Vigils: Memorial of the BVM
LET US PRAISE MARY
From a sermon by St Aelred of Rievaulx 7
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Let us…behold [Mary]; let us behold her excellence, her humility, her charity, and her purity; let us behold her and praise her not only in voice, but by our imitation of her. For if we truly wish to praise her, let us as much as we can imitate her most holy way of life and—what is of greatest use to us—her humility… If our soul still experiences some servitude to sin and suffers some contrariness from its servant, that is, from the flesh, and if we dare not praise, then let us not be slow to pray and implore her help…
We can be sure that as she is more excellent and blessed than any creature, so she is more favorable and merciful than every creature. Therefore let us confidently beseech her and place our trust in her. For we have many examples of her love. We know that many have been snatched away from the snares of the devil through her love; many, who were often in despair were reconciled through her favor; many who were in great torments after death were snatched from these very punishments, because they loved her and zealously commended themselves to her in their lifetime.
Therefore let her be our common joy, our common glory, our common hope, our common consolation, our common reconciliation, and our common refuge. If we are sad, let us fly to her so that she may gladden us. If we are disheartened, let us fly to her so that she may make us cheerful. If we are in despair, let us fly to her so that she may raise us up. If we are troubled, let us fly to her so that she may console us. If we are suffering persecutions, let us fly to her so that she may protect us. If we are at odds with her son, let us fly to her so that she may reconcile us. Let her be our guardian in this life and our protection at death. May she protect us from sin even now, and later may she present us to her beloved son…
Let us lift our hearts and the eyes of our heart to her, our Lady, our advocate, our helper. Think of how much confidence we can have in her who, having been wonderfully illuminated by the sun of justice, dispels by her own brilliant light the darkness that the first woman, Eve, brought into this world. Therefore let us confidently pray to her who is able to help us through her excellence and wishes to do so through her mercy. Let us pray that she may intercede for us as much as she can to her son, so that just as he deigned to be born from her for us, through her he may deign to have mercy [on us].
Therefore let us honor her as much as we can…and let us love her as much as we can, calling upon her most tender mercy, so that she may deign to pray for us to her most sweet son, that what we are unable to do by our own merits we may obtain by her patronage and the efficacy of the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever.
7
(CSQ 32:124-125).