: tience thy wonderful obedience in fulfilling so readily the onerous command of Gabriel, the Archangel; thy heroic patience in doing so without murmur or complaint. O Mary, dearest Virgin Mary, obtain for me, I beseech thee, these two beautiful virtues. Teach me also how to journey safely through this vale of tears. Comfort me in my sorrows, help me in my wants, and never suffer me to deviate from the right path, but as a star guides the mariner securely into port, so do thou, my protectress, conduct me safely to Heaven. Most sincerely do I compassionate thee in that indescribable woe which thou didst feel when in the dreary desert, and I devoutly beg of thee to stamp deeply on my heart thy second bitter Dolour, that with thee, dear afflicted Mother, I may suffer and weep here below, and be glad and rejoice with thee in Heaven. Amen. Ejaculation. Mary, O Dolorous Virgin, obtain for me holy patience and obedience, and safely conduct me through the perils of this world to Jesus, the haven of salvation. Say "three Ave Marias in honour of all Mary suffered in Nazareth, for an increase of Hope." ON THE THIRD DOLOUR OF MARY. Mary loses Jesus for Three Days. FIRST POINT. It has been said by many learned and pious writers that the third Dolour of the Blessed Virgin surpassed in intensity all her preceding sorrows; and no doubt they had great reasons for maintaining such an opinion. For, in her other Dolours Mary was not deprived of the sight, company, and heavenly conversation of her Divine Son; whereas in this she was entirely separated from Him, and at the same time she was perfectly ignorant of the cause of his absence, as well as the place of his stay. The heartrending pain which our Blessed Lady felt on occasion of this third Dolour, will be the subject of this meditation. The Jews were wont three times in the year to go from all parts of Israel to visit at Jerusalem the Temple of the Lord. There they offered their gifts of doves, pigeons, goats, lambs, and oxen. There they presented to the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses, their homage of love, praise, adoration, and thanksgiving. There they joyously and piously sang hymns and celebrated their solemn feasts. The chief of these solemnities, which the Levitical Law ordered to be strictly observed, was the Paschal Festival or Passover-a feast to commemorate the happy deliverance of Jacob's posterity from the hands of Pharao and from the Egyptian slavery. Now, St. Joseph was accustomed every year to go to the Temple at the appointed times. When, therefore, our dear Lord was about twelve years of age, it being the Pasch, this holy man went as usual to Jerusalem, accompanied by Jesus and his Mother. When they arrived at the place of their destination, it is commonly believed that they separated, and that each one joined a different party. St. Joseph went with the men; Mary joined the women, and our Saviour accompanied his Mother. Neither Jesus nor Mary was bound on this occasion to visit the Temple. The law obliged only men to go; still our Blessed Lady went, as well as St. Joseph, devoutly to celebrate the Paschal solemnity. Why then does she visit the Temple? and why does she take her beloved Son? The learned Cornelius a Lapide answers, that "Mary accompanied her saintly spouse to Jerusalem, and went to the Tabernacle of the Lord through devotion, but that she took Jesus with her in order to teach mothers how very careful they ought to be to make their children, whilst still young, eagerly seek the Temple and affectionately love the God who therein resides." St. Alphonsus and Venerable Bede make the same comment. Alas! how extremely negligent mothers are in this very important duty. As soon as their children are able to run about, they are suffered to wander from home without necessity, to amuse themselves in public streets, to play in bye-ways and roads, in a |