Mar. 30 - Continuing to ponder

[MariaChristi]

Having pondered the opening paragraphs of the Consecration Prayer of St. Louis De Montfort, we come today to the “crux” of it:

Hail, then, O immaculate Mary, living tabernacle of the Divinity, where the Eternal Wisdom willed to be hidden and to be adored by angels and by men! Hail, O Queen of Heaven and earth, to whose empire everything is subject which is under God. Hail, O sure refuge of sinners, whose mercy fails no one. Hear the desires which I have of the Divine Wisdom; and for that end receive the vows and offerings which in my lowliness I present to thee.

I, ________________, a faithless sinner, renew and ratify today in thy hands the vows of my Baptism; I renounce forever Satan, his pomps and works; and I give myself entirely to Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Wisdom, to carry my cross after Him all the days of my life, and to be more faithful to Him than I have ever been before.

In the presence of all the heavenly court I choose thee this day for my Mother and Mistress. I deliver and consecrate to thee, as thy slave, my body and soul, my goods, both interior and exterior, and even the value of all my good actions, past, present and future; leaving to thee the entire and full right of disposing of me, and all that belongs to me, without exception, according to thy good pleasure, for the greater glory of God in time and in eternity.

There is still more to this prayer and there is too much here in this excerpt to ponder, today! Perhaps we can continue to ponder this again - God willing – tomorrow.

Today, the first sentence is all I can hold in my own mind and heart and soul to ponder, asking the Holy Spirit for Grace to hear words He gave to St. Louis while remembering Jesus’ Words from His Cross:

“Behold your Mother”

Obeying Jesus as John did, taking Mary into our lives, let us ponder these words of the Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary written by St. Louis de Montfort. Let us ask the Holy Spirit for grace to live the words we pray:

"…Hail, then, O immaculate Mary, living tabernacle of the Divinity, where the Eternal Wisdom willed to be hidden and to be adored by angels and by men!..

 

[hazcompat]

The Glories of Mary
by ST. ALPHONSUS LIGUORI

Have pity on us, then, oh queen of mercy, and give heed to our salvation; neither say to us, oh most holy Virgin, as St. Gregory of Nicomedia would add, that thou canst not aid us because of the multitude of our sins, when thou hast such power and pity that no number of sins can ever surpass it! Nothing resists thy power, since thy Creator and ours, while he honors thee as his mother, considers thy glory as his own, and exulting in it, as a Son, grants thy petitions as if he were discharging an obligation.! By this he means to say, that though Mary is under an infinite obligation to her Son for having elected her to be his mother yet it cannot be denied that the Son also is greatly indebted to his mother for having given him his human nature; whence Jesus, as if to recompense Mary as he ought, while he enjoys this his glory, honors her especially by always graciously listening to her prayers.

How great then should be our confidence in this queen, knowing how powerful she is with God, and at the same time how rich and full of mercy; so much so that there is no one on earth who does not share in the mercies and favors of Mary! This the blessed Virgin herself revealed to St. Bridget: "I am, " she said to her, “the queen of heaven and the mother of mercy; I am the joy of the just, and the gate of entrance for sinners to God; neither is there living on earth a sinner who is so accursed that he is deprived of my compassion; for everyone, if he receives noth ing else through my intercession, receives the grace of being less tempted by evil spirits than he otherwise would be; no one, therefore,” she added, “who is not entirely accursed” (by which is meant the final and irrevocable malediction pro nounced against the damned), “is so entirely cast off by God that he may not return and enjoy his mercy if he invokes my aid. I am called by all the mother of mercy, and truly the mercy of God towards men has made me so merciful towards them.” And then she concluded by saying Therefore he shall be miserable, and for ever miserable in another life, who in this, being able, does not have recourse to me, who am so compassionate to all, and so earnestly desire to aid sinners.

Peace

 

[MariaChristi]

Dear Stephie amd CathF,

Thanks for your “faith-full, loving hearts” prompted by your love for Jesus through Mary. Yesterday I continued to ponder that beautiful sentence from St. Louis de Montfort’s “Act of Total Consecration” and even today, am awestruck by the beauty of those words:

"… Hail, then, O immaculate Mary, living tabernacle of the Divinity, where the Eternal Wisdom willed to be hidden and to be adored by angels and by men !..

Countless times, I have prayed this prayer before – and yet, by God’s Grace, I was so blessed in “seeing” by faith how glorious our Mother is – and is for the Church, for all of us Baptized into the Body of Christ, both Mother and Model! We too are called by God to be "living tabernacles of the Divinity - where the Eternal Wisdom willed to be hidden and to be adored by angels and by men.

Not only do we have the Presence of Jesus in us at Holy Communion time, but from the time of our Baptism the Holy Trinity was infused into our souls so that we might Live a supernatural and not merely a natural life on this earth. Of course His Eucharistic Presence is unique and Marvelous but it is a real Presence which lasts only as long as the species of Bread and Wine remain in our bodies. The Indwelling Presence of the Trinity, however, is an ongoing Life of Grace by which we are called to grow into the full stature of Christ…

We are fed not only by the Bread of the Eucharist - the Resurrected Body and Blood of Jesus truly nourishes us, but we are also fed by the Bread of His Word. Especially diuning this time of “social distancing” and “self isolation” in order not to spread Covid-19, we are not able to participate at Mass except through Live-streaming on TV or if we are privileged in some way to assist at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass offered by a priest in person, somewhere. It seems to me, God is permitting this just so we may appreciate more the gift of His Indwelling Presence.

Holy Mary, Mother of God and our Mother, pray for us that we may keep the “eyes and ears of our hearts” fixed on Him as you did on this earth and continue to do in heaven. Pray for us that we may be like you, “tabernacles of the Divinity!”

 

[MariaChristi]

Dear hazcompat,

Thanks for this quote from St. Alphonsus Ligouri’s great work: “The Glories of Mary”. It is so important for us to help one another to understand the great Gift Mary is to all of God’s Children – perhaps especially to those who may be discouraged by past sins, and continually tempted to despair. St. Alphonsus’ words can encourage anyone who hesitates to cast himself or herself into the loving arms of our Mother of Mercy:

…How great then should be our confidence in this queen, knowing how powerful she is with God, and at the same time how rich and full of mercy; so much so that there is no one on earth who does not share in the mercies and favors of Mary! This the blessed Virgin herself revealed to St. Bridget: "I am, " she said to her, “the queen of heaven and the mother of mercy; I am the joy of the just, and the gate of entrance for sinners to God; neither is there living on earth a sinner who is so accursed that he is deprived of my compassion; for everyone, if he receives noth ing else through my intercession, receives the grace of being less tempted by evil spirits than he otherwise would be; no one, therefore,” she added, “who is not entirely accursed” (by which is meant the final and irrevocable malediction pro nounced against the damned), “is so entirely cast off by God that he may not return and enjoy his mercy if he invokes my aid. I am called by all the mother of mercy, and truly the mercy of God towards men has made me so merciful towards them.” And then she concluded by saying Therefore he shall be miserable, and for ever miserable in another life, who in this, being able, does not have recourse to me, who am so compassionate to all, and so earnestly desire to aid sinners.**

Holy Mary, Mother of God and our Mother, Mother of Mercy, pray for us!