"Immaculate Heart of Mary as Perfect Custodian of the Human Heart"

[MariaChristi]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Yesterday, I read a really good article in the online magazine "Homiletic and Pastoral Review, entitled, “The Immaculate Heart of Mary as Perfect Custodian of the Human Heart”. It was written by a layman and he touches on some beautiful ways to better appreciate and emultate Mary. Here is an excerpt:

Showing us a disposition to be acquired, as well as admired.

Can anyone doubt that we live in times of great moral danger, perhaps as great as at any time in human history? Any recitation of grave evils in the world need go no further than abortion, but pervasive pornography, the rejection of natural sexuality, the refusal to have children, materialism, the dismissal of the family, the distractions of modern life, drugs, etc., are all profoundly and negatively influential. All of them present us with grave temptations that cling to our attempts to rise above these destructive influences, and live the holy, ordinary life to which we have been called. But we are not left orphans. Our Heavenly Mother, the unfailing Mediator of Grace, provides us both an intercessor with unique access to the Lord, as well as an unfailing model of virtuous life which we can emulate.

This essay presents what seems to the author like an under-appreciated perspective relative to our devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Her great privileges in the Divine plan for humankind almost seem to overshadow her virtuous exercise of freedom. It is that active virtuous pursuit of God’s Holy Will that presents us with an ideal which is based in the human condition. In her wisdom, she always kept evil at a distance. What God made possible, Mary made a reality under the influence of Grace. She was a perfect custodian of her human heart…

Full article can be read HERE

Hopefully you will find time to read and ponder the author’s tender devotion to Mary and his insights into Mary’s “virtuous exercise of freedom”. In some ways it reminded me of St. Therese of Lisieux’s “little way” in which she saw how ordinary things can be done in extraordinary ways when done in union with Jesus and Mary. It is a important for Catholics especially, need to see Mary as our Mother and Model. Mary is all we are called to be – and the world needs to see us living as Mary did, following Jesus in the virtuous exercise of our own freedom, given to us by God.

Mary, Mother of the Church, pray for us.
Immaculate Heart of Mary, perfect human model for us as we follow Jesus, pray for us.

 

[Dorothy]

Dear MariaChristi,

I hope and pray that more and more people come to know about the role of Our Blessed Mother!

Thank you for continuing to post great articles.

Peace in Jesus and Mary,

Dorothy

 

[MariaChristi]

Dear MariaChristi,

I hope and pray that more and more people come to know about the role of Our Blessed Mother!

Thank you for continuing to post great articles.

Peace in Jesus and Mary,

Dorothy

Dear Dorothy,

Yes, I join you in your hope and prayer that more people come to know and understand more deeply the unique role Mary has been given by God. I’m currently reading the encyclical of St. John Paul II, “Redemptoris Mater” and am continually being blessed to learn more from the wisdom God gave God St. JPII for the Church. I’m trying to read and ponder it slowly.

In this encyclical especially, he focuses on Mary’s own “pilgrimage of faith” throughout her life – that we may understand better how she is truly Mother and Model for us.

 

[Dorothy]

Dear Dorothy,

Yes, I join you in your hope and prayer that more people come to know and understand more deeply the unique role Mary has been given by God. I’m currently reading the encyclical of St. John Paul II, “Redemptoris Mater” and am continually being blessed to learn more from the wisdom God gave God St. JPII for the Church. I’m trying to read and ponder it slowly.

In this encyclical especially, he focuses on Mary’s own “pilgrimage of faith” throughout her life – that we may understand better how she is truly Mother and Model for us.

What you said above made me think of the Bible Study I took called “Mary…A Biblical Walk with the Blessed Mother”. It was part of “The Great Adventure Foundational Series” and lasted for eight weeks. We had a workbook with beautiful pictures and scripture reading assignments, and at each weekly two-hour session we shared the responses to the questions. A facilitator caused all to run smoothly and she herself was taking the study also and shared in the discussion as well.

After the discussion we watched a DVD of significant places in the Holy Land, and narrated by Edward Sri an excellent speaker about Our Lady.

“The Great Adventure” series has many other subjects as well, some of them lasting for 24 weeks. I was very glad I took advantage of most of them. You may have heard of it.

In Jesus and Mary,

Dorothy

 

[MariaChristi]

What you said above made me think of the Bible Study I took called “Mary…A Biblical Walk with the Blessed Mother”. It was part of “The Great Adventure Foundational Series” and lasted for eight weeks. We had a workbook with beautiful pictures and scripture reading assignments, and at each weekly two-hour session we shared the responses to the questions. A facilitator caused all to run smoothly and she herself was taking the study also and shared in the discussion as well.

After the discussion we watched a DVD of significant places in the Holy Land, and narrated by Edward Sri an excellent speaker about Our Lady.

“The Great Adventure” series has many other subjects as well, some of them lasting for 24 weeks. I was very glad I took advantage of most of them. You may have heard of it.

In Jesus and Mary,
Dorothy

Dear Dorothy,

Thanks for your reply. Yes, I’ve heard of it and participated in similar Bible Studies. There are many opportunities for Catholics to grow in the knowledge of their Faith and I continue to hope more Pastors will encourage the laity to take advantage of all the different opportunities available.

If you read the article I linked in this post, you may have been surprised by the breadth of experience the author has and the huge family he has raised. Some persons claim they do not have time for adult Faith Formation but it is alsways amazing to me how some people can “make time” for waht is truly worthwhile. In this case, certainly the author heard Jesus’ words deeply: “Behold your Mother” and he obeyed, taking our Blessed Mother into his life.

By God’s Grace, may we do whatever we can, in the time we have, to share God’s Good News!

 

[Dorothy]

Dear Dorothy,

Thanks for your reply. Yes, I’ve heard of it and participated in similar Bible Studies. There are many opportunities for Catholics to grow in the knowledge of their Faith and I continue to hope more Pastors will encourage the laity to take advantage of all the different opportunities available.

If you read the article I linked in this post, you may have been surprised by the breadth of experience the author has and the huge family he has raised. Some persons claim they do not have time for adult Faith Formation but it is alsways amazing to me how some people can “make time” for waht is truly worthwhile. In this case, certainly the author heard Jesus’ words deeply: “Behold your Mother” and he obeyed, taking our Blessed Mother into his life.

By God’s Grace, may we do whatever we can, in the time we have, to share God’s Good News!

Thanks for reminding me about the article by Bernard Collins. I just now read it; he did an excellent job
.I am excited about a spotlight being on Our Lady due to the 100th anniversary of the Fatima apparitions.

In my area there are many special events planned, and I hope it continues in the many months ahead.

Peace,

Dorothy

 

[MariaChristi]

Thanks for reminding me about the article by Bernard Collins. I just now read it; he did an excellent job
.I am excited about a spotlight being on Our Lady due to the 100th anniversary of the Fatima apparitions.

In my area there are many special events planned, and I hope it continues in the many months ahead.

Peace,

Dorothy

Dear Dorothy,

Thanks for reading the article. I hope others will read it as well. I continue to ponder the insights God gave to the author on Mary’s Immaculate Heart being “Perfect Custodian” of the Human Heart".

Jesus said, “Out of the fullness of the heart, the mouth speaks”. When we hear Mary’s words, especially in the Gospel of Luke, by grace we can “see” in faith, a human heart filled with God, and one our own human hearts can emulate. We need the “virtuous exercise of freedom” of which the author speaks.

Was there any particular part of the article that impressed you, Dorothy.? I’m happy you found it to be “an excellent job”, but I’d be interested if you could elaborate a bit. Thanks.

 

[Dorothy]

Dear Dorothy,

Thanks for reading the article. I hope others will read it as well. I continue to ponder the insights God gave to the author on Mary’s Immaculate Heart being “Perfect Custodian” of the Human Heart".

Jesus said, “Out of the fullness of the heart, the mouth speaks”. When we hear Mary’s words, especially in the Gospel of Luke, by grace we can “see” in faith, a human heart filled with God, and one our own human hearts can emulate. We need the “virtuous exercise of freedom” of which the author speaks.

Was there any particular part of the article that impressed you, Dorothy.? I’m happy you found it to be “an excellent job”, but I’d be interested if you could elaborate a bit. Thanks.

In the fourth paragraph that starts with “Many years ago…” Bernard Collins mentions that when he was in Catholic school, the manner in which original sin and its effects were explained in a much clearer way to the young children. He added that the Catholic ideal of a pure heart was explained better also. I agree very much with that.

He also states that besides learning about Mary’s privileges, it is also important to focus on emulating her heroic virtue of “custody of the heart”.

It is good that he pointed out that the sacrament of marriage is not less than choosing virginity. Marriage too is a high calling.

My own comment about marriage is that it needs much more preparation than it is getting today.

Peace,

Dorothy

 

[MariaChristi]

In the fourth paragraph that starts with “Many years ago…” Bernard Collins mentions that when he was in Catholic school, the manner in which original sin and its effects were explained in a much clearer way to the young children. He added that the Catholic ideal of a pure heart was explained better also. I agree very much with that.

He also states that besides learning about Mary’s privileges, it is also important to focus on emulating her heroic virtue of “custody of the heart”.

It is good that he pointed out that the sacrament of marriage is not less than choosing virginity. Marriage too is a high calling.

My own comment about marriage is that it needs much more preparation than it is getting today.

Peace,

Dorothy

Dear Dorothy,

Thanks so much for taking time to share your thoughts on this article. My thoughts were very similar. Especially, was I also grateful for the author’s comments on the Sacrament of Matrimony.

It is a very high calling. It was, in a certain sense, the first sacrament given in the Garden of Paradise. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches:

1603 “The intimate community of life and love which constitutes the married state has been established by the Creator and endowed by him with its own proper laws… God himself is the author of marriage.” The vocation to marriage is written in the very nature of man and woman as they came from the hand of the Creator. Marriage is not a purely human institution despite the many variations it may have undergone through the centuries in different cultures, social structures, and spiritual attitudes. These differences should not cause us to forget its common and permanent characteristics. Although the dignity of this institution is not transparent everywhere with the same clarity, some sense of the greatness of the matrimonial union exists in all cultures. “The well-being of the individual person and of both human and Christian society is closely bound up with the healthy state of conjugal and family life.”

1604 God who created man out of love also calls him to love the fundamental and innate vocation of every human being. For man is created in the image and likeness of God who is Himself love. Since God created him man and woman, their mutual love becomes an image of the absolute and unfailing love with which God loves man. It is good, very good, in the Creator’s eyes. and this love which God blesses is intended to be fruitful and to be realized in the common work of watching over creation: “and God blessed them, and God said to them: ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it.’”

There needs to be much more done by the Church in the Faith Formation of Adults and in helping families to form their children solidly in the Faith into which they were baptized. Every sacrament needs to be well-received in order to be well-lived. May Our Lady of Fatima intercede for all of us, that by the power of the Holy Spirit, the Church may be open to receive all the graces needed to heed her Message at Fatima.