The Admirable Heart of Mary

Saint John Eudes
One of the most prolific ascetical writers of the seventeenth century, Saint John Eudes was an inexhaustible reservoir of holy wisdom and devotional fervor. Perhaps no book of his better exemplifies that profoundly incarnational doctrine than The Admirable Heart of Mary. Eudes reveals to his disciples this most pure and maternal of all hearts both in its corporal and spiritual pulsations, while demonstrating with a dozen unforgettable natural and scriptural analogies, how this human heart was so inexhaustibly divinized by the one Divine Heart of God the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. The Admirable Heart of Mary was given to us from the Cross by Jesus Christ. Truly this heart was the first-fruit of His Passion, given to all of Mary’s children, that it might be honored, cherished, invoked and, ultimately, with that of her Son, reproduced in them. This is the essence of the spirituality of Saint John Eudes.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

General Preface   

Part One  - Object of the Devotion to the Admirable Heart of Mary
Chapter One  - Reasons for the Name “Admirable”   
Chapter Two  - The Heart of Mary in General   
Chapter Three - The Corporeal Heart of Mary   
Chapter Four - The Spiritual Heart of Mary   
Chapter Five  - The Divine Heart of Mary   

Part Two
First Foundation of the Devotion: The Heart of God the Father
Chapter One  - God the Father, Delineator of the Admirable Heart of Mary   
Chapter Two  - Mary’s Heart, the Heavens   
Chapter Three  - Mary’s Heart, the Sun   
Chapter Four  - Mary’s Heart, the Center of the Earth   
Chapter Five  - Mary’s Heart, the Inexhaustible Fountain   
Chapter Six  - Mary’s Heart, the Sea   
Chapter Seven  - Mary’s Heart, the Garden of Eden

Part Three  - Six Additional Symbolic Pictures
Chapter One  - Mary’s Heart, the Burning Bush of Moses   
Chapter Two  - Mary’s Heart, the Harp of King David   
Chapter Three  - Mary’s Heart, the Throne of King Solomon   
Chapter Four  - Mary’s Heart, the Temple of Jerusalem   
Chapter Five  - Mary’s Heart, the Fiery Furnace of Babylon   
Chapter Six  - Mary’s Heart, the Hill of Calvary  

Part Four  - Second Foundation of the Devotion: The Heart of God the Son  - Divine Perfections Mirrored in the Admirable Heart of Mary
Chapter One - Our Lord Jesus Christ, Teacher of the Devotion to the Admirable Heart of Mary   
Chapter Two  - Some Essential Divine Perfections Mirrored in the Admirable Heart of Mary   
Chapter Three  - Purity and Sanctity of God Mirrored in the Admirable Heart of Mary   
Chapter Four  - Strength and Power of God Mirrored in the Admirable Heart of Mary   
Chapter Five  - Wisdom and Truth Mirrored in the Admirable Heart of Mary   
Chapter Six  - Goodness and Providence of God Mirrored in the Admirable Heart of Mary   

Part Five  - Further Divine Perfections Mirrored in the Admirable Heart of Mary
Chapter One  - Mercy of God Mirrored in the Admirable Heart of Mary   
Chapter Two  - Meekness, Patience and Clemency of God Mirrored in the Admirable Heart of Mary   
Chapter Three  - Justice of God Mirrored in the Admirable Heart of Mary   
Chapter Four  - Zeal of God Mirrored in the Admirable Heart of Mary   
Chapter Five  - Divine Sovereignty Mirrored in the Admirable Heart of Mary   
Chapter Six  - Peace of God Mirrored in the Admirable Heart of Mary   
Chapter Seven  - Glory and Felicity Mirrored in the Admirable Heart of Mary   
Chapter Eight  - The Admirable Heart of Mary: Compendium of the Life of God   
Part Six  - Third Foundation of the Devotion: The Heart of God the Holy Ghost Inspired Texts Referring to the Admirable Heart of Mary
Chapter One  - “All the Glory of the King’s Daughter is Within”   
Chapter Two  - “A Bundle of Myrrh Is My Beloved to Me”   
Chapter Three - “I Sleep and My Heart Watcheth”   
Chapter Four  - “My Beloved to Me and I to Him”   
Chapter Five  - “Put Me as a Seal upon Thy Heart”   
Chapter Six  - “Mary Kept All These Words, Pondering Them in Her Heart”   

Part Seven - Inspired Catholic Tradition Concerning the Admirable Heart of Mary
Chapter One  - Testimony of the Fathers and Ascetical Writers   
Chapter Two  - Ecclesiastical Approbations   
Chapter Three  - Example of Saints and Religious Orders 

Part Eight - Sanctity of the Admirable Heart of Mary Exposition of Its Excellence
Chapter One  - Heart of Mary, Immaculate and Sinless   
Chapter Two  - Heart of Mary, Ocean of Grace   
Chapter Three  - Heart of Mary, Miracle of Love   
Chapter Four  - Heart of Mary, Mirror of Charity   
Chapter Five  - Heart of Mary, Abyss of Humility   
Chapter Six  - Heart of Mary, Empire of the Divine Will   
Chapter Seven  - Heart of Mary, Treasure-House of Gratuitous Graces   
Chapter Eight  - Heart of Mary, Inestimable Treasury of Riches   
Chapter Nine  - Heart of Mary, Sanctuary, Censer and Altar of Divine Love   
Chapter Ten  - Heart of Mary, Center of the Cross and Crown of Martyrs, Doctors and Virgins   
Chapter Eleven - Heart of Mary, World of Wonders   

Part Nine
Practice of the Devotion to the Admirable Heart of Mary
Chapter One  - Twelve Reasons for Honoring the Heart of Mary   
Chapter Two  - Twelve Methods of Practicing the Devotion   

Part Ten  - The Canticle of the Admirable Heart of Mary Exposition of the Magnificat, Treating Its Signficance Verse by Verse
Chapter One  - Excellence of the Sublime Canticle   
Chapter Two  - The True Canticle of Mary’s Heart   
Chapter Three  - “My Soul Doth Magnify the Lord”   
Chapter Four  - “My Spirit Hath Rejoiced in God My Saviour”   
Chapter Five  - “He Hath Regarded the Humility of His Handmaid”   
Chapter Six   - “From Henceforth All Generations Shall Call Me Blessed”   
Chapter Seven  - “He That Is Mighty Has Done Great Things to Me”   
Chapter Eight  - “His Mercy Is from Generation unto Generations, to Them That Fear Him”   
Chapter Nine  - “He Hath Showed Might in His Arm”   
Chapter Ten  - “He Hath Scattered the Proud in the Conceit of Their Hearts”   
Chapter Eleven  - “He Hath Put Down the Mighty from Their Seat, and Hath Exalted the Humble”   
Chapter Twelve -“He Hath Filled the Hungry with Good Things; and the Rich He Hath Sent Empty Away”   
Chapter Thirteen  - “He Hath Received Israel His Servant”   
Chapter Fourteen  - “As He Spoke to Our Fathers, to Abraham and His Seed Forever”   

Appendix One
Mass of the Admirable Heart of Mary   
Appendix Two
Prayers in Honor of the Admirable Heart of Mary    
Litany in Honor of the Most Holy Heart of Mary    
Salutation to the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary 
Salutation to the Blessed Virgin Mary   
Rosary of the Admirable Heart of Mary   
Consecration to the Admirable Heart of Mary