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Post by Hildegard on Mar 23, 2019 20:49:09 GMT
Rev. Fr. Leonard Goffine's
The Church's Year
INSTRUCTION ON THE FESTIVAL OF THE
ANNUNCIATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY.
(March 25)
Annunciation
THE Church on this day celebrates the commemoration of the day, ever memorable in the Book of Life, upon which the holy, angelically pure Virgin Mary received the glorious announcement that she was chosen to be the Mother of the , Redeemer.
The Church in the Introit exclaims: All the rich among the people shall entreat thy countenance: after her shall virgins be brought to the King: her neighbors shall be brought to
thee in gladness and rejoicing. (Ps. xliv.) My heart hath uttered a good word: I speak my works to the King. Glory be to the Father, &c.
PRAYER OF THE CHURCH. O God, who wast pleased that Thy Word, at the message of an angel, should take flesh in the womb of the blessed Virgin Mary: grant us Thy suppliants,
that we who believe her to be truly the Mother of God may be assisted by her intercession with Thee. Thro’. &c.
(The Lesson and Explanation as on Ember- Wednesday in Advent.)
GOSPEL. (Luke i. 26—38.) At that time, the Angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, called Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the Angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women. Who having heard, was troubled at his saying, and thought with herself what manner of salutation this should be. And the Angel said to her: Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with
God: Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father: and he shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end. And Mary said to the
Angel: How shall this be done, because I know not man? And the Angel answering, said to her: The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore also the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And behold, thy cousin Elizabeth, she also hath conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her that is called barren: because no word shall be impossible with God. And Mary said: Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to thy word.
Why does the Evangelist so minutely detail the announcement of the Incarnation?
That we may clearly impress upon our mind, believe in, and meditate upon the mystery of the Incarnation, upon which depends our eternal salvation.
Why was an angel sent to Mary?
To announce to her that it was God’s will that His divine Son, in order to redeem the human race by His sufferings and death, should take human nature from her, and because the
human race, redeemed by Christ, was to occupy the place made vacant by the fallen angels.
Was the Incarnation necessary for our redemption?
Yes; for as God, Christ could not suffer; without an infinitely meritorious suffering a sufficient satisfaction could not have been rendered to God, had not the Son of God humiliated
Himself before His heavenly Father, and suffered: this could only be effected by the Incarnation. This shows the enormity of sin, for which no man however pure, no, not even an angel, but only a God-Man could atone.
Why did God require Mary’s consent for the Incarnation of His Son?
To show us that God forces no one to good, much less to evil; that we might learn that our good intention and free assent are necessary even to good works, if we wish them to be
meritorious. Venerable Bede says: that because of her consent God imparted to Mary all, even the greatest graces, greater than all creatures, angels as well as men, ever merited.
Why was Mary troubled at the angel’s message?
On account of her humility and modesty. She was so humble that she regarded herself as the least of all creatures, and could not comprehend how such an honor could be hers.
She was so modest, and loved virginal purity so much that the presence of the angel and his message troubled her. From this all maidens should see that their loveliest adornments and most necessary virtues are modesty, humility and love of purity, which Mary so valued that she would not lose them even to become the Mother of God.
What is meant by the throne of David?
The kingdom of Christ, of which David’s government was a representation. (Ps. cxxxi.)
Why is David called the father of Christ?
Because Mary descended from the house of David, and, therefore, David according to nature was the forefather of Christ.
Who was the real father of Christ?
To answer this properly, we must observe that in Christ there are two natures, the divine and the human. According to His human nature He had indeed a mother, but no father, for Joseph was only His foster-father; according to His divine nature He had no mother, but only a father, the Heavenly Father.
How, then, was Christ conceived?
By the overshadowing and power of the Holy Ghost, who by His divine omnipotence effected the conception of Him whom Mary was to bring forth.
How should we be encouraged by the words: No word shall be impossible with God?
We should be encouraged to a great confidence in God, who can readily assist us in the most difficult circumstances, even when help seems impossible, and He will aid us, if it is beneficial, and if we ask Him. These words, moreover, admonish us to a firm faith which cannot be shaken by the most incomprehensible mystery in matters of faith.
Why does Mary call herself the handmaid of the Lord?
From humility, which next to her maidenly modesty was her most remarkable virtue, which causes St. Bernard to say: “By her purity she pleased God, and by her humility she conceived Him.”
EXPLANATION OF THE “HAIL MARY” OR THE ANGELIC SALUTATION.
Why is the “Hail Mary” called the Angelic Salutation?
BECAUSE it commences with the words addressed to Mary by the Archangel Gabriel, when he brought her the message that she was to be the Mother of God.
Of what does the Hail Mary consist?
Of the words of the Archangel Gabriel; of St. Elizabeth’s salutation, when she was visited by Mary; and of words added by the Catholic Church.
What words did the angel say to Mary?
Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou amongst women!
What is meant by these words?
The word Hail, that is, Salutation to thee! Peace with thee! or, Joy to thee! expresses the reverence which the angel had for the Blessed Virgin, and which we should also cherish.
The words: full of grace remind us that God bestowed more graces upon the Blessed “Virgin than upon all men and angels together. We should for this reason always pray with
confidence to her to obtain for us, by her powerful intercession, those graces which are most necessary for our salvation. By the words: the Lord is with thee, the angel intended
to express, that the Lord was with this maiden not only in His reality, presence, and omnipotence as with all men, not only in His grace as with the just, but with the greatest and most extraordinary grace, love and familiarity. St. Augustine observes: “The angel wished to say: The Lord is with thee more than with me; the Lord is with thee, so that He may
be in thy heart, in thy body, may fill thy spirit, may fill thy flesh.” “Could God raise her higher!” St. Bernard here exclaims. Ah, that the Lord might be with us also, and Mary by
her intercession obtain graces for us! Finally, the words: Blessed art thou amongst women, mean: thou art the happiest of women, for thou of all thy sex art chosen to be the
Mother of God, at the same time Mother and Maid. How much is contained in the salutation which one of the highest spirits surrounding the throne of God, addressed to Mary, and how much it behooves us to love and daily salute Mary, cur most tender Mother!
What were the words used by St. Elizabeth, and what is their signification ?
Elizabeth repeated the words of the angel: Blessed art thou amongst women, adding “and blessed is the fruit of thy womb/’ which signified that Jesus should be glorified, because through Him God would bestow all spiritual and heavenly blessings upon us.
Which are the words added by the Church?
They are: “Jesus”, who is the fruit of her womb, by which she wishes us to offer this prayer to God in the name of Christ; and then she adds the invocation to Mary: Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
What do these words mean?
When we say Holy Mary, we mean to express that Mary is God’s holy and wonderful work, Daughter of the Heavenly Father, Mother of the Son, and Bride of the Holy Ghost, and
has all her sanctity, beauty, and that great veneration from the fruit of her womb, Jesus Christ. The glorious title of Mother of God is given her, because Mary bore not an ordinary
man, but Jesus Christ who is both God and Man. Therefore from her was born the Son of God, the incarnate God, not a man who appeared like God, but God in flesh. She is, then,
really and truly the Mother of God, our Lord’s Mother. The Fathers who had assembled in the holy Council of Chalcedon, to refute Nestorius, who sought to deprive Mary of the title of Mother of God, called her “Holy Mary, Mother of God.” Of herself Mary is not holy, and cannot of herself help us, therefore we say: pray for us, by which we ask for her powerful
intercession; and conscious of our poverty and sinfulness, call ourselves poor sinners, who turn to Mary, the Mother of mercy, because we feel ourselves too unworthy to pray to Christ Himself, and, therefore, entreat this loving mother to obtain for us amendment of life, remission of sin, consolation in affliction, remedy in sickness, assistance in need, increase of grace, preservation, perseverance, and the crown; and may Mary pray for us now and at the hour of our death. Now, that is, while the divine mercy is given us, and especially in the hour of death, when the weapons for battle against the enemy fall from our hands, and the evil one tempts us the more violently, because he knows that his time is short, (Apoc. xii. 12.) in that hour on which depends our eternal welfare or grief. By the word Amen we affirm that we remain true venerators of the Virgin Mother of God, and at all times expect grace from God through her intercession. “Yes,” says St. Bernard, “let us venerate Mary as sincerely, heartily, and confidently as we can, for such is His will who desired that we should have all (salvation and redemption in Christ) through Mary.” The Son will assuredly hear the Mother, and the Father the Son. Let us, then, strive to rise by her to Him who by her came down to us!
Through thee, who hast found grace with God, Mother of life! Mother of salvation! we have access to the Son, who accepts us from thee, who was given us by thee — to Jesus Christ, eternally blessed.
ON THE “ANGELUS DOMINI,” THE ANGEL OF THE LORD.
Who introduced the angelic salutation into the Catholic Church ?
POPE Urban II., who at the Council of Clermont, France, in 1095, ordered that the bells be rung every day in the morning, at noon, and in the evening, and that at each time the angelic salutation be repeated. His special intention was to obtain Mary’s protection for the crusades of the eleventh century, which had for their object the rescuing of the holy Sepulchre from
the hands of the infidels. These wars are now ended, but the life of the whole Church, of every Christian, is a crusade against sin and temptation. We always need Mary’s protection; and, therefore, the custom of repeating the salutation is still retained in the Church. Formerly at the ringing of the Angelus, all the faithful fell on their knees, and even now pious Catholics do the same. St. Charles Borromeo, an archbishop, did not hesitate to kneel in the open street and repeat the angelic salutation.
Of what does the uAngelus Domini’ consist?
It consists of three Hail Marys: before the first is said: The angel of the Lord declared unto Mary, and she conceived of the Holy Ghost; before the second: Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done unto me according to thy word; before the third: and the word was made flesh and dwelt amongst us.
Why and how often is the “Angelus Domini” said?
It is said in order to remind us of Christ’s Incarnation and in thanks for it; to ask the Blessed Virgin’s maternal protection against all enemies visible and invisible; to recollect at least three times in the day, morning, noon and evening, like David, to give praise to God, and take a little time expressly for prayer, for which purpose the bells are rung three times a day.
How should we say the “Angelus Domini?”
With respect, that is, slowly and kneeling (except on Saturday evenings and Sundays, and during the time of Easter, when it is said standing); contritely, since Christ became man because of our sins; devoutly, that is, heart and lips should be in accord.
SALUTATION TO MARY.
Hail Mary, full of grace! I rejoice and congratulate thee, because thou wert chosen to be the Mother of the Most High and Queen of heaven and earth. With thee is the Father who from all
eternity begot Him whom thou didst bear; with thee is the Son whom thou didst carry in thy virginal womb; with thee is the Holy Ghost, overshadowed by whose power thou didst become the Mother of God. Thou art blessed amongst women, thou art the joy of heaven and the ornament of the Church of God, pray for us now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
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Post by Admin on Mar 25, 2019 10:59:18 GMT
The Annunciation of the Lord
Taken from The Golden Legend by Jacobus de Voragine
The feast is so named because on this day the coming of the Son of God was announced by an angel. It was fitting that the Annunciation should precede the Incarnation, and this for three reasons. The first is that the order of reparation should correspond to the order of transgression or deviation. Therefore since the devil tempted the woman to lead her to doubt, through doubt to consent, and through consent to sinning, so the angel brought the message to the Virgin by the announcement to prompt her to believing, through believing to consent, and through consent to the conceiving of the Son of God. The second reason has to do with the angel’s ministry. The angel is God’s minister and servant, and the Blessed Virgin was chosen to be God’s mother; and as it is right for the minister to be at the service of his mistress, so it was fitting that the Annunciation be made to the Blessed Virgin by an angel. The third reason is that reparation was to be made for the fall of the angels. The Incarnation made reparation not only for human sin but for the ruin of the fallen angels. Therefore the angels were not to be excluded; and as womankind was not excluded from knowledge of the mysteries of the Incarnation and the Resurrection, neither was the angelic Messenger excluded. God made both of these mysteries known through angels, the Incarnation to the Virgin Mary and the Resurrection to Mary Magdalene. The Virgin Mary lived in the Temple from her third to her fourteenth year and made a vow to live in chastity unless God otherwise disposed. Then she was espoused to Joseph, God revealing his will by the flowering of Joseph’s staff, as is more fully set forth in our account of the birth of Blessed Mary. Joseph went to Bethlehem, the city of his origins, to make the necessary preparation for the nuptials, while Mary returned to her parents’ home in Nazareth. Nazareth means “flower”; hence Bernard says that the Flower willed to be born of a flower, in “Flower,” in the season of flowers. At Nazareth, then, the angel appeared to Mary and greeted her, saying: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee! Blessed art thou among women. Bernard says: “We are invited to salute Mary by Gabriel’s example, by John’s joyous leaping in his mother’s womb, and by the reward of being greeted in return.” Now we must first see why the Lord wanted his mother to be married. On this point Bernard gives three reasons, saying: “It was necessary that Mary be espoused to Joseph, because thereby the mystery was hidden from the demons; Mary’s virginity was confirmed by her spouse; and her modesty and good name were protected.” A fourth reason was that Mary’s espousal took away dishonor from every rank and condition of womankind, namely, the married, virgins, and widows, since she herself was married, virginal, and widowed. A fifth: she was served and cared for by her spouse; a sixth, the genealogical line was established through the husband. The angel said: Hail, full of grace! Bernard: “In her womb was the grace of the presence of God, in her heart the grace of charity, on her lips the grace of benignity, in her hands the grace of mercy and generosity.” Bernard also says: “Truly full of grace, because from her fullness all captives receive redemption, the sick receive healing, the sorrowful consolation, sinners forgiveness, the righteous grace, the angels joy, and finally the whole Trinity receives glory and the Son of man the substance of human flesh.” The Lord is with thee. Bernard: “With you are the Lord God the Father, of whom the One you are conceiving is begotten, the Lord the Holy Spirit, of whom you conceive, and the Lord the Son, whom you clothe with your flesh.” Blessed art thou among women. Bernard goes on: “You are blessed among women, blessed indeed above all women, because you will be a virgin mother and the mother of God.” Women had come under a threefold curse, namely, the curse of reproach when they were unable to conceive, wherefore Rachel, when she conceived and bore a son, said: “God has taken away my reproach”; 1 the curse of sin when they conceived, whence the Psalm says: “Behold I was conceived in iniquities, and in sins did my mother conceive me”; 2 and the curse of pain when they gave birth; so Genesis: “In pain you shall bring forth children.” 3 The Virgin Mary alone was blessed among women, because to her virginity was added fruitfulness, to her fruitfulness in conceiving, holiness, and to her holiness in giving birth, happiness. Mary is called full of grace, as Bernard says, because four kinds of grace shone in her spirit: the devotion of her humility, the reverence of her modesty, the greatness of her faith, and the martyrdom of her heart. She is told, The Lord is with thee, because four things, as the same Bernard says, shone upon her from heaven, these being Mary’s sanctification, the angel’s salutation, the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit, and the incarnation of the Son of God. Moreover she is told, Blessed art thou among women, because, according to the same author, four things also shone in her body: she was the Virgin of virgins, fruitful without corruption, pregnant without heaviness, and delivered without pain. When Mary heard the angel’s words, she was troubled and thought to herself what this greeting might mean. Here we see that the Virgin was worthy of praise in her hearing the words and her reception of them, and in her pausing to think about them. She was praiseworthy for her modesty when she heard the words and remained silent, for her hesitancy at receiving the words, and for her prudence in her thoughtfulness, because she thought about the sense of the greeting. Note that she was troubled by the angel’s words, not at the sight of him: she had often seen angels but had never heard one speak as this one did. Peter of Ravenna says: “The angel had come kindly in manner but fearsome in his words,” so that while the sight of him gave her joy, hearing what he said distressed her. Hence Bernard comments: “She was troubled, as befitted her virginal modesty, but not overly distressed, due to her fortitude; she was silent and thoughtful, evidence of her prudence and discretion.” To reassure her, the angel said: Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God; 4 and Bernard exclaims: “What grace indeed! Peace between God and men, death destroyed, life made whole!” Behold, thou shalt conceive and bear a son and shalt call his name Jesus, which means savior, because he will save his people from their sins. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. Bernard: “This means that he, who is great God, will be great–a great man, a great teacher, a great prophet.” Mary asked the angel: How shall this be done, because I know not man?–i.e., I have no intention of knowing man. So she was virginal in her mind, in her body, and in her intentions. Here we see Mary questioning, and whoever questions, doubts. Why then was Zachary alone punished by being struck dumb? To this point Peter of Ravenna assigns four reasons, saying: “The One who knows sinners attended not to their words but to their hearts, and judged not what they said but what they meant. Their reasons for questioning were not the same, their hopes were different. She believed, contrary to nature; he doubted, in defense of nature. She simply asked how such a thing could happen; he decided that what God wanted could not be done. He, though pressed by examples, failed to rise to faith; she, with no example to go by, hurried to faith. She wondered how a virgin could give birth; he was dubious about a conjugal conception. It was not the fact that she questioned, but how it could come about, the process of it, because there are three ways of conceiving–the natural, the spiritual, and the miraculous–and she was asking which of these would be the mode of her conception.” The angel answered: The Holy Spirit will come upon thee, and it is he who will cause thee to conceive. Hence the child to be born of her is said to be conceived of the Holy Spirit, and this for four reasons. The first is the manifestation of boundless love, in other words, to show that the Word of God took flesh out of God’s ineffable love; John 3:16: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son.” That reason is given by the Master of the Sentences. The second was to make it clear that the conception proceeded from grace alone, not from merit: the angel’s words showed that since the conception was of the Holy Spirit, it came about by grace alone, being preceded by no merit of any man. This reason is Augustine’s. The third is the operative power of the Holy Spirit: the conception came about by the power and working of the Spirit: this from Ambrose. Hugh of Saint Victor adds a fourth reason, namely, the motive involved. He says that the motive leading to natural conception is the love of a man for a woman and the woman’s love for the man. So, he says, because in the Virgin’s heart there burned so great a love of the Holy Spirit, in her body the same love worked miracles. And the power of the Most High will overshadow thee. This, according to the Gloss, is explained as follows: “A shadow ordinarily is formed by light falling on a solid body, and neither the Virgin nor any pure human being could contain the fullness of the deity: but ‘the power of the Most High will overshadow thee,’ and in her the incorporeal light of the godhead took on the body of mankind, in order that she might bear God.” Bernard seems to come close to this explanation when he says: “Because God is a spirit and we are the shadow of his body, he lowered himself to us so that through the solidity of his life-giving flesh we might see the Word in the flesh, the sun in the cloud, the light in the lamp, the candle in the lantern.” Bernard also says that the angel’s words can be read as if he said: “Christ, the power of God, will conceal in the shadow of his most secret counsel the mode by which you will conceive of the Holy Spirit, so that it will be known only to him and to you. And if the angel says, ‘Why do you ask me? when you will soon experience what I am telling you!’ You will know in yourself, you will know, you will happily know, but the One who works in you will be your teacher. I have been sent to announce the virginal conception, not to create it.” Or, “will overshadow thee” means that she would be kept cool and shaded from all heat of vice. And behold, thy kinswoman Elizabeth hath also conceived a son. According to Bernard, Elizabeth’s conceiving was announced to Mary for four reasons: that she might be filled with joy, perfected in knowledge, perfected also in doctrine, and moved to a work of mercy. Jerome, indeed, says: “That her kinswoman, who was barren, had conceived was announced to Mary in order that as miracle was added to miracle, so more joy might be heaped upon her joy. Or the Virgin received the word immediately through an angel so that she might know it before it became common knowledge and not just hear it from someone else, and this lest it appear that the mother of God was kept apart from the counsels of her Son and unaware of what was happening close by on earth; or rather, so that by being fully informed of the coming, now of the forerunner and afterward of the Savior, and thus knowing the time and sequence of these events, she might later make the truth known to writers and preachers. Moreover, hearing of the older woman’s pregnancy, the younger woman would think of going to her side, and thus the unborn prophet would be given the opportunity to do homage to his Lord, and the one miracle might furnish occasion for a more wondrous one.” Now Bernard: “Quick, Virgin, give your answer! O Lady, say the word and accept the Word, offer yours and accept God’s, pronounce the transitory and embrace the everlasting, rise up, run, open yourself! Arise by faith, run by devotion, open by giving your consent!” Then Mary, raising her hands and her eyes to heaven, said: Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done unto me according to thy word. Bernard: “It is said that some have received the word of God in the mouth, others in the ear, still others in the hand. Mary received that word in her ear by the angel’s greeting, in her heart by faith, in her mouth by her confessing it, in her hand when she touched it, in her womb when it took flesh in her, in her bosom when she nursed it, in her arms when she offered it.” Be it done unto me according to thy word. Bernard interprets this: “I will not have it done unto me as preached by some demagogue, or signified in a figure of speech, or imagined in a dream, but as silently breathed into me, in person incarnate, bodily living in my body.” And in an instant the Son of God was conceived in her womb, perfect God and perfect man, and from the very first day of his conception he had as much wisdom and as much power as he had in his thirtieth year. Then Mary arose and went into the hill country to Elizabeth, and John leapt in his mother’s womb as a way of greeting the Virgin. The Gloss notes: “Because he could not give greeting with his tongue, he leapt for joy of spirit and so began to fulfill his office as Christ’s forerunner.” Mary attended Elizabeth for three months until John was born, and lifted him from the earth with her own hands, as we read in the Book of the Just. It is said that God wrought many works on this day as it came round in the course of the years, and a poet tells them in memorable verses: Salve justa dies quae vulnera nostra coerces!
Angelus est missus, est passus in cruce Christus,
Est Adam factus et eodem tempore lapsus,
Ob meritum decimae cadit Abel fratris ab ense,
Offert Melchisedech, Ysaac supponitur aris,
Est decollatus Christi baptista beatus,
Est Petrus ereptus, Jacobus sub Herode peremptus.
Corpora sanctorum cum Christo multa resurgunt,
Latro dulce tamen per Christum suscipit Amen.5
A rich and noble knight renounced the world and entered the Cistercian order. He was unlettered, and the monks, not wishing to number so noble a person among the lay brothers, gave him a teacher to see if he might acquire enough learning to be received as a choir monk. He spent a long time with his teacher but could learn no more than the two words Ave Maria, which he cherished and repeated incessantly wherever he went and whatever he was doing. At length he died and was buried among the brothers, and behold! a beautiful lily grew up above his grave, and one leaf had the words Ave Maria inscribed on it in letters of gold. Running to see this great spectacle, the monks dug down into the grave and discovered that the root of the lily sprang from the dead man’s mouth. They then understood the depth of devotion with which he, whom God glorified with so prodigious an honor, had recited these two words. A knight had a stronghold beside the road, and pitilessly robbed every passing traveler. Every day, however, he greeted the Virgin mother of God with the Ave Maria, never letting anything prevent him from so doing. It happened that a holy monk was making his way along the road and the aforesaid knight gave orders to waylay him, but the holy man begged the robbers to take him to their chief because he had a secret message to deliver to him. When he came before the knight, he asked him to summon his household and all the people in the castle, because he wished to preach the word of God to them. When they had come together, he said: “You are not all here! Someone is missing!” They told him that all were present, but he said: “Look around carefully and you will find that someone is absent!” Then one of them exclaimed that indeed the chamberlain had not come. “That’s the one who’s missing,” said the monk. Quickly they went after him and brought him out in front of everybody; but when he saw the man of God, he rolled his eyes in fright, shook his head like a madman, and dared come no closer. The holy man said to him: “I adjure you in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord to tell us who you are and to say openly why you are here!” The answer was: “Woe is me, the adjuration forces me against my will to admit that I am not a man but a demon who took human form and have stayed with the knight these fourteen years. Our prince sent me here to watch diligently for the day this knight would fail to recite his Ave Maria, thus falling into my power. I was to throttle him at once, and he, ending his life while engaged in wrongdoing, would be ours. Any day he recited his prayer I had no power over him; but, watch as I might, he never let a single day pass without praying to the Virgin.” When the knight heard this, his astonishment knew no bounds. He prostrated himself at the feet of the man of God, begged forgiveness for his sins, and thereafter mended his ways. The holy man then said to the evil spirit: “I command you, demon, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to leave here and infest some place where you may not presume to harm anyone who invokes the glorious mother of God!” The demon vanished, and the knight reverently and gratefully allowed the holy man to resume his journey. 1 Gen. 30:23.
2 Ps. 50:7.
3 Gen. 3:16.
4 Lk. 1:28ff.
5 The verse begins, “Hail, good day that heals our wounds,” and commemorates the sending of the angel, Christ’s suffering and death, Adam’s creation and fall, Abel’s murder, Melchizedek’s offering, the sacrifice of Isaac, the beheading of the Baptist, Peter’s deliverance from prison, James’s martyrdom under Herod, the rising of many bodies of the saints with Christ, and the happy end granted by Christ to the good thief.
[Emphasis - The Catacombs]
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Post by Admin on Mar 25, 2019 11:12:26 GMT
The Angelus - April 1986 The Feast of the Annunciation
by Abbot Gueranger, O.S.B.
It very frequently happens that March 25, the feast of our Lady's Annunciation, falls between Palm Sunday and Low Sunday; on these occasions, this feast, being out of keeping both with the dolorous mysteries of Holy Week and with the splendor of the Resurrection is deferred to the Monday following Low Sunday. THIS IS A GREAT DAY, not only to man, but even to God Himself; for it is the anniversary of the most solemn event that time has ever witnessed. On this day, the divine Word, by whom the Father created the world, was made flesh in the womb of a virgin, and dwelt among us. We must spend it in joy. Whilst we adore the Son of God Who humbled Himself by thus becoming Man, let us give thanks to the Father, who so loved the world as to give His only-begotten Son; let us give thanks to the Holy Ghost, whose almighty power achieves the great mystery. We are in the very midst of Lent, and yet the ineffable joys of Christmas are upon us: our Emmanuel is conceived on this day and nine months hence will be born in Bethlehem, and the angels will invite us to come and honor the sweet Babe. During Septuagesima week, we meditated upon the fall of our first parents, and the triple sentence pronounced by God against the serpent, the woman, and Adam. Our hearts were filled with fear as we reflected on the divine malediction, the effects of which are to be felt by all generations, even to the end of the world. But in the midst of the anathemas then pronounced against us, a promise was made us by our God; it was a promise of salvation, and it enkindled hope within us. In pronouncing sentence against the serpent, God said that his head should one day be crushed and that, too, by a woman. The time has come for the fulfillment of this promise. The world has been in expectation for four thousand years; and the hope of its deliverance has been kept up, in spite of all its crimes. During this time, God has made use of miracles, prophesies and types, as a renewal of the engagement He has entered into with mankind. The blood of the Messias has passed from Adam to Noah; from Sem to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; from David and Solomon to Joachim; and now it flows in the veins of Mary, Joachim's daughter. Mary is the woman by whom the curse that lies upon our race is to be taken from it. God has decreed that she should be Immaculate; and has thereby set an irreconcilable enmity between her and the serpent. She, a daughter of Eve, is to repair all the injury done by her mother's fall; she is to raise up her sex from the degradation into which it has been cast; she is to cooperate, directly and really, in the victory which the Son of God is about to gain over His and our enemy. A tradition, which has come down from the apostolic ages, tells us that the great mystery of the Incarnation was achieved on the twenty-fifth day of March. It was at the hour of midnight, when the most holy Virgin was alone and absorbed in prayer, that the Archangel Gabriel appeared before her and asked her, in the name of the blessed Trinity, to consent to become the Mother of God. Let us assist, in spirit, at this wonderful interview between the angel and the Virgin and at the same time, let us think of that other interview which took place between Eve and the serpent. A holy bishop and martyr of the second century, Saint Irenaeus, who had received the tradition from the very disciples of the apostles, shows us that Nazareth is the counterpart of Eden. In the garden of delights there is a virgin and an angel, and a conversation takes place between them. At Nazareth a virgin is also addressed by an angel and she answers him, but the angel of the earthly paradise is a spirit of darkness and he of Nazareth is a spirit of light. In both instances it is the angel that has the first word. "Why," said the serpent to Eve, "hath God commanded you, that you should not eat of every tree of paradise?" His question implies impatience and a solicitation to evil; he has contempt for the frail creature to whom he addresses it, but he hates the image of God which is upon her. On the other hand, see the angel of light; see with what composure and peacefulness he approaches the Virgin of Nazareth, the new Eve; and how respectfully he bows himself down before her: "Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with thee! Blessed art thou among women!" Such language is evidently of heaven; none but an angel could thus speak to Mary. Eve imprudently listens to the tempter's words; she answers him; she enters into conversation with one that dares to ask her to question the justice of God's commands. Her curiosity urges her on. She has no mistrust in the serpent; this leads her to mistrust her Creator. Mary hears what Gabriel has spoken to her, but this most prudent Virgin is silent. She is surprised at the praise given her by the angel. The purest and humblest of virgins has a dread of flattery, and the heavenly messenger receives no reply from her, until he has fully explained his mission by these words: "Fear not, Mary, for thou has found grace with God. Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a Son; and thou shalt call His name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of David His Father; and he shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever, and of His kingdom there shall be no end." What magnificent promises are these, which are made to her in the name of God! What higher glory could she, a daughter of Juda, desire, knowing, as she does, that the fortunate Mother of the Messias is to be the object of the greatest veneration? And yet it tempts her not. She has forever consecrated her virginity to God, in order that she may be the more closely united to Him by love. The grandest possible privilege, if it is to be on the condition of violating this sacred vow, would be less than nothing in her estimation. She thus answers the angel: "How shall this be done? because I know not man." The first Eve evinces no such prudence or disinterestedness. No sooner has the wicked spirit assured her that she may break the commandment of her divine Benefactor and not die, that the fruit of her disobedience will be a wonderful knowledge, which will put her on an equality with God Himself, than she immediately yields; she is conquered. Her self-love has made her at once forget both duty and gratitude; she is delighted at the thought of being freed from the twofold tie which binds her to her Creator. Such is the woman that caused our perdition. But how different is she that was to save us! The former cares not for her posterity; she looks but to her own interests. The latter forgets herself to think only of her God, and of the claims He has to her service. The angel, charmed with this sublime fidelity, thus answers the question put to him by Mary, and reveals to her the designs of God: "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And behold thy cousin Elizabeth, she also has conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month with her that is called barren; because no word shall be impossible with God." This said, he is silent, and reverently awaits the answer of the Virgin of Nazareth. Let us look once more at the virgin of Eden. Scarcely has the wicked spirit finished speaking than Eve casts a longing look at the forbidden fruit; she is impatient to enjoy the independence it is to bring her. She rashly stretches forth her hand, she plucks the fruit, she eats it, and death takes possession of her; death of the soul, for sin extinguishes the light of life, and death of the body which, being separated from the source of immortality, becomes an object of shame and horror, and finally crumbles into dust. But let us turn away our eyes from this sad spectacle and fix them on Nazareth. Mary has heard the angel's explanation of the mystery; the will of heaven is made known to her, and how grand an honor it is to bring upon her! She, the humble maid of Nazareth, is to have the ineffable happiness of becoming the Mother of God, and yet the treasure of her virginity is to be left to her! Mary bows down before this sovereign will, and says to the heavenly messenger: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to thy word." Thus, as the great St. Irenaeus and so many of the holy fathers remark, the obedience of the second Eve repaired the disobedience of the first; for no sooner does the Virgin of Nazareth speak her fiat, "be it done," than the eternal Son of God (who, according to the divine decree, awaited this word) is present, by the operation of the Holy Ghost, in the chaste womb of Mary, and there He begins His human life. A Virgin is a Mother, and Mother of God; and it is this Virgin's consenting to the divine will that has made her conceive by the power of the Holy Ghost. This sublime mystery puts between the eternal Word and a mere woman the relations of Son and Mother; it gives to the almighty God a means whereby He may, in a manner worthy of His majesty, triumph over Satan, who hitherto seemed to have prevailed against the divine plan. Never was there a more entire or humiliating defeat than that which this day befell Satan. The frail creature, over whom he had so easily triumphed at the beginning of the world, now rises and crushes his proud head. Eve conquers in Mary. God would not choose man for the instrument of His vengeance; the humiliation of Satan would not have been great enough, and therefore, she who was the first prey of hell, the first victim of the tempter, is selected to give battle to the enemy. The result of so glorious a triumph is that Mary is to be superior not only to the rebel angels, but to the whole human race, yea, to all the angels of heaven. Seated on her exalted throne, she, the Mother of God, is to be the Queen of all creation. Satan, in the depths of the abyss, will eternally bewail his having dared to direct his first attack against the woman, for God has now so gloriously avenged her. And in heaven, the very Cherubim and Seraphim reverently look up to Mary, and deem themselves honored when she smiles upon them, or employs them in the execution of any of her wishes, for she is the Mother of their God.Therefore is it that we, the children of Adam, who have been snatched by Mary's obedience from the power of hell, solemnize this day of the Annunciation. Well may we say of Mary those words of Debbora, when she sang her song of victory over the enemies of God's people: "The valiant men ceased, and rested in Israel, until Debbora arose, a mother arose in Israel. The Lord chose new wars, and He Himself overthrew the gates of the enemies." Let us also refer to the holy Mother of Jesus these words of Judith, who by her victory over the enemy was another type of Mary: "Praise ye the Lord our God who hath not forsaken them that hope in Him. And by me, His handmaid, He hath fulfilled His mercy, which He promised to the house of Israel; and He hath killed the enemy of His people by my hand this night . . . The almighty Lord hath struck him, and hath delivered him into the hands of a woman and hath slain him." Text taken from " The Liturgical Year" by Abbot Gueranger, O.S.B., Vol. V for March 25, The Annunciation of the Ever Blessed Virgin, pp. 454-460 (edition published by Marian House, Powers Lake, N.D. 58773, 1983) [Emphasis - The Catacombs]
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Post by Admin on Mar 25, 2020 11:57:47 GMT
The Annunciation ~ Mystical City of God by Mary of Agreda
THE INCARNATION OF THE SON OF GOD
Thereupon his Majesty announced to all the other angels that the time of the Redemption had come and that He had commanded it to be brought to the world without delay; for already, in their own presence, the most holy Mary had been prepared and adorned to be his Mother, and had been exalted to the supreme dignity. The heavenly spirits heard the voice of their Creator, and with incomparable joy and thanksgiving for the fulfillment of his eternal and perfect will, they intoned new canticles of praise, repeating therein that hymn of Sion: “Holy, holy, holy art thou, God and Lord Sabaoth (Is. 6, 3). Just and powerful art Thou, Lord our God, who livest in the highest (Ps. 112, 5) and lookest upon the lowly of the earth. Admirable are all thy works, most high and exalted in thy designs.” The supernal prince Gabriel, obeying with singular delight the divine command and accompanied by many thousands of most beautiful angels in visible forms, descended from the highest heaven. The appearance of the great prince and legate was that of a most handsome youth of rarest beauty; his face emitted resplendent rays of light, his bearing was grave and majestic, his advance measured, his motions composed, his words weighty and powerful, his whole presence displayed a pleasing, kindly gravity and more of godlike qualities than all the other angels until then seen in visible form by the heavenly Mistress. He wore a diadem of exquisite splendor and his vestments glowed in various colors full of refulgent beauty. Enchased on his breast, he bore a most beautiful cross, disclosing the mystery of the Incarnation, which He had come to announce. All these circumstances were calculated to rivet the affectionate attention of the most prudent Queen.
The whole of this celestial army with their princely leader holy Gabriel directed their flight to Nazareth, a town of the province of Galilee, to the dwelling place of most holy Mary. This was an humble cottage and her chamber was a narrow room, bare of all those furnishings which are wont to be used by the world in order to hide its own meanness and want of all higher goods. The heavenly Mistress was at this time fourteen years, six months and seventeen days of age; for her birthday anniversary fell on the eighth of September and six months seventeen days had passed since that date, when this greatest of all mysteries ever performed by God in this world, was enacted in Her. The bodily shape of the heavenly Queen was well proportioned and taller than is usual with other maidens of her age; yet extremely elegant and perfect in all its parts. Her face was rather more oblong than round, gracious and beautiful, without leanness or grossness; its complexion clear, yet of a slightly brownish hue; her forehead spacious yet symmetrical; her eyebrows perfectly arched; her eyes large and serious, of incredible and ineffable beauty and dovelike sweetness, dark in color with a mixture tending toward green; her nose straight and well shaped; her mouth small, with red–colored lips, neither too thin nor too thick. All the gifts of nature in Her were so symmetrical and beautiful, that no other human being ever had the like. To look upon Her caused feelings at the same time of joy and seriousness, love and reverential fear. She attracted the heart and yet restrained it in sweet reverence; her beauty impelled the tongue to sound her praise, and yet her grandeur and her overwhelming perfections and graces hushed it to silence. In all that approached Her, She caused divine effects not easily explained; She filled the heart with heavenly influences and divine operations, tending toward the Divinity. Her garments were humble and poor, yet clean, of a dark silvery hue, somewhat like the color of ashes, and they were arranged and worn without pretense, but with the greatest modesty and propriety. At the time when, without her noticing it, the embassy of heaven drew nigh unto Her, She was engaged in the highest contemplation concerning the mysteries which the Lord had renewed in Her by so many favors during the nine receding days. And since, as we have said above, the Lord himself had assured Her that his Only-begotten would soon descend to assume human form, this great Queen was full of fervent and joyful affection in the expectation of its execution and inflamed with humble love, She spoke in her heart: “Is it possible that the blessed time has arrived, in which the Word of the eternal Father is to be born and to converse with men? (Brauch 10, 38). That the world should possess Him? That men are to see Him in the flesh? (Is. 40.5). That his inaccessible light is to shine forth to illumine those who sit in darkness? (Is. 9, 2). O, who shall be worthy to see and know Him! O, who shall be allowed to kiss the earth touched by his feet!” “Rejoice, ye heavens, and console thyself, O earth (Ps. 95, 11); let all things bless and extol Him, since already his eternal happiness is nigh! O children of Adam, afflicted with sin, and ye creatures of my Beloved, now shall you raise your heads and throw off the yoke of your ancient servitude! (Is. 14, 25). O, ye ancient Forefathers and Prophets, and all ye just, that are detained in limbo and are waiting in the bosom of Abraham, now shall you be consoled and your much desired and long promised Redeemer shall tarry no longer! (Agg. 2, 8). Let us all magnify Him and sing to Him hymns of praise! O who shall be the slave of Her, whom Isaias points out as his Mother (Is. 7, 4); O Emmanuel, true God and Man! O key of David, who art to unlock heaven! (Is. 22, 22). O eternal Wisdom! O Lawgiver of the new Church! Come, come to us, O Lord, and end the captivity of thy people; let all flesh see thy salvation!” (Is. 40, 5). In order that the mystery of the Most High might be fulfilled, the holy archangel Gabriel, in the shape described in the preceding chapter and accompanied by innumerable angels in visible human forms and resplendent with incomparable beauty, entered into the chamber, where most holy Mary was praying. It was on a Thursday at six o’clock in the evening and at the approach of night. The great modesty and restraint of the Princess of heaven did not permit Her to look at him more than was necessary to recognize him as an angel of the Lord. Recognizing him as such, She, in her usual humility, wished to do him reverence; the holy prince would not allow it; on the contrary he himself bowed profoundly as before his Queen and Mistress, in whom he adored the heavenly mysteries of his Creator. At the same time he understood that from that day on the ancient times and the custom of old whereby men should worship angels, as Abraham had done (Gen. 38, 2), were changed. For as human nature was raised to the dignity of God himself in the person of the Word, men now held the position of adopted children, of companions and brethren of the angels, as the angel said to Evangelist Saint John, when he refused to be worshipped (Apoc. 19, 10). The holy archangel saluted our and his Queen and said: “Ave gratia plena, Dominus tecum, benedicta tu in mulieribus” (Luke 1, 28). Hearing this new salutation of the angel, this most humble of all creatures was disturbed, but not confused in mind (Luke 1, 29). This disturbance arose from two causes: first, from her humility, for She thought herself the lowest of the creatures and thus in her humility, was taken unawares at hearing Herself saluted and called the “Blessed among women;” secondly, when She heard this salute and began to consider within Herself how She should receive it, She was interiorly made to understand by the Lord, that He chose Her for his Mother, and this caused a still greater perturbance, having such an humble opinion of Herself. On account of this perturbance the angel proceeded to explain to Her the decree of the Lord, saying: “Do not fear, Mary, for thou hast found grace before the Lord (Luke 1, 30); behold thou shalt conceive a Son in thy womb, and thou shalt give birth to Him, and thou shalt name Him Jesus; He shall be great, and He shall be called Son of the Most High,” and the rest as recorded of the holy archangel.
 Our most prudent and humble Queen alone, among all the creatures, was sufficiently intelligent and magnanimous to estimate at its true value such a new and unheard of sacrament; and in proportion as She realized its greatness, so She was also moved with admiration. But She raised her humble heart to the Lord, who could not refuse Her any petition, and in the secret of her spirit She asked new light and assistance by which to govern Herself in such an arduous transaction; for, as we have said in the preceding chapter, the Most High, in order to permit Her to act in this mystery solely in faith, hope and charity, left Her in the common state and suspended all other kinds of favors and interior elevations, which She so frequently or continually enjoyed. In this disposition She replied and said to holy Gabriel, what is written in saint Luke: “how shall this happen, that I conceive and bear; since I know not, nor can know, man?” At the same time She interiorly represented to the Lord the vow of chastity, which She had made and the espousal, which his Majesty had celebrated with Her. The holy prince Gabriel replied (Luke 1, 24): “Lady, it is easy for the divine power to make Thee a Mother without the cooperation of man; the Holy Spirit shall remain with Thee by a new presence and the virtue of the Most High shall overshadow Thee, so that the Holy of holies can be born of Thee, who shall himself be called the Son of God. And behold, thy cousin Elisabeth has likewise conceived a son in her sterile years and this is the sixth month of her conception; for nothing is impossible with God. He that can make her conceive, who was sterile, can bring it about, that Thou, Lady, be his Mother, still preserving thy virginity and enhancing thy purity. With these and many other words the ambassador of heaven instructed the most holy Mary, in order that, by the remembrance of the ancient promises and prophecies of holy Writ, by the reliance and trust in them and in the infinite power of the Most High, She might overcome her hesitancy at the heavenly message. But as the Lady herself exceeded the angels in wisdom, prudence and in all sanctity, She withheld her answer, in order to be able to give it in accordance with the divine will and that it might be worthy of the greatest of all the mysteries and sacraments of the divine power. She reflected that upon her answer depended the pledge of the most blessed Trinity, the fulfillment of his promises and prophecies, the most pleasing and acceptable of all sacrifices, the opening of the gates of paradise, the victory and triumph over hell, the Redemption of all the human race, the satisfaction of the divine justice, the foundation of the new law of grace, the glorification of men, the rejoicing of the angels, and whatever was connected with the Incarnation of the Onlybegotten of the Father and his assuming the form of servant in her virginal womb (Philip 2, 7)
 A great wonder, indeed, and worthy of our admiration, that all these mysteries and whatever others they included, should be intrusted by the Almighty to an humble Maiden and made dependent upon her fiat. But befittingly and securely He left them to the wise and strong decision of this courageous Woman (Prov. 31, 11), since She would consider them with such magnanimity and nobility, that perforce his confidence in Her was not misplaced. The operations, which proceed within the divine Essence, depend not on the cooperation of creatures, for they have no part in them and God could not expect such cooperations for executing the works ad intra; but in the works ad extra and such as were contingent, among which that of becoming man was the most exalted, He could not proceed without the cooperation of most holy Mary and without her free consent. For He wished to reach this acme of all the works outside Himself in Her and through Her and He wished that we should owe this benefit to this Mother of wisdom and our Reparatrix. Therefore this great Lady considered and inspected profoundly this spacious field of the dignity of Mother of God (Prov. 21, 16) in order to purchase it by her fiat; She clothed Herself in fortitude more than human, and She tasted and saw how profitable was this enterprise and commerce with the Divinity. She comprehended the ways of his hidden benevolence and adorned Herself with fortitude and beauty. And having conferred with Herself and with the heavenly messenger Gabriel about the grandeur of these high and divine sacraments, and finding herself in excellent condition to receive the message sent to Her, her purest soul was absorbed and elevated in admiration, reverence and highest intensity of divine love. By the intensity of these movements and supernal affections, her most pure heart, as it were by natural consequence, was contracted and compressed with such force, that it distilled three drops of her most pure blood, and these, finding their way to the natural place for the act of conception, were formed by the power of the divine and holy Spirit, into the body of Christ our Lord. Thus the matter, from which the most holy humanity of the Word for our Redemption is composed, was furnished and administered by the most pure heart of Mary and through the sheer force of her true love. At the same moment, with a humility never sufficiently to be extolled, inclining slightly her head and joining her hands, She pronounced these words, which were the beginning of our salvation: “Fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum’’ (Luke 1, 31). At the pronouncing of this “fiat,” so sweet to the hearing of God and so fortunate for us, in one instant, four things happened. First, the most holy body of Christ our Lord was formed from the three drops of blood furnished by the heart of most holy Mary. Secondly, the most holy soul of the same Lord was created, just as the other souls. Thirdly, the soul and the body united in order to compose his perfect humanity. Fourthly, the Divinity united Itself in the Person of the Word with the humanity, which together became one composite being in hypostatical union; and thus was formed Christ true God and Man, our Lord and Redeemer. This happened in springtime on the twenty–fifth of March, at break or dawning of the day, in the same hour, in which our first father Adam was made and in the year of the creation of the world 5199, which agrees also with the count of the Roman Church in her Martyrology under the guidance of the Holy Ghost. This reckoning is the true and certain one, as was told me, when I inquired at command of my superiors. Conformable to this the world was created in the month of March, which corresponds to the beginning of creation. And as the works of the Most High are perfect and complete (Deut. 32, 4), the plants and trees come forth from the hands of his Majesty bearing fruit, and they would have borne them continually without intermission, if sin had not changed the whole nature. The divine Child began to grow in the natural manner in the recess of the womb, being nourished by the substance and the blood of its most holy Mother, just as other men; yet it was more free and exempt from the imperfections, to which other children of Adam are subject in that place and period. For from some of these, namely those that, are accidental and unnecessary to the substance of the act of generation, being merely effects of sin, the Empress of heaven was free. She was also free from the superfluities caused by sin, which in other women are common and happen naturally in the formation, sustenance and growth of their children. For the necessary matter, which is proper to the infected nature of the descendants of Eve and which was wanting in Her, was supplied and administered in Her by the exercise of heroic acts of virtue and especially by charity. By the fervor of her soul and her loving affections the blood and humors of her body were changed and thereby divine Providence provided for the sustenance of the divine Child. Thus in a natural manner the humanity of our Redeemer was nourished, while his Divinity was recreated and pleased with her heroic virtues. Most holy Mary furnished to the Holy Ghost, for the formation of this body, pure and limpid blood, free from sin and all its tendencies. And whatever impure and imperfect matter is supplied by other mothers for the growth of their children was administered by the Queen of heaven most pure and delicate in substance. For it was built up and supplied by the power of her loving affections and her other virtues. In a like manner was purified whatever served as food for the heavenly Queen. For, as She knew that her nourishment was at the same time to sustain and nourish the Son of God, She partook of it with such heroic acts of virtue, that the angelic spirits wondered how such common human actions could be connected with such supernal heights of merit and perfection in the sight of God.
 Thus adorned and deified by the Divinity and its gifts, the most holy soul of Christ our Lord proceeded in its operations in the following order: immediately it began to see and know the Divinity intuitively as It is in Itself and as It is united to his most holy humanity, loving It with the highest beatific love and perceiving the inferiority of the human nature in comparison with the essence of God. The soul of Christ humiliated itself profoundly, and in this humility it gave thanks to the immutable being of God for having created it and for the benefit of the hypostatic union, by which, though remaining human, it was raised to the essence of God. It also recognized that his most holy humanity was made capable of suffering, and was adapted for attaining the end of the Redemption. In this knowledge it offered itself as the Redeemer in sacrifice for the human race (Ps. 39, 8), accepting the state of suffering and giving thanks in his own name and in the name of mankind to the eternal Father. He recognized the composition of his most holy humanity, the substance of which it was made, and how most holy Mary by the force of her charity and of her heroic virtues, furnished its substance. He took possession of this holy tabernacle and dwelling; rejoicing in its most exquisite beauty, and, well pleased, reserved as his own property the soul of this most perfect and most pure Creature for all eternity. He praised the eternal Father for having created Her and endowed Her with such vast graces and gifts: for having exempted Her and freed Her from the common law of sin, as his Daughter, while all the other descendants of Adam have incurred its guilt (Rom. 5, 18). He prayed for the most pure Lady and for saint Joseph, asking eternal salvation for them. All these acts, and many others, were most exalted and proceeded from Him as true God and Man. Not taking into account those that pertain to the beatific vision and love, these acts and each one by itself, were of such merit that they alone would have sufficed to redeem infinite worlds, if such could exist.
 Even the act of obedience alone, by which the most holy humanity of the Word subjected itself to suffering and prevented the glory of his soul from being communicated to his body, was abundantly sufficient for our salvation. But although this sufficed for our salvation, nothing would satisfy his immense love for men except the full limit of effective love (John 13, 1); for this was the purpose of his life, that He should consume it in demonstrations and tokens of such intense love, that neither the understanding of men nor of angels was able to comprehend it. And if in the first instant of his entrance into the world He enriched it so immeasurably, what treasures, what riches of merits must He have stored up for it, when He left it by his Passion and Death on the cross after thirty–three years of labor and activity all divine! O immense love! O charity without limit! O mercy without measure! O most generous kindness! and, on the other hand, O ingratitude and base forgetfulness of mortals in the face of such unheard of and such vast benefaction! What would have become of us without Him? How much less could we do for this our Redeemer and Lord, even if He had conferred on us but small favors, while now we are scarcely moved and obliged by his doing for us all that He could? If we do not wish to treat as a Redeemer Him, who has given us eternal life and liberty, let us at least hear Him as our Teacher, let us follow Him as our Leader, as our guiding light, which shows us the way to our true happiness. These operations of Christ our Lord in the first instant of his conception were followed, in another essential instant, by the beatific vision of the Divinity, which we have mentioned in the preceding chapter (No. 139); for in one instant of time many instants of essence can take place. In this vision the heavenly Lady perceived with clearness and distinction the mystery of the hypostatic union of the divine and the human natures in the person of the eternal Word, and the most holy Trinity confirmed Her in the title and the rights of Mother of God. This in all rigor of truth She was, since She was the natural Mother of a Son, who was eternal God with the same certainty and truth as He was man. Although this great Lady did not directly cooperate in the union of the Divinity with the humanity, She did not on this account lose her right to be called the Mother of the true God; for She concurred by administering the material and by exerting her faculties, as far as it pertained to a true Mother; and to a greater extent than to ordinary mothers, since in Her the conception and the generation took place without the aid of a man. Just as in other generations the agents, which bring them about in the natural course, are called father and mother, each furnishing that which is necessary, without however concurring directly in the creation of the soul, nor in its infusion into the body of the child; so also, and with greater reason, most holy Mary must be called, and did call Herself, Mother of God for She alone concurred in the generation of Christ, true God and Man, as a Mother, to the exclusion of any other natural cause; and only through this concurrence of Mary in the generation, Christ, the Man–God, was born. But She was especially persistent and fervent in her prayer to obtain guidance of the Almighty nor the worthy fulfillment of her office as Mother of the Onlybegotten of the Father. For this, before all other graces, Her humble heart urged Her to desire, and this was especially the subject of her solicitude, that She might be guided in all her actions as becomes the Mother of God. The Almighty answered Her: “My Dove, do not fear, for I will assist thee and guide thee, directing thee in all things necessary for the service of my onlybegotten Son.” With this promise She came to Herself and issued from her ecstasy, in which all that I have said had happened, and which was the most wonderful She ever had. Restored to her faculties, her first action was to prostrate Herself on the earth and adore her holiest Son, God and Man, conceived in her virginal womb; for this She had not yet done with her external and bodily senses and faculties. Nothing that She could do in the service of her Creator, did this most prudent Mother leave undone. From that time on She was conscious of feeling new and divine effects in her holiest soul and in her exterior and interior faculties. And although the whole tenor of her life had been most noble both as regards her body as her soul; yet on this day of the incarnation of the Word it rose to still greater nobility of spirit and was made more godlike by still higher reaches of grace and indescribable gifts. WORDS OF THE QUEEN
The Virgin Mary speaks to Sister Mary of Agreda, Spain
My dearest daughter, many times I have confided and manifested to thee the love burning within my bosom: for I wish that it should be ardently re–enkindled within thy own, and that thou profit from the instruction, which I give thee. Happy is the soul, to which the Most High manifests his holy and perfect will; but more happy and blessed is he, who puts into execution, what he has learned. In many ways God shows to mortals the highways and pathways of eternal life: by the Gospels and the holy Scriptures, by the Sacraments and the laws of the holy Church, by the writings and examples of the saints, and especially, by the obedience due to the guidings of its ministers, of whom his Majesty said : “Whoever hears you, hears Me;” for obeying them is the same as obeying the Lord himself. Whenever by any of these means thou hast come to the knowledge of the will of God, I desire thee to assume the wings of humility and obedience, and, as if in ethereal flight or like the quickest sunbeam, hasten to execute it and thereby fulfill the divine pleasure.
 Besides these means of instruction, the Most High has still others in order to direct the soul; namely, He intimates his perfect will to them in a supernatural manner, and reveals to them many sacraments. This kind of instruction is of many and different degrees; not all of them are common or ordinary to all souls; for the Lord dispenses his light in measure and weight (Wis. 11, 21). Sometimes He speaks to the heart and the interior feelings in commands; at others, in correction, advising or instructing: sometimes He moves the heart to ask Him; at other times He proposes clearly what He desires, in order that the soul may be moved to fulfill it; again He manifests, as in a clear mirror, great mysteries, in order that they may be seen and recognized by the intellect and loved by the will. But this great and infinite Good is always sweet in commanding, powerful in giving the necessary help for obedience, just in his commands, quick in disposing circumstances so that He can be obeyed, notwithstanding all the impediments which hinder the fulfillment of his most holy will. In receiving this divine light, my daughter. I wish to see thee very attentive, and very quick and diligent in following it up in deed. In order to hear this most delicate and spiritual voice of the Lord it is necessary, that the faculties of the soul be purged from earthly grossness and that the creature live entirely according to the spirit; for the animal man does not perceive the elevated things of the Divinity (I Cor. 2, 14). Be attentive then to his secrets (Is. 34, 16) and forget all that is of the outside; listen, my daughter, and incline thy ear; free thyself from all visible things (Ps. 44, 11). And in order that thou mayest be diligent, cultivate love; for love is a fire, which does not have its effect until the material is prepared; therefore let thy heart always be disposed and prepared. Whenever the Most High bids thee or communicates to thee anything for the welfare of souls, or especially for their eternal salvation, devote thyself to it entirely; for they are bought at the inestimable price of the blood of the Lamb and of divine love. Do not allow thyself to be hindered in this matter by thy own lowliness and bashfulness; but overcome the fear which restrains thee, for if thou thyself art of small value and usefulness, the Most High is rich (I Pet. 1, 18), powerful, great, and by Himself performs all things (Rom. 10, 12). Thy promptness and affection will not go without its reward, although I wish thee rather to be moved entirely by the pleasure of thy Lord. |
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Post by Admin on Mar 26, 2020 13:39:42 GMT
Feast of the Annunciation of The Blessed Virgin Mary - March 25, 2020 - in MA
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