xxiv. 52), and Mary led them to the Cenacle to "wait for the promise of

the Father," as her Son had bidden them.

Thus she taught them the lesson she would teach all her children--that the only thing to do in times of desolation and sorrow is to follow closely the commands of JESUS: "Whatsoever He shall say to you, do ye." It is no use to stand gazing after what has gone; this is no time for regrets; He gave a clear command: "Go to Jerusalem and wait." We shall always find that there is no balm for sorrow like fidelity to duty. It costs something; human nature longs to stay and hug its sorrow; but it is far wiser to turn away from the loved spot and go bravely hand in hand with the Mother of Sorrows to do the next thing to which duty--that is the voice of JESUS--calls us.

_Point II._--MARY ON THE DAY OF PENTECOST

Nine days they spent with Mary the Mother of JESUS, persevering with one mind in prayer, (Acts i. 14), and going constantly to the Temple to praise and bless GOD. (St Luke xxiv. 53.) It was a Novena of prayer and thanksgiving. It was Mary's first official act as Mother of the Church. She kept the little flock together, kept them close to her Son by obedience to His last command, by intercession for the great gift that He had promised to send them, and by thanksgiving for all that He had been to them and done for them. It was the first Retreat, and they made it with Mary, the Mother of GOD.

What must Mary's prayers have been during those nine days! She was now more united than ever to her Son; her eye of faith saw Him at the Right Hand of GOD in Heaven; she saw eye to eye with Him; she knew all His interests and intentions; she had still a Mother's right to command Him; she knew that nothing in their relationship was changed, and that He would not refuse her behests in Heaven any more than He had done on earth. And so, as her eyes swept the wide horizon which was now hers, the Mother of the Church made a Novena for Pentecost, praying with all her knowledge and all her power, for the Holy Ghost to come down upon her children--to come and fill that Church of which she was the Mother, that Church which her Son had founded, for which He had given His life.

These first Retreatants had no books. They needed none--their lives were so closely bound up with the life of JESUS; the Holy Spirit prayed within them; and Mary was ever with them directing, and setting them an example. In proportion as these things are true of us are we independent of _exterior_ help in our prayers. And the more we are able to dispense with exterior help, the more interior and real will be our prayers.

Then "when the days were accomplished"--when the Novena was over--the Holy Ghost came down as JESUS had promised that He should--came down as a tongue of fire upon each one: a proof that He had entered into each one of those expectant, faithful souls, filling each according to his capacity, and giving each the power needful to carry on the work that was appointed for him to do.

What, then, must have been the measure with which Mary was "filled with the Holy Ghost," for what was the Apostles' work compared with hers? She had always been "full of grace"--she had long been the spouse of the Holy Ghost, ever since He had overshadowed her at the Incarnation, and He had always been filling her according to her ever-increasing capacity. We have seen how, under her Son's training, her horizon was ever enlarging--how much wider it became on Calvary, how pain and joy had dilated her heart, how her intercourse with her Divine Son during those forty days had still more widened her outlook; and now, with all the fresh territory over which she was to reign, in her mind and in her heart, she had been praying--the Holy Ghost had been praying within her--for Him to come and overshadow her once again, and fill her with grace that she might be able to meet all her new responsibilities as Mother of the Church. Mary had more need of the Holy Ghost than any of the hundred and twenty souls gathered in the Cenacle; her desire to receive Him too was greater than theirs; and so we may well believe that she received Him in a fuller measure. She had no need of the gifts of tongues and miracles, which were a necessity to the Apostles, to help them in the beginning of their difficult work. Her work during the remaining years of her life was that of intercession, and it was to be carried on in secret and obscurity. The gifts she needed from the Holy Ghost were those of hiddenness, patience, humility, conformity to GOD'S will. She needed Him in all His plenitude to pray within her with "unutterable groanings" for all the needs of the Church throughout all time. Her work was still, as it ever had been, to _ponder_ in her heart--to meditate and hold colloquies with her Divine Son, through the agency of the Holy Spirit, about all the interests which they had in common.

_Colloquy._ "Our Lady of Light, Spouse of the Holy Ghost, I offer thee my whole heart, my soul and my body, to keep for JESUS, that I may be His for ever. Our Lady of Light, pray for me." (_Prayer of Blessed Grignon de Montfort._)

_Resolution._ To think more of the Holy Spirit praying within me.

_Spiritual Bouquet._ "Sacrarium Spiritus Sancti, ora pro nobis." (Sanctuary of the Holy Spirit, pray for us.)

Mary's Exile

"_Woe is me that my sojourning is prolonged._" (Ps. cxix. 5.)

_1st Prelude._ A statue or picture of Our Lady.

_2nd Prelude._ Grace to learn how an exiled child of Eve should live.

_Point I._--MARY'S EXILE

Tradition tells us that St John took the Holy Mother to his house in Jerusalem, and that it was there that she died, though she spent some of the time of her exile at Ephesus. In solitude and silence she pondered over all the wonderful mysteries of her life; she interceded for her new-born child, the Church, which had already so many needs; and she helped the Apostles by her prayers. They were soon scattered in different directions, "making disciples of all nations," as their Master had bidden them; and it would only be at rare intervals that they could come and see their Mother, and talk over their difficulties, and get the advice of her who saw eye to eye with her Son. But what a comfort and strength it must have been to them to know that she was always there, telling her Divine Son of their needs!

And during those long years--according to some opinions fifteen, to others, twenty-three--what was Mary's strength? The same as it had ever been--union with her Son. Every day, tradition tells us, she received Him in the Blessed Sacrament at the hands of St John. What Communions must those have been, when Mary said again: _Ecce ancilla Domini, fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum_, and her GOD was again incarnate within her! What made those Communions so intense? The fact that His love and desire in coming were _reciprocated_. The love and desire are never wanting on His side, but unfortunately there is so little of either on ours! It takes more than one to make a good Communion. _A joining together_ of two is the meaning of the word. If the union is to be strong, fervent, real, lasting, each must do his part. Oh, teach me, dear Mother, how to receive thy Son in Holy Communion. Thy whole life was centred in Him; thy every thought was with Him; everything thou didst was done for Him; every moment of thy exile gladly borne for Him; every sigh a spiritual Communion; and when each day the glad moment of actual Communion came, it was just His embrace--He pressed thee to His Heart for a few minutes, telling thee it would not be long before thy exile would be over, and thou wouldst see His Face again. Thy Communions were an ecstasy of love--help me to put a little more love into mine; teach me to regard them as the Bread from Heaven sent specially for the exile; teach me to make them the centre of my life; teach me to live my whole life with Him, so that my Communion may never be interrupted. This should be the aim, surely, of every communicant; it is the ideal life; it is the life that JESUS intended when He said: "He that eateth Me, he shall live by Me." It is possible; but oh, how far I come short!

_Point II._--THE REASON FOR MARY'S EXILE

Why did her Son leave her behind to suffer so intensely, as He well knew she would, from the separation? Would not the Beatific Vision in Heaven have been better than her Communions on earth? Could not her intercession for the Church have been even more effectual had she been close to her Son's throne in Heaven? Could she not have been the Mother of Good Counsel in Heaven for those who had to guide the Church in its infancy, as she has been ever since?

We can think of many reasons why JESUS left her in exile for a time:--

1. She had to _nurse the new-born Church_ by strengthening and encouraging the Apostles with her example, so like that of the Master Himself, and by supplying the Evangelists with many details of His life, which they could not have learnt from any lips but hers.

2. She had to _establish her position_ as Mother of the Church--the tradition was to be handed down by the Apostles that it was _she_ who guided, and tended, and cared for the Church during the early and tender years of its existence; that it was to her they turned in times of perplexity and doubt; that her constant intercession for them was their strength. This could not have been so had she left the earth with her Son. During those long years of exile the new child learnt to regard Mary as its Mother, and when she was taken away into Heaven, it was quite natural to it still thus to regard her, and to teach all who came after to do the same.

3. Our Lord would give her still more time to _increase her merits_ by suffering. He wanted her crown to be the most beautiful possible, and even for the Mother of GOD there was only one way to make it so--the way of suffering, which intensified her love and humility and submission to GOD'S will.

4. May not another reason have been in order that she might be the _better able to sympathise_ with the exiled children of Eve (_exules filii Evæ_)? Had He taken her with Him, they would surely have felt that their Mother could not quite understand their position. And what is such an effectual barrier to sympathy as the feeling that we are not understood?

So Mary was left in exile to gain much that she could not have gained otherwise.

I am one of the exiled children of Eve. What have _I_ got to do as an exile?

1. _I have to establish my position._ There is a certain place prepared for me in Heaven, which _may_ be mine through all eternity. What is to decide whether I get it or not? The way I "pass the time of my sojourning" here. By the time my exile is over, I must so have lived that there must be no doubt about it that I belong to the Heavenly land; that I am a child of GOD and an heir to His Kingdom; that I seek not the things of earth but those which are above; that Heaven is my Home. And what will be my position there? Mary earned her position as Queen of Angels, of Patriarchs, Prophets, Martyrs, Virgins, as Mother of the Church. What position shall I earn? That depends, as Mary's did, on my fidelity to grace. I shall have just that degree of glory and merit to which I have attained when I am called hence to give an account of my stewardship--no less and no more. The position I have to establish, then, during my exile, is that of being known by all the inhabitants of Heaven--all the Angels and Saints--as one who is sure to join them one day. "Make your calling and election _sure_."

2. _I have to suffer._ One of the actual reasons for my being here on earth is that I may _suffer_--not that suffering is in itself good, but it gives me the means--perhaps the greatest means--of developing the virtues which must be mine if I am to enter the Kingdom one day. Our Lord chose for Himself and for His Mother a life of suffering, to make us understand and to show us how suffering may aid us--yes, the very same suffering which hardens the sinner. What is the secret, then, of suffering? That by means of it, and because of it, we may make Acts of Love and Contrition and Submission to GOD'S Will. Suffering is too powerful an instrument to leave our human nature untouched by it; we _must_ do something under it--either _curse_ GOD and die, as Job's wife advised him to do, or _bless_ Him all the more fervently, as Job did. Let me remember, then, that one of the things I have to do as an exile is to see to it that GOD gets, out of each piece of suffering that He sends me, the extra _love_ that He expected would result from it.

3. _To do the work GOD wants me to do_; to work in my little corner of His vineyard; to co-operate with Him in His great work of the salvation of souls; and to show sympathy and kindness to my fellow-exiles.

_Colloquy._ _The Salve Regina_:--"Hail, holy Queen, Mother of Mercy; hail, our life, our sweetness, and our hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve; to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning, and weeping in this vale of tears. Turn then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us; and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed Fruit of thy womb, JESUS: O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary." (_Anthem from Trinity to Advent._)

_Resolution._ To learn the exile's lessons.

_Spiritual Bouquet._ "For we have not here a lasting city, but we seek one that is to come." (Heb. xiii. 14.)

Mary's Death

"_They that work by me shall not sin._" (From the Epistle for the Vigil of the Assumption, Ecclus. xxiv. 30.)

_1st Prelude._ A picture of Mary's death.

_2nd Prelude._ To prepare for death by living "by Mary."

_Point I._--"THE STING OF DEATH IS SIN" (1 Cor. xv. 56)

Sin had never touched Mary; there was therefore for her no sting in death. She had no penalty to pay, neither had she to die for others as her Son died. Why, then, should Mary die?

1. Because she had a mortal nature. She belonged to the great human race, and it was therefore appointed unto her to die. (Heb. ix. 27.)

2. Because she chose to die (the Fathers say her Son gave her the choice) that she might be conformable in all things to her Son, and also that she might be the better able to help, and pray for, and sympathise with her children, who throughout all time would be constantly saying: "Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death."

3. Because Our Lord wanted her to have a specially chosen death--one that came neither from old age nor sickness, but simply from _love_. Her love for Him was so great that her body could no longer hold her soul captive.

4. Because GOD would not deprive her of the inestimable privilege of making the sacrifice of her life to Him, and such a life! This practice it is which makes the death of His Saints precious in the sight of the Lord. (Ps. cxv. 15.)

Let us learn two lessons:--

1. To _choose_ to be in all things conformable to JESUS, even though this choice means death to self.

2. How precious a thing in GOD'S sight is the sacrifice of their lives to Him by His children! Let us resolve to make Him this sacrifice often beforehand--at least every night before we take from His Hands the precious gift of sleep which "He giveth His beloved."

_Point II._--MARY'S PREPARATION FOR DEATH

We are told that some little while before her death an Angel (probably Gabriel) was sent to tell her that her time was at hand. She answered: _Ecce ancilla Domini_ ("Behold the handmaid of the Lord"), and made once again the sacrifice of her life. She then told the news to John, who made it known to the faithful. How great their sorrow must have been at the prospect of losing such a Mother! St Denis tells us that Our Lord brought all the Apostles and missionaries, who were scattered all over the world, to witness her death. She blessed them, and encouraged them to continue their work, saying that she would help them powerfully in Heaven. Her joy was full because the time, which was to unite her to her Son, had come at last; but Mary was not selfish in her joy any more than she had been in her grief. She did not forget the sorrow of her children; they were still to be exiles, but exiles with a Mother in the Homeland--a Mother who would be there to befriend them and take an interest in all they were doing.

Do I realise this--that while I am an exile here I have a Mother in Heaven who is taking the keenest interest in all that concerns me, in all that is preparing me for my Home; a Mother who is waiting there for me, ready to welcome me?

_Point III._--HOW MARY DIED

There was no sickness, no wearing out nor decay of that beautiful body, no effects in it of original sin. Of what, then, did Mary die? Of two things--_love_ and _desire_; and these were so intense that even _her_ body, strong and perfect though it was, had not the power to detain the soul captive any longer. Mary died of love, as her Son had died of grief--a grief which was the outcome of an immense love. Did Mary receive the Last Sacraments? The Sacrament of Penance was out of the question for her sinless soul; we may doubt about Extreme Unction; but with what intensity of love and desire must she have received her Viaticum! And when JESUS came with all His court to fetch her immaculate soul, we are told that she said: "Thy will be done; for a long time I have sighed after Thee, my Son and my GOD; nothing can be more delightful than to join Thee and be where Thou art for ever."

Then the Angels began to sing--all who were present heard them--and while they sang, Mary said her _Fiat_ and died, and her most pure soul began its eternal happiness in the sight of the Beatific Vision. The Eternal Trinity gave it the glory which was its due--the reward of her love so pure, so generous, so constant. She had a higher degree of glory and a clearer vision of GOD than all the Saints, because glory depends on grace, virtue, and merit, of which she had far more than any of them.

What does Mary's death say to me? "They that work by me shall not sin." You cannot be sinless, as I was, you cannot die of love, as I did, (St Theresa and St Philip of Neri did), but you can, by keeping close to me, and doing all your work at my side, keep from all wilful sin, and you can thus love JESUS so much that when He comes to fetch you, death will have no terrors for you, and you, too, will be able to say: _Ecce ancilla Domini_, Here I am, Thy servant, doing Thy work. "Blessed is that servant whom the Lord when He cometh shall find watching"; and the best way to watch is to work at Mary's side.

And let me never forget that my degree of glory in Heaven will be according to the amount of grace and merit that I have at the moment of my death. How thankful I should be that I still have power to increase these! And how eager and zealous to use my time to the best advantage! Death cometh when no man can work--when no more merit, no more reparation will be possible. The point I have then reached will be mine through all eternity. "As the tree falls, so will it lie." Holy Mary, Mother of GOD, pray for me now and at the hour of my death.

_Colloquy_ with Mary, my Mother in Heaven, who is pleading for me; who is letting me do all my work close to her side; and who will be there at the hour of my death, to put me back into the Hands of her Son, Who gave me to her when He was on the Cross, saying: "Take this child and nurse it for Me." And He will see to it that none shall pluck me out of His Hands, for it is impossible for a child of Mary to be lost.

_Resolution._ To let love for her Son keep me close to Mary's side to-day, listening to all her directions about my work, so that I may do it to please Him.

_Spiritual Bouquet._ "They that work by me shall not sin."

Mary's Tomb

"_I gave a sweet smell like cinnamon and aromatical balm; I yielded a sweet odour like the best myrrh._" (Ecclus. xxiv. 20.)

"_In the Holy City likewise I rested, and my_ abode _is in the full assembly of the Saints._" (verses 15, 16.)

_1st Prelude._ The Apostles carrying the body of their Mother to the grave.

_2nd Prelude._ The grace of faith and love to penetrate into these mysteries.

_Point I._--MARY'S BODY

The Angels still continued singing, while the Apostles and missionaries and women wept around the body. But the heavenly music was catching, and it was not long before the mourners dried their tears and joined in the Angels' hymn of praise. We are told that the sick and the blind and the lame were allowed to come and kiss the precious body, and that in so doing they were instantly healed. Why was Mary's body so precious? Because it had been the tabernacle of the Son of GOD. Why is mine so precious? Because it, too, is so often the tabernacle of JESUS Christ. Do I realise that this makes my body holy? And do I regard it as something precious, consecrated and dedicated, GOD'S Temple, His own dwelling-place? Often have Angels adored before it! How much respect, then, ought I to show it! How careful I ought to be as to what I do with it, and to what use I put it!

We are told that when the Apostles carried the bier to the grave, near the Garden of Gethsemani, all the faithful accompanied them, and the Angels never ceased their singing. The precious body exhaled a sweet fragrance which perfumed every place the procession had to pass through, and there were miracles and conversions all along the route. They laid their precious burden in the grave, put a great stone over it, and then dispersed. But they did not leave the grave alone. The Apostles watched and prayed there in turn, listening to, and rejoicing in the Angels' song.

_Point II._--THE EMPTY TOMB

On the third day, St Thomas arrived from the Indies (the Apostles felt sure that it was Our Lord's plan that he should be late), and naturally wanted to look once again on his Mother's face. So they removed the stone, but only to find an empty tomb. They found the linen and clothes all in order, and they noted the delicious fragrance, but the body was gone; the soul had come back for it and fetched it to share in its glory. Then the Apostles remembered that during the morning the celestial singing had suddenly stopped, and they knew that their Mother, clothed in her glorified body, was even then sitting at the Right Hand of her Son in Heaven. Why was it? Why was her body not left in the tomb? Because it was impossible for that body, from which the Word had taken Flesh, and which had never been touched by sin, to "see corruption." Also, although Mary had to die, and to bear the separation of soul and body, there was no necessity in her case for that penalty to be prolonged. GOD would not keep her--a perfect human creature--in an imperfect state, which the soul without the body must ever be. So, though not yet a dogma, the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary has ever been a belief of the Church. If we need a _proof_, let us call to mind the fact that no one has ever pretended to possess relics of Our Lady's body. Our Lord would surely never have deprived the Church of such treasures, had they existed.

_Point III._--THE FOURTH GLORIOUS MYSTERY

Let me turn from the empty tomb, and try to realise the other side of the picture--Mary in Heaven. This Fourth Glorious Mystery was foretold more than once in Holy Scripture: "Arise, O Lord, into Thy resting-place; Thou, and the Ark which Thou hast sanctified." (Ps. cxxxi. 8.) What is this ark sanctified by GOD but Mary's body, of which the Son of GOD took flesh?

"The Queen stood on Thy Right Hand in gilded clothing surrounded with variety." Who is this but the Queen of Heaven clothed with her glorious body of immortality?

"A Throne was set for the King's Mother, and she sat on His Right Hand," (3 Kings ii. 19), in all the dazzling beauty of her glorified body, surrounded by adoring Saints and Angels. Her Son on His Throne is saying to her: Ask, My Mother, for I will not say thee nay. The beauty of the scene is so entrancing, the light is so dazzling, the music is so enchanting, the mystery is so wonderful, that I feel almost bewildered and want to shut my eyes and think what it all means. It means this--that I have a Mother in Heaven, and that when her Son bends towards her from His Throne, and when all the hosts of Heaven hold their breath to catch what their Queen is saying, they hear her ask some little favour for me, her child on earth. Why? Because I am saying: "Holy Mary, Mother of GOD, pray for me now." Let me, with the eye of faith and love, penetrate the thin veil, which hides these wondrous mysteries from my sight. Let me try to see things as they really are, and then my prayers will be less formal.

_Colloquy_ with Mary on the Right Hand of JESUS in Heaven.

_Resolution._ To think of her there when I say my Rosary to-day.

_Spiritual Bouquet._ "Holy Mary, Mother of GOD, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death."

"Who is She?"

(The Fourth Glorious Mystery)

"_Quæ est ista quæ progreditur quasi aurora consurgens, pulchra ut luna, electa ut sol, terribilis ut castrorum acies ordinata?_" "_Who is she that cometh forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army set in array?_" (Cant. vi. 9.)

_1st Prelude._ The Angels asking three times: "Who is she?" (Cant. iii. 6; vi. 9; viii. 5.)

_2nd Prelude._ Grace to understand who she is.

_Point I._--"WHO IS SHE?"

"Who is she?" ask the Angels, as they see Mary coming into Heaven. Once before had One clothed in the robe of His beautiful, glorified Body passed through Heaven's portals; and the Angels had said: "Who is this that cometh with dyed garments from Bosra, this beautiful One in His robe?" (Isaias lxiii. 1), and they had opened wide Heaven's gate to let in the Conqueror of sin and death, the King of glory, the Lord mighty in battle. But who is _she_--a woman, who, though she is beautiful as the morning rising, fair as the moon, and bright as the sun, is also terrible as an army set in array? She also has come from the battlefield; she also is a conqueror, for she has crushed the serpent's head; she has undone Eve's terrible work, and, as far as a creature can, has made reparation for it. She it is who has stood like a rock amidst the most crushing sorrows. Her strength is terrible to the devil, but the Angels rejoice in it, and her children flee to her as the _Refugium peccatorum_, saying: _Da mihi virtutem contra hostes tuos_. (Give me, too, strength against thy enemies.) And so the Angels open wide Heaven's gates again, to let in the Mother of the King--the Queen of Heaven--_their_ Queen--who has earned her right to her throne; not by being the Mother of GOD, but by nobly fighting the battle against sin, the world, the flesh, and the devil.

"Maria Mater gratiæ, Dulcis Parens clementiæ, Tu nos ab hoste protege, Et mortis hora suscipe."

(O Mary, Mother of grace, sweet fount of gentleness, do thou protect us from the enemy, and receive us in the hour of our death.)

And she _will_; she is there for her children. "Who is she?" She is our Mother; she will never forget it, though she is the Queen of Heaven, of Angels, and of Saints; and she will ever be terrible to all who dare to attack her children.

_Point II._--"WHO IS SHE?"

"Who is she that goeth up by the desert as a pillar of smoke, of aromatical spices, of myrrh and frankincense, and of all the powders of the perfumer?" (Cant. iii. 6.) That is: Who is she who is adorned with all possible graces and virtues? "Who is she?" She is the "fairest among women" (chap. i. 7) because of her _humility_, answers the Angel who heard her say: _Ecce ancilla Domini_, at the most exalted moment of her life. "Who is she?" She is the "fairest among women" because of her conformity to GOD'S will, say those who have heard over and over again her _Fiat_ when the sword was piercing her soul. "Who is she?" We, too, can answer the question, for we know her. We have watched her, and meditated upon her life, from the moment of her Immaculate Conception till her holy death of love and desire; and we have seen that she has always been growing in grace and in conformity to her Divine Son. Yes, she is the "fairest among women," and she is my Mother and my model. How is it with me? Am I known to my friends, to those who live with me, to my Guardian Angel, yea, to the Blessed Trinity, as one, who is growing in virtue and grace; as one, whose conformity to JESUS and His will, is apparent from the use I make of the _Ecce ancilla_ and the _Fiat_? There must be some resemblance between the child and the Mother.

_Point III._--"WHO IS SHE?"

For the third time the Angels ask the question: "Who is she that cometh up from the desert flowing with delights, leaning upon her Beloved?" (chap. viii. 5.) There is no doubt about it now--she is His Mother, and her Beloved is JESUS, the Son of GOD and of Mary. What unspeakable joy is hers to find herself once more in the arms of her Beloved! "His left hand is under my head, and His right hand shall embrace me," (chap. ii. 6), and she leans upon Him. She had never left Him really; she had been leaning on Him all the time of her exile: by her memory, by her love, by her Communions, by her constant doing of His will. This is why I can so safely lean on Mary, the Mother of Good Counsel, because to lean on her is to lean on JESUS, on Whom she leans. She nurses her children _for Him_.

"Who is she that cometh up from the desert?" In spirit Mary had ever been coming up. Always had she sought "the things that are above, where Christ sitteth at the right hand of GOD." Her treasure was in Heaven, and nothing on earth had power to attract or attach her.

How far do I copy my Mother in this? Are my affections set on things above, where JESUS and Mary are? Have things of earth no attraction for me in comparison with heavenly things? Am I ready to give them up to Him to Whom they belong when He asks for them? Is my whole heart in Heaven because my treasure is there? This is what is meant by going up from the desert. It means striving always after what is more perfect. It means that each day finds me _more_ charitable, _more_ faithful, _more_ careful about occasions of sin, _more_ like my Mother. And it means also _Sursum corda_ (Lift up your hearts) whenever the difficulties and sorrows of the desert seem too much.

_Colloquy_ with Mary.

_Resolution._ To ask myself the question often to-day: "Who is she?"

_Spiritual Bouquet._ "Pulchra es et decora filia Jerusalem, terribilis ut castrorum acies ordinata." (Thou art fair and comely, O Daughter of Jerusalem, terrible as an army set in array.)

Mary's Coronation

(The Fifth Glorious Mystery)

"_Thou wast made exceeding beautiful and wast advanced to be a Queen._" (Ezech. xvi. 13.)

_1st Prelude._ The great sign which appeared in Heaven: "A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars." (Apoc. xii. 1.)

_2nd Prelude._ The grace so to live and die, that I may one day be crowned.

_Point I._--MARY'S CORONATION

_Specie tua et pulchritudine tua, intende, prospere procede, et regna._ (In thy comeliness and thy beauty go forth, proceed prosperously, and reign.) The culminating point is reached, and Mary is led in triumph to receive her crown from the Blessed Trinity. GOD the Father crowns her as a _Victor_; GOD the Son as a _Queen_; and GOD the Holy Ghost as a _Bride_. We give our crowns on earth to victors, to queens and to brides. Mary was all of these for she had conquered the devil; she was the King's Mother, and she was the spouse of the Holy Ghost.

1. She was crowned as a _Victor_, as a sign of her courage and bravery. GOD the Father had seen the world, which He had created and had pronounced to be "very good," spoiled by sin. The Arch-fiend had entered Paradise, and had stolen away the hearts of His children, robbing them of His grace, and leaving them and all their descendants stained by sin. To Satan GOD had spoken of a woman whose Child would be his enemy; and of her He said: "She shall bruise thy head." Now the old prophecy has been fulfilled, and Mary stands before Him waiting for her crown. She has crushed the serpent; she has been terrible to all GOD'S enemies; and the crown that the Eternal Father places on the head of His daughter is a token that she is indeed a Victor.

How did Mary win the Victor's crown? By her fidelity to grace. No one ever had so many occasions of grace, and she did not miss one of them.

"There _is_," somewhere in the heavenly courts, "a crown laid up for _me_." (2 Tim. iv. 8.) But "the Lord, the just Judge" will only give it me if "I have fought a good fight." (verse 7.) "To him that shall _overcome_ will I give to sit with Me in My Throne." (Apoc. iii. 21). "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." (chap. ii. 10.) "Hold fast that which thou hast, that no man take thy crown" (chap. iii. 11). All, then, depends on my efforts. I have got to be _faithful_, to _fight_, to _overcome_, and to _hold fast_. My consolation is that my Mother is interceding for me; my enemies are the same as hers, and she has overcome them. _Da mihi virtutem contra hostes tuos._

2. She is crowned as a _Queen_. Her Son is the King of Heaven, and He crowns her as the Queen-Mother. "A throne was set for the King's Mother, and she sat on His Right Hand." (3 Kings ii. 19.) "The Queen stood at Thy Right Hand in gilded clothing, clothed round about with varieties." (Ps. xliv. 14.)

Kings and Queens wear their crowns in token of their power and authority. JESUS crowned His Mother in token of _her_ power and authority. He made her Queen of Angels, of Patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles, Martyrs, Confessors, Virgins, and gave her not only authority over all these, but also, in a certain sense, if we may say so reverently, over Himself. He allowed her still to keep the sweet authority which she had exercised over Him at Nazareth, when He was "subject" to her; for He says to her: "My Mother, ask, for I _must_ not turn away thy face." (3 Kings ii. 20.) How He loves us--even to the extent of pledging Himself to answer the intercessory prayer of one who He knows will make full use of her privilege--one who is even now turning to me, her child, and saying: "I will speak for thee to the King." (verse 18). Let me determine to have my share in this blessed compact between the Son and the Mother, by continually asking my Queen-Mother for her intercession. _Sancta Dei Genitrix, ora pro nobis._

3. The Holy Ghost crowns her as His _Spouse_. "Come from Libanus, my spouse; come and thou shalt be crowned." (Cant. iv. 8.) "Faithful unto death" she had been; ever since her Immaculate Conception she had always listened to the least inspiration of grace which her Divine Spouse had suggested, and now she receives her reward, the "crown of life." The end is attained, and there is joy in the presence of the Angels of GOD.

_Point II._--THE JOY OF THE ANGELS

_De cujus Assumptione gaudent Angeli et collaudant Filium Dei._ At whose Assumption the Angels rejoice and praise together the Son of GOD. (_Introit for the Feast of the Assumption._)

What were the causes of their joy?

1. Mary's joy at her re-union with her Son.

2. Her reception and coronation as their Queen.

3. Her being placed on the throne at her Son's Right Hand.

4. The sight of her beautiful glorified body--the means of the Incarnation--before which, as before the Tabernacle, they had so often worshipped their hidden GOD.

5. The likeness between the Mother and the Son--a likeness which had been increasing during her years of exile, by means of the Blessed Sacrament.

6. Hearing JESUS call her _Mother_. "My Mother, ask."

7. Seeing the great Intercessor at her work praying for sinners, in whom they take such an interest.

And the result of their joy is that "they praise together the Son of GOD"--that is, they perfectly fulfil the end for which they were created, teaching us the great lesson that the more we know Mary and rejoice in her joy, her position and her work, the more we shall know and praise her Divine Son, and so fulfil the end for which we were created.

But it is not only the Angels who are rejoicing. She is "_Queen of all Saints_" as well as "_Queen of Angels_," and the Church Triumphant is swelling the chorus of joy. Each member of that spotless multitude has already been a cause of joy in Heaven, for there is joy in the presence of the Angels of GOD over every sinner that doeth penance. (St Luke xv. 7.) "Joy cometh in the morning" after the night of doing penance. "No cross, no crown." It is because Mary is the "_Mother of Sorrows_" that she is able to be the "_Cause of our joy_," and we must all pass by the same route.

Help me, my Mother, to share the joy of the Angels and Saints even in the "valley of tears." It is possible, but it can only be done by a faith strong enough to see things as they really are.

And what about Mary's joy? As she stands in the midst of that great multitude of Angels and Saints, who are vying with each other to do her honour, her heart too is overflowing with joy, but it is all for her Son. The honour and worship that are being paid to her are _His_; they are because of "the great things _He_ has done" for her. She is only His handmaid, and she is always singing her _Magnificat_: "My soul doth magnify the Lord, my spirit doth _rejoice_ in GOD my Saviour." _Humility_ is ever her greatest virtue, and she shows it on her Coronation Day by casting her crown at the Feet of Him Who redeemed her with His Blood--her Son, her Saviour, and her GOD.

_Colloquy._ The _Ave Regina Cælorum_:--"Hail, Queen of Heaven! Hail, Lady of the Angels! Hail, blessed root and gate, from which came light upon the world! Rejoice, O glorious Virgin, that surpassest all in beauty! Hail, most lovely Queen! and pray to Christ for us." (_Anthem from Purification to Easter._)

_Resolution._ To work for my crown to-day.

_Spiritual Bouquet._ "Ora pro nobis, Sancta Dei Genitrix, ut digni efficiamur promissionibus Christi."

Salve Regina

(According to the Second Method of Prayer[1])

SALVE. This anthem of the Blessed Virgin, which the Church bids her children use from Trinity to Advent, begins with a _salutation_. In addressing our Mother, we are to copy the Archangel who, when he came with a message to the lowly child at Nazareth, begins by _saluting_ her. Hail! full of grace. But though the word, which is here put into the lips of us sinners, means, "Be thou safe and well," it is not a wholly disinterested salutation; there is an idea of wanting a favour implied in it, though we do not actually ask for it. It is like the cheerful "Good-morning, sir!" of the beggar. Our _Hail_ here has not so much the majesty of the salutation of an Archangel as the cry of distress of a banished child.

REGINA. She is appealed to as a Queen; she asks as a Queen; she is answered as a Queen; she gives as a Queen. "I pray thee speak to the King, for he cannot deny thee anything.... I will speak for thee to the King.... And the King arose to meet her, and bowed to her, and sat down upon his throne. And a throne was set for the King's Mother, and she sat on his right hand. And she said to him: I desire one small petition of thee; do not put me to confusion. And the King said to her: My Mother, ask, for I must not turn away thy face." (3 Kings ii. 17-20.) Such is the beautiful picture Holy Scripture portrays for us of King Solomon and his mother Bethsabee. "But a greater than Solomon is here"; and we are addressing His Mother. With what confidence then may we say our _Salve Regina_! She has pledged herself to speak to the King for us, and her Royal Son will give her all that she asks. She is the Queen of Patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles, Martyrs, Confessors, Virgins--yes, Queen of _all_ Saints. Why? Because when they were "poor banished children" on earth they recognised her as their Queen, and did not address their _Salve_ to her in vain.

MATER. Not only is she Queen of Heaven and my Queen, but also she is the Mother of each one of the banished children. "I will not leave you orphans," JESUS said when He was leaving the sorrowing disciples; and a little later, when His last moment drew near, He showed them their Mother, saying to St John, who represented the whole human race: "Behold thy Mother!" and to her: "Behold thy son," and in him all thy banished children!

What a consolation it would be to me if I realised more that I have a Mother in Heaven! My first thought in any trouble, difficulty, or perplexity would be: "Salve sancta Parens!"

MISERICORDIÆ. She is the Mother of so many virtues--of fair love, of knowledge, of good counsel, of holy hope, of divine grace--yes, and the Mother of Sorrows too; but here her children love to call her "Mother of _mercy_," of _pity_, for they are exiles, and it is she who can effect their ransom. _Mercy_--this is what they who say the _Salve Regina_ need. They are poor, banished, weeping children, and they need the pity, the mercy, the sympathy of their Mother. How comes it that there is no sorrow with which the Heart of Mary cannot sympathise? How is it that "never is it heard of that her children turn to her in vain"? Because the "sword pierced her own heart also." No heart except that of her Divine Son can sympathise like the seven-times pierced heart of Mary. It is because she understands so well the sorrows of a bleeding heart, that not the smallest need of any one of her smallest children, who appeals to her, is overlooked. How merciful should they be who have such a merciful Mother! "Go thou and do in like manner," was our Blessed Lord's injunction when He had been telling of the mercy of the Good Samaritan. (St Luke x. 37.) Am I merciful in my judgments of others; merciful when I am talking of them; merciful to those who have wronged me; merciful to those who come to me for pardon; merciful in my thoughts? O Virgin most merciful, pray for me!

VITA. She is our _life_, for it was she who gave life to our Redeemer. It was from Mary's veins that He took the Blood which He shed for our salvation. She did not spare her Son, her only Son, (Gen. xxii. 16), but offered Him up for a sacrifice for us. In every truth she can say: "In me is all hope of life." (Ecclus. xxiv. 25.)

DULCEDO. Our sweetness. Think of her sweetness all through her life--when the Angel came to her; during the three months that she helped Elizabeth; when there was no room for her in the inn at Bethlehem; when her Son seemed to take no notice of her during His ministerial work; when she met Him on the Way of Sorrows; when she stood by the Cross; when she gently bathed His wounds and prepared His Body for the grave; when she consoled the mourning disciples; when He appeared to her on Easter Day; when she kissed His footprints as He ascended to Heaven; when the Holy Ghost came down upon her. Even from her body after the soul had left it, and even from her grave after the body had left it, there came a delicious odour, reminding all who enjoyed it of the _sweetness_ of the Mother who had left them. And this sweetness her children must try to copy. Is my sweetness for ever proclaiming itself to all with whom I come in contact--by my patience under the little trials of everyday life, by the kind word with which I meet the sharp, sarcastic one, by my extreme care of the feelings of others, by my universal kindness, by the humility with which I bear humiliations, by the ready way in which I prefer everybody else to myself? O my Mother, pray for thy child, and teach me how to copy thee!

ET SPES NOSTRA. How necessary is _hope_ to the poor banished children! Without it they would indeed be in a desperate condition; but Mary is ever inspiring them with hope. _Ego Mater sanctæ spei._ (I am the Mother of holy hope.) And her hope is all for her children: she has no need of it for herself. She is a true Mother--always hopeful of her children, never giving them up.

It is impossible for a child of Mary not to share her Mother's holy hope. A child of Mary _cannot_ despair! When we think about death and final perseverance, what holy hope at once fills our hearts as we remember that we have put that terrible moment into the hands of our Mother! _Ora pro nobis, nunc et in hora mortis nostræ._ (Pray for us now and at the hour of our death.) "Hail, our hope!" Before these words all fears disappear. For never has it been known that those who appeal to the Mother of holy hope appeal in vain.

SALVE. We repeat our salutation. We do not want her to forget us.

The importunate are ever dear to the heart of Mary as they are to the Heart of her Divine Son. Let us constantly greet her with our _Salve_--it will be enough to appeal to her Mother-heart, and she will give us whatever we are needing.

AD TE. To _thee_. To whom should we go if not to the Mother whom JESUS has given us. "Behold thy Mother!" It is only natural that we should turn to thee. _Monstra te esse matrem._ Show thyself to be a mother by hearkening to our cry.

CLAMAMUS--_do we cry_. It is a direct cry for help now--we make no secret of it--the children are calling aloud for their Mother--their need is so great that they care not who hears them.

EXULES. At last we describe ourselves; one word is sufficient--_exules_. We are _exiles_; we are not at home; we are banished from our country. There is something so pathetic about an exile. How he cherishes any news of his dear country! How he writes every little detail of his life and of the strange land to his mother at home! How he longs for her letters!

Mary is my Mother, and I am an exile. Do I love to hear about my own country? Do I tell my Mother of all the difficulties of the way and allow her to console me with stories of the Homeland? "How shall we sing in a strange land?" It _is_ possible, by keeping in touch with Mary. She will so inspire us with hope and with love for our heavenly country that we shall often find our hearts light enough to soar beyond this land of exile, and to join in the ceaseless praises of those who have reached home.

Queen of Heaven, give me a _real_ desire for Heaven.

FILII EVÆ. We account for our exile by explaining that we are children of _Eve_. We had another mother once, and she brought misery on all her children, and they were all with her "driven out from Paradise," and an angel with a flaming sword was put at the entrance to prevent their getting back. Poor children! Is there any use in crying for re-admittance? Yes, for before the justice of GOD drove out Eve and her children, He spoke of another Mother, who was, through her Divine Son, to undo all the harm that Eve had done, and to "open the Kingdom of Heaven to all believers." To whom, then, is it more natural for the poor banished children of Eve to turn than to the Mother whose one idea is to get them back?

And with our cries are joined those of other banished children whose cry: "How long!" is ever ascending to Heaven. It is their Mother Mary whom they long to see; for as the turn of each one's banishment expires, she it is who comes to open the gate and bring them to the "better country" which they have so long desired.

When we say our _Salve_, let us remember those souls who, though they are holy, are still banished children, and let us intercede with their Mother for them.

AD TE SUSPIRAMUS. To thee do we send up our sighs. The idea is that each breath is a sigh, and a sigh meant for our Mother to hear. Well would it be for us if this were true! It would change the character of our exile. A sigh meant for Our Blessed Lady could not be one of discontent and murmuring and rebellion against our lot. The very fact that it is intended for her would make it full of love and hope and submission to GOD'S will. It would be like the sigh of a child whose mother has promised it some little pleasure. The time seems very long to the little one, and as she sits patiently by her mother's side, a sigh escapes her now and then--a very marked and intentional sigh! What does it mean? It means that though she will not speak or do anything that her mother might not like, yet she would remind her mother of her presence and let her know that she is feeling the time very long. Does the mother mind the sighs? Oh no, for each one tells her of the love of her child, and makes her anxious to shorten the time of waiting if she can.

GEMENTES ET FLENTES. The sighs become more audible--_groaning_ and _weeping_--the exiles are _mourning_ the loss of things they can never have again till they get home. It is one of the times when they feel that the harps must be hung up, (Ps. cxxxvi.), when mirth and joy are altogether out of place. Such times will come in our land of exile; and these are the times when we shall do well to cry out to our Mother.

O Mary, look upon thy weeping children, and as the great wail of suffering humanity rises up to thee, "show thyself a Mother," the Mother of Consolation. Come to the suffering hearts that cry for thee, and make them understand that joy and gladness is for them, even in the land of their exile ever since the Sun of justice has risen over it "with healing in His wings." Whisper to each heartbroken one, words of hope and consolation; tell of reparation, of mortification, of detachment, of the immense value of suffering, till the sorrowing heart is willing, yea _glad_, to suffer.

IN HOC LACRYMARUM VALLE. In this _vale_. Our land of exile is a Valley of Humiliation. It was here that JESUS came to stay, when He _humbled_ Himself even to the death of the Cross; and here it is that He would have each one of His children wait till the humiliations of the valley have taught them to conquer self-love. "Be you humbled, therefore, under the mighty hand of GOD, that He may exalt you in the time of visitation." (1 Pet. v. 6.)

It is a vale of _tears_--a vale where JESUS wept; a vale which has been sanctified by the tears of a Magdalen, and a Peter, and of multitudes of others who have learnt here to be saints; a vale where every tear shed by His children is treasured by GOD. "Thou hast set my tears in Thy sight." (Ps. lv. 9.)

We read of two occasions on which JESUS wept--once for the sorrows of His friends (St John xi. 35), and once for the sins of His enemies. (St Luke xix. 41.) I need not then be ashamed of tears--not even if I have to say with the Psalmist: "My tears have been my bread day and night." (Ps. xli. 4.) But I must be careful that they resemble those of JESUS, that the cause of them is never self-love or self-pity, but sorrow for my own sins and those of others, and for anything which grieves the Heart of JESUS. "They that sow in tears shall reap in joy," for He Himself "will wipe away all tears from their eyes." (Ps. cxxv. 5, and Apoc. vii. 17.)

EIA ERGO ADVOCATA NOSTRA. _Therefore_, just because of our misery and need--it is our only plea, and one which appeals more than any other to a Mother's heart--we appeal to her as _our Advocate_: one who will plead our cause, who will speak to the King for us and tell Him of our needs, as she did long ago at Cana of Galilee. Had ever banished children such an advocate--one to whom the Judge has pledged Himself: "I must not turn away thy face!"

O _Advocata nostra_, plead for me with thy Son when I stand before Him to be judged! In that terrible moment remember my _Salve_, for I shall be unable to say it then.

MISERICORDES OCULOS AD NOS CONVERTE. _Turn thy merciful eyes upon us._ We only ask her to _look_. It is quite enough for a mother to see her child in trouble. She does not need to be told what to do.

ET JESUM BENEDICTUM FRUCTUM VENTRIS TUI NOBIS POST HOC EXILIUM OSTENDE. Here we get to the point of the prayer--the sighs, and groans, and cries, and tears of the banished children are all because they want to see JESUS. _And after this our exile show unto us the Blessed Fruit of thy womb, JESUS._ "We would see JESUS" (St John xii. 21), and we come to ask His Mother to show Him to us. This is her great work; and she turns to the children and says: "Whatsoever He shall say to you, do ye," and you shall see His Face one day.

_After this our exile._

"When the voyage is o'er, O stand on the shore And show Him at last to me."

It is because I cannot see JESUS that I am so often in trouble in the land of exile. If my faith were strong enough I should see Him continually, and sorrow would flee away. We have not got to wait till the voyage is o'er before seeing Him. Many and many a glimpse of the Blessed Fruit of her womb does our Mother give us. To be near her means that we are near Him too. Each Communion, each absolution--yea, each humiliation and sorrow is our Mother letting us see JESUS if we will only look; and when she stands on the shore to show Him _at last_, we shall see that it is the "same JESUS" Who so often walked with us in the land of our exile, though our eyes were for the most part holden by our want of faith, and we did not recognise Him.

O CLEMENS, O PIA, O DULCIS VIRGO MARIA. _O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary._ We multiply our words in trying to express to our Mother something of what we feel towards her, but they all mean the same thing--that she is a _Mother_. Her sweetness is as ointment poured forth, and attracts all to it. Her kindness and love, too, have been known to all since she stood at the Foot of the Cross, and received all her banished children into her stricken heart. Never in vain can we appeal to our sweet Mother. And so with renewed confidence we will say our _Salve_, rejoicing even in this vale of tears because we have a Mother who knows all about us, and who will never forget us; whose one desire is to show us the Blessed Fruit of her womb, JESUS; who will teach us to sing the Lord's song in a strange land, even as she sang her _Magnificat_; and who will one day, when the days of our exile are over, sing with us the ever "new song" of Redemption to "Him Who loved us and washed us in His Blood."

Till then, dear Mother, help us to be patient, and help us to learn the lessons of the valley, remembering that they will never be learned at all if they are not learned here.

_Colloquy._ The _Salve Regina_.

FOOTNOTE:

[Footnote 1: _Note._--There are times when we get a little tired of Preludes and Points, and feel that a change of method would be a help to our Meditation. St Ignatius knew this, and knew also that to some minds Preludes and Points would be a positive hindrance; and so he has given us, in his book of the _Spiritual Exercises_, "Three (other) methods of prayer." Our Meditation to-day is according to the _Second Method_, which "consists in considering the signification of each word of a prayer." (Text of the _Exercises_.) St Ignatius says that if one or two words give us sufficient matter for thought and spiritual relish and consolation, we are not to be anxious to pass on, even though the whole time of the Meditation be spent on _one_ word, but leave the rest till the next day. So we may take to-day as many words of the _Salve Regina_ as we find spiritual relish for. This method, St Ignatius tells us, may be applied to "_any other prayer whatsoever_."]

_Dei Genitrix, intercede pro nobis._

PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY NEILL AND CO., LTD., EDINBURGH.

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Transcriber's Notes:

Obvious spelling and punctuation errors were repaired, but unusual period spellings and grammar uses were retained. Original placed punctuation such as semi-colons outside closing quotation marks; this was retained.

Table of Contents entries do not always agree with chapter headings in the original; these differences were retained.

Gospel references throughout the main text begin with "St" as in "St Luke." In two exceptions--P. 23 and 97--the "St" was missing and has been added by the transcriber for consistency. The preface, by a different author, does not use "St" before gospel references.

A few uses of "God" were left out of small-caps in the original. These were placed in small-caps to agree with majority use.

Three uses of "ch." were changed to match three uses of "chap." for consistency.

P. 53: Transcriber added a paragraph break between "sacrifices." and (1) for consistent treatment of numbered paragraphs.

Blocking of numbered paragraphs on P. 70-71 and 73 is faithful to the original.