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Preparation for Marian Consecration

Find 33 days of prayers and written reflections to help you prepare for total consecration to Mary.

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Meditation for Day Seven

5/4/2020

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Meditation 


1)   Place yourself in the presence of God.
2) Ask for the grace of having a great desire to be pleasing in the eyes of the Lord, and to have eternal life as the only goal of my most important choices, without letting myself be seduced by the spirit of the world.
3) Read the text below and then spend a brief period of time reflecting on it.


What is the “worldly environment”? (From Antonio Royo Marín, Theology of Christian Perfection).


In the third place, the worldly spirit is in those who give priority to pleasures and diversions, increasingly further in immorality: theaters, movies, dances, centers of perversion, beaches, pools with promiscuity of sexes; newspapers, magazines, romances, indecent fashions, careless conversations, provocative stories, double-meaning phrases, etc. Those who do not think or live but only for pleasure and fun, which often sacrifices everything else, even indispensable costs for the most urgent needs of life.


If, then, you have risen with Christ, seek the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your sights on the things above, not on the things of the earth. Because you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, your life, appears, then you too will be manifested with him in glory. Put to death, then, the earthly in you: fornication, impurity, disordered passions, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry; things for which the wrath of God comes upon the children of disobedience, in which you also walked in another time when you lived in them. But now you also leave all these things: anger, malice, blasphemy, dishonest words from your mouth. Supporting one another, and forgiving one another if one has a complaint against another. As Christ forgave you, so you also do. (Col 3, 1-8.13).
 
4) Conclude the meditation with the Litany of Humility
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Meditation for Day Six

5/3/2020

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Meditation
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1) Place yourself in the presence of God.
2) Ask for the grace of having a great desire to be pleasing in the eyes of the Lord, and to have eternal life as the only goal of my most important choices, without letting myself be seduced by the spirit of the world.
3) Read the text below and then spend a brief period of time reflecting on it. (From Antonio Royo Marín, Theology of Christian Perfection)
What is the “worldly environment”?

The second way the worldly spirit is characterized is by ridicule and persecution against what the Christian loves. In particular, the world mocks and persecutes the life of piety and decent, modest clothing. Moral events, which elevate the spirit, are defined as ridiculous and boring. They are the object of mockery. The world considers the holy laws of marriage obsolete and impossible to practice.

If we must suffer ridicule, let us remember the Lord, and offer to accompany him in his Passion: Then the soldiers of the procurator took Jesus inside the Praetorium and gathered the whole cohort around him. They stripped him and put a purple cloak over him and, braiding a crown of thorns, put it on his head and a cane in his right hand. Then they bent the knee in front of him, and made fun of him saying: ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ and they spit on him and took a cane to hit him on the head. And after having mocked him, they took off his mantle, put his clothes on him and took him to crucify him. (Mt 27:27-31)
Do we judge our activities in the same way as the world does by dreading the moral and elevating ones? Do we ever partake in mockery of holy practices and beliefs?
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4) Conclude the meditation with the Litany of Humility
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Meditation for Day 5

5/2/2020

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Meditation

1) Place yourself in the presence of God.
2) Ask for the grace of having a great desire to be pleasing in the eyes of the Lord, and to have eternal life as the only goal of my most important choices, without letting myself be seduced by the spirit of the world.
3) Read the text below and then spend a brief period of time reflecting on it.

What is the “worldly environment”? (From Antonio Royo Marín, Theology of Christian Perfection).

This harmful environment is constituted and manifests itself in four main ways. We will consider one way each day for the next four days. 
Today we will take a look at the first one: False maxims. They are the principles of thought in direct opposition to those of the Gospel. The world exalts riches, pleasures, violence, deceits and frauds put at the service of one’s selfishness. It is unlimited “freedom” to surrender to every type of excesses and sins, saying: “We are young and should enjoy life”; “God is good and understanding. He would not condemn us because we are enjoying ourselves and having fun.” Or saying: “It is necessary to earn a lot of money, no matter how.” “The most important thing is health, having a long life, eating and dressing well, and having fun as much as possible.” etc. These are the maxims consecrated by the world.  It [the world] does not conceive anything as being the noblest or highest. The values opposed to the world’s maxims are precisely those of the Gospel. But these are considered to be tiring and upsetting. So, the world continues reversing values: a thief is “skillful in his business,” a seducer is “a cheerful man,” a free thinker is “strong spirited,” a woman dressed indecently and provocatively as “fashionable” etc.

To get rid the worldly environment (especially the first form of false maxims), we should replace them in our mind with verses from Scripture. Let us recall the Biblical passage: Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect. (Rm. 12:2).
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Do I subconsciously follow any of the world’s maxims?

4) Conclude the meditation with the Litany of Humility. 


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Litany of Humility

4/30/2020

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Litany of Humility

(By Servant of God Cardinal Rafael Merry del Val)


Lord have mercy--Lord have mercy
Christ have mercy--Christ have mercy
Lord have mercy--Lord have mercy


Jesus, meek and humble of heart--Hear me.
O Jesus, meek and humble of Heart, Make my heart like unto Thine.


From the desire of being esteemed--Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being loved--Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being extolled--Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being honored--Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being praised--Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being preferred to others--Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being consulted--Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being approved--Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being humiliated--Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being despised--Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of suffering rebukes--Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being calumniated--Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being forgotten--Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being ridiculed--Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being wronged--Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being suspected--Deliver me, O Jesus.


Jesus, grant me--The knowledge and love of my nothingness
Jesus, grant me--The perpetual remembrance of my sins
Jesus, grant me--The awareness of the persuasion of my stinginess
Jesus, grant me--The aversion for all vanity
Jesus, grant me--The pure intention to serve God
Jesus, grant me--The perfect submission to the will of the Father
Jesus, grant me--The true spirit of compunction
Jesus, grant me--The decided obedience to my superiors
Jesus, grant me--The holy hatred of all envy and jealousy
Jesus, grant me--The promptness in the forgiveness of offenses
Jesus, grant me--The prudence in being quiet before the business of others
Jesus, grant me--Peace and charity with and for all
Jesus, grant me--The ardent desire for being disdained and for humiliations

Jesus, grant me--The want to be treated like You and the grace to know how to accept it in a saintly manner.

That others may be loved more than I--Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be esteemed more than I--Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease--Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be chosen and I set aside--Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be praised and I go unnoticed--Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be preferred to me in everything--Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should--Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.


O Mary, Queen and Mother of the humble--plead for me.
Saint Joseph, protector and model of the humble--plead for me.
Saint Michael Archangel, who was the first to take down the proud--plead for me.
All the Saints, sanctified by the spirit of humility--plead for me.

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Let us pray—Lord Jesus, who being God humbled yourself unto death and death by the cross, as to be a perennial example that confounds our pride and self-love, grant us the grace to imitate Your example so that, humbling ourselves as we should in keeping with our lowliness on earth, we may be exalted to enjoy You eternally in Heaven. Amen
May Jesus Christ reign through the Virgin Mary
!
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Meditation for Day Four

4/30/2020

5 Comments

 
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Meditation

Note: Saint Louis Marie suggest starting the time of preparation with some Spiritual Exercises (examination of conscience, penance, fasting, prayer, purity of heart) in order to “get rid of the spirit of the world, contrary to the spirit of Jesus Christ.” While a retreat might be the best way to accomplish this goal of purification, it is not strictly necessary. Instead, we recommend dedicating—with joy and a great freedom of spirit—about ten minutes each day to the reading and recollected meditation of a daily passage which you can find here with some corresponding prayers for each of the remaining days of this time of preparation. The time of prayer can be undertaken immediately after viewing the video based on the True Devotion, but could take place later in the day as well.
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For the next ten days, the meditation will conclude with the Litany of Humility since we are trying to get rid of the spirit of the world (and humility is the virtue that distinguishes the Christian from worldliness).
To maximize the fruits to be gained during this time of prayer, we suggest you adhere to the following steps during your time of meditation:

1) I will place myself in the presence of God.
2) Then I ask for the grace of having a great desire to be pleasing in the eyes of the Lord, and to have eternal life as the only goal of my most important choices, without letting myself be seduced by the spirit of the world.
3) Finally, read the text below and then spend a brief period of time reflecting on it.

The spirit of world(We will follow Antonio Royo Marín’s, Theology of the Christian Perfection).

What is the world? It consists of the anti-Christian climate that forms between the people who live without thinking about God and who are dedicated only to the things of the earth. The world is therefore an atmosphere that involves people in a way of thinking, of wishing and worrying only about earthly goods, and consequently living a life merely mundane, without considering eternal life. Christ came to teach us the doctrine of his “True Life.”
We read: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins that he might rescue us from the present evil age in accord with the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory forever and ever. (Gal 1:3-5).

The worldly attitude is described still with greater accuracy by Our Lord himself: There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest. He asked himself, ‘What shall I do, for I do not have space to store my harvest?’ And he said, ‘This is what I shall do: I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones. There I shall store all my grain and other goods and I shall say to myself, “Now as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!”’ But God said to him, ‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’ Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God. (Lk. 12:16-21).
Foolishness consists in dedicating oneself only to attaining worldly goods and not those for eternal life. Consider the example of Jesus on the cross.
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4) Pray the Litany. In the first ten days we will ask for the virtue of humility, which distinguished the greatest saints.


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National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes
on the campus of Mount St. Mary's University
​

16330 Grotto Road
Emmitsburg, MD 21727
Phone: 301-447-5318


MASS SCHEDULE:
Monday-Friday 11 AM
​Saturday 12 PM
Sunday at 12 PM (English)
​Sunday at 2 PM (Spanish)

ADORATION:
​Sunday 10:45 AM -11:45 AM

CONFESSIONS:
Saturday 10:45 AM - 11:45 AM
Sunday 10:45 AM; 1:15 PM
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