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THE CORONATION 139
whose heart, as in his couch, this true Solomon could
hand of his
take up his rest without leaving the right
eternal Father (Cant. 3, 7).
124. The manner of operating this miracle was as fol
lows :
at the Communion of the most blessed Mary, the
sacramental species, instead of entering the portion of
the stomach where the natural food is commingled and
rarified, and instead of being mixed up or digested with
even the little nourishment sometimes taken by the great
Lady, halted on their passage and lodged within the
heart of Mary, as if in repayment of the blood which it
had given up at the Incarnation of the Word and from
which was formed the sacred humanity for hypostatical
union with the Word, as has been explained in the second
part. The participation in the holy Eucharist is called
an extension of the Incarnation, and therefore it was
proper that the blessed Mother should share in this par
ticipation in a new and singular manner, since She also
concurred in the Incarnation of the Word in a miraculous
and extraordinary manner.
125. The heat of the heart in the perfectly healthy
beings is very great, and in man it is certainly not the
less on account of his greater excellence and nobility of
nature and of his prolonged life and activity; and the
providence of nature supplies
it with air and ventilation
for its refreshment and for moderating that heat, which
is the source of all the other animal warmth. Yet, though
in the noble constitution of our Queen the ardors of her
heart were intense, and though the affections and opera
tions of her inflamed love still more increased them,
nevertheless the sacred species, while lodged in her heart,
were not changed or consumed. Moreover, although mul
tiplied miracles were required in order to preserve them,
they are not to be attributed sparingly in this singular Be-
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