Solemnity of the Blessed Mary, the Mother of God
During this blessed season our Mother Mary and our Church are under attack. Here in America Satanists desecrated a statue of our Blessed Mother, performing a horrific sacrilege, outside of Old Saint Joseph Cathedral in Oklahoma on Christmas Eve. The Satanists, in this sacrilege, intended to cover Mary with a layer of corruption by covering her with fake blood. Fortunately, Catholics showed up in droves, praying the rosary and other prayers as they defended our Mother. Oh how this must have pleased Mary, to see her children defend her. Even RV owners parked their massive vehicles in front of the five Satanists blocking the view of the faithful entering Mass on Christmas Eve. In addition to this sacrilege we have also witnessed increased aggression against Catholicism across the world; from feminists groups, other Christians and of course ISIS. Rather than becoming filled with anger, hatred, fear or anything other emotion that finds its root in evil, we must more fully surrender to our Mother and her Son. We must ask them to direct us. Also, we must ask ourselves why is the attack orientated towards Catholicism?
The answer lies in the battle of good and evil. If evil can take down the Catholic Church, then so goes the world. Why? Because within Catholicism exists the true mystery religion of God. Within all of Her splendor and beauty we are directed towards God through Jesus Christ. If evil can take Her away from God’s people then we will scatter like lost sheep, clinging to any false idol that “promises” to deliver happiness.
So how do we do overcome such evils? In my opinion, tough times call for tough measures. We need powerful weapons to defeat evil. We need the favored weapon of Padre Pio and other great saints and faithful servants of God. We need the Rosary – every day. This is the all mighty sword that evil must yield to. Remember, Mary crushed the head of the serpent. As I mentioned in last week’s reflection, scientific studies have revealed that it only takes a small percentage of the population to pray to have a positive impact on the world (less then .001%) – providing we feel it in our hearts.
There is the key, we must feel God’s love in our hearts. Sacred Scripture shares with us numerous times where Mother Mary held “all these things” in her heart (today’s Gospel is but one example). Other verses remind us of the importance of feeling gratitude and forgiveness in our hearts. Yes, our hearts are very important and they belong to God; however, we must take the steps necessary so that they become filled with the gifts God has for us. Once this is done, once our hearts are whole and healed, His ways will be known through all the earth.
A few months ago, in a class I was taking at Saint Meinrad, I looked deeply at our world leaders and the decisions they must make. We had been discussing the morality of dropping atomic bomb in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. What evil leaders were facing then, what tough decisions they had to make. Even for those filled with faith, their hearts must be in turmoil when they have to decide who will live and who must die. I lost several nights of sleep as I thought about the young soldiers, the Japanese women and children, the Japanese leaders and our leaders and it was 2015! However, during all of this I realized how deeply our world leaders need our prayers – then and today. It was then that I decided to go to the Adoration Chapel at my parish before attending Morning Mass to pray a Rosary for our world leaders. I’ll share with you my petitions and I invite you to join me in.
My (almost) Daily Rosary
Intention: I begin by offering the Rosary with an intention that the world turn to Jesus through the aid of the Blessed Mother.
On the first Our Father bead: I offer this Our Father for the intentions of Pope Francis and for his physical, emotional and spiritual health and protection.
On the first Hail Mary bead: I offer this Hail Mary for Mother Mary’s intentions for the world, for her intentions for our world’s political leaders, for her intentions for ISIS, and for her intentions for the Muslim faith.
On the second Hail Mary bead: I offer this Hail Mary for Mother Mary’s intentions for the United States, for her intentions for our political leaders, for her intentions for ISIS in the United States, and her intentions for the Muslim faith in the United States. (I invite you to offer this Hail Mary for your country in similar manner)
On the third Hail Mary bead: I offer this Hail Mary for Mother Mary’s intentions for my family and for her intentions for our physical, emotional and spiritual protection so that we can more fully serve her Son.
The Mysteries: As I meditate on the different mysteries I ask God to help me feel in my heart what he wants me to feel so that I can more fully serve him.
I invite you to join me and invoke the most powerful weapon we have at our disposal – the Rosary.
Mother Mary – pray for us!
Today’s Readings for Mass:
(NM 6:22-27; PS 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8;GAL 4:4-7; Gospel LK 2:16-21 )
