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St. Bonaventure
Psalter of the blessed Virgin Mary
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THE PSALTER OF OUR LADY AUTHOR'S PREFACE

"Take hold on her, and she shall exalt thee: thou shalt be glorified by
her, when thou shalt embrace her. She shall give to thy head increase of
graces, and protect thee with a noble crown." (Prov. IV, 8-9.)

Glory be to God on high, and thanksgiving, and the voice of praise, who at
one time by the mysteries of prophecy, at another by oracles from Heaven,
again by the reading of the Gospel, and now by the mouth of preachers, in
many ways and by divers channels, most sincerely urges and invites us to
honor the Virgin Mary, the Queen of Heaven and of the Angels; that by her
holy merits, most worthy of all acceptance, we, being delivered from the
depths of hell, may be inscribed by her in the ranks of the angels.
Wherefore, although Solomon spoke the aforesaid words of Wisdom,
nevertheless the Holy Spirit, by a mystical application, intends them to be
understood of the most excellent Virgin Mary.

By means of these words, dearly beloved, He is drawing you to His love, and
by various promises is attracting and softening your hearts, that you may
enjoy His divine embraces. His meaning is that you will obtain four
wonderful gifts, if this glorious Virgin is joined to you by a spiritual
bond, and is embraced by you in the arms of fervent desire, with great
reverence and devotion. First, she will bring you exaltation; and she shall
exalt thee; secondly, glorification; and thou shalt be glorified by her;
thirdly, the abundance of graces; she shall give to thy head increase of
graces; fourthly, the unfading crown of perpetual glory, and protect thee
with a noble crown. Therefore I beseech thee, dearly beloved and most
desired, do not repel so noble and so beautiful a virgin; do not make
little of so admirable and revered a queen as the Virgin Mary: lest, if she
should see herself despised by you, you will be, I will not say, deprived
of such great favors, but, which God forbid, you will incur perpetual
evils. Expand the bosom of your mind to serve her, prepare your heart to
praise and glorify her, loose your tongue, and with swift service hasten to
please her. For there is no doubt that from her nearness to you, you will
become more devout, from contact with her you will grow more pure, from her
embrace you will abound more in grace and be more resplendent in purity.
That I may give you an occasion of obtaining such great gifts, I send you
the Psalter of this most Holy Virgin, put together and composed indeed by
my feeble intelligence, but with her grace and help; by means of it you
will praise with divers hymns, now her virginity and chastity, now her
fecundity and sanctity, now her clemency and bounty. You will be able to
salute her as full of all grace, or as filled with all knowledge, or as
illumined by all understanding and wisdom. There you will bless the Fruit
of her glorious womb, the members of His holy body, and the prerogatives of
His soul, bestowing all sanctity. There you will invoke the aid of all the
choirs of angels to praise her, and of all the multitudes of holy men, the
isles of the nations, the heavens, the beauty of all luminaries and of the
whole world. There you will beseech her to destroy the power of your
spiritual enemies, to obtain for you pardon of all your sins, that she may
render the great Judge propitious to you, that she may illumine your
deathbed by her gracious presence, and obtain for you joy without end.
Therefore, O dearly beloved souls, graciously receive this little gift
which I offer you, and strive to draw fruit therefrom; by means of it
frequently praise the Mother of God; and thus perchance she will turn to
you her gracious countenance, receiving you to her love, refreshing your
soul in the present, and placing upon your head a crown of precious stones
in the world to come.





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