FLOWERS OF MARY, Louis Gemminger,John Murphy & Co., Baltimore,
1894

Addresses in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Delivered at
Ingolstadt, May, 1858 by Rev. Louis Gemminger Pastor of St.Peter's
Church, Munich

Translated from the Fourth German Edition by a Benedictine Sister



SEVENTH DAY.

The Tulip.

The bright-colored Tulip holds itself erect upon a straight firm
stem surrounded by somewhat oblong leaves. Its calix closes at
night but reopens, as soon as the sun rises. The only thing which
this flower lacks is perfume. Although it does not delight the
sense of smell, yet it rejoices the eye by its beautiful,
variegated dress. In a spiritual sense, the tulip may be compared
to prayer, and is therefore, taken as an emblem of this virtue.

When the Archangel Gabriel brought to the Blessed,Virgin the glad
tidings, that she was to become the Mother of the Most High, he
found her absorbed in prayer. As often as we read of Mary in Holy
Scripture, we find that she loved prayer. When yet a child, she
practiced this virtue, and when she was brought into the temple,
she spent the entire day in prayer and work. In her humble home at
Nazareth, she frequently prayed, and during the awful passion of
her beloved Son, Jesus Christ,

She obtained by prayer, that strength, which enabled her to stand
without shrinking beneath the Cross of her dying Son. It was
during prayer, that she, with the Apostles, received the Holy
Ghost on Pentecost, and in prayer she awaited the consummation of
her life. Our Divine Saviour who extremely loved this virtue,
incites us to it by the following words: " Watch ye and pray; " 1
and 11 Watch ye, therefore, praying at all times."'

None followed Jesus more faithfully than Mary. With justice could
St. Epiphanius say: "The life of Mary was a continual prayer." We
also have an obligation to pray, for upon prayer depends our
salvation, which we can gain only by persevering in prayer. We
should therefore, rejoice to have such a sublime example as Mary,
in whose heart bloomed the tulip, the virtue of the love of
prayer; and we should frequently contemplate it in order to
imitate it.

THE TULIP HAS ITS HEAD ALWAYS DIRECTED TOWARD HEAVEN. This
signifies prayer, which is a colloquy of the soul with God. God is
to the soul, what the Sun is to nature, its light, its warmth and
its life. Therefore, if the Christian prays, he turns toward
Heaven, where God abides. God is the King of kings, and Lord of
hosts, therefore the Christian prays with reverence and devotion.
God is eternal love, and Father of goodness; therefore


the Christian prays with love and confidence; and if our prayer
were always borne on these two wings of reverence and love, as St.
Bernard calls them, it would always obtain its end, and never
remain unheard. With what respect did Mary petition her Divine Son
at the marriage-feast at Cana! And with what unshaken confidence
did she continue her prayer; when it seemed as though Jesus did
not heed her petition. 11 As water is necessary for trees, flowers
and plants," says St. John Chrysostom, "even so is prayer
necessary for us; for, as the former will dry up for want of sap,
so our souls without prayer, like a flower which has not been
moistened for a long time, becomes dry and bends towards the
earth."

THE TULIP REOPENS WHEN THE SUN RISES, whereas it is closed during
the night. Thus -the soul, which loves prayer, opens -herself only
to God and heavenly things; esteems only these; perceives only
these; and, with great care, shuts herself up to the night of sin,
and to the world, which would deter her from prayer, or make it
distasteful to her by distractions. Thus we behold Jesus Christ
seeking a solitary place for prayer; yes. 11 He oven left the
company of his Apostles, when he wished to pray. The Blessed
Virgin Mary also, we find alone at prayer in the temple and at
home. Only when duty, good example, or love for her neighbor
required it, did she leave the holy retirement of her, house. "If
you wish to pray well," says St. Francis de Sales, "withdraw as
much as possible from the world;, above all do not meddle with
matters~~ which are foreign to your calling; for, the more freedom
you give yourself in idle -talk and useless thoughts before
prayer, the more feeble and empty will be your prayer, and the
more will you have to suffer from distraction."

THE TULIP EXHIBITS, A GREAT VARIETY OF COLORS, and by this, it
tells us that prayer, although essentially one, has nevertheless
various methods. Spiritual writers, speaking of the different
kinds of prayer, divide it into vocal and mental. Among the vocal
prayers, the first place is given to the Lord's prayer, which
Jesus Christ Himself has taught, -and the holy Rosary which the
Church has enriched with so many indulgences and treasures of
grace, and which the saints so much loved to recite. In regard to
mental prayers, by far the most useful and meritorious one is the
" Way of the Cross," which we should love so much the more, since
the Blessed Virgin Mary herself first went this Way through the
streets of Jerusalem, meditating and praying. There are also
ejaculatory prayers, which are momentary elevations, or glances,
of the soul towards God. A good intention is likewise considered a
good prayer, for, by it, all our works, actions and employments
are sanctified, and so to speak, changed into prayer. But we
should pay particular attention to the admonitions of two great
saints of the Church, namely, St. Francis de Sales, who says, that
in affliction and adversities, the best prayer is: 11 0 Lord, Thy
will be done:" and St. Alphonsus, who recommends above all, the
prayer of petition. He says that, 11 after holy Communion, we
should ask for humiliations; and every evening beg for the grace
of final perseverance."

0 heavenly Tulip, - my most beloved Mother Mary! In your heart
burned the love of prayer, and you practiced this virtue to an
exalted degree in every circumstance of your life! Obtain for us
also the grace, that we may every day comprehend more and more the
majesty of prayer, since there can be no greater honor for man-,
than to speak to his God. Teach us yourself, 0 Blessed Virgin, bow
to pray, for you are, according to St. Bonaventure, the teacher of
prayer. Oh ! if we could only pray as we ought, then we would
surely walk in the way of virtue; for St. Augustine says: 11
Whosoever knows how to pray well, knows also how to live well."
Instill into our hearts, 0 Blessed Lady, a great love for solitude
and contempt for this world, that we may not be troubled by
distractions during prayer, nor be induced to leave off praying;
and when by your powerful intercession with God, you have obtained
for us, a sincere love for prayer.; then we will pray with joy; we
will spend all our spare time in this holy exercise, and thus we
will sanctify all our actions, and in ppjer -we will seek and find
our rest and consolation; then will we be able to say with
that--holy- servant of God, Zitta, "Every one must have joy, am
for me, I have mine in prayer."


        The Tulip's crown, raised high in air,
        Reminds us of 'the voice of prayer;
        The humble prayer from earth ascends,
        And God, assistance kindly lends.

        Blessed Mary knew this holy art,
        And from her sinless Virgin heart
        The prayer of faith, of hope, of love,
        Ascended to the Throne above.

        Through life, prayer was her loving task;
        At C ana's feast we hear her ask,
        And tho' it was before His time,
        Her Son changed water into wine.

        While now from Heaven she sees our needs,
        E'er with that Son for us she pleads,
        And prays that we from God ne'er roam,
        That so we reach our destined home.

        In all our trials may we find
        Assistance in this Mother kind;
        And when on earth our lives sball close,
        May we in Heaven find sweet repose.




I Math., XXV11, 41.	         2 Luke, XXI, 36.