Fr. Thomas M. Pastorius
October 22, 2017
Spiritual Ponderings
Images of the Blessed Virgin Mary
 
Let us continue to develop our relationship with the Blessed Virgin Mary.
 
St. John Vianney Quote:
 “The Blessed Virgin’s life was full of sorrow…Every time her tender glance fell upon her Divine Son, she suffered…”

Let us look at the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Eucharist.  In many ways Mary what it means to be a living Tabernacle for Christ.  She was the first to receive the Body and Blood, Soul & Divinity. 
 
Fr. Rolheiser in his book: Pour One Great of  fidelity: Waiting for Christ in the Eucharist; has this to say about the Eucharist: “The Eucharist fulfills what Mary prophesied when she was pregnant with Jesus –namely that, in Jesus, the mighty would be brought down and lowly would be raised up.  It was this very thing that first drew Dorothy Day to Christianity.”
 
Scott Hahn in his book Hail Holy Queen has the following to say about the Blessed Virgin Mary: Mary is the test of how well a Christian has accepted the gospel.  It’s not that she’s central figure of salvation history.  She’s not: Jesus is.  But our understanding of Mary reveals everything about how we understand Jesus and His saving work.
                We live our sonship best by listening to Mary and loving as she loves.  Listening means responding when she says, “Do whatever He tells you.”  Loving means standing by Christ, even to the cross.   Loving means choosing, Him in every instance, over sin.”
 
I think the above quote from Scott Hahn, acts as a reminder that faith is about doing what Jesus tell us to and the one thing that Jesus told us to do was to go to Mass (Do this in remembrance of me).   The more that I fall deeper and deeper in love with Christ (choose Christ over sin out of love and not out of fear) the easier it is to choose the good. 
 
Mary and the Eucharist Prayer I
Hail Mary, sweet Mother of the Eucharist. With sorrow and much love, You have given us your son Jesus while hanging from the Cross. We, weak creatures, anchor ourselves to You to be worthy sons of this great LOVE and SORROW. Help us to be humble and simple, help us to love all men, help us to live in grace always to be ready to welcome Jesus into our heart. O Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, we, by ourselves, will never be able to understand this great mystery of love.
Gain for us the light of the Holy Spirit, because only in that moment we will be able to perceive even for just one instant,
all the infinite love of your Jesus in giving Himself to us. AMEN
 
Mary and the Eucharist Prayer II
Written by John Paul II
O virgin mother, guide and sustain us so that we might always live as true sons and daughters of the church of your son. Enable us to do our part in helping to establish on earth the civilization of truth and love, as god wills it, for this glory. Amen