“Being fervent and zealous to lead a holier life, pleasing to God, as we pray, ‘Hail Mary, Full of Grace, the Lord is with You!’”

(Based on the Feast of the Nativity of our Blessed Mamma Mary)

A priest went to visit a violent criminal who was condemned to death…
… hoping to prepare his soul to die well.

But the man wouldn’t even talk to him.

The priest pleaded and begged him to get reconciled with God…
… but the man’s heart was highly closed!

Finally, as a last resort, the priest entrusted himself to the Blessed Virgin Mary and then said to the
criminal, “Before I leave, will you grant me one little favour?”

The man, with an intention to get rid of the bothersome priest, said he would

“Let us then,” the priest responded, “Say one Hail Mary”

So, together they began to pray that simple prayer…
… “Hail Mary, full of Grace, the Lord is with You…”

But they hadn’t even got through the first sentence when the criminal turned pale…
… and his voice started to shake.

The priest to continued the Hail Mary…
… and as he finished tears started to flow from the man’s face, and he fell on his knees at the
priest’s feet.

As soon as the prayer was done, the man asked to make confession.

He then confessed his sins with a great sense of repentance!

The words, “Hail Mary, full of Grace, the Lord is with you…”
… had ignited the spark of repentance in him!

Yes, that’s the power of the intercession of Mother Mary!
She is the refuge of sinners

Her life of Faithfulness to God’s Grace, is an inspiration to all of us…
… to live an Immaculate and Holy Life!

Today we celebrate the Birthday of the Most Beloved, the Most Loving and the Most Lovable Mother of all – Blessed Mother Mary!

For our Reflection, we shall expand the beautiful name of MARY – in the following manner – to help in having a truer appreciation, a genuine devotion and a deeper love for Her:
MARY
Model
Apostle
Revolutionary
Yeast

1. Mary – is the Model for every Christian
   Her life becomes a wonderful example to every person who wishes to follow our Blessed Lord.

She remains the perfect Model of being attentive to the voice of God, being actively response to His call and being faithfully committed to every task entrusted to Her

2. Mary is the Apostle-par-excellence
   As an Apostle of Her Son and Saviour, She always remained in His presence – either physically or in Her thoughts or through Her constant longing for Him

She is the Beloved Apostle who had offered Her whole body, mind and soul to the glory of God and fulfilling His every plan

3. Mary is the Revolutionary who dared to do God’s Will
   Her Yes to the Plan of God, at the Annunciation and Her continual Yes to His Will, even in the moments of the most extreme suffering had the tenacity and the passion of a True Revolutionary.

It is hard to follow God’s Will, especially in some moments of crisis;
It requires extreme courage and unfailing commitment to be always walking in the path of God

She is the wonderful Revolutionary who dared to always seek and do God’s Will in Her life!

4. Mary is the Yeast who silently fulfilled Her role in the plan of salvation
   In the Bible, the words of Mother Mary are fairly minimal; yet Her few words and above all, Her dedicated life speaks volumes of Her role in the Salvific Plan!

She is the unseen Yeast through whom the mighty Grace of God wonderfully worked to raise up the Author of Salvation!

Blessed Mother Mary is our wonderful and beautiful mother, who deserves our greatest affection and love, in a way that draws us more and more towards Her Son, Jesus.

May we be encouraged by the words of St Maximilian Kolbe:
“Never be afraid of loving the Blessed Virgin too much. You can never love her more than Jesus did.”

Ven. Bishop Fulton J Sheen says:
“The less we think of Him, the less we think of Her.

The more we adore His divinity, the more we venerate Her motherhood.
The less we acknowledge His divinity, the less we have respect for Her!”

Our Blessed Mamma – the Beautiful Lady in blue and white – grace in holiness and immaculate in
love – holds our hands and tells us:
“My Little Child, I am with you!
I love you, and together, we shall walk in this exciting path of Holiness…
… towards My Son and Your Brother…
… towards Our Saviour Jesus!”

Yes, let us give heed to the loving call of our Blessed Mother
And be fervent and zealous to lead a holier life, pleasing to God…
… as we pray, “Hail Mary, Full of Grace, the Lord is with You…!”

Let this Feast help us to deepen our love for Her Beloved Son and our Saviour, Jesus!
… and our love for each other in the family, our communities and in the Church!

A wonderful Birthday to our Blessed Mother!

We Love you, Dearest Mamma!

Happy Feast day to all Her children!

God Bless! Live Jesus!

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Discovering the beauty of the Catholic Church through the Catechism
THE JOINT MISSION OF THE SON AND THE SPIRIT

Jesus is Christ, “anointed,” because the Spirit is His anointing, and everything that occurs from the Incarnation on derives from this fullness.
When Christ is finally glorified, He can, in turn, send the Spirit from His place with the Father to those who believe in Him: He communicates to them His glory, that is, the Holy Spirit Who glorifies Him.

From that time on, this joint mission will be manifested in the children adopted by the Father in the Body of His Son: the mission of the Spirit of adoption is to unite them to Christ and make them live in Him! (Cf. CCC # 690)