Catholic Online Forum

Dear All,

Today we begin the First Week in the Preparation of 33 Days, after the preliminary 12 days. This first week's purpose is: To obtain a true knowledge of ourselves, and so it has been for me the hardest part. The website helps to remind us that all our efforts need to be placed:

The words "contempt of self" and/or "dying to self" that we read in spiritual books is not intended to deny God's gifts to us, but rather to help us admit our faults, and let go of our desire to "puff ourselves up" like the "leaven of the Pharisees". Humility is truth and if we truthfully seek to know ourselves, we see how the Words of Christ ring True: "Without Me you can do nothing". We need to pray: asking, seeking and knocking at the door of His Heart, for His grace to become humble, and to share in His Holiness.

Our suggested reading from the Gospel of Luke enables us to hear Jesus teach us how to pray. The Litany of the Holy Spirit which we pray during this week also enables us to appreciate the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. This week has become easier for me over the years, as I learn how God gives me light to see my faults, in order that I might repent and believe more strongly in His Power to sanctify me. Smile It really becomes "good news" to learn from Him and cooperate with His Grace.

See: http://totalconsecration.ageofmary.com/ ... on-13.html

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MariaChristi

Thanks for the wonderful site.Practicing total consecration is new to me.

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Simon

Dear Simon,

I'm happy to read your post. I hope you will continue to read more about Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary and begin to practice it. Bl. John Paul II and Servant of God Frank Duff are two examples of holy men who practiced it and became saints!

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MariaChristi

I am confused
==========
1)Since I live in a tropical paradise I enjoy the wonder of nature.The variety of trees and animals found in this region is for me a portal thro which I see God

2)There are lots of non catholics who for me are Gods Grace

3)When I go for Holy Mass,the focus is on the Liturgy which does not always have references to Mary Mother of God

So Gods Grace may have passed thro Marys hands but it is not immediately obvious to me


I read a lot of things
on the web but today started here.Hopefully I will continue with your support and assimilate it.Does being like Mary excite you?
I do find Holy Mass very invigorating but my relation with Mary is weak.

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Simon

Simon,



Not so. Our Lady is mentioned at every Mass.

From the Roman Canon:

"In communion with those whose memory we venerate, especially the glorios ever-Virgin Mary, Mother of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ..."

She is also mentioned in the other Eucharistic Prayers.

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James Daly

"It is the Lord." (Jn 21:7)

I intend going thro this site bit by bit with your help.I am prone to sometimes silly arguments,please bear with me.

http://totalconsecration.ageofmary.com/ ... -mary.html

quote St Louis
I am quite a worldly fellow and besides praying for the deceased in my family on All Souls Day do nothing for the "salvation of souls".I am no saint and would consider myself lucky to make it to heaven.



Why?



I feel the need to look after myself ,God helps those who help themselves.How can I discern the will Of God.There are many voices seeking different things.

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Simon

Dear simon,

I'm happy to attempt answering your questions, although I am very aware of the wisdom in St. Therese of Lisieux's words: "Everything is Grace". It is only by God's Grace that we can understand anything of His Love and His work in our lives. So, as you go through the site, ask for God's Grace, seek His Truth and knock on the door of His Heart that He may open to you and give you all that you need.

Now to your questions:
quote St Louis
I am quite a worldly fellow and besides praying for the deceased in my family on All Souls Day do nothing for the "salvation of souls".I am no saint and would consider myself lucky to make it to heaven.
***I believe we all are prone to imbibe the "spirit of the world" but God has called us to be born again of His Spirit. We make choices daily, and in the end we will choose heaven or hell. It is not a matter of luck but rather of our cooperation with God's Grace and our will to do the Truth He has revealed in Jesus. Prayer is not just words we say. St. John Vianney defines prayer as nothing other than union with God. Our union grows or it dies. There is no standing still in the spiritual life. We either go forward or backward. We are on our journey toward God or away form Him, for eternity.


Why?
*** The "Secret of Mary" was written to help us go toward God in the way God came to us in Jesus and that is through Mary. We cannot think that once we begin to appreciate Mary or even pray the Consecration that we are then able to stay idle or inactive. As I wrote in answer to the question above: There is NO standing still in the spiritual life. In the case of "living" our consecration it is an ongoing conversion. We must do as the Scriptures tell us in Philippians 2:12 - work out our salvation with fear (filial fear which is love for God) and trembling (because of our weaknesses). We also have the parable of the servant who hid his one talent and the Master called him a wicked and slothful servant


I feel the need to look after myself ,God helps those who help themselves.How can I discern the will Of God.There are many voices seeking different things.[/quote]
***Abandonment to Divine Providence is an expression of trust in God rather than to trust in oneself. We are to do what we can do, that is true, but we must never think our will is preferable to God's Will. Jesus Himself prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, "Not my Will but Thine be done". In His Sacred Humanity, Jesus gives us the example of a faithful child of God who is willing to suffer if God's Will calls us to suffer for a while. We find God's Will for us in Scripture, Tradition and the Magisterium of the Church. We need to pray fervently to the Holy Spirit Whom Jesus promised would bring us into the complete Truth. God is Faithful and if we ask for His Will, we receive; if we seek Him we will find Him; and if we knock, the door will be opened for us. (Mt 7: 7-11). Again, to go back to the first answer: we make choices daily. We listen to many voices, perhaps, but the Voice of God is the Most Important.
Hope these answers help a bit.

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MariaChristi

They have .I would have to read them again and apply them concretely

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Simon

I have seen quite a few lapsed catholic who seem to be happy having no union with God.Ignorance seems to be bliss.
Your comments please MariaChristi?
Possible anwsers
It is between me and God ,they dont count and can must be ignored. Dont judge others

I must spend more time doing this

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Simon

I have asked God for his Grace before beginning this exercise


This rings true ,but when I look around me I find it hard to see it in other Catholics. Can i invade their privacy by asking such questions?
(
Any links to this -(this is total power)

So are protestants impostors?Or is this not true today?


Good news

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Simon

The devil has many bondages -he who sins is a slave of sin
eg those who have vices -drunkards

How do the 7 capital sins make us slaves of the Devil?


eg I cant stop getting angry
I am a womaniser -lust has taken control of me
I will do anything to get money



Knowing about slavery to the devil is important-because only then can we understand better Gods Grace

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Simon

While it may take sometime to make progress at least i have made a small beginning in
1)Asking Mary for Grace to do Gods Will in my life by listening to His Voice and not to other voices.
2)My belief in Christ as the Light of the world is strong- so asking for help in that direction.

If I do 1 & 2, I am quite sure that I will be freed from sins that come from not doing Gods Holy Will

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Simon

http://rcspiritualdirection.com/blog/20 ... L_CAMPAIGN

PURITY IN DEED


Mary is new for me -do have more links on -Mother of Purity

The Love Of God -Agape-is unlike human love- how does Mary help(sorry for this silly question)

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Simon

Dear Simon,

Human persons often judge by "appearances" but only God can judge the heart. People can pretend easily by putting a smile on their faces or speaking words to convince others that they are happy. Some may find a certain temporary happiness in the things of this world but it does not last and soon they are looking for some other pleasure. The Scripture warns us "What does it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his soul? What will a man give in Exchange for his soul?"

Ignorance may seem to be bliss, but when the end of life comes, as it will for each one, we will know for certain, that we have chosen either the Truth and heaven or we have preferred to remain in ignorance, and for the sake of temporary pleasures we have chosen hell for eternity. All will face the judgment of God at the end of our lives, Simon. There is no pretending then; for God will show us our own heart and what we have chosen during our lives on earth. Let us continue to pray while we still have time not only for ourselves but for all those in most need of God's Mercy. Every soul is important. We are responsible for our own souls and in love we also owe love to others. We need to give good example and do whatever we can to help others choose God's Truth here on earth in order to be happy with Him forever in heaven.

You have many questions on this thread, I'll try to answer as many as I can.

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MariaChristi

Dear Simon,
Here are a few more answers to your questions:


This rings true ,but when I look around me I find it hard to see it in other Catholics. Can i invade their privacy by asking such questions?
*********Our call to holiness is from God and each of us will be responsible to Him for what we have done with the graces He has given us. We do not know the heart of others, but we can pray for them and try to help them grow in holiness as well. We do this best by giving good example -- living our faith -- and learning more each day about our faith in order to answer questions.

Any links to this -(this is total power)
*******Mary does not have the total power which belongs to God alone. Any power she has, she receives from Him. God's Will has been revealed in His sending His Son through Mary. That choice of God remains constant. He continues to send His Life, His Grace, through her. If you have a Catechism of the Catholic Church, you can read more of the Church's teaching on this. There is an online version at: http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM

If you scroll down the contents to the section on the Creed in which we say "I believe in the Holy Catholic Church", you will see chapter 6 - "Mary, Mother of the Church" and if you click there you will find several paragraphs to help you.

So are protestants impostors?Or is this not true today?
***********"Imposters" is a strong term and I believe that St. Louis uses it in speaking of people he knew. He was making a judgment on their words as being untrue, even as Jesus did when he called the Pharisees "hypocrites". They speak of God but their words are not loving, nor do their lives show kindness toward God's Mother. How can they then be true children of God? Are they not choosing their own thoughts over what God has revealed? Are they not pretending to know God's Will better than He does? Now, I must admit that I know some Protestants that I would not call "imposters" because they speak kindly of Mary. I think they may be closer to the Truth, but they do not yet possess the fullness of truth. Pride is a terrible affront to God, however, and when we see it in some persons we need to pray for them and when we recognize it in ourselves we need to pray also.

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MariaChristi

Dear Simon,

Every sin enslaves us, Simon, so I'm not exactly sure of what you are asking here. We have been freed from the slavery of sin in Baptism in which all our sins were forgiven, but the Original Sin leaves within us a propensity to sin which we can, by God's Grace overcome, using our free will. Our freedom has been given to us that we may choose God's True good and not evil in the temptations we face. If we continue to refuse his grace, then each sin makes us more a slave of the devil who tempts us, and we become less free to do the True good God has revealed in His Commandments and especially in the Person of Jesus.

By God's grace, especially through the sacrament of Confession, we can break the bonds of lust, greed for money and the inordinate anger of which we may be guilty. Anger is sometimes justified; the Scripture tells us, "Be angry but do not sin". For instance it is good to be angry over the terrible sin of abortion and the deaths of 54 million innocent babies, but it would be sin to take out our anger on a human person. Our anger in this case should turn into zeal to do what we can to help people see the evil and avoid it, and also to help some who may need help to recover after an abortion.

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MariaChristi

Dear Simon,

Your question is not "silly". Many people today struggle with understanding why the Catholic Church holds Mary in such high regard. Some accuse us of "Mary worship" which of course is untrue. St. Louis de Montfort in his book, True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary states that compared with God, Mary is nothing. She is God's creation as each of us is, and yet God chose her to be the Mother of His Son. Mary participates in His Love for us in a unique way, because of God's choice in sending Jesus to us through Mary. All of us likewise are called into this same Love of God. Our holiness consists in our union with Him, the perfection of charity. By His Grace, we learn how to love as He loves. Human love is purified and elevated by uniting ourselves with His Love. We are enabled to do this by our Baptism, when we are purified from sin and made His children, temples of His Holy Spirit. He gives us His Life in order that we may grow daily more like Him. Mary was given the great privilege of her Immaculate Conception whereby she was freed from Original sin from the moment of her Conception and remained sinless her whole life. This was fitting for she was to carry within her womb the Incarnate Son of God. Mary helps us because she shows us the "mighty work" God can do in a human person when we cooperate with Him fully. Mary shows us all that we are called to be. She is not Divine nor are we, and yet like her we are called to share in His holiness, His Perfect Love. So she helps us by her example and she continues to help us by her prayers. Mary was always obedient to God's Will (unlike Eve and Adam who both disobeyed God). She suffered for love with her Son on Calvary. Praying the Rosary and pondering the events in the lives of Jesus and Mary can help us to grow in our Love for God our Father and for Mary our Mother. God so loved us that He sent Jesus through Mary, and He continues to send His Love through her today. Hope that helps.

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MariaChristi

I have experienced God in the Holy Mass,The Sacraments and Holy people.Is it possible for it have an experience of Mary.I may prayer to Saint Joseph but can I say that I have met the person?

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Simon

???

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Simon

Dear simon,

It is certainly possible to have an "experience" of meeting Mary as a person, just as surely as we meet Christ as a Person, by faith. When we receive Jesus in Holy Communion we are receiving Him truly, though by faith. Some saints have experienced Mary in special apparitions, whereby they actually "see" her with their bodily eyes, but I do not think that happens to many. The experiencing of Mary by faith, is rather an interior conviction of her love and presence in our lives. Mary is present to us, whether we "experience" her or not, however, for we are her children whom she received from Jesus on Calvary. She loves us and intercedes for all of us.

It is good to remember the words of Jesus to Thomas:

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MariaChristi