Mary, the gate of all grace, Mary: Day 184

Mary, the gate of all grace

Blessed Henry Suso lavishes the heavenly queen’s beauty with praise, declaring his confidence that her petitions will not be denied by the King.

You, O Queen, are the gate of all grace, the door of compassion that was never yet closed. Heaven and earth will pass away before you will permit anyone who earnestly seeks your assistance to depart from you without obtaining it. Behold, for this very reason you are the one my soul first has in view when I awake, and the last in view when I lie down to sleep.

How could anything that your pure hands present before God and com- mend to him—however small it may be in itself—be rejected? So take, then, O take the smallness of my works, and present it to God almighty, so that in your hands it may appear to be something in his eyes.

You are the pure vessel of red gold, melted down with graces, inlaid with precious emeralds, and sapphires, and all virtues, whose unique appearance in the sight of the heavenly King surpasses that of all other creatures. How infi- nitely pleasing in his eyes, above all mortals, is your delicate and love-inspiring beauty, before which all other beauty fades like a glowworm fades before the brightness of the sun!

What overflowing grace you have found before him for yourself and for us mortals who are without grace! How could, how can, then, the heavenly king deny you anything? —Blessed Henry Suso, Little Book of Eternal Wisdom

IN GOD’S PRESENCE, CONSIDER . . .
How might my days be brighter and sweeter if they were more like Blessed Henry’s days: With Mary the first person I think of when I awake, and the last person I have in mind as I lay down to sleep?

CLOSING PRAYER
My Lady, let me say to you what the psalmist said to my Lord: “My mouth praises you with joyful lips, when I think of you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; for you have been my help; and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy” (Ps 63:5–7).

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