April 1
Most glorious Lord of life that on this day
Didst make Thy triumph over death and sin,
And having harrowed hell didst bring away
Captivity thence captive us to win;
This joyous day, dear Lord, with joy begin
And grant that we, for whom Thou didst die
Being with Thy dear blood clean washed from sin,
May live forever in felicity.
And that Thy love we weighing worthily,
May likewise love Thee for the same again;
And for Thy sake that all like dear didst buy,
With love may one another entertain.
So let us love, dear love, like as we ought,
Love is the lesson which the Lord us taught.
--"Easter", Edmund Spenser (1553-1598)
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March 31
Adorn Your Soul with Mary’s Virtues, Day 2
Closing Prayer to Our Lady
O Mary, our Mother, with thine arms outstretched – those tender arms in which the eternal God delighted to dwell when He became our blood Brother – plead our cause. With thine eyes of mercy, beseech of Him for us, thy children, the grace that in our exile we may resemble thee, His most devoted follower, and so at last, in union with thee, may glorify Him forever!
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“All that is done by obedience is meritorious . . . It is obedience, which, by the light of Faith, puts self-will to death, and causes the obedient man to despise his own will and throw himself into the arms of his superior . . . Placed in the bark of obedience, he passes happily through the stormy sea of this life, in peace of soul and tranquility of heart. Obedience and faith disperse darkness; he is strong because he has no longer any weakness or fears, for self-will, which is the cause of inordinate fear and weakness, has been destroyed.”
-Saint Catherine of Siena
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Adorn Your Soul with Mary’s Virtues, Day 1
“...since the measure of our grace will always be inferior to [Mary’s}, we must adorn our souls with virtue through correspondence with the degree of grace that God bestows on us. Thus will we walk in her footsteps and, like her, grow in humility, in purity, and in love of God.”
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March 29
Strive to Advance in Perfection
“As our chief duty in life is the sanctification of our souls, we should strive with all our powers to advance to that standard of perfection that God has determined for each one of us. We should use all our efforts to grow daily in divine love.”
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March 28
Let the Holy Spirit Pray Within You
“Our prayer, like Mary’s and the Apostle’s, must come from our hearts under the absolute dominion of the Holy Spirit. The love of God above all things, detachment from the world, and an abiding sense of the supernatural, ore recollection – these are the prerequisites of prayer.”
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March 27
Be Willing to Sacrifice All For God
“The true child of Mary must be prepared to make the sacrifice necessary to overcome the love of created things with the love of the Creator.”
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TO asks:
“What about those ‘quizzes’ on Facebook that come up with things like who is your guardian angel, what will your year be like, things like that. I play the quizzes just to see the results but I don't believe in them, even though it would be nice if they were true like meeting the man of my dreams this year, LOL. Should these things be avoided?”
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In a recent homily at Casa Santa Marta, Pope Francis invited the faithful who are depressed and tired of life to look at the Cross because “by those wounds we have been healed.”
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Strive to Die to Yourself
“When God demands of a soul a great sacrifice, he strengthens the soul, through the vivifying power of His grace, to overcome all obstacles. Such a soul dies perfectly to itself, and its only desire is to remain spiritually dead to its natural inclinations as long as God wishes.”
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