Day 25: 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 25 of 33: 
SECTION 3:  Entering into the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary
Contemplating the Sorrowful Mysteries with Mary 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. Add ALL the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary to the Joyful and Luminous mysteries.

 

Why are we called to pray and offer sacrifice?

The part we play in the salvation of the world:

Today we contemplate all the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary by continuing to consider the depth of Jesus' love for us and the tremendous suffering He endured for our salvation. At Calvary, (while it seemed to be the exact opposite), Satan's power over us was destroyed! Satan's hold on us through sin and death has been vanquished and God has won an eternal and everlasting victory for all who believe and accept God's love through the Cross. 

Salvation is a free gift and yet, it also must be freely chosen.  

We have to choose Jesus and His salvation, and unfortunately, many in our world have not. Many believe satan's lies and cling to their sin. God could have accomplished everything for us by His strength, but He has asked us to freely participate in bringing to fullness the salvation He has won.  He asks us to be other Christs: to be His Hands and Feet, His Heart, His Voice... Our fasting and prayer is a participation in redemption, and it is through these means that we are both protected from satan's snares and help to break the hold satan still has over those he has deceived. 

Our Lady teaches us that our fasting and prayer, united with Christ's passion and resurrection, pours out graces of love and redemption upon those who don't believe and have not yet known God's love.  Mary teaches us that fasting stops wars.  

Who of us isn't living in the midst of war, of sin and division? Who of us doesn't need to continually combat lies that come against our minds and souls? Who of us can say we have never been deceived? The greatest ongoing war is the enemy's constant attacks against our minds and souls that call us to distrust God rather than having faith in Him, and to choose selfishness rather than the selflessness of love, gluttony over self-denial, lust over purity, greed over charity, wrath over forgiveness, envy and jealousy over kindness and gratitude, sin over holiness, pride over humility, war and division over peace and unity, choosing to be strong in ourselves rather being weak in Christ:

But the Lord said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for the sake of Christ, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.…

In the midst of this battle, Mary has come to tell us we are essential to fulfilling God's plan. 

We matter!  

“Dear children, behold, also today I want to call you to start living a new life as of today. Dear children, I want you to comprehend that God has chosen EACH ONE OF YOU, in order to use you in a great plan for the salvation of mankind. You are not able to comprehend how great your role is in God’s design. Therefore, dear children, pray so that in prayer you may be able to comprehend what God’s plan is in your regard. I am with you in order that you may be able to bring it about in all its fullness. Thank you for having responded to my call.” (1/25/87)

 

This is a portion of an earlier reflection. For the complete reflection see here: 

https://enteringintothemystery.blogspot.com/2019/04/o-how-god-loves-us.html?q=fasting

Let us begin by praying the Nicene Creed - with all of these mysteries in mind:  

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. Remind me to ask for Mary’s powerful intercession in my times of need.” 

CLICK HERE for Day 25 Podcast

© Janet Moore 2019. All Rights Reserved.