December 2
Welcome to the Daily Gracelines ADVENTure with Mary
Welcome to our "ADVENTure with Mary" program, a free Women of Grace® resource.
Advent is a time of waiting, watching, and preparing for the coming of the Christ Child, whose life and death bring us eternal salvation.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us that in the liturgical season of Advent, the Church "makes present [the] ancient expectancy of the Messiah," so that "by sharing in the long preparation for the Savior's first coming, the faithful [can] renew their ardent desire for his second coming" (#524).
My prayer for you is that this ADVENTure with Mary will aid you in your faith-filled effort to make this Advent a holy time of preparation as you ponder anew the Mystery of the Incarnation and the Woman whose "fiat" made it so.
Together, may we take this mystical journey with Mary from the moment of the Annunciation to the birth of her Child. I pray she delivers us safely into His holy and loving heart.
To truly maximize your experience over the next few weeks, the following steps will help:
Prepare yourself for your time of prayer.
Review the theme.
Ask Him for the grace to fully encounter both Him and His Mother.
Read the quote carefully, allowing the words to sit with you.
Pray the reflection provided.
Ask Him how you can virtuously live out the challenge.
Together, let us begin by offering ourselves to Jesus through His Mother, the perfect vessel for us to journey to Him.
Below, you will find St. Louis de Montfort's Prayer of Consecration to Jesus Through Mary.
Have a blessed and holy Advent and a joyous and "Mary" Christmas!
I faithfully remain,
Your sister in Christ,
Johnnette B. Williams
Prayer of Consecration to Jesus through Mary
I, (say your name), a faithless sinner,
renew and ratify today into thy hands, O Immaculate Mother,
the vows of my Baptism.
I renounce Satan, his pomps and works;
and I give myself entirely to Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Wisdom,
to carry my cross after Him all the days of my life and
to be more faithful to Him than I have ever been before.
In the presence of all the heavenly court,
I choose thee this day for my Mother and Mistress.
I deliver and consecrate to thee, as thy slave, my body and soul,
my goods, both interior and exterior,
and even the value of all my good actions,
past, present, and future;
leaving to thee the entire and full right of
disposing of me, and all that belongs to me,
without exception, according to thy good pleasure,
for the greater glory of God in time and in eternity.
Amen.
Day 1: Daily Gracelines: ADVENTure with Mary
Theme: Advent is a time of hope, filled with waiting and preparing for the coming of the Savior. Mary, the Mother of God, hopes in Him, placing all of herself at His disposal, awaiting His perfect arrival.
Grace: I pray for the grace of hope during this holy Advent season, anticipating with joy His will and surrendering to His timing.
Reflection: 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. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled." -Luke 1:41-45
Challenge: What does it mean that Mary believed in the Lord's promise to her? What does this teach us about hope? How is God calling you to hope in Him this Advent season? What is He calling you to surrender to Him in order to be filled with the virtue of hope?
