Meditations on the woman that I love, Mary, the Blessed Virgin
Disciples of Jesus and Mary In the revelation of St. John we read, “And a great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.” (Apoc. 12:1) The woman clothed with the sun applies to Mary and the Church as Mary is the Mother of the Church. The moon under her feet is the changeable things in the world. On her head a crown of twelve stars applies to the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve apostles. Apocalypse says, “And being with child she wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth.” (Apoc. 12:2) The early Fathers of the Church always believed Mary had no labor pain; that Jesus came through her like He came through the tomb at the resurrection. If Jesus had come out like other children, it would have broken her virginity, as she was not under the curse of Eve when God told Eve she would bring forth children in labor and pain. Genesis says, “It is not good for man to be alone; let us make a help into himself.” (Gen. 2:18) Have you noticed God says, let us. Us means the Blessed Trinity. “Then the Lord God cast a deep sleep upon Adam; and when he was fast asleep, he took one of his ribs and filled up flesh for it.” (Gen. 2:21) “And the Lord God built the rib which he took from Adam into a woman; and brought her to Adam.” (Gen. 2:22) Now listen to what the Gospel of John says, “But one of the soldiers thrust his lance into His side, and immediately blood and water flowed out.” (Jn. 19:34) Just as God cast a deep sleep on Adam and from Adam's rib his bride came forth; so too, when Jesus was in the sleep of death, it was the same side that the soldier thrust Christ, and from Christ's side came forth His bride, the Church. On Pentecost, His bride, the Church was baptized by the Holy Spirit. Second week - Act of Sorrow - invoke the Holy Spirit - one Our Father - three Hail Marys Apocalypse says, “And being with child, she wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth.” (Apoc. 12:2) Apocalypse teaches she is in labor and pain, while she brings forth her children, and Christ is in them in the midst of affliction and persecutions. The children of Mary are to be hated by the world as St. John writes in the Gospel that Christ Himself says, “If the world hates you, realize that it hated Me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you.” (Jn.15:18-19) It is Jesus who calls you to Himself; thus, it is dangerous to refuse Him as you might not get another chance. Jesus says, “Remember the world I spoke to you, 'No slave is greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will also keep yours. And they will do all these things to you on account of My Name.” (Jn. 15:20-21) If you are not a dry martyr you are not living the Gospel. Third week - Act of Sorrow - invoke the Holy Spirit - one Our Father - three Hail Marys “Then another sign appeared in the sky; it was a huge red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven diadems. Its tail swept away a third of the stars in the sky and hurled them down to the earth.” (Apoc. 12:3-4) The huge red dragon is the same serpent that deceived Adam and Eve which is deceiving the people in the world, in the Church, and in families. The seven heads are the seven capital sins which the serpent tempts the people to commit, the ten horns refer to the serpent telling people that the Ten Commandments are not to be heeded as there is no such thing as sin. This goes on in the media, in many churches and in most families. The seven diadems refer to the seven kingdoms that will have existed before the coming of the antichrist. “Then the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to be delivered, so he might devour her son when she gave birth.” (Apoc. 12:4) Stars represent the angels that were lost as well as bishops and priests who do not teach the truths of the Catholic faith; yet, preach heresy and liberalism causing schism in the Church. “And there was a great battle in heaven, Michael and his angels fought with the dragon. The dragon and its angels fought back.” (Apoc. 12:7) God revealed to the angels that He would become a man which they were to worship. The devil and his angels said to God, “I will worship you in spirit but not as a man.” They knew that a man is little less than the angels. St. Michael became the highest angel and said, “Who is like God.” Apocalypse says, “And they prevailed not, neither was their place found anymore in Heaven, and the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, who is called the devil and satan , who seduceth the whole world; and he was cast unto the earth, and his angels were thrown down with it.” (Apoc. 12:8-9) Genesis says, “Now the serpent was more clever than any of the beasts of the earth which the Lord God had made. And said to the woman: Why has God commanded you that you should not eat of every tree of paradise.” (Gen. 3:1) Today the serpent is tempting that there is no sin. You don't hear talking about sin in the world, in many churches or families. “And the woman answered him saying: Of the fruit of the trees that are in paradise we do eat; but the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of paradise, God has commanded that we should not eat; and that we should not even touch it, lest we do die.” (Gen. 3:2-3) The first mistake the woman made was to talk back to the devil as he knows our weakness and how best to tempt us to pleasure or anything else. Satan works on our mind that Christian life is a boring life. He says commit this sin, think of the pleasures you want and afterwards you can go to confession; so, the devil works on our imagination. St. John of the Cross says to stop the devil at the gate, that is what darkness is on our mind. Once he puts the foot in our door, he goes to the heart which is the door to our soul. When the temptation goes to your heart it is very difficult to get rid of it! By calling on Jesus and Mary you will not give in to temptation. Always say a Hail Mary which is a most powerful prayer that satan hates. The power of the Hail Mary has robbed many souls from the jaws of the devil! Fourth week - Act of Sorrow - invoke the Holy Spirit - one Our Father - three Hail Marys
“But the serpent said to the woman: No, you shall not die the death. For God knows that what day soever you shall eat thereof, your eyes shall be opened and you shall be as gods knowing good and evil.” (Gen. 3:45) “And the woman saw that the tree was good to eat, and fair to the eyes and desirable for gaining wisdom. So she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave to her husband who ate.” (Gen. 3: 6) Adam and Eve wanted to make up their own mind of what was good and what was evil. The same sin is going on today, and this is the sin of pride that drags many souls to hell. “Then the Lord God said to the serpent: Because you have done this, you are cursed among all cattle, and beasts of the earth; upon your breast shall you go, and earth shall you eat all the days of your life.” (Gen. 3:14) “I will put enmities between you and the woman, between your seed and her seed; she shall crush your head and you shall lie in wait for her heel.” (Gen. 3:15) In Genesis that woman is the Blessed Virgin Mary, who will crush the head of the serpent with her Son.
to Jesus through Mary 
For our present purpose it simply means making a thing sacred by surrendering it to God. The man becomes a priest by being taken from among men and dedicated to the service of God; the cup becomes the chalice by being withdrawn from profane use and given over exclusively to the service of the altar; the place is made sacred by being reserved for divine worship. From the moment of consecration the person, thing or place belongs to God in a special way. And since God became man through Mary and deigned to make her his partner in the Redemption, we may offer all to God through her. As St. Louis de Montfort puts it; “The most perfect consecration to Jesus is nothing else but a perfect and entire consecration of ourselves to the Blessed Virgin.”
Consecration, however, should mean more than a formula that is soon forgotten. What we pledge to Mary is not just the moment or even the day of our consecration but our whole life. We give her all that we are and all that we have in time and in eternity to become her property, if one could use the word. Consecration is total surrender, a complete giving up of oneself to her. To become “hers” in deed as well as in name we must first of all strive to cultivate her spirit, for it is the spirit and not the letter that vivifies and gives meaning to our life. “If any man,” says St. Paul, “have not the spirit of Christ, he is not his.” (Rom. 8:9) The same applies to Mary: if we have not her spirit in us, we have no part with her and our consecration to her loses its meaning. We should all take to heart the counsel of the Venerable Michael of St. Augustine: “May Mary's spirit be in us all, that by the spirit we may live.”
Very Rev. E. K. Lynch, O. Carm. Preface by Francis Cardinal Spellman Publisher: World Apostolate of Fatima, Washington, NJ 07882
St. John of the Cross Where have you hidden Beloved, and left me moaning? You fled like a stag after wounding me; I went out calling You, but You were gone. Where have You hidden Beloved, and left me moaning. She calls her Bridegroom Beloved. When God is loved, He waits until your desire grows stronger before He answers you. Our desire for Christ is very weak. You might say not so, but St. John of the Cross knows better than we. How much have you progressed in the last five, ten, twenty or fifty years and you will discover that you have made no progress in these years. Jesus will meet you in His proper time. St. John in Scripture says, “If you abide in Me, ask whatever you want and it shall be done unto you.” (Jn. 18:7) Most people call God their Beloved, that is, those who are on this journey, but very few respond to Him, as they love their comfort, so says St. John of the Cross. Only those who are willing to make the supreme sacrifice can truly say that Jesus is their Beloved. They will not get their petition until their spirit is set on God. Jesus says, “Are you willing to go to Calvary with Me? Most people are looking for the resurrection of Christ, not the Cross of Christ. Jesus says, “Do you think that I came to give you peace upon earth? No, I tell you, but division. For henceforth in one house five will be divided, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against his father; mother against daughter, and daughter against the mother; mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and your worst enemy will be those of your own home.” (Lk. 12:51-54) Are you willing to go through this persecution? If your answer is no, then you are not with Him. Do you notice the next remark - and left me moaning which is the absence of the Beloved which leaves us moaning. Since she finds no rest except upon Him whom she loves - she has constant moaning. Satisfaction comes not from possessing many things but to be poor in spirit. We must be completely stripped and stand naked before God. David, the psalmist, says, “When your glory appears, I shall be filled.” (Ps.17:15) Moaning gives you hope. St. Paul says, “We ourselves who have the first fruit of the spirit moan within ourselves hoping for the adoption of the children of God.” (Rom. 8:23)
The Little Flower (Doctor of the Church) In our previous issue, we described the fourth characteristic of the Little Way of St. Therese, Love of God. In this issue, we will describe the fifth characteristic, Love of Neighbor. Our Love must extend first to God, then to our neighbor for we are all made in God's image and likeness. Christ is in each person and it is Christ who we must see and love in all people. St. Therese saw the imperfections, frailties and faults of her Sisters, but she endeavored to look only at their virtues. She desired to have only charitable thoughts and sought excuses for what might appear to be reprehensible in her Sisters. "Charity", she said, "consists in disregarding the faults of our neighbor, not being surprised at the sight of their weakness, but in being edified by the smallest acts of virtue we see them practice." She felt that there is nothing sweeter than to think well of our neighbor. She left to Jesus the task of passing judgment on them. St. Therese desired to see the closest union reigning at all times in her community. She tried to avoid or repress everything that might disturb the peace. She had a horror of quarrels. She said, "It is better to let others keep their own opinions and preserve the peace." This is wise advice which we should follow in our relations with family and friends. St. Therese also disapproved of criticisms. She taught that it was wrong to criticize others on the basis that everyone should adopt your view of things. Therese always did her best to maintain peace in her community as we should with our families and loved ones. Therese tried to bring joy wherever she went. She worked to animate all souls with joy. "Jesus", she proclaimed, "loves a cheerful heart. He loves persons who are always smiling." St. Therese had a wonderful sense of humor and her face was lit up with a perpetual smile. To be a true neighbor, we must forget ourselves and seek the welfare of others. Therese put herself at the disposal of all. She wanted to be at the beck and call of everybody. She was always ready to help any one who asked her and would interrupt her own work to do so. "We must never refuse anyone," said Therese, "even when it costs us much pain. Think that it is Jesus who is asking this service of you; how eager and friendly you will then be in granting the favor requested!" Even better, she wrote, is to anticipate the desire of others, show that we are honored to be able to render service. She said, "The good Lord wants me to forget myself in order to give pleasure to others." A habit of always putting oneself at the disposal of one's neighbor may become very burdensome as people will ask favors of those who they know will help them. "It does not matter," says Therese, "I must not avoid those who readily ask for my services. Does not Jesus tell us, 'To him who asks of you, give, and from him who would borrow of you, do not turn away?'" If on occasion, we cannot grant the favor requested, we must refuse in a gracious manner. This charitable behavior must exist toward all without distinction. In the Old Testament, God told His people to love their neighbor as themselves. In the New Testament, Jesus told His disciples to love one another as I have loved you. St. Therese felt she was incapable of realizing such an ideal of love, so she begged Jesus to implant His own love in her heart. In this way she cultivated a personal love for each person, forming in her own heart the same feelings that Jesus had for every person. Ideally, we can follow St. Therese's example and ask Jesus to put His love for our neighbor in our hearts. Between now and the next issue, let us open our minds and hearts to loving and serving our neighbor. In our next issue, we will discuss the sixth characteristic of the Little Way of St. Therese, Sprit of Renunciation and Sacrifice.
Readings taken from
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