Our Afflicted Mother: First Saturday, August 1, 2015


J.M.J. The First Saturday this month, which is today, is also the Memorial of Saint Alphonsus Mary Liguori, Bishop and Doctor (1696-1787).

From his The Glories of Mary:

"My afflicted Mother, I will not leave thee alone to weep; no, I will accompany thee with my tears. This grace I now ask of thee: obtain that I may always bear in mind and always have a tender devotion towards the Passion of Jesus and thy sorrows, that the remainder of my days may thus be spent in weeping over thy sufferings, my own sweet Mother, and those of my Redeemer. These sorrows, I trust, will give me the confidence and strength which I shall require at the hour of death, that I may not despair at the sight of the many sins by which I have offended my Lord. They must obtain me pardon, perseverance, and heaven, where I hope to rejoice with thee, and to sing the infinite mercies of my God for all eternity. Thus do I hope; thus may it be. Amen. Amen."

O Mary, I Am Totally Yours: Friday, July 31, 2015


J.M.J. Saint John Paul II (1978-2005) often recited the prayer entitled, Totus Tuus, which is closely connected to the "perfect devotion" to Our Blessed Lady inspired by Saint Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort (1673-1716).

Totus tuus ego sum
et omnia mea Tua sunt
Accipio Te in mea omnia
praebe mihi Cor Tuum, O Maria."  


"I am totally Yours,
and all that I have is Yours.
I accept You in all that I have,
give Your Heart to me, O Mary."

Consecration to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary and Home Enthronement: Thursday, July 30, 2015


J.M.J. What is the goal of this enterprise? A fresh beginning within us and within  our homes,  schools  and workplaces  as  we  express  our  gratitude  to the  Hearts  of  Jesus and Mary and our fervent desire that we may always live under Their sure  guidance and protection!

Regardless of our vocation, our past and the often frightening times in which  we live, Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (Second  Letter  of  Saint  Paul  to  the  Corinthians  6:2)  

Let  us  acknowledge  the  embrace  of  the  Two  Hearts,  consecrate  ourselves  to  Them  and  enthrone  Their  Sacred Images wherever we are, confident that our commonwealth is in Heaven,  and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, Who will change our lowly  body  to  be  like  His  glorious  Body,  by  the  power  which  enables  Him  even  to  subject all things to Himself. (Letter of Saint Paul to the Philippians 3:20-21)

Devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

Jesus Christ is the Second Person of the Most Blessed Trinity Who became  man. He is one Divine Person with two natures, one divine and the other human.  Because  He  is  true  God,  He  deserves  the  same  adoration  that  is  offered  to  the  Father and to the Holy Spirit.

In The Enthronement of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (La Crosse, Wisconsin:  Marian  Catechist  Apostolate,  2010),  which  was  edited  and  published  under  the  direction  of  His  Eminence  Raymond  Leo  Cardinal  Burke,  we  read  about  the  infinite love that the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus has poured out through the Most  Blessed Sacrament of the Altar: 
In His fourth apparition to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, Our  Lord revealed His Sacred Heart, declaring: “Behold this Heart which  has  so  loved  men  that  It  spared  nothing,  even  going  so  far  as  to  exhaust and consume Itself, to prove to them Its love. And in return I  receive  from  the  greater part  of  men  nothing  but  ingratitude,  by  the  contempt,  irreverence,  sacrileges and  coldness with  which  they  treat  Me in this Sacrament of Love. But what is still more painful to Me is  that even souls consecrated to Me are acting in this way (Devotion to  the Sacred Heart, p. xxvii). [page five]
Veneration of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
The  Ever-Virgin  Mother  of  God,  who  is  Mary  of  Nazareth,  merits  our  veneration because of her singular role in the life of her Divine Son Jesus Christ  and in the lives of His brothers and sisters. Our Blessed Lady is our Mother! Her  indescribable fidelity to Christ summons our devotion, love and imitation.
There  was—and  remains—a  strong  link  between  Christ  and  His  Chaste Mother. Jesus, the Son of God, is the Son of Mary. 
When  Mary  uttered  her  history-altering  fiat,  she  gave  permission  for  the  Logosthe Eternal Word Who is the Second Person of the Most Blessed Trinity to take her flesh and dwell in her virginal womb. The physical body of Jesus came  from stainless Mary. Truly, the Body of Christ derived from the Body of Mary. 
But  even  before  the  Annunciation,  Mary  was  filled  with  the  supernatural  virtue of charity at the moment of her Immaculate Conception. Charity is the virtue  that renders one most like God. Of course, Jesus was rooted in charity because He  is God. That charity united Mary and Jesus. 
The  Heart  of  Christ  was  Our  Blessed  Mothers  source  of  strength.  She  fulfilled Gods mysterious plan for her life by accepting sanctifying grace—“Gods  life”—that only comes from the Lord. Mary enjoys unsurpassed physical access to  her Son in Heaven. She also has unparalleled spiritual access to Him because of  her unceasing prayer directed towards Jesus. 
Without exaggeration, we may assert: all that Mary accomplished was first  inspired and completed in the Heart of Jesus. 
Our Lady leads us to adore her Son. Our genuine veneration of the Madonna  ends in sincere adoration of Jesus. In Mary in Our Life (New York: P.J. Kenedy  and  Sons,  1954),  Father  William  George  Most,  Ph.D.,  wrote  that  Pope  Pius  XI  (1922-1939) declared in his encyclical Miserentissimus Redemptor (May 8, 1928)  the importance of authentic devotion to the Most Sacred Heart. True devotion to  the  Sacred  Heart  consists  in  two  things,  which  can  readily  be  reduced  to  one consecration  and  reparation  (page  205).  Consecration  means  that  we  dedicate  ourselves and all that we have to the Divine Heart of Jesus (ibid.); by our love we  return to the Creator the love that He bestowed on us. Following consecration is  reparation, which is necessary if that Uncreated Love (that is, God Himself) has  been neglected by forgetfulness or violated by offenses (page 206). 
It  is  through  the  Ever-Virgin  that  consecration  and  reparation  are  made.  Pope  Pius  XI  penned:  May  the  most  gracious  Mother  of  God  smile  upon  and  favor these our prayers and undertakings, she, who since she brought forth Jesus  the Redeemer for us, nourished Him, and offered Him as a Victim at the Cross, and  is  called  the  Reparatrix,  in  virtue  of  her  intimate  union  with  Christ,  and  an  altogether singular grace of His (page 207). His Holiness prayed: Loving Jesus,  through  the  intercession  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  our  model  in  reparation,  deign to receive the voluntary offering we make of this act of expiation. . . (page  208). 
Father Most maintained: Thus it is clear that our need of Mary will never  end; she is the Mediatrix of All Graces; all (graces) descend to us through her. And the way for us to ascend to the Sacred Heart of Christ is through the Immaculate  Heart of His Mother: ad Cor Jesu per Cor Mariae! (page 211). To the Heart of  Jesus through the Heart of Mary! 
Father  Most  argued  that  since  the  two  Hearts  are  so  aligned,  then  they  should also be  closely united as  objects  of  our  devotion  (ibid.).  We  adore  the  Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and we venerate the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
We cannot help but to draw the conclusion that seems very obvious: the Pure  Immaculate Heart constantly beats in unison with the Most Sacred Heart, given the  similitude between Mary and Jesus. 
Although  we  do  not  measure  up  to  Our  Ladys  outstanding  holiness,  may  our hearts beat in union with the Two Hearts!  
Consecration to the Two Hearts
Many  spiritual  authors  have  spoken  of  consecration  to  the  Most  Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus  and  the  Immaculate  Heart  of  Mary.  We  surrender  ourselves  to  Christ and to His Mother, aware that They know what is best for us and wish that  we live  in  union  with  Them.  We  earmark  all  that  we  are  and  have  to  Jesus  and  Mary, confident that They will take care of us.
Enthronement of the Two Hearts
Reminders are very helpful to us. The Enthronement of the Two Hearts is  our  homes,  schools  and  workplaces  bring  again  to  our  attention  that  we  have  invited Our Lord and Our Lady to exercise His Lordship and her Queenship over us.
The Enthronement of the Sacred Heart of Jesus offers to us a look at how the  venerable Apostle of the Enthronement, Father Mateo Crawley-Boevey, SS.CC.  (1875-1961)  explained  the  Enthronement.  His  words  seem  to  apply  also  to  the  Enthronement of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
By means of the Enthronement, Jesus really enters the home to  have  a  part  in  and  guide  the  whole  life  of  the  family.  His  love  becomes  the  soul  of  both  parents  and  children  and  His  Heart  their  shrine (p. 130). [page eleven]