Our Morning Offering – 16 May “Mary’s Month!” – Wednesday of the Seventh Week of Eastertide and the memorial of St Simon Stock (1165-1265)
Carmel’s Flower
By St Simon Stock (1165-1265)
Carmel’s Flower,
Vine ever blossoming,
Heaven’s splendour!
Virgin who bore a child.
No one is like thee.
Mother gentle and kind.
Yet never touched by man!
To Carmelites give thou the privilege.
Help us Star of the Sea.
Saint of the Day – 16 May – St Simon Stock (1165-1265) Religious Monk, Visionary, Mystic, Marian devotee, early prior general of the Carmelite religious order. Born c 1165 in Aylesford, County Kent, England – died on 16 May 1265 in the Carmelite monastery at Bordeaux, France of natural causes while on a visit. Patronage – Bordeaux, France.
Simon was born in Aylesford, England, to one of the most well-known and respected Christian families in the County of Kent. While still an infant, he was chosen by the Blessed Mother for her own, with his parents and others hearing him recite the Angelic Salutation of the Archangel Gabriel, long before he had learned to speak. Prodigious as a child, he learned and memorised the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin before he was able to read, reciting it on a daily basis. He was observed to read the Holy Scripture, kneeling in his room, by the age of six.
At the age of twelve, Simon left home, living as a hermit in the hollowed trunk of a large oak tree, earning him the name Simon “Stock.” There he triumphed over the demon, as he would later tell his religious, only by the assistance of the Most Holy Virgin. While living as a hermit, he drank only water and ate only herbs, roots and wild apples. Eventually, after eight years of solitude, Simon felt called back to communion with others and joined the Carmelite Order. He finished his studies at Oxford and later (in 1215) was appointed Vicar General of the Order.
Saint Simon worked tirelessly to spread the Carmelite Order throughout Europe, founding many communities in university towns such as Cambridge, Oxford, Paris and Bologna. He was responsible for the revision of the Rules of the Order, leading the community from lives as hermits to those of mendicant friars. Known for his deep devotion to Our Blessed mother, as well as for the spiritual gifts of miracles and prophecy, Simon was elected as the sixth Superior General of the Carmelites at age 82. He continued to govern the order for twenty years, demonstrating holiness, vision and prudence.
During his tenure as Superior General, Simon was graced with a visitation from the Blessed Mother, to whom he was so devoted. Radiantly surrounded by a multitude of Angels, Our Lady of Mount Carmel appeared to him as he knelt in prayer at Aylesford, England. Presenting to him the Carmelite Brown Scapular, she made Her Promise of unparalleled generosity to him, his spiritual children and to all those who wished to consecrate themselves to her by this special sign: Her words were:
“Receive, my beloved son, this scapular of your Order. It is the special sign of my favour, which I have obtained for you and for your children of Mount Carmel. He who dies clothed with this habit shall be preserved from eternal fire. It is the badge of salvation, a shield in time of danger and a pledge of special peace and protection.”
The scapular (from the Latin, scapular, meaning “shoulder blade”) consists of two pieces of cloth, one worn on the chest and the other on the back, which were connected by straps or strings passing over the shoulders. In certain Orders, monks and nuns wear scapulars that reach from the shoulders almost to the ground as outer garments. Lay persons usually wear scapulars underneath their clothing, consisting of two pieces of material only a few inches square. Although the scapular may be worn by any Catholic, even an infant, proper investiture must be done by a priest. Subsequently, the scapular must be worn in the proper manner, the individual forfeiting its holy benefits if neglectful or careless.
Saint Simon Stock died on 16 May 1265, at the age of 100 and was buried in the cathedral of Bordeaux, where he was visiting at the time of his death. The Saint’s bones are still preserved in a cathedral in Bordeaux; a tibia was brought to England in the 1860s for the Carmelite church in Kensington, a part of the skull was enshrined at Aylesford in 1950. St Simon was never formally Canonised but he has been venerated by the Carmelites since at least 1564 and the Vatican has approved the Carmelite celebration of his feast.
Devotion to the Brown Scapular remains widespread and recommended by the Catholic Church. The Carmelites continue to find meaning in the traditional story and iconography of Saint Simon Stock receiving the scapular, particularly as reflecting their filial relationship with Mary. When St Pope John Paul II addressed the Carmelite family in 2001 on the occasion of the 750th anniversary of the bestowal of the Scapular, he said:
“Over time, this rich Marian heritage of Carmel, has become, through the spread of the Holy Scapular devotion, a treasure for the whole Church. By its simplicity, its anthropological value and its relationship to Mary’s role, in regard to the Church and humanity, this devotion was so deeply and widely accepted, by the People of God, that it came to be expressed, in the memorial of 16 July on the liturgical calendar, of the universal Church, “the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.”
Marian Thought for the Day -15 May – “Mary’s Month” – Tuesday of the Seventh Week of Eastertide
EACH of the titles of Mary has its own special meaning and drift and may be made the subject of a distinct meditation. She is invoked by us as the Mother of Christ. What is the force of thus addressing her? It is to bring before us that she it is whom from the first was prophesied of and associated with, the hopes and prayers of all holy men, of all true worshippers of God, of all who “looked for the redemption of Israel” in every age before that redemption came.
Our Lord was called the Christ, or the Messias, by the Jewish prophets and the Jewish people. The two words Christ and Messias mean the same. They mean in English, the “Anointed.” In the old time there were three great ministries or offices by means of which, God spoke to His chosen people, the Israelites, or, as they were afterward called, the Jews, viz., that of Priest, that of King and that of Prophet. Those who were chosen by God for one or other of these offices, were solemnly anointed with oil—oil signifying the grace of God, which was given to them for the due performance of their high duties. But our Lord was all three, a Priest, a Prophet and a King—a Priest, because He offered Himself as a sacrifice for our sins; a Prophet, because He revealed to us the Holy Law of God; and a King, because He rules over us. Thus He is the one true Christ.
It was in expectation of this great Messias that the chosen people, the Jews, or Israelites, or Hebrews (for these are different names for the same people), looked out from age to age. He was to come to set all things right. And next to this great question which occupied their minds, namely, When was He to come, was the question, Who was to be His Mother? It had been told them from the first, not that He should come from heaven but that He should be born of a Woman. At the time of the fall of Adam, God had said, that the seed of the Woman, should bruise the Serpent’s head. Who, then, was to be that Woman thus significantly pointed out to the fallen race of Adam? At the end of many centuries, it was further revealed to the Jews that the great Messias, or Christ, the seed of the Woman, should be born of their race and of one particular tribe, of the twelve tribes, into which that race was divided. From that time every woman of that tribe hoped to have the great privilege of herself, being the Mother of the Messias, or Christ; for it stood to reason, since He was so great, the Mother must be great and good and blessed too. Hence it was, among other reasons, that they thought so highly of the marriage state, because, not knowing the mystery of the miraculous conception of the Christ, when He was actually to come, they thought that the marriage rite was the ordinance necessary for His coming.
Hence it was, if Mary had been as other women, she would have longed for marriage, as opening on her the prospect of bearing the great King. But she was too humble and too pure for such thoughts. She had been inspired to choose that better way of serving God, which had not been made known to the Jews—the state of Virginity. She preferred to be His Spouse, to being His Mother. Accordingly, when the Angel Gabriel announced to her, her high destiny, she shrank from it, till she was assured, that it would not oblige her, to revoke her purpose, of a virgin life devoted to her God.
Thus was it that she became the Mother of the Christ, not in that way, which pious women for so many ages had expected Him but, declining the grace of such maternity, she gained it by means of a higher grace. And this is the full meaning of St Elizabeth’s words, when the Blessed Virgin came to visit her, which we use in the Hail Mary: “Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.” And, therefore, it is that, in the Devotion called the “Crown of Twelve Stars” we give praise to God, the Holy Ghost, through whom she was both, Virgin and Mother.
One Minute Marian Reflection -15 May – “Mary’s Month” – Tuesday of the Seventh Week of Eastertide
Jesus said to her, “Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servers, “Do whatever he tells you.”…John 2:4-5
REFLECTION – “MARY: AT CANA – “In the Gospel, St John has recorded a wonderful phrase of our Lady. At the wedding of Cana, she turned to the waiters and said: ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ That is what it is all about — getting people to face Jesus and ask Him: ‘Lord, what do you want me to do?’ “…. St Josemaría Escrivá (1902-1975) “To Jesus through Mary,” Christ is Passing 149
Let us offer to our Mother today:
Prompt obedience, when we are called or asked to do some errand or some act of service.
PRAYER – Accept our prayer, Lord, as we wend our way to You. Grant, we pray, that by the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may remember her words and do whatever You tell us. Mary, our Mother and Mother of our Lord Jesus, pray for us. Through Jesus Christ, in union with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever amen.
Our Morning Offering – 15 May – “Mary’s Month” – Tuesday of the Seventh Week of Eastertide
Mary, Mother of Grace
St Athanasius (297-373) Father & Doctor
It becomes you to be mindful of us,
as you stand near Him who granted you all graces,
for you are the Mother of God and our Queen.
Help us for the sake of the King,
the Lord God and Master, who was born of you.
For this reason,
you are called full of grace.
Remember us, most holy Virgin,
and bestow on us gifts
from the riches of your graces,
Virgin full of graces.
Amen
Marian Thought for the Day – 14 May – Mary’s Month!” – Monday of the Seventh Week of Eastertide
THIS is a title which, of all others, we should have thought it impossible for any creature to possess. At first sight we might be tempted to say that it throws into confusion our primary ideas of the Creator and the creature, the Eternal and the temporal, the Self-subsisting and the dependent and yet, on further consideration, we shall see that we cannot refuse the title to Mary, without denying the Divine Incarnation—that is, the great and fundamental truth of revelation, that God became man.
And this was seen from the first age of the Church. Christians were accustomed from the first to call the Blessed Virgin “The Mother of God,” because they saw that it was impossible to deny her that title without denying St John’s words, “The Word” (that is, God the Son) “was made flesh.”
And in no long time it was found necessary to proclaim this truth by the voice of an Ecumenical Council of the Church. For, in consequence of the dislike which men have of a mystery, the error sprang up that our Lord was not really God but a man, differing from us in this merely—that God dwelt in Him, as God dwells in all good men, only in a higher measure; as the Holy Spirit dwelt in Angels and Prophets, as in a sort of Temple, or again, as our Lord now dwells in the Tabernacle in church. And then, the bishops and faithful people found there was no other way of hindering this false, bad view being taught but by declaring distinctly and making it a point of faith, that Mary was the Mother, not of man only but of God. And since that time the title of Mary, as Mother of God, has become what is called a dogma, or article of faith, in the Church.
But this leads us to a larger view of the subject. Is this title as given to Mary more wonderful than the doctrine that God, without ceasing to be God, should become man? Is it more mysterious that Mary should be Mother of God, than that God should be man? Yet the latter, as I have said, is the elementary truth of revelation, witnessed by Prophets, Evangelists and Apostles all through Scripture. And what can be more consoling and joyful than the wonderful promises which follow from this truth, that Mary is the Mother of God?—the great wonder, namely, that we become the brethren of our God, that, if we live well and die in the grace of God, we shall all of us hereafter be taken up by our Incarnate God to that place where angels dwel, that our bodies shall be raised from the dust and be taken to Heaven, that we shall be really united to God, that we shall be partakers of the Divine nature, that each of us, soul and body, shall be plunged into the abyss of glory which surrounds the Almighty, that we shall see Him and share His blessedness, according to the text, “Whosoever shall do the will of My Father that is in Heaven, the same is My brother and sister, and mother.”
One Minute Reflection – 14 May – Mary’s Month!” – Monday of the Seventh Week of Eastertide
After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions...Luke 2:46
REFLECTION – “MARY: LOSING AND FINDING THE CHILD JESUS – “The Mother of God, who looked for her Son so anxiously when he was lost (through no fault of her own) and experienced such great joy in finding him, will help us retrace our steps and put right, whatever may be necessary when, because of our carelessness or our sins, we have been unable to recognise Christ. With her help, we will know the happiness of holding Him in our arms once more and telling Him we will never lose Him again.”…St Josemaría Escrivá (1902-1975) “Mother of God and Our Mother,” Friends of God, 278
Let us offer to our Mother today:
A good, sincere, sorrowful confession of our sins and failures, in the sacrament of Penance.
PRAYER – Lord God, as You brought joy to the world, through the resurrection of Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, grant that through His Virgin Mother, we may constantly seek and recognise our Lord and Saviour and turn to Him in complete trust and love. Mary, Mother of our Lord, bring your holy child to us. Through Jesus Christ with You and the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 14 May – Mary’s Month!” – Monday of the Seventh Week of Eastertide
Mary Immaculate, My Solace
By Bl John Henry Newman (1801-1890)
What shall bring me forward in the narrow way,
as I live in the world,
but the thought and patronage of Mary?
What shall seal my senses,
shall tranquilise my heart,
when sights and sounds of danger
are around me but Mary?
What shall give me patience and endurance,
when I am wearied out
with the length of the conflict with evil,
with the unceasing necessity of precautions,
with the irksomeness of observing them,
with the tediousness of their reception,
with the strain upon my mind,
with my forlorn and cheerless condition,
but a loving communion with you!
You will comfort me in my discouragements,
solace me in my fatigues,
raise me after my falls,
reward me for my successes.
You will show me your Son,
my God and my all.
When my spirit within me is excited,
or relaxed,
or depressed,
when it loses its balance,
when it is restless and wayward,
when it is sick of what it has
and hankers after what it has not,
when my eye is solicited with evil
and my mortal frame trembles
under the shadow of the tempter,
what will bring me to myself,
to peace and health,
but the cool breath
of the Immaculate
and the fragrance of the Rose of Sharon? Amen
13 May – Wishing all the Mothers a very Blessed and Happy Mother’s Day
I extend my wishes for a Blessed and Happy Mothers’ Day to all mothers who labour unceasingly, that their children gain eternal joy in Heaven and most especially offer thanks and praise to the Holy Trinity for the greatest creature ever conceived, the Great Mother of Our Saviour, Mary Most Holy!
Of her we can never say enough, well enough, often enough, for not only is every day Mary’s Mother’s Day, as it should be but because we, her spiritual children, have learned the lesson, from sitting on her lap in the recitation of the Hail Mary, that as she is our true Mother, every day is also our day, her children, the children of God and the siblings of her Divine Son.
To our Holy Mother of us all, we pray:
Mary, on this day, when we honour all mothers, we turn to you.
We thank the Lord, whom you serve, for the great gift of motherhood.
Never has it been known, that anyone who sought your intercession, was left unaided by grace.
Dear Mother, thank you for your “Yes”, to the invitation of the angel
which brought heaven to earth and changed human history.
You opened yourself,to God’s word
and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.
Dear mother, intercede for all of our mothers.
Ask your Divine Son, to give them the grace of surrendered love
so that they could join with you, in giving their own “Fiat.”
May they find daily strength to say “yes”, to the call to the sacrificial love-
the very heart, of the vocation of motherhood.
May their love and witness, be a source of great inspiration
for all of us, called to follow your Son.
God Bless Mothers on this Mothers day,
Mother of the Word Incarnate,
pray for us who have recourse to you.
In the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Amen
Marian Thought for the Day – 13 May – “Mary’s Month” – The Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord and the Feasts of Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Help, Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament and the Memorial of the Dedication of the Minor Basilica of Saint Mary of the Martyrs (Pantheon)
MARY is called the Gate of Heaven, because it was through her, that our Lord passed from heaven to earth. The Prophet Ezechiel, prophesying of Mary, says, “the gate shall be closed, it shall not be opened and no man shall pass through it, since the Lord God of Israel has entered through it—and it shall be closed for the Prince, the Prince Himself shall sit in it.”
Now this is fulfilled, not only in our Lord having taken flesh from her and being her Son, but, moreover, in that she had a place in the economy of Redemption; it is fulfilled in her spirit and will, as well as in her body. Eve had a part in the fall of man, though it was Adam who was our representative and whose sin made us sinners. It was Eve who began and who tempted, Adam. Scripture says: “The woman saw that the tree was good to eat, and fair to the eyes, and delightful to behold; and she took of {37} the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave to her husband, and he did eat.” It was fitting then in God’s mercy that, as the woman began the destruction of the world, so woman should also begin its recovery and that, as Eve opened the way for the fatal deed of the first Adam, so Mary should open the way, for the great achievement of the second Adam, even our Lord Jesus Christ, who came to save the world by dying on the cross for it. Hence Mary is called by the holy Fathers a second and a better Eve, as having taken that first step in the salvation of mankind which Eve took in its ruin.
How, and when, did Mary take part and the initial part, in the world’s restoration? It was when the Angel Gabriel came to her to announce to her the great dignity which was to be her portion. St Paul bids us “present our bodies to God as a reasonable service.” We must not only pray with our lips and fast and do outward penance and be chaste in our bodies but we must be obedient and pure in our minds. And so, as regards the Blessed Virgin, it was God’s will that she should undertake willingly and with full understanding, to be the Mother of our Lord and not to be a mere passive instrument, whose maternity would have no merit and no reward. The higher our gifts, the heavier our duties. It was no light lot to be so intimately near to the Redeemer of men, as she experienced afterwards when she suffered with Him. Therefore, weighing well the Angel’s words before giving her answer to them—first she asked whether so great an office would be a forfeiture of that Virginity which she had vowed. When the Angel told her no, then, with the full consent of a full heart, full of God’s love to her and her own lowliness, she said, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done unto me according to thy word.” It was by this consent that she became the Gate of Heaven.
One Minute Marian Reflection – 13 May – “Mary’s Month” – The Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord and the Feasts of Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Help, Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament and the Memorial of the Dedication of the Minor Basilica of Saint Mary of the Martyrs (Pantheon)
The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom and the favour of God was upon him...Luke 2:40
REFLECTION – “MARY: HER HIDDEN LIFE WITH JESUS: I like to go back in my imagination, to the years Jesus spent close to his mother, years which span almost the whole of His life on earth. I like to picture Him as a little child, cared for by Mary, who kisses Him and plays with Him. I like to see Him growing up, before the loving eyes of His mother and of Joseph, His father on earth. What tenderness and care Mary and the holy Patriarch must have shown toward Jesus, as they looked after Him during His childhood, all the while, silently, learning so much from Him. Their souls, would become more and more like the soul of that Son, who was both man and God. This is why His mother and after her St Joseph, understand better than anyone, the feelings of the heart of Christ and the two of them. are thus, the best way, I would say the only way, to reach the Saviour.”…St Josemaría Escrivá (1902-1975) “Mother of God and Our Mother,” Friends of God, 281
Let us offer to our Mother today:
The effort of doing our ordinary work well, on time, with competence and finesse.
PRAYER – Let us praise You, Lord, with voice and mind and deed and since life itself is Your gift, may all we have and are be Yours. May Your Mother Lord Jesus, teach us as You taught her. Grant we pray that Mary, Your Mother and ours and Mother of all the Church, Your Mystical Body, will take us all to Your heart, with St Joseph by her side. Mary, most Holy, pray for us. We make our prayer through our Lord Jesus, the Christ in union with You, Holy Father and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 13 May – “Mary’s Month” – The Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord and the Feasts of Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Help, Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament and the Memorial of the Dedication of the Minor Basilica of Saint Mary of the Martyrs (Pantheon)
O Mary, Immaculate Virgin
By St Maria Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938)
O Mary, Immaculate Virgin,
Pure crystal for my heart,
You are my strength, O sturdy anchor!
You are the weak heart’s shield and protection.
Mary you are pure, of purity incomparable;
At once both Virgin and Mother,
You are beautiful as the sun, without blemish,
And your soul is beyond all comparison.
Your beauty has delighted the eye of the Thrice-Holy One.
He descended from heaven, leaving His eternal throne,
And took Body and Blood of your heart
And for nine months lay hidden in a Virgin’s Heart.
O Mother, Virgin, purest of all lilies,
Your heart was Jesus’ first tabernacle on earth.
Only because no humility was deeper than yours
Where you are raised above the choirs of Angels
and above all Saints.
O Mary, my sweet Mother,
I give you my soul, my body and my poor heart.
Be the guardian of my life,
Especially at the hour of death, in the final strife.”
(Diary, 161)
Feast of Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament – 13 May
History of the Title of Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament
St Peter Julian Eymard (1811-1868), of France, had a strong devotion to the Holy Eucharist and Our Lady and began his priestly life in the Society of Mary. “But his heart burned with the desire to establish perpetual adoration of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament exposed upon a royal throne and surrounded by a large court of adorers.” On 2 February 1851, at the shrine of Fourvière, the most Blessed Virgin had made him understand its necessity. ‘All the mysteries of my Son have a religious order of men to honour them. The Eucharist alone has none . . . .’
After several years of prudent reflection and interior combat, encouraged by Pope Pius IX, he founded the Congregation of the Most Blessed Sacrament at Paris on 13 May 1856
The title of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament was first given to Mary by St Peter Julian Eymard in May 1868, while speaking to his novices. A few years later he described what her statue should look like: “The Blessed Virgin holds the Infant in her arms and He holds a chalice in one hand and a Host in the other.” He exhorted them to invoke Mary: “Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament, pray for us who have recourse to thee!”
Later, Pius IX enriched the invocation with indulgences. Twice, St Pius X did the same. On 30 December 1905, he granted a 300 days indulgence to the faithful who pray: “Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament, pray for us.”
“This title, Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament, is perhaps the most meaningful of all,” said St. Pius X.
In 1921 the Sacred Congregation of Rite authorised the Blessed Sacrament Congregations to celebrate each year, on 13 May, a “solemn commemoration of the Blessed Virgin,” with the intention of honouring Mary under the title of “Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament.” And of course this Feast is still celebrated today with great joy by all the spiritual sons and daughters of St Peter Julian Eymard.
St Pope John XXIII codified the title of Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament when he declared St Peter Julian Eymard a saint on 9 December 1962, at the end of the last session of the Second Vatican Council.
Ascension Sunday (2018)
Our Lady of Fatima 101st Anniversary of the First Apparition 
Our Lady of Help: Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary under this title began in Palermo, Sicily in the 14th century, and has since spread throughout the Augustinians. It began when Father Nicola Bruno, who suffered from severe and long-term pains in his side, prayed to Our Lady for healing while meditating on a painting of Mary in which she used a stick or club to chase away the dragon and protect the infant Jesus; the artist was making reference to passages in Genesis and Revelations that referred to the eternal enmity between The Woman and the serpent. That night, Father Nicola received a vision of Mary and was healed. The painting received the title “Our Lady of Help” and the devotion began. Since 1804 the celebration has had its own liturgy.
Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament: The title of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament was first given to Mary by St Peter Julian Eymard in May 1868, while speaking to his novices. A few years later he described what her statue should look like: “The Blessed Virgin holds the Infant in her arms and He holds a chalice in one hand and a Host in the other.” He exhorted them to invoke Mary: “Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament, pray for us who have recourse to thee!”
Dedication of Saint Mary of the Martyrs: Commemorates and celebrates the dedication of Minor Basilica of Saint Mary of the Martyrs, formerly a temple of all the pagan Roman gods called the Pantheon, in Rome, Italy by Pope Boniface IV in 609.
St Abban of Abingdon
St Agnes of Poitiers
St André-Hubert Fournet
St Anno of Verona
St Argentea of Cordoba
St Euthymius the Illuminator
Bl Fortis Gabrielli
Bl Gerard of Villamagna
Bl Gemma of Goriano
St Glyceria of Trajanopolis
St John the Silent
Bl Julian of Norwich
St Lucius of Constantinople
St Mael of Bardsey
Bl Magdalen Albrizzi
St Merewenna of Rumsey
St Mucius of Byzantium
St Natalis of Milan
St Onesimus of Soissons
St Servatus of Tongres
St Valerian of Auxerre
—
Martyrs of Alexandria: A group of Catholic Christians martyred in the church of Theonas, Alexandria, Egypt by order of the Arian Emperor Valens. Their names have not come down to us. 372 in Alexandria, Egypt.
Marian Thought for the Day – 12 May “Mary’s Month!” – Saturday of the Sixth Week of Eastertide
HERE first we must consider what is meant by justice, for the word as used by the Church has not that sense which it bears in ordinary English. By “justice” is not meant the virtue of fairness, equity, uprightness in our dealings; but it is a word denoting all virtues at once, a perfect, virtuous state of soul—righteousness, or moral perfection; so that it answers very nearly to what is meant by sanctity. Therefore when our Lady is called the “Mirror of Justice,” it is meant to say that she is the Mirror of sanctity, holiness, supernatural goodness.
Next, what is meant by calling her a mirror? A mirror is a surface which reflects, as still water, polished steel, or a looking-glass. What did Mary reflect? She reflected our Lord—but He is infinite Sanctity. She then, as far as a creature could, reflected His Divine sanctity and therefore she is the Mirror of Sanctity, or, as the Litany says, of Justice.
Do we ask how she came to reflect His Sanctity? —it was by living with Him. We see every day how like people get to each other who live with those they love. When they live with those whom they don’t love, as, for instance, the members of a family who quarrel with each other, then the longer they live together the more unlike each other they become but when they love each other, as husband and wife, parents and children, brothers with brothers or sisters, friends with friends, then in course of time they get surprisingly like each other. All of us perceive this; we are witnesses to it with our own eyes and ears—in the expression of their features, in their voice, in their walk, in their language, even in their handwriting, they become like each other and so, with regard to their minds, as in their opinions, their tastes, their pursuits. And again doubtless in the state of their souls, which we do not see, whether for good or for bad.
Now, consider that Mary loved her Divine Son with an unutterable love and consider too, she had Him all to herself for thirty years. Do we not see that, as she was full of grace before she conceived Him in her womb, she must have had a vast incomprehensible sanctity, when she had lived close to God for thirty years?—a sanctity of an angelical order, reflecting back the attributes of God, with a fullness and exactness, of which no saint upon earth, or hermit, or holy virgin, can even remind us. Truly then she is the Speculum Justitiæ, the Mirror of Divine Perfection.
One Minute Marian Reflection – 12 May “Mary’s Month!” – Saturday of the Sixth Week of Eastertide
…he has looked on his servant in her lowliness…Luke 1:48
REFLECTION – MARY: HE HAS LOOKED ON HIS SERVANT IN HER LOWLINESS : “The mystery of Mary helps us to see that in order to approach God, we must become little. Christ said to his disciples: ‘Believe me, unless you become like little children again, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven.’ To become children, we must renounce our pride and self-sufficiency, recognising that we can do nothing by ourselves. We must realise that we need grace and the help of God our Father to find our way and keep to it.” … St Josemaría Escrivá (1902-1975) “To Jesus through Mary” Christ is Passing By, 143.
Let us offer to our Mother today:
A visit to a lonely person to share the joy of trusting in God alone.
PRAYER – Grant us, Lord, we pray, that through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may become like little children, trusting in You, our Father, following Your Son and finally arriving safely home with by the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Mary, Immaculata pray for us. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, in union with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 12 May “Mary’s Month!” – Saturday of the Sixth Week of Eastertide
Mary, I Beg You
By St Anselm (1033-1109)
Doctor magnificus (Magnificent Doctor);
Doctor Marianus (Marian Doctor)
Mary, I beg you,
by that grace through which,
the Lord is with you
and you will to be with Him,
let your mercy be with me.
Let love for you always be with me,
and the care for me, be always with you.
Let the cry of my need,
as long as it persists,
be with you,
and the care of your goodness,
as long as I need it,
be with me.
Let joy in your blessedness
be always with me,
and compassion for my wretchedness,
where I need it,
be with you.
Amen
Marian Thought for the Day – 11 May – “Mary’s Month!” – Friday of the Sixth Week of Eastertide
THIS great title may be fitly connected with the Maternity of Mary, that is, with the coming upon her of the Holy Ghost at Nazareth after the Angel Gabriel’s annunciation to her and with the consequent birth of our Lord at Bethlehem. She, as the Mother of our Lord, comes nearer to Him than any angel; nearer even than the Seraphim who surround Him and cry continually, “Holy, Holy, Holy.”
The two Archangels who have a special office in the Gospel are St Michael and St Gabriel—and they both of them are associated in the history of the Incarnation with Mary: St Gabriel, when the Holy Ghost came down upon her and St Michael, when the Divine Child was born.
St. Gabriel hailed her as “Full of grace” and as “Blessed among women” and announced to her that the Holy Ghost would come down upon her and that she would bear a Son who would be the Son of the Highest.
Of St Michael’s ministry to her, on the birth of that Divine Son, we learn in the Apocalypse, written by the Apostle St John. We know our Lord came to set up the Kingdom of Heaven among men and hardly was He born, when He was assaulted by the powers of the world, who wished to destroy Him. Herod sought to take His life but he was defeated by St Joseph’s carrying His Mother and Him off into Egypt. But St John in the Apocalypse tells us that Michael and his angels, were the real guardians of Mother and Child, then and on other occasions.
First, St John saw in vision “a great sign in heaven” (meaning by “heaven” the Church, or Kingdom of God), “a woman clothed with the sun and with the moon under her feet and on her head a crown of twelve stars; and when she was about to be delivered of her Child, there appeared “a great red dragon,” that is, the evil spirit, ready “to devour her son” when He should be born. The Son was preserved by His own Divine power but next the evil spirit persecuted her; St Michael, however and his angels, came to the rescue and prevailed against him.
“There was a great battle,” says the sacred writer; “Michael and his Angels fought with the dragon and the dragon fought and his angels and that great dragon was cast out, the old serpent, who is called the devil.”
Now, as then, the Blessed Mother of God has hosts of angels, who do her service and she is their Queen.
Quote/s of the Day – 11 May – “Mary’s Month!” – Friday of the Sixth Week of Eastertide
“Who, more than Mary, could be, a star of hope for us?
With her “yes”, she opened the door of our world,
to God Himself; she became the living Ark of the Covenant,
in whom God took flesh, became one of us
and pitched His tent among us.”
“Consequently, every time we approach
the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharistic liturgy,
we also turn to her who, by her complete fidelity,
received Christ’s sacrifice for the whole Church.
The Synod Fathers rightly declared that
“Mary inaugurates the Church’s participation
in the sacrifice of the Redeemer.”
She is the Immaculata, who receives God’s gift
unconditionally and is thus associated with His work of salvation.
Mary of Nazareth, icon of the nascent Church,
is the model for each of us, called to receive the gift
that Jesus makes of Himself in the Eucharist.”
One Minute Marian Reflection 11 May – “Mary’s Month!” – Friday of the Sixth Week of Eastertide
Having listened to what the king had to say, they set out. And suddenly the star they had seen rising went forward and halted over the place where the child was…Matthew 2:9
REFLECTION – “MARY: WELCOMING THE MAGI: “‘Going into the house, they saw the child with Mary, his mother.’ Our Lady is always near her Son. The Magi are not received by a king on a high throne but by a child in the arms of His mother. Let us ask the Mother of God, who is our mother, to prepare for us the way that leads to the fullness of love …. Her sweet heart knows the surest path for finding Christ.” …St Josemaria Escrivá (1902-1975) “The Epiphany of Our Lord,” Christ is Passing By, 38.
Let us offer to our Mother today:
A visit to a poor person to communicate
our Lady‘s concern for that person.
PRAYER – Heavenly Father, Your plans are always the Truth. So in Your wisdom, You gave us Mary as our Mother, to help us home to You. Grant that by her prayers we finally arrive with You in Your eternal Kingdom. Through Jesus our Lord, in union with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 11 May “Mary’s Month” – Friday of the Sixth Week of Eastertide
Alma Redemptoris Mater
Loving mother of the Redeemer
Prayers of the Church from the Breviary
Loving mother of the Redeemer,
gate of heaven, star of the sea,
assist your people who have fallen,
yet strive to rise again.
To the wonderment of nature
you bore your Creator,
Yet remained a virgin after as before.
You who received Gabriel’s joyful greeting,
have pity on us poor sinners.
Alma Redemptoris Mater,
quae pervia caeli porta manes,
et stella maris, succurre cadenti,
surgere qui curat, populo:
tu quae genuisti, natura mirante,
tuum sanctum Genitorem,
Virgo prius ac posterius,
Gabrielis ab ore,
sumens illud Ave, peccatorum miserere.
This is one of four Marian antiphons, with following versicles and prayers, traditionally said or sung after night prayer, immediately before going to sleep. It is said from the beginning of Advent (from night before the fourth Sunday before Christmas) through 1 February.
Marian Thought for the Day – 10 May “Mary’s Month” and Thursday of the Sixth Week of Eastertide
GOD alone can claim the attribute of holiness. Hence we say in the Hymn, “Tu solus sanctus,” “Thou only art holy.” By holiness we mean the absence of whatever sullies, dims and degrades a rational nature; all that is most opposite and contrary to sin and guilt.
We say that God alone is holy, though in truth all His high attributes are possessed by Him in that fullness, that it may be truly said that He alone has them. Thus, as to goodness, our Lord said to the young man, “None is good but God alone.” He too alone is Power, He alone is Wisdom, He alone is Providence, Love, Mercy, Justice, Truth. This is true but holiness is singled out as His special prerogative, because it marks more than His other attributes, not only His superiority over all His creature but emphatically, His separation from them. Hence we read in the Book of Job, “Can man be justified compared with God, or he that is born of a woman appear clean? Behold, even the moon doth not shine and the stars are not pure, in His sight.” “Behold, among His saints none is unchangeable and the Heavens arc not pure in His sight.”
This we must receive and understand in the first place but secondly, we know too, that, in His mercy, He has communicated in various measures His great attributes to His rational creatures and, first of all, as being most necessary, holiness. Thus Adam, from the time of his creation, was gifted, over and above his nature as man, with the grace of God, to unite him to God and to make him holy. Grace is therefore called holy grace; and, as being holy, it is the connecting principle between God and man. Adam in Paradise might have had knowledge and skill and many virtues; but these gifts did not unite him to his Creator. It was holiness that united him, for it is said by St Paul, “Without holiness no man shall see God.”
And so again, when man fell and lost this holy grace, he had various gifts still adhering to him; he might be, in a certain measure, true, merciful, lovin, and just but these virtues did not unite him to God. What he needed was holiness and, therefore, the first act of God’s goodness to us in the Gospel, is to take us out of our unholy state by means of the sacrament of Baptism and by the grace then given u, to re-open the communications, so long closed, between the soul and heaven.
We see then the force of our Lady’s title, when we call her “Holy Mary.” When God would prepare a human mother for His Son, this was why He began by giving her an immaculate conception. He began, not by giving her the gift of love, or truthfulness, or gentleness, or devotion, though according to the occasion she had them all. But He began His great work before she was born, before she could think, speak, or act, by making her holy and thereby, while on earth, a citizen of heaven. “Tota pulchra es, Maria!” Nothing of the deformity of sin was ever hers. Thus she differs from all saints. There have been great missionaries, confessors, bishops, doctors, pastors. They have done great works and have taken with them numberless converts or penitents to heaven. They have suffered much and have a superabundance of merits to show. But Mary in this way resembles her Divine Son, that, as He, being God, is separate by holiness from all creatures, so she is separate from all Saints and Angels, as being “full of grace.”
Marian Thought for the Day – 9 May “Mary’s Month!” – Wednesday of the Sixth Week of Eastertide
WE use the word “Venerable” generally of what is old. That is because only what is old has commonly those qualities which excite reverence or veneration.
It is a great history, a great character, a maturity of virtue, goodness, experience, that excite our reverence and these commonly, cannot belong to the young.
But this is not true when we are considering Saints. A short life with them is a long one. Thus Holy Scripture says, “Venerable age is not that of long time, nor counted by the number of years but it is the understanding of a man that has gray hairs and a spotless life is old age. The just man, if he be cut short by death, shall be at rest; being made perfect in a short time, he fulfilled a long time.” [Wisdom v.]
Nay, there is a heathen writer, who knew nothing of Saints, who lays it down that even to children, to all children, a great reverence should be paid and that on the ground of their being as yet innocent. And this is a feeling very widely felt and expressed in all countries; so much so that the sight of those who have not sinned (that is, who are not yet old enough to have fallen into mortal sin) has, on the very score of that innocent, smiling youthfulness, often disturbed and turned the plunderer or the assassin in the midst of his guilty doings, filled him with a sudden fear and brought him, if not to repentance, at least to change of purpose.
And, to pass from the thought of the lowest to the Highest, what shall we say of the Eternal God (if we may safely speak of Him at all) but that He, because He is eternal, is ever young, without a beginning and therefore without change and, in the fullness and perfection of His incomprehensible attributes, now just what He was a million years ago? He is truly called in Scripture the “Ancient of Days,” and is therefore infinitely venerable; yet He needs not old age to make him venerable; He has really nothing of those human attendants on venerableness which the sacred writers are obliged figuratively to ascribe to Him, in order to make us feel that profound abasement and reverential awe which we ought to entertain at the thought of Him.
And so of the great Mother of God, as far as a creature can be like the Creator; her ineffable purity and utter freedom from any shadow of sin, her Immaculate Conception, her ever-virginity—these her prerogatives (in spite of her extreme youth at the time when Gabriel came to her) are such as to lead us to exclaim in the prophetic words of Scripture both with awe and with exultation, “Thou art the glory of Jerusalem and the joy of Israel; thou art the honour of our people; therefore hath the hand of the Lord strengthened thee and therefore art thou blessed forever.”
One Minute Marian Reflection – 9 May “Mary’s Month!” – Wednesday of the Sixth Week of Eastertide
The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David, a saviour has been born to you, who is Messiah and Lord...Luke 2:10-11
REFLECTION – MARY: WELCOMING THE SHEPHERDS: “You must look at the Child in the manger. He is our Love. Look at Him, realising that the whole thing is a mystery. We need to accept this mystery on faith and use our faith to explore it very deeply. To do this, we must have the humble attitude of a Christian soul.” …St Josemaría Escrivá (1902-1975) “Christ Triumphs through Humility,” Christ is Passing by 13.
Let us offer to our Mother today:
Small hidden sacrifices,
especially those that go against the grain.
PRAYER – Almighty God, Your incarnate Word fills us with the new light He brought to men. Let the light of faith in our hearts shine through all that we do and say. Grant that through Mary, mother of Christ and our mother and protector, by her prayers and solace, we may learn humility and true faith. We make our prayer through Jesus, our Lord, with You and the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
Marian Thought for the Day – 8 May – “Mary’s Month!” – Tuesday of the Sixth Week of Eastertide
HOW did Mary become the Rosa Mystica, the choice, delicate, perfect flower of God’s spiritual creation? It was by being born, nurtured and sheltered in the mystical garden or Paradise of God. Scripture makes use of the figure of a garden, when it would speak of heaven and its blessed inhabitants. A garden is a spot of ground set apart for trees and plants, all good, all various, for things that are sweet to the taste or fragrant in scent, or beautiful to look upon, or useful for nourishment; and accordingly in its spiritual sense, it means the home of blessed spirits and holy souls dwelling there together, souls with both the flowers and the fruits upon them, which by the careful husbandry of God, they have come to bear, flowers and fruits of grace, flowers more beautiful and more fragrant than those of any garden, fruits more delicious and exquisite than can be matured by earthly husbandman.
All that God has made speaks of its Maker;, the mountains speak of His eternity;, the sun of His immensity and the winds of His Almightiness. In like manner flowers and fruits speak of His sanctity, His love and His providence; and such as are flowers and fruits, such must be the place where they are found. That is to say, since they are found in a garden, therefore a garden has also excellences which speak of God because it is their home. For instance, it would be out of place if we found beautiful flowers on the mountain-crag, or rich fruit in the sandy desert. As then by flowers and fruits are meant, in a mystical sense, the gifts and graces of the Holy Ghost, so by a garden is meant mystically, a place of spiritual repose, stillness, peace, refreshment and delight.
Thus our first parents were placed in “a garden of pleasure” shaded by trees, “fair to behold and pleasant to eat of,” with the Tree of Life in the midst and a river to water the ground. Thus our Lord, speaking from the cross to the penitent robber, calls the blessed place, the heaven to which He was taking him, “paradise,” or a garden of pleasure. Therefore St John, in the Apocalypse, speaks of heaven, the palace of God, as a garden or paradise, in which was the Tree of Life giving forth its fruits every month.
Such was the garden in which the Mystical Rose, the Immaculate Mary, was sheltered and nursed to be the Mother of the All Holy God, from her birth to her espousals to St Joseph, a term of thirteen years. For three years of it, she was in the arms of her holy mother, St Anne and then for ten years she lived in the temple of God. In those blessed gardens, as they may be called, she lived by herself, continually visited by the dew of God’s grace and growing up a more and more heavenly flower, till at the end of that period she was meet for the inhabitation in her of the Most Holy. This was the outcome of the Immaculate Conception. Excepting her, the fairest rose in the paradise of God has had upon it blight and has had the risk of canker-worm and locust. All but Mary; she from the first was perfect in her sweetness and her beautifulness and at length, when the angel Gabriel had to come to her, he found her “full of grace,” which had, from her good use of it, accumulated in her, from the first moment of her being.
One Minute Marian Reflection – 8 May – “Mary’s Month!” – Tuesday of the Sixth Week of Eastertide
And the angel said to her in reply, “The holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God…Luke 1:35
REFLECTION – MARY: MOTHER OF CHRIST – “Jesus Christus, Deus homo: Jesus Christ, God man. This is one of the ‘mighty works of God,’ which we should reflect upon and thank Him for. He has come to bring ‘peace on earth to men of good will,’ to all who want to unite their wills to the holy will of God – not just the rich, not just the poor but everyone, all the brethren. We are all brothers in Jesus, children of God, brothers of Christ. His mother is our mother .”…St Josemaría Escrivá (1902-1975) – “Christ Triumphs through Humility” – “Christ is Passing By – 13”
Let us offer to our Mother today:
Jesus Himself, when we receive Him in Holy Communion.
PRAYER – Shape us in the likeness of the divine nature of our Redeemer, whom we believe to be true God and true man, since it was Your will, Lord God, that He, Your Word, should take to Himself our human nature in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Grant, we pray, that by intercession of the Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, we may reach eternal life. We make our prayer, through Christ, our Lord, in union with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever, amen.
Marian Thought for the Day – 7 May “Mary’s Month” – Monday of the Sixth week of Eastertide
WHY is she “Amabilis” thus specially? It is because she was without sin. Sin is something odious in its very nature and grace is something bright, beautiful, attractive.
However, it may be said that sinlessness was not enough to make others love her, or to make her dear to others and that for two reasons: first, because we cannot like anyone that is not like ourselves and we are sinners; and next, because her being holy would not make her pleasant and winning because holy persons whom we fall in with, are not always agreeable and we cannot like them, however we may revere them and look up to them.
Now as to the first of these two questions, we may grant that bad men do not, cannot like good men but our Blessed Virgin Mary is called Amabilis, or lovable, as being such to the children of the Church, not to those outside of it, who know nothing about her and no child of Holy Church but has some remains of God’s grace in his soul which makes him sufficiently like her, however greatly wanting he may be, to allow of his being able to love her. So we may let this question pass.
But as to the second question, viz., How are we sure that our Lady, when she was on earth, attracted people round her and made them love her merely because she was holy?—considering that holy people sometimes have not that gift of drawing others to them.
To explain this point we must recollect that there is a vast difference between the state of a soul such as that of the Blessed Virgin, which has never sinned and a soul, however holy, which has once had upon it Adam’s sin; for, even after baptism and repentance, it suffers necessarily from the spiritual wounds which are the consequence of that sin. Holy men, indeed, never commit mortal sin, nay, sometimes have never committed even one mortal sin in the whole course of their lives. But Mary’s holiness went beyond this. She never committed even a venial sin and this special privilege is not known to belong to anyone but Mary.
Now, whatever want of amiableness, sweetness, attractiveness, really exists in holy men arises from the remains of sin in them, or again from the want of a holiness powerful enough to overcome the defects of nature, whether of soul or body but, as to Mary, her holiness was such, that if we saw her and heard her, we should not be able to tell to those who asked us anything about her except simply that she was angelic and heavenly.
Of course, her face was most beautiful but we should not be able to recollect whether it was beautiful or not, we should not recollect any of her features because it was her beautiful sinless soul, which looked through her eyes and spoke through her mouth and was heard in her voice and compassed her all about. When she was still, or when she walked, whether she smiled, or was sad, her sinless soul, this it was, which would draw all those to her who had any grace in them, any remains of grace, any love of holy things.
There was a divine music in all she said and did—in her mien, her air, her deportment, that charmed every true heart that came near her. Her innocence, her humility and modesty, her simplicity, sincerity, and truthfulness, her unselfishness, her unaffected interest in everyone who came to her, her purity—it was these qualities which made her so lovable and were we to see her now, neither our first thought nor our second thought would be, what she could do for us with her Son, (though she can do so much) but our first thought would be, “Oh, how beautiful!” and our second thought would be, “Oh, what ugly hateful creatures are we!”
Marian Thought for the Day – 6 May “Mary’s Month!” – Sixth Sunday of Eastertide B
WHY is she called a House? And why is she called Golden? Gold is the most beautiful, the most valuable, of all metals. Silver, copper and steel may in their way be made good to the eye but nothing is so rich, so splendid, as gold. We have few opportunities of seeing it in any quantity but anyone who has seen a large number of bright gold coins knows how magnificent is the look of gold. Hence it is that in Scripture the Holy City is, by a figure of speech, called Golden. “The City,” says St. John, “was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.” He means of course to give us a notion of the wondrous beauty of heaven, by comparing it with what is the most beautiful of all the substances which we see on earth.
Therefore, it is that Mary too, is called golden because her graces, her virtues, her innocence, her purity, are of that transcendent brilliancy and dazzling perfection, so costly, so exquisite, that the angels cannot, so to say, keep their eyes off her any more than we could help gazing upon any great work of gold.
But observe further, she is a golden house, or, I will rather say, a golden palace. Let us imagine we saw a whole palace or large church all made of gold, from the foundations to the roof; such, in regard to the number, the variety, the extent of her spiritual excellences, is Mary.
But why called a house or palace? And whose palace? She is the house and the palace of the Great King, of God Himself. Our Lord, the Co-equal Son of God, once dwelt in her. He was her Guest, nay, more than a guest, for a guest comes into a house as well as leaves it. But our Lord was actually born in this holy house. He took His flesh and His blood from this house, from the flesh, from the veins of Mary. Rightly then was she made to be of pure gold because she was to give of that gold to form the body of the Son of God. She was golden in her conception, golden in her birth. She went through the fire of her suffering like gold in the furnace and when she ascended on high, she was, in the words of our hymn,
Quote of the Day – 6 May “Mary’s Month!” – Sixth Sunday of Eastertide B
The great St Hilary (315-368) , Father and Doctor of the Church (Doctor of the Divinity of Christ), wrote this excellent passage:
“The greatest joy that we can give Mary
is that of bearing Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament
within our breast.”
Her motherly union with Jesus becomes a union also with whoever is united to Jesus, especially in Holy Communion. And what can give as much joy to one who loves, as union with the person loved? And we—–do we not happen to be beloved children of the heavenly Mother?
Marian Thought for the Day – 5 May “Mary’s Month!” – Saturday of the Fifth Week of Eastertide
WHEN Mary, the Virgo Prædicanda, the Virgin who is to be proclaimed aloud, is called by the title of Admirabilis, it is thereby suggested to us what the effect is of the preaching of her as Immaculate in her Conception. The Holy Church proclaims, preaches her, as conceived without original sin and those who hear, the children of Holy Church, wonder, marvel, are astonished and overcome by the preaching. It is so great a prerogative.
Even created excellence is fearful to think of when it is so high as Mary’s. As to the great Creator, when Moses desired to see His glory, He Himself says about Himself, “Thou canst not see My face, for man shall not see Me and live;” and St. Paul says, “Our God is a consuming fire.” And when St John, holy as he was, saw only the Human Nature of our Lord, as He is in Heaven, “he fell at His feet as dead.” And so as regards the appearance of angels. The holy Daniel, when St Gabriel appeared to him, “fainted away and lay in a consternation, with his face close to the ground.” When this great archangel came to Zacharias, the father of S. John the Baptist, he too was troubled and fear fell upon him. But it was otherwise with Mary when the same St Gabriel came to her . She was overcome indeed and troubled at his words, because, humble as she was in her own opinion of herself, he addressed her as “Full of grace,” and “Blessed among women” but she was able to bear the sight of him.
Hence we learn two things: first, how great a holiness was Mary’s, seeing she could endure the presence of an angel, whose brightness smote the holy prophet Daniel even to fainting and almost to death; and secondly, since she is so much holier than that angel, and we so much less holy than Daniel, what great reason we have to call her the Virgo Admirabilis, the Wonderful, the Awful Virgin, when we think of her ineffable purity!
There are those who are so thoughtless, so blind, so grovelling as to think that Mary is not as much shocked at wilful sin as her Divine Son is and that we can make her our friend and advocate, though we go to her without contrition at heart, without even the wish for true repentance and resolution to amend. As if Mary could hate sin less and love sinners more, than our Lord does! No: she feels a sympathy for those only who wish to leave their sins else, how should she be without sin herself? No, if even to the best of us she is, in the words of Scripture, “fair as the moon, bright as the sun and terrible as an army set in array,” what is she to the impenitent sinner?
AnaStpaul 
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