Our Mother's Heart - described by Sister Lucia

[MariaChristi]

…In many ways, indeed, is man apt, by his frailty, to allow his thoughts to wander from God and to let his purpose go astray…
papalencyclicals.net/Leo13/l13ro5.htm

Dear brother Pat,

Thanks again for the excerpt from Pope Leo XIII. One sentence stood out for me, which I quoted above; it is a common failing, it seems to me, for many of us. By our frailty, we can allow our thoughts to wander from God. It is a fault we need to repent of, seek forgiveness for, but confidently hope in God for His grace to help us do better in prayer.

Recently I read an article in Homiletic and Pastoral Review entitled “The Immaculate Heart of Mary as the Perfect Custodian of the Human Heart” by Bernard Collins. It has been very helpful to me. Here is an excerpt in case you and /or others would like to read this layman’s insights:

…This essay presents what seems to the author like an under-appreciated perspective relative to our devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Her great privileges in the Divine plan for humankind almost seem to overshadow her virtuous exercise of freedom. It is that active virtuous pursuit of God’s Holy Will that presents us with an ideal which is based in the human condition. In her wisdom, she always kept evil at a distance. What God made possible, Mary made a reality under the influence of Grace. She was a perfect custodian of her human heart…

Full article can be read HERE

 

[patricius79]

Dear brother Pat,

Thanks again for the excerpt from Pope Leo XIII. One sentence stood out for me, which I quoted above; it is a common failing, it seems to me, for many of us. By our frailty, we can allow our thoughts to wander from God. It is a fault we need to repent of, seek forgiveness for, but confidently hope in God for His grace to help us do better in prayer.

Recently I read an article in Homiletic and Pastoral Review entitled “The Immaculate Heart of Mary as the Perfect Custodian of the Human Heart” by Bernard Collins. It has been very helpful to me. Here is an excerpt in case you and /or others would like to read this layman’s insights:

Full article can be read HERE

Dear sister Deborah Mary,

That is right. St. Louis teaches the same thing: that it is in practicing Mary’s virtues, by her help, that we are truly blessed.

All we have to do is ask for her help. We have such a mother, and never have to do it alone. As Pope Leo 13 said (quoted above):

Her do we invoke, finally, as Mother of God; and in virtue of a dignity so sublime what graces from her may we not promise to ourselves, sinners, in life and in the agonies of the end?

Since Mary is the chosen channel of Christ’s Infinite Mercy, our hope in Jesus through her can be boundless.

Pope Leo 13 continues, describing how much Our Lady is willing to help us:

And it is remarkable how well adapted to every kind of mind, however unskilled, is the manner in which these things are proposed to us in the Rosary. They are proposed less as truths or doctrines to be speculated upon than as present facts to be seen and perceived…[E]very time that we look once more with devotional remembrance upon these Mysteries we give her a sign of the gratitude of our hearts; we prove to her that we cannot often enough call to mind the blessings of her unwearied charity in the work of our salvation. At such recollections, practiced by us with the frequency of love in her presence, who may express, who may even conceive, what ever-new joys overflow her ever-blessed soul, and what tender affections arise therein, of mercy and of a mother’s love! Besides these recollections, moreover, as the sacred Mysteries pass by they cause our prayers to be transformed into impulses of entreaty that have an indescribable power over the heart of Mary. Yes, we fly to thee, we miserable children of Eve, O holy Mother of God. To thee we lift our prayers, for thou art the Mediatrix, powerful at once and pitiful, of our salvation. Oh, by the sweetness of the joys that came to thee from thy Son Jesus, by thy participation in His ineffable sorrows, by the splendors of His glory shining in thee, we instantly beseech thee, listen, be pitiful, hear us, unworthy though we be!
papalencyclicals.net/Leo13/l13ro5.htm

 

[MariaChristi]

Pope Leo 13 continues, describing how much Our Lady is willing to help us:

And it is remarkable how well adapted to every kind of mind, however unskilled, is the manner in which these things are proposed to us in the Rosary. They are proposed less as truths or doctrines to be speculated upon than as present facts to be seen and perceived…[E]very time that we look once more with devotional remembrance upon these Mysteries we give her a sign of the gratitude of our hearts; we prove to her that we cannot often enough call to mind the blessings of her unwearied charity in the work of our salvation. At such recollections, practiced by us with the frequency of love in her presence, who may express, who may even conceive, what ever-new joys overflow her ever-blessed soul, and what tender affections arise therein, of mercy and of a mother’s love! Besides these recollections, moreover, as the sacred Mysteries pass by they cause our prayers to be transformed into impulses of entreaty that have an indescribable power over the heart of Mary. Yes, we fly to thee, we miserable children of Eve, O holy Mother of God. To thee we lift our prayers, for thou art the Mediatrix, powerful at once and pitiful, of our salvation. Oh, by the sweetness of the joys that came to thee from thy Son Jesus, by thy participation in His ineffable sorrows, by the splendors of His glory shining in thee, we instantly beseech thee, listen, be pitiful, hear us, unworthy though we be!
papalencyclicals.net/Leo13/l13ro5.htm

Dear brother Pat,

Thanks again for another excerpt to help us in praying the Rosary more fervently – trusting especially in Mary’s willingness to help us!

 

[patricius79]

Dear brother Pat,

Thanks again for another excerpt to help us in praying the Rosary more fervently – trusting especially in Mary’s willingness to help us!

Yes, that’s the key, dear sister MariaChristi,

We cannot pray well, or do anything meritorious in Christ, without the help of our Lady. And this is all not because God had to choose the exalted creature, Mary, for this role, but because he wanted to. In fact Pope Leo 13 ends this Encyclical by affirming the traditional Catholic teaching that Mary is Mediatrix of all Graces:

11. Now may God, “Who in His most merciful Providence gave us this Mediatrix.” and “decreed that all good should come to us by the hands of Mary” (St. Bernard), receive propitiously our common prayers and fulfill our common hopes. May you receive a pledge thereof in the Apostolic Benediction which We give to you, to your clergy, and to your people, with all affection in Our Lord.

Given in Rome at St. Peter’s, on September 8, 1894, in the seventeenth year of our Pontificate.
papalencyclicals.net/Leo13/l13ro5.htm

 

[MariaChristi]

Yes, that’s the key, dear sister MariaChristi,

We cannot pray well, or do anything meritorious in Christ, without the help of our Lady. And this is all not because God had to choose the exalted creature, Mary, for this role, but because he wanted to. In fact Pope Leo 13 ends this Encyclical by affirming the traditional Catholic teaching that Mary is Mediatrix of all Graces:

11. Now may God, “Who in His most merciful Providence gave us this Mediatrix.” and “decreed that all good should come to us by the hands of Mary” (St. Bernard), receive propitiously our common prayers and fulfill our common hopes. May you receive a pledge thereof in the Apostolic Benediction which We give to you, to your clergy, and to your people, with all affection in Our Lord.

Given in Rome at St. Peter’s, on September 8, 1894, in the seventeenth year of our Pontificate.
papalencyclicals.net/Leo13/l13ro5.htm

Dear brother Pat,

The Lord enabled Pope Leo XIII to share His Truth. God intends us to learn more each day from all He reveals. How beautiful is God’s Work in all He does! We learn from His Revelation of Himself in Scripture, Tradition and the Magisterium (teaching authority in the Church).

No wonder Jesus told us from His Cross: “Behold your Mother!” She is all the Church is called to be by His mighty power working within us – calling us to union with Him in perfect charity. In Mary we see what great things He has done, and we can trust that nothing is impossible to Him. If we look only at ourselves we see only weakness but we need to look more trustingly to Jesus living in Mary and believe in Him, hope in Him and love Him as she did by the power of His Holy Spirit.

“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 Fr. Jean Jacques Olier, S.S. (1608-1657)

Mary, Mother of the Church, pray for us.
“…Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death. Amen.”

 

[patricius79]

Dear brother Pat,
…
No wonder Jesus told us from His Cross: “Behold your Mother!” She is all the Church is called to be by His mighty power working within us – calling us to union with Him in perfect charity. In Mary we see what great things He has done, and we can trust that nothing is impossible to Him. If we look only at ourselves we see only weakness but we need to look more trustingly to Jesus living in Mary and believe in Him, hope in Him and love Him as she did by the power of His Holy Spirit.

."

Yes, dear sister MariaChristi, we need to trust Jesus more, through Mary.

I started reading another Encyclical by Pope Leo 13, called Adiutricem. He writes about how we it is fitting to call upon her, our Helper with Christ, with a confidence which grows each day:

He writes:

1. The mightiest helper of the Christian people, and the most merciful, is the Virgin Mother of God. How fitting it is to accord her honors ever increasing in splendor, and call upon her aid with a confidence daily growing more ardent. The abundant blessings, infinitely varied and constantly multiplying, which flow from her all over the whole world for the common benefit of mankind, add fresh motives for invoking and honoring her.
papalencyclicals.net/Leo13/l13adiut.htm

 

[MariaChristi]

Yes, dear sister MariaChristi, we need to trust Jesus more, through Mary.

I started reading another Encyclical by Pope Leo 13, called Adiutricem. He writes about how it is fitting to call upon her, our Helper with Christ, with a confidence which grows each day:

He writes:

*1. The mightiest helper of the Christian people, and the most merciful, is the Virgin Mother of God. How fitting it is to accord her honors ever increasing in splendor, and call upon her aid with a confidence daily growing more ardent. The abundant blessings, infinitely varied and constantly multiplying, which flow from her all over the whole world *for the common benefit of mankind, add fresh motives for invoking and honoring her.
papalencyclicals.net/Leo13/l13adiut.htm

Dear Brother Pat,

Thanks for the encouraging words from Pope Leo XIII. We need to keep encouraging one another in our own day. Pope Francis’ homily at Fatima today reminds us of the beautiful gift Jesus gave us from His Cross. The translated homily rendered the scripture from John 19:27 as “Here is your Mother”.

Pope Francis encourages us with these words: “We have a Mother. Cling to her”, How very important in our age so prone to depression and pseudo-solutions! We need to remember the gift of Mary from Jesus to us!

 

[patricius79]

Dear Brother Pat,

Thanks for the encouraging words from Pope Leo XIII. We need to keep encouraging one another in our own day. Pope Francis’ homily at Fatima today reminds us of the beautiful gift Jesus gave us from His Cross. The translated homily rendered the scripture from John 19:27 as “Here is your Mother”.

Pope Francis encourages us with these words: “We have a Mother. Cling to her”, How very important in our age so prone to depression and pseudo-solutions! We need to remember the gift of Mary from Jesus to us!

Yes, dear sister MariaChristi, it is so simple. We each, individually, have a Mother who is the Mother of God.

Pope Leo 13 uses the word “nurturing”. How much the world needs nurturing! He writes about Christ’s gift of His Mother, and her role in the Church from the beginning:

6. The mystery of Christ’s immense love for us is revealed with dazzling brilliance in the fact that the dying Saviour bequeathed His Mother to His disciple John in the memorable testament: “Behold thy son.” Now in John,as the Church has constantly taught, Christ designated the whole human race, and in the first rank are they who are joined with Him by faith. It is in this sense that St. Anselm of Canterbury says: “What dignity, O Virgin, could be more highly prized than to be the Mother of those to whom Christ deigned to be Father and Brother!”[2] With a generous heart Mary undertook and discharged the duties of her high but laborious office, the beginnings of which were consecrated in the Cenacle. With wonderful care she nurtured the first Christians by her holy example, her authoritative counsel, her sweet consolation, her fruitful prayers. She was, in very truth, the Mother of the Church, the Teacher and Queen of the Apostles, to whom, besides, she confided no small part of the divine mysteries which she kept in her heart.
papalencyclicals.net/Leo13/l13adiut.htm

 

[MariaChristi]

Yes, dear sister MariaChristi, it is so simple. We each, individually, have a Mother who is the Mother of God.

Pope Leo 13 uses the word “nurturing”. How much the world needs nurturing! He writes about Christ’s gift of His Mother, and her role in the Church from the beginning:

6. The mystery of Christ’s immense love for us is revealed with dazzling brilliance in the fact that the dying Saviour bequeathed His Mother to His disciple John in the memorable testament: "Behold thy son." Now in John,as the Church has constantly taught, Christ designated the whole human race, and in the first rank are they who are joined with Him by faith. It is in this sense that St. Anselm of Canterbury says: “What dignity, O Virgin, could be more highly prized than to be the Mother of those to whom Christ deigned to be Father and Brother!”[2] With a generous heart Mary undertook and discharged the duties of her high but laborious office, the beginnings of which were consecrated in the Cenacle. With wonderful care she nurtured the first Christians by her holy example, her authoritative counsel, her sweet consolation, her fruitful prayers. She was, in very truth, the Mother of the Church, the Teacher and Queen of the Apostles, to whom, besides, she confided no small part of the divine mysteries which she kept in her heart.
papalencyclicals.net/Leo13/l13adiut.htm

Thanks again, dear brother Pat,

Pope Leo XIII reminded the Catholic Christians of his day how for centuries, Mary has cared for us, “nurtured us” . Our present Pope Francis reminds us in our day, as he spoke of Mary at Fatima, this past weekend. Today, I also read something spoken by St. Padre Pio:

“Love our Lady, make others love her. Always say your Rosary and say it well. Satan always tries to destroy this prayer, but he will never succeed. It is the prayer of her who triumphs over everything and everyone.”

 

[patricius79]

Thanks again, dear brother Pat,

Pope Leo XIII reminded the Catholic Christians of his day how for centuries, Mary has cared for us, “nurtured us” . Our present Pope Francis reminds us in our day, as he spoke of Mary at Fatima, this past weekend. Today, I also read something spoken by St. Padre Pio:

Dear sister, MariaChristi,

Amen.

There will be no renewal in the Church without a Rosary revival and a childlike dependence on our Blessed Mother.

Blessed Pope Pius 9 said that with her help, nothing is to be feared, and nothing is hopeless.

Pope Leo 13 continues to essentially sing of how much our Lord loves us through our Queen, and affirming again that all graces come to us from Jesus through Mary:

*7. It is impossible to measure the power and scope of her offices since the day she was taken up to that height of heavenly glory in the company of her Son, to which the dignity and luster of her merits entitle her. From her heavenly abode she began, by God’s decree, to watch over the Church, to assist and befriend us as our Mother; so that she who was so intimately associated with the mystery of human salvation is just as closely associated with the distribution of the graces which for all time will flow from the Redemption.

1. The power thus put into her hands is all but unlimited. How unerringly right, then, are Christian souls when they turn to Mary for help as though impelled by an instinct of nature, confidently sharing with her their future hopes and past achievements, their sorrows and joys, commending themselves like children to the care of a bountiful mother. How rightly, too, has every nation and every liturgy without exception acclaimed her great renown, which has grown greater with the voice of each succeeding century. Among her many other titles we find her hailed as “our Lady, our Mediatrix,”[3] “the Reparatrix of the whole world,”[4] “the Dispenser of all heavenly gifts.”[5]

papalencyclicals.net/Leo13/l13adiut.htm

 

[MariaChristi]

Dear sister, MariaChristi,

Amen.

There will be no renewal in the Church without a Rosary revival and a childlike dependence on our Blessed Mother.

Blessed Pope Pius 9 said that with her help, nothing is to be feared, and nothing is hopeless.

Pope Leo 13 continues to essentially sing of how much our Lord loves us through our Queen, and affirming again that all graces come to us from Jesus through Mary:

7. It is impossible to measure the power and scope of her offices since the day she was taken up to that height of heavenly glory in the company of her Son, to which the dignity and luster of her merits entitle her. From her heavenly abode she began, by God’s decree, to watch over the Church, to assist and befriend us as our Mother; so that she who was so intimately associated with the mystery of human salvation is just as closely associated with the distribution of the graces which for all time will flow from the Redemption.

1. The power thus put into her hands is all but unlimited. How unerringly right, then, are Christian souls when they turn to Mary for help as though impelled by an instinct of nature, confidently sharing with her their future hopes and past achievements, their sorrows and joys, commending themselves like children to the care of a bountiful mother. How rightly, too, has every nation and every liturgy without exception acclaimed her great renown, which has grown greater with the voice of each succeeding century. Among her many other titles we find her hailed as “our Lady, our Mediatrix,”[3] “the Reparatrix of the whole world,”[4] “the Dispenser of all heavenly gifts.”[5]

papalencyclicals.net/Leo13/l13adiut.htm

Thanks again, dear brother Pat,

How good for us to remember the teachings of the Church, such as this excerpt from Pope Leo XIII, and all the Church teachings going back so many years! Countless Saints have loved our Lady and prayed her Rosary so fervently. On the website where I found the words from Padre Pio which I posted yesterday, there is a brief story retold by a Bishop:

One day one of his penitents said to him: “Padre, today they say the Rosary is out of date, that it is no longer in fashion. It is no longer said in many churches.”

He replied: “Let us do what our fathers did and all will be well with us.”

“But Satan rules the world.”

Padre Pio replied: “Because they make him rule; can a spirit rule by itself if it is not united to the human will? We could not have been born in a more depraved world. The one who prays a lot saves himself. The one who prays little is in danger. The one who does not pray loses his soul.” For more see HERE

 

[patricius79]

Thanks again, dear brother Pat,

How good for us to remember the teachings of the Church, such as this excerpt from Pope Leo XIII, and all the Church teachings going back so many years! Countless Saints have loved our Lady and prayed her Rosary so fervently. On the website where I found the words from Padre Pio which I posted yesterday, there is a brief story retold by a Bishop:

Thanks dear sister MariaChristi, I believe it was St. Francis De Sales who said: “those who pray will certainly be saved; those who do not pray will certainly be damned”.

Recently I read a summary of the message of Fatima given by Cardinal Martins. He said the first key part of the message of Fatima is faith

catholicnewsagency.com/news/100-years-later-fatima-still-offers-a-potent-message-26966/

He said that the faith is failing, because it is not a part of people’s concrete lives. It is an “abstract faith”.

I think that without Mary’s help, we cannot find the courage to face this faillure and to continuously pray.

Pope Leo 13 explains how Mary–“she who believed”–is the one who gives us the gift of faith from Jesus:

*9. Since faith is the foundation, the source, of the gifts of God by which man is raised above the order of nature and is endowed with the dispositions requisite for life eternal, we are in justice bound to recognize the hidden influence of Mary in obtaining the gift of faith and its salutary cultivation-of Mary who brought the “author of faith”[6] into this world and who, because of her own great faith, was called “blessed.”“O Virgin most holy, none abounds in the knowledge of God except through thee; none, O Mother of God, attains salvation except through thee; none receives a gift from the throne of mercy except through thee.”[7]

1. It is no exaggeration to say that it is due chiefly to her leadership and help that the wisdom and teachings of the Gospel spread so rapidly to all the nations of the world in spite of the most obstinate difficulties and most cruel persecutions, and brought everywhere in their train a new reign of justice and peace. This it was that stirred the soul of St. Cyril of Alexandria to the following prayerful address to the Blessed Virgin: “Through you the Apostles have preached salvation to the nations. . . through you the priceless Cross is everywhere honored and venerated; through you the demons have been put to rout and mankind has been summoned back to Heaven; through you every misguided creature held in the thrall of idols is led to recognize the truth; through you have the faithful been brought to the laver of holy Baptism and churches been founded among every people.”[8]*
   papalencyclicals.net/Leo13/l13adiut.htm

 

[MariaChristi]

Recently I read a summary of the message of Fatima given by Cardinal Martins. He said the first key part of the message of Fatima is faith
catholicnewsagency.com/news/100-years-later-fatima-still-offers-a-potent-message-26966/

He said that the faith is failing, because it is not a part of people’s concrete lives. It is an “abstract faith”.
I think that without Mary’s help, we cannot find the courage to face this faillure and to continuously pray.

Pope Leo 13 explains how Mary–“she who believed”–is the one who gives us the gift of faith from Jesus:

9. Since faith is the foundation, the source, of the gifts of God by which man is raised above the order of nature and is endowed with the dispositions requisite for life eternal, we are in justice bound to recognize the hidden influence of Mary in obtaining the gift of faith and its salutary cultivation-of Mary who brought the “author of faith”[6] into this world and who, because of her own great faith, was called “blessed.”“O Virgin most holy, none abounds in the knowledge of God except through thee; none, O Mother of God, attains salvation except through thee; none receives a gift from the throne of mercy except through thee.”[7]

1. It is no exaggeration to say that it is due chiefly to her leadership and help that the wisdom and teachings of the Gospel spread so rapidly to all the nations of the world in spite of the most obstinate difficulties and most cruel persecutions, and brought everywhere in their train a new reign of justice and peace. This it was that stirred the soul of St. Cyril of Alexandria to the following prayerful address to the Blessed Virgin: “Through you the Apostles have preached salvation to the nations. . . through you the priceless Cross is everywhere honored and venerated; through you the demons have been put to rout and mankind has been summoned back to Heaven; through you every misguided creature held in the thrall of idols is led to recognize the truth; through you have the faithful been brought to the laver of holy Baptism and churches been founded among every people.”[8]
   papalencyclicals.net/Leo13/l13adiut.htm

Thanks, brother Pat,

I read the article and agree with Cardinal Martins people seem to be losing faith in God, and Mary’s message at Fatima encourages us to pray for all those in most need of God’s Mercy – there is great need for Catholics especially to return to the practice of their faith and help others in an ongoing conversion toward love for God – to seek first His Kingdom. Mary asked us to pray also for peace in the world. Without God there will always be conflicts and War between peoples and war within individual hearts. Final of the four key themes he mentioned was hope.

The excerpt from Pope Leo XIII, of course points us to the God’s gift to us of Mary – who always leads us to faith, hope in God, and burning charity for others as showed in her life. How precious a gift she is as Mother and Model for the church!

 

[patricius79]

Thanks, brother Pat,

I read the article and agree with Cardinal Martins people seem to be losing faith in God, and Mary’s message at Fatima encourages us to pray for all those in most need of God’s Mercy – there is great need for Catholics especially to return to the practice of their faith and help others in an ongoing conversion toward love for God – to seek first His Kingdom. Mary asked us to pray also for peace in the world. Without God there will always be conflicts and War between peoples and war within individual hearts. Final of the four key themes he mentioned was hope.

The excerpt from Pope Leo XIII, of course points us to the God’s gift to us of Mary – who always leads us to faith, hope in God, and burning charity for others as showed in her life. How precious a gift she is as Mother and Model for the church!

Dear sister MariaChristi,

Yes, I think we need to deepen our faith and regain a supernatural perspective and hope through devotion to Jesus through Mary.

From how I’m understanding this Encyclical (Adiutricem), Pope Leo 13 is saying that we need to pray the Rosary for Christian unity, so that Christians not in full communion with the Church would come to fully unity through Mary’s intercession with Jesus.

He ends by saying:

*31. Well may all, shepherds and flocks alike, fly with fullest confidence to the protection of the great Virgin, especially next month. Let them not fail to call upon her name, with one voice beseeching her as God’s Mother, publicly and in private, by praise, by prayer, by the ardor of their desire: “Show thyself our Mother.” May her motherly compassion keep her whole family safe from every danger, lead them in the path of genuine prosperity, above all establish them in holy unity… May she look with utmost compassion upon those great and illustrious nations which are cut off from the Church…

32… In the East, may that widespread devotion to her which the dissident nations profess, as well as the countless glorious acts of their ancestors in her honor, effectively aid them…

1. May the peoples of the East and West, and all the others wherever they may be, profit by the suppliant voice of Catholics united in prayer, and by our voice which will cry to Our last breath: Show thyself a Mother.*
   papalencyclicals.net/Leo13/l13adiut.htm

 

[MariaChristi]

Dear sister MariaChristi,

Yes, I think we need to deepen our faith and regain a supernatural perspective and hope through devotion to Jesus through Mary.

From how I’m understanding this Encyclical (Adiutricem), Pope Leo 13 is saying that we need to pray the Rosary for Christian unity, so that Christians not in full communion with the Church would come to fully unity through Mary’s intercession with Jesus.

He ends by saying:

31. Well may all, shepherds and flocks alike, fly with fullest confidence to the protection of the great Virgin, especially next month. Let them not fail to call upon her name, with one voice beseeching her as God’s Mother, publicly and in private, by praise, by prayer, by the ardor of their desire: “Show thyself our Mother.” May her motherly compassion keep her whole family safe from every danger, lead them in the path of genuine prosperity, above all establish them in holy unity… May she look with utmost compassion upon those great and illustrious nations which are cut off from the Church…

32… In the East, may that widespread devotion to her which the dissident nations profess, as well as the countless glorious acts of their ancestors in her honor, effectively aid them…

1. May the peoples of the East and West, and all the others wherever they may be, profit by the suppliant voice of Catholics united in prayer, and by our voice which will cry to Our last breath: Show thyself a Mother.
   papalencyclicals.net/Leo13/l13adiut.htm

Thanks brother Pat,

In Chapter 17 of John’s Gospel, we hear Jesus praying for unity. Mary’s Heart is so united with the Father’s Will, she was given to us by Jesus to be Mother and Model for all God’s Holy Family. Pope Leo XIII encouraged the flock in his time and continues through his writing to encourage us to receive Jesus’ gift of Mary and hear His words: “Behold your Mother”. May we do as John the apostle did and take her into our lives and learn from her, all she continually learned from God.

 

[patricius79]

Thanks brother Pat,

In Chapter 17 of John’s Gospel, we hear Jesus praying for unity. Mary’s Heart is so united with the Father’s Will, she was given to us by Jesus to be Mother and Model for all God’s Holy Family. Pope Leo XIII encouraged the flock in his time and continues through his writing to encourage us to receive Jesus’ gift of Mary and hear His words: “Behold your Mother”. May we do as John the apostle did and take her into our lives and learn from her, all she continually learned from God.

Yes, dear sister MariaChristi. I note how many more sins I would so readily fall into were it not for the special help of my Mother. For this reason, I encourage everyone to get into the habit of calling on Mary’s name, and to read True Devotion to Mary by St. Louis De Montfort.

We can only find Christ by beholding our Mother who loves us with the love we’ve always wanted: the love of Jesus Christ.

I’ve now started reading Pope Leo 13th’s encyclical on the Rosary Confraternity called Augustissimae Virginis Mariae. At the beginning he asks us–just as you say–to take her into our lives:

*1. Whoever considers the height of dignity and glory to which God has raised the Most August Virgin Mary, will easily perceive how important it is, both for public and for private benefit, that devotion to her should be assiduously practised, and daily promoted more and more.

Mary’s Place in the Incarnation and Redemption 2. God predestined her from all eternity to be the Mother of the Incarnate Word, and for that reason so highly distinguished her among all His most beautiful works in the triple order of nature, grace and glory, that the Church justly applies to her these words: “I came out of the mouth of the Most High, the first-born before all creatures” (Ecclus. xxiv., 5). And when, in the first ages, the parents of mankind fell into sin, involving their posterity in the same ruin, she was set up as a pledge of the restoration of peace and salvation. …

1. … We are constrained to repeat to each and all of our beloved children in Christ those last words of His upon the Cross, left to us as a testament, “Behold, thy Mother!” Greatly rewarded indeed shall We be, if Our exhortations succeed in making even one of the faithful hold nothing dearer than devotion to Mary; so that those words which St. John wrote about himself may be applied to each,“the disciple took her to his own” (Ibid.).*
   papalencyclicals.net/Leo13/l13augus.htm

 

[MariaChristi]

Yes, dear sister MariaChristi. I note how many more sins I would so readily fall into were it not for the special help of my Mother. For this reason, I encourage everyone to get into the habit of calling on Mary’s name, and to read True Devotion to Mary by St. Louis De Montfort.

We can only find Christ by beholding our Mother who loves us with the love we’ve always wanted: the love of Jesus Christ.

I’ve now started reading Pope Leo 13th’s encyclical on the Rosary Confraternity called Augustissimae Virginis Mariae. At the beginning he asks us–just as you say–to take her into our lives:

1. Whoever considers the height of dignity and glory to which God has raised the Most August Virgin Mary, will easily perceive how important it is, both for public and for private benefit, that devotion to her should be assiduously practised, and daily promoted more and more.

Mary’s Place in the Incarnation and Redemption 2. God predestined her from all eternity to be the Mother of the Incarnate Word, and for that reason so highly distinguished her among all His most beautiful works in the triple order of nature, grace and glory, that the Church justly applies to her these words: “I came out of the mouth of the Most High, the first-born before all creatures” (Ecclus. xxiv., 5). And when, in the first ages, the parents of mankind fell into sin, involving their posterity in the same ruin, she was set up as a pledge of the restoration of peace and salvation. …

1. … We are constrained to repeat to each and all of our beloved children in Christ those last words of His upon the Cross, left to us as a testament, “Behold, thy Mother!” Greatly rewarded indeed shall We be, if Our exhortations succeed in making even one of the faithful hold nothing dearer than devotion to Mary; so that those words which St. John wrote about himself may be applied to each,“the disciple took her to his own” (Ibid.).
   papalencyclicals.net/Leo13/l13augus.htm

Thanks again, dear brother Pat,

How beautifully, God works in souls like Pope Leo XIII and in all the saints, sharing with them His Love for Mary!

 

[patricius79]

Thanks again, dear brother Pat,

How beautifully, God works in souls like Pope Leo XIII and in all the saints, sharing with them His Love for Mary!

Yes, dear sister, how beautifully St. Bonaventure puts it when he says that just as an infant without a nurse cannot live, so we cannot live without Mary.

Pope Leo 13 likewise encourages us to become members of the Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary:
*
5. The natural tendency of man to association has never been stronger, or more earnestly and generally followed, than in our own age…

1. We do not hesitate to assign a pre-eminent place among these societies to that known as the Society of the Holy Rosary*. …The form of the association, its very soul, is the Rosary of Our Lady, of the excellence of which We have elsewhere spoken at length. Still the virtue and efficacy of the Rosary appear all the greater when considered as the special office of the Sodality which bears its name… [P]rayers acquire their greatest efficacy in obtaining God’s assistance when offered publicly, by large numbers, constantly, and unanimously, so as to form as it were a single chorus of supplication…“persevering with one mind in prayer” (Acts i., 14). Those who practice this manner of prayer will never fail to obtain certain fruit. Such is certainly the case with members of the Rosary Sodality. …the Rosary, or “Psalter of Our Lady,” as it has been styled by some of the Popes, is also in a way public, constant, and universal.
   papalencyclicals.net/Leo13/l13augus.htm

 

[MariaChristi]

Yes, dear sister, how beautifully St. Bonaventure puts it when he says that just as an infant without a nurse cannot live, so we cannot live without Mary.

Pope Leo 13 likewise encourages us to become members of the Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary:
*
5. The natural tendency of man to association has never been stronger, or more earnestly and generally followed, than in our own age…

1. We do not hesitate to assign a pre-eminent place among these societies to that known as the Society of the Holy Rosary*. …The form of the association, its very soul, is the Rosary of Our Lady, of the excellence of which We have elsewhere spoken at length. Still the virtue and efficacy of the Rosary appear all the greater when considered as the special office of the Sodality which bears its name… [P]rayers acquire their greatest efficacy in obtaining God’s assistance when offered publicly, by large numbers, constantly, and unanimously, so as to form as it were a single chorus of supplication…“persevering with one mind in prayer” (Acts i., 14). Those who practice this manner of prayer will never fail to obtain certain fruit. Such is certainly the case with members of the Rosary Sodality. …the Rosary, or “Psalter of Our Lady,” as it has been styled by some of the Popes, is also in a way public, constant, and universal.
   papalencyclicals.net/Leo13/l13augus.htm

Thanks, brother Pat,

Yes, I became a member of the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary, when I read about it in the Handbook for the Legion of Mary, which stated:

The fact that St. Louis de Montfort was not only a member of the Confraternity but devoted himself ardently to its propagation should be a headline for legionaries. The following interesting document is still in existence: “We, the Provincial of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans), do certify and declare that Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort, Brother of our Third Order, preaches everywhere and with much zeal, edification, and fruit, the Confraternity of the Rosary in all the Missions which he gives continually in the towns and country places.”

Anyone interested in enrolllng in the Confraternity, may enroll HERE

 

[patricius79]

Thanks, brother Pat,

Yes, I became a member of the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary, when I read about it in the Handbook for the Legion of Mary, which stated:

Anyone interested in enrolllng in the Confraternity, may enroll HERE

Thanks dear sister MariaChristi, Yes, it’s wonderful how we are all praying for one another throughout the world, as we say our daily Rosaries. It’s a good reminder.

Pope Leo 13 calls the Rosary Confraternity the “army of prayer”:

8. Since, as We have said, public prayers are much more excellent and more efficacious than private ones, so ecclesiastical writers have given to the Rosary Sodality the title of “the army of prayer, enrolled by St. Dominic, under the banner of the Mother of God,” - of her, whom sacred literature and the history of the Church salute as the conqueror of the Evil One and of all errors. The Rosary unites together all who join the Sodality in a common bond of paternal or military comradeship; so that a mighty host is thereby formed, duly marshalled and arrayed, to repel the assaults of the enemy, both from within and without. Wherefore may the members of this pious society take to themselves the words of St. Cyprian: “Our prayer is public and in common; and when we pray, we pray not for one, but for the whole people, for we, the entire people, are one” (De Orat. Domin.). The history of the Church bears testimony to the power and efficacy of this form of prayer, recording as it does the rout of the Turkish forces at the naval battle of Lepanto, and the victories gained over the same in the last century at Temesvar in Hungary and in the island of Corfu. Our predecessor, Gregory XIII., in order to perpetuate the memory of the first-named victory, established the feast of Our Lady of Victories, which later on Clement XI. distinguished by the title of Rosary Sunday and commanded to be celebrated throughout the universal Church.
papalencyclicals.net/Leo13/l13augus.htm