love whereby thou didst from all eternity freely elect her to be thy Mother; didst preserve her from all taint of original sin, and incomparably adorn her with all graces and all virtues. Let her see therein all the tenderness wherewith thou didst cling to her when she cherished thee, her Child, in her bosom; all the constant unfailing love with which, during the whole time of thy sojourn on earth, thou, who art the Ruler of heaven and earth, didst obey her as a son his mother; and especially in the hour of thy death, when, as though forgetting thine own intolerable anguish, and touched to the heart by her desolation, thou didst provide for her a guardian and a son. Let her see therein that love beyond thought with which thou didst show h er how precious she is in thy sight, when on the day of her most joyous Assumption thou didst exalt her high above all the choirs of angels, and crown her Lady and Queen of heaven and earth. And thus, O good Jesus, may she be still to me a loving and long-suffering Mother, and both in life and in death my compassionate advocate and patroness. Amen.
THANKSGIVING FOR THE GRACES BESTOWED ON THE BLESSED VIRGIN.
