Virgo Potens

LE RETOUR VERS JÉSUS Vous avez éclaire mon Cœur, o mon Dieu, il se rend . . . il est à vous. THE RETURN TO JESUS You have enlightened my Heart, o my God, it surrenders . . . it is yours. Month of the Immaculate Conception ~ December 10th 10th Day — The Cause of our Failure He that shall sin, shall hate his own soul. (Prov. viii. 36.) Hitherto we have been speaking of the means of reaching the end for which we were created and in which alone we shall find true and lasting satisfaction. We now come to the cause of our failure, and the obstacles in our way. 1. There is only one obstacle in our way, only one real hindrance to our progress towards happiness and peace, only one barrier between us and God. This obstacle is sin. As long as it remains it is an insuperable obstacle. A single mortal sin unrepented of will shut me out forever from the presence of God. A single venial sin unatoned for will prevent me from attaining to happiness until the debt has been paid. (continued)

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2 of 2 Month of the Immaculate Conception ~ December 9th 2. We must try to make ourselves ready to accept whatever God sends, whether painful or pleasant. We must take willingly and cheerfully sickness, pain, unkindness, neglect, failure, poverty; and though nature may cry out against it, yet we must keep our will united to God's so as to be always able to say: "Not my will be done, O my God, but Thine." 3. We must try to look on the bright side of everything. There is nothing in the world that has not a bright side. This will make us always patient, and, what is more, always happy. We shall acquire a facility for ignoring or passing over the painful side of things, to look at the joyful and hopeful. Do I try to do this, or do I often grumble and repine? Offer to God your willingness to endure whatever He sees to be good for your soul. ~ Rev. Richard F. Clarke, S.J., The Devout Year (1893)

Month of the Immaculate Conception ~ December 9th 9th Day — The Dispositions necessary If thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be lightsome. (St. Matt. vi. 22.) In order to make a good use of the various means afforded us of making progress towards true happiness, we must consider what should be our state of mind respecting them. 1. We must be on the watch to see that our inclinations do not run away with us. Most of the foolish things we do are the result of acting on impulse, of being led by our inclinations, of being influenced by wounded self-love. How many a golden opportunity of merit we have missed because we would not accept patiently what wounded us or hurt our self-esteem! (continued)

2 of 2 Month of the Immaculate Conception ~ December 8th 2. God has also given me my parents, companions, superiors, all as means to assist me in serving God. They were all created for me; even those who cause me pain are in God's design to be sources of merit and even of happiness to me. They may be my best friends. If, for instance, I am patient towards those who are trying to my patience, kind towards those who treat me unkindly, I derive from them a solid gain: they help me on the way to heaven. 3. All the various circumstances of my life are moreover ordained by Almighty God to aid me in serving and praising Him as He wishes. If they are pleasant, they must teach me gratitude; if painful, resignation. Even if they are a source of temptation to me, by fighting bravely against the temptation I can gain great merit before God. Pray for grace to carry out God's intentions by using aright all the circumstances around you. ~ Rev. Richard F. Clarke, S.J., The Devout Year (1893)

Month of the Immaculate Conception ~ December 8th 8th Day — The Means provided Thou hast subjected all things under His feet. (Ps. viii. 8.) We are all inclined to overlook our own importance in God's sight. So dearly does He love us, so anxious is He that we should attain our end, that we should succeed in life, that He has heaped around us all kinds of means and helps thereto. 1. All that is lovely and beautiful in the world is intended by Almighty God to help me on my road to heaven, to remind me of Him and of His infinite beauty. God cares more for me than all the material universe together, all irrational creatures. I can give Him more glory by one act of love than by all their natural perfections. (continued)

2 of 2 Month of the Immaculate Conception ~ December 7th 2. The saints also find a constant joy in showing reverence to God, in falling down in prostrate homage before the throne, in recognizing their dependence upon Him, and their indebtedness to Him for all their joy. This, too, I can copy by great reverence both of body and soul; reverence before the altar, reverence in my prayers, reverence and resignation to the will of God in my thoughts. 3. The saints and angels also serve God by doing His bidding, whether by their homage in heaven, or by carrying His graces and messages to men. Their joy is to do the will of God and finish His work. I, too, in my feeble way can serve God, I can really be of service to Him by every act of love and especially by every act of kindness to others. Pray that your life may prepare you for the company of the saints in heaven. ~ Rev. Richard F. Clarke, S.J., The Devout Year (1893)

Month of the Immaculate Conception ~ December 7th 7th Day — The Models to be imitated They are before the throne of God, and they serve Him day and night in His temple. (Apoc. vii. 15.) Example is better than precept; and we shall often learn more from watching those who do perfectly what we are trying to acquire than by any set of rules. Let us watch the saints in heaven, that we may learn from them. 1. Their continual occupation is the praise of God, the tranquil delight of basking in the light of God. This satisfies every longing of their heart, this fills them with perfect and unfading joy. This is the highest praise they can render toGod. How can I imitate them? By a continual remembrance of God, by visiting the Blessed Sacrament, by a frequent raising of my heart to heaven. (continued)

2 of 2 ACT of REPARATION to the IMMACULATE HEART of MARY Most holy Virgin and our Mother, we listen with grief to the complaints of thine Immaculate Heart surrounded with the thorns which ungrateful men place therein at every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. Moved by the ardent desire of loving thee as our Mother and of promoting a true devotion to thine Immaculate Heart, we prostrate ourselves at thy feet to prove the sorrow we feel for the grievances that men cause thee, and to atone, by means of our prayers and sacrifices, for the offenses with which men return thy tender love. Obtain for them and for us the pardon of so many sins. A word from thee will obtain grace and amendment for us all. Hasten, O Lady, the conversion of sinners, that they may love Jesus and cease to offend the Lord, already so much offended, and will not fall into hell. Turn thine eyes of mercy towards us, that henceforth we may love God with all our hearts while on earth and enjoy Him forever in heaven. Amen.

1 of 2 FIRST SATURDAY of DECEMBER 💙 “See my daughter, how my heart is encircled by thorns with which ungrateful men pierce me at every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. You, at least, try to console me, and announce that I promise to assist at the hour of death, with the graces necessary for salvation, all those who on the First Saturdays of five consecutive months, confess, receive Holy Communion, recite part of My Rosary, and keep me company for a quarter of an hour, meditating on its mysteries with the intention of offering me reparation.” ~ Words of Our Lady to Sr. Marie (Lucia dos Santos) on December 10, 1925 If possible, make First Saturday devotions today, in reparation for offenses against the Immaculate Heart of Mary, as requested by Our Lady herself in 1925, and confirmed by Our Lord in 1927. (continued)

2 of 2 Month of the Immaculate Conception ~ December 7th II. The same desire made him say on the night before his death: With desire have I desired to eat this pasch with you. St. Luke, xxii. 15. showing by such words that his only desire during his whole life had been for the time of his sufferings and death, to teach us the excess of love which he cherished towards us. So much then, O Jesus didst thou desire our love, that to gain it thou didst not refuse even to die! How then can I refuse any thing to a God, who has shed his blood and laid down his life for the love of me? III. "It is indeed a wonder," says St. Bonaventure, "to behold God suffer for the love of men; but it is a much greater wonder to behold men look on God suffering so much for their sakes, an infant trembling with cold in a stable, a poor workman living in a carpenter's shop, and dying like a criminal upon a cross, and yet burn not with love for so loving a God, but despise his love and renounce it for the miserable gratifications of the earth." But how is it possible for God so to love men; yet for men, who are so grateful to one another, to be so ungrateful to God? O Jesus, I am so miserable as to be one of such ungrateful beings! Tell me, how thou couldst suffer so much for me, when thou didst know that I should be guilty of so many offences against thee? But since thou hast suffered for me and desirest my salvation, grant me now a great sorrow for my sins, a sorrow equal to my ingratitude. I hate and sovereignly detest, O Lord, all my offences against thee. If hitherto I have despised thy grace, I now value it above all the kingdoms of the earth. I love thee with my whole soul, O God who art worthy of infinite love, and I desire to live only to love thee. Encrease the ardour of my love for thee. Remind me continually of the love which thou hast shown me, that my heart may ever burn with love for thee, as thy heart burns with love for me. O glowing heart of Mary, inflame my poor heart with the fire of holy love. ~ Blessed Alphonsus Liguori, The Way of Salvation.(1836)

1 of 2 Month of the Immaculate Conception ~ December 5th Meditation Seventh I. I HAVE a baptism, wherewith I am to be baptized: and how am I straitened until it be accomplished. St. Luke, xii. 50. Jesus could have saved us without suffering for us; but no, he chose a life of suffering and contempt, devoid of all human comfort, and a death most bitter and disgraceful; to teach us his great love for us, and his desire that we should love him. He was continually sighing during his life for the moment of his death, which he desired to offer to God to obtain our eternal salvation. It was this desire which made him say: "I have a baptism, wherewith I am to be baptized; and how am I straitened until it be accomplished." He desired to be baptized with his own blood, to wash away not his own, but our sins. O infinite love, how miserable is he, who knows thee not, nor loves thee! (continued)

2 of 2 Month of the Immaculate Conception ~ December 6th 2. When I look at successful men, I find in all three characteristics: (1) A spirit of cheerfulness and confidence. They know how to look at everything from its best side. Hence I must pray for confidence. (2) A spirit of perseverance. They are not discouraged by failures. They recover themselves without delay. What a lesson for me not to lose heart, but to say, When I fall I will rise again, and that promptly! (3) A spirit of single-mindedness. They keep the end in view steadily before them. If I am to attain to the end of my life, to succeed in coming to God at last, I must keep Him always before me. 3. What can make my life so happy as this, to know that I am drawing nearer to God? Yet there will be dark times and days of despondency. Still down at the bottom, beneath the surface, there will be hope and peace, even amid the darkness. Pray for cheerfulness and an earnest purpose to live for God. ~ Rev. Richard F. Clarke, S.J., The Devout Year (1893)

Month of the Immaculate Conception ~ December 6th 6th Day — How to attain our End One thing I do; forgetting the things that are behind and stretching forth myself to those that are before, I press towards the mark. (Philipp. iii.13, 14.) 1. Every one desires to succeed in life. A man who desired ultimate failure would justly be regarded as a lunatic. If I am to carry out my desire, I must look round me and see what sort of men succeed. (continued)

2 of 2 Month of the Immaculate Conception ~ December 5th 2. What do we mean by making God the end of our life? We mean that to do His pleasure shall be the motive which shall be first and foremost, and that when there is a choice between God's pleasure and our own, when the two seem to be opposed, our general disposition shall be to do God's will and not our own. In spite of the pain involved in giving up his own will, the man who makes God the end of his life will give it up without hesitation, and so will draw nearer to God, his last end. 3. Every time we do this we break down a barrier between God and ourselves; we come nearer to the enjoyment of Him, we get a bit closer to heaven. The self-willed man is never satisfied; the man whose will is perfectly subject to God is always happy. The angels are always happy because they have no will but God's. If I want to find happiness in this world or the next, the first thing is to learn to submit my will to God. Pray God to break down your self-will at any cost. ~ Rev. Richard F. Clarke, S.J., The Devout Year (1893)

Month of the Immaculate Conception ~ December 5th 5th Day — God the End of our Life Seek ye therefore first the kingdom of God. (St. Matt. vi. 33.) 1. Our life is a circle: whence it first came, thither it must return. As we proceeded from God,so we must go back to Him if our life is to be a success. We can never find repose or lasting satisfaction in anything except God. As long as we do not tend to Him, we shall be fluctuating, inconstant, uncertain. Until we make Him the end of our life, we shall feel that we are wandering about in the dark. (continued)

2 of 2 Month of the Immaculate Conception ~ December 4th 2. When we have a faithful friend who is possessed of unlimited influence and power, we consult him in all our difficulties. God is of all friends the most faithful and the most powerful; He desires to be consulted by us in things small as well as great, never tiring of our requests, more ready to hear than we to pray. Yet how little have I had recourse to Him hitherto! How little I have trusted Him! 3. The best proof of a friend's love is a desire for our company. In this what friend like God? He asks us, begs us, commands us to be always in His presence : "Walk with God and be thou perfect." His one object in all His advice to us is to secure our company forever in heaven. Why am I so indifferent about His presence,so soon weary of God? Pray that you may appreciate and relish the divine friendship of God. ~ Rev. Richard F. Clarke, S.J., The Devout Year (1893)

AMOUR POUR AMOUR C’est la toute la loi de Jesus. LOVE FOR LOVE This is the whole law of Jesus. 4th Day — God our Best Friend All are Thine, O Lord, who lovest souls. (Wisdom xi. 27.) 1. Friendship is one of the consolations of man upon earth. One faithful friend is worth a hundred acquaintances. A friend who values our friendship for its own sake is a treasure without price. Such a friend we have in God. He has nothing to gain from my friendship, His infinite happiness is not increased by it. Yet His infinite goodness includes an intense desire to make me happy. (continued)

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2 of 2 Month of the Immaculate Conception ~ December 3rd 2. But we not only live in Him, but we also move in Him. He co-operates with our every action. We cannot lift a hand or move a finger unless He not only sanctions the act but actually helps us to perform it. Every breath we breathe, every pulsation of our heart, depends on God's co-operation. How completely dependent we are on Him! How careful should we be that our every action is one suitable to the divine co-operation ! 3. God does more than this. He not only preserves us, but tends us with watchful care, delivers us from dangers, warns us when we are going wrong, shows a never-failing interest in us, and an unceasing desire for our happiness. For all this we are dependent on Him! What folly, then, to neglect one to whom we owe everything! Pray for a sense of continual dependence on God. ~ Rev. Richard F. Clarke, S.J., The Devout Year (1893)