Mar. 21- Wk 3 - Day 4 - "Seek to understand Jesus better!

[MariaChristi]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Today’s Mass Readings, are so good for us to hear. You can read them HERE. If we are seeking truly to understand Jesus better, we need to remember first of all, He is the Incarnate Word of God conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Scripture reveals Him to us if we will do as Mary did and LISTEN to all Jesus said and did, pondering all in our hearts, that we may learn to do the Truth we hear. Jesus told us:

… 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.” (Mt 11: 2)

Both the Old and New Testament Readings for Mass today, reveal the Heart of Jesus who is God’s Incarnate Word; Hosea encourages us in the Old Testament:

…Let us know, let us strive to know the LORD…

…it is love that I desire, not sacrifice,
and knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

And in today’s Gospel, we hear:

Jesus addressed this parable
> to those who were convinced of their own righteousness
> and despised everyone else.
“Two people went up to the temple area to pray;
one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector.
The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself,
‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity —
greedy, dishonest, adulterous — or even like this tax collector.
I fast twice a week,
and I pay tithes on my whole income.’
But the tax collector stood off at a distance
and would not even raise his eyes to heaven
but beat his breast and prayed,
‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’
I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former;
for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled,
> and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Let us humbly pray:

Litany of the Holy Spirit: see HERE

Ave Maris Stella: see HERE

Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus: see HERE

Lord, through the intercession of Mary, Mother of the Church and St. Louis de Montfort to whom you gave such grace to write his treatise on True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, help us to understand Jesus better as we come closer to the end of our journey.

 

[hazcompat]

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

1. Mary’s faith can also be compared to that of Abraham, whom St. Paul calls “our father in faith” (cf. Rom. 4:12). In the salvific economy of God’s revelation, Abraham’s faith constitutes the beginning of the Old Covenant; Mary’s faith at the Annunciation inaugurates the New Covenant. Just as Abraham “in hope believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations” (cf. Rom. 4:18), so Mary, at the Annunciation, having professed her virginity (“How shall this be, since I have no husband?”) believed that through the power of the Most High, by the power of the Holy Spirit, she would become the Mother of God’s Son in accordance with the angel’s revelation: “The child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God” (Lk. 1:35). However, Elizabeth’s words “And blessed is she who believed” do not apply only to that particular moment of the Annunciation. Certainly the Annunciation is the culminating moment of Mary’s faith in her awaiting of Christ, but it is also the point of departure from which her whole “journey towards God” begins, her whole pilgrimage of faith. And on this road, in an eminent and truly heroic manner- indeed with an ever greater heroism of faith-the “obedience” which she professes to the word of divine revelation will be fulfilled. Mary’s “obedience of faith” during the whole of her pilgrimage will show surprising similarities to the faith of Abraham. Just like the Patriarch of the People of God, so too Mary, during the pilgrimage of her filial and maternal fiat, “in hope believed against hope.” Especially during certain stages of this journey the blessing granted to her “who believed” will be revealed with particular vividness. To believe means “to abandon oneself” to the truth of the word of the living God, knowing and humbly recognizing “how unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways” (Rom. 11:33). Mary, who by the eternal will of the Most High stands, one may say, at the very center of those “inscrutable ways” and “unsearchable judgments” of God, conforms herself to them in the dim light of faith, accepting fully and with a ready heart everything that is decreed in the divine plan.

 

[MariaChristi]

Dear KBS, patricius and Stephie,

Thanks so much for your “faith-full” hearts, in continuing on the journey. Most of all, thank you for your love of Jesus and Mary which urges you to persevere.

The humility of Jesus continues to give us God’s Grace as we listen to His words in Scripture. How can we not come closer to Jesus and understand Him better when He continues to love us so much? Mary His Mother knew Him better than any other human person; let us cast ourselves into her mould that she might teach us to know Him more!

 

[MariaChristi]

Thanks hazcompat, for continuing to post from Pope St. John Paul II’s Encyclical. Since, this week, we are seeking to understand Jesus better, it is a blessing to read these words from paragraph 14:

… To believe means “to abandon oneself” to the truth of the word of the living God, knowing and humbly recognizing “how unsearchable are His judgments and how inscrutable His ways” (Rom. 11:33). Mary, who by the eternal will of the Most High stands, one may say, at the very center of those “inscrutable ways” and “unsearchable judgments” of God, conforms herself to them in the dim light of faith, accepting fully and with a ready heart everything that is decreed in the divine plan.

How important it is for us to stand with Mary at the Cross strong in faith: “to abandon oneself”
to the truth of the word of the living God, knowing and humbly recognizing “how unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways”!