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| Birthday Countdown | Food Menu for Our Lady's Birthday | Novena for Our Lady's Nativity |
| Birthday Countdown | Food Menu for Our Lady's Birthday | Novena for Our Lady's Nativity |
September 1st
SEVEN FULL DAYS TO GO BEFORE OUR LADY'S BIRTHDAY
SEVEN FULL DAYS TO GO BEFORE OUR LADY'S BIRTHDAY
No “Last-Minute Shopping” for Our Lady
On September 8th, we celebrate Our Lady’s birthday—the most important birthday in history, after that of Our Lord Jesus Christ (December 25th). Are you preparing for that “second-greatest-birthday-in-the-history-of-the-world”? Were you even aware that is coming up and is only a few days away? A lot of people tend to be “last-minute” people―they leave everything to the “last-minute” thinking that they can still do a “good job” in “the blink of an eye” or “in a jiffy”! This is often seen to be case in the proverbial case―but true case―of the “Last Minute Christmas Shopper.” When you really stop and think about what is involved in “last-minute-shopping” and what it reveals―you have to admit that the message it sends is one of “Right now, I have much more important things to do than shop for this-or-that, or so-and-so!” In other words, you have put whoever or whatever you have to shop for, way down the list of your priorities―you want to do other things first before tackling the shopping business.
Just Another Old Day!
What does Our Lady’s birthday mean to you? Will it be “just another day” that will passed doing “the same old things” with little or nothing to make that day special and important? Will everyone just “go their own way” doing the things they like to do? Providentially, God has seen to it that this year Our Lady Our Lady’s birthday falls on a TUESDAY! A day when the vast majority of people have to work, hence a day that will really test how much we love Our Lady and how much we are prepared to sacrifice to celebrate her birthday in a fitting manner!
Raw-Deal Meal
Sometimes, even our earthly mothers get a “raw-deal” on their birthdays! O yes, sure, they get a birthday card, perhaps some flowers, an extra kiss and a hug, perhaps they are taken out for a meal―but often they end up cooking their own meal, looking after guests, doing the house-cleaning before the birthday and the clean-up after the birthday. Often the family and guests have more of a fun time than the beleaguered mother! Her birthday ends up being like a few fish thrown to the dolphin in the pool to the keep the dolphin happy! What scraps will we be throwing at Our Lady on her birthday?
Masterpiece Ignored
Will that day be an important day for you? Does Our Lady really matter to you? How important is she to you? Is she a central part of your life? Is she like “family”, or is she merely a “visitor”? St. Louis de Montfort says that she is God’s masterpiece― “Mary is the excellent masterpiece of the Most High … where God dwells more magnificently and more divinely than in any other place in the universe, … where there are beauties and treasures unspeakable. She is the magnificence of the Most High” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary, §5 & §6). If an artist paints a masterpiece and you ignore it, think little of it, are indifferent to it―then what an insult that is to the artist! Now when that “artist” is God―the insult becomes an infinite insult to God, because God is infinite!
It is highly likely that in most homes, Our Lady’s birthday will fare no better than Our Lord’s birthday fares at Christmas. It is sad to think that in most homes, Our Lady’s birthday, just like Christmas, will see less prayer and spiritual reading than usual—whereas the opposite should be the norm. How many homes will pray MORE on Our Lady’s birthay? For the 2% to 4% of Catholic American households who are thought to pray the Rosary daily―will they manage a full 15 decade Rosary, or at least another 5 decades on top of the norm? Of the 25% or so Catholics who are Sunday regulars at Mass, or much smaller number of Catholics who attend Mass during weekdays, how many will carry the religious ceremonies and spirit home with them and inject it into the festivities that should be there on Our Lady’s birthday? There are many, many way we can sanctify Our Lady’s birthday —and we will look at these ways during the remaining days—but how many will have the courage to run the gauntlet of human respect and insist upon them with family, relatives and visitors? Yes, we should “lay on a spread”―that is to say, have something special on the food and drink menu for Our Lady’s birthday―but even that is done, unfortunately and sadly, the food, the drink, the entertainment, etc., will take precedence in most homes—and we are forced to ask the thorny question: “Whose birthday is it anyway?”
The Lady’s Lament
We would do well to DAILY ponder the following lament of Our Lady at La Salette: “I have suffered all of the time for all of you! If I do not wish my Son to abandon you, I must take it upon myself to pray for this continually! And all of you think little of this! In vain you will pray! In vain you will act! You will never be able to make up for the trouble I have taken over for all of you!”
To the Venerable Mary of Agreda Our Lady said something similar: “I will also promise them my continual and efficacious intercession with my most holy Son, if they do not displease me! For this purpose thou shouldst exhort them to continual love and devotion toward me, engrafting it in their hearts; in being thus faithful they will attain all that thou wishest for them, and much more―for I will obtain it for them.”
Displeasing Our Lady
How do we “displease” Our Lady? By ignoring her words, by ignoring her commands, by ignoring her suggestions, by ignoring her messages. A child who acts in this manner cannot honestly say that it loves its mother. Obedience is an effect of love. Acting promptly is an effect of the presence of love.
The bottom line in the spiritual life is LOVE. Devotion is a child of love. St. Francis de Sales, in his book, Introduction to the Devout Life, writes: “Devotion consists in a high degree of real love … In fact, all true and living devotion presupposes the love of God―and indeed it is neither more nor less than a very real love of God, though not always of the same kind. In so far as divine love enriches us―it is called GRACE, which makes us pleasing to God. In so far as it gives us the strength to do good―it is called CHARITY. But when it grows to such a degree of perfection that it makes us not only to do good, but rather moves us to do it carefully, frequently and promptly―it is called DEVOTION … In short, devotion is simply a spiritual activity and liveliness by means of which Divine Love works in us, and causes us to work briskly and lovingly; and, just as charity leads us to a general practice of all God's Commandments, so devotion leads us to practice them readily and diligently. Therefore, we cannot call him, who neglects to observe all God’s Commandments, either good or devout, because in order to be good, a man must be filled with love, and, to be devout, he must further be very ready and apt to perform the deeds of love … The difference between love and devotion is just that which exists between fire and flame―love being a spiritual fire, which becomes devotion when it is fanned into a flame―and what devotion adds to the fire of love, is that flame which makes love become eager, energetic and diligent, not merely in obeying God's Commandments, but in fulfilling His Divine Counsels and inspirations” (St. Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life, Part 1, Chapter 1).
Likewise, therefore, the obedience in keeping the Commandments is also a child of love― “If you love Me, keep My commandments … He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them; he it is that loveth Me … If any one love Me, he will keep My word … He that loveth Me not, keepeth not My words … If you keep My commandments, you shall abide in My love” (John 14:15, 14:21-24; 15:10). What is true of Our Lord is equally true of Our Lady. If we truly love her, we will keep her words, we will do what she says.
No Real Love―No Real Devotion
If there is little or no love, there cannot possibly be any devotion―or at least no true devotion―since, as St. Francis de Sales says: “Devotion consists in a high degree of real love ... all true and living devotion presupposes the love of God [or in this case, Our Lady]―and indeed it is neither more nor less than a very real love of God” [or Our Lady]. Faulty, or fake and false devotions are “ten-a-penny” and make-up the vast majority of “made-up” or “make-up” cosmetic devotion that hides the ugliness of lukewarmness underneath. St. Louis de Montfort speaks of those false devotions to Our Lady―in his True Devotion to Mary―listing them as seven in number: (1) the critical devotees; (2) the scrupulous devotees; (3) the external devotees; (4) the presumptuous devotees; (5) the inconstant devotees; (6) the hypocritical devotees; (7) the interested devotees. All of these are faulty, false or fake. They are not true devotions for they come not from a true love of Mary, but from a love of self. Hence their love is not fervent, but lukewarm. Let us not be of those whom Our Lord condemns, saying: “This people honoureth Me with their lips: but their heart is far from Me” (Matthew 15:8).
You can imagine the pain a mother feels when her children―even though they turn up at her birthday―nevertheless are glib, insincere, superficial and hypocritical in the “lip-service-only” congratulations on her birthday and likewise with their protestations of “I love you, mom!” It is merely the “politically correct” thing to say and do―without there being any real heart and sincerity behind what they are saying and doing. The mother knows that and she feels the pain in her motherly sensitivity―but does not show it due to her heroic stoicity or stoicism. They say that the more perfect a person is, then the more sensitive they are―thus, Our Lord, who was the most perfect of all, was also the most sensitive of all. Our Lady comes second in perfection and sensitivity. Like her Son, she keenly and deeply feels our inconsideration to her, our neglect of her, our indifference towards her, our lack of real love and devotion in her regard. Is it not the time to put that right? Is it not time to try and give her what she deserves?
Time to Turn to Mary
In the same book, Introduction to the Devout Life, St. Francis de Sales makes a timely encouragement, as we approach the birthday of Our Lady, to devotedly turn to her AT ALL TIMES and in ALL OUR NEEDS: “With a special love, give honor, reverence and respect to the holy and glorious Virgin Mary. As the Mother of Jesus, our Brother, she is truly our mother. Let us therefore turn to her for help. We are her little children, so let us, with complete confidence, throw ourselves in her arms. At every moment, in every circumstance, let us call to this loving mother. Let us ask earnestly for her motherly love. With our hearts full of a true filial love for her, let us strive to imitate her virtues.”
In the case of a good person, it is only natural for a child to imitate the virtues of its mother―a bad child will imitate the vices of its mother. If you have ever read The Mystical City of God, by the Venerable Mary of Agreda, you will have noted that Our Lady continually insists that her example be imitated. The proverb― “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery” ― means that a person imitates someone else because they admire that person or value what that person is doing. Another version adds a phrase at the end of that proverb, saying: “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness!” ― and that sums up our self and Our Lady ― we are mediocrity personified and she is greatness personified. Much as Christ became man to make us like unto God―Our Lady wants to raise us out of our mediocrity and make us holy and acceptable to God. She was born to bring God to man―on this her upcoming birthday―let her be truly born in your life and soul, so that she can bring you to God.
What to Do and How to Prepare
► The first thing to do is to CONCRETELY, DEFINITELY, IRREVOCABLY, UNCHANGINGLY and ABSOLUTELY SET ASIDE TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 8TH FOR OUR LADY. It is the birthday of the Mother of God. It is the birthday of your spiritual mother. It is the birthday of her who has said: “I have suffered all of the time for all of you! If I do not wish my Son to abandon you, I must take it upon myself to pray for this continually! And all of you think little of this! In vain you will pray! In vain you will act! You will never be able to make up for the trouble I have taken over for all of you!”
► The second thing to do is to tell everyone that everyone is staying at home on her birthday (and perhaps invite other relatives and friends―as you would for any family member’s birthday―for Mary is “family” is she not? You hope to part of her “family” in Heaven, don’t you?). Make the phone calls, send the texts and e-mails THIS WEEKEND. Commit yourself! It is the best way to guarantee that it will happen―because other people have been told about and will expect it to happen.
► The third thing to do is to create some kind of loose schedule for Tuesday, September 8th. Be “loose” and plan more generally than specifically―because it is a work day and a school day. You can plan more specifically when you know who will accept your invitation to attend Our Lady’s birthday party.
► The fourth thing to do is to invite everyone to PREPARE SPIRITUALLY for Our Lady’s birthday. You could send out the link to the NOVENA IN PREPARATION FOR OUR LADY’S NATIVITY [click here]―perhaps you have been following our novenas and already started on August 30th or August 31st, in which case you get the full nine days up to and including Our Lady’s birthday. If you prefer, or are late in starting, you could actually start the Novena on Our Lady's birthday itself (September 8th) and finish on September 16th. Or you could start the Novena on the Eve of Our Lady's birthday (September 7th, which is also the birthday of the Legion of Mary) and end on September 15th (the Feast of the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady). Or you could send out some other prayers that last a lesser time―for example a TRIDUUM OF PRAYERS (which means “prayers for three days”), or ask them to pray an extra Rosary in her honor; or pray the LITANY OF LORETO (the Litany of Our Lady); or some other prayers. The whole point is to PLACE THE SPIRITUAL PREPARATIONS ABOVE THE MATERIAL PREPARATIONS―for the spiritual is more important than the material, just as the soul is more important than the body, and the life and welfare of the soul is more important than the life and welfare of the body. Thus, both Our Lady and all the participants will appreciate and enjoy her birthday all the more if they will have prepared spiritually and prepared for a prolonged period of time. It will mean that you are honoring her more with your heart than your lips, more with your prayers than your belly.
► The fifth thing to do is to plan a balanced schedule for the day―and, as said above, make it general plan, much like giving “chapter headings” for what will take place, rather than listing things in “fine details”. With it being a Tuesday this year, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is unfortunately not a Sunday “Shotgun-Mass”―meaning that on a Sunday everyone is obliged to and bound to attend Mass. However, this will test your desire and spirit of sacrifice by clearing decks to try and accommodate Holy Mass on a Tuesday! If that is not possible, then you could have everyone make an Act of Consecration to Our Lady―it could be in a church somewhere outside of Mass time, or at Our Lady’s side altar, statue or image―or, even better, do ti multiple times during the day―just as you would probably say “Happy Birthday” to somebody several times on the day of their birthday.
► The sixth thing to do would be ask everyone to make a Holy Communion (a spiritual Holy Communion if they cannot manage to attend Mass) on September 8th, in honor of Our Lady. Later this coming week, we will publish potential texts and examples of what to do and say during such a Holy Communion. Perhaps, given sufficient time, we could produce a "Nativity Ritual" for Our Lady's Nativity―along the lines of our "Christmas Ritual" and Holy Week Rituals (which you can find on the Downloads page).
► The seventh thing to do is to prepare the “soil” of your mind and soul for Our Lady by “weeding-out” the world and “planting seeds” of Our Lady throughout this entire week that leads up to her birthday on September 8th. You can do this in many different ways. First of all add some short little prayers to Our Lady onto your usual devotions and prayers. It might be the recitation of the Angelus (morning, noon and evening), or perhaps the Memorare prayer (Remember O most loving Virgin Mary, that never was it know that anyone who had recourse to …etc.), or it could be the daily singing of some hymn to Our Lady, etc. Another way to “plant seeds” of Our Lady would be to make a daily reading from anyone of the countless books that there are in print about Mary―many of which are available for free online; or take various extracts for your reading from other internet resources; or you could focus on the chief virtues of Our Lady, as listed by St. Louis de Montfort in his True Devotion to Mary: “particularly her profound humility, her lively Faith, her blind obedience, her continual prayer, her universal mortification, her divine purity, her ardent charity, her heroic patience, her angelic sweetness and her divine wisdom. These are the ten principal virtues of the most holy Virgin” (True Devotion to Mary, §108). If you need help with this latter option, this website will give you some daily assistance, in the days that follow, by providing you with meditative material and spiritual readings on those then chief virtues.
► The eighth thing to do is to focus on imitating the chief virtues of Our Lady, as listed by St. Louis de Montfort in his True Devotion to Mary: “particularly her profound humility, her lively Faith, her blind obedience, her continual prayer, her universal mortification, her divine purity, her ardent charity, her heroic patience, her angelic sweetness and her divine wisdom. These are the ten principal virtues of the most holy Virgin” (True Devotion to Mary, §108). You could divide up the chief ten virtues among family members―keeping the allocated virtue throughout the whole build-up to Our Lady’s birthday. Or you could pick “a virtue per day” if you wish. If you need help with these options, this website will give you some daily assistance, in the days that follow, by providing you with meditative material and spiritual readings on those then chief virtues as well as ideas on how to practice those virtues in multiple scenarios.
► The ninth thing to do is to focus on the chief apparitions of Our Lady as we lead up to her birthday or to start on her birthday (for remember that in ancient times, you would celebrate big feasts until the octave or eighth day after the fast). A suggestion―and it merely a suggestion, for you can do as you like, change the order, change the dates, or even ignore the idea―would be:
September 1st or 8th: Our Lady of Guadalupe (Mexico) 1531
September 2nd or 9th: Our Lady of Good Success (Quito, Ecuador) late 1500s and early 1600s
September 3rd or 10th: Rue de Bac 1830 (Paris, France) the Miraculous Medal apparitions
September 3th or 11th: La Salette (France) 1846
September 5th or 12th: Lourdes (France) 1858
September 6th or 13th: Fatima (Portugal) 1917
September 7th or 14th: Akita (Japan) 1973
► The tenth thing to do is to prepare a little altar or oratory (place of prayer) for Our Lady’s birthday. It does not have to be an entire room, any dignified part of a room is acceptable if a separate exclusive room is not available. Decorate it with the best things that you have―cloth to cover the table; your best or favorite statue or image of Our Lady placed on it; candles and flowers to surround it; perhaps even have votive lights burning before it throughout the entire period, day and night, leading up to Our Lady’s birthday. As regards prayer―ensure that some prayers are guaranteed to be said before your little shrine or altar to Our Lady each and every day. Similarly, a little shrine could erected in your garden in readiness for her birthday.
► The eleventh thing to do is to gradually finalize the actual schedule you will use on Our Lady’s birthday. Here is an example of what you could do―but your own imagination and ingenuity will most likely better these very basic ideas:
(1) Start the day of September 8th, with a decent amount of FAMILY PRAYER before going to Mass (if Mass attendance is possible)―even if, or especially if, your family is not accustomed to saying morning prayers together as a family. This morning prayer session could include (a) the Daily Morning Offering, (b) an Act of Consecration to Our Lady, (c) at least one decade of the Rosary, but preferably all five decades of the Joyful Mysteries, for, on this day, you should aim at praying all 15 decades of the Rosary (or an extra 15 decades on top of the Rosaries you would normally pray) in honor of Our Lady and as present to her―otherwise you would not be giving her anything more than on every usual day, (d) make a short reading of one or a few paragraphs from anyone of the many books available on Our Lady, (e) follow the reading with the recitation or singing of the first Angelus of the day―morning, noon and evening―use bells if you have them, which are sounded during the invocations that precede each of the three Hail Marys, (f) finish with a hymn to Our Lady. All of this should take no more than around 30 minutes―give or take a few minutes.
(2) On the way to church for Mass, refrain from any worldly, trivial or vain talk and discussions, but sanctify the drive by either prayers being recited or someone reading something from a book on Our Lady―or even both. Alternatively, or additionally, you could have an informal discussion about Our Lady―which, if you have read a passage from a book, could be based upon that reading. The possibilities are really endless and go well beyond these meager suggestions.
(3) Arrange to do something special at church for Our Lady―either before, during or after Mass. You could recite, once more, your Act of Consecration to Our Lady as a family at her side altar. Or you could suggest that every family member write his or her own special prayer to Our Lady for her birthday―and then each of you could silently recite that personal prayer to Our Lady, either before, during or after Mass. Receive and offer your Holy Communions in honor of Our Lady. If the parish priest agrees and allows you, then you have a mini-hymn singing session to honor Our Lady after Mass. Or, even more daringly, get the priest to agree to Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament in honor of Our Lady, or even a little procession in her honor―though you might have to pay in advance for getting the priest’s agreement by doing lots of penance, fasting and praying beforehand.
(4) On the way home from Mass, perhaps there is a little shrine of Our Lady’s that you could visit on her birthday. Maybe Our Lady's birthday is the day to give birth to a shrine in her honor in your own garden! If not, then perhaps there is a church somewhere nearby that is dedicated to Our Lady―meaning that it has Our Lady’s name or one of her many titles incorporated in the name of the church, e.g. Our Lady of the Rosary, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Immaculate Conception, Queen of Angels, Queen of Peace, Our Lady of Fatima, etc. Make a short stop there and recite some prayers or sing some hymns in her honor―this could be an opportunity for praying the next 5 decades of the Rosary―-the Sorrowful Mysteries―or you could pray them later.
(5) Upon arriving home, pray the Angelus. Use the bells once again as you did during the morning Angelus. Remind everyone that this is Our Lady’s birthday and the focus is on her today. As a sacrifice for her, you could and should postpone all worldly activities for this one day―such as avoid watching worldly TV shows, listening to worldly music, going out to participate in worldly activities, etc.
(6) At some point you will have to eat lunch or dinner―make it a real banquet in honor of Our Lady. There are many possibilities by way of menus that could reflect a profound and beautiful symbolism of Our Lady, while also being delicious in the process. More on that later. Hopefully, without promising anything, the website might be able to present with a whole menu consisting of many courses, all of them symbolizing and reflecting Our Lady in some way―together with a print-out explanation of how and why the ingredients are symbolic of Our Lady. This is a mammoth task―thus no promises are made. Even if an entire multi-course menu might not be completed in time for her birthday―meaning designed and published several days before her birthday to allow for purchase of items and preparation of food―then at least some recipes will be available in good time.
(7) Get everyone involved in some way for preparing for an afternoon or evening with Our Lady. This coming week could be used productively in preparing a little family concert in her honor during her birthday. The concert could include hymns, songs, poetry, musical instruments (solo or as a group) or even recitations (speeches) about Our Lady’s miracles, interventions, apparitions, etc., or little thumbnail talks about certain saints who had a great devotion to Our Lady, recounting and relating how they showed their devotion to her.
(8) The concert could be followed by watching a movie about Our Lady. There are several available out there―but you need to plan early and act quickly to secure or rent one―unless you already have those movies in your library or possession.
(9) After the movie you could recite the remaining five EXTRA decades of the Rosary―the Glorious Mysteries―which should be additional to the decades you are accustomed to praying each day―otherwise where is the special present for Our Lady?). After the Rosary, you could recite or sing the evening Angelus―once again using bells in the manner described above.
(10) The evening meal could again contain foods that are symbolic of Our Lady―and this symbolism should be explained to those present at the meal, for they would otherwise be clueless and ignorant of the spiritual aspect of the meal.
(11) Finally, before retiring for the night, the night prayers (if you are used to saying them as a family) should have a very definite Marian flavor injected into them―to distinguish them and raise them a notch above the night prayers you are accustomed to praying. To finish night prayers, another short and inspiring reading from a book on Our Lady would be ideal as a last thought of the day. If you are accustomed to reading bedtime stories to the young ones before turning out the light, make sure you have a wonderful story based on Our Lady prepared.
All of the above constitutes the EXTERNAL ASPECTS of what is meant by TRUE DEVOTION to Our Lady, but these are mere pieces of firewood that need an interior flame of love to really set alight a true fire of devotion―for someone could perform all the above exteriorly or externally while having no real interior love or devotion while doing so. If you think the above is overwhelming, then realize that the word DEVOTION is a word that indicated a HIGH DEGREE of love and attention, as indicated above by St. Francis de Sales in his book, Introduction to the Devout Life, in which he speaks of and describes TRUE DEVOTION as follows:
“Devotion consists in a high degree of real love … In fact, all true and living devotion presupposes the love of God―and indeed it is neither more nor less than a very real love of God, though not always of the same kind. In so far as divine love enriches us―it is called GRACE, which makes us pleasing to God. In so far as it gives us the strength to do good―it is called CHARITY. But when it grows to such a degree of perfection that it makes us not only to do good, but rather moves us to do it carefully, frequently and promptly―it is called DEVOTION … In short, devotion is simply a spiritual activity and liveliness by means of which Divine Love works in us, and causes us to work briskly and lovingly; and, just as charity leads us to a general practice of all God’s Commandments, so devotion leads us to practice them readily and diligently. Therefore, we cannot call him, who neglects to observe all God’s Commandments, either good or devout, because in order to be good, a man must be filled with love, and, to be devout, he must further be very ready and apt to perform the deeds of love … The difference between love and devotion is just that which exists between fire and flame―love being a spiritual fire, which becomes devotion when it is fanned into a flame―and what devotion adds to the fire of love, is that flame which makes love become eager, energetic and diligent, not merely in obeying God’s Commandments, but in fulfilling His Divine Counsels and inspirations” (St. Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life, Part 1, Chapter 1).
On September 8th, we celebrate Our Lady’s birthday—the most important birthday in history, after that of Our Lord Jesus Christ (December 25th). Are you preparing for that “second-greatest-birthday-in-the-history-of-the-world”? Were you even aware that is coming up and is only a few days away? A lot of people tend to be “last-minute” people―they leave everything to the “last-minute” thinking that they can still do a “good job” in “the blink of an eye” or “in a jiffy”! This is often seen to be case in the proverbial case―but true case―of the “Last Minute Christmas Shopper.” When you really stop and think about what is involved in “last-minute-shopping” and what it reveals―you have to admit that the message it sends is one of “Right now, I have much more important things to do than shop for this-or-that, or so-and-so!” In other words, you have put whoever or whatever you have to shop for, way down the list of your priorities―you want to do other things first before tackling the shopping business.
Just Another Old Day!
What does Our Lady’s birthday mean to you? Will it be “just another day” that will passed doing “the same old things” with little or nothing to make that day special and important? Will everyone just “go their own way” doing the things they like to do? Providentially, God has seen to it that this year Our Lady Our Lady’s birthday falls on a TUESDAY! A day when the vast majority of people have to work, hence a day that will really test how much we love Our Lady and how much we are prepared to sacrifice to celebrate her birthday in a fitting manner!
Raw-Deal Meal
Sometimes, even our earthly mothers get a “raw-deal” on their birthdays! O yes, sure, they get a birthday card, perhaps some flowers, an extra kiss and a hug, perhaps they are taken out for a meal―but often they end up cooking their own meal, looking after guests, doing the house-cleaning before the birthday and the clean-up after the birthday. Often the family and guests have more of a fun time than the beleaguered mother! Her birthday ends up being like a few fish thrown to the dolphin in the pool to the keep the dolphin happy! What scraps will we be throwing at Our Lady on her birthday?
Masterpiece Ignored
Will that day be an important day for you? Does Our Lady really matter to you? How important is she to you? Is she a central part of your life? Is she like “family”, or is she merely a “visitor”? St. Louis de Montfort says that she is God’s masterpiece― “Mary is the excellent masterpiece of the Most High … where God dwells more magnificently and more divinely than in any other place in the universe, … where there are beauties and treasures unspeakable. She is the magnificence of the Most High” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary, §5 & §6). If an artist paints a masterpiece and you ignore it, think little of it, are indifferent to it―then what an insult that is to the artist! Now when that “artist” is God―the insult becomes an infinite insult to God, because God is infinite!
It is highly likely that in most homes, Our Lady’s birthday will fare no better than Our Lord’s birthday fares at Christmas. It is sad to think that in most homes, Our Lady’s birthday, just like Christmas, will see less prayer and spiritual reading than usual—whereas the opposite should be the norm. How many homes will pray MORE on Our Lady’s birthay? For the 2% to 4% of Catholic American households who are thought to pray the Rosary daily―will they manage a full 15 decade Rosary, or at least another 5 decades on top of the norm? Of the 25% or so Catholics who are Sunday regulars at Mass, or much smaller number of Catholics who attend Mass during weekdays, how many will carry the religious ceremonies and spirit home with them and inject it into the festivities that should be there on Our Lady’s birthday? There are many, many way we can sanctify Our Lady’s birthday —and we will look at these ways during the remaining days—but how many will have the courage to run the gauntlet of human respect and insist upon them with family, relatives and visitors? Yes, we should “lay on a spread”―that is to say, have something special on the food and drink menu for Our Lady’s birthday―but even that is done, unfortunately and sadly, the food, the drink, the entertainment, etc., will take precedence in most homes—and we are forced to ask the thorny question: “Whose birthday is it anyway?”
The Lady’s Lament
We would do well to DAILY ponder the following lament of Our Lady at La Salette: “I have suffered all of the time for all of you! If I do not wish my Son to abandon you, I must take it upon myself to pray for this continually! And all of you think little of this! In vain you will pray! In vain you will act! You will never be able to make up for the trouble I have taken over for all of you!”
To the Venerable Mary of Agreda Our Lady said something similar: “I will also promise them my continual and efficacious intercession with my most holy Son, if they do not displease me! For this purpose thou shouldst exhort them to continual love and devotion toward me, engrafting it in their hearts; in being thus faithful they will attain all that thou wishest for them, and much more―for I will obtain it for them.”
Displeasing Our Lady
How do we “displease” Our Lady? By ignoring her words, by ignoring her commands, by ignoring her suggestions, by ignoring her messages. A child who acts in this manner cannot honestly say that it loves its mother. Obedience is an effect of love. Acting promptly is an effect of the presence of love.
The bottom line in the spiritual life is LOVE. Devotion is a child of love. St. Francis de Sales, in his book, Introduction to the Devout Life, writes: “Devotion consists in a high degree of real love … In fact, all true and living devotion presupposes the love of God―and indeed it is neither more nor less than a very real love of God, though not always of the same kind. In so far as divine love enriches us―it is called GRACE, which makes us pleasing to God. In so far as it gives us the strength to do good―it is called CHARITY. But when it grows to such a degree of perfection that it makes us not only to do good, but rather moves us to do it carefully, frequently and promptly―it is called DEVOTION … In short, devotion is simply a spiritual activity and liveliness by means of which Divine Love works in us, and causes us to work briskly and lovingly; and, just as charity leads us to a general practice of all God's Commandments, so devotion leads us to practice them readily and diligently. Therefore, we cannot call him, who neglects to observe all God’s Commandments, either good or devout, because in order to be good, a man must be filled with love, and, to be devout, he must further be very ready and apt to perform the deeds of love … The difference between love and devotion is just that which exists between fire and flame―love being a spiritual fire, which becomes devotion when it is fanned into a flame―and what devotion adds to the fire of love, is that flame which makes love become eager, energetic and diligent, not merely in obeying God's Commandments, but in fulfilling His Divine Counsels and inspirations” (St. Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life, Part 1, Chapter 1).
Likewise, therefore, the obedience in keeping the Commandments is also a child of love― “If you love Me, keep My commandments … He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them; he it is that loveth Me … If any one love Me, he will keep My word … He that loveth Me not, keepeth not My words … If you keep My commandments, you shall abide in My love” (John 14:15, 14:21-24; 15:10). What is true of Our Lord is equally true of Our Lady. If we truly love her, we will keep her words, we will do what she says.
No Real Love―No Real Devotion
If there is little or no love, there cannot possibly be any devotion―or at least no true devotion―since, as St. Francis de Sales says: “Devotion consists in a high degree of real love ... all true and living devotion presupposes the love of God [or in this case, Our Lady]―and indeed it is neither more nor less than a very real love of God” [or Our Lady]. Faulty, or fake and false devotions are “ten-a-penny” and make-up the vast majority of “made-up” or “make-up” cosmetic devotion that hides the ugliness of lukewarmness underneath. St. Louis de Montfort speaks of those false devotions to Our Lady―in his True Devotion to Mary―listing them as seven in number: (1) the critical devotees; (2) the scrupulous devotees; (3) the external devotees; (4) the presumptuous devotees; (5) the inconstant devotees; (6) the hypocritical devotees; (7) the interested devotees. All of these are faulty, false or fake. They are not true devotions for they come not from a true love of Mary, but from a love of self. Hence their love is not fervent, but lukewarm. Let us not be of those whom Our Lord condemns, saying: “This people honoureth Me with their lips: but their heart is far from Me” (Matthew 15:8).
You can imagine the pain a mother feels when her children―even though they turn up at her birthday―nevertheless are glib, insincere, superficial and hypocritical in the “lip-service-only” congratulations on her birthday and likewise with their protestations of “I love you, mom!” It is merely the “politically correct” thing to say and do―without there being any real heart and sincerity behind what they are saying and doing. The mother knows that and she feels the pain in her motherly sensitivity―but does not show it due to her heroic stoicity or stoicism. They say that the more perfect a person is, then the more sensitive they are―thus, Our Lord, who was the most perfect of all, was also the most sensitive of all. Our Lady comes second in perfection and sensitivity. Like her Son, she keenly and deeply feels our inconsideration to her, our neglect of her, our indifference towards her, our lack of real love and devotion in her regard. Is it not the time to put that right? Is it not time to try and give her what she deserves?
Time to Turn to Mary
In the same book, Introduction to the Devout Life, St. Francis de Sales makes a timely encouragement, as we approach the birthday of Our Lady, to devotedly turn to her AT ALL TIMES and in ALL OUR NEEDS: “With a special love, give honor, reverence and respect to the holy and glorious Virgin Mary. As the Mother of Jesus, our Brother, she is truly our mother. Let us therefore turn to her for help. We are her little children, so let us, with complete confidence, throw ourselves in her arms. At every moment, in every circumstance, let us call to this loving mother. Let us ask earnestly for her motherly love. With our hearts full of a true filial love for her, let us strive to imitate her virtues.”
In the case of a good person, it is only natural for a child to imitate the virtues of its mother―a bad child will imitate the vices of its mother. If you have ever read The Mystical City of God, by the Venerable Mary of Agreda, you will have noted that Our Lady continually insists that her example be imitated. The proverb― “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery” ― means that a person imitates someone else because they admire that person or value what that person is doing. Another version adds a phrase at the end of that proverb, saying: “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness!” ― and that sums up our self and Our Lady ― we are mediocrity personified and she is greatness personified. Much as Christ became man to make us like unto God―Our Lady wants to raise us out of our mediocrity and make us holy and acceptable to God. She was born to bring God to man―on this her upcoming birthday―let her be truly born in your life and soul, so that she can bring you to God.
What to Do and How to Prepare
► The first thing to do is to CONCRETELY, DEFINITELY, IRREVOCABLY, UNCHANGINGLY and ABSOLUTELY SET ASIDE TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 8TH FOR OUR LADY. It is the birthday of the Mother of God. It is the birthday of your spiritual mother. It is the birthday of her who has said: “I have suffered all of the time for all of you! If I do not wish my Son to abandon you, I must take it upon myself to pray for this continually! And all of you think little of this! In vain you will pray! In vain you will act! You will never be able to make up for the trouble I have taken over for all of you!”
► The second thing to do is to tell everyone that everyone is staying at home on her birthday (and perhaps invite other relatives and friends―as you would for any family member’s birthday―for Mary is “family” is she not? You hope to part of her “family” in Heaven, don’t you?). Make the phone calls, send the texts and e-mails THIS WEEKEND. Commit yourself! It is the best way to guarantee that it will happen―because other people have been told about and will expect it to happen.
► The third thing to do is to create some kind of loose schedule for Tuesday, September 8th. Be “loose” and plan more generally than specifically―because it is a work day and a school day. You can plan more specifically when you know who will accept your invitation to attend Our Lady’s birthday party.
► The fourth thing to do is to invite everyone to PREPARE SPIRITUALLY for Our Lady’s birthday. You could send out the link to the NOVENA IN PREPARATION FOR OUR LADY’S NATIVITY [click here]―perhaps you have been following our novenas and already started on August 30th or August 31st, in which case you get the full nine days up to and including Our Lady’s birthday. If you prefer, or are late in starting, you could actually start the Novena on Our Lady's birthday itself (September 8th) and finish on September 16th. Or you could start the Novena on the Eve of Our Lady's birthday (September 7th, which is also the birthday of the Legion of Mary) and end on September 15th (the Feast of the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady). Or you could send out some other prayers that last a lesser time―for example a TRIDUUM OF PRAYERS (which means “prayers for three days”), or ask them to pray an extra Rosary in her honor; or pray the LITANY OF LORETO (the Litany of Our Lady); or some other prayers. The whole point is to PLACE THE SPIRITUAL PREPARATIONS ABOVE THE MATERIAL PREPARATIONS―for the spiritual is more important than the material, just as the soul is more important than the body, and the life and welfare of the soul is more important than the life and welfare of the body. Thus, both Our Lady and all the participants will appreciate and enjoy her birthday all the more if they will have prepared spiritually and prepared for a prolonged period of time. It will mean that you are honoring her more with your heart than your lips, more with your prayers than your belly.
► The fifth thing to do is to plan a balanced schedule for the day―and, as said above, make it general plan, much like giving “chapter headings” for what will take place, rather than listing things in “fine details”. With it being a Tuesday this year, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is unfortunately not a Sunday “Shotgun-Mass”―meaning that on a Sunday everyone is obliged to and bound to attend Mass. However, this will test your desire and spirit of sacrifice by clearing decks to try and accommodate Holy Mass on a Tuesday! If that is not possible, then you could have everyone make an Act of Consecration to Our Lady―it could be in a church somewhere outside of Mass time, or at Our Lady’s side altar, statue or image―or, even better, do ti multiple times during the day―just as you would probably say “Happy Birthday” to somebody several times on the day of their birthday.
► The sixth thing to do would be ask everyone to make a Holy Communion (a spiritual Holy Communion if they cannot manage to attend Mass) on September 8th, in honor of Our Lady. Later this coming week, we will publish potential texts and examples of what to do and say during such a Holy Communion. Perhaps, given sufficient time, we could produce a "Nativity Ritual" for Our Lady's Nativity―along the lines of our "Christmas Ritual" and Holy Week Rituals (which you can find on the Downloads page).
► The seventh thing to do is to prepare the “soil” of your mind and soul for Our Lady by “weeding-out” the world and “planting seeds” of Our Lady throughout this entire week that leads up to her birthday on September 8th. You can do this in many different ways. First of all add some short little prayers to Our Lady onto your usual devotions and prayers. It might be the recitation of the Angelus (morning, noon and evening), or perhaps the Memorare prayer (Remember O most loving Virgin Mary, that never was it know that anyone who had recourse to …etc.), or it could be the daily singing of some hymn to Our Lady, etc. Another way to “plant seeds” of Our Lady would be to make a daily reading from anyone of the countless books that there are in print about Mary―many of which are available for free online; or take various extracts for your reading from other internet resources; or you could focus on the chief virtues of Our Lady, as listed by St. Louis de Montfort in his True Devotion to Mary: “particularly her profound humility, her lively Faith, her blind obedience, her continual prayer, her universal mortification, her divine purity, her ardent charity, her heroic patience, her angelic sweetness and her divine wisdom. These are the ten principal virtues of the most holy Virgin” (True Devotion to Mary, §108). If you need help with this latter option, this website will give you some daily assistance, in the days that follow, by providing you with meditative material and spiritual readings on those then chief virtues.
► The eighth thing to do is to focus on imitating the chief virtues of Our Lady, as listed by St. Louis de Montfort in his True Devotion to Mary: “particularly her profound humility, her lively Faith, her blind obedience, her continual prayer, her universal mortification, her divine purity, her ardent charity, her heroic patience, her angelic sweetness and her divine wisdom. These are the ten principal virtues of the most holy Virgin” (True Devotion to Mary, §108). You could divide up the chief ten virtues among family members―keeping the allocated virtue throughout the whole build-up to Our Lady’s birthday. Or you could pick “a virtue per day” if you wish. If you need help with these options, this website will give you some daily assistance, in the days that follow, by providing you with meditative material and spiritual readings on those then chief virtues as well as ideas on how to practice those virtues in multiple scenarios.
► The ninth thing to do is to focus on the chief apparitions of Our Lady as we lead up to her birthday or to start on her birthday (for remember that in ancient times, you would celebrate big feasts until the octave or eighth day after the fast). A suggestion―and it merely a suggestion, for you can do as you like, change the order, change the dates, or even ignore the idea―would be:
September 1st or 8th: Our Lady of Guadalupe (Mexico) 1531
September 2nd or 9th: Our Lady of Good Success (Quito, Ecuador) late 1500s and early 1600s
September 3rd or 10th: Rue de Bac 1830 (Paris, France) the Miraculous Medal apparitions
September 3th or 11th: La Salette (France) 1846
September 5th or 12th: Lourdes (France) 1858
September 6th or 13th: Fatima (Portugal) 1917
September 7th or 14th: Akita (Japan) 1973
► The tenth thing to do is to prepare a little altar or oratory (place of prayer) for Our Lady’s birthday. It does not have to be an entire room, any dignified part of a room is acceptable if a separate exclusive room is not available. Decorate it with the best things that you have―cloth to cover the table; your best or favorite statue or image of Our Lady placed on it; candles and flowers to surround it; perhaps even have votive lights burning before it throughout the entire period, day and night, leading up to Our Lady’s birthday. As regards prayer―ensure that some prayers are guaranteed to be said before your little shrine or altar to Our Lady each and every day. Similarly, a little shrine could erected in your garden in readiness for her birthday.
► The eleventh thing to do is to gradually finalize the actual schedule you will use on Our Lady’s birthday. Here is an example of what you could do―but your own imagination and ingenuity will most likely better these very basic ideas:
(1) Start the day of September 8th, with a decent amount of FAMILY PRAYER before going to Mass (if Mass attendance is possible)―even if, or especially if, your family is not accustomed to saying morning prayers together as a family. This morning prayer session could include (a) the Daily Morning Offering, (b) an Act of Consecration to Our Lady, (c) at least one decade of the Rosary, but preferably all five decades of the Joyful Mysteries, for, on this day, you should aim at praying all 15 decades of the Rosary (or an extra 15 decades on top of the Rosaries you would normally pray) in honor of Our Lady and as present to her―otherwise you would not be giving her anything more than on every usual day, (d) make a short reading of one or a few paragraphs from anyone of the many books available on Our Lady, (e) follow the reading with the recitation or singing of the first Angelus of the day―morning, noon and evening―use bells if you have them, which are sounded during the invocations that precede each of the three Hail Marys, (f) finish with a hymn to Our Lady. All of this should take no more than around 30 minutes―give or take a few minutes.
(2) On the way to church for Mass, refrain from any worldly, trivial or vain talk and discussions, but sanctify the drive by either prayers being recited or someone reading something from a book on Our Lady―or even both. Alternatively, or additionally, you could have an informal discussion about Our Lady―which, if you have read a passage from a book, could be based upon that reading. The possibilities are really endless and go well beyond these meager suggestions.
(3) Arrange to do something special at church for Our Lady―either before, during or after Mass. You could recite, once more, your Act of Consecration to Our Lady as a family at her side altar. Or you could suggest that every family member write his or her own special prayer to Our Lady for her birthday―and then each of you could silently recite that personal prayer to Our Lady, either before, during or after Mass. Receive and offer your Holy Communions in honor of Our Lady. If the parish priest agrees and allows you, then you have a mini-hymn singing session to honor Our Lady after Mass. Or, even more daringly, get the priest to agree to Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament in honor of Our Lady, or even a little procession in her honor―though you might have to pay in advance for getting the priest’s agreement by doing lots of penance, fasting and praying beforehand.
(4) On the way home from Mass, perhaps there is a little shrine of Our Lady’s that you could visit on her birthday. Maybe Our Lady's birthday is the day to give birth to a shrine in her honor in your own garden! If not, then perhaps there is a church somewhere nearby that is dedicated to Our Lady―meaning that it has Our Lady’s name or one of her many titles incorporated in the name of the church, e.g. Our Lady of the Rosary, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Immaculate Conception, Queen of Angels, Queen of Peace, Our Lady of Fatima, etc. Make a short stop there and recite some prayers or sing some hymns in her honor―this could be an opportunity for praying the next 5 decades of the Rosary―-the Sorrowful Mysteries―or you could pray them later.
(5) Upon arriving home, pray the Angelus. Use the bells once again as you did during the morning Angelus. Remind everyone that this is Our Lady’s birthday and the focus is on her today. As a sacrifice for her, you could and should postpone all worldly activities for this one day―such as avoid watching worldly TV shows, listening to worldly music, going out to participate in worldly activities, etc.
(6) At some point you will have to eat lunch or dinner―make it a real banquet in honor of Our Lady. There are many possibilities by way of menus that could reflect a profound and beautiful symbolism of Our Lady, while also being delicious in the process. More on that later. Hopefully, without promising anything, the website might be able to present with a whole menu consisting of many courses, all of them symbolizing and reflecting Our Lady in some way―together with a print-out explanation of how and why the ingredients are symbolic of Our Lady. This is a mammoth task―thus no promises are made. Even if an entire multi-course menu might not be completed in time for her birthday―meaning designed and published several days before her birthday to allow for purchase of items and preparation of food―then at least some recipes will be available in good time.
(7) Get everyone involved in some way for preparing for an afternoon or evening with Our Lady. This coming week could be used productively in preparing a little family concert in her honor during her birthday. The concert could include hymns, songs, poetry, musical instruments (solo or as a group) or even recitations (speeches) about Our Lady’s miracles, interventions, apparitions, etc., or little thumbnail talks about certain saints who had a great devotion to Our Lady, recounting and relating how they showed their devotion to her.
(8) The concert could be followed by watching a movie about Our Lady. There are several available out there―but you need to plan early and act quickly to secure or rent one―unless you already have those movies in your library or possession.
(9) After the movie you could recite the remaining five EXTRA decades of the Rosary―the Glorious Mysteries―which should be additional to the decades you are accustomed to praying each day―otherwise where is the special present for Our Lady?). After the Rosary, you could recite or sing the evening Angelus―once again using bells in the manner described above.
(10) The evening meal could again contain foods that are symbolic of Our Lady―and this symbolism should be explained to those present at the meal, for they would otherwise be clueless and ignorant of the spiritual aspect of the meal.
(11) Finally, before retiring for the night, the night prayers (if you are used to saying them as a family) should have a very definite Marian flavor injected into them―to distinguish them and raise them a notch above the night prayers you are accustomed to praying. To finish night prayers, another short and inspiring reading from a book on Our Lady would be ideal as a last thought of the day. If you are accustomed to reading bedtime stories to the young ones before turning out the light, make sure you have a wonderful story based on Our Lady prepared.
All of the above constitutes the EXTERNAL ASPECTS of what is meant by TRUE DEVOTION to Our Lady, but these are mere pieces of firewood that need an interior flame of love to really set alight a true fire of devotion―for someone could perform all the above exteriorly or externally while having no real interior love or devotion while doing so. If you think the above is overwhelming, then realize that the word DEVOTION is a word that indicated a HIGH DEGREE of love and attention, as indicated above by St. Francis de Sales in his book, Introduction to the Devout Life, in which he speaks of and describes TRUE DEVOTION as follows:
“Devotion consists in a high degree of real love … In fact, all true and living devotion presupposes the love of God―and indeed it is neither more nor less than a very real love of God, though not always of the same kind. In so far as divine love enriches us―it is called GRACE, which makes us pleasing to God. In so far as it gives us the strength to do good―it is called CHARITY. But when it grows to such a degree of perfection that it makes us not only to do good, but rather moves us to do it carefully, frequently and promptly―it is called DEVOTION … In short, devotion is simply a spiritual activity and liveliness by means of which Divine Love works in us, and causes us to work briskly and lovingly; and, just as charity leads us to a general practice of all God’s Commandments, so devotion leads us to practice them readily and diligently. Therefore, we cannot call him, who neglects to observe all God’s Commandments, either good or devout, because in order to be good, a man must be filled with love, and, to be devout, he must further be very ready and apt to perform the deeds of love … The difference between love and devotion is just that which exists between fire and flame―love being a spiritual fire, which becomes devotion when it is fanned into a flame―and what devotion adds to the fire of love, is that flame which makes love become eager, energetic and diligent, not merely in obeying God’s Commandments, but in fulfilling His Divine Counsels and inspirations” (St. Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life, Part 1, Chapter 1).
September 2nd
SIX FULL DAYS TO GO BEFORE OUR LADY'S BIRTHDAY
SIX FULL DAYS TO GO BEFORE OUR LADY'S BIRTHDAY
Spiritual Preparation Before a Material Preparation
As already stated earlier—it is the spiritual preparation that is more important than any kind of material preparation. The soul comes before the body and all other accessories. We even have to acknowledge the truth of that in our own birthday party celebrations. We prefer to have a low-key material celebration that has very little by way of glitz-glamour-and-goodies, and to be surrounded with people who are sincere friends—rather than have all the bells-and-whistles of a birthday party but being surrounded by “fake friends” who are only there to enjoy the wine and dine side of things. Our Lord says something similar to this: “Well did Isaias prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: This people honoureth Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. In vain do they worship Me!” (Mark 7:6-7).
This does not mean that there should be no material focus or no material preparation—that side of things is necessary, but it should be subservient to the spiritual and assist the spiritual—not distract from it, take away from it or replace it in importance. That is something that is hard for most people to achieve in this materialistic world, where they have been trained by culture and media to give precedence to the material over the spiritual.
No Interest At All
There may be some in your family who are just not interested in celebrating Our Lady’s birthday for whatever reason or excuse they give. The ultimate reason for their lukewarmness will inevitably be linked to the fact that they have a large estimation of themselves and little esteem for Our Lady. They will, of course, protest that they love her (in theory), but cannot motivate themselves to manifest and show that love (in practice). They are like the proverbial “armchair critic”, “armchair quarterback”, “armchair soccer star”, etc. ― who can “talk-the-talk” but will never get up and “walk-the-walk” to show you how it is done. They will say: “I love Our Lady! I don’t have to prove it!” Sit those bigheads down and read them the following quotes:
“What shall it profit, my brethren, if a man says he hath Faith [or says he loves Our Lady], but hath not works? Shall Faith be able to save him? … Faith [or loves Our Lady], if it have not works, is dead in itself … Thou believest that there is one God. Thou dost well: the devils also believe and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that Faith [or love of Our Lady] without works is dead? … For even as the body without the spirit is dead; so also Faith [or love of Our Lady] without works is dead!” (James 2:14-26).
Next, ask the question: “Don’t you owe Our Lady something?” Read out her words spoken at La Salette, where she laments our lack of gratitude towards her: “I have suffered all of the time for all of you! If I do not wish my Son to abandon you, I must take it upon myself to pray for this continually! And all of you think little of this! In vain you will pray! In vain you will act! You will never be able to make up for the trouble I have taken over for all of you!”
Next, point out that Our Lady, in a sense, is inviting them to her birthday celebrations and read out to them the following Scriptural passage: “The Kingdom of Heaven is likened to a king who made a marriage for his son [or God who organized a birthday celebration for Our Lady]. And he sent his servants, to call them that were invited to the marriage; and they would not come. Again he sent other servants, saying: ‘Tell them that were invited, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my calves and fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come ye to the marriage!”‘ But they neglected, and went their own ways, one to his farm, and another to his merchandise. And the rest laid hands on his servants, and having treated them contumeliously, put them to death. But when the king had heard of it, he was angry, and sending his armies, he destroyed those murderers, and burnt their city. Then he saith to his servants: ‘The marriage indeed is ready; but they that were invited were not worthy! Go ye therefore into the highways; and as many as you shall find, call to the marriage!’ And his servants going forth into the ways, gathered together all that they found, both bad and good: and the marriage was filled with guests. And the king went in to see the guests: and he saw there a man who had not on a wedding garment. And he saith to him: ‘Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment?’ [wearing a wedding garment means wearing special clothes for the weeding feast, not to have a wedding garment on means that you are treating that day and that event like any other day and any other event, and that it is not special to you] But he was silent. Then the king said to the waiters: ‘Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the exterior darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen!’” (Matthew 22:2-14).
Next, ask them to reflect on the reading from the Mass of the Immaculate Heart of Mary:
“As the vine I have brought forth a pleasant odor: and my flowers are the fruit of honor and riches. I am the mother of fair love, and of fear, and of knowledge, and of holy hope. In me is all grace of the way and of the truth, in me is all hope of life and of virtue. Come over to me, all ye that desire me, and be filled with my fruits. For my spirit is sweet above honey, and my inheritance above honey and the honeycomb. My memory is unto everlasting generations. They that eat me, shall yet hunger: and they that drink me, shall yet thirst. He that listens and obeys me, shall not be confounded: and they that work by me, shall not sin. They that explain me shall have life everlasting” (Epistle from the Mass of the Immaculate of Mary, Ecclesiasticus 24:23-31).
Then read and reflect upon the following partial extract Epistle from the Mass of the Immaculate Conception of Mary:
“Now therefore, ye children, hear me: Blessed are they that keep my ways. Hear instruction and be wise, and refuse it not. Blessed is the man that heareth me, and that watcheth daily at my gates, and waiteth at the posts of my doors. [35] He that shall find me, shall find life, and shall have salvation from the Lord” (Proverbs 8:32-35)―the verse that immediately follows is not included in the Mass reading, but it is very telling and ominous: “But he that shall sin against me, shall hurt his own soul. All that hate me love death” (Proverbs 8:36).
► Our Lady herself said to the Venerable Mary of Agreda:
“All my feasts thou shouldst celebrate with a sincere devotion and invite the saints and angels to assist thee therein; especially the feast of the Immaculate Conception, in which I was so highly favored by the divine power and from which I derived so much joy. In these times, more than formerly, I am solicitous of seeing it acknowledged by men and of their praising the Most High for this extraordinary miracle. On the day of thy own birth into the world thou shouldst render special thanks to the Lord, in imitation of me, and perform some extra work in His service. Above all thou shouldst resolve thenceforth to amend thy life and to commence to labor in this anew. And all the mortals, instead of spending the anniversary of their birth in demonstration of vain earthly joy, should make similar resolutions.” (Venerable Mary of Agreda, The Mystical City of God).
To cap it all off, read out the following quotes by the saints:
► St. Louis de Montfort writes: “Mary is the excellent masterpiece of the Most High … The saints have said admirable things of this holy city of God; and, as they themselves avow, they were never more eloquent and more content than when they spoke of her. Yet, after all they have said, they cry out that the height of her merits, which she has raised up to the throne of the Divinity, cannot be fully seen … that, we must cry out with the saints: “De Maria numquam satis”—“Of Mary there is never enough.” We have not yet praised, exalted, honored, loved and served Mary as we ought. She deserves still more praise, still more respect, still more love, and still more service.” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary, §5 to §11).
► St. Bernard of Clairvaux, a Doctor of the Church, writes: “All of you, who see yourselves amid the tides of the world, tossed by storms and tempests rather than walking on the land, do not turn your eyes away from this shining star, unless you want to be overwhelmed by the hurricane. If temptation storms, or you fall upon the rocks of tribulation, look to the star: Call upon Mary! If you are tossed by the waves of pride or ambition, detraction or envy, look to the star, call upon Mary. If anger or avarice or the desires of the flesh dash against the ship of your soul, turn your eyes to Mary. If troubled by the enormity of your crimes, ashamed of your guilty conscience, terrified by dread of the judgment, you begin to sink into the gulf of sadness or the abyss of despair, think of Mary. In dangers, in anguish, in doubt, think of Mary, call upon Mary. Let her name be even on your lips, ever in your heart; and the better to obtain the help of her prayers, imitate the example of her life. Following her, thou strayest not; invoking her, thou despairest not; thinking of her, thou wanderest not; upheld by her, thou fallest not; shielded by her, thou fearest not; guided by her, thou growest not weary; favored by her, thou reachest the goal.”
Still not interested in truly honoring her on her birthday, then read about the potential consequences of negligence, lukewarmness and indifference to her service and her honor:
► St. Albert the Great, a Doctor of the Church, says: “They who are not thy servants, O Mary, shall perish.”
► St. Bonaventure, a Doctor of the Church, repeats the same thought when he says: “They who neglect the service of Mary shall die in their sins.” And again: “For them, from whom Mary turns away her face, there is not even a hope of salvation.”
St. Ignatius of Antioch, a Father of the Church, a martyr of the second century, writes: “A sinner can be saved only through the Holy Virgin who, by her merciful prayers, obtains salvation for so many who, according to strict justice, would be lost.”
► St. Alphonsus Liguori, a Doctor of the Church, says: “It is impossible that a servant of Mary be damned, provided he serves her faithfully and commends himself to her maternal protection.”
► St. Anselm, a Doctor of the Church, writes: “He who turns to thee and is regarded by thee cannot be lost.”
► St. Antonine is of the same opinion. He says: “As it is impossible for them from whom Mary turns away her eyes of mercy to be saved, so it is necessary that they to whom she turns her eyes of mercy and for whom she intercedes to be saved and glorified.”
We Show an Interest in Those Whom We Love
To profess to love something and have no interest in what we profess to love is a blatant contradiction―for a natural consequence of love is to be greatly interested in what we love and to pursue that interest as much as possible. That is how and why married couples fall apart―because they gradually show less and less sincere interest in each other. As a side note, it is said the average American married couple only speak to each other for a total of 10 minutes a day! No wonder that most marriages fail!
If we profess to love Our Lady, then where is the interest that proves that love? As her birthday approaches, the question has to be asked: “What do know about Our Lady’s conception and birth? What do you know about the events―both natural and mystical―that occurred before her birth and in preparation for her conception and birth?” Now would be a good time―with only 4 days to go to her birthday―to refresh your memory, or discover for the first time, the wonderful events that surrounded her conception and birth. You may already have books that deal with the subject―if not, then here are the pages that relate what happened [click here]. Don't waste the few days that are left!
Religion is Not a Private Devotion―Devotion to Mary is Not a Private Thing
The modern world seeks to relegate religion to private life, refusing religion its rightful place in the public sphere. It is not just over individuals that God and Christ wish to reign―but also over nations as nations. This is the whole essence of the doctrine commonly referred to as “The Social Reign of Jesus Christ”―whereby He must rule over nations as well as individuals. The same is true for Our Lady―she is not a public option, but a public obligation―as Our Lady said at Fatima: “Jesus wishes to establish the devotion to my Immaculate Heart throughout the world (June 1917) ... God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart” (July 1917).
This has inescapable consequences for each and every family, each and every school, each and every parish―the consequence is that devotion to Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart is an obligation and not an option for every family as a family, every school as a school, and every parish as a parish. Is that true of your family, your school, your parish?
Don't Cheapen Devotion! Don't Cheapen Mary!
Before you say “YES!”―remember that devotion is not a cheap word, it is not a crummy love, it is not a counterfeit coin to be passed off as the real thing! Devotion―by its very definition―is something that stands-out; something way above the average; something notable, something noble! Let us once again turn to the Doctor of the Church, St. Francis de Sales, for his definition or description of what he calls “true devotion”―as opposed to a false or fake devotion:
“Devotion consists in a high degree of real love … In fact, all true and living devotion presupposes the love of God―and indeed it is neither more nor less than a very real love of God, though not always of the same kind. In so far as divine love enriches us―it is called GRACE, which makes us pleasing to God. In so far as it gives us the strength to do good―it is called CHARITY. But when it grows to such a degree of perfection that it makes us not only to do good, but rather moves us to do it carefully, frequently and promptly―it is called DEVOTION … In short, devotion is simply a spiritual activity and liveliness by means of which Divine Love works in us, and causes us to work briskly and lovingly; and, just as charity leads us to a general practice of all God’s Commandments, so devotion leads us to practice them readily and diligently. Therefore, we cannot call him, who neglects to observe all God’s Commandments, either good or devout, because in order to be good, a man must be filled with love, and, to be devout, he must further be very ready and apt to perform the deeds of love … The difference between love and devotion is just that which exists between fire and flame―love being a spiritual fire, which becomes devotion when it is fanned into a flame―and what devotion adds to the fire of love, is that flame which makes love become eager, energetic and diligent, not merely in obeying God’s Commandments, but in fulfilling His Divine Counsels and inspirations” (St. Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life, Part 1, Chapter 1).
Does that sound like your family, your school, your parish, with regard to devotion to Our Lady in general and her Immaculate Heart in particular? Is there no room for improvement? Are you already the “shining light” and “race leader” in devotion to Our Lady? If not, then improvements can and must be made! Love and devotion is like the spiritual life in the soul―it is either increasing or decreasing―there is no such thing as standing still or treading water in the spiritual life. Is your devotion gradually increasing or gradually decreasing? Is it growing more fervent by the day, the week, the month, the year―or is it losing its fervor, losing its intensity, losing its fire with every day, week, month and year?
Stepping-It-Up―Stoking the Fire
The more we look forward to something, the more we anticipate it, the more we prepare for it, the more we read about it and talk about it. Those should be your primary means of “stoking-up-the-fire” in preparation for Our Lady’s birthday. If it is her birthday that we are celebrating, then it is birthday related things we should be reading and talking about. Use the link given [click here] to a least get a general idea of the events surrounding Our Lady’s birthday―you may well have other more detailed books―read a little (or a lot) each day―not just for yourself, but for all the family. This is not private thing, but a public thing―as already stated above. No family member should be given an option, but each should see it as an obligation to prepare and worthily and spiritually celebrate the second greatest birthday in the history of the world.
As already stated earlier—it is the spiritual preparation that is more important than any kind of material preparation. The soul comes before the body and all other accessories. We even have to acknowledge the truth of that in our own birthday party celebrations. We prefer to have a low-key material celebration that has very little by way of glitz-glamour-and-goodies, and to be surrounded with people who are sincere friends—rather than have all the bells-and-whistles of a birthday party but being surrounded by “fake friends” who are only there to enjoy the wine and dine side of things. Our Lord says something similar to this: “Well did Isaias prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: This people honoureth Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. In vain do they worship Me!” (Mark 7:6-7).
This does not mean that there should be no material focus or no material preparation—that side of things is necessary, but it should be subservient to the spiritual and assist the spiritual—not distract from it, take away from it or replace it in importance. That is something that is hard for most people to achieve in this materialistic world, where they have been trained by culture and media to give precedence to the material over the spiritual.
No Interest At All
There may be some in your family who are just not interested in celebrating Our Lady’s birthday for whatever reason or excuse they give. The ultimate reason for their lukewarmness will inevitably be linked to the fact that they have a large estimation of themselves and little esteem for Our Lady. They will, of course, protest that they love her (in theory), but cannot motivate themselves to manifest and show that love (in practice). They are like the proverbial “armchair critic”, “armchair quarterback”, “armchair soccer star”, etc. ― who can “talk-the-talk” but will never get up and “walk-the-walk” to show you how it is done. They will say: “I love Our Lady! I don’t have to prove it!” Sit those bigheads down and read them the following quotes:
“What shall it profit, my brethren, if a man says he hath Faith [or says he loves Our Lady], but hath not works? Shall Faith be able to save him? … Faith [or loves Our Lady], if it have not works, is dead in itself … Thou believest that there is one God. Thou dost well: the devils also believe and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that Faith [or love of Our Lady] without works is dead? … For even as the body without the spirit is dead; so also Faith [or love of Our Lady] without works is dead!” (James 2:14-26).
Next, ask the question: “Don’t you owe Our Lady something?” Read out her words spoken at La Salette, where she laments our lack of gratitude towards her: “I have suffered all of the time for all of you! If I do not wish my Son to abandon you, I must take it upon myself to pray for this continually! And all of you think little of this! In vain you will pray! In vain you will act! You will never be able to make up for the trouble I have taken over for all of you!”
Next, point out that Our Lady, in a sense, is inviting them to her birthday celebrations and read out to them the following Scriptural passage: “The Kingdom of Heaven is likened to a king who made a marriage for his son [or God who organized a birthday celebration for Our Lady]. And he sent his servants, to call them that were invited to the marriage; and they would not come. Again he sent other servants, saying: ‘Tell them that were invited, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my calves and fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come ye to the marriage!”‘ But they neglected, and went their own ways, one to his farm, and another to his merchandise. And the rest laid hands on his servants, and having treated them contumeliously, put them to death. But when the king had heard of it, he was angry, and sending his armies, he destroyed those murderers, and burnt their city. Then he saith to his servants: ‘The marriage indeed is ready; but they that were invited were not worthy! Go ye therefore into the highways; and as many as you shall find, call to the marriage!’ And his servants going forth into the ways, gathered together all that they found, both bad and good: and the marriage was filled with guests. And the king went in to see the guests: and he saw there a man who had not on a wedding garment. And he saith to him: ‘Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment?’ [wearing a wedding garment means wearing special clothes for the weeding feast, not to have a wedding garment on means that you are treating that day and that event like any other day and any other event, and that it is not special to you] But he was silent. Then the king said to the waiters: ‘Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the exterior darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen!’” (Matthew 22:2-14).
Next, ask them to reflect on the reading from the Mass of the Immaculate Heart of Mary:
“As the vine I have brought forth a pleasant odor: and my flowers are the fruit of honor and riches. I am the mother of fair love, and of fear, and of knowledge, and of holy hope. In me is all grace of the way and of the truth, in me is all hope of life and of virtue. Come over to me, all ye that desire me, and be filled with my fruits. For my spirit is sweet above honey, and my inheritance above honey and the honeycomb. My memory is unto everlasting generations. They that eat me, shall yet hunger: and they that drink me, shall yet thirst. He that listens and obeys me, shall not be confounded: and they that work by me, shall not sin. They that explain me shall have life everlasting” (Epistle from the Mass of the Immaculate of Mary, Ecclesiasticus 24:23-31).
Then read and reflect upon the following partial extract Epistle from the Mass of the Immaculate Conception of Mary:
“Now therefore, ye children, hear me: Blessed are they that keep my ways. Hear instruction and be wise, and refuse it not. Blessed is the man that heareth me, and that watcheth daily at my gates, and waiteth at the posts of my doors. [35] He that shall find me, shall find life, and shall have salvation from the Lord” (Proverbs 8:32-35)―the verse that immediately follows is not included in the Mass reading, but it is very telling and ominous: “But he that shall sin against me, shall hurt his own soul. All that hate me love death” (Proverbs 8:36).
► Our Lady herself said to the Venerable Mary of Agreda:
“All my feasts thou shouldst celebrate with a sincere devotion and invite the saints and angels to assist thee therein; especially the feast of the Immaculate Conception, in which I was so highly favored by the divine power and from which I derived so much joy. In these times, more than formerly, I am solicitous of seeing it acknowledged by men and of their praising the Most High for this extraordinary miracle. On the day of thy own birth into the world thou shouldst render special thanks to the Lord, in imitation of me, and perform some extra work in His service. Above all thou shouldst resolve thenceforth to amend thy life and to commence to labor in this anew. And all the mortals, instead of spending the anniversary of their birth in demonstration of vain earthly joy, should make similar resolutions.” (Venerable Mary of Agreda, The Mystical City of God).
To cap it all off, read out the following quotes by the saints:
► St. Louis de Montfort writes: “Mary is the excellent masterpiece of the Most High … The saints have said admirable things of this holy city of God; and, as they themselves avow, they were never more eloquent and more content than when they spoke of her. Yet, after all they have said, they cry out that the height of her merits, which she has raised up to the throne of the Divinity, cannot be fully seen … that, we must cry out with the saints: “De Maria numquam satis”—“Of Mary there is never enough.” We have not yet praised, exalted, honored, loved and served Mary as we ought. She deserves still more praise, still more respect, still more love, and still more service.” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary, §5 to §11).
► St. Bernard of Clairvaux, a Doctor of the Church, writes: “All of you, who see yourselves amid the tides of the world, tossed by storms and tempests rather than walking on the land, do not turn your eyes away from this shining star, unless you want to be overwhelmed by the hurricane. If temptation storms, or you fall upon the rocks of tribulation, look to the star: Call upon Mary! If you are tossed by the waves of pride or ambition, detraction or envy, look to the star, call upon Mary. If anger or avarice or the desires of the flesh dash against the ship of your soul, turn your eyes to Mary. If troubled by the enormity of your crimes, ashamed of your guilty conscience, terrified by dread of the judgment, you begin to sink into the gulf of sadness or the abyss of despair, think of Mary. In dangers, in anguish, in doubt, think of Mary, call upon Mary. Let her name be even on your lips, ever in your heart; and the better to obtain the help of her prayers, imitate the example of her life. Following her, thou strayest not; invoking her, thou despairest not; thinking of her, thou wanderest not; upheld by her, thou fallest not; shielded by her, thou fearest not; guided by her, thou growest not weary; favored by her, thou reachest the goal.”
Still not interested in truly honoring her on her birthday, then read about the potential consequences of negligence, lukewarmness and indifference to her service and her honor:
► St. Albert the Great, a Doctor of the Church, says: “They who are not thy servants, O Mary, shall perish.”
► St. Bonaventure, a Doctor of the Church, repeats the same thought when he says: “They who neglect the service of Mary shall die in their sins.” And again: “For them, from whom Mary turns away her face, there is not even a hope of salvation.”
St. Ignatius of Antioch, a Father of the Church, a martyr of the second century, writes: “A sinner can be saved only through the Holy Virgin who, by her merciful prayers, obtains salvation for so many who, according to strict justice, would be lost.”
► St. Alphonsus Liguori, a Doctor of the Church, says: “It is impossible that a servant of Mary be damned, provided he serves her faithfully and commends himself to her maternal protection.”
► St. Anselm, a Doctor of the Church, writes: “He who turns to thee and is regarded by thee cannot be lost.”
► St. Antonine is of the same opinion. He says: “As it is impossible for them from whom Mary turns away her eyes of mercy to be saved, so it is necessary that they to whom she turns her eyes of mercy and for whom she intercedes to be saved and glorified.”
We Show an Interest in Those Whom We Love
To profess to love something and have no interest in what we profess to love is a blatant contradiction―for a natural consequence of love is to be greatly interested in what we love and to pursue that interest as much as possible. That is how and why married couples fall apart―because they gradually show less and less sincere interest in each other. As a side note, it is said the average American married couple only speak to each other for a total of 10 minutes a day! No wonder that most marriages fail!
If we profess to love Our Lady, then where is the interest that proves that love? As her birthday approaches, the question has to be asked: “What do know about Our Lady’s conception and birth? What do you know about the events―both natural and mystical―that occurred before her birth and in preparation for her conception and birth?” Now would be a good time―with only 4 days to go to her birthday―to refresh your memory, or discover for the first time, the wonderful events that surrounded her conception and birth. You may already have books that deal with the subject―if not, then here are the pages that relate what happened [click here]. Don't waste the few days that are left!
Religion is Not a Private Devotion―Devotion to Mary is Not a Private Thing
The modern world seeks to relegate religion to private life, refusing religion its rightful place in the public sphere. It is not just over individuals that God and Christ wish to reign―but also over nations as nations. This is the whole essence of the doctrine commonly referred to as “The Social Reign of Jesus Christ”―whereby He must rule over nations as well as individuals. The same is true for Our Lady―she is not a public option, but a public obligation―as Our Lady said at Fatima: “Jesus wishes to establish the devotion to my Immaculate Heart throughout the world (June 1917) ... God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart” (July 1917).
This has inescapable consequences for each and every family, each and every school, each and every parish―the consequence is that devotion to Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart is an obligation and not an option for every family as a family, every school as a school, and every parish as a parish. Is that true of your family, your school, your parish?
Don't Cheapen Devotion! Don't Cheapen Mary!
Before you say “YES!”―remember that devotion is not a cheap word, it is not a crummy love, it is not a counterfeit coin to be passed off as the real thing! Devotion―by its very definition―is something that stands-out; something way above the average; something notable, something noble! Let us once again turn to the Doctor of the Church, St. Francis de Sales, for his definition or description of what he calls “true devotion”―as opposed to a false or fake devotion:
“Devotion consists in a high degree of real love … In fact, all true and living devotion presupposes the love of God―and indeed it is neither more nor less than a very real love of God, though not always of the same kind. In so far as divine love enriches us―it is called GRACE, which makes us pleasing to God. In so far as it gives us the strength to do good―it is called CHARITY. But when it grows to such a degree of perfection that it makes us not only to do good, but rather moves us to do it carefully, frequently and promptly―it is called DEVOTION … In short, devotion is simply a spiritual activity and liveliness by means of which Divine Love works in us, and causes us to work briskly and lovingly; and, just as charity leads us to a general practice of all God’s Commandments, so devotion leads us to practice them readily and diligently. Therefore, we cannot call him, who neglects to observe all God’s Commandments, either good or devout, because in order to be good, a man must be filled with love, and, to be devout, he must further be very ready and apt to perform the deeds of love … The difference between love and devotion is just that which exists between fire and flame―love being a spiritual fire, which becomes devotion when it is fanned into a flame―and what devotion adds to the fire of love, is that flame which makes love become eager, energetic and diligent, not merely in obeying God’s Commandments, but in fulfilling His Divine Counsels and inspirations” (St. Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life, Part 1, Chapter 1).
Does that sound like your family, your school, your parish, with regard to devotion to Our Lady in general and her Immaculate Heart in particular? Is there no room for improvement? Are you already the “shining light” and “race leader” in devotion to Our Lady? If not, then improvements can and must be made! Love and devotion is like the spiritual life in the soul―it is either increasing or decreasing―there is no such thing as standing still or treading water in the spiritual life. Is your devotion gradually increasing or gradually decreasing? Is it growing more fervent by the day, the week, the month, the year―or is it losing its fervor, losing its intensity, losing its fire with every day, week, month and year?
Stepping-It-Up―Stoking the Fire
The more we look forward to something, the more we anticipate it, the more we prepare for it, the more we read about it and talk about it. Those should be your primary means of “stoking-up-the-fire” in preparation for Our Lady’s birthday. If it is her birthday that we are celebrating, then it is birthday related things we should be reading and talking about. Use the link given [click here] to a least get a general idea of the events surrounding Our Lady’s birthday―you may well have other more detailed books―read a little (or a lot) each day―not just for yourself, but for all the family. This is not private thing, but a public thing―as already stated above. No family member should be given an option, but each should see it as an obligation to prepare and worthily and spiritually celebrate the second greatest birthday in the history of the world.
September 2nd
SIX FULL DAYS TO GO BEFORE OUR LADY'S BIRTHDAY
SIX FULL DAYS TO GO BEFORE OUR LADY'S BIRTHDAY
September 3rd
FIVE FULL DAYS TO GO BEFORE OUR LADY'S BIRTHDAY
FIVE FULL DAYS TO GO BEFORE OUR LADY'S BIRTHDAY
September 4th
FOUR FULL DAYS TO GO BEFORE OUR LADY'S BIRTHDAY
FOUR FULL DAYS TO GO BEFORE OUR LADY'S BIRTHDAY
September 5th
THREE FULL DAYS TO GO BEFORE OUR LADY'S BIRTHDAY
THREE FULL DAYS TO GO BEFORE OUR LADY'S BIRTHDAY
September 6th
TWO FULL DAYS TO GO BEFORE OUR LADY'S BIRTHDAY
TWO FULL DAYS TO GO BEFORE OUR LADY'S BIRTHDAY
September 7th
ONE MORE DAY TO GO BEFORE OUR LADY'S BIRTHDAY
ONE MORE DAY TO GO BEFORE OUR LADY'S BIRTHDAY
It Is Here! But Who Is Here For It?
The vigil of the Nativity of Our Lady is upon us! Tomorrow we shall celebrate the second most important birthday in history―after that of Our Lord Jesus Christ! Can there be a soul who is not filled with joyful anticipation? Sadly to say, most souls are empty of all such anticipatory joy―having placed their joys and ambitions in the things of the world. The vast majority of plans for Tueday have already been made―and Our Lady is not really a part of those plans, except, perhaps, only in passing. Most families will end up doing little or nothing extra in honor of Our Lady on this great day.
God invites us to his banquet for Mary, but most are too busy to attend―they have other things to do―just as in the very appropriate parable Our Lord related:
“A certain man made a great supper, and invited many. And he sent his servant at the hour of supper to say to them that were invited, that they should come, for now all things are ready. And they began all at once to make excuse. The first said to him: ‘I have bought a farm, and I must needs go out and see it! I pray thee, hold me excused!’ And another said: ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to try them! I pray thee, hold me excused! And another said: ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come!’ And the servant returning, told these things to his lord. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant: ‘Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the feeble, and the blind, and the lame!’ And the servant said: ‘Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room!’ And the Lord said to the servant: ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled! But I say unto you, that none of those men that were invited, shall taste of my supper!’” (Luke 14:16-24).
She Works Hard and Non-Stop―But Gets Little Pay!
As you probably know, there is no sleeping in Heaven―we shall be eternally awake―which is not a bad thing, because you won’t miss anything by sleeping, or be late for anything by sleeping-in. Thus, in this sense, Our Lady is putting-in a 24 hour working day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year! Though, in Heaven, there will be no time as we know it! Hmm! Does that mean you will have no time for anything? No, on the contrary, you will not be constrained by time―for everything will be seen as in the present moment, in a kind of an “Eternal Now”―which is how God sees the past, the present and the future―all in the “now”, all in the present moment, an eternal moment. However, back to Our Lady―who is interceding for us (without sleeping) constantly. What reward have we given her? How much gratitude have we shown her? How much have we appreciated this?
Our Lady herself tells us the answer at La Salette: “I have suffered all of the time for all of you! If I do not wish my Son to abandon you, I must take it upon myself to pray for this continually! And all of you think little of this! In vain you will pray! In vain you will act! You will never be able to make up for the trouble I have taken over for all of you!”
To the Venerable Mary of Agreda Our Lady said something similar: “I will also promise them my continual and efficacious intercession with my most holy Son, if they do not displease me! For this purpose thou shouldst exhort them to continual love and devotion toward me, engrafting it in their hearts; in being thus faithful they will attain all that thou wishest for them, and much more―for I will obtain it for them.”
Give Our Lady the Birthday Present of a Change for a Change
Quite honestly and frankly, the best present we could all give Our Lady is TO CHANGE! If anyone thinks that Heaven is totally happy with them―then they need to see a psychiatrist! What Holy Scripture says of us in relation to God, could also be said of us in relation to Our Lady:
“The Lord hath looked down from Heaven upon the children of men, to see if there be any that understand and seek God. They are corrupt, and are become abominable in their ways: there is none that doth good, no not one. They are all gone aside, they are become unprofitable together: there is none that doth good, no not one. Their throat is an open sepulcher―with their tongues they acted deceitfully; the poison of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; their feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and unhappiness in their ways: and the way of peace they have not known: there is no fear of God before their eyes. They have not called upon the Lord: there have they trembled for fear, where there was no fear!” (Psalm 13:1-5). How true―how sadly true―that is! Those lines perfectly typify modern man. We are more afraid of losing our job, or losing our money, than we are of losing God or losing our soul!
We need to change! To change, we need a change of heart. God is willing to let us “trade-in our old heart for a new heart”― “I will give them one heart, and will put a new spirit in their bowels: and I will take away the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh” (Ezechiel 11:19) … “Cast away from you all your transgressions, by which you have transgressed, and make to yourselves a new heart, and a new spirit!” (Ezechiel 18:31) … “I will give you a new heart, and put a new spirit within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and will give you a heart of flesh!” (Ezechiel 36:26).
Change What?
Well, as the above quotes say, change your heart. The word “heart” immediately evokes the idea of love. Any true mother will tell you that, on her birthday, she would rather receive the love of her children than lots of presents and no love. Just as the soul is more important than the body, so too is the spiritual more important than the material. As they say with regard to presents: “It is not the gift, but the thought that counts!” ― meaning that an inexpensive, trivial, inconsequential little gift, given with a lot of love (thought), is of more value than a magnificent, expensive, striking gift being given with little love or thoughtfulness. That is why St. Louis de Montfort says that the power of a mere sigh by Mary exceeds the power of all the prayers and sacrifices of all the saints put together: “Mary such great power against the devils that—as they have often been obliged to confess, in spite of themselves, by the mouths of the possessed—they fear one of her sighs for a soul more than the prayers of all the saints, and one of her threats against them more than all other torments” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary, §52).
The reason why one mere sigh of Our Lady’s outweighs all the prayers of the saints is simply down to her love of God. Thus it is said: “It matters not so much as to what you do, but the love that you do it with!” That is where the chief change needs to take place. We not really love God, Our Lord, or Our Lady as much as we should. God does not command the impossible and God has commanded that we love Him with ALL our heart, mind, soul and strength: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength. This is the first commandment” (Mark 12:30) … “Jesus said to him: ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment!’” (Matthew 22:37-38). You could say that being holy means loving God wholly. “Love therefore is the fulfilling of the law” (Romans 13:10).
Thus Our Lady says: “Thou must continue to lead a life such as is required by the grace and gifts of the Most High, believing and hoping in the Lord, loving, praising and adoring Him in spirit and in truth, no matter what changes there may be in time, occupation or place, He is in all things and He wishes to be loved and served by all rational creatures … And tell me, if, in exchange for this forgetfulness and scorn of the world, God look upon thee with eyes of sweetest love, why shouldst thou not buy so cheaply what is worth an infinite price?” (Our Lady to the Venerable Mary of Agreda, The Mystical City of God).
The vigil of the Nativity of Our Lady is upon us! Tomorrow we shall celebrate the second most important birthday in history―after that of Our Lord Jesus Christ! Can there be a soul who is not filled with joyful anticipation? Sadly to say, most souls are empty of all such anticipatory joy―having placed their joys and ambitions in the things of the world. The vast majority of plans for Tueday have already been made―and Our Lady is not really a part of those plans, except, perhaps, only in passing. Most families will end up doing little or nothing extra in honor of Our Lady on this great day.
God invites us to his banquet for Mary, but most are too busy to attend―they have other things to do―just as in the very appropriate parable Our Lord related:
“A certain man made a great supper, and invited many. And he sent his servant at the hour of supper to say to them that were invited, that they should come, for now all things are ready. And they began all at once to make excuse. The first said to him: ‘I have bought a farm, and I must needs go out and see it! I pray thee, hold me excused!’ And another said: ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to try them! I pray thee, hold me excused! And another said: ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come!’ And the servant returning, told these things to his lord. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant: ‘Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the feeble, and the blind, and the lame!’ And the servant said: ‘Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room!’ And the Lord said to the servant: ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled! But I say unto you, that none of those men that were invited, shall taste of my supper!’” (Luke 14:16-24).
She Works Hard and Non-Stop―But Gets Little Pay!
As you probably know, there is no sleeping in Heaven―we shall be eternally awake―which is not a bad thing, because you won’t miss anything by sleeping, or be late for anything by sleeping-in. Thus, in this sense, Our Lady is putting-in a 24 hour working day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year! Though, in Heaven, there will be no time as we know it! Hmm! Does that mean you will have no time for anything? No, on the contrary, you will not be constrained by time―for everything will be seen as in the present moment, in a kind of an “Eternal Now”―which is how God sees the past, the present and the future―all in the “now”, all in the present moment, an eternal moment. However, back to Our Lady―who is interceding for us (without sleeping) constantly. What reward have we given her? How much gratitude have we shown her? How much have we appreciated this?
Our Lady herself tells us the answer at La Salette: “I have suffered all of the time for all of you! If I do not wish my Son to abandon you, I must take it upon myself to pray for this continually! And all of you think little of this! In vain you will pray! In vain you will act! You will never be able to make up for the trouble I have taken over for all of you!”
To the Venerable Mary of Agreda Our Lady said something similar: “I will also promise them my continual and efficacious intercession with my most holy Son, if they do not displease me! For this purpose thou shouldst exhort them to continual love and devotion toward me, engrafting it in their hearts; in being thus faithful they will attain all that thou wishest for them, and much more―for I will obtain it for them.”
Give Our Lady the Birthday Present of a Change for a Change
Quite honestly and frankly, the best present we could all give Our Lady is TO CHANGE! If anyone thinks that Heaven is totally happy with them―then they need to see a psychiatrist! What Holy Scripture says of us in relation to God, could also be said of us in relation to Our Lady:
“The Lord hath looked down from Heaven upon the children of men, to see if there be any that understand and seek God. They are corrupt, and are become abominable in their ways: there is none that doth good, no not one. They are all gone aside, they are become unprofitable together: there is none that doth good, no not one. Their throat is an open sepulcher―with their tongues they acted deceitfully; the poison of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; their feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and unhappiness in their ways: and the way of peace they have not known: there is no fear of God before their eyes. They have not called upon the Lord: there have they trembled for fear, where there was no fear!” (Psalm 13:1-5). How true―how sadly true―that is! Those lines perfectly typify modern man. We are more afraid of losing our job, or losing our money, than we are of losing God or losing our soul!
We need to change! To change, we need a change of heart. God is willing to let us “trade-in our old heart for a new heart”― “I will give them one heart, and will put a new spirit in their bowels: and I will take away the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh” (Ezechiel 11:19) … “Cast away from you all your transgressions, by which you have transgressed, and make to yourselves a new heart, and a new spirit!” (Ezechiel 18:31) … “I will give you a new heart, and put a new spirit within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and will give you a heart of flesh!” (Ezechiel 36:26).
Change What?
Well, as the above quotes say, change your heart. The word “heart” immediately evokes the idea of love. Any true mother will tell you that, on her birthday, she would rather receive the love of her children than lots of presents and no love. Just as the soul is more important than the body, so too is the spiritual more important than the material. As they say with regard to presents: “It is not the gift, but the thought that counts!” ― meaning that an inexpensive, trivial, inconsequential little gift, given with a lot of love (thought), is of more value than a magnificent, expensive, striking gift being given with little love or thoughtfulness. That is why St. Louis de Montfort says that the power of a mere sigh by Mary exceeds the power of all the prayers and sacrifices of all the saints put together: “Mary such great power against the devils that—as they have often been obliged to confess, in spite of themselves, by the mouths of the possessed—they fear one of her sighs for a soul more than the prayers of all the saints, and one of her threats against them more than all other torments” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary, §52).
The reason why one mere sigh of Our Lady’s outweighs all the prayers of the saints is simply down to her love of God. Thus it is said: “It matters not so much as to what you do, but the love that you do it with!” That is where the chief change needs to take place. We not really love God, Our Lord, or Our Lady as much as we should. God does not command the impossible and God has commanded that we love Him with ALL our heart, mind, soul and strength: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength. This is the first commandment” (Mark 12:30) … “Jesus said to him: ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment!’” (Matthew 22:37-38). You could say that being holy means loving God wholly. “Love therefore is the fulfilling of the law” (Romans 13:10).
Thus Our Lady says: “Thou must continue to lead a life such as is required by the grace and gifts of the Most High, believing and hoping in the Lord, loving, praising and adoring Him in spirit and in truth, no matter what changes there may be in time, occupation or place, He is in all things and He wishes to be loved and served by all rational creatures … And tell me, if, in exchange for this forgetfulness and scorn of the world, God look upon thee with eyes of sweetest love, why shouldst thou not buy so cheaply what is worth an infinite price?” (Our Lady to the Venerable Mary of Agreda, The Mystical City of God).
Tuesday, September 8th
HERE WE ARE! WHERE ARE YOU?
HERE WE ARE! WHERE ARE YOU?
Never Mind Everything Else―Focus on Our Lady!
Get your priorities right! Put Our Lady first today! Never mind your usual habits―today we are celebrating the second most important birthday in the history of the world. No, your birthday is not the most important one! The greatest and most important birthday is that of Our Lord Jesus Christ―celebrated on December 25th. Today we celebrate the birth of His most Holy Mother. Will you celebrate or will you hesitate? Will you honor her or dishonot her? Will you remember her or forget her? Here are a few suggestions and ideas by which you show Our Lady that you are truly devoted to her―and are not a mere "hanger-on" or "benefit seeker".
(1) Start the day of September 8th, with a decent amount of FAMILY PRAYER before going to Mass (if Mass attendance is possible)―even if, or especially if, your family is not accustomed to saying morning prayers together as a family. This morning prayer session could include (a) the Daily Morning Offering, (b) an Act of Consecration to Our Lady, (c) at least one decade of the Rosary, but preferably all five decades of the Joyful Mysteries, for, on this day, you should aim at praying all 15 decades of the Rosary (or an extra 15 decades on top of the Rosaries you would normally pray) in honor of Our Lady and as present to her―otherwise you would not be giving her anything more than on every usual day, (d) make a short reading of one or a few paragraphs from anyone of the many books available on Our Lady, (e) follow the reading with the recitation or singing of the first Angelus of the day―morning, noon and evening―use bells if you have them, which are sounded during the invocations that precede each of the three Hail Marys, (f) finish with a hymn to Our Lady. All of this should take no more than around 30 minutes―give or take a few minutes.
(2) On the way to church for Mass, refrain from any worldly, trivial or vain talk and discussions, but sanctify the drive by either prayers being recited or someone reading something from a book on Our Lady―or even both. Alternatively, or additionally, you could have an informal discussion about Our Lady―which, if you have read a passage from a book, could be based upon that reading. The possibilities are really endless and go well beyond these meager suggestions.
(3) Arrange to do something special at church for Our Lady―either before, during or after Mass. You could recite, once more, your Act of Consecration to Our Lady as a family at her side altar. Or you could suggest that every family member write his or her own special prayer to Our Lady for her birthday―and then each of you could silently recite that personal prayer to Our Lady, either before, during or after Mass. Receive and offer your Holy Communions in honor of Our Lady. If the parish priest agrees and allows you, then you have a mini-hymn singing session to honor Our Lady after Mass. Or, even more daringly, get the priest to agree to Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament in honor of Our Lady, or even a little procession in her honor―though you might have to pay in advance for getting the priest’s agreement by doing lots of penance, fasting and praying beforehand.
(4) On the way home from Mass, perhaps there is a little shrine of Our Lady’s that you could visit on her birthday. If not, then perhaps there is a church somewhere nearby that is dedicated to Our Lady―meaning that it has Our Lady’s name or one of her many titles incorporated in the name of the church, e.g. Our Lady of the Rosary, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Immaculate Conception, Queen of Angels, Queen of Peace, Our Lady of Fatima, etc. Make a short stop there and recite some prayers or sing some hymns in her honor―this could be an opportunity for praying the next 5 decades of the Rosary―-the Sorrowful Mysteries―or you could pray them later.
(5) Upon arriving home, pray the Angelus. Use the bells once again as you did during the morning Angelus. Remind everyone that this is Our Lady’s birthday and the focus is on her today. As a sacrifice for her, you could and should postpone all worldly activities for this one day―such as avoid watching worldly TV shows, listening to worldly music, going out to participate in worldly activities, etc.
(6) At some point you will have to eat lunch or dinner―make it a real banquet in honor of Our Lady. There are many possibilities by way of menus that could reflect a profound and beautiful symbolism of Our Lady, while also being delicious in the process. More on that later. Hopefully, without promising anything, the website might be able to present with a whole menu consisting of many courses, all of them symbolizing and reflecting Our Lady in some way―together with a print-out explanation of how and why the ingredients are symbolic of Our Lady. This is a mammoth task―thus no promises are made. Even if an entire multi-course menu might not be completed in time for her birthday―meaning designed and published several days before her birthday to allow for purchase of items and preparation of food―then at least some recipes will be available in good time.
(7) Get everyone involved in some way for preparing for an afternoon or evening with Our Lady. This coming week could be used productively in preparing a little family concert in her honor during her birthday. The concert could include hymns, songs, poetry, musical instruments (solo or as a group) or even recitations (speeches) about Our Lady’s miracles, interventions, apparitions, etc., or little thumbnail talks about certain saints who had a great devotion to Our Lady, recounting and relating how they showed their devotion to her.
(8) The concert could be followed by watching a movie about Our Lady. There are several available out there―but you need to plan early and act quickly to secure or rent one―unless you already have those movies in your library or possession.
(9) After the movie you could recite the remaining five EXTRA decades of the Rosary―the Glorious Mysteries―which should be additional to the decades you are accustomed to praying each day―otherwise where is the special present for Our Lady?). After the Rosary, you could recite or sing the evening Angelus―once again using bells in the manner described above.
(10) The evening meal could again contain foods that are symbolic of Our Lady―and this symbolism should be explained to those present at the meal, for they would otherwise be clueless and ignorant of the spiritual aspect of the meal.
(11) Finally, before retiring for the night, the night prayers (if you are used to saying them as a family) should have a very definite Marian flavor injected into them―to distinguish them and raise them a notch above the night prayers you are accustomed to praying. To finish night prayers, another short and inspiring reading from a book on Our Lady would be ideal as a last thought of the day. If you are accustomed to reading bedtime stories to the young ones before turning out the light, make sure you have a wonderful story based on Our Lady prepared.
All of the above constitutes the EXTERNAL ASPECTS of what is meant by TRUE DEVOTION to Our Lady, but these are mere pieces of firewood that need an interior flame of love to really set alight a true fire of devotion―for someone could perform all the above exteriorly or externally while having no real interior love or devotion while doing so. If you think the above is overwhelming, then realize that the word DEVOTION is a word that indicated a HIGH DEGREE of love and attention, as indicated above by St. Francis de Sales in his book, Introduction to the Devout Life, in which he speaks of and describes TRUE DEVOTION as follows:
“Devotion consists in a high degree of real love … In fact, all true and living devotion presupposes the love of God―and indeed it is neither more nor less than a very real love of God, though not always of the same kind. In so far as divine love enriches us―it is called GRACE, which makes us pleasing to God. In so far as it gives us the strength to do good―it is called CHARITY. But when it grows to such a degree of perfection that it makes us not only to do good, but rather moves us to do it carefully, frequently and promptly―it is called DEVOTION … In short, devotion is simply a spiritual activity and liveliness by means of which Divine Love works in us, and causes us to work briskly and lovingly; and, just as charity leads us to a general practice of all God’s Commandments, so devotion leads us to practice them readily and diligently. Therefore, we cannot call him, who neglects to observe all God’s Commandments, either good or devout, because in order to be good, a man must be filled with love, and, to be devout, he must further be very ready and apt to perform the deeds of love … The difference between love and devotion is just that which exists between fire and flame―love being a spiritual fire, which becomes devotion when it is fanned into a flame―and what devotion adds to the fire of love, is that flame which makes love become eager, energetic and diligent, not merely in obeying God’s Commandments, but in fulfilling His Divine Counsels and inspirations” (St. Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life, Part 1, Chapter 1).
Get your priorities right! Put Our Lady first today! Never mind your usual habits―today we are celebrating the second most important birthday in the history of the world. No, your birthday is not the most important one! The greatest and most important birthday is that of Our Lord Jesus Christ―celebrated on December 25th. Today we celebrate the birth of His most Holy Mother. Will you celebrate or will you hesitate? Will you honor her or dishonot her? Will you remember her or forget her? Here are a few suggestions and ideas by which you show Our Lady that you are truly devoted to her―and are not a mere "hanger-on" or "benefit seeker".
(1) Start the day of September 8th, with a decent amount of FAMILY PRAYER before going to Mass (if Mass attendance is possible)―even if, or especially if, your family is not accustomed to saying morning prayers together as a family. This morning prayer session could include (a) the Daily Morning Offering, (b) an Act of Consecration to Our Lady, (c) at least one decade of the Rosary, but preferably all five decades of the Joyful Mysteries, for, on this day, you should aim at praying all 15 decades of the Rosary (or an extra 15 decades on top of the Rosaries you would normally pray) in honor of Our Lady and as present to her―otherwise you would not be giving her anything more than on every usual day, (d) make a short reading of one or a few paragraphs from anyone of the many books available on Our Lady, (e) follow the reading with the recitation or singing of the first Angelus of the day―morning, noon and evening―use bells if you have them, which are sounded during the invocations that precede each of the three Hail Marys, (f) finish with a hymn to Our Lady. All of this should take no more than around 30 minutes―give or take a few minutes.
(2) On the way to church for Mass, refrain from any worldly, trivial or vain talk and discussions, but sanctify the drive by either prayers being recited or someone reading something from a book on Our Lady―or even both. Alternatively, or additionally, you could have an informal discussion about Our Lady―which, if you have read a passage from a book, could be based upon that reading. The possibilities are really endless and go well beyond these meager suggestions.
(3) Arrange to do something special at church for Our Lady―either before, during or after Mass. You could recite, once more, your Act of Consecration to Our Lady as a family at her side altar. Or you could suggest that every family member write his or her own special prayer to Our Lady for her birthday―and then each of you could silently recite that personal prayer to Our Lady, either before, during or after Mass. Receive and offer your Holy Communions in honor of Our Lady. If the parish priest agrees and allows you, then you have a mini-hymn singing session to honor Our Lady after Mass. Or, even more daringly, get the priest to agree to Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament in honor of Our Lady, or even a little procession in her honor―though you might have to pay in advance for getting the priest’s agreement by doing lots of penance, fasting and praying beforehand.
(4) On the way home from Mass, perhaps there is a little shrine of Our Lady’s that you could visit on her birthday. If not, then perhaps there is a church somewhere nearby that is dedicated to Our Lady―meaning that it has Our Lady’s name or one of her many titles incorporated in the name of the church, e.g. Our Lady of the Rosary, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Immaculate Conception, Queen of Angels, Queen of Peace, Our Lady of Fatima, etc. Make a short stop there and recite some prayers or sing some hymns in her honor―this could be an opportunity for praying the next 5 decades of the Rosary―-the Sorrowful Mysteries―or you could pray them later.
(5) Upon arriving home, pray the Angelus. Use the bells once again as you did during the morning Angelus. Remind everyone that this is Our Lady’s birthday and the focus is on her today. As a sacrifice for her, you could and should postpone all worldly activities for this one day―such as avoid watching worldly TV shows, listening to worldly music, going out to participate in worldly activities, etc.
(6) At some point you will have to eat lunch or dinner―make it a real banquet in honor of Our Lady. There are many possibilities by way of menus that could reflect a profound and beautiful symbolism of Our Lady, while also being delicious in the process. More on that later. Hopefully, without promising anything, the website might be able to present with a whole menu consisting of many courses, all of them symbolizing and reflecting Our Lady in some way―together with a print-out explanation of how and why the ingredients are symbolic of Our Lady. This is a mammoth task―thus no promises are made. Even if an entire multi-course menu might not be completed in time for her birthday―meaning designed and published several days before her birthday to allow for purchase of items and preparation of food―then at least some recipes will be available in good time.
(7) Get everyone involved in some way for preparing for an afternoon or evening with Our Lady. This coming week could be used productively in preparing a little family concert in her honor during her birthday. The concert could include hymns, songs, poetry, musical instruments (solo or as a group) or even recitations (speeches) about Our Lady’s miracles, interventions, apparitions, etc., or little thumbnail talks about certain saints who had a great devotion to Our Lady, recounting and relating how they showed their devotion to her.
(8) The concert could be followed by watching a movie about Our Lady. There are several available out there―but you need to plan early and act quickly to secure or rent one―unless you already have those movies in your library or possession.
(9) After the movie you could recite the remaining five EXTRA decades of the Rosary―the Glorious Mysteries―which should be additional to the decades you are accustomed to praying each day―otherwise where is the special present for Our Lady?). After the Rosary, you could recite or sing the evening Angelus―once again using bells in the manner described above.
(10) The evening meal could again contain foods that are symbolic of Our Lady―and this symbolism should be explained to those present at the meal, for they would otherwise be clueless and ignorant of the spiritual aspect of the meal.
(11) Finally, before retiring for the night, the night prayers (if you are used to saying them as a family) should have a very definite Marian flavor injected into them―to distinguish them and raise them a notch above the night prayers you are accustomed to praying. To finish night prayers, another short and inspiring reading from a book on Our Lady would be ideal as a last thought of the day. If you are accustomed to reading bedtime stories to the young ones before turning out the light, make sure you have a wonderful story based on Our Lady prepared.
All of the above constitutes the EXTERNAL ASPECTS of what is meant by TRUE DEVOTION to Our Lady, but these are mere pieces of firewood that need an interior flame of love to really set alight a true fire of devotion―for someone could perform all the above exteriorly or externally while having no real interior love or devotion while doing so. If you think the above is overwhelming, then realize that the word DEVOTION is a word that indicated a HIGH DEGREE of love and attention, as indicated above by St. Francis de Sales in his book, Introduction to the Devout Life, in which he speaks of and describes TRUE DEVOTION as follows:
“Devotion consists in a high degree of real love … In fact, all true and living devotion presupposes the love of God―and indeed it is neither more nor less than a very real love of God, though not always of the same kind. In so far as divine love enriches us―it is called GRACE, which makes us pleasing to God. In so far as it gives us the strength to do good―it is called CHARITY. But when it grows to such a degree of perfection that it makes us not only to do good, but rather moves us to do it carefully, frequently and promptly―it is called DEVOTION … In short, devotion is simply a spiritual activity and liveliness by means of which Divine Love works in us, and causes us to work briskly and lovingly; and, just as charity leads us to a general practice of all God’s Commandments, so devotion leads us to practice them readily and diligently. Therefore, we cannot call him, who neglects to observe all God’s Commandments, either good or devout, because in order to be good, a man must be filled with love, and, to be devout, he must further be very ready and apt to perform the deeds of love … The difference between love and devotion is just that which exists between fire and flame―love being a spiritual fire, which becomes devotion when it is fanned into a flame―and what devotion adds to the fire of love, is that flame which makes love become eager, energetic and diligent, not merely in obeying God’s Commandments, but in fulfilling His Divine Counsels and inspirations” (St. Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life, Part 1, Chapter 1).