Thursday, December 22, 2016
Luke,
Chapter 1, verse 46-55:
46 And Mary said: “My
soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; 47 my spirit rejoices in God my savior. 48 For he has looked upon his handmaid’s lowliness; behold,
from now on will all ages call me blessed. 49 The Mighty One has done great things for me, and
holy is his name. 50 His mercy is
from age to age to those who fear him. 51 He has shown might with his arm, dispersed the arrogant
of mind and heart. 52 He has thrown
down the rulers from their thrones but lifted up the lowly. 53 The hungry he has filled with good things; the rich
he has sent away empty. 54 He
has helped Israel his servant, remembering his mercy, 55 according to his promise to our fathers, to Abraham
and to his descendants forever.” His mercy is from age to age to those who fear
him.
This
canticle of Mary is often referred to as the Magnificat. We have many reasons
to give due consideration and prayerful reflection to the Magnificat. It is the
longest discourse recorded of Mary in Divine Revelation. Many are the stories
written telling about the heart of Mary as shown in that beautiful prayer. Certainly
inspired, it was pronounced by Mary herself when she was carrying the Divine
Child in her womb. It is the perfect act of humility and of profound humble
adoration. It is part of the Church’s liturgy and has been such since the very
first centuries. It has been recited or sung daily by ancient monks and hermits
and other Religious who have consecrated themselves to God. It is indeed the
prayer of consecrated souls and all clients of Mary. All the great biblical
masters of the ages have affirmed that there are four parts to the Magnificat.
In the first strophe, Mary expresses her gratitude to God; in the second, she
praises God for his power, His holiness and His mercy; in the third, she
compares how differently God deals with the proud and the humble; in the
fourth, she recalls that all the ancient prophecies to the Jews are now being
fulfilled in the Messiah, Who was at that moment present in her womb.[1]
Mary carried Jesus in her womb
with great patience. As a child I remember Christmas was always a great strain
on my patience. Can you imagine the strain on this poor young girl from Nazareth?
She of course could not have done this without first having the virtues of
humility, generosity, and a chase heart which led her to have great patience.
This world being a place of merit is rightly called a valley of tears; for we are all placed in it to suffer, that we may, by patience, gain our own souls unto life eternal, as our Lord Himself says, In your patience you shall possess your souls. [Luke 21 19] God gave us the Blessed Virgin Mary as a model of all virtues, but more especially as an example of patience. St. Francis de Sales, amongst other things, remarks, that it was precisely for this reason that at the marriage-feast of Cana Jesus Christ gave the Blessed Virgin an answer, by which He seemed to value her prayers but little: Woman, what is that to thee and to Me? [John 2:4] And He did this that He might give us the example of the patience of His most holy Mother. But what need have we to seek for instances of this virtue? Mary's whole life was a continual exercise of her patience; for, as the Angel revealed to St. Bridget, "as a rose grows up amongst thorns, so did the Blessed Virgin grow up amongst tribulations." Compassion alone for the Redeemer's sufferings sufficed to make her a martyr of patience. Hence St. Bonaventure says, "that a crucified Mother conceived a crucified Son." In speaking of her dolors, we have already considered how much she suffered, both in her journey to Egypt, and during her residence there, as also during the time she lived with her Son in the house at Nazareth. What Mary endured when present at the death of Jesus on Calvary is alone sufficient to show us how constant and sublime was her patience: There stood by the Cross of Jesus His Mother. Then it was that precisely by the merit of her patience, as Blessed Albert the Great says, she brought us forth to the life of grace." If we, then, wish to be the children of Mary, we must endeavor to imitate her in her patience: "For what," says St. Cyprian, "can enrich us with greater merit in this life, and greater glory in the next, than the patient enduring of sufferings?" God said, by the prophet Osee, I will hedge up thy way with thorns. [2:6] To this St. Gregory adds, that "the way of the elect is hedged with thorns." As a hedge of thorns protects a vineyard, so does God protect His servants from the danger of attaching themselves to the earth, by encompassing them with tribulations. Therefore St. Cyprian concludes that it is patience that delivers us from sin and from Hell. It is also patience that makes Saints: Patience hath a perfect work, [James 1:4] bearing in peace, not only the crosses which come immediately from God, such as sickness, poverty, but also those which come from men---persecutions, injuries, and the rest. St. John saw all the Saints bearing palm branches---the emblem of martyrdom---in their hands; After this I saw a great multitude, and palms were in their hands; [Apoc. 7:9] thereby denoting that all adults who are saved must be martyrs, either by shedding their blood for Christ or by patience.
Come, and deliver man, whom You
formed out of the dust of the earth.
O King of the Gentiles and their desired
One, the Cornerstone that makes both one; Come, and deliver man, whom You
formed out of the dust of the earth.
GREAT GIFT FOR THE NEW YEAR! get it now in time for the new year.
COURAGE FOR THE MODERN WORLD 2017 #2017CALENDAR
Authored by Mr. Richard H. Havermale Jr.This book is the continuation of my first book based on more than 365 references in the Bible to fear, dread, and that in fact our God encourages us to "BE NOT AFRAID". To do this we must be in the presence of our Lord and talk to Him. I recommend you develop the habit of spending 10-15 minutes a day with our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel or if that is not available some other quiet place where you can be in the presence of our Lord. Read the daily entry and reflect on it asking our Lord and His mother to talk to your heart and reveal to you the will of the Father and then Do it. The layout of this book is to list and reflect on the books of the bible Sirach through Revelations. In the early part of September my search of the verses dealing with fear and being afraid was completed; so I asked the Lord what do I, do now. After some reflection I realize that the fruit of fear in the Lord is the Theological virtues of Faith, Hope and Love which ultimately results in Peace of the Lord. As a consequence the month of September will deal with Peace, October with Love and the month of November will be reflections on Faith and Hope. After Thanksgiving for the season of Advent and Christmas this work uses a multitude of references that reflect the Christmas season. There are many theologians who state that the eighth deadly sin is fear itself. It is fear and its natural animal reaction to fight or flight that is the root cause of our failings to create a Kingdom of God on earth. Saint John Paul II in his writings and talks also tells us to BE NOT AFRAID. In fear or anger we walk away from God. Our Lord, Jesus Christ taught us how to walk back toward God in His sermon on the mount through the Beatitudes. Each of the beatitudes is the antidote for the opposite deadly sins.
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