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156 she displayed, after God sent her into the world.

Enter into the first point thus:—

Begin by raising your thoughts above all created things; go back into the eternity which preceded all creation, enter into the mind of God, and see what delight He took in the thought of the Virgin Mary; ask Him, by that delight, for the grace and strength you need for conquering your enemies, and particularly that one against which you are now struggling.

Then consider the great and singular virtues and actions of the most holy Mother, bring all and each before God, asking Him by the grace which He wrought in her, that He would of His Divine Goodness grant you what you require.

Then turn to God the Son, and remind Him of the virginal womb in which He was borne for nine months, of the adoration which, after He was born, the Blessed Virgin paid Him, recognizing Him at once as God and man, as her Son and her Creator; of the compassionate gaze with which she contemplated Him in His poverty; of the arms which embraced Him; of the loving kisses with which she caressed Him; of the breasts which fed Him; of the pain and anguish she endured for His sake throughout His Life, and at His Death. By these memories you will bring to bear a sweet pressure upon the