Mar. 20 - Wk 3 - Day 3 - "Seeking to understand Jesus better"

[MariaChristi]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

In today’s Gospel - (Mt 20:17 - 28) we hear Jesus" own words on how to understand Him better:

But Jesus summoned them and said,
“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them,
and the great ones make their authority over them felt.
But it shall not be so among you.
Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.
Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve
and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Especially if we are journeying toward “Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary” we need to see how being a “slave” of Jesus and Mary is truly a perfect renewal of out Baptism, and the way to live and remain in Jesus. In another part of Matthew’s Gospel (Mt. 11: 28 - 30), Jesus tells us also how to understand Him when He says:

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For My yoke is easy, and My burden light."

Let us continue to pray to the Holy Spirit, for Jesus promised He would bring us into ALL Truth. Jesus is our Way, our Truth and our Life! He came to us through Mary, by the power of His Holy Spirit.

Litany of the Holy Spirit HERE
Ave Maris Stella HERE
Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus HERE

 

[hazcompat]

Letter to Friends of the Cross (excerpt)
St. Louis de Monfort
A. Greatness of Your Title
…
3. You call yourselves “Friends of the Cross.” What a glorious title! I must confess that I am charmed and captivated by it. It is brighter than the sun, higher than the heavens, more magnificent and resplendent than all the titles given to kings and emperors. It is the glorious title of Jesus Christ, true God and true man. It is the genuine title of a Christian.
4. But, if I am captivated by its splendour, I am no less frightened by its responsibility, for it is a title that embraces difficult and inescapable obligations, summed up in the words of the Holy Spirit, “A chosen race, a royal priesthood, a people set apart.”
A Friend of the Cross is one chosen by God, from among thousands who live only according to their reason and senses, to be wholly divine, raised above mere reason and completely opposed to material things, living in the light of pure faith, and inspired by a deep love of the Cross.
A Friend of the Cross is an all-powerful king, a champion who triumphs over the devil, the world and the flesh in their three-fold concupiscence. He crushes the pride of Satan by his love of humiliations; he overcomes the greed of the world by his love of poverty; he retrains the sensuality of the flesh by his love of suffering.
A Friend of the Cross is one who is holy and set apart from the things that are visible, for his heart is raised above all that is transient and perishable, and his homeland is in heaven; he travels through this world like a visitor and a pilgrim, and, far from setting his heart on it, he looks on it with indifference and tramples it underfoot with contempt.
A Friend of the Cross is a glorious trophy gained by the crucified Christ on Calvary, in union with his holy Mother. He is a Benoni or Benjamin, a child of sorrow and of the right hand, conceived in the suffering heart of Jesus, born from his pierced side, and baptised in his blood. True to his origin, his life embraces the cross, and death to the world, the flesh, and sin, so as to live here below a life hidden with Christ in God. In short, a perfect Friend of the Cross is a true Christ- bearer, or rather another Christ, so that he can truly say, “I live now not with my own life but with the life of Christ who lives in me.”
…

Peace

 

[MariaChristi]

…A Friend of the Cross is a glorious trophy gained by the crucified Christ on Calvary, in union with his holy Mother. He is a Benoni or Benjamin, a child of sorrow and of the right hand, conceived in the suffering heart of Jesus, born from his pierced side, and baptised in his blood. True to his origin, his life embraces the cross, and death to the world, the flesh, and sin, so as to live here below a life hidden with Christ in God. In short, a perfect Friend of the Cross is a true Christ- bearer, or rather another Christ, so that he can truly say, “I live now not with my own life but with the life of Christ who lives in me.”

Dear hazcompat,

Thanks for replying with that excerpt from St. Louis De Montfort’s “Letter to
Friends of the Cross.” He could be describing himself in many ways for when one reads about St. Louis’ life, one can see how well he practiced what he preached!

I chose the last part of your excerpt to quote it again in my reply to you, for it is the essence of what we are about in this 33 Day Journey of Preparation to Total Consecration – whether for the first time or in renewing it. If we are to pray the words, “I am All Yours” (“Totus Tuus”) and mean those words, then we are willing to give ALL we are, and have. We are, by God’s Grace, called to become as the saints were on this earth, dead to self and alive in Christ.

Only by God’s Grace, for without Him we can do nothing. Jesus knowing our intellects and wills so weakened by the consequences of the original sin, told us from His Cross. “Behold your Mother.” In her we “see” by faith what every member of the Body of Christ is meant to see: a humble servant Who loved God above all and gave herself to Him totally. Standing beneath His Cross on Calvary, she is both Mother and Model for the Church.

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your Faithful. Kindle in us the Fire of Your Love. Make us true friends of the Cross. Mary intercede for us. Jesus we trust in You!