Hello Everyone: The Consecration Date is fast approaching which is Monday, March 25th. Here is an overview of what was covered in this 33 Day Preparation. Reminder that we have this weekend to hopefully go to Confession to prepare our soul. Why make this Consecration? I just posted a video on Our Lady of Good Success for our times under Talks - this is a great motivator! If we knew how much God loves us and wants our love in return, we would strive to make ourselves more pleasing to Him. We would be willing to cast away all that is displeasing to God. It is not that simple. In the beginning of our 33 Day of Preparation, we try to see that the ways of the world are not the ways of God. We try to examine also ourselves – our shortcomings, faults and weaknesses that keep us from God. We need to understand what our shortcomings are and work on them little by little with prayer and mortifications. We have learned that the Sacraments are the greatest means of grace to strengthen us in this battle between good and evil within ourselves. The Divine Life in our souls is God’s grace. This Divine Life is Divine Love for the Bible tells us that God is Love. The soul needs to properly prepare itself to receive this fire of Divine Love. If it is damp with self-love it cannot receive the Divine Fire. It is suggested that we make a good Confession before we begin this 33 days and at the end just before we make the Consecration. One of the proper dispositions for us is to have a real contrition. We must strive – all Catholics - to be real temples of the Living God. We must endeavor to use all the means we know of to bring the Kingdom of God within us and consequently into the world. We pray “Thy Kingdom come” each day in the Our Father but we must truly strive for this end. We have learned that we must attribute all our graces and gifts to God for this is Truth – all good comes from Him and Him alone. On our own, we are nothing. When we have come to know this, it is good in overcoming our disappointments and our vanity. We can give God the glory for all the good that may come through us and we cannot become disappointed in our shortcomings because it is a reminder to us of who we really are and helps us to become more dependent upon God each time we fall. We must be faithful and pick ourselves up and ask Our Lady to lead us once again to Her Son. Let us not go to sleep at night without thinking about how great God is and how much He has loved us this day, that He is everywhere, that He is present to us, all around us and that He has given us a dear Mother to lead us to Him. Let us then return this love as far as we can. We will receive Heaven in exchange for the little of earth we give up. When we give up our own will, our own spirit, to walk according to God’s Will and in His way, we receive His Spirit. That exchange is worth meditating upon! In the third week of study, we see that God has given us a Blessed Mother – the same Mother that bore Our Saviour Jesus Christ. If we are to be truly united to Jesus – we must seek to receive the gift of His own Mother. Jesus’ Mother is our Mother. Jesus, Who in His sweet compassion, tenderness, and love, has made us, that we may be happy with Him both here and hereafter, wants us to have the same Mother! His Sacred Heart desires our happiness; He has made us that we might be so; He has given us every means. Let us strive to be as pleasing to Him as we can. Let us be simple, loving children of an infinitely loving Father. Let us be loving children of our fair Immaculate Mother Mary. Let us always look up to Her as Our Mother. Let us so entirely give ourselves to Her that She may use Her Mother’s influence over us. Let Her feel that we trust Her. Let us strive to always love Her with a Jesus love. Let it be the one great aim of our lives; then we will truly be living in imitation of Jesus whose Heart was in constant union with the Heart of His Mother -His Mother and our Mother. Our minds are amazed by the thought that God could trust His only Son to Her; that Jesus could submit to be influenced by Her, and that Her thoughts, Her ideas, were all, not only so pure, so beautiful, but in perfect harmony with the Will of the Eternal Father for the sacred humanity of His Eternal Word. Mary has never failed God! Think of it – NEVER! It is well to think of Mary’s greatness but it is better to draw near to Her and as a little child feel secure in Her possession! She is the Mother of Mercy. She will come to our aid and guide us to God. Her maternal Heart wants all of God’s children to choose Heaven. Let us take Mary as our very own and know that the gentle eyes of Jesus will be turned upon us with exceeding love as He sees us love His own Immaculate Mother. And finally let us review what we have discovered about Jesus in the last week of this study. Our final end is Jesus! Mary would not want it any other way. Her goal is to lead all of God’s children to Her Son. May we pray that His Divine Fire of Love blaze in the hidden recesses of our souls to be beacons of love in a world that has grown cold! We have learned that the greatest means of acquiring this love is to receive Him worthily in Holy Communion. It is best to ask our Mother Mary to be in our soul to receive Her Son as we make our Sacramental Communions and to make Spiritual Communions when we cannot receive Jesus sacramentally. The Cure of Ars stated that Spiritual Communions are like putting kindling to the Fire of His Divine Love in our souls! Frequent visits to the Blessed Sacrament are encouraged also to tell Jesus that we place Him first in our lives and that we love Him.(This too can be done throughout the day by sending our Guardian Angel or praying the Fatima prayers) We have learned that God Incarnate dwells in the Blessed Sacrament. From Jesus we receive love and strength as members of the Mystical Body of Christ. In the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass we experience the love of Calvary – only in an unbloody way. On earth, we learn that love causes suffering and the greater the love - the greater the suffering. Therefore, as the love of the Heart of Jesus is above our understanding so likewise is Its suffering. This Heart which came upon the earth has loved and made reparation for the whole human race. What caused the intense continual agony of the Sacred Heart of Jesus? It was the sight of the injuries done to His Heavenly Father, the sight of the outrages offered to Him; the sight of His tender love spurned! “Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin.” There is great value in just one drop of Jesus’ blood. It was offered to satisfy the justice of God. This knowledge leads us to understand the greatness of each and every Mass today and throughout history. This knowledge will lead us to imitate Mary in wanting to offer up daily the Mass and its intentions in reparation for the outrages committed against God. May we be faithful to the reparation prayers taught at Fatima to appease the just anger of God for all the outrages done against Him. In order to make this Consecration, we must understand that to agree to be slaves “to Jesus through Mary”, we are offering up what already belongs to God – our whole being. To make this Consecration we are saying - You have given me All – now I humble myself to the lowest point of declaring myself your slave – and I give you my All! Those who try to comprehend the immense love of God want to “give” – what can we “give”? – to become His slave is the total giving of self – it is ALL – God is not outdone in generosity. We can never give Him anything – it already belongs to Him – we are unprofitable servants! This Consecration is a total giving of self – but given to God through the hands of Mary where the offering will be purified and covered with Her love. It is an act of love to One Who is Love. May Our Queen and Mother take this offering of self and give us in return Her Son! May She watch over us and lead us closer to Him. May She reprimand us when needed and drag us back if She must when we humanly fall into our past weaknesses and faults. Listening to Our Lady of Fatima, may we Consecrate ourselves to Her Immaculate Heart in order for Jesus to be more known, loved and served. May we never be without our Brown Scapular which is a sign of this Consecration! Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us and protect us – guide us to the Divine Fire of Love – Your Son – Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
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AuthorBernadette Porter is a Traditional Catholic, a wife of 42 years with 6 adult home-schooled children and 6 grandchildren. A sincere devotion to Mary, the Mother of God leads me to want to share "The Church's best kept secret" - Mary! Archives
March 2023
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