MARY, OUR MOTHER: From The Friars eLetter: Empty Tabernacles (3 of 3)

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

From The Friars eLetter: Empty Tabernacles (3 of 3)

Every church building is more or less beautiful & more or less well kept. Some are clean, quiet & prayerful, while others, well, are 'LACKING'! A (true) story is in order here.

Once upon a time some pilgrims visited a large & beautiful cathedral in a very poor country. One person remarked out loud: "What a *horrible waste* of money that should have been spent on the poor instead!" A native resident of the place promptly corrected the pilgrim: "Oh no, you're terribly mistaken! You see, it was the poor themselves who created this beautiful place for God - to thank, love & worship Him, with their very own blood, sweat, & tearful labors. They gladly prefer to live in poverty so long as they have a worthy church for their beloved God." The pilgrims sighed in shock, & the person turned red with embarrassment.

This recalls Judas who complained that the perfume the woman poured on Jesus not be 'wasted' but sold (& he was a thief & a traitor!), or the generosity of Jesus at the Last Supper & on the Cross. God's Love for us is 'prodigal', 'wastefully' generous! He *never* counts the cost - He only
gives & keeps on giving!

The only one I can blame if my tabernacle is 'empty', 'dirty', or 'cluttered' is *myself*. God is continually pouring Himself out with His infinite superabundant Love - all I have to do is open my heart to receiveHim.

P.S. Jesus is a 'gentleman' - He ordinarily *won't* come in if we have the door of our heart bolted shut from the inside - He truly respects our freedom. I invite you: open wide the door of your heart to Christ! (But don't be surprised if He 'pops by' for an unexpected visit like He did to the Apostles after the Resurrection who had locked the doors! Or at least
when we die...) Let's start *expecting* & *preparing* Jesus' visit now. Let's welcome Jesus into our hearts & lives *today* - NOW. Amen.

+Br. Philip Maria, CFR
Most Blessed Sacrament Friary
Newark, NJ, USA

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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.

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

From The Friars eLetter: Empty Tabernacles (3 of 3)

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