Being Immaculate, Our Lady received a full measure of grace (Luke 1:28)

* December 8 – The Immaculate Conception - Consecration of Haiti to Our Lady of Perpetual Help (1942)  * Mary could have sinned  --- An initiative of the Mary of Nazareth Association December 8 – The Immaculate Conception - Consecration of Haiti to Our Lady of Perpetual Help (1942)  Mary could have sinned  The Immaculate Conception is also portrayed by artists in the Orthodox Church, for example Holy Mary in Perlez, Vojvodina, Serbia. (Wikipedia) The solemnity of the Virgin Mary Conceived without Sin is celebrated on December 8th. By a singular privilege, which was already a grace coming from the death of her Son on the Cross, Mary was conceived in the womb of Anne, her mother, without contracting original sin. It was necessary that the Son of God would prepare a mother worthy of himself. Being immaculate, Our Lady received a full measure of grace (Luke 1:28), enabling her for the dignity of Mother of God. Yet she was not unable to sin like her Son, who was both God and man. Mary, for her part, could have sinned, but she always perfectly consented to the fullness of grace with which God never ceased to fill her. ... Mary is the Immaculate Conception, according to the dogma defined by Pius IX in 1854, and according to her own statement to Bernadette of Lourdes in 1858. Set apart to become the Mother of God, she was able... to exercise maternal mediation in the line of the mediation of her Son, for all mankind. Those who are loyal and attached to her will join her in the Glory of God, once they have become, with her, the Bride of Christ, "splendid, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, except holy and without blemish" (Eph 5:27). Dom Robert Le Gall In Dictionnaire de Liturgie © Editions CLD www.mariedenazareth.com Let’s pray together  Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of death. Amen.

Pope Francis at the opening of the Jubilee: God seeks an encounter with us

Pope Francis at the opening of the Jubilee: God seeks an encounter with us   Pope Francis at the opening of the Jubilee: God seeks an encounter ... Pope Francis: Homily for Inauguration of the Jubilee 2015-12-08 Vatican Radio (Vatican Radio) On Tuesday, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Pope Francis solemnly inaugurated the Jubilee Year of Mercy with the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. “This Extraordinary Holy Year is itself a gift of grace,” the Pope said in his homily  To pass through the Holy Door means to rediscover the infinite mercy of the Father who welcomes everyone and goes out personally to encounter each of them.” The full text of Pope Francis’ prepared homily for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception and the Inauguration of the Jubilee of Mercy can be found below: Homily of His Holiness Pope Francis Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception Inauguration of the Jubilee of Mercy 8 December 2015 Dear Brothers and Sisters, In a few moments I will have the joy of opening the Holy Door of Mercy. We carry out this act, so simple yet so highly symbolic, in the light of the word of God which we have just heard. That word highlights the primacy of grace. Again and again these readings make us think of the words by which the angel Gabriel told an astonished young girl of the mystery which was about to enfold her: “Hail, full of grace” (Lk 1:28). The Virgin Mary was called to rejoice above all because of what the Lord accomplished in her. God’s grace enfolded her and made her worthy of becoming the Mother of Christ. When Gabriel entered her home, even the most profound and impenetrable of mysteries became for her a cause for joy, faith and abandonment to the message revealed to her. The fullness of grace can transform the human heart and enable it to do something so great as to change the course of human history. The feast of the Immaculate Conception expresses the grandeur of God’s love. Not only does he forgive sin, but in Mary he even averts the original sin present in every man and woman who comes into this world. This is the love of God which precedes, anticipates and saves. The beginning of the history of sin in the Garden of Eden yields to a plan of saving love. The words of Genesis reflect our own daily experience: we are constantly tempted to disobedience, a disobedience expressed in wanting to go about our lives without regard for God’s will. This is the enmity which keeps striking at people’s lives, setting them in opposition to God’s plan.  Yet the history of sin can only be understood in the light of God’s love and forgiveness. Were sin the only thing that mattered, we would be the most desperate of creatures. But the promised triumph of Christ’s love enfolds everything in the Father’s mercy. The word of God, which we have just heard leaves no doubt about this. The Immaculate Virgin stands before us as a privileged witness of this promise and its fulfillment. This Extraordinary Holy Year is itself a gift of grace. To pass through the Holy Door means to rediscover the infinite mercy of the Father who welcomes everyone and goes out personally to encounter each of them. This will be a year in which we grow ever more convinced of God’s mercy. How much wrong we do to God and his grace when we speak of sins being punished by his judgment before we speak of their being forgiven by his mercy (cf. Saint Augustine, De Praedestinatione Sanctorum, 12, 24)! But that is the truth. We have to put mercy before judgment, and in any event God’s judgement will always be in the light of his mercy. In passing through the Holy Door, then, may we feel that we ourselves are part of this mystery of love. Let us set aside all fear and dread, for these do not befit men and women who are loved. Instead, let us experience the joy of encountering that grace which transforms all things. Today, as we pass through the Holy Door, we also want to remember another door, which fifty years ago the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council opened to the world. This anniversary cannot be remembered only for the legacy of the Council’s documents, which testify to a great advance in faith. Before all else, the Council was an encounter. A genuine encounter between the Church and the men and women of our time. An encounter marked by the power of the Spirit, who impelled the Church to emerge from the shoals which for years had kept her self-enclosed so as to set out once again, with enthusiasm, on her missionary journey. It was the resumption of a journey of encountering people where they live: in their cities and homes, in their workplaces. Wherever there are people, the Church is called to reach out to them and to bring the joy of the Gospel. After these decades, we again take up this missionary drive with the same power and enthusiasm. The Jubilee challenges us to this openness, and demands that we not neglect the spirit which emerged from Vatican II, the spirit of the Samaritan, as Blessed Paul VI expressed it at the conclusion of the Council. May our passing through the Holy Door today commit us to making our own the mercy of the Good Samaritan.   (from Vatican Radio) ---------------------

THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

From all eternity Father, Son, and Holy Spirit chose Mary to be the Mother of the Word Incarnate. It was unthinkable that she be defiled by sin, in any way or for the least second of time. Therefore, in the instant of creating Mary's person, the Trinity made her Immaculate. This grace, like every other grace granted since the fall of Adam, was given her through the merits of Christ. She was truly saved, redeemed, not from an evil already present, but from an evil that threatened.

In honor of the Immaculate Conception, celebrated today throughout the world in all Roman Catholic Churches, I'm posting this poem by St. Therese of Lisieux, the Little Flower of Jesus. This was her last poem she wrote!

Photograph taken by St Thérèse’s sister Céline on the date of her death. Behind her body is the statue of Our Lady of the Smile that St Thérèse loved and which smiled at her and cured her during the terrible illness at the age of 10:

WHY I LOVE THEE MARY.
LAST POEM OF SISTER TERESA.

Fain would I sing, O Mother blest! the reasons why I love thee;
Why e’en to name thy name, with joy, O Mary! fills my heart;
And why the glorious thoughts of thee, in greatness far above me,
Inspire no fear within my soul, so dear and sweet thou art.
Yet, if I were to see thee now, in majesty stupendous,
Surpassing all the crowned saints in highest heaven above,
Scarce could I dream I am thy child, (O truth sublime, tremendous!),
For I should think myself to be unworthy of thy love.
The mother, who desires to be her child’s best earthly treasure,
Must ever share its grief with it, must understand its pain.
Queen of my heart! how many years, thy sorrows had no measure;
What bitter tears thine eyes have shed, my worthless heart to gain!
So, musing on thy earthly life, in Scripture’s sacred story,
I dare to look upon thy face, and unto thee draw nigh;
For when I see thee suffering, — concealed thy marvelous glory —
It is not hard, then, to believe thy little child am I.
When Gabriel came from heaven’s courts, to ask thee to be mother
Of God Who reigns omnipotent to all eternity,
I see thee, Mary! then prefer to that great grace, an­other, —
Through all thy consecrated life a virgin pure to be.
And so I now can comprehend, immaculate white maiden!
Why thou wast dearer unto God than heaven itself could be;
And how thy humble, human frame, with mortal weakness laden,
Could yet contain the Eternal Word, Love’s vast unbounded Sea.
I love thee when I hear thee call thyself the handmaid only
Of God, Whom thou didst win to earth by thy humility;
All-powerful it made thee then, above all women, lonely,
And drew, into thy bosom chaste, the Blessed Trinity,
The Holy Spirit, Love Divine, o’ershadowed thee, O Mother!
And God the Father’s only Son incarnate was in thee.
How many sinful, sorrowing souls shall dare to call Him — Brother!
For He shall be called: Jesus, thy first-born, eternally.
And oh! despite my frailties, dear Mary! well thou knowest
That I at times, like thee, possess the Almighty in my breast.
Shall I not tremble at the gift, O God! that Thou bestowest ?
A mother’s treasure is her child’s: — I still my fears to rest.
For I, O Mary, am thy child! O Mother dear and tender.
Shall not thy virtues and thy love plead now with God for me?
Then, when the pure white sacred Host, in all its veiled splendor,
Visits my heart, thy spotless Lamb will think He comes to thee.
Oh, thou dost help me to believe that e’en for us, frail mortals,
‘Tis not impossible to walk where we thy foot­steps see;
The narrow road before us now, thou lightest to heaven’s portals.
Who lowliest virtues here below didst practise perfectly.
Near thee, O Mother! I would stay, little, unknown and lowly;
Of earthly glory, oh! how plain I see the vanity!
In the house of St. Elizabeth, thy cousin dear and holy,
I learn of thee to practise well most ardent charity.
There, too, I listen on my knees, great Queen of all the Angels!
To that sweet canticle that flows in rapture from thy soul;
So dost thou teach me how to sing like heavenly, glad evangels
And glorify my Jesus, Who alone can make me whole.
Thy burning words of love divine are mystic flowers victorious,
Whose fragrance shall embalm the long, long, ages yet to be.
In thee, indeed, the Almighty King hath done great things and glorious!
I meditate upon them now, and bless my God in thee.
When good St. Joseph did not know the great arch­angel’s story,
Which thou wouldst fain conceal from men in thy humility,
O tabernacle of the Lord! thou didst not tell thy glory,
But veiled the Saviour’s presence in profoundest secrecy,
Thy silence, how I love it now, so eloquent, so moving!
For me it is a concert sweet, of melody sublime;
I learn thereby the grandeur of a soul that God is proving,
That only looks for help from Him and in His chosen time.
Then later still, O Joseph! and O Mary! I behold you
Repulsed in little Bethlehem by all the dwellers there;
From door to door you vainly went, for all the people told you
They had no place to shelter you, no time to give you care.
Their rooms were for the great alone; and in a stable dreary
The Queen of Heaven gave birth to Him Who made both heaven and earth.
O Mother of my Saviour! then, thou wast not sad nor weary;
In that poor shed how grand thou wert! how pain­less was that Birth!
And there when, wrapped in swaddling bands, I see the King Eternal, —
When of the Word divine, supreme, the feeble cry I hear —
O Mary, can I envy e’en the angels’ joy supernal?
The Master Whom they worship is My little Brother dear.
What praises must I give to thee, who, in earth’s gloomy prison,
Brought forth this lovely heaven-sent Flower, before our eyes to bloom!
Though unto shepherds and wise men a star had grandly risen,
These things were kept within thy heart as in some secret room.
I love thee when I see thee next, like other Hebrew women,
To Israel’s temple turn thy steps when dawned the fortieth day;
I love thee yielding humbly up, to aged, favored Simeon,
The Lord Who should redeem us all when years had fled away.
And first my happy smiles awake, to hear his glorious singing, —
That “Nunc Dimittis” that shall ring till Time itself shall die;
But soon those joyous notes are changed, and my hot tears are springing; —
“A sword of grief must be thy lot,” thus runs his prophecy.
O Queen of all the martyr-host! till thy life here is ended,
That sharp, sharp sword shall pierce thy heart! At once, it pierces sore.
That thy dear Child from Herod’s wrath may surely be defended,
I see thee as an exile fled to Egypt’s pagan shore.
Beneath thy veil thy Jesus slept, thy peace no fears were daunting,
When Joseph came to bid thee wake, and straight­way flee from home;
And then at once I see thee rise, as called by angels chanting,
Content, without a questioning word, in foreign lands to roam.
In Egypt and in poverty, I think I see thee, Mary,
All glad at heart, all radiant, with joy beyond compare.
What matters exile unto thee? Thy true home cannot vary.
Hast thou not Jesus, with thee still? and with Him Heaven is there.
But, oh! in fair Jerusalem, a sorrow, vast, unbounded,
Indeed o’erwhelmed thy mother-heart with grief beyond compare; —
For three days Jesus hid Himself; no word to thee was spoken.
Thou truly wast an exile then, and knew what exiles bear.
And when, at last, thine eyes again were thy Son’s face beholding,
And love entranced thee, watching Him among the doctors wise.
My Child!” thou saidst, “now tell me why didst leave my arms enfolding?
Didst Thou not know we sought for Thee with tear-endimmed eyes?
The Child-God answered to thee then, to thy sweet, patient wooing,
O Mother whom He loved so well, whose heart was well-nigh broken!
“How is it that you sought for Me? Wist not I must be doing
My Father’s work?” Oh, who shall sound the depths those words betoken?
But next the Gospel tells me that, in His hidden mission,
Subject to Joseph and to thee was Christ, the Holy Boy;
And then my heart reveals to me how true was His submission,
And how beyond all words to tell, thy daily, per­fect joy.
And now the temple’s mystery I understand, dear Mother!
The answer, and the tone of voice, of Christ, my King adored.
‘Twas meant the pattern thou shouldst be, thereafter to all other
Tried souls who seek, in Faith’s dark night the coming of the Lord.
Since Heaven’s high King has willed it so His Mother and His dearest
Should know the anguish of that night the torn heart’s deepest woe,
Then are not those, who suffer thus, to Mary’s heart the nearest?
And is not love in suffering God’s highest gift below?
All, all that He has granted me, oh! tell Him He may take it!
Tell Him, dear Mother! He may do whate’er He please with me;
That He may bruise my heart to-day, and make it sore, and break it,
So only through Eternity my eyes His Face may see!
I know, indeed, at Nazareth, O Virgin rich in graces!
As the lowly live, so thou didst live, and sought no better things;
Of ecstasies and wonders there, our eyes can find no traces,
O thou who daily dwelt beside the incarnate King of Kings!
On earth, we know, is very great the number of the lowly;
With neither fear nor trembling now we dare to look on thee.
By common lot and humble path, our Mother dear and holy,
Thou wast content to walk to heaven, and thus our guide to be.
Through all my weary exile here, I fain would walk beside thee.
O my pure and precious Mother! be near to me each day!
Thy beauty thrills my heart with joy. Deign now to guard and guide me!
What depths of love are in thy heart for me thy child, alway!
Before thy kind maternal glance, my many fears are banished;
Thou teachest me to gently weep, and then to sing for joy;
Thou dost not scorn our happy days, nor hast thou wholly vanished;
Thou smilest on us tenderly, as once upon thy Boy!
When bride and groom at Cana’s feast knew well the wine was failing,
And knew not whence to bring supply, their need thine eyes perceived,
To Christ, the Master, thou didst speak, who knew His power availing, —
The Maker of created things, in Whom thy soul believed.
But first He seemed thy mother-heart’s kind prayer to be denying.
“What matters this, O woman! unto Me and thee?” said He.
But “Mother,” in His soul’s deep depths, His filial heart was crying;
And that first miracle He wrought, Mother, lie wrought for thee.
One day, while sinners crowded round to hear what He was saying,
In His desire to save their souls and them to heaven beguile,
Lo! thou wast there amid the throng, and thou wast meekly praying
That they would let thee nearer come, and speak with Him awhile.
And then thy Son spoke out this word mysterious like that other.
To show us thus His marvelous love for all the souls of men; —
He said: “Who is My brother, and My sister, and My Mother?
‘Tis he who does My Father’s will!” The Father’s will, again!
O Virgin, pure, immaculate! O Mother, tenderest, dearest!
Hearing these words that Jesus spake, this time thou wast not grieved.
No! thy great heart it leaped for joy, O thou His friend the nearest!
Because our longing souls likewise to kinship He received.
Oh, how thy heart is glad to know His love to us is given, —
The treasure, that cannot be weighed, of His Divinity!
Who shall not love thee well to-day, and bless thee in high heaven,
Seeing thy tender care for us, thy generosity!
For truly thou dost love us all as thy Child Jesus loves us;
And for our sake thou didst consent to stay when He had risen.
Since, if we love, then all to give, e’en self, both tries and proves us,
So thou, to prove thy love, didst stay in earth’s dark, dreary prison.
Thy love for souls our Saviour knew, that love His heart had sounded;
He left thee to us when He went to God’s right hand on high.
Refuge of sinners! on thy prayers how many hopes are grounded!
Christ gave thee to us from His cross; for us He hears thy cry.
For thou — His Mother — there didst stand, that awful day, on Calvary;
As a priest before God’s altar, at the cross so thou didst stand.
And to appease the Father’s wrath, didst offer up, O Mary!
Thy Jesus, our Emmanuel, at God’s supreme command.
A prophet had foretold this thing, O Mother broken­hearted!
“Is any sorrow like to thine?” Thy grief no words can say!
Blest Queen of martyrs! left on earth when Jesus had departed!
‘Twas thy heart’s blood for us was given on that unequalled day.
Henceforth thy shelter in thy woe was St. John’s humble dwelling;
The son of Zebedee replaced the Son Whom heaven adored.
Naught else the Gospels tell us of thy life, in grace excelling;
It is the last they say of thee, sweet Mother of my Lord!
But that deep silence, oh! I think it means that, up in glory,
When time is past, and into heaven thy children safe are come,
The Eternal Word, my Mother dear, Himself will tell thy story,
To charm our souls, thy children’s souls, in our eternal home.
Soon I shall hear that harmony, that blissful, wondrous singing;
Soon, soon, to heaven that waits for us, my soul shall swiftly fly.
O Thou who cam’st to smile on me at dawn of life’s beginning!
Come once again to smile on me. . . . Mother! the night is nigh.
I fear no more thy majesty, so far, so far above me,
For, I have suffered sore with thee; now hear my heart’s deep cry!
Oh! let me tell thee face to face, dear Virgin! how I love thee;
And say to thee forevermore: thy little child am I.
May,1897.

Public Domain.

* December 7 – Vigil of the Immaculate Conception  * Elements that paved the way for Christian virginity --- An initiative of the Mary of Nazareth Association December 7 – Vigil of the Immaculate Conception  Elements that paved the way for Christian virginity Mary writing the Magnificat, by Marie Ellenrieder, 1833 Before Mary, even though a woman's infertility was considered shameful among the Jews, many elements were paving the way for Christian virginity. For example, the great importance attributed to a bride’s virginity. It is also apparent in the context of the Promise and the Covenant. But in Mary, virginity knew its true measure—Mary is the only woman in the New Testament who is given the title of virgin (Lk 1:27; Mt 1:23). It is important to examine in turn two facts that can appear independent but are corollaries of each other—Mary’s virginal conception (Lk 1:35) and her perpetual virginity (Lk 1:34). In this regard, we must distinguish the Immaculate Conception from the virgin birth. The first refers to the fact that Mary was conceived without sin, the second consists in the fact that Mary conceived Jesus of the Holy Spirit, and gave birth to him, while keeping her virginity. Jeanine Hourcade All images from Wikipedia www.mariedenazareth.com Let’s pray together  Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of death. Amen.

* December 6 – Our Lady of the Vow (Siena, Italy) * Perfect purity does not apply only to virginity  --- An initiative of the Mary of Nazareth Association December 6 – Our Lady of the Vow (Siena, Italy) Perfect purity does not apply only to virginity  Today we would like you to turn your gaze to the sweet Virgin Mary, of whom the Church, in two days, will celebrate the feast of her Immaculate Conception. ... Jesus Christ wanted the Church, his mystical wife, to be "without stain or wrinkle... holy and without blemish" (Eph 5:27). Dear husbands, this is precisely the model that the great apostle Paul presents to you: "Husbands," he writes, "love your wives as Christ loved the Church" (Eph 5: 25), because what constitutes the greatness of the sacrament of marriage is its similarity with the union of Christ and the Church (Eph 3:32). You may think maybe that the idea of unblemished purity applies only to virginity, the sublime ideal to which God calls not all Christians, but only a few chosen souls... And yet the state of marriage, willed by God for common men, can and should have its spotless purity. Anyone who performs his duties of state faithfully and without weakness is immaculate before God. God does not call all his children to the state of perfection, but he invites all of them to the perfection of their state. Pope Pius XII Allocution to the Newlyweds, December 6, 1939 www.mariedenazareth.com Let’s pray together  Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of death. Amen.

Spiritual Gems-Importance of Family and the Anguish of Mary-December 5, 2015

The Importance of Family and the Anguish of Mary and Sharing in Her Sorrows

Our Mother explained to Elizabeth Kindelmann: "I want all to know the anguish that springs up from the boundless love of my maternal heart due to the danger threatening the entire world by the disintegration of the family sanctuaries.  I direct my maternal cry to all of you, and in union with you, I want to save the world....and all those who will share in my sorrow will also have the right to receive this great grace (of the Flame of Love ) by which we will save souls from eternal damnation."

 

(Please go to www.divineantidote.wordpress.com to enter you email to receive more in depth posts on the Flame of Love of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Spiritual Journey we are all called to embrace).

From the Spiritual Diary of the Elizabeth Kindelmann 1-17-1964

A Free Flame of Love book in English or Spanish can be ordered in the US at www.flameoflove.us.  
 

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God Bless you and your work,
 

		Tony
		Anthony Mullen
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