Saturday, August 26, 2017

Evening Prayer

 
O Mary, my Mother, Queen of the elect, my guiding Star on the stormy sea of this transitory life, my Gate of Heaven at the end of my voyage, open to me this glorious dwelling and lead me to my Place in Heaven! 
(Prayer, B. Herder Book Co., 1920)

Evening Prayer or Vespers
Learn More ➛ Vespers Explained


V. O Lady, make speed to befriend me. 
R. From the hands of the enemy powerfully defend me. 
V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. 
R. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.  Amen.

Alleluia. 

Hymn  

Hail, Dial of Achaz,
     On thee the true Sun
Told backward the course
     Which from old he had run.

And that man might be rais'd
     Submitting to shame,
A little more low
     Than the angels became.

Thou, wrapt in the blaze
     Of His infinite light
Dost shine as the morn
     On the confines of night.
As the moon on the lost
     Through obscurity dawns;
The serpent's destroyer;
     A lily mid thorns.


V. I made an unfailing light to arise in heaven.
R. And as a mist, I overspread the whole earth.
V. O Lady recommend my prayer,
R. And let my cry come unto thee. 

Let Us Pray. 

     O Holy Mary, Queen of heaven, Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, and Mistress of the world, who forsakest no one, and despises no one; look upon me, O Lady, with an eye of pity, and entreat for me, of thy beloved Son, the forgiveness of all my sins; that, as I now celebrate with devout affection T
HY HOLY AND IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, so hereafter, I may receive the prize of eternal blessedness, by the grace of Him whom thou, in virginity, didst bring forth, Jesus Christ our Lord; who, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, liveth and reigneth, in perfect unity, God, world without end. Amen.  

Continue to Night Prayer


Mother of Fair Love

Botticelli's Madonna - I remember being in complete awe the first time I saw this piece... Even now it amazes me.

O Mother of fair love!  show me thy glory and fill me with admiration to thee - the most beautiful work of thy and my Creator. Replenish me with love to thee who didst give me Jesus - the fruit of the love of God, who still givest me Jesus, and teach me to know Him, to love Him, thus to gain His mercy. Look with pleasure upon the small tokens of my love and obtain by thy intercession for me a holy spirit that I may always honor thee and pray to thee in spirit and in truth.  Amen.

The Month of Mary
19th century





Charlottesville & America's Original Sin

 I vividly remember my first visit to the home of Thomas Jefferson in Charlottesville, Virginia. The splendid Monticello estate with its sordid slave-quarters underground. One could literally see at this great American house the divide, the original sin, that has bedeviled our nation from its inception to the present day. 

26th Little Visit to Jesus and Mary

Dedication, Introduction & Index
Ask, ask and ask again,
Jesus loves to give.


THE CANTICLE OF LOVE


"City of Sion, be of great joy! Give voice to your songs of praise. Great is the One who is in your midst: He is the Holy One of Israel." (Is. 22). How great our joy should be; how great our hopes; and how great our love; when we know that here in our own city, in our own church, close to our own home, the Holy One, God Himself, dwells in the Blessed Sacramentyes, God Himself, whose presence gives joy exceedingly great to the Saints in Heaven: God who is Love Itself! 

St. Bernard tells us "He imparts love. But this is not all: He is Love
―Love Itself. "God is Love." 

But here in this Sacrament, my dear Jesus, I can hear you making your sad complaint: "I came as your guest and you refused to welcome me." To do good to us you came to earth to be our Guest, and we had no welcome for you. Ah! yes, my Master, you are right; and one of those ungrateful ones who left you forsaken was myself; I did not even come to visit you. O punish me in any other way you will, but please do not punish me by depriving me of your presence; this is the punishment I deserve, but I will correct the rudeness of my manners, and my want of courtesy towards you. From today forward I want to visit you often and I want to spend as much time as I can in your company. 


O my gentle Saviour, make me faithful to you now, and inspire others by my example to keep you company in the Most Holy Sacrament. 


The voice of Your Eternal Father speaks to me, "This is My Beloved Son in Whom I am well pleased." (Matt. 17). In you the Great Almighty Father finds His boundless joy. And I, a poor thing of no worth dwelling in this valley of tears am to find my delight in you also! O Fire all-consuming, put an end to that love of created things that still lingers in me; because it is these, and these only, that can make me unfaithful to you and deprive me of your possession. You can do it. You wish to do it. You can make me clean. You have done much for me; do this one thing more: put out of my heart every particle of love that is not for you. Here and now I surrender myself completely to you; I dedicate all the rest of my life to the love of the Most Holy Sacrament. You, my Jesus in the Sacrament, will now be my comfort
―my love all my life long; and in the moment of my death. Then you will come to be my Viaticum; then you will bring me to the Kingdom of the Blessed.   


Amen. Amen.            

This is my hope; and so let it be.

Aspiration
―My Jesus, when shall I see your beautiful Face?


SPIRITUAL COMMUNION  

Jesus, I believe you are in the Most Holy Sacrament. I love you; I want you to come to me. Come into my heart; I embrace you; O never depart from me.  
 

A VISIT TO MARY 

THE BRIDGE OF GOD 



Mary, my Mother most holy, St. Germanus calls you "The power that supports our weakness." In you we will find the remedy for all our sickness; in you our weakness will find strength. 

St. Bonaventure calls you "The gate of Liberty"―In you we have the door through which we go forth from the slavery of sin. He also calls you "The safe resting place of men"―so in you too we find peace and security. St. Lawrence Justinian calls you "The comforter of our pilgrimage"―you bring relief to us in our sufferings. St Bonaventure calls you "The Throne of the Grace of God:" so to sum up all, in you we find God's grace and God Himself. St. Proclus tells us you are "The bridge by which God comes down to man"―our sins have separated us from God but happily for us, Mary is the bridge by which He passes when He comes to dwell in our souls by His grace.

Aspiration
―Mary, you are my strength, my liberty, my peace; and my salvation.


Friday, August 25, 2017

Think on This



Mary was united in the mind of God with the Person of her Divine Son, and from all eternity God thinking of the Son thought also of the Mother. God decreeing the existence and glorification of the Son, decreed equally the existence and glorification of the Mother. Now that which is so closely united in the Divine decrees ought never to be separated; I mean to say that in our homage and our love we ought to unite JESUS and MARY; when we worship JESUS CHRIST to cast a glance of tenderness to Mary; and never to pretend to honor MARY; if our worship does not carry us on JESUS.


The Virgin Mother
According to Theology, 1889.




According to Theology - 1889



Let us confide our salvation after Jesus to Mary. If she wills to save us, by her intercession with her Son, we shall be saved, and it depends on ourselves whether she wills it or not. If we sincerely desire it ourselves, if we ask it each day of our tender Mother, we may hold ourselves assured of that great gift of final perseverance. 
 
And when Mary shall have placed us by her side, we shall say to that great Queen: It is thou, sweet and powerful Sovereign, who by thy influence with thy Son hast saved us. Mayest thou be blest, loved, and glorified for ever!

THE VIRGIN MOTHER
ACCORDING TO THEOLOGY
ST. ANSELM'S SOCIETY, LONDON - 1889




Wednesday, August 23, 2017

If I Love What Jesus Loves


If I love what Jesus loves, I cannot be wrong; unless I love what Jesus loves, I cannot be right. I may then―I must―love the Madonna, and, like the angel, I may gaze lovingly into her face with reverence and delight and hail her as the "highly favored" Maiden, purest Mother of perfect Child.



1,298,146

Tuesday, August 22, 2017

Bishop Barron on The Sacrament of Marriage

by Bishop Robert Barron  08/23/17


Recently, I had the great good pleasure of presiding at the wedding of my niece, Bryna and her now husband, Nelson. While we rejoice in their love for each other, the fact that they have now become living symbols of Christ the Bridegroom’s ecstatic love for his Bride, the Church is reason, in the very deepest sense, to give thanks.

Twenty Third Visit to Jesus & Mary

Dedication, Introduction & Index
Never forget the solemn moment when the Holy of Holies deigned to give Himself to you.





JESUS HIMSELF IS HERE



Great are the fatigues, many are the dangers that multitudes of Christians have faced to visit the places in the Holy Landthose places where Our Most Loving Saviour was born, where He suffered, and where He died. 

For us there is no need to make a long voyage―no need to face great dangers: this same Lord of Glory is our neighbor. He dwells in the church which is only a few steps away from our own house. St. Paulinus tells us that pilgrims who brought away a little dust from the Crib, or from the Holy Sepulchre in which Jesus was buried, thought that this was a very wonderful thing. With what burning love then should we visit Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament when we can do this without any fatigue and without any danger. There this same Jesus awaits us in person. 

A nun to whom God gave a special love of the Blessed Sacrament wrote a letter and among other thoughts expressed in it are the following: "I have come to see that all the good things that are mine have come to me from the Most Holy Sacrament; to Jesus in this Sacrament I have given and consecrated myself completely. I see numberless graces that were never given because this Divine Sacrament was not approached; I see that Our Savior in this Sacrament has an intense desire to distribute His graces. O Holy Mystery! O Sacred Victim! Where else does God give us such a deep knowledge of His power if it is not in this Host? Surely this Host contains in itself everything that God has ever done for us. There is no need for us to envy the Blessed who are in Heaven: on earth we have the very same Lord; but here the marvels of His love are greater. Do what you can to persuade others to devote themselves completely to the Most Holy Sacrament. I am overwhelmed at the thought of what this Sacrament means and that is why I speak in this way: of the Most Holy Sacrament I can never cease to speak―its claims on our love are so great. For the sake of Jesus in this Sacrament I know not what I can do." It is thus the letter ends. 

O Seraphim, you who burn with such sweet flames of love before that God who is both yours and mine―though it is not for your love but for mine that this King of Glory lingers here―O Angels of Love, let me burn too. Inflame me with your fiery darts so that, in His presence, the flames of your love and of mine may ascend together. 

O my Jesus, give me to understand what a tremendous thing is your love for men; so that in the presence of this great love, my longing to love you more and to give joy to you will always grow more ardent. O God of Boundless Love, I want to love you always; I want to please you only.

Aspiration
―My Jesus, I believe in you, I hope in you, I love you; I love you and I give myself to you.


SPIRITUAL COMMUNION  

Jesus, I believe you are in the Most Holy Sacrament. I love you; I want you to come to me. Come into my heart; I embrace you; O never depart from me.  


A VISIT TO MARY 

THE MOTHER OF ORPHANS 


O, Mary, take our flowers and our hearts
offer them to Jesus your Divine Son.


O Virgin most loving, you are named by St. Bonaventure "The Mother of Orphans." St. Ephram proclaims you "The Receiver of Orphans," that is, the one who welcomes the orphan. Who are these unhappy orphans? They are non others than poor sinners who have lost God, their Father. Most holy Mother, I have lost my Father; you are my Mother. I come to you and you will welcome me. In my great misfortune I call on you for help and you will aid me. Will you leave me in my grief? No; for this is what Innocent III says to me about you, "Who has ever called on her and did not receive her kindly help?" And indeed who ever prayed to you without being both heard and helped? Was anybody ever lost after pleading with you? The only one that is lost is the one that does not go to you. My Queen, if you wish to save me, then help me to invoke you and to confide in you always.

Aspiration
―O most holy Mary, give me confidence in you.


Prayer After Each Visit





Queenship of The Blessed Virgin Mary


Your daily Gospel reflection...
Tuesday, August 22, 2017
MEMORIAL OF THE QUEENSHIP OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, YEAR I
MATTHEW 19:23-30

Friends, today we celebrate the Queenship of Mary. Mary, Queen Mary, was the definitive bearer of the divine presence, the Ark of the Covenant par excellence. When she visited her cousin Elizabeth, the infant John the Baptist leapt in his mother's womb, doing his own version of David's dance before the Ark.
 
The Queen Mother—like all of the monarchs of Israel—is a fighter. Israel frequently brought the Ark into battle with them. Most famously, the priests parade around the city of Jericho bearing the Ark, just before the walls came tumbling down.
 
The Queenship of Mary is not a sentimental feast. Whenever biblical people spoke of kings or queens, they were speaking of warriors. The question for us is, which side are we on? Those trained in the Jesuit spiritual tradition know of the "two standards" meditation, which compels us to make the simple choice: in which army do you serve?
 
We fight, of course, not with the puny weapons of the world, but with the weapons of the Spirit, by God we fight. So don't just honor and acknowledge the Queenship of Mary; get in her army.

Monday, August 21, 2017

Prayer Made Simple


The Holy Family

I recall a person who arrived at a very high degree of prayer by means of this very simple procedure.

She said to herself: "If I should see our Lord, how would I react? What would I say to Him? How would I comport myself with Him?" 
Then she would vivify her faith and say: "I do not see Him with my eyes, but faith assures me that He is present in the tabernacle. Now, if He is here before me, I wish to enact what I should feel and say, and do, as I would feel and say and do it if I were seeing Him with my bodily eyes." 
Thus she intensified her faith and facilitated her intercourse with God.

Secrets of Interior Life
Luis M. Martinez
Archbishop of Mexico
B. Herder Book Company, 1949

Friday, August 18, 2017

God Created us for Heaven!

My delight is among the children of men.

God created us for heaven. To be sure, while we travel on the earth we have to do many other things: combat our passions, help our neighbor, and so on. But these are not the proper activity of our life; they are secondary things that pass away. Our Lord wishes that our chief occupation on earth should be to exercise ourselves in what is to be our everlasting occupation in heaven: to contemplate Him and love Him. 
 
Secrets of Interior Life
Luis M. Martinez
Archbishop of Mexico
B. Herder Book Company, 1949  

Thursday, August 17, 2017

The Divine Gardener

Where God has sown us, we must flower.

Oh Jesus, divine Gardener! We are flowers born in the garden of Thy Church and watered with Thy precious blood. Spiknard or lilies, roses or violets, exquisite flowers or simple blooms of the field, we have received from Thee the richness of our petals, the treasures of our perfumes, and the blessings of our fruitfulness.  
We wish to live for thee in the corner of Thy garden, where Thy divine hand has planted us; and we yearn to realize your precious destiny; to send our fragrance of love heavenward in order that thou mayest inhale it and repose it in thy heart; and to place the fruitful seed upon souls. 

Secrets of Interior Life
Luis M. Martinez
Archbishop of Mexico
B. Herder Book Company, 1949 

Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Sixteen Words to Heaven

Our grandson Sasha fast asleep, Geneva Switzerland 08/16/17

Jesus, I love you―You know that I do.  Mary, my mother, I love you too.