from Saint Bernard
Wisdom, which was of God, and which was God, coming down to us from the bosom of the Father, 'built Himself a house,' to wit, the Virgin Mary, His own Mother, in whom 'He hewed Him out seven pillars.' What means this hewing in her of seven pillars, but the preparing her to be, by faith and good works, a worthy habitation for Himself? The numeral three refers to faith - that is, in the Blessed Trinity; and four refers to morality - that is, to the four cardinal virtues. The Holy Trinity was present by its majesty in the Blessed Mary - the Son only being present by taking upon Himself our human nature - and to this the heavenly messenger bears witness, who, revealing to her the hidden mysteries, says, 'Hail, full of grace! the Lord is with thee,' and, a little later, 'The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee' (Luke 1:28,35). Lo! we have here our Lord, we have the power of the Most High, we have the Holy Ghost; so that we have the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
And whether she possessed, as it were so many pillars, the four cardinal virtues also, seems worth our inquiry. And, first, let us see whether she was possessed of fortitude. But how could such a virtue be lacking to her who, rejecting all the pomps of the world, and scorning all the pleasures of the flesh, proposed to live a virginal life for God alone? If I am not mistaken, this is that Virgin of whom Solomon has said: 'Who shall find a valiant woman? far and from the uttermost coasts is the price of her' (Proverbs 31:10). Furthermore, that she was temperate and just we prove more clearly than the daylight from the Angel's words to her and her reply to him. For, having been saluted with such veneration by the Angel in those words, 'Hail, full of grace! the Lord is with thee,' she was not full of pride because she had been blessed by a singular privilege of grace, but she kept silence, and thought within herself what might be the meaning of this unusual salutation. And in this matter what was she if not temperate? But when the same Angel informed her of the heavenly mystery, she earnestly inquired how she, who knew not man, should conceive and bring forth; and in this, certainly, was her prudence shown.
As to justice, she bears its insignia upon her, when she declares herself to be the handmaid of the Lord; for he bears witness as to what constitutes a showing-forth of justice, who says: 'The just shall confess unto thy name.' The Blessed Virgin Mary, then, had fortitude in what she purposed, temperance in her silence, prudence in her questioning, and justice in the profession that she made. With these four pillars of right conduct, then, and those three points of faith aforesaid, heavenly Wisdom hath built Himself a house in her, for He so fulfilled her spirit that, from the fullness of her soul, her body also bore its fruit.
It was meet that God should be born only of a virgin. It was becoming that a virgin-mother should be the Mother of God alone. Therefore, the Creator of mankind, about to be born in our human nature, was obliged, in order to become incarnate, to choose for Himself from among all others - nay, to create for Himself - such a Mother as He knew would be worthy of Him and be pleasing unto Him. Accordingly, His will was that she should be a virgin, that from her, stainless herself, He stainless should come forth, to purge away all our stains. He willed also that she should be humble, that He might be born of her 'meek and humble of heart,' to give us all, in His own person, a needful and a most salutary example of these virtues. He granted a maiden motherhood to her, in whom He had already inspired a devotion to virginity, and had dowered with the merit of her lowliness. And in order that she, who was to conceive and to bring forth the Holy of Holies, should be holy in body, she received the gift of virginity; while she received the gift of humility that she might be holy also in mind.
Let us pray
O God! who, through the mystery of the Incarnate Word, didst mercifully consecrate the house of the Blessed Virgin Mary [and in the midst of Thy Church didst wonderfully place it], grant that, separated from the tabernacles of sinners, we may be made worthy dwellers in Thy holy house. Through the same our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.
Magnificat
My soul doth magnify the Lord. And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. Because He hath regarded the humility of His handmaid; for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. Because He that is mighty hath done great things to me; and holy is His name. And His mercy is, from generation unto generations, to them that fear Him. He hath showed might in His arm: He hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart. He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble. He hath filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He hath sent empty away. He hath received Israel, His servant, being mindful of His mercy. As He spoke to our fathers - to Abraham and to His seed, for ever. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Salve Regina!
Hail, holy Queen, Mother of Mercy! Hail, our life, our sweetness, and our hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve; to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears. Turn, then, most gracious Advocate! thine eyes of mercy towards us, and, after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary!
Pray for us, O holy Mother of God! That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Petition
We fly to thy patronage, O holy Mother of God! despise not our petitions in our necessities, but deliver us always from all dangers, O glorious and blessed Virgin!
- from The May-Book of the Breviary, by Father John Fitzpatrick