January 10, 2010
Baptism of God
Christmas season ends with this today —
We begin ordinary times tomorrow
Epiphany — to reveal or to show
God revealed His Son by the star —
God was showing His Son to the World
God shows His Son today as filled with the Spirit
In St. Luke it says:
"Heaven was opened"
In St. Mark it says:
"Heavens were torn apart"
Not thinking of God as up there —
There is a cloud — divide us from heaven and earth
God is far beyond us, this is true
But when Jesus took on our flesh —
The heavens were opened for us —
Jesus took on our human nature
We are on our way in growing in this intimate
relationship with God —
Human life starts 9 months before the birth of
baby
A child prior to birth is just as human —
Human life is the highest form of life —
The baptized person is lifted up to a higher
form of life —
reborn to a higher life
"You are my beloved child, on you my favor rests"
Baptism is a sharing in His Divine Life
At our baptism the heavens were opened
up for us
We are a child of God —
When a child is born — there is a lot of work
ahead for parents before the child is
mature
Birth and Baptism — only the beginning —
Baptism gives us a sharing in His Divine Life —
Our knowing and loving capacity is elevated —
The Father, Son and Holy Spirit dwell in the graced,
baptized soul.
We bless ourselves with holy water when we go to
Church — this is a sign of our baptism to us —
then we say In the name of the Father, and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit and make the sign of the cross.
God gives us a sharing in His life in baptism and
when we go to Mass that life is
nourished by the Eucharist —
When Jesus was baptized —
the Father and the Holy Spirit
demonstrated what always was
Jesus always was Divine —
But when we are baptized we are
sufficiently changed
My mission is greater intimacy with
God —
The mystical marriage of our souls —
A City on a Hill Shines to the
World
(excerpt)
February 23, 1994 5:30 a.m.
Jesus: I am the light of the
world. A city on a hill will shine to the world. You at the
Center will be this city when you are filled to the brim with
the love of Jesus. What power, what might, to have each person a
personal spouse of Jesus Christ! This is the light to the
darkened world. The love of Jesus radiates from the very being
of those who love Him. What light when all together are lifted
by His love abounding deep within their breasts!
I am the Way, the Truth and the
Life. My life is the life inside that cannot be contained. It is
bursting and budding forth. My life is the real life. To possess
the life of Christ within your breast! Such power! I am the city
set on a hill that will stand united and shine to this world.
You at this Center will be this city. You will be the true
Center that places the mark on this world.
end of February 23, 1994
In HIM
Jesus came a baby
Formed In the womb of Mary
Our Lord is the source of the "living water"
the Divine life —
Jesus gives us this life and increases
it within us by means of the
7 channels of grace which are
the sacraments —
Through the sacraments Jesus Christ unites
us to Himself —
This union becomes deeper and deeper
with the increase of grace —
We are growing in this intimacy
in greater holiness in Him.
Christ gives us the sacraments —
Christ is with us in our lives
helping us and strengthening
us —
We are filled more and more with His
Divine life —
more and more abundantly —
We are filled more and more the more
we receive the Eucharist —
The more we are before the Blessed
Eucharist in adoration —
Through baptism we become
members of His Mystical Body —
and we receive a sharing in
His Divine Life —
He is there to strengthen us in our
last battle for heaven —
Jesus is there during our whole
lives to help strengthen
us for heaven —
to feed us with the Bread
of life —
The Word — the Eucharist —
God gives us confession —
God wants us to live our vocation
to be ever closer to Him —
to spread the Good News —
to be a witness of Hope —
to serve Him in the Church —
The sacraments are
Baptism, Confirmation, Marriage,
Holy Orders, Anointing of the
Sick, Confession, Holy Eucharist
The sacraments is a sacred sign
instituted by Christ to give grace —
The sacraments not only make us
aware of the divine life, they
produce this life within us —
Through the pierced Heart of Jesus
on the cross — the Church was
born —
Water for baptism
Blood for the Eucharist
Oil is used to strengthen the body
For example the sacrament of the sick
is to help in health to body and
soul —
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Sacrament |
The Sign |
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Baptism |
Pouring of water |
I baptize you in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. |
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Confirmation |
Anointing with oil |
I sign you with the sign of the cross and I
confirm you with the chrism of salvation;
in the name of the Father, and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit. |
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Penance |
The confession of the
sinner and the
absolution of the priest |
I absolve you from your sins in the name
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Spirit. Amen. |
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Holy Eucharist |
Bread and wine |
This is my body; This is my blood. |
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Anointing of the Sick |
Anointing with oil |
May the Lord forgive you by this holy
anointing whatever sins you have
committed. Amen. |
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Holy Orders |
The imposing of the
bishop's hands |
Bestow, we beseech thee, almighty Father,
on this thy servant the dignity of the priest-
hood. Renew in his heart the spirit of
holiness so that he may keep the office
of second rank that he has received from
you, O God, and gently reproach the conduct
of others by the example of his holy life. |
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Marriage |
The exchange of
marriage vows |
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The sacraments were instituted by Christ
to produce grace in us.
Christ determined these signs
The sacraments which Christ
uses here and now to produce
grace in us —
It is Christ who baptizes —
Christ who confirms —
Christ who forgives sin etc. —
Christ acts in and through the one
who administers the sacrament —
This person must have power from
Christ to do so —
and must intend to do what Christ wants.
If the sacrament is properly received
it will always produce grace —
if no obstacle is in the way —
One who is confirmed, receives
Holy Orders or Marriage
should not be in the state
of mortal sin — this would
be an obstacle —
Baptism
Romans 6: 2-6
Out of the question! We have died
to sin; how could we go on living in it?
You cannot have forgotten
that all of us, when we were baptised into Christ Jesus, were
baptised into his death. So by our baptism into his death we
were buried with him, so that as Christ was raised from the dead
by the Father’s glorious power, we too should begin living a new
life. If we have been joined to him by dying a death like his,
so we shall be by a resurrection like his: realising that our
former self was crucified with him, so that the self which
belonged to sin should be destroyed and we should be freed from
the slavery of sin.
Through the waters of Baptism —
Christ washes away sin and gives
us a new life in God —
By Baptism Christ unites us to
Himself and gives us the grace
he merited by His life, death
and resurrection —
In Baptism Jesus joins us to
His mystical Body —
John 3: 3-6
Jesus
answered:
In all truth I tell
you,
no one can see the kingdom of God
without being born from above.
Nicodemus said, ‘How can
anyone who is already old be born? Is it possible to go back into
the womb again and be born?’ Jesus replied:
In all truth I tell
you,
no one can enter the kingdom of God
without being born
through water and the Spirit;
what is born of human nature is human;
what is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Matthew 28: 18-20
... Jesus came up and spoke to them. He said, ‘All
authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go,
therefore, make disciples of all nations; baptise them in the name
of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them
to observe all the commands I gave you. And look, I am with you
always; yes, to the end of time.’
In Baptism
Christ gives us a new life, Divine life —
and makes us adopted children of God.
He welcomes us into a life of
intimacy with the Persons of the
Blessed Trinity: Father, Son and
Holy Spirit.
1 John 3: 1
You must see what great love
the Father has lavished on us
by letting us be called God's children-
which is what we are!
The reason why the world
does not acknowledge us
is that it did not acknowledge him.
Christ also gives us powers which enable
us to act as children of God
and in the divine life.
Christ removes sins
Romans 6: 14
and then sin will no longer have any power
over you—you are living not under law, but under grace.
'The grace received at Baptism
remedies the "graceless"
condition of the soul called
original sin.'
Christ also takes away personal sin
and the punishment due to them,
when the recipient is properly
disposed —
Christ unites us to Himself and to
the members of His Mystical
Body —
Ephesians 4: 4-6
There is one Body, one
Spirit, just as one hope is the goal of your calling by God. There
is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of all,
over all, through all and within all.
Colossians 1: 24
It makes me happy to be suffering for
you now, and in my own body to make up all the hardships that still
have to be undergone by Christ for the sake of his body, the Church,
Christ gives us a share in His priesthood
through the baptism character. It is
by means of this sharing in Christ's
priesthood that we participate in the
Mass, unite our prayers and sacrifices
with those of Christ, and obtain the
right to receive the other sacraments —
A person newly baptized still has
the inclination to sin
The actual graces given in
Baptism help him to
overcome this inclination —
We are expected to imitate Christ and
become holy —
Ephesians 4: 25-32
So from
now on, there must be no more lies. Speak the truth to one
another, since we are all parts of one another. Even if you
are angry, do not sin: never let the sun set on your anger or
else you will give the devil a foothold. Anyone who was a thief must
stop stealing; instead he should exert himself at some honest job
with his own hands so that he may have something to share with those
in need. No foul word should ever cross your lips; let your words be
for the improvement of others, as occasion offers, and do good to
your listeners; do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God who has marked
you with his seal, ready for the day when we shall be set free. Any
bitterness or bad temper or anger or shouting or abuse must be far
removed from you-as must every kind of malice. Be generous to one
another, sympathetic, forgiving each other as readily as God forgave
you in Christ.
Genesis 1: 1-2
In the beginning God created heaven and
earth. Now the earth was a formless void, there was darkness over
the deep, with a divine wind sweeping over the waters.
"Because of the importance of Baptism
for salvation the Church must make
certain that we are validly baptized.
Some non-Catholic baptisms are
doubtfully valid because of possible
defect in the words, actions or intentions.
Thus although a person can be validly
baptized only once, anyone doubtfully
baptized is baptized conditionally
with these words,
"If you are not baptized, I baptize
you in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."
We need God to be good and holy —
(holiness is God's creation in us —
not our own)
We need to realize this need —
We give God this sign of our love for
Him —
God is our friend —
We are dependent on God —
God has made us His children and
God has made us brothers to each other.
God is present, transforming us
in the Mass
The Father, Son and Holy Spirit
dwell in a special way in
the baptized, graced soul —
I recall in the Red Rosary book how
Jesus said —
When we go to the Eucharist — He comes
to us — no less present than when
He was in Mary's womb —
Jesus ascended to heaven and He sent
The Holy Spirit
In baptism we receive this special
sharing in His life —
IN US
The Father, Son and Holy Spirit dwell
in the graced baptized
soul —
Mary carried the child Jesus IN her
womb —
Jesus was formed — his little human
body inside of a human person —
This shows the intimacy God wants
with us
God dwelling IN us
through the sacraments —
IN HIM
Through Him, With Him and In Him
Christ comes IN us in
Holy Eucharist —
no less present than when He
was carried by Mary
Christ comes IN us in
His Divinity
and humanity
Our mission in the Shepherds of Christ is
to lead men to know this greater
intimacy God wants with
us
To lead people baptized to the Eucharist
and adoration to be more and
more filled with His grace —
Have greater intimacy with God —
Greater abundance of His life
in us
Blue Book I |
Blue Book II |
Blue Book III |
Blue Book IV |
Blue Book V |
Blue Book VI |
December
17, 1995
Excerpt from the Mass Book
T
HE EARTH STOPPED
AND TOUCHED HEAVEN
I long to unite in the deepest union with Him in the
Eucharist. I long for the Mass. I long for Thee, oh God. My every moment, I
join as I did to You December 15 under the cross, where I felt Your presence.
You whisked me away, and I was totally absorbed in that moment of celestial
union with You. For that time, I existed only in You, in the deepest union,
and I was in this moment existing in You. The earth stopped, and I touched the
heavens, all my bodily cares were existent in You. I existed in Your Divinity,
my being was in You. There was no desire or wish or wanting, for in that
moment, I had all I wanted in You. I was satisfied and wanted nothing but to
remain in that embrace. You were the Being, and my being existed in You, but I
was only as I was in You - merged in You, knowing and being in Your Divinity
and being so full as to feel complete in myself.
You are so enormous, and You surrounded me in a burning
embrace, the presence of red fire. I was not little, or "nothing",
but existed in this enormous power and being so complete!
I touched eternity, and in that embrace, I knew all the
waiting was worth the glory. You enveloped my being, and I was truly merged in
the Divine Presence. I was merged in Your being. I existed IN You, with You,
in the highest union with You, although I knew I was still distinct from You.
I was fused and absorbed in You, feeling complete and
satisfied. To describe this union is far beyond any work of my pen and paper.
I pray for the reader of this page to receive the grace to share this
experience with Him, I will now live for this union-to be forever merged In
Him, to be One in Him, to reach higher perfection as I exist in Him, for He
takes the lowly and gives to them a sharing in Himself. He merges with us and
we exist in Him. The word "in" - I could write pages about. I long
for the deepest union with Him, where I am swept up in the heavenly embrace of
the Divine God, and I am IN Him.
This is heaven on earth: to be merged as one with
Divinity, although remaining distinct from God, to take our feeble hearts, our
lowly status and to unite ourselves with the Divine, Almighty, powerful God
and in this union to be meshed with Him, that His power dominates and our
humanity reaches its heights of fulfillment in this union, in this oneness
with Him.
The word I have looked for is "oneness." I
understand some of the meaning of the words "One in Him." Oneness is
the word to describe this union of our humanity with His Divinity. The depth
to which we could meditate on oneness with God is incomprehensible. In that
moment, the earth stood still, and He, my Divine Lover, the Bridegroom of my
soul, took me to Himself, and I knew the embrace of the Divine God.
Nothing on the face of this earth can describe our union
with Divinity. Oh, good God, that creatures are so ungrateful regarding Your
divine love. I am so sorry. Let me help make reparation to Your adorable
Heart. Please unite with me now that I may more deeply love Thee.
Oh, Divine Lover of my soul, let me help make reparation
to Your adorable Heart for the neglect and indifference against You.
Song from Jesus: I come to you with greatest love. I am your loving
Savior. I am your God. I died for you. I come to you this day.
He allowed me to experience such pain in my heart -
wanting Him so badly, so many times-and then on Dec. 15, 1995 - He gave
Himself to me in the deepest union.
Nothing satisfies the soul but Him. He wants the nuns
and priests to love Him. He chose them to spread His love.
Souls are hungry. They will only be fed with His burning
love. Priests need to talk about Jesus' love for us from the pulpit. Priests
need hearts burning for love of Jesus. This will feed the hungry souls - lip
service love doesn't do it.
He is alive today. He is a Person. He wants us to love
Him.
end of excerpt
In us —
God wants this mystical marriage
with us —
We being filled more and more with
His life — His grace —
loving Him — so much —
Oh Jesus we love you —
Galatians 2: 19-20
...I have been crucified with Christ
and yet I am alive; yet it is no longer I, but Christ living in me.
Scripture from the Holy Spirit Novena - First Period
- Romans 8:
14-17
-
All who are guided by the
Spirit of God are sons of God; for what you received was not the
spirit of slavery to bring you back into fear; you received the
Spirit of adoption, enabling us to cry out, 'Abba, Father!'
The Spirit himself joins with our spirit to bear witness that we are
children of God. And if we are children, then we are heirs, heirs of
God and joint-heirs with Christ, provided that we share his
suffering, so as to share his glory.
-
- 1 John 4:
12-16
-
No one has ever seen God,
but as long as we love one another God remains in us and his love
comes to its perfection in us. This is the proof that we remain in
him and he in us, that he has given us a share in his Spirit. We
ourselves have seen and testify that the Father sent his Son as
Saviour of the world. Anyone who acknowledges that Jesus is the Son
of God, God remains in him and he in God. We have recognised for
ourselves, and put our faith in, the love God has for us. God is
love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him.
-
- 1 John 4:
17-21
-
Love comes to its
perfection in us when we can face the Day of Judgement fearlessly,
because even in this world we have become as he is. In love there is
no room for fear, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear
implies punishment and no one who is afraid has come to perfection
in love. Let us love, then, because he first loved us. Anyone who
says 'I love God' and hates his brother, is a liar, since whoever
does not love the brother whom he can see cannot love God whom he
has not seen. Indeed this is the commandment we have received from
him, that whoever loves God, must also love his brother.
-
- 1 John 4:
7-11
-
My dear friends, let us
love one another, since love is from God and everyone who loves is a
child of God and knows God. Whoever fails to love does not know God,
because God is love. This is the revelation of God's love for us,
that God sent his only Son into the world that we might have life
through him. Love consists in this: it is not we who loved God, but
God loved us and sent his Son to expiate our sins. My dear friends,
if God loved us so much, we too should love one another.
-
- Acts 1:
1-5
-
In my earlier work,
Theophilus, I dealt with everything Jesus had done and taught from
the beginning until the day he gave his instructions to the apostles
he had chosen through the Holy Spirit, and was taken up to heaven.
He had shown himself alive to them after his Passion by many
demonstrations: for forty days he had continued to appear to them
and tell them about the kingdom of God. While at table with them, he
had told them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for what the
Father had promised. 'It is', he had said, 'what you have heard me
speak about: John baptised with water but, not many days from now,
you are going to be baptised with the Holy Spirit.'
-
- Acts 1:
6-9
-
Now having met together,
they asked him, 'Lord, has the time come for you to restore the
kingdom to Israel?' He replied, 'It is not for you to know times or
dates that the Father has decided by his own authority, but you will
receive the power of the Holy Spirit which will come on you, and
then you will be my witnesses not only in Jerusalem but throughout
Judaea and Samaria, and indeed to earth's remotest end.'
As he said this he was lifted up while they looked on, and a cloud
took him from their sight.
-
- Acts 2: 1-4
-
When Pentecost day came
round, they had all met together, when suddenly there came from
heaven a sound as of a violent wind which filled the entire house in
which they were sitting; and there appeared to them tongues as of
fire; these separated and came to rest on the head of each of them.
They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak
different languages as the Spirit gave them power to express
themselves.
Second Period
- John 14:
21-31
-
Whoever holds to my
commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me; and whoever
loves me will be loved by my Father, and I shall love him and reveal
myself to him.'
Judas-not Judas Iscariot-said to him, 'Lord, what has happened, that
you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?' Jesus
replied:
Anyone who loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him,
and we shall come to him and make a home in him. Anyone who does not
love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not my
own: it is the word of the Father who sent me. I have said these
things to you while still with you; but the Paraclete, the Holy
Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you
everything and remind you of all I have said to you. Peace I
bequeath to you, my own peace I give you, a peace which the world
cannot give, this is my gift to you. Do not let your hearts be
troubled or afraid. You heard me say: I am going away and shall
return. If you loved me you would be glad that I am going to the
Father, for the Father is greater than I. I have told you this now,
before it happens, so that when it does happen you may believe. I
shall not talk to you much longer, because the prince of this world
is on his way. He has no power over me, but the world must recognise
that I love the Father and that I act just as the Father commanded.
Come now, let us go.
-
- John 17:
11-26
-
I am no longer in the
world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy
Father, keep those you have given me true to your name, so that they
may be one like us. While I was with them, I kept those you had
given me true to your name. I have watched over them and not one is
lost except one who was destined to be lost, and this was to fulfil
the scriptures. But now I am coming to you and I say these things in
the world to share my joy with them to the full. I passed your word
on to them, and the world hated them, because they belong to the
world no more than I belong to the world. I am not asking you to
remove them from the world, but to protect them from the Evil One.
They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world.
Consecrate them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me
into the world, I have sent them into the world, and for their sake
I consecrate myself so that they too may be consecrated in truth. I
pray not only for these but also for those who through their
teaching will come to believe in me. May they all be one, just as,
Father, you are in me and I am in you, so that they also may be in
us, so that the world may believe it was you who sent me. I have
given them the glory you gave to me, that they may be one as we are
one. With me in them and you in me, may they be so perfected in
unity that the world will recognise that it was you who sent me and
that you have loved them as you have loved me.
Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, so
that they may always see my glory which you have given me because
you loved me before the foundation of the world. Father, Upright
One, the world has not known you, but I have known you, and these
have known that you have sent me. I have made your name known to
them and will continue to make it known, so that the love with which
you loved me may be in them, and so that I may be in them.
-
Revelation 19: 7-8
-
let us be glad and joyful
and give glory to God, because this is the time for the marriage of
the Lamb. His bride is ready, and she has been able to dress herself
in dazzling white linen, because her linen is made of the good deeds
of the saints.'
-
- Revelation 21: 1-10
-
Then I saw a new
heaven and a new earth; the first heaven and the first earth
had disappeared now, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the holy
city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,
prepared as a bride dressed for her husband. Then I heard a loud
voice call from the throne, 'Look, here God lives among human
beings. He will make his home among them; they will be his
people, and he will be their God, God-with-them. He will
wipe away all tears from their eyes; there will be no
more death, and no more mourning or sadness or pain. The world of
the past has gone.'
Then the One sitting on the throne spoke. 'Look, I am making the
whole of creation new. Write this, "What I am saying is trustworthy
and will come true."' Then he said to me, 'It has already happened.
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give
water from the well of life free to anybody who is thirsty; anyone
who proves victorious will inherit these things; and I will be
his God and he will be my son. But the legacy for
cowards, for those who break their word, or worship obscenities, for
murderers and the sexually immoral, and for sorcerers, worshippers
of false gods or any other sort of liars, is the second death in the
burning lake of sulphur.'
One of the seven angels that had the seven bowls full of the seven
final plagues came to speak to me and said, 'Come here and I will
show you the bride that the Lamb has married.' In the spirit, he
carried me to the top of a very high mountain, and showed me
Jerusalem, the holy city, coming down out of heaven from God.
-
Revelation 22: 20
-
The one who attests these
things says: I am indeed coming soon.
Amen; come, Lord Jesus.
Prayers from the Holy Spirit Novena
Prayer for
Strength and Light
We adore You, oh Holy Spirit. Give us strength, give us
light, console us. We give ourselves entirely to You. Oh Spirit of light
and grace, we want to only do the will of the Father. Enlighten us that
we may live always in the Father's will.
Eternal Spirit fill us with Your Divine Wisdom that we
may comprehend more fully insight into Your Divine Mysteries.
Give us lights, Oh Holy Spirit that we may know God. Work
within the heart, the spiritual womb of the Virgin Mary, to form us more
and more into the image of Jesus.
Prayer to Be One
with God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit
We long for You, Oh Spirit of Light, we long to know God,
we want to be one with Him, our Divine God. We want to be one with the
Father, know Him as a Person most intimately. We want to know the
beloved One, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and live and dwell in Him at all
times, every moment of our lives. We want to be one with You, Oh Spirit
of Light, that You move in us in our every breath.
Prayer to Be One
in Jesus
Let us experience life in the Sacred Heart of Jesus, so
we can say as Saint Paul, "I have been crucified with Christ and yet I
am alive; yet it is no longer I, but Christ living in me...." Let us
live, united to the Mass, all through the day being one in Him. Let us
be able to love and know in this elevated state of oneness with our God.
We long for Thee, oh beauteous God, we love You, we love You, we love
You. We praise You, worship You, honor You, adore You, and thank You,
our beloved God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Prayer to Dwell
in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary
We seek to be one in God, to live and dwell in the Hearts
of Jesus and Mary, our little heaven on earth, to experience life in the
all perfect, pure, sinless heart of our Mother. We want the Holy Spirit
to move in us and to be united to Jesus as the Bridegroom of our souls
and be a most perfect sacrifice offered to the Father at every moment as
we unite in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass around the world to help in
the salvation of souls.
Prayer for the
Holy Spirit and His Gifts
Come Holy Spirit, come, come into our hearts, inflame all
people with the fire of Your love.
Leader: Send forth Your Spirit
and all will be reborn.
All: And You will renew the face of the earth.
We pray for the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, we ask
for perfection in our souls to make us holy, holy souls likened to God.
Dear Holy Spirit, we give ourselves to You soul and body.
We ask You to give us the Spirit of Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel,
Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety, and Fear of the Lord.
Prayer for the
Word Alive in Our Hearts
We know, dear Holy Spirit, the Word in His human nature
was brought forth within the womb of the woman. We pray that His word
will be brought forth in our hearts as He lives and dwells in us. We
want the incarnation to go on in our lives. Dear Holy Spirit, work in
us.
Little Prayers to
the Holy Spirit
Dear Holy Spirit, help us not to be ignorant or
indifferent or weak, help us to be strong with the love of God.
Dear Holy Spirit, please pray for our needs for us.
Dear Holy Spirit, help us to respect God and to avoid
sin. Help us to live in the Father's will.
Dear Holy Spirit, help us to keep Your commandments and
to respect authority. Help us to love all things as You will us to love
them. Help us to want to pray and always serve God with the greatest
love. Help us to know the truth. Help us to have the gift of faith,
hope, and love. Help us to know what is right and what is wrong.
A
Prayer for
Intimacy
with the
Lamb, the
Bridegroom
of the
Soul
Oh Lamb
of God,
Who
take
away
the
sins of
the
world,
come
and act
on my
soul
most
intimately.
I
surrender
myself,
as I
ask for
the
grace
to let
go, to
just be
as I
exist
in You
and You
act
most
intimately
on my
soul.
You are
the
Initiator.
I am
the
soul
waiting
Your
favors
as You
act in
me. I
love
You. I
adore
You. I
worship
You.
Come
and
possess
my soul
with
Your
Divine
Grace,
as I
experience
You
most
intimately.
Prayer for Union
with Jesus
Come to me, Lord, and possess my
soul. Come into my heart and permeate my soul. Help me to sit in silence
with You and let You work in my heart.
I am Yours to possess. I am Yours to
use. I want to be selfless and only exist in You. Help me to spoon out all
that is me and be an empty vessel ready to be filled by You. Help me to
die to myself and live only for You. Use me as You will. Let me never draw
my attention back to myself. I only want to operate as You do, dwelling
within me.
I am Yours, Lord. I want to have my
life in You. I want to do the will of the Father. Give me the strength to
put aside the world and let You operate my very being. Help me to act as
You desire. Strengthen me against the distractions of the devil to take me
from Your work.
When I worry, I have taken my focus
off of You and placed it on myself. Help me not to give in to the
promptings of others to change what in my heart You are making very clear
to me. I worship You, I adore You and I love You. Come and dwell in me
now.
-God's Blue Book, January 17, 1994
A Prayer before the Holy Sacrifice of the
Mass
Let me be a holy sacrifice and unite
with God in the sacrament of His greatest love.
I want to be one in Him in this act of
love, where He gives Himself to me and I give myself as a sacrifice to Him.
Let me be a holy sacrifice as I become one with Him in this my act of
greatest love to Him.
Let me unite with Him more, that I may
more deeply love Him. May I help make reparation to His adorable Heart and
the heart of His Mother, Mary. With greatest love, I offer myself to You and
pray that You will accept my sacrifice of greatest love. I give myself to
You and unite in Your gift of Yourself to me. Come and possess my soul.
Cleanse me, strengthen me, heal me.
Dear Holy Spirit act in the heart of Mary to make me more and more like
Jesus.
Father, I offer this my sacrifice,
myself united to Jesus in the Holy Spirit to You. Help me to love God more
deeply in this act of my greatest love.
Give me the grace to grow in my
knowledge, love and service of You and for this to be my greatest
participation in the Mass. Give me the greatest graces to love You so deeply
in this Mass, You who are so worthy of my love.
-Mass Book, December 27, 1995
IN, IN, IN HIM
JESUS the Bridegroom
of our Soul
From
Mysticism of Everyday by Fr. Edward J. Carter, S.J.
The Mystical Process
(excerpt)
...Growth in true spiritual freedom is also a chief characteristic
of the mystical process. The mystic achieves increased awareness of
the necessity to be always open—to be truly free—to accomplish the
divine will under the Spirit's guidance. The mystic is willing to
take whatever means are necessary to shed more and more the shackles
of one's non-freedom which prevent a person from accomplishing God's
will. By non-freedom we do not mean that one is not responsible for
deviation from the divine will, but that this abuse of one's free
choice is actually a type of enslavement and therefore can be called
a type of non-freedom. The maturing freedom to seek God by relating
to persons, occupations, places, and things according to his
will—this is the only pursuit which really interests the mystic. To
pursue anything else is to follow the path of falsehood, regression,
illusion, and consequent unhappiness.
The mystical process we have been describing does not remove us more
and more from the human condition. On the contrary, it inserts us
more deeply into the same. The mystic's experiential awareness of
life in Christ is entirely appropriate to whatever is at hand. The
mystical experience does not make one less present to work and
people. Rather the mystic approaches all activity with greater
depth. The mystic possesses a depth of faith-vision and
love-dynamism which the more ordinary Christian lacks. This
faith-vision and love-dynamism reach out and touch whatever the
mystic happens to be doing.
This greater depth the mystic brings to everyday life results from
living the really real in a manner which is foreign to the less
advanced. With deep faith the mystic is more or less consistently
aware of God's way of seeing reality. The mystic has a firmly rooted
vision of the only completely real order which exists—that
established in Christ. The mystic responds to this vision with a
deep love. This love can be very dry at times, but its real depth is
there. The mystic loves God deeply, loves people deeply, loves all
creation deeply. The uninformed Christian tends to think of a mystic
as someone who is withdrawn, whose humanness is clouded over with
eccentricity. The opposite is true. The mystic is one who lives the
really real to a high degree. The mystic lives as anyone logically
should desire to live. The mystic has the desire to live life to the
fullest according to the designs of God. The mystic, permeated with
this desire, has taken the necessary means to achieve this cherished
goal.
Joyful Mysteries
Annunciation
(1) Luke 1: 26-38
In the sixth month the
angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David;
and the virgin’s name was Mary. He went in and said to her,
‘Rejoice, you who enjoy God’s favour! The Lord is with you.’ She was
deeply disturbed by these words and asked herself what this greeting
could mean, but the angel said to her, ‘Mary, do not be afraid; you
have won God’s favour. Look! You are to conceive in your womb and
bear a son, and you must name him Jesus. He will be great and will
be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the
throne of his ancestor David; he will rule over the House of Jacob
for ever and his reign will have no end.’ Mary said to the angel,
‘But how can this come about, since I have no knowledge of man?’ The
angel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power
of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child
will be holy and will be called Son of God. And I tell you this too:
your cousin Elizabeth also, in her old age, has conceived a son, and
she whom people called barren is now in her sixth month, for
nothing is impossible to God.’ Mary said, ‘You see before you
the Lord’s servant, let it happen to me as you have said.’ And the
angel left her.
(2) Mary: My dear children —
R. Our spiritual Mother
Mother of Jesus
Mother of All
(3) Mary: My love for my children,
I want them to be happy —
I want them to obey God —
I want them to be tender and
loving in heart
I love my children so much —
(4) Mary: Devotion to My Heart and Jesus'
Heart is so important —
I am the singular vessel —
I am Mary, conceived without sin
I am Mary, Mother most pure —
I am Mary, Mother of the Divine God
(5) Mary: The incarnation goes on —
Your life lived to please Jesus —
You come to my Immaculate Heart —
I am Mother of the Church —
Pray to the Holy Spirit
Have a very deep relationship
with the Holy Spirit
(6) R. Jesus gave Himself to Mary —
Jesus teaches us in this — How much
He loves us and gives us Himself
(7) John 1: 14
The Word became flesh,
he lived among us,
and we saw his glory,
the glory that he has from the Father
as only Son of the Father,
full of grace and truth.
(8) Excerpt from Mother at Our Side, by Father
Edward J. Carter, S.J.
Preface (excerpt)
It was the hour of Jesus'
agony. He hung on a cross, on a hill called Calvary. He had already
suffered excruciating pain. He had been brutally scourged—can we
comprehend what this did to Jesus? He had been crowned with thorns.
He had carried the heavy cross and then was mercilessly nailed to
it. After all this, the excruciating suffering continued as the
weight of His body pulled downward against the nail-inflicted wounds
of His hands and feet. Besides the intense physical suffering, there
was the spiritual anguish which pierced Jesus' Heart.
Amidst this unfathomable
suffering, Jesus spoke to Mary and John as they stood at the foot of
the cross: Woman, behold, your son. Then He said to the
disciple, Behold, your mother. (Jn. 19: 26-7).
John represented all of us. In
giving Mary to him as spiritual mother, Jesus was also giving Mary
to all of us as our spiritual mother.
end of excerpt
Mary's
Message
from the Rosary of August 27, 1996
Mary:
I stood beneath the cross of my Son, and my Heart was in such pain for I
saw Him before my eyes. I saw Him covered with blood. I saw Him die. My
Heart, my children, my Heart to watch my Son, but my Heart, my Heart, how I
suffered for my little children of the world that give in to this world and
give up the love of my Son. O my little children of light, I give you this
message. Carry this light into the darkness for your Mother Mary, for I
stood beneath the cross and I cried. I cried for the little ones. I cried
for the young ones, the ones that do not care and will lose their souls. How
do I make you see for you will not listen to me? What can I do? I come. I
appear. I beg. I plead. I give you these gifts from my Son, and you reject
me. I do not deliver messages very often anymore for I have been ignored.
The message is the same. You do not read the messages I have given to you.
Please help me. Help the little children. I appear. I appear. I appear, and
I am ignored. I stood beneath the cross, and I cried. I cried, and my Heart
was in such anguish for my little children, for I am searching for them this
day as I searched for the Child Jesus. Please, please help me. I cannot hold
back the hand of my Son any longer. I am Mary, your Mother. I ask you to
help my children. You are my children of light.
end of Mary's Message,
August 27, 1996
(9) Excerpt from Mother at Our Side, by Father
Edward J. Carter, S.J. p. 12
one -
Mother Of Christ
"The Blessed Virgin was
eternally predestined, in conjunction with the Incarnation of the
Divine Word, to be the Mother of God. By decree of divine
Providence, she served on earth as the loving mother of the divine
Redeemer, an associate of unique nobility, and the Lord's humble
handmaid. She conceived, brought forth, and nourished Christ. She
presented Him to the Father in the temple, and was united with Him
in suffering as He died on the cross. In an utterly singular way she
cooperated by her obedience, faith, hope, and burning charity in the
Savior's work of restoring supernatural life to souls." (Vatican
II).1
The above words of Scripture
and of the Second Vatican Council tell us of a most awesome
truth—that Mary truly is the Mother of Jesus, that she truly is the
Mother of God.
To speak of Mary, then, is to
speak of Christ. Mary's entire life was centered on Christ. No human
has ever followed Christ as closely as has Mary. Mary's spiritual
life was perfectly centered in Jesus as she went with Christ to the
Father in the Holy Spirit.
As the words of Vatican II tell us, Mary cooperated with Jesus in
His redemptive effort. Throughout much of the time she was
physically present to Him. At those times when she was not at His
side, she was united with Him through a profound spiritual union.
She was totally dedicated to Him and to His cause. She was His first
and perfect disciple. She loved Him with a devotion and an intensity
beyond our full comprehension.
All of Mary's other God-given
gifts flow from her divine motherhood—from the fact that she is the
Mother of Jesus. Her Immaculate Conception, her fullness of grace,
her freedom from actual sin, her perpetual virginity, her bodily
Assumption into Heaven—these and all her other gifts flow from her
divine maternity.
One of these gifts not yet
mentioned is her role as our spiritual mother. Yes, because Mary is
the Mother of Christ, she is also our mother. This is a marvelous
and most consoling reality upon which to further reflect.
(10) Excerpt from Mother at Our Side, by Father
Edward J. Carter, S.J. pp. 3-5
two -
Mother At Our Side
"In an utterly singular way she
cooperated by her obedience, faith, hope, and burning charity in the
Savior's work of restoring supernatural life to souls. For this
reason she is a mother to us in the order of grace." (Vatican
II).2
Mary is the Mother of Jesus. She is also our Mother. The above
words of Scripture and of the Second Vatican Council attest to this.
Jesus has given us Mary as our
spiritual mother. As He hung upon the cross, Jesus told John to look
upon Mary as his mother, this John who represents all of us. In His
moment of deepest anguish and suffering, Jesus was thinking of us.
As the indescribable physical pain racked His body from head to toe,
as the unfathomable spiritual anguish penetrated to the depths of
His Heart, Jesus was thinking of us. If we allow this scene to
penetrate into our hearts, if we take the time to contemplate the
depth of Jesus' and Mary's love for us as Their Hearts were pierced
with grief, we are truly overwhelmed with the magnificent greatness
and tenderness of the scene. Jesus was proclaiming Mary to be Mother
of the Redemption. He was telling us that Mary is Mother to all
peoples.
The fact that Mary is our
mother, the fact that she has such a powerful role to play in our
salvation in no way detracts from the mediatorship of Christ.
Vatican II states:
"We have but one Mediator,
as we know from the words of the Apostle: "For there is one God,
and one Mediator between God and men, himself man, Christ Jesus,
who gave himself as ransom for all." (1 Tim. 2:5-6). The
maternal duty of Mary toward men in no way obscures or
diminishes this unique mediation of Christ, but rather shows its
power. For all the saving influences of the Blessed Virgin on
men originate, not from some inner necessity, but from the
divine pleasure. They flow forth from the superabundance of the
merits of Christ, rest on His mediation, depend entirely on it,
and draw all their power from it. In no way do they impede the
immediate union of the faithful with Christ. Rather they foster
this union."3
In saying that Mary is our
spiritual mother, we are saying that Mary is the mother of our
Christ-life. What is this life? Can we define it?
At Baptism the Persons of the
Trinity communicate so intimately to us that, as a result, they
leave their imprint or image upon us. This Trinitarian image is our
life of sanctifying grace. This life of grace is a created
participation in God's life, and since this gift of grace is
mediated by Christ in His humanity, this Trinitarian image also has
a Christic aspect. Christ as man has shown us how to live a God-like
existence. He has shown us how to live the life of grace. This life
of grace we possess allows us to enjoy the special presence of
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Truly, the divine Persons dwell within
us.
Whether we refer to this life
as the Christ-life, the life of grace, life in the Holy Spirit, or
by other names, we are referring to one and the same reality. This
reality, again, is the Christic, Trinitarian image given us through
the Trinitarian communication.
2. The Documents of Vatican II
(New York: The America Press, 1966), Dogmatic Constitution on
the Church, No. 62.
3. The Documents of Vatican II (New York: The America
Press, 1966), Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, No.
60.
end of excerpt
Visitation
(1) Luke 1: 39-45
Mary set out at that time
and went as quickly as she could into the hill country to a town in
Judah. She went into Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. Now it
happened that as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child
leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She
gave a loud cry and said, ‘Of all women you are the most blessed,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I be honoured with
a visit from the mother of my Lord? Look, the moment your greeting
reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy. Yes, blessed is
she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be
fulfilled.’
(2) Sing: Holy Is His Name
(3) Excerpt from Mother at Our Side, by Father
Edward J. Carter, S.J. pp. 5-7
two -
Mother At Our Side - continues
St. Paul speaks of our life of
grace in terms of our being baptized into the death and resurrection
of Jesus (Rom. 6:1-11). Again, Jesus mediates our life of
grace. He has shown us how to live a Christ-like existence. Since
Jesus' paschal mystery of death-resurrection sums up His own human
existence, so it sums up our own. This is what St. Paul is telling
us. Paul tells us that we live our life of Baptism, our life of
grace, by continually dying and rising with Jesus—rising to a
greater share in Christ's resurrection. Indeed, we live resurrection
now and hereafter. Living death-resurrection involves all of our
Christian activities. While not giving an all-inclusive list, we do
include the following: the reading of Scripture, prayer, the
performance of daily duties, the doing of penance, making
sacrifices, our jobs, periods of rest and relaxation, sharing meals
with loved ones, reception of the sacraments, and, especially,
participation in the Eucharist which is both sacrifice and
sacrament.
This is our glorious existence
made possible by God's great love for us and a major truth of this
glorious existence is the fact that Jesus has given us Mary as our
spiritual mother. Mary is the Mother of our Christ-life. In her
loving, maternal role, she cooperates with the Holy Spirit in
forming Christ in us. Pope John Paul II tells us:
"The Church knows and
teaches that all the saving influences of the Blessed Virgin on
mankind originate from the divine pleasure. . .This saving
influence is sustained by the Holy Spirit, Who, just as He
overshadowed the Virgin Mary when He began in her the divine
motherhood, in a similar way constantly sustains her solicitude
for the brothers and sisters of her Son.''4
Mary our mother is ever with
us, guiding us, teaching us, caring for us, protecting us, loving
us. With her maternal assistance we go to the Father through and
with Christ in the Holy Spirit.
Mary nourishes our growth in
Christ with a very tender and specialized love for each of us. She
regards each of us as a precious, unique individual. John Paul II
again speaks to us:
"Of the essence of
motherhood is the fact that it concerns the person. Motherhood
always establishes a unique and unrepeatable relationship
between two people: between mother and child and between child
and mother. Even when the same woman is the mother of many
children, her personal relationship with each one of them is of
the very essence of motherhood. For each child is generated in a
unique and unrepeatable way, and this is true both for the
mother and for the child."4
The Holy Father then applies
these ideas to Mary and us:
"It can be said that
motherhood in the order of grace preserves the analogy with what
in the order of nature characterizes the union between mother
and child. In the light of this fact it becomes easier to
understand why in Christ's testament on Golgotha, His Mother's
new motherhood is expressed in the singular, in reference to one
man. Behold, your son."5
This is the awesome and
consoling truth—you and I are very precious to Mary. She loves us
much more than we can ever fathom. It is our great privilege and
responsibility to love her in return. She asks for this love, she
asks for our trust. As we give our love and trust to our mother, she
wants us to come to her at all times and in all circumstances.
(4) Excerpt from Mother at Our Side, by Father
Edward J. Carter, S.J. p.7
two -
Mother At Our Side - continues
Are we sorrowful, anxious,
troubled? Let us go to Mary our mother and ask her to console us.
Let us ask her for the grace to handle our sorrow, our anxieties,
our troubles properly—according to God's will. In this way our
suffering will bring us closer to Christ as it simultaneously allows
us to contribute to the ongoing Christianization of the world.
Are we joyful, happy, basking
in the glow of a goal successfully accomplished? Let us go to Mary
and ask her to help us handle our joy, our happiness, our success as
God intends. Let us petition her not to allow our joy to make us
forgetful of God, our God Who is the source of all true joy,
success, and happiness.
Are we finding it particularly
difficult to follow Christ in the here-and-now? In child-like trust
we can approach our mother. Let us ask her for the grace to realize
that the following of Christ is not always easy—that at times being
a follower of Christ challenges our courage in a special way. We can
also ask Mary to help us realize that even at such difficult times,
Christ's grace makes our burden relatively light.
(5) Excerpt from Mother at Our Side, by Father
Edward J. Carter, S.J. p.7
two -
Mother At Our Side - continues
Jesus has told us:
Come to me, all you who
labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and
humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my
yoke is easy, and my burden light. (Mt.11:28-30).
Are we finding it is
particularly easy to follow Christ in the here-and-now? Let us go to
Mary and ask her for the grace to remain humble. Let us beseech Mary
to keep us from being inflated with pride, and ask her to help us
realize that without Jesus we can do nothing.
Mary, then, asks for our
complete trust. She wants us always to seek shelter under her
maternal mantle. She invites us to come to her in all
circumstances—whether it be in joy or sorrow, success or failure,
laughter or tears. Mary wants us to share in her maternal wisdom so
that we may understand how to use our various experiences to come
closer to God in Christ. Sharing our lives with Mary in this
fashion, and on a consistent basis, requires that we love her, that
we trust her, that we surrender ourselves to her maternal love.
Help us, Mother Mary, to probe
ever more deeply into the depths of your love for us. Help us to
realize more and more that to be loved by you is to experience a
sweetness, a warmth, a tenderness, a serenity, a security, which
makes us cry out, "O Mother, how good and loving you are!"
(6) Excerpt from Mother at Our Side, by Father
Edward J. Carter, S.J. p. 9
two -
Mother At Our Side - continues
"Of the essence of
motherhood is the fact that it concerns the person.
Motherhood always establishes a unique and unrepeatable
relationship between two people: between mother and child
and between child and mother. Even when the same woman is
the mother of many children, her personal relationship with
each one of them is of the very essence of motherhood. . .
"It can be said that motherhood 'in the order of grace'
preserves the analogy with what 'in the order of nature'
characterizes the union between mother and child." (Pope
John Paul II).6
We have already used these
words in the previous chapter. We repeat them here for the
purpose of discussing the concept of personal uniqueness. Each
of us is unique—a unique reflection of God. Out of each one's
uniqueness flows a special God-given mission. Cardinal Newman
observes: "Everyone who breathes, high and low, educated and
ignorant, young and old, man and woman, has a mission, has a
work. We are not sent into this world for nothing; we are not
born at random. . . God sees every one of us; He creates every
soul, He lodges it in a body, one by one, for a purpose."7
6. Pope John Paul II, The
Mother of the Redeemer (Redemptoris Mater)
(Washington: United States Catholic Conference, 1987), No. 45.
7. John Cardinal Newman, Discourses Addressed to Mixed
Congregations (London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1906), pp.
111-12.
(7) Excerpt from Mother at Our Side, by Father
Edward J. Carter, S.J. pp. 9-10
two -
Mother At Our Side - continues
And as Pope John Paul
tells us, we each have a unique relationship with Mary. She
loves each one of us very dearly, each in his or her own
uniqueness. She knows each of us has the awesome privilege and
responsibility of allowing Christ to live in and through this
personal uniqueness. As Mary cooperates with the Holy Spirit in
forming Christ in us, she works with the Spirit in assisting us
to accomplish our personal mission in life.
Each day we can strive to
accomplish our mission under Mary's maternal mantle. Let us each
day entrust ourselves to Mary's Immaculate Heart and dwell
within this most pure haven. Here we feel loved, safe,
confident, courageous in our efforts to act that day as the
Father wills. Dwelling within Mary's Heart, we face our daily
challenge of working with Christ to lessen the world's evil and
to promote its goodness. Aware of Mary's special and unique love
for each of us, we are strengthened in our attempt to accomplish
our God-given mission in all the various circumstances of life
within the human condition. Amidst joy and sorrow, success and
failure, acceptance and rejection, laughter and tears—amidst
whatever comprises each day's existence—we should rest secure
knowing Mary is Mother at our side.
(8) Excerpt from Mother at Our Side, by Father
Edward J. Carter, S.J. pp. 10-11
two -
Mother At Our Side - continues
We should not waste time
bemoaning the fact that we do not possess this or that gift
which another has in abundance. We have the gifts God intends
for us. We have the gifts we need to accomplish our mission in
life. Concentrate to develop these gifts for love of God and
neighbor because how we use these gifts is what we will be
judged on—not on the fact that we lacked this or that talent.
I cannot accomplish your
mission in life. You cannot accomplish mine. Each of us has
something to give to Christ, His Church, and His world which no
other can contribute. Again, this is an awesome privilege and
responsibility.
God has given us Mary so
that she may assist us in living out this privilege and
responsibility and we should daily ask her for wisdom to grow in
the understanding of all that our mission involves. We should
also petition her for the courage not to shirk the
responsibility, but joyously to embrace it for the greater glory
of God. With her mother's sense of pride, she wants us to
succeed in fulfilling God's plan for us. The more we entrust
ourselves to her, the more she places us with Christ so that He
may live in and through us to further Christianize the world.
Yes, the more we entrust
ourselves to Mary our Mother, the more we will be able to live
out the truth Cardinal Newman puts before us: "We are not sent
into this world for nothing; we are not born at random. . . God
sees every one of us; He creates every soul, He lodges it in a
body, one by one, for a purpose."
(9) Sing Litany of Mary
(10) Sing: See the Eyes that Look at Mary
Birth of Jesus
(1) Luke 2: 1-20
Now it happened that at
this time Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be
made of the whole inhabited world. This census—the first—took place
while Quirinius was governor of Syria, and everyone went to be
registered, each to his own town. So Joseph set out from the town of
Nazareth in Galilee for Judaea, to David’s town called Bethlehem,
since he was of David’s House and line, in order to be registered
together with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. Now it
happened that, while they were there, the time came for her to have
her child, and she gave birth to a son, her first–born. She wrapped
him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because there was
no room for them in the living–space. In the countryside close by
there were shepherds out in the fields keeping guard over their
sheep during the watches of the night. An angel of the Lord stood
over them and the glory of the Lord shone round them. They were
terrified, but the angel said, ‘Do not be afraid. Look, I bring you
news of great joy, a joy to be shared by the whole people. Today in
the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the
Lord. And here is a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in
swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.’ And all at once with the
angel there was a great throng of the hosts of heaven, praising God
with the words:
Glory to God in the
highest heaven,
and on earth peace for those he favours.
Now it happened that when the angels had gone from them into
heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go to Bethlehem
and see this event which the Lord has made known to us.’ So they
hurried away and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the
manger. When they saw the child they repeated what they had been
told about him, and everyone who heard it was astonished at what the
shepherds said to them. As for Mary, she treasured all these things
and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds went back
glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as
they had been told.
(2) Sing: Little Drummer Boy
(3) Meditate on Jesus — the baby King
(4) Sing: What Child Is This
(5) Sing: Silent Night
(6) From Tell My People
The Riches of the Immaculate Heart
Mary: "My beloved priest-son, how
often I have pressed you to my maternal and Immaculate Heart in the
greatest love! How often I allow you to taste the sweetness of this
Heart. How often I make you aware that my Heart is your refuge where
you feel so much loved, where you feel so secure, where you feel
bathed in peace! I desire that you tell all the people about the
riches contained in my Immaculate Heart. Tell my people to come to
my Heart each day. I will caress them with my maternal love. I will
lead them ever closer to the Sacred Heart of my Son. I will tell
them to listen to Jesus. I will remind them that He is their Lord
and Master. I will remind them to do whatever He tells them to do.
"Yes, my dearly beloved son, tell my
people all these things. Keep reminding them of my great love for
them. Keep reminding them how I love to draw them to my maternal and
Immaculate Heart!"
Reflection: Is there anyone who,
listening to these words of Mary, does not long for a closer union
with the loving Heart of our Mother?
(7) From Tell My People
The Tears and Sorrows of Mary
Mary: "My beloved priest-son, I
have given you a great devotion to my sorrows and tears. Tell my
people about this devotion. Tell them I promise great blessings to
all who say seven Hail Marys each day in honor of my tears and seven
sorrows. Included in my promise is that of granting special
assistance at the hour of death. At this moment, all who practice
this devotion will see my face."
Reflection: Listed below are the
seven sorrows of Mary. Let us each day recall these sorrows as we
pray the seven Hail Marys as Our Lady requests.
-
The prophecy of Simeon.
-
The Flight into Egypt.
-
The loss of Jesus in the Temple.
-
Jesus and Mary meet during the way
of the cross.
-
Mary witnesses the crucifixion of
her Son.
-
Jesus is taken down from the cross
and laid in Mary's arms.
-
The burial of Jesus.
(8) From Tell My People
Children of Mary
Mary: "My beloved priest-son, how
often I have embraced you! How often I have told you how much I love
you! How often, at your request, I have held you in my arms as my
child. You have told me you realize how helpless you are of
yourself, but how strong and secure you feel dwelling in my heart
and Jesus' Heart. Your sense of your littleness and helplessness
endears you to me all the more. I take you ever more securely to my
maternal and Immaculate Heart. Tell all my people of the riches you
have found within my heart. Tell them how I place you within my
Son's Heart. Tell them that, because of my motherly action, you are
now more closely united with Jesus than ever before. Tell my people
to come to my heart and draw forth similar riches. Tell all my
little ones that Jesus, Who is Lord and Master, bids me to lead all
to His Sacred Heart. The more my little ones dwell within my
Immaculate Heart, the more I place them within Jesus' Heart. Oh, how
I love all my little ones! How I love to bring them to the Heart of
Jesus!"
Reflection: Again, let us remind
ourselves that we live in the Age of the Two Hearts. The Hearts of
Jesus and Mary are inseparable. The more we dwell in Mary's heart,
the more she places us within Jesus' Heart. Within these Two Hearts,
the Holy Spirit fashions us more and more in the likeness of Christ,
and the more we become like Christ, the more closely He unites us to
the Father.
(9) From Tell My People
Mary, Model and Teacher of Love
Mary: "My beloved priest-son, I
have led you to greatly increase your prayers and sacrifices for
others. I have often reminded you of my teaching at Fatima—that many
souls go to Hell because they have no one to pray and make
sacrifices for them. My Immaculate Heart longs that all my little
ones be saved. Tell my little ones that they must love their
neighbor through prayer, sacrifices, and other ways, too. All should
learn from me. My Heart is symbol, not only of my great love for
God, but also of my tender love for all my little ones. Imitate my
love for God and all my children. If you love Jesus and me, this
means you also love all of God's children. Jesus died for all. You
cannot exclude anyone from your love.
"My Heart is the perfect imitator of the
Heart of my Son. I will teach you how to love the Father and all
mankind after the example of Jesus. All my little ones, I long for
you to come to my Heart so I can teach you the ways of love! I love
you so much! Come to my Immaculate Heart. Pressed against my Heart,
I will hold you in my arms. I will clothe you with my motherly and
protective mantle. As I hold you close to my Heart, I will teach you
the ways of love!"
Reflection: In the above message,
our dear mother tenderly reminds us that the following of Jesus is
summed up in love of God and neighbor.
(10) From Tell My People
The Holy Spirit
Jesus: "My beloved friend, tell
My people to pray daily to the Holy Spirit. They are to pray for an
increase in His gifts. My people must realize that the Holy Spirit
comes to transform them. The Spirit desires to transform you more
and more according to My image. Those who are docile to His touch
become increasingly shaped in My likeness. He performs this marvel
within Mary's Immaculate Heart. The more one dwells in My Mother's
Heart, the more active are the workings of the Spirit. The Spirit
leads Mary to place you within My own Heart. In both Our Hearts,
then, your transformation continues. The more you are formed after
My own Heart, the more I lead you to the bosom of My Father. Tell My
people all this. Tell them to pray daily for a greater appreciation
of these wondrous gifts. I am Lord and Master. All who come to My
Heart will be on fire to receive the gifts of the Spirit in ever
greater measure! I love and bless My people!"
Reflection: The Holy Spirit is
given to us to fashion us ever more according to the likeness of
Jesus. And the more we are like Jesus, the more Jesus leads us to
the Father. Do we, each day, pray to the Holy Spirit to be more open
to His transforming influence? Do we strive each day to grow in
union with Mary? The greater our union with our Mother, the spouse
of the Holy Spirit, the greater is the transforming action of the
Holy Spirit within us.
Presentation
(1) Sing: Little Baby Hands and Feet
(2) Luke 2: 22-28
And when the day came for
them to be purified in keeping with the Law of Moses, they took him
up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord—observing what is written
in the Law of the Lord: Every first–born male must be consecrated
to the Lord—and also to offer in sacrifice, in accordance with
what is prescribed in the Law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves
or two young pigeons. Now in Jerusalem there was a man named
Simeon. He was an upright and devout man; he looked forward to the
restoration of Israel and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been
revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death until
he had set eyes on the Christ of the Lord. Prompted by the Spirit he
came to the Temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus
to do for him what the Law required, he took him into his arms and
blessed God; and he said:
Now, Master, you are
letting
your servant go in peace
as you promised;
for my eyes have seen the salvation
which you have made ready
in the sight of the nations;
a light of revelation for the gentiles
and glory for your people Israel.
(3) From Tell My People
Mary as Our Mediatrix
Mary: "My beloved priest-son, I
have given you a profound conviction of how necessary it is to
realize I am your motherly mediatrix with Jesus. I have been
appointed by the Triune God. Constantly remind all my little ones of
this great truth! The more my little ones give themselves to my
maternal and Immaculate Heart, the more I bring them to the Heart of
Jesus!"
Reflection: Some mistakenly think
that Mary "gets in the way" of their relationship with Jesus. How
far from the truth is this erroneous attitude. Mary's role in our
salvation has been willed by God. Enough said!
(4) From Tell My People
Come to Our Hearts
Mary: "My beloved priest-son, how
I love you! You give me such great joy because you love to dwell in
my Immaculate Heart. In my great love for you, I have obtained this
grace for you—that you love to dwell in my Heart! In my Heart, I
caress you as a little child. I shower you with expressions of my
motherly love. I take you each day to the Heart of Jesus and place
you deeply within His Heart. How you love for me to do this, and how
I love to do it! Tell all my little ones of the riches you have
discovered in my Heart and Jesus' Heart. Tell them to come to Our
Hearts in order to experience similar riches. Oh, how I love all my
little ones, and how I long for them to come to me!"
Reflection: Again, we are
reminded that we live in the age of the Two Hearts. Great graces are
given to those who practice devotion to the Hearts of Jesus and
Mary. These Two Hearts are given to us as our special refuge during
this most critical stage of human history.
(5) From Tell My People
Spiritual Childhood
Mary: "My beloved priest-son, how
I love to enfold you in my arms as my little child! Enfolded in my
arms in my maternal embrace, I press you against my Immaculate
Heart. I draw you within my Heart. There, through my maternal
intercession, I clothe you with Jesus' graces. As you dwell in my
Heart, I place you ever more deeply within Jesus' Heart and there
the Holy Spirit fashions you increasingly in the image of my Son. As
you grow in the likeness of Jesus, He takes you ever closer to the
Father.
"Thus, as you grow in the sense of your
helplessness without God, the stronger you become in Jesus.
Childlike thus becomes strength. The smaller you become in living
out spiritual childhood, the taller you stand beside Jesus. Weakness
becomes strength, your sense of helplessness becomes spiritual
maturity!
"Tell all my children about the wonders
of spiritual childhood! Tell them to come to me and I will school
them in its ways. How I love all my children! Oh, how I love to
exercise my motherhood toward them all!"
Reflection: In the Gospel, Jesus
speaks emphatically to us about spiritual childhood: "At this
time the disciples came to Jesus and said, 'Who is the greatest in
the kingdom of heaven?' So he called a little child to him and set
the child in front of them. Then he said, 'I tell you solemnly,
unless you change and become like little children you will never
enter the kingdom of heaven. And so, the one who makes himself as
little as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of
heaven'" (Matthew 18:1-4).
(6) From Tell My People
Pray, Pray, Pray!
Mary: "My beloved priest-son, I
have taught you many times the great importance of prayer. I have
obtained for you the gift to love to pray—not only during your set
periods of prayer, but also during the day in a manner which permits
you to perform your daily duties. I have taught you to always be
aware that all prayer should be made in union with the Mass. Indeed,
the Eucharistic sacrifice is itself the greatest prayer. All other
prayers should be consciously united with the Mass which is
constantly being offered throughout the world. I have taught you the
great importance of praying before the tabernacle. My Son is really
present there in the Eucharist—Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity.
Special graces are given to those who pray before the Blessed
Sacrament.
"There is so much to pray for in this
most critical era! The Church and the world exist in most difficult
times. I desire that all my children pray daily for all the needs of
the Church and the world. I ask special prayers for the conversion
of sinners.
"I ask that my children pray the Rosary
each day. Very special graces are given to those who do so. During
these times of great purification, I promise special protection to
those who regularly pray the Rosary. I also promise protection to
their loved ones.
"The more one is united with me, the
more I lead them to make their prayer in the Heart of my Son, Jesus.
He, in turn, places all prayer in the bosom of the Father in the
unity of the Holy Spirit.
"My dear son, please keep reminding all
my little ones of the great importance of prayer for their own needs
and the needs of all others! Keep telling them of the great
necessity of prayer for growth in love of God and neighbor! I love
all my children with the most tender love. I desire that all listen
to my words and live them in their daily lives!"
Reflection: All the great
spiritual masters throughout the history of the Church have echoed
the words of Mary in stressing the great necessity of prayer for
growth in the spiritual life. Prayer is becoming aware in a special
way of our relationship with the Triune God. In prayer we open
ourselves once again to the awareness of God's great love for us. In
prayer, we respond to this great love with our own love, telling God
that whatever He wills for us, we want to do with all our hearts.
All prayer, in one way or another,
should be centered in Christ. He is our Mediator with the Father. As
our Mother tells us above, we should also include her in our prayers
to Christ, Who leads us ever closer to the Father in the unity of
the Holy Spirit.
(7) From Tell My People
Mother of Our Christian Virtues
Mary: "My beloved priest-son, I
wish all my children to come to my Immaculate Heart each day. I
cooperate with the Holy Spirit in helping all my little ones to grow
in the life of the Christian virtues. As my children dwell within my
maternal Heart, the Holy Spirit leads them along the path of the
virtues. Faith, hope, love, prudence, justice, fortitude,
temperance, humility, chastity, and the other virtues take deeper
root in the hearts of my children. Above all, the queen of the
virtues, love, increasingly rules the lives of my little ones.
"I am ever at the side of my children to
help them grow in the life of the virtues. As I do so, I place them
more deeply within the Heart of Jesus, the source of growth in all
the virtues. The Holy Spirit, then, desires that my children dwell
both within my Heart and Jesus' Heart. Within Our Hearts He clothes
you with growth in the life of the virtues. The more you dwell in my
Heart, the more ready you are for my placing you deeply within the
Heart of Jesus where the Holy Spirit clothes you more and more with
the splendor of all the virtues. Thus you grow in the likeness of
Christ, and Jesus unites you more closely to the Father."
Reflection: Since Mary is our
spiritual Mother, she has a special God-given role in helping us
grow in the life of the Christian virtues. As she tenderly and
lovingly leads us in the life of the virtues, she is our great model
in how to follow Christ. She lived the Christian virtues perfectly.
She is so eager to help us increasingly put on Christ through a more
dynamic living of the Christian virtues, especially the virtue of
love.
(8) From Tell My People
Consecration to the Hearts
of Jesus and Mary
Jesus: "My beloved friend, tell
My people that I desire all to consecrate themselves to My Sacred
Heart and to Mary's Immaculate Heart. Tell them not to just recite
words in making the act of consecration, but to realize what they
are saying. Consecration to Our Hearts means a total gift of self.
It means handing over everything to Me and to My Mother.
Consecration means a willingness to surrender completely to Me. In
Baptism one is consecrated to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But how
many fail to live out their consecration! I extend to all the
invitation to renew this baptismal consecration through consecration
to My Heart and to My Mother's Heart.
"My beloved companion, I have taught you
what this consecration means. I have given you great peace, joy, and
happiness because you have made this consecration. I have taught you
that you are to renew this act of consecration each day, I
constantly remind you that you are to pray each day for the grace to
more and more live the consecration. I have taught you that your
consecration to Me and My Mother means that you constantly surrender
yourself to Us and to Our care. I have taught you that the more you
surrender yourself to Me, the more I live in you and through you and
for you. I have taught you that My great love for you longs to draw
you more deeply into My Heart. I have shown you that I wish your
Mother Mary to place you there within My Heart, and that the more
you dwell within her heart, the more deeply she places you within My
Heart. Dwelling within Our Hearts, the Holy Spirit fashions you more
and more in My likeness. The Father thus looks upon you with greater
favor and takes you more closely to Himself. Tell My people all
these wondrous truths. I am Lord and Master, and I desire all to
listen to My words!"
Reflection: In the above message,
Jesus describes what is involved in living our consecration to the
Hearts of Jesus and Mary. What beautiful truths He puts before us!
We know that the living out of our consecration is not always easy.
Sometimes it is very difficult. At all times, and especially in most
difficult times, we should remind ourselves how much Jesus and Mary
love us, and that living out our consecration is our "thank you,"
our return of love.
(9) From Tell My People
Mary Our Mother
Jesus: "My beloved friend, tell
My people to come to My Mother. From the cross, as I was suffering
indescribable agony, I gave Mary as spiritual Mother to the world.
My great love for My people prompted Me to do this. I am Lord and
Master, and I want My people to come to My Mother and their Mother.
If you wish to be close to Me, come to Mary. Consecrate yourselves
to her. In this way you will grow into the closest union with Me.
Through her Immaculate Heart, you will be drawn more and more into
My own Heart. It is My desire that you allow My Mother to place you
within My Heart which loves you with an unfathomable love! This is
My wish—that you come to Me enfolded by Mary's mantle, cradled in
her arms, pressed against her Heart."
Reflection: It is God's will that
we approach Jesus in union with Mary. Enough said!
(10) From Tell My People
Images of the Hearts
of Jesus and Mary
Jesus: "My beloved friend, tell
My people that I desire them to have pictures or statues of the
Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart in their homes. This will
greatly help them to give honor to Our Hearts. All My churches and
chapels should also have these images. I will bestow great blessings
on all those who heed My request. I am your Lord and Master. Please
do as I ask."
Reflection: We all know the role
pictures of loved ones play in maintaining and developing our
relationships with these people. Is it strange, then, that Jesus
makes the above request?
Finding in the Temple
(1) Excerpt from Mother at Our Side, by Father Edward Carter, S.J. pp.12-13
four - God's Will—Our Guiding Principle
When his parents saw him, they were
astonished, and his mother said to him, "Son, why have you done this
to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great
anxiety." And he said to them, "Why were you looking for me? Did you
not know that I must be in my Father's house?" But they did not
understand what he said to them.
(Lk. 2:48-50).
The above scene describes how Mary and
Joseph found Jesus in the temple after having been separated from
Him. As they were returning home after the Passover celebration,
they realized Jesus was not with them, and returned to Jerusalem to
search for Him. The scene has various lessons for us concerning
God's will.
With the Holy Family traveling in two
separate groups (Mary with one, Joseph with the other, and Jesus
with either from time to time), we understand how Mary and Joseph
could have received conflicting stories regarding their Son's
whereabouts. The Father's will may have been made known to Jesus in
such a way that the timing of His response precluded alerting His
parents to the change in His plan. Whatever the details were, we can
be assured that there was no error made on the parts of Jesus, Mary,
or Joseph. We can base our trust in this on what we know through
faith—that Jesus would never have been disobedient or thoughtless
toward His parents, and that Mary and Joseph could not possibly have
been inept parents.
(2) Excerpt from Mother at Our Side, by Father Edward Carter, S.J. p.
13
four - God's Will—Our Guiding Principle -
continues
Even so, as people who expect certain
behaviors of children and parents, we can be unsettled by some
unanswered questions presented. Yet, since this event is included in
Sacred Scripture, we know it has tremendous value for us as the Word
of God. We also know that obedience to God's will always works in
the best interests of everyone concerned, even when it is not
obvious, even for quite some time.
The scene reminds us of the guiding
principle of Jesus' life—loving conformity to His Father's will.
Although Mary and Joseph were returning home, in some way Jesus knew
He was supposed to remain in the temple at this particular time. His
course of action was no different in this instance than it had been
in the past and would be in the future. His Father's will was made
manifest, and He obeyed; His Father showed the way, and He followed.
The Father's will was always Jesus' way, every day, in all matters.
As followers of Jesus, His guiding principle must also be ours.
(3) Excerpt from Mother at Our Side, by Father Edward Carter, S.J. pp.
13-14
four - God's Will—Our Guiding Principle -
continues
This event in Christ's life also
demonstrates that conformity to God's will sometimes brings hurt or
sorrow to loved ones. Jesus knew that His remaining behind would
cause suffering for Mary and Joseph—we can well imagine their
anxiety. Jesus was sorry this had to be. He certainly was not
insensitive to His parent's feelings, yet He had to do what He did.
There can be similar situations in our own lives. Precisely because
we are striving to seek out and do God's will, we may be causing
hurt to loved ones. We know, however, there is no other course of
action if we are to be open to God's designs for us.
The finding of the child Jesus in the
temple illustrates still a further point regarding conformity to
God's will. Mary and Joseph knew that somehow it was God's will that
Jesus remain in Jerusalem as they themselves headed back to
Nazareth. Yet they did not comprehend why all this happened. They
recognized God's will, but they did not understand it. They accepted
this will, however, along with the pain it produced in their lives.
The application of this lesson to our own
Christian lives is vividly manifest. At times there occurs an
incident we do not understand. We realize that somehow this is God's
will, at least His permissive will, yet we do not understand why,
and our unknowing is part of our pain.
Mary always perfectly conformed herself
in love to God's will. It was her joy to so act. Sometimes the doing
of God's will caused her considerable suffering, as we see from the
above Gospel scene. Later on, the sword of suffering would pierce
her even more deeply.
In summary, we can say that Mary always reached out and embraced
God's will with the deepest love, whether this was easy or very
difficult. Mary has left us these famous words: Behold, I am the
handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.
(Lk. 1:38). Let us ask our mother to obtain for us the
grace to grow in our own conformity to the will of God.
(4) Excerpt from Mother at Our Side, by Father Edward Carter, S.J. pp.
15-16
five - Consecration
To Christ And Mary
"If, in the strict
sense in question here, consecration makes one belong to God—how
is it possible to speak of consecrating oneself to Mary? It is
possible because by God's will Mary has something to do with our
Christian life, with our sanctification. She is certainly not,
like Christ, the source of salvation but she is maternally
ordered to our life as children of God—always, however, in
perfect union with her Son and subordinate to Him. . . Hence, in
the full sense of the word a consecration to Mary includes. . .
a real and essential reference to Christ and to the Baptism that
binds us to Him." (A. Bossard). 8
Before we can
intelligently discuss consecration to Christ and Mary we must
understand the basic concept of consecration in the overall
context of the Christian life.
To consecrate means to
make sacred, to make holy. Only God can make a being holy. So to
speak of our consecration is to speak of God's activity in
making us holy—His activity of giving us a share in His own
holiness. At Baptism—we receive a share in God's life—a share in
His holiness. Christ is the mediator of this grace-life. We are
baptized into Christ, into His death and resurrection. In
Baptism we become holy by sharing in the holiness of Christ. We
become consecrated, sealed with the divine holiness. We belong
to the Father, through Christ in the Holy Spirit.
On our part, we must
respond to God's consecration of us. We must live out the
consecration of Baptism. We must realize what God has done for
us in Christ and live according to this awareness. We need to
live the life of holiness and grow in it. In other words, we
must develop the life of grace, the Christ-life. We are given
the gift, but we must respond.
What God has done for
us in Christ involves Mary. God has given us a Christ-life, our
life of grace, and Mary is the Mother of this Christ-life.
Consequently, living out our life of consecration to God—living
out the Christ-life—includes allowing Mary to increasingly be
the Mother of our Christ-life.
Consecration to Mary,
therefore, is an aspect of our consecration to God in Christ. It
is entrusting ourselves entirely to her maternal love so that
she can bring us closer to Jesus—so that we can increasingly
live out our consecration to God in Christ.
8. A. Bossard, in
Dictionary of Mary
(New York: Catholic Book Publishing Co., 1985), p.55.
(5) Excerpt from Mother at Our Side, by Father Edward Carter, S.J. pp.
16-17
five - Consecration To Christ And
Mary
At Fatima, Our Lady asked that
we consecrate ourselves to her Immaculate Heart.
Mary shows us her heart as a symbol of her love for
God and us. She asks us to make a return of love to
her—to consecrate ourselves to her. She wants us to
entrust ourselves to her completely so that she may
help us love God and neighbor. Her heart, symbol of
her own great love of God and the human race, is a
model for us in our own strivings to love God and
neighbor.
As stated above, consecration to
Mary is an aspect of our consecration to God in
Christ and she has asked for consecration to her
Heart so that she may assist us. Christ, in turn,
invites us to live out this consecration to Him
through consecration to His Heart. We see the divine
symmetry—consecration to the Immaculate Heart helps
us to live out consecration to Christ Who reveals
His Heart to us as symbol of His love. We see, then,
the most intimate link between consecration to the
Immaculate Heart and consecration to the Sacred
Heart.
Pope Pius XII reminds us
of this union: "That grace for the Christian family
and for the whole human race may flow more
abundantly from devotion to the Sacred Heart, let
the faithful strive to join it closely with devotion
to the Immaculate Heart of the Mother of God."9
9. Pope Pius XII,
Haurietis Aquas
(New York: Paulist Press), No.139.
(6) Excerpt from Mother at Our Side, by Father Edward Carter, S.J. pp.
17-18
five - Consecration To Christ And
Mary
Archbishop R.
Arulappa, one very much interested in devotion to
Mary's Immaculate Heart, reminds us that Our Lord
Himself has let it be known that He wishes devotion
to the Immaculate Heart to be united with devotion
to His Sacred Heart.
The Archbishop
says:
"In connection
with the apparitions of Our Lady at Fatima,
Sister Lucia, one of the seers, still alive, has
been saying that on the 13th June 1929, Our Lady
requested (as sister herself records in
'Memoirs and Letters of Sister Lucia',
published in 1973), as follows: "The Good Lord
promises to end the persecution in Russia, if
the Holy Father will himself make a solemn act
of reparation and consecration of Russia... as
well as ordering all the Bishops of the Catholic
world to do the same.'
"On March 21,
1982, Sister Lucia further explained to the
Apostolic Nuncio, and two other witnesses, that
the Pope must select a date on which to order
the bishops of the whole world to make a solemn
act of reparation and consecration of Russia to
the most Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, each
in his own cathedral and at the same time as the
act effected by the Pope.
"There are
actually two versions of the vision of Our Lady
on 13th June 1929, but they are essentially the
same. In the better known version, Our Lady
says: 'The moment has come for God to ask the
Holy Father to make, in union with all the
Bishops of the world, the consecration of Russia
to my Immaculate Heart. He promises to save
Russia by these means.' The special mention of
'Russia' in this Act of Consecration is to be
noted.
"When Sister
Lucia asked Our Lord why He would not convert
Russia without such an act of consecration, He
replied:
'Because I
want my whole Church to recognize this
consecration as a triumph of the Immaculate
Heart of Mary, so as to extend its cult
later on, and to place devotion to this
Immaculate Heart beside the devotion to My
Sacred Heart.'" 10
...
10. Archbishop R. Arulappa,
The
Two Hearts,
in
The
Fatima Crusader,
Summer, 1992, p.3.
(7) Sing: Dear Lady of Fatima
(8) Excerpt from Mother at Our Side, by Father Edward Carter, S.J. pp.
19-21
five - Consecration To Christ And
Mary
Pope John Paul II
himself evidently realized, after inviting all the bishops
to make the 1984 consecration with him, that the specific
act of consecration requested by Mary was still to be
fulfilled. After his own act of consecration of the world to
Mary, and in words addressed to Our Lady of Fatima in St.
Peter's Basilica, the Holy Father said: "We wished to choose
this Sunday for the act of entrusting and consecration of
the world. . .of all peoples especially those who have a
very great need of this consecration and entrustment, of
those peoples for whom You Yourself are awaiting our act of
consecration."12
When will this
specific act of consecration requested by Our Lady and
Christ occur? Sr. Lucia gives us the answer: According to
Sr. Lucy, God will permit the grace of the collegial
consecration only "when a sufficient number are complying
with the message of Fatima."13
We see, then, how
extremely important it is for each of us to live the message
of Fatima. If we are consecrated to her Immaculate Heart, we
certainly want to do what Mary asks of us, and Mary's Fatima
requests include: 1) penance 2) the daily recitation of the
Rosary, 3) the five First Saturdays, 4) consecration to the
Immaculate Heart.14
Following is a brief commentary on each of these:
. .
.Penance is the turning away from sin, asking pardon
for sin—which, of course, includes sorrow for sin—and making
reparation to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary for the offenses
committed against them. The spirit of reparation should be
present in all we do in Christ—including performance of
daily duties. We should include in our activities the
practice of fasting, a practice requested by Our Lady at
Medjugorje. As we perform our activities in union with
Christ and Mary, we are encouraged to say the Fatima prayer:
"O my Jesus, I offer this for love of Thee, for the
conversion of poor sinners, and in reparation for all the
sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary."
. . .Our Lady of
Fatima also requested daily recitation of the Rosary.
The rosary is one of Mary's favorite forms of prayer. The
power of the rosary has been proven countless times over the
centuries. The promises Mary gave to St. Dominic and Blessed
Alan concerning those who say the rosary are truly
remarkable. The Fatima prayer to be said after each decade
of the rosary is: "O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us
from the fire of Hell, lead all souls to Heaven, especially
those who have most need of Thy mercy."15
. . .The practice
of the five first Saturdays involves: 1) Going to
confession, which may be done from 8 days before to 8 days
after the first Saturday. Of course, if a person is in the
state of serious sin, the confession must be made before
receiving communion. 2) Receiving Holy Communion. 3)
Recitation of 5 decades of the rosary. 4) Meditating for 15
minutes on the mysteries of the rosary. All of the above
(except confession) must be done on the first Saturday of 5
consecutive months with the intention of making reparation
to the Immaculate Heart. For those who make the five first
Saturdays, Our Lady of Fatima has promised to assist them at
the hour of death with all the graces necessary for
salvation.
. . .Another
request of Our Lady of Fatima—one which includes all the
others—is that we consecrate ourselves to her
Immaculate Heart. What this consecration means we have
stated earlier. Simply put, we can say that in consecrating
ourselves to Mary we give and entrust ourselves to her so
that she may bring us ever closer to the Heart of Christ,
this Christ Who brings us to the Father in the Holy Spirit.
This act of consecration obviously includes our willingness
to observe the other requests of Our Lady of Fatima.
NOTES:
12. Pope John Paul II as quoted by Fr. Paul Leonard in
The
Fatima Crusader,
Summer, 1992, p.18.
13. Our
Lady's Peace Plan from Heaven,
(Rockford: TAN Books and Publishers, Inc., 1983), p.14.
14. Ibid., p. 30.
15. Ibid., p. 31.
(9) Excerpts from Mother at Our Side by Rev.
Edward Carter, S.J. pp. 21-22
five - Consecration To Christ And
Mary
A great sign of our
consecration to the Immaculate Heart is the wearing of the Brown
Scapular. Sister Lucia has said that all Catholics should wear the
Brown Scapular as part of the Fatima message. She said, The
Rosary and the Scapular are inseparable... In 1251, when she
gave the Scapular to St. Simon Stock and thereby to the world, the
Queen of Heaven stated: Whosoever dies clothed in this shall
never suffer eternal fire. Wearing the Scapular serves as a
constant reminder of one's personal consecration to Mary and of the
necessity of imitating her virtues and heeding her requests."16
Only priests properly authorized can
validly enroll one in the Brown Scapular.
... Mary, then, tells us
that consecration to her Immaculate Heart leads us to an even
greater assimilation to Christ, to a deeper living out of our
consecration to Christ. In the Immaculate Heart we are increasingly
formed into the likeness of Christ. We are increasingly drawn into
the Heart of Christ and more and more transformed in Him.
St. Louis de Montfort in
his own way tells us of the connection between our life in Mary and
our life in Christ: "The Holy Spirit espoused Mary and produced His
greatest work, the Incarnate Word, in her, by her, and through her.
He has never disowned her and so He continues to produce everyday,
in a mysterious but real manner, the souls of the elect in her and
through her. . . Since Mary produced the head of the elect, Jesus
Christ, she must also produce the members of that head, that is, all
true Christians."17
16.
Our Lady's Peace Plan from Heaven,
(Rockford: TAN Books and Publishers, Inc., 1983), p.23.
17. St. Louis de Montfort,
God Alone: The Collected Writings of St. Louis de Montfort
(Bay Shore: Montfort Publications, 1987), p.266.
(10) Excerpts from Mother at Our Side by Rev.
Edward Carter, S.J. pp. 22-23
five - Consecration To Christ And
Mary
...Karl Rahner,
one of the greater theologians of our times, speaks to us
about this association with Christ's life: "We can only get
a complete picture of Christian existence, such as it is
given by God and such as we should make it, if we take a
good look at the whole life of Christ." Further on, Rahner
reminds us that Jesus still retains the mysteries or events
of His past existence: "Jesus has not lost a thing. He has
not only saved His physical being intact, but everything has
remained present, as it were, in its hidden, sublime
essence." Finally, Rahner tells us that through our union
with Christ we relive His mysteries: "In other words, just
as His cross and the totality of His life have become part
of our life, so also is His Resurrection a factor in our
present existence."18
To end our reflection on consecration to the
Hearts of Jesus and Mary, we might consider what Our Lady of
Fatima said to Jacinta:
Tell everybody
that God gives graces through the Immaculate Heart of
Mary. Tell them to ask grace from her, and that the
Heart of Jesus wishes to be venerated together with the
Immaculate Heart of Mary. Ask them to plead for peace
from the Immaculate Heart of Mary, for the Lord has
confided the peace of the world to her.
19
NOTES:
18. Karl Rahner,
Spiritual
Exercises
(New York: Herder and Herder, 1965), pp. 244-47.
19. Our Lady of Fatima’s
Peace Plan from Heaven (Rockford: TAN Books and
Publishers, Inc., 1983). p.10.
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