III. IMITATION OF OUR LADY
Love of our Lady means love of our Lady as she is in herself by nature and by grace, gentle, loving, kind, obedient, gracious, patient, meek and humble of heart according to the precept of her Lord, purer than the whitest snow. It is impossible to have the image of Mary before our minds, without having her love in our hearts; conversely it is difficult to keep the love of Mary in our hearts, unless we keep her image in our minds. But to keep that image of perfect loveliness before the gaze necessarily carries with it some desire to be shaped ourselves on so exquisite a model. The true love of Mary carries with it the wish to be like Mary. " Imitate the Virgin," writes St. Augustine, "as much as you are able."
