Learn from Mary how to live, Church Fathers: Day 362

Learn from Mary how to live

God sees us on the inside, but the outside is all other people can judge. The way we present ourselves should convey an image of the soul inside. As St. Ambrose tells us, there is no better example to follow than the Virgin Mary.

The first thing that inspires enthusiasm in learning is the greatness of the teacher. Who is greater than the Mother of God? Who is more glorious than the one whom Glory itself chose? Who is more chaste than the one who bore a body without contact with another body?

For why should I mention her other virtues? She was a virgin not only in body but also in mind. No guile stained her sincerity. She was humble in heart, serious in speech, prudent in mind, sparing of words, studious in reading. She put her hope not in riches but in the prayer of the poor. There was nothing gloomy in her eyes, nothing forward in her words, nothing undignified in her acts. There was not a foolish movement, not an unrestrained step. She was never irritable.

In this way her outward appearance itself became the image of her soul, the representation of what is approved. We ought to be able to recognize a well-ordered house on the very threshold: it should show at the very first entrance that there is no darkness hidden inside it. In the same way our soul, hindered by no bodily restraints, should shine forth like a lamp placed inside.

–St. Ambrose, Three Books on Virgins, 2.7

IN GOD’S PRESENCE, CONSIDER . . .

How does my outward appearance display what’s in my soul?

What could I learn about appearances from the Blessed Virgin?

CLOSING PRAYER

Lord, with the prayers of the Virgin Mary to help me, guide me through the hardships of this life to eternal happiness in the next.

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