Adorn Your Soul with Mary’s Virtues, 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!

For Reflection:             

Which of these sentiments, petitions, desires most expresses my heart and why?

Don’t White Victims Matter, Mr. President?

The parents of two British tourists who were savagely gunned down in a racially motivated crime by a young black man in Sarasota, Florida last spring accused President Barack Obama of finding no “political value” in acknowledging the crime as he did when a white man gunned down a black teen last month.

Read the rest…

Adorn Your Soul with Mary’s Virtues, 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.”

For Reflection:             

Of all the lessons presented this month, which one lesson do I most need to learn? What virtues does this lesson require? Using a particular examination of conscience (see page 45 of the  Women of Grace Journal in the link below) what strategies can I employ to make this lesson a pattern of my life?

http://www.womenofgrace.com/App_Uploads_Docs/Journals/women_of_grace_journal_issue_7.pdf

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.”

For Reflection:             

With a frank look at my own heart, what do I consider to be the chief duty in my life? What attitudes of heart, ideas, and behaviors need to be amended to help my spiritual life take first position?  Am I willing to apply my efforts in this direction – why or why not?