Pentecost Anticipated
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May 31, 2017. 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, 2017
Pentecost Anticipated-Divine Mercy Miracles Meditations
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