Day 29,SORROWFUL MYSTERIES, Saturday February 28

Fourth Sorrowful Mystery ~ The Carrying of the Cross

Every action of the Holy Childhood came before her, and found its bitter contrast in the scene that was then enacting in the streets of Jerusalem. She thought how she had washed Him, clothed Him, given Him food, nursed Him to sleep, and knelt down and worshipped Him when He was asleep, though she knew well He could see her even then. Every one of those things found their opposites with dreadful accuracy in the Way of the Cross. Earth and blood and shameful spitting defiled His face and hands and feet. His hair, from which handfuls had been pulled, was clotted, entangled, and deranged. His tunic clung painfully to the half -congealed blood of His wounds. Alas, for those baths of His childhood and the reverent ministries of His loving Mother! We shall come to them again in the sixth dolor, and then how changed the circumstances! They have once torn His garments from the wounds, and made them bleed afresh. They will do so again at the top of Calvary. It was not thus she had undressed Him in the quiet sanctuary of Nazareth. He had had no food but the sins of men, and a very feast of ignominy, since the evening before. He was worn with want of sleep, but will never sleep again now.

Faber, Fr. Frederick William (2015-02-14). The Foot of the Cross with Mary: or The Sorrows of Mary (Kindle Locations 3664-3673). KIC. Kindle Edition.

Day 28, JOYFUL MYSTERIES, Friday February 27

Fourth Joyful Mystery ~ Presentation of  Christ in the Temple

[25] And behold there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Ghost was in him.

[26] And he had received an answer from the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Christ of the Lord. [27] And he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when his parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the law, [28] He also took him into his arms, and blessed God, and said: [29] Now thou dost dismiss thy servant, O Lord, according to thy word in peace; [30] Because my eyes have seen thy salvation,

[31] Which thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples: [32] A light to the revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. (Luke ii)

Mary made her offerings, and “performed all things according to the law of the Lord.” For the spirit of Jesus was a spirit of obedience and, although the brightness of angelic innocence was dull beside the whiteness of her purity, she obeyed the law of God in the ceremony of her purification, the more readily as it was in fact a concealment of her graces. But she bore also in her arms her true turtle— dove, to do for Him likewise “according to the custom of the law.” She placed Him in the arms of the aged priest Simeon, as she has done since in vision to so many of the Saints; and the full light broke on Simeon's soul. Weak with age, he threw his arms around His God. He bore the whole weight of his Creator, and yet stood upright. The sight of that infant Face was nothing less than the glory of Heaven. The Holy Ghost had kept His promise. Simeon had seen— nay, was at that moment handling—“the Lord's Christ.”

Blessed priest! Worn down with age, wearied with thy long years of waiting for the “consolation of Israel,” kept alive in days which were out of harmony with thy spirit, even as St. John the Evangelist was after thee—surely He Who made thee, He Who is so soon to judge thee, He Whom thou art folding so fondly in thine arms, must have sent the strength of His omnipotence into thy heart, else thou wouldst never have been able to bear the flood of strong gladness which at that moment broke in upon thy spirit! … It is hard for him to part with that sweet burden from his arms. In that extreme old age, the vents of song have been opened in his soul, and in the silence of the temple he sings his Nunc dimittis, even as Zachary sang his Benedictus, and Mary her Magnificat. Age after age shall take up the strain. All the poetry of Christian weariness is in it. It gives a voice to the heavenly detachment and unworldliness of countless Saints. It is the heart’s evening light, after the working hours of the day, to millions and millions of believers. It is the very last Compline that the Church shall sing before the midnight when the doom begins and the Lord breaks out upon the darkness from the refulgent east, shall overflow with the melodious sweetness of Simeon's pathetic song. Joseph was wrapt even then in an ecstasy of holy admiration.

Even Mary “wondered” at the words, so deep, so beautiful, and so true; for she knew, as no others knew, how marvelously her Babe was in truth the Light of the entire world. And when, in her humility, she knelt for the blessing of the aged priest, had he Jesus in his arms still when he blessed her, and did he wave the Child above her in the Sign of the Cross, like a Christian Benediction, or had she Jesus in her arms, holding Him at His Own creature's feet to get a blessing? Either way, how wonderful the mystery!

Faber, Fr. Frederick William (2015-02-14). The Foot of the Cross with Mary: or The Sorrows of Mary (Kindle Locations 1244-1273). KIC. Kindle Edition.

Day 27, GLORIOUS MYSTERIES, Thursday February 26

Ember Wednesday, February 25

Reflections on Ember Wednesday ~ Dom Gueranger, Liturgical Year

The fast on the Wednesday after the First Sunday of Lent is prescribed by a double law—it is Lent, and it is Ember Wednesday. (NOTE: Prior to Vatican II we had Ember Days for the four seasons, Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. Ember Days were obligatory days of fast, as were each day during Lent, excluding Sunday.)  It is the same with the Friday and Saturday of this week. There are two principal objects for the Ember Days of this period of the year: the first is to offer to God the season of Spring, and, by fasting and prayer, to draw down His blessing upon it; the second is to ask Him to enrich with His choicest graces the priests and sacred ministers who are to receive their Ordination on Saturday.

On all the Ember Wednesdays there are read, in place of the Epistle at Mass, two Lessons from Sacred Scripture. Today the Church brings before us the two great types of Lent—Moses in the first Lesson and Elias in the second—in order to impress us with an idea of the importance of this forty days’ fast, which Christ Himself solemnly consecrated when He observed it, thus fulfilling, in His own Person, what the Law and the Prophets had but prefigured.

Moses and Elias fasted for forty days and forty nights, because God bade them come near to Him. Man must purify himself, he must unburden himself, in some measure at least, of the body which weighs him down, if he would enter into communication with Him, Who is the Holy Spirit. And yet the vision of God granted to these two holy personages was very imperfect: they felt that God was near them, but they beheld not His glory. But when the fullness of time came (Gal. 4: 4), God manifested Himself in the flesh: and man saw and heard and touched Him (1 John 1: 1). We indeed are not of the number of those favored ones who lived with Jesus, the Word of Life; but in the Holy Eucharist He allows us to do more than see Him—He enters into our breasts, He is our Food. The humblest member of the Church possesses God more fully then either Moses on Sinai or Elias on Horeb. We cannot, therefore, be surprised that the Church, in order to fit us for this favor at the Easter solemnity, bids us go through a preparation of forty days, though its severity is not to be compared with the rigid fast which Moses and Elias had to observe as the condition of receiving what God promised them.

Nowadays, sinners are not visibly separated from the faithful; the Church doors are not closed against them; they frequently stand near the holy altar, in the company of the just; and when God’s pardon descends upon them, the faithful are not made cognizant of the grace by any special and solemn rite. Let us here admire the wonderful mercy of our Heavenly Father, and profit by the indulgent discipline of our Holy Mother the Church. The lost sheep may enter the fold at any hour and without any display; let him take advantage of the condescension thus shown him, and never more wander from the Shepherd, Who thus mercifully receives him. Neither let the just man be puffed up with self-complacency, by preferring himself to the lost sheep; let him rather reflect on those words of today’s lesson: If the just man turn himself away from his justice, and do iniquity… the justices which he hath done shall not be remembered. Let us, therefore tremble for ourselves, and have compassion on sinners. One of the great means on which the Church rests Her hopes for the reconciliation of sinners is the fervent prayers offered up for them by the faithful during Lent.

The Gospel of today tells of the cure of the infirm man who had waited 38 years at the Probatica pool—a figure of the Sacrament of Penance. How was his cure wrought? First of all, the infirm man says to Jesus: I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pond. The water would have cured him; but observe, he has need of some Man to lead him to the water. This Man is the Son of God, and He became Man in order to heal us. As Man, He has received power to forgive sins, and before leaving this earth, He gave that same power to other men, and said to them: Whose sins ye shall forgive, they are forgiven them (John 20: 23). The penitents, then, are to be reconciled with God by virtue of this supernatural power; and the infirm man, who takes up his bed and walks, is a figure of the sinner, whose sins have been forgiven him by the Church, by the divine power of the keys.

Day 26, JOYFUL MYSTERIES, Wednesday February 25

Third Joyful Mystery ~ The Nativity of Our Lord, Jesus Christ

Day 25, GLORIOUS MYSTERIES, Tuesday February 24

Fourth Glorious Mystery ~ The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven

"And now death came; not indeed clothed in mourning and grief, as it does to others, but adorned with light and gladness. But what do we say? Why speak of death? Let us rather say that divine love came, and cut the thread of that noble life. And as a light, before going out, gives a last and brighter flash than ever, so did this beautiful creature, on hearing her Son's invitation to follow him, wrapped in the flames of love, and in the midst of her loving sighs, give a last sigh of still more ardent love, and breathing forth her soul, expired. Thus was that great soul, that beautiful dove of the Lord, loosened from the bands of this life; thus did she enter into the glory of the blessed, where she is now seated, and will be seated, Queen of Paradise, for all eternity."

Let us now consider how our Savior went forth from heaven to meet his Mother. On first meeting her, and to console her, he said: Arise, make haste, my love, my dove, my beautiful one, and come, for winter is now past and gone. (Canticle 2:10) Come, my own dear Mother, my pure and beautiful dove; leave that valley of tears, in which, for my love, you have suffered so much. Come from Lebanon, my spouse, come from Lebanon, come: You shall be crowned.(Canticle 4:8) Come in, soul and body, to enjoy the reward of your holy life. If your sufferings have been great on earth, far greater is the glory which I have prepared for you in heaven. Enter, then, that kingdom, and take your seat near me; come to receive that crown which I will bestow on you as Queen of the universe. (St. Alphonsus de Liguori, Glories of Mary)

Day 23, SORROWFUL MYSTERIES, First Sunday in Lent, February 22

GROW IN CHARITY DURING LENT

GOSPEL Matt. 4:1-11

At that time, Jesus was led by the spirit into the desert, to be tempted by the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterwards he was hungry. And the tempter coming said to him: "If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread." Who answered and said: "It is written, Not by bread alone doth man live, but in every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God."

Then the devil took him up into the holy city, and set him upon the pinnacle of the temple, And said to him: "If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down, for it is written: That he hath given his angels charge over thee, and in their hands shall they bear thee up, lest perhaps thou dash thy foot against a stone."

Jesus said to him: "It is written again: Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God."

Again the devil took him up into a very high mountain, and shewed him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them, And said to him: "All these will I give thee, if falling down thou wilt adore me." Then Jesus saith to him: "Begone, Satan: for it is written: The Lord thy God shalt thou adore, and him only shalt thou serve."

Then the devil left him; and behold angels came and ministered to him.

Day 22, JOYFUL MYSTERIES, Saturday February 21

Fourth Joyful Mystery ~ Visitation of Blessed Virgin Mary to St. Elizabeth

My soul doth magnify the Lord. And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid; for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. Because he that is mighty, hath done great things to me; and holy is his name. And his mercy is from generation unto generations, to them that fear him.

He hath shewed might in his arm: he hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart. He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble. He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. He hath received Israel his servant, being mindful of his mercy: As he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed forever.

Day 21, GLORIOUS MYSTERIES, Friday February 20

Third Glorious Mystery ~ Descent of the Holy Ghost

[37] Now when they had heard these things, they had compunction in their heart, and said to Peter, and to the rest of the apostles: What shall we do, men and brethren? [38] But Peter said to them: Do penance, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of your sins: and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. [39] For the promise is to you, and to your children, and to all that are far off, whomsoever the Lord our God shall call. [40] And with very many other words did he testify and exhort them, saying: Save yourselves from this perverse generation.

[41] They therefore that received his word, were baptized; and there were added in that day about three thousand souls.

Day 20, SORROWFUL MYSTERIES, Thursday February 19

First Sorrowful Mystery ~ The Agony in the Garden

[37] And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to grow sorrowful and to be sad. [38] Then he saith to them: My soul is sorrowful even unto death: stay you here, and watch with me. [39] And going a little further, he fell upon his face, praying, and saying: My Father, if it be possible, let this chalice pass from me. Nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. [40] And he cometh to his disciples, and findeth them asleep, and he saith to Peter: What? Could you not watch one hour with me?  (Matthew Ch. XXVI) 

ASH WEDNESDAY, Day Nineteen, JOYFUL MYSTERIES, February 18

REFLECTIONS ON ASH WEDNESDAY BY DOM GUERANGER, LITURGICAL YEAR

Yesterday, the world was busy in its pleasures, and the very children of God were taking a joyous farewell to mirth: but this morning, all is changed. The solemn announcement, spoken of by the prophet, has been proclaimed in Sion: the solemn fast of Lent, the season of expiation, the approach of the great anniversaries of our Redemption. Let us, then, rouse ourselves, and prepare for the spiritual combat.

But in this battling of the spirit against the flesh we need good armor. Our holy mother the Church knows how much we need it; and therefore does she summon us to enter into the house of God, that she may arm us for the holy contest. What this armor is we know from St. Paul, who thus describes it; 'Have your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of justice. And your feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace. In all things, taking the shield and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. The very prince of the apostles, too, addresses these solemn words to us: 'Christ having suffered in the flesh, be ye also armed with the same thought'. We are entering, today, upon a long campaign of the warfare spoken of by the apostles: forty days of battle, forty days of penance. We shall not turn cowards, if our souls can but be impressed with the conviction that the battle and the penance must be gone through. Let us listen to the eloquence of the solemn rite which opens our Lent. Let us go whither our mother leads us, that is, to the scene of the fall.

The enemies we have to fight with, are of two kinds: internal, and external. The first are our passions; the second are the devils. Both were brought on us by pride, and man's pride began when he refused to obey his God. God forgave him his sin, but He punished him. The punishment was death, and this was the form of the divine sentence: 'Thou art dust, and into dust thou shalt return'. Oh that we had remembered this! The recollection of what we are and what we are to be, would have checked that haughty rebellion, which has so often led us to break the law of God. And if, for the time to come, we would preserve in loyalty to Him, we must humble ourselves, accept the sentence, and look on this present life as a path to the grave. The path may be long or short; but to the tomb it must lead us. Remembering this, we shall see all things in their true light. We shall love that God, who has deigned to set His heart on us notwithstanding our being creatures of death: we shall hate, with deepest contrition, the insolence and ingratitude, wherewith we have spent so many of our few days of life, that is, in sinning against our heavenly Father: and we shall be not only willing, but eager, to go through these days of penance, which He so mercifully gives us for making reparation to His offended justice.

This was the motive the Church had in enriching her liturgy with the solemn rite, at which we are to assist this morning. When, upwards a thousand years ago, she decreed the anticipation of the lenten fast by the last four days of Quinquagesima week, she instituted this impressive ceremony of signing the forehead of her children with ashes, while saying to them those awful words, wherewith God sentenced us to death: 'Remember, O man, that thou art dust, and into dust thou shalt return!' But the making use of ashes as a symbol of humiliation and penance, is of a much earlier date than the institution to which we allude. We find frequent mention of it in the Old Testament. Job, though a Gentile, sprinkled his flesh with ashes, that, thus humbled, he might propitiate the divine mercy and this was two thousand years before the coming of our Savior. The royal prophet tells us of himself, that he mingled ashes with his bread, because of the divine anger and indignation. Many such examples are to be met with in the sacred Scriptures; but so obvious is the analogy between the sinner who thus signifies his grief, and the object whereby he signifies it, that we read such instances without surprise. When fallen man would humble himself before the divine justice, which has sentenced his body to return to dust, how could he more aptly express his contrite acceptance of the sentence, than by sprinkling himself, or his food, with ashes, which is the dust of wood consumed by fire? This earnest acknowledgment of his being himself but dust and ashes, is an act of humility, and humility ever gives him confidence in that God, who resists the proud and pardons the humble.

Shrove Tuesday Reflections from Dom Gueranger

An action is virtuous due to its being directed by reason to a noble good. And this is true of fasting. For we fast for three purposes: (1) to restrain the desires of the flesh; (2) to raise the mind to contemplate sublime things; (3) to make satisfaction for our sins. (St. Thomas Aquinas ST II-II 147)

Shrove Tuesday in Quinquagesima Week

    The fundamental rule of Christian life is, as almost every page of the Gospel tells us, that we should live out of the world, separate ourselves from the world, hate the world. The world is that ungodly land which Abraham, our sublime model, is commanded by God to quit. It is that Babylon of our exile and captivity, where we are beset with dangers. The beloved disciple cries out to us: 'Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world. If any man love the world, the charity of the Father is not in him. (John 2:15) Our most merciful Jesus, at the very time when He was about to offer Himself as a sacrifice for all men, spoke these words: 'I pray not for the world.' (John 17: 9)

    When we were baptized, and were signed with the glorious and indelible and were signed with the glorious and indelible character of Christians, the condition required of us, and accepted, was that we should renounce the works and pomps of the world (which we expressed under the name of Satan); and this solemn baptismal promise we have often renewed.

    But what is the meaning of our promise to renounce the world? Is it that we cannot be Christians, unless we flee into the desert and separate ourselves from our fellow-creatures? Such cannot be God's will for all, since, in that same Scripture, wherein He commands us to flee from the world, He also tells us what are our duties to each other, and sanctions and blesses those ties which He Himself has willed should exist among us. His apostle, also, tells us to use this world as though we did not use it. (1 Corinthians 7:31) It is not, therefore, forbidden us to live in, and to use the world. Then, what means this renouncing the world? Can there be contradiction in God's commandments? Is it possible that we are condemned to wander blindly on the brink of a precipice, into which we must at last inevitably fall?

    There is neither contradiction nor snare. If by the world, we mean these visible things around us which God created in His power and goodness; if we mean this outward world, which He made for His own glory and our benefit; it is worthy of it a ladder whereby our souls may ascend to their God. Let us gratefully use this world; go through it, without making it the object of our hope; not waste upon it that love, which God alone deserves; and ever be mindful, that we are not made for this, but for another and a happier, world.

    But the majority of men are not thus prudent in their use of the world. Their hearts are fixed upon it, and not upon Heaven. Hence it was, that when the Creator deigned to come into this world, in order that He might save it, the world knew Him not.(John 1:10) Men were called after the name of the object of their love. They shut their eyes to the light; they became darkness; God calls them 'the world.'

    In this sense, then, the world is everything that is opposed to our Lord Jesus Christ, that refuses to recognize Him, and that resists His divine guidance. Those false maxims which tend to weaken the love of God in our souls; which recommended the vanities that fasten our hearts to this present life; which cry down everything that can raise us above our weaknesses or vices; which decoy and gratify our corrupt nature by dangerous pleasures, which, far from helping us to the attainment of our last end, only mislead us – all these are 'the world.'

    This world is everywhere, and holds a secret league within our very hearts. Sin has brought it into this exterior world created by God for Himself, and has given it prominence. Now, we must conquer it, and trample upon it, or we shall perish with it. There is no being neutral; we must be its enemies, or its slaves. During these three days, its triumphs are fearful; and thousands of those who, at their Baptism, swore eternal enmity to it, are enrolling themselves its votaries. Let us pray for them; but let us also tremble for ourselves; and that our courage may not fail us, let us ponder those consoling words, which our Savior, at His last Supper, addressed to His eternal Father. He is speaking of His disciples, and He says: 'Father! I have given them Thy word, and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, as I also am not of the world. I pray not, that Thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldst keep them from evil'(John 17:14, 15.) ~ Gueranger, Liturgical Year, Tuesday in Quinquagesima Week

Day 18, GLORIOUS MYSTERIES, Tuesday February 17

First Glorious Mystery ~ The Resurrection of Our Lord, Jesus Christ

John, Chapter 14

[20] Amen, amen I say to you, that you shall lament and weep, but the world shall rejoice; and you shall be made sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.

[21] A woman, when she is in labour, hath sorrow, because her hour is come; but when she hath brought forth the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world. [22] So also you now indeed have sorrow; but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice; and your joy no man shall take from you. [23] And in that day you shall not ask me any thing. Amen, amen I say to you: if you ask the Father any thing in my name, he will give it you. [24] Hitherto you have not asked any thing in my name. Ask, and you shall receive; that your joy may be full. [25] These things I have spoken to you in proverbs. The hour cometh, when I will no more speak to you in proverbs, but will shew you plainly of the Father.

Day 17, SORROWFUL MYSTERIES, Monday February 16

Fifth Sorrowful Mystery ~ The Crucifixion and Death of Our Lord, Jesus Christ

As we cannot think of the Child at Bethlehem without His Mother, so neither will the Gospel let us picture to ourselves the Man on Calvary without His Mother also. Jesus and Mary were always one, but there was a peculiar union between them on Calvary. It is to this union we now come, Mary's fifth dolor, the Crucifixion. 

The Way of the Cross was ended, and the summit of the mount has been attained a little before the hour of noon. If tradition speaks truly, it was a memorial place even then, fit to be a world’s sanctuary, for it was said to be the site of Adam’s grave, the spot where he rested when the mercy of God accepted and closed his nine hundred years of heroic penance. Close by was the city of David, which was rather the city of God, the center of so much wonderful history, the object of so much pathetic Divine love. 

The scene which was now to be enacted there would uncrown the queenly city; but only to crown, with a far more glorious crown of light, and hope, and truth, and beauty, every city of the world where Christ Crucified should be preached and the Blessed Sacrament should dwell. It was but a little while, an hour perhaps, since the last dolor, so that only four hours have elapsed between the fourth dolor and the consummation of the fifth. Yet in sorrow and in sanctification, it is a longer epoch than the eighteen years of Nazareth. In nothing is it truer than in our sanctification, that with God a thousand years are but one day. These hours were filled with mysteries so Divine, with realities so thrilling, that the lapse of time is hardly an element in the agony of Mary’s soul. She comes to the Crucifixion a greater marvel of grace, a greater miracle of suffering, than when an hour ago she had met the Cross-laden Jesus at the corner of the street. 

Faber, Fr. Frederick William (2015-02-14). The Foot of the Cross with Mary: or The Sorrows of Mary (Kindle Locations 3964-3977). KIC. Kindle Edition.

This book is available here. I highly recommend it:  

The Foot of the Cross with Mary: or The Sorrows of Mary

Day Sixteen, JOYFUL MYSTERIES, Sunday February 15

Second Joyful Mystery, the Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth

Gospel of Luke, Chapter One

[11] And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing on the right side of the alter of incense. [12] And Zachary seeing him, was troubled, and fear fell upon him. [13] But the angel said to him: Fear not, Zachary, for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John: [14] And thou shalt have joy and gladness, and many shall rejoice in his nativity. [15] For he shall be great before the Lord; and shall drink no wine nor strong drink: and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother' s womb.

[16] And he shall convert many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. [17] And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias; that he may turn the hearts of the fathers unto the children, and the incredulous to the wisdom of the just, to prepare unto the Lord a perfect people.

…

[41] And it came to pass, that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the infant leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: [42] And she cried out with a loud voice, and said: Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. [43] And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? [44] For behold as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. [45] And blessed art thou that hast believed, because those things shall be accomplished that were spoken to thee by the Lord.

Day 15, GLORIOUS MYSTERIES, Saturday, February 14 ~ St. Valentine's Day

Fifth Glorious Mystery, The Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

He, the Son of God, reflects on His heavenly Mother the glory, the majesty and the dominion of His kingship, for, having been associated to the King of Martyrs in the ... work of human Redemption as Mother and cooperator, she remains forever associated to Him, with a practically unlimited power, in the distribution of the graces which flow from the Redemption. Jesus is King throughout all eternity by nature and by right of conquest: through Him, with Him, and subordinate to Him, Mary is Queen by grace, by divine relationship, by right of conquest, and by singular choice [of the Father]. ~ Pius XII, Radio Message to Fatima, May 13, 1946, Bendito seja (AAS 38. 266)

Day 14, SORROWFUL MYSTERIES, Friday February 13

Fifth Sorrowful Mystery ~ The Crucifixion

The love which all mothers have borne to their children is a shadow when compared with the love which Mary bears to any one of us. Truly she alone loves us more, he adds, than all the angels and saints united.

Moreover, our mother loves us much, because we have been commended to her as children by her beloved Jesus, when, before expiring, he said to her: "Woman, behold thy son;" signifying by the person of John, all men, as we have before remarked. These were the last words of her Son to her. The last remembrances left by beloved friends at the moment of their death are greatly valued, and the memory of them is never lost.

Moreover, we are children extremely dear to Mary, because we cost her so much suffering. Those children are much dearer to a mother whose lives she has preserved; we are those children, for whom, that we may have the life of grace, Mary suffered the pain of sacrificing the dear life of her Jesus; submitting, for our sake, to see him die before her eyes in cruel torments.

By this great offering of Mary we were then born to the life of divine grace. So, then, we are children very dear to her, because we were redeemed at such a cost of suffering. Accordingly, as we read of the love which the eternal Father has manifested for men by giving his own Son to death for us, "God so loved the world as to give his only-begotten Son. As St. Bonaventure remarks, it may be said of Mary also, that she so loved us as to give her only-begotten Son (From The Glories of Mary, St. Alphonsus de Liguori, pp. 54-55.)

Day 13, JOYFUL MYSTERIES, Thursday February 12

Fifth Joyful Mystery ~ Finding of Jesus in the Temple

And it came to pass, that, after three days, they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, hearing them, and asking them questions. And all that heard him were astonished at his wisdom and his answers. And seeing him, they wondered. 

Day Twelve, GLORIOUS MYSTERIES, Wednesday February 11, Feast of the Apparition of Our Lady of Lourdes

Our Lady of Lourdes: "I am the Immaculate Conception"

Less than four years after the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception by Bl. Pius IX, Our Lady proclaimed to the world through Bernadette Soubirous that she is the Immaculate  Conception.  It is she who will destroy all heresies. We must approach her with complete confidence. The world has all but forgotten God, the Revolution against Jesus Christ and His Church have gained victories that, to us believers, seem staggering and mind-numbing.  We are confident, however, in the promises of Heaven. By proclaiming herself the Immaculate Conception, she ratifies the words of Christ's Vicar on Earth, Pius IX, as he proclaimed the truth of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary:

We have, therefore, a very certain hope and complete confidence that the most Blessed Virgin will ensure by her most powerful patronage that all difficulties be removed and all errors dissipated, so that our Holy Mother the Catholic Church may flourish daily more and more throughout all the nations and countries, and may reign "from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth," and may enjoy genuine peace, tranquility and liberty. We are firm in our confidence that she will obtain pardon for the sinner, health for the sick, strength of heart for the weak, consolation for the afflicted, help for those in danger; that she will remove spiritual blindness from all who are in error, so that they may return to the path of truth and justice, and that here may be one flock and one shepherd. (Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus, 1854)

Day Eleven, SORROWFUL MYSTERIES, Tuesday February 10

Fourth Sorrowful Mystery, Jesus Carries His Cross

[21] From that time Jesus began to shew to his disciples, that he must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the ancients and scribes and chief priests, and be put to death, and the third day rise again. [22] And Peter taking him, began to rebuke him, saying: Lord, be it far from thee, this shall not be unto thee. [23] Who turning, said to Peter: Go behind me, Satan, thou art a scandal unto me: because thou savourest not the things that are of God, but the things that are of men. [24] Then Jesus said to his disciples: If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. [25] For he that will save his life, shall lose it: and he that shall lose his life for my sake, shall find it.

Day Ten, JOYFUL MYSTERIES, Monday February 9

Presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple

[25] And behold there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Ghost was in him. [26] And he had received an answer from the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Christ of the Lord. [27] And he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when his parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the law, [28] He also took him into his arms, and blessed God, and said: [29] Now thou dost dismiss thy servant, O Lord, according to thy word in peace; [30] Because my eyes have seen thy salvation, 

[31] Which thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples: [32] A light to the revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. [33] And his father and mother were wondering at those things which were spoken concerning him. [34] And Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary his mother: Behold this child is set for the fall, and for the resurrection of many in Israel, and for a sign which shall be contradicted; [35] And thy own soul a sword shall pierce, that, out of many hearts, thoughts may be revealed.

Day Nine, GLORIOUS MYSTERIES, Sunday February 8

The Descent of the Holy Spirit

"But the Paraclete, the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring all things to your mind, whatsoever I shall have said to you." -John 14:26

Day Eight, SORROWFUL MYSTERIES, Saturday February 7

First Saturday of the Month

Our Lady of Sorrows
~ taken from "The Glories of Mary" by St. Alphonsus de Liguori

Let us now imagine to ourselves the Divine Mother standing—near her Son expiring on the cross, and justly applying to herself the words of Jeremias, thus addressing us: "O all ye that pass by the way attend, and see if there be any sorrow like to my sorrow." O you who spend your lives upon earth, and pity me not, stop awhile to look at me, now that I behold this beloved Son dying before my eyes; and then see if, amongst all those who are afflicted and tormented, a sorrow is to be found like unto my sorrow. "No, O most suffering of all mothers," replies Saint Bonaventure, "no more bitter grief than thine can be found; for no son more dear than thine can be found." Ah, "there never was a more amiable son in the world than Jesus," says Richard of Saint Lawrence; "nor has there ever been a mother who more tenderly loved her son than Mary! But since there never has been in the world a love like unto Mary's love, how can any sorrow be found like unto Mary's sorrow?"

Prayer

O my afflicted Mother! Queen of martyrs and of sorrows, thou didst so bitterly weep over thy Son, who died for my salvation; but what will thy tears avail me if I am lost? By the merit, then, of thy sorrows, obtain me true contrition for my sins, and a real amendment of life, together with constant and tender compassion for the sufferings of Jesus and thy dolours. And if Jesus and thou, being so innocent, have suffered so much for love of me, obtain that at least I, who am deserving of hell, may suffer something for your love. "O Lady," will I say with St. Bonaventure, "if I have offended thee, in justice wound my heart; if I have served thee, I now ask wounds for my reward. It is shameful to me to see my Lord Jesus wounded, and thee wounded with Him, and myself without a wound." In fine, O my Mother, by the grief thou didst experience in seeing thy Son bow down His head and expire on the cross in the midst of so many torments, I beseech thee to obtain me a good death. Ah, cease not, O advocate of sinners, to assist my afflicted soul in the midst of the combats in which it will have to engage on its great passage from time to eternity. And as it is probable that I may then have lost my speech, and strength to invoke thy name and that of Jesus, who are all my hope, I do so now; I invoke thy Son and thee to succour me in that last moment; and I say, Jesus and Mary, to you I commend my soul. Amen.

Day Seven, JOYFUL MYSTERIES, Friday February 6

Third Joyful Mystery, the Nativity of Our Lord, Jesus Christ

[11] For, this day, is born to you a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord, in the city of David. [12] And this shall be a sign unto you. You shall find the infant wrapped in swaddling clothes, and laid in a manger. [13] And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army, praising God, and saying: [14] Glory to God in the highest; and on earth peace to men of good will. 

Day Six, GLORIOUS MYSTERIES, Thursday, February 5

Second Glorious Mystery, The Ascension of Jesus into Heaven

 [18] And Jesus coming, spoke to them, saying: All power is given to me in heaven and in earth. [19] Going therefore, teach ye all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. [20]Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world. (Matthew, Ch. 28)

Day Five, SORROWFUL MYSTERIES, Wednesday February 4

Isaiah Chapter 53

[3] Despised, and the most abject of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with infirmity: and his look was as it were hidden and despised, whereupon we esteemed him not. [4] Surely he hath borne our infirmities and carried our sorrows: and we have thought him as it were a leper, and as one struck by God and afflicted. [5] But he was wounded for our iniquities, he was bruised for our sins: the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by his bruises we are healed.

Day Four, JOYFUL MYSTERIES. Tuesday February 3

Second Joyful Mystery, Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary to St. Elizabeth

The Magnificat

My soul doth magnify the Lord:
And my spirit hath rejoiced
in God my Savior.
Because He hath regarded the lowliness
of His Handmaid:
for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
For He that is mighty hath done great things to me: and holy is His Name.
And His mercy is from generation
unto generations,
to them that fear Him.

He hath showed might with His arm:
He hath scattered the proud
in the conceit of their heart.
He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the lowly.
He hath filled the hungry with good things: and the rich He hath
sent empty away.
He hath received Israel His servant,
being mindful of His mercy;
As He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed forever.

-----Luke 1: 46-55

Day Three, GLORIOUS MYSTERIES, Monday February 2, Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The following meditation from the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary is from the Facebook page Antonio Cardinal Bacci: Meditations for Each Day. It is a most edifying page of daily meditations that I highly recommend.

2nd February

The Purification of Our Lady

1. Today the church commemorates the presentation of the Child Jesus in the temple and the purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary. These ceremonies were carried out in order to comply with a twofold Mosaic law. One part of this law referred to women who had become mothers; the other part was concerned with first-born male children. According to the first law a mother was officially regarded as impure for forty days after she had given birth to a child. When this period was over she had to present herself in the temple and make an offering of a lamb and a turtledove. If she were poor, she could substitute a second young pigeon for the lamb. (Cf. Lev. 12) The second law (Cf. Es. 13:2; 34:19; Num. 8:16; Lev. 27:26) commanded the mother to offer and consecrate to God her first-born son. She was to do this in memory of the miracle in Egypt when the Angel of God destroyed all the first born sons of the people of the country and spared those of the Israelites. In later times when the ritual worship of God became the special obligation of the tribe of Levi, the first-born sons of the other tribes had to be presented in the temple and bought back by an offering.

It is quite clear that Jesus and Mary were not bound by this twofold law. But they voluntarily subjected themselves to it in order to give an example of humility and obedience.

2. When we meditate on the subject of this feast, we find two outstanding examples to be imitated. The first is given by Mary. She was perfectly pure and holy, conceived without original sin and full of grace. She knew well that she had conceived her Divine Son by the power of the Holy Spirit. So she was not obliged to observe the humiliating law of purification. Nevertheless, she fulfilled it and gave God the offering of the poor as a lesson for us in humility and poverty. It is so easy for us to excuse ourselves from obeying the law and to make a display of our special privileges before others. Let us learn from Mary to love silent submission and detachment from worldly wealth and honours.

The other example is given us by Jesus. Being God, there was no need for Him to be bought back in the same way as the first-born sons of the Israelites. He was the Saviour Who had come to redeem the human race from sin and make them heirs to the kingdom of Heaven. But He said of Himself: “I have not come to destroy, but to fulfil.” (Mt. 5:17) A few days earlier He had submitted to the painful and humiliating rite of circumcision. Now He allows Himself to be offered in the temple as a victim of expiation for all mankind. These are glorious examples, before which our pride should bow in shame. We should be moved to offer ourselves to God lovingly and without reserve.

3. In the Gospel narrative of St. Luke (Cf. Luke 2:22-31) another character also appears. He intrudes upon the scene without any apparent right to be there, but he had been inspired by God. This is the old and saintly Simeon. He was not a priest. He was an upright man, careful in his observance of the law, who was waiting longingly for the coming of the promised Redeemer. The Holy Spirit dwelt in him and had revealed that he would not die until he had seen the Saviour. He was inspired to go to the Temple, where he saw Jesus. He took Him in his arms and was overcome by joy. Then he blessed God and declared that he was prepared to accept death now that he had been able to see and embrace the Saviour as God had promised. “Now thou dost dismiss thy servant, O Lord, according to thy word, in peace.” (Luke 2:29) It was a beautiful way to meet death, to be able to hold Jesus close to his heart and see his long life of hope and expectation rewarded by the loving embrace of his Lord. Let us try and live like Simeon, with our minds and hearts turned towards Jesus. Let us think chiefly of Him, love Him above everything else, and work only for Him. Then our death will be as beautiful as his. In fact we shall have been even more fortunate, for we can go further than receiving Jesus in our arms. We shall be able to receive Him into our hearts. He will be at hand to give us the supernatural strength which we shall need on our great journey into eternity.

Day Two, SORROWFUL MYSTERIES, Septuagesima Sunday, February 1