December 15
Day 14: Daily Gracelines: ADVENTure with Mary
Theme: Advent is a time of faith. We believe that He will come to us, simply because He said He would. In trusting Him, we commit everything we are and have to His care and disposal, following in the footsteps of His dear Mother. In doing so, we exemplify faith in His promises.
Grace: I pray for the grace of faith during this holy Advent season, entrusting to Him my entire self. I surrender my will in exchange for His.
Reflection: "Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in the piercing cold. In that hour vouchsafe, O my God, to hear my prayer and grant my desires, through the merits of Our Savior Jesus Christ, and of His blessed Mother. Amen." -St. Andrew Novena
Challenge: What desires do you need to bring to God today? What are you holding onto out of fear? How is God calling you to trust Him today?
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December 14
Day 13: Daily Gracelines: ADVENTure with Mary
Theme: Advent is a time of faith. We believe that He will come to us, simply because He said He would. In trusting Him, we commit everything we are and have to His care and disposal, following in the footsteps of His dear Mother. In doing so, we exemplify faith in His promises.
Grace: I pray for the grace of faith during this holy Advent season, entrusting to Him my entire self. I surrender my will in exchange for His.
Reflection: "God’s sign is his humility. God’s sign is that he makes himself small; he becomes a child; he lets us touch him and he asks for our love. How we would prefer a different sign, an imposing, irresistible sign of God’s power and greatness! But his sign summons us to faith and love, and thus it gives us hope: this is what God is like. He has power, he is Goodness itself. He invites us to become like him. Yes indeed, we become like God if we allow ourselves to be shaped by this sign; if we ourselves learn humility and hence true greatness; if we renounce violence and use only the weapons of truth and love." - Pope Benedict XVI
Challenge: How can I use the "weapons of truth and love" today? How will that change my heart into a place of humility, and ultimately, greatness?
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December 13
Day 12: Daily Gracelines: ADVENTure with Mary
Theme: Advent is a time of faith. We believe that He will come to us, simply because He said He would. In trusting Him, we commit everything we are and have to His care and disposal, following in the footsteps of His dear Mother. In doing so, we exemplify faith in His promises.
Grace: I pray for the grace of faith during this holy Advent season, entrusting to Him my entire self. I surrender my will in exchange for His.
Reflection: “At this Christmas when Christ comes, will He find a warm heart? Mark the season of Advent by loving and serving the others with God's own love and concern.” -St. Teresa of Calcutta
Challenge: Today, who is God calling you to show extra love? What needs of others are you overlooking, and how can you redirect your gaze from the mirror to Him and your neighbor?
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December 12
Day 11: Daily Gracelines: ADVENTure with Mary
Theme: Advent is a time of faith. We believe that He will come to us, simply because He said He would. In trusting Him, we commit everything we are and have to His care and disposal, following in the footsteps of His dear Mother. In doing so, we exemplify faith in His promises.
Grace: I pray for the grace of faith during this holy Advent season, entrusting to Him my entire self. I surrender my will in exchange for His.
Reflection: "Behold, you have heard my mandate, my humble son; go and put forth all your effort." -Our Lady of Guadalupe
Challenge: During her first apparition, Our Lady of Guadalupe spoke these words. Today, imagine our Mother speaking these words to your heart: "Daughter (or son), 'go and put forth all your effort.'" What specific task are you being called to say "yes" to? How is God asking you to give your very own fiat this very day? Take courage and have faith!
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December 11
Day 10: Daily Gracelines: ADVENTure with Mary
Theme: Advent is a time of faith. We believe that He will come to us, simply because He said He would. In trusting Him, we commit everything we are and have to His care and disposal, following in the footsteps of His dear Mother. In doing so, we exemplify faith in His promises.
Grace: I pray for the grace of faith during this holy Advent season, entrusting to Him my entire self. I surrender my will in exchange for His.
Reflection: "The knot of Eve's disobedience was untied by Mary's obedience; what the virgin Eve bound through her unbelief, the Virgin Mary loosened by her faith." -Lumen Gentium, 56 (quoting St. Irenaeus)
Challenge: This is one of the most profound quotes about our dearest Mother, painting a vivid illustration of how critical Mary's role in salvation is--through her obedience, she broke apart the knot caused by Eve's disobedience. Her perfect faith unbound the chains of Eve's fear and disbelief. Today, ask Mother to intercede for you, praying that our precious Father will loosen the knots of fear and worry in your heart. What is He calling you to trust Him with today?
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December 10
Day 9: Daily Gracelines: ADVENTure with Mary
Theme: Advent is a time of faith. We believe that He will come to us, simply because He said He would. In trusting Him, we commit everything we are and have to His care and disposal, following in the footsteps of His dear Mother. In doing so, we exemplify faith in His promises.
Grace: I pray for the grace of faith during this holy Advent season, entrusting to Him my entire self. I surrender my will in exchange for His.
Reflection: "In the evening when you go to sleep, hold your beads, doze off reciting them, do like those babies who go to sleep mumbling, 'Mamma! Mamma!'" - St. Bernadette
Challenge: What a precious image: a baby falling asleep, knowing he or she is protected and cared for. Today, open your heart and mind to this image, but instead of a baby, place yourself in the arms of our Mother. How safe do you feel as you lie within Her care? Pray a few times, "Mamma! Mamma!"
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December 9
Day 8: Daily Gracelines: ADVENTure with Mary
Theme: Advent is a time of faith. We believe that He will come to us, simply because He said He would. In trusting Him, we commit everything we are and have to His care and disposal, following in the footsteps of His dear Mother. In doing so, we exemplify faith in His promises.
Grace: I pray for the grace of faith during this holy Advent season, entrusting to Him my entire self. I surrender my will in exchange for His.
Reflection: "Faith is the theological virtue by which we believe in God and believe all that he has said and revealed to us, and that Holy Church proposes for our belief, because he is truth itself. By faith 'man freely commits his entire self to God.' For this reason the believer seeks to know and do God's will. 'The righteous shall live by faith.' Living faith 'work[s] through charity.' -Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1814
Challenge: This week, we are challenged to grow in Faith, allowing God to transform the areas in our life enveloped in fear. Our Mother is the perfect example for us: she freely committed her "entire self to God." How can we allow her to encourage and support us as we grow deeper in Faith over the next several days?
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December 8
Day 7: 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: "Hail, full of grace. What do these words mean? The Evangelist Luke writes that Mary (Miriam), at these words spoken by the Angel, “was greatly troubled..., and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be” (Lk 1:29). These words express a singular election. Grace means a particular fullness of creation through which the being, who resembles God, participates in God’s own interior life. Grace means love and the gift of God himself, the completely free gift (“given gratuitously”) in which God entrusts to man his Mystery, giving him, at the same time, the capacity of being able to bear witness to the Mystery, of filling with it his human being, his life, his thoughts, his will and his heart.” -Pope St. John Paul II
Challenge Today is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. How is God calling you to bear witness to His Mystery, of filling with it his human being, his life, his thoughts, his will, and his heart? How is our perfect Mother the example for us of one who participated in God's own interior life?
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December 7
Day 6: 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: "Let us run to Mary, and, as her little children, cast ourselves into her arms with a perfect confidence." -St. Francis de Sales
Challenge: Today, how can you "run" to our dear Mother? By throwing yourself into her arms, how are you demonstrating the virtue of hope, just as she threw herself in the arms of the Father? Mother, hold us close as we place all of our trust in our dear Father's perfect will!
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December 6
Day 5: 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: "Mary remained with her [Elizabeth] about three months and then returned to her home." - Luke 1:56
Challenge: Can you imagine how special it was for Elizabeth to have Mary stay with her for those three months? Picture their time together: how much hope do you think that He poured into their souls during such a precious time in their lives? What a joy! Who is God calling you to spend some extra time with this Advent season? Who needs you right now?
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