December 7, 2021

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From all eternity God had elected Mary to be the Mother of His only-begotten Son. Therefore, He has from all eternity decreed to endow her with supernatural graces and virtues corresponding to so sublime a dignity. Above all, He imparted sanctifying grace to her even in the moment of her conception so that Mary, alone, of all the descendants of Adam, entered this world free from original sin. He further adorned her soul with the three divine virtues of faith, hope, and charity. God foresaw with what fidelity Mary would, during every moment of her life, co-operate with these graces, and thus increase the beauty of her soul and the treasure of her merits. With what complacence must the eye of God have rested on Mary from the beginning! O my God, how I thank Thee for having endowed Mary, the Mother of Thy Son, with rare graces and marvelous prerogatives! I rejoice with all the choirs of angels, with all the saints of heaven and all children of Holy Church over her exalted dignity and sublime glory. I thank Thee for having in Mary called into existence a creature resplendent in consummate purity and sanctity, of whom Thou couldst say: "Thou art all fair, My beloved, and there is not a spot in thee" (Cant. 4, 7).

I too, was present in the designs of God, before the creation of the world; He thought of me, and ordered the means of my sanctification. He chose me to be a child of the true Church, to be born and to die in her. Infinite goodness and mercy He vouchsafed me the rare and especial grace, the call to the religious state, the invitation to follow Him, to lead a life of sanctity and perfection. But, alas, how poorly have I corresponded to these graces! I have, indeed, followed the divine call which led me from the turbulent sea of the world into the haven of religious life; but how negligent have I been in the service of God, how tepid in my religious exercises, since the day of my entrance! Mary corresponded with great fidelity to every grace, and never refused God a sacrifice; I, on the contrary, have forfeited countless graces, and shrink from the least sacrifice. I am far from being, like Mary, an object of especial complacency of God. On the contrary, His all-holy eye can look only with displeasure on my many faults and infidelities. O Mary, by thy Immaculate Conception, obtain for me the grace of perfect purity of body and soul.

Affections:  O my God, I thank Thee for the extraordinary grace with which Thou hast adorned the Blessed Virgin, by preserving her from the stain of sin. I offer to Thy divine Majesty all the honor and glory which Mary, the purest and holiest of Virgins, has prepared for Thee from the first moment of her Immaculate Conception. With her pure and most acceptable sacrifice I unite the oblation and surrender of myself, and pray Thee, by the merits and the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, conceived without sin, to accept it with pleasure and to bless it, that it may redound to Thy greater honor and glory. 

And thou, O purest of Virgins, who didst so faithfully correspond to the grace of thy Immaculate Conception pray for me, that from henceforth I may faithfully use every grace that God imparts to me.

Resolution: I will be faithful to the inspirations of grace, and watch over my heart cautiously to preserve it from the least stain of sin.

Spiritual Bouquet: "O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee."

The Memorare by St. Bernard

Remember, O most merciful Virgin Mary, that it is unheard of, that any one flying to thee for protection, imploring thy help, or seeking thy intercession, was ever forsaken. Animated by this unerring confidence, I hasten to thee, Virgin of virgins; I fly to thee, O sweet Mother, a wretched sinner, I prostrate myself sighing at thy feet; despise not my prayer, O Mother of the Divine Word, but graciously hear and grant the same. Amen.

Jesus - The Model of Religious 

Frederick Pustet Co.,  1925

Volume One