The Rosary… a remarkable and powerful prayer

Reflections from Sr. Lucia of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart, of blessed memory, Carmelite nun who was the oldest seer of the Fatima apparitions in 1917 and 1929.  In her book, Calls from the Message of Fatima, she writes this about the rosary…

“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation (Luke 1, 46-50). As we see, all praise of Mary rises up to God; He looked with mercy on his lowly handmaid…

…After the liturgical prayer of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the prayer of the holy Rosary, because of its origin and the sublime nature of the prayers which compose it and also on account of the mysteries of our redemption which we recall and contemplate in each decade, is the most pleasing prayer we can offer to God, and the one most beneficial to our own souls…

…On his death bed, [Pope Pius IX] said to those around him: The Rosary is a compendium of the Gospel, and gives to those who pray it those rivers of peace of which the Scriptures speak; it is the most beautiful devotion, the most abundant in grace, and the most pleasing to the Heart of Mary. My sons, let this be the testimony by which you remember me on earth...

…Pope Pius XI says: The Holy Rosary is not only a weapon to put to flight the enemies of God and of Religion but, above all, it fosters and nourishes the Gospel virtues. And, in the first place, it reanimates the Catholic faith by contemplation of the divine mysteries and improves our understanding of the truths revealed by God...

…Those who say the Rosary daily are like children who, every day, manage to find a few moments just to be with their father, to keep him company, to show him their gratitude, to do some service for him, to receive his advice and his blessing.  It is an exchange of love, the love of the father for the child and the child for the father; it is a mutual giving.”

Ave Maria!

Emerge from your hiddenness

The Blessed Mother, through interior locutions to Fr. Gobbi, spoke of the reign of Jesus Christ being preceded by a great suffering that would inflict the Church, and yet it would be a suffering which would lead to a great purification of the Church as a whole.  While the world tends to run from suffering, the Church sees suffering as something which can mystically draw us closer to the heart of the living God.  But she also revealed four signs that would be markers for this persecution and purification.

In various messages delivered between January – March of 1979, Mary said, “The glorious reign of Christ will be preceded by a great suffering which will serve to purify the Church and the world and lead them to their complete renewal.”  These are the four signs that would serve as evidence that the Church was going through this period.  Note that these four signs, while being in themselves a persecution, would truly serve as a purification… as a seed for renewal of the People of God.

The First Sign: confusion.

The Second Sign: lack of discipline.

The Third Sign: division.

The Fourth Sign: persecution, both from outside and within the church.

As the Church walks through this persecution and purification, Mary is calling all those consecrated to Jesus through her to step out of their shells and begin heeding the call of her Son, to be light for the world and salt for the earth.

March 9th, 1979– a Friday of Lent… “You are desirous of living a life of contempt for the world and for yourselves, in poverty, in humility, in silence, in prayer and mortification, in charity and in union with God, while at the same time being unknown and scorned by the world.  The time has now come for you to emerge from your hiddenness and to go out and enlighten the earth.  Many will follow in your footsteps and will become part of my cohort.  The Church’s most beautiful springtime is at hand.”
 
December 31st, 1976– “Accustom yourself to see everything with the same eyes as your Mother.  Always regard with pleasure and special love those whom the world ignores and disdains… the poor, the small, the humble, the suffering, the unknown.”

Mary calls all her consecrated children to enlighten the world, but in what manner are we to do this?  By going around preaching about the darkness and evil of the world?  To do this would be nothing revolutionary… many Christians already do, and the divide between the Church and non-Christians continues to widen as a result, and for good reason.

When Christians only focus on the darkness of the world in their preaching, the world is not exposed to the Light of Christ which is supposed to be revealed through Christians.  Rather, they are only exposed to the judgmentalism of Christians, failing to recognize that they, too, are just as capable of walking in darkness as in light.  In this sense, Christians are no different from non-Christians.  All of us have the potential to bring heaven to earth, or to bring hell.  Perhaps Christians have talked too much… perhaps it is time to act, to move… to be the living and breathing presence of the living God to the world through our works of mercy and acts of charity.  Perhaps, this is the greatest form of preaching.  And in doing this, far from pointing out the darkness of the world, we instead focus on pointing out the Light of the world, and this is who Mary wishes to bring to hearts, both to Christians and non-Christians.

We are called to love the poor, the suffering, the unknown… this is a call to truly live the life of He who is the Life… to follow the way of He who is the Way… to reveal the truth of He who is the Truth.  To love with His heart.  Perhaps this is the fruit of the purification of the Church, the key to the new springtime which is at hand.  To begin seeing the world and all within it through the eyes of God.

Mary calls us Apostles of the Last Times and Apostles of the New Era.  In 1991, she says these are our tasks: rebuild the Church and remain faithful to the Pope and our bishops; evangelize this poor humanity; bring her motherly tenderness to the suffering and the poor and unhappy and abandoned and lonely.

The Church is rebuilt when she remembers, in humility, her reasons for existence… to evangelize humanity, which she does through her lived example, bringing the love of God to the suffering and outcast of our society and the world.  Evangelization is not about who can preach the loudest, but rather who can love the greatest, and bringing that love to all.  In all this, Christians must remain faithful to the Pope and the bishops, for they are the ones charged by Jesus to lead the flock.  May we remain faithful to them, charitable to one another, and loving to the world around us.

May the entire world be filled with the love of Jesus, burning within the heart of Mother Mary, through His Body, the Church.

Nativity of Mary– Cause of our joy, hope, and consolation

The Nativity of Mary

The feast day of the Nativity of Mary is around the corner on September 8th.  On that day, the Catholic Church commemorates the birthday of the Queen of Heaven and earth, the Mother of the Church.

Here is a message from the Blessed Mother, delivered to Fr. Gobbi through interior locution, on September 8th, 1986.

My Birth, Message # 333.

“On the feast of my nativity, paradise exults and the Church Suffering and Militant look upon me as a sign of joy, of hope and of motherly consolation.

My birth is cause for your joy.  At the moment your heavenly Mother is born, like the rising dawn, the radiant day of your salvation is already near at hand and certain for you.  Close to my crib, heaven leaps for joy, with the countless cohorts of angels, who have been forever awaiting this ineffable moment.  Round about my crib, there gather festively the spirits of the prophets and the just who have lived, prepared and hoped, in the expectation of this joyous event.  Over my crib, with immense love of predilection, the Father bends down as He contemplates his masterpiece of creation; the Word, in the expectation of placing Himself in my virginal and motherly womb; and also the Holy Spirit who is already communicating Himself to my soul with the fullness of love.  For this reason, my birth is above all a cause of great joy for you all, who love to call upon me as the cause of your joy.

My birth is also cause for your hope.  Even now the Redemption, awaited, longed for and predicted for hundreds of centuries, is about to become a real event of your history.  I am born to give birth to Jesus, your Redeemer and Savior.  There breaks a new dawn for all humanity.  Sin is about to be conquered and, for the Spirit of Evil, the moment of his complete defeat draws near, while all creation prepares itself to receive the gift of its total renewal.  For this reason, my birth becomes also a cause of hope for all of you, who love to call upon me as Mother of Hope.

My birth is above all cause for your consolation.  The little creature, scarecly born, whom you contemplate again today in her crib, is the object of wondrous design by which she will become the Mother of Jesus and Mother of all humanity.  And this gives you great comfort in the painful times in which you are living.  Because you all have an Immaculate Mother who knows you, understands you, helps you and defends you.  Above all in the bloody hours of great suffering to which you are being called, how much comfort you find in the sure knowledge that your heavenly Mother is always at your side, to share in your suffering, to strengthen your trust and to be a consolation to your many sorrows.

Do not be afraid.  Have no fear.  Feel at your side your heavenly Mother, whom you venerate today at the moment of her earthly birth, in order to become, especially in these your times, a cause of joy, of hope and of consolation for all.”

St. Anne and St. Joachim, pray for us.

Sacred Heart of Jesus, King of all hearts, have mercy on us.

The Queenship of Mary

August 22nd, Feast Day of the Queenship of Mary, also known as the Feast Day of the Immaculate Heart

Today, the Church commemorates the Queen of heaven and earth, and Queen of all hearts.  As your gift to her, invite her to reign as Queen of your heart, through a solemn consecration to Jesus through Mary.  Say a Rosary for her intentions.

The Magnificat — The Canticle of Mary

My soul magnifies the Lord,
And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For He has regarded the low estate of His handmaiden,
For behold, henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name. And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with His arm:
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
and exalted those of low degree.
He has filled the hungry with good things;
and the rich He has sent empty away.
He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy;
As He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to His posterity forever.

–Luke 1:46-55

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen