MARY, OUR MOTHER

Saturday, May 31, 2008

SCRIPTURE COMMENTARY #236

But the Pharisees hearing it, said: "This man casteth not out devils but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils." And Jesus knowing their thoughts, said to them: "Every kingdom divided against itself shall be made desolate: and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand. And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself: how then shall his kingdom stand? And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. But if I by the Spirit of God cast out devils, then is the kingdom of God come upon you. Or how can any one enter into the house of the strong, and rifle his goods, unless he first bind the strong? and then he will rifle his house. He that is not with me, is against me: and he that gathereth not with me, scattereth. Therefore I say to you: Every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven men, but the blasphemy of the Spirit shall not be forgiven." (Matt. 12:24-31)

THE SIN AGAINST THE HOLY GHOST was committed by the Pharisees in this manner, that against the dictates of reason they ascribed our Lord's miracles to the power of the devil. They calumniated Him, saying that He was in league with the devil; whereas it was they who, by their persecution of Jesus, were serving the ends of Satan. Being full of the spirit of pride and envy, they refused to believe in our Lord's divine power. They willfully and obstinately resisted their reason, which, outwardly convinced by His stupendous miracles, and inwardly illuminated by the grace of the Holy Ghost, urged them to such a belief. Rather than recognize the truth that God was with our Lord, they had recourse to the most foolish evasions and lies. This willful resistance to God's grace hardened the Pharisees in obstinacy and impenitence, till finally it drove them to decide. They sinned against the Holy Ghost in a fourfold manner: they envied Jesus on account of His superior wisdom and power of working miracles; they resisted that which they knew to be true; they were obstinate in their opposition to our Lord; and they were hardened into a state of final impenitence.

[From 'A Practical Commentary on Holy Scripture' by Bishop Knecht, D.D.]
(1899 Douay-Rheims Bible)

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Quotes from 'The Glories of Mary':

‘I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head.’

(Gen. 3:15)

“Since the devil is the head of original sin, this head it was that Mary crushed: for sin never had any entry into the soul of this Blessed Virgin, which was consequently free from all stain.”

Saint Augustine

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PSALM 71 SPEAKS TO MY HEART

Forsake Me Not When My Strength Is Spent

In you, O Lord, do I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame!
In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me;
incline your ear to me, and save me!

Be to me a rock of refuge,
to which I may continually come;
you have given the command to save me,
for you are my rock and my fortress.

Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,
from the grasp of the unjust and cruel man.
For you, O Lord, are my hope,
my trust, O Lord, from my youth.
Upon you I have leaned from before my birth;
you are he who took me from my mother's womb.
My praise is continually of you.

I have been as a portent to many,
but you are my strong refuge.
My mouth is filled with your praise,
and with your glory all the day.
Do not cast me off in the time of old age;
forsake me not when my strength is spent.

For my enemies speak concerning me;
those who watch for my life consult together
and say, “God has forsaken him;
pursue and seize him,
for there is none to deliver him.”

O God, be not far from me;
O my God, make haste to help me!
May my accusers be put to shame and consumed;
with scorn and disgrace may they be covered
who seek my hurt.

But I will hope continually
and will praise you yet more and more.
My mouth will tell of your righteous acts,
of your deeds of salvation all the day,
for their number is past my knowledge.

With the mighty deeds of the Lord God I will come;
I will remind them of your righteousness, yours alone.

O God, from my youth you have taught me,
and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.

So even to old age and gray hairs,
O God, do not forsake me,
until I proclaim your might to another generation,
your power to all those to come.
Your righteousness, O God,
reaches the high heavens.
You who have done great things,
O God, who is like you?

You who have made me see many troubles and calamities
will revive me again;
from the depths of the earth
you will bring me up again.
You will increase my greatness
and comfort me again.

I will also praise you with the harp
for your faithfulness, O my God;
I will sing praises to you with the lyre,
O Holy One of Israel.
My lips will shout for joy,
when I sing praises to you;
my soul also, which you have redeemed.

And my tongue will talk of your righteous help all the day long,
for they have been put to shame and disappointed
who sought to do me hurt.

Saturday, May 31, 2008

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