The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1922-04-29
MARY's MONTH.

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The month Of May is distinctly
a period Of Catholic devotion, for
then it is that the Church bids
us remember the greatness of
this wonderful Mother.
In the first place, it is a duty to
honor Mary. We are her bonded
debtors. In order to realize the
immensely of the good she has
done for us it is sufficient to re-
call the tremendous evil which
she was the means Of Graduating,
indirectly, it is true, but still
through her free acceptance of
her part in the Redemption. Eve
justly may be blamed for the ava
lanche Of misery which visited the
world; Mary must be honored for
the barrier placed by her Son to
stem that destruction. Since sin
is a personal matter, each person
redeemed by the blood of Christ
is individually bound by the obi
cation of gratitude towards
Mother and Son.
1t is, moreover, a privilege to
show honor towards this wondrous
creature. Aside from the fact that
next to God we owe all that is
good in us to Mary, honor mani
Tested towards her at once marks
us as children of the faith, follow
ers, Of her Son, subjects Of her
mercies.
Man instinctiyely yields respect
and admiration to excellence. This
is true of the child marvelling at
the unknown or Of the adult bow
ing before the mysterious and the
sublime. A rational being raises
his mind in contemplation Of supe-
rior mental worth. He gazes rev.
erently at moral virtue and offers
homage to sanctity. Only the
mental or moral pervert refuses
recognition Of another's higher
endowments or achievements.
Mary's excellence in every pos
sible manner is vouched for by
God Himself. He had the whole
race before Him.. with the power
of omnipotence to create another
more worthy being. He chose,
however, to shower His most valu-
ed gifts upon the daughter of
Joachim and Anne. So beauteous
did she appear in His sight, that
she was selected to give human
life to His Son. Personally, we
are told by the Fathers, Mary util,
lied every grace bestowed upon
her, and thus she rose through her
free cooperation with grace to the
very pinnacle of sanctity. She
thus became not only ''our fallen
natures solitary boast but the
Queen of all creation.
The Church, through her pom.
tiffs, Fathers. councils and saints
has well nigh exhausted language
in rendering tribute to her whose
'"Thy will be done" made possible
the Church itself. Realizing the
altitude of Mary's position, the
Church pays her honor superior tt
that offered all the other saints
and angels. She is not merely &
saint; she is Gods Mother, and il
virtue of that eminence she beams
| before us far and above all created
beings.
Barren honor, esthetic delight
artistic tribute are not sufficient
to meet the obligation we have
contracted towards the Blessed
Mother Of Our Redeemer. True
homage, genuine loyalty is found
among those alone who strive tt
Ipattern their lives in conformity
with their protestations of reyer
ence. The personal benefit to bl
derived from a Catholic devotion
towards Mary is that which trans
lates veneration into imitation. I
lit be true that imitation is tn,
highest fattery, it is none the les
true that such is our duty tina
only by copying in. our lives tn
virtues SO heroically exemplifiet
by Mary can we truly be said I,
honor her.
This is the time to put fort
Especial efforts to trace in OIL
souls, so far as possible, the. viz
tues that raised this humble Mai,
to the very throne of God.