{"id":22932,"date":"2016-02-14T23:24:34","date_gmt":"2016-02-15T05:24:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/?p=22932"},"modified":"2017-04-27T19:18:47","modified_gmt":"2017-04-27T23:18:47","slug":"the-blessed-helpers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/the-blessed-helpers\/","title":{"rendered":"The Blessed Helpers","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"<p align=\"CENTER\">LENTEN RETREAT<br \/>\nDay 6<\/p>\n<p align=\"CENTER\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-22936\" src=\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/mary-mother-of-god-holding-sacred-heart-bible-rosary-2_Fotor.jpg\" alt=\"mary-mother-of-god-holding-sacred-heart-bible-rosary-2_Fotor\" width=\"467\" height=\"668\" \/><em><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Artist Unknown<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>AND <\/strong>so, the spiritual or &#8220;interior&#8221; life consists in co-operating with grace in order that Jesus&#8217;s divine life may live in and through me. So if Christianity consists in Jesus being formed in me, how will God make this possible? Here is a question for you: how did God make it possible <em>the first time<\/em> for Jesus to\u00a0be formed in the flesh? The answer is through the <em>Holy Spirit<\/em> and <em>Mary<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><!--more--><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><strong>That is the way Jesus is always conceived. That is the way He is reproduced in souls. He is always the fruit of heaven and earth. Two artisans must concur in the work that is at once God\u2019s masterpiece and humanity\u2019s supreme product: the Holy Spirit and the most holy Virgin Mary\u2026 for they are the only ones who can reproduce Christ. <\/strong><span style=\"font-size: 9pt;\">\u2014Archbishop Luis M. Martinez, <em>The Sanctifier, <\/em>p. 6<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Through the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation, in particular, we receive the Holy Spirit. As St. Paul wrote:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Courier New,Courier,mono; font-size: small;\">God&#8217;s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us. (Rom 5:5)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Secondly, Mary was given to each of us at the foot of the Cross by Jesus Himself:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Courier New,Courier,mono; font-size: small;\">\u201cWoman, behold, your son.\u201d Then he said to the disciple, \u201cBehold, your mother.\u201d And from that hour the disciple took her into his home. (John 19:26-27)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Working together, these two artisans can reproduce Jesus in us <em>to the degree to which we co-operate with them. <\/em>And how do we co-operate? By entering into a personal relationship with both. Yes, we often speak of a personal relationship with Jesus\u2014but what about the Third Person of the Holy Trinity? No, the Spirit is not a bird or some kind of &#8220;cosmic energy&#8221; or force, but a real divine <em>person<\/em>, someone who rejoices with us, <span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_22932_1('footnote_plugin_reference_22932_1_1');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_22932_1('footnote_plugin_reference_22932_1_1');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_22932_1_1\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">[1]<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_22932_1_1\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">cf. I Thess 1:6<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_22932_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_22932_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script> grieves with us, <span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_22932_1('footnote_plugin_reference_22932_1_2');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_22932_1('footnote_plugin_reference_22932_1_2');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_22932_1_2\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">[2]<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_22932_1_2\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">cf. Eph 4:30<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_22932_1_2').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_22932_1_2', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script> teaches us, <span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_22932_1('footnote_plugin_reference_22932_1_3');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_22932_1('footnote_plugin_reference_22932_1_3');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_22932_1_3\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">[3]<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_22932_1_3\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">cf. John 16:13<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_22932_1_3').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_22932_1_3', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script> helps us in our weakness, <span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_22932_1('footnote_plugin_reference_22932_1_4');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_22932_1('footnote_plugin_reference_22932_1_4');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_22932_1_4\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">[4]<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_22932_1_4\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">cf. Rom 8:26<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_22932_1_4').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_22932_1_4', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script> and fills us with the very love of God. <span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_22932_1('footnote_plugin_reference_22932_1_5');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_22932_1('footnote_plugin_reference_22932_1_5');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_22932_1_5\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">[5]<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_22932_1_5\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">cf. Rom 5:5<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_22932_1_5').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_22932_1_5', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script><\/p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\">And then there is the Blessed Mother, given to each of us as a spiritual mother. Here too, it is a matter of doing exactly what St. John did:<em> &#8220;from that hour the disciple took her into his home.&#8221; <\/em>When Jesus gives us His Mother, He is sad when we leave her outside the door of our hearts. For her motherhood was good enough for Him, so surely\u2014God knows\u2014it is good enough for us. And so, simply, invite Mary into your home, into your heart, like St. John.<\/p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Rather than go into the theology of Mary&#8217;s role in the Church\u2014something I have already done through numerous writings (see the category <a href=\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/category\/mary\/\">MARY<\/a> in the sidebar), I want to simply share with you what has happened to me since I invited this Mother into my life.<\/p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\">The act of giving oneself over to Mary&#8217;s motherhood in order that she and the Holy Spirit may teach, refine, and form Jesus within, is called &#8220;consecration&#8221;. It simply means dedicating oneself to Jesus <em>through <\/em>Mary, just the way Jesus dedicated His humanity to the Father through this same Woman. There are many ways to do this\u2014from a simple prayer&#8230; to entering into a 33 day personal &#8220;retreat&#8221; through the writings of St. Louis de Montfort, or more popular today,<em> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.myconsecration.org\/\">33 Days to Morning Glory<\/a><\/em> by Fr. Michael Gaitley (for a copy, go to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.myconsecration.org\/\">myconsecration.org<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Several years ago, I did the prayers and preparation, which were powerful and moving. As the day of consecration approached, I could sense how special this giving of myself to my spiritual Mother would be. As a token of my love and gratitude, I decided to give Our Lady a bundle of flowers.<\/p>\n<p>It was kind of a last minute thing\u2026 I was in a small town and had no where to go but the local drug store. They just happened to be selling some \u201cripe\u201d flowers in a plastic wrapping. \u201cSorry Mom\u2026 it\u2019s the best I can do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I went to the Church, and standing before a statue of Mary, I made my consecration to her. No fireworks. Just a simple prayer of commitment\u2026 perhaps like Mary\u2019s simple commitment to do the daily chores in that little house in Nazareth. I placed my imperfect bundle of flowers at her feet, and went home.<\/p>\n<p>I came back later that evening with my family for Mass. As we crowded into the pew, I glanced over to the statue to see my flowers. They were gone! I figured the janitor probably took one look at them and chucked \u2019em.<\/p>\n<p>But when I looked over at the statue of Jesus\u2026 <em>there were my flowers, perfectly arranged in a vase\u2014at the feet of Christ. <\/em>There was even baby\u2019s breath from heaven-knows-where garnishing the bouquet! Immediately, I was infused with an understanding:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><em>Mary takes us into her arms, as we are, poor, simple, and ragged\u2026 and presents us to Jesus clothed in her own mantle of holiness, saying, \u201cThis too is my child\u2026 receive him, Lord, for he is precious and beloved.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>She takes us to herself and makes us beautiful before God. Several years later, I read these words given by Our Lady to Sr. Lucia of Fatima<em>:<br \/>\n <\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><em><strong>[Jesus] wants to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. I promise salvation to those who embrace it, and those souls will be loved by God like flowers placed by me to adorn His throne.<\/strong> \u2014<\/em>This last line re: \u201cflowers\u201d appears in earlier accounts of Lucia\u2019s apparitions. Cf. <em>Fatima in Lucia\u2019s Own Words: Sister Lucia\u2019s Memoirs<\/em>, Louis Kondor, S.V.D., p, 187, Footnote 14. <\/span><em><br \/>\n <\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Since then, the more I fall in love with this Mother, the more I love Jesus. The more I draw close to her, the closer I draw to God. The more I surrender to her gentle direction, the more Jesus begins to live in me. No one\u00a0knows Jesus Christ the way Mary does, and so, no\u00a0one knows how to form us in the image of her Divine Son better\u00a0than her.<\/p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\">And so, to close today&#8217;s meditation, here is\u00a0a simple prayer of consecration to Mary that you can make right now, inviting her into your life\u00a0as your permanent Retreat Master.<\/p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><strong>I, (Name), a faithless sinner, <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><strong>renew and ratify today in thy hands, O Immaculate Mother, <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><strong>the vows of my Baptism;<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><strong>I renounce forever Satan, his pomp and works;<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><strong>and I give myself entirely to Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Wisdom,<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><strong>to carry my cross after Him all the days of my life,<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><strong>and to be more faithful t o Him than I have ever been before.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><strong>In the presence of all the heavenly court,<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><strong>I choose thee this day, for my Mother and Mistress<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><strong>I deliver and consecrate to thee, as thy slave,<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><strong>my body and soul, my goods, both interior and exterior,<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><strong>and even the value of all my good actions,<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><strong>past, present and future; leaving to thee the entire and full right<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><strong>of disposing\u00a0 of me, and all that belongs to me,<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><strong>without exception, according to thy good pleasure<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><strong>for the greater glory of God, in time and in eternity.\u00a0 Amen.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">SUMMARY AND SCRIPTURE<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><strong>Jesus is reproduced in us through the motherhood of Mary and the power of the Holy Spirit. For Jesus promised:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;\">The Advocate, the Holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name\u2014he will teach you everything&#8230; (John 14:25)<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" align=\"LEFT\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-22935\" src=\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/spirit.jpeg\" alt=\"spirit\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/store.markmallett.com\/donate\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/Donateovalbtnonbeige.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"112\" height=\"48\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;\">To join Mark in this Lenten Retreat,<em><br \/>\n <\/em>click on the banner below to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/subscribe\/\">subscribe<\/a>. <br \/>\n Your email will not be shared with anyone.<\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/subscribe\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-22766\" src=\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/mark-rosary-Main-banner.jpg\" alt=\"mark-rosary Main banner\" width=\"408\" height=\"270\" \/><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>NOTE<\/strong>: <em>Many subscribers have recently reported that they are not receiving emails any longer. 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I Thess 1:6<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_22932_1_2\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_22932_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_22932_1_2');\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_plugin_link\" ><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#8593;<\/span>2<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">cf. Eph 4:30<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_22932_1_3\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_22932_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_22932_1_3');\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_plugin_link\" ><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#8593;<\/span>3<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">cf. 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So if Christianity consists in Jesus being formed in me, how will God make this possible? Here is a question for you: how did [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,1280],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-daily-journal","category-lent-retreat"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Blessed Helpers - The Now Word<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/the-blessed-helpers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Blessed Helpers - The Now Word\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"LENTEN RETREAT Day 6 Artist Unknown \u00a0 AND so, the spiritual or &#8220;interior&#8221; life consists in co-operating with grace in order that Jesus&#8217;s divine life may live in and through me. So if Christianity consists in Jesus being formed in me, how will God make this possible? 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