Virgo Potens

Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary ~ August 22nd 151. Hypocrisy is a vice by which we affect to demonstrate externally a virtue and a sanctity which we do not possess; and he is really a hypocrite who, being full of wickedness within, pretends in his outward appearance to be good. ~ Fr. Cajetan Mary da Bergamo (1660-1753), Humility of Heart. Tr. Herbert Cardinal Vaughan (1903).

ASPIRATION Placez dans mon cœur ô Marie quelque unes des fleurs qui ornent le votre. Place in my heart, O Mary, some of the flowers that adorn thine.

Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary ~ August 22nd TWELVE METHODS OF PRACTISING THIS DEVOTION (continued) 10. Pay some special honor daily to the royal Heart of the sovereign Lady of the universe. This may be done through an act of devotion or a prayer offered for that intention, in imitation of Blessed Herman of the Order of St. Dominic, who each day used to recite an Ave Maria in greeting to the most amiable Heart of Mary. Even though, following the example of this holy religious, you were to say only one Ave Maria each day in honour of the admirable Heart of the Mother of God, you would be doing something highly pleasing to her and most advantageous to your own soul, since the great Suarez, that wonder of learning and piety, said that he would rather lose all his knowledge than lose the merits of a single Ave Maria. ~ Saint John Eudes, The Admirable Heart of the Most Holy Mother of God (1680)

Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary ~ August 21st [150]. continued] It can be a mortal sin when we boast of some sin which we have committed; when we praise ourselves, despising others; or else when we praise and exalt ourselves through an excess of pride which abounds in the heart. The Angelical Doctor notes that this is an ordinary and not an infrequent case, and that the habit is easily formed. [2a 2æ, qu. lxii, art. 1. See also 2a 2æ, qu. cx, art. 2; qu. cxii, art. 1; et qu. cxxxii, art. 5 ad 1; et qu. clxii, art. 4 ad 2] ~ Fr. Cajetan Mary da Bergamo (1660-1753), Humility of Heart. Tr. Herbert Cardinal Vaughan (1903).

2 of 2 Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary ~ August 21st To this end strive earnestly, at least at the beginning of your principal activities, to renounce yourself entirely and to give yourself to Jesus so that you may become united with His divine Heart, which is one and the same with the Heart of His Holy Mother; thus may you enter into its love, charity, humility and holiness, so that you may do all things in the holy dispositions which have always filled it. ~ Saint John Eudes, The Admirable Heart of the Most Holy Mother of God (1680)

Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary ~ August 21st TWELVE METHODS OF PRACTISING THIS DEVOTION (continued) 9. Our Saviour has given us His divine Heart, together with the holy Heart of His Blessed Mother, not only to be our rule, but also to be our very Heart, so that as members of Jesus and children of Mary we may share but one heart with our adorable Head and our incomparable Mother. This privilege should help us to perform all our actions with the Heart of Jesus and Mary, that is, in union with the holy intentions and dispositions that motivated Jesus and Mary in all their actions. (continued)

Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary ~ August 20th 150. Boastfulness is a vice by which man, desiring to be supremely honoured above all others, begins to praise and exalt himself, exaggerating and amplifying things so as to make his own merit appear greater than it is. It is also called ostentation, self-praise or forwardness; and St. Augustine calls it “The worst of all pests”; [Lib. 1 De Ord. cap. xi] and St. Ambrose calls it a net spread by the devil to catch the strongest and most spiritual: “The devil lays snares such as entrap the strongest”; [Lib. in Luc.] and this is a vice which is beyond measure, because in vaunting ourselves for that which we have not, we lie to our own conscience and to God; and as God said of Moab by the prophet: “He is exceeding proud; I know his boasting, and that the strength thereof is not according to it.” [Jer. xlviii, 29, 30] ~ Fr. Cajetan Mary da Bergamo (1660-1753), Humility of Heart. Tr. Herbert Cardinal Vaughan (1903).

Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary ~ August 20th TWELVE METHODS OF PRACTISING THIS DEVOTION (continued) 8. Remember what has been said above: that Our Saviour has given us His own divine Heart, along with the most holy Heart of His Blessed Mother, to be the model and rule of our lives. Make a careful study of this divine rule, therefore, in order to follow and keep it faithfully. ~ Saint John Eudes, The Admirable Heart of the Most Holy Mother of God (1680)

Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary ~ August 20th TWELVE METHODS OF PRACTISING THIS DEVOTION (continued) 8. Remember what has been said above: that Our Saviour has given us His own divine Heart, along with the most holy Heart of His Blessed Mother, to be the model and rule of our lives. Make a careful study of this divine rule, therefore, in order to follow and keep it faithfully. ~ Saint John Eudes, The Admirable Heart of the Most Holy Mother of God (1680)

Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary ~ August 19th He who suffers from vainglory is in danger of losing his faith also, according to the saying of Christ: “How can you believe who receive glory one from another?” [John v, 44] St. Augustine reflecting upon this, and how little this great evil is known, affirms that none is wiser than he who knows that this love of praise is a vice: “He sees best who sees that love of praise is a vice.” [Lib. 5, De Civ. Dei., cap xiii. See also St. Thomas 2a 2æ, qu. xxi, art. 4; et qu cccv, art. 1; et qu. cxxxi, per tot.; et qu. clxxviii, art. 2] ~ Fr. Cajetan Mary da Bergamo (1660-1753), Humility of Heart. Tr. Herbert Cardinal Vaughan (1903).

2 of 2 Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary ~ August 19th from Part 7, Chapter III The Holy Spirit has also inspired many saints to show forth by word and example a most special devotion to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is true that every saint belongs to the court of the Queen of all Saints; nevertheless there are certain ones who stand out as being very closely associated with the royal Heart of Mary, their sovereign Lady. First, of course, is St. Joseph, her most chaste spouse, incomparably dear to her holy Heart. Even her parents, St. Anne and St. Joachim, cannot dispute the first place of St. Joseph in her heart, having conceded it during their lifetime, when they entrusted the Virgin Mary to his care. Then comes St. John the Baptist, truly the eldest son of Mary in the life of grace. St. Gabriel the Archangel had the inestimable privilege of being the Guardian Angel of the immaculate Mother of God. And what can we say of St. John, the disciple most dear to the heart of Our Lord, to whom Our Saviour entrusted the life and heart of His Beloved Mother from the cross? St. Luke the Evangelist also belongs to the Heart of Mary because he was chosen by her to reveal the sublime secret to mankind, that “she kept all those words in her heart.” There are many saints who have consecrated themselves under the special designation of spouse of the Queen of Angels. Among these I name as examples St. Edmund of Canterbury, St. Robert, St. Stephen, St. Alberic, Founder of the Cistercian Order, St. Bernard, St. Dominic and his disciple Blessed Alanus, Blessed Herman the Premonstratensian, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Bernardine of Siena, and so many others whose names are inscribed in the Book of Life. St. Mecthilde and St. Gertrude, noted daughters of St. Benedict, in the revelation of their surpassing devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, have shown most clearly the beauties and mysteries of devotion to the loving Heart of the Mother of Our Lord and Saviour. ~ Saint John Eudes, The Admirable Heart of the Most Holy Mother of God (1680)

Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary ~ August 19th TWELVE METHODS OF PRACTISING THIS DEVOTION (continued) 7. Cultivate particular devotion to all the saints who enjoyed some special relationship with the most lovable Heart of the Mother of God, for example, those mentioned in Part Seven, Chapter Three. (continued)

Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary ~ August 18th [148. continued] This is, in short, always a very dangerous sin, not so much because of its gravity as on account of its grave consequence and because it prevents the soul from receiving the help of grace, and disposes it to various mortal sins: “Vainglory is said to be a dangerous sin, not so much on account of its gravity, as because it is a disposition to grievous sins in so far as it gradually disposes a man to the loss of all inner good.” [D. Th. 2a 2æ, qu. cxxxii, art. 3] (continued) ~ Fr. Cajetan Mary da Bergamo (1660-1753), Humility of Heart. Tr. Herbert Cardinal Vaughan (1903).

Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary ~ August 18th TWELVE METHODS OF PRACTISING THIS DEVOTION (continued) 6. The greatest joy that we can afford the admirable Heart of Mary, all aflame with love for the souls which cost the Precious Blood of her Son, is to work zealously and devotedly for their salvation. If the hearts of the angels and saints in heaven rejoice for each conversion of a sinner on earth, the Queen of Angels and saints derives infinitely more joy from it than that of all the denizens of heaven combined because her heart possesses more love and charity. ~ Saint John Eudes, The Admirable Heart of the Most Holy Mother of God (1680)

Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary ~ August 17th [148. continued] Thirdly, when we do not use this praise either for the honour of God or the good of our neighbour, and this is always to sin against the dictates of holy Scripture: “Let us not be made desirous of vainglory”; [Phil. ii, 3] and it can be a mortal sin when we seek to be praised for some wrong which we have done or have the intention of doing, or for some other wrong which we have never done and have had no thought of doing, or else to accept praise for a good which we have not done and which we want to make others believe that we have done; it can also be a mortal sin if we do good only out of human respect with the intention of being seen and praised. (continued) ~ Fr. Cajetan Mary da Bergamo (1660-1753), Humility of Heart. Tr. Herbert Cardinal Vaughan (1903).

Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary ~ August 17th TWELVE METHODS OF PRACTISING THIS DEVOTION (continued) 5. Assist the poor, widows, orphans and strangers, protect the helpless, console the afflicted, visit the sick and imprisoned, and perform other similar works of mercy. All these acts are most highly pleasing to the most merciful Heart of the Mother of Grace. ~ Saint John Eudes, The Admirable Heart of the Most Holy Mother of God (1680)

Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary ~ August 16th [148. continued] Secondly, when in seeking praise we value the esteem and approbation of one whose judgment is unreliable. (continued) ~ Fr. Cajetan Mary da Bergamo (1660-1753), Humility of Heart. Tr. Herbert Cardinal Vaughan (1903).

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Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary ~ August 16th TWELVE METHODS OF PRACTISING THIS DEVOTION (continued) 4. Offer your heart frequently to the Queen of all hearts consecrated to Jesus, and implore her to take full and complete possession of your heart so that Mary may give it entirely to her Son, fill it with supernatural sentiments to adorn it with virtues, and mould it according to the Heart of the Divine Son and His Blessed Mother. ~ Saint John Eudes, The Admirable Heart of the Most Holy Mother of God (1680)