Une Minute avec Marie
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The month of October is known as the month of the Rosary. The Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary is celebrated on October 7. But already on October 1, the feast of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus (Saint Therese of Lisieux), who was greatly attached to the Virgin Mary, can help us see Our Lady in a special way. The following are some quotes from her that may speak to us:
"How I love the Blessed Virgin! If I had been a priest, how I should have spoken of her. She is sometimes described as unapproachable, whereas she should be represented as easy of imitation. She is more Mother than Queen. I have heard it said that her splendor eclipses that of all the saints as the rising sun makes all the stars disappear. It sounds so strange. That a Mother should take away the glory of her children! I think quite the reverse. I believe that she will greatly increase the splendor of the elect….Our Mother Mary….How simple her life must have been." (Autobiography, 208)
"For a sermon on the Blessed Virgin to please me and do me good, I need to see her real life, not her supposed life; and I'm sure her real life must have been quite simple. We show her to be unapproachable, we should show her to be imitable, highlight her virtues, say that she lived by faith as we do, give proof of this in the Gospel where we read: "They did not understand what he was saying to them" (Lk 2:50). And another, no less mysterious: "His parents wondered at what was being said about him" (Lk 2:33). This admiration implies a certain astonishment, don't you think?"
"It's well known that the Blessed Virgin is Queen of Heaven and earth, but she's more mother than queen, and we mustn't say that because of her prerogatives she eclipses the glory of all the saints, as the sun at its rising makes the stars disappear. My God, how strange! A mother who makes the glory of her children disappear! I believe she will greatly increase the splendor of the chosen ones. It's all very well to talk about her prerogatives, but that's not all we should say... Who knows if some soul might even feel a certain distance from such a superior creature, and say to herself: "If that's what it is, we might as well go and shine as best we can in some little corner."
"What the Blessed Virgin has more than we do is that she couldn't sin, that she was free of the original stain, but on the other hand, she was far less fortunate than we are, since she didn't have a Blessed Virgin to love, and that's such an added sweetness for us."