Ejaculation.—O Mary! be my guiding star.
Practice.—Examine what has been your fidelity in following your vocation, and how its obligations have been fulfilled.
[FIFTH DAY.]
MARY IS A MODEL TO RELIGIOUS PERSONS IN HER PRESENTATION IN THE TEMPLE.
GOD had commanded all the Hebrews to visit the Temple, but all, rich and poor, were forbidden to enter it empty-handed: Non apparetis in conspectu meo vacuus. The offering, however, was not the same for all. The rich were to give according to their riches, the poor according to their poverty, and thus all were able to observe the precept. From this we may understand that when seculars come to God and offer Him the desire and will, they entertain to follow and observe His Divine commandments. He will be satisfied with this offering, and if they put it in practice faithfully, they will obtain eternal life. But let those souls who are rich in means for doing great things for the glory of God, such as religious persons, beware lest they present themselves with the offering of the poor—that is, of seculars; for God will not be satisfied with such an offering. Our Lord, in calling you, my dear sisters, into Holy Religion, enriched you with His graces, and on this account He requires much from you; that is, He will have your offering to be of all that you are, and of all that you possess, without any reserve.
The Blessed Virgin, in her Presentation, made an offering pleasing to God; offered not only the dignity of her person (the most excellent amongst pure creatures), but all that she possessed. How happy are the Religious who, by means of their vows, have consecrated all to God, dedicating to Him their bodies, their hearts, and all that they possess; renouncing riches by the vow of poverty, pleasures by the vow of chastity, and their whole will by the vow of obedience! Worldlings, you may enjoy your riches if you will, but do not abuse them, nor wrong anyone. The pleasures that Holy Church permits are lawful; you are not prohibited in a thousand circumstances from following your own will, provided it be not contrary to that of God. But you, Religious, should offer all to God, without any reserve. He wishes your offering to be entire, such as is the gift He makes to you of Himself in the Divine Sacrament of the Altar. Forget not that you cannot deceive Him, and if you say that you wish to consecrate yourselves perfectly to His Divine Majesty, and do not really do so, you are in danger of being punished like Ananias and Sapphira, who lied to the Holy Ghost.
Now, the Blessed Virgin was always perfectly obedient to the Will of God, from the first instant of her conception, without ever changing or suspending for a moment the resolution she had formed to serve Him.
Do we not daily experience how changeable is man in his good resolutions? How often, even in one hour, do we not like and dislike the same thing, and allow ourselves to be moved by excessive joy or excessive sadness! This was not the case with Our Lady; she hourly became more perfectly united to God, and merited fresh graces, and the more she received, the more did she render her soul worthy to receive them. By these means she was always strengthening her first resolution, so that the only change that could have been perceptible in her was the progress she made from one degree of perfection to another, through the practice of every virtue. It was for this purpose that she wished to retire into the Temple, not through any need she had of this retreat, for her perseverance was assured by her consecration at the first moment of her existence, but in order to instruct us, who are so changeable and inconstant, that it is our duty to make use of every means in our power to strengthen and preserve our good resolutions.
Imitate the Most Holy Virgin also in this. Dedicate, therefore, yourselves entirely to God; and whenever you renew your consecration, you will acquire new strength and vigour in the service of His Divine Majesty. Renew your resolutions, renew them frequently and with fidelity, to the end of your life. This was the careful practice of all the Saints of both the Old and of the New Testament. Our nature is of itself weak and easily depressed when there is a question of virtuous resolutions. The earth itself has its periods of weakness, and refuses to be always yielding its produce; so it lies barren in winter. But when the spring arrives it renews itself, and having recovered fresh vigour, it gives us the benefit of its fruits.
For this reason Holy Church, like a wise Mother, puts before us from time to time, during the course of the year, special festivals, to animate us to renew our good resolutions. Who will not renew his soul on the solemn festivals of Easter, Pentecost, and Christmas, by holy affections and firm resolutions to live more virtuously? But besides the observance of all these festivals, it has ever been a laudable custom for persons more especially consecrated to God, such as Religious, to choose one day in particular during the course of the year upon which to renew their vows, and by so doing to obey the great Apostle, who counsels us to confirm our vocation.