xed and reconciled in thee
Of mother's love with maiden purity,
Of high with low, celestial with serene."

To honor one who has been the subject of divine, angelic and saintly
panegyric is to use a privilege, and the privilege is heightened into a
sacred duty when we remember that the spirit of prophecy foretold that she
should ever be the unceasing theme of Christian eulogy as long as
Christianity itself would exist.

"Honor he is worthy of, whom the king hath a mind to honor."(250) The King
of kings hath honored Mary; His divine Son did not disdain to be subject
to her, therefore should we honor her, especially as the honor we pay to
her redounds to God, the source of all glory. The Royal Prophet, than whom
no man paid higher praise to God, esteemed the friends of God worthy of
all honor: "To me Thy friends, O God, are made exceedingly
honorable."(251) Now the dearest friends of God are they who most
faithfully keep His precepts: "You are My friends, if you do the things
that I command you."(252) Who fulfilled the divine precepts better than
Mary, who kept all the words of her Son, pondering them in her heart? "If
any man minister to me," says our Savior, "him will My Father honor."(253)
Who ministered more constantly to Jesus than Mary, who discharged towards
Him all the offices of a tender mother?

Heroes and statesmen may receive the highest military and civic honors
which a nation can bestow without being suspected of invading the domain
of the glory which is due to God. Now is not heroic sanctity more worthy
of admiration than civil service and military exploits, inasmuch as
religion ranks higher than patriotism and valor? And yet the admirers of
Mary's exalted virtues can scarcely celebrate her praises without being
accused in certain quarters of Mariolatry.

When a nation wishes to celebrate the memory of its distinguished men its
admiration is not confined to words, but vents itself in a thousand
different shapes. See in how many ways we honor the memory of Washington.
Monuments on which his good deeds are recorded are erected to his name.
The grounds in which his remains repose on the banks of the Potomac are
kept in order by a volunteer band of devoted ladies, who adorn the place
with flowers. And this cherished spot is annually visited by thousands of
pilgrims from the most remote sections of the country. These visitors will
eagerly snatch a flower or a leaf from a shrub growing near Washington