Wk 3 - Day 2 - "acquiring a better understanding of Jesus" (continuing Advent)

[MariaChristi]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Today’s Mass Readings can help us “acquire a better understanding of Jesus”, for the Word of God reveals Jesus. If we listen and ponder as Mary did in her heart, we find Him:

In the First Reading from Isaiah 26, we hear:

“…Trust in the LORD forever!
For the LORD is an eternal Rock.
He humbles those in high places…”

In the Responsorial Psalm 118, we hear:

…It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in man.
It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in princes.

The Alleluia verse before the Gospel invites us (from Isaiah 55):

“Seek the LORD while he may be found;
> call him while he is near.”

Finally, Jesus tells us in the Gospel (from His “Sermon on the Mount” in Mt. 7)

"Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’
will enter the Kingdom of heaven,
but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.

“Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them
will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.
The rain fell, the floods came,
and the winds blew and buffeted the house.
But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock.
And everyone who listens to these words of mine
but does not act on them
will be like a fool who built his house on sand.
The rain fell, the floods came,
and the winds blew and buffeted the house.
And it collapsed and was completely ruined.”

Holy Spirit, teach us to pray well. Mary, Mother of the Church, show thyself a Mother;
may the Word Divine, born for us thy Infant, hear our prayers through thine. Jesus, we trust in You.

Litany of the Holy Spirit -HERE
Ave Maris Stella - HERE
Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus - HERE

 

[HiImBrittom]

I thought the Will of the Heavenly Father was to believe in the One He sent. The Spirit of Truth also teaches us about people.

Right?

 

[MariaChristi]

Dear Hilm,

Thanks for your reply, in the the Gospel, of Matthew chapter 7, Jesus said:

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’
will enter the Kingdom of heaven,
but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven…”

These words taken from the Sermon on the Mount were spoken early in His Public Ministry. Many Jews who were hearing Jesus preach had yet to believe He was the One the Father sent. It was only after Jesus died and rose from the dead and ascended to the Father that the Father and Son sent the Holy Spirit to bring us into All Truth.

The Jews believed in One God and Jesus was preaching to the Jews in this Sermon on the Mount which St. Matthew recorded in his Gospel. By God’s Grace, some Jews began following Jesus and to listen to more of His teachings. They ultimately learned much more after The Holy Spirit came at Pentecost.

Your profile page indicates you have only recently joined CAF Forum, so you may not know this post is one in a series - following the treatise onTrue Devotion to the Blessed Virgin. If you have never read this book by St. Louis De Montfort, you may be blessed in reading it. I linked the online version of this book, so if you click on the title you can begin to read it. St. Louis de Montfort includes at the end of his treatise a description of 33 days in which one can prepare to consecrate oneself to Jesus through Mary. He wrote:

1. Preparation and Consecration

1. Those who desire to take up this special devotion … should spend at least twelve days in emptying themselves of the spirit of the world, which is opposed to the spirit of Jesus, …They should then spend three weeks imbuing themselves with the spirit of Jesus through the most Blessed Virgin. Here is a programme they might follow:
2. During the first week they should offer up all their prayers and acts of devotion to acquire knowledge of themselves and sorrow for their sins…

1. Each day of the second week they should endeavour in all their prayers and works to acquire an understanding of the Blessed Virgin and ask the Holy Spirit for this grace.
2. During the third week they should seek to understand Jesus Christ better.

I hope you will follow these last days of our journey which ends on Wk 3 - Day 7. On the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, I and others will renew our Total Consecration – Or Consecrate themselves for the first time. It is well-worth your time to learn more about Jesus through Mary in the writings of St. Louis de Montfort! Thanks again for reading this post today.

 

[MariaChristi]

Dear lilypadrees and Francis,

Thanks again for stopping by to read today’s post and for sharing your “hearts”. This journey of 33 days has been going so quickly for me! Does anyone else feel that way? Of course, God works in mysterious ways, so Im content with all He provides.

 

[Wm777]

Aye, yah, it does seem like the 33 days has gone by rather quickly.

My consecration is on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, which is this Saturday, so I only have today and tomorrow left. It’s always interesting to contemplate what to do after a long prayer. Fortunately, we’re right in the middle of Advent, so the church itself is very active with lots to do.

Aside from church, I decided I am going to read True Devotion to Mary all over again, although in a more informal manner. The book has so many reflections and exercises in it, it’s easy to get lost when trying to say it within the formal timing of the Devotion; but it seems like reading the book just to familiarize onesself with it as simply a book might provide an understanding of how to better navigate it during the devotions.

This round of the devotion has brought many blessings, though. Many I have recorded here on CM; some in my emails; some in private conversations; but not all have been recorded yet. After finishing, I will probably try to make a summary of them all, so as to be better able to re-count them. I like to build upon the gifts received, so it’s good to have them recorded somewhere.

Heading to bed to say prayers for the evening!

God Bless You All!
Totus Tuus,

Wm

 

[MariaChristi]

Dear William,

Thanks so much for your reply. Time is an interesting gift. We can “feel” some periods of time go so slowly and other periods can seem to speed by. Yet, as we hear in God’s Word: to Him a 1000 years are as a day, and a day is as a thousand years. God is Mysterious and so are all His ways. By His Grace, may we use the time He gives us well!

God willing, I’ll remember to pray for you as you renew your Total Consecration on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception tomorrow. I was happy to read that you want to begin reading “True Devotion” again. Take time with this little gem of a book. Really try to pay attention, prayerfully, to what God is giving you through the words of His saint.

Listening to God is so important in all that we do, for He is speaking His Word Jesus to us in so many ways each day! The wisdom of the Saints is powerful! St. Louis de Montfort is so steeped in Scripture that he has been a special help to me over many years – and I continue to learn from the example of his life and writings.

Another book of his you may want to read also is: “The Love of Eternal Wisdom”. It is in paperback and in digital form. See Here for paperback and HEREfor online version. You’ll notice the last chapter in this book (which may have been the first book he wrote) is Chapter 17:

[SEVENTEEN: FOURTH MEANS: A LOVING AND GENUINE DEVOTION TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN]

1. Necessity of genuine devotion to Mary
2. What genuine devotion to Mary consists in

The date he wrote this book is uncertain but probably around 1703. At the very end of Chapter 17 St. Louis included the text of his Total Consecration as:

“CONSECRATION OF ONESELF TO JESUS CHRIST, WISDOM INCARNATE THROUGH THE HANDS OF MARY”.

The words are the same as the “Act of Consecration” printed now, also, in most copies of “True Devotion”. I tend to think his book on “True Devotion” may have been an “outgrowth of this earlier book”. Again, God’s Ways are mysterious, but always perfect!

May God bless you and all who read the wisdom God gave to St. Louis that we may all learn more and more of God’s Love for us in giving Mary to us as Mother and Model.

 

[HiImBrittom]

To do the will of my heavenly father is to believe in the one he sent.

 

[MariaChristi]

Dear Hilm,

Thanks for your reply. Certainly, if you are truly believing in Jesus, the Incarnate Son of God Whom the Father sent, by the power of His Holy Spirit, through the sinless Virgin Mary – you do the Will of Our Father.

Blessings today on the Solemnity of Mary’s Immaculate Conception!