Dec. 8 - Mary's Feast and day Day 11 of our Advent Journey

[MariaChristi]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

What a glorious Feast this is - “The Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary”! God chose her before all time to be the Mother of God! How Great is God’s Love in saving us in such a way as to give His Only Begotten Son to us, to save us, and to do so in such a humble yet perfect way.

In the Immaculate Conception we see the incredible privilege given to Mary by God – that she be conceived without sin – in the womb of her Mother St. Anne in order that Mary might be the worthy Mother of God, by the power of the Holy Spirit in giving birth to Jesus, the Incarnate Son of God.

Mary’s birth was in the natural human way of the husband and wife coming together in conjugal union to bring forth a child but this Child Mary was unique in her sinlessness for her womb be a holy and immaculate “tabernacle” for God!

No wonder St. Louis de Montfort in writing his book on “Love of the Eternal Wisdom” was led to write at the end of that Book his Prayer of Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary. God gave St. Louis even more understanding in his writing of “True Devotion”!

Today on this Feast, let us listen to St. Louis describe this devotion at the time of Holy Communion:

Implore Mary to lend you her heart so that you may receive her Son with her dispositions. Remind her that her Son’s glory requires that He should not come into a heart so sullied and fickle as your own, which could not fail to diminish His glory and might cause Him to leave. Tell her that if she will take up her abode in you to receive her Son - which she can do because of the sovereignty she has over all hearts - He will be received by her in a perfect manner without danger of being affronted or being forced to depart. “God is in the midst of her. She shall not be moved.”

Tell her with confidence that all you have given her of your possessions is little enough to honour her, but that in Holy Communion you wish to give her the same gifts as the eternal Father gave her. Thus she will feel more honoured than if you gave her all the wealth in the world. Tell her, finally, that Jesus, whose love for her is unique, still wishes to take his delight and his repose in her even in your soul, even though it is poorer and less clean than the stable which he readily entered because she was there. Beg her to lend you her heart, saying, “O Mary, I take you for my all; give me your heart.” – paragraph 266 in “True Devotion”

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your Faithful; kindle in us the Fire of Your Love. Enable us by your grace to be “living Tabernacles” for Jesus as Mary was made to be. Mary Mother of the Church pray for us. We need you more than ever before, as we see today’s world drifting so far from Your Son and from You - His Mother – whom He gave to us on Calvary!

 

[hazcompat]

Second reading
From a sermon by Saint Anselm, bishop
Virgin Mary, all nature is blessed in you.

Blessed Lady, sky and stars, earth and rivers, day and night—everything that is subject to the power or use of man—rejoice that through you they are in some sense restored to their lost beauty and are endowed with inexpressible new grace. All creatures were dead, as it were, useless for men or for the praise of God, who made them. The world, contrary to its true destiny, was corrupted and tainted by the acts of men who served idols. Now all creation has been restored to life and rejoices that it is controlled and given splendor by men who believe in God.

The universe rejoices with new and indefinable loveliness. Not only does it feel the unseen presence of God himself, its Creator, it sees him openly, working and making it holy. These great blessings spring from the blessed fruit of Mary’s womb.

Through the fullness of the grace that was given you, dead things rejoice in their freedom, and those in heaven are glad to be made new. Through the Son who was the glorious fruit of your virgin womb, just souls who died before his life-giving death rejoice as they are freed from captivity, and the angels are glad at the restoration of their shattered domain.

Lady, full and overflowing with grace, all creation receives new life from your abundance. Virgin, blessed above all creatures, through your blessing all creation is blessed, not only creation from its Creator, but the Creator himself has been blessed by creation.

To Mary God gave his only-begotten Son, whom he loved as himself. Through Mary God made himself a Son, not different but the same, by nature Son of God and Son of Mary. The whole universe was created by God, and God was born of Mary. God created all things, and Mary gave birth to God. The God who made all things gave himself form through Mary, and thus he made his own creation. He who could create all things from nothing would not remake his ruined creation without Mary.

God, then, is the Father of the created world and Mary the mother of the re-created world. God is the Father by whom all things were given life, and Mary the mother through whom all things were given new life. For God begot the Son, through whom all things were made, and Mary gave birth to him as the Savior of the world. Without God’s Son, nothing could exist; without Mary’s Son, nothing could be redeemed.

Truly the Lord is with you, to whom the Lord granted that all nature should owe as much to you as to himself.

 

[MariaChristi]

Dear hazcompat,

Thanks for posting the words of St. Anselm. The words that blessed me most were these:

…He who could create all things from nothing would not remake his ruined creation without Mary.

God, then, is the Father of the created world and Mary the mother of the re-created world. God is the Father by whom all things were given life, and Mary the mother through whom all things were given new life. For God begot the Son, through whom all things were made, and Mary gave birth to him as the Savior of the world. Without God’s Son, nothing could exist; without Mary’s Son, nothing could be redeemed…

Yesterday’s Feast of Mary’s Immaculate Conception was a beautiful one in our parish in so far as the early Mass at 8:30 am was also the Children’s Mass and to see those little ones and to hear them sing was a particular joy, for we are indeed all called to be her children by the power of the Holy Spirit, members of The Body of Christ in her womb. As Christ dwelt in her so He told us from His Cross:

“Behold Your Mother”

May we hear Jesus repeat in our hearts also these words:

At that time the disciples approached Jesus and said, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said, “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one child such as this in My name receives Me. – Mt 18:1-5