Page:SermonsFromTheLatins.djvu/45

 ulate Conception. In the  sixth  Canticle  we  read: " Who  is  she  that  cometh  forth  as  the  dawn;  fair  as the  moon,  bright  as  the  sun;  terrible  as  an  army  set in  array?  "  All  the  beauties  of  Nature,  of  the  day,  of the  night,  and  of  the  intervening  time — the  aurora — are here  attributed  to  Mary. She came  as  the  dawn, pure and  sweet,  with  the  promise  of  a  glorious  day. St. Francis  of  Assisi  loved  to  meditate  gazing  on  the rising sun:  "For,"  said  he,  "  with  the  eye  of  faith  I can  see  therein  the  dawn  of  man's  Redemption.  It was  another  and  beautiful  way  of  saying  he  loved  to meditate  on  Mary's  Immaculate  Conception.  Fair as  the  moon.  In  all  Nature  there  is  nothing  lovelier than  the  pale  queen  of  night,  as  with  stately  tread  she ascends  the  throne  of  heaven,  while  the  stars  like flowers  strew  her  royal  way.  She  shines  with  a  borrowed light,  'tis  true,  as  Mary  did,  but  still  star  differs from  star  in  glory,  and  Mary  is  the  brightest  of  them all.  And  lest  we  should  imagine  that  like  the  moon there  is  any  spot  or  change  in  her,  the  Canticle  adds that  Mary  is  bright  as  the  sun.  One  and  the  same halo  surrounds  Mary  and  the  Child  in  her  arms.  If  a brief  vision  of  God  on  Mount  Sinai  made  the  face  of Moses  shine  like  the  sun,  what  shall  we  say  of  Mary, who for  thirty  long  years  basked  in  the  smiles  of  the Saviour? Through her  the  light  of  divine  truth  and the warmth  of  divine  love  suffused  this  world,  thawing out  the  congealed  heart  of  the  sinner  and  starting up the  rivulets  of  human  sympathy. Finally, to  the powers of  darkness  she  is  terrible  as  an  army  set  in array. As the  shadows  of  night  fly  westward  in  con-