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+Prayer Of Saint Bernard+
WE raise our eyes to thee, oh queen of the
world. After having committed so many sins
we must appear before our Judge, and who
will appease him? None can do it better than
thou, oh blessed Lady, who hast loved him so
much, and hast been so tenderly beloved by him.
Open thy heart, then, oh mother of mercy, to
our sighs and prayers. We fly to thy protection; appease the anger of thy Son, and restore
us to his favor. Thou dost not abhor the sinner, however loathsome he may be; thou dost
not despise him, if he sends up his sighs to thee,
and with contrition asks thy intercession; thou,
with thy kind hand, dost deliver him from desspair; thou dost encourage him to hope, dost comfort him, and dost not leave him until thou
hast reconciled him to his Judge.
Thou art that only one in whom the Saviour
found his rest, and with whom he has deposited
all his treasures. Hence all the world, oh Mary,
honors thy chaste womb, as the temple of God,
where the salvation of the world had its beginning. In thee was effected the reconciliation between God and man. Thou art the enclosed
garden, oh great mother of God, whose flowers
have never been gathered by the sinner's hand.
Thou art the beautiful garden, in which God
has placed all the flowers which adorn the
Church, such as the violet of thy humility, the
lily of thy purity, and the rose of thy charity.
Who can be compared to thee, oh mother of grace
and of beauty? Thou art the paradise of God.
From thee hath sprung up the fountain of living water, that waters all the earth. Oh, how
many favors hast thou bestowed upon the
world, by meriting to be the channel of the
waters of salvation!
Of thee the Holy Ghost speaks when he says:
Who is she that arises like the dawn, fair as the
moon, bright as the sun? Thou art, then, come
into the world, oh Mary, as a resplendent dawn,
preceding, with the light of thy sanctity, the
coming of the Sun of Justice. The day in which
thou didst appear in the world may truly be
called the day of salvation, the day of grace.
Thou art fair as the moon; for aa there is no
planet more like the sun, so there is no creature
more like God than thou art. The moon illuminates the night with the light which it receives from the sun, and thou dost illuminate our
darkness, with the splendor of thy virtues; and
thou art fairer than the moon, because in thee
is found neither stain nor shade. Thou art
bright as the sun, I mean as that Sun which
hath created the sun; he has been chosen among
all men, and thou among all women. Oh sweet,
oh great, oh most lovely Mary, thy name can
not be pronounced by any one that thou dost
inflame with thy love; neither can those who
love thee think of thee without feeling them
selves encouraged to love thee more.
Oh blessed Lady, help our weakness. And
who is more fit to speak to our Lord Jesus Christ
than thou, who dost enjoy, so near to him, his
sweet conversation? Speak, speak, oh Lady, be
cause thy Son listens, and thou wilt obtain from
him whatever thou shalt demand. Amen
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