Flower of Devotion

On one occasion St. Bridget heard the Lord Jesus speak to His Blessed Mother in rapture:

“Five qualities raise you, My Mother, above all the choirs of angels. The first of these is Your dignity, so high that My angels, who also have a high dignity in My eyes, when they consider Your dignity, see that Yours is incomparably superior to their dignity and holiness. The second is Your mercy, which was so great that when You saw the misery of all human souls, You felt pity for them and endured that great martyrdom at My Death. The angels are also full of mercy, but they never suffer; And you, most merciful Mother, had mercy on the poor when you felt all the sufferings of My Death, and out of mercy you preferred to suffer rather than be relieved of them. That is why you have surpassed all the angels in mercy. The third is your gentleness. It is true that the angels are gentle and wish everyone well, but you, my dearest Mother, had only one will in your body and soul before your death, like an angel, and you did good to all. And even now Thou dost not withhold from anyone who reasonably desires from Thee what is necessary to him, and therefore Thy gentleness is more excellent than that of the angels. The fourth quality is your beauty. It is true that the angels see one another’s beauty and admire the beauty of all souls and all bodies; but they also know that the beauty of Thy soul surpasses all that has been created, and that the nobility of Thy body is distinguished by all created men. And so Your beauty has surpassed all the angels and all that is created. The fifth quality is Your Divine love; for nothing rejoices thee but God; as well as angels, nothing rejoices but God. And each of them felt and feels this joy in himself. But when they saw your joy of God in you, it seemed to them in their conscience that their joy was like a candle burning in God’s love. And your joy appeared to them like a pyre burning with a flame bursting so high that it approaches My Divinity. That is why, My most sweet Mother, Your Divine Love burned above the love of all the choirs of angels.