Nov. 15 - "He won me over entirely..."

[MariaChristi]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Continuing motives for “True Devotion”:

1. Other congregations, associations, and confraternities set up in honour of our Lord and our Blessed Lady, which do so much good in the Church, do not require their members to give up absolutely everything. They simply prescribe for them the performance of certain acts and practices in fulfilment of their obligations. They leave them free to dispose of the rest of their actions as well as their time. But this devotion makes us give Jesus and Mary all our thoughts, words, actions, and sufferings and every moment of our lives without exception. Thus, whatever we do, whether we are awake or asleep, whether we eat or drink, whether we do important or unimportant work, it will always be true to say that everything is done for Jesus and Mary. Our offering always holds good, whether we think of it or not, unless we explicitly retract it. How consoling this is!
2. Moreover, as I have said before, no other act of devotion enables us to rid ourselves so easily of the possessiveness which slips unnoticed even into our best actions. This is a remarkable grace which our dear Lord grants us in return for the heroic and selfless surrender to Him through Mary of the entire value of our good works. If even in this life He gives a hundredfold reward to those who renounce all material, temporal and perishable things out of love for Him, how generously will He reward those who give up even interior and spiritual goods for His sake!
3. Jesus, our dearest friend, gave Himself to us without reserve, body and soul, grace and merits. As St. Bernard says, “He won me over entirely by giving Himself entirely to me.” Does not simple justice as well as gratitude require that we give Him all we possibly can? He was generous with us first, so let us be generous to Him in return and He will prove still more generous during life, at the hour of death, and throughout eternity. “He will be generous towards the generous.”

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your Faithful. Kindle in us the Fire of Your Love to make us generous!

 

[hazcompat]

Mary, Dawn of the Redemption​

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On September 8th, we celebrated Mary’s Nativity, and soon, on December 8th, we will celebrate her Immaculate Conception.

The Gospels do not tell us where Mary was born but the proto-gospel of James—originally called “The Nativity of Mary”—mentions a house in Jerusalem called “Anne’s House.” A church was built near this house and it was consecrated on September 8th (year unknown). The feast of that dedication then extended to Constantinople in the fifth century, and to Rome and the West in the 7th century. Logically, the feast of her conception was celebrated nine months earlier, hence the date of December 8th.

The Nativity of Mary was an important feast in the Eastern Churches. It is actually the first great feast of the cycle of saints’ feasts in the liturgical year. The readings and prayers for that day put in a perfect light the meaning of the Church’s veneration of Mary.

Pope Saint John Paul II said during the general audience of September 8, 2004: "This feast, very important to popular piety, leads us to admire in Mary the child, the purest dawn of the Redemption . We are contemplating a little girl like every other, yet at the same time the only one who was blessed among women" (Lk 1: 42).

The Polish pontiff also drew a parallel between the cradle of the child Mary and the duty of every person to “protect and defend the fragile creatures” that are children.

Adapted from Vatican News

Read more on mariedenazareth.com :

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death. Amen.

 

[MariaChristi]

Dear hazcompat,

Thanks so much for this excerpt adapted from Vatican News. I’d not read before the words quoted from Pope St. John Paul II’s general audience of Sept. 8, 2005:

…Pope Saint John Paul II said during the general audience of September 8, 2004: "This feast, very important to popular piety, leads us to admire in Mary the child, the purest dawn of the Redemption . We are contemplating a little girl like every other, yet at the same time the only one who was blessed among women" (Lk 1: 42).

The Polish pontiff also drew a parallel between the cradle of the child Mary and the duty of every person to “protect and defend the fragile creatures” that are children….

What must it have been for St. Anne to look upon the face of her dear daughter, Mary, and then beyond imagining, what was it for the Virgin Mary then to look on her Son, the Incarnate Son of God made Man Jesus, conceived and born of her, by the Power of the Holy Spirit!

Come Holy Spirit and fill the hearts of Your Faithful. Kindle in us the Fire of Your Love! Enable all to see the need to “protect and defend the fragile creatures that are children”!