This is a special day!

Today is a special day on the liturgical calendar. It is the Feast of the Annunciation. What we celebrate today is also what we pray about and reflect on in the first Joyful Mystery of the Rosary. Read Luke 1:26-35. An angel from the very throne of God came to a special young woman. As you read these verses, imagine what it was like for her to have the full attention of God and all the heavenly court! Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have God’s full attention? How much attention do we give to God on a daily basis?

And in the sixth month, 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...

                    Luke 1:26-28ff  Douay-Rheims

How special is Mary? An angel from the very throne of God greeted her with “Hail, full of grace . . .” The other place Sacred Scripture mentions this title is in regard to Jesus in the Gospel of John.

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we saw his glory, the glory as it were of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

                                    John 1:14  Douay-Rheims

What a special privilege Mary is given! She is the mother of Jesus. The mother of our Savior! All generations will call her blessed!

Ave Maria!

Praise be Jesus Christ!

All Bible quotes from the Douay-Rheims version retrieved from http://www.drbo.org/

The Rosary and the Apostles Creed

Reflect on the life of Jesus Christ through the eyes of Mary, his mother. 

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Apostles Creed


I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and earth;
 
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son Our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into Hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into Heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God, the Father almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
 
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and life everlasting.
Amen.

Read more: http://www.ewtn.com/Devotionals/prayers/creed2.htm#ixzz1q9P3rBCz

Read each line of the Apostles Creed. You will notice it expands on the way we begin our prayer. The Creed is divided into three parts. Reflect on the life of Jesus in the heart of the Creed. 

Ave Maria!
Praise be Jesus Christ!


Resources:
The Apostles Creed, retrieved from http://www.ewtn.com/Devotionals/prayers/creed2.htm

Listen to your mother!

St. Paul wrote to the Colossians regarding, “. . . the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now made manifest to the saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:26-27). Mary was the first who could truly say this. This is an example for us. Mary was with Jesus throughout his youth, his ministry, even to the foot of the cross. She was with the apostles at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came upon them (Acts 1:14). The Holy Spirit had come upon her many years before when she said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).

I would like to share a quote from a Pope in the late 19^th century who wrote a great deal on the Rosary.

While nature itself made the name of mother the sweetest of all names and has made motherhood the very model of tender and solicitous love, no tongue is eloquent enough to put in words what every devout soul feels, namely how intense is the flame of affectionate and active charity which glows in Mary, in her who is truly our mother not in a human way but through Christ [1].

“But when the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Gal. 4:4-5). So just remember what St. John says, “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is a child of God, and every one who loves the parent loves the child (I John 5:1). We love God by obeying Him. Why can’t we also say that we love Mary as well? She is, after all, the mother of our Lord. She has a very important role to play in the salvation of the whole world.

Ave Maria!

Praise be Jesus Christ!

[1] Magnae Dei Matris (On the Rosary), Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII, September 8, 1892.(12). Retrieved from http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Leo13/l13ro2.htm

All Bible quotations from the Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition, Oxford University Press, New York, NY, 2006.

All generations will call me blessed

Alcove at Sacred Heart Parish in Miles City,

When was the last time we called the mother of Jesus blessed? And who could be more blessed than the mother of God’s Son. When the wise men came they not only brought gifts for the newborn king, they fell down and worshiped him (Matt. 2:11). Angels from heaven announced this great event to shepherds in the field (Luke 2:8ff). Mary even pondered these events in her heart. This was not only God’s Son, he was her flesh and blood as well. So in the gospels and through the rosary we ponder these mysteries little by little.

In the movie “Shadowlands”, C.S. Lewis discovers that his earnest prayers to God are not petitions to change God’s mind. The need to pray just flowed out of him every waking moment. It didn’t change God, it changed him. That is what prayer does. Our daily conversation with God changes us. It is not a quick fix. It doesn’t lessen life’s daily struggles. Our lives can never be too full of God. God is infinite and He can fill us and change us into the image of Christ.

Future posts will provide a foundation for deeper contemplation and reflection as we reflect on the life of Christ through the eyes of His most blessed mother, Mary.

Ave Maria!

Praise be Jesus Christ!

All Bible quotations from the Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition, Oxford University Press, New York, NY, 2006.