Illuminated by the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, we believe as Our Lady believed in order to love as she loved, in order to come to love as she loved. Saint Paul VI reminds us: «Our Lady rises above us, in this radiance of light, innocence, virtue, and beauty, in such ineffable union with divine life, to be our model, being proposed for our imitation. If we limited ourselves to raising cries of jubilation and prayers to Mary, without wanting our lives to be improved and changed by them, our devotion would not be complete. Rather, it is a devotion that must influence our way of living and thinking: it must make us pure and good; it must transfuse innocence and strengthen the certainty that virtue is possible. As long as humanity did not have Our Lady, it could have been desperate, since people, on their own, would never have succeeded in attaining virtue or following the good. Our Lady, instead, gratia plena, that is, rich in mercy and filled with God’s action upon us, shows us that there is hope for us too, that possibility exists for us too, and that, if we wish, we can». During this week, let us reflect on the words of Paul VI, so that we may continue to mature on our journey of faith.
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8
Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The dogma of Mary’s Immaculate Conception was proclaimed in 1854 by Pope Pius IX, but as early as then the Fathers of the Eastern Church had exalted the Mother of God with expressions that placed her above original sin. In the West, however, it was objected that if Mary had been immaculate, that is, without original sin, she would not have needed redemption, and therefore redemption could no longer be called universal. Blessed John Duns Scotus succeeded in overcoming this doctrinal obstacle with a subtle but convincing distinction: Our Lady too had been redeemed by Jesus, but through a preventive redemption, before and outside time. She was preserved from original sin in anticipation of the merits of her Son.
Let us now meditate on the words spoken by Pope Francis at the Angelus on December 8, 2018. May they encourage us during the difficult period we are going through. «Mary places trust in God before problems. She is left by the angel, but she believes that God has remained with her, within her. And she trusts. She trusts in God. She is certain that with the Lord, even if in an unexpected way, everything will turn out well. This is the wise attitude: not living dependent on problems - once one ends, another will appear! - but trusting in God and entrusting ourselves to Him every day: here I am! “Here I am” is the word. “Here I am” is the prayer. Let us ask the Immaculate One for the grace to live in this way».
For further study:
• Prayers to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
• The Glories of Mary
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10
Our Lady of Loreto
«Mary’s House is also the family home. In the delicate situation of today’s world, the family founded on marriage between a man and a woman assumes an essential importance and mission. It is necessary to rediscover God’s plan for the family, in order to reaffirm its greatness and irreplaceable service to life and society. In the house of Nazareth, Mary experienced the multiplicity of family relationships as daughter, fiancée, wife, and mother. For this reason, every family, in its various components, finds welcome and inspiration here to live out its own identity. The domestic experience of the Holy Virgin indicates that family and young people cannot be two parallel areas of the pastoral ministry of our communities, but must walk closely united, because very often young people are what a family has given them during their formative years. This perspective brings together a vocational pastoral ministry attentive to expressing the face of Jesus in its many aspects: as priest, as bridegroom, as shepherd» (Pope Francis). We entrust all families to Our Lady of Loreto, along with the joys and sorrows, problems and difficulties they must face each day. We entrust their expectations and hopes to her.
For further study:
• Loreto Litanies
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12
Blessed Virgin Mary of Guadalupe
On the morning of December 9, 1531, while crossing Tepeyac Hill in Guadalupe, Mexico, the Indigenous man Juan Diego was drawn by the harmonious singing of birds and by the most beautiful vision of a Woman who called him tenderly by name. The Lady ordered him to go to the bishop and tell him that she wished a church to be built for her at the foot of the hill. At first he was not believed, but the Virgin invited the man to gather flowers that had blossomed miraculously. When he reached the bishop, he opened the tilma (cloak), on which, instead of flowers, the image of the Holy Virgin was imprinted. The tilma, placed in the cathedral, soon became the object of popular devotion, which has continued uninterrupted to the present day.
For further study:
• Our Lady of Guadalupe
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 13
Saint Lucy
Lucy, a very beautiful young woman from Syracuse, was engaged to a wealthy fellow citizen. Following her mother’s miraculous healing, she decided to consecrate herself to God. Her fiancé would not accept this and, when every attempt to dissuade her from her intention proved futile, he finally denounced her as a Christian to the proconsul. He threatened to have her confined to a brothel, but the young woman replied: «The body is not defiled if the soul does not consent. If you have me violated against my will, my chastity will deserve a double crown». Cruelly tortured, Lucy was eventually wounded in the throat with a sword and died after receiving the Eucharistic Bread.
For further study:
• “On Your Word” Missal November-December 2020
«Mary of Nazareth’s attitude shows us that being comes before doing, and that we must let God act in order to truly be as He wants us to be» (Pope Francis). Let us learn from the Virgin Mary to open ourselves completely to God’s will for our lives.
I look forward to seeing you in the comments on the post!
Have a blessed journey!
