Day 6: God Alone - With, In and through Mary - 33 Days to Total Consecration

 "I am all yours, and all that I have is yours, O most loving Jesus, through Mary, your most holy Mother" 

(True Devotion, 233).

DAY 6 of 33: Contemplating the Hail Mary. 

Action: Pray one decade of the Rosary contemplating the 5th Joyful Mystery - The Finding of Jesus in the Temple. 

Providentially it is the feast of Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome as I write this meditation on the finding of Jesus in the Temple.
At first glance, it is always a curious thing when a feast day of the Church honors a building, but the readings demonstrate why we give honor to the the oldest Church in Rome and the Pope's Cathedral - for they give insight into the multi-layered meaning of the reality of the Temple of the Lord and its rightful worship. Thus, by our honoring of this magnificent Basilica, we are called to recognize that:
1. Jesus, Himself is the Temple, it is He Who fills this magnificent Cathedral and makes it Holy. 
2. The Temple is also "His Father's House". 
3. And, because we are in Christ, we also are the Temple of the Lord, as St. Paul tells us in the second reading, "You are God’s building." 

In the Gospel, Jesus, with great power and authority cleansed His Temple. Scripture tells us the disciples discerned it was because, "Zeal for God's house will consumed Him." Jesus was and is consumed with us! 
-with defending our honor and with cleansing us from everything that is unfitting to God's Holy Dwelling, to His Father's House!  
In His Power he overturned the "money changers' tables" [the sin and all that we cling to in place of God] in our hearts. 

Again, St. Paul writes: 
 
"But each one must be careful how he builds upon [the Building of God, which you are]...
for no one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there,
namely, Jesus Christ.

Do you not know that you are the temple of God,
and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
If anyone destroys God’s temple,
God will destroy that person;
for the temple of God, which you are, is holy."

Jesus died to free us from the sins that destroy our life and foundation - our dignity and holiness - for:

"Our human dignity lies in the fulfillment of our nature, which is found solely in union with God. Mary is the height and expression of human dignity as she truly attains the highest imaginable union with God in whose image she is made." Fr. Michael Paris

To the extent we give ourselves to Mary is the same extent Mary she is able to give herself back to us; and thus, the more she is able to share the height and glory - the inestimable union with God - that she obtained. It is this union with the Father that Jesus zealously longs for us to obtain as well, and yet:

 

“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” 

"Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbour is the holiest object presented to your senses. If he is your Christian neighbour he is holy in almost the same way, for in him also Christ vere latitat (truly lies hidden)—the glorifier and the glorified, Glory Himself, is truly hidden."

-- C. S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory.

I love these quotes!!! 
(I used the second one already in a video teaching, but I couldn't help myself from using it again here).

Today's readings from 33 Days to Morning Glory, Fr. Gaitley echoes these truths - expressed in a slightly different way, as he writes about:
St. Faustina’s vision of the differing degrees of glory in heaven. After seeing this, St. Faustina writes that if we could see the heights that a soul could reach in heaven “we would willingly suffer anything on earth just to move one degree higher.” Diary 605 
God has given Mary everything, even the ability to help us attain these great heights of heaven; for He allows her the grace to fill the empty thrones in heaven that the fallen angels lost with the souls of her consecrated children!
What wondrous love is this!!! 
 
Let us, then, resolve to strive to live for our fulfillment, our union and our glory with God instead of the false pleasures of this world that diminish us. We ask this in Jesus' Name with and in and through Mary's fullness of grace and help. Amen. So be it.

Action:
1. Read through the accompanying pictures and the extraordinary wisdom of St. Louis below if possible.
2. Continue to choose to enter more deeply into the daily prayer program (below) at least in this way: 
Ponder and pray the Hail Mary today and the accompanying Scripture texts as you meditate and pray one decade of the Rosary - the 5th Joyful Mystery of the Rosary- the Finding of Jesus in the Temple - while praying for the grace to listen, to hear and respond to God as Mary does.
Praying also for the grace to surrender whatever is keeping me from responding fully  - in and through and with Mary’s love and help.

Daily Prayer Program for these 33 Days:

It is important to make a commitment to strive to pray more deeply, more intensely and with more of your heart during these days of preparation. Here are some guidelines and suggestions for how to live these days. Pray about how you can grow in each of these areas listed below and while living out this prayer program it is especially important to 

Trust in the Truth and Supernatural Reality of God’s Presence within each of them

1. Sacraments

    •            LIVE Grace and Renew our Baptism - renounce sin and Satan

    •            Mass and the Eucharist the Center of our lives

    •            Confession frequently

2. Scripture - Pray and Internalize it daily

    •           To Jelena: “I’m going to reveal a spiritual secret to you: if you want to be stronger than evil, make yourself a plan of personal prayer. Take a certain time in the morning, read a text from Holy Scripture, anchor the Divine word in your heart, and strive to live it during the day, particularly during the moment of trials. In this way, you will be stronger than evil.” (Our Lady of Medjugorje, April 19, 1984)

    •           Rosary – With and in Mary, contemplating Scripture and the mysteries of God

3. Fill mind with wisdom of Mary and the Saints

    •            God is sending Mary to earth for she is the Crusher of Satan. Listen to her words.

    •            St. John Paul II – example of life given over – Totus Tuus

    •            St. Maximilian Kolbe – Militia Immaculata every soul consecrated to Mary will save the world

    •            St. Louis de Montfort – Mary will form the greatest saints who ever lived – easiest shortest most sure way to sanctity

    •            St. Mother Teresa and many more 

PART 2: Readings and Prayers for St. Louis-Marie de Montfort's Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary

12 Days of Preparation renouncing the spirit of the world

1. Learn about Mary's place in God's plan (words of St. Louis from True Devotion of Mary)
2. Pray over Scripture
3. Pray with the Heart
4. Examine our conscience  

PART 3: A taste of Fr. Gaitley's 33 Days to Morning Glory if you have time:

Help me to give great glory to God by giving all I am and have to Mary.” 

CLICK HERE for podcast of Day 6 

© Janet Moore 2019. All Rights Reserved.