Dear Brothers and Sisters,
This is the final day of these 12 days seeking “to rid ourselves of the spirit of the world” in preparation for total consecration to Jesus through Mary. Of course we need God’s Grace to “keep emptying ourselves” – it is the work of a lifetime! Yet, we press on because we have been given in Baptism: Faith to believe God, Hope to trust Him and Charity to love Him and others because of Him. Our confidence in reaching the Beatific Vision is in Him; so we do all we can to cooperate with each grace He gives us to remain “Faith - FULL” to the end of our earthly journey to our heavenly home.
The following verses from God’s Word can encourage us, as St. Louis de Montfort and all the saints learned from Jesus, Meek and Humble of Heart, especially Mary His most perfect disciple:
Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus,
Who, though He was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.
Rather, He emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and found human in appearance,
He humbled himself,
becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:5 - 11)
Mary, our Mother and Model, pray with us and for us that we empty ourselves, humble ourselves, as you did and as Jesus did that we may be truly All we are called to be.