Blessed is the Virgin Mary, who believed
that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled. LK 1:45
ZEPHANIAH 3:11-18 ©
My Soul's Beloved,
You O Lord, the Father, and the Holy Spirit chose Mary of all the virgin daughters of Israel to be Your Mother. She, the fairest flower was to be the first daughter of the Father. Upon her the Holy Spirit rested infusing her with the love of God and making it possible for You to become incarnate of her, the Virgin Mother. She was chosen from all ages to be the splendor of the human race.
Heaven sings her praises. Each Person of the Triune God outdoes the other in lavishing on her every virtue, grace, and merit. She whose fiat made it possible for God to accomplish His divine plan in redeeming the human raise needed this little maiden to cooperate with Him and this she did with great humility. Her whole life was one of total submission to God. The sum and substance of her life was to open her entire being to God. From the moment of her conception, she belonged wholly to God, and from her infancy, her whole being was a quiet, humble, joyful 'Yes' to God. But at the Annunciation that 'Yes' was audible once and only once and that 'Yes' that God and His angels waited to hear with bated breath, caused heaven to erupt with joy. Her 'Yes' resounded in heaven, and echoed and re-echoed with every silent 'Yes' that Mary said to God at every moment of her life until she was assumed body and soul into heaven.
O Mary, dearest and best of all mothers, and mediatrix of all graces, I know that you never forget your poor children living in this valley of tears. Pray for us now and at the hour of our death and grant us all we need for our salvation through the wondrous merits of your beloved Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
The Lord your God is in your midst,
a victorious warrior.
He will exult with joy over you,
he will renew you by his love;
he will dance with shouts of joy for you
as on a day of festival.
a victorious warrior.
He will exult with joy over you,
he will renew you by his love;
he will dance with shouts of joy for you
as on a day of festival.
PSALM ISAIAH 12 ©
Truly, God is my salvation,
I trust, I shall not fear.
For the Lord is my strength, my song,
he became my saviour.
With joy you will draw water
from the wells of salvation.
I trust, I shall not fear.
For the Lord is my strength, my song,
he became my saviour.
With joy you will draw water
from the wells of salvation.
Give thanks to the Lord, give praise to his name!
Make his mighty deeds known to the peoples!
Declare the greatness of his name.
Make his mighty deeds known to the peoples!
Declare the greatness of his name.
Sing a psalm to the Lord
for he has done glorious deeds;
make them known to all the earth!
People of Zion, sing and shout for joy,
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.
make them known to all the earth!
People of Zion, sing and shout for joy,
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.
Great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.
LUKE 1:39-56 ©
My Soul's Beloved,
My Soul's Beloved,
There never was an instant in Mary's life that she was not conscious of the great privilege accorded to her by God. She knew that she was nothing, only a creature in need of salvation like the rest of humanity but God chose her from all the virgin daughters of Israel, and God raised her up higher than every other human being on earth that ever lived, and God seated her at Your right hand. The Triune God crowned her as Queen of heaven and the entire universe. The angels and saints revere her. They outdo each other in singing her praises. There never was and never will be another human being like her for none can outdo her in her humility, her obedience, her submission, and her openness and readiness to do the will of God at every instant in her life.
Lord Jesus, You are the Model par excellence, You are the Way, the Truth, and the Life, modeling our lives on You we choose the straight path leading to the Kingdom of God. We also imitate Mary, Your Mother, and ours, for she is the disciple of disciples. She is the frontrunner when it comes to leading and living a life of grace and virtue. We cannot err when we pattern our lives on her for she patterns her life on You. She teaches us how to be a servant, a lowly handmaid of the Lord, a creature submissive to Him in all things, to be ever mindful of the truth of who we are before God, and that any merit, and good thought, word, or deed is sheer grace. On our own we are nothing but she reminds us that with God we are everything in and through You.
Mary's first act of service, once she has conceived You, the Second Person of the Trinity in her womb, is to go in haste to her much older cousin Elizabeth who once barren is now in her sixth month. What a great comfort they would have been to each other. To each God had conferred an extraordinary gift of grace and they exulted in God's goodness. Mary was keenly aware that God had raised her above all creatures by doing this great thing for her.
In her beautiful hymn, the Magnificat, it is clear how familiar she is with Sacred Scripture.
She prophesies that from the moment of her conception all generations will call her blessed because of the wondrous things God has done for her, and it is so. Just as heaven reveres, honors, and praises her, so do her children in every generation on earth. Thank You, Lord, that I am one of Mary's children. Because of her every time we receive You, Lord, in the Holy Eucharist, her song of praise, in some measure, becomes ours as well.
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