VII. THE ASSUMPTION
Thus far we have been contemplating our Lady's joys on earth. We read that the Holy Mother of God deigned to reveal to her servant St. Thomas of Canterbury Seven of her Joys in Heaven. Such high mysteries are beyond our ken. We know indeed that to Mary above all creatures it was said: " Veni arnica Mea, veni pulchra Mea, veni ex Libano et coronaberis " ("Come My beloved, come thou that art all fair, come from Libanus and thou shalt be crowned "). We know that she was welcomed, bands of angels waiting upon her as she passed on her way from earth to Paradise, by the Father who had chosen her, and by the Son who had dwelt within her, and by the Spirit who had sanctified her immaculate soul. We know that she sees God face to face and rejoices with a bliss beyond compare. More than this, we, who are not Saints like the Blessed Thomas, and to whom no heavenly secrets have been entrusted by our Queen, can hardly know. It has been written that " eye has not seen nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man to conceive what good things God has prepared for those that love Him "—that is we humbly trust, even for us. If then it be impossible for us to conceive the joys that are waiting even for us—if still more it be impossible for us to conceive the joys that are waiting for the Saints, for the Magdalen, for Peter and Paul, for the Beloved Disciple—how can it be possible for us to conceive the nature of Mary's joys in Heaven? We know only that hers are the joys which are the fitting recompense bestowed by the loving God for the Sorrows she suffered without complaint, when yet she lived upon the earth. We know that our Lord is never outdone in generosity. His Mother did not give Him of that which cost her nothing. She gave Him her all. And now she rejoices with an exceeding great joy—every tear she shed, remembered by Him who counts even the cup of cold water given for His Name's sake—remembered and transfigured into a glistening jewel upon her brow, in the Land where she is crowned in her glad glory, as the Queen of Angels and of men—the Mother of the King who dwells in the Brightness that is inaccessible.