The same devotion that moved me to write this work is the devotion that moves you now to read it. Some may say there are already enough books about Mary to satisfy every need of her devout children. Yet I answer with the words of Abbot Francone: “The praise of Mary is an inexhaustible fountain: the more it is enlarged the fuller it becomes, and the more you fill it, the more it expands.” In truth, the Blessed Virgin is so great and so sublime that the more she is praised, the more there remains to be praised.
In this work I have tried to gather, from as many authors as possible, the choicest passages that inspire love for Mary. I hope as well that these pages may help priests when they preach on this tender subject.
Worldly people freely praise those they love, so that the beloved may be honored and admired by others. So too with the lovers of Mary. They gladly take every opportunity to kindle in others the flame of love for her—both publicly and privately.
St. Bonaventure teaches that those who make it their mission to announce the glories of Mary are assured of heaven. “Rejoice then,” he cries out, “rejoice, my soul, and be glad in her; for many good things are prepared for those who praise her.”
Through preaching the love of the Mother of God, St. Bernardine of Siena sanctified Italy, just as St. Dominic converted entire provinces. St. Louis Bertrand never omitted in his sermons an exhortation to love Mary, and many other saints have done the same.
In the missions we Redemptorists preach, it is an unbreakable rule that one sermon be devoted to Mary. The subject that most moves hearts is the mercy of Mary. As St. Bernard explains: “We praise her virginity, we admire her humility; but because we are poor sinners, mercy attracts us more and tastes sweeter. We embrace mercy more lovingly; we remember it more often; and we invoke it more earnestly.”
Her merciful and powerful intercession is beautifully expressed in the prayer Salve Regina, which is recited daily in the Divine Office and has always been a favorite of the devout.
Therefore, the plan of this work is to divide and explain this great prayer in separate chapters. I will also add reflections on the principal feasts and virtues of the Mother of God.
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