[MaryVitamin] Wednesday of Holy Week

 

Mary Vitamin for April 4th Topic: The Lance Wound to the Side of Christ Quote: St. Alphonsus di Liguori The injury of that stroke was inflicted on Jesus, but Mary suffered its pain. St. Alphonsus di Liguori, The Glories of Mary, (Tan Books), 452. Meditation "Christ," says the devout Lanspergius, "shared this wound with His Mother; He received the insult, His Mother endured its agony." The holy fathers maintain that this was literally the sword foretold to the Blessed Virgin by Saint Simeon: a sword, not a material one, but one of grief, which transpierced her blessed soul in the heart of Jesus, where it always dwelt. Thus, amongst others, Saint Bernard says: "The lance which opened His side passed through the soul of the Blessed Virgin, which could never leave her Son's heart." St. Alphonsus di Liguori, The Glories of Mary, (Tan Books), 452. Resolution: When I pass the crucifix today, I will think of the wound in the side of Christ as in the shape of an "M" to remind me that  the pain was felt by Mary. Marian Vow: Fr. Stefano Manelli, FI If, according to a tradition of spiritual theology, the other three vows of obedience, poverty and chastity in relation to the marks of Christ's Passion are symbolized by the three nails making Jesus "Love crucified", the Marian vow may reasonably be said to be symbolized by the lance which transfixed the Heart of Jesus (cf. Jn 19,34) and pierced the soul of our lady according to the prophecy of Simeon (cf. Lk 2,35). Father Stefano Manelli FI,  The Marian Vow Of Unlimited Consecration, (Academy of the Immaculate), 19. I give this resolution  to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Thanks be to God for graces received. Related sites: Castle of the Immaculate & AirMaria