•     The document, Instruction on Eucharistic Worship tells us: "The mystery of the Eucharist is the true center of the sacred liturgy and indeed of the whole Christian life. Consequently the Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, continually seeks to understand and to live the Eucharist more fully."
          Then, after referring to various Church documents, the Instruction continues:
          "Among the doctrinal principles concerning the Eucharist formulated in these documents of the Church, the following should be noted as having a bearing upon the attitude of Christians toward this mystery, and, therefore, as falling within the scope of this instruction."
          "a) The Son of God in the human nature which He united to Himself redeemed man and transformed him into a new creation by overcoming death through his own death and resurrection (cf. Gal.6:15; II Cor.5-17). For by giving His Spirit He mystically established as His body His brethren gathered from all nations. In that body the life of Christ is communicated to those who believe; for through the sacraments they are joined in a mysterious yet real way to the Christ who suffered and is glorified.
          "Therefore 'Our Saviour at the Last Supper on the night when He was betrayed instituted the Eucharistic Sacrifice of His Body and Blood so that He might perpetuate the Sacrifice of the Cross throughout the centuries till His coming. He thus entrusted to the Church, His beloved Spouse, a memorial of His death and resurrection: a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity, a paschal meal in which Christ is eaten, the mind filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory given to us.'
          "Hence the Mass, the Lord's Supper, is at the same time and inseparably:
          " - A sacrifice in which the Sacrifice of the Cross is perpetuated;
          " - A memorial of the death and resurrection of the Lord, who said 'do this in memory of me' (Luke 22:19);
          " - A sacred banquet in which, through the communion of the Body and Blood of the Lord, the People of God share the benefits of the Paschal Sacrifice, renew the New Covenant which God has made with man once for all through the Blood of Christ, and in faith and hope foreshadow and anticipate the eschatological banquet in the kingdom of the Father, proclaiming the Lord's death 'till His coming'.
          "b) In the Mass, therefore, the sacrifice and sacred meal belong to the same mystery-so much so that they are linked by the closest bond.
  "For in the sacrifice of the Mass our Lord is immolated when 'he begins to be present sacramentally as the spiritual food of the faithful under the appearances of bread and wine.' It was for this purpose that Christ entrusted this sacrifice to the Church, that the faithful might share in it both spiritually, by faith and charity, and sacramentally, through the banquet of holy Communion. Participation in the Lord's Supper is always communion with Christ offering Himself for us as a sacrifice to the Father.
          "c) The celebration of the Eucharist, which takes place at Mass, is the action not only of Christ, but also of the Church. For in it Christ perpetuates in an unbloody manner the sacrifice offered on the cross, offering Himself to the Father for the world's salvation through the ministry of priests. The Church, the spouse and minister of Christ, performs together with Him the role of priest and victim, offers Him to the Father and at the same time makes a total offering of herself together with Him.
          "Thus the Church, especially in the great Eucharistic prayer, together with Christ, gives thanks to the Father in the Holy Spirit for all the blessings which He gives to men in creation and especially in the Paschal Mystery, and prays to Him for the coming of His kingdom.
          "d) Hence no Mass, indeed no liturgical action, is a purely private action, but rather a celebration of the Church as a society composed of different orders and ministries, in which each member acts according to his own order and role.
          "e) The celebration of the Eucharist in the sacrifice of the Mass is the origin and consummation of the worship shown to the Eucharist outside Mass. Not only are the sacred species which remain after Mass derived from the Mass, but they are preserved so that those of the faithful who cannot come to Mass may be united to Christ and His Sacrifice celebrated in the Mass, through sacramental Communion received with the right dispositions.
          "Consequently the Eucharistic sacrifice is the source and the summit of the whole of the Church's worship and of the Christian life. The faithful participate more fully in this sacrament of thanksgiving, propitiation, petition, and praise, not only when they wholeheartedly offer the Sacred Victim, and in it themselves, to the Father with the priest, but also when they receive this same Victim sacramentally.
          "f) There should be no doubt in anyone's mind 'that all the faithful ought to show to this most holy sacrament the worship which is due to the true God, as has always been the custom of the Catholic Church. Nor is it to be adored any the less because it was instituted by Christ to be eaten'. For even in the reserved sacrament He is to be adored because He is substantially present there through that conversion of bread and wine which, as the Council of Trent tells us, is most aptly named transubstantiation.
          "g) The mystery of the Eucharist should therefore be considered in all its fullness, not only in the celebration of Mass, but also in devotion to the sacred species which remain after Mass and are reserved to extend the grace of the sacrifice.
          "These are the principles from which practical rules are to be drawn to govern devotion due to the sacrament outside Mass and its proper relation to the right ordering of the sacrifice of the Mass according to the mind of the Second Vatican Council and the other documents of the Apostolic See on this subject."²

2. The Liturgy Documents, "The 1967 Instruction on Eucharistic Worship", Liturgy Training Program, Archdiocese of Chicago, pp 37-41.

   Renunciation is another form of dying with Jesus, which, over the years, has been given much attention in the teaching of the spiritual masters. Indeed, the New Testament itself attests to the undeniable role that renunciation plays in the Christian life. The gentle St. Luke, for example, teaches Jesus' message of renunciation—a message which Jesus Himself lived. Renunciation was obviously not the only aspect of Christ's life, but it was an undeniable one. Christians, because they are followers of Christ, must also include renunciation in their lives regardless of their individual vocations. Again, it is well to remind ourselves that we embrace renunciation for the sake of life. This was the purpose of renunciation in Jesus' life, and it must have the same purpose in ours.
 

   Acts of renunciation are life-promoting regarding ourselves and others. Let us always remember what Our Lady of Fatima has said: Pray, pray, a great deal, and make sacrifices for sinners, for many souls go to Hell because they have no one to make sacrifices and pray for them.²⁴ And the angel said to the Fatima visionaries: Make everything you do a sacrifice, and offer it as an act of reparation for the sins by which God is offended, and as a petition for the conversion of sinners.²⁵ All our good actions, including the enjoyable and pleasant ones, can be offered as sacrifices. In the stricter sense, our sacrifices include those actions which involve doing that which is difficult or which involves acts of renunciation. . . .

   There are, of course, many other forms of carrying the cross besides those of self-discipline and renunciation. There is that very common form of bearing the cross which is involved in the proper living of every day. There is nothing dramatic about this form of suffering, and, precisely because it seems so uneventful, it is difficult to properly relate to it in a consistent fashion. On particular occasions, we might feel that a quick death by martyrdom would be easier than the daily dying which involves all sorts of little sufferings or crosses. But this daily dying is a precious type of suffering, and to grow in the realization of its importance is a significant sign of spiritual progress. It is a sign that we have the spiritual discernment to comprehend that God so often situates the cross within the ordinariness of everyday life. . . .

   In conclusion, let us again remind ourselves that the cross is meant to lead us to greater life—here and in eternity. Let us always strive to live by the words Jesus has left as: Then he said to all, "If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. (Lk. 9:23-24).

---

NOTES:

24. Our Lady's Peace Plan, op. cit., back cover.

"My God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love You! I ask pardon of You for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love You."

Then, rising he said: "Pray thus. The Hearts of Jesus and Mary are attentive to the voice of your supplications."3

3. Louis Kondar, SVD, editor, Fatima in Lucia's Own Words (Fatima: Postulation Center, 1976), p.62. Distributed in the U.S.A. by the Ravengate Press, Cambridge, MA.
 

Excerpt from Mother at Our Side by Father Edward Carter, S.J.

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Mother Of Our Christian Virtues (excerpt)

Faith

. . .We properly comprehend religious truth only when we live it, savor it, experience it to the depths of our being. How much more we understand the truth of Christ in its wisdom, power, and beauty when we not only believe this truth with our graced intellects, but also allow it to permeate and transform our entire existence. As a corollary, we see the danger of intellectually assenting to Christ's truth without attempting to live accordingly. Faith can grow weak and even die if there is a constant and serious division between what we believe and the manner in which we live.

   When we live according to faith, we are living according to a vision of God, humanity, and the rest of creation. Faith tells us things about God and creation we could either not otherwise know or know only with greater difficulty and with less certainty. A good example of the former is the doctrine of the Blessed Trinity. Reason can never arrive at this sublime truth. Only the intellect that has been elevated with the grace of faith can believe in the Triune God. If we are to progress in the spiritual life, we must allow this vision of faith to more and more influence our activities. Increasingly, we should become contemplatives in action. The more we allow Mary to lead us into such a way of life, the more our lives will have meaning for ourselves as well as for the betterment of the lives of people around us. As our mother, she happily guides us to the peace we can find as contemplatives in action.

   The vision of faith should inspire us to action according to our vocation, talents, opportunity, time, and energy. We should always strive to make the world more reflective of Christ's image. To the extent we do not, we are betraying the vision of faith.

   Mother Mary, deepen our faith. Help us to follow ever more closely the light of faith. And we pray, dear Mother, that you will lead us ever closer to your Son Who is Himself the source of faith's light.

Hope

   Christian hope is a virtue that allows us to desire God as the goal of our existence. Hope also allows us to trust that God will grant us the graces necessary to achieve this goal.

   The necessity of hope in our lives is obvious. Without a sustained desire for God we will not be able to live as we should. If God is not our goal, then our lives will be miserably shaped by something infinitely less, whether it be money, sex, social status, or anything else that can grip the human heart as an unauthentic end rather than as a legitimate means to God.

   Without God's grace we cannot initially attain supernatural life, we cannot maintain ourselves in it, and we cannot grow in it. At times God allows us to strikingly and intensely experience how helpless we are without Him. Such episodes in the spiritual life can be very painful, but they are also opportunities for great growth. We are meant to emerge from these experiences with an increase of trust in God. We realize how weak we are in ourselves, but how strong we are if we rely on God.

   One of Mary's functions as our spiritual mother is to help us grow in trust. In countless ways Mary shows us her maternal love. If we are to love her in return, if we are to allow her to increasingly possess us, we must trust her. 

   We should always remember: when we trust Mary, we are putting our trust in God; when we abandon ourselves to Mary, we are abandoning ourselves to God.

Love

   St. Paul tells us:

   If I speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing. (1 Cor. 13:1-3).

   The above words of Paul point out the great importance of the virtue of love. Love is the Christian virtue. Jesus Himself has summarized Christianity in terms of love; all the other virtues variously serve love's purpose.

   As Jesus walked this earth, His life was a life of love. He mightily loved His Father. With a deep and tender love He loved all members of the human race, and He would die an agonizing and horrible death for them. One of the members of this race He loved in an extraordinarily special way—His Mother Mary. And she was the one person created who could return that love in a perfect way. By following her example, we can also learn to love more perfectly.

   The poverty, the hiddenness, the disappointments, the weariness, the joy and the happiness, the pain and the agony—all that constituted the earthly life of Christ was experienced within the framework of love. Jesus loved in everything He did—tenderly, manfully, with understanding and sympathy. He loved with a complete devotedness and a deep, sincere concern for the individual. He loved with a passion for that which is true and good and beautiful. He loved with a complete conformity to His Father's will. He loved always and completely. He loved with a gift of Himself, always pouring Himself out, even to the extreme of death on the wood of a cross. This was the poignant beauty of Christ's life.

   Christ shows us His Heart as the symbol of this life of love. It is a symbol which calls for our love in return. The Heart of Christ, source of our own capacity to love, calls us to imitation. Christ, in revealing His Heart to us as symbol of His love, invites us to the closest discipleship as He leads us along the path of love.

   We can be tempted to reject this marvelous example of love which Jesus has left us. We can seek our own greatness and fulfillment in a manner which necessarily results in disappointment. We can strive after greatness in ways which God does not intend. These wayward wanderings, however, result in a feeling of dissatisfaction and frustration and we will eventually come to realize they have betrayed us because they are not rooted in Christ and His way of life—the way of true personal greatness.

   We grow as Christians as we grow in love. We exercise this love within the milieu of the human condition. This is the only framework we have for achieving our greatness, and, consequently, we must not shirk this human condition. Jesus did not shirk it, but rather accepted it and manifested His greatness within it, despite the pain and even agony that the human condition at times heaped upon Him. It is true that Jesus rejoiced during the course of His life because of the goodness, sincerity, and response of some of those with whom He dealt. For example, the love which Mary and Joseph showered upon Jesus gave Him great joy. During His life, however, Jesus often suffered because of the evil side of humans—their pettiness, cowardice, insensitivity, selfishness, egotism. In other words, Jesus suffered at the hands of others because they were not what they should have been. Nonetheless, these experiences did not thwart the greatness of Jesus. Jesus was always the tremendous lover, and He loved even at those times when it was very painful to do so.

   As Christ suffered because of others, we, too, as we try to love, suffer because of others. We may suffer because others do not always understand us—this can be true even of those who dearly love us. We may suffer because some do not appreciate what we do for them, sometimes at great personal cost, or because others reject us, or make us the objects of their meanness and selfishness. We may suffer because there are some who ignore us. At times we suffer so much that we are tempted to quit loving as we should and are tempted to withdraw from the pain of giving ourselves to an egotistic world. To surrender to such a temptation, however, is to forget what true Christian greatness really is—namely, a life of love for God and others, a love that does not shrink from the pain that results from loving in an imperfect world, a love that is meant to become greater regardless of the way others might treat us. Christian love, then, accepts both the pain and the joy of life and carries on under both conditions.

   We should ask Mary our mother, who takes such great pride in us when we love as we should, to lead us daily to the Heart of her Son. This Heart, burning furnace of charity, is the source we must draw from if we are to love and progress in love.

   Lead us, dear Mother, to this Heart of your Son. As we rest secure in the love of your Immaculate Heart, instill within us daily a growing desire to take on the likeness of the Heart of Jesus. Obtain for us, dearest Mother, the grace to make the Heart of Jesus the center of our existence. Living within this pierced Heart of Jesus, we will more and more be consumed with the desire to love God and neighbor. We will become increasingly aware that to truly live is to love.

Prudence

   Prudence is that virtue which helps us to make the proper decisions in the exercise of our Christian life. Prudence aids us in making correct choices so that we do God's will in all areas of Christian existence.

   Prudence is meant to influence every aspect of our participation in the mystery of Christ. It is always our guide as we strive to grow in the putting on of Christ.

   What state of life does God wish me to embrace? What kind of work does he desire of me within that vocation? Among the various ways of expressing love, how am I to love God and others at this particular time? Am I working too much or too little? Am I too dependent upon others or not dependent enough? Prudence helps answer these and other questions concerning the Christ-life.

   Some people think that prudence is merely an attitude of caution, an instinct that always leads us to take what seems to be the less dangerous path. True, prudence will lead us to choices of this nature—if God's will indicates this type of action—but prudence is also concerned with the bold and the daring, with taking risks, with magnanimous action. Again, the guiding principle is God's will. The prudent Christian will act boldly or daringly if, after taking the proper means to discern the divine will, she or he decides that God is indeed leading in such a direction.

   If we are to be truly prudent persons, we must be persons of prayer. We need the light of prayer to see what decisions are to be made, what actions are to be undertaken. We need the strength of prayer to act upon the given light.

   In her earthly journey, Mary was a most prayerful person and a most prudent one. Let us ask our mother to help us grow in the virtue of prudence. The Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary so bids us to call upon the prudent Virgin: "Virgin most prudent, pray for us."

Fortitude

   Christian fortitude, or courage, is that virtue which disposes us to face in mature fashion whatever difficulties we encounter in Christ's service. The necessity of this virtue is evident from our inner experience—we have a tendency to shrink from that which either poses difficulty or frightens us. Apparently, numerous Christians never develop as they should because they do not consistently confront that which is hard and difficult in a proper fashion.

   We should not think that courage is a virtue which we need only in times of extraordinary difficulty. As with all the Christian virtues, courage usually finds its expression within the prosaic framework of everydayness. The rather uneventful duties of our state of life day in and day out demands fortitude. All vocations face this challenge, and to evade the challenge is to hinder our growth in Christ.

   At times, of course, courage must be exercised concerning matters of great importance, such as the decision involving one's choice of state of life. This type of decision can demand the greatest fortitude in certain instances. Any committed Christian who seriously pursues the development of the spiritual life will, to some extent, experience interior trials of one kind or the other. Whatever form the difficulty may assume, however, the dedicated Christian realizes the need for fortitude.

   Mary did not live an easy life. In her greatness of grace, she exercised fortitude on a daily basis. At times she had to draw upon her virtue of courage in a special way. And at that terrible moment beneath the cross, her courage was tested to the utmost. What great sorrow then pierced her Heart! And what extraordinary courage and love it took for Mary to stand by her Son in His most awful moment. Even the greatest pietas of Michaelangelo and others fall short of capturing the awful reality of the scene and the courage it demanded of Mary.

   Mary, then, has with courage faced the difficult in extraordinary fashion. In all our difficulties let us fly to the protection of this dear, loving mother. She will help us grow in the realization that facing the difficult is an essential part of being a Christian. She will help us live these words of Jesus: "If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." (Lk. 9:23).

Justice

   The virtue of justice bids us to give others what is their due. We must respect the rights of others. For example, we must respect the life, good name, and the property of others because they have rights concerning these values. Regarding one's right to life, we have a very timely application of this—the rights of the unborn, and we should all do our part in working against the terrible injustice of abortion. The fatalities which the United States has suffered in all her wars is less than one half of the total number of deaths the unborn suffer in one year here in the United States through abortion. And, of course, abortions are being performed all over the world—not just in the United States.

   The world of work, professional service, and commerce also involve various applications of justice. The laborer must give an honest day's work and the employer is obligated to pay a just wage. The teacher must realize his or her duty to students by properly preparing classes and professional updating. The doctor must maintain proper medical knowledge in justice to his or her patients and manufacturers of goods as well as wholesale and retail sellers must establish just prices.

   The Christian must also be aware of obligations regarding the great social problems that plague one's own country and nations around the world. We must listen to our Mother Mary.

Temperance

   The attitude of moderation, which has traditionally been called the virtue of Christian temperance, allows us to relate properly to sense pleasure. God wants us to enjoy what is pleasurable, but He wants us to do so according to His will.

   Without an attitude of temperance, a person's life becomes soft and selfish, given over to the wrongful pursuit of pleasure. Insofar as a person's life is thus misdirected, to that extent it fails in service to God and others.

   There is an aspect of temperance that one can overlook—that the person who practices temperance enjoys the pleasurable more than does the person who does not. One who lacks temperance is actually a slave to his or her desires. These desires, to the extent they are inordinate, can never be satisfied, and, consequently, become insatiable. Grace does not destroy nature; it brings it to a perfection or fulfillment it could not otherwise attain. Our God-given capacity to enjoy what is pleasurable actually is enhanced by the virtue of temperance.

   We should pray, not only for our own growth in temperance, but also especially for those whose very salvation is threatened because of the wrongful pursuit of sense pleasure. Our Lady of Fatima told Jacinta, one of the three young visionaries: More souls go to Hell because of sins of the flesh than for any other reason.²⁶

Humility

          My soul proclaims the greatness of 
                the Lord; 
          my spirit rejoices in God my savior. 
          For he has looked upon his handmaid's 
                lowliness; 
          behold, from now on will all ages 
                call me blessed. 
          The Mighty One has done great things 
                for me, 
          and holy is his name. (Lk. 1:46-50).

   The above passage is a portion of Mary's "Magnificat." One of its lessons is that of humility. In her song of praise Mary expresses perfect humility. She realized that without God she was nothing, but that, because of the divine largess, God had made her great.

   Humility is the realization of the truth that I am a creature of God. Humility is also the implementation of this truth in daily living. Humility is not a process of self-depreciation, or of telling myself that I am no good, that I have very little to contribute. Humility moves me to look at myself as I actually am. It moves me to look at both my good and bad points, and, very importantly, to follow up with appropriate attitudes and actions. (Regarding Mary's humility, there was, of course, only the need to recognize her greatness as coming forth from God, since she was completely sinless.)

   Since humility is based on truth, it never demands that I deny my particular gifts, my unique talents. Certainly Mary did not do this. If I do not properly recognize my gifts, I will not thank God properly, nor will I be in the most advantageous position for the proper use and development of my talents. I should, then, recognize the good in myself, while simultaneously realizing the source of all good—God Himself.

   Humility also enables me to look realistically upon life in the human condition. Being humble means I realize that precisely because I am human, I will experience pain. Precisely because I am exposed to the human condition not only in its pleasant aspects, but also in its dimension of sin, suffering, and anguish, I will suffer—and sometimes because of the wrongdoings of others. Humility allows me to accept this without bitterness, and allows me to react properly.

   Humility also assists me in realizing and implementing the truth that I am a social creature—one intended by God to help my neighbor, and, in turn, one intended to be helped by others. It also assists me in accepting my fundamental self. God has created me with certain basic talents, with a certain fundamental temperament. Humility bids me to accept this God-intended self, while always striving to develop, improve, mature.

   Humility likewise assists me in accepting my present life situation in so far as I can determine this is God's here-and-now design for me. If I am not properly humble, I can quietly and subtly rebel regarding the present. How unlike Mary, who did not disdain the simple and the ordinary, but rather, found her fulfillment in them as she saw the here-and-now opportunities to say "yes" to God.

   We can easily overlook the various applications of humility, so we need to make the special effort to become more aware of humility's role in Christian living. Scripture points out the necessity of doing this:

   God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. (Jas. 4:6).

________

26. Our Lady's Peace Plan, op. cit.., p. 9.

Excerpt from Mother at Our Side, by Father Edward J. Carter S.J.

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  Mary And The Church 

    "Mary is present in the Church as the Mother of Christ, and at the same time as that Mother whom Christ, in the mystery of the Redemption, gave to humanity in the person of the Apostle John. Thus, in her new motherhood in the Spirit, Mary embraces each and every one in the Church, and embraces each and every one through the Church. In this sense Mary, Mother of the Church, is also the Church's model. Indeed, as Paul VI hopes and asks the Church must draw 'from the Virgin Mother of God the most authentic form of perfect imitation of Christ.' ''(Pope John Paul II).²⁷
 

    In this extremely meaningful passage from his encyclical, Redemptoris Mater (The Mother of the Redeemer), Pope John Paul II tells us that Mary is the Mother of Christ, that she is the Mother of the Church, that she is Mother of each of us in and through the Church, and that she is the Church's model. All of these truths are most intimately connected.

    Being Mother of Christ, Mary is also spiritual mother of His members whom Christ has formed into His body, the Church. She is also model of the Church as all good mothers are models for their children. Mary, the best of mothers, is the perfect exemplar, the perfect model, of what it means to be a follower of Christ. She guides the entire Church in greater assimilation to Christ.

    If we claim to love Mary, we must also love what she loves. Being Mother of the Church, Mary obviously loves her Church very deeply. As children of Mary, as followers of Christ, we also must deeply love the Church. Sad to say, there are many in today's Church who do not love her as they should.
 

    In loving the Church which is so dear to Christ and to Mary, let us work to further the good which presently exists in the Church, and labor to correct that which should not be. Indeed, there is much good in today's Church. In many members of the Church, there is a deep hunger for a more profound spirituality. There are lay people living exemplary lives, both the married and the single, as they strive to be a light in the market place. There are religious, priests, and bishops who are working with the Holy Father to make the Church more what she should be, in this, one of her most critical hours.
 

    Sorry to say, however, all is not well in the Church. There are deep divisions. Some of the divisions are caused by false teachings. Such teaching has given rise to apostasy and schism.

    Mary, however, has launched a counter attack, laboring for the renewal of the Church in many ways.
 

    It is up to each of us to do our share in building up the Church, this Church which is the mystical body of Christ. Through our Eucharistic participation, through our prayer and penance—through all our activity done in union with Christ and Mary—let us all strive to bring the Church closer to its model, Mary. Let us work so that the Church more and more reflects Christ as it comes closer to the one who so eminently reflects Christ, Mary herself. In her Immaculate Conception, her fullness of grace, her sinlessness, her bodily assumption into Heaven, Mary indeed is the perfectly and fully redeemed one. She is the one who has been perfectly assimilated to Christ. She is the model the Church more and more strives to imitate. The rest of the Church will never mirror forth Christ as brilliantly as does Mary. We can, however, approach more closely to this ideal who is Mary. Vatican II states: 
 

    "In the most holy Virgin the Church has already reached that perfection whereby she exists without spot or wrinkle. Yet the followers of Christ still strive to increase in holiness by conquering sin. And so they raise their eyes to Mary who shines forth to the whole community of the elect as a model of the virtues. Devotedly meditating on her and contemplating her in the light of the Word made man, the Church with reverence enters more intimately into the supreme mystery of the Incarnation and becomes ever increasingly like her Spouse."²⁸
 

    Mary loves her Church with a love whose depths we cannot fully fathom, so we should ask her to help us obtain the grace to increase our own love for the Church. Let us ask her, this dearest and most loving mother, to keep us close at her side as she labors for the renewal of the Church. She invites us to assist her. 

Notes

27. The Mother of the Redeemer, op. cit., No. 47.

28. Vatican II, Constitution on the Church, op. cit., No. 65.

Before Jacinta died, she told of other messages given her (during her illness) by Mary:

    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⁾

19. Our Lady's Peace Plan, op cit., pp.9-10.
 

 

Excerpt from Mother at Our Side, by Father Edward Carter, S. J.

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Mary And Our Personal Uniqueness
 

    "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

    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.
 

    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."
 

Notes

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.