38 Am I Not Your Mother? understand the hidden meaning of these words? In the beginning of time, Paradise was a temple and a home because it was filled with love, and in that garden love displayed the opulence of its mysteries in full light. In heaven, God’s heart is the infinite stage of immortal love. Yet in this cold, dark, and corrupt world, the love of earth and the love of heaven need to form a dwelling of purity, warmth, and peace in which to hide the secret of their happiness. Birds form their nests; the patriarchs erected their tents in the solitudes of the desert. God asked Israel to build him a temple, and Jesus has multiplied in the world the tabernacles of his love. Mary also asked us for a temple in which to keep the mystery of her predilection, a temple in which her heavenly love would meet our earthly love—in which her virginal soul would merge with our souls—in which the glory of her maternal kiss would burst forth. She also wanted the temple to be built here—where the light of her beauty shone—where the music of her word resounded—where the rosebushes bloomed as a pledge of her love—where her blessed hands deposited her heart in the depths of our national soul. There are higher mountains and more flowery prairies to our mortal eyes, but, from the viewpoint of our souls, this is the most beautiful place on the continent because love put its nest
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