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 us back  to  Mary. She was  the  first  gentle  flower  to bloom  forth  in  the  springtime  of  the  new  era — that wondrous plant  that  bore  her  fruit  in  motherhood but still  retained  the  blossom  of  her  virginity. The name "  Mary  "  is  interpreted  as  the  "  bitterness  of the  sea,"  but  the  bitterness  of  her  life  was  all  her  own: to us  she  became  the  star  of  the  sea,  leading  us  on to  our  glorious  destination. " All  generations,"  she says, "  shall  call  me  blessed." Twice blessed  rather, for virginity  and  fruitful  maternity  are  woman's greatest  blessings,  and  Mary,  the  virginal  Mother  of the  Man  of  men,  became  in  the  birth  of  her  first-born the spiritual  Mother  of  us  all. Such a  singular  combination of  prerogatives  simply  defies  exaggeration. No eulogist  of  her,  however  perfect,  but  can  say: " Condescend  to  hear  my  praises,  O  sacred  Virgin, and  give  me  strength  against  thy  enemies."

Though Protestants,  as  such,  never  will  and  never can understand  this  devotion,  still  it  was  only  the other day  one  of  them  said  that  woman  need  never hope to  achieve  her  proper  position  in  society  until the Christian  world  unites  in  honoring  Mary  as  she deserves. For it  is  a  truth  proven  by  human  experience since  the  very  beginning  of  humanity,  that  in  the conduct of  this  world's  affairs,  be  they  social,  political, or religious,  woman's  part  must  ever  be  an  inferior one, secondary  and  subordinate  to  that  of  man. That such was  and  is  Nature's  intent  is  evidenced  in  the purely animal  kingdom,  where  the  distinctive  characteristics of  the  sexes,  their  different  organisms  and duties, all  proclaim  the  preeminence  of  the  sterner