Pentecost Anticipated
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Feast of the
Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
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Father Walter Schu, LC
Luke
1:39-56
Mary set out and traveled to the hill
country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary´s greeting, the infant
leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in
a loud voice and said, "Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is
the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my
Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached
my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled." And Mary
said: "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices
in God my savior. For he has looked upon his handmaid´s lowliness; behold,
from now on will all ages call me blessed. The Mighty One has done great things
for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is from age to age to those who fear
him. He has shown might with his arm, dispersed the arrogant of mind and
heart. He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones but lifted up the
lowly. The hungry he has filled with good things; the rich he has sent away
empty. He has helped Israel his servant, remembering his mercy, according to
his promise to our fathers, to Abraham and to his descendants forever."
Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.
Introductory Prayer: Lord, I believe in Your supreme goodness and
love. I entrust my entire self to you with all of my hopes, fears and joys.
Thank You for giving us the gift of Yourself in the Eucharist. Thank You,
too, for giving us Your own mother to be our mother during our exile on this
earth and journey home to You in heaven. Here I am, like her, to do Your
will.
Petition: Mary, help me to grow in humility.
1. Prompt and Joyful Charity: What has impelled Mary to undertake her
perilous journey not only alone, but also in haste? An irresistible force was
acting within Mary: the presence of the Holy Spirit overshadowed and filled
her since the moment of the Annunciation. This same Holy Spirit has filled
the heart of Elizabeth at Mary’s greeting and moved the infant within her
womb. What is the first fruit of the fullness of the Holy Spirit? Joy. Pope
Emeritus Benedict XVI comments on the relationship of joy to the truth who is
Christ himself: “Jesus Christ, who is the fullness of truth, attracts to
himself the heart of every man, dilates it, and fills it with joy. Only the
truth is capable of invading the mind and making it fully joyful. This joy
expands the dimensions of the human spirit, raising it from the anxieties of
egoism, making it capable of authentic love” (Discourse to the Congregation
for the Doctrine of the Faith, February 10, 2005).
2. Elizabeth – The Unworthy Host: Elizabeth’s moving question reflects the
one virtue necessary for a person to be invaded by the Holy Spirit: humility.
Elizabeth is profoundly aware of her own lowliness in the face of a visit
from the mother of her Lord. Mary herself echoes these sentiments of deep
humility throughout her Magnificat. What is the reason her Creator has done
great things for her, so much so that all generations will call her blessed?
It is not due to any talent or quality she might possess of herself. There is
no magnificent grandeur by which she has captivated the Almighty. God has
simply “looked upon his handmaid’s lowliness.” Do I rejoice in my own
littleness, knowing that it enables the Holy Spirit to make his dwelling
within me and do great things for Christ with my life?
3. The Hymn of God’s Praise: Mary is so filled with the Holy Spirit that
her whole being bursts forth in a hymn of joy and praise to the Almighty.
Pope Emeritus Benedict reflects on Mary’s joy at the infant Lord’s presence
within her womb: “This is the joy the heart feels when we kneel to adore
Jesus in faith” (Discourse to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith,
February 10, 2005). The joy of Christ, the joy of the Holy Spirit, gratitude
to God for the great things he has done in us, impels us to bring Our Lord to
others, just as Mary brought him to Elizabeth even before his birth. As she
sings her Magnificat, Mary does not remain closed within herself, but
reflects on what God has done for her in light of his saving plan for all his
people. May the joy of the Holy Spirit bring about a new Pentecost that
radiates from our lives.
Conversation with Christ: Thank you, Lord! The great gift of Your Holy
Spirit fills our lives with the unspeakable joy of Your own presence within
us. Help me to respond with haste -- as Mary did -- to the impulses of
charity from the Holy Spirit.
Resolution: I will look for occasions to speak about
Christ with others and do acts of charity for them with joy and haste, just
as Mary did in the Gospel.
Excerpts from the DIARY of Saint Faustina Kowalska
25 During the night, the Mother of
God visited me, holding the Infant Jesus in Her arms. My soul was filled with
joy, and I said, "Mary, my Mother, do You know how terribly I
suffer?" And the Mother of God answered me, I know how much you
suffer, but do not be afraid. I share with you your suffering, and I shall
always do so. She smiled warmly and disappeared. At once, strength and a
great courage sprang up anew in my soul; but that lasted only one day. It
seemed as though hell had conspired against me. A terrible hatred began to
break out in my soul, a hatred for all that is holy and divine. It seemed to
me that these spiritual torments would be my lot for the rest of my life. I
turned to the Blessed Sacrament and said to Jesus, "Jesus, my Spouse, do
You not see that my soul is dying because of its longing for You? How can You
hide Yourself from a heart that loves You so sincerely? Forgive me, Jesus;
may Your holy will be done in me. I will suffer silently like a dove, without
complaining. I will not allow my heart even one single cry of sorrowful
complaint."
79 O Mary, my Mother and my
Lady, I offer You my soul, my body, my life and my death, and all that will
Follow it. I place everything in Your hands. O my Mother, cover my soul with
Your virginal mantle and grant me the grace of purity of heart, soul and
body. Defend me with Your power against all enemies, and especially against
those who hide their malice behind the mask of virtue. O lovely lily! You are
for me a mirror, O my Mother!
92 Humiliation is my daily food. I understand that the bride must
herself share in everything that is the groom's; and so His cloak of mockery
must cover me, too. At those times when I suffer much, I try to remain
silent, as I do not trust my tongue which, at such moments, is inclined to
talk for itself, while its duty is to help me praise God for all the
blessings and gifts which He has given me. When I receive Jesus in Holy
Communion, I ask Him fervently to deign to heal my tongue so that I would
offend neither God nor neighbor by it. I want my tongue to praise God without
cease. Great are the faults committed by the tongue. The soul will not attain
sanctity if it does not keep watch over its tongue.
161 Immaculate Virgin,
Pure crystal for my heart,
You are my strength, O sturdy anchor!
You are the weak heart's shield and protection.
Mary you are pure, of purity incomparable;
At once both Virgin and Mother,
You are beautiful as the sun, without blemish,
And your soul is beyond all comparison.
Your beauty has delighted the eye of the Thrice-Holy One.
He descended from heaven, leaving His eternal throne,
And took Body and Blood of your heart
And for nine months lay hidden in a Virgin's Heart.
O Mother, Virgin, purest of all lilies,
Your heart was Jesus' first tabernacle on earth.
Only because no humility was deeper than yours
Were you raised above the choirs of Angels and above all
Saints
178 Today we are beginning the third probation. All three of us met
at Mother Margaret's, as the other sisters were having their probation in the
novitiate. Mother Margaret began with a prayer, explained to us what the
third probation consists of, and then spoke on how great is the grace of the
perpetual vows. Suddenly I began to cry out loud. In an instant all God's
graces appeared before the eyes of my soul, and I saw myself so wretched and
ungrateful toward God. The sisters began to rebuke me, saying, "Why did
she break out crying?" But Mother Margaret came to my defense, saying
that she was not surprised.
At the end of the hour, I went before the Blessed Sacrament and, like
the greatest and most miserable of wretches, I begged for His mercy that He
might heal and purify my poor soul. Then I heard these words, My daughter,
all your miseries have been consumed in the flame of My love, like a little twig
thrown into a roaring fire. By humbling yourself in this way, you draw upon
yourself and upon other souls an entire sea of My mercy. I answered,
"Jesus, mold my poor heart according to Your divine delight."
220 O my eternal Lord and Creator, how am I going to thank You for
this great favor; namely, that You have deigned to choose miserable me to be
Your betrothed and that You are to unite me to yourself in an eternal bond? O
dearest Treasure of my heart, I offer You all the adoration and thanksgiving
of the Saints and of all the choirs of Angels, and I unite myself in a
special way with Your Mother. O Mary, my Mother, I humbly beg of You, cover
my soul with Your virginal cloak at this very important moment of my life, so
that thus I may become dearer to Your Son and may worthily praise Your Son's
mercy before the whole world and throughout all eternity.
260 I had permission to visit Czestochowa while on my journey. I saw
the Mother of God [image] for the first time, when I went to attend the unveiling
of the image at five in the morning. I prayed without interruption until
eleven, and it seemed to me that I had just come. The superior of the house
there [Mother Serafin[75]]
sent a sister for me, to tell me to come to breakfast and said she was
worried that I would miss my train. The Mother of God told me many things. I
entrusted my perpetual vows to Her. I felt that I was her child and that She
was my Mother. She did not refuse any of my requests.
309 Before heaven and earth, before all the choirs of Angels, before
the Most Holy Virgin Mary, before all the Powers of heaven, I declare to the
One Triune God that today, in union with Jesus Christ, Redeemer of souls, I
make a voluntary offering of myself for the conversion of sinners, especially
for those souls who have lost hope in God's mercy. This offering consists in
my accepting, with total subjection to God's will, all the sufferings, fears
and terrors with which sinners are filled. In return, I give them all the
consolations which my soul receives from my communion with God. In a word, I
offer everything for them: Holy Masses, Holy Communions, penances,
mortifications, prayers. I do not fear the blows, blows of divine justice,
because I am united with Jesus. O my God, in this way I want to make amends
to You for the souls that do not trust in Your goodness. I hope against all
hope in the ocean of Your mercy. My Lord and my God, my portion-my portion
forever, I do not base this act of oblation on my own strength, but on the
strength that flows from the merits of Jesus Christ. I will daily repeat this
act of self-oblation by pronouncing the following prayer which You yourself
have taught me, Jesus:
"O Blood and Water which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a Fount of Mercy for us, I trust in You!"
316 Once, the Mother of God came to visit me. She was sad. Her eyes
were cast down. She made it clear that She wanted to say something, and yet,
on the other hand, it was as if She did not want to speak to me about it.
When I understood this, I began to beg the Mother of God to tell me and to
look at me. Just then Mary looked at me with a warm smile and said, You
are going to experience certain sufferings because of an illness and the
doctors; you will also suffer much because of the image, but do not be afraid
of anything. The next day I fell ill and suffered a great deal, just as
the Mother of God had told me. But my soul was ready for the sufferings.
Suffering is a constant companion of my life.
564 On the feast day of the Immaculate Conception of the
Mother of God, during Holy Mass, I heard the rustling of garments and saw the
most holy Mother of God in a most beautiful radiance. Her white garment was
girdled with a blue sash. She said to me, You give Me great joy
when you adore the Holy Trinity for the graces and privileges which were
accorded Me. And She immediately disappeared.
620 Mary is my Instructress, who is
ever teaching me how to live for God. My spirit brightens up in Your
gentleness and Your humility, O Mary.
635 March 25. In the morning, during meditation, God's presence
enveloped me in a special way, as I saw the immeasurable greatness of God
and, at the same time, His condescension to His creatures. Then I saw the
Mother of God, who said to me, Oh, how pleasing to God is the soul that
follows faithfully the inspirations of His grace! I gave the Savior to the
world; as for you, you have to speak to the world about His great mercy and
prepare the world for the Second Coming of Him who will come, not as a
merciful Savior, but as a just Judge. Oh, how terrible is that day!
Determined is the day of justice, the day of divine wrath. The angels tremble
before it. Speak to souls about this great mercy while it is still the time
for [granting] mercy. If you keep silent now, you will be answering for a
great number of souls on that terrible day. Fear nothing. Be faithful to the
end. I sympathize with you.
Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God.
805 From early morning, I felt the nearness of the Blessed
Mother. During Holy Mass, I saw Her, so lovely and so beautiful that I have
no words to express even a small part of this beauty. She was all [in] white,
with a blue sash around Her waist. Her cloak was also blue, and there was a
crown on Her head. Marvelous light streamed forth from Her whole figure. I
am the Queen of heaven and earth, but especially the Mother of your
[Congregation]. She pressed me to Her heart and said, I feel constant
compassion for you. I felt the force of Her Immaculate Heart which was
communicated to my soul. Now I understand why I have been preparing for this
feast for two months and have been looking forward to it with such yearning.
From today onwards, I am going to strive for the greatest purity of soul,
that the rays of God's grace may be reflected in all their brilliance. I long
to be a crystal in order to find favor in His eyes.
843 December 24, [1936]. During Holy Mass today, I was
united in a particular way with God and His Immaculate Mother. The humility
and love of the Immaculate Virgin penetrated my soul. The more I imitate the
Mother of God, the more deeply I get to know God. Oh, what infinite longing
envelops my soul! Jesus, how can You still leave me in this exile? I am dying
of longing for You. Every touch of my soul by You wounds me immensely. Love
and suffering go together; yet I would not exchange this pain caused by You
for any treasure, because it is the pain of incomprehensible delights, and
these wounds of the soul are inflicted by a loving hand.
874 Mary, Immaculate Virgin, take me under Your special
protection and guard the purity of my soul, heart and body. You are the model
and star of my life.
1097 Since that time, I have been living under the
virginal ', cloak of the Mother of God. She has been guarding me and
instructing me. I am quite at peace, close to Her Immaculate Heart. Because I
am so weak and inexperienced, I nestle like a little child close to Her
heart.
+ J. M. J.
1232 O sweet Mother of God,
I model my life on You;
You are for me the bright dawn;
In You I lose myself, enraptured.
O Mother, Immaculate Virgin,
In You the divine ray is reflected,
Midst storms, 'tis You who teach me to love the Lord,
O my shield and defense from the foe.
Cracow, August 10, 1937.
1410 Today [December 7, 1937] is the eve of the Feast of
the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. During the midday meal, in an
instant, God gave me to know the greatness of my destiny; that is, His
closeness, which for all eternity will not be taken away from me, and He did
this in such a vivid and clear fashion that I remained wrapped up in His
living presence for a long time, humbling myself before His greatness. +
J.M.J.
1412 + It is with great zeal that I have prepared for the
celebration of the Feast of the
Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God. I have made an
extra effort to keep
recollected in spirit and have meditated on that unique
privilege of Our Lady. And thus my heart was completely drowned in Her,
thanking God for having accorded this great privilege to Mary.
1413 I prepared not only by means of the novena said in
common by the whole community, but I also made a personal effort to salute
Her a thousand times each day, saying a thousand "Hail Mary's" for
nine days in Her praise.
+ This is now the third time I have said such a novena to
the Mother of God; that is, a novena made up of a thousand Aves each day.
Thus the novena consists in nine thousand salutations. Although I have done
this now three times in my life, and two of these while in the course of my
duties, I have never failed in carrying out my tasks with the greatest
exactitude. I have always said the novena outside the time of my exercises;
that is to say, I have not said the Aves during Holy Mass or Benediction.
Once, I made the novena while lying ill in the hospital. Where there's a
will, there's a way. Apart from recreation, I have only prayed and worked. I
have not said a single unnecessary word during these days. Although I must
admit that such a matter requires a good deal of attention and effort,
nothing is too much when it comes to honoring the Immaculate Virgin.
1414 The Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Before Holy
Communion I saw the Blessed Mother inconceivably beautiful. Smiling at me She
said to me, My daughter, at God's command I am to be, in a special
and exclusive way your Mother; but I desire that you, too, in a special way,
be My child.
1415 I desire, My dearly beloved daughter, that you
practice the three virtues that are dearest to Me-and most pleasing to God.
The first is humility, humility, and once again humility; the second virtue,
purity; the third virtue, love of God. As My daughter, you must especially
radiate with these virtues. When the conversation ended, She pressed me
to Her Heart and disappeared. When I regained the use of my senses, my
heart became so wonderfully attracted to these virtues; and I practice
them faithfully. They are as though engraved in my heart.
1742 Be praised, merciful God, One God in the Holy Trinity,
Unfathomable, infinite, incomprehensible, immersing themselves in You, their minds cannot comprehend You, So they repeat without end their eternal: Holy. Be glorified, O merciful Creator of ours, O Lord, Omnipotent, but full of compassion, inconceivable. To love You is the mission of our existence, Singing our eternal hymn: Holy... Be blessed, merciful God, Eternal Love. You are above the heavens, the saphires, the firmaments. The host of pure spirits sings You praises, With its eternal hymn: Thrice Holy. And, gazing upon You, face to face, O God, I see that You could have called other creatures before them. Therefore they humble themselves before You in great humility, For well they see that this grace comes solely from Your mercy. One of the most beautiful spirits would not recognize Your mercy, And, blinded by his pride, he drew others after him. Angel of great beauty, he became Satan And was cast down in one moment from heaven's heights into hell. Then the faithful spirits cried, "Glory to God's mercy!" And they stood firm in spite of the fiery test. Glory to Jesus, the Christ abased, Glory to His Mother, the humble and pure Virgin. After this battle, the pure spirits plunged into the ocean of Divinity; Contemplating and praising the depths of His mercy, They drown in His mercy and manifold light, Possessing in knowledge the Trinity of Persons, the Oneness of Godhead.
+The Infinite Goodness of God in Sending Us His Only-Begotten Son.
1745 God, You did not destroy man after his fall, but in Your mercy You forgave him, You forgave in a divine way; that is, not only have You absolved him from guilt, but You have bestowed upon him every grace. Mercy has moved You to deign to descend among us and lift us up from our misery. God will descend to earth; the Immortal Lord of lords will abase Himself. But where will You descend, Lord; will it be to the temple of Solomon? Or will You have a new tabernacle built for Yourself? Where do You intend to come down? O Lord, what kind of tabernacle shall we prepare for You, since the whole earth is Your footstool? You have indeed prepared a tabernacle for Yourself: the Blessed Virgin. Her Immaculate Womb is Your dwelling place, and the inconceivable miracle of Your mercy takes place, O Lord. The Word becomes flesh; God dwells among us, the Word of God, Mercy Incarnate. By Your descent, You have lifted us up to Your divinity. Such is the excess of Your love, the abyss of Your mercy. Heaven is amazed at the superabundance of Your love. No one fears to approach You now. You are the God of mercy. You have compassion on misery. You are our God, and we are Your people. You are our Father, and we are Your children by grace. Praise be to Your mercy, that You have deigned to descend among us.
1746 Be adored, O God of mercy,
Because You have deigned to descend from heaven to earth. Most humbly we adore You For Your having vouchsafed to exalt all mankind. Unfathomable and incomprehensible in Your mercy, For love of us You take on flesh From the Immaculate Virgin, ever untouched by sin, Because You have willed it so from all ages. The Blessed Virgin, that Snow-White Lily, Is first to praise the omnipotence of Your mercy. Her pure heart opens with love for the coming of the Word; She believes the words of God's messenger and is confirmed in trust. Heaven is astounded that God has become man, That there is on earth a heart worthy of God Himself. Why is it that You do not unite Yourself with a Seraph, but with a sinner, O Lord? Oh, because, despite the purity of the virginal womb, this is a mystery of Your mercy. O mystery of God's mercy, O God of compassion, That You have deigned to leave the heavenly throne And to stoop down to our misery, to human weakness, For it is not the angels, but man who needs mercy. To give worthy praise to the Lord's mercy, We unite ourselves with Your Immaculate Mother, For then our hymn will be more pleasing to You, Because She is chosen from among men and angels. Through Her, as through a pure crystal, Your mercy was passed on to us. Through Her, man became pleasing to God; Through Her, streams of grace flowed down upon us.
+ God's Infinite Goodness in Redeeming Man.
1747 God, You could have saved thousands of worlds with one word; a single sigh from Jesus would have satisfied Your justice. But You Yourself, Jesus, purely out of love for us, underwent such a terrible Passion. Your Father's justice would have been propitiated with a single sigh from You, and all Your self-abasement is solely the work of Your mercy and Your inconceivable love. On leaving the earth, O Lord, You wanted to stay with us, and so You left us Yourself in the Sacrament of the Altar, and You opened wide Your mercy to us. There is no misery that could exhaust You; You have called us all to this fountain of love, to this spring of God's compassion. Here is the tabernacle of Your mercy, here is the remedy for all our ills. To You, O living spring of mercy, all souls are drawn; some like deer, thirsting for Your love, others to wash the wound of their sins, and still others, exhausted by life, to draw strength. At the moment of Your death on the Cross, You bestowed upon us eternal life; allowing Your most holy side to be opened, You opened an inexhaustible spring of mercy for us, giving us Your dearest possession, the Blood and Water from Your Heart. Such is the omnipotence of Your mercy. From it all grace flows to us.
1748 Be adored, O God, in the work of Your mercy,
Be blessed by all faithful hearts On whom Your gaze rests, In whom dwells Your immortal life. O my Jesus, have mercy, sorrowful was Your life on this earth, And in terrible torment Your work came to an end, Hanging stretched out on the wood of the Cross, And all this for the love of our souls. In Your inconceivable love, You allowed Your most holy side to be opened, And streams of Blood and Water gushed forth from Your Heart. Here is the living fountain of Your mercy, Here souls receive consolation and refreshment. In the Blessed Sacrament, You left us Your mercy; Your love deigned to arrange it so, That, going through life, suffering and toil, I might never doubt of Your goodness and mercy. For even if the whole world's miseries weighed on my soul, We must not doubt for even a moment, But have trust in the power of God's mercy, Because, with graciousness, God receives a contrite soul. O unspeakable mercy of our Lord, Source of compassion and all sweetness, Trust, trust, O soul, though you are stained by sin, For when you approach God, you will not taste bitterness. Because He is a living fire of great love, When we approach Him with sincerity, Our miseries, sins and evil deeds vanish; He will settle our debts when we surrender ourselves to Him.
(Diary of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-I-25, 79, 92, 161, 178,
220, 260, 309, 316)
(Diary of Sister Faustina Kowalska
Notebook-II-564, 620, 635, 805, 843, 874)
(Diary of
Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-III-1097)
(Diary of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-IV-1232, 1244)
(Diary
of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-V-1410, 1412-1415)
(Diary of
Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-VI-1742, 1745-1748 )
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Mayo 31, 2014
Pentecost Anticipated-Divine Mercy Miracles Meditations
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