Day 17 (Wk 1 - Day 5) Feast of the Immaculate Conception

[MariaChristi]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

What a precious Feast-Day today! God sends His Angel to Mary, and Mary Accepts His Word to her! All praise and thanks be to God: Mary became Mother of God and our Mother!

How much we owe our God and how grateful we need to be to Him for all – but most especially for Jesus, born of Mary, by the power of the Holy Spirit! We are saved by Grace, and now on this journey of 33 days we are seeking to consecrate or re-consecrate ourselves, renewing that singular grace of our Baptism which cleansed us of the original sin and gave us Life in Christ.

May God continue to reveal to us by His Holy Spirit, all that we need to repent of in our lives. The Grace of self-knowledge is a grace we will continue to seek – if we are determined to do His will and not our own; to become like Mary and grow in holiness by our union with Him in the perfection of charity. “Be Holy as I am Holy” – God calls all of us to holiness!

Let us depend on Him as we continue seeking this important grace of self-knowledge. Let us continue asking the Holy Spirit, sent to bring us into ALL truth, to reveal to us what we need to repent of and by His Grace to correct in our lives that we may be more like our Mother and Model:

Litany to the Holy Spirit - HERE
Ave Maris Stella - HERE
Litany of the Virgin Mary - HERE

 

[Greenfields]

Thank you for this beautiful post on Our Lady’s feast day.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

Thank you for your posts reminding us regularly that we should be devoted to Mary. it seems like so many come to this forum to question Marian devotion, so it’s good to see posts regularly on the side of “Team Mary” as it were.

I will be completing my 9-day Consecration to Mary and registering with the Militia Immaculata later today. This is a big step for me as I take it very seriously. I feel like some other Catholics who do Marian consecration just sign up without thinking much about what the promises mean, but then again, I don’t know for sure what is in their heart and it’s not my worry as Mary will help them too if they need help and it does not affect her helping me.

Mary help us, help we pray.

 

[MariaChristi]

Ah no, let us both thank the Holy Spirit, dear Greenfields.

Let us always be grateful for all He gives. Without Him, we can do nothing" (cf John 15)

 

[MariaChristi]

Dear Tis_Bearself,

May the Lord bless your mind and heart as you consecrate yourself today, on this beautiful Feast of Mary’s Immaculate Conception. It is good for all of us to be “serious” when we consecrate ourselves. We need to pay attention with our minds, focused on the words we pray, and to mean what we say with all our heart . In other words, we need to “Live” our consecration, not just on a day we say the words, but all our days.

I believe St. Louis de Montfort is correct in describing a total Consecration to Jesus through Mary as a “renewal of our baptismal promises”. You are absolutely right that we cannot know what is in others’ minds and hearts. Sometimes I’m not sure if I am aware of the depths of my own failures and weaknesses.

Perhaps that is why I have grown to love De Montfort’s 33 Day preparation for Consecration. This week, pondering St. Louis’ description of “seeking the grace of self-knowledge” by the power of the Holy Spirit, I’ve learned how easily the evil one can deceive me, and so I repent and look to Mary for help to grow closer to Jesus.

Please let us pray for one another, for the Church and for all those in most need of God’s mercy. Thanks again for your reply.