January 1
Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life."
- John 3:16
For Reflection
Why would God do such a thing even as man often stubbornly opposes His divine will? As we enter this New Year, how can you more freely accept God's amazing gift to us, Jesus Christ? Ask Mary, Mother of God, to intercede for you to have greater receptivity to every grace and blessing that He desires to give you in this New Year and new decade.
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Spoiler alert! The moral of this blog is not to advise you to ask God for help before making your resolutions. That’s a no-brainer. The point is to show you, from first-hand experience, just how much better God can "do" our resolutions than we can.
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December 31
Eve of the Feast of Mary, Mother of God
Mother benign of our redeeming Lord,
Star of the sea and portal of the skies,
Unto thy fallen people help afford –
Fallen, but striving still anew to rise.
Thou who dids’t once, while wond’ring
worlds adored,
Bear thy Creator, Virgin then as now,
O by thy holy joy at Gabriel’s word,
Pity the sinners who before thee bow.
-Roman Breviary, Antiphon of the Blessed Virgin
For Reflection
Spend some quiet moments with Mary by reflecting on this antiphon. Journal your reflections.
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We recently had a question about the use of an upside-down Triquetra symbol for a local business. What is the meaning of this symbol and is it connected to the New Age and/or the occult?
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December 30
"God could make a bigger world or a wider sky, but He could not raise a pure creature higher than Mary, for the dignity of Mother of God is the highest dignity that can be conferred on a creature.”
-St. Bonaventure
For Reflection
Pray the prayer of Consecration to Jesus Through Mary by St. Louis Grignion de Montfort. Jot down any insights, reflections, inspirations that come to you through this prayer. Adopt this prayer as your own for the next year or write your own prayer of consecration to Jesus through Mary. Add this to your list of resolutions for the coming new year.
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December 29
“The first thing which kindles ardor in learning is the greatness of the teacher. What is greater than the Mother of God? What more glorious than she whom Glory Itself chose?”
-St. Ambrose of Milan
For Reflection
What has Mary taught me in the “course” of this past year? What lesson is she “kindling” in me now? What lesson would I like her to teach me in this coming year? I will formulate a request to her and add it to my list of resolutions.
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VG asks:
"Do you have any info on Budokon? A friend of mine does it and she is a Christian. From what I have read, it doesn't seem compatible."
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December 28
“True love of God consists in adhering perfectly to His holy will, not desiring to do or to be other than what God indicates for each of us, to the point of becoming, as it were, “a living will of God.”
-Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalene, OCD
For Reflection
How does the Blessed Virgin Mary demonstrate true love of God according to the definition given to us in this quote? How and why is she the icon of “a living will of God?” To what extent am I the same? What one strategy in the coming new year can I employ to help me be more so? Add it to my list of resolutions.
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December 27
“The Blessed Mary certainly did the Father’s will and so it was for her a greater thing to have been Christ’s disciple than to have been His mother, and she was more blessed in her discipleship than in her motherhood.”
-St. Augustine
For Reflection
Consider this quote in light of Luke 11: 27-28. Write your thoughts and reflections. How did Mary’s discipleship begin at the moment of the Annunciation and continue throughout her life? To what extent does your discipleship mirror hers? Formulate a new year’s resolution to help you grow in this way in the coming year.
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ST asks: "A few of my friends have been singing the praises of hot stone massage which they have been receiving at a local spa. From the little I read about it, it sounded awfully New Age. What do you know about it?"
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