Feb. 25 - Day 6

[MariaChristi]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Today we reach the mid-point in the preliminary period of 12 days, striving to “empty ourselves of the spirit of the world which is opposed to the spirit of Jesus”. In chapter 2 of St. Louis de Montfort’s True Devotion, he writes:

1. If then we are establishing sound devotion to our Blessed Lady, it is only in order to establish devotion to our Lord more perfectly, by providing a smooth but certain way of reaching Jesus Christ. If devotion to our Lady distracted us from our Lord, we would have to reject it as an illusion of the devil. But this is far from being the case. As I have already shown and will show again later on, this devotion is necessary, simply and solely because it is a way of reaching Jesus perfectly, loving him tenderly, and serving him faithfully.

Mary herself learned from Jesus. She listened and she kept His Word in her heart. We too, must listen to know Jesus through His Word. Today’s Mass readings can help us:

What causes wars, and what causes fightings among you? Is it not your passions that are at war in your members? You desire and do not have; so you kill. And you covet and cannot obtain; so you fight and wage war. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. Unfaithful creatures! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is in vain that the scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit which he has made to dwell in us”? But he gives more grace; therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you men of double mind. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to dejection. Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you. (James 4: 1 – 10)

In this first reading the Lord tells us about the “spirit of the world”. May God give us grace to humbly submit to God, learning from Him to purify our hearts, to empty them of all that is opposed to Him.
In today’s Gospel, we hear more about humble hearts:

They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he would not have any one know it; for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of man will be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him; and when he is killed, after three days he will rise.” But they did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to ask him. And they came to Caper’na-um; and when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” But they were silent; for on the way they had discussed with one another who was the greatest. And he sat down and called the twelve; and he said to them, “If any one would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” And he took a child, and put him in the midst of them; and taking him in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.” (Mark 9: 30 – 37)

 

[tawny]

Praying with all.

 

[MariaChristi]

Praying with all.

Thanks, tawny,

How very important prayer is for all of us! It is like oxygen in the life of any Christian; it is our relationship with God. I like St. John Vianney’s definition of prayer: “Prayer is nothing other than union with God”. May we continue drawing closer to Him through our Mother Mary.