[Pearls Ep 152: Preparing for Sunday.]
As we come to New Years, and our final Pearls of the Interior Life for 2022 (no video this week, emails/posts only) – we turn our gaze to Mary – just as many of the Gospel readings focus on her at Christmas time.
It is often repeated that the world had been perfectly prepared for Christ’s coming. The prophetic messages to Israel had ended and Jewish culture was at a breaking point; on the one hand looking for the long-awaited Messiah, and on the other attempting to curry the favor of Rome. And the prevailing Greco-Roman culture provided intellectual depth and geographic expanse so that the Gospel could be spread far and wide.
There is a similar pattern with appearances of Mary. In our follow up messages, we’ll see how world events were perfectly ordered for some of Mary’s notable apparitions, such as Fatima and Guadalupe.
What is true on the world stage is true in our spiritual lives. Mary (and her Son) always arrive at the appointed time in our lives.
That said, there’s no reason to wait. The start of a New Year is a perfect time to resolve to increase our devotion to Mary. In the postscript we look at a few simple ways to do this.
This is a resolution that comes with a guarantee. It is the universal testimony of the Saints that growing in relationship with Mary is a sure way to grow in relationship with her divine Son. It’s something of a spiritual “two-fer.”
Christmas blessings –
Steve and Karen Smith
Interior Life
Postscript: Deepening relationship with Mary in 2023.
- Pray more rosaries. Do you pray one a week? Commit to praying two. Do you pray one a day? Add a second on Sunday. Not praying the rosary regularly? Set a goal of a rosary each Sunday. And then build from there.
- Go through one of the Marian Consecrations (more details in follow-up messages).
- Pray the Angelus at noon and 6pm each day.
- Once a week reflect on Mary’s seven sorrows. https://www.immaculee.com/pages/7-sorrows-rosary-prayer
- During Lent (not far off…) pray the Mary’s Way of the Cross (the Stations of the Cross from Mary’s perspective). https://littlesistersofthepoor.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Mary_Way_of_the_Cross_e.pdf
- Pick one of Mary’s major apparitions, learn about it, and pray for Mary’s intercession under that title (more details in the follow-up messages).
- Pray the Lectio Rosary in the Interior Life app.