THE INTERIOR LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

 

 

THE INTERIOR LIFE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY 

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Mary was created immaculate, and therefore the grace of God streamed into her soul without check or hinderance. She began her journey along the road to perfection at a height to which other Saints arrived only at the end of a long life of saintliness. An intimate union with God, a continual and joyful remembrance of His presence, a perfect agreement of will with Him was the beginning of His gifts to Mary.

INTROIT

The Lord hath greatly desired Mary's beauty; for He is her Lord; and she shall be the throne of God for ever and ever, the scepter of uprightness, the scepter of His kingdom. Alleluia, alleluia. Ps. 44. All the glory of the King's Daughter is within; in golden borders, clothed round about with varieties. Glory be to the Father . . . ---The Lord . . .

COLLECT

O God, who didst make the Blessed Virgin Mary surpass all creatures as perfect partaker and image of Christ's interior virtues, grant we pray, that we may so venerate Mary's interior life as to become through her conformed to Christ and through Him perfectly united to Thee. Through the same our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth . . .

LESSON (Cant. of Cant. 2: 1-14)

1I am the flower of the field, and the lily of the valleys.

2As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.

3As the apple tree among the trees of the woods, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow, whom I desired: and his fruit was sweet to my palate.

4He brought me into the cellar of wine, he set in order charity in me.

5Stay me up with flowers, compass me about with apples: because I languish with love.

6His left hand is under my head, and his right hand shall embrace me.

7I adjure you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and the harts of the, fields, that you stir not up, nor make the beloved to awake, till she please.

8The voice of my beloved, behold he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping over the hills.

9My beloved is like a roe, or a young hart. Behold he standeth behind our wall, looking through the windows, looking through the lattices.

10Behold my beloved speaketh to me: Arise, make haste, my love, my dove, my beautiful one, and come.

11For winter is now past, the rain is over and gone.

12The flowers have appeared in our land, the time of pruning is come: the voice of the turtle is heard in our land:

13The fig tree hath put forth her green figs: the vines in flower yield their sweet smell. Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come:

14My dove in the clefts of the rock, in the hollow places of the wall, shew me thy face, let thy voice sound in my ears: for thy voice is sweet, and thy face comely.

 

Alleluia, alleluia. (Cant. 2).

Behold he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping over the hills. Behold my beloved speaketh to me: Arise, make haste, my love, my dove, my beautiful one, and come. Alleluia. Show mr thy face, let thy voice sound in mine ears; for thy voice is sweet and thy face comely. Alleluia

 

Sequence

 

All the beauty of the King's daughter, who is a marvel of fullness of grace, comes to her from within.

More precious than her title of Mother, than the flower of her virginity, is the charity of her pure heart.

There purity reigns, and peace that naught can trouble, and light without the slightest cloud.

Seek where you will recall any moment of her life, nowhere is there any stain.

Before He is enshrined in her chaste womb, God already resides in her loving heart, and this last is the greater grace.

Already full of grace she is, and yet what abundant gifts the Son pours out on His Mother!

Vile in her own esteem, humble, magnanimous, she is pleasing in the eyes of God.

She believes and understands; she hopes and immediately reaps the fruits of her unwavering faith.

As she accepts the joyful message, so she submits completely to the painful sword.

She put away her mortal dwelling and puts on immortality, for she cannot bear the force of love.

Now you no longer die of love; you burn with heavenly flames; you possess whay you ardently desired.

You love the more perfectly because above all Saints you are elevated to peerless glory.

Grant that the fires burning within you without consuming you, may also be kindles in our hearts.

O Mother of the living, make your Son live in our hearts. Amen. Alleluia.

 

GOSPEL

Luke 1:26-38

Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition

²⁶ And in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, called Nazareth,

²⁷ To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.

²⁸ And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

²⁹ Who having heard, was troubled at his saying, and thought with herself what manner of salutation this should be.

³⁰ And the angel said to her: Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God.

³¹ Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name Jesus.

³² He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the most High; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father; and he shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever.

³³ And of his kingdom there shall be no end.

³⁴ And Mary said to the angel: How shall this be done, because I know not man?

³⁵ And the angel answering, said to her: The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore also the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

³⁶ And behold thy cousin Elizabeth, she also hath conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her that is called barren:

³⁷ Because no word shall be impossible with God.

³⁸ And Mary said: Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

 OFFERTORY (Heb. 13: 14-15)

Holiness becometh the house of God; let us worship her Bridegroom Christ indwelling in her, alleluia.

SECRET

O Lord, may the Holy Ghost, who wounded the heart of Thy Son's Mother and set it on fire with so much love, also perfectly possess our hearts; in order that, as He always acted freely in her, He may crucify our flesh with its vices and concupiscences and thus also operate our sanctification. Through the same our Lord Jesus Christ . . .

 

COMMUNION

This place is holy and in it the Priest prays for the failings and sins of the people, alleluia.

 

POSTCOMMUNION

May the Son repose within us, O Lord, and find there His delights, and just as Thou didst make Him ours through the Virgin Mary, in whom He dwelt and found His delight, so may we be worthy through her and in Thy Son to be Thine always and everywhere. Through the same our Lord . . .