The second effect was to confirm St. Elizabeth in faith, as is gathered from the words she ad dressed to the Most Holy Virgin: 'Blessed art thou that hast believed; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb'--_Beata es quae crededisti; benedicta tu inter mulieres, et benedictus fructus ventris tui_. Indeed, one of the chief operations of the Holy Spirit is to ground us in faith and convert us entirely to God, and make us acknowledge Him as the Source of all the graces and blessings granted to mortal beings. Truly may St. Elizabeth have said, you are blessed amongst all women, but your blessedness proceeds from the Fruit of your womb, the God of blessings. We do not usually praise the fruit on account of the tree, but the tree on account of the excellence of its fruit. Thus, although we ought to render to the Most Holy Virgin a worship or veneration beyond that which we render to the Saints, yet our homage and veneration should never equal that which we give to God. God alone should be sovereignly adored; but, as the Most Holy Virgin is the Mother of Our Saviour, and a co-operator in our redemption, she is worthy of such a special worship as all true Christians have ever given to her. When the Holy Spirit dwells within us, we love and praise God alone above all things, as our Sovereign Creator; and after Him, Mary, His Most Holy Mother. The third effect that the Holy Ghost produces in those upon whom He descends is a complete change of heart, as is represented in the joy of the Baptist yet unborn: _Ecce enim ut facta est vox salutationis tuae in auribus meis, exultavit infans in utero meo_--'Behold, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in my ears,' said Elizabeth to Our Lady, 'the Infant leaped in my womb.' Thus was St. John sanctified, going forth as it were out of himself, and casting himself before his Maker. And so it is with those who receive the Holy Spirit: they go out of themselves and lose themselves in God; that is to say, they live no longer according to nature and the senses, but they follow the inspirations of grace. If you desire, then, to know whether you have received the Holy Ghost, examine your actions. It was through the intervention of Most Holy Mary that St. Elizabeth received the Holy Spirit. This teaches us that we should make use of her as a mediatrix with her Divine Son in order to obtain heavenly graces. It is true that we can address ourselves directly to God in our petitions, without employing the mediation of the Most Holy Virgin or the Saints; but this is not according to the order ordained by God, Who wished that there should be a communication between us and His Saints. Hence the Church militant and triumphant form but one Church, directed and governed equally, though differently, by God Himself; and He wishes us to have recourse to Him through the Most Holy Virgin and the Saints, and He bestows the most precious graces upon us by their intercession.