Chapter III: Part 3

Am I prepared to ratify this offering that my Elder Brother made in my name? Have I any right to claim the privileges? Yes, if I am united with Him, identified with Him; if I am saying as He did: "Behold, I come to do Thy Will," and this in the little sacrifices of my everyday life.

(2) The sacrifice made by Mary. _Ecce ancilla._ "Behold the handmaid of the Lord." Mary knows perfectly well what she is doing when she puts her JESUS into the arms of the Priest. She knows that she is offering to GOD the firstfruits--the earnest of what is to come; and she makes her sacrifice whole-heartedly, zealously, lovingly. She said her _Fiat_ at the Incarnation, and she will never take it back. She is His Mother--it is with Blood drawn from her veins that He will one day redeem the world; and she offers to GOD now, not only the Victim Who is to be the Redeemer, but herself as a co-victim--herself to suffer with Him. "Behold the Handmaid of the Lord"--ready to give Him all that He requires. How perfectly Mary identifies herself with JESUS! It is her intense love which enables her to copy so exactly.

(3) The sacrifice made by Joseph. _Ecce adsum._ "Behold, I am here too, ready for any sacrifice." Joseph is so closely connected with JESUS and Mary that he must share their spirit and do what they do. But his sacrifice is made in the dark, as ours are for the most part. He does not know what JESUS and Mary are doing. He cannot gauge the extent of their sacrifices--enough for him to unite his intention with theirs, and to offer with perfect detachment his two treasures to GOD, begging Him to use them as He will. Am I ready to make my sacrifice--even a blind one--ready to say: _Ecce adsum_--"Behold, here I am"--and to trust where I cannot understand?

_Point III._--THE FIRST DOLOUR

The sacrifice was no sooner made than GOD took Mary at her word. Simeon, holding "the Christ of the Lord" in his arms, called Him "the _salvation_ which Thou hast prepared; a light to the revelation of the Gentiles and the glory of Thy people Israel." And while His father and mother were wondering at these things which were spoken concerning Him, Simeon addressed himself to "Mary His Mother," and spoke in no hidden language of the Passion; and the sword pierced her soul, for though she knew it all, it was the first time she had heard it from the lips of another. It was the first of the _Seven Dolours_. She heard that her Child was to be:--

1. "... _for the fall of many_": that is, the _ruin_ of many. What a lifelong sorrow for the heart of Mary to know that for many her Son's Passion would be in vain--that He was to be the "touchstone," with the result that, in many cases, He would be "rejected of men"!

2. "... _for a sign which shall be contradicted_." War was to be waged against Him in all places, and that to the end of time. This was the treatment He, Who had come to be the Saviour and the Light of the World, was to receive.

And then Simeon added: "_Thy own soul a sword shall pierce_." He identified Mary with her Son, and spoke not only of His Passion but of her Compassion. The Queen of Sorrows was now on her throne; there was no longer any doubt about it. GOD had accepted her sacrifice. JESUS was the Victim, and she was His Mother--the Mater Dolorosa.

But Simeon's prophecy was not the last word that Mary was to hear before she left the Temple courts, which she loved so well. GOD, Who in His love had permitted the wound, had provided also some balm to be poured into it. A little act of courtesy was waiting for Mary to do before she was free to ponder over all that had happened in the Temple, and especially over the new revelation which had stabbed her to the quick. Well did old Anna, the Prophetess, know the maiden whose happy childhood had been spent in the Temple! How gladly Mary went up to her and renewed her friendship with her! How proud she was to show her little Son to her! Mary was wondering how much Anna knew; but she did not speak, she revealed nothing. Soon she found out that the holy old woman had been rewarded for her fasting and prayers and vigils, by a special revelation, in consequence of which she "confessed to the Lord and spoke of Him to all that looked for the redemption of Israel." And Mary heard, and balm was poured into that first sword-wound.

Can I, sweet Mother of Sorrows, pour balm into that terrible wound? I cannot bear to think of thee going home, pressing thy Babe against thy aching heart. Let me accompany thee; I will keep close to thee, and I will speak continually of thy Child. Never will I speak against Him--to me, at least, He shall not be a contradiction, but a resurrection from all from which He has come to save me.

_Colloquy_ with Mary, about the _Fourth Joyful Mystery_, and
the _First Dolour_.

_Resolution._ To throw in my lot with JESUS and Mary.

_Spiritual Bouquet._ "Ecce adsum."

Wise Men and Babes

"_Thy heart shall wonder and be enlarged when the strength of
the Gentiles shall come to Thee._" (Isaias lx. 5.)

_1st Prelude._ A picture of the Wise Men.

_2nd Prelude._ Grace to understand that nearness to JESUS and
Mary means the Cross.

_Point I._--THE WISE MEN

Mary had much to meditate about as she turned her steps homewards to Bethlehem. She knew, for the Angels had said so at His birth, that her Son was to be the Saviour for "all the people"; but Simeon in his song of praise had gone further, and said that He was to be for "all peoples," emphasising the fact that He was to be "a light to the revelation of the _Gentiles_." And so the subjects to ponder over were ever increasing, and Mary's heart was ever enlarging. She had now to pray for the great world outside, as well as for GOD'S chosen people. Thus was her heart being prepared to receive the next worshippers at the shrine of the Infant GOD, and it may be that when they arrived--perhaps soon after the first anniversary of her Son's birth--it was no surprise to her that they were _Gentiles_. "Gentiles shall walk in Thy light, and kings in the brightness of Thy rising; they shall come from afar, bringing gold and frankincense and showing forth praise to the Lord." (Isaias lx. 3-6.) All this was fulfilled in the little house at Bethlehem. The Wise Men, firstfruits of the Gentile world, had had faith enough to overcome every obstacle, and during their journey of, perhaps, some months, had had but one idea--namely, to follow the star which GOD had put in the heavens for them, and by its means to find the new King, Who was to be their Saviour. Mary's prayers had no doubt helped them to make light of their many difficulties, and when their star had brought them right to the house which they sought, "they entered in and found the Child with Mary, His Mother." They were quite at home at once; their faith was so strong, that the unexpected surroundings and the poverty did not strike them as incongruous. They had found what they sought, and their joy and satisfaction were complete. As soon as they were in the Real Presence their conversion was an accomplished fact. Mary showed them her Child, "and falling down they adored Him." It was to _Mary_ that they offered their gifts out of gratitude for all that the Holy Child, to Whom they felt that they now belonged, had done for them. It was _Mary_ whom they thanked for her gracious hospitality. It was _Mary_ who guided the little Hand to bless them ere they took their departure. It was to _Mary_ that they explained that from henceforth their lives would be devoted to the service of the new King and the spreading of His kingdom among the Gentiles. It was _Mary_, the Mother of the Way, who bade them Godspeed on their journey. How interested she was in those first great converts from the Gentiles! How their visit widened her outlook, and enlarged her maternal heart!

She is not less interested now in converts than she was then. She has been praying for them ever since. "Mary's prayers shall bring them back." Let us remember this when we are dealing with them; we are not working alone. Mary, the great advocate, is pleading with Her Son. Let us bring them, as often as we can, into the Real Presence--they may be all unconscious, but _He_ is not. He will act upon them. Virtue will go out of Him to them: they will not go empty away, for it is impossible for them to be under the direct rays of His Presence without being influenced.

_Point II._--THE BABY MARTYRS

Their visit over, the three Kings took leave of the Holy Child and His Mother, and, warned by GOD not to go and give their good news to Herod, they returned to their country by another way. This so exasperated Herod that he gave an order which plunged not only Bethlehem but all the neighbourhood into the most profound grief and desolation. How the heart of Mary went out in sympathy to the bereaved mothers! How big her heart felt as it dilated to take them all in! She understood now what it meant to be the Mother of Sorrows, and that only by having this title could she have the other--_Consolatrix afflictorum_ (Consoler of the afflicted). How quickly Simeon's prophecy was being fulfilled! Her Son was already a sign being contradicted, in those Hebrew mothers and their innocent babes. Each mother was sacrificing her babe that Mary might not have to sacrifice hers. Each babe was giving its life to save the life of JESUS. Their sufferings were all because of JESUS and Mary. How the sword pierced Mary's heart as she heard the bitter cries of mothers and children! "Poor banished children of Eve," born to sorrow and trouble! But from henceforth their cause will be espoused by a "most gracious Advocate," who will take a special interest in all troubles and sufferings that come to her children on account of the sacrifices that they make for her Son, or which are caused by their nearness to Him. At that moment of anguish the Jewish mothers _were_ making a sacrifice, though it was an unwilling one and made in ignorance. GOD, in His mercy, rewards even such. Had their children lived, they might have been among the murderers of JESUS; now they are saved from all sin, they escape Purgatory, and, the first to give their lives for Him, they will follow the Lamb for ever. Happy little Innocents! Happy those who have the honour to be their mothers! Happy all those who make the least sacrifice for Him! And happy, thrice happy, the Queen of Martyrs, who is now entering into the possession of her new kingdom!

The more closely I am identified with JESUS and Mary, the more I must expect suffering. The training for the kingdom is the same, whether for Wise Men or Babes. The Wise Men learnt from the child on Mary's knee to view suffering in a new light, and they went back to their country prepared to sacrifice all for the Child and His Mother, shrinking from nothing till they laid down their lives for Him Whose star they had so diligently followed. So Simeon's sword is piercing; the Cross is already showing that the followers of the Babe are to be victims too--all is getting clearer and clearer to Mary, and as she wonders her heart is enlarged.

_Colloquy_ with Mary.

_Resolution._ To follow the generosity of the Wise Men and
the Babes.

_Spiritual Bouquet._ "Mater Dolorosa, Consolatrix
afflictorum, Regina Martyrum, ora pro nobis."

Egypt

"_That it might be fulfilled which the Lord spake by the
prophet, saying: Out of Egypt have I called My Son._" (St
Matt. ii. 15.)

_1st Prelude._ Picture of JESUS, Mary, and Joseph.

_2nd Prelude._ Grace to believe that no circumstances in
which GOD has placed me can hinder my spiritual life.

_Point I._--THE FLIGHT INTO EGYPT

Only one child escaped the cruel sword of Herod, and that one was Mary's Son. He was safe in the arms of His Mother, who was fleeing with Him into Egypt, with an anguish of heart so great that it constituted the _Second Dolour_. But no design of Herod, however powerful and clever, could touch that life before His hour was come. The child knew it, and His Mother knew it--yet they fled from those who sought His life; for in all things Mary's Son must be made like unto His brethren. He could have protected Himself, had He so wished, without giving so much trouble and anxiety to His parents. He heard "Rachel bewailing her children"; He heard the cry of each one of those little Innocents, who was giving his life for Him--yet He did not raise a finger to prevent all the misery, because He had come to do His Father's Will, and He left all in His Hands; and also because He is our model, and He was showing us how to act. He wants us to have a perfect acquiescence in GOD'S Will, a boundless confidence, a profound peace, and even _joy_, in the midst of the most trying and perplexing circumstances. He wants us to lie quiet in GOD'S arms, as He lay in His Mother's, content to know nothing except that GOD'S will is being done.

He who knew least about it all, and yet had apparently to take the chief part and bear all the anxiety, was Joseph. He it was who received the warning message from the Angel; he it was who had to break the news to Mary that the Child's life was in danger and that they must fly immediately--even in the middle of the night. He it was who took the Child and His Mother into Egypt, in accordance with what to anyone else but Joseph would have seemed a very arbitrary and unreasonable command. But those who live their lives close to JESUS and Mary do not criticise GOD'S dealings: such an idea never occurs to them; they have only one thing to do--to obey. When a criticising, discontented spirit comes over me, I shall find that the reason is always the same--I have not been keeping close to JESUS and Mary.

How much Mary suffers during that long journey across the desert--anxiety, fatigue, hunger, thirst, want of shelter! But it is all on account of her Son; the sword is piercing her heart every day, but the Babe is pressed against the wounds. Angels are following and longing to help their Queen, but they cannot without a permission from their little Master, and the permission will not be given, for He and His Mother have made their sacrifice--they have laid themselves on the Altar as victims and are already being consumed; and the desert is rejoicing and flourishing like the lily, (Isaias xxxv. 1), because Mary with her child is passing through it. O Mary, look upon thy children who are crossing the desert of this world. The wilderness has lost all its terrors since thou with thy Son didst pass through it. Thou knowest its difficulties and its hardships; "turn, then, thine eyes of mercy towards us, and after this our exile show unto us the blessed Fruit of thy womb, JESUS."

_Point II._--THE LAND OF EGYPT

Mary now finds herself in a heathen land, and her interest in the Gentiles must have greatly increased. But her heart is also enlarged in another direction--namely, towards the Jews of the Dispersion. Legend tells us that it was at Heliopolis, one of the cities where the Egyptian Jews lived and where they had built a Temple, that the Holy Family took up their abode while they stayed in Egypt. What a blessing and a joy to those faithful souls to have the Holy Family living amongst them! How it must have stirred up their zeal and courage! It may have been Mary's influence on many a mother's heart, and the influence of JESUS on many a little playmate, which produced in after years some of the great preachers to the Gentiles who came from amongst the Jews of the Dispersion.

It was not for nothing that Mary and her Son were sent into Egypt. GOD has His reasons, though He does not often reveal them, because He loves to have our confidence.

Now, for a time--_perhaps_ only for a few months, for Herod died soon after the slaughter of the Innocents--Egypt was the centre of the world; nobody guessed it, but the Angels were there worshipping, adoring, wondering. It is a true picture of the Blessed Sacrament, hidden away in so many Tabernacles, surrounded by people who do not suspect Its presence. It is nothing to thousands who pass by. But what is It to those who know? What was JESUS to Mary in the land of her exile? He was her all--_with Him_ exile was no exile; _with Him_ GOD'S Will was easy, GOD'S arrangements the best; _with Him_ it was impossible to complain, impossible to have any regrets about the past, or impatient wonderings about the future. She was absorbed in the present, because she had JESUS with her. He had to be taken care of, fed, taught, thought about, worked for, lived for. What a lesson for those who are inclined to look upon their surroundings as _Egypt_, who say too readily: "How shall we sing the song of the Lord in a strange land?" (Ps. cxxxvi. 4.) How can I do this or that _here_?

It was in Egypt that the Child grew, and it was there that Mary heard His first words, watched His first tottering steps, and taught Him His first (vocal) prayers. And while her Child grew in wisdom and age, Mary was growing too--growing in grace and virtue; imbibing more and more of the spirit of her Son from the services she rendered to Him; making great progress in her new school, the school of the Cross; getting daily more food for meditation and prayer; enlarging her heart and preparing herself to be a second Eve--the Mother of all living.

It _is_ possible, then, to grow in Egypt! And not only is it _possible_, but if GOD sends me there, it is the soil most suitable for my growth at that particular epoch of my life. How many of GOD'S children have had to live in uncongenial surroundings, and with those who have no sympathy with their faith, from the earliest confessors and martyrs to the present-day converts to the Faith! If JESUS had spent all His lifetime in the Holy Land, such might have been tempted to say: "He is my Model, but He was never in my circumstances!" But no, JESUS spent some time with His Mother in Egypt, and He _grew_ there.

Let me learn the lesson that GOD is with me wherever I am and in whatever circumstances; and let me try to copy Mary in being so absorbed by Him, and by all that I have to do for Him, in the person of His "least brethren," that my surroundings matter little.

_Point III._--THE RETURN FROM EGYPT

"Be thou there until I shall tell thee," was the only order given to Joseph--there was no hint of how long the time would be; and so Mary said her _Fiat_ each day, ready either to stay in Egypt or to go back to her own land--both were the same to her as long as they were the expression of GOD'S Will. At last the Angel came again with a message: "Arise and take the Child and His Mother, and go into the land of Israel; for they are dead that sought the life of the Child." Their own dear land, then, was no longer dangerous to them. GOD gave His reasons this time--but when He does not, what then? Then my faith must be strong enough to believe that the fair land, which looks as if it would be so congenial, holds dangers for me which Egypt does not; there are enemies there who seek after my soul to destroy it, and whom I can only escape by the hard discipline of Egypt. Then I will be thankful for Egypt as long as it lasts, and thankful, too, that my life--every detail of it--is arranged for me by one who _knows_.

And so the faces of Mary and JESUS were set towards the land of Israel--and to them both it meant Calvary. Mary would doubtless have preferred to take her Son back to Bethlehem, and bring Him up near the Temple, but again the warning voice told them that it was not GOD'S will. And so they "retired into the quarters of Galilee," and Mary found herself back again in Nazareth--the city of so many memories; and two more of the prophecies concerning her Son have been fulfilled: "Out of Egypt have I called my Son," and, "He shall be called a Nazarene."

_Colloquy._ O Mary, get thy child grace to learn some of the
precious lessons that Egypt has to teach--that blind
obedience and submission which bring perfect rest; that
waiting for GOD'S orders without any complaining, or
impatience, or suggestions of something else; that quiet
uniting of all sufferings with those of JESUS; that entire
acquiescence in all His plans for me.

_Resolution._ To put no obstacle in the way of GOD'S
direction of me to-day.

_Spiritual Bouquet._ "Fly into Egypt, and be there until I
shall tell thee."

Mary's Fifth Word

"_And His Mother said to Him: Son, why hast Thou done so to
us? Behold, Thy father and I have sought Thee sorrowing._"
(St Luke ii. 48.)

_1st Prelude._ A picture of Mary and Joseph finding JESUS in
the Temple.

_2nd Prelude._ Grace to seek JESUS as Our Lady sought Him.

_Point I._--THE LOSS OF HER SON

Once more the Holy Family has come up to the Temple; and it is here that Mary speaks her next recorded word. Her Son was not yet born when she spoke her last. Since then He has been her constant companion through infancy and boyhood, in trouble and in joy, at Bethlehem, in Egypt, and at Nazareth. He is twelve years old now, and counts under the law as a man; it is time to decide His calling in life. He is old enough to go with His parents to the Passover Feast at Jerusalem. So once again the real Passover Lamb goes up to His Temple; and we can think of Mary and Joseph praying there to the Child Who is kneeling between them, Mary pondering over her last visit to the Temple with Him, when she presented Him to the Lord as a little baby and when the sword pierced her soul for the first time.

When it was all over, the Child JESUS "remained in Jerusalem," without saying anything to His parents! It was only when they halted for the night that Mary and Joseph would find out their loss, for the men and women left the Temple by different gates, and the children might go with either group. Mary had lost her Child! It was the third of the _Seven Dolours_, and it has been revealed to the Saints that her spiritual desolation was greater than that ever experienced by any of GOD'S children. Not only was she suffering intense desolation, but her grief was enhanced by the fear that He had left her because she had done something of which He did not approve. She also had to bear the sight of her dearly loved spouse "sorrowing," perhaps blaming himself for his want of care, and in any case not so well able as she to bear the anxiety and grief. Mary shows us how to act in our times of desolation. Diligently she searched for Him during those three days, "in the company among their kinsfolks and acquaintance," and in all the places where He had been. Then they retraced their steps to Jerusalem. No time was lost, no pains were spared; they sought Him sorrowing for His loss, and for any fault that might be theirs. How JESUS loves to be sought thus! It is one of His reasons for hiding Himself, to force us back to the company where we enjoyed His presence, to the places where we had Him with us, and to everything that reminds us of what He said to us and what we said to Him. He is not far from the souls that thus seek Him.

_Point II._--THEY FOUND HIM IN THE TEMPLE

It was the most natural place to find Him. Do I in my times of desolation turn instinctively to His House, where I know that He is hidden? Do I feel that I must spend all the time I possibly can close to the Tabernacle, that my body, at any rate, may be near to Him, while my spirit is calling out in its distress: "Oh, that I knew where I might find Him!"

Who can measure what must have been Mary's joy and relief when she saw her Son sitting in the midst of the doctors, listening to their teaching! She "wondered"; she was perplexed; and then it was that she uttered her fifth word. It was a word of reproach rather than of joy, though it was joy that caused it, and the reproach was full of tenderness. St Bernardine calls this word, _flamma amoris saporantis_, "a flame of savouring or relishing love," because, he says, it belongs to love to "distinguish and discern, and, as it were, taste the divine effects and qualities of that which is loved." It was her love which made Mary _savour_ the intense pain caused by the absence of her Son and by the anxiety of her spouse. The flame of love within her enabled her to _relish_ both the love and the pain. Mary does not try to conceal her pain--that is not the outcome of true love. She says straight out what she is feeling, with that holy familiarity to which her love gives her a right: "Son, why hast Thou done so to us? Behold, Thy father and I have sought Thee sorrowing." Why? None knew better than He what the agony of those three days had been to His Mother, and He could have prevented it. Why, then, has He done so? Because He was beginning the principle which He carried out all through. He was the "Man of Sorrows," and she was the "Mother of Sorrows," and He would not spare her one drop in the cup of suffering. He knew its value too well, and His love for her was too great.

When we have to undergo suffering that seems so unnecessary and that could (perhaps we think) with a little forethought have been so easily avoided, instead of allowing ourselves to give way to discontent, and regrets, and even rebellion, how much better it would be to say: Yes, it is quite true, JESUS could have prevented this, but He is treating me in some degree as He treated His Blessed Mother, not saving me the pain and trouble and inconvenience, but letting me have the opportunity of sanctifying my soul and of gaining greater merit. "Why hast Thou done so?" And He answers: "Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business?" By His answer He prepares His Mother for the future; He raises her above the human in Him to the Divine; He announces Himself, though obscurely, to the Doctors as the Messias; He teaches the great lesson of detachment, and shows that even our best natural affections must be supernaturalised. "My Father's business"--that must ever come first. "For this came I into the world," (St John xviii. 37), and I _must_ be about it, even if by so doing I give pain to those dearest to me.

They were her Son's first recorded words, and Mary "understood" them not; they were words full of mystery and full of meaning; her mingled feelings of pain and relief, of sorrow and joy, would prevent her from seeing the gist of their meaning at once; but as time went on, and her spiritual horizon increased, she would understand more and more what His "Father's business" was, though perhaps not till she stood at the Foot of the Cross did she understand the words in all their fulness.

"_Why hast Thou done so?_" It is a question Mary often puts to her other children--sometimes in surprise and amazement, sometimes in anxiety and sorrow, sometimes in love and tenderness. Well for us if we can always answer, like our Elder Brother: The "Father's business." This is an answer which will always satisfy the flame of love within her which prompts the question.

_Colloquy_ with Mary, asking for grace that I may be so taken
up with my "Father's business" that I cause her no anxiety.

_Resolution._ To put my "Father's business" first, to-day.

_Spiritual Bouquet._ "Why hast Thou done so to us?"

Nazareth

"_And He went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was
subject to them. And His Mother kept all these words in her
heart. And JESUS advanced in wisdom and age, and grace with
GOD and men._" (St Luke ii. 52.)

_1st Prelude._ JESUS, Mary, and Joseph going back to
Nazareth.

_2nd Prelude._ Grace to go there too, and to study its
lessons.

_Point I._--MARY WITH JESUS AND JOSEPH

The lesson has been given now; JESUS has shown His parents that He is the Son of GOD before He is the Son of Mary; that GOD'S will, and GOD'S business, and GOD'S work, are the reasons for His being on earth. Now, because He is perfect man, He will live for eighteen years in subjection to His parents, to show us that subjection is one of GOD'S laws; that the Father's business can only be done by a perfect submission to His will and to His orders, expressed and given by those under whom His providence places us. All the direction needed for the spiritual life is contained in these two sentences: "_I must be about My Father's business_," and "_He was subject to them_." The Father's business is to be done in His way--not in mine; it will only be done by a perfect submission of my will to His, by subjection all along the line, by the crushing of self.

His Mother kept all these words in her heart. As she went home she was pondering and meditating again. She had no need to make a "_Composition of Place_," as she had to do a few hours ago, for her Boy was at her side once again; it was upon His words that she was meditating. They had made her realise that He was a man now, that He would have "business" to do that she must no longer expect wholly to understand. No doubt she prepared herself in her meditation to be ready from henceforth to find that His sweet, childish, obedience was over. Just as we, in our meditations, make the sacrifice beforehand about something that we dread, and then when we come up to it during the day, it is not there! But GOD is pleased, nevertheless, that we made our sacrifice. One of the many uses of meditation is that we may be fore-armed for the day's battles. So it was with Mary. When she got back to Nazareth, it is true that there was a change; it is true that the boyhood of her Son was fast passing into manhood; but His subjection was the same--only it was far more touching to His Mother's heart just because He was no longer a child.

And what was Mary's part? If JESUS was "subject," Mary had to command; if JESUS obeyed, it was because Mary gave her orders--and this till He was thirty years old! What an absolute repression of self and of her own ideas there must have been in Mary before she could bring herself to give an order to Him Whom she was worshipping as her GOD! With what reverence, and honour, and humility, and searchings of heart, and preparation, and care she would give her orders! Only the knowledge that it was His wish that she should stand in GOD'S place to Him, could have given her courage. Her authority over Him was GOD'S authority, and it was only by constantly referring it to GOD that she dared to maintain it.

What a lesson Mary gives here to parents and superiors and to all whose duty it is to command others! Whether they have to command the unruly and the unsubmissive, or those whom they know to be in every way superior to themselves, a few thoughts suggested by the contemplation of Mary commanding her Son at Nazareth may help to make easier a position which must often be irksome and difficult:--

1. GOD has put me into this position because He intends me to
be His delegate.

2. My orders are all given in His Name, and all my authority
refers back to Him.

3. My only sure weapons are--_humility_, that is, a real
belief in my own weakness; and _self-effacement_, to the
extent of letting those who are under me see, not me, but
GOD, in my orders.

4. I must see JESUS in all whom I command. If they are
thankless and unruly, they are nevertheless amongst His
"least brethren," and He wants them trained to live with
their Elder Brother in His Father's house. If they are
already so like Him in their docility and humility that the
very sight of them makes me adore GOD in them, I will
remember that Mary gave her orders to JESUS because GOD
wished it; and that thought will give me courage to be His
faithful representative and to give those under my care every
possible opportunity of advancing in wisdom and grace by the
submission of their will.

5. I must be firmly persuaded that GOD never puts anyone into
a position without giving the grace to fill it. Mary needed
far more grace to command JESUS than ever I shall need!

_Point II._--MARY A WIDOW

Neither sacred nor profane history gives the exact date of that sad day in Mary's life when death deprived her of her beloved spouse. Joseph had shared all Mary's sacred joys and sorrows from her school-days. He it was who had trained her Son in His work as a carpenter; and to him alone could she speak freely of Him. What a wonderfully happy and blessed death must have been St Joseph's--the last people he saw, JESUS and Mary; his last messages given to JESUS and Mary; all he had to leave, left to JESUS and Mary; the last words he heard, those of JESUS and Mary! He is the _Patron of a good death_: that is, he will help those who invoke him, to die with JESUS and Mary.

And now from henceforth Mary will have no one to talk to about her Son, no one to share her joy in all these new lessons which she is ever learning from Him. But, on the other hand, from henceforth her Son will be her _all_. He, who later raised the dead man because "he was the only son of his mother and she was a widow," knew how to wipe away the tears from His Mother's eyes. He knew how to be to her more than a husband. From henceforth the Son and the Mother were all in all to each other--He her sole support, and she keeping the little home for Him alone. They were alone for their meals, and alone in the evenings when the day's work was done. It may have been during those blessed evenings that JESUS explained to Mary what His "Father's business" was, so that she might understand all about it; that He unfolded to her the wonderful plan of Redemption; that He told her about His public life, about the Church that He was going to found, and which she was to nurse during its infancy. Perhaps He told her, too, of the extension of the Incarnation--His great secret, the Blessed Sacrament. Who had a greater right to know it than Mary, through whose means the Incarnation took place? And as the time of the Hidden Life drew to a close, He would explain to her that His "Father's business" was calling Him away from Nazareth, that He would have to give up His home and His life with her, but that they would still work together for the Redemption of the world, their interests would still be one. Oh, blessed converse! The secrets of JESUS and Mary! More than ever was her heart being enlarged; more than ever would she have need to ponder these things in her heart. With the undivided attention of such a Master, what progress she must have made in virtue and in grace!

_Point III._--MARY ALONE

But the day came at last when her Son was to leave their little home. Mary knew that it would come; again she had made her sacrifice beforehand, and she was ready. She was saying her _Fiat_ while Simeon's ever-active sword was piercing her heart. There was the last meal, the last kiss, the last blessing--and He was gone. She watched Him till He was out of sight and then turned to her empty house. It would never be the same again. Never again would she have Him all to herself. But Mary was a "valiant woman," and no grief of hers would spoil her Son's work. Three thoughts supported her in her trial; and the same three will support us in our trials too.

1. This separation was GOD'S will--and that was always dearer
to Mary than _anything_ else.

2. The very sacrifice of her Son that she was called upon to
make, was a proof of her union with Him and with His
interests.

3. The knowledge that the separation was no real separation.

It is true that never again will He come in from His work and share the simple meal with her; true that there will be no more talking over their plans together; but such a perfect union as theirs cannot be broken by separation. Does not everything in the house speak of Him? Mary has had her time of _consolation_; now she is to have her time of _desolation_. Let me learn from her how to act under these changed conditions, which are sure to be mine at some time or other in my life. How does Mary act? Does she sit still and mourn over the days that are gone? Not at all. She acts as though they were _not_ gone; as though there were no difference between consolation and desolation; there _is_ no difference really, but faith and love must be very strong before this fact can be grasped. Mary does her work as usual with her Son and for her Son. Her heart is with Him all the time; everything reminds her of Him, and she is thinking of Him, talking to Him, telling Him everything just as she did before. How far am I like her?

"Sedes sapientiae, ora pro nobis."

_Colloquy_ with Mary, asking her to get me grace to ponder
over these wonderful mysteries.

_Resolution._ Never to allow myself to make any change in my
spiritual life during a time of desolation.

_Spiritual Bouquet._ "He was subject to them."

Mary's Sixth Word

"_The Mother of JESUS saith to Him: They have no wine._" (St
John ii. 3.)

_1st Prelude._ The Marriage Feast.

_2nd Prelude._ Grace to remember the interest that Mary takes
in her children.

_Point I._--"THEY HAVE NO WINE"

It looks, from the context, as though Our Blessed Lady were staying in the house at Cana where the wedding feast took place, for while St John tells us that JESUS and His disciples were _invited_, he says that "the Mother of JESUS was _there_." We need not suppose that she remained long at Nazareth after her Son began His public ministry--it is more probable that she stayed with friends in the neighbourhood of His work. After this first miracle of her Son's, she went with Him and His disciples to Capharnaum, but "remained there not many days," St John tells us. (chap. ii. 12.) At all events, she was at Cana at the time of the marriage feast, and it may be that it was in St John's house that she was staying; for there is a very old tradition which tells that the bridegroom was none other than John himself. If the tradition be true, it lends an additional significance to this sixth word of Our Lady; for, as St Bernardine suggests, it would probably be the miracle produced by this word which made him decide to give up the wedded state, even before he had entered upon it, for one of perpetual virginity--a decision which endeared him to the hearts of Our Lord and His Blessed Mother.

Eighteen years had passed since Mary's last recorded word. It was spoken to Our Lord Himself, as also was this one. St Bernardine calls the sixth word "a word of compassionating love" (_flamma amoris compatientis_). We shall see why as we continue our meditation.

It is not difficult to picture that little family feast in which JESUS and Mary took part. Their presence produced, as it ever must, joy, peace, and harmony. But now, apparently, there was going to be a hitch in the proceedings; Mary's watchful eyes noticed that the wine was running short; she wanted to save the newly married pair from any confusion and humiliation that would spoil their mirth on this glad day, and she showed her _compassionating_ love by anticipating their need.

Mary is the same now; she is full of compassionating love, pity, and thought for her children; she anticipates their needs and will save them, if possible, from the dangers which threaten them, by telling JESUS. What a comfort it should be to me to remember that I have a Mother in Heaven who is looking out for the difficulties and dangers which threaten me, and doing her best to avert them! How far am I like my Mother in this? Do I, by my tact and forethought and observation, try to smooth away difficulties and avert little unpleasantnesses that I see lying in the path of another? To what extent is this _flamma amoris compatientis_ burning in me? Do others feel that if I am there, not only will there be more joy and mirth, but also more harmony and good feeling--in short, that things are sure to run smoothly, because one of Mary's children--"a child of Mary"--is there. The Mother of JESUS was there.

_Point II._--THE ANSWER OF JESUS

JESUS, too, had noticed that the wine was running short, and He knew that He was going to work a wonderful miracle of transubstantiation, foreshadowing the miracle worked at every Mass. He knew also that He would not work the miracle till His Mother had intervened. At Nazareth He made her a participator in all His work. Though separated from Him, she was still to have her share; and her share was _prayer_--the great work of intercession. By this means, doubtless, she had had her share in her Son's Baptism, in the Fasting and Temptation in the wilderness, in the calling of the first six Apostles. Now, in this first miracle, He will give a lesson to these Apostles and show them the position His Mother is to occupy in His Church. She understands that He addresses her as "Woman" rather than as Mother, to show them that He, and they too, must be detached from all natural affections and ties. He has His Father's business to do, and they have been chosen to help Him in it, and she is acting in her _official_ position as Intercessor. My hour for working this miracle is not yet come, but now that you have spoken it soon will come, seems to be the meaning of His answer. It was by this miracle that JESUS manifested forth His glory, "so that His disciples believed on Him."

And one of Mary's reasons for saying: "They have no wine," and thus asking for the miracle, may have been that she knew it would confirm the faith of the new Apostles in her Son.

What a loving, compassionating Mother she already is! How her heart is enlarging to take in all that concerns her Son--His work, His interests, His miracles, His Apostles! She notices the needs, and just hints them to JESUS; there is no need to explain and go into details; they understand each other--it is heart-to-heart work. If the flame of compassionating love is burning in her heart, it is because it has been lighted at the fire of the Sacred Heart.

In after years, especially during the Passion and after the Ascension, when the Apostles must so often have turned to Our Lady for consolation, help, and direction, how they would look back to the time of the feast in Cana of Galilee, when they heard her say her first _official_ word: "They have no wine"! And how the remembrance of it would strengthen their faith, not only in Him, in Whom from that moment they "believed," but also in her whom He had then so clearly pointed out as His co-worker, and as the one from whom they might expect help in their needs.

If Mary did so much for her children when she was on earth, without even being asked; and if she supplied needs, of which they were scarcely conscious, what will she not do now, when, as the great Intercessor at her Son's right hand in Heaven, she hears the entreaties of her children on earth? She still co-operates with JESUS; her work is still to find out the needs of her children and to tell Him of them. When I am in need, perplexity, or trouble, what a consolation and strength it would be to remember that this very need of mine is a subject of conversation between JESUS and Mary; and that, when His hour is come, her pleadings for me will be heard, and the need will be supplied!

_Colloquy_ with the Mother of Compassion. "Mater
misericordiae, ora pro nobis."

_Resolution._ To try to-day to prevent little
unpleasantnesses happening to others.

_Spiritual Bouquet._ "The Mother of JESUS was there."

Her Seventh Word

_His Mother saith to the waiters: "Whatsoever He shall say to
you, do ye."_ (St John ii. 5.)

_1st Prelude._ The Marriage Feast. Mary speaking to the
waiters.

_2nd Prelude._ Grace to obey.

_Point I._--LOVE'S CONSUMMATION--OBEDIENCE

The perfect understanding that existed between Mary and her Son made her quite sure from His answer that all would be well, that a miracle would be worked, and the need supplied; and so she prepared the way for it by speaking her seventh recorded word. It is to the waiters that she speaks--to those whose work it is to minister to the needs of JESUS and His brethren. "Whatsoever He shall say to you, do ye." St Bernardine calls this word "a flame of consummating love," (_flamma amoris consummantis_), because Mary shows by it that her love for her Son and for all her other children is so great, that she desires that all should obey Him, and accomplish His commandments perfectly. She is not content with loving and serving Him herself, the flame of love that makes her own obedience so perfect, burns that others too may consummate their love by their obedience: "Whatsoever He shall say to you, do ye." If you want my Son to show you some special favour, be very careful about your obedience.

Mary's word is for _all_ her children, but it is intended principally for the waiters, to whom it was primarily addressed. It is those who have, in any way, to minister to JESUS under the guise of His "least brethren," who have to remember so specially that they are to do only what _He_ says--that they are only His agents waiting for His orders. How much better His servants would do their work if they carried out His Mother's direction, and did all that He says and only what He says! His "least brethren," who are sick, would never feel neglected, would never hear that impatient word which makes them long to get up, and wait on themselves, instead of being left to the tender mercies of the servants of JESUS and Mary! His "least brethren" who are tiresome and difficult to get on with--perhaps only because they are lonely and in need of sympathy--would be quite sure of never getting an unkind, cutting, or thoughtless word from those who are waiting on JESUS and Mary; it is what _He_ saith that they will say and do--nothing else.

And amongst the waiters themselves there would be no jealousies, and heart-burnings, and envyings, and criticisms; no thinking that others are preferred to them, that they are left out and taken no notice of, that their services are not wanted. The waiters would remember that they are waiting upon _His_ Brethren, and that they have no right to do or say or plan anything that He does not tell them; and if He tells them nothing for the moment, and they have to stand by, and see others do His work, they are nevertheless His servants, waiting for His next orders.

"Whatsoever He shall say, do." Obedience, then, is love's consummation. Mary's love--strong flame though it is--cannot get beyond obedience; there is nothing higher; it is the proof, the crown, the consummation of love. When, for the moment, her request seems unheeded--even rejected--her consolation is: "Whatsoever He shall say" will be right; whatever it is, it will be the answer for me. "_Ecce ancilla Domini._" Behold the servant waiting.

_Point II._--RESULT--WATER CHANGED TO WINE

The waiters have not long to wait for their orders. When His Mother has prepared us and we are standing waiting ready to do "whatsoever" He shall say, the order is quite clear. We know exactly what He means, and what it is that He wants done; and though the order may seem unreasonable, and we run the risk of humiliating ourselves before others, yet we shall do it, for His Mother said: "Whatsoever." And by doing it we shall prove that our love, like hers, is a consummating love--a love that finds its consummation in obedience. This kind of love is like a fairy's wand; it changes all that it touches, water is wine everywhere--that is, we get the best out of everything; not perhaps immediately, or at any rate we are not so quick to _detect_ the "good wine" as the steward of the feast was; the path of obedience is often, as it was for Mary, a path beset with difficulty and sorrow; but love has touched it, the result is the same, the water _is_ changed, and changed into "_good_ wine." It would not be good for us to drink of it to the full now. GOD reserves the good wine till the end, and when we have well drunk of the cup of suffering and sorrow here, He will hand us the cup of joy that inebriates. Here we may only "_taste_ and see that the Lord is sweet"; (Ps. xxxiii. 9); but one day, when the _flamma amoris consummantis_ is perfected in us, when we have done all that He saith to us, and paid our debts even to "the last farthing," (St Matt. v. 26), then we shall drink to the full of the joy of His countenance, (Ps. xv. 11), and He will say: "I have inebriated the weary soul, and I have _filled_ every hungry soul." (Jer. xxxi. 25.)

_Colloquy_ with Our Lady, asking that I may always hear her
voice telling me to obey her Son.

_Resolution._ To remember that obedience turns water into
wine.

_Spiritual Bouquet._ "Whatsoever He shall say to you, do ye."

Who is my Mother?

"_My mother and my brethren are they who hear the word of GOD
and do it._" (St Luke viii. 21.)

_1st Prelude._ Our Lady standing waiting on the outskirts of
the crowd.

_2nd Prelude._ Grace to "hear the word of GOD and do it."

_Point I._--HIS MOTHER STANDING WITHOUT