December 4, 2018
St. John Damascene
Dear Family of Mary!
“Dear children! When you come to me, as to a mother, with a pure and open heart, know that I am listening to you, encouraging you, consoling you and, above all, interceding for you with my Son. I know that you desire to have a strong faith and to express it in the right way. What my Son asks of you is to have a sincere, strong and deep faith – then every way in which you express it is proper…” (December 2, 2018)
We are approaching the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. We have 4 days to prepare. I think that the opening of Our Lady’s December 2 message is a perfect preparation for this earthquake of a feast day!
Why do I call it an earthquake? Well, this event changed the world forever. God looked forward to Jesus’ redemptive death, looking forward as only God can look forward, and He decided to take an advance on it and use the grace to be received then to form and protect the perfect Woman who would be Jesus’ Mother. The Immaculate Conception happened because Jesus died! Hard to wrap our puny minds around. But it did! And Mary was conceived without sin, without the brokenness that all other humans bear from conception. She was spared in order to bring Christ into the world to save all of us.
This was an earthquake that no one heard or felt or saw. But it was an event that changed everything!
Anyway, we approach this feast now with our broken and struggling hearts, longing to know Our Lady better, longing to be touched by her, needing to be mothered by her. And she tells us in the message that she is listening to us, encouraging us, consoling us and above all interceding for us to Jesus. She is longing to mother us!! Our hearts are searching for her, and her Immaculate Heart is searching for us. She wants us!!!
She continues to tell us that our desire to have faith is good, and that if we are sincere, and our desire is strong, we will find that our faith is strong! There is no question, if we seek we will find!
So I propose that we take the next four days and pray a beautiful prayer to Our Lady, one for each day, and let the prayer lead us to our Mother who is waiting for us, longing to mother us, hoping that we will come to her and give her our hearts. Let’s seek her with all our strength, and know that she will be found.
Here is the first prayer. We might consider praying the prayer often throughout the day, slowly and with silence in our hearts!
Glorious Virgin Mary, I long to love your Son, Jesus, the way he deserves to be loved-with the love of your Immaculate Heart.
Unite me to your Immaculate Heart so that I will be open to receive your Son with the same dispositions by which you received him.
Your Immaculate Heart is supremely gentle, steadfast, watchful-completely given over to the will of God.
Lead me out of the darkness of ignorance, free me from all selfishness and willful self-assertion, and train me in conformity with your Immaculate Heart.
Let me always trust your Immaculate Heart as a true source of grace and mercy.
In sharing in the Passion of your Son, your Immaculate Heart was pierced.
May your immaculate love embrace me in moments of suffering.
I beg to make reparation for all offenses against your Immaculate Heart as I offer you my intentions (mention your request). Amen.
In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!
Cathy Nolan
©Mary TV 2018
