FRI. 8TH: …AND A VIRGIN WAS BORN: MT. 1:1-16. 18-23. O CHRISTIAN soul, today the Holy Mother Church celebrates a great feast: the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of Christ who is God. Today the Church militants are blessed with an indomitable warrior, who is mightily armed to lead and defend everyone who bears the name Christian. Like St Joan of Ars, She leads the true Church of Her only Son with her invincible courage and inspiring ardor to victory, and unlike St Joan who was wounded and captured, She crushed the head of that ancient serpent, that ancient enemy who is moving about seeking the ruin of souls. The birth of Mary announces a great dawn of hope, for all sailing on the ocean of life amidst the shadows of death, for She is the Star of the sea. There is this confidence that Mary inspires in the lives of all who establish a sincere and fervent devotion to her through the power of the rosary and the scapular. The truth is that whenever a soul devoted to our blessed Mother picks up the blessed rosary, and kisses the cross making the sign of the cross to begin the prayer, our blessed Mother rushes to answer the cries of a baby calling upon the mother; and oh how beautiful if this soul saying this prayer is also imitating our blessed Mother in her purity and faithfulness. O Christian soul, listen attentively and you will hear the voice of this Baby crying, not in a manger, but in the blessed home of St Joachim and St Anne who had prayed for years to have this baby; and why is She crying? She is crying because Christians had hardened up their souls to listen to Her counsel: ‘do whatever my Son, Jesus, tells you to do’. Man finds true peace only when he listens to Her words: ‘do whatever Jesus tells you’. Oh, do you say the rosary calling upon Mary, as your Mother and yet, by your lifestyle and dressing reject being Her child. Let us all go confidently into the home of St Joachim, and in bowing down before the Queen, not to adore, but like the Yorubas, to revere and venerate. The magi laid at the feet of Christ, gold, frankincense and myrrh, but, Mary, the true Refuge of sinners, expects none of these from us sinners, we only give what we have, now let us open our boxes of sin and lay at Her feet our lies and hypocrisy, our fornication, masturbation and love for pornography and pride, greed and love for revenge. When this is done, oh Christian soul, we can now sincerely say to her: Happy birthday Mama mia!

QUOTE:
‘Prayer is powerful beyond limits when we turn to the Immaculata who is Queen even of God’s heart’ [St Maximilian Kolbe].

PRAYER:
This day Jesus, my prayer-Model, may I never judge the power or efficacy of my prayers based on immediate result. Help me to realize that heaven can save the prayers I said today for a miracle I may need badly next 30 years. Amen.