MOTHER MOST PURE

(1) MARY, you are the Mother most pure because you were perfectly free from every stain of sin. The words of the Holy Spirit are to be applied to you: "Thou art all fair, O my love, and there is not a spot in thee" (Canticles 4,7). Even the greatest saints in the very instant of conception are tainted with original sin. You alone are an exception; you were conceived and born without original sin.

How could you, who were to crush the serpent's head, have been under the slavery of the devil even for a moment? As the chosen Daughter of the Father, the most holy Mother of the Son, and the immaculate Spouse of the Holy Spirit, you could never have been under the curse of sin. Your dignity as Mother of God demanded such a privilege. It was fitting that the God of all purity should spring from the greatest purity. God was able to grant such a privilege, and He did. And for this I praise you as Mother Most Pure.

(2) MARY, you were also preserved from all actual sin and imperfection, so that you never offended God even by the most trifling offense. On your deathbed you were as pure as when you were conceived and born. Because God had destined you to be the Mother of His Son, He gave you extraordinary graces with the help of which it was possible for you to preserve your soul from even the shadow of sin. You were ever obedient to the inspirations of grace, and you never had the least inclination to sin. You detested sin as the greatest of all evils.

Mother Most Pure, be always my model of purity. Strengthen me against mortal sin, and help me to use the graces God gives me to overcome it. Aid me in shunning even willful venial sin and everything that may lead to it.

(3) MARY, you had no inclination even to whatever was useless or dangerous to your virtue. Your heart, being filled with the love of God, had no room in it for anything that was not God or did not lead to God. You were so pure that not even a natural imperfection cast the least shadow upon your soul. Your nature, which had remained untouched by original sin, was completely under the control of the spirit, and the spirit was subject to the will of God in all things. You were the perfect model of sanctity because everything in your life was well regulated, everything in beautiful harmony.

Mother Most Pure, detach my heart from the perishable goods of this world, that I may not risk losing the eternal joys of heaven. May I hereafter have the happiness of beholding your glory in heaven, since God has promised His kingdom to those who are pure of heart: "Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God" (Matt. 5,8).

Almighty and eternal God, Who in the Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary prepared a worthy dwelling for the Holy Spirit, mercifully grant that devoutly celebrating the feast day of this most pure Heart, we may be enabled to live according to Your own Heart. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. (Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Aug. 22)