The House That Will Stand

 A House of Lies

14 Therefore hear the word of the LORD, you scoffers, who rule this people in Jerusalem! 

15 Because you have said, "We have made a covenant with death, and with Sheol we have an agreement; when the overwhelming scourge passes through it will not come to us; for we have made lies our refuge and in falsehood we have taken shelter." 

16 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I am laying in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: 'He who believes will not be in haste.' 17 And I will make justice the line, and righteousness the plummet; and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and waters will overwhelm the shelter." 

18 Then your covenant with death will be annulled, and your agreement with Sheol will not stand; when the overwhelming scourge passes through you will be beaten down by it. 19 As often as it passes through it will take you; for morning by morning it will pass through, by day and by night; and it will be sheer terror to understand the message. 

20 For the bed is too short to stretch oneself on it, and the covering too narrow to wrap oneself in it. 21 For the LORD will rise up as on Mount Perazim, he will be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon; to do his deed--strange is his deed! and to work his work--alien is his work! 

22 Now, therefore, do not scoff, lest your bonds be made strong; for I have heard a decree of destruction from the Lord GOD of hosts upon the whole land.

Isaiah 28:14-22

A Song of Ascent

3“I will not enter the house where I live,a nor lie on the couch where I sleep;

4I will give my eyes no sleep, my eyelids no rest,

5Till I find a place for the LORD, a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.”

6“We have heard of it in Ephrathah;* we have found it in the fields of Jaar.*

7Let us enter his dwelling; let us worship at his footstool.”b

8“Arise, LORD, come to your resting place,c you and your mighty ark."
Psalm 132: 3 -- 8


You must hope because God's goodness is immense.
-St. Pio of Pietrelcina

David's Songs of Ascent: A 5-Part Sequence

 Psalm 130 - A Prayer for Pardon and Mercy

Psalm 131 - In Quiet Stillness, A Humble Trust in God

Psalm 132 - A Covenant with God, To Live in His House

Psalm 133 - A Vision of Blessed Community

Psalm 134 - At Night, the Watchmen Remember God

Consecration Day - The Feast of the Assumption

 

Marian Consecration Day 33 - A Prayer

 I, knowing that I am a repentant sinner, renew and ratify today in your hands, O Immaculate Mother, the vows of my baptism. I renounce Satan and resolve to follow Jesus Christ even more closely than before.

Mary, I give you my heart. Please set it on fire with love for Jesus. Make it always be attentive to His burning desire for love, His unceasing thirst for souls. Keep my heart in your most pure Heart, that I may love Jesus and the members of His Body with your own perfect love.

Mary, I entrust myself totally to you: my body and soul, my goods, both interior and exterior, and even the value of all my good actions. Please make of me, of all that I am and have, whatever most pleases you. Let me be a fit instrument in your immaculate and merciful hands for bringing the greatest possible glory to God. If I fall, please lead me back to Jesus. Wash me in the blood and water that flow from His pierced side and help me never to lose my trust in this Fountain of Love and Mercy.

With you, O Immaculate Mother – you who always do the will of God – I unite myself to the perfect consecration of Jesus as he offers himself in the Spirit to the Father for the life of the world. Amen

Marian Consecration Day 32 - John Paul II: Mother, Entrustment, Mercy

I do not wish the soul to consider her sins, either in general or in particular, without also remembering the Blood and the broadness of My mercy, for fear that otherwise she should be brought to confusion. And together with confusion would come the Devil, who has caused it, under color of contrition and displeasure of sin, and so she would arrive at eternal damnation, not only on account of her confusion, but also through the despair which would come to her, because she did not seize the arm of My mercy. This is one of the subtle devices with which the Devil deludes My servants, and, in order to escape from his deceit and to be pleasing to Me, you must enlarge your hearts and affections in My boundless mercy with true humility. You know that the pride of the devil cannot resist the humble mind, nor can any confusion of spirit be greater than the broadness of My good mercy, if the soul will only truly hope therein.

St. Catherine of Siena

Dialogue of St. Catherine of Siena (p. 94)

Marian Consecration Day 31 - Mother Teresa: Thirst, Heart, Covenant

Marian Consecration Day 30 - Kolbe: Mystery, Militia, Love

Marian Consecration Day 29 - de Montfort: Passion, Baptism, Gift

 Spend the day pondering de Montfort's Marian teaching as it is summarized by these three words: 

1. Passion
2. Baptism
3. Gift

Marian Consecration Day 28 - The Fountain of Love and Mercy

 Come Holy Spirit, living in Mary.

Draw me in, with and through Mary, to the Fountain of Love and Mercy.

What does (Divine Mercy) have to do with Marian consecration? Everything. It has everything to do with consecration because Mary is the one who brings us to the source of merciful Love. Mary is the one who brings us to the love that is more powerful than evil. Indeed, as John Paul says in his homily (at Fatima), consecration to the Immaculate Heart means "drawing near through the Mother's intercession to the very fountain of life that sprang from Golgotha." What is this fountain of life? The Pope identifies it as "the Fountain of Mercy." It is the pierced side of Christ from which blood and water flowed as a source of grace and mercy. And it's through this wound in Christ's Heart that "reparation is made continually for the sins of the world." Moreover, through this Fountain of Mercy, we find "a ceaseless source of new life and holiness."  

Fr. Michael Gaitley, MIC

33 Days to Morning Glory

Quoting from the Homily of Pope John Paul II in Fatima, Portugal (May 13, 1982)

Marian Consecration Day 27 - Entrustment

 Come Holy Spirit, living in Mary.

Prepare me to trust myself completely to Mary so she can bring me closer to Christ.

"Behold Your Mother" 

26When Jesus saw his mother* and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.”n

27Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.
John 19:26-27

Marian Consecration Day 26 - The Foot of the Cross and the Culmination of Mary's Retreat

 Come Holy Spirit, living in Mary.

Thank you for the gift of my loving Mother, Mary.

Marian Consecration Day 25 - Mary Brings Our Needs To Christ

 Come Holy Spirit, living in Mary.

Remind me to ask for Mary's powerful intercession in my times of need.

Mary at the Wedding Feast at Cana

(Cana) clearly outlines the new dimension, the new meaning to Mary's motherhood. . . Mary's solicitude for human beings, her coming to them in the wide variety of their wants and needs. . . (T)his coming to the aid of human needs means, at the same time, bringing those needs within the radius of Christ's messianic mission and salvific power. Thus there is mediation: Mary places herself between her Son and mankind in the reality of their wants, needs, and sufferings. She puts herself "in the middle," that is to say she acts as a mediatrix not as an outsider, but in her position as Mother. . . As a Mother she also wishes the messianic power of her Son to be manifested, that salvific power of his which is meant to help man in his misfortunes, to free him from the evil which in various forms and degrees weighs heavily upon his life. 

Pope St. John Paul the Great

Redemptoris Mater (#21-22)   

  In the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I Trust

Look to the Star, call upon Mary!

In danger, in difficulty or in doubt,

think of Mary, call upon Mary.

Keep her name on your lips,

never let it pass out of your heart

St. Bernard

from"Call Upon Mary: A Prayer"

Marian Consecration Day 24 - Mary Begins Her Own Retreat

Come Holy Spirit, living in Mary.

Help me to be faithful to heart-pondering prayer, as was Mary.

 

The Annunciation by Henry Ossawa Tanner

 

Lord, I pray for the gift of humility.

I pray that in my humility

I will see the truth

And proclaim only that truth.

I especially pray that I will be able to see 

The truth that all good things come from You

And are accomplished by You.

All glory be to You my Lord!

Jesus, I trust in You.

from "Glorying in Yourself" 

Reflection 221

Daily Reflection on Divine Mercy: 365 Days with St. Faustina

My Catholic Life!

"A Smooth, Easy, Short, Perfect, Sure, Safe Way"

This devotion is a short way to discover Jesus, either because it is a road we do not wander from or because . . . we walk along this road with greater ease and joy, and consequently with greater speed. We advance more in a brief period of submission to Mary and dependence on her than on whole years of self-will and self-reliance. 

This devotion is a perfect way to reach our Lord and be united with Him. . . Jesus who came to us in a perfect manner chose no other road for his great and wonderful journey. The Most High, the Incomprehensible One, the Inaccessible One, He Who Is deigned to come down to us poor earthly creatures. . . How was this done? The Most High God came down to us in a perfect way through the humble Virgin Mary without losing anything of His divinity or holiness. It is likewise through Mary that we poor creatures must ascend to almighty God in a perfect manner without having anything to fear. 

St. Louis de Montfort

True Devotion to Mary

(#152 - 164)

Marian Consecration Day 23 - Maternal Mediation

Come Holy Spirit, living in Mary.

Fill my heart with praise to God for giving me Mary as my spiritual mother.

 

Marian Consecration Day 22 - The Most Marian Pope

Come Holy Spirit, living in Mary.

Have mercy on us and on the whole world!

The 10 Principal Virtues of the Blessed Virgin 

1. Deep humility
2. Lively faith
3. Blind obedience
4. Unceasing prayer
5. Constant self-denial
6. Surpassing purity
7. Ardent love
8. Heroic patience
9. Angelic kindness
10. Heavenly wisdom

St. Louis de Montfort

True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary

#108

Marian Consecration Day 21 - To Console Jesus

Come Holy Spirit, living in Mary.

    Help me to "be the one" to console Jesus with Mary.

Marian Consecration Day 20 - A Covenant with Mary

Come Holy Spirit, living in Mary.

Help me to ardently make a Covenant of Consecration with Mary.

Icon of Mary with Child Jesus

As seen at St. Mary Cause of Our Joy Catholic Church (Westland, MI) 

The Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady prompts us to acknowledge the basis for this joyful hope. Yes, we are still pilgrims, but our mother has gone on ahead, where she points to the reward of our efforts. She tells us that we can make it. And, if we are faithful, we will reach home. The blessed Virgin is not only our model, she is the help of Christians. And as we besiege her with our petitions — "Show that you are our Mother" — she cannot help but watch over her children with motherly care.

St. Josemaria Escriva

"The Blessed Virgin, Cause of Our Joy:

A Homily on the Solemnity of the Assumption"

Christ Is Passing By (#177)

Mary’s Duties	My Duties
1. To give of her spirit and her heart	1. Total gift of all I have and am
2. To possess, protect, and transform me	2. Total dependence on her
3. To inspire, guide, and enlighten me	3. Responsiveness to her spirt
4. To share her experience of prayer + praise	4. Faithfulness to prayer
5. Responsibility for my sanctification	5. Trust in her intercession
6. Responsibility for all that befalls me	6. Accept all as coming from her
7. To share with me her virtues	7. Imitate her spirit
8. To provide for my spiritual + material needs	8. Constant recourse to her
9. Union with her heart	9. Remembrance of her presence
10. To purify me and my actions	10. Purity of intention; self-denial
11. Right to dispose of me, my prayers, my intercessions, and graces	11. Right to avail myself of her and her energies for the sake of the kingdom
12. Total freedom in and around me, as she pleases, in all things	12. Right to enter into her heart and share her interior life