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 should love and serve Him, beseeching her to do for us the office of a mother and advocatrix, and to demonstrate to us that love and desire of hers in obtaining for us what we request, that we may the better serve Him whom she so dearly loves. Also to our angel guardian may be alleged, that he comply with the office he holds to present our prayers to God, and to procure a good despatch of them; and that his honour is interested in our being good and having a happy issue of our endeavours for heaven; and that, seeing that the Devil sleeps not to tempt us, that he sleep not, but be watchful to defend us. After this manner we may speak to the rest of the saints that shall offer themselves in the matter of meditation, or to whom we are devoted, rather to stir up devotion in ourselves than to move them by it: for, as they love us and desire our salvation, so they are very much inclined to solicit it.

By what has been explained in the two preceding chapters, it follows how excellent a thing mental prayer is, in which are exercised so many and so heroic acts of the principal virtues that there are in the Christian life. On this account St. John Chrysostom said, with very great reason, that " as when a queen enters into a city there enter with her, in her company, many ladies and noblemen of the court, beside her guard and innumerable people that follow her, so when prayer enters into the soul, there enter with her all the virtues accompanying the spirit of prayer." Some virtues go before, preparing the way and disposing the soul to pray as it ought, as are faith, humility, reverence, and purity of intention; and others which we shall speak of hereafter, according to that saying of the Wise Man,