_Prayer._--O Sovereign Queen of Angels! you are the Mother of Orphans, as your faithful servant, St. Bonaventure, says: _Mater Orphanorum_. Sinners are truly orphans--for they have had the misfortune to lose their God, the most tender of Fathers. To you, therefore, I have recourse, O Mother of Mercy. I have had the misfortune to lose my true Father, by sin; and yet, since you have not abandoned me, O my Mother, I feel a lively hope that through your goodness you will deign to intercede for me, and reconcile me to my Father, Whom I have so grievously offended. O Holy Virgin! he alone can perish who does not have recourse to you. I confess, indeed, that I am a most unworthy sinner, and, nevertheless, to you do I fly, animated by sweet confidence in your love. Your mercy is greater than all my miseries; and, although my iniquities are enormous, they will never exhaust the treasures of your Son's mercy, nor your own. I sincerely detest, from my heart, all my sins, and hope, through your intercession, for a general pardon. Amen. _Ejaculation._--O Mother of God and my Mother, the confidence I place in you is to me a pledge of my eternal salvation. _Practice._--Let all your prayers and actions this day be offered in suffrage for the holy souls in Purgatory. TENTH DAY. BY THE VISIT OF MARY, ELIZABETH IS FILLED WITH THE HOLY GHOST. LET us continue our Meditation on the sweet mystery of the Visitation. The visit which this incomparable Virgin made to St. Elizabeth was not useless, nor, like the visits of worldly people, a matter of ceremony. Such visits result in harm to the conscience, in offences against chastity or charity. The Most Holy Virgin was induced to visit her cousin Elizabeth from pure motives of charity, and the days she spent with her were not employed in useless occupations, but in praising and magnifying God. How holy, pious, and devout was not this visit! It filled the whole house of Zachary with the Holy Spirit, and admirable effects were produced in St. Elizabeth. The first effect was humility. As soon as Our Lady appeared in the house of her cousin the Saint was filled with astonishment at such a favour, and exclaimed: _Unde hoc mihi ut veniat Mater Domini mei ad me?_--'Whence is this to me, that the Mother of my God should come unto me?' This is the virtue that the Holy Ghost first produces within us; a profound humility, which forces us to annihilate ourselves in the sight of the infinite greatness of God, and acknowledge our own baseness and worthlessness.