May 28

“How are Catholic women to accomplish their providential role as spiritual mothers (with Mary) of the human race?

They are to know Jesus from daily intimacy with Him in prayer,…Our Lady we may be sure always had Jesus on her mind.”

-Father John Hardon, S.J.

 

Today’s Reflection

Look up the word “providential” in the dictionary. Consider this reality in light of your call to be a spiritual mother in our day and time? What about you would make it so? (Think of your gifts and talents, your background and experience, your hopes and dreams, your successes and failures.)

To what extent do you always have Jesus on your mind? Why do you think daily intimacy with Jesus through prayer is fundamental to live out your providential role as spiritual mother with Mary?

May 27

“The apostolate of women in the modern world is not a moral option. It is a mandate… Today’s Church needs miracles of conversion, repentance, and the miracles will take place, provided women do their part, through Mary, and in Jesus and with a woman’s selfless love.”

-Father John A. Hardon, S.J.

 

Today’s Reflection:

These are strong words. What response do they solicit in you? Name some of the ways in which you think the Church needs miracles of conversion? Note that Father Hardon says the miracles will take place, but it depends on women. Why do you think this is so? In the next three Grace Lines, Father Hardon will show how this can be accomplished.

May 26

“Women must restore to political and professional life the emphasis on the spiritual, an emphasis so sadly lacking; we rely on them to help with the spiritual battle against the evils of secularism.”

-Richard Cardinal Cushing

 

Today’s Reflection:

Note the use of the word “must.” To what extent does this motivate a deeper understanding of your personal mission in this our day and time. How can you begin to work to restore an emphasis on the things of God in your sphere of influence? What one step can you take today?

“To bring about his salvation, all man has to contribute is his readiness to give himself up completely. The receptive, passive attitude of the feminine principle appears as the decisive, the positive element in the Christian order of grace. The Marian dogma, brought down to a simple formula, means the co-operation of the creature in the salvation of the world.”

-Gertrud von le Fort

Consider the first statement in this quote from Gertrud von le Fort. On a scale of 1 – 10, how do I rank my readiness with 1 being “Not Ready At All,” and 10 being “Out-The-Door.” What holds me back; what causes me to press forward? What is defined here as the “feminine principle” and why do you think it is the “decisive, the positive element of the Christian order of grace”? Contemplate this in light of Our Lady. After reading the last statement, ask “To what extent am I molded in the Marian dogma?”