Hello friends,
We are approaching the feasts of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary next week - July 1st and 2nd respectively, and I wanted to share an excerpt I found today from St. John Eudes' book in Part IV Chapter III. It is entitled, "Purity and Sanctity of God Mirrored in the Admirable Heart of Mary." St. John Eudes was a 17th century saint, on fire with love for God and Mother Mary, and he apparently first formalized the joint devotion to the "twin hearts." Please feel free to read this Chapter from his book The Admirable Heart of Mary, and I hope to comment in the near future! Let me know what you think of St. John Eudes' work....
"In this chapter I shall show how Mary's Heart bears a striking resemblance to divine purity and sanctity. The most pure and holy Heart of Our Lady is a living image of those two adorable perfections, which are one and the same, for St. Dionysius tells us that sanctity is perfect purity, purity meaning freedom from the slightest imperfection.
The most holy Heart of Mary is indeed an excellent image of divine purity and holiness. Not only was her most pure and holy Heart always far removed from every kind of sin, but it was entirely free from attachment to created things, and intimately united to God by its pure and holy love for Him together with the eminent practice of all the other virtues which Mary's Heart possessed in so high a degree. The Queen of Virtues is called by St. John Damascene "the abode and the sanctuary of all virtues." Even though Our Lady dwelt for years in this world full of filth and abomination, poisoned by the venom of sin, her most holy Heart never contracted the least stain or blemish, was never attached by an inordinate affection to any creature nor even to God's gifts and graces. The Blessed Virgin remained always intimately united to God, as though nothing else existed save God and herself. Thus were the divine words most perfectly fulfilled in her divine Heart: "Let my heart be undefiled in thy justifications," (Ps. 118:80) that is, let my heart be immaculate by its union and adherence to Thy divine Will, which justifies, sanctifies and even deifies the hearts that love it and perfectly follow it.
The most holy Heart of the Queen of all Saints remained forever immaculate, preserved in eminent purity and holiness, and entirely filled with the purity and sanctity of God Himself. Her being was transformed and submerged in divine purity and holiness, to the surpassing extent that her Heart merited to obtain the world's salvation. As St. Anselm expresses it: "The pure sanctity and holy purity of Mary's devout Heart, surpassing by far the purity and sanctity of all other creatures, merited for her the sublime dignity of becoming the Restorer of the world wrapped in perdition.
If you would find a place in the sanctuary of Mary's admirable Heart, which so perfectly mirrors the purity and sanctity of the Most High, you must purify your heart and realize the meaning of the words: "This is the will of God, your sanctification." (1 Thess. 4:3) These words are not meant just for souls specially consecrated and set apart. You must apply them to yourself, you who bear the name and imprint of Christ and membership in His mystical Body. The sanctification of your spirit, heart and body is more than a commandment; it is a privilege, a participation, granted to you through the purity and sanctity of the heart of Mary, Mother of the Redeemer and your own Mother."
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