hate pride, pomp, and vanity, if we would not endanger our falling into the greatest sins. The holy Virgin was admonished during the night by St. Joseph to fly; and she acquiesced without hesitating a moment, thereby exhibiting her prompt obedience. By this she teaches us not to delay our obedience whenever God, by internal inspirations or through our superior, makes His holy will known to us. The Blessed Virgin left all that she had in her poor cottage, satisfied to carry with her only the Son of God, By this she teaches us to fly from the world and from sin, detaching ourselves from every thing, and contented to have only God with us. Prayer. O Mary, sweet refuge of sinners, by that grief which you endured during your flight into Egypt, to preserve your Son from the fury of the impious Herod, I beseech you to be my guide to heaven, that I may be delivered from the snares of my enemies. Our Father and Hail Mary. III. The third dolour of the Blessed Virgin was suffered when, returning after the pasch to her poor dwelling from Jerusalem, where she had been with her spouse St. Joseph and her beloved Son Jesus, they missed Him, and for three days she sought with tears and sighs for the only delight of her heart. Reflections. If the most holy Virgin grieved so deeply, and sought so anxiously her lost Jesus, what ought not we to do, when, by our sins, we have driven Him from our souls! Oh, like her, let us set no bounds to our exertions to obtain the return of His spiritual blessings by the deepest repentance, through which alone may we dare to hope for them. It was not during her journey into Egypt, nor her stay there, that the Blessed Virgin lost her son Jesus, but when she went to the festival at Jerusalem. From this let us learn, that it is not in retirement and solitude, but in the noise of assemblies, and in the conversations of the world, that we are in danger of losing our Jesus. The Blessed Virgin, after a search of three days, found her Son Jesus; so, if we have lost Him by our infidelity, may we find Him again, to our sweetest consolation, by means of contrition, confession, and satisfaction, which mystically represent the three days of our Blessed Lady's search. Prayer. O disconsolate Mother, who didst continue for three days anxiously to seek your lost Son; ah, obtain for all sinners the grace that they may seek Him with perfect contrition until they find Him. Our Father and Hail Mary. IV. The fourth dolour of the Blessed Virgin was occasioned by meeting her most beloved Son bearing on His delicate shoulders His heavy cross to Calvary, to be crucified upon it for our salvation. Reflections. The Blessed Virgin, though pierced to the heart on learning the condemnation of her Jesus, desired to behold Him with her own eyes set forth on His road to Calvary loaded with His heavy cross. Oh, generous love! Oh, courage amidst so much desolation! Let us thence learn to blush at our cowardice and impatience under our light crosses and slight sufferings. The Blessed Virgin, though overpowered on meeting her Son suffering, wounded, and exhausted, uttered no word of lamentation, nor reproached the barbarous executioners of the unjust sentence of the cruel Jews, but beheld and endured all in silence. Which of us can be so unmoved by an affront, as not to entertain the remotest thought of revenge? The Blessed Virgin accompanied Jesus to Calvary tɩ comfort and assist Him. Alas! are we not of the number of those who follow Jesus for temporal advantage, for distinction, for praise, or for self-love? If so, Jesus and Mary will not acknowledge us for their companions. Prayer. O most afflicted and most holy Virgin! by those most bitter tears with which you accompanied your Son to Calvary, laden with the most sacred wood of the cross, obtain for me that I may continually accompany Him in spirit, and weep over my sins, which were but too manifestly the cause of His and your sufferings. Our Father and Hail Mary. V. The fifth dolour of the Blessed Virgin was suffered when she saw her Son raised upon the hard wood of the cross, which streamed with blood from every part of His sacred body. Reflections. The most Blessed Virgin remained constant to the end at the foot of the cross, because she loved her Son with the love of a mother. So should we compassionate her sufferings continually, if we loved her like children; but we are ashamed of the cross; we fear the taunts of the world, and we omit many good actions out of human respect, and because we dread the sneers of sinners. The Blessed Virgin, whilst standing under the cross, adopted us, in the person of St. John, as her children. Shall we then hesitate to regard her as our mother, and to fly to her in all our necessities? But let us bear in mind that it was not in joy that she adopted us, but under the cross on Calvary, and in agony; and remember that St. John also was on Calvary when our Blessed Lady thus favoured him. The Blessed Virgin under the cross had few to share her griefs and comfort her in her sorrows. Oh, how many boast of being her servants, whilst their hearts feel no real affection or tenderness for her! How many are cold and indifferent to her most cruel martyrdom! Can such children be any source of consolation to their mother! Prayer. O most holy Virgin! O rose amongst thorns! by that agony which wrung your soul when you contemplated your dear Son raised in the air and nailed to the cross, pray that I may make Jesus Christ, crucified for my sins, the constant subject of my devout meditation. Our Father and Hail Mary. VI. The sixth dolour of the Blessed Virgin was the bitterest of all, for it was caused by the mangled corpse of her beloved Son being taken down from the cross and laid on her sacred bosom. Reflections. Can we contemplate the afflicted Virgin, with her mangled and crucified Son laid in her arms, without sighs and tears? For any mother, for one unworthy of the name, for one a stranger to us, we should, in such a condition, feel compassion. And shall we then regard the Mother of God with cold indifference? The most afflicted Virgin, whilst contemplating the wounds of her dear Son, could not but remember that the real authors of them were sinners, Christian sinners, whom He was loading with His choicest blessings; whilst by our sins we were inflicting every species of torment upon Him. Ah, shall we not be moved at this thought! Will not our souls now repent! Will not our eyes pour forth a flood of tears at the sight of their mangled Jesus! The most afflicted Virgin continued long to gaze upon the bleeding body of her Son, nor could she be moved from that tenderly-beloved contemplation. Let us follow her, and learn frequently and devoutly to meditate upon the wounds of Jesus, that we may thereby obtain a profound horror for sin, and kindle in our hearts the flame of ardent charity. Prayer. O most afflicted Virgin! how you pressed the cold remains of your Son to your tortured bosom, when you received Him from the cross, washed with your tears His sacred wounds, and warmed His cold cheeks with your kisses! Ah, intercede for me, that, by tears of contrition, I may wash the mortal wounds with which sin has all but ruined my unhappy soul. Our Father and Hail Mary. VII. The seventh and last dolour of Mary, the queen and advocate of us miserable sinners, oppressed her heart whilst she accompanied the most sacred and adorable remains of her Son to the sepulchre. Reflections. This tender Mother lost no occasion of testifying the love she bore to her Jesus, so that though many accompanied Him to the tomb, she would not be absent at His burial. Oh, how many precious occasions of exercising charity and of performing good works do we neglect, under the pretext that others will zealously attend to the calls of charity, and that our exertions are unnecessary! Our dear Mother desired to lay her Jesus in His tomb with her own hands, that, before it was closed, she might give the last proof of the ardent love which consumed her heart, by imprinting a thousand kisses on His sacred body, and washing it with her tears. Ah, if we possessed one spark of this love, it would be manifest by the tenderness we should feel at hearing of the death of Jesus. Lastly, our dear Mother was wholly bereft of her Son when the stone and the seal closed up His tomb. Oh, how sad and dreary were the three days which she passed whilst waiting for His glorious resurrection! Oh, devout lovers of Mary, have you lost the grace of Jesus? Implore, then, the intercession of our Lady; weep for your sins, and she will pray for you that you may be enabled to rise from your awful state. Prayer. O Queen of Martyrs! O most disconsolate of mothers! by the cruel sorrow which you felt when compelled to |