"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 4 of 33: Contemplating the Hail Mary.
Action: Pray one decade of the Rosary contemplating the 3rd Joyful Mystery - the Nativity. In addition to the meditations below, I recorded a video Scripture Study on the Nativity. In the video, I enter more deeply into the Mystery of Jesus' birth - pondering not only Mary's part in God's plan of salvation, but also St. Joseph's. I love St. Joseph so dearly and have written about him often. One of my favorites is a reflection I wrote to honor and ponder him. You can find it here:
I want to share a brief explanation as to why we are focusing on the Rosary and its mysteries every day in our preparation. It is because countless saints throughout the ages expressed its importance and declare it to be the means to attain the greatest holiness, which is absolutely true. But, mostly we will pray the rosary every day because Our Blessed Mother asks us to do so. We are preparing to surrender our hearts and our wills to her, and so it is fitting that we should begin by doing what she asks. In fact, it is always her first and most urgent request in every authentic apparition since giving the Rosary to St. Dominic in the 15th century. We will address her messages on the rosary more fully as we continue in our preparation, but for now, we will continue to enter into the Rosary and its mysteries because it is Our Mother's will and she knows what's best for us.
As we continue today to contemplate the Hail Mary in light of the Mystery of the Nativity, we recognize Mary as the Mother of God and the New Eve.
Jesus is the fruit of Mary's womb as well as the firstborn of all creation, therefore Mary is the Mother of God and the New Eve, for she is an indispensable part in bringing about God's new creation. She was not only the Mother of his physical Body, but also of His Mystical Body- the Church - of whom we are all parts. Thus, also like Eve but far surpassing her, Mary becomes Mother of all of the living - of all those who are alive in Christ.
It is fitting, therefore, for us to reflect on Mary as both the Mother of God and our Mother. Here are some beautiful reflections on Mary as our Mother to console and encourage us:
"As the new Eve, she brought to the world which was lying in the darkness of sin and of death, the light of everlasting life. The Immaculata has received from the Holy Ghost and has borne for us the Savior, Who has taken His Human Nature from her. “Thus the one and same Jesus is, in His essence, the Son of both God and Mary. [….] He who has the power to create everything out of nothing did not want to restore the wounded creation without Mary [....] Because God begot the Son, through Whom everything was created, Mary bore Him, through Whom everything was saved” (St. Anselm of Canterbury, Oratio 52, PL 158, 955 seq.).
The Immaculata, as Queen, is thus not far from us, but, rather, as Mother very close to us. The saints give testimony to the ineffable motherly goodness of the most holy Virgin and her “Supplicant Omnipotence“ with God. “The heart of May is so loving and tender with us that, taken the hearts of all the mothers together, would be nothing compared to hers [….] Everything that the Son asks the Father, is being granted to Him. Everything that the Mother asks the Son, is equally being granted to her” (J. Frossard, Ausgewählte Gedanken des heiligen Pfarrers von Ars [A Selection of Thoughts from the Holy Curé of Ars], p. 77).
She deserves our great love and our firm trust. Both lead to the consecration to her Immaculate Heart, because Christianity always knew that a child of Mary never gets lost: “The heart of this good mother does not only consist of love and mercy. Her single wish is to see us happy. One only has to turn to her, in order to be heard” (Ibid., p. 48).
With this background, my personal experience corresponds completely to what St. Pope John Paul II said prophetically forty years ago, on October 6, 1979, in the Cathedral St. Matthew in Washington: “Holy Scripture and the experience of the faithful see in the Mother of God the one who is especially then close to the Church in the most difficult moments in her history when the attacks on the Church are the most threatening.”
Indeed, it shows itself always that those faithful who have consecrated themselves to the Mother of God receive the light and the strength to remain loyal to the Lord. They are the ones who, with ties to the Mother of the Church, live the true faith in the parishes. Those faithful who have a Marian devotion find – led by her – the mercy of God in the confessional, and they adore Him in the Most Holy Eucharist on their knees, receiving Communion on the tongue. The “totus tuus” strengthens them on their path of the Commandments, and the rosary gives them the efficacious help from above. The children of Mary will always let themselves be led by Holy Scripture and by the Catechism and thus remain in the revealed truth. On this path, through the mediation of the Mother of the Redeemer, they reach the longed-for salvation."
Father Frank Unterhalt
In the invitation to these 33 days, I shared with you that Dr. Brant Pitre's study would be an excellent resource for you to access. I share it here again if you haven't accessed it yet.
(If you're inundated right now, we'll address Mary again as the New Eve as we contemplate her at the foot of the Cross, so you can choose to wait to learn more at that time):
https://watch.formed.org/lectio-mary-with-dr-brant-pitre/season:1/videos/the-new-eve-1
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 3rd Joyful Mystery of the Rosary- the Nativity - 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
choose what you are going to do in order to live out this prayer program today. 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
- Learn about Mary's place in God's plan (words of St. Louis from True Devotion of Mary)
- Pray over Scripture
- Pray with the Heart
-
Examine
our conscience
PART 3: A taste of Fr. Gaitley's 33 Days to Morning Glory:
Father Gaitley speaks today about the St. Louis de Montfort's Consecration prayer itself, noting that it is a prayer to:
Father Gaitley speaks today about the St. Louis de Montfort's Consecration prayer itself, noting that it is a prayer to:
give ourselves entirely
1. body
2. soul
3. exterior
4 interior
– including merits, virtues, good works, past present and future
This offering of our interior life is greater than what is given in religious vows.
I will speak more about this tomorrow as we delve more deeply into the gift of Consecration.
“Come, Holy Spirit, living in Mary, help me to give myself entirely to Jesus through Mary”
© Janet Moore 2019. All Rights Reserved.
