May 24th
Chapter Twenty-One of the Imitation of Mary, by Thomas a Kempis
The Glorious Mysteries:  The Interior Life of Mary

Willingly remain in solitude and silence in order to pray better:  It is thus that Mary dwelt with the angel, alone in her retreat and speaking only with him....To retire and to be silent after the example of Mary is the only means of having peace of heart, of obtaining from God the gift of prayer.  Watch the bee eager to gather its honey; it passes through the flowers but without attaching itself; scarcely laden with its sugar, it flees hastily toward the hive and hides the honey, so as to be able to enjoy it during the winter in solitude and tranquility.  It thus encloses the fragrance of the perfume for fear that by going forth, flying hither and yonder, it may thus lose the fruit of its work.

Besides, perfumes carefully enclosed in their containers are better preserved.  On the contrary, those which are left open, are not slow to lose their fragrance.  Nor do flowers too often handled delay in losing their freshness.  A flower blooms well only in gardens: it is sheltered behind walls.  Roses born in the shade of the enclosure open quickly and are long fragrant; while those which are sown along the highways lose their odor, wither, and die.  In like manner, a torch lit in high wind is likely to be extinguished; while the light protected by a shade remains burning.  So it is with our devotion; it is conserved and grows in retirement, whereas it evaporates and is lost in noise.

Three things are especially necessary for man; three things are pleasing to God, to Mary and to the angels:
manual labor to counteract physical desire, love of study to counteract heaviness of heart, attention in prayer to counteract the art of the demon.  Therefore, love retirement and work often if you wish to have peace of heart.

You are sweet and beautiful, O Mary, my mother, holy Mother of God full of grace.  He alone could enumerate your virtues who could enumerate the stars in the heavens.  Just as the visible sky appears above the earth, lofty and sublime, so does your life appear exalted above our lives.  You alone merit to have been chosen from all eternity for the Mother of God.  And of being, in time, consecrated by the Holy Spirit; greeted by angels; instructed by the archangel and overshadowed by the spirit of the Lord.