Building Habit of Prayer With Mary

MY daily reflection and prayer:
Sunday , May 1,  2016
Sixth Sunof Easter

Dear my friends,
Here is the Gospel for us today according to St. John 14:23-29

Jesus answered him, “If a man loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me does not keep my words; and the word which you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me. “These things I have spoken to you, while I am still with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all  that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. You heard me say to you, `I go away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I go to the Father; for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place, you may believe.”

This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ.

***

THE Gospel today brings us back to the night of the Last Supper. We take our places with the Twelve Apostles, gathered around the sacred table with Jesus Christ, Our Lord.

We listen to his words. He wants to leave his disciples and each of us peace. Jesus says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.”

Truly, he does not only want to give us peace but also to send us to bring peace to all human kind. His peace is lasting. It is interior peace of heart, which overflows into peace in families, communities, and in entire nations.

It is the peace that comes from knowing without any doubt whatsoever that whenever we offend him, he will always be ready to forgive us with his mercy. Only because he has given us this peace, by giving us faith in his love, mercy, and mission, he sends us to spread his peace also in our society. His peace isn’t vulnerable, because it’s based on his love, mercy, and mission, and those are everlasting. It is all we need through all the tragedies and the joys of life  as well as the failures and successes of life.

How can we bring peace to all human kind today? We can do it together with Mother Mary, the Mother of Mercy. With Mother Mary, we can witness merciful peace and peaceful mercy in our society by building the culture of spiritual life through the movement of the Perpetual Adoration of the Eucharist.

Richardo J. Cardinal Vidal when served as Archbishop of The Archdiocese of Cebu, Philippines, wrote, “This is the message of the Blessed Mother: The triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary will be the Eucharistic Reign of her Son. And the Eucharistic reign of Jesus through Perpetual Adoration in every parish will bring about New Era.”

For me, the movement of the Perpetual Adoration of the Eucharist in every parish is our real witness together with Mother of Mercy by building the culture of spiritual life in our society.

Again, Cardinal Vidal wrote, “Jesus will claim His Kingdom only when we proclaim Him King by giving Him the love and honor He truly deserves and desires through Perpetual Adoration. I cannot understand why anyone should question it. The only one who would not want Jesus to be adored day and night, and the only one who would do anything to prevent it, is Satan himself.”

With Mother Mary we are called to bring peace and mercy in our lives. Jesus Christ has given us his peace and mercy when he laid down his life on the cross and whenever we accept him in the Eucharist and we whorsip him in Perpetual Adoration. It is his peace and mercy for us. We then proclaim his peace and mercy together with Mother Mary sourced on the Eucharist and Adoration.

Mother Mary is both the Mother of the Blessed Sacrament and the Mother of Mercy. In his Bull of “Misericordiae Vultus” (MV), Pope Francis wrote, “My thoughts now turn to the Mother of Mercy. May the sweetness of her countenance watch over us in this Holy Year, so that all of us may rediscover the joy of God’s tenderness. No one has penetrated the profound mystery of the incarnation like Mary. Her entire life was patterned after the presence of mercy made flesh. The Mother of the Crucified and Risen One has entered the sanctuary of divine mercy because she participated intimately in the mystery of His love.” (MV 24).

Mother Mary is the Mother of Mercy for God has chosen her to be the Mother of his Son. Jesus Christ is the face of God’smercy. God’s mercy presents in this world for her obedience to God’s will so that “mercy has becomes living and visible in Jesus of Nazareth, reaching its culmination in him. …. Jesus of Nazareth, by his words, his actions, and his entire person reveals the mercy of God.” (MV 1)

Again, Pope Francis wrote, “Chosen to be the Mother of the Son of God, Mary, from the outset, was prepared by the love of God to be the Ark of the Covenant between God and man. She treasured divine mercy in her heart in perfect harmony with her Son Jesus. Her hymn of praise, sung at the threshold of the home of Elizabeth, was dedicated to the mercy of God which extends from “generation to generation” (Lk 1:50). We too were included in those prophetic words of the Virgin Mary. This will be a source of comfort and strength to us as we cross the threshold of the Holy Year to experience the fruits of divine mercy.

At the foot of the Cross, Mary, together with John, the disciple of love, witnessed the words of forgiveness spoken by Jesus. This supreme expression of mercy towards those who crucified him show us the point to which the mercy of God can reach. Mary attests that the mercy of the Son of God knows no bounds and extends to everyone, without exception.”(MV 24).

Let’s pray: Lord Jesus Christ, thank you for granting us your peace and mercy. May we bring faithfully your peace and mercy to others with Mother Mary. Mother Mary, the Mother of Mercy, we accept please our greeting and honor, Please, never tire of turning your merciful eyes upon us, the sinners, and make us worthy to contemplate the face of mercy, your Son Jesus.Pray for us, O Saint Mary, the Mother of Mercy, now and forever. Amen.

Kredit foto: Ilustrasi (Ist)