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Transcript of In Seach of Mary
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In Search of MaryBy
Clinton R. LeFort
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you.
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Forward
When we say we are searching for Mary what do
we mean? It is not that we can walk over next doorand say hello to her, yet she is closer to us than the
person next door. We cannot pick up pen and pencil
and write her a letter, yet she is always addressing us
thru the Church. We cannot pick our iPhone and
instant dial her to speak with her, yet she is always in
dialogue with us, thru prayer and the sacraments. So,
what does it mean to search for Mary?
We will first look at some traditional ways that
the Saints and the Church have found helpful in
walking in Marys ways. Next, we will look at ways we
can find Mary thru prayer and the Mysteries of Faith.
Following these chapters well also look at our own
personal response to Mary and how it can benefit our
individual growth and devotion to her; lastly, we will
take some time to look into the effect of Marys
Immaculate Conception anyhow it benefits our
success in finding her as the perfect person to lead
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us to Jesus.
I hope in these reflections to bring our different
ways we search for Mary as Catholics, as Christians,
as followers of her Son, Jesus Christ.
In one sense when we search for Mary we are
searching for the truth about ourselves. Mary is the
Mother of Truth and she will see us live the truth.
How can we live the Truth? How can we be set free?
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Part I
Searching For Mary
Ask and You ShallReceive
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Where Do We Begin?
I Told You So
When I was growing up my Father would always
joke with me when I was learning something new,
like cutting the grass with the new riding lawn mower
or learning how to separate the real shrimp from the
rock shrimp on the deck in the Gulf of Mexico. When
I think that I had learned something significant or
come to some great insight and I would share it withhim, he would say , I told you so. I always felt over-
shadowed by his experience and understanding of the
most simple things. I can hear him now probably
telling one of the angles of God the same thing.
Regardless of how I responded to him at these times,he seemed to always be telling me one day youll
understand. It is true with primal relationships with
our parents. It is amazing how many things: words,
actions, comments, corrections, clear up in time.
What we see and understand as children becomes
more compelling as teens; what we struggle with as
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teens becomes so much easier as an adolescent;
finally, our preoccupations as adolescence seems
foolish when we reach mid life.
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The Advantage Point
We are always seeking some kind of advantage
or vantage point in life, where we have the upper
hand. We see in Mary a perfect acceptance of her
circumstances, despair he vulnerability to being
entrenched in the weaknesses, pettiness and sins of
those around her. It is an absolute Miracle that a
woman with so much grace could only offer up a
Canticle of praise to God; that is, her Magnificat.
Mary welcomed all of her material and spiritual
environment, yet it didnt keep her from remaining
the immaculate Mother of God. That selfless
movement towards God and away form self-interest
was the ultimate gift of God at her birth. The Church
teaches us that God worked these wonders from the
first moment of her conception in view of the merits
of the Incarnate Word she would bear. We are called
onto the Way of Mary, which is the Way, the Truth,
the Life of Jesus. There is no other way by which we
can be saved. We can rejoice with Mary in this Way
Jesus has revealed to us.
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To Seek Mary
What Does it Mean to Seek Mary?
What does it mean to seek Mary? It does mean
to search out what hasnt been found, yet we have
been found by the Church and Mary. In one sense we
have found Mary thru a common faith; on the other
hand, each of the faithful search for Mary individually,
yet never separated from the One, Holy, Catholic, and
Apostolic Church. Jesus pointed out Mary to John at
the foot of the Cross, Behold, your Mother. (Jn.
19:26) The Redeemer pointed out the disciple to
Mary, Woman, behold your son.(Jn. 19:26)
John was already close to Mary before the crucifixion.
He was there at the wedding of Cana in Galilee with
Jesus. He witnessed to the Incarnate Word who
grew in wisdom age and grace, before God and
men (Lk. 2:52) during his public ministry. He gave
witness to Moses and Elijah that appeared to Jesus at
the Transfiguration; the religious ancestors of Mary,
Joachim and Anne. John was part of that sacred
history that Mary was perfecting by her obedience.
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What was different in this fullness of time? What
was different was the last request of Jesus before his
death on the Cross. Jesus could have waited until
after he had arisen form the dead to give this
privilege to John, but he chose to give it from the
Cross. In my own opinion, I believe it means to us
that as disciples of Jesus, devoted to his will, we are
to take Mary in to our hearts. Just as we are adopted
children of God, have responsibility for the house of
God, so I believe we are to take responsibility for the
Mother of God.Jesus said, this is the work of God,
believe in the One he has sent;(Jn. 6:29) what work
is so great as to believe in the Mother he has chosen
for himself, that the father has chosen for his Son;
finally, that the Spirit has chosen to overshadow and
bring about the Incarnation of the Incarnate Word.
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Finding Mary in the Mysteries
of Faith
I believe we are to find Mary thru the Mysteries of
Faith; there is no more refund way to find her than by
the word of God and the author of the sacred
scriptures, the Holy Spirit. I also believe that just as
God used both word and sign in the Old and New
Testament to reveal himself, so it is also possible for
God to use not only his word in our lives, but also
signs1 that confirm his Word. For example many of
the spiritual writers say that devotion to the Word of
God, the Rosary, acts of consecration, frequent
reception of the sacraments, mental prayer, are all
signs of a soul desirous to do Gods will. Because
the spiritual life has many obstacles the Church
recommends a spiritual director as a great aid. St.
Catherine of Siena and St. Teresa of Avila are perfect
examples. Both reaped may benefits by revealing
their interior life to their spiritual directors. Just to
give one example of the havoc that can be wrought
thru spirits opposed to Christ listen to St. Teresa of
Avila:2
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I told you elsewhere how the devil frequently fills our
thoughts with great schemes, so that instead of putting
our hands to what work we can do to serve our Lord, we
may rest satisfied with working to preform
impossibilities.
(Interior Castle, 7th
Mansion,ch. iv, 21)
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Spiritual Direction
Qualities of A Spiritual Director
St. Teresa gives four qualities of a spiritual director,3
which we will briefly mention here: prudent, pious,
theologically learned and kind. The Church will always
have its share of good spiritual directors, sufficient to
lead souls towards the heights of perfection. Mary
was privileged in this regard, since the Holy Spirit was
the director of her soul. There are many ways that
God can use to lead a soul to perfection. The normal
ways are different from extraordinary ways. Most
spiritual directors would hold that it is better to start
off walking before running in the ways is spiritual
perfection. If there comes a time that a person
doesnt need the ordinary ways, it will become
evident thru working with a spiritual director in the
ordinary ways first.
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Humble Submission to Gods Will
All we see is humble submission to the will of
God. Jesus was the same and nothing was able to
deter them from accomplishing the perfect will of God
in the midst of the world. I dont dare say that we do
not have temptations to believe that we have figured
it all out and we havent struggles with integrating
faith with the rest of our lives; that is, outside of
private prayer times. What I do believe is that our
union with Jesus and Mary, thru the Holy Spirit, does
give us a vantage point in arriving at coming always
closer to what that perfect submission to Gods will is.
St. Paul, with all of his shortcomings, which he was
bold enough to proclaim as a blessing, said that all of
these imperfections worked together for the good
God had in store for him. Jesus and Mary followed
that straight and narrow (Matt. 7:14) path to
perfection. We cannot claim to seek any other path to
Jesus Christ. St. Paul called everything outside of that
path rubbish, since he wanted one thing in life, to
suffer and rise with Christ. In the end, that great
Apostle had the true understanding. Only by walking
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in the light will we obtain what we are looking for in
life. The darkness offers nothing. As Jesus said, the
flesh offers nothing, it is the Spirit that gives life. (Jn.
6:63)
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Learning from Marys Counsel
Learning from Marys counsel produces the same
inspiring response from her as it did my Father
teaching me. The example of Mary as we encounter
them in the bible and that comes down to us in the
Tradition of the Church is the model of the perfect
Christian attitude and disciple of Christ. We cant
expect to comprehend the fullness of that example,
but only strive to absorb what we can in order to
stand before God with a clear conscience as Mary did.
For example, one night I was kneeling by my bedside
saying my prayers to Mary and my guardian angel as
was my custom. I never doubted that relationship,
simply because it was just an accepted fact of life. As
I was kneeling there, I got the sense that someone
was listening to my prayers. Of course that is what
faith is, isnt it? Which brings me back to the semi-
thesis in this book, what does it mean to search for
Mary? I believe it means first of all, being faithful.
Being faithful is the very beginning of our
relationship with God. The author of the letter to the
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Hebrews says without faith it is impossible to please
God. Anyone wishing to come to God must believe
that he exists and that he rewards those who search
for him. (Heb. 11:6)
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Letting Mary Rule in our Heart
Marys privilege as Mother of the Lord gives her
special entrance into our interior life. We know, thru
faith, that her interest in us is for our eternal
salvation. Even the Trinity witnessed her fidelity for
all ages to come at the Annunciation. Her becoming
the Mother of God was not new to God, but new to
us. It is the New Testament to us, but it is the eternal
truth to God. The Almighty chose to do good things
for her. She brought about the praise that is due his
name. Our ground rule in searching for Mary should
be fidelity, since there is no other creature, who was
more faithful than Mary.4 As a creature like all of us,
yet conceived without sin, Mary adds a different
dimension to our piety. We learn thru the example
God gives thru Mary, what God makes possible thru
grace.
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The Cost of Finding Mary
Everyone has dreams and aspirations of some
kind. In our devotions and desire to remain faithful
we want to have the confidence that comes about
when we know we are doing our best to live a sinless
life and one that is pleasing to God. Mary is our
perfect model of fidelity and grace. To follow Mary
means that we have to keep the model of her life
before us. Unfortunately, when we begin to compare
ourselves to her, we find how far surpassing is the
grace that she has been given to ourselves. This is
not meant to be a deterrent to our efforts to follow
her to Jesus, but a great mean to developing
confidence in she in whom God has done great
things. Her blessings have become for us a great
treasure of blessings that she is happy to share with
us.
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Be-Attitudes
How do we avail ourselves of such a great person?
The cost to us is to leave ourselves and to cling to the
faith that has been given to us so freely. It is not
something that we have earned or will earn, but we
should put on the mind of Christ, so that her Be-
attitudes become ours. St. Augustine when speaking
of the infused gifts of God; that is, fear, piety,
knowledge, counsel, fortitude, understanding and
wisdom gave this definition of virtue: a good quality
of the mind which makes us live righteously, which
God works in us without us and which cannot be put
to bad use. In other words, just as the virtues and
gifts were perfectly given to Mary at her Immaculate
Conception, so in the same way, the infused virtues
come to us as free gifts of grace. We can be confident
of that. We are under the same infinitely loving hand
of God who guides our lives towards our final
beatitude. Mary is already there enjoying this blissful
state, yet she in turn intercedes for us so that we can
join her one day. In short, we have been given the
same charity of the Holy Spirit. Unlike Jesus who is
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True God and True Man, Mary is closer to us, since
she shares our humanity more fully as creatures.
Mary is truly the adopted child of God turn Mother of
God.
Mary knows what it is like to be human and to
be a creature of God, despite her role as Mother of
God. Unlike Jesus who is word made flesh, Mary is
like us in all things except she was given the privilege
of being free from sin from the first moment of her
conception. She can truly identify with our weakness
called to share in his strength.
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Costly Grace
Several years ago I read a book by the well
known German Theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer titles
Costly Grace. Costly grace doesnt mean that grace
was not first a free gift, just as is our relationship with
the Mother of God, but that it costs us our very lives
to live the life of grace. Searching for Mary in our lives
means that we want to learn more and more about
the person we love. We want to be pleasing to her
and learn to relate to her in everything we do. In
relationship to the Mother of God, Bonhoeffer had a
profound insight into the meaning of the Christian life.
On the other hand, we have St. Louis Marie
DeMontfort5 who write in his True Devotion that his
method of becoming a slave to Mary is such a work of
grace promised and given to us by the Holy Trinity
that it is only thru Mary that we can truly become the
children of God and become imitators of the God-Man
Jesus Christ. This knowledge is not a knowledge of
the textbook, but a knowledge gained by the heart. It
is being won over by grace in our relationship to
Mary, obedient to her desires in our own lives, that
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we become the children of God. That is the costly
grace because it strikes at the heart, as DeMontfort
says, at our own corrupt nature.
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Learning to Leave Ourself
Even the leaving of ourselves can never become
a work that we can call our own work. It is without a
doubt the work of grace, yet, when done in unionwith Mary is a sweet surrender. The grace she gains
for us over ourselves could only be done thru the
direct work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Yet, as
DeMontfort say so clearly, Mary is so humble that she
always is pointing us towards the Incarnate Word. In
short, Mary is the Mirror thru which we become
united to Jesus and learn to call God Our Father.
Searching for Mary in our lives is a true searching for
Jesus, essentially, profoundly, intensely, eternally.
Finding Mary and Jesus is both a work and the
deepest consolation: come to me all you who labor
and are burdened and I will give you rest. (Matt.
11:28)
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Escaping the Corruption of the
World
We will learn to escape the corruption of the
world by searching for ways to become classy united
to Mary, since she will lead us to a sinless lifestyle.
She will place in us a terse for the heavenly realities
which are the very foundation of our eternal life. She
will teach us the ways of God and the fear of God.
Mary will share her virtues and gifts with us, so that
we can become more confident in rejecting the
unreasonable demands of our own nature and the
spirit that rules the air, as St. Paul says, so that we
can always keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the ruler
and perfecter of our faith.(Heb. 12:2) We will not
become afraid of our weaknesses and our faults, but
we will surrender them to her to transform them into
the service of God. Marys love for the unity of the
Church will be rationed to us and according to our
capacity to receive. There are many gifts, but the
same Lord who works in all. (1Cor.12:4) We need
Mary to strengthen us in the fight, for the devil is
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prowling around like a roaring lion looking for
someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in
faith.. (1Pet. 5:8-9)
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Our Own Spiritual Backyard
We will begin in our own backyard;6 Mary has
always been the person who has watched7 us grow
up in Christ. Thru our parents, family and friends.
Sometimes these appearances may not have been so
perfect as what weve imagined. They werent
encounters like Juan Diego or Bernadette Soubirous,
yet they were real. Every time we were obedient to
our parents, did our duties at home and school on
time, and acted according to our conscience, so that
we could feel good about ourselves and our faith. On
the other hand, the times we were not so faithful and
obedient, she didnt abandon or scold us, she
remained the person who drew us to Christ.
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Mary, Our Mother
As Catholics we BELIEVE that Mary is our
Mother, even as she was Mother to Christ. In Mary,
we didnt have to leave home to be at home, wedidnt have to hide from our family to be ourselves,
we didnt have to pretend to be someone else in the
fear of the rejection that came with being ourselves.
Mary has always encouraged us to say with Jesus:
Did you not know I must be in my Fathers
house? (Lk. 2:49) She watched us advance in
wisdom, age and favor before God and men. (Lk.
2:52) Not because of anything we had done, but
because he had chosen us before the foundation of
the world to be holy and without blemish before him
in love (Eph. 1:4) Honestly we can say, Mary is a
Mother to us. (LG, 8,63) We, both she and us,8 were
eternally part of his plan of eternal salvation for
mankind.
http://www.usccb.org/bible/ephesians1:4http://www.usccb.org/bible/luke/2http://www.usccb.org/bible/luke/2http://www.usccb.org/bible/ephesians1:4http://www.usccb.org/bible/luke/2http://www.usccb.org/bible/luke/2http://www.usccb.org/bible/luke/2 -
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A Temple of God
What was that house?9 That house was the
mystery of our eternal vocation in Christ. That house
is the one we are living in now, which is the temple
of the Holy Spirit. (1 Cor 6:19) Mary, thru the Holy
Spirit, was always there, drawing us into Christ life so
that we could make our words the words of her
own:The Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name. (Lk. 1:49) She has always
called us to grow in the praise and thanksgiving to
God in our life.
Mary is not concerned just with our looking good
but in being good; she is not concerned with just our
worldly success but our union with the will of God.
She helps us look bend the passing reality ofthis
valley of tears, to be without fear that we might
worship him in holiness and righteousness before him
all of our days. (Lk. 1:74-75) In other words, being
the first disciples of Christ, she wishes for us what she
she wishes for herself. (Matt. 7:21)
http://www.usccb.org/bible/matthew/7/12http://www.usccb.org/bible/luke/1:74http://www.usccb.org/bible/luke/1http://www.usccb.org/bible/1corinthians/6http://www.usccb.org/bible/matthew/7/12http://www.usccb.org/bible/matthew/7/12http://www.usccb.org/bible/luke/1:74http://www.usccb.org/bible/luke/1http://www.usccb.org/bible/1corinthians/6 -
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Defining Mary In Our Life
Who is Mary to us?
A central question I ask myself is: If Mary is so
great, being the Mother of God, why does she want to
pay attention to what Im doing with my life? More or
less we have this burning question which is not easy
to answer. On the one hand, we look around
ourselves we see all the great works that are being
done to honor God, the Church and the world, but
maybe we cant see that our work can make a
difference. The difference we are seeking is the
difference of dimensional qualities like number,
weight, and measure. On the other hand, we see all
the possible works that lie ahead which we may or
may not be part of. Ouch! Where do I fit in all of this?
As a matter of self-preservation we look at the only
thing we can count on and that is the love of God
that has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy
Spirit. The essential point we need to consider is that
we are Gods children. We are in him and he in us and
by his choice we have been made inheritors of the
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Kingdom of Heaven. Lastly, despite all odds against
us, who can be against us? (Rom. 8:31b)
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Mary is pleased with who we
are, are we?
Mary is pleased with who we are, because God
has made us in his image and likeness. Who could not
be happy with being made in the image and likes of
God? As you know it is not as easy to live in the
presence of God as it is to say that we are made in
his image and likeness. The second one is an
incontestable fact that is based on the the Word of
God and divine revelation, while the first is dependent
upon our willingness to cooperate with the grace of
God and the will of God. It is one thing to receive
baptism and be initiated in the Kingdom of God, yet it
is quite another to live in that Kingdom
.
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Marys Care For Us
In order to better understand Mary care for us in
Gods plan of eternal salvation, I believe we need to
understand a Mothers heart. In order to understand
Marys heart, is to understand a Mothers heart.How
can we understand this? Compassion. That is the one
word that describers Mary. Of course we are speaking
simply. Let us be more precise. Let us turn our
attention to the wedding feast of Cana. There we see
Jesus who is on the edge of his public ministry. His
disciples are with him. He and his disciples with his
Mother are guests of the wedding couple. We have
read or listened to this Gospel many times in our
lives. It is the first miracle of Jesus public ministry:
On the third day there was a wedding in Cana in Galilee,
and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his
disciples were also invited to the wedding. (Jn. 2:1-2)
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The Gospel Message
We can grasp some essential notes of the
Gospel by the way he revealed this event to us. First
he says, when (the third day) and where(Cana inGalilee) and who (the mother of Jesus) was at the
wedding. Immediately, the St. John says thatJesus
and his disciples were also there, since they were
also invited to the wedding. I believe that the
connection between Jesus and his Mother was
spiritually unique among all creation. We know that
Mary was there providentially to inaugurate the public
ministry of Jesus. I believe that Mary is also in our
lives, too when we are undergoing important events
in our lives. Why? Marys purpose is to form Jesus in
us. Marys role as Mother of the Church is to lead us
to become followers of Jesus Christ, the light of the
world:
He who follows me will not walk in the darkness but will
have the light of life. (Jn. 8:12)
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Mary Forms Christ in us
Mary desires nothing more for us than to be like
Jesus. When I say to be like Jesus, I do not mean in
some metaphorical sense; what I mean that by the
life we live, others may come to know Jesus is alive.
First, that he is alive in us; secondly, that he lives in
us so that others may also live in him thru us. In the
same way that when we approach Mary thru
contemplating and imitating her life, we find the
image of Jesus in her life, so in the same way, we are
call dot reflect the life of Jesus and others will want to
Know Jesus.10
Just as she enjoys the beatific joy today in
beholding Jesus in perfectly accomplishing the
Fathers will for all eternity, so her joy for us is to help
us accomplish Gods perfect will in our own lives. We
can do this thru the Holy Spirit given to us. Jesus told
his disciples, the Spirit of truth will remain with you,
who will be in you. (Jn. 14:17) Just as Jesus was
formed by the overshadowing of the Spirit at the
Annunciation, so Mary forms Jesus in us thru the
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same Spirit of truth (Lk. 1:35) who will be with you
always.(Jn. 14:16)
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Part Two
Finding Mary
Seek and You ShallFind
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How Can We Find Mary?
Thru Private Prayer
We can find Mary in our lives thru prayer. When
we get on our knees and say our prayers at night we
can speak to Mary, who will receive us in faith. The
Holy Spirit will guide our prayer, just as he guided the
prayer of Mary at the Annunciation, the wedding feast
of Cana, losing Jesus in the temple, the Crucifixion.
We can be assured that she will hear our prayer. All
we need is to voice our needs, thanks, blessings,
praise to her. Do we want to be more intimate with
Christ, but are afraid to ask? Go to Mary. Are we
worried about an interview, a new job, a friend who is
in sorrow? Go to Mary. Are we concerned about our
future? Money? Career? Place where will live? Go toMary!
Mary is our Mother.11 Like any Mother she listens
to their needs and joys.
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Thru Communal and Liturgical
Prayer
Are there times when you come together with
others to pray to Mary: Meals at home, Christmas,
Rosary with a a prayer group, how about a book club
where you may read a particular book. Any of these
ways to get together with others to share your
prayers, reflections and expressions about Mary is a
good way to create a more fine tuned understanding
of who Mary is in your life.
Being together with others of the same faith in
order to share the faith with one another, is a
tremendous way to honor the Blessed Virgin Mary and
to come to understand how she effects the lives of
those in the Church. There are many traditional ways
that have been popular among the faithful to honor
Mary: First Saturdays, Pilgrimage of the Fatima statue
to parishes, Feast days in the Church throughout the
year, Check your local diocesan paper for special
guest speakers to your parish or cathedral who are
lecturing on a Marian topic. Another way is to attend
the Mass of a Saint who was know to have been very
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devoted to Mary during their lives.
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Personal Reading & Study12
Among the most helpful means of arriving at
perfection is the use of personal reading and study.
The Church encourages the study of Marian themes in
Scripture. An excellent place to start if you have
access to the internet is the Marian Page at the
internationally recognized Marian Institute at Dayton
University. The Institute was established as a
affiliation of the Pontifical University the Marianum in
Roma, Italy. At the Mary Page you will find references
to Scripture passages, Church documents, art,
literature and other amazing information on the life of
Mary in our lives and in the Church.
Another great source of research and study on
Marys life is the Catholic Encyclopedia. The Catholic
Encyclopedia was put together for the very purpose of
providing exceptional knowledge on Catholic topics.
You can now access the entire Encyclopedia, in its full
content online. All searching is free.
http://oce.catholic.com/index.php?title=Curricula:_Mariologyhttp://oce.catholic.com/index.php?title=Curricula:_Mariologyhttp://oce.catholic.com/index.php?title=Curricula:_Mariologyhttp://oce.catholic.com/index.php?title=Curricula:_Mariologyhttp://campus.udayton.edu/mary/aboutmary2.htmlhttp://campus.udayton.edu/mary/aboutmary2.html -
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We Believe in You
Come, Holy Spirit, grant me the words to speak
my heart to my Mother in Heaven. Grant me the
words to know how to speak to the Mother of Jesus
Christ.
Mary, thank you for being with me in my life. It
is hard to understand this mystery I have been
brought into; the mystery of grace and divine
adoption. I believe you understand the mystery that
my words have difficulty speaking clearly. The path
God has led me on is one of faith and it requires me
to see what cannot be seen with the bodily eyes.
Many times Ive satiated my natural sense to try to
find happiness, but again and again Ive found that
they leave my inner self empty of true happiness.
Even when I try my best to stay on this narrow path,
others who value less the eternal city, try to pull me
off the narrow path to one that is wide and leads to
eternal destruction. I try not to bear offensive
thoughts against them, but try to lean surrender to
the grace that God gives to me at this moments. I
cannot change those who deny the truth, but I can
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only try to change myself by the grace given to me to
remain faithful.
When the Father revealed your Son to me I
began to realize what true happiness is and what it
meant to attain it. I do not know why others try to
keep me away form Jesus and the eternal life
promised to me, since they seem not to see the
things I see thru the faith given to me. Perhaps they
want to make light of this eternal truth before me. All
I know is I have to obey my conscience and live the
truth. Now, after many years of attempting to follow
Jesus, I understand that all is a gift.
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Accepting Gods Gift
Why is it so hard for me to accept this gift? At
times it seems easier to give what Ive received than
to receive what God wants to give. What I mean is
that Jesus wants me to continually open myself to the
one simple gift, but I keep falling back to seeing it as
many small gifts along a way. I know that is not the
truth, but that is all I can attain to in my own
weakness, my limited ability to comprehend the
simplicity of it all.
Mary, you care for me more that I can
understand. I believe this to be the case because of
the truth that I hold about you, which the Church has
given to me, which the Saints have taught me, and
the Holy Scriptures have revealed to me. Most of all,
because you are the Mother of the Word Incarnate.
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The Body of Christ
Mary, I have tried to contemplate this truth
before, but the closest I can come to it is like when I
receive the Body and Blood of Christ in HolyCommunion in faith. I know this is an eternal privilege
to share the same faith you had when you lived on
earth. Now, you see clearly what then you only saw in
faith, you are there in heaven in body and soul,
having been assumed into heaven by the power of
God.
Here I am speaking to you, but my speech is not
just a babbling of words, for all that I say is
regarding my eternal soul and its destiny in God and
in you. Jesus said, on that day you will realize that I
am in the Father, and you are in my and I in you.
Already you realize this and you pray that we too will
realize it with you one day. That is our final and
lasting joy. One that will go on eternally. I only hope
for this thru the gift of God and not from something I
can do to accomplish it. The Holy Spirit has revealed
to you who are your children. I hope that this same
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Spirit which bears witness with our spirit that we are
the children of God, will lead us to you and to your
Son, Jesus Christ. May I never stray from the
obedience of faith and the charity of the Holy Spirit.
May I reflect Jesus to others in all I do.
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The Immaculate Conception
With our the Stain of Original Sin
We know that one thing is most prominent
about Mary in our relationship with her; Mary was
immaculately conceived without the stain of original
sin. Pope Pius IX said in Ineffabilis13:The Most Holy Virgin Mary was, in the first moment ofher conception, by a unique gift of grace and privilege of
Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, theRedeemer of mankind, preserved free from all stain oforiginal sin. (D 1641).
In everything we say and do in relationship with the
Mother of God, she is enfolded in a Mystery with an
eternal depth equal to her dignity and predestination
as Mother of God. Reverence is a word that is so
appropriate for our relationship with her, yet at the
same time we are allowed to call her Mother. For
years I felt that I couldnt even lift my heart to Mary,
since there were so many things I couldnt
comprehend about my relationship with her within
the Church. I had always been taught prayers in
honor of her, especially the Memorare, the Magnificat,
the Rosary, and the Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
One thing that couldnt be taught to me was my own
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relationship with the Mother of Jesus. I must admit
that it is difficult to presume too much.
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Thanks for Catechism
If I had not been taught from an early age that
she was Mother of God and I had a place in her
heart, Im almost sure it would have been more
difficult to change once I became older. Then again,
no one can underestimate the power of grace to
transform the human heart. Over the past twenty
years Ive witnessed converts to the Catholic faith,
professing their faith and embracing devotion to the
Mother of God. This has always inspired me. To
celebrate Easter Sunday with new converts gives
hope to the Churchs future and to a world that seems
to have gone astray.
In my own private devotion Ive meditated on
this great Mystery of Marys singular gift of being
Immaculately conceived from the first moment of her
conception. This is where I really believe I have
found Mary in my life. Only a person so pure and so
filled with the charity of God could have so much
power over our hearts for centuries and untold ages.
The spiritual space or concentric circles of
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contemplation that surround this Mystery have no end
and only the mind and heart of God himself can
comprehend this immaculateness of Mary. Is it wrong
to feel overly confident in the face of this Mystery? I
feel a strong attraction towards Mary and her
immaculateness, but at the same time I feel a sacred
silence inside myself that retreats at her presence.
Marys presence to me means the entirety of the faith
that the Church has handed down to us, in her
teaching and in her practices.
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My Soul Proclaims
At the same time that Im kept back from
approaching Mary because of this reverence I have
for her and the dignity of her relationship with God, I
feel an irresistible spiritual-gravitational attraction to
her role as Mother of the children of God. I sense in
my faith that we are One Body in this family that God
has created us. Mary has this love for all of the
children of God. In other words,inside myself I sense
the Mystery calls me into God and awakens the gifts
of the Spirit inside myself. Im both called into the
Mystery of contemplation of the Mystery of the love of
God in Mary, but at the same time to awaken inside
myself a greater devotion and contemplation of what
has yet been understood.
Mary told Elizabeth at the Visitation, My souls
proclaims the greatness of the Lord. St. Thomas
Aquinas when speaking of the Mystery of the
Incarnation tells his readers that:I answer that, To each thing that is befitting whichbelongs to it by reason of its very nature; thus, to
reason befits man, since this belongs to him because heis of a rational nature. But the very nature of God isgoodness, as is clear from Dionysius (Div. Nom. i.).
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Hence, what belongs to the essence of goodness befitsGod. But it belongs to the essence of goodness tocommunicate itself to others, as is plain from Dionysius(Div. Nom. iv.). Hence it belongs to the essence of thehighest good to communicate itself in the highestmanner to the creature, and this is brought about chieflyby His so joining created nature to Himself that onePerson is made up of these threethe Word, a soul and
flesh, as Augustine says (De Trin. xiii.). Hence it ismanifest that it was fitting that God should become
incarnate.14
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The Incarnation
The Incarnation, as Aquinas says here, revealed
the goodness of God by communicating himself in
the highest manner to the creature. Mary was the
Mother of that communication to mankind. In other
words, it is in this infinitely gracious communication of
God to mankind, and from his fullness we have all
received, grace in place of grace, (Jn. 1:14-15)and it
is this grace and truth that has come to us in Jesus
Christ, that fills us with confidence to approach the
throne of grace. (Heb. 4:16) In other words, by
searching for Mary thru her Immaculate Conception
we come to realize just how infinitely good God has
been to us and she is the Mother of Goodness.
God not only communicates his goodness
directly thru his Son (Heb. 1:1-2) but also thru the
Mother of the Incarnate Son, The greatness of the
Lord. (Lk. 1:46)
For Mary to be Mother is to give the Son to the
world, even when her heart was being pierced by a
sword or she had to bear standing by and watching
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him give his life in sacrifice for sinners and enemies.
She humbly accepted her role as Mother and gave us
an example of selfless charity when Jesus was saying,
Father, forgive them, they know not what they
do. (Lk. 23:34)
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In Search of Mary
Interior Search
So far we have shown how Mary can come to be
know in our lives: thru prayer, study, striving to lead a
perfect life. All of these have been concerned with a
spiritual searching for Mary. Our concern has been to
strengthen our faith in the teachings of the Church on
Mary; surrender more to the grace of private and
public prayer in honor of Mary; lastly, to remain open
to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, thru his gifts
conferred on us in confirmation, to gain a greater
understanding and devotion to the Mother of God.
There is still another means we can use to discern the
person of the Blessed Virgin Mary in our lives and that
is the to study how Mary searched for God in her life.
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Marys Reading of the Prophets
How did Mary understand what it means to
search for God? What did the Old Testament tell us
about her?
A lamp from the LORD is the breath of man;
it searches through all his inmost being.15 (Prov. 20:27)
Mary knew that God was constantly searches for the
inmost being of a person. At the Annunciation she
said My being proclaims the greatness of the Lord.
This was her happiness and joy to be filled with God
in her life. There was no other joy for Mary. She even
questioned the Archangel that came to her. How can
this be, since I do not know man? Her moral purity
was immaculate.
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Everything Works Together
We cannot expect for everyone and everything
to follow the path that the Holy Spirit has marked out
for us. It is highly unlikely that the world will have a
100% agreement with our search for Mary. Actually, in
1974, when Blessed John Paul II visited with us in
New Orleans, I was fortunate enough to be present
with several friends in the Cursillo movement in the
SuperdomeAgainst Selfishness. John Paul II told us
that if we are to follow Christ we would be following a
prophetic vocation and that we will be called out of
it, not fitting in. He said that the world wants to
deceive us into thinking that following Christ is the
wrong way, that we cannot be successful in a
worldly sense. The sense that I received at that heart-
to-heart talk he gave to us is that Jesus wants to
suffer thru us in order to free us from deception and
untruth; the things that kill our relationship with Christ.
The Old Testament speaks about the Holy Spirit
fleeing deceit and those under the debt of sin:
For the holy spirit of discipline flees deceitand withdraws from senseless counsels;and when injustice occurs it is rebuked. (Wis. 1:5)
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It is within that Spirit of discipline that we must
guard our hearts from the spirit that come to us to rob
us of our imitation of Mary in our lives. If we can
imagine how Mary must have flown the slightest
imperfection by faithfully surrendering to the grace of
God placed in her. This is the way she wants her
children to live in the world. She doesnt wish us to
flee or run form the world, but to overcome it by the
grace of God in our lives:But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide youto all truth. (Jn 16;13)
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Total Consecration
St. Louis Marie De Montfort found that a total
consecration thru Mary to Jesus was the perfect
means to both find Mary and find Jesus. By using
Mary we come to Jesus; however, De Montfort saw
that this consecration required ones complete
devotion to Mary. It is so great of an act that the
person is willing to sacrifice all of ones temporal and
eternal merits to Mary to do with them as she will, so
that the person can become a true slave of Mary. St.
Louis Marie De Montfort saw the heart of this
consecration having four parts, which all worked to
make this union with Mary perfect. The person must
place all of his actions with, in, thru and for Mary. In
order to become a true servant of Mary, means total
dedication. Perhaps we are only wanting to come to
Mary at certain times in our lives for help; at other
times, we want to take the reigns of our lives in our
own hands. De Montfort, and the Church has
canonized him, wanted the faithful to know how great
this love between servant and Mary could be by his
True Devotion.
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Another Saint, living in our own times is St.
Maximilan Kolbe, who also started the Militia of the
Immaculata. The Militia consecrated their lives to
Mary also and thru this consecration they hoped to
help transform society; they become the instruments
of Mary holiness working in the Church.
These are two great and wonderful ways that we
can make a total gift of ourselves to Mary. Her grace
will not be diminished by our generosity. She greatly
rewards her servants in many ways.
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Old Testament Understanding of Search
The Old Testament has several terms for
seeking, which Mary would have been familiar with.
The word was hapas meant to search, to examine as
something precious and desirable. In the sense of the
Old Testament meaning of hapas the person begins to
conduct a search for someone. It is that hope of
finding the one he is searching for that is given here.
Proverbs gives a perfect sense in which we are
leading:
If you seek her like silver,And like hidden treasures search her out. (Prov. 2:4)
This is the way in which the Wisdom of God is to be
sought by a person. It is in at this earnest Spirit that
we find Mary living our her life as a humble servant of
God in Bethlehem and Nazareth:
And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them inher heart. (Lk. 2:19)
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Equal Footing
St. Thomas says that assent and cogitation are
on an equal footing; that is, they both are equal in
the intellects search for truth.16 In this assent of the
will to what is given to it in faith, moved by charity,
the person assents to the truth because it is revealed
by God who promises eternal life to those who
believe, while the understanding remains still in the
darkness of faith, since the finite understanding of the
intellect cannot comprehend the fullness of the
revelation set before it. The continuation ofthe
assent produces a greater understanding, especially
when lifted above its natural aptitude thru grace and
the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Again, the soul is drawn
even deeper into the thicket17 of love for God. St.
John of the Cross explains this thicket in this way. He
says that the Mystery and knowledge of God is so
immense, that the soul never can get to the end of it:This thicket of Gods wisdom and knowledge is so deepand immense that no matter how much the soul knowsshe can always enter it further; it is cast and its richesincomprehensible, as St. Paul exclaims: O height of the
riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God, howincomprehensible are His judgements and unsearchableHis ways. (Rom. 11:33)
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Mystery of God
St. John Chrysostom speaks very eloquently of
this Mystery of God in his book On the
Incomprehensible Nature of God.18 His XII homilies
are addressed to the Eunomians who believed they
could understand God. The three Saints, Aquinas,
Chrysostom, and John of the Cross taught the truth
about the divine light exceeding all of the natural
potential of mankind. As we mentioned earlier in
another book, the Church teaches that not only
isGods nature is incomprehensible to men, (Ott, 20)
but that Gods essence is also incomprehensible to
the blessed in heaven.19 Both of these statements
are DeFide; that is, have the highest certainty in
which the Church teaches. DeFide statements are the
highest level of certainty because they are derived
from God revealing them.
For example, when Joseph was in the service of
the King of Egypt his brothers came to visit him,
when they left a precious gold chalice was placed in
their bags. When the King noticed it was missing, he
went in search for it. It was finally found in thebags
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of Benjamin. (Gen. 44:12) In the New Testament,
Jesus speaks about a merchant who went in search of
fine pearls, when he found one, he sold everything
that he had so that he could buy the field where this
fine pearl was. In the same way, the cost of our
finding Mary in our lives amounts to the degree that
we desire to find her. We know she is the most hidden
treasure we could find in the filed of Gods house.
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Couldnt Find..
The Septuagint uses one word which is the
same word used in the New Testament, which is
heurisko. It simply means to find. In Genesis the man
is given the job of naming the wild beast of the earth.
It goes on to say that he was able to name all the
cattle, all the birds of the air, and all the wild
animals; but none proved to be the suitable partner
for the man. (Gen. 2:20) What do we learn thru this
about our search the Blessed Virgin Mary in our
lives? It means that when we search for Mary,
remaining in the fear of God and walking in the Spirit
as Mary did, we are bond to come across things
which will cannot be proved to be the suitable
partner for for the desires of our heart and the
enlightenment of our intellects about the truth of who
Mary is. We should at that point simply name those
things and go about our search for Mary:Those who love me I also love, and those who seek mefind me. (Prov. 8:17)
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To Learn
The New Testament use several words which
means to learn. For example, the author to the Acts
of the Apostles says in reference to searching for
God:So that people might seek God, even perhaps grope forhim and find him, though indeed he is not far form anyof us. (Acts. 1:27)
This first word is heurisco: to learn something
previously not known, frequently involving an
elements of surprise- to learn, to find out, to
discover. (Louw & Nida, 326)
In20 order to find something or someone
previously not know we must set out in their direction
and become familiar with their life, their habits, their
way of thinking. The more we become familiar with
someone and engage in their thoughts, words and
deeds, we can emulate and imitate them. This is the
whole importance of the Imitation of Christ. In the
case of Mary she is the supernatural model of our
union with Jesus, so it is in earnest that we keep her
life before us.
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Works Cited
Catholic Biblical Association of America, Confraternity of
Christian Doctrine, and Bishops Committee. The New
American Bible. New York: Benziger, 1970.
Documents of Vatican II. Vatican Council II,IntraText,
November 21, 1964. file:///Users/clintonlefort/Desktop/
ENG0037V01IXTCT/2VatCoun.IXT/_index.htm.
Roten, J. The Mary Page. Encyclopedic.Marian Library
of University of Dayton, 1975. http://
campus.udayton.edu/mary/aboutus.html.
Catholic Church, and John E Rotelle.Little Office of the
Blessed Virgin Mary. New York: Catholic Book Pub.
Co., 1988.
Tanquerey, Adolphe, and Herman Branderis. The Spiritual
Life [microform]; a Treatise on Ascetical and Mystical
Theology. Tournai (Belgium): Society of St. John theEvangelist, Descle, 1932. http://archive.org/details/
MN41530ucmf_5.Grenier, Henri, and J. P. E OHanley. Thomistic Philosophy.
Charlottetown, Canada: St. Dunstans University, 1950.
Ott, Ludwig. Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma. St. Louis,
Mo.: B. Herder Book Co., 1964.
Grignion de Montfort, Louis-Marie.A Treatise on the True
Devotion to the Blessed Virgin. New York: P.J. Kenedy,
1909.Poulain, Aug, and J. V Bainvel. The Graces of Interior
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Prayer (Des Grces Doraison) A Treatise on Mystical
Theology. St. Louis: Herder, 1950.
Louw, J. P, and Nida. Greek-English Lexicon of the New
Testament: Based on Semantic Domains, 1989.
VanGemeren, Willem.New International Dictionary of Old
Testament Theology & Exegesis. Grand Rapids, Mich.:
Zondervan Pub. House, 1997.Thomas, McGlynn, and Robert William Schmidt. Truth.
Indianapolis: Hackett Pub. Co., 1994.
John of the Cross. The Collected Works of St. John of the
Cross. Washington, D.C.: Institute of Carmelite Studies,
1979.
John Chrysostom. On the incomprehensible nature of God.
Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of AmericaPress, 1984.
Woytyla, Karol. Meeting with the Young People of New
Orleans. Vatican Publishing, September 12, 1987. http://
www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/speeches/1987/
september/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_19870912_giovani-
new-orleans_en.html.
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TextsLumen Gentium63. By reason of the gift and role of divine maternity, bywhich she is united with her Son, the Redeemer, and withHis singular graces and functions, the Blessed Virgin isalso intimately united with the Church. As St. Ambrosetaught, the Mother of God is a type of the Church in theorder of faith, charity and perfect union with Christ.(18*)For in the mystery of the Church, which is itself rightlycalled mother and virgin, the Blessed Virgin stands out ineminent and singular fashion as exemplar both of virginand mother. (19*) By her belief and obedience, notknowing man but overshadowed by the Holy Spirit, asthe new Eve she brought forth on earth the very Son of
the Father, showing an undefiled faith, not in the word ofthe ancient serpent, but in that of God's messenger. TheSon whom she brought forth is He whom God placed asthe first-born among many brethren,(299) namely thefaithful, in whose birth and education she cooperates witha maternal love. (Lumen Gentium 8,63)
Catechesis Tredendae (1979)
She in turn was the first of His disciples. She was the firstin time, because even when she found her adolescent Sonin the temple she received from Him lessons that she keptin her heart. (cf. Lk 2:51) She was the first disciple aboveall else because no one has been "taught by God" (cf. Jn6:45) to such depth. She was "both mother and disciple,"as St. Augustine said of her, venturing to add that her
discipleship was more important for her than hermotherhood. (cf. Sermo 25, 7; PL 46, 937-938) 73
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_jp-ii_exh_16101979_catechesi-tradendae_en.htmlhttp://%22%22%22http//63.%20By%20reason%20of%20the%20gift%20and%20role%20of%20divine%20maternity,%20by%20which%20she%20is%20united%20with%20her%20Son,%20the%20Redeemer,%20and%20with%20His%20singular%20graces%20and%20functions,%20the%20Blessed%20Virgin%20is%20also%20intimately%20united%20with%20the%20Church.%20As%20St.%20Ambrose%20taught,%20the%20Mother%20of%20God%20is%20a%20type%20of%20the%20Church%20in%20the%20order%20of%20faith,%20charity%20and%20perfect%20union%20with%20Christ.(18*)%20For%20in%20the%20mystery%20of%20the%20Church,%20which%20is%20itself%20rightly%20called%20mother%20and%20virgin,%20the%20Blessed%20Virgin%20stands%20out%20in%20eminent%20and%20singular%20fashion%20as%20exemplar%20both%20of%20virgin%20and%20mother.%20(19*)%20By%20her%20belief%20and%20obedience,%20not%20knowing%20man%20but%20overshadowed%20by%20the%20Holy%20Spirit,%20as%20the%20new%20Eve%20she%20brought%20forth%20on%20earth%20the%20very%20Son%20of%20the%20Father,%20showing%20an%20undefiled%20faith,%20not%20in%20http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_jp-ii_exh_16101979_catechesi-tradendae_en.htmlhttp://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_jp-ii_exh_16101979_catechesi-tradendae_en.htmlhttp://%22%22%22http//63.%20By%20reason%20of%20the%20gift%20and%20role%20of%20divine%20maternity,%20by%20which%20she%20is%20united%20with%20her%20Son,%20the%20Redeemer,%20and%20with%20His%20singular%20graces%20and%20functions,%20the%20Blessed%20Virgin%20is%20also%20intimately%20united%20with%20the%20Church.%20As%20St.%20Ambrose%20taught,%20the%20Mother%20of%20God%20is%20a%20type%20of%20the%20Church%20in%20the%20order%20of%20faith,%20charity%20and%20perfect%20union%20with%20Christ.(18*)%20For%20in%20the%20mystery%20of%20the%20Church,%20which%20is%20itself%20rightly%20called%20mother%20and%20virgin,%20the%20Blessed%20Virgin%20stands%20out%20in%20eminent%20and%20singular%20fashion%20as%20exemplar%20both%20of%20virgin%20and%20mother.%20(19*)%20By%20her%20belief%20and%20obedience,%20not%20knowing%20man%20but%20overshadowed%20by%20the%20Holy%20Spirit,%20as%20the%20new%20Eve%20she%20brought%20forth%20on%20earth%20the%20very%20Son%20of%20the%20Father,%20showing%20an%20undefiled%20faith,%20not%20in%20 -
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Marian Library
Psalm 127:1
Unless the LORD build the house,
they labor in vain who build.
Unless the LORD guard the city,
in vain does the guard keep watch.
Mary, our MotherShe is our mother- the mother of our life, the mother ofour incarnation, the mother of our light. As the Apostlesays of our Lord,he became for us by Gods power our wisdom
and justice, and holiness and redemption.
She then, as mother of Christ, is the mother of ourwisdom and justice, of our holiness and redemption. Sheis more our mother than the mother of our flesh. Ourbirth form her is better, for from her is born our holiness,our wisdom, our justice, our sanctification, ourredemption.
Praise the Lord in his holy ones, say the Scriptures. Ifour Lord is to be praised in those holy ones through
whom he brings to being deeds of power and miracles,how much more is he to be praised in her in whom hefashioned himself, who is wonderful beyond all wonders.(St. Aelred)
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APOSTOLIC JOURNEY
TO THE UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA AND CANADA
MEETING WITH THE YOUNG
PEOPLE OF NEW ORLEANSADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS JOHN
PAUL II
"Louisiana Superdome" Stadium
Saturday, 12 September 198721
Part I
Dear Young People of New Orleans,Dear Young People of America,
1. Listening to what you are telling me by yourpresence and through your representatives, I know
that you are very much conscious of having a specialmission in this world, of being partners in the missionof the Church.I also know that in fulfilling your mission you arewilling to give, you are willing to share, and you arewilling to serve. And you are willing to do all this,together, not alone! In this you are like Jesus: Jesusgave and he served and he was never alone. He tells
us: "The one who sent me is which me. He has notleft me alone" (Io. 8, 29).Be aware of deception in the world Yes, dear young
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people, I too want to speak about your mission, thereason for your life on earth, the truth of your lives. Itis extremely vital for you to have a clear idea of yourmission, to avoid being confused or deceived. Inspeaking to the Christians of his time, Saint Paulexplicitly urged them: "Let no one deceive you in anyway" (2 Thess. 2,3). And today I say the same to you,
young people of America: "Let no one deceive you inany way" about your mission, about the truth,about where you are going. Let no one deceive youabout the truth of your lives.
2. But what is the opposite of deception? Where canyou turn to find answers that satisfy, answers that willlast? The opposite of deception is truth the person
who tells the truth, the person who is the truth. Yes,the opposite of deception is Jesus Christ, who tells us:"I am the way, and the truth, and the life" (Io. 14, 6).Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He reveals the truth ofGod. But he is also man. He shares in our humanityand came into the world to teach us about ourselves,to help us discover ourselves. You young people areproud to live in a free country and you should begrateful to God for your freedom. But even thoughyou can come and so as you like, and do what youwant, you are not really free if you are living underthe power of error or falsehood, or deceit or sin. OnlyJesus Christ can make you fully free through his truth.And that is why he said: "you will know the truth, andthe truth will set you free" (Ibid. 8, 32. 36). And that
is why he added: "if the Son frees you, you will reallybe free". Dear young people: the whole message ofJesus in the Gospels and through his Church helps
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you to discover who you really are, to discover all thedimensions of your lives.
3. Each of us is an individual, a person, a creature ofGod, one of his children, someone very special whomGod loves and for whom Christ died. This identity ofours determines the way we must live, the way we
must act, the way we must view our mission in theworld. We come from God, we depend on God, Godhas a plan for us a plan for our lives, for our bodies,for our souls, for our future. This plan for us isextremely important so important that God becameman to explain it to us. In Gods plan we areindividuals, yes, but we are also part of a community.The Second Vatican Council emphasized the fact that
God did not call us to share his life merely asunrelated individuals. Rather he wanted to mould usinto a people as his sons and daughters (Cfr.AdGentes, 2). This aspect of our being a community, ofour sharing Gods life as a people is part of ouridentity who we are, what we are, where we aregoing. Right away we can see that as persons wehave responsibilities and that these responsibilitiesare part of our freedom. The Vatican Council went sofar as to say that "man is defined first of all by hisresponsibilities towards his brothers and sisters andtowards history" (Gaudium et Spes, 55).To understand ourselves as members of a community,as individuals linked together to make up the Peopleof God, as persons with responsibility for others is a
great insight an insight that is necessary for fulfillingour mission properly.
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4.Against Selfishness As Christians you have theseinsights and Christ today wants to reinforce them inyou. You speak about "being partners", of sharing andserving and working together. And all of this is linkedto Gods plan, according to which we are brothers andsisters in Christ brothers and sisters who belong tothe People of God and who are made to live in
community, to think about others, to help others.Dear young people of America: in the Church thereare many different gifts. There is room for manydifferent cultures and ways of doing things. But thereis no room in the Church for selfishness. There is noroom in the world for selfishness. It destroys themeaning of life; it destroys the meaning of love; itreduces the human person to a subhuman level.
When we speak about the need of being open toothers, of taking into account the community, offulfilling our responsibilities to all our brothers andsisters, we are actually talking about the whole world.Your mission as young people today is to the wholeworld. In what sense? You can never forget theinterdependence of human beings wherever they are.When Jesus tells us to love our neighbor he does notset a geographical limit. What is needed today is asolidarity between all the young people of the world a solidarity especially with the poor and all those inneed. You young people must change society by yourlives of justice and fraternal love. It is not just aquestion of your own country, but of the whole world.
This is certainly your mission, dear young people. Youare partners with each other, partners with the wholeChurch, partners with Christ.
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5. In order, however, to accomplish this great work, tobe in a condition to change the world in the name ofJesus, you yourselves must actually be livingaccording to your own identity according to Godsplan for your lives. Once again it is the world of Jesusthat directs your lives and tells you what that plan is.
You remember how much Jesus insisted on thecommandment of love, how much he insisted onliving according to certain norms called theBeatitudes: "Blessed are the meek... Blessed are themerciful... Blessed are the clean of heart... Blessedare the peacemakers". All of this is part of the plan.When Saint Paul says, "Let no one deceive you", he isin effect saying: Do not believe anyone who
contradicts Jesus or his message which is transmittedto you by the Church, Jesus speaks to you youngpeople and tells you the value of meekness, mercyand humility. Other voices in the world willimmediately shout out: "weakness!". In the GospelJesus emphasizes the value of honesty, uprightness,justice and fairness. But when you practice thesevirtues, you are liable to be accused of being "naive".Jesus and his Church hold up to you Gods plan forhuman love, telling you that sex is a great gift of Godthat is reserved for marriage. At this point the voicesof the world will try to deceive you, with powerfulslogans, claiming that you are "unrealistic", "out of it","backward", even "reactionary". But the message ofJesus is clear: purity means true love and it is the
total opposite of selfishness and escape.
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1 A person who is seriously seeking to discern theprogress he is making in the spiritual life would be wiseto obtain a spiritual director who is learned and faithfulto the teachings of the Church to accompany him on hisspiritual journey. All the major spiritual writers as well asthe Church recommend such a perfect means to
accompany his spiritual growth.2 Poulain, Aug, and J. V Bainvel. The Graces of Interior
Prayer (Des Grces Doraison) A Treatise on Mystical
Theology. St. Louis: Herder, 1950,pg. 379. #1.3 Ibid., CH. XXVI.4 We do not need to mention the Word Incarnate, sincehe was True God and True Man.5 Grignion de Montfort, Louis-Marie.A Treatise on the
True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin. New York: P.J.
Kennedy, 1909.6 Sincerely, we do not have to go up to Heaven to findMary,the book of Wisdom says, Those who love me Ialso love, those who seek me find me. (Prov. 8:17)7 Two considerations separate our understanding ofMarys care. Bodily and Spiritual.8 See. Eph. 1:4+9 Ps. 127:1 Unless the Lord build the house, they laborin vain who build it. Unless the Lord guard the city, invain does theguard keep watch.10 Im not referring to those who have chosen to walk inthe darkness,and who have chosen to remain apartform Jesus, despite GOds call to them. We can onlyhope to give a good example despite what those whofollow the liar as Jesus called him do or think of us.11
Catholic Church, and John E Rotelle.Little Office of theBlessed Virgin Mary. New York: Catholic Book Pub. Co.,
1988, pg. 19-20.
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12 Tanquerey, Adolphe, and Herman Branderis. The
Spiritual Life [microform]; a Treatise on Ascetical and
Mystical Theology. Tournai (Belgium): Society of St. Johnthe Evangelist, Descle, 1932. http://archive.org/details/
MN41530ucmf_5, pg. 276.13 Ott, Ludwig. Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma. St.
Louis, Mo.: B. Herder Book Co., 1964, pg. 199.14 Saint Thomas Aquinas and Fathers of the English
Dominican Province, Summa Theologica, Complete
English ed. (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software,
2009),Pt. III,Q.1,a1.15 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine. Board of Trustees,
Catholic Church. National Conference of Catholic Bishops
and United States Catholic Conference. AdministrativeBoard, The New American Bible: Translated from the
Original Languages With Critical Use of All the Ancient
Sources and theRevised New Testament, Pr 20:27
(Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, 1996).16 Thomas, McGlynn, and Robert William Schmidt. Truth.
Indianapolis: Hackett Pub. Co., 1994, Vol. 2, pg. 211.17
John of the Cross. The Collected Works of St. John of theCross. Washington, D.C.: Institute of Carmelite Studies,
1979, pg. 548-49.18 John Chrysostom. On the incomprehensible nature of
God. Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America
Press, 1984.19 Ott,Ludwig,Fundamentals, pgs.20,23.20
Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament Based onSemantic Domains Johannes P. Louw and Eugene A. Nida,
Editors
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Copyright 1988, 1989 by the United Bible Societies,
New York, NY 10023 Second Edition. Used by
permission.
Electronic text hypertexted and prepared by OakTree
Software, Inc.
Version 4.0, pg. 326-27.21
Woytyla, Karol. Meeting with the Young People of NewOrleans. Vatican Publishing, September 12, 1987. http://
www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/speeches/1987/
september/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_19870912_giovani-
new-orleans_en.html.