St. Alphonsus Liguori: The Glories of Mary

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OF THE VIRTUES OF MARY



SECTION VI. OF THE CHASTITY OF MARY

SINCE the fall of Adam the flesh being rebellious against reason, the virtue of chastity is the most difficult for men to practise. Of all combats, says St. Augustine, those of chastity are the most severe, for the battle is daily and the victory rare. But eternal praise to the Lord who has given us in Mary a great example of this virtue. With justice says blessed Albertus Magnus, is Mary called the Virgin of virgins, for she being the first who offered her virginity to God, without the counsel or example of others, has brought to him all virgins who imitate her. As David had already predicted: After her virgins shall be brought to the temple of the king: "Adducentur regi virgines post eam; in adducentur in templum Regis." Without counsel or example; yes, for St. Bernard exclaims: Oh Virgin, who has taught thee to please God by virginity, and on earth to lead the life of an angel? Ah! answers Sophronius, it is for this God has chosen this most pure Virgin for his mother, that she may be an example of chastity to all. Hence St. Ambrose has called Mary the standard-bearer of chastity: "Quae signum Virginitatis extulit."

By reason of this her purity the blessed Virgin was also called by the holy Spirit: Beautiful as the turtle-dove: Thy cheeks are beautiful as the turtle-dove's: "Pulchrae sunt genae tuae sicut turturis." Mary, says St. Aponius, is a roost chaste turtle: "Turtur pudicissima Maria." And therefore she has also been called a lily: As the lily among the thorns, so is my love among the daughters: "Sicut lilium inter spinas, sic amica mea inter filias." St. Denis the Carthusian, commenting on this passage, says, that she has been called a lily among thorns because all other virgins were thorns either to themselves or others; but the blessed Virgin has never been one to herself or others. For by her presence alone she infused into all, thoughts and affections of purity: "Intuentium corda ad castitatem invitabat." And this is confirmed by St. Thomas, who says that the beauty of the blessed Virgin encouraged chastity in all who beheld her: "Pulchritude Beatae Virginis intuentes ad castitatem excitabat." St. Jerome declares himself of the opinion that St. Joseph preserved his virginity by the society of Mary, for the saint thus writes against the heretic Helvidius, who denied the virginity of Mary: Thou sayest that Mary did not remain a virgin; I take it upon myself to maintain more than that, even that Joseph himself preserved his virginity through Mary. A certain author says that the blessed Virgin so loved this virtue that to preserve it, she would have been ready to renounce even the dignity of mother of God. This we may learn from her own answer to the archangel: "How shall this be done, because I know not man?" and from the words she afterwards added: Be it done to me according to thy word: "Fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum;" signifying by this that she gave her concent on the condition of which the angel had assured her, namely, that she should become a mother by means of the Holy Spirit alone.

St. Ambrose says: He who has preserved chastity is an angel, he who has lost it is a devil. According to the words of our Lord: "They shall be as the angels of God in heaven. " But the unchaste become odius to God as the devils. And St. Remigius said that the greater number of adults are lost through this vice. The victory over this vice is rare, as has been said in the words of St. Augustine at the beginning of this section; but why is it rare? Because the means for conquering it are not put in use. The means are three according to Bellarmine, and the masters of the spiritual life: Fasting, avoiding dangerous occasions, and prayer: "Jejuniuna, periculorum evitatio, et oratio." By fasting is meant mortification, particularly of the eyes and of the appetite. The most holy Mary, although she was full of divine grace, was so mortified with her eyes that she kept them al ways cast down, as St. Epiphanius and St. John Damascene inform us, and never fixed them on any one; they say that from her childhood she was so modest that she was the wonder of all. And hence St. Luke remarks, that in going to visit St. Elizabeth: She went with haste: "Abiit …. cum festinatione," that she might not be long seen in public. Philibert relates with regard to her food, that it was revealed to a hermit named Felix, that the infant Mary took milk only once a day. And St. Gregory of Tours asserts that, during her whole life, she fasted always: "Nullo tempore Maria non jejunavit;" and St. Bonaventure adds, that Mary would never have found so much grace unless she had been temperate in food, for grace and gluttony can not subsist together. In a word, Mary practised mortification in every thing, so that of her it was said: My hands dropped with myrrh: "Manus meae stillaverunt myrrham."

The second means is to fly the occasions of sin. He that is aware of the snares shall be secure: "Qui autem cavet laqueos, securus erit." Hence St. Philip Neri said, that in this warfare cowards conquer; that is, those who avoid dangerous occasions. Mary shunned as much as possible the sight of men; and therefore St. Luke says that in her visit to St. Elizabeth, she went with haste into the hill country: "Abiit in montana cum festinatione." And a certain author remarks that the Virgin left Elizabeth before the birth of the Baptist, as we learn from the Gospel itself, in which it is said that "Mary abode with her about three months; and she returned to her own house. Now Elizabeth's full time of being delivered was come, and she brought forth a son." And why did she not wait till his birth? In order to avoid the conversation and visits which would follow that event. The third means is prayer. "And as I knew," said the wise man, " that I could not otherwise be continent except God gave it ... I went to the Lord and besought him." And the blessed Virgin revealed to St. Elisabeth, a Benedictine nun, that she had not acquired any virtue without effort and continual prayer. St. John Damascene says that Mary is pure and a lover of purity: "Pura est et puritatem amans," and therefore she cannot endure the impure. But whoever has recourse to her will certainly be delivered from this vice by only pronouncing her name with confidence. And the venerable John of Avila says that many temptations against chastity have been overcome solely by devotion to the immaculate Virgin. Oh Mary, oh most pure dove, how many are in hell through the vice of impurity! Oh Lady, obtain for us that always in our temptations we may have recourse to thee, and invoke thee, saying: Mary, Mary, help us. Amen.

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OF THE VIRTUES OF MARY

SECTION VII. OF THE POVERTY OF MARY

OUR loving Redeemer chose to be poor on this earth in order to teach us to despise the goods of this world: "Being rich," says St. Paul, "he became poor for your sake, that through his poverty you might be rich." For this reason Jesus Christ says to each one who wishes to be his disciple: "If thou wilt be perfect, go sell what thou hast and give it to the poor, and come follow me." Behold his most perfect disciple Mary, who indeed imitated his example. Father Canisius proves that the holy Virgin could have lived in comfort on the inheritance left her by her parents, but she was content to remain poor, reserving to herself a small portion, and giving the rest in alms to the temple and to the poor. Many are of opinion that Mary also made a vow of poverty and it is known that she herself said to St. Bridget: "From the beginning I vowed in my heart never to possess any thing in the world." The gifts received from the holy Magi were certainly not of small value, but St. Bernard attests that she distributed them all to the poor. And we learn that the divine mother immediately gave to others the presents above mentioned, from the fact that when she went to the temple she did not offer the lamb, which was the oblation made by those who were able, as we read in Leviticus: "For a son she shall bring a lamb," but she offered two turtle-doves and two young pigeons, the oblation of the poor: "And to offer a sacrifice, according as it is written in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtle-doves or two young pigeons." Mary herself said to St. Bridget: "All that I had I gave to the poor, and kept nothing for myself but poor food and clothing."

Through love of poverty she did not disdain to marry a poor carpenter, like St. Joseph, and afterwards, as St. Bonaventure relates, to support herself by the work of her hands, as sewing or spinning. An angel revealed to St. Bridget concerning Mary, that worldly riches were in her eyes vile as dirt: "Mundanae divitiae velut lutum sibi vilescebant." In a word, she always lived in poverty, and she died in poverty; for as Metaphrastes and Nicephorus relate, she left nothing behind her at her death but two poor garments to two women, who had assisted her during life.

He who loves riches, said St. Philip Neri, will never become a saint; and St. Theresa also said: It justly follows that he who goes in search of things lost is also lost. On the other hand, the same saint said, that this virtue of poverty is a good that comprises all other goods. I have said the virtue of poverty which, according to St. Bernard, does not consist alone in being poor, but in loving poverty: "Non paupertas virtus reputatur, sed amor paupertatis." Therefore Jesus Christ has said: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. " Blessed, because they who wish for nothing but God, in God find every good, and find in poverty their paradise on earth, as St. Francis found it in saying: My God and my all: "Deus meus et omnia." Let us, then, according to the exhortation of St. Augustine, love that only good in which is every good: "Ama unum bonum, in quo sunt omnia bona." And let us pray our Lord with St. Ignatius: Give me only thy love together with thy grace, and I am rich enough. And when poverty afflicts us, let us console ourselves by the thought that Jesus and his mother have also been poor like us.

Ah, my most holy mother, thou hadst in truth reason to say, that in God was thy joy: And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour, for in this world thou didst not desire nor love any other good than God. Draw me after thee: "Trahe me … post te." Oh Lady! detach me from the world, and draw me after thee to love that one who alone merits to be loved. Amen.

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OF THE VIRTUES OF MARY



SECTION VIII. OF THE OBEDIENCE OF MARY

IT was through the affection which Mary bore to the virtue of obedience, that when the annunciation was made to her by St. Gabriel, she did not wish to call herself by any other name than that of handmaid: Behold the handmaid of the Lord: "Ecce ancilla Domini." Indeed, says St. Thomas of Villanova, this faithful handmaid neither in act, word, nor thought, ever disobeyed the Lord, but divested of all self-will, she always, and in all things, lived obedient to the divine will. She herself declared that God was pleased with her obedience when she said: He regarded the humility of his handmaid: "Respexit humilitatem ancillae suae;" for this is the humility of a servant, to be always prompt to obey. St. Augustine says, that the divine mother remedied by her obedience the evil that Eve had caused by her disobedience. The obedience of Mary was far more perfect than that of all the other saints, for all men being inclined to evil through original sin, they all feel difficulty in doing right; but not so the blessed Virgin; for as St. Bernardine says: Because she was free from original sin, there was in her no hindrance in obeying God, but she was like a wheel readily moved at every divine breath; hence her only occupation on this earth, as the same saint expresses it, was to discover and do what was pleasing to God. Of her it was said: My soul melted when he spoke: "Anima mea liquefacta est, ut locutus est." Commenting on this passage, Richard says that the soul of Mary was like metal in a state of fusion, ready to take any form that was pleasing to God.

Mary proved indeed the readiness of her obedience, in the first place, when, in order to please God, she was willing even to obey the Roman emperor, and made the journey, fifty miles, to Bethlehem, in winter, being pregnant, and so poor that she was obliged to bring forth her Son in a stable. She was also ready at the notice of St. Joseph, to set out immediately on that very night upon the longer and more difficult journey into Egypt. And Silveira asks why the command to fly into Egypt, was given to St. Joseph and not to the blessed Virgin, who was to suffer the most from the journey? And he answers: Lest the Virgin should be deprived of an opportunity for performing an act of obedience for which she was most ready. But above all, she showed her heroic obedience, when, in order to obey the divine will, she offered her Son to death with so much firmness that, as St. Ildephonsus says, she would have been ready to crucify him, if executioners had been wanting. Hence the venerable Bede, commenting on those words of the Redeemer to that woman in the Gospel who exclaimed: "Blessed is the womb that bore thee:" "Yea, rather, blessed are they who hear the Word of God and keep it," says, that Mary was more happy through obedience to the divine will, than in being the mother of God himself.

For this reason it is, that those who love obedience are very pleasing to the Virgin. She appeared once to a religious, a Franciscan, named Accorso, in his cell, who being called by obedience to go and hear the confession of a sick person, went out, but when he returned he found Mary waiting for him, and she greatly praised his obedience. As, on the other hand, she greatly blamed another religious, who, when the bell had summoned him to the refectory, delayed in order to finish certain devotions. The Virgin, speaking to St. Bridget of the security found in obeying a spiritual father, said: Obedience has brought all the saints to glory: "Obedientia omnes introducit ad gloriam." St. Philip Neri also says, that God requires no account of things done in obedience, having himself declared: "He that heareth you, heareth me; and he that despiseth you, despiseth me." The mother of God herself revealed to St. Bridget, that through the merit of her obedience she had obtained from the Lord that all penitent sinners who have recourse to her, should be pardoned. Ah, our queen and mother, pray Jesus for us, obtain for us through the merit of thy obedience that we may be faithful in obeying his will, and the commands of our spiritual fathers. Amen.

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OF THE VIRTUES OF MARY



SECTION IX. OF THE PATIENCE OF MARY

SINCE this earth is a place of merit, it is justly called a valley of tears; for we are all placed here to suffer, and by patience to obtain for our souls eternal life: "In your patience you shall possess your souls," said our Lord. God gave us the Virgin Mary as an example of all virtues, but especially as an example of patience. St. Francis of Sales, among other things, remarks, that at the nuptials of Cana, Jesus Christ gave an answer to the most holy Virgin, by which he seemed to pay but little regard to her prayers: Woman, what is that to thee and to me? Quid mihi et tibi est, mulier?" precisely for this reason, that he might give us an example of the patience of his holy mother. But why seek further? The whole life of Mary was a continual exercise of patience, for, as an angel revealed to St. Bridget, the blessed Virgin lived always in the midst of sufferings. Her compassion alone for the sufferings of the Redeemer was enough to make her a martyr of patience; wherefore St. Bonaventure says: The crucified conceived the crucified: "Crucifixa crucifixum concepit." When we spoke of her dolors, we considered all she suffered, as well in her journey and life in Egypt, as during the whole time she lived with her Son in the workshop of Nazareth. But the presence of Mary on Calvary, with her dying Jesus, is alone enough to show us how constant and sublime was her patience: There stood by the cross of Jesus, his mother: "Stabat juxta crucem Jesu mater ejus." Then, by the merit of this her patience, as blessed Albertus Magnus remarks, she became our mother, and brought us forth to the life of grace.

If we desire then to be the children of Mary, we must seek to imitate her patience. And what, says St. Cyprian, can enrich us more with merit in this life, and glory in the other, than bearing sufferings with patience? God said by the mouth of the prophet Osee: I will hedge up thy way with thorns: "Sepiam viam tuam spinis." St. Gregory remarks on this passage, that the ways of the elect are hedged with thorns: "Electorum viae spinis sepiuntur." For as a hedge of thorns protects the vine, so God encompasses his servants with tribulation, in order that they may not become attached to the earth; therefore St. Cyprian concludes, patience delivers us from sin and from hell: "Patientia nos servat." And it is patience that makes the saints: "Patience hath a perfect work," bearing in peace the crosses that come to us directly from God, as sickness, poverty etc., as well as those that come to us from men, such as persecutions, injuries, etc. St. John saw all the saints with palms, the emblem of martyrdom, in their hands. "After this I saw a great multitude .... and palms were in their hands;" signifying by this that all men must be martyrs by the sword, or by patience. Be then joyful, exclaims St. Gregory: We can be martyrs with out blood, if we preserve patience. If we suffer the afflictions of this life, as St. Bernard says, patiently and joyfully: "Patienter, et gaudenter," oh, how much every pain endured for God will obtain for us in heaven! Hence the apostle encourages us in these words: "Our tribulation, which is momentary and light, worketh for as ... an eternal weight of glory." Beautiful are the instructions of St. Theresa on this subject: "He who embraces the cross," she says, "does not feel it." And again: "When a person resolves to suffer, the pain is over." And if we feel our crosses heavy, let us have recourse to Mary, who is called by the Church: the comforter of the afflicted: "Consolatrix afflictorum;" and by St. John Damascene: The remedy for all sor rows of the heart: "Omnium dolorum cordis medicamentum." Ah, my most sweet Lady, thou, though innocent, didst suffer with so much patience, and shall I, who am deserving of hell, refuse to suffer? My mother, to-day I ask of thee the grace not to be exempt from crosses, but to support them with patience. For the love of Jesus I pray thee to obtain for me nothing less than this grace from God; through you I hope for it.

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OF THE VIRTUES OF MARY



SECTION X. OF THE PRAYER OF MARY

No soul on this earth has ever followed so perfectly as the blessed Virgin that great lesson of our Saviour: We ought always to pray, and not to faint: "Oportet semper orare, et non deficere." From no other, says St. Bonaventure, can we better take example, and learn the necessity of persevering in prayer, than from Mary. Mary gave an example, that we ought to follow and not faint. For the blessed Albertus Magnus asserts, that after Jesus Christ, the divine mother- was the most perfect in the virtue of prayer, of all who ever have lived or ever will live: "Virtus orationis in B. Virgine excellentissima fuit." First, because her prayer was continual and persevering. From the first moment in which she had life, and with life the perfect use of reason, as we have said above in the Discourse on her Nativity, she began to pray. And, moreover, that she might devote herself more to prayer, she wished, when a child of only three years, to shut herself up in the retirement of the temple; where, as she herself revealed to St. Elizabeth (virgin), among the other hours that she allotted to prayer, she was accustomed to rise at midnight and go to pray before the altar of the temple. And, in order to meditate on the sufferings of Jesus, according to Odilone, she also frequently visited the places of our Lord's nativity, passion, and burial. Moreover, her prayer, as St. Denis the Carthusian has written, was wholly recollected, free from all distractions, and every irregular inclination.

Therefore the blessed Virgin, through her love of prayer, had so great a love of solitude, that, as she said to St. Bridget, when she lived in the temple she even abstained from intercourse with her holy parents. St. Jerome, meditating on the words of Isaias "Behold a Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel" says, that in Hebrew the word virgin properly signifies a retired virgin; so that Mary's love of solitude was already predicted by the prophet. Richard says that the angel addressed her in the words, The Lord is with thee: "Dominus tecum," on account of her great love of solitude. And St. Vincent Ferrer asserts that the divine mother never went from home, except to go to the temple, and then she went entirely recollected, having her eyes always cast down. When going to visit St. Elizabeth, She went with haste: "Abiit cum festinatione;" and from this St. Ambrose says virgins should learn to shun the public eye. St. Bernard teaches that Mary, through her love of prayer and solitude, was always careful to avoid conversation with men. Hence she is called by the Holy Spirit the turtle-dove: Thy cheeks are beautiful as the turtle-dove's: "Pulchrae sunt genae tuae sicut turturis." Which words Vergello thus explains: The turtle-dove is a lover of solitude, and is an emblem of the unitive power of the soul. So the Virgin always lived solitary in this world, as in a desert, and therefore it was said of her: Who is this that goeth up by the desert, as a pillar of smoke? "Quae est ista, quae ascendit per desertum sicut virgula fumi?" On which words Rupert the Abbot says: Thus thou didst ascend by the desert, having a solitary soul: "Talis ascendisti per desertum animam habens solitariam."

Philo said that God speaks to souls only in solitude: "Dei sermo amat deserta." And God himself declared this by the prophet Osee, when He said: I will lead her into the wilderness, and I will speak to her heart: "Ducam eam in solitudinem, et loquar ad cor ejus." And hence St. Jerome exclaims: Oh solitude, in which God familiarly converses with his servants. Yes, says St. Bernard, because the quiet and the silence that is enjoyed in solitude, force the soul to leave the earth in thought, and to meditate on the things of heaven. Oh, most holy Virgin, obtain for us a love of prayer and solitude, that detaching ourselves from the love of creatures, we may aspire only after God and heaven, where we hope one day to see thee, to praise and love thee with thy Son, Jesus, forever and ever. Amen. "Come over to me, all ye that desire me, and be filled with my fruits." The fruits of Mary are her virtues.

None has appeared like unto thee, in all time before or after thee.

Thou alone, oh woman without equal, hast been pleasing to Christ.

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VARIOUS PRACTICES OF DEVOTION TO THE DIVINE MOTHER



DEVOTION I. OF THE "HAIL MARY"

THIS angelical salutation is very pleasing to the most holy Virgin, for it seems to renew, as it were, the joy which she experienced, when St. Gabriel announced to her that she was made mother of God; and therefore we should often salute her with the "Hail Mary." Salute her with the angelical salutation, says Thomas À Kempis, for gladly does she hear this sound. The divine mother herself said to St. Matilda, that no one could better salute her than with the "Hail Mary." He who salutes Mary will also be saluted by her. St. Bernard heard himself once audibly saluted from a statue of the Virgin, which said to him, Hail Bernard: "Ave Bernarde." And the salutation of Mary, says St. Bonaventure, will be some grace, whereby she always responds to those who salute her. And Richard adds: If any one comes to the mother of our Lord saying, "Hail Mary," could she deny him the favor he asks? Mary her self promised St. Gertrude help in death for every Hail Mary she said. The blessed Alanus asserts, that as all heaven rejoices when "Hail Mary" is said, so the devil trembles and flees: "Caelum gaudet, Satan fugit, cum dico, Ave Maria." Which Thomas À Kempis also confirms, for a devil who once appeared to him suddenly fled at hearing the "Hail Mary."


The practise of this devotion is:

1st. To say every morning on rising, and every evening on going to bed, three "Hail Marys," prostrate, or at least kneeling, adding at each that short prayer: "By thy pure and immaculate conception, Oh, Mary! make my body pure, and my soul holy." To ask the blessing of Mary as our mother, as St. Stanislas always did, and place ourselves under the mantle of our Lady, praying her that during the following day or night she may keep us from sin. And it is a great help to this, to keep near the bed a beautiful image of the Virgin.

2nd. To say the Angelas, &c., with the three "Hail Marys," as usual, in the morning, at noon, and in the evening. John XXII. was the first Pope who attached an indulgence to this devotion, on the occasion, as Father Oaseet relates, when a criminal who was condemned to be burned, by invoking Mary on the Vigil of her Annunciation remained uninjured, even to his garments, in the midst of the flames. Benedict XIII. at length granted a hundred days, indulgence to those who recite it, and at the end of the month a plenary indulgence, having made their confession and received holy communion. Father Crasset also states that there have been other indulgences granted by Clement X. to those who at the end of each "Hail Mary" add: Thanks be to God and Mary: "Deo gratias et Mariae." Formerly, at the sound of the bell, every one knelt to say the Angelus; now some are ashamed to do so; but St. Charles Borromeo was not ashamed to descend from his carriage or horse, to recite it in the street, and sometimes in the mud. It is related that a certain indolent religious, who would not kneel at the signal for the "Hail Mary," saw the belfry bow three times, and a voice spoke from it which said: Behold, thou wilt not do what even senseless creatures do. Let it be remembered, that as Benedict XIV. directed, in the Paschal season, instead of the Angelus the "Regina Coeli" is said. And from Vespers on Saturday, through the whole of Sunday, the Angelus Domini is said standing.

3rd. To salute the mother of God with a "Hail Mary," every time the clock strikes. Alphonsus Rodriguez saluted Mary every hour, and in the night when the hour came, the angels awoke him, that he might not omit his devotion.

4th. On quitting or entering the house, to salute the Virgin with a "Hail Mary," that at home and abroad she may protect us from sin, and to kiss her feet as the Carthusian Fathers are accustomed to do.

5th. To pay reverence with a "Hail Mary" to every image of Mary which we meet, and let every one who can do so, place some beautiful image of the Virgin in a niche in the walls of his house, that it may be honored by those who are passing by. In Naples, and still more in Rome, there are very beautiful images of our Lady, by the way side, placed there by her devout servants.

6th. The holy Church directs that the angelical salutation be prefixed to all the canonical hours of the office, and that the office should terminate with it; hence it is well, at the beginning and end of every action, always to say a "Hail Mary;" I say of every action, whether it be spiritual, as prayer, confession, communion, spiritual reading, hearing a sermon, &c., or temporal, as study, giving counsel, labor, going to table, to bed, &c. Happy are those actions that are enclosed be tween two "Hail Marys!" And thus also on awaking in the morning, on closing the eyes to sleep, in every temptation and peril, in every burst of anger, &c., say always a "Hail Mary." My dear reader, practise this, and you will see the advantage to be drawn from it; remembering that for every "Hail Mary" there are twenty days indulgence. Moreover, Father Auriemma relates, that the blessed Virgin promised St. Matilda a good death, if she recited every day three "Hail Marys" in honor of her power, wisdom, and goodness. And she also said to the blessed Jane of France, that the "Hail Mary" was very pleasing to her, especially when said ten times in honor of her ten virtues. Many indulgences are also attached to these ten "Hail Marys."

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VARIOUS PRACTICES OF DEVOTION TO THE DIVINE MOTHER



DEVOTION II. OF NOVENAS

THE servants of Mary are very attentive and fervent in celebrating the Novenas of her Feasts; and during these the holy Virgin, full of love, dispenses to them innumerable and special blessings. One day St. Gertrude saw under the mantle of Mary innumerable souls, whom our Lady was looking upon with great affection, and she understood them to be those who, on preceding days, had prepared themselves, by devout exercises, for the feast of the Assumption. The devotions to be used for the Novenas are the following:

1st. Mental prayer, morning and evening, with a visit to the most holy Sacrament, with the addition of an "Our Father," "Hail Mary," and "Glory be to the Father, &c.," repeated nine times.

2nd. Three visits to some image of Mary, thanking the Lord for the graces granted to her, and asking of the Virgin every time some special favor; and at one of these visits the prayer which is placed at the end of each of her feasts should be read.

3rd. Make many acts of love, at least one hundred, or fifty, to Mary and to Jesus, for we can do nothing more pleasing to her, as she said to St. Bridget, than to love her Son: If you wish to become dear to me, love my Son Jesus: "Si te mihi vis devincire, ama filium meum Jesum."

4th. Read every day of the Novena, for a quarter of an hour, some book which treats of her glories.

5th. Make some external mortification of hair-cloth, discipline, &c., with fasting, or some abstinence at table from fruits or other agreeable food, at least in part; chewing also some bitter herb; and on the vigil of the feast fast on bread and water. But all this must be done always with the permission of a spiritual Father. But better than all others are the practices in these Novenas of internal mortifications, as abstaining from the indulgence of curiosity, either through the eye or the ear; remaining retired and silent; obeying, not answering with impatience; bearing contradictions, and other things of the sort, which may be used with less danger of vainglory and greater merit; and for these, too, the permission of a director is not needed. The most useful exercise is to propose, at the beginning, the amending of some fault into which we are most liable to fall. And to this end it is well, at each of the visits above named, to ask pardon for some past sin, renew the intention of avoiding it in future, and implore the help of Mary, in keeping this resolution.

The honor most dear to the Virgin is the imitation of her virtues; wherefore it is well in every Novena to propose to one's self some special virtue of Mary, particularly adapted to the mystery; as for example, on the feast of the Conception, purity of intention; of her Nativity, the renewing of the spirit and the awakening from tepidity; of her Presentation, detachment from something to which we are most attached; of the Annunciation, humility in bearing contempt, &c.; of the Visitation, charity towards the neighbor, almsgiving, &c., or at least, the praying for sinners; of the Purification, obedience to superiors; and finally, of the Assumption, the practice of detachment, and doing all things as a preparation for death, living as if every day were to be the last. In this way the Novena will prove of great service.

6th. Be sides the communion on the day of the feast, it is well to ask it more frequently of the spiritual father on the days of the Novena. Father Segneri said that we cannot honor Mary better than with Jesus. For she herself, as Father Crasset relates, revealed to a holy soul that nothing dearer could be offered to her than the holy communion, for there Jesus Christ gathers in the soul the fruit of his passion. Hence it appears that the Virgin desires nothing from her servants more than the holy communion, saying: "Come, eat the bread and drink the wine that I have prepared for you."

Finally, on the day of the feast after communion we should offer ourselves for the service of this divine mother by asking of her the grace of the virtue proposed in the Novena, or some other special favor. And it is well every year to set apart among others some feasts of the Virgin, to which we have the greatest devotion arid tenderness, and make a particular preparation for this by dedicating ourselves anew, and in a more especial manner, to her service; choosing her for our Lady, advocate, and mother. Then we should ask pardon for our negligence in her service during the past year, promising her greater fidelity for the year that is to come. In a word, let us pray her to accept us as her servants, and obtain for us a holy death.

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DEVOTION III. OF THE ROSARY AND OFFICE

THE devotion of the most holy Rosary is known to have been revealed to St. Dominic by the divine mother herself, when the saint, being in affliction, and bewailing to his Lady the conduct of the Albigensian heretics, who at that time were doing great injury to the Church, the Virgin said to him: "This earth will always be barren, until the rain falls on it." St. Dominic was then given to understand that this rain was to be the devotion of the Rosary, and that he was to publish it. And indeed the saint preached it everywhere, and this devotion was embraced by all Catholics, so that, at the present day, there is no devotion more practised by the faithful of every condition, than that of the most holy Rosary. What have not modern heretics, as Calvin, Bucer, and others said, to bring into contempt the use of the Rosary? But the great good is well known, which this noble devotion has brought to the world. How many by its means have been freed from sin! How many led to a holy life! How many have had a good death and are now saved! Let us read the various books which treat of it; it is enough to know that this devotion has been approved by the holy Church, and the sovereign Pontiffs have attached indulgences to it. To him who recites the third part of the Rosary, the indulgence of seventy thousand years is granted, and to him who recites it entire, eighty thousand, and yet more to him who recites it in the chapel of the Rosary. Benedict XIII at length annexed to the Rosary (for him at least who recites the third part of the Rosary which has been blessed by the Dominican Fathers) all the indulgences which are attached to the Rosaries of St. Bridget, namely, one hundred days for every "Hail Mary," and "Our Father" that is repeated. And, moreover, those who recite the Rosary gain the plenary indulgence on all the principal feasts of Mary and of the holy Church, and also of the Dominican Saints, if they visit their churches after confession and communion. But let it be remarked that this is understood of those whose names are inscribed in the book of the Rosary, to whom a plenary indulgence is also granted on the day when their names are inscribed, provided they have made their confession, and communion, and one hundred years if they wear the Rosary; and to those who make mental prayer once a day, seven years each time, and a plenary indulgence at the end of the month.

In order to gain the indulgences attached to the recitation of the Rosary, it is necessary to meditate on the mysteries which are to be found recorded in many books; but it is sufficient for those who do not know them to contemplate any one of the mysteries of the passion of Jesus Christ, as the scourging, death, &c. The Rosary must be recited with devotion; and here call to mind what the holy Virgin said to St. Eulalia, namely, that she was better pleased with five decades said with pauses and devotion, than with fifteen in haste and with less devotion. On this account it is well to say the Rosary kneeling, and before some image of Mary, and at the beginning of every decade to make an act of love to Jesus and Mary, by asking some favor. And, moreover, let it be remarked that it is more efficacious to say the Rosary in company with others, than to say it alone.

Urban II attached many indulgences to the recitation of the little office of our Lady, which is said to have been composed by St. Peter Damian; and the holy Virgin has often made known how pleasing to her was this devotion, as we learn from Father Auriemma. The Litanies are also very pleasing to her, and an indulgence of two hundred days is granted every time they are recited; also the hymn, "Hail, star of the sea," "Ave Maris stella," which the divine mother ordered St. Bridget to repeat every day; and more than all, the "Magnificat," for with this we praise her in the very words with which she praised God.

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DEVOTION IV. OF FASTING

MANY servants of Mary, on Saturdays and the vigils of her feast, are accustomed to honor her by fasting on bread and water. It is well known that Saturday is a day dedicated by the holy Church to the honor of the Virgin, because on this day, says St. Bernard, she remained constant in the faith after the death of her Son. For this reason the servants of Mary never fail on this day to offer her some special homage; and particularly the fast on bread and water, as St. Charles Borromeo, Cardinal Toledo, and so many others practised it. Rittard, Bishop of Bamberg, and Father Joseph Arriaga, of the Society of Jesus, did not even taste food on Saturday. The great graces which the mother of God afterwards bestowed upon those who practised this devotion, may be read in the writings of Father Auriemma. It is sufficient for us to mention the compassion which she showed to that bandit chief, who on account of this devotion, was permitted to remain alive, although his head had been cut off, and although he was under the displeasure of God, and was enabled to make his confession before dying. He afterwards declared that the holy virgin, for this fasting which he had offered her, had preserved him in life, and he then suddenly expired. It would not then be a very extraordinary thing, if any one, especially devoted to Mary, and particularly if he had already deserved hell, should offer to her this fast on Saturday. He who practises this devotion, I may say, will hardly be condemned; not that our Lady will deliver him by a miracle if he dies in mortal sin, as happened to the bandit; such prodigies of divine mercy seldom take place, and it would be madness to expect eternal salvation by them. But I do say that the divine mother will readily obtain perseverance in divine grace and a good death for him who will practise this devotion. All the brothers of our little congregation who can do so, fast on bread and water on Saturday, in honor of Mary. I say those who can do so, meaning, that if any one is prevented from doing so on account of ill health, at least on Saturday, he may content himself with one dish, make a common fast, or at least abstain from fruits or other agreeable food. It is necessary on Saturday to offer special devotions to our Lady, to receive communion, or, at least, hear mass, visit some image of the Virgin, wear hair-cloth, and the like. And at least on the vigils of the seven feasts of Mary, let her servants endeavor to offer this fasting on bread, or in any other manner they are able.

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DEVOTION V. OF VISITING THE IMAGES OF MARY

FATHER SEGNERI says, that the devil could in no better way console himself for the losses he has sustained by the overthrow of idolatry, than by attacking sacred images through the heretics. But the holy Church has defended them even by the blood of the martyrs; and the divine mother has also made manifest by miracles, how much she is pleased by devotion and visits to her images. The hand of St. John of Damascus was cut off because he defended with his pen the images of Mary; but our Lady restored it to him in a miraculous manner. Father Spinelli relates, that in Constantinople, every Friday after vespers, a veil which hung before the image of Mary was withdrawn of itself, and after vespers on Saturday it closed of itself. The veil before an image of the Virgin was seen to with draw itself, in a similar way, by St. John of God, whereupon the sacristan, believing the saint to be a robber, struck him with his foot, but the foot was withered. All the servants of Mary, therefore, are accustomed often to visit her images with great devotion, and also the churches dedicated to her honor. There are, in deed, as John of Damascus teaches, the cities of refuge, where we find safety from temptations, and from the punishments merited by the sins we have committed. St. Henry, Emperor, when he entered a city, always visited, before any thing else, some church of our Lady. Father Thomas Sanchez never returned home until he had visited some church of Mary. Let us not be weary then of visiting our queen every day in some church or chapel, or in our own house, where it would be well for that purpose to have in some retired place a, little oratory, with her image adorned with drapery, flowers, tapers, or lamps, and before it also the litanies, the rosary, &c., may be said. For this purpose I have published a little book, which has already gone through eight editions, of Visits to the most Holy Sacrament, as well as to the Virgin, for every day in the month. Some devout servant of Mary might cause one of her feasts to be celebrated in some church or chapel, and preceding it by a Novena, with the exposition of the Sacrament, and also with sermons.

But here it is well to notice the fact which Father Spinelli relates in the "Miracles of the Madonna. " In the year 1611, in the celebraten sanctuary of Mary in Montevergine, it happened that on the vigil of Pentecost the people who thronged there profaned that feast with balls, excesses, and immodest conduct, when a fire was suddenly discovered bursting forth from the house of entertainment where they were feasting, so that in less than an hour and a half it was consumed, and more than one thousand five hundred persons were killed.

Five persons who remained alive affirmed upon oath, that they had seen the mother of God herself, who with two lighted torches set fire to the inn. After this I entreat the servants of Mary to abstain as far as they can, and to induce others to abstain from going to such sanctuaries of our Lady in times of feasting, for hell then received much more fruit from it, than the divine mother received honor. Let him who practises this devotion go and visit them at a time when they are not thronged.