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 made the  vow  of  perpetual  virginity. For when the Archangel  Gabriel  brought  God's  message  to the  immaculate  spouse  of  St.  Joseph,  that  she  was to become  the  Mother  of  the  Most  High,  she asked, "How  shall  this  be  done,  because  I  know not  man?" (Luke i.  34.)  Indeed,  Mary  would not have  been,  in  the  full  and  most  excellent  sense of the  word,  the  "Virgin  of  virgins,"  had  she  not from her  own  free  choice  vowed  her  virginity  to God.

During the  whole  Christian  era  there  have  been heroic souls  who  made  the  vow  of  perpetual chastity, consecrating  themselves  to  God. Trusting in the  powerful  protection  of  the  immaculate Virgin, they  persevered  in  their  resolve  to  bear this priceless  treasure  before  God's  throne  despite the dangers  of  the  world,  the  temptations  of  concupiscence, and  the  assaults  of  hell,  and  with  the help of  the  queen  of  virgins  they  achieved  a  triumphant victory.

INCE the  fall  of  Adam  our  senses  are  in  rebellion  against  the  law  of  God. "I see  another law  in  my  members,  fighting  against  the  law  of my  mind,  and  captivating  me  in  the  law  of  sin" (Rom. vii.  23). Chastity is  the  virtue  which causes us  the  greatest  struggles. St. Augustine says: "The  fiercest  of  all  combats  is  the  one  for the  preservation  of  chastity,  and  we  must  engage