Mar. 16 - Wk 2 - Day 6 - "to acquire a better understanding of Mary

[MariaChristi]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

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Today, and tomorrow our last two days seeking “to acquire a better knowledge of Mary,” by God’s Grace, let us continue pondering her principal virtues as St. Louis de Montfort listed them in “True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin”:

1. … true devotion to our Lady is holy, that is, it leads us to avoid sin and to imitate the virtues of Mary. Her ten principal virtues are: deep humility, lively faith, blind obedience, unceasing prayer, constant self-denial, surpassing purity, ardent love, heroic patience, angelic kindness, and heavenly wisdom.

Hearing Jesus’ words, let us beg from Him grace to obey Him:

“Behold your Mother”

Let us do as John did, taking Mary into our lives and see by faith what her Unceasing prayer, Constant self-denial, and Surpassing purity were like on this earth that we may imitate her. God willing tomorrow, may we do the same in pondering the last four virtues.

Come, Holy Spirit, kindle in us the Fire of Your Love. Jesus we trust in You! Mary, Mother of the Church, pray for us. St. Louis de Montfort, pray for us.

Litany of the Holy Spirit: see HERE

Ave Maris Stella: see HERE

5 decades of the Rosary for greater understanding of Mary

 

[MariaChristi]

Dear patricius,

How grateful I am to you and others whose “faith-full” hearts encourage me on this journey! Today as I hear Jesus’ words, deep within my heart:

Behold your Mother

I can “see” by faith, her unceasing prayer, her constant-self denial and her surpassing purity as God reveals her in His Gospels. As I did the breakfast dishes this morning, I was grateful for God’s Grace, to remember Mary at Nazareth and how the eyes of her heart saw by her faith - God’s Love and beauty always at work wherever she might be at any moment in time.

Prayer for any of us can be an imitation of hers if we simply lift our hearts to Him in whatever we do. In paragraph 2558, the Catechism of the Catholic Church quotes St. Therese of Lisieux:

For me, prayer is a surge of the heart;
it is a simple look turned toward heaven,
it is a cry of recognition and of love,
embracing both trial and joy.

What can we say about Mary’s self-denial? It seems to me little St. Therese knew that it was doing little things with great love for God. Like our Mother Mary the “self” was never the center of her attention, as God was her ALL, as she continually opened herself to His Grace.

Mary’s surpassing purity , it seems to me is the purity of her every intention that all might be done in love for God. There were no “mixed motives” as we often find in ourselves. By God’s Grace, let us listen more and more to all the Holy Spirit teaches as He brings us into the fullness of the Truth – Jesus, living in Mary.

 

[MariaChristi]

Dear KBS,

Thank you also for your “faith-full” heart which encourages me and others on our Journey to Total Consecration. How Good God is bringing persons into our lives whom we can help and who can help us!

From the very beginning of His creation, God Who had no beginning but always was and will be Love, knew we would need more than “ourselves”. We hear God in Genesis 2:18, say:

“…It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suited to him…”

The creation of the first woman is then described (cf Gen 2: 21 ff):

So the LORD God cast a deep sleep on the man, and while he was asleep, He took out one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. The Lord God then built the rib that he had taken from the man into a woman. When He brought her to the man, the man said: “This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; This one shall be called ‘woman,’ for out of man this one has been taken…

God knew from the beginning Adam and Eve would fall but God’s Love is so great, He would send Jesus to be the New Adam and Mary to be the New Eve. How grateful we can be for ALL He has done, is doing and will do in Love for us! How important for us to keep our hearts open to receive all He wills to give us in His Love.

 

[MariaChristi]

And thanks to you, also, dear Stephie, for your “faithful heart” ! How beautiful is our Mother Mary, as we continue to “Behold” the Wonderful Things God has done for her, and through her all the wonderful things He continues to do in all the children He has entrusted to her care.

How blessed we are to be pondering her virtues, by God Grace, "to acquire a better understanding of Mary, and to be begging her Son Jesus for His Grace to imitate her and become more like Him. Even as our world is undergoing this time of trial, with many suffering and dying because of the coronavirus, still we can by His Grace, trust in God’s Mercy as Mary did on this earth.

Please let us continue to pray for one another, for the Church, and for all those in most need of His Mercy. Thanks again.

 

[hazcompat]

IOANNES PAULUS PP. II
REDEMPTORIS MATER
On the Blessed Virgin Mary
in the life of the Pilgrim Church

1. If the greeting and the name “full of grace” say all this, in the context of the angel’s
   announcement they refer first of all to the election of Mary as Mother of the Son of God. But at the same time the “fullness of grace” indicates all the supernatural munificence from which Mary benefits by being chosen and destined to be the Mother of Christ. If this election is fundamental for the accomplishment of God’s salvific designs for humanity, and if the eternal choice in Christ and the vocation to the dignity of adopted children is the destiny of everyone, then the election of Mary is wholly exceptional and unique. Hence also the singularity and uniqueness of her place in the mystery of Christ.
   The divine messenger says to her: “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
   And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High” (Lk. 1:30-32). And when the Virgin, disturbed by that extraordinary greeting, asks: “How shall this be, since I have no husband?” she receives from the angel the confirmation and explanation of the preceding words. Gabriel says to her: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God” (Lk. 1:35).
   The Annunciation, therefore, is the revelation of the mystery of the Incarnation at the very
   beginning of its fulfillment on earth. God’s salvific giving of himself and his life, in some way to all

 

[hazcompat]

Continued

creation but directly to man, reaches one of its high points in the mystery of the Incarnation. This is indeed a high point among all the gifts of grace conferred in the history of man and of the universe: Mary is “full of grace,” because it is precisely in her that the Incarnation of the Word, the hypostatic union of the Son of God with human nature, is accomplished and fulfilled. As the Council says, Mary is "the Mother of the Son of God. As a result she is also the favorite daughter of the Father and the temple of the Holy Spirit. Because of this gift of sublime grace, she far surpasses all other creatures, both in heaven and on earth."2

 

[MariaChristi]

Thanks, hazcompat for this quote from Pope St. JPII:

…Mary is "the Mother of the Son of God. As a result she is also the favorite daughter of the Father and the temple of the Holy Spirit. Because of this gift of sublime grace, she far surpasses all other creatures, both in heaven and on earth.

His words so beautifully express the desires of hearts who long – especially on this last day of Wk 2 - of our journey toward Total Consecration - “to acquire a better understanding of Mary”.

I read your post last night, but today on this Feast of St. Patrick and Day 7 of our journey, I’m happy to see how God provides always - the right time for everything good.

 

[hazcompat]

On a personal note: I have been receiving a wonderful consolation of The Holy Spirit as I recite the words “Mother of God” throughout our blessed journey. God is generous beyond description even to a sinner like me.

Peace