{"id":28267,"date":"2015-12-08T13:12:04","date_gmt":"2015-12-08T19:12:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/?p=21883"},"modified":"2017-04-17T21:58:34","modified_gmt":"2017-04-18T01:58:34","slug":"decompressing-from-evil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/decompressing-from-evil\/","title":{"rendered":"Decompressing From Evil","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"

THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for December 8th, 2015
Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception
of the Blessed Virgin Mary<\/p>\n

JUBILEE YEAR OF MERCY<\/p>\n

Liturgical texts here<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

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AS<\/b> I collapsed into my wife\u2019s arms this morning, I said, \u201cI just need to rest for a moment. Too much evil\u2026\u201d It\u2019s the first day of the Jubilee Year of Mercy\u2014but I\u2019m admittedly feeling a little physically drained and spiritually enervated. A lot\u2019s happening in the world, one event upon the other, just as the Lord explained it would be (see The Seven Seals of Revolution<\/i><\/a>). Still, keeping up to the demands of this writing apostolate means looking down the gaping mouth of darkness more than I desire. And I worry too much. Worry about my children; worry that I\u2019m not doing God\u2019s will; worry that I\u2019m not giving my readers the right spiritual food, in the right doses, or the right content. I know I shouldn\u2019t worry, I tell you not to, but I sometimes do. Just ask my spiritual director. Or my wife.<\/p>\n

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Prayer this morning was dry and difficult, and so I found myself wandering around the kitchen until my wife walked in.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat you need to anchor yourself,\u201d she began to say, her voice and arms equally tender, \u201cis to go watch a cow licking a salt block. Because that animal is perfectly in the will of God.\u201d Ah, wisdom has spoken.<\/p>\n

Yes, this is also part of that message the other day in The Counter-Revolution<\/a>,<\/i> where we meditated on beauty, and how beauty needs to begin the restoration of all things in Christ. My wife Lea has simply gotten to the very core of inner, and often outward beauty: that which is in perfect harmony with the will of God<\/i>. Whether it\u2019s watching the sun follow its set course beyond the horizon, or a flock of geese sailing south, or a cow licking her newborn calf, these are all beautiful, tangible \u201cwords\u201d from the \u201cgospel of creation.\u201d They are healing, because they constantly speak a word of love from the Creator\u2019s heart: I made the heavens and the earth for you. I set the universe in motion for you. I created all creatures for you. And I became part of this creation\u2014the Word made flesh\u2014for you. You, my tired little child, are the center of My thoughts, the center of My love, the impetus of My Mercy. Come to Me, and I will give you rest. I will lead you beside verdant pastures and streams of beauty…<\/i><\/p>\n

Today, however, we have the opportunity to reflect upon the pinnacle of God\u2019s creation, the Immaculate Conception of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary<\/i>. While the sun fades into night, and the flocks of geese disperse, and the cattle retire, the beauty and glory of this Woman clothed in the Sun never fades. She was created, not only to provide the Son of God with an immaculate tabernacle from which He would take His flesh, but to become a model and mold <\/i>for you and I.<\/p>\n

God created Our Blessed Mother as the pre-eminent sign of hope, that through the Redemption purchased by the Blood of her Son, we could hope for the same interior perfection and beauty as Mary. It is not a pipe dream: it has been purchased in Blood. It is a perfection of unity with the Divine Will<\/i>, once lost in the Garden of Eden, but now restored through Jesus Christ. So here is what I also hope to write about in the days ahead: that beyond this present darkness, beyond this seeming triumph of evil, lies a vindication of the Cross that will bring about a sanctity and perfection in the Church as the crown of all sanctities. As I wrote yesterday,<\/p>\n

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It is Jesus whom we proclaim, admonishing everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone perfect in Christ<\/em>. (cf. Col 1:28)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

God will perfect His Bride interiorly, <\/i>in so far as she can be perfected while still on earth, in order to prepare her for the Wedding Feast of the Lamb. This is part of the veiled mysteries of the end times, a veil which is now lifting… [1]<\/sup><\/a>cf.\u00a0<\/i>The Coming New and Divine Holiness<\/em><\/a><\/span><\/span>