In concluding these pious exercises of the Month of Mary let us, in the spirit of St. Francis of Sales, recite the following Act of Consecration, which he often repeated to the Queen of Heaven, and in which the beauty of his soul and the purity of his heart are well depicted.

I salute you, most sweet Virgin Mary, Mother of God; you are my Mother and my Mistress; and therefore, I entreat you to accept me as your son and your servant ; I wish to have no other Mother than you. I beg you, then, my good, and gracious, and most sweet Mother, to deign to console me in all my troubles and tribulations, both spiritual and corporal. Remember, most sweet Virgin Mary, that you are my Mother, and that I am your son. You all powerful, and I poor, weak and vile. Nevertheless, I beseech you, O sweetest Mother, to keep me and defend me in all my ways and in all my actions, for, alas! I am poor and wretched, and in need of your most holy protection. Do, then, my beloved Mother, preserve and deliver my soul and body from all dangers and evils, and make me share in your blessings, your virtues, and, in particular, in your holy humility, your surpassing purity and your ardent charity.

Tell me not, gracious Virgin, that you cannot do so, because your Son gave you all power in heaven and on earth. Neither tell me that you ought not to hear me, for you are the common Mother of all poor mortals, and of me in particular. If you could not grant my prayer, then I should excuse you, saying: It is true that she is my Mother, and that I am her son, but she is not able to help me. If you were not my Mother, then, indeed, I should have patience, saying: She is rich enough to be able to assist me, but, alas ! not being my Mother, she does not love me. But since, most sweet Virgin, you are not only my Mother, but are also powerful, how can you be excused if you do not console me, and come to my relief and assistance? You see, my Mother, that it is difficult for you to reject any request that I may make you.

Be, then, exalted in heaven and on earth, glorious Virgin and dear Mother Mary, and, for the honour and glory of your Divine Son Jesus, accept me for your son, without regard to my miseries and sins. Deliver me from all evil of soul and body, obtain for me every virtue, and first of all humility; and bestow upon me all the benefits and graces necessary to make me pleasing to the Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

THE END.

==========================================

ORIGIN OF THE MIRACULOUS PRAYER:

A pious priest of the Diocese of Bayonne, the Abbe Cestac, is the founder of two Religious Congregations in the aforesaid city, viz., the Servants of Mary, who devote themselves to the work of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, though not cloistered: and the Bernardines, who are contemplatives. To one of these devout Religious the Blessed Virgin deigned to make the following communication, which is contained in a letter from the Abbe Cestac to M.Dupont of Tours. Anglet near Bayonne.

SIR,

It is not exactly correct to say that the Blessed Virgin appeared to a good, simple saint of the Community, but rather, I should say, that this soul received a supernatural communication from this Divine Mother, or at any rate conceived she had received such communication from on high. She was at prayer, when a ray of divine light illumined her soul. She saw in spirit the vast desolation caused by the devil throughout the world, and at the same time she heard the Divine Mother telling her that it was true that hell had been let loose upon the earth ; but that the time had come when we were to pray to her as Queen of Angels, and when we were to ask of her the assistance of the heavenly legions to fight against these deadly foes of God and of men.

"But, my Good Mother," answered this soul," you who are so kind, could you not send them without our asking you?"

" No," she answered; "because prayer is one of the conditions required by God Himself for obtaining favours."

And the soul believed she heard the prayer I send you. Naturally, I was made the depositary of this prayer, and my first duty was to submit it to my Lord Bishop, who has benignly deigned to approve of it. It was then that Our Lady made known to me that I should get it printed at the expense of her Work, and distribute it gratis. Since that time, this prayer has received the approbation of their Lordships the Archbishops and Bishops of Tours, of Toulouse, of Besangon, of Tarbes. It is being reprinted at Lille, it is being translated into Spanish, and spread far and wide.

(Signed) CESTAC, Priest of the Diocese of Bayonne.

It would appear that the devil was terribly enraged at the publication of this prayer, for the Abbe Cestac in a recent letter to M. Dupont tells him that the very day on which he sent to Tours 20,000 copies with an offering of 300 francs for the tomb of St. Martin (sent to him for that purpose), a large building three storeys high, was cast to the ground : while a similar misfortune befell the same Community at another of their establishments, some distance off. In neither case, however, was anyone hurt! This occurred on the nth of November, 1863, Feast of St. Martin of Tours. The Abbe Cestac adds that Providence came to the aid of the good Religious and enabled them to restore their injured property. It is likewise affirmed that seven printing presses were broken while in the act of printing the prayer, and that the only place at which it could be printed was at Le Puy, where there is a celebrated Shrine of Our Blessed Lady, to which crowds of devout pilgrims flock.