Sept. 28 - "God the Holy Spirit wishes to fashion His chosen ones in and through Mary. "

[MariaChristi]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

God gave such wisdom to St. Louis de Montfort for His Church that He has preserved St. Louis’ treatise to be read and lived by saints: like Pope St. John Paul II , St. Mother Theresa and others in our day who have not yet been canonized, as well as the many humble souls we hope to meet in heaven. Today in these paragraphs from “True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin”, I pray we can hear, with the “ears of our hearts’” all that God desires us to hear and to live.

1. God the Holy Spirit wishes to fashion His chosen ones in and through Mary. He tells her, "My well-beloved, my spouse, let all your virtues take root in My chosen ones that they may grow from strength to strength and from grace to grace. When you were living on earth, practising the most sublime virtues, I was so pleased with you that I still desire to find you on earth without your ceasing to be in heaven. Reproduce yourself then in My chosen ones, so that I may have the joy of seeing in them the roots of your invincible faith, profound humility, total mortification, sublime prayer, ardent charity, your firm hope and all your virtues. You are always My spouse, as faithful, pure, and fruitful as ever. May your faith give Me believers; your purity, virgins; your fruitfulness, elect and living temples."
2. When Mary has taken root in a soul she produces in it wonders of grace which only she can produce; for she alone is the fruitful virgin who never had and never will have her equal in purity and fruitfulness. Together with the Holy Spirit Mary produced the greatest thing that ever was or ever will be: a God-man. She will consequently produce the marvels which will be seen in the latter times. The formation and the education of the great saints who will come at the end of the world are reserved to her, for only this singular and wondrous virgin can produce in union with the Holy Spirit singular and wondrous things.
3. When the Holy Spirit, her spouse, finds Mary in a soul, He hastens there and enters fully into it. He gives himself generously to that soul according to the place it has given to His spouse. One of the main reasons why the Holy Spirit does not work striking wonders in souls is that He fails to find in them a sufficiently close union with His faithful and inseparable spouse. I say “inseparable spouse”, for from the moment the substantial love of the Father and the Son espoused Mary to form Jesus, the head of the elect, and Jesus in the elect, He has never disowned her, for she has always been faithful and fruitful.

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your Faithful. Kindle in us the Fire of Your Love. Fill us as you filled Mary, with Jesus!

 

[hazcompat]

Pope Saint John Paul II
Crossing the Threshold of Hope

“In prayer, then, the true protagonist is God. The protagonist is Christ, who constantly frees creation from slavery to corruption and leads it toward liberty, for the glory of the children of God. The protagonist is the Holy Spirit, who “comes to the aid of our weakness.” We begin to pray, believing that it is our own initiative that compels us to do so. Instead, we learn that it is always God’s initiative within us, just as Saint Paul has written. This initiative restores in us our true humanity; it restores in us our unique dignity. Yes, we are brought into the higher dignity of the children of God, the children of God who are the hope of all creation.”

Certain of this, even as The Holy Spirit prompts my Rosaries, I am filled with joy! Had I but Mary’s sinless heart to love thee Lord!

Peace

 

[MariaChristi]

Dear brother hazcompat,

Thanks for the beautiful quote from Pope St. John Paul II’s book: “Crossing the Threshold of Hope”. How truly this saintly Pope seemed to understand God’s Word which kept him growing spiritually. I’m reminded of John’s Gospel when Jesus told his disciples, after they urged him to eat:

“My food is to do the will of the One Who sent Me and to finish His work." (Jn 4:34)

The Incarnate Son of God was conceived in the womb of Mary, by the power of the Holy Spirit and because He became like us in all things except sin, Jesus learned and grew in wisdom, age and grace as we are all called to do as members of His Body by our Baptism.

It is such a precious verse to me to think of how Jesus learned from Mary especially, and Joseph too after he was born but especially from Mary. It is such a gift to us that Mary guides her children today as members of His Body, as she guided the Christ Child.

It is no surprise that the Holy Spirit prompts you to learn of their unique relationship which we we ponder in praying the Rosary! Thanks for sharing your love for Jesus through Mary with us!

 

[Victoria33]

Sept. 28 or perhaps, different days, look it up.

Mary, undoer of knots.

 

[MariaChristi]

Sorry it took me so long to check on the date but I found this:

Unlike many other Marian devotions, the devotion to Mary, Undoer of Knots did not come about through an apparition, but through her intercession!

The story:​

German Nobleman Wolfgang Langenmantel and his wife, Sophie, had marital problems and were on the brink of a divorce. Wolfgang was very distraught, and went to Jesuit priest Fr. Jakob Rem for counseling.

The two prayed together to the Blessed Virgin Mary for Wolfgang’s marriage each time they met.

While meeting for the last time on Sept. 28th, 1615, Wolfgang provided Fr. Rem with his wedding ribbon, which was used during his wedding ceremony to tie the couple together as a symbol of unity.

Fr. Rem then took the ribbon, lifted it up next to an image of Our Lady of the Snows, and asked Mary if she would “untie the knots” of Wolfgang’s marriage. The ribbon then loosened, completely untied, and became extremely white.

Even though precise details were not given, Wolfgang and Sophie reconciled after this happened.

(This is the primary story behind the painting, but referring to Mary as an untier of knots goes back to St. Irenaeus, in the second century.

St. Irenaeus said, “The knot of Eve’s disobedience was untied by the obedience of Mary; what the virgin Eve bound by her unbelief, the Virgin Mary loosened by her faith.”)

There is also an article in Homiletic and Pastoral review which indicates that Sept. 28 is the Feast-Day of “Mary Undoer of Knots”

Thanks for your love for our Mother!