Queen of Thy Servants - ROYAL DIGNITY OF THOSE WHO SERVE MARY

THE FAIREST FLOWER OF PARADISE - CONSIDERATIONS ON THE LITANY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, ENRICHED WITH EXAMPLES DRAWN FROM THE LIVES OF THE SAINTS BY Very Rev. ALEXIS M. LEPICIER, O. S. M.

"O lord, for I am thy servant; I am thy servant and the son of thy handmaid." (Ps. cxv, 5.)

To Reign, such is the ambition of great souls, the stimulus of bold enterprises.

But there are two ways of reigning. The first is that of tyrants, who govern with the sword and prevail by violence and wrong. Such a reign is of short duration and the memory of the tyrant is speedily buried in oblivion: "There memory hath perished with a noise." (Ps. ix, 7.) Others, on the contrary, choose charity for their scepter and humility for their throne. Such a scepter cannot be shattered, and a throne thus founded is never cast down; these are the throne and scepter of Jesus Christ, King of kings, Lord of lords, and Prince over the princes of the earth: "Christ reigns, Christ conquers, Christ commands." The kingdom of Jesus Christ, founded under the shadow of the cross, strengthened by fierce persecutions, is forever extending: it knows neither ruin nor decay: "Thy kingdom is a kingdom of all ages." (Ps. cxiv, 13.)

Now, what is the basis of a kingdom so permanent, of a throne so unshaken? Strange to say, it is none other than the condition of a servant, freely chosen by Jesus Christ: "He took the form of a servant." (Phil 2. 7.)) Indeed, all that may be procured by ambition and pride is frail and perishable: on the other hand, self-abasement leads to an eternal kingdom, for it is written that "humility goeth before glory." (Prov. 15:38)

Mary reigns with her Son Jesus Christ, and her kingdom, like unto His, is a kingdom of imperishable glory, because hers is a throne of clemency, mercy and pardon: "Hail, holy Queen Mother of Mercy." And what is the secret of this glorious royalty? None other, but the humble condition of servant of the Lord: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word." (Luke 1:38)

No sooner had the Blessed Virgin uttered these words, than she commenced her reign, for in that moment she became the Mother of our King: "And the Word was made flesh." Mary's sway over the world never diminishes: it ever goes on extending, until it embraces the entire universe.

Happy the servants of the Mother of God!

Under the protection of a Queen so kind and powerful, they are not lacking in the necessaries of life; and as for the goods of the soul, they have them over and above, for "all her domestics are clothed with double garments." (Prov. 31:21)

A Christian who is covetous of true and lasting regal splendor, should imitate Mary and faithfully serve the Lord, for He will exalt him to the incomparable dignity of priest and king, according to the words of St. Peter: "You are a chosen generation, a kingly priesthood, a holy nation, a purchased people: that you may declare His virtues, who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." (1 Peter 2:9) But, in order worthily to serve the Lord, we must also learn how to serve Mary: in serving so great a Queen we shall naturally be led to serve God, wherein our greatest dignity consists. To serve Mary is therefore to reign: Servire Mariae regnare est.

The reign of one who serves Mary is no tyranny, no reign of oppression and cruelty: it is rather a reign of charity and mercy, directed to alleviating the woes of those who are in affliction. It is a reign of peace, which repays injury by benefit: a reign of humility, which subjects the passions to the yoke of Christ: a splendid and glorious reign, worthy of the ambition of magnanimous minds, the foreshadowing of that eternal kingdom of bliss which is held out to us in heaven.

Oh, if only men knew what a happiness it is to serve Mary, they would contentedly lay aside their wish of ambition and earthly grandeur, and would consecrate themselves, with all the ardor of their souls, to the service of so glorious a Queen.

Example - The apparition of Our Lady at Lourdes

As our blessed Lady cooperated with Jesus in our redemption by the martyrdom of her heart, so she does not cease to interpose her powerful intercession before the throne of God, to obtain the salvation of her devoted servants. Among all the shrines of the world from which she bestows her graces, there is none that surpasses Lourdes in splendor and celebrity. It is there especially that Mary shows herself to be truly our heavenly Mediatrix.

On the eleventh of February, 1858, toward noon, a poor but pious girl, of the name of Bernadette Soubirous, went to gather faggots on the banks of the river Gave. She was coming to the foot of the mountain, when suddenly she beheld standing before her a Lady of incomparable beauty. The Lady's hands were devoutly joined and through them were passing the beads of a Rosary, as if she were reciting it. This was the first of those apparitions which continued until Easter Monday, the fifth of April, in presence of a large concourse of people.

Bernardette, on these occasions, would begin by reciting the Rosary and our blessed Lady, as if attracted by this prayer, did not tarry in showing herself to her chosen servant.

Thus the Queen of Heaven deigned to make known to the world the treasures of her maternal goodness by means of this pious maid. She had chosen Bernadette as the instrument of wonderful happenings and as her messenger to the Christian people. On Wednesday, the twenty-fourth of February of that same year, more than twenty thousand people were assembled on the banks of the river Gave, to witness, not the apparition of Our Lady, for to Bernadette alone was the vision granted, but the spectacle of the transfiguration of the face of this simple and pious maid during her ecstasy. Indeed, the multitude could see the reflection of Our Lady in the resplendent face of Bernadette in the same way as we see the reflection of the sun on the mountain top, when the sun itself is hidden behind the rocky heights.

On one occasion Bernadette was commanded by Our Lady to turn up the dry soil with her hands, and at once there gushed forth a small spring which later grew into a limpid stream, and which, from that time, has ever continued to flow abundantly. The water from this spring, carried into different parts of the world, has wrought many marvelous cures.

We see from this how Mary, the Mother of Mercy, has designed, especially in these later times, to come to the aid of her servants. Happy are they who place their whole trust in her, for they will not be deceived.

Prayer

O Mary, potent Queen of the universe, I consecrate myself this day wholly to thy service. Deign to admit me, though a sinner, among thy servants, and obtain for me of Jesus Christ, thy Son, the grace to serve thee faithfully in this life, and to merit to reign with thee everlastingly in Heaven. Amen.

Queen of Peace - OUR LADY THE MEDIATRIX OF PEACE

THE FAIREST FLOWER OF PARADISE - CONSIDERATIONS ON THE LITANY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, ENRICHED WITH EXAMPLES DRAWN FROM THE LIVES OF THE SAINTS BY Very Rev. ALEXIS M. LEPICIER, O. S. M.

"Look upon the rainbow, and bless him that made it: it is very beautiful in its brightness. It encompasseth the heaven about with the circle of its glory: the hands of the Most High have displayed it." (Ecclus. xliii, 12.)

AFTER God had cleansed the world of the iniquity in which it had been steeped^ by sending the universal deluge which destroyed the whole human race with the exception of Noe and his family, He promised that patriarch that a similar scourge should never more come upon the earth. In order to seal this promise by a visible sign, He ordained that the rainbow should be for men a reminder of the compact which He had made with them.

It might have been expected that the human race, which soon multiplied, should have lived for a long time in justice and holiness. But men soon began to commit idolatry again, and would have been abandoned by God had He not, in His great mercy, taken pity on them. God, then, determined to save mankind, and to this end made a more solemn compact, in which He decreed that the adorable Heart of His own Son Made Man should become our peace and reconciliation: Cor Jesu, pax et reconeiliatio nostra.

But in order that man might ever have before His eyes the sign of this compact of reconciliation and peace, God displayed in the firmament of His church a second rainbow of incomparable loveliness, that is, the Mother of God, Mary most Holy, who is ever for us a sign that God does not wish to abandon us to sin and death.

There are three obstacles to our perfect reconciliation with God. The first is the slavery of the devil, which is a deadly outcome of original sin, by which the first man yielded to the suggestions of the common foe. The second obstacle is actual sin, which makes us abominable in God's sight. The third is this, that sin closes against us the doors of the heavenly kingdom.

Now, Mary is indeed the unconquered woman who has removed these impediments to our perfect reconciliation and peace with God. For, in the first place, she was conceived without sin, and thus did not fall under the power of the evil one, and so inaugurated that era of liberty which was to be the fruit of the birth of her Son. Next she brought forth her Son Jesus, the Saviour of the world, who by His passion and death, conquered the devil, and opened for us the gates of paradise. Therefore she is truly that happy sign which shines forth in the heavens, joyfully proclaiming that mankind has regained the friendship of God, for "when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son"; (Rom. v. 10.) and we have "confidence of entering into the Holy of Holies by the blood of Christ." (Hebr. x. 19.)

The presence of Our Lady in the world is, for us, not only an earnest of our reconciliation and peace with God, but also a sign of peace with our neighbor, and with ourselves.

Peace with our neighbor consists in that unity of thought and affection which dissolves all discord, jealousy and anger, and banishes all strife and dispute. Now this harmony is but the effect of that great charity which Our Lady brought into the world through her Son, and which she herself taught us by her example. Peace with ourselves is to be found in a perfect agreement among the many faculties of our soul, and in the submission of the passions to reason and grace. Thus, again, Mary is not only our model, but also our powerful helper, who obtains for us, from her Son, the graces that we need, to conquer inordinate desires and have them subjected to the law of God.

Example - St. Nicholas of Tolentino

Nicholas was born in the territory of Sant' Angelo in Colle, in the Province of Ancona, in the year 1245. From his earliest years he showed a great love of God and soon entered the Augustinian Order, where he became a model of religious virtues. He especially shone through his piety, mortification and unfeigned charity.

The great devotion which he nourished toward our Blessed Lady cannot easily be described; a devotion which he had imbibed with his mother's milk, and which increased as he grew older. In honor of Mary he fasted every Saturday, and often during the day he saluted her in the words of the Angel. He failed not to meditate on her bitter sorrows, accompanying her in thought through all the different stages of the passion of Jesus, and mourning with her at the loss of her beloved Son.

While he was at Fermo, Our Lady deigned to make known to him the translation of her Holy House into the territory of Recanati. Thus it was, that he was frequently to be seen standing by a large window which looked out on the Adriatic. His Superior wondering at this, asked him if he was praying to the fishes. "No, Father, answered Nicholas, "I am expecting a great treasure to pass," and after a short time he saw the Holy House passing by and thus he was able to add his own testimony to support this truth.

Once, when he was oppressed with fever, Our Lady appeared to him and told him to ask for some bread and to mix it with water, and he would recover his health as soon as he tasted it. And so it happened. But Nicholas, moved with compassion for the sick, implored his heavenly Benefactress that she would obtain from her Son the grace for him to bless other loaves in this way, wherewith he might cure these poor sufferers. Our Lady heard his prayers and from this has originated the bread called after his name, that is, the bread of St. Nicholas.

When he was at the point of death he was consoled by the presence of Jesus, of the Blessed Virgin and of his glorious Patriarch St. Augustine. Mary then revealed to him that on the third day after her Nativity he would pass to the kingdom of heaven. One cannot describe the joy of his heart at these heavenly tidings. But as the Saint knew well that the devil would redouble his assaults at the last moments of his life, he prayed that this wicked monster might not attack or disturb him at the hour of death. Our Lady granted his request. He died peacefully on the tenth of September, 1305.

Prayer

O Mary, most justly proclaimed Queen of Peace, for having given us Jesus, the Prince of Peace, and having inaugurated in thyself that blessed reign of divine peace with God, with thy neighbor and with thyself, obtain for us, we beseech thee, from thy Divine Son, so to correspond to His grace, as to enjoy the full blessing of that threefold peace which He Himself brought to the world, and "which surpasseth all understanding." (Phil. iv, 7.)

Queen of the Most Holy Rosary - SPIRIT OF PRAYER IN MARY

THE FAIREST FLOWER OF PARADISE - CONSIDERATIONS ON THE LITANY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, ENRICHED WITH EXAMPLES DRAWN FROM THE LIVES OF THE SAINTS BY Very Rev. ALEXIS M. LEPICIER, O. S. M.

"I sat down under his shadow, whom I desired, and his fruit was sweet to my palate: he brought me into the cellar of wine." (Cant, ii, 3, 4.)

THERE is not for us, in this life, an action nobler or holier than prayer. By prayer we lift up our soul toward God and enter into communication with Him, with the object of paying our homage to His Divine Majesty, of rendering to Him the worship which is His due, thanking Him for His countless benefits, imploring pardon for our sins, and in fine asking of Him those spiritual and temporal favors of which we stand in need.

In truth, one can imagine nothing more excellent than prayer. It was taught us by our divine Saviour Himself: for we read of Him that He was wont to retire alone to the mountain to pray, and that He had spent whole nights in prayer. (Luke, vi, 12.) Most of all was this so, when the time of His bitter passion was approaching, when, as we read in St. Luke's Gospel, "He prayed the longer." (Luke, xxii, 48.)

Not content with getting us the example of prayer, Onr Lord deigned also to teach us its excellence, delivering to us a formula which contains in brief all that we need ask for our spiritual and temporal welfare. This is the Lord's Prayer, indeed the best of all prayers.

O my soul, thank thy Creator for having given thee, in prayer, so efficacious a means of obtaining all thou requirest, and ask of Him the grace never to neglect so holy and helpful a practice.

After Jesus Christ, no saint taught us by his example the excellence of prayer as well as the Virgin Mary, for we may truly say that her life was an uninterrupted prayer. Where can we find words to express the fervent aspirations of her heart, when, as yet a little child, she sighed for the coming of the Messias, saying with David: "Arise, O my glory, arise, psaltery and harp!" (Ps. lxi, 9.) One may even say that Mary, by the ardor of her desires, hastened the coming of the Redeemer.

But it was especially when the Word was made flesh in her womb, that the life of the Mother of God became one constant and ardent prayer, which continued, almost unbroken, until her soul, in an ecstasy of love, burst the bonds of the fleshy and left her sacred body, to go and join her Well-Beloved in the transport of the beatific vision.

And now that Mary is united to God in glory, she does not forego her intercession for her faithful servants, who are fighting here below in the midst of all manner of dangers: together with her Son, who is "always living to make intercession for us," (Heb. vii, 25.) the Holy Virgin offers to the Eternal Father her prayers and supplications. Is it then to be wondered at, if Mary sometimes deigns to appear to her faithful servants in the attitude of prayer, thus manifesting her wish that the faithful should, as often as possible, follow her example in the use of this powerful means of sanctification?

Of all forms of prayer, the recitation of the Rosary is the easiest and, at the same time, the most efficacious. It is the cry of the child which will not leave off calling on its mother until it has obtained what it wants; it is the humble voice of the poor man, who will not leave the gate of the wealthy, until he has received a liberal alms.

To pray is good; but we must pray aright, if we would obtain the fruit of our prayers.

Our wants are indeed numberless, and consequently numberless are also the favors we may ask of God. Nevertheless, we should ask above all else for spiritual gifts; as regards temporal things we may likewise pray to Our Lord for them, but only in #o far as they help us to the possession of divine grace.

We may also pray for our neighbor; though with this difference, that when we pray for ourselves we are sure to be heard, while we have not the same certainty as regards our prayers for others.

Finally, our prayer, to obtain its effect, must be accompanied by faith, humility, confidence and perseverance. "We ought always to pray and not to faint," (Luke, xviii, 1.) says Our Lord.

Example - The conversion of a dying sinner

It is recorded in the life of St. Vincent Ferrer that a man, who had led a disorderly life, found himself at the point of death, and was given up by the doctors. He listened with horror to this awful sentence, and the thought of eternity presenting itself forcibly to his mind, he was overcome with remorse for his past faults. Yet, not trusting himself to the mercy of God, he gave way to despair, thinking that he was unworthy of forgiveness.

When St. Vincent Ferrer heard of this, he went to the bed of the dying man and tried to move him to repentance by encouraging him to hope in the divine mercy. He reminded him that Jesus Christ died for each one of us and that He, as a merciful father, receives the prodigal son into His arms; that He pardoned Zachaeus, Mary Magdalen and the Good Thief on His cross, and that even if his sins were as numerous as the grains of sand on the sea-shore, the mercy of God would never be overcome, because it is infinite and eternal.

Such words, which would have sufficed to soften the hardest of hearts, only moved this wretched sinner to further blasphemies. He gnashed his teeth, protesting that he would not seek pardon of Jesus Christ, but would die in his sins in order to displease and offend Him the more. At these words St. Vincent did not lose courage, but enlightened by an inspiration from Heaven he answered: "You must be converted, in order that the infinite mercy of God may shine forth the more in you."

Turning then to the bystanders, he commenced to recite the holy Rosary. And oh, marvellous to say! Mary who, in the words of St. Bernard, is the hope of those who despair, heard the prayer addressed to her on behalf of this unhappy man. The recital of the Rosary had hardly been completed, when that obdurate sinner was changed into another man. In the twinkling of an eye he had become as meek as a lamb, and inviting the Saint to draw near to him, he uttered the sweet Name of Mary. Then, shedding floods of tears, he confessed his sins like the Good Thief on the cross. He received the sacraments and died with every sign of an edifying conversion.

Prayer

O Mary, most excellent Mistress of the spiritual life, may I learn of thee the right way to pray! Deign O Mother, to intercede for me with thy Divine Son, that I may always grow in faith, humility, confidence and perseverance, that I may reap in joy the fruit of my prayers. Amen.

Queen Conceived without Original Sin - IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN

THE FAIREST FLOWER OF PARADISE - CONSIDERATIONS ON THE LITANY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, ENRICHED WITH EXAMPLES DRAWN FROM THE LIVES OF THE SAINTS BY Very Rev. ALEXIS M. LEPICIER, O. S. M.

"Thou art the glory of Jerusalem, thou art the joy of Israel, thou art the honor of our people." (Judith, xv, 10.)

AFTER the hypostatic union, that is to say, the personal union of the Word with our nature, there is nothing in the world which so gives glory to God as the Immaculate Conception of Mary.

It was for the outward manifestation of His greatness and glory that God, in the beginning, drew from nothingness creatures endowed with intelligence. But sinful man, by revolting against his Creator, defaced the image of the Divinity impressed on his soul: he became God's enemy, so far as to appear an object of aversion in the sight of the Creator. But shall no one be found to escape the universal ruin, and in whom the original plan of the Creator will remain unimpaired? Are all reasonable creatures to be infected by the envenomed bite of the infernal serpent?

No, God's work cannot be entirely destroyed. Mary in virtue of the foreseen merits of her Son, the future Redeemer, shall be conceived without stain, all fair and wholly pure, the equal of Adam and Eve in their first formation. She shall even receive at the moment of her conception more abundant grace than that granted to our first parents: "Thou art all fair, O Mary, and the original stain is not in Thee." (Antiphon at Lauds in the Office of the Immaculate Conception.)

How can we voice Mary's beauty, at the moment her God - created soul was infused into her virginal body? A sight indeed worthy of the angels' admiration! O Virgin Immaculate, object of delight to the Holy Trinity, thou art of a truth "the glory of Jerusalem."

Not only was the Immaculate Conception of Mary calculated to procure fresh honor to God by giving to the world the spectacle of an unblemished sanctity, but furthermore, this mystery was destined to be, for the human race, a source of endless joy: "Thou art the joy of Israel."

In fact, Mary Immaculate is of a truth that peerless woman, whom the Seer of Patmos beheld "clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars." (Apoc. xii, 1.) Her beauty and purity are for fallen humanity a source of glory and consolation. If the human race was defiled by the sin of the first man in its origin, it may now boast of haying produced this spotless flower, which confers upon the stem, whence it has sprung, greater honor than original transgression has caused it damage and shame.

The Immaculate Conception of Mary, like a radiant dawn, heralded the coming of the Sun of Justice, which would dissipate the darkness of error and bring to the world the light of grace, of truth and of glory. The Immaculate Conception was, then, the prelude of that new joy, which the Gospel of Jesus Christ would restore upon the earth. Wherefore the Church sings: "Thy Conception, O Virgin Mother of God, has been a presage of joy for the whole universe." (Antiphon of the Magnificat in the Second Vespers of the feast of the Immaculate Conception.)

Mary's Immaculate Conception is not only a cause of spiritual joy for the human race, it is also for the faithful, that is to say, for the people of Jesus Christ, predestined to the reward of everlasting life, a potent help in their earthly conflicts and an assured pledge of victory: "Thou art the honor of our people."

By hurling our first parents into the pitfall of sin and misery, the devil thought to have triumphed over their posterity: but he was completely routed by Mary, in whom he found nothing of his, as she was conceived without taint of sin: and thus the Immaculate Conception brought to nought the projects of the great deceiver.

Moreover, since Mary's exemption from the original stain was ordained by God in view of her divine maternity, which is the beginning of our redemption, the privilege of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin proved to be the sovereign means which reduced to nought the snare laid by the demon against our eternal salvation. "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.)

Example - The Devotion Of Emperor Ferdinand III

In the year 1629, the Emperor of Austria,, Ferdinand III, finding his kingdom menaced by the Swedes, who were elated at their recent victories and conquests, had recourse to the protection of Our Lady. He caused a magnificent column to be erected in the great square of Vienna and this was adorned with many emblems, which all referred to the mystery of the Immaculate Conception. At the four corners of the pedestal were placed angels in armor, each treading the dragon under foot, symbolizing the victory of our blessed Lady over original sin, and on the top of the column stood the statue of the Mother of God treading on the head of the wicked serpent. At the base of the column was engraved the inscription: "To the most good and most high God, Lord of Heaven and Earth, from whom kings hold their thrones: To the Virgin Mother of God, conceived without stain of original sin, by whom princes command, who has this day been chosen by particular devotion as Patroness of Austria, the Emperor Ferdinand III entrusts and consecrates all his possessions, his person, his children, his people, his armies, his domains; and in perpetual memory of this his devotion he has erected this statue."

There was never witnessed a more solemn feast than the celebration of inaugurating this splendid monument; it was indeed a triumph of the Immaculate Conception of Mary.

The pious Emperor, accompanied by his son Ferdinand IV, King of Bohemia and Hungary, by his daughter Marianna of Austria, Queen of Spain, by many ambassadors and all his nobles, by all the religious communities and secular clergy, and followed by an immense crowd, went in procession and closed the ceremony by pronouncing his vow aloud, thus edifying the court and the people by his tender piety.

This pious and splendid act of devotion in honor of the Immaculate Conception of Mary was so pleasing to her, that effects of her maternal protection were seen without delay. Indeed, when a few days afterwards the Emperor went to Eger, a city close to the enemy's camp, he was able to stop the rapid advance of the Swedes at one blow and obliged them to retire, forcing them to agree to a treaty of peace that was a glorious and lasting one for all his Empire.

Prayer

O Virgin most holy, conceived without shadow of sin, thou didst remain, during thy whole life, purer and more brilliant than the light of day. We beseech thee to drive far from us the hellish serpent, who geeks to drag us into the abyss of sin: help us to win a complete victory over the enemies of our salvation, that we may be able to praise thee eternally in heaven. Amen.

Queen of All Saints - THE CORONATION OF MARY IN HEAVEN

THE FAIREST FLOWER OF PARADISE - CONSIDERATIONS ON THE LITANY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, ENRICHED WITH EXAMPLES DRAWN FROM THE LIVES OF THE SAINTS BY Very Rev. ALEXIS M. LEPICIER, O. S. M.

"And he set the royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti." (Esther, ii, 17.)

THE resurrection and assumption of Mary were immediately followed by her coronation in heaven. Mary's entry into glory was celebrated with tokens of the greatest joy by all the denizens of the Celestial Court. The Incarnate Word arose on His Mother's entrance, and seated her at His right hand. He then placed upon her head a crown fairer and more resplendent than any diadem bespangled with the most precious gems: Corona aurea super mitram eius. (Ecclus. xlv, 14.) Then, with one accord, the Angelic choirs made heaven ring with the glad melody: Regina Caeli, laetare, alleluia!

On the crown which adorned Mary's brow were graven the titles of her excellence and the most glorious deeds she had achieved in her mortal life.

Ah, indeed, Mary was worthy to be crowned in heaven. Had she not, by the merits of Jesus Christ, her Son, crushed the proud head of the infernal serpent? Had she not offered herself and her beloved Jesus to death for the redemption of mankind? Was she not that unconquerable Virgin who triumphed over the world and the devil?

Rejoice, my soul, that Mary, thy Mother, has been crowned by the Almighty, Queen of All Saints, and proclaimed by Him Sovereign and Mistress of heaven and earth.

Amongst the saints reigning in heaven, there are some who, besides the crown of glory which decks their brows, possess also a distinctive mark, in token of some peculiar merit they have acquired in life. This mark is called aureola, and it is of three kinds; that of the Martyrs, of the Doctors and of the Virgins.

The Mother of God did not receive an aureola properly speaking, because her crown of glory is so dazzlingly bright, as to eclipse all distinctive marks of singular excellence. The spotless purity of her soul, the ardent charity which burned in her immaculate heart, her profound knowledge of the divine mysteries, all these things were perfectly expressed by the matchless splendor of her crown of glory, which outshone in its brilliancy the beauty of all the crowns of lesser saints put together.

While the sun robed Mary with its royal mantle, and the moon was set as a footstool under her feet, twelve shining stars encircled her head with radiant splendor, as though to enhance yet more her crown of glory: they were, as it were, the outward expression of the extraordinary virtues and precious gifts which adorned her soul.

Though crowned with such exceeding glory, Mary did not, however, lose anything of that sweet mother-love infused into her heart by God, when, at the foot of the cross, she was appointed our spiritual Mother. On the contrary, her kindness, her mercy, her compassion for us are intensified in proportion to her exaltation. She now uses her high position only to aid us and load us with benefits.

Ah, how happy should we esteem ourselves to have for our Queen such an exalted creature, who is at the same time the most tender of mothers!

It often-times happens that the images of Mary, venerated in the most renowned sanctuaries of the world, are crowned with solemn pomp by the prelates of the Church. Such ceremonies are but a faint and far-off shadow of the august pageantry of her coronation in heaven. It would he wrong to see in these acts a vain pretension or a rash temerity; it is only filial piety which prompts the Church to crown here below the image of her, who became at the foot of the cross our Advocate and Mother.

The Redeemer, in placing on Mary's brow a crown of everlasting glory, desired to bear witness to the fidelity of His Mother. In the same way, the golden crowns with which the sacred ministers adorn the images of the Immaculate Virgin, are meant as tokens of grateful homage on the part of humanity at large to its supreme Benefactress. It is, furthermore, an act of reparation for the ingratitude whereof so many are guilty toward her, and an expression of love in atonement for the many offenses which, alas! sinners commit against our august and merciful Queen. And Mary, as a kind and loving Mother, does not disdain such acts of atonement, but graciously accepts them as tokens of mankind's filial love.

Example - The miraculous cure of two dumb boys

A pious custom exists in Catholic countries of placing, on the exterior walls of houses some picture or statue of our blessed Lady, whereby those who pass by may be reminded to render homage to the Queen of Heaven. How pleasing such acts of reverence are to the Mother of God, may be seen from the miracles which took place in the town of Reggio, in Emilia, on the evening of the twenty-ninth of April, 1596.

The Religious of the Order of the Servants of Mary had painted on the outward side of their garden wall a picture of Our Lady, and the citizens never failed to salute it when passing. The devotion of the people toward this picture increased as time went on, and little children used to come with their parents every evening to sing the praises of Mary before it.

It happened, one day, while several people were gathered together, that among these pious visitors was found a boy of fifteen named Mark, of Castelnuovo di Garfagnana, who was both deaf and dumb. While he was kneeling with hands joined in prayer, expressing in this way his tender affection toward Our Lady, he suddenly felt his tongue growing in his mouth, and transported by joy he exclaimed: "Jesus Mary!" Mary had answered the prayer of the poor boy. He was perfectly cured.

The fame of this miracle spread far and wide, and soon reached the ears of the Bishop of Modena, Monsignor Claudius Rangoni, who ordered a process of this event to be canonically instituted.

Meanwhile another young boy, who also was dumb, had recourse to the same image of Our Lady, and suddenly recovered the use of his tongue. The Sovereign Pontiff, Clement VIII, hearing of these marvelous occurrences, declared the picture to be miraculous and ordered that it should be venerated as such by all the faithful.

But miracle succeeded miracle and on the sixth of June of the following year, 1597, in the presence of Alphonsus II duke of Ferrara, Modena e Reggio and of his consort Margaret Gonzaga, the first stone of a magnificent church was solemnly blessed. This church is now known as the "Shrine of Our Lady of Ghiara." (From Annals of the Order of the Servants of Mary.)

Prayer

We rejoice with thee, O Virgin Immaculate, at the glory which thy Son, true God and true Man, heaped upon thee on the day of thy coronation. Grant, we beseech thee, that we too, after this short life, may be admitted to contemplate thine incomparable glory in heaven. Amen.

Queen of Virgins - VIRTUE OF TEMPERANCE IN MARY

THE FAIREST FLOWER OF PARADISE - CONSIDERATIONS ON THE LITANY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, ENRICHED WITH EXAMPLES DRAWN FROM THE LIVES OF THE SAINTS BY Very Rev. ALEXIS M. LEPICIER, O. S. M.

"Oh, how beautifid is the chaste generation with glory! For the memory thereof is immortal! because it is known both with God and with men." (Wisd. iv, 1).

THE Church teaches us that the Christian must all submit in expiation of our sins. Our divine Redeemer Himself impressed upon us this great truth when He said: "Unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish." (Luke xiii. 3.)

The object of penance is, in the first place, to lead us to refrain ourselves, in so far as reason and faith demand, from the inordinate desire of sensual pleasure, to which our fallen nature is inclined. So strong is this inclination, that we are ever in danger of falling into the slough of vice. How many Christians, alas, by following their unbridled imagination, lose both soul and body together!

Wherefore, Holy Church imposes upon us the obligation of fasting, putting us in mind of the advantages which accrue from this salutary penance to which we practice. Fasting, in effect, "represses vices, raises our thoughts heavenward, makes easy the practice of virtue, and is a constant source of merit." (Preface for Lent.)

Let us set ourselves to appreciate as we should, Christian mortification, which procures for us so many and such great advantages for time and eternity.

As Mary was not tainted with original sin, she did not experience in herself this disorderly proneness to the pleasures of sense, the.baneful consequence of the sin of our first parents. Being full of grace, she maintained always the just balance of the powers of her soul. She performed all her actions with ease and delight, not having to use violence with herself, in order to preserve that even poise of the faculties, which reason arid the law of God demand.

Nevertheless, Mary subjected herself willingly to the law of penance and mortification, denying herself those pleasures which others are wont to seek after with an unquenchable craving. Her life was one long series of privations and self-denials. Her fasting and abstinence was continual. She only allowed herself what was necessary to maintain life and no more. She mortified all her senses, so that it were hard to say in what particular kind of mortification she excelled, in modesty of the eyes, in lowliness of mien, in the sparingness of her words or in the dignity of her gestures.

It was natural, then, that her Heavenly Bridegroom should find in her all His delight. And as the fruit of this temperance, Mary acquired an extraordinary facility in conversing familiarly with her Well-Beloved, a heavenly joy which was depicted on her countenance, a virginal beauty which radiated from her whole presence, a something so indescribably sweet and majestic, that it gave to her an aspect rather divine than human: "How beautiful art thou my love, how beautiful art thou! Thine eyes are as doves' eyes, besides what is hid within!" (Cant. iv, 1.)

The virtue of temperance is necessary to the Christian who would live according to the law of God. When this virtue is wanting, the spirit becomes the slave of the flesh. It can no longer relish things divine; for, says St. Paul, "the sensual man perceiveth not the things that are of the Spirit of God." (1 Cor. ii, 14.)

In fact, gluttony and gross living naturally tend to the obscuring of the intellect and to the quenching of spiritual light. It is vain, therefore, to look for wisdom among those that live in luxury and abundance:"Wisdom is not found in the land of them that live in delight." (Job, xxviii, 18.) Moreover intemperance, by exciting a wild gaiety, often provokes bickerings and dissensions, and it is a known fact that gluttony takes a greater toll of human lives than does disease. But what is still worse, intemperance excites in man all kinds of impure thoughts, which find vent in words, gestures and actions contrary to holy modesty; it hardens the heart and prepares the way to eternal perdition.

Example - Blessed Elizabeth Picenardi

This illustrious Servant of Mary was born in Mantua, in the year 1428. In her infancy, she preferred prayer and recollection to childish pastimes, thus foreboding the great sanctity to which she would one day attain. Animated with lively devotion to our blessed Lady, she retired, after her mother's death, to the house of her sister and begged that she might be given the habit of the Third Order of the Servants of Mary. From that time, her whole life was one continual exercise of the most sublime virtues. She meditated continually on the passion of Jesus and the sorrows of Mary, and she never let a day pass without purifying her soul in the sacrament of Penance, that she might receive the Holy Eucharist with greater spiritual fruit. She fasted frequently and always wore an iron chain next her skin-. Every day she recited the Divine Office with great fervor and devotion, striving to penetrate the mystical and sublime meaning of the liturgical and scriptural prayers.

Her holiness and example attracted many noble ladies to the service of God. Under her wise direction these persons attained a high degree of perfection. Many convents of the Servite or Mantellate Sisters were founded by the help of Blessed Elizabeth.

Mary, whose chosen daughter she was, deigned to visit her many times in her poor cell, joining in familiar conversation with her. So great was her power of intercession, that it sufficed for any one to recommend himself to her prayers, for him to obtain from Mary all the graces he desired. Thus she was known as the "Mediatrix with the Mother of God."

Her humility was so profound, that she thought herself to be the most wretched of creatures, and God in return for this granted her many favors. It is generally thought that Blessed Elizabeth never lost her baptismal innocence. Moreover, she possessed the gift of prophecy to a marked degree, and among other things she foretold the day of her death, which occurred in the year 1468, being the forty-first year of her age. She then had the privilege of contemplating the Child Jesus and His-holy Mother, who were present, to assist her in the passage from time to eternity.

The body of the Blessed Elizabeth rests at Mantua, in the Church of St. Bernard. This great Servant of Mary continually obtains from God many graces and favors for all who have recourse to her with confidence. The Sovereign Pontiff Pius VII placed her among the Blessed on the twentieth of November, 1804.

Prayer

O Mary, most temperate of virgins, thou didst taste, more than any other creature, the pure joys of the spiritual life. Help me, I beg thee, to overcome the seductions of sense, in order that, preserving myself chaste in body and soul, I may enjoy with thee those spiritual delights which are promised to us, through the merits of Christ Jesus, our Saviour. Amen.

Queen of Confessors - VIRTUE OF FAITH IN MARY

THE FAIREST FLOWER OF PARADISE - CONSIDERATIONS ON THE LITANY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, ENRICHED WITH EXAMPLES DRAWN FROM THE LIVES OF THE SAINTS BY Very Rev. ALEXIS M. LEPICIER, O. S. M.

"Blessed art thou that hast believed, because those things shall be accomplished, that were spoken to thee by the Lord." (Luke, i, 45.)

FAITH, the root and basis of our justification, is a supernatural gift which God bestows upon the soul, to guide it toward the possession of His love upon earth and of Himself in heaven. By the theological virtue of faith, our intellect believes the truths of revelation, and although it does not comprehend them, it nevertheless assents to them freely, but at the same time most firmly, as though these truths were made evident to it. Faith also keeps us from error, and holds always before our eyes the last end for which we were created, thus guiding our steps in the way of salvation.

Faith is, then, a priceless gift; beyond all comparison more desirable than all the reasoning's  of philosophy, or the discoveries of men of science.

What disastrous ruin befalls the soul in which this heavenly light is quenched! If a man by mortal sin loses divine grace, he is not thereby altogether cut off from all means of recovery; his understanding still remains united to God, he still acknowledges God as his last end and the sole good which can fully satisfy the cravings of his soul. .But if unhappily he should lose faith, ah! then indeed, he is removed far from God, and the action of Christ's redemption cannot reach him.

Oh, how pitiful is the condition of the unbeliever, who is "without Christ, alien from the conversation of Israel and stranger to the testament, having no hope of the promise, and without God in this world !" (Eph. ii, 12.)

Mary's faith was the most perfect that ever existed: it is consequently worthy to be proposed for our imitation. Jesus Christ by virtue of the hypo-static union, enjoyed continually the beatific vision of the Divine Essence. He could not consequently practice the virtue of faith. Pre-eminence, therefore, in the exercise of this virtue, belongs to Mary, who for this reason is called Queen of Confessors. That is why those whose lives are spent in disseminating in one way or another the Gospel of Jesus Christ, take Mary for their patroness. Mary, whose faith never waned, obtains for them that their preaching may prove fruitful in men's hearts.

However, the faith of no other confessor was ever put to such severe proof as Mary's. On the one hand, the lowly esteem she had of herself might well engender in her, doubts as to the reality of her titles of Mother of God and co-Redemptress of the human race; on the other hand, the self-abasement of Jesus, His labors and opprobrium might have been for her, as they were for so many, an occasion of scandal. Nothing, however, was able to shake her faith in her Son's divine origin and her belief in the office she herself was fulfilling in the work of our redemption. Thus she took her stand by the cross of the dying Jesus, and remained an unshaken witness both to the divinity and to the humanity of Jesus and of the truth of His supernatural mission.

This faith of the Virgin Mother, which shone out with such brightness amid the darkness of an unbelieving world, is indeed worthy of our admiration. Like a brilliant light-house placed upon a firm rock, Mary withstood the fiercest tempests, illuminating the world with the splendor of her faith.

From early childhood, Mary set herself to the practice of the virtue of faith, thus meriting so deep a penetration into the knowledge and love of God, that she came to possess more grace than can be found in the entire host of assembled Seraphim. Moreover, she had the happiness of seeing accomplished in her the promises made by the Angel, promises which she herself, with prophetic insight, celebrated in her triumph-song, the "Magnificat." This faith was, besides, the principle of her exaltation and the source of that singular power of intercession she was to possess forever in heaven.

Let us appeal to Mary, asking her to intercede for us, that the lamp of our faith may never be put out, tout that on the contrary this holy virtue may ever go on growing and increasing in our souls.

Example - St. Dominic

St. Dominic was born in the town of Calarhuega, in the diocese of Osma, in Old Castile, of the noble family of Gusman.

From his earliest years Dominic was much given to prayer, and he was especially devout to our blessed Lady, whom he chose for his Mother and Patroness. He successfully completed his studies at the University of Palenza and, on being raised to the priesthood, devoted himself with great zeal to the salvation of souls.

When his fervor and the purity of his faith became known, he was invited to preach against the Albigenses, a sect of heretics who at that time were infesting the district of Toulouse. He willingly accepted this task, but at first did not see his labors blessed with abundant fruits. He then begged our blessed Lady to inspire him with a more effective way of fulfilling his difficult office. This glorious Virgin appeared to him and told him how easily he could combat the heretics, if he would practice the recital of the Angelical Salutation in the form of the Rosary, according to the method which she herself explained to him. St. Dominic at once began to propagate this great devotion and soon gained a great victory over this heresy.

He was most devout to the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady. He transcribed the teaching concerning this truth in a book, which was thrice submitted to the trial of fire in the presence of heretics and each time the book remained unharmed in the midst of the flames. He was indefatigable in this crusade and was continually preaching the word of God and bringing sinners to repentance. He obtained most abundant fruits by the propagation of the devotion of the holy Rosary, which was most dear to him.

From Toulouse, the practice of reciting the holy Rosary spread to other regions, producing everywhere the best results. It was approved and richly indulgenced by several Roman Pontiffs. Dominic, in his ardent zeal for God's glory, founded the Order of Friars Preachers, whose end it was to combat heresy and defend the truths of our holy religion with the help of Our Lady. He died peacefully on the sixth of August, 1221.

Prayer

O Mary, look down on us, poor sinners, with a gaze of pity, and see with how many dangers our faith is encompassed, on the part of the world and of the devil. O Mother of Mercy, present our humble supplication, reinforced by thine intercession, before the throne of the Most High, as we say with the Apostles: "Lord, we believe: do thou increase our faith." (Luke, xvii, 5.) Amen.

Queen of Martyrs - MARY THE COMPANION OF JESUS IN HIS SUFFERINGS

THE FAIREST FLOWER OF PARADISE - CONSIDERATIONS ON THE LITANY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, ENRICHED WITH EXAMPLES DRAWN FROM THE LIVES OF THE SAINTS BY Very Rev. ALEXIS M. LEPICIER, O. S. M.

"To what shall I compare thee? To what shall I liken thee, O daughter of Jerusalem? To what shall I equal thee, that I may comfort thee, O Virgin daughter of Sion? for great as the sea is thy destruction." (Lament, ii, 13.)

WHO is this virgin of whom the prophet speaks in such mournful accents? Why is her sorrow so deep, that it can be compared to no other sorrow? Certainly we should hesitate to believe that it is of the Immaculate Mother of Jesus that Jeremias spoke, were it not for the Gospel narrative, which portrays her standing by the cross of her dying Son. (John xix, 25.)

Yes, it is indeed Mary, the peerless Virgin of Juda, whose pure soul was never sullied with the slightest stain of sin, upon whose head, however, sufferings without number were heaped. In predestining her to be Mother of the Word, God had also decreed that she should become Queen of Martyrs, for it behoved her to share all the pains which her Divine Son endured during the thirty-three years of His mortal life, and to unite her own sufferings with those of the Incarnate Word, for the salvation of the human race.

With Jesus, Mary tasted the sorrows of exile, and with Him she quaffed the last dregs of that bitter cup prepared by the malice of men for the world's Redeemer. The outrages leveled at the God-Man recoiled upon her and she became in truth the most afflicted of mothers. She offered to God on Calvary the Holy Victim, and endured without flinching the bitterness of death. Finally, her last and supreme sorrow was to accompany the adorable body of her Son to the tomb: then her desolation reached its climax: "He hath made me desolate, wasted with sorrow all the day long." (Lament i, 13.)

When we pause to consider the things of this world, we perceive that this earth is a place of toil and trouble, not of joy and rest. The afflicted form the greater part of mankind, and the rare consolations which come to us are not without their dash of bitterness.

For the worldly-minded man, bent only on pleasure and enjoyment, the law of pain appears exceedingly hard: he cannot bow to it, it irritates him, and he is forever in pursuit of

the fleeting image of happiness which evades his grasp.

The man of faith, on the other hand, accustomed to regard all things by the light of God's grace, recognizes an admirable disposition of Providence in the law of suffering. Far from rebelling against this law, he submits to it, adores it and humbles himself beneath the chastening hand. He blesses this fatherly hand no less when it strikes, than when it bestows favors and graces. The man of faith understands that God smites only to heal, that this earth is not our true country, and that suffering is necessary to expiate sin. Now, are we not all sinners? Let us not, then, wonder if we are called to suffer.

O Mary, inseparable companion of Jesus Crucified, teach me the secret of this divine law of pain, that, in thy school, I may learn, by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ and thine own, to submit with a willing heart to the dispositions of Providence in my regard.

Mary being exempt from all sin, was not naturally subject to the law of pain; like Adam in the garden of Eden, she should never have experienced aught but joy and gladness. And without doubt, so it would have been, had she been an ordinary creature. But in the designs of God, Mary was predestined to become the masterpiece of grace, and it behoved her to pass through suffering, in order that she might attain to the perfection to which she had been called.

Furthermore, as Mother of the Redeemer, Mary was to cooperate as much as a creature could do so with Jesus Christ, in the work of our redemption, just as Eve in the earthly paradise had had a part in bringing about our ruin; and as the Saviour was to restore us by suffering, so Mary must drink the bitter chalice with Him.

Besides, since Mary was destined to be the Mother of the human race, it was necessary that she should know sorrow, in order that she might compassionate the miseries of her earth-born children.

Mary's soul was therefore overwhelmed and plunged in bitterness surpassed only by that of her Son. "O all ye that pass by the way, attend and see, if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow!" (Lament, i, 12.)

Example - Venerable Anna Juliana Gonzaga

Anna Catharine Gonzaga belonged to the band of those privileged souls who love to contemplate the mystery of the sorrows of Mary and endeavor to follow her on the royal road of the cross. While yet a child she used to fast every Saturday in her honor and she continued this devout practice to the end of her life. On the death of the Archduke Ferdinand I, her husband, Anna, renouncing earthly grandeurs, refused to marry again.

After having restored the Servite Order in Austria, she chose to hide herself with her eldest daughter and some other noble gentlewomen in a convent of this Order which she herself had erected at Innsbruck. At her reception of the habit she took the name of Sister Anna Juliana, in honor of St. Juliana Falconieri, the glorious Foundress of the Servite Third Order.

So glad was Sister Anna to see herself clothed in the somber habit of the Servants of Mary, that kissing it devoutly she would exclaim: "O Mother most holy, how have I merited so great a favor, as to be clothed in the habit of thy sorrows? How have I been worthy to deserve this great treasure hidden to so many others? What wealth or what rank could equal so excellent a boon? To consecrate myself wholly to thee is not enough, I am not worthy to thank thee sufficiently. Do thou therefore, most Holy Mother, render thanks for me."

When she received the news that Anna, her second daughter, had been crowned as Empress, taking in her hand the holy habit, she said to the messenger: "May my daughter Anna enjoy her royal crown; for me this habit with which I have been honored by the Queen of Heaven, is a thousand times more dear to my heart."

In order to induce her Sisters to bear ever in their mind the memory of the bitter passion of Jesus and the sorrows of Mary, the Venerable Anna Juliana prescribed among other practices that they should begin and end the Office of Our Lady with the invocation: "May the passion of Our Lord and the compassion of our blessed Lady be ever in our hearts and in our bodies. Amen."

Desiring, moreover, to partake of the sufferings of Mary, she begged to be allowed to share in the sorrows which overwhelmed her maternal heart at the foot of the cross, and her prayer was granted. Thus, having tenderly compassionated the Queen of Martyrs in this life, she was called to the joys of heaven, in the year 1620. 1

Prayer

O Mary, most sorrowful Virgin, I compassionate thee in thy woe. Thou shouldst never have known suffering, thou the most innocent of creatures, had it not been that, like Jesus, thou wouldst bear the punishment of our sins. Obtain for me of thy Son, I beg thee, the grace to hate sin with all my heart, as the sole cause of thy sufferings and of the passion of Jesus Christ. Amen.

1 From the Annals of the Order of the Servants of Mary.

Queen of Apostles - GIFT OF KNOWLEDGE IN MARY

THE FAIREST FLOWER OF PARADISE - CONSIDERATIONS ON THE LITANY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, ENRICHED WITH EXAMPLES DRAWN FROM THE LIVES OF THE SAINTS BY Very Rev. ALEXIS M. LEPICIER, O. S. M.

"I proposed therefore to take her to me, to live with me; knowing that she will communicate to me of her good things, and will he a comfort in my cares and grief." (Wisd. viii, 9.)

THE gift of knowledge, which grace produces in our souls together with the other gifts of the Holy Ghost, is a supernatural quality, enlightening our intelligence and helping us to discern with ease, in matters of faith, truth from falsehood, what is certain from what is uncertain, what is real from what is only apparent. It is an interior disposition, which makes man as it were spiritual, and enables him to form a right judgment concerning the things of this world. "The spiritual man judges all things." (1 Cor. ii, 15.)

This gift prompts us to desire and seek after truth alone. It helps us to refute, as if by instinct, the sophisms spun by wicked men against the dogmas of our faith, and makes us understand the emptiness of earthly goods when compared with the pure joys of heaven. Happy they who possess this gift; they know how to despise worldly pleasures and to esteem afflictions and crosses at their true worth.

The gift of knowledge is, furthermore, a bright lamp provided us by Divine Providence, the radiance of which illumines all human sciences, and makes them subject to the science of the saints, which should rule as a Queen over all other sciences.

Give me, O my God, this precious gift which will enable me to hold fast by Thy teachings, and will direct me to distinguish between truth and error, the false maxims of the world and the sound doctrines Thou hast delivered to us through the ministry of Thy Church.

Not content with granting to Mary a wonderful insight into the truths of revelation, God imparted to her, through the gift of knowledge, a kind of interior instinct which enabled her to pass an unerring verdict upon the things of this world. She easily understood how it is that all human sciences necessarily converge toward God, the primary source of all truth.

It was through the working of this gift of knowledge that the Blessed Virgin, when saluted by St. Elizabeth as Mother of God, uttered those profound words which shall ever be a subject of admiration for the whole world.

By an effect of this same gift, Mary, during the hidden life of Jesus, knew how to profit by the teaching of her Son, discerning at once between truths proclaimed by Him and the false maxims of the world, and valuing at their proper worth the labors ,He would freely undergo to redeem us from the bondage of sin. By the efficacy of this gift, she held of no account the deceitful goods of this earth, saying with St. Paul: "The things that were gain to me, the same I have counted loss for Christ." (Phil, iii, 7.)

From the first moment of her Immaculate Conception, Mary was endowed with the gift of knowledge, having been enriched, from that first moment, with sanctifying grace. But it was on the day of Pentecost that the fulness thereof came to her, when the Holy Ghost descended visibly upon her and upon the disciples gathered together in the supper-room. She then indeed became Queen of the Apostles, having received the divine gifts in a measure far greater than that granted to all the Apostles together, wherefore she is called by sacred writers, "Mistress of the Apostles."

Never, perhaps, has the gift of knowledge been so necessary to a Christian as at the present time. The father of lies is making incredible efforts to spread misbelief and heresy throughout the world, and one must be blind not to see the headway that evil is making, particularly through the spreading of a corrupt press, the hireling of error and vice.

However, the greatest danger does not come from the avowed enemies of the Church. It comes from those writers who, greedy of worldly renown, in reality are engaged in marring the purity of our faith. Under the pretence of defending the Christian dogmas, these writers are bent upon eliminating from the Gospel whatsoever is not in keeping with their own erroneous view, or with the baneful tendencies of modern times, thus making a league with error.

Oh, how we should be on our guard against these perfidious enemies! Let us entreat the Holy Ghost to be our guide in the midst of so many errors, and Himself to teach us, "to know the charity of Christ which surpasseth all knowledge," (Eph. iii, 19.) in order that we may always preserve inviolate the precious treasure of faith.

Example - St. John The Evangelist

St. John, the son of Zebedee and Salome, was among the apostles named "the beloved" of Jesus, as is signified in those words "The one whom Jesus loved." At the Last Supper he merited to lay his head on the bosom of his Divine Master. This Apostle responded to his Lord's great love by repaying Him with a like heartfelt affection, for which we have abundant proofs in his writings and his life.

This love for Jesus, however, was ever accompanied in St. John by a singular love for Mary, as Jesus Himself bore testimony on the cross. Indeed, while the Redeemer was suffering the agonies of the crucifixion, He pointed out St. John to Our Lady, who was there present on Calvary, saying to her: "Woman, behold thy son"; and to St. John: "Behold thy Mother."

Thus did Our Saviour signify that St. John was to be united to Our Lady as a dear son is united to his mother, even in the same manner as Jesus Himself was united to her. St. John himself tells us how faithfully he corresponded to the mission entrusted to him, for henceforth he received Our Lady into his home. Hence tradition represents him as the faithful guardian of Our Lady while she remained on this earth.

As love is preserved and fostered by mutual friendly intercourse, we may say that St. John was the person who loved Our Lady most after St. Joseph, for no other person, except the chaste Spouse of Mary, dwelt with her so long or with greater intimacy. This familiar living with Mary merited for St. John that spiritual insight into the things of God, which is apparent from his writings. Indeed, we see that he, more than the other apostles, penetrated into the heavenly mystery of the Incarnation and the hidden things of the adorable Heart of Jesus, whence he is called the Apostle of Charity.

St John was visited with heavenly visions in the island of Patmos and prophesied the future events of the Church. No less conspicious was he in the great dignity of the Apostolate, for he founded and governed the Churches of Asia, suffering persecutions and even the torment of martyrdom for the Faith, although he did not actually suffer death at the hands of the persecutors. He was the last of the apostles to pass out of this life and this in his ninetieth year, being adorned with the triple halo of Apostle, Doctor and Virgin.

Prayer

O Mary, it was the Holy Ghost Himself who taught thee that sage discernment, by which thou didst despise the pleasures of the world and esteem only the things of heaven. Obtain for me, I pray thee, from this Spirit of knowledge and truth, the grace to despise the false maxims of the world, and ever to preserve intact in my soul the sacred deposit of faith. Amen.

Queen of Prophets - MARY FORETOLD BY THE PROPHETS

THE FAIREST FLOWER OF PARADISE - CONSIDERATIONS ON THE LITANY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, ENRICHED WITH EXAMPLES DRAWN FROM THE LIVES OF THE SAINTS BY Very Rev. ALEXIS M. LEPICIER, O. S. M.

"From the beginning, and before the world was I was created, and unto the world to come I shall not cease to be, and in the holy dwelling-place I have ministered before him." (Ecclus. xxiv, 14.)

JUST as the coming of the Messias was announced in the Old Testament by a long series of figures and prophecies, in like manner also God disposed that the advent of Mary should be foretold by a number of prophetic utterances, and forshadowed by different persons and symbolic figures in the Old Law.

Indeed, when God prepares some great event, He usually paves the way for it centuries in advance by certain revelations and diverse mystic figures, thus to dispose men to receive more abundantly the graces prepared for them.

Together with the Incarnation of the Word, the dignity of Mother of God and co-Redemptress of the human race is the grandest and most glorious fact in the world's history. It was, then, only fitting that the same voices, which had predicted Christ, should announce the coming of the Blessed Mother with equal eloquence, and that the same symbols instituted by God to foreshadow the future Messias, should serve also to prefigure Mary. Thus, the Holy Scriptures are full of allusions referring to the exalted woman who was one day to beget the Word Made Flesh.

Happy they, to whom the Holy Spirit makes plain the sense of Holy Scripture by the gift of understanding, showing them in the principal symbols of the Ancient Law, the image of Mary beside that of the Messias.

Among the prerogatives which go to form the diadem of the Mother of God, the most eminent are without doubt her Immaculate Conception, her perpetual Virginity and her dignity of co-Redemptress of mankind. Wherefore, we need be under no astonishment, if these prerogatives were made the subject of special prophecies.

The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin was predicted immediately after the fall of Adam: "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.) This noteworthy woman was to be no other than Mary. In virtue of the future merits of Jesus Christ, her Son, the Holy Virgin was to be exempt from original sin, thus scoring a complete triumph over the enemy of our salvation.

The prophecy concerning the virginal birth of Christ is found in the words with which God announced to King Achaz, besieged in Jerusalem by the allied kings of Syria and Israel, the accomplishment of that wonderful fact, as a pledge of his near deliverance: "Behold a Virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel." (Isai. vii, 14.) In truth the Incarnation of a Divine Person in a Virgin's womb is the greatest of God's works.

Finally, the sacrifice which Mary was to offer in union with Jesus for the world's salvation was announced by the* Prophet Jeremias, when he thus represented this Immaculate Virgin: "Weeping she hath wept in the night and her tears are on her cheeks." (Lament, i, 2.) This was in truth a foreboding of what Mary would suffer, when, assisting at the bloody scene of Calvary, she should witness the accomplishment of the mystery of our Redemption.

Besides the prophecies concerning Mary contained in the Old Testament, there are also to be found therein many types or figures of her and her high prerogatives. Among these symbols, we note some drawn from living persons, others from inanimate things, all disclosing, each in its own way, the virtues and privileges of the Immaculate Virgin.

The deeds of Deborah, Jael and Judith foreshadow the future triumphs of the Mother of God over her enemies; Esther proclaims her matchless beauty, Abigail her prudence and the mother of the Machabees her generous ardor in suffering for Christ. Again, the earthly paradise, Noah's ark, Jacob's ladder, the burning bush, the golden candlestick and so forth, are so many symbolic figures of Mary, of her endowments and grandeur.

It is, then, true to say that, after Jesus, nothing is so much the object of the divine complacency as Mary, since God desired that the eyes of mankind should be turned constantly toward her from the very beginning, by foreshadowing her in saintly personages and sacred symbols.

Example - St. Philip Neri

Devotion to the glorious Mother of God is not only a source of holiness for those who practice it, but it often becomes for them a fountain of extraordinary favors. God, in fact, not infrequently disposes that the faithful servants of this heavenly Queen should be distinguished with one or another of those supernatural prerogatives with which He was pleased to enrich the soul of his Mother. For this reason it may be said that the more a person is animated by true devotion to the Queen of Heaven, the more such a person is made to partake of those extraordinary gifts with which the Holy Ghost beautified the soul of His beloved Spouse in the course of her mortal life.

It is well known how St. Philip Neri loved and venerated the Blessed Virgin and how he desired to see her honored and loved by his penitents. He often invoked her by her most beautiful titles, and he used to call her his love and the heavenly dispenser of the graces of her Lord. In this way he infused into those who approached him an unbounded confidence in Mary's patronage. It is not to be wondered at, therefore, that Philip received from God, through Mary's hands, some of those particular gifts which God Himself had bestowed upon His Mother.

One of these gifts was the spirit of prophecy and discernment of hearts, so that as the Holy Ghost had replenished the soul of Mary with heavenly wisdom, manifesting to her the hidden things of Heaven, so St. Philip was filled, though to a lesser degree, with this extraordinary favor of knowing things hidden to the eyes of men.

Many indeed were the things foretold by this Saint not only in ordinary matters but with regard to extraordinary events and out-of-the-way circumstances. With regard to his gift of the discernment of hearts, it must be admitted that St. Philip Neri was perfectly cognizant of the interior state of many who came to him, so much so that any one who had committed some fault and would not repent of it, did not dare to approach him, for they knew that the state of their conscience was known to him.

It was also by the aid of our blessed Lady, that St. Philip obtained the conversion of so many hardened sinners who had resisted the grace of God. By his works in the mystical vineyard of Christ, and by the victories which through his prophetical spirit he gained over sin and the devil, he won the beautiful title of "Apostle of Rome," which was due in great part to his unbounded confidence and devotion to our blessed Lady, who is rightly invoked as the "Queen of Prophets."

Prayer

O Mary, Immaculate Virgin, Mother of the Incarnate Word and our Mother too, obtain for us firmly to believe in the great mystery of the Redemption until our last breath, and to merit to partake in the benefits which Jesus Christ, thy Son, has purchased for us by His passion and death. Amen.