"In answer to her prayer..."

[MariaChristi]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

On this First Saturday of August, we return to St. Louis de Montfort’s treatise on “True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin”. As the First Friday Devotions in the Church were revealed to St. Margaret Mary by Christ, so was the First Saturday Devotion revealed to Sister Lucia of Fatima. Both apparitions of Jesus were asking from us reparation: First to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and secondly to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. (Jesus and Mary both appeared to Sister Lucia asking for reparation to the Immaculate Heart in 1925 in Spain)

This series of posts on listening to the treatise on “True Devotion” is intended to help us all to open our hearts to become more docile to the Holy Spirit, given to bring us into All Truth. As Jesus came to us through Mary the first time, so He continues to come to us, by the power of the Holy Spirit, through Mary. May God grant us His Grace to open the “ears of our hearts” to hear the wisdom God gave to Saint Louis de Montfort as we continue to listen to the next paragraph in his Introduction:

1. In answer to her prayers to remain hidden, poor and lowly, God was pleased to conceal her from nearly every other human creature in her conception, her birth, her life, her mysteries, her resurrection and assumption. Her own parents did not really know her; and the angels would often ask one another, “Who can she possibly be?”, for God had hidden her from them, or if he did reveal anything to them, it was nothing compared with what he withheld.

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your faithful, as you filled the heart of Mary. Enable us to pray with her that we may become meek and humble of Heart as Jesus told His Disciples: “Learn of Me for I am Meek and Humble of Heart,”

 

[patricius79]

Thanks, MariaChristi, for sharing this from True Devotion to Mary. It’s wonderful how she is who is so much holier than all the angels and saints together, since she is the worth Mother of God, has such humility that she doesn’t despise us, but rather is so full of love for each of us.

So to be close to Mary, we need to pray to her for the grace to practice her meekness and humility and love of the crosses God sends, like humiliation and suffering.

In “The Admirable Heart of Mary”, by St. John Eudes, Eudes says that Mary humility gave her a passionate love for suffering and humiliation. And he says, also:

All the greatness of the Blessed Virgin was accomplished by the humility of her most holy
Heart. From the first to the last moment of her life, her humility never ceased to invoke and draw
upon her grace after grace, perfection after perfection, holiness upon holiness, until it brought her
to the summit of the grace and holiness that next to that of Christ ever was or shall be greatest among men. As St. Bernard puts it: “It was just that she who considered herself the least of creatures, even though she was above all others, should have been honored as the worthiest and holiest of all.” (3)
Full text of "The Admirable Heart Of Mary by St John Eudes"

 

[halogirl]

Mother Mary pray for us xx

 

[MariaChristi]

Dear halogirl,

Thanks for your “heart” and for your sweet and simple prayer to our Mother today, on this first Saturday of the Month dedicated to her Immaculate Heart. I hope you will keep her company today and pray her Rosary. Here is a brief excerpt from an account of the apparition of Jesus and Mary appeared to Sister Lucia in i925:

Lucia was a postulant in the Convent of St. Dorothy in Pontevedra, Spain when she had the apparition of our Blessed Mother. She was standing over a cloud of light with the Child Jesus at her side. The Blessed Virgin put one hand on Lucia’s shoulder, while her other hand sustained her Immaculate Heart that was surrounded with thorns. The Child Jesus said: “Have compassion on the Heart of your Blessed Mother. It is surrounded with thorns that ungrateful men pierce each moment, and there is no one that is willing to offer an act of reparation to take the thorns away.”

Our Lady immediately said to Lucia: “Look, my daughter. My Heart is surrounded with thorns that ungrateful men pierce unceasingly with their blasphemies and ingratitude. You, at least, try to console me and announce that for all those, who for five consecutive first Saturdays, confess, receive Holy Communion, pray the Holy Rosary and accompany me for15 minutes by meditating the mysteries of the Holy Rosary with the intention to do reparation, I promise to assist them at the hour of death with the graces needed for salvation.”

Even if we are unable to fulfill all the requirements of the First Saturday Devotion, we can console Mary our Mother with our love and pray her Rosary.

 

[MariaChristi]

Thanks patricius for your “heart” as well as your reply. The quote from St. John Eudes is a beautiful one.

In reading the first few words of paragraph #3 from “True Devotion”, Mary’s profound humility shines out to me as in that first sentence:

In answer to her prayers to remain hidden, poor and lowly, God was pleased to conceal her…

How unworldly, our Mother is. She lived in the world but never was “of the world”. Her loving awe in the presence of God as she experienced Him in her Immaculate Heart only made her more humble for she knew He had regard for her “lowliness”.

 

[patricius79]

Yes, she is so different from the world.

She is entirely humble and trusting in God, and full of charity. God knows that we cannot, of ourselves, be humble, trusting, or merciful. So He gave us Mary so that we could humble ourselves, trust, and love with her own Immaculate Heart.

P.S. A question: What does St. Louis mean when he says that Mary wanted to be unknown to herself, hidden from herself?

 

[MariaChristi]

Dear patricius,

In answer to your question:

P.S. A question: What does St. Louis mean when he says that Mary wanted to be unknown to herself, hidden from herself?

It seems to me St. Louis is pondering Mary’s desire, her willingness to put all her attention on God. Mary was conceived free of the original sin and so her pure heart sought God above all.

There is a human tendency in us, as a result of original sin that we can tend more toward self – thinking so much about ourselves, and often thinking so little about God. I wonder if Adam and Eve had been more mindful of God and His Word to them not to eat of that one tree in the Garden, would they have listened to the serpent? They listened and believed his lies, and we inherited the consequences.

Mary’s pure heart and soul were never opposed to God – her prayers were focused on His Will and not on herself. To be hidden from herself, seems to me a way to say Mary wanted to be hidden in God. She expresses that in her canticle:

“My soul magnifies the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God, my Savior. He looks on His servant in her lowliness…”

St. Louis may want us to ponder how we might pray in a similar way, that we might think more of God and less of ourselves. We are called to holiness by our baptism into Christ. Let us keep keep asking the Holy Spirit to bring us into all truth, that we might learn to be meek and humble of heart.

Hope that helps a bit.