Mary, flower of every perfection (St. Francis de Sales)

    At the appointed time, the torrent of original sin began to roll its fatal waves over the conception of this holy woman. But just when the torrent had reached that certain point, it did not pass beyond it but was stopped… In this way, God turned all captivity away from his glorious Mother. 

    Thus, God gave to Mary the blessing of the two states of human nature: she possessed the innocence that the first Adam had lost, and she enjoyed in a surpassing manner the redemption that Jesus, the second Adam, would gain for her. Hence, like a chosen garden that was to bear the fruit of life, she was made the flower of every kind of perfection.

 --St. Francis de Sales,
Treatise on the Love of God,
Book 2, chapter 6

Happy Feast of the Immaculate Conception
of the Blessed Virgin Mary!

Image source 1: Mary Immaculate, stained glass, Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, https://www.nationalshrine.org/blog/why-do-we-celebrate-the-immaculate-conception/
Image source 2: https://themarianroom.com/flowers-and-our-lady-ii/
Quotation source