{"id":12976,"date":"2026-05-22T01:04:38","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T01:04:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/societyofthemostholyredeemer.org\/?p=12976"},"modified":"2026-05-28T17:04:32","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T17:04:32","slug":"may-devotions-to-the-blessed-virgin-mary-week-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/societyofthemostholyredeemer.org\/pt\/2026\/05\/22\/may-devotions-to-the-blessed-virgin-mary-week-4\/","title":{"rendered":"MAY DEVOTIONS TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY (WEEK 4)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0This year, for each day in the month of May, we will be posting excerpts of the book The May Book of the Breviary<\/em>, by Father John Fitzpatrick, O.M.I., published by R&T Washbourne, London, 1904.\u00a0 Nihil Obstat:\u00a0<\/em>Father Thomas Dawson, O.M.I., and Imprimatur:<\/em>\u00a0Cardinal Francis Alphonsus Bourne, dated April 14, 1904.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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AUTHOR’S PREFACE<\/a><\/p>

THE SECOND EVE, by St. Irenaeus<\/a><\/p>

THE SECOND EVE, by St. Augustine<\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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May 22nd \u2013 The Blessed Virgin\u2019s Martyrdom<\/b>
<\/strong>from Saint Bernard<\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0The Blessed Virgin’s martyrdom is put before us in Simeon’s prophecy, and also in the history of the Passion of our Lord.\u00a0 \u201cBehold, this Child is set,\u201d says the holy old man of the Infant Jesus, \u201cfor a sign which shall be contradicted; and thy own soul,\u201d he says to Mary, \u201ca sword shall pierce\u201d (Luke 2:34,35). \u00a0And, indeed, O Blessed Mother! it did pierce thy soul; for, unless it had passed through thy soul first, it could never have penetrated the flesh of thy Son. \u00a0Yea, when thine own Jesus had given up the ghost, the cruel lance that pierced His side did certainly not touch His soul, but as certainly it pierced thine through and through; for His soul was no longer there, while thine could thence be even torn away. \u00a0The power of sorrow, then, went through and through thy soul, so that we may, and not untruly, call thee martyr, since in thee the pain of thy compassion exceeded the sufferings of sense. \u00a0Was not that word, \u201cWoman, behold thy Son!\u201d sharper than any sword to thee, transpiercing as it did thy soul, and \u201creaching even unto the division of the soul and the spirit?\u201d (Hebrews 4:12). \u00a0Ah, what an exchange!\u00a0 John is given thee for Jesus, the servant instead of the Lord, the disciple in the place of the Master, the son of Zebedee for the Son of God, a mere man for the very God. \u00a0The words that fell upon thine ears, how could they but transpierce thy most loving soul, seeing that our stony hearts – nay, our iron hearts – are broken by the mere remembrance of them?
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Wonder not, my Brethren! that Mary is said to have been a martyr in her soul; or let him only wonder who does not remember to have heard Saint Paul mentioning, as among the greatest crimes of the Gentiles, that they were without affection. \u00a0It was far otherwise in Mary’s heart. \u00a0Let it be far otherwise with her lowly servants. \u00a0But someone, perhaps, may say: Did she not foreknow that Jesus would die? \u00a0She did with certainty. \u00a0Did she not hope that He would at once rise again? \u00a0Faithfully she hoped. \u00a0And yet she wept over Him when He was crucified? \u00a0She did vehemently. \u00a0If you think differently, who are you, my Brother! and whence this wisdom of yours, that the compassion of Mary should seem to you more strange than the Passion of Mary’s Son? \u00a0Is it to be said that He could even die in the body, and that she in her heart could not die along with Him? \u00a0The one thing was done from a love greater than which no man has had, and the other from a love the like of which has never been since then.<\/p>

Let us pray
<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 O God! in whose Passion, according to the prophecy of Simeon, a sword of sorrow transfixed the most tender soul of Thy most glorious Virgin-Mother, Mary, mercifully grant that we who, with veneration, call to mind her Transfixion and her sorrow may, by the intercession of the glorious merits and prayers of all the Saints who stood faithfully beneath the Cross, experience the happy effect of Thy Passion. \u00a0Who livest and reignest with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. \u00a0Amen.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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May 23rd \u2013 Our Lady’s Seven Words<\/b>
<\/strong>from Saint Bernardine of Siena<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>Had he not the Word of God to sustain him, what mortal would attempt, with his polluted lips, to say much, or even to say a little, about the very Mother of the God-Man, whom before all ages God the Father predestinated to be the most worthy ever-Virgin; whom the Son chose for His Mother; whom the Holy Ghost prepared as the home of all grace? \u00a0In what words, then, shall I \u2013 poor man! \u2013 set forth the profoundest sentiments of that virgin heart which her most holy lips expressed, seeing that no tongue of man nor even of angel could suffice for such a task? \u00a0For the Lord says: \u201cA good man out of a good treasure (of his heart) bringeth forth good things\u201d (Matthew 12:35). \u00a0But of all our human kind who can be conceived better than she, who merited to become the Mother of God, who in her heart and in her womb received the very God as guest? \u00a0What treasure is better than divine love itself, with which the Virgin’s heart was all on fire? \u00a0From this heart, as from a furnace of divine heat, the Blessed Virgin brought forth good words \u2013 I mean, words of the most ardent charity. \u00a0For, as from a vase full of the choicest wine only choicest wine can be poured, or as from a furnace of greatest heat only burning fire can come forth, so from the heart of the Mother of Christ no word can issue but of the highest and the most highly divine life and fervour.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Seven words only \u2013 so far as we read \u2013 of wonderful judgment and virtue were spoken by the most blessed Mother of Christ. \u00a0She spoke twice, and only twice, with the Angel. \u00a0With Elizabeth twice also. \u00a0And twice again with her Son. \u00a0And she spoke once to the waiters at the marriage-feast. \u00a0These seven words, expressive of seven acts of love, and spoken with gradation and order, are, as it were, seven flames from her heart. \u00a0And the pious mind, meditating upon these words, says with the Prophet: \u201cHow sweet are thy words to my palate!\u201d (Psalm 118:103) \u2013 that is to say, how sweet to all my affections! \u00a0Moreover, this sweetness which the devout mind feels in the words of the Blessed Virgin is an ardour of devout piety which the soul finds in them from experience. \u00a0Let us, then, put separately, and in their sequence, these seven flames of love in the Blessed Virgin’s words.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The first is the flame of discerning love \u2013 when Mary said to the Angel (of the Annunciation): \u201cHow shall this be done, because I know not man?\u201d \u00a0The second is the flame of transforming love \u2013 when Mary consented to the mystery of the Incarnation, saying, \u201cBehold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done unto me according to thy word.\u201d \u00a0The third is the flame of the communion of love \u2013 when Mary saluted Elizabeth. \u00a0The fourth is the flame of love’s exultation \u2013 her Magnificat<\/em>. \u00a0The fifth is the flame of the savour of love \u2013 when she said to Jesus, who had been lost in Jerusalem: \u201cSon, why hast Thou done so to us? \u00a0Behold, Thy father and I have sought Thee sorrowing.\u201d \u00a0The sixth is the flame of love’s compassion \u2013 when she said to Jesus at Cana: \u201cThey have no wine.\u201d \u00a0And the seventh is the flame of love’s consummation \u2013 when our Lady said to them who were waiting on the will of our Divine Lord: \u201cWhatever He shall say to you, do ye.\u201d<\/p>

Let us pray
<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 Almighty and everlasting God! who didst prepare, in the Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a worthy dwelling for the Holy Ghost, mercifully grant that, while with pious mind we commemorate this most pure Heart of hers, we may be able to live according to Thy Heart. \u00a0Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee, in the unity of the same Holy Ghost, God, world without end. \u00a0Amen.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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May 24th \u2013 The Help of Christians<\/b>
<\/strong>from Saint Bernard<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>Dearly Beloved! one man and one woman wrought us much harm, but, none the less \u2013 thanks be to God! \u2013 through one man and one woman all things are set right again, and that with great usury of grace. \u00a0Verily Christ was enough, for now, indeed, all \u201cour sufficiency is in Him\u201d (2 Corinthians 3:5); but it was not good for us that man should be alone (Genesis 2:18). \u00a0It was more fitting that both sexes should have to do with our redemption. \u00a0And thus the woman, \u201cblessed among women,\u201d will at once be seen not to be idle, for a place will be found for her in this reconciliation. \u00a0For we need an intermediary between us and the Mediator, Christ; and none can be more useful to us than Mary. \u00a0A very cruel intermediary was Eve, through whom the ancient serpent infected even her husband with his pestiferous poison; but Mary was true and trustful, and she gave forth, both to men and women, the saving antidote. \u00a0The one served unto seduction, the other unto propitiation; the one brought in prevarication, the other redemption.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Why should human weakness fear to come nigh to Mary? \u00a0There is nothing austere in her, nothing terrible; she is all sweetness, offering milk and wool to all. \u00a0Consider well the whole course of the Gospel history, and if haply you find in Mary any harshness or any hardness \u2013 in a word, any sign of even slight indignation \u2013 suspect her for the time to come, and fear to draw near to her. \u00a0But if you find her rather to be, as indeed she is, full of all tenderness and all grace, full of all gentleness and all mercy, give thanks to Him who, in His great and tender pity, has given you such an intermediary as she, in whom you can have entire confidence. \u00a0In short, in the abundance of her charity she has made herself \u201call things to all men\u201d (1 Corinthians 9:22) \u2013 \u201ca debtor to both the wise and the unwise\u201d (Romans 1:14). \u00a0She opens up to all the bosom of her mercy, that of her fullness all may receive; the captive ransom; the sick health; the sorrowful comfort; the sinner forgiveness; the righteous grace; and the Angels joy. \u00a0She does not inquire what our merits may have been, but shows herself exorable and most merciful to all: in the largeness of her love she takes pity upon all our necessities.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 She is the woman of whom, in the olden time, God promised that with her foot of power she should crush the head of the ancient serpent; and he, indeed, with many wiles, lay in wait for her heel, but lay in wait in vain. \u00a0For she, of her sole self, has crushed all the wickedness of heresy. \u00a0They that lay in wait for her have been crushed, they that attacked her have been trodden down, they that maligned her have been confuted, and all generations call her blessed. \u00a0If, under the simile of the moon, we are to recognize the Church, it is evident that the Blessed Virgin’s mediatorial office is set forth for us in the words: \u201cA woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet\u201d (Apocalypse 12:1). \u00a0Let us kiss the footprints of Mary; let us cast ourselves down in devoutest supplication before her blessed feet; let us take hold of her and not let her go until she bless us, for she can.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Consider, O man! the counsel of God, and recognize therein a counsel of wisdom and of goodness. \u00a0He who was about to water all the ground with the dews of heaven began by drenching the fleece; He who was about to redeem the human race conferred the whole ransom on Mary. \u00a0Consider, still more deeply, how He wills that we should honour Mary with all affection of devotion, He who has bestowed upon her the plenitude of all good; so that if we have any hope, any grace, any salvation, we know that it is her overflow, \u201cwho cometh up, flowing with delights\u201d (Canticle of Canticles 8:5).\u00a0 From the very core, then, of our hearts, and with all our deepest affections and all our desires, let us venerate this Mary of ours, since such is the will of Him who has been pleased that all things should come to us through Mary. \u00a0Such, I say, is His will \u2013 and for our sakes. \u00a0For in all things and through all things He provides for our miseries, consoles our fears, arouses our faith, confirms our hope, drives away our diffidence, and gives us courage in our cowardice. \u00a0Thou wast ashamed to approach the Father, and, fearful at the mere sound of His voice, didst flee to the foliage: He gave thee Jesus to be thy Mediator. \u00a0What will such a Son not obtain from such a Father! \u00a0He will surely be \u201cheard for His reverence\u201d (Hebrews 5:7), for \u201cthe Father loveth the Son\u201d (John 3:35). \u00a0But perhaps thou fearest the Divine Majesty also in Him, since although He became Man, yet He remained God still. \u00a0Wouldst thou have an Advocate also with Him? \u00a0Have recourse to Mary. \u00a0For in Mary there is nothing but pure humanity \u2013 pure, not only from any stain, but also in this that hers is human nature and nothing more. \u00a0And I have no hesitation in saying that she also will be \u201cheard for her reverence.\u201d\u00a0 The Son will surely hear the Mother, and the Father will hear the Son.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 My little children, this is a ladder for sinners, this is my chief trust, this is the whole ground of my hope. \u00a0And why? \u00a0Can the Son either repel her or Himself suffer a repulse? \u00a0Can He either not hear or Himself not be heard? \u00a0Plainly, He cannot. \u00a0\u201cThou hast found grace with God,\u201d says the Angel; and happily so. \u00a0She will always find grace; and grace is all we need, since it is by grace alone that we are saved. \u00a0Why do we desire aught else, my brethren? \u00a0Let us seek grace, and let us seek it through Mary, for what she seeks she finds, and cannot seek in vain. \u00a0Let us seek grace, but grace with God, for among men \u201cfavour is deceitful\u201d (Proverbs 31:30). \u00a0Let others seek for merit, but let us study to find grace. \u00a0And why? \u00a0Is it not by grace that we are here? \u00a0In verity \u201cit is of the Lord’s mercy that we are not consumed\u201d (Lamentations 3:22).<\/p>

Let us pray
<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 O almighty and merciful God! who in a wonderful way didst appoint the most Blessed Virgin Mary to be an abiding aid for the defence of the Christian commonwealth, mercifully grant that we, strong in her protection through the struggles of life, may be able to win the victory over our malignant enemy in death. \u00a0Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. \u00a0Amen.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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May 25th \u2013 Our Lady\u2019s Virtues<\/b>
<\/strong>from Saint Bernard<\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Wisdom, which was of God, and which was God, coming down to us from the bosom of the Father, \u201cbuilt Himself a house,\u201d to wit, the Virgin Mary, His own Mother, in whom \u201cHe hewed Him out seven pillars.\u201d \u00a0What means this hewing in her of seven pillars, but the preparing her to be, by faith and good works, a worthy habitation for Himself? \u00a0The numeral three refers to faith \u2013 that is, in the Blessed Trinity; and four refers to morality \u2013 that is, to the four cardinal virtues. \u00a0The Holy Trinity was present by its majesty in the Blessed Mary \u2013 the Son only being present by taking upon Himself our human nature \u2013 and to this the heavenly messenger bears witness, who, revealing to her the hidden mysteries, says, \u201cHail, full of grace! the Lord is with thee,\u201d and, a little later, \u201cThe Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee\u201d (Luke 1:28,35). \u00a0Lo! we have here our Lord, we have the power of the Most High, we have the Holy Ghost; so that we have the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And whether she possessed, as it were so many pillars, the four cardinal virtues also, seems worth our inquiry. \u00a0And, first, let us see whether she was possessed of fortitude. \u00a0But how could such a virtue be lacking to her who, rejecting all the pomps of the world, and scorning all the pleasures of the flesh, proposed to live a virginal life for God alone? \u00a0If I am not mistaken, this is that Virgin of whom Solomon has said: \u201cWho shall find a valiant woman? \u00a0Far and from the uttermost coasts is the price of her\u201d (Proverbs 31:10).\u00a0 Furthermore, that she was temperate and just we prove more clearly than the daylight from the Angel’s words to her and her reply to him. \u00a0For, having been saluted with such veneration by the Angel in those words, \u201cHail, full of grace! the Lord is with thee,\u201d she was not full of pride because she had been blessed by a singular privilege of grace, but she kept silence, and thought within herself what might be the meaning of this unusual salutation. \u00a0And in this matter what was she if not temperate? \u00a0But when the same Angel informed her of the heavenly mystery, she earnestly inquired how she, who knew not man, should conceive and bring forth; and in this, certainly, was her prudence shown.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 As to justice, she bears its insignia upon her, when she declares herself to be the handmaid of the Lord; for he bears witness as to what constitutes a showing-forth of justice, who says: \u201cThe just shall confess unto thy name.\u201d \u00a0The Blessed Virgin Mary, then, had fortitude in what she purposed, temperance in her silence, prudence in her questioning, and justice in the profession that she made. \u00a0With these four pillars of right conduct, then, and those three points of faith aforesaid, heavenly Wisdom hath built Himself a house in her, for He so fulfilled her spirit that, from the fullness of her soul, her body also bore its fruit.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It was meet that God should be born only of a virgin. \u00a0It was becoming that a virgin-mother should be the Mother of God alone.\u00a0 Therefore, the Creator of mankind, about to be born in our human nature, was obliged, in order to become incarnate, to choose for Himself from among all others – nay, to create for Himself – such a Mother as He knew would be worthy of Him and be pleasing unto Him. \u00a0Accordingly, His will was that she should be a virgin, that from her, stainless herself, He stainless should come forth, to purge away all our stains. \u00a0He willed also that she should be humble, that He might be born of her \u201cmeek and humble of heart,\u201d to give us all, in His own person, a needful and a most salutary example of these virtues. \u00a0He granted a maiden motherhood to her, in whom He had already inspired a devotion to virginity, and had dowered with the merit of her lowliness. \u00a0And in order that she, who was to conceive and to bring forth the Holy of Holies, should be holy in body, she received the gift of virginity; while she received the gift of humility that she might be holy also in mind.<\/p>

Let us pray
<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 O God! who, through the mystery of the Incarnate Word, didst mercifully consecrate the house of the Blessed Virgin Mary [and in the midst of Thy Church didst wonderfully place it], grant that, separated from the tabernacles of sinners, we may be made worthy dwellers in Thy holy house. \u00a0Through the same our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. \u00a0Amen.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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May 26th \u2013 The Assumption<\/b>
<\/strong>from Saint John Damascene<\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Today the sacred and living Ark of the living God, who conceived the Creator in her womb, sinks to rest in that temple of the Lord which is not made with hands; and David, her ancestor, dances before her, and with him the Angels lead the dance, the Archangels sing aloud, the Virtues glorify her, the Principalities exult, the Powers rejoice together, the Dominations are made glad, the Thrones make holiday, the Cherubim sing songs of praise, the Seraphim proclaim her greatness. \u00a0Today Eden receiveth that living paradise of the Second Adam, wherein the condemnation was annulled, wherein the Tree of Life was planted, wherein our nakedness was veiled. \u00a0To-day the spotless Virgin, undefiled by any earthly desire, and addicted only to celestial thoughts, returned not to the dust, but, herself a living heaven, took her place amidst the heavenly mansions. \u00a0For how should she taste of death, from whom true life had flowed for us all? \u00a0She obeyed the law which He had made whom she brought forth, and, as a daughter of the old Adam, she was subject to the olden condemnation, since her own Son, who is Life itself, did not withdraw Himself from its effect; but as the Mother of the living God, she is worthily assumed by Him unto Himself.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Eve, who gave assent to the suggestion. of the serpent, is condemned to bring forth in sorrow and to die the death, and has her place in the bowels of the earth. \u00a0But this truly blessed being who lent her ears to the Word of God, who, knowing not man nor any pleasure of sex, conceived the Son of God at the Archangel’s salutation by the operation of the Holy Ghost, and brought Him forth without travail, and who consecrated herself wholly unto God – how should death feed upon her? \u00a0How should the grave receive her? \u00a0How should corruption invade that body, of which Life had been the guest? \u00a0For her the way to heaven had been made straight, and smooth, and easy. \u00a0For if Christ, who is the Life and the Truth, has said, \u201cWhere I am, there also shall My minister be\u201d (John 12:26), how much rather shall His own Mother be with Him!
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 An ancient tradition has been handed down to us which says that when the Blessed Virgin so gloriously fell asleep, all the holy Apostles, who were wandering through the world for the salvation of the nations, were borne through the air, and in one moment of time were assembled in Jerusalem; and that being there, there appeared unto them a vision of Angels, and there was heard the psalmody of heavenly Powers; and so, with such circumstance of divine glory, she yielded up her holy soul into the hands of God.\u00a0 But her body, which in an ineffable manner God had tenanted, was carried forth, amid the hymnody of the Angels and the Apostles, and was buried in Gethsemani; and there for three whole days the singing of the Angels never ceased.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 But when three days were over and the Angels’ songs were done, and Thomas, the only one of their number to be absent, had now arrived after three days, and wished to worship that body which had encompassed God, the Apostles who were still there opened up the tomb once more; but the sacred body could not anywhere be found. \u00a0All they could discover was the shroud wherein it had been wrapped, which gave forth some unspeakable sweetness of which it was full; and so they closed the tomb again. \u00a0Wonder-struck by this miracle and mystery, they could only conclude that He who was pleased to become Incarnate of the Virgin Mary and to be made Man and be born of her, being all the while the Word of God and the Lord of glory, and who had preserved her virginity inviolate even in her motherhood, had been pleased also, after her passing, to honour her immaculate body, preserved from all corruption, by translating it hence before the general resurrection common to us all. \u00a0There were present at that time with the Apostles the most holy Timothy, first Bishop of the Ephesians, and Dionysius the Areopagite, as this latter bears witness in these words which he wrote to the aforesaid Timothy about the blessed Hierotheus, who was also of their company: \u201cWhen, as thou knowest, we and many of our holy brethren had come together to our God-inspired prelates in sacred things, to gaze upon that body which was the source of life and the tabernacle of God (there were there also James, the brother of the Lord, and Peter, the highest and oldest and most excellent of theologians), we, having seen the sacred body, were all right glad, every man as well as he was able, to celebrate in canticles the infinite goodness of the power of God.\u201d<\/p>

Let us pray
<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0O Lord! we beseech Thee, pardon the sins of Thy servants; and since by our own deeds we are unable to please Thee, may we be saved by the intercession of the Mother of Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. \u00a0Amen.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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May 27th \u2013 Mary’s Humility<\/b>
<\/strong>from Saint Bernard<\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0We read in the Acts of the Apostles that, returning from the Mount of Olives, they \u201cpersevered with one mind in prayer\u201d (chapter 1).\u00a0 Who were they? \u00a0If haply Mary was of the number, she is named first, since she is superior to them all by both the privilege of her Divine Maternity and the prerogative of her personal holiness. \u00a0Peter and Andrew are mentioned, and James and John, and the rest of them. \u00a0\u201cAll these were persevering with one mind with the women, and Mary, the Mother of Jesus.\u201d \u00a0Does she make herself the least of even the women that she may be named the last of all? \u00a0Truly, the disciples were still carnal-minded \u2013 for the Holy Ghost was not yet given to them, since Jesus was not yet glorified \u2013 when there arose a contention amongst them as to which of them was the greater. \u00a0With Mary, the greater she was the more lowly she made herself, and not only amongst others, but even beneath all others. \u00a0And deservedly the last was made first, since, though she was the first of all, she had made herself the lowest and the least. \u00a0Deservedly has she been made the Lady and mistress of all, who made herself the handmaid of all. \u00a0Deservedly, in fine, was she exalted above the Angels, who, with unutterable meekness, made herself more lowly than widows and than penitents, nay, more lowly than even she out of whom seven devils had been cast.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I beseech you, my little Children! if you love Mary, emulate this virtue; if you are striving to please her, imitate her modesty, for nothing so becomes a mortal, nothing so befits a Christian. \u00a0And, in fact, the virtue of humility is clearly made manifest in the Virgin by this same mansuetude of hers. \u00a0For humility and meekness are foster-sisters, and are joined together more closely still in Him who said: \u201cLearn of Me, because I am meek and humble of heart\u201d (Matthew 11:29). \u00a0For as pride is the mother of presumption, so true meekness can come only from true humility. \u00a0But it is not only from Mary’s silence that her humility is seen, for it is yet more evident in the sound of her words. \u00a0She had heard, \u201cThe Holy which shall be born of thee, shall be called the Son of God\u201d (Luke 1:35), and her only answer is that she is His handmaid.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Later, on her visit to Elizabeth, at once the Virgin’s singular glory is revealed to her by the Holy Ghost; and Elizabeth, marvelling at the person of her visitor, says: \u201cWhence is this to me, that the Mother of my Lord should come to me?\u201d and, further, she praises the voice that saluted her, adding: \u201cAs soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy.\u201d \u00a0And then she blessed the believer’s faith, saying; \u201cBlessed art thou that hast believed, because those things shall be accomplished which were spoken to thee by the Lord\u201d (Luke 1:43-45). \u00a0High praise, indeed, was this, but devoted also the humility which could not bear to take anything of all this to itself, but rather gave back again everything to Him whose bounteous favours had been lauded in herself. \u00a0Thou dost magnify, she says, the Mother of the Lord, but \u201cmy soul doth magnify the Lord.\u201d
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Who is this Virgin, worshipful enough to be saluted by an Angel, and humble enough to be espoused to a carpenter? \u00a0Beautiful mixture of virginity and humility! \u00a0And well-pleasing is that soul to God in which humility recommends virginity, and virginity enhances humility. \u00a0But of how much greater worship, think you, is she worthy, in whom humility is exalted by motherhood, and childbearing consecrates virginity? \u00a0In naming her Virgin, you name also one who is humble. \u00a0If you cannot copy the lowly one’s virginity, imitate the Virgin’s humility. \u00a0Virginity is a laudable virtue, but humility is more necessary: that is of counsel, while this is of precept; the one you are invited to have, the other you are obliged to cultivate. \u00a0Of the one is said: \u201cHe that can take, let him take\u201d (Matthew 19:12); but of the other we read: \u201cUnless you become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven\u201d (Matthew 18:3). \u00a0In fine, you may be saved without virginity; you cannot without humility. \u00a0Humility, I say, can please which deplores a lost virginity; without humility, I venture to say, not even the virginity of Mary would have been found pleasing. \u00a0Upon whom, it is asked, shall rest my Spirit but on the humble and the peaceful?\u00a0 Upon the humble, is said, not on the virginal. \u00a0It is plain also from this that, in order that she might conceive of the Holy Ghost, as she herself sets forth, God \u201cregarded the humility of His handmaid\u201d rather than her virginity; and though she was pleasing by her virginity, yet it was by her humility that she conceived; whence it is manifest, and without a doubt, that it was only her humility which gave to her virginity any power to please.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What dost thou say, proud maiden? \u00a0Mary, unmindful that she is a virgin, glories in her lowliness; and thou, neglecting humility, art vain of thy virginal estate? \u00a0She says: \u201cHe hath regarded the humility of His handmaid.\u201d \u00a0Who is she? \u00a0In very truth, a holy Maiden, a modest Maiden, a pious Maiden. \u00a0Art thou more chaste than she? \u00a0Or, haply, is thy modesty so much more pleasing than Mary’s chastity, that without humility thou shalt be able to be pleasing enough by thy purity where she could not by hers? \u00a0Finally, the more worthy of honour thou art because of thine especial gift of purity, the more notable the injury thou doest thyself when thou dost defile its beauty within thee by any admixture of pride.<\/p>

Let us pray
<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 O God! who hast regard unto all that is lowly, and dost look upon all that is proud from afar off, grant to Thy servants to imitate with a pure heart the humility of the Blessed Mary, ever a Virgin, who, well-pleasing to Thee by her virginity, by her humility conceived our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. \u00a0Amen.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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May 28th \u2013 The Name of Mary<\/b>
<\/strong>from Saint Bernard<\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0It is said: \u201cAnd the Virgin’s name was Mary\u201d (Luke 1:27). \u00a0Let us say a few words about this name, which is interpreted to mean \u201cstar of the sea,\u201d and is most aptly applied to the Virgin-Mother, for she is very properly compared to a star. \u00a0For as the star sends forth its rays without any loss to its purity, so the Virgin brought forth her Son without any detriment to her virginity. \u00a0The ray does not lessen the brightness of the star, nor her Son the Virgin’s purity. \u00a0She is, then, that noble star which arose out of Jacob, whose beams illumine the whole world, whose brightness shines out in heaven and penetrates even unto hell, lighting up every land, and which, warming souls rather than bodies, cherishes virtue and makes vice wither away.\u00a0 She is, I say, that bright especial star necessarily set above the wide, wide sea, shining by her merits and enlightening by her example.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 O thou! whosoever thou art, who knowest that thou art not walking on dry land, but art tossed to and fro by storms and tempests on the ocean of this world, turn not away thine eyes from the shining of this star, if in this tempest thou wouldst not be a castaway. \u00a0If the loud winds of temptation rise against thee, if thou art running on the rocks of tribulation, look up to this star \u2013 call upon Mary. \u00a0If thou art tossed about on the waves of pride, or ambition, or slander, or envy, look up to this star \u2013 call upon Mary. \u00a0If anger, or avarice, or allurement of the flesh beat down upon the shallop of thy spirit, look up to Mary. \u00a0If, disturbed by the enormity of thy crimes, confounded by the foulness of thy conscience, and terrified by fear of the judgment, thou art about to be swallowed up in the depths of despondency, in the abyss of despair, call upon Mary. \u00a0In dangers, in difficulties, or in doubts, think upon Mary, call upon Mary. \u00a0Let her not leave thy lips, nor leave thy heart, and, that thou mayest obtain the patronage of her prayers, fail not to imitate the example of her life. \u00a0Following her, thou wilt not go astray; praying to her, thou wilt not despair; keeping her in mind, thou wilt not err. \u00a0If she holds thee, thou wilt not fall; if she protects thee, thou wilt not fear; if she leads thee, thou wilt not tire; if she be propitious, thou wilt attain; and so, in thine own proper person, thou wilt prove with what good reason it was said: \u201cAnd the Virgin’s name was Mary.\u201d<\/p>

Let us pray
<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 Grant, we beseech Thee, Almighty God! that Thy faithful, who rejoice under the name and protection of the most holy Virgin Mary, may, by her merciful intercession, be delivered from all evils upon earth, and may merit to attain unto everlasting joy in heaven.\u00a0 Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. \u00a0Amen.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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May 29th \u2013 The Queen of Heaven<\/b>
<\/strong>from Saint Bernard<\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Mary is rightly shown forth to us clothed with the sun, for she, to a degree that is hardly credible, sounded the profoundest abyss of the wisdom of God, so much so, indeed, that, so far as the condition of a creature allows, and short of a union in personality, she seems to be immersed in that light inaccessible. \u00a0That is the fire with which the lips of the Prophet were purified; that is the flame with which the Seraphim are on fire. \u00a0But far otherwise did Mary merit; and she was not touched, as it were, on the surface, but was rather covered over by that fire and surrounded, and, as it were, shut in. \u00a0In sooth, this woman’s vesture is of great whiteness, but also of great heat, and everything in her is known to be so completely irradiated that there is nothing in her which can be even suspected to be, I do not say darkful, but even darksome or lacking in the least in light; neither is there anything lukewarm to be found in her, nor anything that is not most fervent.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cA woman clothed with the sun\u201d \u2013 clothed, indeed, with the light for vesture. \u00a0The carnal man perceives not this, perchance; for whatever is spiritual seems to him but foolishness. \u00a0But the Apostle saw it otherwise, who said: \u201cPut ye on the Lord Jesus Christ\u201d (Romans 13:14). \u00a0Lady, how familiar thou hast become with Him! \u00a0How near, nay rather, how very intimate hast thou merited to become! \u00a0How much grace hast thou found with Him! \u00a0He abideth in thee, and thou in Him: thou art His vesture, and by Him thou art garmented. \u00a0Thou dost clothe Him with the substance of flesh, and by Him thou art clad with the glory of His majesty. \u00a0Thou dost clothe the sun with a cloud, and thou art thyself clothed with the sun. \u00a0For \u201cthe Lord hath created a new thing upon the earth – a woman shall compass a man\u201d (Jeremiah 31:22).
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Therefore, Mother of Mercy! we call upon thee, who hast been appointed our Mediatress with the Sun of righteousness \u2013 we call upon thee with devout supplication, that in thy light we may see light, and merit by thy care the favour of the Sun, for verily He loved thee above all others and adorned thee, robing thee with a robe of glory and setting a crown of beauty on thy brow. \u00a0Thou art full of graces, full of heavenly dew, leaning upon thy beloved, and flowing with delights. \u00a0O Lady! feed thou today thy poor; let even the whelps eat of the crumbs; give to drink, from thine overflowing pitcher, not only to Abraham’s servant but to his camels also, for thou art truly the Maiden pre-elect, provided for the Son of the Most High (Genesis 24).<\/p>

Let us pray
<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 O God! who didst vouchsafe to gladden the world by the resurrection of Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, grant, we beseech Thee, that, by the help of His Mother, the Virgin Mary, we may attain to the joys of everlasting life. \u00a0Through the same Christ our Lord. \u00a0Amen.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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May 30th \u2013 How Mary Comes to Us Once More<\/b>
<\/strong>from Saint Peter Damian<\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Virgin-Mother of God, our Lady! whose beauty sun and moon admire, help those who cry to thee perpetually: \u201cReturn, return, O Sulamitess! return, return that we may behold thee\u201d (Canticle of Canticles 6:12). \u00a0Thou blessed One, thou super-blessed! return (first) by thy nature. \u00a0Hast thou forgotten our humanity because thou hast become so God-like? \u00a0By no means, Lady! \u2013 thou knowest in what difficulty thou wouldst leave us, in what depth we lie, how deeply we, thy servants, sin. \u00a0It were not right that such great mercy should be forgetful of such great misery, for, though thy glory draws thee away from us, thy nature draws thee back again: thou art not so mindful of only the justice of God as to be unmindful to have mercy, nor art thou so impassible as not to be compassionate. \u00a0Thou hast our nature, not any other; and it is only right that the dews of thy vast pity should be shed more abundantly upon us.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Return (secondly), return by thy power. \u201cHe that is mighty hath done great things in thee,\u201d and all power hath been given to thee in heaven and on earth. \u00a0Nothing is impossible to thee, to whom it is possible to raise up the despairing to the hope of beatitude. \u00a0For how could that power withstand thy power, which from thy flesh took flesh at the first? \u00a0For thou comest before that golden gate of man’s reconciliation, not only praying, but commanding \u2013 the Lady, not the handmaid. \u00a0Let thy nature move thee; let thy power, for the more powerful thou art, the more merciful thou oughtest to be. \u00a0It is to the glory of thy power that it will not avenge injury where it may.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Return (thirdly) by thy love. \u00a0I know, O Lady! that thou art most benignant, and that thou lovest us with an invincible love, whom in thee and through thee thy Son and thy God loved with an exceeding love. \u00a0Who knows how often thou dost soften the anger of the Judge, when the virtue of justice comes forth from the presence of the Godhead!
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Return (fourthly) by thine onliness. \u00a0In thy hands are the treasures of the mercies of God, and thou art chosen as the only one to whom grace is granted. \u00a0God forbid that thy hand should be idle, since thou dost seek occasion to save the miserable and to pour forth mercy; for thy glory is not diminished but increased when penitents, justified by pardon, are assumed unto glory. \u00a0Return, then, O Sulamitess! \u2013 which means despised one \u2013 whose soul the sword transpierced, who wast known as the wife of a carpenter. \u00a0But why?\u00a0 \u201cThat we may behold thee.\u201d \u00a0Our highest glory, after the vision of God, is to see thee, to cling close to thee, and to abide in the strength of thy protection. \u00a0Hearken to us, for thy Son honours thee by denying thee naught, who is God blessed for evermore.<\/p>

Let us pray
<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 O God! who, by the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin, didst prepare a worthy dwelling-place for Thy Son, we suppliantly beseech thee that, celebrating the apparitions of our Blessed Lady, we may attain to health of both mind and body. \u00a0Through the same our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. \u00a0Amen.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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May 31st \u2013 Our Lady as Our Advocate<\/b>
<\/strong>from Saint Thomas of Villanova<\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Mary is a tower based upon the immovable foundation of a firm rock in the holy mountains, for in the midst of her God shall not be moved. \u00a0It is said of this Virgin, in the Canticle of Canticles: \u201cAs the tower of David, which is built with bulwarks; a thousand bucklers hang upon it, all the armour of valiant men\u201d (4:4). \u00a0Verily the tower of David, of that David (I mean) who, with five stones out of the brook \u2013 that is, His five wounds \u2013 and with His Cross for staff, laid low the proud Goliath, boasting on the hill of Calvary. \u00a0This tower has become a bulwark of the Church, and the only refuge of sinners, that thereto all the guilty, all the sorrowful, all the afflicted, may have recourse, and by her protection be delivered from the enemy.\u00a0 O man! in whatsoever tribulation thou mayest be, take refuge with Mary: whether thou art afflicted by sin, or sorely persecuted, or harassed by temptations, flee to this tower, take refuge with Mary.\u00a0 For \u201ca thousand bucklers hang upon it,\u201d and in her thou wilt find a most sure shield to protect thee, that thou mayest withstand the devil to his face when in his rage he would afflict and persecute thee.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 For there is \u201call the armour of valiant men\u201d: there is the faith of the Apostles, there the fortitude of the Martyrs, there the purity of Virgins, the wisdom of Doctors, the poverty of Anachorites, the devotion of Confessors; there, in fine, is found the accumulated virtue of all the Saints. \u00a0For never was any special privilege accorded to any of the Saints which, from the outset of her life and in a more abundant measure, did not shine forth in Mary. \u00a0Lo! A castle most strongly fortified, lo! an impregnable tower, which never yielded tribute to the devil, nor promised him fealty. \u00a0Into this Jesus entered, when \u201cthe Word was made flesh and dwelt amongst us,\u201d coming to expel His enemies and recover His kingdom, into which at the first the devil had intruded.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 She was chosen to be our Advocate. \u00a0For though, as says Saint John, we have the Son for our Advocate with the Father, we needed also to have His Mother for our Advocate with the Son, for by our sins not only is the God offended whose precepts we violate, but the Son of God also, whose blood by sin we tread under foot, \u201ccrucifying again the Son of God\u201d (Hebrews 6:6); and therefore, as the Son intercedes for us with the Father, so His Mother intercedes for us with the Son. \u00a0Wherefore the Son shows to the Father His side and His wounds, and the Mother pleads with her Son: Mine were \u201cthe womb that bore Thee and the breasts that gave Thee suck\u201d (Luke 11:27). \u00a0And thus she has become a fitting Advocate \u2013 fitting because most pure, fitting because most acceptable, fitting because most pitiful; for all these things are needful to an Advocate. \u00a0Turn, then, our Advocate! thine eyes of mercy towards us: we have recourse to thee in all our necessities \u2013 fulfill thy duty, do what it is thine to do.<\/p>

Let us pray
<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 O Lord Jesus Christ! the Good Shepherd who didst give Thy life for Thy sheep, and who, hanging on the Cross, didst commend us, Thy people and the sheep of Thy pasture, unto Thy Virgin-Mother, grant through her intervention that, following Thee, our Shepherd, on earth, we may be led unto the pastures of eternal life in heaven.\u00a0 Who livest and reignest with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. \u00a0Amen.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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SEE ALSO:<\/span><\/em><\/p>

READINGS AND PRAYERS FOR MAY 1-7<\/a><\/p>

READINGS AND PRAYERS FOR MAY 8-14<\/a><\/p>

READINGS AND PRAYERS FOR MAY 15-21<\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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The cover image (on the homepage) is an apricot rose photographed on 6 June 2019 by Erstmal_Pause<\/a>.<\/em><\/h5>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0This year, for each day in the month of May, we will be posting excerpts of the book The May Book of the Breviary, by Father John Fitzpatrick, O.M.I., published by R&T Washbourne, London, 1904.\u00a0 Nihil Obstat:\u00a0Father Thomas … Continuar lendo <\/i><\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":12658,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-liturgical-calendar"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/societyofthemostholyredeemer.org\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12976","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/societyofthemostholyredeemer.org\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/societyofthemostholyredeemer.org\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/societyofthemostholyredeemer.org\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/societyofthemostholyredeemer.org\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12976"}],"version-history":[{"count":29,"href":"https:\/\/societyofthemostholyredeemer.org\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12976\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13082,"href":"https:\/\/societyofthemostholyredeemer.org\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12976\/revisions\/13082"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/societyofthemostholyredeemer.org\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12658"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/societyofthemostholyredeemer.org\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/societyofthemostholyredeemer.org\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12976"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/societyofthemostholyredeemer.org\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}