St. Alphonsus presents Mary to us as the model of chastity and purity.<\/em><\/p>\nEver since the fall of Adam, when the bodily senses became rebels against reason, chastity is of all the virtues the one most difficult to practice. St. Augustine notes: \u201cOf all the combats in which we\u2019re engaged, the most severe are those of chastity. Its battles take place daily, but victory is rare.\u201d<\/p>\n
May God be ever praised, however, who in Mary has given us a great exam- ple of this virtue. \u201cWith good reason,\u201d says Richard of Saint Lawrence, \u201cMary is called the Virgin of Virgins. For she, without the counsel or example of others, was the first who offered her virginity to God.\u201d In this way she brought all virgins who imitate her to God, as David had already foretold: \u201cAfter her shall virgins be brought to the King\u201d (see Ps 45:15).<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout counsel and without example.\u201d Yes; as St. Bernard says: \u201cO Vir- gin, who taught you to please God by virginity, and to lead an angel\u2019s life on earth?\u201d St. Sophronius replies, \u201cGod chose this most pure Virgin for his mother, so that she might be an example of chastity to all.\u201d This is why St. Ambrose calls Mary \u201cthe standard-bearer of virginity.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Blessed Virgin inspired all who looked at her with chaste thoughts. This is confirmed by St. Thomas, who says that the beauty of the Blessed Virgin was an incentive to chastity in all who beheld her. St. Jerome declared it was his opinion that St. Joseph actually remained a virgin by living with Mary. Writing against the heretic Helvidius, who denied Mary\u2019s virginity, he says: \u201cYou say that Mary did not remain a virgin. I say that, not only did she remain a virgin, but also that Joseph preserved his virginity through Mary.\u201d<\/p>\n
St. John of Damascus says that Mary \u201cis pure, and a lover of purity.\u201d So she cannot endure those who are unchaste. But whoever turns to her will certainly be delivered from this vice, if he only pronounces her name with confidence.\u00a0\u2014St. Alphonsus Liguori, The Glories of Mary<\/p>\n
IN GOD\u2019S PRESENCE, CONSIDER . . .<\/strong>
\nAre the words of St. Augustine true in my life? \u201cOf all the combats in which we\u2019re engaged, the most severe are those of chastity. Its battles take place daily, but victory is rare.\u201d If so, do I turn to Mary to help me win these battles?<\/p>\nCLOSING PRAYER<\/strong>
\nFrom a prayer of St. Alphonsus: Sovereign Lady, obtain for us the grace always to turn to you in our temptations, and always to invoke you, saying, \u201cMary, Mary, help us!\u201d<\/p>\n_____________________________________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n
Remember to subscribe to my feed so you will not miss a day! This recurring feature at The Catholic Blogger is possible through the cooperation of author Paul Thigpen and publisher Saint Benedict Press<\/a>. To get your own copy of this book, click below.<\/p>\n<iframe style=\u201dwidth:120px;height:240px;\u201d marginwidth=\u201d0\u2033 marginheight=\u201d0\u2033 scrolling=\u201dno\u201d frameborder=\u201d0\u2033 src=\u201d\/\/ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=thecatbooblo-20&marketplace=amazon®ion=US&placement=1618906968&asins=1618906968&linkId=HHYTF2YJOQZUXAXB&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true\u201d><\/p>\n
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Mary, Virgin of Virgins St. Alphonsus presents Mary to us as the model of chastity and purity. Ever since the fall of Adam, when the bodily senses became rebels against reason, chastity is of all the virtues the one most difficult to practice. St. Augustine notes: \u201cOf all the combats in which we\u2019re engaged, the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1689,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[632],"tags":[1053,163,633,121],"class_list":["post-4377","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-a-year-with-mary","tag-a-year-with-mary","tag-paul-thigpen","tag-saint-alphonsus-ligouri","tag-saint-benedict-press"],"yoast_head":"\n
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<\/a>Mary, Virgin of Virgins<\/strong><\/p>\n