PRAYERS TO OUR LADY

DAY 5 OF 33 TOTAL CONSECRATION

Begin With The Following Prayers:

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

Mary is the "Aqueduct" or "Channel" by which God's Grace flows from Heaven's treasury to Mankind.

Imitation of Christ, by Thomas á Kempis: Book 3, Chapter 40

Wherefore, but I did know well, how to cast from me all human comfort, either for the sake of devotion, or through the necessity by which I am compelled to seek Thee, because there is no man that can comfort me. Then might I deservedly hope in Thy favor, and rejoice in the gift of a new consolation. Thanks be to Thee from Whom all things proceed, as often as it happens to me. I, indeed, am but vanity, and nothing in Thy sight , an inconstant and weak man. Where, therefore, can I glory, or for what do I desire to be thought of highly?

Forsooth of my very nothingness; and this is most vain. Truly vainglory is an evil plague, because it draws away from true glory, and robs us of heavenly grace. For, while a man takes complacency in himself, he displeases Thee; while he wants for human applause, he is deprived of true virtues. But true, glory and holy exultation is to glory in Thee, and not in one's self; to rejoice in Thy Name, but not in one's own strength. To find pleasure in no creature, save only for Thy sake. Let Thy Name be praised, not mine; let Thy work be magnified, not mine; let Thy Holy Name be blessed, but let nothing be attributed to me of the praise of men. Thou art my glory; Thou art the exultation of my heart; in Thee, will I glory and rejoice all the day; but for myself, I will glory in nothing but in my infirmities.

READING 1:

Saint Albert the Great ~ On Cleaving to God

How man’s activity should be purely in the intellect and not in the senses
Qualiter operatio humana debeat esse in solo intellectu, et non in sensibus?

Happy therefore is the person who by continual removal of fantasies and images, by turning within, and raising the mind to God, finally manages to dispense with the products of the imagination, and by so doing works within, nakedly and simply, and with a pure understanding and will, on the the simplest of all objects, God. So eliminate from your mind all fantasies, objects, images and shapes of all things other than God, so that, with just naked understanding, intent and will, your practice will be concerned with God himself within you.

For this is the end of all spiritual exercises - to turn the mind to the Lord God and rest in him with a completely pure understanding and a completely devoted will, without the entanglements and fantasies of the imagination. This sort of exercise is not practised by fleshly organs nor by the exterior senses, but by that by which one is indeed a man. For a man is precisely understanding and will. For that reason, in so far as a man is still playing with the products of the imagination and the senses, and holds to them, it is obvious that he has not yet emerged from the motivation and limitations of his animal nature, that is of that which he shares in common with the animals. For these know and feel objects by means of recognised shapes and sense impressions and no more, since they do not possess the higher powers of the soul. But it is different with man, who is created in the image and likeness of God with understanding, will, and free choice, through which he should be directly, purely and nakedly impressed and united with God, and firmly adhere to him.

For this reason the Devil tries eagerly and with all his power to hinder this practice so far as he can, being envious of this in man, since it is a sort of prelude and initiation of eternal life. So he is always trying to draw man’s mind away from the Lord God, now by temptations or passions, now by superfluous worries and pointless cares, now by restlessness and distracting conversation and senseless curiosity, now by the study of subtle books, irrelevant discussion, gossip and news, now by hardships, now by opposition, etc. Such matters may seem trivial enough and hardly sinful, but they are a great hindrance to this holy exercise and practice. Therefore, even if they may appear useful and necessary, they should be rejected, whether great or small, as harmful and dangerous, and put out of our minds.

Above all therefore it is necessary that things heard, seen, done and said, and other such things, must be received without adding things from the imagination, without mental associations and without emotional involvement, and one should not let past or future associations, implications or constructs of the imagination form and grow.

For when constructs of the imagination are not allowed to enter the memory and mind, a man is not hindered, whether he be engaged in prayer, meditation, or reciting psalms, or in any other practice or spiritual exercise, nor will they recur again. So commit yourself confidently and without hesitation, all that you are, and everything else, individually and in general, to the unfailing and totally reliable providence of God, in silence and in peace, and he will fight for you.

He will liberate you and comfort you more fully, more effectively and more satisfactorily than if you were to dream about it all the time, day and night, and were to cast around frantically all over the place with the futile and confused thoughts of your mind in bondage, nor will you wear out your mind and body, wasting your time, and stupidly and pointlessly exhausting your strength. So accept everything, separately and in general, wherever it comes from and whatever its origin, in silence and peace, and with an equal mind, as coming to you from a father’s hand and his divine providence. So render your imagination bare of the images of all physical things as is appropriate to your state and profession, so that you can cling to him with a bare and undivided mind, as you have so often and so completely vowed to do, without anything whatever being able to come between your soul and him, so that you can pass purely and unwaveringly from the wounds of his humanity into the light of his divinity.

REFLECTION:

A SHORT SERMON BY SAINT ANTHONY OF PADUA

8. The first part of today’s Epistle is concordant with this first clause of the Gospel:Be prudent and watch in prayers. But, before all things, have a constant mutual charity amongyourselves; for charity covereth a multitude of sins. [1Pt 4.7-8]Note that blessed Peter urges us to three things: prudence, watchfulness and constant prayer.Regarding prudence, Solomon says in Proverbs:Blessed is the man that is rich in prudence.The purchasing thereof is better than the merchandise of silver. [Prov 3.13-14]A man who is negligent and improvident is open to many dangers.Regarding watchfulness, Genesis tells how Jacobpassed over the ford of Jaboc. And when all things were brought over that belonged to him, heremained alone; and behold, a man wrestled with him till morning... who said to him: Let me go,for it is break of day. [Gen 32.22-24,26]Jacob is ‘the supplanter’, and Jaboc ‘torrent of dust’ (meaning temporal delights which pass likea torrent, and are sterile, blinding the eyes like dust). The prudent man must cross this torrentwith all the goods which the Lord has given him, and must remain alone. He remains alonewhen he attributes nothing to himself, but everything to the Lord. He subjects his own will to thatof another; he does not remember the injuries he has suffered; he is not ashamed to despisehimself. If he remains alone like this, he is well able to wrestle with the Lord, and beg from himwhatever he will; and he will deservedly hear, Let me go, for it is break of day. In other words, itis already dawn, there is no more need to struggle. Misery is over for you, and glory begins.Thus it says of the soul of the just in Canticles:Who is she that cometh forth as the morning rising,fair as the moon, bright as the sun? [Cant 6.9]She is called ‘moon’ as being but one light. The just soul, when she goes up from this abode ofmisery, enters blessedness in which she is ‘fair as the moon’, being associated with the lights ofthe blessed souls, being one of them. She is ‘bright as the sun’, because she shines with thesplendour of the entire Trinity.

DAY 5 OF 33 TOTAL CONSECRATION

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

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