The paradise of the Christian soul/Chap. II. Meditation on the Lord’s Prayer, adapted to the Worship and Veneration of the most Blessed Virgin Mother of God
CHAPTER II.
Meditation on the Lord's Prayer,
ADAPTED TO THE WORSHIP AND VENERATION OF THE MOST
BLESSED VIRGIN
Our Father who art in heaven.
O Jesus, the Word and the only-begotten Son of the eternal Father! who, when thou wert in the form of God, and in the bosom of the Father, thoughtest it not robbery to be equal with God, but emptiedst thyself, by coming from heaven to earth, and entering the womb of an unspotted Virgin, vouchsafedst to become the Son of man, and our brother, and even tookest the form of a servant; and thus wert seen on the earth, conversedst with men, and wroughtest our salvation in the midst of the earth. And at length, having accomplished the work of Redemption, thou wentest back to him who sent thee; that thou mightst receive us too into heaven, as heirs of God, and co-heirs with thee!
Therefore, let us have access to thee, O Jesus, by thy Mother, for by her wert thou given to us. Let her integrity excuse in thy sight the guilt of our corruption, and her humility, that is so pleasing to thee, obtain pardon for our vanity and pride. Let the abundance of her charity cover the multitude of our sins, and her glorious fruitfulness obtain for us fruitfulness in merits. Now we beseech thee, through her, first, that
Hallowed be thy name.
For thou art great, O Lord, and exceedingly to be praised; but praise is not seemly in the mouth of a sinner.[1] Therefore let our want and unworthiness be succoured by the Virgin Mother of God, I mean, thy Mother. For if the truest praise is to be praised by one who is himself an object of praise, what man, or even Angel, would be so well able to sanctify thy Name as thy most holy Mother?
And behold, her soul magnifies the Lord, because thou hast done for her great things, and through her for us, for thou art mighty, and holy is thy Name; that from henceforth all generations may call her blessed. Let this praise and glory of the Mother redound to the Son. And while the whole Church celebrates the name and the wonders of so admirable a Mother, to thy Name, O Jesus, be given the glory, that the rivers may flow to the place from whence they come, and flow again more abundantly.[2]
Thy kingdom come.
O Jesus, Son of David! who of the Virgin Mary, the Queen of Heaven, wert born King of the Jews, to restore us exiles to thy Kingdom, and to be King over us, and shalt reign in the house of Jacob for ever, and of thy Kingdom there shall be no end! When it pleased thy royal clemency to visit thy people, from whom it had been so long removed, this Virgin alone was found worthy that her virginal court should be chosen by thee, O King of kings, coming from thy kingly palaces, to be thy throne and first mansion among the sons of men! Let, then, thy Kingdom come to us, to make us co-heirs of which thou enteredst the Virgin’s womb, and emptiedst thyself, taking the form of a servant; in which it was thy Will to suffer insults, injuries, scourging, and finally the death of the Cross, and so to enter into thy glory. Destroy, O King of glory! the kingdom of sin and Satan, and reign in us now by grace, that at length we may reign with thee in glory.
Thy will be done.
Make us, O Lord, promptly and cheerfully to obey thy Will; and this by the example of thy mother, who indeed was agitated by the unwonted spectacle and address of an Angel, but presently yielded herself most readily to thy Will, in saying: Behold the handmaid of the Lord: be it done to me according to thy word;[3] and by thy own example also, who, though true God, yet obeyedst thy Mother, and likewise thy foster-father. And was subject to them. Shall not my soul be subject to God, and even to man also for God’s sake, when the first place was yielded to obedience both by the Mother of God, and by God himself?
Our daily bread.
We expect at thy hands the things necessary both for body and soul. For thou knowest, O Father, that we have need of all these things. But thy Mother is careful of us too, and entreats thee for her children. For as she hid not from thee of old the necessity of the bridegroom and the bride, so too does she take care of us, and reminds thee of the penury of the wretched. Hearken to her, O good Jesus, when she intercedes for us! Wilt thou, who hast so often had pity on the multitudes, and satisfied so many thousands, refuse bread to us, when we ask it of thee through thy Mother?
But behold, the bread which is my first desire was baked by that very Mother in her womb! Remember, O Lord, that thou art flesh of her flesh, born in Bethlehem, that is the house of Bread, and laid by her in the manger, like the fodder of beasts of burden. And behold, I am become as a beast before thee.[4] Who is there that can give me to eat fully and often of that fruit of the womb, the Bread of Angels, the sustenance to eternal life, which, neither dug nor sown, but all untilled, that blessed earth has budded forth? Feed me for the necessities of the body, but first of all of the soul, thou who givest food to all flesh, even to the young ravens that call upon thee! Thou openest thy hand, and fillest with blessing every living thing.
And forgive us.
For we confess that by a large debt we are beholden to thee, and that we owe thee more than ten thousand talents. Alas! O good Jesus, that we are not able to pay I But with thee, O Lord, there is mercy. And, behold, thy Mother is our Advocate with thee. For there is no other who is so well able beside as thy most loving Mother, our Mediatress, through whom it was that we, O God, first received thy mercy. She it is in whom that priceless work of mercy, which thou, O God, before time was, hast predestined for our redemption, was first wrought by thee, the Maker of the world! She it is in whose womb was begun the salvation of the world. For there it was that the wall of Page:TheParadiseOfTheChristianSoul.djvu/625