For centuries, the month of May has been dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary perhaps influenced by the ancient Greek and Roman cultures. In ancient Greece, May was dedicated to Artemis, the goddess of fecundity, and ancient Rome dedicated it to Flora, the goddess of bloom. But what better woman exemplifies the beginnings of life than the one whose fertile fiat ushered Eternal Life into the world? Mary the Mother of God, Mary the Mother of Mercy, Mary the Mother of the Mysteries of Salvation, Mary the Perfect Woman!
Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, now our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI, put it this way: "The mood of springtime informs the church's interior; nature's blossoming, the warm air of May evenings, human gladness in a world that is renewing itself -- all these things enter in. Veneration of Mary has its place in this very particular atmosphere, for she, the Virgin, shows us faith under its youthful aspect, as God's new beginning in a world that has grown old. In her we see the Christian life set forth as a youthfulness of the heart, as beauty and a waiting readiness for what is to come." (Seek That Which is Above, Ignatius, 1986, pp. 95-96).
For Reflection:
To what extent do I feel the “fertility of the fiat” stirring within me? Am I filled with a “waiting readiness for what is to come?” Explore this in light of your call to spiritual motherhood. Journal your insights.
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When forced abortion opponent and blind attorney Chen Guangcheng escaped house arrest in China last week and fled to the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, he touched off what some are calling the most significant challenge to U.S.-China relations since the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989.
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Commentary by Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
When a gay activist started bashing the Bible and Christian beliefs at a national high school journalism conference, as many as 100 students walked out in protest.
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TA writes: "
There are few Catholic Church promote Holy Yoga teaching in their workshop/seminar/teaching. From what I know, Holy Yoga is a part of New Age. Please help us understand more about Holy Yoga."
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A prominent Chicago-based law firm has offered to provide free legal services to the Most Rev. Daniel Jenky, C.S.C. of the Diocese of Peoria, Illinois, after he was reported to the Internal Revenue Service for encouraging the faithful to remember the policies of the current president regarding religious liberty when voting in the upcoming election.
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While my body here decays
May my soul your goodness praise,
Safe in heaven eternally. Amen Alleluia.
For Reflection:
This final stanza of the Stabat Mater encourages us to consider the Divine Mercy that floods the heart of Our Savior, who gave Himself for us. In what one way do you most need to experience this Ocean of Mercy? Journal your response. Read again the GraceLine for April 5, hear the voice of Jesus talking to you.
*Stabat Mater is a 13th century Roman Catholic hymn to Mary. It has been attributed to both Franciscan Jacopone da Todi and to Pope Innocent III. There are two Stabat Mater hymns, the Stabat Mater Dolorosa is about Mary's sufferings in union with her Son, Jesus Christ. Stabat Mater Speciosa refers to the Nativity of Jesus.
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Be to me, O Virgin, nigh,
Lest in flames I burn and die,
In His awe-full judgment day.
Savior, when my life shall leave me,
Through your mother's prayers receive me
With the fruits of victory.
For Reflection:
Read again the For Reflection of April 25. How are you assured that Our Lady will be "nigh" to you on your judgment day? Journal your interior response.
Mary has assured us of her maternal intercession and God assures us forgiveness of our sins when we truly repent. However the evil one seeks to steal all assurance from us. He does this in three ways: discouragement, distrust, doubt. Discouragement because we are afraid we now can never acquire a deep union with God; distrust that God will treat us less favorably now and that He will be niggardly in the grace He gives us; doubt that God has forgiven us at all because our sin is so great.
To what extent is any one of these true of you? Read Rev. 21:5-6. Journal your insights, inspirations and consolations.
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Wounded with His every wound,
Steep my soul till it has swooned
In His very Blood away. For Reflection:
Read Mark’s account of the Passion . Underline or circle all of the wounds of Christ – physical, emotional, psychological. Which of these wounds have you experienced? How? Unite each of these sufferings to the wounds of Jesus and ask that the Precious Blood shed for you on Calvary’s hill will fill you with the healing balm of the Holy Spirit.
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Speaking on behalf of Pope Benedict XVI, U.S. papal nuncio Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano delivered a rousing speech at the Pontifical College Josephinum in which he called on American Catholics to "lead the entire Church in the world" into renewal.
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A Swiss woman was found starved to death after giving up food and attempting to survive by spiritual means alone after watching a film about a yogi who claimed to have survived 70 years without food or water.
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