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The Light of the World
“Draw us, O immaculate Virgin.” We are still completely under the tyranny of sin and
its consequences; but draw us that we may faithfully respond to the grace of God and obtain
perfect purity.
Prayer
O Lord, as through Thy prevenient grace Mary was preserved from all stain, so through her
intercession may we be freed from all sins. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. (Secreta.)
Fifth Day in the Octave
As the priest and the faithful are receiving Holy Communion, the liturgy greets the immaculate
Mother with the words: “Glorious things are said of thee, O Mary; for He who is mighty hath
done great things unto thee” (Communion). As we receive Holy Communion the liturgy sees
in us another Virgin of Nazareth blessed by God.
“Glorious things are said of thee, O Mary.” She was immaculately conceived and by the grace
of God was endowed with an unclouded intellect and preserved from all evil inclinations and
from weakness of will. To this singular privilege was added the fullness of grace and the gifts
of the Holy Ghost: understanding, wisdom, knowledge, justice, prudence, temperance, and
the fear of God. She had also the gift of prayer, spiritual insight, and perfect love and faith.
All this was crowned by her being chosen the Mother of God. Mary is indeed the stainless
one, full of grace, destined to become the Mother of God by the message brought to her by
the angel. In obedience and humility she spoke her fiat: “And the Word was made flesh and
dwelt among us.” Indeed, glorious things are said of thee, O Mary, and the Lord hath done
great things unto thee.
In the liturgy Mary is the symbol of the Christian soul. What it says of her in the
Communion prayer of the Mass, it says also of me when I receive Communion: Glorious things
are said of thee, O Christian soul. Thou art, like Mary, a temple of the Most High; like Mary,
a second Virgin of Nazareth. The Almighty hath done great things unto thee. As a pledge of
His love and blessing He has sent you His only Son. “Hath He not also with Him given us all
things?” (Rom 8:32.) In Christ He has given us the forgiveness of sin and the strength to live
our lives in purity, virtue, and holiness. He has given us the assurance of victory over evil, the
right to unlimited grace, and He has made us coheirs with His saints to the treasures of His love.
Glorious things are planned for thee, O Christian soul. Holy Communion is the pledge and the
source of all the rich blessings promised to you.
The Church in her liturgy looks upon the Christian soul as another Virgin of Nazareth each
time it receives Holy Communion. Let us consider seriously what that means. Let us meditate
on Mary. When I receive Holy Communion, I should be like her in my desires, my thoughts,
my affections, and my works. I should be pure, stainless, and devoted to God as she is. How
miserably I fail in all this!
What should the frequent reception of Holy Communion accomplish in my soul? Let us
consider the Virgin of Nazareth after she had conceived the divine child. She was absorbed in a
life of prayer, humility, patience, and suffering. And we? What causes the difference? Certainly
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