Tag Archives: Advent

Heart of Jesus

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December 19
“…Mary acquired a very special relation with God. The blood of Jesus, the heart of Jesus and the body of Jesus are formed by the blood of Mary. By adoring the blood, the sacred wounds and the heart of Jesus, we adore something proceeding from Mary which was assumed by the Son of God.”
-Blessed James Alberione
For Reflection
The words of St. Maximilian Kolbe come to mind: “Oh, Immaculata! Who are you?” What great mystery is ours in the Incarnation! Jesus is in Mary. And Mary is in Jesus. Ponder this mystery of our Faith and journal your thoughts. Then pray the following prayer:
Dear Mother, draw me into your Immaculate Heart and chain me there with cords of grace. In this Sweet Vessel, imbue me with the life of your Son, Jesus Christ. Teach me how to imitate your virtues that I may be filled with grace. Carry me to the Sacred Heart of your Son that in Him I may rest forever. Amen.
  

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Advent Week Three: A Time for Charity, A Time for Love, Part IV

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St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (St. Edith Stein) wrote, “On the question of relation to our fellow men — our neighbor’s spiritual need transcends every commandment. Everything else we do is a means to an end. But love is an end already, since God is love.”

These words express a great truth and they should be at the heart of every action we perform for another, especially as we seek to enter more deeply into the very heart of God given to us through His Son, Jesus Christ.

 

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He Who Created All Things

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December 18
“The God who made all things gave Himself form through Mary, and thus He made His own creation. He who created all things from nothing would not remake His ruined creation without Mary.”
-St. Anselm
For Reflection
Consider the reality of this statement. Jesus Christ, the Word Made Flesh, took on the flesh of Mary only. This was His chosen means of “making” His own creation. So, too, does He seek to remake His ruined creation with her as well. What do these words say about me, a daughter re-born through Christ Jesus? How does this statement increase my wonder and awe of the mystery of the Incarnation and the mystery of Mary, Mother of God? See tomorrow’s GraceLine for another perspective of this awesome truth of our Faith.
  

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My Soul Doth Magnify the Lord

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December 17
He might be born, and see the stars through eyes
That were her eyes in Him! And might she trace
Her features in the molding of His brow?
Here her voice in His, and know the need
He had of her, and uttered in a cry?
And she…and…she might sing for Him at dusk!
Might sing, but no, she could not dare this dream…
But yet, it was a mother’s need to sing…
And then a song the world has never heard,
Rising in the faintest strains of distance
Loveliness had moved along the silver
Shining of her dreams, like light returned
Within a purer light, until it came
To her unfrightened. Caroling of angels’
Praise, and love that lifts to lullaby
Became as one, and blended for a fragile
Music that was hers and only hers…
My soul doth magnify the Lord:…Because he that is
mighty has done great things to me: and holy is his name.
For Reflection
Every mother dreams of the child she will birth. And as her time drew near, Mary’s thoughts of Jesus were marked by the quintessential ponderings of the pregnant woman. But hers were marked by something more as well. Her Son was the Holy One of Israel! In A Woman Wrapped in Silence, John W. Lynch speaks of this reality in poetic strain. Where do you see every mother in Mary’s musings, and where do you see that which marks her as the Mother of God? Of her thoughts, which echo your own longings?
(Excerpts from A Woman Wrapped in Silent by John W. Lynch, reprinted by permission of Paulist Press.)
  

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Advent Week Three: A Time for Charity, A Time for Love, Part III

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St. Augustine wrote, “Love has hands to help others. It has feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. This is what love looks like.” Read the rest…

Surrender

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December 16

“Thanks to her vow of surrender, everything is divinely disposed for this direct hold of God’s word over her.”
-Father Marie-Dominique Philippe, O. P.

For Reflection

Though Mary received a singular grace from God never to be repeated for all eternity, could it be that my surrender, seeking to mirror her own as closely as possible, could divinely dispose me to a greater hold of God’s word over me? How would I most like to experience that hold? In what one way today can I cooperate with grace to make my surrender more like Our Lady’s?
  

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Advent Week Three: A Time for Charity, A Time for Love, Part II

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As we discovered yesterday, for our good deeds to become charitable acts, we must center our hearts, our souls, our minds, and all of our strength on love of God. Then, and only then, will our good deeds effect a change that reaches beyond the finite to touch the eternal. And when we do that, every thought, word, deed, and suffering can become an act of charity — even our daily labor. Read the rest…

A Complete and Total YES

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December 15

“God wants to transform us by His grace and to sanctify us, but before He does so, He waits for our assent. When this yes is complete and total, as Mary’s was, God will accomplish His work in us.”
-Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalene, OCD

For Reflection

What is God’s hope for us? Upon what is it dependent? Why do you think this is so? How do the last five GraceLines point to Mary’s complete and total “fiat?” In what one way can you give your assent more completely and more totally? What was the work God accomplished in Mary? What work do you believe He wants to accomplish in you?
  

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Advent Week Three: A Time for Charity, A Time for Love, Part I

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“May the Lord make you overflow with love for one another and for all, even as our love does for you. May He strengthen your hearts…At the coming of our Lord Jesus…” — Thes. 3:12-13

Toy collections, food drives, charity bazaars — all common activities in communities and parishes during the Christmas season. And they are good. They help fulfill Jesus’ mandate to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31). Read the rest…

God Waiting for Us

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December 14
“… the spirituality of waiting is not simply our waiting for God. It is also participating in God’s waiting for us …”
-Henri J. M. Nouwen
For Reflection
             Ponder this quote. What does it mean to you? In what way(s) did God wait for Mary? How do I think He has been waiting for me? (Hint: One answer is found in tomorrow’s GraceLine) What is my response?
  

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