CHAPTER XV -- MARY IS BLESSED BY THE SEVEN VIRTUES AGAINST THE SEVEN CAPITAL VICES
Blessed art thou among women. Let us still speak of the blessing of our Blessed Virgin, let us still hear of it. Happy is the Blessed Mary; unhappy is every accursed soul to whom it shall be said: "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire!" Cursed without doubt is every sinful soul, but blessed art thou, O virtuous Mary. The world incurred malediction by the seven capital vices; but Mary obtained blessing by the contrary virtues. Blessed, therefore, art thou among women, O Mary. Blessed by humility against pride, by charity against envy, by meekness against anger, by diligence against sloth, by temperance against gluttony, by chastity against lust.
First let us hear how Mary is blessed by humility against pride. For the proud are accursed, as it is written: "Thou hast rebuked the proud; cursed are they who decline from thy ways." Against this curse of pride Mary obtained the blessing of humility. Thus she may be signified by that valley of which it is said in Paralipomenon: "They called that place the valley of blessing" (2 Paralip. XX, 6.) If every humble soul is, as it were, a valley of God, according to that word of Isaias, "Every valley shall be filled," how much more was Mary a valley, who was so deep in humility! What wonder if she were the valley of valleys, who was the most humble of the humble? Oh, how greatly is this blessed valley exalted with blessings for her humility, so deep, so useful, so pleasing! St. Augustine says: "O truly blessed humility of Mary, who brought forth the Lord to men, gave life to mortals, renewed the heavens, purified the world, opened paradise, and delivered the souls of men from hell." The deeper a valley is, the more is it a receptacle for waters; so was Mary for graces. A valley receives irrigation by waters, sometimes from above, sometimes from below; from above, when the rains flow down from the mountains; from below, when there are springs of water in it. In like manner the humble Mary received waters, as it were, both from above and from below; she was, as it were, irrigated from a mountain and from a spring, when from the divine and from the human nature of her Son so great a blessing of graces was poured into her. This is that blessing of which we read in the Book of Judges, when Axa said to her father: "Give me a blessing." Her father gave her a place well watered from above and from below. Axa was a type of Mary, who received a well-watered blessing from the heavenly Father. For God the Father gave her a blessing from above in the divinity of Christ, and from below in His humanity; again from above in her mind, and from below in her womb; from above in her charity to God, from below in her love for her neighbor; again from above in contemplation, from below, in action. Or the heavenly Father gave her an ineffable blessing, from above in Heaven, from below on earth, that in Heaven she might possess the blessing of glory, and on earth that of grace; and thus be blessed both in Heaven and on earth, according to what St. Bernard intimates when he says: "Remember, O Mary, that Christ bore the malediction of the cross, who blessed thee, His Mother, in Heaven. But thou wert blessed also on earth by the Angel, and art rightly called blessed on earth by all generations."
Secondly, let us hear how Mary is blessed for charity against envy. The envious are accursed, as it is said of the envious Cain: "Cursed art thou upon earth, which has opened its mouth, and received the blood of thy brother from thy hand." Against the curse of envy,
Mary has received the blessing of charity. She may well, therefore, be signified by Sara, of whom the Lord said: "I will bless her, and out of her I will give thee a son, whom I will bless" (Gen. XVII, 16.) Sara is interpreted as "coal." This is well suited to Mary, who, like a coal, was on fire with the ardor of charity. Therefore, the burning bush is a fit figure of Mary, by whom the blessing of grace is ministered to every faithful soul. It is said in Deuteronomy: "The blessing of him, who appeared in the bush, may it come upon the head of Joseph." Joseph is interpreted as "increase," and signifies every faithful soul enriched by divine grace. Blessed is the bush, and blessed is He who by His Incarnation appeared in the bush, by whom so great a blessing came upon the faithful. O truly blessed coal, producing so blessed a flame, blessed Mary bringing forth so blessed a Child. "From her," saith the Lord, "I will give thee a son, whom I will bless" (Gen. XVII, 16.) Think, therefore, what great charity Mary had towards God, when God is her Son according to the flesh. Think also what charity she had towards her neighbor, when the good neighbor is spiritually her son. And if we are her sons, we are the brethren of her Son. Well, therefore, doth St. Anselm say of this blessed Mother: "O blessed and exalted one, not for thyself alone, but also for us, what is it, how great is it, how lovable, what we see happening by thee for us, which, seeing, I rejoice, which, rejoicing, I dare not utter ? For if thou, O Lady, art the Mother of God, are not thy other sons the brethren of God?"
Thirdly, hear how Mary is blessed for her meekness and gentleness against anger. For the angry are accursed, as it is written in Genesis: "Cursed be their fury, for it was stubborn: and their wrath, because it was cruel" (Gen. XLIX, 7.) Against this curse of wrath, Mary obtained the blessing of meekness. For truly her meekness was such that not only had she no anger of her own, but she even turned the anger of God to meekness. Therefore, she is well signified by Abigail, to whom David said: "Blessed be thy speech, and blessed be thou, who hast kept me to-day from coming to blood and revenging me with my own hand" (I Kings XXV, 32.) It is the property of meekness to soothe with kind words the anger of those who are offended, according to that word of Proverbs: "A mild word turneth away anger" (Prov. XV, 1.) The meek Abigail signifies the meek Mary. Do you wish to know how meek Mary was? Listen to St. Bernard: "Turn over," he says, "diligently in your mind the whole of the Gospel story, and if you note in Mary anything of rebuke, anything hard, or even the slightest sign of indignation, you may perhaps suspect her in other things, and fear to approach her. But if you find that in all things she was rather full of grace and loving kindness, full of meekness and mercy, give thanks to Him who with such kind compassion has provided thee with such a mediatrix, in whom thou hast nothing to fear." David signifies Christ, who by Mary's meekness is soothed and placated, lest He should take vengeance on the sinner by eternal death. Let every soul in danger of eternal death never cease to sigh to Mary in her great meekness, for which she is rightly so blessed. I say, therefore: Let every soul about to die say with St. Anselm: "O thou blessed above women, who conquerest the angels by thy purity, surpassest the Saints by thy loving kindness, let my dying soul sigh at the sight of such great kindness; but let it blush at such resplendent whiteness."
Fourthly, hear how Mary is blessed by her diligence against sloth. For the slothful are accursed, because they do not do the work of God faithfully and earnestly. Jeremias says: "Cursed is he who doth the work of God negligently." Against the curse of torpor, Mary
deserted the blessing of earnestness. For she may be signified by that Jahel, who killed Sisara with a nail. Therefore, in the Book of Judges it says: "Blessed is Jahel among women." Jahel is interpreted as "going up," which suits Mary, who did not, like the slothful, go down, but most earnestly always ascended from virtue to virtue, from a lower to a higher grade, according to that word of the Canticle: "Who is this who cometh up from the desert, like a rod of incense?" What has this blessed Jahel done? She killed Sisara with a nail. Sisara is interpreted as "the shutting out of joy," and well does this signify the devil, because he himself, being shut out from eternal joy, tries also to keep others out of it. Alas, yes, by means of the first mother of the human race he excluded all of us, and the curse of this exclusion was lifted by the Mother of our Savior. Well, therefore, does the Venerable Bede say: "Blessed art thou among women, by whose virginal bringing forth the curse of the first mother was excluded from those born of women." But what is signified by the nail wherewith the head of Sisara was pierced? What is this nail but severity of discipline? What is strictness of life to the lazy, but a sort of nail through the eyes? Strictness of discipline is, as it were, a nail painfully transfixing the devil, and sharply wounding him. The blessed Jahel, therefore, pierced the head of Sisara with that deathdealing nail, while the blessed Mary extinguished in herself the strength of Satan by strictness of discipline. Blessed, therefore, is Jahel among women, blessed is Mary among women. Among which women ? Listen to Bede, who says: "Not only art thou blessed among women, but among women who are blessed thou art eminent by a greater blessing."
Fifthly, hear how blessed is Mary by her liberality against avarice. For the avaricious are accursed, as St. Peter says: "Having their heart exercised with covetousness, children of malediction" (2 Pet. II, 14. ) Against this curse of avarice, Mary merited the blessing of generosity and profusion. For she was like a fountain ever flowing and ever giving, and therefore was truly blessed, according to that word: "Let thy vein be blessed" (Prov. V, 18.) In temporal things Mary, that vein, was more than generous, because she generously and liberally despised all things. Therefore, according to Haymon, the Blessed Mother of God had the moon beneath her feet because she despised all temporal things. Oh, how great graces have flowed on to men by means of this vein I Therefore, O Church, thy vein be blessed, by whom so great good gifts have come to thee. Truly a noble vein, a vein full of the Holy Ghost, a vein the fountain of life; Mary is to us a vein of salvation. For by this vein Christ, the fountain of life, came to us, and by this vein we come to Jesus Christ, who is the fountain of life; truly, therefore, is it blessed. St. Bernard says: "By thee, O blessed finder of grace, we have access to God, Mother of life, Mother of salvation, that by thee He may receive us, who by thee was given to us."
Sixthly, hear how Mary is blessed by temperance against gluttony. For the gluttons are accursed, as it appears in the greediness of our first parents, for which both they and the whole human race incurred a curse. Against this curse of gluttony Mary obtained the blessing of abstinence and of every kind of temperance. Rightly indeed, in opposition to the curses of gluttony in the material paradise, did the blessings of temperance abound
in the spiritual paradise, according to that word of Ecclesiasticus: "Grace is like paradise in blessings." So great an abundance of grace was in Mary that she, the gracious Virgin, might almost be called grace itself. This grace, that is, the most gracious Virgin Mary, was
as a paradise in blessings. For as in the material paradise the gluttony of Eve merited the curses of punishments, so in the spiritual paradise the temperance of Mary merited the blessings of graces. Therefore Augustine says: "The curse of Eve was turned into the blessing of Mary." As the gluttony of Eve brought forth a curse not only in the body, but also in the soul, so Mary obtained for us a blessing not only in the body, but also in the soul; not a spiritual blessing alone, but likewise a corporeal one. The malediction of the greedy Eve was to bring forth in pain; the blessing of the temperate Mary was to bring forth without pain, as St. Bernard says: "Blessed art thou among women, thou who hast escaped that general curse, in which it is said: 'In sorrow thou shalt bring forth children,' and yet at the same time too that other, 'Cursed is the sterile in Israel'; and thou hast obtained a singular blessing, that thou shouldst neither remain sterile nor bring forth in sorrow."
Seventhly, let us hear how Mary is blessed by her chastity against lust. To the lustful it is said: "Cursed is he who shall sleep with the wife of his neighbor; and all the people shall say, Amen." Against this curse of incontinence, Mary merited the blessing of continence, as it may be signified in the Book of Judith, where we read: "They all blessed her with one voice, saying: Thou art the glory of Jerusalem, thou art the joy of Israel, thou art the honor of our people: for thou hast done manfully, and thy heart has been strengthened because thou hast loved chastity, and after thy husband hast not known any other: therefore also the hand of the Lord hath strengthened thee, and therefore thou shalt be blessed for ever" (Judith XV, 10 f.)
In this blessing of the chaste Judith, the blessing of Mary may not only be signified, but by this passage we may pass to a higher conclusion. If such was the blessing of a chaste widow, how much more will be that of a chaste virgin? And above all, of such a virgin as merited to bring forth God, and to do this in such a manner as not to lose her virginity. Well therefore doth Bede say: "She is incomparably blessed, who both received the glory of the divine seed, and kept the crown of virginity." Note, however, that in Scripture we find a blessed wife, a blessed widow, and a blessed virgin. The blessed wife was Sara, of whom it is said in Tobias: "A blessing was pronounced over the wife of Tobias." The blessed widow was Judith, as we have pointed out. Of a blessed widow it is also said in the Psalm: "Blessing I will bless his widow." And the Blessed virgin was Mary, as the Angel testifies, saying: "Blessed art thou among women." She is blessed, therefore, because she was a wife; she is more blessed because she was a widow; she is blessed above all those who loved virginal chastity. She is blessed without doubt, who, like Sara and Susanna, was chaste in wedlock; she is more blessed, who, like Judith and Anna, was a chaste widow; she is blessed above all, who with Mary shall have been chaste as a virgin. Therefore St. Augustine says: "We praise Susanna as a model of conjugal chastity; but we prefer before her the virtue of the widow Anna, and much more that of the Virgin Mary." This is truly meet and just. It is just that she should be blessed who had known no other man than her husband; it is more just that she should be blessed who neither during her husband's life-time nor after his death had known any man. It is meet and just that she should be blessed above all who neither knew her own, nor any other man, yet conceived a Man so supreme. Therefore St. Augustine exclaims: "O woman blessed above women, who knew no man, yet encompassed a man in her womb!"
Thus, therefore, was Mary deservedly blessed for her humility, for her charity, for her meekness, for her diligence, for her liberality, for her sobriety, for her chastity; she who was most excellent in humility, most rich in charity, most patient in meekness, most fervent in diligence, most temperate in sobriety, most continent in virginity. Thus, therefore, thou who art so manifoldly blessed, thou more than blessed Mary, let us pray that by thy blessing thou mayest free us wretched ones from every curse, and mayest make us worthy of the divine blessing, through Our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
CHAPTER XVI -- WHO AND WHAT WAS THE FRUIT OF THE WOMB OF BLESSED MARY
Blessed is the fruit of thy womb. It has been shown above how Mary, because of the innocence of her life, is rightly saluted by the Ave; how because of the abundance of her grace, she is called full of grace; how because of the familiar presence of God with her it is said that the Lord is with her. We have now to show how, because of the most useful excellence of her Child, the Fruit of her womb is called blessed. Blessed, therefore, is the Fruit of thy womb, O Blessed Mother of the Son of God ! This is that Fruit of which the Prophet saith: "The Lord will give benignity, and our earth will give its fruit." Commenting on this passage, Bede says: "The Lord gave benignity, because, by the entrance of His Only Begotten Son, He consecrated by the grace of the Holy Ghost the temple of the virginal womb. And our earth will give its fruit, because the same Virgin, who had her body from the earth, brought forth a Son, co-equal indeed in divinity with God the Father, but in the reality of His Flesh consubstantial with her." We have to consider, that this Fruit is a most well-born Fruit, a most delicious Fruit, a most virtuous and most abundant Fruit. A Fruit, I say, most sublime in being well-born, most desirable in delight, most useful in virtue, most universal in its abundance.
First, consider how the Fruit of the virginal womb is most well-born. It is well-born, because it is from a regal womb; it is more well-born because it is from a virginal womb; but it is without doubt most wellborn because it is from the paternal womb, that is, from the womb of the Eternal Father. I say that this Fruit is well-born because it proceeds from a regal womb, that is, from the womb of King David, as the Lord had promised him, saying in the Psalm: "Of the fruit of thy womb I will place upon the throne." The Apostle bears witness to this in his letter to the Romans: "Who was made from the seed of David according to the flesh." Without doubt this Fruit is well-born and noble, not only because of King David, but because of all those noble kings, his progenitors, by whom, according to the genealogy described by Matthew, He came into this world, according to that word of Wisdom: "He came from a royal throne" (Wisd. XVIII, 15.) Again, this Fruit, although it is well-born because of the regal womb, is even more well-born because of the virginal womb, of which it is said: "Blessed is the fruit of thy womb," of that womb which, according to what is signified by the rod of Aaron, retained the flower of virginity together with the fruit of fecundity. Therefore, St. Bernard says: "Christ is born of a woman, but one to whom the fruit of fecundity came in such a manner that the flower of virginity did not fall." This nobility of the virginal fruit, as it is more wonderful, so it is also more excellent than the former, as far as the heavens are above the earth. O truly wonderful and unheard-of nobility! O truly noble birth from the Virgin! "The nobility of the Child was in the virginity which brought Him forth," says St. Augustine, "and the nobility of the parent was in the Divinity of the Child." Again, this Fruit is well-born because of the regal womb which bore it; more well-born because the womb was virginal; most well-born of all, because of its fatherhood. We can understand of this Fruit that word of Osee: "From me is thy fruit found to be" (Osee XIV, 9.3 The original text has "thy," but the Septuagint has "hers." Let God the Father, therefore, say to Mary: let Him say to the faithful soul, let Him say to the Church: "From Me is thy fruit." Thine, O Mary, chosen to produce this fruit; thine, O soul, who art drawn to love this Fruit; thine, O Church, gathered together to partake of this Fruit.
Thine, without doubt in the body by the nature He assumed; thine spiritually by grace; thine sacramentally by the Eucharist; thine eternally by glory. But it is of me that He is thine, because He was begotten from my womb, as it is written in the Psalm: "From the womb, before the day-star I have begotten thee." O truly wonderful and venerable nobility, that the fruit of the maternal womb is the Son of the Eternal Father, and the Wisdom of the paternal Heart, as St. Bernard says of this Fruit: "O Mary, thou wilt be the Mother of Him whose Father is God; the Son of the paternal love will be the crown of thy chastity; the Wisdom of the paternal heart will be the fruit of the virginal womb." The nobility of this most well-born fruit precedes in dignity the first and the second in an infinite degree, and exceeds by its sublimity every intellect, both human and angelic. Well, therefore, is it said of this fruit by Isaias: "There will be a bud of the Lord in magnificence and glory, and a sublime fruit of the earth"; in magnificence, because of the regal dignity; in glory, because of the virginal dignity; and it will be sublime, because of the eternal or paternal generosity.
Secondly, let us consider how the Fruit of the virginal womb is most delightful. It is delightful in smell, more delightful in appearance, but most delightful in savor. Its beauty is in faith, its odor in hope. We perceive its beauty by faith, its fragrance by hope, its savor by charity. I say that the Fruit of Mary is delightful by its sweet fragrance. Therefore, the Mother of this Fruit can well say with Ecclesiasticus: "I like a vine have borne a fruit of sweetness of odor." The fruit of the vine is the Child of the Virgin. But what is truly wonderful, and wonderfully true, as says St. Augustine, speaking of this fruit: "The Creator of all things is born of a creature, a great fountain flows from a little rill, the root of all things springs from its stem, and the true vine is the fruit of its own branch." The fruit of the vine is wine; the smell of wine is delightful. So without doubt the fragrance of the examples of Christ, the fragrance of the consolations of Christ, the fragrance of promises of Christ, is most delightful to the soul that thirsts for Christ. And, therefore, as the smell of wine draws one who thirsts, so does the odor of Christ draw one who runs and says: "Draw me after thee," etc. That we miserable ones do not run, but creep, is a sign that we little relish the sweet odor of this Fruit. Oh, that we had Isaac's sense of smell, who perceived the odor of this divine fruit from such a distance; as St. Bernard says: "He perceived the fragrance of this sweet-smelling fruit, who said: Behold the smell of my son is as the smell of a full field, which the Lord hath blessed." Again, this Fruit is not only delightful to the sense of smell, but it is more delightful in beauty and fairness. Note on this point what is said in Leviticus: "Ye shall take on the first day the fruit of the most fair tree." The first day illumining the soul is faith. And certainly, if we ought to eat the Fruit of the most beautiful tree, that most fair tree is Mary; fair indeed in the leaves of the words of her mouth; fairer in the flowers of her heart; fairest of all in the most beautiful Fruit of her womb. Of which St. Bernard well says: "If that fruit of death was not only sweet to the palate, but also, according to Scripture, 'delightful to behold'; how much more should we seek the vivifying beauty of this life-giving Fruit, on which the angels long to look? Christ indeed is a beautiful Fruit, beautiful in form above the sons of men." But if we wish to appreciate more fully the beauty of this Fruit, let us have recourse to the beautiful tree itself, let us seek that most beautiful Mother herself, and let us speak to her that word of the Canticle: "What manner of one is thy beloved of the beloved, O thou most beautiful of women?" And behold she will at once answer: "My Beloved is white and ruddy, chosen from thousands." He, the brightness of eternal light, is indeed white in His divinity, but ruddy in His humanity, white
in His life, ruddy in His Passion. Behold how beautiful is this Fruit! Well, therefore, doth St. Augustine say of Him: "Beautiful in Heaven, beautiful on earth, beautiful as the Word in the Father, beautiful in His Mother as the Word and as Flesh" And this most beautiful tree, Mary, has not only the most beautiful Fruit of the womb, but also the most beautiful Fruit of the mind. Of these fruits the Apostle, writing to the Galatians, says: "The fruit of the spirit is charity, joy, peace, patience, benignity, goodness, longanimity, mildness, faith, modesty, continence, and chastity." Again, this fruit is not only delightful in fragrance, and more delightful in beauty, but it is also most delicious in savor. This was felt by that holy soul who says: "I sat under the shadow of Him whom I desired, and His fruit was sweet to my palate." What wonder if this Fruit is so sweet, which is also so high? For St. Bernard says: "The higher a fruit is, the sweeter it is." Therefore, thou alone art most sweet, because thou alone art Most High. But how can that fruit be most high, whose tree is most short? But without doubt this tree, which is Mary, is at the same time most high and most short. She is most high in dignity, most lowly in humility; most high in the eyes of the Lord, most lowly in her own; although in this manner she is lowly, her fruit is nevertheless exceedingly sweet. Therefore is it said in Ecclesiasticus: "The bee is small among flying things, but her fruit hath the chiefest sweetness" (XI, 3.) If, therefore, the fruit of Mary is most delicious in fragrance, in appearance, and in savor, therefore is it truly blessed, as St. Bernard testifies, saying: "Blessed is the fruit of thy womb": blessed in smell, blessed in savor, blessed in beauty.
Thirdly, consider that the fruit of the virginal womb is most powerful. It has great power to save the lost, to multiply the number of those who are to be saved, and to preserve this great number. I say that this blessed fruit is powerful to save, or powerful unto salvation, and for this reason it is called the Fruit of salvation. Ecclesiasticus says: "The fear of the Lord is the crown of wisdom, filling with peace and the fruit of salvation." Why does he say, peace and fruit? The fruit of our salvation and our peace is He who maketh both one, Jesus Christ. And certainly, the fear of the Lord did fill this fruit, this peace, as Isaias says: "And He was filled with the spirit of the fear of the Lord." Well is He called the Fruit of salvation, without whom we have no salvation, according to that word: "There is no salvation in any other." And St. Anselm says: "There is no salvation except Him whom thou, O Virgin, hast brought forth." Thou, therefore, O Mary, art truly the tree of salvation, who hast borne for the world the Fruit of salvation, as St. Bernard says: "O truly celestial plant, more precious than all, more holy than all! O truly a tree of life, which alone was worthy to bear the fruit of salvation!" But, alas, there are many who make this life-giving fruit one of death; they turn this fruit, which is so sweet, so to speak, into an eternal wormwood for themselves, as it is said in Amos: "Ye have turned judgment into bitterness, and the fruit of justice into wormwood." Again, this fruit is exceedingly powerful, not only with a saving power, but with a multiplying power. We could explain it well perhaps by that word which is written, "By the fruit of their wheat, wine and oil they are multiplied," if we say that the wheat is the Body of Christ, the oil the soul of Christ, and the wine the Divinity of Christ. We can see in the fruit of the wheat the Sacrament of the Body of Christ, in the fruit of the wine the Blood of Christ in the Sacrament, and in the fruit of the oil the unction of the Holy Spirit. By this fruit sons are multiplied to the Church, and the Church is multiplied in sons. For all the sons of the womb of the Church are the inheritance and the fruit of the womb of Mary, as it is said in the Psalm: "Behold, the inheritance of the Lord is
sons, the fruit of the womb." Of this St. Jerome says: "The Lord Himself, born of the Virgin, became the fruit of the womb, whose assumed humanity obtained this reward, that the nations called to be His sons should be His inheritance." Again, this blessed fruit is powerful not only in its salvific virtue, not only more powerful by its multiplying power, but also most powerful by its preserving virtue. Of this fruit we may understand that word of the Proverbs: "The fruit of the just is the tree of life." For, as the tree of life, which was in the middle of the earthly paradise, had power to preserve the life of nature, so without doubt the fruit of Mary's womb, which is the Tree and the Fruit of Life, in the midst of the Paradise of the Church, preserves the life of grace; in the midst of the Paradise of the heavenly life, preserves the life of glory. It preserves the life of grace from the corruption of guilt, and the life of glory from the corruption of every misery, that so we may receive in the fruit of Mary what we lost in the fruit of Adam and Eve, as Bede well says: "Blessed is the fruit of the womb of her by whom we have received the fruit of the seed of incorruption in the field of the eternal inheritance, which we had lost in Adam." Let, therefore, the fruit of Mary by spiritually giving salvation, by universally multiplying those who are to be saved, by eternally preserving those who are multiplied, be most powerful.
Fourthly, consider how the fruit of the virginal womb is most abundant. It is, in fact, so abundant that it can abundantly refresh the soul; it is so abundant that it can suffice for all; it is so abundant that it can never fail. In the first it is abundant; in the second it is more abundant; in the third it is most abundant of all. I say that this blessed Fruit is so abundant that it can refresh to satiety the rational soul, which the whole world and every creature cannot satisfy. Therefore it is written: "Of the fruit of thy works the earth shall be filled" (Ps. CIII, 13.) The fruit of the womb of Mary is the fruit of thy works, O Lord: indeed, of Thine, not of human beings, not of mortals, but of Thine. Thine, O Lord, is the work of the reparation of so much power; Thy work is the mission of Gabriel; the supervention of the Holy Ghost is Thy work; the union of the Word with Flesh is Thy work. Of such works of Thine, O Lord, is this fruit, because from such works proceeded this fruit, as it were from flowers. Therefore aptly did these flowers appear in Nazareth, which is interpreted as "flower." For St. Bernard says: "In Nazareth is it announced that Christ will be born, because of the flower is hoped the coming of the fruit." The earth which is filled with this fruit is human nature, which, like the earth, is ever ready to germinate either useful or noxious plants, that is, thoughts and desires. This earth, I say, is filled with the fruit of Mary, as is written: "I shall be satisfied when thy glory shall appear." What wonder if those enjoying this fruit in glory are satisfied, when even those in misery here below are satisfied in believing in it! Therefore Cassiodorus cries out: "Oh, that wonderful Fruit, which has satisfied the human race in sweet belief!" Not to taste of it is to sin. See, therefore, how abundant this Fruit is, which can satisfy the soul, which the whole world cannot satisfy. Again, this Fruit, this blessed Fruit, is not only so abundant that it can fully refresh the insatiable soul, but it is also so abundant that it can well suffice for the whole number of those who are to be saved. Hence it is the fruit of that glorious tree of which it is said: "Its fruit was exceeding much; and in it was food for all" (Dan. IV, 9), certainly for all those who live in the Lord, those who rest and those who rise again, as it may be beautifully signified in Leviticus, where it says: "I will give you my blessing in the sixth year, and it will bring forth the fruit of three years" (Lev. XXV, 21) The sixth year signifies the sixth age, the seventh the seventh age, and the eighth the eighth. This sixth year is the year of fullness,
according to the Apostle: "But when the fullness of time was come, God sent His Son," etc. This year, therefore, brought forth the Fruit, the Son of God--a Fruit so abundant, that by it, in the sixth year of the living, in the seventh year of the dead, and in the eighth year of those rising again, we have all the fruit of our souls. He, therefore, is the Fruit sufficing to the universality of souls, because it is the Lord who suffices to all creatures. This indeed is the Fruit of the womb of Mary, as St. Augustine testifies, saying: "This Virgin was prevented and filled by a singular grace, that she might have Him for the fruit of her womb, whom from the beginning all things had as their Lord." Again, this blessed Fruit is not only abundant in this that it can fill to repletion all souls who are to be refreshed; it is not only more abundant in this that it can satisfy all the souls who need to be refreshed; but it is also most abundant in this that it can never fail in satisfying souls and angels, according to that word of Ezechiel, "Its fruit shall not fail" (Ezech. XLVII, 12.) O infinite abundance! O abundance which knows no defect! The abundance of this Fruit can never fail, for it is most abundantly blessed forever. St. Bernard says: "Blessed is the Fruit of thy womb, who is blessed forever." Thus this blessed fruit is abundant, for it refreshes unto complete satisfaction; it is more abundant, because it suffices to the whole multitude of those who are to be fed upon it; it is most abundant because it never fails those who feed upon it, nor ever will for all eternity. You see now, O reader, O hearer, how exceedingly well-born, how exceedingly delicious, how exceedingly abundant is the blessed Fruit of the womb of Mary. You see, I say, how it is well-born because it is from a regal womb, more well-born because it is from a virginal womb, most well-born from its paternal origin. You see also how it is delightful in smell, more delightful in beauty, and most delightful of all in savor. You see how powerful it is to heal, more powerful in multiplying, most powerful of all in preserving. You see, moreover, how it is abundant to satisfy, more abundant in its universality, most abundant in its perpetuity. These twelve conditions or qualities of this Fruit may be signified by those twelve fruits of which it is said in the Apocalypse, that the angel showed John a tree of life bearing twelve fruits. And because this Fruit, the Fruit of life, the tree of life, is produced for the life of all men, therefore it is fitting and right that all men should praise the Maker of this Fruit in the words of the Psalm: "Let all peoples praise thee, O God, let all peoples praise thee; the earth hath given its fruit" (Ps. LXVI, 7.) O blessed Mother of this blessed Fruit, grant us that we may enjoy this fruit forever, by the same Fruit, Jesus Christ Our Lord, thy Son. Amen.
