Twelfth Day
In this sorrow of the Blessed Virgin, her flight into Egypt, we should call to our mind first of all, the poverty and destitution of the Holy Family in their exile. We would not be her devout and loving children, nor would we be followers of the Lord, unless we showed a sympathy for the sufferings endured during this event of Our Lord’s life; unless we impressed them on our minds by pious meditation. This poverty which the Blessed Virgin endured was a part of her sorrows, and we, her children, will not forget what she must have felt for Our Lord in these reduced circumstances. Think of the hot winds of the desert, and the thirst they could not quench when, weary and footsore, they travelled on through that sandy waste. Another great concern of Mary’s was, that the sins of mankind had deprived God of His glory in the incarnation of His divine Son. Good souls feel this very much, that God is not known and honored as He ought to be; still there is no comparison between the feelings of the saints and that of the Blessed Virgin. She lived a divine life, and was intimately concerned in the providence of God, and so felt the ingratitude of man all the more.
Prayer.
O Heart of Mary, I offer, etc., etc.