A Novena to Our Lady (Meditations)

I

THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION (DEC. 8).

OUR LADY OF LOURDES

1st Prelude.—Behold our Blessed Lady as she appeared at Lourdes, in a vesture of white, girt with a cincture of azure, her hands joined in prayer, her eyes raised to heaven, a rosary hanging by her side, exquisitely modest and beautiful in appearance. To little Bernadette’s anxious inquiry, “O Lady, tell me who you are?” she replies, “I am the Immaculate Conception.”

2nd Prel.—Ask grace to understand the significance of this apparition of Our Lady of Lourdes, and to learn the lesson it teaches.

N.B.—The statues and pictures of Our Lady of Lourdes are doubtless familiar to all. The 1st Prelude given above is meant to describe them. This meditation is founded on the famous “Apparition of Lourdes.”

1st Point.—Mary Immaculate clad in a vesture of white, girt with a cincture of azure.

2nd Point.—Mary Immaculate with her hands joined in prayer, a Rosary hanging by her side.

3rd Point.—Mary Immaculate exquisitely modest and beautiful, her eyes raised to heaven.

1ST POINT.—Mary Immaculate, clad in a vesture of white, girt with a cincture of azure.

Consideration.—Mary is represented clad in white, because white is the emblem of innocence and purity of heart. Thus in the early ages adults recently baptised were dressed in white to signify the innocence of their souls fresh from the water of baptism. Mary, by virtue of her Immaculate Conception, was the purest and most innocent of the children of Adam. We are all of us conceived and born into this world with the stain of original sin on our souls, slaves of the devil, heirs to hell, enemies to God. By baptism we are released from this wretched bondage. But on the soul of Mary, exquisitely beautiful from the very earliest instant of her conception, the fatal stain of original sin never for a moment rested. (a) God cursed the serpent who tempted our first parents of old in the Garden of Eden, and He spoke these words to him: “I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed; she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel” (Gen. iii. 15). Mary was the “woman” mentioned in this passage, and God decreed that she who was to “crush the serpent’s head” should never herself have been in his power, even for a moment. (b) Again, at the Annunciation, the Angel Gabriel saluted her as “full of grace.” Had she been conceived like other human beings in original sin, and thus at any period of her existence been deprived of sanctifying grace, he could not in the strictest sense have called her “full of grace.” (c) Thou art all fair, O my love, and there is no spot in thee (Cant. iv. 7), are words which are applied by the Church to Mary to express the doctrine of her Immaculate Conception. The words “thou art all fair,” and “there is no spot in thee,” sufficiently indicate Mary’s absolute immunity from every shadow of sin, whether actual or original. (d) Furthermore, Tradition, as voiced by the Fathers of the Church, the Councils, and the Sovereign Pontiffs, bears overwhelming testimony to Mary’s Immaculate Conception.

2. Her girdle is blue. For blue is an emblem of joy, and Mary is “the Mother of holy joy.” Blue, too, is the colour of the firmament, and the blue of Mary’s mantle reminds us that her thoughts and aspirations ever soared aloft to heavenly things.

Application.—This consideration furnishes us with many useful lessons:—

(a) To cultivate innocence of heart if we would be pleasing to our Virgin Mother.

(b) That true and genuine joy and peace of mind are to be found in Mary’s service.

(c) That our thoughts and conversation should ever tend towards heaven.

Affections and Petitions. Mary, my Immaculate Mother and Queen! make my poor heart just a little less unlike to thine.

Resolutions in accordance with the thoughts suggested in the Application given above.

2ND POINT.—Mary Immaculate with her hands joined in prayer, a Rosary hangs at her side.

Consideration.—Mary appears with her hands joined in prayer to remind us that it is only by the assiduous practice of prayer that we can keep our souls ever clad in the pure white nuptial garment of sanctifying grace. Without prayer there can be no life for the soul. What the food we eat, or the air we breathe is to the body, that is prayer to the soul. Without prayer there can be no innocence of life, no holiness of heart, no freedom from sin. 2. And by the Rosary that hangs at her side Mary would doubtless remind us that the form of prayer she loves best is the Rosary.

Application.—Am I profoundly convinced of the importance of prayer? Do I pray frequently, reverently, devoutly? How do I say my morning and evening prayers? They are the daily spiritual food of my soul, as breakfast and dinner are my daily corporal food. Do I endeavour to practise mental prayer, by at least reading over each day the points of a meditation, and reflecting a little on each? Do I make use of ejaculatory prayer by brief fervent aspirations now and then during the day? 2. Do I weave my crown of roses each day to lay at Mary’s feet, by the devout recital of the Rosary? This practice of saying the Rosary daily (and it only takes at most ten minutes to do so) is of itself enough to secure the all-powerful protection of Mary, which is a pledge of eternal salvation. Nothing is more calculated to bring every sort of blessing and grace on a household than to assemble all its members each evening for the family Rosary.

Affections and Petitions.—My Immaculate Mother and Queen! obtain for me great love of prayer, and especially of your own beautiful and powerful prayer, the Rosary.

Resolutions.—1. To say my morning and evening prayers better in future. 2. Sometimes during the day to make short ejaculations, such as “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I give you my heart and my soul.” 3. To say the Rosary daily.

3RD POINT.—Mary Immaculate exquisitely modest and beautiful, her eyes raised to Heaven.

Consideration.—Christ is described by a writer of those early ages as “beautiful among the sons of men.” In comeliness of feature as in every other way, He was a perfect man. Children bear a likeness to their parents, but as Christ had no earthly father, He must have borne a physical resemblance to His Blessed Mother. Hence, we may safely assume, with Suarez, that Mary was extremely beautiful. The splendour of her soul within shone through the material vesture of the body, and gave to it a holiness and grace that are beyond conception. If Mary was such in the days of her earthly pilgrimage, what is she now when, assumed into everlasting bliss, she reigns as Queen of all the heavenly court? 2. Moreover, the attribute of Motherhood which she bears in our regard shines forth in all the exquisite tenderness of affection that beams from out those “eyes of mercy,” that she ever turns in all a mother’s love upon us. 3. Her eyes are raised to heaven to remind us that our true home is not on earth, but in heaven above.

Application.—How can we think of Mary’s unspeakable loveliness, and of her motherly tenderness for each of us without being filled with most unbounded confidence and love in her regard?

Affections and Petitions.—“Hail Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, hail! our life, our sweetness, and our hope,” etc. Repeat with deep affection the words, “Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us.”

Resolutions.—To say the “Hail Holy Queen” henceforth with the utmost confidence and love.

Spiritual reading.—“Imitation of Christ,” Book III., Chapter 49.

II

THE NATIVITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN (SEPT. 8)

1st Prel.—Behold a bright star shining down upon a stormy sea at night.

2nd Prel.—Grace to rejoice at the birth of Mary, and at the thought of all that her glorious name signifies in our regard.

1st Point.—The Nativity of Mary a source of joy and hope.

2nd Point.—The name of Mary a name of power and protection.

3rd Point.—The name of Mary is as “oil poured out.”

1ST POINT.—The Nativity of Mary a source of Joy and Hope.

Consideration.—We come now to meditate upon the Queen’s Birthday. The birthday of an earthly sovereign is a day of congratulation, joy, and hope for all his subjects. So, too, for us, the loyal subjects of the Queen of Heaven, her birthday is a day: 1st, of Joy—“Thy nativity, O Virgin Mother of God! has been a message of joy to the entire world,” is the exultant refrain of the Church in the Office of this day. And, again, it says: “Let us celebrate with joy the Nativity of the Virgin Mary.” For Mary is the Morning Star, Stella Matutina, that heralds forth the coming of the Sun of Justice. The sailor battling with the stormy sea throughout the long dark watches of the night, rejoices when he sees the pure sweet beauty of the morning star, the harbinger of coming day. So, likewise, poor human nature, tossed upon the sea of ignorance and sin, throughout the dark and dismal night of centuries that passed before the birth of Christ, rejoices, in the person of the Church, at the birth of Mary, as the signal of the Saviour’s birth. And, with the Angels, we rejoice as loving, loyal subjects, at the birth of our ever-glorious and Immaculate Queen, who, like the morning star, will lead us to the noonday splendours of the love and knowledge of her Son on earth, and to the participation of His everlasting bliss in heaven. 2nd. And Mary’s birthday is a day of hope. It reminds us that we have in heaven a Mother who is full of love and tenderest solicitude for the welfare of her children, and a Queen who is all-powerful to help us in our every need.

Application.—How do loyal subjects celebrate the birthday of their Queen? 1st. They present her with addresses and congratulations to signify their loyalty and love. So, too, shall we send up a prayer of loving gratitude and loyalty to Mary’s throne. 2nd. They promise fealty and personal devotion to her service; so likewise shall we do to Mary. 3rd. They are often the recipients of “birthday honours” from the Queen. We too may look to-day for many favours at the hands of Mary, Heaven’s Queen.

Affections and Petitions.—Protestations of love and loyalty to Mary, Queen of Heaven. Ask of her some special favours. “Cause of our Joy, pray for us.”

Resolutions.—To be henceforth a loyal subject of our Blessed Lady. To defend her honour. To avoid what might offend her.

2ND POINT.—The Name of Mary a Name of Power and Protection.

Consideration.—The Church, in its public ritual, links the Feast of the Holy Name of Mary with that of her Nativity, celebrating it, as a rule, within the octave of the Nativity. We may therefore reflect a moment on some thoughts suggested by the name of Mary. It is: 1st. A name of Power. The name Mary in Syriac means mistress, lady, sovereign, because Mary is the Sovereign Queen of Heaven and Earth. Hence, St. Bernard says that the Mother of God could not have received a name that better expresses her excellence, her greatness, and her dignity. 2nd. It is a name of Protection. For it also signifies “Star of the Sea.” St. Mary Magdalen of Pazzi had a vision once, in which she saw a stormy sea, with many vessels on it. Some were tossed hither and thither absolutely at the mercy of the waves, till finally they sank below the surface. Others struggled on with the utmost difficulty against the storm, expecting every moment to go down. One alone rode triumphant and uninjured through the stormy waves. At the helm stood an august Lady of commanding presence, who with one hand ruled the boisterous waters, and with the other guided the vessel safely and tranquilly amid the waves. And St. Mary Magdalen of Pazzi understood that this vessel represented the company of Mary’s devout children whom she herself directs to the harbour of eternal salvation.

Application.—Let us then, voyagers as we are over the stormy sea of life, keep our eyes ever fixed on Mary, the Star of the Sea. She is the Star of Power: when our enemies encompass us for our destruction, respice stellam, voca Mariam, “look on the star, call upon Mary.” She is the Star of Hope: when discouragement takes possession of us at the sight of our own sins and weakness, and utter infidelity to God, respice stellam, voca Mariam. She is the Star of Protection: when the soul is, so to speak, submerged in the floods of temptation or trial or sorrow, respice stellam, voca Mariam. She is the Star of Joy and Consolation: when sadness embitters the heart, respice stellam, voca Mariam.

Affections and Petitions.—Confidence. Gratitude. Love. Tender and childlike devotion to Mary, “the Star of the Sea.”

Resolutions.—In times of storm and stress to call upon the name of Mary.

3RD POINT.—The Name of Mary is as “oil poured out.”

Consideration.—“Oleum effusum nomen tuum, O Maria.” “Thy name, O Mary! is as oil poured out.” Oil has three great characteristic effects: it illumines, supports or strengthens, soothes. It supplies us, therefore, with light, food, and medicine. The Name of Mary, like the Name of Jesus, has a somewhat similar action with respect to souls. For 1st. When spoken of, it enlightens the soul; it dissipates the darkness caused by ignorance and sin, and pours into the soul a flood of light and grace and divine love. 2nd. When thought on, it strengthens the soul, ennobles it, and fortifies it in the way of God. 3rd. When invoked, it pours a soothing unction into the wounds that have been caused by sin, and cures our spiritual maladies.

Application.—Let us often praise the power and greatness of the Name of Mary: let us often think of it; above all let us invoke it often. Like the Name of Jesus it will be honey on the lips, and sweetness in the heart of those that love to repeat it often.

Affections and Petitions.—Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, sweetest objects of my love, for you may I live, for you may I die.

Resolutions.—To invoke the names of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph often, and with confidence and love.

Spiritual reading.—“Imitation of Christ,” Book III., Chapter 45.

III

THE ANNUNCIATION (MARCH 25) ¹

In the sixth month the Angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee called Nazareth, to a Virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph. . . . And the Angel being come in, said to her: “Hail full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women!” Who, having heard, was troubled at his saying. . . . And the Angel said to her: “Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God. Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call His Name Jesus.” . . . And Mary said to the Angel: “How shall this be done, because I know not man?” And the Angel answering, said to her: “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee.” . . . And Mary said: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to thy word.”—(Luke i., 26-38).

1st Prel.—Behold the Angel announcing to our Blessed Lady that she is to be the Mother of God.

2nd Prel.—Ask Mary to obtain for you an increase of faith, humility, and obedience.

In this Mystery of the Annunciation Mary affords us a sublime model in the exercise of three great virtues.

1st Point.—Mary a Model of Faith.

2nd Point.—Mary a Model of Humility.

3rd Point.—Mary a Model of Obedience.

1ST POINT.—Mary a Model of Faith.

Consideration.—1st. The fall of Eve was due to want of faith. God had specially commanded her not to eat of the forbidden tree. When the Devil tempted her, she urged God’s prohibition, to which the wicked spirit answered: “No, you shall not die the death. For God knoweth that in whatsoever day you shall eat thereof, your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as Gods, knowing good and evil.” (Gen., iii. 4-5.) Here Eve was offered the choice between believing God or the Devil. She believed the Devil rather than God’s word, and was guilty of a sin of unbelief. 2nd. Mary, on the other hand, gives us in this mystery a marvellous example of most lively faith. She was told by the Angel that she was to be the Mother of God. Yet, she had made a vow of perpetual virginity, and, in her perplexity, she asked, “How shall this be done?” (Luke i. 34). And when the Angel told her it would be accomplished by the power of the Most High, she yielded on the spot, trusting to the word of God, even in what to human seeming was impossible. In this she elicited a most wonderful and perfect act of faith.

Application.—1st. The Devil is still the father of lies. He persuades his victims, as he persuaded Eve of old, to disbelieve the word of God—in practice at any rate, if not in theory. Thus they adopt the maxims of the world. They lose sight of the enormity of sin. They forget the truths of faith. No one would ever be guilty of mortal sin if he had a really lively faith in the great truths of our religion. 2nd. Hence, if, as in Mary, these saving truths are deeply imprinted in our souls by prayer and meditation they will be our strong defence against the efforts of the Devil to destroy us.

Affections and Petitions.—O Jesus, through the merits of thy Blessed Mother, give me a lively faith in the eternal truths.

Resolutions.—To strengthen and enliven your faith in the eternal truths by frequently meditating on them. Sometimes make an act of faith in them.

2ND POINT.—Mary a Model of Humility.

Consideration.—1st. The fall of our first parents was also due to pride. “God knoweth,” said the Devil to Eve, “that in whatsoever day you shall eat thereof, your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as Gods, knowing good and evil.” These suggestions of the tempter kindled in the heart of Eve the spirit of pride. She should no longer be a mere creature, but even like to God Himself. And influenced by this desire, she hesitated not to violate the command of her Creator. 2nd. Compare with this the marvellous humility of Mary. The Angel tells her she is “full of grace,” and “blessed among women,” and she trembles at the words of praise. When told she is to be the Mother of God, so far from yielding to any sentiment of vanity, she answers by an act of the most profound humility, and says, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord.” “It was this profound humility,” says St. Alphonsus, “that drew the Son of God down from heaven into the virginal womb of Mary.”

Application.—1st. If we would avoid falling, like Eve, victims to the snares of Satan, we must be on our guard against the spirit of pride. He who yields to pride is on the brink of destruction, for “God resisteth the proud, but to the humble He giveth grace” (1 Pet. v. 5). 2nd. On the other hand, humility attracts the grace of God. “There is no better preparation than humility for obtaining heavenly gifts,” says St. Augustine.

Affections and Petitions.—O, most humble Virgin! teach me to be truly humble. What am I compared with thee, and yet I am so full of pride and vanity.

Resolutions.—To perform some act of humility to-day. See in what regard you most frequently sin against this virtue.

3RD POINT.—Mary a Model of Obedience.

Consideration.—It was no hard or painful order that was laid by God on Eve. She and her consort, Adam, were very happy in their earthly home. They had free use of all the fruits that grew in that garden of delight, save just of that one tree. Had they remained faithful in the easy, simple practice of obedience laid on them by God they would never have been driven forth from Paradise. How different would their lives and those of all their descendants have been! What endless misery and sorrow should we not all have escaped! 2nd. “The angel of darkness,” says Bossuet, “addresses Eve, and inspires her with the idea of rebellion: ‘Why hath God commanded you that you should not eat of every tree of Paradise?’ (Gen. iii. 1). The angel of light addressing Mary, suggests to her obedience: ‘Fear not, Mary. . . . Because no word shall be impossible with God’ (Luke i. 30 and 37). Eve believed the serpent; Mary believed the angel. ‘In this way,’ says Tertullian, ‘a pious faith blots out the fault of a rash credulity, and Mary repairs by her belief in God what Eve had ruined by believing the devil.’”

Application.—1st. Does not the spirit of disobedience often prompt us, as it prompted our first parents of old, to accept the slavery of the devil rather than the sweet yoke of Christ. This we do so often as we violate the Commandments of God or of His Church, or yield to the suggestions of the devil, the world, or the flesh. 2nd. If we would imitate our Blessed Lady we must promptly and unreservedly embrace the Will of God. Obedience to the Church, to our confessor, to our superiors, is the surest, safest, easiest road to everlasting happiness.

Affections and Petitions.—O Mary, great model of obedience! obtain for me conformity in all things to the Will of God. If I have the happiness to live under the safe guidance of obedience I will ask my Blessed Mother to enable me to cherish and value this happy privilege above all others. It will save me from innumerable dangers, and be to me the source of countless blessings.

Resolutions.—To endeavour to practise conformity in all things to the Will of God. To love obedience and subjection to the will of my superiors.

Spiritual reading.—“Imitation of Christ,” Book III., Chapter 51.

IV

THE VISITATION (JULY 2)

1st Prel.—Imagine the meeting between the Blessed Virgin and St. Elizabeth.

2nd Prel.—Ask grace to learn well the many lessons that Mary teaches in this Mystery.

The account of the visit of our Blessed Lady to her cousin St. Elizabeth is thus set forth in the Gospel of St. Luke (1, 39, seq.):—“And Mary rising up in those days went into the hill country with haste into a city of Juda. And she entered into the house of Zachary and saluted Elizabeth. And it came to pass that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary the infant leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost. And she cried out with a loud voice and said: ‘Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb . . .’ And Mary said: ‘My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.’”

1st Point.—Mary’s Journey.

2nd Point.—Mary salutes Elizabeth.

3rd Point.—Mary’s Words.

1ST POINT.—Mary’s Journey.

Consideration.—“And Mary rising up in those days went into the hill country with haste.” 1st. She rose up, i.e., from her little house of prayer, of peace, and of retirement; (b) at the call of duty, to perform an act of charity; (c) forgetting herself and all the trouble this visit entailed on her, thinking only how she could be of help to others. 2nd—“She went into the hill country,” i.e., up to the mountains. Mary’s journey was a laborious and fatiguing one, over a rugged country, probably undertaken on foot, and along roads or paths, if there were any such, that were of the roughest possible kind. Without pausing to consider any of these things, Mary put her trust in God, and at the call of charity undertook this dangerous and fatiguing journey. 3rd—She went “with haste,” intent on reaching the object of her expedition in the shortest possible time, without at the same time exposing herself to any unnecessary danger or distraction.

Application.—This journey of our Blessed Lady suggests some useful lessons: 1st—That in order to serve God we must rise up from sloth and tepidity, and be energetic in our work for Him; (b) moreover, we learn that to make our exterior work fruitful, and secure God’s blessing on it, we must go to it from prayer. Those who live the mixed life must pass from prayer to work and from work back to prayer; (c) and in external work for God they must not expose themselves unnecessarily to the danger of dissipation and worldliness, or of losing their interior spirit; (d) but at the same time, if they use the necessary precautions, God’s protecting Providence will shield them from the dangers attending the discharge of duty undertaken at the call of charity or of obedience. 2nd—We must be ever trying to ascend into the mountains—that is to say, to keep alive in our hearts, and exemplify in our lives, the desire for perfection, the striving after heavenly things that is the essential condition of our making progress in the way of God. 3rd—We must make haste, by being zealous for our sanctification, heaping up merits for eternity, utilizing every moment of a life that is all too short to give God all the glory and win for Him all the souls that we would fain secure for Him before the night of death comes on.

Affections and Petitions.—Glorious Virgin, Mother of God, help me to copy in some degree into my life the charity, self-sacrifice, and energy in serving God, of which thou hast given me so glorious an example in thy Visitation.

Resolutions.—In accordance with the thoughts suggested above.

2ND POINT.—Mary salutes Elizabeth.

Consideration.—We are told in the Gospel that “when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the infant leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost” (Luke i. 41). What a wonderful effect the presence of Mary has on those whom she deigns to visit and console! She fills them with joy and confidence in God. The Holy Ghost descends into the hearts of those she loves. Fervour and energy in serving God take the place of their natural tepidity and sloth. 2nd—She obtains for them the grace of sanctification as she did for John the Baptist, and fills them with a holy zeal to advance the interests of Jesus and promote His glory.

Application.—The Ven. Grignon de Montfort, in his beautiful and most devotional little work, The Secret of Mary, mentions various practices of devotion to Mary. Of these he tells us the most perfect “consists in giving ourselves up entirely to the Most Holy Virgin in the quality of slaves, in order to belong wholly to Jesus Christ; and in the next place to do all our actions with Mary, in Mary, by Mary, for Mary, in order to do them more perfectly with Jesus, in Jesus, by Jesus, and for Jesus our last end.” He then explains what he means by a slave. There is the slavery of nature he says, and the slavery of constraint, but he speaks of “the slavery of love and of the will; and it is in this sense that we ought to consecrate ourselves to God, by Mary, as being the most perfect way in which a creature can possibly join itself to its Creator.” “Happy,” he adds, “and a thousand times happy is that generous soul which consecrates itself entirely to Jesus by Mary as a slave of love, after having shaken off by baptism the tyrannical slavery of the devil!”

Affections and Petitions.—O Mary! here at thy feet I make an entire and absolute oblation of my whole being, both body and soul, to be the slave of thy Divine Son through thee for evermore.

Resolutions.—To consecrate yourself wholly, irrevocably, and unreservedly to Jesus through Mary.

3RD POINT.—Mary’s Words.

Consideration.—In the sublime words of the Magnificat, Mary, while proclaiming aloud the wonderful things that God has done for her, “He that is mighty hath done great things to me,” is equally emphatic in asserting that all she has received is the pure and gratuitous gift of God, and that she herself has nothing, and is nothing but what comes to her from Him.

Application.—True humility does not consist in denying the existence of the gifts that God has given us. Far from it. We should praise and glorify and thank the great, good God for all that He has done for us. We should use to the utmost the gifts and talents, be they few or many, that He has given us. What we must beware of is, of attributing to ourselves any of these things, or of fancying that we ourselves, apart from God, are anything. Humility is the profound conviction of our nothingness, and that all we are and all we have is God’s free gift, in which, apart from Him, we have no more right to glory than has the slave in the gold and precious jewels that he carries for his master’s use.

Affections and Petitions.—Mary, sublime model of humility! teach me to love and practise this great virtue. “Lord grant me to know Thee, and to know myself, that I may love Thee and hate myself.”—St. Augustine. Make an act of humility.

Resolutions.—To ask of Mary to obtain for you the gift of true humility. Examine yourself on this virtue.

Spiritual reading.—“Imitation of Christ,” Book I., Chapter 15.

V

THE PURIFICATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN (FEBRUARY 2)

1st Prel.—Behold Mary and Joseph bringing the Child Jesus to the Temple to present Him to His Eternal Father.

2nd Prel.—Ask grace to make an entire oblation of yourself to God.

1st Point.—The virtues Mary practised in her Purification.

2nd Point.—The offering Mary made to God.

3rd Point.—The three-fold offering we should make in imitation of her.

1ST POINT.—The Virtues Mary practised in her Purification.

Consideration.—“After the days of Mary’s Purification according to the law of Moses, were accomplished, they carried Jesus to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord” (Luke ii. 22). Mary went up to Jerusalem on this day in order to do two things: 1st, to fulfil the law of Purification; 2nd, to present the Child Jesus in the Temple. According to the law of Leviticus (Levit. xii. 2, sq.), a Jewish mother after the birth of her child, had to present herself at the Temple at the expiration of a given time, to undergo the rite of Purification. From this law our Blessed Lady was exempt, because the conditions under which it was imposed did not exist in her regard. Nevertheless, she conformed to the law like any ordinary mother, and in this she teaches us some useful lessons: 1st, Humility, by consenting to appear before the world as a sinful woman, hiding from the eyes of others the peerless sanctity that adorned her soul; 2nd, Obedience, by the zeal for the exact observance she showed in conforming to a law by which she was not strictly speaking bound; 3rd, Piety, by the fervour of her offering, by the recollection and prayerful devotion she manifested while assisting at the sacred ceremony; 4th, Purity of Heart—for she whose soul was already spotless as the driven snow, immaculate even from the earliest instant of its being, would fain, if possible, be rendered purer still by undergoing the rite of Purification in the Temple; 5th, Detachment from things of earth: she was very poor and her offering was the offering of the poor—a pair of turtle doves.

Application.—Unlike Mary, we are sinful creatures. Yet how differently do we act from her. How proud we are; how anxious to conceal our faults and shortcomings, and to manifest our talents and accomplishments to others; 2nd, how wanting in obedience, even to the laws and customs we are strictly bound by; 3rd, how cold and indevout in all our spiritual exercises; 4th, how little do we make of daily sins and faults that may destroy the lustre of our souls; 5th, how much we cling to things of earth, how much we value wealth and all it brings!

Affections and Petitions.—Mother undefiled! Mother most pure! help me, your poor erring child, to learn and to practise these virtues that I so much stand in need of.

Resolutions.—To try, with Mary’s help, to copy in some degree the virtues of which she gives me such a wonderful example in her Purification.

2ND POINT.—The Offering Mary made to God.

Consideration.—According to the law of Moses (Exod. xiii. 12), the first-born son among the Jews was offered up by his parents to God in the Temple. Thus Mary, on the day of her Purification, offered Jesus as a sacrifice to His Eternal Father. She gave to God the thing she valued most. What a supremely pleasing sacrifice this was to God! What graces it procured for Mary though it cost her dear! She saw, no doubt, with agonizing foresight that her offering was but the forerunner of the terrible sacrifice of Calvary, in which she herself should have so large a part, and in which her Son should offer Himself up a bleeding Victim to His Father for the sins of men.

Application.—When we visit the church, is it to offer up some sacrifice to God? 1st, Do we love to assist with faith and fervour at the holy sacrifice of mass? Do we offer Christ to His Eternal Father, if possible each day, at holy mass, as an infinite sacrifice of homage and of adoration, to pay off the endless debt of adoration that we owe to God; as a sacrifice of thanksgiving, whereby we can adequately thank God for all His gifts; as a sacrifice of satisfaction, to make a full atonement for our sins and those of others, and to help the souls in Purgatory; as a sacrifice of impetration, to secure God’s grace and blessing, and a plentiful bestowal of His gifts upon ourselves and those we love? 2nd, Do we make an offering of ourselves, and all we have and are to God, both body and soul, that by a free gift on our own part, we may belong to Him wholly, exclusively, irrevocably, in time and in eternity.

Affections and Petitions.—My Queen and my Mother, Mary Immaculate!—by the offering you made of your Divine Son, enable me to make an unreserved oblation of myself to God, that He may do with me in all things as He pleases. Help me, too, to assist frequently and with devotion at the sacrifice of mass, and to derive great fruit from being present at it.

Resolutions.—1st, To hear mass as frequently and as devoutly as I can. 2nd, To make a frequent offering of myself to God and to His Blessed Mother Mary.

3RD POINT.—The threefold Offering we should make in imitation of our Mother Mary.

Consideration.—In imitation of our Mother Mary, we should make a threefold offering. 1st, We should offer to God the morning of life. Parents should teach their children to consecrate to God their earliest years. “Hast thou children? Instruct them and bow down their necks from their childhood” (Eccles. vii. 25). These opening years of youthful innocence are very pleasing to God. If spent in holiness and piety their influence will be felt throughout the rest of life. The boy is father to the man. Let children take the young saints, Stanislaus, Aloysius, and John Berchmans, as their models, read their lives, and be devout to them. Still more, let them learn devotion to the Sacred Heart and to our Blessed Lady. 2nd. We should offer to God the first fruits of the day, by making, the first thing on wakening, our morning offering to the Sacred Heart of all the thoughts, words, actions, sufferings of the day. We should begin the day with morning prayer and meditation, and if possible by hearing Mass. 3rd. We should offer to God our ordinary actions. “Whether you eat or drink, or whatsoever else you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor. x. 31). Purity of intention makes our smallest actions meritorious in the eyes of God.

Application.—I will examine my practice in respect of these three exercises. They will almost be sufficient, of themselves, to sanctify my life. They will certainly ennoble it and spiritualize it in a high degree.

Affections and Petitions.—My dear Mother Mary! help me after your example to acquire this spirit of oblation. Enable me in all I do to see God, to offer every thought, and word, and action to His honour, in all things to seek alone the greater glory of God.

Resolutions.—Always to begin my day by making the morning offering to the Sacred Heart. At the beginning of each duty to renew it very briefly, thus: “For Thee, O Sacred Heart, for Thee, I do this action.”

Spiritual reading.—“Imitation of Christ,” Book IV., Chap. 9.

VI

THE FEAST OF THE DOLOURS (IN SEPTEMBER, AND FRIDAY IN PASSION WEEK)

The subject-matter of this Meditation is taken from Bossuet’s masterly Sermons on this subject.

1st Prel.—Behold Mary the Mother of Sorrows at the foot of the Cross.

2nd Prel.—Ask grace to sympathise with Mary in her unutterable sorrow.

Mary has been called the co-redemptrix of the human race. This title she merited by the share she had, first, in the sufferings that crushed and broke the humanity of her Divine Son; secondly, by her share in the resignation with which He accepted these sufferings in submission to His Father’s Will; thirdly, by her share in the spiritual birth, by grace, of a regenerated race, accomplished by His Passion and Death. In other words, Christ suffered as a Victim in His Body, He made a supreme act of resignation in His Soul, He brought forth, as the result, a new people to God. The physical sufferings concerned His Humanity, which bore the punishment of sin; the submission concerned His Father, whose anger, incurred by disobedience, was appeased by obedience; the begetting of a spiritual offspring concerned us. In each of these three phases of the Sacrifice of Christ Mary had her share, and that the largest share that any human being could be capable of.

1st Point.—Mary shared in the physical sufferings of Jesus.

2nd Point.—Mary shared in the resignation of Jesus.

3rd Point.—Mary shared with Jesus in giving birth to a regenerated race.

1ST POINT.—Mary shared in the Physical Sufferings of Jesus.

Consideration.—Mary loved Jesus as no mother ever loved her son before or since. This love it was that made her one with Him. If even an ordinary mother suffers in the sufferings of her offspring, how much more was this the case with Mary. And the degree of suffering is proportioned to the closeness of the union that unites the mother to the son in bonds of mutual love. The Heart of Jesus and that of His Most Blessed Mother beat in closest sympathy; they suffered in a sort of mystic unison. The Father and the Son are sharers in the same glory in eternity, the Mother and the Son share in the same sufferings in time. If Jesus’ head is pierced with thorns, Mary’s brows are racked, in some sense, with a corresponding anguish. If Jesus drinks of vinegar and gall, Mary drains the draught of bitterness. If Jesus’ limbs are tortured on the Cross, Mary’s body, in a certain sense, vibrates in sympathetic agony. To her, as to her Divine Son, may be applied the lamentation of the prophet: “O all ye that pass by the way, attend and see if there be any sorrow like to my sorrow”(Lament. i. 12). Surely, “great as the sea is thy sorrow,” O Virgin Mother of Sorrows!

Application.—When the body is racked with pain, or a prey to prostration or languor, when sleepless nights and days of physical anguish reduce our poor, weak, fainting human nature to a condition of pitiful suffering, let us think of the bloodless martyr of Calvary keeping her silent vigil of sorrow beside the cross of her dying Son.

Affections and Petitions.—Mary, mother of sorrows! help me to bear with sickness and infirmity, and all the pains that accompany them, patiently, humbly, resignedly, after the wonderful model of patience that thou, my mother, hast given me.

Resolutions.—In time of physical suffering to turn to Jesus and Mary on Calvary, and ask them for courage and strength and patience.

2ND POINT.—Mary shared in the Resignation of Jesus.

Consideration.—Holy Scripture often compares sorrow to a troubled sea: “The waters are come in even unto my soul” (Ps. lxviii. 1); “My calamities . . . have overwhelmed me with their paths as with the waves” (Job xxx. 12). God helps His servants to vanquish sorrow in three ways: 1st. Christ merely commanded the winds and waves, and there followed “a great calm” (Matt. viii. 26). Thus God at times restores calm to the troubled soul by a single act of His all-powerful Will. 2nd. Christ lets the fierce wild waters have their way. They rise with fury and threaten the destruction of the frail bark that tosses helplessly upon their bosom. But lo! upon a sudden Jesus is seen walking on the waters! He comes to the assistance of His storm-tossed disciples just as they are sinking in the waves; He guides the ship, and lifts His trembling apostle Peter with His own hand from out of the midst of the stormy sea (Matt. xiv. 24-32). Thus the soul is sometimes overwhelmed and well-nigh swallowed up beneath the waves of sorrow and affliction. But on a sudden Christ is with it, walking on the stormy waters, to lift it up just as it seemed to be upon the brink of its destruction. 3rd. Lastly, sometimes Jesus leaves us to face the storm alone. Thus He acted once with His disciples: “They went over the sea to Capharnaum; and it was now dark, and Jesus was not come unto them. And the sea rose by reason of a great wind that blew” (John vi. 17-18). This time, however, again as they seemed to be upon the point of sinking He appears to them amid the wild fury of the waves, treading the angry billows under foot, as though glorying in His power to brave and curb them in their fiercest mood. He merely showed Himself on this occasion to let them know that He was near, “and presently the ship was at the land.” Thus does God at times let all the deluge of affliction loose upon us in its fullest force, the waters surge around us unrestrained, yet powerless to hurt us, for the “Lord is nigh.” In this last way it was that sorrow surged without restraint around the soul of Mary as she stood beneath the Cross, and shared to the fullest in the agony of her Divine Son.

Application.—In days of sorrow let us realize that Christ is nigh. His voice will come to us across the stormy waters, saying, “It is I, be not afraid” (John vi. 20).

Affections and Petitions.—Mother of sorrows, help me to be brave and resigned to God’s sweet Will in time of sorrow.

Resolutions.—In affliction, turn to the Mater Dolorosa on the hill of Calvary.

3RD POINT.—Mary shared with Jesus in giving birth to a Regenerated Race.

Consideration.—The last words of a dying son are treasured by his mother. The last words of Jesus to His Blessed Mother from the Cross were these: “Woman, behold thy son.” Jesus, by His death, had given birth to a regenerated race; Mary, by her sufferings, had become the mother of that race.

Application.—We have cost our heavenly mother dear. We are the children of her tears. In anguish did she bring us forth to grace. And not without a struggle will she let us part from her, now that she has won us back to God. It will be of our own deliberate act, in spite of all her efforts, if we place ourselves again within the devil’s grasp. One word, the smallest cry for help, and she is ever ready to fly to our assistance.

Affections and Petitions.—O Mary, Refuge of Sinners! Comfortress of the Afflicted! save me from the machinations of my spiritual enemies. My Queen and my Mother! Remember that I belong to thee; preserve and defend me as thy property and possession.

Resolutions.—In every danger, in every sorrow, in every doubt, to call on my Mother Mary for help and protection, for solace and for guidance.

Spiritual reading.—“Imitation of Christ,” Book I., Chap. 9.

VII

THE FEAST OF THE ROSARY

1st Prel.—Behold St. Dominic receiving the Rosary from the Queen of Heaven, with instructions to preach everywhere the practice of this most salutary devotion.

2nd Prel.—Ask for grace to understand the value of the Rosary, and to say it daily with attention and devotion.

1st Point.—Power of the Rosary.

2nd Point.—The Rosary as a Prayer.

3rd Point.—The Rosary as a Teacher.

1ST POINT.—Power of the Rosary.

Consideration.—God’s ways are different from those of man. He uses the weak things of the earth to confound the strong. He used the rod of Moses to work great miracles. He made use of a shepherd boy, David, to overcome the great enemy of His people with a sling and some stones. He chose the Cross for the world’s redemption, twelve poor unlearned fishermen as His Apostles and the founders of His Church; and so has it pleased Him to work the greatest wonders by means of a devotion the most simple and homely in itself, the devotion of the Rosary.

Application.—It is unnecessary to repeat the oft-told story of the Albigensian heresy, and how, when every other means had failed, the great Mother of God herself bade St. Dominic and his children go forth and preach the Rosary. And how with nothing but this weapon in his hands, as David of old slew Goliath with his sling, so did Dominic triumph over heresy and sin and hell, and bring the nations back in loving reverence to Mary’s feet. (b) And later on great battles, on which the fate of Europe hung, were won, at Lepanto in 1571, and at Temesvar, in Hungary, in 1716, by the power of the Rosary. It stopped the ravages of a plague that raged in 1630 in Bologna, and that threatened the destruction of the city. (c) But far more wonderful and far more numerous are the victories achieved by the Rosary in the lives and souls of men. Armies routed, fleets dispersed, are things that strike the eye and appeal to the imagination; but the overthrow of Satan’s kingdom in the hearts of men is a victory far more glorious in the eyes of God than triumph over earthly arms. These are the noiseless victories of the Rosary. Hence the Church in days of peril has sought for help, not so much from emperors and kings, as from the Queen of Heaven, invoked by her loving children in the Rosary.

Affections and Petitions.—Queen of the Holy Rosary! obtain for me a great love for, and devotion to, the Rosary. Enable me to understand its power, and how much it pleases you that we should say it with devotion.

Resolutions.—To say the Rosary with more attention. To use the beads duly blessed and indulgenced. To gently reflect on the mysteries. Thus I shall get great grace and merit, and help the suffering souls in Purgatory.

2ND POINT.—The Rosary as a Prayer.

Consideration.—Let us now consider the Rosary as a prayer. Prayer, as we know, may be either mental or vocal. The mere sound of the voice or the moving of the lips does not constitute true prayer. Man is a compound being, composed of soul and body, and each has its part in offering prayer to God. While the lips move in vocal prayer the heart must act. “These people,” says Christ, “honour Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.” Yet how many of us find it very hard to make mental prayer. We find it so very hard to fix our minds on God, and are so liable to distractions. Against all this the Rosary provides an easy remedy. It unites both mental and vocal prayer. To say the Rosary properly we must not merely say the Paters and Aves, we must, moreover, think about the various mysteries. Now, these mysteries are nothing else but historical and devotional scenes from the life of Christ and the Blessed Virgin. They are so many pictures placed one after another before the mind, which it is pleasant and easy to study and think about. Thus does the Rosary combine mental and vocal prayer, and make true prayer easy. 2. Moreover, the prayers that comprise the Rosary are the most venerable and efficacious in the Church’s liturgy: the “Our Father,” the grandest and sublimest of all prayers, taught us by our Lord Himself; and the Hail Mary, which, after the Our Father, is the noblest and most beautiful of prayers. The Gloria Patri, which concludes each decade, is but a cry similar to that of the heavenly hosts above, who constantly exclaim before the Throne of God: “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts!”

Application.—Prayer is one of the most important duties of our lives. It is the channel through which God pours His graces into souls. Take prayer away and you destroy the spiritual life of man. Satan knows this well, hence his first effort is to drive us from prayer, to make prayer distasteful to us. It is prayer that gives us strength to resist temptations, to serve God, and save our souls. A great saint has said that wherever you find true prayer, there you seldom or never find any serious sin.

Affections and Petitions.—Queen of the Holy Rosary! help me still more to understand the power and sweetness of this beautiful devotion.

Resolutions.—To have the Rosary said in public by all the members of your family and household every evening. It will bring a wondrous blessing on your home.

3RD POINT.—The Rosary as a Teacher.

Consideration.—Again, the Rosary is a careful and instructive teacher, teaching us the mysteries of our faith, and instructing us in our religion. (a) It is a beautiful and comprehensive picture lesson in the Gospel. It passes in review, one after another, fifteen mysteries of the life of Christ, and to each appoints the recital of an Our Father, ten Hail Marys, and the Gloria Patri. It is thus a veritable treatise on religion, a real storehouse of the truths of faith. (b) The Rosary places in peculiar prominence the mysteries that are principal and fundamental. Foremost amongst these it tells us of the Incarnation, and that Christ, whilst truly Man was also truly God. Thus it teaches us the Divinity and Humanity of Christ in the first and third joyful mysteries, the Annunciation, and the Nativity. Moreover, the Hail Mary itself is but the repetition of the very words in which the angel announced the Incarnation of the Son of God to men. (c) It teaches us the Imitation of Christ, for it tells us of His life, His teaching, and His virtues, and shows us many beautiful and touching traits of His character as Man. (d) It teaches the imitation of our Mother Mary, whom in every mystery it places side by side with her Divine Son. Her words and actions, her profound humility, her wonderful obedience, and her other most exalted virtues are strong incentives to us to follow, even at a distance, in her footsteps. (e) It teaches us the imitation of the Saints. It calls up before us the marvellous hidden sanctity of the great St. Joseph, in Bethlehem, in Egypt, and in Nazareth; the penitence and love of Mary Magdalen; the devotion of St. John; the attachment of the holy women; the faith of holy Simeon and devout Anne; the patience and submission of Simon of Cyrene; the triumphant confession of the penitent thief.

Application.—What a host of motives for cherishing the Rosary! In it I shall find a storehouse of devotion and instruction.

Affections and Petitions.—Queen of the Holy Rosary! may I ever love and practise this devotion all through life.

Resolutions.—To say the Rosary with great devotion, especially on Saturdays, and in the months of October and May.

Spiritual reading.—“Imitation of Christ,” Book III., Chap. 44.

VIII

THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY

1st Prel.—Behold the Immaculate Heart of Mary as it is represented in pictures, encircled with flowers, and with flames bursting forth from it.

2nd Prel.—Ask grace to understand the love of the Immaculate Heart of Mary for each one of us.

1st Point.—The Heart of Mary a real living heart.

2nd Point.—The flowers that encircle it.

3rd Point.—The flames that burst forth from it.

1ST POINT.—The Heart of Mary a real living heart.

Consideration.—The Immaculate Heart of Mary, like the Sacred Heart of Jesus, is a real living heart of flesh, for Mary has been taken up both body and soul into heaven. Mary wishes I should give to her a heart that is vigorous and living with the life of grace, not dead in sin, or languishing in tepidity or spiritual sloth.

Application.—If I wish to please my Mother Mary I must offer her a heart that is free, in the first place, from all deliberate sin, and secondly from all disorderly attachment to this world. I must show my love for her in a practical way by avoiding all that might offend her, and by endeavouring to adorn my soul with the virtues that will make me pleasing to her.

Affections and Petitions.—O Immaculate Heart of Mary! make my heart somewhat more like unto thee, by helping me to rid myself of all that is displeasing to thee, and to acquire the virtues that should adorn a true client of thine.

Resolutions.—To endeavour to-day to overcome some fault in Mary’s honour.

2ND POINT.—The Flowers that encircle the Heart of Mary.

Consideration.—The flowers that encircle the Heart of Mary are typical of the virtues that adorn it. 1st. Her profound humility, whereby she considered herself the least and lowest of all, even when raised to the sublime dignity of Mother of God. 2nd. Her immaculate purity, which she would not sacrifice even to become the Mother of the Man-God. 3rd. Her entire submission to the Will of God, which she showed in each of her seven dolours, and especially when standing by the Cross of Calvary. 4th. Her faith and trust in God, acquiescing blindly at the Annunciation in a mystery which she did not comprehend. 5th. Her obedience on this same occasion, and in innumerable other instances, seeking in all things only to know and do the Will of God in her regard. (b) Flowers are also a type of purity and innocence of heart. As such they are worn by children at their first Communion.

Application.—I, too, must endeavour to cultivate similar flowers of all the virtues in my heart, above all I must keep it unsullied by the taint of sin.

Affections and Petitions.—Sweet Heart of Mary, be thou my salvation. Help me to imitate thy virtues. Thus do thou, O Mary Immaculate, make my heart like unto thine.

Resolutions.—To avoid whatsoever may sully the beauty of my soul in Mary’s eyes.

3RD POINT.—The flames that burst forth from Mary’s Immaculate Heart.

Consideration.—These flames bursting forth from the heart of my Mother Mary tell me of the intensity and tenderness of love that animates her with regard to each of her children. A mother’s love is proverbial. Yet no mother on earth ever loved her child half so deeply and tenderly as this Heavenly Mother loves each one of us. We are the children of her tears. We have cost her dear. She would fain not lose even one of those for whom she has suffered so long and so keenly. 2nd. Fire has three effects: it illuminates, inflames, assimilates. Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary will secure for me some share in that sacred fire whose flames are represented issuing from the Immaculate Heart. That fire of love will illuminate my intellect to know and understand the things of God. It will inflame the will to act more efficaciously and energetically in accordance with the deep conviction of the intellect. It will assimilate me more and more to Christ and to His Blessed Mother, whose lives and principles of action must ever be the guide and model of my own.

Application.—My devotion to the Blessed Virgin to be solid must be something more than a mere emotion of the heart. It must show itself practically in its effects upon my life. It must illuminate my mind, and enable me to live more for heavenly things, and less for those of earth. It must inflame my heart with love that shows itself in deeds, in willingness to labour and to sacrifice myself for Christ and for His Blessed Mother. It must assimilate my life to theirs by urging me to copy in some degree the example they have given me of every virtue.

Affections and Resolutions.—Immaculate Heart of my Mother Mary! communicate to my cold, senseless heart some little share of the fervour of Divine love that glows within thee. May it illuminate, inflame, and assimilate my heart in some degree to thine!

Resolutions.—Often to repeat, “Sweet Heart of Mary, make my heart like thee.” “Sweet Heart of Mary, be thou my salvation.”

Spiritual reading.—“Imitation of Christ,” Book II., Chap. 7.

IX

THE DEATH AND ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN (AUGUST 15)

1st Prel.—Behold Mary entering Heaven in triumph as its Queen, welcomed by the Blessed Trinity, and especially by her Divine Son, and received with exultation by the entire heavenly court.

2nd Prel.—Ask our Blessed Lady to enable you to “run in the way of God’s commandments,” that so you may for ever rejoice with her in heaven.

Mary’s death was full of consolation:

1st Point.—At the thought of the past.

2nd Point.—At the thought of the future.

3rd Point.—Because of her Assumption.

1ST POINT.—Mary consoled by the thought of the past.

Consideration.—Mary left behind her at her death: 1st. A past of suffering and sorrow. No human being, save the “Man of Sorrows” Himself, ever suffered so much in this life as did our Blessed Lady. She was the Mater Dolorosa, the Mother of Sorrows; the Regina Martyrum, the Queen of Martyrs; her soul was pierced with a sevenfold sword of sorrow: “Thine own soul a sword shall pierce,” said holy Simeon to her, so that with her illustrious ancestor, King David, she could say in truth: “My life is wasted in grief, and my years in sighs” (Ps. xxx. 11). 2nd. She left behind a past of sublime sanctity and absolute freedom from sin. No shadow even of the slightest imperfection ever for a moment rested on her exquisitely pure soul. She was conceived without original sin. She lived and died without ever contracting the slightest stain of actual sin. Hence the Church addresses her in the words of the Canticle: “Thou art all fair, O my love, and there is no spot in thee” (Cant. iv. 7). (b) Not merely that, but she excelled in the very highest degree of every virtue.

Application.—In so far as my life, too, is marked by these same characteristics shall I merit a share in the glory of my Heavenly Mother and Queen. We cannot hope to get to heaven by any other road than that trodden by the Man-God and His Blessed Mother. On the contrary, if we are wise, and have our own truest interests at heart, we shall rejoice when we discover traits of resemblance, however faint, between our own lives and those of Jesus and Mary.

Affections.—“God forbid that I should glory save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world” (Gal. vi. 14).

Resolutions.—To look on the trials of life as the best preparation for eternity.

2ND POINT.—Mary consoled by the thought of the future.

Consideration.—We may well imagine our Lord coming to meet the exquisitely beautiful soul of His Mother Mary as it left for the moment its sacred tenement of clay, and addressing to her the words of the Canticle: “Arise, make haste, my love my dove, my beautiful one, and come. For winter is now past, the rain is over and gone” (Cant. ii. 10). Yes, in truth, “the winter” of sorrow and pain was now past and gone for ever. “The day had broken and the shadows retired” (Cant. ii. 17). The noonday splendours of Mary’s eternal reign had broken at last upon the shadows that hung, like the mists on the mountains, over the mortal life of the Virgin of Nazareth. The peaks stand forth in their peerless beauty, bathed in the golden glow of that everlasting day that knows no night.

Application.—For us, too, if we live the life of faith, the day will come when the shadows shall be no more, but everlasting sunshine and joy in the glory of God’s own home above. Let this thought of the heavenly bliss that with Mary’s help will soon be ours support and console us in hours of discouragement, pain, or sorrow. Persevere yet a while, be patient a little, and the crown of life will be ours for ever.

Affections.—“O would that that day had dawned, and all temporal things had come to an end!”—A Kempis, iii. 48.

Resolutions.—“My child, when thou feelest the desire of everlasting beatitude infused into thee from above, and thou desirest to go forth from the tabernacle of the body to contemplate My beauty without any shadow of change, enlarge thy heart, and with thy whole desire embrace this holy inspiration.”—A Kempis, iii. 49.

3RD POINT.—The Assumption of Mary into Heaven.

Consideration.—“Who is this that cometh up from the desert, flowing with delights, leaning upon her beloved?” (Cant. viii. 5). St. John Damascene writes as follows: “It is an ancient tradition that at the time of the glorious death of the Blessed Virgin, all the Apostles, who for the salvation of nations journeyed throughout the world, were suddenly transported bodily to Jerusalem. Being there, they were favoured with an apparition of angels, and heard the psalmody of the heavenly choirs. Thus Mary surrendered her soul with heavenly glory into the hands of God. Her body, who had conceived the Son of God in an ineffable manner, was deposited in a coffin during the singing of hymns by the angels and Apostles, and was interred by them in Gethsemane, in which place the chanting of the angels continued for three days. But after it had ceased the Apostles opened the grave because Thomas, who alone had been absent, arrived only on the third day, and wished to show his reverence to the body which had conceived the Lord. But nowhere in the grave could they find her body; they saw only the linen in which it had been wrapped, and perceived an indescribably sweet odour issuing from the tomb. They then closed the grave again. They could only infer,” concludes the saint, “that He Who had assumed flesh of Mary the Virgin . . . wished also to preserve her immaculate body after her death from corruption, and honour her before the general resurrection of the dead by translating her into heaven.” And St. Augustine asks: “Who could be so presumptuous as to assert that the most holy body, in which Jesus Christ assumed human flesh, had been delivered to worms as food?”

Application.—Though our bodies will die and return to dust, they will rise again to live for eternity. Will they rise resplendent in beauty to pass into heaven, or hideous and foul to be buried in hell? That depends on whether in life we use aright or abuse our senses and members. “I beseech you,” says St. Paul, “. . . . that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing unto God” (Rom. xii. 1).

Affections.—Rejoice with Mary your Mother and Queen on her glory and power in Heaven.

Resolutions.—So to act towards the body in this life that both body and soul may rejoice for eternity.

Colloquy with Mary assumed into heaven.

Spiritual reading.—“Imitation of Christ,” Book III., Chapter lxviii.