Newsletter #67 – Our Lady of Mount Carmel USA

Dear Friends and Benefactors,

The Heart of God The Father is The First Foundation of The Devotion to The Immaculate Heart of Mary. The Garden of Eden is the sixth symbolic picture of the Immaculate Heart of Mary the Queen of heaven and earth.

MARY’S HEART, THE GARDEN OF EDEN

PART II
THE QUALITIES OF THE IMMACULATE HEART OF THE QUEEN OF HEAVEN SYMBOLIZED BY THE TREE OF LIFE AND THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL, PLANTED IN THE CENTRE OF PARADISE. AND ALSO, MANY OTHER TREES BEARING ALL KINDS OF FRUIT IN THE EARTHLY PARADISE

There are three principal objects in the garden of the First Adam. We see the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil, planted in the centre of Paradise. We see also many other trees bearing all kinds of fruit, agreeable to look upon and delightful to taste. In the second Garden, we behold incomparably better trees, of which the first are but shadows. We see the real Tree of Life, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, Whom the Father planted in the midst of this divine paradise of the Virginal Heart of His most Holy Mother, when the Angel said to her: “The Lord is with thee.” St. Augustine thus explains this passage: “The Lord is with thee, to abide first in thy Heart and then in thy virginal womb, to fill thy soul before descending into thy chaste bosom.” (De Sanctis, serm. A)

Was it not the fruit of this Tree of Life that restored to us the eternal life which we had lost by
eating another fruit given to us by a woman whose name was Eve? Was not the fruit of everlasting life given to us by the hands of a celestial woman whose name was Mary? “What didst thou say, O Adam?” exclaims St. Bernard: “The woman whom Thou didst give to me gave me of the fruit, and I did eat.” These words tend to increase thy guilt, rather than diminish it. Change this unjust excuse into words of gratitude, and say: ‘Lord, the woman thou gavest me, gave me of the fruit of the Tree of Life, and I did eat, and my mouth found it sweeter than honey, because by this precious fruit Thou hast restored me to life.’ Then the Saint adds: “O Marvellous Virgin, worthy of every honor! O woman to whom the highest veneration is due, who are admirable above all others, who hast repaired thy parent fault and hast imparted life to those who will come after thee!” (Homil. 2, SUP. Missus est.)

Such is the first tree we behold in the second Paradise, the Virginal Heart of Mary, which is
more of Heaven than of earth. But we also see there the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, because the luminous and most enlightened Heart of the Mother of God has been filled with the science of the Saints, with the wisdom and science of Jesus Christ, the Saint of Saints. Her Heart is the dwelling- place of the Sun, ever united to Him in Whom all the treasures of God’s wisdom and knowledge are hidden. Mary’s heart has therefore perfectly known the sovereign good, which is God, and the supreme evil, which is sin. She did not know sin, however, as Adam and Eve knew it, by transgressing the commands of God; she knows sin in the light of God and as God knows it, hating it as God hates it. The fruit of this tree did not harm her as the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge in the first paradise harmed the first man and woman. Adam and Eve lost themselves and their posterity by eating of its fruit, because they ate of it against God’s will. But our true Eve, the real Mother of the Living, sanctified herself and contributed to the sanctification of her children by eating of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge which God had planted in her Heart. She ate of it as God does, and as God wished that she should eat, that is, in using her knowledge as God employs His divine omniscience, availing herself of knowledge only to love God as God loves Himself, and to hate sin as God hates it.

God said of Adam, after his sin, in a sense implying his confusion and condemnation: “Behold
Adam is become as one of us, knowing good and evil.” (Gen. 3, 22) So also can He say of our incomparable Virgin, but in a sense that contributes to her praise and glory: “Behold Mary is become like one of us, knowing good and evil in the same light as we know them, and thus becoming a clear image of our holiness and perfection.”

We see many other trees in our New Garden, that is, in the Heart of Mary, laden with excellent
fruits most agreeable to the sight and delightful to the taste of Him who planted them. Does she not have them laden with fruits in mind when she says to her Beloved: “Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat the fruit of his apple trees? (Cant. 5, 1) Her faith, her hope, her charity, her submission to the divine will, are as many holy trees planted in her Heart and bearing an infinite variety of fair fruits.

Her virginal purity is another heavenly tree which bore the fruit of fruits, Christ, the King
of Virgins, and later the thousands of virgins who will ever be found in the Church of God. Mary’s ardent zeal for the glory of God and the salvation of souls is a divine tree upholding as many fruits as there are souls in whose salvation she has cooperated. Our Lady speaks of these fruits, which she also calls flowers, when, in the excess of her love for souls, she exclaims: “Stay me up with flowers, compass me about with apples (fruits): because I languish with love.” (Cant. 2, 5) With the flowers she indicates newly converted souls who have just begun to serve God; with the fruits, those souls who have made progress and are more steadfast in virtue.

Such then are the trees to be found in the first and the second gardens of Eden. Are any flowers
to be found there? Sacred Scripture does not mention the presence of any blossoms in the first
garden: yet who can doubt that a garden of delight must have contained flowers in great abundance? It is certain, however, that the garden of Jesus is filled with heavenly flowers, the most beautiful and sweet-scented imaginable. The Immaculate Heart of Christ’s Mother is a celestial flowerbed dotted with the holy blossoms of all Christian virtues, immortal flowers, which never fade, whose ravishing beauty and delightful fragrance remain in every season. They fill the universe with their sweet perfume and give joy to the Angels, yea, even, to God Himself. They are at once flowers and fruits, for the Holy Ghost inspires the words: “My flowers are the fruits of honour and riches.” (Ecclus. 24, 23)

The Eternal King adorns His garden with these flowers, and by means of their divine fragrance
attracts innumerable hearts to Himself. He eats of these fruits, which are among the choicest viands of His heavenly table and gives them as nourishment to His children. He assures us, moreover, that He takes His rest and refreshment in the works of mercy which are among the first flowers of His garden: “This is my rest, fresh the weary, and this is my refreshing.” (Isa. 28, 12) So also does He feast with delight on the other acts of virtue which proceed from devoted hearts, and especially from the perfect Heart of His glorious Mother. With them He nourishes and strengthens the souls of His children. This is what God meant when He said that He came into His garden, ate His honey, and drank His wine with milk, and then invited His friends and children to eat, drink and be inebriated with Him. (Cant. 5, 1)

Among the flowers in Mary’s Garden for her divine Spouse, St. Bernard admires especially the
perfume of violets, the whiteness of lilies and brilliant color of the roses. Here are his words: “Thou art an enclosed garden, O Mother of God, wherein we cull all kinds of flowers. Among them, we gaze with particular admiration on thy violets, thy lilies, and thy roses, which fill the House of God with their sweet fragrance. Thou art, O Mary, a violet of humility, a lily of chastity, and a rose of charity.” (In deprecat. et laudes ad B. Virg)

Let us add: “Thou art, O Mary, a flower of mercy, a double spray, because thy Immaculate Heart is filled with mercy and compassion, not only for our corporal infirmities, but still more for our spiritual misery, which is infinitely more painful and complex than our bodily ills can ever be. O Mother of Mercy, have pity on all who are miserable, and especially on us who remain unaware of our own misery.”

Fr. Pancras Raja
Spiritual Director
December 1, 2021

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Consecration of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel to Immaculate Heart of Mary
http://ourladyofmountcarmelusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Consecration-to-Immaculate-Heart-by-Our-Lady-of-Mt.-Carmel-SSPX-Marian-Corps.pdf

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