{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_72411/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_72411","id":"gutenberg_72411","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/72411","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Religion/Spirituality","Mary, Blessed Virgin, Saint -- Early works to 1800"],"text":"THE GLORIES OF MARY\n\n\n[Illustration: G. Steinle Pinxt.\n\nASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY\n\n\u201cSalve Regina\u201d.\n\nEdward Dunigan & Brother, New York]\n\n\n\n\n THE\n GLORIES OF MARY.\n\n TRANSLATED FROM THE ITALIAN OF\n ST. ALPHONSUS LIGUORI,\n FOUNDER OF THE CONGREGATION OF THE MOST HOLY REDEEMER.\n\n SECOND AMERICAN EDITION.\n\n NEW YORK:\n EDWARD DUNIGAN AND BROTHER,\n 151 FULTON-STREET, NEAR BROADWAY.\n 1852.\n\n Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1852, by\n EDWARD DUNIGAN & BROTHER,\n In the Clerk\u2019s Office of the District Court for the Southern\n District of New York.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\nThis new and improved translation of \u201cThe Glories of Mary,\u201d having been\nduly examined, is hereby approved of.\n\n \u2720 JOHN,\n _Archbishop of New York_\n\n_New York, Jan. 21st, 1852._\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE TO THE AMERICAN EDITION.\n\n\nThe edition of the \u201cGlories of Mary\u201d now presented to the Catholic public\nof America is the first complete translation of the work ever made into\nthe English language. We trust that it will be found to retain the spirit\nof the learned and saintly author, and that it will be welcomed by the\nfaithful in this country with the same delight which it has universally\ncalled forth in Catholic Europe.\n\n\n\n\nPROTEST OF THE AUTHOR.\n\n\nIn obedience to the decrees of Urban VIII., of holy memory, I protest\nthat I do not intend to attribute any other than purely human authority\nto all the miracles, revelations, graces, and incidents contained in this\nbook; neither to the titles holy or blessed applied to the servants of\nGod not yet canonized; except in cases where these have been confirmed by\nthe holy Roman Catholic Church, and by the holy Apostolic See, of whom I\nprofess myself an obedient son; and therefore to their judgment I submit\nmyself and whatever I have written in this book.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS.\n\n\n PAGE.\n\n Preface to American edition 3\n\n Protest of the author 4\n\n Petition of the author to Jesus and Mary 11\n\n To the reader 13\n\n Introduction 16\n\n Prayer to the blessed Virgin to obtain a good death 22\n\n CHAPTER I.\n\n SECTION 1.\u2014Hail, holy Queen, Mother of Mercy!\u2014Of the great\n confidence we should have in Mary, because she is the\n Queen of Mercy 25\n\n SECT. 2.\u2014How much greater should be our confidence in Mary,\n because she is our mother 39\n\n SECT. 3.\u2014How great is the love of our mother for us 50\n\n SECT. 4.\u2014Mary is also mother of penitent sinners 68\n\n CHAPTER II.\n\n SECT. 1.\u2014Our life, our sweetness!\u2014Mary is our life, because she\n obtains for us the pardon of our sins 80\n\n SECT. 2.\u2014Mary is again our life, because she obtains for us\n perseverance 90\n\n SECT. 3.\u2014Mary renders death sweet to her servants 101\n\n CHAPTER III.\n\n SECT. 1.\u2014Hail, our hope!\u2014Mary is the hope of all 115\n\n SECT. 2.\u2014Mary, the hope of sinners 129\n\n CHAPTER IV.\n\n SECT. 1.\u2014To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve!\u2014How\n ready is Mary to succor those who call upon her 142\n\n SECT. 2.\u2014How powerful is Mary to protect those who invoke her\n in temptations of the devil 155\n\n CHAPTER V.\n\n SECT. 1.\u2014To thee we send up our sighs, groaning and weeping in\n this valley of tears!\u2014The need we have of the intercession\n of Mary for our salvation 168\n\n SECT. 2.\u2014The same subject continued 185\n\n CHAPTER VI.\n\n SECT. 1.\u2014Ah, then, our advocate!\u2014Mary is an advocate, powerful\n to save all 200\n\n SECT. 2.\u2014Mary is a merciful advocate, who does not refuse to\n defend the cause of the most miserable sinners 215\n\n SECT. 3.\u2014Mary is the peacemaker between sinners and God 226\n\n CHAPTER VII.\n\n Turn thy eyes of mercy towards us.\u2014Mary is all eyes, to pity\n and relieve our miseries 241\n\n CHAPTER VIII.\n\n SECT. 1.\u2014And after this our exile, show us the blessed fruit\n of thy womb, Jesus.\u2014Mary rescues her servants from hell 254\n\n SECT. 2.\u2014Mary assists her servants in purgatory 267\n\n SECT. 3.\u2014Mary conducts her servants to paradise 276\n\n CHAPTER IX.\n\n Oh clement, oh merciful!\u2014How great is the clemency and mercy\n of Mary 290\n\n CHAPTER X.\n\n Oh sweet Virgin Mary!\u2014How sweet is the name of Mary in life and\n in death 305\n\n THE VERY DEVOUT PRAYERS OF VARIOUS SAINTS TO THE HOLY MOTHER 322\n\n PART II.\n\n DISCOURSE I.\n\n ON THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF MARY.\n\n How befitting it was to all three of the Divine Persons that\n Mary should be preserved from original sin 337\n\n DISCOURSE II\n\n ON THE BIRTH OF MARY.\n\n Mary was born a saint, and a great saint, for great was the\n grace with which our Lord enriched her from the beginning,\n and great was the fidelity with which Mary at once\n corresponded with it 371\n\n DISCOURSE III.\n\n ON THE PRESENTATION OF MARY.\n\n The offering which Mary made of herself to God was prompt,\n without delay; entire, without reserve 393\n\n DISCOURSE IV.\n\n ON THE ANNUNCIATION OF MARY.\n\n Mary could not humble herself more than she did in the\n incarnation of the Word; on the other hand, God could\n not exalt her more than he has exalted her 410\n\n DISCOURSE V.\n\n ON THE VISITATION OF MARY.\n\n Mary is the treasurer of all the divine graces; therefore he who\n desires graces, should have recourse to Mary; and he who has\n recourse to Mary, should be secure of obtaining the graces he\n wishes 436\n\n DISCOURSE VI.\n\n ON THE PURIFICATION OF MARY.\n\n The great sacrifice which Mary this day made to God, in offering\n him the life of her Son 457\n\n DISCOURSE VII.\n\n ON THE ASSUMPTION OF MARY.\n\n How precious was the death of Mary. 1st. By the favors which\n accompanied it. 2d. By the manner in which it took place 475\n\n DISCOURSE VIII.\n\n ANOTHER DISCOURSE ON THE ASSUMPTION OF MARY.\n\n 1st. How glorious was the triumph of Mary when she ascended\n to heaven! 2d. How exalted was the throne to which she was\n raised in heaven! 496\n\n DISCOURSE IX.\n\n ON THE DOLORS OF MARY.\n\n Mary was queen of martyrs, because her martyrdom was longer and\n greater than that of all the martyrs 515\n\n REFLECTIONS ON EACH OF THE SEVEN DOLORS IN PARTICULAR.\n\n ON THE FIRST DOLOR.\n\n Of St. Simeon\u2019s prophecy 537\n\n ON THE SECOND DOLOR.\n\n Of the flight of Jesus into Egypt 545\n\n ON THE THIRD DOLOR.\n\n Of the loss of Jesus in the temple 552\n\n ON THE FOURTH DOLOR.\n\n Of the meeting of Mary with Jesus, when he went to Calvary 560\n\n ON THE FIFTH DOLOR.\n\n Of the death of Jesus 568\n\n ON THE SIXTH DOLOR.\n\n The piercing of the side of Jesus, and his descent from the cross 577\n\n ON THE SEVENTH DOLOR.\n\n Of the burial of the body of Jesus 585\n\n OF THE VIRTUES OF THE MOST HOLY MARY.\n\n SECTION 1.\u2014Of the humility of Mary 594\n\n SECTION 2.\u2014Of the charity of Mary towards God 603\n\n SECTION 3.\u2014Of the charity of Mary for her neighbor 611\n\n SECTION 4.\u2014Of the faith of Mary 615\n\n SECTION 5.\u2014Of the hope of Mary 620\n\n SECTION 6.\u2014Of the chastity of Mary 623\n\n SECTION 7.\u2014Of the poverty of Mary 629\n\n SECTION 8.\u2014Of the obedience of Mary 632\n\n SECTION 9.\u2014Of the patience of Mary 636\n\n SECTION 10.\u2014Of the prayer of Mary 639\n\n Various practices of devotion to the divine mother 643\n\n Various additional examples appertaining to the most holy Mary 679\n\n Novena of meditations for the nine days preceding the Feast of\n the Purification of Mary 727\n\n Meditations for various feasts of Mary 749\n\n Prayers to the divine mother for every day of the week 764\n\n Little Rosary of the seven dolors of Mary 773\n\n Little Rosary of the immaculate Mary 778\n\n Various prayers to Mary 778\n\n EJACULATIONS TO THE MOST HOLY MARY 782\n\n ACCLAMATIONS IN PRAISE OF MARY 785\n\n\n\n\nPETITION OF THE AUTHOR TO JESUS AND MARY.\n\n\nMy most loving Redeemer and Lord Jesus Christ, I thy poor servant,\nknowing how pleasing to thee are those who seek to glorify thy most holy\nmother, whom thou lovest so much, and dost so much desire to see loved\nand honored by all men, I propose to publish this book of mine which\ntreats of her glories. I know not to whom I could commend it but to thee,\nwho hast so much at heart the glory of this mother. To thee, then, I\npresent and dedicate it. Receive this little offering of my love for thee\nand thy beloved mother. Take it under thy protection, and pour into the\nhearts of those who read it the light of confidence in this immaculate\nVirgin, and the warmth of a burning love for her, in whom thou hast\nplaced the hope and refuge of all the redeemed. And for the reward of\nthis, my poor effort, give me, I pray thee, that love for Mary with which\nI have desired to inflame, by this my little work, the hearts of all\nthose who read it.\n\nTo thee also I appeal, oh my sweetest Lady and mother Mary. Thou knowest\nthat in thee, next to Jesus, I have placed all hope of my eternal\nsalvation, since all the good I have received, my conversion, my vocation\nto leave the world, and whatever other graces have been given me by\nGod, I acknowledge them all as coming through thee. Thou knowest that\nto see thee loved by all as thou dost deserve, and to offer thee some\ntoken of gratitude, I have always sought to proclaim thee everywhere, in\npublic and in private, and to inspire all men with a sweet and salutary\ndevotion to thee. I hope to continue to do so for the remainder of my\nlife, even to my last breath. But I see by my advanced age and declining\nhealth that the end of my pilgrimage and my entrance into eternity are\ndrawing near; therefore, I hope to give to the world, before my death,\nthis little book of mine which may continue to proclaim thee for me, and\nalso may excite others to publish thy glories and the great mercy which\nthou dost exercise towards thy devoted servants. I hope, my most beloved\nqueen, that this my poor offering, although it falls so far short of thy\nmerit, may be pleasing to thy grateful heart, since it is wholly a gift\nof love. Extend, then, that most kind hand of thine with which thou hast\ndelivered me from the world and from hell, and accept it and protect it\nas belonging to thee. But I ask this reward for my little offering, that\nhenceforth I may love thee more, and that all into whose hands this work\nshall fall, may be inflamed with thy love, so that immediately their\ndesire may increase to love thee, and see others love thee also; and that\nthey may engage with all ardor in proclaiming and promoting, as far as\npossible, thy praise, and confidence in thy most holy intercession. Thus\nI hope, thus may it be.\n\n\n\n\nTO THE READER.\n\n\nIn order that this little work of mine may not be exposed to censure from\nvery fastidious critics, I have thought it best to place in a clearer\nlight some of the propositions which it contains, and which may seem too\nbold, or perhaps obscure. I here enumerate some of them, and if others,\nmy dear reader, should come under your eye, I pray you to consider them\nas meant and spoken by me according to the sense of true and sound\ntheology, and of the holy Roman Catholic Church, whose obedient son I\nprofess myself. In the introduction, page 19, referring to chap. 5th of\nthe book, I have said that God has ordained that all graces should come\nto us through the hands of Mary. Now this is a very consoling truth for\nsouls tenderly attached to the most holy Mary, and for poor sinners who\ndesire to be converted. Nor should this appear to any one inconsistent\nwith sound theology, since its author, St. Augustine, puts it forth as a\ngeneral statement, that Mary has shared, by means of her charity, in the\nspiritual birth of all the members of the Church.[1]\n\nA well-known author, whom no one will suspect of exaggeration or of\nfanciful and overheated devotion, adds, that as Jesus Christ really\nformed his Church on Calvary, it is plain that the holy Virgin really\nco-operated with him, in a peculiar and excellent manner, in its\nformation.[2] And for the same reason it may be said, that if she brought\nforth Jesus Christ, the head of the Church, without pain, she did not\nbring forth the body of this head without pain. Hence she commenced on\nCalvary to be, in a particular manner, mother of the whole Church. To\nsay all in a few words, Almighty God, in order to glorify the mother of\nthe Redeemer, has ordained that her great charity should intercede for\nall those for whom her divine Son offered and paid the superabundant\nransom of his precious blood, in which alone is our _salvation_, _life_,\nand _resurrection_. It is on the basis of this doctrine and whatever\nbelongs to it that I have undertaken to establish my propositions,[3]\nwhich the saints in their affecting colloquies with Mary, and in their\nfervent discourses concerning her, have not hesitated to assert: whence\nan ancient father, quoted by the celebrated Vincenzo Contensone, has\nwritten: The fulness of grace was in Christ as the head from which it\nflows, but in Mary as the neck through which it is transmitted.[4]\nThis is plainly taught by the angelic Doctor, St. Thomas, who confirms\nall the foregoing in these words: The blessed Virgin is called full of\ngrace in three ways.... The third, in reference to its overflowing upon\nall men. For great is it in each saint if he hath enough of grace for\nthe salvation of many; but this would be the greatest, if he had enough\nfor the salvation of all men; and it is so with Christ and the blessed\nVirgin, for in every danger we may obtain salvation through the glorious\nVirgin. Hence, cant. 4, v. 4, _a thousand bucklers_\u2014that is, remedies\nagainst dangers\u2014_hang upon her_; \u201cMille clypei pendent ex ea.\u201d Hence in\nevery virtuous work we can have her aid, and, therefore, she herself\nsays, In me is all hope of life and of virtue: \u201c_In me omnis spes vit\u00e6 et\nvirtutis._\u201d[5]\u2014Eccli. xxiv. 25.\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION\n\nWHICH OUGHT TO BE READ.\n\n\nMy dear reader and brother in Mary, since the devotion which has urged\nme to write, and now moves you to read this book, renders us both happy\nchildren of this good mother, if you ever should hear any one say that I\ncould have spared this labor, there being so many learned and celebrated\nbooks that treat of this subject, answer him, I pray you, in the words of\nFrancone the abbot, which we find in the Library of the Fathers, that the\npraise of Mary is a fountain so full that the more it extends, the fuller\nit becomes, and the fuller it becomes the more it extends;[6] which\nsignifies, that the blessed Virgin is so great and sublime, that the\nmore we praise her, the more there is to praise. So that St. Augustine\nsays: All the tongues of men, even if all their members were changed to\ntongues, would not be sufficient to praise her as she deserves.[7]\n\nI know that there are innumerable books, both great and small, which\ntreat of the glories of Mary; but as these are rare or voluminous, and\nnot according to my plan, I have endeavored to collect in a small space,\nfrom all the authors at my command, the most select and pithy sentences\nof the Fathers and theologians, in order to give devout persons an\nopportunity, with little effort or expense, to inflame their ardor by\nreading of the love of Mary, and especially to present materials to\npriests which may enable them to excite by their sermons devotion to the\ndivine mother.\n\nWorldly lovers are accustomed to mention frequently and to praise the\npersons beloved, that these may be praised and applauded also by others;\nthen how poor must we suppose the love of those to be who boast of being\nlovers of Mary, but who seldom remember to speak of her, and inspire the\nlove of her also in others! Not so the true lovers of our most lovely\nLady: they would praise her everywhere, and see her loved by all the\nworld; and therefore in public and in private, wherever it is in their\npower, they endeavor to kindle in the hearts of all, those blessed flames\nof love with which theirs are burning for their beloved queen.\n\nBut that every one may be persuaded of how great benefit it is to\nhimself and the people to promote devotion to Mary, let us hear what\nthe Fathers say of it. St. Bonaventure declares that those who are\ndevoted to publishing the glories of Mary, are secure of paradise; and\nRichard of St. Laurence confirms this by saying, that to honor the queen\nof angels is to acquire life everlasting;[8] since our most grateful\nLady, adds the same author, pledges herself to honor in the other life\nhim who promises to honor her in this;[9] and is there any one ignorant\nof the promise made by Mary herself to those who engage in promoting\nthe knowledge and love of her upon the earth? \u201cThey that explain me\nshall have life everlasting,\u201d[10] as the holy Church applies it on the\nfestival of her Immaculate Conception. Exult, exult! oh my soul! said St.\nBonaventure, who was so assiduous in proclaiming the praises of Mary,\nand rejoice in her, because many good things are prepared for those who\npraise her; and since all the Holy Scriptures, he added, speak in praise\nof Mary, let us endeavor always with heart and tongue to celebrate this\nour divine mother, that we may be conducted by her to the kingdom of the\nblessed.[11]\n\nWe are told in the revelations of St. Bridget, that the blessed Emingo,\nBishop, being accustomed to begin his sermons with the praises of Mary,\nthe Virgin herself appeared one day to the saint, and said to her,\n\u201cTell that prelate who is accustomed to commence his discourses with my\npraises, that I will be his mother, and that I will present his soul to\nGod, and that he shall die a good death;\u201d[12] and he indeed died like a\nsaint, in prayer and in celestial peace. Mary appeared before his death\nto another religious, a Dominican, who was accustomed to terminate his\nsermons by speaking of her. She defended him from the assaults of the\ndemons, comforted him, and bore away with her his happy soul.[13] The\ndevout Thomas \u00e0 Kempis represents Mary as commending to her Son those\nwho publish her praises, and saying, \u201cOh, my Son, have compassion on the\nsouls of thy lovers, and of those who speak in my praise.\u201d[14]\n\nAs far as the advantage of the people is concerned, St. Anselm says,\nthat the sacred womb of Mary having been made the way of salvation for\nsinners, sinners cannot but be converted and saved by discourses in\npraise of Mary.[15] If the assertion is true and incontrovertible, as\nI believe it to be, and as I shall prove, in the fifth chapter of this\nbook, that all graces are dispensed by the hand of Mary alone, and that\nall those who are saved, are saved solely by means of this divine mother;\nit may be said, as a necessary consequence, that the salvation of all\ndepends upon preaching Mary, and confidence in her intercession. We know\nthat St. Bernard of Sienna sanctified Italy; St. Dominic converted many\nprovinces; St. Louis Bertrand, in all his sermons, never failed to exhort\nhis hearers to practise devotion towards Mary; and many others also have\ndone the same.\n\nI find that Father Paul Segneri, the younger, a celebrated missionary,\nin every mission preached a sermon on devotion to Mary, and this he\ncalled his favorite sermon. And we can attest, in all truth, that in our\nmissions, where we have an invariable rule not to omit the sermon on\nour Lady, no discourse is so profitable to the people, or excites more\ncompunction among them, than that on the mercy of Mary. I say _on the\nmercy of Mary_: for St. Bernard says, we may praise her humility, and\nmarvel at her virginity; but being poor sinners, we are more pleased and\nattracted by hearing of her mercy; for to this we more affectionately\ncling, this we more often remember and invoke.[16] Therefore in this\nlittle book, leaving to other authors the description of the other merits\nof Mary, I have confined myself especially to treating of her great\ncompassion and her powerful intercession; having collected, as far as\npossible, with the labor of years, all that the holy Fathers and the most\ncelebrated authors have said of the mercy and power of Mary; and because\nthese attributes of the blessed Virgin are wonderfully set forth in the\ngreat prayer of the _Salve Regina_, approved by the Church, and required\nby her to be recited the greater part of the year by all the clergy,\nsecular and regular, I have undertaken, in the first place, to explain in\nseparate discourses this most devout prayer. Besides this, I believed it\nwould be acceptable to the servants of Mary, if I added discourses on her\nprincipal festivals and upon the virtues of our divine mother, placing at\nthe conclusion of them the practices of devotion most in use among her\nservants, and approved by the Church.\n\nDevout reader, if this little work of mine pleases you, as I hope it\nwill, I pray you to commend me to the holy Virgin, that I may obtain\ngreat confidence in her protection. Ask for me this grace, and I will ask\nthe same for you, whoever you may be, who bestow on me this charity. Oh,\nblessed is he who clings with love and confidence to those two anchors\nof salvation, Jesus and Mary! He certainly will not be lost. Let us both\nsay, oh my reader, with the devout Alphonso Rodriguez: Jesus and Mary, my\nsweet loves, for you I will suffer, for you I will die; may I be wholly\nyours, may I be in nothing my own.[17] May we love Jesus and Mary, and\nbecome saints, since we can aspire and hope for no greater happiness than\nthis. Farewell, till we meet in heaven at the feet of this sweet mother\nand her dearly beloved Son, to praise them, to thank them, and love them,\nin their immediate presence through all eternity. Amen.\n\n\n\n\nPRAYER TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN TO OBTAIN A GOOD DEATH.\n\n\nOh Mary, sweet refuge of miserable sinners, at the moment when my soul\ndeparts from this world, my sweetest mother, by the grief that thou didst\nendure when thou wast present at the death of thy Son upon the cross,\nthen assist me with thy mercy. Keep far from me my infernal enemies, and\ncome thyself to take my soul and present it to my eternal Judge. Do not\nabandon me, oh my queen. Thou, next to Jesus, must be my comfort in that\ndreadful moment. Entreat thy Son that in his goodness, he will grant me\nthe favor to die clasping thy feet, and to breathe out my soul in his\nsacred wounds, saying, Jesus and Mary, I give you my heart and my soul.\n\n\n\n\nTHE GLORIES OF MARY.\n\nPART FIRST: ON THE SALVE REGINA.\n\nIt treats of the various and abundant graces which the mother of God\nbestows on her devoted servants, in several discourses on the Salve\nRegina.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\nSALVE REGINA, MATER MISERICORDI\u00c6.\n\nHail queen, Mother of mercy.\n\n\nSECTION I.\n\nOF THE GREAT CONFIDENCE WE SHOULD HAVE IN MARY, BECAUSE SHE IS THE QUEEN\nOF MERCY.\n\nThe Holy Church justly honors the great Virgin Mary, and would have her\nhonored by all men with the glorious title of queen, because she has\nbeen elevated to the dignity of mother of the King of kings. If the Son\nis king, says St. Athanasius, his mother must necessarily be considered\nand entitled queen.[18] From the moment that Mary consented, adds St.\nBernardine of Sienna, to become the mother of the Eternal Word, she\nmerited the title of queen of the world and of all creatures.[19] If the\nflesh of Mary, says St. Arnold, abbot, was the flesh of Jesus, how can\nthe mother be separated from the Son in his kingdom? Hence it follows\nthat the regal glory must not only be considered as common to the mother\nand the Son, but even the same.[20]\n\nIf Jesus is king of the whole world, Mary is also queen of the whole\nworld:[21] therefore, says St. Bernardine of Sienna, all creatures who\nserve God ought also to serve Mary; for all angels and men, and all\nthings that are in heaven and on earth being subject to the dominion\nof God, are also subject to the dominion of the glorious Virgin.[22]\nHence Guerric, abbot, thus addresses the divine mother: Continue, Mary,\ncontinue in security to reign; dispose, according to thy will, of every\nthing belonging to thy Son, for thou, being mother and spouse of the king\nof the world, the kingdom and power over all creatures is due to thee as\nqueen.[23]\n\nMary, then, is queen; but let all learn for their consolation that she is\na mild and merciful queen, desiring the good of us poor sinners. Hence\nthe holy Church bids us salute her in this prayer, and name her the\n_Queen of Mercy_. The very name of queen signifies, as blessed Albertus\nMagnus remarks, compassion, and provision for the poor; differing in\nthis from the title of empress, which signifies severity and rigor. The\ngreatness of kings and queens consists in comforting the wretched, as\nSeneca says.[24] So that whereas tyrants, in reigning, have only their\nown advantage in view, kings should have for their object the good of\ntheir subjects. Therefore at the consecration of kings their heads are\nanointed with oil, which is the symbol of mercy, to denote that they,\nin reigning, should above all things cherish thoughts of kindness and\nbeneficence towards their subjects.\n\nKings should then principally occupy themselves with works of mercy, but\nnot to the neglect of the exercise of justice towards the guilty, when it\nis required. Not so Mary, who, although queen, is not queen of justice,\nintent upon the punishment of the guilty, but queen of mercy, solely\nintent upon compassion and pardon for sinners. Accordingly, the Church\nrequires us explicitly to call her queen of mercy. The High Chancellor\nof Paris, John Gerson, meditating on the words of David, \u201cThese two\nthings have I heard, that power belongeth to God, and mercy to thee, O\nLord,\u201d[25] says, that the kingdom of God consisting of justice and mercy,\nthe Lord has divided it; he has reserved the kingdom of justice for\nhimself, and he has granted the kingdom of mercy to Mary, ordaining that\nall the mercies which are dispensed to men should pass through the hands\nof Mary, and should be bestowed according to her good pleasure.[26] St.\nThomas confirms this in his preface to the Canonical Epistles, saying\nthat the holy Virgin, when she conceived the divine Word in her womb, and\nbrought him forth, obtained the half of the kingdom of God by becoming\nqueen of mercy, Jesus Christ remaining king of justice.[27]\n\nThe eternal Father constituted Jesus Christ king of justice, and\ntherefore made him the universal judge of the world; hence the prophet\nsang: \u201cGive to the king thy judgment, Oh God; and to the king\u2019s son thy\njustice.\u201d[28] Here a learned interpreter takes up the subject, and says:\nOh Lord, thou hast given to thy Son thy justice, because thou hast given\nto the mother of the king thy mercy.[29] And St. Bonaventure happily\nvaries the passage above quoted by saying: Give to the king thy judgment,\nOh God, and to his mother thy mercy.[30] Ernest, Archbishop of Prague,\nalso says, that the eternal Father has given to the Son the office of\njudging and punishing, and to the mother the office of compassionating\nand relieving the wretched.[31] Therefore the Prophet David predicted\nthat God himself, if I may thus express it, would consecrate Mary queen\nof mercy, anointing her with the oil of gladness,[32] in order that all\nof us miserable children of Adam might rejoice in the thought of having\nin heaven that great queen, so full of the unction of mercy and pity for\nus; as St. Bonaventure says: Oh Mary, so full of the unction of mercy and\nthe oil of pity, that God has anointed thee with the oil of gladness![33]\n\nAnd how well does blessed Albertus Magnus here apply the history of Queen\nEsther, who was indeed a type of our Queen Mary! We read in the 4th\nchap. of the Book of Esther, that in the reign of King Assuerus, there\nwent forth, throughout his kingdom, a decree commanding the death of all\nthe Jews. Then Mardochai, who was one of the condemned, committed their\ncause to Esther, that she might intercede with the king to obtain the\nrevocation of the sentence. At first Esther refused to take upon herself\nthis office, fearing that it would excite the anger of the king more.\nBut Mardochai rebuked her, and bade her remember that she must not think\nof saving herself alone, as the Lord had placed her upon the throne to\nobtain salvation for all the Jews: \u201cThink not that thou mayest save\nthy life only, because thou art in the king\u2019s house, more than all the\nJews.\u201d[34] Thus said Mardochai to Queen Esther, and thus might we poor\nsinners say to our Queen Mary, if she were ever reluctant to intercede\nwith God for our deliverance from the just punishment of our sins. Think\nnot that thou mayest save thy life only, because thou art in the king\u2019s\nhouse, more than all men. Think not, oh Lady, that God has exalted thee\nto be queen of the world, only to secure thy own welfare; but also that\nthou, being so greatly elevated, mayest the more compassionate and the\nbetter relieve us miserable sinners.\n\nAssuerus, when he saw Esther before him, affectionately inquired of her\nwhat she had come to ask of him: \u201cWhat is thy petition?\u201d Then the queen\nanswered, \u201cIf I have found favor in thy sight, oh king, give me my people\nfor which I request.\u201d[35] Assuerus heard her, and immediately ordered\nthe sentence to be revoked. Now, if Assuerus granted to Esther, because\nhe loved her, the salvation of the Jews, will not God graciously listen\nto Mary, in his boundless love for her, when she prays to him for those\npoor sinners who recommend themselves to her and says to him: If I have\nfound favor in thy sight, oh King, my King and my God, if I have ever\nfound favor with Thee (and well does the divine mother know herself to\nbe the blessed, the fortunate, the only one of the children of men who\nfound the grace lost by man; she knows herself to be the beloved of her\nLord, more beloved than all the saints and angels united), give me my\npeople for which I request: if thou lovest me, she says to him, give me,\noh my Lord, these sinners in whose behalf I entreat Thee. Is it possible\nthat God will not graciously hear her? Is there any one who does not\nknow the power of Mary\u2019s prayers with God? The law of clemency is on her\ntongue.[36] Every prayer of hers is as a law established by our Lord,\nthat mercy shall be exercised towards those for whom Mary intercedes.\nSt. Bernard asks, Why does the Church name Mary _Queen of Mercy_? and\nanswers, Because we believe that she opens the depths of the mercy of\nGod, to whom she will, when she will, and as she will; so that not even\nthe vilest sinner is lost, if Mary protects him.[37]\n\nBut it may, perhaps, be feared that Mary disdains interposing in behalf\nof some sinners, because she finds them so laden with sins? Perhaps the\nmajesty and sanctity of this great queen should alarm us? No, says St.\nGregory, in proportion to her greatness and holiness are her clemency\nand mercy towards sinners who desire to amend, and who have recourse to\nher.[38] Kings and queens inspire terror by the display of their majesty,\nand their subjects fear to enter their presence; but what fear, says St.\nBernard, can the wretched have of going to this queen of mercy, since she\nnever shows herself terrible or austere to those who seek her, but all\nsweetness and kindness?[39] Mary not only gives, but she herself presents\nto us milk and wool: the milk of mercy to inspire us with confidence, and\nwool to shield us from the thunderbolts of divine justice!\n\nSuetonius narrates of the Emperor Titus, that he never could refuse a\nfavor to any one who asked it, and that he even sometimes promised more\nthan he could perform; and he answered to one who admonished him of this,\nthat a prince should not dismiss any one from his presence dissatisfied.\nTitus said this, but, in reality, was perhaps often either guilty of\nfalsehood, or failed in his promises. But our queen cannot lie, and can\nobtain whatever she wishes for her devoted servants. She has a heart\nso kind and compassionate, says Blosius, that she cannot send away\ndissatisfied any one who invokes her aid.[40] But, as St. Bernard says,\nhow couldst thou, oh Mary, refuse succor to the wretched, when thou art\nqueen of mercy? and who are the subjects of mercy, if not the miserable?\nThou art the queen of mercy, and I the most miserable of all sinners; if\nI, then, am the first of thy subjects, then thou shouldst have more care\nof me than of all others.[41]\n\nHave pity on us, then, oh queen of mercy, and give heed to our salvation;\nneither say to us, oh most holy Virgin, as St. Gregory of Nicomedia\nwould add, that thou canst not aid us because of the multitude of our\nsins, when thou hast such power and pity that no number of sins can\never surpass it! Nothing resists thy power, since thy Creator and ours,\nwhile he honors thee as his mother, considers thy glory as his own, and\nexulting in it, as a Son, grants thy petitions as if he were discharging\nan obligation.[42] By this he means to say, that though Mary is under an\ninfinite obligation to her Son for having elected her to be his mother,\nyet it cannot be denied that the Son also is greatly indebted to his\nmother for having given him his human nature; whence Jesus, as if to\nrecompense Mary as he ought, while he enjoys this his glory, honors her\nespecially by always graciously listening to her prayers.\n\nHow great then should be our confidence in this queen, knowing how\npowerful she is with God, and at the same time how rich and full of\nmercy; so much so that there is no one on earth who does not share in\nthe mercies and favors of Mary! This the blessed Virgin herself revealed\nto St. Bridget: \u201cI am,\u201d she said to her, \u201cthe queen of heaven and the\nmother of mercy; I am the joy of the just, and the gate of entrance\nfor sinners to God; neither is there living on earth a sinner who is\nso accursed that he is deprived of my compassion; for every one, if he\nreceives nothing else through my intercession, receives the grace of\nbeing less tempted by evil spirits than he otherwise would be; no one,\ntherefore,\u201d she added, \u201cwho is not entirely accursed\u201d (by which is meant\nthe final and irrevocable malediction pronounced against the damned), \u201cis\nso entirely cast off by God that he may not return and enjoy his mercy if\nhe invokes my aid. I am called by all the mother of mercy, and truly the\nmercy of God towards men has made me so merciful towards them.\u201d And then\nshe concluded by saying, \u201cTherefore he shall be miserable, and forever\nmiserable in another life, who in this, being able, does not have\nrecourse to me, who am so compassionate to all, and so earnestly desire\nto aid sinners.\u201d[43]\n\nLet us then have recourse, let us always have recourse to this most sweet\nqueen, if we would be sure of our salvation; and if the sight of our\nsins terrifies and disheartens us, let us remember that Mary was made\nqueen of mercy for this very end, that she might save by her protection\nthe greatest and most abandoned sinners who have recourse to her. They\nare to be her crown in heaven, as her divine spouse has said: \u201cCome from\nLibanus, my spouse, come from Libanus, come; thou shalt be crowned from\nthe dens of the lions, from the mountains of the leopards.\u201d[44] And what\nare these dens of wild beasts and monsters, if not miserable sinners,\nwhose souls become dens of sins, the most deformed monsters? Now, by\nthese same sinners, as Rupert, the abbot, remarks, who are saved by thy\nmeans, oh great Queen Mary, thou wilt be crowned in heaven; for their\nsalvation will be thy crown, a crown indeed worthy and fit for a queen\nof mercy;[45] and let the following example illustrate this.\n\n\nEXAMPLE.\n\nWe read in the life of sister Catherine, an Augustinian nun, that in the\nplace where that servant of God lived, there lived also a woman named\nMary, who, in her youth, was a sinner, and obstinately persevered in\nher evil courses, even to extreme old age. For this she was banished by\nher fellow-citizens, forced to live in a cave beyond the limits of the\nplace, and died in a state of loathsome corruption, abandoned by all,\nand without the sacraments; and on this account was buried in a field,\nlike a beast. Now sister Catherine, who was accustomed to recommend\nvery affectionately to God the souls of those who had departed this\nlife, after learning the miserable death of this poor old woman, did\nnot think of praying for her, as she and every one else believed her\nalready among the damned. Four years having past, a soul from purgatory\none day appeared to her, and said, \u201cSister Catherine, how unhappy is my\nfate! you commend to God the souls of all those who die, and for my soul\nalone you have had no pity.\u201d \u201cAnd who are you?\u201d said the servant of God.\n\u201cI am,\u201d answered she, \u201cthat poor Mary who died in the cave.\u201d \u201cHow! are\nyou saved?\u201d exclaimed sister Catherine. \u201cYes, I am saved,\u201d she said,\n\u201cby the mercy of the Virgin Mary.\u201d \u201cAnd how?\u201d \u201cWhen I saw death drawing\nnear, finding myself laden with sins, and abandoned by all, I turned\nto the mother of God and said to her, Lady, thou art the refuge of the\nabandoned, behold me at this hour deserted by all; thou art my only hope,\nthou alone canst help me; have pity on me. The holy Virgin obtained for\nme the grace of making an act of contrition; I died and am saved, and\nmy queen has also obtained for me the grace that my pains should be\nabridged, and that I should, by suffering intensely for a short time,\npass through that purification which otherwise would have lasted many\nyears. A few masses only are needed to obtain my release from purgatory;\nI pray thee cause them to be offered for me, and I promise to pray God\nand Mary for thee.\u201d Sister Catherine immediately caused those masses to\nbe said for her, and that soul, after a few days, appeared to her again,\nmore brilliant than the sun, and said to her, \u201cI thank thee, sister\nCatherine: behold, I am now going to paradise to sing the mercy of God\nand pray for thee.\u201d\n\n\nPRAYER.\n\nOh Mother of my God and my Lady Mary, as a poor wounded and loathsome\nwretch presents himself to a great queen, I present myself to thee, who\nart the queen of heaven and earth. From the lofty throne on which thou\nart seated, do not disdain, I pray thee, to cast thy eyes upon me, a poor\nsinner. God hath made thee so rich in order that thou mayest succor\nthe needy, and hath made thee queen of mercy that thou mayest help the\nmiserable, look upon me, then, and have pity on me. Look upon me, and do\nnot leave me until thou hast changed me from a sinner into a saint. I see\nI merit nothing, or rather I merit for my ingratitude to be deprived of\nall the graces which, by thy means, I have received from the Lord. But\nthou, who art the mother of mercy, dost not require merits, but miseries,\nthat thou mayest succor those who are in need; and who is more poor and\nmore needy than I?\n\nOh glorious Virgin, I know that thou, being queen of the universe, art\nalso my queen; and I, in a more especial manner, would dedicate myself\nto thy service; that thou mayest dispose of me as seemeth best to thee.\nTherefore I say to thee with St. Bonaventure, Oh, Lady, I submit myself\nto thy control, that thou mayest rule and govern me entirely. Do not\nleave me to myself.[46] Rule me, oh my queen, and do not leave me to\nmyself. Command me, employ me as thou wilt, and punish me if I do not\nobey thee, for very salutary will be the punishments that come from thy\nhand. I would esteem it a greater thing to be thy servant than Lord of\nthe whole earth. _Thine I am, save me!_[47] Accept me, oh Mary, for thy\nown, and attend to my salvation, as I am thine own. I no longer will be\nmy own, I give myself to thee. And if hitherto I have so poorly served\nthee, having lost so many good occasions of honoring thee, for the\ntime to come I will unite myself to thy most loving and most faithful\nservants. No one from this time henceforth shall surpass me in honoring\nand loving thee, my most lovely queen. This I promise, and this I hope to\nperform with thy assistance. Amen.\n\n\nSECTION II.\n\nHOW MUCH GREATER SHOULD BE OUR CONFIDENCE IN MARY BECAUSE SHE IS OUR\nMOTHER.\n\nNot by chance, nor in vain, do the servants of Mary call her mother, and\nit would seem that they cannot invoke her by any other name, and are\nnever weary of calling her mother; mother, indeed, for she is truly our\nmother, not according to the flesh, but the spiritual mother of our souls\nand of our salvation. Sin, when it deprived our souls of divine grace,\nalso deprived them of life. Hence, when they were dead in misery and\nsin, Jesus our Redeemer came with an excess of mercy and love to restore\nto us, by his death upon the cross, that lost life, as he has himself\ndeclared: \u201cI am come that they may have life, and may have it more\nabundantly.\u201d[48] _More abundantly_, because, as the theologians teach us,\nJesus Christ by his redemption brought us blessings greater than the\ninjury Adam inflicted upon us by his sin; he reconciled us to God, and\nthus became the father of our souls, under the new law of grace, as the\nprophet Isaiah predicted: \u201cThe Father of the world to come, the Prince of\npeace.\u201d[49] But if Jesus is the father of our souls, Mary is the mother;\nfor, in giving us Jesus, she gave us the true life; and offering upon\nCalvary the life of her Son for our salvation, she then brought us forth\nto the life of divine grace.\n\nAt two different times, then, as the holy Fathers show us, Mary became\nour spiritual mother; the first when she was found worthy of conceiving\nin her virginal womb the Son of God, as the blessed Albertus Magnus says.\n\nSt. Bernardine of Sienna more distinctly teaches us that when the most\nholy Virgin, on the annunciation of the angel, gave her consent to become\nmother of the eternal Word, which he awaited before making himself her\nSon, she by this consent even from that time demanded of God, with lively\naffection, our salvation; and she was so earnestly engaged in obtaining\nit, that from that time she has borne us, as it were, in her womb, as a\nmost loving mother.[50]\n\nSt. Luke says, speaking of the birth of our Saviour, that Mary \u201cbrought\nforth her first-born son.\u201d[51] Therefore, says a certain writer, if the\nevangelist affirms that Mary brought forth her first-born, is it to be\nsupposed that she afterwards had other children? But the same author\nadds: If it is of faith that Mary had no other children according to the\nflesh except Jesus, then she must have other spiritual children, and\nthese we are.[52] Our Lord revealed this to St. Gertrude, who, reading\none day the passage of the Gospel just quoted, was troubled, not knowing\nhow to understand it, that Mary being mother of Jesus Christ alone, it\ncould be said that he was her first-born. And God explained it to her,\nby telling her that Jesus was her first-born according to the flesh, but\nthat men were her second-born according to the spirit.\n\nAnd this explains what is said of Mary in the holy Canticles: \u201cThy belly\nis as a heap of wheat, set about with lilies.\u201d[53] St. Ambrose explains\nthis and says: Although in the pure womb of Mary there was only one grain\nof wheat, which was Jesus Christ, yet it is called a heap of grain,\nbecause in that one grain were contained all the elect, of whom Mary was\nto be the mother.[54] Hence, William the Abbot wrote, Mary, in bringing\nforth Jesus, who is our Saviour and our life, brought forth all of us to\nlife and salvation.[55]\n\nThe second time in which Mary brought us forth to grace was, when on\nCalvary, she offered to the eternal Father with so much sorrow of heart\nthe life of her beloved Son for our salvation. Wherefore, St. Augustine\nasserts, that, having then co-operated by her love with Christ in the\nbirth of the faithful to the life of grace, she became also by this\nco-operation the spiritual mother of us all, who are members of our\nhead, Jesus Christ.[56] This is also the meaning of what is said of the\nblessed Virgin in the sacred Canticles: \u201cThey have made me the keeper\nin the vineyards; my vineyard I have not kept.\u201d[57] Mary, to save our\nsouls, was willing to sacrifice the life of her Son,[58] as William the\nAbbot remarks. And who was the soul of Mary, but her Jesus, who was her\nlife and all her love? Wherefore St. Simeon announced to her that her\nsoul would one day be pierced by a sword of sorrow;[59] which was the\nvery spear that pierced the side of Jesus, who was the soul of Mary. And\nthen she in her sorrow brought us forth to eternal life; so that we may\nall call ourselves children of the dolors of Mary. She, our most loving\nmother, was always and wholly united to the divine will; whence St.\nBonaventure remarks, that when she saw the love of the eternal Father for\nmen, who would have his Son die for our salvation, and the love of the\nSon in wishing to die for us, she too, with her whole will, offered her\nSon and consented that he should die that we might be saved, in order\nto conform herself to that exceeding love of the Father and Son for the\nhuman race.[60]\n\nIt is true that, in dying for the redemption of the world, Jesus wished\nto be alone. I have trodden the wine-press alone,[61] \u201cTorcular calcavi\nsolus.\u201d But when God saw the great desire of Mary to devote herself also\nto the salvation of men, he ordained that by the sacrifice and offering\nof the life of this same Jesus, she might co-operate with him in the\nwork of our salvation, and thus become mother of our souls. And this\nour Saviour signified, when, before expiring, he saw from the cross his\nmother and the disciple St. John both standing near him, and first spoke\nto Mary: Behold thy son, \u201cEcce filius tuus;\u201d[62] as if he said to her:\nBehold the man who, by the offering thou hast made of my life for his\nsalvation, is already born to grace. And then turning to the disciple, he\nsaid: Behold thy mother, \u201cEcce mater tua.\u201d[63] By which words, says St.\nBernardine of Sienna, Mary was then made mother not only of St. John, but\nof all men, for the love she bore them.[64] On this account, as Silveira\nobserves, St. John himself, when recording this fact in his Gospel,\nwrote, \u201cAfter that he said to the disciple: \u201cBehold thy mother.\u201d[65] Let\nit be remarked that Jesus Christ did not say this to John, but to the\ndisciple, to signify that the Saviour appointed Mary for common mother of\nall those who, being Christians, bear the name of his disciples.[66]\n\nI am the mother of fair love,[67] \u201cEgo sum mater pulchr\u00e6 dilectionis,\u201d\nsaid Mary; because her love, as an author remarks, which renders the\nsouls of men beautiful in the eye of God, prompts her, as a loving\nmother, to receive us for her children.[68] And as a mother loves\nher children, and watches over their welfare, so thou, oh our most\nsweet queen, lovest us, and dost procure our happiness, says St.\nBonaventure.[69]\n\nOh, happy those who live under the protection of a mother so loving and\nso powerful! The prophet David, although Mary was not yet born, besought\nof God salvation, by dedicating himself to Mary as her son, and thus\nprayed: \u201cSave the son of thy handmaid.\u201d[70] \u201cWhose handmaid?\u201d asks St.\nAugustine:[71] \u201cshe who says: Behold the handmaid of the Lord.\u201d[72]\nAnd who, says the Cardinal Bellarmine, who would dare to snatch these\nchildren from the bosom of Mary, where they have taken refuge from\ntheir enemies? What fury of hell or of passion can conquer them, if\nthey place their trust in the protection of this great mother?[73] It\nis narrated of the whale, that when she sees her young in peril, from\nthe tempest or their pursuers, she opens her mouth and receives them\ninto her bowels. Just so, says Novarino, does this compassionate mother\nof the faithful, when the tempest of the passions is raging. She then,\nwith maternal affection, protects them as it were in her own bowels,\nand continues to shelter them until she has placed them in the secure\nhaven of paradise.[74] Oh, most loving mother! Oh, most compassionate\nmother, be ever blessed! and may that God be ever blessed, who has given\nus thee as a mother, and as a secure refuge in all the dangers of this\nlife. The blessed Virgin herself revealed this to St. Bridget, saying:\n\u201cAs a mother who sees her son exposed to the sword of the enemy, makes\nevery effort to save him, thus do I, and will I ever do for my children,\nsinful though they be, if they come to me for help.\u201d[75] Behold, then,\nhow in every battle with hell we shall always conquer, and certainly\nconquer, if we have recourse to the mother of God and our mother, always\nrepeating: \u201cWe fly to thy protection, oh holy mother of God; we fly to\nthy protection, oh holy mother of God.\u201d[76] Oh, how many victories have\nthe faithful obtained over hell, by having recourse to Mary with this\nshort but powerful prayer! That great servant of God, sister Mary of the\nCrucifixion, a Benedictine nun, by this means always conquered the evil\nspirits.\n\nBe joyful, then, all ye children of Mary; remember that she adopts as her\nchildren all those who wish her for their mother. Joyful; for what fear\nhave you of being lost when this mother defends and protects you? Thus\nsays St. Bonaventure: Every one who loves this good mother and trusts in\nher protection, should take courage and repeat: What do you fear, oh my\nsoul? The cause of thy eternal salvation will not be lost, as the final\nsentence depends upon Jesus, who is thy brother, and upon Mary, who is\nthy mother.[77] And St. Anselm, full of joy at this thought, exclaims,\nin order to encourage us: Oh, blessed confidence! Oh, secure refuge!\nThe mother of God is my mother also. With what certainty may we hope,\nsince our salvation depends upon the sentence of a good brother and of\na kind mother![78] Hear, then, our mother who calls us, and says to us:\n\u201cWhosoever is a little one, let him come to me.\u201d[79] Little children have\nalways on their lips the word mother, and in all the dangers to which\nthey are exposed, and in all their fears, they cry, mother, mother! Ah,\nmost sweet Mary! Ah, most loving mother! this is exactly what thou dost\ndesire; that we become little children, and always call upon thee in our\ndangers, and always have recourse to thee, for thou wishest to aid and\nsave us, as thou hast saved all thy children who have had recourse to\nthee.\n\n\nEXAMPLE.\n\nIn the history of the foundations of the Company of Jesus, in the kingdom\nof Naples, is related the following story of a noble youth of Scotland,\nnamed William Elphinstone. He was a relation of King James. Born a\nheretic, he followed the false sect to which he belonged; but enlightened\nby divine grace, which showed him his errors, he went to France, where,\nwith the assistance of a good Jesuit father, who was like himself a\nScotchman, and still more by the intercession of the blessed Virgin, he\nat length saw the truth, abjured heresy, and became a Catholic. He went\nafterwards to Rome, where a friend of his found him one day very much\nafflicted, and weeping. He asked him the cause, and he answered, that\nin the night his mother had appeared to him and said: \u201cMy son, it is\nwell for thee that thou hast entered the true Church; I am already lost,\nbecause I died in heresy.\u201d From that time he became more fervent in his\ndevotion to Mary, chose her for his mother, and by her was inspired to\nbecome a religious. He made a vow to do so, but being ill, he went to\nNaples to restore his health by a change of air. But the Lord ordered it\nso that he should die in Naples, and die a religious; for, having become\ndangerously ill soon after his arrival there, he by prayers and tears\nobtained from the superiors admittance, and when about receiving the\nviaticum, he made his vows in presence of the blessed sacrament, and was\nenrolled in the society. After this, in the tenderness of his feelings,\nhe gave thanks to his mother Mary for having rescued him from heresy, and\nbrought him to die in the true Church, and in a religious house in the\nmidst of his brethren. Therefore, he exclaimed: \u201cOh! how glorious it is\nto die in the midst of so many angels!\u201d Being exhorted to take a little\nrest, he answered: \u201cAh, this is not the time to rest when the end of my\nlife is drawing near.\u201d Before dying, he said to the persons present:\n\u201cBrethren, do you not see the angels of heaven around me?\u201d One of the\nreligious having heard him murmuring something to himself, asked him what\nhe had said. He answered, that his angel-guardian had revealed to him\nthat he should be in purgatory but a short time, and would soon enter\nparadise. Then he began again to talk with his sweet mother Mary, and\nrepeating the word, mother, mother, he tranquilly expired, like a child\nfalling asleep in the arms of its mother. Soon after, it was revealed to\na devout religious that he had already entered paradise.\n\n\nPRAYER.\n\nOh, my most holy mother, how is it possible that, having so holy a\nmother, I should be so wicked? A mother so inflamed with love to God, and\nthat I should so love creatures? A mother so rich in virtue, and that I\nshould be so poor? Oh, my most amiable mother! I no longer deserve, it\nis true, to be thy son, because by my bad life I have rendered myself\nunworthy. I am content if thou wilt accept me as thy servant. I am\nready to renounce all the kingdoms of the earth, to be admitted among\nthe lowest of thy servants. Yes, I am content, but do not forbid me to\ncall thee my mother. This name wholly consoles me, melts me, and reminds\nme of my obligation to love thee. This name encourages me to confide in\nthee. When I am the most terrified at the thought of my sins and of the\ndivine justice, I feel myself comforted by the remembrance that thou art\nmy mother. Permit me, then, to call thee my mother, my sweetest mother.\nThus I call thee, and thus I will ever call thee. Thou, next to God,\nshalt always be my hope, my refuge, and my love, in this valley of tears.\nAnd thus I hope to die, commending my soul, at the last moment, into thy\nsacred hands, saying: \u201cMy mother, my mother Mary, help me, have pity on\nme.\u201d Amen.\n\n\nSECTION III.\n\nHOW GREAT IS THE LOVE OF OUR MOTHER FOR US.\n\nIf, then, Mary is our mother, let us consider how much she loves us. The\nlove of parents for their children is a necessary love, and for this\nreason, as St. Thomas observes,[80] children are commanded in the divine\nlaw to love their parents; but there is no command, on the other hand,\ngiven to parents to love their children, for love towards one\u2019s own\noffspring is a love so deeply planted in the heart by nature herself,\nthat even the wild beasts, as St. Ambrose says, never fail to love their\nyoung.[81] It is said that even tigers, hearing the cry of their whelps\nwhen they are taken by the hunters, will plunge into the sea to swim\nafter the vessels where they are confined. If, then, says our most loving\nmother Mary, even tigers cannot forget their young, how can I forget to\nlove you, my children? And, she adds, even if it should happen that a\nmother could forget her child, it is not possible that I can forget a\nsoul which is my child.[82]\n\nMary is our mother, not according to the flesh, but by love: \u201cI am the\nmother of fair love.\u201d[83] Hence she becomes our mother only on account of\nthe love she bears us; and she glories, says a certain author, in being\nthe mother of love; because, having taken us for her children, she is all\nlove towards us.[84] Who can describe the love of Mary for us miserable\ncreatures? Arnold of Carnotensis says that, at the death of Jesus Christ,\nshe ardently desired to die with her Son for our sake.[85] So that, as\nSt. Ambrose adds, when her Son hung dying on the cross, Mary offered\nherself to his murderers, that she might give her life for us.[86]\n\nBut let us consider the reasons of this love, for thus we shall better\nunderstand how this good mother loves us. The first reason of the great\nlove that Mary bears to men, is the great love she bears to God. Love to\nGod and man is contained in the same precept, as St. John has written:\n\u201cThis commandment we have from God, that he who loveth God, love also\nhis brother;\u201d[87] so that one increases as the other increases. Hence\nwhat have the saints not done for love of the neighbor, because they have\nloved God so much? They have gone so far as to expose and lose liberty\nand even life for his salvation. Let us read what St. Francis Xavier\ndid in India, where, for the sake of the souls of those barbarians, he\nclimbed mountains, and exposed himself to innumerable dangers to find\nthose wretched beings, in the caverns where they dwelt like wild beasts,\nand to lead them to God. St. Francis de Sales, to convert the heretics of\nthe province of Chablais, risked his life by crossing a river every day\nfor a year, on his hands and knees, upon a frozen beam, that he might go\nto the other side to preach to those stubborn men. St. Paulinus became\na slave, to obtain liberty for the son of a poor widow. St. Fidelis, to\nbring the heretics of a certain place back to God, willingly consented,\nin preaching to them, to lose his life. The saints, then, because they\nhave loved God so much, have done much for love of the neighbor. But\nwho has loved God more than Mary? She loved God more, in the first\nmoment of her life, than all the saints and angels have loved him in\nthe whole course of theirs; as we shall consider at length, when we\nspeak of the virtues of Mary. She herself revealed to sister Mary of the\nCrucifixion,[88] that the fire of love with which she burned for God was\nso great, that it would in a moment inflame heaven and earth; and that,\nin comparison to it, all the flames of the burning love of the seraphim\nwere as cool breezes. Therefore, as there is none among the blessed\nspirits who loves God more than Mary; so there is, and can be none,\nexcept God, who loves us more than this our most loving mother. If the\nlove of all mothers for their children, of all husbands for their wives,\nand of all saints and angels for their devoted servants, were united,\nit would not be so great as the love that Mary bears to one soul alone.\nFather Nierembergh says that the love which all mothers have borne to\ntheir children is a shadow when compared with the love which Mary bears\nto any one of us. Truly she alone loves us more, he adds, than all the\nangels and saints united.\n\nMoreover, our mother loves us much, because we have been commended to\nher as children by her beloved Jesus, when, before expiring, he said to\nher: \u201cWoman, behold thy son;\u201d[89] signifying by the person of John, all\nmen, as we have before remarked. These were the last words of her Son\nto her. The last remembrances left by beloved friends at the moment of\ntheir death are greatly valued, and the memory of them is never lost.\nMoreover, we are children extremely dear to Mary, because we cost her so\nmuch suffering. Those children are much dearer to a mother whose lives\nshe has preserved:\u2014we are those children, for whom, that we may have the\nlife of grace, Mary suffered the pain of sacrificing the dear life of her\nJesus; submitting, for our sake, to see him die before her eyes in cruel\ntorments. By this great offering of Mary we were then born to the life\nof divine grace. So, then, we are children very dear to her, because we\nwere redeemed at such a cost of suffering. Accordingly, as we read of the\nlove which the eternal Father has manifested for men by giving his own\nSon to death for us, \u201cGod so loved the world as to give his only-begotten\nSon:\u201d[90] as St. Bonaventure remarks, it may be said of Mary also, that\nshe so loved us as to give her only-begotten Son.[91] And when did she\ngive him to us? She gave him to us, says Father Nierembergh, when first\nshe consented to his death; she gave him to us, when others deserted him\nthrough hatred or through fear, and she alone could have defended, before\nthe judges, the life of her Son. We can easily believe that the words of\nso wise and tender a mother would have had a great power, at least with\nPilate, to induce him to abstain from condemning to death a man whom he\nknew and declared innocent. But no, Mary would not utter even one word\nin favor of her Son, to prevent his death, upon which our salvation\ndepended; finally, she gave him to us again and again at the foot of the\ncross, in those three hours when she was witnessing his death; because\nthen, at every moment, she was offering up for us his life, with the\ndeepest grief, and the greatest love for us, at the cost of great trouble\nand suffering, and with such firmness, that if executioners had been\nwanting, as St. Anselm and St. Antoninus tell us, she herself would have\ncrucified him in obedience to the will of the Father, who had decreed he\nshould die for our salvation. And if Abraham showed a similar fortitude\nin consenting to sacrifice his son with his own hands, we must believe\nthat Mary would certainly have done the same, with more resolution, as\nshe was holier, and more obedient than Abraham. But to return to our\nsubject. How grateful should we be to Mary, for an act of so much love!\nfor the sacrifice she made of the life of her Son, in the midst of so\nmuch anguish, to obtain salvation for us all! The Lord, indeed, rewarded\nAbraham for the sacrifice he was prepared to make to him of his son\nIsaac; but what can we render to Mary for the life of her Jesus, as\nshe has given us a Son more noble and beloved than the son of Abraham?\nThis love of Mary, says St. Bonaventure, greatly obliges us to love her,\nseeing that she has loved us more than any other created being loves\nus, since she has given for us her only Son, whom she loved more than\nherself.[92]\n\nAnd from this follows another reason why we are so much beloved by Mary:\nbecause she knows that we have been purchased by the death of Jesus\nChrist. If a mother should see a servant redeemed by a beloved son of\nhers, by twenty years of imprisonment and suffering, for this reason\nalone how much would she esteem that servant! Mary well knows that her\nSon came upon earth solely to save us miserable sinners, as he himself\ndeclared: \u201cI have come to save what was lost.\u201d[93] And to save us he\nhas consented to lay down his life for us: \u201cBecoming obedient unto\ndeath.\u201d[94] If Mary, then, had little love for us, she would slightly\nvalue the blood of her Son, which was the price of our salvation. It was\nrevealed to St. Elizabeth, the nun, that Mary, from the time she was in\nthe temple, was always praying that God would quickly send his Son to\nsave the world. Now, how much more certainly must we believe that she\nloves us, after she has seen us so greatly prized by her Son, that he\ndeigned to purchase us at such a cost!\n\nAnd because all men have been redeemed by Jesus, Mary loves and favors\nall. She was seen by St. John clothed with the sun: \u201cAnd there appeared\na great wonder in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun.\u201d[95] She is\nsaid to be clothed with the sun, because, as \u201cThere is no one that can\nhide himself from his heat,\u201d[96] so there is no one living on the earth\nwho is deprived of the love of Mary. From the heat of the sun, as it is\nexplained by the venerable Raymond Jordan, who through humility called\nhimself the Idiot, that is, from the love of Mary.[97] And who, says St.\nAnthony, can comprehend the care which this loving mother has of us all?\nTherefore, to all she offers and dispenses her mercy.[98] For our mother\nhas desired the salvation of all, and has co-operated with her Son in the\nsalvation of all.\n\nIt is certain that she is concerned for the whole human race, as St.\nBernard affirms;[99] hence the practice of some devout servants of Mary\nis very useful, who, as Cornelius \u00e0 Lapide relates, have the habit of\npraying our Lord to grant them those graces which the blessed Virgin is\nseeking for them, using these words: \u201cOh Lord, give me what the most holy\nVirgin Mary is asking for me.\u201d[100] And this is well, as \u00e0 Lapide adds,\nfor our mother desires greater things for us than we think of asking\nfor ourselves.[101] The devout Bernardine de Bustis says, that Mary is\nmore desirous to do us good, and bestow favors upon us, than we are to\nreceive them.[102] Therefore blessed Albertus Magnus applies to Mary the\nwords of wisdom: \u201cShe preventeth them that covet her, so that she first\nshoweth herself unto them.\u201d[103] So great is the love, says Richard of\nSt. Laurence, which this good mother bears us, that when she perceives\nour necessities, she comes to relieve them. She hastens before she is\ninvoked.[104]\n\nIf Mary, then, is so good to all, even to the ungrateful and negligent,\nwho have but little love for her, and seldom have recourse to her, how\nmuch more loving must she not be to those who love her and often invoke\nher! \u201cShe is easily seen by them that love her.\u201d[105] Oh, how easy it is,\nexclaims the same blessed Albertus, for those who love Mary to find her,\nand find her full of love and pity! \u201cI love them that love me,\u201d[106] she\nassures us, and declares that she cannot but love those who love her. And\nalthough our most loving lady loves all men as her children, yet, says\nSt. Bernard, she recognizes and loves especially those who most tenderly\nlove her. Those happy lovers of Mary, as the Idiot asserts, are not only\nloved, but served by her.[107]\n\nLeonard the Dominican, as we read in the chronicles of his order, who was\naccustomed to recommend himself two hundred times a day to this mother\nof mercy, when he was on his death-bed, saw one beautiful as a queen by\nhis side, who said to him: \u201cLeonard, do you wish to die and come to my\nSon and me?\u201d \u201cWho are you?\u201d answered the religious. \u201cI am the mother of\nmercy,\u201d replied the Virgin; \u201cyou have many times invoked me, and now I\ncome to take you: let us go to paradise.\u201d On that same day Leonard died,\nand we hope that he followed her to the kingdom of the blessed.\n\n\u201cAh, most sweet Mary, blessed is he who loves you!\u201d the venerable brother\nJohn Berchmans, of the Society of Jesus, used to say: \u201cIf I love Mary, I\nam sure of perseverance, and I shall obtain from God whatsoever I wish.\u201d\nAnd this devout youth was never satisfied with renewing his intention,\nand often repeated to himself: \u201cI will love Mary, I will love Mary.\u201d\n\nOh, how much this our good mother exceeds all her children in affection,\neven if they love her to the extent of their power! \u201cMary is always more\nloving than her lovers,\u201d says St. Ignatius, martyr.[108] Let us love\nher as much as St. Stanislas Kostka, who loved this his dear mother so\ntenderly, that when he spoke of her, every one who heard him desired to\nlove her also; he invented new titles by which he honored her name; he\nnever commenced an action without first turning to her image and asking\nher blessing; when he recited her office, her rosary, and other prayers,\nhe repeated them with such affectionate earnestness, that he seemed\nspeaking face to face with Mary; when he heard the Salve Regina sung,\nhis soul and even his countenance was all on fire; when asked one day by\na father of the society, as they were going together to visit an altar\nof the blessed Virgin, how much he loved her, \u201cFather,\u201d he answered,\n\u201cwhat can I say more than that she is my mother?\u201d And that father tells\nus how the holy youth spoke these words with such tender emotion of\nvoice, countenance, and heart, that he appeared not a man, but an angel\ndiscoursing of the love of Mary.\n\nLet us love her as much as blessed Hermann, who called her his beloved\nspouse, whilst he also was honored by Mary with the same name. As much\nas St. Philip Neri, who felt wholly consoled in merely thinking of Mary,\nand on this account named her his delight. As much as St. Bonaventure,\nwho not only called her his lady and mother, but, to show the tender\naffection he bore her, went so far as to call her his heart and his soul:\n\u201cHail, lady, my mother; yea, my heart, my soul.\u201d[109] Let us love her as\nmuch as her great lover St. Bernard, who loved his sweet mother so much,\nthat he called her \u201cthe ravisher of hearts:\u201d[110] whence the saint, in\norder to express to her the ardent love he bore her, said to her, \u201cHast\nthou not stolen my heart?\u201d[111] Let us name her our beloved mistress,\nas St. Bernardine of Sienna named her, who went every day to visit her\nbefore her sacred image, in order to declare his love in the tender\ncolloquies he held with his queen. When he was asked where he went every\nday, he answered that he went to find his beloved. Let them love her as\nmuch as St. Louis of Gonzaga, who burned continually with so great love\nof Mary, that as soon as he heard the sound of the sweet name of his dear\nmother, his heart kindled, and a flame, perceptible to all, lighted up\nhis countenance. Let us love her like St. Francis Solano, who, distracted\nby a holy passion for Mary, sometimes went with a musical instrument to\nsing of love before her altar, saying that, like earthly lovers, he was\nserenading his beloved queen.\n\nLet us love her as so many of her servants have loved her, who had no\nway left of manifesting their love to her. Father Jerome of Trexo, of\nthe Society of Jesus, delighted in calling himself the slave of Mary,\nand as a mark of his servitude went often to visit her in a church:\nand what did he do there? He watered the church with the tears of that\ntender love which he felt for Mary; then he wiped them with his lips,\nkissing that pavement a thousand times, remembering that it was the house\nof his beloved mistress. Father Diego Martinez, of the same society,\nwho, on account of his devotion to our Lady, on the feasts of Mary, was\ncarried by angels to heaven, that he might see with how much devotion\nthey were celebrated there, said, \u201cWould that I had all the hearts of\nthe angels and the saints to love Mary as they love her. Would that I\nhad the lives of all men, to devote them all to the love of Mary!\u201d Let\nothers love her as Charles the son of St. Bridget loved her, who said\nthat he knew of nothing in the world which gave him so much consolation\nas the thought of how much Mary was beloved by God; and he added, that\nhe would accept every suffering rather than that Mary should lose, if it\nwere possible for her to lose it, the least portion of her greatness; and\nif the greatness of Mary were his, he would renounce it in her behalf,\nbecause she was more worthy of it. Let us desire to sacrifice our life\nin testimony of our love to Mary, as Alphonso Rodriguez desired to do.\nLet us, like Francesco Binanzio, a religious, and Radagunde, wife of King\nClotaire, engrave with sharp instruments of iron upon our breast the\nsweet name of Mary. Let us, with red-hot iron, impress upon our flesh\nthe beloved name, that it may be more distinct and more enduring, as did\nher devoted servants Battista Archinto and Agostino d\u2019Espinosa, both of\nthe Company of Jesus.\n\nIf, then, the lovers of Mary imitate, as much as possible, those lovers\nwho endeavor to make known their affection to the person beloved, they\ncan never love her so much as she loves them. I know, oh Lady, said\nSt. Peter Damian, how loving thou art, and that thou lovest us with\nunconquerable love.[112] The venerable Alphonso Rodriguez, of the Society\nof Jesus, was once standing before an image of Mary; and there burning\nwith love for the most holy Virgin, broke forth into these words: \u201cMy\nmost amiable mother, I know that thou lovest me, but thou dost not love\nme so much as I love thee.\u201d Then Mary, as if wounded in her love, spoke\nto him from that image and said: \u201cWhat dost thou say\u2014what dost thou say,\noh Alphonso? Oh, how much greater is the love I bear thee than the love\nthou bearest me! Know that the distance from heaven to earth is not so\ngreat as from my love to thine.\u201d\n\nWith how much reason, then, did St. Bonaventure exclaim: Blessed are\nthose whose lot it is to be faithful servants and lovers of this most\nloving mother![113] For this most grateful queen is never surpassed in\nlove by her devoted servants.[114] Mary, in this respect, imitating our\nloving Redeemer Jesus Christ, makes by her favors a twofold return to him\nwho loves her. I will exclaim, then, with the enamored St. Anselm: May my\nheart languish, may my soul melt with your never-failing love.[115] May\nmy heart always burn and my soul be consumed with love for you, oh Jesus,\nmy beloved Saviour, oh my dear mother Mary. Grant then, oh Jesus and\nMary, since without your grace I cannot love you, grant to my soul, not\nthrough my merits, but through yours, that I may love you as you deserve.\nOh God! the lover of men, thou hast died for thy enemies, and canst thou\ndeny to him who asks it, the grace of loving thee and thy mother?[116]\n\n\nEXAMPLE.\n\nIt is narrated by Father Auriemma,[117] that a poor shepherdess loved\nMary so much that all her delight was to go to a little chapel of\nour Lady, on a mountain, and there in solitude, while her sheep were\nfeeding, to converse with her beloved mother and pay her devotion to\nher. When she saw that the figure of Mary, in relief, was unadorned,\nshe began, by the poor labor of her hands, to make a drapery for it.\nHaving gathered one day some flowers in the fields, she wove them into a\ngarland, and then ascending the altar of that little chapel, placed it\non the head of the figure, saying: \u201cOh, my mother, I would that I could\nplace on thy head a crown of gold and gems; but as I am poor, receive\nfrom me this poor crown of flowers, and accept it as a token of the love\nI bear thee.\u201d Thus this devout maiden always endeavored to serve and\nhonor her beloved Lady. But let us see how our good mother, on the other\nhand, rewarded the visits and the affection of her child. She fell ill,\nand was near her end. It happened that two religious passing that way,\nweary with travelling, stopped to rest under a tree; one fell asleep\nand the other watched, but both had the same vision. They saw a company\nof beautiful virgins, and among them there was one who, in loveliness\nand majesty, surpassed the rest. One of the brothers addressed her, and\nsaid: \u201cLady, who art thou? and where art thou going?\u201d \u201cI am the mother\nof God,\u201d she replied, \u201cand I am going to the neighboring village, with\nthese holy virgins, to visit a dying shepherdess, who has many times\nvisited me.\u201d She spoke thus and disappeared. These two good servants of\nGod proposed to each other to go and visit her also. They went towards\nthe place where the dying maiden lived, entered a small cottage, and\nthere found her lying upon a little straw. They saluted her, and she said\nto them: \u201cBrothers, ask of God that he may permit you to see the company\nthat surrounds me.\u201d They were quickly on their knees, and saw Mary, with\na crown in her hand by the side of the dying girl, consoling her. Then\nthose holy virgins began to sing, and with that sweet music the blessed\nsoul was released from the body. Mary crowned her, and took her soul with\nher to paradise.\n\n\nPRAYER.\n\n_Oh Lady, Ravisher of hearts!_ I would exclaim with St. Bonaventure; who,\nwith the love and favor thou dost bestow upon thy servants, dost ravish\ntheir hearts; take my miserable heart also, which desires so earnestly\nto love thee. Thou, oh my mother, with thy beauty hast enamored a God,\nand hast drawn him from heaven into thy bosom, and shall I live without\nloving thee? No. I will say to thee with thy loving child John Berchmans:\n\u201cI will never rest until I have attained a tender love for my mother\nMary.\u201d[118] No, I will not rest until I am certain of having obtained a\nlove\u2014a constant and tender love for thee, my mother, who hast loved me\nwith so much tenderness even when I was so ungrateful towards thee. And\nwhere should I now be if thou, oh Mary, hadst not loved me, and obtained\nso many favors for me? If then thou hast loved me so much when I did not\nlove thee, how much more may I confide in thy goodness, now that I love\nthee? I love thee, oh my mother, and would wish for a heart capable of\nloving thee, for all those unhappy beings who do not love thee. Would\nthat my tongue could praise thee with the power of a thousand tongues, in\norder to make known thy greatness, thy holiness, thy mercy, and thy love,\nwith which thou lovest those who love thee. If I had riches, I would\nemploy them all for thy honor; if I had subjects, I would make them all\nthy lovers; for thee and for thy glory I would give my life, if it were\nrequired. I love thee, oh my mother, but at the same time I fear that\nthou dost not love me, for I have heard that love makes lovers like those\nthey love.[119] If then I find myself so unlike to thee, it is a proof\nthat I do not love thee. Thou so pure, I so unclean; thou so humble, I so\nproud; thou so holy, I so sinful. But this, oh Mary, is to be thy work;\nsince thou lovest me, make me like unto thyself. Thou hast the power to\nchange the heart; take then mine and change it. Let the world see what\nthou canst do for those who love thee. Make me holy\u2014make me worthy of thy\nSon. Thus I hope; thus may it be.\n\n\nSECTION IV.\n\nMARY IS ALSO MOTHER OF PENITENT SINNERS.\n\nMary assured St. Bridget that she was mother not only of the just and\ninnocent, but also of sinners, provided they wish to amend.[120] When a\nsinner becomes penitent, and throws himself at her feet, he finds this\ngood mother of mercy more ready to embrace and aid him than any earthly\nmother could be. This St. Gregory wrote to the Princess Matilda: \u201cDesire\nto cease from sin, and I confidently promise you you will find Mary more\nprompt than an earthly mother in thy behalf.\u201d[121] But whoever aspires\nto be the son of this great mother, must first leave off sinning, and\nthen let him hope to be accepted as her son. Richard, commenting upon\nthe words, \u201cThen rose up her children,\u201d[122] remarks, that first comes\nthe word rose up, _surrexerunt_, and then children, _filii_; because he\ncannot be a son of Mary who does not first rise from the iniquity into\nwhich he has fallen.[123] For, says St. Peter Chrysologus, he who does\nworks contrary to those of Mary, by such conduct denies that he wishes to\nbe her son.[124] Mary is humble, and will he be proud? Mary is pure, and\nwill he be impure? Mary is full of love, and will he hate his neighbor?\nHe proves that he is not, and does not wish to be the son of this holy\nmother, when he so much disgusts her with his life. The sons of Mary,\nrepeats Richard of St. Laurence, are her imitators in chastity, humility,\nmeekness, mercy.[125] And how can he who so much disgusts her with his\nlife, dare to call himself the son of Mary? A certain sinner once said\nto Mary, \u201cShow thyself a mother;\u201d[126] but the Virgin answered him,\n\u201cShow thyself a son.\u201d[127] Another, one day, invoked this divine mother,\ncalling her mother of mercy. But Mary said to him, \u201cWhen you sinners wish\nme to aid you, you call me mother of mercy, and yet by your sins make me\nthe mother of misery and grief.\u201d \u201cHe is cursed of God that angereth his\nmother.\u201d[128] His mother\u2014that is, Mary, remarks Richard.[129] God curses\nevery one who afflicts this his good mother, by his bad life or his\nwilfulness.\n\nI have said wilfulness, for when a sinner, although he may not have\nleft his sins, makes an effort to quit them, and seeks the aid of Mary,\nthis mother will not fail to assist him, and bring him to the grace of\nGod. This St. Bridget once learned from Jesus Christ himself, who,\nspeaking with his mother, said: \u201cThou dost aid those who are striving\nto rise to God, and dost leave no soul without thy consolation.\u201d[130]\nWhile the sinner, then, is obstinate, Mary cannot love him; but if he\nfinds himself enchained by some passion which makes him a slave of hell,\nand will commend himself to the Virgin, and implore her with confidence\nand perseverance to rescue him from his sin, this good mother will\nnot fail to extend her powerful hand, she will loose his chains, and\nbring him to a state of safety. It is a heresy, condemned by the sacred\nCouncil of Trent, to say that all the prayers and works of a person in\na state of sin are sins. St. Bernard says that prayer in the mouth of\na sinner, although it is without supernatural excellence, since it is\nnot accompanied by charity, yet is useful and efficient in obtaining a\nrelease from sin; for, as St. Thomas teaches,[131] the prayer of the\nsinner is indeed without merit, but it serves to obtain the grace of\npardon; for the power of obtaining it is based not upon the worth of him\nwho prays, but upon the divine bounty, and upon the merits and promise\nof Jesus Christ, who has said, \u201cEvery one that asketh receiveth.\u201d[132]\nThe same may be said of the prayers offered to the divine mother. If he\nwho prays, says St. Anselm, does not deserve to be heard, the merits\nof Mary, to whom he commends himself, will cause him to be heard.[133]\nHence St. Bernard exhorts every sinner to pray to Mary, and to feel\ngreat confidence in praying to her; because if he does not deserve what\nhe demands, yet Mary obtains for him, by her merits, the graces which\nshe asks of God for him.[134] The office of a good mother, says the same\nsaint, is this: if a mother knew that her two sons were deadly enemies,\nand that one was plotting against the life of the other, what would she\ndo but endeavor in every way to pacify him? Thus, says the saint, Mary\nis mother of Jesus, and mother of man; when she sees any one by his sin\nan enemy of Jesus Christ, she cannot endure it, and makes every effort\nto reconcile them.[135] Our most indulgent lady only requires the sinner\nto commend himself to her, and have the intention to reform. When she\nsees a sinner coming to implore mercy at her feet, she does not regard\nthe sins with which he is laden, but the intention with which he comes.\nIf he comes with a good intention, though he have committed all the sins\nin the world, she embraces him, and this most loving mother condescends\nto heal all the wounds of his soul; for she is not only called by us the\nmother of mercy, but she really is such, and shows herself such by the\nlove and tenderness with which she succors us. The blessed Virgin herself\nexpressed all this to St. Bridget, when she said to her, \u201cHowever great\nmay be a man\u2019s sins, when he turns to me, I am immediately ready to\nreceive him; neither do I consider how much he has sinned, but with what\nintention he comes; for I do not disdain to anoint and heal his wounds,\nbecause I am called, and truly am, the mother of mercy.\u201d[136]\n\nMary is the mother of sinners who desire to be converted, and as a mother\nshe cannot but compassionate them, and it even seems that she regards the\nwoes of her poor children as her own. When the woman of Chanaan implored\nJesus Christ to liberate her daughter from the demon which tormented her,\nshe said: \u201cHave mercy on me, oh Lord, thou son of David; my daughter\nis grievously troubled by a devil.\u201d[137] But as the daughter, not the\nmother, was tormented by the devil, it would seem that she should have\nsaid, \u201cOh Lord, have mercy on my daughter,\u201d not \u201chave mercy upon me;\u201d\nbut no, she said, \u201cHave mercy upon me,\u201d[138] and with reason, for all\nthe miseries of children are felt as their own by their mothers. Exactly\nthus Mary prays God, says Richard of St. Laurence, when she commends\nto him a sinner who has recommended himself to her: \u201cHave mercy upon\nme.\u201d[139] It is as if she said to him, My Lord, this poor creature, who\nis in sin, is my child; have pity on him, not so much on him as on me who\nam his mother. Oh, would to God that all sinners would have recourse to\nthis sweet mother, for all would certainly be pardoned by God. Oh Mary,\nexclaims St. Bonaventure, in wonder; thou dost embrace, with maternal\naffection, the sinner who is despised by the whole world! neither dost\nthou leave him until he is reconciled to his Judge![140] The saint here\nintends to say that the sinner who remains in sin is hated and rejected\nby all men; even insensible creatures, fire, air, the earth, would\npunish him, and inflict vengeance upon him in order to repair the honor\nof their insulted Lord. But if this wretch has recourse to Mary, does\nshe banish him from her presence? No: if he comes asking for help, and\nintending to amend, she embraces him with the affection of a mother, and\ndoes not leave him until she has reconciled him to God by her powerful\nintercession, and re-established him in his grace.\n\nWe read in the 2d book of Kings,[141] that the wise woman of Thecua said\nto David: \u201cMy Lord, I had two sons, and for my misfortune one has killed\nthe other; so that I have already lost a child; justice would now take\nfrom me my other and only son; have pity on me a poor mother, and do not\nlet me be deprived of both my children.\u201d Then David had compassion on\nthis mother, and liberated the criminal, and restored him to her.[142]\nIt appears that Mary offers the same petition when God is angry with a\nsinner, who has recourse to her: Oh my God, she says to him, I had two\nsons, Jesus and man; man has killed my Jesus on the cross; thy justice\nwould now condemn man; my Lord, my Jesus is dead; have mercy upon me, and\nif I have lost one, do not condemn me to lose the other also. Ah, God\nassuredly does not condemn those sinners who have recourse to Mary, and\nfor whom she prays; since God himself has given these sinners to Mary for\nher children. The devout Lanspergius puts these words into the mouth of\nour Lord: I have commended sinners to Mary as her children. Wherefore she\nis so watchful in the performance of her office that she permits none to\nbe lost who are committed to her care, especially those who invoke her,\nand uses all her power to lead them back to me. And who can describe,\nsays Blosius, the goodness, the mercy, the fidelity, and the charity with\nwhich this our mother strives to save us, when we invoke her aid?[143]\nLet us prostrate ourselves, then, says St. Bernard, before this good\nmother, let us cling to her sacred feet, and leave her not until she\ngives us her blessing, and accepts us for her children.[144] Who could\ndistrust the goodness of this mother? said St. Bonaventure. Though she\nshould slay me, I will hope in her; and, confident in my trust, I would\ndie near her image, and be saved.[145] And thus should every sinner say\nwho has recourse to this kind mother: Oh my Lady and mother, I deserve\nfor my faults that thou shouldst banish me from thy presence, and\nshouldst punish me for my sins; but even if thou shouldst cast me off\nand slay me, I shall never lose confidence in thee and in thy power to\nsave me. In thee I entirely confide, and if it be my fate to die before\nsome image of thine, recommending myself to thy compassion, I should have\na certain hope of my salvation, and of going to praise thee in heaven,\nunited to all thy servants who called upon thee for aid in death, and are\nsaved. Let the following example be read, and let the reader judge if any\nsinner can distrust the mercy and love of this good mother, if he has\nrecourse to her.\n\n\nEXAMPLE.\n\nIt is narrated by Belluacensis that in Ridolio, a city of England, in the\nyear 1430, there lived a young nobleman named Ernest, who gave all his\npatrimony to the poor, and entered a monastery, where he led so holy a\nlife that he was greatly esteemed by his superiors, particularly for his\nspecial devotion to the most holy Virgin. It happened that a pestilence\nprevailed in that city, and the citizens had recourse to that monastery\nto ask the prayers of the monks. The abbot ordered Ernest to go and pray\nbefore the altar of Mary, and not to quit it until she had given him an\nanswer. The youth remained there three days, and received from Mary, in\nanswer, some prayers, which were to be said. They were said, and the\nplague ceased. It happened afterwards that this youth became less ardent\nin his devotion to Mary; the devil assailed him with many temptations,\nespecially to impurity, and to a desire to flee from the monastery; and\nhaving neglected to recommend himself to Mary, he resolved to take flight\nby casting himself from the wall of the monastery; but passing before an\nimage of the Virgin which stood in the corridor, the mother of God spoke\nto him, and said: \u201cMy son, why do you leave me?\u201d Ernest was overwhelmed\nwith surprise, and, filled with compunction, fell on the earth, saying:\n\u201cMy Lady, behold, I have no power to resist, why do you not aid me?\u201d and\nthe Madonna replied: \u201cWhy have you not invoked me? If you had sought\nmy protection, you would not have been reduced to this; from this day\ncommend yourself to me, and have confidence.\u201d Ernest returned to his\ncell; but the temptations were renewed, yet he neglected to call upon\nMary for assistance. He finally fled from the monastery, and leading a\nbad life, he went on from one sin to another, till he became an assassin.\nHe rented an inn, where in the night he murdered unfortunate travellers,\nand stripped them of all they had. One night, among others, he killed\nthe cousin of the governor of the place, who, after examination and\ntrial, condemned him to the gallows. But during the examination, a young\ntraveller arrived at the inn, and the host, as usual, laid his plans and\nentered his chamber to assassinate him: but on approaching the bed, he\nfinds the young man gone, and a Christ on the cross, covered with wounds,\nin his place. Our Lord, looking compassionately at him, said: \u201cIs it not\nenough that I have died once for thee? Dost thou wish to slay me again?\nDo it, then; lift thy hand and kill me!\u201d Then the poor Ernest, covered\nwith confusion, began to weep, and exclaimed: \u201cOh Lord, behold me ready\nto return to thee, who hast shown me so much mercy.\u201d He immediately left\nthe inn to go back to the monastery and do penance; but the officers of\njustice overtook him on the way, he was carried before the judge, and in\nhis presence confessed all the murders he had committed. He was at once\ncondemned to death, without even being allowed time for confession. He\ncommended himself to Mary. He was hung upon the gallows, but the Virgin\nprevented his death. She herself released him, and said to him: \u201cReturn\nto the monastery; do penance; and when you shall see in my hand a paper\ncontaining the pardon of thy sins, then prepare to die.\u201d Ernest returned,\nand having related all to the abbot, did great penance. After many years,\nhe saw in the hand of Mary the paper containing his pardon; he then\nprepared for his last end, and died a holy death.\n\n\nPRAYER.\n\nOh Mary, sovereign queen, and worthy mother of my God, most holy Mary!\nFinding myself so vile, so laden with sin, I dare not approach thee\nand call thee mother. But I cannot let my miseries deprive me of the\nconsolation and confidence I feel in calling thee mother. I know that\nI deserve to be rejected by thee, but I pray thee to consider what thy\nson Jesus has done and suffered for me; and then cast me from thee if\nthou canst. I am a poor sinner, who, more than others, have despised the\ndivine Majesty; but the evil is already done. To thee I have recourse:\nthou canst help me; oh, my mother, help me. Do not say that thou canst\nnot aid me, for I know that thou art omnipotent, and dost obtain whatever\nthou desirest from thy God. If then thou sayest that thou canst not help\nme, at least tell me to whom I must have recourse for succor in my deep\ndistress. With St. Anselm, I will say to thee, and to thy Son: Have\npity on me, oh thou, my Redeemer, and pardon me, thou my mother, and\nrecommend me to pardon; or teach me to whom I may have recourse, who is\nmore compassionate than you, and in whom I may have more confidence. No,\nneither in heaven nor on earth can I find one who has more compassion\nfor the miserable, or who can aid me more than you. Thou, oh Jesus, art\nmy father, and thou, oh Mary, art my mother. You love those who are the\nmost wretched, and you seek to save them. I am worthy of hell, and of all\nbeings the most miserable; you need not to seek me, neither do I ask you\nto seek me; I present myself to you with a sure hope that I shall not be\nabandoned by you. Behold me at your feet; my Jesus, pardon me; my Mary,\nhelp me.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\nVITA, DULCEDO.\n\nOur life, our sweetness.\n\n\nSECTION I.\n\nMARY IS OUR LIFE, BECAUSE SHE OBTAINS FOR US THE PARDON OF OUR SINS.\n\nIn order to understand rightly the reason why the holy Church calls\nMary our life, we must consider that as the soul gives life to the\nbody, so divine grace gives life to the soul; for a soul without grace,\nthough nominally alive, in truth is dead, as we find in the Apocalypse:\n\u201cThou hast the name of being alive, and thou art dead.\u201d[146] As Mary,\nthen, obtains for sinners, by her intercession, the gift of grace, she\nrestores them to life. The holy Church applies to her the following words\nof Proverbs: \u201cThey that in the morning early watch for me, shall find\nme.\u201d[147] They shall find me, or, according to the Septuagint, \u201cthey\nshall find grace.\u201d[148] Hence, to have recourse to Mary is to find the\ngrace of God; for, as immediately follows: \u201cHe who finds me shall find\nlife, and shall receive from God eternal salvation.\u201d[149] Listen, as St.\nBonaventure exclaims here upon these words, listen, all ye who desire the\nkingdom of God; honor the Virgin Mary, and ye shall have life and eternal\nsalvation.[150]\n\nSt. Bernardine of Sienna says, that God did not destroy man after his\nfall, because of the peculiar love that he bore his future child Mary.\nAnd the saint adds, that he doubts not all the mercy and pardon which\nsinners received under the Old Law, was granted them by God solely for\nthe sake of this blessed Virgin.[151]\n\nTherefore St. Bernard exhorts us, if we have been so unfortunate as to\nlose divine grace, to strive to recover it, but to strive through Mary;\nfor if we have lost it, she has found it:[152] and hence she is called by\nthis saint, \u201cThe finder of grace.\u201d[153] This the angel Gabriel expressed\nfor our consolation, when he said to the Virgin, \u201cFear not, Mary, for\nthou hast found grace.\u201d[154] But if Mary had never been without grace,\nhow could the angel say to her that she had found it? A thing is said to\nbe found when it has been lost. The Virgin was always with God and with\ngrace; she was even full of grace, as the Archangel himself announced\nwhen he saluted her, \u201cHail! full of grace, the Lord is with thee.\u201d[155]\nIf, then, Mary did not find grace for herself, for whom did she find it?\nCardinal Hugo answers, when commenting upon the above passage, that she\nfound it for sinners who had lost it. Let sinners, then, says the devout\nwriter who have lost grace, flee to Mary; with her they will certainly\nfind it; and let them say: Oh Lady, what is lost must be restored to\nhim who has lost it; this grace which thou hast found is not thine,\nthou hast never lost it; it is ours, for we have lost it, and to us\nthou shouldst restore it.[156] In connection with which, Richard of St.\nLaurence remarks: If then we desire to find the grace of God, let us go\nto Mary, who has found it, and always finds it.[157] And since she ever\nhas been, and ever will be, dear to God, if we have recourse to her, we\ncertainly shall find it. She says, in the holy Canticles, that God has\nplaced her in the world to be our defence,[158] and therefore she is\nordained to be the mediatrix of peace between the sinner and God. \u201cI am\nbecome in his presence as one finding peace.\u201d[159] By which words St.\nBernard gives encouragement to the sinner, and says: Go to this mother\nof mercy, and show her the wounds which thy sins have inflicted upon thy\nsoul. Then she will certainly pray her Son that he may pardon thee by\nthe milk with which she has nourished him, and the Son who loves her so\nmuch will certainly hear her.[160] So, too, the holy Church teaches us to\npray the Lord to grant us the powerful intercession of Mary, that we may\narise from our sins, in the following prayer: \u201cGrant us, oh merciful God!\nstrength against all our weakness; that we who celebrate the memory of\nthe holy mother of God, may, by the help of her intercession, arise again\nfrom our iniquities.\u201d[161]\n\nJustly, then, does St. Lawrence Justinian call her the hope of\nevil-doers, \u201cspes delinquentium,\u201d since she alone can obtain their\npardon from God. St. Bernard rightly names her the ladder of sinners,\n\u201cPeccatorum scala;\u201d since she, this compassionate queen, offers her hand\nto poor fallen mortals, leads them from the precipice of sin, and helps\nthem to ascend to God. St. Augustine rightly calls her the only hope of\nus sinners, since by her means alone we hope for the remission of all our\nsins.[162] And St. John Chrysostom repeats the same thing, namely, that\nsinners receive pardon only through the intercession of Mary.[163] Whence\nthe saint in the name of all sinners thus salutes her: Hail! mother\nof God and ours; Heaven where God dwells; Throne from which the Lord\ndispenses all graces; always pray to Jesus for us, that by thy prayers\nwe may obtain pardon in the day of account, and the glory of the blessed\nin heaven.[164] Finally, Mary is rightly called aurora: \u201cWho is she that\ncometh forth as the morning rising?\u201d[165] Because, as Pope Innocent says,\naurora is the end of night, and the beginning of day, well is the Virgin\nMary, who is the end of vices and the beginning of virtues, designated as\naurora.[166] And the same effect which the birth of Mary produced in the\nworld, devotion to her produces in the soul; she puts an end to the night\nof sin, and leads the soul into the way of virtue. Hence, St. Germanus\nsays: Oh mother of God, thy protection is immortal! thy intercession is\nlife.[167] And in his sermon on the _Zone of the Virgin_,[168] the saint\nsays that the name of Mary, to him who pronounces it with affection, is\neither the sign of life, or that soon he will have life.\n\nMary sang: \u201cFor behold, from henceforth all nations shall call me\nblessed.\u201d[169] On this account, says St. Bernard, all nations shall call\nthee blessed, because all thy servants by thy means shall obtain the life\nof grace and eternal glory.[170] \u201cIn thee sinners find pardon, and the\njust perseverance, and afterwards life eternal.\u201d[171] Do not despair,\nas the devout Bernardine de Bustis says, oh sinner, although you have\ncommitted all possible sin, but confidently have recourse to this Lady,\nfor you will find her hands full of mercies. Then he adds: Mary is more\ndesirous to bestow favors upon you than you are to receive them.[172]\n\nBy St. Andrew of Crete, Mary is called \u201cThe security of divine\npardon.\u201d[173] By this is meant, that when sinners have recourse to Mary\nthat they may be reconciled to God, God assures them of pardon, and gives\nthem the assurance by also giving them the pledge of it. And this pledge\nis Mary, whom he has given us for our advocate, by whose intercession,\nin virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, God pardons all sinners who\nplace themselves under her protection. It was revealed to St. Bridget\nby an angel, that the holy prophets were full of joy when they learned\nthat God, by the humility and purity of Mary, would become reconciled to\nsinners, and receive into his favor those who had provoked his wrath.[174]\n\nNo sinner need ever fear that he shall be rejected by Mary, if he has\nrecourse to her mercy. No, for she is mother of mercy; and as such,\ndesires to save the most miserable. Mary is that happy ark in which he\nwho takes refuge will never suffer the shipwreck of eternal ruin; \u201carca\nin qua naufragium evadimus.\u201d Even the brutes were saved in the time of\nthe deluge in the ark of Noe; so, under the mantle of Mary, even sinners\nare saved. St. Gertrude one day saw Mary with her mantle extended,\nbeneath which many wild beasts, lions, bears, and tigers had sheltered\nthemselves; and Mary not only did not cast them from her, but received\nthem with pity and caressed them. And by this the saint understood,\nthat the vilest sinners, when they flee to Mary, are not cast out, but\nwelcomed and saved from eternal death. Let us enter, then, into this ark,\nand seek refuge under the mantle of Mary; for she certainly will not\nreject us, and will surely save us.\n\n\nEXAMPLE.\n\nIt is narrated by Father Bovius,[175] of a very sinful person named\nHelen, that having gone to church, she accidentally heard a sermon on the\nrosary. As she went out she bought one, but carried it hidden, so that\nit should not be seen. Afterwards, she began to recite it; and although\nshe recited it without devotion, the most holy Virgin infused into her\nheart such consolation and sweetness in it, that she could not cease\nrepeating it. And by this she was inspired with such a horror of her evil\nlife, that she could find no peace, and was forced, as it were, to go to\nconfession. She confessed with so much contrition, that the confessor\nwas amazed. Having finished her confession, she went immediately before\nan altar of the blessed Virgin, to thank her advocate; she recited her\nrosary, and the divine mother spoke to her from her image, and said:\n\u201cHelen, you have too long offended God and me; henceforth change your\nlife, and I will bestow upon you many of my favors.\u201d The poor sinner,\nin confusion, answered: \u201cAh, most holy Virgin, it is true that hitherto\nI have been very sinful, but thou, who art all-powerful, assist me; I\ngive myself to thee, and will pass the remainder of my life in doing\npenance for my sins.\u201d Assisted by Mary, Helen bestowed all her goods\nupon the poor, and commenced a rigorous penance. She was tormented by\ndreadful temptations, but she continued to recommend herself to the\nmother of God; and always, with her aid, came off victorious. She was\nfavored also with many supernatural graces, as visions, revelations, and\nprophecies. At last, before her death, of which she had been warned a few\ndays previously by Mary, the Virgin herself came with her Son to visit\nher; and in death, the soul of this sinner was seen, in the form of a\nbeautiful dove, ascending to heaven.\n\n\nPRAYER.\n\nBehold, oh mother of my God, Mary, my only hope, behold at thy feet a\nmiserable sinner, who implores thy mercy. Thou art proclaimed and called\nby the whole Church, and by all the faithful, the refuge of sinners; thou\nthen art my refuge; it is thine to save me. Thou knowest how much thy Son\ndesires our salvation.[176] Thou, too, knowest what Jesus Christ suffered\nto save me. I offer to thee, oh my mother, the sufferings of Jesus; the\ncold which he endured in the stable, the steps of his long journey into\nEgypt, his toils, his sweat, the blood that he shed, the torments which\ncaused his death before thy eyes upon the cross; show thy love for this\nSon, whilst I, for the love of him, beg thee to aid me. Extend thy hand\nto a fallen creature, who asks pity of thee. If I were a saint, I would\nnot ask for mercy; but because I am a sinner, I have recourse to thee,\nwho art the mother of mercies. I know that thy compassionate heart finds\nconsolation in succoring the wretched, when thou canst aid them, and dost\nnot find them obstinate in their sins. Console, then, to-day thy own\ncompassionate heart, and console me; for thou hast a chance to save me,\na poor wretch condemned to hell; and thou canst aid me, for I will not\nbe obstinate. I place myself in thy hands; tell me what I must do, and\nobtain for me strength to do it, and I will do all I can to return to a\nstate of grace. I take refuge beneath thy mantle. Jesus Christ wishes me\nto have recourse to thee, that, for thy glory and his, since thou art his\nmother, not only his blood, but also thy prayers, may aid me to obtain\nsalvation. He sends me to thee that thou mayest assist me. Oh Mary, I\nhasten to thee, and in thee I trust. Thou dost pray for so many others,\npray, and say also one word for me. Say to God, that thou desirest my\nsalvation, and God certainly will save me. Tell him that I am thine; this\nis all I ask from thee.\n\n\nSECTION II.\n\nMARY IS AGAIN OUR LIFE, BECAUSE SHE OBTAINS FOR US PERSEVERANCE.\n\nFinal perseverance is a divine gift so great, that, as the holy Council\nof Trent has declared, it is a wholly gratuitous gift, and one that\ncannot be merited by us. But, as St. Augustine teaches us, all those\nobtain perseverance from God who ask it of him; and as Father Suarez\nsays, they infallibly obtain it if they are diligent to the end of life\nin praying God for it; because, as Cardinal Bellarmine writes: This\nperseverance is daily to be sought, that it may be daily obtained.[177]\nNow, if it is true, which I consider certain, according to the present\nvery general opinion, as I shall presently demonstrate in chap. 5th\u2014if it\nis true that all the graces which are bestowed on us by God pass through\nthe hands of Mary, it must also be true that only through Mary can we\nhope for and obtain this great gift of perseverance. And we certainly\nshall obtain it, if, with confidence, we always ask it of Mary. She\nherself promises this grace to all those who serve her faithfully in this\nlife. \u201cThey that work by me shall not sin; they that explain me shall\nhave life everlasting:\u201d[178] which words the holy Church puts into the\nmouth of Mary on the Feast of her Conception.\n\nIn order that we may be preserved in the life of divine grace, spiritual\nstrength is necessary to resist all the enemies of our salvation. Now,\nthis strength can only be obtained by means of Mary: Mine is this\nstrength, says Mary: \u201cMea est fortitudo.\u201d God has intrusted this gift\nto my hand, that I may bestow it on my devoted servants. \u201cBy me kings\nreign:\u201d \u201cPer me reges regnant.\u201d[179] By me my servants reign, and rule\ntheir senses and their passions, and thus make themselves worthy of\nreigning eternally in heaven. Oh, what strength have the servants of this\ngreat Lady to conquer all the temptations of hell! Mary is that tower\nspoken of in the holy Canticles: \u201cThy neck is as the tower of David,\nwhich is built with bulwarks; a thousand bucklers hang upon it, all the\narmor of valiant men.\u201d[180] She is like a strong tower of defence for\nher lovers, who take refuge with her in the day of battle; in her all\nher devoted servants find shields and weapons of every kind to defend\nthemselves against the powers of hell.\n\nFor this reason, the most holy Virgin is called a plane-tree: \u201cAs a\nplane-tree by the water in the streets was I exalted.\u201d[181] This passage\nis explained by Cardinal Hugo, who tells us that the plane-tree has\nleaves like shields.[182] And by this is explained the defence that Mary\naffords those who take refuge with her. The blessed Amadeus gives another\nexplanation, and says that she is called a plane-tree because, as the\nplane-tree, with its shade, protects the traveller from the heat of the\nsun and from the rain, so, under the mantle of Mary, men find shelter\nfrom the heat of their passions and the fury of temptations.[183]\n\nUnfortunate are those souls who withdraw from this shelter, neglect their\ndevotion to Mary, and fail to recommend themselves to her in trial. If\nthe sun should no more rise upon the world, says St. Bernard, what would\nthe world become but a chaos of darkness and horror?[184] If a soul loses\nher devotion to Mary, she will immediately be full of darkness, and that\ndarkness of which the Holy Ghost says: \u201cThou hast appointed darkness, and\nit is night; in it shall all the beasts of the woods go about.\u201d[185] When\nthe divine light does not shine in a soul it is night, and it will become\na den of all sins and demons. Woe to those, as St. Anselm says, who turn\naway from the light of this sun;[186] that is, who neglect devotion to\nMary. St. Francis Borgia, with reason, feared for the perseverance of\nthose in whom he did not find a special devotion to the blessed Virgin.\nWhen once he asked some novices to what saint they had the most devotion,\nand found that some of them were not especially devoted to Mary, he\nwarned the master to watch more carefully these unfortunate persons; and\nit happened that they all lost their vocation and quitted religion.\n\nSt. Germanus justly called the most holy Virgin the breath of Christians;\nbecause, as the body cannot live without breathing, so the soul cannot\nlive without having recourse and commending itself to Mary, through\nwhose means the life of divine grace is obtained for us and preserved in\nus.[187] As respiration is not only the sign, but also the cause of life,\nso the name of Mary, when it is spoken by the servants of God, not only\nproves that they are living, but procures and maintains this life, and\nobtains for them every aid. The blessed Alanus, when once assailed by a\nstrong temptation, was on the point of being lost because he omitted to\nrecommend himself to Mary; but the blessed Virgin appeared to him, and,\nto warn him against such neglect in future, gave him a blow on the ear,\nand said to him: \u201cIf thou hadst commended thyself to me, thou wouldst\nnot have been exposed to this peril.\u201d\n\nOn the other hand: \u201cBlessed is the man,\u201d says Mary, \u201cthat heareth me,\nand that watcheth daily at my gates, and waiteth at the posts of my\ndoors.\u201d[188] Mary will certainly be ready to obtain light and strength\nfor those faithful servants, that they may abandon their vices and walk\nin the paths of virtue. Hence is she, as Innocent III. beautifully\nexpresses it: The moon by night, the dawn of the morning, and the sun\nby day.[189] The moon, to him who is groping in the night of sin, to\ngive him light to see his wretched state of condemnation; the dawn, the\nforerunner of the sun, to him who is enlightened, that he may come forth\nfrom sin and return to divine grace; and the sun, to him who is in grace,\nthat he may not again fall into any precipice.\n\nTheologians apply to Mary these words of Ecclesiasticus: \u201cHer bands are\na healthful binding.\u201d[190] Wherefore are they called bands, asks St.\nLawrence Justinian, unless because she binds her servants, that they\nmay not wander in forbidden fields?[191] St. Bonaventure explains in a\nsimilar manner the words of the office of Mary: \u201cMy abode is in the full\nassembly of saints.\u201d[192] He says that Mary is not only established in\nthe fulness of the saints, but that she also upholds the saints, that\nthey may not fall away; she sustains their virtue that it may not waver,\nand prevents the demons from doing them harm.[193]\n\nIt is said that \u201call her domestics are clothed with double\ngarments.\u201d[194] Cornelius \u00e0 Lapide thus describes this double garment:\nIt is a double garment, because she clothes her servants with the\nvirtues of her Son, as well as with her own;[195] and, thus clothed,\nthey will preserve holy perseverance. For this reason, St. Philip Neri\nalways admonished his penitents by saying to them: My children, if you\ndesire perseverance, be devout to Mary. The venerable brother John\nBerchmans, of the Company of Jesus, also said: He who loves Mary, shall\nhave perseverance. The reflection which Rupert the Abbot makes upon the\nprodigal son is very beautiful. If the mother of this prodigal son had\nbeen living, he would either never have left his father\u2019s house, or would\nhave returned much sooner.[196] And by this he wished to say, that he\nwho is a child of Mary, either never departs from God, or if for his\nmisfortune he departs, by means of Mary he quickly returns.\n\nOh, if all men loved this most kind and loving Lady, and in temptations\nalways and immediately had recourse to her, who would fall? Who would\nbe lost? He falls and is lost who does not flee to Mary. St. Lawrence\nJustinian applies to Mary these words of Ecclesiasticus: \u201cI have walked\nin the waves of the sea;\u201d[197] and makes her to say: I walk with my\nservants in the midst of the tempests to which they are exposed, to\nassist them, and prevent them from falling into the precipice of sin.[198]\n\nFather Bernardine de Bustis relates that a hawk darted upon a bird which\nhad been taught to say Ave Maria; the bird said Ave Maria, and the hawk\nfell dead. By this our Lord wished to show us, that if an irrational\nbird was saved from destruction by invoking Mary, how much more surely\nwill he be prevented from falling into the power of evil spirits, who is\nmindful to invoke Mary in his temptations. Nothing remains to be done,\nsays St. Thomas of Villanova, when the devils come to tempt us, but, like\nthe chickens when the kite appears, to run quickly under the shelter of\nthe wings of our mother. Let us, then, at the approach of the temptations\nwhich assail us, without stopping to parley with them, place ourselves\nat once under the protection of Mary.[199] And then, the saint goes on\nto say, our Lady and mother must defend us; for, after God, we have no\nrefuge but thee, who art our only hope, and the only protectress in whom\nwe may confide.[200]\n\nLet us, then, conclude with the words of St. Bernard:[201] Oh man,\nwhoever thou art, thou knowest that in this miserable life thou art\nrather tossing on the tempestuous waves, among dangers and tempests, than\nwalking upon the earth; if thou wouldst not sink, keep thy eye fixed on\nthis star, namely, Mary. Look at the star, invoke Mary. When in danger\nof sinning, when tormented by temptations, when doubts disturb thee,\nremember that Mary can aid thee, and instantly call upon her. May her\npowerful name never depart from the confidence of thy heart, nor from\nthe invocation of thy lips. If thou wilt follow Mary, thou shalt never\nwander from the path of safety. Commend thyself always to her, and thou\nshalt not despair. If she upholds thee, thou shalt not fall. If she\nprotects thee, thou need not fear ruin. If she guides thee, thou shalt be\nsaved without difficulty. In a word, if Mary undertakes to defend thee,\nthou shalt certainly arrive at the kingdom of the blessed. Thus do, and\nthou shalt live.\n\n\nEXAMPLE.\n\nIn the celebrated history of St. Mary of Egypt, which we find in the\nfirst volume of the Lives of the Fathers, we read that, at twelve years\nof age, she fled from her parents, and went to Alexandria, where she led\nan infamous life, and became the scandal of the city. After sixteen years\nspent in sin, she wandered off to Jerusalem; where, on the festival of\nthe Holy Cross, she was led to enter the church, more from curiosity than\ndevotion. On the threshold she was thrust back, as if by some invisible\npower; she attempted a second time to enter, and again was repelled, and\na third and a fourth time the same thing happened. The wretched creature\nwithdrew then into a corner of the portico, and there she was interiorly\nenlightened, and saw that God had refused her entrance into the church\non account of her wicked life. By chance she raised her eyes, and saw a\npicture of Mary which was painted in the vestibule. She turned to it,\nweeping, and said: \u201cOh mother of God, have pity on this poor sinner! I\nknow that, on account of my sins, I do not deserve that thou shouldst\nregard me; but thou art the refuge of sinners: for the love of Jesus, thy\nSon, help me. Obtain for me that I may enter the church, for I desire\nto change my life, and go and do penance wherever thou shalt direct.\u201d\nThen she heard an interior voice, as if the blessed Virgin answered her:\n\u201cCome, since thou hast invoked me, and wishest to change thy life, enter\nthe church, for the door will no longer be closed against thee.\u201d The\nsinner entered, adored the cross, and wept. She returned to the picture:\n\u201cOh Lady,\u201d she said, \u201cI am ready; where shall I retire to do penance?\u201d\n\u201cGo,\u201d said the Virgin, \u201cbeyond the Jordan, and thou wilt find the place\nof thy repose.\u201d She made her confession, received holy communion, passed\nthe river, reached the desert, and understood that there was her place of\npenance. During the first seventeen years that she lived in the desert,\nthe evil spirits fiercely assailed her, to make her fall again. What\ndid she then do? She recommended herself to Mary, and Mary obtained for\nher strength to resist for seventeen years, after which the conflict\nceased. Finally, after fifty-seven years spent in the desert, in the\neighty-seventh of her age, through Divine Providence, she was found by\nthe abbot St. Zosimus. To him she related the story of her whole life,\nand begged him to return there the following year, and bring her holy\ncommunion. The holy abbot returned, and gave her communion. Then she\nimplored him again to do the same thing. He returned the second time,\nand found her dead, her body surrounded with light, and at her head\nthese words written in the sand: \u201cBury in this place the body of me, a\nmiserable sinner, and pray God for me.\u201d A lion came and dug her grave,\nthe abbot buried her, and, returning to the monastery, he related the\nwonders of divine mercy towards this happy penitent.\n\n\nPRAYER.\n\nOh mother of mercy! holy Virgin! behold at thy feet the traitor, who,\nreturning ingratitude for the favors received through thee from God,\nhas betrayed thee and God. But, oh my Lady! know that my misery does\nnot destroy, but increases my confidence in thee, because I see that my\nmisery increases thy compassion for me. Show, oh Mary! that thou art the\nsame to me as thou art to all those who invoke thee, full of grace and\nmercy. It is enough for me that thou regardest me with compassion. If\nin thy heart thou hast pity for me, thou wilt not cease to protect me;\nand if thou dost protect me, what should I fear? No, I fear nothing; I\nfear not my sins, for thou canst remedy their evil consequences; nor the\ndemons, for thou art more powerful than hell; nor thy Son who is justly\nangry with me, for at one word of thine he will be appeased. I only\nfear that through negligence I may fail to implore thy protection in my\ntemptations, and that this may cause my ruin. But I promise thee to-day,\nI will always have recourse to thee. Help me to keep this resolution.\nBehold the opportunity thou hast of satisfying thy desire to relieve so\nmiserable a creature as I am.\n\nOh mother of God, I have great confidence in thee. From thee I expect the\ngrace to do just penance for my sins, and from thee I hope the strength\nnever more to fall back into them. If I am sick, thou canst heal me, oh\nheavenly physician. If my sins have made me weak, thy help can make me\nstrong. Oh Mary, I hope every thing from thee, for thou hast all power\nwith God.\n\n\nSECTION III.\n\nMARY RENDERS DEATH SWEET TO HER SERVANTS.\n\n_Dulcedo_:\u2014Sweetness.\n\n\u201cHe that is a friend loveth at all times; and a brother is proved in\ndistress.\u201d[202] _True_ friends and relatives are not known in times of\nprosperity, but in the season of adversity and misery. Worldly friends do\nnot desert their friend when he is in prosperity; but if any misfortune\novertakes him, particularly in the hour of death, immediately his\nfriends abandon him. Not so does Mary desert her devoted servants. In\ntheir distresses, and especially at the trying hour of death, when our\nsufferings are the greatest that can be endured on earth, she our good\nLady and mother cannot abandon her faithful servants; and as she is\nour life in the time of our exile, so is she also our sweetness in the\nhour of death, by obtaining for us that it may be sweet and blessed. For\nsince that great day in which it was the lot and the grief of Mary to be\npresent at the death of Jesus, her Son, who was the head of the elect,\nshe obtained the grace of aiding at death all the elect. Hence the holy\nChurch requires us to pray the blessed Virgin, that she would especially\naid us in the hour of our death: \u201cPray for us sinners, now and at the\nhour of our death.\u201d[203]\n\nThe sufferings of the dying are very great, on account of their remorse\nfor sins committed, their dread of approaching judgment, and the\nuncertainty of eternal salvation. At that moment especially, the devil\nputs forth all his power to gain the soul that is passing into eternity;\nknowing that the time is short in which he may win her, and that if he\nloses her, he has lost her forever. \u201cThe devil is come down unto you,\nhaving great wrath, knowing that he hath but a short time.\u201d[204] And\ntherefore the devil, who has always tempted her in life, will not be\nsatisfied to tempt her alone in death, but calls companions to his aid:\n\u201cTheir houses shall be filled with serpents.\u201d[205] When any one is at the\npoint of death, his house is filled with demons, who unite to accomplish\nhis ruin.\n\nIt is related of St. Andrew Avellino, that at the time of his death, ten\nthousand devils came to tempt him; and we read in his life, that at the\ntime of his agony he had so fierce a struggle with hell, that it caused\nall his good religious who were present to tremble. They saw the face of\nthe saint swell from agitation, so that it became black; they saw all his\nlimbs trembling, and greatly agitated, rivers of tears flowed from his\neyes, and his head shook violently; all these were signs of the horrible\nassault he was suffering from the powers of hell. All the religious wept\nin compassion, redoubled their prayers, and trembled with fear when they\nsaw that a saint died thus. Yet they were consoled by seeing that the\nsaint often turned his eyes, as if seeking help, towards a devout image\nof Mary, for they remembered that he had often said in life, that in\nthe hour of his death Mary must be his refuge. It finally pleased God\nto terminate this struggle by a glorious victory, for the agitation of\nhis body ceased, his countenance gained its natural shape and color, and\nfixing his eyes tranquilly on that image, he devoutly bowed his head to\nMary, who, it is believed, then appeared to him, as if to thank her, and\nquietly breathed forth in her arms his blessed soul, with heavenly peace\ndepicted on his countenance. At the same time a Capuchin nun, in her\nagony, turned to the religious who were with her and said: \u201cSay an Ave\nMaria, for a saint has just died.\u201d\n\nAh, how these rebels flee before the presence of their queen! If, in\nthe hour of death, we have Mary on our side, what fear can we have of\nall the powers of hell? David, in dread of the agony of death, comforted\nhimself with confidence in the death of his future Redeemer, and in the\nintercession of the Virgin mother: \u201cFor though I should walk in the midst\nof the shadow of death, I fear no evils, for thou art with me; thy rod\nand thy staff they have comforted me.\u201d[206] Cardinal Hugo understands the\n_staff_ to signify the tree of the Cross, and the _rod_ the intercession\nof Mary, who was the rod foretold by Isaias: \u201cAnd there shall come forth\na rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up out of his\nroot.\u201d[207] This divine mother, says St. Peter Damian, is that powerful\nrod by which the fury of the infernal enemies is conquered.[208] Hence\nSt. Antoninus encourages us, saying: If Mary is for us, who is against\nus?[209] Father Manuel Padial, of the Society of Jesus, being at the\npoint of death, Mary appeared to him, and said, to comfort him: \u201cThe hour\nhas at length come when the angels, rejoicing, say to thee, Oh happy\nlabors! oh mortifications well recompensed!\u201d At which words an army of\ndevils was seen taking flight in despair, crying: \u201cAlas! we have no\npower, for she who is without stain defends him.\u201d[210] In like manner,\nthe devils assailed Father Jasper Haywood, when he was dying, with great\ntemptations against faith; he immediately commended himself to the most\nholy Virgin, and then was heard to exclaim: \u201cI thank thee, oh Mary, that\nthou hast come to my aid.\u201d[211]\n\nSt. Bonaventure says that Mary sends the archangel Michael, with all the\nangels, to the defence of her dying servants, to protect them from the\nassaults of evil spirits, and to receive the souls of all those who have\nespecially and constantly recommended themselves to her.[212]\n\nWhen a man leaves this life, Isaias says that hell is in uproar, and\nsends its most terrible demons to tempt that soul before it leaves the\nbody, and then afterwards to accuse it when it is presented at the\ntribunal of Jesus Christ to be judged: \u201cHell below was in an uproar\nto meet thee; at thy coming it stirred up the giants for thee.\u201d[213]\nBut Richard says, that the demons, when that soul is defended by Mary,\nwill not even dare to accuse it; knowing that a soul protected by this\ngreat mother is never, and will never, be condemned.[214] St. Jerome\nwrote to the virgin Eustochium, that Mary not only assists her dear\nservants in their death, but also comes to meet them in their passage\nto the other life, to encourage them and accompany them to the divine\ntribunal.[215] And this agrees with what the blessed Virgin said to St.\nBridget, speaking of her servants when they are at the point of death:\n\u201cThen I, their most loving Lady and mother, hasten to them in death, that\nthey may have consolation and comfort.\u201d[216] St. Vincent of Ferrer adds:\nThe blessed Virgin receives the souls of the dying. The loving queen\nreceives their souls under her protection, and she herself presents them\nto the judge her Son, and thus certainly procures their salvation.[217]\nThis happened to Charles, son of St. Bridget, who, dying in the perilous\nprofession of a soldier, and far from his mother, the saint feared for\nhis salvation; but the blessed Virgin revealed to her that Charles was\nsaved for the love he bore her, in recompense of which she had assisted\nhim in death, and had suggested to him the christian acts necessary to be\nmade at that moment. The saint saw at the same time Jesus upon a throne,\nand the devil bringing two accusations against the most holy Virgin: the\nfirst, that Mary had prevented him from tempting Charles at the moment of\ndeath; the second, that Mary herself had presented his soul to its judge,\nand thus had saved it without even giving him an opportunity to expose\nthe reasons why he claimed it as his own. She then saw him driven from\nthe presence of the judge, and the soul of Charles taken to heaven.\n\n\u201cHer bands are a healthful binding; in the latter end thou shalt find\nrest in her.\u201d[218] Blessed art thou, oh brother, if in death thou shalt\nfind thyself bound by the sweet chains of love for the mother of God!\nThese chains are chains of salvation, which will secure to thee eternal\nsalvation, and give thee in death that blessed peace which will be the\ncommencement of thy eternal peace and rest. Father Binetti, in his book\n\u201cOn the Perfections of our Lord,\u201d relates that having been present at the\ndeath of a devoted servant of Mary, he heard from him these words before\nhe breathed his last: \u201cOh, my Father, if you knew what happiness I find\nin having served the most holy mother of God! I could not describe to\nyou the joy I feel at this moment.\u201d[219] Father Suarez, because he was\nall his life very devoted to Mary, used to say, that he would willingly\nexchange all his knowledge for the merit of one Hail Mary, and died with\nso much joy, that he exclaimed at his last moment, \u201cI never imagined it\nwould be so sweet to die,\u2014non putabam tam dulce esse mori.\u201d[220] You\ntoo, devout reader, will doubtless feel the same peace and joy, if at\ndeath you can remember having loved this good mother, who cannot but be\nfaithful to her children, when they are faithful to her service, paying\nher their offerings of visits, rosaries, and fastings, and especially\nthanking her, praising her, and often commending themselves to her\npowerful protection.\n\nNeither will you be deprived of this consolation on account of your\nsins, if from henceforth you will be careful to live well, and to serve\nthis very grateful and gracious Lady. In the trials and temptations with\nwhich the devil will assail you, that he may throw you into despair, she\nwill comfort you, and even come herself to assist you in death. Martin,\nbrother of St. Peter Damian, as the saint himself relates, finding that\nhe had offended God, went one day before an altar of Mary to dedicate\nhimself to her service, putting his girdle around his neck in token of\nhis servitude, and thus said: \u201cMy Lady, mirror of purity, I, a poor\nsinner, have offended God and thee by violating chastity: I have no other\nremedy than to offer myself as thy servant; to thy service I dedicate\nmyself to-day; receive this rebel, do not despise me.\u201d He then laid on\nthe altar a certain sum of money, promising to pay the same every year\nas a tribute of his devotion to Mary. After some time Martin died; but\nbefore his death he was heard one morning to say: \u201cArise, arise, pay\nhomage to my Lady;\u201d and afterwards: \u201cWhat a favor is this, oh queen of\nheaven, that thou shouldst condescend to visit this thy poor servant.\nBless me, oh Lady, and permit me not to be lost after thou hast honored\nme with thy presence.\u201d At this moment his brother Peter entered. Martin\nrelated to him the visit of Mary, and how she had blessed him, lamenting\nthat the persons present had not arisen at her entrance; and shortly\nafter quietly passed away to our Lord. Such will be your death also, oh\nmy reader, if you are faithful to Mary, even if in your past life you\nhave offended God. She will give you a sweet and happy death.\n\nAnd if then you are greatly alarmed and lose courage in view of the sins\nyou have committed, she will come to comfort you as she came to Adolphus,\nCount of Alsace, who, having quitted the world and become a Franciscan,\nas the chronicles relate, was very devoted to the mother of God. His last\ndays arrived, and at the remembrance of the life he had led in the world,\nand the rigor of divine justice, he began to fear death and doubt of his\nsalvation. Then Mary, who never sleeps when her faithful servants are\nin trouble, accompanied by many saints, appeared to him, and encouraged\nhim with these tender words of consolation: \u201cMy dear Adolphus, thou art\nmine, thou hast given thyself to me, then why dost thou so greatly fear\ndeath?\u201d[221] The servant of Mary was consoled by these words; every fear\ndisappeared, and he died in great peace and contentment.\n\nLet us, too, although we are sinners, take courage and have the\nconfidence that Mary will come to assist us in death, and console us by\nher presence, if we serve and love her during the remainder of our life\non this earth. Our queen, speaking one day to St. Matilda, promised that\nshe would be present at the death of all those devoted children who had\nfaithfully served her in life.[222] Oh my God, what a consolation must\nit be in that last hour of life, when our lot for eternity is to be\ndecided, to find close by our side the queen of heaven, who sustains and\ncomforts us by promising us her protection! Besides the examples already\ncited of the assistance afforded by Mary to her faithful servants, there\nare innumerable others to be found in various books. This favor was\ngranted to St. Clare, to St. Felix, a Capuchin, to the blessed Clara\nof Montefalco, to St. Theresa, and St. Peter of Alcantara. But for our\ncommon consolation, I will mention the few following examples. Father\nCrasset relates[223] that St. Mary of Oignies saw the blessed Virgin\nby the pillow of a devout widow of Villembroe, who was tormented by a\nburning fever. The most holy Mary was standing by her side consoling\nher, and cooling her with a fan. St. John of God, at death, expected a\nvisit from Mary, to whom he was greatly devoted; but finding she did not\ncome, he was afflicted, and perhaps complained a little. But at length\nthe holy mother appeared to him, and as if reproaching him for his want\nof confidence, said to him these tender words, which should encourage\nall the servants of Mary: \u201cJohn, it is not in my heart, at this hour, to\ndesert my children.\u201d[224] As if she had said to him: My John, of what\nwere you thinking? that I had abandoned you? Do you not know that I\ncannot abandon my devoted children at the hour of death? I did not come\nbefore, because it was not yet time; but now I come ready to take you,\nlet us go to paradise. And soon after the saint expired, and flew to\nheaven to give thanks eternally to his most loving queen.[225]\n\n\nEXAMPLE.\n\nI will now relate another example by way of conclusion to the subject of\nwhich I have been just speaking, and for the sake of showing how great\nis the tenderness of this good mother towards her children when they are\ndying.\n\nThe pastor of a certain place went to assist at the death-bed of a rich\nman. He was dying in a splendid house, and a multitude of relations,\nfriends, and servants, surrounded his bed. But among these, the priest\nsaw a number of devils in the shape of hounds, who waited to seize upon\nhis soul, and who actually did so; for he died in sin. At the same time\nhe was sent for by a poor woman, who was dying, and desired the holy\nsacraments; not being able to leave the dying rich man, whose soul was\nso much in need of his assistance, he sent another priest to her, who\naccordingly went, carrying with him the holy sacrament. He found in\nthe dwelling of that good woman no servants, no retinue, no splendid\nfurniture, for she was very poor, and we may suppose had only a little\nstraw to lie upon. But what does he see? He sees in that apartment a\ngreat light, and near the bed of the dying person was Mary the mother of\nGod, who was consoling her, and with a cloth was wiping the sweat from\nher brow. The priest seeing Mary, had not the courage to enter, but she\nmade a motion to him to approach. He entered, Mary pointed to a seat,\nthat he might sit down and hear the confession of her servant. The poor\nwoman then made her confession, received the holy sacrament with much\ndevotion, and at last expired happily in the arms of Mary.[226]\n\n\nPRAYER.\n\nOh my sweetest mother, what will be the death of me, a poor sinner?\nEven now, when thinking of that great moment, in which I must die, and\nbe presented at the divine tribunal, and remembering how often, by my\nwicked consent, I myself have written my own sentence of condemnation,\nI tremble, am confounded, and fear greatly for my eternal salvation. Oh\nMary, my hopes are in the blood of Jesus, and in thy intercession. Thou\nart the Queen of heaven! the Lady of the universe! it is sufficient to\nsay that thou art the mother of God. Thou art great, but thy greatness\ndoes not separate thee from us; it even inclines thee to have more\ncompassion on our miseries. When our earthly friends are raised to any\ndignity, they seclude themselves from those whom they have left in a\nlow estate, and will not condescend even to look at them. But it is not\nso with thy loving and noble heart. Where thou dost behold the greatest\nmisery, there thou art most intent on giving relief. When invoked, thou\ndost immediately come to our aid, and even anticipate our supplications;\nthou dost console us in our afflictions, dissipate all tempests, put\ndown our enemies; in a word, thou dost never omit an opportunity of\ndoing us good. Ever blessed be that divine hand which has united in\nthee so much majesty and so much tenderness, so much greatness and so\nmuch love! I always thank our Lord, and congratulate myself that I can\nregard thy happiness and mine, thy fate and mine as one. Oh consoler of\nthe afflicted, console in his affliction one who recommends himself to\nthee. I am tortured with remorse for my many sins; I am uncertain whether\nI have repented of them as I ought to have done; I see how corrupt and\nimperfect are all my works. The devil is awaiting my death in order to\naccuse me. Divine justice violated must be satisfied. Oh my mother, what\nwill become of me? If thou dost not aid me, I am lost. Answer me, wilt\nthou aid me? Oh merciful Virgin, console me; obtain for me strength to\namend, and to be faithful to God during what remains to me of life. And\nwhen I shall find myself in the last agony of death, oh Mary! my hope, do\nnot abandon me; then more than ever assist me, and save me from despair\nat the sight of my sins, of which the devil will accuse me. Oh Lady,\npardon my boldness; come, then, thyself to console me by thy presence.\nGrant me this favor which thou hast bestowed on so many; I also desire\nit. If my boldness is great, greater still is thy goodness, which seeks\nthe most miserable to console them. In this, thy goodness, I trust. May\nit be to thy eternal glory that thou hast saved from hell a miserable\nwretch, and brought him to thy kingdom, where I hope to console myself\nby being always at thy feet to thank, bless, and love thee throughout\neternity. Oh Mary, I wait for thee, do not leave me then disconsolate.\nCome, come. Amen, amen.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\nSPES NOSTRA SALVE.\n\nHail, our hope.\n\n\nSECTION I.\n\nMARY IS THE HOPE OF ALL.\n\nModern heretics cannot endure that we should salute Mary in this manner\nby calling her our hope. Hail, our hope, \u201cspes nostra salve.\u201d They\nsay that God alone is our hope, and that he who places his hope in a\ncreature is accursed of God.[227] Mary, they exclaim, is a creature,\nand, as a creature, how can she be our hope? Thus say the heretics,\nbut notwithstanding this, the Church requires all the clergy, and all\nreligious daily to raise their voices, and in the name of all the\nfaithful, invoke and call Mary by the sweet name of our hope, the hope of\nall: \u201cHail, our hope!\u201d\n\nIn two ways, says the angelic St. Thomas, can we place our hope in a\nperson: as the principal cause, and as the intermediate cause. Those\nwho hope for some favor from the king, hope for it from the king as\nsovereign, and hope for it from his minister or favorite as intercessor.\nIf the favor is granted, it comes in the first place from the king, but\nit comes through the medium of his favorite; wherefore, he who asks a\nfavor justly calls that intercessor his hope. The king of heaven, because\nhe is infinite goodness, greatly desires to enrich us with his graces;\nbut, because confidence is necessary on our part, in order to increase\nour confidence, he has given us his own mother for our mother and\nadvocate, and has given her all power to aid us; and hence he wishes us\nto place in her all our hopes of salvation, and of every blessing. Those\nwho place all their hope on creatures, without dependence upon God, as\nsinners do, who to obtain the friendship and favor of man, are willing to\ndisplease God, are certainly cursed by God, as Isaias says. But those who\nhope in Mary, as mother of God, powerful to obtain for them graces and\nlife eternal, are blessed, and please the heart of God, who wishes to see\nthat noble creature honored, who, more than all men and angels, loved and\nhonored him in this world.\n\nHence, we justly call the Virgin our hope, hoping, as Cardinal Bellarmine\nsays, to obtain by her intercession what we could not obtain by our\nprayers alone.[228] We pray to her, says St. Anselm, in order that the\ndignity of the intercessor may supply our deficiencies.[229] Therefore,\nthe saint adds, to supplicate the Virgin with such hope, is not to\ndistrust the mercy of God, but to fear our own unworthiness.[230]\n\nWith reason does the Church, then, apply to Mary the words of\nEcclesiasticus, with which she salutes her: \u201cMother of holy hope;\u201d[231]\nthat mother who inspires us not with the vain hope of the miserable and\ntransitory advantages of this life, but with the holy hope of the immense\nand eternal good of the blessed life to come. St. Ephrem thus salutes\nthe divine mother: \u201cHail, hope of the soul! hail, secure salvation of\nChristians! hail, helper of sinners! hail, defence of the faithful,\nand salvation of the world!\u201d[232] St. Basil teaches us that, next to\nGod, we have no other hope than Mary, and for this reason he calls her:\nAfter God our only hope, \u201cPost Deum sola spes nostra;\u201d and St. Ephrem,\nreflecting on the order of Providence in this life, by which God has\nordained (as St. Bernard says, and we shall hereafter prove at length)\nthat all those who are saved must be saved by means of Mary, says to her:\nOh Lady, do not cease to receive and shelter us under the mantle of thy\nprotection, since, after God, we have no hope but thee.[233] St. Thomas\nof Villanova says the same thing, calling her our only refuge, help, and\nprotection.[234]\n\nSt. Bernard assigns the reason for this by saying: Behold, oh man, the\ndesign of God, a design arranged for our benefit, that he may be able to\nbestow upon us more abundantly his compassion; for, wishing to redeem the\nhuman race, he has placed the price of our redemption in the hands of\nMary, that she may dispense it at her pleasure.[235]\n\nGod ordered Moses to make a propitiatory of the purest gold, telling\nhim that from it he would speak to him: \u201cThou shalt make also a\npropitiatory of the purest gold. Thence will I give orders, and will\nspeak to thee.\u201d[236] A certain author explains this propitiatory to be\nMary, through whom the Lord speaks to men, and dispenses to them pardon,\ngraces, and favors.[237] And therefore St. Iren\u00e6us says that the divine\nWord, before incarnating himself in the womb of Mary, sent the archangel\nto obtain her consent, because he would have the world indebted to\nMary for the mystery of the incarnation.[238] Also the Idiot remarks,\nthat every blessing, every help, every grace that men have received or\nwill receive from God, to the end of the world, has come to them, and\nwill come to them, through the intercession and by means of Mary.[239]\nRightly, then, did the devout Blosius exclaim: Oh Mary, who art so\namiable, and so grateful to him who loves thee, who will be so stupid and\nunhappy as not to love thee? In doubt and perplexity thou dost enlighten\nthe minds of those who have recourse to thee in their troubles. Thou art\nthe comfort of those who trust in thee, in time of danger. Thou dost help\nthose who invoke thee. Thou art, continues Blosius, next to thy divine\nSon, the secure salvation of thy servants. Hail, then, oh hope of the\ndespairing! Hail, helper of the destitute! Oh Mary, thou art omnipotent,\nsince thy Son would honor thee by immediately doing all that thou\ndesirest.[240]\n\nSt. Germanus, recognizing Mary to be the source of every blessing and the\ndeliverance from every evil, thus invokes her: Oh my Lady, thou alone\nart my help, given me by God; thou art the guide of my pilgrimage,\nthe support of my weakness, my riches in poverty, my deliverer from\nbondage, the hope of my salvation: graciously listen, I pray thee, to my\nsupplications, take compassion on my sighs, thou my queen, my refuge, my\nlife, my help, my hope, my strength.[241]\n\nJustly, then, does St. Antoninus apply to Mary that passage of wisdom:\n\u201cNow all good things came to me together with her.\u201d[242] Since Mary is\nthe mother of God and the dispenser of all good, the world may truly say,\nand especially those in the world who are devoted to this queen, that,\ntogether with devotion to Mary, they have obtained every good thing.[243]\nWherefore the Abbot of Celles said positively: He who has found Mary\nfinds every good thing.[244] He finds all graces and all virtues; since\nshe by her powerful intercession obtains for him in abundance all that\nhe needs to make him rich in divine grace. She gives us to know that she\nhas with her all the riches of God, that is, the divine mercies, that she\nmay dispense them for the benefit of those who love her. \u201cWith me are\nriches and glory, that I may enrich them that love me.\u201d[245] Whence St.\nBonaventure says: We should all keep our eyes fixed on the hands of Mary,\nthat through her we may receive the blessings we desire.[246]\n\nOh! how many of the proud have found humility through devotion to Mary;\nhow many of the violent, meekness; how many blind, the light; how many\ndespairing, confidence; how many lost, salvation! And precisely this\nshe herself predicted when she pronounced in the house of Elizabeth\nthat sublime canticle: \u201cBehold, from henceforth all generations shall\ncall me blessed.\u201d[247] Which words St. Bernard repeats, and says: All\nnations will call thee blessed, for to all nations thou hast given life\nand glory; in thee sinners find pardon, and the just find perseverance\nin divine grace.[248] Whence the devout Lanspergius represents the Lord\nthus speaking to the world: Venerate my mother with especial veneration.\nOh men, he says, poor children of Adam, who live in the midst of so many\nenemies and so much misery, strive to honor with particular affection\nmy mother and yours. I have given her to the world as an example of\npurity, a refuge and asylum for the afflicted.[249] That is, I have given\nMary to the world for your example, that from her you may learn to live\nas you ought; and for your refuge, that you may have recourse to her in\nyour tribulations. This my child, says God, I have created such that no\none can fear her, or be unwilling to have recourse to her, for I have\ncreated her with so benign and compassionate a nature, that she will not\ndespise any who seek her protection, and she will deny no favor to any\nwho ask it. She spreads the mantle of her compassion over all, and never\npermits any one to go from her feet unconsoled. May the great goodness of\nour God, then, be ever blessed, who has given us this great mother and\nadvocate, so loving and tender.\n\nOh! how tender are the sentiments of confidence which filled the heart of\nthe most loving St. Bonaventure for his dear Redeemer Jesus, and for our\nloving intercessor Mary! Let the Lord chastise me as much as seemeth to\nhim good, I know that he will not refuse himself to those who love him\nand who seek him with an upright heart. I will embrace him with my love,\nand I will not let him go till he has blessed me, and he will not depart\nwithout me. If I can do nothing else, at least I will hide myself in his\nwounds; there I will remain, and out of himself he shall not be able to\nfind me.[250] Finally, he adds, if my Redeemer, for my sins, drives me\nfrom his feet, I will cast myself at the feet of his mother Mary, and,\nprostrate there, I will not depart until she has obtained my pardon; for\nthis mother of mercy has never failed to take pity on misery and console\nthe wretched who seek her aid; and therefore, if not from obligation,\nat least from compassion, she will not fail to induce her Son to pardon\nme.[251]\n\nLook upon us, then, we will conclude with the words of Euthymius, look\nupon us, then, with thine eyes of compassion, oh our most merciful\nmother, for we are thy servants, and in thee we have placed all our\nhope.[252]\n\n\nEXAMPLE.\n\nIt is related in the Fourth Part of the Treasure of the Rosary, miracle\neighty-fifth, that a gentleman who was most devoted to the divine\nmother, had set apart in his palace an oratory where, before a beautiful\nstatue of Mary, he was accustomed often to remain praying, not only by\nday, but also by night, interrupting his rest to go and honor his beloved\nLady; but his wife, for he was married, though she was a very devout\nperson, observing that her husband in the deepest silence of the night\nleft his bed, and going from his apartment did not return for a long\ntime, became jealous, and was suspicious of evil; wherefore, one day,\nto free herself from this thorn which tormented her, she ventured to\nask her husband if he ever loved any other woman but herself. Smiling,\nhe answered her: \u201cI assure you that I love the most amiable lady in the\nworld; to her I have given my whole heart, and rather would I die than\ncease to love her; if you knew her, you would say that I ought to love\nher more than I do.\u201d He meant the most holy Virgin, whom he loved so\ntenderly. But his wife, conceiving a greater suspicion than before, in\norder to ascertain the truth better, interrogated him anew, and asked\nhim if he arose from his bed and left the room every night to meet that\nlady. The gentleman, who did not perceive the great trouble of his\nwife, answered \u201cYes.\u201d The wife was completely deceived, and, blinded\nby passion, one night when her husband, according to his custom, had\nleft the chamber, seized a knife in despair, cut her throat, and very\nsoon died. Her husband having finished his devotions, returned to his\napartment, but, on going to bed, found it wet. He called his wife; she\ndid not answer: he tried to arouse her; she was immovable. At length he\ntook a light, found the bed full of blood, and his wife dead, with her\nthroat cut. Then he perceived that she had destroyed herself through\njealousy. What does he do? He locks the door of his apartment, returns\nto the chapel, prostrates himself before the most blessed Virgin, and,\nshedding a torrent of tears, said to her: \u201cOh my mother, behold my\naffliction: if thou dost not console me, to whom shall I go? Remember I\nam so unfortunate as to see my wife dead and lost because I have come\nhither to pay thee honor: oh my mother, who dost help us in all our\ntroubles, help me now.\u201d How surely does every one obtain what he wishes\nif he supplicates with confidence this mother of mercy! No sooner did he\noffer this prayer than he heard a servant-maid calling him: \u201cMy lord,\ncome to your apartment, for your lady calls you.\u201d The gentleman could\nhardly believe these words for joy. Return, he said to the servant, and\nsee if she really calls me. She returned, entreating him to go quickly,\nfor her mistress was waiting for him. He went, opened the door, and\nfound his wife living; she threw herself at his feet in tears and begged\nhim to pardon her, saying: \u201cOh, my husband, the mother of God, through\nthy prayers, has delivered me from hell.\u201d Weeping for joy, they went to\ntheir oratory to thank the blessed Virgin. The next day the husband made\na feast for all their relations, to whom the wife herself related the\nfacts, at the same time showing the marks of the wound, and all were\nmore deeply inflamed with the love of the divine mother.\n\n\nPRAYER.\n\nOh mother of holy love, oh our life, our refuge, and our hope, thou\nknowest that thy Son Jesus Christ, not content with making himself our\nperpetual intercessor with the eternal Father, would have thee also\nengaged in obtaining for us, by thy prayers, the divine mercy. He has\nordained that thy prayers should aid in our salvation, and has given such\npower to them that they obtain whatever they ask; I, a miserable sinner,\nturn to thee then, oh hope of the wretched. I hope, oh Lady, through the\nmerits of Jesus Christ and thy intercession, to secure my salvation. In\nthese I trust; and so entirely do I trust in thee, that if my eternal\nsalvation were in my own hands, I would wish to place it in thine; for in\nthy mercy and protection I would trust far more than in my own works. My\nmother and my hope, do not abandon me, as I deserve. Behold my misery,\npity me, help me, save me. I confess that I have often, by my sins, shut\nout the light and aid which thou hast obtained for me from the Lord.\n\nBut thy compassion for the wretched and thy power with God are far\ngreater than the number and malignity of my sins. It is known in heaven\nand on earth that he who is protected by thee will certainly not\nperish. Let all forget me, but do not thou forget me, oh mother of the\nomnipotent God. Say unto God that I am thy servant, tell him that I am\ndefended by thee, and I shall be saved. Oh Mary, I trust in thee; in this\nhope I live, and in this hope I wish to die, repeating always: \u201cJesus is\nmy only hope, and after Jesus, Mary.\u201d[253]\n\n\nSECTION II.\n\nHAST THE HOPE OF SINNERS.\n\nAfter God had created the earth he created two lights, the greater and\nthe less: the sun to give light by day, and the moon to give light by\nnight.[254] The sun, says Cardinal Hugo, was the type of Jesus Christ, in\nwhose light the just rejoice, who live in the daylight of divine grace;\nbut the moon was the type of Mary, by whom sinners are enlightened, who\nare living in the night of sin.[255] Mary, then, being the moon, so\npropitious to miserable sinners, if any unhappy person, says Innocent\nIII. finds that he has fallen into this night of sin, what must he do?\nSince he has lost the light of the sun, by losing divine grace, let him\nturn to the moon, let him pray to Mary, and she will give him light\nto know the misery of his condition, and strength to come forth from\nit.[256] St. Methodius says that by the prayers of Mary innumerable\nsinners are continually converted.[257]\n\nOne of the titles by which the holy Church teaches us to invoke the\ndivine mother, and which most encourages poor sinners, is the title of\n\u201cRefuge of Sinners,\u201d with which we invoke her in the Litanies. There\nwere anciently, in Judea, cities of refuge; and criminals, who sought\nprotection in them, were free from the penalty of their offences. Now,\nthere are not so many cities of refuge, but instead of these there is\none only, Mary; of whom it was spoken: Glorious things are said of thee,\noh city of God\u2014Gloriosa dicta sunt de te civitas Dei.[258] But with this\ndifference, that not all criminals could find refuge in those ancient\ncities, nor for all sorts of crime; but under the mantle of Mary all\noffenders may find protection, whatever crimes they have committed. It\nis sufficient for any one to have recourse to her for protection. \u201cI am\nthe city of refuge for all those who flee to me,\u201d[259] as St. John of\nDamascus says, speaking in her name.\n\nIt is enough that we have recourse to her. He who has been so happy\nas to enter this city need not speak in order to secure his safety.\n\u201cAssemble yourselves, and let us enter into the fenced city, and let us\nbe silent there.\u201d[260] This fenced city, as the blessed Albertus Magnus\nexplains it, is the holy Virgin, whose defence is grace and glory. \u201cLet\nus be silent there,\u201d according to the gloss: \u201csince we may not dare to\nsupplicate the Lord for pardon, it is enough that we enter into the city\nand are silent, for then Mary will speak and will pray for us.\u201d[261]\nWhence a devout writer exhorts all sinners to seek shelter under the\nmantle of Mary, saying: Fly, oh Adam, oh Eve, and ye their children, who\nhave offended God; fly and take refuge in the bosom of this good mother.\nDo you not know that she is the only city of refuge, and the only hope of\nsinners?[262] As St. Augustine has called her, The only hope of sinners:\n\u201cUnica spes peccatorum.\u201d[263]\n\nHence St. Ephrem says: Thou art the only advocate of sinners, and\nof those who are deprived of every help; and he thus salutes her:\nHail! refuge and retreat of sinners, to whom alone they can flee with\nconfidence.[264] And this is what David intended to express, says a\ncertain author, when he said: \u201cHe hath protected me in the secret place\nof his tabernacle.\u201d[265] And what is this tabernacle, if not Mary? As\nSt. Germanus calls her, a tabernacle made by God, in which none but\nGod has entered, in order to complete the great mysteries of human\nredemption.[266] On this subject the great Father St. Basil says: The\nLord has given us Mary as a public hospital, where all the infirm who are\npoor, and destitute of every other help, may assemble: \u201cAperuit nobis\nDeus publicum valetudinarium.\u201d Now, in hospitals established expressly\nfor the reception of the poor, I would ask, who have the first claim to\nbe received, if not the poorest and most infirm?\n\nWherefore, let him who finds himself most miserable, because most\ndestitute of merit, and most afflicted by the maladies of the soul,\nnamely, sins, say to Mary: Oh Lady, thou art the refuge of the infirm;\ndo not reject me, for, because I am the poorest and most infirm of all,\nI have the greater claim upon thee to receive me. Let us say with St.\nThomas of Villanova: Oh Mary, we poor sinners know no refuge but thee.\nThou art our only hope; to thee we intrust our salvation. Thou art the\nonly advocate with Jesus Christ; to thee we all have recourse.[267]\n\nIn the Revelations of St. Bridget, Mary is called the star going before\nthe sun: \u201cSidus vadens ante solem.\u201d[268] By which we are to understand,\nthat when devotion to the divine mother first dawns in a sinful soul, it\nis a certain sign that God will soon come to enrich her with his grace.\nThe glorious St. Bonaventure, in order to revive in the hearts of sinners\nconfidence in the protection of Mary, represents to us the sea in a\ntempest, in which sinners who have fallen from the bark of divine grace,\ntossed about by remorse of conscience, and by the fear of divine justice,\nwithout light and without a guide, have almost lost the breath of hope,\nand are nearly sinking in despair; at this critical moment the saint,\npointing to Mary, who is commonly called \u201cThe star of the sea,\u201d raises\nhis voice and exclaims: Oh poor, lost sinners, do not despair, lift your\neyes to that beautiful star, take courage and trust, for she will guide\nyou out of the tempest, and bring you to the port of safety.[269]\n\nSt. Bernard has said the same thing: If you would not be overwhelmed\nin the tempest, turn to this star, and call Mary to thy aid.[270]\nThe devout Blosius also says, that she is the only refuge for those\nwho have offended God: the asylum of all those who are tempted and\nafflicted.[271] This mother of mercy is all kindness and all sweetness,\nnot only with the just, but also with sinners and those who are in\ndespair; so that when she beholds them turning towards her, and sees that\nthey are with sincerity seeking her help, she at once welcomes them, aids\nthem, and obtains their pardon from her Son.[272] She neglects none,\nhowever unworthy they may be, and refuses to none her protection: she\nconsoles all; and no sooner do they call upon her, than she hastens to\ntheir help.[273] With her gentleness she often wins their devotion, and\nraises those sinners who are most averse to God, and who are the most\ndeeply plunged in the lethargy of their vices, that she may dispose them\nto receive divine grace, and at last render themselves worthy of eternal\nglory.[274] God has created this his beloved daughter with a disposition\nso kind and compassionate, that no one can hesitate to have recourse to\nher intercession.[275] The devout writer concludes with saying: It is\nnot possible that any one can be lost, who with exactness and humility\npractises devotion to this divine mother.[276]\n\nShe is called a plane-tree: As a plane-tree was I exalted: \u201cQuasi\nplatanus exaltata sum.\u201d[277] Sinners may understand by this, that as the\nplane-tree gives a shelter to travellers, where they may take refuge\nfrom the heat of the sun, thus Mary, when she sees the anger of divine\njustice kindled against them, invites them to resort to the shelter\nof her protection. St. Bonaventure remarks that Isaias, in his day,\nlamented, and said: \u201cBehold, thou art angry and we have sinned ... there\nis none that riseth up and taketh hold of thee;\u201d[278] because Mary was\nnot yet born into the world.[279] But now, if God is offended with any\nsinner, and Mary undertakes to protect him, she restrains the Son from\npunishing him, and saves him.[280] Also, continues St. Bonaventure, no\none can be found more fit than Mary to place her hand upon the sword of\ndivine justice, that it may not descend upon the head of the sinner.[281]\nRichard of St. Laurence expresses the same thought, when he says: God\nlamented, before the birth of Mary, that there was no one to restrain\nhim from punishing the sinner; but Mary being born, she appeases him.[282]\n\nSt. Basil encourages sinners with the same thought, and says: Oh sinner,\nbe not timid, but in all thy necessities flee to Mary, invoke her aid,\nand thou wilt always find her ready to assist thee, for it is the divine\nwill that she should aid all men in all their necessities.[283] This\nmother of mercy has such a desire to save the most abandoned sinners,\nthat she even goes to seek them; and if they have recourse to her, she\nwill surely find a method of rendering them dear to God.\n\nIsaac being desirous to eat the flesh of some venison, promised to give\nhis benediction in exchange for it to Esau; but Rebecca wishing that\nher other son Jacob should receive this benediction, ordered him to\nbring her two kids, for she would prepare the food that Isaac loved. \u201cGo\nthy way to the flock, bring me two kids.\u201d[284] St. Antoninus says that\nRebecca was the type of Mary, who says to the angels, Bring me sinners\n(who are typified by the kids), that I may prepare them in such a manner\n(by obtaining for them sorrow and good resolutions) as to render them\ndear and acceptable to my Lord.[285] The Abbot Francone, pursuing the\nsame thought, says, that Mary so well understands how to prepare these\nkids, that they not only equal, but sometimes even surpass the flavor of\nvenison.[286]\n\nThe blessed Virgin herself revealed to St. Bridget, that no sinner in\nthe world is so great an enemy to God, that if he has recourse to her\nand invokes her aid, does not return to God and is not restored to his\nfavor.[287] And the same St. Bridget heard one day Jesus Christ saying to\nhis mother, that she could obtain the divine favor even for Lucifer, if\nhe would humble himself so far as to ask her help.[288] That proud spirit\nwill never stoop to implore the protection of Mary, but if such a thing\ncould happen, Mary would take pity upon him, and the power of her prayers\nwould obtain from God his pardon and salvation. But what cannot happen to\nthe devil may well happen to sinners who seek the help of this mother of\nmercy.\n\nNoe\u2019s ark also prefigured Mary; because as in that all the animal\ncreation found refuge, so under the mantle of Mary all sinners find\nprotection, who have made themselves like the brutes by their vices and\nsensuality. With this difference, however, says a certain author: The\nbrutes entered into the ark and remained brutes still; the wolf remained\na wolf, the tiger a tiger.[289] But under the mantle of Mary the wolf\nbecomes a lamb, the tiger a dove. St. Gertrude once saw Mary with her\nmantle outspread, and under it wild beasts of various kinds, leopards,\nlions, and bears; and the Virgin not only did not drive them from her,\nbut with her gentle hand kindly received them and caressed them. The\nsaint understood that these wild beasts were miserable sinners, who\nwhen they take refuge with Mary are received by her with sweetness and\nlove.[290]\n\nJustly, then, did St. Bernard say to the Virgin: Oh Lady, thou dost abhor\nno sinner, however abandoned and vile he may be, when he has recourse to\nthee; if he asks thy help thou wilt condescend to extend thy kind hand to\ndraw him from the depths of despair.[291] Oh ever blessed and thanked be\nour God, oh most amiable Mary, who made thee so merciful and kind towards\nthe most miserable sinners. Oh, wretched are those who do not love thee,\nand who, having it in their power to seek help of thee, do not trust in\nthee! He who does not implore the aid of Mary is lost; but who has ever\nbeen lost that had recourse to her?\n\nIt is related in Scripture that Booz permitted the woman named Ruth to\nglean the ears that the reapers dropped and left behind them: \u201cColligebat\nspicas post terga metentium.\u201d[292] St. Bonaventure adds, that as Ruth\nfound favor in the eyes of Booz, so Mary has found favor in the eyes of\nthe Lord, and is permitted to glean after the reapers.[293] The reapers\nare the apostolic laborers, missionaries, preachers, and confessors, who\ntoil through the day to gather and win souls to God. But there are some\nrebellious and obdurate souls who are left behind even by these reapers,\nand it is granted to Mary alone by her powerful intercession to save\nthese abandoned ears. But unhappy are those who do not yield themselves\nto this sweet Lady! for they will be entirely lost and accursed! Blessed,\non the other hand, are those who have recourse to this good mother! There\nis no sinner in the world, says the devout Blosius, so lost and sunk in\nsin, that Mary would abhor him and reject him. Ah, if such would seek\nher aid, this good mother could and would reconcile them to her Son, and\nobtain for them pardon.[294]\n\nWith reason, then, oh my sweetest queen, does St. John of Damascus salute\nthee and call thee: \u201cThe hope of the despairing.\u201d[295] Justly does\nSt. Laurence Justinian name thee: \u201cThe hope of evil-doers.\u201d[296] St.\nAugustine: \u201cThe only refuge of sinners.\u201d[297] St. Ephrem: \u201cThe secure\nhaven for the shipwrecked.\u201d[298] The same saint calls thee even by\nanother appellation: \u201cThe protectress of the condemned.\u201d[299] Finally,\nSt. Bernard, with reason, exhorts the desperate not to despair; whence,\nfull of joy and tenderness towards this his most dear mother, he asks her\nlovingly: Oh Lady, who would not trust in thee, if thou dost thus relieve\neven the despairing? I do not doubt in the least, he adds, that if we\nalways applied to thee we should obtain what we wish. In thee, then, let\nthe despairing hope.[300] St. Antoninus relates that a sinner finding\nhimself in disgrace before God, imagined himself standing before the\ntribunal of Jesus Christ: the devil was accusing him and Mary defending\nhim. The enemy presented against this poor criminal the catalogue of his\noffences, which, placed in the balance of divine justice, far outweighed\nhis good works; but what then did his great advocate do? She extended\nher kind hand and placed it in the other scale; it descended in favor of\nher suppliant, and thus it was given him to understand, that she would\nobtain his pardon if he would change his life; and, indeed, after that\nvision he was converted and changed his life.\n\n\nEXAMPLE.\n\nThe blessed John Erolto, who, through humility, called himself _the\ndisciple_, relates[301] that there was once a married man who lived in\ndisgrace in the sight of God. His wife, a virtuous woman, not being\nable to induce him to abandon his vicious courses, entreated him that\nat least, while he was in so miserable a condition, he would offer\nthis devotion to the mother of God, namely, to say a \u201cHail Mary\u201d every\ntime he passed before her altar. He accordingly began to practice this\ndevotion. One night, when he was about to commit a sin, he saw a light,\nand, on closer observation, perceived that it was a lamp burning before\na holy image of the blessed Virgin, who held the infant Jesus in her\narms. He said a \u201cHail Mary,\u201d as usual; but what did he see? He saw the\ninfant covered with wounds, and fresh blood flowing from them. Both\nterrified and moved in his feelings, he remembered that he himself too\nhad wounded his Redeemer by his sins, and began to weep, but he observed\nthat the child turned away from him. In deep confusion, he had recourse\nto the most holy Virgin, saying: \u201cMother of mercy, thy Son rejects me;\nI can find no advocate more kind and more powerful than thou, who art\nhis mother; my queen, aid me, and pray to him in my behalf.\u201d The divine\nmother answered him from that image: \u201cYou sinners call me mother of\nmercy, but yet you do not cease to make me mother of misery, renewing\nthe passion of my Son, and my dolors.\u201d But because Mary never sends away\ndisconsolate those who cast themselves at her feet, she began to entreat\nher Son that he would pardon that miserable sinner. Jesus continued to\nshow himself unwilling to grant such a pardon, but the holy Virgin,\nplacing the infant in the niche, prostrated herself before him, saying:\n\u201cMy Son, I will not leave thy feet until thou hast pardoned this sinner.\u201d\n\u201cMy mother,\u201d answered Jesus, \u201cI can deny thee nothing; dost thou wish for\nhis pardon? for love of thee I will pardon him. Let him come and kiss my\nwounds.\u201d The sinner approached, weeping bitterly, and as he kissed the\nwounds of the infant, they were healed. Then Jesus embraced him as a sign\nof pardon. He changed his conduct, led a holy life, and was ever full of\nlove to the blessed Virgin, who had obtained for him so great a favor.\n\n\nPRAYER.\n\nI venerate, oh most pure Virgin Mary, thy most sacred heart, which was\nthe delight and repose of God; a heart filled with humility, purity,\nand divine love. I, an unhappy sinner, come to thee with a heart filled\nwith uncleanness and wounds. Oh mother of mercy, do not on this account\ndespise me, but let it excite thee to a greater compassion, and come to\nmy help. Do not look for virtue or merits in me before thou grantest\nme thy aid; I am lost, and only merit hell. Look at nothing, I pray\nthee, but the confidence I have in thee, and the desire I cherish of\namending my life. Look at what Jesus has done and suffered for me, and\nthen abandon me if thou canst. I offer to thee all the afflictions of\nhis life, the cold that he suffered in the stable, his journey to Egypt,\nthe blood that he shed, his poverty, toil, sweat, and sadness, the death\nhe endured in thy presence, for love of me; and, for the love of Jesus,\npromise to save me. Ah, my mother, I will not and I cannot fear that thou\nwilt cast me from thee, when I flee to thee and implore thy help. To fear\nthis, would be unjust to thy mercy, which seeks the miserable to relieve\nthem. Oh Lady, do not refuse thy compassion to him to whom Jesus has not\nrefused his blood; but the merits of this blood will not be applied to\nme, if thou dost not recommend me to God. From thee I hope salvation. I\ndo not ask of thee riches, honors, or the other goods of earth; I only\nask of thee the grace of God, love for thy Son, the fulfilment of his\nwill, and paradise, where I may love him eternally. Is it possible that\nthou wilt not hear me? No, already thou dost hear me, as I hope; already\nthou art praying for me, already thou art procuring me the favors I ask,\nalready thou art receiving me under thy protection. My mother, do not\nleave me; continue, continue to pray for me, until thou seest me safe in\nheaven at thy feet, to bless and thank thee through all eternity. Amen.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\nAD TE CLAMAMUS EXULES FILII HEV\u00c6.\n\nTo thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve.\n\n\nSECTION I.\n\nHOW READY MARY IS TO SUCCOR THOSE WHO CALL UPON HER.\n\nWe poor children of the unhappy Eve, guilty before God of her sin, and\ncondemned to the same punishment, go wandering through this valley of\ntears, exiles from our country, weeping and afflicted by innumerable\npains of body and soul! But blessed is he who in the midst of so many\nmiseries turns to the consoler of the world, to the refuge of the\nunhappy, to the great mother of God, and devoutly invokes her and\nsupplicates her! \u201cBlessed is the man that heareth me, and that watcheth\ndaily at my gates.\u201d[302] Blessed, says Mary, is he who listens to my\ncounsels, and incessantly watches at the door of my mercy, invoking my\nhelp and intercession! The holy Church instructs us her children with\nhow great attention and confidence we should have continually recourse\nto this our loving protectress; ordaining special devotions to her, that\nduring the year many festivals should be celebrated in her honor; that\none day of the week should be especially consecrated to her; that every\nday, in the divine office, all ecclesiastics and members of religious\norders should invoke her in behalf of the whole Christian people, and\nthat three times a day all the faithful, at the sound of the bell, should\nsalute her. This will suffice to show how, in all seasons of public\ncalamity, the holy Church always directs her children to have recourse\nto the divine mother with novenas, prayers, processions, visits to her\nchurches and altars. This, Mary herself wishes us to do, namely, always\nto invoke and supplicate her, not to ask our homage and praise, which\nare too poor in comparison with her merit, but that our confidence and\ndevotion to her thus increasing, she may aid and console us more. She\nseeks such as approach her devoutly and reverently, says St. Bonaventure;\nthese she cherishes, loves, and adopts as her children.[303]\n\nThe same St. Bonaventure says, that Mary was prefigured by Ruth, whose\nname, being interpreted, signifies _seeing_, _hastening_;[304] for Mary,\nseeing our miseries, hastens to aid us by her compassion.[305] To which\nNovarino adds, that Mary is so desirous to do us good, that she can\nbear no delay; and not being a miserly keeper of her favors, but the\nmother of mercy, she cannot restrain herself from dispensing, as soon as\npossible among her servants, the treasures of her liberality.[306]\n\nOh, how ready is this good mother to aid him who invokes her! \u201cThy\ntwo breasts are like two young roes.\u201d[307] Richard of St. Laurence,\nexplaining this passage, says that the breasts of Mary readily, like the\nroe\u2019s, give the milk of mercy to those who ask it.[308] The same author\nassures us that the mercy of Mary is bestowed on all who ask it, though\nthey offer no prayer but a \u201cHail Mary.\u201d Hence, Novarino affirms, that the\nblessed Virgin not only hastens, but flies to aid those who have recourse\nto her. She, says this author, in exercising mercy, cannot but resemble\nGod; for, as the Lord hastens to succor those who ask help from him,\nbeing very faithful to observe the promise which he has made to us\u2014Ask,\nand you shall receive[309]\u2014so Mary, when she is invoked, immediately\nhastens to help those who call upon her.[310] And by this is explained\nwho was the woman of the Apocalypse, with two wings of a great eagle,\nthat she might fly into the desert.[311] Ribeira explains these two wings\nto signify the love with which Mary always hastens to God.[312] But the\nblessed Amadeus says, remarking on this passage, that the wings of an\neagle signify the velocity with which Mary, surpassing in swiftness the\nseraphs, always comes to the help of her children.[313]\n\nWe read in the Gospel of St. Luke, that when Mary went to visit St.\nElisabeth, and bestow blessings on all her family, she was not slow, but\ntravelled that whole journey with haste.[314] But we do not read that\nit was so on her return. For the same reason, it is said in the sacred\nCanticles, that the hands of Mary are turned.[315] For, as Richard of\nSt. Laurence explains it, The art of turning is easier and quicker than\nother arts, so Mary is more ready than any other of the saints to aid\nher suppliants.[316] She has the greatest desire to console all, and\nshe scarcely hears herself invoked before she graciously receives the\npetition and comes to our aid.[317] Justly, then, St. Bonaventure calls\nMary, The salvation of those who invoke her: \u201cO salus te invocantium!\u201d\nsignifying, that to be saved it is sufficient to appeal to this divine\nmother, who, according to Richard of St. Laurence, is always ready to\naid those who pray to her.[318] For, as St. Bernardine de Bustis says:\nThis great Lady is more desirous to confer favors upon us than we are to\nreceive them.[319]\n\nNeither should the multitude of our sins diminish our confidence that\nwe shall be graciously heard by Mary, if we cast ourselves at her feet.\nShe is the mother of mercy, and there would be no occasion for mercy, if\nthere were no wretchedness to be relieved. Therefore, as a good mother\ndoes not hesitate to apply a remedy to her child, however loathsome its\ndisease, although the cure may be troublesome and disgusting; thus our\ngood mother does not abandon us, when we recur to her, however great may\nbe the filth of our sins, which she comes to cure.[320] This sentiment\nis taken from Richard of St. Laurence. And Mary intended to signify the\nsame when she appeared to St. Gertrude, spreading her mantle to receive\nall who had recourse to her: at the same time it was given the saint to\nunderstand, that the angels are waiting to defend the devout suppliants\nof Mary from the assaults of hell.[321]\n\nSo great is the love and pity which this good mother has for us, that\nshe does not wait for our prayers before giving us her aid. \u201cShe\npreventeth them that covet her, so that she first showeth herself unto\nthem.\u201d[322] These words of wisdom St. Anselm applies to Mary, and says\nthat she anticipates those who desire her protection. By this we are to\nunderstand, that she obtains many graces from God for us before we ask\nthem from her. Therefore Richard of St. Victor says: Mary is called the\nmoon: Pulchra ut luna;[323] not only because she hastens as the moon to\nshine on those who seek her light,[324] but because she so earnestly\ndesires our welfare that in our necessities she anticipates our prayers,\nand in her compassion she is more prompt to help us than we are to have\nrecourse to her.[325] For, adds the same Richard, the breast of Mary is\nso full of pity that she scarcely knows our miseries before she offers\nus the milk of her mercy, neither can this gracious queen perceive the\nnecessities of any soul without relieving it.[326]\n\nAnd truly, Mary manifested to us while she was on earth, in the nuptials\nof Cana,[327] her great compassion for our sufferings, which prompts her\nto relieve them before we pray to her. This kind mother saw the trouble\nof that pair who were mortified to find that their wine had failed at\nthe wedding banquet; and without being requested, moved only by her\ncompassionate heart, which cannot look upon the afflictions of others\nwithout pity, prayed her Son to console them by merely mentioning to\nhim the necessities of the family: They have no wine:[328] \u201cVinum non\nhabent.\u201d After which, her Son, to comfort that family, and still more to\nsatisfy the compassionate heart of his mother, performed, as she desired,\nthe well-known miracle of changing the water contained in vases into\nwine. Novarino here remarks, that if Mary, though unasked, is so ready to\naid us in our necessities, how much more so will she be when we invoke\nher and implore her aid![329]\n\nIf any one doubts that he shall be assisted by Mary when he has recourse\nto her, let him listen to the words of Innocent III.: Who has ever\ninvoked this sweet Lady, and has not been heard by her?[330] Who, oh\nholy Virgin, exclaims the blessed Eutychian, has ever sought thy powerful\nprotection, which can relieve the most miserable and rescue the most\ndegraded, and has been abandoned by thee? No, this has never happened,\nand never will happen.[331] Let him be silent concerning thy mercy, oh\nblessed Virgin, whose necessities have been neglected by thee after he\nhas implored thy aid.[332]\n\nSooner will heaven and earth be destroyed, says the devout Blosius, than\nMary fail to aid those who, with a pure intention, recommend themselves\nto her and put their confidence in her.[333] And to increase our\nconfidence, St. Anselm adds, that when we have recourse to this divine\nmother, we may not only be sure of her protection, but that sometimes\nwe shall be sooner heard and saved by invoking her holy name than that\nof Jesus our Saviour.[334] And he gives this reason: Because it belongs\nto Christ, as our judge, to punish, but to Mary, as our advocate, to\npity.[335] By this he would give us to understand, that we sooner find\nsalvation by recurring to the mother than the Son; not because Mary is\nmore powerful than her Son to save us, for we know that Jesus is our only\nSaviour, and that by his merits alone he has obtained and does obtain for\nus salvation; but because when we have recourse to Jesus, considering him\nalso as the judge to whom it belongs to punish the ungrateful, we may\nlose the confidence necessary to be heard; but going to Mary, who has\nno other office than that of exercising compassion towards us as mother\nof mercy, and defending us as our advocate, our confidence will be more\nsecure and greater. We ask many things of God and do not obtain them; we\nask them from Mary and obtain them; how is this? Nicephorus answers: This\ndoes not happen because Mary is more powerful than God, but because God\nhas seen fit thus to honor his mother.[336]\n\nHow consoling is the promise that our Lord himself made on this subject\nto St. Bridget! We read in her revelations, that one day this saint\nheard Jesus speaking with his mother, and that he said to her: \u201cMy\nmother, ask of me whatever thou wilt, for I will refuse nothing that thou\ndost ask;[337] and be assured,\u201d he added, \u201cthat all those who for love\nof thee seek any favor, although they are sinners, if they desire to\namend, I promise to hear them.\u201d[338] The same thing was revealed to St.\nGertrude, who heard our Redeemer himself say to Mary, that he had in his\nomnipotence permitted her to exercise mercy towards sinners who invoke\nher, in whatever manner it should please her.[339]\n\nEvery one invoking this mother of mercy may then say, with St. Augustine:\n\u201cRemember, oh most compassionate Lady! that since the beginning of the\nworld there never has been any one abandoned by thee. Therefore pardon me\nif I say that I do not wish to be the first sinner who has sought thy aid\nin vain.\u201d[340]\n\n\nEXAMPLE.\n\nSt. Francis of Sales, as we read in his life, efficaciously experienced\nthe power of this prayer. At seventeen years of age he was living in\nParis, engaged in study, and at the same time wholly devoted to pious\nexercises and holy love of God, which gave him a perpetual foretaste of\nheavenly joy. At this time the Lord, to try his faith, and attach him\nmore strongly to his love, permitted the devil to represent to him that\nhis efforts were in vain, because he was already condemned by the divine\ndecree. The darkness and dryness in which it pleased God to leave him at\nthe time for he was insensible to all consoling thoughts of the divine\ngoodness, caused this temptation to have more power over the heart of\nthe holy youth; so that through great fear and desolation he lost his\nappetite, sleep, color, and cheerfulness, and excited the compassion of\nall those who looked upon him.\n\nWhilst this horrible conflict lasted, the saint could conceive no other\nthoughts and utter no other words but those of sorrow and distrust.\n\u201cShall I, then,\u201d he said, as it is related in his life, \u201cbe deprived\nof the favor of my God, who hitherto has shown himself so gracious and\nso kind to me? Oh love! oh beauty! to which I have consecrated all my\naffections, shall I never more enjoy your consolations? Oh Virgin mother\nof God, the most beautiful of all the daughters of Jerusalem, am I then\nnever to see thee in paradise? Ah, my Lady! if I am never to see thy\nlovely face, do not permit me to be forced to blaspheme and curse thee in\nhell.\u201d These were the tender sentiments of that afflicted heart, still\nso enamored of God and the Virgin. This temptation lasted for a month,\nbut at length the Lord was pleased to deliver him from it by means of the\nconsoler of the world, most holy Mary, to whom the saint had before made\na vow of chastity, and upon whom he used to say he had placed all his\nhopes. One evening, on returning home, he entered a church, where he saw\na small tablet suspended from the wall; he found written on it the prayer\nof St. Augustine above mentioned: \u201cRemember, oh most merciful Mary! that\nno one, in any age, was ever known to have fled to thee for help and\nfound himself abandoned.\u201d He prostrated himself before the altar of the\ndivine mother, and recited with deep feeling this prayer; he renewed his\nvow of chastity, promised to recite daily the rosary, and then added:\n\u201cOh my queen, be my advocate with thy Son, whom I dare not approach. My\nmother, if in the other world I should be so unhappy as not to be able to\nlove my Lord, whom I know is so worthy to be loved, at least obtain for\nme that I may love him as much as I can in this world. This is the grace\nthat I ask of thee, and from thee I hope for it.\u201d Thus he supplicated the\nVirgin, and then abandoned himself to the divine mercy, resigning himself\nentirely to the will of God. But hardly had he finished his prayer,\nwhen by his most sweet mother he was suddenly freed from temptation; he\nimmediately recovered his interior peace, and with it health of body, and\nfrom that time continued to live a most devout servant of Mary, whose\npraises and mercies he never ceased to proclaim in his preaching and his\nwritings to the end of his life.\n\n\nPRAYER.\n\nOh mother of God! oh queen of angels! oh hope of men! listen to him\nwho invokes thee and has recourse to thee. Behold me to-day prostrate\nat thy feet; I, a miserable slave of hell, consecrate myself to thee\nas thy servant forever, offering myself to serve and honor thee to the\nutmost of my power all the days of my life. I know that thy honor is not\nincreased by the service of so vile and wretched a slave as I am, who\nhave so grievously offended thy Son and my Redeemer, Jesus. But if thou\nwilt accept one so unworthy as I for thy servant, and, changing him by\nthy intercession, wilt render him worthy, thy own compassion will confer\nupon thee that honor which I, vile as I am, cannot render thee. Accept\nme, then, and do not reject me, oh my mother! The eternal Word came from\nheaven upon earth to seek the lost sheep, and to save them, became thy\nSon. And wilt thou despise a poor sheep, who comes to thee to help him\nfind Jesus? The price has already been paid for my salvation; my Saviour\nhas shed his blood, which is enough to save infinite worlds. It only\nremains that this blood should be applied to me; and to thee it belongs,\noh blessed Virgin! to thee it belongs, as St. Bernard says, to bestow\nthe merits of this blood on whomsoever it may please thee. To thee it\nbelongs, as St. Bonaventure also says, to save whom thou wilt.[341] Oh\nmy queen, help me, then! my queen, save me! To you this day I commit my\nsoul; and do thou secure its safety. Oh, salvation of those who invoke\nthee! I will exclaim with the same saint, save me.[342]\n\n\nSECTION II.\n\nHOW POWERFUL IS MARY IN PROTECTING THOSE WHO INVOKE HER IN TEMPTATIONS OF\nTHE DEVIL.\n\nNot only most holy Mary is queen of heaven and of the saints, but also\nof hell and the devils, for she has bravely triumphed over them by her\nvirtues. From the beginning of the world God predicted to the infernal\nserpent the victory and the empire which our queen would obtain over\nhim, when he announced to him that a woman would come into the world who\nshould conquer him. \u201cI will put enmities between thee and the woman; she\nshall crush thy head.\u201d[343] And what woman was this enemy if not Mary,\nwho, with her beautiful humility and holy life, always conquered him and\ndestroyed his forces? St. Cyprian affirms that the mother of our Lord\nJesus Christ was promised in that woman:[344] and hence he remarks, that\nGod did not use the words I put, but I will put, lest the prophecy should\nseem to appertain to Eve.[345] He said, I will put enmity between thee\nand the woman, to signify that this his vanquisher was not the living\nEve, but must be another woman descending from her, who was to bring to\nour first parents greater blessings, as St. Vincent Ferrer says, than\nthose they had lost by their sin.[346] Mary, then, is this great and\nstrong woman who has conquered the devil, and has crushed his head by\nsubduing his pride, as the Lord added: \u201cShe shall crash thy head.\u201d[347]\nSome of the commentators doubt whether these words refer to Mary or\nto Jesus Christ, because in the Septuagint version we read: \u201cHe shall\ncrush thy head.\u201d[348] But in our Vulgate, which is the only version\napproved by the Council of Trent, it is She, and not He. And thus St.\nAmbrose, St. Jerome, St. Augustine, St. John Chrysostom, and many others\nhave understood it. However this may be, it is certain that the Son by\nmeans of the mother, or the mother by means of the Son, has vanquished\nLucifer; so that this proud spirit, as St. Bernard tells us, has been\nignominiously overpowered and crushed by this blessed Virgin.[349] Hence\nas a slave conquered in war, he is forced always to obey the commands\nof this queen. St. Bruno says, that Eve, by yielding to the serpent,\nbrought into the world death and darkness; but that the blessed Virgin,\nby conquering the devil, brought us life and light: and she has bound him\nso that he cannot move to do the least harm to her servants.[350]\n\nRichard of St. Laurence gives a beautiful explanation to these words of\nProverbs: \u201cThe heart of her husband trusteth in her, and he shall have no\nneed of spoils.\u201d[351] Richard says: The heart of her husband, that is,\nChrist, trusts in her, and he shall have no need of spoils, for she will\nendow him with the spoils which she has taken from the devil.[352] God\nhas intrusted the heart of Jesus, as \u00e0 Lapide expresses it, to the care\nof Mary, that she may procure for it the love of men; and thus he will\nnot be in need of spoils, that is, of the conquest of souls, for she will\nenrich him with those souls of which she despoils hell, and which she has\nrescued from the demons by her powerful aid.\n\nIt is well known that the palm is the emblem of victory, and for this\nreason our queen has been placed on a high throne in the sight of all\npotentates, as a palm, the sign of certain victory, which all can promise\nthemselves who have recourse to her. \u201cI was exalted like a palm-tree in\nCades.\u201d[353] That is, for a defence,[354] as blessed Albertus Magnus\nsays: Oh, my children, Mary seems to say to us with these words, when the\nenemy assails you, lift your eyes to me, behold me and take courage;\nfor in me, who defends you, you will behold, at the same time, your\nvictory. So that recourse to Mary is the most certain means of overcoming\nall the assaults of hell; for she, as St. Bernardine of Sienna says,\nis queen over hell, and ruler of the spirits of evil, for she controls\nand conquers them.[355] And therefore Mary is called terrible against\nthe power of hell, as an army set in array. \u201cTerrible as an army set in\narray.\u201d[356] Set in array, because she knows how to array her powers,\nthat is, her compassion and her prayers, to the confusion of the enemy\nand the benefit of her servants, who, in their temptations, invoke her\npowerful aid.\n\n\u201cAs the vine I have brought forth a pleasant odor.\u201d[357] \u201cI, like the\nvine, as the Holy Spirit puts it in her mouth to say, have given fruits\nof sweet odor.\u201d \u201cIt is said,\u201d adds St. Bernard, on this passage, \u201cthat\nevery venomous reptile shuns the flowering vines.\u201d[358] As from vines all\npoisonous serpents flee, thus the demons flee from those fortunate souls\nin whom they perceive the odor of devotion to Mary. On this account she\nalso is called a cedar: \u201cI was exalted like a cedar in Libanus,\u201d[359] not\nonly because as the cedar is free from corruption, so Mary is free from\nsin, but also because, as Cardinal Hugo remarks upon this passage, as the\ncedar with its perfume puts serpents to flight, so Mary with her sanctity\nputs to flight the devils.[360]\n\nVictories were gained in Judea by means of the ark. Thus Moses conquered\nhis enemies. \u201cWhen the ark was lifted up, Moses said, Arise, oh Lord, and\nlet thy enemies be scattered.\u201d[361] Thus Jericho was conquered; thus were\nthe Philistines conquered; \u201cfor the ark of God was there.\u201d[362] It is\nwell known that this ark was the type of Mary. As the ark contained the\nmanna, thus Mary contained Jesus, whom the manna also prefigured, and by\nmeans of this ark, victories were gained over the enemies of earth and\nover hell.[363] Wherefore St. Bernardine of Sienna says that when Mary,\nthe ark of the New Testament, was crowned queen of heaven, the power of\nhell over men was weakened and overthrown.[364]\n\n\u201cOh, how the devils in hell,\u201d says St. Bonaventure, \u201ctremble at Mary and\nher great name!\u201d[365] The saint compares these enemies to those of whom\nJob makes mention and says: \u201cHe diggeth through houses in the dark....\nIf the morning suddenly appear, it is to them the shadow of death.\u201d[366]\nThieves enter houses in the dark to rob them, but when the dawn comes\nthey flee, as if the image of death appeared to them. In the same manner,\nas St. Bonaventure expresses it, the demons enter into the soul in times\nof darkness, that is, when the soul is obscured by ignorance; they dig\nthrough the houses of our minds in the darkness of ignorance; but then,\nhe adds, as soon as the grace and the mercy of Mary enter the soul, this\nbeautiful aurora dissipates the darkness, and the infernal enemies flee\nas at the approach of death.[367] Oh, blessed is he who always, in his\nconflicts with hell, invokes the beautiful name of Mary!\n\nIn confirmation of this it was revealed to St. Bridget that God has given\nMary such power over all evil spirits, that whenever they assail any of\nher servants who implore her aid, at the slightest sign from her they\nflee far away in terror, preferring that their pains should be redoubled\nrather than that Mary should domineer over them in this manner.[368]\n\n\u00c0 Lapide remarks upon the words with which the divine spouse praises his\nbeloved bride, when he calls her the lily, and says that as the lily is\namong thorns, so is his beloved among the other daughters;[369] that, as\nthe lily is a remedy against serpents and poisons, so the invocation of\nMary is a special remedy for overcoming all temptations, particularly\nthose of impurity, as they who have tried it have universally\nexperienced.[370]\n\nSt. John of Damascus said, and every one may say the same who is so happy\nas to be devoted to this great queen: Oh, mother of God, if I trust in\nthee, I shall surely not be vanquished; for, defended by thee, I will\npursue my enemies, and opposing to them thy protection and thy powerful\nsupport as a shield, I shall surely conquer them.[371] James the Monk,\nreputed a doctor among the Greek fathers, discoursing of Mary to our\nLord, says: Thou, oh my Lord, hast given us this mother for a powerful\ndefence against all our enemies.[372]\n\nIt is related in the Old Testament that the Lord guided his people from\nEgypt to the promised land, by day in a pillar of cloud, by night in\na pillar of fire.[373] This pillar, now of clouds, now of fire, says\nRichard of St. Laurence, was a type of Mary and her double office, which\nshe exercises continually in our behalf; as a cloud she protects us from\nthe heat of divine justice, and as fire she protects us from demons.[374]\nFire, as St. Bonaventure adds, for as wax melts at the approach of fire,\nthus the evil spirits lose all power in the presence of those souls who\noften call upon the name of Mary, and devoutly invoke her, and more than\nall, strive to imitate her.[375]\n\nOh, how the devils tremble, exclaims St. Bernard, if they only hear\nthe name of Mary uttered![376] As men, says Thomas \u00e0 Kempis, fall to\nthe earth through fear, when a thunderbolt strikes near them, so fall\nprostrate the devils when but the name of Mary is heard.[377] How many\nnoble victories have the servants of Mary not gained over these enemies\nby the power of her most holy name! Thus St. Anthony of Padua conquered\nthem, thus the blessed Henry Suso, thus many other lovers of Mary. It is\nrelated in the accounts of the missions to Japan, that a great number of\ndemons appeared in the form of ferocious animals to a certain Christian\nof that country, to alarm him and threaten him, but he spoke to them in\nthese words: \u201cI have no arms with which to terrify you; if the Most High\npermits it, do with me according to your pleasure. Meanwhile I use as my\ndefence the most sweet names of Jesus and Mary.\u201d Hardly had he uttered\nthese words, when behold, at the sound of those fearful names, the earth\nopened and those proud spirits were swallowed up. St. Anselm also asserts\nthat he had seen and heard many persons who at the mention of the name of\nMary were delivered from their dangers.[378]\n\nVery glorious, oh Mary, and wonderful exclaims St. Bonaventure, is thy\ngreat name. Those who are mindful to utter it at the hour of death,\nhave nothing to fear from hell, for the devils at once abandon the soul\nwhen they hear the name of Mary.[379] And the saint adds, that an\nearthly enemy does not so greatly fear a great army, as the powers of\nhell fear the name and protection of Mary.[380] Thou, oh Lady, says St.\nGermanus, by the invocation alone of thy most powerful name, dost render\nthy servants secure from all the assaults of the enemy.[381] Oh, if\nChristians were only mindful in temptations to invoke with confidence the\nname of Mary, it is certain that they would never fall; for, as blessed\nAlanus remarks, at the thunder of that great name, the devil flees and\nhell trembles.[382] This heavenly queen herself revealed to St. Bridget,\nthat even from the most abandoned sinners, who had wandered the farthest\nfrom God, and were most fully possessed by the devil, the enemy departs\nas soon as he hears her most powerful name invoked by them, if they do\nit with a true intention of amending.[383] But the Virgin added, that if\nthe soul does not amend, and with contrition quit its sins, the demons\nimmediately return to it and hold it in their possession.[384]\n\n\nEXAMPLE.\n\nIn Reisberg there lived a Canon regular named Arnold, who was very\ndevoted to the blessed Virgin. Being at the point of death, he received\nthe sacraments, and calling his religious to him, begged them not to\nleave him at the last moment. Scarcely had he said this, when he began\nto tremble violently and roll his eyes; cold sweat fell from him, and\nwith an agitated voice he exclaimed: \u201cDo you not see those demons who\nwould seize me and carry me to hell?\u201d Then he cried: \u201cMy brothers,\ninvoke for me the help of Mary; I trust in her that she will give me the\nvictory.\u201d They immediately began to recite the Litany of our Lady, and\nat the words, Holy Mary, pray for him, \u201cSancta Maria, ora pro eo,\u201d the\ndying man cried: \u201cRepeat, repeat the name of Mary, for I am even now at\nthe tribunal of God.\u201d He stopped for a moment, and then added: \u201cIt is\ntrue that I did it, but I have done penance for it.\u201d Then turning to the\nVirgin, he said: \u201cOh Mary, I shall be delivered if thou wilt help me.\u201d\nThe demons soon after made another attack, but he defended himself by\nblessing himself with the crucifix, and invoking Mary. Thus he passed\nthe whole night, but when morning dawned, Arnold, restored to serenity,\njoyfully said: \u201cMary, my Lady and my refuge, has obtained for me pardon\nand salvation.\u201d Then beholding the Virgin, who summoned him to follow\nher, he said: \u201cI come, oh Lady, I come.\u201d He made an effort to rise, but\nnot being able to follow her with the body, gently expiring, he followed\nher with his soul, as we hope, to the blessed kingdom of glory.[385]\n\n\nPRAYER.\n\nBehold at thy feet, oh Mary my hope, a poor sinner who many times,\nthrough his own fault, has been the slave of hell. I know that I have\noften been conquered by the devil, because I have neglected to recur\nto thee, oh my refuge. If I had always sought thy protection, if I had\ninvoked thee, I should never have fallen. I hope, oh my Lady, most worthy\nof love, that by thy help I have escaped the powers of hell, and that God\nhas pardoned me. But I tremble for the future, lest I again fall into\ntheir power. I know that these enemies of mine have not lost all hope\nof reconquering me, and at this moment they are preparing new assaults\nand temptations. Oh, my queen and refuge, aid me. Shelter me beneath thy\nmantle, let me not become again their slave. I know that thou wilt succor\nme and give me victory whenever I invoke thee. I fear only that in my\ntemptations I may forget thee, and neglect to call upon thee. This, then,\nis the grace, oh most holy Virgin, that I seek and wish from thee, that I\nmay always remember thee, and especially when I find myself in conflict\nwith the enemy; let me not then fail to invoke thee often with the words:\n\u201cOh Mary, help me, help me, oh Mary.\u201d And when at length the day of my\nlast conflict with hell, the day of my death arrives, oh, my queen,\npowerfully assist me then, and remind me thyself to invoke thee more\nfrequently, with the voice or with the heart, that expiring with thy most\nsweet name, and that of thy son Jesus on my lips, I may go to bless and\npraise thee, and never leave thy feet in paradise through all eternity.\nAmen.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\nAD TE SUSPIRAMUS GEMENTES ET FLENTES IN HAC LACRYMARUM VALLE.\n\nTo thee we send up our sighs, groaning and weeping in this valley of\ntears.\n\n\nSECTION I.\n\nTHE NEED WE HAVE OF THE INTERCESSION OF MARY FOR OUR SALVATION.\n\nTo invoke and pray to the saints, especially to the queen of saints, most\nholy Mary, that they may obtain for us, by their intercession, the divine\nfavor, is not only a lawful but a useful and holy practice, and this\nis of faith, being established by the Councils, against heretics, who\ncondemn it as injurious to Jesus Christ, who is our only mediator; but if\na Jeremias, after his death, prays for Jerusalem[386]; if the elders of\nthe Apocalypse present to God the prayers of the saints; if a St. Peter\npromises his disciples to remember them after his death; if a St. Stephen\nprays for his persecutors; if a St. Paul prays for his companions; if,\nin a word, the saints pray for us, why may we not implore the saints\nto intercede for us? St. Paul commends himself to the prayers of his\ndisciples: Pray for us: \u201cOrate pro nobis.\u201d[387] St. James exhorts the\nChristians to pray for each other: \u201cPray for one another, that ye may be\nsaved.\u201d[388] We may then do likewise.\n\nNo one will deny that Jesus Christ is the only mediator of justice, and\nthat by his merits he has obtained for us reconciliation with God. But,\non the other hand, it is impious to deny that God is pleased to grant\nfavors at the intercession of the saints, and especially of Mary his\nmother, whom Jesus desires so much to see loved and honored by us. Every\none knows that honor paid to a mother redounds to her children.[389]\nHence St. Bernard says, let not any one think that by greatly praising\nthe mother he will throw into the shade the glories of the Son; for the\nmore he honors the mother, so much more he honors the Son.[390] St.\nIldephonsus says, that all the honor which is paid to the mother and the\nqueen, is rendered to the Son and king.[391] And there is no doubt that\non account of the merits of Jesus, the great privilege has been granted\nto Mary to be the mediatrix of our salvation; not, indeed, mediatrix\nof justice, but of grace and intercession, as she is called by St.\nBonaventure.[392] St. Lawrence Justinian also says: Can she be otherwise\nthan full of grace, who has been made the ladder of paradise, the gate of\nheaven, the most true mediatrix between God and man?[393]\n\nWherefore St. Anselm well remarks, that when we implore the holy Virgin\nto obtain graces for us, it is not that we distrust the divine mercy, but\nrather that we distrust our own unworthiness, and commend ourselves to\nMary that her merits may compensate for our unworthiness.[394]\n\nIt cannot be doubted, therefore, except by those who are deficient\nin faith, that it is a useful and holy thing to have recourse to the\nintercession of Mary. But the point that we here propose to prove is,\nthat the intercession of Mary is even necessary for our salvation;\nnecessary, to speak properly, not indeed absolutely, but morally. And we\naffirm that this necessity arises from the will of God itself, who has\nordained that all the favors which he dispenses should pass through the\nhands of Mary, according to the opinion of St. Bernard, which may well be\nconsidered at the present day the common opinion of doctors and divines,\nas the author of \u201cThe kingdom of Mary\u201d has already called it. It is\nembraced by Vega, Mendoza, Paciucchelli, Segneri, Poir\u00e9, Crasset, and\ninnumerable other learned authors. Even Father Noel Alexander, an author\nusually very reserved in his assertions, declares it to be the will of\nGod that we receive all favors through the intercession of Mary.[395] In\nconfirmation of this, he quotes the celebrated passage of St. Bernard:\nThis is the will of him who would have us receive all things through\nMary.[396] The same opinion is held by Father Contensone, who, explaining\nthe words of Jesus Christ on the cross to John, Behold thy mother, \u201cEcce\nmater tua,\u201d says: It is as if he said, no one shall partake of my blood\nexcept by the intercession of my mother. My wounds are fountains of\ngrace, but to none can their streams be conveyed except by the channel of\nMary. Oh John, my disciple, even as thou lovest my mother, so shalt thou\nbe loved by me.[397]\n\nThe statement that whatsoever we receive from the Lord comes to us by\nmeans of Mary, does not find favor with a certain modern author, who,\nalthough he treats with much piety and learning of true and false\ndevotion, yet speaking of the devotion towards the divine mother, has\nshown himself very sparing in granting her the glory that a St. Germanus,\na St. Anselm, a St. John of Damascus, a St. Bonaventure, a St. Antoninus,\na St. Bernardine of Sienna, the venerable Abbot of Celles, and so many\nother doctors, have not hesitated to attribute to her, who have not\nscrupled to declare that for the above-mentioned reason the intercession\nof Mary is not only useful, but necessary. The above-named author says\nthat this proposition, namely, that God grants no favors except through\nMary, is an hyperbole and an exaggeration which has escaped from the\nmouth of some saints in a moment of fervor, and properly speaking, is to\nbe understood only in the sense that through Mary we have received Jesus\nChrist, by whose merits we receive all graces. Otherwise, he continues,\nit would be an error to believe that God could not grant graces without\nthe intercession of Mary, since the apostle says: \u201cThere is one God and\none Mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus.\u201d[398] So far the\nabove-named author.\n\nBut with his leave I will suggest to him what he himself in his book\nteaches me, that the mediation of justice by means of merit, and the\nmediation of grace by means of prayer, are very different things. Thus\nit is also one thing to say that God cannot, another to say he will not\ngrant favors without the intercession of Mary. We willingly acknowledge\nthat God is the fountain of every good, and absolute Lord of all graces,\nand that Mary is only a pure creature who, through grace, receives\nwhatever she obtains from God. But who can deny it to be reasonable and\nproper to assert that God, in order to exalt this noble creature, who,\nmore than all other creatures, has loved and honored him in her life,\nhaving chosen her for the mother of his Son the Redeemer of the world,\nhas also seen fit to dispense through her hands all the graces which\nare to be granted to redeemed souls? We acknowledge that Jesus Christ\nis the only mediator of justice, as we have stated above, who by his\nmerits obtains for us grace and salvation; but we affirm that Mary is\nthe mediatrix of grace, and although whatever she obtains, she obtains\nthrough the merits of Jesus Christ, and because she prays and asks for it\nin the name of Jesus Christ, yet whatever favors we ask are all obtained\nthrough her intercession.\n\nIn this there is certainly nothing opposed to the sacred doctrines; on\nthe contrary, it is entirely conformed to the sentiments of the Church,\nwho, in the public prayers, by her approved, teaches us to appeal\nconstantly to this divine mother, and invoke her as the Health of the\nweak: \u201cSalus infirmorum.\u201d The Refuge of sinners: \u201cRefugium peccatorum.\u201d\nThe Help of Christians: \u201cAuxilium christianorum.\u201d Our life and our hope:\n\u201cVita et spes nostra.\u201d The same holy Church, in the office which she\nrequires to be recited on the Festivals of Mary, applying to her the\nwords of Wisdom, gives us to understand that in Mary we shall find every\nhope: \u201cIn me is all hope of life and virtue.\u201d[399] That in Mary we shall\nfind every grace: \u201cIn me is all grace of the way and of the truth.\u201d[400]\nIn a word, that we shall find in Mary life and eternal salvation: \u201cHe\nthat shall find me shall find life, and shall have salvation from the\nLord.\u201d[401] And again: \u201cThey that work by me shall not sin. They that\nexplain me shall have life everlasting.\u201d[402] All which passages signify\nthe need we have of the intercession of Mary.\n\nThis then is the sentiment in which so many theologians and holy fathers\nconcur, of whom we cannot with justice say, as the author quoted above\nhas asserted, that to exalt Mary they have uttered _hyperboles_, and that\n_excessive exaggerations_ have fallen from their lips. To exaggerate\nand utter hyperboles, is to exceed the limits of truth, which cannot be\nsaid of the saints who have spoken, enlightened by the Spirit of God,\nwho is the Spirit of truth. And here, if I may make a brief digression,\nlet me express a sentiment of mine, namely: when an opinion is in any\nway honorable to the most holy Virgin, and has some foundation, and is\nnot repugnant to the faith and the decrees of the Church, and to the\ntruth; the rejection of it, and opposition to it, because the contrary\nmay also be true, indicates little devotion to the mother of God. I\nwould not be one of the number of these, nor would I see you, my reader,\none of them, but rather of the number of those who fully and firmly\nbelieve all that can be believed, without error, concerning the greatness\nof Mary, as the Abbot Rupert says, who places among the offerings of\ndevotion most pleasing to this mother, that of a firm belief in her great\nprivileges.[403] If no one else, St. Augustine at least might remove from\nus all fear of exaggeration in the praise of Mary, who asserts that all\nwe may say in her praise is little in comparison with what she merits on\naccount of her dignity as mother of God. The holy Church also, in the\nMass of the blessed Virgin, requires these words to be read: \u201cFor thou\nart happy, oh sacred Virgin Mary, and most worthy of all praise.\u201d[404]\n\nBut let us return to our subject, and hear what the saints say of the\nopinion in question. St. Bernard says that God has bestowed all graces on\nMary, that men, through her as through a channel, may receive whatever\ngood is in store for them.[405] Moreover, the saint here makes an\nimportant reflection, and says that before the birth of the most holy\nVirgin there flowed no such current of grace for all, since this desired\nchannel did not yet exist.[406] But for this end, he adds, Mary has been\ngiven to the world, that through this channel the divine graces might\ncontinually flow down upon us.[407]\n\nAs Holofernes, in order to gain the city of Bethulia, directed the\naqueducts to be broken, so the devil makes every effort to deprive souls\nof their devotion to the mother of God; for, if this channel of grace\nwere closed, he could easily succeed in gaining them to himself. The\nsame holy father continues, and says: Observe, then, oh souls, with what\naffection and devotion the Lord would have us honor this our queen, by\nalways seeking and confiding in her protection; for in her he has placed\nthe fulness of all good, that henceforth we may recognize as coming from\nMary whatever of hope, grace, or salvation we receive.[408] St. Antoninus\nsays the same thing: All the mercies ever bestowed upon men have all come\nthrough Mary.[409]\n\nFor this reason she is called the moon, because, as St. Bonaventure\nremarks, as the moon is between the sun and the earth, and reflects\nupon the latter what she receives from the former, so Mary receives the\ncelestial influences of grace from the divine Son, to transfuse them into\nus who are upon the earth.[410]\n\nFor this reason, too, she is called the gate of heaven by the holy\nChurch: \u201cFelix c\u0153li porta;\u201d because, St. Bernard again observes, as every\nrescript of grace sent by the king comes through the palace gate, so it\nis given to Mary, that through her thou shouldst receive whatever thou\nhast.[411] St. Bonaventure, moreover, says that Mary is called the gate\nof heaven, because no one can enter heaven if he does not pass through\nMary, who is the door of it.[412]\n\nSt. Jerome confirms us in the same sentiment (or, as some persons think,\nanother ancient author of a sermon upon the Assumption, which is inserted\namong the works of St. Jerome), when he says, that in Jesus Christ was\nthe fulness of grace as in the head, whence descend to the members, which\nwe are, all the vital spirits, that is, the divine aids for attaining\neternal salvation; in Mary likewise was fulness as in the neck, through\nwhich those vital spirits pass to the members.[413] This is confirmed by\nSt. Bernardine of Sienna, who more clearly unfolded this thought, saying\nthat through Mary are transmitted to the faithful, who are the mystic\nbody of Jesus Christ, all the graces of the spiritual life, which descend\nupon them from Jesus their head.[414]\n\nSt. Bonaventure also attempts to assign the reason for this when he\nsays: God being pleased to dwell in the womb of this holy Virgin, she\nhas acquired thereby, in a certain sense, a kind of jurisdiction over\nall graces; since Jesus came from her sacred womb, together with him\nproceed from her, as from a celestial ocean, all the streams of divine\ngifts.[415] St. Bernardine of Sienna expresses this in even clearer\nterms. From the time, he asserts, that this mother conceived in her womb\nthe Divine Word, she acquired, if we may thus express it, a special\nright to the gifts which proceed to us from the Holy Spirit, so that no\ncreature has received any grace from God except by the intervention and\nhand of Mary.[416]\n\nAnd thus is explained by a certain author[417] that passage of Jeremias\nwhere the prophet, speaking of the incarnation of the Word and of Mary\nhis mother, says, that \u201ca woman shall compass a man.\u201d[418] The author\nabove named explains this to mean that, as no line proceeds from the\ncentre of a circle which does not pass through its circumference; thus no\ngrace comes to us from Jesus, who is the centre of every good, that does\nnot pass through Mary, who encompassed him after she had received him in\nher womb.\n\nHence, says St. Bernardine, all gifts, all virtues, and all graces, are\ndispensed by Mary[419] to whom she will, when she will, and in the manner\nshe will. Richard likewise says, that God wishes all the good he bestows\non creatures to pass through the hands of Mary.[420] Hence the venerable\nAbbot of Celles exhorts every one to have recourse to this treasurer of\ngraces, as he calls her: \u201cThesaurariam gratiarum;\u201d for only by her means\nthe world and men are to receive all the good they may hope for.[421]\nBy which it is evident that the saints and authors above quoted, in\nsaying that all graces come to us through Mary, have not intended to say\nthis only because we have received from Mary, Jesus Christ, who is the\nfountain of every good, as the author named above would imply; but they\nassure us that God, after having given us Jesus Christ, has decreed that\nall the graces which have been dispensed, are dispensed, and shall be\ndispensed to men, even to the end of the world, through the merits of\nJesus, shall be dispensed through the hands and by the intercession of\nMary.\n\nHence Father Suarez concludes it to be the universal sentiment of the\nChurch at the present day, that the intercession of Mary is not only\nuseful, but necessary.[422] Necessary, as we said before, not in the\nsense of absolute necessity, because only the mediation of Jesus Christ\nis absolutely necessary for us, but in the sense of moral necessity; for\nthe Church holds the opinion, with St. Bernard, that God has chosen to\nbestow no grace upon us but by the hands of Mary.[423] St. Ildephonsus\naffirmed this before St. Bernard, when, addressing the Virgin, he says:\nOh Mary, God has decreed to commit to thee all the favors that he would\nconfer upon men; hence he has confided to thee all the treasures and\nriches of grace.[424] And therefore St. Peter Damian says,[425] that\nGod would not become man without the consent of Mary, that, in the first\nplace, we might remain greatly indebted to her; and secondly, that we\nmight understand the salvation of all men to be made dependent upon her\ngood pleasure.\n\nSt. Bonaventure, contemplating the words of Isaias, where the prophet\nsays: From the race of Jesse there shall come forth a rod\u2014that is, Mary;\nand from that the flower\u2014that is, the Word incarnate,[426] utters these\nbeautiful words: Let him who would obtain the grace of the Holy Spirit,\nseek the flower in the rod, Jesus in Mary; since by the rod we obtain the\nflower, and by the flower we find God.[427] And he afterwards adds: If\nthou wouldst have this flower, strive, with prayers, to incline the stem\nof the flower in thy favor, and thou wilt obtain it.[428] The seraphic\nDoctor, also commenting on the words: \u201cThey found the child with Mary his\nmother,\u201d[429] says: Jesus is never found but with and through Mary;[430]\nand concludes with these words: He seeks Jesus in vain who does not look\nfor him with Mary.[431] Hence St. Ildephonsus says: I would be a servant\nof the Son, and as he can never be a servant of the Son who is not the\nservant of the mother, my ambition is to be a servant of Mary.[432]\n\n\nEXAMPLE.\n\nIt is related by Belluacensis[433] and Cesarius,[434] that a noble youth\nhaving lost by his vices the wealth left him by his father, became so\npoor that he was obliged to beg. He quitted his native land, that he\nmight live with less shame in a distant country where he was unknown. On\nthis journey he met one day an old servant of his father, who, seeing him\nso cast down by the poverty he was suffering, told him to cheer up, for\nhe would take him to a prince who was so liberal that he would provide\nhim with every thing he needed. Now this wretch was an impious sorcerer.\nOne day he took the youth with him to a wood on the borders of a moor,\nwhere he began to address some invisible person. The youth asked to\nwhom he was speaking. \u201cTo the devil,\u201d he answered; and seeing the youth\nterrified, bade him not to fear. Continuing to speak with the devil, he\nsaid: \u201cThis youth, oh my master, is reduced to extreme necessity, and\nwishes to be restored to his former condition.\u201d \u201cIf he will obey me,\u201d\nsaid the enemy, \u201cI will make him richer than before; but in the first\nplace, he must renounce God.\u201d At this the youth shuddered, but urged on\nby that cursed magician, he yielded, and renounced God. \u201cBut this is not\nsufficient,\u201d said the demon; \u201che must also renounce Mary; for it is to\nher that we attribute our greatest losses. Oh, how many souls she has\nsnatched from us, and led back to God and saved!\u201d \u201cOh, this I will not\ndo,\u201d exclaimed the youth; \u201cdeny Mary! why she is my only hope. I would\nrather be a beggar all my life.\u201d With these words he left the place. On\nhis way he happened to pass a church dedicated to Mary. The unhappy youth\nentered it, and kneeling before her altar, began to weep and implore\nthe most holy Virgin that she would obtain the pardon of his sins. Mary\nimmediately began to intercede with the Son for that miserable being.\nJesus at first said: \u201cBut that ungrateful youth, my mother, has denied\nme.\u201d But seeing that his mother still continued to entreat him, he at\nlast said: \u201cOh, my mother, I have never refused thee any thing; he shall\nbe pardoned, since thou dost ask it.\u201d The citizen who had purchased the\ninheritance of that prodigal was secretly present at this scene, and\nbeholding the mercy of Mary towards that sinner, he gave him his only\ndaughter in marriage, and made him heir of all his possessions. Thus that\nyouth recovered, through the intercession of Mary, the favor of God and\neven his temporal possessions.\n\n\nPRAYER.\n\nOh my soul! behold the beautiful hope of salvation, and of life eternal,\nwhich the Lord has granted thee, by giving thee, in his mercy, confidence\nin the protection of his mother, when thou hast by thy sins so often\nmerited his displeasure and the pains of hell. Give thanks, then, to\nGod, and to thy protectress, Mary, who hath deigned to shelter thee\nbeneath her mantle, as already thou certainly knowest, by the many graces\nthat thou hast received through her. Yes, I thank thee, oh my loving\nmother! for the good thou hast done me, a miserable sinner, deserving\nof hell. From how many dangers hast thou delivered me, oh my queen! How\nmuch light and how many mercies hast thou obtained for me, from God, by\nthy intercession! What great advantage, or what great honor hast thou\nreceived from me, that thou art thus intent on doing me good?\n\nThy goodness alone, then, hath moved thee in my behalf. Ah! if I were to\ngive my blood, my life for thee, it would be little compared to what I\nowe thee, for thou hast delivered me from eternal death; thou, who hast\nenabled me to recover, as I hope, the divine favor, and from thee finally\nI acknowledge all my blessings to proceed. Oh my Lady! most worthy of\nlove, I a miserable creature can make thee no return but always to praise\nand love thee. Ah! do not disdain to accept the affection of a poor\nsinner, who is enamored of thy goodness. If my heart is not worthy to\nlove thee, because it is evil and full of earthly affections, do thou\nchange it. Ah! unite me to my God, and unite me so that I can never be\nseparated from his love. This thou desirest of me, that I may love thy\nGod, and this I wish from thee. Obtain for me that I may love him, and\nlove him always, and I ask nothing more. Amen.\n\n\nSECTION II.\n\nTHE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED.\n\nSt. Bernard says, that as a man and a woman have co-operated for\nour ruin, so it was fit that another man and another woman should\nco-operate for our restoration; and these were Jesus and his mother Mary.\nDoubtless, says the saint, Jesus Christ alone was all-sufficient for our\nredemption: yet it was more fitting that each sex should take part in our\nredemption, when both took part in our corruption.[435] For this reason\nblessed Albertus Magnus calls Mary the co-operatrix with Christ in our\nredemption: \u201cAdjutrix Redemptionis.\u201d And she herself revealed to St.\nBridget, that as Adam and Eve sold the world for one apple, so her Son\nand herself with one heart redeemed the world.[436] God could, indeed, as\nSt. Anselm asserts, create the world from nothing; but when it was lost\nby sin, he would not redeem it without the co-operation of Mary.[437]\n\nIn three ways, says Father Suarez, the divine mother shared in the work\nof our salvation: first, by having merited, that is, with merit of\ncongruity, the Incarnation of the Word. Secondly, by praying much for\nus while she lived on the earth. Thirdly, by willingly sacrificing to\nGod the life of her Son for our salvation; and therefore the Lord has\njustly ordained that as Mary has, with so much love for man, aided in the\nsalvation of all, and thereby so greatly promoted the glory of God, all\nthrough her intercession shall obtain salvation.\n\nMary is called the co-operatrix with her Son in our justification,\nbecause God has committed to her keeping all the graces that he has\ndestined for us.[438] Wherefore St. Bernard affirms, that all men, past,\npresent, and to come, should regard her as the medium and negotiator of\nthe salvation of all ages.[439]\n\nJesus Christ has said, that no one could find him unless his Eternal\nFather drew him by his divine grace.[440] Thus, also, according to\nRichard, Jesus said of his mother: No one comes to me unless my mother\ndraw him with her prayers.[441]\n\nJesus was the fruit of Mary, as Elizabeth expressed it: \u201cBlessed art\nthou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.\u201d[442] Whoever,\nthen, wishes for the fruit, must go to the tree; whoever wishes for Jesus\nmust go to Mary; and he who finds Mary, certainly also finds Jesus. St.\nElizabeth, when the most holy Virgin came to visit her in her house, not\nknowing how to thank her, in deep humility exclaimed: \u201cHow have I merited\nthat the mother of my God should come to visit me?\u201d[443] But why! we may\nask: did not Elizabeth already know that not Mary only, but Jesus also,\nhad entered her dwelling? And why, then, does she call herself unworthy\nto receive the mother, and not rather unworthy of receiving a visit\nfrom the Son? Ah, well did the saint understand that when Mary comes\nshe brings Jesus also; and hence it was sufficient for her to thank the\nmother, without naming the Son.\n\n\u201cShe is like the merchant\u2019s ship, she bringeth her bread from\nafar.\u201d[444] Mary is that blessed ship, which brought to us from heaven\nJesus Christ, the living bread that came from heaven to give us life\neternal, as he has said: \u201cI am the living bread which came down from\nheaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever.\u201d[445] Hence\nRichard of St. Laurence says, that all those will be lost in the sea\nof this world who are not received into this ship, that is, protected\nby Mary.[446] He also adds, that whenever we find ourselves in danger\nof destruction from the temptations or passions of the present life,\nwe ought to flee to Mary, crying quickly, Oh Lady, help us; save us,\nif thou wouldst not see us lost.[447] And let it be remarked here, in\npassing, that this writer does not hesitate to say to Mary: Save us,\nwe perish\u2014\u201cSalva nos, perimus;\u201d as the author mentioned several times\nin the previous section does, who denies that we can ask the Virgin to\nsave us, because, as he says, it belongs only to God to save us. But if\na person condemned to death may ask some favorite of the king to save\nhim by interceding for him with his prince, why cannot we implore the\nmother of God to save us, by obtaining for us through her prayers the\ngrace of eternal life? St. John of Damascus did not hesitate to say\nto the Virgin: Oh pure and immaculate queen, save me, deliver me from\neternal damnation.[448] St. Bonaventure called Mary the salvation of\nthose invoking her.[449] The Church allows us to invoke her: Health of\nthe weak\u2014\u201cSalus infirmorum;\u201d and shall we hesitate to ask her to save us,\nwhen, according to a certain author, to no one is the door of salvation\nopen except through her?[450] And before him St. Germanus, speaking of\nMary, said: No one can be saved except through thee.[451]\n\nBut let us see what more the saints say of the need we have of the\nintercession of the divine mother. The glorious St. Cajetan said that\nwe could ask for graces, but we could never obtain them without the\nintercession of Mary. And St. Antoninus confirms this, expressing himself\nthus beautifully: Whoever asks and wishes to obtain graces without the\nintercession of Mary, attempts to fly without wings;[452] for, as Pharaoh\nsaid to Joseph, \u201cThe land of Egypt is in thy hand;\u201d[453] and as he sent\nall those to Joseph who applied to him for assistance, saying: Go to\nJoseph\u2014\u201cIte ad Joseph;\u201d so God, when we supplicate him for favors,\nsends us to Mary: Go to Mary\u2014\u201cIte ad Mariam;\u201d for he has decreed, says\nSt. Bernard, that he will grant no favors except through the hands of\nMary.[454] Hence Richard of St. Laurence says: Our salvation is in the\nhands of Mary, and we Christians can more justly say to her than the\nEgyptians to Joseph, our salvation is in thy hand.[455] The venerable\nIdiot says the same thing: Our salvation is in her hands\u2014\u201cSalus nostra in\nmanu illius est.\u201d[456] Cassian asserts the same thing, but in stronger\nlanguage. He absolutely affirms that the salvation of the whole world\ndepends upon the favor and protection of Mary.[457] St. Bernardine of\nSienna thus addresses her: Oh Lady, since thou art the dispenser of all\ngraces, and we must receive the grace of salvation through thy hand\nalone, then our salvation depends on thee.[458]\n\nRichard says rightly then, that as a stone falls so soon as the earth is\nremoved from beneath it, in like manner a soul, if the support of Mary\nis taken away, will fall first into sin and then into hell.[459] St.\nBonaventure adds, that God will not save us without the intercession of\nMary,[460] and goes on to say, that as an infant cannot live without\nits nurse, so no one without the protection of Mary can be saved.[461]\nTherefore he exhorts us in this way: Let thy soul thirst for devotion to\nMary; preserve it always, never abandon it until you arrive in heaven\nand receive her maternal benediction.[462] Who, says St. Germanus, would\never know God, if it were not through thee, oh most holy Mary? Who would\nbe saved? Who would be free from peril? Who would receive any favor if\nit were not through thee, oh mother of God? Oh Virgin mother, oh full of\ngrace![463] And in another place he says: If thou didst not open the way,\nno one would be free from the sting of the flesh and of sin.[464]\n\nAs we have access to the eternal Father only through Jesus Christ, so,\nsays St. Bernard, we have access to Jesus Christ only through Mary.[465]\nAnd St. Bernard gives us the reason why the Lord decreed that all men\nshould be saved by the intercession of Mary, namely, that through Mary\nwe might be received by that Saviour who, through Mary, has been given\nto us; and therefore the saint calls her the mother of grace and of our\nsalvation. Then, resumes St. Germanus, what would become of us? what hope\nof salvation would remain to us if thou, oh Mary, didst abandon us, thou\nwho art the life of Christians?[466]\n\nBut, the modern author above quoted remarks: If all graces pass through\nMary, when we implore the intercession of the saints, they must have\nrecourse to the mediation of Mary to obtain for us these graces. This,\nhowever, says he, no one believes, or has ever thought of. I reply, that\nthere can be no error or difficulty in believing this. What difficulty is\nthere in saying that God, to honor his mother, having crowned her queen\nof the saints, and having ordained that all graces should be dispensed\nby her hands, would have the saints also invoke her to obtain favors for\ntheir clients? As to saying that no one has ever thought of it, I find\nthat St. Bernard, St. Anselm, St. Bonaventure, Father Suarez[467] also,\nand others expressly assert it. In vain, says St. Bernard, would one\npray to the other saints for a desired favor, if Mary did not intercede\nto obtain it for them.[468] Thus also a certain author explains, in\nthis connection, that passage of David: \u201cAll the rich among the people\nshall entreat thy countenance.\u201d[469] The rich of that great people of God\nare the saints, who, when they wish to obtain a favor for one of their\nclients, all recommend themselves to Mary, that she may obtain it for\nthem. Justly, then, says Father Suarez, we implore the saints to be our\nintercessors with Mary, who is their lady and queen.[470]\n\nIt is precisely this which St. Benedict promised to St. Frances of Rome,\nas we learn from Father Marchese.[471] The above-named saint appeared\nto her one day, and taking her under his protection, promised to be her\nadvocate with the divine mother. St. Anselm adds, in confirmation of\nthis, addressing the blessed Virgin: Oh Lady, what the prayers of all\nthese saints can obtain, in union with thine, thou canst obtain, by thy\nintercession alone without their aid.[472] But wherefore hast thou such\npower? \u201cquare hoc potes?\u201d continues the saint. Because thou alone art the\nmother of our common Saviour, thou art the spouse of God, the universal\nqueen of heaven and earth.[473] If thou dost not speak for us, no saint\nwill pray for us and aid us.[474] But if thou art moved to pray for us,\nall the saints will engage to intercede for us and help us.[475] So says\nFather Segneri,[476] applying to Mary, as the holy Church does, these\nwords of Wisdom: \u201cI alone have compassed the circuit of heaven.\u201d[477] As\nwith its motion the first sphere puts in motion all the others, so when\nMary is moved to pray for a soul, she moves all heaven to pray with her.\nSt. Bonaventure says even, that then she commands, as being their queen,\nall the saints and angels to accompany her and unite their prayers to\nhers.[478]\n\nSo we see, finally, why the holy Church requires us to invoke and salute\nthe divine mother with the great name of our hope: Hail our hope, \u201cSpes\nnostra salve.\u201d The impious Luther could not endure that the holy Roman\nChurch should call Mary, our hope;[479] because, as he said, God only and\nJesus Christ as our mediator are our hope; but that God curses those who\nplace their hope in any creature, as we find in Jeremias: \u201cCursed be the\nman that trusteth in man.\u201d[480] But the Church teaches us everywhere to\ninvoke Mary, and call her our hope: \u201cSpes nostra salve.\u201d Whoever places\nhis hope in a creature, independently of God, is certainly accursed of\nGod, since God is the only fountain and the dispenser of every good, and\nthe creature, without God, has nothing and can do nothing. But if the\nLord has ordained, as we have proved, that all graces shall pass through\nMary, as a channel of mercy, we can, and ought even to assert that\nMary is our hope, by whose intercession we receive divine graces, and\ntherefore it is St. Bernard called her the whole cause of his hope.[481]\nSt. John of Damascus expresses the same thing when, addressing the\nblessed Virgin, he says to her: Oh Lady, in thee I have placed all my\nhope, and with firm confidence I look to thee for my salvation.[482] St.\nThomas says that Mary is all the hope of our salvation.[483] St. Ephrem\nexplains: Oh most holy Virgin, receive us under thy protection, if thou\nwilt see us saved, since we have no other hope of being saved but through\nthee.[484]\n\nWe will then conclude in the words of St. Bernard: Let us strive, with\nall the affections of our heart, to reverence this divine mother, Mary,\nsince this is the will of that Lord who would have us receive all good\nfrom her hands.[485] And the saint exhorts us, whenever we desire and\nask any favor, to recommend ourselves to Mary, and trust that we shall\nobtain it through her intercession.[486] For, says the saint, if you do\nnot deserve from God the favor you ask, Mary, who asks it in your behalf,\nmerits to obtain it.[487] Hence the same Bernard exhorts us each and all,\nthat, whatever we offer to God, whether works or prayers, we recommend\nall to Mary, if we wish our Lord to accept them.[488]\n\n\nEXAMPLE.\n\nEutychian, Patriarch of Constantinople, relates the following well-known\nstory of Theophilus. The Patriarch was an eye-witness of the fact\nwhich we here relate, and which is confirmed by St. Peter Damian, St.\nBernard, St. Bonaventure, St. Antoninus, and others.[489] Theophilus\nwas archdeacon of the Church of Adanas, a city of Cilicia; and was so\nmuch esteemed, that the people wished him to become their bishop, but\nhis humility prevented his consent. Some malicious persons afterwards\naccused him, and he was deposed from his office. This afflicted him so\nmuch, that, blinded by passion, he went to a Jewish magician, who induced\nhim to apply to Satan for help in his misfortunes. The devil answered\nthat if he wished his assistance, he must renounce Jesus, and Mary his\nmother, and hand over to him the act of renunciation, written with his\nown hand. Theophilus executed this vile document. On the following day\nthe bishop having heard of the wrong done him by his calumniators, asked\nhis forgiveness, and restored him to his office. But Theophilus began\nthen to feel so tortured by remorse of conscience on account of the\ngreat crime he had committed, that he wept continually. What does he\ndo? He enters a church, prostrates himself in tears before an altar of\nthe blessed Virgin, and exclaims: \u201cOh mother of God, I will not despair\nhaving thee, who art so merciful, to aid me.\u201d He persevered forty days in\nweeping and praying thus to the holy Virgin; when behold, one night the\nmother of mercy appeared to him and said: \u201cOh Theophilus, what have you\ndone? you have renounced my friendship and that of my Son; and for whom?\nfor your own and my enemy.\u201d \u201cOh Lady,\u201d answered Theophilus, \u201cit belongs\nto thee to pardon me, and to obtain my pardon from thy Son.\u201d Then Mary,\nseeing his confidence, answered, \u201cTake courage, and I will pray God for\nthee.\u201d Theophilus, encouraged by these words, redoubled his tears, his\npenance, and his prayers, remaining constantly at the foot of that altar.\nAnd, behold, Mary appeared to him again, and with a joyful countenance\nsaid to him: \u201cTheophilus, rejoice, I have presented thy tears and thy\nprayers to God; he hath accepted them, and hath already pardoned thee;\nhenceforth be grateful and faithful.\u201d \u201cOh Lady,\u201d replied Theophilus,\n\u201cthis is not sufficient to console me; the enemy still holds that impious\ndeed, by which I have renounced thee and thy Son; thou canst obtain it\nfor me.\u201d After three days Theophilus awoke one night, and found the\npaper on his breast. The next day, when the bishop with a large assembly\nwere present in the church, Theophilus cast himself at his feet, related\nthe whole story, weeping bitterly, and gave him the infamous writing,\nwhich the bishop immediately ordered to be burned in presence of all the\npeople, who wept for joy, praising the goodness of God, and the mercy of\nMary towards that miserable sinner. Theophilus returned to the church\nof the Virgin, and there, three days afterwards, he died happily, with\nthanksgivings to Jesus and his holy mother on his lips.\n\n\nPRAYER.\n\nOh Queen and Mother of Mercy! who dost dispense graces to all those who\nhave recourse to thee, so liberally because thou art queen, and with so\nmuch love because thou art our most loving mother; to thee I commend\nmyself to-day, destitute of merits and virtues as I am, and laden with\ndebts to the divine justice. Oh Mary, thou hast the keys of all the\ndivine mercies, do not forget my miseries, and do not leave me in my\ngreat poverty. Thou who art so liberal with all, and who givest more than\nis asked of thee, do so with me. Oh Lady, protect me, this is all I ask.\nIf thou dost protect me I fear nothing. I do not fear the demons, for\nthou art more powerful than all the spirits of hell; nor my sins, for one\nword of thine in my behalf can obtain pardon of them all from God. If I\nhave thy favor I do not fear even the anger of God, for he is appeased\nby one prayer of thine. In a word, if thou dost protect me I hope all\nthings, because all things are possible with thee. Oh mother of mercy,\nI know that thou takest pleasure and pride in giving succor to the most\nmiserable, for thou canst aid them, if not prevented by their obstinacy.\nI am a sinner, but I am not obstinate; I wish to change my life. Thou\ncanst, then, help me; do help and save me. To-day I place myself entirely\nin thy hands. Teach me what I must do to please God, and I will do it;\nand I hope to do so with thy aid, oh Mary, Mary, my mother, my light, my\nconsolation, my refuge, and my hope. Amen, amen, amen.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\nEJA ERGO ADVOCATA NOSTRA!\n\nAh, then, our advocate!\n\n\nSECTION I.\n\nMARY IS AN ADVOCATE POWERFUL TO SAVE ALL.\n\nSo great is the authority of mothers over their children, that although\nthey may be monarchs, having absolute dominion over all the persons in\ntheir kingdom, yet their mothers can never become subject to them. It is\ntrue that Jesus is now in heaven, for he is seated there at the right\nhand of the Father even as man, as St. Thomas explains it; by reason\nof the hypostatic union with the person of the Word, and has supreme\ndominion over all, and even over Mary; yet it will always be true, that\nat the time when our Redeemer lived on this earth, he was pleased to\nhumble himself and make himself subject to Mary, as St. Luke teaches\nus: And he was subject to them: \u201cErat subditus illis.\u201d[490] St. Ambrose\neven says, that Jesus Christ having deigned to make Mary his mother, was\nobliged as her son to obey her. And therefore, observes Richard of St.\nLaurence, it is said of the other saints, that they are with God; but of\nMary alone can it be said, that not only was it her lot to be subject to\nthe will of God, but that God was also subject to her will.[491] And as\nit is said of the other holy virgins, as the same author remarks, that\nthey follow the divine Lamb wherever he goes: \u201cSequuntur agnum quocumque\nierit;\u201d[492] of the Virgin Mary it may be said, that the divine Lamb\nfollowed her on this earth, having become subject to her.[493]\n\nHence we may say, that though Mary is in heaven, and can no longer\ncommand her Son, yet her prayers will ever be the prayers of a mother,\nand therefore most powerful to obtain whatever she asks. Mary, says St.\nBonaventure, has this privilege with her Son, that she is most powerful\nto obtain by her prayers whatsoever she will.[494] And wherefore?\nPrecisely for the reason which we have before mentioned, and which we\nwill now examine more fully, namely, because the prayers of Mary are the\nprayers of a mother. And therefore, says St. Peter Damian, the Virgin\nhas all power in heaven as on earth, being able to raise to the hope\nof salvation even the most despairing.[495] And then he adds, that when\nthe mother asks any favor for us of Jesus Christ (called by the saint\nthe altar of mercy where sinners obtain pardon from God), the Son has so\ngreat regard for the prayers of Mary, and so great a desire to please\nher, that when she prays, she seems to command rather than request, and\nto be a mistress rather than a handmaid.[496] Thus Jesus would honor this\nhis dear mother, who has honored him so much in her life, by granting\nher immediately whatever she asks and desires. St. Germanus beautifully\nconfirms this by saying to the Virgin: Thou art mother of God, omnipotent\nto save sinners, and needest no other recommendation with God, since thou\nart the mother of true life.[497]\n\nSt. Bernardine of Sienna does not hesitate to say that all obey the\ncommands of Mary, even God himself;[498] signifying by these words, that\nGod listens to her prayers as though they were commands. Hence St. Anselm\nthus addresses Mary: The Lord, oh holy Virgin, has so highly exalted\nthee, that by his favor thou canst obtain all possible graces for thy\nservants, for thy protection is omnipotent.[499] Thy help is omnipotent,\noh Mary: \u201cOmnipotens auxilium tuum, O Maria;\u201d as Cosmas of Jerusalem\nexclaims. Yes, Mary is omnipotent, adds Richard of St. Laurence, since\nthe queen, by every law, must enjoy the same privileges as the king.\nFor as the power of the Son and mother are the same, the mother by the\nomnipotent Son is made omnipotent.[500] As St. Antoninus says: God has\nplaced the whole Church, not only under the patronage, but also under the\ndominion of Mary.[501]\n\nAs the mother, then, must have the same power as the Son, justly was Mary\nmade omnipotent by Jesus, who is omnipotent; it being, however, always\ntrue, that whereas the Son is omnipotent by nature, the mother is so by\ngrace. And her omnipotence consists in this, that the Son denies nothing\nthat the mother asks; as it was revealed to St. Bridget, who heard Jesus\none day addressing Mary in these words: \u201cOh my mother, thou knowest how\nI love thee; ask from me, then, whatever thou dost desire, for there is\nno demand of thine that will not be graciously heard by me.\u201d[502] And the\nreason that he added was beautiful: \u201cMother, when thou wast on earth,\nthere was nothing thou didst refuse to do for love of me; now that I\nam in heaven, it is just that I refuse nothing which thou dost ask of\nme.\u201d[503] Mary is, then, called omnipotent in the sense in which it can\nbe understood of a creature, who is not capable of any divine attribute.\nShe is omnipotent, because she obtains by her prayers whatever she wishes.\n\nWith reason, then, oh our great advocate! says St. Bernard, dost thou\nonly wish, and it is done: \u201cVelis tu et omnia fient.\u201d And St. Anselm:\nWhatever thou askest, oh Virgin! cannot but be done.[504] Wish, and it\nwill be done; dost thou wish to raise the most abandoned sinner to an\nexalted sanctity, to thee it is given to do it. The blessed Albertus\nMagnus represents Mary speaking thus: I must be asked to wish, for if I\nwish it must be done.[505] Hence St. Peter Damian, contemplating this\ngreat power of Mary, and praying her to have pity on us, says: Oh Mary!\noh our beloved advocate! since thou hast a heart so compassionate, that\nthou canst not behold the miserable without pity; and, at the same time,\nhast so great a power with God to save all those whom thou dost defend;\ndeign to intercede in behalf of us miserable creatures, who place in\nthee all our hopes. If our prayers do not move thee, may thy merciful\nheart at least move thee; may thy power at least move thee, since God,\nfor this end, has enriched thee with so much power, that the richer thou\nart in the power to aid us, so much more compassionate thou mayest be\nin thy desire to aid us.[506] Of this, St. Bernard assures us, saying,\nthat Mary is abundant in mercy as well as in power; as her charity is\nmost powerful, so also is it most merciful in our behalf, and this is\nmanifested to us continually by its effects.[507]\n\nEven when she was living on this earth, the only thought of Mary, after\nthe glory of God, was to relieve the wretched. And we know that then\nshe enjoyed already the privilege of obtaining whatever she asked. This\nwe know from what took place at the nuptials of Cana of Galilee, when\nthe wine failed, and the blessed Virgin, compassionating the distress\nand mortification of that family, asked the Son to relieve them by a\nmiracle, making known to him this want: They have no wine: \u201cVinum non\nhabent.\u201d[508] Jesus answered: \u201cWoman, what is that to thee and to me? my\nhour is not yet come.\u201d[509] Observe, that although the Lord appeared\nto refuse this favor to his mother, by saying: Of what importance is\nit, oh woman, to me and to thee that the wine has failed? It does not\nbecome me now to perform any miracle, as the time has not arrived, the\ntime of my preaching, when with signs I must confirm my doctrine; yet,\nnotwithstanding this, Mary, as if the Son had already granted her the\nfavor, said to the attendants: Fill the water-pots with water: \u201cImple\nhydrias aqua.\u201d[510] Come fill the water-pots, and you will be consoled;\nand Jesus Christ, indeed, to please his mother, changed that water into\nthe best wine. But how is this? If the time appointed for miracles was\nthe time of preaching, how could it be anticipated by the miracle of the\nwine, contrary to the divine decree? Nothing, it may be answered, was\ndone contrary to the divine decrees; for although, generally speaking,\nthe time for signs had not come, yet from eternity God had established\nby another general decree, that nothing the divine mother could ask\nshould be denied her; and therefore Mary, well acquainted with her\nprivilege, although her Son seemed to have then set aside her petition,\nsaid notwithstanding, that the water-pots should be filled, as though\nthe favor were already granted. This, St. John Chrysostom would express,\nwhen commenting on the passage of John above mentioned\u2014\u201cOh woman, what\nis that to thee and to me?\u201d\u2014he says, that although Jesus had answered\nthus, yet, for the honor of his mother, he did not fail to comply with\nher demand.[511] St. Thomas confirms the same, when he observes, that\nby these words\u2014\u201cMy hour has not yet come\u201d\u2014Jesus Christ wished to show\nthat he would have deferred the miracle, if another had asked him to\nperform it; but because his mother asked it, he immediately performed\nit.[512] St. Cyril and St. Jerome confirm this, according to Barrada.\nAnd Jansenius of Ghent says, commenting on the same passage of St. John:\nThat he might honor his mother, he anticipated the time of working\nmiracles.[513]\n\nIn a word, it is certain that no creature can obtain for us miserable\nsinners so many mercies as this good advocate, who is honored by God with\nthis privilege, not only as his beloved handmaid, but also as his true\nmother. William of Paris says this when addressing her.[514] It is enough\nthat Mary speaks, and the Son does all she wishes. The Lord, speaking\nto the spouse of the Canticles, by whom is understood Mary, says: \u201cThou\nthat dwellest in the gardens, the friends hearken, make me hear thy\nvoice.\u201d[515] The friends are the saints, who, when they ask any favor for\ntheir clients, wait until their queen prays to God for it and obtains it;\nfor, as was said before in Chap. V., no favor is dispensed except by the\nintercession of Mary. And how does Mary obtain favors? It is enough that\nher Son hears her voice: Make me to hear thy voice: \u201cFac me audire vocem\ntuam.\u201d It is enough that she speaks, and her Son immediately hears her.\nWilliam of Paris, explaining in the same way the passage above named,\nintroduces the Son, who thus addresses Mary: Oh thou who dwellest in the\ncelestial gardens, intercede with confidence for whomsoever thou wilt,\nfor I cannot forget that I am thy Son, or think of refusing any thing to\nmy mother. It is enough for thee to speak, and thy Son will graciously\nhear and grant thy petition.[516] The Abbot Godfrey says that Mary,\nalthough she obtains favors by praying, yet prays with a kind of maternal\nauthority; hence we may be sure that she will obtain whatever she desires\nand asks for us.[517]\n\nIt is related of Coriolanus, by Valerius Maximus,[518] that when he\nheld Rome besieged, all the prayers of his friends and of the citizens\ncould not induce him to withdraw his forces; but when his mother Veturia\ncame to entreat him he could not resist, and immediately raised the\nsiege. But the prayers of Mary are as much more powerful with Jesus\nthan the prayers of Veturia with her son, as the love and gratitude of\nJesus to Mary exceeds that of the son of Veturia for his mother. Father\nJustin Micoviensis writes: One sigh of Mary has more power than the\nprayers of all the saints united.[519] The devil himself confessed this\nsame thing to St. Dominic, when, constrained by his commands, he spoke\nthrough the mouth of a possessed person, saying, as Father Paciucchelli\nnarrates,[520] that one sigh of Mary availed more with God than the\nunited prayers of all the saints.\n\nSt. Antoninus says, that the prayers of the blessed Virgin being the\nprayers of a mother, have a certain kind of authority, hence it is\nimpossible that she should not be heard when she prays.[521] On this\naccount St. Germanus encourages sinners to recommend themselves to\nthis advocate with these words: Thou, oh Mary, having the authority of\na mother with God, dost obtain pardon for the vilest sinners; for the\nLord, who in all things recognizes thee for his true mother, cannot\nrefuse to grant thee whatever thou dost ask.[522] St. Bridget, too, heard\nthe saints in heaven saying to the Virgin: What is there that thou canst\nnot do? Whatever thou dost desire is done.[523] To which corresponds that\ncelebrated verse: What God by a command, thou, oh Virgin, by a prayer\ncanst effect.[524] Is it not, says St. Augustine, worthy of the goodness\nof the Lord thus to guard the honor of his mother? for he asserts that he\nhas come on the earth, not to break, but to fulfil the law, which, among\nother things, commands us to honor our parents.[525]\n\nSt. George, Archbishop of Nicomedia, even adds, that Jesus Christ grants\nto his mother all her petitions, as if to satisfy the obligation that he\nis under to her for having caused, by her consent, that the human nature\nshould be given him.[526] Wherefore, St. Methodius the martyr exclaims:\nRejoice, oh Mary, that a Son has fallen to thy lot as thy debtor, who\ngives to all and receives from none. We are all debtors to God for\nwhatever we possess, since every thing is his gift; but God has wished\nto make himself a debtor to thee, taking from thee his body and becoming\nman.[527] So also St. Augustine says: Mary having merited to give flesh\nto the Divine Word, and by that to furnish the price of the divine\nredemption, that we might be delivered from eternal death; therefore is\nshe, says the same doctor, more powerful than any other to help us and\nobtain for us eternal salvation.[528] Hence St. Theophilus, Bishop of\nAlexandria, who lived in the time of St. Jerome, thus wrote: The Son is\npleased to be entreated by his mother, because he wishes to grant for\nher sake all that he does grant; and thus to recompense the favor he\nhas received from her when she gave him flesh. Hence St. John Damascene\naddresses the Virgin in these words: Thou, then, oh Mary, being mother of\nGod, canst save all men by thy prayers, which are enforced by a mother\u2019s\nauthority.[529]\n\nLet us conclude with the words of St. Bonaventure, who, considering the\ngreat benefit which the Lord has conferred on us in giving us Mary for\nour advocate, thus addresses her: Oh truly immense and admirable goodness\nof God, who to us miserable, guilty creatures, has granted thee, oh our\nLady, for our advocate, that thou mightest, by thy powerful intercession,\nobtain for us whatever good thou wilt.[530] Oh, the great mercy of God,\ncontinues the saint, who, that we might not flee to hide ourselves from\nthe sentence to be pronounced upon us, has destined his own mother and\nthe treasurer of graces for our advocate.[531]\n\n\nEXAMPLE.\n\nFather Razzi, of the order of Camaldoli, relates that a certain youth\nhaving lost his father, was sent by his mother to the court of a\nprince.[532] The mother, who had a great devotion to Mary, when she\nparted with him made him promise to recite every day a \u201cHail Mary,\u201d and\nadd these words: \u201c_Blessed Virgin, help me in the hour of my death_.\u201d\nThe youth arrived at court, but soon began to lead so dissolute a life,\nthat his master was obliged to send him away. In despair, without means\nof support, he went into the country and became a highway robber; but\neven then he did not omit to recommend himself to our Lady, as his mother\nhad directed him. At length he fell into the hands of justice, and was\ncondemned to death. Being in prison the evening before his execution,\nand thinking of his disgrace, the grief of his mother, and the death\nwhich awaited him, he fell to weeping bitterly. The devil seeing him so\noppressed by melancholy, appeared to him in the form of a beautiful young\nman, and said to him that he would release him from death and prison,\nif he would follow his directions. The convict engaged to do all that\nhe required. Then the pretended youth made known to him that he was the\ndevil and had come to his assistance. In the first place, he ordered him\nto renounce Jesus Christ and the holy sacraments. The youth consented.\nHe then required him to renounce the Virgin Mary and her protection.\n\u201cThis,\u201d exclaimed the young man, \u201cI will never do,\u201d and turning to Mary,\nrepeated the accustomed prayer that his mother had taught him: _Blessed\nVirgin, help me in the hour of my death_. At these words the devil\ndisappeared. The youth remained in great affliction for the wickedness he\nhad committed in denying Jesus Christ. He invoked the blessed Virgin, and\nshe obtained for him, by her prayers, a great sorrow for all his sins,\nso that he made his confession with much weeping and contrition. On his\nway to the gallows, happening to pass before a statue of Mary, he saluted\nher with his usual prayer: _Blessed Virgin, help me in the hour of my\ndeath_, and the statue, in the presence of all, inclined its head and\nsaluted him. Deeply moved, he begged to be allowed to kiss the feet of\nthe image. The executioners refused, but afterwards consented on account\nof the clamor of the people. The youth stooped to kiss her feet, and\nMary extended her arm from that statue, took him by the hand and held him\nso strongly that no power could move him. At this prodigy the multitude\nshouted \u201cPardon, pardon,\u201d and pardon was granted. Having returned to his\ncountry, he led an exemplary life, and was always most devoted to Mary,\nwho had delivered him from temporal and eternal death.\n\n\nPRAYER.\n\nOh great mother of God, I will say to thee with St. Bernard: Thy Son\nhears thee, and will grant thee whatsoever thou dost ask.[533] Speak,\nthen, speak, oh Mary our advocate, in behalf of us miserable creatures.\nRemember that thou hast received thy great power and dignity even for\nour benefit. A God has chosen to become thy debtor, by taking from thee\nthe human nature to the end that thou mayest dispense to the miserable\nthe riches of divine mercy. We are thy servants, in a special manner\nconsecrated to thy service, and among these I hope to be one. We glory\nin living under thy protection. If thou doest good to all, even to those\nthat do not know thee and do not honor thee, and who even insult and\nblaspheme thee; how much more ought we to hope from thy kindness, who\ndost seek for the wretched that thou mayest relieve them! we who honor,\nlove, and trust in thee! We are great sinners, but God has granted thee\nmercy and power greater than all our sins. Thou canst and wilt save us;\nand we will so much the more earnestly desire this, as we are unworthy\nof it, that we may glorify thee the more in heaven, when we shall have\nbeen received there by thy intercession. Oh, mother of mercy, we present\nto thee our souls, once pure and washed with the blood of Jesus Christ,\nbut since defiled with sin. To thee we present them, wilt thou purify\nthem? Obtain for us sincere amendment, obtain for us the love of God,\nperseverance, paradise. We ask great things of thee, but canst thou not\nobtain them all for us? Are they greater than the love which God has for\nthee? Thou hast only to open thy lips in prayer to thy Son, and he will\ngrant thee all things. Pray, then, pray, oh Mary, for us; and surely thou\nwilt be heard graciously, and we shall be surely saved.\n\n\nSECTION II.\n\nMARY IS A MERCIFUL ADVOCATE, WHO DOES NOT REFUSE TO DEFEND THE CAUSE OF\nTHE MOST MISERABLE SINNERS.\n\nThere are so many reasons why we should love this our loving queen, that\nif all the earth should praise Mary, and all sermons treat of her alone,\nand all men should give their lives for Mary, it would yet be little\ncompared to the homage and gratitude we owe her, for the very tender love\nshe bears to all men, even to the most miserable sinners who preserve\ntowards her any feeling of devotion. Raymond Jordan declares that Mary\ncannot but love those who love her. Nay she does not disdain even to\nserve those who serve her, using, if they are sinners, all the power of\nher intercession to obtain pardon for them from her blessed Son.[534]\nAnd so great, he goes on to say, is her kindness and compassion, that\nno one, however degraded he may be, should fear to cast himself at her\nfeet, since she rejects no one who has recourse to her.[535] Mary, as our\nmost loving advocate, offers herself to God the prayers of her servants,\nespecially those which are offered to her; for as the Son intercedes for\nus with the Father, thus she intercedes for us with the Son, and never\nceases to intercede with both for our salvation, and to obtain for us\nthe favors that we ask.[536] Rightly, then, does the blessed Denis, the\nCarthusian, call the holy Virgin the peculiar refuge of the lost, the\nhope of the wretched, and the advocate of all sinners who have recourse\nto her.[537]\n\nBut if there ever be any sinner who, indeed, does not doubt the power,\nbut has no trust in the mercy of Mary, fearing that she may not be\nwilling to aid him on account of the magnitude of his offences, St.\nBonaventure encourages him by saying: Great and peculiar is the privilege\nwhich Mary has with her Son, of obtaining by her prayers whatever she\ndesires;[538] but what would this great power of Mary avail us, he adds,\nif she should be indifferent to our welfare?[539] No, let us not doubt,\nconcludes the saint, let us be secure, and always thank the Lord and his\ndivine mother for it; for, as she is the most powerful of all saints\nwith God, so she is the most loving advocate, and the most desirous\nof our welfare.[540] And who, oh mother of sinners! joyfully exclaims\nSt. Germanus, who, after thy Jesus, has so much care of us, and of our\nwelfare, as thou?[541] Who doth defend us in the trials that afflict\nus, as thou dost defend us? Who take upon himself to protect sinners,\nas if combating in their behalf, as thou dost?[542] Wherefore, he adds,\nthy patronage, oh Mary! is more powerful and loving than we are able to\ncomprehend.[543] Whilst, as the Idiot says, all the other saints can\naid their own servants by their patronage more than others; the divine\nmother, as she is the queen of all, so is she the advocate of all, and\ncares for the salvation of all.[544]\n\nShe cares for all, even for sinners, and glories especially in being\ncalled their advocate; as she herself declared to the venerable sister\nMary Villani, saying: \u201cNext to the title of mother of God, I glory most\nin being named the advocate of sinners.\u201d The blessed Amadeus says, that\nour queen is always before the divine Majesty, interceding for us with\nher powerful prayers.[545] And since in heaven she knows perfectly our\nmiseries and necessities, she cannot but have pity on us; so, with\nthe affection of a mother, moved by compassion for us, she kindly and\nmercifully endeavors to relieve and save us.[546] It is with good reason,\nthen, that Richard of St. Laurence encourages every one, however degraded\nhe may be, to appeal confidently to this sweet advocate, in the certain\nbelief that he will always find her ready to help him.[547] It is also\nwell said by Godfrey, that Mary is ever ready to pray for all.[548]\n\nAnd oh, with how much efficacy and love, St. Bernard exclaims, this\ngood advocate of ours conducts the cause of our salvation![549] St.\nAugustine, contemplating the affection and earnestness with which Mary\nis continually occupied in interceding with the divine Majesty for us,\nthat the Lord may pardon our sins, assist us with his grace, free us\nfrom dangers, and relieve us from our miseries, thus addresses the holy\nVirgin:[550] Oh Lady! it is true that all the saints desire our salvation\nand pray for us; but the charity and tenderness which thou dost manifest\nfor us in heaven, by obtaining with thy prayers so many mercies from God,\nobliges us to confess, that we have in heaven only one advocate, that\nis thyself, and that thou alone art the only true lover watchful of our\nwelfare. And who can comprehend the solicitude with which Mary is always\nwaiting on God in our behalf? St. Germanus says: She is never satisfied\nwith defending us: \u201cNon est satietas defensionis ejus.\u201d The expression is\nbeautiful. So great is the pity which Mary has for our miseries, and so\ngreat is the love she bears us, that she prays always, and prays again,\nand is never satisfied with praying for us, and defending us from evil\nwith her prayers, and obtaining for us favors\u2014she is never satisfied with\ndefending us.\n\nWhat poor sinners we should be if we had not this advocate, so powerful\nand so merciful, and at the same time so prudent and so wise, that\nthe judge, her Son, cannot condemn the guilty, if she defends them,\nas Richard of St. Laurence says.[551] Well, then, does St. John\n(the geometrician) salute her: Hail, authority which puts an end to\nstrife.[552] For all the causes defended by this most wise advocate\nare gained. Hence Mary is called by St. Bonaventure, the wise Abigail:\n\u201cAbigail sapiens.\u201d This was the woman who, as we read in the first\nof Kings, knew so well how to appease King David, by her persuasive\nentreaties, when he was full of indignation against Nabal, that he\nhimself blessed and thanked her for having, with her sweet words,\nprevented him from revenging himself upon Nabal with his own hands.[553]\nPrecisely the same thing does Mary continually in heaven, in behalf of\ninnumerable sinners: she knows so well how to appease the divine justice\nwith her tender and wise entreaties, that God himself blesses her for it,\nand as it were thanks her, that thus she restrains him from abandoning\nand punishing them as they deserve. For this end, says St. Bernard, the\neternal Father, desirous to show all possible compassion towards us,\nbesides Jesus Christ, our principal advocate with himself, has given us\nMary for our advocate with Jesus Christ.\n\nThere is no doubt, says St. Bernard, that Jesus is the only mediator\nof justice between men and God, who in virtue of his merits can, and\naccording to his promises will, obtain for us pardon and divine grace;\nbut because men recognize and fear in Jesus Christ the divine majesty,\nwhich dwells in him as God, it was necessary that another advocate should\nbe assigned to us, to whom we could have recourse with less fear and\nmore confidence; and this is Mary, than whom we can find no advocate\nmore powerful with the divine majesty and more compassionate towards\nus.[554] But he would greatly wrong the mercy of Mary, continues the\nsaint, who should still fear to cast himself at the feet of this most\nsweet advocate, who is in nothing severe or terrible, but is in all\nthings kind, lovely, and compassionate.[555] Read and revolve as much\nas you will all the history found in the Gospels, and if you find any\nact of austerity in Mary, then fear to approach her. But you will\nnever find any; go then joyfully to her, for she will save thee by her\nintercession.[556]\n\nExceedingly beautiful is the exclamation which William of Paris puts in\nthe mouth of a sinner who has recourse to Mary: Oh mother of my God, I\ncome to thee full of confidence, even in the miserable state to which\nI find myself reduced by my sins; if thou dost reject me, I will plead\nwith thee, for in a certain sense thou art bound to help me, since all\nthe Church of the faithful calls thee and proclaims thee mother of\nmercy.[557] Thou, oh Mary, art so dear to God that he always graciously\nlistens to thee; thy great mercy has never failed; thy most sweet\ncondescension has never despised any sinner, however enormous his sins,\nwho has had recourse to thee.[558] What! could the whole Church falsely\nand in vain name thee her advocate and the refuge of sinners?[559] No,\nnever be it said that my sins prevent thee, oh my mother, from exercising\nthe great office of mercy which thou dost hold, by which thou art at\nthe same time the advocate and mediator of peace between God and man,\nand next to thy Son the only hope and secure refuge of sinners.[560]\nWhatever of grace and glory is thine, even the dignity of being mother\nof God itself, if I may so speak, thou owest to sinners, since for their\nsake the divine Word has made thee his mother.[561] Far from this divine\nmother, who has brought forth into the world the fountain of mercy, be\nthe thought that she should refuse her compassion to any sinner who\nrecommends himself to her.[562] Since, then, oh Mary, thy office is that\nof peacemaker between God and man, may thy great mercy, which far exceeds\nall my sins, move thee to aid me.[563]\n\nConsole yourselves, then, oh ye faint of heart, I will say with St.\nThomas of Villanova, take heart, oh miserable sinners; this great Virgin,\nwho is the mother of your judge and God, is the advocate of the human\nrace. Powerful and able to obtain whatever she wishes from God; most\nwise, for she knows every method of appeasing him; universal, for she\nwelcomes all, and refuses to defend none.[564]\n\n\nEXAMPLE.\n\nOur advocate has shown how great is her kindness towards sinners by her\nmercy to Beatrice, a nun in the monastery of Fontebraldo, as related by\nCesarius,[565] and by Father Rho.[566] This unhappy religious, having\ncontracted a passion for a certain youth, agreed to flee with him from\nthe convent; and in fact she went one day before a statue of the blessed\nVirgin, there deposited the keys of the monastery, for she was portress,\nand boldly departed. Arrived in another country, she led the miserable\nlife of a prostitute for fifteen years. It happened that she met, one\nday, the agent of the monastery in the city where she was living, and\nasked of him, thinking he would not recognize her again, if he knew\nsister Beatrice? \u201cI know her well,\u201d he said: \u201cshe is a holy nun, and at\npresent is mistress of novices.\u201d At this intelligence she was confounded\nand amazed, not knowing how to understand it. In order to ascertain the\ntruth, she put on another dress and went to the monastery. She asked for\nsister Beatrice, and behold, the most holy Virgin appeared before her in\nthe form of that same image to which at parting she had committed her\nkeys and her dress, and the divine mother thus spoke to her: \u201cBeatrice,\nbe it known to thee that, in order to prevent thy disgrace, I assumed\nthy form, and have filled thy office for the fifteen years that thou\nhast lived far from the monastery and from God. My child, return, and do\npenance, for my Son is still waiting for thee; and strive by thy holy\nlife to preserve the good name I have gained thee.\u201d She spoke thus and\ndisappeared. Beatrice re-entered the monastery, resumed the habit of a\nreligious, and, grateful for the mercy of Mary, led the life of a saint.\nAt her death she made known the foregoing incident, to the glory of this\ngreat queen.\n\n\nPRAYER.\n\nOh great mother of my Lord, I now see that the ingratitude shown by\nme for so many years to God and to thee, would justly merit that thou\nshouldst abandon all care of me, for the ungrateful are no more worthy\nof favors. But, oh Lady, I have a great idea of thy goodness; I believe\nit to be far greater than my ingratitude; continue, then, oh refuge of\nsinners, to help a miserable sinner who confides in thee. Oh mother of\nmercy, extend thy hand to raise a poor fallen creature who implores thy\nmercy. Oh Mary, defend thou me, or tell me to whom I shall have recourse,\nand who can protect me better than thou? Can I find an advocate with\nGod more merciful and more powerful than thou, who art his mother? Thou\nhaving been created for the mother of the Saviour, art destined to\nsave sinners, and hast been given me for my salvation. Oh Mary, save\nhim who has recourse to thee. I do not merit thy love, but the desire\nthou hast to save the lost gives me the hope that thou dost love me;\nand if thou lovest me, how can I be lost? Oh my beloved mother, if, as\nI hope, I am saved by thee, I will no longer be ungrateful; I will make\namends by perpetual praises and by all the affection of my soul for my\npast ingratitude, and will make some return for the love thou bearest\nme. In heaven, where thou reignest and wilt reign forever, I will always\njoyfully sing thy mercies, and forever I will kiss those loving hands\nthat have freed me from hell as often as I have deserved it for my sins.\nOh Mary, my liberator, my hope, my queen, my advocate, my mother, I love\nthee, I wish thee well, and will always love thee. Amen, amen; thus I\nhope, so may it be.\n\n\nSECTION III.\n\nMARY IS THE PEACE-MAKER BETWEEN SINNERS AND GOD.\n\nThe grace of God is a treasure, very great and most earnestly to be\ndesired by every soul. It is called by the Holy Spirit an infinite\ntreasure, since by means of divine grace we are raised to the honor of\nbeing made the friends of God: \u201cShe is an infinite treasure to men,\nwhich they that use become the friends of God.\u201d[567] Whence it is that\nJesus, our Redeemer and God, did not hesitate to call those who are in\ngrace, his friends: You are my friends: \u201cVos amici mei estis.\u201d[568] Oh\naccursed sin, that loosens the ties of this blessed friendship: \u201cYour\niniquities have divided between you and your God:\u201d[569] for they make the\nsoul hateful to God, and from a friend it becomes an enemy of the Lord:\n\u201cTo God the wicked and his wickedness are hateful alike.\u201d[570] What,\nthen, must a sinner do who finds himself so unhappy as to have become an\nenemy of God? He must find a mediator who will obtain pardon for him and\nenable him to recover the lost friendship of God. Take courage, says St.\nBernard, oh sinner, who hast lost God. Thy Lord himself hath given thee\na mediator, even his Son Jesus Christ, who can obtain for thee whatever\nthou desirest.[571]\n\nBut oh God, the saint here exclaims, why do men esteem severe this most\nmerciful Saviour, who hath given his life for our salvation? Why do they\nlook upon him as terrible who is all loveliness? Distrustful sinners,\nsay, why do you fear? If you fear because you have offended God, remember\nthat Jesus with his own lacerated hands has nailed your sins to the\ncross, and having satisfied the divine justice for them by his death, he\nhas removed them from your soul.[572] But if ever, adds the saint, you\nfear to have recourse to Jesus Christ because his divine majesty alarms\nyou, since when he became man he did not cease to be God, if you ever\nwish for another advocate with this mediator, invoke Mary, for she will\nintercede for you with the Son, who will surely graciously listen to\nher, and the Son will intercede with the Father, who can refuse nothing\nto this Son.[573] And so, concludes St. Bernard, this divine mother, oh\nmy children, is the ladder of sinners, by which they ascend anew to the\nheight of divine grace. This is my greatest confidence\u2014this is the whole\nground of my hope.[574]\n\nLet us hear what the Holy Spirit makes the blessed Virgin say in the\nsacred Canticles:[575] I am, says Mary, the defence of those who have\nrecourse to me, and my mercy is to them a tower of refuge; for this I\nhave been appointed by my Lord as a peacemaker between sinners and him.\nCardinal Hugo, on the same text, says, that Mary is the great peacemaker\nwho obtains from God, and gives peace to enemies, salvation to the lost,\npardon to sinners, and mercy to the despairing.[576] For this reason she\nwas called by her divine spouse: Beautiful as the curtains of Solomon:\n\u201cFormosa sicut pelles Salomonis.\u201d[577] In the tents of David there was\nnothing treated of but war, but in the tents of Solomon peace alone was\nspoken of. The Holy Spirit giving us to understand by this, that the\nmother of mercy does not treat of war and of vengeance against sinners,\nbut only of peace and the pardon of their offences.\n\nAgain, Mary was prefigured by Noe\u2019s dove, who returned to the ark bearing\nin her beak the olive-branch, as a sign of the peace which God granted to\nmen. Wherefore St. Bonaventure says: Thou art that most faithful dove,\nwhich, mediating with God, hath obtained for the world, which was lost,\npeace and salvation. Mary, then, was the heavenly dove who brought to the\nlost world the olive-branch, a sign of mercy;[578] for she gave us Jesus\nChrist, who is the fountain of mercy,[579] and thus obtained, by the\nprice of his merits, all the graces which God gives us. And as through\nMary the world received celestial peace,[580] as St. Epiphanius says, so\nby means of Mary sinners are constantly becoming reconciled to God. In\nthe same way, the blessed Albertus Magnus says in her name: I am that\ndove of Noe, who brought to the Church universal peace.[581]\n\nMoreover, the rainbow seen by St. John, that surrounded the throne of\nGod, was also an exact type of Mary.[582] According to the explanation of\nCardinal Vitalis, Mary is always before the divine tribunal to mitigate\nthe sentence and punishment due to the sinner.[583] And St. Bernardine\nof Sienna says, that it was of this rainbow that the Lord spoke, when\nhe said to Noe that he would place in the clouds the bow of peace, that\nwhen he should see it he might remember the eternal covenant that he\nhad established with men.[584] And Mary, says St. Bernardine, is that\nvery bow of eternal peace.[585] For as God, at the sight of the bow,\nremembers the peace promised to the earth, thus, at the prayers of Mary,\nhe pardons sinners the offences committed against him, and establishes\npeace with them.[586]\n\nFor the same reason Mary is also compared to the moon.[587] For, St.\nBonaventure says, as the moon is in the midst between heaven and earth,\nso she continually interposes between God and sinners, that she may\nappease the Lord towards them, and enlighten them on their return to\nGod.[588]\n\nAnd this was the most important office given to Mary when she was placed\nupon the earth\u2014of lifting the souls fallen from divine grace, and\nreconciling them to God. Feed thy kids: \u201cPasce h\u00e6dos tuos.\u201d[589] This\nwas said to her by the Lord when he created her. It is well known that\nsinners are represented by goats; and as the elect, represented by sheep,\nwill be placed on the right hand in the valley of judgment, the goats\nwill be placed on the left. Now these goats, says William of Paris, are\ncommitted to thee, oh great mother, that thou mayest change them into\nsheep, and that those who, by their sins, have merited to be banished\nto the left, by thy intercession may be placed on the right.[590] Hence\nthe Lord revealed to St. Catherine of Sienna that he had created this\nhis beloved child as a sweet bait, that would draw men, and especially\nsinners, to God.[591] And here we should note the beautiful reflection\nof William, the Englishman, on the passage above cited, who says, that\nGod recommends to Mary her own goats, \u201ch\u00e6dos tuos;\u201d because the Virgin\ndoes not save all sinners, but only those who serve and honor her. Those,\non the contrary, who live in sin, and do not honor her with any special\ndevotion, neither recommend themselves to her in order to escape from\ntheir sins, are not the goats of Mary, but in the judgment will be placed\nmiserably on the left among the damned.[592]\n\nA certain nobleman who was despairing of his eternal salvation on account\nof his sins, was encouraged by a religious to have recourse to the most\nholy Virgin, by visiting her sacred image which was in a certain church.\nThe nobleman went to the church, and on seeing the figure of Mary he\nfelt himself, as it were, invited by her to cast himself at her feet\nand trust. He hastens to do so, kisses her feet, and Mary, from that\nstatue, extended her hand for him to kiss, and on it he saw these words\nwritten: \u201cI will deliver thee from them that afflict thee.\u201d[593] As if\nshe had said to him: My son, do not despair, for I will deliver thee\nfrom thy sins, and from the fears that oppress thee. It is related that\non reading these sweet words, that sinner felt such sorrow for his sins,\nand conceived such a love for God, and for his sweet mother, that he\ndied there at the feet of Mary. Oh, how many obstinate sinners does this\nmagnet of hearts draw daily to God, as she herself said to St. Bridget:\n\u201cAs the magnet attracts to itself iron, thus I draw to myself the most\nobdurate hearts, that I may reconcile them to God;\u201d[594] and this prodigy\nis not rarely, but daily experienced. I could myself testify to many\ncases that have occurred in our missions alone, where sinners who have\nremained harder than iron during all other sermons, while hearing that\non the mercy of Mary, were touched with compunction, and turned to God.\nSt. Gregory relates that the unicorn is so ferocious a wild beast, that\nno hunter can succeed in taking it; but at the voice of a maiden who\ncalls upon him to surrender, he draws near, and without resistance allows\nhimself to be bound by her. Oh, how many sinners, more fierce than wild\nbeasts, who flee from God, at the sound of the voice of this great Virgin\nMary, advance and allow themselves to be gently bound by her to God!\n\nFor this end, says St. John Chrysostom, the Virgin Mary was made mother\nof God, that those sinners who, by reason of their wicked life, could\nnot be saved according to the divine justice, might obtain salvation\nthrough her sweet compassion and powerful intercession.[595] St. Anselm\nconfirms this when he says that Mary has been exalted to be mother of\nGod for sinners rather than for the just, since Jesus Christ announced\nthat he came not to call the just, but sinners.[596] And so the holy\nChurch sings: \u201cSinners thou dost not abhor, since but for them thou\nnever wouldst have been worthy of such a Son.\u201d[597] William of Paris\nalso says: Oh Mary, thou art obliged to help sinners, since for all the\ngifts, graces, and honors thou dost possess, which are comprehended in\nthe dignity thou hast received of being the mother of God, for all, if I\nmay so speak, thou art indebted to sinners, since for their sakes thou\nwert made worthy to have a God for thy Son.[598] If, then, concludes St.\nAnselm, Mary, for the sake of sinners, has been made mother of God, how\ncan I, however great may be my sins, despair of pardon?[599]\n\nThe holy Church teaches us, in the Collect of the Mass for the Vigil of\nthe Assumption, that the divine mother has been removed from this earth,\nthat she might intercede for us with God, in sure confidence of being\ngraciously heard.[600] Hence Mary is named by St. Justinian, Arbitress:\n\u201cSequestra.\u201d The Word employed Mary as arbitress.[601] _Sequester_\nsignifies the same as arbiter, one to whom two contending parties refer\nall their questions; so that the saint means to say, that as Jesus is\nmediator with the eternal Father, so Mary is our mediatrix with Jesus, to\nwhom the Son refers all the charges which, as judge, he has against us.\n\nMary is called by St. Andrew of Crete, the confidence and security of\nour reconciliation with God.[602] And by this the saint intends to say,\nthat God seeks a reconciliation with sinners by pardoning them, and that\nthey may not despair of pardon, he has given them Mary as a pledge of\nit; hence he salutes her: Hail, oh peace of God with men: \u201cSalve divina\nhominibus reconciliatio.\u201d Wherefore St. Bonaventure says, encouraging\nevery sinner: If thou fearest, on account of thy sins, that an angry God\nmay wish to avenge himself upon thee, what art thou to do? Go to the hope\nof sinners, namely, Mary; and if thou fearest that she will refuse to\ntake thy part, know that she cannot refuse to defend thy cause, for God\nhimself has assigned her the office of relieving the wretched.[603]\n\nAnd what does the Abbot Adam say? Should a sinner fear being lost,\nto whom the mother of his judge offers herself as his mother and\nadvocate?[604] And then the same writer adds: Oh Mary! who art mother of\nmercy, couldst thou refuse to pray thy Son, who is judge, for another\nson, who is the criminal? Canst thou refuse to intercede in behalf\nof a redeemed soul with the Redeemer, who, for no other end than to\nsave sinners, died on the cross?[605] No, thou wilt not refuse, but\nearnestly wilt employ thyself in praying for all those who invoke thee,\nwell knowing that the same Lord who hath constituted thy Son mediator\nof peace between God and man, has at the same time made thee mediatrix\nbetween the Judge and the criminal.[606] Here St. Bernard takes up the\nsubject, and says: Give then thanks to him who has provided thee with\nsuch a mediatrix.[607] Whoever thou art, oh sinner, plunged in the mire\nof guilt, hoary in sin, do not despair; thank thy Lord, who, in order\nto show mercy to thee, has not only given thee his Son for an advocate,\nbut, to increase thy confidence and courage, has provided thee with such\na mediatrix, who, by her prayers, obtains whatever she wishes. Have\nrecourse to Mary, and thou wilt be saved.\n\n\nEXAMPLE.\n\nIt is related by Rupensis,[608] and by Boniface,[609] that in Florence\nthere lived a young girl, named Benedetta (the blessed), although she\nmight better have been called Maladetta (the cursed), from the scandalous\nand wicked life she led. Happily for her, St. Dominic happened to preach\nin that city, and she, from mere curiosity, went one day to hear him. But\nthe Lord touched her heart during the sermon, so that, weeping bitterly,\nshe went to make her confession to the saint. St. Dominic heard her\nconfession, gave her absolution, and directed her to say the rosary. But\nthe unhappy girl, by the force of her evil habits, returned to her wicked\nlife. The saint heard of it, and going to her, induced her to confess\nonce more. God, in order to confirm her in her good life, one day showed\nhell to her, and some persons there who had been already condemned on\nher account. Then opening a book, he made her read in it the frightful\nrecord of her sins. The penitent shuddered at the sight, and, full of\nconfidence, had recourse to Mary, asked her help, and learned that this\ndivine mother had already obtained from God for her, time enough to mourn\nfor her numerous sins. The vision disappeared, and Benedetta devoted\nherself to a good life; but seeing always open before her eyes that dark\ncatalogue, she one day prayed in these words to her consoler: \u201cOh mother,\nit is true that for my sins I should now be deep in hell; but since thou,\nby thy intercession, hast liberated me from it, by obtaining for me time\nfor repentance, most merciful Lady, I ask of thee one other favor. I will\nnever cease to weep for my sins; but do thou obtain for me that they may\nbe cancelled from that book.\u201d After this prayer, Mary appeared to her,\nand told her that in order to obtain what she asked, she must preserve\nan eternal remembrance of her sins, and of the mercy of God towards her;\nand still more, that she must meditate on the passion of her Son, which\nhe suffered for love of her; and also that she must bear in mind that\nmany had been damned who had committed fewer sins than she had done. She\nalso revealed to her that a child of only eight years of age, for one\nmortal sin only, had been that day condemned to hell. Benedetta having\nfaithfully obeyed the most holy Virgin, one day beheld Jesus Christ, who\nshowed her that book, and said to her: Behold, thy sins are cancelled;\nthe book is white, inscribe on it now acts of love and of virtue.\nBenedetta did this, led a holy life, and died a holy death.\n\n\nPRAYER.\n\nThen, oh my most sweet Lady, if thy office is, as William of Paris says,\nto interpose as a mediatrix between the sinner and God,[610] I will say\nto thee with St. Thomas of Villanova: Ah, then, oh our advocate, fulfil\nthy office.[611] Fulfil at once thy office also in my behalf. Do not tell\nme that my cause is too difficult to be gained; for I know, and all tell\nme, that no cause, however desperate, if defended by thee, was ever lost;\nand will mine be lost? No, I fear not this. I have only to fear, when I\nbehold the multitude of my sins, that thou wilt not undertake my defence;\nbut considering thy vast compassion and the great desire that fills thy\nmost loving heart to help the vilest sinners, I no longer fear even this.\nAnd who was ever lost that had recourse to thee? I invoke, then, thy aid,\noh my great advocate, my refuge, my hope, and my mother Mary. To thy\nhands I commit the cause of my eternal salvation. To thee I consign my\nsoul; it was lost, but thou must save it. I always thank the Lord that\nhe gives me this great confidence in thee, which, notwithstanding my\nunworthiness, I believe will secure my salvation. One fear alone remains\nto afflict me, my beloved queen: it is, that I may one day lose, through\nmy neglect, this confidence in thee. Therefore I pray thee, oh Mary, by\nall thy love for thy Jesus, to preserve and increase more and more in\nme this most sweet confidence in thy intercession, by which I certainly\nhope to recover the divine friendship, which I have hitherto so foolishly\ndespised and lost; and once having recovered it, I hope by thy means to\npreserve it; and preserving it, I hope finally through thee to go one day\nand thank thee for it in paradise, and there to sing the mercies of God\nand thine through all eternity. Amen. Thus I hope, so may it be, and so\nit _shall be_!\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII.\n\nILLOS TUOS MISERICORDES OCULOS AD NOS CONVERTE.\n\nTurn thy eyes of mercy towards us.\n\n\nSECTION I.\n\nMARY IS ALL EYES TO PITY AND RELIEVE OUR MISERIES.\n\nSt. Epiphanius calls the blessed Virgin, \u201cMultoculam;\u201d that is, one who\nhas many eyes, that she may relieve our miseries on this earth. One\nday, when a person possessed was being exorcised, the devil was asked\nby the exorcist what Mary was then doing. The Evil One replied: \u201cShe is\ndescending and ascending:\u201d[612] by which he intended to say, that this\ngracious Lady does nothing else than descend upon the earth to bring\ngraces to men, and ascend to heaven to obtain there the divine blessing\non our supplications. Rightly, then, was the holy Virgin named by St.\nAndrew of Avellino, the active power of paradise; for she is continually\nemployed in deeds of mercy, imploring favors for all, for the just and\nfor sinners. \u201cThe eyes of the Lord are upon the just,\u201d says David;[613]\nbut the eyes of our Lady are upon the just and upon sinners,[614] as\nRichard of St. Laurence says; for he adds: The eyes of Mary are the eyes\nof a mother; and the mother not only guards her child from falling, but\nif he falls, she hastens to raise him.[615]\n\nJesus himself revealed this to St. Bridget, whom the saint heard one day\nspeaking to his mother, and saying: \u201cAsk of me, oh my mother, whatever\nthou dost desire;\u201d[616] and the Son is always in heaven saying this\nto Mary, pleased with granting his beloved mother whatever she asks.\nBut what does Mary ask? St. Bridget understood the mother to answer\nhim: I ask mercy for sinners: \u201cMisericordiam peto pro miseris.\u201d[617]\nAs if she would say, my Son, thou hast already destined me for the\nmother of mercy, for the refuge of sinners, for the advocate of the\nmiserable, now thou sayest to me that I may ask whatever I wish; but\nwhat would I ask of thee? I ask of thee that thou wilt have mercy on the\nsinner: \u201cMisericordiam peto pro miseris.\u201d Thou art, oh Mary, so full of\ncompassion, St. Bonaventure tenderly says to her, thou art so watchful\nto relieve the wretched, that it seems thou hast no other desire, no\nother concern than this.[618] And because, among the wretched, sinners\nare the most wretched of all, the venerable Bede affirms, that Mary is\ncontinually praying the Son in behalf of sinners.[619]\n\nEven whilst on earth Mary was so kind and tender to men that, as\nSt. Jerome says, there never was any person so afflicted by his own\nsufferings as Mary by the sufferings of others.[620] She plainly showed\nthe compassion she feels for the sufferings of others at the nuptials of\nCana (as has been mentioned in previous chapters), where, when the wine\nfailed, without being requested, as St. Bernardine of Sienna remarks, she\nassumed the office of a kind comforter.[621] And from mere compassion for\nthe troubles of that family, she interceded with her Son, and obtained\nthe miracle of changing the water into wine.\n\nBut, perhaps, says St. Peter Damian, since thou wast exalted to the\ndignity of queen of heaven, thou hast forgotten the wretched; and then\nhe adds, let this never be thought of\u2014it does not belong to a mercy so\ngreat as that which reigns in the heart of Mary, to forget such misery\nas ours.[622] The common proverb, honors change customs, \u201cHonores\nmutant mores,\u201d certainly does not apply to Mary. It, indeed, applies\nto worldlings who, when raised to any dignity, become inflated with\npride, and forget their old and poor friends: but not to Mary, who\nrejoices in her greater exaltation, because it gives her more power to\nassist others. Considering this point, St. Bonaventure applies to the\nblessed Virgin the words spoken to Ruth: \u201cBlessed art thou, my daughter,\nand thy latter kindness has surpassed the former.\u201d[623] Meaning, as he\nafterwards explains, that if the pity of Mary for the unhappy was great\nwhen she lived on earth, much greater is it now when she is reigning in\nheaven.[624] The saint gives the reason for this by saying, that the\ndivine mother shows now, by the innumerable favors she obtains for us,\nthis her increased compassion, because now she better understands our\nmiseries.[625] And he adds, that as the splendor of the sun exceeds that\nof the moon, so the mercy of Mary, now that she is in heaven, exceeds the\nmercy she had for us when she was upon the earth.[626] And is there any\none living on the earth who does not enjoy the light of the sun?\u2014any one\non whom this mercy of Mary does not shine?[627]\n\nOn this account she is called bright as the sun, \u201cElecta ut sol;\u201d[628]\nbecause no one is shut out from the heat of this sun,[629] as St.\nBonaventure says. And St. Agnes revealed this from heaven to St. Bridget,\nwhen she said to her, that our queen, now that she is united with her\nSon in heaven, cannot forget her innate goodness; hence she exercises\nher compassion towards all, even towards the most impious sinners, so\nthat as both the celestial and terrestrial bodies are illuminated by the\nsun, thus through the goodness of Mary, there is no one in the world who\ndoes not, if he asks for it, share in the divine mercy.[630] A great and\ndesperate sinner, in the kingdom of Valencia, in order to escape justice,\nhad resolved to become a Turk, and was actually going to embark, when by\nchance he passed a church, in which Father Jerome Lopez, of the Company\nof Jesus, was preaching, and preaching of the divine mercy; by that\npreaching he was converted, and confessed to the father, who inquired of\nhim if he had practised any devotion, for which God had shown towards him\nthat great mercy; he answered that he had practised no other devotion\nthan praying the holy Virgin every day not to abandon him.[631] The\nsame Father found in the hospital a sinner, who for fifty-five years had\nnever been to confession, and had only practised this little devotion,\nthat when he saw an image of Mary he saluted it, and prayed to her that\nhe might not die in mortal sin; and then he related that in a quarrel\nwith an enemy, his sword was broken, and he turned to the Madonna saying:\n\u201cAlas, I shall be slain, and damned; oh mother of sinners, help me.\u201d\nWhen he had said this, he found himself, he knew not how, transported\ninto a secure place. He made a general confession, and died full of\nconfidence.[632]\n\nSt. Bernard writes that Mary becomes all things to all men, and opens to\nall the bowels of her mercy, that all may receive of her; the captive\nhis freedom; the sick man health; the afflicted consolation; the sinner\npardon, and God glory: hence there is no one, since she is the sun, who\ndoes not partake of her warmth.[633] And is there any one in the world,\nexclaims St. Bonaventure, who will not love this lovely queen? She is\nmore beautiful than the sun, and sweeter than honey; she is a treasure\nof goodness, and is kind and courteous to all.[634] I salute thee, then,\nthus the enamored saint goes on to say, oh my Lady and mother! my heart!\nmy soul! Pardon me, oh Mary, if I say that I love thee: if I am not\nworthy of loving thee, thou art truly worthy of being loved by me.[635]\n\nIt was revealed to St. Gertrude,[636] that when any one repeats with\ndevotion these words to the Virgin: \u201cTurn, then, towards us, oh our\nadvocate, thy pitying eyes,\u201d[637] Mary never fails to listen to the\nprayer. Oh, let the immensity of thy mercy, oh great Lady, fill the whole\nearth, exclaims St. Bernard.[638] Whence St. Bonaventure says, that this\nloving mother has such a desire to do good to all, that she feels herself\noffended not only by those who offer her some positive injury, for there\nare souls to be found so perverse, especially gamesters, who sometimes,\nto vent their anger, blaspheme and insult this good Lady, but she looks\nupon herself as injured by those, also, who neglect to ask of her some\nfavor.[639] So that, as St. Idelbert says, thou dost instruct us, oh\nLady, to expect favors greater than our merits, for thou dost never\ncease to dispense graces that far exceed what we merit.[640]\n\nThe prophet Isaias predicted that by the great work of human redemption,\na great throne of divine mercy would be prepared for us: \u201cA throne\nshall be prepared in mercy.\u201d[641] Who is this throne? St. Bonaventure\nanswers: This throne is Mary, in whom all, both the just and sinners,\nfind the consolations of mercy;[642] and he afterwards adds: As the\nLord is full of compassion, so also is our Lady; and as the Son, so\nthe mother cannot withhold her mercy from those who ask it.[643] Hence\nGuerric, the abbot, represents Jesus thus speaking to Mary: My mother,\nupon thee I will establish the seat of my kingdom, for through thee will\nI bestow the graces that are asked of me: thou hast given me the human\nnature; I will give to thee, as it were, a divine nature, that is, my\nomnipotence, by which thou canst assist all who invoke thee to obtain\ntheir salvation.[644]\n\nWhen St. Gertrude was one day devoutly repeating these words to the\ndivine mother: \u201cTurn towards us thy merciful eyes,\u201d she saw the Virgin\npointing to the eyes of her Son whom she held in her arms, and she said\nto her: \u201cThese are the most merciful eyes that I can turn towards all\nthose who invoke me for their salvation.\u201d[645] A sinner once weeping\nbefore the altar of Mary, and imploring her to intercede with God for his\npardon, was given to understand that the blessed Virgin turned to the\nchild whom she held in her arms, and said to him: \u201cMy son, shall these\ntears be in vain?\u201d[646] and he learned that Jesus Christ at once pardoned\nhim.\n\nAnd how can any one ever perish who recommends himself to this good\nmother, when the Son, as God, has promised, for love of her, to exercise\nmercy, as far as it pleases her, towards all those that have recourse to\nher? Precisely this our Lord revealed to St. Bridget; permitting her to\nhear these words which he spoke to Mary: \u201cBy my omnipotence, venerated\nmother, I have granted thee the pardon of all sinners, in whatever way it\npleases thee, who devoutly invoke the aid of thy mercy.\u201d[647] Hence the\nAbbot Adam Persenius, considering the great compassion that Mary has for\nall, full of confidence says to her: Oh mother of mercy, thy power is as\ngreat as thy pity. As thou art powerful to obtain, so thou art merciful\nto pardon.[648] And when, he adds, dost thou ever fail to have compassion\non sinners, being the mother of mercy; or art thou unable to help them,\nbeing mother of omnipotence? Ah, thou canst as readily obtain whatever\nthou wilt, as thou canst listen to our woes.[649] Satiate thyself, then,\nsays the Abbot Rupert, satiate thyself, oh great queen, with the glory\nof thy Son, and through thy compassion, not certainly through our merit,\nbe pleased to send down to us, thy poor servants here below, whatever\nfragments may remain.[650]\n\nIf our sins ever throw us into despair, let us say with William of Paris:\nOh Lady, do not bring forward my sins against me, for I shall bring\nforward thy mercy in opposition to them. And let it never be said that\nmy sins can rival, in the judgment, thy mercy, which is more powerful to\nobtain my pardon, than my sins are to obtain my condemnation.[651]\n\n\nEXAMPLE.\n\nWe read in the chronicles of the Capuchin Fathers,[652] that there lived\nin Venice a celebrated advocate, who, by fraud and evil practices, had\nbecome rich. His whole life was very bad, and it appears that he had but\none good habit, that of reciting every day a certain prayer to the holy\nVirgin. Yet, even this little devotion saved him from eternal death,\nthrough the mercy of Mary. It happened in this way: Happily for himself,\nhe had a great esteem for Father Matthew da Basso, and urged him so much\nto come and dine at his house, that one day the Father gave him this\npleasure. Having arrived, the advocate said to him: \u201cNow, Father, I will\nshow you something that you have never seen. I have a wonderful ape, who\nis my valet, washes my glasses, lays the table, and opens the door.\u201d\n\u201cThis may not be an ape,\u201d answered the Father: \u201cit may be something more\nthan an ape; order him to come here.\u201d The ape was called again and again,\nsearch was made for him everywhere, and he could not be found. At length,\nhe was discovered hidden under a bed in the lower part of the house, but\nhe would not come out. \u201cCome, then,\u201d said the religious, \u201clet us go and\nsee him:\u201d and he went with the advocate to his hiding-place. \u201cInfernal\nbeast,\u201d he said, \u201ccome forth, and in the name of God I command you to\ntell me what you are.\u201d And behold, the ape answered that he was the\ndevil, and that he was waiting until that sinner should omit some day\nto recite his accustomed prayer to the mother of God; for the first time\nhe should omit it, God had given him leave to strangle him, and take him\nto hell. At these words the advocate cast himself upon his knees to ask\nhelp of the servant of God, who encouraged him, and commanded the devil\nto depart from that house without committing any injury, only he gave him\npermission, as a sign that he had really gone, to break a piece of the\nwall. Scarcely had he finished speaking, when, with a great crash, a hole\nwas made in the wall, which, although it was several times closed with\nstone and mortar, God willed that it should remain open for a long time;\nuntil, by the advice of the servant of God, it was filled up with a slab\nof marble, with an angel carved on it. The advocate was converted, and,\nit is to be hoped, persevered until death in his new course of life.\n\n\nPRAYER.\n\nOh creature, among all others the greatest and most sublime, most holy\nVirgin, I from this earth salute thee; I, a miserable, unhappy rebel to\nmy God, who deserve punishment and not favors, justice and not mercy.\nOh Lady, I do not say this because I distrust thy mercy. I know that\nthou dost glory in being merciful as thou art great. I know that thou\ndost rejoice in being so rich, that thou mayest share thy riches with\nus sinners. I know that the more wretched are those who seek thee, the\ngreater is thy desire to help and save them. Oh my mother, it is thou\nwho once did weep for thy Son when he died for me. Offer, I pray thee,\nthy tears to God, and with these obtain for me a true sorrow for my\nsins. So much did sinners grieve thee, then, and so much did I, too,\ngrieve thee by my iniquities. Obtain for me, oh Mary, that I at least\nfrom henceforth may no longer continue to afflict thee and thy Son by\nmy ingratitude. What will thy tears avail me if I should continue to be\nungrateful to thee? What would thy mercy avail me if I should again be\nfaithless and be lost? No, my queen, do not permit it. Thou hast supplied\nall my deficiencies; thou canst obtain from God whatever thou wilt; thou\ngraciously hearest every one that prays to thee. These two favors do\nI ask of thee, and at all events from thee do I hope and desire them:\nnamely, that thou wilt obtain for me to be faithful to God by never more\noffending him, and to love him as much as I have offended him during the\nlife that remains to me.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII.\n\nET JESUM BENEDICTUM FRUCTUM VENTRIS TUI NOBIS POST HOC EXILIUM OSTENDE.\n\nAnd after this our exile, show us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus.\n\n\nSECTION I.\n\nMARY RESCUES HER SERVANTS FROM HELL.\n\nIt is impossible that a servant of Mary who faithfully honors her and\nrecommends himself to her should be lost. This proposition at first\nsight may appear to some persons extravagant. But I would beg them not\nto condemn it before reading what will hereafter be said on this point.\nWhen it is said that a devoted servant of Mary cannot be lost, those\nservants are not intended who abuse their devotion by sinning with less\nfear. Therefore it is unjust to say, as some do who disapprove extolling\nthe mercy of Mary to sinners, that by so doing they are encouraged to\nsin the more; for such presumptuous persons for their presumption merit\npunishment and not mercy. It is understood, then only of those of her\nservants who, with the desire to amend, faithfully honor and commend\nthemselves to the mother of God. That these should be lost is, I say,\nmorally impossible. And I find Father Crasset has affirmed the same\nthing in his book upon devotion to Mary;[653] and before him Vega,[654]\nMendoza,[655] and other theologians. And that we may know that they have\nnot spoken unadvisedly, let us see what the Doctors and Saints have\nsaid on this subject. Let no one be surprised if I here quote several\nsentences, of different authors, containing the same thing; for I have\nwished to record them all, in order to show how unanimously all writers\nagree on this point. St. Anselm says, that as he who is not devoted to\nMary and protected by her cannot be saved, so it is impossible that he\nshould be condemned who recommends himself to the Virgin, and is regarded\nby her with affection.[656] St. Antoninus asserts the same thing in\nnearly the same words: As it is impossible that those from whom Mary\nturns away her eyes of compassion should be saved, so it must be that all\nthose towards whom she turns her eyes, and for whom she intercedes, shall\nbe saved and glorified.[657] This saint adds, then, that the servants of\nMary must necessarily be saved.\n\nLet us note, however, the first part of the statements of these saints,\nand let those tremble who little esteem, or abandon through negligence,\ndevotion to this divine mother. They say that it is impossible for\nthose to be saved who are not protected by Mary. And this is also\nasserted by others, as the blessed Albertus Magnus: All those who are\nnot thy servants, oh Mary, shall perish: \u201cGens qu\u00e6 non servierit tibi\nperibit.\u201d[658] St. Bonaventure, too: He who neglects the service of Mary\nshall die in sin.[659] And in another place: He who has not recourse to\nthee, oh Lady, will not reach paradise.[660] And on Psalm xcix. the saint\ngoes so far as to say that those from whom Mary turns away her face,\nnot only will not be saved, but can have no hope of salvation.[661] And\nbefore this St. Ignatius, the martyr, said the same thing, asserting\nthat a sinner cannot be saved except by means of the holy Virgin, who,\non the other hand, saves by her merciful intercession many that would be\ncondemned by the divine justice.[662] Some persons doubt whether this\npassage is from St. Ignatius; at least Father Crasset says that St.\nJohn Chrysostom has adopted it as his own.[663] It is also repeated by\nthe Abbot of Celles.[664] And in the same sense the holy Church applies\nto Mary these words of Proverbs: All that hate me love death: \u201cOmnes\nqui me oderunt, diligunt mortem.\u201d[665] For, as Richard of St. Laurence\nsays, commenting on the words: She is like the merchant\u2019s ship:[666] all\nthose who are out of this ship shall be submerged in the sea of this\nworld.[667] Even the heretic \u0152colampadius esteemed neglect of devotion\nin any one to the mother of God as a certain sign of reprobation; hence,\nhe said: Let it never be heard of me that I am averse to Mary, to be\nill affected towards whom I should think a certain sign of a reprobate\nmind.[668]\n\nOn the other hand, Mary says: He that hearkeneth to me shall not be\nconfounded.[669] He who has recourse to me, and listens to what I say to\nhim, shall not be lost. From which St. Bonaventure said: Oh, Lady, those\nwho are mindful to honor thee, shall be far from perdition.[670] Even\nwhen, as St. Hilary says, they have hitherto deeply offended God.[671]\n\nHence the devil strives so hard with sinners, in order that, having lost\ndivine grace, they may also lose devotion to Mary. Sarah, seeing Isaac\nplaying with Ishmael, who was teaching him evil habits, asked Abraham\nto send him away, and his mother Agar also: \u201cCast out this bond-woman\nand her son.\u201d[672] She was not satisfied that the son alone should leave\nthe house without the mother, fearing lest the son would come to visit\nhis mother, and thus continue to frequent the house. In like manner, the\ndevil is not satisfied with seeing Jesus cast out from a soul, if he does\nnot see the mother also cast out: \u201cCast out this bond-woman and her son.\u201d\nOtherwise he fears that the mother, by her intercession, may again obtain\nthe return of her son. And he has cause to fear, for as the learned\nFather Paciucchelli remarks: He who is faithful in honoring the mother\nof God, through Mary, will soon receive him.[673] Therefore rightly was\nthe devotion to our Lady called by St. Ephrem: The passport of escape\nfrom hell: \u201cCharta libertatis.\u201d[674] The divine mother was also named by\nhim: The protectress of the condemned: \u201cPatrocinatrix damnatorum.\u201d And\nwith truth St. Bernard says, that Mary is neither wanting in the power\nnor the will to save us.[675] Not in the power, because it is impossible\nthat her prayers should not be heard, as St. Antoninus asserts;[676] and\nSt. Bonaventure says also, that her requests cannot be unavailing, but\nobtain for her what she wishes: Quod qu\u00e6rit invenit et frustrari non\npotest.[677] Not in the will to save us, for Mary is our mother, and\ndesires our salvation more than we desire it ourselves. If this is then\ntrue, how can it ever happen that a servant of Mary should be lost? He\nmay be a sinner, but if, with perseverance and a desire for amendment,\nhe commends himself to this good mother, she will take care to obtain\nfor him light to guide him out of his bad state, contrition for his\nsins, perseverance in goodness, and finally a good death. And is there\nany mother who would not rescue her child from death, if she could do it\nby praying his judge for mercy? And can we believe that Mary, the most\nloving mother possible to her servants, would fail to rescue one of them\nfrom eternal death, when she can do it so easily?\n\nAh, devout reader, let us thank the Lord, if we find that he has given us\nthe love of the queen of heaven, and confidence in her; for God, as St.\nJohn Damascene says, does not grant this grace except to those whom he\nwishes to save. These are the beautiful words of the saint, with which\nhe would quicken his own and our hope: Oh mother of God, if I place my\nconfidence in thee I shall be saved. If I am under thy protection, I have\nnothing to fear, because to be thy servant is to have certain arms of\nsalvation, which God only grants to those whom he will save.[678] Hence\nErasmus thus salutes the Virgin: Hail, terror of hell! hail, hope of\nChristians! confidence in thee secures salvation.[679]\n\nOh, how much it grieves the devil to see a soul persevering in its\ndevotion to the divine mother! We read in the life of Father Alphonsus\nAlvarez, who had a special devotion to Mary, that being in prayer, and\nfinding himself tormented by impure temptations with which the devil\nafflicted him, the enemy said to him: Quit thy devotion to Mary, and I\nwill cease to tempt thee.\n\nThe Lord revealed to St. Catherine of Sienna, as we read in Blosius, that\nhe, in his goodness, had granted to Mary, from love to his only begotten\nSon, whose mother she is, that not even one sinner, who commends himself\ndevoutly to her, should be the prey of hell.[680] The Prophet David, too,\nprayed to be rescued from hell, for the honor in which he held Mary: \u201cI\nhave loved, oh Lord, the beauty of thy house; take not away my soul\nwith the wicked.\u201d[681] He says of thy house, \u201cDomus tu\u00e6,\u201d because Mary\nwas, indeed, that house of God, which he himself, when he became man,\nbuilt on this earth for his habitation, and for the place of his rest,\nas we read in Proverbs: Wisdom hath built herself a house.[682] No, he\nsurely will not be lost, says St. Ignatius, the martyr, who is constant\nin his devotion to this virgin mother.[683] And this is confirmed by St.\nBonaventure, who says: Oh Lady, those who love thee enjoy great peace in\nthis life, and in the other they shall not see eternal death.[684] No,\nfor it never did, and never will happen, as the devout Blosius assures\nus, that an humble and constant servant of Mary will be lost.[685]\n\nOh, how many would have been eternally condemned, or remained in\nobstinacy, if Mary had not interceded with her Son to exercise mercy!\nThus says Thomas \u00e0 Kempis.[686] And it is the opinion of many doctors,\nespecially of St. Thomas, that the divine mother has obtained from\nGod a reprieve for many persons who had even died in mortal sin, and\ntheir return to life to do penance. We have many examples of this given\nby writers of good authority. Among others, Flodoard, who lived about\nthe ninth century, narrates, in his chronicles,[687] that one Adelman,\na deacon, who appeared to be dead, was about to be buried, when he\nreturned to life, and said, that he had seen the place in hell to which\nhe had already been condemned; but that, through the intercession of the\nblessed Virgin, he had been sent back to earth to do penance. Surius\nalso relates, that a Roman citizen, named Andrew, had died without doing\npenance, and that Mary had obtained his return to life that he might\nprocure pardon.[688] Pelbart, moreover, relates, that in his time, when\nthe Emperor Sigismund was crossing the Alps with his army, a voice was\nheard, proceeding from a dead body, of which only the bones remained,\nasking for confession, and saying, that the mother of God, to whom he had\nbeen devoted whilst he was a soldier, had obtained for him that he should\nlive in those bones until he had made his confession. Having confessed,\nhe died.[689] These and similar examples must not serve as encouragement\nfor some rash person who would live in sin, in the hope that Mary would\nfree him from hell, even if he should die in sin; for as it would be a\ngreat folly to throw one\u2019s self into a well, in the hope that Mary would\nsave us from death, because the Virgin has rescued some persons under\nsimilar circumstances; thus a greater folly would it be for one to run\nthe risk of dying in sin, on the presumption that the holy Virgin would\nrescue him from hell. But these examples should serve to strengthen our\nconfidence by the consideration, that if the intercession of this divine\nmother could deliver those from hell\u2014even those who have died in sin\u2014how\nmuch more will it prevent those from falling into hell who in life have\nrecourse to her with the intention to amend and serve her faithfully?\n\nThen, oh our mother, let us say with St. Germanus: What will become of\nus who are sinners, but who wish to amend and have recourse to thee, who\nart the life of Christians?[690] Let us, oh Lady, hear what St. Anselm\nsays of thee, that he will not be lost for whom thou hast once offered\nthy prayers.[691] Pray, then, for us, and we shall be saved from hell.\nWho will tell me, says Richard of Victor, that when I am presented at\nthe divine tribunal, the Judge will not be favorable to me, if I shall\nhave thee to defend my cause, oh mother of mercy?[692] And the blessed\nHenry Suso declared, that he had placed his soul in the care of Mary,\nand he said, that if the Judge wished to condemn him, he would have the\nsentence pass through the hands of Mary.[693] For he hoped that when the\nsentence of condemnation should fall into the kind hands of the Virgin,\nits execution would certainly be prevented. I ask and hope the same for\nmyself, oh my most holy queen. Whence I will always repeat with St.\nBonaventure: Oh Lady, in thee I have placed all my hopes, therefore I\nsecurely hope not to be lost, but safe in heaven to praise and love thee\nforever.[694]\n\n\nEXAMPLE.\n\nIn the year 1604 there lived in a city of Flanders two young students,\nwho, instead of attending to their studies, gave themselves up to\nexcesses and dissipation. One night, having gone to the house of a\nwoman of ill fame, one of them, named Richard, after some time returned\nhome, but the other remained. Richard having gone home, was undressing\nto go to rest, when he remembered that he had not recited that day, as\nusual, some \u201cHail Marys.\u201d He was oppressed with sleep and very weary,\nyet he roused himself and recited them, although without devotion, and\nonly half awake. He then went to bed, and having just fallen asleep, he\nheard a loud knocking at the door, and immediately after, before he had\ntime to open it, he saw before him his companion, with a hideous and\nghastly appearance. \u201cWho are you?\u201d he said to him. \u201cDo you not know\nme?\u201d answered the other. \u201cBut what has so changed you? you seem like a\ndemon.\u201d \u201cAlas!\u201d exclaimed this poor wretch, \u201cI am damned.\u201d \u201cAnd how is\nthis?\u201d \u201cKnow,\u201d he said, \u201cthat when I came out of that infamous house,\na devil attacked me and strangled me. My body lies in the middle of\nthe street, and my soul is in hell. Know that my punishment would also\nhave been yours, but the blessed Virgin, on account of those few \u2018Hail\nMarys\u2019 said in her honor, has saved you. Happy will it be for you, if\nyou know how to avail yourself of this warning, that the mother of God\nsends you through me.\u201d After these words he opened his cloak, showed the\nfire and serpents that were consuming him, and then disappeared. Then\nthe youth, bursting into a flood of tears, threw himself with his face\non the ground, to thank Mary, his deliverer, and while he was revolving\nin his mind a change of life, he hears the matin bell of a neighboring\nFranciscan Monastery. \u201cIt is there,\u201d he exclaimed, \u201cthat God calls me to\ndo penance.\u201d He went immediately to the convent to beg the fathers to\nreceive him. Knowing how bad his life had been, they objected. But after\nhe had related the circumstance which had brought him there, weeping\nbitterly all the while, two of the fathers went out to search in the\nstreet, and actually found there the dead body of his companion, having\nthe marks of strangulation, and black as a coal. Whereupon the young man\nwas received. Richard from that time led an exemplary life. He went into\nIndia to preach the faith; from thence passed to Japan, and finally\nhad the good fortune and received the grace of dying a martyr for Jesus\nChrist, by being burned alive.[695]\n\n\nPRAYER.\n\nOh Mary! oh my most dear mother! in what an abyss of evil I should find\nmyself, if thou, with thy kind hand, hadst not so often preserved me!\nYea, how many years should I already have been in hell, if thou, with thy\npowerful prayers, hadst not rescued me! My grievous sins were hurrying\nme there; divine justice had already condemned me; the raging demons\nwere waiting to execute the sentence; but thou didst appear, oh mother,\nnot invoked nor asked by me, and hast saved me. Oh my dear deliverer,\nwhat return can I make thee for so much grace and so much love? Thou\nhast overcome the hardness of my heart, and hast drawn me to love thee\nand confide in thee. And oh, into what an abyss of evils I afterwards\nshould have fallen, if thou, with thy kind hand, hadst not so many times\nprotected me from the dangers into which I was on the brink of falling!\nContinue, oh my hope, continue to save me from hell, but first of all\nfrom the sins into which I might again fall. Do not permit that I shall\nhave to curse thee in hell. My beloved Lady, I love thee, and how can\nthy goodness endure to see one of thy servants who loves thee, lost?\nAh, obtain for me the grace to be no longer ungrateful to thee and to\nmy God, who for love of thee hath granted me so many favors. Oh Mary,\nwhat dost thou say to me? Shall I be lost? I shall be lost if I leave\nthee. But who will any more venture to forsake thee? Shall I ever forget\nthy love for me? Thou, after God, art the love of my soul. I dare live\nno longer without loving thee. I bless thee! I love thee! and I hope\nthat I shall always love thee in time and in eternity, oh creature most\nbeautiful! most holy! most sweet! most amiable of all creatures in this\nworld! Amen.\n\n\nSECTION II.\n\nMARY ASSISTS HER SERVANTS IN PURGATORY.\n\nToo happy are the servants of this most kind mother, since not only in\nthis world they are aided by her, but also in purgatory they are assisted\nand consoled by her protection. For succor being there more needed,\nbecause they are in torment and cannot help themselves, so much the more\ndoes this mother of mercy strive to help them. St. Bernardine of Sienna\nsays, that in that prison of souls who are spouses of Jesus Christ, Mary\nhas a certain dominion and plenitude of power to relieve them, as well as\ndeliver them from their pains.[696]\n\nAnd, in the first place, as to relieving them, the same saint, applying\nthe words of Ecclesiasticus: I have walked in the waves of the sea:\n\u201cIn fluctibus maris ambulavi,\u201d[697] adds, visiting and relieving the\nnecessities and sufferings of my servants, who are my children.[698] St.\nBernardine says, that the pains of purgatory are called waves, because\nthey are transitory, unlike the pains of hell, which never end; and they\nare called waves of the sea, because they are very bitter pains. The\nservants of Mary tormented by those pains are often visited and succored\nby her. See, then, how important it is, says Novarino, to be a servant\nof this good Lady; for she never forgets such when they are suffering in\nthose flames. And although Mary succors all the souls in purgatory, yet\nshe always obtains more indulgences and alleviations for those who have\nbeen especially devoted to her.[699]\n\nThis divine mother, in her revelations to St. Bridget, said: \u201cI am the\nmother of all the souls in purgatory; and all the sufferings which\nthey merit for the sins committed in life are every hour, while they\nremain there, alleviated in some measure by my prayers.\u201d[700] This kind\nmother sometimes condescends even to enter into that holy prison, to\nvisit and console these her afflicted children. I have penetrated into\nthe bottom of the deep: \u201cProfundum abyssi penetravi,\u201d as we read in\nEcclesiasticus;[701] and St. Bonaventure, applying these words, adds:\nI have penetrated the depth of this abyss, that is, of purgatory, to\nrelieve by my presence those holy souls.[702] Oh, how kind and beneficent\nis the holy Virgin to those who are suffering in purgatory! says St.\nVincent Ferrer; through her they receive continual consolation and\nrefreshment.[703]\n\nAnd what other consolation have they in their sufferings than Mary,\nand the help of this mother of mercy? St. Bridget one day heard Jesus\nsaying to his mother: \u201cThou art my mother, thou art the mother of mercy,\nthou art the consoler of those who are in purgatory.\u201d[704] And the\nblessed Virgin herself said to St. Bridget, that as a poor sick person,\nsuffering and deserted on his bed, feels himself refreshed by some word\nof consolation, so those souls feel themselves consoled in hearing only\nher name.[705] The name alone of Mary, a name of hope and salvation,\nwhich these beloved children often invoke in that prison, is for them a\ngreat comfort. But, then, says Novarino, the loving mother, on hearing\nherself invoked by them, adds her prayers to God, by which these souls\nreceive comfort, and find their burning pains cooled as if by dew from\nheaven.[706]\n\nBut not only does Mary console and succor her servants in purgatory;\nshe also releases them from this prison, and delivers them by her\nintercession. From the day of her glorious assumption, in which that\nprison is said to have been emptied,[707] as Gerson writes; and Novarino\nconfirms this by saying, that many weighty authors relate that Mary,\nwhen about to ascend to paradise, asked this favor of her Son, that she\nmight take with her all the souls that were then in purgatory;[708]\nfrom that time, says Gerson, the blessed Virgin has possessed the\nprivilege of freeing her servants from those pains. And this also is\npositively asserted by St. Bernardine, who says that the blessed Virgin\nhas the power of delivering souls from purgatory by her prayers and\nthe application of her merits, especially if they have been devoted\nto her.[709] And Novarino says the same thing, believing that by the\nmerits of Mary, not only the torments of these souls are assuaged,\nbut also abridged, the time of their purgation being shortened by her\nintercession:[710] and for this it is enough that she presents herself to\npray for them.\n\nSt. Peter Damian relates,[711] that a certain lady, named Marozia, after\ndeath, appeared to her godmother, and told her that on the day of the\nAssumption of Mary she had been released by her from purgatory, with a\nmultitude of souls exceeding in number the whole population of Rome. St.\nDenis the Carthusian relates, that on the festivals of the birth and\nresurrection of Jesus Christ, Mary descends into purgatory, accompanied\nby troops of angels, and releases many souls from their torments.[712]\nAnd Novarino believes that the same thing happens on every solemn\nfestival of the holy Virgin.[713]\n\nEvery one has heard of the promise made by Mary to Pope John, to whom she\nappeared, and ordered him to make known to all those who should wear the\nsacred scapular of Carmel, that on the Saturday after their death they\nshould be released from purgatory. And this was proclaimed by the same\npontiff, as Father Crasset relates,[714] in a bull which he published. It\nwas also confirmed by Alexander V., Clement VII., Pius V., Gregory XIII.,\nand Paul V., who, in 1612, in a bull said: \u201cThat Christians may piously\nbelieve that the blessed Virgin will aid by her continual intercession,\nby her merits and special protection, after death, and principally on\nSaturday, which is a day consecrated by the Church to the blessed Virgin,\nthe souls of the members of the confraternity of holy Mary of Mount\nCarmel, who shall have departed this life in the state of grace, worn the\nscapular, observing chastity according to their state of life, recited\nthe office of the Virgin, and if they have not been able to recite it,\nshall have observed the fasts of the Church, abstaining from flesh-meat\non Wednesdays, except on Christmas-day.\u201d And in the solemn office of the\nfeast of holy Mary of Mount Carmel, we read that it is piously believed,\nthat the holy Virgin, with a mother\u2019s love, consoles the members of the\nconfraternity of Mount Carmel in purgatory, and by her intercession\nconducts them to their heavenly country.[715]\n\nWhy should we not also hope for the same graces and favors, if we are\ndevoted to this good mother? And if with more special love we serve her,\nwhy cannot we hope to obtain the grace of going immediately after death\nto paradise, without entering into purgatory? as we read that the holy\nVirgin said to the blessed Godfrey, through brother Abondo, in these\nwords: \u201cGo and tell brother Godfrey to advance in virtue, for thus he\nwill be a child of my Son, and mine also; and when his soul quits the\nbody, I will not permit it to go to purgatory, but I will take it and\npresent it to my Son.\u201d[716] And if we would assist the holy souls in\npurgatory, let us endeavor to remember them in all our prayers to the\nblessed Virgin, applying to them especially the holy rosary, which\nprocures for them great relief, as we read in the following example.\n\n\nEXAMPLE.\n\nFather Eusebius Nierembergh relates,[717] that there lived in the city\nof Aragona a girl, named Alexandra, who, being noble and very beautiful,\nwas greatly loved by two young men. Through jealousy, they one day fought\nand killed each other. Their enraged relatives, in return, killed the\npoor young girl, as the cause of so much trouble, cut off her head, and\nthrew her into a well. A few days after, St. Dominic was passing through\nthat place, and, inspired by the Lord, approached the well, and said:\n\u201cAlexandra, come forth,\u201d and immediately the head of the deceased came\nforth, placed itself on the edge of the well, and prayed St. Dominic to\nhear its confession. The saint heard its confession, and also gave it\ncommunion, in presence of a great concourse of persons who had assembled\nto witness the miracle. Then, St. Dominic ordered her to speak and tell\nwhy she had received that grace. Alexandra answered, that when she was\nbeheaded, she was in a state of mortal sin, but that the most holy Mary,\non account of the rosary, which she was in the habit of reciting, had\npreserved her in life. Two days the head retained its life upon the edge\nof the well, in the presence of all, and then the soul went to purgatory.\nBut fifteen days after, the soul of Alexandra appeared to St. Dominic,\nbeautiful and radiant as a star, and told him, that one of the principal\nsources of relief to the souls in purgatory is the rosary which is\nrecited for them; and that, as soon as they arrive in paradise, they pray\nfor those who apply to them these powerful prayers. Having said this, St.\nDominic saw that happy soul ascending in triumph to the kingdom of the\nblessed.\n\n\nPRAYER.\n\nOh Queen of heaven and of earth, oh mother of the Lord of the world,\noh Mary, creature most great, most exalted, most amiable, it is true\nthat many on the earth do not love thee and do not know thee; but there\nare innumerable angels and saints in heaven who love and praise thee\ncontinually. On this earth, too, how many happy souls burn with love of\nthee, and live enamored of thy goodness! Ah, if I, too, might love thee,\nmy most lovely Lady! Oh, that I might always be engaged in serving thee,\nin praising thee, in honoring thee, and in striving to awaken love of\nthee in others. A God hath been enamored of thee, who, by thy beauty, if\nI may so speak, hast drawn him from the bosom of the eternal Father, to\ncome upon the earth and become man and thy Son; and I, a miserable worm,\nshall I not be enamored of thee? Yes, my most sweet mother, I also will\nlove thee, love thee much, and do all in my power to make thee loved by\nothers. Accept, then, oh Mary, the desire I have to love thee, and help\nme to fulfil it: I know that thy lovers are regarded with much favor by\nthy God. Next to his own glory, he desires nothing more than thy glory,\nin seeing thee honored and loved by all. From thee, oh Lady, I await\nall my blessings. Thou must obtain the pardon of all my sins, thou must\nobtain for me perseverance, succor in death, deliverance from purgatory,\nin a word, thou must conduct me to paradise. All this thy lovers hope\nfrom thee, and they are not deceived. This I also hope, who love thee\nwith all my heart, and above all things next to God.\n\n\nSECTION III.\n\nMARY CONDUCTS HER SERVANTS TO PARADISE.\n\nOh, what a signal mark of predestination have the servants of Mary! The\nholy Church applies to this divine mother the words of Ecclesiasticus,\nand makes her say for the comfort of her servants: \u201cIn all these I\nsought rest, and I shall abide in the inheritance of the Lord.\u201d[718]\nCardinal Hugo, commenting on this, remarks: Blessed is he in whose\nhabitation the holy Virgin found rest: \u201cBeatus in cujus domo beat\u00e6 Virgo\nrequiem invenerit.\u201d Mary, through the love she bears to all, seeks to\nmake devotion to her prevail in all hearts. Many do not receive it, or\ndo not preserve it; blessed is he who receives it and preserves it. In\nthe inheritance of the Lord will I abide; that is, adds the learned\nPaciucchelli, in those who are the inheritance of the Lord.[719] Devotion\nto the Virgin abides in all those who are the inheritance of the Lord,\nthat is, who will be in heaven praising him eternally. Mary continues\nin the passage above cited: \u201cHe that made me, rested in my tabernacle,\nand he said to me: Let thy dwelling be in Jacob, and thy inheritance in\nIsrael, and take root in my elect.\u201d[720] My Creator has condescended\nto come and rest in my bosom, and has willed that I should inhabit in\nthe hearts of all the elect, whom Jacob prefigured, and who are the\ninheritance of the Virgin; and he has ordained that devotion to me and\nconfidence in me should take root in the hearts of the elect.\n\nOh, how many would have failed of being among the blessed in heaven,\nif Mary, by her powerful intercession, had not conducted them thither!\n\u201cI made that in the heavens there should rise light that never\nfaileth;\u201d[721] thus Cardinal Hugo puts into her mouth these words of the\nsame chapter of Ecclesiasticus: I have made to shine in heaven as many\neternal lights as I have devoted servants. Whence the same author adds,\ncommenting on this text: Many saints are in heaven by her intercession,\nwho never would have been there without it.[722] St. Bonaventure says,\nthat the gate of heaven will be opened to receive all those who trust\nin the protection of Mary.[723] Hence St. Ephrem called devotion to the\ndivine mother the opening of paradise.[724] And the devout Blosius,\naddressing the Virgin, says to her: Lady, to thee are committed the keys\nand the treasures of the heavenly kingdom.[725] And, therefore, we\nshould continually supplicate her in the words of St. Ambrose: Open to\nus, oh Virgin, heaven, for thou hast the keys of it.[726] Nay, thou art\neven the gate of it, as the holy Church names thee, \u201cJanua c\u0153li.\u201d\n\nFor this reason the great mother is also called by the holy Church: Star\nof the sea: \u201cAve, Maris stella.\u201d For as navigators, says the angelic St.\nThomas, are guided to port by means of a star, thus Christians are guided\nto heaven by means of Mary.[727]\n\nShe is for this reason, finally, called by St. Peter Damian, the ladder\nof heaven: \u201cScala c\u0153lestis;\u201d for, as the saint says, by means of Mary\nGod has descended from heaven to earth, that by the same, or by her,\nmen might merit to ascend from earth to heaven.[728] And for this\nreason, oh Lady, says St. Anastasius, thou art full of grace, that\nthou mightest be made the way of our salvation, and the ascent to the\ncelestial country.[729] St. Bernard calls the blessed Virgin: The vehicle\nto heaven: \u201cVehiculum ad c\u0153lum.\u201d And St. John the Geometrician salutes\nher: Hail, most noble chariot: \u201cSalve clarissime currus;\u201d by which her\nservants are conducted to heaven. And, St. Bonaventure addresses her\nthus: Blessed are those who know thee, oh mother of God! for to know thee\nis the path to immortal life, and to publish thy virtues is the way to\neternal salvation.[730]\n\nIn the Franciscan chronicles[731] it is related of brother Leo, that\nhe once saw a red ladder, upon which Jesus Christ was standing, and a\nwhite one, upon which stood his holy mother. He saw persons attempting\nto ascend the red ladder; they ascended a few steps and then fell; they\nascended again, and again fell. Then they were exhorted to ascend the\nwhite ladder, and on that he saw them succeed, for the blessed Virgin\noffered them her hand, and they arrived in that manner safe in paradise.\nSt. Denis the Carthusian asks: Who will ever be saved? Who will ever\nreign in heaven? They are saved, and will certainly reign, he himself\nanswers, for whom this queen of mercy offers her prayers.[732] And this\nMary herself affirms: By me kings reign: \u201cPer me reges regnant.\u201d[733]\nThrough my intercession souls reign first in the mortal life on this\nearth, by governing their passions, and then they go to reign eternally\nin heaven, where, as St. Augustine declares, all are kings: \u201cQuot cives,\ntot reges.\u201d Mary, in a word, as Richard of St. Laurence says, is the\nmistress of paradise, since there she commands according to her pleasure,\nand introduces into it whom she will. Therefore, applying to her the\nwords of Ecclesiasticus, he adds: \u201cMy power is in Jerusalem:\u201d[734] I\ncommand what I will, and introduce whom I will.[735] And as she is the\nmother of the Lord of paradise, she is with reason, also, says Rupert,\nthe Lady of paradise. She possesses, by right, the whole kingdom of her\nSon.[736]\n\nThis divine mother, with her powerful prayers and assistance, has\nobtained for us paradise, if we place no obstacle to our entrance\nthere.[737] Wherefore those who are servants of Mary, and for whom Mary\nintercedes, are as secure of paradise as if they were already there.[738]\nTo serve Mary and to belong to her court, adds St. John of Damascus, is\nthe greatest honor we can attain; for to serve the queen of heaven is\nto reign already in heaven, and to live in obedience to her commands is\nmore than to reign.[739] On the other hand, he says that those who do\nnot serve Mary will not be saved; whilst those who are deprived of the\nsupport of this great mother, are deprived of the succor of the Son, and\nof all the celestial court.[740]\n\nForever praised be the infinite goodness of our God who has constituted\nMary our advocate in heaven, that she, as mother of the judge and mother\nof mercy may efficaciously, by her intercession, order the great affair\nof our eternal salvation. This sentiment is taken from St. Bernard.[741]\nAnd James the Monk, esteemed a doctor among the Greek fathers, says\nthat God has made Mary a bridge of salvation, by which we are enabled\nto pass over the waves of this world, and reach the blessed port of\nparadise.[742] Hence St. Bonaventure exclaims: Hear, oh ye people who\ndesire paradise; serve and honor Mary, and you will certainly find life\neternal.[743]\n\nNot even those who deserve hell should despair of attaining the kingdom\nof the blessed, if they faithfully devote themselves to the service of\nthis queen. Sinners, says St. Germanus, have sought to find God by thy\nmeans, oh Mary, and have been saved![744] Richard of St. Laurence remarks\nthat Mary is said by St. John to be crowned with stars.[745] On the\nother hand, in the sacred Canticles, the Virgin is said to be crowned\nwith wild beasts, lions and panthers: \u201cCome from Libanus, my spouse,\ncome from Libanus, come; thou shalt be crowned from the dens of the\nlions, from the mountains of the leopards.\u201d[746] What does this signify?\nRichard answers that those wild beasts are those sinners, who, through\nthe favor and intercession of Mary, have become stars of paradise, which\nare a crown more worthy of this queen of mercy, than all the material\nstars of heaven.[747] The servant of the Lord, sister Seraphina da Capri,\nas we read in her life, in her prayers to the most holy Virgin during\nthe Novena of her assumption, asked of her the conversion of a thousand\nsinners; but as she feared that her demands were too extravagant, the\nVirgin appeared to her, and reproved her for this her vain fear, saying\nto her: \u201cWhy do you fear? am I not powerful enough to obtain for thee\nfrom my Son the salvation of a thousand sinners? Behold them, I have\nalready obtained it.\u201d She then led her in spirit to paradise, and there\nshowed her the souls of innumerable sinners who had merited hell, and\nhad afterwards been saved by her intercession, and were already enjoying\neternal bliss.\n\nIt is true that in this life no one can be certain of his eternal\nsalvation: \u201cMan knoweth not whether he be worthy of love or hatred,\nbut all things are kept uncertain for the time to come.\u201d[748] David\nasked of God: Oh Lord, who will be saved? \u201cWho shall dwell in thy\ntabernacle?\u201d[749] St. Bonaventure, writing on these words, answers: Oh\nsinners, let us follow the footsteps of Mary, and cast ourselves at\nher blessed feet, and let us not leave her until she blesses us, for\nher blessing will secure to us paradise.[750] It is enough, oh Lady,\nsays St. Anselm, that thou dost wish to save us, for then we cannot but\nbe saved.[751] St. Antoninus adds, that souls protected by Mary are\nnecessarily saved; those upon whom she turns her eyes are necessarily\njustified and glorified.[752]\n\nWith reason, says St. Ildephonsus, the most holy Virgin predicted that\nall generations would call her blessed;[753] for all the elect by\nmeans of Mary obtain eternal blessedness.[754] Thou, oh great mother,\nart the beginning, the middle, and the end of our felicity, says St.\nMethodius.[755] The beginning, because Mary obtains for us the pardon of\nour sins; the middle, because she obtains for us perseverance in divine\ngrace; the end, because she finally obtains for us paradise. By thee,\nSt. Bernard continues, heaven has been opened\u2014by thee hell has been\nemptied\u2014by thee paradise has been restored\u2014by thee, in a word, eternal\nlife has been given to many sinners who have merited eternal death.[756]\n\nBut above all, we should be encouraged in the certain hope of paradise,\nby the rich promise which Mary has herself made to those who honor her,\nand especially to those who, by their words and their example, strive to\nmake her known and honored among others: \u201cThey that work by me shall not\nsin; they that explain me shall have life everlasting.\u201d[757] Oh happy,\nthen, are they, says St. Bonaventure, who gain the favor of Mary! they\nwill be welcomed by the blessed as being already their companions; and\nwhosoever bears the seal of a servant of Mary, has his name already\nwritten in the book of life.[758] Of what avail is it, then, to trouble\nourselves with the opinions of the schoolmen, on the question, whether\npredestination to glory precedes or follows the foreknowledge of merits?\nWhether or not our names are written in the book of life? If we are true\nservants of Mary and obtain her protection, we certainly are written\nthere; for, as St. John of Damascus says, God gives the grace of devotion\nto his holy mother only to those whom he will save; in conformity with\nthis, as the Lord seems to have declared expressly through St. John: \u201cHe\nthat shall overcome, I will write upon him the name of my God, and the\nname of the city of my God.\u201d[759] And who is this city of God but Mary?\nas St. Gregory explains, commenting on this passage of David: \u201cGlorious\nthings are said of thee, oh city of God.\u201d[760]\n\nWe may, then, well say with St. Paul: \u201cHaving this seal, the Lord knoweth\nwho are his.\u201d[761] Whosoever carries the seal of a servant of Mary, is\nacknowledged by God as his own. We read in St. Bernard, that devotion\nto the mother of God is the most certain sign that we shall obtain\neternal salvation.[762] And the blessed Alanus, speaking of the \u201cHail\nMary,\u201d says that he who often invokes the Virgin with this angelical\nsalutation, has a very certain sign of predestination.[763] And again\nhe says of perseverance in the daily recitation of the holy rosary: Let\nit be to thee a most probable sign of eternal salvation, if thou dost\nperseveringly honor the blessed Virgin by daily reciting her rosary.[764]\nFather Nierembergh still further remarks, that the servants of the mother\nof God not only are more privileged and favored in this world, but also\nin heaven will be more especially honored. And he adds, that in heaven\nthey will have a peculiarly rich device and livery, by which they will be\nknown as servants of the queen of heaven and as the people of her court,\naccording to those words of Proverbs: \u201cAll her domestics are clothed with\ndouble garments.\u201d[765]\n\nSt. Mary Magdalen of Pazzi saw a small vessel in the midst of the sea, in\nwhich all the servants of Mary had taken shelter; she herself steering\nit, safely conducted them to port. By this the saint understood that they\nwho live under the protection of Mary, are rescued, in the midst of all\nthe dangers of this life, from the shipwreck of sin, and from damnation,\nfor by her they are guided in safety to the port of paradise. Let us,\nthen, strive to enter this blessed little vessel of the mantle of Mary,\nand there let us dwell secure of the kingdom of heaven; for the Church\nsings, \u201cHoly mother of God, all those who are to be partakers of eternal\njoy dwell with thee, and live under thy protection.\u201d[766]\n\n\nEXAMPLE.\n\nCesarius relates,[767] that a certain Cistercian monk, who was a devoted\nservant of our blessed Lady, desired very earnestly a visit from his\ndear Lady, and was praying her continually to grant him this favor. He\nwent one night into the garden, and while he stood there looking up to\nheaven, breathing forth to his queen in ardent sighs his desire to see\nher, a beautiful and radiant virgin descended, and said to him: \u201cThomas,\nwouldst thou like to hear me sing?\u201d \u201cCertainly,\u201d he answered; and then\nshe sang so sweetly that it seemed to the devout religious that he was in\nparadise. Having finished her song, she disappeared, leaving him absorbed\nwith an ardent desire to know who it could have been; and, soon after,\nanother extremely beautiful virgin appeared to him, who, like the first,\nallowed him the pleasure of hearing her sing. He could not refrain from\nasking this one who she was, and the virgin answered: \u201cShe whom you\nsaw a little while ago was Catherine, and I am Agnes, both martyrs for\nJesus Christ, sent by our Lady to console you. Give thanks to Mary, and\nprepare for a greater favor.\u201d Having said this she disappeared, but left\nthe religious with a greater hope of finally seeing his queen. Nor was\nhe deceived, for shortly after he saw a great light and felt a new joy\nflowing into his heart, for in the midst of that light the mother of God\nappeared to him surrounded by angels, and of a beauty far surpassing that\nof the other two saints who had appeared to him. She said to him: \u201cMy\ndear servant and son, I have been pleased with the devotion which you\nhave offered me, and have graciously heard your prayers: you have desired\nto see me; look on me, and I will also sing to you.\u201d Then the most holy\nVirgin began to sing with so great sweetness, that the devout religious\nlost his senses, and fell with his face upon the ground. The matin-bell\nsounded, the monks assembled, and not seeing Thomas, searched for him\nin his cell and other parts of the convent, and at last going into the\ngarden they found him there, apparently lifeless. The superior commanded\nhim to tell what had befallen him. And coming to himself, by the power of\nobedience, he related all the favors which the divine mother had bestowed\nupon him.\n\n\nPRAYER.\n\nOh queen of paradise! mother of holy love! for thou art of all creatures\nthe most lovely, the most beloved of God and his first lover; ah, suffer\nthe vilest and most ungrateful sinner on the earth to love thee, who sees\nhimself released from hell by thy intercession, and without any merit of\nhis own so blessed by thee, that he is enamored of thy goodness. I would\nwish, if I could, to make known to all men who do not know thee, how\nworthy thou art to be loved, that all might love and honor thee. I would\nwillingly die for love of thee, in defending thy virginity, thy dignity\nas mother of God, and thy immaculate conception; if it were ever needful\nfor me to die in defence of these thy great privileges. Oh my most\nbeloved mother, graciously accept this my affection, and do not permit\nthat one of thy servants, who loves thee, should ever become an enemy of\nthy God, whom thou lovest so much. Ah, unhappy me, such once was I when\nI offended my Lord. But then, oh Mary, I did not love thee, and I sought\nlittle to be loved by thee. Now, after the grace of God, I desire nothing\nelse than to love thee, and to be loved by thee. I do not despair of this\non account of my past offences, for I know that thou, oh most benign and\ngrateful Lady, dost not disdain to love even the most miserable sinners\nwho love thee, and never dost allow thyself to be outdone in love by any\none. Oh most lovely queen, I wish to go to thee in paradise, there to\nlove thee. There, at thy feet, I shall better know how amiable thou art,\nand how much thou hast done to save me; therefore I shall love thee there\nwith greater love, and shall love thee eternally, without the fear that\nI shall ever cease to love thee. Oh Mary, I have the certain hope of\nbeing saved through thee. Pray to Jesus for me. I have no other wish. It\nis thine to save me; thou art my hope. I will always exclaim, Oh Mary, my\nhope, thou must save me.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX.\n\nO CLEMENS! O PIA!\n\nOh clement! Oh merciful!\n\n\nHOW GREAT IS THE CLEMENCY AND MERCY OF MARY.\n\nSt. Bernard, speaking of the great mercy of Mary for us poor sinners,\nsays that she is the very Land promised by God, flowing with milk and\nhoney.[768] St. Leo says, that to the Virgin has been given such bowels\nof compassion, that she not only merits to be called merciful, but should\nbe called mercy itself.[769] And St. Bonaventure, considering that Mary\nwas made the mother of God for the sake of us sinners, and that to\nher was committed the charge of dispensing mercies; and considering,\nmoreover, the great care she has for all those in misery, which renders\nher so rich in compassion, that she appears to desire nothing else than\nto relieve the necessitous, says, that when he looked on Mary, it seemed\nto him that he no longer beheld the divine justice, but only the divine\nmercy, with which Mary is filled.[770]\n\nIn a word, the mercy of Mary is so great, that as Guerric the Abbot says:\nHer bowels of love can never for a moment cease to bring forth for us the\nfruits of mercy.[771] And what, exclaims St. Bernard, can flow but mercy\nfrom a fountain of mercy? \u201cQuid de fonte pietatis nisi pietas?\u201d[772] For\nthis reason Mary was called the olive-tree: As a fair olive-tree in the\nplains: \u201cQuasi oliva speciosa in campis.\u201d[773] For, as the olive-tree\nproduces nothing but oil, the symbol of mercy, thus from the hands of\nMary nothing but graces and mercies proceed. Hence, justly, says the\nvenerable Louis da Ponte, is Mary called the mother of oil, since she is\nthe mother of mercy.[774] If, then, we have recourse to this mother, and\nask of her the oil of her mercy, we cannot fear that she will refuse us,\nas the wise virgins refused the foolish, answering: \u201cLest there be not\nenough for us and for you.\u201d[775] No, for she is, indeed, rich in that\noil of mercy, as St. Bonaventure remarks: Mary abounds in the oil of\nmercy: \u201cMaria plena oleo pietatis.\u201d[776] She is called by the Church not\nonly prudent, but most prudent, and by this we may understand, as Hugo of\nSt. Victor says, that Mary is so full of grace and mercy that there is\nenough for all without exhausting her.[777]\n\nBut why, I would ask, is it said that this fair olive is in the midst of\nthe plains, and not rather in a garden surrounded by walls and hedges?\nCardinal Hugo answers to this question: In order that all may easily see\nher, and thus may easily have recourse to her, to obtain relief for their\nnecessities.[778] St. Antoninus confirms this beautiful thought, when\nhe says: That as all can go and gather the fruit of an olive-tree that\nis exposed in the open fields, so all, both the just and sinners, can\nhave recourse to Mary to obtain mercy.[779] And then the saint adds: Oh\nhow many sentences of punishment have been revoked through the merciful\nprayers of this most holy Virgin, in favor of sinners who have had\nrecourse to her![780] And what more secure refuge can we find, says the\ndevout Thomas \u00e0 Kempis, than the compassionate heart of Mary? There the\npoor find shelter; the sick medicine; the afflicted consolation; the\ndoubtful counsel; the abandoned help.[781]\n\nWretched should we be, if we had not this mother of mercy, mindful and\nsolicitous to help us in our miseries! \u201cWhere there is no wife,\u201d says the\nHoly Spirit, \u201che mourneth that is in want.\u201d[782] This wife, remarks St.\nJohn Damascene, is certainly Mary, without whom the sick man suffers and\nmourns.[783] So, indeed, it is, since God has ordained that all graces\nshould be dispensed by the prayers of Mary: where these are wanting,\nthere is no hope of mercy, as our Lord signified to St. Bridget, saying\nto her: \u201cUnless Mary interposes by her prayers, there is no hope of\nmercy.\u201d[784]\n\nBut perhaps we fear that Mary does not see or pity our miseries. Oh, no!\nshe sees them and feels them more than we do ourselves. And who among the\nsaints can be found, says St. Antoninus, who pities us in our miseries\nas Mary does?[785] Hence, wherever she sees misery she cannot refrain\nfrom hastening to relieve it with her great compassion.[786] Thus Richard\nof St. Victor remarks, and Mendoza confirms it by saying: Therefore,\noh blessed Virgin, wherever thou seest misery, there thou dost pour\nforth thy mercies.[787] And our good mother, as she herself declares,\nwill never cease to exercise this office of mercy: And unto the world\nto come I shall not cease to be; and in the holy dwelling-place, I have\nministered before him.[788] Upon which words Cardinal Hugo remarks: I\nwill not cease, says Mary, even to the end of the world, to succor men\nin their miseries, and to pray for sinners, that they may be saved and\nrescued from eternal misery.[789]\n\nSuetonius relates of the Emperor Titus, that he was so desirous to grant\nfavors to those who asked them of him, that on those days when he had\nno opportunity of doing so, he would say, sorrowfully, I have lost a\nday: \u201cDiem perdidi.\u201d This day has been lost to me, because I have passed\nit without benefiting any one. Probably Titus said this more through\nvanity, or a desire for esteem, than through a movement of charity.\nBut our Empress Mary, if a day should ever pass in which she did not\nconfer some favor, would say it only because she is full of charity,\nand of a desire to do us good; for as Bernardine de Bustis says, she is\nmore desirous to confer favors on us, than we are to receive them from\nher.[790] And this same author adds, that when we have recourse to her,\nwe shall always find her with her hands full of mercy and liberality.[791]\n\nRebecca was the type of Mary, who, when the servant of Abraham asked\nher for a little water, answered that she would give him water enough\nnot only for himself, but for his camels also.[792] Hence the devout\nSt. Bernard, addressing the blessed Virgin, says: Oh Lady, not to the\nservant of Abraham only, but also to his camels give from thy overflowing\npitcher.[793] By which he intends to say: Oh Lady, thou art merciful\nand more liberal than Rebecca, therefore thou dost not rest contented\nwith dispensing the favors of thy unbounded compassion to the servants\nof Abraham alone, by whom are meant the faithful servants of God, but\nthou dost bestow them also on the camels, who represent sinners. And,\nas Rebecca gave more than she was asked, so Mary bestows more than we\npray for. The liberality of Mary, says Richard of St. Laurence, resembles\nthe liberality of her Son, who always gives more than is asked, and is\ntherefore named by St. Paul: \u201cRich to all that call upon him;\u201d[794] that\nis, giving abundantly his graces to all those that have recourse to him\nwith their prayers. Hear the words of Richard: The bounty of Mary is like\nthe bounty of her Son; she gives more than is asked.[795] Hence a devout\nauthor, addressing the Virgin, says: Oh Lady, pray for me, for thou wilt\nask favors for me with greater devotion than I can do; and thou wilt\nobtain from God graces greater by far than I can pray for.[796]\n\nWhen the Samaritans refused to receive Jesus Christ and his doctrine,\nSt. James and St. John said to their Master: \u201cLord, wilt thou that we\ncommand fire to come down from heaven and consume them?\u201d But the Saviour\nanswered: \u201cYou know not of what spirit you are.\u201d[797] As if he had said:\nI am of so mild and merciful a spirit, that I have come from heaven to\nsave, not to punish sinners, and would you wish to see them lost? What\nfire? What punishment? Be silent, speak to me no more of punishment,\nthat is not my spirit. But we cannot doubt that Mary, whose spirit is\nin every thing so like that of her Son, is wholly inclined to exercise\nmercy; for, as she told St. Bridget, she is called the mother of mercy,\nand the mercy of God itself has made her so compassionate and sweet\ntowards all.[798] Wherefore Mary was seen by St. John clothed with the\nsun: \u201cAnd there appeared a great wonder in heaven, a woman clothed with\nthe sun.\u201d[799] Upon which passage St. Bernard remarks, addressing the\nVirgin: Thou hast clothed the sun, and art thyself clothed with it.[800]\nOh Lady, thou hast clothed the sun, the divine Word, with human flesh,\nbut he hath clothed thee with his power and his mercy.\n\nSo compassionate, then, and kind is this queen, says St. Bernard, that\nwhen a sinner recommends himself to her mercy, she does not begin to\nexamine his merits, and whether he is worthy or not of being heard,\nbut she graciously hears all and succors them.[801] Hence St. Idelbert\nremarks, that Mary is called fair as the moon: \u201cPulchra ut Luna;\u201d[802]\nbecause, as the moon illuminates and benefits the smallest bodies upon\nthe earth, so Mary enlightens and helps the most unworthy sinners.[803]\nAnd although the moon receives all her light from the sun, she moves more\nquickly than the sun; for, as a certain author remarks, what the sun does\nin a year, the moon does in a month.[804] Hence, says St. Anselm: Our\nrelief is sometimes more immediate when the name of Mary is invoked than\nwhen we invoke the name of Jesus.[805] Wherefore Hugo of St. Victor tells\nus, that if by reason of our sins we fear to draw near to God, because he\nis an infinite majesty that we have offended, we should not hesitate to\nhave recourse to Mary, because in her we shall find nothing to alarm us.\nShe is indeed holy, immaculate, queen of the world, and mother of God;\nbut she is of our flesh, and a child of Adam, like ourselves.[806]\n\nIn a word, says St. Bernard, whatever appertains to Mary is full of\ngrace and mercy; for she, as mother of mercy, has become all things to\nall, and by her great charity has made herself a debtor to the just and\nto sinners, and opens to all the bowels of her compassion, that all may\nshare it.[807] As \u201cthe Devil,\u201d according to St. Peter, \u201cgoeth about\nseeking whom he may devour,\u201d[808] so, on the contrary, says Bernardine\nde Bustis, Mary goeth about seeking to whom she can give life and\nsalvation.[809]\n\nWe should understand that the protection of Mary, as St. Germanus says,\nis greater and more powerful than we can comprehend.[810] And how is it\nthat the same Lord, who was under the old law so severe in punishing,\nexercises so great mercy towards the greatest sinners? Thus asks the\nauthor del Pomerio;[811] and he also answers: He does all this for the\nlove and merits of Mary.[812] Oh, how long since would the world have\nbeen destroyed, says St. Fulgentius, if Mary had not preserved it by her\nintercession![813] But we may with confidence go to God, as St. Arnold\nCarnotensis asserts, and hope for every blessing, now that the Son is our\nmediator with the divine Father, and the mother with the Son. How can it\nbe that the Father will refuse to hear graciously the Son, when he shows\nhim the wounds he has received for sinners? And how can it be that the\nSon will not graciously hear the mother, when she shows him the breasts\nfrom which she has nourished us?[814] St. Peter Chrysologus says with\ngreat energy, that this favored Virgin, having received God in her womb,\ndemands in return, peace for the world, salvation for the lost, life for\nthe dead.[815]\n\nOh how many, exclaims the Abbot of Celles, who merit to be condemned\nby the divine justice, are saved by the mercy of Mary! for she is the\ntreasure of God and the treasurer of all graces; therefore it is that\nour salvation is in her hands.[816] Let us always then have recourse\nto this mother of mercy, and confidently hope to be saved by means\nof her intercession; since she, as Bernardine de Bustis encourages\nus to believe, is our salvation, our life, our hope, our counsel,\nour refuge, our help.[817] Mary is that very throne of grace, says\nSt. Antoninus, to which the apostle exhorts us to have recourse with\nconfidence, that we may obtain the divine mercy, with all needed help\nfor our salvation.[818] To the throne of grace, that is, to Mary, as\nSt. Antoninus remarks.[819] Hence, Mary was called by St. Catherine of\nSienna: The dispenser of divine mercy: \u201cAdministratrix misericordi\u00e6.\u201d\n\nLet us conclude, then, with the beautiful and sweet exclamation of St.\nBernard upon the words: Oh clement, oh merciful, oh sweet Virgin Mary:\n\u201cO clemens, O pia, O dulcis Virgo Maria.\u201d Oh Mary, thou art clement to\nthe unhappy, merciful to those who pray to thee, sweet to those who love\nthee: clement to the penitent, merciful to the advancing, sweet to the\nperfect. Thou showest thyself clement by rescuing us from punishment,\nmerciful by bestowing on us graces, sweet by giving thyself to those who\nseek thee.[820]\n\n\nEXAMPLE.\n\nFather Charles Bovius relates that in Domans, in France, lived a married\nman who had held a criminal connection with another woman. Now the\nwife being unable to endure this, continually besought God to punish\nthe guilty parties; and one day in particular went to an altar of the\nblessed Virgin, which was in a certain church, to implore vengeance upon\nthe woman who had alienated her husband from her; and this very woman\nwent also every day to the same altar, to repeat a \u201cHail Mary.\u201d One night\nthe divine mother appeared in a dream to the wife, who, on seeing her,\nbegan her accustomed petition: \u201cJustice, mother of God, justice.\u201d But\nthe blessed Lady answered: \u201cJustice! do you seek justice from me? Go and\nfind others to execute justice for you. It belongs not to me to do it for\nyou. Be it known to you,\u201d she added, \u201cthat this very sinner offers every\nday a devotion in my honor, and that I cannot allow any sinner who does\nthis, to suffer and be punished for his sins.\u201d The next day the wife went\nto hear mass in the above-named church of our Lady, and on coming out\nmet her husband\u2019s friend; at the sight of her she began to reproach her\nand call her a sorceress, who had even enchanted with her sorceries the\nblessed Virgin. \u201cBe silent,\u201d cried the people: \u201cwhat are you saying?\u201d \u201cI\nbe silent!\u201d she answered: \u201cwhat I say is only too true; this night the\nVirgin appeared to me; and when I implored justice of her, she answered\nme, that she could not grant it on account of a salutation which this\nwicked woman repeats daily in her honor.\u201d They asked the woman what\nsalutation she repeated to the mother of God. She answered that it was\nthe \u201cHail Mary;\u201d and then on hearing that the blessed Virgin had dealt\nwith her so mercifully in return for that trivial act of devotion, she\ncast herself on the ground before the sacred image, and there, in the\npresence of all the people, asked pardon for her scandalous life, and\nmade a vow of perpetual continence. She afterwards put on a religious\nhabit, built for herself a little cell near the church, where she\nretired, and persevered in continual penance until the day of her death.\n\n\nPRAYER.\n\nOh mother of mercy! since thou art so compassionate, and hast so great a\ndesire to do good to us sinners, and to satisfy our demands, I, the most\nwretched of all men, to-day have recourse to thy mercy, that thou mayest\ngrant my requests. Let others ask what they will, health of body, wealth,\nor temporal advantages; I come to ask of thee, oh Lady, those things\nwhich thou thyself dost most desire of me, and which are most conformable\nand most pleasing to thy sacred heart. Thou who wast so humble, obtain\nfor me humility and love of contempt. Thou who wast so patient in the\ndifficulties of this life, obtain for me patience in things contrary\nto my wishes. Thou who didst overflow with love to God, obtain for me\nthe gift of a holy and pure love. Thou who wast all charity towards the\nneighbor, obtain for me charity towards all men, and especially towards\nthose who are my enemies. Thou who wast wholly united to the divine will,\nobtain for me a perfect uniformity with the will of that God in all his\ndispositions concerning me. Thou, in a word, art the most holy of all\ncreatures; oh Mary, obtain for me the grace to become a saint. Thy love\nis unfailing; thou canst and wilt obtain all things for me. Nothing,\nthen, can hinder me from receiving thy graces but my neglect to invoke\nthee, or my want of confidence in thy intercession. But thou thyself must\nobtain for me the grace to seek thee, and this grace of confidence in thy\nintercession. These two greatest gifts I ask from thee\u2014from thee will I\nreceive them\u2014from thee do I confidently hope for them. Oh Mary! Mary, my\nmother, my hope, my love, my life, my refuge, and my consolation. Amen.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X.\n\nOH DULCIS VIRGO MARIA!\n\nOh sweet Virgin Mary!\n\n\nHOW SWEET IS THE NAME OF MARY IN LIFE AND IN DEATH!\n\nThe great name of Mary, which was given to the divine mother, was\nnot found on the earth, neither was it invented by the mind or will\nof men, as were all other names that are in use among them; but it\ncame from heaven, and was given to the Virgin by divine ordinance, as\nSt. Jerome,[821] St. Epiphanius,[822] St. Antoninus,[823] and others\nattest. The name of Mary was drawn from the treasury of the divinity, as\nRichard of St. Laurence says:[824] \u201cDe thesauro divinitatis Mari\u00e6 nomen\nevolvitur.\u201d From the treasury of the divinity, oh Mary, came forth thy\nexcellent and admirable name; for the Most Holy Trinity, the same author\ngoes on to say, gave to thee this name, next to the name of thy Son, so\nsuperior to every name, and attached to it such majesty and power, that\nwhen it is uttered, all in heaven, earth, and hell must fall prostrate\nand venerate it.[825] Among all the other privileges which the Lord has\nattached to the name of Mary, let us see how sweet he has made it to the\nservants of this most holy Lady in life as well as in death.\n\nTo begin with life, the holy anchorite, Honorius, says, that the name of\nMary is full of all divine sweetness.[826] And the glorious St. Anthony\nof Padua attributes to the name of Mary the same sweetness as St. Bernard\nattributed to the name of Jesus. The name of Jesus, said the latter,\nthe name of Mary, said the former, is joy to the heart, honey to the\nmouth, melody to the ear of their devoted servants.[827] It is related\nin the life of the venerable Father John Ancina, Bishop of Saluzzo, that\nwhen he pronounced the name of Mary, he experienced so great a sensible\nsweetness that he even tasted it on his lips. We also read that a certain\nwoman in Cologne told the Bishop Marsilius, that whenever she pronounced\nthe name of Mary she perceived in her mouth a taste sweeter than honey.\nMarsilius made the trial, and he also experienced the same sweetness. We\nread in the holy Canticles, that at the Assumption of the Virgin, the\nangels three times asked her name: \u201cWho is she that goeth up by the\ndesert as a pillar of smoke?\u201d[828] \u201cWho is she that cometh forth as the\nmorning rising?\u201d[829] And in another: \u201cWho is this that cometh up from\nthe desert, flowing with delights?\u201d[830] Richard of St. Laurence inquires\nwhy the angels so often asked the name of this queen, and answers: The\nsound of the name of Mary was so sweet to the angels, and they repeated\nthe question that they might hear it repeated also.[831]\n\nBut I do not here speak of this sensible sweetness, since it is not\ncommonly granted to all, but I speak of the salutary sweetness of\nconsolation, love, joy, confidence, and strength, which the name of Mary\nuniversally gives to those who, with devotion, pronounce it. Speaking\non this subject, Francone the Abbot says, that next to the holy name of\nJesus, the name of Mary is so rich in blessings, that no other name is\nuttered on earth or in heaven from which devout souls receive so much\ngrace, hope, and sweetness.[832] For the name of Mary, he goes on to say,\ncontains in itself something admirable, sweet, and divine, which, when\nit meets a friendly heart, breathes into it an odor of holy sweetness.\nAnd the wonder of this great name is, he concludes, that if heard a\nthousand times by the lovers of Mary, it is always heard as new, the\nsweetness they experience in hearing it spoken being always the same.[833]\n\nThe blessed Henry Suso, also speaking of this sweetness, says, that in\npronouncing the name of Mary, he felt his confidence so much increased,\nand his love so joyfully enkindled, that amidst the joy and tears with\nwhich he pronounced the beloved name, he thought his heart would have\nleaped from his mouth; and he affirmed that this most sweet name, as\nhoneycomb, melted into the depths of his soul. Whereat he exclaims: Oh\nmost sweet name! oh Mary, what must thou thyself be, if thy name alone is\nso lovely and sweet?\n\nThe enamored St. Bernard, too, addressing his good mother with\ntenderness, says to her: Oh great, oh merciful Mary, most holy Virgin,\nworthy of all praise, thy name is so sweet and lovely that it cannot be\nspoken without enkindling love to thee and to God in the heart of him who\npronounces it; the thought of it alone is enough to console thy lovers,\nand inflame them with a far greater love to thee.[834] If riches are\na consolation to the poor, because by them they are relieved of their\nmiseries, oh how much more, says Richard of St. Laurence, does thy\nname console us sinners, oh Mary; far more than the riches of earth it\nrelieves us in the troubles of the present life.[835]\n\nIn a word, thy name, oh mother of God, is full of grace and divine\nblessings, as St. Methodius says.[836] And St. Bonaventure affirms\nthat thy name cannot be pronounced but it brings some grace to him who\ndevoutly utters it.[837] So great is the virtue of thy name, oh most\ncompassionate Virgin, says the Idiot, that no one can pronounce it,\nhowever hardened, however desponding may be his heart, and not find it\nwonderfully softened; for it is thou who dost console sinners with the\nhope of pardon and of grace.[838] Thy most sweet name, according to St.\nAmbrose, is a sweet ointment, which breathes the fragrance of divine\ngrace.[839] The saint thus invokes the divine mother: May this oil\nof salvation descend into the depths of our soul; by which he intends\nto say: Oh Lady, remind us often to pronounce thy name with love and\nconfidence; for thus to name thee, either is a sign that we already\npossess divine grace, or it is an earnest that we shall soon recover it.\n\nFor as Landolph of Saxony expresses it: The remembrance of thy name,\noh Mary, consoles the afflicted, brings back the wanderer to the path\nof salvation, encourages the sinner, and saves him from despair;[840]\nand Father Pelbart remarks, that as Jesus Christ by his five wounds has\nprepared for the world the remedy for its woes, thus also Mary, with her\nmost holy name, which is composed of five letters, confers every day\npardon upon sinners.[841]\n\nFor this reason, the holy name of Mary in the sacred Canticles is\ncompared to oil: Thy name is as oil poured out: \u201cOleum effusum nomen\ntuum.\u201d[842] The blessed Alanus, commenting on this passage, says: The\nglory of her name is compared to oil poured out. As oil heals the sick,\ndiffuses odor, and kindles flame; thus the name of Mary heals sinners,\nrejoices hearts, and inflames them with divine love.[843] Hence Richard\nof St. Laurence encourages sinners to invoke this great name, because\nthat alone will be sufficient to cure all their maladies; adding, that\nthere is no disease so malignant that it will not at once yield to the\nvirtue of this name.[844]\n\nOn the other hand, the devils, as Thomas \u00e0 Kempis affirms, are in such\nfear of the queen of heaven that at the sound of her great name they flee\nfrom him who pronounces it as from burning fire.[845] The Virgin herself\nrevealed to St. Bridget that there is no sinner living so cold in divine\nlove, that if he invokes her holy name, with the resolution to amend, the\ndevil will not instantly depart from him.[846] And she at another time\nassured her of this, telling her that all the demons so greatly venerate\nand fear her name, that when they hear it pronounced they immediately\nrelease the soul which they held in their chains.[847]\n\nAnd as the rebel angels depart from sinners who invoke the name of Mary,\nthus, on the contrary, our Lady herself told St. Bridget, that the good\nangels draw more closely around those just souls who devoutly pronounce\nit.[848] And St. Germanus assures us, that as breathing is a sign of\nlife, so the frequent utterance of the name of Mary is a sign that we\nare already living in divine grace, or that we shall soon receive that\nlife; for this powerful name is effectual to obtain help and life for\nhim who devoutly invokes it.[849] Finally, Richard of St. Laurence adds,\nthat this admirable name is like a tower of strength, by taking shelter\nin which the sinner will be saved from death, since from this celestial\ntower the most abandoned sinners come forth securely defended and\nsaved.[850]\n\nA tower of strength, thus continues the same Richard, which not only\nshields sinners from punishment, but also defends the just from the\nassaults of hell; and he adds: Next to the name of Jesus there is no\nname which gives such support, and through which so great salvation is\nbestowed upon men, as this great name of Mary.[851] Especially is it\neverywhere known, and the servants of Mary daily experience, that her\ngreat name gives strength to overcome temptations against chastity.\nThe same author, remarking on the words of St. Luke: And the name of\nthe Virgin was Mary: \u201cEt nomen Virginis Maria,\u201d[852] says, that these\ntwo names, of Mary and of Virgin, are united by the evangelist to show\nthat the name of this most pure Virgin can never be separated from\nchastity.[853] Hence St. Peter Chrysologus says, that the name Mary is\na sign of chastity: \u201cNomen hoc indicium castitatis;\u201d[854] meaning, that\nwhoever is in doubt whether he has yielded to temptations against purity,\nif he remembers having invoked the name of Mary may be sure that he has\nnot violated chastity.\n\nLet us, then, always follow the beautiful counsel of St. Bernard, who\nsays: In every danger of losing divine grace let us think of Mary, let\nus invoke the name of Mary together with that of Jesus, for these names\nare always united. Let these two most sweet and powerful names never\ndepart from our heart and our lips, for they will always give us strength\nto keep us from falling, and to conquer every temptation.[855] Very\nprecious are the graces which Jesus Christ hast promised to those who\nare devoted to the name of Mary, as he himself, speaking to his holy\nmother, gave St. Bridget to understand, revealing to her that whoever\nwill invoke the name of Mary with confidence and a purpose of amendment,\nshall receive three special graces: namely, a perfect contrition for his\nsins, the grace to make satisfaction for them and strength to obtain\nperfection, and at last, the glory of paradise;[856] for as the divine\nSaviour added: \u201cThy words are so sweet and dear to me, oh my mother, that\nI cannot refuse thee what thou dost ask.\u201d[857]\n\nFinally, St. Ephrem adds that the name of Mary is the key of the gate of\nheaven to him who devoutly invokes it;[858] and therefore St. Bonaventure\nrightly calls Mary the salvation of all those who invoke her: \u201cO salus te\ninvocantium;\u201d as if it were the same thing to invoke the name of Mary and\nto obtain eternal salvation; for as the Idiot affirms: The invocation of\nthis holy and sweet name leads to the acquisition of superabundant grace\nin this life, and sublime glory in another.[859] If you desire, then,\nbrethren, concludes Thomas \u00e0 Kempis, to be consoled in every affliction,\nhave recourse to Mary, invoke Mary, honor Mary, recommend yourselves to\nMary. Rejoice with Mary, weep with Mary, pray with Mary, walk with Mary,\nand with Mary seek Jesus; in a word, with Jesus and Mary desire to live\nand to die. Do this, he adds, and you will always advance in the way of\nthe Lord; for Mary will pray for you, and the Son will surely graciously\nlisten to the mother.[860] Such are his beautiful words.\n\nVery sweet, then, in life to her servants, is the most holy name of\nMary, on account of the great graces which it obtains for them, as we\nhave seen above; but sweeter still will it be to them in dying by the\nsweet and holy death she will obtain for them. Father Sertorio Caputo, of\nthe Society of Jesus, exhorted all those who were called to the bedside\nof the dying, often to pronounce the name of Mary, saying that this\nname of life and of hope, pronounced in death, is alone sufficient to\nscatter the enemies and to comfort the dying in all their anguishes.\nSt. Camillus of Lellis also strongly recommended it to his religious,\nthat they should remind the dying often to invoke the name of Mary and\nof Jesus, as he always practised it with others; but more sweetly he\npractised it himself at the moment of his death, when, as we read in\nhis life, he named with so much tenderness his beloved names of Jesus\nand Mary, that he inflamed also with love of them all those who heard\nhim. And at length, with his eyes fixed on their adorable image, and his\narms crossed, the saint expired in celestial peace, pronouncing with his\nlast breath the most sweet names of Jesus and Mary. This short prayer of\ninvoking the holy names of Jesus and Mary, says Thomas \u00e0 Kempis, which it\nis as easy to retain in the memory as it is sweet to consider, is at the\nsame time powerful to protect whoever uses it from all the enemies of our\nsalvation.[861]\n\nBlessed is he, says St. Bonaventure, who loves thy sweet name, oh mother\nof God.[862] Thy name is so glorious and admirable, that those who\nremember to invoke it at the moment of death, do not then fear all the\nassaults of the enemy.[863]\n\nOh, the happy lot of dying as Father Fulgentius of Ascoli, a Capuchin,\ndied, who expired singing: Oh Mary, Mary, the most lovely of all beings,\nlet me depart in thy company. Or, as blessed Henry the Cistercian, of\nwhom it is related in the annals of the order, that he died with the\nname of Mary on his lips.[864] Let us pray, then, my devout reader, let\nus pray God to grant us this grace, that the last word we pronounce at\ndeath may be the name of Mary; as St. Germanus desired and prayed.[865]\nOh sweet death, oh safe death, that is accompanied and protected by such\na name of salvation, that God does not permit it to be invoked in death,\nexcept by those whom he will save!\n\nOh, my sweet Lady and mother, I love thee much, and because I love thee,\nI love also thy holy name. I purpose and hope with thy aid always to\ninvoke it in life and death. For the glory, then, of thy name (let us\nconclude with the tender prayer of St. Bonaventure), when my soul departs\nfrom this world, wilt thou come to meet it, oh blessed Lady, and take it\nin thy arms?[866] Do not disdain, oh Mary, let us continue to pray with\nthe saint, to come and comfort it, then, with thy sweet presence. Thou\nart its ladder and way to paradise. Wilt thou obtain for me the grace of\npardon and eternal rest?[867] And the saint then terminates with saying:\nOh Mary, our advocate, to thee it belongs to shield thy servants, and\ndefend their cause before the tribunal of Jesus Christ.[868]\n\n\nEXAMPLE.\n\nIt is related by Father Rho, in his Sabbati, and by Father Lireo, in his\nTrisagio Mariana, of a certain young maiden of Guelder-land, who lived\nabout the year 1465, that she was sent one day by her uncle to purchase\nsomething at the market of the city of Nimeguen, with the direction to\ngo and pass the night at the house of her aunt, who lived in the town.\nThe girl obeyed, but when she went at night to her aunt\u2019s house, she was\nrudely sent away by her, and she set out on her way homewards. Night\novertaking her, she fell into a passion, and called loudly upon the\ndevil to come to her aid. And behold, he suddenly appeared in the form\nof a man, and promised to assist her, provided she would do one thing.\nI will do any thing, answered the unhappy creature. I only wish, said\nthe enemy, that henceforth you will not bless yourself with the sign of\nthe cross, and will change your name. As to the cross, she answered, I\nwill no longer sign myself with it, but my name of Mary is too dear to\nme, I will not change it. Then I will not help you, said the devil. At\nlength, after much debate, it was agreed that she should be called by the\nfirst letter of the name of Mary, that is, Emme. They then went together\nto Antwerp, and the wretched girl remained there six years with her\ndiabolical companion, living so sinful a life, that it was the scandal of\nthe whole place. One day she told the devil that she wished to see her\ncountry again; the enemy objected, but finally was obliged to consent.\nWhen they entered together the city of Nimeguen, there was just then\nperforming a public representation of the life of the most holy Mary.\nAt such a sight the poor Emme, from that little devotion she had still\npreserved towards the mother of God, began to weep. \u201cWhat are we doing\nhere?\u201d said her companion: \u201cwould you perform here another comedy?\u201d He\nthen seized her to take her away, but she resisted, and seeing that she\nwas escaping from him, in a rage he raised her into the air and let her\nfall in the midst of the theatre. The poor girl then related what had\nhappened to her. She went to the parish priest to confess, but he sent\nher to the Bishop of Cologne, and the bishop sent her to the Pope, who,\nhaving heard her confession, imposed it upon her as a penance, that she\nshould wear three rings of iron, one around her neck, and two around her\narms. The penitent obeyed, and having arrived at Maestricht, she retired\ninto a convent of penitents, where she lived for fourteen years in severe\npenance. One morning she arose from her bed and found the three rings\nbroken. Two years after, she died in the odor of sanctity, and wished\nto have the rings buried with her, which had changed her from a slave of\nhell into the happy slave of Mary, her deliverer.\n\n\nPRAYER.\n\nOh great mother of God, and my mother Mary, it is true that I am unworthy\nto pronounce thy name, but thou who lovest me, and dost desire my\nsalvation, thou must obtain for me, that, unclean as may be my tongue,\nI may yet always invoke thy most holy and most powerful name; for thy\nname is the support of the living, and the salvation of the dying. Ah,\nmost pure Mary! ah, most sweet Mary! make thy name henceforth to be the\nbreath of my life. Oh Lady, do not delay coming to my help when I call\nupon thee, since in all the temptations which may assail me, in all\nthe necessities I may suffer, I shall never cease calling upon thee,\nalways repeating Mary, Mary. Thus I hope to do in life, thus especially\nI hope to do in death, that I may afterwards come to praise eternally\nin heaven thy beloved name: O clemens! O pia! O dulcis Virgo Maria! Ah\nMary! Mary most amiable! what comfort, what sweetness, what confidence,\nwhat tenderness does my soul feel only in pronouncing thy name, only in\nthinking of thee! I thank my God and my Lord that he has given thee, for\nmy good, this name so sweet, so lovely, so powerful.\n\nBut, oh my Lady, I am not satisfied with merely pronouncing thy name, I\nwould pronounce it also with love; I desire that my love may remind me to\nspeak thy name at every hour, that I may exclaim with St. Anselm: Oh name\nof the mother of God, thou art my love. O amor mei nomen matris Dei.\n\nOh my dear mother Mary! oh my beloved Jesus! may your most sweet names\nalways live in my own and in all hearts. May I forget all other names,\nthat I may remember and always invoke none but your adored names. Ah\nJesus, my Redeemer! and my mother Mary, when the moment of my death shall\narrive, and my soul shall depart from this life, by your merits grant me\nthe grace then to utter my last accents, repeating: _I love you, Jesus\nand Mary_; Jesus and Mary, I give you my heart and my soul.\n\n\n\n\nSOME DEVOUT PRAYERS OF VARIOUS SAINTS TO THE HOLY MOTHER.\n\n\nThe following prayers are added, not only for the use of the faithful,\nbut also because they show the great idea which the saints entertained of\nthe power and mercy of Mary, and their great confidence in her patronage.\n\n\nPrayer of St. Ephrem.\n\nOh immaculate and wholly pure Virgin Mary! mother of God, queen of the\nuniverse, our most excellent Lady, thou art superior to all the saints,\nthou art the only hope of the Fathers, and the joy of the blessed. By\nthee we have been reconciled to our God. Thou art the only advocate of\nsinners, the secure haven of the shipwrecked. Thou art the consolation of\nthe world, the redemption of captives, the joy of the sick, the comfort\nof the afflicted, the refuge and salvation of the whole world. Oh great\nprincess! mother of God! cover us with the wings of thy compassion: have\npity on us. We have no hope but in thee, oh most pure Virgin! We are\ngiven to thee, and consecrated to thy service; we bear the name of thy\nservants; do not permit Lucifer to draw us down to hell. Oh immaculate\nVirgin! we are under thy protection; therefore, unitedly we have recourse\nto thee, and supplicate thee to prevent thy Son, whom our sins have\noffended, from abandoning us to the power of the devil.\n\nOh full of grace! illuminate my intellect, loosen my tongue that it may\nsing thy praises, and especially the Angelic Salutation, so worthy of\nthee. I salute thee, oh peace! oh joy! oh salvation and consolation of\nthe whole world! I salute thee, oh greatest of miracles! paradise of\ndelight! secure haven of those who are in danger! fountain of grace!\nmediatrix of God and of men!\n\n\nPrayer of St. Bernard.\n\nWe raise our eyes to thee, oh queen of the world! After having committed\nso many sins we must appear before our Judge, and who will appease him?\nNone can do it better than thou, oh blessed Lady, who hast loved him so\nmuch, and hast been so tenderly beloved by him. Open thy heart, then,\noh mother of mercy, to our sighs and prayers. We fly to thy protection;\nappease the anger of thy Son, and restore us to his favor. Thou dost not\nabhor the sinner, however loathsome he may be; thou dost not despise\nhim, if he sends up his sighs to thee, and with contrition asks thy\nintercession; thou, with thy kind hand, dost deliver him from despair;\nthou dost encourage him to hope, dost comfort him, and dost not leave\nhim until thou hast reconciled him to his Judge.\n\nThou art that only one in whom the Saviour found his rest, and with whom\nhe has deposited all his treasures. Hence all the world, oh Mary, honors\nthy chaste womb, as the temple of God, where the salvation of the world\nhad its beginning. In thee was effected the reconciliation between God\nand man. Thou art the inclosed garden, oh great mother of God, whose\nflowers have never been gathered by the sinner\u2019s hand. Thou art the\nbeautiful garden, in which God has placed all the flowers which adorn the\nChurch, such as the violet of thy humility, the lily of thy purity, and\nthe rose of thy charity. Who can be compared to thee, oh mother of grace\nand of beauty? Thou art the paradise of God. From thee hath sprung up the\nfountain of living water, that waters all the earth. Oh, how many favors\nhast thou bestowed upon the world, by meriting to be the channel of the\nwaters of salvation!\n\nOf thee the Holy Ghost speaks when he says: Who is she that arises like\nthe dawn, fair as the moon, bright as the sun? Thou art, then, come into\nthe world, oh Mary, as a resplendent dawn, preceding, with the light of\nthy sanctity, the coming of the Sun of Justice. The day in which thou\ndidst appear in the world may truly be called the day of salvation, the\nday of grace. Thou art fair as the moon; for as there is no planet more\nlike the sun, so there is no creature more like to God than thou art.\nThe moon illuminates the night with the light which it receives from\nthe sun, and thou dost illuminate our darkness with the splendor of thy\nvirtues; and thou art fairer than the moon, because in thee is found\nneither stain nor shade. Thou art bright as the sun, I mean as that Sun\nwhich hath created the sun; he has been chosen among all men, and thou\namong all women. Oh sweet, oh great, oh most lovely Mary, thy name cannot\nbe pronounced by any one that thou dost not inflame him with thy love;\nneither can those who love thee think of thee without feeling themselves\nencouraged to love thee more.\n\nOh blessed Lady, help our weakness. And who is more fit to speak to our\nLord Jesus Christ than thou, who dost enjoy, so near to him, his sweet\nconversation? Speak, speak, oh Lady, because thy Son listens, and thou\nwilt obtain from him whatever thou shalt demand.\n\n\nPrayer of St. Germanus.\n\nOh my only Lady, who art the sole consolation which I receive from God;\nthou who art the only celestial dew that doth soothe my pains; thou who\nart the light of my soul when it is surrounded with darkness; thou who\nart my guide in my journeyings, my strength in my weakness, my treasure\nin my poverty; balm for my wounds, my consolation in sorrow; thou who\nart my refuge in misery, the hope of my salvation, graciously hear my\nprayer, have pity on me, as is befitting the mother of a God who hath so\nmuch love for men. Thou who art our defence and joy, grant me what I ask;\nmake me worthy of enjoying with thee that great happiness which thou dost\nenjoy in heaven. Yes, my Lady, my refuge, my life, my help, my defence,\nmy strength, my joy, my hope, make me to come with thee to paradise. I\nknow that, being the mother of God thou canst obtain this for me if thou\nwilt. Oh Mary, thou art omnipotent to save sinners, thou needest nothing\nelse to recommend us to thee, for thou art the mother of true life.\n\n\nPrayer of the Abbot of Celles, surnamed the idiot.\n\nDraw me after thee, oh Virgin Mary, that I may run to the odor of thy\nperfumes. Draw me, for I am held back by the weight of my sins, and by\nthe malice of my enemies. As no one goes to thy Son unless the divine\nFather draws him, so I would dare to say, in a certain sense, that no\none goes to him if thou dost not draw him with thy holy prayers. It is\nthou who teachest true wisdom; thou who dost obtain pardon for sinners,\nbecause thou art their advocate. It is thou who dost promise glory to him\nwho honors thee, because thou art the treasurer of graces.\n\nThou hast found grace with God, oh most sweet Virgin, because thou hast\nbeen preserved from the stain of original sin, filled with the Holy\nSpirit, and hast conceived the Son of God. Thou hast received all these\ngraces, oh Mary most humble, not only for thyself, but also for us,\nthat thou mayest help us in all our necessities. And thou, indeed, dost\nso; thou dost succor the good by preserving them in grace; and the bad,\nby bringing them to receive the divine mercy; thou dost aid the dying\nby protecting them against the snares of the devil; and thou dost aid\nthem also after death by receiving their souls, and leading them to the\nkingdom of the blessed.\n\n\nPrayer of St. Methodius.\n\nThy name, oh mother of God, is full of all graces and divine blessings.\nThou hast comprehended him who is incomprehensible, and nourished him\nwho nourishes all living creatures. He who fills heaven and earth and is\nLord of all, has chosen to have need of thee, since thou hast clothed him\nwith that garment of flesh that he had not before. Rejoice, oh mother and\nhandmaid of God! rejoice! rejoice! thou hast for a debtor him to whom\nall creatures owe their being. We are all debtors to God, but God is a\ndebtor to thee. Hence it is, oh most holy mother of God, that thou hast\ngreater goodness and greater charity than all the other saints, and more\nthan all others hast near access in heaven to God, because thou art his\nmother. Ah, we pray thee that we may celebrate thy glories, and may know\nhow great is thy goodness, being mindful of us and of our miseries.\n\n\nPrayer of St. John Damascene.\n\nI salute thee, oh Mary! thou art the hope of Christians; receive the\npetition of a servant who tenderly loves thee, especially honors thee,\nand places in thee all the hope of his salvation. From thee I have life,\nthou dost restore me to the favor of thy Son; thou art the certain pledge\nof my salvation. I implore thee, then, to deliver me from the burden of\nmy sins; dispel the darkness of my mind; banish earthly affections from\nmy heart; repel the temptations of my enemies, and so order my life, that\nI may reach, by thy means and by thy guidance, the eternal felicity of\nparadise.\n\n\nPrayer of St. Andrew of Candia, or of Jerusalem.\n\nI salute thee, oh full of grace! the Lord is with thee. I salute thee,\noh cause of our joy, by whom the sentence of our condemnation has been\nalready revoked, and changed into a judgment of benediction. I salute\nthee, oh temple of the glory of God, sacred house of the King of Heaven.\nThou art the reconciliation of God with men. I salute thee, oh mother of\nour joy. In truth thou art blessed, for thou alone, among all women, hast\nbeen found worthy of being the mother of thy Creator. All nations call\nthee blessed.\n\nOh Mary, if I put my confidence in thee I shall be saved; if I am under\nthy protection I have nothing to fear, for to be thy servant is to have\nthe secure armor of salvation, which God does not grant except to those\nwhom he will save.\n\nOh mother of mercy, appease thy Son. Whilst thou wast on earth thou\ndidst only occupy a small part of it; but now that thou art raised above\nthe highest heaven, the whole world considers thee as the propitiatory of\nall nations. We supplicate thee, then, oh holy Virgin, to grant us the\naid of thy prayers with God; prayers which are dearer and more precious\nto us than all the treasures of earth; prayers that render God inclined\nto forgive our sins; and wilt thou obtain for us abundant graces to\nreceive the pardon of them and to practise virtue? prayers that conquer\nour enemies, confound their designs, and triumph over their forces.\n\n\nPrayer of St. Ildephonsus\n\nI come to thee, oh mother of God, I supplicate thee to obtain for me the\npardon of my sins, and that I may be purified from all the errors of my\nlife. I pray thee to grant me thy grace, that I may unite myself with\naffection to thy Son and to thee; to thy Son as to my God, to thee as to\nthe mother of my God.\n\n\nPrayer of St. Athanasius.\n\nHearken oh most holy Virgin, to our prayers, and remember us. Dispense\nto us the gifts of thy riches, and the abundant graces with which thou\nart filled. The archangel salutes thee and calls thee full of grace. All\nnations call thee blessed; the whole hierarchy of heaven blesses thee,\nand we, who are of the terrestrial hierarchy, also say to thee: \u201cHail,\nfull of grace, the Lord is with thee;\u201d pray for us, oh mother of God,\nour Lady and our Queen.\n\n\nPrayer of St. Anselm\n\nWe pray thee, oh most blessed Lady, by that grace which God bestowed on\nthee when he so greatly exalted thee, rendering all things possible to\nthee with him; we pray thee to obtain for us that the fulness of grace\nwhich thou hast merited may make us to share thy glory. Be pleased, oh\nmost merciful Lady, to procure for us the good for which God consented to\nbecome man in thy chaste womb. Be not slow to hear us. If thou wilt deign\nto supplicate thy Son, he at once will graciously hear thee. It is enough\nthat thou wilt save us, for then we cannot but be saved. Who can restrain\nthe bowels of thy compassion? If thou hast not compassion on us, thou who\nart the mother of mercy, what will become of us when thy Son shall come\nto judge us?\n\nCome, then, to our succor, oh most compassionate mother, without\nregarding the multitude of our sins. Remember again and again that our\nCreator has taken human flesh from thee, not to condemn sinners, but\nto save them. If thou hadst been made mother of God only for thine own\nadvantage, it might be said that it would be to thee of little importance\nwhether we were saved or condemned; but God has clothed himself with\nthy flesh for thy salvation and for that of all men. What will it avail\nus that thou art so powerful and so glorious, if thou dost not render\nus partakers of thy felicity? Aid us and protect us; remember the need\nwe have of thy assistance. We recommend ourselves to thee; save us from\ndamnation, and make us serve and love eternally thy Son Jesus Christ.\n\n\nPrayer of St. Peter Damian.\n\nHoly Virgin, mother of God, succor those who implore thy assistance. Turn\nto us. But, having been deified, as it were, hast thou forgotten men?\nAh, certainly not. Thou knowest in what peril thou hast left us, and\nthe wretched condition of thy servants; no, it is not befitting a mercy\nso great, to forget so great misery as ours. Turn to us with thy power,\nbecause he who is powerful hath given thee omnipotence in heaven and\non earth. To thee nothing is impossible, for thou canst raise even the\ndespairing to the hope of salvation. Thou must be compassionate as thou\nart powerful.\n\nTurn to us, also, in thy love. I know, oh my Lady, that thou art all\nkindness, and dost love us with a love that no other love can surpass.\nHow often dost thou appease the anger of our Judge, when he is on the\npoint of punishing us for our offences! All the treasures of the mercy of\nGod are in thy hands. Ah, may it never happen that thou shouldst cease\nfrom doing us good: thou seekest but the occasion of saving all sinners,\nand of bestowing thy mercy upon them; for thy glory is increased when,\nby thy means, penitents are pardoned, and the pardoned come to paradise.\nTurn, then, to us, that we may come to see thee in heaven; for the\ngreatest glory we can obtain next to seeing God, is to see thee, to love\nthee, and to be under thy protection. Ah, graciously hear us, since thy\nSon wishes to honor thee, by granting all thy requests.\n\n\nPrayer of St. William, Bishop of Paris.\n\nOh mother of God, I fly to thee and I implore thee not to cast me off,\nfor the whole Church of the faithful calls thee, and proclaims thee the\nmother of mercy. Thou art so dear to God, that thou art always graciously\nheard; thy compassion has never been wanting to any one; thy most\ngracious condescension has never despised any sinner, however enormous\nhis sin, who has recommended himself to thee. Does the Church falsely\nand in vain call thee her advocate, and the refuge of the unhappy? No;\nlet my sins never prevent thee from exercising thy great office of mercy\nby which thou art the advocate, the mediatrix of reconciliation, the\nonly hope, and the most secure refuge of sinners. Let it never be that\nthe mother, who, for the good of the whole world, brought forth him who\nis the fountain of mercy, should refuse her mercy to any sinner who has\nrecourse to her. It is thy office to reconcile God to man; let, then, thy\ncompassion move thee to help me, for it is greater than all my sins.\n\n\nPrayer to the most Holy Mary to be said every day at the end of the visit.\n\nOh most holy, immaculate Virgin, and my mother Mary, to thee who art the\nmother of my Lord, the queen of the world, the advocate, the hope, the\nrefuge of sinners, I, the most miserable of all, have recourse to-day. I\nadore thee, oh great queen, and thank thee for all the favors thou hast\nhitherto granted me, especially for having delivered me from hell, which\nI have so often deserved. I love thee, oh most amiable Lady, and through\nthe love I bear thee promise that I will always serve thee, and do all\nthat I can that thou mayest also be loved by others. I place in thee all\nmy hopes of salvation; accept me for thy servant, and receive me under\nthy mantle, oh thou mother of mercy. And since thou art so powerful with\nGod, deliver me from all temptations, or obtain for me the strength to\nconquer them always until death. From thee I ask a true love for Jesus\nChrist; from thee do I hope to die a good death. Oh, my mother, by the\nlove thou bearest to God, I pray thee always to help me, but most of\nall at the last moment of my life. Do not leave me until thou seest me\nactually safe in heaven, blessing thee, and singing thy mercies through\nall eternity. Amen. Thus I hope. Thus may it be.\n\n\nEND OF THE FIRST PART.\n\n\n\n\nTHE GLORIES OF MARY.\n\nPART SECOND:\n\nWhich treats of her principal Festivals; of her dolors in general, and of\neach of her seven dolors in particular; of her virtues; and lastly, of\ndevotions to be practised in her honor.\n\n\n\n\nDISCOURSES ON THE SEVEN PRINCIPAL FEASTS OF MARY, AND ON HER DOLORS.\n\n\n\n\nDISCOURSE I.\n\nON THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF MARY.\n\n\n _How befitting it was to all Three of the Divine Persons that\n Mary should be preserved from original sin._\n\nThe ruin was great which accursed sin brought upon Adam and the whole\nhuman race; for when he unhappily lost grace, he at the same time lost\nthe other blessings with which, in the beginning, he was enriched, and\ndrew upon himself, and upon all his descendants, both the displeasure\nof God, and all other evils. But God ordained that the blessed Virgin\nshould be exempt from this common calamity, for he had destined her to\nbe the mother of the second Adam, Jesus Christ, who was to repair the\ninjury done by the first. Now, let us see how fitting it was that the\nThree Divine Persons should preserve this Virgin from original sin. We\nshall see that it was befitting the Father to preserve her from it as his\ndaughter, the Son as his mother, the Holy Spirit as his spouse.\n\n_First Point._\u2014In the first place, it was fitting that the eternal\nFather should create Mary free from the original stain, because she\nwas his daughter, and his first-born daughter, as she herself attests:\n\u201cI came out of the mouth of the Most High, the first-born before all\ncreatures;\u201d[869] for this passage is applied to Mary by the sacred\ninterpreters, by the holy Fathers, and by the Church herself, on the\nsolemn festival of her Conception. Whether she be the first-born on\naccount of her predestination, together with her Son, in the divine\ndecrees, before all creatures, as the school of the Scotists will have\nit; or the first-born of grace, as predestined to be the mother of the\nRedeemer, after the prevision of sin, according to the school of the\nThomists, all agree in calling her the first-born of God; which being the\ncase, it was not meet that Mary should be the slave of Lucifer, but that\nshe should only and always be possessed by her Creator, as she herself\nasserts: \u201cThe Lord possessed me in the beginning of his ways.\u201d[870] Hence\nMary was rightly called by Dionysius, Archbishop of Alexandria: One and\nsole daughter of life: \u201cUna et sola filia vit\u00e6;\u201d[871] differing in this\nfrom others, who being born in sin, are daughters of death.\n\nMoreover, it was meet that the eternal Father should create her in his\ngrace, since he destined her for the restorer of the lost world, and\nmediatrix of peace between man and God; and thus the holy Fathers name\nher, and especially St. John Damascene, who thus addresses her: Oh\nblessed Virgin, thou art born to procure the salvation of the whole\nworld![872] St. Bernard says that Mary was already prefigured in the ark\nof Noe; for as by the ark men were saved from the deluge, so by Mary we\nare saved from the shipwreck of sin; but with this difference, that by\nmeans of the ark few only were saved, but by means of Mary the whole\nhuman race has been redeemed.[873] Hence it is that Mary is called by St.\nAthanasius: The new Eve, the mother of life: \u201cNova Eva, mater vit\u00e6.\u201d[874]\nA new Eve, because the first was the mother of death, but the most holy\nVirgin is mother of life. St. Theophanes, Bishop of Nice, exclaims: Hail\nto thee, who hast taken away the sorrow of Eve.[875] St. Basil calls her:\nThe peacemaker between God and men.[876] St. Ephrem: The peacemaker of\nthe whole world.[877]\n\nNow, certainly he who treats of peace should not be an enemy of the\noffended person, still less an accomplice of his crime. St. Gregory says,\nthat to appease the judge his enemy certainly must not be chosen, for\ninstead of appeasing him he would enrage him more. Therefore, as Mary\nwas to be the mediatrix of peace between God and man, there was every\nreason why she should not appear as a sinner and enemy of God, but as his\nfriend, and pure from sin.\n\nBesides, it was fitting that God should preserve her from original sin,\nsince he destined her to bruise the head of the infernal serpent, who,\nby seducing our first parents, brought death upon all men, as our Lord\npredicted: \u201cI will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed\nand her seed; she shall crush thy head.\u201d[878] Now, if Mary was to be\nthe strong woman brought into the world to crush Lucifer, surely it was\nnot fitting that she should first be conquered by Lucifer, and made his\nslave, but rather that she should be free from every stain, and from all\nsubjection to the enemy. As he had in his pride already corrupted the\nwhole human race, he would also corrupt the pure soul of this Virgin.\nBut may the divine goodness be ever praised, who prevented her with so\nmuch grace, to the end that remaining free from every stain of sin, she\ncould overthrow and confound his pride, as St. Augustine says, or whoever\nmay have been the author of that commentary upon Genesis: As the devil\nwas the head from whence original sin proceeded, that head Mary crushed,\nbecause no sin ever entered the soul of the Virgin, and therefore she was\nfree from all stain.[879] St. Bonaventure still more clearly expresses\nthe same: It was meet that the blessed Virgin Mary, by whom our shame was\nto be removed, should conquer the devil, and that she should not yield to\nhim in the least degree.[880]\n\nBut it was especially fitting that the eternal Father should preserve his\ndaughter from the sin of Adam, because he destined her for the mother\nof his only begotten Son. Thou wast preordained in the mind of God,\nbefore every creature, to bring forth God himself made man.[881] If for\nno other reason, then, at least for the honor of his Son, who was God,\nthe Father would create her pure from every stain. The angelic Doctor\nSt. Thomas says, that all things ordained by God must be holy, and pure\nfrom every defilement.[882] If David, when he was planning the temple of\nJerusalem with a magnificence worthy the Lord, said: \u201cNot for man a house\nis prepared, but for God;\u201d[883] now, how much greater cause have we to\nbelieve that the great Creator, having destined Mary to be the mother\nof his own Son, would adorn her soul with every grace, that it might be\na worthy habitation for a God. God, the creator of all things, affirms\nblessed Denis the Carthusian, about to construct a worthy habitation for\nhis Son, adorned her with all pleasing gifts.[884] And the holy Church\nherself assures us of this, when she affirms that God prepared the body\nand soul of the Virgin to be, on earth, a habitation worthy of his only\nbegotten Son. \u201cOmnipotent, eternal God!\u201d thus the holy Church prays,\n\u201cwho, by the co-operation of the Holy Ghost, didst prepare the body\nand soul of the glorious Virgin mother, that she might become a worthy\nhabitation for thy Son,\u201d &c.[885]\n\nIt is acknowledged to be the greatest glory of sons to be born of noble\nparents. The glory of children are their fathers: \u201cGloria filiorum,\npatres eorum.\u201d[886] So that in the world the imputation of small fortune\nand little science is more endurable than that of low birth; for the poor\nman may become rich by industry, the ignorant learned by study, but he\nwho is of low birth can hardly become noble; and if ever this occurs,\nthe old and original reproach is liable always to be revived. How can we\nthen believe that God, when he was able to give his Son a noble mother,\nby preserving her from sin, would have consented that he should be born\nof a mother defiled with sin, and permit Lucifer to reproach him with the\nopprobrium of being born of a mother who once was his slave and an enemy\nof God! No, the Lord has not permitted this, but he has well provided\nfor the honor of his Son, by ordaining that his mother should always be\nimmaculate, that she might be a fit mother for such a Son. The Greek\nChurch confirms this: \u201cBy a singular providence, God ordained that the\nmost holy Virgin should be perfectly pure from the very beginning of her\nlife, as was becoming her who was to be a mother worthy of Christ.\u201d[887]\n\nIt is a common axiom among theologians, that no gift has ever been\ngranted to any creature with which the blessed Virgin was not also\nenriched. St. Bernard thus expresses it: We certainly cannot suspect\nthat what has been bestowed on the chosen among mortals should be\nwithheld from the blessed Virgin.[888] And St. Thomas of Villanova says:\nNothing was ever given to any of the saints that did not shine more\npre-eminently in Mary from the beginning of her life.[889] And if it\nbe true, according to the celebrated saying of St. John Damascene, that\nthere is an infinite distance between the mother of God and the servants\nof God,[890] it certainly must be supposed, as St. Thomas teaches, that\nGod has conferred greater graces of every kind on the mother than on the\nservants.[891] Now, asks St. Anselm, the great defender of the privileges\nof the immaculate Mary, this being granted, was the wisdom of God unable\nto prepare a pure abode for his Son, free from every human stain?[892]\nHas it been in the power of God, continues St. Anselm, to preserve the\nangels of heaven unstained amidst the ruin of so many, and could he not\npreserve the mother of his Son and the queen of angels from the common\nfall of man?[893] Could God, I add, give the grace even to an Eve to come\ninto the world immaculate, and afterwards be unable to bestow it on Mary?\n\nAh, no, God could do it and has done it, since it was altogether fitting,\nas the above-named St. Anselm says, that this Virgin, to whom God was to\ngive his only Son, should be adorned with such purity, that it not only\nshould surpass the purity of all men and of all angels, but should be\nsecond in greatness only to that of God.[894] And still more plainly\ndoes St. John Damascene declare, that he preserved the soul as well as\nthe body of this Virgin, as beseemed her who was about to receive God\ninto her womb; for he being holy, dwells only with the holy.[895] Thus\nthe eternal Father could say to this beloved daughter: \u201cAs the lily among\nthe thorns, so is my love among the daughters.\u201d[896] Daughter among all\nmy other daughters, thou art like a lily among thorns; for they are all\nstained by sin, but thou wert ever immaculate, and ever my friend.\n\n_Second Point._\u2014In the second place, it was befitting the Son that Mary,\nas his mother, should be preserved from sin. It is not permitted to other\nchildren to select a mother according to their good pleasure; but if this\nwere ever granted to any one, who would choose a slave for his mother\nwhen he might have a queen? who a peasant, when he might have a noble?\nwho an enemy of God, when he might have a friend of God? If, then, the\nSon of God alone could select a mother according to his pleasure, it\nmust be considered as certain that he would choose one befitting a God.\nThus St. Bernard expresses it: The Creator of men to be born of man\nmust choose such a mother for himself as he knew to be most fit.[897]\nAnd as it was, indeed, fitting that a most pure God should have a mother\npure from all sin, such was she created, as St. Bernardine of Sienna\nsays, in these words: The third kind of sanctification is that which is\ncalled maternal, and this removes every stain of original sin. This was\nin the blessed Virgin. God, indeed, created her, by the nobility of her\nnature as well as by the perfection of grace, such as it was befitting\nthat his mother should be.[898] And here the words of the apostle may\nbe applied: \u201cFor it was fitting that we should have such a high priest,\nholy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners,\u201d[899] &c. Here a\nlearned author remarks, that according to St. Paul, it was meet that our\nRedeemer should not only be separated from sin, but also from sinners, as\nSt. Thomas explains it: It was meet that he who came to take away sins,\nshould be separate from sinners as far as concerns the sin of which Adam\nwas guilty.[900] But how could it be said of Jesus Christ that he was\nseparate from sinners if his mother was a sinner?\n\nSt. Ambrose says: Not from earth, but from heaven, Christ selected this\nvessel through which he should descend, and consecrated the temple of\nmodesty.[901] The saint alludes to the words of St. Paul: \u201cThe first man\nwas of the earth, earthy: the second man from heaven, heavenly.\u201d[902] St.\nAmbrose calls the divine mother: _A celestial vessel_: not that Mary was\nother than earthly in her nature, as heretics have sometimes fancied, but\ncelestial through grace, for she was superior to the angels of heaven in\nsanctity and purity, as it was meet she should be, when a King of glory\nwas to dwell in her womb; as John the Baptist revealed to St. Bridget:\n\u201cIt was befitting the King of glory to remain in no vessel but one purer\nand more select than all angels and men;\u201d[903] to which we may add what\nthe eternal Father himself said to the same saint: \u201cMary was a clean and\nan unclean vessel. Clean because she was wholly fair, but unclean because\nshe was born of sinners; although she was conceived without sin, that my\nSon should be born without sin.\u201d[904] And these last words are worthy\nof note, that Mary was conceived without sin, so that the divine Son\nmight be conceived without sin. Not that Jesus Christ could be capable of\ncontracting sin, but that he might not suffer the opprobrium of having a\nmother infected with sin, and a slave of the devil.\n\nThe Holy Spirit says, that the honor of the Father is the glory of the\nSon, and the dishonor of the Father is the shame of the Son.[905] And\nSt. Augustine says, that Jesus preserved the body of Mary from being\ncorrupted after death, since it would have dishonored him if corruption\nhad destroyed that virginal flesh from which he had clothed himself.[906]\nCorruption is the reproach of the human condition, from which the nature\nof Mary was exempted, in order that Jesus might be exempt from it, for\nthe flesh of Jesus is the flesh of Mary. Now, if it were a dishonor\nfor Jesus Christ to be born of a mother whose body was subject to the\ncorruption of the flesh, how much greater would be the shame had he been\nborn of a mother whose soul was corrupted by sin! Moreover, as it is true\nthat the flesh of Jesus is the same as that of Mary, in such a manner (as\nthe saint himself here adds) that the flesh of the Saviour after his\nresurrection was the very same which he received from his mother;[907]\ntherefore St. Arnold of Carnotensis says: The flesh of Mary and of Christ\nis one, and hence I esteem the glory of the Son to be not so much common\nto both as the same.[908] Now, this being true, if the blessed Virgin had\nbeen conceived in sin, although the Son had not contracted the stain of\nsin, yet there would always have been a certain stain from the union of\nhimself with flesh once infected by guilt, a vessel of uncleanness, and a\nslave of Lucifer.\n\nMary was not only the mother, but a worthy mother of the Saviour. Thus\nall the holy Fathers name her. St. Bernard says: Thou alone hast been\nfound worthy, that in thy virginal hall the King of kings should choose\nhis first mansion.[909] And St. Thomas of Villanova: Before she had\nconceived she was fitted to be the mother of God.[910] The holy Church\nherself attests that the Virgin merited to be the mother of Jesus\nChrist.[911] Explaining which passage, St. Thomas of Aquinas remarks,\nthat Mary could not merit the incarnation of the Word, but with divine\ngrace she merited such perfection as would render her worthy to become\nthe mother of a God;[912] as St. Peter Damian also writes: Her singular\nsanctity merited (out of pure grace) that she should alone be judged\nworthy to receive a God.[913]\n\nNow, this being granted, that Mary was a mother worthy of God, what\nexcellency and what perfection, says St. Thomas of Villanova, were\nbefitting her![914] The same angelic Doctor declares, that when God\nelects any one to a certain dignity, he also fits him for it; hence, he\nsays, that God having chosen Mary for his mother, certainly rendered her\nworthy of it by his grace, according to what the angel said to her: \u201cThou\nhast found grace with God, behold thou shalt conceive, etc.\u201d[915] And\nfrom this the saint infers that the Virgin never committed any actual\nsin, not even a venial sin; otherwise, he says, she would not have been\na worthy mother of Jesus Christ, since the ignominy of the mother would\nalso be that of the Son, if his mother had been a sinner.[916] Now, if\nMary, by committing only one venial offence, which does not deprive the\nsoul of divine grace, might be said not to have been a worthy mother of\nGod, how much more if she had been stained with original sin, which would\nhave rendered her an enemy of God, and a slave of the devil! Therefore\nSt. Augustine says in a celebrated passage of his writings, that speaking\nof Mary, he would make no mention of sins, for the honor of that Lord\nwhom she merited for her Son, and through whom she had the grace to\nconquer sin in every way.[917]\n\nWe should therefore hold it for certain, that the incarnate Word selected\nfor himself a befitting mother, and one of whom he need not be ashamed,\nas St. Peter Damian expresses it.[918] And also St. Proculus: He\ninhabited those bowels which he had created, so as to be free from any\nmark of infamy.[919] Jesus felt it no reproach to hear himself called by\nthe Jews the son of a poor woman: \u201cIs not his mother called Mary?\u201d[920]\nfor he came on earth to give an example of humility and patience. But\non the other hand, it would doubtless have been a reproach to him if it\ncould have been said by the demons: Was he not born from a mother who\nwas a sinner, and once our slave?[921] It would be considered most unfit\nthat Jesus Christ should have been born of a woman deformed and maimed in\nbody, or possessed by evil spirits; but how much more unseemly that he\nshould be born of a woman once deformed in soul, and possessed by Lucifer!\n\nAh, that God who is wisdom itself well knew how to prepare upon the\nearth a fit dwelling for him to inhabit: \u201cWisdom hath built herself a\nhouse.\u201d[922] \u201cThe Most High hath sanctified his own tabernacle.\u201d \u201cGod\nwill help it in the morning early.\u201d[923] The Lord, says David, sanctified\nthis his habitation _in the morning early_; that is, from the beginning\nof her life, to render her worthy of himself; for it was not befitting a\nGod who is holy to select a house that was not holy: Holiness becometh\nthy house: \u201cDomum tuum decet sanctitudo.\u201d[924] And if he himself declares\nthat he will never enter into a malicious soul, and into a body subject\nto sins.[925] How can we think that the Son of God would have chosen\nto inhabit the soul and body of Mary without first sanctifying her and\npreserving her from every stain of sin? for, as St. Thomas teaches us,\nthe eternal Word inhabited not only the soul, but the body of Mary.[926]\nThe Church also sings: Oh Lord, thou didst not shrink from the Virgin\u2019s\nwomb: \u201cNon horruisti Virginis uterum.\u201d Indeed, a God would have shrunk\nfrom incarnating himself in the womb of an Agnes, of a Gertrude, of a\nTheresa, since those virgins, although holy, were for a time stained\nwith original sin; but he did not shrink from becoming man in the womb\nof Mary, because this chosen Virgin was always pure from every guilt,\nand never possessed by the infernal serpent. Hence St. Augustine wrote:\nThe Son of God has built himself no house more worthy than Mary, who was\nnever taken by the enemy, nor robbed of her ornaments.[927]\n\nOn the other hand, St. Cyril of Alexandria says: Who has ever heard of\nan architect building a house for his own use and then giving the first\npossession of it to his greatest enemy?[928]\n\nCertainly our Lord, who, as St. Methodius declares, gave us the command\nto honor our parents, would not fail, when he became man, like ourselves,\nto observe it himself, by bestowing on his mother every grace and\nhonor.[929] Hence St. Augustine says, that we must certainly believe\nthat Jesus Christ preserved from corruption the body of Mary after\ndeath, as it has been said above; for if he had not done so, he would\nnot have observed the law, which, as it commands respect to the mother,\nso it condemns disrespect.[930] How much less mindful would Jesus have\nbeen of the honor of his mother, if he had not preserved her from the\nsin of Adam! That Son would, indeed, commit a sin, says Father Thomas\nd\u2019Argentina, an Augustinian, who, being able to preserve his mother\nfrom original sin, should not do so; now that which would be sinful\nin us, says the same author, cannot be esteemed befitting the Son of\nGod, namely, if he should not have created his mother immaculate when\nhe was able to do so. Ah, no, exclaims Gerson, since thou, the supreme\nPrince, dost wish to have a mother, honor will certainly be due to her\nfrom thee; but this law would not appear well fulfilled if thou shouldst\npermit her, who was to be the dwelling of all purity, to fall into the\nabomination of original sin.[931]\n\nMoreover, the divine Son, as we know, came into the world to redeem\nMary before all others, as we read in St. Bernardine of Sienna.[932]\nAnd as there are two modes of redeeming, as St. Augustine teaches, one\nby raising the fallen; the other, by preventing from falling;[933]\ndoubtless, the latter is the most noble. More nobly, says St. Antoninus,\nis he redeemed who is prevented from falling, than he who is raised after\nfalling;[934] because in this way is avoided the injury or stain that\nthe soul always contracts by a fall. Therefore we ought to believe that\nMary was redeemed in the nobler manner, as became the mother of a God,\nas St. Bonaventure expresses it; for Frassen proves the sermon on the\nassumption to have been written by that holy doctor.[935] We must believe\nthat by a new mode of sanctification the Holy Spirit redeemed her at the\nfirst moment of her conception, and preserved her by a special grace\nfrom original sin, which was not in her, but would have been in her.[936]\nOn this subject Cardinal Cusano has elegantly written: Others have had\na deliverer, but the holy Virgin had a predeliverer;[937] others have\nhad a Redeemer to deliver them from sin already contracted, but the holy\nVirgin had a Redeemer who, because he was her Son, prevented her from\ncontracting sin.\n\nIn a word, to conclude this point, Hugo of St. Victor says, the tree is\nknown by its fruit. If the Lamb was always immaculate, always immaculate\nmust the mother also have been.[938] Hence this same doctor saluted Mary\nby calling her: The worthy mother of a worthy Son: \u201cO digna digni.\u201d By\nwhich he meant to say, that none but Mary was the worthy mother of such\na Son, and that none but Jesus was the worthy Son of such a mother.[939]\nTherefore let us say with St. Ildephonsus: Give suck, then, oh Mary, give\nsuck to thy Creator; give suck to him who created thee, and hath made\nthee so pure and perfect that thou hast merited that he should receive\nfrom thee the human nature.[940]\n\n_Third Point._\u2014If, then, it became the Father to preserve Mary as his\ndaughter from sin, and the Son because she was his mother, it also became\nthe Holy Spirit to preserve her as his spouse. Mary, says St. Augustine,\nwas the only one who merited to be called the mother and spouse of\nGod.[941] For, as St. Anselm affirms, the Holy Spirit came bodily upon\nMary and rested in her, enriching her with grace beyond all creatures,\ndwelt in her, and made his spouse queen of heaven and of earth.[942]\nAs the saint expresses it: He was with her really, as to the effect,\nsince he came to form from her immaculate body the immaculate body of\nJesus Christ, as the archangel predicted: The Holy Ghost shall come upon\nthee.[943] For this reason, says St. Thomas, Mary is called the temple of\nthe Lord, the sanctuary of the Holy Spirit, because, by the operation of\nthe Holy Spirit, she was made mother of the incarnate Word.[944]\n\nNow, if an excellent painter were allowed to choose a bride as beautiful\nor as deformed as he himself might paint her, how great would be his\nsolicitude to make her as beautiful as possible! Who, then, will say that\nthe Holy Spirit has not dealt thus with Mary, and that, having it in his\npower to make this his spouse as beautiful as it became her to be, he has\nnot done so? Yes, thus it was fitting he should do, and thus he did, as\nthe Lord himself attested when praising Mary; he said to her: \u201cThou art\nall fair, oh my love; and there is not a spot in thee;\u201d[945] which words,\nas we learn from \u00e0 Lapide, St. Ildephonsus, and St. Thomas, explain as\nproperly to be understood of Mary. St. Bernardine of Sienna,[946] and\nSt. Lawrence Justinian,[947] also declare that the passage above quoted\nis precisely to be understood of her immaculate conception; hence the\nIdiot says: Thou art all fair, oh most glorious Virgin, not in part, but\nwholly; and the stain of sin, whether mortal, or venial, or original, is\nnot upon thee.[948]\n\nThe Holy Spirit signified the same thing, when he called this his spouse:\n\u201cA garden inclosed, a fountain sealed up.\u201d[949] Mary, says St. Jerome,\nwas properly this inclosed garden and sealed fountain; for the enemies\nnever entered to harm her, but she was always uninjured, remaining holy\nin soul and body[950]. And in like manner St. Bernard said, addressing\nthe blessed Virgin: Thou art an inclosed garden, where the sinner\u2019s hand\nnever entered to rob it of its flowers.[951]\n\nWe know that this divine spouse loved Mary more than all the other saints\nand angels united, as Father Suarez, St. Lawrence Justinian, and others\naffirm. He loved her from the beginning, and exalted her in sanctity\nabove all creatures, as David expresses it: \u201cThe foundations thereof are\nin the holy mountains; the Lord loveth the gates of Sion above all the\ntabernacles of Jacob.... This man is born in her, and the Highest himself\nhath founded her.\u201d[952] All which words signify that Mary was holy from\nher conception. The same thing is signified by what the Holy Spirit\nhimself says in another place: \u201cMany daughters have gathered together\nriches; thou hast surpassed them all.\u201d[953] If Mary has surpassed all in\nthe riches of grace, she then possessed original justice, as Adam and the\nangels had it. \u201cThere are young maidens without number: one is my dove,\nmy perfect one (the Hebrew reads, my uncorrupted, my immaculate); she is\nthe only one of her mother.\u201d[954] All just souls are children of divine\ngrace; but among these, Mary was the _Dove_ without the bitter gall of\nsin, the _Perfect One_ without the stain of original sin, the _one_\nconceived in grace.\n\nThe angel, therefore, before she was mother of God, already found her\nfull of grace, and thus saluted her: Hail, full of grace: \u201cAve gratia\nplena.\u201d Commenting upon which words, Sophronius writes, that to the\nother saints grace is given in part, but to the Virgin it was given in\nfulness.[955] So that, as St. Thomas says, grace not only made the soul,\nbut also the flesh of Mary holy, that with it the Virgin might clothe\nthe eternal Word.[956] Now by all this we are to understand, as Peter\nof Celles remarks, that Mary, from the moment of her conception, was\nenriched by the Holy Spirit, and filled with divine grace.[957] Hence,\nas St. Peter Damian says: She being elected and pre-elected by God, was\nborne off by the Holy Spirit for himself.[958] Borne off, as the saint\nexpresses it, to explain the swiftness of the Divine Spirit in making her\nhis spouse, before Lucifer should take possession of her.\n\nI will at length close this discourse, in which I have been more diffuse\nthan in the others, because our little congregation has for its principal\nprotectress the most holy Virgin Mary, precisely under this title of her\nimmaculate conception. I will close, I say, by declaring in a few words\nwhat are the reasons which make me certain, and which, as I think, should\nmake every one certain of this pious sentiment, so glorious to the divine\nmother\u2014that she was free from original sin.\n\nThere are many doctors who maintain that Mary was even exempt from\ncontracting the debt of sin; such as Cardinal Galatino,[959] Cardinal\nCusano,[960] De Ponte,[961] Salasar,[962] Catherinus,[963] Novarino,[964]\nViva,[965] De Lugo, Egidius, Richelius, and others. Now this opinion is\nvery probable; for if it is true that in the will of Adam, as head of the\nhuman race, were included the wills of all, as Gonet,[966] Habert,[967]\nand others hold it to be probable, on the testimony of these words of St.\nPaul: \u201cIn whom (Adam) all have sinned.\u201d[968] If this, then, is probable,\nit is also probable that Mary did not contract the debt of sin; for God\nhaving greatly distinguished her in the order of grace from the rest of\nmankind, it should be piously believed, that in the will of Adam, the\nwill of Mary was not included.\n\nThis opinion is only probable, but I adhere to it, as being more\nglorious for my Lady. But, then, I hold it for certain that Mary has\nnot contracted the sin of Adam, as Cardinal Everard,[969] Duval,[970]\nRaynauld,[971] Lossada,[972] Viva,[973] and many others hold it for\ncertain, and even proximately definable as an article of faith, as they\nexpress it. I omit, however, the revelations that confirm this opinion;\nespecially those made to St. Bridget, approved by Cardinal Torrecremata,\nand by four supreme Pontiffs, and which we read in the sixth book of\nthe above-mentioned revelations, in various places.[974] But I can\nby no means omit to mention here the opinions of the holy Fathers on\nthis point, in order to prove how uniform they have been in conceding\nthis privilege to the divine mother. St. Ambrose says: Receive me not\nfrom Sarah, but from Mary, as an uncorrupted Virgin, a Virgin through\ngrace preserved pure from every stain of sin.[975] Origen, speaking\nof Mary, says: Neither was she infected by the breath of the venomous\nserpent.[976] And St. Ephrem: She is immaculate, and remote from every\ntaint of sin.[977] St. Augustine, meditating on the words of the angel,\n\u201cHail, full of grace,\u201d says: By these words he shows her to be entirely\n(note, entirely) excluded from the wrath of the first sentence, and\nrestored to the full grace of benediction.[978] St. Jerome: That cloud\nwas never in darkness, but always in the light.[979] St. Cyprian, on\nPsalm lxxvii., or whoever may be the author of that treatise, says:\nNeither did justice suffer that vessel of election to be open to common\ninjuries, for, being far exalted above others, she was a partaker of\ntheir nature, but not of their sin.[980] St. Amphilochius also says: He\nwho created the first virgin without reproach, also created the second\nwithout stain or crime.[981] Sophronius: Therefore she is called the\nimmaculate Virgin, because she was in no manner corrupted.[982] St.\nIldephonsus: It is certain that she was exempt from original sin.[983]\nSt. John of Damascus: To this paradise the serpent had no entrance.[984]\nSt. Peter Damian: The flesh of the Virgin, received from Adam, was free\nfrom Adam\u2019s taint of sin.[985] St. Bruno: This is that uncorrupted earth\nwhich the Lord has blessed, and hence she is pure from all contagion of\nsin.[986] St. Bonaventure, also: Our Lady was full of preventing grace in\nher sanctification, namely, of grace preservative against the defilement\nof original sin.[987] St. Bernardine of Sienna: For it is not to be\nbelieved that the Son of God himself would choose to be born of a virgin,\nand assume her flesh, if she were defiled in any way with original\nsin.[988] St. Lawrence Justinian: From her conception she was prevented\nwith blessing.[989] So the Idiot, upon those words, Thou hast found\ngrace, \u201cInvenisti gratiam,\u201d says: Thou hast found peculiar grace, oh most\nsweet Virgin, for thou wast preserved from the original stain, &c.[990]\nAnd many other Doctors express the same.\n\nBut there are two arguments which conclusively prove the truth of\nthis opinion. The first is the universal consent of the faithful on\nthis point. Father Egidius, of the Presentation, asserts that all the\nreligious orders follow the same opinion:[991] and although in the order\nof St. Dominic, says a modern author, there are ninety-two writers who\nare of the contrary opinion, yet one hundred and thirty-six are of\nours. But what should especially persuade us that our pious opinion\nis conformable to the common opinion of Catholics, is the declaration\nof Pope Alexander VII., in the celebrated bull, \u201cSollicitudo omnium\necclesiarum,\u201d issued in the year 1661, namely: \u201cThis devotion and worship\nto the mother of God again increased and was propagated, ... so that\nthe universities having embraced this opinion (that is, the pious one),\nalmost all Catholics embrace it.\u201d[992] And, in fact, this opinion is\ndefended by the universities of the Sorbonne, of Alcala, of Salamanca,\nof Coimbra, of Cologne, of Mayence, and of Naples, and by many others,\nin which every one who graduates binds himself by an oath to the defence\nof the immaculate Mary. The learned Petavius rests his proof of the\nimmaculate conception mainly upon this argument of the common consent of\nthe faithful.[993] Which argument, writes the most learned Bishop Julius\nTorni, cannot fail to convince; for, in fact, if nothing else, the\ncommon consent of the faithful renders us certain of the sanctification\nof Mary in the womb, and of the glorious assumption of her soul and body\ninto heaven; why, then, should not this same common sentiment render us\ncertain of her immaculate conception?[994]\n\nBy another reason, still stronger than the first, we are assured of the\ntruth of the fact, that the Virgin is exempt from the Original stain,\nnamely, the festival instituted by the universal Church in honor of her\nImmaculate Conception. And with regard to this I see, on the one hand,\nthat the Church celebrates the first moment when her soul was created\nand infused into the body, as Alexander VII. declares in the bull above\nquoted, in which it is expressed that the Church prescribes the same\nveneration for the conception of Mary, as the pious opinion concedes\nto her, which holds her to be conceived without original sin. On the\nother hand, I know it to be certain that the Church cannot honor any\nthing unholy, according to the decrees of the sovereign pontiffs St.\nLeo[995] and St. Eusebius: \u201cIn the Apostolic See the Catholic religion\nhas always been preserved pure from stain.[996]\u201d And all the theologians,\nincluding St. Augustine,[997] St. Bernard, and St. Thomas, teach the\nsame thing. The latter makes use of the argument of the festival of\nher birth, instituted by the Church, to prove that Mary was sanctified\nbefore birth; and therefore says: The Church celebrates the nativity\nof the blessed Virgin; but no feast is celebrated in the Church except\nin honor of some saint; therefore the blessed Virgin was sanctified in\nthe womb.[998] Now if it is certain, as the angelic Doctor declares,\nthat Mary was sanctified in the womb, because for this reason the holy\nChurch celebrates her birth; why should we not then hold it for certain\nthat Mary was preserved from original sin from the first moment of her\nconception, now that we know that in this sense the Church herself\ncelebrates the festival of it?[999] In confirmation, too, of this great\nprivilege of Mary, it is well known what numerous and remarkable graces\nour Lord has been pleased to dispense daily in the kingdom of Naples, by\nmeans of the little pictures of the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception.\nI could relate many that took place under the eyes of the fathers of our\nown congregation; but I will relate only two, which are truly wonderful.\n\n\nEXAMPLE.\n\nThere came a woman to one of the houses of our little congregation, in\nthis kingdom, to tell one of the fathers that her husband had not been to\nconfession for many years, and that she did not know how to bring him\nback to his duties, for whenever she spoke to him of confession he beat\nher. The father told her to give him a little picture of Mary immaculate.\nEvening came, and the woman again begged her husband to go to confession;\nbut the man being deaf as before, she gave him the picture. He had no\nsooner received it than he said: \u201cWhen will you take me to confession,\nfor I am ready?\u201d The wife, at that sudden change, wept for joy. In the\nmorning he came to our church, and when the father asked him how long it\nwas since he had been to confession, he answered: \u201cTwenty-eight years.\u201d\n\u201cAnd what has brought you to confession this morning?\u201d said the father.\n\u201cFather,\u201d he said, \u201cI was obstinate, but yesterday my wife gave me a\npicture of the Madonna, and immediately I felt my heart changed, so that\nlast night appeared to me a thousand years long, and I thought the day\nwould never come when I might go to confession.\u201d He made his confession\nwith great compunction, changed his life, and continued for a long time\nto go often to confession to the same father.\n\nIn another place, in the diocese of Salerno, during one of our missions,\nthere was a certain man who had a great enmity against one who had\noffended him. One of our fathers spoke to him, and exhorted him to pardon\nthe offence. \u201cFather, have you ever seen me at the sermon? No, you have\nnot, and for this reason I stay away: I see that I am damned, but I do\nnot wish it otherwise, I must have revenge.\u201d The father made every\neffort to convert him, but finding that he was wasting his words, \u201cTake,\u201d\nhe said to him, \u201cthis little picture of the Madonna.\u201d \u201cOf what use,\u201d said\nhe, \u201cis this picture?\u201d But he took it, and as if he had never refused to\npardon his enemy, he said to the missionary, \u201cFather, do you wish any\nthing more than reconciliation? for that I am ready.\u201d The next morning\nwas appointed for the reconciliation; but when the morning came, his mind\nwas changed, and he would do nothing. The father offered him another\npicture. He did not wish for it, and took it unwillingly; but behold, no\nsooner had he taken it, than he immediately said, \u201cLet us be reconciled:\nwhere is Mastrodatti?\u201d He then forgave his enemy, and afterwards made his\nconfession.\n\n\nPRAYER.\n\nAh, my immaculate Lady, I rejoice with thee, seeing thee endowed with\nso great purity. I give thanks, and make the resolution always to give\nthanks to our common Creator, for having preserved thee from every stain\nof sin, as I certainly believe; and to defend this great and peculiar\nprivilege of thy immaculate conception I am ready, and swear to give\neven my life if it is necessary. I wish that all the world might know\nthee, and acknowledge thee for that beautiful _aurora_, which was always\nresplendent with the divine light; that chosen _ark_ of salvation, safe\nfrom the common shipwreck of sin; for that _perfect and immaculate dove_,\nas thy divine spouse declared thee; that _inclosed garden_, which was\nthe delight of God; that _fountain sealed up_, which the enemy never\nentered to trouble; finally, that _spotless lily_, which thou art,\nspringing up among the thorns of the children of Adam; for whereas all\nare born defiled with original sin, and enemies of God, thou wast born\npure, all spotless, and in all things a friend of thy Creator.\n\nLet me, then, also praise thee as thy God himself hath praised thee\nwhen he said: Thou art all fair, and there is not a spot in thee: \u201cTota\npulchra es et macula non est in te.\u201d Oh most pure dove, all white, all\nbeautiful, and always the friend of God: \u201cO quam pulchra es, amica mea,\nquam pulchra es.\u201d Oh most sweet, most amiable, immaculate Mary, thou who\nart so beautiful in the eyes of our Lord, do not disdain to look with thy\npitying eye upon the loathsome wounds of my soul. Behold me, pity me,\nand heal me. Oh powerful magnet of hearts, draw also my miserable heart\nto thee. Thou who even from the first moment of thy life wast pure and\nbeautiful in the sight of God, have pity on me, for I was not only born\nin sin, but after baptism, I again have defiled my soul with sin. Will\nGod, who hath chosen thee for his child, his mother, and his spouse, and\ntherefore hath preserved thee free from every stain, refuse any grace to\nthee? Virgin immaculate, you must save me; I will say to thee with St.\nPhilip Neri, make me always to remember thee, and do not forget me. It\nseems to me a thousand years before I shall go to behold thy beauty in\nparadise, to praise and love thee more, my mother, my queen, my beloved,\nmost lovely, most sweet, most pure, immaculate Mary. Amen.\n\n\n\n\nDISCOURSE II.\n\nON THE BIRTH OF MARY.\n\n\n _Mary was born a saint, and a great saint, for great was the\n grace with which our Lord enriched her from the beginning, and\n great was the fidelity with which Mary at once corresponded\n with it._\n\nMen are accustomed to celebrate the birth of their children with joy\nand feasting; but rather ought they to weep and give signs of grief and\nmourning, considering that these are born, not only destitute of merits\nand of reason, but moreover infected by sin and children of wrath, and\ntherefore condemned to misery and death. But with reason do we celebrate,\nwith feasts and universal praise, the birth of our infant Mary, for\nshe came into this world an infant in age, it is true, but great in\nmerits and in virtues. Mary was born a saint, and a great saint. But to\nconceive the degree of sanctity in which she was born, we must call to\nmind, in the first place, how great was the first grace with which God\nenriched Mary; and in the second, with how great fidelity Mary at once\ncorresponded with God.\n\n_First Point._\u2014Commencing with the first point, it is certain that the\nsoul of Mary was the most beautiful soul that God ever created; indeed,\nnext to the incarnation of the Word, this work was the greatest and\nmost worthy of himself that the Omnipotent could accomplish in this\nworld\u2014a work, as St. Peter Damian terms it, which God alone excels: \u201cOpus\nquod solus Deus supergreditur.\u201d Hence it was that the divine grace did\nnot descend upon Mary in drops as upon the other saints, but as David\npredicted: Like rain upon the fleece: \u201cSicut pluvia in vellus.\u201d[1000] The\nsoul of Mary was like wool, that happily imbibed all that great shower of\ngraces without losing a drop. The holy Virgin, says St. Basil, drew into\nherself all the graces of the Holy Spirit.[1001] Hence she herself said\nby the mouth of Ecclesiasticus: My abode is in the fulness of saints: \u201cIn\nplenitudine Sanctorum detentio mea;\u201d[1002] which St. Bonaventure thus\nexplains: I have in fulness all that the other saints have in part;[1003]\nand St. Vincent Ferrer, speaking especially of the sanctity of Mary\nbefore her birth, said, that she surpassed all the saints and angels in\nsanctity.[1004]\n\nThe grace of the blessed Virgin surpassed the grace not only of each\nsaint in particular, but of all the saints and angels together, as the\nmost learned Father Francis Pepe, of the Society of Jesus, proves, in\nhis admirable work on the grandeur of Jesus and Mary;[1005] and he\nasserts that this opinion, so glorious for our queen, is now common and\nestablished among modern theologians, as Carthagena, Suarez, Spinelli,\nRecupito, Guerra, and others, who have avowedly examined it, which was\nnot done by the ancients; and he further relates, that the divine mother\nsent Father Martin Guttierez to thank Father Suarez in her name for\nhaving, with so much courage, defended this most probable opinion, which\nFather Segneri asserts, in his work entitled \u201cThe Servant of Mary,\u201d was\nmaintained by the common consent of the Faculty of Salamanca.\n\nNow if this opinion is universal and certain, the other opinion is also\nvery probable, namely, that Mary received from the first moment of her\nimmaculate conception this grace, superior to the grace of all the saints\nand angels together. This the same Father Suarez powerfully defends,\nand Father Spinelli, Recupito,[1006] and Colombiere,[1007] follow him.\nBut besides the authority of theologians, there are yet two great and\nconvincing reasons sufficient to prove the above-mentioned opinion. The\nfirst reason is, that Mary was chosen by God to be the mother of the\ndivine Word; hence blessed Denis the Carthusian says, that having been\nelected to an order superior to all creatures (for in a certain sense\nthe dignity of mother of God, as Father Suarez affirms, belongs to the\norder of the hypostatic union), gifts of a superior order were justly\nbestowed upon her from the beginning of her life, so that her graces far\nexceeded those granted to all other creatures. And, indeed, it cannot be\ndoubted, that at the same time, when in the divine decrees the person\nof the eternal Word was predestined to become man, a mother was also\ndestined for him, from whom he was to take the human nature, and this\nwas our infant Mary. Now St. Thomas teaches that the Lord gives to every\none grace proportioned to that dignity for which he destines him;[1008]\nSt. Paul taught this before, when he said: \u201cWho also hath made us fit\nministers of the New Testament;\u201d[1009] signifying to us that the Apostles\nreceived from God gifts proportioned to the great office to which they\nwere elected. St. Bernardine of Sienna adds, that when a man is chosen\nby God for any state, he not only receives the dispositions requisite\nfor that, but also the gifts necessary to fill the office in a becoming\nmanner.[1010] Now if Mary was chosen to be mother of God, it was meet\nthat God should adorn her, even from the first moment, with an immense\ngrace, and of an order superior to the grace of all other men and angels;\nit being requisite that the grace should correspond with the most high\nand immense dignity to which God exalted her; in which opinion all\ntheologians agree with St. Thomas, who says: The Virgin was elected to\nbe the mother of God, and therefore there can be no doubt that God, by\nhis grace, rendered her fit for it.[1011] Hence Mary, before being made\nmother of God, was adorned with a sanctity so perfect, that it rendered\nher fit for this great dignity. In the blessed Virgin, therefore, says\nthe holy doctor, was a perfection, as it were preparative, by which she\nwas fitted to become the mother of Christ; and this was the perfection of\nsanctification.[1012]\n\nAnd St. Thomas had before said, that Mary was called full of grace, not\non account of the degree of grace, since she had not grace in its highest\npossible degree; for even the habitual grace of Jesus Christ (as the same\ndoctor says) was not the highest possible, so that God, by his absolute\npower, could not make it greater; although it was grace sufficient to\ncorrespond to the end for which his humanity was destined by the divine\nWisdom, that is, for the union with the person of the Word.[1013] The\ndivine power, although it may form something greater and better than the\nhabitual grace of Christ, yet could make nothing that should be destined\nto any thing greater than the personal union of the only begotten Son of\nthe Father, to which union such a measure of grace would sufficiently\ncorrespond, according to the idea of divine wisdom.[1014]\n\nThe same angelic Doctor teaches, that the divine power is so great,\nthat however much it gives, there always remains something more to\ngive; and although the natural power of the creature in receiving is in\nitself limited, so that it can be entirely filled, yet the power of its\nobedience to the divine will is unlimited, and God can always increase\nits fulness by making it more capable of receiving;[1015] and hence, to\nreturn to our proposition, St. Thomas declares, that the blessed Virgin,\nalthough not full of grace, in respect to absolute grace; yet is called\nfull of grace in respect to herself, since she possessed a grace immense,\nsufficient, and corresponding to her great dignity, which rendered her\nfit to become the mother of a God.[1016] Hence the blessed Fernandez\nsays, that the measure by which we can know how great was the grace\ncommunicated to Mary is her dignity as mother of God.[1017]\n\nJustly, then, did David say, that the foundations of this city of God,\nMary, should be laid upon the summits of the mountains: \u201cFundamenta\nejus in montibus sanctis;\u201d[1018] by which we are to understand that the\nbeginning of the life of Mary was more exalted than the completed lives\nof all the saints put together. \u201cThe Lord loveth the gates of Sion,\u201d the\nprophet continues, \u201cabove all the tabernacles of Jacob.\u201d[1019] And David\nhimself gave this as the reason, namely, that God was to make himself man\nin her virginal womb: Man was born in her: \u201cHomo natus est in ea.\u201d Hence\nit was fitting that God should give to this Virgin, even from the first\nmoment he created her, a grace corresponding with the dignity of the\nmother of God.\n\nIsaias foretold the same when he said, that in future the mountain of the\nhouse of the Lord, which was the blessed Virgin, should be prepared on\nthe summit of all the other mountains, and therefore all the nations must\nhasten to this mountain, to receive the divine favors.[1020] St. Gregory\nexplains this by saying: Yea, the mountain on the top of mountains,\nbecause the glory of Mary shone above that of all the saints.[1021] And\nas St. John Damascene expresses it: The mountain which it pleased God to\nchoose for his habitation.[1022] Mary was called a cypress, but a cypress\nof Mount Sion: she was also called a cedar, but a cedar of Lebanon; an\nolive-tree, but a fair olive-tree; chosen, but chosen as the sun; for,\nas the sun, says St. Peter Damian, with his light so far exceeds all the\nsplendor of the stars, that they are seen no more when he appears, so the\ngreat Virgin Mary surpasses, with her sanctity, the merits of the whole\ncelestial court.[1023] And as St. Bernard elegantly expresses it: Mary\nwas so sublime in sanctity, that none but Mary was a fitting mother of\nGod. And no other Son than God was befitting Mary.[1024]\n\nThe second argument which proves that Mary, in the first moment of her\nlife, was more holy than all the saints united, is founded upon the great\noffice which she had from the beginning, of mediatrix of men; for which\nit was requisite that she should possess a greater treasure of grace than\nthe whole human race together. It is very well known how universally this\ntitle of mediatrix is applied by theologians and by the very holy Fathers\nto Mary, since by her powerful intercession and merits _de congruo_\nshe has obtained salvation for all, procuring for the ruined world the\ngreat blessing of redemption. It is said by merit _de congruo_, because\nJesus Christ alone is our mediator by way of justice, and by merit _de\ncondigno_, as it is expressed by the schools, he having offered to the\neternal Father his merits, which he has accepted for our salvation. Mary,\non the contrary, is the mediatrix of grace by way of simple intercession,\nand of merit _de congruo_, she having offered to God, as the theologians\nsay with St. Bonaventure, her merits for the salvation of all men; and\nGod, through grace, has accepted them in union with the merits of Jesus\nChrist. Hence Arnold Carnotensis says: She effected our salvation in\ncommon with Christ.[1025] And Richard of St. Victor, also: She desired,\nsought, and obtained the salvation of all; nay, more, the salvation of\nall was effected through her.[1026] So that every blessing and every gift\nof eternal life which each of the saints has received from God, has been\nobtained for them by Mary.\n\nAnd it is this which the holy Church wishes us to understand, when\nshe honors the divine mother by applying to her these passages of\nEcclesiasticus: In me is all grace of the way and of the truth: \u201cIn me\ngratia omnis vi\u00e6 et veritatis.\u201d[1027] It is said: _Of the way_, because\nthrough Mary all graces are dispensed to those who are still on the road\nto heaven: _Of the truth_, because through Mary is given the light of\ntruth. In me is all hope of life and of virtue: \u201cIn me omnes spes vit\u00e6\net virtutis.\u201d[1028] Of life, because through Mary we hope to attain the\nlife of grace upon earth, and of glory in heaven; and of virtue, because\nthrough Mary virtue is obtained, and especially the theological virtues,\nwhich are the principal virtues of the saints. I am the mother of fair\nlove, and of fear, and of knowledge, and of holy hope.[1029] Mary by her\nintercession obtains for her servants the gifts of divine love, of holy\nfear, of celestial light, and of holy confidence. And St. Bernard infers\nthat it is taught by the Church, that Mary is the universal mediatrix of\nour salvation. \u201cExtol the finder of grace, the mediatrix of salvation,\nthe restorer of ages.\u201d Thus the Church sings of her to me, and hath\ntaught me to sing the same.[1030]\n\nTherefore, as St. Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusalem, asserts, the\narchangel Gabriel called her full of grace: \u201cAve gratia plena;\u201d because\nwhilst to others, as the saint above mentioned remarks, limited grace is\ngiven, to Mary it was given in fulness.[1031] And thus it was ordered, as\nSt. Basil attests, that in this way she might become the worthy mediatrix\nbetween God and men.[1032] For if the Virgin had not been full of divine\ngrace, as St. Lawrence Justinian adds, how could she be the ladder of\nparadise, the advocate of the world, and the true mediatrix between God\nand men?[1033]\n\nThe second argument is now made perfectly clear: If Mary, even from the\nbeginning, as already destined to be the mother of the common Redeemer,\nreceived the office of mediatrix of all men, and consequently also of\nall the saints, it was requisite that she, from the beginning, should\nhave a greater grace than all the saints had, for whom she was to\nintercede. To explain myself more clearly, if by means of Mary all men\nwere to render themselves dear to God, it was meet that Mary should be\nmore holy and more dear to God than all men united. Otherwise, how could\nshe intercede for all others? In order that an intercessor may obtain\nfrom his prince favor for all his vassals, it is absolutely necessary\nthat he, more than all the other vassals, should be dear to his monarch.\nAnd Mary, therefore, concludes St. Anselm, merited to be the worthy\nrestorer of the ruined world, because she was the most holy and most pure\nof all creatures.[1034]\n\nMary was, then, the mediatrix of men, some one will say, but can she be\ncalled also the mediatrix of angels? Many theologians are of opinion that\nJesus Christ obtained by his merits the grace of perseverance also for\nthe angels; so that as Jesus Christ was their mediator _de condigno_,\nMary may also be called their mediatrix _de congruo_, having hastened\nby her prayers the coming of the Redeemer. At least, having merited _de\ncongruo_ to be chosen for the mother of the Messias, she merited for the\nangels the restoration of their seats which had been lost by the demons.\nThen, at least, she merited for them this accidental glory; hence,\nRichard of St. Victor says: Every creature by her is restored, the ruin\nof the angels by her is repaired, and human nature is reconciled.[1035]\nAnd St. Anselm before had said: All things by this Virgin are reclaimed\nand restored to their pristine state.[1036]\n\nSo that our heavenly child, because she was appointed mediatrix of the\nworld, as well as predestined for the mother of the Redeemer, even from\nthe first moment of her life, received grace greater than that of all\nthe saints united. Hence how lovely in the sight of heaven and earth was\nthe beautiful soul of that happy infant, although still inclosed in the\nwomb of its mother! In the eye of God she was the creature most worthy\nof love, because, already full of grace and of merit, she could, even at\nthat time, exult and say: When I was a little child I pleased the Most\nHigh: \u201cCum essem parvula, placui Altissimo.\u201d And at the same time she was\nthe creature most full of love for God that until that time had appeared\nin this world; so that Mary, had she been born immediately after her most\npure conception, would have come into the world more rich in merits, and\nmore holy, than all the saints united. Now, let us consider how much more\nholy she was at her birth, coming to the light after the acquisition of\nthose merits which she made during the nine months that she remained\nin her mother\u2019s womb. Let us now go on to consider the second point,\nnamely: how great was the fidelity with which Mary at once corresponded\nwith the divine grace.\n\n_Second Point._\u2014It is not now an individual opinion of some few divines,\nsays a learned author,[1037] it is the opinion of the whole world, that\nthe holy infant, when she received sanctifying grace in the womb of St.\nAnna, received at the same time the perfect use of reason, with a great\ndivine light corresponding to the grace with which she was enriched.\nHence we may believe, that from the first moment when her pure soul was\nunited to her most pure body, she was enlightened with divine wisdom to\ncomprehend eternal truths, the beauty of virtue, above all, the infinite\ngoodness of her God, and how much he deserves to be loved by all men,\nbut especially by her, on account of the peculiar graces with which he\nhad adorned her and distinguished her from all creatures, preserving her\nfrom the stain of original sin, bestowing on her a grace so abundant, and\ndestining her for the mother of the Word and the queen of the universe.\n\nHence Mary, from that moment grateful to her God, began to effect all\nthat she could, using faithfully all that great treasure of grace that\nshe had received; and wholly applying herself to please and love the\ndivine goodness. From that moment she loved him with all her strength,\nand thus continued to love him through all those nine months that she\nlived before her birth, in which she did not cease for a moment to unite\nherself to God by fervent acts of love. She was free from original sin,\nand therefore she was also exempt from every earthly attachment, from\nevery irregular tendency, from every distraction, from all strife of the\nsenses, which could have prevented her from advancing constantly in the\ndivine love. All her senses united with her blessed spirit in drawing her\nnear to God. Hence her pure soul, freed from every hindrance, without\nlingering, always rose to God, always loved him, and always increased in\nlove to him. Therefore she called herself a plane-tree planted by the\nwaters: \u201cQuasi platanus exaltata sum juxta aquam;\u201d[1038] for she, indeed,\nwas that noble tree of God that always grew beside the stream of divine\ngrace. She also called herself a vine: As the vine I have brought forth\na pleasant odor: \u201cEgo quasi vitis fructificavi suavitatem odoris;\u201d[1039]\nnot only because she was so humble in the eyes of the world, but also\nbecause, as the vine never ceases to grow: \u201cVitis nullo fine crescit:\u201d\naccording to the Proverb, so the most holy Virgin always increased in\nperfection. The growth of other trees, as the orange, mulberry, pear,\n&c., is determinate, but the vine always increases, and increases in\nproportion to the height of the tree by which it is supported. Hail, oh\nvine, always vigorous! thus St. Gregory Thaumaturgus salutes her;[1040]\nfor she was always united to her God, who was her only support. Thus\nit was of her that the Holy Spirit spoke, when he said: Who is this\nthat cometh up from the desert flowing with delights, leaning on her\nbeloved?[1041] Commenting on this, St. Ambrose says: Who is this that,\naccompanied by the divine Word, increases like the vine supported by a\nlofty tree?[1042]\n\nMany grave theologians teach, that the soul which possesses a habit\nof virtue, whenever she corresponds faithfully with the actual graces\nwhich she afterwards receives from God, always produces an act equal in\nintensity to the habit she possesses; so that each time she acquires a\nnew and double merit, equal to the aggregate of all the merits before\nacquired. This increase, as they say, was granted to the angels in the\ntime of their probation; and if it were granted to the angels, who shall\nsay that it was not also given to the divine mother while she lived on\nthis earth, but especially in the time of which I am speaking, when she\nremained in the womb of her mother, and was certainly more faithful\nthan the angels, in corresponding with grace? Mary, then, during all\nthat time was redoubling continually that sublime grace, which from the\nfirst moment she possessed; for, corresponding with all her power and\nperfection in every act she performed, at every successive moment she\nredoubled her merits. Hence, if, in the first moment, she had received\na thousand degrees of grace, in the second she had two thousand, in the\nthird four thousand, in the fourth eight thousand, in the fifth sixteen\nthousand, in the sixth thirty thousand; and yet we have only reached the\nsixth moment. But multiply in this way for a whole day, multiply for nine\nmonths, and consider what treasures of grace, of merits, and of sanctity\nMary brought into the world when she was born.\n\nLet us rejoice, then, with our infant, who was born so holy, so dear to\nGod, and so full of grace; and let us rejoice not only for her, but also\nfor ourselves, since she came into the world full of grace, not only for\nher own glory, but for our good. St. Thomas says the most holy Virgin\nwas full of grace in three ways: 1st, She was full of grace in soul, so\nthat from the beginning her holy soul belonged entirely to God. 2d, She\nwas full of grace in body, so that she merited to clothe the eternal Word\nwith her pure flesh. 3d, She was full of grace for the common benefit, so\nthat all men might share it.[1043] Some saints, adds the angelic Doctor,\nhave so much grace, that not only is it enough for themselves, but also\nto save many others, not, however, all men; only to Jesus Christ and Mary\nwas given so great a grace that it was sufficient to save all men. If any\none had enough for the salvation of all, that would be the greatest; and\nthis was in Jesus Christ and the blessed Virgin.[1044] Thus St. Thomas\nwrites. Hence, what St. John said of Jesus\u2014\u201cAnd of his fulness we all\nhave received\u201d[1045]\u2014the saints say of Mary. St. Thomas of Villanova\nsays: Full of grace, of whose fulness all receive.[1046] Therefore\nSt. Anselm remarks, there is no one who does not share in the grace\nof Mary.[1047] And is there any one in the world to whom Mary is not\nmerciful, and on whom she does not bestow some favor?[1048] From Jesus,\nhowever (we should understand), we receive grace as from the author of\ngrace, from Mary as the mediatrix; from Jesus as the Saviour, from Mary\nas the advocate; from Jesus as the fountain, from Mary as the channel.\n\nTherefore St. Bernard says that God has established Mary as the channel\nof the mercies which he wishes to dispense to men; and for this reason\nhe filled her with grace, that every one might receive his portion of\nher fulness. A full channel, that all might partake of its fulness, but\nnot receive the fulness itself.[1049] Hence the saint exhorts all to\nconsider with how much love God will have us honor this great Virgin,\nsince in her he has placed all the treasure of his blessings; that\nwhatever we possess of hope, grace, and salvation, we may thank our most\nloving queen for it; since it all comes to us through her hands, and by\nher intercession.[1050] Miserable is that soul who closes for herself\nthis channel of grace, by neglecting to recommend herself to Mary! When\nHolophernes wished to make himself master of the city of Bethulia, he\nordered the aqueducts to be destroyed: \u201cAnd he commanded their aqueduct\nto be cut off.\u201d[1051] And this the devil does when he wishes to make\nhimself master of a soul, he makes her abandon the devotion to the most\nholy Mary. When this channel is closed, she will at once lose the light\nand the fear of God, and finally eternal salvation. By the following\nexample it will be seen how great is the compassion of the heart of Mary,\nand the ruin which he brings upon himself who closes this channel, and\nabandons devotion to this queen of heaven.\n\n\nEXAMPLE.\n\nIt is narrated by Tritemius, Canisius, and others, that in Magdeburg, a\ncity of Saxony, there was a certain man named Udo, who, from his youth,\nhad been so destitute of talent that he was the ridicule of all his\nschool-fellows. Now one day, being more than usually disheartened, he\nwent to pray to the most holy Virgin before her image. Mary appeared to\nhim in a dream, and said to him: \u201cUdo, I will console you, and not only\nwill I obtain from God for you abilities which will protect you from\nderision, but even talents which will make you admired; and moreover,\nafter the death of the bishop, I promise that you shall be elected in his\nplace.\u201d Thus Mary said, and thus it came to pass. Udo made great progress\nin the sciences, and obtained the bishopric of that city. But Udo was\nso ungrateful to God and to his benefactress for these favors, that he\nneglected all his devotions and became the scandal of the place. Whilst\nhe was in bed one night with a wicked companion, he heard a voice saying\nto him: \u201cUdo, cease this sinful pastime, you have sinned enough.\u201d[1052]\nAt first he was irritated by these words, thinking it was some one who\nwas reproving him; but hearing it repeated a second and a third night,\nhe began to tremble a little, lest it should be a voice from heaven.\nNotwithstanding all this, he continued in his wickedness. But after God\nhad given him three months for repentance, behold the punishment! One\nnight a devout canon, named Frederic, was praying, in the church of\nSt. Maurice, that God would remove the scandal which Udo gave; when,\nbehold, the door of the church was burst open by a strong wind. Two\nyouths entered with lighted torches in their hands, and stood on each\nside of the high altar. Then two others followed, who spread before the\naltar a carpet, and placed upon it two thrones of gold. Another youth,\nin military attire, followed, with a sword in his hand, and stopping in\nthe midst of the church, cried: \u201cOh ye saints of heaven, whose relics\nare preserved in this church, come to assist at the great justice which\nthe sovereign Judge is about to execute.\u201d At these words many saints\nappeared, and also the twelve apostles, as assistants in this judgment.\nLastly, Jesus Christ entered, and seated himself on one of these thrones.\nAfterwards Mary appeared, attended by many holy virgins, and seated\nherself on the other throne at the side of her Son. The Judge now ordered\nthat the culprit should be brought forward, and he was the miserable\nUdo. St. Maurice spoke, and demanded, in the name of the people whom he\nhad scandalized, justice for his infamous life. All present raised their\nvoices and said: \u201cOh Lord, he merits death.\u201d \u201cLet him die, then,\u201d said\nthe eternal Judge. But before the sentence was executed (see how great is\nthe mercy of Mary) she, the kind mother, that she might not be present at\nthat tremendous act of justice, left the church; and then the heavenly\nminister, who entered among the first, with the sword, approaching Udo,\nwith one blow severed the head from the body, and the vision vanished.\nThe place was left dark. The canon, trembling, went for a light from a\nlamp which was burning under the church; and when he returned, saw the\nbody of Udo with the head cut off, and the pavement all covered with\nblood. When daylight came, the people thronged the church, and the canon\nrelated the whole vision and the circumstances of that fearful tragedy.\nAnd on the same day the wretched Udo, who was condemned to hell, appeared\nto one of his chaplains, who knew nothing of what had taken place in the\nchurch. The body of Udo was thrown into a marsh, and his blood remained\nfor a perpetual memorial on that pavement, which was always covered with\na carpet; and from that time it became the custom to uncover it when a\nnew bishop took possession of the church, that at the sight of such a\npunishment he might be mindful to lead a good life, and not be ungrateful\nfor the graces of the Lord and of his most holy mother.\n\n\nPRAYER.\n\nOh holy and heavenly infant Mary! thou who art the destined mother of my\nRedeemer and the great mediatrix of miserable sinners, have pity on me.\nBehold at thy feet another ungrateful creature who has recourse to thee\nand implores thy mercy. It is true that, for my ingratitude towards God\nand thee, I am deserving of being abandoned by God and by thee; but I\nhave been told, and thus I believe, knowing how great is thy compassion,\nthat thou wilt not refuse to help him who, with confidence, recommends\nhimself to thee. Thou, oh most exalted of all creatures, since there is\nno one above thee but God, and, in comparison with thee, the greatest\nin heaven are but small; oh saint of saints, oh Mary, abyss of grace,\nfull of grace, help a miserable sinner who has lost it by his own fault.\nI know that thou art so dear to God that he denies thee nothing. I know\nalso that thou dost rejoice to employ thy greatness in relieving the\ndistressed. Ah, make known how great is thy favor with God by obtaining\nfor me a divine light and a flame so powerful that it may change me from\na sinner into a saint, and, detaching me from every earthly affection,\nmay wholly inflame me with divine love. Do this, oh Lady, because thou\ncanst do it; do this for the love of that God who has made thee so great,\nso powerful, and merciful. Thus I hope. Amen.\n\n\n\n\nDISCOURSE III.\n\nON THE PRESENTATION OF MARY.\n\n\n _The offering which Mary made of herself to God was prompt,\n without delay; entire, without reserve._\n\nThere never has been, and there never will be, any offering of a pure\ncreature greater and more perfect than that which Mary made to God,\nbeing yet only a child of three years, when she presented herself in the\ntemple to offer him, not spices, nor calves, nor talents of gold, but her\nwhole self as a perfect holocaust, consecrating herself as a perpetual\nvictim in his honor. Well did she understand the voice of God, which\neven then called her to dedicate herself wholly to his love, with these\nwords: Arise, make haste, my love, and come: \u201cSurge, propera, amica mea,\net veni.\u201d[1053] And therefore her Lord would have her from thenceforth\nforget her country, her parents, and every thing, to attend to nothing\nbut to love and please him: \u201cHearken, oh daughter, and see and incline\nthy ear; and forget thy people and thy father\u2019s house.\u201d[1054] And she\nat once obeyed promptly the divine voice. Let us consider, then, how\nacceptable to God was this offering which Mary made of herself, as she\npresented herself promptly and entirely to him; promptly without delay;\nentirely without reserve; these are the two points.\n\n_First Point._\u2014Mary offered herself to God promptly. From the first\nmoment when this heavenly infant was sanctified in the womb of her\nmother (which was at the first moment of her immaculate conception),\nshe received the perfect use of reason, that she might from thenceforth\nbegin to merit, as the Doctors universally agree; and one of them,\nFather Suarez, says, that as the most perfect mode by which God\nsanctifies a soul is its sanctification by its own merits, as St. Thomas\nteaches,[1055] so it is to be believed that the blessed Virgin has\nbeen thus sanctified.[1056] And if this privilege was granted to the\nangels and to Adam, as the angelic Doctor says,[1057] much more should\nwe believe that it was granted to the divine mother, on whom we cannot\ndoubt that God, having deigned to make her his mother, conferred greater\ngifts than on all other creatures, as the same Doctor teaches. From her\nhe received his human nature, hence before all others she must have\nobtained from Christ the fulness of grace;[1058] for, being mother, as\nFather Suarez says, she has a certain peculiar right to all the gifts of\nher Son.[1059] And as, by the hypostatic union, Jesus must of right have\nthe fulness of all graces; thus by the divine maternity, it was meet that\nJesus should confer on Mary, as a natural debt, greater graces than those\nbestowed on all the other saints and angels.\n\nThus, from the beginning of her life, Mary knew God, and knew him so\nwell, that no tongue, as the angel declared to St. Bridget, shall\nsuffice to tell how the intellect of the holy Virgin clearly saw God in\nthe first moment she knew him.[1060] And even in that first moment of\nlight by which she was illuminated, she offered herself wholly to her\nLord, dedicating herself entirely to his lore and glory, as the angel\ncontinued to say to St. Bridget: \u201cAt once our queen resolved to sacrifice\nher will to God, with all her love, for the whole time of her life; and\nno one can understand how completely her will submitted itself then to\nembrace all things pleasing to him.\u201d[1061]\n\nYet, when the immaculate infant understood afterwards that her holy\nparents, Joachim and Anna, had promised to God, even by a vow, as\nvarious authors relate, that if he should grant them a child, it should\nbe consecrated to his service in the temple; for it was an ancient\ncustom of the Jews to place their children in cells which were near\nthe temple, that there they might be properly educated, as we learn\nfrom Baronius, Nicephorus, Cedrenus, and Suarez, as also from Josephus,\nthe Jewish historian, St. John Damascene, St. Gregory of Nicomedia,\nSt. Anselm,[1062] and St. Ambrose.[1063] As it is also clearly seen\nin Macchabees, where, speaking of Heliodorus, who wished to enter the\ntemple by force, in order to take from it the treasures deposited\nthere, it is said: \u201cBecause the place was like to come into contempt\n... the virgins that were shut up hastened to Onias.\u201d[1064] When Mary\nknew of this vow, as I have before said, she wished solemnly to offer\nand consecrate herself to God, by presenting herself in the temple,\nas Germanus asserts, and also St. Epiphanius, who says, that when she\nwas hardly three years old she was presented in the temple,[1065] at an\nage when children have the greatest desire for the assistance of their\nparents, and need it the most. She was even the first to entreat her\nparents earnestly that they would take her to the temple, to fulfil their\npromise; and her holy mother, Anna, as St. Gregory of Nyssa says, did not\ndelay to bring her there, and offer her to God.[1066]\n\nAnd behold, Joachim and Anna, generously sacrificing to God what was\ndearest to them on earth, set out from Nazareth, carrying by turns, in\ntheir arms, their beloved little daughter, who could not walk so great a\ndistance as was that from Nazareth to Jerusalem, a journey, as several\nauthors assert, of eighty miles. They thus went on their way, accompanied\nby only a few of their relations, but by hosts of angels, as St. George\nof Nicomedia asserts,[1067] who attended and ministered to the immaculate\nVirgin, as she went to dedicate herself to the Divine Majesty. How\nbeautiful are thy steps, oh prince\u2019s daughter! \u201cQuam pulchri sunt gressus\ntui, filia principis!\u201d[1068] Oh, how beautiful, how pleasing to God, as\nthe angels sung, are thy steps, as thou goest to offer thyself to him,\noh great and chosen daughter of our common Lord! God himself on that\nday, says Bernardine de Bustis, celebrated a great feast with the whole\ncelestial court, when he beheld his spouse conducted to the temple.[1069]\nFor he never saw a creature more holy and more beloved offering herself\nto him.[1070] Go, then, said St. Germanus, Archbishop of Constantinople,\ngo, oh queen of the world, oh mother of God, go joyfully to the house of\nthe Lord, to wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit that will make thee\nmother of the eternal Word.[1071]\n\nWhen the holy company had arrived at the temple, the eager child turned\nto her parents, kneeling kissed their hands, and asked for their\nbenediction; and then, without turning back, she ascended the fifteen\nsteps of the temple, as Arias Montanus relates upon the authority of\nJosephus, the Jewish historian, and presented herself to the priest, who,\naccording to St. Germanus, was Zachary; then, taking leave of the world,\nand renouncing all the goods which it promises to its followers, she\noffered and consecrated herself to her Creator.\n\nAt the time of the deluge, the raven which was sent by Noe from the ark\nremained to feed upon the bodies of the dead, but the dove without\nstopping to rest her foot, returned quickly to the ark: She returned to\nhim into the ark: \u201cReversa est ad eum in arcam.\u201d[1072] Many who are sent\nby God into this world, unhappily stop to feed on earthly things. Not so\nMary, our celestial dove; she knew that God should be our only good, our\nonly hope, our only love; she knew that the world is full of dangers,\nand that he who the soonest leaves it, is freest from its snares;\ntherefore she sought promptly to flee from it in her tenderest years, and\nseclude herself in the sacred retirement of the temple, where she could\nbetter hear the voice of God, and better honor and love him. And thus\nthe holy Virgin, from the beginning of her life, rendered herself dear\nand acceptable to her Lord, as the holy Church makes her say: \u201cRejoice\nwith me, all ye who love the Lord, for when I was little I pleased the\nMost High.\u201d[1073] For this reason she was compared to the moon; for as\nthe moon completes her course more quickly than the other planets, so\nMary attained perfection sooner than all the saints, by giving herself\npromptly to God without delay; and entirely without reserve. And now let\nus pass to the second point, upon which we shall have much to say.\n\n_Point Second._\u2014The enlightened infant well knew that God does not\naccept a divided heart, but wishes it entirely consecrated to his love,\naccording to the precept he has given: \u201cThou shalt love the Lord thy\nGod with thy whole heart.\u201d[1074] Hence, from the first moment of her\nexistence, she began to love God with all her strength, and gave herself\nwholly to him. But her most holy soul awaited with earnest desire the\ntime when she could in reality consecrate herself entirely, and with a\npublic solemnity, to God. Let us consider, then, with how great a fervor\nthe loving Virgin, seeing herself actually inclosed in that holy place,\nfirst prostrated herself to kiss that ground as the house of the Lord,\nthen adored his infinite majesty, and thanked him for the favor she\nhad received of being brought so early to inhabit his house. Then she\noffered herself entirely to her God; entirely, without reserving any\nthing. She offered to him all her powers and all her senses, her whole\nmind and her whole heart, her whole soul and her whole body, for it was\nthen, as we are told, that to please God, she made the vow of virginity.\nA vow, according to Rupert the Abbot, that Mary was the first to make:\n\u201cVotum virginitatis prima emisit.\u201d[1075] And she offered herself without\nlimitation of time, as Bernardine de Bustis asserts: Mary offered and\ndedicated herself to the perpetual service of God.[1076] Since she had\nthen the intention of dedicating her whole life to the service of\nhis Divine Majesty in the temple, if it should so please God; and of\nnever quitting that sacred place, Oh, with what affection must she have\nexclaimed: My beloved to me, and I to him: \u201cDilectus meus mihi, et ego\nilli.\u201d[1077] I for him, as Cardinal Hugo remarks, will wholly live and\nwill wholly die: \u201cEgo illi tota vivam, et tota moriar.\u201d My Lord and my\nGod, she said, I have come hither only to please thee, and to give thee\nall the honor I can; here I will live wholly for thee and die for thee,\nif it so please thee; accept the sacrifice which this thy poor servant\nmakes to thee, and help me to be faithful to thee.\n\nAnd here let us consider how holy was the life that Mary led in the\ntemple, where, like the rising morn, \u201cQuasi aurora consurgens,\u201d\nincreasing always in perfection, as the dawn increases in light; who can\ndescribe how, from day to day, in her more brightly shone her virtues;\ncharity, modesty, humility, silence, mortification, meekness? This fair\nolive-tree, planted in the house of God, as St. John Damascene says,\nunder the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, became the habitation of all\nthe virtues.[1078] The same saint says in another place: The countenance\nof the Virgin was modest, her mind humble, her words kind, proceeding\nfrom a recollected heart.[1079] And he elsewhere asserts: The Virgin\nwithdrew her thoughts from all earthly things, embracing all the virtues.\nThus, then, by the practice of perfection, she made so great progress in\na short time, as to merit being made a temple worthy of God.[1080]\n\nSt. Anselm, also, speaking of the life of the holy Virgin in the temple,\nsays: Mary was docile, spoke little, was always composed, never laughed,\nwas never distracted. She persevered in prayer, in the reading of the\nHoly Scripture, in fasting, and all virtuous works.[1081] St. Jerome goes\nmore into detail, and tells us how Mary\u2019s life was ordered: From early\nin the morning till nine o\u2019clock she remained in prayer; from nine to\nthree she was engaged in labor; at three she resumed her prayers, until\nthe angel, as usual, brought her food. She was the most constant in\nvigils, the most exact in obedience to the divine law, the most profound\nin humility, and the most perfect in every virtue. No one ever saw her\nangry; all her words were so full of sweetness, that when she spoke it\nalways appeared that God was with her.[1082]\n\nThe divine mother herself revealed to St. Elizabeth, a Benedictine nun,\nin the convent of Sconaugia, as we read in St. Bonaventure,[1083] that\nwhen she was left in the temple by her parents, she resolved on having\nGod alone for father, and often thought what she could do to please\nhim.[1084] She determined, moreover, to consecrate to him her virginity,\nand to possess nothing in the world, giving her entire will to God.[1085]\nShe also told her that above all the divine precepts to be observed,\nshe placed before her eyes the precept, \u201cThou shalt love the Lord thy\nGod,\u201d[1086] and that she went in the middle of the night to pray the\nLord before the altar of the temple, that he would grant her the grace\nto observe the commandments, and to see the mother of the Redeemer born\nwhile she lived, praying him that he would preserve her eyes to see her,\nher tongue to praise her, her hands and feet to serve her, and her knees\nto adore in her arms, his divine Son. St. Elizabeth, on hearing this,\nsaid to her: \u201cBut, my Lady, were you not full of grace and virtue?\u201d\nand Mary answered her: \u201cKnow that I esteemed myself the most vile, and\nunworthy of divine grace; therefore I prayed thus for grace and virtues.\u201d\nAnd, finally, that she might persuade us of the absolute necessity we are\nall under, of asking from God the graces that we need, she added: \u201cDo\nyou think that I obtained grace and virtue without effort? Know that I\nreceived no grace from God without great effort, constant prayer, ardent\ndesire, and many tears and penances.\u201d\n\nBut above all, we should consider the revelations made to St. Bridget,\nof the virtues and exercises practised by the blessed Virgin in her\nchildhood, in these words: \u201cEven from an infant Mary was filled with the\nHoly Spirit, and as she increased in age, she increased also in grace.\nEven from that time she resolved to love God with all her heart, so that\nhe should never be offended by her actions or her words, and for this\nreason all the goods of earth were despised by her. She gave all she\ncould to the poor. In her food she was so temperate that she only took\nwhat was absolutely necessary to support life. Discovering then from the\nsacred Scriptures, that this God was to be born from a virgin to redeem\nthe world, her spirit was so kindled with divine love that she desired\nand thought only of God; and taking pleasure only in God, shunned the\nconversation even of her parents, that they might not hinder her from\nthinking on God. And more than all did she desire that the coming of the\nMessiah might be in her day, that she might be the servant to that happy\nVirgin who merited to be his mother.\u201d Thus the revelations made to St.\nBridget.[1087]\n\nAh, for love of this exalted child the Redeemer hastened his coming into\nthe world, for whilst she through her humility did not esteem herself\nworthy of being the servant of the divine mother, she was herself\nchosen for this mother, and by the odor of her virtues and her powerful\nprayers, she drew into her virginal womb the divine Son. Hence was Mary\ncalled the turtle by her divine spouse: The voice of the turtle is heard\nin our land: \u201cVox turturis audita est in terra nostra.\u201d[1088] Not only\nbecause she, like the turtle, always loved solitude, living in this world\nas in a desert, but also because, like the turtle who makes the fields\nmournful with its sad note, Mary was always mourning in the temple over\nthe miseries of the lost world, and asking from God, the Redeemer of the\nworld. Oh, with how much greater affection and fervor than the prophets\ndid she repeat to God in the temple their supplications and sighs, that\nhe might send the Redeemer! \u201cSend forth, oh Lord, the Lamb, the ruler of\nthe earth.\u201d[1089] \u201cDrop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the\nclouds rain the just.\u201d[1090] \u201cOh, that thou wouldst rend the heavens and\nwouldst come down.\u201d[1091]\n\nIn a word, it was an object of delight to God to see this young Virgin\nalways ascending to a higher perfection, like a pillar of smoke, rich\nin the odors of all virtues, as the Holy Spirit exactly describes her\nin the sacred Canticles: \u201cWho is she that goeth up by the desert, as\na pillar of smoke of aromatical spices, of myrrh, and frankincense,\nand of all the powders of the perfumer?\u201d[1092] This holy child, says\nSophronius, was in truth the garden of delights of the Lord, for he found\nthere flowers of every kind, and all the odors of the virtues.[1093]\nThis St. John Chrysostom affirms, that God chose Mary for his mother on\nearth, because he found not on the earth a more perfect and more holy\nVirgin than Mary, neither a place more worthy for him to dwell in than\nher sacred womb;[1094] as St. Bernard also says: On the earth there was\nno more worthy place than the womb of the Virgin.[1095] St. Antoninus\nasserts that the blessed Virgin, in order to be elected and predestined\nto the dignity of mother of God, must have possessed a perfection so\ngreat and consummate, that it should surpass the perfection of all other\ncreatures.[1096]\n\nAs then the holy young child Mary, presented and offered herself in the\ntemple promptly and entirely, so let us, at this day, without delay and\nwithout reserve, present ourselves to Mary, and entreat her to offer us\nto God, who will not refuse us when he sees us offered by the hand of her\nwho was the living temple of the Holy Spirit, the delight of her Lord,\nand the chosen mother of the Eternal Word. And let us place a great hope\nin this exalted and most gracious Lady, who rewards with so much love the\ndevotions that are offered to her by her servants, as may be seen by the\nfollowing example.\n\n\nEXAMPLE.\n\nWe read in the life of Sister Domenica of Paradise, written by Father\nIgnatius of Niente, a Dominican, that in a village called Paradise, near\nFlorence, this little girl was born of poor parents. From her infancy\nshe practised devotion to the divine mother. She fasted every day of\nthe week in her honor, and on Saturday she distributed to the poor the\nfood of which she had deprived herself; and every Saturday she went\ninto the garden, or into the neighboring fields, and there gathered all\nthe flowers she could find, and placed them before a statue of the holy\nVirgin with the infant Jesus in her arms, which she had in her house.\nBut let us see now with what favors our most grateful Lady compensated\nthis her servant, for the homage she paid her. As she stood one Sunday at\nthe window, when she was about ten years of age, she saw in the street\na woman with a beautiful countenance, accompanied by a little child,\nand they both extended their hands as if to ask alms. She went for some\nbread, and, behold, before she could open the door, they stood beside\nher, and she saw wounds on the hands, feet, and breast of the child. Then\nshe said to the woman: \u201cWho has wounded this child?\u201d \u201cIt was love,\u201d\nanswered the mother. Domenica, charmed by his beauty and modesty, asked\nhim if his wounds pained him; but he only answered with a smile. As they\nwere standing near the images of Jesus and of Mary, the mother said\nto Domenica: \u201cTell me, little girl, what makes you crown these images\nwith flowers?\u201d She answered: \u201cThe love I have for Jesus and Mary makes\nme do it.\u201d \u201cAnd how much do you love them?\u201d \u201cI love them as much as I\ncan.\u201d \u201cAnd how much can you love them?\u201d \u201cAs much as they will help me.\u201d\n\u201cContinue, then,\u201d said the mother, \u201ccontinue to love them, for they will\nrichly return your love in paradise.\u201d\n\nThen the little girl perceived a celestial odor coming forth from those\nwounds, and she asked the mother with what ointment she had anointed\nthem, and if that ointment could be purchased? \u201cIt is purchased,\u201d\nanswered she, \u201cwith faith and works.\u201d Domenica then offered them the\nbread. The mother said: \u201cThe food of this my Son is love; tell him that\nyou love Jesus and he will be satisfied.\u201d The child at mention of this\nword love, began to show great signs of joy, and turning to the little\ngirl, he asked her how much she loved Jesus. She answered that she loved\nhim so much, that day and night she was always thinking of him, and\ndesired nothing else but to please him as much as she could. \u201cWell,\u201d\nanswered he, \u201clove him; and love will teach you what you must do to\nsatisfy him.\u201d The odor then increasing which came from those wounds,\nDomenica exclaimed: \u201cOh God, this odor makes me die of love; if the\nodor of a child is so sweet, what must be the odors of paradise?\u201d But\nbehold the scene was changed; the mother appeared robed as a queen, and\nsurrounded with light, and the child resplendent as a sun of beauty. He\ntook those flowers and strewed them on her head. She at once saw that\nthese persons were Jesus and Mary, and prostrated herself in adoration\nbefore them. And thus ended the vision. Domenica afterwards took the\nDominican habit, and died in the year 1553, with the reputation of a\nsaint.\n\n\nPRAYER.\n\nOh beloved of God! most amiable child Mary! oh, that like thee, who didst\npresent thyself in the temple, and at once and wholly didst consecrate\nthyself to the glory and love of thy God, I might offer to thee to-day\nthe first years of my life, and dedicate myself entirely to thy service,\noh my most holy and sweet Lady! But it is now too late, for, unhappily,\nI have lost so many years in serving the world and my caprices, as it\nwere entirely forgetful of thee and of God. Alas for the time in which I\ndid not love thee![1097] But it is better to commence late than not at\nall. Behold, oh Mary, to-day I present myself to thee, and offer myself\nentirely to thy service, for the longer or shorter time that remains\nfor me to live on the earth; and with thee I renounce all creatures,\nand dedicate myself entirely to the love of my Creator. I consecrate\nto thee, then, oh queen, my mind, that I may always think of the love\nthat thou dost merit, my tongue to praise thee, and my heart to love\nthee. Accept, oh most holy Virgin, the offering which the most miserable\nsinner presents to thee; accept it, I pray thee, for the sake of that\nconsolation which filled thy heart when in the temple thou gavest thyself\nto God. And if late I begin to serve thee, it is right that I should\nmake good the time lost by redoubling my devotion and my love. Aid my\nweakness, oh mother of mercy, with thy powerful intercession, and obtain\nfor me perseverance and strength to be faithful to thee until death; that\nalways serving thee in this life, I may come to praise thee eternally in\nparadise.\n\n\n\n\nDISCOURSE IV.\n\nON THE ANNUNCIATION OF MARY.\n\n\n _Mary could not humble herself more than she did in the\n incarnation of the Word. On the other hand, God could not exalt\n her more than he has exalted her._\n\n\u201cWhosoever shall exalt himself shall be humbled, and he that shall humble\nhimself shall be exalted.\u201d[1098] These are the words of our Lord, and\ncannot fail. Therefore, God having determined to make himself man, in\norder to redeem lost man, and thus manifest to the world his infinite\ngoodness, being about to choose on earth his mother, sought among women\nthe holiest and most humble. Among them all he saw one, the youthful\nvirgin Mary, who, as she was the most perfect in all virtues, so was\nshe the most simple; and humble as a dove in her own esteem. \u201cThere are\nyoung maidens without number; one is my dove, my perfect one.\u201d[1099] Let\nthis one, then, said God, be my chosen mother. Let us, then, see how\nhumble Mary was, and how God exalted her. Mary could not humble herself\nmore than she did in the incarnation of the Word; this will be the first\npoint. That God could not exalt Mary more than he exalted her, will be\nthe second.\n\n_First Point._\u2014Our Lord in the holy Canticles, speaking precisely of the\nhumility of this most humble Virgin, said: \u201cWhile the king was at his\nrepose, my spikenard sent forth the odor thereof.\u201d[1100] St. Antoninus,\ncommenting on these words, says that the spikenard, inasmuch as it is a\nsmall and lowly plant, was a type of the humility of Mary, whose odor\nascended to heaven, and drew, even from the bosom of the eternal Father,\ninto her virginal womb the divine Word. The spikenard is a small herb,\nand signifies the blessed Virgin, who exhaled the odor of humility;\nwhich odor ascended even to heaven, and in heaven as it were awakened\nhim who was in his repose, and brought him to rest in her womb.[1101]\nThus the Lord, drawn by the odor of this humble Virgin, chose her for his\nmother, when he wished to become man to redeem the world. But he, for the\ngreater glory and merit of this his mother, would not make himself her\nSon without first obtaining her consent. He would not take flesh from\nher without her consent.[1102] Therefore, when the humble young Virgin\nwas in her poor dwelling, sighing and praying to God more earnestly than\never that he would send the Redeemer, as was revealed to St. Elizabeth,\na Benedictine nun, behold the Archangel Gabriel came, bearing the great\nembassy. He enters and salutes her, saying: \u201cHail, full of grace, the\nLord is with thee; blessed art thou among women.\u201d[1103] Hail, oh Virgin,\nfull of grace, for thou wast always rich in grace above all the other\nsaints. The Lord is with thee because thou art so humble. Thou art\nblessed among women, for all others have incurred the curse of original\nsin; but thou, because thou art to be the mother of the Blessed One,\nhast been and wilt always be blessed, and free from every stain.\n\nBut what does the humble Mary answer to this salutation so full of\npraises? She answered nothing, but she was disturbed thinking on such a\nsalutation: \u201cAnd when she had heard, she was troubled at his saying, and\nthought with herself what manner of salutation this should be.\u201d[1104] And\nwhy was she disturbed? through fear of illusion, or through modesty at\nthe sight of a man, as some suppose, remembering that the angel appeared\nto her in human form? No, the text is plain; she was troubled at his\nsaying, \u201cturbata est in sermone ejus,\u201d as Eusebius Emissenus remarks:\nNot by his appearance, but by his speech: \u201cNon in vultu, sed in sermone\nejus.\u201d Such a disturbance was then wholly owing to her humility at\nhearing those praises, so far beyond her humble esteem of herself. Hence\nthe more she is exalted by the angel, the more she humbles herself, and\nthe more she considers her nothingness. St. Bernardine remarks: If the\nangel had said that she was the greatest sinner in the world, Mary would\nnot have been thus surprised; but in hearing those exalted praises she\nwas greatly disturbed.[1105] She was troubled because, being so full\nof humility, she abhorred every praise, and desired that none but her\nCreator, the giver of every good, should be praised and blessed. Mary\nsaid exactly this to St. Bridget, speaking of the time when she became\nmother of God. \u201cI disliked my own praise, and only wished to hear that of\nthe giver and Creator.\u201d[1106]\n\nBut I would remark, that the blessed Virgin had already well learned from\nthe Holy Scriptures that the time foretold by the prophets for the coming\nof the Messiah had arrived; that the weeks of Daniel were now completed;\nthat already, according to the prophecy of Jacob, the sceptre of Judah\nhad passed into the hands of Herod, a strange king, and she well knew\nthat a virgin was to be the mother of the Messiah; and she hears those\npraises offered by the angel to herself, which seemed to belong only\nto the mother of God; did it then come into her mind that perhaps she\nherself might be that chosen mother of God? No, her profound humility did\nnot permit this thought. These praises had no other effect than to cause\nher great fear; so that, as St. Peter Chrysologus remarks: As Christ\nwished to be consoled by an angel, so must the Virgin be encouraged by\nan angel.[1107] As the Saviour willed to be comforted by an angel, so\nit was necessary that St. Gabriel, seeing Mary so full of fear at that\nsalutation, should encourage her, saying: \u201cFear not, Mary, for thou hast\nfound grace with God.\u201d[1108] Do not fear, oh Mary, nor be surprised by\nthe great titles by which I have saluted thee, for if thou art so little\nand humble in thine own eyes, God, who exalts the humble, has made thee\nworthy to find the grace lost by man; and therefore has he preserved thee\nfrom the common stain of all the children of Adam; therefore, even from\nthe moment of thy conception he has adorned thee with a greater grace\nthan that of all the saints; and therefore, finally, he now exalts thee\nto be his mother: \u201cBehold, thou shalt conceive and shalt bring forth a\nson, and thou shalt call his name Jesus.\u201d[1109]\n\nNow why this delay? The angel, oh Lady, awaits thy answer, as St. Bernard\nsays: We rather await it who are condemned to death.[1110] Behold, oh\nour mother, continues St. Bernard, to thee is now offered the price of\nour salvation, which will be the divine Word in thee made man; if thou\nwilt accept him for a son, we shall be immediately delivered from death;\nbehold the price of our salvation is offered to thee; immediately we are\nliberated if thou dost consent.[1111] Thy Lord himself, as he is greatly\nenamored of thy beauty, so much the more desires thy consent, on which\nhe has made the salvation of the world depend.[1112] Answer quickly, oh\nLady, adds St. Augustine, delay no longer the salvation of the world,\nwhich now depends on thy consent.[1113]\n\nBut, behold, Mary already answers; she answers the angel, and says:\n\u201cBehold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done unto me according to thy\nword.\u201d[1114] Oh, what more beautiful, more humble, and more prudent\nanswer could all the wisdom of men and of angels united have invented, if\nthey had thought of it for millions of years! Oh powerful answer, which\ngave joy in heaven, and poured upon the earth a vast flood of graces and\nblessings! Answer, that hardly came forth from the humble heart of Mary\nbefore it drew from the bosom of the eternal Father, the only begotten\nSon, to become man in her most pure womb! yes, for hardly had she uttered\nthese words: Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according\nto thy word; when immediately the Word was made flesh: \u201cVerbum caro\nfactum est;\u201d the Son of God became also the Son of Mary. Oh powerful\nFiat! exclaims St. Thomas of Villanova; oh efficacious Fiat! oh Fiat to\nbe reverenced above every fiat![1115] for by another fiat God created\nthe light, the heaven, and the earth; but by this fiat of Mary, says the\nsaint, God became man like us.\n\nBut let us not wander from our point, let us consider the great humility\nof the Virgin in this answer. She was indeed well enlightened to\nunderstand how great was the dignity of the mother of God. She already\nhad been assured by the angel that she was this happy mother chosen by\nthe Lord. But with all this she is not at all raised in her own esteem,\nstops not at all to enjoy her exaltation, but considering on one side her\nown nothingness, and on the other the infinite majesty of her God, who\nchose her for his mother, she knows how unworthy she is of such an honor,\nbut would by no means oppose herself to his will. Hence, when her consent\nwas asked, what does she do? what does she say? Wholly annihilated as to\nself; all inflamed, on the other hand, with the desire of uniting herself\nthus more closely to God, by entirely abandoning herself to the divine\nwill: Behold, she answers, behold the handmaid of the Lord: \u201cEcce ancilla\nDomini.\u201d Behold the slave of the Lord; obliged to do whatever her Lord\ncommands. And she intended to say: If the Lord chooses me for his mother,\nwho have nothing of my own; if all that I have is his gift, who could\nthink that he selects me for any merit of my own? Behold the handmaid\nof the Lord. What merit can a slave have, to be made the mother of her\nLord? Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Let the goodness of God alone be\npraised, and not the slave; since it is wholly his goodness which has led\nhim to place his eye on a creature so lowly as I, and make her so great.\n\nOh humility, exclaims here Guerric the Abbot; small in its own eyes,\ngreat in the eyes of God! Insufficient to itself, sufficient to him whom\nthe whole world cannot contain![1116] But still more beautiful on this\noccasion is the exclamation of St. Bernard, which he makes in the fourth\nsermon on the Assumption of Mary, in which, admiring the humility of\nMary, he says: Oh Lady, how have you been able to unite in your heart\nsuch an humble esteem of yourself with so much purity, so much innocence,\nand with such fulness of grace[1117] as thou dost possess! And whence,\noh blessed Virgin, did this humility, this so great humility, take such\ndeep root in thee, when thou wast so honored and exalted by God?[1118]\nLucifer, seeing himself endowed with great beauty, aspired to exalt\nhis throne above the stars, and make himself like to God.[1119] Now\nwhat would not that proud spirit have said and attempted if he had seen\nhimself adorned with the privileges of Mary? Not so the humble Mary;\nthe more she saw herself exalted, the more she humbled herself. Ah Lady,\nfor this beautiful humility, concludes St. Bernard, thou hast indeed\nmerited to be regarded by God with peculiar love, to charm thy King with\nthy beauty; to draw him with the sweet odor of thy humility from his\nrepose in the bosom of God, into thy most pure womb.[1120] Hence St.\nBernardine de Bustis says, that Mary merited more by that answer: \u201cBehold\nthe handmaid of the Lord,\u201d than all creatures could merit by their\nworks.[1121]\n\nThus, says St. Bernard, this innocent Virgin, although by her virginity\nshe rendered herself dear to God, yet by humility afterwards rendered\nherself worthy, as much as a creature can render itself worthy, to be\nmade the mother of her Creator. Although she pleased by her virginity,\nby her humility she conceived: \u201cEtsi placuit ex virginitate, tamen ex\nhumilitate concepit.\u201d[1122] And St. Jerome confirms this by saying,\nthat God chose her for his mother more for her humility, than for all\nher other sublime virtues.[1123] Mary herself expressed this to St.\nBridget, by saying to her: How did I merit such a grace to be made the\nmother of my Lord, if not because I knew my nothingness, and humiliated\nmyself?[1124] And this she declared before in her Canticle, so full\nof the deepest humility, when she said: \u201cBecause he hath regarded the\nhumility of his handmaid.... He that is mighty hath done great things\nto me.\u201d[1125] Upon which words St. Lawrence Justinian remarks, that the\nblessed Virgin does not say, he regarded my virginity, my innocence, but\nonly my humility.[1126] And by this humility, as St. Francis de Sales\nremarks, Mary did not intend to praise the virtue of her humility, but\nwished to proclaim that God had regarded her nothingness, _humility, that\nis, nothingness_: \u201cHumilitatem, id est nihilitatem,\u201d and through his pure\ngoodness had willed thus to exalt her.\n\nIn a word, St. Augustine says that the humility of Mary was like a\nladder, by which our Lord deigned to descend upon earth to become man\nin her womb.[1127] And St. Antoninus confirms this by saying that the\nhumility of the Virgin was her most perfect and the next preparation to\nbecome the mother of God.[1128] And by this is explained what Isaias\npredicted: \u201cAnd there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse,\nand a flower shall rise up out of his root.\u201d[1129] The blessed Albertus\nMagnus remarks, that the divine flower, namely, the only-begotten of\nGod, according to Isaias, would come forth, not from the top or the\ntrunk of the tree of Jesse, but from its root, which precisely denotes\nthe humility of the mother.[1130] And this is more clearly explained by\nthe Abbot of Celles. Observe, says he, that not from the top, but from\nthe root the flower is to spring up.[1131] And therefore our Lord said\nto this his beloved daughter: \u201cTurn away thy eyes from me, for they have\nmade me flee away.\u201d[1132] And from whence flee, unless from the bosom of\nthe Father to the womb of Mary?[1133] as St. Augustine says. Upon which\nthe learned interpreter Fernandez observes, that the most humble eyes\nof Mary, with which she always contemplated the divine greatness, never\nlosing sight of her nothingness, did such violence to God himself that\nthey drew him into her bosom.[1134] And by this we are to understand,\nsays Francone the Abbot, why the Holy Spirit so much praised the beauty\nof this his spouse for her eyes, which were like those of a dove: \u201cHow\nbeautiful art thou, my love! how beautiful art thou! thy eyes are like\ndoves\u2019 eyes;\u201d[1135] because Mary, looking on God with the eyes of a\nsimple, humble dove, he was so much enamored of her beauty, that with the\nbands of love she made him a prisoner in her virginal womb; these are\nthe words of the abbot: In what place on the earth could so beautiful a\nvirgin be found, who could allure the King of heaven by her eyes, and by\na holy violence lead him captive, bound in the chains of charity?[1136]\nWe will conclude this point by remarking that Mary, in the incarnation of\nthe Word, as we have seen from the beginning, could not have humiliated\nherself more than she did. Let us now see how God could exalt her no\nhigher than he did by making her his mother.\n\n_Point Second._\u2014In order to comprehend the greatness to which Mary was\nelevated, it would be necessary to comprehend the sublime majesty and\ngrandeur of God. It is sufficient, then, only to say, that God made this\nVirgin his mother, to have it understood that God could not exalt her\nmore than he did exalt her. Rightly did St. Arnold Carnotensis affirm,\nthat God, by making himself the Son of the Virgin, established her in a\nsuperior rank to all the saints and angels: \u201cMaria constituta est super\nomnem Creaturam.\u201d[1137] So that, next to God, she is incomparably higher\nthan the celestial spirits, as St. Ephrem asserts: \u201cNulla comparatione\nc\u00e6teris superis est gloriosior.\u201d[1138] St. Andrew of Crete confirms this,\nsaying: God excepted, she is the highest of all: \u201cExcepto Deo, omnibus\nest altior.\u201d[1139] And St. Anselm also says: Oh Lady, there is none equal\nto thee, because every other is above or beneath thee; God alone is\nsuperior to thee, and all others are inferior.[1140] So great, in a word,\nsays St. Bernardine, is the exaltation of this Virgin, that God alone is\nable to comprehend it.[1141]\n\nThis removes the surprise expressed by some persons, remarks St. Thomas\nof Villanova, that the holy Evangelists, who have so fully recorded\nthe praises of a Baptist and a Magdalene, have been so brief in their\ndescriptions of the privileges of Mary; for, says the saint, it was\nenough to say of her, that from her Jesus was born.[1142] What more would\nyou wish the Evangelists to say, continues the saint, of the grandeur\nof this Virgin? let it be enough for you, that they attest her to be\nthe mother of God. Having recorded in these few words the greatest,\nand, indeed, the whole of her merits, it was not necessary for them to\ndescribe each separately.[1143] And why not? because, as St. Anselm\nanswers: To say of Mary this alone, that she was the mother of a God,\ntranscends every glory that can be attributed to her, in thought or word,\nafter God.[1144] Peter of Celles adds, remarking on this same thought: By\nwhatever name you may wish to call her, whether queen of heaven, ruler\nof the angels, or any other title of honor, you will never succeed in\nhonoring her so much as by calling her only the mother of God.[1145]\n\nThe reason of this is evident, for as the angelic Doctor teaches: The\nnearer a thing approaches its author, the greater the perfection it\nreceives from him; therefore, Mary being the creature nearest to God,\nshe has partaken more than all others of his grace, perfection, and\ngreatness.[1146] To this Father Suarez traces the cause why the dignity\nof mother of God is of an order superior to any other created dignity;\nbecause it appertains, in a certain manner, to the order of union with\na divine person, with which union it is necessarily connected.[1147]\nHence St. Denis the Carthusian asserts, that after the hypostatic union,\nthere is none more intimate than the union of the mother of God with\nher Son.[1148] This, as St. Thomas teaches, is the highest union that a\npure creature can have with God.[1149] And the blessed Albertus Magnus\naffirms, that to be mother of God is a dignity next to that of being\nGod;[1150] therefore he says, that Mary could not be more united to God\nthan she was, without becoming God.[1151]\n\nSt. Bernardine affirms, that in order to become mother of God, it was\nrequisite that the holy Virgin should be exalted to a certain equality\nwith the divine Persons, by a certain infinity of graces.[1152] And as\nchildren are esteemed morally one with their parents, so that their\npossessions and honors are in common, therefore St. Peter Damian says,\nthat if God dwells in creatures in different modes, he dwelt in Mary in\na singular mode of fitness, making himself one with her.[1153] And he\nexclaims in these celebrated words: Here let every creature be silent and\ntremble, and scarcely dare to behold the immensity of so great a dignity.\nGod dwells in a virgin with whom he has the identity of one nature.[1154]\n\nSt. Thomas asserts, that Mary, being made mother of God, by reason of\nthis close union with an infinite good, received a certain infinite\ndignity, which Father Suarez calls infinite of its kind.[1155] The\ndignity of mother of God is the highest dignity which can be conferred\non a pure creature. The angelic Doctor teaches, that the humanity of\nJesus Christ, though it might have received greater habitual grace\nfrom God, yet, as to the union with a divine Person, could not receive\ngreater perfection; so, on the other hand, the blessed Virgin could\nreceive no greater dignity than to be the mother of God. For as habitual\ngrace (this is his reasoning) is a created gift, we must acknowledge\nthat its essence is finite. The capacity of every creature is limited\nin measure, which however prevents not the divine power from being able\nto form another creature of greater capacity.[1156] Though the divine\npower may create something greater and better than the habitual grace\nof Christ, yet it could not destine it to any thing greater than was\nthe personal union of the only begotten Son with the Father.[1157] The\nblessed Virgin, because she is mother of God, has a certain infinite\ndignity from the infinite good, which is God; and in this respect nothing\ngreater can be created.[1158] St. Thomas of Villanova says the same\nthing: Certainly there is something infinite in being the mother of the\nInfinite One.[1159] And St. Bernardine says, that the state to which God\nexalted Mary as his mother was the highest, so that he could exalt her\nno higher.[1160] And this is confirmed by Albertus Magnus. The Lord\nconferred on the blessed Virgin the highest gift which any pure creature\nwas capable of receiving, namely, the maternity of God.[1161]\n\nTherefore St. Bonaventure wrote that celebrated sentence, that God could\nmake a greater world, a greater heaven, but could not exalt a creature to\ngreater excellence than by making her his mother.[1162] But better than\nall others has the divine mother herself described the height to which\nGod had elevated her when she said: He that is mighty hath done great\nthings to me: \u201cFecit mihi magna qui potens est.\u201d[1163] And why has the\nholy Virgin never made known what were the great favors conferred upon\nher by God? St. Thomas of Villanova answers, that Mary did not explain\nthem, because they were so great that they could not be explained.[1164]\n\nSt. Bernard therefore, with reason, says that God has created all the\nworld for this Virgin, who was to be his mother: \u201cPropter hanc totus\nmundus factus est.\u201d[1165] And St. Bonaventure says that the preservation\nof the world is at the disposal of Mary.[1166] The saint in this place\nadheres to the words of Proverbs, applied by the Church to Mary: I was\nwith him forming all things: \u201cCum eo eram cuncta componens.\u201d[1167] St.\nBernardine adds, that God, for love of Mary, did not destroy man after\nthe sin of Adam.[1168] Hence the Church, with reason, sings of Mary: She\nhas chosen the best part: \u201cOptimam partem elegit.\u201d[1169] For this virgin\nmother not only chose the best things, but she chose the best part of\nthe best things; the Lord bestowing upon her, in the highest degree, as\nthe blessed Albertus Magnus attests, all the graces, and the general and\nparticular gifts conferred on all other creatures, wholly in consequence\nof the dignity granted her of becoming mother of God.[1170] Thus Mary\nwas an infant, but of this state she had only the innocence, but not the\ndefect of incapacity, for from the first moment of life she always had\nthe perfect use of reason. She was a virgin, but without the reproach of\nsterility. She was a mother, but with the privilege of virginity. She\nwas beautiful, even most beautiful, as Richard of St. Victor asserts,\nand also St. George of Nicomedia, and St. Dionysius the Areopagite,\nwho, as many believe, once had the happiness of enjoying the sight of\nher beauty, and said that if faith had not taught him that she was a\ncreature, he should have adored her as God. And the Lord himself revealed\nto St. Bridget, that the beauty of his mother surpassed the beauty of all\nmen and Angels, allowing the saint to hear him say to Mary: \u201cThy beauty\nexceeds that of all the angels, and of all creatures.\u201d[1171] She was most\nbeautiful, I repeat, but without injury to those who looked upon her,\nfor her beauty put to flight impure emotions, and suggested even pure\nthoughts, as St. Ambrose attests: So great grace had she, that she not\nonly preserved her own virginity, but also conferred a remarkable gift\nof purity on those who beheld her.[1172] And St. Thomas confirms this:\nThe grace of sanctification not only repressed in the Virgin illicit\nemotions, but also had efficacy for others; so that although she was\nbeautiful in person, she never excited impure desires.[1173] Therefore\nshe was called myrrh, which prevents corruption: I yielded a sweet odor\nlike the best myrrh: \u201cQuasi mirrha electa dedi suavitatem odoris;\u201d as\nthe holy Church applies it. She was occupied in active life, but labor\ndid not interrupt her union with God. In the contemplative life she was\nrecollected in God, but without neglect of the temporal life and of\nthe charity due to the neighbor. Death came upon her, but without its\nsuffering, and without the corruption of the body.\n\nTo conclude then: this divine mother is infinitely inferior to God, but\nimmensely superior to all creatures; and if it is impossible to find a\nSon more noble than Jesus, it is also impossible to find a mother more\nnoble than Mary. This should cause the servants of such a queen not\nonly to rejoice in her greatness, but also to increase their confidence\nin her most powerful protection; for, being mother of God, says Father\nSuarez, she has a certain right to his gifts, to obtain them for those\nfor whom she prays.[1174] St. Germanus, on the other hand, says that God\ncannot but hear the prayers of this mother, for he cannot but recognize\nher for his true and immaculate mother. Thus says the saint, addressing\nthe Virgin: But thou, who dost prevail with God by a maternal authority,\neven for those who grievously sin, thou dost obtain the great grace\nof reconciliation; for thou canst not but be graciously heard, as God\nin all things conforms to thy wishes as to those of a true and pure\nmother.[1175] Therefore, oh mother of God, and our mother, in thee is\nnot wanting the power to help us. The will, too, is not wanting. Nec\nfacultas, nec voluntas illi deesse potest.[1176] For thou knowest, I will\nsay with thy servant the Abbot of Celles, that God has not created thee\nfor himself alone, but has given thee to the angels for their restorer,\nto men for their deliverer, and to the demons for their conqueror, for by\nthy means we recover divine grace, and by thee the enemy is conquered and\ncrushed.[1177]\n\nAnd if we wish to please the divine mother, let us often salute her by\nsaying the \u201cHail Mary.\u201d One day Mary appeared to St. Matilda, and told\nher that no one could honor her better than by this salutation; and we\nshall certainly obtain through it, peculiar graces from this mother of\nmercy, as will be seen by the following example.\n\n\nEXAMPLE.\n\nA well-known incident is related by Father Paul Segneri in his \u201cChristian\nInstructed.\u201d[1178] A Roman youth, of evil habits and laden with sins,\nwent to confession to Father Niccolas Zucchi. The confessor received\nhim kindly, compassionated his misery, and told him that devotion to\nthe blessed Lady would free him from his accursed vices. He therefore\nimposed it upon him as a penance, that until the time of his next\nconfession, every morning and evening, on rising and going to bed, he\nshould recite a \u201cHail Mary\u201d to the Virgin; making an offering to her\nof his eyes, hands, and his whole body, praying her to keep him as her\nown; and that he should kiss the ground three times. The young man\npractised this penance, and at first with very little improvement; but\nthe father continued to exhort him never to give it up, encouraging him\nto trust in the patronage of Mary. In the mean time, the penitent left\nhome with some other companions, and travelled over the world. Having\nreturned to Rome, he went again to seek his confessor, who to his great\njoy and surprise, found him entirely changed, and free from his former\nimpurities. \u201cMy son,\u201d he said, \u201chow have you obtained from God so happy\na change?\u201d \u201cFather,\u201d answered the youth, \u201cthe blessed Virgin, for that\nlittle devotion which you taught me, has obtained for me this grace.\u201d But\nthe wonder did not cease here. The same confessor related this fact from\nthe pulpit. An officer, who, for several years, had kept up an illicit\nintercourse with a certain woman, heard it, and proposed also himself to\npractise the same devotion, in order to free himself from that horrible\ntie which held him a slave of the devil (which intention is necessary for\nall such sinners, that the Virgin may aid them); and he also quitted his\nbad practices and changed his life.\n\nBut what followed? At the end of six months, foolishly and too\nconfidently trusting in his strength, he wished, one day, to go and\nfind that woman, to see if she had also changed her way of life. But\non approaching the door of her house, where he was in manifest danger\nof falling again into sin, he felt himself thrust back by an invisible\nforce, and soon found himself distant from the house the whole length\nof the street, and before his own door; he was then enlightened to see\nclearly that Mary had thus rescued him from his destruction. Thus we\nperceive how solicitous is our good mother, not only to save us from sin,\nif we for that end commend ourselves to her, but also to protect us from\nthe danger of falling into it again.\n\n\nPRAYER.\n\nOh immaculate and holy Virgin! oh creature the most humble and the\ngreatest before God! thou wast so small in thy own eyes, but so great\nin the eyes of thy Lord, that he exalted thee even to choose thee for\nhis mother, and therefore to make thee queen of heaven and of earth. I\nthen thank that God who hath so much exalted thee, and rejoice with thee\nin seeing thee so closely united to God, that more is not permitted to\na pure creature. I am ashamed to appear before thee who art so humble,\nwith so many graces; I, a miserable sinner, and so proud with so many\nsins. But wretched as I am, I, too, wish to salute thee: Hail Mary, full\nof grace: \u201cAve Maria, gratia plena.\u201d Thou art already full of grace;\nobtain a share of it also for me. The Lord is with thee: \u201cDominus tecum.\u201d\nThat Lord who hath ever been with thee even from the first moment of thy\ncreation, is now more intimately with thee, by making himself thy Son.\nBlessed art thou among women: \u201cBenedicta tu in mulieribus.\u201d Oh woman,\nblessed among all women, obtain for us also the divine benediction. Oh\nblessed plant which hath given to the world a fruit so noble and so holy:\n\u201cEt benedictus fructus ventris tui.\u201d Holy Mary, mother of God: \u201cSancta\nMaria, mater Dei.\u201d Oh Mary, I confess that thou art the true mother of\nGod, and for this truth I would give my life a thousand times. Pray for\nus sinners: \u201cOra pro nobis peccatoribus.\u201d But if thou art the mother of\nGod, thou art also the mother of our salvation, and of us poor sinners;\nsince it is to save sinners that God made himself man; and he has made\nthee his mother that thy prayers may have the power to save every sinner.\nPray for us, oh Mary. Now and in the hour of our death: \u201cNunc et in hora\nmortis nostr\u00e6.\u201d Pray always; pray now, while we are in life, in the midst\nof so many temptations and so great danger of losing God; but still more,\npray in the hour of our death, when we are on the point of leaving this\nworld and being presented at the divine tribunal; that being saved by the\nmerits of Jesus Christ, and by thy intercession, we may one day come,\nwithout the danger of losing thee any more, to salute thee and praise\nthee, with thy Son, in heaven, for all eternity. Amen.\n\n\n\n\nDISCOURSE V.\n\nON THE VISITATION OF MARY.\n\n\n _Mary is the treasurer of all the divine graces. Therefore he\n who desires graces should have recourse to Mary; and he who has\n recourse to Mary, should be secure of obtaining the graces he\n wishes._\n\nHappy is that house esteemed which is visited by some royal personage,\nboth for the honor it receives from him, and the advantages it hopes\nfor; but more happy should that soul be called which is visited by the\nqueen of the world, most holy Mary, who cannot but fill with mercies and\ngraces those blessed souls whom she deigns to visit with her favors. The\nhouse of Obededom was blessed when it was visited by the ark of the Lord:\nThe Lord blessed his house: \u201cBenedixit Dominus domui ejus.\u201d[1179] But\nwith how much greater blessings are those persons enriched who receive\nsome loving visit from this living ark of God, as was the divine mother!\nHappy that house which the mother of God visits,[1180] wrote Engelgrave.\nThis was experienced by the house of the Baptist, wherein scarcely had\nMary entered, when she filled all that family with celestial graces and\nbenedictions; and for this reason, the present feast of the Visitation\nis commonly called the feast of our Lady of graces. We shall consider\nto-day, in the present discourse, how the divine mother is the treasurer\nof all graces. We shall divide the discourse into two points. In the\nfirst, we shall prove that he who desires graces must have recourse to\nMary. In the second, that he who has recourse to Mary, should be certain\nof obtaining the graces that he desires.\n\n_Point First._\u2014After the holy Virgin had heard from the archangel St.\nGabriel, that her cousin Elizabeth had been six months pregnant, she\nwas interiorly enlightened by the Holy Spirit to know that the Word\nwhich had taken human flesh and had already become her Son, wished\nto commence manifesting to the world the riches of his mercy, by the\nfirst graces that he desired to impart to all that family. Therefore,\nwithout interposing any delay, as St. Luke relates: Rising up, Mary went\ninto the mountainous country in haste: \u201cExurgens abiit in montana cum\nfestinatione.\u201d[1181] Rising then from the quiet of her contemplation,\nto which she was always devoted, and leaving her dear solitude, she\nimmediately set out for the house of Elizabeth. And because holy charity\nsuffers all things: \u201cCharitas omnia suffert;\u201d and can bear no delay,\nas St. Ambrose remarks, when treating of this gospel: The grace of the\nHoly Spirit knows no slow movements: \u201cNescit tarda molimina Spiritus\nSancti gratia:\u201d therefore not heeding the fatigue of the journey, the\ntender and delicate maiden quickly set forth on her way. Having arrived\nat that house, she saluted her cousin: \u201cShe entered into the house of\nZachary, and saluted Elizabeth.\u201d[1182] And, as St. Ambrose remarks, Mary\nwas the first to salute Elizabeth: \u201cPrior salutavit.\u201d But the visit of\nthe blessed Virgin was not like the visits of the worldly, which, for\nthe most part, consist in ceremonies and false display; the visit of\nMary brought into that house an abundance of graces. For at her first\nentrance, and at that first salutation, Elizabeth was filled with the\nHoly Spirit, and John was delivered from guilt and sanctified, and\ntherefore gave that sign of joy, exulting in the womb of his mother;\nfor he wished in this way to make known the grace received by means\nof the blessed Virgin; as Elizabeth herself declared: \u201cAs soon as the\nvoice of thy salutation sounded in my ears, the infant in my womb leaped\nfor joy\u201d.[1183] So, as Bernardine de Bustis observes, in virtue of the\nsalutation of Mary, John received the grace of the Divine Spirit, who\nsanctified him: When the blessed Virgin saluted Elizabeth, the voice of\nthe salutation entering through her ears, descended to the child, by\nvirtue of which salutation he received the Holy Spirit.[1184]\n\nNow if these first-fruits of the redemption all passed through Mary,\nand she was the channel by means of which grace was communicated to the\nBaptist, the Holy Spirit to Elizabeth, the gift of prophecy to Zachary,\nand so many other blessings to that house, which were the first graces\nthat we know to have been given upon earth by the Word, after he had\nbecome incarnate; we have great reason to believe that God, even from\nthat time, had constituted Mary a universal channel, as St. Bernard calls\nher, through which thenceforth should be dispensed to us all the other\ngraces which the Lord wishes to bestow on us, as it was said in p. 1, c.\n5, of this work.\n\nRightly then is this divine mother called the treasure, the treasurer,\nand the dispensatrix of divine graces. Thus she is called by the\nvenerable Abbot of Celles: The treasure of the Lord and the treasurer\nof graces: \u201cThesaurus Domini, et thesauraria gratiarum.\u201d[1185] By St.\nPeter Damian, also: The treasure of divine graces: \u201cThesaurus divinarum\ngratiarum.\u201d By blessed Albertus Magnus: The treasurer of Jesus Christ:\n\u201cThesauraria Jesu Christi.\u201d By St. Bernardine: The dispensatrix\nof graces: \u201cDispensatrix gratiarum.\u201d By a Greek Doctor, quoted by\nPetavius:[1186] The store-house of all good things: \u201cPromptuarium omnium\nbonarum.\u201d Thus, also, St. Gregory Thaumaturgus says: Mary is called so\nfull of grace, because in her the treasure of grace was hidden.[1187]\nAnd Richard of St. Laurence says that God has placed in Mary, as in a\ntreasury of mercy, the gifts of all the graces, and from this treasure he\nenriches his servants.[1188]\n\nSt. Bonaventure, speaking of the field of the Gospel where the treasure\nis hidden which should be bought at any great price, as Jesus Christ\nhath said: \u201cThe kingdom of heaven is like unto a treasure hidden in a\nfield, which, when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth\nand selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field;\u201d[1189] remarks\nthat this field is our Queen Mary, in whom is the treasure of God, that\nis, Jesus Christ, and with Jesus Christ the source and fountain of all\ngraces.[1190] St. Bernard also affirms that the Lord has placed in the\nhands of Mary all the graces that he wishes to dispense to us, that we\nmay know that whatever of good we receive, we receive it all from her\nhands.[1191] And of this Mary herself assures us, when she says: In me\nis all grace of the way and of the truth: \u201cIn me gratia omnis vi\u00e6 et\nveritatis.\u201d[1192] In me are all the graces of true blessings that you\nmen can desire in your life. Yes, our mother and our hope, well do we\nknow, to use the words of St. Peter Damian, that all the treasures of the\ndivine mercies are in thy hands.[1193] And before Damian, St. Ildephonsus\nasserted it with more force, for addressing the Virgin he said to her:\nOh Lady, all the graces which God has determined to bestow upon men, he\nhas determined to dispense by thy hands; and therefore has he committed\nto thee all the treasure of graces.[1194] Hence, oh Mary, concluded St.\nGermanus, no grace is dispensed to any one except by thy hands; no one\nis saved except by thee; no one receives the gift of God except through\nthee.[1195] The blessed Albertus Magnus makes a beautiful reflection upon\nthe words of the angel to the most holy Virgin: \u201cFear not, Mary, for thou\nhast found grace with God,\u201d[1196] saying: Oh, Mary, thou hast not stolen\ngrace as Lucifer wished to steal it; thou hast not lost it as Adam lost\nit; thou hast not bought it as Simon the Magician wished to buy it; but\nthou hast found it because thou hast desired and sought it. Thou hast\nfound the uncreated grace, that is, God himself, become thy Son; and\nat the same time thou hast found and obtained all created good.[1197]\nSt. Peter Chrysologus confirms this thought, by saying that the great\nmother found this grace by restoring salvation to all men.[1198] And\nelsewhere he says, that Mary found grace in its fulness, sufficient to\nsave all men.[1199] In like manner as God made the sun, says Richard\nof St. Laurence, that by it the earth may be illuminated, so hath he\ncreated Mary, that by her means all divine mercies may be dispensed to\nthe world.[1200] And St. Bernardine adds that the Virgin, as soon as she\nwas made mother of the Redeemer, acquired, as it were, a jurisdiction\nover all graces: when the Virgin Mary conceived the Word of God in her\nwomb, she obtained, as I should say, a certain jurisdiction over all the\ntemporal manifestations of the Holy Spirit; so that no creature obtained\nany grace from God, unless according to the disposal of this pious\nmother.[1201]\n\nLet us conclude this point in the words of Richard of St. Laurence, who\nsays, that if we wish to obtain any grace, we must have recourse to Mary,\nwho cannot but obtain for her servants whatever she demands; since she\nhas found, and always will find, divine grace.[1202] And this he took\nfrom St. Bernard, who said: Let us seek grace, and let us seek it through\nMary, for what she seeks she finds, and cannot be frustrated.[1203] If,\nthen, we desire graces, we must go to this treasurer and dispensatrix of\ngraces; for this is the sovereign will of the Giver of every good, as St.\nBernard himself assures us, that all graces are dispensed by the hand of\nMary.[1204] All, all: Totum, totum; he who says all, excludes nothing.\nBut, because confidence is necessary in order to obtain grace, we now\nwill pass on to consider how certain we should be of obtaining graces, if\nwe have recourse to Mary.\n\n_Second Point._\u2014And why should Jesus Christ ever have placed in the\nhands of this his mother all the riches of the mercies which he wishes\nto use for our benefit, if not that she may enrich with them all her\nservants who love and honor her, and with confidence recur to her? With\nme are riches ... that I may enrich them that love me: \u201cMecum sunt\ndiviti\u00e6 ... ut ditem diligentes me.\u201d[1205] Thus the Virgin herself speaks\nin this passage, which the holy Church applies to her on so many of her\nfestivals. Therefore, for no other use, but for our benefit, says Adam\nthe Abbot, are the riches of eternal life preserved by Mary, in whose\nbosom the Saviour has deposited the treasure of the wretched, that,\nsupplied from this treasure, the poor may become rich.[1206] And St.\nBernard adds, as I learn from another author, that for this purpose Mary\nhas been given to the world, for a channel of mercy, that by her means\ngraces may continually descend from heaven upon men.[1207]\n\nFrom this the holy Father goes on to ask, why St. Gabriel, having found\nthe divine mother already full of grace, according to his salutation:\nHail, full of grace: \u201cAve gratia plena;\u201d afterwards says that the Holy\nSpirit was to come to her, to fill her still more with grace; if she\nwas already full of this grace, what more could the coming of the\nHoly Spirit effect? Mary was already full of grace, thus answers St.\nBernard, but the Holy Spirit came upon her for our good, that from her\nsuperabundance we poor sinners might be provided.[1208] For this reason\nMary was called the moon, of which it is said: The moon is full, for\nherself and others: \u201cLuna plena sibi, et aliis.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe that shall find me, shall find life, and shall have salvation from\nthe Lord.\u201d[1209] Blessed is he who having recourse to me finds me,\nsays our mother. He will find life, and will find it easily; for, as\nit is easy to find and draw water (as much as one wishes) from a great\nfountain, so it is easy to find graces and eternal salvation by going\nto Mary. A holy soul hath said, we have only to ask graces of our Lady\nand we shall have them. And St. Bernard says, that before Mary was born,\nthe world was without this abundance of graces, that now are overflowing\nthe earth, because this desirable channel (Mary) was wanting.[1210] But\nnow that we actually have this mother of mercy, what graces can we not\nobtain, if we cast ourselves at her feet? I am the city of refuge, thus\nSt. John of Damascus makes her to say, for all those who have recourse\nto me: come, then, my children, and you will obtain from me graces, in\ngreater abundance than you can imagine.[1211]\n\nIt is true that many experience what the venerable Sister Maria Villani\nsaw in a heavenly vision. This servant of God once saw the mother of\nGod, in the likeness of a great fountain, to which many went to draw the\nwaters of graces; but what then happened? Those who carried vessels which\nwere whole, preserved afterwards the graces received; but those who carry\nbroken vessels, that is, souls laden with sins, received the graces, but\nquickly lost them again. As for the rest, it is certain that by means of\nMary, men, even the most ungrateful and wretched sinners, daily obtain\ninnumerable graces. St. Augustine says, addressing the Virgin: Through\nthee the wretched obtain mercy, the ungrateful grace, sinners pardon, the\nweak support, the earthly heavenly things, mortals life, and travellers\ntheir country.[1212]\n\nLet our confidence, then, ever revive, oh devoted servants of Mary,\nas often as we have recourse to her for graces. And to revive this\nconfidence, let us ever remember the two great privileges which this\ngood mother possesses, namely: the desire she has to do us good, and\nthe power she has with her Son to obtain whatever she asks. That we\nmay know the desire Mary has to aid all, it would be sufficient only\nto consider the mystery of the present festival, namely, the visit of\nMary to Elizabeth. The journey from Nazareth, where the most holy Virgin\nlived, to the city of Hebron (called by St. Luke a city of Judah), where,\naccording to Baronius and other authors, Elizabeth dwelt, was about\nsixty-nine miles, as the author of the Life of Mary, Father Giuseppe\nof Jesus, one of the barefooted Carmelites, asserts,[1213] as also\nBede and Brocardo. But this did not prevent the blessed Virgin, tender\nand delicate as she then was, and not accustomed to such efforts, from\nimmediately setting forth\u2014moved by what?\u2014moved by that great charity with\nwhich her most tender heart was ever filled, to go and commence from\nthat time her great office of dispenser of graces. Precisely thus does\nSt. Ambrose speak of this her journey: She did not go as if incredulous\nof the announcement, but happy in her desire, hastening for joy, and\nintent upon her office.[1214] Not that Mary, as the saint says, went to\ninform herself of the truth of what the angel had told her concerning\nElizabeth, but joyful through her desire to help that household,\nhastening for the joy she felt to do good to others, and wholly intent on\nthat charitable errand. Rising up, she went with haste: \u201cExurgens abiit\ncum festinatione.\u201d Here let it be observed that the Evangelist, when\nhe spoke of Mary going to the house of Elizabeth, said that she went in\nhaste: Abiit festinatione; but speaking of her return from that house, he\nmakes no more mention of haste, but simply says: \u201cAnd Mary abode with her\nabout three months, and she returned to her own house.\u201d[1215] What other\nobject, then, says St. Bonaventure, caused the mother of God to hasten\nwhen going to visit the house of the Baptist, except the desire to do\ngood to that family?[1216]\n\nCertainly, since the assumption of Mary into heaven, this her affection\nof charity towards men has not ceased; nay, it has ever been increasing,\nfor there she better knows our necessities, and feels more pity for our\nmiseries. Bernardine de Bustis writes, that Mary more earnestly desires\nto do us good than we desire to receive it from her.[1217] To such a\ndegree, that St. Bonaventure says, she considers herself injured by those\nwho do not ask favors of her;[1218] for this is the desire of Mary, to\nenrich all with her graces; for, indeed, according to the assertion of\nthe Idiot, she superabundantly enriches her servants.[1219]\n\nHence the same author says, that he who finds Mary finds every good:\n\u201cInventa Maria, invenitur omne bonum.\u201d And he adds, that every one can\nfind her, were he even the most abandoned sinner in the world; for she\nis so gracious that she sends away none who have recourse to her.[1220]\nI invite all to come to me, thus Thomas \u00e0 Kempis makes her say, I wait\nfor all, I wish that all may come; neither do I ever despise any sinner\nwho comes to seek my help, however unworthy he may be.[1221] All who go\nto her asking favors, says Richard, will find her always ready, always\ninclined to succor them, and obtain for them every grace of eternal\nsalvation by her powerful prayers: \u201cInveniet semper paratam auxiliari.\u201d\n\nI have said by her powerful prayers, for this is the other reflection\nwhich should increase our confidence, namely, knowing that she obtains\nfrom God whatever she asks in favor of her servants. Observe especially,\nsays St. Bonaventure, in this visit that Mary made to Elizabeth, the\ngreat virtue of the words of Mary; for at the sound of her voice the\ngrace of the Holy Spirit was given to Elizabeth as well as to her son,\nas the Evangelist has written: \u201cAnd it came to pass that when Elizabeth\nheard the salutation of Mary, the infant leaped in her womb, and\nElizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost.\u201d[1222] On which St. Bonaventure\nremarks: Behold, how great is the virtue of the words of our Lady, for\nat the sound of them the Holy Spirit is given.[1223] Theophilus of\nAlexandria says that Jesus is much pleased when Mary prays to him for us,\nfor then all the graces which he bestows on us through the supplications\nof Mary, he does not consider to be conferred on us, but rather on Mary\nherself.[1224] And let these words be noted: Persuaded by the prayers\nof his mother, he gives: \u201cPrecibus su\u00e6 genitricis evictus, donat.\u201d Yes,\nbecause Jesus, as St. Germanus attests, cannot but graciously hear Mary\nin all her petitions, wishing in this, as it were, to obey her as his\ntrue mother; hence the saint says, that the prayers of this mother have a\ncertain authority with Jesus Christ, so that she obtains pardon even for\nthe greatest sinners, who commend themselves to her.[1225]\n\nAnd this is indeed confirmed, as St. John Chrysostom observes, by what\ntook place at the nuptials of Cana, where Mary, asking of her Son\nthe wine that was wanting, said: \u201cThey have no wine;\u201d Jesus answered:\n\u201cWoman, what is that to me and to thee? my hour is not yet come.\u201d[1226]\nBut although the time for miracles had not yet arrived, as Chrysostom\nand Theophilactus explain; yet, says the same Chrysostom, our Saviour,\nin order to obey his mother, performed the miracle she requested, and\nconverted the water into wine.[1227]\n\n\u201cLet us go therefore,\u201d thus the apostle exhorts us, \u201cwith confidence\nto the throne of grace; that we may obtain mercy, and find grace in\nseasonable aid.\u201d[1228] The throne of grace is the blessed Virgin Mary,\nsays the blessed Albertus Magnus: \u201cThronus grati\u00e6 est beata Virgo\nMaria.\u201d[1229] If, then, we wish for graces, let us go to the throne of\ngrace, which is Mary; and let us go with the hope of being certainly\nheard; for we have the intercession of Mary, who obtains whatever she\nasks of her Son. Let us ask for grace, I repeat with St. Bernard, and\nthrough Mary let us ask: \u201cQu\u00e6ramus gratiam et per Mariam qu\u00e6ramus,\u201d\ntrusting to what the Virgin mother said to St. Matilda, that the Holy\nSpirit, filling her with all his sweetness, had rendered her so dear to\nGod that every one who, through her intercession, asked for graces, would\ncertainly obtain them.[1230]\n\nAnd if we give credit to that celebrated saying of St. Anselm: We shall\nsometimes find grace sooner by having recourse to Mary, than by having\nrecourse to our Saviour Jesus himself;[1231] not that he is not the\nsource and Lord of all graces, but because if we go to Mary, and she\nintercedes for us, her prayers will have more power, as the prayers of a\nmother, than ours. Let us never then leave the feet of this treasurer of\ngraces, but say to her with St. John Damascene: Open to us, oh blessed\nmother of God, the door of thy mercy, for thou art the salvation of the\nhuman race.[1232] Oh mother of God, open to us the door of thy mercy, by\npraying always for us; for thy prayers are the salvation of all men. And\nwhen we have recourse to Mary, it would be best to ask her to pray for\nus, and obtain for us those graces which she knows are most expedient for\nour salvation; which is precisely what Brother Reginald, a Dominican,\ndid, as is related in the chronicles of the order.[1233] This servant of\nMary was infirm, and asked of her the grace of bodily health. Our Lady\nappeared to him, accompanied by St. Cecilia and St. Catherine, and said\nto him with the greatest sweetness: \u201cMy son, what shall I do for thee?\u201d\nThe religious at this kind offer of Mary was troubled, and knew not what\nto answer. Then one of those saints gave him this counsel: \u201cReginald,\ndo you know what you should do? Do not ask for any thing, place every\nthing at her disposal, because Mary knows how to obtain for thee a grace\ngreater than you could ask.\u201d The sick brother followed her advice, and\nthe divine mother obtained for him the grace of health.\n\nBut if we also desire the happy visits of this queen of heaven, it will\ngreatly aid us if we often visit her before some image, or in some church\ndedicated to her. Let us read the following example, and learn with what\nspecial favors she rewards the devout visits of her servants.\n\n\nEXAMPLE.\n\nIt is related in the Franciscan chronicles, that two religious of that\norder, who were going to visit a sanctuary of the Virgin, were overtaken\nby night in a great wood; where they became bewildered and so troubled\nthat they knew not what to do. But advancing a little, they discerned\nthrough the darkness something which seemed to them a house. They went\ngroping along with outstretched hands, and at length touched a wall; they\nfound the door, knocked, and heard some one within asking who they were?\nThey answered that they were two poor religious who had lost their way\nby accident in that wood, and were seeking a shelter, that at least they\nmight not be devoured by wolves. But suddenly they heard the door open,\nand saw two pages richly dressed, who received them with great courtesy.\nThe religious asked them who inhabited that palace? The pages answered\nthat a very kind, good Lady inhabited it. We wish to pay our respects\nto her, said they, and thank her for her charity. We will take you to\nher, said the pages, for she too wishes to speak to you. They ascended\nthe stairs, found the apartments all illuminated, richly furnished, and\nperfumed as with an odor of paradise; they finally entered the apartment\nof the Lady, who was majestic and most lovely in her appearance, and who\nwelcomed them with the greatest kindness, and then asked them in what\ndirection they were travelling? They answered that they were going to\nvisit a certain church of the blessed Virgin. If that is the case, said\nthe Lady, when you go I will give you a letter from myself, which will\ngreatly aid you. And whilst the Lady was speaking to them, they felt all\ninflamed with love of God, and filled with a joy such as they had never\nbefore experienced. They afterwards went to rest, if perchance they could\nsleep in the midst of so much joy, and in the morning they went again\nto take leave of the Lady of the mansion, thank her, and at the same\ntime receive the letter: they did so and departed. But when they had\ngone a little distance from the house, they perceived that there was no\nsuperscription to the letter; but they turned and returned, and could not\nfind the house again. At last they opened the letter, to see to whom it\nwas sent, and what it contained, and found that it was from the most holy\nMary, and was written to themselves, and let them know that she was the\nLady whom they saw the night before, and that on account of the devotion\nthey cherished for her, she had provided a house and refreshment for\nthem in that wood. She exhorted them to continue to serve and love her,\nfor she would well reward their devotion, and assist them in life and in\ndeath. At the bottom of the letter they read the signature of the Virgin\nMary. We may easily imagine the thanks that those good religious offered\nto the divine mother, and how greatly they were inflamed with the desire\nof loving her and serving her to the end of their lives.\n\n\nPRAYER.\n\nImmaculate and blessed Virgin, since thou art the universal dispenser of\nall divine graces, therefore thou art the hope of all, and also my hope.\nI always thank my Lord that he hath given me to know thee, and the means\nthat I must use to obtain graces and save myself. Thou art this means, oh\ngreat mother of God, for I now understand that it is principally through\nthe merits of Jesus Christ, and after those, through thy intercession,\nthat I am to be saved. Ah, my queen, thou didst make so great haste\nto visit, and sanctify with thy visit, the house of Elizabeth; ah,\nvisit, and visit quickly, the poor house of my soul. Ah, hasten! thou\nknowest better than I how poor it is, how infected with many maladies,\nwith irregular affections, bad habits, and actual sin, all those fatal\ndiseases which will bring it to eternal death. Thou canst enrich it,\noh treasurer of God! and thou canst heal all its infirmities. Visit me\nthen in life, and visit me especially at the hour of my death, for then\nthy help will be more necessary to me. I do not, indeed expect, neither\nam I worthy that thou shouldst visit me on this earth with thy visible\npresence, as thou hast done to so many of thy servants, but servants\nnot so unworthy and ungrateful as I am. I will be content to be allowed\nthen to see thee in thy kingdom of heaven, there to love thee better,\nand thank thee for whatever good thou hast done me. At present I will be\ncontent that thou shouldst visit me with thy mercies. It is enough that\nthou dost pray for me.\n\nPray for me then oh Mary, and commend me to thy Son. Thou knowest better\nthan I know myself, my miseries and my necessities. What more would I say\nto thee? Have pity on me. I am so miserable and ignorant that I do not\neven know, and cannot even ask, the graces that are most necessary for\nme. Oh my queen and most sweet mother, ask thou and obtain for me, from\nthy Son, those graces which thou knowest to be most useful and necessary\nfor my soul. Into thy hands I entirely abandon myself, and only pray the\ndivine Majesty, that through the merits of my Saviour Jesus, he may\ngrant me those graces that thou dost ask of him for me. Ask, ask then for\nme, oh most holy Virgin, whatever thou esteemest best. Thy prayers are\nnever rejected. They are the prayers of a mother to a Son, who loves thee\nso much, and finds his joy in granting whatever thou dost ask of him,\nthus the more to honor thee, and at the same time, show thee the great\nlove he bears thee. Oh Lady, thus let it be. I will live trusting in\nthee. Thou must think only on saving me. Amen.\n\n\n\n\nDISCOURSE VI.\n\nON THE PURIFICATION OF MARY.\n\n\n _The great sacrifice which Mary this day made to God, in\n offering him the life of her Son._\n\nThere were two precepts of the ancient law concerning the birth of\nfirst-born sons. One was, that the mother should remain as an unclean\nperson, retired in her house, for forty days; after which she should go\nto purify herself in the temple. The other was, that the parents of the\nfirst-born should take him to the temple, and there offer him to God. On\nthis day the most holy Virgin desired to obey both precepts. Although\nMary was not bound by the law of purification, since she was always a\nvirgin, and always pure; yet, by her love of humility and obedience, she\nwished to go, like other mothers, to be purified. At the same time she\nobeyed the second precept, to present and offer her Son to the eternal\nFather: \u201cAnd after the days of her purification, according to the law\nof Moses, were accomplished, they carried him to Jerusalem, to present\nhim to the Lord.\u201d[1234] But the Virgin offered him in a different manner\nfrom that in which other mothers offered their sons. Others offered them,\nbut they knew that this was a simple ceremony of the law, through which,\nby redeeming them, they made them their own, without the fear that they\nshould be obliged to offer them again, and to death. Mary really offered\nher Son to death, knowing certainly that the sacrifice of the life of\nJesus which she then made, should one day be actually consummated upon\nthe altar of the cross; so that Mary, by offering the life of her Son,\nthrough the love she bore this Son, really sacrificed herself entirely to\nGod. Laying aside, then, all the other considerations which we might make\nupon the various mysteries of this festival, let us only consider how\ngreat was this sacrifice that Mary made of herself to God, by offering to\nhim, on this day, the life of her Son. And this will be the only subject\nof the following discourse.\n\nThe eternal Father had already determined to save man, who was lost\nthrough sin, and free him from eternal death. But because he wished that,\nat the same time, his divine justice should not be defrauded of a full\nand due satisfaction, he did not spare the life of his own Son, already\nmade man in order to redeem man; but he required that he should pay, to\nits most rigorous extent, the penalty merited by men: \u201cHe that spared\nnot even his own Son,\u201d says the apostle, \u201cbut delivered him up for us\nall.\u201d[1235] He sent him therefore on the earth to become man, destined\nfor him a mother, and chose the Virgin Mary; but as he did not wish his\ndivine Word to become her Son before she accepted him by her express\nconsent, so he did not wish that Jesus should sacrifice his life for the\nsalvation of men without the concurrence of the consent of Mary, that\ntogether with the sacrifice of the life of the Son, the heart of the\nmother might be sacrificed also. St. Thomas teaches, that the relation\nof mother gives an especial right over her children; hence Jesus, being\ninnocent in himself and not deserving any punishment for his own sins, it\nseemed fitting that he should not be destined to the cross as the victim\nfor the sins of the world without the consent of his mother, by which she\nshould voluntarily offer him to death.\n\nBut although Mary, from the moment she was made mother of Jesus,\ngave her consent to his death, yet the Lord wished her, on this day,\nto make, in the temple, a solemn sacrifice of herself, by offering\nsolemnly her Son, and sacrificing to the divine justice his precious\nlife. Hence St. Epiphanius called her a priest: \u201cVirginem appello velut\nsacerdotem.\u201d[1236] Now we begin to see how much this sacrifice cost her,\nand what heroic virtue she was obliged to practice when she had herself\nto sign the sentence of condemnation of her dear Jesus to death.\n\nNow behold Mary actually on her way to Jerusalem to offer her Son; she\nhastens her steps towards the place of sacrifice, and she herself carries\nher beloved victim in her arms. She enters the temple, approaches the\naltar, and there, filled with modesty, humility, and devotion, she\npresents her Son to the Most High. At this moment St. Simeon, who had\nreceived the promise from God that he should not die before seeing the\nexpected Messias, takes the divine child from the hands of the Virgin,\nand, enlightened by the Holy Spirit, announces to her how much sorrow\nthis sacrifice must cause her, this sacrifice which she was about to\nmake of her Son, with whom must her blessed soul also be sacrificed.\nHere St. Thomas of Villanova contemplates the holy old man, who, when\nhe had to announce the fatal prophecy to this poor mother, is agitated\nand silent.[1237] Then the saint considers Mary, who asks: Why, oh\nSimeon, in the time of so great consolation, are you thus disturbed?\n\u201cUnde tanta turbatio?\u201d To whom he answers: Oh, noble and holy Virgin, I\nwished not to announce to thee such bitter tidings, but since the Lord\nwishes it thus, for thy greater merit, hear what I say to thee.[1238]\nThis infant who now causes thee, and with reason, so much joy, oh God,\nshall one day bring thee the most cruel suffering that any creature has\never experienced in the world; and this will be when thou shalt see him\npersecuted by men of every sort, and placed on the earth as the mark\nof their sneers and derision, even until he is put to death before thy\neyes.[1239] Know that after his death there will be many martyrs who, for\nlove of this thy Son, will be tormented and slain; but if their martyrdom\nwill be of the body, thy martyrdom, oh divine mother, will be of the\nheart.[1240]\n\nYes, of the heart, for nothing but compassion for the sufferings of\nthis Son so dear could be meant by the sword of sorrow that St. Simeon\npredicted was to pierce the heart of the mother: \u201cAnd thy own soul a\nsword shall pierce.\u201d[1241] Already the most holy Virgin, as St. Jerome\nsays, had been enlightened through the divine Scriptures to know the\nsufferings which the Redeemer was to endure in his life, and still more\nat the time of his death. She well understood from the prophets, that he\nwas to be betrayed by one of his friends: \u201cWho ate my bread hath greatly\nsupplanted me;\u201d[1242] as David predicted. Abandoned by his disciples:\nStrike the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: \u201cPercute Pastorem,\net dispergentur oves.\u201d[1243] Well did she know the insults, spitting,\nblows, and derision that he was to suffer from the people: \u201cI have given\nmy body to the strikers, and my cheeks to them that plucked them; I\nhave not turned away my face from them that rebuked me and spit upon\nme.\u201d[1244] She knew that he was to become the scandal of men, and the\noutcast of the lowest of the people: \u201cBut I am a worm and no man, the\nreproach of men and the outcast of the people,\u201d[1245] even to be laden\nwith insults and outrages: \u201cHe shall be filled with reproaches.\u201d[1246]\nShe knew that at the end of his life his sacred flesh would be torn and\nbruised by scourges: \u201cHe was wounded for our iniquities, he was bruised\nfor our sins,\u201d[1247] so that his body would be wholly disfigured by them,\nbecome as a leper, all sores: \u201cThere is no beauty in him, nor comeliness,\nand we have thought him, as it were, a leper,\u201d[1248] even till the bones\nwere uncovered: \u201cThey have numbered all my bones.\u201d[1249] She knew that\nhe was to be pierced by nails.[1250] That he was to be reputed with the\nwicked.[1251] And that finally he was to die, hanging on the cross, slain\nfor the salvation of men: \u201cAnd they shall look upon me whom they have\npierced.\u201d[1252]\n\nMary, I repeat, already knew all the sufferings that her Son was to\nendure, but in the above quoted words of St. Simeon: \u201cAnd thy own soul\na sword shall pierce,\u201d as the Lord revealed to St. Theresa, all the\nminute circumstances of the external as well as internal sufferings\nwhich her Lord Jesus was to endure in his passion, were made known to\nher. She consented to all with a firmness which made the angels wonder,\nand pronounced the sentence that her Son should die, and die by a death\nso ignominious and painful, in these words: Eternal Father, since thou\ndost will it, not my will, but thine be done: \u201cNon mea voluntas, sed tua\nfiat;\u201d I unite mine to thy holy will, and sacrifice to thee this my Son;\nI am satisfied that he should lose his life for thy glory, and for the\nsalvation of the world. And I also sacrifice to thee my heart; let grief\npierce it as much as pleases thee; it suffices to me that thou, oh my\nGod, art glorified and satisfied; not my will, but thine be done. Oh,\ncharity without measure! oh, constancy without example! oh, victory that\nmerits the eternal admiration of heaven and of earth!\n\nAnd hence Mary, in the passion of Jesus, was silent when he was unjustly\naccused; she said nothing to Pilate, who was inclined to liberate him,\nfor he had already known his innocence; but she only appeared in public\nto be present at the great sacrifice, which was to be offered on Calvary.\nShe accompanied him to the place of punishment; she was with him from the\nfirst moment he was placed upon the cross: There stood by the cross of\nJesus his mother: \u201cStabat juxta crucem Jesu mater ejus;\u201d until she saw\nhim expire, and the sacrifice was consummated. And all this to complete\nthe offering which she had already made of him to God in the temple.\n\nIn order to understand the violence that Mary had to offer herself in\nmaking this sacrifice, it would be necessary to comprehend the love which\nthis mother bore to Jesus. Generally speaking, the love of mothers is so\ntender for their children, that when they are at the point of death, and\nthey are about to lose them, they forget all their faults, their defects,\nand even the injuries they have received from them, and they suffer an\ninexpressible grief. And yet the love of those mothers is a love divided\namong other children, or among other creatures. Mary has one only Son,\nand he is the most beautiful of all the children of Adam; he is most\namiable, for he has all lovable qualities; he is obedient, virtuous,\ninnocent, holy, in one word, he is God. The love of this mother, too, is\nnot divided among other objects; she has centered all her love upon this\nonly Son, neither does she fear loving him to excess, for this her Son is\nGod, who merits an infinite love. And this Son is the victim whom she had\nvoluntarily to offer to death.\n\nLet every one consider, then, how much it must have cost Mary to\nsacrifice on the cross the life of a Son so amiable, and what strength of\nmind she must have exercised in this act. Behold the most fortunate of\nmothers, because she is the mother of a God, but she is at the same time\na mother most worthy of compassion, because the most afflicted; being\nthe mother of a Son whom she saw destined to the cross from the day when\nhe was given her for a Son! What mother would accept a son, knowing that\nafterwards she should lose him by such a painful and infamous death,\nand that she should be present to see him die? Mary willingly accepted\nthis Son with so hard a condition; and not only accepted him, but offers\nhim herself this day, with her own hands, to death, sacrificing him\nto the divine justice. St. Bonaventure says, that the blessed Virgin\nwould willingly have taken upon herself the sufferings and death of her\nSon; but to obey God she made the great offering of the divine life of\nher beloved Jesus, conquering, but with the greatest grief, all the\ntenderness of love that she bore him.[1253] Hence it is, that in this\noffering Mary had to do more violence to herself, and was more generous,\nthan if she had offered herself to suffer all her Son was to suffer.\nTherefore she surpassed all the martyrs in generosity, for the martyrs\noffered their own lives; but the Virgin offered the life of her Son, whom\nshe loved and esteemed infinitely more than her own life.\n\nNeither did the suffering of this painful offering end here; rather it\ncommenced here; for from that time forward, through the whole life of\nher Son, Mary had always before her eyes death, and all the pains he was\nto suffer in his death. Hence, the more this Son discovered to her how\nbeautiful, graceful, and amiable he was, so much more did the anguish\nof her heart constantly increase. Ah, afflicted mother! if thou hadst\nloved thy Son less, or if thy Son had been less lovely, and had loved\nthee less, thy suffering would certainly have been less in offering him\nto death. But there never has been, and there never will be, a more\nloving mother than thou, because there never has been, and never will be,\na son more amiable and more loving towards his mother than thy Jesus.\nOh God! if we had seen the beauty, the majesty of countenance of that\ndivine child, could we have had the courage to sacrifice his life for our\nsalvation? And thou, oh Mary! who art his mother, and a mother so loving,\ncouldst thou offer thy innocent Son for the salvation of men, to a death\nmore painful and more cruel than any criminal had ever endured on this\nearth?\n\nAlas! what a fearful scene from that day forward did love continually\nplace before the eyes of Mary, representing to her all the injuries\nand mockeries which were to be offered to her poor Son! Behold love\nalready representing him to her in his agony in the garden, then torn\nby scourges, and crowned with thorns in the hall of Pilate, and finally\nhanging from the infamous wood on Calvary! Behold, oh mother, said love,\nwhat a lovely and innocent Son thou hast offered to such sufferings, and\nto so dreadful a death! And of what avail will it be to thee to rescue\nhim from the hands of Herod, in order to reserve him for so piteous an\nend?\n\nThus Mary not only offered her Son to death in the temple, but was\noffering him up at every moment of her life; for she revealed to St.\nBridget, that this grief which St. Simeon announced to her, never left\nher heart till she was assumed into heaven.[1254] Hence St. Anselm says:\nOh Lady, I cannot believe, that with such a sorrow thou wouldst have\nbeen able to live one moment, if God himself, who gives life, had not\nstrengthened thee by his divine power.[1255] And St. Bernard affirms,\nspeaking of the great sorrow that Mary endured on this day, that\nhenceforth she suffered a living death, bearing a grief more cruel than\ndeath.[1256] She lived, dying at every moment, because grief for the\ndeath of her beloved Jesus, which was more cruel than any death, was at\nevery moment assailing her.\n\nThe divine mother then, on account of the great merit she acquired in\nthis great sacrifice, which she made to God for the salvation of the\nworld, was justly called by St. Augustine: The restorer of the human\nrace: \u201cReparatrix generis humani.\u201d[1257] By St. Epiphanius: The redeemer\nof captives: \u201cRedemptrix captivorum.\u201d[1258] By St. Ildephonsus: The\nrestorer of the ruined world: \u201cReparatrix perditi orbis.\u201d[1259] By St.\nGermanus: The consolation of our miseries: \u201cRestauratio calamitatum\nnostrarum.\u201d[1260] By St. Ambrose: The mother of all believers: \u201cMater\nomnium credentium.\u201d[1261] By St. Augustine: The mother of the living:\n\u201cMater viventium.\u201d[1262] By St. Andrew of Crete: The mother of life:\n\u201cMater vit\u00e6.\u201d[1263] For, as St. Arnold Carnotensis says: In the death\nof Jesus, Mary united her will to that of her Son in such a manner,\nthat both offered the same sacrifice; and therefore the holy abbot\nsays, that thus the Son and the mother effected the human redemption,\nobtaining salvation for men.[1264] Jesus by satisfying for our sins,\nMary by obtaining for us that this satisfaction should be applied to\nus. And hence blessed Denis the Carthusian likewise affirms, that the\ndivine mother may be called the salvation of the world, since by the pain\nshe endured in commiserating her Son (voluntarily sacrificed by her to\ndivine justice), she merited that the merits of the Redeemer should be\ncommunicated to men.[1265]\n\nMary, then, having been made the mother of all the redeemed, by the merit\nof her sufferings, and of the offering of her Son; it is just to believe\nthat only by her hand may be given them the milk of those divine graces,\nwhich are the fruits of the merits of Jesus Christ, and the means to\nobtain life eternal. And it is to this that St. Bernard alludes, when\nhe says that God has placed in the hands of Mary the whole price of\nour redemption.[1266] By which the saint gives us to understand, that\nby means of the intercession of the blessed Virgin, the merits of the\nRedeemer are applied to souls, as by her hand these graces are dispensed,\nwhich are precisely the price of the merits of Jesus Christ.\n\nAnd if the sacrifice of Abraham in offering up to him his son Isaac so\npleased God that he promised, as a reward, to multiply his descendants\nas the stars of heaven: \u201cBecause thou hast done this thing, and hast\nnot spared thy only begotten Son for my sake; I will bless thee, and I\nwill multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven;\u201d[1267] we must certainly\nbelieve that the more remarkable sacrifice which this great mother made\nof Jesus was much more agreeable to the Lord; and, therefore, it has\nbeen granted her, that by her prayers, the number of the elect should\nbe multiplied, that is, the favored succession of her children, for she\nholds and protects as such her devoted servants.\n\nSt. Simeon received a promise from God that he should not die until he\nhad seen the Messiah born: \u201cAnd he had received an answer from the Holy\nGhost, that he should not see death before he had seen the Christ of the\nLord.\u201d[1268] But he did not receive this grace except by means of Mary,\nfor he did not see the Saviour until he saw him in the arms of Mary.\nHence, whoever wishes to find Jesus, will not find him except through\nMary. Let us, then, go to this divine mother if we wish to find Jesus;\nand let us go with great confidence. Mary said to her servant Prudentiana\nZagnoni,[1269] that every year, on this day of the purification, a great\nmercy would be shown to some sinner. Who knows but one of us may to-day\nbe that favored sinner? If our sins are great, greater is the power of\nMary. The Son can deny nothing to this mother, says St. Bernard.[1270]\nIf Jesus is offended with us, Mary immediately appeases him. Plutarch\nrelates that Antipater wrote to Alexander the Great a long letter of\naccusations against Olympias, the mother of Alexander. Having read the\nletter, he answered: \u201cDoes not Antipater know that one tear of my mother\nis enough to cancel an endless number of letters of accusation\u201d?[1271]\nThus we may imagine Jesus would also answer to the accusations which\nthe devil presents him against us when Mary is praying him for us: Does\nnot Lucifer know that one prayer of my mother, in favor of a sinner,\nis enough to make me forget all the accusations of offences committed\nagainst me? The following example is a proof of this.\n\n\nEXAMPLE.\n\nThis example is not recorded in any book, but a priest, a companion of\nmine, related it to me, as having happened to himself. While this priest\nwas hearing confessions in a certain church (for sufficient reasons he\ndid not mention the place where this occurred, although the penitent gave\nhim leave to publish the fact), a youth stood before him, who appeared\nto wish and not to wish to come to confession. The Father, after looking\nat him several times, at length called him, and asked him if he wished to\nmake his confession. He answered, yes; but as he required a long time for\nit, the confessor took him into a retired room. There the penitent began\nby telling him that he was a foreigner, and of noble birth, but he could\nnot believe that it was possible for God to pardon him after the life he\nhad led. Besides innumerable other sins he had committed of impurity,\nhomicide, &c., he said, that being entirely in despair of salvation, he\nhad set about committing sins, not so much for his own gratification, as\nto defy God, and manifest the hatred he bore him. He said, that among\nother things, he had with him a crucifix, which he had beaten out of\ncontempt. He said that just before, on that very morning, he had made\na sacrilegious communion, and for what object? That he might put under\nhis feet the consecrated wafer. And that, in fact, he had actually\nreceived, and was about to put in execution his horrible intention, but\nwas prevented by the people who observed him. He then consigned to the\nconfessor the consecrated host, wrapped in a paper, and told him that\nas he was passing by that church he had a great desire to enter. He\ncould not resist this desire, and had entered. That then he felt great\nremorse of conscience, together with a certain confused and irresolute\ndesire to make his confession. For this reason he had placed himself\nbefore the confessional, but while standing there he felt so confused\nand timid, that he wished to go away, but it seemed as if some one had\nretained him by force: \u201cUntil,\u201d he said, \u201cyou, Father, called me; and now\nI find myself here; I find myself making my confession; but I know not\nhow to do it.\u201d The Father then asked him if he had practiced any act of\ndevotion during that time; meaning towards the most holy Mary; for such\nsudden conversions only come through the powerful hands of the Virgin.\n\u201cNone, Father; what devotion could I offer,\u201d answered the youth, \u201cwhen\nI believed myself lost?\u201d \u201cBut try to remember more carefully,\u201d replied\nthe Father. \u201cFather, nothing.\u201d But accidentally putting his hand to his\nbreast, he remembered that he wore the Scapular of the Seven Dolors of\nMary: \u201cMaria addolorata.\u201d \u201cAh, my son,\u201d said the confessor to him, \u201cdo\nyou not see that our blessed Lady has bestowed this grace upon you? And\nknow,\u201d he added, \u201cthat this church is a church of our blessed Lady.\u201d\nHearing this, the youth was moved to contrition, and began to weep. He\nconfessed his sins, and his compunction increased to such a degree that,\nbursting into tears, he fell, overcome with grief, as it seemed, at\nthe feet of the Father, who, having restored him by a cordial, finally\nfinished hearing his confession, and absolved him with the greatest\nconsolation, as he was entirely contrite and resolved to amend his\nlife. The Father sent him back to his own country after having obtained\nfrom him full liberty to preach and publish everywhere the great mercy\nexercised by Mary towards him.\n\n\nPRAYER.\n\nOh holy mother of God and my mother Mary, didst thou then feel so great\ncare of my salvation that thou didst even consent to offer up to death\nthe object dearest to thy heart, thy beloved Jesus? If thou, then, hast\nso greatly desired to see me saved, it is just that next to God I should\nplace in thee all my hopes. Oh blessed Virgin, I do indeed confide\nentirely in thee. Oh, by the merit of this great sacrifice of the life of\nthy Son which to-day thou hast offered to God, pray him to have pity on\nmy soul, for which this immaculate Lamb did not refuse to die upon the\ncross.\n\nTo-day, oh my queen, I also, in imitation of thee, wish to offer my poor\nheart to God; but I fear that he will refuse it, seeing it thus filthy\nand loathsome. But if thou wilt offer it to him, he will not refuse\nit. All the offerings made him by thy most pure hands he accepts and\nreceives. To thee, then, oh Mary, I present myself to-day, miserable as I\nam, and to thee I give myself entirely. Offer me as thine to the eternal\nFather and to Jesus, and pray him that through the merits of his Son, and\nby thy favor, he may accept me, and take me for his own. Ah, my sweetest\nmother, for the love thou bearest this Son whom thou hast sacrificed, aid\nme always, and do not abandon me. Do not permit that I should one day\nlose, through my sins, this my most loving Redeemer, to-day offered by\nthee with so much anguish to die on the cross. Say to him that I am thy\nservant; say to him that in thee I have placed all my hope; say to him,\nin a word, that thou dost wish for my salvation, and he will certainly\ngraciously hear thee. Amen.\n\n\n\n\nDISCOURSE VII.\n\nON THE ASSUMPTION OF MARY.\n\n\nOn this day the Church proposes to us to celebrate two solemn observances\nin honor of Mary: one, her happy departure from this earth; the other,\nher glorious assumption into heaven. In the present discourse we shall\nspeak of her departure from this earth, and in the next of her assumption.\n\nHow precious was the death of Mary! 1st, On account of the special graces\nwhich attended it; 2d, On account of the manner of it.\n\nDeath being the punishment of sin, it would seem that the divine mother,\nall holy and exempt from every stain, should not be subject to death,\nnor suffer the same misfortune as the children of Adam, who are infected\nby the poison of sin. But God, wishing Mary in all things to be like to\nJesus, required, as the Son had died, that the mother should also die;\nand because he wished to give to the just an example of the blessed death\nprepared for them, he decreed that the Virgin should die, but by a sweet\nand happy death. Hence we will enter upon the consideration, how precious\nwas the death of Mary. 1st. On account of the special graces by which it\nwas accompanied. 2d. On account of the manner in which it took place.\n\n_Point First._\u2014Three things render death bitter, namely, attachment to\nearth, remorse for sin, and the uncertainty of salvation. But the death\nof Mary was entirely free from any such causes of bitterness, and was\nattended by many circumstances which rendered it precious and joyful.\nShe died as she had always lived, entirely detached from all earthly\nthings; she died in the most perfect peace of conscience; she died in the\ncertainty of eternal glory.\n\nAnd in the first place, there is no doubt that attachment to the goods\nof earth renders the death of the worldly bitter and miserable, as the\nHoly Spirit says: \u201cOh, death, how bitter is the remembrance of thee to\na man that hath peace in his possessions!\u201d[1272] But because the saints\ndie detached from the things of the world, their death is not bitter, but\nsweet, lovely, and precious; or, as St. Bernard explains, it is worth\nbeing purchased at any price. Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord:\n\u201cBeati mortui qui in Domino moriuntur.\u201d[1273] Who are they that being\ndead, die? Precisely those happy souls that pass into eternity, already\ndetached, and, as it were, dead to all affections for terrestrial\nthings, having found in God alone their every good; as St. Francis of\nAssisium, who exclaimed: My God, and my all: \u201cDeus meus et omnia.\u201d But\nwhat soul was ever more detached from the things of the world, and more\nunited to God, than the beautiful soul of Mary? She was indeed entirely\ndetached from her parents, since at the age of three years, when children\nare most dependent on their parents, and have the greatest need of their\nassistance, Mary with so great resolution left them, and went to shut\nherself up in the temple to attend to the things of God. She was detached\nfrom riches, contented to live always poor, and supporting herself with\nthe labor of her hands. She was detached from honors, loving an humble\nand abject life, although queenly honor belonged to her, for she traced\nher descent from the kings of Israel. The Virgin herself revealed to St.\nElizabeth, a Benedictine nun, that when she was left in the temple by her\nparents, she resolved in her heart to have no other father, and to love\nno other good but God.\n\nSt. John saw Mary represented in that woman clothed with the sun, who\nheld the moon under her feet. \u201cAnd there appeared a great wonder in\nheaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet.\u201d[1274]\nInterpreters explain the moon to signify the goods of this earth, that\nare uncertain, and change as the moon does. All these goods Mary never\nhad in her heart, but always despised them and kept them under her feet;\nliving in this world as a solitary turtle-dove in a desert; placing her\naffection on no earthly thing, so that it was said of her: The voice\nof the turtle is heard in our land: \u201cVox turturis audita est in terra\nnostra.\u201d[1275] And again, \u201cWho is she that goeth up by the desert?\u201d[1276]\nwhence Rupert says: \u201cThou hast gone up by the desert, that is, having a\nsolitary soul.\u201d[1277] Mary, then, having always lived entirely detached\nfrom the things of earth, and only united to God, not bitter, but very\nsweet and dear to her was death, which united her more closely to God, by\nthe eternal bonds of paradise.\n\nSecondly, peace of conscience renders the death of the just precious.\nThe sins committed in life are those worms that the most torment and\ngnaw the heart of poor dying sinners, who, about to be presented at\nthe divine tribunal, see themselves at that moment surrounded by their\nsins, which terrify them, and pursue them with cries, as St. Bernard\nsays: \u201cWe are thy works, we will not desert thee.\u201d[1278] Certainly Mary\ncould not be afflicted in death by any remorse of conscience, for she\nwas always holy, always pure, and always free from every shade of actual\nand original sin; hence it was said of her: Thou art all fair, oh my\nlove, and there is not a spot in thee: \u201cTota pulchra es, amica mea, et\nmacula non est in te.\u201d[1279] As soon as she had the use of reason, that\nis, from the first moment of her immaculate conception in the womb of\nSt. Ann, from that time she began with all her powers to love her God;\nand thus she continued to do, ever advancing more in perfection and love\nthrough her whole life. All her thoughts, her desires, her affections,\nwere wholly given to God; not a word, not a motion, not a glance of the\neye, not a breath of hers that was not for God and for his glory, never\ndeparting one step, nor separating herself for one moment from the divine\nlove. Ah! in the happy hour of her death how did all the lovely virtues\nwhich she practised during her life surround her blessed bed! That faith\nso constant, that affectionate confidence in God, that patience so\nstrong in the midst of sufferings, that humility in the midst of so many\nprivileges, that modesty, that meekness, that compassion for souls, that\nzeal for the divine glory, and above all, that perfect charity towards\nGod, with that entire uniformity to the divine will\u2014all, in a word,\nthronged around her, and consoling her, said: We are thy works, we will\nnot desert thee: \u201cOpera tua sumus, non te deseremus.\u201d Oh Lady and mother,\nwe are all children of thy loving heart; now that thou art leaving this\nmiserable life, we will not leave thee, we also will go to attend thee\nand honor thee in paradise, where, by our means, thou wilt be crowned\nqueen of all men and of all the angels.\n\nIn the third place, the certainty of eternal salvation renders death\nsweet. Death is called a passage, since through death we pass from this\nshort life to life eternal. And, as the dread is great of those who die\nin doubt of their salvation, and who approach the solemn moment with\njust fear of passing into an eternal death, thus, on the other hand,\nvery great is the joy of the saints at the end of life, hoping with\nsome security to go and possess God in heaven. A nun of the order of\nSt. Theresa, when the physician announced to her that death was near,\nwas so full of joy that she said to him: \u201cAnd how does it happen, sir,\nthat you tell me this good news and ask no fee for it?\u201d St. Lawrence\nJustinian being at the point of death, and seeing his friends weeping\naround him, said to them: \u201cAway, away with your tears, this is no time\nfor tears.\u201d[1280] Go elsewhere to weep; if you will remain with me you\nmust rejoice, as I rejoice, in seeing the gate of paradise open to unite\nme with my God. And thus, also, a St. Peter of Alcantara, a St. Louis of\nGonzaga, and so many other saints, on hearing that death was at hand,\nburst forth into exclamations of joy and gladness. And yet they were not\ncertain of the divine favor, nor secure of their own sanctity, as Mary\nwas secure of hers. But what joy must the divine mother have felt in\nlearning that her death was at hand; she, who had the fullest security\nof enjoying the divine favor, especially after the angel Gabriel had\nassured her that she was full of grace, and already possessed God! \u201cHail,\nfull of grace, the Lord is with thee ... thou hast found grace.\u201d[1281]\nAnd well did she herself know that her heart was burning continually with\ndivine love, so that as Bernardine de Bustis says, Mary, by a singular\ngrace not granted to any other saint, loved, and was always actually\noccupied in loving God every moment of her life, and so ardently, that,\nas St. Bernard says, it required a perpetual miracle to preserve her life\nin the midst of such burning flames.\n\nIt was before said of Mary in the sacred Canticles: \u201cWho is she that\ngoeth up by the desert as a pillar of smoke of aromatical spices, of\nmyrrh, and frankincense, and of all the powders of the perfumer?\u201d[1282]\nHer entire mortification was prefigured in the myrrh, her fervent prayers\nwere signified by the incense, and all her holy virtues united to her\nperfect charity towards God, kindled in her a flame so great, that\nher holy soul, wholly devoted to, and consumed by divine love, arose\ncontinually to God as a pillar of smoke that on all sides breathed sweet\nodor. As a pillar of smoke, oh blessed Lady, wrote Rupert, thou hast\nbreathed forth a sweet odor to the Most High.[1283] And Eustachius still\nmore strongly expresses it: A pillar of smoke, because burning interiorly\nas a holocaust with the flame of divine love, she sent forth a most sweet\nodor.[1284] As the loving Virgin lived, such she died. As divine love\ngave her life, so it gave her death; for she died as the holy Doctors and\nFathers of the Church generally affirm, of no other infirmity than pure\nlove; for St. Ildephonsus says, that Mary either ought not to die, or\nonly die of love.\n\n_Second Point._\u2014But let us now see what were the circumstances of her\nhappy death. After the ascension of Jesus Christ, Mary remained on earth\nto attend to the propagation of the faith. Hence the disciples of Jesus\nhad recourse to her, and she resolved their doubts, comforted them in\ntheir persecutions, and encouraged them to labor for the divine glory\nand for the salvation of the souls redeemed by her Son. She, indeed,\nwillingly remained on earth, understanding this to be the will of God\nfor the good of the Church; but she could not but feel the pain of being\nfar from the presence and sight of her beloved Son, who had ascended\ninto heaven. \u201cWhere your treasure is,\u201d said the Redeemer, \u201cthere will\nyour heart be also.\u201d[1285] Where any one believes his treasure and his\nhappiness to lie, there he always holds the love and desire of his\nheart fixed. If Mary then loved no other good than Jesus, he being in\nheaven, in heaven were all her desires. Taulerus wrote of Mary: The cell\nof Mary was heaven: \u201cMari\u00e6 cella fuit c\u0153lum,\u201d[1286] for being in heaven\nwith her affection, she made of it her continual abode. Her school was\neternity: \u201cSchola \u00e6ternitas,\u201d for she was always detached from temporal\npossessions. Her teacher, divine truth: \u201cP\u00e6dagogus divina veritas,\u201d for\nshe was always guided in her actions by the divine light. Her mirror,\nthe Divinity: \u201cSpeculum divinitas,\u201d for she looked upon nothing but God,\nin order to conform always to the divine will. Her ornament, devotion:\n\u201cOrnatus ejus devotio,\u201d for she was always ready to fulfil the divine\ncommands. Her repose, union with God: \u201cQuies unitas cum Deo,\u201d for her\npeace was only in uniting herself with God. In a word, the place and\ntreasure of her heart was God alone: \u201cCordis illius locus et thesaurus\nsolus Deus erat.\u201d The most holy Virgin consoled her loving heart during\nthis cruel separation, by visiting, as it is narrated, the holy places\nof Palestine, where her Son had been in his lifetime: she often visited\nnow the stable of Bethlehem, where her Son was born; now the workshop at\nNazareth, where her Son had lived so many years poor and despised; now\nthe garden of Gethsemane, where her Son commenced his passion; now the\nhall of Pilate, where he was scourged; the place where he was crowned;\nbut more often she visited Calvary, where her Son had expired; and the\nholy sepulchre, where she finally had left him. And thus the most loving\nmother used to soothe the pains of her cruel exile. But this was not\nenough to satisfy her heart, which could not find its perfect rest upon\nthis earth; hence her continual sighs were ascending to her Lord, as\nshe exclaimed with David, but with more ardent love: \u201cWho will give me\nwings like a dove, and I will fly and be at rest.\u201d[1287] Who will give\nme wings like a dove to fly to my God and there to find my rest? \u201cAs\nthe hart panteth after the fountains of water, so my soul panteth after\nthee, oh God.\u201d[1288] As the wounded stag pants for the fountain, so my\nsoul, wounded by thy love, oh my God, desires and sighs for thee. Ah,\nthe sighs of this holy turtle-dove could not but reach the heart of her\nGod, who loved her so much: \u201cThe voice of the turtle is heard in our\nland.\u201d Wherefore not being willing to defer any longer consolation to\nhis beloved, behold, he graciously hears her desire and calls her to his\nkingdom.\n\nCedrenus,[1289] Nicephorus,[1290] and Metaphrastes,[1291] relate, that\nthe Lord, some days before her death, sent to her the angel Gabriel, the\nsame who once announced to her that she was the blessed woman chosen\nto be the mother of God: My Lady and Queen, said the angel to her, God\nhas already graciously heard thy holy desires, and he has sent me to\ntell thee to prepare to leave the earth, for he wishes thee with him in\nparadise. Come then, to take possession of thy kingdom, for I and all\nits holy citizens await and desire thee. At this happy annunciation what\nshould our most humble and holy Virgin do but conceal herself more deeply\nin the centre of her most profound humility, and reply in those same\nwords with which she answered St. Gabriel when he announced to her that\nshe was to become mother of God: Behold the handmaid of the Lord: \u201cEcce\nancilla Domini?\u201d Behold, she again answered, the servant of the Lord; he\nin his pure goodness has chosen me and made me his mother; now he calls\nme to paradise. I neither merited the one nor the other honor; but since\nhe wishes to manifest his infinite liberality towards me, I am ready to\ngo where he wishes. \u201cBehold the handmaid of the Lord;\u201d may the will of my\nGod and Lord always be fulfilled in me.\n\nAfter receiving this precious intelligence, she imparted it to St. John,\nand we may imagine with what grief and tender emotion he heard this news;\nhe who for so many years had been near her as a son, and had enjoyed the\ncelestial conversation of this most holy mother. She then visited anew\nthe holy places of Jerusalem, tenderly taking leave of them, especially\nof Calvary, where her beloved Son had died. And then she returned to her\npoor dwelling to prepare for death. During this time the angels did not\ncease to come and visit this their beloved queen, consoling themselves\nwith the thought that they should soon see her crowned in heaven. Many\nauthors assert,[1292] that before she died, by a divine miracle, the\napostles and also some of the disciples came from the different places\nwhere they were dispersed, and all assembled in the apartment of Mary,\nand that when she saw all these her dear children united together in\nher presence, she thus addressed them: My dear children, for love of\nyou, and to help you, my Son left me on this earth. But now the holy\nfaith is spread throughout the world, already the fruit of the divine\nseed is grown up; hence my divine Son, seeing that my assistance was no\nlonger needed upon the earth, and compassionating me for the pain of\nseparation, has graciously heard my desire to depart from this life, and\ngo to see him in glory. If I leave you, my heart does not leave you; I\nwill carry with me the great love I bear you, and it shall always remain\nwith me. I am going to paradise to pray for you. At these sad tidings,\nwho can realize how great were the tears and lamentations of these holy\ndisciples, knowing that they were shortly to be separated from their\nmother? Then, they all in tears exclaimed, then, oh Mary, thou wilt leave\nus! It is true that this earth is not a worthy and fit place for thee,\nand that we are not worthy to enjoy the society of a mother of God; but\nremember that thou art our mother; thou hast until now enlightened us\nin our doubts, consoled our sorrows, strengthened us in persecutions,\nand how canst thou now abandon us, leaving us alone without thy comfort\nin the midst of so many enemies and so many conflicts? We have already\nlost on earth Jesus, our Master and our Father, who has ascended into\nheaven; we have since been consoled by thee, our mother; and now how\ncanst thou leave us orphans, without father or mother? Oh remain with us,\noh our Lady! or take us with thee. Thus writes St. John Damascene.[1293]\n\u201cNo, my children (thus sweetly the loving queen began to speak) this\nis not according to the will of God; content yourselves to do what he\nhas appointed for you and for me. To you it yet remains to labor on\nthe earth for the glory of your Redeemer, and to perfect your eternal\ncrown. I do not leave you to abandon you, but to help you more by my\nintercession with God in heaven. Be satisfied. I commend to you the holy\nChurch; I commend to you the souls redeemed by my Son; let this be my\nlast farewell, and the only remembrance that I leave you. If you love me,\nlabor for souls, and for the glory of my Son; for we shall one day meet\nagain in paradise, never more to separate throughout eternity.\u201d\n\nThen she begged them to give burial to her body after death, blessed\nthem, and directed St. John, as Damascene relates,[1294] that after\nher death he should give her two garments to two virgins who had served\nher for some time, and then she decently composed herself upon her poor\nlittle bed, where she laid herself to await death, and with death the\nmeeting with her divine spouse, who shortly was to come and take her\nwith him to the kingdom of the blessed. Behold, she already feels in her\nheart a great joy, the forerunner of the coming of the spouse, which\noverwhelms her with a great and new sweetness. The holy apostles, seeing\nthat Mary already was about to depart from this earth, burst forth into\nfresh weeping, and knelt around her bed: some kissed her holy feet,\nothers asked her special blessing, one recommended to her some particular\nnecessity of his, and all wept bitterly, for their hearts were pierced\nwith grief at being obliged to separate forever in this life from their\nbeloved Lady. And she, their most loving mother, compassionated all,\nconsoled all, promising to some her protection, blessing others with\npeculiar affection, and encouraging others to labor for the conversion\nof the world; especially did she call St. Peter to her, and as head of\nthe Church, and vicar of her Son, she recommended to him in particular\nthe propagation of the faith, promising him her special protection from\nheaven. But in a very special manner did she call to her St. John, who\nfelt a greater sorrow than all the others at the moment of separation\nfrom that holy mother; and the most grateful Lady, calling to mind the\naffection and attention with which this holy disciple had served her\nthrough all the years they had passed on earth since the death of her\nSon, said to him with great tenderness: My John, I thank thee for all the\nassistance thou hast afforded me; my son, be certain that I never will be\nungrateful to thee for it. If I leave thee now, I am going to pray for\nthee. Remain in peace in this life until we meet in heaven, where I will\nawait thee. Do not forget me; in all thy necessities call me to thy aid,\nfor I never will forget thee, my beloved son. My son, I bless thee, I\nleave thee my benediction; rest in peace\u2014adieu.\n\nBut the death of Mary draws near. The divine love, with its blessed and\nardent flames, having almost entirely consumed the vital spirits, the\ncelestial ph\u0153nix is going to lose her life in the midst of this fire.\nThen the hosts of angels come to meet her, as if to be ready for the\ngreat triumph with which they were to accompany her to paradise. Mary\nwas indeed consoled at the sight of these holy spirits; but not fully\nconsoled, for she did not yet see her beloved Jesus, who was the whole\nlove of her heart. Hence she often repeated to the angels who descended\nto salute her: \u201cI adjure you, oh daughters of Jerusalem, if you find my\nbeloved, that you tell him that I languish with love.\u201d[1295] Oh holy\nangels! oh blessed citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem! ye come in hosts\nkindly to console me, and ye all console me with your sweet presence; I\nthank you, but ye all do not fully satisfy me, for I do not yet see my\nSon coming to console me. Go, if you love me, return to paradise, and\ntell my beloved, from me, that I languish and faint for his love. Tell\nhim to come, and come quickly, for I am dying with my desire to see him.\n\nBut behold, Jesus himself comes to take his mother to the kingdom of\nthe blessed. It was revealed to St. Elizabeth, that the Son appeared to\nMary before she expired, with the cross in his hand, to show the special\nglory he had obtained from the redemption, having by his death made the\nacquisition of this great creature, who through the ages of eternity\nwas to honor him more than all men and all angels. St. John of Damascus\nrelates, that he gave to her the viaticum, saying to her, tenderly: Take,\noh my mother, from my hands, that same body which thou hast given me. And\nthe mother having received with the greatest love that final communion,\nwith her last sighs said to him: My Son, into thy hands I commend my\nspirit; I recommend to thee this soul that thou, in thy goodness, didst\ncreate even from the beginning, rich in so many graces, and by a peculiar\nprivilege hast preserved from every stain of sin. I commend to thee my\nbody, from which thou hast deigned to take flesh and blood. I commend to\nthee, also, these my dear children (speaking of the holy disciples who\nwere around her); they are afflicted at my departure; do thou console\nthem, who lovest them more than I do; bless them, and give them strength\nto do great things for thy glory.[1296]\n\nThe end of the life of Mary having now arrived, there was heard, as St.\nJerome relates, in the apartment where she lay, a great harmony; and\nalso, as it was revealed to St. Bridget, a great brightness was seen. By\nthis harmony and unusual splendor the holy Apostles perceived that Mary\nwas then departing, at which they broke forth again in tears and prayers,\nand raising their hands, with one voice exclaimed: Oh, our mother,\nnow thou art going to heaven, and art leaving us, give us thy last\nbenediction, and do not forget us in our misery. And Mary, turning her\neyes around upon them all, as if bidding them for the last time farewell,\nsaid: Adieu, my children: I bless you; do not fear that I shall forget\nyou. And now death came, not indeed clothed with mourning and sadness,\nas it comes to others, but adorned with light and joy. But why death,\nwhy death? Rather should we say that divine love came to cut the thread\nof that noble life. And as a lamp before going out, her life, amid these\nlast flickerings, flashed forth more brightly, and then expired. Thus,\nthis beautiful soul, her Son inviting her to follow him, wrapped in the\nflame of her charity, and in the midst of her amorous sighs, breathed\nforth a greater sigh of love, expired and died; and thus that great soul,\nthat beautiful dove of our Lord, was released from the bonds of this\nlife, and entered into the glory of the blessed, where she sits, and will\nsit, as queen of paradise, for all eternity.\n\nNow Mary has left the earth, now she is in heaven. From thence this\nkind mother looks down upon us, who are still in this valley of tears,\ncompassionates us, and promises us her support if we wish for it. Let us\npray her always that by the merits of her blessed death she may obtain\nfor us a happy death; and if it please God, that she may obtain for us to\ndie on a Saturday, which is dedicated to her honor, or on a day of the\nNovena, or of the octave of some of her feasts, as she has obtained for\nso many of her servants, and especially for St. Stanislas Kostka, for\nwhom she obtained to die on the day of her glorious Assumption, as Father\nBartoli relates in his life of the saint.[1297]\n\n\nEXAMPLE.\n\nDuring the lifetime of this holy youth, who was wholly devoted to the\nlove of Mary, it happened that on the first day of August, he heard a\nsermon of Father Peter Canisius, in which, preaching to the novices of\nhis society, he fervently urged upon all, the important advice, to live\nevery day as if it might be the last of their life, after which they\nwere to be presented at the divine tribunal. The sermon being finished,\nSt. Stanislas told his companions that this counsel had been for him\nespecially the voice of God, for that he was to die on that very month.\nHe said this either because God had expressly revealed it to him, or\nat least because he gave him a certain internal presentiment of what\nafterwards happened. Four days after, the blessed youth went with Father\nEmmanuel to St. Mary Major, and beginning to speak of the approaching\nfestival of the Assumption, he said: \u201cFather, I believe that on that day\nthere is seen in paradise a new paradise, the glory being seen there of\nthe mother of God crowned queen of heaven, and seated so near the Lord\nabove all the choirs of angels. And if it is true that every year, as\nI believe it to be certain, this festival is renewed in heaven, I hope\nto see the next one.\u201d The glorious martyr St. Lawrence, having fallen\nto the saint by lot as his monthly patron, according to the custom of\nthat society, it is said that he wrote a letter to his mother Mary, in\nwhich he prayed her to obtain for him that he might be a spectator of\nthis festival of hers in paradise. On St. Lawrence\u2019s day he received\ncommunion, and after it supplicated the saint to present that letter to\nthe divine mother, by interposing his intercession that the most holy\nMary might graciously hear his prayer. At the close of this very day\na fever came upon him, and although it was very light, he, however,\nfrom that hour esteemed it for certain that he had obtained the favor\nasked for him, namely, an early death. Indeed, on going to bed he said\njoyfully, with a smiling countenance: \u201cFrom this bed I shall never\narise.\u201d And speaking to Father Claudius Aquaviva, he added: \u201cI believe\nthat St. Lawrence has already obtained for me the grace from Mary that\nI should be in heaven on the festival of her Assumption.\u201d But no one\nthought much of these his words. The vigil having arrived, his malady\ncontinued to appear light, but the saint told a brother that he should\ndie the next night, and the brother answered: \u201cOh, brother, it would be\na greater miracle to die of so slight an illness, than to be cured.\u201d\nBut, behold, after noon he fell into a deadly swoon, and then came a\ncold sweat, and he entirely lost his strength. The superior hastened\nto him, and Stanislas prayed him to order him to be placed on the bare\nfloor, that he might die as a penitent, which was granted in order to\nsatisfy him, and he was laid on the floor on a mattress. Then he made his\nconfession, received the viaticum, not without the tears of all present,\nfor when the divine sacrament was brought into the apartment, his eyes\nkindled with celestial joy, and his whole countenance was radiant with\nholy love, so that he seemed a seraph. He also received extreme unction,\nand meanwhile did nothing but now raise his eyes to heaven, now look\nupon, kiss, and lovingly press to his breast, an image of Mary. A father\nsaid to him: \u201cOf what use is it to wear that rosary around your hand,\nif you cannot recite it?\u201d He answered: \u201cIt serves to console me, for\nit is something belonging to my mother.\u201d \u201cOh, how much more,\u201d said the\nFather, \u201cwill you be consoled by seeing her, and kissing, in a short\ntime, her hands in heaven!\u201d Then the saint, with his countenance all on\nfire, raised his hands, thus to express his desire of finding himself\nsoon in her presence. Then his dear mother appeared to him, as he himself\ndeclared to those around him, and soon after, at the dawn of day on the\nfifteenth of August, he expired as a saint, his eyes fixed on heaven,\nwithout a motion, so that not until afterwards, when the image of the\nmost holy Virgin was presented, and he made no movement towards it, it\nwas perceived that he had already gone to kiss in paradise the feet of\nhis beloved queen.\n\n\nPRAYER.\n\nOh, our most sweet Lady and Mother, thou hast already left the earth,\nand hast reached thy kingdom, where thou sittest as queen over all the\nchoirs of angels, as the holy Church sings: She was exalted above the\nchoirs of angels in the celestial kingdoms: \u201cExaltata est super choros\nangelorum ad c\u0153lestia regna.\u201d We know that we sinners are not worthy of\nhaving thee with us in this valley of darkness. But we know also, that\nthou in thy grandeur hast never forgotten us in our misery, and by being\nexalted to such glory hast never lost compassion for us poor children of\nAdam, but rather that it is increased in thee. From the high throne then,\nwhere thou dost reign, turn, oh Mary, even upon us, thy pitying eyes,\nand take compassion upon us. Remember, too, that on leaving this world,\nthou didst promise not to forget us. Look upon us and succor us. See in\nwhat tempests and in how many dangers we are, and always shall be, till\nthe end of our life arrives. By the merits of thy holy death, obtain\nfor us holy perseverance in the divine friendship, that we may finally\ndepart from this life in the grace of God, and thus come one day to kiss\nthy feet in paradise, and unite ourselves with the blessed spirits in\npraising thee, and singing thy glories, as thou dost merit. Amen.\n\n\n\n\nDISCOURSE VIII.\n\nANOTHER DISCOURSE ON THE ASSUMPTION OF MARY.\n\n\n _1st. How glorious was the triumph of Mary when she ascended to\n heaven! 2d. How exalted was the throne to which she was raised\n in heaven!_\n\nIt would seem just that the holy Church, on this day of the Assumption of\nMary to heaven, should rather invite us to weep than to rejoice, since\nour sweet mother has quitted this earth, and left us bereft of her sweet\npresence, as St. Bernard says: It seems that we should rather weep than\nexult: \u201cPlangendum nobis, quam plaudendum magis esse videtur.\u201d[1298] But\nno, the holy Church invites us to rejoice: \u201cLet us all rejoice in the\nLord, celebrating a festival in honor of the blessed Virgin Mary.\u201d[1299]\nAnd justly, if we love this our mother, we ought to congratulate\nourselves more upon her glory than upon our own particular consolation.\nWhat son does not rejoice, although separated from his mother, if he\nknows that she is going to take possession of a kingdom? Mary, to-day, is\nto be crowned queen of heaven, and shall we not make a feast and rejoice\nif we truly love her? Let us all rejoice, let us rejoice: \u201cGaudeamus\nomnes, et gaudeamus.\u201d And that we may be consoled the more by her\nexaltation, let us consider, in the first place, how glorious was the\ntriumph of Mary ascending to heaven; secondly, how exalted was the throne\nto which she was elevated in heaven.\n\n_First Point._\u2014After Jesus Christ our Saviour had completed the work\nof our redemption by his death, the angels earnestly desired to have\nhim with them in their heavenly country; hence they were continually\nsupplicating him, repeating the words of David: \u201cArise, oh Lord, into thy\nresting-place, thou and the ark which thou hast sanctified.\u201d[1300] Come,\noh Lord, now that thou hast redeemed men, come to thy kingdom with us,\nand bring with thee also the living ark of thy sanctification, namely,\nthy mother, who was the ark sanctified by thee when thou didst inhabit\nher womb. Thus St. Bernardine puts it into the mouth of the angels to\nsay: Let thy most holy mother Mary also ascend, sanctified by thy\nconception.[1301] At length, then, our Lord wished to satisfy this desire\nof those citizens of the heavenly country, by calling Mary to paradise.\nBut, if he wished that the ark of the covenant should be conducted with\ngreat pomp into the city of David\u2014And David and all the house of Israel\nbrought the ark of the covenant of the Lord with joyful shouting, and\nwith sound of trumpet[1302]\u2014with far more splendid and glorious pomp he\nordained that his mother should enter into heaven. The prophet Elias\nwas carried up to heaven in a chariot of fire, which, according to the\ninterpreters, was but a company of angels who raised him from the earth.\nBut to conduct thee into heaven, oh mother of God, as Rupert the Abbot\nsays, a company of angels was not enough, but the King of heaven himself,\nwith all his celestial court, came to accompany thee.[1303]\n\nSt. Bernardine of Sienna is of the same opinion, namely: that Jesus\nChrist, in order to honor the triumph of Mary, came himself from paradise\nto meet and accompany her.[1304] And precisely for this object it was,\nsays St. Anselm, that the Redeemer wished to ascend before his mother,\nnot only to prepare for her a throne in that palace, but also to render\nher entrance into heaven more glorious, by accompanying her himself, with\nall the blessed spirits.[1305] Hence St. Peter Damian, contemplating\nthe splendor of this assumption of Mary into heaven, says that we shall\nfind it more glorious than the ascension of Jesus Christ; for the angels\nonly came to meet the Redeemer, but the blessed Virgin went to glory met\nand accompanied by the Lord of glory himself, and by all the blessed\ncompany of saints and angels.[1306] Hence Guerric the Abbot represents\nthe divine Word speaking thus: I descended from heaven upon earth to give\nglory to my Father; but afterwards, to pay honor to my mother, I ascended\nagain into heaven, that I might thus be enabled to come to meet her, and\naccompany her by my presence to paradise.[1307]\n\nLet us now consider how the Saviour really did come from heaven to meet\nhis mother, and at the first interview said, to console her: \u201cArise,\nmake haste, my love, my dove, my beautiful one, and come; for winter\nis now past ... and gone.\u201d[1308] Come, my dear mother, my beautiful and\npure dove, leave that valley of tears where thou hast suffered so much\nfor my love; come from Libanus, my spouse, come from Libanus, come, thou\nshalt be crowned.[1309] Come with soul and body, to enjoy the reward of\nthy holy life. If thou hast suffered much upon earth, far greater is the\nglory that I have prepared for thee in heaven. Come there to sit near me;\ncome to receive the crown that I will give thee as queen of the universe.\nNow, behold, Mary leaves the earth, and calling to mind the many graces\nshe had there received from her Lord, she looks at it at the same time\nboth with affection and compassion, leaving in it so many poor children,\nin the midst of so many miseries and dangers. And now Jesus offers her\nhis hand, and the blessed mother rises in the air and passes beyond the\nclouds and spheres. Behold her now arrived at the gates of heaven. When\nmonarchs make their entrance to take possession of their kingdom, they do\nnot pass through the gates of the city, for either these are taken off\nentirely, or they pass over them. Hence the angels, when Jesus Christ\nentered paradise, cried: \u201cLift up your gates, O ye princes, and be ye\nlifted up, O eternal gates; and the King of glory shall enter in.\u201d[1310]\nThus, also, now that Mary is going to take possession of the kingdom\nof the heavens, the angels who accompany her cry to the others who are\nwithin: \u201cLift up your gates, ye princes, and be ye lifted up, O eternal\ngates, and the queen of glory shall enter in.\u201d[1311]\n\nAnd now Mary enters into the blessed country. But on her entrance, the\ncelestial spirits seeing her so beautiful and glorious, ask of those who\nare without, as Origen describes it, and exclaim, all rejoicing in heaven\nin one (voice): \u201cWho is this that cometh up from the desert, flowing\nwith delights, leaning upon her beloved?\u201d[1312] And who is this creature\nso beautiful, that comes from the desert of the earth, a place full of\nthorns and tribulation? But this one comes so pure and so rich in virtue,\nsupported by her beloved Lord, who deigns to accompany her with so great\nhonor. Who is she? The angels who accompany her answer: This is the\nmother of our King, she is our queen, and the blessed one among women,\nfull of grace, the saint of saints, the beloved of God, the immaculate,\nthe dove, the most beautiful of all creatures. And then all those blessed\nspirits begin to bless and praise her, singing, with more reason than the\nHebrews said to Judith: \u201cThou art the glory of Jerusalem, thou art the\njoy of Israel, thou art the honor of our people.\u201d[1313] Ah! our Lady and\nour queen, then thou art the glory of paradise, the joy of our country,\nthou art the honor of us all; be ever welcome, be ever blessed; behold\nthy kingdom, behold us, we are all thy servants, ready for thy commands.\n\nThen all the saints who were at that time in paradise came to welcome her\nand salute her as their queen. All the holy virgins came: They saw her,\nand declared her most blessed ... and they praised her.[1314] We, they\nsaid, oh most blessed Lady, are also queens of this kingdom, but thou\nart our queen; for thou wast the first to give us the great example of\nconsecrating our virginity to God; we all bless and thank thee for it.\nThen came the holy confessors to salute her as their mistress, who had\ntaught them so many beautiful virtues by her holy life. The holy martyrs\ncame also to salute her as their queen, because by her great constancy\nin the sorrows of the passion of her Son, she had taught them, and also\nobtained for them by her merits, strength to give their life for the\nfaith. St. James came also, the only one of the apostles who was then in\nparadise, to thank her in the name of all the other apostles, for the\ngreat comfort and support she had given them while she was upon earth.\nThe prophets next came to salute her, and they said to her: Ah, Lady,\nthou wast foreshadowed in our prophecies. The holy patriarchs came and\nsaid to her: Oh Mary, thou hast been our hope, so much and so long sighed\nfor by us. And among those came our first parents, Adam and Eve, to thank\nher with greater affection. Ah, beloved daughter, they said to her, thou\nhast repaired the injury done by us to the human race; thou hast obtained\nfor the world that blessing lost by us, on account of our crime; by thee\nwe are saved, and for it be forever blessed.\n\nThen came holy Simeon to kiss her feet, and with joy reminded her of that\nday on which he received from her hands the infant Jesus. St. Zachary and\nSt. Elizabeth also came, and thanked her again for that loving visit,\nthat with so much humility and charity she made them in their dwelling,\nand through which they received so many treasures of grace. St. John the\nBaptist came with greater affection to thank her for having sanctified\nhim by means of her voice. But what could her parents, St. Joachim and\nSt. Anna, say to her, when they came to salute her? Oh God! with what\ntenderness must they have blessed her, saying: Ah! beloved daughter,\nwhat happiness was ours in having such a child! Ah! be thou our queen\nnow, because thou art the mother of our God; as such we salute thee and\nadore thee. But who can comprehend the affection with which her dear\nspouse St. Joseph came to salute her? Who can describe the joy that the\nholy patriarch experienced at seeing his spouse arrive in heaven with\nso much triumph, made queen of all paradise? With what tenderness did he\nsay to her: Ah! my Lady and spouse, how shall I ever be able to thank\nour God as I ought for having made me thy spouse, thou who art his true\nmother? Through thee I merited on earth to attend upon the childhood of\nthe incarnate Word, to bear him so often in my arms, and receive from\nhim so many special favors. Blessed be the moments that I spent in life\nserving Jesus and thee, my holy spouse. Behold our Jesus; let us console\nourselves that now he is no more lying in a stable upon hay, as we saw\nhim at his birth in Bethlehem; he does not now live poor and despised\nin a shop, as once he lived with us in Nazareth; he is not now nailed\nto a shameful cross, as when he died for the salvation of the world in\nJerusalem; but he sits at the right hand of the Father, as king and Lord\nof heaven and of earth. And now, oh my queen, we shall never more depart\nfrom his holy feet, where we shall bless and love him eternally.\n\nThen all the angels came to salute her, and she, the great queen, thanked\nall for the assistance they had given her on earth, especially thanking\nthe Archangel St. Gabriel, who was the happy ambassador of all her\nglories, when he came to announce to her that she was to be made mother\nof God. Then the humble and holy Virgin, kneeling, adores the divine\nmajesty, and, wholly lost in the consciousness of her nothingness, thanks\nhim for all the graces bestowed upon her solely by his goodness, and\nespecially for having made her mother of the eternal Word. Let those who\ncan, comprehend with what love the most holy Trinity blessed her. Let\nthem comprehend what a welcome the eternal Father gave to his daughter,\nthe Son to his mother, the Holy Spirit to his spouse. The Father crowns\nher by sharing with her his power, the Son his wisdom, the Holy Spirit\nhis love. And all the three divine persons establishing her throne at\nthe right hand of Jesus, declare her universal queen of heaven and of\nearth, and command angels and all creatures to recognize her for their\nqueen, and as queen to serve and obey her. And here we pass on to the\nconsideration of how exalted was this throne to which Mary was elevated\nin heaven.\n\n_Second Point._\u2014If the human mind, says St. Bernard, cannot attain to\ncomprehend the immense glory which God has prepared in heaven for those\nwho have loved him on earth, as the apostle declares, who will ever\nattain to comprehend what he has prepared for her who bore him? \u201cQuid\npr\u00e6paravit gignenti se\u201d? What glory did he prepare for his beloved\nmother, he who on earth loved her more than all men; who, even from the\nfirst moment of her creation, loved her more than all men and angels\nunited! Justly, then, does the holy Church sing that Mary having loved\nGod more than all the angels, she has been exalted above all the angels\nin heaven.[1315] Yes, she was exalted, says William the Abbot, above the\nangels, so that she sees no one above her but her Son, who is the only\nbegotten Son of God.[1316]\n\nHence the learned Gerson asserts, that all the orders of angels and\nof saints being divided into three hierarchies, as the angelic Doctor\ndeclares,[1317] and St. Dionysius also, Mary constitutes in heaven a\nhierarchy of herself, the most sublime of all, and next to God.[1318]\nAnd as the mistress, St. Antoninus adds, is incomparably above her\nservants, so is the glory of Mary incomparably greater than that of the\nangels.[1319] And in order to understand this, it is enough to know what\nDavid said, that this queen was seated at the right hand of the Son: The\nqueen stood on thy right hand: \u201cAstitit regina a dextris tuis.\u201d[1320]\nWhich St. Athanasius exactly explained by saying: Mary is placed at the\nright hand of God.[1321]\n\nThe works of Mary, as St. Ildephonsus says, certainly incomparably\nsurpassed in merit the works of all the saints, and therefore the\nreward and the glory she merited cannot be conceived.[1322] And if it\nis certain that God rewards according to merit, as the apostle says,\n\u201cWho will render to every man according to his works;\u201d[1323] it is also\ncertain, says St. Thomas, that the Virgin, who excelled in merit all,\nboth men and angels, must have been exalted above all the celestial\norders.[1324] In fine, adds St. Bernard, let us measure the singular\ngrace that she acquired on earth, and then we may measure the singular\nglory that she has obtained in heaven.[1325]\n\nThe glory of Mary, remarks a learned author,[1326] which was a full\nglory, a complete glory, is different from that which the other saints\nhave in heaven. It is true that in heaven all the blessed enjoy a perfect\npeace and full content; yet it will always be true that no one of them\nenjoys that glory that he could have merited if he had loved and served\nGod with greater fidelity. Hence, although the saints in heaven desire\nnothing more than what they possess, yet, in fact, there is something\nthey could yet desire. It is also true that the sins which they have\ncommitted, and the time which they have lost, do not bring suffering; but\nit cannot be denied that the most good done in life, innocence preserved\nand time well employed, give the greatest content. Mary in heaven desires\nnothing, and has nothing to desire. Who of the saints in paradise,\nsays St. Augustine, if asked whether he has committed sins, can answer\nno, except Mary?[1327] It is certain, as the holy Council of Trent has\ndefined,[1328] that Mary never committed any sin, not even the least; not\nonly she has never lost divine grace\u2014never bedimmed it, but she has never\nkept it unemployed; she never did an action that was not meritorious;\nshe never said a word, or had a thought, or drew a breath, that was not\ndirected to the greatest glory of God; in a word, she never relaxed or\nstopped one moment in her onward course to God; she never lost any thing\nthrough negligence, for she always corresponded with grace with all her\npower, and loved God as much as she could love him. Oh Lord, she now says\nto him in heaven, if I have not loved thee as much as thou dost merit, at\nleast I have loved thee as much as I could.\n\nThe graces of the saints were different in each, as St. Paul said: There\nare diversities of graces: \u201cDivisiones gratiarum sunt.\u201d So that each\nof them corresponding with the grace received, has rendered himself\nexcellent in some virtue; one in saving souls, one in leading a life\nof penance, one in suffering torments, one in contemplation; hence the\nholy Church, when celebrating their festivals, says of each: And there\nwas not found the like to him: \u201cNon est inventus similis illi.\u201d And\nas in their merits, so are they in heaven different in glory: For star\ndiffereth from star in glory: \u201cStella enim a stella differt.\u201d[1329] The\nApostles differ from the martyrs, confessors from virgins, the innocents\nfrom penitents. The holy Virgin being full of all graces, excelled each\nsaint in every kind of virtue; she was the apostle of the apostles; she\nwas queen of the martyrs, for she suffered more than all of them; she was\nthe standard-bearer of the virgins, the model of spouses; she united in\nherself a perfect innocence with a perfect mortification; in a word, she\nunited in her heart all the most heroic virtues which any saint has ever\npractised. Hence it was said of her: \u201cThe queen stood on thy right hand\nin gilded clothing, surrounded with variety;\u201d[1330] for all the graces,\nprivileges, and merits of the other saints were found united in Mary, as\nthe Abbot of Celles says: The prerogatives of all the saints, oh Virgin,\nthou hast united in thyself.[1331]\n\nThus as the splendor of the sun exceeds the splendor of all the stars\nunited, so, says St. Basil, the glory of the divine mother exceeds that\nof all the blessed.[1332] And St. Peter Damian adds, that as the light of\nthe stars and of the moon disappears as if they were not, at the rising\nof the sun, thus Mary so far obscures in glory the splendor of men and\nof angels, that, as it were, these do not appear in heaven.[1333] Whence\nSt. Bernardine of Sienna agrees with St. Bernard in asserting that the\nblessed participate in part in the divine glory, but that the Virgin, in\na certain manner, has been so enriched with it, that it seems no creature\ncould be more united with God than is Mary.[1334] Which is confirmed by\nthe blessed Albertus Magnus, when he says that our queen contemplates\nGod very near, incomparably more so than all the other celestial\nspirits.[1335] And the above-named St. Bernardine says, moreover, that as\nthe other planets are illuminated by the sun, so all the blessed receive\ngreater light and joy from the sight of Mary.[1336] And in another\nplace he likewise asserts, that the mother of God, ascending to heaven,\nincreased the joy of all its inhabitants.[1337] Hence St. Peter Damian\nsays, that the blessed have no greater glory in heaven, after God,\nthan to enjoy the presence of that most beautiful queen: \u201cSumma gloria\nest post Deum te videre.\u201d[1338] And St. Bonaventure: Next to God, our\ngreatest glory and our greatest joy is from Mary.[1339]\n\nLet us rejoice, then, with Mary, in the exalted throne to which God has\nelevated her in heaven. And let us rejoice also for our own sake, since\nif our mother has ceased to be present with us, by ascending in glory to\nheaven, she has not ceased to be present with us in her affection. Nay,\nbeing there nearer and more united to God, she better knows our miseries,\nand therefore pities them more, and is better able to relieve us. And\nwilt thou, as St. Peter Damian asks, oh blessed Virgin, because thou hast\nbeen so exalted in heaven, be forgetful of us miserable creatures?[1340]\nNo, may God preserve us from the thought; a heart so merciful cannot\nbut pity our miseries which are so great.[1341] If the pity of Mary\nfor us was so great when she lived upon earth, much greater, says St.\nBonaventure, is it in heaven, where she reigns.[1342]\n\nMeanwhile let us dedicate ourselves to the service of this queen, to\nhonor and love her as much as we can; for she is not, as Richard of St.\nLawrence says, like other rulers, who oppress their vassals with burdens\nand taxes, but our queen enriches her servants with graces, merits, and\nrewards.[1343] And let us pray her with Guerric the Abbot: Oh mother of\nmercy, thou who sittest so near to God, queen of the world, upon a throne\nso sublime, satiate thyself with the glory of thy Jesus, and send to us\nthy servants the fragments that are left. Thou dost now enjoy the banquet\nof the Lord; we who are still on earth, like the dogs under the table,\nask thy pity.[1344]\n\n\nEXAMPLE.\n\nFather Silvanus Razzi relates,[1345] that a devout ecclesiastic who had\na tender love for our Queen Mary, had heard her beauty so much extolled\nthat he ardently desired once to see his Lady, and with humble prayers\nasked this favor. The kind mother sent an angel to tell him that she\nwould gratify him by allowing him to see her, but on this condition,\nnamely, that after seeing her he should become blind. He accepted the\ncondition. On a certain day, behold the blessed Virgin appeared to him,\nand that he might not become wholly blind, he at first wished to look\nat her with one eye only; but afterwards becoming enamored of the great\nbeauty of Mary, he wished to contemplate her with both, and then the\nmother of God disappeared. Deeply grieved at having lost the presence of\nhis queen, he could not cease weeping; not indeed for his lost eye, but\nthat he had not seen her with both. Then he began to supplicate her anew,\nthat she would again appear to him, and he would be willing to lose the\nother eye and become entirely blind. \u201cHappy and satisfied,\u201d oh my Lady,\nhe said, \u201cI will remain, if I become wholly blind for so good a cause,\nwhich will leave me more enamored of thee, and of thy beauty.\u201d Again Mary\nwas willing to satisfy him, and again she consoled him with her presence;\nbut because this loving queen can never injure any one, when she appeared\nto him the second time, not only she did not take from him the other eye,\nbut she even restored to him the one he had lost.\n\n\nPRAYER.\n\nOh great, excellent, and most glorious Lady, prostrate at the foot of\nthy throne, we adore thee from this valley of tears. We rejoice at the\nimmense glory with which our Lord has enriched thee. Now that thou art\nreally queen of heaven and of earth, ah, do not forget us thy poor\nservants. Do not disdain from thy lofty throne, from which thou dost\nreign, to turn thy pitying eyes towards us miserable sinners. As thou\nart so near the source of graces, thou art able so much the more to\nobtain them for us. In heaven thou seest more plainly our miseries, and\ntherefore thou must pity and relieve us the more. Make us on earth thy\nfaithful servants, that we may thus go to bless thee in paradise. On this\nday, when thou hast been made queen of the universe, we also consecrate\nourselves to thy service. In thy great joy console us also this day, by\naccepting us for thy vassals. Thou, then, art our mother. Ah, most sweet\nmother! most amiable mother! thy altars are surrounded by many people who\nask of thee, one to be healed of some malady, another to be relieved in\nhis necessities, one prays thee for a good harvest, and another success\nin some litigation. We ask of thee graces more pleasing to thy heart.\nObtain for us that we may be humble, detached from earth, resigned to\nthe divine will. Obtain for us the holy love of God, a good death, and\nparadise. Oh Lady, change us from sinners to saints. Perform this miracle\nthat will redound more to thy honor, than if thou didst restore sight to\na thousand blind persons, or raise a thousand from the dead. Thou art so\npowerful with God, it is enough to say that thou art his mother, his most\nbeloved, full of his grace; what can he then deny thee? Oh most lovely\nqueen, we do not pretend to behold thee on the earth, but we desire to go\nand see thee in paradise; thou must obtain this for us. Thus we certainly\nhope. Amen, amen.\n\n\n\n\nDISCOURSE IX.\n\nON THE DOLORS OF MARY.\n\n\n _Mary was queen of martyrs, because her martyrdom was longer\n and greater than that of all the martyrs._\n\nWho can have a heart so hard that it will not melt on hearing of a most\nlamentable event which once happened in the world? There was a noble\nand holy mother who had but one only Son; and he was the most amiable\nthat could be imagined, innocent, virtuous, beautiful, and most loving\ntowards his mother; so much so, that he never had caused her the least\ndispleasure, but always had showed her all respect, obedience, and\naffection. Hence the mother had placed on this Son all her earthly\naffections. Now what happened? It happened that this Son, through envy,\nwas falsely accused by his enemies, and the judge, although he knew and\nconfessed his innocence, yet, that he might not offend his enemies,\ncondemned him to an infamous death, precisely as they had requested him\nto do. And this poor mother had to suffer the affliction of seeing that\namiable and beloved Son so unjustly taken from her, in the flower of his\nage, by a barbarous death; for he was made to die in torment, drained\nof his blood before her own eyes, in a public place, upon an infamous\ngibbet. Devout souls, what do you say? Is this case and this unhappy\nmother worthy of compassion? Already you know of whom I speak. This Son\nso cruelly slain was our loving Redeemer, Jesus, and this mother was the\nblessed Virgin Mary, who, for love of us, was willing to see him offered\nup to the divine justice by the barbarity of men. This great pain,\nthen, which Mary suffered for us\u2014a pain which was more than a thousand\ndeaths\u2014merits our compassion and gratitude. And if we can return nothing\nelse for so much love, at least let us for a little time to-day stop to\nconsider the severity of the suffering by which Mary became queen of\nmartyrs; for her great martyrdom exceeded in suffering that of all the\nmartyrs,\u2014being, in the first place, the longest martyrdom; and in the\nsecond place, the greatest martyrdom.\n\n_First Point._\u2014As Jesus is called King of sorrows and King of martyrs,\nbecause he suffered in his life more than all the other martyrs, so is\nalso Mary called, with reason, queen of the martyrs, having merited this\ntitle by suffering the greatest martyrdom that could be suffered, next to\nthat of her Son. Hence she was justly named by Richard of St. Laurence,\nthe martyr of martyrs: \u201cMartyr martyrum.\u201d And to her may be applied\nwhat Isaias said: He will crown thee with the crown of tribulation:\n\u201cCoronans coronabit te tribulatione.\u201d[1346] For that suffering itself\nwhich exceeded the suffering of all the other martyrs united, was the\ncrown by which she was shown to be the queen of martyrs. That Mary was a\ntrue martyr cannot be doubted, as is proved by the Carthusian, Pelbart,\nCatharinus, and others; for it is an established opinion that suffering\nsufficient to cause death, constitutes martyrdom, although death may\nnot then take place. St. John the Evangelist is revered as a martyr,\nalthough he did not die in the caldron of boiling oil, but came out more\nsound than he went in: \u201cVegetior exiverit quam intraverit.\u201d[1347] It is\nsufficient to procure the glory of martyrdom, says St. Thomas, that any\none should be obedient even to offer himself to death.[1348] Mary was a\nmartyr, says St. Bernard, not by the sword of the executioner, but by the\nbitter sorrow of her heart.[1349] If her body was not wounded by the hand\nof the executioner, yet her blessed heart was pierced by grief at the\npassion of her Son; a grief sufficient to cause her not only one, but a\nthousand deaths. And from this we shall see that Mary was not only a true\nmartyr, but that her martyrdom surpassed that of all the other martyrs,\nfor it was a longer martyrdom, and, if I may thus express it, all her\nlife was a long death.\n\nThe passion of Jesus commenced with his birth, as St. Bernard\nsays;[1350] and Mary also, in all things like unto her Son, suffered\nher martyrdom through her whole life. The name of Mary, among its other\nsignifications, as the blessed Albertus Magnus affirms, signifies a\n_bitter sea_: \u201cMare amarum.\u201d Wherefore to her is applied the passage of\nJeremias: Great as the sea is thy destruction: \u201cMagna est enim velut mare\ncontritio tua.\u201d[1351] For as the sea is all salt and bitter, thus the\nlife of Mary was always full of bitterness at the sight of the passion of\nthe Redeemer, which was ever present to her. It cannot be doubted that\nbeing more enlightened by the Holy Spirit than all the prophets, she\nbetter comprehended than they the predictions concerning the Messias,\nwhich they recorded in their holy Scriptures. Precisely this the angel\nrevealed to St. Bridget.[1352] Whence, as the same angel declared,\nthe Virgin knowing how much the incarnate Word was to suffer for the\nsalvation of men, even before she became his mother, and compassionating\nthis innocent Saviour, who was to be so cruelly put to death for crimes\nnot his own, she commenced, from that time, her great martyrdom.[1353]\n\nHer grief afterwards increased immeasurably when she was made mother\nof this Saviour. So that at the painful thought of all the sufferings\nwhich her poor Son was to endure, she indeed experienced, says Rupert\nthe Abbot, a long martyrdom\u2014a martyrdom continued through her whole\nlife.[1354] And exactly this was signified by the vision which St.\nBridget had at Rome, in the church of St. Mary Major, where the blessed\nVirgin appeared to her with St. Simeon, and an angel, having a sword\nwhich was very long and red with blood; by which was prefigured the\nlong and bitter grief that pierced the heart of Mary during her whole\nlife.[1355] Whence the above-named Rupert puts into the mouth of Mary\nthe following words: Oh redeemed souls and my beloved children, do not\npity me only for that hour in which I saw my dear Jesus dying in my\npresence, for the sword of sorrow, predicted to me by Simeon, pierced my\nsoul during my whole life; when I was giving suck to my Son, when I was\nwarming him in my arms, I already saw the bitter death that awaited him;\nconsider then what long and cruel sorrows I must have endured.[1356]\n\nWherefore Mary might truly say in the words of David: My life is wasted\nwith grief and my years in sighs.[1357] My sorrow is continually before\nme: \u201cDolor meus in conspectu meo semper.\u201d[1358] My life was wholly passed\nin grief and tears; for my grief, which was compassion for my beloved\nSon, never departed from before my eyes, seeing, as I did, continually\nthe sufferings and death that he was one day to endure. The divine mother\nherself revealed to St. Bridget, that even after the death and ascension\nof her Son into heaven, the memory of his passion, whether she ate or\nworked, was deeply impressed and ever recent in her tender heart.[1359]\nTaulerus therefore says, that Mary passed her whole life in perpetual\nsorrow; for her heart was always occupied with thoughts of sadness and of\nsuffering.[1360]\n\nSo that time, which usually mitigates the sorrows of the afflicted, did\nnot relieve Mary; nay, time itself increased her sorrow, for as Jesus\nincreased in years, on the one hand, he continually showed himself\nmore lovely and amiable; and on the other, the time of his death was\never drawing nearer, and grief at having to lose him on this earth,\ncontinually increased in the heart of Mary. As the rose grows up among\nthorns, said the angel to St. Bridget, so the mother of God advanced\nin years in the midst of sufferings; and as the thorns increase with\nthe growth of the rose, thus this rose selected by the Lord, Mary, as\nshe increased in age, was so much the more pierced by the thorns of her\ndolors.[1361] Having considered the length of this suffering, let us now\npass on to the second point, namely, the consideration of its greatness.\n\n_Point Second._\u2014Ah, Mary was not only queen of the martyrs, because\nher martyrdom was longer than that of all others, but also because it\nwas the greatest of all. But who can measure its greatness? Jeremias\nappears to be unable to find any one with whom he may compare this mother\nof sorrows, when considering her great suffering at the death of her\nSon. \u201cTo what shall I compare thee, or to what shall I liken thee, oh\ndaughter of Jerusalem; for great as the sea is thy destruction; who shall\nheal thee?\u201d[1362] Wherefore Cardinal Hugo, commenting on these words,\nsays: Oh blessed Virgin, as the bitterness of the sea exceeds all other\nbitterness, so thy grief surpasses all other griefs.[1363] Hence St.\nAnselm affirms, that if God, by a special miracle, had not preserved the\nlife of Mary, her grief would have been sufficient to cause her death at\neach moment of her life.[1364] And St. Bernardine of Sienna even says,\nthat the grief of Mary was so great, that if it were divided among all\nmen, it would be enough to cause their immediate death.[1365]\n\nBut let us consider the reasons why the martyrdom of Mary was greater\nthan that of all the martyrs. In the first place, it must be remembered\nthat the martyrs suffered their martyrdom in the body, by means of fire\nor steel; Mary suffered martyrdom in her soul, as St. Simeon had before\nprophesied: And thy own soul a sword shall pierce: \u201cEt tuam ipsius animam\npertransibit gladius:\u201d[1366] as if the holy old man had said to her: Oh\nholy Virgin, the bodies of the other martyrs will be torn with iron, but\nthou wilt be pierced and martyred in thy soul, by the passion of thy\nown Son. Now, as the soul is more noble than the body, so much greater\nwas the suffering of Mary than that of all the martyrs; as Jesus Christ\nhimself said to St. Catharine of Sienna: There is no comparison between\nthe sufferings of the soul and the body: \u201cInter dolorem anim\u00e6 et corporis\nnulla est comparatio.\u201d Whence the holy abbot Arnold Carnotensis says,\nthat whoever had been present on Calvary at the great sacrifice of the\nimmaculate Lamb, when he was dying on the cross, would have there beheld\ntwo great altars, one in the body of Jesus, the other in the heart of\nMary; for there, at the same time that the Son sacrificed his body in\ndeath, Mary sacrificed her soul in compassion.[1367]\n\nMoreover, while the other martyrs, as St. Antoninus says,[1368]\nsuffered by sacrificing their own lives, the blessed Virgin suffered\nby sacrificing the life of her Son, whom she loved far more than her\nown life; so that she not only suffered in spirit all that her Son\nsuffered in body, but, moreover, the sight of the sufferings of her Son\nbrought more grief to her heart than if she had endured them all in her\nown person. There can be no doubt that Mary suffered in her heart all\nthe tortures by which she saw her beloved Jesus tormented. Every one\nknows that the sufferings of children are also the sufferings of their\nmothers, when they are the witnesses of them. St. Augustine, considering\nthe anguish that the mother of the Macchabees experienced in witnessing\nthe tortures which her sons endured, says: \u201cShe suffered in them all,\nbecause she loved them all; and endured with her eyes what they all\nendured in the flesh.\u201d[1369] Thus also was it with Mary; all those\ntorments, scourgings, thorns, nails, and the cross, which tortured the\ninnocent flesh of Jesus, entered at the same time into the heart of Mary\nto complete her martyrdom. He in the flesh, she in the heart suffered,\nwrites St. Amadeus: \u201cIlle carne, illa corde passa est.\u201d[1370] So that,\nas St. Lawrence Justinian says, the heart of Mary became as it were\na mirror of the agonies of her Son, in which were seen the spitting,\nthe scourging, the wounds, and all that Jesus suffered.[1371] And St.\nBonaventure remarks, that these wounds which were scattered all over the\nbody of Jesus, were all united in the one heart of Mary.[1372]\n\nThe Virgin, then, through compassion for her Son, was scourged, crowned\nwith thorns, insulted, and nailed to the cross. Whence the same saint\nconsidering Mary on Mt. Calvary, where she was present with her dying\nSon, asks of her: Oh Lady, tell me where you then stood? Perhaps only\nat the foot of the cross! Might I not rather say thou wast on the cross\nitself crucified with thy Son?[1373] And Richard, remarking on the words\nof the Redeemer, which he spoke by the mouth of Isaias: \u201cI have trodden\nthe wine-press alone, and of the Gentiles there is not a man with\nme,\u201d[1374] adds: Oh Lord, thou dost rightly say that in the work of human\nredemption thou didst suffer alone, and there was no man that could pity\nthee sufficiently; but there was a woman with thee, thy own mother, who\nsuffered in her heart whatever thou didst suffer in thy body.[1375]\n\nBut all this is saying only too little of the sorrows of Mary; for, as I\nhave before said, she suffered more in seeing her beloved Jesus suffer,\nthan if in her own person she had endured all the tortures and the death\nof her Son. Erasmus has written, speaking of parents, generally, that\nthey feel the sufferings of their children more than their own.[1376] But\nthis is not always true. It was no doubt true of Mary, for she certainly\nloved her Son and his life far more than herself, and a thousand lives of\nher own. Therefore St. Amadeus well declares, that the afflicted mother,\nat the sorrowful sight of the agony of her beloved Jesus, suffered much\nmore than if she herself had endured his whole passion.[1377] The reason\nis plain, since, as St. Bernard says: The soul is more where it loves,\nthan where it lives: \u201cAnima magis est ubi amat, quam ubi animat.\u201d And\nthe Saviour himself had before said, that our heart is where our treasure\nis.[1378] If Mary, then, through love, lived more in her Son than in\nherself, a much greater grief did she suffer at the death of her Son,\nthan if the most cruel death in the world had been inflicted on her.\n\nAnd here is to be considered the other circumstance that rendered the\nmartyrdom of Mary far greater than the sufferings of all the martyrs,\nfor in the passion of Jesus she suffered much, and she suffered without\nalleviation. The martyrs suffered under the torments which their tyrants\ninflicted upon them, but love to Jesus rendered their pains sweet and\ndelightful. A St. Vincent suffered in his martyrdom; he was tortured\non the rack, torn with hooks, burned with red-hot iron plates; but St.\nAugustine says: One seemed to suffer, and another to speak: \u201cAlius\nvidebatur pati, alius loqui.\u201d The saint addressed the tyrant with such\npower, and with such contempt of his torments, that it seemed as if one\nVincent suffered and another Vincent spoke, so greatly did his God, with\nthe sweetness of his love, comfort him in the midst of his sufferings. A\nSt. Boniface suffered; his body was torn with irons, sharp-pointed reeds\nwere thrust between his nails and flesh, melted lead was poured into his\nmouth, and at the same time he could not often enough repeat: I give\nthanks to thee, oh Jesus Christ: \u201cGratias tibi ago, Domine Jesu Christe.\u201d\nA St. Mark and a St. Marcellinus suffered; they were bound to a stake,\ntheir feet pierced by nails, and the tyrant appealed to them, saying:\n\u201cMiserable beings, look at your condition, and save yourselves from these\ntorments.\u201d And they answered: \u201cWhat torments, what pains do you speak of?\nWe have never feasted with more joy than now, when we are suffering with\npleasure for the love of Jesus Christ.\u201d[1379] A St. Lawrence suffered,\nbut while he was burning on the gridiron, the interior flame of love,\nas St. Leo says, was more powerful to cheer his soul, than the flames\nwithout were to torture his body.[1380] Hence love made him so strong,\nthat he even braved the tyrant by saying to him: Tyrant, if you wish to\nfeed on my flesh, a part is sufficiently cooked, turn and eat: \u201cAssatum\nest jam, versa et manduca.\u201d But in such torture and lingering death,\nhow could the saint thus exult? Ah, St. Augustine answers, because,\nintoxicated with the wine of divine love, he felt neither torments nor\ndeath.[1381]\n\nFor the holy martyrs, the more they loved Jesus, the less they felt\ntorments and death, and the sight alone of the sufferings of a\ncrucified God was sufficient to console them. But was not our afflicted\nmother, also, thus consoled by love for her Son, and the sight of his\nsufferings? No, for this very Son who suffered, was the whole cause\nof her grief; and the love she bore him was her only, and too cruel\nexecutioner; for the whole martyrdom of Mary consisted in seeing and\npitying her innocent and beloved Son, who suffered so much. Therefore,\nthe more she loved him, the more bitter and inconsolable was her sorrow.\n\u201cGreat as the sea is thy destruction, who shall heal thee?\u201d[1382] Ah,\nqueen of heaven, love hath alleviated the sufferings of other martyrs,\nand has healed their wounds; but who has ever soothed thy great sorrow?\nWho has ever healed the cruel wounds of thy heart? Who will heal thee?\n\u201cQuis medebitur tui?\u201d if that same Son, who could give thee consolation,\nwas by his sufferings the sole cause of thy sorrows, and the love that\nthou didst bear him, caused all thy martyrdom? Therefore, whilst the\nother martyrs, as Diez remarks, are all represented with the instrument\nof their passion\u2014St. Paul with the sword, St. Andrew with the cross, St.\nLawrence with the gridiron\u2014Mary is represented with her dead Son in her\narms, because Jesus himself alone was the instrument of her martyrdom,\nby reason of the love which she bore him. In a few words St. Bernard\nconfirms all I have said: With the other martyrs their great love\nsoothed the anguish of their martyrdom; but the more the blessed Virgin\nloved, so much the more she suffered, and so much more cruel was her\nmartyrdom.[1383]\n\nIt is certain that the greater is our love for a thing, the greater pain\nwe feel in losing it. The loss of a brother certainly afflicts us more\nthan the loss of a beast of burden; and the death of a son, more than\nthat of a friend. Now Cornelius \u00e0 Lapide says, that to comprehend how\ngreat was the grief of Mary at the death of her Son, we should comprehend\nhow great was the love she bore him.[1384] But who can measure that love?\nThe blessed Amadeus says, that in the heart of Mary two kinds of love to\nher Jesus were united: the supernatural love with which she loved him as\nher God, and the natural love with which she loved him as her son;[1385]\nso that, of these two loves, one only was formed, but a love so immense\nthat William of Paris even said, that the blessed Virgin loved Jesus\nto such a degree that a pure creature could not love him more.[1386]\nAnd Richard of St. Laurence says, as there was no love like her love,\nso there was no grief like her grief.[1387] If, therefore, the love of\nMary for her Son was immense, immense, also, must have been her grief\nin losing him by death. Where love is greatest, says blessed Albertus\nMagnus, there grief is greatest: \u201cUbi summus amor, ibi summus dolor.\u201d\n\nLet us imagine, then, that the divine mother, standing near her Son dying\nupon the cross, and justly applying to herself the words of Jeremias,\nsays to us: \u201cOh, all ye that pass by the way attend, and see if there be\nany sorrow like to my sorrow.\u201d[1388] Oh ye that are passing your lives\nupon this earth, and have no pity for me, stop a while to look upon me,\nnow that I behold this beloved Son dying before my eyes; and then see if\namong all who are afflicted and tormented, there be sorrow like to my\nsorrow. No, answers St. Bonaventure, there can be found no sorrow, oh\nafflicted mother, more bitter than thine, for no son can be found more\ndear than thine.[1389] Ah, there has never been in the world, says St.\nLawrence Justinian, a son more worthy of love than Jesus, nor a mother\nwho loved her son more than Mary; if, then, there has never been in the\nworld a love like the love of Mary, how can there be a grief like the\ngrief of Mary?[1390]\n\nTherefore, St. Ildephonsus did not hesitate to affirm, that it was\nlittle to say that the sufferings of the Virgin exceeded all the torments\nof the martyrs, even were they united together.[1391] And St. Anselm\nadds, that the most cruel tortures inflicted upon the holy martyrs were\nlight or nothing, in comparison with the martyrdom of Mary.[1392] St.\nBasil likewise writes, that as the sun surpasses in splendor all the\nother planets, so Mary in her sufferings exceeded the sufferings of all\nthe other martyrs.[1393] A certain learned author[1394] concludes with\nan admirable sentiment, saying, that so great was the sorrow which this\ntender mother suffered in the passion of Jesus, that she alone could\nworthily compassionate the death of a God made man.\n\nBut St. Bonaventure, addressing the blessed Virgin, says: Oh Lady, why\nhast thou wished to go and sacrifice thyself also on Calvary? Was not a\ncrucified God sufficient to redeem us, that thou his mother wouldst be\ncrucified also?[1395] Indeed, the death of Jesus was more than enough\nto save the world, and also an infinity of worlds; but this good\nmother wished, for the love she bore us, likewise to aid the cause of\nour salvation with the merits of the sorrows which she offered for us\non Calvary. And, therefore, says the blessed Albertus Magnus, as we\nare indebted to Jesus for what he suffered for love of us, we are also\nindebted to Mary for the martyrdom which she, in the death of her Son,\nvoluntarily suffered for our salvation.[1396] I have added voluntarily,\nsince, as the angel revealed to St. Bridget, this our so merciful and\nkind mother was willing to suffer any pain, rather than to see souls\nunredeemed or left in their former perdition.[1397] It may be said\nthat this was the only consolation of Mary in the midst of her great\nsorrow at the passion of her Son, to see the lost world redeemed by his\ndeath, and men, who were his enemies, reconciled with God. Grieving, she\nrejoiced, says Simon da Cassia, because the sacrifice was offered for the\nredemption of all, by which wrath was appeased.[1398]\n\nSuch love as that of Mary merits our gratitude, and let us show our\ngratitude by meditating upon and compassionating her sorrows. But of this\nshe complained to St. Bridget, that very few pitied her, and most lived\nforgetful of her sorrows. \u201cI look around upon all who are in the world,\nif perchance there may be any to pity me, and meditate upon my sorrows,\nand truly I find very few. Therefore, my daughter, though I am forgotten\nby many, at least do not thou forget me; behold my anguish, and imitate,\nas far as thou canst, my grief.\u201d[1399] In order to understand how much\nthe Virgin is pleased by our remembrance of her dolors, it is sufficient\nto relate, that in the year 1239, she appeared to seven of her servants,\nwho then became the founders of the order of the Servants of Mary, with\na black garment in her hand, and told them that if they wished to please\nher, they should often meditate upon her dolors; and therefore she\nwished, in memory of them, that they would hereafter wear that garment of\nmourning.[1400] And Jesus Christ himself revealed to the blessed Veronica\nBinasco, that he takes more pleasure, as it were, in seeing his mother\ncompassionated than himself; for thus he addressed her: \u201cMy daughter, the\ntears shed for my passion are dear to me; but loving with so great love\nmy mother Mary, the meditation of the dolors which she suffered at my\ndeath is more dear to me.\u201d[1401]\n\nWherefore the graces are very great which Jesus promises to those who\nare devoted to the dolors of Mary. Pelbart relates,[1402] that it was\nrevealed to St. Elizabeth, that St. John the Evangelist, after the\nblessed Virgin was assumed into heaven, desired to see her again. This\nfavor was granted him; his dear mother appeared to him, and Jesus Christ\nwith her; and he then heard Mary asking of her Son some peculiar grace\nfor those who were devoted to her dolors; and Jesus promised her for them\nthe four following special graces: 1st. That those who invoke the divine\nmother by her sorrows, before death will merit to obtain true repentance\nof all their sins. 2d. That he will protect such in their tribulations,\nespecially at the hour of death. 3d. That he will impress upon them the\nmemory of his passion, and that they shall have their reward for it in\nheaven. 4th. That he will commit such devout servants to the hands of\nMary, that she may dispose of them according to her pleasure, and obtain\nfor them all the graces she desires. In proof of this, let us see in the\nfollowing example how devotion to the dolors of Mary may aid our eternal\nsalvation.\n\n\nEXAMPLE.\n\nWe read in the revelations of St. Bridget,[1403] that there was once\na lord as noble by birth as he was low and sinful in his habits. He\nhad given himself by an express compact as a slave to the devil, and\nhad served him for sixty successive years, leading such a life as may\neasily be imagined, and never approaching the sacraments. Now, this\nprince was about to die, and Jesus Christ, in his compassion, commanded\nSt. Bridget to tell his confessor to visit him, and exhort him to make\nhis confession. The confessor went, and the sick man told him that he\nhad no need of a confessor, for that he had often made his confession.\nThe confessor visited him a second time, and that poor slave of hell\npersevered in his obstinate determination not to make his confession.\nJesus again directed the saint to tell the confessor to go to him again.\nHe obeyed, and this third time related to him the revelation made to\nthe saint, and that he had returned so many times because the Lord, who\ndesired to show him mercy, had directed him to do so. On hearing this,\nthe dying man was moved, and began to weep. But how, he exclaimed, can I\nbe pardoned, when for sixty years I have served the devil, made myself\nhis slave, and have laden my soul with innumerable sins? \u201cSon,\u201d answered\nthe father, encouraging him, \u201cdo not doubt: if you repent of them, in the\nname of God I promise you pardon.\u201d Then beginning to gain confidence, he\nsaid to the confessor: \u201cFather, I believed myself lost, and despaired\nof salvation; but now I feel a sorrow for my sins, which encourages\nme to trust; and as God has not yet abandoned me, I wish to make my\nconfession.\u201d And in fact on that day he made his confession four times,\nwith great sorrow; the next day he received communion, and on the sixth\nhe died, contrite and entirely resigned. After his death, Jesus Christ\nfurther revealed to St. Bridget, that this sinner was saved, and was in\npurgatory, and that he had been saved by the intercession of the Virgin,\nhis mother; for the deceased, although he had led so sinful a life, yet\nhad always preserved devotion to her dolors, whenever he remembered them\nhe pitied her.\n\n\nPRAYER.\n\nOh my afflicted mother! queen of martyrs and of sorrows, thou hast shed\nso many tears for thy Son, who died for my salvation, and yet what will\nthy tears avail me, if I am lost? By the merits, then, of thy dolors,\nobtain for me a true sorrow for my sins, and a true amendment of life,\nwith a perpetual and tender compassion for the passion of Jesus and thy\nown sufferings. And if Jesus and thou, being so innocent, have suffered\nso much for me, obtain for me that I, who am deserving of hell, may\nalso suffer something for love of you. Oh Lady, I will say to thee with\nSt. Bonaventure, if I have offended thee, wound my heart in punishment;\nif I have served thee, now I beg to be wounded as a reward. It is a\nshameful thing to see our Lord Jesus wounded, and thee wounded with him,\nand I uninjured.[1404] Finally, oh my mother, by the grief thou didst\nexperience on seeing thy Son before thy eyes bow his head and expire\nupon the cross, I entreat of thee to obtain for me a good death. Ah, do\nnot cease, oh advocate of sinners, to assist my afflicted and struggling\nsoul in that great passage that it has to make into eternity. And,\nbecause at that time it may easily be the case that I shall have lost the\nuse of speech with which to invoke thy name, and that of Jesus, who are\nall my hope, therefore I now invoke thy Son and thee to succor me at that\nlast moment, and I say: Jesus and Mary, to you I commend my soul. Amen.\n\n\n\n\nREFLECTIONS ON EACH OF THE SEVEN DOLORS OF MARY IN PARTICULAR.\n\n\nON THE FIRST DOLOR.\n\nOF ST. SIMEON\u2019S PROPHECY.\n\nIn this valley of tears, every man is born to weep, and every one must\nsuffer those afflictions that daily befall him. But how much more\nmiserable would life be, if every one knew also the future evils which\nare to afflict him! Too unhappy would he be, says Seneca, whose fate was\nsuch.[1405] The Lord exercises this compassion towards us, namely, that\nhe does not make known to us the crosses that await us; that if we are\nto suffer them, at least we may suffer them only once. But he did not\nexercise this compassion with Mary, who, because God wished her to be\nqueen of dolors, and in all things like his Son, had to see always before\nher eyes, and to suffer continually all the sorrows that awaited her; and\nthose were the sufferings of the passion and death of her beloved Jesus.\nFor St. Simeon in the temple, after having received the divine child in\nhis arms, predicted to her that this child was to be the mark for all\nthe opposition and persecution of men: \u201cSet for a sign which shall be\ncontradicted;\u201d and that therefore the sword of sorrow should pierce her\nsoul: \u201cAnd thy own soul a sword shall pierce.\u201d[1406]\n\nThe holy Virgin herself said to St. Matilda, that at this announcement\nof St. Simeon all her joy was changed into sorrow.[1407] For, as it was\nrevealed to St. Theresa, the blessed mother, although she knew before\nthis that the life of her Son would be sacrificed for the salvation of\nthe world, yet she then learned more particularly and distinctly the\nsufferings and cruel death that awaited her poor Son. She knew that\nhe would be contradicted in all things. Contradicted in doctrine; for\ninstead of being believed, he would be esteemed a blasphemer for teaching\nthat he was the Son of God, as the impious Caiaphas declared him to be,\nsaying: \u201cHe hath blasphemed, he is guilty of death.\u201d[1408] Contradicted\nin his reputation, for he was noble, of royal lineage, and was despised\nas a peasant: \u201cIs not this the carpenter\u2019s son?\u201d[1409] \u201cIs not this\nthe carpenter, the son of Mary?\u201d[1410] He was wisdom itself, and was\ntreated as an ignorant man: \u201cHow doth this man know letters, having\nnever learned?\u201d[1411] As a false prophet: \u201cAnd they blindfolded him and\nsmote his face ... saying: Prophesy who is this that struck thee.\u201d[1412]\nHe was treated as a madman: \u201cHe is mad, why hear you him?\u201d[1413] As a\nwine-bibber, a glutton, and a friend of sinners: \u201cBehold a man that is a\nglutton, and a drinker of wine, a friend of publicans and sinners.\u201d[1414]\nAs a sorcerer: \u201cBy the prince of devils he casteth out devils.\u201d[1415] As\na heretic and possessed person: \u201cDo we not say well of thee, that thou\nart a Samaritan, and hast a devil?\u201d[1416] In a word, Jesus was considered\nas so bad and notorious a man, that no trial was necessary to condemn\nhim, as the Jews said to Pilate: \u201cIf he were not a malefactor, we would\nnot have delivered him up to thee.\u201d[1417] He was contradicted in his\nsoul, for even his eternal Father, in order to give place to the divine\njustice, contradicted him by not wishing to hear him when he prayed to\nhim, saying: \u201cFather, if it be possible, let this chalice pass from\nme;\u201d[1418] and abandoned him to fear, weariness, and sadness, so that\nour afflicted Lord said: \u201cMy soul is sorrowful even unto death.\u201d[1419]\nHis interior suffering even caused him to sweat blood. Contradicted and\npersecuted, in a word, in his body and his life, for he was tortured in\nall his sacred members: in his hands, in his feet, in his face, in his\nhead, in his whole body, till, drained to the last drop of his blood, he\ndied an ignominious death on the cross.\n\nWhen David, in the midst of all his pleasures and royal grandeur, heard\nfrom Nathan the prophet that his son should die\u2014\u201cThe child that is born\nto thee shall surely die\u201d[1420]\u2014he could find no peace, but wept, fasted,\nand slept upon the ground. Mary received with the greatest calmness the\nannouncement that her Son should die, and peacefully continued to submit\nto it; but what grief she must have continually suffered, seeing this\namiable Son always near her, hearing from him words of eternal life, and\nbeholding his holy demeanor. Abraham suffered great affliction during\nthe three days he passed with his beloved Isaac, after he knew that he\nwas to lose him. Oh God! not for three days, but for thirty-three years,\nMary had to endure a like sorrow. Like, do I say? A sorrow as much\ngreater as the Son of Mary was more lovely than the son of Abraham. The\nblessed Virgin herself revealed to St. Bridget,[1421] that while she\nlived on the earth there was not an hour when this grief did not pierce\nher soul: As often, she continued, as I looked upon my Son, as often\nas I wrapped him in his swaddling clothes, as often as I saw his hands\nand his feet, so often was my soul overwhelmed as it were with a fresh\nsorrow, because I considered how he would be crucified.[1422] Rupert the\nAbbot, contemplating Mary, while she was suckling her Son, imagines her\naddressing him in these words: \u201cA bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me,\nhe shall abide between my breasts.\u201d[1423] Ah, my Son, I clasp thee in my\narms, because thou art so dear to me; but the dearer thou art to me, the\nmore thou dost become to me a bundle of myrrh and of sorrow, when I think\nof thy sufferings. Mary, says St. Bernardine of Sienna,[1424] considered\nthat the strength of the saints was to pass through death; the beauty\nof paradise to be deformed; the Lord of the universe to be bound as a\ncriminal; the Creator of all things to be livid with stripes; the Judge\nof all to be condemned; the glory of heaven despised; the King of kings\nto be crowned with thorns, and treated as a mock king.\n\nFather Engelgrave writes, that it was revealed to the same St. Bridget,\nthat the afflicted mother, knowing all that her Son would have to suffer,\nwhen suckling him, thought of the gall and vinegar; when she swathed him,\nof the cords with which he was to be bound; when she bore him in her\narms, she thought of him being nailed to the cross; and when he slept,\nshe thought of his death.[1425] As often as she put on him his clothes,\nshe reflected that they would one day be torn from him, that he might be\ncrucified; and when she beheld his sacred hands and feet, and thought of\nthe nails that were to pierce them, as Mary said to St. Bridget: \u201cMy eyes\nfilled with tears, and my heart was tortured with grief.\u201d[1426]\n\nThe evangelist says, that as Jesus Christ advanced in years, so also\nhe advanced in wisdom and in grace with God and men.[1427] That is,\nhe advanced in wisdom and in grace before men, or in their estimation;\nand before God, according to St. Thomas,[1428] inasmuch as all his\nworks would continually have availed to increase his merit, if from the\nbeginning grace in its complete fulness had not been conferred on him\nby virtue of the hypostatic union. But if Jesus advanced in the esteem\nand love of others, how much more did he advance in Mary\u2019s love! But,\noh God, as love increased in her, the more increased in her the grief\nof having to lose him by a death so cruel. And the nearer the time of\nthe passion of her Son approached, with so much greater pain did that\nsword of sorrow, predicted by St. Simeon, pierce the heart of the mother;\nprecisely this the angel revealed to St. Bridget, saying: \u201cThat sword of\nsorrow was every hour drawing nearer to the Virgin as the time for the\npassion of her Son drew nearer.\u201d[1429]\n\nIf, then, Jesus our King and his most holy mother did not refuse, for\nlove of us, to suffer during their whole life such cruel pains, there is\nno reason that we should complain if we suffer a little. Jesus crucified\nonce appeared to sister Magdalene Orsini, a Dominican nun, when she had\nbeen long suffering a great trial, and encouraged her to remain with him\non the cross with that sorrow that was afflicting her. Sister Magdalene\nanswered him complainingly: \u201cOh Lord, thou didst suffer on the cross only\nthree hours, but it is more than three years that I have been suffering\nthis cross.\u201d Then the Redeemer replied: \u201cAh! ignorant soul, what dost\nthou say? I, from the first moment I was conceived, suffered in heart\nwhat I afterwards suffered on the cross.\u201d If, then, we too suffer any\naffliction and complain, let us imagine that Jesus and his mother Mary\nare saying to us the same words.\n\n\nEXAMPLE.\n\nFather Roviglione, of the Company of Jesus, relates,[1430] that a certain\nyouth practised the devotion of visiting every day an image of the\nsorrowful Mary, in which she was represented with seven swords piercing\nher heart. One night the unhappy youth fell into mortal sin. Going next\nmorning to visit the image, he saw in the heart of the blessed Virgin\nnot only seven, but eight swords. As he stood gazing at this, he heard a\nvoice saying to him, that his sin had added the eighth sword to the heart\nof Mary. This softened his hard heart; he went immediately to confession,\nand through the intercession of his advocate, recovered the divine grace.\n\n\nPRAYER.\n\nOh my blessed mother, not one sword only, but as many swords as I have\ncommitted sins have I added to those seven in thy heart. Ah, my Lady,\nthy sorrows are not due to thee who art innocent, but to me who am\nguilty. But since thou hast wished to suffer so much for me, ah, by thy\nmerits obtain for me great sorrow for my sins, and patience under the\ntrials of this life, which will always be light in comparison with my\ndemerits, for I have often merited hell. Amen.\n\n\nON THE SECOND DOLOR.\n\nOF THE FLIGHT OF JESUS INTO EGYPT.\n\nAs the stag, wounded by an arrow, carries the pain with him wherever he\ngoes, because he carries with him the arrow that has wounded him; thus\nthe divine mother, after the prophecy of St. Simeon, as we saw in our\nconsideration of the first grief, always carried her sorrow with her by\nthe continual remembrance of the passion of her Son. Ailgrin, explaining\nthis passage of the Canticles, \u201cThe hairs of thy head as the purple of\nthe king bound in the channel,\u201d[1431] says: These hairs of Mary were her\ncontinual thoughts of the passion of Jesus, which kept always before her\neyes the blood which was one day to flow from his wounds. Thy mind, oh\nMary, and thy thoughts tinged in the blood of the passion of our Lord,\nwere always moved with sorrow as if they actually saw the blood flowing\nfrom his wounds.[1432] Thus her Son himself was that arrow in the heart\nof Mary, who, the more worthy of love he showed himself to her, always\nwounded her the more with the sorrowful thought that she should lose him\nby so cruel a death. Let us now pass to the consideration of the second\nsword of sorrow which wounded Mary, in the flight of her infant Jesus\ninto Egypt from the persecution of Herod.\n\nHerod having heard that the expected Messiah was born, foolishly feared\nthat the new-born King would deprive him of his kingdom. Hence St.\nFulgentius, reproving him for his folly, thus says: \u201cWhy, oh Herod,\nart thou thus disturbed? This King who is born has not come to conquer\nkings by arms, but to subjugate them, in a wonderful manner, by his\ndeath.\u201d[1433] The impious Herod, therefore, waited to learn from the holy\nmagi where the King was born, that he might take from him his life; but\nfinding himself deceived by the magi, he ordered all the infants that\ncould be found in the neighborhood of Bethlehem to be put to death. But\nan angel appeared in a dream to St. Joseph, and said to him: \u201cArise, and\ntake the child and his mother, and fly into Egypt.\u201d[1434] According to\nGerson, immediately, on that very night, Joseph made this command known\nto Mary; and taking the infant Jesus, they commenced their journey, as\nit seems clearly from the Gospel itself: \u201cWho arose and took the child\nand his mother by night, and retired into Egypt.\u201d Oh God, as blessed\nAlbertus Magnus says in the name of Mary, must he, then, who came to save\nmen flee from men? \u201cDebet fugere qui salvator est mundi?\u201d[1435] And then\nthe afflicted Mary knew that already the prophecy of Simeon, regarding\nher Son, was beginning to be verified: \u201cHe is set for a sign which shall\nbe contradicted.\u201d[1436] Seeing that scarcely is he born, when he is\npersecuted to death. What suffering it must have been to the heart of\nMary, writes St. John Chrysostom, to hear the tidings of that cruel exile\nof herself with her Son! Flee from thy friends to strangers, from the\nholy temple of the only true God, to the temples of demons. What greater\ntribulation than that a new-born child, clinging to its mother\u2019s bosom,\nshould be forced to fly with the mother herself![1437]\n\nEvery one can imagine how much Mary must have suffered on this\njourney. It was a long distance to Egypt. Authors generally agree with\nBarrada[1438] that it was four hundred miles; so that at least it was\na journey of thirty days. The way, as St. Bonaventure describes it, was\nrough, unknown, through woods, and little frequented.[1439] The season\nwas winter, and therefore they had to travel in snow, rain, wind, and\nstorms, and through bad and difficult roads. Mary was then fifteen years\nof age, a delicate virgin, unaccustomed to such journeys. They had no\nservant to attend them. Joseph and Mary, said St. Peter Chrysologus, had\nno man-servant nor maid-servant; they were themselves both masters and\nservants.[1440] Oh God, how piteous a spectacle it was to see that tender\nVirgin, with that newly born infant in her arms, wandering through this\nworld! St. Bonaventure asks, Where did they obtain food? Where did they\nrest at night? How were they lodged?[1441] What other food could they\nhave, than a piece of hard bread which Joseph brought with him or begged\nin charity? Where could they have slept (particularly in the two hundred\nmiles of desert through which they travelled, where, as authors relate,\nthere were neither houses nor inns) except on the sand, or under some\ntree in the wood, in the open air, exposed to robbers, or those wild\nbeasts with which Egypt abounded? Ah, if any one had met these three\ngreatest personages of the world, what would he have believed them to be\nbut three poor, roving beggars?\n\nThey lived in Egypt, according to Brocard and Jansenius, in a district\ncalled Maturea, though, according to St. Anselm, they dwelt in\nHeliopolis, first called Memphis, and now Cairo. And here let us consider\nthe great poverty they must have suffered for the seven years they\nwere there, as St. Antoninus, St. Thomas, and others assert. They were\nforeigners, unknown, without revenues, without money, without kindred;\nhardly were they able to support themselves by their humble labors.\nAs they were destitute, says St. Basil, it is manifest what efforts\nthey must have made to obtain there the necessaries of life.[1442]\nMoreover, Landolph of Saxony has written, and let it be repeated for the\nconsolation of the poor, that so great was the poverty of Mary there,\nthat sometimes she had not so much as a morsel of bread, when her Son,\nforced by hunger, asked it of her.[1443]\n\nSt. Matthew also relates that when Herod was dead, the angel again\nappeared, in a dream, to St. Joseph, and directed him to return to Judea.\nSt. Bonaventure, speaking of this return, considers the greater pain\nof the blessed Virgin, on account of the sufferings which Jesus must\nhave endured in that journey, having arrived at about the age of seven\nyears\u2014an age, says the saint, when he was so large that he could not be\ncarried, and so small that he could not go without assistance.[1444]\n\nThe sight, then, of Jesus and Mary wandering like fugitives through this\nworld, teaches us that we should also live as pilgrims on the earth,\ndetached from the goods which the world offers us, as having soon to\nleave them and go to eternity. \u201cWe have not here a lasting city, but\nseek one that is to come.\u201d[1445] To which St. Augustine adds: Thou\nart a stranger, thou givest a look, and then passest on: \u201cHospes es,\nvides et transis.\u201d It also teaches us to embrace crosses, for we cannot\nlive in this world without a cross. The blessed Veronica da Binasco,\nan Augustinian nun, was carried in spirit to accompany Mary and the\ninfant Jesus in this journey to Egypt, and at the end of it the divine\nmother said to her: \u201cChild, hast thou seen through what difficulties we\nhave reached this place? Now learn that no one receives graces without\nsuffering.\u201d He who wishes to feel least the sufferings of this life, must\ntake Jesus and Mary with him: \u201cAccipe puerum et matrem ejus.\u201d For him\nwho lovingly bears in his heart this Son and this mother, all sufferings\nbecome light, and even sweet and dear. Let us then love them, let us\nconsole Mary by receiving her Son within our hearts, whom, even now, men\ncontinue to persecute with their sins.\n\n\nEXAMPLE.\n\nOne day the most holy Mary appeared to the blessed Colletta, a Franciscan\nnun, and showed her the infant Jesus in a basin, torn in pieces, and\nthen said to her: \u201cThus sinners continually treat my Son, renewing his\ndeath and my sorrows; oh, my daughter, pray for them that they may be\nconverted.\u201d[1446] Similar to this is that other vision which appeared to\nthe venerable sister Jane, of Jesus and Mary, also a Franciscan nun. As\nshe was one day meditating on the infant Jesus, persecuted by Herod, she\nheard a great noise, as of armed people, who were pursuing some one; and\nthen appeared before her a most beautiful child, who was fleeing in great\ndistress, and cried to her: \u201cMy Jane, help me, hide me; I am Jesus of\nNazareth, I am flying from sinners who wish to kill me, and who persecute\nme as Herod did: do thou save me.\u201d[1447]\n\n\nPRAYER.\n\nThen, oh Mary, even after thy Son hath died by the hands of men who\npersecuted him unto death, have not these ungrateful men yet ceased from\npersecuting him with their sins, and continuing to afflict thee, oh\nmother of sorrows? And I also, oh God, have been one of these. Ah, my\nmost sweet mother, obtain for me tears to weep for such ingratitude. And\nthen, by the sufferings thou didst experience in thy journey to Egypt,\nassist me in the journey that I am making to eternity, that at length I\nmay go to unite with thee in loving my persecuted Saviour, in the country\nof the blessed. Amen.\n\n\nON THE THIRD DOLOR.\n\nOF THE LOSS OF JESUS IN THE TEMPLE.\n\nSt. James the Apostle has said, that our perfection consists in the\nvirtue of patience. \u201cAnd patience hath a perfect work, that you may be\nperfect and entire, failing in nothing.\u201d[1448] The Lord having then given\nus the Virgin Mary as an example of perfection, it was necessary that she\nshould be laden with sorrows, that in her we might admire and imitate her\nheroic patience. The dolor that we are this day to consider is one of the\ngreatest which our divine mother suffered during her life, namely, the\nloss of her Son in the temple. He who is born blind is little sensible of\nthe pain of being deprived of the light of day; but to him who has once\nhad sight and enjoyed the light, it is a great sorrow to find himself\ndeprived of it by blindness. And thus it is with those unhappy souls\nwho, being blinded by the mire of this earth, have but little knowledge\nof God, and therefore scarcely feel pain at not finding him. On the\ncontrary, the man who, illuminated with celestial light, has been made\nworthy to find by love the sweet presence of the highest good, oh God,\nhow he mourns when he finds himself deprived of it! From this we can\njudge how painful must have been to Mary, who was accustomed to enjoy\nconstantly the sweet presence of Jesus, that third sword which wounded\nher, when she lost him in Jerusalem, and was separated from him for three\ndays.\n\nIn the second chapter of St. Luke we read that the blessed Virgin, being\naccustomed to visit the temple every year at the paschal season, with\nJoseph her spouse and Jesus, once went when he was about twelve years\nold, and Jesus remained in Jerusalem, though she was not aware of it, for\nshe thought he was in company with others. When she reached Nazareth she\ninquired for her Son, and not finding him there, she returned immediately\nto Jerusalem to seek him, but did not succeed until after three days. Now\nlet us imagine what distress that afflicted mother must have experienced\nin those three days in which she was searching everywhere for her Son,\nwith the spouse in the Canticles: \u201cHave you seen him whom my soul\nloveth?\u201d[1449] But she could hear no tidings of him. Oh, with how much\ngreater tenderness must Mary, overcome with fatigue, and yet not having\nfound her beloved Son, have repeated those words of Ruben, concerning his\nbrother Joseph: The boy doth not appear, and whither shall I go? \u201cPuer\nnon comparet, et ego quo ibo?\u201d My Jesus doth not appear, and I know not\nwhat to do that I may find him; but where shall I go without my treasure?\nWeeping continually, she repeated during these three days with David:\n\u201cMy tears have been my bread day and night, whilst it is said to me\ndaily, Where is thy God?\u201d[1450] Wherefore Pelbart with reason says, that\nduring those nights the afflicted mother had no rest, but wept and prayed\nwithout ceasing to God, that he would enable her to find her Son.[1451]\nAnd, according to St. Bernard, often during that time did she repeat to\nher Son himself the words of the spouse: \u201cShow me where thou feedest,\nwhere thou liest in the mid-day, lest I begin to wander.\u201d[1452] My Son,\ntell me where thou art, that I may no longer wander, seeking thee in vain.\n\nSome writers assert, and not without reason, that this dolor was not\nonly one of the greatest, but that it was the greatest and most painful\nof all. For in the first place, Mary in her other dolors had Jesus with\nher; she suffered when St. Simeon uttered the prophecy in the temple; she\nsuffered in the flight to Egypt, but always with Jesus; but in this dolor\nshe suffered at a distance from Jesus, without knowing where he was: \u201cAnd\nthe light of my eyes itself is not with me.\u201d[1453] Thus, with tears,\nshe then exclaimed: Ah, the light of my eyes, my dear Jesus, is no more\nwith me; he is far from me, I know not where he is! Origen says, that\nthrough the love which this holy mother bore her Son, she suffered more\nat this loss of Jesus than any martyr ever suffered at death.[1454] Ah,\nhow long were these three days for Mary! they appeared three ages. Very\nbitter days, for there was none to comfort her. And who, she exclaimed\nwith Jeremias, who can console me if he who could console me is far from\nme? and therefore my eyes are not satisfied with weeping: \u201cTherefore do I\nweep, and my eyes run down with water, because the comforter is far from\nme.\u201d[1455] And with Tobias she repeated: \u201cWhat manner of joy shall be to\nme who sit in darkness, and see not the light of heaven?\u201d[1456]\n\n_Secondly._\u2014Mary well understood the cause and end of the other dolors,\nnamely, the redemption of the world, the divine will; but in this she\ndid not know the cause of the absence of her Son. The sorrowful mother\nwas grieved to find Jesus withdrawn from her, for her humility, says\nLanspergius, made her consider herself unworthy to remain with him\nany longer, and attend upon him on earth, and have the care of such a\ntreasure.[1457] And perhaps, she may have thought within herself, I have\nnot served him as I ought. Perhaps I have been guilty of some neglect,\nand therefore he has left me. They sought him, lest he perchance had\nleft them, as Origen has said.[1458] Certainly there is no greater grief\nfor a soul that loves God than the fear of having displeased him. And\ntherefore Mary never complained in any other sorrow but this, lovingly\nexpostulating with Jesus after she found him: \u201cSon, why hast thou done so\nto us? Thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.\u201d[1459] By these words\nshe did not wish to reprove Jesus, as the heretics blasphemously assert,\nbut only to make known to him the grief she had experienced during his\nabsence from her, on account of the love she bore him. It was not a\nrebuke, says blessed Denis the Carthusian, but a loving complaint: \u201cNon\nerat increpatio, sed amorosa conquestio.\u201d Finally, this sword so cruelly\npierced the heart of the Virgin, that the blessed Benvenuta, desiring one\nday to share the pain of the holy mother in this dolor, and praying her\nto obtain for her this grace, Mary appeared to her with the infant Jesus\nin her arms; but while Benvenuta was enjoying the sight of that most\nbeautiful child, in one moment she was deprived of it. So great was her\nsorrow that she had recourse to Mary, to implore her pity that it should\nnot make her die of grief. The holy Virgin appeared to her again three\ndays after, and said to her: \u201cNow learn, oh my daughter, that thy sorrow\nis but a small part of that which I suffered when I lost my Son.\u201d[1460]\n\nThis sorrow of Mary ought, in the first place, to serve as a comfort to\nthose souls who are desolate and do not enjoy the sweet presence they\nonce enjoyed of their Lord. They may weep, but let them weep in peace,\nas Mary wept the absence of her Son. Let them take courage, and not fear\nthat on this account they have lost the divine favor, for God himself\nsaid to St. Theresa: \u201cNo one is lost without knowing it; and no one is\ndeceived without wishing to be deceived.\u201d If the Lord departs from the\nsight of that soul who loves him, he does not therefore depart from the\nheart. He often hides himself that she may seek him with greater desire\nand love. But those who would find Jesus must seek him, not amid the\ndelights and pleasures of the world, but amid crosses and mortifications,\nas Mary sought him: We sought thee sorrowing, as she said to her Son:\n\u201cDolentes qu\u00e6rebamus te.\u201d Learn from Mary to seek Jesus, says Origen:\n\u201cDisce a Maria qu\u00e6rere Jesum.\u201d\n\nMoreover, in this world we should seek no other good than Jesus. Job\nwas not unhappy when he lost all that he possessed on earth; riches,\nchildren, health, and honors, and even descended from a throne to a\ndunghill; but because he had God with him, even then he was happy. St.\nAugustine, speaking of him, says: He had lost all that God had given\nhim, but he had God himself: \u201cPerdiderat illa qu\u00e6 dederat Deus, sed\nhabebat ipsum Deum.\u201d Unhappy and truly wretched are those souls who have\nlost God. If Mary wept for the absence of her Son for three days, how\nought sinners to weep who have lost divine grace, to whom God says: \u201cYou\nare not my people, and I will not be yours.\u201d[1461] For sin does this,\nnamely, it separates the soul from God: \u201cYour iniquities have divided\nbetween you and your God.\u201d[1462] Hence, if even sinners possess all the\ngoods of earth and have lost God, every thing on earth becomes vanity\nand affliction to them, as Solomon confessed: \u201cBehold, all is vanity\nand vexation of spirit.\u201d[1463] But as St. Augustine says: The greatest\nmisfortune of these poor blind souls is, that if they lose an ox, they\ndo not fail to go in search of it; if they lose a sheep, they use all\ndiligence to find it; if they lose a beast of burden, they cannot rest;\nbut they lose the highest good, which is God, and yet they eat and drink,\nand take their rest.[1464]\n\n\nEXAMPLE.\n\nWe read in the Annual Letters of the Society of Jesus, that in India,\na young man who was just leaving his apartment in order to commit sin\nheard a voice, saying: \u201cStop, where are you going?\u201d He turned round\nand saw an image, in relief, of the sorrowful Mary, who drew out the\nsword which was in her breast, and said to him: \u201cTake this dagger and\npierce my heart rather than wound my Son with this sin.\u201d At the sound of\nthese words the youth prostrated himself on the ground, and with deep\ncontrition, bursting into tears, he asked and obtained from God and the\nVirgin pardon of his sin.\n\n\nPRAYER.\n\nOh blessed Virgin, why art thou afflicted, seeking thy lost Son? Is it\nbecause thou dost not know where he is? But dost thou not know that he\nis in thy heart? Dost thou not see that he is feeding among the lilies?\nThou thyself hast said it: \u201cMy beloved to me and I to him who feedeth\namong the lilies.\u201d[1465] These, thy humble, pure, and holy thoughts and\naffections, are all lilies, that invite the divine spouse to dwell with\nthee. Ah, Mary, dost thou sigh after Jesus, thou who lovest none but\nJesus? Leave sighing to me and so many other sinners who do not love\nhim, and who have lost him by offending him. My most amiable mother,\nif through my fault thy Son has not yet returned to my soul, wilt thou\nobtain for me that I may find him. I know well that he allows himself to\nbe found by all who seek him: The Lord is good to the soul that seeketh\nhim: \u201cBonus est Dominus ... anim\u00e6 qu\u00e6renti illum.\u201d[1466] Make me to seek\nhim as I ought to seek him. Thou art the gate through which all find\nJesus; through thee I too hope to find him.\n\n\nON THE FOURTH DOLOR.\n\nOF THE MEETING OF MARY WITH JESUS, WHEN HE WENT TO DEATH.\n\nSt. Bernardine says, that to form an idea of the grief of Mary in losing\nher Jesus by death, it is necessary to consider the love that this\nmother bore to this her Son. All mothers feel the sufferings of their\nchildren as their own. Hence the woman of Chanaan, when she prayed the\nSaviour to deliver her daughter from the devil that tormented her,\nsaid to him, that he should have pity on the mother rather than on the\ndaughter: \u201cHave mercy on me, oh Lord, thou son of David, my daughter\nis grievously troubled by a devil.\u201d[1467] But what mother ever loved a\nchild so much as Mary loved Jesus? He was her only child, reared amidst\nso many troubles and pains; a most amiable child, and most loving to his\nmother; a Son, who was at the same time her Son and her God; who came on\nearth to kindle in the hearts of all the holy fire of divine love, as he\nhimself declared: \u201cI am come to cast fire on the earth, and what will I\nbut that it be kindled?\u201d[1468] Let us consider how he must have inflamed\nthat pure heart of his holy mother, so free from every earthly affection.\nIn a word, the blessed Virgin herself said to St. Bridget, that through\nlove her heart and the heart of her Son was one: \u201cUnum erat cor meum, et\ncor filii mei.\u201d That blending of handmaid and mother, of Son and God,\nkindled in the heart of Mary a fire composed of a thousand flames. But\nafterwards, at the time of the passion, this flame of love was changed\ninto a sea of sorrow. Hence St. Bernardine says: All the sorrows of the\nworld united would not be equal to the sorrow of the glorious Mary.[1469]\nYes, because this mother, as St. Lawrence Justinian writes: The more\ntenderly she loved, was the more deeply wounded.[1470] The greater the\ntenderness with which she loved him, the greater was her grief at the\nsight of his sufferings, especially when she met her Son, after he had\nalready been condemned, going to death at the place of punishment,\nbearing the cross. And this is the fourth sword of sorrow which to-day we\nhave to consider.\n\nThe blessed Virgin revealed to St. Bridget, that at the time when the\npassion of our Lord was drawing nigh, her eyes were always filled with\ntears, as she thought of her beloved Son whom she was about to lose\non this earth. Therefore, as she also said, a cold sweat covered her\nbody from the fear that seized her at that prospect of approaching\nsuffering.[1471] Behold, the appointed day at length arrived, and Jesus\ncame in tears to take leave of his mother before he went to death. St.\nBonaventure, contemplating Mary on that night, says: Thou didst spend it\nwithout sleep, and while others slept, thou didst remain watching.[1472]\nMorning having arrived, the disciples of Jesus Christ came to this\nafflicted mother, one, to bring her this tidings, another, that; but all\ntidings of sorrow, for in her were then verified the words of Jeremias:\n\u201cWeeping, she hath wept in the night, and her tears are on her cheeks;\nthere is none to comfort her of all them that were dear to her.\u201d[1473]\nOne came to relate to her the cruel treatment of her Son in the house of\nCaiphas; another, the insults received by him from Herod. Finally, for\nI omit all the rest to come to my point, St. John came, and announced\nto Mary that the most unjust Pilate had already condemned him to death\nupon the cross. I say the most unjust, for, as St. Leo remarks, this\nunjust judge condemned him to death with the same lips with which he had\npronounced him innocent.[1474] Ah, sorrowful mother, said St. John to\nher, thy Son has already been condemned to death, he is already on his\nway, bearing himself his cross on his way to Calvary, as he afterwards\nrelated in his Gospel: \u201cAnd bearing his own cross, he went forth to that\nplace which is called Calvary.\u201d[1475] Come, if thou dost desire to see\nhim, and bid him a last farewell in some of the streets through which he\nis to pass.\n\nMary goes with St. John, and she perceives by the blood with which the\nway was sprinkled, that her Son had already passed there. This she\nrevealed to St. Bridget: \u201cBy the footsteps of my Son I traced his course,\nfor along the way by which he had passed, the ground was sprinkled with\nblood.\u201d[1476] St. Bonaventure imagines the afflicted mother taking a\nshorter way, and placing herself at the corner of the street to meet her\nafflicted Son as he passed by.[1477] This most afflicted mother met her\nmost afflicted Son: M\u0153stissima mater m\u0153stissimo filio occurrit, said\nSt. Bernard. While Mary stopped in that place how much she must have\nheard said against her Son by the Jews, who knew her, and perhaps also\nwords in mockery of herself! Alas! what a commencement of sorrows was\nthen before her eyes, when she saw the nails, the hammers, the cords,\nthe fatal instruments of the death of her Son borne before him! And\nwhat a sword pierced her heart when, she heard the trumpet proclaiming\nalong the way the sentence pronounced against her Son! But behold, now,\nafter the instruments, the trumpet, and the ministers of justice had\npassed, she raises her eyes and sees; she sees, oh God, a young man\ncovered with blood and wounds from head to foot, with a crown of thorns\non his head, and two heavy beams on his shoulders; she looks at him and\nhardly knows him, saying, then, with Isaias: \u201cAnd we have seen him, and\nthere was no sightliness.\u201d[1478] Yes, for the wounds, the bruises, and\nclotted blood, made him look like a leper: \u201cWe have thought him, as it\nwere, a leper;\u201d[1479] so that he could no longer be recognized. \u201cAnd\nhis look was, as it were, hidden and despised, whereupon we esteemed\nhim not.\u201d[1480] But at length love recognizes him, and as soon as she\nknows him, ah, what was then, as St. Peter of Alcantara says in his\nmeditations, the love and fear of the heart of Mary! On the one hand, she\ndesired to see him; on the other, she could not endure to look upon so\npitiable a sight. But at length they look at each other. The Son wipes\nfrom his eyes the clotted blood, which prevented him from seeing (as was\nrevealed to St. Bridget), and looks upon the mother; the mother looks\nupon the Son. Ah, looks of sorrow, which pierced, as with so many arrows,\nthose two holy and loving souls. When Margaret, the daughter of Sir\nThomas More, met her father on his way to the scaffold, she could utter\nonly two words, oh, father! oh, father! and fell fainting at his feet.\nAt the sight of her Son going to Calvary, Mary fainted not; no, because\nit was not fitting that this mother should lose the use of her reason,\nas Father Suarez remarks, neither did she die, for God reserved her for\na greater grief; but if she did not die, she suffered sorrow enough to\ncause her a thousand deaths.\n\nThe mother wished to embrace him, as St. Anselm says, but the officers of\njustice thrust her aside, loading her with insults, and urge onward our\nafflicted Lord. Mary follows. Ah, holy Virgin, where art thou going? To\nCalvary! And canst thou trust thyself to see him who is thy life hanging\nfrom a cross? And thy life shall be as it were hanging before thee: \u201cEt\nerit vita tua quasi pendens ante te.\u201d[1481] Ah! my mother, stop, says\nSt. Lawrence Justinian, as if the Son himself had then spoken to her;\nwhere dost thou hasten? Where art thou going? If thou comest where I go,\nthou wilt be tortured with my sufferings, and I with thine.[1482] But\nalthough the sight of her dying Jesus must cost her such cruel anguish,\nthe loving Mary will not leave him. The Son goes before, and the mother\nfollows, that she may be crucified with her Son, as William the Abbot\nsays: The mother took up her cross, and followed him, that she might be\ncrucified with him.[1483] We even pity the wild beasts: \u201cFerarum etiam\nmiseremur;\u201d St. John Chrysostom has said. If we should see a lioness\nfollowing her whelp as he was led to death, even this wild beast would\ncall forth our compassion. And shall we not feel compassion to see Mary\nfollowing her immaculate Lamb, as they are leading him to death? Let\nus then pity her, and endeavor also ourselves to accompany her Son and\nherself, bearing with patience the cross which the Lord imposes on us.\nWhy did Jesus Christ, asks St. John Chrysostom, desire to be alone in his\nother sufferings, but in bearing the cross wished to be helped by the\nCyrenean? And he answers: That thou mayest understand that the cross of\nChrist is not sufficient without thine.[1484] The cross alone of Jesus is\nnot enough to save us, if we do not bear with resignation also our own,\neven unto death.\n\n\nEXAMPLE.\n\nThe Saviour appeared one day to sister Diomira, a nun, in Florence, and\nsaid to her: \u201cThink of me, and love me, and I will think of thee, and\nlove thee\u201d and at the same time he presented her with a bunch of flowers\nand a cross, signifying to her by this, that the consolations of the\nsaints on this earth are always to be accompanied by the cross. The cross\nunites souls to God. Blessed Jerome Emilian, when he was a soldier, and\nleading a very sinful life, was shut up by his enemies in a tower. There,\nfeeling deeply his misfortune, and enlightened by God to amend his life,\nhe had recourse to the most holy Mary, and then with the help of this\ndivine mother, he began to live the life of a saint. By this he merited\nto see once in heaven the high place which God had prepared for him. He\nbecame founder of the order of Sommaschi, died a saint, and has been\nlately beatified by the holy Church.\n\n\nPRAYER.\n\nMy sorrowful mother, by the merit of that grief which thou didst feel\nat seeing thy beloved Jesus led to death, obtain for me the grace also\nto bear with patience those crosses which God sends me. Happy me, if I\nalso shall know how to accompany thee with my cross until death. Thou and\nJesus, both innocent, have borne a heavy cross; and shall I a sinner, who\nhave merited hell, refuse mine? Ah, immaculate Virgin, I hope that thou\nwilt help me to bear my crosses with patience. Amen.\n\n\nON THE FIFTH DOLOR.\n\nOF THE DEATH OF JESUS.\n\nAnd now we have to admire a new sort of martyrdom, a mother condemned to\nsee an innocent son, whom she loved with all the affection of her heart,\nput to death before her eyes, by the most barbarous tortures. There stood\nby the cross of Jesus his mother: \u201cStabat autem juxta crucem mater ejus.\u201d\nThere is nothing more to be said, says St. John, of the martyrdom of\nMary: behold her at the foot of the cross, looking on her dying Son, and\nthen see if there is grief like her grief. Let us stop then also to-day\non Calvary, to consider this fifth sword that pierced the heart of Mary,\nnamely, the death of Jesus.\n\nAs soon as our afflicted Redeemer had ascended the hill of Calvary, the\nexecutioners stripped him of his garments, and piercing his sacred hands\nand feet with nails, not sharp, but blunt: \u201cNon acutis, sed obtusis;\u201d as\nSt. Bernard says,[1485] and to torture him more, they fastened him to\nthe cross. When they had crucified him, they planted the cross, and thus\nleft him to die. The executioners abandon him, but Mary does not abandon\nhim. She then draws nearer to the cross, in order to assist at his death.\n\u201cI did not leave him,\u201d thus the blessed Virgin revealed to St. Bridget,\n\u201cand stood nearer to his cross.\u201d[1486] But what did it avail, oh Lady,\nsays St. Bonaventure, to go to Calvary to witness there the death of\nthis Son? Shame should have prevented thee, for his disgrace was also\nthine, because thou wast his mother; or, at least, the horror of such\na crime as that of seeing a God crucified by his own creatures, should\nhave prevented thee.[1487] But the saint himself answers: Thy heart did\nnot consider the horror, but the suffering: \u201cNon considerabat cor tuum\nhorrorem, sed dolorem.\u201d Ah, thy heart did not then care for its own\nsorrow, but for the suffering and death of thy dear Son; and therefore\nthou thyself didst wish to be near him, at least to compassionate him.\nAh, true mother! says William the Abbot, loving mother! for not even the\nterror of death could separate thee from thy beloved Son.[1488] But,\noh God, what a spectacle of sorrow, to see this Son then in agony upon\nthe cross, and under the cross this mother in agony, who was suffering\nall the pain that her Son was suffering! Behold the words in which Mary\nrevealed to St. Bridget the pitiable state of her dying Son, as she saw\nhim on the cross: \u201cMy dear Jesus was on the cross in grief and in agony;\nhis eyes were sunken, half closed, and lifeless; the lips hanging, and\nthe mouth open; the cheeks hollow, and attached to the teeth; the face\nlengthened, the nose sharp, the countenance sad; the head had fallen upon\nhis breast, the hair black with blood, the stomach collapsed, the arms\nand legs stiff, and the whole body covered with wounds and blood.\u201d[1489]\n\nMary also suffered all these pains of Jesus. Every torture inflicted\non the body of Jesus, says St. Jerome, was a wound in the heart of the\nmother.[1490] Any one of us who should then have been on Mount Calvary,\nwould have seen two altars, says St. John Chrysostom, on which two great\nsacrifices were consummating, one in the body of Jesus, the other in\nthe heart of Mary. But rather would I see there, with St. Bonaventure,\none altar only, namely, the cross alone of the Son, on which, with the\nvictim, this divine Lamb, the mother also was sacrificed. Therefore the\nsaint interrogates her in these words: Oh Lady, where art thou? Near\nthe cross? Nay, on the cross, thou art crucified with thy Son.[1491]\nSt. Augustine also says the same thing: The cross and nails of the Son\nwere also the cross and nails of the mother; Christ being crucified, the\nmother was also crucified.[1492] Yes, because, as St. Bernard says, love\ninflicted on the heart of Mary the same suffering that the nails caused\nin the body of Jesus.[1493] Therefore, at the same time that the Son was\nsacrificing his body, the mother, as St. Bernardine says, was sacrificing\nher soul.[1494]\n\nMothers fly from the presence of their dying children; but if a mother\nis ever obliged to witness the death of a child, she procures for him\nall possible relief; she arranges the bed, that his posture may be more\neasy; she administers refreshments to him; and thus the poor mother\nrelieves her own sorrows. Ah, mother, the most afflicted of all mothers!\noh Mary, it was decreed that thou shouldst be present at the death of\nJesus, but it was not given to thee to afford him any relief. Mary heard\nher Son say: I thirst: \u201cSitio;\u201d but it was not permitted her to give him\na little water to quench his great thirst. She could only say to him, as\nSt. Vincent Ferrer remarks: My Son, I have only the water of my tears:\n\u201cFili, non habeo nisi aquam lacrymarum.\u201d[1495] She saw that her Son,\nsuspended by three nails to that bed of sorrow, could find no rest. She\nwished to clasp him to her heart, that she might give him relief, or at\nleast that he might expire in her arms, but she could not.[1496] She saw\nthat poor Son in a sea of sorrow, seeking one who could console him,\nas he had predicted by the mouth of the prophet: \u201cI have trodden the\nwine-press alone; I looked about and there was none to help; I sought and\nthere was none to give aid.\u201d[1497] But who was there among men to console\nhim, if all were his enemies? Even on the cross they cursed and mocked\nhim on every side: \u201cAnd they that passed by blasphemed him, wagging\ntheir heads.\u201d[1498] Some said to him: \u201cIf thou be the Son of God, come\ndown from the cross.\u201d[1499] Some exclaimed: \u201cHe saved others, himself he\ncannot save.\u201d[1500] Others said: \u201cIf he be the King of Israel, let him\nnow come down from the cross.\u201d[1501] The blessed Virgin herself said to\nSt. Bridget: \u201cI heard some call my Son a thief; I heard others call him\nan impostor; others said that no one deserved death more than he; and\nevery word was to me a new sword of sorrow.\u201d[1502]\n\nBut what increased most the sorrows which Mary suffered through\ncompassion for her Son, was to hear him complain on the cross that\neven the eternal Father had abandoned him: \u201cMy God, my God, why hast\nthou forsaken me?\u201d[1503] Words which, as the divine mother herself\nsaid to St. Bridget, could never depart from her mind during her whole\nlife.[1504] Thus the afflicted mother saw her Jesus suffering on every\nside; she desired to comfort him, but could not. And what caused her\nthe greatest sorrow was to see that, by her presence and her grief, she\nincreased the sufferings of her Son. The sorrow itself, says St. Bernard,\nthat filled the heart of Mary, increased the bitterness of sorrow in the\nheart of Jesus.[1505] St. Bernard also says, that Jesus on the cross\nsuffered more from compassion for his mother than from his own pains: he\nthus speaks in the name of the Virgin: I stood and looked upon him, and\nhe looked upon me; and he suffered more for me than for himself.[1506]\nThe same saint also, speaking of Mary beside her dying Son, says, that\nshe lived dying without being able to die: Near the cross stood his\nmother, speechless; living she died, dying she lived; neither could she\ndie, because she was dead, being yet alive.[1507] Passino writes that\nJesus Christ himself, speaking one day to the blessed Baptista Varana,\nof Camerino, said to her, that he was so afflicted on the cross at the\nsight of his mother in such anguish at his feet, that compassion for\nhis mother caused him to die without consolation. So that the blessed\nBaptista, being enlightened to know this suffering of Jesus, exclaimed:\nOh my Lord, tell me no more of this thy sorrow, for I cannot bear it.\n\nMen were astonished, says Simon of Cassia, when they saw this mother then\nkeep silence, without uttering a complaint in this great suffering.[1508]\nBut if the lips of Mary were silent, her heart was not so; for she\ndid not cease offering to divine justice the life of her Son for our\nsalvation. Therefore we know that by the merits of her dolors she\nco-operated with Christ in bringing us forth to the life of grace, and\ntherefore we are children of her sorrows: Christ, says Lanspergius,\nwished her whom he had appointed for our mother to co-operate with him\nin our redemption; for she herself at the foot of the cross was to bring\nus forth as her children.[1509] And if ever any consolation entered into\nthat sea of bitterness, namely, the heart of Mary, it was this only one;\nnamely, the knowledge that by means of her sorrows, she was bringing\nus to eternal salvation; as Jesus himself revealed to St. Bridget: \u201cMy\nmother Mary, on account of her compassion and charity, was made mother\nof all in heaven and on earth.\u201d[1510] And, indeed, these were the last\nwords with which Jesus took leave of her before his death; this was his\nlast remembrance, leaving us to her for her children in the person of\nJohn, when he said to her: Woman, behold thy Son: \u201cMulier ecce filius\ntuus.\u201d[1511] And from that time Mary began to perform for us this office\nof a good mother; for, as St. Peter Damian declares, the penitent thief,\nthrough the prayers of Mary, was then converted and saved: Therefore the\ngood thief repented, because the blessed Virgin, standing between the\ncross of her Son and that of the thief, prayed her Son for him; thus\nrewarding, by this favor, his former service.[1512] For as other authors\nalso relate, this thief, in the journey to Egypt with the infant Jesus,\nshowed them kindness; and this same office the blessed Virgin has ever\ncontinued, and still continues to perform.\n\n\nEXAMPLE.\n\nA young man in Perugia once promised the devil that if he would help him\nto commit a sinful act which he desired to do, he would give him his\nsoul; and he gave him a writing to that effect, signed with his blood.\nThe evil deed was committed, and the devil demanded the performance of\nthe promise. He led the young man to a well, and threatened to take him\nbody and soul to hell if he would not cast himself into it. The wretched\nyouth, thinking that it would be impossible for him to escape from his\nenemy, climbed the well-side in order to cast himself into it, but\nterrified at the thought of death, he said to the devil that he had not\nthe courage to throw himself in, and that, if he wished to see him dead,\nhe himself should thrust him in. The young man wore about his neck the\nscapular of the sorrowing Mary; and the devil said to him: \u201cTake off that\nscapular, and I will thrust you in.\u201d But the youth, seeing the protection\nwhich the divine mother still gave him through that scapular, refused to\ntake it off, and after a great deal of altercation, the devil departed\nin confusion. The sinner repented, and grateful to his sorrowful mother,\nwent to thank her, and presented a picture of this case, as an offering,\nat her altar in the new church of Santa Maria, in Perugia.[1513]\n\n\nPRAYER.\n\nAh, mother, the most afflicted of all mothers, thy Son, then, is dead;\nthy Son so amiable, and who loved thee so much! Weep, for thou hast\nreason to weep. Who can ever console thee? Nothing can console thee but\nthe thought that Jesus, by his death, hath conquered hell, hath opened\nparadise, which was closed to men, and hath gained so many souls. From\nthat throne of the cross he was to reign over so many hearts, which,\nconquered by his love, would serve him with love. Do not disdain, oh my\nmother, to keep me near to weep with thee, for I have more reason than\nthou to weep for the offences that I have committed against thy Son.\nAh, mother of mercy, I hope for pardon and my eternal salvation, first\nthrough the death of my Redeemer, and then through the merits of thy\ndolors. Amen.\n\n\nON THE SIXTH DOLOR.\n\nTHE PIERCING OF THE SIDE OF JESUS, AND HIS DESCENT FROM THE CROSS.\n\n\u201cOh, all ye that pass by the way attend, and see if there be any sorrow\nlike to my sorrow.\u201d[1514] Devout souls, listen to what the sorrowful Mary\nsays to you to-day: My beloved children, I do not wish you to console\nme; no, for my heart can never again be consoled on this earth after the\ndeath of my dear Jesus. If you wish to please me, this I ask of you,\nturn to me and see if there has ever been in the world a grief like\nmine, when I saw him who was all my love torn from me so cruelly. But,\noh Lady, since thou dost not wish to be consoled, and hast such a thirst\nfor suffering, I must say to thee that thy sorrows have not ended with\nthe death of thy Son. To-day thou wilt be pierced by another sword of\nsorrow, when thou shalt see a cruel lance piercing the side of this thy\nSon, already dead, and shalt receive him in thy arms after he is taken\nfrom the cross. And now we are to consider to-day the sixth dolor which\nafflicted this sorrowful mother. Attend and weep. Hitherto the dolors of\nMary tortured her one by one, but to-day they are all united to assail\nher.\n\nTo make known to a mother that her child is dead, is sufficient to kindle\nher whole soul with love for the lost one. Some persons, in order to\nlighten their grief, will remind mothers whose children have died, of the\ndispleasure they have once caused them. But if I, oh my queen, should\nwish to lighten thy sorrow for the death of Jesus in this way, what\ndispleasure has he ever caused thee, that I could recall to thy mind?\nAh, no; he always loved thee, obeyed thee, and respected thee. Now thou\nhast lost him, and who can describe thy sorrow? Do thou who hast felt it\nexplain it. A devout author says, that when our Redeemer was dead, the\nheart of the great mother was first engaged in accompanying the most holy\nsoul of the Son, and presenting it to the eternal Father. I present thee,\noh my God, Mary must then have said, the immaculate soul of thy and my\nSon, which has been obedient to thee even unto death: receive it, then,\nin thy arms. Thy justice is now satisfied, thy will accomplished; behold,\nthe great sacrifice to thy eternal glory is consummated. And then turning\nto the lifeless members of her Jesus: Oh wounds, she said, oh loving\nwounds, I adore you, I rejoice with you, since through you salvation has\nbeen given to the world. You shall remain open in the body of my Son,\nto be the refuge of those who will have recourse to you. Oh how many,\nthrough you, shall receive the pardon of their sins, and then through you\nshall be inflamed to love the Sovereign Good!\n\nThat the joy of the following Paschal Sabbath should not be disturbed,\nthe Jews wished the body of Jesus to be taken down from the cross; but\nbecause they could not take down a criminal until he was dead, they came\nwith iron mallets to break his legs, as they had already done to the\ntwo thieves crucified with him. And Mary, while she remains weeping at\nthe death of her Son, sees those armed men coming towards her Jesus.\nAt this sight she first trembled with fear, then she said: Ah, my Son\nis already dead, cease to maltreat him, and cease to torture me a poor\nmother longer. She implored them not to break his legs: \u201cOravit eos,\nne frangerent crura,\u201d as St. Bonaventure writes. But while she is thus\nspeaking, oh, God! she sees a soldier with violence brandishing a spear,\nand piercing the side of Jesus: \u201cOne of the soldiers with a spear opened\nhis side, and immediately there came out blood and water.\u201d[1515] The\ncross shook at the stroke of the spear, and, as was revealed to St.\nBridget, the heart of Jesus was divided: \u201cIta ut amb\u00e6 partes essent\ndivis\u00e6.\u201d[1516] There came out blood and water, for only a few drops of\nblood remained, and those also the Saviour wished to shed, in order to\nshow that he had no more blood to give us. The injury of that stroke\nwas offered to Jesus, but the pain was inflicted on Mary: Christ, says\nthe devout Lanspergius, shared with his mother the infliction of that\nwound, for he received the insult and his mother the pain.[1517] The\nholy Fathers explain this to be the very sword predicted to the Virgin\nby St. Simeon; a sword, not of iron, but of grief, which pierced through\nher blessed soul in the heart of Jesus, where it always dwelt. Thus,\namong others, St. Bernard says: The spear which opened his side passed\nthrough the soul of the Virgin, which could not be torn from the heart\nof Jesus.[1518] And the divine mother herself revealed the same to St.\nBridget, saying: \u201cWhen the spear was drawn out, the point appeared red\nwith blood; then I felt as if my heart were pierced when I saw the heart\nof my most dear Son pierced.\u201d[1519] The angel told St. Bridget, that such\nwere the sufferings of Mary, that she was saved from death only by the\nmiraculous power of God.[1520] In her other dolors she at least had her\nSon to compassionate her; and now she had not even him to take pity on\nher.\n\nThe afflicted mother, still fearing that other injuries might be\ninflicted on her Son, entreats Joseph of Arimathea to obtain from Pilate\nthe body of her Jesus, that at least after his death she may be able\nto guard it and protect it from injuries. Joseph went to Pilate, and\nmade known to him the sorrow and the wish of this afflicted mother; and\nSt. Anselm thinks that compassion for the mother softened the heart of\nPilate, and moved him to grant her the body of the Saviour. And now Jesus\nis taken from the cross. Oh most holy Virgin, after thou with so great\nlove hadst given thy Son to the world for our salvation, behold the world\nreturns him to thee again! But oh, my God, how dost thou return him to\nme? said Mary to the world. My Son was white and ruddy: \u201cDilectus meus\ncandidus et rubicundus:\u201d but thou hast returned him to me blackened\nwith bruises, and red, not with a ruddy color, but with the wounds thou\nhast inflicted upon him; he was beautiful, now there is no more beauty\nin him; he is all deformity. All were enamored with his aspect, now he\nexcites horror in all who look upon him. Oh, how many swords, says St.\nBonaventure, pierced the soul of this mother, when she received the body\nof her Son after it was taken from the cross: \u201cO quot gladii animam\nmatris pertransierunt!\u201d Let us consider what anguish it would cause any\nmother to receive the lifeless body of a son! It was revealed to St.\nBridget, that to take down the body of Jesus, three ladders were placed\nagainst the cross. Those holy disciples first drew out the nails from\nthe hands and feet, and according to Metaphrastes, gave them in charge to\nMary. Then one supported the upper part of the body of Jesus, the other\nthe lower, and thus took it down from the cross. Bernardine de Bustis\ndescribes the afflicted mother as raising herself, and extending her\narms to meet her dear Son; she embraces him, and then sits down at the\nfoot of the cross. She sees his mouth open, his eye shut, she examines\nthe lacerated flesh, and those exposed bones; she takes off the crown,\nand sees the cruel injury made by those thorns, in that sacred head;\nshe looks upon those pierced hands and feet, and says: Ah, my Son, to\nwhat has the love thou didst bear to men reduced thee! But what evil\nhast thou done to them, that they have treated thee so cruelly? Thou\nwast my father, Bernardine de Bustis imagines her to say, my brother,\nmy spouse, my delight, my glory, my all.[1521] Oh, my Son, behold how\nI am afflicted, look upon me and console me; but thou dost look upon\nme no more. Speak, speak to me but one word, and console me; but thou\ndost speak no more, for thou art dead. Then turning to those barbarous\ninstruments, she said: Oh cruel thorns, oh nails, oh merciless spear, how\ncould you thus torture your Creator? But what thorns, what nails? Alas!\nsinners, she exclaimed, it is you who have thus cruelly treated my Son.\n\nThus Mary spoke and complained of us. But if now she were capable of\nsuffering, what would she say? What grief would she feel to see that\nmen, after the death of her Son, continue to torment and crucify him by\ntheir sins! Let us no longer give pain to this sorrowful mother; and\nif we also have hitherto grieved her by our sins, let us now do what\nshe directs. She says to us: Return, ye transgressors, to the heart:\n\u201cRedite, pr\u00e6varicatores, ad cor.\u201d[1522] Sinners, return to the wounded\nheart of my Jesus; return as penitents, for he will receive you. Flee\nfrom him to him, she continues to say with Guerric the Abbot; from\nthe Judge to the Redeemer, from the tribunal to the cross.[1523] The\nVirgin herself revealed to St. Bridget that she closed the eyes of her\nSon when he was taken down from the cross, but she could not close his\narms: \u201cEjus brachia flectere non potui.\u201d Jesus Christ giving us to\nunderstand by this, that he desired to remain with open arms to receive\nall penitent sinners who return to him. Oh world, continues Mary, behold,\nthen, thy time is the time of lovers: \u201cEt ecce, tempus tuum, tempus\namantium.\u201d[1524] Now that my Son, oh world, has died to save thee, this\nis no longer for thee a time of fear, but of love; a time to love him\nwho has desired to suffer so much in order to show thee the love he bore\nthee. Therefore, says St. Bernard, is the heart of Jesus wounded that,\nthrough the visible wound, the invisible wound of love may be seen.[1525]\nIf, then, concludes Mary, in the words of the Abbot of Celles, my Son has\nwished his side to be opened that he might give thee his heart,[1526] it\nis right, oh man, that thou shouldst give him thy heart. And if you wish,\noh children of Mary, to find a place in the heart of Jesus without fear\nof being cast out, go, says Ubertino of Casale, go with Mary, for she\nwill obtain grace for you;[1527] and in the following example we have a\nbeautiful proof of this.\n\n\nEXAMPLE.\n\n_The Disciple_ relates[1528] that there was once a poor sinner who, among\nother crimes, had killed his father and a brother, and therefore became\na fugitive. Happening to hear one day during Lent, a sermon upon the\ndivine mercy, he went to the preacher himself to make his confession. The\nconfessor having heard his crimes, sent him to an altar of the sorrowful\nmother to pray that she might obtain for him compunction and pardon of\nhis sins. The sinner obeyed, and began to pray, when behold, suddenly\noverpowered by contrition, he falls down dead. On the following day\nwhen the priest recommended to the people to pray for the deceased, a\nwhite dove appeared in the church and let fall a card at the feet of the\npriest. He took it up, and found these words written on it: \u201cThe soul of\nthe dead, when it left the body, immediately went to paradise; and do you\ncontinue to preach the infinite mercy of God.\u201d\n\n\nPRAYER.\n\nOh afflicted Virgin! oh soul, great in virtues and great also in sorrows!\nfor both arise from that great fire of love thou hast for God; thou whose\nheart can love nothing but God; ah mother, have pity on me, for I have\nnot loved God, and I have so much offended him. Thy sorrows give me great\nconfidence to hope for pardon. But this is not enough; I wish to love my\nLord, and who can better obtain this for me than thou\u2014thou who art the\nmother of fair love? Ah Mary, thou dost console all, comfort me also.\nAmen.\n\n\nON THE SEVENTH DOLOR.\n\nTHE BURIAL OF THE BODY OF JESUS.\n\nWhen a mother is by the side of a suffering and dying child, she no\ndoubt then feels and suffers all his pains; but when the afflicted child\nis really dead and about to be buried, and the sorrowful mother takes\nher last leave of him, oh God! the thought that she is to see him no\nmore is a sorrow that exceeds all other sorrows. Behold, the last sword\nof sorrow which we are to consider, when Mary, after being present at\nthe death of her Son upon the cross, after having embraced his lifeless\nbody, was finally to leave him in the sepulchre, never more to enjoy his\nbeloved presence.\n\nBut that we may better understand this last dolor, let us return to\nCalvary, again to look upon the afflicted mother, who still holds,\nclasped in her arms, the lifeless body of her Son. Oh my Son, she seems\nthen to continue to say in the words of Job, my Son, thou art changed to\nbe cruel towards me: \u201cMutatus es mihi in crudelem.\u201d[1529] Yes, for all\nthy beauty, grace, virtue, and loveliness, all the signs of special love\nthou hast shown me, the peculiar favors thou hast bestowed on me, are all\nchanged into so many darts of sorrow, which the more they have inflamed\nmy love for thee, so much the more cause me cruelly to feel the pain of\nhaving lost thee. Ah, my beloved Son, in losing thee I have lost all.\nThus St. Bernard speaks in her name: Oh truly begotten of God, thou wast\nto me a father, a son, a spouse; thou wast my life! Now I am deprived of\nmy father, my spouse, and my Son, for with my Son whom I have lost, I\nlose all things.[1530]\n\nThus Mary, clinging to her Son, was dissolved in grief; but those holy\ndisciples, fearing lest this poor mother would expire there through\nagony, went to take the body of her Son from her arms, to bear it away\nfor burial. Therefore, with reverential force they took him from her\narms, and having embalmed him, wrapped him in a linen cloth already\nprepared, upon which our Lord wished to leave to the world his image\nimpressed, as may be seen at the present day in Turin. And now they\nbear him to the sepulchre. The sorrowful funeral train sets forth; the\ndisciples place him on their shoulders; hosts of angels from heaven\naccompany him; those holy women follow him; and the afflicted mother\nfollows in their company her Son to the grave. When they had reached the\nappointed place, how gladly would Mary have buried herself there alive\nwith her Son! \u201cOh how willingly,\u201d said the Virgin to St. Bridget, \u201cwould\nI have remained there alive with my Son, if it had been his will!\u201d[1531]\nBut since this was not the divine will, the authors relate that she\nherself accompanied the sacred body of Jesus into the sepulchre, where,\nas Baronius narrates, they deposited the nails and the crown of thorns.\nIn raising the stone to close the sepulchre, the disciples of the Saviour\nhad to turn to the Virgin, and say to her: Now, oh Lady, we must close\nthe sepulchre; have patience, look upon thy Son and take leave of him for\nthe last time. Then, oh my beloved Son, must the afflicted mother have\nsaid, then shall I see thee no more? Receive, then, this last time that\nI look upon thee, receive the last farewell from me thy dear mother,\nand receive my heart which I leave buried with thee. The Virgin, says\nSt. Fulgentius, earnestly desired that her soul should be buried with\nthe body of Christ.[1532] And Mary herself made this revelation to St.\nBridget: \u201cI can truly say, that at the burial of my Son, one sepulchre\ncontained as it were two hearts.\u201d[1533]\n\nFinally, they take the stone and close up in the holy sepulchre the body\nof Jesus, that great treasure, greater than any in heaven and on earth.\nAnd here let us remark, that Mary left her heart buried with Jesus,\nbecause Jesus was all her treasure: \u201cWhere your treasure is, there will\nyour heart be also.\u201d[1534] And where shall we keep our hearts buried?\nWith creatures? In the mire? And why not with Jesus, who, although he has\nascended to heaven, has wished to remain, not dead but alive, in the most\nholy sacrament of the altar, precisely in order that he may have with\nhim and possess our hearts? But let us return to Mary. Before quitting\nthe sepulchre, according to St. Bonaventure, she blessed that sacred\nstone, saying: Oh happy stone that doth now inclose that body which was\ncontained nine months in my womb, I bless thee, and envy thee; I leave\nthee to guard my Son for me, who is my only good, my only love. And then\nturning to the eternal Father, she said: Oh Father, to thee I recommend\nhim, who is thy Son and mine; and thus bidding a last farewell to her\nSon, and to the sepulchre, she returned to her own house. This poor\nmother went away so afflicted and sad, according to St. Bernard, that she\nmoved many to tears even against their will: \u201cMultos etiam invitos ad\nlacrymas provocabat;\u201d so that wherever she passed, all wept who met her:\n\u201cOmnes plorabant qui obviabant ei,\u201d and could not restrain their tears.\nAnd he adds, that those holy disciples, and the women who accompanied\nher, mourned for her even more than for their Lord.[1535]\n\nSt. Bonaventure says, that her two sisters covered her with a mourning\ncloak: The sisters of our Lady wrapped her in a veil as a widow, covering\nas it were her whole countenance.[1536] And he also says, that passing,\non her return, before the cross, still wet with the blood of her Jesus,\nshe was the first to adore it: Oh holy cross, she exclaimed, I kiss thee\nand adore thee; for thou art no longer an infamous wood, but a throne\nof love, and an altar of mercy, consecrated by the blood of the divine\nLamb, who has been sacrificed upon thee, for the salvation of the world.\nShe then leaves the cross and returns to her house; there the afflicted\nmother casts her eyes around, and no longer sees her Jesus; but instead\nof the presence of her dear Son, all the memorials of his holy life\nand cruel death are before her. There she is reminded of the embraces\nshe gave her Son in the stable of Bethlehem, of the conversations held\nwith him for so many years in the shop of Nazareth: she is reminded of\ntheir mutual affection, of his loving looks, of the words of eternal life\nthat came forth from that divine mouth. And then comes before her the\nfatal scene of that very day; she sees those nails, those thorns, that\nlacerated flesh of her Son, those deep wounds, those uncovered bones,\nthat open mouth, those closed eyes. Alas! what a night of sorrow was\nthat night for Mary! The sorrowful mother turned to St. John, and said\nmournfully: Ah, John, where is thy Master? Then she asked of Magdalen:\nDaughter, tell me where is thy beloved? Oh God! who has taken him from\nus? Mary weeps, and all those who are with her weep. And thou, oh my\nsoul, dost thou not weep! Ah, turn to Mary, and say to her with St.\nBonaventure: Let me, oh my Lady, let me weep; thou art innocent, I am\nguilty.[1537] At least entreat her to permit thee to weep with her: \u201cFac\nut tecum lugeam.\u201d She weeps for love, and thou dost weep through sorrow\nfor thy sins. And thus weeping, thou mayest have the happy lot of him of\nwhom we read in the following example.\n\n\nEXAMPLE.\n\nFather Engelgrave relates,[1538] that a certain religious was so\ntormented by scruples, that sometimes he was almost driven to despair,\nbut having great devotion to Mary, the mother of sorrows, he had\nrecourse to her in the agony of his spirit, and was much comforted by\ncontemplating her dolors. Death came, and the devil tormented him more\nthan ever with scruples, and tempted him to despair. When, behold our\nmerciful mother, seeing her poor son so afflicted, appeared to him, and\nsaid to him: \u201cAnd why, oh my son, art thou so overcome with sorrow, thou\nwho hast so often consoled me by thy compassion for my sorrows?[1539] Be\ncomforted,\u201d she said to him; \u201cJesus sends me to thee to console thee; be\ncomforted, rejoice, and come with me to paradise.\u201d And at these words the\ndevout religious tranquilly expired, full of consolation and confidence.\n\n\nPRAYER.\n\nMy afflicted mother, I will not leave thee alone to weep; no, I wish to\nkeep thee company with my tears. This grace I ask of thee to-day: obtain\nfor me a continual remembrance of the passion of Jesus, and of thine\nalso, and a tender devotion to them, that all the remaining days of my\nlife may be spent in weeping for thy sorrows, oh my mother, and for those\nof my Redeemer. I hope that these dolors will give me the confidence\nand strength not to despair at the hour of my death, at the sight of the\noffences I have committed against my Lord. By these must I obtain pardon,\nperseverance, paradise, where I hope to rejoice with thee, and sing the\ninfinite mercy of my God through all eternity: thus I hope, thus may it\nbe. Amen, amen.\n\n * * * * *\n\nWhoever wishes to practise the devotion of reciting the chaplet of the\ndolors of Mary, will find it at the end of the book. I composed this many\nyears since, and insert it anew here for the convenience of the servants\nof Mary, whom I pray in their charity to recommend me to her when they\nmeditate upon her dolors.\n\nOh Lady, who dost ravish the hearts of men with thy sweetness, hast\nthou not ravished mine? Oh, ravisher of hearts, when wilt thou restore\nto me my heart? Do with it as with thine own, and place it in the side\nof thy Son. Then I shall possess what I hope for, because thou art our\nhope.[1540]\n\n\n\n\nOF THE VIRTUES OF THE MOST HOLY MARY.\n\n\nSt. Augustine says, that in order to obtain more certainly and abundantly\nthe favor of the saints, it is necessary to imitate them, for when they\nsee us practising the virtues which they practised, then they are more\nmoved to pray for us. The queen of saints, and our first advocate, Mary,\nafter she has rescued a soul from the grasp of Lucifer, and has united\nher to God, wishes her to begin to imitate her example, otherwise she\nwill not be able to enrich her, as she would wish, with her graces,\nseeing her so opposed to her in conduct. Therefore Mary calls those\nblessed who diligently imitate her life: \u201cNow, therefore, children, hear\nme; blessed are they that keep my ways.\u201d[1541] He who loves, is like,\nor seeks to make himself like, the person beloved, according to the\ncelebrated proverb: Love either finds or makes like: \u201cAmor aut pares\ninvenit aut facit.\u201d Hence St. Jerome tells us, that if we love Mary,\nwe must seek to imitate her, for this is the greatest honor we can pay\nher.[1542] Richard says, those are and may call themselves true children\nof Mary, who strive to imitate her life: \u201cFilii Mari\u00e6 imitatores ejus.\u201d\nLet the child then endeavor, concludes St. Bernard, to imitate the\nmother, if he desires her favor; for when Mary sees that he honors her as\na mother, she will treat and favor him as a child.\n\nAlthough there is little recorded in the Gospels of the virtues of Mary\nin particular, yet, when they tell us that she was full of grace, it\nis given us to understand that she had all the virtues, and all in the\nheroic degree. So much so, that, as St. Thomas says, whereas the other\nsaints have excelled, each in some one particular virtue, the blessed\nVirgin has excelled in all, and in all the virtues has been given us for\nan example.[1543] And St. Ambrose also says: Such was Mary, that her\nlife alone is the example for all.[1544] And he afterwards adds: Let the\nvirginity and life of Mary be to you as an image, in which the form of\nvirtue shines forth. From thence obtain the model of your life ... what\nyou should correct, what avoid, what retain.[1545] And because, as the\nholy Fathers teach, humility is the foundation of all the virtues, let us\nin the first place consider how great was the humility of the mother of\nGod.\n\n\nSECTION I.\n\nOF THE HUMILITY OF MARY.\n\nHumility, says St. Bernard, is the foundation and guardian of the\nvirtues;[1546] and with reason, for without humility a soul can possess\nno other virtue. Let her possess all the virtues, they will all depart\nwhen humility departs. On the other hand, said St. Francis of Sales, in\na letter to St. Jane de Chantal, God so loves humility that he instantly\nhastens to the soul in which he sees it.[1547] This virtue, so lovely\nand so necessary, was unknown in the world; but the Son of God himself\ncame on earth to teach it by his example, and he desired that in this\nwe should especially strive to imitate him: \u201cLearn of me, because I am\nmeek and humble of heart.\u201d[1548] And Mary, as she was the first and most\nperfect disciple of Jesus Christ in all the virtues, was so in that of\nhumility, by which she merited to be exalted above all creatures. It was\nrevealed to St. Matilda that the first virtue which the blessed mother\nespecially practised from childhood, was humility.[1549]\n\nThe first act of humility of heart is to have an humble opinion\nof ourselves; and Mary always thought so lowly of herself, as was\nrevealed to the same St. Matilda, that although she saw so many more\ngraces bestowed upon her than upon others, she preferred all others\nbefore herself.[1550] Rupert the Abbot, explaining that passage, \u201cThou\nhast wounded my heart, my sister, my spouse ... with one hair of thy\nneck,\u201d[1551] says, that this hair of the neck of the spouse was\nprecisely that humble opinion which Mary had of herself, with which\nshe wounded the heart of God.[1552] Not that the holy Virgin esteemed\nherself a sinner, for humility is truth, as St. Theresa says, and Mary\nknew that she had never offended God; nor that she did not confess having\nreceived greater graces from God than any other creature, for an humble\nheart always acknowledges the special favors of the Lord, that it may\nhumble itself the more; but the divine mother, by the greater light she\nhad to see the infinite greatness and goodness of her God, saw still\nmore her own littleness, and therefore more than all others did she\nhumiliate herself, and say with the spouse of the Canticles: \u201cDo not\nconsider that I am brown because the sun hath altered my color.\u201d[1553]\nApproaching him, I find myself black, as St. Bernard explains it:\n\u201cAppropinquans illi me nigram invenio.\u201d[1554] Yes, adds St. Bernardine,\nfor the Virgin had always present before her eyes the divine majesty\nand her own nothingness.[1555] As a beggar, when she is clothed with a\ncostly garment which has been given her, is not made proud by it, but\nhumbles herself more before the giver, because she is reminded then more\nof her poverty; thus, Mary, the more she saw herself enriched, the more\nhumble she became, remembering that all was the gift of God; whence she\nherself said to St. Elizabeth, a Benedictine nun: \u201cKnow for certain that\nI esteemed myself most abject, and unworthy of the grace of God.\u201d[1556]\nAnd therefore, says St. Bernardine, no creature in the world has been\nmore exalted, because no creature has ever humbled herself more than\nMary.[1557]\n\nMoreover, it is an act of humility to conceal the gifts of heaven.\nMary wished to conceal from St. Joseph the grace of having been made\nthe mother of God, although it seemed necessary to make it known to\nhim, in order, at least, to remove from the mind of her poor spouse\nthe suspicions he might have of her virtue, when he saw her pregnant;\nor at least his perplexity, for in fact St. Joseph, on the one side,\nunwilling to doubt the chastity of Mary, and, on the other, ignorant of\nthe mystery, in order to free himself from perplexity, was minded to\nput her away privately: \u201cVoluit occulte dimittere eam.\u201d[1558] And if\nthe angel had not revealed to him that his spouse was pregnant by the\noperation of the Holy Spirit, he would really have left her. Moreover,\nan humble soul also refuses praise, and gives it all to God. Behold,\nMary is disturbed at hearing herself praised by St. Gabriel. And when St.\nElizabeth said to her, \u201cBlessed art thou among women ... and whence is\nthis to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me.... Blessed art\nthou that hast believed, &c.,\u201d[1559] Mary, referring all these praises\nto God, answered with that humble Canticle: My soul doth magnify the\nLord: \u201cMagnificat anima mea Dominum,\u201d as if she had said: You praise me,\noh Elizabeth, but I praise the Lord, to whom alone honor is due; you\nwonder that I come to you, and I wonder at the divine goodness in which\nalone my spirit exults. And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour:\n\u201cEt exultavit spiritus meus in Deo salutari meo.\u201d You praise me because\nI have believed; I praise my God, because he has wished to exalt my\nnothingness; because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid: \u201cQuia\nrespexit humilitatem ancill\u00e6 su\u00e6.\u201d Hence Mary said to St. Bridget: \u201cWhy\ndid I humble myself so far, or why have I merited so much grace, unless\nbecause I thought and knew that of and from myself I was nothing, and had\nnothing? therefore I would have no praise for myself, but only for the\nGiver and Creator.\u201d[1560] Wherefore, speaking of the humility of Mary,\nSt. Augustine says: Oh truly blessed humility, which has brought forth\nGod to men, opened paradise, and liberated souls from hell![1561]\n\nIt is also a part of humility to serve others; and Mary did not refuse\nto go and serve Elizabeth for three months. Wherefore St. Bernard has\nsaid: Elizabeth wondered that Mary should come to visit her, but she\nshould wonder still more that she did not come to be ministered unto,\nbut to minister.[1562] The humble retire and choose the lowest place;\nand therefore, as St. Bernard remarks, Mary, when her Son was preaching\nin a certain house, as St. Matthew relates,[1563] wished to speak with\nhim, but would not enter the house unbidden.[1564] Therefore, when she\nwas in the \u201cupper room\u201d with the apostles, she wished to take the lowest\nplace, as St. Luke has related: \u201cAll these were persevering with one\nmind in prayer, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus.\u201d[1565] Not\nthat St. Luke did not know the merit of the divine mother, on account of\nwhich he should have given her the first place; but because she had taken\nthe lowest, after the apostles and the other women, therefore St. Luke\ndescribed all, as a certain author remarks, just in the order of their\nplaces. Hence St. Bernard says: Justly has the last become first, who,\nwhen she was first of all, became last.[1566] Finally, the humble love\ncontempt; therefore we do not find that Mary appeared in Jerusalem on\nPalm Sunday, when her Son was received with so much honor by the people;\nbut, on the other hand, at the time of the death of her Son, she did not\nshrink from appearing in public on Calvary, through fear of the disgrace\nof being known as the mother of one who was condemned as a criminal to\ndie by an infamous death. Therefore she said to St. Bridget: \u201cWhat more\ncontemptible than to be called a fool, to be in want of all things, to\nbelieve one\u2019s self the most unworthy of all? Such, oh daughter, was my\nhumility, this was my joy, this my entire will, with which I thought of\nnothing but to please my Son.\u201d[1567]\n\nThe venerable sister Paula of Foligno was given to understand in an\necstasy how great was the humility of the holy Virgin. In relating what\nshe had seen to her confessor, she said, scarcely able to utter the words\nthrough astonishment: \u201cOh the humility of the blessed Virgin! Oh father!\noh the humility of our blessed Lady! In the world there is no humility,\nnot even the lowest degree of humility, to be compared with the humility\nof Mary.\u201d And our Lord, at another time, showed St. Bridget two females,\none all pomp and vanity: \u201cThis one,\u201d he said, \u201cis Pride; but the other\nwhom you see with her head bent down, respectful to all, having God alone\nin her mind, and having no esteem for herself, is Humility, and is called\nMary.\u201d[1568] By this God wished to make known to us that his blessed\nmother was so humble that she was humility itself.\n\nIt is not to be doubted, as St. Gregory of Nyssa says, that for our\nnature, corrupted by sin, there is perhaps no virtue more difficult\nto practise than humility. But there is no escape; we can never be\ntrue children of Mary if we are not humble. If, says St. Bernard,\nyou cannot imitate the virginity, imitate the humility of the humble\nVirgin.[1569] She abhors the proud, she invites none to come to her but\nthe humble: Whosoever is a little one, let him come to me: \u201cSi quis\nest parvulus, veniat ad me.\u201d Mary, says Richard, protects us under the\nmantle of humility: \u201cMaria protegit nos sub pallio humilitatis.\u201d The\nmother of God herself explained this to St. Bridget, saying: \u201cCome,\nthen, oh my daughter, and hide thyself under my mantle; this mantle is\nmy humility.\u201d[1570] And she then added, that the contemplation of her\nhumility was a good mantle, that keeps us warm; but, as she afterwards\nsaid: \u201cThe mantle only warms him who wears it, not only in thought but\nin fact; thus my humility does not profit unless every one strives to\nimitate it. Therefore, my daughter,\u201d she concludes, \u201cclothe thyself\nwith this humility.\u201d[1571] Oh, how dear to Mary is the humble soul! St.\nBernard writes: The Virgin recognizes and loves those who love her, and\nshe is near to all who invoke her, especially to those whom she sees\nlike herself in chastity and humility.[1572] Wherefore the saint then\nexhorts all those who love Mary, to be humble: Emulate this virtue if you\nlove Mary.[1573] Marino, or Martino d\u2019Alberto, of the Society of Jesus,\nthrough love of the Virgin, was accustomed to sweep the house and collect\nthe filth. The divine mother once appeared to him, as Father Nierembergh\nrelates in his Life, and as if thanking him, said: \u201cHow dear to me is\nthis humble action done for love of me!\u201d Then, oh my queen, I shall never\nbe a true child of thine, if I am not humble. But do you not see that my\nsins, after having rendered me ungrateful to my Lord, have also made me\nproud? Oh, my mother, cure me; by thy merits obtain for me that I may be\nhumble, and thus become a child of thine. Amen.\n\n\nSECTION II.\n\nOF THE CHARITY OF MARY TOWARDS GOD.\n\nSt. Anselm says, that where there is the greatest purity, there is the\ngreatest charity: \u201cUbi major puritas, ibi major charitas.\u201d The purer and\nmore emptied of self is a heart, the more it will be filled with charity\ntowards God. Most holy Mary, because she was all humility, and entirely\nemptied of self, was entirely filled with the divine love, so that she\nsurpassed all men and all angels in love to God, as St. Bernardine\nteaches.[1574] Therefore St. Francis of Sales has justly called her: The\nqueen of love. The Lord indeed has given to men the precept to love him\nwith their whole heart: \u201cThou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole\nheart;\u201d[1575] but, as St. Thomas declares, this precept will never be\nperfectly fulfilled by men on this earth, but in heaven.[1576] And here\nthe blessed Albertus Magnus remarks, that in a certain sense, it would\nbe unbecoming for God to give a commandment which none could perfectly\nfulfil, if the divine mother had not perfectly fulfilled it. These are\nthe words of Albertus: Either some one fulfils this precept or no one; if\nany one, it is the most blessed Virgin.[1577] And this is confirmed by\nRichard of St. Victor, who says: The mother of our Emmanuel was perfect\nin all virtues. Who has ever fulfilled as she did that first commandment:\n\u201cThou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart?\u201d In her the\ndivine love was so ardent, that there could be no defect of any kind in\nher.[1578] Divine love, says St. Bernard, so penetrated and pervaded the\nsoul of Mary, that no part was left untouched by it, so that she loved\nwith her whole heart, her whole soul, and her whole strength, and was\nfull of grace.[1579] Wherefore Mary might well have said: My beloved has\ngiven himself wholly to me, and I have given myself wholly to him: My\nbeloved to me, and I to him: \u201cDilectus meus mihi, et ego illi.\u201d[1580] Ah,\nsays Richard, well might even the seraphim descend from heaven to learn\nfrom the heart of the Virgin how to love God.[1581]\n\nGod, who is love: \u201cDeus charitas est,\u201d[1582] came on earth to kindle\nin all men the flame of his holy love; but he inflamed no heart so\nmuch as the heart of his mother, who, being entirely pure from every\nearthly affection, was perfectly ready to be enkindled by this blessed\nflame. Thus St. Jerome teaches.[1583] Hence the heart of Mary became\nall fire and flames, as we read of her in the sacred Canticles: The\nlamps thereof are fire and flames: \u201cLampades ejus, lampades ignis, atque\nflammarum.\u201d[1584] Fire burning within, through love, as St. Anselm\nexplains,[1585] and flames shining forth upon all, by the practice of\nvirtue. Mary, therefore, when she bore Jesus in her arms, might indeed\nhave called herself: Fire carrying fire: \u201cIgnis gestans ignem,\u201d more\nproperly than a certain woman who was carrying fire in her hand was so\ncalled by Hippocrates. Yes, for St. Ildephonsus said: As fire heats iron,\nthe Holy Spirit so wholly inflamed Mary that nothing was seen in her but\nthe flame of the Holy Ghost, nothing was felt but the fire of the love\nof God.[1586] St. Thomas of Villanova says that the bush which Moses\nsaw entirely in flames without being consumed, was really a symbol of\nthe heart of the Virgin. Wherefore with reason, as St. Bernard says, was\nshe seen by St. John clothed with the sun: And there appeared a great\nwonder in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun: \u201cEt signum apparuit in\nc\u0153lo, mulier amicta sole.\u201d[1587] For, says the saint, she was so united\nto God by love that it seems as if no creature could be more united to\nhim. Mary, then, is justly described as clothed with the sun, for she has\npenetrated to an incredible depth the abyss of divine wisdom, so that, as\nfar as it is permitted to a creature not personally united with God, she\nappears immersed in that inaccessible light.[1588]\n\nTherefore St. Bonaventure asserts, that the holy Virgin was never tempted\nby the spirits of hell: For as flies, he says, are driven away by a great\nfire, so from the heart of Mary, which was one flame of love, the devils\nfled, and did not even dare to approach her.[1589] And Richard also says:\nThe Virgin was terrible to the princes of darkness, so that they did not\npresume to approach and tempt her, for the flame of charity deterred\nthem.[1590] Mary herself revealed to St. Bridget, that in this world\nshe had no other thought, no other desire, no other joy, than God: I\nthought of nothing but God; nothing pleased me but God: \u201cNihil nisi Deum\ncogitabam, nulla mihi nisi Deus placuerunt.\u201d So that her blessed soul\nbeing, as it were, on this earth in a continual contemplation of God, the\nacts of love she made were innumerable; as Father Suarez has declared:\nThe acts of perfect love which the blessed Virgin made in this life were\ninnumerable, for she passed almost her whole life in contemplation, and\nwas very frequently repeating an act of love.[1591] But Bernard de Bustis\npleases me more when he says, that Mary did not so much repeat the acts\nof love in order, as other saints do, but, by a singular privilege,\nalways actually loved God with one continued act.[1592] Like the royal\neagle she kept her eye always fixed upon the divine Sun, so that, as\nSt. Peter Damian says, neither did the actions of life prevent her from\nloving, nor love prevent her from acting.[1593] Thus, says St. Germanus,\nMary was prefigured by the altar of propitiation, on which the fire was\nnever extinguished by day or by night.\n\nNeither did sleep interrupt the love of Mary for her God. For if such a\nprivilege was given to our first parents in the state of innocence, as\nSt. Augustine asserts, saying: Their dreams when sleeping were as happy\nas their life when waking: \u201cTam felicia erant somnia dormientium, quam\nvita vigilantium,\u201d[1594] it certainly could not be denied to the divine\nmother, as Suarez and Rupert the Abbot believe, with St. Bernardine and\nSt. Ambrose, who has written concerning Mary: While her body rested,\nher soul watched: \u201cCum quiesceret corpus, vigilaret animus.\u201d[1595] Thus\nwere verified in her the words of the wise man: Her lamp shall not be\nput out in the night: \u201cNon extinguetur in nocte lucerna ejus.\u201d[1596]\nYes, for while her blessed body, with a light sleep, took its needed\nrest, her soul, says St. Bernardine, freely rose to God, so at that\ntime her contemplation was more perfect than is that of any other\nperson when awake.[1597] Therefore could she well say with the spouse\nin the Canticles: I sleep and my heart watcheth: \u201cEgo dormio et cor\nmeum vigilat.\u201d[1598] Happy in sleep as in waking: \u201cTam felix dormiendo,\nquam vigilando,\u201d as Suarez says. In a word, St. Bernardine asserts,\nthat Mary, while she lived on earth, was continually loving God: \u201cMens\nVirginis in ardore dilectionis continue tenebatur.\u201d[1599] And he adds\nfurther, that she never did any thing that she did not know was pleasing\nto God; and that she loved him as much as she knew he ought to be\nloved.[1600] Hence, according to blessed Albertus Magnus, it may be\nsaid that Mary was filled with so great charity that a greater was not\npossible in any pure creature on this earth.[1601] For this reason St.\nThomas of Villanova has said, that the Virgin, by her ardent charity, was\nmade so beautiful and so enamored her God, that captivated as it were, by\nlove of her, he descended into her womb to become man.[1602] Wherefore\nSt. Bernardine exclaims: Behold a Virgin who by her virtue has wounded\nand taken captive the heart of God.[1603]\n\nBut since Mary loves her God so much, she certainly requires from her\nservants nothing else so much as that they should love God as much as\nthey can. And precisely this she said to the blessed Angela de Foligno\none day after communion: \u201cAngela, may you be blessed by my Son; seek to\nlove him as much as you can.\u201d And the blessed Virgin herself said to St.\nBridget: Daughter, if you wish to bind me to you, love my Son: \u201cSi vis me\ntecum devincire, ama filium meum.\u201d Mary desires nothing more than to see\nher beloved, who is God, loved by all. Novarino asks why the holy Virgin,\nwith the spouse of the Canticles, begged the angels to make known to her\nLord the great love she bore him, saying: \u201cI adjure you, oh daughters\nof Jerusalem, if you find my beloved, that you tell him that I languish\nwith love.\u201d[1604] Did not God know how much she loved him? Why does she\ndesire to show the wound to her beloved who gave the wound? \u201cCur vulnus\nostendi qu\u00e6rit dilecto qui vulnus fecit?\u201d The same author answers, that\nthe divine mother did not wish by this to make known her love to God,\nbut to us; that, as she was wounded, she might be able to wound us also\nwith divine love: \u201cUt vulnerata vulneret.\u201d[1605] And because she was\nwholly inflamed with the love of God, she inflames all those who love and\napproach her, and renders them like herself.[1606] For this reason St.\nCatharine of Sienna called Mary: The bearer of the flame of divine love:\n\u201cPortatrix ignis.\u201d If we also wish to burn with this blessed flame, let\nus always endeavor to draw near to our mother with prayers and affections.\n\nOh queen of love, Mary, the most lovely, the most beloved, and the most\nloving of all creatures, as St. Francis of Sales said to thee: Ah, my\nmother, thou wert always wholly inflamed with love to God; ah, deign to\nbestow on me at least one spark of it. Thou didst pray thy Son for that\nfamily whose wine had failed: They have no wine: \u201cVinum non habent,\u201d\nand wilt thou not pray for us, who are wanting in love to God, whom we\nare under such obligations to love? Say to Jesus: They have no love:\n\u201cAmorem non habent.\u201d Do thou obtain for us this love. We ask of thee no\nother favor than this. Oh mother, by the great love thou hast for Jesus,\ngraciously hear us and pray for us. Amen.\n\n\nSECTION III.\n\nOF THE CHARITY OF MARY FOR HER NEIGHBOR.\n\nLove to God and our neighbor is commanded by the same precept: \u201cAnd this\ncommandment we have from God, that he who loveth God, love also his\nneighbor.\u201d[1607] And St. Thomas gives it as a reason for this, that he\nwho loves God, loves all things which God loves. St. Catherine of Genoa\none day said to God: \u201cOh Lord, it is thy will that I love my neighbor,\nand I can love none but thee.\u201d God answered her in these words: \u201cHe who\nloves me, loves all things loved by me.\u201d But as there never has been and\nnever will be one who loves God more than Mary; so there never has been\nand never will be one who loves his neighbor more than Mary. Cornelius \u00e0\nLapide, remarking on these words: \u201cKing Solomon hath made him a litter\nof the wood of Libanus ... the midst he covered with charity for the\ndaughters of Jerusalem,\u201d[1608] says, that this litter was the womb of\nMary, in which the incarnate Word dwelt, filling the mother with charity,\nthat she might succor all who had recourse to her.[1609] Mary was so\nfull of charity when she was on earth, that she assisted unasked, those\nwho were in need, just as she did at the marriage of Cana, when she told\nher Son of the trouble of the family: They have no wine: \u201cVinum non\nhabent,\u201d[1610] and begged him to give them wine by a miracle. Oh! how\nshe hastened to the relief of her neighbor, when she went to the house\nof Elizabeth on an errand of charity: She went into the hill country\nin haste: \u201cAbiit in montana cum festinatione.\u201d[1611] She could in no\nway show greater charity than by offering her Son for our salvation;\nso that St. Bonaventure says: Mary so loved the world as to give her\nonly-begotten Son.[1612] Therefore St. Anselm addresses her in these\nwords: Oh, blessed among women, who dost excel the angels in purity, and\nthe saints in pity![1613] Neither does the charity of Mary for us fail,\nsays St. Bonaventure, now she is in heaven; but is much increased there.\nBecause now she sees more clearly the miseries of men.[1614] Hence the\nsaint said: Great was the mercy of Mary towards the wretched when she was\nstill an exile on earth; but it is far greater now that she is reigning\nin heaven.[1615] And the angel said to St. Bridget, that there is no\none who prays that does not receive graces through the charity of the\nVirgin.[1616] Miserable should we be were Mary not to pray for us. Jesus\nChrist himself also said to the same saint: \u201cIf the prayers of my mother\ndid not interpose, there would be no hope of mercy.\u201d[1617]\n\nBlessed is he, says the divine mother, who hears my teachings and\nconsiders my charity, in order to practise it towards others in imitation\nof me: \u201cBlessed is the man that heareth me, and that watcheth daily\nat my gates, and waiteth at the posts of my doors.\u201d[1618] St. Gregory\nNazianzen says, that there is nothing by which we may more surely\ngain the love of Mary, than by the practice of charity towards our\nneighbor.[1619] Hence, as God commands us, saying, \u201cBe ye merciful, as\nyour Father also is merciful;\u201d[1620] so Mary appears to say to all her\nchildren: Be ye merciful, as your mother also is merciful.[1621] It\nis certain that God and Mary will show mercy to us, according to the\ncharity we practise towards our neighbor. \u201cGive, and it shall be given\nto you.\u201d \u201cFor with the same measure that you shall mete withal, it shall\nbe measured to you again.\u201d[1622] St. Methodius said: Give to the poor\nand receive paradise: \u201cDa pauperi et accipe Paradisum:\u201d for, according\nto the apostle, charity towards our neighbor renders us happy in this\nlife and the next: \u201cBut piety is profitable to all things, having promise\nof the life that now is, and of that which is to come.\u201d[1623] St. John\nChrysostom, remarking on the words of Proverbs, \u201cHe that hath mercy on\nthe poor, lendeth to the Lord,\u201d[1624] says, that he who assists the\nneedy, makes God his debtor.[1625] Oh mother of mercy, thou art full of\ncharity for all. Do not forget my miseries. Thou dost even now see them.\nRecommend me to that God who denies thee nothing. Obtain for me the grace\nof being able to imitate thee in holy charity towards God and towards my\nneighbor. Amen.\n\n\nSECTION IV.\n\nOF THE FAITH OF MARY.\n\nAs the blessed Virgin is the mother of love and of hope, thus, also, is\nshe the mother of faith. \u201cI am the mother of fair love, and of fear,\nand knowledge, and of holy hope.\u201d[1626] And justly, says St. Ir\u00e6neus,\nsince Mary repaired by her faith that loss which Eve caused by her\nincredulity.[1627] Eve, Tertullian also says, because she chose to\nbelieve the serpent rather than the Word of God, brought death into\nthe world; but our queen, believing the words of the angel, that she,\nremaining a virgin, was to become the mother of the Lord, brought\nsalvation to the world.[1628] For St. Augustine says that Mary, giving\nher consent to the incarnation of the Word, by means of her faith opened\nparadise to men.[1629] Also Richard, commenting on the words of St. Paul,\n\u201cFor the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the believing wife,\u201d[1630]\nsays: This is the believing woman by whose faith the unbelieving Adam\nand all his posterity are saved.[1631] Hence, on account of her faith,\nElizabeth pronounced the Virgin blessed: Blessed art thou that hast\nbelieved, because those things shall be accomplished in thee that\nwere spoken by the Lord.[1632] And St. Augustine added: Mary is more\nblessed by receiving the faith of Christ than by conceiving the flesh of\nChrist.[1633]\n\nFather Suarez says that the holy Virgin had more faith than all men\nand all the angels. She saw her Son in the stable of Bethlehem, and\nbelieved him the Creator of the world. She saw him flying from Herod,\nand yet believed that he was the King of kings. She saw him born, and\nbelieved him to be eternal. She saw him poor and in need of food, and\nbelieved him to be Lord of the universe; laid on straw, and she believed\nhim omnipotent. She observed that he did not speak, and she believed\nhim to be the infinite Wisdom. She heard him weeping, and she believed\nhim to be the joy of paradise. Finally, she saw him in death, despised\nand crucified, but although the faith of others might have wavered,\nMary remained firm in the belief that he was God. St. Antoninus says,\nremarking on the words: There stood by the cross of Jesus his mother:\n\u201cStabat juxta crucem Jesu mater ejus,\u201d Mary stood supported by her faith,\nwhich she retained firm in the divinity of Christ.[1634] And it is for\nthis reason, says the saint, that in the office of Tenebr\u00e6, only one\ncandle is left lighted. St. Leo, when treating of this subject, applies\nto the Virgin this passage of Proverbs: \u201cHer lamp shall not be put out in\nthe night.\u201d[1635] On the words of Isaias, \u201cI have trodden the wine-press\nalone, and of the Gentiles, there is not a man with me,\u201d[1636] St.\nThomas remarks: He says a man, on account of the Virgin, in whom faith\nnever failed.[1637] Whence the blessed Albertus Magnus says, that Mary\npractised then a most perfect faith. She had faith in a most excellent\ndegree; who, even when the disciples were doubting, did not doubt. Mary,\ntherefore, by her great faith merited to become the light of all the\nfaithful, as St. Methodius calls her: \u201cFidelium fax.\u201d And by St. Cyril\nof Alexandria: The queen of the true faith: \u201cSceptrum orthodox\u00e6 fidei.\u201d\nAnd the holy Church herself attributes to the Virgin, by the merit of her\nfaith, the destruction of all heresies: \u201cRejoice, oh Virgin Mary, for\nthou alone hast destroyed all heresies throughout the world.\u201d[1638] St.\nThomas of Villanova also says, explaining the words of the Holy Spirit,\n\u201cThou hast wounded my heart, my sister, my spouse ... with one of thy\neyes,\u201d[1639] that the eyes signify faith, by which the Virgin gave the\ngreatest pleasure to the Son of God.[1640]\n\nSt. Ildephonsus exhorts us to imitate the faith of Mary: \u201cImitamini\nsignaculum fidei Mari\u00e6.\u201d But how are we to imitate this faith of Mary?\nFaith is at the same time a gift and a virtue. It is a gift of God, in\nso far as it is a light which God infuses into the soul, and it is also\na virtue in so far as it is exercised by the soul. Hence faith is given\nus not only to serve as a rule of belief, but also of action. Therefore\nSt. Gregory says: He truly believes who, by his works, practises what\nhe believes.[1641] And St. Augustine: Thou sayest, \u201cI believe,\u201d do\nwhat you say, and it is faith.[1642] And this is to have a lively\nfaith, namely, to live according to our belief. \u201cMy just man liveth by\nfaith.\u201d[1643] It was thus the blessed Virgin lived, very differently\nfrom those who do not live according to what they believe, whose faith\nis dead, as St. James says: Faith without good works is dead: \u201cFide\nsine operibus mortua est.\u201d[1644] Diogenes went about seeking a man upon\nearth: \u201cHominem qu\u00e6ro;\u201d but God seems seeking a Christian among the many\nfaithful: \u201cChristianum qu\u00e6ro.\u201d For very few are they who have the works,\nthe greater part have only the name; but to these should be said what\nAlexander said to that cowardly soldier who was also named Alexander:\nChange either your name or your conduct: \u201cAut nomen, aut mores muta.\u201d\nBut, as Father Avila used to say: It would be better if these miserable\ncreatures were put in confinement as madmen, believing as they do, that\na happy eternity is prepared for him who lives well, and an unhappy\neternity for him who lives ill, and yet living as if they did not believe\nthis. St. Augustine therefore exhorts us to see things with Christian\neyes, that is, to see according to faith: \u201cOculos Christianorum habete.\u201d\nFor St. Theresa was accustomed to say, that all sins arise from a want of\nfaith. Let us therefore implore the holy Virgin, that by the merit of her\nfaith she may obtain for us a lively faith. Oh Lady, increase our faith:\nDomina adauge nobis fidem.\n\n\nSECTION V.\n\nOF THE HOPE OF MARY.\n\nFrom faith springs hope, for God enlightens us by faith with a knowledge\nof his goodness and his promises, that we may rise by hope to the desire\nof possessing him. Mary, then, having the virtue of an extraordinary\nfaith, had also the virtue of an extraordinary hope, which made her say\nwith David: \u201cBut it is good for me to adhere to my God, and to put my\nhope in the Lord God.\u201d[1645] Mary was, indeed, that faithful spouse of\nthe Holy Spirit, of whom it was said: \u201cWho is this that cometh up from\nthe desert, flowing with delights, leaning on her beloved?\u201d[1646] For\nshe was always perfectly detached from affection to the world, which to\nher appeared a desert; and placing no confidence either in creatures or\nher own merits, but relying entirely on divine grace, in which alone she\ntrusted, she always advanced in the divine love; and thus Ailgrin said\nof her: She ascended from the desert, that is, from the world, which she\ndeserted and esteemed such a desert, that she turned away from it all\nher affection. Leaning upon her beloved; for she trusted not in her own\nmerits, but in the grace of him who bestows grace.[1647]\n\nAnd the holy Virgin plainly showed how great was her confidence in God:\nfirst, when she saw the trouble of her holy spouse, Joseph, because he\nknew not the mode of her miraculous pregnancy, and thought of leaving\nher: But Joseph ... minded to put her away privately: \u201cJoseph autem ...\nvoluit occulte dimittere eam.\u201d[1648] It appeared then necessary, as we\nhave already said, that she should discover to Joseph the hidden mystery;\nbut no, she would not herself reveal the grace she had received; she\nthought it better to abandon herself to divine providence, trusting that\nGod himself would protect her innocence and her reputation. Cornelius \u00e0\nLapide makes precisely the same remark, commenting upon these very words\nof the Gospel: The blessed Virgin was unwilling to make known this secret\nto Joseph, lest she should seem to boast of her gifts, but resigned\nherself in perfect confidence to the care of God, trusting that he would\nprotect her innocence and reputation.[1649] Moreover, she showed her\nconfidence in God when, as the time for the birth of Christ approached,\nshe saw herself in Bethlehem shut out from the lodgings even of the\npoor, and obliged to bring forth her Son in a stable: \u201cAnd she laid him\nin a manger, because there was no room for him in the inn.\u201d[1650] She\ndid not then utter a single word of complaint, but abandoning herself\nto God, trusted that he would assist her in her need. The divine mother\nalso showed how much she trusted in the divine providence, when warned\nby Joseph that they were obliged to fly into Egypt, she set out the same\nnight on so long a journey to a foreign and unknown country, without\npreparation, without money, without other company than that of her\ninfant Jesus and her poor spouse: \u201cWho arose and took the child and his\nmother by night, and retired into Egypt.\u201d[1651] But much more did Mary\nmake known her confidence, when she asked from her Son the favor of the\nmiracle of wine at the marriage of Cana; for having said: They have no\nwine: \u201cVinum non habent;\u201d Jesus answered her: \u201cWoman, what is it to thee\nand to me? my hour has not yet come.\u201d[1652] But after this answer, by\nwhich it seemed clearly that he refused her request, she, trusting in the\ndivine goodness, directed the people of the house to do as the Son should\norder, because the grace was secure; Whatsoever he shall say to you, do\nye: \u201cQuodcumque dixerit vobis facite.\u201d And Jesus Christ did, indeed,\norder that the vessels should be filled with water, and then changed it\ninto wine.\n\nLet us learn then from Mary to trust in God as we ought, but principally\nas to what concerns our eternal salvation, in which, although our\nco-operation is necessary, yet we ought to hope from God alone the grace\nnecessary for obtaining it, entirely distrusting our own strength, and\nsaying with the apostle: I can do all things in him who strengtheneth me:\n\u201cOmnia possum in eo qui me confortat.\u201d[1653]\n\nAh, my most holy Lady, of thee Ecclesiasticus says, that thou art the\nmother of holy hope: \u201cMater sanct\u00e6 spei.\u201d[1654] The holy Church says of\nthee that thou art hope itself: Hail, our hope: \u201cSpes nostra salve.\u201d What\nother hope then am I seeking? Thou, after Christ, art all my hope; thus\nSt. Bernard called thee, thus I also wish to call thee: The whole reason\nof my hope: \u201cTota ratio spes me\u00e6;\u201d and I will always say to thee with St.\nBonaventure: Oh salvation of those who invoke thee, save me: \u201cO salus te\ninvocantium salva me.\u201d\n\n\nSECTION VI.\n\nOF THE CHASTITY OF MARY.\n\nSince the fall of Adam the flesh being rebellious against reason, the\nvirtue of chastity is the most difficult for men to practise. Of all\ncombats, says St. Augustine, those of chastity are the most severe,\nfor the battle is daily and the victory rare.[1655] But eternal praise\nto the Lord who has given us in Mary a great example of this virtue.\nWith justice, says blessed Albertus Magnus, is Mary called the Virgin\nof virgins, for she being the first who offered her virginity to God,\nwithout the counsel or example of others, has brought to him all virgins\nwho imitate her.[1656] As David had already predicted: After her virgins\nshall be brought to the temple of the king: \u201cAdducentur virgines post eam\nin templum regis.\u201d[1657] Without counsel or example; yes, for St. Bernard\nexclaims: Oh Virgin, who has taught thee to please God by virginity, and\non earth to lead the life of an angel?[1658] Ah! answers Sophronius, it\nis for this God has chosen this most pure Virgin for his mother, that she\nmay be an example of chastity to all.[1659] Hence St. Ambrose has called\nMary the standard-bearer of chastity: \u201cQu\u00e6 signum Virginitatis extulit.\u201d\n\nBy reason of this her purity the blessed Virgin was also called by the\nHoly Spirit: Beautiful as the turtle-dove: Thy cheeks are beautiful as\nthe turtle-dove\u2019s: \u201cPulchr\u00e6 sunt gen\u00e6 tu\u00e6 sicut turturis.\u201d[1660] Mary,\nsays St. Aponius, is a most chaste turtle: \u201cTurtur pudicissima Maria.\u201d\nAnd therefore she has also been called a lily: As the lily among the\nthorns, so is my love among the daughters: \u201cSicut lilium inter spinas,\nsic amica mea inter filias.\u201d[1661] St. Denis the Carthusian, commenting\non this passage, says, that she has been called a lily among thorns\nbecause all other virgins were thorns either to themselves or others;\nbut the blessed Virgin has never been one to herself or others.[1662]\nFor by her presence alone she infused into all, thoughts and affections\nof purity: \u201cIntuentium corda ad castitatem invitabat.\u201d[1663] And this is\nconfirmed by St. Thomas, who says that the beauty of the blessed Virgin\nencouraged chastity in all who beheld her: \u201cPulchritudo B. Virginis\nintuentes ad castitatem excitabat.\u201d[1664] St. Jerome declares himself of\nthe opinion that St. Joseph preserved his virginity by the society of\nMary, for the saint thus writes against the heretic Helvidius, who denied\nthe virginity of Mary: Thou sayest that Mary did not remain a virgin; I\ntake it upon myself to maintain more than that, even that Joseph himself\npreserved his virginity through Mary.[1665] A certain author says that\nthe blessed Virgin so loved this virtue, that to preserve it, she would\nhave been ready to renounce even the dignity of mother of God. This we\nmay learn from her own answer to the archangel: \u201cHow shall this be done,\nbecause I know not man?\u201d[1666] and from the words she afterwards added:\nBe it done to me according to thy word: \u201cFiat mihi secundum verbum tuum;\u201d\nsignifying by this that she gave her consent on the condition of which\nthe angel had assured her, namely, that she should become a mother by\nmeans of the Holy Spirit alone.\n\nSt. Ambrose says: He who has preserved chastity is an angel, he who has\nlost it is a devil.[1667] According to the words of our Lord: \u201cThey shall\nbe as the angels of God in heaven.\u201d[1668] But the unchaste become odious\nto God as the devils. And St. Remigius said that the greater number of\nadults are lost through this vice. The victory over this vice is rare,\nas has been said in the words of St. Augustine at the beginning of this\nsection; but why is it rare? Because the means for conquering it are\nnot put in use. The means are three according to Bellarmine, and the\nmasters of the spiritual life: Fasting, avoiding dangerous occasions, and\nprayer: \u201cJejuniun, periculorum evitatio, et oratio.\u201d By fasting is meant\nmortification, particularly of the eyes and of the appetite. The most\nholy Mary, although she was full of divine grace, was so mortified with\nher eyes that she kept them always cast down, as St. Epiphanius and St.\nJohn Damascene inform us, and never fixed them on any one; they say that\nfrom her childhood she was so modest that she was the wonder of all. And\nhence St. Luke remarks, that in going to visit St. Elizabeth: She went\nwith haste: \u201cAbiit cum festinatione,\u201d that she might not be long seen in\npublic. Philibert relates with regard to her food, that it was revealed\nto a hermit named Felix, that the infant Mary took milk only once a\nday. And St. Gregory of Tours asserts that, during her whole life, she\nfasted always: \u201cNullo tempore Maria non jejunavit;\u201d and St. Bonaventure\nadds, that Mary would never have found so much grace unless she had been\ntemperate in food, for grace and gluttony cannot subsist together.[1669]\nIn a word, Mary practised mortification in every thing, so that of\nher it was said: My hands dropped with myrrh: \u201cManus me\u00e6 stillaverunt\nmyrrham.\u201d[1670]\n\nThe second means is to fly the occasions of sin. He that is aware of the\nsnares shall be secure: \u201cQui autem cavet laqueos, securus erit.\u201d[1671]\nHence St. Philip Neri said, that in this warfare cowards conquer; that\nis, those who avoid dangerous occasions. Mary shunned as much as possible\nthe sight of men; and therefore St. Luke says that in her visit to St.\nElizabeth, she went with haste into the hill country: \u201cAbiit in montana\ncum festinatione.\u201d And a certain author remarks that the Virgin left\nElizabeth before the birth of the Baptist, as we learn from the Gospel\nitself, in which it is said that \u201cMary abode with her about three months;\nand she returned to her own house. Now Elizabeth\u2019s full time of being\ndelivered was come, and she brought forth a son.\u201d[1672] And why did she\nnot wait till his birth? In order to avoid the conversation and visits\nwhich would follow that event. The third means is prayer. \u201cAnd as I\nknew,\u201d said the wise man, \u201cthat I could not otherwise be continent except\nGod gave it.... I went to the Lord and besought him.\u201d[1673] And the\nblessed Virgin revealed to St. Elisabeth, a Benedictine nun, that she had\nnot acquired any virtue without effort and continual prayer.[1674] St.\nJohn Damascene says that Mary is pure and a lover of purity: \u201cPura est et\npuritatem amans,\u201d and therefore she cannot endure the impure. But whoever\nhas recourse to her will certainly be delivered from this vice by only\npronouncing her name with confidence. And the venerable John of Avila\nsays that many temptations against chastity have been overcome solely by\ndevotion to the immaculate Virgin. Oh Mary, oh most pure dove, how many\nare in hell through the vice of impurity! Oh Lady, obtain for us that\nalways in our temptations we may have recourse to thee, and invoke thee,\nsaying: Mary, Mary, help us. Amen.\n\n\nSECTION VII.\n\nON THE POVERTY OF MARY.\n\nOur loving Redeemer chose to be poor on this earth in order to teach\nus to despise the goods of this world: \u201cBeing rich,\u201d says St. Paul,\n\u201che became poor for your sake, that through his poverty you might be\nrich.\u201d[1675] For this reason Jesus Christ says to each one who wishes to\nbe his disciple: \u201cIf thou wilt be perfect, go sell what thou hast and\ngive it to the poor, and come follow me.\u201d[1676] Behold his most perfect\ndisciple Mary, who indeed imitated his example. Father Canisius proves\nthat the holy Virgin could have lived in comfort on the inheritance\nleft her by her parents, but she was content to remain poor, reserving\nto herself a small portion, and giving the rest in alms to the temple\nand to the poor. Many are of opinion that Mary also made a vow of\npoverty,[1677] and it is known that she herself said to St. Bridget:\n\u201cFrom the beginning I vowed in my heart never to possess any thing in the\nworld.\u201d[1678] The gifts received from the holy Magi were certainly not\nof small value, but St. Bernard attests that she distributed them all to\nthe poor.[1679] And we learn that the divine mother immediately gave to\nothers the presents above mentioned, from the fact that when she went\nto the temple she did not offer the lamb, which was the oblation made\nby those who were able, as we read in Leviticus: \u201cFor a son she shall\nbring a lamb,\u201d[1680] ... but she offered two turtle-doves and two young\npigeons, the oblation of the poor: \u201cAnd to offer a sacrifice, according\nas it is written in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtle-doves or two\nyoung pigeons.\u201d[1681] Mary herself said to St. Bridget: \u201cAll that I\nhad I gave to the poor, and kept nothing for myself but poor food and\nclothing.\u201d[1682]\n\nThrough love of poverty she did not disdain to marry a poor carpenter,\nlike St. Joseph, and afterwards, as St. Bonaventure relates, to support\nherself by the work of her hands, as sewing or spinning. An angel\nrevealed to St. Bridget concerning Mary, that worldly riches were in\nher eyes vile as dirt: \u201cMundan\u00e6 divit\u00e6 velut lutum sibi vilescebat.\u201d In\na word, she always lived in poverty, and she died in poverty; for as\nMetaphrastes and Nicephorus relate, she left nothing behind her at her\ndeath but two poor garments to two women, who had assisted her during\nlife.[1683]\n\nHe who loves riches, said St. Philip Neri, will never become a saint; and\nSt. Theresa also said: It justly follows that he who goes in search of\nthings lost is also lost. On the other hand, the same saint said, that\nthis virtue of poverty is a good that comprises all other goods. I have\nsaid the virtue of poverty which, according to St. Bernard, does not\nconsist alone in being poor, but in loving poverty: \u201cNon paupertas, sed\namor paupertatis virtus est.\u201d Therefore Jesus Christ has said: \u201cBlessed\nare the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.\u201d[1684]\nBlessed, because they who wish for nothing but God, in God find every\ngood, and find in poverty their paradise on earth, as St. Francis found\nit in saying: My God and my all: \u201cDeus meus et omnia.\u201d Let us, then,\naccording to the exhortation of St. Augustine, love that only good in\nwhich is every good: \u201cAma unum bonum, in quo sunt omnia bona.\u201d And let us\npray our Lord with St. Ignatius: Give me only thy love together with thy\ngrace, and I am rich enough.[1685] And when poverty afflicts us, let us\nconsole ourselves by the thought that Jesus and his mother have also been\npoor like us.[1686]\n\nAh, my most holy mother, thou hadst in truth reason to say, that in God\nwas thy joy: \u201cAnd my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour,\u201d[1687] for\nin this world thou didst not desire nor love any other good than God.\nDraw me after thee: \u201cTrahe me post te.\u201d Oh Lady! detach me from the\nworld, and draw me after thee to love that one who alone merits to be\nloved. Amen.\n\n\nSECTION VIII.\n\nOF THE OBEDIENCE OF MARY.\n\nIt was through the affection which Mary bore to the virtue of obedience,\nthat when the annunciation was made to her by St. Gabriel, she did not\nwish to call herself by any other name than that of handmaid: Behold the\nhandmaid of the Lord: \u201cEcce ancilla Domini.\u201d Indeed, says St. Thomas of\nVillanova, this faithful handmaid neither in act, word, nor thought,\never disobeyed the Lord, but, divested of all self-will, she always,\nand in all things, lived obedient to the divine will.[1688] She herself\ndeclared that God was pleased with her obedience when she said: He\nregarded the humility of his handmaid: \u201cRespexit humilitatem ancill\u00e6\nsu\u00e6;\u201d[1689] for this is the humility of a servant, to be always prompt\nto obey. St. Augustine says, that the divine mother remedied by her\nobedience the evil that Eve had caused by her disobedience.[1690] The\nobedience of Mary was far more perfect than that of all the other saints,\nfor all men being inclined to evil through original sin, they all feel\ndifficulty in doing right; but not so the blessed Virgin; for as St.\nBernardine says: Because she was free from original sin, there was in her\nno hindrance in obeying God, but she was like a wheel readily moved at\nevery divine breath;[1691] hence her only occupation on this earth, as\nthe same saint expresses it, was to discover and do what was pleasing to\nGod.[1692] Of her it was said: My soul melted when he spoke: \u201cAnima mea\nliquefacta est, ut dilectus meus locutus est.\u201d[1693] Commenting on this\npassage, Richard says that the soul of Mary was like metal in a state of\nfusion, ready to take any form that was pleasing to God.[1694]\n\nMary proved indeed the readiness of her obedience, in the first place,\nwhen, in order to please God, she was willing even to obey the Roman\nemperor, and made the journey, fifty miles, to Bethlehem, in winter,\nbeing pregnant, and so poor that she was obliged to bring forth her Son\nin a stable. She was also ready at the notice of St. Joseph, to set out\nimmediately on that very night upon the longer and more difficult journey\ninto Egypt. And Silveira asks why the command to fly into Egypt was given\nto St. Joseph and not to the blessed Virgin, who was to suffer the most\nfrom the journey? And he answers: Lest the Virgin should be deprived of\nan opportunity for performing an act of obedience for which she was most\nready.[1695] But above all, she showed her heroic obedience, when, in\norder to obey the divine will, she offered her Son to death with so much\nfirmness that, as St. Ildephonsus says, she would have been ready to\ncrucify him, if executioners had been wanting.[1696] Hence the venerable\nBede, commenting on those words of the Redeemer to that woman in the\nGospel who exclaimed: \u201cBlessed is the womb that bore thee:\u201d \u201cYea, rather,\nblessed are they who hear the Word of God and keep it,\u201d[1697] says, that\nMary was more happy through obedience to the divine will, than in being\nthe mother of God himself.[1698]\n\nFor this reason it is, that those who love obedience are very pleasing\nto the Virgin. She appeared once to a religious, a Franciscan, named\nAccorso, in his cell, who being called by obedience to go and hear the\nconfession of a sick person, went out, but when he returned he found\nMary waiting for him, and she greatly praised his obedience. As, on the\nother hand, she greatly blamed another religious, who, when the bell\nhad summoned him to the refectory, delayed in order to finish certain\ndevotions.[1699] The Virgin, speaking to St. Bridget of the security\nfound in obeying a spiritual father, said: Obedience has brought all the\nsaints to glory: \u201cObedientia omnes introducit ad gloriam.\u201d[1700] St.\nPhilip Neri also says, that God requires no account of things done in\nobedience, having himself declared: \u201cHe that heareth you, heareth me;\nand he that despiseth you, despiseth me.\u201d[1701] The mother of God herself\nrevealed to St. Bridget, that through the merit of her obedience she\nhad obtained from the Lord that all penitent sinners who have recourse\nto her, should be pardoned.[1702] Ah, our queen and mother, pray Jesus\nfor us, obtain for us through the merit of thy obedience that we may be\nfaithful in obeying his will, and the commands of our spiritual fathers.\nAmen.\n\n\nSECTION IX.\n\nOF THE PATIENCE OF MARY.\n\nSince this earth is a place of merit, it is justly called a valley of\ntears; for we are all placed here to suffer, and by patience to obtain\nfor our souls eternal life: \u201cIn your patience you shall possess your\nsouls,\u201d[1703] said our Lord. God gave us the Virgin Mary as an example\nof all virtues, but especially as an example of patience. St. Francis of\nSales, among other things, remarks, that at the nuptials of Cana Jesus\nChrist gave an answer to the most holy Virgin, by which he seemed to pay\nbut little regard to her prayers: Woman, what is that to thee and to me?\n\u201cQuid mihi et tibi est, mulier?\u201d precisely for this reason, that he\nmight give us an example of the patience of his holy mother. But why seek\nfurther? The whole life of Mary was a continual exercise of patience,\nfor, as an angel revealed to St. Bridget, the blessed Virgin lived always\nin the midst of sufferings.[1704] Her compassion alone for the sufferings\nof the Redeemer was enough to make her a martyr of patience; wherefore\nSt. Bonaventure says: The crucified conceived the crucified: \u201cCrucifixa\ncrucifixum concepit.\u201d When we spoke of her dolors, we considered all she\nsuffered, as well in her journey and life in Egypt, as during the whole\ntime she lived with her Son in the workshop of Nazareth. But the presence\nof Mary on Calvary, with her dying Jesus, is alone enough to show us how\nconstant and sublime was her patience: There stood by the cross of Jesus,\nhis mother: \u201cStabat juxta crucem Jesu mater ejus.\u201d Then, by the merit of\nthis her patience, as blessed Albertus Magnus remarks, she became our\nmother, and brought us forth to the life of grace.[1705]\n\nIf we desire then to be the children of Mary, we must seek to imitate\nher patience. And what, says St. Cyprian, can enrich us more with\nmerit in this life, and glory in the other, than bearing sufferings\nwith patience?[1706] God said by the mouth of the prophet Osee: I\nwill hedge up thy way with thorns: \u201cSepiam viam tuam spinis.\u201d[1707]\nSt. Gregory remarks on this passage, that the ways of the elect are\nhedged with thorns: \u201cElectorum vi\u00e6 spinis sepiuntur.\u201d For as a hedge\nof thorns protects the vine, so God encompasses his servants with\ntribulation, in order that they may not become attached to the earth;\ntherefore St. Cyprian concludes, patience delivers us from sin and from\nhell: \u201cPatientia nos servat.\u201d And it is patience that makes the saints:\n\u201cPatience hath a perfect work,\u201d[1708] bearing in peace the crosses that\ncome to us directly from God, as sickness, poverty, &c., as well as\nthose that come to us from men, such as persecutions, injuries, &c. St.\nJohn saw all the saints with palms, the emblem of martyrdom, in their\nhands. \u201cAfter this I saw a great multitude ... and palms were in their\nhands;\u201d[1709] signifying by this that all men must be martyrs by the\nsword, or by patience. Be then joyful, exclaims St. Gregory: We can be\nmartyrs without blood, if we preserve patience.[1710] If we suffer the\nafflictions of this life, as St. Bernard says, patiently and joyfully:\n\u201cPatienter, et gaudenter,\u201d oh, how much every pain endured for God will\nobtain for us in heaven! Hence the apostle encourages us in these words:\n\u201cOur tribulation, which is momentary and light, worketh for us ... an\neternal weight of glory.\u201d[1711] Beautiful are the instructions of St.\nTheresa on this subject: \u201cHe who embraces the cross,\u201d she says, \u201cdoes\nnot feel it.\u201d And again: \u201cWhen a person resolves to suffer, the pain is\nover.\u201d And if we feel our crosses heavy, let us have recourse to Mary,\nwho is called by the Church: The comforter of the afflicted: \u201cConsolatrix\nafflictorum;\u201d and by St. John Damascene: The remedy for all sorrows of\nthe heart: \u201cOmnium dolorum cordium medicamentum.\u201d Ah, my most sweet Lady,\nthou, though innocent, didst suffer with so much patience, and shall I,\nwho am deserving of hell, refuse to suffer? My mother, to-day I ask of\nthee the grace not to be exempt from crosses, but to support them with\npatience. For the love of Jesus I pray thee to obtain for me nothing less\nthan this grace from God; through you I hope for it.\n\n\nSECTION X.\n\nOF THE PRAYER OF MARY.\n\nNo soul on this earth has ever followed so perfectly as the blessed\nVirgin that great lesson of our Saviour: We ought always to pray, and\nnot to faint: \u201cOportet semper orare, et non deficere.\u201d[1712] From no\nother, says St. Bonaventure, can we better take example, and learn the\nnecessity of persevering in prayer, than from Mary. Mary gave an example,\nthat we ought to follow and not faint.[1713] For the blessed Albertus\nMagnus asserts, that after Jesus Christ, the divine mother was the most\nperfect in the virtue of prayer, of all who ever have lived or ever will\nlive: \u201cVirtus orationis in B. Virgine excellentissima fuit.\u201d[1714] First,\nbecause her prayer was continual and persevering. From the first moment\nin which she had life, and with life the perfect use of reason, as we\nhave said above in the Discourse on her Nativity, she began to pray. And,\nmoreover, that she might devote herself more to prayer, she wished, when\na child of only three years, to shut herself up in the retirement of the\ntemple; where, as she herself revealed to St. Elizabeth (virgin), among\nthe other hours that she allotted to prayer, she was accustomed to rise\nat midnight and go to pray before the altar of the temple.[1715] And,\nin order to meditate on the sufferings of Jesus, according to Odilone,\nshe also frequently visited the places of our Lord\u2019s nativity, passion,\nand burial.[1716] Moreover, her prayer, as St. Denis the Carthusian has\nwritten, was wholly recollected, free from all distractions, and every\nirregular inclination.[1717]\n\nTherefore the blessed Virgin, through her love of prayer, had so great\na love of solitude, that, as she said to St. Bridget, when she lived in\nthe temple she even abstained from intercourse with her holy parents. St.\nJerome, meditating on the words of Isaias\u2014\u201cBehold a Virgin shall conceive\nand bear a Son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel\u201d[1718]\u2014says, that\nin Hebrew the word _virgin_ properly signifies _a retired virgin_; so\nthat Mary\u2019s love of solitude was already predicted by the prophet.\nRichard says that the angel addressed her in the words, The Lord is with\nthee: \u201cDominus tecum,\u201d on account of her great love of solitude.[1719]\nAnd St. Vincent Ferrer asserts that the divine mother never went\nfrom home, except to go to the temple, and then she went entirely\nrecollected, having her eyes always cast down.[1720] When going to visit\nSt. Elizabeth, she went with haste: \u201cAbiit cum festinatione;\u201d and from\nthis St. Ambrose says virgins should learn to shun the public eye. St.\nBernard teaches that Mary, through her love of prayer and solitude, was\nalways careful to avoid conversation with men.[1721] Hence she is called\nby the Holy Spirit the turtle-dove: Thy cheeks are beautiful as the\nturtle-dove\u2019s: \u201cPulchr\u00e6 sunt gen\u00e6 tu\u00e6 sicut turturis.\u201d[1722] Which words\nVergellus thus explains: The turtle-dove is a lover of solitude, and is\nan emblem of the unitive power of the soul.[1723] So the Virgin always\nlived solitary in this world, as in a desert, and therefore it was said\nof her: Who is this that goeth up by the desert, as a pillar of smoke?\n\u201cQu\u00e6 est ista qu\u00e6 ascendit per desertum, sicut virgula fumi?\u201d[1724] On\nwhich words Rupert the Abbot says: Thus thou didst ascend by the desert,\nhaving a solitary soul: \u201cTalis ascendisti per desertum animam habens\nsolitariam.\u201d\n\nPhilo said that God speaks to souls only in solitude: \u201cDei sermo amat\ndeserta.\u201d And God himself declared this by the prophet Osee, when he\nsaid: I will lead her into the wilderness, and I will speak to her heart:\n\u201cDucam eam in solitudinem, et loquar ad cor ejus.\u201d[1725] And hence St.\nJerome exclaims: Oh solitude, in which God familiarly converses with\nhis servants![1726] Yes, says St. Bernard, because the quiet and the\nsilence that is enjoyed in solitude, force the soul to leave the earth\nin thought, and to meditate on the things of heaven.[1727] Oh, most holy\nVirgin, obtain for us a love of prayer and solitude, that detaching\nourselves from the love of creatures, we may aspire only after God and\nheaven, where we hope one day to see thee, to praise and love with thee\nthy Son, Jesus, forever and ever. Amen. \u201cCome over to me, all ye that\ndesire me, and be filled with my fruits.\u201d[1728] The fruits of Mary are\nher virtues.\n\nNone has appeared like unto thee, in all time before or after thee.[1729]\n\nThou alone, oh woman without equal, hast been pleasing to Christ.\n\n\n\n\nVARIOUS PRACTICES OF DEVOTION TO THE DIVINE MOTHER.\n\n\nThe queen of heaven is so liberal, as St. Andrew of Crete says, that she\nmakes a large return for the smallest devotions of her servants.[1730]\nBut two conditions are necessary for this: First, that we offer her\nthe homage of a soul pure from sin; for otherwise Mary will say to us\nwhat she said to a soldier, a man of vicious habits, who, as St. Peter\nCelestine relates,[1731] offered every day a devotion to the Virgin.\nOne day when he was suffering greatly from hunger, our Lady appeared to\nhim, and presented him some exquisite viands, but in a vase so filthy\nthat he did not venture to taste them. \u201cI am the mother of God,\u201d Mary\nthen said to him, \u201cwho has come to relieve thy hunger.\u201d \u201cBut I cannot\ntaste from this vase,\u201d answered the soldier. \u201cAnd do you wish,\u201d replied\nMary, \u201cthat I should accept thy devotions, offered me from a soul so\npolluted?\u201d The soldier, at these words, was converted, became a hermit,\nlived thirty years in the desert, and at death the Virgin again appeared\nto him and conducted him to heaven. We have said, in the first part of\nthis work, that morally speaking it was impossible that a servant of\nMary should be lost. But this must be understood with the condition,\nthat he lives without sin, or at least that he wishes to abandon it, for\nthen our Lady will assist him. But if any one, on the other hand, should\nsin, in the hope that our Lady will save him, he would by his sin render\nhimself unworthy and incapable of the protection of Mary. The second\ncondition is, that he perseveres in his devotion to Mary. Perseverance\nalone shall merit a crown, says St. Bernard: \u201cPerseverantia sola meretur\ncoronam.\u201d[1732] Thomas \u00e0 Kempis, when a young man, was accustomed\ndaily to have recourse to the Virgin with certain prayers; one day he\nomitted them, then he omitted them for some weeks, then he gave them up\nentirely. One night he saw Mary in a dream, who embraced his companions,\nbut having come to him, said: \u201cWhat do you expect, who have given up\nyour devotions? Depart, for you are unworthy of my favors.\u201d Terrified by\nthese words, Thomas awoke, and resumed his accustomed prayers. Richard\ntherefore with reason says: He who is perseveringly devoted to Mary will\nbe blessed with the hope, that all his desires may be gratified.[1733]\nBut as no one can be secure of this perseverance, no one can be sure\nof salvation before his death. It was a very remarkable document which\nbrother John Berchmans, of the Company of Jesus, gave to his companions,\nwhen he was requested by them to leave with them in writing, what was the\nmost pleasing devotion which they could make to our Lady, in order to\nobtain her protection, and he answered: Any small thing, but let it be\nconstant: \u201cQuidquid minimum, dum modo sit constans.\u201d Finally, however, I\nadd here, simply and in a few words, the different devotions we may offer\nto our mother, to obtain for us her favor; a thing which I consider the\nmost useful that I have written in this little work. But I do not so much\nrecommend to my reader to practise them all, as to practise those which\nhe selects, with perseverance, and in fear of losing the protection of\nthe divine mother, if he neglects to continue them. Oh, how many who are\nin hell would have been saved, if they had continued the devotions which\nthey once commenced to Mary!\n\n\nDEVOTION I.\u2014OF THE \u201cHAIL MARY.\u201d\n\nThis angelical salutation is very pleasing to the most holy Virgin, for\nit seems to renew, as it were, the joy which she experienced, when St.\nGabriel announced to her that she was made mother of God; and therefore\nwe should often salute her with the \u201cHail Mary.\u201d Salute her with the\nangelical salutation, says Thomas \u00e0 Kempis, for gladly does she hear\nthis sound.[1734] The divine mother herself said to St. Matilda, that no\none could better salute her than with the \u201cHail Mary.\u201d He who salutes\nMary will also be saluted by her. St. Bernard heard himself once audibly\nsaluted from a statue of the Virgin, which said to him, Hail Bernard:\n\u201cAve Bernarde.\u201d[1735] And the salutation of Mary, says St. Bonaventure,\nwill be some grace, whereby she always responds to those who salute\nher.[1736] And Richard adds: If any one comes to the mother of our Lord\nsaying, \u201cHail Mary,\u201d could she deny him the favor he asks?[1737] Mary\nherself promised St. Gertrude help in death for every \u201cHail Mary\u201d she\nsaid. The blessed Alanus asserts, that as all heaven rejoices when a\n\u201cHail Mary\u201d is said, so the devil trembles and flees: \u201cC\u0153lum gaudet,\nSatan fugit, cum dico, Ave Maria.\u201d Which Thomas \u00e0 Kempis also confirms,\nfor a devil who once appeared to him suddenly fled at hearing the \u201cHail\nMary.\u201d[1738]\n\nThe practice of this devotion is:\u20141st. To say every morning on rising,\nand every evening on going to bed, three \u201cHail Marys,\u201d prostrate, or\nat least kneeling; adding at each that short prayer: \u201cBy thy pure and\nimmaculate conception, oh Mary! make my body pure, and my soul holy.\u201d To\nask the blessing of Mary as our mother, as St. Stanislas always did, and\nplace ourselves under the mantle of our Lady, praying her that during\nthe following day or night she may keep us from sin. And it is a great\nhelp to this, to keep near the bed a beautiful image of the Virgin. 2d.\nTo say the Angelus, &c., with the three \u201cHail Marys\u201d as usual, in the\nmorning, at noon, and in the evening. John XXII. was the first Pope who\nattached an indulgence to this devotion, on the occasion, as Father\nCrasset relates,[1739] when a criminal who was condemned to be burned, by\ninvoking Mary on the Vigil of her Annunciation remained uninjured, even\nto his garments, in the midst of the flames. Benedict XIII. at length\ngranted a hundred days\u2019 indulgence to those who recite it, and at the\nend of the month a plenary indulgence, having made their confession and\nreceived holy communion. Father Crasset also states that there have been\nother indulgences granted by Clement X. to those who at the end of each\n\u201cHail Mary\u201d add: Thanks be to God and Mary: \u201cDeo gratias et Mari\u00e6.\u201d[1740]\nFormerly, at the sound of the bell, every one knelt to say the Angelus;\nnow some are ashamed to do so; but St. Charles Borromeo was not ashamed\nto descend from his carriage or horse, to recite it in the street,\nand sometimes even in the mud. It is related that a certain indolent\nreligious, who would not kneel at the signal for the \u201cHail Mary,\u201d saw the\nbelfry bow three times, and a voice spoke from it which said: Behold,\nthou wilt not do what even senseless creatures do. Let it be remembered,\nthat as Benedict XIV. directed, in the Paschal season, instead of the\nAngelus the \u201cRegina C\u0153li\u201d is said. And from Vespers on Saturday, through\nthe whole of Sunday, the Angelus Domini is said standing. 3d. To salute\nthe mother of God with a \u201cHail Mary,\u201d every time the clock strikes.\nAlphonsus Rodriguez saluted Mary every hour, and in the night when the\nhour came, the angels awoke him, that he might not omit this devotion.\n4th. On quitting and entering the house, to salute the Virgin with a\n\u201cHail Mary,\u201d that at home and abroad she may protect us from sin, and to\nkiss her feet as the Carthusian Fathers are accustomed to do. 5th. To pay\nreverence with a \u201cHail Mary\u201d to every image of Mary which we meet, and\nlet every one who can do so, place some beautiful image of the Virgin\nin a niche in the walls of his house, that it may be honored by those\nwho are passing by. In Naples, and still more in Rome, there are very\nbeautiful images of our Lady, by the wayside, placed there by her devout\nservants. 6th. The holy Church directs that the angelical salutation be\nprefixed to all the canonical hours of the office, and that the office\nshould terminate with it; hence it is well, at the beginning and end of\nevery action, always to say a \u201cHail Mary;\u201d I say of every action, whether\nit be spiritual, as prayer, confession, communion, spiritual reading,\nhearing a sermon, &c.; or temporal, as study, giving counsel, labor,\ngoing to table, to bed, &c. Happy are those actions that are inclosed\nbetween two \u201cHail Marys!\u201d And thus also on awaking in the morning, on\nclosing the eyes to sleep, in every temptation and peril, in every burst\nof anger, &c., say always a \u201cHail Mary.\u201d My dear reader, practise this,\nand you will see the advantage to be drawn from it; remembering that for\nevery \u201cHail Mary\u201d there are twenty days\u2019 indulgence.[1741] Moreover,\nFather Auriemma relates,[1742] that the blessed Virgin promised St.\nMatilda a good death, if she recited every day three \u201cHail Marys\u201d in\nhonor of her power, wisdom, and goodness. And she also said to blessed\nJane of France, that the \u201cHail Mary\u201d was very pleasing to her, especially\nwhen said ten times in honor of her ten virtues.[1743] Many indulgences\nare also attached to these ten \u201cHail Marys.\u201d\n\n\nDEVOTION II.\u2014OF NOVENAS.\n\nThe servants of Mary are very attentive and fervent in celebrating the\nNovenas of her Feasts; and during these the holy Virgin, full of love,\ndispenses to them innumerable and special blessings. One day St. Gertrude\nsaw under the mantle of Mary innumerable souls, whom our Lady was looking\nupon with great affection, and she understood them to be those who, on\npreceding days, had prepared themselves, by devout exercises, for the\nfeast of the Assumption. The devotions to be used for the Novenas are the\nfollowing: 1st. Mental prayer, morning and evening, with a visit to the\nmost holy Sacrament, with the addition of an \u201cOur Father,\u201d \u201cHail Mary,\u201d\nand \u201cGlory be to the Father, &c.,\u201d repeated nine times. 2d. Three visits\nto some image of Mary, thanking the Lord for the graces granted to her,\nand asking of the Virgin every time some special favor; and at one of\nthese visits the prayer which is placed at the end of each of her feasts\nshould be read. 3d. Make many acts of love, at least one hundred, or\nfifty, to Mary and to Jesus, for we can do nothing more pleasing to her,\nas she said to St. Bridget, than to love her Son: If you wish to become\ndear to me, love my Son Jesus: \u201cSi te mihi vis devincire, ama filium meum\nJesum.\u201d 4th. Read every day of the Novena, for a quarter of an hour, some\nbook which treats of her glories. 5th. Make some external mortification\nof hair-cloth, discipline, &c., with fasting, or some abstinence at table\nfrom fruits or other agreeable food, at least in part; chewing also some\nbitter herb: and on the vigil of the feast fast on bread and water. But\nall this must be done always with the permission of a spiritual Father.\nBut better than all others are the practices in these Novenas of internal\nmortifications, as abstaining from the indulgence of curiosity, either\nthrough the eye or the ear; remaining retired and silent; obeying, not\nanswering with impatience; bearing contradictions, and other things of\nthe sort, which may be used with less danger of vainglory and greater\nmerit; and for these, too, the permission of a director is not needed.\nThe most useful exercise is to propose, at the beginning, the amending\nof some fault into which we are most liable to fall. And to this end it\nis well, at each of the visits above named, to ask pardon for some past\nsin, renew the intention of avoiding it in future, and implore the help\nof Mary in keeping this resolution. The honor most dear to the Virgin is\nthe imitation of her virtues; wherefore it is well in every Novena to\npropose to one\u2019s self some special virtue of Mary, particularly adapted\nto the mystery; as for example, on the feast of the Conception, purity of\nintention; of her Nativity, the renewing of the spirit and the awakening\nfrom tepidity; of her Presentation, detachment from something to which\nwe are most attached; of the Annunciation, humility in bearing contempt,\n&c.; of the Visitation, charity towards the neighbor, alms-giving, &c.,\nor at least, the praying for sinners; of the Purification, obedience to\nsuperiors; and finally, of the Assumption, the practice of detachment,\nand doing all things as a preparation for death, living as if every day\nwere to be the last. In this way the Novena will prove of great service.\n6th. Besides the communion on the day of the feast, it is well to ask\nit more frequently of the spiritual father on the days of the Novena.\nFather Segneri said that we cannot honor Mary better than with Jesus. For\nshe herself, as Father Crasset relates,[1744] revealed to a holy soul\nthat nothing dearer could be offered to her than the holy communion, for\nthere Jesus Christ gathers in the soul the fruit of his passion. Hence\nit appears that the Virgin desires nothing from her servants more than\nthe holy communion, saying: \u201cCome, eat the bread and drink the wine that\nI have prepared for you.\u201d[1745] Finally, on the day of the feast after\ncommunion we should offer ourselves for the service of this divine mother\nby asking of her the grace of the virtue proposed in the Novena, or some\nother special favor. And it is well every year to set apart among others\nsome feasts of the Virgin, to which we have the greatest devotion and\ntenderness, and make a particular preparation for this by dedicating\nourselves anew, and in a more especial manner, to her service; choosing\nher for our Lady, advocate, and mother.[1746] Then we should ask pardon\nfor our negligence in her service during the past year, promising her\ngreater fidelity for the year that is to come. In a word, let us pray her\nto accept us as her servants, and obtain for us a holy death.\n\n\nDEVOTION III.\u2014OF THE ROSARY AND OFFICE.\n\nThe devotion of the most holy Rosary is known to have been revealed\nto St. Dominic by the divine mother herself, when the saint, being in\naffliction, and bewailing to his Lady the conduct of the Albigensian\nheretics, who at that time were doing great injury to the Church, the\nVirgin said to him: \u201cThis earth will always be barren, until the rain\nfalls on it.\u201d St. Dominick was then given to understand that this rain\nwas to be the devotion of the Rosary, and that he was to publish it. And\nindeed the saint preached it everywhere, and this devotion was embraced\nby all Catholics, so that, at the present day, there is no devotion\nmore practised by the faithful of every condition, than that of the\nmost holy Rosary. What have not modern heretics, as Calvin, Bucer, and\nothers said, to bring into contempt the use of the Rosary? But the great\ngood is well known, which this noble devotion has brought to the world.\nHow many by its means have been freed from sin! How many led to a holy\nlife! How many have had a good death and are now saved! Let us read the\nvarious books which treat of it; it is enough to know that this devotion\nhas been approved by the holy Church, and the sovereign Pontiffs have\nattached indulgences to it. To him who recites the third part of the\nRosary, the indulgence of seventy thousand years is granted, and to him\nwho recites it entire, eighty thousand, and yet more to him who recites\nit in the chapel of the Rosary. Benedict XIII. at length annexed to the\nRosary (for him at least who recites the third part of the Rosary which\nhas been blessed by the Dominican Fathers) all the indulgences which are\nattached to the Rosaries of St. Bridget, namely, one hundred days for\nevery \u201cHail Mary\u201d and \u201cOur Father\u201d that is repeated. And, moreover, those\nwho recite the Rosary gain the plenary indulgence on all the principal\nfeasts of Mary and of the holy Church, and also of the Dominican Saints,\nif they visit their churches after confession and communion. But let it\nbe remarked that this is understood of those whose names are inscribed\nin the book of the Rosary, to whom a plenary indulgence is also granted\non the day when their names are inscribed, provided they have made their\nconfession and communion, and one hundred years if they wear the Rosary;\nand to those who make mental prayer once a day, seven years each time,\nand a plenary indulgence at the end of the month.\n\nIn order to gain the indulgences attached to the recitation of the\nRosary, it is necessary to meditate the mysteries which are to be found\nrecorded in many books; but it is sufficient for those who do not know\nthem to contemplate any one of the mysteries of the passion of Jesus\nChrist, as the scourging, death, &c. The Rosary must be recited with\ndevotion; and here call to mind what the holy Virgin said to St.\nEulalia, namely, that she was better pleased with five decades said with\npauses and devotion, than with fifteen in haste and with less devotion.\nOn this account it is well to say the Rosary kneeling, and before some\nimage of Mary, and at the beginning of every decade to make an act of\nlove to Jesus and Mary, by asking some favor. And, moreover, let it be\nremarked that it is more efficacious to say the Rosary in company with\nothers, than to say it alone.\n\nUrban II. attached many indulgences to the recitation of the little\noffice of our Lady, which is said to have been composed by St. Peter\nDamian; and the holy Virgin has often made known how pleasing to her\nwas this devotion, as we learn from Father Auriemma.[1747] The Litanies\nare also very pleasing to her, and an indulgence of two hundred days is\ngranted every time they are recited; also the hymn, \u201cHail, star of the\nsea,\u201d \u201cAve Maris stella,\u201d which the divine mother ordered St. Bridget to\nrepeat every day; and more than all, the \u201cMagnificat,\u201d for with this we\npraise her in the very words with which she praised God.\n\n\nDEVOTION IV.\u2014OF FASTING.\n\nMany servants of Mary, on Saturdays and the vigils of her feasts, are\naccustomed to honor her by fasting on bread and water. It is well known\nthat Saturday is a day dedicated by the holy Church to the honor of the\nVirgin, because on this day, says St. Bernard, she remained constant\nin the faith after the death of her Son.[1748] For this reason the\nservants of Mary never fail on this day to offer her some special homage;\nand particularly the fast on bread and water, as St. Charles Borromeo,\nCardinal Toledo, and so many others practised it. Rittard, Bishop of\nBamberg, and Father Joseph Arriaga, of the Society of Jesus, did not\neven taste food on Saturday. The great graces which the mother of God\nafterwards bestowed upon those who practised this devotion, may be read\nin the writings of Father Auriemma. It is sufficient for us to mention\nthe compassion which she showed to that bandit chief, who, on account\nof this devotion, was permitted to remain alive, although his head had\nbeen cut off, and although he was under the displeasure of God, and was\nenabled to make his confession before dying. He afterwards declared that\nthe holy Virgin, for this fasting which he had offered her, had preserved\nhim in life, and he then suddenly expired.[1749] It would not then be a\nvery extraordinary thing, if any one, especially devoted to Mary, and\nparticularly if he had already deserved hell, should offer to her this\nfast on Saturday. He who practises this devotion, I may say, will hardly\nbe condemned; not that our Lady will deliver him by a miracle if he dies\nin mortal sin, as happened to the bandit; such prodigies of divine mercy\nseldom take place, and it would be madness to expect eternal salvation\nby them. But I do say that the divine mother will readily obtain\nperseverance in divine grace and a good death for him who will practise\nthis devotion. All the brothers of our little congregation who can do so,\nfast on bread and water on Saturday, in honor of Mary. I say those who\ncan do so, meaning, that if any one is prevented from doing so on account\nof ill health, at least on Saturday he may content himself with one dish,\nmake a common fast, or at least abstain from fruits or other agreeable\nfood. It is necessary on Saturday to offer special devotions to our Lady,\nto receive communion, or, at least, hear mass, visit some image of the\nVirgin, wear hair-cloth, and the like. And at least on the vigils of the\nseven feasts of Mary, let her servants endeavor to offer this fasting on\nbread, or in any other manner they are able.\n\n\nDEVOTION V.\u2014OF VISITING THE IMAGES OF MARY.\n\nFather Segneri says, that the devil could in no better way console\nhimself for the losses he has sustained by the overthrow of idolatry,\nthan by attacking sacred images through the heretics. But the holy Church\nhas defended them even by the blood of the martyrs; and the divine\nmother has also made manifest by miracles, how much she is pleased by\ndevotion and visits to her images. The hand of St. John of Damascus\nwas cut off because he defended with his pen the images of Mary; but\nour Lady restored it to him in a miraculous manner. Father Spinelli\nrelates, that in Constantinople, every Friday after vespers, a veil\nwhich hung before the image of Mary was withdrawn of itself, and after\nvespers on Saturday it closed of itself. The veil before an image of the\nVirgin was seen to withdraw itself, in a similar way, by St. John of\nGod, whereupon the Sacristan, believing the saint to be a robber, struck\nhim with his foot, but the foot was withered. All the servants of Mary,\ntherefore, are accustomed often to visit her images with great devotion,\nand also the churches dedicated to her honor. These are, indeed, as St.\nJohn of Damascus teaches, the cities of refuge, where we find safety\nfrom temptations, and from the punishments merited by the sins we have\ncommitted. St. Henry, Emperor, when he entered a city, always visited,\nbefore any thing else, some church of our Lady. Father Thomas Sanchez\nnever returned home until he had visited some church of Mary. Let us not\nbe weary then of visiting our queen every day in some church or chapel,\nor in our own house, where it would be well for that purpose to have\nin some retired place a little oratory, with her image, adorned with\ndrapery, flowers, tapers, or lamps, and before it also the litanies, the\nrosary, &c., may be said. For this purpose I have published a little\nbook, which has already gone through eight editions, of Visits to the\nmost Holy Sacrament, as well as to the Virgin, for every day in the\nmonth. Some devout servant of Mary might cause one of her feasts to be\ncelebrated in some church or chapel, and preceding it by a Novena, with\nthe exposition of the Sacrament, and also with sermons.\n\nBut here it is well to notice the fact which Father Spinelli relates in\nthe \u201cMiracles of the Madonna.\u201d[1750] In the year 1611, in the celebrated\nsanctuary of Mary in Montevergine, it happened that on the vigil of\nPentecost the people who thronged there profaned that feast with balls,\nexcesses, and immodest conduct, when a fire was suddenly discovered\nbursting forth from the house of entertainment where they were feasting,\nso that in less than an hour and a half it was consumed, and more than\none thousand five hundred persons were killed.\n\nFive persons who remained alive affirmed upon oath, that they had seen\nthe mother of God herself, who with two lighted torches set fire to the\ninn. After this I entreat the servants of Mary to abstain as far as they\ncan, and to induce others to abstain from going to such sanctuaries of\nour Lady in times of feasting, for hell then received much more fruit\nfrom it, than the divine mother received honor. Let him who practises\nthis devotion go and visit them at a time when they are not thronged.\n\n\nDEVOTION VI.\u2014OF THE SCAPULAR.\n\nAs men take pride in having others wear their livery, so the most\nholy Mary is pleased when her servants wear her scapular, as a mark\nthat they have dedicated themselves to her service, and are of the\nnumber of the family of the mother of God. Modern heretics, of course,\nridicule this devotion, but the holy Church has approved it by many\nbulls and indulgences. And Father Crasset relates,[1751] and also\nFather Lezzana,[1752] when speaking of the scapular of Mt. Carmel,\nthat about the year 1251, the holy Virgin appeared to the blessed St.\nSimon Stock, an Englishman, and giving him her scapular, said to him\nthat those who wore it should be safe from eternal damnation, in these\nwords: \u201cReceive, oh my very beloved son, this scapular of thy order, the\nbadge of my confraternity, a privilege granted to thee and to all other\nCarmelites; and any one who wears this at death shall be delivered from\neternal flames.\u201d[1753] And Father Crasset still further relates, that\nMary appeared at another time to Pope John XXII., and directed him to\ndeclare to those who wore the above-mentioned scapular, that they should\nbe released from purgatory on the Saturday after their death; this the\nsame pontiff announced in his bull, which was afterwards confirmed by\nAlexander V., Clement VII., and others, as the above-named Father Crasset\nrelates in the passage before cited. And as we have remarked in the\nfirst part,[1754] Paul V. mentions the same, and appears to explain the\nbulls of the preceding pontiffs, prescribing in his bull the conditions\nto be observed in order to gain the indulgences annexed, namely, the\nobservance of chastity according to the state of life, the recitation of\nthe little office of the Virgin, and for him who cannot recite that, the\nobservance, at least, of the fasts of the Church and abstinence from meat\non Wednesday. Thus the indulgences that are attached to this scapular\nof our Lady of Mt. Carmel, as well as to the others of the dolors of\nMary, of Mary of Mercy, and particularly to that of the Conception, are\ninnumerable, daily, and plenary, in life and at the article of death.\nFor myself, I have taken all the above-mentioned scapulars. And let it\nbe particularly made known that, besides many particular indulgences,\nthere are annexed to the scapular of the Immaculate Conception, which is\nblessed by the Theatine Fathers, all the indulgences which are granted\nto any religious order, pious place, or person. And particularly by\nreciting \u201cOur Father,\u201d \u201cHail Mary,\u201d and \u201cGlory be to the Father,\u201d six\ntimes, in honor of the most holy Trinity and of the immaculate Mary, are\ngained each time all the indulgences of Rome, Portiuncula, Jerusalem,\nGalicia, which reach the number of four hundred and thirty-three plenary\nindulgences, besides the temporal, which are innumerable. All this is\ntranscribed from a sheet printed by the same Theatine Fathers.\n\n\nDEVOTION VII.\u2014OF ENTERING INTO THE CONFRATERNITIES OF MARY.\n\nSome persons disapprove of confraternities, saying that they give rise\nto contention, and that many persons join them for human ends. But as\nthe Church and the sacraments are not condemned because there are many\nwho abuse them, neither should we condemn the confraternities. The\nsovereign pontiffs, instead of condemning them, have approved and highly\ncommended them, and enriched them with indulgences. St. Francis of Sales\nearnestly exhorts laymen to enter into the confraternities. What did not\nSt. Charles Borromeo do to establish and multiply these sodalities? And\nin his synods he distinctly intimates to confessors that they should\nendeavor to induce their penitents to join them.[1755] And with reason,\nfor these confraternities, especially those of our Lady, are like so many\narks of Noe, in which the poor people of the world may find refuge from\nthe deluge of temptations and sins which inundate them in it. We well\nlearn in the course of our missions the utility of these confraternities.\nSpeaking exactly, there are found more sins in a man who does not\nbelong to the confraternities than in twenty who frequent them. The\nconfraternity may be said to be the tower of David: \u201cThe tower of David,\na thousand bucklers hang upon it, all the armor of valiant men.\u201d[1756]\nAnd this is the cause of the good obtained from the confraternities,\nnamely, that their members acquire in them many defences against hell;\nand they make use in them of many means to preserve themselves in divine\ngrace, which it is very difficult for persons in the world, who are not\nin confraternities, to practise.\n\nIn the first place, one of the means of salvation is meditating on\neternal truths: \u201cRemember thy last end, and thou shalt never sin.\u201d[1757]\nAnd so many are lost because they do not think of it: \u201cWith desolation is\nall the land made desolate, because there is none that considereth in the\nheart.\u201d[1758] But those who belong to the confraternity are led to think\nby the many meditations, readings, and sermons that are made there. My\nsheep hear my voice: \u201cOves me\u00e6 vocem meam audiunt.\u201d[1759] Secondly, In\norder to be saved it is necessary to commend one\u2019s self to God: Ask, and\nyou shall receive: \u201cPetite, et accipietis.\u201d[1760] And the brothers of the\nconfraternities do this continually; and God hears them more graciously,\nbecause he has himself said, that he will willingly grant great graces to\nprayers made in common: \u201cIf two of you shall agree upon earth concerning\nany thing, whatsoever they shall ask, it shall be done for them by my\nFather who is in heaven.\u201d[1761] Concerning which St. Ambrose says: Many\nwho are small, if they unite together become great; and the prayers of\nmany cannot but be heard.[1762] In the third place, in the confraternity\nthe sacraments are more frequently approached, on account of the rules,\nas well as on account of the example of other members. And by this means\nperseverance in divine grace is more easily obtained; the holy Council\nof Trent having declared the communion to be: \u201cAn antidote by which we\nare freed from daily sins, and are preserved from mortal sins.\u201d[1763]\nFourthly, Besides the sacraments in the sodalities, there are practised\nmany exercises of mortification, humility, and charity towards infirm\nand poor members; and it would be well if in every confraternity were\nintroduced the holy custom of assisting the infirm poor of the country.\nIt would be a still greater advantage if there could be introduced into\nthem, in honor of the divine mother, the _secret sodality_ of more\nfervent members. I will here enumerate the exercises that are usually\npractised in these. 1. Half an hour of reading. 2. Vespers and complin\nof the Holy Spirit are said. 3. The litanies of the Virgin are repeated,\nand then some brothers who are designated, practise mortifications by\nbearing the cross upon their shoulders, or others of a similar kind. 4.\nFor one quarter of an hour a meditation is made on the passion of Jesus\nChrist. 5. Each one accuses himself of any violation against the rules\nof which he has been guilty, and receives penance for it from the father\nof the congregation. 6. The little flowers of mortification made during\nthe past week are read by one of the brothers who is selected, and then\nthe Novenas to be said are announced, &c. Finally, the discipline is made\nfor the space of a Miserere and a Salve, and every one kisses the feet of\nthe crucifix which is at the foot of the altar. The rules, then, would\nbe for each brother: 1. To make a meditation every day. 2. A visit to\nthe most holy Sacrament and to the blessed Virgin. 3. In the evening an\nexamination of conscience. 4. Spiritual reading. 5. To avoid games and\nthe conversation of the world. 6. To frequent the communion and practise\nsome mortification of the chain, discipline, &c. 7. To recommend every\nday to God the souls in purgatory, and sinners. 8. If any brother is\nsick, to visit him. But let us return to our subject. In the fifth place:\nIt has already been said how much more sure is our salvation if we serve\nthe mother of God; and do not the brothers serve her in the congregation?\nHow much do they praise her there! How many prayers do they offer up to\nher! There they consecrate themselves from the beginning to her service,\nchoosing her, in an especial manner, for their Lady and mother; and they\nare inscribed in the book of the children of Mary; hence as they are\ndistinguished servants and children of the Virgin, she therefore treats\nthem with distinction, and protects them in life and in death. Thus a\nbrother of the confraternity may say that, with the confraternity, he has\nreceived every blessing: Now all good things come to me together with\nher: \u201cVenerunt mihi omnia bona pariter cum ilia.\u201d[1764]\n\nEvery brother should pay particular attention to two things. First, as\nto the end; that is, to enter the confraternity for no other end but to\nserve God and his holy Mother, and save his own soul. 2d. Not to leave\nthe congregation on the appointed days, for affairs of the world, since\nthere the most important business in the world is to be transacted,\nnamely, eternal salvation. Endeavor also to draw as many as you can to\nthe confraternity, and especially to induce those brothers who have\nleft it to return to it again. Oh, what terrible punishments has our\nLord caused those to suffer who have abandoned the confraternity of\nour Lady! In Naples a certain brother left the congregation, and being\nexhorted to return, he said: I will return when my legs are broken and\nmy head cut off. And he was a prophet: for very soon after his legs were\nbroken and his head cut off by some of his enemies.[1765] On the other\nhand, the members who persevere are favored by Mary with spiritual and\ntemporal good: All her domestics are clothed with double garments: \u201cOmnes\ndomestici ejus vestiti sunt duplicibus.\u201d[1766] We may read in Father\nAuriemma[1767] the special graces granted by Mary to the brothers of\nthe confraternity in life and in death, but especially in death. Father\nCrasset relates[1768] that in 1586 there was a youth who, being near\ndeath, fell asleep; but afterwards awaking, he said to his confessor: \u201cOh\nFather, I have been in great danger of hell, but my Lady has rescued me.\nThe devils have presented my sins before the tribunal of the Lord, and\nalready they were dragging me to hell, but the holy Virgin came and said\nto them: \u2018Where are you taking this youth? What have you to do with one\nof my servants who has so long served me in the congregation?\u2019 The devils\nfled, and thus I have been saved from their hands.\u201d The same author\nrelates soon after that another brother of the congregation, also at the\npoint of death, had a great conflict with hell; but he conquered, and\nfull of joy, exclaimed: \u201cOh, what blessings come from serving the blessed\nmother well in her confraternity!\u201d And thus entirely consoled, he died.\nHe afterwards adds that the Duke of Popoli being on his death-bed, said\nto his son: \u201cMy son, know that the little good I have done in life I owe\nto the congregation; and therefore I have no greater good to leave thee\nthan the confraternity of Mary. I am more proud of having been a brother\nof the congregation than the Duke of Popoli\u201d.\n\n\nDEVOTION VIII.\u2014OF ALMS IN HONOR OF MARY.\n\nThe servants of Mary are accustomed, especially on Saturday, to give alms\nin honor of the divine mother. That holy shoemaker called St. Deusdedit\n(God gave), as St. Gregory relates in his Dialogues, dispensed to the\npoor on Saturday all that he earned during the week. And another holy\nsoul saw in a vision a sumptuous palace which God was preparing in heaven\nfor this servant of Mary, in the building of which nothing was done\nexcept on Saturday. St. Gerard never refused any thing that was asked him\nin the name of Mary. Father Martin Guttierez, of the Society of Jesus,\ndid the same, and he confessed that he had never asked a favor from\nMary that he had not received it. And this servant of hers having been\nslain by the Huguenots, the divine mother appeared to his companions,\naccompanied by some virgins, whom she directed to wrap the body in a\nsheet and carry it away.[1769] St. Eberard of Salisbury practised the\nsame devotion, and on this account a holy monk saw him, in the form of a\nchild, in the arms of Mary, who said: \u201cThis is my Son Eberard, who never\nhas refused me any thing.\u201d[1770] Alexander de Hales practised the same,\nwho, having been requested by a lay-brother of St. Francis, in the name\nof Mary, to become a Franciscan, left the world and entered into the\norder.[1771] Let not the servants of the Virgin then be weary of giving\ndaily some little alms in her honor, and increase it every Saturday. And\nif they can do nothing else, at least for love of Mary, perform some\nother act of charity, as visiting the sick, praying for sinners and for\nthe souls in purgatory, &c. Works of mercy are very pleasing to this\nmother of mercy.\n\n\nDEVOTION IX.\u2014OF FREQUENT RECOURSE TO MARY.\n\nOf all devotions, none is so pleasing to our mother, as recurring often\nto her intercession, by asking help of her in all special necessities, as\nin taking or giving counsel, in dangers, afflictions, and temptations,\nparticularly in temptations against purity. The divine mother will\ncertainly deliver us if we have recourse to her with the Antiphon: We\nfly to thy patronage: \u201cSub tuum pr\u00e6sidium,\u201d etc., or with a \u201cHail Mary,\u201d\nor only invoking the most holy name of Mary, which has particular power\nagainst demons. The blessed St. Francis, in a temptation against purity,\nhad recourse to Mary, and she immediately appeared to him, and placing\nher hand upon his breast, delivered him. It is useful to kiss or press\nthe rosary, or the scapular, or even to look on some image of the Virgin.\nAnd be it known that Benedict XIII. granted fifty days\u2019 indulgence to\nthose who pronounce the name of Jesus and Mary.\n\n\nTENTH AND LAST DEVOTION.\n\nI unite in this various practices of devotion in honor of Mary. 1.\nTo celebrate, or cause to be celebrated, or at least to hear Mass in\nhonor of the holy Virgin. It is true that the holy sacrifice of the\nMass can be offered only to God, to whom it is offered principally in\nacknowledgment of his supreme dominion; but as the sacred Council of\nTrent declares,[1772] this does not prevent it from being offered to God\nin gratitude for the graces bestowed on the saints and his most holy\nmother, and in commemoration of them, that they may deign to intercede\nfor us. And therefore it is said in the Mass: \u201cThat it may avail to\ntheir honor, but to our salvation.\u201d[1773] This offering of the Mass, as\nalso the repeating three \u201cOur Fathers,\u201d \u201cHail Marys,\u201d and \u201cGlories\u201d to\nthe most holy Trinity, in gratitude for the graces granted to Mary, she\nherself revealed to a soul, were very pleasing to her; for the Virgin not\nbeing able fully to thank the Lord for all the favors bestowed on her,\nis pleased when her children help her to thank God. 2d. To reverence the\nsaints who are most closely united to Mary, as St. Joseph, St. Joachim,\nand St. Ann. The Virgin herself recommended to a nobleman the devotion to\nSt. Ann her mother.[1774] And we should also honor the saints who had the\nmost special devotion to the divine mother, as St. John the Evangelist,\nSt. John the Baptist, St. Bernard, St. John of Damascus, the defender of\nher images, St. Ildephonsus, the defender of her virginity, &c. 3d. To\nread every day some book which treats of the glories of Mary. To preach,\nor at least recommend to all, particularly to one\u2019s relatives, devotion\nto the divine mother. The Virgin one day said to St. Bridget: \u201cMake thy\nchildren my children.\u201d To pray daily for the living and dead who were\nmost devoted to Mary.\n\nLet us here enumerate many other indulgences granted by the Pontiffs to\nthose who, in various ways, honor this queen of heaven: 1st. To those\nwho say: \u201cBlessed be the holy and immaculate conception of the blessed\nVirgin Mary,\u201d an indulgence of one hundred years is granted; and when\nafter the word \u201cimmaculate,\u201d the word \u201cmost pure\u201d is added, according to\nFather Crasset, other indulgences are granted, applicable to the souls\nin purgatory. 2d. For the \u201cSalve Regina,\u201d forty days. 3d. Litanies, two\nhundred days. 4th. To those who bow the head at the names of Jesus and\nof Mary, twenty days. 5th. To those who repeat five \u201cOur Fathers\u201d and\n\u201cHail Marys\u201d in honor of the passion of Jesus and the dolors of Mary,\nten thousand years. And for the convenience of devout souls, I will here\nmention other indulgences, attached by the Sovereign Pontiffs to other\ndevotions: 1st. To him who hears Mass, three thousand eight hundred\nyears. 2d. Benedict XIV. granted seven years\u2019 indulgence to those who\nmake the Christian acts, with the intention of receiving in life and in\ndeath the holy sacraments; and if they are continued for a month, plenary\nindulgence applicable to the souls in purgatory, or to themselves at\nthe article of death. 3d. To those who recite fifteen \u201cOur Fathers\u201d and\n\u201cHail Marys,\u201d for sinners, remission of the third part of their sins.\n4th. Pope Benedict XIV. has granted more indulgences to those who make\nmental prayer for half an hour every day, and plenary once a month, after\nconfession and communion. 5th. To those who recite the prayer: Soul of\nChrist, \u201cAnima Christi,\u201d etc., three hundred days. 6. Those who accompany\nthe viaticum, obtain five years\u2019 indulgence, and with lights seven years;\nand those who cannot do this, if they accompany it reciting an \u201cOur\nFather\u201d and \u201cHail Mary,\u201d one hundred days. 7th. Those who kneel before\nthe most holy Sacrament, gain two hundred days. 8th. Those who kiss the\ncross, one year and forty days. Those who bow the head at the \u201cGlory be\nto the Father,\u201d thirty days. 10th. To priests who before Mass recite: I\nwish to celebrate Mass, &c., \u201cEgo volo celebrare missam,\u201d etc., fifty\ndays are granted. 11th. To those who kiss the regular scapular, five\nyears. Other indulgences may be found in the works of Father Viva.[1775]\nLet every one endeavor, when seeking the above-named indulgences, to make\nan act of contrition, that he may be in a disposition to gain them.\n\nI omit other devotions, which are to be found in other books, as the\nseven joys, the twelve privileges of Mary, and the like, and let us\nterminate this work with the beautiful words of St. Bernardine:[1776] \u201cOh\nwoman, blessed among all women, thou art the honor of the human race, the\nsalvation of our people. Thou hast a merit that has no limits, and an\nentire power over all creatures. Thou art the mother of God, the mistress\nof the world, the queen of heaven. Thou art the dispenser of all graces,\nthe glory of the holy Church. Thou art the example of the just, the\nconsolation of the saints, and the source of our salvation. Thou art the\njoy of paradise, the gate of heaven, the glory of God. Behold, we have\npublished thy praises. We supplicate thee then, oh mother of mercy, to\nstrengthen our weakness, to pardon our boldness, to accept our service,\nto bless our labors, and impress thy love upon the hearts of all, that\nafter having honored and loved thy Son on earth, we may praise and bless\nhim eternally in heaven. Amen.\u201d\n\nAnd with this, my dear reader and brother, lover of our mother Mary, I\nleave you, saying to you, continue joyfully to honor and love this good\nLady; endeavor also to promote the love of her wherever you can, and do\nnot doubt, but securely trust that if you persevere in true devotion\nto Mary, even until death, your salvation will be certain. I finish,\nnot because I have nothing more to say of the glories of this great\nqueen, but that I may not weary you. The little that I have written may\nindeed be enough to charm you with this great treasure of devotion to\nthe mother of God, with which she will correspond with her powerful\npatronage. Accept, then, the desire I have had by this my work, to see\nyou safe and holy, to see you become a loving and ardently devoted child\nof this most amiable queen. And if you know that this book of mine has\naided you somewhat, I pray you of your charity recommend me to Mary, and\nask of her the grace that I ask for you, namely, that we may both meet in\nparadise at her feet, together with all her other dear children.\n\nAnd last of all, I turn to thee, oh mother of my Lord, and my mother\nMary. I pray thee to accept these my poor labors, and the desire I\nhave had to see thee praised and loved by all. Thou knowest how much I\nhave desired to complete this my little work on thy glories, before my\nlife, which is now drawing to a close, should end. I now say that I die\ncontent, leaving on the earth this book of mine, which will continue to\npraise and to preach thee, as I have endeavored always to do in these\nyears since my conversion, which through thee I have obtained from God.\nOh immaculate Mary, I recommend to thee all those who love thee, and\nespecially those who will read this my book; and most especially those\nwho will exercise the charity of recommending me to thee; oh Lady, give\nthem perseverance, make them all saints, and thus bring us all to praise\nthee together in heaven. Oh, my most sweet mother, it is true that I am\na poor sinner, but I glory in loving thee, and I hope great things from\nthee, among others, that I may die loving thee. I hope in the sufferings\nof my death, when the devil will place my sins before me, that first the\npassion of Jesus, and next, thy intercession, may give me comfort to quit\nthis miserable life in the grace of God, to come to love him and thank\nthee, oh my mother, through all eternity. Amen. Thus I hope, thus may it\nbe.\n\nOh Lady, say for us to thy Son: \u201cThey have no wine.\u201d How bright and clear\nis the intoxicating cup of this wine! The love of God inebriates us even\nto contempt of the world; it warms and strengthens, renders us insensible\nto temporal things, and inclined to heavenly things.[1777]\n\nThou art a fruitful field, full of virtues, full of graces. Thou didst\ncome forth as a bright and ruddy dawn; for original sin being destroyed\nin the womb of thy mother, thou wast born bright in the knowledge of\ntruth, and ruddy with the love of virtue; no enemy has power against\nthee, for a thousand bucklers hang upon thee, all the armor of valiant\nmen; for there is no virtue which does not shine in thee, and thou in\nthyself dost possess all that belongs to every saint.[1778]\n\nOh our Lady, our mediatrix, our advocate, commend us to thy Son. Oh\nblessed one, obtain by the grace which thou didst merit, that he who,\nthrough thy means has deigned to become a partaker of our infirmity and\nmisery, thou also interceding, may make us partakers of his blessedness\nand glory.[1779]\n\nLive Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.\n\n\n\n\nVARIOUS ADDITIONAL EXAMPLES APPERTAINING TO THE MOST HOLY MARY.\n\nMEDITATIONS FOR VARIOUS FESTIVALS, AND DIFFERENT DEVOTIONS IN HER HONOR.\n\n\n\n\nVARIOUS ADDITIONAL EXAMPLES APPERTAINING TO THE MOST HOLY MARY.\n\n\nSome persons, boasting of being free from prejudices, take great credit\nto themselves for believing no miracles but those recorded in the holy\nScriptures, esteeming all others as tales and fables for foolish women.\nBut it will be well to repeat here a just remark of the learned and\npious Father John Crasset,[1780] who says that the bad are as ready to\nderide miracles as the good are to believe them; adding, that as it is a\nweakness to give credit to all things, so, on the other hand, to reject\nmiracles which come to us attested by grave and pious men, either savors\nof infidelity, which supposes them impossible to God, or of presumption,\nwhich refuses belief to such a class of authors. We give credit to a\nTacitus and a Suetonius, and can we deny it without presumption to\nChristian authors of learning and probity? There is less risk, says\nFather Canisius, in believing and receiving what is related with some\nprobability by honest persons, and not rejected by the learned, and which\nserves for the edification of our neighbor, than in rejecting it with a\ndisdainful and presumptuous spirit.[1781]\n\n1st Example.\u2014A certain man in Germany had committed a great sin, and\nwas ashamed to confess it, yet on the other hand he could not endure\nthe remorse which he felt, and went to cast himself into the river;\nbut just as he was on the point of doing so, he stopped, and bursting\ninto tears, prayed God to pardon him without confession. One night in\nhis sleep he felt some one waking him, and heard a voice saying: Go and\nmake your confession. He went to the church, but yet did not make his\nconfession. He heard the same voice a second night; again he went to the\nchurch, but after he had entered it, said that he would rather die than\nconfess that sin. He was about to return home, when he thought he would\ngo and recommend himself to the most holy Mary, before her image which\nwas in the church. He had hardly kneeled before it, when he felt himself\nentirely changed. He immediately arose, called for a confessor, and\nweeping bitterly, through grace received from the Virgin, made a sincere\nconfession; and he afterwards said that he felt greater satisfaction than\nif he had gained all the gold in the world.[1782]\n\n2.\u2014A young nobleman was reading one day, while at sea, an obscene book,\nin which he took great pleasure. A religious said to him: \u201cNow come,\nwould you give something to our Lady?\u201d \u201cYes,\u201d he answered; and the other\nsaid, \u201cI wish that, for love of the holy Virgin, you would tear that book\nin pieces and cast it into the sea.\u201d \u201cHere it is, Father,\u201d said the\nyoung man. \u201cNo,\u201d said the religious, \u201cI wish that you yourself would make\nthis offering to Mary.\u201d He did so, and when he returned to Genoa, his\nnative place, the mother of God so inflamed his heart with the love of\nGod, that he became a religious.[1783]\n\n3.\u2014A hermit of Mount Olivet had in his cell a holy image of Mary, and\nfrequently offered up prayers before it. The devil could not endure\nsuch devotion to the holy Virgin, and tormented him continually with\ntemptations against purity; and the poor old hermit finding himself still\npursued by them, notwithstanding all his prayers and mortifications, said\none day to the enemy: \u201cWhat have I done to you, that you will not leave\nme in peace?\u201d And the demon appeared to him and answered: \u201cYou torment me\nmore than I torment you;\u201d and then he added: \u201cNow come, and swear secrecy\nto me, and I will tell you what you must cease to do, if you wish me not\nto molest you any more.\u201d The hermit took the oath, and then the devil\nsaid to him: \u201cI wish you never again to approach that image that you\nhave in your cell.\u201d The hermit was greatly perplexed, and went to take\ncounsel of the Abbot Theodore, who told him that he was not bound by his\noath, and that he must not cease to recommend himself to Mary before that\nimage, as he had done before. The hermit obeyed, and the devil was put to\nshame and conquered.[1784]\n\n4.\u2014A woman who had been guilty of a criminal connection with two young\nmen, one of whom had killed the other, came one day in great terror to\nFather Onefrio d\u2019Anna, a pious missionary in the kingdom of Naples, to\nmake her confession. She told the Father that in the same hour in which\nthat wretched youth had died, he appeared to her, clothed in black,\nloaded with chains, and cast fire on every side. He had a sword in his\nhand, and raised it to cut her throat. In terror she exclaimed: \u201cWhat\nhave I done to you, that you wish to kill me?\u201d And in a rage he answered:\n\u201cWretch, do you ask what you have done to me? You have caused me to lose\nGod.\u201d Then she invoked the blessed Virgin; and that spectre, on hearing\nthe most holy name of Mary pronounced, disappeared and was seen no\nmore.[1785]\n\n5.\u2014When St. Dominic was preaching at Carcassone, in France, an\nAlbigensian heretic, who was possessed by demons, was brought to him,\nbecause he had publicly spoken against the devotion of the most holy\nRosary. The saint then ordered the demons, in the name of God, to declare\nwhether those things which he had said concerning the most holy Rosary\nwere true; and howling with rage they said: \u201cHear, oh Christians, all\nthat this our enemy has said of Mary and of the most holy Rosary is\nentirely true.\u201d They added, moreover, that they had no power against the\nservants of Mary; and that many who at death invoked Mary were saved,\ncontrary to their deserts. And finally they said: \u201cWe are constrained to\ndeclare, that no one is lost who perseveres in devotion to Mary, and in\nthe devotion of the most holy Rosary, for Mary obtains for sinners a true\nrepentance before death.\u201d St. Dominick made the people immediately repeat\nthe Rosary; and, oh miracle! at every \u201cHail Mary,\u201d many devils went out\nfrom that wretched man, in the shape of burning coals, so that when the\nRosary was finished, he was entirely freed from them, and many heretics\nbecame converted.[1786]\n\n6.\u2014The daughter of a certain prince had entered a monastery, where the\ndiscipline was so relaxed, that, although she was a young person of good\ndispositions, she advanced but little in virtue. By the advice of a good\nconfessor, she began to say the Rosary with the mysteries, and became\nso changed that she was an example to all. The other religious, taking\noffence at her for withdrawing from them, attacked her on all sides, to\ninduce her to abandon her newly-begun way of life. One day while she was\nrepeating the Rosary, and praying Mary to assist her in that persecution,\nshe saw a letter fall from above. On the outside were written these\nwords: \u201cMary, mother of God, to her daughter Jane, greeting;\u201d and within:\n\u201cMy dear child, continue to say my Rosary; withdraw from intercourse\nwith those who do not help you to live well; beware of idleness and\nvanity; take from thy cell two superfluous things, and I will be your\nprotectress with God.\u201d The abbot of that monastery soon after visited it,\nand attempted to reform it, but he did not succeed; and one day he saw a\ngreat number of demons entering the cells of all the nuns except that\nof Jane, for the divine mother, before whose image he saw her praying,\nbanished them from that. When he heard from her of the devotion of the\nRosary which she practised, and the letter she had received, he ordered\nall the others to repeat it, and it is related that this monastery became\na paradise.[1787]\n\n7.\u2014There lived in Rome a woman, called Catherine the beautiful, who led\na very sinful life. Hearing St. Dominick once preach on the devotion\nof the most holy Rosary, she had her name inscribed in the book of the\nconfraternity, and began to recite it, but did not abandon her sinful\nlife. One evening a youth, apparently a noble, came to her house, whom\nshe received courteously. When they were at supper, she saw drops of\nblood falling from his hands while he was breaking a piece of bread,\nand then she observed that all the food he took was tinged with blood.\nShe asked him what that blood meant? And the youth answered, that a\nChristian should take no food that was not tinged with the blood of Jesus\nChrist, seasoned with the memory of his passion. Amazed at this, she\nasked him who he was. \u201cSoon,\u201d he answered, \u201cI will show you;\u201d and when\nthey had withdrawn into another apartment, the appearance of the youth\nchanged, and he showed himself crowned with thorns, his flesh torn, and\nsaid to her: \u201cDo you wish to know who I am? Do you not know me? I am thy\nRedeemer. Catherine, when will you cease to offend me? See how much I\nhave suffered for you. You have grieved me enough, change your life.\u201d\nCatherine began to weep bitterly, and Jesus, encouraging her, said: \u201cNow\nbegin to love me as much as you have offended me; and know that you have\nreceived this grace from me, on account of the Rosary you have been\naccustomed to recite in honor of my mother.\u201d And then he disappeared.\nCatherine went in the morning to make her confession to St. Dominick;\nand giving to the poor all she possessed, led so holy a life, that she\nattained to great perfection. The Virgin often appeared to her; and Jesus\nhimself revealed to St. Dominick, that this penitent had become very dear\nto him.[1788]\n\n8.\u2014The blessed Alanus relates of a lady, named Dominica, who was\naccustomed to recite the Rosary, that she gave up this devotion, and\nafterwards became so poor, that in desperation she stabbed herself in\nthree different places. But just as she was breathing her last, and the\ndevils came to take her to hell, the most holy Mary appeared to her, and\nsaid to her: \u201cMy daughter, you have forgotten me, but I have not been\nwilling to forget you, on account of that Rosary which you have for a\ntime recited in my honor. And now,\u201d she added, \u201cif you will continue to\nrecite it, I will restore life to you, and also the possessions you have\nlost.\u201d Dominica was restored to health, and continuing the practice of\nreciting the Rosary, recovered her possessions, and at her death was\nagain visited by Mary, who commended her fidelity, and she died a holy\ndeath.[1789]\n\n9.\u2014There lived in Saragossa a certain noble, a very bad man; his name was\nPeter, and he was a relation of St. Dominick. One day when the saint was\npreaching, he saw Peter enter the church, and he prayed the Lord that he\nwould make known to the audience the condition of that miserable sinner.\nAnd, behold, Peter then appeared like a monster from hell, surrounded\nand dragged along by many devils. The congregation fled, even his wife\nwho was in the church, and the servants who accompanied him. Then St.\nDominick directed him, through one of his companions, to recommend\nhimself to Mary, and to begin to recite the Rosary which he sent him.\nPeter received the message, humbled himself, sent to thank the saint,\nand received himself the grace to see the demons that surrounded him. He\nafterwards went to make his confession to the saint himself, from whom he\nreceived the assurance that he was already pardoned, and continuing to\nrecite the Rosary, he attained to so happy a state, that one day the Lord\nmade him appear in church, in the presence of the whole congregation,\ncrowned with three crowns of roses.[1790]\n\n10.\u2014In the mountains of Trent lived a notorious robber, who when he was\none day admonished by a religious to change his course of life, answered,\nthat for him there was no remedy. \u201cDo not say so,\u201d said the religious;\n\u201cdo what I tell you; fast on Saturday in honor of Mary, and on that day\ndo no harm to any one, and she will obtain for you the grace of not dying\nunder the displeasure of God.\u201d The obedient robber followed this advice,\nand made a vow to continue to do so. That he might not break it, he from\nthat time went unarmed on Saturdays. It happened that on a Saturday he\nwas found by the officers of justice, and that he might not break his\noath, he allowed himself to be taken without resistance. The judge,\nwhen he saw that he was a gray-haired old man, wished to pardon him;\nbut, through the grace of compunction which he had received from Mary,\nhe said that he wished to die in punishment of his sins. He also made a\npublic confession of all the sins of his life in that same judgment-hall,\nweeping so bitterly that all present wept with him. He was beheaded, and\nburied, with but little ceremony, in a grave dug near by. But afterwards\nthe mother of God appeared, with four holy virgins, who took the dead\nbody from that place, wrapped it in a rich cloth, embroidered with gold,\nand bore it themselves to the gate of the city; there the blessed Virgin\nsaid to the guards: \u201cTell the bishop from me, to give an honorable\nburial, in such a church, to this dead person, for he was my faithful\nservant.\u201d And this was done. All the people of the place thronged to the\nspot, where they found the corpse, with the rich pall, and the bier on\nwhich it was placed. And from that time, says Cesarius, all persons in\nthat region began to fast on Saturdays.[1791]\n\n11.\u2014A devout servant of Mary, who lived in Portugal, fasted on bread\nand water every Saturday of his life, in honor of Mary, and chose for\nhis advocates with the blessed Virgin, St. Michael and St. John the\nEvangelist. At the hour of his death the queen of heaven appeared to him,\nwith those saints, who were praying for him, and the holy Virgin, looking\nupon her servant with a joyful countenance, said to those saints: \u201cI will\nnot depart hence without taking this soul with me.\u201d\n\n12.\u2014In one of our missions, after the sermon on Mary which it is our\ncustom to preach, a very old man came to one of the Fathers of our\ncongregation, to make his confession. He was full of consolation, and\nsaid: \u201cOur Lady has done me a favor.\u201d \u201cAnd what favor has she done\nyou?\u201d asked the confessor. \u201cFor thirty-five years, Father, I have made\nsacrilegious confessions, because I was ashamed of one sin, and yet I\nhave passed through many dangers, and have been several times at the\npoint of death, and if I had died then I certainly should have been lost;\nand now our Lady has done me the favor to touch my heart;\u201d and when he\nsaid this he wept so bitterly, that he seemed to be all tenderness. After\nthe Father had heard his confession, he asked him what devotion he had\npractised, and he answered that he had never failed on Saturday to keep a\nstrict fast in honor of Mary, and therefore the Virgin had taken pity on\nhim, and he gave the Father permission to publish the fact in his sermons.\n\n13.\u2014In the country of Normandy a certain robber was beheaded, and his\nhead was thrown into a trench; but afterwards it was heard crying: \u201cMary,\ngive me confession.\u201d A priest went to him and heard his confession; and\nquestioning him as to his practices of devotion, the robber answered\nthat he had no other except that of fasting one day of the week in honor\nof the holy Virgin, and that for this our Lady had obtained for him the\ngrace to be delivered from hell by that confession.[1792]\n\n14.\u2014There were two young noblemen living in the city of Madrid who\nencouraged each other in their sinful life. One of them saw one night,\nin a dream, his companion seized by some Moors and carried to the shore\nof a stormy sea. They were about to do the same with him, but he had\nrecourse to Mary, and made a vow that he would become a religious at\nonce, and thus he was rescued from these Moors; then he saw Jesus seated\non a throne, and as if in anger, and the holy Virgin supplicating and\nobtaining mercy for him. When his friend came to visit him he related\nto him the vision, but he laughed at it; and shortly after was stabbed\nwith a poniard and died. When the other youth saw the vision verified he\nmade his confession, and was strengthened in his resolution of becoming\na religious. In view of that, he sold all that he had, but instead of\ngiving the money to the poor, as he had intended, he expended it in\ndebauchery. He afterwards fell ill, and had another vision; he thought he\nsaw hell opened and the divine Judge in the act of condemning him. Again\nhe had recourse to Mary, and Mary again delivered him. He was restored\nto health, and led a worse life than before. He went to Lima, in South\nAmerica, where he fell ill, and in the hospital of that place was again\ntouched by the grace of God. He confessed to Father Francis Perlino, a\nJesuit, to whom he promised to change his life, but went back to his evil\ncourses. At length the same Father, visiting one day another hospital in\na distant place, saw that wretched man extended on the earth, and heard\nhim exclaim: \u201cAh, I am lost; and for my greater torment this Father\nhas come here to witness my punishment. I came here from Lima, and am\nbrought to this end by my vices, and now I am going to hell.\u201d With these\nwords on his lips he died, before the Father had time to give him any\nassistance.[1793]\n\n15.\u2014There was once in Germany a certain criminal condemned to death; but\nhe was obstinate and refused to make his confession, though a Jesuit\nfather did his utmost to convert him. He entreated him, he wept, he\ncast himself at his feet; but seeing that all was in vain, he finally\nsaid: \u201cLet us recite a \u2018Hail Mary.\u2019\u201d No sooner had the criminal recited\nit than he began to cry bitterly, made his confession with much\ncompunction, and wished to die clasping the image of Mary.[1794]\n\n16.\u2014In a city of Spain there lived a sinful man who had given himself\nto the devil, and had never been to confession. He did nothing good but\nsay a \u201cHail Mary\u201d every day. Father Eusebius Nierembergh relates, that\nwhen this man was at the point of death the most holy Virgin appeared to\nhim in a dream and looked on him; her kind eyes so changed him that he\nimmediately sent for a confessor, made his confession with a voice broken\nby sobs, made a vow to become a religious if he should live, and then\ndied.[1795]\n\n17.\u2014A devout servant of Mary always inculcated it upon her daughter\nthat she should often recite the \u201cHail Mary,\u201d especially when she was\nin any danger. One day when this girl was resting after a ball, she was\nattacked by a demon, who in a visible form, bore her off with him. He\nhad already seized her, but she began the \u201cHail Mary,\u201d and the enemy\ndisappeared.[1796]\n\n18.\u2014A woman of Cologne who had criminal intercourse with an ecclesiastic,\nfound him one day hanging in her rooms dead. After this she entered into\na monastery, where the devil assailed her in a bodily form, so that\nshe knew not what to do in order to be delivered from him. A companion\nsuggested to her to say the \u201cHail Mary;\u201d and when she did so the demon\nsaid: \u201cAccursed may she be who has taught thee this,\u201d and appeared no\nmore.[1797]\n\n19.\u2014A certain baron who led a very sinful life was accidentally visited\nin his castle by a religious, who, enlightened by God, begged him to\nassemble together all his servants. They all came except the chamberlain.\nHe at last was forced to come in, and the Father said to him: \u201cNow, I\ncommand thee in the name of Jesus Christ to tell who you are.\u201d And he\nanswered: \u201cI am a devil from hell, who for fourteen years have served\nthis villain, waiting until some day he should omit those seven \u2018Hail\nMarys\u2019 which he is in the habit of reciting, that I might then strangle\nhim and take him to the flames of hell.\u201d The religious then commanded the\ndevil to depart. He obeyed, and disappeared. The baron then threw himself\nat his feet, was converted, and led a holy life.[1798]\n\n20.\u2014The blessed Francis Patrizii, who greatly loved the devotion of the\n\u201cHail Mary,\u201d recited five hundred every day. Mary made known to him the\nhour of his death. He died as a saint; and after forty years a most\nbeautiful lily sprung from his mouth, which was then transported into\nFrance, and on the leaves of it was written the \u201cHail Mary\u201d in letters of\ngold.[1799]\n\n21.\u2014Cesarius relates that a Cistercian lay-brother could say no other\nprayer but the \u201cHail Mary,\u201d and recited it continually with the greatest\ndevotion. After his death there sprung up from the place where he was\nburied a tree, on whose leaves were written these words: Hail Mary, full\nof grace: \u201cAve Maria, gratia plena.\u201d[1800]\n\n22.\u2014Three devout virgins, by the advice of their confessor, recited one\nyear, for forty days, the whole Rosary, as a preparation for the feast of\nthe purification of Mary. On the vigil the divine mother appeared to the\nfirst of the three sisters with a rich garment, embroidered with gold,\nthanked her, and blessed her. Then she appeared to the second with a\nsimple garment, and also thanked her. But she said to her: \u201cOh Lady, why\nhave you brought my sister a richer garment?\u201d \u201cBecause she has clothed\nme,\u201d said Mary, \u201cmore richly than you have done.\u201d She afterwards appeared\nto the third with a canvas garment, and she at once asked pardon for her\ntepidity in honoring her. The next year all three fervently prepared for\nthe same feast, saying the Rosary with great devotion, when behold, on\nthe evening preceding the festival, Mary appeared to them in glory, and\nsaid to them: \u201cBe prepared, for to-morrow you shall come to paradise.\u201d\nAnd, in fact, the next day they went to church, related to the confessor\nwhat had occurred, and received communion in the morning. At the hour\nof complin they saw again the most holy Virgin, who came to take them\nwith her, and amid the songs of angels, one after the other sweetly\nexpired.[1801]\n\n23.\u2014Father Crasset relates, that a certain military officer told him,\nthat after a battle he found a soldier on the battle-ground who held in\nhis hand a Rosary and the scapular of Mary, and asked for a confessor.\nHis forehead had been pierced by a musket-ball, which had passed through\nthe head and come out behind, so that the brain was visible and protruded\nthrough each opening, and he could not live without a miracle. He\nhowever raised himself, made his confession to the chaplain with great\ncompunction, and after receiving absolution, expired.[1802]\n\n24.\u2014The same author adds, that this very captain told him of being\npresent when a trumpeter of his company received a pistol-shot from some\none near, and when he examined his breast where he said that he had been\nhit, he found that the ball had been stopped by the scapular of the\nVirgin, which the man wore, and that it had not even touched the flesh.\nHe took it and exhibited it to the whole company.[1803]\n\n25.\u2014A noble youth, named Eschylus, being sent by the prince his father to\nHildesheim, a city of Saxony, to study, abandoned himself to a dissolute\nlife. He fell ill, and was near dying, and while in that state he had a\nvision. He saw himself shut up in a furnace of fire, and believed himself\nto be already in hell; and then he escaped from it through a hole and\ntook refuge in a great palace, where he found the most holy Mary in the\nhall, and she said to him: \u201cRash man, dost thou dare to appear before\nme? Depart from here, and go to the flames which thou dost merit.\u201d The\nyoung man besought the Virgin to have mercy on him, and then turned to\nsome persons who were near, and implored them to recommend him to Mary.\nThey did so, and the divine mother answered: \u201cYou do not know the sinful\nlife he has led, and that he has not even thought of saving a \u2018Hail Mary\u2019\nin my honor.\u201d But his advocates answered: \u201cOh Lady, he will change his\nlife;\u201d and the youth added: \u201cYes, I promise really to amend, and I will\nbe thy servant.\u201d Then the Virgin\u2019s anger was appeased, and she said to\nhim: \u201cWell, I accept thy promise, be faithful to me, and meanwhile, with\nmy blessing, be delivered from hell and death.\u201d When she had said this,\nthe Virgin disappeared. Eschylus came to himself, and blessing Mary,\nrelated to others the grace he had received. He led ever after a holy\nlife, always preserving a great affection towards the blessed Virgin, and\nwas made Archbishop of the Church of Lude, in Denmark, where he converted\nmany to the faith. Towards the close of his life, being old, he resigned\nthe archbishopric and became a monk of Clairvaux, where he lived four\nyears, and died a holy death. Hence he has been numbered by some writers\namong the saints of the Cistercian order.[1804]\n\n26.\u2014A member of the brothers of the confraternity of Mary was invited\none morning by a friend to dine with him. He promised to go, but went\nfirst to the meeting of the confraternity, and after that he forgot\nhis promise. His friend was so much offended by this, that one day when\nhe met him he attempted to kill him; but, by a just judgment of God, he\nkilled himself. His friend was immediately taken before the court, found\nguilty of the murder, and was condemned to death. He recommended himself\nto the Virgin, and, inspired by her, begged to be led into the presence\nof the dead body, and then asked him how he had died. He confessed that\nhe died by his own hands, and his friend was set at liberty.[1805]\n\n27.\u2014In the year 1604, at Dola, a member of the same confraternity was\nvery ill. On a feast-day he said to himself: \u201cAt this hour my brothers\nare assembled and occupied in praising Mary, and am I here\u201d? He rose from\nhis bed and went to the assembly, when suddenly the fever left him, and\nhe was restored to health.[1806]\n\n28.\u2014A fisherman, belonging to the same confraternity in Naples, had been\nill for several days through the severe discipline he had practised in\nthe meeting of the confraternity. Being somewhat better, as he was poor\nand had a family, he returned to his fishing, saying to the most holy\nVirgin: \u201cOh, my Lady, for thee I have suffered this evil, do thou help\nme\u201d; and our blessed Lady allowed him to take as many fish as he would\nhave taken in all the time he had lost.[1807]\n\n29.\u2014Another member was going to be imprisoned for debt; he recommended\nhimself to Mary, and the most holy Virgin inspired his creditors to\nrelease him from his debt, and so they did.[1808]\n\n30.\u2014A young man who had been a member of the confraternity of the Virgin,\nleft it, and abandoned himself to a dissolute life. One night the devil\nappeared to him in a frightful form. He began to invoke the blessed\nVirgin. \u201cIn vain,\u201d said his enemy to him, \u201cdo you invoke her whom you\nhave abandoned; your sins have made thee mine.\u201d The youth in terror fell\non his knees, and began to recite the formula of the brothers: \u201cOh most\nholy Virgin mother,\u201d &c. Then the mother of God appeared to him, at\nwhose presence the demon fled, leaving behind him a great stench, and an\nopening in the wall. And Mary then turned to the youth, and said: \u201cThou\ndidst not merit my help, but I wish to take pity on thee, that thou\nmayest change, and return to the confraternity.\u201d[1809]\n\n31.\u2014In Braganza there lived another youth who left the confraternity\nand abandoned himself to such vicious courses, that one day in despair,\nhe was going to throw himself into a river. But first he turned to our\nLady and said: \u201cOh Mary, I have served thee in the confraternity, wilt\nthou help me?\u201d The most holy Virgin appeared to him and said: \u201cWhat art\nthou doing? Dost thou wish to destroy both soul and body? Go, make thy\nconfession, and return to the confraternity.\u201d The youth, encouraged by\nthis, thanked the Virgin, and amended his life.[1810]\n\n32.\u2014There was once a religious in Spain, who in a fit of passion killed\nhis superior. After committing this crime he fled into Barbary, where he\nrenounced his faith and married, leading afterwards so bad a life that he\ndid nothing good but say a \u201cHail, oh Queen,\u201d daily. One day, being alone,\nhe repeated this devotion, and behold Mary appeared to him, rebuked him,\nand encouraged him to amend his life, promising him her assistance. He\nthen returned to his house, and was so sorrowful that his wife questioned\nhim as to the cause, and he in tears told her his condition, and the\nvision he had seen. She took compassion on him, gave him money to enable\nhim to return to his own country, and also consented that he should\ntake one of their children with him. He returned to the monastery,\nwhere he shed so many tears of compunction that he was again received,\ntogether with his son. He persevered in his holy life, and died with the\nreputation of a saint.[1811]\n\n33.\u2014A pupil had been instructed by his master to salute the most holy\nVirgin in these words: \u201cHail, oh mother of mercy.\u201d When he was at the\npoint of death Mary appeared to him, and said: \u201cMy son, do you not know\nme? I am that mother of mercy whom you have saluted so many times.\u201d Then\nthis servant of the Virgin extended his arms as if to follow her, and\ngently breathed his last.[1812]\n\n34.\u2014There was once a sinner who was so abandoned, that he practised no\nother devotion than that of reciting daily: To thy patronage: \u201cSub\ntuum pr\u00e6sidium.\u201d The Virgin one day so greatly enlightened him, that he\nabandoned his sins, entered religion, led for fifty years an exemplary\nlife, and thus died.[1813]\n\n35.\u2014In the year 1610, there lived in Turin an obstinate heretic, who\neven on his death-bed would not be converted by all that was said to\nhim by the various priests who were with him for eight successive days.\nAt length one of them, almost by force, brought him to have recourse to\nMary, with these words: Mother of Jesus, help me: \u201cMater Jesu, assiste\nmihi.\u201d And the heretic, as if awakened from sleep, exclaimed, \u201cI will die\na Catholic;\u201d and indeed he became reconciled to the Church, and died in\ntwo hours.[1814]\n\n36.\u2014Another infidel, who was living in India, was about to die, abandoned\nby all, but as he had heard the Christians so much extol the power of\nMary, he had recourse to her, and the blessed Virgin appeared to him,\nand said: \u201cBehold I am she whom you invoke; become a Christian.\u201d He was\nimmediately restored to health, and baptized, and many were converted by\nthe prodigy.[1815]\n\n37.\u2014There lived in Madrid, in the year 1610, a very devout servant of\nMary, who had an especial devotion to an image of her called \u201cMary\nof Antioch.\u201d He married a woman, who through suspicion and jealousy,\nleft him no rest. Every Saturday he went barefoot, and early in the\nmorning, to visit that image; but his wife, who suspected him of going\nelsewhere, once in particular, attacked him so violently, that blinded\nby impatience, he took a rope and hung himself. But just as his soul was\ndeparting, when he could no more help himself, he invoked the help of\nMary; and behold a most beautiful lady appeared, who approached him and\ncut the rope. The people without saw this, and then he narrated the fact.\nBy this the wife was so filled with compunction, that ever afterwards\nthey lived in peace, and devoted to the divine mother.[1816]\n\n38.\u2014Another person, of Valentia, in 1613, committed a great crime, which\nhe was ashamed to confess, and therefore made sacrilegious confessions.\nBut, being troubled with great remorse of conscience, he went one day\nto visit the altar of Our Lady of Halle, that he might obtain relief.\nWhen he arrived at the door of the church, which stood open, he felt\nhimself thrust back by an invisible power. Then he determined to make his\nconfession, and immediately entered. After making a general confession,\nhe went home entirely consoled.[1817]\n\n39.\u2014The blessed Adam, a Cistercian, went one evening to visit an altar\nof the most blessed Virgin in a church; but finding the doors closed, he\nknelt outside to make his devotions. He was hardly on his knees when he\nsaw the door opening of itself, and he entered. There he beheld the Queen\nof Heaven, in the midst of great splendor, and she said to him: \u201cAdam,\napproach; do you know who I am?\u201d Adam answered: \u201cNo, Lady; who art thou?\u201d\n\u201cI am,\u201d she said, \u201cthe mother of God. Know, that as a reward for thy\ndevotion to me, I will always take care of thee.\u201d And then she placed\nher blessed hand upon his head, and cured him of the great pain he was\nsuffering there.[1818]\n\n40.\u2014A servant of Mary went one day to visit a church of our blessed Lady,\nwithout the knowledge of her husband, and she was prevented by a severe\nstorm from returning that night to her own house. She felt a great fear\nlest her husband should be very angry with her; but she recommended\nherself to Mary, and when she returned home, her husband was very kind\nand gracious to her. Upon questioning him, she found that the evening\nbefore, the divine mother had taken her form, and attended to all the\nlittle affairs of the household like a servant. She then related the\noccurrence to her husband, and they both afterwards practised great\ndevotion to the blessed Virgin.[1819]\n\n41.\u2014A certain cavalier, of the city of Doul, in France, named Ansaldo,\nreceived in battle a wound from an arrow, which entered so deep into the\njaw-bone, that it was not possible to extract the iron. After four years\nof suffering, the afflicted man could endure the pain no longer, and\nbeing besides very ill, he thought he would again try to have the iron\nextracted. He recommended himself to the blessed Virgin, and made a vow\nto visit every year a sacred image of her which was in that place, and\nmake an offering of a certain sum of money upon her altar, if she granted\nhis request. He had no sooner made the vow than the iron, without being\ntouched, fell into his mouth. The next day, ill as he was, he went to\nvisit the image, and scarcely had he placed the promised gift upon the\naltar, when he felt himself entirely restored to health.[1820]\n\n42.\u2014There was once a Spaniard who held sinful intercourse with a\nrelative. A devout virgin, while she was at prayer, saw Jesus on his\nthrone, who was on the point of sending that criminal to hell; but his\nholy mother obtained thirty days\u2019 grace for him, because he once had\nhonored her. By the command of the divine mother herself, his female\ncompanion told the whole to her confessor, who made it known to the young\nman, and he at once made his confession, with many tears and promises\nof amendment. But because he did not remove the temptation from him, he\nfell again into sin, went again to confession, again made a resolution,\nand again relapsed. As he did not go to see the Father again, the Father\nwent to his house to find him, but was very rudely dismissed. The last of\nthe thirty days had arrived; the Father went to the house again, but in\nvain; he desired the servant, however, to give him notice if there was\nany accident; and indeed at night that miserable sinner was attacked with\nviolent pains. The Father was called, and endeavored to relieve him, but\nthe unhappy man exclaimed: \u201cMy heart has been pierced with a lance, and\nI am dying.\u201d Then giving a groan of despair, he expired.[1821]\n\n43.\u2014There lived once in Milan a man named Masaccio, so addicted to\ngambling, that one day he lost at play the very clothes he wore. In a\nviolent rage at his loss, he took a knife and struck an image of the\nblessed Virgin, and blood burst forth from it into his face. He was so\nmuch moved that he burst into tears, and offered thanks to the Virgin\nthat she had obtained for him time for repentance. He afterwards entered\na Cistercian monastery, and led such a holy life that he even received\nthe gift of prophecy; after being forty years a religious, he died a holy\ndeath.[1822]\n\n44.\u2014A very sinful man, once kneeling in tears at the foot of the cross,\nprayed that he might receive a sign of pardon. But when he found that\nhis prayer was not granted, he turned to an image of the sorrowful Mary,\nwho then appeared to him, and he saw her present his tears to her Son,\nsaying: My Son, shall these tears be lost? \u201cFili, ist\u00e6 lacrym\u00e6 peribunt?\u201d\nAnd then he was given to understand that Christ had already pardoned him,\nand from that time he led a holy life.[1823]\n\n45.\u2014A man of advanced age, during one of our missions, after the usual\nsermon on the powerful intercession of Mary, which it is our custom\nalways to preach in the missions, came to make his confession to one of\nour Fathers, named D. Cesar Sportelli, who lately died in the fame of\nsanctity, and was found uncorrupted many months after his death. Kneeling\nat the feet of his confessor, he said: \u201cFather, our Lady has had pity on\nme.\u201d \u201cThis is her office,\u201d answered the Father. \u201cBut you cannot give me\nabsolution,\u201d said the other, \u201cfor I have never made my confession.\u201d And,\nin fact, although he was a Catholic, he had never made his confession.\nThe Father encouraged him, heard his confession, and gave him absolution\nwith great consolation.\n\n46.\u2014The blessed Bernard Tolomeo, founder of the Olivetan Fathers, who,\nfrom his childhood, had a great devotion to Mary, was one day greatly\ntormented in his hermitage at Accona, called Mt. Olivet, with the fear\nthat he should not be saved, and that God had not yet pardoned him; but\nthe divine mother appeared to him, and said: \u201cWhat do you fear, my son?\nTake courage; God has already pardoned you, and is pleased with the life\nyou lead; go on, and I will help and save you.\u201d The blessed religious\ncontinued to lead a holy life till he died a happy death in the arms of\nMary.[1824]\n\n47.\u2014There lived in Germany a young girl, called Agnes, who had been\nguilty of incest in the first degree. She fled into a desert, and there\ngave birth to a child. The devil, in the form of a religious, appeared to\nher, and persuaded her to throw the child into a pond. But afterwards,\nwhen he proposed to her to throw herself in also, she said: \u201cMary, help\nme,\u201d and the devil disappeared.[1825]\n\n48.\u2014A soldier once made a compact with the devil, that he would sell\nhis wife to him for a certain sum of money. He was taking her to a wood\nto fulfil his promise, when he passed before a church dedicated to the\nVirgin. His wife begged him to allow her to pay her devotion to Mary in\nthat church; but as she entered it, Mary came forth from it, and taking\nthe form of the woman, accompanied the husband. When they reached the\nwood, the demon said to the man: \u201cTraitor, why have you brought me,\ninstead of your wife, my enemy, the mother of God?\u201d \u201cAnd thou,\u201d said\nMary, \u201chow hast thou dared to think of injuring my servant? Go, flee\nto hell.\u201d And then turning to the man, she said: \u201cAmend your life, and\nI will aid you.\u201d She disappeared, and that wretched man repented, and\namended his life.[1826]\n\n49.\u2014A very sinful woman who lived in Messico, having fallen ill, repented\nof her life, and made a vow to Mary, that if she would restore her to\nhealth she would present her with her hair. She was cured, and she cut\noff her hair, making an offering of it to the statue of the Virgin. But\nthe woman again fell into sin, again fell ill, and died impenitent.\nThen Mary one day afterwards spoke from that statue to Father Giammaria\nSalvaterra, and said: Take those locks from my head, for they belong to\na lost and sinful soul, and are not befitting the head of the mother of\npurity. The Father obeyed her, and threw them himself instantly into the\nflames.[1827]\n\n50.\u2014A Saracen, named Petran, made captive several Christians in Spain,\nwho recommended themselves to the holy Virgin. Mary appeared to the\nSaracen, and said to him: \u201cPetran, how dare you to hold my servants\nslaves? Release them immediately\u2014obey.\u201d And the Moor answered: \u201cWho are\nyou whom I am to obey?\u201d \u201cI am,\u201d said she, \u201cthe mother of God; and because\nthey have had recourse to me, I wish you to give them their liberty.\u201d\nThen the heart of Petran was changed, he set the Christians free, and\npresented himself to the Virgin. She first instructed him, and then she\nherself baptized him in a fountain, near which a church was built, and a\nBenedictine monastery.[1828]\n\n51.\u2014A certain canon, while he was repeating some devotions in honor of\nthe divine mother, fell into the river Seine and was drowned, and being\nin mortal sin, the devils came to take him to hell. But Mary appeared at\nthe same time, and said to them: \u201cHow have you dared to take possession\nof one who died praising me?\u201d Then turning to the sinner, she said:\nRepent, and be particularly devout to my Conception. He was restored to\nlife, became a religious, and never ceased to thank his deliverer, and\neverywhere to propagate the devotion to her immaculate Conception.[1829]\n\n52.\u2014Whilst the monks of Clairvaux were reaping in the fields, and\npraising the queen of heaven, most holy Mary was seen caressing them, and\ntwo other saints wiping their sweat.[1830]\n\n53.\u2014The brother of the King of Hungary recited every day the office of\nMary. Once when he was very ill, he made a vow of chastity to the Virgin,\nif she would restore him to health; and he immediately recovered. But his\nbrother having died, he was about to be married, and just as the nuptials\nwere to be celebrated, he retired apart to recite his accustomed office.\nWhen he came to the words: Thou art fair and comely, &c.: \u201cQuam pulchra\nes et decora,\u201d &c., he saw Mary, who said to him: \u201cIf I am fair as you\nsay, why do you leave me for another spouse? Know, that if you leave her,\nyou shall have me for a spouse, and the kingdom of heaven instead of the\nkingdom of Hungary.\u201d After this the prince withdrew into a desert near\nAquileia, where he lived a holy life.[1831]\n\n54.\u2014St. John Climacus relates, that there was a devout religious, named\nCarcerio, who was accustomed often to repeat little songs in praise\nof Mary, and always saluted her images with a \u201cHail Mary.\u201d He was\nonce afflicted with so painful a malady, that in the paroxysms of his\nsuffering he bit his lips and tongue. He lost his speech, and was at the\npoint of death. Whilst the religious were recommending his soul to God,\nthe mother of God appeared to him, and said: \u201cI have come to cure thee,\nfor I do not wish that mouth should suffer with which thou hast so often\npraised me. Arise, thou art healed, continue to praise me.\u201d Having said\nthis, she sprinkled him with some drops of her milk, and immediately he\nwas cured, and never ceased to praise her, until, visited again by his\nLady at his death, he sweetly expired in her arms.[1832]\n\n55.\u2014When St. Francis Borgia was in Rome, an ecclesiastic came to speak\nwith him; but the saint being much occupied, sent Father Acosta to him.\nThe ecclesiastic said to him: \u201cFather, I am a priest and a preacher, but\nI live in sin, and distrust the divine mercy. After preaching a sermon\none day against the obstinate, who afterwards despair of pardon, a person\ncame to me to make his confession, who narrated to me all my sins, and\nat length told me that he despaired of the divine mercy. In order to do\nmy duty, I told him that he must change his life, and trust in God; then\nthat penitent rose to his feet and reproached me, saying: \u2018And you, who\npreach thus to others, why do you not amend, and why do you distrust?\nKnow,\u2019 said he, \u2018that I am an angel come to your aid; amend and you will\nbe pardoned.\u2019 And when he had said this he disappeared. I abstained for\nseveral days from my sinful practices, but when temptation came I again\nreturned to my sins. On another day, as I was celebrating Mass, Jesus\nChrist sensibly spoke to me from the host, and said: \u2018Why dost thou thus\nmaltreat me, when I treat thee so well?\u2019 After this I resolved to amend,\nbut at the next temptation fell again into sin. A few hours ago, a youth\ncame to me in my apartment, and drew from under his mantle a chalice, and\nfrom this a consecrated host, saying: \u2018Do you know this Lord whom I hold\nin my hand? Do you remember how many favors he has done you? Now behold\nthe punishment of your ingratitude,\u2019 and saying this he drew a sword to\nkill me. I then cried: \u2018For the love of Mary do not kill me, for I will\nindeed amend.\u2019 And then he said: \u2018This was the only thing that could save\nyou: make a good use of this grace, for this is the last mercy for you.\u2019\nWhen he had said this he left me, and I came immediately here, praying\nyou to receive me among you.\u201d Father Acosta consoled him, and the priest,\nby the advice also of St. Francis, entered another order of strict\nobservance, where he persevered in holiness till his death.[1833]\n\n56.\u2014In the year 1228, while a priest was celebrating Mass on a Saturday,\nin honor of the most holy Mary, some Albigensian heretics came and\ncruelly cut out his tongue. In this condition he went to the monastery\nof Cluny, where the good religious received him with much charity,\ngreatly compassionating the suffering he endured from the loss of his\ntongue. But what caused the greatest suffering to this devout priest\nwas, that he could no longer say Mass and recite the divine office, and\nthat of the blessed Virgin, as he had been accustomed to do. The feast\nof Epiphany having arrived, he begged to be carried into the church, and\nbefore the altar of the holy Virgin prayed her to restore the tongue\nwhich he had lost through love of her, that he might sing her praises\nas he did before. Then Mary appeared to him with a tongue in her hand,\nand said to him: \u201cSince thou hast lost thy tongue for the faith, and for\nthe honor thou hast paid me, I give thee in return a new one.\u201d Having\nsaid this, with her own hands she placed the tongue in his mouth, and\nimmediately the priest, raising his voice, recited the \u201cHail Mary.\u201d The\nreligious quickly assembled, and the priest wished to remain with them,\nand to become himself a religious, that there he might always praise his\nbenefactress. The mark of the scar was always seen on his tongue.[1834]\n\n57.\u2014It was in 589 that the famous plague prevailed in Rome, when men\nwere attacked with sneezing, and fell down dead. St. Gregory the Great,\nwhen he was carrying in procession through the city an image belonging\nto the church of St. Mary Major, in the place now called the Castle of\nSt. Angelo, saw an angel in the air, who was replacing in its scabbard a\nsword dripping with blood. Then he heard the angels singing: Oh, Queen\nof heaven! rejoice, Alleluia; for he whom thou didst deserve to bear,\nAlleluia, is risen again, as he said, Alleluia: \u201cRegina c\u0153li, l\u00e6tare,\nAlleluia; quia quem meruisti portare Alleluia; resurrexit, sicut dixit,\nAlleluia.\u201d And St. Gregory responded: \u201cOra pro nobis Deum, Alleluia.\u201d\nImmediately the plague ceased, and they then began to celebrate the\ngreater Litanies every year on the 25th of April.[1835]\n\n58.\u2014A city of France, called Avignon, was once besieged by enemies. The\ncitizens prayed to Mary to defend them, and placed an image of her,\nwhich they had taken from a church, at the gate of the city. One of the\ncitizens having concealed himself behind the image, a soldier shot an\narrow at him, saying: \u201cThis image shall not save you from death.\u201d But the\nimage presented her knee, and the arrow remained fixed in it, and may be\nseen there even to this day; and thus she saved the life of her servant.\nAnd the enemy, moved by this prodigy, raised the siege.[1836]\n\n59.\u2014There was in Naples a Moor, a slave of Don Octavius del Monaco, who,\nalthough he had often been exhorted to leave his Mahometan sect, remained\nobstinate, but yet never failed every evening to keep lighted, at his\nown expense, a lamp before an image of Mary which was in the house. And\nhe said: \u201cI hope that this Lady will grant me some great favor.\u201d One\nnight the blessed Virgin appeared to him and told him he must become a\nChristian. Still the Turk resisted, but she placed her hand upon his\nshoulder, and said to him: \u201cNow no longer resist, Abel; be baptized and\ncalled Joseph.\u201d In the morning he immediately went to be instructed,\nand was baptized August 10th, 1648, with eleven other Turks. Let it\nbe observed that when the divine mother appeared to him, after she had\nconverted him, she was about to depart, but the Moor seized her mantle,\nsaying: \u201cOh Lady, when I find myself afflicted, I pray thee to let me\nsee thee.\u201d In fact she one day promised him this, and when he was in\naffliction he invoked her, and Mary appeared again to him, saying: \u201cHave\npatience,\u201d and he was consoled.[1837]\n\n60.\u2014A certain parish priest of Asella, named Baldwin, became a Dominican,\nand when he was in his novitiate there came to him the temptation that\nhe could do greater good in the world in his parish, and he resolved to\nreturn. But going to take his leave of the altar of the Rosary, Mary\nappeared to him with two vessels of wine; she gave him to drink of the\nfirst, but the novice had hardly tasted it, when he turned away his\nmouth, for although the wine was good, yet it was full of dregs; the\nsecond he pronounced good, and free from dregs: \u201cNow,\u201d said the most holy\nVirgin, \u201cthere is the same difference between the life in the world, and\nthe life in religion, which is under obedience.\u201d Baldwin persevered, and\ndied a good religious.[1838]\n\n61.\u2014Another novice, also overcome by temptation, was about to leave his\nmonastery, but stopping to say a \u201cHail Mary\u201d before an image of the\nVirgin, he felt himself nailed, as it were, to the floor, from which\nhe could not rise. He repented, and made a vow of persevering. He\nthen recovered his liberty, asked pardon of the master of novices, and\npersevered.[1839]\n\n62.\u2014The blessed Clement, a Franciscan, one morning delayed going to the\ncommon table, that he might stop and recite certain accustomed devotions\nto the most holy Virgin; but she spoke from her image, and directed him\nto go with the others, because obedience pleased her more than all other\ndevotions.[1840]\n\n63.\u2014Whilst Angela, a daughter of the King of Bohemia, was in a monastery,\nMary appeared to her, and an angel said to her: \u201cArise, Angela, and fly\nto Jerusalem, for thy father wishes to give thee in marriage to the\nprince of Hungary.\u201d The devout virgin immediately set out on her journey,\nand again the divine mother appeared to her and encouraged her to\ncontinue her journey. She was received in Jerusalem among the Carmelites,\nand afterwards was commanded by the blessed Virgin herself to return to\nher own country, where she lived a holy life till her death.[1841]\n\n64.\u2014St. Gregory relates that there was a young woman named Musa, who had\ngreat devotion to the mother of God; but being, through the evil example\nof her companions, in danger of losing her innocence, one day Mary\nappeared to her with many saints, and said to her: \u201cMusa, do you too wish\nto be one of these?\u201d Musa answered, \u201cYes;\u201d and Mary added: \u201cWithdraw from\nyour companions, and prepare, for in one month from this you shall come\nwith me.\u201d Musa retired from her companions, and related the vision. On\nthe thirtieth day she was at the point of death, and the most holy Virgin\nagain appeared to her and called her. She answered: \u201cBehold, Lady, I\ncome,\u201d and sweetly expired.[1842]\n\n65.\u2014Anna Caterina Gonzaga was married to Ferdinand I., Archduke of\nAustria, but her husband dying, she entered the religious order of the\nServites, and had a crown made, on the globes of which were carved the\ndolors of the Virgin. She said that for this crown she renounced all\nthe other crowns of earth; and, in fact, refused marriage with the\nEmperor Rodolph II. When she heard that her younger sister had been\ncrowned empress, she said: \u201cLet my sister enjoy her imperial crown; for\nthese garments with which Mary my queen has clothed me, are to me a\nthousand-fold dearer.\u201d The most holy Virgin appeared to her many times\nduring her life, and at last this good religious died a holy death.[1843]\n\n66.\u2014A young clerical student playing one day at ball with other young\nmen, and fearing he should lose a ring in his play which had been given\nhim by a lady, he placed it on the finger of an image of Mary which was\nnear; and he immediately felt impelled to make a promise to the Virgin to\nquit the world and choose her for his spouse. He made the promise, and\nMary pressed his finger in token that she accepted it. But after some\ntime he wished to marry another, and Mary appeared to him and reproached\nhim for his infidelity; wherefore he fled into a desert, and led to the\nlast a holy life.[1844]\n\n67.\u2014About the year 850, Berengarius, Bishop of Verdun, in Lorraine,\nhaving entered a church where a certain priest named Bernerio was saying\nthe office of Mary prostrate before the choir, stumbled against him, and\nin his vexation struck him with his foot. In the night the most holy\nVirgin appeared to him, and said: \u201cHow is it that you struck with your\nfoot my servant who was engaged in praising me? Because I love you,\u201d she\nadded, \u201cyou must pay the penalty.\u201d Then his leg became withered, but he\nlived and died a saint; and after many years his body, except that leg,\nremained uncorrupted.[1845]\n\n68.\u2014A young man who was left wealthy at the death of his parents, by\nplay and dissipation with his friends, lost all that he had, but always\npreserved his chastity. An uncle, who found him reduced to such poverty\nby his vices, exhorted him to say every day a part of the Rosary,\npromising him that if he would persevere in this devotion he would\nprocure for him a good marriage. The youth persevered, and having amended\nhis life, he was married. On the evening of his nuptials he rose from\nthe table to go and recite his Rosary, and when he had finished it, Mary\nappeared to him and said: \u201cNow I will reward thee for the honor thou hast\npaid me: I do not wish that thou shouldst lose thy chastity; in three\ndays thou shalt die, and shalt come to me in paradise.\u201d And this really\nhappened, for immediately a fever attacked him. He related the vision,\nand on the third day died in perfect peace.[1846]\n\n69.\u2014The devout author of the book in honor of the most holy Rosary,\nentitled, \u201cThe Secret of every Grace,\u201d relates that St. Vincent Ferrer\nonce said to a man dying in despair: \u201cWhy will you ruin yourself when\nJesus Christ wishes to save you?\u201d And he answered, that in spite of\nChrist he would be damned. The saint replied: \u201cAnd you, in spite of\nyourself, shall be saved.\u201d He began to recite the Rosary with the persons\nof the house, and behold, the sick man asked to make his confession, made\nit weeping, and then died.\n\n70.\u2014The same author also relates that a poor woman, who was buried by an\nearthquake under the ruins of a house, was found alive and uninjured,\nwith her children in her arms, by some persons who were employed by a\npriest to remove the stones. When she was asked what devotion she had\npractised, she said she had never failed to say the Rosary and visit a\nchapel of the most holy Mary.\n\n71.\u2014He also relates that another woman who led a wicked life because\nshe thought it the only means by which she could gain a livelihood, was\ncounselled to recommend herself to Mary by saying the Rosary; she did so,\nand behold one night the divine mother appeared and said to her: \u201cQuit\nyour sinful life: as for your support, trust in me, and I will think\nof that.\u201d The next morning she went to confession, and Mary most holy\nprovided for her wants.\n\n72.\u2014A person of impure life who had not the courage to quit his sins,\nbegan to say the Rosary, and was delivered from his vices.\n\n73.\u2014Another person who maintained a sinful friendship was seized\nwith abhorrence of his sin by saying the Rosary. He yielded again to\ntemptation, but by means of the Rosary finally freed himself from it.\n\n74.\u2014A good priest who was attending a woman on her death-bed, who\nbitterly hated her husband, not knowing by what means to convert her,\nwithdrew to say the Rosary, and at the last moment that woman saw her\nsinfulness, repented, and forgave her husband.\n\n75.\u2014Finally, the same author relates, that once making a mission to the\nconvicts in the galleys of Naples, he found some who obstinately refused\nto make their confession. He suggested to them that at least they should\nhave themselves enrolled in the confraternity of the Rosary, and begin to\nrecite it. They consented to do so, and they had no sooner recited one\nthan they desired to make their confession, and did so, the first time\nfor many years. These modern examples serve to revive our confidence in\nMary, seeing that she is at the present time the same that she always has\nbeen towards those who have recourse to her.\n\n76.\u2014St. Gregory relates that a holy prelate, Bishop of Ferento, was\nfrom childhood devoted to relieving the poor. It happened one day that\na certain priest, his nephew, sold a horse for ten crowns of gold, and\ntook the money and locked it up. The bishop not having any thing to give\nwhen some poor persons came to beg of him, broke open the chest and\ndistributed the money to them. His nephew made such a disturbance when\nhe discovered it, that the holy prelate, not knowing what to do, went\nfor help to a church dedicated to Mary. When behold, he saw ten crowns\nlying on the drapery of the statue; he took them and gave them to his\nnephew.[1847]\n\n77.\u2014A Lutheran lady of Augsburg in Germany, who was a very obstinate\nheretic, happening to pass one day a small Catholic chapel, went in\nthrough curiosity. She saw there an image of Mary with the infant Jesus\nin her arms, and felt moved to make an offering to it. She accordingly\nwent home, took a silk cloth, and brought it to the altar of the Virgin.\nWhen she had returned home the most holy Virgin enlightened her to see\nthe errors of her sect, and she went immediately to seek some Catholics,\nabjured heresy, and was converted to God.[1848]\n\n78.\u2014In the city of Cesena there lived two very bad men who were friends.\nOne of them, named Bartholomew, in the midst of all his vices practised\nthe devotion of reciting every day the \u201cStabat Mater\u201d in honor of the\nsorrowful Mary. Once when he was repeating this hymn, Bartholomew had a\nvision, in which he seemed to stand with his sinful companion in a lake\nof fire, and saw the most holy Virgin, moved to pity, offer her hand and\ntake him from the flames. She directed him to seek pardon from Jesus\nChrist, who showed himself willing to pardon him through the prayers of\nhis mother. The vision ended, and Bartholomew at the same moment heard\nthe intelligence that his friend had been mortally wounded and was dead.\nThen he knew the truth of the vision, and quitting the world, entered the\norder of Capuchins, where he led a most austere life, and died in the\nfame of sanctity.[1849]\n\n79.\u2014The blessed Jerome, founder of the Sommaschian Fathers, being\ngovernor of a certain place, was taken by the enemy, and confined in\nthe dungeon of a tower. He recommended himself to Mary, and made a vow\nto make a pilgrimage to Treviso in her honor, if she would rescue him.\nThen the most holy Virgin appeared to him surrounded by a great light,\nand with her own hands loosed his chains, and gave him the keys of the\nprison. He fled from the prison, and, setting out for Treviso to fulfil\nhis vow, he found himself immediately surrounded by the enemy. Again\nhe had recourse to his deliverer, and she again appeared to him, took\nhim by the hand, and led him safely through the midst of his enemies,\naccompanying him even to the gates of Treviso, where she disappeared.\nHe made the visit, deposited his chains at the foot of the altar of\nMary, and then devoted himself to a holy life, by which he has merited\nrecently to be ranked by the holy Church among the number of the\nblessed.[1850]\n\n80.\u2014A priest who had a special devotion to the sorrows of Mary, often\nremained alone in a chapel to commiserate the dolors of his Lady, and,\nmoved by compassion, was accustomed with a little cloth to wipe, as it\nwere, the tears of a statue of the sorrowful Virgin which was in that\nplace. Now this good priest, in a severe illness, when he was given up by\nhis physicians, and was going to breathe his last, saw a beautiful lady\nby his side, who consoled him with her words, and with a handkerchief\ngently wiped the sweat from his brow, and with this cured him. When\nhe found himself well, he said: \u201cBut, my Lady, who art thou who dost\npractise such charity towards me?\u201d \u201cI am she,\u201d answered Mary, \u201cwhose\ntears thou hast so often dried,\u201d and she disappeared.[1851]\n\n81.\u2014A noble lady, who had an only son, was informed one day that he was\nkilled, and that his murderer had by chance taken refuge in her own\npalace; but when she called to mind that Mary pardoned the executioners\nof her Son, she wished also to pardon that criminal for love of the\nsorrowful Mary; and not only did she pardon him, but provided him with\na horse, money, and clothes, that he might make his escape. Then her\nson appeared to her, and told her that he was saved, and that for her\ngenerous act done towards his enemy, the divine mother had delivered him\nfrom purgatory, where he should otherwise have had to suffer for a long\ntime, but that he was then already entering paradise.[1852]\n\n82.\u2014The blessed Bionda performed a similar heroic act. Some enemies also\nkilled her only son, though he was innocent, solely by reason of the\nhatred they bore to his father, who was dead; and with unheard-of cruelty\ngave the heart of the murdered youth to his mother to eat. Now she,\naccording to the example of the most holy Mary, began to pray for her\nmurderers, and to do them all the good she could. These acts so pleased\nthe divine mother, that she called her to join the third order of the\nServites, where she merited to lead so holy a life, that both before and\nafter her death many miracles were wrought through her.[1853]\n\n83.\u2014St. Thomas of Canterbury, when he was a young man, found himself one\nday in conversation with several other youths, each of whom boasted of\nsome foolish love affair. The holy youth declared that he, too, loved\na great lady, and was beloved by her, meaning the most holy Virgin.\nAfterwards, he felt some remorse at having made this boast; but behold,\nMary appeared to him in his trouble, and with a gracious sweetness said\nto him: \u201cThomas, what do you fear? You had reason to say that you loved\nme, and that you are beloved by me. Assure your companions of this, and\nas a pledge of the love I bear you, show them this gift that I make you.\u201d\nThe gift was a small box, containing a chasuble, of a blood-red color,\nas a sign that Mary, for the love she bore him, had obtained for him\nthe grace to be a priest and a martyr, which indeed happened, for he was\nfirst made priest and afterwards Bishop of Canterbury, in England, where\nhe was at one time persecuted by the king, and fled to the Cistercian\nmonastery, at Pontignac, in France. While he was there, wishing one day\nto mend his hair-cloth shirt that he usually wore, which was ripped, and\nnot being able to do it well, his beloved queen appeared to him, and,\nwith especial kindness, took the hair-cloth from his hand, and repaired\nit as it should be done. After this he returned to Canterbury, and\ndied a martyr, having been put to death on account of his zeal for the\nChurch.[1854]\n\n84.\u2014A young woman in the Papal States, who was very devout towards\nMary, met in a certain place a chief of banditti. Fearing some outrage,\nshe implored him, for love of the most holy Virgin, not to molest her.\n\u201cDo not fear,\u201d he answered, \u201cfor you have prayed me in the name of the\nmother of God; and I only ask you to recommend me to her.\u201d And, in fact,\nhe accompanied her himself along the road to a place of safety. The\nfollowing night Mary appeared in a dream to the bandit, and thanking him\nfor the act he had performed for love of her, told him she would remember\nit, and would one day reward him. The robber, at length, was arrested,\nand condemned to death; but behold, the night previous to his execution,\nthe blessed Virgin visited him again in a dream, and first asked him:\n\u201cDo you know who I am?\u201d He answered, \u201cIt seems to me I have seen you\nbefore.\u201d \u201cI am the Virgin Mary,\u201d she continued, \u201cwho have come to reward\nyou for what you have done for me. You will die to-morrow, but you will\ndie with so much contrition that you will come at once to paradise.\u201d The\nconvict awoke, and felt such contrition for his sins that he began to\nweep bitterly, all the while giving thanks aloud to our blessed Lady. He\nsent immediately for a confessor, to whom he made his confession with\nmany tears, relating the vision he had seen, and begged him to make\npublic this grace that had been bestowed on him by Mary. He went joyfully\nto execution, after which, as it is related, his countenance was so\npeaceful and happy that all who saw him believed that the promise of the\ndivine mother was fulfilled.[1855]\n\n85.\u2014The blessed Joachim Piccolomini, who had a very great devotion to\nMary, even from childhood, used to visit three times a day an image of\nthe sorrowful mother, which was in a neighboring church, and abstained\nfrom all food on Saturday in her honor. Moreover, he rose at midnight to\nmeditate upon her dolors. But let us see how Mary rewarded him. At first\nshe appeared to him when he was young, and directed him to enter into\nreligion in the order of her Servants, which he did. Towards the close of\nhis life, she again appeared to him, with two crowns in her hand: one of\nrubies, as the reward of the compassion he had cherished for her sorrows;\nand the other of pearls, as the reward of his chastity which he had\nconsecrated to her. Finally, at death she appeared to him again, when he\nasked of her the favor to die on the day on which Jesus Christ died, and\nthe most holy Virgin consoled him by telling him: \u201cMake ready now, for\nto-morrow (Friday) you will die suddenly, as you desire, and to-morrow\nyou shall be with me in paradise.\u201d And thus it happened, for while they\nwere chanting in the church the passion according to St. John, at the\nwords: There stood near the cross of Jesus his mother: \u201cStabat juxta\ncrucem Jesu mater ejus,\u201d he was attacked with the faintness of death; and\nat the words: And bowing his head he gave up the ghost: \u201cEt inclinato\ncapite tradidit spiritum,\u201d this blessed one also gave up his spirit to\nGod; and at the same moment the church was filled with a great splendor,\nand a most sweet fragrance.[1856]\n\n86.\u2014Father Alphonso Salmerone, of the Society of Jesus, being a most\ndevout servant of the blessed Virgin, died saying: \u201cTo paradise, to\nparadise; blessed be the hour that I have served Mary! Blessed the\nsermons, the toils, the thoughts that I have had for thee, oh my Lady! To\nparadise.\u201d[1857]\n\n87.\u2014A youth named Guido, who wished to join the order of Camaldoli,\nwas presented to St. Romuald by the prince, his father, whose name was\nFarnulf. The holy founder received him with pleasure. One day Mary\nappeared to this good youth, her servant, with the infant Jesus in her\narms. Esteeming himself unworthy of such a favor, he stood trembling,\nbut the divine mother drawing near to him, said: \u201cWhy do you doubt? What\ndo you fear, Guido? I am the mother of God; this is my son Jesus, who\nwishes to come to you;\u201d and saying this, she placed him in her arms.\nGuido had not yet been three years in religion when he fell dangerously\nill. St. Romuald saw the poor youth writhing and trembling, and heard\nhim saying: \u201cOh Father, do you see all the Moors in this cell?\u201d \u201cMy\nson,\u201d said the saint to him, \u201cdo you remember any thing you have not\nconfessed?\u201d \u201cYes, Father,\u201d he answered, \u201cI remember having disobeyed\nthe prior, by not picking up certain brooms, and now I confess it.\u201d St.\nRomuald absolved him, and then the scene changed; the devils fled, and\nthe Virgin again appeared, with Jesus, at the sight of whom Guido died in\nperfect peace.[1858]\n\n88.\u2014A Cistercian nun in Toledo, called Mary, being at the point of death,\nthe divine mother appeared to her, and Mary said to her: \u201cOh Lady, the\nfavor you do me of visiting me, emboldens me to ask you another favor,\nnamely, that I may die at the same hour that you died and entered into\nheaven.\u201d \u201cYes,\u201d answered Mary. \u201cI will satisfy you; you shall die at that\nhour, and you shall hear the songs and praises with which the blessed\naccompanied my entrance into heaven; and now prepare.\u201d When she had said\nthis she disappeared. The religious who heard the nun talking to herself,\nbelieved her wandering in mind, but she related to them the vision and\nthe promised grace, and awaited the desired hour; and when she knew it\nhad arrived, by the striking of the clock (the writer does not tell us\nwhat hour it was), she said: \u201cBehold, the predicted hour has come; I hear\nthe music of the angels; at this hour my queen ascended to heaven; rest\nin peace, for I am going now to see her;\u201d and saying this she expired,\nwhile her eyes became bright as two stars, and her face glowed with a\nbeautiful color.[1859]\n\n89.\u2014In the city of Sens, in France, there lived, towards the eighth\ncentury, St. Opportuna, the daughter of a prince of royal blood. This\nholy virgin, who had a great devotion to Mary, became a religious in\na neighboring monastery, and being at the point of death, she saw St.\nCecilia and St. Lucia standing beside her in the dawn of the morning. \u201cMy\nsisters, be welcome,\u201d she said to them; \u201cwhat message do you bring me\nfrom my queen?\u201d And they answered: \u201cShe is waiting for thee in paradise.\u201d\nAfter this the devil appeared to her, and the saint boldly sent him away,\nsaying: \u201cBrute beast, what hast thou to do with me who am the servant of\nJesus?\u201d The hour of her death, which she herself had predicted, having\narrived, after receiving the holy viaticum, she turned towards the door,\nand said: \u201cBehold the mother of God who comes to take me. Sisters, I\ncommend you to her. Adieu, we shall see each other no more.\u201d Thus saying,\nshe raised her arms, as if to embrace her Lady, and gently expired.[1860]\n\n\n\n\nNOVENA OF MEDITATIONS\n\nFOR THE NINE DAYS PRECEDING THE FEAST OF THE PURIFICATION OF MARY, WHICH\nCOMMENCES ON THE 24TH OF JANUARY.\n\n\nThe above-mentioned meditations are upon the Litany of Loretto, and can\nbe used for all the Novenas preceding the principal festivals of the\nDivine Mother.\n\n\nFIRST DAY.\n\n1st. \u201cSancta Maria, ora pro nobis:\u201d Holy Mary, pray for us. Since in the\nLitanies of our Lady the Church instructs us to repeat so many times the\npetition that she will pray for us, \u201cOra pro nobis,\u201d it is well before\nmeditating upon the titles by which the holy Virgin is invoked, to\nconsider of how great value with God are the prayers of Mary. Blessed is\nthat person for whom Mary prays! Jesus is pleased when his most beloved\nmother prays to him, and grants all she asks. One day St. Bridget heard\nJesus speaking with Mary, and thus saying to her: \u201cMy mother, ask what\nthou wilt of me, for thy petition cannot be in vain.\u201d[1861] And then he\nadded: \u201cThou didst deny me nothing on earth, I will deny thee nothing\nin heaven.\u201d St. Bernard says: To be heard by the Son is to be graciously\nheard: \u201cA Filio audiri est exaudiri.\u201d It is enough that Mary speaks, her\nSon grants whatever she asks. Therefore let us always pray to this divine\nmother if we wish to obtain eternal salvation, and let us say with St.\nAndrew of Candia, or perhaps of Jerusalem: We, then, supplicate thee, oh\nmost holy Virgin, to grant us the aid of thy prayers with God; prayers\nthat are more precious than all the treasures of the earth; prayers that\nobtain for us a great abundance of graces; prayers that confound our\nenemies, and triumph over their forces.\n\n2d. \u201cSancta Maria:\u201d Holy Mary. The name of Mary is a name of salvation.\nThis name came not from earth, but from heaven; and therefore St.\nEpiphanius says, that it was not given to Mary by her parents, but was\nbestowed upon her by the express will of God. Hence it is that after\nthe name of Jesus, the name of Mary is superior to every name, for God\nhas filled it with grace and sweetness in order that through it every\nblessing may be obtained by him who names it. St. Bernard said: Oh Mary,\nthy name cannot be pronounced without inflaming the heart of him who\nutters it with love to thee. And the blessed Henry Suso exclaimed: Oh\nMary, what must thou thyself be if thy name is so amiable and gracious!\nName full of blessings. St. Bonaventure said that the name of Mary cannot\nbe invoked without profit to him who invokes it. But more than all, this\nname has the power to overcome the temptations of hell. Ah, my Lady, if\nI had always invoked thee in my temptations, I should never have fallen.\nFor the future I shall never cease to invoke thee, saying: \u201cMary, help\nme; Mary, succor me.\u201d And do thou obtain for me the grace always to\ninvoke thee in the perils of my soul.\n\n3d. \u201cSancta Dei genitrix:\u201d Holy mother of God. If the prayers of the\nsaints avail much with God, how much more will the prayers of Mary avail!\nThe former are the prayers of servants, but the latter are the prayers of\na mother. St. Antoninus says that the prayer of Mary has the force of a\ncommand with Jesus Christ: \u201cOratio Virginis habet rationem imperii;\u201d and\nhence he adds, that it is impossible for this mother to ask a favor of\nthe Son that the Son will not grant her: \u201cImpossibile est Deiparam non\nexaudiri.\u201d Therefore St. Bernard exhorts us to ask through Mary for every\ngrace that we wish from God: \u201cQu\u00e6ramus gratiam, et per Mariam qu\u00e6ramus;\u201d\nfor she is the mother, and is always graciously heard: \u201cQuia mater est,\net frustrari non potest.\u201d Oh great mother of God, pray to Jesus for me.\nLook upon the miseries of my soul, and have pity on me. Pray, and never\ncease to pray for me until thou seest me safe in paradise. Oh Mary, thou\nart my hope; do not abandon me. Holy mother of God, pray for us: \u201cSancta\nDei genitrix, ora pro nobis.\u201d\n\n\nSECOND DAY.\n\n1st. \u201cMater divin\u00e6 grati\u00e6:\u201d Mother of divine grace. Mary is called by\nSt. Anselm: Mother of all graces: \u201cMater omnium gratiarum.\u201d And by the\nIdiot: Treasurer of divine grace: \u201cThesauraria gratiarum.\u201d Hence St.\nBernardine of Sienna writes: All the graces which we receive from God\nare dispensed by the hand of Mary, and are dispensed to whom Mary will,\nwhen she will, and as she will.[1862] This she herself says: \u201cWith me\nare riches and glory ... that I may enrich them that love me.\u201d[1863]\nThe Lord has placed in my hand all the riches of his graces, that I may\nenrich those who love me. Then, oh my queen, if I love thee, I shall be\nno longer poor as I am now. After my God, I love thee above all things;\ndo thou obtain for me greater tenderness and love for thy goodness. St.\nBonaventure tells me that every one will be saved if thou wilt have him\nsaved: \u201cQuem ipsa vis salvus erit.\u201d And therefore will I say to thee with\nthe same saint: Oh salvation of those who invoke thee, save me: \u201cO salus\nte invocantium, salva me.\u201d Save me from hell, and first save me from sin,\nwhich alone can bring me to hell.\n\n2d. \u201cMater purissima:\u201d Mother most pure. This fair and pure virgin\nmother renders all her servants chaste and pure. St. Ambrose writes\nthat even when Mary was on the earth, by her presence she inspired with\nthe love of purity all those who looked upon her.[1864] She was called\nthe lily among thorns: \u201cSicut lilium inter spinas sic amica mea inter\nfilias.\u201d[1865] All other virgins, says St. Denis the Carthusian, are\nthorns either to themselves or to others; but the blessed Virgin was\nneither a thorn to herself nor to others, for she inspired with pure and\nholy affections all those who beheld her. Moreover, Frigenius, author of\nthe life of St. Thomas Aquinas, writes, that this saint said that even\nthe image of this chaste turtle-dove extinguishes the sensual emotions\nof him who looks upon it with devotion. And the venerable John of Avila\nrelates that many persons, who were suffering from temptations against\npurity, were preserved pure through the devotion to our Lady. Oh, how\nespecially powerful is the name of Mary in conquering all temptations to\nthis vice! Oh Mary, most pure, free me from this vice; make me always\nto have recourse to thee in temptations, and invoke thee so long as the\ntemptation continues.\n\n3d. \u201cMater inviolata:\u201d Mother inviolate. Mary was that immaculate\nwoman who appeared in the eyes of God all pure and spotless: \u201cTota\npulchra es, amica mea, et macula non est in te.\u201d[1866] Wherefore she\nwas called the reconciler of sinners, as St. Ephrem salutes her: Hail,\nconciliatrix of the world: \u201cAve conciliatrix orbis.\u201d And as she herself\nsaid in the Canticles: \u201cSince I am become in his presence as one finding\npeace.\u201d[1867] St. Gregory says that if a rebel should appear before\nthe offended king to appease him, it would only provoke him the more to\nanger. But Mary being destined to treat of peace between God and men,\nit was not fitting that she should appear as a partaker in the crime of\nAdam, and therefore the Lord preserved Mary from every stain of sin. Ah,\nmy immaculate queen; oh spotless dove, so dear to God; ah, do not disdain\nto look upon the many stains and wounds of my soul; look on me and help\nme. That God who loves thee so much, denies thee nothing, neither dost\nthou know how to deny thyself to him who invokes thee. Oh Mary, to thee\nI have recourse; have pity on me. Mother inviolate, pray for us: \u201cMater\ninviolata, ora pro nobis.\u201d\n\n\nTHIRD DAY.\n\n1st. \u201cMater amabilis:\u201d Amiable mother. Richard of St. Lawrence says that\nthe blessed Virgin was amiable in the eyes of God himself: \u201cFuit beata\nVirgo amabilis oculis ipsius Dei.\u201d Mary was so beautiful in the eyes of\nGod, that God was enamored of her beauty. How beautiful art thou, my\nlove! how beautiful art thou! \u201cQuam pulchra es, amica mea, quam pulchra\nes.\u201d[1868] Hence he called her his only dove, his only perfect one: One\nis my dove; my perfect one is but one: \u201cUna est columba mea, una est\nperfecta mea.\u201d[1869] It is certain, as Father Suarez says, that God loves\nMary more than all the other saints together, and justly, for she alone\nloved God more than all men and all the angels. Oh Mary, most pure; oh\nMary, most lovely, thou didst gain the heart of God; take possession of\nmy poor heart also, and make me holy. I love thee, and I confide in thee.\nAmiable mother, pray for us: \u201cMater amabilis, ora pro nobis.\u201d\n\n2d. \u201cMater Salvatoris:\u201d Mother of the Saviour. St. Bonaventure calls Mary\nthe mediatrix of our salvation: \u201cMaria mediatrix nostr\u00e6 salutis;\u201d and St.\nJohn Damascene: The deliverer of the world: \u201cSalvatrix mundi suo modo.\u201d\nFor two reasons, Mary may be called the deliverer of the world and our\nmediatrix; that is, mediatrix of grace, as Jesus Christ is the mediator\nof justice. First, by the consent she gave to the incarnation of the\nWord; for by such a consent, says St. Bernardine, she procured for us\nsalvation: \u201cPer hunc consensum omnium salutem procuravit.\u201d Secondly, by\nthe consent which Mary gave to the death of her Son, being willing that\nfor our salvation, he should be sacrificed on the cross. I will say to\nthee then, oh mother of my Saviour, thou who once didst offer to God the\nlife of thy Son, save me now by thy intercession.\n\n3d. \u201cVirgo veneranda:\u201d Virgin most venerable. St. Anselm declares, that\nwhen we say of Mary that she is mother of God, we say that she surpasses\nin greatness, after God, every thing that can be conceived or expressed;\nwhence he says to her: Oh Lady, nothing is equal to thee; for every\nthing is either above thee, and that is God; or it is beneath thee, and\nthat is every thing that is not God. In a word, St. Bernardine says\nthat God alone can know the greatness of Mary;[1870] and the blessed\nAlbertus Magnus affirms that Mary could not be more united to God except\nby becoming God: \u201cMagis Deo conjungi non potuit, nisi fieret Deus.\u201d\nTruly worthy then of our veneration is this great mother of God, for God\nhimself could not make her greater than he has done, by making her his\nmother. Oh, mother of God, and my mother, Mary, I adore thee, and would\nwish thee to be adored by all hearts, as that exalted Lady thou art. Have\nmercy on a poor sinner, who loves thee and trusts in thee. Virgin most\nvenerable, pray for us: \u201cVirgo veneranda, ora pro nobis.\u201d\n\n\nFOURTH DAY.\n\n1st. \u201cVirgo pr\u00e6dicanda:\u201d Virgin to be praised. The holy Church sings that\nthis divine mother is worthy of all praise: \u201cOmni laude dignissima;\u201d for\naccording to St. Ildephonsus, all praise that is given to the blessed\nVirgin is an honor paid to her Son: \u201cRefunditur in filium quod impenditur\nmatri.\u201d With reason, then, did St. George of Nicomedia declare that the\npraises given to Mary God accepts, as if offered to himself.[1871] The\nholy Virgin promises paradise to him who endeavors to make her known\nand loved.[1872] Richard of St. Lawrence says that Mary will honor in\neternity those who honor her in this life.[1873] St. Anselm says, that\nas Mary, by being mother of God, was the means of saving sinners, so\nsinners receive salvation by proclaiming the praises of Mary. Not all\ncan be preachers; but all can praise her, and tell others, when speaking\nfamiliarly with relatives and friends, of the merits of Mary, of her\npower and her mercy, and thus induce them to become servants of this\ndivine mother. Oh queen of heaven, from this day I wish to do all that I\ncan to make thee venerated and loved by all. Accept this my desire, and\nhelp me to fulfil it; in the mean time admit me among the number of thy\nservants, and no longer permit me to be a slave of Lucifer.\n\n2d. \u201cVirgo potens:\u201d Virgin most powerful. And who among the saints is\nso powerful with God as his most holy mother? She obtains whatever she\nwishes, as St. Bernard has said: It is enough that thou dost wish, and\nall things are done: \u201cVelis tu et omnia fient.\u201d St. Peter Damian even\nsays that when Mary asks graces from God she does not pray, but in a\ncertain manner commands.[1874] Thus the Son honors this mother whom\nhe loves so much, by granting her whatever she asks, even favors for\nsinners. Hence St. Germanus says: Thou art the mother of God, omnipotent\nto save sinners, and thou hast no need of any other recommendation with\nGod, for thou art the mother of true life. Oh, Mary thou canst make me\nholy; in thee I trust.\n\n3d. \u201cVirgo clemens:\u201d Most clement Virgin. As Mary is powerful with God,\nso is she clement and merciful towards those who have recourse to her\nintercession. Neither the power nor the will is wanting to her, as St.\nBernard says: \u201cNec facultas, nec voluntas illi deesse potest.\u201d The power\nto save us cannot be wanting to Mary, for she is mother of God; neither\ncan the will be wanting to aid us, for she is our mother. And who has\never had recourse to Mary and been abandoned? Let him cease to praise\nthy mercy, says again St. Bernard, who remembers having ever invoked\nthee without being heard.[1875] St. Bonaventure asserts that the desire\nof Mary to be invoked by us, in order that she may dispense to us her\nfavors more abundantly, is so great, that she not only considers herself\noffended by those who injure her, but also by those who do not ask favors\nof her.[1876] Thus it is not needful to pray long to this mother of\nmercy, in order to obtain her aid; it is enough to ask it of her with\nconfidence. Her clemency comes to our aid before we invoke it, as Richard\nof St. Victor says: \u201cVelocius occurrit ejus pietas, quam invocetur;\u201d and\nhe gives us the reason, saying: She cannot see our miseries, and not be\nmoved by them: \u201cNon potest miserias scire, et non subvenire.\u201d Behold,\nthen, oh Mary, behold my miseries, and succor me: \u201cVirgo clemens, ora pro\nnobis.\u201d\n\n\nFIFTH DAY.\n\n1st. \u201cVirgo fidelis:\u201d Virgin most faithful. Blessed is he who, with his\nprayers, watches at the gates of Mary, as the poor wait at the gates of\nthe rich to obtain relief! \u201cBlessed is the man,\u201d as she herself says,\n\u201cthat heareth me, and that watcheth daily at my gates!\u201d[1877] Oh, that\nwe were faithful in serving this divine mother, as she is faithful in\nsuccoring us when we pray to her! Mary promises to those who serve and\nhonor her, that they shall be freed from sins, and shall obtain eternal\nsalvation. \u201cThey that work by me shall not sin.... They that explain me\nshall have life everlasting.\u201d[1878] She invites all to come to her, and\npromises them every grace that they hope for. \u201cIn me is all grace of\nthe way and of the truth; in me is all hope of life and of virtue ...\ncome over to me all.\u201d[1879] St. Lawrence Justinian applies to Mary that\nother text of Ecclesiasticus: Her bands are a healthful binding: \u201cVincula\nillius alligatura salutaris;\u201d[1880] and then adds: \u201cWherefore bands?\nunless to bind her servants, that they may not go astray into unlawful\nfields.\u201d[1881] Mary binds her servants that they may not take too much\nliberty, and thus cause their own ruin. Oh mother of God, in thee I place\nall my hopes: thou must save me from falling again into sin. Oh my Lady,\ndo not abandon me; obtain for me the grace to die rather than to lose the\ngrace of God.\n\n2d. \u201cCausa nostr\u00e6 latiti\u00e6:\u201d Cause of our joy. As after the darkness and\ngloom of night, the dawn is the cause of joy, thus after the darkness\nof sin, which for four thousand years before the coming of Jesus Christ\nhad prevailed on earth, the birth of Mary, our Aurora, brought joy to\nthe world. When Mary was born, the morning rose, says a holy Father:\n\u201cNata Maria, surrexit Aurora.\u201d The dawn is the precursor of the sun,\nand Mary was the precursor of the incarnate Word, the Sun of Justice\nand our Redeemer, who by his death, freed us from eternal death. With\nreason does the Church sing of the nativity of Mary: \u201cThy birth, oh holy\nmother of God, announced joy to the whole world.\u201d[1882] And as Mary was\nthe beginning of our joy, so is she also the completion of it; for St.\nBernard says that Jesus Christ has placed the whole treasure of his\nmerits in the hands of his mother, so that every good we receive we may\nreceive through Mary.[1883] Oh mother of God, thou art my joy and my\nhope, for thou dost refuse thy favor to none, and thou dost obtain from\nGod whatever thou dost wish.\n\n3d. \u201cVas insigne devotionis:\u201d Vessel of singular devotion. Devotion, as\nSt. Thomas teaches, consists in the readiness of our will to conform to\nthe will of God. This readiness was the principal virtue that rendered\nhis most holy mother so dear to God. And this we are given to understand\nby the answer of our Lord to the woman who called blessed the womb that\nbore him: \u201cYea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God and\nkeep it.\u201d[1884] By this, according to Bede, the Lord intended to say,\nthat Mary was more happy by the union of her will with that of God,\nthan by being his mother. That flower which always turns towards the\nsun is a true type of Mary. The divine will alone was the only aim and\nsatisfaction of the heart of Mary, as she herself sang: \u201cMy spirit hath\nrejoiced in God my Saviour.\u201d[1885] Oh, blessed art thou, my Lady, who\nwast always and entirely united to the divine will! Obtain for me the\ngrace to live, for the remainder of my life, always in uniformity with\nthe will of God.\n\n\nSIXTH DAY.\n\n1st. \u201cRosa mystica:\u201d Mystical rose. It is said of Mary, in the holy\nCanticles, that she was the inclosed garden of God: \u201cHortus conclusus\nsoror mea sponsa.\u201d[1886] And St. Bernard, explaining this passage, says\nthat the Lord planted in this garden all the flowers that adorn the\nChurch, and among others the violet of humility, the lily of purity, and\nthe rose of charity. The rose is red; and therefore Mary is called the\nrose, according to the Idiot, on account of the ardent charity with which\nher heart was always inflamed towards God, and towards us.[1887] And\nwhere can we find an advocate who is more occupied with our salvation,\nand who loves us more than Mary? We acknowledge that one alone in heaven\nis solicitous for us, as St. Augustine says of her.[1888] Oh my dear\nmother, if I could love thee as thou lovest me! I will not, however, fail\nof doing what I can to honor and love thee; my sweet Lady, obtain for me\nthe grace to be faithful to thee.\n\n2d. \u201cTurris Davidica:\u201d Tower of David. Mary is called, in the holy\nCanticles, Tower of David: \u201cThy neck is as the tower of David; a\nthousand bucklers hang upon it, all the armor of valiant men.\u201d[1889]\nSt. Bernardine says, that the tower of David stood on high, that is,\non Sion; and therefore Mary is called \u201cThe Tower of David,\u201d to denote\nthe elevation of this great creature: as Sion was a most lofty place,\nso the blessed Virgin was most exalted.[1890] Hence, of Mary it is said\nin the Psalms, that her sanctity in the beginning was more exalted than\nthe mountains: \u201cFundamenta ejus in montibus sanctis.\u201d[1891] St. Gregory\nexplains it by saying, that the divine mother was more holy in the first\nmoments of her life than the saints have been at the moment of their\ndeath. Oh my queen and mother, I rejoice in thy greatness, and am ready\nto give my life that thy glory should not be diminished in the least\ndegree, if it were possible that it could be diminished. Oh, that I might\ngive all my blood to cause all the nations of the earth to honor and love\nthee as the Lady thou art!\n\n3d. \u201cTurris eburnea:\u201d Tower of ivory. Thus Mary is also called: Thy neck\nis as a tower of ivory: \u201cCollum tuum sicut turris eburnea.\u201d[1892] Mary is\ncalled the neck, for she is the mystic neck through whom from the head,\nJesus Christ, are transmitted to us the faithful, who are the members of\nthe mystic body of the Church, the vital spirits, namely, the divine help\nwhich preserves in us the life of grace. In the words of St. Bernardine:\nThrough the Virgin, the life-giving graces flow from Christ, the head,\ninto his mystic body.[1893] The saint adds, that from the time when Mary\nconceived in her womb the incarnate Word, she received from God such\nhonor, that no one could receive any grace except through her hands.\nIvory, in a word, is smooth and strong, hence Rupert the Abbot writes\nof Mary: As a tower of ivory, beautiful in the eye of God, terrible to\nthe devil.[1894] Thou, then, oh my Lady, because thou art so beloved by\nGod, canst obtain for us every blessing; and because thou art terrible to\ndemons, thou canst liberate us from all their snares. Have pity on us,\nfor we glory in living under thy protection.\n\n\nSEVENTH DAY.\n\n1st. \u201cDomus aurea:\u201d House of gold. Gold is the symbol of love. Hence\nthe blessed Albertus Magnus calls Mary, The golden temple of charity:\n\u201cTemplum aureum charitatis.\u201d And with reason; for St. Thomas says, that\nas every thing in the temple was covered with gold, so the beautiful soul\nof Mary was filled with sanctity.[1895] Mary was that house of gold which\nthe Eternal Wisdom, that is the divine Word, chose for his habitation on\nthis earth: Wisdom hath built herself a house: \u201cSapientia \u00e6dificavit sibi\ndomum.\u201d[1896] Now this house of God, says Richard of St. Lawrence, is so\nrich that it can relieve all our miseries.[1897] Oh Mary, thou dost love\nGod so much that thou dost desire to see him beloved by all. This is the\ngrace that above all others I ask of thee, and hope from thee; obtain\nfrom me a great love to God.\n\n2d. \u201cF\u0153deris arca:\u201d Ark of the covenant. Ischio calls Mary: An ark more\nspacious than that of Noe: \u201cArca Noe largior:\u201d for in that only two\nanimals of each kind were received, but under the mantle of Mary all find\nroom, both just and sinners. This was one day revealed to St. Gertrude,\nwho saw a multitude of wild beasts, lions, leopards, &c., who took refuge\nunder the mantle of Mary; and she did not drive them away, but with kind\nhand caressed them, so that they might not fly away. The brutes who\nentered into the ark remained brutes; but sinners, who take shelter under\nthe mantle of Mary, do not remain sinners. She will certainly change\ntheir hearts and render them dear to God. The Virgin herself revealed to\nSt. Bridget: \u201cHowever a man may have sinned, if with a true purpose of\namendment he returns to me, I am ready at once to receive him; neither do\nI look upon the sins with which he is laden, but only whether he comes\nwith good dispositions; and then I do not disdain to bind up and heal his\nwounds, for I am called, and truly am, the mother of mercy.\u201d Oh mother of\nmercy, I will then say to thee with St. Augustine, remember that it has\nnever been known that a sinner was rejected by thee, who had recourse to\nthee for help; I, a miserable sinner, invoke thee and trust in thee.\n\n3d. \u201cJanua c\u0153li:\u201d Gate of heaven. Mary is called the gate of heaven,\nbecause no one can enter into heaven, as St. Bonaventure declares, except\nthrough Mary.[1898] In Jerusalem is my power: \u201cIn Jerusalem potestas\nmea,\u201d says our queen.[1899] And Richard of St. Lawrence adds: Commanding\nwhat I will, and introducing whom I will: \u201cImperando quod volo, et\nquos volo introducendo.\u201d I can obtain whatever I wish for my servants,\nand introduce whom I will into paradise. Therefore St. Bonaventure\nsays: Those who enjoy the favor of Mary, are recognized as citizens of\nparadise; and those who are like her, that is, have the grace to be her\nservants, are written in the book of life. For this reason Bernardine de\nBustis calls Mary the book of life, and says that he who through devotion\nto her finds himself written in this book, will certainly be saved. Ah,\nmy mother, in thee I place the hopes of my eternal salvation. I love\nthee, save thou me; do not permit a servant of thine who loves thee to go\nto blaspheme thee in hell.\n\n\nEIGHTH DAY.\n\n1st. \u201cStella matutina:\u201d Morning star. Mary is called by St. John\nDamascene: The star that precedes the sun: \u201cStella demonstrans solem.\u201d\nAs the morning star precedes the sun, so devotion to the holy Virgin\nprecedes the sun of divine grace; and St. Germanus says, that devotion\ntowards Mary in a soul, is a sign that it is, or soon will be, in the\nstate of grace. By the Church our Lady is also called: \u201cThe star of\nthe sea;\u201d for, as St. Thomas explains it, as in the time of tempest\nmariners are guided into port by the star, so by Mary we are guided over\nthe sea of this world to paradise.[1900] Therefore St. Bernard gives\nus this advice: If you do not wish to be overwhelmed by the tempest of\ntemptations, do not turn your eyes from this star of salvation.[1901]\nAnd then he adds: Following Mary, you cannot go astray; if Mary protects\nyou, you cannot fear being lost; if Mary favors you, you will arrive at\nparadise.\n\n2d. \u201cSalus infirmorum:\u201d Health of the weak. Mary is called by St. Simon\nStock: The medicine of sinners: \u201cPeccatorum medicina;\u201d and by St. Ephrem,\nnot only medicine, but health itself: Firm health for those who have\nrecourse to her: \u201cSalus firma recurrentium ad eam.\u201d[1902] For he who has\nrecourse to Mary not only finds medicine, but he finds health, as she\nherself promises to him who seeks her: \u201cHe that shall find me shall find\nlife, and shall have salvation from the Lord.\u201d[1903] Neither should we\nfear that on account of the loathsomeness of our wounds she will refuse\nto take care of us. She is our mother, and as a mother does not shrink\nfrom taking care of a child covered with wounds, so this celestial\nphysician does not refuse to cure her servants who have recourse to her.\nWherefore St. Bernard says: Oh mother of God, thou hast no horror of a\nsinner, however loathsome he may be; if he sighs for thee, thou wilt\nrescue him with thine own hand from despair.\n\n3d. \u201cRefugium peccatorum:\u201d Refuge of sinners. Thus Mary is called by St.\nGermanus: The refuge, ever ready, for all sinners: \u201cRefugium paratissimum\npeccatorum;\u201d for the Idiot says, that she cannot reject any sinner,\nbut as soon as he has recourse to her, Mary receives him.[1904] Hence\nSt. John Damascene calls Mary not only the refuge of the innocent, but\nalso of the bad who implore her protection.[1905] And St. Anselm also\nsays: Thou dost embrace with maternal love the sinner who is despised by\nthe whole world, neither dost thou leave the wretched until thou hast\nreconciled them to their God.[1906] By which he gives us to understand\nthat the sinner, being hated by God, is rendered odious and abominable\nin the eyes of all creatures; but if he has recourse to the refuge of\nsinners, Mary not only does not despise him, but affectionately embraces\nhim, and does not abandon him until he is pardoned by her Son and our\nJudge, Jesus Christ. Then, oh my Lady, if thou art the refuge of all\nsinners, thou art also my refuge. Thou who dost not despise any one who\nhas recourse to thee, do not despise me, for to thee I recommend myself:\n\u201cRefugium peccatorum, ora pro nobis.\u201d Oh Mary, pray for us, and save us.\n\n\nNINTH DAY.\n\n1st. \u201cConsolatrix afflictorum:\u201d Comforter of the afflicted. St. Germanus\nwrites: Oh Mary, who has so great care of our welfare as thou hast? Is\nthere any one who relieves us in our afflictions as thou dost?[1907] No,\nreplies St. Antoninus: There is none among the saints who compassionates\nour miseries as this most pious Lady.[1908] And because the miseries\nwhich most afflict us are the maladies of the soul, the blessed Henry\nSuso calls Mary: The most faithful consoler of sinners: \u201cConsolatrix\nfidelissima peccatorum.\u201d We need only show to Mary the wounds of our\nsouls, and she immediately comes to our aid with her prayers, and\nconsoles us. Even as Richard of St. Victor teaches, her piety prevents\nus and relieves us before we invoke her: \u201cVelocius occurrit quam\ninvocetur.\u201d Let us say to her, then, with St. Bonaventure: Oh Mary,\nalways console us, but especially at the hour of our death. Come, then,\nand take our souls, and present them to thy Son, who is to be our Judge.\n\n2d. \u201cAuxilium Christianorum:\u201d Help of Christians. St. John of Damascus\ncalls her: Aid prepared and ready to free us from all dangers.[1909] The\nhelp of Mary is, as St. Cosmas of Jerusalem declares, omnipotent to save\nus from sin and from hell. St. Bernard addressed her in these words: Thou\nart invincible in the defence of thy servants: \u201cTu bellatrix egregia,\u201d\ndoing battle with the demons who assail them. And for this reason Mary\nis called in the sacred Canticles: Terrible as an army set in array:\n\u201cTerribilis ut castrorum acies ordinata.\u201d[1910] Ah, my queen, if I had\nalways had recourse to thee I should never have been conquered by my\nenemies. From henceforth thou must be my strength; in my temptations I\nwill always invoke thee, and from thee I hope for victory.\n\n3d. \u201cRegina martyrum:\u201d Queen of martyrs. Mary is justly called Queen\nof martyrs; for her martyrdom, in the death of her Son on the cross,\nexceeded the sufferings of all the martyrs. And there stood by the cross\nof Jesus his mother: \u201cStabat juxta crucem mater ejus.\u201d Mothers fly from\ntheir children when they see them dying before their eyes and cannot\nhelp them; Mary does not fly, but remains with Jesus until she sees him\nexpire: \u201cStabat juxta crucem.\u201d And while Jesus is in his agony she is\noffering to the eternal Father the life of her Son for our salvation;\nbut in offering it she also endures the agony of death, and experiences\na suffering greater than that of every death. Oh my afflicted mother, by\nthe merit of the sufferings thou didst endure at the foot of the cross,\nobtain for me a true sorrow for my sins and love for Jesus my Redeemer.\nAnd by that sword which pierced thy heart when thou didst see him bow\nhis head and expire, I pray thee to assist me at the moment of my death,\nand obtain for me then eternal salvation, that I may come to love thee\nforever with thy Son Jesus.\n\n\nMEDITATION\n\n_For the day of the Purification of Mary and the Presentation of Jesus._\n\n1st. The time having arrived when Mary was to go, according to the law,\nto be purified in the temple and to present Jesus to the divine Father,\nshe departed with Joseph. Joseph took the two turtle-doves that were to\nbe offered, and Mary takes her dear infant\u2014she takes the divine Lamb to\noffer him to God as a sign of that great sacrifice which this Son was one\nday to complete upon the cross. Oh my God, I also unite made man, and\nby his merits I pray thee to give me thy grace. I do not merit it, but\nJesus, to obtain it for me, has sacrificed himself to thee. For love then\nof Jesus, have pity on me.\n\n2d. Behold, Mary enters into the temple and makes the oblation of her\nSon in the name of the whole human race. But especially on this day does\nJesus offer himself to his eternal Father: Behold me, he says, oh my\nFather, to thee I consecrate my whole life: thou hast sent me into the\nworld to save it; behold my blood and my life, I offer all to thee for\nthe salvation of the world. Unhappy should I be, my dear Redeemer, if\nthou hadst not satisfied for me the divine justice. I thank thee for it\nwith my whole soul, and I love thee with my whole heart. And whom should\nI love if I do not love a God who has sacrificed his life for me?\n\n3d. This sacrifice was more dear to God than if all men and all the\nangels had offered to him their lives. Yes, because in this offering\nalone of Jesus the eternal Father received an infinite honor and an\ninfinite satisfaction. Jesus Christ once said to the blessed Angela of\nFoligno: \u201cI have offered myself for thee that thou mayest offer thyself\nto me.\u201d Yes, my Jesus, as thou didst offer to the Father thy life for me,\nI offer to thee my life and my whole self. Hitherto I have with so great\ningratitude slighted thee, but thou hast promised to forget the offences\nof a sinner who repents of having offended thee; my Jesus, I grieve for\nit, and I wish to die of grief. I was dead in sin; from thee I hope for\nlife, and my life will be to love thee, oh Infinite Good. Grant that I\nmay love thee, and I will ask of thee nothing more. Dispense the goods of\nthis earth to those who desire them; I desire nothing but the treasure of\nthy love. My Jesus, thou art alone enough for me. Oh my queen and mother\nMary, through thee I hope every good.\n\n\nMEDITATION\n\n_For the Day of the Annunciation to Mary._\n\n1st. When God wished to send his Son to make himself man that he might\nredeem lost man, he chose for him a virgin mother, among all virgins the\nmost pure, the most holy, and the most humble. And behold, whilst Mary\nwas in her poor little dwelling praying to God for the coming of the\nRedeemer, an angel appears and salutes her, and says to her: \u201cHail, full\nof grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women.\u201d[1911] And\nwhat does the humble Virgin when she hears such words in her honor? She\nis not elated, but is silent and troubled, esteeming herself too unworthy\nof these praises. She was troubled at his saying: \u201cTurbata est in sermone\nejus.\u201d[1912] Oh Mary, thou so humble and I so proud, obtain for me holy\nhumility.\n\n2d. Did not those praises, at least, cause Mary to suspect that she\nwas the destined mother of the Redeemer? No, they only caused her to\nconceive a great fear of herself. Wherefore it was necessary that the\nangel should encourage her not to be afraid: \u201cFear not, Mary, for thou\nhast found grace with God.\u201d[1913] And then he announced to her that she\nwas chosen to be the mother of the Saviour of the world: \u201cBehold, thou\nshalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a Son, and thou shalt\ncall his name Jesus.\u201d[1914] Blessed art thou, oh Mary! how dear thou wast\nand art to thy God! Have pity on me.\n\n3d. Take courage, says St. Bernard, addressing her; why delay, holy\nVirgin, in giving thy consent? The eternal Word awaits it, in order to\nclothe himself with flesh, and become thy Son. We, who are all condemned\nto eternal death, are waiting for it in misery; if thou dost accept and\nconsent to be his mother, we shall all be delivered. Quickly, oh Lady,\nanswer; do not delay giving to the world that salvation which depends\non thy consent. But rejoice, for Mary already answers to the angel:\nBehold, she says, the servant of the Lord, bound to do whatever her Lord\ncommands:[1915] if he chooses a servant for his mother, the servant is\nnot to be praised, but only the goodness of God, who wishes thus to\nhonor her. Oh Mary, most humble, thou, by thy humility, hast so enamored\nthy God that thou hast constrained him to make himself thy Son and our\nRedeemer. I know that thy Son denies thee nothing that thou dost ask; ask\nof him to give me his holy love; ask of him to pardon me all the offences\nwhich I have committed against him; ask of him to give me perseverance\nuntil death. In a word, recommend to him my soul, for thy recommendations\nare never rejected by a Son who loves thee so much. Oh Mary, thou must\nsave me; thou art my hope.\n\n\nMEDITATION FOR THE SECOND DAY OF JULY.\n\n_On the Feast of the Visitation of Mary._\n\n1st. Mary set out from Nazareth to go to the city of Hebron, distant,\naccording to Broccardo, seventy miles; that is to say, at least seven\ndays\u2019 journey over rough mountains and with no other companion than\nher spouse Joseph. The holy Virgin hastens, as St. Luke informs us:\nShe went into the mountainous country in haste: \u201cAbiit in montana cum\nfestinatione.\u201d[1916] Tell us, oh holy Lady, why thou didst undertake this\nlong and difficult journey, and why thou didst thus hasten on thy way?\nI am going, she answers, to exercise my office of charity; I am going\nto console a family. If, then, oh great mother of God, thy office is to\nconsole and dispense graces to souls, ah come to console and visit also\nmy soul. Thy visit then sanctified the house of Elizabeth; come, oh Mary,\nand sanctify me also.\n\n2d. And now the holy Virgin has arrived at the house of Elizabeth. She\nhad been made mother of God, but she is the first to salute her relation.\nShe entered, and saluted Elizabeth: Intravit et salutavit Elizabeth.\nElizabeth, enlightened by the Lord, already knows that the divine Word\nhad become man and the Son of Mary; hence she calls her blessed among\nwomen, and blesses that divine fruit that was in her womb: \u201cBlessed art\nthou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.\u201d[1917] And,\nfilled (at the same time) with confusion and joy, she exclaims: \u201cAnd\nwhence is this to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?\u201d[1918]\nBut what does the humble Mary answer to these words? She answers: My soul\ndoth magnify the Lord: \u201cMagnificat anima mea Dominum.\u201d As if she would\nsay: Ah, Elizabeth, you praise me; but I praise my God that he has chosen\nto exalt me, his poor servant, to be his mother: he hath regarded the\nhumility of his servant: \u201cRespexit humilitatem ancill\u00e6 su\u00e6.\u201d Oh most holy\nMary, since thou dost dispense so many graces to those who ask them of\nthee, I pray thee to give me thy humility. Thou dost esteem thyself as\nnothing before God; but I am worse than nothing, for I am, at the same\ntime, nothing and a sinner. Thou canst make me humble. Make me so through\nlove of that God who has made thee his mother.\n\n3d. But at the first words of Mary, when she salutes Elizabeth, what\nhappens? The child, John, exults with joy on account of the divine\ngrace given him before his birth;[1919] Elizabeth is filled with the\nHoly Spirit, and Zachary, the father of the Baptist, not long after, is\nconsoled by recovering his speech. So that it is indeed true, oh my queen\nand mother, that through thee the divine graces are dispensed, and souls\nare sanctified. Do not forget, then, oh my most dear Lady, me, thy poor\nservant, who love thee, and have placed in thee all my hopes. Thy prayers\nare all graciously heard by that God who loves thee so much. Pray, then,\nfor me, oh my mother, and make me holy.\n\n\nMEDITATION FOR THE FIFTEENTH DAY OF AUGUST.\n\n_On the Feast of the Assumption of Mary into Heaven._\n\n1st. Mary dies; but how does she die? She dies entirely detached from any\naffection for created things, and dies consumed with that divine love\nwith which her most holy heart was always and entirely inflamed. Oh holy\nmother, thou hast already left the earth; do not forget us, miserable\npilgrims, who remain in this valley of tears struggling against so many\nenemies, who desire to see us lost in hell. Ah, by the merits of thy\nprecious death, obtain for us detachment from earthly things, pardon of\nour sins, love to God, and holy perseverance; and, when the hour of our\ndeath shall arrive, assist us from heaven with thy prayers, and obtain\nfor us to come and kiss thy feet in paradise.\n\n2d. Mary dies, and her most pure body is carried by the holy apostles,\nand placed in the sepulchre, and is guarded by angels for three days,\nafter which it is transported to paradise; but her beautiful soul\nentered, as soon as she expired, the kingdom of the blessed, accompanied\nby innumerable angels and by her Son himself. Having entered heaven,\nshe humbly presents herself to God, adores him, and, with unbounded\nlove, thanks him for all the graces which she has received from him. God\nembraces her, blesses her, and constitutes her queen of the universe,\nexalting her above all the angels and saints.[1920] Now, if the human\nmind, as the apostle says, cannot arrive at the comprehension of the\ngreat glory that God is preparing in heaven for his servants who have\nloved him on this earth, what must be the glory that he gave to this his\nmost holy mother, who on earth has loved him more than all the saints and\nangels, and has loved him with all her power! So that Mary alone, when\nshe entered heaven, could say to God: Oh my Lord, if I have not loved\nthee on earth as thou dost merit, at least I have loved thee as much as I\ncould.\n\n3d. Let us rejoice with Mary in the glory with which her God has enriched\nher; and let us also rejoice for ourselves, for Mary, at the same\ntime was made queen of the world, and appointed our advocate. She is\nso merciful an advocate, that she consents to defend all sinners who\nrecommend themselves to her; and she is so powerful with our Judge that\nshe gains all the causes which she defends. Oh our queen and advocate, in\nthy hand is our salvation; if thou dost pray for us, we shall be saved.\nSay to thy Son that thou dost wish us with thee in paradise. He denies\nthee nothing that thou dost ask. Oh our life, our sweetness, and our\nhope! Mary, pray Jesus for us.\n\n\nMEDITATION FOR THE EIGHTH DAY OF SEPTEMBER.\n\n_On the Feast of the Nativity of Mary._\n\n1st. Before the birth of Mary the world was lost in the darkness of sin.\nMary was born, and the morning arose: \u201cNata Maria, surrexit aurora,\u201d\nsays a holy Father. Already it had been said of Mary: \u201cWho is she that\ncometh forth as the morning rising?\u201d[1921] As the earth rejoices when\nthe day dawns, for the dawn is the precursor of the sun, so Mary at her\nbirth gave joy to the whole world, for she was the precursor of the sun\nof justice, Jesus Christ, who being made her son, came to save us by his\ndeath; therefore the Church sings: \u201cThy nativity, oh virgin mother of\nGod, announced joy to the whole world, for from thee the sun of justice\nhas arisen, who has given us life eternal.\u201d[1922] Thus, when Mary was\nborn, we received our remedy, our consolation, and our salvation; for\nthrough Mary we have received the Saviour.\n\n2d. This child being then destined for the mother of the eternal Word,\nGod bestowed on her so much grace, that even from her immaculate\nconception her sanctity excelled the sanctity of all the saints\nand angels united, for she received a grace of a superior order,\ncorresponding to the dignity of mother of God. Oh holy infant, oh full\nof grace, I, a miserable sinner, salute thee and adore thee. Thou art\nthe beloved, the delight of God; have pity on me, who through my sins\nhave been hateful and abominable in the eyes of God. Thou, oh most pure\nVirgin, hast so well known even from thy infancy how to gain the heart of\nGod, that he denies thee nothing, and grants all that thou dost ask of\nhim. In thee then I place my hopes. Recommend me to thy Son, and I shall\nbe saved.\n\n3d. At the same time that Mary was destined to be the mother of our\nRedeemer, she was also destined to be the mediatrix between God and us\nsinners. Hence the Angelic Doctor, St. Thomas, says, that Mary received\ngrace sufficient to save all men; and therefore St. Bernard calls Mary\na channel so full that we can all partake of its fulness.[1923] Oh my\nqueen, oh mediatrix of sinners, perform thy office and intercede for me!\nLet not my sins prevent me from confiding in thee, oh great mother of\nGod; no, I trust in thee, and trust in thee so much, that if my salvation\nwere in my own hands, yet I would place it all in thine. Oh Mary, receive\nme under thy protection, and this is enough for me.\n\n\nMEDITATION FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST DAY OF NOVEMBER.\n\n_On the Feast of the Presentation of Mary._\n\n1st. The holy child Mary, having hardly arrived at the age of three\nyears, entreated her parents that she might be placed in the temple\naccording to the promise which they had made. The day appointed having\narrived, the immaculate young Virgin leaves Nazareth with St. Joachim and\nSt. Anna, accompanied by a host of angels who attend that holy child who\nwas destined for the mother of their Creator. Go, says St. Germanus, go,\noh blessed Virgin, to the house of the Lord, to await the Holy Spirit,\nwho is to come to render thee mother of the eternal Word.\n\n2d. The holy company having arrived at the temple in Jerusalem, the\nholy child turns to her parents, and kneeling, kisses their hands, asks\ntheir blessing, and then, without looking back, ascends the steps of\nthe temple. There renouncing entirely the world and all things that the\nworld could give her, she offers and consecrates herself wholly to God.\nHenceforth the life of Mary in the temple was but one continual exercise\nof love, and the offering of her whole self to her Lord. She increased\nfrom hour to hour, nay, from moment to moment, in holy virtues, sustained\nindeed by divine grace, but always endeavoring, with all her powers, to\ncorrespond with grace. Mary herself revealed this to St. Elizabeth, the\nvirgin, saying: \u201cDo you think that I obtained the graces and virtues\nwithout an effort? Know that I received from God no grace without great\neffort, continual prayer, an ardent desire, and many tears and penances.\u201d\n\n3d. Thus Mary, a young virgin in the temple, did nothing but pray. And\nseeing the human race lost and hateful to God, she especially prayed for\nthe coming of the Messias, desiring then to be the servant of that happy\nVirgin who was to be the mother of God. Oh, who would have said to her\nthen: Oh holy Lady, know that already through thy prayers the Son of\nGod is hastening to come and redeem the world; and know that thou art\nthe blessed one chosen to be the mother of thy Creator. Oh beloved of\nGod, most holy child, thou prayest for all, pray also for me. Thou hast\nconsecrated thyself wholly, even from infancy, to the love of thy God;\nah, obtain for me at least that during the remaining years of my life\nI may live for God alone. To-day, together with thee, I renounce all\ncreatures, and consecrate myself to the love of my Lord. I also offer\nmyself to thee, oh my queen, to serve thee forever. Accept me for thy\nspecial servant, and obtain for me the grace to be faithful to thee\nand to thy Son, that I may come one day to praise thee and love thee\neternally in paradise.\n\n\nMEDITATION FOR THE EIGHTH DAY OF DECEMBER.\n\n_On the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary._\n\n1st. It was indeed befitting the three divine persons to preserve\nMary from original sin. It was befitting the Father, for Mary was his\nfirst-born daughter. As Jesus was the first-born of God: \u201cPrimogenitus\nomnis creatur\u00e6,\u201d[1924] so Mary, being destined to become the mother of\nJesus, God always considered her as his adopted first-born daughter, and\ntherefore always possessed her by his grace: \u201cDominus possedit me in\ninitio viarum suarum.\u201d[1925] It was, then, befitting the honor of the Son\nthat the Father should preserve the mother from every stain of sin. It\nwas also fitting, because he destined this his daughter to crush the head\nof the infernal serpent which had seduced man, as we read: Ipsa conteret\ncaput tuum. How could he then permit that she should first be his slave?\nMoreover, Mary was also destined to be the advocate of sinners; and for\nthis reason also it was meet that God should preserve her from sin, that\nshe might not appear guilty of the very sin of those for whom she was to\nintercede.\n\n2d. It was befitting the Son that his mother should be immaculate. He\nchose her himself for his mother, and it cannot be believed that a son\nwho has it in his power to choose a queen for his mother, would choose\na slave. How then could we believe that the eternal Word would wish for\nhis mother one defiled by sin, and once an enemy of God, when it was in\nhis power to have an immaculate mother and one always the friend of God?\nMoreover, St. Augustine says: The flesh of Christ is the flesh of Mary:\n\u201cCaro Christi caro est Mari\u00e6.\u201d The Son of God would have felt horror at\ntaking flesh from St. Agnes, St. Gertrude, or St. Theresa, because those\nholy virgins, before baptism, were stained by sin, and the devil would\nhave been able to reproach him for being clothed with a flesh which once\nhad been subject to him. But he felt no horror at becoming man in the\nwomb of Mary: \u201cNon horruisti virginis uterum,\u201d Mary having always been\npure and immaculate. Besides, St. Thomas says that Mary was preserved\nfrom every actual sin, even venial, for otherwise she would not have been\na fitting mother of God; but how much less fit would she have been, if\nshe had been defiled by original sin, which renders the soul odious to\nGod!\n\n3d. It was befitting the Holy Spirit that this his most beloved spouse\nshould be immaculate. The redemption of men who had already fallen into\nsin being decreed, he wished that this his spouse should be redeemed in\nthe most noble manner, namely, by being preserved from falling into sin.\nAnd if God preserved the body of Mary after her death, how much more\nought we to believe that he would preserve her soul from the corruption\nof guilt! For this reason the divine spouse called her an inclosed\ngarden, a sealed fountain (Cant.), for the enemies never entered the\nblessed soul of Mary. Therefore he praised her, calling her all fair,\nalways beloved, and spotless. Ah, my most lovely Lady, it is my delight\nto see thee so dear to thy God through thy purity and beauty. I thank\nGod for having preserved thee from every sin. Ah, my queen, since thou\nart so loved by the most Holy Trinity, do not disdain to cast thy eyes\nupon my soul so defiled by sin, that thou mayest obtain for me, from God,\npardon and eternal salvation. Look upon me and change me. Thou, by thy\nsweetness, hast drawn so many hearts to love thee, draw also my heart,\nthat henceforth I may love no other than God and thee. Thou knowest that\nin thee I have placed all my hopes; my dear mother, do not abandon me.\nAssist me always by thy intercession, in life and especially in death;\nmake me then to die invoking thee, and loving thee, that I may come to\nlove thee forever in paradise.\n\n\n\n\nPRAYERS TO THE DIVINE MOTHER\n\nFOR EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK.\n\n\nSUNDAY.\n\n_Prayer to the most holy Mary to obtain the pardon of sins._\n\nBehold, oh mother of God, at thy feet a miserable sinner, the slave of\nhell, who has recourse to thee, and trusts in thee. I do not even merit\nthat thou shouldst look upon me, but I know that having seen thy Son die\nto save sinners, thou hast the greatest desire to aid them. Oh mother of\nmercy, look on my miseries, and have pity on me. I hear thee called by\nall: The refuge of sinners, the hope of the desperate, the help of the\nabandoned. Then thou art my refuge, my hope, my help. Thou must save me\nby thy intercession. Succor me for the love of Jesus Christ, give thy\nhand to a poor fallen sinner who recommends himself to thee. I know that\nthou dost find consolation in helping the sinner when thou canst; help\nme then, for thou canst help me. I, by my sins, have lost the grace of\nGod and my own soul. Now I place myself in thy hands; tell me what I must\ndo to return to the favor of my Lord, for I will do it without delay. He\nsends me to thee, that thou mayest succor me, and he wishes me to have\nrecourse to thy mercy, that not only the merits of thy Son, but also\nthy prayers may aid in my salvation. To thee then I have recourse; thou\nwho dost pray for so many others, pray also to Jesus for me. Ask him\nto pardon me, and he will pardon me; tell him that thou dost desire my\nsalvation, and he will save me. Make known the good that thou canst do to\nthose who confide in thee. Amen; thus I hope, thus may it be.\n\n\nMONDAY.\n\n_Prayer to the most holy Mary to obtain holy perseverance._\n\nOh queen of heaven, I who once have been a miserable slave of Lucifer,\nnow dedicate myself to thee, as thy servant forever, and offer myself\nto honor and serve thee for my whole life; accept me, do not refuse me\nas I merit. Oh my mother, I have placed in thee all my hopes, from thee\nI hope all blessings. I thank and bless God, who in his mercy has given\nme this confidence in thee, which I consider as the great earnest of my\nsalvation. Ah, how have I fallen in my past life, I a miserable sinner,\nbecause I have not had recourse to thee! Now I hope to be pardoned\nthrough the merits of Jesus Christ, and through thy prayers. But I may\nagain lose the divine grace; the danger is not over; my enemies do not\nsleep. How many new temptations remain for me to conquer! Ah, my most\nsweet Lady, protect me, and do not permit me again to be their slave;\nhelp me always. I know that thou wilt help me, and with thy help I\nshall conquer, if I recommend myself to thee; but this I fear, that in\noccasions of falling into sin, I may neglect to call on thee, and thus\nmay be lost. This grace I ask of thee, obtain for me that in the assaults\nof hell, I may always have recourse to thee, saying: Mary, aid me. My\ngood mother, do not permit me to lose my God.\n\n\nTUESDAY.\n\n_Prayer to Mary most holy to obtain a good death._\n\nOh Mary, what will be my death? I tremble and am confounded when I\nnow consider my sins, and think of that great, decisive moment of my\nsalvation or eternal damnation, when I shall die and be judged. Oh my\nmost sweet mother, my hopes are in the blood of Jesus Christ, and in thy\nintercession. Oh consoler of the afflicted, do not abandon me then; do\nnot cease consoling me in that great affliction. If now I am tormented\nwith remorse on account of past sins, the uncertainty of pardon, the\ndanger of relapse, and the rigor of divine justice, what will become of\nme then? If thou dost not aid me, I am lost. Ah, my Lady, before my death\narrives, obtain for me a great sorrow for my sins, a true amendment, and\nfidelity to God for the life that remains to me. And when the last moment\nof my life comes, oh Mary my hope, aid me then in my great distress, and\nencourage me then that I may not despair at the sight of my sins which\nthe demon will present to me. Obtain for me the grace to invoke thee then\nmore constantly, that I may expire with thy sweet name, and that of thy\nmost holy Son, upon my lips. And now, oh Lady, pardon my boldness: before\nI expire come thyself to console me by thy presence. This grace thou hast\ngranted to so many of thy servants, I also wish and hope for it. I am,\nindeed, a sinner, and I do not merit it; but I am thy servant, who loves\nthee, and has great confidence in thee. Oh Mary, I wait for thee, do not\nleave me disconsolate. At least, if I am not worthy of so great a favor,\nassist me from heaven, that I may die in the love of God and of thee, and\ncome to love God and thee eternally in paradise.\n\n\nWEDNESDAY.\n\n_Prayer to Mary most holy to obtain deliverance from hell._\n\nOh my dearest Lady, I thank thee that thou hast so often rescued me\nfrom hell: as often as I have deserved it through my sins. Oh miserable\nsinner! I was already condemned to that prison, and that sentence would\nperhaps have been executed upon me after my first sin, if thou hadst not\nin thy mercy helped me. Thou wast not even invoked by me, but by thy\nmercy alone thou hast restrained the divine justice, and then subduing my\nhard-heartedness, hast drawn me to take confidence in thee. And oh, into\nhow many sins I should have fallen in the dangers to which I have been\nexposed, if thou, my most loving mother, hadst not preserved me by the\ngraces which thou hast obtained for me! Ah, my queen, still preserve me\nfrom hell. But of what avail will be thy mercy and the favors that thou\nhast bestowed on me, if I should be condemned? If once I loved thee not,\nnow, after God, I love thee above every thing. Ah, do not permit that\nI should turn my back upon thee and upon God, who, through thee, hath\ndispensed to me so many mercies. My most amiable Lady, do not permit that\nI should hate and curse thee in hell. Wilt thou suffer a servant of thine\nwho loves thee to be lost? Oh Mary, what dost thou say to me? I shall be\nlost if I leave thee. But who could have the heart to leave thee? How\ncould I forget the love thou hast borne me? My mother, since thou hast\ndone so much to save me, complete the work; continue to aid me. Dost thou\nwish to help me? But what do I say? If thou didst show me so much favor\nwhen I lived forgetful of thee, how much more ought I now to hope, when\nI love thee and recommend myself to thee! No, he who has recourse to\nthee is never lost; only he who does not recommend himself to thee. Ah,\nmy mother, do not leave me in my own hands, for I shall be lost; make me\nalways to have recourse to thee. Save me, my hope, save me from hell; but\nfirst from sin, which alone can condemn me to hell.\n\n\nTHURSDAY.\n\n_Prayer to the most holy Mary to obtain paradise._\n\nOh queen of paradise, who sittest above the choirs of angels, nearest to\nGod; from this vale of misery I, a miserable sinner, salute thee, and\npray thee to turn towards me those kind eyes of thine, that dispense\ngraces to all those they look upon. See, oh Mary, in how much danger I\nnow find myself, and must find myself, while I live on this earth, of\nlosing my soul, paradise, and God. In thee, oh Lady, I have placed all\nmy hopes. I love thee, and long to come to thee, see thee, and praise\nthee in paradise. Ah Mary, when will the day come that I shall see myself\nsafe at thy feet, and shall behold the mother of my Lord and my mother,\nwho has been so occupied with my salvation? When shall I kiss that hand\nwhich has so many times delivered me from hell and bestowed on me so many\ngraces, when, by my sins, I merited to be hated and abandoned by all? Oh\nLady, I have been very ungrateful to thee in my life; but if I come to\nparadise I will be no more ungrateful. There I will love thee as much\nas I can, every moment through all eternity, and I will make amends for\nmy ingratitude by blessing thee and thanking thee forever. Above all, I\nthank God who gives me such confidence in the blood of Jesus Christ and\nin thee; namely, that thou wilt save me, that thou wilt free me from\nmy sins, and obtain for me light and strength to execute the divine\nwill, and finally conduct me to the port of paradise. All this have thy\nservants hoped, and none have been deceived. Neither shall I be deceived.\nMary, I wish nothing else; thou must save me. Pray thy Son Jesus, as I\nalso pray him, through the merits of his passion, to preserve in me, and\nalways more increase this confidence, and I shall be saved.\n\n\nFRIDAY.\n\n_Prayer to the most holy Mary to obtain love towards her and Jesus\nChrist._\n\nOh Mary, I know that thou art the creature the most noble, the most\nsublime, the most pure, the most beautiful, the most merciful, the most\nholy; in a word, the most lovely of all creatures. Oh, if all knew thee,\noh my Lady, and loved thee as thou dost merit! But I console myself that\nso many happy souls in heaven and on earth live enamored of thy goodness\nand beauty. Above all, I rejoice that God himself loves thee alone more\nthan all men and angels united. My most amiable queen, I, a miserable\nsinner, also love thee, but I love thee too little: I desire a love\ngreater and more tender towards thee; and this thou must obtain for me,\nfor to love thee is a great sign of predestination, and a grace that God\ndoes not grant except to those whom he wishes to be saved.\n\nI see myself then, oh my mother, greatly indebted to thy Son. I see that\nhe merits an infinite love. Thou who desirest nothing but to see him\nloved, this is the grace that above all others thou must obtain for me;\nobtain for me a great love for Jesus Christ. Thou dost obtain from God\nwhatever thou dost wish; ah, obtain for me this grace, to be so united\nwith the divine will that I may never more be separated from it. I do not\nask of thee the goods of earth, neither honors nor riches; I ask of thee\nwhat thy heart most desires, I wish to love my God. Is it possible that\nthou wilt not aid me in this my desire, which pleases thee so much? No,\nfor thou dost even now help me, already thou art praying for me; pray,\npray, and never cease to pray until thou seest me in paradise, beyond the\ndanger of being able any more to lose my Lord, and certain of loving him\nforever, together with thee, my dearest mother.\n\n\nSATURDAY.\n\n_Prayer to the most holy Mary to obtain her patronage._\n\nOh my most holy mother, I know what graces thou hast obtained for me,\nand I see the ingratitude of which I have been guilty towards thee. The\nungrateful are no longer worthy of favors; but I will not on this account\ndistrust thy mercy, which is greater than my ingratitude. Oh my great\nadvocate, have pity on me. Thou art the dispenser of all the graces which\nGod grants to us miserable sinners, and for this end he has made thee so\npowerful, so rich, and so merciful, that thou mightest succor us in our\nmiseries. Ah, mother of mercy, do not leave me in my poverty. Thou art\nthe advocate of the most wretched and abandoned sinners who have recourse\nto thee, defend me also, who recommend myself to thee. Do not tell me\nthat it is difficult to gain my cause, for the most desperate causes\nare all gained when they are defended by thee. In thy hands, then, I\nplace my eternal salvation, and to thee I commit my soul. It was lost;\nthou, by thy intercession, must save it. I wish to be enrolled among thy\nmost devoted servants; do not cast me out: thou dost go in search of\nthe wretched to relieve them; do not abandon a miserable sinner who has\nrecourse to thee. Speak for me; thy Son does whatever thou dost ask of\nhim. Take me under thy protection, and this will be enough: yes, for if\nthou dost protect me I fear nothing; nothing from my sins, for thou wilt\nobtain for me the remedy for the injury I have inflicted upon myself; nor\nfrom the demons, for thou art more powerful than all hell united; nor\nfrom Jesus my Judge himself, for by one prayer of thine he is appeased.\nI only fear that through my negligence I may cease to invoke thee, and\nshall thus be lost. My mother, obtain for me the pardon of all my sins,\nlove to Jesus, holy perseverance, a good death, and finally, paradise;\nespecially obtain for me the grace always to recommend myself to thee.\nIt is true that these graces are too much for me who do not merit them,\nbut they are not too much for thee who art so much beloved by God that he\ngrants thee whatever thou dost ask of him. It is enough that thou dost\nbegin to speak, and he denies thee nothing. Pray then to Jesus for me,\ntell him that thou dost protect me, and he will not fail to have pity on\nme. My mother, I trust in thee; in this hope I repose and live, and in\nthis I wish to die. Amen.\n\nLive alway, Jesus our love and Mary our hope!\n\n\n\n\nLITTLE ROSARY OF THE SEVEN DOLORS OF MARY.\n\n\n Incline unto mine aid, oh God, &c.\n\n My mother, enable my heart to share thy sorrow for the death of\n thy Son.\n\n_First Dolor._\u2014I pity thee, oh my afflicted mother, on account of the\nfirst sword of sorrow that pierced thee, when in the temple, by the\nprophecy of St. Simeon, all the cruel sufferings that men would inflict\non thy beloved Jesus were represented to thee, which thou hadst already\nlearned from the holy Scriptures, even to his death before thy eyes upon\nthe infamous wood of the cross, exhausted of blood and abandoned by all,\nand thou without the power to defend or relieve him. By that bitter\nmemory, then, which for so many years afflicted thy heart, I pray thee,\noh my queen, to obtain for me the grace that always in life and in death\nI may keep impressed upon my heart the passion of Jesus and thy sorrows.\n\n Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to God, &c., Oh my mother, &c.,\n as above. Which strophe must always be repeated at the end of\n each dolor.\n\n_Second Dolor._\u2014I pity thee, oh my afflicted mother, on account of the\nsecond sword that pierced thee when thou didst behold thy innocent Son,\nso soon after his birth, threatened with death by those very men for\nwhom he had come into the world; so that thou wast obliged to flee with\nhim by night secretly into Egypt. By the many hardships, then, that thou,\na delicate young virgin, in company with thy exiled infant, didst endure\nin the long and wearisome journey through rough and desert countries, and\nin thy sojourn in Egypt, where, being unknown and a stranger, thou didst\nlive all those years poor and despised, I pray thee, oh my beloved Lady,\nto obtain for me the grace to suffer with patience, in thy company till\ndeath, the trials of this miserable life, that I may be able in the next\nto be preserved from the eternal sufferings of hell deserved by me. Our\nFather, &c.\n\n_Third Dolor._\u2014I pity thee, oh my afflicted mother, on account of the\nthird sword that pierced thy heart at the loss of thy dear son, Jesus,\nwho remained absent from thee in Jerusalem for three days, when not\nseeing thy beloved one by thy side, and not knowing the cause of his\nabsence, I conceive, my loving queen, how in these nights thou didst not\nrepose, and didst naught but sigh for him who was thy only good. By the\nsighs, then, of those three days, for thee so long and bitter, I pray\nthee to obtain for me the grace never to lose my God; that I may always\nlive closely united to God, and thus united with him depart from this\nworld. Our Father, &c.\n\n_Fourth Dolor._\u2014I pity thee, my afflicted mother, on account of the\nfourth sword that pierced thy heart, in seeing thy Jesus condemned to\ndeath, bound with ropes and chains, covered with blood and wounds,\ncrowned with thorns, and falling under the weight of the heavy cross\nwhich he bore on his bleeding back when going like an innocent lamb to\ndie for love of us. Thine eye then met his eye, and your glances were so\nmany cruel arrows with which each wounded the loving heart of the other.\nBy this great grief, then, I pray thee to obtain for me the grace to live\nwholly resigned to the will of my God, joyfully bearing my cross with\nJesus to the last moment of my life. Our Father, &c.\n\n_Fifth Dolor._\u2014I pity thee, oh my afflicted mother, on account of the\nfifth sword that pierced thy heart, when on Mount Calvary thou didst\nbehold thy beloved son, Jesus, dying slowly before thy eyes, amid so many\ninsults, and in anguish, on that hard bed of the cross, without being\nable to give him even the least of those comforts which the greatest\ncriminals receive at the hour of death. And I pray thee by the anguish\nwhich thou, oh my most loving mother, didst suffer together with thy\ndying Son, and by the tenderness thou didst feel when, for the last time,\nhe spoke to thee from the cross, and taking leave of thee, left all of\nus to thee in the person of St. John, as thy children; and thou, still\nconstant, didst behold him bow his head and expire; I pray thee to obtain\nfor me the grace, by thy crucified love, to live and die crucified to\nevery thing in this world, in order to live only to God through my whole\nlife, and thus to enter one day paradise, to enjoy him face to face. Our\nFather, &c.\n\n_Sixth Dolor._\u2014I pity thee, oh my afflicted mother, on account of the\nsixth sword which pierced thy heart, when thou didst see the kind heart\nof thy Son pierced through and through after his death\u2014a death endured\nfor those ungrateful men, who, even after his death, were not satisfied\nwith the tortures they had inflicted upon him. By this cruel sorrow,\nthen, which was wholly thine, I pray thee to obtain for me the grace to\nabide in the heart of Jesus, who was wounded and opened for me; in that\nheart, I say, which is the beautiful abode of love, where all the souls\nwho love God repose; and that living there, I may never love or think of\nany thing but God. Most holy Virgin, thou canst do it; from thee I hope\nfor it. Our Father, &c.\n\n_Seventh Dolor._\u2014I pity thee, my afflicted mother, on account of the\nseventh sword that pierced thy heart, on seeing in thy arms thy Son who\nhad just expired, no longer fair and beautiful as thou didst once receive\nhim in the stable of Bethlehem, but covered with blood, livid, and\nlacerated by wounds which exposed his very bones. My Son, thou saidst,\nmy Son, to what has love brought thee? And when he was borne to the\nsepulchre, thou didst wish to accompany him thyself, and help to put him\nin the tomb with thy own hands; and, bidding him a last farewell, thou\nhast left thy loving heart buried with thy Son. By all the anguish of thy\npure soul, obtain for me, oh mother of fair love, pardon for the offences\nthat I have committed against my God, whom I love, and of which I repent\nwith my whole heart. Wilt thou defend me in temptations? Assist me at the\nhour of my death, that, being saved by the merits of Jesus and thine, I\nmay come one day, with thy aid, after this miserable exile, to sing in\nparadise the praises of Jesus and thine through all eternity. Amen. Our\nFather, &c.\n\nPray for us, oh most sorrowful Virgin;\n\nThat we may be worthy of the promises of Christ.\n\n_Let us Pray._\n\nOh God, at whose passion, according to the prophecy of Simeon, the sword\nof sorrow pierced through the most sweet soul of the glorious virgin and\nmother, Mary, grant that we, who commemorate and reverence her dolors,\nmay experience the blessed effect of thy passion, who livest and reignest\nworld without end. Amen.\n\n * * * * *\n\nBenedict XIII. granted two hundred days\u2019 indulgence for every \u201cOur\nFather\u201d and every \u201cHail Mary\u201d to those who recite this little crown in\nthe churches of the Servites of Mary, and has granted the same favor to\nthose who recite it in any place whatever on Fridays or any day during\nLent; and on other days, one hundred days for every \u201cOur Father,\u201d and\n\u201cHail Mary.\u201d To those who recite it entire, seven years. To those who\nrecite it for a year, plenary indulgence, applicable to the souls in\npurgatory.[1926]\n\nMoreover, let it be observed that there are seven hundred years of\nindulgence for the dead granted by Clement XII. to those who say,\nkneeling, the De Profundis at the ringing of the bell.\n\n\n\n\nA Little Rosary of the Immaculate Mary,\n\n_Which is recited in some Churches_.\n\n\nIncline unto mine aid, oh God, &c. Glory, &c. After this, an \u201cOur Father\u201d\nis recited in honor of the Eternal Father, in thanksgiving for all the\ngraces bestowed on Mary; with four \u201cHail Marys.\u201d The same is repeated in\nhonor of the Son, and again in honor of the Holy Ghost. After each \u201cHail\nMary\u201d is recited the following verse:\n\n As \u2019mid the thorns the lily fair\n Art thou, Virgin immaculate,\n From sin preserved, by him whose care\n Did thee his mother blest create.\n\nAt the end:\n\n V. Pray for us, oh immaculate Virgin:\n Ora pro nobis, Virgo immaculata;\n\n R. That we may be worthy of the promises of Christ:\n Ut digni officiamur promissionibus Christi.\n\n_Let us Pray._\n\nGrant to thy servants, we pray thee, oh Lord, the gift of divine grace,\nthat to us, for whom the maternity of the blessed Virgin was the\nbeginning of salvation, the votive commemoration of her conception may\nbring an increase of peace. By our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.\n\n\n\n\nVARIOUS PRAYERS TO MARY.\n\n\nDedication of oneself to Mary.\n\nOh most holy virgin mother of God, Mary, I, N., although most unworthy of\nbeing thy servant, yet moved by thy wonderful mercy and by the desire to\nserve thee, choose thee to-day, in presence of my guardian angel, and of\nthe whole celestial court, for my especial Lady, Advocate, and Mother,\nand make the firm resolution that I always will love and serve thee for\nthe future, and do whatever I can to induce others also to love and serve\nthee. I pray thee, mother of God, and my most kind and amiable mother, by\nthe blood of thy divine Son which was shed for me, that thou wilt receive\nme into the number of thy servants for thy child and servant forever;\nassist me in all my thoughts, words, and actions, at every moment of my\nlife, that every step and breath may be directed to the greater glory of\nmy God, and through thy most powerful intercession obtain for me that I\nmay never more offend my beloved Jesus, that I may glorify and love him\nin this life, and that I may also love thee, my most beloved and dear\nmother, that I may love thee and enjoy thee through eternity in holy\nparadise. Amen.\n\nMy mother Mary, I recommend to thee my soul, especially at the hour of my\ndeath.\n\n\nDedication of a Family to Mary.\n\nOh blessed and immaculate Virgin, our queen and mother, refuge and\nconsolation of all those who are in misery, I, prostrate before thy\nthrone with all my family, choose thee for my Lady, Mother, and Advocate\nwith God. I, with all who belong to me, dedicate myself forever to thy\nservice, and pray thee, oh mother of God, to receive us into the number\nof thy servants, taking us all under thy protection, aiding us in life,\nand still more, at the hour of our death. Oh mother of mercy, I choose\nthee Lady and ruler of my whole house, of my relatives, my interests, and\nall my affairs. Do not disdain to take care of them; dispose of them all\nas it pleases thee. Bless me, then, and all my family, and do not permit\nthat any of us should offend thy Son. Do thou defend us in temptations,\ndeliver us from dangers, provide for us in our necessities, counsel us\nin our doubts, console us in afflictions, be with us in sickness, and\nespecially in the agonies of death. Do not permit the devil to glory in\nhaving in his chains any of us who are now consecrated to thee; but grant\nthat we may come to thee in heaven to thank thee, and together with thee\nto praise and love our Redeemer Jesus for all eternity. Amen, thus may it\nbe.\n\n\nPrayer of St. Ephrem to Mary, abbreviated.[1927]\n\nOh immaculate and wholly pure Virgin Mary, mother of God, queen of the\nworld, hope of the despairing; thou art the joy of the saints, thou art\nthe reconciler of sinners to God, thou art the advocate of the abandoned,\nthe secure haven of the shipwrecked; thou art the consolation of the\nworld, the ransom of captives, the comforter of the afflicted, the\nsalvation of the world. Oh great queen, we take refuge in thy protection.\nWe confide in none but thee, oh most pure Virgin: Non nobis est alia quam\nin te fiducia, O Virgo sincerissima. Oh Lady, after God we have no other\nhope but in thee. We bear the name of thy servants, do not permit the\nenemy to bear us away to hell. Hail, best mediatrix of God and men: Ave,\nDei et hominum mediatrix optima. I salute thee, oh great mediatrix of\npeace between men and God; oh mother of Jesus our Lord, the love of all\nmen and of God; to thee be honor and blessing with the Father and with\nthe Holy Spirit. Amen.\n\n\nPrayer of St. Thomas of Aquin.\n\nOh most blessed and sweet Virgin Mary, full of compassion, I recommend\nto thy mercy my soul and my body, my thoughts, my works, my life, and\nmy death. Oh my Lady, help me and make me strong against the snares of\nthe devil; obtain for me a true and perfect love, with which I may love\nwith all my heart thy most beloved Son, and my Lord Jesus Christ; and\nafter him may I love thee above all things. Oh my queen and mother, with\nthy most powerful intercession make this love to remain with me until\ndeath, after which may I be conducted by thee to the country of the\nblessed.[1928]\n\n\nPrayer of St. Blosius to the Blessed Virgin.\n\nHail, Mary, hope of the despairing, help of the destitute, to whom thy\nSon pays so great honor that whatever thou dost ask thou dost at once\nobtain, whatever thou dost wish is at once done. To thee are committed\nthe treasures of the celestial kingdom. Grant, oh Lady, that amid the\nstorms of this life, I may always turn my eyes to thee. To thy mercy I\ncommend my soul and my body. Direct and protect me at every hour and\nevery moment, oh my sweet protectress.\n\n\nAnother Prayer.\n\nHail, most compassionate mother of mercy; hail, consolation and pardon,\nMary most desired. Who shall not love thee? Thou our light in doubt, our\nconsolation in sorrow, our relief in distress, our refuge in perils and\ntemptations, thou, after thy only-begotten Son, art our secure salvation.\nBlessed are those who love thee, oh Lady. Incline, I pray thee, thy ear\nof mercy to the prayers of this thy servant, this miserable sinner, and\ndissipate the darkness of my vices by the rays of thy sanctity, that I\nmay please thee.[1929]\n\n\n\n\nEjaculations to the Most Holy Mary.\n\n\nMother of God, remember me.\u2014_St. Francis Xavier._\n\nVirgin and mother, make me always to remember thee.\u2014_St. Philip Neri._\n\nVirgin Mary, mother of God, pray to Jesus for me.\u2014_The same Saint._\n\nOh Lady, obtain that Jesus may not cast me from him.\u2014_St. Ephrem._\n\nOh Mary, may my heart never cease to love thee nor my tongue to praise\nthee.\u2014_St. Bonaventure._\n\nOh Lady, by the love which thou dost bear to Jesus, help me to love\nhim.\u2014_St. Bridget._\n\nOh Mary, deign, to make me thy servant.\u2014_Blessed Jane of France._\n\nOh Mary, I give myself wholly to thee, do thou accept and preserve\nme.\u2014_St. Mary Magdalene of Pazzi._\n\nOh Lady, do not abandon me until death.\u2014_P. Spinelli._\n\nHail Mary, my mother.\u2014_P. Francis Brancaccio._\n\nHoly Mary, my advocate, pray for me.\u2014_P. Sortorio Caputi._\n\n How sweet, oh my mother, is thy name of Mary!\n It gives me peace, and so much pleasure,\n That I wish always to repeat it.\n\n * * * * *\n\nThe most holy Mary revealed to a soul devoted to her, that it pleased her\nmuch to be honored by her servants with the following devotions.\n\nI thank thee, oh eternal Father, for the power given to Mary thy\ndaughter. Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to God.\n\nI thank thee, oh eternal Son, for the wisdom given to Mary thy mother.\nOur Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to God.\n\nI thank thee, oh eternal Spirit, for the love given to Mary thy spouse.\nOur Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to God.\n\nTo thee we cry, oh queen of mercy, turn towards us, and let us behold\nthee dispensing favors, bestowing remedies, giving strength. Show us thy\ncompassionate countenance, and we shall be safe.[1930]\n\nOh mistress of all things, saint of saints, our strength and refuge, God,\nas it were, of the world, glory of heaven, accept those who love thee;\nhear us, for thy Son honors thee and denies thee nothing.\u2014_Ibid._[1931]\n\nCome, hasten, oh Lady, and aid with thy mercy thy most sinful servant who\ninvokes thee, and deliver him from the hands of the enemy.\u2014_Ibid._[1932]\n\nWho will not sigh to thee? With love and grief we sigh. How, then, shall\nwe not sigh to thee, oh solace of the miserable, refuge of outcasts,\ndeliverer of captives? We are secure that if thou dost see our miseries,\nthy compassion will not be slow to relieve us.\u2014_Ibid._[1933]\n\nOh our Lady and our advocate, recommend us to thy Son. Obtain, oh blessed\none, by the grace thou hast merited, that he who did condescend, with\nthy mediation, to become a participator of our infirmity and misery,\nmay also by thy intercession make us to share in his blessedness and\nglory.\u2014_Ibid._[1934]\n\nIn thee I have placed the hope of my whole heart.\u2014_St. John Damascene._\n\nIt is not possible, oh Lady, that thou shouldst abandon him who places\nhis hope in thee.\u2014_St. Bernard._\n\nIf thou dost only wish for our salvation, it will be impossible that we\nshould not be saved.\u2014_St. Anselm._\n\nHail, daughter of God the Father; hail, mother of God the Son; hail,\nspouse of God the Holy Ghost; hail, temple of the whole Trinity.\u2014_Simon\nGarcia._\n\nOh Virgin, how beautiful art thou!\n\nMother of my God, my heart is enamored with thy goodness.\n\n * * * * *\n\nThanks be to God and to Mary.\n\nMay all things be to the eternal glory of the most holy Trinity, and of\nthe immaculate Mary.\n\nLive always, Jesus our love and Mary our hope, with Joseph and Theresa\nour advocates.\n\n\n\n\nACCLAMATIONS IN PRAISE OF MARY.\n\n\nOh most holy Virgin Mary! oh queen of angels! how complete and perfect\nheaven has created thee! Oh, that I might appear in the eyes of God,\nas thou dost appear to me! Thou art so beautiful and lovely, that with\nthy beauty thou dost ravish hearts. When thou dost appear, every thing\nappears deformed, every beauty is eclipsed, every grace disappears,\nprecisely as the stars disappear at the rising of the sun.\n\nThy great servant, St. John Damascene, contemplated thee; and when he saw\nthee so lovely, it appeared to him thou hadst taken the flower and the\nbest of every creature, and therefore he called thee: The comeliness of\nnature: \u201cNatur\u00e6 venustatem;\u201d the grace and comeliness of all creatures.\nSt. Augustine, the brightest light of the Doctors, gazed on thee, and\nthou didst appear to him so beautiful and lovely, that he called thee the\nform and countenance of God, and it did not seem to him adulation: Thou\nart worthy of being called the form of God: \u201cSi formam Dei te appellem\ndigna existis.\u201d Thy devout servant, Albertus Magnus, contemplated thee,\nand it seemed to him that all the graces and gifts that were found in the\nmost celebrated women of the ancient dispensation were all surpassed in\nthee. The golden mouth of Sara, when with thy smile thou makest heaven\nand earth joyful; the tender and sweet glance of the fruitful Lia, with\nwhich thou dost soften the heart of God inexorable to sinners; the\nsplendor of the countenance of the beautiful Rachel, as thou dost obscure\nthe sun by thy radiant beauty; the grace and the comeliness of the\ndiscreet Abigail, with which thou dost appease the wrath of an angry God;\nthe fire and strength of the brave Judith, when thou dost powerfully and\ngraciously subdue the proudest hearts.\n\nIn a word, sovereign princess, from the vast ocean of thy beauty flowed\nforth, like streams, the beauty and grace of all creatures. The sea\nlearned to curl its waves, and wave its crystals, from the golden locks\nof thy head, which, curling gracefully, floated upon thy shoulders and\nivory neck. The crystal fountains, and their clear depths, learned their\nquiet and steady flow from the serenity of thy beautiful brow and thy\nplacid countenance. The graceful bow, when it is most beautiful, has\ncarefully learned from thy eyebrow to arch itself gracefully, that it\nmay better dart forth its rays of light. The morning Dian and the gentle\nHesperus are flashes from thy radiant eyes. The white lily and the ruddy\nrose have stolen their colors from thy cheeks. The envious purple and\ncoral sigh for the ruby of thy lips. The purest milk and sweetest honey\nare distillations from the sweet honeycomb of thy mouth. The odorous\njasmin and the fragrant rose of Damascus have stolen their perfumes from\nthy breath. The loftiest cedar and the finest and most erect cypress\nesteem themselves happy when they see that they are the image of thy\nstraight and lofty neck, and the palm-tree enviously, and in emulation,\nimitates thy stately stature. And thus, oh Lady, every created beauty\nis the shadow and copy of thy beauty. Therefore I do not wonder, oh\nsovereign princess, that heaven and earth are placed under thy feet; for\nthey are so small and thou so great, that when thy feet only rest upon\nthem they are enriched, and they deem themselves happy and blessed when\nthey can kiss them: so the moon when St. John the Evangelist saw her at\nthy feet. And the splendor of the sun was increased, when thou didst\nclothe thyself with his rays. The Evangelist, blinded by the greatness\nof thy light, was lost in wonder, and beside himself at the sight of so\nstupendous a miracle of beauty, in which the beauty of heaven and earth\nwas contained, and he said: And there appeared a great sign in heaven:\n\u201cSignum magnum apparuit in c\u0153lo.\u201d There appeared a great wonder in\nheaven, that amazed the angels and terrified the earth. And that miracle\nwas a woman clothed from head to foot with light and splendor, whom the\nresplendent sun chose for his mother, and he placed himself in her womb,\nand to her the fair moon serves as a robe encircled with silver, and\ninnumerable stars crown her temples, and are emulous of encircling her\nlocks, and adorn her head with a wreath of precious gems: And on her head\na crown of twelve stars: \u201cEt in capite ejus corona duodecim stellarum.\u201d\n\nAnd thus the saints, oh most sacred Virgin, marvelling at so great\nsplendor which surpasses the brightness of the sun, and the graceful\nloveliness of the moon, though they be the perfect flower and ideal of\nall beauty, and considering the acclamations that burst forth from the\nheavens, never ceased to admire thy beauty, and do nothing but exclaim,\nand extol thee also, with acclamations of wonder and amazement. St. Peter\nDamian, paying to thee his homage, says: \u201cOh holy, and most holy of all\nthe saints, and the richest treasure of all sanctity!\u201d And St. Bernard:\n\u201cOh admirable Virgin! Oh woman, the glory of all other women! The best\nand greatest that the world has ever possessed!\u201d St. Epiphanius: \u201cOh\nheaven more vast and extended than the empyrean! Virgin truly full of\ngrace!\u201d And the Catholic Church, in the name of all, sings: \u201cOh most\nclement, most merciful, oh always sweet Virgin Mary!\u201d\n\nAnd I also, oh heavenly princess, with thy leave, although I am the\nleast of thy servants, I also wish to make my acclamations of wonder and\namazement. Oh gracious and beautiful heaven, more vast than the empyrean!\nsince in this the immensity of God is not contained, but he was even\nconcealed in thy womb. Oh richest treasure, in which was deposited the\nmost rich jewel of our redemption! Oh mother of sinners, beneath thy\nmantle we are protected! Oh consolation of the world, in whom all the\nafflicted, infirm, and disconsolate find comfort! Oh beautiful eyes, that\nravish hearts! Oh coral lips, that take souls captive! Oh beneficent\nhands, filled with hyacinths, that are always dispensing graces! Oh pure\ncreature, who dost appear so like God, and whom I should have esteemed a\nGod, if faith had not taught me that thou art not God, although thou hast\na splendor and I know not what of supreme Deity! Oh great Lady, empress\nof heaven, enjoy for a thousand eternities the grandeur of thy state, the\nimmensity of thy graces, and the felicity of thy glory. Only I supplicate\nthee, oh compassionate mother, that thou wilt not forget us, who beg to\nbe thy servants and children. And because thou art the depositary of all\ngraces, and the best and most privileged of all created things, obtain\nfor us thy servants, oh Lady, that we may be favored far more than any\nothers in the world. And may all the world know that the dear children\nof Mary are the best of heaven and earth; the beloved children who are\ntenderly cared for, and enjoy the best that such a mother has to give;\nthe well-beloved, who are caressed in the bosom of the queen of heaven,\nand are doubly favored and doubly caressed by thy majesty. Thus I hope,\noh most beautiful Rachel! and thus I trust thou wilt do, oh sovereign\nprincess! In the name of what thou art; do it, for all heaven prostrate\nat thy feet, is supplicating and praying thee for this. Consent;\nutter but one loving _fiat_; _fiat, fiat_; be it done, be it done. Oh\nman, what art thou doing? How dost thou love the creatures of earth,\ndeceitful and lying creatures, who betray and make thee lose thy soul,\nthy body, paradise, and God? And why not love Mary, the most loving,\nthe most amiable, and the most faithful, who, after enriching thee with\nconsolations and graces in this life, will obtain for thee, from her\ndivine Son, the eternal glory of paradise? Oh Mary, Mary, beautiful above\nall creatures! lovely, next to Jesus, above all loves! dearer than all\ncreated things! more graceful than all graces! have pity on my miserable\nheart. Miserable because it ought to love thee and does not love thee.\nThou canst kindle it with thy holy love. Turn, oh Mary, thy loving eyes\nupon me, look on me, draw me to thyself, and obtain that, next to God, I\nmay love none but thee, oh most gracious, most amiable Mary, mother of\nJesus, and my mother.\n\n\n\n\nFOOTNOTES\n\n\n[1] Mater quidem spiritu non capitis nostri, quod est ipse salvator,\nex quo magis illa spiritualiter nata est; quia omnes, qui in eum\ncrediderint, in quibus et ipsa est, recte filii sponsi appellantur; sed\nplane mater membrorum ejus (qu\u00e6 nos sumus) quia cooperata est charitate,\nut fideles in Ecclesia nascerentur, qui illius capitis membra sunt. Lib.\nde Sancta Virginitate, cap. 6.\n\n[2] M. Nicole, Instr. theol. and mor. on the Lord\u2019s Prayer, the Angelical\nSalutation, &c., Instr. 5, c. 2.\n\n[3] Part 1, c. 6, \u00a7 2, c. 7, 8, \u00a7 2, c. 9.\n\n[4] In Christo fuit plenitudo grati\u00e6, sicut in capite influente; in Maria\nvero, sicut in collo transfundente. Theolog. mentis et cordis. Tom. 2,\nLib. 10. Dissert. 6, c. 1. Speculat. 2. in Reflexiones.\n\n[5] Dicitur autem Beata Virgo plena grati\u00e6, quantum ad tria.... Tertio\nquo ad refusionem in omnes homines. Magnum enim est in quolibet sancto,\nquando habet tantum de gratia quod sufficit ad salutem multorum; sed\nquando haberet tantum, quod sufficeret ad salutem omnium hominum de\nmundo, hoc esset maximum; et hoc est in Christo et in Beata Virgine. Nam\nin omni periculo potes salutem obtinere ab ipsa Virgine gloriosa. Unde\ncantic. 4. _Mille clypei_, id est remedia contra pericula, _pendent ex\nea_. Item in omni opere virtutis potes eam habere in adjutorium; et ideo\ndicit ipsa. Eccli. xxiv. 25.\n\n[6] Laus Mari\u00e6 fons est indeficiens, qui quanto amplius tenditur, tanto\namplius impletur; quanto amplius impletur, tanto amplius dilatatur.\n\n[7] Etiamsi omnium nostrum membra verterentur in linguas eam laudare\nsufficiret nullus. Ap. B. Dion. Carth.\n\n[8] Honorare Mariam est thesaurizare vitam eternam. De Laud. v. c. 2.\n\n[9] Honorificantes se in hoc s\u00e6culo honorificabit in futuro.\n\n[10] Qui elucidant me, vitam eternam habebunt. Eccli. xxiv. 31.\n\n[11] Exulta, exulta, anima mea, et l\u00e6tare in illa; quia multa bona\nsunt laudatoribus pr\u00e6parata. Si enim omnes scriptur\u00e6 loquuntur de ea,\nDeiparam perpetuo corde et lingua celebremus, ut ab ipsa ad gaudia eterna\nperducamur.\n\n[12] Revel., cap. 14.\n\n[13] Ap. P. Auriem.\n\n[14] Fili, miserere anim\u00e6 amatoris tui et laudatoris mei. Serm. 20, ad\nNov.\n\n[15] Quomodo fieri potest ut ex memoria laudum ejus salus non proveniat\npeccatorum, cujus uterus facta est via ad peccatores salvandos? S. Ans.\nLib. 3, de Exc. V. cap. 1.\n\n[16] Laudamus humilitatem, miramur virginitatem; sed miseris sapit\ndulcius misericordia; misericordiam amplectimur carius, recordamur\ns\u00e6pius, crebrius invocamus. Serm. 4, de Ass.\n\n[17] Jesus et Maria, amores mei dulcissimi, pro vobis patiar, pro vobis\nmoriar; sim totus vester, sim nihil meus. Ap. Auriem. Aff. sc.\n\n[18] Si ipse Rex est qui natus est de Virgine, mater, qu\u00e6 eum genuit,\nRegina et Domina proprie ac vere censetur. Serm. de Deip.\n\n[19] H\u00e6c autem Virgo in illo consensu meruit primatum orbis, dominium\nmundi, sceptrum regni super omnes creaturas. Tom. 2d, cap. 51.\n\n[20] Neque a dominatione filii Mater potest esse sejuncta, una est Mari\u00e6\net Christi caro.\n\nFilii gloriam cum Matre, non tam communem judico, quam eamdem. S. Arnol.\nde Laud. Virg.\n\n[21] Regina constituta, totom jure possidet filii regnum. Rupert, abb.\n\n[22] Tot creatur\u00e6 serviunt glorios\u00e6 Virgini, quot serviunt Trinitati;\nomnes namque creatur\u00e6 sive angeli, sive homines, et omnia qu\u00e6 sunt in\nc\u0153lo et in terra, quia omnia sunt divino imperio subjecta, glorios\u00e6\nVirgini sunt subject\u00e6. Tom. 2, cap. 61.\n\n[23] Perge Maria, perge secura in bonis filii tui; fiducialiter age\ntamquam regina, mater regis et sponsa; tibi debetur regnum et potestas.\n\n[24] Hoc reges habent magnificum, prodesse miseris.\n\n[25] Duo h\u00e6c audivi, quia potestas Dei est, et tibi, Domine,\nmisericordia. Psal. lxi. 12.\n\n[26] Regnum Dei consistit in potestate et misericordia; potestate Deo\nremanente, cessit quodammodo misericordi\u00e6 pars matri regnanti. Psal. iii.\nTr. 4th, S. Magn.\n\n[27] Quando filium Dei in utero concepit, et post modum peperit, dimidiam\npartem regni Dei impetravit, ut ipsa sit regina misericordi\u00e6, ut Christus\nest rex justiti\u00e6.\n\n[28] Deus judicium tuum regi da; et justitiam tuam filio regis. Psal.\nlxxi. 2.\n\n[29] Quia misericordiam tuam dedisti Matri Regis.\n\n[30] Deus judicium tuum regi da, et misericordiam tuam matri ejus.\n\n[31] Pater omne judicium dedit filio, et omne officium misericordi\u00e6 dedit\nmatri.\n\n[32] Unxit te Deus oleo l\u00e6titi\u00e6. Psal. xliv. 8.\n\n[33] Maria, plena unctione misericordi\u00e6 et oleo pietatis; propterea unxit\nte Deus oleo l\u00e6titi\u00e6. In spec., cap. 7.\n\n[34] Ne putes quod animam tuam tantum liberes, quia in domo regis es pr\u00e6\ncunctis Jud\u00e6is. Esth. iv. 15.\n\n[35] Qu\u00e6 est petitio tua? Si inveni gratiam in oculis tuis o rex, dona\nmihi populum meum, pro quo obsecro.\n\n[36] Lex clementi\u00e6 in lingua ejus. Prov. xxxi. 26.\n\n[37] Quod divin\u00e6 pietatis abyssum cui vult, quando vult et quomodo\nvult, creditur aperire; ut nemo tam enormis peccator pereat, cui sancta\nsanctorum pratrocinii suffragia pr\u00e6stat. In Salve Regina.\n\n[38] Maria quanto altior et sanctior, tanto clementior et dulcior circa\nconversos peccatores. Lib. 1, ep. 47.\n\n[39] Quid ad Mariam accedere trepidat humana fragilitas? Nihil austerum\nin ea, nihil terribile; tota suavis est, omnibus offerens lac et lanam.\nSuper Sign. Magn.\n\n[40] Ita benigna est, ut neminem tristem redire sinat. Lib. 4, c. 12.\n\n[41] Tu es regina misericordi\u00e6, et ego miserrimus peccator, subditorum\nmaximus. Rege nos ergo, o regina misericordi\u00e6. In Salv. Reg.\n\n[42] Habes vires insuperabiles, ne clementiam tuam superet multitudo\npeccatorum. Nihil tu\u00e6 resistet potenti\u00e6; tuam enim gloriam Creator\nexistimat esse propriam, et filius in ea exultans, quasi exsolvens\ndebitum, implet petitiones tuas. Or. de exitu, B. V.\n\n[43] Ego regina c\u0153li; ego mater misericordi\u00e6; ego justorum gaudium et\naditus peccatorum ad Deum. Nullus est adeo maledictus, qui quamdiu vivit\ncareat misericordia mea; quia propter me levius tentatur a d\u00e6monibus,\nquam alias tentaretur. Nullus est ita abjectus a Deo, nisi fuerit\nomnino maledictus, qui si me invocaverit, non revertatur ad Deum, et\nhabiturus sit misericordiam. Ego vocor ab omnibus mater misericordi\u00e6, et\nvere misericordia illius misericordem me fecit. Ideo miser erit qui ad\nmisericordem, cum possit, non accedit. Rev. Lib. 1, cap. 6.\n\n[44] Veni de Libano, sponsa mea, veni de Libano, veni; coronaberis ... de\ncubilibus leonum, de montibus pardorum. Cant. 4, 8.\n\n[45] De talium leonum cubiculis tu coronaberis. Eorum salus corona tua\nerit. Rup. Vid. l. 3, in Cant.\n\n[46] Domina, me tu\u00e6 dominationi volo committere, ut me plenarie regas et\ngubernes. Non mihi me relinquas.\n\n[47] Tuus sum ego, salvum me fac.\n\n[48] Veni, ut vitam habeant, et abundantius habeant. Joan x. 10.\n\n[49] Pater futuri s\u00e6culi, princeps pacis. Isa. ix. 6.\n\n[50] Virgo per hunc consensum in incarnatione filii omnium salutem\nvigorosissime expetiit et procuravit; et omnium salvationi per hunc\nconsensum se dedicavit, ita ut ex tunc omnes in suis visceribus bajulat,\ntanquam verissima mater filios suos. Tr. de B. V. serm. 6.\n\n[51] Peperit filium suum primogenitum. Luc. cap. ii. 7.\n\n[52] Si primogenitus, ergo alii filii secuti sunt secundogeniti? Carnales\nnullos habet B. Virgo, pr\u00e6ter Christum; ergo spirituales habeat necesse\nest.\n\n[53] Venter tuus sicut acervus tritici, vallatus liliis. Cant. vii. 2.\n\n[54] Unum granum frumenti fuit in utero Virginis, Christus Dominus; et\ntamen acervus tritici dicitur, quia granum hoc virtute omnes electos\ncontinet, ut ipse sit primogenitus in multis fratribus. De Instit. Virg.\n\n[55] In illo uno fructu, in uno salvatore omnium Jesu plurimos Maria\npeperit ad salutem. Pariendo vitam, multos peperit ad vitam. In Cant. iv.\n13.\n\n[56] Illa spiritu mater est membrorum salvatoris, quia cooperata est\ncharitate, ut fideles in ecclesia nascerentur. De Virg. cap. 6.\n\n[57] Posuit me custodem in vineis; vineam meam non custodivi. Cant. i. 5.\n\n[58] Ut multas animas salvas faceret, animam suam morti exposuit.\n\n[59] Et tuam ipsius animam doloris gladius pertransibit. Luc. ii. 35.\n\n[60] Nullo modo dubitandum est, quia Mari\u00e6 animus voluit etiam tradere\nfilium suum pro salute generis humani, ut mater per omnia conformis\nfieret Patri et Filio.\n\n[61] Isa. lxiii. 3.\n\n[62] Joan. xix. 26.\n\n[63] Deinde dicit discipulo: Ecce mater tua. Joan. xix. 27.\n\n[64] In Joanne intelligimus omnes, quorum B. Virgo per dilectionem facta\nest mater. Tom. 1, Serm. 55.\n\n[65] Deinde dicit discipulo: Ecce mater tua. Joan. xix. 27.\n\n[66] Joannes est nomen particulare, discipulus commune, ut denotetur quod\nMaria omnibus detur in matrem.\n\n[67] Ego sum mater pulchr\u00e6 dilectionis. Eccli. xxiv. 24.\n\n[68] Quia tota est amor erga nos, quos in filios recepit. Paciucch. de B.\nV.\n\n[69] Nonne plus sine comparatione nos diligis, ac bona nostra procuras,\nquam mater carnalis?\n\n[70] Salvum fac filium ancill\u00e6 tu\u00e6. Psal. lxxxv. 16.\n\n[71] Cujus ancill\u00e6?\n\n[72] Qu\u00e6 dit; Ecce ancilla Domini. In Psal. lxxxv.\n\n[73] Quam bene nobis erit sub pr\u00e6sidio tant\u00e6 matris? Quis detrahere\naudebit de sinu ejus? Qu\u00e6 nos tentatio, aut turbatio superare poterit\nconfidentes in patrocinio matris Dei et nostr\u00e6? Bell. de sept verb.\n\n[74] Fidelium piissima mater, furente tentationum tempestate, materno\naffectu eos, velut intra viscera propria receptos protegit, donec in\nbeatum portum reponat. V. cap. 14, exc. 81.\n\n[75] Ita ego facio, et faciam omnibus peccatoribus misericordiam meam\npetentibus. Lib. 4, c. 38.\n\n[76] Sub tuum pr\u00e6sidium confugimus, sancta Dei genitrix.\n\n[77] Dic, anima mea, cum magna fiducia: Exultabo et l\u00e6tabor, quia\nquicquid judicabitur de me pendet ex sententia fratris et matris me\u00e6.\n\n[78] Oh beata fiducia, oh tutum refugium! Mater Dei est mater mea. Qua\ncertitudine igitur debemus sperare, quoniam salus de boni fratris et pi\u00e6\nmatris pendet arbitrio! In Depr. ad. V.\n\n[79] Si quis est parvulus, veniat ad me. Prov. ix. 4.\n\n[80] Opusc. 60, cap. 4.\n\n[81] Natura hoc bestiis infundit, ut catulos parvulos ament. Lib. 6, Exa.\nc. 4.\n\n[82] Nunquid oblivisci potest mulier infantem suum, ut non misereatur\nfilio uteri sui? Et si illa oblita fuerit ego tamen non obliviscar tui.\nIsa. xlix. 15.\n\n[83] Ego mater pulchr\u00e6 dilectionis. Eccl. xxiv. 24.\n\n[84] Se dilectionis esse matrem gloriatur, quia tota est amor erga nos,\nquos in filios recepit. Paciucch.\n\n[85] Flagrabat Virgo \u00e6stuante charitate incensa, ut pro humani generis\nsalute simul cum prole profunderet vitam. Tract. de Verb. Dom.\n\n[86] Pendebat in cruce filius, mater persecutoribus se offerebat. De\nInst. Virg. c. 7.\n\n[87] Hoc mandatum habemus a Deo, ut qui diligit Deum, diligat et fratrem\nsuum. 1 Joan. iv. 21.\n\n[88] Vita, Lib. 2, cap. 5.\n\n[89] Mulier ecce filius tuus.\n\n[90] \u201cSic Deus dilexit mundum, ut filium suum unigenitum daret.\u201d Joan.\niii. 16.\n\n[91] Sic Maria dilexit nos, ut filium suum unigenitum daret.\n\n[92] Nulla post eam creatura ita per amorem nostrum exardescet, qu\u00e6\nfilium suum unicum, quem multo plus se amavit, nobis dedit, et pro nobis\nobtulit.\n\n[93] Veni salvum facere, quod perierat. Luc. xix. 10.\n\n[94] Factus obediens usque ad mortem. Phil. ii. 8.\n\n[95] Et signum magnum apparuit in c\u0153lo, mulier amicta sole. Apoc. xii. 1.\n\n[96] Non est qui se abscondet a calore ejus. Psal. xviii. 7.\n\n[97] A calore ejus, idest a dilectione Mari\u00e6.\n\n[98] Oh quanta cura est Virgini matri de nobis! Omnibus aperit sinum\nmisericordi\u00e6 su\u00e6.\n\n[99] Constat pro universo genere humano fuisse solicitam. Ho. 2, Mis.\n\n[100] Domine, da mihi, quod pro me postulat Ss. Virgo Maria.\n\n[101] Ipsa enim majora optat, quam nos optare possumus.\n\n[102] Plus ipsa desiderat facere tibi bonum, et largiri gratiam, quam tu\naccipere concupiscas. Mar. 1, Serm. 5.\n\n[103] Pr\u00e6occupat qui se concupiscunt, ut illis se prior ostendat. Sap.\nvi. 14.\n\n[104] Prius occurrit, quam invocetur. Ric. in Cant. iv. 5.\n\n[105] Facile invenitur ab his qui diligunt illam. Sap. vi. 13.\n\n[106] Ego diligentes me diligo. Prov. viii. 17.\n\n[107] Inventa Maria Virgine, invenitur omne bonum. Ipsa namque diligit\ndiligentes se, immo sibi servientibus servit. De contempl. Virgin. in\nProlog.\n\n[108] Semper Maria cum amantibus est amantior. Ep. ad., Ep. aur.\n\n[109] Ave Domina, mater mea; imo cor meum, anima mea.\n\n[110] Raptrix cordium.\n\n[111] Nonne rapuisti cor meum?\n\n[112] Scio, Domina, quia amantissima es et amas nos amore invincibili.\nSerm. 1, de Nat. B. V.\n\n[113] Beati quorum corda diligunt Mariam! Beati qui ei famulantur!\n\n[114] Nunquam in hoc certamine a nobis vincitur. Amorem redhibet, et\npr\u00e6terita beneficia semper novis adauget. Paciucch. de B. Virg.\n\n[115] Vestri continuo amore langueat cor meum, liquefiat anima mea. In\nDepr. ad V.\n\n[116] Date itaque supplicanti anim\u00e6 me\u00e6, non propter meritum meum sed\npropter meritum vestrum, date illi quantum digni estis amorem vestrum. Oh\namator hominum, tu potuisti reos tuos usque ad mortem amare, et poteris\nroganti amorem tui et matris tu\u00e6 negare? Loc. cit.\n\n[117] Affett Scamb. tom. 2, cap. 7.\n\n[118] Nunquam quiescam, donec habuero tenerum amorem erga matrem meam\nMariam.\n\n[119] Amor aut similes invenit, aut facit. Aristot.\n\n[120] Ego sum quasi mater omnium peccatorum volentium se emendare. L. 4,\nRev. c. 138.\n\n[121] Pone finem a voluntate peccandi, et invenies Mariam\u2014indubitanter\npromitto\u2014promptiorem carnali matre in tui dilectione. L. 4, Ep. 47.\n\n[122] Surrexerunt filii ejus. Prov. xxxi. 28.\n\n[123] Nec dignus est, qui in mortali peccato est, vocari filius tant\u00e6\nmatris.\n\n[124] Qui genitricis non facit opera, negat genus.\n\n[125] Filii Mari\u00e6 imitatores ejus, in castitate, humilitate,\nmansuetudine, misericordia.\n\n[126] Monstra te esse matrem.\n\n[127] Monstra te esse filium. Ap. Aur.\n\n[128] Maledictus a Deo qui exasperat matrem suam. Eccli. iii. 18.\n\n[129] Matrem suam, idest Mariam.\n\n[130] Conanti surgere ad Deum tribuis auxilium, et neminem relinquis\nvacuum a tua consolatione.\n\n[131] 2, 2, qu. 178, a. 2, ad 1.\n\n[132] Omnis qui petit, accipit. Luc. xi. 10.\n\n[133] Si merita invocantis non merentur, ut exaudiatur; merita tamen\nmatris intercedunt, ut exaudiatur.\n\n[134] Quia indignus erat, cui donaretur, datum est Mari\u00e6, ut per illam\nacciperes quicquid haberes. Serm. 3, in Vig. Nat.\n\n[135] Oh felix Maria, tu mater rei, tu mater judicis; cum sis mater\nutriusque, discordias inter tuos filios nequis sustinere. In Depr. ad V.\n\n[136] Quantumcumque homo peccat, statim parata sum recipere revertentem;\nnec attendo quantum peccaverit, sed cum quali intentione redit; nam non\ndedignor ejus plagas ungere, et sanare, quia vocor et vere sum mater\nmisericordi\u00e6. Rev. 1. c. 23.\n\n[137] Miserere mei. Domine Fili David, filia mea male a d\u0153monio vexatur.\nMatth. xv. 22.\n\n[138] Miserere mei.\n\n[139] Maria clamat pro anima peccatrice; miserere mei. De Laud. V. n. 6.\n\n[140] Oh Maria peccatorem toti mundo despectum, materno affectu\ncomplecteris! nec deseris, quousque miserum judici reconcilies. In spec.\nc. 5.\n\n[141] C. xiv.\n\n[142] Mari\u00e6 peccatores in filios commendavi, propterea adeo est sedula,\nut, officio suo satisfaciens neminem eorum, qui sibi commissi sunt,\npr\u00e6cipue illam invocantium, perire sinat, sed quantum valet, omnes mihi\nreducat. V. l. 4, Min. Op.\n\n[143] Hujus matris bonitas, misericordia, fidelitas, charitas erga\nhomines tanta est ut nullis verbis explicari possit.\n\n[144] Beatis illius pedibus persolvamur; teneamus eam, nec di mittamus\ndonec benedixerit nes. In Sign. Mag.\n\n[145] Etiamsi occiderit me, sperabo in eum; et tutus confidens juxta ejus\nimaginem mori desidero, et salvus ero.\n\n[146] Nomen habes quod vivas, et mortuus es. Apoc. iii. 1.\n\n[147] Qui mane vigilant ad me, invenient me. Prov. viii. 17.\n\n[148] Invenient me, invenient gratiam.\n\n[149] Qui me invenerit, inveniet vitam, et hauriet salutem a Domino.\n\n[150] Audite, audite qui cupitis regnum Dei; Virginem Mariam honorate, et\ninvenietis vitam et salutem eternam.\n\n[151] Omnes indulgentias factas in Veteri Testamento non ambigo Deum\nfecisse solum propter hujus benedict\u00e6 puell\u00e6 Virginis reverentiam, et\namorem. Tom. 4, serm. 61, c. 8.\n\n[152] Qu\u00e6ramus gratiam, et per Mariam qu\u00e6ramus. Serm. de aqu\u00e6d.\n\n[153] Inventrix grati\u00e6.\n\n[154] Ne timeas Maria, invenisti gratiam. Luc. i. 30.\n\n[155] Ave gratia plena, Dominus tecum.\n\n[156] Currant ergo, currant peccatores ad Virginem qui gratiam amiserant\npeccando, et eam invenient apud ipsam. Secure dicant; Redde nobis rem\nnostram, quam invenisti.\n\n[157] Cupientes invenire gratiam qu\u00e6ramus inventricem grati\u00e6, qu\u00e6, quia\nsemper invenit frustrari non poterit. De Laud. V. l. 2.\n\n[158] Ego murus et ubera mea sicut turris. Cant. viii. 10.\n\n[159] Ex quo facta sum coram eo quasi pacem reperiens. Cant. viii. 10.\n\n[160] Vade ad matrem misericordi\u00e6, et ostende illi tuorum plagas\npeccatorum; et ita ostendet pro te ubera. Exaudiet utique matrem filius.\n\n[161] Concede, misericors Deus, fragilitati nostr\u00e6 pr\u00e6sidium; ut qui\nsanct\u00e6 Dei Genitricis memoriam agimus, intercessionis ejus auxilio a\nnostris iniquitatibus resurgamus.\n\n[162] Tu es spes unica peccatorum, quia per te speramus veniam omnium\ndelictorum. Serm. 18, de Sanctis.\n\n[163] Per hanc peccatorum veniam consequimur.\n\n[164] Ave igitur mater, C\u0153lum, Thronus, Ecclesi\u00e6 nostr\u00e6 Decus; assidue\nprecare Jesum, ut per te misericordiam invenire in die judicii, et qu\u00e6\nreposita sunt iis qui diligunt Deum bona consequi possimus. In Offic.\nNat. B. M., die 5.\n\n[165] Qu\u00e6 est ista, qu\u00e6 progreditur quasi aurora consurgens? Cant. vi. 9.\n\n[166] Cum aurora sit finis noctis, et origo diei, vere per auroram\ndesignatur Maria Virgo, qu\u00e6 fuit finis vitiorum, et origo virtutum. Serm.\n2, de Ass. B. V.\n\n[167] Serm. 3, in Dorm. B. V.\n\n[168] De Zona Virgin.\n\n[169] Ecce enim ex hoc beatam me dicent omnes generationes. Luc. i. 48.\n\n[170] Ex hoc beatam te dicent omnes generationes, qu\u00e6 omnibus\ngenerationibus vitam et gloriam genuisti. Serm. 2, in Pentec.\n\n[171] In te peccatores veniam, justi gratiam inveniunt in eternum. Serm.\nde Nat. B. V.\n\n[172] O peccator ne diffidas, etiamsi commisisti omnia peccata; sed\nsecure ad istam gloriosissiman Dominam recurras. Invenies eam in manibus\nplenam misericordia, et largitate; plus enim ipsa desiderat facere tibi\nbonum, et largiri gratiam, quam tu accipere concupiscas. Serm. 5, de N. M.\n\n[173] Fidejussio divinarum reconciliationum, qu\u00e6 dato pignore fit.\n\n[174] Exultabant autem pr\u00e6noscentes, quod ipse Dominus ex tua humilitate\net vit\u00e6 puritate, O Maria stella pr\u00e6fulgida, placaretur, et quod\nreciperet eos in suam gratiam, qui ipsum ad iracundiam provocaverunt.\nSerm. Ang. c. 9.\n\n[175] Es. della SS. Virg.\n\n[176] Scis dulcissima Dei mater, quantum placeat benedicto filio tuo\nsalus nostra. Guill. Paris.\n\n[177] Quotidie petenda est, ut quotidie obtineatur.\n\n[178] Qui operantur in me, non peccabunt; qui elucidant me, vitam eternam\nhabebunt. Eccli. xxiv. 30, 31.\n\n[179] Prov. viii. 15. In Festo S. Mari\u00e6 ad nives.\n\n[180] Sicut turris David collum tuum, qu\u00e6 edificata est cum\npropugnaculis; mille clypei pendent ex ea, omnia armatura fortium. Cant.\niv. 4.\n\n[181] Quasi platanus exaltata sum juxta aquam in plateis. Eccli. xxiv. 19.\n\n[182] Platanus habet folia scutis similia.\n\n[183] Virgo ramorum extensione se ubique expandit, ut filios Ad\u00e6 ab \u00e6stu\net turbine umbra desiderabili protegeret. B. Am. Hom. 8.\n\n[184] Tolle corpus hoc solare, ubi dies? Tolle Mariam, quid nisi tenebr\u00e6\nrelinquentur? Serm. de Aqu\u00e6d.\n\n[185] Posuisti tenebras, et facta est nox; in ipsa pertransibunt omnes\nbesti\u00e6 sylv\u00e6. Psal. ciii. 20.\n\n[186] V\u00e6 v\u00e6 eis qui solem istum aversantur!\n\n[187] Sicut respiratio non solum est signum vit\u00e6, sed etiam causa; sic\nMari\u00e6 nomen, quod in servorum Dei ore versatur, simul argumentum est quod\nvere vivant, simul etiam hanc vitam efficit et conservat; omnemque eis\nopem impertitur. Orat. de Deip.\n\n[188] Beatus homo qui audit me, qui vigilat ad fores meas quotidie, et\nobservat ad postes ostii mei. Prov. viii. 34. In Festo Conc. B. V. M.\n\n[189] Luna in nocte, aurora in diluculo, sol in die. Serm. 2, de Ass.\n\n[190] Vincula illius alligatura salutaris. Eccli. vi. 31.\n\n[191] Quare vincul\u00e6? nisi quia servos ligat, ne discurrant per campos\nlicenti\u00e6.\n\n[192] In plenitudine sanctorum detentio mea. Eccli. xxiv. 16.\n\n[193] Ipsa quoque non solum in plenitudine sanctorum detinetur, sed etiam\nin plenitudine sanctos detinet, ne eorum plenitudo minuatur; detinet\nnimirum virtutes, ne fugiant; detinet demones, ne noceant. In spec.\n\n[194] Omnes domestici ejus vestiti sunt duplicibus. Prov. xxxi. 21.\n\n[195] Duplici veste ipsa ornat sibi devotos, quia tam Christi quam suis\nvirtutibus eos induit.\n\n[196] Si prodigus filius viventem matrem habuisset, vel a paterna domo\nnunquam discessisset, vel forte citius rediisset.\n\n[197] In fluctibus maris ambulavi. C. xxiv. 8.\n\n[198] Scilicet cum familiaribus meis, ut ipsos eruerem a naufragio\npeccatorum.\n\n[199] Sicut pulli, volitantibus desuper milvis, ad gallin\u00e6 alas\noccurrunt; ita nos sub velamento alarum tuarum abscondimur. Serm. 3, de\nNat. Virg.\n\n[200] Nescimus aliud refugium nisi te, tu sola es unica spes nostra, tu\nsola patrona nostra, ad quem omnes aspicimus.\n\n[201] O quisquis te intelligis in hujus s\u00e6culi pro fluvio magis inter\nprocellas et tempestates fluctuare, quam per terram ambulare; ne avertas\noculos a fulgore hujus sideris, si non vis obrui procellis; respice\nstellam, voca Mariam. In periculis, in angustiis, in rebus dubiis Mariam\ncogita, Mariam invoca. Non recedat ab ore, non recedat a corde. Ipsam\nsequens, non devias. Ipsam rogans, non desperas. Ipsa tenente, non\ncorruis. Ipsa protegente, non metuis. Ipsa duce, non fatigaris. Ipsa\npropitia, pervenis. Sic fac, et vives. Hom. 2, super Missus.\n\n[202] Omni tempore diligit qui amicus est, et frater in angustiis\ncomprobatur. Prov. xvii. 17.\n\n[203] Ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc et in hora mortis nostr\u00e6.\n\n[204] Descendit Diabolus ad vos, habens iram magnam, sciens quodmodicum\ntempus habet. Apoc. xii. 12.\n\n[205] Implebuntur domus eorum draconibus. Isa. xiii. 21.\n\n[206] Et si ambulavero in medio umbr\u00e6 mortis, virga tua, et baculus tuus\nipsa me consolata sunt. Psal. xxii. 4.\n\n[207] Egredietur virga de radice Jesse, et flos de radice ejus ascendet.\nIsa. xi. 1.\n\n[208] H\u00e6c est illa virga, qua retunduntur impetus adversantium d\u0153monum.\nSerm. de Ass. B. V.\n\n[209] Si Maria pro nobis, quis contra nos.\n\n[210] Patrig. Menol. alli. 28 Apr.\n\n[211] Patrig. Men. etc.\n\n[212] Michael dux et princeps militi\u00e6 c\u0153lestis cum omnibus\nadministratoriis spiritibus, tuis, virgo, paret pr\u00e6ceptis, in\ndefendendis, et suscipiendis de corpore animabus Fidelium, specialiater\ntibi, Domina, die, ac nocte se commendantium. In Spec. B. V. c. 3.\n\n[213] Infernus subter te conturbatus est in occursum adventus tui,\nsuscitabit sibi gigantes. Isa. xiv. 9.\n\n[214] Quis apud judicem accusare audeat, cui viderit matrem\npatrocinantem? Ricc. ap. Pep. to. 5, Lez. 244.\n\n[215] Morientibus beata virgo, non tantum succurrit, sed etiam occurrit.\nEpist. 2.\n\n[216] Tunc ego carissima eorum domina et mater occurram eis in morte, ut\nipsi consolationem et refrigerium habeant. Rev. lib. 1, c. 29.\n\n[217] Beata virgo animas morientium suscipit. Serm. de Ass.\n\n[218] Vincula ejus alligatura salutaris, in novissimis invenies requiem\nin ea. Eccli. vi. 29, 31.\n\n[219] C. 31.\n\n[220] Opusc. 33, c. 4.\n\n[221] Adolphe mi carissime, mori cur times, meus cum sis?\n\n[222] Ego omnibus qui mihi pie deserviunt, volo in morte fidelissime\ntamquam mater piissima adesse eosque consolari ac protegere. Ap. Blos. p.\n2, Concl. an. fid. cap. 12.\n\n[223] Div. alla verg. tom. 1, tr. 1, q. 11.\n\n[224] Joannes non est meum, in hac hora meos devotos derelinquere.\n\n[225] Bolland. 8 Martii.\n\n[226] Crisog. Mond. Mar. p. 3, d. 38.\n\n[227] Maledictus homo qui confidit in homine. Jer. xvii. 5.\n\n[228] De Beat. SS. lib. 2, cap. 2.\n\n[229] Ut dignitas intercessoris suppleat inopiam nostram. De Exc. V. c. 6.\n\n[230] Unde Virginem interpellare, non est de divina misericordia\ndiffidere, sed de propria indignitate formidare. Loc. cit.\n\n[231] Mater sanct\u00e6 spei. Cap. xxiv. 24.\n\n[232] Ave anim\u00e6 spes; ave Christianorum firma salus; ave peccatorum\nadjutrix; ave vallum fidelium; et mundi salus. De Laud. Virg.\n\n[233] Nobis non est alia quam a te fiducia, O Virgo sincerissima; sub\nalis tu\u00e6 pietatis protege et custodi nos. De Laud. Virg.\n\n[234] Tu unicum nostrum refugium, subsidium, et asylum. Con. 3, de Conc.\nVirg.\n\n[235] Intuere, homo, consilium Dei, consilium pietatis; redempturus\nhumanum genus, universum pr\u00e6tium contulit in Maria. Serm. de Nat.\n\n[236] Facies et propitiatorium de auro mundissimo.... Inde pr\u00e6cipiam et\nloquar ad te. Exod. c. xxv. v. 17, 22.\n\n[237] Te universus mundus continet commune propitiatorium. Inde\npientissimus Dominus loquitur ad cor; inde responsa dat benignitatis et\nveni\u00e6; inde munera largitur; inde nobis omne bonum emanat.\n\n[238] Quid est quod sine Mari\u00e6 consensu non perficitur incarnationis\nmysterium? quia nempe vult illam Deus omnium bonorum esse principium.\nLib. 3, contr. Valent. c. 33.\n\n[239] Per ipsam habet mundus, et habiturus est omne bonum. In Pref.\nContempl. B. M.\n\n[240] O Maria quis te non amet? Tu in dubiis es lumen, in m\u0153roribus\nsolatium, in periculis refugium. Tu post unigenitum tuum certa fidelium\nsalus. Ave desperantium spes, ave destitutorum adjutrix. Cujus honori\ntantum tribuit Filius, ut quod vis, mox fiat. Cimeliarch. Embol. 1, ad\nMar.\n\n[241] Oh Domina mea, sola mihi ex Deo solatium, itineris mei directio,\ndebilitatis me\u00e6 potentia, mendicitatis me\u00e6 diviti\u00e6, vulnerum meorum\nmedicina, dolorum meorum revelatio, vinculorum meorum solatio, salutis\nme\u00e6 spes; exaudi orationes meas, miserere suspiriorum meorum, Domina mea,\nrefugium, vita, auxilium, spes et robur meum. In Encom. Deip.\n\n[242] Venerunt autem mihi omnia bona pariter cum illa. Cap. vii. v. 11.\n\n[243] Omnium bonorum mater est; et venerunt mihi omnia bona cum illa,\nscilicet virgine, potest dicere mundus. S. Anton. Part. 4, tit. 17, c. 20.\n\n[244] Inventa Maria, invenitur omne bonum.\n\n[245] Mecum sunt diviti\u00e6 et opes superb\u00e6 ... ut ditem diligentes me.\nProv. viii. 18-21.\n\n[246] Oculi omnium nostrum ad manus Mari\u00e6 semper debent respicere, ut per\nmanus ejus aliquid boni accipiamus. In Spec.\n\n[247] Ecce enim ex hoc beatam me dicent omnes generationes. Luc. i. 48.\n\n[248] Ex hoc beatam te dicent omnes generationes, qu\u00e6 omnibus\ngenerationibus vitam et gloriam genuisti. In te peccatores veniam, justi\ngratiam inveniunt in \u00e6ternum. Serm. 2, in Pentec.\n\n[249] Matrem meam veneratione pr\u00e6cipua venerare; ego enim mundo dedi in\npuritatis exemplum, in pr\u00e6sidium tutissimum, ut sit tribulatis asylum,\nquam nemo formidet; nemo ad eam accedere trepidet. Propterea namque adeo\nfeci eam mitem, adeo misericordem ut neminem aspernat, nulli se neget;\nomnibus pietatis sinum apertum teneat, neminem a se redire tristem sinat.\nLib. 4, Min. Op.\n\n[250] Quantumcumque me Deus pr\u00e6sciverat, scio quod seipsum negare non\npotest. Eum amplexabor, et si mihi non benedixerit, cum non demittam; et\nsine me recedere non valebit. In cavernis vulnerum suorum me abscondam,\nibique extra se me invenire non poterit.\n\n[251] Ad matris su\u00e6 pedes provolutus stabo, et mihi veniam impetret; ipsa\nenim non misereri ignorat; et miseris non satisfacere nunquam scivit.\nIdeoque ex compassione mihi ad indulgentiam Filium inclinabit. P. 3,\nStim. Div. Am. c. 13.\n\n[252] Respice, O mater misericordiosissima, respice servos tuos; in te\nenim omnem spem nostram collocavimus. Orat. de Deip.\n\n[253] Unica spes mea Jesus, et post Jesum Virgo Maria.\n\n[254] Fecitque Deus duo luminaria magna; luminare majus ut pr\u00e6esset diei,\nluminare minus ut pr\u00e6esset nocti. Gen. i. 16.\n\n[255] Luminare majus Christus, qui pr\u00e6est justis; luminare minus, idest\nMaria, qu\u00e6 pr\u00e6est peccatoribus.\n\n[256] Qui jacet in nocte culp\u00e6, respiciat lunam, deprecetur Mariam. Serm.\n2, de Ass. B. V.\n\n[257] Mari\u00e6 virtute et precibus pene innumer\u00e6 peccatorum conversiones\nfiunt.\n\n[258] Psal. lxxxvi. 3.\n\n[259] Ego civitas refugii omnium ad me confugientium. Or. 2, de Dorm.\n\n[260] Convenite celeriter et ingrediamur civitatem munitam, et sileamus\nibi. Jerem. viii. 14.\n\n[261] Et sileamus ibi. Quia non audemus deprecari Dominum quem\noffendimus, ipsa deprecetur et roget.\n\n[262] Fugite O Adam, O Eva, fugite eorum liberi intra sinum matris Mari\u00e6.\nIpsa est civitas refugii, spes unica peccatorum. B. Fernandez, in c. iv.\nGen.\n\n[263] Serm. 18, de Sanct.\n\n[264] Ave peccatorum refugium et hospitium: ad quam nimirum confugere\npossunt peccatores. De. Laud. Virg.\n\n[265] Protexit me in abscondito tabernaculi sui. Psal. xxvi. 5.\n\n[266] Tabernaculum a Deo fabricatum, in quo solus Deus ingressus est\nsacris mysteriis operaturus in te pro salute omnium hominum.\n\n[267] Nescimus aliud refugium nisi te. Tu sola es unica spes nostra, in\nqua confidimus. Tu sola patrona nostra, ad quam omnes aspicimus. Serm. 3,\nde Nat. B. V.\n\n[268] Rev. entr. c. 50.\n\n[269] Respirate ad illam perditi peccatores, et perducet vos ad portum.\nIn Psal. viii.\n\n[270] Si non vis obrui procellis, respice stellam, voca Mariam. Hom. 2,\nsup. Miss.\n\n[271] Ipsa peccantium singulare refugium; ipsa omnium quos tentatio\nurget, aut calamitas, aut persecutio, tutissimum asylum.\n\n[272] Tota mitis est et suavis, non solum justis, verum etiam\npeccatoribus, et desperatis. Quos, ut ad se ex corde clamare conspexerit,\nstatim adjuvat, suscipit et Judici reconciliat.\n\n[273] Nullum aspernens, nulli se negat; omnes consolatur, et tenuiter\ninvocata, pr\u00e6sto adest.\n\n[274] Sua bonitate s\u00e6pe eos, qui Deo minus afficiuntur ad sui cultum\nblande allicit; potenterque excitat, ut per hujusmodi studium pr\u00e6parentur\nad gratiam, et tandem apti reddantur regno c\u0153lorum.\n\n[275] Talis a Deo facta est, ut nemo ad eam accedere trepidet.\n\n[276] Fieri non potest, ut pereat, qui Mari\u00e6 sedulus et humilis cultor\nextiterit. In can. Vit. Spir. cap. 18.\n\n[277] Eccli. xxiv. 19.\n\n[278] Ecce tu iratus es, et peccavimus ... non est qui consurgat, et\nteneat te. Isa. lxiv. 5, 7.\n\n[279] Ante Mariam non fuit qui sic Deum detinere auderet.\n\n[280] Detinet Filium ne peccatoribus percutiat.\n\n[281] Nemo tam idoneus, qui gladio Domini manus objiciat.\n\n[282] Querebatur Dominus ante Mariam: Non est qui consurgat, et teneat\nme. Ezech. xxii. Donec inventa est Maria, qu\u00e6 tenuit eum, donec\nemolliret. De Laud. Virg.\n\n[283] Ne diffidas, peccator, sed in cunctis Mariam sequere et invoca,\nquam voluit Deus in cunctis subvenire. De Annunc. B. Virg.\n\n[284] Pergens ad gregem, affer mihi duos h\u00e6dos. Gen. xxvii. 9.\n\n[285] Part. 4, tit. 15, c. 2.\n\n[286] Vere sapiens mulier, qu\u00e6 novit sic h\u00e6dos condire, ut gratiam\ncervorum co\u00e6quent, aut etiam superent. Tom. 3, de Grat.\n\n[287] Nullus ita abjectus a Deo, qui si me invocaverit, non revertatur ad\nDeum.\n\n[288] Etiam diabolo misericordiam exhiberes si humiliter peteret. Rev. l.\n1, c. 6.\n\n[289] Quod arca animalia suscepit, animalia servavit. Paciucch. de B. V.\n\n[290] Ap. Blos. Mon. Spir. cap. 1.\n\n[291] Tu peccatorem quantumcumque f\u0153tidum non horres, si ad te\nsuspiraverit, tu illum a desperationis baratro pia manu retrahis. Orat.\nPaneg. ad B. V.\n\n[292] Ruth ii. 3.\n\n[293] Ruth in oculis Booz, Maria in oculis Domini hanc gratiam invenit,\nut ipsa spicas, idest animas a messoribus derelictas, colligere ad veniam\npossit. In Spe. cap. 8.\n\n[294] Nullum tam execrabilem peccatorem orbis habet, quem ipsa\nabominetur, et a se repellat; quemque dilectissimo nato suo (modo suam\nprecetur opem) non possit, sciat et velit reconciliare. Blos. de dictis,\nP. P. c. 5.\n\n[295] Salve spes desperatorum.\n\n[296] Spes delinquentium. P. P. cap. 5.\n\n[297] Unica spes peccatorum.\n\n[298] Naufragorum portus tutissimus.\n\n[299] Protectrix damnatorum.\n\n[300] Quis non sperabit in te, qu\u00e6 etiam adjuvas desperatos? Non dubito,\nquod si ad te venerimus; habebimus quod volemus. In te ergo speret qui\ndesperat. Sup. Salv. Reg.\n\n[301] In Promptuar.\n\n[302] Beatus homo, qui audit me, et vigilat ad fores meas quotidie!\nProverbs viii. 34.\n\n[303] Ipsa tales qu\u00e6rit qui ad eam devote et reverenter accedant; hos\nenim diligit, hos nutrit, hos in filios suscipit. P. 3, Stim. Div. Am. c.\n16.\n\n[304] Videns et festinans. In Spec.\n\n[305] Videns enim nostram miseriam, est et festinans ad impendendam suam\nmisericordiam.\n\n[306] Nescit nectere moras benefaciendi cupida, nec gratiarum avara\ncustos est; tardare nescit molimina misericordi\u00e6 mater beneficenti\u00e6 su\u00e6\nthesauros in suos effusura. Nov. Umbr. Virg. c. 10, Exc. 75.\n\n[307] Duo ubera tua sicut duo hinnulli capre\u00e6. Cant. iv. 5.\n\n[308] Compressione levissima angelic\u00e6 salutationis larga stillabunt\nstillicidi\u00e6.\n\n[309] Petite et accipietis.\n\n[310] Alis utitur Deus; ut suis opituletur, statim advolat; alas sumit et\nVirgo, in nostri auxilium advolatura. Nov. c. 10, Excurs. 73.\n\n[311] Et dat\u00e6 sunt mulieri al\u00e6 du\u00e6 aquil\u00e6 magn\u00e6 ut volaret in desertum.\nApoc. xii. 14.\n\n[312] Pennas habet aquil\u00e6, quia amore Dei volat.\n\n[313] Motu celerrimo seraphin alas excedens, ubique suis ut mater\noccurrit. Hom. 8, de Laud. Virg.\n\n[314] Exurgens Maria abiit in montana cum festinatione. Luc. ii. 1-39.\n\n[315] Manus illius tornatiles. Cant. v. 14.\n\n[316] Sicut ars tornandi promptior est aliis artibus, sic Maria ad\nbenefaciendum promptior est aliis sanctis. De Laud. Virg. l. 5.\n\n[317] Omnes consolatur, et tenuiter invocata pr\u00e6sto adest. Blosius in\nCant. Vit. Spir. c. 18.\n\n[318] Inveniens semper paratam auxiliari.\n\n[319] Plus vult illa facere tibi bonum, quam tu accipere concupiscas.\nMar. 1, Serm. 5, de Nom. Mar.\n\n[320] Non enim mater h\u00e6c dedignatur peccatorem sicut nec bona mater\nfilium scabiosum. Quia propter hoc factam se recolit misericordi\u00e6\ngenitricem. Ubi enim non est miseria, misericordia non habet locum. De\nLaud. Virg. lib. 4.\n\n[321] Rev. lib. 4, cap. 49.\n\n[322] Pr\u00e6occupat, qui se concupiscunt, ut illis se prius ostendat. C. vi.\n4.\n\n[323] In Cant. c. 23.\n\n[324] Velocitate pr\u00e6stat.\n\n[325] Velocius occurrit ejus pietas, quam invocetur, et causas miserorum\nanticipat. Loc. cit.\n\n[326] Adeo replentur ubera tua misericordia, ut alterius miseri\u00e6 notitia\ntacta, lac fundant misericordi\u00e6. Nec possis miserias scire, et non\nsubvenire. In Cant. c. 23.\n\n[327] Luc. ii.\n\n[328] Joan. ii. 3.\n\n[329] Si tam prompta ad auxilium currit non qu\u00e6sita, quid qu\u00e6sita\npr\u00e6stitura est. C. 10, Ex. 27.\n\n[330] Quis invocavit eam et non est auditus ab ipsa? Serm. 2, de Ass. B.\nV.\n\n[331] Quis unquam, O Beata, fideliter omnipotentem tuam rogavit opem, et\nfuit derelictus? Revera nullus unquam. In vita S. Theoph.\n\n[332] Sileat misericordiam tuam, Virgo beata, qui in necessitatibus te\ninvocatam meminerit defuisse. Serm. 1, de Ass.\n\n[333] Citius c\u0153lum cum terra perierint, quam Maria aliquem serio se\nimplorantem sua ope destituat. In Spec. c. 12.\n\n[334] Velocior nonnunquam est nostra salus, invocato nomine Mari\u00e6, quam\ninvocato nomine Jesu. De Exc. V. c. 6.\n\n[335] Quia ad Christum, tanquam judicem, pertinet etiam punire; ad\nVirginem tanquam patronam nonnisi misereri. Loc. cit.\n\n[336] Multa petuntur a Deo, et non obtinentur; multa petuntur a Maria et\nobtinentur; non quia potentior sed quia Deus eam decrevit sic honorare.\nAp. P. Pep. Grandez, etc.\n\n[337] Nulla erit petitio tua in me, qu\u00e6 non audiatur. Lib. 1, 80.\n\n[338] Et per te omnes, qui per te petunt misericordiam, cum voluntate se\nemendandi, gratiam habebunt. Loc. cit.\n\n[339] Ex omnipotentia mea, Mater, tibi concessi propitiationem omnium\npeccatorum, qui devote invocant tu\u00e6 pietatis auxilium, qualicumque modo\nplaceat tibi. Ap. Pep. loc. cit.\n\n[340] Memorare piissima Maria, a s\u00e6culo non esse auditum, quemquam ad tua\npr\u00e6sidia confugientem esse derelictum.\n\n[341] Quem ipsa vis salvus erit.\n\n[342] O salus te invocantium.\n\n[343] Inimicitias ponam inter te et mulierem; ipsa conteret caput tuum.\nGen. iii. 15.\n\n[344] Mater Domini Jesu Christi in illa muliere promissa est.\n\n[345] Non pono, sed ponam ne ad Evam pertinere videatur.\n\n[346] Parentibus primis Virginem ab ipsis processuram; qu\u00e6 afferret majus\nbonum quam ipsi perdiderunt. Serm. 2, de Nat. Virg.\n\n[347] Ipsa conteret caput tuum.\n\n[348] Ipse conteret caput tuum.\n\n[349] Sub Mari\u00e6 pedibus conculcatus et contritus miseram patitur\nservitutem. Serm. in Sign. Magn.\n\n[350] In Eva mors, et caligo; in Maria vita consistit, et lux. Illa a\ndiabolo victa est; h\u00e6c diabolum vicit et ligavit. Ap. Scala Franc. p. 4,\nc. 10.\n\n[351] Confidit in ea cor viri sui, et spoliis non indigebit. Prov. xxxi.\n11.\n\n[352] Confidit in ea cor viri sui, scilicet Christi. Et spoliis non\nindigebit; ipsa enim quasi ditat sponsum suum, quibus spoliat diabolum.\n\n[353] Quasi palma exaltata sum in Cades. Eccli. xxiv. 18.\n\n[354] Scilicet ad defendendum.\n\n[355] Beata Virgo dominatur in regno inferni. Dicitur igitur domina\nd\u00e6monum, quasi domans d\u00e6mones. Serm. 3, de Glor. Nom. Mar.\n\n[356] Terribilis ut castrorum acies ordinata. Cant. vi. 3.\n\n[357] Ego quasi vitis fructificavi suavitatem odoris. Eccli. xxiv. 23.\n\n[358] Aiunt de florescentibus vitibus omne reptile venantium excedere\nloco. Serm. 60, in Cant.\n\n[359] Quasi cedrus exaltata sum in Libano. Eccli. xxiv. 17.\n\n[360] Cedrus odore suo fugat serpentes, et beata Virgo d\u00e6mones.\n\n[361] Cum elevaretur arca, dicebat Moyses; Surge Domine, et dissipentur\ninimici tui. Num. x. 33.\n\n[362] Erat enim ibi arca Dei. 1, Reg. xiv. 18.\n\n[363] Arca continens manna, idest Christum, est B. Virgo, qu\u00e6 victoriam\ncontra homines et d\u00e6mones largitur. Cornel. \u00e0 Lap.\n\n[364] Quando elevata fuit Virgo gloriosa a celestia regna, d\u00e6monis\npotentia imminuta est et dissipata. Tom. 3, de B. V. Serm. 11.\n\n[365] O quam tremenda est Maria d\u00e6monibus. Spec. Virg. c. 3.\n\n[366] Perfodit in tenebris domos.... Si subito apparuerit aurora;\narbitrantur umbram mortis. Job xxiv. 16, 17.\n\n[367] Perfodiunt in tenebris ignoranti\u00e6 domos mentium nostrarum. Si\nsubito supervenerit aurora, idest Mari\u00e6 gratia, et misericordia, sic\nfugiunt, sicut omnes fugiunt mortem. In Spec. Virg.\n\n[368] Super omnes etiam malignos spiritus ipsam sic potentem effecit,\nquod quotiescumque ipsi hominem Virginis auxilium implorantem\nimpugnaverint, ad ipsius Virginis nutum illico pavidi procul diffugiunt;\nvolentes potius suas p\u0153nas multiplicari, quam ejusdem Virginis potentiam\nsuper se taliter dominari. Serm. Ang. c. 20.\n\n[369] Sicut lilium inter spinas, sic amica mea inter filias. Cant. ii. 2.\n\n[370] Sicut lilium valet inter serpentes et venena, sic beat\u00e6 Virginis\ninvocatio singulare est remedium in omni tentatione, pr\u00e6sertim libidinis,\nut experientia constat.\n\n[371] Insuperabilem spem tuam habens, O Deipara, servabor, Persequar\ninimicos meos, solam habens ut thoracem protectionem tuam, et omnipotens\nauxilium tuum. In Annunc. Dei Gen.\n\n[372] Tu arma omni vi belli potentiora, troph\u00e6umque invictum pr\u00e6stitisti.\n\n[373] Per diem in columna nubis, et per noctem in columna ignis. Exod.\nxiii. 21.\n\n[374] Ecce duo officia, ad qu\u00e6 data est nobis Maria, scilicet, ut nos\nprotegat a calore solis justiti\u00e6, tamquam nubes, et tamquam ignis; ut\nomnes nos protegat contra diabolum. Lib. 7, de Laud. Virg.\n\n[375] Fluunt sicut cera a facie ignis, ubi inveniunt crebram hujus\nnominis recordationem, devotam invocationem, solicitam imitationem. In\nSpec.\n\n[376] In nomine Mari\u00e6 omne genuflectitur, et d\u00e6mones non solum\npertimescunt, sed, audita hac voce, contremiscunt. Serm. sup. Miss.\n\n[377] Expavescunt c\u0153li reginam spiritus maligni et diffugiunt, audito\nnomine ejus, velut ab igne, tamquam tonitru de c\u0153lo factum sit,\nprosternuntur ad sanct\u00e6 Mari\u00e6 vocabulum. L. 4, ad Nov.\n\n[378] S\u00e6pe vidimus et audivimus plurimos homines in suis periculis\nnominis recordari Mari\u00e6, et illico omnis periculi malum evasisse. S. Ans.\nde Exc. Virg. c. 6.\n\n[379] Gloriosum et admirabile est nomen tuum O Maria; qui illud retinent\nnon expavescunt in puncto mortis; nam d\u00e6mones audientes hoc nomen Mari\u00e6\nstatim relinquunt animam. In Psalt. B. V.\n\n[380] Non sic timent hostes visibiles castrorum multitudinem copiosam,\nsicut \u00e6re\u00e6 potestates Mari\u00e6 vocabulum, et patrocinium. Loc. cit.\n\n[381] Tu servos tuos contra hostis invasiones, sola tui nominis\ninvocatione tutos servas. Serm. de Zona. Virg.\n\n[382] Satan fugit, infernus contremiscit, cum dico Ave Maria.\n\n[383] Omnes d\u00e6mones audientes hoc nomen, Maria, statim relinquunt animam\nquasi territi. L. 1, Rev. c. 9.\n\n[384] Et revertuntur ad eam, nisi aliqua emendatio subsequatur. Lib. 1,\nRev. c. 9.\n\n[385] Father Auriemma, Affetti Scambiev. Tom. i. c. 7.\n\n[386] Mach. xv. 14.\n\n[387] Thess. 1, c. v. 25.\n\n[388] Orate pro invicem ut salvemini. C. v. 16.\n\n[389] Gloria filiorum Patres eorum. Prov. xvii. 6.\n\n[390] Non est dubium, quicquid in laudibus matris proferimus, ad filium\npertinere. Hom. 4, Sup. Miss.\n\n[391] Refunditur in filium quod impenditur matri, transfunditur honor in\nregem, qui defertur in famulatum regin\u00e6.\n\n[392] Maria fidelissima mediatrix nostr\u00e6 salutis.\n\n[393] Quomodo non est plena gratia, qu\u00e6 effecta est paradisi scala, c\u0153li\njanua, Dei atque hominum verissima mediatrix? Serm. de Annunc.\n\n[394] Ut dignitas intercessoris suppleat inopiam nostram. Unde Virginem\ninterpellare, non est de divina misericordia diffidere, sed de propria\nindignitate formidare. De Exc. V. c. 6.\n\n[395] Qui vult ut omnia bona ab ipso expectemus, potentissima Virginis\nmatris intercessione impetranda, cum eam, ut par est, invocamus. Epist.\n76, in calce tom. 4, Moral.\n\n[396] Sic est voluntas ejus, qui totum nos habere voluit per Mariam.\n\n[397] Quasi diceret, Nullus sanguinis mei particeps erit, nisi\nintercessione matris me\u00e6. Vulnera gratiarum fontes sunt, sed ad nullos\nderivabuntur rivi, nisi per Mari\u00e6 canalem. Joannes discipule, tantum a me\namaberis, quantum eam amaveris. Theol. mentis, et cord. tom. 2, l. 10, D.\n4, c. 1.\n\n[398] 1 Tim. ii. 5.\n\n[399] In me omnis spes vit\u00e6 et virtutis.\n\n[400] In me omnis gratia vit\u00e6 et veritatis.\n\n[401] Qui me invenerit, inveniet vitam, et hauriet salutem a Domino.\n\n[402] Qui operantur in me, non peccabunt. Qui elucidant me, vitam \u00e6ternam\nhabebunt.\n\n[403] Ejus magnalia firmiter credere. Laud. Virg.\n\n[404] Felix namque es, sacra Virgo Maria, et omni laude dignissima.\n\n[405] Plenus aqu\u00e6ductus, ut accipiant c\u00e6teri de plenitudine. Serm. de\nAqu\u00e6d.\n\n[406] Propterea tempore humano generi fluenta grati\u00e6 defuerunt, quod\nnecdum intercederet is de quo loquimur, tam desiderabilis aqu\u00e6ductus.\nSerm. de Aqu\u00e6d.\n\n[407] Descendit per aqu\u00e6ductum vena illa c\u0153lestis stillicidia grati\u00e6\narentibus cordibus nostris infundens. Loc. cit.\n\n[408] Intueamini quanto devotionis affectu a nobis eam voluit honorari,\nqui totius boni plenitudinem posuit in Maria; ut proinde si quid spei\nnobis est, si quid grati\u00e6, si quid salutis, ab ea noverimus redundare.\nSerm. de Nat. Virg.\n\n[409] Per eam de c\u0153lis exivit quidquid grati\u00e6 venit in mundum. P. 4, tit.\n15, c. 20.\n\n[410] Quia sicut luna inter corpora c\u0153lestia et terrena est media, et\nquod ab illis accipit ad inferiora refundit; sic et Virgo regina inter\nnos et Deum est media, et gratiam ipsa nobis refundit. Serm. 74, de Nat.\nDom.\n\n[411] Datum est Mari\u00e6, ut per illam acciperes quicquid haberes. Serm. 3,\nin Virg. Nat.\n\n[412] Nullus potest c\u0153lum intrare, nisi per Mariam transeat tamquam per\nportam.\n\n[413] In Christo fuit plenitudo grati\u00e6 sicut in capite influente, in\nMaria sicut in collo transfundente. Serm. de Ass. B. V.\n\n[414] Per Virginem a capite Christi vitales grati\u00e6 in ejus corpus\nmysticum transfunduntur. Serm. 61, de Nat. Virg. c. 8.\n\n[415] Cum tota natura divina intra Virginia uterum extiterit; non timeo\ndicere quod in omnes gratiarum effluxus quamdam jurisdictionem habuerit\nh\u00e6c Virgo, de cujus utero quasi de quodam divinitatis oceano flumina\nemanabant omnium gratiarum. In Spec. cap. 3.\n\n[416] A tempore quo virgo mater concepit in utero verbum Dei, quamdam, ut\nsic dicam, jurisdictionem obtinuit, in omni spiritus sancti, processione\ntemporali; ita ut nulla creatura aliquam a Deo obtinuit gratiam, nisi\nsecundum ipsius pi\u00e6 matris dispensationem. Serm. 61, tract. 1, art. 8.\n\n[417] Crasset. Div della Verg.\n\n[418] F\u0153mina circumdabit virum. Jerem. xxxi. 22.\n\n[419] Ideo omnia dona, virtutes, et grati\u00e6, quibus vult, quande vult, et\nquomodo vult, per ipsius manus dispensantur. Serm. 61, ut sup.\n\n[420] Deus quicquid boni dat creaturis suis, per manus matris Virginis\nvult transire.\n\n[421] Accede ad Virginem, quia per ipsam mundus habiturus est omne bonum.\nDe contempl. V. in Prol.\n\n[422] Sentit Ecclesia intercessionem B. Virginia esse sibi utilem, et\nnecessariam. Tom. 2, in 3, par. disp. 23, sect. 3.\n\n[423] Nihil Deus habere nos voluit, quod per manus Mari\u00e6 non transiret.\nSerm. 3, in Vigil. Nat.\n\n[424] Omnia bona qu\u00e6 illis summa majestas decrevit facere, tuis manibus\ndecrevit commendare; commissi quippe sunt thesauri, et ornamenta\ngratiarum. In Cor. Virg. c. 15.\n\n[425] De Nat. Virg. ap. Pac. Exc. 1, n. 15.\n\n[426] Egredietur virga de radice Jesse, et flos de radice ejus ascendet,\net requiescet super eum spiritus Domini. Isa. xi. 1, 2.\n\n[427] Quicumque Spiritus Sancti gratiam adipisci desiderat, florem,\nin virga qu\u00e6rat; per virgam enim ad florem, per florem ad spiritum\npervenimus. In Spec. c. 6.\n\n[428] Si hunc florem habere desideras, virgam floris precibus flectas.\nLoc. cit.\n\n[429] Invenerunt puerum cum Maria matre ejus. Matth. ii. 11.\n\n[430] Nunquam invenitur Christus, nisi cum Maria, nisi per Mariam. Serm.\n25. In Epiph.\n\n[431] Frustra igitur qu\u00e6rit qui cum Maria invenire non qu\u00e6rit.\n\n[432] Ut sim servus filii, servitutem appeto genitricis. De Virg. Mar. c.\n12.\n\n[433] Spec. Hist. l. 7, c. 105.\n\n[434] Dist. 2, c. 2.\n\n[435] Congruum magis fuit ut adesset nostr\u00e6 reparationi sexus uterque,\nquorum corruptioni neuter defuisset. Serm. in Sig. Magn.\n\n[436] Adam et Eva vendiderunt mundum pro uno pomo; filius meus et ego\nredemimus mundum uno corde. Lib. 5, c. 35.\n\n[437] Qui potuit omnia de nihilo facere, noluit ea violata sine Maria\nreficere. In Alloq. c\u0153l. n. 27.\n\n[438] Auxiliatrix nostr\u00e6 justificationis, quia Deus omnes gratias\nfaciendas Mari\u00e6 commisit.\n\n[439] Ad illam sicut ad medium, sicut ad negotium omnium s\u00e6culorum\nrespiciant, et qui pr\u00e6cesserunt, et nos qui sumus, et qui sequentur.\nSerm. 2, in Pentec.\n\n[440] Nemo venit ad me, nisi Pater meus traxerit eum.\n\n[441] Nemo venit ad me, nisi Mater mea suis precibus traxerit eum. In\nCant. c. 2, v. 3.\n\n[442] Benedicta tu inter mulieres, et benedictus fructus ventris tui.\nLuc. i. 42.\n\n[443] Et unde hoc mihi, ut veniat mater Domini mei ad me? Luc. i. 43.\n\n[444] Facta est quasi navis institoris, de longo portans panem suum.\nProv. xxxi. 14.\n\n[445] Ego sum panis vivus, qui de c\u0153lo descendi, si quis manducaverit ex\nhoc pane vivet in \u00e6ternum. Joan. vi. 51.\n\n[446] In mare mundi submergentur omnes illi, quos non suscepit navis\nista. De Laud. Virg.\n\n[447] Ideo quoties videmus insurgentes fluctus hujus maris, clamare\ndebemus ad Mariam; Domina, salva nos, perimus. Loc. cit.\n\n[448] Regina immaculata et pura, salva me, libera ab eterna damnatione.\nOrat. Paneg.\n\n[449] O salus te invocantium.\n\n[450] Nemini nisi per eam patet aditus ad salutem. Paciucch. de B. Virg.\n\n[451] Nemo qui salvus fiat nisi per te. Serm. de Zona. Virg.\n\n[452] Qui petit sine ipsa, sine alis tentat volare. P. 3, tit. 15, c. 22,\n\u00a7 9.\n\n[453] Terra Egypti in manu tua est.\n\n[454] Decrevit nihil dare, nisi per Mariam. Serm. de Nat. Virg.\n\n[455] Salus nostra in manu Mari\u00e6 est, ut ei dicere multo melius valeamus\nnos Christiani, quam Egyptii dixerunt Joseph; salus nostra in manu illius\nest. L. 2, de Laud. Virg. p. 1.\n\n[456] In Pr\u00e6f. Cant. 5.\n\n[457] Tota salus mundi consistit in multitudine favoris Mari\u00e6.\n\n[458] Tu dispensatrix omnium gratiarum; salus nostra in manu tua est.\nSerm. 1, de Nat. B. Virg.\n\n[459] Sicut lapis, subtracta terra, delabitur in profundum; ita subtracto\nMari\u00e6 adjutorio, homo delabitur in peccatum, et inde in infernum. L. 8,\nde Laud. Virg. c. 11.\n\n[460] Ipse sine ea non salvabit te.\n\n[461] Quemadmodum infans sine nutrice non potest vivere, ita sine domina\nnostra non potes habere salutem. In Cant. B. V. pro Sabb.\n\n[462] Sitiat ergo anima tua ad ipsam; tene, nec dimitte, donec\nbenedixerit tibi.\n\n[463] Nemo est, o sanctissima, qui ad Dei notitiam venit, nisi per te;\nnemo qui salvus fiat, nisi per te, Dei parens; nemo liber a periculis\nnisi per te, Virgo mater. Nemo donum Dei suscepit, nisi per te, gratia\nplena. Serm. de Zona. Virg.\n\n[464] Nisi enim tu iter aperieres, nemo spiritualis evaderet. Orat. de\nDorm. Deip.\n\n[465] Per te accessum habemus ad filium, o inventrix, grati\u00e6, mater\nsalutis, ut per te nos suscipiat, qui per te datus est nobis.\n\n[466] Si nos deserueris, quid erit de nobis, Vita Christianorum? Serm. de\nZona Virg.\n\n[467] Tom. 2, in 3, p. D. 23, sect. 3.\n\n[468] Frustra alios sanctos oraret, quem ista non adjuvaret.\n\n[469] Vultum tuum deprecabuntur omnes divites plebis. Psal. xliv. 13.\n\n[470] Inter sanctos non solemus uti uno tamquam intercessore ad alium,\ncum omnes sint ejusdem ordinis, ad virginem autem tamquam ad Dominam ac\nReginam alii sancti adhibentur intercessores.\n\n[471] Nel Diario di Maria alli. 21, di Marzo.\n\n[472] Quid possunt omnes isti tecum, tu sola potes sine illis omnibus.\nOrat. 45, ad S. Virg. Mar.\n\n[473] Quia mater es salvatoris nostri, sponsa Dei, regina c\u0153li et terr\u00e6.\nLib. Or. Exc. v. ap. Pac. Exc. 20, in. sal. Ang. 2, 7.\n\n[474] Te tacente, nullus juvabit, nullus orabit.\n\n[475] Te, domina orante, omnes juvabunt et orabunt.\n\n[476] In his book, \u201cDivoto di Maria.\u201d\n\n[477] Gyrum c\u0153li circuivi sola. Eccli. xxiv. 8.\n\n[478] Quando virgo sanctissima procedit ad Deum pro nobis deprecandum\nimperat angelis et sanctis, ut eam comitentur, et simul cum ipsa\naltissimum pro nobis exorent. In Spec. V. c. 3.\n\n[479] Ferre nequeo ut Maria dicatur spes et vita mea. In Post. Maj.\nEvang. in Nat. Mar.\n\n[480] Maledictus homo qui confidit in homine. xvii. 5.\n\n[481] Filioli, h\u00e6c maxima mea fiducia, h\u00e6c tota ratio spei me\u00e6. Or. Pan.\nad B. V.\n\n[482] In te spem meam collocavi ex animo et intentis oculis, abs te\npendeo. Ap. Auriem. to. 1, c. 7.\n\n[483] Omnes spes vit\u00e6. Opusc. 7.\n\n[484] Nobis non est alia quam a te fiducia, o virgo sincerris sima. Sub\nalis pietatis protege et custodi nos. De Laud. Virg.\n\n[485] Totis medullis cordium hanc Mariam veneremur, quia sic est voluntas\nejus, qui totum nos habere voluit per Mariam. Serm. de Nat. B. V.\n\n[486] Qu\u00e6ramus gratiam, et per Mariam qu\u00e6ramus. Serm. de Aqu\u00e6d.\n\n[487] Quia indignus eras, cui donaret, datum est Mari\u00e6 ut per illam\nacciperes quidquid haberes. Serm. 3, in Vig. Nativ.\n\n[488] Quidquid Deo offerre potes, Mari\u00e6 commendare memento, si non vis\nsustinere repulsum. Serm. de Aqu\u00e6d.\n\n[489] Crasset Div. alla. B. V. tom. 1, tr. 1, q. 10.\n\n[490] C. ii. v. 51.\n\n[491] Cum de ceteris sanctis dicatur, eos esse cum Deo, Maria majus\naliquid sortita est, ut non solum ipsa subjiceretur voluntati Dei, sed\netiam Dominus voluntati ipsius. L. 1, de Laud. Virg. c. 5.\n\n[492] Ap. 14.\n\n[493] De virgine autem Maria secure dici potest, quod agnus sequebater\neam, quocumque ivit; ex illo Luc\u00e6: Erat subditus illis. Loc. cit.\n\n[494] Grande privilegium Mari\u00e6, quod apud filium sit potentissima. In\nSpec. c. 8.\n\n[495] Data est tibi omnis potestas in c\u0153lo et in terra; et nihil tibi\nimpossibile, cui possibile est etiam desperatos in spem salutis relevare.\nSerm. 1, de Nat. B. V.\n\n[496] Accedis enim ad illud human\u00e6 reconciliationis altare, non solum\nrogans, sed imperans; domina, non ancilla; nam filius nihil negans\nhonorat. Loc. cit.\n\n[497] Serm. 3, in Dorm. B. V.\n\n[498] Imperio Virginis omnia famulantur, etiam Deus. Tom. 2, Serm. 61.\n\n[499] Te Deus, o virgo, sic exaltavit, ut omnia tibi secum possibilia\nesse donaris. Lib. de Conc. Virg.\n\n[500] Eisdem privilegiis secundum leges gaudet rex et regina. Cum autem\neadem sit potestas filii et matris, ab omnipotente filio omnipotens mater\nfacta est. L. 4, de Laud. Virg.\n\n[501] Ecclesia est, non tantum sub Virginis patrocinio, verum etiam sub\ndominatione ac potestate. P. 4, tit. 15, c. 20, 62.\n\n[502] Pete quod vis a me, non enim potest esse inanis petitio tua. Rev.\nl. 1, c. 4.\n\n[503] Quia tu mihi nihil negasti in terris, ego nihil tibi negabo in\nc\u0153lis.\n\n[504] Quicquid tu Virgo velis, nequaquam fieri non potent. De Exc. Virg.\nc. 12.\n\n[505] Roganda sum, ut velim; quia, si volo, necesse est fieri. Ap. P.\nPep. Grand, etc.\n\n[506] Moveat te natura; potentia moveat; quia quanto potentior tanto\nmisericordior esse debebis. Serm. 1, de N. B. V.\n\n[507] Potentissima, et piissima charitas matris Dei, et affectu\ncompatiendi, et subveniendi abundat effectu; \u00e6que locuples in utroque.\nSerm. 4, de Assumt.\n\n[508] Joan. ii. 3.\n\n[509] Quid mihi et tibi, mulier? nondum venit hora mea. Joan. ii. 4.\n\n[510] Joan. ii. 7.\n\n[511] Et licet ita responderit, maternis tamen precibus obtemperavit.\n\n[512] Per ilia verba, nondum venit hora mea, ostendit se dilaturum fuisse\nmiraculum, si alius rogasset; quia tamen rogabat mater, fecit. Apud.\nDefens. cultus Mariani, auctore R. D. Henr. de Cerf. p. 129.\n\n[513] Quo matrem honoraret, pr\u00e6venit tempus miraculi faciendi.\n\n[514] Nulla creatura tot et tanta impetrare posset apud filium tuum\nmiseris, quam tu impetras eisdem; in quo procul dubio non tamquam\nancillam, sed tamquam matrem verissimam te honorat.\n\n[515] Qu\u00e6 habitas in hortis, amici auscultant, fac me audire vecem tuam.\nCant. viii. 13.\n\n[516] Qu\u00e6 habitas in hortis c\u0153lestibus, fiducialiter pro quibus volueris\nintercede; non enim possum oblivisci me filium tuum, ut matri quidpiam\ndenegandum putem. Tantum ut vocem proferat, quia a filio audiri, exaudiri\nest.\n\n[517] Virgo Maria ex eo quod ille homo est, et natus ex ea, quasi quodam\nmatus imperio, apud ipsum impetrare quod voluerit pia fiducia non\ndubitatur. Serm. viii. de B. Virg.\n\n[518] Lib. 5, cap. 4.\n\n[519] Unum beat\u00e6 Mari\u00e6 suspirium plus posset, quam omnium Sanctorum simul\nsuffragia. In lit. B. V. verbo. Virg. pot.\n\n[520] De B. V.\n\n[521] Oratio Deipar\u00e6 habet rationem imperii; unde impossibile est, eam\nnon exaudiri. P. 4, tit. 15, c. 17, \u00a7 4.\n\n[522] Tu autem materna in Deum auctoritate pollens, etiam iis qui\nenormiter peccant, eximiam remissionis gratiam concilias; non enim potes\nnon exaudiri, cum Deus tibi ut ver\u00e6 et intemerat\u00e6 Matri in omnibus morem\ngerat. Van. Enc. Deip.\n\n[523] Domina benedicta, quid est quod non poteris? Quod enim vis, hoc\nfactum est. L. 4, Rev. c. 74.\n\n[524] Quod Deus imperio, tu prece Virgo potes.\n\n[525] Nunquid non pertinet ad benignitatem Domini, matris honorem\nservare, qui legem non venit solvere; sed adimplere?\n\n[526] Filius quasi exsolvens debitum, implet petitiones tuas. Or. de Ex.\nMar.\n\n[527] Euge euge, qu\u00e6 debitorem habes filium, qui omnibus mutuatur. Deo\nenim universi debemus, tibi autem etiam ille debitor est. Orat. in Hyp.\nDom.\n\n[528] Virgo qu\u00e6 meruit pro liberandis proferre pretium, potest plus\nomnibus suffragium liberatis impendere. Orat. 2. de aff. B. V.\n\n[529] Potes quidem omnes salvare, ut Dei Altissimi Mater, precibus\nmaterna auctoritate pollentibus. Ex. Men. 1, Jan. Ode. 4.\n\n[530] Oh certe Dei nostri mira benignitas, qui suis reis te Dominam\ntribuit advocatam, ut auxilio tuo, quod volueris, valeas impetrare. In\nSalv. Reg.\n\n[531] O mirabilis erga nos, misericordia Dei nostri, qui ne fugeremus pro\nsententia, voluit matrem ac dominam grati\u00e6 instituere advocatam!\n\n[532] Mirac. di Maria, Mir. 47.\n\n[533] Loquere, Domina, quia audit filius tuus et qu\u00e6cumque petieris,\nimpetrabis.\n\n[534] Maria diligit diligentes se; imo sibi servientibus servit. Ipsa\nbenedicto filio suo irato potentissime reconciliat servos et amatores\nsuos. Pr\u00e6f. in Cant.\n\n[535] Tanta est ejus benignitas, quod nulli formidandum est ad eam\naccedere; tantaque misericordia ut nemo ab ea repellatur.\n\n[536] Ipsa preces servorum, maxime qu\u00e6 sibi exhibentur, repr\u00e6sentat in\nconspectu divin\u00e6 majestatis; quia ipsa est advocata nostra apud filium,\nsicut filius apud Patrem. Imo apud Patrem et Filium procurat negotia et\npreces nostras. In dict. Pr\u00e6f.\n\n[537] Singulare perditorum refugium, miserorum spem, advocatam omnium\niniquorum ad se confugientium.\n\n[538] Grande privilegium Mari\u00e6, quod apud filium sit potentissima. In\nSpec. lect. 6, 7.\n\n[539] Sed quid tanta Mari\u00e6 potentia prodesset nobis; si ipsa nihil\ncuraret de nobis?\n\n[540] Carissimi sciamus indubitanter, et pro hoc gratias agamus\nincessanter, quia sicut ipsa apud eum omnibus sanctis est potentior, ita\npro nobis omnibus est sollicitior.\n\n[541] Quis post filium tuum curam gerit generis humani, sicut tu? Serm.\nde Zona. Virg.\n\n[542] Quis ita nos defendit in nostris afflictionibus? Quis pugnat pro\npeccatoribus?\n\n[543] Propterea patrocinium tuum majus est quam apprehendi possit.\n\n[544] C\u00e6teri sancti jure quodam patrocinii pro sibi specialiter commissis\nplus possunt prodesse, quam pro alienis; beatissima vero Virgo, sicut\nomnium est regina, sic est omnium patrona et advocata, et cura illi est\nde omnibus. De Contempl. B. V. in Prol.\n\n[545] Adstat beatissima Virgo vultui conditoris prece potentissima,\nsemper interpellans pro nobis.\n\n[546] Videt enim nostra discrimina, nostrique clemens Domina materno\naffectu miseretur.\n\n[547] Inveniet semper paratam auxiliari.\n\n[548] Ipsa pro universo mundo paratissima est ad precandum.\n\n[549] Advocatam pr\u00e6misit peregrinatio nostra; qu\u00e6 tamquam judicis mater,\net mater misericordi\u00e6, suppliciter et efficaciter salutis nostr\u00e6 negocia\npertractabit. Serm. 1, de Ass.\n\n[550] Unam te ac solam pro nobis in c\u0153lo fatemur esse sollicitam. Ap. in\nSpec. lect. 6.\n\n[551] Tam prudens et diserta est advocata Maria, quod non potest filius\nvindicare in eos, pro quibus ipsa allegat. De Laud. v. l. 2, p. 2.\n\n[552] Salve jus dirimens lites. Ap. Pep. Lez. to. 5.\n\n[553] Benedicta tu, qu\u00e6 prohibuisti me hodie, ne ulciscerer me manu mea.\nC. xxv.\n\n[554] Fidelis et potens mediator Dei et hominum; sed divinam reverentur\nin eo homines majestatem, opus est enim mediatore ad mediatorem ipsum;\nnec alter nobis utilior quam Maria. Serm. in Sign. Magn.\n\n[555] Quid ad Mariam accedere trepidet humana fragilitas? Nihil austerum\nin ea, nihil terribile, tota suavis est.\n\n[556] Revolve diligentius evangelic\u00e6 histori\u00e6 seriem universam, et si\nquid forte durum occurrerit in Maria, ad eam accedere verearis. Serm. in\nSign. Magn.\n\n[557] Adibo te imo etiam conveniam, gloriosissima Dei genitrix, quam\nmatrem misericordi\u00e6 vocat, imo clamitat omnis ecclesia sanctorum. De\nReth. Div. c. 18.\n\n[558] Tu, inquam, cujus gratiositas nunquam repulsam patitur, cujus\nmisericordia nulli unquam defuit; cujus benignissima humanitas nullum\nunquam deprecantem quantumcumque peccatorem despexit.\n\n[559] An falso aut inaniter vocat te omnis Ecclesia advocatam suam, et\nmiserorum refugium?\n\n[560] Absit, ut peccata mea possint suspendere te a tam salubri officio\npietatis; quo et advocata es, et mediatrix hominum, post filium tuum spes\nunica et refugium tutissimum miserorum.\n\n[561] Totum siquidem quod habes grati\u00e6, totum quod habes glori\u00e6, et\netiam hoc ipsum quod mater es Dei, si fas est dicere, ob peccatores tibi\ncollata sunt.\n\n[562] Absit hoc a matre Dei, qu\u00e6 fontem pietatis toti mundo peperit, ut\ncuique miserorum su\u00e6 misericordi\u00e6 subventionem unquam deneget.\n\n[563] Officium ergo tuum est te mediam interponere inter ipsum et\nhomines. Moveat te gloriosa Dei mater, benignissima misericordia tua, qu\u00e6\nmajor est incogitabiliter omnibus vitiis meis et peccatis. D. c. 18, de\nReth. Div.\n\n[564] Consolamini pusillanimos; respirate miserabiles; Virgo Deipara est\nhumani generis advocata; idonea, sapientissima, universalis. In Rog. pro\nexp. adv. Turc. susc.\n\n[565] L. 7, c. 25.\n\n[566] In Ex.\n\n[567] Infinitus est thesaurus, quo qui usi sunt, participes facti sunt\namiciti\u00e6 Dei. Sap. vii. 14.\n\n[568] Joan. xv. 14.\n\n[569] Iniquitates vestr\u00e6 diviserunt inter vos et Deum vestrum! Is. lix. 2.\n\n[570] Odio sunt Deo impius et impietas ejus. Sap. xiv. 9.\n\n[571] Jesum tibi dedit mediatorem; quid non apud talem patrem filius\ntalis obtineat. Serm. de Aqu\u00e6d.\n\n[572] Severum imaginantur, qui pius est, terribilem, qui amabilis est.\nQuid timetis modic\u00e6 fidei? Peccata affixit cruci suis manibus.\n\n[573] Sed forsitan et in ipso majestatem vereare divinam, quod licet\nfactus sit homo, manserit tamen Deus. Advocatum habere vis et apud ipsum?\nrecurre ad Mariam; exaudiet utique matrem filius, et exaudiet filium\nPater.\n\n[574] Filioli, h\u00e6c peccatorum scala, h\u00e6c maxima mea fiducia est, h\u00e6c tota\nratio spei me\u00e6. Cit. Serm. de Aqu\u00e6d.\n\n[575] Ego murus; et ubera mea sicut turris, ex quo facta sum coram eo\nquasi pacem reperiens. Cant. c. viii. v. 10.\n\n[576] Ipsa reperit pacem inimicis, salutem perditis, indulgentiam reis,\nmisericordiam desperatis.\n\n[577] Cant. i. 4.\n\n[578] Tu enim es illa fidelissima columba Noe, qu\u00e6 inter Deum et mundum\ndiluvio spirituali submersum mediatrix fidelissima extitisti.\n\n[579] Nam ipsa Christum nobis detulit fontem misericordi\u00e6. P. Spinell.\n\n[580] Per te pax c\u0153lestis donata est.\n\n[581] Ego sum columba Noe, Ecclesi\u00e6 ramum oliv\u00e6 et pacis inferens\nuniversalis. In Bibl. Mar. lib. Cant. n. 16.\n\n[582] Et Iris erat in circuitu sedis. Apoc. c. iv. 3.\n\n[583] Iris in circuitu sedis est Maria, qu\u00e6 mitigat Dei judicium et\nsententiam contra peccatores. In Spec. S. Script.\n\n[584] Arcum meum ponam in nubibus, et erit signum f\u0153deris inter me et\nterram.... Videbo illum, et recordabor f\u0153deris sempiterni. Gen. ix. 13.\n\n[585] Ipsa est arcus f\u0153deris sempiterni. Serm. 1, de No. Mar. Art. 1, c.\n3.\n\n[586] Fructus iridis est recordatio divini f\u0153deris; sic per verginem\ngloriosam offensa eis remittitur, f\u0153dus stringitur. Serm. in Apoc. c. 41.\n\n[587] Pulchra ut Luna. Cant. vi. 9.\n\n[588] Sicut Luna est media inter corpora c\u0153lestia et terrena, et quod ab\nillis accipit ad inferiora refundit; sic et virgo regia inter nos et Deum\nest media, et gratiam ipsa nobis refundit. Serm. 14, de Nat. Dom.\n\n[589] Cant. i. 8.\n\n[590] Pasce h\u00e6dos tuos, quos convertis in oves, et qui a sinistris in\njudicio erant collocandi, tua intercessione collocantur a dextris.\n\n[591] H\u00e6c est a me electa tanquam esca dulcissima ad capiendos homines,\npotissimum peccatores. Ap. Blos. Monil. Spir.\n\n[592] Suos vocat quia non omnes h\u00e6di vocantur Mari\u00e6, sed qui Mariam\ncolunt ac venerantur, licet sceleribus contaminati. Qui vero peccatis\nirretiti sunt, nec B. Virginem speciali obsequio prosequuntur, nec preces\nfundunt in ejus cultum, ut aliquando resipiscant, h\u00e6di profecto sunt non\nMari\u00e6, sed ad sinistram judicis sistendi.\n\n[593] Ego eripiam te de affligentibus te.\n\n[594] Sicut magnes attrahit ferrum, sic ego attraho dura corda. L. 3,\nRev. c. 32.\n\n[595] Ideo mater Dei pr\u00e6electa es ab eterno; ut quos justitia filii\nsalvare non potest, tu per tuam salvares pietatem. Hom. de Pr\u00e6s. B. V.\n\n[596] Scio illam magis propter peccatores, quam propter justos, factam\nesse Dei matrem; dixit enim ejus bonus filius se non venisse vocare\njustos, sed peccatores.\n\n[597] Peccatores non abhorres, sine quibus nunquam fores tanto digna\nfilio.\n\n[598] Totum quod habes, si fas est dicere, peccatoribus debes; omnia enim\npropter peccatores tibi collata sunt. De Reth. Div. c. 18.\n\n[599] Si ipsa propter peccatores facta est Dei mater, quomodo immanitas\npeccatorum meorum cogere poterit desperare veniam? De Exc. v. c. 1.\n\n[600] Quam idcirco de hoc s\u00e6culo transtulit, ut apud te pro peccatis\nnostris fiducialiter intercedat.\n\n[601] Verbum usum est Virgine sequestra.\n\n[602] Divinarum reconciliationum, qu\u00e6 pignore accepto fit, Fidejussio.\nOr. 2, de Aff.\n\n[603] Si propter tuas nequitias Dominum videris indignatum, ad spem\npeccatorum confugias; sibi pro miseris satisfacere ex officio commissum\nest.\n\n[604] Timere ne debet ut pereat, cui Maria se matrem exhibet, et\nadvocatam.\n\n[605] Tu misericordi\u00e6 mater non rogabis pro filio filium, pro redempto,\nredemptorem?\n\n[606] Rogabis plane quia qui filium tuum inter Deum et hominem posuit\nmediatorem, te quoque inter reum, et judicem posuit adjutricem.\n\n[607] Age gratias ei, qui talem tibi mediatricem providit. Serm. in Sign.\nMagn.\n\n[608] Ros. Sacr. p. 5, c. 60.\n\n[609] Stor. Virg. l. 1, c. 11.\n\n[610] Officium tuum est, te mediam interponere inter Deum et homines.\n\n[611] Eja ergo advocata nostra officium tuum imple.\n\n[612] Ap. il P. Pep. to. 5, Lec. 235.\n\n[613] Oculi Domini super justos. Ps. xxxiii. 16.\n\n[614] Sed oculi Domin\u00e6 super justos et peccatores.\n\n[615] Sicut oculi matris ad puerum ne cadat, vel si ceciderit, ut eum\nsublevet.\n\n[616] Mater pete quod vis a me.\n\n[617] Rev. l. 1. c. 46.\n\n[618] Undique sollicita es de miseris, misericordia vallaris, solum\nmisereri videris appetere. Sup. Salve Reg.\n\n[619] Stat Maria in conspectu filii sui non cessans pro peccatoribus\nexorare. In cap. i. Luc.\n\n[620] Nullum in hac vita adeo p\u0153n\u00e6 torserunt propri\u00e6 sicut Mariam alien\u00e6.\nEpist. ad Eust.\n\n[621] Officium pi\u00e6 auxiliatricis assumpsit non rogata.\n\n[622] Nunquid, O Beata Virgo, quia ita glorificata es, ideo nostr\u00e6\nhumilitatis oblita es? Absit, non convenit tant\u00e6 misericordi\u00e6, tant\u00e6\nmiseri\u00e6 oblivisci. Serm. 1, de Nat. Virg.\n\n[623] Benedicta filia priorem misericordiam posteriore superasti. Ruth\niii. 10.\n\n[624] Magna fuit erga miseros misericordia Mari\u00e6 adhuc exulantis mundo,\nsed multo major est regnantis in c\u0153lo. In Spec. B. V. c. 8.\n\n[625] Majorem per innumerabilia beneficia nunc ostendit misericordiam,\nquia magis nunc videt hominum miserias.\n\n[626] Nam quemadmodum sol lunam superat magnitudine splendoris, sic\npriorem Mari\u00e6 misericordiam superat magnitudo superioris.\n\n[627] Quis est super quem misericordia Mari\u00e6 non resplendet? Loc. cit.\n\n[628] Cant. vi. 9.\n\n[629] Non est qui se abscondat a calore ejus.\n\n[630] Nunc autem conjuncta filio non obliviscitur innat\u00e6 bonitatis su\u00e6,\nsed ad omnes extendit misericordiam suam, etiam ad pessimos; ut sicut\nsole illuminantur c\u0153lestia et terrestria, sic ex dulcedine Mari\u00e6 nullus\nest qui non per eam, si petitur, sentiat pietatem. L. 3, Rev. c. 30.\n\n[631] Patrign. Men. 2, Feb.\n\n[632] Patr. Men. 2, Feb.\n\n[633] Maria omnia omnibus facta est; omnibus misericordi\u00e6 sinum aperit,\nut de plenitudine ejus accipiant omnes, captivus, redemptionem, \u00e6ger\ncurationem, tristis consolationem, peccator veniam; ut non sit qui se\nabscondat a calore ejus. In Sig. Mag.\n\n[634] Quis te non diliget, O Maria, pulchriorem sole, dulciorem melle,\nomnibus amabilis, omnibus affabilis?\n\n[635] Ave ergo, Domina mea, mater mea; imo cor meum, anima mea, parce\nmihi, Domina, si me amare te dicam; si ego non sum dignus te amare, tu\nnon es digna amari a me. Stim. p. 5, c. 19.\n\n[636] Rev. l. 4, c. 53.\n\n[637] Eja ergo; advocata nostra, illos tuos misericordes ocules ad nos\nconverte.\n\n[638] Latitudo misericordi\u00e6 tu\u00e6 replet orbem terrarum. Serm. 4, Sup. Miss.\n\n[639] In te, Domina, peccant, non solum qui tibi injuriam irrogant, sed\netiam qui te non rogant. In Spec. Virg.\n\n[640] Doce nos sperare majora meritis, qu\u00e6 meritis majora largiri non\ndesinis.\n\n[641] Pr\u00e6parabitur in misericordia solium ejus. Isa. xvi. 5.\n\n[642] Solium divin\u00e6 misericordi\u00e6 est Maria, in qua omnes inveniunt\nsolatia misericordi\u00e6. Spec. c. 8.\n\n[643] Nam sicut misericordiosissimum Dominum, ita misericordiosissimam\nDominam habemus. Dominus noster mult\u00e6 misericordi\u00e6 invocantibus se; et\nDomina nostra mult\u00e6 misericordi\u00e6 invocantibus se.\n\n[644] In te mihi regni sedem constituam, per te preces exaudiam.\nCommunicasti mihi quod homo sum, communicabo tibi quod Deus sum. Serm. 2,\nde Ass.\n\n[645] Hi sunt misericordiosissimi oculi mei, quos ad omnes me invocantes\npossum salubriter inclinare. Rev. l. 4, c. 53.\n\n[646] Fili, et ist\u00e6 lacrim\u00e6 peribunt?\n\n[647] Ex omnipotentia mea, mater reverenda, tibi concessi propitiationem\nomnium peccatorum, qui devote invocant tu\u00e6 pietatis auxilium, qualicunque\nmodo placeat tibi.\n\n[648] Mater misericordi\u00e6, tanta est pietas tua, quanta potestas; tam pia\nes ad parcendum, quam potens ad impetrandum.\n\n[649] Quando non compatieris miseris, mater misericordi\u00e6? Aut quando illi\nopem conferre non poteris, cum sis mater omnipotenti\u00e6? Eadem facilitate\nobtinens quodcumque vis; qua facilitate nostra innotescit miseria. Ap. P.\nPep.\n\n[650] O mater misericordi\u00e6, saturare gloria filii tui, et dimitte\nreliquias tuas parvulis tuis. In Cant. lib. 5.\n\n[651] Ne alligaveris peccata mea contra me, qui misericordiam tuam allego\ncontra ea. Absit, ut stent in judicio peccata mea contra misericordiam\ntuam, qu\u00e6 omnibus vitiis fortior est. De. Reth. Div. c. 18.\n\n[652] C. 11, p. 1.\n\n[653] Tom. 1, qu. 7.\n\n[654] Teologia Mariana.\n\n[655] Virid. l. 1, Probl. 9.\n\n[656] Virgo benedictissima, sicut impossibile est, ut a te aversus, et a\nte despectus salvetur, ita ad te conversus et a te respectus impossibile\nest ut pereat. De Exc. Virg. c. 11.\n\n[657] Sicut impossibile est, ut illi a quibus Maria oculos su\u00e6\nmisericordi\u00e6 avertit, salventur; ita necessarium quod hi, ad quos\nconvertit oculos suos, pro eis advocans, salventur et glorificentur. Part\n4, tit. 50.\n\n[658] Bibl. Mar. c. 60.\n\n[659] Qui neglexerit illam, morietur in peccatis suis. In Psal. cxvi.\n\n[660] Qui te non invocat in hac vita, non perveniet ad regnum Dei. In\nPsal. lxxxvi.\n\n[661] A quibus averteris vultum tuum, non erit spes ad salutem.\n\n[662] Impossible est aliquem salvari peccatorem, nisi per tuum, O Virgo,\nauxilium et favorem, quia quos non salvat Dei justitia, salvat sua\nintercessione Mari\u00e6 misericordia infinita. Ap. celada in Jud. Fig. s. 10.\n\n[663] In Deprec. ad Virg.\n\n[664] In Comp. Virg. c. 5.\n\n[665] Prov. viii. 36.\n\n[666] Facta est quasi navis institoris. Prov. xxxi. 14.\n\n[667] In mare mundi submergentur omnes illi, quos non suscipit navis\nista. De Laud. V. l. 11.\n\n[668] Nunquam de me audiatur, quasi averser Mariam, erga quam minus bene\naffici reprobat\u00e6 mentis certum existimem judicium. V. Ap. P. Pep. Lez.\ntom. 7.\n\n[669] Qui audit me non confundetur. Eccli. xxiv. 30.\n\n[670] Qui pr\u00e6stat in obsequio tuo, procul fiet a perditione. In Psal.\ncxviii.\n\n[671] Quantumcumque quis fuerit peccator, si Mari\u00e6 devotus extiterit,\nnunquam in \u00e6ternum peribit. Cant. 12, in Matt.\n\n[672] Ejice ancillam hanc, et filium ejus. Gen. xxi. 10.\n\n[673] Qui Dei genitrici perseveranter obsequitur, non multa mora et Deum\nipsum in se recipiet. In Salv. Reg. Ex. 5.\n\n[674] Or. de Laud. V.\n\n[675] Nec facultas, nec voluntas illi deesse potest. Serm. de Aff.\n\n[676] Impossibile est Deiparam non exaudiri. P. 4, tit. 15, c. 17, s. 4.\n\n[677] Serm. de Aqu\u00e6d.\n\n[678] Serm. de Nat. B. V.\n\n[679] Salve, inferorum formido, Christianorum spes, certa est fiducia\ntua. Orat. ad Virg.\n\n[680] Mari\u00e6 filii mei genitrici a bonitate mea concessum est propter\nIncarnati Verbi reverentiam, ut quicumque etiam peccator ad eam cum\ndevota veneratione recurrit, nullo modo rapiatur a d\u00e6mone infernali. In\nMan. Spir.\n\n[681] Domine, dilexi decorem domus tu\u00e6, ne perdas cum impiis animam meam.\nPsal. xxv. 8, 9.\n\n[682] Sapientia \u00e6dificavit sibi domum. Prov. ix. 1.\n\n[683] Nunquam peribit qui genitrici Virgini devotus sedulusque extiterit.\n\n[684] Pax multa diligentibus te, Domina; anima eorum non videbit mortem\nin \u00e6ternum. In Psal. cxviii.\n\n[685] Fieri non potest ut pereat qui Mari\u00e6 sedulus et umilis cultor\nextiterit. In Cant. v. Spir. c. 18.\n\n[686] Quanti fuissent, \u00e6ternaliter condemnati, vel permansissent in\ndesperatione obstinati, nisi beatissima Virgo Maria interpellasset ad\nfilium. Ap. Pep. Lez. tom. 7.\n\n[687] Ap. Crass. to. 1, q. 12.\n\n[688] L. 1, c. 35.\n\n[689] Stellar. Cor. B. V. l. 12, p. 2, a. 1.\n\n[690] Quid autem de nobis fiet, O sanctissima Virgo, O vita\nChristianorum. De Zona Virg.\n\n[691] \u00c6ternum v\u00e6 non sentiet ille pro quo semel oraverit Maria.\n\n[692] Si accedam ad judicium, et matrem misericordi\u00e6 in causa mea habeo\nmecum, quis judicium denegabit propitium? In C. c. 15.\n\n[693] Si judex servum suum damnare voluerit, per manus tuas piissimas, O\nMaria, hoc faciat. Hor. Sap. l. 1, c. 16.\n\n[694] In te, Domina, speravi, non confundar in \u00e6ternum. In Psal. Mar.\n\n[695] P. Alf. Andrada de Bapt. Virg.\n\n[696] Beata Virgo in regno purgatorii dominium habet. Serm. 3, de Nom.\nMar. a. 1, c. 3.\n\n[697] Cap. xxiv. v. 8.\n\n[698] Scilicet visitans et subveniens necessitatibus et tormentis\ndevotorum meorum quia filii sunt. Serm. 3, de Nom. Mar. a. 1, c. 8.\n\n[699] Vide quam referat Virginem colere, cum cultorum suorum in\npurgatorii flammis existentium non obliviscatur. Et licet omnibus opem et\nrefrigerium ferat, id tamen pr\u00e6cipue erga suos pr\u00e6stat. Nov. Virg. Umb.\nc. 15, exc. 86.\n\n[700] Ego mater omnium qui sunt in purgatorio, quia omnes p\u0153n\u00e6, qu\u00e6\ndebentur illis pro peccatis suis, in qualibet hora propter preces meas\nquodammodo mitigantur. L. 4, Rev. c. 132.\n\n[701] Cap. xxiv. 8.\n\n[702] Abyssi, idest purgatorii, adjuvans illas sanctas animas.\n\n[703] Maria bona, existentibus in purgatorio; quia per eam habent\nsuffragium. Ser. 2, de Nat.\n\n[704] Tu es mater mea, tu mater misericordi\u00e6, tu consolatio eorum, qui\nsunt in purgatorio. Lib. 1, Rev. 19.\n\n[705] Qui sunt in purgatorio gaudent, nomine meo audito, quemadmodum \u00e6ger\njacens in lecto, cum audit verbum solatii. Ap. B. Dion. Cant. l. 3, de\nLaud. V.\n\n[706] Virginis nomen illarum p\u0153narum refrigerium est; addit Virgo preces\nquibus veluti supero quodam rore cruciatus illi magni mitigantur. Nov.\ncit. c. 15, exc. 86.\n\n[707] Totum purgatorium fuisse evacuatum.\n\n[708] Ferunt quippe bon\u00e6 not\u00e6 auctores, Virginem in c\u0153lum ituram a filio\nhoc petiisse, ut omnes animas qu\u00e6 detinebantur in purgatorio, secum ad\ngloriam ducere posset. Cit. Exc. 86.\n\n[709] Ab his tormentis liberat beata Virgo, maxime devotos suos. Serm. 3,\nde Nom. Mar. a. 2, c. 3.\n\n[710] Crediderim omnibus qui in flammis purgantur, Mari\u00e6 meritis non\nsolum leviores fuisse redditas illas p\u0153nas, sed et breviores; adeo ut\ncruciatuum tempus contractum Virginis ope illius sit. Cit. Exc. 86.\n\n[711] Lib. 3, Ep. 10, et in ord. 50.\n\n[712] Beatissima Virgo singulis in annis festivitate nativitatis Christi\nad purgatorii loca cum multitudine angelorum descendit, et multas inde\nanimas eripit. Etiam in nocte dominic\u00e6 resurrectionis solet descendere ad\npurgatorium pro eductione animarum. Cart. Serm. 2, de Aff.\n\n[713] Facile autem crediderim in quocumque Virginis solemni festo plures\nanimas ab illis p\u0153nis eximi. In loc. cit.\n\n[714] Tom. 2, Div. d. B. Virg. tr. 6, prat. 4.\n\n[715] Materno plane affectu, dum igne purgatorii expiantur, solari, ac in\nc\u0153lestem patriam obtentu suo quantocius pie creditur afferre. In Festo S.\nMar. de M. Carm. 16, Jul.\n\n[716] In lib. de Gest. Vir. ill. Sol. Villar.\n\n[717] Troph. Marian. l. 4, c. 29.\n\n[718] In omnibus requiem qu\u00e6sivi, et in h\u00e6reditate Domini morabor. Cap.\nxxiv. 11.\n\n[719] Et in h\u00e6reditate Domini morabor, idest in illis qui sunt h\u00e6reditas\nDomini.\n\n[720] Qui creavit me, requievit in tabernaculo meo; et dixit mihi; in\nJacob inhabita, et in Israel h\u00e6reditare, et in electis meis mitte radices.\n\n[721] Ego feci in c\u0153lis, ut oriretur lumen indeficiens. Cap. xxiv. v. 6.\n\n[722] Multi sancti sunt in c\u0153lis, intercessione ejus, qui nunquam, ibi\nfuissent nisi per eam.\n\n[723] Qui speraverit in illa, porta c\u0153li reserabitur ei.\n\n[724] Reseramentum c\u0153lestis Jerusalem. Orat. de Laud. Virg.\n\n[725] Tibi regni c\u0153lestis claves thesaurique commissi sunt. Cimel. Endol.\n1.\n\n[726] Aperi nobis, O Virgo, c\u0153lum, cujus claves habes.\n\n[727] Dicitur stella maris, quia sicut navigantes ad portum diriguntur\nper stellam maris, ita Christiani diriguntur ad gloriam per Mariam.\nOpusc. 8.\n\n[728] Scala c\u0153lestis, quia per ipsam Deus descendit ad terram, ut per\nipsam homines mererentur ascendere ad c\u0153lum.\n\n[729] Ave gratia plena, quod facta sis salutis via, ascensusque ad\nsuperos. Serm. 1, de Annunc.\n\n[730] Scire et cognoscere te, O Virgo Deipara, est via immortalitatis; et\nnarrare virtutes tuas est via salutis. In Psal. lxxxv.\n\n[731] P. 1, t. 1, c. 35.\n\n[732] Quis salvatur? quis regnat in c\u0153lo? illi sunt, pro quibus regina\nmisericordi\u00e6 interpellat.\n\n[733] Prov. viii. 15.\n\n[734] In Jerusalem potestas mea. C. 24, 25.\n\n[735] Imperando scilicet quod volo, et quos volo, introducendo. Ricc. l.\n4, de. L. V.\n\n[736] Totum jure possidet filii regnum. L. 3, in Cant. 4.\n\n[737] C\u0153leste nobis regnum suo interventu, auxiliis, et precibus\nimpetravit. St. Antoninus, p. 4, tit. 15, c. 2, s. 1.\n\n[738] Qui Virgini famulatur, ita securus est de paradiso ac si esset in\nparadiso. Guerricus Abbas.\n\n[739] Summus honor servire Mari\u00e6, et de ejus esse familia. Etenim ei\nservire regnare est, est ejus agi fr\u0153nis plusquam regium. De Exc. Virg.\nc. 9.\n\n[740] Gens qu\u00e6 non servierit illi, peribit. Gentes destitut\u00e6 tant\u00e6 matris\nauxilio, destituuntur auxilio Filii, et totius curi\u00e6 c\u0153lestis. Exc. Virg.\nc. 9.\n\n[741] Advocatam promisit peregrinatio nostra, qu\u00e6 tanquam judicis mater,\net mater misericordi\u00e6, suppliciter et efficaciter salutis nostr\u00e6 negotia\npertractabit. Serm. 1, de Assump.\n\n[742] Eam tu pontem fecisti, quo a mundi fluctibus trajiciens, ad\ntranquillum portum tuum deveniamus. Orat. in Nat. Deip.\n\n[743] Audite, gentes, qui cupitis regnum Dei, Virginem Mariam honorate et\ninvenietis vitam \u00e6ternam. In Psalt. Vir.\n\n[744] Peccatores per te, Deum exquisierunt et salvi facti sunt. Serm. de\nDorm. Deip.\n\n[745] Et in capite ejus corona stellarum duodecim. Apoc. xii. 1.\n\n[746] Veni de Libano, sponsa mea, veni de Libano, veni coronaberis de\ncubilibus leonum, de montibus pardorum. Cant. iv. 8.\n\n[747] Et quid est hoc? nisi quia fer\u00e6 per gratiam et orationes Mari\u00e6 sunt\nstell\u00e6, qu\u00e6 conveniunt tant\u00e6 regin\u00e6. De Laud. Virg. cap. 3.\n\n[748] Nescit homo utrum odio vel amore dignus sit, sed omnia in futurum\nservantur incerta. Eccli. ix. 1, 2.\n\n[749] Domine quis habitabit in tabernaculo tuo? Psal. xiv. 1.\n\n[750] Amplectamur Mari\u00e6 vestigia, peccatores, et ejus beatis pedibus\npervolvamur. Teneamus eam fortiter, nec dimittamus, donec ab ea mereamur\nbenedici.\n\n[751] Tantummodo velis salutem nostram, et vere nequaquam salvi esse non\npoterimus. De Exc. Virg. c. 11.\n\n[752] Necessarium est quod hi ad quos convertit (Maria) oculos suos,\njustificentur, et glorificentur. P. 4, tit. 55.\n\n[753] Beatam me dicent omnes generationes. Luc. i. 48.\n\n[754] Beata jure dicitur, quia omnes ex ea beatificantur. Serm. 3, de Aff.\n\n[755] Tu felicitatis nostr\u00e6 principium, medium et finis. Serm. in Hypant.\n\n[756] Per te c\u0153lum apertum est, infernus evacuatus, instaurata c\u0153lestis\nJerusalem, miseris damnationem expectantibus vita data est. Serm. 4, de\nAff. Virg.\n\n[757] Qui operabunt in me, non peccabunt. Qui elucidant me, vitam \u00e6ternam\nhabebunt. Eccli. xxiv. 30, 31.\n\n[758] Qui acquirunt gratiam Mari\u00e6, agnoscentur a civibus paradisi et qui\nhabuerit caracterem ejus, adnotabitur in libro vit\u00e6. In. Spec.\n\n[759] Qui vicerit ... scribam super eum nomen Dei mei, et nomen civitatis\nDei mei. Apoc. iii. 12.\n\n[760] Gloriosa dicta sunt de te, civitas Dei. Psal. lxxxvi. 3.\n\n[761] Habens signaculum hoc, cognovit Dominus qui sunt ejus. 2 Tim. ii.\n19.\n\n[762] Certissimum est signum salutis \u00e6tern\u00e6 consequend\u00e6.\n\n[763] Habentes devotionem hanc, signum est pr\u00e6destinationis permagnum ad\ngloriam. P. 2, Ros. c. 11.\n\n[764] Signum sit tibi probabilissimum \u00e6tern\u00e6 salutis, si perseveranter in\ndie beatam virginem in Psalterio salutaveris. P. 44, de Psalt. c. 44.\n\n[765] Omnes domestici ejus vestiti sunt duplicibus. xxxi. 21.\n\n[766] Sicut l\u00e6tantium omnium habitatio est in te, sancta Dei genitrix.\n\n[767] Lib. 7, Dial. c. 3.\n\n[768] Terra repromissionis Maria lacte et melle manans. Serm. sup. Salv.\nReg.\n\n[769] Maria adeo pr\u00e6dita est misericordi\u00e6 visceribus, ut non tamen\nmisericors, sed ipsa misericordia dici promereatur. Serm. 1, de Nat. Dom.\n\n[770] Certe, Domina, cum te aspicio, nihil nisi misericordiam cerno; nam\npro miseris mater Dei facta es, et tibi officium miserendi commissum.\nUndique sollicita es de miseris, misericordia vallaris; solum misereri\nvideris appetere. Stim. Am.\n\n[771] Cujus viscera nunquam desistunt fructum parturire pietatis. Serm.\n1, de Assum.\n\n[772] Serm. 1, in Dom. p. Ep.\n\n[773] Eccli. xxiv. 19.\n\n[774] Merito dici potest mater olei, nam est mater misericordi\u00e6. Lib. 1,\nin Cant.\n\n[775] Ne forte non sufficiat nobis et vobis. Matth. xxv. 9.\n\n[776] Maria plena oleo pietatis. In Spec. cap. 7.\n\n[777] Gratia plena, et in tantum plena, ut ex tua redundante oleo totus\nmundus hauriat. Si enim prudentes Virgines oleum acceperunt in vasis cum\nlampadibus, tu prudentissima Virgo gestasti vas redundans et indeficiens,\nex quo, effuso oleo misericordi\u00e6, omnium lampades illuminares.\n\n[778] Ut omnes eam respiciant, omnes ad eam confugiant.\n\n[779] Ad olivam in campis omnes possunt accedere, et accipere fructum\nejus. Ad Mariam et justi et peccatores possunt accedere, ut inde\nmisericordiam accipiant. P. 3, tit. 31, c. 4.\n\n[780] O quot sententias flagellorum propter peccata h\u00e6c sanctissima Virgo\nmisericorditer revocavit!\n\n[781] Non est tutior locus ad latendum, quam sinus Mari\u00e6. Ibi pauper\nhabet domicilium, ibi infirmus invenit remedium, tristis solatium; ibi\nturbatus consilium, ibi destitutus acquirit juvamentum.\n\n[782] Ubi non est mulier ingemiscit egens. Eccli. xxxvi. 27.\n\n[783] Ingemiscit infirmus, ubi non fuerit h\u00e6c sanctissima mater.\n\n[784] Nisi preces Mari\u00e6 intervenirent, non esset spes misericordi\u00e6. Rev.\nl. 6, c. 26.\n\n[785] Non reperitur aliquis sanctorum ita compati in infirmitatibus,\nsicut mulier h\u00e6c beatissima Virgo Maria. P. 4, t. 15, c. 2.\n\n[786] Ubicumque fuerit miseria, tua currit et succurrit misericordia. In\nCant. 4, 5.\n\n[787] Itaque, O B. Virgo, ubi miserias invenis, ibi tuas misericordias\neffundis. Cap. 4, 1, Reg.\n\n[788] Et usque ad futurum s\u00e6culum non desinam, ut in habitatione sancta\ncoram ipso ministravi. Eccli. xxiv. 14.\n\n[789] Usque ad futurum s\u00e6culum, id est beatorum, non desinam miseriis\nsubvenire, et pro peccatoribus orare.\n\n[790] Plus vult illa bonum tibi facere et largiri gratiam, quam tu\naccipere concupiscas. Mar. p. 1, Serm. 5, de Nov. Mar.\n\n[791] Invenies eam in manibus plenam misericordia et liberalitate. Loc.\ncit.\n\n[792] Quin et camelis tuis hauriam aquam, donec cuncti bibant. Gen. xxiv.\n19.\n\n[793] Domina, nec puero Abrah\u00e6 tantum, sed et camelis tribue de\nsupereffluente hydria tua. Serm. Sup. Miss.\n\n[794] Dives in omnes qui invocant illum. Rom. x. 12.\n\n[795] Largitas Mari\u00e6 assimilat largitatem filii sui; dat amplius quam\npetatur. De Laud. Virg.\n\n[796] Majori devotione orabis pro me, quam ego auderem petere; et majora\nmihi impetrabis quam petere pr\u00e6sumam.\n\n[797] Noscitis cujus spiritus estis. Luc. ix. 55.\n\n[798] Ego vocor mater misericordi\u00e6, et vero misericordia illius\nmisericordem me fecit. Rev. l. 1, c. 6.\n\n[799] Et signum magnum apparuit in c\u0153lo, mulier amicta sole. Apoc. xii. 1.\n\n[800] Vestis solem, et vestiris ab eo.\n\n[801] Non discutit merita, sed omnibus exorabilem se pr\u00e6bet. Serm. in\nSign. Magn.\n\n[802] Cant. 6, 9.\n\n[803] Pulchra ut luna quia pulchrum est benefacere indignis. Epist. 26.\n\n[804] Quod sol facit in anno, luna facit in mense. Jo. di Minian. l. 1,\nde C\u0153l. c. 3.\n\n[805] Velocior nonnumquam est nostra salus, invocato nomine Mari\u00e6, quam\ninvocato nomine Jesu. De Excell. Virg. c. 6.\n\n[806] Si pertimescis ad Deum accedere, respice ad Mariam; non illic\ninvenis quod timeas, genus tuum vides.\n\n[807] Qu\u00e6 ad eam pertinent, plena omnia pietatis et grati\u00e6. Denique omnia\nomnibus facta est, sapientibus et insipientibus copiosissima charitate\ndebitricem se fecit. Omnibus misericordi\u00e6 su\u00e6 sinum aperit, ut de\nplenitudine ejus accipiant omnes. Super Sign. Magn.\n\n[808] Circuit qu\u00e6rens quem devoret. Ep. 1, c. 5.\n\n[809] Ipsa semper circuit, qu\u00e6rens quem salvet. Marial. p. 3, Serm. 3.\n\n[810] Patrocinium tuum majus est, quam apprehendi possit. De Zona. Virg.\n\n[811] Quare parcit nunc mundo ipse Deus, qui olim multo his minora\npeccata acrius punivit? Ap. P. Pepe. Grand. etc.\n\n[812] Totum hoc facit propter B. Virginem, et ejus merita.\n\n[813] C\u0153lum et terra jamdudum ruissent, si Maria suis precibus non\nsustentasset.\n\n[814] Securum accessum jam habet homo ad Deum, ubi mediatorem caus\u00e6 su\u00e6\nfilium habet ante Patrem, et ante filium, matrem. Christus ostendit Patri\nlatus et vulnera, Maria Christo pectus, et ubera. De Laud. Virg.\n\n[815] Una puella sic Deum in sui pectoris capit hospitio, ut pacem\nterris, salutem perditis, vitam mortuis, pro ipsa domo exigat pensionem.\nSerm. 140.\n\n[816] S\u00e6pe quos justitia filii potest damnare, mater misericordi\u00e6\nliberat. Thesaurus Domini est, et thesauraria gratiarum. Salus nostra in\nmanu illius est. Prolog. in Contempl. Virg.\n\n[817] H\u00e6c est nostra salus, vita, spes, consilium, refugium, auxilium\nnostrum. P. 1, Ser. 6, de Com. Mar.\n\n[818] Adeamus cum fiducia ad thronum grati\u00e6, ut misericordiam\nconsequamur, ut gratiam inveniamus in auxilio opportuno. Hebr. iv. 16.\n\n[819] Ad thronum grati\u00e6, scilicet ad Mariam. P. 4, t. 15, c. 14, s. 7.\n\n[820] Clemens indigentibus, pia exorantibus, dulcis diligentibus. O\nclemens p\u0153nitentibus, pia proficientibus, dulcis contemplantibus. O\nclemens liberando, O pia largiendo, O dulcis te donando. Sup. Salv. Reg.\n\n[821] Lib. de Nat. Mar.\n\n[822] Or. de Pr\u00e6s. Deip.\n\n[823] Hist. tit. 4, c. 6.\n\n[824] De Laud. Virg. p. 14.\n\n[825] Dedit tibi, Maria, tota Trinitas nomen post nomen filii tui supra\nomne nomen; ut in nomine tuo omne genuflectatur, c\u0153lestium, terrestrium,\net infernorum. De Laud. v. l. 1, c. 2.\n\n[826] Hoc nomen Mari\u00e6 plenum est omni dulcedine ac suavitate divina.\n\n[827] Nomen Jesu.... Nomen Mari\u00e6 jubilus in corde, mel in ore, in aure\nmelos.\n\n[828] Qu\u00e6 est ista, qu\u00e6 ascendit per desertum, sicut virgula fumi? C.\niii. 6.\n\n[829] Qu\u00e6 est ista, qu\u00e6 progreditur, quasi aurora consurgens? C. vi. 9.\n\n[830] Qu\u00e6 est ista, qu\u00e6 ascendit de deserto deliciis affluens? viii. 5.\n\n[831] Forsitan, quia dulce nomen sibi desiderant responderi. De Laud.\nVirg. c. 2.\n\n[832] Neque enim post filii nomen aliud nomen c\u0153lum et terra nominat,\nunde tantum grati\u00e6, spei, et suavitatis pi\u00e6 mentes concipiant. De Grat.\nNov. Test. tr. 6.\n\n[833] Nomen namque Mari\u00e6 mirum quid, suave, atque divinum in se continet,\net cum convenit amicis cordibus, amic\u00e6 suavitatis odorem spiret. Et mirum\nillud est de nomine Mari\u00e6, ut millies auditum semper audiatur quasi\nnovum. De. grat. Nov. Test. tr. 6.\n\n[834] O magna, O pia, O multum laudabilis Maria, tu nec nominari potes\nquin accendas; nec cogitari, quin recrees affectus diligentium te. Ap. S.\nBon. Spec. c. 8.\n\n[835] Mari\u00e6 nomen longe melius quam diviti\u00e6, quia melius angustiam\nrelevat. De Laud. Virg. c. 2.\n\n[836] Tuum, Dei genitrix, nomen divinis benedictionibus et gratiis ex\nomni parte refertum. Orat. in Hyp.\n\n[837] Nomen tuum devote nominari non potest sine nominantis utilitate.\nSpec. B. Virg. c. 8.\n\n[838] Tanta est virtus tui sacratissimi nominis, semper benigna Virgo\nMaria, quod mirabiliter emollit duritia cordis humani. Peccator per te\nrespirat in spe veni\u00e6 et grati\u00e6. Idiot. ap. Alph. Mar. p. 827.\n\n[839] Unguentum nomen tuum. Descendat istud unguentum in anim\u00e6\npre\u00e6cordia, S. Maria, quo divin\u00e6 grati\u00e6 spiramenta redoleam. De Instit.\nVirg. c. 13.\n\n[840] O Maria, tui recordatio nominis m\u0153stos l\u00e6tificat, errantes ad viam\nsalutis revocat, et peccatores ne desperent confortat. In vita Christ. p.\n2, c. 86.\n\n[841] Sic Maria suo sanctissimo nomine, quod quinque litteris constat,\nconfert quotidie veniam peccatoribus. Stellar. a. 2.\n\n[842] Cant. i. 2.\n\n[843] Gloria nominis ejus oleo effuso comparatur. Oleum \u00e6grotantem sanat,\nodorem parit, flammam accendit. In Cant. 1, 2.\n\n[844] Peccator es? ad nomen Mari\u00e6 confugias; ipsum solum sufficit ad\nmedendum. Nulla pestis, qu\u00e6 ad nomen Mari\u00e6 non cedat continuo. De Laud.\nVirg. p. 14.\n\n[845] Expavescunt c\u0153li reginam spiritus maligni, et diffugiunt, audito\nnomine sancto ejus, velut ab igne. Serm. 4, p. 3, ad Novit.\n\n[846] Nullus est in hac vita tam frigidus ab amore Dei, qui si\ninvocaverit nomen meum, cum proposito p\u0153nitendi, statim diabolus ab ipso\nnon discedat. Rev. lib. 1, c. 9.\n\n[847] Omnes d\u00e6mones verentur hoc nomen, et timent, qui audientes hoc\nnomen Mari\u00e6, statim relinquunt animam de unguibus, quibus tenebant eam.\nRev. l. 2, c. 19.\n\n[848] Angeli boni, audito nomine meo, justis magis propinquant. Ap. Dion.\nCart. de Laud. V. cap. ult.\n\n[849] Quomodo corpus enim vitalis signum operationis habet respirationem,\nita sanctissimum nomen tuum, O Virgo, quod in ore servorum tuorum\nversatur assidue, vit\u00e6 et auxilii non solum est signum, sed etiam ea\nprocurat et conciliat. De Zona Virg.\n\n[850] Turris fortissima nomen Domin\u00e6, ad ipsam fugiet peccator, et\nliberabitur. H\u00e6c defendit quoslibet, et quantumlibet peccatores. De Laud.\nVirg. l. 11.\n\n[851] Non est in aliquo nomine tam potens adjutorium, nec est aliud nomen\ndatum hominibus post nomen Jesu, ex quo tanta salus refundatur hominibus,\nsicut nomen Mari\u00e6. De Laud. Virg. c. 2.\n\n[852] Luc. i. 27.\n\n[853] Hoc nomen semper cum castitate conjunctum esse debet. Loc. cit.\n\n[854] Serm. 146.\n\n[855] In periculis, in augustiis, in rebus dubiis Mariam cogita, Mariam\ninvoca. Non recedat ab ore, non recedat a corde. Hom. 2, Sup. Miss.\n\n[856] Quicumque invocaverit nomen tuum, et in te sperabit cum proposito\nemendandi, tria illi dabuntur, contritio peccatorum, eorum satisfactio,\net fortitudo ad proficiendum et insuper regnum c\u0153lorum. Rev. l. 1, c. 10.\n\n[857] Tanta enim est in me dulcedo verborum tuorum, quod negare non\nvaleo, quod tu petis.\n\n[858] Nomen Mari\u00e6 est reseratorium port\u00e6 c\u0153li. In Deprec ad Virg.\n\n[859] Devota invocatio hujus nominis ducit ad virorem grati\u00e6 in pr\u00e6senti,\net ad virorem glori\u00e6 in futuro. De Laud. Virg. l. 2, c. 2.\n\n[860] Si consolari in omni tribulatione qu\u00e6ritis, accedite ad Mariam,\nMariam invocate, Mariam honorate, Mari\u00e6 vos commendate; cum Maria\ngaudete, cum Maria dolete, cum Maria orate, cum Maria ambulate, cum Maria\nJesum qu\u00e6rite; cum Maria et Jesu vivere et mori desiderate. Fratres, si\nista exercetis, proficietis. Maria pro vobis libenter orabit, et Jesus\nlibenter matrem suam exaudiet. Serm. par. 3, Serm. 2.\n\n[861] H\u00e6c brevis oratio, Jesus et Maria, facilis est ad tenendum, dulcis\nad cogitandum, fortis ad protegendum.\n\n[862] Beatus vir qui diligit nomen tuum, Maria!\n\n[863] Gloriosum et admirabile nomen tuum; qui illud retinent, non\nexpavescunt in puncto mortis. Spec. B. Virg.\n\n[864] Inter ipsam dulcissimi nominis articulationem. An. 1109.\n\n[865] Dei matris nomen sit mihi ultimus lingu\u00e6 loquentis motus. Orat. 6,\nad Ann. Virg.\n\n[866] Propter honorem nominis tui in exitu anim\u00e6 me\u00e6 de hoc mundo,\noccurre illi, domina, et suscipe eam. In Psalt. Deip.\n\n[867] Consolare eam vultu sancto tuo. Esto illi scala et iter ad\nparadisum; impetra ei indulgentiam pacis et sedem lucis.\n\n[868] Sustine devotos, suscipe causas reorum ante tribunal Christi.\n\n[869] Ego ex ore altissimi prodivi primogenita ante omnem creaturam.\nEccli. xxiv. 5.\n\n[870] Dominus possedit me in initio viarum suarum. Prov. viii. 22.\n\n[871] Ep. contr. Pa. Samos.\n\n[872] In vitam prodiisti, ut orbis universi administram te pr\u00e6beres. Or.\n1, de Nat. Virg.\n\n[873] Sicut per illam homines evaserunt diluvium, sic per istam peccati\nnaufragium. Per illam paucorum facta est liberatio, per istam humani\ngeneris salvatio. Serm. de B. Virg.\n\n[874] Or. de S. Deip.\n\n[875] Salve qu\u00e6 sustulisti tristitiam Ev\u00e6.\n\n[876] Ave, Dei hominumque sequestra constituta.\n\n[877] Ave totius orbis conciliatrix.\n\n[878] Inimicitias ponam inter te et mulierem, et semen tuum et semen\nillius; ipsa conteret caput tuum. Gen. iii. 15.\n\n[879] Cum peccati originalis caput sit diabolus, tale caput Maria\ncontrivit; quia nulla peccati subjectio ingressum habuit in animam\nVirginis, et ideo ab omni macula immunis fuit. In Gen. iii. 15.\n\n[880] Congruum erat ut B. Virgo Maria, per quam aufertur nobis\nopprobrium, vinceret diabolum, ut nec ei succumberet ad modicum. In 3,\ndist. 3, art. 2, q. 2.\n\n[881] Tu ante omnem creaturam in mente Dei pr\u00e6ordinata fuisti, ut Deum\nipsum hominem procreares. Serm. 15, cap. 4.\n\n[882] Sanctitas illis rebus attribuitur, qu\u00e6 in Deum sunt ordinat\u00e6. 1 p.\nq. 36, art. 1.\n\n[883] Neque enim homini pr\u00e6paratur habitatio, sed Deo. 1 Par. xxix. 1.\n\n[884] Omnium artifex Deus, filio suo dignum habitaculum fabricaturus, eam\nomnium gratificantium charismatum copia adornavit. Lib. 2, de Laud. Virg.\nart. 2.\n\n[885] Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, qui glorios\u00e6 Virginis et matris Mari\u00e6\ncorpus et animam ut dignum filii tui habitaculum effici mereretur,\nSpiritu Sancto co-operante pr\u00e6parasti, etc.\n\n[886] Prov. xvii. 6.\n\n[887] Providentia singulari perfecit ut sanctissima Virgo ab ipso vit\u00e6\nsu\u00e6 principio tam omnino existeret pura quam decebat illam, qu\u00e6 Christo\ndigna mater existeret. In Men. die. 25, Martii.\n\n[888] Quod vel paucis mortalium constat esse collatum, fas certe non est\nsuspicari tant\u00e6 Virgini esse negatum. Epist. 174.\n\n[889] Nihil unquam alicui sanctorum concessum est, quod a principio vit\u00e6\ncumulatius non pr\u00e6fulgeat in Maria. Serm. 2, de Ass.\n\n[890] Matris Dei et servorum Dei infinitum eat discrimen. Or. 1, de Ass.\n\n[891] Majora in quovis genere privilegia grati\u00e6 deferenda sunt matri Dei,\nquam servis. 3, p. q. 27, art. 2.\n\n[892] Impotensne fuit sapientia Dei mundum habitaculum condere, remota\nomni labe conditionis human\u00e6? Serm. de Conc.\n\n[893] Angelos, aliis peccantibus, a peccato servavit; et matrem ab\naliorum peccatis exortem servare non potuit? Loc. cit.\n\n[894] Decens erat ut ea puritate, qua major sub Deo nequit intelligi,\nVirgo illa niteret, cui Deus Pater unicum sibi filium dare disponebat.\nDict. Lib. de Conc.\n\n[895] Cum Virginis una cum corpore animam conservasset, ut eam decebat,\nqu\u00e6 Deum in sinu suo exceptura erat; sanctus enim ipse cum sit, in\nsanctis requiescit. Lib. 4, de Fid. Ort. cap. 15.\n\n[896] Sicut lilium inter spinas, sic amica mea inter filias. Cant. ii. 2.\n\n[897] Nascens de homine factor hominum talem sibi debuit eligere matrem,\nqualem se decere sciebat. H. 3, Sup. Miss.\n\n[898] Tertio fuit sanctificatio maternalis, et h\u00e6c removet omnem culpam\noriginalem. H\u00e6c fuit in B. Virgine; sane Deus talem tam nobilitate\nnatur\u00e6, quam perfectione grati\u00e6 condidit matrem, qualem eum decebat\nhabere suam matrem. Tom. 2, Serm. 51, c. 1.\n\n[899] Talis enim decebat, ut nobis esset pontifex sanctus, innocens,\nimpollutus segregatus a peccatoribus, etc. Heb. vii. 26.\n\n[900] Oportuit eum qui peccata venerat tollere, esse a peccatoribus\nsegregatum quantum ad culpam cui Adam subjacuit. 3 p. q. 4, art. 6, ad. 1.\n\n[901] Non de terra, sed de c\u0153lo vas sibi hoc per quod descenderet,\nChristus elegit, et sacravit templum pudoris. De Inst. Virg. c. 5.\n\n[902] Primus homo de terra terrenus; secundus homo de c\u0153lo c\u0153lestis. 1 C.\nxv. 47.\n\n[903] Non decuit regem glori\u00e6 jacere nisi in vase purissimo et\nelectissimo pr\u00e6 omnibus angelis et hominibus. Rev. l. 1, c. 17.\n\n[904] Maria fuit vas mundum et non mundum; mundum quia totum pulchra; sed\nnon mundum, quia de peccatoribus nata est licet sine peccato concepta, ut\nfilius meus de ea sine peccato nasceretur. L. 5, c. 13.\n\n[905] Gloria enim hominis ex honore patris sui, et dedecus filii pater\nsine honore. Eccli. iii. 13.\n\n[906] Putredo namque human\u00e6 est opprobrium conditionis, a quo cum Jesus\nsit alienus, natura Mari\u00e6 excipitur; caro enim Jesu caro Mari\u00e6 est. Serm.\nde Ass. B. V.\n\n[907] Caro Christi caro est Mari\u00e6, et quamvis gloria resurrectionis\nfuerit glorificata, eadem tamen mansit qu\u00e6 de Maria sumpta est. Loc. cit.\n\n[908] Una est Mari\u00e6 et Christi caro; atque adeo filii gloriam cum matre\nnon tam communem judico, quam eamdem. De L. V.\n\n[909] Tu sola inventa est digna, ut in tua virginali aula Rex Regum\nprimam sibi mansionem eligeret. In Depr. ad Virg.\n\n[910] Antequam conciperet, jam idonea erat ut esset mater Dei. Serm. 3,\nde Nat. Virg.\n\n[911] B. Virgo cujus viscera meruerunt portare Christum Dominum. Resp. 1,\nNoct. 2, in Nat. Mar.\n\n[912] B. Virgo dicitur meruisse portare dominum omnium, non quia meruit\nipsum incarnari, sed quia meruit ex gratia sibi data illum puritatis et\nsanctitatis gradum ut congrue posset esse mater Dei. 3 p. q. 2, a 11, ad\n3.\n\n[913] Singularis ejus sanctitas ex gratia hoc promeruit, quod susceptione\nDei singulariter judicata est digna. De Ass. Serm. 2.\n\n[914] Qu\u00e6 autem excellentia, qu\u00e6 perfectio decuit eam ut esset mater Dei.\nSerm. 3, Nat. Virg.\n\n[915] Beata autem Virgo fuit electa divinitus, ut esset mater Dei; et\nideo non est dubitandum, quin Deus, per suam gratiam, eam ad hoc idoneam\nreddidit, secundum quod Angelus ad eam dicit. Luc. 1, Invenisti gratiam\napud Deum; ecce concipies, etc., 3, p. q. 27, a. 4, in corp.\n\n[916] Non fuisset idonea mater Dei, si peccasset aliquando, quia\nignominia matris ad filium redundasset. Serm. 3, Nat. Virg.\n\n[917] Excepta itaque S. Virgine Maria, de qua propter honorem Domini\nnullam prorsus, cum de peccatis agitur, habere volo qu\u00e6stionem. Inde enim\nscimus quod ei plus grati\u00e6 collatum fuerit ad vincendum ex omni parte\npeccatum, qu\u00e6 concipere et parere meruit eum quem constat nullum habuisse\npeccatum. De Nat. et grat. contr. Pel. t. 7, c. 36.\n\n[918] Christus talem matrem sibi elegit, qualem meruit habere, de qua non\nerubesceret.\n\n[919] Intra viscera, qu\u00e6 citra ullam sui dedecoris notam creaverat,\nhabitavit. Or. de Nat. Dom.\n\n[920] Nonne mater ejus dicitur Maria? Matth. xiii. 55.\n\n[921] Nonne mater ejus extitit peccatrix?\n\n[922] Sapientia \u00e6dificavit sibi domum. Prov. ix. 1.\n\n[923] Sanctificavit tabernaculum suum altissimus.... Adjuvabit eam Deus\nmane diluculo. Psal. xlv. 56.\n\n[924] Psal. xcii. 5.\n\n[925] In malevolam animam non introibit sapientia, nec habitabit in\ncorpore subdito peccatis. Sap. i. 4.\n\n[926] Dei filius in ipsa habitabit, non solum in anima, sed etiam in\nutero. 3, p. q. 27, a. 4.\n\n[927] Nullam digniorem domum sibi filius Dei \u00e6dificavit, quam Mariam, qu\u00e6\nnunquam fuit ab hostibus capta, neque suis ornamentis spoliata.\n\n[928] Quis unquam audivit architectum, qui sibi domum \u00e6dificavit, ejus\noccupationem et possessionem primo suo inimico cessisse. In Conc. Eph. n.\n6.\n\n[929] Qui dixit, honora patrem et matrem ut decretum a se promulgatum\nservaret, omnem Matri gratiam et honorem impendit. Or. in Hypap.\n\n[930] Sicut honorem matris pr\u00e6cipit ita inhonorationem damnat. Serm. de\nAss. B. Virg.\n\n[931] Cum tu Summus Princeps velis habere matrem, illi certe debebis\nhonorem; nimis autem appareret illam legem non bene adimpleri, si in\nabominationem peccati originalis permitteres illam qu\u00e6 esse debet\nhabitaculum totius puritatis. Serm. de Conc. B. M.\n\n[932] Christus plus pro redimenda Virgine venit quam pro omni alia\ncreatura.\n\n[933] Duplex est redimendi modus, unus redimendo lapsum, alter redimendo\nnon lapsum, ne cadat.\n\n[934] Nobilius redimitur cui providetur, ne cadat, quam ut lapsus\nerigatur.\n\n[935] Scot. Acad. tom. 8, art. 3, sect. 3, q. l. s. 5.\n\n[936] Credendum est enim quod novo sanctificationis genere in ejus\nconceptionis primordio Spiritus Sanctus eam a peccato originali (non quod\ninfuit, sed quod infuisset) redemit atque singulari gratia preservavit.\nSerm. 2, de Ass.\n\n[937] Alii liberatorem, Virgo sancta pr\u00e6liberatorem habuit.\n\n[938] Talis agnus, qualis Mater agni; quoniam omnis arbor ex fructu suo\ncognoscitur. Coll. 3, de Verb. Inc.\n\n[939] O digna digni, formosa pulchri, excelsa altissimi, mater Dei. Ug.\nde S. Vict. Serm. de Ass.\n\n[940] Lacta, O Maria, Creatorem tuum, lacta eum qui te fecit, et qui\ntalem fecit te, ut ipse fieret ex te. Serm. de Nat. Virg.\n\n[941] H\u00e6c est qu\u00e6 sola meruit mater, et sponsa vocari. Serm. de Ass.\n\n[942] Ipse spiritus Dei, ipse amor Patris et Filii corporaliter venit in\neam singularique gratia pr\u00e6 omnibus in ipsa requievit, et reginam c\u0153li et\nterr\u00e6 fecit sponsam suam. De Exc. Virg. c. 4.\n\n[943] Spiritus Sanctus superveniet in te. Luc. i. 35.\n\n[944] Unde dicitur templum Domini, sacrarium Spiritus Sancti, quia\nconcepit ex Spiritu Sancto. Opusc. 8.\n\n[945] Tota pulchra es, amica mea, et macula non est in te. Cant. iv. 7.\n\n[946] Tom. 2, Serm. 52.\n\n[947] Serm. de Nat. Virg.\n\n[948] Tota pulchra es, Virgo gloriosissima, non in parte, sed in toto; et\nmacula peccati sive mortalis, sive venialis, sive originalis non est in\nte. In Contemp. B. V. c. 3.\n\n[949] Hortus conclusus, soror mea sponsa, hortus conclusus, fons\nsignatus. Cant. iv. 12.\n\n[950] H\u00e6c est hortus conclusus, fons signatus ad quam nulli potuerunt\ndoli irrumpere, nec prevalere fraus inimici; sed permansit sancta mente,\net corpore. Ep. 10, ad Eust. de Ass.\n\n[951] Hortus conclusus tu es, ad quem deflorandum manus peccatorum\nnunquam introivit.\n\n[952] Fundamenta ejus in montibus sanctis; diligit Dominus portas Sion\nsuper omnia tabernacula Jacob.... Homo natus est in ea et ipse fundavit\neam Altissimus. Psal. lxxxvi. 1, 2, 5.\n\n[953] Mut\u00e6 fili\u00e6 congregaverunt divitias, tu supergressa es universas.\nProv. xxxi. 29.\n\n[954] Adolescentularum non est numerus. Una est columba mea, perfecta\nmea, una est matris su\u00e6. Cant. vi. 8.\n\n[955] Bene gratia plena dicitur, quia c\u00e6teris per partes pr\u00e6statur, Mari\u00e6\nvero simul se tota infundit plenitudo grati\u00e6. Serm. de Ass. B. V.\n\n[956] Anima B. Virginis ita fuit plena quod ex ea refundit gratia in\ncarnem, ut de ipsa conciperet Deum. Opusc. 8.\n\n[957] Simul in ea collecta est grati\u00e6 plenitudo, quia ab exordio su\u00e6\nconceptionis aspersione Spiritus Sancti tota deitatis gratia est\nsuperfusa. Lib. de Panib. cap. 10.\n\n[958] A Deo electam et pr\u00e6electam totam eam rapturus erat sibi Spiritus\nSanctus. Serm. de Ann.\n\n[959] De Arcan. l. 7, c. 18.\n\n[960] L. 8, Exerc. 8.\n\n[961] Lib. 2, Cant. ex to.\n\n[962] De V. Conc. c. 7, s. 7.\n\n[963] De pecc. orig. c. ult.\n\n[964] Umbra. Virg. c. 10, exc. 28.\n\n[965] P. 8, d. 2, q. 2, a. 3.\n\n[966] Man. to. 3, tr. 5, c. 6, s. 2.\n\n[967] To. 3, de pecc. c. 7.\n\n[968] Omnes in quo (Ada) peccaverunt. Rom. v.\n\n[969] In Exam. Theol.\n\n[970] 1, 2, q. 2, de pecc.\n\n[971] Piet. Lugd. n. 29.\n\n[972] Disc. Th. de Imm. Conc.\n\n[973] Qu. Prod. ad Trut.\n\n[974] C. xii. 49, 55.\n\n[975] Suscipe me non ex Sara, sed ex Maria, ut incorrupta sit virgo, sed\nvirgo per gratiam ab omni integra labe peccati. Serm. 22, in Psal. cxviii.\n\n[976] Nec serpentis venenosi afflatibus infecta est. Hom. 1.\n\n[977] Immaculata, et ab omni peccati labe alienissima. Tom. 5, or. ad Dei\nGen.\n\n[978] Ave, gratia plena; quibus ostendit ex integro (nota ex integro)\niram prim\u00e6 sententi\u00e6 exclusam, et plenam benedictionis gratiam\nrestitutam. Serm. 11, in Nat. Dom.\n\n[979] Nubes illa non fuit in tenebris, semper in luce. In Psal. 77.\n\n[980] Nec sustinebat justitia, ut illud vas electionis communibus\nlaxaretur injuriis, quoniam plurimum a c\u00e6teris distans natura\ncommunicabat non culpa. Lib. de Carn. Christi oper. de Nativ.\n\n[981] Qui antiquam virginem sine probro condidit, ipse et secundam sine\nnota et crimine fabricatus est. Or. de Deip.\n\n[982] Virginem ideo dici immaculatam, quia in nullo corrupta est. In Ep.\nAp. Syn. to. 3, p. 307.\n\n[983] Constat eam aboriginali peccato fuisse immunem. Cont. Disp. De\nVirgin. Mar.\n\n[984] Ad hunc paradisum serpens aditum non habuit. Or. 2, de Nat. Mar.\n\n[985] Caro Virginis ex Adam sumpta, maculas Adam non admisit. Serm. de\nAss. V.\n\n[986] H\u00e6c est incorrupta terra illa, cui benedixit Dominus, ab omni\npropterea peccati contagione libera. In Psal. ci.\n\n[987] Domina nostra fuit plena gratia pr\u00e6veniente in sua sanctificatione,\ngratia scilicet pr\u00e6servativa contra f\u0153ditatem originalis culp\u00e6. Serm. 2,\nde Ass.\n\n[988] Non enim credendum est, quod ipse filius Dei voluerit nasci ex\nVirgine, et sumere ejus carnem, qu\u00e6 esset maculata aliquo originali\npeccato. Tom. 3, Serm. 49.\n\n[989] Ab ipsa conceptione fuit in benedictionibus pr\u00e6venta. Serm. de\nAnnunt.\n\n[990] Gratiam singularem, O dulcissima Virgo, invenisti, quia fuerunt in\nte ab originali labe pr\u00e6servatio, etc. C. 6.\n\n[991] De Pr\u00e6f. Virg. q. 6, a. 4.\n\n[992] Aucta rursus, et propagata fuit pietas h\u00e6c et cultus erga Deiparam\n... ita ut, accedentibus academiis ad hanc sententiam, jam fere omnes\nCatholici eam complectantur.\n\n[993] Tom. 5, p. 2, l. 14, c. 2, n. 10.\n\n[994] In. adn. ad. Est. l. 2, Dist. 3, s. 2.\n\n[995] Ep. Decr. 4, c. 2.\n\n[996] In Sede Apostolica extra maculam semper est catholica servata\nreligio. Decr. 24, 9, 1, c. In sede.\n\n[997] Serm. 95, et 113.\n\n[998] Ep. ad. Can. Lugd.\n\n[999] Ecclesia celebret nativitatem B. Virginis; non autem celebratur\nfestum in Ecclesia nisi pro aliquo sancto; Ergo B. Virgo fuit in utero\nsanctificata. 2, p. q. 27, a. 2.\n\n[1000] Psal. lxxi. 6.\n\n[1001] Virgo sancta totam sibi hauserat Spiritus Sancti gratiam. In Cat.\nD. Ph. in 1. Luc.\n\n[1002] C. xxiv. 16.\n\n[1003] Totum teneo in plenitudine quod alii sancti tenent in partes.\nSerm. 3, de B. V.\n\n[1004] Virgo sanctificata fuit in utero super omnes sanctos et angelos.\n\n[1005] Tom. 3, Lez. 136.\n\n[1006] Ap. P. Pepe. Loc. cit.\n\n[1007] Serm. 29.\n\n[1008] Unicuique a Deo datur gratia, secundum hoc ad quod eligitur. 3, p.\nq. 27, a. 5, ad 1.\n\n[1009] Qui et idoneos nos fecit ministros Novi Testamenti. 2 Cor. iii. 6.\n\n[1010] Regula firma est in sacra theologia, quod quandocumque Deus\naliquem eligit ad aliquem statum, omnia bona illi dispenset, qu\u00e6 illi\nstatui necessaria sunt et illum copiose decorant. Serm. 10, a. 2, c. 1.\n\n[1011] Virgo fuit electa, ut esset mater Dei, et ideo non est dubitandum\nquia Deus per suam gratiam eam ad hoc idoneam reddidit. Loc. cit. art. 4.\n\n[1012] In B. Virgine fuit perfectio quasi dispositiva, per quam\nreddebatur idonea ad hoc quod esset mater Christi; et h\u00e6c fuit perfectio\nsanctificationis. Cit. q. 27, a. 5, ad 2.\n\n[1013] 3, p. q. 7, a. 10, ad 1.\n\n[1014] Virtus divina, licet possit facere aliquid majus et melius, quam\nsit habitualis gratia Christi; non tamen posset facere quod ordinaretur\nad aliquid majus quam sit unio personalis ad filium unigenitum a Patre,\ncui unioni sufficienter correspondet talis mensura grati\u00e6, secundum\ndefinitionem divin\u00e6 sapienti\u00e6. D. q. 7, a. 12, ad 2.\n\n[1015] Potentiam naturalem ad recipiendum posse totam impleri, non autem\npotentiam obedienti\u00e6. S. Th. q. 29, de Verit. a. 3, ad 3.\n\n[1016] Beata Virgo est plena gratia, non ex parte ipsius grati\u00e6; quia\nnon habuit gratiam in summa excellentia qua potest haberi, nec ad omnes\neffectus grati\u00e6; sed dicitur fuisse plena gratia per comparationem ad\nipsam; quia scilicet habebat gratiam sufficientem ad statum illum, ad\nquem erat a Deo electa, ut esset mater unigeniti ejus. D. q. 7, a. 10, ad\n1.\n\n[1017] Et igitur dignitas matris Dei regula, per quam metiendum, quicquid\nVirgini ab eo collatum credimus.\n\n[1018] Psal. lxxxvi. 1.\n\n[1019] Diligit Dominus portas Sion super omnia tabernacula Jacob. lxxxvi.\n2.\n\n[1020] Et erit in novissimis diebus pr\u00e6paratus mons domus Domini in\nvertice montium, et elevabitur super colles, et fluent ad eum omnes\ngentes. Isa. ii. 2.\n\n[1021] Mons quippe in vertice montium, quia altitudo Mari\u00e6 super omnes\nsanctos refulsit. L. 1, in 1, Reg. c. v.\n\n[1022] Mons in quo beneplacitum est Deo habitare in eo.\n\n[1023] Siderum rapit positionem, ut sint quasi non sint; sic Virgo merita\nsingulorum et omnium antecedit. Serm. de Ass.\n\n[1024] Neque enim decebat Deum alia mater quam Virgo neque Virginem alius\nfilius quam Deus.\n\n[1025] Ipsa in nostra salute communem cum Christo effectum obtinuit.\n\n[1026] Omnium salutem desideravit, qu\u00e6sivit, obtinuit; imo omnium salus\nper ipsam effecta. C. 26, in Cant.\n\n[1027] C. xxiv. 25.\n\n[1028] Ibid.\n\n[1029] Ego mater pulchr\u00e6 dilectionis, et timoris, et agnitionis, et\nsanct\u00e6 spei.\n\n[1030] Magnifica grati\u00e6 inventricem, mediatricem salutis, restauratricem\ns\u00e6culorum. H\u00e6c mihi de illa cantat Ecclesia, et me eadem docuit\ndecantare. Epist. 174, ad Canonic. Lugd.\n\n[1031] Bene plena, quia c\u00e6teris sanctis datur gratia per partes; Mari\u00e6\nvero tota se infudit plenitudo grati\u00e6. Serm. de Ass.\n\n[1032] Ave gratia plena, propterea Deum inter et homines mediatrix\nintercedens.\n\n[1033] Quomodo non est Maria plena gratia, qu\u00e6 effecta est paradisi\nscala, interventrix mundi, Dei atque hominum verissima mediatrix. Serm.\nde ann. B. V.\n\n[1034] Pura sanctitas pectoris ejus, omnis creatur\u00e6 puritatem,\nsanctitatemque transcendens, promeruit ut reparatrix perditi orbis\ndignissima fieret. De Excell. Virg. c. 9.\n\n[1035] Utraque creatura per hanc reparatur, et angelorum ruina per hanc\nrestaurata est, et natura humana reconciliata. In Cant. 4.\n\n[1036] Cuncta per hanc Virginem in statum pristinum revocata sunt et\nrestaurata. De Exc. Virg. c. 11.\n\n[1037] Father La Colombiere. Serm. 31.\n\n[1038] Eccli. xxiv. 19.\n\n[1039] Eccli. xxiv. 23.\n\n[1040] Serm. 1, in Ann.\n\n[1041] Qu\u00e6 est ista, qu\u00e6 ascendit de deserto deliciis affluens, innixa\nsuper dilectum suum? Cant. viii. 5.\n\n[1042] Hoc est qu\u00e6 ascendit, ita ut inh\u00e6ret Dei Verbo, sicut vitis\npropago? Ap. Seg. Pred. 40, dell\u2019 Ann.\n\n[1043] Fuit etiam gratia plena quantum ad refusionem ad omnes homines.\n\n[1044] Sed quando quis haberet tantum, quod sufficeret ad salutem omnium,\nhoc esset maximum; et hoc fuit in Christo et beata Virgine. Opusc. 8.\n\n[1045] Et de plenitudine ejus nos omnes accepimus. C. i. 16.\n\n[1046] Gratia plena, de cujus plenitudine accipiunt universi.\n\n[1047] Ita ut nullus sit, qui de plenitudine grati\u00e6 Virginis non sit\nparticeps.\n\n[1048] Quis unquam reperitur cui Virgo propitia non sit? Quis ad quem\nejus misericordia non se extendat?\n\n[1049] Plenus aqu\u00e6ductus, ut accipiant c\u00e6teri de plenitudine, sed non\nplenitudinem ipsam.\n\n[1050] Intueamini quanto devotionis affectu a nobis eam voluerit\nhonorari, qui totius boni plenitudinem posuit in Maria; ut proinde si\nquid spei nobis est, si quid grati\u00e6, si quid salutis, ab ea noverimus\nredundare. Serm. de Aqu\u00e6d.\n\n[1051] Incidi pr\u00e6cepit aqu\u00e6ductus illorum. Judith vii. 6.\n\n[1052] Udo cessa de ludo; lusisti satis; Udo.\n\n[1053] Cant. ii. 10.\n\n[1054] Audi, filia, et vide, et inclina aurem tuam; et obliviscere\npopulum tuum, et domum patris tui. Psal. xliv. 11.\n\n[1055] 3 p. q. 19, a. 3.\n\n[1056] Sanctificari per propium actum est perfectior modus. Ergo\ncredendum est hoc modo fuisse sanctificatam Virginem. To. 2, in 3 p. D.\n4, 5, 8.\n\n[1057] 1 p. q. 63, a. 5, et q. 95, a. 2.\n\n[1058] Ex ea accepit humanam Naturam, et ideo pr\u00e6 c\u00e6teris majorem debuit\na Christo grati\u00e6 plenitudinem obtinere. 3 p. q. 27, a. 5.\n\n[1059] Unde fit ut singulare jus habeat ad dona filii sui. T. 2, in 3, p.\nD. 1, 5, 2.\n\n[1060] Serm. Ang. c. 14.\n\n[1061] Serm. Ang. c. 14.\n\n[1062] De Form. et Mor. B. M.\n\n[1063] De Vir. l. 1.\n\n[1064] Pro eo quod in contemptum locus esset venturus.... Virgines qu\u00e6\nconclus\u00e6 erant, procurrebant ad Oniam.\n\n[1065] Tertio anno oblata est in templo. Serm. de Laud. Virg.\n\n[1066] Anna haud cunctata est eam at templum adducere, ac Deo offerre.\nOr. de Nat. Chr.\n\n[1067] De Oblat. Deip.\n\n[1068] Cant. vii. 1.\n\n[1069] Magnam quoque festivitatem fecit Deus cum angelis in deductione\nsu\u00e6 spons\u00e6 ad templum. Marial. p. 4, Serm. 1.\n\n[1070] Quia nullus unquam Deo gratior, usque ad illud tempus ascendit.\nLoc. cit.\n\n[1071] Abi ergo, oh Domina Mater Dei, in atria Domini, exultans et\nexpectans Sancti Spiritus adventum et unigeniti Filii conceptionem. De\nOblat. Virg.\n\n[1072] Gen. viii. 9.\n\n[1073] Congratulamini mihi omnes qui diligitis Dominum, quia, cum essem\nparvula, placui altissimo. In 2, Resp. 1, Noct. in Fest. S. M. ad Niv.\n\n[1074] Diliges Dominum Deum tuum ex toto corde tuo.\n\n[1075] Lib. 1, de Inst. Virg.\n\n[1076] Maria seipsam perpetuis Dei obsequiis obtulit et dedicavit. Mar.\np. 4, Serm. 1.\n\n[1077] Cant. ii. 16.\n\n[1078] Ad templum adducitur, ac deinde in domo Dei plantata, atque per\nspiritum saginata, instar oliv\u00e6 frugifer\u00e6 virtutum omnium domicilium\nefficitur. L. 4, de Fid. c. 15.\n\n[1079] Or. 1, de Nat. Virg.\n\n[1080] De Fid. Ort. l. 4, c. 15.\n\n[1081] De Form. et Mor. B. M.\n\n[1082] S. Gir. appres. l\u2019ist. della vita di Maria del P. Gius. di Gesu e\nMaria. Carm. Scalzo. l. 2, c. 1.\n\n[1083] Vita Christi. c. 3.\n\n[1084] Cum pater meus et mater mea dimiserunt me in templo, statui in\ncorde meo habere Deum in patrem, et s\u00e6pe cogitabam quid possem facere\nilli gratum.\n\n[1085] Statui servare virginitatem; nihil unquam possidere in mundo; et\nomnem voluntatem meam Deo commisi.\n\n[1086] Diliges Dominum Deum tuum.\n\n[1087] L. 2, et. l. 3, c. 8.\n\n[1088] Vox turturis audita est in terra nostra. Cant. ii. 12.\n\n[1089] Emitte agnum, Domine, dominatorem terr\u00e6. Isa. xvi. 1.\n\n[1090] Rorate c\u0153li desuper, et nubes pluant justum. Id. xlv. 8.\n\n[1091] Utinam dirumperes c\u0153los, et descenderes. Id. lxiv. 1.\n\n[1092] Qu\u00e6 est ista qu\u00e6 ascendit per desertum sicut virgula fumi ex\naromatibus myrrh\u00e6, et thuris et universi pulveris pigmentarii. Cant. iii.\n6.\n\n[1093] Vere virgo erat hortus deliciarum in quo consita sunt universa\nflorum genera, et odoramenta virtutum. Serm. de Ass.\n\n[1094] Ap. Canis. l. 1, de B. V. c. 13.\n\n[1095] Nec in terris locus dignior utero virginali.\n\n[1096] Ultima gratia perfectionis est pr\u00e6paratio ad Filium Dei\nconcipiendum. P. 4, tit. 15, c. 6.\n\n[1097] V\u00e6 tempori illi, in quo non amavi te.\n\n[1098] Qui autem se exaltaverit, humiliabitur; et qui se humiliaverit,\nexaltabitur. Matt. xxiii. 12.\n\n[1099] Adolescentularum non est numerus. Una est columba mea, perfecta\nmea. Cant. vi. 7, 8.\n\n[1100] Dum esset Rex in accubitu suo, nardus mea dedit odorem suum. Cant.\ni. 11.\n\n[1101] Nardus est herba parva, et significat B. Virginem, qu\u00e6 dedit\nhumilitatis odorem; qui odor usque ad c\u0153lum ascendit, et in c\u0153lo\naccumbentem fecit quasi evigilare, et in utero suo quiescere. P. 4, tit.\n15, c. 21, s. 2.\n\n[1102] Noluit carnem sumere ex ipsa, non dante ipsa. In Cant. 3.\n\n[1103] Ave gratia plena; Dominus tecum; benedicta tu in mulieribus. Luc.\ni. 28.\n\n[1104] Qu\u00e6 cum audisset, turbata est in sermone ejus, et cogitabat qualis\nesset ista salutatio.\n\n[1105] Si dixisset, oh Maria, tu es major ribalda qu\u00e6 est in mundo, non\nita admirata fuisset; unde turbata fuit de tantis laudibus. Serm. 35, de\nAm. Inc. p. 3.\n\n[1106] Nolui laudem meam, sed solius Datoris et Creatoris. L. 1, Rev. c.\n23.\n\n[1107] Sicut Christus per angelum voluit confortari, ita per angelum\ndebuit Virgo animari.\n\n[1108] Ne timeas, Maria, invenisti gratiam apud Deum. Luc. i. 30.\n\n[1109] Ecce concipies, et paries filium, et vocabis nomen ejus Jesum.\nLuc. i. 31.\n\n[1110] Expectat angelus responsum, expectamus et nos, oh Domina, verbum\nmiserationis, quos miserabiliter premit sententia damnationis. Hom. 4,\nSup. Miss.\n\n[1111] Ecce offertur tibi pretium salutis nostr\u00e6; statim liberabimur, si\nconsentis. Loc. cit.\n\n[1112] Ipse quoque Dominus, quantum concupivit decorem tuum, tantum\ndesiderat et responsionis assensum, in qua nimirum proposuit salvare\nmundum. Hom. 4, Sup. Miss.\n\n[1113] Responde jam Virgo sacra, vitam quid tricas mundo? Serm. 21, de\nTemp.\n\n[1114] Ecce ancilla Domini, fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum. Luc. i. 38.\n\n[1115] O Fiat potens! O Fiat efficax! O Fiat super omni fiat venerandum!\nConc. 3, de Ann.\n\n[1116] O humilitas, angusta sibi, ampla Divinitati! Insufficiens sibi,\nsufficiens ei quem non capit orbis!\n\n[1117] Quanta humilitatis virtus, cum tanta puritate, cum innocentia\ntanta, imo cum tanta gratia plenitudine?\n\n[1118] Unde tibi humilitas, et tanta humilitas O Beata?\n\n[1119] Super astra Dei exaltabo solium meum, et similis ero altissimo.\nIsa. xiv. 13.\n\n[1120] Digna plane quam respiceret Dominus, cujus decorem concupisceret\nRex, cujus odore suavissimo ab \u00e6terno illo Paterni sinus attraheretur\naccubitu.\n\n[1121] Beata Virgo plus meruit, dicendo humiliter: Ecce ancilla Domini,\nquam simul mereri possent omnes pur\u00e6 creatur\u00e6. Mar. 12, p. 5, p. 2.\n\n[1122] Hom. 1, Sup. Miss.\n\n[1123] Maluit Deus de Virgine incarnari propter humilitatem, quam propter\naliam quamcumque virtutem.\n\n[1124] Unde promerui tantam gratiam, nisi quia cogitavi et scivi nihil a\nme esse vel habere? L. 2, Rev. c. 35.\n\n[1125] Quia respexit humilitatem ancill\u00e6 su\u00e6 ... fecit mihi magna qui\npotens est. Luc. i. 48, 49.\n\n[1126] Non ait, respexit virginitatem, innocentiam; seu humilitatem\ntantum.\n\n[1127] Facta est Mari\u00e6 humilitas scala c\u0153lestis, per quam Deus descendit\nad terras. Sup. Magn.\n\n[1128] Ultima gratia perfectionis est pr\u00e6paratio ad Filium Dei\nconcipiendum; qu\u00e6 pr\u00e6paratio fuit per profundam humilitatem. p. 5, tit.\n15, c. 6, et 8.\n\n[1129] Egredietur virga de radice Jesse, et flos de radice ejus ascendet.\nIsa. xi. 1.\n\n[1130] De radice ejus, humilitas cordis intelligitur.\n\n[1131] Nota, quod non ex summitate, sed de radice ascendet flos.\n\n[1132] Averte oculos tuos, quia ipsi me avolare fecerunt. Cant. vi. 4.\n\n[1133] Unde avolare, nisi a sinu Patris in uterum matris?\n\n[1134] Ita illius oculi humillimi Deum tenuerunt, ut suavissima quadam\nviolentia ipsummet Dei Patris Verbum in uterum suum Virgo attraxerit. In\nc. 14, Gen. sect. 1.\n\n[1135] Quam pulchra es, amica mea, quam pulchra es! oculi tui columbarum.\nCant. iv. 1.\n\n[1136] Ubinam terrarum tam speciosa virgo inveniri posset, qu\u00e6 Regem\nc\u0153lorum oculis caperet, et vinculis charitatis pia violentia captivum\ntraheret. De Grat. Nov. Test. tr. 6.\n\n[1137] Tract. de L. V.\n\n[1138] Or. de Laud. Deip.\n\n[1139] Or. de Dorm. Deip.\n\n[1140] Nihil tibi, Domina, est \u00e6qualis; omne enim quod est, aut supra te\nest, aut infra; quod supra, solus Deus; quod infra, est omne quod Deus\nnon est. Ap. Pelb. Stellar. 1, p. 3, a. 2.\n\n[1141] Tanta est perfectio Virginia ut soli Deo cognoscenda reservetur.\nTo. 2, Serm. 51, a. c. 3, 2.\n\n[1142] Satis fuit de ea dicere; de qua natus est Jesus.\n\n[1143] Quid ultra requiris? Sufficit tibi quod mater Dei est. Ubi ergo\ntotum erat, pars scribenda non fuit. Conc. 2, de Nat. Virg.\n\n[1144] Hoc solum de S. Virgine predicari, quod Dei mater sit, excedit\nomnem altitudinem, qu\u00e6 post Deum dici vel cogitari potest. De. Exc. Virg.\nc. 4.\n\n[1145] Si c\u0153li Reginam, si angelorum Dominam, vel quodlibet aliud\nprotuleris, non assurges ad hunc honorem, quo pr\u00e6dicatur Dei genitrix. L.\nde Pan. c. 31.\n\n[1146] Quanto aliquid magis appropinquat principio in quolibet genere\ntanto magis participat effectum illius principii. Beata autem virgo Maria\npropinquissima Christo fuit secundum humanitatem; quia ex ea accepit\nhumanam naturam; et ideo pr\u00e6 c\u00e6teris majorem debuit a Christo grati\u00e6\nplenitudinem obtinere. 3 p. q. 27, a. 5.\n\n[1147] Dignitas matris est alterioris ordinis, pertinet enim quodammodo\nad ordinem unionis hypostatic\u00e6; illum enim intrinsece respicit, et cum\nilla necessariam conjunctionem habet. To. 2, in. 3, p. d. 2, s. 2.\n\n[1148] Post hypostaticam conjunctionem non est alia tam vicina, ut unio\nmatris Dei cum filio suo. L. 2, de Laud. V.\n\n[1149] Est suprema qu\u00e6dam conjunctio cum persona infinita. 1, p. q. 25,\na. 6.\n\n[1150] Immediate post esse Deum, est esse matrem Dei. Super Miss. c. 180.\n\n[1151] Magis Deo conjungi, nisi fieret Deus, non potuit.\n\n[1152] Quod f\u0153mina conciperet et pareret Deum oportuit eam elevari ad\nquamdam \u00e6qualitatem divinam, per quamdam infinitatem gratiarum. To. 1,\nSerm. 61, c. 16.\n\n[1153] Quarto modo inest Deus creatur\u00e6, scilicet Mari\u00e6 Virgini, per\nidentitatem, quia idem est quam illa. Serm. 1, de Nat. Virg.\n\n[1154] Hic taceat et contremiscat omnis creatura, et vix audeat aspicere\ntant\u00e6 dignitatis immensitatem. Habitat Deus in Virgine, cum qua unius\nnatur\u00e6 habet identitatem. Loc. cit.\n\n[1155] Dignitas matris Dei suo genere est infinita. To. 2, in 3, p. d.\n18, l. 4.\n\n[1156] Cum enim gratia habitualis sit donum creatum, confiteri oportet\nquod habeat essentiam finitam. Est cujuslibet creatur\u00e6 determinata\ncapacitatis mensura, qu\u00e6 tamen divin\u00e6 potestati non pr\u00e6judicat, quin\npossit aliam creaturam majoris capacitatis facere. Opusc. 2, Comp. Theol.\nc. 215.\n\n[1157] Virtus divina, licet possit facere aliquid majus et melius quam\nsit habitualis gratia Christi, non tamen posset facere quod ordinaretur\nad aliquid majus quam sit unio personalis ad filium unigenitum a patre. 3\np. q. 7, a. 12, ad 2.\n\n[1158] B. Virgo ex hoc quod est mater Dei, habet quamdam dignitatem\ninfinitam, ex bono infinito quod est Deus. Et ex hac parte non potest\nfieri melius. 1, p. q. 25, a. 6, ad 4.\n\n[1159] Utique habet quandam infinitatem esse matrem infiniti. Conc. 3, de\nNat. Mar.\n\n[1160] Status maternitatis Dei erat summus status, qui pur\u00e6 creatur\u00e6 dari\nposset. To. 3, Serm. 6, a. 3, c. 1.\n\n[1161] Dominus B. Virgini summum donavit, cujus capax fuit pura creatura,\nscilicet Dei maternitatem. L. 1, de Laud. Virg. c. 178.\n\n[1162] Esse matrem Dei est gratia maxima pur\u00e6 creatur\u00e6 conferibilis. Ipsa\nest quam majorem facere non potest Deus, majus c\u0153lum, majorem quam matrem\nDei facero non potest. Spec. B. V. Lect. 10.\n\n[1163] Luc. i. 49.\n\n[1164] Non explicat qu\u00e6nam h\u00e6c magna fuerint, quia inexplicabilia. Conc.\n3, de Nat. Virg.\n\n[1165] Propter hanc totus mundus factus est. Serm. 7, in Salv. Reg.\n\n[1166] Dispositione tua, Virgo sanctissima, perseverat mundus, quem et tu\ncum Deo ab initio fundasti. Ap. P. Pep. Lect. 371.\n\n[1167] Prov. viii. 30.\n\n[1168] Propter singularissimam dilectionem ad hanc Virginem pr\u00e6servavit.\nTo. 1, Serm. 61, c. 8.\n\n[1169] In Off. Ass. B. V.\n\n[1170] Beatissima Virgo gratia fuit plena, quia omnes gratias generales\net speciales omnium creaturarum in summo habuit. Bibl. Ma. in Luc. 13.\n\n[1171] Omnes angelos et omnia qu\u00e6 creata sunt excessit pulchritudo tua.\nL. 1, Rev. c. 51.\n\n[1172] Tanta erat sua gratia ut non solum in se virginitatem servaret,\nsed etiam si quos inviseret, integritatis donum insigne conferret. De\nInst. Virg. c. 7.\n\n[1173] Gratia sanctificationis non solum repressit in Virgine motus\nillicitos, sed etiam in aliis efficaciam habuit; ita ut quamvis esset\npulchra corpore a nullo concupisceretur. In 3 Dist. disp. 2, q. 2, a. 2.\n\n[1174] Unde fit, ut singulare jus habeat ad dona filii sui. To. 2, in 3\np. d. 1, s. 2.\n\n[1175] Tu autem qu\u00e6 materna in Deum auctoritate polles, etiam iis qui\nenormiter peccant eximiam reconciliationis gratiam concilias. Non enim\npotes non exaudiri, cum Deus tibi ut ver\u00e6 ac intemerat\u00e6 matri su\u00e6 in\nomnibus morem gerat. De Zona Virg.\n\n[1176] Serm. de Ass.\n\n[1177] Non tantum sibi te fecit, sed te angelis dedit in instaurationem,\nhominibus in reparationem, d\u00e6monibus in hostem; nam per te Deus homini\npacificatur, diabolus vincitur et conteritur. V. in Prol. Cont. Virg.\n\n[1178] P. 3, Reg. 34.\n\n[1179] 1 Par.\n\n[1180] Felix illa domus quam mater Dei visitat.\n\n[1181] i. 39.\n\n[1182] Et intravit in domum Zachari\u00e6, et salutavit Elisabeth.\n\n[1183] Et facta est vox salutationis tu\u00e6 in auribus meis, exultavit in\ngaudio infans in utero meo.\n\n[1184] Cum B. Virgo salutavit Elisabeth, vox salutationis per aures ejus\ningrediens ad puerum descendit, virtute cujus salutationis puer Spiritum\nSanctum accepit. Part 7, Serm. 4.\n\n[1185] Prol. Cont. Virg. c. 1.\n\n[1186] De Trin.\n\n[1187] Maria sic gratia plena dicitur, quod in illa grati\u00e6 thesaurus\nreconderetur.\n\n[1188] Maria est thesaurus quia in ea, ut in gazophylacio, reposuit\nDominus omnia dona gratiarum; et de hoc thesauro largitur ipse larga\nstipendia suis militibus et operariis. De Laud. Virg. l. 4.\n\n[1189] Simile est regnum c\u0153lorum thesauro abscondito in agro, quem qui\ninvenit homo, vadit et vendit universa qu\u00e6 habet, et emit agrum illum.\nMatth. xiii. 14.\n\n[1190] Ager iste est Maria, in qua thesaurus Dei Patris absconditus est.\nSpec. c. 7.\n\n[1191] Totius boni plenitudinem posuit in Maria, ut proinde si quid spei\nin nobis est, si quid grati\u00e6, si quid salutis, ab ea noverimus redundare.\nSerm. de Aqu\u00e6d.\n\n[1192] Eccli. xxiv. 25.\n\n[1193] In manibus tuis omnes thesauri miserationum Dei.\n\n[1194] Omnia bona qu\u00e6 illis summa majestas decrevit facere, tuis manibus\ndecrevit commendare; commissi quippe tibi sunt thesauri et ornamenta\ngratiarum. In Cor. Virg. cap. 15.\n\n[1195] Nemo qui salvus fiet, nisi per te; nemo donum Dei suscipit, nisi\nper te. Serm. de Zona Virg.\n\n[1196] Ne timeas, Maria invenisti enim gratiam apud Deum. Luc. i. 30.\n\n[1197] Ne timeas, quia invenisti. Non rapuisti, ut primus angelus; non\nperdidisti, ut primus parens; non emisti ut Simon Magus; sed invenisti,\nquia qu\u00e6sivisti. Invenisti gratiam increatam et in illa omnem creaturam.\nIn Marial. c. 237.\n\n[1198] Hanc gratiam accepit Virgo salutem s\u00e6culis redditura. Serm. 3, de\nAnn.\n\n[1199] Invenisti gratiam, quantam? quantam superius dixerat, plenam et\nvere plenam, qu\u00e6 largo imbre totam funderet, et infunderet creaturam.\nSerm. 142.\n\n[1200] Sicut sol factus est, ut illuminat totum mundum; sic Maria facta\nest, ut misericordiam impetret toti mundo. De Laud. Virg. lib. 7.\n\n[1201] A tempore quo Virgo mater concepit in utero verbum Dei, quandam ut\nsic dicam, jurisdictionem obtinuit in omni Spiritus Sancti processione\ntemporali; ita ut nulla creatura aliquam a Deo obtinuit gratiam, nisi\nsecundum ipsius pi\u00e6 matris dispensationem. Serm. 61, Tract. 1, Art. 8.\n\n[1202] Cupientes invenire gratiam, qu\u00e6ramus inventricem grati\u00e6, qu\u00e6 quia\nsemper invenit, frustrari non potest. De Laud. Virg. l. 2, p. 5.\n\n[1203] Qu\u00e6ramus gratiam, et per Mariam qu\u00e6ramus; quia quod qu\u00e6rit,\ninvenit, et frustrari non potest. Serm. de Aqu\u00e6d.\n\n[1204] Quia sic est voluntas ejus, qui totum nos habere voluit per\nMariam. Loc. cit.\n\n[1205] Prov. viii. 18, 21.\n\n[1206] Diviti\u00e6 salutis penes Virginem nostris usibus reservantur.\nChristus in Virginis utero pauperum gazophylacium collocavit; inde\npauperes locupletati sunt. In Alleg. utr. Test. c. 24, Eccli.\n\n[1207] Ad hoc enim data est ipsa mundo quasi aqu\u00e6ductus, ut per ipsam a\nDeo ad homines dona c\u0153lestia jugiter descenderent.\n\n[1208] Ad quid nisi, ut, adveniente jam Spiritu plena sibi, eodem\nsuperveniente, nobis quoque superplena et supereffluens fiat? Serm. 2, de\nAss.\n\n[1209] Qui me invenerit, inveniet vitam, et hauriet salutem a Domino.\nProv. viii. 35.\n\n[1210] Propterea tanto tempore humano generi fluenta grati\u00e6 defuerunt,\nquod necdum intercederet is tam desiderabilis aqu\u00e6ductus. Serm. de Aqu\u00e6d.\n\n[1211] Ego civitas refugii iis, qui ad me confugiunt; accedite, et\ngratiarum dona affluentissime haurite. Serm. 2, de Dorm. B. V.\n\n[1212] Per te h\u00e6reditamus misericordiam miseri, ingrati gratiam, veniam\npeccatores, sublimia infirmi, c\u0153lestia terreni, mortales vitam, et\npatriam peregrini. Serm. de Ass. B. V.\n\n[1213] L. 3, c. 12.\n\n[1214] Non abiit quasi incredula de oraculo, sed quasi l\u00e6ta pro voto,\nfestina pr\u00e6 gaudio, religiosa pro officio. In c. 1, Luc.\n\n[1215] Mansit autem Maria cum illa quasi mensibus tribus; et reversa est\nin domum suam. Luc. i. 56.\n\n[1216] Quid eam ad officium charitatis festinare cogebat, nisi charitas\nqu\u00e6 in corde fervebat? Spec. c. 54.\n\n[1217] Plus vult illa bonum tibi facere, et largiri gratiam, quam tu\naccipere concupiscas. Mar. p. 1, Serm. 5.\n\n[1218] In te, Domina, peccant non solum qui tibi injuriam irrogant, sed\netiam qui te non rogant. In Spec. Virg.\n\n[1219] Maria thesaurus Domini est, et thesauraria gratiarum ipsius. Donis\nspecialibus ditat copiosissime servientes sibi. In Prol. Cant. B. V. c. 1.\n\n[1220] Tanta est ejus benignitas, quod nulli formidandum est ad eam\naccidere. Tantaque misericordia, quod ab ea nemo repellitur.\n\n[1221] Omnes invito, omnes expecto, omnes desidero, nullum peccatorem\ndespicio.\n\n[1222] Et factum est, ut audivit salutationem Mari\u00e6 Elisabeth, exultavit\ninfans in utero ejus; et repleta est Spiritu Sancto Elisabeth. Luc. i. 41.\n\n[1223] Vide quanta virtus sit verbis Domin\u00e6, quia ad eorum\npronuntiationem confertur Spiritus Sanctus. Tract. de Vit. Christ.\n\n[1224] Gaudet filius, orante matre, quia omnia qu\u00e6 nobis precibus su\u00e6\ngenetricis evictus donat, ipsi matri se donasse putat. Ap. Baldi Giard.\ndi Mar. nella Pref.\n\n[1225] Tu autem materna in Deum auctoritate pollens, etiam iis, qui\nenormiter peccant, eximiam remissionis gratiam concilias. Non enim potes\nnon exaudiri, cum Deus tibi ut ver\u00e6 et intemerat\u00e6 matri in omnibus morem\ngerat. Or. de Dorm. V.\n\n[1226] Vinum non habent.... Quid mihi et tibi est mulier? nondum venit\nhora mea. Jo. ii. 3, 4.\n\n[1227] Et licet ita responderit, maternis tamen votis obtemperavit. S.\nJo. Chrys. Hom. 21, in Joan.\n\n[1228] Adeamus ergo cum fiducia ad thronum grati\u00e6, ut misericordiam\nconsequamur, et gratiam inveniamus in auxilio opportuno. Hebr. iv. 16.\n\n[1229] Serm. de Ded. Eccl.\n\n[1230] Spiritus Sanctus tota sua dulcedine me penetrando, tam gratiosam\neffecit, ut omnis qui per me gratiam qu\u00e6rit, ipsam inveniat. Ap. Canis.\nl. 1, c. 13.\n\n[1231] Velocior est nonnunquam salus nostra, invocato nomine Mari\u00e6, quam\ninvocato nomine Jesu. De Exc. Virg. c. 6.\n\n[1232] Misericordi\u00e6 januam aperi nobis, benedicta Deipara tu enim es\nsalus generis humani.\n\n[1233] L. 1, p. 1, c. 5.\n\n[1234] Et postquam impleti sunt dies purgationis ejus, secundum legem\nMoysi, tulerunt illum in Jerusalem, ut sisterent eum Domino. Luc. ii. 22.\n\n[1235] Qui proprio filio suo non pepercit, sed pro nobis omnibus,\ntradidit illum. Rom. viii. 32.\n\n[1236] Or. de Laud. Deip.\n\n[1237] Serm. de Purific. Virg.\n\n[1238] O Virgo regia, nollem tibi talia nuntiare, sed audi. Serm. de\nPurific. Virg.\n\n[1239] Nimium nunc pro isto infante l\u00e6taris, sed ecce iste positus in\nsignum cui contradicetur.\n\n[1240] O quot millia hominum pro ipso puero laniabuntur, et jugulabuntur;\net si omnes patientur in corpore, tu Virgo in corde patieris. Loc. cit.\n\n[1241] Et tuam ipsius animam doloris gladius pertransibit. Luc. ii. 35.\n\n[1242] Qui edebat panes meos, magnificavit super me supplantationem.\nPsal. xl. 10.\n\n[1243] Zacc. xiii. 7.\n\n[1244] Corpus meum dedi percutientibus, et genas meas vellentibus, faciem\nmeam non averti ab increpantibus, et conspuentibus in me. Isa. l. 6.\n\n[1245] Ego autem sum vermis et non homo; opprobrium hominum et abjectio\nplebis. Psal. xxi. 7.\n\n[1246] Saturabitur opprobriis. Thren. 3.\n\n[1247] Ipse autem vulneratus est propter iniquitates nostras, attritus\nest propter scelera nostra. Isa. liii. 5.\n\n[1248] Non est species ei neque decor.... Et nos putavimus eum quasi\nleprosum. Isa. liii. 2, 4.\n\n[1249] Dinumeraverunt omnia ossa mea. Psal. xxi. 18.\n\n[1250] Foderunt manus meas et pedes meas. Loc. cit.\n\n[1251] Et cum sceleratis reputatus est. Isa. liii. 12.\n\n[1252] Et aspicient ad me quem confixerunt. Zacc. xii. 10.\n\n[1253] Si fieri potuisset, omnia tormenta qu\u00e6 filius pertulit,\nsustinuisset; et nihilominus placuit ei quod unigenitus ejus pro salute\ngeneris humani offerretur. In p. 1, Dist. 48, q. 2.\n\n[1254] Dolor iste, usquedum assumpta fui corpore et anima in c\u0153lum,\nnunquam deficit a corde meo.\n\n[1255] Pia Domina, non crediderim te ullo puncto potuisse stimulos tanti\ncruciatus, quin vitam emitteres, sustinere, nisi ipse spiritus vit\u00e6 te\nconfortasset.\n\n[1256] Moriebatur vivens, dolorem ferens morte crudeliorem.\n\n[1257] De Fide. ad Petr.\n\n[1258] De Laud. Virg.\n\n[1259] Serm. 1, de Ass.\n\n[1260] In Exc. Virg.\n\n[1261] Ap. S. Bon. Spec. c. 20.\n\n[1262] Serm. 2, de Ass.\n\n[1263] Hom. 2, Ass.\n\n[1264] Omnino tunc erat una Christi et Mari\u00e6 voluntas, unumque\nholocaustum ambo pariter offerebant; unde communem in mundi salute cum\nillo effectum ostendit. Tr. de Laud. Virg.\n\n[1265] Dici potest Virgo mundi salvatrix propter meritum su\u00e6\ncompassionis, qu\u00e6 patienti filio acerbissime condolendo excellenter\npromeruit, ut per preces ejus meritum passionis Christi hominibus\ncommunicetur. L. 2, de Laud. Virg. art. 23.\n\n[1266] Redempturus humanum genus, universum pretium contulit in Mariam.\nSerm. de Aqu\u00e6d.\n\n[1267] Quia fecisti hanc rem, et non pepercisti filio tuo unigenito\npropter me; benedicam tibi, et multiplicabo semen tuum sicut stellas\nc\u0153li. Genes. xxii. 16, 17.\n\n[1268] Responsum acceperat a Spiritu Sancto non visurum se mortem nisi\nprius videret Christum Dominum. Luc. ii. 26.\n\n[1269] Ap. Marc.\n\n[1270] Exaudiet utique matrem filius. De Aqu\u00e6d.\n\n[1271] Ignorare Antipatrum sexcentas epistolas una deleri matris\nlacrymula? Plut. in Alex.\n\n[1272] O mors, quam amara est memoria tua homini pacem habenti in\nsubstantiis suis! Eccli. xli. 1.\n\n[1273] Apoc. xiv. 13.\n\n[1274] Signum magnum apparuit in c\u0153lo; mulier amicta solo et luna sub\npedibus ejus. Apoc. xii. 1.\n\n[1275] Vox turturis audita est in terra nostra. Cant. ii. 12.\n\n[1276] Qu\u00e6 est ista qu\u00e6 ascendit per desertum, etc. Cant. iii. 6.\n\n[1277] Talis ascendisti per desertum, idest animam habens solitariam.\n\n[1278] Opera tua sumus, non te deseremus.\n\n[1279] Cant. iv. 7.\n\n[1280] Abite, abite cum lacrymis vestris; non est tempus lacrymarum.\n\n[1281] Ave gratia plena; Dominus tecum ... invenisti gratiam. Luc.\nxxviii. 30.\n\n[1282] Qu\u00e6 est ista qu\u00e6 ascendit per desertum, sicut virgula fumi, ex\naromatibus myrrh\u00e6. et thuris, et universi pulveris pigmentarii? Cant.\niii. 6.\n\n[1283] Talis fumi virgula, beata Maria, suavem odorem spirasti altissimo.\n\n[1284] Virgula fumi, quia concremata intus in holocaustum incendio divini\namoris, ex ea flagrabat suavissimus odor.\n\n[1285] Ubi thesaurus vester est ibi et cor vestrum erit. Luc. xii. 34.\n\n[1286] Serm. de Nat. V. Mar.\n\n[1287] Quis dabit mihi pennas sicut columb\u00e6, et volabo et requiescam?\nPsal. liv. 7.\n\n[1288] Quemadmodum desiderat cervus ad fontes aquarum, ita desiderat\nanima mea ad te, Deus. Psal. xli. 2.\n\n[1289] Comp. Hist.\n\n[1290] L. 2, c. 21.\n\n[1291] Orat. de Dorm. Mar.\n\n[1292] S. Andr. Cret. Or. de Dorm. Deip., Damasc. de Dorm. Deip., Euthim.\nl. 3, Hist. c. 40.\n\n[1293] Orat. de Ass. Virg.\n\n[1294] Nicephorus and Metaphrastes, appr. l\u2019Ist. di Mar. del P. F. Gius.\ne M. l. 5, 13.\n\n[1295] Adjuro vos, fili\u00e6 Jerusalem, si inveneritis dilectum meum, ut\nnuntietis ei, quia amore langueo. Cant. v. 8.\n\n[1296] App. S. gio. Dam. or. de Ass. V.\n\n[1297] Lib. 1, cap. 1, 2.\n\n[1298] Serm. 1, de Ass.\n\n[1299] Gaudeamus omnes in Domino diem festum celebrantes sub honore B.\nMari\u00e6 Virginis.\n\n[1300] Surge, Domine, in requiem tuam, tu et arca sanctificationis tu\u00e6.\nPsal. cxxxi. 8.\n\n[1301] Ascendat etiam Maria tua sanctissima mater, tui conceptione\nsanctificata. Serm. de Ass.\n\n[1302] Et David et omnis domus Israel ducebant arcam testamenti Domini in\njubilo, et clangore buccin\u00e6. 2 Reg. vi. 15.\n\n[1303] Ad transferendum te in c\u0153lum non unus tantum currus igneus, sed\ntotus cum rege suo filio tuo venit, atque occurrit exercitus angelorum.\n\n[1304] Surrexit gloriosus Jesus in occursum su\u00e6 dulcissim\u00e6 matris.\n\n[1305] Prudentiore consilio illam pr\u00e6cedere volebas, quatenus in regno\ntuo ei locum pr\u00e6parares, et sic comitatus tota curia tua festivus ei\noccurrens sublimius, sicut decebat, tuam matrem ad te exaltares. Vid. de\nExc. Virg. cap. 8.\n\n[1306] Invenies occursum ejus pomp\u00e6 digniorem, quam in Christi\nascensione; soli quippe angeli redemptori occurrere potuerunt, matri vero\nfilius ipse cum tota curia tam angelorum quam sanctorum occurrens, auxit\nad beat\u00e6 consistorium sessionis. Serm. de Ass.\n\n[1307] Ego ut patrem honorarem, ad terram descendi; ut matrem honorarem,\nad c\u0153lum reascendi.\n\n[1308] Surge, propera, amica mea, columba mea, et veni. Jam hyems\ntransiit, imber abiit et recessit. Cant. ii. 10, 11.\n\n[1309] Veni de Libano, sponsa mea, veni de Libano; veni coronaberis.\nCant. iv. 8.\n\n[1310] Attollite portas principes vestras, et elevamini port\u00e6 eternales,\net introibit rex glori\u00e6. Psal. xxiii. 7.\n\n[1311] Attollite portas, principes, vestras, et elevamini port\u00e6\neternales, et introibit regina glori\u00e6.\n\n[1312] Una omnium in c\u0153lo erat l\u00e6tantium (vox): Qu\u00e6 est ista qu\u00e6 ascendit\nde deserto deliciis affluens, innixa super dilectum suum? Cant. viii. 5.\n\n[1313] Tu gloria Jerusalem, tu l\u00e6titia Israel, tu honorificentia populi\nnostri. Jud. xv. 10.\n\n[1314] Viderunt eam fili\u00e6, et beatissimam pr\u00e6dicaverunt, ... et\nlaudaverunt eam. Cant. vi. 8.\n\n[1315] Exaltata est sancta Dei genitrix super choros angelorum ad\nc\u0153lestia regna. In Fest. Ass.\n\n[1316] Matrem dico exaltatam super choros angelorum, ut nihil\ncontempletur super se mater, nisi filium suum. Serm. 4, de Ass.\n\n[1317] Qu\u00e6st. 108.\n\n[1318] Virgo sola constituit hierarchiam secundam sub Deo hierarcha\nprimo. Sup. Magn. tr. 4.\n\n[1319] Virgo est domina angelorum; ergo et improportionabiliter est supra\nomnem hierarchiam angelorum exaltata. 4, part. tit. 15, c. 20.\n\n[1320] Psal. xliv. 10.\n\n[1321] Collocatur Maria a dexteris Dei. De Ass. B. V.\n\n[1322] Sicut est incomparabile quod gessit, ita et incomprehensibile\npr\u00e6mium, et gloria inter omnes sanctos, quam meruit. Serm. de Ass.\n\n[1323] Reddet unicuique secundum opera ejus. Rom. ii. 6.\n\n[1324] Sicut habuit meritum omnium, et amplius, ita congruum fuit, ut\nsuper omnes ponatur ordines c\u0153lestes. L. de Sol. Sanct.\n\n[1325] Quantum enim grati\u00e6 in terris adepta est, tantum et in c\u0153lis\nobtinet glori\u00e6 singularis.\n\n[1326] Il. P. la Colombiere, Pred. 18, 28.\n\n[1327] De Nat. et Grat. l. 7, c. 36.\n\n[1328] Sess. 6, Can. 13.\n\n[1329] 1 Cor. xv. 41.\n\n[1330] Astitit regina a dextris tuis in vestitu deaurato circumdata\nvarietate. Psal. xliv. 10.\n\n[1331] Sanctorum omnium privilegia, O Virgo, omnia habes in te congesta.\n\n[1332] Maria universos tantum excedit, quantum sol reliqua astra. Or. de\nAn.\n\n[1333] Sol ita sibi siderum et lun\u00e6 rapit positionem, ut sint quasi non\nsint. Similiter et Virga Jesse utrorumque spirituum habebat dignitatem,\nut in comparatione virginis nec possint apparere. Serm. de Ass.\n\n[1334] Divin\u00e6 glori\u00e6 participatio c\u00e6teris quodammodo per partes datur,\nsed secundum Bernardum B. Virgo Maria penetravit abyssum, ut quantum\ncreatur\u00e6 conditio patitur, illi luci inaccessibili videatur immersa. To.\n1, Serm. 61, a. 2, c. 2, 20.\n\n[1335] Visio virginis matris super omnes creaturas incomparabiliter\ncontemplatur majestatem Dei. De Laud. Virg. c. 69.\n\n[1336] Quodammodo sicut c\u00e6tera luminaria illuminantur a sole, sic tota\nc\u0153lestis curia a gloriosa virgine l\u00e6tificatur. Loc. cit. art. 3, c. 3.\n\n[1337] Gloriosa virgo cum c\u0153los ascendit, supernorum gaudia civium\ncumulavit. Serm. de Ass.\n\n[1338] Serm. 1, de Nat.\n\n[1339] Post Deum major nostra gloria et majus nostrum gaudium ex Maria.\n\n[1340] Nunquid, O beata Virgo, quia ita glorificata es, ideo nostr\u00e6\nhumilitatis oblita es? Serm. 1, de Nat. V.\n\n[1341] Absit non convenit tant\u00e6 misericordi\u00e6 tant\u00e6 miseri\u00e6 oblivisci.\n\n[1342] Magna fuit erga miseros misericordia Mari\u00e6 exulantis in mundo, sed\nmulto major est regnantis in c\u0153lo. Spec. c. 8.\n\n[1343] Regina Maria non gravat tributis, sed largitur servis suis\ndivitias, dona gratiarum, thesauros meritorum, et magnitudinem pr\u00e6miorum.\nDe Laud. Virg. l. 6.\n\n[1344] O mater misericordi\u00e6, saturare gloria filii tui, et dimitte\nreliquias parvulis tuis. Tu jam ad mensam Domini nos sub mensa catelli.\nSerm. 4, in Ass. Virg.\n\n[1345] L. 3, Mirac. B. Virg.\n\n[1346] Cap. xxii. 18.\n\n[1347] Brev. Rom. 6, Maj.\n\n[1348] Martyrium amplectitur id quod in obedientia summum esse potest, ut\nscilicet aliquis sit obediens usque ad mortem. 2, 2, q. 134, a. 3, ad 3.\n\n[1349] Non ferro carnificis, sed acerbo dolore cordis. Ap. Baldi. tom. 1,\np. 146.\n\n[1350] A nativitatis exordio, passio crucis simul exorta. Serm. 2, de\nPass.\n\n[1351] Thr. ii. 13.\n\n[1352] Proculdubio est credendum, quod ipsa ex inspiratione Spiritus\nSancti perfectius intellexit quicquid Prophetarum eloquia figurabant.\nSerm. Ang. c. 17.\n\n[1353] Ex Scripturis Deum incarnari intelligens, et quod tam diversis\np\u0153nis deberet cruciari, tribulationem non modicam sustinuit. Serm. Ang.\nc. 16.\n\n[1354] Tu longum pr\u00e6scia futur\u00e6 passionis filii tui, pertulisti\nmartryium. In Cant. c. 4.\n\n[1355] Rev. l. 7, c. 2.\n\n[1356] Nolite solam attendere horam illam qua dilectum meum vidi mori;\nnam Simeonis gladius, antequam pertransiret, longum per me transitum\nfecit. Cum igitur eum lactarem, foverem et prospicerem ejus mortem, quam\nprolixam me putatis pertulisse passionem? Loc. cit.\n\n[1357] Defecit in dolore vita mea, et anni mei in gemitibus. Psal. xxx.\n11.\n\n[1358] Psal. xxxvii. 18.\n\n[1359] Tempore quo post ascensionem filii mei vixi, passio sua in corde\nmeo fixa erat, ut sive comedebam, sive laborabam, quasi recens erat in\nmemoria mea. Rev. l. 6, c. 65.\n\n[1360] Beatissima Virgo pro tota vita fecit professionem doloris. Vit.\nChrist. c. 28.\n\n[1361] Sicut rosa crescere solet inter spinas ita B. Virgo in hoc mundo\ncrevit inter tribulationes; et sicut, crescente rosa, crescunt spin\u00e6; sic\nh\u00e6c electissima rosa Maria, quanto crescebat \u00e6tate, tanto tribulationum\nspinis pungebatur. Serm. Ang. c. 16.\n\n[1362] Cui comparabo te? vel cui assimilabo te, filia Jerusalem? Magna\nest enim velut mare contritio tua. Quis medebitur tui? Thren. ii. 1.\n\n[1363] Quemadmodum mare est in amaritudine excellens, ita tu\u00e6 contritioni\nnulla calamitas \u00e6quari potest.\n\n[1364] Utique, Domina, non crediderim te potuisse stimulos tanti\ncruciatus, quin vitam amitteres, sustinere; nisi ipse spiritus tui filii\nte confortaret. De Ec. Virg. c. 3.\n\n[1365] Tantus fuit dolor Virginis, quod si inter omnes creaturas, qu\u00e6\ndolorem pati possunt, divideretur, omnes subito interirent. To. 1, Serm.\n67.\n\n[1366] Luc. ii. 35.\n\n[1367] Nimirum in tabernaculo illo duo videres altaria, aliud in pectore\nmatris, aliud in corpore Christi; Christus carnem, Maria immolabat\nanimam. Tr. de sep. verb. Do. in Cru.\n\n[1368] P. 1, tit. 15, c. 24.\n\n[1369] Illa videndo in omnibus passa est; quia amabat omnes, ferebat in\noculis quod in carne omnes. Serm. 109, de Divers. c. 6.\n\n[1370] Hom. 5.\n\n[1371] Passionis Christi speculum effectum erat cor Virginis, in illo\nagnoscebantur sputa, convicia, verbera, vulnera. De Agon. Chri. c. 11.\n\n[1372] Singula vulnera per ejus corpus dispersa, in uno corde sunt unita.\nDe Planctu. Virg. in Stim. Am.\n\n[1373] O Domina mea ubi stabas? Nunquid tantum juxta crucem? Imo in cruce\ncum filio crucifixa eras. Loc. cit.\n\n[1374] Torcular calcavi solus, et de gentibus non est vir mecum. Isa.\nlxiii. 3.\n\n[1375] Verum est, Domine, quod non est vir tecum, sed mulier una est\ntecum, qu\u00e6 omnia vulnera qu\u00e6 tu suscepisti in corpore, suscepit in corde.\n\n[1376] Parentes atrocius torquentur in liberis, quam in scipsis. Libell.\nde Machab.\n\n[1377] Maria torquebatur magis, quam si torqueretur ex se; quoniam supra\nse incomparabiliter diligebat id unde dolebat. Cit. Hom. 5.\n\n[1378] Ubi thesaurus vester est, ibi et cor vestrum erit. Luc. xii. 34.\n\n[1379] Nunquam tam jucunde epulati sumus, quam cum h\u00e6c libenter Jesu\nChristi amore perferimus.\n\n[1380] Segnior fuit ignis qui foris ussit, quam qui intus accendit. In\nNat. S. Laur.\n\n[1381] In illa longa morte, in illis tormentis illo calice ebrius\ntormenta non sentit. Tract. 27.\n\n[1382] Magna est velut mare contritio tua; quis medebitur tui?\n\n[1383] In aliis martyribus magnitudo amoris dolorem lenivit passionis;\nsed beata Virgo quanto plus amavit, tanto plus doluit, tantoque ipsius\nmartyrium gravius fuit. Ap. Crois. Vit. Mar. s. 23.\n\n[1384] Ut scias quantus fuerit dolor B. Virginis, cogita quantus fuerit\namor.\n\n[1385] Du\u00e6 dilectiones in unam convenerant et ex duobus amoribus factus\nest amor unus, cum Virgo mater filio divinitatis amorem impenderet, et in\nDeo amorem nato exhiberet. Hom. 5, de Laud. V.\n\n[1386] Quantum capere potuit puri hominis modus.\n\n[1387] Unde sicut non fuit amor sicut amor ejus, ita non fuit dolor sicut\ndolor ejus.\n\n[1388] O vos omnes qui transitas per viam attendite, et videte, si est\ndolor sicut dolor meus. Thren. i. 12.\n\n[1389] Nullus dolor amarior, quia nulla proles charior. De Compas. Virg.\nc. 2.\n\n[1390] Non fuit talis filius, non fuit talis mater; non fuit tanta\ncharitas, non fuit dolor tantus. Ideo quanto dilexit tenerius, tanta\nvulnerata est profundius. Lib. 3, de Laud. Virg.\n\n[1391] Parum est Mariam in passione filii tam acerbos pertulisse dolores,\nut omnium martyrum collective tormenta superaret. Ap. Sinisc. Mart. de\nMar. Cons. 36.\n\n[1392] Quicquid crudelitatis inflictum est corporibus martyrum, leve\nfuit, aut potius nihil comparatione tu\u00e6 passionis. De Exc. Virg. c. 5.\n\n[1393] Virgo universos martyres tantum excedit, quantum sol reliqua astra.\n\n[1394] P. Pinam.\n\n[1395] O Domina, cur ivisti immolari pro nobis? Non sufficiebat filii\npassio, nisi crucifigeretur et mater? Ap. Pac. Exc. 10, in Sal. Ang.\n\n[1396] Sicut totus mundus obligatur Deo propter passionem, sic obligatur\nDomin\u00e6 propter compassionem. Sup. Miss. cap. 20.\n\n[1397] Sic pia et misericors est, et fuit, quod maluit omnes\ntribulationes sufferre, quam quod anim\u00e6 non redimerentur. Rev. l. 3, c.\n30.\n\n[1398] L\u00e6tabatur dolens quod offerebatur sacrificium in redemptionem\nomnium quo placabatur iratus. De Gest. D. l. 2. c. 27.\n\n[1399] Respicio ad omnes qui in mundo sunt, si forte sint aliqui qui\ncompatiantur mihi, et recogitent dolorem meum; et valde paucos invenio.\nIdeo filia mea, licet a multis oblita sim, tu tamen non obliviscaris mei,\nvide dolorem meum, et imitare quantum potes, et dole. Rev. l. 2, c. 24.\n\n[1400] Gian. Cent. Serv. l. 1, c. 14.\n\n[1401] Ap. Bolland. 13, Jan.\n\n[1402] Stellar. l. 3, p. 3, a. 3.\n\n[1403] L. 6, c. 97.\n\n[1404] O Domina, si te offendi pro justitia cor meum vulnera; si tibi\nservivi, nunc pro mercede, peto, vulnera. Opprobriosum est videre Dominum\nJesum vulneratum, te convulneratum, et me ill\u00e6sum.\n\n[1405] Calamitosus esset animus futuri pr\u00e6scius et ante miserias miser.\nEp. 98.\n\n[1406] Positus est hic in signum cui contradicetur. Et tuam ipsius animam\ndoloris gladius pertransibit. Luc. ii. 35.\n\n[1407] Omnis l\u00e6titia mea ad illa verba in m\u0153rore conversa est.\n\n[1408] Blasphemavit, reus est mortis. Matt. xxvi. 65, 66.\n\n[1409] Non hic fabri filius? Matt. xiii. 55.\n\n[1410] Nonne hic est faber, filius Mari\u00e6? Matt. vi. 3.\n\n[1411] Quomodo hic literas scit, cum non didicerit. Joan. vii. 15.\n\n[1412] Et velaverunt eum, et percutiebant faciem ejus ... dicentes;\nProphetiza, quis est qui te percussit. Luc. xxii. 64.\n\n[1413] Insanit, quid eum auditis? Joan. x. 20.\n\n[1414] Ecce homo devorator, et bibens vinum, amicus publicanorum et\npeccatorum. Luc. vii. 34.\n\n[1415] In principe d\u00e6moniorum ejicit d\u00e6monia. Matt. ix. 34.\n\n[1416] Nonne bene dicimus nos, quia Samaritanus es tu, et d\u00e6monium habes?\nJoan. viii. 48.\n\n[1417] Si non esset hic malefactor, non tibi tradidissemus eum. Joan.\nxviii. 30.\n\n[1418] Pater mi, si possibile est, transeat a me calix iste. Matt. xxvi.\n39.\n\n[1419] Tristis es anima mea usque ad mortem. Matt. xxvi. 38.\n\n[1420] Filius qui natus est tibi, morte morietur. 2 Reg. xii. 14.\n\n[1421] Lib. 6, Rev. c. 9.\n\n[1422] Quoties aspiciebam filium meum, quoties involvebam eum pannis,\nquoties videbam ejus manus et pedes; toties animus meus quasi novo dolore\nabsorptus est; quia cogitabam, quomodo crucifigeretur. Lib. 6, c. 57.\n\n[1423] Fasciculus mirrh\u00e6 dilectus meus mihi, inter ubera mea\ncommorabitur. Cant. i. 12.\n\n[1424] Tom. 3, Serm. 2, a. 3, c. 1.\n\n[1425] Eum lactans cogitabat de felle et aceto; quando fasciis\ninvolvebat, funes cogitabat quibus ligandus erat; quando gestabat,\ncogitabat in cruce confixum; quando dormiebat, cogitabat mortuum. Tom. 1,\nEv. Lu. Dom. infr. Oct. Nat. s. 1.\n\n[1426] Oculi mei replebantur lacrymis, et cor meum torquebatur dolore.\nLib. 6, c. 57, et l. 7, c. 7.\n\n[1427] Et Jesus proficiebat sapientia et \u00e6tate, et gratia apud Deum, et\nhomines. Luc. ii. 23.\n\n[1428] 3, p. q. 7, art. 12.\n\n[1429] Ille doloris gladius Virgini omni hora tanto se propius\napproximabat, quanto Filius passionis tempori magis appropinquabat. Fer.\n6, lect. 2, c. 16.\n\n[1430] Fasc. di Rose, p. 2, c. 2.\n\n[1431] Et com\u00e6 capitis tui sicut purpura regis vincta canalibus. C. 7, v.\n5.\n\n[1432] Mens tua, O Maria, et cogitationes tu\u00e6 tinct\u00e6 in sanguine dominic\u00e6\npassionis, sic affect\u00e6 semper fuere, quasi recenter viderent sanguinem de\nvulneribus profluentem. In Cant. c. 7, v. 5.\n\n[1433] Quid est quod sic turbaris Herodes? Rex iste qui natus est non\nvenit reges pugnando superare sed moriendo mirabiliter subjugare. Serm.\n5, de Epiph.\n\n[1434] Surge et accipe puerum, et matrem ejus et fuge in Egyptum. Matth.\nii. 13.\n\n[1435] Qui consurgens accepit puerum et matrem ejus nocte, et secessit in\nEgyptum. Matth. ii. 14.\n\n[1436] Positus est hic in signum cui contradicetur.\n\n[1437] Fuge a tuis ad extraneos, a templo ad d\u00e6monum fana. Qu\u00e6 major\ntribulatio, quam quod recens natus a collo matris pendens cum ipsa matre\npaupercula fugere cogatur?\n\n[1438] 3, Lib. 10, c. 8.\n\n[1439] Viam silvestrem, obscuram, asperam, et inhabitam.\n\n[1440] Joseph et Maria non habent famulum, non ancillam; ipsi domini et\nfamuli.\n\n[1441] Quomodo faciebant de victu? Ubi nocte quiescebant? Quomodo\nhospitabantur? De Vit. Chr.\n\n[1442] Cum enim essent egeni, manifestum est quod sudores frequentabant\nnecessaria vit\u00e6 inde sibi qu\u00e6rentes.\n\n[1443] Aliquando filius famem patiens panem petiit, nec unde dare mater\nhabuit. In Vit. Christi. c. 13.\n\n[1444] Sic magnus est, ut portari non valeat: et sic parvus quod per se\nire non potest.\n\n[1445] Non habemus hic manentem civitatem, sed futuram inquirimus. Heb.\nxiii. 14.\n\n[1446] Ap. P. Genev. Serv. Dol. di Mar.\n\n[1447] Loc. cit.\n\n[1448] Patientia autem opus perfectum habet, ut sitis perfecti et\nintegri, in nullo deficientes. Jac. i. 4.\n\n[1449] Num quem diligit anima mea vidistis? Cant. iii. 3.\n\n[1450] Fuerunt mihi lacrym\u00e6 me\u00e6 panes die ac nocte, dum dicitur mihi\nquotidie, ubi est Deus tuus? Psal. xli. 4.\n\n[1451] Illas noctes insomnes duxit in lacrymis, Deum deprecando, ut daret\nilli reperire filium.\n\n[1452] Indica, mihi ubi cubes, ubi pascas in meridie, ne vagari incipiam.\nCant. i. 6.\n\n[1453] Lumen oculorum meorum, et ipse non est mecum. Psal. xxvii. 11.\n\n[1454] Vehementer doluit, quia vehementer amabat. Plus doluit de ejus\namissione, quam aliquis martyr dolorem sentiat de anim\u00e6 a corpore\nseparatione. Hom. infr. Oct. Ep.\n\n[1455] Idcirco ego plorans, et oculus meus deducens aquas, quia longe est\na me consolator meus. Thren. i. 16.\n\n[1456] Quale gaudium erit mihi, qui in tenebris sedeo, et lumen c\u0153li non\nvideo. Tob. vi. 11.\n\n[1457] Tristabatur ex humilitate, quia arbitrabatur se indignam cui tam\npretiosus commissus esset thesaurus.\n\n[1458] Qu\u00e6rebant eum, ne forte reliquisset eos. Ap. Corn. \u00e0 Lap. in Luc.\n2.\n\n[1459] Fili, quid fecisti nobis sis? Pater tuus et ego dolentes\nqu\u00e6rebamus te. Luc. ii. 48.\n\n[1460] March. Diar. 30, Ott.\n\n[1461] Vos non populus meus, et ego non ero vester. Os. i. 19.\n\n[1462] Peccata vestra diviserunt inter vos et Deum vestrum. Isa. lxix. 2.\n\n[1463] Ecce universa vanitas, et afflictio spiritus. Eccli. i. 14.\n\n[1464] Perdit homo bovem, et post eum vadit: perdit ovem et sollicite eam\nqu\u00e6rit; perdit asinum, et non quiescit. Perdit homo Deum, et comedit, et\nbibit, et quiescit.\n\n[1465] Dilectus meus mihi, et ego illi, qui pascitur inter lilia. Cant.\nii. 16.\n\n[1466] Thren. iii. 25.\n\n[1467] Miserere mei, Domine fili David, filia mea male a d\u00e6mone vexatur.\nMatth. xv. 22.\n\n[1468] Ignem veni mittere in terram, et quid volo, nisi ut accendatur.\nLuc. xii. 49.\n\n[1469] Omnes dolores mundi, si essent simul conjuncti, non essent tanti\nquantus dolor glorios\u00e6 Mari\u00e6. Tom. iii. 5, 45.\n\n[1470] Quanto dilexit tenerius, tanto est vulnerata profundius.\n\n[1471] Imminente passione filii mei, lacrym\u00e6 erant in oculis meis, et\nsudor in corpore pr\u00e6 timore. L. 1, Rev. c. 10.\n\n[1472] Sine somno duxisti, et soporatis c\u00e6teris, vigil permansisti.\n\n[1473] Plorans ploravit in nocte, et lacrym\u00e6 in maxillis ejus; non est\nqui consoletur eam, ex omnibus charis ejus. Thren. i. 12.\n\n[1474] Iisdem labiis mittit ad mortem quibus eum pronuntiaverunt\ninnocentem.\n\n[1475] Et bajulans sibi crucem exivit in eum qui dicitur Calvari\u00e6 locum.\nJoan. xix. 17.\n\n[1476] Ex vestigiis filii mei cognoscebam incessum ejus; quo enim\nprocedebat, apparebat terra infusa sanguine. L. 4, c. 77.\n\n[1477] Med. 6.\n\n[1478] Et vidimus eum, et non erat aspectus. Isa. liii. 2.\n\n[1479] Putavimus eum quasi leprosum. Isa. liii. 4.\n\n[1480] Et quasi absconditus vultus ejus, et despectus, unde nec\nreputavimus eum. Isa. liii. 3.\n\n[1481] Deut. xxviii. 66.\n\n[1482] Heu quo properas, quo venis mater! Cruciatu meo cruciaberis, et\nego tuo.\n\n[1483] Tollebat et mater crucem suam, et sequebatur eum, crucifigenda cum\nipso. In Cant. 7.\n\n[1484] Ut intelligas Christi crucem non sufficere sine tua.\n\n[1485] Serm. 2, de Pass.\n\n[1486] Ego non separabar ab eo, et stabam vicinior cruci ejus. L. 1, c. 6.\n\n[1487] Cur ivisti, O Domina, ad Calvari\u00e6 locum? cur te non retinuit\npudor, horror facinoris?\n\n[1488] Plane mater, qu\u00e6 nec in terrore mortis filium deserebat. Serm. 3,\nde Ass.\n\n[1489] L. 1, Rev. c. 10, et l. 4, c. 70.\n\n[1490] Quot l\u00e6siones in corpore Christi, tot vulnera in corde matris. Ap.\nBald. to. 1, p. 499.\n\n[1491] O Domina, ubi stas? Numquid juxta crucem? Imo in cruce cum filio\ncruciaris? Ap. Bald. tom. 1, p. 452.\n\n[1492] Crux et clavi filii fuerunt et matris; Christo crucifixo\ncrucifigebatur et mater.\n\n[1493] Quod in carne Christi agebant clavi, in Virginis mente affectus\nerga filium.\n\n[1494] Dum illi corpus, ista spiritum immolabat. To. 1, Serm. 31.\n\n[1495] Ap. Bald. p. 456.\n\n[1496] Volebat eum amplecti sed manus frustra protens\u00e6 in se complex\u00e6\nredibant. Ap. Bald. 463.\n\n[1497] Torcular calcavi solus.... Circumspexi, et non est auxiliator;\nqu\u00e6sivi, et non fuit qui adjuvaret. Isa. lxiii. 3, 5.\n\n[1498] Pr\u00e6tereuntes autem blasphemabant eum moventes capita sua. Matt.\nxxvii. 39.\n\n[1499] Si filius Dei es, descende de cruce.\n\n[1500] Alios salvos fecit, seipsum non potest salvum facere.\n\n[1501] Si rex Israel est, descendat nunc de cruce. Loc. cit.\n\n[1502] Rev. l. 4, c. 70.\n\n[1503] Deus, Deus meus, ut quid dereliquisti me? Matth. xxvii. 46.\n\n[1504] Rev. l. 4, c. 70.\n\n[1505] Repleta matre, ad filium redundaret inundatio amaritudinis. Hom.\nin Ev. Stabat.\n\n[1506] Stabam ego videns eum, ipse videns me, et plus dolebat de me quam\nde se. Ap. Simisc. Cons. 28.\n\n[1507] Juxta crucem stabat mater, vox illi non erat; moriebatur vivens,\nvivebat moriens; nec mori poterat, quia vivens mortua erat. De Lament.\nVirg.\n\n[1508] Stupebant omnes qui noverant hujus hominis matrem, quod etiam in\ntant\u00e6 angusti\u00e6 pressura silentium servabat.\n\n[1509] Voluit eam Christus cooperatricem nostr\u00e6 redemptionis adstare,\nquam nobis constituerat dare matrem; debebat enim ipsa sub cruce nos\nparere filios. Hom. 44, de Pass. Dom.\n\n[1510] Maria mater mea, propter compassionem et charitatem facta est\nmater omnium in c\u0153lis et in terra. L. 1, c. 31.\n\n[1511] Joan. xix. 26.\n\n[1512] Idcirco resipuit bonus latro, quia B. Virgo inter cruces filii\net latronis posita, filium pro latrone deprecabatur; hoc suo beneficio,\nantiquum latronis obsequium recompensans. Ap. Salm. to. 1, tr. 47.\n\n[1513] Monum. Conv. Pec. ap. P. Sinisch. Sans. 16.\n\n[1514] O vos omnes qui transitis per viam, attendite et videte, si est\ndolor sicut dolor meus. Thren. i. 12.\n\n[1515] Unus militum lancea latus ejus aperuit, et continuo exivit\nsanguis, et aqua. Joan. xix. 34.\n\n[1516] Rev. l. 2, c. 21.\n\n[1517] Divisit Christus cum matre sua hujus vulneris p\u0153nam, ut ipse\ninjuriam acciperet, mater dolorem.\n\n[1518] Lancea qu\u00e6 ipsius latus aperuit, animam Virginis pertransivit, qu\u00e6\ninde nequibat avelli. De Lament. Virg.\n\n[1519] Cum retraheretur hasta, apparuit cuspis rubea sanguine. Tunc mihi\nvidebatur quod quasi cor meum perforaretur, cum vidissem cor filii mei\ncharissimi perforatum. Rev. c. 10.\n\n[1520] Non parvum miraculum a Deo factum est, quod B. Virgo tot doloribus\nsauciata spiritum non exhalarit.\n\n[1521] Tu mihi pater eras, tu frater, sponsus, me\u00e6 delici\u00e6, mea gloria,\ntu mihi omnia eras.\n\n[1522] Isa. xlvi. 8.\n\n[1523] Ab ipso fuge ad ipsum, a judice ad redemptorem, a tribunali ad\ncrucem.\n\n[1524] Ezech. xvi. 8.\n\n[1525] Propterea vulneratum est cor Christi, ut per vulnus visibile\nvulnus amoris invisibilis videatur. Serm. de pass. Dom.\n\n[1526] Pr\u00e6 nimio amore aperuit sibi latus, ut pr\u00e6beret cor suum.\n\n[1527] Filii hujus matris, ingredite um ipsa intra penetralia cordis Jesu.\n\n[1528] Promt. Ex. V. Miser.\n\n[1529] C. xxx. 21.\n\n[1530] O vere Dei nate, tu nihi pater, tu mihi filius, tu mihi sponsus,\ntu mihi anima eras! Nunc orbor patre, viduor sponso, desolor filio, uno\nperdito filio omnia perdo. De Lam. V. Mar.\n\n[1531] O quam libenter tunc posita fuissem viva cum filio meo, si fuisset\nvoluntas ejus! Rev. l. 1.\n\n[1532] Animam cum corpore Christi contumulari Virgo vehementer exoptavit.\n\n[1533] Vere dicere possum, quod sepulto filio meo quasi duo corda in uno\nsepulchro fuerunt. Rev. l. 2, c. 21.\n\n[1534] Ubi thesaurus vester est, ibi et cor vestrum erit. Luc. xii. 34.\n\n[1535] Super ipsam potius, quam super Dominum plangebant.\n\n[1536] Sorores Domin\u00e6 velaverunt eam tamquam viduam; cooperientes quasi\ntotum vultum.\n\n[1537] Sine, Domina mea, sine me flere; tu innocens es, ego sum reus.\n\n[1538] Dom infra oct Nat. s. 2.\n\n[1539] Et tu, fili mi, cur m\u0153rore conficeris, qui in m\u0153rore meo toties me\nconsolatus es?\n\n[1540] O Domina, qu\u00e6 rapis corda hominum dulcore, nonne cor meum\nrapuisti? O raptrix cordium, quando mihi restitues cor meum? Guberna\nillud cum tuo, et in latere filii colloca. Tunc possidebo quod spero,\nquia tu es spes nostra. S. Bernard. Med. in Salv. Reg. ap. s. Bon. Stim.\nc. 19, part. 3.\n\n[1541] Nunc, ergo filii, audite me; beati qui custodiunt vias meas. Prov.\nviii. 33.\n\n[1542] Dilectissimi Mariam colite quam amatis, quia tunc vere amatis si\nimitari volueritis quam amatis. S. Hier. Serm. de Ass. ap. Lohn.\n\n[1543] Alii sanctorum specialia opera exercuerunt; alius fuit castus,\nalius humilis, alius misericors; sed B. Virgo datur in exemplum omnium\nvirtutum. Opusc. 8.\n\n[1544] Talis fuit Maria ut ejus unius vit\u00e6 omnium disciplina sit. L. 2,\nde Virg.\n\n[1545] Sit vobis tanquam in imagine descripta virginitas vitaque Mari\u00e6,\nin qua refulget forma virtutis. Hinc sumatis exempla vivendi ... quid\ncorrigere, quid fugere, quid tenere debeatis. Loc. cit.\n\n[1546] Humilitas est fundamentum custosque virtutem.\n\n[1547] Vit. l. 6, c. 2, s. 11.\n\n[1548] Et discite a me, quia mitis sum, et humilis corde. Matth. xi. 29.\n\n[1549] Prima virtus in qua Virgo nata, et infans se singulariter\nexercuit, fuit humilitas.\n\n[1550] Ita modeste de se sentiebat, ut cum tot gratias haberet, nulli se\npr\u00e6tulit.\n\n[1551] Vulnerasti cor meum, soror mea sponsa ... in uno crine colli tui.\nCant. iv. 9.\n\n[1552] In uno crine, idest in nimia humilitate cordis tui. Iste est\ncrinis colli, humilis cogitatus.... Quid uno crine gracilius? In d. l.\nCant. 4.\n\n[1553] Nolite, me considerare quod fusca sim, quia decoloravit me sol.\nCant. i. 6.\n\n[1554] Appropinquans illi me nigram invenio.\n\n[1555] Virgo continue habebat actualem relationem ad divinam majestatem,\net ad sui nihilitatem.\n\n[1556] Pro firmo scias, quod me reputabam vilissimam et gratia Dei\nindignam. Ap. S. Bon. de Vit. Christ.\n\n[1557] Sicut nulla post filium Dei creatura tantum ascendit in grati\u00e6\ndignitatem, sic nec tantum descendit in abyssum humilitatis. To. 2, Serm.\n51, c. 3.\n\n[1558] Matth. i. 19.\n\n[1559] Benedicta tu in mulieres.... Et unde hoc mihi ut veniat mater\nDomini mei ad me? Et beata qu\u00e6 credidisti, &c. Luc. i. 42, 43, 44.\n\n[1560] Ut quid enim ego me tantum humiliabam, aut promerui tantam\ngratiam, nisi quia cogitavi et scivi nihil a me esse vel habere. Ideo\nnolui laudem meam, sed solum datoris et creatoris. Rev. l. 2, c. 23.\n\n[1561] O vere beata humilitas, qu\u00e6 Deum hominibus peperit, paradisum\naperuit, et animas ab inferis liberavit. Serm. 35, de Sanctis.\n\n[1562] Venisse Mariam mirabatur Elisabeth, sed magis miretur quod ipsa\nnon ministrari venerit, sed ministrare. Serm. de Nat. Virg.\n\n[1563] C. 12.\n\n[1564] Foris stabat, nec materna auctoritate sermonem interrupit, nec in\ndomum intravit ubi filius loquebatur.\n\n[1565] Hi omnes erant perseverantes unanimitur in oratione cum\nmulieribus, et Maria matre Jesu. Act. i. 14.\n\n[1566] Merito facta novissima prima, qu\u00e6 cum prima esset omnium, se\nnovissimam faciebat. Serm. Sup. Si. Mar.\n\n[1567] Quid contemtibilius quam vocari fatua, omnibus indigere, omnibus\nindigniorem se credere? Talis O filia, fuit humilitas mea, hoc gaudium\nmeum, h\u00e6c voluntas tota, qua nulli nisi filio meo placare cogitabam.\n\n[1568] Rev. l. 1, c. 29.\n\n[1569] Si non potes virginitatem, humilis, imitare humilitatem Virginis.\nHo. 1, Sup. Miss.\n\n[1570] Ergo et tu, filia mea veni, et absconde te sub mantello meo: hic\nmantellus humilitas mea est.\n\n[1571] Nec humilitas mea proficit, nisi unusquisque studuerit eam\nimitari. Ergo, filia mea, induere hac humilitate.\n\n[1572] Agnoscit Virgo et diligit diligentes se, et prope est invocantibus\nse; pr\u00e6sertim iis quos videt conformes sibi factos in castitate et\nhumilitate. In Salv. Reg.\n\n[1573] \u00c6mulamini hanc virtutem, si Mariam diligitis. Loc. cit.\n\n[1574] Superat omnium creaturarum amores in filium suum.\n\n[1575] Diliges Dominum Deum tuum ex toto corde tuo. Matt. xxii. 37.\n\n[1576] Plene et perfecte in patria implebitur hoc pr\u00e6ceptum; in via autem\nimpletur, sed imperfecte. 2, 2. q. 24, vid. a. 6, 8.\n\n[1577] Aut aliquis implet hoc preceptum, aut nullus; si aliquis, ergo\nbeatissima Virgo. Super. Miss. c. 76.\n\n[1578] Emmanuelis nostri puerpera in omni fuit virtutum consummatione\nperfecta. Quis illud primum mandatum sic unquam implevit: Diliges Dominum\nDeum tuum ex toto corde tuo? In ea divinus amor adeo concaluit, ut\nqualiscumque defectus in eam incidere non posset. L. 2, de Em. c. 26.\n\n[1579] Amor Christi Mari\u00e6 animam non modo confixit, sed etiam\npertransivit; ut nullam in pectore virginali particulam vacuam\nrelinqueret, sed toto corde, tota anima, tota virtute diligeret, et esset\ngratia plena. Serm. 29, in Cant.\n\n[1580] Cant. ii. 10.\n\n[1581] Seraphim e c\u0153lo descendere poterant, ut amorem discerent in corde\nvirginis.\n\n[1582] Joan. iv. 16.\n\n[1583] Totam eam incanduerat divinus amor, ita ut nihil esset mundanum\nquod ejus violaret affectum, sed ardor continuus, et ebrietas profusi\namoris. Hier. aut. Sofron. Serm. de Ass.\n\n[1584] Cant. viii. 6.\n\n[1585] Ap. \u00e0 Lap.\n\n[1586] Mariam, velut ignis ferrum, Spiritus Sanctus totam ignivit; ita ut\nin ea Spiritus Sancti flamma tantum videatur, nec sentiatur nisi tantum\nignis amoris Dei. De Ass. Or. 1.\n\n[1587] Apoc. xii. 1.\n\n[1588] Jure ergo Maria sole perhibetur amicta, qu\u00e6 profundissimam divin\u00e6\nsapienti\u00e6, ultra quam credi valeat, penetravit abyssum; ut quantum sine\npersonali unione creatur\u00e6 conditio patitur, luci illi inaccessibili\nvideatur immersa. Serm. in Sign. Magn.\n\n[1589] Sicut magnus ignis effugat muscas, sic a sua inflammata charitate\nd\u00e6mones pellebantur, quod non ausi sint illi appropinquare. To. 2, Serm.\n61, a. 3.\n\n[1590] Virgo principibus tenebrarum terribilis fuit, ut ad eam accedere,\neamque tentare non pr\u00e6sumserint, deterrebat eos flamma charitatis. P. c.\n26, in Cant.\n\n[1591] Actus perfect\u00e6 charitatis, quos B. Virgo habuit in hac vita,\ninnumerabiles fuerunt, qu\u00e6 fere totam vitam in contemplatione transegit,\net tunc amoris actum frequentissime repetebat. To. 2, in 3, p. D. 18, S.\n4.\n\n[1592] Tamen ipsa gloriosissima Virgo de privilegio singulari continue et\nsemper Deum amabat actualiter. P. 2, Serm. 4, de Nat. Virg.\n\n[1593] Adeo ut nec actio contemplationem minueret, et contemplatio non\ndesereret actionem. Serm. 1, de Nat. Virg.\n\n[1594] L. 5, in Jul. c. 9.\n\n[1595] L. 2, de Virg.\n\n[1596] Prov. xxxi. 18.\n\n[1597] Anima ejus libere tunc tendebat in Deum; unde illo tempore erat\nperfectior contemplatrix, quam unquam fuerit alius dum vigilavit.\n\n[1598] Cant. v. 2.\n\n[1599] To. 2, Serm. 51, a. 3, c. 3.\n\n[1600] Nihil unquam elegit nisi quod divina sapientia demonstrabat;\ntantumque dilexit Deum, quantum a se diligendum existimabat. Loc. cit.\n\n[1601] Credimus etiam sine pr\u00e6judicio melioris sententi\u00e6, B. Virginem in\nconceptione filii Dei charitatem talem accepisse qualis et quanta percipi\npoterat a pura creatura in statu vi\u00e6. L. de Laud. Virg. c. 96.\n\n[1602] H\u00e6c Virgo sua pulchritudine Deum a c\u0153lis allexit, qui amore illius\ncaptus est, et humanitatis nostr\u00e6 nexibus irretitus. Conc. 5, in Nat. Dom.\n\n[1603] O virtus Virginis matris! Una puella vulneravit et rapuit divinum\ncor! To. 2, Serm. 61, a. 1, c. 4.\n\n[1604] Adjuro vos, fili\u00e6 Jerusalem, si inveneritis dilectum meum, ut\nnuncietis ei, quia amore langueo. Cant. v. 8.\n\n[1605] L. 4, n. 306.\n\n[1606] Quia tota ardens fuit, omnes se amantes eamque tangentes incendit,\net sibi assimilat.\n\n[1607] Et hoc mandatum habemus a Deo, ut qui diligit Deum, diligat et\nfratrem suum. 1 Joan. iv. 21.\n\n[1608] Ferculum fecit sibi rex Salomon ... media charitate constravit\npropter filias Jerusalem. Cant. iii. 9.\n\n[1609] B. Virginis sinus fuit ferculum ferens verbum; ideoque media\ncharitate constratum propter filias Jerusalem quia Christus qui est ipsa\ncharitas, maximam charitatem B. Virgini aspiravit, ut ipsa ad illam\nrecurrentibus opem ferret.\n\n[1610] Joan. ii. 3.\n\n[1611] Luc. i. 39.\n\n[1612] Sic Maria dilexit mundum, ut filium suum unigenitum daret.\n\n[1613] O benedicta inter mulieres, qu\u00e6 angelos vincit puritate et sanctos\nsuperas pietate.\n\n[1614] Quia magis nunc videt hominum miserias. Spec. c. 8.\n\n[1615] Magna fuit erga miseros misericordia Mari\u00e6 adhuc exulantis in\nmundo, sed multo major est regnantis in c\u0153lo. Loc. cit.\n\n[1616] Ex dulcedine Mari\u00e6 nullus est, qui non per eam, si petitur,\nsentiat pietatem. Rev. l. c. 3, 30.\n\n[1617] Nisi preces matris me\u00e6 intervenirent, non esset spes misericordi\u00e6.\nL. 6, c. 29.\n\n[1618] Beatus homo qui audit me, et qui vigilat ad fores meas quotidie,\net observat ad postes ostii mei. Prov. viii. 34.\n\n[1619] Nulla res est qu\u00e6 Virginis benevolentiam conciliat, ac\nmisericordia.\n\n[1620] Estote misericordes, sicut et pater vester misericors est. Luc.\nviii. 36.\n\n[1621] Estote misericordes sicut et mater vestra misericors est.\n\n[1622] Date et dabitur vobis; eadem quippe mensura qua mensi fueritis,\nremetietur vobis. Luc. vi. 38.\n\n[1623] Pietas autem ad omnia utilis est, promissionem habens vit\u00e6, qu\u00e6\nnunc est, et futur\u00e6. 1 Tim. iv. 8.\n\n[1624] F\u0153neratur Domino qui miseretur pauperi.\n\n[1625] Si Deo f\u0153neratur is ergo nobis debitor est.\n\n[1626] Ego mater pulchr\u00e6 dilectionis, et timoris, et agnitionis, et\nsanct\u00e6 spei. Eccli. xxiv. 24.\n\n[1627] Quod Heva ligavit per incredulitatem, Maria solvit per fidem.\n\n[1628] Crediderat Heva serpenti, Maria Gabrieli; quod illa credendo\ndeliquit, h\u00e6c credendo delevit.\n\n[1629] Fides Mari\u00e6 c\u0153lum aperuit, cum angelo nuncianti consensit.\n\n[1630] Sanctificatus est enim vir infidelis per mulierem fidelem. 1 Cor.\nvii. 14.\n\n[1631] H\u00e6c est mulier fidelis, per cujus fidem salvatus est Adam vir\ninfidelis et tota posteritas.\n\n[1632] Beata qu\u00e6 credidisti quoniam perficientur ea, qu\u00e6 dicta sunt tibi\na Domino. Luc. i. 45.\n\n[1633] Beatior Maria percipiendo fidem Christi, quam concipiendo carnem\nChristi.\n\n[1634] Stabat mater fide elevata, quam de Christi divinitate fixa\nretinuit.\n\n[1635] Non extinguetur in nocte lucerna ejus. xxxi. 18.\n\n[1636] Torcular calcavi solus, et de gentibus non est vir mecum. lxiii. 3.\n\n[1637] Dicit vir propter Virginem, in qua nunquam fides defecit.\n\n[1638] Gaude, Maria Virgo, cunctas h\u00e6reses sola interemisti inuniverso\nmundo. Ant. 1, Noct. 3.\n\n[1639] Vulnerasti cor meum, soror mea, sponsa ... in uno oculorum tuorum.\nCant. iv. 9.\n\n[1640] Per oculos fidem designat, qua Dei filio Virgo maxime complacuit.\n\n[1641] Ille vero credit, qui exercet operando quod credit.\n\n[1642] Dicis, credo, fac quod dicis, et fides est.\n\n[1643] Justus autem meus ex fide vidit. Hebr. x. 38.\n\n[1644] ii. 20.\n\n[1645] Mihi autem adh\u00e6rere Deo bonum est; ponere in Domino Deo spem meam.\nPsal. lxxii. 28.\n\n[1646] Qu\u00e6 est ista qu\u00e6 ascendit de deserto, deliciis affluens innixa\nsuper dilectum suum? Cant. viii. 5.\n\n[1647] Ascendit de deserto, scilicet de mundo, quem sic deseruit, et\ntamquam desertum reputavit, ut ab ipso omnem suum averterit affectum.\nInnixa super dilectum suum, nam non suis meritis, sed ipsius innitebatur\ngrati\u00e6, qui gratiam tribuit. Ap. Cornel. in Cant. viii. 5.\n\n[1648] Matth. i. 19.\n\n[1649] B. Virgo autem noduit ultro secretum hoc Josepho pandere, ne\nsua dona jactare videretur, sed Dei cur\u00e6 idipsum resignavit certissime\nconfidens, Deum suam innocentiam et famam tutaturum.\n\n[1650] Et reclinavit eum in pr\u00e6sepio, qua non erat eis locus in\ndiversorio. Luc. ii. 7.\n\n[1651] Qui consurgens accepit puerum, et matrem ejus nocte, et secessit\nin \u00c6gyptum. Matth. ii. 14.\n\n[1652] Quid mihi et tibi est mulier, nondum venit hora mea. Joan. ii. 4.\n\n[1653] Phil. iv. 13.\n\n[1654] Eccli. xxiv. 24.\n\n[1655] Inter omnia certamina duriora sunt pr\u00e6lia castitatis, ubi\nquotidiana est pugna et rara victoria.\n\n[1656] Virgo virginum, qu\u00e6 sine consilio, sine exemplo munus virginitatis\nDeo obtulit, et per sui imitationem omnes virgines germinavit. Mar. p. 29.\n\n[1657] Psal. lxiv. 15.\n\n[1658] O Virgo quis te docuit Deo placere virginitate, et in terris\nangelicam ducere vitam. Hom. 4. Sup. Miss.\n\n[1659] Christus matrem virginem elegit, ut ipsa omnibus esset exemplum\ncastitatis. Ap. Parav. p. 2, c. 1.\n\n[1660] Cant. i. 9.\n\n[1661] Cant. ii. 2.\n\n[1662] Omnes ali\u00e6 virgines spin\u00e6 fuerunt vel sibi vel aliis; B. Virgo nec\nsibi, nec aliis.\n\n[1663] Id. S. Dio.\n\n[1664] Ap. Par. loc. cit.\n\n[1665] Tu dicis Mariam virginem non permansisse? Ego mihi plus vindico,\netiam ipsum Joseph virginem fuisse per Mariam. L. adv. Helvid.\n\n[1666] Quomodo fiet istud, quoniam virum non cognosco? Luc. i. 34.\n\n[1667] Qui castitatem servavit, angelus est, qui perdidit, diabolus.\n\n[1668] Matth. xxii.\n\n[1669] Nunquam Maria tantam gratiam invenissit, nisi cibo temperatissima\nfuisset; non enim se compatiuntur gratia et gula.\n\n[1670] Cant. v. 5.\n\n[1671] Prov. xi. 15.\n\n[1672] Mansit autem Maria cum illa quasi mensibus tribus; et reversa est\nin domum suam. Elisabeth autem impletum est tempus pariendi, et peperit\nfilium. Cap. i. 56.\n\n[1673] Et ut scivi quoniam aliter non possem esse continens nisi Deus det\n... aii Dominum, et deprecatus sum ilium. Sap. viii. 21.\n\n[1674] Ap. S. Bon. de Vit. Chr. c. 3.\n\n[1675] Propter vos egenus factus est, cum esset dives, et illius inopia\nvos divites essetis. 2 Cor. viii. 9.\n\n[1676] Si vis perfectus esse, vende qu\u00e6 habes, et da pauperibus ... et\nveni, sequere me. Matth. xix. 21.\n\n[1677] Ap. Parav. p. c. 2.\n\n[1678] A principio vovi in corde meo nihil unquam possidere in mundo. L.\n1, c. 10.\n\n[1679] Aurum sibi oblatum a magis non modicum, prout decebat eorum regiam\nmajestatem, non sibi reservavit, sed pauperibus per Joseph distribuit.\nAp. Par. loc. cit.\n\n[1680] Pro filio ... deferet agnum. xii. 6.\n\n[1681] Et ut darent hostiam secundum quod dictum est in lege Domini, par\nturturum aut duos pullos columbarum. Luc. ii. 24.\n\n[1682] Omnia qu\u00e6 habere potui dedi indigentibus, nihilque nisi cibum\ntenuem et vestitum reservavi. Rev. l. 1, c. 10.\n\n[1683] Ap. auct. Vit. Mar. L. 5, c. 13.\n\n[1684] Beati pauperes spiritu quoniam ipsorum est regnum c\u0153lorum. Matth.\nv. 3.\n\n[1685] Amorem tui solum cum gratia tua mihi dones, et dives sum satis.\n\n[1686] Pauper multum consolari potest de paupertate Mari\u00e6, et de paupere\nChristo.\n\n[1687] Et exultavit spiritus meus in Deo salutari meo.\n\n[1688] O vera ancilla, qu\u00e6 neque dicto, neque facto, neque cogitatu\nunquam contradixit Altissimo, nihil sibi libertatis reservans, sed per\nomnia subdita Deo. Conc. de Annunc.\n\n[1689] Luc. i. 48.\n\n[1690] Sicut Heva inobediens et sibi et universo generi humano causa\nfacta est mortis; sic et Maria Virgo obediens et sibi et universo generi\nhumano facta est causa salutis. Ap. Parav. p. 2, c. 11.\n\n[1691] In B. Virgine nullum fuit omnino retardativum, proinde rota\nvolubilis fuit secundum omnem Spiritus Sancti motu. To. 3, Serm. 11, a.\n2, c. 1.\n\n[1692] Virgo semper habuit continuum aspectum ad Dei beneplacitum, et\nferventem consensum. To. 2, s. 41, a. 3, c. 2.\n\n[1693] Anima mea liquefacta est, ut dilectus meus locutus est. Cant. v. 6.\n\n[1694] Anima mea liquefacta est per incendium charitatis, parata instar\nmetalli liquefacti decurrere in omnes modulos divin\u00e6 voluntatis.\n\n[1695] Ne Virgini subtrahatur occasio exercendi actum obedienti\u00e6 ad quem\nerat paratissima.\n\n[1696] Parata enim stetit, si deesset manus percussoris. Ap. Parav. p. 2,\nc. 12.\n\n[1697] Beatus venter qui te portavit.... Quinimmo beati qui audiunt\nverbum Dei, et custodiunt illud. Luc. xi. 28.\n\n[1698] Et inde quidem beata, quia Verbi incarnandi ministra facta est;\nsed inde multo beatior quia ejusdem semper amandi custos manebat \u00e6terna.\nC. 40, in Luc.\n\n[1699] March. Diar. della Mad.\n\n[1700] Rev. l. 6, c. 11.\n\n[1701] Qui vos audit me audit; et qui vos spernit, me spernit. Luc. x. 16.\n\n[1702] Pro obedientia mea tantam potestatem obtinui, quod nullus tam\nimmundis peccator, si ad me cum emendatione proposito convertitur et cum\ncorde contrito, non habebit veniam.\n\n[1703] In patientia vestra possidebitis animas vestras. Luc. xxi. 19.\n\n[1704] Sicut rosa crescere solet inter spinas; ita h\u00e6c venerabilis Virgo\nin hoc mundo crevit inter tribulationes. Serm. Ang. c. 10.\n\n[1705] Maria facta est mater nostra, quos genuit filio compatiendo.\n\n[1706] Quid utilius ad vitam, vel majus ad gloriam, quam patientia?\n\n[1707] 2, 6.\n\n[1708] Jac. i. 4.\n\n[1709] Post h\u00e6c vidi turbam magnam ... et palm\u00e6 in manibus eorum. Apoc.\nvii. 9.\n\n[1710] Nos sine ferro martyres esse possumus, si patientiam custodiamus.\n\n[1711] Momentaneum, et leve tribulationis nostr\u00e6 ... \u00e6ternum glori\u00e6\npondus operatur in nobis. 2 Cor. iv. 17.\n\n[1712] Luc. xviii. 1.\n\n[1713] Maria exemplum dedit quod oportet sequi, et non deficere. Spec. c.\n4.\n\n[1714] Sup. Miss. 80.\n\n[1715] Surgebam semper in noctis medio et pergebam ante altare templi, et\nibi petitiones meas pr\u00e6sentabam. V. Ap. S. Bon. de Vit. Chr. c. 3.\n\n[1716] Loca dominic\u00e6 nativitatis, passionis, sepultur\u00e6 frequenter\nvisitabat.\n\n[1717] Nulla unquam inordinata affectio, nec distractio mentem Virginis\na contemplationis lumine revocavit nec occupatio ulla exterior. De Laud.\nVirg. l. 2, art. 8.\n\n[1718] Ecce Virgo concipiet, et pariet filium, et vocabitur nomen ejus\nEmmanuel. C. vii. 1.\n\n[1719] Merito solitudinis quam ipsa summe diligebat. L. 1, c. 6.\n\n[1720] Nunquam exibat e domo, nisi quando ibat ad templum; et tunc ibat\ntota composita, semper habens oculos suos ad terram. Serm. in Virg. Nat.\n\n[1721] In proposito erat hominum fugere frequentias, vitare colloquia.\n\n[1722] Cant. i. 9.\n\n[1723] Turtur est solivaga, et signat mentis virtutem unitivam. Ap. S.\nBon. Dist. 7.\n\n[1724] Cant. iii. 6.\n\n[1725] ii. 14.\n\n[1726] O solitudo, in qua Deus cum suis familiariter loquitur, et\nconversatur!\n\n[1727] Silentium, et a strepitu quies cogit c\u0153lestia meditari.\n\n[1728] Transite ad me omnes qui concupiscitis me, et a generationibus\nmeis implemini. Eccli. xxiv. 26.\n\n[1729] Nec primam similem visa est, nec habere sequentem. Sola sine\nexemplo placuisti f\u0153mina Christo. Sedulius.\n\n[1730] Cum sit magnificentissima, solet maxima pro minimis reddere. Or.\n2, de Dorm. Virg.\n\n[1731] Opusc. c. 23.\n\n[1732] Ep. 129.\n\n[1733] Qui tenuerit Mariam perseveranter, hic beatus erit in spe, quia\nomnia optata ei succedent. L. 2, p. 48.\n\n[1734] Salutate eam angelica salutatione, quia vocem hanc audit valde\nlibenter. Serm. 31, ad Nov.\n\n[1735] March. 20, Aug.\n\n[1736] Libenter nos salutat cum gratia, si libenter salutamus cum Ave\nMaria. Auriem. Aff. Scam. tom. 1, c. 6.\n\n[1737] Si quis veniat ad matrem Domini dicens, Ave Maria, numquid poterit\nei gratiam denegare?\n\n[1738] Serm. 1, ad Nov.\n\n[1739] To. 2, tr. 6, prat. 2.\n\n[1740] Loc. cit.\n\n[1741] Ap. Viva. de Ind. s. ult.\n\n[1742] Loc. cit.\n\n[1743] Ap. Maracci. p. 25.\n\n[1744] To. 2, tr. 6, prat. 6.\n\n[1745] Venite, comedite panem meum, et bibite vinum quod miscui vobis.\n\n[1746] At the end of the book will be found two formulas of this\ndedication; one for a single person, and the other for a family.\n\n[1747] To. 1, c. 8.\n\n[1748] Per illud triste Sabbatum stetit in fide, propterea aptissime S.\nEcclesia diem Sabbati per totum anni circulum celebrare consuevit. L. 2,\nde Pass.\n\n[1749] Ap. Auriem. l. c.\n\n[1750] No. 75.\n\n[1751] To. 2, tr. 6, p. 4.\n\n[1752] In Marc. c. 5, n. 10.\n\n[1753] Accipe, fili dilectissime, hoc tui ordinis scapulare, me\u00e6\nconfraternitatis signum, tibi et cunctis Carmelitis privilegium; in quo\nquis moriens \u00e6ternum non patietur incendium. Ap. Lez. l. cit.\n\n[1754] C. 8, s. 2.\n\n[1755] Confessor pro viribus suadebit, ut alicui societati p\u0153nitentes\nadscribantur. Act. Med. to. 1, c. 6, 58.\n\n[1756] Turris David, mille clypei pendent ex ea, omnis armatura fortium.\nCant. iv. 4.\n\n[1757] Memorare novissima tua, et in \u00e6ternum non peccabis. Eccli. vii. 40.\n\n[1758] Desolatione desolata est omnis terra, quia nullus est qui\nrecogitet corde. Jer. xii. 11.\n\n[1759] Joan. x. 27.\n\n[1760] Joan. xvi. 24.\n\n[1761] Si duo ex vobis consenserint super terram, de omni re, quamcumque\npetierint, fiet illis a Patre meo. Matth. xviii. 19.\n\n[1762] Multi minimi, dum congregantur unanimes, fiunt magni; et multorum\npreces impossibile est non audiri.\n\n[1763] Tamquam antidotum quo liberemur a culpis quotidianis, et a\npeccatis mortalibus pr\u00e6servemur. Sess. 13, c. 2.\n\n[1764] Sap. vii. 11.\n\n[1765] Ap. Sarn. d. Congr. p. 1.\n\n[1766] Prov. xxxi. 21.\n\n[1767] To. 2, c. 4.\n\n[1768] To 2, pr. 5.\n\n[1769] Ap. P. Pepe. to. 5, Lez. 235, in fin.\n\n[1770] Hic est filius meus Eberardus, qui nihil mihi unquam negavit.\n\n[1771] P. Auriem. to. 1, c. 12.\n\n[1772] Sess. 22, c. 3.\n\n[1773] Ut illis proficiat ad honorem, nobis autem ad salutem.\n\n[1774] 1 Barry, Pa. Ap.\n\n[1775] Append. Indulg. in calce Trut. s. ult.\n\n[1776] Serm. 61.\n\n[1777] Domina dic pro nobis filio tuo, vinum non habent. Calix hujus vini\ninebrians quam pr\u00e6clarus est! Inebriat amor Dei ad contemptum mundi;\ncalefacit, facit fortes, somnolentes ad temporalia, et ad invisibilia\npromptos. S. Bern. aut quisquis est auctor in Salv. Reg. Serm. 4.\n\n[1778] Tu es ager plenus, plena virtutum, plena gratiarum. Tu processisti\nut aurora lucida, et rubicunda; quia superatis originalibus peccatis in\nutero matris, nata es lucida cognitione veritatis, et rubicunda amore\nvirtutis; nihil omnino inimicus proficit in te, eo quod mille clypei\npependerunt ex te, omnis armatura fortium; nihil est enim virtutis quod\nex te non resplendeat, et quicquid singuli habuere sancti, tu sola\npossedisti. Ibid.\n\n[1779] O Domina nostra, mediatrix nostra, advocata nostra, tu filio\nnos commenda. Fac, o benedicta, per gratiam quam meruisti, ut qui, te\nmediante, dignatus est fieri particeps nostr\u00e6 infirmitatis et miseri\u00e6, te\nquoque intercedente, participes nos faciat beatitudinis et glori\u00e6 su\u00e6.\nIbid.\n\n[1780] To. 2, tr. 6, prat. 20.\n\n[1781] L. 3, de Deip. c. 18.\n\n[1782] Annal. Soc. 1650, Ap. Auriem. Aff. Scamb. t. 3, c. 7.\n\n[1783] Ann. Marian. 1505.\n\n[1784] Bonif. Hist. Virg. c. 6.\n\n[1785] In Vit. p. Aut. de Collel. c. 32, s. 5.\n\n[1786] Paciucch. in Sal. Ang. Exc. 4, No. 10.\n\n[1787] Bonif. l. 4, c. 4, ex. B. Alan. etc.\n\n[1788] Diotall. to. 2, Dom. 2, Quinquag.\n\n[1789] Ap. Auriem. to. 2, c. 11.\n\n[1790] Cartag. to. 4, l. ult. s. 114. Let any one who wishes for other\nexamples of the power of the Rosary, read those at the end of the first\nvol. of the above-mentioned work, pages 68, 92, 133, 262, 302.\n\n[1791] Theoph. Rayu. de S. Lacr. c. 15.\n\n[1792] Cantiprat. l. 3, c. 19, p. 18.\n\n[1793] Bovio esempio di. S. S. Verg. to. 3, Es. 9.\n\n[1794] Ann. Marian. 1618.\n\n[1795] Appr. Auriem. to. 1, c. 7.\n\n[1796] Bovio. to. 5, Es. 7.\n\n[1797] Cesar. l. 3, c. 33.\n\n[1798] Spec. Ex. B. num. 69. et Crass, to. 2, tr. 6, pr. I.\n\n[1799] Bolland. 15, Maji.\n\n[1800] Ap. Crass. to. 2, tr. 6, p. 1.\n\n[1801] Tesoro del Rosar. l. 4, Mir. 17, Diotall. to. 1, Agg. Es. 7.\n\n[1802] Crass. to. 2, tr. 6, pr. 14.\n\n[1803] Crass. loc. cit.\n\n[1804] Ann. Cisterc. an. 1151, c. 5, et Bov. to. 5, Es. 6.\n\n[1805] V. P. Aur. to. 2, ex. c. 4.\n\n[1806] Auriem. to. 2, c. 6.\n\n[1807] Aur. c. 5.\n\n[1808] Ann. Congr. an. 1598.\n\n[1809] Lecnero. Sodal. Parth. l. 3, c. 3.\n\n[1810] Ann. Soc. 1550.\n\n[1811] Auriem, to. 2, c. 7.\n\n[1812] Ibid.\n\n[1813] Ann. Marian. 19 Jul.\n\n[1814] Barri. Par. ap. c. 2.\n\n[1815] Patr. Menol. 18 Settembre.\n\n[1816] Andrado del Battes. di. n. Don. e il. P. Rho. Sab. Es. 71.\n\n[1817] An. Soc. ap. Auriem. to. 2, c. 1.\n\n[1818] Chronic. Cisterc.\n\n[1819] Chron. Min. 104, l. 5, c. 25.\n\n[1820] Chron. Dul. to. 1, del Labbeo. e il P. Rho. es. 27.\n\n[1821] P. Andrad. l. 2. Imit. della. V. c. 23.\n\n[1822] P. Rho. Sab. Es. 42.\n\n[1823] P. Sinisc. Mart. di Mar. Cons. 38.\n\n[1824] In Vita. B. Bern. Tolom.\n\n[1825] Spec. Ex. V. B. Maria, Ex. 10.\n\n[1826] Giac. di Vorag. in Fest. Ass. et Spec. Ex. 31.\n\n[1827] Patrign. Men. 8 lug.\n\n[1828] Eus. Nier. Troph. Mar. l. 2, c. 14.\n\n[1829] Job. Clictov. in Serm. Conc.\n\n[1830] Spec. Ex. verb. Laborare. Ex. 7.\n\n[1831] S. Ans. in ep. ap. Auriem. to. 1, c. 8.\n\n[1832] Prato. Fior. l. 3, Es. 105.\n\n[1833] Andr. nel suo Itin. Grad. 7, ap. Bov. to. 4, Esemp. 5.\n\n[1834] C\u00e6sarius. l. 7, Dial. c. 24.\n\n[1835] Sigon de Reb. It. ap. Diotall. to. 2, in fin. Ex. 4.\n\n[1836] Discep. Promt. Ex. 83.\n\n[1837] P. Allozza. Ciel. Stell. di Mar. l. 3, c. 5, Es. 60.\n\n[1838] Chron. Ord. ap. Aur. to. 2, c. 6.\n\n[1839] Aur. to. 2, c. 6.\n\n[1840] Ann. Min. ap. Aur. to. 1, c. 4.\n\n[1841] P. Rho. Sab. della B. l. Es. 75.\n\n[1842] St. Greg. l. 4, Dial. c. 17.\n\n[1843] Jos. Mar. Barchius, in Vita.\n\n[1844] Spec. Ex. verb. B. Virg. Ex. 3.\n\n[1845] Chron. Verdun. ap. P. Rho.\n\n[1846] Cantip. l. 2, c. 29, p. 6.\n\n[1847] S. Gregor. Dial. l. 1, c. 9.\n\n[1848] An. Soc. 1656, ap. Aur. to. 2, c. 6.\n\n[1849] P. Sinisc. Mart. di Mar. Cons. 15.\n\n[1850] In Vita.\n\n[1851] Cantiprat. l. Apum. ap. Sin. Cons. 9.\n\n[1852] P. Tausc. de SS. Mar. del. l. 2, c. 26.\n\n[1853] Ann. Ord. Serv. Cen. 2, l. 4, c. 13.\n\n[1854] In Vita et ap. Bov. to. 4, Ex. 36.\n\n[1855] P. Recup. de Sign. Fruct. Sign. 12.\n\n[1856] Rossign. Pieta Osseg.\n\n[1857] In Vita.\n\n[1858] Franc. Lelli in Vita.\n\n[1859] Menol. Cist. ai Santi d\u2019Agosto.\n\n[1860] Surius die 22, Aprilis.\n\n[1861] Mater pete quod vis a me; non enim potest esse inanis petitio tua.\nTu nihil mihi negasti in terris; ego nihil tibi negabo in c\u0153lis.\n\n[1862] Omnia dona et grati\u00e6 quibus vult, quando vult, et quomodo vult per\nipsius manus dispensantur.\n\n[1863] Mecum sunt diviti\u00e6 ut ditem diligentes me. Prov. viii. 18, 21.\n\n[1864] Tanta erat Mari\u00e6 gratia, ut si quis inviseret, integritatis\ninsigne donum conferret.\n\n[1865] Cant. ii. 2.\n\n[1866] Cant. iv. 7.\n\n[1867] Ex quo facta sum coram eo quasi pacem reperiens.\n\n[1868] Cant. iv. 1.\n\n[1869] Cant. vi. 8.\n\n[1870] Tanta est perfectio Virginis, ut soli Deo cognoscenda reservetur.\n\n[1871] Tuam enim gloriam Creator existimat esse propriam.\n\n[1872] Qui elucidant me vitam \u00e6ternam habebunt. Offic. in Concep. B. Virg.\n\n[1873] Honorantes eam in hoc s\u00e6culo, honorabit in futuro.\n\n[1874] Accedis non rogans, sed imperans; nam filius nihil negans, honorat.\n\n[1875] Sileat misericordiam tuam, si quis te invocatam meminerit defuisse.\n\n[1876] In te, Domina, peccant non solum qui tibi injuriam irrogant, sed\netiam qui te non rogant.\n\n[1877] Beatus homo qui audit me et vigilat ad fores meas quotidie. Prov.\nviii. 34.\n\n[1878] Qui operantur in me non peccabunt, ... qui elucidat me vitam\n\u00e6ternam habebunt. Eccli. xxiv. 30, 31.\n\n[1879] In me gratia omnis vi\u00e6 et veritatis; in me omnis spes vit\u00e6 et\nvirtutis ... transite ad me omnes. Eccli. xxiv. 25, 26.\n\n[1880] vi. 31.\n\n[1881] Quare vincula? Nisi quia serves suos ligat, ne discurrant per\ncampos licenti\u00e6.\n\n[1882] Nativitas tua sancta Dei genitrix gaudium annunciavit universo\nmundo.\n\n[1883] Redempturus humanum genus universum pretium contulit in Maria, ut,\nsi quid salutis in nobis est, ab illa noverimus redundare.\n\n[1884] Quinimmo beati qui audiunt verbum Dei, et custodiunt illud! Luc.\nxi. 28.\n\n[1885] Et exultavit spiritus meus in Deo salutari meo.\n\n[1886] iv. 12.\n\n[1887] Rosa rubicunda per Dei et proximi charitatem; nam igneus color\ncharitatem denotat.\n\n[1888] Unam solam in c\u0153lis fatemur esse solicitam.\n\n[1889] Collum tuum sicut turris David; mille clypei pendent ex ea, omnis\narmatura fortium. Cant. iv. 4.\n\n[1890] Sicut Sion locus erat eminentissimus, sic B. Virgo altissima.\n\n[1891] Psal. lxxxvi. 2.\n\n[1892] Cant. vii. 4.\n\n[1893] Per Virginem a capite Christo vitales grati\u00e6 in ejus corpus\nmysticum transfunduntur.\n\n[1894] Sicut turris eburnea, Deo amabilis, diabolo terribilis.\n\n[1895] Nihil erat in templo quod non auro tegeretur; nihil erat in\nVirgine quod non sanctitate plenum esset.\n\n[1896] Prov. ix. 1.\n\n[1897] Domus Dei cujus tanta est abundantia, quod nostram potest replere\ninopiam.\n\n[1898] Nullus potest intrare in c\u0153lum, nisi per Mariam, tamquam per\nportam.\n\n[1899] In Missa. B. V.\n\n[1900] Sicut per stellam maris navigantes diriguntur ad portum, sic per\nMariam homines diriguntur ad c\u0153lum.\n\n[1901] Ne avertas oculos a fulgore hujus sideris, si non vis obrui\nprocellis.\n\n[1902] Ipsam sequens, non devias; ipsa protegente non metuis, ipsa\npropitia, pervenis.\n\n[1903] Qui invenerit me, inveniet vitam, et hauriet salutem a Domino.\nProv. viii. 35.\n\n[1904] Refugium tutissimum a qua nullus peccator despicitur. Omnes\npeccatores excipit, nec moram in hoc facit.\n\n[1905] Civitas refugii omnium ad eam confugientium.\n\n[1906] Peccatorem toti mundo despectum materno affectu complecteris, nec\ndeseris quousque miserum judici reconcilias.\n\n[1907] Quis post filium tuum curam gerit generis humani, sicut tu? Quis\nita nos defendit in nostris afflictionibus?\n\n[1908] Non reperitur aliquis sanctorum ita compati infirmitalibus\nnostris, sicut mulier h\u00e6c, B. Virgo Maria.\n\n[1909] Auxilium promptum et paratum christianorum, eripiens nos a\npericulis.\n\n[1910] Cant. vi. 3.\n\n[1911] Ave, gratia plena: Dominus tecum, benedicta tu in mulieribus. Luc.\ni. 28.\n\n[1912] Luc. i. 29.\n\n[1913] Ne timeas Maria, invenisti enim gratiam apud Deum.\n\n[1914] Ecce concipies in utero et paries filium et vocabis nomen ejus\nJesum.\n\n[1915] Ecce ancilla Domini fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum.\n\n[1916] i. 39.\n\n[1917] Benedicta tu in mulieres, et benedictus fructus ventris tui.\n\n[1918] Et unde hoc mihi, ut veniat mater Domini mei ad me?\n\n[1919] Ut audivit salutationem Mari\u00e6 Elisabeth, exultavit infans in utero\nejus, et repleta est spiritu sancto Elisabeth. Luc. i. 41.\n\n[1920] Exaltata est sancta Dei genitrix super choros angelorum ad\nc\u0153lestia regna.\n\n[1921] Qu\u00e6 est ista qu\u00e6 progreditur quasi aurora consurgens? Cant. vi. 9.\n\n[1922] Nativitas tua, Dei genitrix virgo, gaudium annuntiavit universo\nmundo, ex te enim ortus est sol justiti\u00e6, qui donavit nobis vitam\nsempiternam.\n\n[1923] Plenus aqu\u00e6ductus, ut accipiant ceteri de ejus plenitudine.\n\n[1924] Colos. i. 15.\n\n[1925] Prov. viii. 22.\n\n[1926] Sinisc. in. fin. prat. 3, p. 8.\n\n[1927] App. Crass, tom. 2, sec. 4.\n\n[1928] Ex offic. pr\u00e6d. et Diar. 7, mart.\n\n[1929] Blosius or. ad B. V.\n\n[1930] S. Bern. aut quisq. est auctor sup. Salv. Reg. Serm. 2.\n\n[1931] Loc. cit. Serm. 3.\n\n[1932] In Salv. Reg. S. Bon. Stim. c. 19, p. 3.\n\n[1933] Loc. cit.\n\n[1934] Sup. Salv. Reg.\n\n\n\n\nINDEX.\n\n\n APPELLATIONS OF MARY\u2014\n Queen of mercy, 27\n Compassionate mother, 45\n Loving mother, 51\n Our life, 80\n Breath of Christians, 83\n Terror of Hell, 104\n Our hope, 115\n Magnet of hearts, 233\n Debtor to sinners, 234\n Throne of divine mercy, 248\n Ladder and vehicle to Heaven, 278\n Throne of grace, 300\n Celestial vessel, 347\n Inclosed garden, 358\n Channel of mercies, 388\n Treasurer of graces, 437\n Numerous, of Mary, 439\n Dispensatrix of graces, 440\n Finder of grace, 442\n\n DEDICATION of one\u2019s self to Mary, 778\n of a family to Mary, 779\n\n EXAMPLE\u2014\n Of the mercy of Mary towards a great sinner, 36\n William Elphinstone, converted from heresy, 48\n How Mary rewards the love of a poor shepherdess, 64\n Compassion of Mary towards penitent sinners, 76\n Helen, a sinner, converted by the devotion of the Rosary, 87\n Mary of Egypt, 98\n How Mary consoled a poor woman in death, 112\n How Mary rewarded a devoted servant, 123\n Mary the advocate of sinners, 139\n St. Francis de Sales and his devotion to Mary, 151\n Arnold, the canon, who invoked Mary in death, 165\n A youth rescued by Mary from the power of the devil, 182\n Theophilus also rescued by Mary, 196\n A criminal who received pardon on invoking Mary, 212\n Beatrice of Fontebraldo, 224\n Benedetta of Florence, 237\n Daily devotion to Mary saves a certain sinner, 251\n Two students of Flanders, 264\n Alexander of Aragona, 273\n A Cistercian to whom Mary appeared, 287\n Mary\u2014mercy rather than justice, 301\n A girl rescued from the devil by one letter of the name of Mary,\n 318\n A man converted by a picture of Mary the Immaculate, 368\n The judgment of our Lord against Udo, bishop, 389\n Appearance of infant Jesus to a nun, 407\n A youth rescued from sin by devotion to Mary, 432\n Two religious rescued by Mary in a wood, 453\n An abandoned sinner saved by the Scapular, 471\n The death of St. Stanislas Kostka, 492\n One who lost his sight by a vision of Mary, 512\n A sinner saved by pity for the Dolors of Mary, 534\n A sinner saved by a vision of the swords of Mary\u2019s sorrow, 544\n A nun who had a vision of the flight of Jesus, 551\n A sinner saved by a vision of the sword of sorrow, 559\n Revelation of Jesus to Diomira, a nun, 566\n A youth rescued from the devil by the Scapular, 575\n A sinner saved by a sermon on the mercy of God, 584\n A person freed from scruples by devotion to the Dolors of Mary,\n 591\n\n Examples, various additional, 679\n\n JESUS, King of Justice, 28\n and Mary, invocation to, by St Bonaventure, 122\n and Mary, invocation of the names of, dispels demons, 163\n found only through Mary, 181\n a debtor to Mary, 200\n promises special graces to those devoted to the name of Mary, 314\n\n MARY, her regal title, 24\n queen of mercy, 27\n invocation to, by St. Gregory of Nicomedia, 33\n confidence in, 34\n recourse to, 35\n our mother, 39\n the joy she gives her children, 47\n her sacrifice of her Son, 54\n love of, on account of our redemption by Jesus, 56\n concern of, for the human race, 57\n love of, for those who love her, 58\n devotion of Leonard the Dominican to, 59\n examples of love to penitent sinners, 68\n invocation to, of penitent sinners, 75\n St. Andrew Avellino, example of her help in death, 103\n the sweetness of her servants in death, 107\n Adolphus, Count of Alsace, consoled in death by, 109\n our hope, as our intercessor, 116\n obtains all things for her servants, 120\n Christians encouraged to invoke her, 121\n hope and refuge of sinners, 128\n invocation of St. Bernard to, 136\n hope of the despairing, 138\n readiness of, to aid her servants, 143\n readiness of, to aid sinners, 146\n anticipates the prayers of her servants, 147\n the marriage of Cana a proof of her readiness, 148\n the dispenser of favors, rather than Jesus, 149\n her power over evil spirits, 159\n invocation of the name of, powerful at death, 163\n the channel of all graces, 171\n invocation of, both useful and necessary, 180\n called by the Church, \u201cOur hope\u201d, 194\n the maternal authority of, with God, 201\n the miracle at Cana, a proof of the influence of, 205\n the wishes of, always granted by her Son, 207\n prayers of, always heard, 209\n glories in the title of advocate of sinners, 218\n reasons for confidence in, 221\n invocation to, as mother of our Judge, 236\n narration of two sinners saved by devotion to her, 245\n all things to all men, 246\n offended by those who do not invoke her, 247\n a faithful servant of, cannot be lost, 254\n hateful to the devil, 258\n souls devoted to, hateful to the devil, 260\n obtains restoration of certain sinners to life, 262\n servants of, secure of paradise, 280\n devotion to, a sign of salvation, 285\n protection of, refuge in danger, 286\n mercy of unceasing, 294\n full of grace and mercy, 298\n protection of, very powerful, 299\n worthy mother of the Saviour, 349\n redeemed by the Holy Spirit at her conception, 355\n greatly beloved by the Holy Spirit, 359\n certainly free from original sin, 361\n the Feast of her Immaculate Conception, 366\n born a saint, 371\n creation of her soul, greatest work of God, 372\n her graces surpass those of saints and angels united, 373\n her graces proportioned to her dignity, 374\n nature of her grace explained, 375\n prophecy of David applied to, 377\n prophecy of Isaias applied to, 378\n as mediatrix, must be sanctified from her birth, 379\n had use of reason at the first moment of her existence, 384\n used all her graces in the service of God, 385\n her increase in grace, 386\n offering of herself in the temple, 393\n promptness of her offering, 394\n quits her parents to serve God in the temple, 396\n journey of, to Jerusalem, 397\n completeness of her devotion to God, 399\n holy life of, in the temple, 401\n details of her life in the temple, 402\n supplications of, in the temple, 405\n the delight of God, 406\n exaltation of, as mother of God, 410\n humility of, draws the Word from Heaven, 412\n disturbed by the praises of the Angel, 413\n unsuspicious of the dignity awaiting her, 414\n humility of, in her answer to the Angel, 416\n privileges of, increase her humility, 418\n especially beloved of God for her humility, 419\n her close union with God, 424\n nature of the union of God with her, 425\n nature of her dignity, 427\n graces bestowed on, in consequence of her dignity, 429\n superior to all creatures, 431\n visit of, brought grace to Elizabeth and John, 438\n grace easily found through her, 445\n vision of, to sister Villani, 446\n charity of, in her visit to Elizabeth, 447\n certainty of procuring grace through her, 452\n her offering of her Son in the temple, 458\n by this offering consents to his death, 460\n understands the prophecies of this sacrifice, 461\n firmness of, in this sacrifice, 463\n cost to, of this sacrifice, 466\n mother of the redeemed by her sufferings, 469\n through her only we receive our Lord, 470\n death of, 475\n death of happy because she was detached from the world, 477\n death of happy from peace of conscience, 478\n death of happy from certainty of salvation, 480\n circumstances of, after the death of her Son, 482\n death of, announced to her by St. Gabriel, 484\n takes leave of the apostles and disciples, 486\n directions of, to the apostles and St. John, 487\n death of, described, 490\n assumption of, a season of rejoicing, 496\n Jesus comes to take her to Heaven, 499\n entrance of, into Heaven, 501\n glory of, in Heaven, 505\n martyrdom of, 516\n length of her martyrdom, 517\n greatness of her martyrdom, 522\n unlike other martyrs, suffered without alleviation, 526\n suffered in proportion to her love of Jesus, 529\n graces promised to those devoted to her dolors, 534\n\n MEDITATIONS\u2014\n For the Feast of Purification, 749\n For the Feast of the Annunciation, 751\n For the Feast of the Visitation, 753\n For the Feast of the Assumption, 755\n For the Feast of the Nativity of Mary, 757\n For the Feast of the Presentation of Mary, 759\n For the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, 761\n\n NAME OF MARY\u2014\n divine, 305\n sweet in life, 306\n rich in blessings, 307\n enkindles love, 308\n consoles the afflicted, 310\n terrifies devils, 311\n attracts the Angels, 312\n gives strength, 313\n sweet in death, 315\n invocation to the, 317\n\n NOVENA OF MEDITATIONS TO PRECEDE THE FEAST OF THE PURIFICATION OF\n MARY.\n 1st day\u2014\u201cHoly Mary, pray for us\u201d, 727\n 2d day\u2014\u201cMother of divine grace\u201d, 729\n 3d day\u2014\u201cAmiable mother\u201d, 732\n 4th day\u2014\u201cVirgin to be praised\u201d, 734\n 5th day\u2014\u201cVirgin most faithful\u201d, 737\n 6th day\u2014\u201cMystical rose\u201d, 740\n 7th day\u2014\u201cHouse of gold\u201d, 742\n 8th day\u2014\u201cMorning star\u201d, 744\n\n OFFICES OF MARY\u2014\n Mother of sinners, 68\n Finder of grace, 82\n Securer of pardon, 86\n Giver of perseverance, 90\n Giver of strength, 91\n Protector in temptations, 96\n Helper of dying Christians, 101\n Receiver of her servants at death, 106\n Consoler of the penitent at death, 110\n The destroyer of the serpent, 155\n Mediatrix of salvation, 169\n Sharer in the work of our salvation, 185\n Mediatrix of saints with God, 192\n A loving advocate, 215\n An earnest advocate, 219\n A wise and prudent advocate, 220\n Our peacemaker, 228\n The arbitress, 235\n Saves those for whom she prays, 263\n Helper of souls in purgatory, 267\n Deliverer of souls in purgatory, 270\n Deliverer of those who wear the Scapular, 272\n Guide of souls to paradise, 277\n Our intercessor, 281\n Help of the miserable, 294\n\n PRACTICES OF DEVOTION TO MARY\u2014\n 1st\u2014Of the Hail Mary, 646\n 2d\u2014Of Novenas, 650\n 3d\u2014Of the Rosary and Office, 653\n 4th\u2014Of Fasting, 655\n 5th\u2014Of visiting the images of Mary, 657\n 6th\u2014Of the scapular, 659\n 7th\u2014Of entering her Confraternities, 662\n 8th\u2014Of alms in her honor, 668\n 9th\u2014Of frequent recourse to her, 669\n Various united, 670\n\n PRAYER TO MARY as queen of Heaven, 36\n as our mother, 49\n as the ravisher of hearts, 66\n of a penitent sinner to Mary, 78\n to Mary, the refuge of sinners, 88\n to Mary, for protection against temptation, 100\n to Mary, for help in death, 112\n to Mary, our intercessor, 126\n to Mary, our refuge, 140\n of consecration to Mary, 153\n invoking the aid of, against evil spirits, 166\n of thanksgiving to Mary, 184\n imploring help to amend, 198\n invoking the influence of Mary with God, 214\n imploring forgiveness for ingratitude, 225\n to Mary, our mediatrix, 239\n to Mary, whose eyes are always on her servants, 241\n pity of, increased in Heaven, 244\n to obtain sorrow for sin and amendment, 252\n thanksgiving to Mary, 266\n for love to Mary, 274\n an offering of love to Mary, 289\n to Mary, as an example of the virtues, 303\n for devotion to the holy name of Mary, 320\n of St. Ephrem to Mary, 322\n of St. Bernard to Mary, 323\n of St. Germanus to Mary, 325\n of the Abbot of Celles to Mary, 326\n of St. Methodius, 327\n of St. John Damascene, 327\n of St. Andrew of Candia, 328\n\n PRAYER of St. Ildephonsus, 329\n St. Athanasius, 329\n St. Anselm, 330\n St. Peter Damian, 331\n St. William, Bishop of Paris, 332\n to Mary, to be said at the end of daily visit, 332\n to Mary Immaculate, 369\n to the infant Mary, 392\n to the child Mary, 409\n thanksgiving for the exaltation of Mary, 434\n to Mary as the dispensatrix of grace, 453\n to Mary, who sacrificed her Son, 474\n to Mary, on her entrance into Heaven, 495\n to Mary, glorified in Heaven, 513\n to Mary, queen of sorrows, 536\n to Mary, pierced by the sword of sorrow, 544\n for the intercession of Mary with Jesus persecuted, 551\n to Mary seeking her lost Son, 559\n to Mary, on her way to Calvary, 567\n to Mary, at the death of Jesus, 576\n to Mary, at the foot of the cross, 585\n to Mary, at the burial of Jesus, 591\n\n PRAYERS TO THE DIVINE MOTHER FOR EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK.\n For Pardon of sins\u2014Sunday, 764\n For Perseverance\u2014Monday, 765\n For a good death\u2014Tuesday, 766\n For deliverance from hell\u2014Wednesday, 767\n To obtain paradise\u2014Thursday, 768\n For love to Mary and Jesus\u2014Friday, 770\n For the patronage of Mary\u2014Saturday, 771\n\n Prayer of St. Ephrem to Mary, 780\n Thomas of Aquin, 781\n Blosius to the Virgin, 781\n\n REASONS why Mary should be created sinless, 337\n She was the first-born daughter of God, 338\n She was to be the mediatrix of peace, 339\n She was to crush the serpent, 340\n She was to be mother of the Son of God, 341\n A sinless mother was befitting the Son, 345\n She was to be a worthy mother, 350\n She was to be the habitation of the Lord, 352\n She was to be a respected mother, 354\n A sinless spouse was befitting the Holy Spirit, 357\n\n REFLECTIONS ON THE DOLORS OF MARY\u2014\n St. Simeon\u2019s prophecy, 537\n The flight into Egypt, 545\n The loss of Jesus in the temple, 552\n The meeting of Mary with Jesus when he went to death, 560\n The death of Jesus, 568\n The piercing the side of Jesus, 577\n The burial of Jesus, 585\n\n Rosary, Little, of the Dolors of Mary, 773\n indulgences attached to, 777\n of the immaculate Mary, 778\n\n TYPES OF MARY\u2014\n Esther, 29\n Abigail, 55\n Aurora, 84\n The plane-tree, 133\n Rebecca, 134\n Noe\u2019s Ark, 135\n Ruth, 136\n The palm-tree, 157\n The Ark, 159\n The pillar of cloud and of fire, 162\n Joseph, 189\n Abraham, 220\n Noe\u2019s dove, 229\n The rainbow in the Apocalypse, 230\n The olive-tree, 291\n Rebecca, 295\n\n VIRTUES OF MARY, 592\n Her humility, 594\n charity towards God, 603\n charity towards her neighbor, 611\n faith, 615\n hope, 620\n chastity, 623\n poverty, 629\n obedience, 632\n patience, 636\n prayer, 639","title":"The glories of Mary","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":210296}