Day 30 Total Consecration Preparation 2013

[Dawn Marie]

DAY 30

Today's Reading

Matthew 27:36–44

And they sat and watched him. And they put over his head his cause written: THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS. Then were crucified with him two thieves: one on the right hand, and one on the left. And they that passed by, blasphemed him, wagging their heads, And saying: Vah, thou that destroyest the temple of God, and in three days dost rebuild it: save thy own self: if thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross. In like manner also the chief priests, with the scribes and ancients, mocking, said: He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the king of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusted in God; let him now deliver him if he will have him; for he said: I am the Son of God. And the selfsame thing the thieves also, that were crucified with him, reproached him with.

 

 

The Seven Words Spoken on the Cross

 by  St Robert Bellarmine

 

 

Christ Jesus, the Word of the Eternal Father, of Whom the Father Himself hath spoken, "Hear ye Him,"[1] and Who hath said of Himself, "For One is your Master, Christ,"[2] in order to perform the task He had undertaken, never ceased from instructing us. Not only during His life, but even in the arms of death, from the pulpit of the Cross, He preached to us words few in number, but burning with love, most useful and efficacious, and in every way worthy to be engraven on the heart of every Christian, to be preserved there, meditated upon, and fulfilled literally and in deed. His first word is this, "And Jesus said: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."[3] Which prayer, as though it were altogether new and unheard of before, the Holy Spirit wished to be foretold by the Prophet Isaias in these words: "And He prayed for the evil doers."[4] And the petitions of our Lord on the Cross prove how truly the Apostle St. Paul spoke when he said: " Charity seeketh not her own,"[5] for of the seven words our Redeemer spoke three were for the good of others, three for His own good, and one was common both to Himself and to us. His first care, however, was for others. He thought of Himself last.

 

Of the first three words which He spoke, the first was for His enemies, the second for His friends, the third for His relations. Now, the reason why He thus prayed, is that the first demand of charity is to succour those who are in want: and those who were then most in want of spiritual succour were His enemies; and what we also, the disciples of so great a Master, stand most in need of is to love our enemies, a virtue which we know is most difficult to be obtained and rarely to be met with, whereas the love of our friends and relations is easy and natural, increases with our years, and often predominates more than it ought. Wherefore the Evangelist wrote, "And Jesus said:"[6] where the word and shows the time and the occasion of this prayer for His enemies, and places in contrast the words of the Sufferer and the words of the executioners, His works and their works; as though the Evangelist would explain himself more fully thus: they were crucifying the Lord, and in His very presence were dividing His garments amongst them, they mocked and defamed Him as a seducer and a liar; whilst He, seeing what they were doing, hearing what they were saying, and suffering the most acute pains in His Hands and Feet, returned good for evil and prayed; " Father, forgive them."

 

He calls Him "Father," not God or Lord, because He wished Him to exercise the benignity of a Father and not the severity of a Judge; and as He desired to avert the anger of God, which He knew was aroused at their enormous crimes, He uses the tender name of Father. The word Father appears to contain in itself this request: I, Thy Son, in the midst of all My torments have pardoned them; do you likewise, My Father, extend your pardon to them. Although they deserve it not, still pardon them for the sake of Me, your Son. Remember, too, that you are their Father, since you have created them, and made them to your own image and likeness. Show them therefore a Father's love, for although they are wicked, they are nevertheless your children.

 

Meditation:

Taken from The Glories of Mary

CHAPTER 8

 

AND AFTER THIS OUR EXILE SHOW UNTO US THE BLESSED FRUIT OF THY WOMB, JESUS

Mary Saves Her Clients from Hell

IT is impossible for clients of Mary to be damned, if they faithfully honor her and commend themselves to her. At first sight some may think this statement exaggerated. But I would ask them to first read what I am going to say about it.

When we maintain that clients of Mary can never be lost, we are not speaking of persons who abuse this devotion so that they can sin more freely. Those who disapprove of preaching so much about Mary's mercy toward sinners, because they say it makes the wicked take advantage of it to sin more freely, are unfair in their judgment, for a sinner who presumes like this deserves punishment for being so rash, and not mercy at all. We are speaking of those clients of Mary who sincerely determine to do better and are faithful in honoring her and recommending themselves to her. I say it is morally impossible for such people to be lost. I find that Father Crasset says the same thing in his book on devotion to the Mother of God. And before Crasset, Vega puts it down in his Marian Theology, along with Mendoza and other theologians.

To show that these were justified in what they said, I will set down what some of the Doctors and Saints have said on the subject.

St. Anselm, for instance: "Just as it is impossible for persons to be saved who have no devotion to Mary and are not protected by her, so it is impossible for any who recommend themselves to her, and are therefore watched over by her, to be lost." St. Antonine repeats this idea in practically the same words. Pay particular attention to the first part of this opinion, and let all tremble for their salvation who make but small account of their devotion to the Mother of God, or grow careless and give it up: it is impossible for anyone not protected by Mary to be saved.

Many others say the same thing --- for example, St. Albert the Great: All those who are not your servants, O Mary, shall perish. Or St. Bonaventure: Those who neglect our Lady will die in their sins. And in another place: Those who do not call on you in life will never get to Heaven.

Long before him, St. Ignatius the Martyr said this: No sinner can be saved except through your help and favor, O Virgin Mary; for those who would otherwise be damned through God's justice are shown mercy and are saved through your intercession. Some doubt whether St. Ignatius is the real author in this case, but at any rate St. John Chrysostom adopted the opinion as his own. Even the heretic Oecolampadius considered little devotion to the Mother of God a sure sign of reprobation; and therefore he said: Let it never be said of me that I reject Mary.

So it is that the devil does his utmost to make sinners give up their devotion to Mary after they have lost the grace of God. When Sarah saw Isaac playing with Ishmael, who was teaching him evil ways, she asked Abraham to banish both Ishmael and his mother Hagar: Drive out that slave and her son (Gn. 21:10). She was not satisfied with having the son driven out of the house without also driving out the mother, because she feared the boy would keep returning to the house as long as his mother was there. In the same way, the devil is not content with a soul banishing Jesus Christ, unless it banishes His mother too.

He fears that the Mother will bring back the Son by her intercession. And he has good reason to fear, because those who continue their devotion to the Mother of God will soon get back to God Himself.

She has the will to save us, for she is our Mother and desires our salvation more than we can desire it ourselves. If this is so, then how can clients of Mary ever be lost? They may be sinners, but if they recommend themselves to this good Mother with perseverance and purpose of amendment, she will obtain for them the necessary help to get back to the state of grace, to have true sorrow for their sins, to persevere in virtue, and at the end of all to die a happy death.

Is there any mother who would not save her child from death, if all she had to do was ask the favor from the judge? And can we imagine that Mary, who loves her clients with the tenderest love a mother ever had, would not save her children from eternal death, when she can do it so easily?

Hence St. Ephrem was right in calling devotion to our Blessed Lady the charter (or passport) to liberty, and Mary herself the protectress of the damned. Mary has both the power and the will to save us. She has the power --- it is impossible for a Mother of God to pray in vain. Her requests can never be refused; she obtains whatever she wills.

What rage fills the devil when he sees a soul persevering in devotion to the Mother of God!

We read in the life of Father Alfonso Alvarez, who had great devotion to Mary, that once, when he was praying and was troubled by the devil with impure thoughts, the devil said to him: "Give up your devotion to Mary, and I will leave you alone."

God revealed to St. Catherine of Siena that, out of His infinite goodness and the love He bore to the Incarnate Word, He had granted this favor to the Mother of His Son: no one, not even sinners, who devoutly recommend themselves to her, would ever fall into Hell. No one for whom Mary has once prayed will taste the sorrows of Hell.

If I have the Mother of Mercy to defend me, who will dare to say that the Judge will refuse me mercy when I come before Him?

Blessed Henry Suso used to say that he had put his soul in Mary's hands. Therefore, if his Judge wished to condemn him to Hell, her most loving hands would have to handle the sentence.

I will hope for the same kindness for myself, O most holy Queen. And I will repeat the words of St. Bonaventure: "In you, O Lady, I have placed all my hopes." I have therefore the utmost assurance that I shall never be lost, but shall praise and love you forever in Heaven.

 

 

 

 

 

Prayers

Litany of the Holy Ghost

Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary

[Alley]

With love!

[bernadette szczepkowski]

"Those who do not call on you during life shall never get to Heaven."

[Dawn Marie]

it is impossible for anyone not protected by Mary to be saved.

What rage fills the devil when he sees a soul persevering in devotion to the Mother of God!

[Alan]

"In you, O Lady, I have placed all my hopes." I have therefore the utmost assurance that I shall never be lost, but shall praise and love you forever in Heaven.