God is One; hence He loves unity and union, and hates all that is not in accordance with this unity. The reason is this - that as He is perfect in all His attributes, He must have a sovereign love for all that is perfect, and unity is perfection. He must also be averse to all disunion, because whatever is disunited is so far imperfect.
As then God wished to show us how dear to Him is union, He effected three distinct modes of union in the Most Holy Virgin on the day of His Incarnation.
Firstly, He united the Divine to the human nature; and so admirable and sublime is this union, that it infinitely surpasses all that human or angelic intelligence can comprehend. Nor could the Seraphim or Cherubim have ever imagined anything so wonderful. Indeed, two opposite extremes were to meet - the Divine Nature, which is essential perfection, and human nature, the deepest misery: the contraries being the greatest that can be conceived. Nevertheless, God in His Wisdom and infinite Goodness was able to find a method of uniting the two natures so intimately through His Incarnation in the womb of Our Lady that in one Person man was made God and God became Man, without disparagement to His Deity.
The second union was that of Maternity with Virginity. This certainly is most admirable and beyond all the laws of nature. A virgin becomes a mother, and remains still a virgin after maternity. This miraculous and supernatural union could only be effected by the omnipotent hand of God, Who granted this privilege to Mary; and as this union has been effected in her alone, so she alone will be eternally both a Virgin and a Mother, and the Mother of a Son Who is both God and Man.
The third union accomplished by God in our glorious Lady was that of the most ardent charity with the most profound humility.
Reflect on these two virtues, and you will ask how it is possible that charity can be united with humility, if the nature of one is to soar on high, and that of the other to abase itself? Naturally, indeed, it is impossible but God, Who is One, and Who loves and desires unity, manifested the greatness of His power by uniting these two dissimilar virtues in the soul of Mary.
In her, charity was so united to humility that one depended on the other, and whilst her charity continues humble, her humility is ever full of charity. Charity raised her soul above all creatures, and humility abased it below them all, and yet the union of these two virtues was continuous.
To what a high degree of humility and charity did not the Most Holy Virgin attain at the moment of the Incarnation! Ponder her words to the Archangel: Ecce ancilla Domini, fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum - 'Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done unto me according to Thy word.' No sooner did she hear herself proclaimed the Mother of God, the Queen of Angels and of men, than she abased herself beneath all, saying: 'Behold the handmaid of the Lord!' This is a great act of humility.
The Most Holy Virgin in that moment had so clear a knowledge of the misery and nothingness of human nature, and of the infinite distance between God and man, that, seeing herself raised above all creatures, she abased herself beneath them all, considering her own nothingness and the infinite greatness of God Who had chosen her for His Mother. True it is, then, that Mary never humbled herself so profoundly as when she pronounced these words: Ecce ancilla Domini - 'Behold the handmaid of the Lord!'
But see how the Most Blessed Virgin united the most perfect charity to her humility when consenting to the proposal the Angel made her in the Name of God: Fiat mihi secundum verbum - 'Be it done unto me according to Thy word' - were her words; and thus, by charity, she was raised above the Cherubim and Seraphim, and at that very moment the Eternal Son of God took flesh in her virginal womb, and she became His Mother!
Let us learn from the example of Our Lady that humility does not merely consist in diffidence in ourselves, but it must be accompanied by confidence in God. This confidence in God is produced by this diffidence in ourselves and in our own powers. This confidence is also the source of generosity of soul, of which Our Blessed Lady gives an example on this occasion when she says the words: 'Be it done unto me according to Thy word.' It is true, would she say, that I am unworthy of this grace, in regard to what I am only in myself; but as all that is good in me is from God, and as that which you announce to me is His Most Holy Will, I believe that it can and will be done, and, therefore, let it be accomplished in me!
Humility conceals the virtues of a soul, in order the better to preserve them; nevertheless, when charity requires, it allows them to be known for their increase and perfection. Thus it resembles those plants which close their beautiful flowers at night and open them only when the sun is high, so that people speak of those flowers as sleeping during the night. Humility, in the same way, conceals all our virtues, and never allows them to appear, except for the exercise of charity, which, being a celestial, Divine gift, not an acquired virtue, is truly as a sun amidst all the virtues, and should always rule over them. Hence the humility, which is prejudicial to charity, is undoubtedly a false humility.
Spiritual Flowers
Let us have a supreme contempt for all that is not God. Oh, how sweet it is to abandon one's self into His hands! Daily experience proves to us that the less we trust in our miserable efforts, the more does God work in us by His omnipotent virtue. All consists in being a docile instrument in His hands, and seemingly dead. - P. Milley
It is good to leave Our Lord sometimes to serve others for His sake; and we should do so, if we can prevent our devotion from causing annoyance. - Saint Francis of Sales
As the olive, when planted in vineyards, communicates its savour to the vine, so charity communicates its perfection to the virtues amidst which it flourishes. It is also true that when the vine is engrafted on the olive, it not only receives its taste, but also its sap; thus we should not be satisfied with the possession of charity and with the exercise of all other virtues, but it is necessary that all our virtues be accompanied and produced by charity, and be attributed to this virtue alone. - Saint Francis of Sales
Example
The Efficacy of the 'Salve Regina'
The following appeared in the French journal, the Univers: 'We have already announced the departure of five Nuns of the Cross, on their way to apply their admirable spirit of unselfishness to the exercise of works of charity in the Diocese of Natchitoches, in America.
'After a painful misfortune at sea, these worthy Sisters have landed at Havre. They were to set out from this port, and in a letter addressed to the Bishop of Saint Brieux, the Mother Superior of the Sisters of the Cross thus writes:
'"Our Sisters started about eleven, on the morning of the 10th of November, 1856. They had received the blessing of our Chaplain, and did not expect ever to return; but Divine Providence had disposed otherwise. The steamer was already before Cherbourg, when, at about eleven o'clock in the night following their departure, a fearful noise was heard throughout the steamer. All the passengers were called to go on deck, and they came up exclaiming: 'We are lost! We are lost!'
'"One of the boilers had burst, and the explosion had wounded six men and set fire to the vessel. 'Have you a Priest on board?' said a lady to one of our Sisters. 'No,' she replied. 'So much the worse,' said the lady, 'because our death is certain.' 'No, madam,' calmly and confidently replied Sister Mary Agatha; 'let us invoke the Most Holy Virgin, and she will save us.' Our Sisters immediately went down on their knees, with their hands crossed on their breast, and recited the Salve Regina. Many passengers and sailors joined them, and their cries reached the heart of the Mother of God. A few moments after, when the Sisters, who had gone down into a cabin, were continuing their prayers, they were informed that the fire had been miraculously extinguished, and that there was no further danger. No one doubted that their salvation was owing to the prayers which had been addressed to the Blessed Virgin Mary."' - Univers, 30 November 1856
Prayer - O most humble of Virgins, holy Mother of God, Mistress of life and Lady of the universe, teach me humility and the true love of this precious virtue. How great is the pride of my heart, who am but dust and ashes; I have eagerly sought for the praises of men, when shame and confusion for my innumerable infidelities should have made me feel my nothingness! Take pity on me, O Holy Virgin; banish the proud thoughts that arise in my soul, and let me imitate your humility here on earth, that I may be worthy to experience, with you, the truth of these words: 'The humble shall exult in the abundance of peace.' Amen.
Ejaculation - Pray for us, O most humble of all Virgins!
Practice - Endeavour today to neglect no opportunity of practising humility and charity.
- text taken from the book A Month of Mary According to the Spirit of Saint Francis de Sales, by Father Gaspar Gilli