Day 24: 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 24 of 33: 
SECTION 3:  Entering into the Mystery of Jesus' Crucifixion and Death Contemplating the Sorrowful Mysteries with Mary, St. Maximilian Kolbe, St. Mother Teresa and St. Louis de Montfort as our guides.

Action:
1. Resolve to pray a complete set of mysteries of the Rosary every day - as an act of love to God and in fulfillment of Mary's requests to us. 
So, therefore, PRAY the Joyful mysteries of the Rosary today and every day - see day 8 for instructions/ guidance on how to fit this into your day.
2. Skim through the accompanying pictures and the extraordinary wisdom of St. Louis de Montfort and St. Mother Teresa and read through as much (below) as possible. 

3. Continue to choose to enter more deeply into the daily prayer program (below) at least in this way: 

Ponder and pray The Nicene Creed today and the accompanying Scripture texts as you meditate and PRAY THE JOYFUL MYSTERIES AND ALL THE LUMINOUS MYSTERIES OF THE ROSARY - while praying for the grace to listen, to hear and respond to God as Mary does.


And to pray for the grace to surrender whatever is keeping us from responding fully to God  - in and through and with Mary’s love and help. 

4. Begin to take steps to make the Mass the center of your life. 

5. Pray the 5th Sorrowful Mystery of the Rosary: The Crucifixion

To contemplate Jesus loving us unto death and to do so with and in the heart of Mary is profoundly powerful. It has the power to transform us.

I share in the video about an experience of Jesus looking at me with love from the Cross. It was one of the most moving experiences of my life and still brings me to tears when I consider it. Since this encounter, I have never been the same.

I hope you have a chance to watch the video and that it is a gift to you.

I offer also these pieces of wisdom of the saints to contemplate as well:

“Nothing is sweeter than love, nothing stronger or higher or wider; nothing is more pleasant, nothing fuller, and nothing better in heaven or on earth, for love is born of God and cannot rest except in God, Who is above all created things.” (Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis)

O the power of the Sacred Mysteries of the Holy Mass!

By Saint Fulgentius of Ruspe, Bishop

“Christ Offered Himself for Us”

The sacrifices of animal victims which our forefathers were commanded to offer to God by the holy Trinity itself, the one God of the old and the new testaments, foreshadowed the most acceptable gift of all. This was the offering which in his compassion the only Son of God would make of himself in his human nature for our sake.

The Apostle teaches that Christ offered himself for us to God as a fragrant offering and sacrifice. He is the true God and the true high priest who for our sake entered once for all into the holy of holies, taking with him not the blood of bulls and goats but his own blood. This was foreshadowed by the high priest of old when each year he took blood and entered the holy of holies.

Christ is therefore the one who in himself alone embodied all that he knew to be necessary to achieve our redemption. He is at once priest and sacrifice, God and temple. He is the priest through whom we have been reconciled, the sacrifice by which we have been reconciled, the temple in which we have been reconciled, the God with whom we have been reconciled. He alone is priest, sacrifice and temple because he is all these things as God in the form of a servant; but he is not alone as God, for he is this with the Father and the Holy Spirit in the form of God.

Hold fast to this and never doubt it: the only-begotten Son, God the Word, becoming man offered himself for us to God as a fragrant offering and sacrifice. In the time of the old testament, patriarchs, prophets and priests sacrificed animals in his honor, and in honor of the Father and the Holy Spirit as well. Now in the time of the new testament the holy catholic Church throughout the world never ceases to offer the sacrifice of bread and wine, in faith and love, to him and to the Father and the Holy Spirit, with whom he shares one godhead.

Those animal sacrifices foreshadowed the flesh of Christ which he would offer for our sins, though himself without sin, and the blood which he would pour out for the forgiveness of our sins. In this sacrifice there is thanksgiving for, and commemoration of, the flesh of Christ that he offered for us, and the blood that the same God poured out for us. On this Saint Paul says in the Acts of the Apostles: Keep watch over yourselves and over the whole flock, in which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as bishops to rule the Church of God, which he won for himself by his blood.

Those sacrifices of old pointed in sign to what was to be given to us. In this sacrifice we see plainly what has already been given to us. Those sacrifices foretold the death of the Son of God for sinners. In this sacrifice he is proclaimed as already slain for sinners, as the Apostle testifies: Christ died for the wicked at a time when we were still powerless, and when we were enemies we were reconciled with God through the death of his Son.

“Once you were estranged from God,

at enmity with him in heart and mind,

and your deeds were evil. But now, by Christ’s death in his mortal body, God has reconciled you to himself, in order to welcome you into his presence as saints, without the slightest impurity or imperfection.

God made Christ’s sacrificial death

the means of expiating the sins of all believers. (Colossians 1:21-22; Romans 3:25)

Nicene Creed

I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets. I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.

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

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

“Come, Holy Spirit, living in Mary. Help me to be faithful to heart-pondering prayer, as was Mary."

CLICK HERE for Day 24 Podcast

© Janet Moore 2019. All Rights Reserved.