Mary and the Interior Life

1. Mary and the Interior Life NCSU LYFE April 22, 2018

2. “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” Gn 3:15 The New Eve

3. “On the third day there was a marriage at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; Jesus also was invited to the marriage, with his disciples. When the wine failed, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine." And Jesus said to her, "O Woman, what have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” Jn 2:1- “When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, behold, your son!’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold, your mother!’”Jn 19:26-27 The New Eve

4. “For Eve, being a virgin and undefiled, conceiving the word that was from the serpent, brought forth disobedience and death; but the Virgin Mary, taking faith and joy, when the Angel told her the good tidings…answered, ‘Be it to me according to Thy word.’” Justin Martyr (c. 140) “And so the knot of Eye's disobedience received its unloosing through the obedience of Mary; for what Eve, a virgin, bound by incredulity, that Mary, a virgin, unloosed by faith.” (Irenaeus c160) The New Eve

5. “After the Mediator, you are the Mediatrix of the whole world”—St. Ephraem (4C) “[Mary is] the Redemptrix of Our Race.”—St. Catherine of Siena (14C) “[Mary is] the dispenser of all gifts which Jesus has acquired for us by His Death and His Precious Blood.”—Pope St. Pius X “[Mary] offered Him on Golgotha to the Eternal Father”—Pius XII “Therefore the Blessed Virgin is invoked by the Church under the titles of Advocate, Auxiliatrix, Adjutrix, and Mediatrix.” –LG “All gifts which the Author of all good has decided to communicate to the unhappy progeny of Adam are, according to the Divine Providence, dispensed through the hands of the Virgin Mary.” —Pope Benedict XVI Mediatrix of All Graces?

6. “Ask your Holy Father to proclaim this dogma which the Lady is requesting…Once the dogma has been proclaimed, the Lady of All Nations will grant her blessing, the Lady of All Nations will grant peace. She will help you when this dogma has been proclaimed. Great things are at hand. The world is degenerating. Nations, remember the daily Miracle that the Lord Jesus Christ granted you!” Our Lady of All Nations, Amsterdam May 31,1955 Why Does it Matter?

7. Why do Catholics Worship Mary? “…This very special devotion . . . differs essentially from the adoration which is given to the incarnate Word and equally to the Father and the Holy Spirit, and greatly fosters this adoration." The liturgical feasts dedicated to the Mother of God and Marian prayer, such as the rosary, an ‘epitome of the whole Gospel,’ express this devotion to the Virgin Mary.”CCC 971

8. “The Rosary is my favorite prayer. A marvelous prayer! Marvelous in its simplicity and its depth. …Against the background of the words Ave Maria the principal events of the life of Jesus Christ pass before the eyes of the soul. They take shape in the complete series of the joyful, sorrowful and glorious mysteries, and they put us in living communion with Jesus through – we might say – the heart of his Mother. At the same time our heart can embrace in the decades of the Rosary all the events that make up the lives of individuals, families, nations, the Church, and all mankind. Our personal concerns and those of our neighbor, especially those who are closest to us, who are dearest to us. Thus the simple prayer of the Rosary marks the rhythm of human life”. Pope St. John Paul II, RosariumVirginisMariae (RVM), 2 The Rosary

9. “With the Rosary, the Christian people sits at the school of Mary and is led to contemplate the beauty on the face of Christ and to experience the depths of his love. Through the Rosary the faithful receive abundant grace, as though from the very hands of the Mother of the Redeemer.” Pope St. John Paul II, RVM,1 The Rosary

10. School of Mary: History of the Rosary “Wonder not that you have obtained so little fruit by your labors. You have spent them on barren soil, not yet watered with the dew of Divine grace. When God willed to renew the face of the earth, He began by sending down on it fertilizing rain of the Angelic Salutation. Therefore preach my psalter composed of 150 Angelic Salutations and fifteen Our Fathers, and you will obtain an abundant harvest.” Instructions by the Blessed Mother to St. Dominic

11. The Hail Mary “The repetition of the Hail Mary in the Rosary gives us a share in God's own wonder and pleasure: in jubilant amazement we acknowledge the greatest miracle of history. Mary's prophecy here finds its fulfilment: ‘Henceforth all generations will call me blessed’ (Lk 1:48).”  RVM, 33

12. Mysteries of the Rosary “…namely the element of contemplation. Without this the Rosary is a body without a soul, and its recitation is in danger of becoming a mechanical repetition of formulas and of going counter to the warning of Christ: "And in praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their many words" (Mt. 6:7)…” Pope Paul VI MarialisCultus, 47

13. Battle of Lepanto—October 7, 1571 Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan—August 1945 Philippines—February 25, 1986 Blessed Bartolo Longo—1860“Whoever spreads the Rosary is saved!”. “Abundant Grace”

14. The family that prays together stays together. The Holy Rosary, by age-old tradition, has shown itself particularly effective as a prayer which brings the family together. Individual family members, in turning their eyes towards Jesus, also regain the ability to look one another in the eye, to communicate, to show solidarity, to forgive one another and to see their covenant of love renewed in the Spirit of God…. without prejudice to the Rosary's basic structure, there is nothing to stop children and young people from praying it – either within the family or in groups – with appropriate symbolic and practical aids to understanding and appreciation. Why not try it? Pope St. John Paul II, RVM,41-42 “Why Not Try It?”

15. “Sacramentals do not confer the grace of the Holy Spirit in the way that the sacraments do, but by the Church’s prayer they prepare us to receive grace and dispose us to cooperate with it. For well-disposed members of the faithful, the liturgy of the sacraments and sacramentals sanctifies almost every event of their lives with the divine grace which flows form the Paschal mystery of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Christ. From this source all sacraments and sacramentals draw their power.” CCC 1670 The Brown Scapular

16. “The sign of the Scapular points to an effective synthesis of Marian spirituality, which nourishes the devotion of believers and makes them sensitive to the Virgin Mother’s loving presence in their lives. The scapular is essentially a “habit.” …Therefore two truths are evoked by the sign of the Scapular: on the one hand, the constant protection of the Blessed Virgin, not only on life’s journey, but also at the moment of Passing into the fullness of eternal glory; on the other, the awareness that devotion to her cannot be limited to prayers and tributes in her honor of certain occasions, but must become a “habit,” that is, a permanent orientation of one’s own Christian conduct, woven of prayer and interior life, through frequent reception of the sacraments and the concrete practice of the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. In this way, the Scapular becomes a sign of the “Covenant” and reciprocal communion between Mary and the faithful…” Pope Saint John Paul II The Brown Scapular

17. "Take this Scapular, it shall be a sign of salvation, a protection in danger and a pledge of peace. Whosoever dies wearing this Scapular shall not suffer eternal fire…Wear it devoutly and perseveringly. It is my garment. To be clothed in it means you are continually thinking of me, and I in turn, am always thinking of you and helping you to secure eternal life." Conditions attached to the Brown Scapular: Wear the scapular at all times Observe chastity according to one’s state in life Recite the Little Office of Our Blessed Mother (Rosary, with permission from a priest, can be substituted) The Brown Scapular

18. First Five Saturdays Confess and receive Holy Communion Recite the Rosary "Keep me company for fifteen minutes while meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary." With the intention of making reparation.

19. “Of the essence of motherhood is the fact that it concerns the person. Motherhood always establishes a unique and unrepeatable relationship between two people: between mother and child and between child and mother. Even when the same woman is the mother of many children, her personal relationship with each one of them is of the very essence of motherhood...It can be said that motherhood ‘in the order of grace’ preserves the analogy with what ‘in the order of nature" characterizes the union between mother and child. In the light of this fact it becomes easier to understand why in Christ's testament on Golgotha his Mother's new motherhood is expressed in the singular, in reference to one man: ‘Behold your son.’” Marian Consecration

20. “It can also be said that these same words fully show the reason for the Marian dimension of the life of Christ's disciples. This is true not only of John, who at that hour stood at the foot of the Cross together with his Master's Mother, but it is also true of every disciple of Christ, of every Christian. The Redeemer entrusts his mother to the disciple, and at the same time he gives her to him as his mother. Mary's motherhood, which becomes man's inheritance, is a gift: a gift which Christ himself makes personally to every individual. The Redeemer entrusts Mary to John because he entrusts John to Mary...And all of this can be included in the word "entrusting." Such entrusting is the response to a person's love, and in particular to the love of a mother.” RM,45 Marian Consecration (cont.)

21. “This devotion consists then in giving ourselves entirely to the Blessed Virgin, in order to belong entirely to Jesus through her.” St. Louis Marie Grignon de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary (TDM), No. 121. Marian Consecration

22. Consecration means… in the proper sense only to God and by God baptism which represents a germ needed because God does nothing without us and therefore it is necessary we ask for consecration the best way to do this is through Mary What Does It Mean?

23. “Consecrating ourselves to Mary means accepting her help to offer ourselves and the whole of mankind to Him who is holy, infinitely holy; it means accepting her help – by having recourse to her motherly heart which, beneath the Cross was open to love for every human being, for the whole world – in order to offer the world, the individual human being, mankind as a whole, and all the nations to Him who is infinitely holy.” -Pope St. John Paul II, Homily at Fatima May 13, 1982 What Does It Mean?

24. “This devotion gives us up altogether to the service of God, and makes us imitate the example of Our Blessed Lord who willed to be ‘subject’ in regard to His Blessed Mother. It obtains for us the special protection of Mary, who purifies our good works and adorns them when she offers them to her Divine Son. It leads us to union with Our Blessed Lord; it is an easy, short , perfect and safe way. It confers great interior freedom, procures great benefits for our neighbor, and is an excellent means of assuring our perseverance.” St. Louis de Montfort, TDM Fruits of this Consecration

25. Step 1: Choose a Consecration Date How Do We Do It?

26. First comes a 12-day preparation period that consists of emptying oneself of the spirit of the world in penance and mortification. The first week focuses on offering up our prayers and devotions for the purpose of coming to understand ourselves and our sins; Second week the goal is to better understand the Blessed Virgin; Third week, we seek to better understand Christ through meditation Preparation for Consecration

27. Fast, give alms or offer a votive candle for the good of another Do some spiritual penance and approach consecration in the spirit of mortification. Go to Confession (up to 8 days prior) Receive Communion with the express intention of giving yourself to Jesus, as a slave of love, by the hands of Mary. Pray the words of the consecration Day of Consecration

28. Keep praying to develop a "great contempt" for the spirit of this world Maintain a special devotion to the Mystery of the Incarnation Frequently recite the Ave, Rosary, and the Magnificat Recite, every day if it is not inconvenient, the "Little Crown of the Blessed Virgin" Do everything through, with, in and for Mary for the sake of Jesus, with the prayer, "I am all thine Immaculate One, with all that I have: in time and in eternity" Associate yourself with Mary in a special way before, during, and after Communion Renew the consecration once a year on the same date chosen above, and by following the same 33-day period of exercises. If desired, also renew the consecration monthly with the prayer, "I am all thine and all I have is thine, O dear Jesus, through Mary, Thy holy Mother." After the Consecration

29. “that this will happen especially towards the end of the world, and indeed soon, because Almighty God and his holy Mother are to raise up great saints who will surpass in holiness most other saints as much as the cedars of Lebanon tower above little shrubs…These great souls filled with grace and zeal will be chosen to oppose the enemies of God who are raging on all sides. They will be exceptionally devoted to the Blessed Virgin. Illumined by her light, strengthened by her food, guided by her spirit, supported by her arm, sheltered under her protection, they will fight with one hand and build with the other. With one hand they will give battle, overthrowing and crushing heretics and their heresies, schismatics and their schisms, idolaters and their idolatries, sinners and their wickedness. With the other hand they will build the temple of the true Solomon and the mystical city of God, namely, the Blessed Virgin, who is called by the Fathers of the Church the Temple of Solomon and the City of God.” St. Louis de Montfort A Sign of the End Times