CHAPTER XVIII.

ON THE WORSHIP OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN AND OF THE SAINTS. ON PSALMODY.

DO thou frequently turn to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God; invoke her, love her, praise her; she is, indeed, most worthy of all honour; and however much we, may exalt her, she surpasses all our praise. Her Son is the Son of the Heavenly Father; she conceived God in her virginal womb, she brought forth God, she nourished God at her own breast, she carried God in her arms, and nursed Him in her lap. What can be more sublime, what more honourable, than to be called and to be the Mother of God? What dignity is higher or more admirable than this? It is certain that, beneath God, nothing can be imagined more divine than the Mother of God.

Woe to the wretched and unhappy heretics, who 46are wickedly opposed to so great a Virgin, who strive to obscure her glory and splendour! Woe, I say, to those who despise the worship of so great an Empress! They shudder and are indignant because we call her the hope of our life, and our saving reconciliation. What, say they, do you esteem Mary a goddess? do you thus place your hope in man? We do not, indeed, adore Mary as a goddess; but we venerate her as the Mother of God, as next to God, (although she might deserve to be called goddess, since the Saints in Scripture are called gods) (Ps. lxxxi. 6). We do not so place our hope in man, we do not so trust in Mary, as if she had not received from God all that she is, all that she has, and all her power; but we confess that she has received every thing from Him by whom she was created and chosen, and that she can do all things in Him whom she has brought forth. The Creator has given to His creature, the Son to His Mother, unspeakable power, and has willed to honour her with a singular privilege: and for that reason we place in her our hope of salvation, not indeed before the Lord, but after the Lord; for we look for salvation chiefly from the Lord, whom we acknowledge to be the source of all good.

Do thou abominate the blasphemies and the impudence of those Anti-Marians (praying for them, nevertheless), and hold the honour of Mary dear: for she is the perfect example of all purity and holiness, the singular refuge of sinners, the most safe asylum of all who are pressed by temptation, misfortune, or any 47sort of persecution. She is the most powerful Queen of Heaven, the most liberal dispenser of graces, the most merciful Mother of all the faithful. She is all mild, all gracious, all sweet, all benignant, not only to the just and perfect, but also to sinners and to the desperate; and when she perceives that they call upon her from their hearts, she instantly assists, receives, and encourages them, and with maternal confidence reconciles them to their Judge, whom they fear. She spurns no one, she refuses no one; she consoles all, she opens the breast of her pity to all, and quickly helps even those who call upon her ever so little. By her innate goodness and sweetness she often strongly attracts and excites to the love of her those who are not inclined towards God; that so they may be prepared for grace, and rendered at length fit for the kingdom of heaven. Such she is, such she has been made by God, such she has been given to us: that no one may abhor her, no one fly from her, no one fear to approach her. It is impossible that the assiduous and humble worshipper of Mary should perish. Do thou, therefore, make her thy friend above all.

Thou must also pay devout homage to the other Saints of God, fully believing that they receive thy prayers and the pious affection of thy heart. If thou wishest to choose some to venerate more especially, and to whose patronage thou wouldst more frequently commend thyself, it is praiseworthy to do so.

Happy wilt thou be if thou occupiest thyself sedulously in psalmody; and dost deserve to taste the 48sweetness and gift of peace which it contains. For psalmody is the most grateful tranquillity of the mind, the joyful serenity of the heart, the sweet consolation of the mourner, and the becoming composure of the joyful. Psalmody puts to flight demons, invites angels, opens heaven, and, as it were, compels God to have mercy. I would far rather taste the sweetness of psalms even without fully understanding them, than know their exact sense without any interior savour.