the handmaid of the Lord ; be it done to me according to thy word
(38).
Then, says St. Athanasius, the Holy Ghost descended upon her in the pleni-
'IHK MONTH Of OUR LADY. 63
tude of his virtues, and bestowed upon her the fulness of grace. The Blessed Virgin, writes Albertus Magnus, was full of grace, because she possessed in the highest degree the general and special graces communicated to all creatures ; because she possessed those graces of which every other creature is destitute ; because her grace was so great that greater couM not be imparted to any mere creature ; because grace uncreated, which is God, she embraced wholly within her self.
It "is true therefore, that if Esther was beloved by Assuerus above the other maidens for her beauty, Mary was beloved by Almighty God above all other crea tures for her sanctity, so that the Father cherished her as his most beloved daughter, the Son as his most worthy mother, and the Holy Ghost as his im maculate spouse.
II.
Mary enjoyed to the utmost extent the predilection of that God who is the be- stower*of every good gift, and he elevated her to the sublime dignity of Queen of heaven and earth. David saw her with prophetic vision, and exclaimed: The
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Queen stood on thy right hand in gilded clothing, surrounded with variety (Ps. xliv. 9). God placed upon her head a crown of glory upon the mitre, wherein was engraved holiness, an ornament of honor; a work of power, and delightful to the eyes for its beauty (Eccl. xlv. 14). The Lord girded her about with a glori ous girdle, and clothed her with a robe of glory: and crowned her with'majestic at tire (xlv. 9). All the glory of the King's daughter is within. The daughters of Tyre with their gifts, all the rich among the people, shall entreat her countenance (Ps. xliv. 13, 14). In the Canticle of Can ticles it is written of Mary: Come from Libanus, my spouse, come from Libanus, come ; thou shalt be crowned (Can. iv. 8). The daughters saw her, and declared her most blessed ; the queens praised her (vi. 8).
And what say the Fathers of the Church ? If the Son is king, says St. Athanasius, the mother is really and truly queen. Mary, says St. Bernardine, merited the dominion of the world and the sceptre of the universe, from the moment that she gave her consent to the Incarnation of the Word. One, writes Arnoldus Abbot, is the flesh of Mary and Christ, one the spirit, one the charity.
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From the time it was said to Mary, — the Lord is with thee, the promise and the gift remained inseparably united. Unity admits of no division. I esteem the glory of the Son, not only common to the mother, but, in a certain manner, the same with the glory of the mother. Hence, the mother cannot be excluded from the dominion and power of the son. We can not more effectually invoke Mary, says Gerson, than by calling upon her as mother of God ; for by this title she claims a kind of authority and dominion over the Lord of the whole world; with greater wisdom, then, over all that is sub jected to him. Therefore, concludes St. John Damascene, the mother is truly and undoubtedly the sovereign and mistress of all created beings.
But when was Mary crowned Queen of heaven and earth ? On the day of her as sumption. On that day the gloriousVirgin ascended the heavens, and, ineffably ex alted, commenced her eternal reign. On that day she was placed at the right hand of the Father. Thus constituted Queen, she possesses by right the empire of the universe in union with her Son. The crea tures which serve the most Holy Trinity serve also the glorious Virgin. Angels and men, all creatures in the heavens and
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on earth, because all are subjected to the dominion of God, are subject also to Mary {St. Bernard. Seven.). Mary is styled Queen of heaven because she excels saints and angels in glory, dignity, and au thority. She is styled Queen of the earth because she concurs with her Son, the Lord of the earth, in the government of men and of earthly events. Continue then, O Mary,writes one of her devout servants, continue to govern and to dispose of what belongs to thy Son. Act with con fidence, for thou art Queen, the mother of the King and his spouse.
ASPIRATION.
Glorious Queen of the World, intercede for us with the Lord.
PRACTICE.
Repeat frequently : Hail Mary, full of grace.
LITANY.
Read " The Hail Mary" by J. P. Val d' Eremao,D. D»
M'HE MONTH OF OUR LADY. 67
EIGHTH DAY.
HOW WE SHOULD HONOR MARY QUEEN OF MERCY.
"What wilt thou, Queen Esther ? What is thy request ? If thou shouldst even ask one half of the kingdom it shall be given tothee*"<£rM*rv< 3.
FTER Esther found favor in the sight of Assuerus,and had the royal crown set upon her head, better days seemed to rise for the Hebrews, and the severity of the servitude under which they had groaned in the Persian empire seemed to be mitigated. But suddenly a furious tem pest arose, which threatened with total ruin that unfortunate people. The impious Aman, not satisfied with being seated above all the satraps and princes of Per sia, and with receiving honor from the people second only to that exhibited to the king, urged on by hatred, swore en mity against all the Jews ; and he suc ceeded in having an edict hung up in Su san, and promulgated throughout the em- pire.commanding that all the Jews, both young and old, little children and women, should be killed and destroyed in one
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day. When Mardochai had heard these things, he rent his garments, and put on sackcloth, strewing ashes on his head ; and he cried with a loud voice in the street in the midst of the city, showing the anguish of his mind ; and in all prov inces, towns, and places to which the king's cruel edict was come, there was great mourning among the Jews. Es ther, at the urgent solicitation of Mar dochai, presented herself before the king, to crave mercy for her people. And when the king saw Esther standing, he said to her: What wilt thou, Queen Esther ? What is thy request? If thou shouldst even ask one half of the kingdom, it shall be given to thee. Then Queen Esther an swered: If I have found favor in thy sight, O King, and if it please thee, give me my life, for which I ask, and my people for which I request : for we are given up, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. The petition of Es ther was granted and the edict of destruc tion was recalled. The joyful event was brought about by the intercession of the compassionate Esther. In reading Esther, who does not immediately turn his thoughts to Mary? Esther is one of the types of the most blessed Virgin. As Esther soothed the anger
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of Assuerus, and liberated her na tion from destruction, so Mary, by the loveliness of her virtues, rendered the Almighty so favorable, that besides choosing her as his mother, he wished her to be a peacemaker for the human race, and the dispenser of his mercies. In this sentiment the Church salutes her: Hail, holy queen, mother of mercy ! Having al ready considered that she is our queen, let us consider to-day that she is the Queen of Mercy, and let us reflect that she employs her mercy in favor of the just man and the sinner.
I.
If the Virgin of Nazareth, as the Fathers agree, by consenting to the In carnation of the Word, merited the su premacy of the world; if he who was born of her is king, and his mother should be reputed as queen ; if the mother cannot be excluded from the domination of her son; if the regal glory is not only common be tween mother and son, but is almost iden tical in both; then Mary must be esteemed as justly and truly our queen. And Mary is not only our queen, but she is a queen amiable, clement, faithful beyond meas ure, who has always in view the happiness of the afflicted children of Adam. Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of mercy.
In the opinion of Albertus Magnus,the
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very name of queen includes in its signifi cation care and compassion for the poor. The greatness and magnificence of a ruler, as Seneca says, exhibit themselves in the timely succor ministered to the miserable. A usurper has always his own interests in view ; but a lawful ruler seeks to promote the welfare and happiness of his subjects. When Saul was chosen king of the people of Israel, the Almighty commanded his prophet to anoint him and sanctify him with oil, which is a symbol of mercy and compassion, that he might understand that he should be the father of his people, and that, like a father, he should cultivate in his heart sentiments of kindness and beneficence towards all his subjects. According to the Psalmist (Ps. Ixxi.), the sovereign authority of Almighty God is exercised in justice and mercy. With justice he judges all men, and inflicts upon the wicked the punishment deserved by their crimes. With mercy he grants salvation to the righteous. And thus he recom penses every one according to his works. The Blessed Virgin, says St. Thomas, by conceiving in her womb the Son of God and afterwards giving him birth, ob tained one half of the kingdom of God, so that she is the queen of mercy, whilst
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Christ is the king of justice. Isaias had be fore prophesied that God would prepare his throne in mercy. But what throne has God established in mercy? St. Bonaventure replies, that throne of the divine mercy is Mary, the mother of mercy, in whom all men found the relief of mercy. As we have a most merciful Father, so we have a most merciful Mother. If the Lord our God is sweet and mild, and plenteous in mercy to all that call upon him, our Queen also is good, beneficent, patient, and of great mercy, propitiously accepting our pray ers, and turning un attentive ear to the voice of our supplications.
If we read the scriptures with care, and inquire into the object for which Al mighty God, by ways so opposite and ex traordinary, elevated Joseph to the highest dignities of Egypt, we discover that it was none other than the salva tion of his people.
In like manner we poor sinners address Mary our Queen in our own behalf. Think not, O Mary, that God has crowned thee Queen of the world solely that thou mightest consult thy own interest. He has exalted thee, that thou, being made so great, mightest feel a more lively com passion for unhappy mortals, and exert
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thyself more effectually to alleviate their sorrows.
But who can call in doubt the mercy of Mary? Who is ignorant that she is the mother of fair love and holy hope? Has not the Lord by countless figures indicated the mercy of his most holy mother? St. Fulgentius calls Mary the opening into heaven, because through her the Almighty poured forth the light of truth over all ages. He calls her the ladder of heaven, because through her God descended to the earth, and men may merit to ascend to heaven. He only will be allowed to ascend, who will believe that the Son of God descended to the earth and appeared in human form through the ever-glorious Virgin Mary. St. Bernardine teaches that Mary is the rainbow set in the clouds, a sign of the everlasting covenant that all flesh shall no more be overwhelmed with destruc tion.
And how great was the love of the Heavenly Father, when Mary exclaimed: My soul doth magnify the Lord ; and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior. As Abigail was a figure of Mary, so Da vid was a figure of our Lord. David was offended by the foolish Nabal, and God is insulted by the sinner. David was ap-
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peased by Abigail, and God is appeased by Mary. Abigail restrained the temporal vengeance of David, and soothed him by gifts and entreaties; Mary extinguishes the eternal vengeance of God by her prayers and her merits (St. Bonav^). No one, says St. Bernard, is so fit to extend the hand in order to arrest the sword of divine vengeance unsheathed against the sinner, as thou, O Virgin, replete with divine love, by whose means the merits of the passion of the Son are applied to us, and we receive mercy from the treas ures of God our Lord. Mary is not, there fore, only our queen, but she is also queen of mercy.
II.
If we consider in favor of whom Mary exercises her mercy, we find that she ex ercises it for the just that they may per severe, and for sinners that they may be converted to God. She employs it also for our temporal as well as our spiritual good. Moses relates (Gen. iv.) that God, seeing that the wickedness of men was great on the earth, repented himself that he had made man on the earth. And be ing touched inwardly with sorrow of heart, he said, I will destroy man, whom
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I have created, from the face of the earth. And he commanded Noe to construct an ark of timber planks and to prepare it for the reception of the men and of the living things that were to be preserved from the fury of the destroying waters Eight persons of the family of Noe, and the an imals necessary for the propagation of the different species, were saved by the ark from the waters of the deluge. St. Ber nard, St. John of Damascus, and St. Bon- aventure, teach us that the ark was a figure of Mary, that, as by means of the ark, the eight persons and the animals in the ark escaped destruction, so the just, represented by the inmates of the ark, at tain salvation by means of Mary. It is an article of our faith that no one is saved without the concurrence of divine grace ; and that a special assistance of God is nec essary for perseverance in justice. This grace we obtain by means of Jesus Christ, who died, and who rose also again, who is at the right hand of God, who also mak- eth intercession for us. Mary can wish only what Christ Jesus wishes; but Christ wishes nothing but mercy. Mary there fore uses mercy with the just, and entreats God to grant them the graces necessary for perseverance.
Mary has equal care for sinners. As a
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fond mother, if she sees her little child weeping or suffering from a wound, has tens to wipe away its tears and to bind up its wound, so the tender mother Mary never desists from her supplications to her Son in favor of the sinner, until the wounds made in the soul by sin are bound up and healed. Who ever invoked Mary without being heard ? Who ever craved her- patronage and received a refusal ? It appears to be an established law of prov idence that mercy shall be shown to all those for whom Mary intercedes. The law of clemency is on her tongue (Prov. xxxi. 26). St. Bernard, inquiring of him self why the Church invokes Mary by the sublime title of Queen of Mercy, re plies, that this is done that we may firmly believe that Mary throws open the treas ury of the divine mercy to whom she pleases, and as she pleases. So ihat the sinner can never be lost if Mary protects him. The repentant sinner is never re jected by Mary. However numerous may be his crimes, however frightful their de formity, if he breathes with confidence at the feet of Mary one heartfelt sigh of sor row, she instantly extends her merciful hand and withdraws him from the preci pice of despair, and never abandons him until she beholds him reconciled with
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God. Mary seeks our temporal and spirit ual welfare. She is the mother and the protectress of the human family. She is a physician for the infirm, a guide for the wealthy, consolation for the desolate. Her holy and devout servants have en titled her the gate of heaven, the glory of the human race, the refuge of sinners, the support of the elect, the fountain of graces, the harbor of the shipwrecked, the shield of the combatants, the mother of orphans, the protection of widows, the advocate of penitents, the prototype of the just, the hope and glory of Chris tians, the title of honor of Catholics. I shall conclude with St.Anastasius Sinaite, by exhorting the Jew, the Greek, and the Gentile, all men indeed, to seek and find that mother of mercy whom the Lord created for the assistance of the whole human race. Them that seek her she in troduces into the kingdom of God ; and, by rendering them children of light, gives birth to heirs of the kingdom of heaven.
ASPIRATION.
From all sin deliver us, Mother of Mercy.
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PRACTICE.
Call frequently upon the name of Jesus and Mary. By honoring Jesus we honor Mary. By honoring Mary we honor Jesus.
LITANY.
Read Chapter II. of St. Luke.
NINTH DAY.
HOW WE SHOULD HONOR MARY QUEEN OF ANGELS.
"And there appeared a great wonder in heaven ; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars." Apoc. xii. I.
WHEN we meditate attentively upon the books of the Prophets of God, our minds become so excited, that we seem to be living in their midst in the re mote days of the ancient law, and to see them waking their harmonious harps, throwing themselves in song into the hearts of future ages, celebrating with hymns of exultation the mercies of God. In them everything inspires a sacred awe, because everything in them is grandeur, sublimity, mystery. But our feeling of
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awe is greatly increased when we turn our thoughts to the Apocalypse of St. John, the Apostle. As the noble eagle disdains the lowly valleys, and builds his nest on the summit of precipitous cliffs, unknown to footstep of man and unvisited by birds of humbler flight, and, spreading his vigorous wings, emulates the swift ness of the wind, buries himself in the remoteness of space, and gazes with un- dazzled eye in the face of the sun, so St. John, more sublime than the other Prophets, and more profound than the other Evangelists, soared so high that he reached the fountain source from which all things descend. Being exiled by Domitian to the barren and solitary isl and of Patmos,and there continually ab sorbed in divine meditations, God pre sented to his mind various spectacles, sometimes joyful, sometimes afflicting. Amongst these was a most extraordinary prodigy that became visible in heaven. And what was this ? There appeared a great wonder in heaven ; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon un der her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. But what is the mystery of this vision ? Albertus Magnus recog nizes in that woman the great Virgin Mary, triumphant in Paradise, and hon-
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ored by all the angels and saints. The spouse of the Canticles, alluding to the glory of Mary, says that she is as fair as the moon, bright as the sun. The Church asserts of her, that on the day of her as sumption she was exalted above the choirs of the angels in the heavens, and salutes her as Queen of the Heavens, Sovereign of the Angels. Let us now con sider in what manner Mary is queen of the angels, and how she has been honored by them as such.
Jesus Christ, the Holy of Holies, and
King of kings, is the head, not only of men, but also of the angels. The fulness of grace in Christ is the cause of all the graces which are found in intelligent creatures. The angels receive grace and glory from Christ, and acknowledge him as their king and head ; they conse quently acknowledge as their queen the Blessed Virgin Mary, his most glorious mother. The Blessed Virgin is not only queen of the angels, but she may, in a certain sense, be justly called their mother. The angels receive illumination and the perfection of beatitude from Christ, by whom all things are restored
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in heaven and on earth ; therefore the most Blessed Virgin, the mother of Christ, is the cause in a measure of the glory of the angels, and may be appro priately called their mother.
Mary is the true mother of God ; the angels are but his servants; therefore she is so much better than the angels, as she has inherited a more excellent name above them. To none of the angels, but to Jesus Christ alone, has God the Father said, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee (Heb. i. 5). Which of the angels can say to the Redeemer and Savior of man : Thou art my Son ? It is enough for them, and they deem it a high honor that, being spirits by na ture, they are made angels by grace (Ps. ciii. 4). Mary, on the contrary, know ing that she is the mother of Him before whose infinite majesty the angels pros trate themselves in adoration, says to him confidently and fearlessly: Thou art my Son. There is an immense difference, concludes St. John Damascene, between the mother of God and the servants of God. Rightfully, therefore, is Mary called Queen of Angels.
Mary is not only queen of the angels but she immeasurably exceeds them in grace. St. Gregory the Great and many
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others teach us that angels are divided into nine orders or choirs. They form three hierarchies, each of which com prises three choirs. The first hierarchy embraces the Seraphim, the Cherubim, the Thrones;the second, the Dominations, the Virtues, and the Powers; the third, the Principalities, the Archangels, and the Angels. Their different names arise from the different offices for which they are destined.
The Seraphim are so denominated from the divine love with which they are inflamed, and which they transfuse into others. But can any creature love God more ardently than Mary did ? The fer vor of Mary's love was symbolized in the bush that burned without being con sumed; so says St. Bonaventure. The love which she bore her son was an infi nite love, in the opinion of St. Bernardine. The greater the purity of heart, the greater the love,argues Albertus Magnus; but Mary possessed purity of heart in the highest degree ; therefore her love for God was of the utmost intensity, and greater cannot be found in created beings. Mary alone was saluted as full of grace; but grace is the daughter of divine love. Mary, says Richard of St. Victor, desired the salvation of all; she
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sought for it, and obtained it; indeed, she herself, by giving birth to the Savior, became salvation for all. Mary then loved God more than the Seraphim, and transfused her love into others. She is Queen of the Seraphim !
The Cherubim are so called from the knowledge with which they are adorned, and which they communicate to others. But the Blessed Virgin was adorned with the most eminent knowledge, by which she penetrated the abyss of divine wis dom, bearing in her bosom him in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. She is Queen of the Cherubim !
The Thrones are so named, because in them is seated the divine majesty as judge, and through them the divine judgments are announced to other angels. But Mary is more exalted than the Thrones, because she is the real abode in which wisdom incarnate dwelt, the tem ple of the Holy Ghost, and the august throne of the three divine persons, and in her the great work of the redemption of man commenced. Queen of Thrones is Mary then !
In the Dominations appears in the highest degree the supreme dominion of God over created things, and they hold
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dominion over the inferior angels. But Mary presides over all the angelic choirs; she commands them, as a lady her ser vants, as a queen her subjects. The Dom inations are obedient to her commands regarding the salvation of men, and find greater pleasure in serving her than in exercising dominion. Hail ! Queen of the Dominations !
The Virtues, being invested with divine efficiency, watch over the general laws of the universe, and operate wonders both in the order of nature and of grace. But do not the Fathers esteem Mary herself a celestial prodigy, a most extraordinary wonder of the universe ? It is something altogether new, says St. Epiphanius, to see in heaven a woman clothed with the sun. It is astonishing beyond measure that the creature should have become mother of the Creator, and have borne in her bosom him whom the heavens cannot contain. It is an incomprehensible mir acle, that the Lord of the nngels should have become the son of a virgin, and that, at her breast, he should have been nourished, who feeds the fowls of the air and the fishes of the sea and the animals of the forest, and arrays in beauty the flowers of the mead. And what part of the world, moreover, hns not witnessed
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the miraculous power of the Virgin ? Mary, therefore, is Queen of the Virtues !
The Powers participate in the mighti ness of God, and curbing the audacity of the malignant spirits, render them harm less to mortals. But Mary crushed the head of the infernal serpent. Woe to us if Mary's maternal kindness did not dis cover to us the arts and wiles and snares of the envious spirits of the abyss ! Woe to us if we were not animated and strengthened by her in the combats of the spirit ! Mary is Queen of the Powers!
To the Principalities Almighty God consigns the guardianship of all rulers and governments. But the Blessed Vir gin had the guardianship of the King of kings; and he was respectfully subject to her (Luke ii. 51). To Mary are applied the words of divine wisdom : In every nation I have the chief rule (Eccl. xxiv. 10). By me kings reign, and lawgivers decree just things; by me princes rule, and the mighty decree justice (Prov. viii. 15, 16). Mary has also under her patronage the universal Church — defends it, protects it, and crushes with her foot the hydra of heresy. Mary is Queen of the Principali ties !
The Archangels announce to men af fairs of moment, and are guardians of
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pontiffs, kings, princes, and others in au thority. Upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, says Isaias, I have appointed watchmen all the day and all the night (Is. Ixxii. 6). But the Holy Virgin is the guardian of all cities and of churches. Earthly poten tates have committed their kingdoms and their newly-founded cities to the protec tion of Mary. There is no Catholic king dom or government or city, where tem ples, altars, statues, and images, do not at test that the patronage of Mary is, and has been, earnestly invoked. Justly then is Mary called Queen of Archangels!
To the Angels is intrusted the office of guarding and protecting men individ ually considered. But Mary was the guardian and protectress of God made man ! When Herod, enraged at the com ing of the Messias, wished to imbrue his hands in his blood, she fled with her child and took shelter in Egypt, thus preserving him from the vengeance of that sanguinary king. Each of the angels is appointed to watch over one man alone ; but Mary has charge of all men together and of ever)'- one in particular ; for she is the mother and sovereign of all men, and looks upon them all as her ser vants and children. The angels announce to men the things of heaven ; Mary dis-
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charges this office in a manner far more sublime than they. Hail, Mary, Queen of Angels ! exalted above them all in grace and glory ! All the angelic choirs bow before thee in awe and veneration, and sing ever the praises of their sover eign Queen.
II.
But what devout homage have angels exhibited to Mary ? They so venerated her that we may address to her, as pro ceeding from them, the words recorded in holy writ : We are thy servants; what soever thou shalt command us we will do (4 Kings x. 5). In developing this second part we shall adhere closely to the Script ures and the Fathers.
St. Vincent Ferreri, speaking of the conception of the Blessed Virgin, and calling it light, because it was free from every shade of sin, thus expresses him self: As soon as the soul of Mary was created it was sanctified, and immediately the angels in heaven celebrated the feast of her conception. Therefore does David sing, Light is risen to the just, and joy to the right of heart (Ps. xcvi. n). Light to Christ whose mother Mary is to be; joy to the angels who were never stained
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with sin. This was the first honor shown to Mary by the angels in heaven. At her birth the princes of heaven, dazzled by her effulgence, exclaimed, Who is she that cometh forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun (Cant. iv. 9) ? And learning by divine illustra tion who she was, they bowed low in rev erence in presence of her glory, and im mediately intoning a canticle of praise to the Son of God and his future mother, drew forth from the divine treasury the name of Mary, and conveyed it from heaven to earth. When the time for the fulfilment of the prophecies arrived, the celestial messenger, who announced to her that she was to become the mother of God, could not have pronounced upon her a higher encomium than he did by saying, Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee ; blessed art thou among women. Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God. The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee ; and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore also the Holy which shall be born of thee, shall be called the Son of God. In the anxiety of mind caused by the persecution of Herod, it is the opin ion of the Fathers that Mary and Joseph bad angels to console them and accom-
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pany them in their flight into Egypt and defend them from every danger. When Mary, after her death, was taken up into heaven in body and soul, the angels re ceived her with acclamations and con ducted her in triumph to the throne of God to be crowned queen of saints and angels, of heaven and earth. Let us then sing with the Church: The Holy mother of God is exalted above all the choirs of angels to the heavenly kingdom; and de voutly exclaim with St. Athanasius : Thee all the celestial and terrestrial hierarchies proclaim blessed; and raising their hands on high, bless thee who art blessed in heaven, and on earth hailed as blessed.
ASPIRATION.
From the snares of the enemy free us, Holy Virgin Mary.
PRACTICE.
In every temptation, call without de lay upon the name of Mary.
LITANY.
Read Month of Mary by Father Beckx, S. J.
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TENTH DAY.
HOW WE SHOULD HONOR MARY QUEEN OF ALL THE SAINTS.
"And in the last day the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be prepared, on the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills ; and all nations shall flow unto it." Is. ii. 2.
REAT and wonderful is God ! And al- though the Hebrew nation was slow of understanding, stiff-necked, rebellious and disloyal, still, through his prophets, the Lord aroused their sluggish imagina tions, and softened their stubborn hearts, by describing in symbols and figures the future magnificence of his religion. Filled with the spirit of God, the son of Amos lifted up his prophetic voice and sang, In the last day the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be prepared on the top of mountains, and it shall be ex alted above the hills ; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us his ways, and we will walk in his paths ; for the law shall come forth from
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Sion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. Thus prophesied Isaias of the future Savior of man — the Messias; foretelling his mercies, and the salutary changes which would be wrought amongst rnen by his appearance on earth. St. Gregory the Great, commenting on this passage of Isaias, writes as follows : Etythis mountain may be also designated the most Blessed Virgin Mary ; for she, by the dignity of her election, transcended the loftiness of every other most favored creature. Was not Mary an elevated mountain, who, to be prepared to con ceive the eternal word, exalted the sum mit of her merits above all the choirs of angels to the very throne of Eternity it self? The Virgin is that mountain, says St. John Damascene, which rises sublime above every mountain and hill, above angels and men, the mountain in which God was pleased to dwell. Mary is queen of all the saints, and as such the Church solemnly invokes her. In what manner is Mary queen of all the saints on earth and in heaven ?
I.
The supreme ruler of all kingdoms condescending to the desire of the He.
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brews demanding a king, selected for this office Saul. And there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he ; from his shoulders and upward, he appeared above all the people. The Almighty, wishing to give a queen to angels and men, sought for a woman who should rise above all others in abundance of grace and multiplicity of merits. The favored one was Mary, who was so copi ously replenished with merits and graces, and afterward exalted to glory so sublime that she far surpasses all the other saints in merit, grace and glory. The Blessed Virgin, then, not only exceeds in dignity the angelic spirits, but, like the moon in the midst of the stars, shines a queen amongst all the saints.
Next to the angels the Church ranks the Patriarchs. Mary is their queen ; for she possessed all their gifts in a higher degree, all their virtues, all their merits, and eclipsed all their most bril liant achievements. The most striking virtue of those holy men was faith. This is the lamp which, placed on the top of a mountain, throws light over the distant slopes and plains. Faith is the basis of every virtue, the foundation of the life of t he true believer. Without it, it is impos sible to please God. Faith is the wisdom
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that subjugates the world. To it should we firmly cling ; according to it should we act. It is certain that the providence of God disposes, guides, and governs all things ; so that not a leaf falls from the tree, not a sparrow from the sky, with out his pleasure. To him, therefore, should we wholly commit ourselves, fully confident that we shall receive from his hands timely aid. In this manner acted Abraham, who, when commanded to sacrifice his son Isaac, although he saw the course of the promise of God inter rupted by this command and his own hopes deluded, still did not hesitate in faith. And he learned by experience that God alone saves those who hope in him, and that without him there is no powerful help nor useful counsel nor enduring providence. The faith of Abra ham was a subject of admiration to after generations. So were the trials of Jacob, the innocence of Joseph, the strength of Samson, the patience of Job, the zeal of Elias, the justice of David, and the wis dom of Solomon. But whatever existed in them of grace and virtue, whatever praises were pronounced of them, what ever they heroically performed, we find combined in Mary. Hence, by St. Law rence Giustiniani she is called the vivid
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exemplar of every virtue. The Blessed Virgin is therefore Queen of the Pa triarchs, whether we regard her birth, she being of their race, or all the gifts of grace which she received from Almighty God. She is crowned with a double diadem ; one she inherits as daughter from her ancestors, the other, as mother she receives from her Son.
The Church, after the Patriarchs, con templates the Prophets. They are so named, because, by divine revelation or inspiration, they foresaw future events and foretold specifically their accom plishment. To foresee and foretell future events is an eminent favor of the Holy Ghost. But Mary alone received the fulness of the Holy Ghost. Therefore she is greater than all the prophets. Mary was saluted by the angel as full of grace. She was assured that the Holy Ghost should come upon her, and that the virtue of the Most High should overshadow her (Luke i. 35). The Virgin is, moreover, called by the Church the seat of wisdom. The mind, therefore, of the Blessed Virgin was re plenished by the infinite wisdom of God with light so abundant that she read in its brightness the past, the present, and the future.
But when did Mary receive the spirit
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of Prophecy, and where are her predic tions ? She acquired the prophetic spirit when she was full of grace and over shadowed by the virtue of the Most High. She manifested the gift of proph ecy when she foretold that all gener ations should call her blessed (Luke\.$>). She is then Queen of the Prophets !
Mary is styled by the Church Queen of Apostles. The Apostles were called by the Redeemer the light of the world. You are the light of the world {Matt. v. 14). To Mary belongs a more magnif icent title. She may be called the Sun of the world ; because she enlightens those who are sitting in darkness and the shadow of death, and leads them to the attainment of divine grace. Accord ing to St. Jerome, the name apostle is also interpreted master, instructor. But Mary is regarded by the fathers as in structor of the apostles, as enlightener of the nations (St. Aug. ). We are taught by St. Thomas of Villanova that, after the death of Jesus, the apostles assem bled in the room of the last supper, in company with Mary, arid sought from her consolation and instruction. To Mary then justly belongs the title of Queen of Apostles.
The Martyrs endured persecution and
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death ; but more cruel and more multi plied were the sufferings of Mary. To her the temple of Jerusalem was what Gethsemani was to her Son. Faithfully obedient to the law, she presented her infant to the Lord. Simeon seeing the Christ of the Lord and his mother ex claimed : Behold this child is set for the ruin and for the resurrection of many in Israel, and for a sign which shall be con tradicted ; and thy own soul a sword shall pierce (Luke ii. 34., 35). How great was the affliction of Mary's heart when Herod was seeking the Child to destroy him. How great was her anxiety when the child fesus remained in Jerusalem, and for three days she sought him sorrowing (Luke ii. 48). But her anguish who can express when Christ was betrayed by Judas, was captured by the Jews, in sulted by the princes of the synagogue, scourged at the pillar, crowned with thorns, overwhelmed by the weight of the cross ; when, for three hours, he hung in agony between heaven and earth, and finally expired ? Nothing but a mir acle of Omnipotence could have sus tained our mother in her sorrows. St. Bernardine assures us that the afflictions of Mary's tender, loving soul, distributed amongst all creatures, would have caused
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the immediate death of every living be ing.
St. Jerome names Confessors those who confess with the tongue the truths of the faith of Christianity, lead a holy life ac cording to them, and at last depart in the Lord. But who ignores that Mary excelled all the saints in the practice of every Christian virtue, and served them all as a guide? They, by imitating her ex ample, were great in humility, rich in poverty, sovereigns in obedience, an gels in the flesh, heroes in persecution, sublime in prayer, and resplendent with every virtue. Mary, therefore, having ex celled on earth in grace and virtue the Patriarchs, the Prophets, the Apostles, the Martyrs, and the Confessors, is to be saluted as Queen of all Saints !
II.
But there are other powerful reasons which authorize the devout children of Mary to proclaim her Queen of all the Saints, namely the glory which Mary en joys in heaven, and the patronage which, above all the saints, she extends to all the afflicted children of Adam. St. Peter, in the name of the Apostles, said to the Re deemer: Behold, we have left all things and have followed thee : what, therefore, shall
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we have? And Jesus said to them : Amen, I say to you, that you who have followed me in the regeneration, when the Son of man shall sit in the seat of his majesty, you also shall sit on twelve seats judging the twelve tribes of Israel {Matt. xix. 27, 28). The apostles, for having re nounced all things and followed Jesus, are seated in heaven. Will not Mary possess a seat brighter, more elevated than all the apostles? If a throne was set for the mother of Solomon, and she sat on his right hand (3 Kings \\. 19), is Mary held in less esteem by Almighty God? Is she not the mother of the King of kings ? She is then Queen of all the Saints! If, besides, the glory of the Saints is in proportion to the merits gained and the graces received. Mary, surpassing beyond measure all the Saints in merit and grace, enjoys greater glory and merit than they; she is therefore their Queen. In the opin ion of St. Bernardine, the glory of Mary differs as much from the glory of all the other Blessed as the sun differs from the other celestial bodies ; as they are illumined by the sun, so the whole celestial court is made bright by the brilliancy of Mary's glory.
Mary, as mother of Jesus, possessing immense treasures of merit and grace, is
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much more powerful for our benefit than every other saint. The other saints, says Idiota, by right of protection, can render greater assistance in heaven to those who are particularly assigned to their care; but the Blessed Virgin, as their queen, is patroness and advocate of all Christians, and is equally solicitous for the welfare of all her subjects (Idiota de Contempt. Virg^. Do you fear,O sinner,on account of your wickedness and your crimes,to approach the throne of the eter nal Father ? This should not be: for the Father has his son Jesus as a mediator be tween himself and man. Do you wish to have an advocate with Jesus Christ ? Im plore the patronage of Mary. No tongue could enumerate the beneficent acts of Mary ; for they are almost infinite in num ber. Favors and graces the greatest, the most remarkable, the most rare, when asked of her with humility of heart, have been readily obtained. Through recourse to her, sight has been restored to the blind, speech to the dumb ; the lame have been made to walk ; lepers have been cleansed ; and the possessed have been liberated from the power of the devil. The favors imparted by Mary to men are more numerous than the drops of water in the ocean, the leaves in the forest, and
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the grains of sand on the sea shore. Hence, with unanimous assent, Europe, Asia, Africa and America, proclaim Mary Queen of all the Saints, because she more freely and abundantly than all the others distributes her benefits to the children of men.
ASPIRATION.
In thee above all others did Christ our Savior find delight.
PRACTICE.
Thank God for the singular favors be stowed upon the Blessed Virgin.
LITANY.
Read Litany of Loretto by Archbishop Kenrick.
ELEVENTH DAY.
HOW TO HONOR MARY COOPERATING IN OUR REDEMPTION.
"I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head." Gen. iii. n.
AFTER God had created the heavens "and the earth and set in order the whole universe, one being, the most admirable
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in nature, still remained unmade. This being was man ; and God made him to his own image and likeness. He first formed the body of man which, though made of the slime of the earth, is the noblest work of visible creation. Into this body he breathed the breath of life. And man stood erect, a union of two substances: the one spiritual, the other material. Man, at his creation, was con stituted by Almighty (j*od in a state of grace and justice. "the Lord placed Adam and Eve in a paradise of pleasure which he had planted from the beginning, and gave them rule over the fishes of the sea and the fowls of the air and all living creatures that move upon the earth (Gen. i. 26). And the Lord com manded man, saying: Of every tree of paradise thou shalt eat ; but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat. For in what day soever thou shalt eat of it, thou shalt die the death (Gen. ii. 16, 17).
Eve, alas! yielded to the enticement of Satan, who had taken the form of a ser pent; and along with Adam, Eve trans gressed the commandment of Almighty God. Our first parents lost the friend ship of the Lord by their disobedience. And the serpent, for having deceived
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the woman, was cursed by the Almighty, who said to it: I will put enmities be tween thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed; she shall crush thy head. But who is she who is thus announced be forehand by the Lord as destined to co operate in our redemption ? The Fathers with one voice respond that it is Mary. She, by giving birth to him who lives forever and ever, brought salvation to man, and introduced life into the world. Hail, fair daughter of Joachim ! Thou art she who, like the dawn announcing the approach of the sun, didst awaken the hopes of desponding mortals. By means of thee, the Savior of man appeared on the earth. Of thee it may be said that thou hast filled heaven, emptied hell, re paired the ruins of the celestial Jerusa lem, and restored life to those who were lost in death (St. Bernard). Let us now prove that Mary may be said to have co operated in our redemption because she gave her consent to the Incarnation of the Word, and because she had her part in the death of her Son.
I.
Scarcely had the first man fallen into sin when a sad and pernicious change took place, both in the moral and nat-
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ural order. Before the whole world formed a delightful spectacle in the eyes of Adam, and all creation contributed to make him happy, even on earth. But after the first sin a change came over all things. The air grew dark and threatening. The heavens showed their anger by thun der, hail, and tempests. The earth trem bled, grew sterile, and required the sweat of man before furnishing him with nour ishment. The waters prepared their bil lows and whirlpools as instruments of destruction. The seasons were disturbed ; and animals, forgetting their primitive gentleness, became filled with fury and thirsted after slaughter and blood. Adam and Eve, despoiled of sanctity and justice, for having violated the command of God incurred the anger and indigna tion of the Lord, and consequently death, with which they had before been threat ened ; and along with death, captivity under the power of Satan, who thence forward held the empire of death. By their sin they also suffered detriment in body and in soul (Con. Trid. Sess. 5, Can. i). Then commenced that fierce and endless struggle between flesh and spirit men tioned by St. Paul (Rom.vii. 23).
But the God of mercy had written in his eternal decrees, that man should have
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a Redeemer: and as a woman was the oc casion of all his misfortunes, he resolved that a woman should cooperate in his re generation. He promised it himself in the beginning, and from time to time, through the patriarchs and prophets, he continued to indicate his design. Isaias raised his prophetic voice in the follow ing words: There shall come a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up out of his root. And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him (Is. ix. 1,2). Be hold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son ; and his name shall be called Imman- uel (Is. vii. 14). But who is this wonder ful rod ? Who is this fortunate Virgin? It is Mary. Let us now examine carefully the evangelical history and learn in what manner she cooperated in the redemp tion of man.
The prophets of Israel were silent; the royal sceptre of Juda had passed to the hand of a stranger; the seventy weeks of Daniel were near their completion ; the whole world was in the enjoyment of pro found peace, when all the creation was suddenly aroused by a brilliant light that burst forth from the highest heaven. It was the angel Gabriel, who, descending from heaven by order of God, presented himself to Mary in Nazareth, and said to
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her : Hail, full of grace ; the Lord is with thee : Blessed art thou among women. And let not my unusual salutation cause thee to fear. I am a messenger of peace and I assure thee that thou hast found favor with God. He wishes to break the chains which hold man in the cruel slav ery of sin ; and he will make use of thee to present to the eyes of man his Lord and Savior. Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb and shalt bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great and shall be called the son of the Most High; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David, his father, and he shall reign in the house of Jacob forever (Luke i. 31, 32). Mary en tertained no doubt of the fulfilment of the angel's declaration ; but having made a vow of virginity she discreetly inquired in what manner it was to be accomplished. How shall this be done, for 1 know not man? The angel, answering, said to her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee ; and his work shall be the wonderful, immaculate, divine con ception of Christ. And therefore also the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. Heaven and earth awaited the answer of the Virgin of
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Nazareth. St. Augustine and St. Bernard express, in a lively manner, the ardent desire of all intelligent beings, begging for the Incarnation of the Word, and sup plicating Mary to yield her consent. The angel, O most blessed Virgin, stands in eager expectation of a favorable answer; and we, likewise, expect from thee the words of consolation and peace. We have all been condemned to death ; but one word of thine will restore us to life. This, Adam, author of a ruined race, — this, Abraham, David, and all the Fathers of old, implore thee to utter. The whole world, prostrate at thy feet, entreats thy assent to the Incarnation. On thy lips de pend the consolation of the miserable, the redemption of the captives, the salvation of all the children of Adam. Hasten to re ply. Give joy to heaven and earth. Dis miss the angel with thy humble protes tation of submission to the pleasure of God, that he may convey it to the eternal Word, now standing on the threshold of heaven ready to descend into thy bosom. When Mary's pure lips humbly pro nounced the words — Behold the hand maid of the Lord: be it done to me accord ing to thy word, — the union between the divine and human natures was consum mated. The Word was made flesh; and
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the heavens and the earth resounded with a canticle of thanksgiving.
God, says William the Abbot, required the assent and cooperation of Mary, be fore operating in her the ineffable mys tery of the Incarnation. He did not wish to take flesh from her unless she would freely grant it (Cant. ii.). The consent of the Virgin was one of the conditions of the Incarnation of the Word established in the eternal decrees of God ; and, according to St, Augustine, the word of Mary was to close or open heaven (Serm. xvii. de Nat. Dom.). The consent of Mary, expressed in the terms, — Be it done to me according to thy word, was the beginning of grace and salvation. Mary, by this reply, filled heaven with joy, supplied matter of ex ultation to all the angels, furnished hope to the world held captive, overwhelmed all the demons with terror, gladdened the celestial messenger, and promised deliverance to the Patriarchs and Proph ets and all the ancient Fathers (S/. Laur. Giustin. Serm. de Annunt^)
We also bear in mind that Mary not only assented to the Incarnation, but gave to the Divine Word the flesh which rendered him truly man and capable of satisfying for our sins by his bloody death,
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thus operating our redemption. The Blessed Virgin, says St. Antoninus (P. 4. C. 20), is to be considered, after God, under God, and with God, as an efficient cause of our redemption, because she gave her con sent to the embassy of the Angel and gave birth to him who regenerated all men by his passion. She is to be regarded as a material cause also, because the Holy Ghost, with her approval, formed from the substance of her body the most sa cred body of Jesus — that body by means of the tortures of which our redemption was completed, and men acquire once more the title of children of God. Alber- tus Magnus thus strongly expresses the share of the Blessed Virgin in our re demption : Whatever is cause of the cause, is cause of that which is produced by the cause ; but the Blessed Virgin is the cause of her Son, and her Son is the cause of all good and all mercy ; there fore his mother is also in her way the cause of all good and all mercy.
By sin man becomes guilty, and God is offended. To repair therefore the evils of sin, a being was required participating in the divine and human nature. It was necessary then that God should be con cealed under human form. It was also settled in the eternal decrees that the
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second person of the adorable Trinity should offer an adequate compensation for the sins of men to the Divine Justice, by afflictions and torments. But how could the Word have accomplished this without human flesh ? By the greatest of all miracles, the Word took in Mary and from Mary human substance and a body subject to suffering ; and having united his human nature to the divine, in the Divine Person, was able to offer to his Father adequate satisfaction. We may therefore conclude with St. Thomas of Villanova (Serm. de Assump.): It is a dogma of our faith that Jesus Christ paid the price of our redemption. But it can not be called in question, that Mary, by becoming his mother, furnished him with the means of satisfying the justice of God. He is our Redeemer, but from Mary he re ceived the human substance in which he redeemed us. Mary is therefore not only the mother of God, but as mother of God, she cooperated in our redemption.
II.
We must reflect, in the second place, that, if written in the eternal decrees of God that the Divine Word should assume human nature for our redemption, this was not the limit of his humiliations.
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The humiliations and torments of Christ were required — his sweat of blood, the . blow on his cheek, the cruel scourge, the crown of thorns, the hatred of the rabble, the bearing of the cross, the nails through the Savior's hands and feet, the shedding of the last drop of his most precious blood, his agony and death up on the cross. To all the shame and suf ferings of the Son and to his sacrifice on Calvary for the redemption of man, Mary gave her free and full consent.
In the opinion of the Fathers, Mary, by light derived from the Holy Ghost, com prehended more perfectly than the prophets themselves all that they had foretold concerning the Savior. The devout Rupertus (in Cant. C. 4) intro duces Mary as speaking in the following manner : Souls restored to grace by my Son, and most dear to myself, do not con fine your attention to that hour of anguish when I held in my arms the lifeless body of my Son ; for the sword predicted by Si meon was continually transpiercing my heart. When I nourished him at my breast, I thought of the vinegar and gall which would be presented to him in his thirst; when I clothed him in his garments, I thought of the cords with which he would be bound ; when I bore him in my arms,
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I saw him hanging on the cross ; when he was tranquil in sleep, I saw him cold in de'ath. All these trials and sorrows Mary freely and willingly accepted for the benefit of the human race.
Our redemption was accomplished by a sacrifice offered on the altar of the cross. This sacrifice was entirely consummated by Christ. He was at the same time priest and victim. Still Mary may be said to have part in it, for Christ, in offering him self to his Father, offered the flesh and blood which he had received from Mary (St. Eticher. Horn. i. de Nativ. Dom.). Mary loved God with perfect love ; in all things, therefore, her will was conform able to the will of God ; but it was the pleasure of God that his Son should un dergo death on the cross for the salvation of man. Christ, therefore, and Mary, one in will, offered the same holocaust to the Almighty Father. On the summit of Golgotha, says Arnoldus Abbot, there were two altars — one in the body of Jesus, the other in the heart of Mary. And whilst Christ immolated himself in body, Mary sacrificed herself in heart. The writings of the Fathers abound with passages in which Mary's participation in the work of our redemption is de picted in the most lively colors, and ex-
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hibited as establishing a claim to our ad miration, our veneration, and our warm est gratitude. Mary, then, did lend he'r cooperation in the accomplishment of man's redemption.
ASPIRATION.
Free us from our chains ; enlighten our eyes ; preserve us from evil ; obtain for us all that is needful.
PRACTICE.
Have instant recourse to Mary in time of trial, and bear up courageously in her honor.
LITANY.
Read Life of Blessed Virgin, by Abbe Orsini.
TWELFTH DAY.
THE LOVE WHICH WE OWE TO MARY.
"Thou art all fair, my love, and there is not a spot in thee." Cant. iv. 7.
HE spirit is filled with holy admiration, when we hear the spouse of the can ticles addressing the Blessed Virgin in the
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language applied to her by the Church : Thou art all fair, O my love, and there is not a spot in thee. Come from Libanus, my spouse, come from Libanus, come ; thou shalt be crowned from the top of Amana, from the top of Sanir and Her- mon, from the dens of the lions, from the mountains of the leopards. Thou hast wounded my heart, my sister, my spouse (Cant. iv. 7,8, 9). Thy cheeks are as the bark of a pomegranate (vi. 6). Thy stature is like a palm tree, and thy eyes as those of doves. Honey and milk are underthy tongue, and the smell of thy garments as the smell of frankincense (iv. II). Thou art all fair, O my love, and there is not a spot in thee. Mary must have indeed been adorned with celestial loveliness. The Father chose her for his daughter, the Son for his mother, and the Holy Ghost for his spouse. On the day of her Assump tion, the angels, dazzled by her beauty, shouted with joy and exclaimed: Who is she that cometh forth as the morn ing rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun (vi. 9) ? The Fathers of the Church frequently represent Mary as the dawn and the sun, and employ the highest colorings of eloquence insetting forth her dignity and her loveliness. If Mary so charmed the heart of the Father
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that he chose her for his daughter, and the heart of the Word that he destined her for his mother, and that of the Holy Ghost, that he wished her for his spouse; if she excited wonder in the angels, and in every age made devout writers enthusiastic in the delineation of her magnificent qual ities — we, in order to enkindle in our breasts a fervent and enduring love for Mary, may well devote our attention to the contemplation of her exterior and in terior beauty.
1.
It is certain that God, in forming the human heart, inflamed it with affectionate feelings, in order that it might love him alone. But it 'frequently happens that, de luded by the charms of external appear ances, or deceived by some rebellious passion representing evil for good, we devote our affections to follow display or the enticements of appetite, and thus bring ruin on our souls and outrage the majesty of Almighty God. We naturally love that which is presented to us as good: but God alone is essentially good; he is a vast ocean of all good; he contains in himself, in infinite perfection, what ever of good is distributed amongst his creatures. God alone therefore is worthy
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of all love. After God, Mary is first in goodness and beauty amongst all rational beings, all created things. God, in creat ing the world, made it a wonder of beauty and grandeur. He created the heavens and ornamented them with the sun, the moon and the stars. He created the earth and arranged in masterly order the mountains, the hills, the valleys, the seas, and the rivers. He formed the air and ordered the birds to flutter through it in their warblings. He peopled the des erts and forests with reptiles and ani mals of every kind. He beautified the hills with the peaceful olive and the odoriferous vine. He made the harvests wave yellow in the plains. He loaded the trees with exquisite fruits. He enamelled the prairies with flowers of every hue. He enlivened the waters of oceans, lakes, and rivers with fishes in countless variety. And all things he disposed in wonderful and harmonious order, that the world might become a delightful sojourn for man. But God, in creating Mary, formed her as a most especial world for himself. She was to be his dwelling place for nine months, and from her he took flesh and blood. Let who will, says Can- isius, contemplate the harmony and beauty of the structure of the world, and
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admire what is most splendid and magnifi cent in the heavens and on the earth, — it all grows dim and disappears in the presence of Mary's glory.
The body of Christ, says Albertus Magnus, supernaturally formed by God himself, was most beautiful and most perfect, as beautiful and perfect as was consistent with the condition of a way farer on earth ; in like manner the body of the Holy Virgin, designed for the human nature of Christ, was as beautiful and perfect as was consistent with her condition. If Christ was beautiful above the sons of men (Y^.xliv.3), then Mary was beautiful above all the daughters of Adam.
If Mary was beautiful by nature, be cause she was to become the tabernacle of the Most High, of the Holy of Holies. who can express the additional come liness and splendor which she re ceived from grace ? In the Blessed Vir gin there was nothing either in body or soul that could blemish the splendor of her loveliness ; on the contrary, she was formed in body and soul according to the design of the sublime counsels of the Divine Wisdom. She was preserved from whatever could sully her beauty, and en riched with whatever could increase it.
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The humanity of Christ, by reason of its personal union with the divine nature, was refulgent with every perfection of nature and grace ; his mother, then, must have been in due proportion adorned with every perfection ; for, after the hypostatic union, there can be no union more intimate than that between mother and son (Dyon. Carth. lib. i. de Laud. V.)
If we unfold the books of the old law, we meet in almost every page pictur esque descriptions and charming images which shadow forth the splendor of the mother of God. Her beauty, interior and exterior, is prefigured by all that is most lovely in nature. It is mystically said of her, that she was exalted like a cedar in Libanus, and as a cypress tree on Mount Sion ; that she was exalted like a palm tree in Cades, and as a rose plant in Jericho ; as a fair olive tree in the plains, and as a plane tree by the water in the streets ; that as the vine she brought forth a pleasant odor, and her flowers are the fruit of honor and riches (Eccl. xx iv.). She was also compared to the lily, to the rose, to sweet-smelling cinnamon, to the best myrrh, to the sun, and to the moon. The fragrance breath ing from Mary, surpassing that of storax,
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and galbanum, and onyx, and aloes, and frankincense not cut, attracted the Maker of the universe, who determined that she should be the mother of the Son. Mary was most beautiful above all the illus trious women of the old law, although the highest praises are bestowed on their beauty. It was said of Judith that there was not such another woman upon earth in look, in beauty, and in sense of words (Judith xi. 19). Esther was exceedingly fair and beautiful (Esther ii. 7). Rebecca was an exceedingly comely maiden, a most beautiful virgin (Gen. xxiv. 16). Rachel was well favored and of a beau tiful countenance (Gen. xxiv. 17). But Mary excelled them all in beauty and loveliness. God himself, as the Church understands it, celebrates in the Canticles the praises of Mary. Who is she that goeth up by the desert, as a pillar of smoke of aromatical spices, of myrrh and frankincense, and of all the powders of the perfumer (Cant. iii. 6) ? Thou art beautiful, O my love, sweet and comely as Jerusalem (vi. 3). My dove in the clifts of the rock, in the hollow places of the wall, show me thy face ; let thy voice sound in my ears, for thy voice is sweet and thy face comely (ii. 14). Turn away thy face from me ; for they have made me
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flee away (vi. 4). The daughters saw thee, and declared thee most blessed ; the queens, and they praised thee (vi. 8).
We learn from St. Paul that when we shall become citizens of heaven Jesus Christ will reform the body of our low- ness, made like to the body of his glory, according to the operation whereby also he is able to subdue all things unto him self (Phtlip.\\\. 21). Glory then will be one of the properties of the bodies of the blessed after the general resurrec tion. But as there is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars,— for star differeth from star in glory,— so also is the resurrection of the dead (i Cor. xv. 41, 42). The glory, therefore, of the saints in heaven will be different, not in soul only, but also in body. This difference will be de termined by the inequality of the merits acquired on earth. As the soul of the Blessed Virgin enjoys in heaven an un speakable glory responding to her merits on earth, how passing great must be the splendor, the glory, of her external ap pearance !
St. Augustine and St. Bernard teach that the beauty of the Blessed Virgin was shown in figure to St. John, the evangelist, when he saw that sublime
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queen crowned with twelve stars, hav ing the moon under her feet, and arrayed in robes of magnificence formed of the rays of the sun (Apoc. xii. i). As there is no light on earth to be compared with that of the sun, the moon and the stars, so there is no beauty in heaven, either in saints or angels, to be compared with the beauty of the Holy Virgin Mary. In her presence all other created beauty fades, and disappears. God alone is beauty in essence, and from him descend all the beauty and grace which are found in all rational and angelic beings. All created beauty may be said to be a mere participation of the beauty of Almighty God. According to St. Thomas (///. P. 9, 27), the nearer anything approaches its principle the more it partakes of the effect of the principle ; but Mary is more closely allied with God than all saints and angels because she is the mother of God ; therefore she draws more co piously from the source of all beauty and loveliness than saints and angels all united. The saints are fair in the sight of heaven ; but how much fairer is Mary ! The angels and archangels are clothed with fairness ; but if we pass in review all the celestial choirs in their increasing degrees of beauty, we are forced to ex-
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claim, as each one moves before us, More lovely far is Mary ! Let us, then, chant with the Church, The holy mother of God is exalte-d above all the choirs of angels in the heavenly kingdom.
II.
When our admiration is attracted by an edifice, which, in all its external parts, is a miracle of architectural skill, we are naturally led to suppose that the inte rior is glittering with art, elegance, and wealth. In like manner, when we con template the loveliness which adorned Mary on earth, and the external glory which surrounds her in heaven, we in stinctively turn our thoughts to the beauty of her soul. But all the glory of the king's daughter is within (Ps. xliv. 14). The most brilliant charms of Mary are therefore concealed from external view.
. Mary was enriched with a plenitude of all the treasures of grace, and thus made so acceptable in the eyes of God, that she was chosen to be his mother. Albertus Magnus avers that the Blessed Virgin possessed in the highest degree all general and special graces granted to all creatures ; that she was replenished
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with grace in such copiousness that it was not imparted more abundantly to any created being. For she contained within, God, who is grace increate. Ac cording to Suarez, the Blessed Vir gin, from the first instant of her concep tion and sanctification, was loved more by the Divine Word than all angels and men. For from that instant he loved her as his future mother; and as the grace communicated corresponds to the love entertained, he bestowed more abundant grace upon her who was to be his mother than upon all the saints and angels to gether. Mary, says St. Bernardine, had in an eminent manner her abode in the full assembly of saints. For she was digni fied with the faith of the patriarchs, the inspiration of the prophets, the zeal of the apostles, the constancy of the mar tyrs, the sanctity of the confessors, the chastity of the virgins, the fruitfulness of the wedded, the purity of the angels (St. Bern, in Verb. Eccl.nx.iv. 16). How great must be the splendor of the glory of Mary's soul in heaven ! St. Bernardine teaches that the glory of the Blessed Vir gin is as different from the glory of the other blessed as the sun is different from the other celestial luminaries; and as the other celestial bodies are regulated by
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the sun, so the whole heavenly court is ornamented and rejoiced by the glorious Virgin Mary. The source of all this glory is the divine maternity of Mary. If Mary was supremely fair in body and in soul, if she was full of grace on earth, and in heaven is supereminently resplendent in glory, she is the greatest and most lovely of all pure creatures, and deserves that we should love her with the fondest affection.
ASPIRATION.
From all sin deliver us, Holy Virgin Mary.
PRACTICE.
Think frequently of the greatness of Mary.
LITANY.
Read Reflections on the Litany of Loretto.
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THIRTEENTH DAY.
HOW TO STUDY MARY, THE MOTHER OF GRACE.
"Arise, O Lord, into thy resting place, thou and the ark which thou hast sanctified." Ps. cxxi. 8.
THE creator of all things, a most pure spirit, majesty and holiness itself, when he determined to dwell with the Hebrews in the desert, commanded a tabernacle to be constructed for his especial abode, whence he would deliver his oracles. But listen with what grand eur of art he required it to be constructed and with what costliness he adorned it. Frame an ark of setim wood, he said to Moses, and thou shalt overlay it with the purest gold within and without; and over it thou shalt make a golden crown round about, and four golden rings, which thou shalt put at the four corners of the ark. Thou shalt make bars also of setim wood, and shalt overlay them with gold. And thou shalt put them in through the rings in the sides of the ark, that it may be carried on them. Thou shalt make also a propitiatory of the finest gold as a covering for the ark. Thou shalt make
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also two cherubim of beaten gold on the two sides of the oracle. Let one cherub be on the one side, and the other on the other. Let them cover both sides of the propitiatory, spreading their wings, and covering the oracle, and let them look one towards the other, their faces being turned towards the propitiatory. Thence will I give orders, and will speak to thee over the propitiatory, and from the midst of the two cherubim, which shall be upon the ark of the testimony, all things which I will command the children of Israel by thee (Exod. xxv.). St. Bernard says(^^. V. Deip. ii. 9), that the ark of the testimony was a figure of the most holy mother of God. As the ark of the testimony, besides being formed of gold and precious wood, contained the objects most holy to the Hebrews, so Mary, besides being the most beautiful creature in Nature, was also the most holy creature of grace; for the Almighty lavished all the graces upon her and resided in her as a king in his kingdom, a father in the dwelling place of his family, a pontiff in the temple, a spouse in the room of his spouse. The Most High created her expressly for himself, and adorned her with justice, sanctity and every grace, so that she addressed her servants in the
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words of Divine Wisdom- -I am the mother of fair love, and of fear, and of knowledge, and of holy hope. In me is all grace of the way and of the truth ; in me is all hope of life and of virtue. Come over to me, all ye that desire me, and be filled with my fruits (Eccl. xxiv. 24). For my fruit is better than gold, and the precious stone, and my blossoms better than choice silver. He that shall find me shall find life and shall have salvation from the Lord (Prow. viii. 10, 35). Let us now examine the reasons for which Mary is called the Mother of Grace, and brings grace to those who devoutly honor her.
I.
The name of Mother of Grace is a name pleasant and dear to all the servants of Mary; and the countenance of infancy and old age, when they repeat it, is brightened with a smile of holy joy. The name of Mother of Grace is a name of glory, which points out her who from all eternity was the object of the predilec tion of God above all other creatures, and was enriched by him with the fullness of all graces and benedictions. The title of Mother of Grace is a title of beneficence, for it awakens the recollection of favors received from Mary, by which the multi-
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plied hardships of earthly exile are alle viated, and recalls to mind the graces received from Almighty God through her mediation for the persuitand attainment of a blessed immortality. When did Mary obtain the fullness of grace from which a- rises her title of Mother of Grace? In her conception, at her birth, and at the time when the angel announced to her that she was to be the Mother of God.
In the doctrine of St. Thomas, Almighty God distributes his graces to his saints with a view to the dignity and office to which he destines them : the Blessed Vir gin, destined to be the mother of the Word incarnate and queen of all the saints, must have received the fullness of grace at the very instant of her immaculate conception. According to theologians, Mary enjoyed three privileges not shared by the other mere creatures. Her wonder ful holiness was original, inamissible, and always increasing. The first man and the angels were constituted in sancti fying grace, but with the power of forfeit ing it, as man and many angels did; but Mary in her conception was filled with holiness which she never forfeited, and, by especial privilege could not lose. The apostles were confirmed in grace after the descent of the Holy Ghost, still they
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were not exempt from slight defects; but Mary, from the first moment of her ex istence, was unchangeably united with God, and was made by grace incapable of sinning. The blessed in heaven are free from every moral imperfection, and en joy a sanctity that can suffer no change and admit no blemish; but their holiness receives no increase, whilst the holiness of Mary grew greater every day as long as she remained on earth. The grace be stowed on Mar)'' the first instant of her conception was augmented to the highest degree of perfection by the gifts of the Holy Ghost, the infused habits of the moral and intellectual virtues, the gift of prophecy, of miracles, and of the un derstanding of the Scriptures. Why mention the use of free will granted to her by Almighty power before the natural time (St. Bernardinus) ? Why the privi lege, properly belonging to the angels, of thinking and contemplating in a manner altogether spiritual and without depend ence on the senses ? Although the imag ination of Mary was as yet in a kind of bondage, and the organs of her body were as yet unfit for the full exercise of their functions, the soul of Mary was not inactive. The mist which darkens the minds of other children imprisoned in
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the bosom of their mothers, did not ex tinguish the light of her spirit. The heart watched, and operating with God, overflowed with delights; so that the time before birth, which in others passes away unproductive, was in Mary a time of benediction and merit.
Mary was enriched with every grace at the time of her birth. She was free from sin and the effects of sin, and had no experience in her own person of that fatal law of the members contrary to the law of God, through which every man, however just, groans under the weight of the flesh in constant rebellion against the spirit. She was not exposed to those combats in which man at one time con quers, at another is conquered; but she lived in a delightful peace that was never disturbed by the agitation of unruly in clinations. The propensity to evil, which is born with us, and harasses us to the last hour of life, never had existence in Mary. By the operation of grace she seemed to be of a nature different from ours, being exempt from our infirmities, sovereign mistress of all the affections of her soul, freed from the slavery of the children of Adam, and ever walking before God in perfect innocence of heart. All the degrees of greatness in Mary had
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their beginning in her conception, as the seed of the tree contains in a certain way all the excellence and beauty of the fruit. The Blessed Virgin entered the world as a sovereign; all others enter it as slaves. She came as Queen of the Angels, because by means of her the seats were to be oc cupied which had been rendered vacant by the rebellion of the evil spirits. She came as Queen of the Patriarchs and Prophets, because through her the oracles of God had their fulfilment. She came as Queen of the Apostles, because her birth gave commencement to the gospel which they were to preach. She came as Queen of the Virgins and of all the Saints, because she was born in the state of grace, and in the plenitude of innocence. But if we reflect more attentively in what circumstance the BlessedVirgin was full of the Holy Ghost, and of all his gifts of grace, we shall discover that it was at the moment of her annunciation, when she became the mother of the Eter nal Word. Hail, said the angel to Mary on the part of God, Hail, full of grace, for the Lord dwells with thee, and thou art blessed with every blessing, above all the women of all ages. Fear not illusion or deception, for thou hast found grace be fore God. Thou shalt conceive and bring
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forth the Redeemer of the world, and thou shalt call his name Jesus. Unsullied thy virginity shall remain ; for the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall over shadow thee (Zft£i i. 38). We learn here from the Gospel that Mary, being a vir gin, became a mother without prejudice to her virginal honor, and that she be came the mother of the Son of God. That a virgin should become a mother, and the mother of God, is a miracle so great that a greater cannot have place in the eternal operations of the Almighty (St. Bernar- dine, Serm. 61: St. Aug. Epist. 3 ad Volns). Of the only-begotten Son of God the Vir gin Mary is mother; a worthy mother of a worthy son, an immaculate mother of a holy son ; a unique mother of a unique son. No other only-begotten can come upon the earth ; and no other virgin can be mother of the only-begotten (Orig. Serm. 2). No other creature can contract so strict an affinity with God as the Bless ed Virgin, because the mother and the son have the same flesh — one common sub stance. The flesh of Christ, says St. Au gustine (Serm. de B. V. M.), is the flesh of Mary. As long as a son, says St. Thomas, is in the bosom of his mother, he is not separated from her, but forms a part of her
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by a tie of nature, as the fruit hanging from the tree is reputed a part of the tree itself. No more intimate union after the hypostatic can be conceived than that of Mary with her son. By this union she ap proached the confines of Divinity. The three persons of the most Holy Trinity, says St. Bernard (Sertrt. de B. M. Deip), concurred to enrich Mary with their gifts and treasures. The Father imparted to her the power to become a mother, the Son wisdom to enlighten her, the Holy Ghost the grace of all virtues. The Father con ferred upon her the authority against sin, the Son humility against the world, the Holy Ghost charity towards God and the neighbor. The Father gave to Mary the contemplation of heavenly things, the Son instructed her to operate virtuously, the Holy Ghost raised her to heaven on the wings of faith. The three persons of the most Holy Trinity, to express much in few words, bestowed upon Mary the purity of the angels, the charity of the apostles, the fortitude of the martyrs, the sanctity of the confessors, the wisdom of the doctors, the abstinence of the an chorites, the modesty of the religious.the devotion of the priests, the integrity of the virgins, the continence of the widows, and the fruitfulness of the wedded. Mary,
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therefore, is mother of grace, because she is mother of the Author of Grace, be cause she was pleasing to God in the ex ercise of every virtue ; and because she received in superabundance, above an gels and saints, the plenitude of all graces.
II.
The Angelic Doctor teaches us that an other species of fulness of grace is found in Mary, which is an advantage to all men, and especially of encouragement to sinners and consolation to the afflicted. We wonder, he says (Op. 8), that in each saint there is grace sufficient for the salva tion of many, but our wonder is exceed ingly great when we reflect that there is in Christ and in the Virgin grace sufficient for the salvation of all men. God, being about to rescue the human race from the slavery of Satan and sin, committed the whole price of redemption to Mary. She, according to the Fathers, furnished the beginning of salvation and grace, and is to be considered as a cause of salvation for having conceived the Author of grace and given a Redeemer to the world (St. Bernardine). The Lord was with Mary, and Mary was with the Lord, cooperating in the same labor and in the same work
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of redemption. (St. Bernar dine, ibid i. i). We see Mary at the manger, at the temple, in Egypt, in Galilee, in Jerusalem, in the solitudes, in the deserts, always with Jesus. On that last day of anguish and sorrow, when the redemption of the human race was completed at the price of infinite tor- ture.Maryfollowedfaithfullythefootsteps of her Son ; and when he hung in agony between heaven andearth,she stood in ag ony at the foot of the cross. Every afflic tion of her Son waked a corresponding af fliction in her motherly heart. There were two altarsonGolgotha,the one in the heart of Mary, the other in the body of Jesus. Jesusimmolatedhisflesh, Mary her souljor the benefit of sinners. Jesus, seeing the sacrifice of love which Mary was offering in our behalf, although on the point of breathing forth his soul, arouses himself, and says to John: Beloved disciple, dost thou see the affliction of my mother ? For thee also she suffers ; take her as a mother; as such I give her to thee (John xix. 27). If Mary conceived and gave birth to the Author of grace ; if she cooperated in the work of our redemption ; if she was replenished with all graces for the bene fit of men ; if she was given to us as a mother by the Redeemer himself on Cal vary ; shall we not esteem her as a mother
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who is the bearer of grace to her chil dren ? From the gospel it is evident that she is such a mother. Jesus and Mary were present at the marriage in Galilee. Mary perceived that the wine had failed, and compassionating the confusion of the spouses, she said to Jesus, They have no wine. And Jesus saith to her, Woman, what is that to me and thee ? My hour is not yet come (John it. 34.). Notwithstand ing this reply, the application of Mary proved successful, and Jesus changed wa ter to wine to supply the deficiency. The firstmiracleof JesusChrist was performed at the intercession of his mother. This shows what confidence we should repose in the kindness of our good mother. The Eternal Father wills that through her we should receive every good thing, since he willed that through her we should receive his only-begotten Son, in whom he has given us all things. The loving zeal of this mother in favor of her children was prefigured in the history of Esther. As- suerus, inflamed with anger against the Hebrews, had signed the decree of exter mination, commanding that all the He brews in his kingdom should be put to death on the same day — men and women, old and young. But Esther, who before had found favor before the king, and had
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been crowned his queen, changed by her entreaties the heart of Assuerus, and pre vailed upon him to recall the fatal decree. Mary exerts herself in the same manner in our behalf, and our sorrow is turned into joy. Her kindness toward the sor rowing was great whilst she was in her pilgrimage on earth, but far greater is it now that she is reigning in heaven. Knowing our miseries better now, she obtains grace for us more abundantly. As the brilliancy of the sun exceeds that of the moon, so the compassion of Mary exceeds the compassion which she felt for .us on earth. And as the sun sends down its rays upon wealthy and needy, Mary showers down her favors upon just men and sinners — upon the just to justify them still, and upon the sinners to en lighten them to the life of grace. Who could enumerate the graces bestowed by the mother of grace? As the raindrops which descend to refresh and fertilize the earth are beyond the power of enumera tion, so countless are the graces which Mary causes to descend upon the chil dren of men. This is testified by the mul titudes who hurry to her sanctuaries, the votive tablets that hang around her altars, the lights that are always burning before her images.
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ASPIRATION.
Mar)', Mother of Grace, Mother of Mercy, defend us from our enemies, and receive us at the hour of death.
PRACTICE.
Perform some spiritual or corporal work of mercy in honor of the Blessed Virgin.
LITANY.
Read Mary, Star of the Sea.
FOURTEENTH DAY.
THE VIRGINITY OF MARY.
"The Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush ; and he saw that the bush was on fire, and was not burnt." Exod.ui. 2.
>pHE Hebrews were groaning under a A most cruel slavery in the land of Egypt, and Moses, disregarding the riches of the Pharaos, chose rather to suffer persecu tion with the people of God, esteeming the approach of Christ greater riches than the treasure of the Egyptians (Heb.
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ix. 25). Reduced to poverty, slighted, and suspected, not only by the Egyptians, but by his own brethren, he fled secretly into the arid deserts of Arabia, and finally fixed his abode in the land of Madian. There he awaited with resignation the in terference of Divine Mercy in favor of the Hebrews, and employed himself in tending the flocks of Jethro, his father- in-law. Having conducted the flocks in to the interior of the desert and arrived at the mountain of God, Horeb, he wit nessed an extraordinary spectacle. He beheld at a distance a bush enveloped in flames, and still no portion of it was consumed. When he went forward to see why the bush was not burnt, he heard the voice of the Lord, who said to him: Come not nigh hither ; put off the shoes from thy feet; for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground (Exod. iii. 8). He afterwards disclosed to him his in tention of delivering his people from the tyranny of the Egyptians ; and informed him that he was to be the instrument by means of which their deliverance was to be accomplished. But the bush that burned without being consumed, what hidden signification has it, and of what was it a symbol ? The Church recognizes in that burning bush the praiseworthy
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virginity of Mary, (in Off. Purif.). And virginity is indeed commendable, and to be extolled to the skies with praises, for it is written in the Apocalypse that virgins havea separate place assigned to them be fore the throne of the lamb. Why do we call Mary the Queen of the Virgins ? The development of the reasons will increase our devotion for her, and excite us to love so fair a virtue.
I.
Virginal purity is a moral virtue which rejects every species of carnal delight. This divine virtue possesses charms so powerful that God leaves heaven for earth to converse with virgins, the inseparable companions of the Lamb, the most illus trious portion of the flock of the Lord, and the richest treasure of the Church. The innocent soul is a worthy temple of God on earth, and with its virginal purity it holds secure the gifts of grace and of the Holy Ghost. Grace always present re moves all alluring thoughts which might give food to concupiscence and not only prevents the slightest glimmering of this infernal fire from reaching the will, but diligently watches over the appetite itself. The excellence of the virtue of virginity is such, that nothing else causes
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either soul or body to approach so nearly that state of felicity to which we shall be exalted, that life which, after the general resurrection, we shall lead in heaven, rescued from death, not subject to corruption, incorruptible and immor tal. This felicity appears to be indicated by Christ when he says that in the res urrection they shall neither marry nor be given in marriage, but shall be as the angels of God in heaven {Matt, xxii. 30). He, therefore, who remains in a state of celibacy, and preserves his heart immac ulate by purity of mind and body, makes the nearest approach in his life on earth to the life of glory in heaven. St. Basil affirms that virginity renders man similar to the incorruptible God {Lib. de Virg.). Mary holds the first place in virginity, not only amongst men, but even amongst angels. Hence she is saluted by the Church as Mother most pure, Queen of Virgins. The virginal purity of Mary ex cels in perfection that of the angels, be cause they possess it by nature, Mary by grace. In the angels it is of necessity, in Mary it proceeds from free will. The angels preserve it in a nature inaccessible to concupiscence, Mary in a nature sur rounded by frailty. Mary far surpasses in virginity all creatures of a nature in-
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ferior to the angels, because the resolu tion to preserve it intact was in her more firm, more noble, more perfect. Mary was ennobled with all the graces of the patriarchs, the prophets, the apostles, the martyrs, the confessors, the virgins, and all the other saints; she is like the sea, that gathers into its bosom all the waters of the rivers ; she was able, consequently, to form more perfect acts of love of God. Her virginity, therefore, excelled in per fection the virginity of all the saints. Mary confirmed her resolution to observe virginity by a perpetual vow, and was free from concupiscence, which so fiercely opposes its observance. She not only never experienced the rebellion of nature, but breathed around such a fra grance of innocence, that all who ap proached her were inflamed with love of purity. Her resolution was therefore more firm and efficacious than the reso- lution'of all others. It was more noble too, because it prepared her for the dig nity of Mother of God.
Mary is Queen of Virgins. Her vir ginity then, must be embellished with qualities altogether new to the world. What more unheard of than virginity and motherhood united in the same person! What more new than that a most pure
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Virgin, not knowing man, should give birth to a son! That a Virgin should be come a mother by the operation of the Holy Ghost! That a virgin, free from what is common to all other mothers, should, become the mother of God! The decis ions of councils in this point {Later. Sub. Mart. V. Romanian. 389. Mediolan. Nicaen. £/£-.),the doctrine of the Church, the teach ing of the Fathers and the Divines, are familiar to every Catholic. All proclaim that Mary was a virgin when she con ceived, a virgin when she brought forth her son, a virgin forever after(5/. Aug. de Cat. Rud. c. 22). The Church chants the praises of Mary as a virgin in a manner altogether peculiar and unknown to other virgins — Virgo singularis. And does not she alone wear the diadem of the mother of the King of kings, by which she claims dominion over angels and saints? Did either nature or grace ever produce a virgin like Mary ? Mary is most holy amongst the holy, most pure amongst the pure, a celestial wonder, the mirror of virtues, the miracle of the world, the joy of heaven and earth. She alone is virgin and mother; virgin with out example and without equal ; mother of the author of grace. She is virgin in body, in mind, in look, in thought, in feel-
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ings, in word, and in work. As the eagle soars above all the feathered tribe, the Virgin Mary soars above all other vir gins. Almighty God himself, in various parts of scriptures, has exhibited under beautiful images the singular excellence of the virginity of Mary. She is the virgin rose that opens its purple-tinted bosom to the kindly influence of the heavenly dew ; she is the lily amongst thorns that diffuses around an aroma of fragrance; she is the fair and innocent dove that reflects all the various colors of light in presence of the sun; she is the immortal palm, the incor ruptible cedar, the triumphant laurel, the turpentine tree with spreading branches and dense foliage. Of her were figures, the terrestrial paradise, the tree of life, the well enclosed garden.the sealed foun tain, the mirror without blemish, the ark of Noe and of the covenant, the little cloud seen by Elias, the fleece of Gideon, the tabernacle and the temple. She was the closed gate through which was to pass, without its being opened, the God made man, the consoler of the afflicted, the hope of Israel, the Savior of the human race, the desire of all just souls; he was to throw open the gates of heaven closed by sin, and to fill with souls re deemed by himself the seats left vacant
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by the rebellion of Lucifer. These and numberless others were the symbols which foreshadowed that illustrious maiden, who was chosen to be the mother of God without suffering the slightest detriment to her virginal pur ity.
Besides the symbols, there are innu merable passages in scripture which al lude to the virginity of Mary. Isaias clearly foretells that the Savior should be born of a virgin. Behold a virgin shall conceive and shall bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanual (Is. vii. 14). Again he said, There shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up out of his root. And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him (Is. xi. I, 2). The land that was desolate and impassable shall be glad ; the wilder ness shall rejoice, and flourish like the lily. It shall bud forth and blossom, and shall rejoice with joy and praise; the glory of Libanus is given to it ; the beauty of Carmel and Saron : they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the beauty of our God (Is. xxxv. i, 2). But whilst he de scribed the blessings of redemption, he foreknew that Christ would be born of a virgin mother; and the honor of the son redounds to the honor of the mother.
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When the beauty of a flower is admired, the stem which produced it is praised ; when the fruits of a tree are carefully watched and gathered, by the very act the good qualities of the tree itself, and the seed from which it arose, are com mended. God, moreover, in the mystic explanation of the Church, called her all fair, and without stain of sin to tarnish her virginal innocence. Thou art all fair, O my love, and there is no spot in thee (Cant. iv. 6). Fair as the moon, bright as the sun (Cant. vi. 9). As there is no heav enly body more beautiful than the sun and the moon, so there is no creature more passing fair than the spotless Vir gin Mary.
II.
But the claims of Mary to the title of Queen of Virgins are not yet exhausted. She consecrated her body to God by a vow of perpetual virginity. This is the opinion of St. Augustine, St. Bernard, St. Ildefonsus, and all the doctors of the Church. The holy virgin was not ignor ant that herself and all other creatures belonged entirely to God, because from him they derived their being; and she wished to consecrate herself solemnly to him in the presence of angels and men, on
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the day of her presentation in the temple, when she was only three years of age. This resolution was inspired by the holy Ghost, and she executed it with all the devotion and fervor of her soul. She loved God with her whole heart and her whole strength, and her only thought was to give him pleasure. She knew also that the merit of virginity is increased by the obligation of a vow to maintain it; and she chose the part which was more perfect, more secure, and more glorious to the Lord. Then were verified in her the words of the Holy Ghost, by whom she was already regarded as a spouse: — My sister, my spouse, is a garden enclosed, a fountain sealed up (Cant. iv. 12). The Holy Spirit repeated twice the words, " a garden enclosed," because she was equally pure in body and soul; and to place her virginity in security, she reared around it, by means of a perpetual vow, a powerful barrier, in order to break all the assaults of the unclean spirit of the abyss; and she strengthened this defence by intrusting it to the guardianship of humility, modesty, silence, and temper ance. St. Augustine, and after him the Fathers and theologians, wishing to prove that the Blessed Virgin had consecrated her virginity to God by vow, bring for-
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ward her words to the angel, when he announced to her that she should be the mother of the Word Incarnate. How shall this be done, because I know not man (Luke i. 34)? Mary by these words did not express a doubt that the mystery foretold by the angel would have its accomplishment; she wished merely to be informed of the manner in which it was to be accomplished, bearing in mind the vow of perpetual virginity which she had made from her earliest days. Her ques tion to the angel is an evident proof that she had dedicated herself to God in soul and in body. If she was espoused to Joseph this was not for the loss, but for the protection, of her virginity.
Some, perhaps, before Mary, had the will to preserve the fair virtue of virgin ity, as Elias, Eliseus, Jeretnias, and Daniel; but before her no one consecrated it to God, and bound the will forever by a perpetual vow. Under the old cove nant a vow of virginity, or rather sterility, a necessary consequence of it, was viewed as a reproach, a disgrace, and a curse to a family (Ex. xxiii. 36). When Rachel gave birth to Joseph, she exclaimed, God hath taken away my reproach (Gen. xxx. 23)! When the daughter of Jepthe learned from her father that she was to be offered
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in sacrifice, in fulfilment of a vow which he had made to the Lord, she said to him; My Father, if thou hast opened thy mouth to the Lord, do unto me whatsoever thou hast promised. Grant me only this which I desire: Let me go, that I may go about the mountains, and may bewail my virginity with my companions (Judges xi. 36). Besides the disgrace of celibacy, the desire of giving birth to the Savior of the world had seized upon the hearts of all Hebrew maidens. In the new testament as soon as Mary unfolded the snow-white standard of virginity, innumerablebands ofvirgins immediately rallied around her. In the first bloom of their age they consecrated their hearts to God, andunderthe triumphant banner of the Virgin, courageously and success fully combated against the devil and the flesh. Thus were fulfilled the words of the prophet when he sang to the sound of his golden harp. After her shall virgins be brought to the king; her neighbors shall be brought to thee. They shall be brought into the temple of the King (Ps. xliv.14). Mary is there fore Queen of Virgins, because she was the first to bind herself by perpetual vow to maintain unsullied the fair and angelic virtue of virginity.
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ASPIRATION.
From the spirit of uncleanness, deliver us, O Virgin Mary.
PRACTICE.
Keep a strict watch over all your senses, especially your eyes.
LITANY.
Consult Angelus Domini, illustrated in Art.
FIFTEENTH DAY.
MARY, MOTHER OF CHASTITY.
"This gate shall be shut ; it shall not be opened ; and no man shall pass through it ; because the Lord the God of Israel hath entered by it." Ezech. xliv. 2.
WHILST Jeremias was in Jerusalem Ezechiel was in Babylon; and both spoke with prophetic spirit and made manifest the designs of God. Ezechiel in the land of his exile often wandered along the banks of the river Chobar, as being a place of silence and retirement and well suited for religious meditation.
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There God revealed to him the chas tisement with which he intended to visit the wickedness of the Hebrews, the de struction of Jerusalem and of the tem ple, the punishments which he designed to inflict upon the nations bordering up on Judea, upon the Chaldeans them selves and the haughty Babylon. He re vealed to him also the happy return of the Hebrews to their country, the restor ation of Jerusalem and of the temple, and the new alliance which he would con tract with his repentant people. In a vision Ezechiel was conveyed in spirit to Jerusalem, and God by means of an angel showed him the measurements and the design of the grand fabric of the new tem ple. He pointed out to him, as if it were already built, the exterior gate of the sanctuary turned towards the east; it was closed, and Ezechiel saw the glory of the God of Israel enter by it, and the Lord said to him: This gate shall be shut ; it shall not be opened ; and no man shall pass through it, because the Lord the God of Israel hath entered by it. The Fathers of the Church and all Cath olic interpreters recognize in that gate a beautiful figure of the Blessed Virgin, in whose bosom the Divine Word took upon himself human nature without im-
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pairing her virginity either in his con ception or in his birth. What signifies, says St. Augustine, the closed door in the house of the Lord, if not that Mary shall remain always inviolate ? What signify those words, And no man shall pass through it, if not the purity of Joseph ? Of what is it a symbol that God alone passes through it, if not of the di vine conception operated by the power of the Holy Ghost? What means it that this gate shall be closed forever, if not that Mary was a virgin before she gave birth to her Son, a virgin when she gave birth to him, and a virgin ever after ? (Serm. de Nat. Dom.) It is easy now to un derstand that Mary is Mother of Chastity. Let us now consider more attentively the peculiar excellenceofthe chastity of Mary.
I.
Chastity is a most sublime virtue, by which both soul and body are preserved pure and unsullied. According to the Angelic Doctor(2. 2. 9. 151. a. i.),the virtue of chastity derives its name from the Lat in word castigare, to chastise ; because by it the concupiscence of the flesh is chas- tisedand curbed inorder tosubject ittothe yokeof reason. We attribute to Mary the denomination of most chaste, because she
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was free from the passion contrary to chastity, and because she maintained her purity in its fullest integrity above every other creature.
Every object that we meet with in this world hurries us along to sin and perdi tion ; but what we have most to fear is the implacable enemj'that lies concealed within ourselves, like the treacherous ser pent which hides itself under the herbage in order to strike the heel of the un guarded traveler. St. Paul, the apostle, speaking from experience, thus com plains: I see another law in my mem bers, fighting against the law of my mind, and captivating me in the law of sin that is in my members. Unhappy man that I am! Who shall deliver me. from the body of this death ? The grace of God by Jesus Christ our Lord (Rom. vii. 26). These expressions prove clearly that the great apostle, although called to the apos- tleship by the most extraordinary grace, was subject to the severest assaults of sense, and that his soul was tormented by rebellious concupiscence. Human na ture in the first man, having fallen and been vitiated by sin, the penalty of this sin descended to all men ; so that nature itself, which was created good and up right by Almighty God, is taken for the
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fault and infirmity of corrupt nature, be cause its inclinations, if left to them selves, lead to evil and the things of earth. For that small portion of power which remained in nature is as a spark concealed beneath the ashes (Im. Christi i, 3;^. 41). Our body produces briers and thorns; hence so many stings of temptation, and goadings of foul imaginations, which as sail and frequently ruin chastity. But the Virgin, the most blessed mother of God, was exempt from every incitement to sin, from every inclination contrary to reason. She never felt in her heart, as we do, the tumultuous whirlpool of numerous pas sions producing blindness by their wild commotion. She never experienced the law of the flesh, so contrary to the law of the Spirit. Preserved from original sin, she was free from its effects and was undisturbed by concupiscence, so de structive to the soul of man. The Lord dwelt in the heart of Mary, and his place was in peace (Ps. Ixxv. 2).
Mary, however, during her whole life, employed the most active vigilance in guarding the inestimable treasure which she possessed. Although unknown to the infirmities of corrupt nature, she maintained as much watchfulness as if in everything and everywhere she had
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had something to fear, something to dread. ' When a child of three years, she retired to the temple and was reared with in its sacred precincts ; she grew up in the exercise of the most eminent virtues ; she lived apart from the world in silence and solitude; she was an utter stranger to the vanity, the luxury, the pomps and pleasures, which charm and enslave the hearts of the worldly minded. And she thus left a memorable example in con demnation of those who heedlessly ex pose the treasure of purity to so many manifest dangers. Mary, moreover, to keep farther from herself every enemy of the purity of her heart, cultivated as siduously the virtues of humility, mod esty, temperance, diligence, silence, and devout contemplation — fair and august daughters of heaven ; and they shielded her against all those forces which the world, the flesh, and the spirits of dark ness marshal in battle to overwhelm our virtue. St. Ambrose very well says of Mary, that she was a virgin not only in body but in mind ; that she was humble in heart, grave in words, prudent in spirit, little inclined to speak, diligent in per- suing the Holy Scriptures and in avoid ing every danger that she might devote herself wholly to God.
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But the most excellent and singular prerogative of the chastity of Mary was, that she not only never experienced the rebellion of concupiscence, but inspired all who beheld her with love for angelic purity. So great was the grace of the Virgin, says St. Ambrose (de Instit. Vzrg.), that she not only maintained her own purity in all its matchless dignity, but in fused into those who beheld her, esteem and love for chastity. The grace of sanc- tification, says St. Thomas (3 Dist.p.^ art, i, ad 2), not only suppressed illicit concupiscence in the Virgin, but also ex erted its efficacy in others ; so that al though she was exceedingly graceful and beautiful no one could regard her with unlawful feeling. As in the desert those who had been bitten by serpents were restored to health by looking upon the brazen serpent erected by Moses, sc those who were suffering from the stings of car nal love were refreshed and tranquillized by lifting their eyes to the purity of Mary's countenance : sinful love fled in affright before her presence.
Mary was a virgin in the three principal epochs of her life, — before she became a mother, when she became a mother, and after she became a mother. That she was a virgin before she became a mother
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is apparent from her words to the angel — How shall this be done, because I know not man? This objection, the Fathers teach, alluded to the vow of perpetual virginity which she had made at her pres entation in the temple of Jerusalem. The objection would lose all its force had she not been already under obligation never to know man. Up to that time no maidens had been found to bind them selves to the preservation of virginity; either because they had not sufficiently considered its worth and beauty, or rather because they believed that vir ginity could not be severed from sterility and could not consequently be observed without reproach among the women of Israel. But the most holy Virgin, whether from humility, deeming herself unworthy to be the mother of the Savior, or from some other motive, was the first to con secrate to God by vow this virtue so ac ceptable in his sight, and thus devote herself body and soul, in sacrifice to him who is the sovereign giver of all good and perfect gifts. Mary, to use the phrase of the prophet (Zach. ix. 17), caused vir gins to spring forth in two ways ; because she inspired purity into all who beheld her, and because an immense multitude of both sexes, led on by her example,
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vowed or observed the angelic virtue of chastity. These are the reasons why the Church in her liturgy celebrates the mother of God as mother most pure, Queen of Virgins. But the most singu lar feature in the virginity of Mary is that she conceived and brought forth the Savior of the world without detri ment to her virginal purity. The words of the angel to Mary convince us of this greatest of all miracles. The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore also the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God ; and no word shall be impossible with God (Luke i). St. Chrysologus af firms, that when Mary conceived, and when she gave birth to her Son, her pur ity increased, her chastity was augment ed, her integrity was strengthened, and her virginity confirmed (Serin. 122). Hence the Church salutes Mary as Moth er most chaste, Mother inviolate. Mary was a virgin after she became a mother, because throughout her life she pre served that fairest of virtues which she had dedicated to God in the dawn of her days. It is true that she was espoused to Joseph, but their wedlock was altogether spiritual, celestial, and holy. In the doc-
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trine of the Fathers of the Church, Joseph was a virgin as well as Mary. If the Sav ior on the cross would not recommend his virgin mother to any but the then vir gin Apostle, how could he have suffered that her spouse should be other than a virgin (St. Thorn, in C. I. Ep. ad Gal.)? It was the wisdom of the will of God that she who had been chosen to be the moth er of the Redeemer, should be espoused to the most just, the most pure, the most holy man on earth. We learn from the Gospel that the chaste Joseph wished to put away his spouse secretly, but was en couraged by the angel to retain her, be cause she had conceived by the Holy Ghost (Matt. i. 20). Then Mother for ever undefiled is the Holy Virgin Mary.
II.
All that has been said of the virginity of Mary is clearly signified in the books of the old law. The bush seen by Moses in the Arabian desert which burned with out being consumed, the Church assures us was a figure of the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose virginity always retained its original integrity. The fleece of Gideon, as St. Bernard teaches (Horn. 2. sup. Mis sus est), was a symbol of the perfect in-
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tegrity of Mary, although she gave flesh to the Divine Word. When Elias was in prayer on Mount Carmel, his servant saw a little cloud arise out of the sea like a man's foot (3 Kings xviii. 44). This lit tle cloud prefigured the virgin mother of God, who arose indeed from the sea of this world, but ascended far above the world in her exemption from all the car nal infirmities of human nature. Isaias, filled with the spirit of God, caught a glimpse of Maryland exclaimed : Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel (vii. 14). This prophecy was renewed by him under another symbol, when he said : There shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up out of his root. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him (xi. i). This rod is the Virgin Mary, and this flower is Christ. What indicates the rod of Aaron, which budded and bloomed blossoms.and bore fruit (Numb. xvii. 8), unless the Blessed Virgin Mary, who conceived and brought forth her son without prejudice to her virginity? And the eyes of the innocent dove, the flowers of the valleys, the lily among thorns, the rose of Jericho, the enclosed garden, the fountain sealed up, — what are they but symbols of the
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ever inviolate purity and chastity of the glorious Virgin Mary?
Why appeal on this subject to Fathers and Councils of the Church ? They speak with one voice. The Apostles' Creed and the Nicene declare that the Divine Lord was conceived by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary. The Councils of Lateran and Chalcedon define the same, and pronounce anathema against any one who should dare to call in question the singular chastity of Mary. When Christ was born, says St. Gregory of Nyssa (Orat. de Nat. Ckrzsti), he was laid in the manger; and the mother, who remained an unblemished virgin, embraced her son. Christ was born of a mother, says St. Augustine (de Cat. Rud. c. 22), who con ceived although she knew not man, and who continued always inviolate. A vir gin, she conceived; a virgin, she gave birth to her Son ; a virgin, she died. Mary, we may conclude, prized most highly and preserved most singularly, beyond all other women, the virtue of chastity. She is, therefore, to be honored as the Mother of Chastity.
ASPIRATION.
Obtain for me purity of mind and body, spotless Virgin Mary.
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PRACTICE.
Entreat Mary every day to number you amongst her faithful servants.
LITANY.
Read A Crown for Our Queen, by Rev. Abram J. Ryan.
SIXTEENTH DAY.
HOLINESS OF MARY.
"The king commanded that they should bring great stones, costly stones, for the foundation of the temple." 3 Kings v. 17.
QOLOMON, in compliance with his own ^promises and those of his father, under took to build a temple to the living God; the temple when completed was a prodigy of magnificence and art. The highest power of architecture was displayed in the construction of the work, and all its parts were conspicuous for elegance of design and skill of execution. The mate rials were of the richest kind. Precious woods and silver and gold, elaborately wrought and disposed with consummate
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taste, were scattered in profusion from floor to roof. In the Holy of Holies were the ark of the covenant, the altar of in- cense,thealtarof the herds of propitiation, the sacred vessels, and ever-lighted can dlesticks. Here magnificence seemed to eclipse itself. Everything was of polished gold. The most precious stones inter mingled their lustre. Whatever ingen uity could devise or wealth supply, was employed to decorate the especial dwell ing-place of the Most High and inspire a sense of the splendor of his majesty. But why speak of the glory of the famous temple at Jerusalem? What has it to do with Mary ? In the opinion of the Fa thers that temple was one of the symbols of the sanctity of the most holy Virgin. If the temple erected by Solomon was so richly adorned, was it not befitting that the living temple of the Son of God, in which he abode for nine months in his human nature, should be ornamented with the sublimest brilliancy of virtue and grace ? Let us consider now the exalted holiness of Mary, who by a most singular privilege was exempt from all sin, origi nal as well as actual.
I.
It is certain that Mary is Queen of
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Saints, surpassing them all in abundance of gifts, graces, and privileges granted to her by Almighty God. But the most em inent of all the gifts, graces, and priv ileges imparted to her is her immunity in her conception from the stain of original sin. God in his omnipotence possessed the power to enfranchise Mary from the law which involved all men in the sin of Adam, and it was exceedingly becoming that he should exercise this power in behalf of Mary. We cannot conceive the existence of a God without the attribute of infinite power. Our Sav ior teaches us (Matt. xix. 26) that with God all things are possible. The angel said to the Blessed Virgin: No word will be impossible with God (Luke i. 37). Job had already said (xiv. 4.): Who can make him clean that is conceived of unclean seed ? Is it not thou who only art ? No one can deny that God had the power and the liberty to preserve Mary from original sin. If he had, it was becoming that he should employ them. His infinite wis dom demanded that, in the incarnation of the Word, he should operate in conform ity with his holiness.
What reason could there have been for denying to Mary a privilege so glorious? Should she, who was destined to be the
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mother of God, to receive into her bosom the most pure lily of the valleys, the Sav ior of the world, have been debased by the contamination of sin ? Should she, who has been selected from eternity as mother of God and sanctuary of the Holy Spirit, have been subjected for a period however brief to the dominion of the Prince of Darkness? An object of di vine abhorrence could she ever have been, who was full of grace, and alone amongst all women elevated to the sub- limest of dignities? Was it becoming that Christ, the new Adam, should spring from a soil polluted with the malediction of sin? Can the thought be entertained for a moment that Mary was born devoid of a privilege which adorned in their or igin not only the rebel angels but our first parents also, who were constituted by Almighty God in a state of rectitude and innocence? Can it be supposed that Mary was not more highly favored than Jeremias and the Baptist? They, how ever, were sanctified in the bosoms of their mothers.
Did Eve enjoy a more singular privilege than the mother of God ? Yet Eve was formed free from the rebellion of con cupiscence. Had Mary in her conception been sullied by original sin, her soul
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would have been disfigured, displeasing to God, unworthy of fellowship with him self and the angels, and deserving to be excluded forever from heaven. If, in that first instant, death had overtaken her she would have been lost forever, condemned forever to darkness — she who was des tined to bring light to the world. She might have been compared to a starwhich iseclipsed at its rising,to a young rose that withers in blowing, to a fountain of grace which was choked in its origin. She would be the mother of life after having been the victim of death. Such things could not be. Almighty God, for mo tives less