IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY
Luke,
Chapter 2, verse 8-10:
8
Now there were
shepherds in that region living in the fields and keeping the night watch over
their flock. 9The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory
of the Lord shone around them, and they were struck with great fear. 10The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for
behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the
people.
Have you ever had an encounter with an angel? Most
have not yet encountered a manifestation of an angel but do feel they were
guided by them. For those who do encounter a powerful appearance of an angel
like the shepherds they were very afraid,
and some are not. Here is the story of one man’s experience with the
Archangel Raphael.
Imagine, you go to bed one night and an
angel comes and asks you to go with him. Wim Holtschlag, a simple carpenter and
father of two, by now grown up children, had this happen to him five times in
his home at Haaksbergen (The Netherlands). 28 spoken messages have come since.
The messenger calls himself Raphael, angel, third in rank. His name means
medicine of God and he wounds hearts with his arrows of love. He stands in the
choir of archangels. He is one of the seven who stand before the Throne of God.
His name is known in the bible where he, in the book of Tobit, is the traveling
companion of the young man Tobias. The Church calls on him as the angel of
love, patron of medical doctors and of travelers. From 1984 until May 2000, the
seer, his wife Diny, and the many who have learned of these messages, received
a deepening of their faith and a clearer insight into how to live in the still
remaining time.
The Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is a devotional name used to refer to the interior life of the Blessed Virgin Mary, her joys and sorrows, her virtues and hidden perfections, and above all, her virginal love for God the Father, her maternal love for her son Jesus, and her compassionate love for all persons. Two elements are essential to the devotion, Mary’s interior life and the beauties of her soul, and Mary’s virginal body. According to Roman Catholic theology, soul and body are necessary to the constitution of man. It was in 1855, that the Mass of the Most Pure Heart of Mary formally became a part of the Catholic practice. Traditionally, the heart of Mary in artwork is depicted with seven wounds or swords, in homage to the seven sorrows of Mary. Also, roses or another type of flower may be wrapped around the heart. Veneration of the Immaculate Heart of Mary generally coincides with the worship of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. However, there is a difference that explains the Roman Catholic devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is especially directed to the “Divine Heart”, as overflowing with love for humanity. In the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, on the other hand, the attraction is the love of her Immaculate Heart for Jesus and for God. A second difference is the nature of the devotion itself. In devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Roman Catholic venerates in a sense of love, responding to love. In devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, love is formed from study and imitation of Mary’s yes to God as the mother of Jesus. In this devotion, love is more the result, than the “object” of the devotion; the object being rather to love God and Jesus by uniting one’s self to Mary for this purpose and by imitating her virtues, to help one achieve this. History of the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary is connected in many ways to that of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Christians were drawn to the love and virtues of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and this paved the devotion from the beginning. Early Christians had compassion for the Virgin Mary, and the Gospels recount prophecy delivered to her at Jesus’ presentation in the temple, and that her heart would be pierced with a sword. The image of the Immaculate Heart of Mary with the pierced heart is the most popular representation. St. John’s Gospel further invites us to the attention of Mary’s heart with its depiction of Mary at the foot of the cross at Jesus’ crucifixion. St. Augustine tells us that Mary was more blessed in having born Christ in her heart, than in having conceived him in the flesh.
Daily Devotions
·
Please
pray for me and this ministry
·
Please
Pray for Senator McCain and
our country; asking Our Lady of Beauraing to
intercede.
[2]http://www.newmanconnection.com/faith/saint/feast-of-the-immaculate-heart-of-the-blessed-virgin-mary
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