Part 4
GOD had commanded all the Hebrews to visit the Temple, but all, rich and poor, were forbidden to enter it empty-handed: _Non apparetis in conspectu meo vacuus_. The offering, however, was not the same for all. The rich were to give according to their riches, the poor according to their poverty, and thus all were able to observe the precept. From this we may understand that when seculars come to God and offer Him the desire and will, they entertain to follow and observe His Divine commandments. He will be satisfied with this offering, and if they put it in practice faithfully, they will obtain eternal life. But let those souls who are rich in means for doing great things for the glory of God, such as religious persons, beware lest they present themselves with the offering of the poor--that is, of seculars; for God will not be satisfied with such an offering. Our Lord, in calling you, my dear sisters, into Holy Religion, enriched you with His graces, and on this account He requires much from you; that is, He will have your offering to be of all that you are, and of all that you possess, without any reserve.
The Blessed Virgin, in her Presentation, made an offering pleasing to God; offered not only the dignity of her person (the most excellent amongst pure creatures), but all that she possessed. How happy are the Religious who, by means of their vows, have consecrated all to God, dedicating to Him their bodies, their hearts, and all that they possess; renouncing riches by the vow of poverty, pleasures by the vow of chastity, and their whole will by the vow of obedience! Worldlings, you may enjoy your riches if you will, but do not abuse them, nor wrong anyone. The pleasures that Holy Church permits are lawful; you are not prohibited in a thousand circumstances from following your own will, provided it be not contrary to that of God. But you, Religious, should offer all to God, without any reserve. He wishes your offering to be entire, such as is the gift He makes to you of Himself in the Divine Sacrament of the Altar. Forget not that you cannot deceive Him, and if you say that you wish to consecrate yourselves perfectly to His Divine Majesty, and do not really do so, you are in danger of being punished like Ananias and Sapphira, who lied to the Holy Ghost.
Now, the Blessed Virgin was always perfectly obedient to the Will of God, from the first instant of her conception, without ever changing or suspending for a moment the resolution she had formed to serve Him.
Do we not daily experience how changeable is man in his good resolutions? How often, even in one hour, do we not like and dislike the same thing, and allow ourselves to be moved by excessive joy or excessive sadness! This was not the case with Our Lady; she hourly became more perfectly united to God, and merited fresh graces, and the more she received, the more did she render her soul worthy to receive them. By these means she was always strengthening her first resolution, so that the only change that could have been perceptible in her was the progress she made from one degree of perfection to another, through the practice of every virtue. It was for this purpose that she wished to retire into the Temple, not through any need she had of this retreat, for her perseverance was assured by her consecration at the first moment of her existence, but in order to instruct us, who are so changeable and inconstant, that it is our duty to make use of every means in our power to strengthen and preserve our good resolutions.
Imitate the Most Holy Virgin also in this. Dedicate, therefore, yourselves entirely to God; and whenever you renew your consecration, you will acquire new strength and vigour in the service of His Divine Majesty. Renew your resolutions, renew them frequently and with fidelity, to the end of your life. This was the careful practice of all the Saints of both the Old and of the New Testament. Our nature is of itself weak and easily depressed when there is a question of virtuous resolutions. The earth itself has its periods of weakness, and refuses to be always yielding its produce; so it lies barren in winter. But when the spring arrives it renews itself, and having recovered fresh vigour, it gives us the benefit of its fruits.
For this reason Holy Church, like a wise Mother, puts before us from time to time, during the course of the year, special festivals, to animate us to renew our good resolutions. Who will not renew his soul on the solemn festivals of Easter, Pentecost, and Christmas, by holy affections and firm resolutions to live more virtuously? But besides the observance of all these festivals, it has ever been a laudable custom for persons more especially consecrated to God, such as Religious, to choose one day in particular during the course of the year upon which to renew their vows, and by so doing to obey the great Apostle, who counsels us to confirm our vocation.
Divine Providence has permitted for our instruction, that Our Lady should renew in her Presentation the sacrifice which she had made of her whole self at the moment of her Immaculate Conception. Do you, then, religious souls, make this renewal in imitation of her, and do it with great fervour of spirit, with profound humility, and ardent charity. Place your hearts, your souls, and your entire being in the hands of this Holy Virgin; she will present you to the Most Holy Trinity, and you will obtain a thousand blessings in this life, and will be enabled to arrive at eternal glory in the next.
[1] It is an ancient and well-grounded tradition that Mary was led to the Temple to be presented to the Lord at three years of age, and that she dwelt in that sacred abode until the age of fourteen that is to say, as long as was permitted by the laws of the Sanhedrim. St. Bonaventure relates to us the life led by the Most Holy Virgin in that voluntary retirement. 'We may learn,' says this Father, 'what Mary did in the Temple from her own revelations to one of her faithful servants, supposed to be St. Elizabeth.' Amongst other things we read as follows: 'As soon as I was left in the Temple by my parents, I determined in my heart to look upon God as my Father. I often considered what I could do to merit His grace, and I began to instruct myself in His holy law. But of all the Divine precepts, these three principally occupied my attention: (1) Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy strength; (2) thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself; (3) thou shalt hate thy enemy.
'I kept the commandments in my heart, and I quietly embraced all the virtues that they contain. It is thus that I wish you to conduct yourself. In fact, the soul can possess no virtue whatever if it do not love God with all its powers, because it is from this love alone that the fulness of grace (without which virtue will never be preserved in the soul) descends to us; but it will pass like running water and vanish if the _soul hates not its enemies_, which are _sin and vice_. He who desires to acquire and preserve grace must accustom his heart, then, to the exercise of this love and of this hatred, and it is in this that I wish to be imitated by you.'
The faithful servant of Mary, having heard these words, replied: 'My sweetest Lady, wast thou not already full of grace and virtue?' The Blessed Virgin replied: 'Be certain that I believed myself to be the vilest sinner, and, like you, unworthy of grace. You perhaps believe, my daughter, that all the grace which I possessed was acquired without difficulty. But it was not so. On the contrary, I received no grace or favour without constant prayer, ardent desire, deep devotion, and many tears, with long afflictions, excepting, however, the grace of sanctification, which was given to me from my conception in my mother's womb, and, as far as I knew, I never said or thought of anything but what was pleasing to my God.' She added: 'Be assured also that no grace descends into the soul, except through the channel of prayer and corporal mortification. But as soon as we have given to God all that we possess, He Himself comes quickly to dwell within us, bringing with Him such inestimable gifts that the soul feels her heart to fail; she loses the remembrance of having ever done or said anything acceptable to God, and she becomes more and more vile and contemptible in her own eyes.'--_Maria Regina e Madre Dei Santi_, by l'Abate Guyard, Vic. Gen. of Montalbano.
SPIRITUAL FLOWERS.
Flowers fade quickly if they are much handled, but if they are not touched they may be preserved a long time.--_A Kempis_.
The root of the plant is hidden under ground and trodden under foot; it has neither odour nor beauty, and yet it gives life to the flower. Thus a humble soul may, like Mary, be despised, it may be trodden upon, forgotten; but this is the way for it to produce flowers and fruits for eternal life.--_Nouet_.
The lily is the symbol of chastity; it preserves its whiteness and sweetness in the midst of thorns, so long as it is left untouched, but as soon as ever it is plucked it emits so overpowering an odour that it causes headache.--_St. Francis of Sales_.
Whiteness is not an essential property of the rose--indeed, red roses are more beautiful and of sweeter odour; but it is the property of the lily. Let us endeavour to be what we are, and as justly and perfectly as possible, that we may do honour to our Maker.--_The same_.
EXAMPLE.
_The edifying Death of St. Jane Frances de Chantal._
It was on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary that this Saint was attacked by the first serious symptoms of her fatal illness. On the eve of the feast she was in the refectory, and after the blessing of the table she knelt down, and with her arms in the form of a cross repeated twice these words: _O Mater Dei, memento mei_. She then commented upon these words thus: 'Holy Mother of God, by your Immaculate Conception, remember me and assist me always, especially at the hour of my death.' She remained for a long time afterwards in the same posture, absorbed in profound recollection.
The following day she was confined to her bed to rise no more. Her illness increasing every hour, she knew that her end approached, and thought only of preparing herself to appear before God. She received the last Sacraments with striking fervour, and preserved her calmness and serenity amidst the tears and sobs of all the community. During her intense sufferings she was heard to address the following prayer to the Most Holy Virgin: 'O Mary, Mother of Grace, Mother of Mercy, defend me from the snares of the infernal enemy, and receive my soul into your hands at the moment of my death.' She kept a picture of her Protectress always near her bed; and when her speech failed she made great efforts to turn her eyes frequently towards this dear picture, and before she breathed her last asked to kiss it once more, and to have it buried with her in the tomb.
_Prayer._--O Mary, the purest of Virgins! terrified at my weakness and at the dangers that surround me, I recommend to thy loving care with all confidence the chastity of my soul and body. Permit me not, O Queen of the Angels, to be defiled by the least stain after having been adorned with purity and innocence, like a vessel of honour and glory. Banish from my heart all sensual desires, evil thoughts, and irregular affections. To thy love, O my good Mother, do I confide my heart; purify it, render it worthy to be offered to thy Beloved Son, that, having here on earth imitated thee in the most beautiful of thy virtues, I may enjoy with thee for ever in heaven the happiness promised to the clean of heart. Amen.
_Ejaculation._--Grant, O my God, that through Mary I may belong entirely to Jesus!
_Practice._--If you should meet with any contradiction to-day, preserve your peace of soul.
SIXTH DAY.
THE ANNUNCIATION OF THE MOST HOLY VIRGIN.
WE read in the Gospel that the Angel Gabriel visited Our Lady in the town of Nazareth; and, as the word 'Nazareth' signifies 'flowers,' well is the Church represented in this town! What, in fact, is the Church but a house or a town adorned with flowers? All actions performed according to her laws are as so many flowers. Mortifications, humiliations, prayers--in short, all pious exercises are acts of virtue, which, like most beautiful flowers, diffuse a pleasing fragrance before God. Most justly, then, may we call the Christian religion a garden of flowers, that are delightful to the sight and most salutary to those who breathe the air impregnated by their fragrance. Our Lady herself was a flower distinguished for beauty and excellence above all other flowers--a flower of incomparable fragrance, possessed of the power of producing many other flowers: _Hortus conclusus, soror mea, sponsa--'Thou,'_ says the sacred Spouse in the Canticles, _'art a garden enclosed:'_ a garden all studded with the most magnificent flowers that can be produced. Now, tell me to whom belong so many charming and sweet-scented flowers, with which the Church is so gloriously adorned, but to the Most Holy Virgin, since they were produced by her example? It is through her that Holy Church is so well furnished with roses in the martyrs who were invincible in their constancy; with every kind of flower, in the confessors who were nursed in her bosom; and with sweet violets, in so many holy widows, who lowly, humble, and hidden, diffuse the most odoriferous sweetness. In fine, is it indeed not to her that belong, in a special manner, so many lilies of purity and spotless virginity, innocent souls, bright and clear as a resplendent mirror? There can be no doubt, that if so many virgins have consecrated their hearts and bodies to His Divine Majesty, by indissoluble vows, it was that they might imitate the example of the Most Holy Virgin.
She was the first to consecrate her body, her heart, and her whole self to God, by the vow of virginity. Hardly had she been _drawn_ by God than she quickly drew after her a large number of souls who consecrated themselves to God in like manner, under her sacred auspices, in order that they might run in the way of inviolable chastity and virginity: _Adducentur regi virgines post eam_. You, beloved souls, were seen by the glorious Virgin, when she exclaimed: _Curremus--'We shall run,_ thus assuring her Beloved that many would follow her standard, and that under her protection they might combat and vanquish every kind of enemy.
What an honour for us to be able to walk under the standard of the Queen of Virgins! Our Lady is undoubtedly the honour, the Protectress, and model of all Christians, of men and women of all classes who live virtuously; yet, undoubtedly, young virgins contract by their virginity a closer alliance with her than other Christians, for their resemblance to her in purity enables them more easily and more closely to approach her. [1]
It is said that when the Angel came down from heaven to venerate the spotless Virgin, and announce to her the Incarnation of the Son of God in her most chaste womb, she was alone in her room. Faithful souls are here instructed to have a love of retirement from the world, but this is not enough; they ought also to retire within themselves that they may lead a solitary life, and thus render themselves better prepared to enjoy the conversation of their Beloved. Each should look upon his heart as a celestial cabinet where he lives alone with Him. O faithful souls, if you conceal yourselves thus, the Angels will know how to find you, as the Archangel Gabriel found Mary because she was alone.
Nothing should be so pleasing to holy virgins and to true Religious as this state of withdrawal, because they then contemplate better the beauty of their Divine Spouse dwelling in the depths of their hearts. On this account the Psalmist said that 'All the beauty of the King's Daughter is within'--_Omnis gloria filiae regis ab intus_. The greatest diligence is necessary to preserve and increase this interior beauty, and at the same time to guard it continually from everything that could tarnish it, remembering that although men see only the exterior, the Divine Spouse penetrates into the inmost recesses of the heart. This is the motive which induces the loving spouse (I speak of a soul consecrated to the Divine service, in order to please God alone), to live retired within her own heart, and thus prepare an acceptable abode for His Divine Majesty. It is on this account that solitude is so much recommended to religious persons; its utility is seen by the diligence with which Our Lady practised it, and which merited for her the sublime privilege of being chosen to be the Mother of God!
Our Lord being the only rest of those who have abandoned all worldly cares in order to listen to Him speaking to their hearts in solitude, it follows that if they do not attend to the interior word of Jesus Christ that solitude becomes a long martyrdom to them. Instead of being the habitation of peace and tranquillity their solitude is a cause of sadness and disquiet.
Those who lead like Martha a life of great activity may still enjoy the tranquillity of Mary, if they are careful to refer all their works to God: this _one aim_ being _the eye which touches the heart of the Divine Spouse_. In order not to lose the security of our habitation, we must seek it, not so much in a _cell_, as in _God Himself_. Thrice happy are they who dwell in this House, which not only belongs to God, but is God Himself, for He will be their abiding rest throughout ages of ages.
[1] _It is the opinion of a Doctor of the Church that the Holy Virgin Mary instituted some congregations of young girls, and that when she lived at Ephesus with the Apostle St. John she gave rules and constitutions to one of them. How happy were those Religious to have been instituted by the Queen of Doctors, who gathered her wisdom from her Son, who is the Wisdom of the Eternal Father!_--'Month of Mary.' _St. Francis of Sales._
SPIRITUAL FLOWERS.
Whatever flower the bee rests upon, it always extracts honey from it. So will it be with an interior soul: if she never leave her home but when it is necessary for the glory of God, she will always return to it laden with the honey of good works.--_A Father of the Desert._
When grace speaks it is time to act, not to hold discourse. Long prayers unaccompanied by mortification are nothing in the sight of God, but time spent uselessly.--_St. Teresa._
Whoever abandons prayer casts himself into hell.--_The same._
Holy prayer is a water of benediction, which refreshes the plants of our good desires and makes them flourish. It washes our souls from their imperfections, and extinguishes the fire of passion in our hearts.--_St. Francis of Sales._
EXAMPLE.
_St. Bernard's Love for Mary._
The luminous star of the Middle Ages, St. Bernard, who was the soul of the Crusades instituted for the defence of religion and of civilized Europe, the counsellor of Bishops, Popes, and Kings, may be said to have had infused into him at his baptism a special devotion to the Most Holy Virgin. In his tenderest infancy he leaped for joy when he saw by chance a picture of Mary, or when he heard her name pronounced. He was ever thinking of her, and wished everyone to be speaking to him always of her. To correct in him those defects which are common to childhood, it sufficed to tell him that such and such a thing was displeasing to Mary, and he immediately took care not to repeat the fault, and he eagerly embraced those practices of piety which he was told were dear to her. She, on her side, did not delay to manifest the care she took of him, and undoubtedly the great love he had for holy purity was a special gift from the Queen of Virgins. Other favours, however, were in store for him in the hands of his powerful benefactress.
On Christmas Eve the young Bernard was waiting in the church with his relations for the commencement of the midnight service, when, having inclined his head, he fell into a kind of ecstasy, and saw in spirit, by means of supernatural light, the mystery of Bethlehem, and he quietly contemplated the Divine Infant miraculously born from the virginal womb of His Mother. This vision penetrated him with so warm a feeling of gratitude towards Jesus and Mary, that he immediately promised to consecrate himself entirely to their love and service henceforth. The writings of St. Bernard breathe a tender piety towards Mary, and unite all the most beautiful and moving expressions of love and veneration for her, which were written in former ages, and he united in his heart all the affections of the most zealous of her servants. With what respect, confidence, and love towards this good Mother are we penetrated when we read the pious works that he has written for her glory! His emotion, when under the influence of these sentiments, frequently rapt him in ecstasy.
_Prayer of St. Andrew of Crete._--Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you! Hail you, O source of our joy! through you the sentence of our condemnation was changed into a sentence of benediction! Hail, O Temple of the glory of God, sacred dwelling of the King of the heavenly kingdom! You are truly blessed amongst all women, because you were chosen to be the Mother of your Creator, and all nations shall call you blessed.
O Mary, I place in you a holy confidence, and from you I expect my salvation. I shall walk without fear in the midst of all my enemies, if you will deign to number me amongst those whom you protect. Sincere love of you is the safest weapon with which to fight and overcome; number me, then, amongst your children, for I have chosen you for my tender Mother. Amen.
_Ejaculation._--_Sub tuum praesidium confugimus, sancta Dei Genitrix_--We put ourselves under your powerful protection, O Holy Mother of God!
_Practice._--Recite to-day the _Angelus_ with great fervour.
SEVENTH DAY.
THE EXCELLENCE OF THE VIRGINITY OF MARY.
LET us consider attentively the virtues that were practised by the Most Holy Virgin on the day of her glorious Annunciation. The first was virginity and purity so perfect that nothing can be compared to it amongst the purest creatures. Secondly, a most profound humility, united with a most ardent charity.
Although the angelic virtue of perfect chastity belongs more particularly to Angels than to men, nevertheless, Our Lady infinitely surpassed all the Angels in this virtue, because it possessed three great excellences not conceded to the Angels.
The first is that in Mary it is fruitful, whilst in the Angels it is sterile. The virginity of Mary is not only fruitful in having produced and borne the sweet fruit of life, our Blessed Saviour, but it is fruitful also because it produces a multitude of virgins, for (as we observed in the preceding consideration) if so many young persons dedicate and consecrate their purity to God, it is that they may follow her example. But the pure virginity of Mary not only possesses the property of being fruitful, it can also restore virginal purity in those souls who have defiled this virtue by the contrary vice. In her lifetime she had already called many virgins to follow her, who became her inseparable companions; among others, St. Martha and St. Marcella. But it was also through her means that St. Mary Magdalen, who had been the scandal of Jerusalem, was enrolled after her conversion under the standard of virginal purity, and became like a brilliant crystal vase, capable of receiving and containing the most precious waters of grace.