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Mary set out and traveled to the
hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered
the house of Zechariah and greeted
Elizabeth. When Elizabeth
heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped
in her womb, and Elizabeth,
filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud
voice and said, “Most blessed are
you among women, and blessed is the
fruit of your womb.”
The
Annunciation is the first joyful mystery of the Holy Rosary. It was also the
first Holy Communion. It was the first time Jesus’ body, blood, soul, and
divinity entered into another human body.
And just as He is in the Eucharist, He was hidden when he entered into
Mary’s body. But by faith she knew that He was there, and His presence moved
her. Literally. His presence in her body caused her to move with haste and joy.
The
Visitation
is the second joyful mystery of the Holy Rosary. Here we see that Mary’s humble
“fiat” - her simple but resounding “yes” to the Lord - became The Magnificat. By
the grace of God, this poor girl from Galilee was destined to become the Queen
of Heaven and Earth, and like the Child in her womb, Mary chose to serve rather
than to be served. Mary’s decision to go help Elizabeth is an immediate
reaction to the great Divine Love that was poured into her soul when Christ
came into her body. How do we react when Christ comes into our bodies after
receiving Him in Holy Communion? Are we any different? Are we more charitable?
More loving? More patient? More compassionate?
More forgiving? We should be. If not it’s to reevaluate some things.
In her book, The Habit of Being, Flannery
O'Connor writes, “All
human nature vigorously resists grace because grace changes us and the change
is painful.” I could not agree more. This is exactly what happens to so
many of us after we receive communion. We resist the grace infused in our souls
because we do not want to change our habits, behaviors, or attitudes. We’re not
willing to trade our vices for virtues so we ignore His grace and hold on to
our pride. Yet The Eucharist demands that we change. The physical presence of
Jesus within our bodies grants us the graces we need to live and love like
saints – to rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, and persevere in prayer (cf.
Rom 12:12) – if we so chose. But even if our human nature is resisting the path
to sainthood, the more we frequent the sacraments, especially Reconciliation
and Holy Communion, the more unavoidable this path will become, for His grace
is sufficient for us and His power is made perfect in our weaknesses (cf. 2 Cor
12:9). And where sin increases, grace abounds all the more (cf. Romans 5:20).
"Listen:
there are two things the devil is deadly afraid of: fervent Communions and
frequent visits to the Blessed Sacrament." - St. John Bosco
The New Evangelization In Fr. Robert
Barron’s series on The New Evangelization he reports that it takes one generation of inadequate adult
catechesis to go from weekly church attendance to non-church attendance and
then it only takes one more generation to go from non-church attendance to
non-belief. This is the frightening possibility to think about, especially when
you also consider the fact that of the one million teens confirmed each year in the U.S., approximately 85% will stop practicing their
faith within seven years. However, in spite of all that, the Church still
retains almost 70% of its members from
adolescence to adulthood - this is the highest retention rate of all Christian
denominations.
Being a former
fallen away Catholic myself, I believe our high retention rate is because we
love Christ crucified and Christ in the Eucharist. Therefore we understand why
bad things happen to good people and why sacrificial love is the only true love.
We do not promote the “Prosperity Gospel” that some Christian denominations
preach, but instead encourage each other to live the beatitudes with joy,
charity, and laughter. We are the Church of the saints and the sinners, but the
saints know how to suffer well. Through praying the Rosary, Stations of the
Cross, and Divine Mercy Chaplet, we meditate on the passion of Jesus and come
to beauty in such a terrible sacrifice. This appreciation and the consolation
of Mother Mary in times of trouble sustain our faith. The “Prosperity Gospel”
gives no value or meaning to suffering, and thus causes non-Catholic Christians
to lose their faith when faced with the sorrowful mysteries.
“Love in action is a harsh and dreadful thing
compared to love in dreams.” - Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov
Love in action is
harsh, but it is pure joy – it is the work of the Holy Spirit. Love goes out
from itself and gives itself totally to another. Love is meant to grow and to
be shared - that is why we evangelize. But truth be told, the New Evangelization
is hard work. It forces us to reach out as far as we can to seek out all the
lost and the lonely, the sick and the suffering, the cold hearted and the brokenhearted,
the persecutors and the persecuted, and all the prodigal sons and daughters.
Sub Tumm Praesidium is one of the oldest earliest Marian prayers in Church history; it dates
back to at least the third century. In English it translates to:
“We fly to your patronage, O Holy Mother of God:
despise not our petitions in our necessities, but deliver us always from all
dangers, O Glorious and Blessed Virgin.”
Unlike the Hail
Mary, the words to this prayer are not found directly in The Bible yet it has
been passed down from generation to generation for the past seventeen hundred
years. Why? Because the early Church Fathers and the great saints throughout
Church history have all had a strong devotion to our Blessed Mother. They all
looked up to her as a model of unwavering faith, constant hope, and authentic
love. They also saw her as a refuge for sinners and sought her intercession in
times of temptation. We too should seek to imitate her virtues and take refugee
under her protection.
My devotion to her increased
greatly while after I read the book “33 Days to Morning Glory” in preparation
for my Marian consecration a couple of months ago. Three of the four saints
that the book uses to explain Marian consecration were priests: St. Louis De Montfort,
St. Maximilian Kolbe, and St. John Paul II. All of these holy priests had an
extremely strong Marian devotion that helped them love and serve Jesus to the
best of their abilities. Mother Mary walked with each of them throughout their
lives as she walked with St. John the Apostle all the way up to the foot of the
Cross. She is the mother of all Christians, but especially of priests.
So let us pray for
the four men that are being ordained today in the Diocese of Dallas, that they
may always seek Our Blessed Mother’s intercession in their ministries and
always turn to her in times of distress. “For you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a
holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the
excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”
(1 Peter 2:9)
This mediation was written by Stephanie Juarez. She is a
confirmation teacher and a member of the youth ministry core team at St. Monica
Catholic Church in Dallas, TX. For more of her writings please visit her blog Lover of the Light.
Wonderful meditation. I especially appreciate the quotes. I think many Catholics worry, mostly to themselves, about the fate of the Church. So many young people pass on through Confirmation without a thought of what they're experiencing. They go through the motions and take their pictures while their parents hold out hope that they take ownership of their faith at some point. Some do, but more than a few don't. Your recommendations of praying the rosary, the chaplets, and appreciating the Sacrifice of the Mass would definitely serve to improve this situation. If the kids can overcome the impatience conditioned by modern life, and open their hearts to the Truth, they can begin to reap the benefits of faith and serve others as many of them want to do. Blessed Mother Theresa and her sisters practiced a kind of charity most people cannot even fathom. When asked the secret to this superhuman will to serve, Mother Theresa answered that she and her sisters would pray before the Blessed Sacrament for hours each morning before tending to their duties. Almost like a charger reviving a battery, the Eucharist and prayer revives the soul and keeps it young.
ReplyDeleteI remember hearing a talk over the Eucharist, and how receiving it mirrored Mary's receiving Christ in her womb. This never occurred to me before; now, however, as I approach the Host, I sometimes ponder Mary's "fiat" and how I do the same with my "amen." Mary's example magnifies the importance communion more than people know, and it's no coincidence that Protestant denominations will necessarily downplay Mary as they reduce the Body and Blood to more symbols. As the visitation shows, Mary was the first disciple not only in her acceptance of Christ, but in her will to serve others immediately afterward.