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Show MARY, OUR LOVELY MAY QUEEN. Again the season of flowers ha come, and with it thoughts of her whom we love to crown, Mary, Queen of May. We bring her spotless lilies in honor of her purity, and lovely roses to tell her of our love. We illumine her shrine with numerous lights to bespeak the devotion we feel toward her, and to testify the faith we have in the power of her prayers.- ,Let us contemplpate our Blessed Mother fairest of earth's creatures in soul and body. She was the worthiest to give God-made man to the world. Born to beget the King of heaven and earth, she became the Mother of God and Queen of the universe. The whole human race was lifted up in the honor and glory she received. We are her children by virtue of our Lord's having taken our humanity, and as Ave recognize that His perfections perfec-tions are to be imitated in our lives, we must acknowledge ac-knowledge with even still greater reason that her perfections are to be copied by us. Our Lord's divinity di-vinity makes us feel how far He is away from us even in His humanity; but our Blessed Virgin Mother, though full of grace, is very much nearer to us, aye, infinitely nearer, that it 'gives us courage, cour-age, and we strive to imitate her humility, her purity, her obedience, her gentleness and sweetness, and all ihe virtues of her perfect and lovable life. It was grac$ made her all she was, since, as proclaimed pro-claimed by the angel Gabriel, she was full of grace, "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee," and grace will make us tend more and more to perfection perfec-tion if we will only be faithful to it. How beautiful beauti-ful it is to cultivate the beautiful and to seek after higher and noble things. What brightness and real joy experience the pure and good! "Blessed are the cleai of heart," said our Lord in His sermon on the mount. "Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God." Aye, they already see Him by anticipation, for they are united with' Him in lives of purity and holiness. We have our - Blessed Lady's prayers to help us. in being pure and good, for she is Virgin of Virgins, Mother most pii'-c, Mother most chaste, and sinless and immaculate would she have all her hcildren be, and to reach this end will be her loving care through the graces she will obtain for us, especially if we ask thise graces at her hands. With purity, founded in humility, hu-mility, all the other virtues will cluster around and form a fitting frame-work. Let us honor,. then, our spotless May Queen. Let the lily and the rose bespeak be-speak oiir virtues, and that we anVher worthy children. chil-dren. Bishop Colton in Catholic Union and Times. |
