How Can I Ever Thank You, Lord? Lenten Reflection

The following reflection came to me as I prayed the Rosary meditating on the Sorrowful mysteries on this Friday of the third week of Lent 2014.

As I began the Sorrowful Mysteries, I reflected on the loneliness our Lord must have experienced during his Agony in the Garden; the unimaginable stress he must have suffered in bearing the sins of all mankind, past, present, and future. And I thought, “How can I ever thank you, Lord? You did this for me!”

 

You, Creator of a universe so vast that its boundaries, if any, will most likely never be known to science, the one and only omniscient God who did not have to leave your Heavenly throne, be born in a filthy stable, and live, work, and experience human joy and suffering for thirty-three years to experience our humanity because You knew our human experiences from the beginning. “How can I ever thank you, Lord? You did this for me.”

You, Creator of a universe so vast that its boundaries, if they exist, will most likely never be known to science, did not have to suffer the unimaginable torture of being scourged, flesh being torn from your body, organs and bones exposed, soaked in blood, with every vicious blow, but you did for me.  “How can I ever thank you, Lord? You did this for me.”

 

You, Creator of a universe so vast that its boundaries, if they exist, will most likely never be known to science, did not have to be spat upon, beaten beyond recognition, mocked, and nailed naked to the rough wood of the cross in the presence of your Mother and close friends, but you did it for me. “How can I ever thank you, Lord? You did this for me.”

Lord, may I never take your eternal gift of love for me for granted. In times of weakness and temptation, may I always recall the price you paid for my sins. There is no greater love than yours! I am sorry for the pain I’ve caused you. Please forgive me and have mercy on me, a sinner!
 

Amen.

 



 

Christians Unite In Prayer and Fasting!

A co-worker and I were talking about the state of the world the today. We spoke of the many concerns over the world economy, genocide, hunger, homelessness, and the ever growing lack of respect for human life, which has dramatically increased ever since we legalized the torturing and murdering of babies while they are in what should be the safest place in the world, their mother’s wombs.

While we standby and watch all that is happening, the enemy sits back and laughs over the lack of Christian unity. He gloats over this sin and its devastating effects!

With God’s grace let’s mount up a defense and defeat this attack!

Now is the time for Christians to unite and become the one body in Christ that we were meant to be, to pray for the renewal of faith, and to ask God to use us as instruments through which others will come to know of the salvation Christ obtained for us through his passion, death, and resurrection!

During this Lenten season, let us become united in prayer and fasting for the many who need to hear God’s call to come home with repentant hearts, seeking to restore their relationship with Him!

We ask this through Christ our Lord! Amen!

On Devotion To Our Blessed Mother

True devotion to Mary leads us closer to Jesus

The following is a letter Pope John Paul II wrote on St. Louis de Montfort's “Treatise on True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin”

On December 8, 2003, Pope John Paul II wrote a letter to the Montfort religious family, on the occasion of the 160th Anniversary of the publication of the Treatise on True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, written by St. Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort. Here are large excerpts from this letter:

A work destined to become a classic of Marian spirituality was published 160 years ago. St. Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort wrote the Treatise on True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin at the beginning of the 1700s, but the manuscript remained practically unknown for more than a century. When, almost by chance, it was at last discovered in 1842 and published in 1843, the work was an instant success, proving extraordinarily effective in spreading the “true devotion” to the Most Holy Virgin.

I myself, in the years of my youth, found reading this book a great help. “There I found the answers to my questions”, for at one point I had feared that if my devotion to Mary “became too great, it might end up compromising the supremacy of the worship owed to Christ” (Gift and Mystery). Under the wise guidance of St. Louis Marie, I realized that if one lives the mystery of Mary in Christ, this risk does not exist. In fact, this Saint's Mariological thought “is rooted in the mystery of the Trinity and in the truth of the Incarnation of the Word of God” (ibid.).

Since she came into being, and especially in her most difficult moments, the Church has contemplated with special intensity an event of the Passion of Jesus Christ that St. John mentions: “Standing by the Cross of Jesus were His mother, and His mother's sister, Mary, the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing near, He said to His mother, ‘Woman, behold, Your son!’. Then He said to the disciple, ‘Behold, Your mother!’ And from that hour the disciple took Her to his own home” (Jn 19: 25-27). . . Read More @ http://www.michaeljournal.org/montfort.htm

You Raise Me Up!

The youtube video below is a beautiful version of the song, You Raise Me Up performed by a band called Selah.

This Lent, let us meditate on how God raises us up, especially in our darkest hours! Let's also reflect on how we can best serve as God's instruments in helping to raise up our brothers and sisters who are in need!

"And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these my brethren, even these least, ye did it unto me." (Matt 25:40)