FIFTH DAY WITHIN THE OCTAVE OF THE ASSUMPTION - AUGUST 20

 

It is a great thing for a saint to have as much grace as would suffice for many; but if he had sufficient for all men in the world, that would be fullness of measure: and this is the case with Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgin. So speaks the prince of theologians with regard to her whom Suarez salutes as the universal cause, intimately united to the Lord her Son. 

A higher authority than that of the School has confirmed this teaching of the Angelic Doctor; in his encyclical Magnæ Dei Matris, the Sovereign Pontiff Leo XIII. has deigned to make his own the words we have just quoted; and he adds: When, therefore, we hail Mary as full of grace, we awaken the recollection of her sublime dignity and of the redemption of the human race, wrought by God through her intermediary; moreover, we call to mind the divine and eternal relationship whereby she is associated with Christ in his joys and his sorrows, his humiliations and his triumphs, in ruling and aiding men with a view to their eternal welfare.  

St. Bernardine of Sienna compares our Lady to the fountain mentioned in Genesis, which sprang from the earth and watered its whole surface. And, as it is well to know the different expressions of the different schools, we may add that the illustrious representative of the Seraphic Order recognises in Mary what he calls a sort of jurisdiction or authority over every temporal procession of the Holy Ghost, because, he continues, she is the Mother of him from whom the Holy Ghost proceeds; and therefore all the gifts, graces, and virtues of this Holy Spirit are administered by her hands, distributed to whom she wills, when she wills, as she wills, and as much as she wills. 

We must not, however, conclude from these words that the Blessed Virgin has a right, properly so called, over the Holy Ghost or his gifts. Nor may we ever consider our Lady to be in any way a principle of the Holy Ghost, any more than she is of the Word himself as God. The Mother of God is great enough not to need any exaggeration of her titles. All that she has, she has, it is true, from her Son, by whom she is the first redeemed. But in the historical order of the accomplishment of our salvation, the divine predilection, whereby she was chosen to be Mother of the Saviour, made her to be the source of the source of life, according to the expression of St. Peter Damian. Moreover, being Bride as perfectly as she was Mother, and united, in the fullness of all her powers of nature and of grace to all the prayers, to all the sufferings, to the whole oblation of the Son of Man, as his truly universal co-operator in the time of his sorrow: what wonder that she should, in the days of his glory, have a Bride's full share in the dispensation of the goods acquired in common, though differently, by the new Adam and the new Eve? Even if Jesus were not bound in justice to give it to her, who would expect such a Son to act otherwise?

Bossuet, who cannot be suspected of being carried away, and whom we therefore quote by preference, did not consider his necessary controversies with heresy an excuse for not following the doctrine of the saints. God, says he, having once willed to give us Jesus Christ by the holy Virgin, the gifts of God are without repentance, and this order remains unchanged. It is and ever will be true that, having received by her charity the universal principle of grace, we also receive through her mediation its various applications in all the different states whereof the Christian life is made up. Her maternal love, having contributed so much to our salvation in the mystery of the Incarnation, which is the universal principle of grace, will eternally contribute to it in all the other operations which are but dependent on the first.  

Theology recognises three principal operations of the grace of Jesus Christ: God calls us, justifies us, and gives us perseverance. Vocation is the first step; justification is our progress; perseverance ends the voyage and gives us in our true country glory and rest, which are not to be found on earth. Mary's charity takes part in these three works. Mary is the Mother of the called, of the justified, and of the persevering; her fruitful charity is a universal instrument of the operations of grace. '  

This noble language is an authentic testimony to the tradition of the holy Church of Gaul, which, by its Irenæus , its Bernard, its Anselm, and so many others, made France the kingdom of Mary. May the present teachers put to profit what they have inherited from their great predecessors, and continue to sound the inexhaustible depths of mystery in Mary; so that one day they may deserve to hear from her lips that word of Eternal Wisdom: They that explain me shall have life everlasting.

We borrow from the ancient processional of our English St. Editha the beautiful Responsory   Quæ est ista; after which we will give a series of other graceful Responsories written in metre, which are to be found in the Antiphoner of Sens, 1552. 

RESPONSORIES

R. Who is this that hath penetrated the heavens? At whose passage the Saviour came to meet her and introduced her into his Royal Chamber, where music and hymns resound: * Which the Angels sing unceasingly, forever praising the Eternal King.

V. O Virgin unspeakably venerable, to whom Michael the Archangel and all the angelic hosts pay honour, whom they behold exalted above the heaven of heavens.

* Which the Angels.

Glory be to the Father.

* Which the Angels.

R. Holy first fruits does the Son offer to his Father. * The virginal flower, lovely in its snowy whiteness.

V. No heat has scorched it , nor night-cold withered it. * The virginal flower.

R. Through the fruit of virginity, of the heavenly kingdom, * The loss incurred by eating the forbidden fruit is repaired.

V. The sacred hierarchy rejoices that its diminished number is restored, * The loss incurred.

R. After the fall, virginity is the first to recover heaven. * First of all in the Son, then in his Blessed Mother.

V. The heavenly ranks revere holy virginity. * First of all.

R. The gate of Zion enters the gate of closed Paradise. * Which our first mother had closed to herself and the whole world.

V. To the spotless Mother, the gate of heaven is opened. * Which our first.

R. The Blessed Virgin received the one thing she requested. * To enjoy the face of the Lord for all eternity. The divine bounty both prevented and surpassed her desire. * To enjoy.

R. While she mounts the fifteen steps to the palace of life. * The Virgin deserved to rise above the Angelic heights.

V. Next to her Son, the Mother merited to surpass all others. * The Virgin.

The Virgin brought forth the beautiful Spouse of the Church. * Who is both God and Man united in one Person.

V. Thus he placed his Mother with him on his heavenly throne. * Who is.

Glory be to the Father.

* Who is. 

The following hymn was composed by St. Peter Damian:

HYMN

As a brilliant aurora, Mary rises to the heights of heaven, glittering like the sun, most beautiful like the moon. Today the Queen of the world ascends to her throne of glory, the Mother of that Son who was begotten before the Day-Star. She is raised above the Angels and passes beyond the Archangels; this one woman surpasses all the merits of the Saints. Him, whom she had cherished in her bosom, she placed in a manger; now she beholds him King over all in the glory of his Father. O Virgin of virgins, implore for us thy Son: by thee he received of ours, through thee may he give us of his own. To thee, O Most High, be praise who wast born of the Virgin: be honour to thy ineffable Father and to the Holy Spirit. Amen. 

 

 

August 21 - St Jane Frances de Chantal

St. Jane Frances de Chantal, Widow and Foundress

Jane Frances de Chantal was born in Dijon, France, on 28 January 1572, the daughter of the royalist president of the Parliament of Burgundy. Her mother died when Jane was 18 months old. Her father became the main influence on her education. She developed into a woman of beauty and refinement, lively and cheerful in temperament. She married the Baron de Chantal when she was 21 and then lived in the feudal castle of Bourbilly. Baron de Chantal was accidentally killed by an arquebus while out shooting in 1601. Left a widow at 28, with four children, the broken-hearted baroness took a vow of chastity. Her mother, step mother, sister, first two children and now her husband had died. Chantal gained a reputation as an excellent manager of the estates of her husband, as well as of her difficult father-in-law, while also providing alms and nursing care to needy neighbors.

During Lent in 1604, the pious baronness met Saint Francis de Sales, the bishop of Geneva who was preaching at the Sainte Chapelle in Dijon. They became close friends and de Sales became her spiritual director. She wanted to become a nun but he persuaded her to defer this decision. Later, with his support, and that of her father and brother (the archbishop of Bourges), and after providing for her children, Chantal left for Annecy, to start the Congregation of the Visitation. The Congregation of the Visitation was canonically established at Annecy on Trinity Sunday, 6 June 1610. The order accepted women who were rejected by other orders because of poor health or age. During its first eight years, the new order also was unusual in its public outreach, in contrast to most female religious who remained cloistered and adopted strict ascetic practices. The usual opposition to women in active ministry arose and Francis de Sales was obliged to make it a cloistered community following the Rule of St. Augustine. He wrote his Treatise on the Love of God for them. When people criticized her, Chantal famously said, "What do you want me to do? I like sick people myself; I'm on their side."

Her reputation for sanctity and sound management resulted in many visits by (and donations from) aristocratic women. The order had 13 houses by the time de Sales died, and 86 before Chantal herself died at the Visitation Convent in Moulins, aged 69. St. Vincent de Paul served as her spiritual director after de Sales' death. Her favorite devotions involved the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Heart of Mary. Chantal was buried in the Annecy convent next to de Sales. The order had 164 houses by 1767, when she was canonized. Chantal outlived her son (who died fighting Huguenots and English on the Île de Ré during the century's religious wars) and two of her three daughters, but left extensive correspondence. Her granddaughter also became a famous writer, Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marquise de Sévigné.

August 21 - Seventh day within the Octave of the Assumption, Twelfth week after Pentecost

St Jane Frances de Chantal, Widow Foundress Congregation of the Visitation

     Double / White Vestments

           Missa 'Cognovi'

           

INTROIT - Psalm 118: 75, 120 

Cognovi, Domine, quia æquitas judicia tua, et in veritate tua humiliasti me: confige timore tuo carnes meas, a mandatis tuis timui. Ps. Beati immaculati in via: qui ambulant in lege Domini. Gloria Patri.

I know, O Lord, that Thy judgments are equity, and in Thy truth Thou hast humbled me: pierce Thou my flesh with Thy fear, I am afraid of Thy judgments. Ps. Blessed are the undefiled in the way who walk in the law of the Lord. Glory be to the Father.

Francis de Sales meets Jane Frances de Chantal

COLLECT

Almighty and merciful God, Who didst endow blessed Jane Frances, burning with love of Thee, with an admirable strength of soul through all the paths of life in the way of perfection, and Who wast pleased to glorify Thy Church with a new family by her means, grant to her merits and prayers that we, who, conscious of our own infirmity, trust in Thy power, may, by the assistance of divine grace, conquer all obstacles which beset us. Through our Lord.

EPISTLE - Proverbs 31: 10-31

Who shall find a valiant woman? Far and from the uttermost coasts is the price of her. The heart of her husband trusteth in her, and he shall have no need of spoils. She will render him good, and not evil, all the days of her life. She hath sought wool and flax, and hath wrought by the counsel of her hands. She is like the merchant's ship, she bringeth her bread from afar. And she hath risen in the night, and given prey to her household, and victuals to her maidens. She hath considered a field, and bought it: with the fruit of her hand she hath planted a vineyard. She hath girded her loins with strength, and hath strengthened her arm. She hath tasted and seen that her traffic is good: her lamp shall not be put out in the night. She hath put out her hand to strong things, and her fingers have taken hold of the spindle. She hath opened her hand to the needy, and stretched out her hands to the poor. She shall not fear for her house in the cold of snow: for all her domestics are clothed with double garments. She hath made for herself clothing of tapestry: fine linen and purple is her covering. Her husband is honourable in the gates, when he sitteth among the senators of the land. She made fine linen and sold it, and delivered a girdle to the Chanaanite. Strength and beauty are her clothing, and she shall laugh in the latter day. She hath opened her mouth to wisdom, and the law of clemency is on her tongue. She hath looked well to the paths of her house, and hath not eaten her bread idle. Her children rose up, and called her blessed: her husband, and he praised her. Many daughters have gathered together riches: thou hast surpassed them all. Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: the woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands: and let her works praise her in the gates.

GRADUAL - Ps. 44: 3, 5 

Grace is poured abroad in thy lips: therefore God hath blessed thee for ever and for ages of ages. Because of truth, and meekness, and justice: and thy right hand shall conduct thee wonderfully.

ALLELUIA - Ps. 44: 5 

Alleluia, alleluia. With thy comeliness, and thy beauty set out, proceed prosperously, and reign. Alleluia.

GOSPEL - Matthew 13: 44-52

At that time, Jesus spoke this parable to His disciples: The kingdom of Heaven is like unto a treasure hidden in a field; which a man having found, hid it, and for joy thereof goeth, and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. Again, the kingdom of Heaven is like to a merchant seeking good pearls. Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went his way and sold all that he had, and bought it. Again, the kingdom of Heaven is like to a net cast into the sea, and gathering together of all kinds of fishes; which, when it was filled, they drew out, and sitting by the shore, they chose out the good into vessels, but the bad they cast forth. So shall it be at the end of the world. The angels shall go out, and shall separate the wicked from among the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Have ye understood all these things? They say to Him, Yes. He said unto them, Therefore, every scribe instructed in the kingdom of Heaven, is like to a man who is a householder, who bringeth forth out of his treasure new things and old.

OFFERTORY – Psalm: 44: 3

Grace is poured abroad in thy lips: therefore God hath blessed thee for ever and for ages of ages.

SECRET

May this saving Victim, O Lord, inflame us with that fire of love with which it vehemently kindled the heart of blessed Jane Frances, burning it away with the flames of eternal charity. Through our Lord.

COMMON PREFACE

It is truly meet and just, right and for our salvation that we should at all times and in all places, give thanks unto Thee, O holy Lord, Father almighty, everlasting God: through Christ our Lord. Through Whom the Angels praise Thy Majesty, the Dominations worship it, the Powers stand in awe. The Heavens and the Heavenly hosts together with the blessed Seraphim in triumphant chorus unite to celebrate it. Together with them we entreat Thee, that Thou mayest bid our voices also to be admitted, while we say in lowly praise.

COMMUNION - Psalm 44: 8

Thou hast loved justice and hated iniquity: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.

POSTCOMMUNION

Pour upon us, O Lord, the spirit of Thy love, that we, whom Thou hast filled with the virtue of the Heavenly bread, may, by the intercession of blessed Jane Frances, be made to despise earthly things and with pure minds seek only Thee, our God. Through our Lord.

ST BERNARD - AUGUST 20

 

                     ST BERNARD 

St. Bernard was born at the castle of Fontaines, in Burgundy. The grace of his person and the vigor of his intellect filled his parents with the highest hopes, and. the world lay bright and smiling before him when he renounced it forever and Citeaux. All his brothers followed Bernard to Citeaux except Nivard, the youngest, who was left to be the stay of his father in his old age. “You will now be heir of everything,” said they to him, as they departed. “Yes,” said the boy; “you leave me earth, and keep heaven for yourselves; do you call that fair?” And he too left the world. At length their aged father came to exchange wealth and honor for the poverty of a monk of Clairvaux. 

   Only one sister remained behind; she was married, and loved the world and its pleasures. Magnificently dressed, she visited Bernard; he refused to see her, and only at last consented to do so, not as her brother, but as the minister of Christ. The words he then spoke moved her so much that, two years later, she retired to a convent with her husband’s consent, and died in the reputation of sanctity. Bernard’s holy example attracted so many novices that other monasteries were erected, and our Saint was appointed abbot of that of Clairvaux. 

   Unsparing with himself, he at first expected too much of his brethren, who were disheartened at his severity; but soon perceiving his error, he led them forward, by the sweetness of his correction and the mildness of his rule, to wonderful perfection. In spite of his desire to lie hid, the fame of his sanctity spread far and wide, and many churches asked for him as their Bishop. Through the help of Pope Eugenius III., his former subject, he escaped this dignity; yet his retirement was continually invaded: the poor and the weak sought his protection; bishops, kings, and popes applied to him for advice; and at length Eugenius himself charged him to preach the crusade. By his fervor, eloquence, and miracles Bernard kindled the enthusiasm of Christendom, and two splendid armies were despatched against the infidel. Their defeat was only due, said the Saint, to their own sins. Bernard died A.D. 1153. His most precious writings have earned for him the titles of the last of the Fathers and a Doctor of Holy Church. 

  

August 20  
Twelfth week after Pentecost, within the Octave of the Assumption
St Bernard, Abbot, Doctor of the Church
Double/White Vestments
Missa 'In Medio Eccelesiae'

INTROIT - Ecclesiasticus 15: 5

In the midst of the Church the Lord opened his mouth: and filled him with the spirit of wisdom and understanding: He clothed him with a robe of glory. Ps. It is good to give praise to the Lord: and to sing to Thy Name, O Most High. Glory be to the Father.

In medio Ecclesiæ aperuit os ejus: et implevit eum Dominus spiritu sapientiæ, et intellectus: stolam gloriæ induit eum. Ps. Bonum est confiteri Domino: et psallere nomini tuo, Altissime. Gloria Patri.

COLLECT

O God, Who didst give blessed Bernard to Thy people as a minister of eternal salvation: grant, we beseech Thee, that we, who have had him for our teacher on earth, may deserve to have him for our advocate in heaven. Through our Lord.

EPISTLE - Eccles. 39: 6-14

The just will give his heart to resort early to the Lord that made him, and he will pray in the sight of the Most High. He will open his mouth in prayer, and will make supplication for his sins. For it shall please the great Lord, He will fill him with the spirit of understanding: and he will pour forth the words of his wisdom as showers, and in his prayer he will confess to the Lord: and He shall direct his counsel, and his knowledge, and in His secrets shall he meditate. He shall show forth the discipline he hath learned, and shall glory in the law of the covenant of the lord. Many shall praise his wisdom, and it shall never be forgotten. The memory of him shall be in request from generation to generation. Nations shall declare his wisdom, and the Church shall show forth his praise.

GRADUAL - Psalm 36: 30-31

The mouth of the just shall meditate wisdom, and his tongue shall speak judgment. The law of His God is in his heart: and his steps shall not be supplanted.

ALLELUIA - Ecclus. 45: 1, 9

Alleluia, alleluia. The Lord loved him and adorned him: He clothed him with a robe of glory. Alleluia.

GOSPEL - Matthew 5: 13-19

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples: You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt lose its savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is good for nothing any more but to be cast out, and be trodden on by men. You are the light of the world. A city seated on a mountain cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel but upon a candlestick, that it may shine to all that are before men that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father, Who is in heaven. Do not think that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For amen I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall not pass of the law, till all be fulfilled. He therefore that shall break one of these least commandments, and so shall teach men, shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but he that shall do and teach, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

OFFERTORY - Psalm 91: 13

The just shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow up like the cedar of Libanus.

SECRET

May the loving prayers of St. Bernard, Thy Abbot and Doctor, not be wanting to us, O Lord, to commend our gifts and ever to obtain pardon for us. Through our Lord.

COMMON PREFACE

It is truly meet and just, right and for our salvation that we should at all times and in all places, give thanks unto Thee, O holy Lord, Father almighty, eternal God: through Christ our Lord. through Whom the Angels praise Thy Majesty, Dominations worship, Powers stand in awe. The Heavens and the Heavenly hosts together with the blessed Seraphim in triumphant chorus unite to celebrate it. Together with them we entreat Thee, that Thou mayest bid our voices also to be admitted, while we say in lowly praise:

THE SANCTUS

Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dóminus Deus Sábaoth. Pleni sunt cæli et terra glória tua. Hosánna in excélsis. Benedíctus qui venit in nómine Dómini. Hosánna in excélsis.

Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts! Heaven and earth are full of Thy Glory! Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is He Who cometh in the Name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest.

COMMUNION - Luke  12: 42

The faithful and wise servant, whom his lord setteth over his family: to give them their measure of wheat in due season.

POSTCOMMUNION

That Thy sacrifices may give us health, O Lord, may blessed Bernard, Abbot and illustrious Doctor, we beseech Thee, act as our intercessor. Through our Lord.

Lindsay Clancy's harrowing confession to husband Patrick about the 'male voice'...

 

Lindsay Clancy's harrowing confession to husband Patrick about the 'male voice' in her head ordering her to kill their children then herself!!!

Lindsay Clancy's psychologist recalled the moment she told her husband about the 'male voice' in her head that ordered her to kill her children, then herself. Dr Paul Zeizel, a highly experienced, well-respected forensic psychologist who works with defense attorney Kevin Reddington, was called to the stand on Tuesday.

He was at the heart of bombshell testimony earlier in the trial when a police officer admitted the state's apparent theory that a doctor coached Clancy to claim that she killed her children because she was hearing voices. Clancy, 36, is on trial for killing her three children, Cora, five, Dawson, three, and eight-month-old Callan, at her home in Duxbury, Massachusetts, in 2023. She strangled her children with exercise bands and then allegedly attempted to kill herself, but her efforts failed and left her paralyzed from the waist down and in a wheelchair for life.

Clancy has admitted to killing her children but pleaded not guilty to murder by reason of insanity, citing postpartum psychosis, and is seeking to be committed to a state mental health facility rather than prison. Dr Zeizel testified that when he visited Clancy in the hospital in the days after the killings, she borrowed his phone to call her husband, Patrick.

That was when she told her husband that she had heard a man's voice telling her to kill the children and herself. Dr Zeizel told the jury that he did not meet with Clancy until 11 days after the killings. When they did meet for the first time, Clancy was in her room at Brigham and Women’s Hospital where she was handcuffed to the bed. Dr Zeizel gave her a brief mental status exam, and testified that she didn’t know where she was. She wasn’t sure what time it was, but she knew who she was. She remembered what had happened but was very foggy, he said. Since January 24, 2023, Clancy had had no contact with Patrick, and she wanted to call him to see how he was doing and see how things were, according to Dr Zeizel. The psychologist said she asked him if he could use his cell phone, and he allowed her to, but said it would have to be on speakerphone. Patrick did not pick up the first time, and Clancy left a voicemail. 

Two days later, on February 6, 2023, she called again and Patrick answered. ‘She told Patrick that she loved him very much. She was unable to express a lot of emotion,' Dr Zeizel said. ‘She said that she heard a male voice ordering her, telling her, that she didn't have any choice. That she had to kill her children and kill herself.’ When asked if he told her to say that, he said no. He let her call her husband 'out of human compassion,' he said. He has met Clancy over 45 times, many of them inside Tewksbury Hospital, where she remains held. 'I would see Lindsey Clancy in lockup because the nature of presentation in this court has been gut-wrenching for anyone who would be exposed to such horrific,' Dr. Zeizel said before being cut off by the prosecution.

Read more

On Tuesday, Buckingham provoked a tense exchange with Patrick Clancy's mother, Sue Clancy, as she was called to the stand to testify for the defense. 'Are you an active member in the Catholic Church?The prosecutor asked.'Yes,' Sue answered.

'So you are aware that murder is considered a mortal sin,' Buckingham continued. Defense attorney Kevin Reddington quickly interjected: 'Objection!

More here

AUGUST 18 - FOURTH DAY WITHIN OCTAVE OF THE ASSUMPTION

                        August 18

                         Gospel

                      Luke 1:41-50 

At that time, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and cried out with a loud voice, saying, Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And how have I deserved that the Mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, the moment that the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leapt for joy. And blessed is she who has believed, because the things promised her by the Lord shall be accomplished. And Mary said, My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; because He has regarded the lowliness of His handmaid; for, behold, henceforth all generations shall call me blessed; because He Who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name; and His mercy is from generation to generation on those who fear Him.

             FOURTH DAY WITHIN 

   THE OCTAVE OF THE ASSUMPTION 

The Liturgical Year - Ven. Dom Prosper Gueranger

In the eternal decrees Mary was never separated from Jesus; together with Him, she was the type of all created beauty. 

When the Almighty Father prepared the heavens and the earth, His Son who is His Wisdom, played before Him in His future humanity as first exemplar as measure and number, as starting point, center and summit of the work undertaken by the Spirit of Love; but at the same time the predestined Mother, the woman chosen to give to the Son of God from her own flesh His quality of Son of Man. appeared among mere creatures as the term of all excellence in the various orders of nature, of grace and of glory. We need not then be astonished at the Church putting on Mary's lips the words first uttered by Eternal Wisdom: 'From the beginning and before the world was I created.' The divine ideal was realized in her whole being, even in her body. To form out of nothing a reflection of the divine perfections is the purpose of creation and the law even of matter. Now next to the face of the most beautiful of the sons of men, nothing on earth so well expressed God as the Virgin's countenance. 

St. Denis is said to have exclaimed on seeing our Lady for the first time: 'Had not faith revealed to me thy Son, I should have taken thee for God.' Whether it be authentic or not to place it in the mouth of the Areopagite, this cry of the heart expresses the feeling of the ancients. We shall be the less surprised at this, if we remember that no son ever resembled his mother as Jesus did; it was the law of nature doubled in Him, since He had no earthly father. It is now the delight of the angels to behold in the glorified bodies of Jesus and Mary new aspects of eternal beauty, which their own immaterial substances could not reflect. Now the unspeakable perfection of Mary's body sprang from the union of that body with the most perfect soul that ever was, excepting, of course, the soul of our Lord her Son. With us, the Original Fall has broken the harmony that ought to exist between the two very different elements of our human being, and has generally displaced, and sometimes even destroyed, the proportions of nature and grace. It is very different where the divine work has not thus been vitiated from the beginning: so that in each blessed spirit of the nine choirs, the degree of grace is in direct relation to His gifts of nature. Exemption from sin allowed the soul of the Immaculate One to inform the body of its own image with absolute sway, while the soul itself, lending itself to grace to the full extent of its exquisite powers, suffered God to raise it supernaturally above all the Seraphim, even to the steps of His own throne. For in the kingdom of grace, as in that of nature, Mary's supereminence was such as became a Queen. At the first moment of her existence in the womb of St. Anne, she was set far above the highest mountains; and God, who loves only what He has made worthy of His love, loved this entrance, this gate of the true Sion, above all the tabernacles of Jacob. It was indeed impossible that the Word, who had chosen her for His Mother, should, even for an instant, love any creature more, as being more perfect. Throughout her life there was never in Mary the least want of correspondence with her preventing graces; so great perfection could not brook the least failing, the least interruption, the least delay. From the first moment of her most holy Conception till her glorious death, grace operated in her without hindrance, to the utmost of its divine power. Thus, starting from heights unknown to us, and doubling her speed at each stroke of her wings her powerful flight bore her up to that nearness to God, where our admiring contemplation follows her during these days. Our Lady, moreover, is not only the first-born, the most perfect, the most holy, of creatures and their Queen-or rather she is all this, only because she is also the Mother of the Son of God. 

God the Father Designing the Immaculate Conception

If we wish only to prove that she alone surpasses all the united subjects of her vast empire, we may compare her with men and with angels, in the order of nature and of grace. But all comparison is out of the question if we try to follow her to the inaccessible heights, where, still the handmaid of the Lord, she participates in the eternal relations which constitute the Blessed Trinity. What mode of divine charity is that whereby a creature loves God as her Son? But let us listen to the Bishop of Meaux, not the least of whose merits is to have understood as he did the greatness of Mary: To form the holy Virgin's love, it was necessary to mingle together all that is most tender in nature and most efficacious in grace. Nature had to be there, for it was love of a son; grace had to act, for it was love of a God. But what is beyond our imagination is that nature and grace were insufficient; for it is not in nature to have God for a son; and grace, at least ordinary grace, cannot love a son as God: we must therefore rise higher. Suffer me, 0 Christians, to raise my thoughts to-day beyond nature and grace, and to seek the source of this love in the very bosom of the Eternal Father. The divine Son, of whom Mary is Mother, belongs to her and to God. She is united with God the Father by becoming the Mother of His only begotten Son, who is common to her and the Eternal Father by the manner of His conception. But to make her capable of conceiving God, the Most High had to overshadow her with His own power-that is, to extend to her His own fecundity. In this way Mary is associated in the eternal generation. But this God, who willed to give her His Son, was obliged also, in order to complete His work, to place in her chaste bosom a spark of the love He himself bears to His only Son, who is the splendour of His glory and the living image of His substance. Such is the origin of Mary's love: it springs from an effusion of God's heart into hers; and her love of her Son is given to her from the same source as her Son Himself. After this mysterious communication, what hast thou to say, 0 human reason? Canst thou pretend to understand the union of Mary with Jesus Christ? It has in it something of that perfect unity which exists between the Father and the Son. Do not attempt any more to explain that maternal love which springs from so high a source, and which is an overflow of the love of the Father for His only begotten Son.'

August 18 - Agapitus of Palestrina - Martyr

Palestrina, the ancient Praeneste, sends a representative to Mary's court to-day, in the person of its valiant and gentle martyr, Agapitus. By his youth and his fidelity, he reminds us of that other gracious athlete, the acolyte Tarcisius, whose victory, gained on August 15, is eclipsed by the glory of Mary's queenly triumph. During the persecution of Valerian, and just before the combats of Sixtus and Lawrence, Tarcisius, carrying the body of our Lord, was met by some pagans, who tried to force him to show them what he had; but, pressing the heavenly treasure, to his heart, he suffered himself to be crushed beneath their blows rather than 'deliver up to mad dogs the members of the Lord.' 

Agapitus, at fifteen years of age, suffered cruel tortures under Aurelian. Though so young he may have seen the disgraceful end of Valerian; while the new edict, which enabled him to follow Tarcisius to Mary's feet, had scarcely been promulgated throughout the empire, when Aurelian, in his turn, was cast down by Christ, from whom alone kings and emperors hold their crowns.

PRAYER

Let Thy Church rejoice,

O God, relying on the

intercession of blessed Agapitus.

Thy martyr; and by his glorious

Prayers, may she remain devout

and be securely supported.

Fourth day within the Octave of the Assumption The Roman Breviary - Vespers

Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

Judith 13:22-23

The Lord hath blessed thee by his power, because by thee he hath brought our enemies to nought. Blessed art thou, O daughter, by the Lord the most high God, above all women upon the earth.

Hymn

Ave, star of ocean,

Child divine who barest,

Mother, Ever-Virgin,

Heaven's portal fairest.

Taking that sweet Ave

Erst by Gabriel spoken,

Eva's name reversed,

Be of peace the token.

Break the sinners' fetters,

Light to blind restoring,

All our ills dispelling,

Every boon imploring.

Show thyself a mother

In thy supplication;

He will hear who chose thee

At his incarnation.

Maid all maids excelling,

Passing meek and lowly,

Win for sinners pardon,

Make us chaste and holy.

As we onward journey

Aid our weak endeavor,

Till we gaze on Jesus

And rejoice forever.

Father, Son, and Spirit,

Three in One confessing,

Give we equal glory

Equal praise and blessing.

Amen.

Prayer

Almighty everlasting God, who hast taken body and soul into heaven the Immaculate Virgin Mary, Mother of thy Son: grant, we beseech thee, that by steadfastly keeping heaven as our goal we may be counted worthy to join her in glory.