MAY DEVOTION: Day Thirty-One - Mary's Coronation as Queen of Heaven

31st Day – Mary's Coronation as Queen of Heaven

The Queen stood on Thy right hand in gilded clothing. (Psalm xliv. 11.)

I. It was not enough that Mary should be received into heaven. She was to be no ordinary denizen of the celestial court. Mary was, by her perfect and unfailing conformity to the will of God throughout her life, raised to a pre-eminence to which none other of the saints could attain. By her cooperation in the Passion of her Son she had a dignity beyond the reach even of the highest of the archangels. Mary was to be crowned Queen of heaven by the eternal Father: she was to have a throne at her Son's right hand.

2. Mary, too, enjoyed a happiness different from that of all the other saints. All others knew that if they had been more faithful they might have been fuller of happiness. Though their happiness is perfect, it is not perfect with the same perfection as Mary's. She possesses all that it was possible for God in the present order to bestow upon her. What must be her happiness now, short only of the infinite happiness of the infinite God!

3. But Mary is not Queen of heaven only for her own sake, but also for ours. Day by day, hour by hour, she is praying for us, obtaining graces for us, preserving us from danger, shielding us from temptation, showering down blessings upon us. She is our dear Mother as well as Queen of heaven. How she loves us! What a confidence we should have in her! Once more we will cry out:

O Mary, conceived without sin!

O Mary, Queen of heaven!

Pray for us who have recourse to thee.

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that any one who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, and sought thy intercession, was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother! To thee I come; before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but, in thy mercy, hear and answer me. Amen.

Indulgence of 300 days, each time; plenary indulgence once a month, on usual conditions. — Pius IX., Dec. 11, 1846.

Ejaculation.

O Mary, who didst come into this world free from stain, obtain of God for me that I may leave it without sin.

Indulgence of 100 days, once a day. — Pius IX., March 27, 1863.

MAY DEVOTION: Day Thirty - Mary's Assumption into Heaven

30th Day — Mary's Assumption into Heaven

Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell: nor wilt Thou give Thy holy one to see corruption. (Psalm xv. 10.)

I. On the third day after Mary's death, when the apostles gathered around her tomb, they found it empty. The sacred body had been carried up to the celestial paradise. Jesus Himself came to conduct her thither; the whole court of heaven came to welcome with songs of triumph the Mother of the divine Word. What a chorus of exultation! Hark how they cry, "Lift up your gates, O ye princes, and be ye lifted up, O eternal gates, and the Queen of glory shall enter in."

2. Why was Mar}''s body received into heaven instead of remaining in the earth, like the rest of mankind? The grave had no power over one who was immaculate. Her flesh could not see corruption. Her body had been overshadowed by the Holy Ghost; it had been the sacred temple in which had dwelt God Incarnate, and so it had a claim to ascend whither the body of her Son had already gone before.

3. But the chief reason was that as she had shared in each detail in the sorrows and agony of her Son, so it was right that she should take part in His triumph. To her it was due that she should without delay enter into the joy of her Lord, her Son, her God. Oh, happy Mary, what were all her dolors compared with the joy of that first moment of heaven! How light are all our sorrows compared with the eternal weight of glory prepared for us!

See the Virgin Mother rise,

Angels bear her to the skies!

MAY DEVOTION: Day Twenty-Nine - Mary's Death

29th Day — Mary's Death

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints. (Psalm c.w. 15.)

I. During the years which succeeded Our Lord's Ascension Mary had been making a progress in holiness and perfection which surpassed all that had gone before. She had become more and more a partaker of the divine nature, more and more like to the image of her divine Son. What a contrast I am to Mary! Yet at least I can admire her and rejoice in her unspeakable perfections.

2. At length the time came when this soul, so exquisitely beautiful, was too beautiful for earth to detain longer. She had long been languishing with love — yearning after her Beloved. Her death was not like that which we call death. She had no sickness, no pain. She died simply of love, of her insatiate desire for God. Do I long for the presence of God, for the day when I shall behold Him face to face?

3. Why was Mary's death such a triumph, such a scene of peace and joy and heavenly consolation? Because she was sinless. The sting of death is sin. It was also because she had stood by her Son's deathbed of the cross, and shared by her compassion in His agony. In return for this, Jesus Himself came to receive the sacred soul of His dear Mother. All the angels of heaven were present there, singing sweet melodies.

O happy, happy death!

If death indeed could be.

Blest Virgin, that sweet end

Which God bestowed on thee.

MAY DEVOTION: Day Twenty-Eight - Mary the Mother of the Infant Church

28th Day — Mary the Mother of the Infant Church

Her children rose up and called her blessed. (Prov. xxxi. 28.)

1. When Our Lord ascended into heaven, we are told that the apostles went back to Jerusalem with great joy (St. Luke xxiv. 52). But there was none of them so joyful as Mary. Her sacred heart overflowed with happiness and delight. The greatest possible joy for her was thus to witness the triumph of her Son and to hear the angels welcoming the King of glory to His throne in heaven.

2. Yet Mary's life must have been one long desire after heaven, more so than ever after Jesus had ascended. Still she had no wish even for the heavenly paradise as long as it was God's will that she should remain on earth. She was quite content to wait. Am I resigned and patient when the will of God contradicts my inclinations and desires?

3. Why was Mary left on earth? To comfort and sustain, to instruct and advise the first disciples of Christ. None knew like her the secrets of His Sacred Heart; none had such an instinctive perception of what He would desire in the many doubts and difficulties that arose; none could impart such sweet consolation to the afflicted. How often the disciples beheld in her their Mother! In heaven she is still our comforter, adviser, guide.

The Mother sits all worshipful,

With her majestic mien;

The princes of the infant Church

Are gathered round their Queen.

MAY DEVOTION: Day Twenty-Seven - Jesus Appears to Mary after the Resurrection

27th Day — Jesus Appears to Mary after the Resurrection

According to the multitude of my sorrows in my heart: Thy comforts have given joy to my soul. (Psalm xciii. 19.)

1. Holy Scripture tells us nothing of Our Lord's appearance to His blessed Mother after His Resurrection. It takes it for granted that He must have appeared first to her. He who doubts it has but a poor understanding of Mary's part in the work and life of Jesus. As she was first in sharing His sufferings, so she was of necessity first in being partaker of His joy.

2. How Mary had been longing and praying for the Resurrection! It is a pious belief that for her sake those three days were shortened. How eagerly she had been expecting the dawn of that first Easter Day! She had been saying over and over again to herself, "I know that my Redeemer liveth." She knew that the darkness would in God's time usher in a glorious morning. This should be my comfort when all seems dark. I, too, must pray and wait.

3. What a meeting must that have been! All her anguish was more than compensated by the ecstasy of her joy at beholding her divine Son, radiant with heavenly beauty, conqueror over hell and death. See how she falls at His feet in rapture of delight! See how He raises her up with words of love! Who can tell the exquisite delight of hearing such words from Jesus' lips ?

See the Mother's fond embrace,

See her joy to view Thy face!

When all bright in radiant bloom

Thee she welcomed from the tomb.

MAY DEVOTION: Day Twenty-Six - Mary Sees Jesus Laid in the Sepulcher

26th Day — Mary Sees Jesus Laid in the Sepulcher

Where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also. (St. Matt. vi. 21.)

I. When Mary had finished the mournful task of preparing the sacred body of her Son for burial, the disciples carried Him to the sepulcher in the garden of Joseph of Arimathea. Watch that mournful procession, and realize, if you can, the desolation of Mary's sacred heart. AH her hopes, all her joys, all her affections, were buried with Jesus. He was her one and only treasure, and where her treasure was laid, there was her heart also.

2. Mary amid all her anguish had experienced a strange and melancholy pleasure in embracing the dead body of her Son and performing for it the last offices of love. She knew, too, that though the human soul was parted from it, the divinity was still there. She could adore with the highest worship that mangled form, those limbs livid and cold. But now she was separated even from that sacred body. How empty, how blank, was all around without Jesus!

3. Yet Mary, in spite of her desolation, was never dejected, never gloomy. .She was full of joy and peace. In the angui.sh of her separation from Jesus she was more than comforted by the knowledge that all His sufferings were past, and that He had already begun to see the fruit of His travail. Those who love God more than themselves have always a fount of consolation in every sorrow.

By the hope thy name inspires,

By our doom reversed through thee,

Bring us, Queen of angel choirs,

To a blest eternity!

MAY DEVOTION: Day Twenty-Five - Jesus is Placed in His Mother's Arms

25th Day — Jesus is Placed in His Mother's Arms

My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me? (St. Matt, xxvii. 46.)

1. These words must have echoed in Mary's heart when the body of her divine Son was placed in her arms. She was alone! Jesus was dead. She had heard His last cry of agony, and seen the spear pierce His sacred side. She was alone! Oh, Mary, what must have been thy desolation now that thy Son and thy God was no more! Listen to her words: "Therefore do I weep, and my eyes run down with water: because the comforter of my soul is far from me." (Lament, i. 16.)

2. Watch the holy Mother as she washes the blood from the body of her Son! How she kisses each wound with adoring love! Amid all her desolation there is nevertheless an underlying fount of joy at knowing that those wounds have wrought the salvation of the world, that in the paradise of God they will shine like jewels to all eternity.

3. In this mingled joy and sorrow Mary is especially full of love for sinners, and she loves them because they cost her so much anguish and because her divine Son loved them so dearly that for them He suffered and died. Mary loves me because I am a sinner — this at least may comfort and encourage me — Jesus died for me because I am a sinner.

MAY DEVOTION: Day Twenty-Four - Mary at the Foot of the Cross

24th Day — Mary at the Foot of the Cross

There stood by the cross of Jesus His Mother. (St. John xix. 25.)

1. What words can ever describe the indescribable anguish that rent the sacred heart of Mary as she looked upon her divine Son hanging on the cross! Was there ever such a spectacle? He is so torn and mangled, covered with a mantle of blood from head to foot, that one can scarcely recognize in that unsightly figure the human form. Can it be He, the fairest among the children of men? My God, what can have transformed Him into this piteous, this ghastly object?

2. Every wound in Jesus' body was also a wound in the heart of Mary: every fiber, every nerve throbbing in agony. Every pang He suffered reechoed in her heart. She endured by her compassion a share in all the anguish of His Passion. What was the thick darkness around compared with the black darkness that overspread her heart!

3. Why did Mary suffer all this? That she might be our Mother, the Mother of mankind. She who brought forth her divine Son without a pang suffered many a piercing pang when from the cross her dying Son commended to her the sinful sons of men. That was indeed a maternity of sorrow she suffered for our sins: for mine.

Jesus, when the three hours were run,

Bequeathed thee from the cross to me.

How can I rightly love thy Son,

Sweet Mother, if I love not thee?

MAY DEVOTION: Day Twenty-Three - Mary Meets Jesus Carrying the Cross

23rd Day — Mary Meets Jesus Carrying the Cross

Bearing His own cross He went forth to that place which is called Calvary. (St. John xix. 17.)

I. As the time of the Passion drew near, Mary's realization of the approaching sufferings of her Son became more vivid. The sword of Simeon pierced her heart as it had never done before. How could she endure to see her Son and her God outraged and ill-treated, insulted, and put to death? "Weeping, she hath wept in the night: there is none to comfort her among all them that were dear to her." (Lament, i. 2.)

2. At last the storm of anguish burst upon her. The apostles bring her the heart-breaking news: He has been seized by the Pharisees, insulted by the soldiers, dragged before Pilate, scourged, and condemned to the death of the cross. What a night and morning for the Mother of Jesus! Each moment full of an agony worse than death.

3. At last she could refrain no longer. She must go and meet Him Whom her soul loved. What a meeting must that have been! Her darling Son all masked in blood, toiling under the weight of the cross. Oh, holy Mother, who would not be moved with compassion? "Attend, and see if there be any sorrow like to my sorrow." (Lament, i. 12.)

O thou Mother! fount of love!

Touch my spirit from above.

Make my heart with thine accord;

Make me feel as thou hast felt;

Make my soul to glow and melt

With the love of Christ my Lord.

MAY DEVOTION: Day Twenty-Two - Mary during Our Lord's Public Life

22nd Day – Mary during Our Lord's Public Life

Whoever shall do the will of My Father that is in heaven: he is My brother, and sister, and mother. (St. Matt. xii. 50.)

I. When Our Lord left the cottage at Nazareth and went forth to enter on His public ministry, what an aching void must have been left in Mary's heart! How her heart must have yearned to be with Him! Earth was indeed for her a barren waste as long as He was away. Have we any of this love of the company of Jesus? Any desire to seek Him out where He awaits us in the tabernacle, that we may enjoy sweet intercourse with Him?

2. Yet Mary murmured not. She was willing to sacrifice for the good of others even the solace of Jesus' presence. She knew that by her obedience she would be united to Him in bonds far more intimate than the bonds of the closest earthly union. Therefore in joy and in sorrow, in consolation and desolation, whether Christ was with her or far away, her only desire was to submit to the holy will of God.

3. Mary by her prayers and tears and intercession took part in Our Lord's work. He had decreed that His Mother thus should help Him in His public ministry. Though He could do all, He left something for her to do, as He does for all the saints. What a happiness and privilege this! I, too, can take my part in the redemption of mankind!

Queen of sorrows, guide and guard me,

Let me to thine arms repair;

In thy tender bosom hide me,

Mary, take me to thy care!

MAY DEVOTION: Day Twenty-One - Mary at Cana

21st Day — Mary at Cana

Whatsoever He shall say to you, do ye. (St. John ii. 5.)

1. Jesus' first miracle was performed at the marriage-feast at Cana. Thither Mary was invited, and from the words of the Gospel it seems as if Jesus was invited because His Mother had been already asked. Thus we learn that where Mary comes Jesus is sure to come also. He who entertains her with love and devotion will find that the love of Jesus will soon spring up in his heart.

2. During the marriage-feast the wine runs short. Our Lady notices it; it grieves her; she appeals to her Son in a model prayer. She simply states the need, and leaves all else to Him: "They have no wine." Like this should be our prayers. Jesus likes us to tell Him our needs; He knows them, but He makes prayer a condition of fulfilling our desires.

3. Jesus' words at first seem a rebuke: "Woman, what is it to Me, and to thee?" He often pretends to turn a deaf car to us. How does Mary behave under the seeming slight ? She regards it as a sign that He will grant her request, and turning to the servants bids them obey Him in all things. "Whatsoever He shall say to you, do ye." Mary knew that it is to the submissive and obedient that Christ gives His best gifts. May the most blessed and holy will of God be done in all things! Amen.

My Lord, my God, what wiliest Thou?

Thy blessed will is mine!

MAY DEVOTION: Day Twenty - The Death of Saint Joseph

20th Day — The Death of St. Joseph

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints. (Psalm cxv. 15.)

1. For nigh thirty years Joseph had been the faithful spouse of Mary, the gentle foster-father of Jesus. But now the time came for him to die. How tenderly Mary nursed him in his failing strength! How she delighted in supplying all his wants, in ministering to them during the day, in watching by his side during the night! What a model to us who often grow weary with the long sickness of some invalid whom we are tending!

2. St. Joseph's death! Model of a happy death! What joy to die in the arms of Jesus and Mary! To be consoled by the Queen of heaven! To receive the last blessing from God Incarnate! No wonder that he is the patron of a happy death, since from the beginning of the world there was none whose death was surrounded with such glorious privileges and blessings as his.

3. How had Joseph procured so happy a death?

(a)   By waiting for God's guidance in all his actions and promptly following it.

(b)   By his devotion to Mary and to Jesus.  

(c)    By his patience, meekness, prudence, gentleness, purity.

Imitate St. Joseph. Pray to him for a happy death.

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I give you my heart and my soul!

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, assist me in my last agony!

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, may I die in peace in your blessed company!

MAY DEVOTION: Day Nineteen - Mary's Loss of Jesus for Three Days

19th Day — Mary's Loss of Jesus for Three Days

Thy father and I have sought Thee sorrowing. (St. Luke ii. 48.)

1. When Jesus was twelve years old, He went up with His parents for their annual visit to the Temple. On their return they missed Him, and for three days sought Him, and sought Him in vain. What must have been the agony of Mary's heart during those three days! Had Jesus left them never to return? Could it be that she had unconsciously, by some negligence, forfeited the privilege of the company of Jesus? Was she never to behold Him again? Such were thoughts that occurred to her in the piercing anguish of her heart. Let us compassionate the holy Mother of God in her desolation.

2. What a cruel void in Mary's heart! The light of her eyes and the joy of her heart had gone from her. What an utter blank all else seemed without Jesus — how could she live without Him? Without Him life would be death. "How shall I comfort thee, O Virgin daughter of Sion? For great as an ocean is thy sorrow."

3. Mary, then, can understand our sorrow in times of darkness and desolation. No blackness of desolation in our hearts is ever like the desolation of Mary — when she had lost Jesus. In all our anguish we will cry to her. She will not be deaf to our despairing cry, but will most surely succor us and restore to us peace and joy, as to her there returned peace and joy unspeakable when she found her divine Son in the Temple.

Mother of sorrows, pray for us !

Hear, sweet Mother, hear the weary,

Borne upon life's troubled sea!

MAY DEVOTION: Day Eighteen - Mary's Life at Nazareth

18th Day — Mary's Life at Nazareth

Besides Thee what do I desire upon earth? (Psalm Ixxii. 25.)

1. When the holy family returned from Egypt, they took up their abode in a little cottage at Nazareth. Yet that cottage was the closest approximation to heaven upon earth that ever has been or ever can be found. There dwelt the omnipotent God, the Queen of heaven, the protector of the whole Church of God. This poor and humble dwelling was chosen by almighty God as the most suitable abode for those He loved best.

2. What an unspeakable joy and consolation it must have been to Mary to dwell for those years in familiar conversation with Jesus! To carry in her arms her God, hers as He was none other's, flesh of her flesh, bone of her bone! to enjoy His sweet caresses! To hear Him call her Mother! To gaze on the unveiled countenance of God made flesh! What an ecstasy of happiness for Mary!

3. What happiness, too, Mary found in the company of her chaste spouse, St. Joseph! No husband was ever so thoughtful as Joseph, none so gentle, so unselfish. Such a tower of manly strength! What a pleasure it was to her to obey him! How she watches for every expression of his will! How promptly, joyfully, loyally she carries it out! Is this the way I behave to those to whom I am subject?

Oh, nought did Jesus love on earth

So tenderly as thee!

MAY DEVOTION: Day Seventeen - The Flight into Egypt

17th Day— The Flight into Egypt

Arise, and take the Child and His Mother, and fly into Egypt. (St. Matt. ii. 13.)

1. It was not long before Mary experienced how true Simeon's prophecy was to be. In the night, as she slept with the divine Infant by her side, she was aroused by St. Joseph, who ordered her to prepare to leave their home and to go forth into the darkness — and whither? To Egypt, the land of Israel's foes; far away across the desert, where they would be unknown and despised. What a trial for Mary's obedience!

2. The command, moreover, seemed so harsh and arbitrary; surely the omnipotent God could have provided for the safety of His own Son in a thousand ways without imposing a long and painful journey. Yet Mary murmured not. If I had received such a command, would I have yielded a willing and uncomplaining obedience?

3. Watch Mary in her preparations; how prompt! How orderly! She is thanking God for this trial as she gets ready what is necessary for the journey. How cheerful she is! How she makes the best of every thing! How she consoles St. Joseph by her thoughtfulness, her charity, her never-failing good humor! What a model to us when unforeseen annoyances arise! The only way to make our crosses light is to accept them cheerfully, as Mary did.

Mary, model of resignation, pray for us!

Refuge in grief, star of the sea.

Pray for the mourner, pray for me!

MAY DEVOTION: Day Sixteen - Simeon's Prophecy to Mary

16th Day — Simeon's Prophecy to Mary

And thy own soul a sword shall pierce. (St. Luke ii. 35.)

1. At these words of holy Simeon all Mary's joy was changed to sorrow. Her divine Son was to be a sign that would be contradicted. His life was to be one long series of disappointments, outrages, insults, ill-usage from those He had come to save. Who can describe the grief of Mary at hearing this? Her darling Son, her God, was to be persecuted even to the death.

2. From that time forth Simeon's words were ever present to her mind. There came up before her all the prophecies, the full meaning of which she had not realized before. She remembered holy David's words, "They pierced My hands and My feet," and she thought as she watched the divine Infant of His eventual crucifixion. The cry of the Psalmist, "My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" reminded her of the dereliction of His human soul. From this time forward she was indeed the Mother of sorrows.

3. Yet God in thus giving Mary so large a share in the sorrow of her Son was manifesting His special love for her. "Whom the Lord loveth He chastiseth." (Prov. iii. 12.) Mary's chastisement was great in proportion to His love for her. If we remembered this we should welcome suffering, not shrink from it, and say in real earnest:

Holy Mother, pierce me through,

In my heart each wound renew

Of my Saviour crucified.

MAY DEVOTION: Day Fifteen - Mary's Purification

15th Day — Mary's Purification

After the days of her purification according to the Law of Moses were accomplished, they carried Him to Jerusalem, to present Him to the Lord. (St. Luke ii. 22.)

1. Mary's purification! How strangely the phrase sounds in our ears! What purification could be needed for her, who was the pattern and model of all purity? Yet Mary remained retired for forty days after the birth of her Son; and then went up to the Temple, as if to be purified. Why was this? It was because she loved obedience to the law, even though obedience might result in her being misunderstood. She sought no exemption from its precepts.

2. But she had another reason for her purification. She was to take part in her Son's work of Redemption, and therefore had to share His reproach. He chose the road of contempt. He was circumcised, as if a sinner; baptized in the Jordan with sinners, as if a sinner; and Mary's joy was to tread the path with Him.

3. Mary presents her divine Son in the Temple: renewing on that day her consent to the sacrifice of His life for the sins of the world. She saw with agonizing presentiment all that He had to suffer — dimly at first and vaguely, but none the less painfully — yet joyfully she made the sacrifice. She spared not her own Son, but delivered Him up for us all. Live today a life of detachment.

Joy, joy, the Mother comes,

And in her arms she brings

The Light of all the world,

The Christ, the King of kings.

MAY DEVOTION: Day Fourteen - The Nativity of Jesus

14th Day — The Nativity

She brought forth her first-born Son: and called His name Jesus. (St. Matt. i. 25.)

I. Mary brought forth her Son in poverty and humiliation. She had been slighted and scorned. No room was found for her in the inn. In the cave where the ox and ass are stabled, the Mother of God brought into the world the King of kings. Oh, blessed humiliation! Oh, happy poverty! You are the indications that God is going to do a great work — where you are absent, we cannot expect lasting and solid fruit.

2. How Mary rejoiced in this humiliation! How she welcomed such poverty as this! How could she fail to rejoice in it, with Jesus in her arms? If we are wise we shall pray for humiliation, for without it we never can have the divine infant Jesus for our own companion: we never can bring Him forth in the souls of others; we must be humbled if He is to exalt us: we must be poor in spirit if we are to be blessed in our work.

3. Mary could say of Jesus as no other mother ever said of her first-born son: He is mine and mine alone. Every other son has an earthly father who has a share in his begetting: Jesus had no father save His Father in heaven. Thus He was Mary's own child, her sole property and possession. What union could be more close (the hypostatic union alone excepted) than that of Mary and Jesus?

Holy Mother of God, pray for us!

MAY DEVOTION: Day Thirteen - Mary's Expectancy

13th Day — Mary's Time of Expectancy

Joseph, son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife for that which is conceived in her, is of the Holy Ghost. (St. Matt. i. 20.)

1. In due course of time it became evident that Mary was to be a mother. She had said not a word to St. Joseph about the angel's visit, and her holy spouse knew not what to think. Yet she was still silent. She left it to God to vindicate her in His own good time. How different her conduct from my eagerness to justify myself.

2. St. Joseph, like a faithful and prudent man, did not act without due deliberation. How miserable he must have been during those weeks of hesitation. He could not suspect Mary of evil; yet there was the clear evidence of fact. The true solution was one that no one could have supposed possible. He contemplated sending her away quietly — what an agony to lose his precious spouse! Yet patiently and prudently he waited and prayed.

3. God does not forsake His servants in their distress. An angel by night announced to Joseph that he was the spouse of the Mother of God — the foster- father of the King of heaven. What joy must have inundated his soul, how he must have cried out in the joy and gratitude of his heart: The Lord is indeed good to those who hope in Him!

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I give you my heart and my soul.

MAY DEVOTION: Day Twelve - The Visitation

12th Day — The Visitation

As soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. (St. Luke)

1. Mary's first action after God had come to dwell in her was one of self-denying charity. She undertook a troublesome journey in order to visit her cousin Elizabeth. Thus she proclaimed charity to be the virtue which above all Christ brought with Him from heaven. "By this shall all men know that you are My disciples, if you have love one for another." How can I stand this test?

2. God made Mary's visit the occasion of a wonderful miracle. On her entrance into St. Elizabeth's dwelling, St. John Baptist was cleansed from sin in his mother's womb. Mary was the channel of the exceptional privilege of the cleansing away of sin in the case of the unborn child. As then so now: Mary is the channel of all graces, and above all, of the restoration of the sinner to friendship with God.

3. Mary's charity is not less present now than at the time of the visitation. Nay she is far more eager now than then to promote the happiness and console the sorrows of those who fly to her for succor. Why do not I obtain more graces and blessings than I do through Mary's intercession? It is no fault of hers — it is, alas, because I am proud, self-willed, obstinate, selfish, indifferent.

Mother of God, star of the sea,

Pray for a wanderer, pray for me!