Tuesday in Octave of Corpus Christi
MARY MEDIATRIX OF ALL GRACES
2 SAMUEL, Chapter 23, Verse 3-4
3 The God of Israel spoke; of me
the Rock of Israel said, “One who rules over humankind with justice, who rules
in the FEAR of God, 4
Is like the light
at sunrise on a cloudless morning, making the land’s vegetation glisten after
rain.”
The Rock of Israel (Hebrew: צור ישראל, Tzur Yisrael) is a concept in Judaism that alludes to God, and in Zionism and politics, to the cultural and historical heritage of the Jewish people and the foundation of the State of Israel.[1]
God fearing leaders are life giving and not life taking for they have a Holy Fear of God. Traditionally in Judaism there are seven names given for God. The seven names of God that, once written, cannot be erased because of their holiness are the Tetragrammaton, El, Elohim, Eloah, Elohai, El Shaddai, Tzevaot.
Tetragrammaton is YHWH or I
am that I am.
El simply means God and is used in the names of IsraEL, AngEL.
Elohim means He is power of powers Eloah is the singular form of Elohim.
Elohai mean “My God”.
El Shaddai means “God Almighty”
Tzevaot means “God the armies of Israel”.
Names are important. Most of us remember the elementary school playground and
the mean names kids called each other. Author and speaker, Kary Oberbrunner[2],
states that we all have a secret name that the One who made us gives us.
Oberbrunner said, “My name is Kary, and I have a girl’s name.” He was no
stranger to mean names on the playground. He went on to say that each of us has
three names:
1.
Our
birth name – the name assigned to us when we arrive in this world
2.
Our
given names – the names assigned to us as we walk through the world. These
names can be positive and negative, ranging from successful, beautiful, star
athlete to those names assigned by mean kids, like concentration camp victim,
stupid, addict.
3.
Our
secret name – the name granted to us by God Oberbrunner said the problem is our
birth names and given names don’t ever fill up the void inside us. We pretend
and wear masks.
What would God call you? When Christ called his apostles; He
revealed to some of them God’s name for them. Sons of Thunder for John and
James and for Simon son of John, He called him Peter which means “Rock”.
Apostolic
Exhortation[3]
Veneremur Cernui – Down in Adoration
Falling
of The Most
Reverend Thomas J. Olmsted, Bishop of Phoenix,
to Priests, Deacons, Religious and the Lay Faithful of the Diocese of Phoenix
on the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist
My beloved Brothers and Sisters in
Christ,
Part III
Loving and Adoring the Eucharistic Lord
69.
Thus far we have stirred up our amazement at the Eucharistic mystery and have
considered the nature of our total self-gift in response. Now we turn to how we
might practically live out this mystery with greater faith and love for – as we
pray at each Mass – “our good and the good of all His holy Church”? In other
words, how concretely might we “follow the Ark” of the Eucharist into the
future God has planned for us?
I.
Make every Sunday the “Day of the Lord.”
70.
For many of our contemporaries, Sunday feels like the second half of the
two-day weekend. Thus, time becomes an empty succession of days, without
meaning, purpose, or direction. The consequence of this is not neutral but in
fact deeply damaging to us. If each week has no ultimate purpose (that is,
there is no day “for” the Lord, which means a day of divine worship), then soon
we believe that time, history, and our lives are also meaningless. The result
is a kind of slavery to whatever else we think is more important than the
worship of God. Without a shared time for us all to participate in divine
worship, we inevitably fall under bondage to some good but creaturely fixation.
It could be money, success, social advancement, entertainment, education, politics,
or sports, but like the effects of endless hard labor, the result is spiritual
exhaustion and discouragement. Time is a gift from God.
71.
Therefore, the Church teaches that Sunday is a “day of protest against the
servitude of work and the worship of money” (CCC 2172). It means Sunday is a
sign of a liberated people. In the Old Covenant, the Sabbath was a weekly
experience which recalled liberation from Egypt for worship in Jerusalem. It
announced to both Israel and her neighbors that she was no longer a slave to
Egypt. In the New Covenant, Sunday is meant to be an experience which announces
and renews the freedom of the New Passover to the world. Sunday is the time to
herald to the world that we are no longer slaves to sin and death. This day is
meant to be a weekly gift from God to His people: a day of freedom, joy,
charity and peace. It is the primary day in which God renews His covenant with
us. We might say that the Risen Jesus chose to celebrate His first Mass on
Easter Sunday, the day He rose from the dead (Lk 24:13-35). Since then, Sunday
centers around the celebration of the Mass.
72.
How our world thirsts for this sign of freedom! But this freedom is not simply
freedom from but freedom for. God commands us to “keep holy” the Sabbath (Ex.
20:8). To “keep holy” means to set aside for divine worship. It is inadequate
to think Sunday is merely about freedom from work. Yes, it involves freedom
from servile work, but this is so that we are free to participate in the work
of our Redemption. Sharing in the work of the Son of God’s Cross and
Resurrection is the work which gives rest and refreshment. So, Sunday is a day
of work because we share in the liberating work of God in the sacred liturgy.
What a cathedral is to a place, Sunday is to the week: set aside for the “work”
of divine worship. Sunday is not about mere inactivity. In fact, the Mass is
the highest form of activity, for in it we share in the work of our salvation
through our participation in the Eucharist.
To
be continued…
Feast:
Mary, Mediatrix of All Graces[4]
Traditionally, today is the feast of Mary, Mediatrix of All Graces. All the
graces which flow from the redemption of Jesus Christ are granted to the human
family through the motherly intercession of Mary. Mary mediated Jesus Christ,
the Author of all graces, to the world when she agreed to be the human mother
of God made man (cf. Lk 1:38). And from the cross at Calvary (Jn 19:26) and as
the final gift to humanity, Jesus gives Mary as a spiritual mother to us all:
"Son, behold your mother" (cf. Jn 19:26). For this reason, Vatican II
refers to Mary as a "mother to us in the order of grace " (Lumen
Gentium, n. 62) and several twentieth century popes have officially taught the
doctrine of Mary as Mediatrix of all graces, quoting the words of St Bernard:
"It is the will of God that we obtain all favors through Mary." The
Mediatrix performs this task in intimate union with the Holy Spirit, the
Sanctifier, with whom she began the drama of our Lord's Redemption at the
Annunciation (cf. Lk. 1:35).
Mary is our Advocate for people of
God, in that she takes the petitions of her earthly children, especially in
times of difficulties, and brings them through her maternal intercession before
her Son and our Lord Jesus.
In the Old Testament, the Queen
Mother brought the petitioned needs of the people of Israel to the throne of
her son the king (cf. 1 Kings 2:19). Now Mary is the new Queen Mother and
Advocate in the new Kingdom of her Son, who brings the petitioned needs of the
people of God to the throne of her glorious Son, Christ the King, particularly
in our present difficult times.
The universal mediation of the
Mother of Jesus as Coredemptrix, Mediatrix of all graces, and Advocate for the
people of God is already contained in the official and authoritative teachings
of the Church's Magisterium. Now, at the summit of the Marian era, what remains
is the final proclamation by the Church of this final Marian doctrine as Christian
dogma revealed by God.
Things
to Do:
·
Read
this article by Fr. William G. Most.
·
Pray
the Litany of The Blessed Virgin Mary Mediatrix of All Grace
Daily Devotions/Practices
·
Make reparations to the Holy Face-Tuesday Devotion
·
Pray Day 9 of the Novena for our Pope and Bishops
·
Tuesday: Litany of St. Michael the Archangel
·
Offering to the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Drops of Christ’s Blood
·
Universal Man Plan
·
Pray for our nation.
·
Rosary.
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