Rejoice

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin

As we honour Mary today on this beautiful solemnity of her assumption into heaven, I share with you the Morning and Evening Poem for August 15th, by Thomas E. Burke, C.S.C. (as found in “Hail Mary.  A Marian Book of Hours”, compiled by William G. Storey, D.M.S.):

If flowers are too stainless to remain
Concealed in the dark caverns of the earth,
But must be lifted up by God again
To know a second birth – a glad rebirth!
How could Christ leave her body in the tomb
Who was above all other women blest,
Who gave him refuge in her virgin womb,
And fed him on the lilies of her breast?
Is she not fairer far than any flower?
What bloom could ever boast her loveliness?
What fragrant rose in its sequestered bower
Has ever vied with her in spotlessness?
Truly the Lord, her God, the Holy One,
Has placed his tabernacle in the sun!

Today I celebrate my 5th anniversary of consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. I can hardly believe it’s been five years already. (Or has it only been five years… mystery of mysteries… I’ll explain in my next post…)

Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Our Lady stated that her Heart is the hope of the world. She expressly requested the practice and spread of devotion to her Immaculate Heart [at Fatima], saying that it is in the designs of the Divine Mercy to help the world through this Heart.

Mary,

Your heart is a shrine of peace, for it is the heart of the Mother of the Prince of Peace, a heart never for a moment disturbed by evil passion, a heart whose gifts to mankind are mercy, love, and peace. To all of us your immaculate heart after that of Jesus is most loving and most merciful. How many afflicted hearts are consoled in you! How many frail hearts are strengthened by you! How many are now in heaven because of the protection given them by your merciful heart! We obtain everything for our peace of soul in time and eternity from the Father through the Heart of Jesus and everything from Jesus through your heart. You are truly the “Queen of Peace.”

[From: Mary My Hope, Fr. Lawrence G. Lovasik, S.V.D., pgs. 61-62 and 65-66]

With a special intention at this time for Syria, dear Mother.

Easter Sunday

Wishing you all a very joyous Easter. 

Alleluia, He is risen!

Good Friday

From:  The Mystical Rose (by Blessed John Henry Newman) pgs. 106-107

Queen of Martyrs:  Why is she so called? – she who never had any blow, or wound, or other injury to her consecrated person….  To answer this question, it must be recollected that the pains of the soul may be as fierce as those of the body….

What an overwhelming horror it must have been for the Blessed Mary to witness the Passion and the Crucifixion of her Son!  Her anguish was, as holy Simeon had announced to her, at the time of her Son’s presentation in the Temple, a sword piercing her soul.  If our Lord himself could not bear the prospect of what was before him, and was covered at the thought of it with a bloody sweat, his soul thus acting upon his body, does not this show how great mental pain can be?  And would it have been a thing to wonder at if Mary’s head and heart had given way as she stood under his cross?

Thus is she most truly the Queen of Martyrs.

Holy Thursday

The Institution of the Eucharist -

Having blogged at Contemplative Haven for almost six years now, and at this site for the past few, it has always been a difficult choice as to what to focus on for Holy Thursday.  So many things happened on this night:  the Last Supper, the washing of the feet, the betrayal of Judas, the Agony in the Garden, the arrest of Jesus, His intense suffering at the hands of the Roman soldiers, Peter’s denial…  During Mass, we also have the chrism oils, and remember that this is the most holy day of the year for our priests.

But this year, as I was reflecting on all these, the Rosary also came to mind – the fact that the Last Supper (when Christ instituted the Holy Eucharist) is the fifth Luminous mystery (mystery of Light), and that Mary is the Mother of the Eucharist.  The Holy Eucharist and the Blessed Virgin Mary are forever entwined, and why wouldn’t they be, since the Holy Eucharist is the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord, Jesus Christ, and Mary is the Mother of God – and their Sacred and Immaculate Hearts are perfectly united.

We have been given everything we need to help bring Light into the darkness.  As Gerald Francis wrote in “Our Lady and the Eucharist”, at The Real Presence:  “When Catholics anchor their faith on these two indestructible, inseparable pillars-the Eucharist and our Lady-then the enemy will be defeated and a great calm will descend upon both the Church and the world.”

Love Came Down At Christmas

“Worship we our Jesus… Through our hearts may His love shine.”

Merry Christmas to all! May your hearts and homes be filled with love and peace.