Mar.10 - Wk 1- Day 7 - "to acquire knowledge of ourselves and sorrow for sin"

[MariaChristi]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

God willing tomorrow we begin Week 2 - “to acquire an understanding of the Blessed Virgin”. Today, helping us to open ourselves to “self-knowledge and sorrow for our sins”, St. Louis encourages us to “Behold our Mother” who is our Model also.

…Through her, Jesus came to us; through her we should go to him…She is kind, she is tender, and there is nothing harsh or forbidding about her, nothing too sublime or too brilliant. When we see her, we see our own human nature at its purest. …

She is so full of love that no one who asks for her intercession is rejected, no matter how sinful he may be. The saints say that it has never been known since the world began that anyone had recourse to our Blessed Lady, with trust and perseverance, and was rejected. … — From True Devotion, paragraph 85

St. Louis reminds however:

1. It is very difficult, considering our weakness and frailty, to keep the graces and treasures we have received from God.

1. We carry this treasure, which is worth more than heaven and earth, in fragile vessels, that is, in a corruptible body and in a weak and wavering soul which requires very little to depress and disturb it.

1. 2. The evil spirits, cunning thieves that they are, can take us by surprise and rob us of all we possess. They are watching day and night for the right moment. They roam incessantly seeking to devour us and to snatch from us in one brief moment of sin all the grace and merit we have taken years to acquire. Their malice and their experience, their cunning and their numbers ought to make us ever fearful of such a misfortune happening to us. People, richer in grace and virtue, more experienced and advanced in holiness than we are, have been caught off their guard and robbed and stripped of everything. …

What has brought about this unexpected reverse? Not the lack of grace, for this is denied no one. It was a lack of humility; they considered themselves stronger and more self-sufficient than they really were. They thought themselves well able to hold on to their treasures. They believed their house secure enough and their coffers strong enough to safeguard their precious treasure of grace. It was because of their unconscious reliance on self - although it seemed to them that they were relying solely on the grace of God - that the most just Lord left them to themselves and allowed them to be despoiled. If they had only known of the wonderful devotion that I shall later explain, they would have entrusted their treasure to Mary, the powerful and faithful Virgin. She would have kept it for them as if it were her own possession and even have considered that trust an obligation of justice.

May the Holy Spirit bring us to All Truth.
Litany of the Holy Spirit is found HERE

Litany of the Blessed Virgin - HERE

Ave Maris Stella - HERE

 

[sevenswords]

While contemplating Mary last week, it struck me that Mary Our Blessed Mother given to us by Christ was in all Humility putting back the fruit onto the tree that Eve took from the tree in disobedience, to bring life to the world as apposed to Eve who brought death.
Effectively Mary’s role was to undo Eves role as mother of all flesh, and become Mother of all Spirit, hence the devil went to wage war on the rest of her children. Unlike Eve, Mary is all powerful and a protective Mother. Love her dearly and she will pour graces from the side of her son to get us all to Heaven.
God Bless and I wish you well in your journey.

 

[MariaChristi]

Dear sevenswords,

Thanks so much for your reply. Yes, In Chapter 12 of the Book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible, we hear the Lord telling us, as He did in Genesis , the first book of the Bible of devil’s “enmity” against Mary – such that he now he wages war against her children:

"…woe to you, earth and sea, for the Devil has come down to you in great fury, for he knows he has but a short time.” When the dragon saw that it had been thrown down to the earth, it pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle, so that she could fly to her place in the desert, where, far from the serpent, she was taken care of for a year, two years, and a half-year. The serpent, however, spewed a torrent of water out of his mouth after the woman to sweep her away with the current. But the earth helped the woman and opened its mouth and swallowed the flood that the dragon spewed out of its mouth. Then the dragon became angry with the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring, those who keep God’s commandments and bear witness to Jesus. It took its position on the sand of the sea. (Rev 12: 12 - 18)

The Fathers of the Church have called Mary the “New Eve” for Mary is the Model of the Church – the Bride of Christ. There are so many beautiful references to Mary in Scripture. The more we listen to God’s Word and ponder all Jesus said and did, keeping all these things in our hearts as Mary did, the more we begin to understand by the power of His Holy Spirit.

If you have never made this 33 Day Journey, found in St. Louis de Montfort’s little treatise on"True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin" I encourage you to read from it using the link for the online version or purchase a copy – it is not expensive in paperback. It has been a great blessing for me and for many. Each time I have made this journey, I’ve learned more. How grateful I am to my High School religion teacher (who was also the Spiritual director of our Legion of Mary) for introducing us to St. Louis de Montfort and inviting us to Consecrate ourselves totally to Jesus through Mary ! Total Consecration is one of the great blessings in my life.

 

[hazcompat]

Abandonment to Divine Providence
Jean-Pierre de Causade

SECTION VII.—The Hidden Work of Divine Love.

What great truths are hidden even from Christians who imagine themselves most enlightened! How many are there amongst them who understand that every cross, every action, every attraction according to the designs of God, give God to us in a way that nothing can better explain than a comparison with the most august mystery? Nevertheless there is nothing more certain. Does not reason as well as faith reveal to us the real presence of divine love in all creatures, and in all the events of life, as indubitably as the words of Jesus Christ and of the Church reveal the real presence of the sacred flesh of our Savior under the Eucharistic species? Do we not know that by all creatures, and by every event the divine love desires to unite us to Himself, that He has ordained, arranged, or permitted everything about us, everything that happens to us with a view to this union?

Peace

 

[MariaChristi]

Thanks, hazcompat, for another “gem” of a quote, from another great spiritual writer.

Not too long ago, I re-read “Abandonment to Divine Providence” by de Causade and was blessed by it again. It reminds me so much of Rom… 8:28:

We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose.

The consequences of original sin have left us with “darkened intellects and weakened wills”, so often we complicate things for ourselves and obscure the Love of God – Who is seeking us far more than we realize.

St. John of the Cross wrote:

The soul is wearied and fatigued by its desires… the (desires) disturb it, allowing it not to rest in any place or in any thing soever… the desires and indulgence in them all cause it greater emptiness and hunger.

Yes, the Supernatural Faith received in Baptism, grows with Hope and Divine Charity.
By God’s Grace we are intended to grow in holiness as we continue our journey on earth, Believing in Him, Hoping in Him, Loving Him above all and loving all others because of our Love for Him. Week 2 on our journey urges us to seek knowledge of Mary in whom we see such beauty! Her “Yes” – “Be it Done to me…” needs to echo in us that we may be united with God in the perfection of Charity.

 

[MariaChristi]

Dear Francis and lilypadrees,

Thanks for your “hearts” again! I was so blessed by St. Louis’ words in this post for the last day of Wk 1:

1. It is very difficult, considering our weakness and frailty, to keep the graces and treasures we have received from God.

1. We carry this treasure, which is worth more than heaven and earth, in fragile vessels, that is, in a corruptible body and in a weak and wavering soul which requires very little to depress and disturb it.

1. 2. The evil spirits, cunning thieves that they are, can take us by surprise and rob us of all we possess. They are watching day and night for the right moment. They roam incessantly seeking to devour us and to snatch from us in one brief moment of sin all the grace and merit we have taken years to acquire. Their malice and their experience, their cunning and their numbers ought to make us ever fearful of such a misfortune happening to us. People, richer in grace and virtue, more experienced and advanced in holiness than we are, have been caught off their guard and robbed and stripped of everything. …

What has brought about this unexpected reverse? Not the lack of grace, for this is denied no one. It was a lack of humility; they considered themselves stronger and more self-sufficient than they really were. They thought themselves well able to hold on to their treasures. They believed their house secure enough and their coffers strong enough to safeguard their precious treasure of grace. It was because of their unconscious reliance on self - although it seemed to them that they were relying solely on the grace of God - that the most just Lord left them to themselves and allowed them to be despoiled. If they had only known of the wonderful devotion that I shall later explain, they would have entrusted their treasure to Mary, the powerful and faithful Virgin. She would have kept it for them as if it were her own possession and even have considered that trust an obligation of justice.