"An absolute and irrefutable sentiment in the Catholic Church, although it is not yet declared a dogma, is that the Mother of God is the Mediatrix of All Graces. During the first centuries of Christianity this truth was already known.The work of the Militia Immaculatae and of the Knight depends precisely upon the truth that the Immaculata is the Mediatrix of All Graces. If it were not so, our whole activity of the MI would be illogical. The Holy Spirit does not act except through the Immaculata, His spouse. Hence she is the Mediatrix of all the graces of the Holy Spirit.
If we were to look into the interior of our souls, we would see how much activity of the Immaculata there is and has been in our souls from the dawn of our lives to the present moment, and how much assurance of her benefits for the future. These are for the most part mysteries of each individual soul. It is enough to mention that every grace received each day, hour, and moment of our life is her grace, flowing from her motherly heart that loves us.
In her womb the soul must be regenerated according to the form of Jesus Christ. She must nourish the soul with the milk of her grace, caress and rear us in the manner in which she nourished and brought up Jesus. The soul must learn to know and to love Jesus at her knees. Let us draw love for Him from her heart. Yes, love Him with her heart, and through love become like Him.
It is incredible that anyone should approach Jesus without Mary. Why? For, omitting the very fact that she brought forth Jesus and raised Him for us, the approach to Jesus is without doubt a grace in itself. But all graces come to us through her in the way that Jesus himself came. Is it then permitted to converse directly with Jesus, if I do not think of Mary? It is not a question of feeling or thinking, but of the fact itself that it is so, even though the thought of her intercession would never cross your mind. If you really love Jesus, then above all you desire to do His will in all things, and receive graces in the way that He ordained. When you have such a disposition you can and ought freely turn to the Sacred Heart of Jesus being confident that you will obtain everything. If someone however were to tell himself, "I do not need any medication, I do not need the Blessed Mother, I myself am able to praise and honor the most Sacred Heart of God and ask for what I need"- would Jesus not cast him justly aside for such insufferable pride?"Through the Immaculata we can become great saints, and what is more, in an easy way. The Immaculata as the Mediatrix of All Graces, not only can and desires to give the grace of conversion and sanctity at certain times and places, but she wants to regenerate all souls, and moreover, our [Franciscan] Order.
What does conversion and sanctification through the Immaculata mean? It means that the grace needed for conversion and sanctification comes through the Immaculata. "I am able to do all things in him who strengthens me" through the Immaculata. And why through the Immaculata?
God in His infinite goodness, not wishing to punish us for our failings, pledged Himself by the Blessed Mother. The Holy Fathers say that God divided His Kingdom in two parts: He left justice for Himself, and to His Blessed Mother He gave mercy. Thus we have the right to add "through the Immaculata"
Our gifts become immaculate in the hands of the Immaculata. In Jesus Christ they become divine, infinite, worthy of the majesty of God the Father. What Mary gives to Jesus is unsoiled, and Jesus then renders it to God the Father in an infinite way. The honor, then, which we give to Jesus through Mary is unsoiled and infinite.
Our life on this earth is to be the prolongation of the life of Jesus through Mary. With the help of the Immaculata we are capable of everything.
The nearer we come to the Immaculata, the more we become holy. The Mother of God is the Mediatrix of All Graces, and holiness is the work of the grace of God. The devil knows that the nearer we are to the Immaculata, the more graces we receive from her hands. That is why he tries at all costs to draw the soul away from the Blessed Mother, even under the guise of devotion to Jesus. He knows that God established such a way through the Immaculata, and he likewise knows that when the soul departs from this way, it will not receive as many graces. Therefore whether we feel aversion, whether we are in darkness or in light, let us always advance by way of the Immaculata. It is very important matter that our life be lived through her, with her, and in her.
The Immaculata is the ladder upon which we climb to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Whoever removes this ladder will not reach the top and will crash to the ground. We strongly believe that she leads us to Jesus. Let whoever teaches otherwise be anathema! Let him be anathema!
If we wish to love Jesus with the heart of the Immaculata, receive Him with her heart, praise Him with her acts, make reparation and at the same time give thanks through her. Even if we were not to feel and understand this way, nevertheless it is so. Then with her heart, with her acts we praise Jesus, or actually, it is she who loves and praises Jesus through us. We are then her instruments."
Parents are going to have to be the educator of their children. I remember one procession on the Feast of Christ the King and that was at Assumption Church in Beaumont. This was a number of years ago and the priest is now deceased. These are lasting memories of God's love in our hearts. However, the procession with the monstrance became evident in a story from our son's homeschool curriculum which his home school,Kolbe Academy, encouraged us to read. The books were excellent and the stories will be forever in our hearts and minds. We also thank St. Maximilian Kolbe for his guidance and protection throughout our homeschool years. Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam.
ReplyDeleteKOLBE ACADEMY
NAPA, CALIFORNIA