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While she waited in her anguish, Seeing Christ in torment languish, Bitter sorrow pierced her heart.

For Reflection:             

This verse tells us Mary “waited.” What attitude of heart do you think marked Mary’s disposition as she waited? What virtues? Recall a time when you, too, waited. What marked your disposition? What virtues did you exhibit?

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At the cross her station keeping, Mary stood in sorrow weeping When her Son was crucified.  

For Reflection:             

Father Faber tells us that each consecutive suffering of Our Lady outstripped its predecessor in pain, because each new suffering had “more love to torture, and therefore more power of inflicting pain.” In this first verse of the Stabat Mater, Mary experiences the fifth sword to her heart. She is at the summit of her suffering. Consider Father Faber’s quote in light of this. What do you think he means by “more love to torture?” What is the connection between love and pain? To what extent are you willing to truly love?

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        Closing Prayer to Our Lady

 O Mary, our Mother, with thine arms outstretched –

     those tender arms in which the eternal God

delighted to dwell when He became our blood Brother –

    plead our cause. With thine eyes of mercy,

   beseech of Him for us, thy children,

the grace that in our exile we may resemble thee,

        His most devoted follower, and so at last,

    in union with thee, may glorify Him forever!

For Reflection:             

Which of these sentiments, petitions, desires most expresses my heart and why?

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“…since the measure of our grace will always be inferior to [Mary’s}, we must adorn our souls with virtue through correspondence with the degree of grace that God bestows on us. Thus will we walk in her footsteps and, like her, grow in humility, in purity, and in love of God.”

For Reflection:             

Of all the lessons presented this month, which one lesson do I most need to learn? What virtues does this lesson require? Using a particular examination of conscience (see page 45 of the  Women of Grace Journal in the link below) what strategies can I employ to make this lesson a pattern of my life?

http://www.womenofgrace.com/App_Uploads_Docs/Journals/women_of_grace_journal_issue_7.pdf

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“As our chief duty in life is the sanctification of our souls, we should strive with all our powers to advance to that standard of perfection that God has determined for each one of us. We should use all our efforts to grow daily in divine love.”

For Reflection:             

With a frank look at my own heart, what do I consider to be the chief duty in my life? What attitudes of heart, ideas, and behaviors need to be amended to help my spiritual life take first position?  Am I willing to apply my efforts in this direction – why or why not?

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“Our prayer, like Mary’s and the Apostles', must come from our hearts under the absolute dominion of the Holy Spirit. The love of God above all things, detachment from the world, and an abiding sense of the supernatural, or recollection – these are the prerequisites of prayer.”

For Reflection:             

How does my time of prayer measure up according to the standard in the quote above? Which of the prerequisites listed above do I employ? Which do I need to cultivate. Write a prayer to Our Lady asking for her maternal intercession.

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“The true child of Mary must be prepared to make the sacrifice necessary to overcome the love of created things with the love of the Creator.”

For Reflection:             

To what am I most attached? What virtues can I begin to practice to help me become more detached to them and filled more with the things of God? What devotions can I develop to help inculcate a deeper love for God?

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“When God demands of a soul a great sacrifice, he strengthens the soul, through the vivifying power of His grace, to overcome all obstacles. Such a soul dies perfectly to itself, and its only desire is to remain spiritually dead to its natural inclinations as long as God wishes.”  

For Reflection:             

What has been the greatest sacrifice God has entrusted to me? What were the potential hazards, the hurdles, and the obstacles it presented? How did I experience God’s grace in the midst of the trial? Am I willing to die to self and embrace the crosses God sees fit to offer me?

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“Oh, how precious are our souls to Jesus and Mary, our blood Brother and our mother. The best expression of our gratitude for such love is the irrevocable consecration of ourselves to them – in the gloom of uncertainty, in the anguish of doubt, in the heart-riving loneliness of interior desolation, when God seems to desert us, by complete abandonment to the divine will.”

For Reflection:             

Do I have difficulty seeing myself as “precious?” Ask the Holy Spirit to heal the area of your heart where this wound is lodged. Turn your eyes to the hearts of Jesus and Mary and picture them brimming with love for you. Return to this image every time the evil one seeks to sow uncertainty, anguish, doubt, and desolation into your soul. Journal your insights and reflections.

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“Mary cannot forsake us, because she is our Mother. If we confide our salvation to her loving care and faithfully imitate her virtues, she will fold us to her Immaculate Heart both now and at the hour of our death.”           

For Reflection:             

Mystically ask Mary to take you to her Immaculate Heart. Rest there with her. Journal your impressions, insights, reflections on her maternal love for you.

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