Page:O'Donnell - Hail Holy Queen 04 - Why the Madonna?.djvu/6

 One can have no respect for publications that pander to man's lower nature; nor can one have much respect for the young women who apparently are so eager to exhibit their physical attractions to be gloated over. They have lost something fine that they can never regain. They are daughters of Eve without being daughters of Mary.

Freud's libido has encompassed the world. Men and women deliberately run counter to the Ten Commandments, taking a particular delight in breaking the sixth and ninth, and then wonder why God has turned His face from us. And how, I might ask, can we, in common decency, ask the intercession of the Mother of God, when so much of what is going on in the world is an insult to the Virgin Most Pure?

A characteristic of the modern pagan is that he—or she—sees the world in terms of pleasure, with an inordinate emphasis on the "pleasures of the flesh. The lower nature of man must be gratified, despite the testimony of history that retribution follows. It may not be swift, but it is always sure.

How may the pagan practices of our times be counteracted? How may we offset the strong, lustful force that has swept over the world, and over this nation, degrading the nobility of woman—and degrading it, let us sadly admit, with her tacit consent? We must turn again to Mary, the Mother of God and the mother of all of us. Let us enshrine the image of her in our homes, as well as in our hearts. A spiritual writer has beautifully said that, except for the Crucifix, there is no mirror into which a Christian can look with greater profit than the image of the Virgin Mother of God. If we frequently look at this holy image, we will discover that it produces a sanctifying and salutary effect upon our whole life. It influences our thoughts, desires, words, and deeds. It protects the imagination from filth. It matters not whether the picture of Mary represents her as a maiden at prayer, or as the Mother of the Divine Infant in the stable, or as the Sorrowful Mother beneath the Cross, or as Queen of Angels and Saints in heaven. In each we see in her the revelation of God's beauty, the image of His own goodness, and the goodness of the true mother.

Mary is our country's Queen. And this is the centennial of our dedication to her by the Sixth Provincial Council of Baltimore. Could there be a more appropriate way of observing the