(from a meditation by Saint John Eudes)
How would we feel if a great monarch opened his vaults, all filled with money and precious stones, giving us permission to take as much as we wanted? This favor would be nothing in comparison with the indescribably rich gift the King of kings has bestowed in giving us the most lovable Heart of His glorious Mother.
If our Holy Father the Pope allowed us to have the choice of the most precious relics in the city of Rome, it would undoubtedly be a very great favor, but, again, it would be slight compared with the unspeakable favor of our Lord in granting to men the treasure of the Heart of the Queen of all Saints.
If our Lord were to take from each one of us our own heart of flesh and blood and miraculously substitute the love of a seraph, it would be wonderful indeed, but the gift He has made of the Heart of His Blessed Mother is, in comparison, more magnificently noble and more precious.
O my Jesus, would that the hearts of all Thy creatures were employed to praise and love Thee for this incomprehensible favor! Mother of my God, Mother of Fair Love, may all the creatures in the universe be changed into so many tongues and hearts blessing thee with constant love throughout eternity. Since thou hast given me thy most admirable Heart, do thou take complete possession of my poor heart, to sacrifice it without reserve to the undiluted love and pure glory of Thy Divine Son.
Ejaculatory Prayer: “Infinite thanks to Jesus and Mary for their unspeakable gift.”
“God loved the world so much that He gave His Son Jesus, entrusting Him to the Virgin Mary. To prove His Father’s love for the world, Jesus became so small, so helpless, that He had to have a mother to look after Him. And at the foot of the Cross, too, Mary became our mother. Just before He died, Jesus gave His mother to Saint John and Saint John to His mother (cf. John 19:26-27). And so, all of us became her children.” –Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta
(an excerpt from “Hail, Holy Queen” by Dr. Scott Hahn)
As the New Eve, the “mother of all the living,” [Mary] mothers the Church, “the rest of her offspring” (Revelation 12:17). Addressing the question of why the woman of Revelation is still in labor, though she is in heaven, Pope Pius X said: “What birth was it? Surely it was the birth of us who, still in exile, are yet to be generated to the perfect charity of God, and to eternal happiness. And the birth pains show the love and desire with which the Virgin from heaven above watches over us, and strives with unwearying prayer to bring about the fulfillment of the number of the elect.” Always a mother, Mary watches over us, prays for us, and leads us to fulfillment in life.
(from “The Admirable Heart of Mary” by Saint John Eudes)
O Mary, thou sea of love unquenched by sorrow, behold my heart, the least and smallest of all hearts, a mere drop of water seeking to unite itself with thy vast ocean, to become lost in thy depths forever! O Mary, Queen of all hearts consecrated to Jesus, look down upon the tiny drop, my unworthy heart, offered to thee, to become merged forever in the sea of thy glowing love! Mother of Mercy, thou seest us here below, tossed upon a stormy sea of raging trial and temptation. In thy great mercy, deign to be our strength, our guiding-star, our sustenance, that, standing firm upon that crystal sea before the Throne, thy Admirable Heart, which tempests cannot assail, we may sing without fear:
“Thy royal heart is our pure light, our refuge safe. Why should I fear? Her goodness is firm support of our lives. Nothing can trouble our hearts.”
