"There shall come forth a Rod out of the Root of Jesse, and a Flower shall rise up out of his Root; and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him: the Spirit of Wisdom and of Understanding, the Spirit of Counsel and of Fortitude, the Spirit of Knowledge and of Godliness; and He shall be filled with the Spirit of the Fear of the Lord" (Is. xi. 1-3). St. Jerome says that the Branch is Our Lady and the Flower her Son, Who says of Himself: "I am the Flower of the field and the Lily of the valleys" (Cant. ii. 1); and a responsory dating from the middle ages says: "R. The Root of Jesse gave out a Branch: and the Branch a Flower; and on the Flower resteth the Holy Spirit. V. The Virgin Mother of God is the Branch, her Son is the Flower, and on the Flower resteth the Holy Spirit."

So once again, if we would find the Flower we must first find the Branch which bears it. The Flower is still in bud but presently it will open, and its beauty and fragrance will fill the whole earth and attract all men to it: "What manner of one is thy Beloved of the beloved, O thou most beautiful among women?" "My Beloved is white and ruddy, chosen out of thousands" (Cant. v. 9, 10). I can understand that thy beautiful Lily is white, for I know that such is His purity that even the heavens are not pure in His sight, but why is His apparel red? (Is. lxiii. 2). Because He is "clothed with a garment sprinkled with blood: and His name is called: The Word of God" (Apoc. xix. 13). Even now, before His delicate petals are unfolded, they are marked with the Cross.

O Root of Jesse, can ever tree compare with thine—one of whose branches was found worthy to bear a Flower so fair! There are further beauties as we gaze—a heavenly Dew is resting on the Flower, it is the Holy Spirit Himself, Who at that blest moment when He overshadowed the Branch poured out all His choicest gifts upon the Flower. As God, the seven-fold gifts were His from all eternity, and directly the Humanity was united to the Eternal Word, the divine perfections belonged to it, so that as man "He was made unto us the Wisdom of God" and could understand all mysteries. By the gift of Understanding He knew and entered into all God's plans for the Redemption of the world. The gift of Counsel showed Him exactly what was the Will of His Father which He had come to do. The gift of Fortitude gave Him the strength to carry out His Father's Will and to say ever: Not My Will but Thine be done. His Knowledge was so profound that He preferred poverty to riches, and to be despised rather than to be honoured; He knew as Man the true worth of the thing which as God He had created. The gift of Piety established that tender relationship between Him and His Father which He wished us to have when He taught us to say: Our Father; it included also His perfect relationship with His Mother and St. Joseph. The gift of Fear gave Him as Man a reverence and respect for the majesty of God. (Vide Heb. v. 7).

It was thus that the heavenly Dew rested on the heavenly Flower.

O my Jesus, come and tarry no longer! I know that Thou hadst no need of any of these gifts; they rested on Thee because Thou art my Model and Thou wouldst show me how to use them.

It is the Tree of Jesse which stands as an ensign, about which Our Lord says: "I am the Root and Stock of David" (Apoc. xxii. 16). He then is the Standard-bearer and the Standard is His Cross. "Bearing His own Cross He went forth" (St. John xix. 17). He is the "sign which shall be contradicted" by His enemies (St. Luke ii. 34), but when the sign of the Son of Man shall appear in the Heavens (St. Matt. xxiv. 30) it will bring joy and hope to the hearts of all those who love His Coming (2 Tim. iv. 8). "My beloved is white and ruddy, chosen out of thousands," or according to another translation: "My beloved is white and ruddy a Standard bearer" (Cant. v. 10 A. V. Margin), chosen for His strength as well as for His beauty. To Him shall the nations make supplication, for He said: "I, if I be lifted up from the earth will draw all things to Myself" (St. John xii. 32).

There are only two standards in the world—that of Jesus Christ and that of the devil. Both leaders want me to enlist; both are trying to win me; but by what different means! The devil strives to entrap me with the silken threads of sin which seem so insignificant and harmless, but which if I allow myself to be trapped by them, he will twine into a thick rope and hold me fast; while Jesus draws me to Himself with the cords of love. Both are infinitely more powerful than I am, and yet all depends on me, that is, on my will. The cords of love are far stronger than the cords of hate, so I need not be afraid of the devil's capturing me against my will; but on the other hand Jesus will not draw me with the cords of love against my will. "If thou wilt, ... come," is His method. There are chains, there is a cross, but all is love. A little Child holds the Standard, a little Child leads, and all He asks is that we should follow Him and do as He does.

Come, then, little Jesus, set up Thy Royal Standard, come, tarry no longer. I am longing to show Thee that I am not going to be a soldier in name only; longing to show Thee that I understand that a soldier who has pledged himself to fight under Thy Standard must adopt Thy methods, that if I would be a soldier on whom Thou canst count, I must be really mortified, really poor, really ready to give up my own will and my own methods, really anxious to have humiliations because I know that there is no other way of attaining the beautiful virtue of humility. I am longing to show Thee that I understand that those who march under Thy Standard must be marked by the Cross. Oh! come, and set me free from all that keeps me from offering myself whole-heartedly for Thy service. Come and cut all the many little cords that still bind me to the service of self. Thy Mother wants Thee, the Angels are longing to look upon Thy Face, the world wants Thee though it knows it not, and I am longing to want Thee too. Oh! teach me to want Thee more.

Colloquy with the Branch and the Flower.

Resolution. To examine myself to-day as to my attachments.

Spiritual Bouquet. "Come and set us free, tarry now no longer."