Verba laudis filie ad virginem gloriosam et responsio grata virginis ad filiam, in qua filie per virginem gracie plurime de se et apostolorum et sanctorum conceduntur et multa alia bona.
A Prayer of Praise to the Virgin
The bride offers a heartfelt prayer of praise to the Blessed Virgin, acknowledging her unique role in salvation history.
"O sweet Mary," the bride says, "may you be blessed with an eternal blessing, for you are a virgin before birth, a virgin after birth, a virgin with your spouse, and a virgin even when you remained certain while your spouse doubted." Therefore, may you be blessed, because you are both mother and virgin; because you alone are most dear to God; because you are purer than all the angels; and because you alone, along with the apostles, are most full of faith. because you alone are most bitter in the sorrow of your heart, because you are most illustrious in abstinence above all confessors, and because you are most excellent in continence and chastity above all virgins. Therefore, let all things above and below bless you, because through you God the Creator became man; through you the just find grace, the sinner finds forgiveness, the dead find life, and the exile returns to his own homeland."
The Virgin's Promise of Guidance
The Virgin Mary responds to the bride, promising the intercession and guidance of John the Baptist, Peter, and Paul.
The Virgin replied, "It is written that when Peter testified that my Son was the Son of God, the answer he received was: 'Blessed are you, Simon, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you.'" So I tell you now: it wasn't your own carnal soul that revealed this greeting to you, but He who was without beginning and is without end. Therefore, be humble, and I will be merciful to you. John the Baptist will be sweet to you, just as he promised; Peter will be gentle with you; and Paul will be as strong as a giant. Then John the Baptist will also say to you, 'Daughter, sit on my knee.' Peter, for his part, will say: 'O daughter, open your mouth, and I will feed you with the food of sweetness!' Paul, for his part, will clothe you and arm you with the armor of charity. I, however, who am Mother, will present you to my Son.
Spiritual Lessons from the Saints
The Virgin interprets the roles of John, Peter, and Paul as allegories for the virtues of obedience, faith, and patience.
Nevertheless, daughter, you can also understand these things in a spiritual sense. For in John, which is interpreted as 'the grace of God,' true obedience is signified. He, in fact, was and is sweet. John was dear to his parents because of his marvelous grace, dear to people because of his unique preaching, and dear to God because of his holy life and obedience. He was obedient in his youth; he was obedient in prosperity and adversity; he was obedient and stood humbly even when he could have been honored; he was obedient even in death. So obedience says: "Get down on your knees." That is, climb toward the lowly and you'll possess the heights; leave behind the bitter and you'll obtain the sweet. Let go of your own will if you want to be little; despise earthly things and you'll be heavenly; despise what is superfluous and you'll have spiritual abundance. In Peter, we see holy faith represented: the faith of the holy Church. Just as Peter remained steadfast to the end, the faith of the holy Church will also remain steadfast without end. So Peter—that is, holy faith—says: 'Open your mouth, and you'll have the finest food!' In other words: open the understanding of your soul, and in the holy Church you'll find the sweetest food, That is, the very Body of the Lord in the Sacrament of the altar, the New Law as well as the Old, the explanations of the doctors, the patience of the martyrs, the humility of the confessors, the purity of the virgins, and the foundation of all virtues. Therefore, seek the holy faith in the Church of Saint Peter; once you've found it, keep it in your memory and bring it to completion through your actions. In Paul, however, we see patience. For he was fervent against those who attacked the holy faith, rejoicing in tribulations, steadfast in hope, and patient in his infirmities.✦✦ He is compassionate with those who suffer, humble in his virtues, hospitable to the poor, merciful toward sinners, a teacher and instructor of all, and persevering to the very end in the love of God. Therefore, patience—as Paul describes it—will arm you with the weapons of the virtues, because true patience, founded and strengthened by the examples and patience of Christ and His saints, kindles the love of God in the heart.✦ It fires the soul to do great things and makes a person humble, gentle, merciful, fervent for heavenly things, watchful over themselves, and persevering in what they've begun.
The Path to the Son
The Virgin concludes by describing how the practice of these virtues leads the soul to her Son, extending this promise to all believers.
Therefore, any person whom obedience nurtures in the knee of humility, whom faith feeds with the food of sweetness, and whom patience clothes with the armor of virtues—that person I, the Mother of Mercy, lead to my Son, who will crown them with the crown of His own sweetness.1 For in Him is unfathomable strength, incomparable wisdom, unspeakable power, and admirable love. Therefore, no one will snatch him from His hand. Still, daughter, even though I am speaking to you, through you I mean everyone who follows the holy faith with works of charity. For just as all the Israelites were represented in the one man, Israel, so through you all true believers are represented.
Read the original Latin
"O, dulcis Maria," inquit sponsa, "benedicta sis tu eterna benediccione, quia virgo ante partum, virgo post partum, virgo cum sponso, virgo eciam indubitata dubitante sponso.
Propterea benedicta sis tu, quia mater et virgo, quia sola Deo carissima, quia pre omnibus angelis purissima, quia sola cum apostolis fide plenissima,
quia sola dolore cordis amarissima, quia pre confessoribus abstinencia clarissima, quia pre virginibus omnibus excellentissima continencia et castitate.
Ideo benedicant te omnia superiora et inferiora, quia per te Deus creator factus est homo, per te iustus inuenit graciam, peccator indulgenciam, mortuus vitam, exul rediit ad patriam suam."
Respondit virgo: "Scriptum est, quod Petro reddente testmonium filio meo, quod esset filius Dei, responsum est ei: 'Beatus es, Symon, quia caro et sanguis non reuelauit tibi.'
Sic dico ego nunc: Hanc salutacionem non reuelauit tibi carnalis anima tua, sed ille qui erat sine principio et est sine fine. Propterea tu esto humilis, et ego ero tibi misericors;
Iohannes baptista, ut promisit, erit tibi dulcis; Petrus vero erit tibi mitis; Paulus autem fortis quasi gigas. Tunc quoque Iohannes baptista dicturus est tibi: 'Filia, sede in genu!'
Petrus vero dicet: 'O, filia, aperi os tuum, et cibabo te cibo dulcedinis!' Paulus vero induet te et armabit armis caritatis. Ego vero, que Mater sum, presentabo te filio meo.
Verumptamen, filia, ista poteris eciam intelligere spiritualiter. Nam in Iohanne, qui interpretatur gracia Dei, notatur obediencia vera. Ipse quippe fuit et est dulcis:
Iohannes, dulcis parentibus propter mirabilem graciam, dulcis hominibus propter singularem predicacionem, dulcis Deo propter vite sanctitatem et obedienciam.
Obediuit denique in iuuentute, obediuit in prosperis et aduersis, obediuit et humiliter stetit cum honorari posset, obediuit et in morte.
Ergo obediencia dicit: 'Sede in genu!' Id est, ascende ad humilia et habebis sublimia, relinque amara et obtinebis dulcia,
relinque propriam voluntatem, si vis esse paruula, contempne terrena et eris celestis, contempne superflua et habebis habundanciam spiritualem.
In Petro vero notatur fides sancta: fides sancte Ecclesie. Sicut enim Petrus stabilis permansit usque in finem, sic et fides sancte Ecclesie sine fine stabilis permanebit.
Ergo Petrus, id est fides sancta, dicit: 'Aperi os, et habebis cibum optimum!' Id est: aperi intellectum anime tue et in sancta Ecclesia inuenies cibum dulcissimum,
id est ipsum corpus dominicum in sacramento altaris, nouam quoque legem et veterem, explanaciones doctorum, pacienciam martirum, humilitatem confessorum, virginum castimoniam omniumque virtutum fundamentum.
Itaque fidem sanctam quere in Ecclesia sancti Petri, quesitamque memoriter retine et operibus consumma.
In Paulo vero notatur paciencia. Ipse enim fuit feruens contra impugnantes fidem sanctam, gaudens in tribulacionibus, longanimis in spe, paciens in infirmitatibus,
compassiuus cum dolentibus, humilis in virtutibus, hospitalis in pauperes, misericors ad peccantes, magister et doctor omnium, perseuerans usque ad finem in Dei caritate.
Ergo Paulus id est paciencia armabit te armis virtutum, quia paciencia vera fundata et roborata exemplis et paciencia Christi et sanctorum eius accendit caritatem Dei in corde,
succendit animum ad agenda forcia, reddit hominem humilem, mitem, misericordem, feruentem ad celestia, sollicitum sui ipsius, perseuerantem in inceptis.
Itaque omnem hominem, quem obediencia nutrit in genu humilitatis, fides cibat cibo dulcedinis, paciencia vestit armis virtutum, hunc ego mater misericordie introduco ad filium meum, qui eum coronabit corona dulcedinis sue.
In ipso enim est fortitudo inexcogitabilis, sapiencia incomparabilis, virtuositas indicibilis, caritas admirabilis. Ideo et nullus rapiet eum de manu sua.
Verumptamen, filia, quamuis tibi loquor, per te tamen omnes intelligo, qui fidem sanctam sequuntur operibus caritatis. Sicut enim in uno homine Israel omnes Israelite intelligebantur, sic per te omnes veri fideles intelliguntur."
Scripture echoes
- ↩Rom.5.3 — And not only that, but we also boast in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces endurance.
- ↩2Cor.12.9 — And he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness." So most gladly I will rather boast in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
- ↩Rom.5.3-Rom.5.4 — And not only that, but we also boast in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces endurance. Rom.5.4 — and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,
Notes
- 1 ↩The phrase 'in genu humilitatis' (in the knee of humility) is a vivid, idiomatic expression for the posture of submission and prayerful dependence.
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