Beginning another journey ... today - Day 1 - Aug. 6

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MariaChristi

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Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Recently, I began re-reading “The Interior Castle” by St. Teresa of Avila and started a thread entitled: “…the door to this castle is prayer…” from the saints words, beginning with Chapter 1.

However, as I continued reading, I began to see a connection with St. Louis de Montfort’s 33 Day Preparation for Consecration for Total Consecration. St. Teresa, writes:
Don’t force it to stay a long time in one room alone. Oh but if it is in the room of self-knowledge! How necessary this room is – see that you understand me-- even for those whom the Lord has brought into the very dwelling place where He abides. For never, however exalted the soul may be, is anything else fitting for it; nor could it be even were the soul to so desire. For humility, like the bee making honey in the beehive is always at work. Without it everything goes wrong. But let’s remember that the bee doesn’t fail to leave the beehive and fly about gathering nectar from the flowers. So it is with the soul in the room of self-knowledge; let it believe me and fly sometimes to ponder the grandeur and majesty of its God. Here it will discover its lowliness better than by thinking of itself…
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St. Louis de Montfort gives in his treatise on True Devotion, a 33 Day Preparation that has helped me, many times, to grow closer to Jesus through a similar process. So I decided today, Aug. 6 - Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, I will begin that 33 Day Journey toward renewing my Total Consecration on the Feast of Mary’s Nativity, Sept. 8.

If anyone would like to join me on this journey, I will be following the Preparation outlined in the online version of True Devotion and will use paragraphs 227 through 231 of Chapter 7. See HERE.

If you click on Chapter 7 of the Table of Contents at the link it will take you to paragraph 227. The first 12 Days are spent as St. Louis wrote: " in emptying themselves of the spirit of the world, which is opposed to the spirit of Jesus, as I have recommended in the first part of this preparation for the reign of Jesus Christ. "

The treatise on True Devotion has for its subtitle “preparation for the reign of Christ” which is ultimately the aim of our lives on earth – that Christ may reign in our hearts as He reigned in the Immaculate Heart of Mary and in all the saints. I am grateful to both St. Teresa of Avila for writing “The Interior Castle” and for St. Louis for writing his “Treatise on True Devotion to Mary” for both are gifts from God to His Church.

God willing, tomorrow I will start a new thread on Day 2 and simply give it the title of “Day 2 of emptying ourselves of the spirit of the world”. There are no special prayers St. Louis recommends for this period. He does recommend special prayers later on, but I find many peple are discouraged by preparation books that suggest too much. I agree it is best to keep to what St. Louis has written, and pray simply to the Holy Spirit to guide us as He guided Mary and all the saints into the Truth Who is Jesus.
 
Today is also a good day to begin a preparatory novena for the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and it might be a good way to gain her assistance for your journey.
 
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Thanks “SeriousQuestion”,

It is always a good day to pray! 🙂 Prayer is our relationship with God and prayer is like oxygen – we simply cannot live without it.

We are all different however and may relate to God in differing ways. Since we are beginning a journey outlined for us, by St. Louis de Montfort, who wrote that the first 12 days, would be a time for “emptying ourselves of the spirit of the world” it seems to me we need to ask the Holy Spirit to help us through the intercession of Mary to seek to do just that.

If you are inclined to make the novena in preparation for the Feast of the Assumption, then the Holy Spirit may be guiding you in that way, through the intercession of Mary. I know for myself, I try to enter the interior of my soul, as St. Teresa wrote in “The Interior Castle” and pray to discover what may need to be emptied – that is what might I be keeping that is “of the world” in my own spirit.

Let us remember Jesus’ words to ask and receive; seek and find; knock and the door will open. Thanks for your reply, SeriousQuestion.
 
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MariaChristi said:
Let us remember Jesus’ words to ask and receive; seek and find; knock and the door will open. Thanks for your reply, SeriousQuestion.
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To my understanding, when one does a total consecration, one of the main aspect is a dependence on Mary and there is a restriction on how you can use the value of your works and prayers, so I was wondering how you do it.
 
Dear Katie,

Thank you so much for being joining me in renewal. Please let us pray for one another and for anyone else who may be joining us.

Come Holy Spirit, fill us with Your Love.
Jesus we trust in You! Mary, our Mother and Model, pray for us. St. Joseph, pray for us.
St. Louis de Montfort, pray for us.
 
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