_The Love of St. Alphonsus for Mary._
The love of St. Alphonsus Liguori for the Blessed Virgin Mary was so
burning that he desired to inflame with it the hearts of all mankind.
He was often heard to say: 'O men, what are you doing? Why so much
affection for earthly creatures, for false deceivers, who make you
lose both body and soul, both Paradise and God? How is it you love not
Mary, who is ever most amiable, most loving, and most faithful; and
who, after having enriched you with consolations and graces in this
life, will obtain for you from her Divine Son the eternal glory of
Paradise?'
He loved her so tenderly from his childhood, that one day he said to
her quite simply: 'O my sweet Virgin Mary, I do not wish that there
should be anyone in the world who loves and hononrs you more than I
do;' and this desire of his heart was fully gratified. He thought of
her even in sleep, and made use of this tender aspiration: 'O Mary,
how beautiful you are! O how beautiful you are!' No one could speak to
him without receiving a recommendation to be devout to Mary. 'Be
devout to the Holy Virgin Mary,' he would say; 'whoever is devout to
her will certainly be saved.' He inculcated the pious practices of
visiting her images, reciting the Rosary, and fasting in her honour,
on Saturdays and on the vigils of her festivals. But in a special
manner he wished all to recite, every morning and evening, three _Ave
Marias_ in commemoration of her Immaculate Conception and perpetual
virginity, adding this ejaculation to each Ave Maria: 'By your sacred
virginity and Immaculate Conception, O Mary, obtain for me purity and
sanctity of soul and body.' He gave pictures of her to everyone,
saying: 'Here is the image of your Heavenly Mother; give her your love
and confidence.' At other times he repeated: 'Love the good Virgin
much, because Mary is the Mother of perseverance; and whoever loves
Jesus and Mary will become holy.'
_Prayer._--O Mary! you are truly the valiant woman in whom the Lord
found rest, and whom He has chosen to be the depositary of all His
treasures. The universe honours you as the most pure sanctuary of the
Divinity, the true Temple of the Lord, in which was begun the
salvation of the world, and in which took place the grand
reconciliation between God and man. You are that privileged field
which sin could not enter and devastate; you are that magnificent
garden in which Our Lord planted all the flowers that adorn His
Church. You, O Mary, are the Paradise of God, whence springs the
fountain of living water which waters and fructifies the earth: obtain
for me, by your powerful intercession, that, being washed in this most
pure water, I may be admitted with you to the nuptials of the
Immaculate Lamb. Amen.
_Ejaculation._--Most pure Virgin, pray for us.
_Practice._--In temptations against holy purity invoke Mary, Virgin
and Mother.