fusion before the dawning aurora, so the demons before the coming of Mary, — for she was the first to throw off the yoke of Satan, the first to put his forces to flight.
Brethren, you came here to-night with the simple faith of little children, to gather around Mary, your Mother, to pay her your tribute of love, and to make or renew your promises of obedience to her maternal instructions. There are many, alas! that stand aloof in proud self-sufficiency, and sneer, perhaps, at what they consider our weak puerility. But be not deceived. Christ, pointing to a group of children, said to His followers: " To be My true disciples, you must be as these." " For," says St. Paul, " God resisteth the proud and giveth grace to the humble." It is not the high hills, but the valleys that catch the heavenly downpour, and the deeper the valley the more it holds. Hence, Mary was full of grace because the Lord regarded the humility of His handmaid. Never be ashamed or afraid to profess yourselves children of Mary. If you are married, pray to Mary the Mother of God, the spouse of the Holy Ghost; if you are single, let Mary, the Virgin of virgins, be your ideal. If you are rich, be a lady-in-waiting on the Queen of heaven, or a member of her royal guard; if you are poor you will find congenial company in the humble home of Nazareth; if you are a sinner — and who of us is not? — turn to the Refuge of sinners, to Mary, the Mother of mercy. Fidelity to your sodality is a mark of predestination. You are the successors of that first sodality — the little band of shepherds that
