Virgo Potens

2 of 2 Month of the Immaculate Conception ~ December 31st 2. This supernatural charity does not consist in feeling, or in the absence of suffering, or in brilliant success, or in freedom from temptation. Our life may be one continual cross, one long series of failures as men count failure; we may live in poverty and want, and die unheeded and uncared for; yet such a life may be the beginning of heaven upon earth. 3. In what, then, does supernatural charity consist? Simply in doing what we know to be God's will in the details of our daily life; in having the thought of Him before us as the guiding principle of our actions, of doing all for Him and not for self. One who consistently leads such a life as this cannot fail to be happy in spite of all external miseries, for he carries in himself the principle which constitutes heaven's happiness. "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven!" Pray for this unfailing compliance with the will of God in all that you do. ~ Rev. Richard F. Clarke, S.J., The Devout Year (1893)

Month of the Immaculate Conception ~ December 31st 31st Day — How to Begin Heaven on Earth Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. (St. Matt. vi. 10) 1. In this vale of tears, even the happiest life is misery compared with the life of heaven. Even the perfect tranquillity and peace enjoyed by the saints of God on earth is confusion and trouble compared with the peace of heaven. Yet we can begin even here a life which contains the germ of Paradise. The essential element of heaven is union with God, and those who are united to God by supernatural charity have in them the seed of heaven's happiness. (continued)

2 of 2 Month of the Immaculate Conception ~ December 30th 2. What joy, too, we shall feel at the thought of all we have done for God on earth! Each act of self-denial, each raising of the heart to God, each little deed of charity will be remembered then. Christ our Lord will thank us for each, and our hearts will leap with gladness and eternal joy. 3. Even our sins will be indirectly a source of happiness to the saved. There will be the overflowing gratitude to Him Who has washed us from our sins in His own Blood, there will be the joyful contrast between what we might have been and what we are! How eagerly we shall cry: "We are bought with a great price"; "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive honor and glory and benediction and power"! Make acts of gratitude for all God has done and will do for you. ~ Rev. Richard F. Clarke, S.J., The Devout Year (1893)

Month of the Immaculate Conception ~ December 30th 30th Day — The Memories of Heaven What shall I render to the Lord for all the things that He hath rendered to me? (Ps. cxv. 12.) One of the chief sources of our gratitude to God and of our ceaseless joy in heaven will be derived from looking back upon our lives. 1. Even in this world we can catch a glimpse of God's wonderful goodness to us, of all that He has done to save us from sin, to help us on our way to heaven. In heaven we shall see clearly what we now see very darkly, and we shall never cease to admire the unceasing care that God has exercised towards us, making all things work together for our good. (continued)

2 of 2 Month of the Immaculate Conception ~ December 29th 2. But there will be some who will feast our souls with their company and conversation beyond the rest: our friends on earth will be our friends in heaven; we shall recognize each and all. All to whom we have done any kindness for Christ's sake will come to thank us then; above all, any whom we have had the happiness of saving from sin by precept or example will never tire of pouring out upon us the abundance of their gratitude. What more delicious pleasure than this? 3. Yet there will be dearer companions still. The saints of God, our patron saint, our guardian angel, how shall we linger in their sweet society! The saints to whom we have had a special devotion, before all St. Joseph and Our Lady, how surpassing sweet to be with them! Yet all this is only a reflection of the joy we shall derive from beholding the Lamb Who had been slain, our dear Lord and SaviourJesus Christ. Pray to dwell now in heart in the company of the saints and angels. ~ Rev. Richard F. Clarke, S.J., The Devout Year (1893)

Month of the Immaculate Conception ~ December 29th 29th Day — The Companions of Heaven Their lot is among the saints. (Wisdom v. 5.) 1. How much of our happiness depends upon those among whom we dwell! There are some whose very presence is enough and more than enough to satisfy us; the mere fact of being in their company is a source of continual pleasure. If this is the case with those who are still full of imperfections and faults, how much more in heaven, where every one will be purged of all that offends us in them on earth! Everyone of the saints and angels will be not only a congenial but a most delightful companion. (continued)

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2 of 2 Month of the Immaculate Conception ~ December 28th 2. This music will combine the beauty of every earthly instrument and of the sweetest of earthly singers. No notes were ever heard on earth like the notes of the virgins, boys and girls, men and women, who will sing a heavenly melody that will never cease; and each note will be such that if we heard it on earth, we should despise all pain and suffering, nay, death itself, for the joy of listening to it. 3. There will be a still sweeter music for the blessed in heaven, a music which makes the music of the saints and angels seem almost discord. The voice of Jesus Christ will be heaven's sweetest melody; if on earth men hung on His lips, if never man spake like that Man, what will be the divine attraction of every word, every sound that will proceed from his lips in heaven! How each word will ravish the souls of all the saints in heaven! O myvGod, grant that Ibmay hear that voice in heaven. Pray that you may listen and obey Christ's voice speaking to your heart on earth. ~ Rev. Richard F. Clarke, S.J., The Devout Year (1893)

Month of the Immaculate Conception ~ December 28th 28th Day — The Music of Heaven They sung as it were a new canticle. (Apoc. xiv. 3.) 1. Everyone has read the story of the monk who once sat down in a wood near a monastery and wondered whether heaven would not after a time lose its charm. A little bird began to sing a song so sweet that he sat entranced. After a few minutes, as it seemed to him, the song ceased and he returned to his monastery to find that he had sat there and listened for twenty years. If this could be the case when it was but one little bird singing, what must be the absorbing delight of the music of the angels and saints in heaven! (continued)

2 of 2 Month of the Immaculate Conception ~ December 27th 2. A strong love makes the long hours pass away in a stream of unceasing delight ; no weariness, no monotony, no desire for anything else. One thing only checks the perfection of the happiness of love, and that is the thought that it cannot last forever. In heaven there will be a stream of delight immeasurably richer, and the joyful consciousness that there is no fear of its ever coming to an end. 3. As God is infinite in His perfections, they will necessarily be inexhaustible. The various phases (if we may use the term) of His divine loveliness will never come to an end. After a million years there will still be the same inexhaustible treasure of multiform delights to be enjoyed, and after a million years it will not be diminished. No fear, then, of sameness in heaven, no fear of monotony, it will ever be the same and yet ever new. Pray for a greater love of God here on earth. ~ Rev. Richard F. Clarke, S.J., The Devout Year (1893)

Month of the Immaculate Conception ~ December 27th 27th Day — The Employments of Heaven His servants shall serve Him. (Apoc. xxii. 3.) 1. While faith and hope will be at an end in heaven, the virtue of charity will remain. There is nothing on earth so sweet as love; nothing that fills the heart with such continual joy; nothing that so occupies the soul and causes men to forget all else. This is the case when the object of our love is a perishable imperfect creature like ourselves. How much more when the object of our love is the God of infinite beauty, containing in Himself every possible earthly perfection, not only multiplied to an in finite degree, but altogether higher in kind, and therefore a source of greater joy than all possible created beauty ! (continued)

2 of 2 Month of the Immaculate Conception ~ December 26th 2. Why is this? Because in God are united every perfection and every beauty and every joy and every delight that exist or can exist, and all in an infinite degree. Every other joy is but a shadow as compared with the substance, a grain of dust compared with the loftiest mountains, a drop of water compared with the ocean. O my God, help me to despise the passing joys of earth when I think of the joy of seeingThee! 3. The beatific vision will not convey the same degree of happiness to all who gaze upon it. It will depend upon our union with God on earth, on our faithfulness to grace, on our personal sanctity. One star differs from another star in glory. What folly, then, if we let slip any of the eternal reward for the sake of some perishable trifle or miss any opportunity of adding to our treasure of heavenly delight! Pray that you may appreciate your heavenly treasure, and strive continually to add to it. ~ Rev. Richard F. Clarke, S.J., The Devout Year (1893)

Month of the Immaculate Conception ~ December 26th 26th Day — The Essential Happiness of Heaven We shall see Him as He is. (1 St. John iii. 2.) 1. The one central source of heaven's happiness will be the vision of God. We shall see Him face to face in all His divine beauty; every thing will be swallowed up in the absorbing delight of gazing on the majesty of the Most High. If the lost in hell could see God for a single instant, hell would at once become heaven to them. (continued)

To the King of ages immortal and invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen. (Roman Breviary) An indulgence of 500 days. (S. P. Ap., June 7, 1921 and Dec. 9, 1932) ~ The Raccolta (1943) NOVENA to the INFANT JESUS Begins on December 25th ~ Christus Regnat ~ https://t.me/RexUniversi

🎄⭐️✯✿ ❀•°⭐️°•❀✿✯⭐️🎄 Glória in excélcis Deo . . . Glory to God in the highest! Blessed and Holy Christmas, dear Readers!!!!!! May the Infant Christ Child shower blessings upon you and your families!!!!! And may the spiritual preparation that you have made during this Advent season just past, in readying your hearts to receive our Infant King, bear the rich fruit of peace, joy and charity in the coming Christmas season and throughout the coming year! May God bless you all wonderfully!!!!!! 🎄⭐️✯✿ ❀•°⭐️°•❀✿✯⭐️🎄

2 of 2 Month of the Immaculate Conception ~ December 25th 2. Whatever God does He does on a scale worthy of Himself. The happiness of heaven will be immeasurable from the fact of its being in union with the God of infinite love and beauty. It will be a joy like the joy of Our Lord Himself, since He will say to each of the redeemed: "Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.". Am I doing what I can to insure those words being addressed to me? 3. In heaven all will be perfectly happy. Even those who have the lowest places will have all that their hearts desire. There will be no unsatisfied wish in heaven, no craving after what we do not possess. Every one will have an overflowing cup of pleasure. Oh, what fools we are not to do more to insure the joy of heaven ! Pray that you may often think of heaven and its joys. ~ Rev. Richard F. Clarke, S.J., The Devout Year (1893)

Month of the Immaculate Conception ~ December 25th 25th Day — Heaven Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man what things God hath prepared for them that love Him. (1 Cor. i. 9.) 1. These words convey the best idea that the Apostle who had been carried up into the third heaven could give of the happiness of the redeemed. All the loveliest things we have ever seen are as nothing in comparison to the sight of heaven; all the sweetest sounds are discord compared with the music of heaven; all the joys that have made the longest hours only too short do not deserve the name of joy compared with the joys of heaven. One moment of heaven is worth them all! (continued)

2 of 2 GOD FROM ON HIGH HATH HEARD Christmas Eve But O, what sight appears Within the lowly door! Behold a manger rude, A Child and Mother poor. Art Thou the Christ, the Son, Of Light the very Light, Who holdest in thine Hand Earth and the starry height? Yea, faith can pierce the cloud Which veils thy glory now; And hail Thee God and Lord, To Whom all creatures bow. Faith sees the sapphire throne, Where angels evermore Adoring tremble still, And trembling still adore. Jesu, thy silence speaks, And bids us not refuse To bear what flesh would shun, To spurn what flesh would choose. Once born within us, Lord, By that pure love of thine, Keep Thou each contrite heart Thy cradle and thy shrine. Amen. ~ The Catholic Hymnal (1888)

1 of 2 GOD FROM ON HIGH HATH HEARD Christmas Eve God from on high hath heard; Let sighs and sorrows cease; Lo, from the opening Heaven . . . . Descends the promised Peace! Hark, through the silent night Angelic voices swell: The hosts of heaven proclaim God, born on earth to dwell. Now with the shepherd band Speed on with eager feet: Come seek the hallowed cave The holy Babe to greet. (continued)