Receiving Jesus Through Mary

Hello Everyone:
 
Today is the Feast day of Holy Thursday. Today we received the Sacraments of Holy Orders and Holy Communion from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. A great day to celebrate. As promised earlier, I am writing about Our Lady and Her devotion to Jesus truly present in the Blessed Sacrament.

Among all the great mysteries of the life of Our Blessed Mother Mary, is the summary of Our Lady’s love and honor of the Eucharistic life of Jesus. It is Mary’s life of adoration which all adorers ought to honor. It began at the Incarnation within Her womb and has never ceased.

Mary remained on earth more than twenty years after the Ascension of Jesus. She dwelt in the Cenacle, where Jesus had instituted the Divine Eucharist. Mary was consumed with love for Her Divine Son beneath the Eucharistic veils and devoting herself to His glory by a continual mission of prayer.

Mary was always the first to adore Jesus in every one of His mysteries. It was only fitting that this heart so pure and so burning with love should have the privilege of offering the first homage, and receive the first grace in order to communicate it to us later. Mary was the first to adore the Word Incarnate in her virginal womb; at His birth, and throughout His life. She offered Him the first gift of love, the first profession of faith. She was also the first to adore Jesus on the Cross and to unite herself to His Sacrifice.

While we are deprived Sacramental Communion today, let us find comfort in knowing that the first Holy Communion of Our Lady was a Spiritual Communion. It was revealed to Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich that Our Lord gave Himself to Our Lady spiritually at the moment He was giving Himself to His apostles in the Cenacle on the first Holy Thursday.

The following prayers are taken from the booklet, “Communion Devotions in Union with Mary”:

OFFERING OF THE HOLY SACRIFICE IN THANKSGIVING FOR THE GRACES BESTOWED ON THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

“Most Adorable God, I offer You this holy Sacrifice of the Mass in thanksgiving for all the graces and prerogatives You did bestow on the Blessed Virgin Mary in so abundant a measure. I thank You especially for having loved and destined Her to be the Mother of the Redeemer; for having created Her, and from the first moment of Her conception preserved Her from every stain of original sin and adorned Her with immeasurable sanctity.

I thank You for having prepared Her to be the most worthy Mother of Your only-begotten Son, and imparting to her a fullness of grace far surpassing that of all angels and men. I thank You for having received Her with body and soul into heaven and made Her Queen of heaven and earth.

Grant, I beseech You, through Your infinite goodness, that all men may perfectly know, honor and love Her, that all may serve Her zealously, in order that Your most holy Name may be all the more honored.

Give me the grace also to be inflamed with the fire of Divine love, and to love Mary ardently, as her most devoted children have ever loved Her.”
 
PRAYER AT HOLY COMMUNION

“With ardent desire, O my Jesus, will I receive You into my soul in Holy Communion. Oh, that my heart were as pure and holy, as full of love for You, as that of Your most pure Mother, that thus I might receive You even as Mary received You from the hands of St. John! But alas, my heart loves You so little; it is so full of sin, so void of all virtues, so attached to the pleasures and goods of this world.

O Mary, my dearest Mother, at this important moment I confidently turn to You. Holiest Mother, I pray  You, lend me Your Heart, Your Heart so beautiful, so pure and immaculate, Your Heart full of love and humility, that I may be able to receive Jesus with the same sentiments with which You did receive Him. Come, O Mary, Yourself to me, and receive Jesus in me. You can do so, O loving Mother, on account of the dominion You do exercise over all hearts.

O Jesus, true Son of God, I believe in You! O Jesus, my only refuge, I hope in You! O Jesus, my sovereign Good, I love You! And because I love You, I am sorry for having offended You.

           (If you cannot receive sacramentally, make an act of desire to receive spiritually)

O Jesus, who on account of Your special love for Mary, do still long to take Your delight and rest in Her, and do desire to take this rest even in my soul, which is poorer and more wretched than was the stable of Bethlehem – behold, in humility and love, I lead You into the heart of Mary and present You to Your Mother.

O my dearest Mother, I give You the most noble of gifts, the same gift that the Heavenly Father presented to You. With filial love I place Jesus in Your maternal arms, in Your virginal bosom, and enclose Him with greatest reverence in Your Sweetest Heart.

O Mother most admirable, adore Him, love Him, thank Him for me and in my name. I ask for nothing else than to belong wholly to You and to Your Son, now and forever.
O Jesus, living in Mary! Come and live in Your servant, in the spirit of Your holiness, in the fullness of Your might, in the truth of Your virtues, in the perfection of Your ways, in the communion of Your mysteries; subdue every hostile power, in Your spirit, for the glory of the Father. Amen.

Sweet Heart of Jesus, be my love!
Sweet Heart of Mary, be my salvation!”

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