My Crazy Catholic Life

My little brother and I ran an errand tonight…in a perfect wonderland. Snow, falling thickly yet gently, is blanketing the world. Such a sight never ceases to move me to joyous wonder.

Pausing to watch the millions of glittering flakes waft under street lights, I couldn’t help but exclaim to David, “Oh, isn’t it marvelously beautiful?”

He’s 11, but has already heard enough drivers talking to know what comes along with this beauty. “Yes, but it’s dangerous,” he piped from the back seat.

And a response came to me, immediately and reflectively. “But most beauty comes with some danger, David.”

I was thinking particularly the beauty of femininity. One of the many quotes which struck me deeply from Dr. Alice von Hildebrand’s The Privilege of Being a Woman was this:

“The power that women can wield over men is great indeed. If they pursue their own selfish aims, women are Satan’s slaves. If they put their charm at God’s service, they are God’s great allies.”

It is precisely because of the value, the power of feminine beauty that it comes with danger. In my interactions with girls and ladies young and old, the bestowing of beauty as a gift on our sex is more and more apparent to me. But the world works it hardest to train us to misuse and abuse this gift. We are told to be beautiful for ourown happiness, our own success, our own fulfillment, our own benefit.

The beauty itself is not the problem. Just as the snow itself is not the problem! The danger comes with our response. If I throw caution to the wind and drive without care on snow-covered roads, sure danger awaits — for me and for others. If I throw prudence to the wind and aspire for beauty without care for its essence, its Source and Giver, sure danger awaits — for me and for others.

Indeed, beauty it is both a gift and a calling from the Creator to His daughters. We are called to manifest to the world a glimpse of His perfect, radiant beauty. The physical should be only a mirror of the interior, timelessly captivating beauty of a pure, servant heart in love with her Maker.

Let us be ever-mindful of this marvelous gift, this high calling… and careful of the danger that comes with it.

My little brother and I ran an errand tonight…in a perfect wonderland. Snow, falling thickly yet gently, is blanketing the world. Such a sight never ceases to move me to joyous wonder.

Pausing to watch the millions of glittering flakes waft under street lights, I couldn’t help but exclaim to David, “Oh, isn’t it marvelously beautiful?”

He’s 11, but has already heard enough drivers talking to know what comes along with this beauty. “Yes, but it’s dangerous,” he piped from the back seat.

And a response came to me, immediately and reflectively. “But most beauty comes with some danger, David.”

I was thinking particularly the beauty of femininity. One of the many quotes which struck me deeply from Dr. Alice von Hildebrand’s The Privilege of Being a Woman was this:

“The power that women can wield over men is great indeed. If they pursue their own selfish aims, women are Satan’s slaves. If they put their charm at God’s service, they are God’s great allies.”

It is precisely because of the value, the power of feminine beauty that it comes with danger. In my interactions with girls and ladies young and old, the bestowing of beauty as a gift on our sex is more and more apparent to me. But the world works it hardest to train us to misuse and abuse this gift. We are told to be beautiful for ourown happiness, our own success, our own fulfillment, our own benefit.

The beauty itself is not the problem. Just as the snow itself is not the problem! The danger comes with our response. If I throw caution to the wind and drive without care on snow-covered roads, sure danger awaits — for me and for others. If I throw prudence to the wind and aspire for beauty without care for its essence, its Source and Giver, sure danger awaits — for me and for others.

Indeed, beauty it is both a gift and a calling from the Creator to His daughters. We are called to manifest to the world a glimpse of His perfect, radiant beauty. The physical should be only a mirror of the interior, timelessly captivating beauty of a pure, servant heart in love with her Maker.

Let us be ever-mindful of this marvelous gift, this high calling… and careful of the danger that comes with it.

I think young women should bring back the tradition of wearing a chapel veil. I got one a few months ago and wear it to Mass often. I only know of a couple other girls who wear chapel veils. I think they’re beautiful and show modesty and innocence.

“But every woman who has her head uncovered while praying or prophesying disgraces her head, for she is one and the same as the woman whose head is shaved.

For if a woman does not cover her head, let her also have her hair cut off; but if it is disgraceful for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, let her cover her head.”- 1 Corinthians 11: 5-6 Kind of old school, but it makes me appreciate my hair :)

I have worn a chapel veil for over a year now. My mom and dad were shocked at first but they got over it. My sister really doesn’t like it and has taken to singing in the choir so she doesn’t have to sit by me during Mass. I also gave one of my friends her first chapel veil and now she covers as well. Personally, I feel naked if I go into a chapel or a church without a chapel veil. 

I’m not a skirts-exclusively girl. There are times when I find a pair of trousers more practical… jogging, climbing ladders, going out knee-deep in the snow, horseback riding…

But, in general, I wear pretty much skirts and dresses all the time, for so many different reasons. Here are some of them:

They swish around your ankles. They drape over a chair when you sit down. They billow and blow in the wind.

When you spin, out they twirl! I’m constantly dancing, and I just can’t imagine doing it in anything other than a skirt. Swing dancing in particular just isn’t as fun.

They have great opportunity for variety. They can be so many different cuts, and so many different lengths. They can be many different colours, a mixture of colours, or have pretty floral designs. They can have embroidery, trimming along the hem, lace, and all sorts of other subtle details. They can be layered, with beautiful lace or sheer overlays over the solid base.

They always remind me to act like a lady. Wearing a skirt instantly puts me in a frame of mind to be soft-spoken, courteous, and graceful. I’m the type of person that likes all the little details to fit in just right, and in a skirt I have to act like a lady… otherwise my outfit and I don’t match!

They make me feel like a lady. They make feel like a princess. They make me feel like a woman.

They suit my figure ever so much better than trousers. They’re much more flattering to my curves.

A girl just looks sweeter and more feminine in a skirt. It doesn’t mean that she doesn’t look sweet and feminine in trousers, but I have to acknowledge that I notice a big difference in the general picture when I change into trousers. It isn’t that one is feminine and the other just isn’t; it’s simply that one is more so than the other.

My guy friends like it so much better. Walking next to a girl who feels so feminine makes them feel so masculine (and vice versa).

In the case of dresses, you already have an outfit all set to go. No need to worry about matching tops and bottoms and such.

They’re ever so much more romantic. Standing on a beach in trousers isn’t very dreamy. But standing on a beach, gazing out to sea in a flowing skirt that ripples in the wind is just a beautiful picture. And, I confess: I like to know that I’m making a beautiful picture.

In short: skirts are so much fun!

I’m not a skirts-exclusively girl. There are times when I find a pair of trousers more practical… jogging, climbing ladders, going out knee-deep in the snow, horseback riding…

But, in general, I wear pretty much skirts and dresses all the time, for so many different reasons. Here are some of them:

They swish around your ankles. They drape over a chair when you sit down. They billow and blow in the wind.

When you spin, out they twirl! I’m constantly dancing, and I just can’t imagine doing it in anything other than a skirt. Swing dancing in particular just isn’t as fun.

They have great opportunity for variety. They can be so many different cuts, and so many different lengths. They can be many different colours, a mixture of colours, or have pretty floral designs. They can have embroidery, trimming along the hem, lace, and all sorts of other subtle details. They can be layered, with beautiful lace or sheer overlays over the solid base.

They always remind me to act like a lady. Wearing a skirt instantly puts me in a frame of mind to be soft-spoken, courteous, and graceful. I’m the type of person that likes all the little details to fit in just right, and in a skirt I have to act like a lady… otherwise my outfit and I don’t match!

They make me feel like a lady. They make feel like a princess. They make me feel like a woman.

They suit my figure ever so much better than trousers. They’re much more flattering to my curves.

A girl just looks sweeter and more feminine in a skirt. It doesn’t mean that she doesn’t look sweet and feminine in trousers, but I have to acknowledge that I notice a big difference in the general picture when I change into trousers. It isn’t that one is feminine and the other just isn’t; it’s simply that one is more so than the other.

My guy friends like it so much better. Walking next to a girl who feels so feminine makes them feel so masculine (and vice versa).

In the case of dresses, you already have an outfit all set to go. No need to worry about matching tops and bottoms and such.

They’re ever so much more romantic. Standing on a beach in trousers isn’t very dreamy. But standing on a beach, gazing out to sea in a flowing skirt that ripples in the wind is just a beautiful picture. And, I confess: I like to know that I’m making a beautiful picture.

In short: skirts are so much fun!

I am not my own; I have given myself to Jesus. He must be my only love. The state of helpless poverty that may befall me if I do not marry does not frighten me. All I need is a little food and a few pieces of clothing. With the work of my hands I shall always earn what is necessary and what is left over I’ll give to my relatives and to the poor. If I should become sick and unable to work, then I shall be like the Lord on the Cross. He will have mercy on me and help me, I am sure.

-Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha

I love Kateri!! She was an amazing woman and I cannot wait until she is canonized!

today is the Feast of the Holy Innocents (matthew 2:13-18).

from today’s Office of Readings, here is a sermon by St Quodvultdeus on the Holy Innocents:

The children die for Christ, though they do not know it. The parents mourn for the death of martyrs. The child makes of those as yet unable to speak fit witnesses to Himself. See the kind of kingdom that is His, coming as He did in order to be this kind of king. See how the deliverer is already working deliverance, the saviour already working salvation.

But you, Herod, do not know this and are disturbed and furious. While you vent your fury against the child, you are already paying Him homage, and do not know it.

How great a gift of grace is here! To what merits of their own do the children owe this kind of victory? They cannot speak, yet they bear witness to Christ. They cannot use their limbs to engage in battle, yet already they bear off the palm of victory.

We enter fairyland… or perhaps we’ve always been here. Regardless, the castle stands before us, a thing of elegant architecture with many towers. One tower stands out in particular: the one with the wide spacious balcony, the railing of which is draped over with roses. We need hardly be told: that is the princess’ balcony, lovely and romantic. Through the castle gates, up the staircases, and into the room of the princess. She might not be aware of it, but her room says a vast deal about her character. Is it tidy? Is it simple, or decorated in some way? What hangs on the walls? What books does she keep? What music?

A room is going to speak volumes. It will give some indication of the princess’ taste in reading, and whether her taste is good. It will demonstrate her discipline in consistently making an effort to keep her surroundings neat and orderly. It will show what her interests are, what she thinks about, what matters to her. Her choice of clothes will do much the same thing. It will show her taste, her thoughtfulness, and her modesty.

In writing a book that basically centers around princesses it would be quite easy to write an inordinate amount on the particulars of what makes a gown fitting for such an esteemed lady. After all, princess and clothes go together. My intention is to avoid the particulars of the matter at all costs, and focus on only three general points: courtesy, modesty, and appropriateness, or, in short, the principles, and not the method of applying them. My reasoning is that it simply isn’t possibly to set one method. When one is dealing with a topic like appearance and dress there are all sorts of cultural considerations, and to elevate one above another would require a meticulous amount of research, an extremely well-argued case, and far more pages than this book consists of.

Courtesy is, I think it will not be denied, very important for the princess. Presumably her family has raised her well and she exhibits her good breeding. The man once considered a gentleman was the man of noble, or gentle, birth, and gradually the title was claimed for men who were noble. The ideal princess should recognize that her stature in the eyes of other isn’t dependent on her rank, but on her bearing. She is not gentle because of her birth; she is gentle because she is.

The question of courtesy is an interesting one to tackle in this day and age. It almost requires one to answer the question: What is courtesy? In past eras it would be extremely discourteous for a woman to go out in public without putting herself together to some extent. To go out in grubby, casual, around-the-house clothes simply wasn’t done. Now, however, it is done, and nobody thinks anything of it. In a large part society’s norms are going to dictate what courtesy is. Is there a standard of courtesy beyond what society deems acceptable? In other words, just because society doesn’t care if we go out without dressing up a little, is dressing up a little no longer considered a common courtesy?

Some things are going to be dependent on society. The mode of greeting, for instance, will vary from time to time and place to place. We may be accustomed to a handshake at one point, and at another point a hearty kiss. Either way, it’s a very definite, prescribed, and expected form. This is where I begin to feel rather suspicious of society and their view of courtesy in dress. If society were saying that this new fashion of traipsing around town in pajama bottoms is the new form of courtesy, that would be one thing. But I have to say, I doubt that society is saying go ahead, go out in pajamas, for it’s courteous. Society seems to be in fact saying, go ahead, go out in pajamas, for courtesy is unessential.

Society strikes me as not setting a new standard of courtesy for a new age, but as dismissing it altogether. If society said: “It’s completely out of character for the reality of the present day to shake a man’s hand when greeting him. You see that we now slap him across the face to convey our joy at seeing him,” I might be a little baffled at the oddity of the development, but then again I, being slightly on the stand-offish side, might be a little bit baffled by the way some people kiss near-strangers simply to say “hello.” But if society says, on the other hand: “You want to slap that man across the face upon meeting him in the street? Well, none of our business. We don’t care.”

In brief, I don’t see this tendency towards lackadaisical dress in public as a shift in standards to “keep with the times.” Once upon a time it would be extremely discourteous for a woman to show her ankles in public. As the 20th century progressed, that became gradually more acceptable. But it wasn’t because society didn’t care. If the women of the 1950’s didn’t care about their dress, I don’t know who did. Ankles were shown, but this wasn’t because women didn’t care about courtesy, but because they did. If pajamas in public are actually an indication of 21st courtesy rather than a disinterest in it, I’ve missed something.

We enter fairyland… or perhaps we’ve always been here. Regardless, the castle stands before us, a thing of elegant architecture with many towers. One tower stands out in particular: the one with the wide spacious balcony, the railing of which is draped over with roses. We need hardly be told: that is the princess’ balcony, lovely and romantic. Through the castle gates, up the staircases, and into the room of the princess. She might not be aware of it, but her room says a vast deal about her character. Is it tidy? Is it simple, or decorated in some way? What hangs on the walls? What books does she keep? What music?

A room is going to speak volumes. It will give some indication of the princess’ taste in reading, and whether her taste is good. It will demonstrate her discipline in consistently making an effort to keep her surroundings neat and orderly. It will show what her interests are, what she thinks about, what matters to her. Her choice of clothes will do much the same thing. It will show her taste, her thoughtfulness, and her modesty.

In writing a book that basically centers around princesses it would be quite easy to write an inordinate amount on the particulars of what makes a gown fitting for such an esteemed lady. After all, princess and clothes go together. My intention is to avoid the particulars of the matter at all costs, and focus on only three general points: courtesy, modesty, and appropriateness, or, in short, the principles, and not the method of applying them. My reasoning is that it simply isn’t possibly to set one method. When one is dealing with a topic like appearance and dress there are all sorts of cultural considerations, and to elevate one above another would require a meticulous amount of research, an extremely well-argued case, and far more pages than this book consists of.

Courtesy is, I think it will not be denied, very important for the princess. Presumably her family has raised her well and she exhibits her good breeding. The man once considered a gentleman was the man of noble, or gentle, birth, and gradually the title was claimed for men who were noble. The ideal princess should recognize that her stature in the eyes of other isn’t dependent on her rank, but on her bearing. She is not gentle because of her birth; she is gentle because she is.

The question of courtesy is an interesting one to tackle in this day and age. It almost requires one to answer the question: What is courtesy? In past eras it would be extremely discourteous for a woman to go out in public without putting herself together to some extent. To go out in grubby, casual, around-the-house clothes simply wasn’t done. Now, however, it is done, and nobody thinks anything of it. In a large part society’s norms are going to dictate what courtesy is. Is there a standard of courtesy beyond what society deems acceptable? In other words, just because society doesn’t care if we go out without dressing up a little, is dressing up a little no longer considered a common courtesy?

Some things are going to be dependent on society. The mode of greeting, for instance, will vary from time to time and place to place. We may be accustomed to a handshake at one point, and at another point a hearty kiss. Either way, it’s a very definite, prescribed, and expected form. This is where I begin to feel rather suspicious of society and their view of courtesy in dress. If society were saying that this new fashion of traipsing around town in pajama bottoms is the new form of courtesy, that would be one thing. But I have to say, I doubt that society is saying go ahead, go out in pajamas, for it’s courteous. Society seems to be in fact saying, go ahead, go out in pajamas, for courtesy is unessential.

Society strikes me as not setting a new standard of courtesy for a new age, but as dismissing it altogether. If society said: “It’s completely out of character for the reality of the present day to shake a man’s hand when greeting him. You see that we now slap him across the face to convey our joy at seeing him,” I might be a little baffled at the oddity of the development, but then again I, being slightly on the stand-offish side, might be a little bit baffled by the way some people kiss near-strangers simply to say “hello.” But if society says, on the other hand: “You want to slap that man across the face upon meeting him in the street? Well, none of our business. We don’t care.”

In brief, I don’t see this tendency towards lackadaisical dress in public as a shift in standards to “keep with the times.” Once upon a time it would be extremely discourteous for a woman to show her ankles in public. As the 20th century progressed, that became gradually more acceptable. But it wasn’t because society didn’t care. If the women of the 1950’s didn’t care about their dress, I don’t know who did. Ankles were shown, but this wasn’t because women didn’t care about courtesy, but because they did. If pajamas in public are actually an indication of 21st courtesy rather than a disinterest in it, I’ve missed something.

Let all mortal flesh keep silence,
and with fear and trembling stand;
ponder nothing earthly minded,
for with blessing in his hand
Christ our God to earth descendeth,
our full homage to demand.

King of kings, yet born of Mary,
as of old on earth he stood,
Lord of lords in human vesture,
in the Body and the Blood
he will give to all the faithful
his own self for heavenly food.

Rank on rank the host of heaven
spreads its vanguard on the way,
as the Light of Light descendeth
from the realms of endless day,
that the powers of hell may vanish
as the darkness clears away.

At his feet the six-winged seraph;
cherubim with sleepless eye,
veil their faces to the Presence,
as with ceaseless voice they cry,
“Alleluia, alleluia!
Alleluia, Lord Most High!”

This is one of my most favorite non-Marian hymns! I first learned it with the Sisters where the first two lines were all we sang as part of a joke. :-)

The idea for this project came at the time when such ideas generally come to my mind: at midnight. One by one the various topics came to me, and occasionally particular sentences would spring to my mind. It all came quite quickly, as I paced my bedroom floor in the dark, and I filed it all away in the back of my mind, hoping that none of it would be lost. The one thing that would not come, however, and refused to keep, was the ideal way in which to order the book. I considered starting with the exteriors and working in; I considered going from least importance to greatest; but in the end the best I could come up with was to order the book the way it worked.

This means starting with the Princess herself, though from her point of view she is the least important of the four total persons we’ll be considering. And it also means starting not only with the least important character, but also with the least important attributes of that character. As we move on to study her in relation to her Queen she’ll increase in depth; in relation to her Prince she’ll use her treasure for his sake; and in relation to her King she’ll have the foundation on which everything else is built.

This first part of the book is dedicated, then, to the Princess herself, and only to the most exterior qualities she possesses. These exteriors aren’t entirely irrelevant, however, for they are a reflection of her interior, and so deserve some consideration. And, quite frankly, they’re fun to talk about. As little girls we generally equated princesses with lovely clothing, dignified bearing, and a certain grace and elegance. This is entirely appropriate. There’s a reason that princesses are always so beautiful in fairy-tales. It’s because fairy-tales are very Catholic. The Church has always given us exteriors to help us understand the depths of of the matter. Rather than leave us trying to comprehend the Sacrament of the Baptism in the abstract the Church attaches the supernatural graces to the completely natural concept of water and cleansing. Princesses are beautiful in fairy-tales because their souls are beautiful.

In fairyland we should feel rather under the same obligation as the classic princess. To be a princess in disguise doesn’t mean to be a princess in disguise as a wicked witch. It means to be a princess in disguise as a modern everyday girl, because of her deep humility, but recognized by others as something a little out of the ordinary. The Queen of Heaven and Earth was disguised as a poor Jewish woman, because of her deep humility, but still recognized by all who knew and loved her as something beautiful beyond expression. Disguise yourself, by all means. If you’re a princess, you are a princess in secret, because you want the light not to shine upon you but your King. But in your disguise continue to be what you are. If you disguise yourself as something contrary to what you are, the light of glory will fall neither on you or your King; the people who surround you will look elsewhere.

Disguise yourself, by all means, but the little girls, like Blanche, should always know that you are a princess… simply in disguise.

The idea for this project came at the time when such ideas generally come to my mind: at midnight. One by one the various topics came to me, and occasionally particular sentences would spring to my mind. It all came quite quickly, as I paced my bedroom floor in the dark, and I filed it all away in the back of my mind, hoping that none of it would be lost. The one thing that would not come, however, and refused to keep, was the ideal way in which to order the book. I considered starting with the exteriors and working in; I considered going from least importance to greatest; but in the end the best I could come up with was to order the book the way it worked.

This means starting with the Princess herself, though from her point of view she is the least important of the four total persons we’ll be considering. And it also means starting not only with the least important character, but also with the least important attributes of that character. As we move on to study her in relation to her Queen she’ll increase in depth; in relation to her Prince she’ll use her treasure for his sake; and in relation to her King she’ll have the foundation on which everything else is built.

This first part of the book is dedicated, then, to the Princess herself, and only to the most exterior qualities she possesses. These exteriors aren’t entirely irrelevant, however, for they are a reflection of her interior, and so deserve some consideration. And, quite frankly, they’re fun to talk about. As little girls we generally equated princesses with lovely clothing, dignified bearing, and a certain grace and elegance. This is entirely appropriate. There’s a reason that princesses are always so beautiful in fairy-tales. It’s because fairy-tales are very Catholic. The Church has always given us exteriors to help us understand the depths of of the matter. Rather than leave us trying to comprehend the Sacrament of the Baptism in the abstract the Church attaches the supernatural graces to the completely natural concept of water and cleansing. Princesses are beautiful in fairy-tales because their souls are beautiful.

In fairyland we should feel rather under the same obligation as the classic princess. To be a princess in disguise doesn’t mean to be a princess in disguise as a wicked witch. It means to be a princess in disguise as a modern everyday girl, because of her deep humility, but recognized by others as something a little out of the ordinary. The Queen of Heaven and Earth was disguised as a poor Jewish woman, because of her deep humility, but still recognized by all who knew and loved her as something beautiful beyond expression. Disguise yourself, by all means. If you’re a princess, you are a princess in secret, because you want the light not to shine upon you but your King. But in your disguise continue to be what you are. If you disguise yourself as something contrary to what you are, the light of glory will fall neither on you or your King; the people who surround you will look elsewhere.

Disguise yourself, by all means, but the little girls, like Blanche, should always know that you are a princess… simply in disguise.

A gem of light, clarity and conciseness, this article was written originally in Latin by Fr. Maximilian and published in the first issue of his international Latin quarterly for priests MILES IMMACULATAE January 1938 

HOW MANY HAVE WRITTEN of you, O Immaculata, but all of them have humbly confessed they were unable to write anything worthy of you. This conviction alone consoled them, that you yourself would speak to souls with their words, and instruct the humble and chaste more richly than the writers themselves could have understood the things of which they wrote.

Please let me praise you, too, most holy Virgin, even if I know that I, too, who write of you am unworthy, and that no human intellect that comprehends your glory is really sufficient.

You are the Refuge of sinners, the Help of Christians, and Queen of apostles, of martyrs, of confessors, of all the saints and of the angels themselves, the Mother of Christ, the Mother of the Savior, the Mother of the Redeemer, the true Mother of God.

Here the inept human intellect that would grasp the infinity of God and consequently the dignity of the Mother of God is already deficient.

God is love. In the fullness of this life the Father generates the Son; the Spirit however proceeds from the Father and the Son.

But since God also loved the possible images of himself, he chose some of them and gave them real existence. These creatures perfect themselves by the force of reaction as it were, and so tend back to God from whom they proceed.

In fact, even men endowed with free will similarly tend back to God, but to what imperfections are they not subject, and how much do they not quarrel with the Divine Will, with the Godhead?

From eternity God foresaw a creature who would in no way, even in the least matter, ever swerve away from him; who would never waste any grace, or appropriate for herself any of the gifts she would receive from him. The Giver of grace, the Holy Spirit, has dwelt in her soul from the first moment of her existence. He took complete and absolute possession of her, and entered into her to such a degree that the title of Spouse of the Holy Spirit gives us only a remote, feeble, imperfect although true inkling of their relationship.

Nor did he permit the stain of Original Sin to defile her. And she was created as the woman conceived without sin, the Woman Conceived Immaculately.

At Lourdes the Immaculate Holy Virgin responded to Bernadette who was repeatedly asking who she was: “I am the Immaculate Conception.” With these clear words she expressed the fact that she was not only the Woman Immaculately Conceived, but that she is, yes, Immaculate Conception Itself, in the same way as it is one thing to be something white, and another thing to be its whiteness; as it is one thing to be something perfect and another thing to be the perfection of that thing.

In giving his own name God spoke thus to Moses: “I am who am” (Ex. 3: 14). That is, it belongs to my essence that by my nature I always exist of myself: without any principle. The Immaculate Virgin, however, has her origin from God; she is a creature, she is a conception; still, she is the Immaculate Conception.

What a profound mystery lies hidden in these words.

And just as everything in the natural and supernatural order comes down from the Father through the Son and the Spirit into creatures, so similarly all creatures also ascend back to the Father through the Spirit and the Son.

And yet the most perfect of creatures, the Immaculate Virgin is lifted above every creature, and in an unspeakable manner she is divine. For the Son of God descended from the Father through the Spirit and dwelt in her and was incarnate in her and she was made the Mother of God, the Mother of the God-Man, the Mother of Jesus. From that moment every grace coming from the Father through the Incarnate Son Jesus and the Spirit who dwells in the Immaculata - is dispensed through the Immaculata. And every sign of love from creatures is presented in God’s presence only after it has been cleansed of its imperfections through the Immaculata and elevated by Jesus to infinite value and therefore, made worthy of the majesty of our Heavenly Father.

The union between the Holy Spirit and the Immaculate Virgin is so set and sealed that the Holy Spirit, by his entering into the soul of the Immaculata, does not flow into other souls except in her presence. Whence she is the Mediatrix of all graces, whence she has been made also the true Mother of every divine grace. Whence she is the Queen of the Angels and Saints, the Help of Christians and the Refuge of Sinners.

O, how little known the Immaculate Virgin still is! When will the souls of men love the Divine Heart of Jesus with her Heart, and in the presence of His Heart love the Heavenly Father?