The unspeakable joy which Mary and Joseph experienced after the birth of Jesus was of short duration.The unspeakable joy which Mary and Joseph experienced after the birth of Jesus was of short duration.
The Angel of the Lord came again to visit Joseph in sleep, and said to him, 'Arise, and take the Child and His Mother and fly into Egypt, and be there until I shall tell thee, for it will come to pass that Herod will seek the Child to destroy Him.'
See how the heavenly messenger treats Mary and Joseph, precisely as if they were true Religious! How many pretexts might they not have found to be dispensed from obeying? Could we not wait till to-morrow? might they have said. What provisions have we for so long and tedious a journey? Who knows what we may have to suffer from the Egyptians, the declared enemies of the Israelites? Who will give us shelter in that country? These and a thousand other excuses would have been made by us had we been in their place. But perfect models as they were of submission and of confidence, they set out without delay, certain that God would provide for all their necessities. And so it proved, for they found lodging and food, either by means of the trade exercised by Saint Joseph, or by the alms bestowed upon them.
That we may not lose even one of the many instructions given us in this touching mystery, let us consider first that Our Lord, the Eternal Wisdom, does not Himself take the charge of His Family. Being perfect God and perfect Man, He already possessed the use of reason, and from the first instant of His Conception He could have made known to Joseph and to His Blessed Mother all that was to happen to them. However, God the Father had conferred upon the Angel Gabriel the care of the Holy Family, and therefore Our Lord would take no part in it. The Angel commands and is obeyed most faithfully, although he was inferior to Jesus and also to Mary, who, as Mother of God, was endowed with greater graces and perfections than all the celestial spirits.
But this is not all. Observe the order that reigns in this Holy Family. Who can doubt that Our Lady was superior to Saint Joseph in discretion, as well as in all the other qualities required for good government? And, nevertheless, the Angel does not inform her of all that is to be done, but he informs her Spouse, Saint Joseph. It might appear strange that he addresses himself to him rather than to Mary, the Mistress of the house, who carries the Treasure of the Eternal Father. Had she not every reason to be offended at this proceeding of the Angel, who seemed thus to ignore her? She could undoubtedly have said to her Spouse, 'Why should I go into Egypt, when neither my Son nor the Angel have made it known to me?' But Our Lady is silent, and obeys with all simplicity, without being in the least concerned that the Angel had only spoken to Saint Joseph. She knew well that all had been ordained by God; she does not even inquire the reason, but the knowledge that such is the Will of God is sufficient to secure her prompt submission. It is thus God acts towards men - to teach them holy and loving submission. A merely human mind does not wish to yield and to adore the secret mysteries of God and of His Most Holy Will until it is able to ascertain the why and the wherefore of this and that. A thousand reasons are brought forward as of greater discernment or experience, and so on; but they only cause disquiet, ill-temper, and complaints. From the time we begin to criticise everything disturbs us. Let us be satisfied to know what God wants of us, and let this suffice. But (some will say) who can assure us that such is the Will of God? This shows that our hearts would prefer that God should manifest everything directly to us by means of secret inspirations, or that He should send an Angel to announce to us His Will. And yet he did not thus reveal it even to Our Lady, but wished her to come to the knowledge of it through Saint Joseph, to whom she was subject, as to her superior. Our self-love would like to be instructed sometimes by God Himself by means of ecstasies, visions, etc. We indulge ourselves in follies such as these that we may not be subject to the common and ordinary path of subjection to our rules and our superiors. Let it suffice for us to know that God wills our obedience without reflecting on the mental capacities of those who command us, and we shall accustom ourselves to walk with all simplicity in the happy road of holy and tranquil humility, which will render us pleasing to God. O! how many wonderful examples of obedience to the Will of God did not this glorious Virgin leave us during her whole life, and, above all, in her flight into Egypt! Whither, O glorious Virgin, do you direct your steps with that little Infant in your arms? I am going into Egypt, she replies. But why do you go there? Because it is the Will of God. For how long? As long as it pleases God. When will you return? When He shall command me to do so. But when you return will your heart be more happy than at present? O no, certainly not. And why? Because I fulfill the Will of God equally in going, in remaining there, and in returning. When you return, will you go into your own country? She replies, I know no country but the accomplishment of the Will of my God in everything.
O admirable example of obedience! Let us, in imitation of the Blessed Virgin, endeavour to submit to authority at all times and in every circumstance, whether it be pleasing to us or not. Let us go with all simplicity even as far as Egypt - that is, into the midst of enemies - because God Who sends us there will know how to protect us, and assuredly we shall not perish. On the contrary, if we remain in Israel with our enemy, self-will, it will certainly be the destruction of us. In imitation of Mary and Joseph, let us answer the suggestions of the enemy of our soul when he urges us to disobedience in these words: Deus providebit - 'God will provide.' O my God! happy we if we could accustom ourselves to answer our heart always thus when it becomes anxious, and thus banish all solicitude and trouble. Great indeed is the confidence which God asks of us in His Paternal care and Providence; but why do we refuse it to Him when we know that no one has ever been deceived in Him, but, on the contrary, has always reaped therefrom the most copious fruits? And was not this the promise which Our Saviour made to His Apostles when He urged them to this loving confidence? 'Your Father in heaven knoweth that ye have need of these things.'
Spiritual Flowers
Obedience has the property of changing the flower of our desires into the fruits of good works. Shun singularity as far as possible, and do not make yourselves different exteriorly in any way from others. - Saint Teresa
As the best honey is gathered from the flowers of the thyme, which is a small and bitter herb, so when virtues are exercised in the bitterness of the most humble tribulations, they become truly excellent. - Saint Francis of Sales
As the sun gives its heat no less to a rose amidst a thousand other flowers than if it were alone, so Our Lord does not diffuse His love the less upon one soul because He also loves an infinity of others. The power of His love never diminishes on account of the multitude of rays that it diffuses, but is always unchangeable in its immensity. - Saint Francis of Sales
Example
The Excellence of the 'Hail Mary.'
The first Hail Mary pronounced by an Angel produced the greatest of all miracles, and was the source of the salvation of sinful men. If our redemption began with the Angelic Salutation, it follows that our salvation depends in a special manner upon this prayer. If it gave birth to the fruit of eternal life upon this dry and barren earth when it was brought by the messenger of Heaven, it will, if we recite it devoutly, give birth to Jesus Christ in our soul. It is a celestial dew which fertilizes souls, and those that are not refreshed by it do not produce fruit but only briars and thorns. The Most Holy Virgin made the following revelation to the Blessed Alan: 'Know, my son, and do not forget to make it known, that it is a probable sign of damnation to have tepidity, aversion, and negligence in the recital of the Angelical Salutation which brought salvation to the world.'
I know nothing, O Mary, says Thomas à Kempis, that is so glorious for you and so consoling for us as the Angelical Salutation: its sweetness is so great that no words can express it. Most certain it is, says another servant of Mary, that this prayer never ascends to Heaven without obtaining great favours for the body as well as the soul; because this tender Mother always responds with some grace when we salute her with the Hail Mary. The Blessed Virgin promised Saint Gertrude as many favours at the hour of her death as she had recited Ave Marias during her life; and she also counselled Saint Bridget to recite this prayer to obtain the pardon of some acts of impatience. We know that this Mother of Mercy taught Saint Dominic the Holy Rosary as the most efficacious means for obtaining the conversion of heretics and sinners. And, in fact, the historians of that period relate that the first-fruits of this new devotion were manifested by the abjuration of more than a hundred thousand heretics, and the conversion of an incredible number of sinners.
Let us also quote the beautiful words of a Saint. 'The "Ave Maria," well recited, is the enemy that puts the devil to flight, and the weapon that kills him. It is the sanctification of the soul, the gladness of Angels, the melody of the predestinated, the Canticle of the New Testament, the joy of Mary, and the glory of the Most Holy Trinity. The Ave Maria is a celestial dew that fertilizes the soul, a beautiful rose which we present to Mary, and a precious pearl which we bestow upon her. Finally, it is the most magnificent eulogium which can be offered in her honour, and the attractions it possesses have so much power over her heart, that she is constrained to love him who recites it well.'
Another great servant of the Immaculate Virgin says of himself, that whenever he pronounced these words, Hail Mary, the world in his eyes lost all beauty, he felt an increase of Divine love, a more fervent devotion, more firmness in hope, greater joy, and a renewal of virtue and strength in his whole being.
Prayer of Saint Bernard - O sovereign Mistress of Angels and of men, to you do we turn our eyes! We must all appear one day before the Eternal Judge; alas! how shall we dare to present ourselves before Him, loaded as we are with so many sins, and who shall appease His just indignation? No one, O Mother of Mercy, can so assuredly do this but you who loved Him so much, and who were so tenderly loved by Him. Open then, O Mother of Grace, your compassionate ears to our sighs, and the bowels of your mercy to our tears; to you do we run as to our dear Mother. Ah! appease the just indignation of your Divine Son, and restore us to His favour. You do not abhor the sinner, nor do you reject him, however unworthy he may be, if, repentant, he implores your patronage. To you, then, do I have recourse, O my Mother; animate me to hope, sustain my weakness, abandon me not for a single instant, and reconcile me to my Eternal Judge, that I may be able to find mercy at the moment of my death. Amen.
Ejaculation - Monstra te esse matrem - Show me, O Mary, that you are my mother!
Practice - Whatever contradiction you may meet with this day, accept it with resignation, and with the reflection that God wills it.
- text taken from the book A Month of Mary According to the Spirit of Saint Francis de Sales, by Father Gaspar Gilli