Dec 1 Fri - Being responsive to the plans of God

 

Dec 1 Fri
“Be done unto me…” was Mary’s answer to God’s plans. From the moment of the Annunciation, Mary gave herself to the salvation of souls, in perfect union with her Son.
Mary understands the plans of God regarding her vocation, and the reason why she had received so many graces from the Holy Spirit. And she is responsive to these plans of God. The same holds true of everyone’s vocation. All the minute incidents that go to make up our existence take on a new interest and meaning.

Mary is humble, and trusts in the Almighty, to whom she has dedicated herself completely. Our Mother is the Teacher of unlimited self-giving. Ask of this good Mother that her answer, with the generosity it shows, may gain strength in your soul.

‘Ecce ancilla Domini... Behold the handmaid of the Lord.’ We can tell Jesus in the intimacy of our prayer: Lord, count on me for whatever you want. I do not want to put any limits on your grace or on whatever you are asking of me each and every day. Don’t stop making demands ... and continue to grant me the continual support of your strength.

Mary, from the beginning, shows a complete openness to the mission and work of Christ. Learn from her to be available for the plans of God through your complete dedication to the call you have received. May you be able to say at the end of a truly great life: ‘Lord, I’ve always made an effort to fulfill your Will. My only objective has always been to please you.’

Your specific vocation is God’s greatest gift to you. It is the reason for your being created, and is therefore your sure way to happiness. From all eternity the Lord has provided you with all the graces necessary for you to fulfill his Will.

The greatness of man consists in discerning this Will of God, and in carrying it out. To discern our vocation is to find the pearl of great price. When we spend our entire existence in carrying out our calling, we get to understand the deepest meaning of our being, and possess the fullness of life.

God wants the vast majority to stay right where they are, in all earthly occupations in which they work; in the factory, the laboratory, the farm, the trades, the streets of the big cities and the trails of the mountains... There they should be apostles, behaving in such a way that people should be able to recognize the Master in his disciples.
Today, offer bougainvilleas, which spreads all over, as a symbol of your generous apostolic zeal.

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Nov 30 Thu - Having a heart for the plans of God

 Nov 30 Thu
Today we begin the novena to the Immaculate Conception. Each of us should strive to grow in love for our Lady by showing her special signs of affection during these days, and spreading devotion to her among our friends.

Mary is the Mother of God and the Mother of each of us. Thus, we go to her confidently. For our Lady always heeds our prayers.
John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, brought Mary into his home, and into his life. This is an invitation to all Christians to bring Mary into their lives. Mary certainly wants you to invoke her as your mother. Tell her, “Show me that you are my Mother."

Invoke the Blessed Virgin, asking her to be always our Mother, and to give us, along with her Son's grace, clear, sound doctrine for our minds, and love and purity for our hearts, so that we can reach God ourselves and lead many souls to him."

Now, from heaven, our Mother continues to fulfill her mission, to help in the birth and development of divine life in each of us.

During this Novena, each day we should offer some small gift to our Lady as a sign of our filial devotion.
It may be the effort that we make to fulfill our duties better, a mortification, some small act of Marian piety, a very definite apostolic target, or something else, small things that will make our Mother smile.

St. Josemaría tells us, “Every year, during the month of May, the rector of an old seminary used to go to the rooms, knocking on the doors one by one, after the seminarians had already retired for the evening. When they opened the door, the rector would give them a rose to offer to our Lady. But whenever a seminarian had failed to be a good son of our heavenly mother, either by breaking one of the rules or neglecting his study, the rector would knock on his door and say, ‘Today, you cannot offer our Lady a rose.’"

Each day of this novena we too want to offer our Lady a flower. At the moment of the evening examination of conscience we hope to be able to say, 'Here you have my gift for today, Mother.' And then from her heavenly throne she will smile upon us, for in those efforts of ours she will see the reality of our love and dedication. Today, the anthurium, heart shaped, reminds us of having a heart for the plans of God.

Mary accepted, and gave herself fully to her vocation as a mother. She did not do her own will, but His Will: “Be it done unto me according to your word.” Today, I should ask myself:
1. Am I open to the plans of God in my life, as Our Lady was?
2. Do I pray about it, every day, as she did?
3. Do I open my soul to God in the sacrament confession?

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Nov 29 Wed - Chastity for love of God is a virtue for everyone

 

Nov 29 Wed
Chastity for love of God is a virtue for everyone.
What God asks of us is love. For “the Lord, the teacher of Love, is a jealous lover who asks for all we possess, for all our love. He expects us to offer him whatever we have, following the path he has marked out for each one of us."

Jesus seeks us out amid our daily circumstances, and asks us to give him our heart. Whether in apostolic celibacy or marriage, all must strive to serve God with a sincere heart and clean life. No one is excluded from this divine petition, although the way to practice chastity is different for married people and single people.
 
We can't allow our heart to harbor any affection that is out of keeping with our supernatural adventure as God's children.

God gives everyone the help they need to be faithful to his Beautiful Love. If at times the flesh pulls us downward, grace pushes us upward: it powerfully cauterizes the wound left by sin and draws our hearts of flesh to the Love of God. St. Josemaría told us: “Generously give God your youthful heart, that wonderful, splendid life: give him your life. Let yours be the sacrifice of Abel, not that of Cain. Abel offered God the best of his flock."

Along our path of love there can come moments of discouragement or physical tiredness, perhaps on account of some human setback or a seemingly insurmountable sense of mediocrity. At such times someone may be tempted to yearn for things they once dreamed of, or for other things which seem attractive and which they had renounced out of love for Christ and, in the case of married people, out of love for another person too.

But we need to remember that we can no longer pose the question in the same terms as before, because what we were in a position to give away has already been given. Now we have to protect something which belongs to another... At times like that, without losing our peace, we need to turn humbly to God.

It is not possible to lead a clean life without God's assistance.
Don't forget that when someone is corrupted by the concupiscence of the flesh, he cannot make any spiritual progress. He cannot do good works.

Each of us here ought to invoke our Lord, and his Blessed Mother, and pray that he will grant us humility and a determination to avail ourselves devoutly of the divine remedy of Confession. Do not let even the smallest focal point of corruption take root in your souls, no matter how tiny it may be. Speak out. When water flows, it stays clean; blocked up, it becomes a stagnant pool full of repugnant filth. What was once drinking water becomes a breeding-ground for insects.

You know as well as I do that chastity is possible, and that it is a great source of joy. We need to say "No", for the sake of the great Love, the Love of loves. Chastity is a joyful affirmation, a triumph.

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Nov 28 Tue - Our gain is giving

 

Nov 28 Tue
On the Feast of Christ the King, we hear the Lord telling us, in the intimacy of our hearts: I have thoughts of peace for you and not of affliction (Jeremiah 29:11), and we resolve to put right in our hearts whatever is not in conformity with Christ's will. At the same time, we ask him to help us collaborate in this great task of extending his reign around us and in so many places where he is not yet known.

We must be convinced that our gain is in giving. Love, made of concern and service for others, breaks the shell of selfishness, of self, and just as uncovering a precious perfume fills the place with its fragrance, so it also releases the best of ourselves: the love of God that was poured into our hearts on the day of Baptism.

How different everything appears to someone who is not selfish, who gives generously of his time, his human warmth, his respectful, helpful, attentive treatment, his knowledge! When Christians behave in this way, religion ceases to be for others a theory that can be discussed, and becomes a fact that allows us to feel the closeness of Jesus, a prelude to that reign that we celebrate today with the whole Church.

Oportet autem illum regnare…, He must reign... (1 Corinthians 15:25) It is necessary that he reign first in our intelligence, through the knowledge of his doctrine and the loving observance of those revealed truths; it is necessary that he reign in our will, so that it obeys and identifies itself ever more fully with the divine will; it is necessary that he reign in our heart, so that no love may stand in the way of the love of God; it is necessary that he reign in our body, temple of the Holy Spirit; in our work, the way of holiness.

We are to be sowers of peace and joy in the world, our hearts aflame with a burning zeal for souls. Zeal for souls is intrinsic to our mission as co-redeemers. Our Lord wants to use us to draw each and every person to himself, to bring them his love, peace, and joy. He wants us to help him reconcile the world and all noble human realities to himself, and all souls to one another.
St. Josemaría encouraged us to pray often this aspiration: Cor Iesu Sacratissimum et Misericors, dona nobis pacem! “Most Sacred and Merciful Heart of Jesus, grant us peace."

To make our desires come true, we turn once again to Our Lady, the holy Mother of our King, the Queen of our hearts. We ask her that we may know how to build our lives and the lives of those around us, like a river of peace (Isaiah 66:12).

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Nov 27 Mon - O Mary, pray for us

 

 

Nov 27 Mon

The Miraculous Medal

On Nov. 27, 1830, in the chapel (see picture), Sister Catalina Labouré was doing her meditation, when she felt the touch of a silk dress that reminded her of the previous apparition.

 The Blessed Virgin appeared, dressed in white, with a tunic. Her head was covered by a white veil that fell on both sides down to her feet. When she wanted to describe her face, she could only say that it was the Virgin Mary in her greatest beauty.

 The Virgin’s feet rested on a white globe, of which only the upper part was visible. Mary was crushing the head of a serpent that was over the world. She, the Immaculate, has all power from Jesus to triumph over Satan.

Her hands, raised to the level of the heart, held another small golden globe, crowned by a small cross.

 The Blessed Virgin maintained a supplicant attitude, as if offering the globe. Sometimes she looked at the sky, and sometimes at the earth. Suddenly, her fingers were filled with rings adorned with precious stones that shone and shed their light in all directions. At this moment, she was surrounded with such brightness that it was impossible to see her.

 She had three rings on each finger. Rays, which extended all the way downwards, came out from the precious stones of the rings.

 As Sister Catalina contemplated the Virgin, Mary looked at her, and said:

This globe that you see (at Our Lady's feet) represents the whole world. These rays symbolize the graces that I shower on those who ask for them. The pearls that do not emit rays are the graces destined to souls who do not ask.

 With these words Our Lady makes herself known as the mediator of the graces that come to us from Jesus Christ.

 At this moment an oval shape appeared around the Virgin, and on the inner rim, appeared written the following invocation, "O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us, who have recourse to thee."

 The nun heard the voice within: "Have a medal struck after this model. All those who wear it will receive great graces. The graces will be more abundant for those who wear it with confidence".

 The apparition then turned around, and the back of the medal was seen.

On it appeared an M, above which was a cross resting on a bar, and below it the hearts of Jesus and Mary, of which the first was encircled by a crown of thorns, and the second pierced by a sword. Around it there were twelve stars.

 Finally, the Virgin said to Catherine: "From now on, you will no longer see, my daughter; but you will hear my voice in prayer".

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Nov 26 Sun - Christ the King

 

Nov 26 Sun

Christ the King

This feast shows us Jesus as the supreme sovereign before a society that seems to live with its back turned to God. Christ came to establish his reign, not with the strength of a conqueror, but with the kindness and gentleness of a shepherd. With this solicitude the Lord sought out men scattered and alienated from God by sin. And because they were wounded and sick, he healed them and bound up their wounds. He loved them so much that he gave his life for them. The Kingdom established by Jesus Christ comes to reveal the love of God, and acts as a leaven and sign of salvation to build a more just, fraternal and supportive world, inspired by the Gospel values of hope and future beatitude.

 

Christ appears surrounded by power and glory, and by all his angels, to judge all men of all times. It has often been said that a person is worth what his heart is worth. "At the sunset, you will be examined and asked about your love." Indeed. Jesus will not ask us for the money earned, nor for the social prestige acquired, nor for the professional success conquered, but for the affective and effective love for others: "You gave me to eat...; You did not give me to eat...".

 

What food for thought in these words of the Lord! Let us think about those "no, never, and no" omissions… About what we should have done or said and didn't do or didn't say… What did not deserve even a minute of our attention… The services we rendered half-heartedly or unwillingly… The alms devoid of a smile, a kind word... An understanding silence, a timely advice… The forgiveness that we did not know how to express… The conversation on religious matters that human respect froze on our lips... The help denied to those in need of material goods, an immense field where the Christian heart could have been poured out!

Dozens of daily occasions to extend our hands, in service, to those around us, and in whom the Lord is!

 

Today's feast is like a foretaste of the second coming of Christ in power and majesty, the glorious coming that will fill hearts and wipe away every tear of unhappiness. But at the same time, it is a call and a spur for the gentle spirit of Christ to permeate all earthly realities around us. We collaborate in the extension of the reign of Jesus when we try to make the little world around us, the one we frequent every day, more human and more Christian; when we give ourselves totally to this Great King.

 

If I observe eternity with the eyes of Faith, there you are, seated at the right hand of the Father.

If I glance back at the history of men, I find you establishing a “before” and an “after”.

If I contemplate your Love to the extreme, I recognize the Perfect Man.

If I look around, I find you in the Tabernacle, in the Gospel, and in the little ones.

If I were to enter the Seventh Mansions of prayer, I’d find you in the inner part of my own intimacy.

If I dream of happiness, I think of you.

If I scrutinize my future, I hope to find you, and look at you, face to face, beyond the threshold of death.

Truly, you are the King of the Universe, whether we crown you or sit you on the dock.

And on the last day you will come to close history, resurrect the dead, and examine us precisely about love.

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