THE second point presented to our consideration in the presentation of
Our Lady is that in order to consecrate herself to God in the Temple
she was carried part of the way by her parents, and walked the
remainder, being, however, always assisted by them. When St. Joachim
and St. Anne arrived at a spot where the road was level they placed
the little maiden on the ground, and allowed her to walk, but even
then she lifted up her little hands to clasp theirs, that she might
not stumble, and when they came to the rougher parts of the road they
again took her in their arms. It should not be supposed that the
intentions of her parents in allowing her to walk was to relieve
themselves; they allowed it because of the satisfaction which they
experienced in seeing their little daughter directing her first steps
to the Temple of the Lord.
Now, it is in these two ways that our Lord leads His faithful servants
in their pilgrimage through this miserable life. At times He conducts
us by the hand, making us walk with Him; and very often He carries us
in the arms of His Providence. He leads us by the hand when He makes
us walk along the path of the exercise of virtues, because if He did
not help us it would be impossible for us to take one step along this
blessed road. And do we not perceive that the steps of those who have
abandoned the paternal hand of Providence are almost always so many
falls? The Divine Goodness wishes to lead us by the hand along our
road, but He also wishes us to make use of our feet; that is to say,
that we ourselves do all that is in our power, by the assistance of
His grace. Therefore Holy Church, like a tender mother desirous of the
good of her children, teaches us to recite daily a prayer by which we
beg God to deign to accompany us during the whole course of our
pilgrimage upon this earth, and to succour us by His preventing and by
His accompanying grace, because without both these graces all our
efforts to make one step in the way of virtue would be unavailing.
But after our Lord has led us by the hand along the road of good works
which require our co-operation in order that they may become
meritorious, He carries us in His arms, producing certain effects
within us, in which we seem to take no part, as, for instance, in the
Sacraments. Tell me candidly, what is it that we do in order to merit
the reception of the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar, which contains
all the sanctity and sweetness of heaven and earth? Does not our Lord
carry us in His arms in permitting us to receive Him in this
Sacrament?
Oh, how happy are those souls who so pass through this mortal life as
never to leave the arms of His Divine Majesty, except to do all in
their power to labour in the practice of virtue, still keeping hold of
the hand of their Lord! Let us never believe ourselves capable of
doing the least good of ourselves. The Sacred Spouse of the Canticles
teaches us this truth when she says to her Beloved: _Trahe me post Te
in odorem curremus unguentorum tuorum--'Draw me, and we will run after
thee to the odour of thy ointments_.' She says '_draw me_,' to teach
us that our soul can do nothing of itself unless it be drawn,
assisted, and anticipated by Divine Grace. But to show us that she
corresponds voluntarily to this attraction, she quickly adds: '_We
will run_,' as if she wished to say: If only, my Beloved, Thou stretch
out Thy hand to draw me, I shall not cease to run, until Thou hast
received me into Thine arms, and united me to Thy Divine Will.
Let us now pass to the third point: the consecration and dedication
our glorious Lady made of her whole self unreservedly to the Divine
Majesty; it is this, O faithful souls, that we should try to imitate.
Our Lord does not certainly expect us to be more liberal to Him than
He is to us; nevertheless, if He shows the greatness of His goodness
to us by giving us His whole Self, is it not just that He should
require of us the total dedication of ourselves to Him? But what means
this total dedication of ourselves to God? It means that we make no
reserve whatever in our consecration, not even of the least of our
affections or desires; it is this that He requires of us. Listen, in
fact, to this Divine Saviour of our souls: _Fili praete mihi cor tuum--'My
Son,'_ says He to each one of us in particular--_'My Son, give Me
thy heart.'_ 'Ah!' you will add, 'how shall I dare to give my heart to
God when it is so full of imperfections and sins? How can He accept
the offering of this heart in which He finds nothing but disobedience
to His Most Holy Will?' Ah! be not troubled on this account, but offer
it to Him all the same, because He does not require of you a pure and
spotless heart, like that of the Angels and of Our Lady, but He says:
'Give Me thy heart,' such as it is. Ah! let us not refuse it to Him
then, although it be full of miseries, weaknesses, and imperfections,
for we know that all that is placed in the hand of His Divine Goodness
is converted into good. Let us not fear, then, for when He holds this
heart of ours in His hands He will know well how to render it perfect.
To make it less unworthy of God let us resolve to imitate Mary; for
amongst all the Saints who are proposed to us as a model we should in
a special manner consider our most glorious and dear Patroness, the
Queen of all Saints. What mirror more beautiful, more precious, or
purer, can we place before our eyes? Is she not the most excellent
example of evangelical teaching? Who amongst creatures is more adorned
and enriched with every kind of virtue and grace? _Multae filiae
congregaverunt divitias, tu supergressa es universus--'Many daughters
have gathered riches, but thou hast surpassed them all.'_ Certainly it
is beyond all doubt that there is no Saint comparable to her, because
this glorious Virgin surpasses in dignity and excellence not only the
greatest Saints, but the very Cherubim and Seraphim. She consecrated
herself perfectly to the Divine service, from the very first instant
of her Immaculate Conception.