Dear Mother, Please Greet Our Sisters: Monday, March 7, 2016

J.M.J. The recent hideous murders of four Missionaries of Charity in Yemen and those near to them is a startling reminder of the Mercy of God.

It is the merciful Lord Who rewards those who are faithful. No one can be faithful on his own. He requires the Grace of Christ.

These faithful Sisters loved God and Our Lady, and they served His people.

May His judgment on them be merciful and their everlasting happiness immediate.

The Cause of Our Joy: Sunday, March 6, 2016

J.M.J. Saint Peter Chrysologus (c.380-c.450), Bishop and Doctor, whose Feast is July 30, was convinced of the necessity of devotion to Mary. He penned these words about 1,600 years ago: "He who is not awestruck by this Virgin's spirit and who does not admire her soul is ignorant of how great God is. Heaven trembles, angels quake, creation cannot bear it, nature is helpless--yet a girl carries God in her womb; she receives Him into herself and offers Him a dwelling place."

For Saint Peter Chrysologus, such a truth evident in the following demands that the faithful everywhere honor that fair woman we salute in the Litany of Loreto as "the Cause of our Joy": "Truly blessed is she who was greater than the heavens, stronger than the earth, vaster than the globe. For she alone contained within herself that God Whom the world cannot contain: she bore Him Who bears the world; she gave birth to her Father; she nursed Him Who nurtures every living thing." 

"O my Jesus" after Each Decade of Our Lady's Most Holy Rosary: First Saturday, March 5, 2016

J.M.J. On July 13, 1917, about four thousand persons were gathered in Fatima, Portugal for the apparition of Our Lady, who informed the children that they should specifically recite the Most Holy Rosary in honor of “Our Lady of the Rosary.” Before the trio saw a very frightening vision of Hell, Our Blessed Mother encouraged them:

Sacrifice yourselves for sinners, and say 

many times, especially whenever you make 

any sacrifice: "O Jesus, it is for love of You, 

for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation 

for the sins committed against the 

Immaculate Heart of Mary."

After the vision of Hell, Our Lady said:

When you recite the beads (that is, pray the Rosary), 

say after each mystery: 

"O my Jesus, forgive us, 

save us from the fire of Hell. 

Lead all souls to Heaven, 

especially those who are most in need."

(The "Fatima Prayer" most often recited today is substantially the same but slightly different in words: "O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of Hell; lead all souls to Heaven, especially those in most need of Thy mercy.")

The reason why I use the Fatima Prayer after the end of each Decade is because Our Blessed Mother asked the three little shepherds of Fatima to recite it. 

True, the Church does not command us to use it; however, for me the Fatima Prayer is a reminder of my connection to Our Lady, to her request made nearly a century ago and to Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta.

And the sentiments expressed in the Fatima Prayer are so valuable and relevant to our era.

Finally, based on my years in Rome and the fact, as reported to me just yesterday by persons from India and the Philippines, that many of the Faithful throughout the world use the Fatima Prayer after each Decade, I am convinced that Our Lady's request resonates and is embraced around the globe.

Thus, we have another inspiring indication that we as members of the Universal Church are united under Our Father in Heaven, in Christ Jesus Our Risen Lord, through the Holy Spirit the Paraclete, with Mary Our Ever-Virgin Mother, Saint Joseph Our Patron, the Holy Angels and the Saints.

No One Knows the Sacred Heart of Jesus Better than the Immaculate Heart of Mary: First Friday, March 4, 2016

J.M.J. There was--and remains--a strong link between Christ and His Chaste Mother. Jesus, the Son of God, is the Son of Mary. Although authentic disciples of the Master are extremely close to Him, their bond differs from that enjoyed by the Madonna with Jesus.

Let us explore that unique link between the Son and the Mother.

When Mary uttered her history-altering fiat, she gave permission for the Logos--the 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. Therefore, there is truth in the statement: Body of Christ, 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 Mother's source of strength. She fulfilled God's mysterious plan for her life by accepting sanctifying grace--"God's 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 Lady's outstanding holiness, may our hearts beat in union with the Two Hearts! 

Our Lady of Fatima and Perseverance in the Life of Saint Katharine Drexel: Thursday, March 3, 2016

J.M.J. How do we obey the requests of Our Lady of Fatima despite the problems of our era?

The Fatima message is not complex. Rather, it is simple and straightforward. Yet, we need God’s unfailing grace to reply to Our Blessed Mother’s entreaties. And we must persevere.

Saint Katharine Drexel was almost completely immobile the final eighteen years of her life due to a grave illness. Since she could no longer leave the Convent to assist her Sisters “in the field,” she embraced adoration and contemplation.

She did not complain but tried their best to complete the work that the merciful God had entrusted to them. May that also be true for us.

Confidence in God is to undergird all that we accomplish. Without trust in Him, we flail away in whatever we attempt.

He is with us and wishes to guide us in our endeavors. He is our loving Father Who cares for us. Therefore, we surrender to Him.

We are enriched and unified when we pursue the virtue of perseverance like Saint Katharine.

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.

Most Precious Blood of Jesus, have mercy on us.

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us.

Saint Joseph, pray for us.

Saint Katharine Drexel, pray for us.

Mary's Transparency: Wednesday, March 2, 2016

J.M.J. "There was nothing in the Virgin that could obscure or conceal Her Son, nothing that would impede the complete manifestation of the divinity that dwelt within Her. The Lord never encountered the slightest obstacle in His Mother; on the contrary, He found in Her such 'transparency' that it was as if one could see Him through Her."

--Father Federico Saurez

Mother, Model and Guide: Tuesday, March 1 2016

J.M.J. A new month signals another opportunity to live in Christ.

With Mary as our Mother, Model and Guide, we can go forward, loving and serving the Lord God as He desires.

Let us hasten to do all that is required to love and follow Christ. Our Lady points the way.