"The Hail Marys that you pray with faith and love are like golden arrows that go straight to the heart of Jesus...Pray much and recite the Rosary for the conversion of sinners, of unbelievers and of all Christians.”

--Our Lady of Revelation, Apparition to Bruno Cornacchiola at Tre Fontane

Amazing Eucharistic considerations:

1) Jesus is physically present in his body, blood, bones. His soul is there. His divinity is there.
2) St. John Vianney, and others, teach that a Catholic receiving Holy Communion is transformed into the flesh and blood and bone of Jesus--yes, your flesh and blood are transformed into his. Would you see this change under a microscope? No, but it is in fact more real than the merely biological. Your body now and your glorified body in Heaven will be flesh of his flesh.
3) Jesus' flesh, bones, blood is all from Mary, only Mary. If his flesh and bones and blood is yours now...you too are one in flesh with Mary. You can say--and should often say to yourself--you are the very flesh of Mary. That's how close you are you and she are...
4)..and not only that, your soul and Jesus' are united...and Jesus' soul and Mary's soul are utterly united. Which means your soul and Mary's are united as one too.
5) Jesus' Heart and yours become one...Jesus' Heart and Mary's are, yes, one...so then your heart becomes one with Mary's Heart.

All of this happens in Holy Communion. Three hearts become one, three souls become one, and as you are made into Christ you and Mary are one, and all of one flesh--Mary's: Living Jesus' life is not merely imitation--it is an ontological change, a change in your very being--you become Christ, so much so that as you and Jesus are but one Christ, you and Mary are one, you really live Jesus' life--a true child of the Father and of Mary.

Knowing this...what difference does it make in our lives?

And priests and deacons--why do I never hear any of this in homilies?

Does this have to do with consoling Mary? Yes! She is simply overflowing with joy when you are transformed into Christ, and Christ is consoled too because he is able to love and console her through you. You cannot make them happier than by a worthily received (i.e. one is not conscious of mortal sin) Holy Communion! And you cannot be closer to them in this life. Astonishing. 

If people knew the truth of this, that fairytales are based on a real, divine fairytale...they would be knocking the doors down to become Catholic.

Feast of St. Joseph

Consoling Mary at the Cross

An amazing thing to consider, during Lent and throughout the year. This is from an amazing article on the knowledge of Mary and the Sacrifice of Jesus by Fr. Bertrand de Margerie:

"Mary also knew, through her infused knowledge, our effective reparations toward her and was consoled by them."

Yes, you read that right--Mary at the Cross saw the reparations, prayers and penances that we offer her now and she is not only consoled now by these, she was consoled at the foot of the Cross by them! You are consoling Mary at the foot of the Cross when you console her now. Ponder that for a while...you console her at the Cross.

And the author goes on to write this:

"These spiritual consequences encourage us to become ever more the consolers of Mary Coredemptrix, that is, to let Christ crucified console her through us."

That brings us to another point:

It's really a false notion, the way it's phrased, to say when we go to Mary she betrays us to Christ--that would mean her charming us to her is a lie, a deceit--rather, she charms us to her in all truth--when we come to her she transforms us into Christ, but then transformed into Christ who do we love more than anyone after God? Mary. In whose arms do we find ourselves, more and more the more we are transformed into Christ? Mary's. So by transforming us into Christ, not only do we become More Christ's and more Christ, we become more and more Mary's at the same time. She wants us to be one with Christ and to be be one with her. Kolbe said this too--we don't go from one to the other (Mary to Jesus or Jesus to Mary), we go "with one to the other."

The more you are one with Jesus, the more you love and are in union with Mary, and when you console her now (a desire and ability Jesus gives to a person through the Holy Spirit), you console her at the Cross--not in imagination, in actual fact.

#consolemary #consolatiomariae

"How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord!" She is the "world's first love," said Fulton Sheen. And our love, like hers, is shown in sacrifice...what can we give up to console her, to save souls with her, that's the question, and to become more like Christ? She doesn't want chocolate on Valentine's Day...she wants hearts!

"Shall I weep in vain? Assuage the sorrow of my Heart over the ingratitude of sinful men by the love and chasteness of your lives. Will you do this for me, beloved children -- or will you allow your Mother to weep in vain?" 

-Our Lady of America

"So numerous are the souls which the justice of God condemns for sins committed against Me, that I come to ask for reparation. Sacrifice yourself for this intention and pray." 

Mary to Sr. Lucia, Tuy, 1929

“Everywhere in the world where my messages have been given, it would seem that one preached in the cemeteries. The response which the Lord expected was not there..."

“The Holy Rosary is the weapon which the enemy fears. It is also the refuge of those who look for relief for the sufferings, and it is the door to enter into my heart."

Interestingly, Mary also here says, "The prince of evil spills today his poison with all the forces, because he sees that he is concluding his sad reign. He has little left, his end is near" and "The coming of the Savior is imminent...”

--From approved apparitions at San Nicolas, Argentia.

(http://www.ncregister.com/blog/joseph-pronechen/its-official-major-apparitions-of-mary-are-approved)

Other approved apparitions have also mentioned the Jesus' return. We don't know when, but that approved apparitions speak of this is obviously of tremendous importance. How much time is left to help Mary save souls? We don't know, but for whoever is going to die today, their time is about up, and the time to help save them by prayer and sacrifice is now, not later.

Jesus Longs for Us to Console Mary

Jesus desires that each person console Mary. And of course he would! Do we not share his divine life? Do we not have his Heart as our own? We, too, should long to console Mary, who is the Beloved of each soul alive with Jesus' life...

"On December 10th, 1925, the most holy Virgin appeared to her, and by her side, elevated on a luminous cloud, was a child. The most holy Virgin rested her hand on her shoulder, and as she did so, she showed her a heart encircled by thorns, which she was holding in her other hand. At the same time, the Child said:

'Have compassion on the Heart of your most Holy Mother, covered with thorns, with which ungrateful men pierce it at every moment, and there is no one to make an act of reparation to remove them.'”

From Fatima in Lucia’s own words, Vol. I, ed. by Fr. Louis Kondor, SVD., Postulation Centre, Fatima, Portugal, 9th edition, 1995, p. 231.

Insignia Blessed

Yesterday, the day after the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary-Our Lady of Victory, but still the weekend of the feast, our pastor at the Dominican parish we attend blessed the Consolatio Mariae insignia, specifically the one on the first item to bear the insignia. It was a beautiful blessing that the insignia and the association would lead many hearts to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. 

Interestingly, having the insignia blessed at this time was not deliberate. I had been looking to have it blessed as soon as the shirt came in the mail, but it wasn't working out during the week (I go to daily Mass at a different and closer parish). I figured it would be best anyway to ask our pastor to bless it, since he knows about and has encouraged the association. In fact I asked, earlier in the week, my Guardian Angel to arrange, somehow, for the pastor specifically to bless the insignia on the coming Sunday. I wasn't sure I would see him on Sunday, and three other priests were at the Mass we went to, the pastor no where in sight. They say different Masses at different times of course. After Mass I saw no priests at all whom I could ask to bless the insignia. But I figured I would try outside in the front of the church, figuring if there was one there it would be the priest who said Mass. There to my wondering eyes was the pastor, only the pastor, no idea why he was the only one there and why the priest who was saying Mass was not there, as any of them usually would be. Providential timing! He had just been given a rum cake by some friends for he and the friars, and the friends having left, it was only Father and I there. And thus the blessing came about on the weekend of the Rosary by our pastor. 

May all hearts be saved from the dragon, the ancient serpent, who prowls about trying to murder souls, and may they be brought to Mary's Heart there to share Jesus' own union with her.

"The thought of the loss of so many souls is the cause of my sadness."

-Our Lady in her apparitions at Akita, Japan

We should keep in mind that usually people die as they live. Most people today are far from God. About 6,300 people die each hour. The likelihood that some of those souls end up in Hell is really a certainty, though the numbers are a guess. But if it was "many souls" in 1917, it is surely not less worse now. 

This is a tragic concurrence of facts, but knowing important facts is not a doom and gloom thing. It's also deadly to run into a highway, and one should tell one's kids not to go there, and if there is a fire and people are trapped, it is not doom and gloom to say there are people in the house on fire and we must run in to save them if possible or they will die. This is an act of charity. 

So it is with so many souls in danger of going to Hell. Their home, so to speak, for many, is on fire. But we can rush in with Mary to save at least some of them. Pray the Rosary, make sacrifices, however small, strive for sanctity, and console Mary, which also consoles her little Son. 

Photos--not very good, but the best I could get--of the very first Consolatio Mariae vesture: dark blue (photo does not bring this out well at all) sweatshirt with insignia of Consolatio Mariae, embroidered. After weeks of preparation, it came in the mail yesterday. If you are are member of this private association, I encourage you to get something with the logo to wear as well; sweatshirt, jacket, polo shirt. This is a witness to the world, admittedly a small one, of the Catholic Faith. It is also a sweet reminder to the one wearing it of Mary's joy at our helping her to save souls by prayer and sacrifices. This truly does save souls--the devil is very good at trying to convince us it is useless or a waste of time or is imagination. Don't listen to thoughts like that, it's just the evil spirit.

In regard to printed or embroidered clothing, again, there are many venders out there. I went with Queensboro. Some of the best people in business I have worked with. They do have a $50 minimum order, but you could get two shirts, or various other things they have, such as coffee mugs etc, and have the emblem put on anything. The sweatshirt itself that I got, with embroidery, only cost me 26.00 and change.