ulate Conception. In the sixth Canticle we read: " Who is she that cometh forth as the dawn; fair as the moon, bright as the sun; terrible as an army set in array? " All the beauties of Nature, of the day, of the night, and of the intervening time — the aurora — are here attributed to Mary. She came as the dawn, pure and sweet, with the promise of a glorious day. St. Francis of Assisi loved to meditate gazing on the rising sun: "For," said he, " with the eye of faith I can see therein the dawn of man's Redemption. It was another and beautiful way of saying he loved to meditate on Mary's Immaculate Conception. Fair as the moon. In all Nature there is nothing lovelier than the pale queen of night, as with stately tread she ascends the throne of heaven, while the stars like flowers strew her royal way. She shines with a borrowed light, 'tis true, as Mary did, but still star differs from star in glory, and Mary is the brightest of them all. And lest we should imagine that like the moon there is any spot or change in her, the Canticle adds that Mary is bright as the sun. One and the same halo surrounds Mary and the Child in her arms. If a brief vision of God on Mount Sinai made the face of Moses shine like the sun, what shall we say of Mary, who for thirty long years basked in the smiles of the Saviour? Through her the light of divine truth and the warmth of divine love suffused this world, thawing out the congealed heart of the sinner and starting up the rivulets of human sympathy. Finally, to the powers of darkness she is terrible as an army set in array. As the shadows of night fly westward in con-
