Jesus and Mary are never "outdone in generosity"... Oct. 7 - Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary

[MariaChristi]

On today’s Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, we honor God’s gift of victory to the Church which prayed the Rosary for the outnumbered Christian fleet to win at the Battle of Lepanto.

How appropriate to read St. Louis de Montfort’s encouragement to wage battle against satan and his followers who roam the earth seeking whom they may devour! God promised Jesus would save us from the sinful disobedience of Adam and Eve and come to us through a humble, sinless Mother. Mary is more powerful than satan, because of the fullness of God’s Grace in her – Jesus came to us through Mary.

We continue prayerfully sharing St. Louis’ book, describing how to draw closer to Jesus through Mary by Totally Consecrating ourselves to Them, giving our all:

1. Some may object that this devotion makes us powerless to help the souls of our relatives, friends and benefactors, since it requires us to give our Lord, through Mary, the value of our good works, prayers, penances, and alms-giving.

To them I reply:

(1) It is inconceivable that our friends, relatives and benefactors should suffer any loss because we have dedicated and consecrated ourselves unconditionally to the service of Jesus and Mary; it would be an affront to the power and goodness of Jesus and Mary who will surely come to the aid of our relatives, friends and benefactors whether from our meagre spiritual assets or from other sources.

(2) This devotion does not prevent us from praying for others, both the living and the dead, even though the application of our good works depends on the will of our Blessed Lady. On the contrary, it will make us pray with even greater confidence. Imagine a rich man, who, wanting to show his esteem for a great prince, gives his entire fortune to him. Would not that man have greater confidence in asking the prince to help one of his friends who needed assistance? Indeed the prince would only be too happy to have such an opportunity of proving his gratitude to one who had sacrificed all that he possessed to enrich him, thereby impoverishing himself to do him honour. The same must be said of our Lord and our Lady. They will never allow themselves to be outdone in gratitude.

Come Holy Spirit, enable us to conquer sin by the power of Jesus, living in Mary. Mary Mother and Model for the Church given to us by Jesus on His Cross, pray for us.

 

[0Scarlett_nidiyilii]

Sometimes we fall into the error of thinking that Jesus and Mary are like us, with limited resources (“what will happen to my family if I consecrate my works to J&M?”) or limited intelligence and love (“my family and I are suffering. We need these rosaries I’m praying! ”).

And in our defense, most powerful authority figures we’ve ever known do like to play games with less powerful people and make them make painful choices and dance through hoops.

But we don’t have to fear this with our God or His Angels and Saints

 

[MariaChristi]

Dear OScarlett,

Thanks for your reply, Yes, too often we think God is like just us but He is Infinite and we are finite. We may think Jesus , Who is God , and Mary who is not God but uniquely favored as His Human Mother is completely like us! We forget Jesus is God the Son, Infinite as the Father and Holy Spirit are.

God so loved the World He gave His Son into Mary’s womb by the power of the Holy Spirit, and the Son became Incarnate, assuming a human nature in order to be like us in all things except sin. The Mystery of Jesus’ having both Divine Nature and assuming a Human Nature while remaining God escapes many – if they ever heard this. We believe in The Incarnation by the Supernatural Gift of Faith given at Baptism. However, some still want their own Jesus, imagining Him as they wish Him to be; interpreting all He Jesus says in Scripture according to their likes.

I wouldn’t jump quickly to anyone’s defense, who is “playing games” whether they are authority figures or myself. Jesus told all of us: learn from ME for I am Meek and Humble of Heart. (cf Mt. 11: 29) We need to learn from God’s Revelation: Sacred Scripture. Sacred Tradition and the Magisterium of the Church. When someone speaks from those sources, we need to listen prayerfully and carefully . ( See Catechism of the Catholic Church, Chapter 2, Articles: 1, 2, and 3)

We need to examine ourselves to discern not only the spirit coming from others, but from our human nature as well . We need to seek God’s Truth and discern if what we read or hear truly is coming from The Spirit of God or from the evil spirit, tempting human persons, or from our own human spirit with only it’s “personal opinions on everything” .

You are right: we don’t fear what God revealed through Jesus in His Word or what God revealed through Saints and Doctors of the Church, but we need to pray for the gift of discernment to know how to test the spirits as John’s First letter warns us:

Beloved, do not trust every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they belong to God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world…( see 1 Jn 4 :1-6)

Mary is both Mother and Model for the Church. Mary was given the unique privilege of a sinless human nature in her Immaculate Conception because God chose her to be Mother of His Son, Who told us from His Cross, “Behold your Mother”. (Jn 19:27)

So many (including ourselves) can lead us astray. We need to trust in God as He has revealed Himself and we can trust in His Mother Who is His perfect disciple. Prayer to the Holy Spirit Whom the Father and Son sent to bring us into ALL Truth is so Important! May He help us pray the Rosary today!