33 CONSECRATION PREPARATION TO JESUS THROUGH MARY
Day
32 of 33
Imitation of Christ, by Thomas
á Kempis: Book 2, Chapter 7
The Love of Jesus above All Things
Blessed
is he that understandeth (Psalm 119:1,2) what it is to love Jesus, and to
despise himself for Jesus' sake. Thou oughtest to leave thy beloved, for thy
beloved (Deut. 6:5; Matt. 22:37; Cant. 2:16); for that Jesus will be loved
alone above all things.
The
love of things created is deceitful and inconstant; the love of Jesus is
faithful and persevering. He that cleaveth unto a creature, shall fall with
that which is subject to fall; he that embraceth Jesus shall be made strong for
ever.
2.
Love Him, and keep Him for thy friend, who, when all go away, will not forsake
thee, nor suffer thee to perish in the end. Some time or other thou must be
separated from all, whether thou wilt or no. Keep close to Jesus both in life
and in death, and commit thyself unto His faithfulness, who, when all fail, can
alone help thee.
Thy
Beloved is of that nature, that He will admit of no rival; but will have thy
heart alone, and sit on His throne as King. If thou couldest empty thyself
perfectly from all creatures, Jesus would willingly dwell with thee.
From
True Devotion To the Blessed Virgin Mary, Nos. 257-260
There
are some very sanctifying interior practices for those souls who feel called by
the Holy Spirit to a high degree of perfection. They may be expressed in four
words, doing everything through Mary, with Mary, in Mary, and for Mary, in
order to do it more perfectly through Jesus, with Jesus, in Jesus, and for
Jesus.
Through Mary
258.
We must do everything through Mary, that is, we must obey her always and be led
in all things by her spirit, which is the Holy Spirit of God. "Those who
are led by the Spirit of God are children of God," says St. Paul. Those
who are led by the spirit of Mary are children of Mary, and, consequently
children of God, as we have already shown. Among the many servants of Mary only
those who are truly and faithfully devoted to her are led by her spirit. I have
said that the spirit of Mary is the spirit of God because she was never led by
her own spirit, but always by the spirit of God, who made himself master of her
to such an extent that he became her very spirit. That is why St. Ambrose says,
"May the soul of Mary be in each one of us to glorify the Lord. May the
spirit of Mary be in each one of us to rejoice in God." Happy is the man
who follows the example of the good Jesuit Brother Rodriguez, who died a holy
death, because he will be completely possessed and governed by the spirit of
Mary, a spirit which is gentle yet strong, zealous yet prudent, humble yet
courageous, pure yet fruitful.
With Mary
260.
We must do everything with Mary, that is to say, in all our actions we must
look upon Mary, although a simple human being, as the perfect model of every
virtue and perfection, fashioned by the Holy Spirit for us to imitate, as far
as our limited capacity allows. In every action then we should consider how
Mary performed it or how she would perform it if she were in our place. For
this reason, we must examine and meditate on the great virtues she practised
during her life, especially: 1) Her lively faith, by which she believed the
angel's word without the least hesitation, and believed faithfully and
constantly even to the foot of the Cross on Calvary. 2) Her deep humility,
which made her prefer seclusion, maintain silence, submit to every eventuality
and put herself in the last place.
Recite: Litany of the Holy Ghost, Ave Maris
Stella, Litany of the Holy Name, St. Louis de Montfort’s Prayer to Mary
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