March 12
“The Virgin Mary, who believed in the word of the Lord, did not lose her faith
in God when she saw her Son rejected, abused and crucified. Rather
she remained beside Jesus, suffering and praying, until the end. And she
saw the radiant dawn of His Resurrection. Let us learn from her to witness
to our faith with a life of humble service, ready to personally pay the price
of staying faithful to the Gospel of love and truth, certain that nothing that
we do will be lost.”
- Pope Benedict XVI
For Reflection:
In what way do these words of the Holy Father speak to you today? Are we willing to face the moments of our life, from this second forward in persona Maria? How have Mary’s dolors encouraged you and strengthened you to do so?
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LR writes:
"I heard that burying a statue of St. Joseph upside down in yard to sell a house is superstitious. What about putting St. Benedict medals in corners of a home for protection and blessing. Is this superstitious?"
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March 11
“The everlasting God has in His Wisdom foreseen from eternity, the cross He now presents to you as a gift from his innermost heart. This cross He now sends You He has considered with His all-knowing eyes, understood with His divine mind, tested with his wise justice, warmed with His own hands to see that it not be one ounce too heavy for you. He has blessed it with His holy Name, anointed it with His grace, perfumed it with his consolation, and taken one last glance at you and your courage – has sent it to you from heaven, a special greeting from God to you, an alms of the all merciful love of God.”
- St. Francis de Sales
For Reflection:
How do you think Mary would have responded to these words of St. Francis de Sales? How do you respond? Reflect on this quote in light of Mary and her seven dolors. Reflect on it in light of the sufferings you have borne and ones you may be bearing now. Record your insights, thoughts, inspirations, or reflections.
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Can you believe we are about halfway through our Lenten journey?
How is your Lent going? Has it been fruitful? Have you kept your promises to the Lord? Is it time to begin again?
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March 10
The Seventh Dolor: The Burial of Jesus
From the beginning of the victim’s torture until after his death, crucifixion was a nasty and brutal affair. It was rare that the criminal was buried after he died. Most typically, the body was left to be devoured by beasts and birds of prey. One exception, however, applied to Jews. Because their religious law required a person accused of a capital offense to be buried on the same day as his death (see Deut. 21: 22-23), the Romans permitted the body to be removed for burial – usually for a price. Since death from crucifixion could take up to three days, this usually required a hastening of the dying process. Soldiers would often kindle a fire under the crucified, or let hungry beasts attack them, or break their bones with an iron mallet to induce suffocation. Fortunately for Our Lord, none of this was necessary thereby fulfilling Scripture (Exodus 12:46).
For Reflection:
Read the account of Jesus’ burial in Mark 15: 42-47. What parallels do you see between it and today’s GraceLine? Though the Blessed Mother is not specifically mentioned, it was customary for the family members of the deceased to prepare the body for burial and then proceed to the burial site in a procession of lamentation and mourning. Picture Our Lady performing these last acts of love for her Son. What does Mary do? What words come to mind to describe the quality of her actions? What thoughts do you think played at her memory? What emotions did she experience? Journal your reflections.
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K asks: "
Can you please tell me if the Manquehue Movement (began in Chile, lectio divina, communities) is an acceptable Catholic movement? I am looking at a highschool for my children, where the Benedictine monks promote this. Thank you so much!"
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AB writes:
"I was watching a show on Discovery the other day and they had a commercial about a new website called, Keen.com, where people can go to connect with a psychic, tarot card reader, astrologer, etc. What do you know about this site?"
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March 9
“No one can suggest that God did not love the Blessed Virgin. Nevertheless, He did not exempt her for Calvary, or from making her participate in the Cross to a fuller extent than anyone else in the world except her Son. It would be foolish – to think that if God really loves us, as He does, He will exempt us from the Cross, the sign of the Christian.”
-Federico Suarez
For Reflection:
Christian thinking has always posited the Cross as the consummate sign of victory. We even celebrate a feast day in celebration of it – September 14, The Triumph of the Cross. How was Calvary and the Cross, Jesus's greatest triumph? Mary’s? How does the Cross, then, speak of God’s love for us -- first, in reception of the fruits it has gained for us; and second, in the entrustment of the cross we carry? To what extent does this insight lighten the burden?
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March 8
To Mary: At the Thirteenth Station
You are the priest tonight:
The paten of your lap holds sacrifice.
You are the priest tonight,
Offering Peace and its price.
Star candles burn palely bright;
John is your faithful acolyte.
You are the priest tonight.
-Raymond Roseliep
M. Thérèse. I Sing of a Maiden: The Mary Book of Verse.
New York: Macmillan, 1947.
For Reflection:
How is this scene almost para- liturgical? Read Paragraphs, 783 and 1546 in the Catechism of the Catholic Church in light of the poem. Do you think the description of Mary as priest is an apt one? What deeper insights does this give you into the mystery of Mary, her union with her Son and His sacrifice, and the suffering they shared in common?
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March 7
The Sixth Dolor: Jesus Is Taken Down From the Cross
Tradition has it that Jesus’ body was placed in His mother’s arms after he was taken down from the Cross. This touching scene became the subject of artistic renderings around 1300, with the most famous of all being Michelangelo’s sculpture in white marble. The Pieta has been housed in St. Peter’s Basilica since the early 18th Century.
For Reflection:
Michaelangelo’s sculpture captures in marble – a deepening insight into the mystery of Mary, Virgin and Mother, whose Son was her Savior and her God, and Whose suffering was mystically her own.
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