Flower of Devotion

One day, when Saint Mechtilde was about to receive Holy Communion, her soul was filled with such great joy that she could not help but wonder, then the Lord said to her:

“Go and give your joy to all the saints.” So the Saint first went to the Blessed Virgin, shared her joy with Her and said: “O Virgin full of grace! To multiply all Your glory, I share with You this excessively great joy of my heart.” The Blessed Virgin replied: “And I give you all My joy that I have ever enjoyed before all creatures on earth and in Heaven.” Then she gave the feast of her joy to the apostles. They said to her: “And we give all the joy that we ever had in our most sweet Lord and Master, namely, when he brought us through death into eternal life.” Then she shared with the martyrs, who said: “We give you all the joy we had in fire and iron and in thousands of deaths through love.”
And when she came to the followers, they said to her, “And we share with you all the joy we have ever had through the work and austerity of our order for the love of the Lord Jesus.”
And when she shared her joy with the virgins, they said: “We share with you and give you all the joy that we have the incomparable privilege of having in God our Spouse.” And it was revealed to her that the holy virgins, before all the saints, rejoice in ineffable delight in God, who communicates Himself to them through a special sweetness. And she understood how true were the words she read: “Rejoice, you heavenly bread of virgins, you new and royal heavenly bread, which no man tastes, but only the palates of virgins!”