Mar. 23 - Wk 3 - Day 6 - "seek to understand Jesus better"

[MariaChristi]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Let us ponder together on these last 2 days of our journey: paragraphs 61 and 62 from “True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin”

1. Jesus, our Saviour, true God and true man must be the ultimate end of all our other devotions; otherwise they would be false and misleading. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and end of everything. "We labour," says St. Paul, "only to make all men perfect in Jesus Christ."

For in Him alone dwells the entire fullness of the divinity and the complete fullness of grace, virtue and perfection. In Him alone we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing; He is the only teacher from whom we must learn; the only Lord on whom we should depend; the only Head to whom we should be united and the only model that we should imitate. He is the only Physician that can heal us; the only Shepherd that can feed us; the only Way that can lead us; the only Truth that we can believe; the only Life that can animate us. He alone is everything to us and He alone can satisfy all our desires.

We are given no other name under heaven by which we can be saved. God has laid no other foundation for our salvation, perfection and glory than Jesus. Every edifice which is not built on that firm rock, is founded upon shifting sands and will certainly fall sooner or later. Every one of the faithful who is not united to Him is like a branch broken from the stem of the vine. It falls and withers and is fit only to be burnt. If we live in Jesus and Jesus lives in us, we need not fear damnation. Neither angels in heaven nor men on earth, nor devils in hell, no creature whatever can harm us, for no creature can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. Through Him, with Him and in Him, we can do all things and render all honor and glory to the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit; we can make ourselves perfect and be for our neighbor a fragrance of eternal life.

1. If then we are establishing sound devotion to our Blessed Lady, it is only in order to establish devotion to our Lord more perfectly, by providing a smooth but certain way of reaching Jesus Christ. If devotion to our Lady distracted us from our Lord, we would have to reject it as an illusion of the devil. But this is far from being the case. As I have already shown and will show again later on, this devotion is necessary, simply and solely because it is a way of reaching Jesus perfectly, loving Him tenderly, and serving Him faithfully.

Let us pray to Jesus through Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit, now:

Litany of the Holy Spirit: see HERE

Ave Maris Stella: see HERE

Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus: see HERE

 

[hazcompat]

REDEMPTORIS MATER

1. Later, a little further along this way of the “obedience of faith,” Mary hears other words: those uttered by Simeon in the Temple of Jerusalem. It was now forty days after the birth of Jesus when, in accordance with the precepts of the Law of Moses, Mary and Joseph “brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord” (Lk. 2:22). The birth had taken place in conditions of extreme poverty. We know from Luke that when, on the occasion of the census ordered by the Roman authorities, Mary went with Joseph to Bethlehem, having found “no place in the inn,” she gave birth to her Son in a stable and “laid him in a manger” (cf. Lk. 2:7).
   A just and God-fearing man, called Simeon, appears at this beginning of Mary’s “journey” of faith. His words, suggested by the Holy Spirit (cf. Lk. 2:25-27), confirm the truth of the Annunciation. For we read that he took up in his arms the child to whom-in accordance with the angel’s commandthe name Jesus was given (cf. Lk. 2:21). Simeon’s words match the meaning of this name, which is Savior: “God is salvation.” Turning to the Lord, he says: “For my eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel” (Lk. 2:30-32). At the same time, however, Simeon addresses Mary with the following words: “Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against, that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed”; and he adds with direct reference to her: “and a sword will pierce through your own soul also” (cf. Lk. 2:34-35). Simeon’s words cast new light on the announcement which Mary had heard from the angel: Jesus is the Savior, he is “a light for revelation” to mankind. Is not this what was manifested in a way on Christmas night, when the shepherds come to the stable (cf. Lk. 2:8-20)? Is not this what was to be manifested even more clearly in the coming of the Magi from the East (cf. Mt. 2:1-12)? But at the same time, at the very beginning of his life, the Son of Mary, and his Mother with him, will experience in themselves the truth of those other words of Simeon: “a sign that is spoken against”
   (Lk. 2:34). Simeon’s words seem like a second Annunciation to Mary, for they tell her of the actual historical situation in which the Son is to accomplish his mission, namely, in misunderstanding and sorrow. While this announcement on the one hand confirms her faith in the accomplishment of the divine promises of salvation, on the other hand it also reveals to her that she will have to live her obedience of faith in suffering, at the side of the suffering Savior, and that her motherhood will be mysterious and sorrowful. Thus, after the visit of the Magi who came from the East, after their homage (“they fell down and worshipped him”) and after they had offered gifts (cf. Mt. 2:11), Mary together with the child has to flee into Egypt in the protective care of Joseph, for “Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him” (cf. Mt. 2:13). And until the death of Herod they will have to remain in Egypt (cf. Mt. 2:15).

 

[MariaChristi]

Dear KBS and Stephie,

Thank you both for your “Faith-full” hearts, as we come to the conclusion of our Journey toward the “Total Consecration of ourselves to Jesus through Mary” on Mar. 25 – either for the first time or for the renewal of our Consecration made in the past.

When I look back on my first time praying the Act of Consecration to Jesus through Mary, I am certain it was God’s Will for me then, and my continual renewal by God’s Grace, convinces me even more, it is His Gift to me and to all who seek Him… Hopefully in this 33 Day Journey in Preparation, by God’s Grace, we each have been experiencing the Infinite Goodness of God in giving Mary to us. In Consecrating ourselves totally to Jesus through Mary on Mar. 25 - may we experience – ALL our hearts can hold of Jesus through Mary!

 

[MariaChristi]

Thanks again, hazcompat, for your posting quotes from St. JPII’s Encyclical on the Mother of the Redeemer. We cannot really understand Jesus better without looking to His Mother Mary.

As I read paragraph 16, I pondered especially the trials Mary experienced in her life after the Annunciation and her “yes” to God. Difficult as they were for her, she remained humbly and faithfully The Lord’s Handmaid.

Especially, does Pope St. JPII help us see how Mary’s “obedience of faith” was lived at the side of her Suffering Savior. These are words important for us to hear in conjunction with the words Jesus spoke to Mary and to John on Calvary:

“Woman behold your Son” - Jn 19:26

“Behold your Mother” - Jn 19: 27

We need to keep pondering those words in our hearts as we seek to understand Jesus better. His Love for Mary and for all of us is so manifest in His words. He gave us to Mary in the person of John, and in John we all receive her as our Mother. How much she loves us is more than we can even imagine – for she has received so much love from Him for us!

For our own part, how much do we love our Mother Mary? Do we receive her into our lives as John did? Are we grateful to God for such a gift as Mary? Hopefully we are growing closer to Jesus through Mary.

Please let us continue to pray for one another, for the Church, the world and all those in most need of God’s Mercy .