The words of St Alphonsus

Excerpt from The Glories of Mary by St. Alphonsus Liguori

mothericon Mary is our Mother — not by the flesh, but by love. That is, she is our Mother by love alone. So someone observes that she glories in being the mother of love. She is all love for us, her adopted children.

The first reason for Mary’s great love for human beings is that she loves God so much. She loved him more in the first moment of her existence than all the saints and angels every loved him or will love him.

Just as there is not one among all the blessed who loves God as Mary does, so there is no one, after God, who loves us as much as this most loving Mother does. Furthermore, if we heaped together all the love that mothers have for their children, all the love of husbands and wives, all the love of all the angels and saints for their clients, it could never equal Mary’s love for even a single soul.

Mary, to obtain the life of grace for us … offered her beloved Jesus to an ignominious death, and watched him die before her eyes in cruel and unexampled torments.

It is written of the Eternal Father, that God so loved the world as to give his only-begotten Son (Jn 3:16), so also we can say of Mary, that she so loved the world as to give her only-begotten Son.

So with St. Anselm I will cry: “Let my heart languish and my soul melt away and be consumed with love of you, my beloved Savior Jesus and my dear Mother Mary! But because I cannot love you unless you give me grace, then give me grace, O Jesus and Mary — by your merits, not mine — to love you as you deserve to be loved. O God, lover of humankind, you loved sinful human beings to the point of death. Will you deny your love and your Mother’s to anyone who begs for it?”

— Excerpted from The Glories of Mary by St. Alphonsus Liguori

The Madonna's Lullaby

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Mary sings, the ravished heavens
Hush the music of their spheres;
Soft her voice, her beauty fairer
Than the glancing stars appears;
While to Jesus, slumbering nigh,
Thus she sings her lullaby:

"Sleep, my Babe, my God, my Treasure,
Gently sleep; but ah! the sight
With its beauty so transports me,
I am dying with delight;
Thou canst not Thy mother see,
Yet Thou breathest flames to me.

"If within your lids unfolded,
Slumbering eyes, Thou seemest so fair;
When upon my gaze Thou doth open,
How shall I Thy beauty bear?
Ah! I tremble when Thou wakes,
Lest my heart with love should break.

Cheeks than sweetest roses sweeter,
Mouth where lurks a smile Divine,
Though the kiss my Babe should waken,
I must press those lips to mine.
Pardon, Dearest, if I say
Mother's love will take no nay."

As she ceased, the gentle Virgin
Clasped the Infant to her breast,
And, upon His radiant forehead
Many a loving kiss impressed.
Jesus woke and on her face
Fixed a look of heavenly grace.

Ah! that look, those eyes, that beauty,
How they pierce the Mother's heart!
Shafts of love from every feature
Through her gentle bosom dart.
Heart of stone! can I behold
Mary's love, and still be cold?

Where, my soul, thy sense, thy reason?
When will these delays be o'er?
All things else, how fair so ever,
Are but smoke: resist no more!
Yes! 'tis done! I yield my arms
Captive to those double charms.

If, alas, O heavenly beauty!
Now so late those charms I learn,
Now at least, and ever, ever
With thy love my heart will burn,
For the Mother and the Child,
Rose and Lily undefiled.

Plant and fruit, and fruit and blossom,
I am theirs, and they are mine;
For no other prize I labor,
For no other bliss I pine.
Love can every pain requite,
Love alone is full delight.

St. Alphonsus - Christmas Morning Meditation

St Alphonsus' Morning Meditation for Christmas Day.

Let every soul, then, enter the Cave of Bethlehem.

Behold and see that tender infant, who is weeping as he lies in the manger on that miserable straw.

See how beautiful he is: look at the light which he sends forth, and the love that he breathes;

those eyes send out arrows which wound the hearts that desire him;

the very stable, the very straw cry our and tell you to love him who loves you;

to love God who is infinite love, and who came down from heaven, and made himself a little child, and became poor, to make you understand the love he bears for you.

Come and say to him

'Ah beautiful Infant! Tell me whose child art Thou?"

He replies; "My Mother is this pure and lovely Virgin who is standing by me."

"And who is Thy Father?" "My Father," he says, "is God."

"How is this? Thou art the Son of God, and art so poor, and why?

Who will acknowledge Thee in such a condition? Who will respect Thee?"

"Ah," replies Jesus, "holy faith will make know who I am, and will make Me loved by those whose souls I come to redeem and to inflame in my love."

I am not come, says He, to make myself feared, but to make myself loved;

and therefore I wished to show myself to you for the first time as a poor and humble infant, that, seeing to what my love for you has reduced me, you might love me the more.................

Come, then, O all ye devout souls.

Jesus invites you to come and kiss his feet this night.

The Shepherds who came to visit him in the stable of Bethlehem brought their gifts;

you must also bring your gifts.

What will you bring him?

The most acceptable present you can bring him is that of a contrite and loving heart.