Continuing to ponder "Transformation into the Likeness of Christ "

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MariaChristi

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Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Having recently completed a series of threads on CAF listening to the Wisdom of God given to St. Louis de Montfort in “True Devotion to the Virgin Mary” I was pondering words from St. Louis de Montfort and remembering similar words in the writing of St. John of the Cross:

St. Louis de Montfort used words:
“…emptying themselves of the spirit of the world, which is opposed to the spirit of Jesus…” in paragraph #227 on preparing for Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary.
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St. John of the Cross used words:

Our journey toward God must proceed through the negation of all. One should remain in emptiness and darkness regarding all creatures. In "The Ascent of Mt. Carmel, Bk 2, Chap. 24 # 4.

Both Saints listened to Scripture and certainly heard Jesus tell us that we cannot serve “two Masters”. In His Mother Mary however we find, as St. Louis points out:

“…There is no darkness in Mary, not even the slightest shadow since there was never any sin in her. She is a holy place, a holy of holies, in which saints are formed and moulded…” --from paragraph # 218

St. Louis quotes another saint’s Wisdom:
St. Augustine speaking to our Blessed Lady says, "You are worthy to be called the mould of God." Mary is a mould capable of forming people into the image of the God-man. Anyone who is cast into this divine mould is quickly shaped and moulded into Jesus and Jesus into Him.-- in Paragraph # 218
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Casting oneself into this mould, St. Louis reminds us:
…only molten and liquefied substances may be poured into a mould. That means that you must crush and melt down the old Adam in you if you wish to acquire the likeness of the new Adam in Mary. – in paragraph # 221
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It is worth pondering these words, and seeking to cast ourselves into the mould of Mary as a way of emptying oneself of “self” to make room for God. By God’s Grace may we learn to see what is within us that is “self-serving” rather than totally giving ourselves to Jesus through Mary. The Church is “in” but not called to be “of” the world.

Come Holy Spirit !
 
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It’s so much easier to remain in emptiness and darkness while being completely given over to Mary.
 
Thanks for your faithful “heart” and reply, dear patricius. Yes, Mary our Mother Is given to us that we may learn as she learned from Jesus, to be empty of all that is not Love for God and Love for others because of God.

The darkness St. John of the Cross is speaking of is the dark night of the senses and the dark night of the spirit which God allows to purge us of those “appetites” for worldly and even spiritual comforts that keep us from the Perfection of Charity. Mary is ever interceding for us and helping us as Our Mother to grow more and more into the likeness of Jesus Who emptied Himself on the Cross for Love of us. (cf Phil 2:7)
 
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Dear Stephie and SeekerOfTruth,

Thank you both for your “hearts” – I continue to ponder the words from St. Louis de Montfort, and St. Augustine, on Mary as “the mould of God” - “capable of forming people into the image of the God-man”(paragraph # 218 in St. Louis de Montfort’s “True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin”.

In Philippians 2: 5-8, the words of St. Paul describe Jesus thus:
… 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.
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Mary kept in her heart all that Jesus said and did, pondering all in her heart. Mary heard Jesus say to His disciples and through them to us, “Learn of Me, for I am Meek and Humble of Heart.”

Mary saw how Jesus humbled Himself and so she continues to help us to be like Him, but we must do our part. By casting ourselves into the Mary the mould of God we become her children who more and more grow into the likeness of Jesus her Son.
 
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Dear patricius,

Thanks again for your faithful “heart” and reply along with Stephie’s faithful heart – you two seem to be the most faithful to all the threads I post on Mary. I am continuing to “cast myself into the beautiful mould of Mary” and I hope you are doing the same.

If anyone else has read this tread I hope you too are continueing to ponder this almost too beautiful to believe Truth that the saints have written about – the Gift of Mary is far more than most people have heard or read about enough! Some have not heard the Truth about Mary at all.

Let us never be afraid to share her love given to her by God. Let us continually ask the Holy Spirit to guide us in Wisdom that we may know when and what to say in oder to honor God and our Mother. Thanks again for your encouragement. It helps to keep me posting – even if comparatively few read or listen to what God has revealed.
 
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Marian minimalism or ignorance is so common and even so many Catholics completely ignore her or think that honoring her could distract us from Christ.

It is very sad. However, John Paul II officially singled out for approval St. Louis De Montfort’s Marian spirituality, and somehow God will turn things around through our Blessed Mother.
 
Dear patricius,

Thanks again for another encouraging reply to this thread. It is painful to experience Catholics and non Catholics alike with little or no true love for Mary. How can anyone say he or she “follows” Jesus if that person has no deep love for the Mother Who conceived the Word Made flesh in her womb by the power of the Holy Spirit? That unique bond between Jesus and Mary ought to cause us all to have such tremendous reverence for her!

St. Louis de Montfort continues to stand out for me as one who sought earnestly and was given exceedingly powerful graces from God to “see” by the light of supernatural faith, all God has given to His Church in Mary. The more I read St. Louis’ treatise, and listen to all the Holy Spirit enabled him to write, the more grateful I am.

May we continue to pray for the increase of Supernatural Faith, Hope and Charity that we all may grow in love and devotion to Mary and live as Mary lived on earth. God will never “force” anyone to love but He enables His Church to receive and share the gifts He gives them.

Come Holy Spirit, bring us into the fullness of Truth. Jesus, we trust in You. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
 
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MariaChristi said:
How can anyone say he or she “follows” Jesus if that person has no deep love for the Mother Who conceived the Word Made flesh in her womb by the power of the Holy Spirit? That unique bond between Jesus and Mary ought to cause us all to have such tremendous reverence for her!
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I agree wholeheartedly. I don’t understand people when they say that they have more of a “direct” relationship with Christ–as if Mary isn’t the most direct way to Christ, or as if we could love Christ well enough without Mary’s Immaculate Heart.

I really pray that pastors will preach more about Divine Mercy and about Mary, the Mediatrix of Divine Mercy, so that people can begin to see both how close to us Mary always is, how tender, and also how great and perfect she is, being God’s Mother.

Such thoughts don’t distract me from Christ but fill me with trust in Christ, since I know he wouldn’t have given me His Mother if he wanted to hold anything against me.

And I have, dear sister, learned very much from your beautiful threads, and I’m very grateful for your cooperation with God.
 
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Dear brother patricius and all the brothers and sisters of Jesus, who may read this:

Thank you, dear brother, for your reply – to all who read whatever I post, I am grateful.

You are wise to pray and It is good for all of us to pray for the clergy that they may preach more about Mary. If people seldom hear about Mary or are encouraged to hear Jesus’ words: “Behold Your Mother” or encouraged to read the Scriptures which speak of her or read the Saints’ testimonies of her appearances to them, how will they grow in their knowledge an love for her.

Some of us did, by God’s Grace learn to know and love Mary through good teachers – in school, home, or in good homilies or books. Some of us try to share what we have learned.

Yesterday, I attempted to write something to honor our Lady, on CAF, and started several different thoughts, but nothing seemed “good” – so I only was able to reply to the post you wrote yesterday, patricius, here on this thead. I was grateful that God gave me something to share.

In praying the Liturgy of the Hours, early this morning, I was so blessed (as I always am in listening to the words of Scripture), by Antiphon 1 before Psalm 77 – these words lifted my spirit:
O God, all Your ways are holy; what god can compare with our God?
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What I heard was a confirmation in my heart, that God’s ways are not our ways in so far as His Ways are so far above ours, that we cannot understand all He permits in our lives. BUT we can trust in Him believing in the holiness of “All His Ways”. He is Love and all that He does, by His direct or permissive Will, He does in love for us.

So, my being unable yesterday to begin a new thread to honor Mother Mary, was after all a “good” and “holy” and “loving gift” from God to me. It reminded me that without Him I can do nothing. 🙂

By God’s Grace I will continue to ask Him if I may post something today to hor Mary and trust that He will help me to speak truly of His Great Love coming through Mary. May the Holy Spirit fill our hearts to make room for Mary and her Son!

Please let us continue to pray for one anothr, for the Church and for all those in most need of God’s Mercy.
 
MariaChristi said:
Thank you, dear brother, for your reply – to all who read whatever I post, I am grateful.
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And thank you for your insight and for sharing all the wisdom of these great saints. It’s a reminder to me to always behold the spiritual mother of us all, The Ark of the New Covenant, The Blessed Virgin, The Queen Mother, who resides for eternity in Heaven with her Son interceding for us all.
 
Yes, Mary is always watching out for us.

Here is Pope Saint Pius X:
  1. Leaving aside charity towards God, who can contemplate the Immaculate Virgin without feeling moved to fulfill that precept which Christ called peculiarly His own, namely that of loving one another as He loved us? “A great sign,” thus the Apostle St. John describes a vision divinely sent him, appears in the heavens: "A woman clothed with the sun, and with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars upon her head" ( Apoc . xii., 1). Everyone knows that this woman signified the Virgin Mary, the stainless one who brought forth our Head. The Apostle continues: “And, being with child, she cried travailing in birth, and was in pain to be delivered” ( Apoc . xii., 2). John therefore saw the Most Holy Mother of God already in eternal happiness, yet travailing in a mysterious childbirth. What birth was it? Surely it was the birth of us who, still in exile, are yet to be generated to the perfect charity of God, and to eternal happiness. And the birth pains show the love and desire with which the Virgin from heaven above watches over us, and strives with unwearying prayer to bring about the fulfillment of the number of the elect.
    http://www.vatican.va/content/pius-...x_enc_02021904_ad-diem-illum-laetissimum.html
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Dear Zach,

The Infinite Wisdom of God is far beyond our finite wisdom and yet He shares His Wisdom in giving us a share in His Divine Life at Baptism. Like Mary our Mother, and the saints who love and honor God through Mary, we loo must listen to Jesus --Wisdom Incarnate – and ponder all His words and deeds we find in Scripture.

We need to listen and to ponder all in our hearts as Mary did if we are to grow in holiness and help others on the journey home to Our Father in heaven. It is easy to repeat the words of the saints and even the words of Jesus in Scripture but we need His Grace to live the Truth we have heard from Him.

Please let us continue to pray for one another, for the Church and all those in most need of God’s Mercy. Thanks so much for your reply and especially for opening your mind and heart to receive the words of Jesus: “Behold your Mother”.
 
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Dear patricius,

Thanks for your reply and the quote from Pope St. Pius X. How truly this Pope has written:
…John therefore saw the Most Holy Mother of God already in eternal happiness, yet travailing in a mysterious childbirth . What birth was it? Surely it was the birth of us who, still in exile, are yet to be generated to the perfect charity of God, and to eternal happiness. And the birth pains show the love and desire with which the Virgin from heaven above watches over us, and strives with unwearying prayer to bring about the fulfillment of the number of the elect.
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