Vol.6 No.1 DoM E Message
Spiritual Gift of the Week
Our dear Lord, give us grace, that the struggle for mercy will go on unceasingly in our hearts.
“Mary is Mother of Mercy because her Son, Jesus Christ,
was sent by the Father as the revelation of God’s mercy.” (Veritatis splendor).
Spiritual Instruction of the Week
Let us pray for mercy as Mary prayed for mercy—that is—with joy, humility and purity.
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Dear Beautiful Daughters of Mary,
Today is the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. She is our patron and protectress. She is our Mother. In today’s Invitatory Psalm we pray:
“Let us celebrate the birth of the virgin Mary—let us adore her son, Christ the Lord.”
May this be our Psalm prayer throughout the day. May our thoughts and words be elevated, as we observe this beautiful feast. And when this day ends, after turning our hearts to Mary and her son, our Savior and Lord, let us pray a closing prayer of commemoration:
“Lord God, the day of our salvation dawned when the Blessed virgin gave birth to your Son.
As we celebrate her own nativity, grant us your grace and your peace.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.”
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The canonization of Saint Mother Teresa is an important moment for us as women of faith for many reasons. Her influence has touched all of us. We are deeply grateful to Lindsay Nagy for articulating this for us on Tuesday. Please reflect upon the following reflection offered by LIndsay:
The media outlets run endless cycles of stories about the wickedness of humanity. It seems there is no end to the ways in which humans can use and abuse one another. Mother Teresa of Calcutta lived her Catholic faith to show the world an alternative way. She lived to show us Christ’s way. And while Christ’s way doesn’t typically get celebrated in this country and in our media outlets, for a little while, and on a few networks, it did. Teresa’s life reminds us what true beauty and true love is, divine love and divine mercy in action and for that I am so grateful and so hopeful.
At the end of his homily, during the Rite of Canonization Mass on Sunday, Pope Francis said, “Mother Teresa, in all aspects of her life, was a generous dispenser of divine mercy, making herself available for everyone through her welcome and defense of human life, those unborn and those abandoned and discarded. She was committed to defending life, ceaselessly proclaiming that the “unborn are the weakest and smallest, the most vulnerable.” She bowed down before those who were spent, left to die on the side of the road, seeing in them their God-given dignity; she made her voice heard before the powers of this world, so that they might recognize their guilt for the crime of poverty they created. For Mother Teresa, mercy was the salt which gave flavor to her work, it was the light which shone in the darkness of the many who no longer had tears to shed for their poverty and suffering.”
“Today I pass on this emblematic figure of womanhood and of consecrated life to the whole world of volunteers: may she be our model of holiness! May this tireless worker of mercy help us to increasingly understand that our only criterion for action is gratuitous love, free from every ideology and all obligations, offered freely to everyone without distinction of language, culture, race or religion. Mother Teresa loved to say, “Perhaps I don’t speak their language, but I can smile”. Let us carry her smile in our hearts and give it to those whom we meet along our journey, especially those who suffer. In this way, we will open up opportunities of joy and hope for our many brothers and sisters who are discouraged and who stand in need of understanding and tenderness. “
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Saturday is a special day. Those who are planning to attend our Day of Prayer may look forward to many surprising graces and gifts. It is a time dedicated to silence and prayerful reflection. We are for sure accustomed to prayer and reflection. It is the silence however that sometimes causes difficulty. And yet, silence is important. One thought, offered to us by Saint Mother Teresa, as we prepare for this important few hours:
“In the silence of the heart God speaks.
If you face God in prayer and silence, God will speak to you…
Souls of prayer are souls of great silence.”
Veni, Spirito Santo, la misericordia di Dio ci salva—
Come Holy Spirit, it is by God’s mercy that we are saved,
Deb
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