Thanks for your prayers and the novena reminder. I've done the untier of knots twice for this cross, and the first time resulted in the retail job I have now, which I enjoy. I must revisit that novena...
Oh PS, This will be such a memorable month for you! You're in my prayers as usual! Thank you Jesus and Mary for all you have planned for Cathy! Praised be Your grace and goodness, O Father of Lights! Safe in the Father's Lap
Copied from another thread: Jose, This will be such an awesome grace for you. There are some on the forum who are preparing to consecrate ourselves to Our Lady next Monday. Today I have read that by consecrating oneself to Our Lady, she draws us more closely to the Cross so that in a profound act of worship, each of us individually and together as the Body of Christ, may unite ourselves to Christ in His act of consecration to the Father. This, of course occurred historically two thousand years ago, but we know at every Holy Mass you and I enter more deeply into this truth-filled reality. Isn't this awesome! As Mother, Mary enables me to worship my God more profoundly, to be transformed by the Love and Mercy of Jesus! Alleluia! Remember, theologically the definition of evil is a privation of goodness. Our Lady's request for consecration at Fatima was simply a call to increase goodness in the world by negating the threat of emerging evil (Communist Russia). Your consecration will excelerate you on the path of holiness. I'll pray for you. Keep us posted! 2Peter 3: 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and the works that are upon it will be burned up. 11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of persons ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God...
just two thoughts as we have faced hardship during unemployment..I think the networking site LinkedIn is becoming more relevant for employment opportunities and try short prayers to Saint Anthony. He is such a powerful intercessor for finding everything. He is quick and unassuming and will likely help out promptly.
33-Day Thought of the Day - Day 29 When these days of preparation are complete, I would like to carry with me an image or remembrance of each of the four saints who helped to guide us along the path of consecration. The first is to envision St. Louis standing before the demolished monument which had been constructed to honor Our Lord's Passion. God's Will be done! I pray that under Mary's mantle I will desire not so much to witness the fruits of my labors. Just trust and act! After experiencing the release of the Holy Spirit in 1977, and rejoicing in the literal healings and miracles which were taking place, I was convinced! The Charismatic Renewal was going to sweep through the Church, revitalize the lives of millions, and bring the whole world to the feet of Christ! Oops! What happened? God's Will be done! I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be done to me according to your word!
I wanted to post this just to keep us aware http://www.taylormarshall.com/2013/05/the-devils-and-consecration-to-mary-as.html
33-Day Thought of the Day - Day 30 I have fallen in love with a saying of Maximilian Kolbe (which means it is memorized!): My dear, dear brothers, our dear little, little mother, the Immaculate Mary, can do anything for us. We are her children.Turn to her. She will overcome everything! You see, you and I are little, but Mary is so little, little! In other words it comes down to humility. Since humble people have big hearts, the little, little handmaiden of the Lord must have a HUGE heart. So we can all climb in and have a big party with plenty of room to spare! Which means we can invite others, too! Oops, there's that Catholic thing again! Remember, I have Irish wakes in my blood! I just want to be so little and poor so as to be like Jesus and Mary! As Paul wrote in 1Corinthians: You know the grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, that through his poverty you also may be rich! And nothing has changed! He who is gloriously enthroned will one day wait on us at table! (Would you care to join Geralyn and myself? ) And even now, He comes vulnerably and humbly to us in the Blessed Sacrament! So very little, yet such a Heart of burning Love and Mercy! Jesus is the Sun. Mary is but the moon, reflecting the Light of His Glory! But it is a reflection that we too can share in because when we go to Mary, her Beloved Spouse, the Holy Spirit is there! And we all, with unveiled face, reflecting as in a mirror, the glory of the Lord, are being transfigured into His image, from one degree of glory to another. This comes from the Lord who is Spirit! So I await Monday Dear Lady! Take us by the hand. Make us humble. Make us small. May He who is mighty do great things for us, so that we may do all for Him! Holy is His name! Safe in the Refuge of the Immaculate Heart!
Maybe someone here can help with a question . I posted a thread called " Can the Pope be consecrated by another ? ". Any help would be appreciated.
When my family was facing an unemployment situation, I also prayed to St. Anthony--it was a "Tuesday novena", which I prayed for 9 consecutive Tuesdays and I continue to thank St. Anthony every Tuesday as the situation was (somewhat miraculously) resolved during the novena. I cannot find the link, but I often turn to St. Anthony!
Glenn, Perhaps it is posted elsewhere, but who is "scheduled" to consecrate Pope Francis on Monday? Is it possible that he will consecrate himself on the 13th, but publicly? If not, all I can offer is that Jesuits aren't always sticklers for the rules , but that does not make Pope Francis the anti-pope. I applaud your efforts to evangelize this anti-pope group (and your passion about Garabandal), but I think sometimes, if people do not have "ears to hear" then we need to just focus on living the message ourselves. Pray and don't worry!
Well, it's not over til its over Mario--God's schedule, not ours! I also pray for the ability to stay motivated and faithful when my efforts seem fruitless (which honestly is pretty often). Mother Teresa said, "The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway". I reflect on this often.
Ellie, The bishops of Portugal, per the request of Pope Francis, are consecrating his pontificate to Our Lady of Fatima, at Fatima itself. Pope Francis will not be personally present. Safe in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary!
This is truly a work of Our Lady. Besides, I think it is hysterical! Many of you new members might be unaware of a member who has taken a siesta from the forum, Lee, from California. Well, I sent her a pm this morning for the first time in over a month. It began in the following fashion: Lee, I just have to share. You may not know; Geralyn, PS, myself, and some other members, are consecrating our hearts to Our Lady's Heart on Monday. And of course what makes this supremely precious is that our consecration coincides with that of the Holy Father. So we have our Mother, one another, and el pappa. It is so international! To be Catholic is so exciting! Never a dull moment! Then I added a few pious thoughts and signed off. As you can see in the above, I made no mention that our consecration was in the context of 33 days of preparation. Perhaps I assumed that she had briefly visited the forum and was aware of this, but I was wrong. So was Lee touched by my inspired thoughts? Not really! But through my incomplete description of what was about to take place, look what Our Mother accomplished! Lee's response: OH MY GOSH MARIO! You sent me over the moon with your email. What a fantastic idea! I got so excited I texted my priest so that he would invite both the morning masses to join him and our Holy Father in the consecration. He agreed and thought it was a brilliant plan. So we are all joining you in this glorious surrender and dedication. We'll all come under Papa's mantle and Our Lady's mantel and we'll be united through Her Immaculate Heart. Yee Haw! I can't wait! This is way too rich for a poor soul like my self but I'm grabbing your coat tails and coming along! Isn't this amazing! Even in my stumbling, Mary has borne much fruit! Thank you, Holy Spirit! Bless you, Dear Lady! Praised be Jesus! If this isn't encouragement to hold nothing back from Mary, I don't know what is! Now, I'd prefer that no one mention this to Lee right away. It might burst her bubble. Let's see if she shares on how next Monday unfolds! Alleluia! Safe in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary!
Isn't that so true, that one of the fruits of this consecration is that you feel everyone everywhere should do it because it so truly leads to the heart of Jesus. PotatoSack, I miss your posts.
Thanks Mary Ann, for missing my posts! I've kept up on the readings, but have had a hard time finding time to post...especially since sometimes I can be long winded But I'm about to post a whole bunch and then I'm off to finding confession!! Absolutely one of the fruits is the feeling everyone should do this too. I really, really hope this thread is inspiring others, and there are follow-on consecration threads/groups from this forum! Really guys, you can't go wrong doing this...the straightest, most sure path to the heart of Jesus!!
The Pope JPII writings were so moving in terms of looking at the progression of Mary's life...from her time on earth and being the mother of Jesus...to God preparing her for His plan/mission for her in this world as well as the next...which is to be mother to us. And not just any mother, but a mother who points out our/the word's needs to her son and intercedes for us in the most powerful way. If we let her, she will develop a relationship with each of us that is unique and very personal. She will work in our lives in a very real way. And again, if we let her, she will lead us directly to our source of Redemption...the Fountain of Mercy...the pierced side of Christ...his Merciful Heart...Divine Mercy!! Whether it is Pope JPII stating our consecration will lead us to Divine Mercy or his Merciful Heart or Mother Teresa stating Mary will take us face to face with the love in the heart of Crucified Jesus...it's all saying the same thing...we are being led to Jesus and can not help but get closer to Him bit by bit on this journey until we completely die to self and really, really live His will for us in our lives! Oh Mary, help me to be an obedient servant like the ones in Cana and "do whatever He tells me"!!
Very beautiful Mario!! Save me a seat at your table with Geralyn And I think Mario...with what I highlighted in your post...I'm seeing the zeal of de Montfort!! woohoo...can't wait for Monday We'll all be partying in Mary's huge, huge, heart!!
I think, with these reflections on 3 aspects of these Marian saints...I'll be going to these pages over and over again. They each have a different perspective on consecration, but the goal and outcome is the same. Letting Mary mold us into saints...letting Mary use us as her instruments to bring others to Christ...quench His thirst for souls...ponder everything in our hearts as Mary did. Developing a personal relationship with Mary and become dependent on her. You could really highlight every sentence of each of the reflections. It's really quite beautiful and a great and generous gift from God!!
This list keeps growing for Monday's consecration Heaven must be rejoicing!! That is awesome you PM'd Lee, Mario...I miss her posts and presence on this forum very, very much! We will be reunited spiritually on MOnday! but through your correspondence with Lee...it shows how Our Lady can take something small...and turn it into a huge, huge grace!! She takes our small efforts and presents them to her son on a golden platter and the merits are doubled or tripled...yes, let us hold nothing back from Mary!!!
Thanks Mary Ann & Ellie, for your thoughts on how to help the situation. I've done so many novena's and hit up so many saints so far it is crazy...so I think what I will do now is simply leave it in Our Lady's hands. I have asked for her intercession on this matter and now I will trust her with it. I think part of what this consecration is asking us to do is no longer pray for our needs...so I've been breaking my habit of constantly asking for / praying for a job. I need to surrender every prayer and good work to Mary so she can do what she wants with it. I have to trust that a job will be provided because Our Lady knows that I need one, and as Mother Theresa states in her covenant agreement...it is Mary's duty to provide for my spiritual and material needs and it is my duty to have constant recourse to her. Also, I love Kolbe's quote on how we ought to love Mary: By relying on her power intercession, experiencing her tender care, speaking to her from our hearts, letting ourselves be led by her, having recourse to her in all things, and trusting her completely...our dear little, little mother, Immaculate Mary, can do anything for us. We are her children. turn to her. She will overcome everything. I have to believe that in the depths of my heart. I have to turn it all over to her...be all-in and not pray for a job anymore...but just trust! It's a process and I'm not there yet...but I want to be all-in on this...
