But you will ask: Why do you so often blend together the worship of God and the veneration of the Blessed Virgin? Why such exclamations as _Blessed be Jesus and Mary_? Why do you so often repeat in succession the Lord’s prayer and the Angelical salutation? Is not this practice calculated to level all distinctions between the Creator and His creature, and to excite the displeasure of a God ever jealous of His glory? Those who make this objection should remember that the praises of the Lord and of His Saints are frequently combined in Holy Scripture itself. Witness Judith. On returning from the tent of Holofernes, she sang: “_Praise ye the Lord, our God_, who hath not forsaken them that hope in Him, _and by me His handmaid_, He hath fulfilled His mercy which He promised to the house of Israel.... And Ozias, the prince of the people of Israel, said to her: _Blessed art thou, O daughter_, by the Lord the Most High God, above all women upon the earth, _Blessed be the Lord_ who made heaven and earth ... because He hath so magnified thy name this day, that thy praise shall not depart out of the mouth of men.”(255) Witness Ecclesiasticus. After glorifying God for His mighty works, he immediately sounds the praises of Enoch and Noe, of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, of Moses and Aaron, of Samuel and Nathan, of David and Josias, of Isaiah and Jeremiah, and other kings and prophets of Israel.(256) Elizabeth, in the same breath, exclaims: “Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.”(257) And Mary herself, under the inspiration of Heaven, cries out: “My soul _doth magnify the Lord_, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior.... For, behold from henceforth all generations _shall call me blessed_.”(258) Here are the names of Creator and creature interwoven like threads of gold and silver in the same woof, without provoking the jealousy of God. God jealous of the honor paid to Mary! Will a father be jealous of the honor paid to his child, especially of a child who reflects his own image and likeness, and exhibits those virtues which he had inculcated on her tender mind? And is not Mary God’s child of predilection? Will an architect be envious of the praise bestowed on a magnificent temple which his genius planned and reared? Is not the living temple of Mary’s heart the work of the Supreme Architect? Must she not say with all of God’s creatures: “Thy hands (O Lord) have made me and formed me.” Is it not He who has adorned that living temple with those rare beauties which we so much admire? Has she not declared so when she exclaimed: “He that is mighty hath done great things to me, and holy is His name!”(259)