"Look, my child, at my heart surrounded with thorns, which ungrateful men continuously nail into me with their blasphemies and sins. You, at least, try to console me and tell everyone that those who go to confession on the first Saturday of the month for five months, receive holy communion, say the rosary and keep me company for a quarter of an hour - these I promise to assist at the time of their death with the necessary graces for their salvation."
The Blessed Virgin Mary
(Fatima, August 13, 1917)
For Reflection:
To what extent am I willing to make reparation for sins against the name of Jesus?
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"The knot of Eve's disobedience was untied by Mary's obedience: what the virgin Eve bound through her disbelief, Mary loosened by her faith."
St. Irenaeus
For Reflection:
Do I stand more in the footprints of Eve or the Blessed Mother? How do I show my obedience through faith even when it may be difficult? What is one example from my life that points to this?
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"Death came through Eve; life has come through Mary."
St. Jerome
For Reflection:
One of Mary's titles is the "New Eve." Why do you think this title is appropriate? How has "life" come through Mary?
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"No one may understand the meaning of the Gospel if he has not rested on the breast of Jesus and received Mary from Jesus, to be his mother also."
Origen
For Reflection:
In light of Genesis 3:15, why is it necessary to receive Mary as our mother in order to understand the meaning of the Gospel? See tomorrow's Grace Line for one saint's insight.
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"He willed us to have all through Mary."
St. Bernard of Clairvaux
For Reflection:
In what specific ways have we obtained all through Mary?
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Mary, Virgin and Mother
Oh, Virgin Joy of all the world art thou,
In whose white, fragrant steps the countless throng
On souls elect doth follow God with song:
Creation's Queen, whose bright and holy brow
The multitude of Saints, like stars, endow
With changeful splendors, flashing far and strong:
The Main unshadow'd by the primal wrong:
God's Lily, chosen in His shrine to bow.
All these thy glories are, and still a grace
More high, more dread, and yet more sweet and fair,
Doth bind thy royal brows, O Mary blest.
God called thee Mother; yea, His sacred face
The tender likeness of thine own doth wear.
And thou art ours --- we trust Him for the rest.
E. Seton
For Reflection:
The saintly poet ends with the proclamation that Mary is our mother. Have I accepted her as such? Why or why not? To what extent have I seen her maternal influence in my life?
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A Hope-Filled Prayer
O sweetest Lord Jesus Christ, may my soul ever yearn
Towards Thee:
May my soul seek Thee, find Thee, tend
Towards attainment of Thee,
Ever meditate on Thee,
And do all things to the praise and glory of
Thy Holy Name.
Do Thou alone be my hope,
My whole trust,
My delight,
My joy,
My rest,
My peace and my sweet contentment.
Do Thou alone be my refuge and my help,
My wisdom and my possession,
My treasure in whom my heart and
my soul remain fixed immovably,
Forever.
Amen
St. Bonaventure
For Reflection:
I will pray this prayer from my heart, uniting myself to Jesus Christ my Lord, confident in the mercy of the Father and the grace of the Holy Spirit.
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"Wait upon the Lord: wait upon Him patiently, wait upon Him by avoiding all sin. He will come; doubt it not. To this firm hope, join the practice of virtue, and even in this life you will begin to taste the ineffable joys of Paradise."
St. Bernard
For Reflection:
What great spiritual advice St. Bernard gives us! Which part of this quote speaks most to your heart and why? How can you begin to cooperate with grace to see it through?
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"Wherefore with full assurance let us partake of the Body and Blood of Christ, that thou be made of the same body and blood with Him. For thus we come to bear Christ in us."
St. Cyril of Jerusalem
For Reflection:
What quality of heart must we bring to the Sacrament to make it efficacious in us according to St. Cyril? Read 2 Peter 1:4. What does he tell us?
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"Brothers, I do not think of myself as having reached the finish line. I give no thought to what lies behind but push on to what is ahead. My entire attention is on the finish line as I run toward the prize to which God calls me - life on high in Christ Jesus. All of us who are spiritually mature must have this attitude."
Philippians 3: 13- 15
For Reflection:
What is the "finish line" according to St. Paul? How does he exhibit hope in achieving it? Am I spiritually mature by St. Paul's definition? Read tomorrow's Grace Line to see how we can come to "full stature in Christ Jesus."
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