In this manner, and by the imitation of her virtues, the relationship which you will contract with her will be much more excellent and more pleasing to her than that of Elizabeth, which was merely of flesh and blood. Our Lord says: 'Whosoever shall do the will of My Father Who is in heaven, he is My brother, and sister, and mother' (Matt. xii. 50).
In order to have some share in the visits of this Holy Virgin, we must not look for consolations, but generously resolve to accept even contempt and sorrow. In fact, Mary did not visit St. Elizabeth until she had suffered the ignominy and humiliation of her sterility. It is impossible to lead a devout life without trouble, and merit is in proportion to suffering. Finally, if we desire to receive the favour of this visitation, we must be transformed; we must die to self, and live only to God and for God: in a word, we must humble ourselves profoundly, according to the example of St. Elizabeth. Be faithful then, pious souls, in this exercise, during this short and miserable life, that you may afterwards chant eternally in heaven with the Most Holy Virgin: Magnificat anima mea Dominum!—'My soul doth magnify the Lord!'
My God! how ashamed I am to be still so full of myself, when I have so often come to Holy Communion! O dear Jesus! may we always bear Thee in our hearts, that we may no longer breathe but Thee? How is it that I am so little united to Thee, since Thou art always in me? Why do I stray so far from Thee, whilst Thou art always close to me? Thou dwellest in my heart, how is it that I do not abide in Thine?
SPIRITUAL FLOWERS.
Chastity is the unblemished beauty of the Saints, which, like the rose, adorns the soul and body, and fills them with sweet and pleasing fragrance.—St. Ephrem.
A slight breath of wind suffices to make the flowers fall from the trees in spring; and sometimes one flattering word, of itself, is enough to ruin a chaste soul, which is infinitely more delicate and tender than any flower.—Nouet.
As the bee gathers from flowers the dew of heaven and the sweetest juice of the earth, forming it into honey and carrying it to its hive, so the Priest takes from the altar our Blessed Saviour (the true Son of God, Who descended like dew from heaven, and came forth from the Virgin Mary as a flower from the earth of our humanity), and places Him in your mouth, and He becomes to you a delicious and spiritual food.—St. Francis of Sales.
Devotion of St. Thomas Aquinas to the 'Ave Maria.'
The most tender devotion towards Mary was, as we may say, innate in St. Thomas Aquinas. One day, when he was a little child, his nurse observed that he kept a piece of paper in his hands, which she wished to take from him: but the child resisted with loud cries, and made every effort to retain it. This singular resistance excited the curiosity of his pious mother, the Countess Theodora. She therefore took hold of the piece of paper, opened it, and found, to her surprise, written upon it the Angelical Salutation. Whilst she was reading it, the infant redoubled his cries and tears, so that she was obliged to return it to him. Thomas had no sooner received it, than putting it into his mouth he swallowed it with great eagerness. This fact foreshadowed the devotion which the Saint ever had for the Angelical Salutation, on which he has left us a most pious and learned commentary, full of the praises of Mary.