May - Mary's month - are you "present" to her?

[MariaChristi]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I believe we are always “present” to Mary as she is the Mother of the Church given to us from the Cross by Jesus. She is united to Jesus in His intercession for us before the Father. They do not leave us, but we can so easily drift away from them.

Sometimes I wonder: how “present” am I to Jesus living in Mary? He is the Perfect Son, loving her and honoring her in heaven. He is also present within me by grace, yet am I present to Him and to Mary as often as I could be? Or am I too much in myself and like Martha – too “busy about many things”?

May is a good time to examine our own personal devotion to Mary our Mother in the order of Grace. Perhaps you are not being as “present” to Mary as Jesus would have you be. Perhaps the Universal Church is not as “present” to Mary as God desires? I wonder. The University of Dayton has a good website on which I found the following:

…Since medieval times, we have had the combination between Mary and the month of May. Among the earliest witnesses are: Alphonsus X, “el sabio,” King of Castille, Spain (1221-1284) with his “Cantigas de Santa Maria” (“Ben venna Mayo”). Here and elsewhere, both Mary and the month of May are greeted, welcomed and celebrated on specific days in May. Later, the whole month of May became the month of Mary. On each day of this month, special devotions to Mary were organized. This custom originated in Italy (for example: Ferrara, 1784). It was spread widely during the nineteenth century, a century well-known for its monthly devotions (Heart of Jesus in June; Rosary in October).

For more suggestion on how to observe May as “Mary’s month” in a special way, see HERE

O Jesus, living in Mary, come and live in your servants, in the spirit of holiness, in the fullness of your power, in the perfection of your ways, in the truth of your virtues, in the communion of your mysteries. Rule over every adverse power, in your Spirit, for the glory of the Father. Amen. – Prayer of Father Jean Jacques Olier, S.S. (1608-1657)

 

[Googler]

Thank you, sister. The whole month of May is special indeed.
The thought went through my mind of our Blessed Mother in a classroom taking roll call of her children. There are many empty desks, some filing in late, some bright eyed and bushy tailed, some asleep at their desk, some distracted, some disinterested, some poised to take notes, some in deep prayer…
It is vital to ‘be present’ and give her our attention every single day.
To be present to Mary is to remain in Jesus.
I’d highly recommend that everyone find a ‘May Crowning’ event this month and drop everything they are doing to go out of their way and participate.
Do your part each day. Showing up is half the battle.
Strive earnestly forward never turning back!
Keep calm and love the Immaculata.

 

[friardchips]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I believe we are always “present” to Mary as she is the Mother of the Church given to us from the Cross by Jesus. She is united to Jesus in His intercession for us before the Father. They do not leave us, but we can so easily drift away from them.

Sometimes I wonder: how “present” am I to Jesus living in Mary? He is the Perfect Son, loving her and honoring her in heaven. He is also present within me by grace, yet am I present to Him and to Mary as often as I could be? Or am I too much in myself and like Martha – too “busy about many things”?

May is a good time to examine our own personal devotion to Mary our Mother in the order of Grace. Perhaps you are not being as “present” to Mary as Jesus would have you be. Perhaps the Universal Church is not as “present” to Mary as God desires? I wonder. The University of Dayton has a good website on which I found the following:

*…Since medieval times, we have had the combination between Mary and the month of May. Among the earliest witnesses are: Alphonsus X, “el sabio,” King of Castille, Spain (1221-1284) with his “Cantigas de Santa Maria” (“Ben venna Mayo”). Here and elsewhere, both Mary and the month of May are greeted, welcomed and celebrated on specific days in May. Later, the whole month of May became the month of Mary. On each day of this month, special devotions to Mary were organized. This custom originated in Italy (for example: Ferrara, 1784). It was spread widely during the nineteenth century, a century well-known for its monthly devotions (Heart of Jesus in June; Rosary in October). *

For more suggestion on how to observe May as “Mary’s month” in a special way, see HERE

O Jesus, living in Mary, come and live in your servants, in the spirit of holiness, in the fullness of your power, in the perfection of your ways, in the truth of your virtues, in the communion of your mysteries. Rule over every adverse power, in your Spirit, for the glory of the Father. Amen. – Prayer of Father Jean Jacques Olier, S.S. (1608-1657)

Ave Maria!

My favourite CD: ‘Music for Alfonso The Wise - The Dufay Collective’, containing some “Cantigas de Santa Maria”!

 

[UpUpAndAway]

Thank you for posting this food for thought. It is something I pondered continuously while I was in Lourdes over the weekend. My conclusion is that I’m not “present” for Our Lady as I should be, even though the “many things” that keep me “busy” are all activities performed in service to the Church. I often view this service as “grunt work” or “drudgery,” rather than the loving gift of a faithful daughter, as I believe I should look at it (but maybe I’m even wrong about that). How to change this tendency is the big question, and one I will put to my spiritual director the next time I see him.

God bless!

 

[MariaChristi]

Thank you, sister. The whole month of May is special indeed.
The thought went through my mind of our Blessed Mother in a classroom taking roll call of her children. There are many empty desks, some filing in late, some bright eyed and bushy tailed, some asleep at their desk, some distracted, some disinterested, some poised to take notes, some in deep prayer…
It is vital to ‘be present’ and give her our attention every single day.
To be present to Mary is to remain in Jesus.
I’d highly recommend that everyone find a ‘May Crowning’ event this month and drop everything they are doing to go out of their way and participate.
Do your part each day. Showing up is half the battle.
Strive earnestly forward never turning back!
Keep calm and love the Immaculata.

Dear brother in Jesus and Mary,

Good to hear from you again! Ah yes, we are called to enter the “school of Mary” – a phrase used by Pope St. John Paul II. What an honor! Yet, this honor is not “bought”, nor is it based on intellectual ability or any human achievement in the way some elite schools in the world honor their students.

As our Mother, Mary gazes upon us with love and shows us how to “see” with eyes of faith and “seek” with all our minds, hearts, souls, and strength, her Son Jesus, Meek and Humble of Heart. Let us enter the deepest interior of our souls where He dwells and ask Him to help us love Mary as He does.

Mary, praise of the Trinity, help us to become true sons and daughters of God and of you!

 

[MariaChristi]

Ave Maria!

My favourite CD: ‘Music for Alfonso The Wise - The Dufay Collective’, containing some “Cantigas de Santa Maria”!

Dear F.C,

Music is such a gift, isn’t it? It lifts us up and helps us to sing with Mary: “My soul magnifies the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior…” Thanks so much for your reply.

 

[MariaChristi]

Thank you for posting this food for thought. It is something I pondered continuously while I was in Lourdes over the weekend. My conclusion is that I’m not “present” for Our Lady as I should be, even though the “many things” that keep me “busy” are all activities performed in service to the Church. I often view this service as “grunt work” or “drudgery,” rather than the loving gift of a faithful daughter, as I believe I should look at it (but maybe I’m even wrong about that). How to change this tendency is the big question, and one I will put to my spiritual director the next time I see him.

God bless!

Dear UpUpAndAway,

Thanks for your reply. I’ve never been to Lourdes but I believe each time I receive Holy Communion, Mary is especially present (not substantially as Jesus is) but spiritually, as St. Louis de Montfort suggests in his treatise on True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary:

1. After Holy Communion, close your eyes and recollect yourself. Then usher Jesus into the heart of Mary: you are giving him to his Mother who will receive him with great love and give him the place of honour, adore him profoundly, show him perfect love, embrace him intimately in spirit and in truth, and perform many offices for him of which we, in our ignorance, would know nothing.

1. Or, maintain a profoundly humble heart in the presence of Jesus dwelling in Mary. Or be in attendance like a slave at the gate of the royal palace, where the King is speaking with the Queen. While they are talking to each other, with no need of you, go in spirit to heaven and to the whole world, and call upon all creatures to thank, adore and love Jesus and Mary for you. “Come, let us adore.”

1. Or, ask Jesus living in Mary that his kingdom may come upon earth through his holy Mother. Ask for divine Wisdom, divine love, the forgiveness of your sins, or any other grace, but always through Mary and in Mary. Cast a look of reproach upon yourself and say, "Lord, do not look at my sins, let your eyes see nothing in me but the virtues and merits of Mary. "Remembering your sins, you may add, “I am my own worst enemy and I am guilty of all these sins.” Or, “Deliver me from the unjust and deceitful man.” Or again, “Dear Jesus, you must increase in my soul and I must decrease.” “Mary, you must increase in me and I must always go on decreasing.” “O Jesus and Mary, increase in me and increase in others around me.”

1. There are innumerable other thoughts with which the Holy Spirit will inspire you, which he will make yours if you are thoroughly recollected and mortified, and constantly faithful to the great and sublime devotion which I have been teaching you. But remember, the more you let Mary act in your Communion the more Jesus will be glorified. The more you humble yourself and listen to Jesus and Mary in peace and silence - with no desire to see, taste or feel - then the more freedom you will give to Mary to act in Jesus’ name and the more Jesus will act in Mary. For the just man lives everywhere by faith, but especially in Holy Communion, which is an action of faith.

If you have never read this spiritual classic (link given above with the title to online version), you may want to ask your spiritual director about it. Pope St. John Paul II said that reading De Montfort’s “True devotion” was a turning point in his young life.

 

[DesertSister62]

dolindo.org/english/MEDIT…OLY_ROSARY.pdf

“If you let your mind wander,
you are not talking to Me”

Mary speaks to the soul:

When you pray the Rosary, my child, remain near me with all your heart. It is a time for you to converse with your Mother.

When you let your mind wander, you are no longer speaking to me but to the creatures that go through your mind. Every Hail Mary is a flower of your soul and your distractions tear away a petal and then there remains only a thorny stem.

**The mysteries are the perfume of the flower **and if you do not meditate on them, you will have a flower with colors but without fragrance.

Be fervent and loving when you pray the Rosary because without your filial love, the rose you offer to me is artificial. It is a paper flower.

(From a letter of Father Dolindo Ruotolo to Msgr. Giacomo Cicconardi, Naples, Italy Oct.1,1959)

 

[MariaChristi]

dolindo.org/english/MEDIT…OLY_ROSARY.pdf

“If you let your mind wander,
you are not talking to Me”

Mary speaks to the soul:

When you pray the Rosary, my child, remain near me with all your heart. It is a time for you to converse with your Mother.

When you let your mind wander, you are no longer speaking to me but to the creatures that go through your mind. Every Hail Mary is a flower of your soul and your distractions tear away a petal and then there remains only a thorny stem.

**The mysteries are the perfume of the flower **and if you do not meditate on them, you will have a flower with colors but without fragrance.

Be fervent and loving when you pray the Rosary because without your filial love, the rose you offer to me is artificial. It is a paper flower.

(From a letter of Father Dolindo Ruotolo to Msgr. Giacomo Cicconardi, Naples, Italy Oct.1,1959)

Dear DesertSister,

Thanks for your reply. You may want to re-check your link. I clicked on it but got this message:

404 - File or directory not found.
The resource you are looking for might have been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable.

Yes, in any prayer, and especially perhaps in praying the Rosary, we battle against the distractions which come. Our love for our Mother helps us to persevere in coming back time after time to ponder the mysteries with attention and devotion.

I searched for more info on Father Dolindo Ruotolo and found this:

There can’t be sainthood without devotion to Mary. The people in their intuitive nature deep within their soul named don Dolindo well when they called him Mary’s Sage as if to indicate a matronymic affinity. In effect don Dolindo was completely
“Mary” : he celebrated the most beautiful prayers to Mary, he sang for her and together with her sang the most delicate melodies. A great deal of his writing and his pamphlets are dedicated to the Immaculate Virgin, to the Redeemer’s Mother, co-redeemer of the human race. Mary was for him the breath of the Universe and the wonder of the Soul, the hymn of the Trinity. Without comparison are his feelings towards the inspired Magnificat as dictated by the Virgin who came to instruct don Dolindo’s humble cenacle.

At the school of our Heavenly Mother a deep culminating change of heart is reflected in his latest work: “Mary, mother of God , and mother of man”, a powerful trilogy of Mary composed in the final years of his life, amidst excruciating pain and paralysis
which made it rather difficult to write. The pillar of such devotion to Mary was the prayer to the Holy Rosary, which he recited while meditating the stages of life, the death and resurrection of Jesus to his throne, which he likened to the rod of Moses to beat on the gates of Heaven and to beg for grace or as a sword against Satan’s assaults and temptations.

For more, see HERE

He is the author of a little book entitled A Month with Mary, see HERE

 

[UpUpAndAway]

Dear UpUpAndAway,

Thanks for your reply. I’ve never been to Lourdes but I believe each time I receive Holy Communion, Mary is especially present (not substantially as Jesus is) but spiritually, as St. Louis de Montfort suggests in his treatise on True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary:

If you have never read this spiritual classic (link given above with the title to online version), you may want to ask your spiritual director about it. Pope St. John Paul II said that reading De Montfort’s “True devotion” was a turning point in his young life.

Thank you, MariaChristi. I’ve owned that book for…a while but haven’t managed to find time to read it yet. When I registered for the Lourdes pilgrimage I was on, I told my SD one of the reasons I did so was the impression I have that I don’t properly cultivate a relationship with the Blessed Virgin. He agreed I needed to go, so the next time we meet we will surely discuss how it went and what to do from here.

 

[DesertSister62]

**MariaChristi, **
I checked the link and the one I found looks the same, but it led me straight to the right page so for now, this one works. Some times links change on the internet. TODAY the link to Fr. Dolindo’s words (above) may be found here;

dolindo.org/english/MEDITATION_ON_THE_HOLY_ROSARY.pdf

If this link stops working, just type in Meditation on the Holy Rosary by Fr. Dolindo Ruotolo and it will take you right to the page.

I, also, checked for other things referring to Fr. Dolindo Ruotolo and have copied and put some of the things into my documents so I will have them. I, also, ordered his book “A Month of Mary,” and have been very pleased with it. He must have been an extraordinary priest!

DesertSister62

 

[MariaChristi]

**MariaChristi, **
I checked the link and the one I found looks the same, but it led me straight to the right page so for now, this one works. Some times links change on the internet. TODAY the link to Fr. Dolindo’s words (above) may be found here;

dolindo.org/english/MEDITATION_ON_THE_HOLY_ROSARY.pdf

If this link stops working, just type in Meditation on the Holy Rosary by Fr. Dolindo Ruotolo and it will take you right to the page.

I, also, checked for other things referring to Fr. Dolindo Ruotolo and have copied and put some of the things into my documents so I will have them. I, also, ordered his book “A Month of Mary,” and have been very pleased with it. He must have been an extraordinary priest!

DesertSister62

Thanks, dear sister,

The link worked fine. I’ll be happy to read more. Yes, Father Dolindo Ruotolo must have been an extraordinary priest! Thanks again.

 

[MariaChristi]

Thank you, MariaChristi. I’ve owned that book for…a while but haven’t managed to find time to read it yet. When I registered for the Lourdes pilgrimage I was on, I told my SD one of the reasons I did so was the impression I have that I don’t properly cultivate a relationship with the Blessed Virgin. He agreed I needed to go, so the next time we meet we will surely discuss how it went and what to do from here.

Dear UpUpAndAway,

Thanks for your reply, and I thank the Lord for the graces He has given to draw you and me and others closer to Mary, as Mother and Model. By His Grace may we all continue to grow closer to Him as she did every day she walked this earth, in humility and docility to His Holy Spirit.