[MM Capitulum]
!Sir 24:26-28
v. Come over to me, all ye that desire me, and be filled with my fruits. For my spirit is sweet above honey, and my inheritance above honey and the honeycomb. My memory is unto everlasting generations.
$Deo gratias
_
V. You are beautiful and sweet.
R. In your delights O holy mother of God.

[Lectio M011]
From the letter of Blessed Ambrose, bishop of Milan, to Pope Siricius
!.
How great is the madness of their dismal barkings, that the same persons should say that Christ could not be born of a virgin, and yet assert that women, after having given birth to human pledges, remain virgins? But if they will not believe the doctrines taught by priests, let them believe the oracles of Christ, let them believe the admonitions of Angels who say, ‘For with God nothing shall be impossible.’ Let them give credit to the Creed of the Apostles, which the Roman Church has always kept and preserved undefiled. Mary heard the voice of the Angel, and she who before had said ‘How shall this be?’ Not asking from want of faith in the mode of generation, afterwards replied, ‘Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it unto me according to your word.’

[Lectio M012]
Sermon of St Leo, Pope
!Sermon 22
The Son of God, descending from his heavenly throne and yet not quitting his Father's glory, begotten in a new order, by a new nativity. In a new order, because being invisible in his own nature he became visible in ours; incomprehensible, he willed to be understood; abiding before all time he began to be in time. And by a new nativity he was begotten, conceived by a Virgin, born of a Virgin, without paternal desire, without injury to the mother's chastity: because such a birth as knew no taint of human flesh, became one who was to be the saviour of men, while it possessed in itself the nature of human substance.

[Lectio M013]
Sermon of St Leo, Pope
!.
The origin is different but the nature like: not by intercourse with man but by the power of God was it brought about: for a Virgin conceived, a Virgin bore, and a Virgin she remained. For the uncorrupt nature of him that was born had to guard the primal virginity of the mother, and the infused power of the divine spirit had to preserve in spotlessness and holiness that sanctuary which he had chosen for himself. That Spirit who had determined to raise the fallen, to restore the broken, and by overcoming the allurements of the flesh to bestow on us in abundant measure the power of chastity: in order that the virginity which in others cannot be retained in child-bearing, might be attained by them at their second birth.

[Lectio M014]
Sermon of St Leo, Pope
!Sermon 22
And, dearly beloved, this very fact that Christ chose to be born of a Virgin does it not appear to be part of the deepest design? I mean, that the devil should not be aware that salvation had been born for the human race, and through the obscurity of that spiritual conception, when he saw him no different to others, should believe him born in no different way to others. And to this end, without male seed Christ was conceived of a Virgin, who was fecundated not by human intercourse but by the Holy Ghost. And whereas in all mothers conception does not take place without stain of sin, this one received purification from the source of her conception.

[Lectio M021]
Sermon of St Augustine, bishop
!Sermon 194, n3-4
Mary is happy, with joyful wonder at her own Motherhood, and her joy is that she is fruitful by the Holy Ghost. She is not alarmed to find herself an unwedded mother, but still is in joyful wonder at her Motherhood. Oh woman blessed above women, who did not know a man, and yet compassed a man in the womb. Mary compassed a man by believing the Angel, since Eve lost a man by saying yes to the serpent. Happy obedience, glorious grace which yielded lowly belief, and embodied in her him who created the heavens. Hence she earned that glory which he afterward increased. Behold, said she, from henceforth, all generations shall call me blessed.

[Lectio M023]
From the Book against heresies written by St. Epiphanius, Archbishop of Salamis
!Bk 3:78
Eve was a cause of death to all men, for by her, death entered into the world; but Mary is a cause of life whereby life is sprung up for us all, since through her the Son of God entered into the world. Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. Whence death was brought in, thence has life also come forth, that life may take the place of death, and he who by a woman has become life unto us may put away the death which was invented by a woman. On the one hand Eve, being still a virgin, transgressed by disobedience; on the other hand, by a virgin came the obedience of grace, the announcement of him who came from heaven and took flesh, and life everlasting.

[Lectio M031]
From the book of St Irenaeus, bishop and martyr, against heresies
!Bk 5, ch 19
That the Lord then was manifestly coming to his own things, and was sustaining them by means of that creation which is supported by himself, and was making a recapitulation of that disobedience which had occurred in connection with a tree, through the obedience which was exhibited by himself when he hung upon a tree, the effects also of that deception being done away with, by which that virgin Eve, who was already espoused to a man, was unhappily misled — was happily announced, through means of the truth spoken by the angel to the Virgin Mary, who was also espoused to a man. For just as the former was led astray by the word of an angel, so that she fled from God when she had transgressed his word; so did the latter, by an angelic communication, receive the glad tidings that she should carry God, being obedient to his word. And if the former did disobey God, yet the latter was persuaded to be obedient to God, in order that the Virgin Mary might become the patroness of the virgin Eve. And thus, as the human race fell into bondage to death by means of a virgin, so is it rescued by a virgin; virginal disobedience having been balanced in the opposite scale by virginal obedience.

[Lectio M043]
From the Commentary of St. Jerome, Priest, on the prophet Ezechiel
!Bk 13, ch 44, v1
“This gate is to remain closed it is not to be opened”. In a beautiful figure, some persons understand the closed which only the Lord, the God of Israel enters the leader on whose account it has been - as a type of the Virgin Mary who remained a virgin both before and after she gave birth - she remained a virgin, while the Angel was speaking to her: “The Holy Spirit shall come upon you and the power of the Most High shall overshadow you; and therefore the Holy One is be born shall be called the Son of God.” And when he was born, she remained a virgin, her perpetual virginity confounding those who think, because of the mention in the Gospel of the Savior's brethren,” that after his birth she had children by Joseph.

[Lectio M052]
From a Treatise of St. Augustine on the Creed, to the Catechumens
!.
Through a woman came death; through a woman, life: through Eve ruin, through Mary, salvation. The former, corrupted, followed the deceiver; the latter, uncorrupted, gave birth to the Savior. Eve willingly accepted the drink offered by the serpent and handed it on to her husband; and by their action both deserved the penalty of death. Mary, filled with heavenly grace from above, brought forth life, by which mankind, already dead, can be revived. Who has worked this miracle, if not the Son of the Virgin and the Spouse of virgin who brought fruitfulness to his mother without taking away her in, integrity?

[Lectio M053]
Homily of St Cyril of Alexandria against Nestorius
!.
Praise be to you, Holy Mother of God. Mother and Virgin, through whom comes he that is blessed in the name of the Lord. Through you is the name of the Trinity sanctified, through you is the precious Cross celebrated and adored throughout the world. Through you heaven exalts, the Angels and Archangels rejoice, demons are put to flight, and man is recalled to heaven. Through you all creatures once held enslaved in the error of idols have been converted to the knowledge of the truth. Through you the faithful have been brought to holy Baptism; through you Churches have been built over all the earth. Through your help, the nations have been brought to repentance. Through you, the only-begotten Son of God, that true light, shines upon those that sat in darkness and in the shadow of death. Amen.

[Lectio M054]
Sermon of St Bernard of Clairvaux
!Homily 1, n7-8
Marvel, therefore, both at God and man, and choose that which gives greater wonder, whether it be the most loving condescension of the Son, or the exceeding great dignity of his Mother. Both amaze us, both are marvellous. That God should obey a woman is lowliness without parallel, that a woman should rule over God is an elevation beyond comparison. In praise of virgins it is sung of them alone, that they follow the Lamb wherever he goes. Of what praise do you judge that woman to be worthy who is thus placed before the Lamb of God. Learn, O man, to obey! Learn, O earth, to be subject! Learn, O dust, to submit! The Evangelist speaking of your Creator saying: And he was subject unto them. And there is no doubt that this shows us that God was subject to Mary and Joseph. Shame on you, you proud entities of dust and ashes! God abases himself, and do you, O creature sprung from the earth, exalt yourself? God makes himself subject to man, and do you, who are always so eager to lord it over men, set up yourself to lord it over your Creator?

[Lectio M061]
Sermon of St. Bernard, Abbot
!Sermon for the Sunday within the Octave of the Assumption, no 1
It was indeed a serious injury that one man and one woman inflected on us, dearly beloved; but thanks to God, it was also by one Man and one woman that all things were restored, and with a great increase of grace too. For “not like the offense is gift”, on the contrary the benefits received are greater than the loss sustained. Yes, that was how the Maker supreme in good judgment and in kindness plied his craft: what had been bruised, he did not break. Rather, he remade it completely in such a way as to be in more advantage to us: out of the old Adam he made a new Man; Eve he transformed into Mary.

[Lectio M062]
Homily of St Bernard
!.
O happy Mary, to who lacked neither humility nor virginity. And indeed a wondrous virginity, which motherhood did not destroy but made more glorious. And truly incomparable in every way was that humility which fruitful virginity did not take away, but increased. Truly incomparable in every way was the fecundity which both virginity and humility achieved. Which of these facts is not wondrous? Which was not beyond compare? And which of them not outstanding? The wonder would be if you were not puzzled at which to wonder most, motherhood in a virgin, or virginity in a mother; a motherhood so exalted, or humility in such exaltation. But indeed more marvelous than any one of these things is the combination of them all, and without all comparison, it is more excellent and more blessed to have received them all, than to have received any one of them alone. What wonder is it that God, of whom we see and read, that he is wonderful in his holy places, should have shown himself wonderful in his Mother? O you that be married, honour this incorruption in corruptible flesh; O holy maidens, gaze in wonder at motherhood in a maid; O, all mankind, take pattern by the lowliness of the Mother of God.

[Lectio M063]
From a sermon of St Augustine
!.
Blessed Mary, who is able enough to thank and to praise you, you, who by once saying Be it unto me, has arisen to help a lost world? What blessings shall weak man utter upon you, you, who, by your own one treaty, has given to him to find the entrance into new life? Receive these far and random, these unworthy thanksgivings, and, since you receive our prayers, by your prayers obtain pardon for our sins. Let our supplications come into your holy presence, and give us in return the medicine for our healing.

[Lectio M072]
From the book of St Ambrose concerning virgins
!.
Let, then, the life of Mary be as it were virginity itself, set forth in a likeness, from which, as from a mirror, the appearance of chastity and the form of virtue is reflected. From this you may take your pattern of life, showing, as an example, the clear rules of virtue: what you have to correct, to effect, and to hold fast. The first thing which kindles ardor in learning is the greatness of the teacher. What is greater than the Mother of God? What more glorious than she whom Glory itself chose? What more chaste than she who bore a body without contact with another body? For why should I speak of her other virtues? She was a virgin not only in body but also in mind, who did not stain the sincerity of her disposition with guile.

[Lectio M083]
Sermon of St Bernard, abbot
!Sermon 4 on the Assumption, n1
It is the time for all flesh to speak when the Mother of the Incarnate Word is taken up into heaven, nor ought human mortality cease to give praise when the nature of man is in the Virgin exalted above the immortal spirits. But neither does our devotion allow us to be silent, nor can our sterile thought conceive, nor our unlearned speech give forth, anything worthy concerning her glory. Hence it is that those princes of the heavenly court in the consideration of such an unheard thing cry out with admiration: “Who is she who ascends from the desert abounding with delights?” Why should I not call delights the glory of virginity with the gift of fecundity, the ensign of humility distilling the honeycomb of charity, the bowels of mercy, the plenitude of grace, the prerogative of singular glory?

[Lectio M084]
Sermon of St Bernard, Abbot
!Sermon 4 on the Assumption, n1
Ascending, therefore, from the desert, the Queen of the world, as the Church sings, was made beautiful even to the holy angels and sweet in her delights. But let them cease to wonder at the delights of the desert, for the Lord has given goodness and our earth has yielded its fruit. Why do they wonder that Mary ascends from the desert of the earth abounding with delights; let them wonder rather at Christ, being poor, descending from the plentitude of the heavenly Kingdom, for it seems by far a greater miracle that the Son of God deigned to be made a little less than the angels than that the Mother of God should be exalted above the angels. Indeed, his humiliation has been made our exaltation; his miseries are the delights of the world.  Finally, being rich, he was made poor on account of us, that he might enrich us by his poverty.

[Lectio M112]
Sermon of St Sophronius, bishop:
!.
Who shall worthily set forth your glory? Who shall make bold to say what are you? Who will hold himself able to tell of all your splendor? You are the exaltation of humanity; you are made much higher than the Angels; your brightness has thrown the brightness of the Archangels into shadow; in a word, you have far excelled every other work of God; you were far purer than any other creature; and you have conceived the Creator of all creatures, carried Him in your womb, and brought him forth; you have been chosen, out of all that he has made, to be his mother.

[Lectio M113]
Sermon of St Sophronius, bishop
!.
For none has ever drawn so near to God as thou hast, Mary, none has ever been gifted by God with good gifts as you have; none has ever received of God's grace as you have. You are mightier than all things which are called mighty among men; you have received more than the goodness of God has conferred on any other. It is indeed because God made His home in you that you thus abound. There has never been any save you that has comprehended the incomprehensible; none save you that has enjoyed his presence so much; none that he has made so ready therefor; none on whom the uncreated light has shone so clearly; and therefore none who has, like you, sheltered the Lord God, the maker and Lord of all, conceived him in thy womb, and brought him into the world, to redeem men lying under the Father's sentence, and to offer to them everlasting salvation.