SERMON VII
Our Lady's Candle-Mass
How we may offer ourselves, night and day, unto God in holy
discipline; in prayer, in meditation, in beholding God, and by thanking God and
praising Him; thereby following the example of the blessed Mother of
God.
Ecce ego mitto angelum meum ante faciem
meam.
"Behold I send My Angel, and he shall prepare the way before My
Face. And presently the Lord, Whom ye seek, and the Angel of the Testament,
Whom ye desire, shall come to His temple."[19]
To-day we would commemorate the
fact, that the Lord, to Whom all time belongs, and by Whom the Law was made,
subjected Himself to time and law, and offered Himself for us in the temple of
His heavenly Father. It was not necessary that He, like any other firstborn
son, should be sanctified; for all holy seasons and festivals, places and
temples, are made holy by Him. Neither was it necessary for His blessed Mother
to be purified, like other women, for she was shielded from all sin, and
conceived and bare the Son of God by the operation of the Holy Ghost, remaining
ever a virgin and adorned with all purity. Her purity was much greater than
that of all Angels; for it is impossible to imagine greater purity apart from
God. And yet she also subjected herself to the austere law, and offered her
dear Child to the heavenly Father at the hands of the priest, and herself, not
her Son, as a living sacrifice and to the praise of God, for the salvation of
all men.
Now, by this we are taught that we must, at all
times, repress ourselves and become absorbed in deep humility, as those who
have nothing and can do nothing of themselves, but that which is evil; and that
in the inner temples of our souls we must offer up ourselves, our own wills,
and all that we have and are, in complete resignation to God at all times, with
the Son in the Father, as an eternal sacrifice of praise. All that the Father
has He gives to His Son; so dear is the Son, that the Father loves nothing but
the Son; and those whom He finds united with the Son, He loves in the Son.
Therefore, we must exert all the powers of our souls, and offer them to the
Father in the Son, that they may be loved by Him in the Son, after the perfect
pattern of Mary, the most holy Virgin and Mother of God. Now, to-day, I will
tell you something about her, how we may copy her holy life; because she was
full of grace and virtue, and the mirror and exact reflection of all
holiness.
This gentle Virgin spent the whole of her life in
such perfect love to God, in the inner temple of her heart, that she never
loved any other creature beside God. Neither did any image ever come into her
mind that interposed between her and her love of God. Her love to God was
undivided, and she loved all creatures in Him. With all her powers she communed
with herself in the depths of her heart, wherein the Divine Image lay hidden;
there she dwelt in the innermost temple of her soul, and turned all her powers
within, and prayed there to the one God in spirit and in truth. She confessed
that she could not worthily praise God; therefore she desired that He would
praise and magnify Himself in her. She was so conformed to God from the very
bottom of her heart, that if any one could have looked into it, he would have
seen God in all His glory, and would have actually seen the procession of the
Son and of the Holy Ghost; for her heart never turned away from God.
Now, shall I tell you something about the
devotional exercises of this Holy Virgin? They are, however, so divine and
superhuman, so high and unfathomable, that they surpass the understanding of
men and of Angels. But of her lesser devotions ye shall know that she always
got up at midnight, and lifted up her heart to the heavenly Father, in such
rapt devotion, that it forced its way through heaven, and rested only in the
Father's Heart; and thus she stood absorbed in prayer till break of day. Oh!
how blessed is he with whom she shares her gentle prayers, and for whom, with
especially motherly love, she intercedes with her Son.
Now, learn, that she knew that she was beloved
and endowed above all other creatures by God; therefore, when she got up at
midnight, she fell on her knees in lowliness, and thanked God for His rich
bounty, which He had poured out upon her. Then she offered herself and all that
she had to God in prayer, and gave herself into God's gentle keeping, that He
might begin and accomplish His will in her, and in all that was hers. Thirdly,
she prayed for all the members of the Holy Church, that all things might be
ordered therein for the best in all godly honour; and for all sinners, that
they might truly turn again unto salvation. And then she turned in her prayer
to all the poor souls in purgatory, for whom she had especial love, and
besought God to set them free. Fourthly, she talked with God as a child might
talk with his father, or one dearly loved to her beloved; and then often, by
the eye of faith she beheld the Divine Being, unveiled, in all His glory and
beauty, and God spake with her as with His dear and chosen spouse. Fifthly, she
began to praise God in her prayer with such lively praise, that it seemed to
come forth from a divine and blossoming garden that had been tended by God. Her
praise was sweeter and purer, and more pleasing to God, than when He had
created heaven and earth, the morning stars and the children of God praised
Him. Sixthly, she sank down in her prayer into her own nothingness, and
confessed that she could not worship the great God, nor praise Him according to
His worthiness; and she desired of Him that He would be magnified in her; and
then she let all her powers sink down to the lowest depths, whence alone the
Eternal God receives the prayer and praise that He loves best.
Know also that, when she thus prayed, she
withdrew her mind from all that was external, from all forms and figures, and
continued thus, her whole mind being absorbed. Afterwards she meditated on the
greatness and glory of the Lord, with Whom she desired to hold converse, though
in her own sight she was a worthless creature. Then she fell down at the Feet
of the glorious God, and prayed in deep humility, and in earnest, fervent love
and desire, and with heartfelt trust in the boundless love of God, that He
would hear her, not according to her own will, but according to His. And she
continued in prayer from midnight till dawn, and from that time till Prime she
devoted herself to holy meditations, in the best way that any creature ever
did. First of all she meditated on the greatness and almightiness of the great
God, whom she confessed as above all Angels. Then she sank down in her own
littleness, in deep humility. Secondly, she meditated on the mysterious and
unfathomable judgments of God, and on His wisdom, which is hidden from all
creatures. Thirdly, on the fathomless goodness of God in His eternal love,
which is the loving source of all that is good and gracious. Fourthly, she
meditated on the overflowing sweetness of God, from whom she had received so
much sweetness; for, had she not been overshadowed by the Holy Ghost, her
divine heart must have burst with love. Fifthly, she meditated with tearful
eyes on the humility of her Child, Who had humbled Himself, and had so trodden
the path of humiliation that it was impossible for Him to humble Himself any
more.
Sixthly, she meditated on the sufferings of her
Child, how great and manifold they were; and this she did with great
compassion, for the meditation smote like a sword through her virgin heart and
soul. Therefore hers was a martyr's reward, as much as that of any other
martyr. Then she meditated on the sufferings of her Child, desiring to imitate
Him; for she bethought herself how, at all times, her Child had been despised
and had suffered; therefore she devoted all her life to suffering and to
bearing oppression. She so entirely submitted herself, that she never prayed to
God that her suffering might be shortened or lessened. She spent her life in
suffering, and bore it to the end with willing submission, willing even to
suffer throughout eternity, if such were the will of God. Then she meditated
again on the sufferings of her Child; how He had borne His suffering with great
patience, without murmuring, rejoicing in spirit, because of His burning love
and desire for us. Thus she also bore her suffering without murmuring and with
burning love and joy.
At the hour of Prime she went into the Temple,
and betook herself to a corner with downcast eyes, and stayed there till
mid-day. Mentally reaching out into eternity, she meditated on the commands and
discourses of the Lord; then her soul was exalted, as in a divine vision, above
all knowledge, and she was transfigured in spirit above all powers. Her memory
shed a pure light, and remained in the unity of the spirit above all carnal
suggestions. Her mind was transfused with clearness, so that she understood and
discerned all the virtues, the ways, the discipline and the mysteries of
Scripture with judgment. Her will was set alight with fervent heat, in silent
love, passing beyond all created things. In this state of exaltation she was
above all wisdom and all judgment. Here she received the outpouring of Divine
Love, in silence, her spirit was steeped in the immaterial Spring, without any
exercise of her own power. Here, above all things, she reposed in God, and,
surrounded by Love unfathomable, she lost herself in the obscurity of the
Godhead. She was united, without any intervention, and made one Spirit with
God, above all created gifts, graces and lights, in one single light that
renewed itself unceasingly in the depths of her heart, in the highest
exaltation of spirit. In this she had some conception of future blessedness,
and she loved God with eternal, uncreated love. All created gifts, virtues,
works and discipline, with all that pertained to the creature, must here remain
without, for she was moulded herein with divine brightness above all sense and
imagination. She saw the eternal lights and scenes, as they were beholden in
eternity, with unspeakable and divine joy and pleasure. Know that, were all the
delights and joys of the world melted down altogether, they would be nothing
but bitterness, compared with the least divine joy such as that ever received
by the Mother of God.
Now, know, that the Blessed Virgin possessed one
grace above all other human beings; to whatever heights she might be caught up
and entranced, beholding God in the light of God, she saw, none the less, all
other things, and attended to them. Thus she could even order her outer life in
calm and holy conduct, without disturbing her inner life; for her highest
powers communed directly with their Source, and were united thereto, so that
the lowest were obedient to the highest, as those of Adam had been in Paradise.
This grace was hers, because she never inherited original sin; for she had been
preserved from this by her Child; so that never for an instant had she been the
child of wrath, or an unclean vessel, under the power of the Devil, like the
rest of mankind. The Eternal Wisdom prevented and would not allow this chosen
Temple to be thus defiled. Therefore, during this inner vision and absorption
in God, she could listen with her outward ears, with diligence and devotion and
deep humility of heart, to Divine Service; it gave her no trouble, but was
delightful and desirable above all things to her at this time. Then, when
towards mid-day she went home, she was often fed by the Angels.
In the afternoon, if it was not a Holy day, she
worked, till Vespers, with her blessed hands, and did everything, however small
it might be, with especial intention to the glory of God. But, if it was a Holy
day, after she had praised God, she went to hear the Word of God, and listened
to it with great humility, however plainly it might be spoken, and though she
understood it better herself; and she stamped it earnestly in her pure heart,
earnestly desiring to experience the least as well as the greatest. When the
Word of God was not preached, she spoke or listened to others, speaking of God
and of the Divine Life; or she read the Scriptures till Vespers. Then she sang
her Psalms and said her prayers till Compline.
Then, when night came on, she communed with
herself in holy meditation, and meditated on the perfect Life of her Child and
her Lord, and on this sweet doctrine; and her heart was filled with joyful and
eternal sweetness. Afterwards she would thank God on her knees that He had so
graciously looked upon her on that and every day; and then, in meekness and
thankfulness, the blessed Virgin Mary laid herself to rest. Hosts of Angels
surrounded her holy bed, so that no evil spirits might torment her; therefore
she had no vain fancies or evil dreams, nor any other vision that that which
God Himself gave to her; for the Holy Trinity was ever her defense and shield.
The blessed Virgin never lay down without first dedicating her sleep with her
whole heart to the glory of God; and, thus united with God, she bowed her
blessed head on the Heavenly Father's Breast, and rested in peace. At midnight
she began to pass the day again, as she had passed it before, in all holiness
and virtue.
This is related of a portion of her holy life, as
in a mirror, that we may place it before us as our example, and, following it,
may also remain faithful to God, and offer up ourselves wholly in the inner
temples of our souls, according to our power. But that we may be able to do
this, we must call on God unceasingly for His divine grace and help, and also
on His dear Mother, to whom we should, at least once every day, give especial
honour and service. She will then, on her part, help us faithfully in our need,
and especially in our last trial; for she is a mother of mercy and cannot
reject any sinner who desires her help. Therefore St Bernard says: "He alone
can keep silence about thy mercy, O blessed Virgin, who has called upon thee in
his distress and has been forsaken by thee. For we, thy unworthy servants,
rejoice with thee in thy other virtues, but in this virtue we rejoice for
ourselves. We praise thy virginity, we marvel at thy lowliness, but we embrace
thy mercy more willingly; the oftener we think of it, the oftener we appeal to
it. Thou upholdest us, and forsakest not the miserable sinner, until thou seest
that the terrible Judge is propitiated." May we thus honour and follow this
blessed Virgin and her Child, that we may attain to a portion with them in
eternity. May God help us thereto. Amen.
[19] Malach. iii. 1.