Devotion to Our Lady |
|
|
SECOND DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted each day)
Theme: Trusting in God's Providence Holy Scripture Says: “And thou Bethlehem, the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come forth the Captain that shall rule My people Israel. and His going forth is from the beginning, from the days of eternity.” (Micheas 5:2). Our Lady Says: "All that happens to us is ordained by the Lord and King of Heaven and earth; and in all events His Providence will assist and direct us . Let us resign ourselves into His hands and we shall not be disappointed." (Mystical City of God, Vol. 2, The Incarnation, "The Journey to Bethlehem"). The Saints and Mystics Say: The Venerable Mary of Agreda writes: "It had been decreed by the immutable will of Providence that the Only-begotten of the Father should be born in the town of Bethlehem (Micheas 5:2), and accordingly it had been foretold by the Saints and Prophets of foregone ages (Jeremias 10:9); for the decrees of the absolute will of God are infallible, and since nothing can resist them, sooner would Heaven and earth pass away than that they fail of accomplishment. The fulfillment of this immutable decree the Lord, secured by means of an edict of Caesar Augustus for the whole Roman empire, ordering the registration or enumeration of all the world, as St. Luke says (Luke 2:1). "The Roman empire, at that time, embraced the greater part of what was then known of the earth and, therefore, they called themselves masters of the world, ignoring all the other nations. The object of this census was to make all the inhabitants acknowledge themselves as vassals of the emperor, and to pay a certain tax to their temporal lord; for this registration every one was to go to his native city in order to be inscribed. This edict was also proclaimed in Nazareth and came to the hearing of St. Joseph, while he was on some errand. He returned to his house in sorrowful consternation and informed his heavenly spouse of the news, which had spread about concerning the edict. The most prudent Virgin answered: "Let not this edict of our temporal ruler cause thee any concern, my master and spouse, for all that happens to us is ordained by the Lord and King of Heaven and earth; and in all events His Providence will assist and direct us . Let us resign ourselves into His hands and we shall not be disappointed." (Mystical City of God, Volume 2, The Incarnation, "The Journey to Bethlehem"). Meditation: We should not underestimate the power and planning of Divine Providence. Nothing happens in the universe without God willing and allowing it. This statement must be taken absolutely of everything with the exception of sin. "Nothing occurs by chance in the whole course of our lives" is the unanimous teaching of the Fathers and Doctors of the Church, "and God intervenes everywhere." Perhaps, you will say, that while this is true of certain necessary effects, like sickness, death, cold and heat, and other accidents due to natural causes, which have no liberty of action, the same cannot be said in the case of things that result from the free will of man. For, you will object, if someone slanders me, robs me, strikes me, persecutes me, how can I attribute his conduct to the will of God, Who, far from wishing me to be treated in such a manner, expressly forbids it? So the blame, you will conclude, can only be laid on the will of man, on his ignorance or malice. This is the defense behind which we try to shelter from God and excuse our lack of courage and submission. It is quite useless for us to try and take advantage of this way of reasoning, as an excuse for not surrendering to Providence. God Himself has refuted it and we must believe on His word that in events of this kind, as in all others, nothing occurs except by His order and permission. “Give not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin: and say not before the angel: There is no providence: lest God be angry at thy words, and destroy all the works of thy hands” (Ecclesiastes 5:5). Do not let ourselves be troubled when we are sometimes beset by adversity, for we know that it is meant for our spiritual welfare and carefully proportioned to our needs, and that a limit has been set to it by the wisdom of the same God, Who has set a bound to the ocean. Sometimes, it might seem as if the sea, in its fury, would overflow and flood the land, but it respects the limits of its shore and its waves break upon the yielding sand. There is no tribulation, or temptation, whose limits God has not appointed so as to serve not for our destruction, but for our salvation. God is faithful, says the Apostle, and will not permit you to be tempted (or afflicted) beyond your strength, but it is necessary for you to be so, since through many tribulations we must enter the Kingdom of God, in the steps of our Redeemer, Who said of Himself, "Did not the Christ have to suffer all these things before entering into His glory?" If you refused to accept these tribulations, you would be acting against your best interests. You are like a block of marble in the hands of the sculptor. The sculptor must chip, hew and smooth it, to make it into a statue that is a work of art. God wishes to make us the living image of Himself. All we need to think of is to keep still in His hands while He works on us, and we can rest assured that the chisel will never strike the slightest blow that is not needed for His purposes and our sanctification; for, as St. Paul says, the will of God is your sanctification. [Quiet Reflection] Our Prayer: To Thee have I lifted up my soul, O Lord; in Thee I place my trust. Stir up Thy power, I beseech Thee O Lord, and come to me, a poor sinner, so that I may deserve to be rescued and saved from the threatening dangers of my sins. Show me, Lord Thy ways, and teach me Thy paths, that I may prepare for Thy birth with becoming honor and fervor. Stir up my heart, my God, to prepare the ways of Thy Only-begotten Son. Incline Thine ear to my prayers and enlighten the darkness of my mind by the grace of Thy visitation. Grant me grace to withdraw ever increasingly from the vanity and deceit of the world, and to find joy among the true treasures of Heaven, which Thou dost kindly and mercifully bestow upon those who seek Thy face, and, in Thy bounty, grant me the favor for which I now beg: [Mention Intention] O Immaculate Mary, Daughter of the Father, Spouse of the Holy Ghost and Mother of the Son; look down with mercy and favor upon me, a helpless sinner, tossed around upon the waves of a tempestuous world. On all sides crash the waves of Liberalism, Modernism, Humanism and Materialism, threatening to submerge and sink souls still faithful to Christ. Souls of sinners sing like sirens, seducing us and steering the ships of our souls to shipwreck. Do thou, O Star of the Sea, look down with compassion upon me and safely steer my soul to the harbor of Heaven. Turn aside my mind, my heart and my passions from the vanities and sins of this world, and let me find strength, peace and solace in the contemplation of the mysteries surrounding the birth of thy Divine Son; so that fortified in spirit, I may overcome all temptations and ever grow in the love of thee and thy Son for all eternity. Amen. Pray: Say the Our Father and the Hail Mary. Final Invocation: O Mother of the Divine Child, our Savior, pray for us. |
|
FIFTH DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted each day)
Theme: Coping with Refusal and Rejection Holy Scripture Says: “Cain said to Abel his brother: ‘Let us go forth abroad.’ And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel, and slew him” (Genesis 4:8). “Esau therefore always hated Jacob for the blessing wherewith his father had blessed him” (Genesis 27:41) “And Joseph’s brethren, seeing that Joseph was loved by his father, more than all his sons, hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him” (Genesis 37:4). “The Egyptians hated the children of Israel, and afflicted them and mocked them” (Exodus 1:13). “I send to you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them you will put to death and crucify, and some you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city” (Matthew 22:33-34). “We are persecuted, and we suffer it. We are blasphemed, and we entreat; we are made as the refuse of this world, the off-scouring of all, even until now” (1 Corinthians 4:12-13). “Bless them that persecute you: bless, and curse not” (Romans 12:14). Our Lord says: “Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice’ sake: for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are ye when they shall revile you, and persecute you, and speak all that is evil against you, untruly, for My sake; be glad and rejoice, for your reward is very great in Heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets that were before you.” (Matthew 5:10-12). “They will lay their hands upon you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and into prisons, dragging you before kings and governors, for My Name’s sake” (Luke 21:12). “Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall put you to death: and you shall be hated by all nations for My Name’s sake ... but he that shall persevere unto the end, he shall be saved" (Matthew 24:9; 10:2). “If the world hate you, know ye, that it hath hated me before you...Remember My word that I said to you: 'The servant is not greater than his master.' If they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you” (John 15:18-20). Meditation: Suffering, adversity, persecution, rejection, refusal and other such like things, are the touchstone of Christianity. They are the litmus test which shows the lack or the presence of quality in the soul of a follower of Christ. Fair-weather Catholics are "a-dime-a-dozen" but Catholics who patiently, meekly, heroically and humbly know how to accept and profit from their sufferings, adversities, persecutions, rejection and refusal are a rare breed and worth their weight in gold. Here is a beautiful extract from the life of Mary, which shows (1) that God does not always wrap-up His favorites in cotton-wool, and (2) it shows us a wonderful example of how to deal with rejection, persecution and refusal. "The Lord allowed Satan to try her, in order to increase her merit and reward. Irritated by her perfect virtue and holiness, the devil vainly attempted to incite her to commit even a slight venial sin of thought, word or deed. During these various tests, Mary never stopped praying to the Lord for help, and though she suffered from the strain and at times she wept, nevertheless without once losing her inner union with God she successfully fought and conquered all these temptations. "Consequently Satan changed his tactics. Since he could not influence her directly, he incited others to persecute her. Without much trouble he made the other girls become inflamed with envy against her. Seeing what a model Temple-servant she was, they began to fear that because of her their virtues would be overlooked and their faults would stand out. Driven on by the devil, soon they let themselves be moved to anger and hatred against her. Finally they plotted together to persecute her until she would be forced to leave the Temple. Now they often spoke to her in a sharp, haughty and cruel way, accusing her of being hypocritical and of seeking the favor of the priests and their teacher. "When they did this, Mary answered quietly: "My friends, you are right in saying that I am the least and most imperfect among you, but then you, my sisters, must pardon me and teach me in my ignorance, for as a servant I love you and reverence you, and I will obey you in all things." Her sincere humility only made them more furious. For many days they continued to persecute and insult her, at times even hitting her. But little Mary remained humble, patient and charitable, returning good for evil and praying for her enemies. "At last one day the other girls decided to provoke her to do something rash, so that they could accuse her before the priests and have her expelled. Therefore they took her to an isolated room and began to insult and hit her. But when she showed herself immovable and only reacted with kindness and humility, it was they who lost control of themselves and screamed their hatred of her so loudly that some priests came running into the room and asked severely who was to blame for this commotion. While Mary remained meekly silent, the other girls cried out: "Mary of Nazareth makes us all quarrel—she irritates and provokes us so much that there can be no peace among us unless she leaves the Temple! When we allow her to have her own way, she becomes overbearing. But if we correct her, she makes fun of us by pretending to be humble and then starts another quarrel!" "Taking Mary into another room, the priests scolded her very strongly and threatened to send her away if she did not change her conduct. Deeply hurt by this threat, the innocent child answered them in tears: "My masters, thank you for correcting and teaching me, the most imperfect and despicable of creatures. But I beseech you-forgive me and direct me so that I may reform and henceforth please the Lord and my companions." After the priests dismissed her, Mary went to the other girls and, prostrating herself at their feet, she asked their pardon. However, they continued to treat her with scorn and hostility, while she kept praying to God for help in overcoming her faults. "Then one night the Lord said to a priest in his sleep: "My servant Mary is pleasing in My eyes. She is entirely innocent of anything of which she is accused." The same revelation was given to Mary's teacher, Anna. And that morning, after consulting together, she and the priest called in Mary and asked her pardon for having believed the false accusations. But the holy girl simply begged them not to consider her unworthy of being scolded, and kissed their hands as she asked for their blessing. Thereafter God restrained both the devil and Mary's companions from persecuting her so much." (The Life of Mary as Seen by the Mystics, by Raphael Brown). It should not be a surprise that the world hates the followers of Jesus, for the devil belongs to the prince of the world, the devil, and he sows hatred for Christ and His followers wherever he can. We are dreaming if we think we can go throughout life without suffering seriously for Christ. We should seek first the Kingdom of God; seek first to please God and not to please the world, for the world, as St. James says, is an enemy of God's and always will be. All the dislike, rejection, refusal, hatred and persecution suffered by Mary and Joseph on their journey to and upon arrival at Bethlehem, and, immediately after His birth, also by Jesus, Who was forced to flee to Egypt, is all an example of what the follower of Christ should be ready for. As Scripture says: "As silver is tried by fire, and gold in the furnace: so the Lord trieth the hearts" (Proverbs 17:3). [Quiet Reflection] Our Prayer: To Thee have I lifted up my soul, O Lord; in Thee I place my trust. Stir up Thy power, I beseech Thee O Lord, and come to me, a poor sinner, so that I may deserve to be rescued and saved from the threatening dangers of my sins. Show me, Lord Thy ways, and teach me Thy paths, that I may prepare for Thy birth with becoming honor and fervor. Stir up my heart, my God, to prepare the ways of Thy Only-begotten Son. Incline Thine ear to my prayers and enlighten the darkness of my mind by the grace of Thy visitation. Grant me grace to withdraw ever increasingly from the vanity and deceit of the world, and to find joy among the true treasures of Heaven, which Thou dost kindly and mercifully bestow upon those who seek Thy face, and in Thy bounty grant me the favor for which I now beg: [Mention Intention] O Immaculate Mary, Daughter of the Father, Spouse of the Holy Ghost and Mother of the Son; look down with mercy and favor upon me, a helpless sinner, tossed around upon the waves of a tempestuous world. On all sides crash the waves of liberalism, modernism, humanism and materialism, threatening to submerge and sink souls still faithful to Christ. Souls of sinners sing like sirens, seducing us and steering the ships of our souls to shipwreck. Do thou, O Star of the Sea, look down with compassion upon me and safely steer my soul to the harbor of Heaven. Turn aside my mind, my heart and my passions from the vanities and sins of this world, and let me find strength, peace and solace in the contemplation of the mysteries surrounding the birth of thy Divine Son; so that fortified in spirit, I may overcome all temptations and ever grow in the love of thee and thy Son for all eternity. Amen. Pray: Say the Our Father and the Hail Mary. Final Invocation: O Mother of the Divine Child, our Savior, pray for us. |
|
SIXTH DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted each day)
Theme: The Need for Humility Holy Scripture Says: "Never suffer pride to reign in thy mind, or in thy words: for from it all perdition took its beginning" (Tobias 4:14). “Pride goeth before destruction” (Proverbs 16:18). "Pride is hateful before God and men” (Ecclesiasticus 10:7). Our Lord says: "Learn of Me, because I am meek, and humble of heart: and you shall find rest to your souls" (Matthew 11:29). "Whoever shall humble himself as this little child, he is the greater in the Kingdom of Heaven" (Matthew 18:4). "And whoever shall exalt himself shall be humbled: and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted" (Matthew 23:12). Our Lady says: "He hath regarded the humility of His handmaid; for behold, from henceforth, all generations shall call me blessed" (Luke 1:48). "He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble" (Luke 1:52). Meditation: Humility is the foundation for the entire edifice of our spiritual life. St. Augustine says: "The whole life of Christ on earth was a lesson to us, and He was master of all virtues, but especially of humility; it was that particularly which He wished us to learn of Him." St. Cyprian says: "Humility is the foundation of sanctity." St. Jerome: "The first virtue of Christians is humility." St. Bernard: "Humility is the foundation and safeguard of all virtues." St. Gregory in one place calls it "mistress and mother of all virtues," and in another says that it is the "root and origin of virtues." This metaphor and comparison of root is very proper and declares well the properties and conditions of humility. For in the first place, as the flower is supported by the root and withers, when it is cut off from it, so whatever virtue there be, if it perseveres not on the root of humility, withers and is lost at once. Further, as the root is underground, and is trampled and trodden on, and has in itself no beauty nor scent, and yet from it the tree receives its life, so the humble man is buried, trodden upon, and made small account of, and makes no show of luster and splendor, but is cast into a corner and forgotten, and this it is that preserves him and makes him thrive. Furthermore, as for the tree to grow and last and bear much fruit, the root must strike deep, and the deeper it goes and the further it penetrates the earth, the more the tree will fructify and, the longer it will last, it will thrust its roots below and bear its fruit above, as the Wise Man says (4 Kings 19:30), so the fertility and preservation of virtues lies in their casting deep roots of humility. The more humble you are, the more you will thrive and grow in virtue and perfection. Finally, as pride is the root and beginning of all sin, as the Wise Man says: "The beginning of all sin is pride" (Ecclesiasticus 10:15). So the saints say that humility is the root and foundation of all virtue. Charity and love of God is roused and kindled by humility, since the humble man recognizes that all that he has comes from the hand of God and that he is far from deserving it, and by that consideration he is greatly kindled and inflamed to the love of God. Holy Job said: "What is man, O Lord, that Thou art mindful of him, and settest Thy heart upon him, and dost him so many favors and benefits?" (Job 7:13). As for charity towards our neighbor, it is easy to see how necessary humility is for that, since one of the things that usually cool and diminish our love for our brethren is passing judgment upon their faults and holding them for imperfect and defective people. Now the humble man is far from that, since he keeps his eyes on his own faults, and in others sees nothing but their virtues. So he takes them all for good, and himself alone for evil and imperfect and unworthy of being in the company of his brethren; whence there springs in him an esteem and respect and great love for all. Further, the humble man is not aggrieved at all others' being preferred to him; at others' being made much of and himself forgotten; at others' having great charges entrusted to them and himself being entrusted only with mean and petty things. There is no envy among the humble, because envy springs from pride; thus where humility is, there will be no envies, no conflicts, nor anything to cool the love that should be among brethren. [Quiet Reflection] Our Prayer: To Thee have I lifted up my soul, O Lord; in Thee I place my trust. Stir up Thy power, I beseech Thee O Lord, and come to me, a poor sinner, so that I may deserve to be rescued and saved from the threatening dangers of my sins. Show me, Lord Thy ways, and teach me Thy paths, that I may prepare for Thy birth with becoming honor and fervor. Stir up my heart, my God, to prepare the ways of Thy Only-begotten Son. Incline Thine ear to my prayers and enlighten the darkness of my mind by the grace of Thy visitation. Grant me grace to withdraw ever increasingly from the vanity and deceit of the world, and to find joy among the true treasures of Heaven, which Thou dost kindly and mercifully bestow upon those who seek Thy face, and in Thy bounty grant me the favor for which I now beg: [Mention Intention] O Immaculate Mary, Daughter of the Father, Spouse of the Holy Ghost and Mother of the Son; look down with mercy and favor upon me, a helpless sinner, tossed around upon the waves of a tempestuous world. On all sides crash the waves of liberalism, modernism, humanism and materialism, threatening to submerge and sink souls still faithful to Christ. Souls of sinners sing like sirens, seducing us and steering the ships of our souls to shipwreck. Do thou, O Star of the Sea, look down with compassion upon me and safely steer my soul to the harbor of Heaven. Turn aside my mind, my heart and my passions from the vanities and sins of this world, and let me find strength, peace and solace in the contemplation of the mysteries surrounding the birth of thy Divine Son; so that fortified in spirit, I may overcome all temptations and ever grow in the love of thee and thy Son for all eternity. Amen. Pray: Say the Our Father and the Hail Mary. Final Invocation: O Mother of the Divine Child, our Savior, pray for us. |