Truly has this holy Virgin been called _elect as the sun_, because as the sun shines resplendent above all the stars, through the excellence of its prerogatives, so there is no one amongst all the Saints who has obtained, or can ever obtain, graces superior to those bestowed upon Mary. There are Saints who have received signal graces from our Lord, and these, compared with the rest of the world, are like queens crowned with charity, and occupy a distinguished position in the love of our Divine Saviour. But His most blessed Mother is the Queen of all Queens, for she is not only crowned with charity, but with the perfection of charity, and to use an expression of the Holy Spirit, Who says that _the Son is the crown of the Father_; her crown is in truth her Son; that is to say, the sovereign object of charity, the Eternal Love, forms her crown. SPIRITUAL FLOWERS. How lovely is the rose! and yet it causes great sadness in my soul. It reminds me of my sin, on account of which the earth was condemned to produce thorns.--_St. Basil._ Mary, conceived without sin, is compared to the incorruptible cedar, the scent of which puts serpents to flight.--_St. Alphonsus Liguori._ How great will be our happiness in heaven, where we shall be able to contemplate Mary, to love her and be loved by her; for she alone forms a paradise of delights. Mary is truly, after God, all that is beautiful, sweet, glorious and amiable in that celestial realm; all is in Mary, all through Mary, all, in fine, is hers.--_St. Bonaventure._ Nothing is of greater service to our soul, nor more sustains and strengthens it, than the frequent thought of Mary.--_St. Teresa._ EXAMPLE. _Devotion of St. Francis of Sales to the Blessed Virgin Mary._ Of all the festivals of the most holy Virgin there was none more dear to the tender piety of St. Francis of Sales than the Immaculate Conception. When but a subdeacon he instituted a confraternity of penitents, under the title of the Immaculate Conception. Every year he prepared for this feast by fasting and prayer, and his zeal induced him to proclaim this day a festival of obligation throughout his diocese. In order to place his episcopate under the protection of the Immaculate Virgin, he chose this solemnity for the day of his consecration, and during the ceremony he was rapt in ecstasy, and saw the most Holy Trinity working in his heart all that the Bishops were doing exteriorly, and moreover, he saw the most holy Virgin take him under her protection.