The Divine Maternity of Our Lady

by The Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary October 11, 2000

This glorious feast was established as a commemoration of the Third Ecumenical Council of the Church at Ephesus, in 431. It was set up for our own time in 1931 by Pope Pius XI, fifteen hundred years after the Council of Ephesus. The Catholic Church infallibly declares and defines the Divine Maternity of Our Lady. The Catholic Church tells us that in order to be saved we must believe with our full hearts that the same Person Who is the Son of God the Eternal Father in His Divine nature is also the Child of Mary the Virgin in His human nature. Anyone who refuses or hesitates to call Mary the Mother of God will never be saved. Saint Elizabeth, the cousin of Our Lady, cried out for joy in her doorway when Mary came to visit her after the Annunciation and said, “And whence is this to me that the Mother of my Lord should come to me!” (Luke 1:43). Saint Paul clearly tells us in the Epistle to the Galatians, Chapter 4, verse 4, “God sent His Son born of a woman.” The dignity of the Mother of God transcends anything that can ever be imagined. It is God giving Himself in fullness to a creature in relationship and in love. Now that God has become man, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity through all eternity must call God the Father His Father and Mary the Virgin His Mother. What God the Father is to the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity by nature, Mary the Virgin is to Him by grace. At the command of Mary, God must now obey. The two loveliest prayers a Catholic can say are the “Our Father, Who art in Heaven”, and the “Hail Mary, full of grace”. It was the Council of Ephesus which gave us the end of the Hail Mary – “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners.” And through Catholic love and reverence there was added the phrase, “now and at the hour of our death, Amen.”

Divine Maternity of Mary

John the Baptist was a contemporary of Christ who was known for evangelization and his baptizing of Jesus Christ.

John the Baptist was born through the intercession of God to Zachariah and Elizabeth, who was otherwise too old to bear children. According to scriptures, the Angel Gabriel visited Elizabeth and Zachariah to tell them they would have a son and that they should name him John. Zachariah was skeptical and for this he was rendered mute until the time his son was born and named John, in fulfillment of God’s will.

When Elizabeth was pregnant with John, she was visited by Mary, and John leapt in her womb. This revealed to Elizabeth that the child Mary carried was to be the Son of God.

John began public ministry around 30 AD, and was known for attracting large crowds across the province of Judaea and around the Jordan River. When Jesus came to him to be baptized, John recognized him and said, “It is I who need baptism from you.”

Jesus told John to baptize Him anyway, which he did, whereupon the heavens opened, and the Spirit of God was seen like a dove. The voice of God spoke, saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

John instructed his followers to turn to Christ, calling Him the “Lamb of God” and these people were among the first Christians.

Following his baptism of Christ, John’s popularity grew so much that he alarmed King Herod. Herod ordered him arrested and imprisoned.

John spoke with Herod on several occasions and condemned his marriage to his half-brother’s wife.

This condemnation would be his downfall as King Herod promised to grant a wish to his daughter. In revenge for John the Baptist’s condemnation of her mother’s scandalous marriage to Herod, she asked for John’s head. King Herod reluctantly obliged. John the Baptist died sometime between 33 and 36 AD.

John the Baptist’s feast day is June 24, and the anniversary of his death is August 29 and is sometimes celebrated with a second feast. John the Baptist is the patron saint of Jordan, Puerto Rico, French Canada and many other places.

The Queen of Heaven in the Kingdom of the Divine Will.

In the Ardor of Her Love, feeling Herself the Mother of Jesus, Mary sets out in search for Hearts to be Sanctified.

Visit to St. Elisabeth; Sanctification of John.

The soul to her Celestial Mother:

Celestial Mama, your poor child has extreme need of You! Since You are my Mother and the Mother of Jesus, I feel the right to be near You, to place myself at your side, and to follow your steps in order to model mine. Holy Mama, give me your hand, and take me with You, that I may learn to behave well in the different actions of my life.

Lesson of the Queen of Heaven:

Blessed child, how sweet is your company to Me! In seeing that you want to follow Me to imitate Me, I feel refreshment for the flames of love which devour Me. Oh, yes, having you near Me, I will be able to teach you more easily how to live of Divine Will. While you follow Me, listen to Me.

As I became Mother of Jesus and your Mother, my seas of love doubled, and unable to contain them all, I felt the need to pour them out, and to be the first bearer of Jesus to creatures, even at the cost of great sacrifices. But, what am I saying – sacrifices? When one really loves, sacrifices and pains are refreshments; they are reliefs and outpourings of the love one possesses. Oh, my child, if you do not feel the good of sacrifice, if you do not feel how it brings the most intimate joys, it is a sign that the Divine Love does not fill all your soul, and therefore that the Divine Will does not reign as Queen in you. It alone gives such strength to the soul as to render her invincible and capable of bearing any pain.

Place your hand upon your heart, and observe how many voids of love there may be in it. Reflect: that secret self-esteem, your becoming disturbed at every slightest adversity, those little attachments you feel to things and to people, that tiredness in good, that bother caused in you by that which is not to your liking, are equivalent to as many voids of love within your heart; voids which, like little fevers, deprive you of the strength and of the desire to be filled with Divine Will. Oh, how you too will feel the refreshing and conquering virtue in your sacrifices, if you fill these voids with love!

My child, give Me your hand now, and follow Me, as I continue to give you my lessons.

So I departed from Nazareth, accompanied by Saint Joseph, facing a long journey, and crossing mountains to go visit Elisabeth in Judea, who, in her advanced age, had miraculously become a mother.

I went to her, not to make a simple visit, but because I burned with the desire to bring her Jesus. The fullness of grace, of love and of light that I felt within Me, pushed Me to bring, to multiply – to increase a hundredfold the life of my Son in creatures.

Yes, my child, the love of Mother which I had for all men, and for you in particular, was so great that I felt the extreme need to give my dear Jesus to everyone, that all might possess Him and love Him. The right of Mother, given to Me by the Fiat, enriched Me with such power as to multiply Jesus as many times as there are creatures who want to receive Him. This was the greatest miracle I could perform: to have Jesus ready to give to whomever desired Him. How happy I felt!

How I wish that you too, my child, in approaching and visiting people, would always be the bearer of Jesus, capable of making Him known, and yearning to make Him loved.

After many days of travel, finally I arrived in Judea, and I hastened to the house of Elisabeth. She came toward Me in feast. At the greeting I gave her, marvelous phenomena occurred. My little Jesus exulted in my womb, and fixing little John in the womb of his mother with the rays of His Divinity, He sanctified him, gave him the use of reason, and made known to him that He was the Son of God. And John leaped so vigorously with love and with joy that Elisabeth was shaken. Touched by the light of the Divinity of my Son, she too recognized that I had become the Mother of God; and in the emphasis of her love, trembling with gratitude, she exclaimed: “Whence comes to me so much honor, that the Mother of my Lord would come to me?”

I did not deny the highest mystery; rather, I humbly confirmed it. Praising God with the song of the Magnificat – sublime canticle, through which the Church continuously honors Me – I announced that the Lord had done great things in Me, His servant, and that because of this, all peoples would call Me blessed.

My child, I felt devoured with the desire to pour out the flames of love that consumed Me, and to reveal my secret to Elisabeth, who also longed for the Messiah to come upon earth. A secret is a need of the heart which is revealed, irresistibly, to persons who are capable of understanding each other.

Who can ever tell you how much good my visit brought to Elisabeth, to John, and to their whole household? Everyone was sanctified, filled with gladness, felt unusual joys, and comprehended things unheard-of. John, in particular, received all the graces which were necessary for him, to prepare himself to be the Precursor of my Son.

Dearest child, the Divine Will does great and unheard-of things wherever It reigns. If I worked many prodigies, it was because It had Its royal place in Me. If you let the Divine Will reign in your soul, you too will become the bearer of Jesus to the creatures – you too will feel the irresistible need to give Him to all!

The soul:

Holy Mama, how I thank You for your beautiful lessons! I feel that they have such power over me as to make me yearn continuously to live in the Divine Will. But so that I may obtain this grace – come, descend into my soul together with Jesus; renew in me the visit you made to St. Elisabeth and the prodigies You worked for her. Ah, yes, my Mama, bring me Jesus – sanctify me. With Jesus I will be able to do His Most Holy Will.

Little Sacrifice:

To honor Me, you will recite the Magnificat three times, in thanksgiving for the visit I made to St. Elisabeth.

Ejaculatory Prayer:

Holy Mama, visit my soul, and prepare in it a worthy dwelling for the Divine Will.

6/24 It was officially announced that the two Theological Censors appointed by the Holy See to review the Writings of the Servant of God Luisa Piccarreata had given their approval.

FEAST DAY OF THE NAME SAINT OF LUISA PICCARERETA and POPE EMERITIS JOSEPH ALOYSIUS RATZINGER

St. Aloysius was born in Castiglione, Italy. The first words St. Aloysius spoke were the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary. He was destined for the military by his father (who was in service to Philip II), but by the age of 9 Aloysius had decided on a religious life, and made a vow of perpetual virginity. To safeguard himself from possible temptation, he would keep his eyes persistently downcast in the presence of women. St. Charles Borromeo gave him his first Holy Communion. A kidney disease prevented St. Aloysius from a full social life for a while, so he spent his time in prayer and reading the lives of the saints. Although he was appointed a page in Spain, St. Aloysius kept up his many devotions and austerities, and was quite resolved to become a Jesuit. His family eventually moved back to Italy, where he taught catechism to the poor. When he was 18, he joined the Jesuits, after finally breaking down his father, who had refused his entrance into the order. He served in a hospital during the plague of 1587 in Milan, and died from it at the age of 23, after receiving the last rites from St. Robert Bellarmine. The last word he spoke was the Holy Name of Jesus. St. Robert wrote the Life of St. Aloysius. VOLUME 2  June 20, 1899  The love with which Saint Aloysius operated.  It continues always in the same way. This morning, it seems that Jesus wanted to cheer me a little bit, after I had gone in search for Him for some time. I saw a child from afar, like lightning that falls down from heaven; I ran up to him, and as I arrived, I took him in my arms. A doubt came to me that it might not be Jesus, so I said to him: ‘My dear little treasure, tell me, who are you?’ And He: “I am your dear and beloved Jesus.” And I to Him: ‘My beautiful little baby, I pray You to take my heart and bring it with You to Paradise, for after the heart, the soul too will come.’ Jesus seemed to take my heart, and He united it so much with His own that they became one. Afterwards, Heaven opened; it seemed that a very great feast was being prepared. At that very moment a young man of lovely appearance came down from Heaven, all dazzling with fire and flames. Jesus told me: “Tomorrow is the feast of my dear Aloysius – I must go attend.” And I: ‘And so You leave Me alone – what shall I do?’ And He: “You too will come. Look at how beautiful Aloysius is; but the greatest thing in him, which distinguished him on earth, was the love with which he operated. Everything was love in him – love occupied him interiorly, love surrounded him externally; so, one can say that even his breath was love. This is why it is said of him that he never suffered distraction – because love inundated him everywhere, and with this love he will be inundated eternally, as you see.” And in fact it seemed that the love of Saint Aloysius was so very great, as to be able to burn the whole world to ashes. Then, Jesus added: “I stroll over the highest mountains, and there I form my delight.” Since I did not understand the meaning of it, He continued: “The highest mountains are the Saints who have loved Me the most, and in them I form my delight, both when they are on earth, and when they pass into Heaven. So, everything is in love.” After this, I prayed Jesus to bless me and those whom I was seeing at that moment; and He, giving His blessing, disappeared.   Prayer for Saint Aloysius or for any other saint that you want to offer it for!  Volume 26 – June 27, 1929 Having received Holy Communion, I was offering my Holy Communion for the glory of Saint Aloysius (__________), and I offered It, as a present for him/her, everything that Our Lord had done in His Divine Will with His mind, with His words, His works and His steps, for the accidental glory of Saint Aloysius (___________) on this his/her feast day. Now, while I was doing this, my sweet Jesus, moving in my interior, told me: “My daughter, a more beautiful present you could not give to dear Saint Aloysius (_____________) on the day of his feast. As you were offering your Holy Communion and all My Acts done in My Divine Will, so many suns were formed for as many Acts as I (Jesus) did in the Divine Will while being on earth; and these suns invested Saint Aloysius (______________), in such a way that he/she received so much accidental glory from the earth, that he/she could not receive more. Only the offerings of Acts done in My Most Holy Divine Will have the virtue of forming their suns, because, containing the Fullness of Light, it is no wonder that the Divine Will converts into suns the human acts done in the Divine Will.”

Novena to Our Lady of Perpetual Help – June 19-27

1. Behold, O Mother of Perpetual Help, at thy feet a wretched

sinner, who has recourse to thee and trusts in thee. O Mother of

mercy, have pity on me; I hear all men call thee the refuge and

hope of sinners: be therefore my refuge and my hope. Help me for

the love of Jesus Christ: hold out thy hand to a fallen wretch,

who commends himself to thee and dedicates himself to be thy

servant forever. I praise and thank God, who of His great mercy

hath given me this confidence in thee, a sure pledge of my eternal

salvation. Alas, it is only too true that in the past I have

fallen miserably, because I did not come to thee. I know that with

thy help I shall conquer; I know that thou wilt help me, if I

commend myself to thee; but I am fearful lest in the occasions of

sin I shall forget to call upon thee and so I shall be lost. This

grace, then, do I ask of thee; for this I implore thee, as much as

I can and know how to do; namely, that in the assaults of hell I

may ever run to thy protection and may say to thee: Mary, help me;

Mother of Perpetual Help, permit me not to lose my God.

Hail Mary, three times.

2. O Mother of Perpetual Help, grant me ever to be able to call

upon thy powerful name, since thy name is the help of the living

and the salvation of the dying. Ah, Mary most pure, Mary most

sweet, grant that thy name from this day forth may be to me the

very breath of life. Dear Lady, delay not to come to my assistance

whenever I call upon thee; for in all the temptations that assail

me, in all the necessities that befall me, I will never leave off

calling upon thee, ever repeating: Mary, Mary. What comfort, what

sweetness, what confidence, what tenderness fills my soul at the

sound of thy name, at the very thought of thee! I give thanks to

our Lord, who for my sake hath given thee a name so sweet, so

lovable, so mighty. But I am not content merely to speak thy name;

I would utter it for very love of thee; it is my desire that love

should ever remind me to name thee, Mother of Perpetual Help.

Hail Mary, three times.

3. O Mother of Perpetual Help, thou art the dispenser of every

grace that God grants us in our misery; it is for this cause that

He hath made thee so powerful, so rich, so kind, that thou

mightest assist us in our miseries. Thou art the advocate of the

most wretched and abandoned sinners, if they but come unto thee;

come once more to my assistance, for I commend myself to thee. In

thy hands I place my eternal salvation; to thee I entrust my soul.

Enroll me among thy most faithful servants; take me under thy

protection and it is enough for me: yes, for if thou protect me, I

shall fear nothing; not my sins, for thou wilt obtain for me their

pardon and remission; not the evil spirits, for thou art mightier

than all the powers of hell; not even Jesus, my Judge, for He is

appeased by a single prayer from thee. I fear only that through my

own negligence I may forget to recommend myself to thee and so I

shall be lost. My dear Lady, obtain for me the forgiveness of my

sins, love for Jesus, final perseverance and the grace to have

recourse to thee at all times, O Mother of Perpetual Help.

Hail Mary, three times.