DAY 21 OF 33 TOTAL CONSECRATION

[Dawn Marie]

Begin With The Following Prayers:

Come Holy Ghost fill the hearts of Thy faithful...

The Holy Rosary

The Litany of the Blessed Virgin

From Secret of Mary: Nos. 23-24

True Devotion to Our Blessed Lady

 

If we would go up to God, and be united with Him, we must use the same means He used to come down to us to be made Man and to impart His graces to us. This means is a true devotion to our Blessed Lady. There are several true devotions to our Lady: here I do not speak of those which are false. The first consists in fulfilling our Christian duties, avoiding mortal sin, acting more out of love than with fear, praying to our Lady now and then, honoring her as the Mother of God, yet without having any special devotion to her. The second consists in entertaining for our Lady more perfect feelings of esteem and love, of confidence and veneration. It leads us to join the Confraternities of the Holy Rosary and of the Scapular, to recite the five or the fifteen decades of the Holy Rosary, to honor Mary's images and altars, to publish her praises and to enroll ourselves in her modalities. This devotion is good, holy and praiseworthy if we keep ourselves free from sin. But it is not so perfect as the next, nor so efficient in severing our soul from creatures, in detaching ourselves in order to be united with Jesus Christ. The third devotion to our Lady, known and practiced by very few persons, is this I am about to disclose to you, predestinate soul. It consists in giving one's self entirely and as a slave to Mary, and to Jesus through Mary, and after that, to do all that we do, through Mary, with Mary in Mary and for Mary We should choose a special feast day on which we give, consecrate and sacrifice to Mary voluntarily lovingly and without constraint, entirely and without reserve: our body and soul, our exterior property such as house, family and income, and also our interior and spiritual possessions: namely, our merits, graces, virtues, and satisfactions.

 

 

Reading 1:​ ​From “Month of Mary” pg. 4-6

By REV. M. J. FRINGS

 

Imprimatur JOHN CARDINAL FARLEY Archbishop of New York​, ​September 19, 1912.

 

Mary is the Virgin of Virgins, and can above all be compared to the fair and undefiled rosebud.  The open, blooming rose is an emblem of pure motherhood. Like the opened radiant rose the Christian mother is in the full vigor of life; her heart open with true love for her husband and children; and she unfolds her soul to heaven, so that through prayer she may receive the needed assistance for herself and hers. Through her good example in Christian virtues she spreads around her the fragrance of a God-pleasing life, and encourages those who associate with her to imitate her virtues.

 

Mary is the immaculate virgin and mother, mother of God, and of all mankind. She is the most noble and perfect of all mothers. Like a magnificent rose she shines in the splendor of her virtues, and is the perfect example for all mothers. Because her heart is fired with love for God and man, she is, as St. Jordanus says, likened to the flaming red rose.

 

There is no rose but has its thorns. The thorns are a figure of suffering, of sorrow, of the temptations in life, under which only a truly virtuous life can thrive. St. Brigid relates in her revelations how she at one time was downcast because the enemies of Christ were so powerful, and how she was consoled by the mother of God herself, who told her to remember the rose among the thorns. “The rose”, so said Mary, “gives a fragrant odor ; it is beautiful to the sight, and tender to the touch, and yet it grows among thorns, inimical to beauty and tenderness. So may also those who are mild, patient, beautiful in virtue, be put to a test among adversaries. And as the thorn, on the otherhand, guards, so do wicked surroundings protect the just against sin by demonstrating to them the destructiveness of sin”.

 

The life of Mary was interwoven with many sorrows and she is justly called “a rose among thorns”.  St. Brigid says;”The Virgin may suitably be called a blooming rose.  Just as the gentle rose is placed among thorns, so this gentle Virgin was surrounded by sorrow”.  The rose obtains its life through the stem, to which it is closely united. A rose broken from the stem will soon wither. So Mary received all her graces from Jesus, with whom she was united through the liveliest faith and ardent love.

 

Mary is in truth a spiritual, a mystic rose. The rose therefore is a fitting symbol of the virtuous life of the mother of God.  As mystical rose she deserves our admiration and veneration, and she must be our example and model in all Christian virtues, the model of a true spiritual life.

 

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Reading 2:​ ​Taken From:​ ​The Glories of Mary

by Saint Alphonse De Liguori

Mary Is the Hope of Sinners

GOD made the two great lights: the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to rule the night (Gn. 1: 16). Christ is the greater light to rule the just, and Mary is the lesser light to rule sinners.

Since Mary is this auspicious light, created for poor sinners, what should people do if they find themselves in the darkness of sin? Let them cast their eyes on the moon. Let them pray to Mary.

One of the most comforting titles of our Lady --- and one which the Church teaches us to use in the Litany of Loretto --- is that of "Refuge of Sinners."

In Judea in ancient times there were cities of refuge where criminals fled to escape punishment. Nowadays such cities do not exist; there is only one, and that is Mary, of whom the Psalmist sings: "Glorious things are said of you, O city of God" (Ps. 87:3).

However, there is one difference. In the old cities of refuge protection was not extended to every class of crime. But under Mary's mantle all sinners without exception find refuge for every sin they have committed, if only they go there to seek this protection.

We may even say with St. Basil that God has given us Mary as a public infirmary to receive the sick, the poor, the destitute. But in hospitals which are erected expressly for the poor, who have the first claim to admission? Surely those who are sicker than others.

Say then, with St. Thomas of Villanova, "O Mary, we poor sinners know no other refuge but you; you are our only patroness, and we all look to you!"

In the revelations of St. Bridget, Mary is called the "Star that rises before the Sun."
When a soul in sin begins to show signs of devotion to Mary, it is a clear indication that before very long God will enrich it with His grace.

The glorious St. Bonaventure, to build up the confidence of sinners in our Lady's protection, calls up before them the picture of a storm at sea. Sinners have fallen into it from the ship of God's grace. They are tossed about by remorse and the dread of God's judgments. They have no light, no mark to guide them, and are on the point of despair.

Then our Lord, pointing out Mary to them, the Star of the Sea, raises His voice and says: "Poor lost sinners, do not despair. Lift your eyes to this star of beauty. Breathe freely again, for this Star will save you out of the storm and bring you at last to the harbor of salvation."

In another work the same Saint remarks how Isaiah complained of the times in which he lived: "Behold, You are angry, and we are sinful; there is none who rises up to cling to You" (Is 64:4, 7).

Then he comments: "It is true, O Lord, that in those days there was no one to raise up sinners and hold back Your wrath, for Mary was not born yet . . . But now she restrains her Divine Son, lest He destroy sInners . . .

"There is no one more capable of seizing and holding the sword of God's vengeance than you, Most Beloved of God!"

The Blessed Virgin herself revealed to St. Bridget that there is no sinner in the world, however far from God, who does not come back to Him and recover grace, if such a sinner has recourse to her assistance.

And one day St. Bridget heard Jesus speaking to His Mother in these words: "You would offer mercy even to Lucifer, if he humbled himself to ask for it." That proud spirit will never humble himself to that degree. But, if such a thing were possible, Mary would show instant compassion, and her prayers would have sufficient power to obtain his forgiveness and salvation.

In Sacred Scripture we read that Boaz allowed Ruth to gather the ears of grain after the reapers
(Ru 2:3). Mary, like Ruth, having found favor with her Lord, is likewise allowed to gather the ears of grain after the reapers --- i.e., after all the evangelical laborers, missionaries, preachers, and confessors, who are constantly reaping souls for God.

However, there are some hardened and rebellious souls who are abandoned even by these. Mary alone has the special privilege of saving them by her powerful intercession.

It was with good reason therefore, my most sweet Queen, that St. John Damascene saluted you as the "hope of those who have no hope." St. Lawrence Justinian called you "the hope of the condemned," and St. Ephrem called you "the protectress of the damned."

St. Bernard, full of joy and tenderness, exclaimed: "O Lady, who can lack confidence in you, since you help even those who are in despair? And I have not the least doubt that, whenever we run to you, we shall obtain all we desire. Let those then who have no hope, hope in you."

Lady, Ravisher of hearts! ravish my poor heart that really longs to love thee. Mother, thou didst beguile God Himself with thy beauty and drew Him down from Heaven into thy chaste womb; and shall I go on without loving thee?

I will join with one of thine most loving sons, St. John Berchmans; I will say with him: "I will never rest until I am sure I have mastered love for thee --- a constant and tender love for thee, my Mother."

What would I be now, O Mary, if thou hadst not secured so many mercies for me? Since thou didst persist in loving me when I had no love for thee, there is so much I can expect from thee, now that I do love thee.

I love thee, my Mother. And I wish I had a heart to make up for all those unhappy creatures who do not love thee. I wish I could speak with a thousand tongues, so that all the world might learn about thy greatness, and holiness, and mercy, and the love thou hast for all who love thee.

 If I were rich, I would use my riches for thy honor. If I had subjects, I would make them all love thee. And, if the occasion ever came, I would lay down my life for thy glory.

And so I love thee, my Mother. But I cannot help feeling that I do not love thee as I should: I hear that love makes a lover resemble the beloved. And if I find myself so different from thee, that means that I do not really love thee.

Thou art pure; I am darkened with sin. Thou art humble; I am proud. Thou art holy, and I am sinful. This then is what thou hast to do, O Mary: since thou doth love me, make me resemble thee.

Thou hast the power to change hearts; take mine and change it. Show the world what thou canst do for anyone who loves thee. Make me holy; make me a child worthy of his Mother. Amen. So I hope. So may it be.

[Flavia Talladen Schott]

Amen. 

[Michael]

Amen.

[bernadette szczepkowski]

Amen+

[AnnaMaria]

Amen

[Kim Michaud]

Amen.

[Gloria]

†Blessed and exalted be the Precious Blood of Jesus and  the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, with love and reparation. Fiat!  Hail Mary Amen†.

[Leontine Bajer]

Amen+

[Serena Joseph-Harris]

Mary, Mystical Rose, Hope and Refuge of Sinners, and Lesser Light to rule us as sinners I venerate you. Thank you for your LOve, Mercy and Clemency! Mka eme Holy Make me Pure like Thee. Plead my cause Dearest Mother, Undoer of  Knots and let me as a Rose like Thee bloom and triumph among the Thorns that test me. Amen!

[Joseph]

Day 21.

[Judy Muller]

Amen.