August - Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

[MariaChristi]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Tuesday of next week we begin the Month dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary:

…Since the 16th century Catholic piety has assigned entire months to special devotions. The month of August is traditionally dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The physical heart of Mary is venerated (and not adored as the Sacred Heart of Jesus is) because it is united to her person and is the seat of her love (especially for her divine Son), virtue, and inner life. Such devotion is an incentive to a similar love and virtue.

This devotion has received new emphasis in this century from the visions given to Lucy Dos Santos, oldest of the visionaries of Fatima, in her convent in Tuy, in Spain, in 1925 and 1926. In the visions Our Lady asked for the practice of the Five First Saturdays to help make amends for the offenses committed against her heart by the blasphemies and ingratitude of men. The practice parallels the devotion of the Nine First Fridays in honor of the Sacred Heart.

On October 31, 1942, Pope Pius XII made a solemn Act of Consecration of the Church and the whole world to the Immaculate Heart. Let us remember this devotion year-round, but particularly through the month of August.

Excerpted from The Prayer Book by Reverend John P. O’Connell, M.A., S.T.D. and Jex Martin, M.A.

Especially let us honor Mary’s Immaculate Heart, this August, since this year is the 100th Anniversary of Mary’s Apparitions to Lucia and her cousins, St. Francisco and St. Jacinta. Those three, as children, were given the great privilege of visits from Mary and Mary entrusted them with her Message from God to the world. The two young cousins died early but Lucia, entering the convent lived into her nineties continuing to share the Message of Fatima, chiefly through her writings, before God took her to heaven as Mary promised.

Today, Friday, as we remember the Passion and Death of Jesus, let us make reparation to His Sacred Heart for our sins and the sins of the world. Let us also remember our Sorrowful Mother standing at the foot of His Cross and offer reparation to her Immaculate Heart as well. “O my Jesus, pardon us and save usfrom the fires of hell. Draw all souls to heaven especially those in most need of Your Mercy.” Immaculate Heart of Mary, intercede for all your children.

 

[patricius79]

I didn’t know that August is dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Thanks for telling that, MariaChristi.

Yes, and let’s not forget first Saturday of August, for making reparation to her Immaculate Heart.

Blessed be the Immaculate Heart of Mary!

 

[MariaChristi]

I didn’t know that August is dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Thanks for telling that, MariaChristi.

Yes, and let’s not forget first Saturday of August, for making reparation to her Immaculate Heart.

Blessed be the Immaculate Heart of Mary!

Dear Brother Pat,

Thanks for your reply. Yes, we owe so much Reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary! Next Saturday is the First Saturday of August and I hope many will continue or begin the Practice of First Saturday Devotions. You may be interested in the following excerpt from the Marian Catechist’s website:

Devotion to the Immaculate Heart
The first indication of this general Saturday devotion to the Blessed Mother being connected with her Immaculate Heart comes from St. John Eudes, (1601-1670) whom Pope St. Pius X called the Immaculate Heart’s Father, Doctor and Apostle. It was through him that this devotion was made public and received ecclesiastical approbation. St. John Eudes, as a theologian, was the first to explain this devotion to Mary’s Heart in his book, The Admirable Heart of Mary. The feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, which is celebrated on the first Saturday after the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (which is celebrated on the first Friday after the feast of Corpus Christi), was established in 1644 as the paternal feast of his congregation of Priests, for which he composed a Mass and office. Later it was established throughout the French dioceses (being extended to the Universal Church in 1944 by Pope Pius XII).

Modern times have seen a further focusing and codification of this devotion. In 1889, Pope Leo XIII granted to all the faithful a plenary indulgence for the well-established practice of the fifteen consecutive Saturdays. This pope, who wrote 12 encyclicals on the Rosary, and in June of 1899 had consecrated the whole world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, was asked to make a similar act to honor the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Both Pope Leo XIII and his predecessor, Pope Pius IX, felt this honor should be given to Our Lady but that the time had not yet come.

The First Saturday of Reparation
In 1889, an Italian woman named Maria Inglese, prompted by an interior revelation, instituted the pious practice of “Communions of Reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary” with the approval and recommendation of her Bishop. In 1904 she composed a series of prayers for each mystery of the Rosary, as well as prayers for the Holy Hour of Reparation to Mary. She brought these to Rome and St. Pius X indulgenced them immediately, warmly encouraging Maria to continue her apostolate. He later encouraged this devotion throughout the Church. Thus, with St. Pius X, the First Saturday Devotion of Reparation to the Immaculate Heart was introduced. He later promoted it further by the granting of additional indulgences on June 13, 1912: “All the Faithful who, on the first Saturday or first Sunday of twelve consecutive months, devote some time to vocal or mental prayer in honor of the Immaculate Virgin in Her conception gain, on each of these days, a plenary indulgence. Conditions: Confession, Communion, and prayers for the intentions of the Sovereign Pontiff.”

Five years later, on that same date, June 13, there took place at Fátima the great manifestation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, “surrounded with thorns which seemed to pierce it.” Sister Lucia was to say later on: “We understood that it was the Immaculate Heart of Mary, outraged by the sins of humanity, which demanded Reparation.” It was also on this day that Our Lady told Lucia she was to remain in the world because “Jesus wishes to use you to make me known and loved. He wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart.” For more see HERE

By God’s Grace, may we draw closer to Mary and love her as Jesus loves her.

 

[patricius79]

Dear Brother Pat,

Thanks for your reply. Yes, we owe so much Reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary! Next Saturday is the First Saturday of August and I hope many will continue or begin the Practice of First Saturday Devotions. You may be interested in the following excerpt from the Marian Catechist’s website:

By God’s Grace, may we draw closer to Mary and love her as Jesus loves her.

Beauiful, dear sister, MariaChristi. Like Our Mother said at Fatima, “my Immaculate Heart will be your refuge, and the way which will lead you to God”.

I don’t know how do people living without knowing the Mother of God?

In one of his Encyclicals, Pope Leo XIII expresses great compassion for those who don’t know their Mother, and grieves that some in the Church accuse the devout of excessive devotion to Mary, “thus sorely offending filial piety”.

 

[patricius79]

Truly the Immaculate Heart of Mary is refuge. How much she loves us!

Here is a passage from Pope Leo XIII encycical Iucunda Semper, which tells us the power of the Rosary:

1. If in all this series of Mysteries, Venerable Brethren, are developed the counsels of God in regard to us - “counsels of wisdom and of tenderness” (St. Bernard) - not less apparent is the greatness of the benefits for which we are debtors to the Virgin Mother. No man can meditate upon these without feeling a new awakening in his heart of confidence that he will certainly obtain through Mary the fulness of the mercies of God. And to this end vocal prayer chimes well with the Mysteries. First, as is meet and right, comes the Lord’s Prayer, addressed to Our Father in Heaven: and having, with the elect petitions dictated by Our Divine Master, called upon the Father, from the throne of His Majesty we turn our prayerful voices to Mary. Thus is confirmed that law of merciful meditation of which We have spoken, and which St. Bernardine of Siena thus expresses: “Every grace granted to man has three degrees in order; for by God it is communicated to Christ, from Christ it passes to the Virgin, and from the Virgin it descends to us.”…
2. Nor can our prayers fail to ascend to Him as a sweet savour, commended by the prayers of the Virgin. And He it is who, all-benign, invites her: “Let thy voice sound in My ears, for thy voice is sweet.” For this cause do we repeatedly celebrate those glorious titles of her ministry as Mediatrix. Her do we greet who found favour with God, and who was in a signal manner filled with grace by Him so that the superabundance thereof might overflow upon all men; her, united with the Lord by the most intimate of all conjunction; her who was blessed among women, and who “alone took away the curse and bore the blessing” (St. Thomas)-that fruit of her womb, that happy fruit, in which all the nations of the earth are blessed. Her do we invoke, finally, as Mother of God; and in virtue of a dignity so sublime what graces from her may we not promise to ourselves, sinners, in life and in the agonies of the end?
   w2.vatican.va/content/leo-xiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_08091894_iucunda-semper-expectatione.html

 

[MariaChristi]

Beauiful, dear sister, MariaChristi. Like Our Mother said at Fatima, “my Immaculate Heart will be your refuge, and the way which will lead you to God”.

I don’t know how do people living without knowing the Mother of God?

In one of his Encyclicals, Pope Leo XIII expresses great compassion for those who don’t know their Mother, and grieves that some in the Church accuse the devout of excessive devotion to Mary, “thus sorely offending filial piety”.

Dear Brother Pat,

Thanks so much for both your posts: This one from yesterday and the one today which shared the beautiful quotes from Pope Leo XIII regarding the Rosary. It is a very sad commentary on the present time – in many places devotion to Mary has declined – not in every place and certainly not in hearts which God has blessed with a very deep and lasting grace, but it reminds me of Pope St. John Paul II’s words that when one moves away from the Mother, it is not long before He moves away from the Son.

Let us strive by God’s Grace to grow in our devotion to Jesus through Mary. Let us pray fervently for one another, for the Church, and all those in most need of God’s Mercy.

 

[patricius79]

Dear Brother Pat,

Thanks so much for both your posts: This one from yesterday and the one today which shared the beautiful quotes from Pope Leo XIII regarding the Rosary. It is a very sad commentary on the present time – in many places devotion to Mary has declined – not in every place and certainly not in hearts which God has blessed with a very deep and lasting grace, but it reminds me of Pope St. John Paul II’s words that when one moves away from the Mother, it is not long before He moves away from the Son.

Let us strive by God’s Grace to grow in our devotion to Jesus through Mary. Let us pray fervently for one another, for the Church, and all those in most need of God’s Mercy.

And there’s no need for it, since there is nothing sweeter or easier than devotion to the Mother of Mercy, who breathes forth nothing but pardon and love.

Vatican II affirms that Mary is the “cause of our salvation”, in a sense, of course, entirely dependent on Jesus Chirist, the One Mediator.

She is so beautiful and good, it’s so important to have some devotion to her, and especially to pray the Rosary, so that the whole torrent of Divine Mercy can embrace us.

1. The Father of mercies willed that the Incarnation should be preceded by assent on the part of the predestined mother, so that just as a woman had a share in bringing about death, so also a woman should contribute to life. This is preeminently true of the Mother of Jesus, who gave to the world the Life that renews all things, and who was enriched by God with gifts appropriate to such a role. It is no wonder then that it was customary for the Fathers to refer to the Mother of God as all holy and free from every stain of sin, as though fashioned by the Holy Spirit and formed as a new creature.[5] Enriched from the first instant of her conception with the splendour of an entirely unique holiness, the virgin of Nazareth is hailed by the heralding angel, by divine command, as “full of grace” (cf. Lk. 1:38), and to the heavenly messenger she replies: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done unto me according to thy word” (Lk. 1:38). Thus the daughter of Adam, Mary, consenting to the word of God, became the Mother of Jesus. Committing herself wholeheartedly and impeded by no sin to God’s saving will, she devoted herself totally, as a handmaid of the Lord, to the person and work of her Son, under and with him, serving the mystery of redemption, by the grace of Almighty God. Rightly, therefore, the Fathers see Mary not merely as passively engaged by God, but as freely cooperating in the work of man’s salvation through faith and obedience. For, as St Irenaeus says, she “being obedient, became the cause of salvation for herself and for the whole human race.”[6] Hence not a few of the early Fathers gladly assert with him in their preaching: “the knot of Eve’s disobedience was united by Mary’s obedience: what the virgin Eve bound through her disbelief, Mary loosened by her faith.”[7] Comparing Mary with Eve, they call her “Mother of the living,”[8] and frequently claim: “death through Eve, life through Mary.”[9]
   christusrex.org/www1/CDHN/v3.html

 

[MariaChristi]

And there’s no need for it, since there is nothing sweeter or easier than devotion to the Mother of Mercy, who breathes forth nothing but pardon and love.

Vatican II affirms that Mary is the “cause of our salvation”, in a sense, of course, entirely dependent on Jesus Chirist, the One Mediator.

She is so beautiful and good, it’s so important to have some devotion to her, and especially to pray the Rosary, so that the whole torrent of Divine Mercy can embrace us.

1. The Father of mercies willed that the Incarnation should be preceded by assent on the part of the predestined mother, so that just as a woman had a share in bringing about death, so also a woman should contribute to life. This is preeminently true of the Mother of Jesus, who gave to the world the Life that renews all things, and who was enriched by God with gifts appropriate to such a role. It is no wonder then that it was customary for the Fathers to refer to the Mother of God as all holy and free from every stain of sin, as though fashioned by the Holy Spirit and formed as a new creature.[5] Enriched from the first instant of her conception with the splendour of an entirely unique holiness, the virgin of Nazareth is hailed by the heralding angel, by divine command, as “full of grace” (cf. Lk. 1:38), and to the heavenly messenger she replies: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done unto me according to thy word” (Lk. 1:38). Thus the daughter of Adam, Mary, consenting to the word of God, became the Mother of Jesus. Committing herself wholeheartedly and impeded by no sin to God’s saving will, she devoted herself totally, as a handmaid of the Lord, to the person and work of her Son, under and with him, serving the mystery of redemption, by the grace of Almighty God. Rightly, therefore, the Fathers see Mary not merely as passively engaged by God, but as freely cooperating in the work of man’s salvation through faith and obedience. For, as St Irenaeus says, she “being obedient, became the cause of salvation for herself and for the whole human race.”[6] Hence not a few of the early Fathers gladly assert with him in their preaching: “the knot of Eve’s disobedience was united by Mary’s obedience: what the virgin Eve bound through her disbelief, Mary loosened by her faith.”[7] Comparing Mary with Eve, they call her “Mother of the living,”[8] and frequently claim: “death through Eve, life through Mary.”[9]
   christusrex.org/www1/CDHN/v3.html

Thanks dear brother Pat,

On our part, you are right, there is no need to move away from the Mother. Yet some have chosen to do so for reasons we may not understand. Your except above from the Vatican II Document on the Church, and the whole of Chapter 8, gives many reasons why devotion to Mary is so important for us now, and has been important for centuries in the Catholic Church. Again, let us take every opportunity to offer our love to Jesus through Mary and to honor her as God has already honored her in the Great Mystery of the Incarnation.

 

[patricius79]

Thanks dear brother Pat,

On our part, you are right, there is no need to move away from the Mother. Yet some have chosen to do so for reasons we may not understand. Your except above from the Vatican II Document on the Church, and the whole of Chapter 8, gives many reasons why devotion to Mary is so important for us now, and has been important for centuries in the Catholic Church. Again, let us take every opportunity to offer our love to Jesus through Mary and to honor her as God has already honored her in the Great Mystery of the Incarnation.

Yes, dear sister. I have a friend whose mother abused her physically and emotionally. She has done the consecration to Mary using 33 Days to Morning Glory book. But due to her wounds she finds it difficult to feel trust for Mary. I had a good mother, and the book the Glories of Mary and True Devotion to Mary more than built on that foundation, revealing to me a mother who, as St. Alphonsus and St. Louis say, loves each person more than all other mothers combined love all their children. And I know from reading good sources–such as Papal Encyclicals and the theologian Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange that this is well-founded in the grace of Christ… But as you say, there are subjective factors that can provided psychological blocks. I hope my friend can find in Mary the motherly love she’s always desired, and which she knows, intellectually, is in the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

 

[MariaChristi]

Yes, dear sister. I have a friend whose mother abused her physically and emotionally. She has done the consecration to Mary using 33 Days to Morning Glory book. But due to her wounds she finds it difficult to feel trust for Mary. I had a good mother, and the book the Glories of Mary and True Devotion to Mary more than built on that foundation, revealing to me a mother who, as St. Alphonsus and St. Louis say, loves each person more than all other mothers combined love all their children. And I know from reading good sources–such as Papal Encyclicals and the theologian Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange that this is well-founded in the grace of Christ… But as you say, there are subjective factors that can provided psychological blocks. I hope my friend can find in Mary the motherly love she’s always desired, and which she knows, intellectually, is in the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Thanks brother Pat,

How many children are wounded by mother, or father, or in some cases both parents can abuse their children! Yet nothing is impossible with God – He Who IS Love finds ways to invite the afflicted to come to Him through Mary.

I also have a friend who has for years found Marian devotion to be difficult but recently has begun to realize, I think, her difficulty may stem from her own mother’s being so strict with her. I pray for both our friends to seek God’s Grace to know and love Mary more – for to know Mary is to see how Jesus shines through her, and one who sees Jesus sees the Father Who sent Him!

Let us continue to pray for our friends, relatives and anyone who may have any difficulty in drawing closer to Jesus through Mary – perhaps especially during this Month dedicated to her Immaculate Heart!

 

[patricius79]

Thanks brother Pat,

How many children are wounded by mother, or father, or in some cases both parents can abuse their children! Yet nothing is impossible with God – He Who IS Love finds ways to invite the afflicted to come to Him through Mary.

I also have a friend who has for years found Marian devotion to be difficult but recently has begun to realize, I think, her difficulty may stem from her own mother’s being so strict with her. I pray for both our friends to seek God’s Grace to know and love Mary more – for to know Mary is to see how Jesus shines through her, and one who sees Jesus sees the Father Who sent Him!

Let us continue to pray for our friends, relatives and anyone who may have any difficulty in drawing closer to Jesus through Mary – perhaps especially during this Month dedicated to her Immaculate Heart!

yes, dear sister. It may be helpful for all of us to read The Glories of Mary, or watch movies like “Faustina” (1994, I think) which teach us about the Infinite Mercy of God and the limitless kindness of Our Mother.

 

[MariaChristi]

yes, dear sister. It may be helpful for all of us to read The Glories of Mary, or watch movies like “Faustina” (1994, I think) which teach us about the Infinite Mercy of God and the limitless kindness of Our Mother.

Thanks, for your reply, brother Pat.

Reading what the Saints have written has always been a blessing for me. St. Faustina’s Diary is a book that has blessed me many times. I’ve only read excerpts from St. Alphonsus and I need to read his classic, “The Glories of Mary” straight through, one of these days. This might be a good time.

 

[patricius79]

Thanks, for your reply, brother Pat.

Reading what the Saints have written has always been a blessing for me. St. Faustina’s Diary is a book that has blessed me many times. I’ve only read excerpts from St. Alphonsus and I need to read his classic, “The Glories of Mary” straight through, one of these days. This might be a good time.

Yes, I’m getting a lot out of some excerpts from St. Faustina’s Diary. I just love that Jesus said (from my memory) “I cannot punish even the greatest sinner, if he appeals to my compassion. But instead I justify him in my unfathomable and inscrutable mercy” (number 1146)

And the Glories of Mary is so beautiful. When I read it, I finally understood how much God loves us in Mary. It eased so much of my fear.