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Pope Paul VI and St John Paul II both called Mary ‘the star of evangelisation’. What does this mean, and why is it significant in the times we are in? Paul Elarde explains in this final edition of A Minute with Mary.

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Pope Paul VI expressed his desire in 1975 for Mary to be the “Star of the Evangelization” for the Church. Building on this St John Paul II entrusted the work of the New Evangelization to Mary, calling her the “Star of the New Evangelization.”

We are living in unprecedented times; the battle between good and evil spoken about in Genesis 3 are coming to a climax. This is the culmination of the age of Mary which great saints like St Louis De Monfort and St John Paul II spoke about.

Stephen Walford writes:

The Church of the twenty-first century needs to be in the Upper Room with Mary in the cenacle of a new Pentecost. It needs to listen to Mary while being docile to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, who is the beginning and end of all missionary activity. As Mary is the spouse of the Holy Spirit, it is given to her as our Mediatrix and Advocate to lead this new evangelization and to obtain from Him the necessary graces.

Mother Adela writes:

Who better than Mary can reveal Christ? Was it not in Her arms that the world – the shepherds (representing Israel) and the wise men (the Gentiles) – found Jesus? Is it not She who presents Christ to the world? Is it not She who, as teacher and singular witness, reveals to the newly born Church the mysteries of Christ? Yes, sitting at the school of the Heart of Mary is where we learn the deepest mysteries of Christ!

The post Mary: Star of the New Evangelisation appeared first on Cradio.

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One way we can give something of great value to Jesus and Mary is to fulfil Mary’s request to make reparation for our sins and the sins of the world by doing what is called the Five First Saturdays of the month devotion.

The sins of the world greatly offend the love that Jesus and Mary have for every person. Mary said She is especially offend by blasphemies and ingratitude. Who will make an offering of love to repair for the hurt? Hopefully, every Catholic will want to step out to show their love! Not only is the act of love very simple, but Mary offers to those who do, the promise of assistance at the hour of death, with the graces necessary for their salvation. Now that’s akin to something like you being asked to pay just $10 to settle a $100,000 debt and in then appreciation, the lender gives you back a gift of a million dollars!! God’s love is astounding!

So on the first Saturday of each month for five consecutive months, we do the following:

Go the confession with 8 days; receive Holy Communion worthily; prayer five decades of the Rosary; meditate for 10 to 15 minutes accompanying Mary, reflecting about some mysteries of the Rosary.

Remember to do all this with the intentions of making reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. If we don’t respond to Our Lady’s request, then who will? This simple act of love could be one of the greatest things you ever did in your whole life!

The post What is the Five First Saturdays Devotion? appeared first on Cradio.

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When was the last time you spoke to your mother? OK, so when was the last time you spoke to your heavenly Mother? Do you realise that Mary knows and loves you even more than your earthly mother? Run to Her like a child runs to its mother and bring all your worries and miseries to Her. Ask Her to teach you how to love Her and Her Son, Jesus. Ask Her to obtain for you the grace so you can allow God to love you.

Sometimes we block God’s love because we focus too much on our failures and by doing so we keep God at arms distance. Ask Mary to obtain for you the grace to be able to focus on God’s love for you, not your failures. That way you will experience His mercy and learn to trust Him.

When a child is learning to walk the parent does not punish the child every time he falls over. No, the parent focuses on the child’s rising. They simply want the child to keep trying, only then will the child make any progress. In fact, a child can only learn to walk through falling. God loves us the same way. He is not interested in focusing on our failure but wants us to focus on His love and mercy. In fact, we only learn about His love and mercy through our falls. O Mary, teach us these truths so we can love You and Your Son more every day, even when we fall.

The post Learn Mercy Through Your Falls appeared first on Cradio.

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The importance of prayer can never be overstated. The crisis of Christianity today is a lack of prayer – even for those dedicated to God. We live in a fast-moving age and in a world where work and entertainment are among the top of our priorities. How often do we hear good people say, “I don’t have enough time for prayer?” Well I once heard of a great remedy for those who feel they have little time for prayer. The solution is this:

When you find you don’t have enough time for prayer, then pray only during those times you would normally eat your meals. Then afterwards, it will be very easy to find the time to eat!

So the reality is that we do have enough time for those things which have a priority in our hearts. Where is your heart? If there is not enough time in your life for prayer, then can I politely suggest to you that your heart is attached to false things? We get attached to our own inner compulsions that we justify, are somehow more important. But the irony is that these activities never satisfy the deepest yearnings of our heart. Only through prayer will you be able to satisfy the hunger in your heart! The challenge is for us to stop living a lie and start living the truth – a relationship with Jesus and Mary is indeed the truth about a meaningful and productive life!

The post The Truth About Prayer & Priorities appeared first on Cradio.

In this edition of Minute with Mary, Paul shares about one of his favourite people, the youthful practical joker Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati.

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The young Italian, Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, who died in 1925 at just 24, is a great model and inspiration for all people. Pier Giorgio was a practical joker; he loved people and was a natural leader. He was very athletic and he especially loved to climb the mountains. But he was also a great evangeliser, continually witnessing his faith through love of God and love of neighbour. He had a deep and active prayer life that was a springboard for his joy-filled life.

When asked regarding certain slum houses of the poor he visited, ‘how do you overcome your revulsion at the nauseating smell?’ Pier Giorgio replied,

‘Don’t ever forget that even though the house is sordid, you are approaching Christ. Remember what the Lord said; the good you do to the poor is good done to me’. He went on to say, ‘All around the sick, the poor, the unfortunate, I see a particular light, a light that we do not have.’

Pier Giorgio’s best friend Marco said:

I would not hesitate to say that the secret of Pier Giorgio’s spiritual perfection is to be found in his devotion to Mary. …A day never passed that did not find him at the feet of his heavenly Mother with his rosary, his favourite prayer, entwined in his fingers.

My personal favourite quote of Pier Giorgio is this:

To live without faith, without a patrimony to defend, without a steady struggle for truth, that is not living, but merely existing.

Pier Giorgio’s incorrupt body now lies in the cathedral of Turin, Italy.

The post An Inspiring Young Witness: Bl Pier Giorgio Frassati appeared first on Cradio.

In this edition of Minute with Mary, Paul looks at the significance of devotion to the hearts of Jesus and Mary, and our call to personal relationship with them.

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When God gave us the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, He did so because the Christian life is about a living, personal relationship with Jesus and Mary. It’s not a head trip. Pope Benedict XVI once said:
Being a Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.

God made our hearts yearn; it can only be satisfied by Him! How foolish and time wasting it is for us to seek satisfaction in the things of the world. How tragic it is that some people waste their whole lives on the trivial and miss the meaning of life! Scripture tells us that in the end, we will be judged not on our success, but on how much love is in our hearts. By tapping into the source of love – the Hearts of Jesus and Mary – we bring truth and lasting happiness into our lives. Sadly, most of us wait until our material world crashes into pieces before we seek a deeper meaning to life. God has structured life so that it continually calls us to truth. God calls us to have devotion to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary – the ‘Two Hearts’ as it is sometimes referred to – it’s not the two minds! Jesus and Mary will lead us to the way, the truth and the life – eternal life!

The post Why a Devotion to the ‘Two Hearts’? appeared first on Cradio.

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The post St Michael the Archangel: Who is Like God? appeared first on Cradio.

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The post Forgiveness is Not a Feeling appeared first on Cradio.

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When God gave us the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, He did so because the Christian life is about a living, personal relationship with Jesus and Mary. It’s not a head trip. Pope Benedict XVI once said:

Being a Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.

God made our hearts yearn; it can only be satisfied by Him! How foolish and time wasting it is for us to seek satisfaction in the things of the world. How tragic it is that some people waste their whole lives on the trivial and miss the meaning of life! Scripture tells us that in the end, we will be judged not on our success, but on how much love is in our hearts. By tapping into the source of love – the Hearts of Jesus and Mary – we bring truth and lasting happiness into our lives. Sadly, most of us wait until our material world crashes into pieces before we seek a deeper meaning to life. God has structured life so that it continually calls us to truth. God calls us to have devotion to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary – the ‘Two Hearts’ as it is sometimes referred to – it’s not the two minds! Jesus and Mary will lead us to the way, the truth and the life – eternal life!

The post The Two Hearts appeared first on Cradio.

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Paul further explores the relationship between Mary and the Holy Spirit in this edition of A Minute with Mary. 

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Franciscan priest Fr Patrick Greenough, in writing the forward on the writings of St Maximilian Kolbe, wrote this about the relationship between Mary and the Holy Spirit:

Only those who have fallen in love with God and have no envy in their hearts can begin to grasp the love between the Holy Spirit and the Immaculate Virgin. It is a love where one seeks only what the other seeks; a love that wills only what the other wills; a love that unites one to the other totally and absolutely without any separation whatsoever; a love so total and unitive and intimate it is “almost” as is there is no distinction between them.

Now this beautiful text takes St Maximilian Kolbe’s Marian theology and captures it in the heart so that we can begin to get a sense of the vastness and depth of God’s love and His special relationship with Mary. It helps us to discover that God’s love is much more than most of us realise. Oh, the great mysteries of God’s love that Mary has experienced in Her life. Her unity of love with God is way beyond what most of us even think is possible.

Mary calls us to enter deeply into this love and to discover for ourselves that His mercy really is unfathomable and that even the angels are in awe of His love and mercy. Every meaningful thing in life has its truth grounded in love. O Mary, teach us these priceless treasures of love!

The post It’s All About Unitive Love! appeared first on Cradio.

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St John Paul II declared St Maximilian Kolbe to be “the Apostle of a New Marian Era”. Maximilian was a groundbreaking theologian. His insights into the Immaculate Conception anticipated the Marian theology of the Second Vatican Council and further developed the Church’s understanding of Mary as “Mediatrix” of all the graces, and as “Advocate” for God’s people.

St Maximilian Kolbe stressed the importance and the unity between the Immaculate Mary and the Holy Spirit. Kolbe took the Church’s dogma of the Immaculate Conception and described Mary as the ‘Created Immaculate Conception’ and the Holy Spirit as the ‘Uncreated Immaculate Conception’.

Kolbe said:

The Third Person of the Blessed Trinity never took flesh; still, our human word ‘spouse’ is far too weak to express the reality of the relationship between the Immaculata and the Holy Spirit.

In other words, Kolbe is stressing that the expression ‘spouse’ is ultimately too weak to express the fullness of their intimacy of that most sublime union in which the Holy Spirit indwells in Mary Immaculate. What St Maximilian Kolbe is essentially saying is that although the Holy Spirit never became incarnate, if He did, it would look like Mary. Kolbe teaches that the Holy Spirit acts solely through the Immaculata; consequently, Mary is the Mediatrix of all the graces of the Holy Spirit.

The post St Maximilian Kolbe on Mary & the Holy Spirit appeared first on Cradio.

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Sometimes we hear people say, ‘Oh I’m Charismatic’ or ‘not me, I’m Marian’. Well, those names can be helpful in explaining aspects of certain types of spiritualities, but it’s important to remember that there can never be any separation between Mary and the Holy Spirit. Any divisions between Mary and the Holy Spirit are manmade distortions of the truth.

St Francis of Assisi was the first person to describe Mary as the Spouse of the Holy Spirit. Today it is a common expression that gives some idea as to the special and holy union that exists between Mary and the Holy Spirit. Imagine how sacred Mary’s womb must be for the Holy Spirit to unite with Her to create Jesus! That is a once off special occurrence in the history of the human race.

The Holy Spirit releases and actuates the graces of God. Without the Holy Spirit, God’s gifts cannot be brought to fulfillment. Now just as a spouse goes where the other spouse is present, so too the Holy Spirit comes in His fullness where His spouse, Mary, is found, loved and embraced.

But note that also the reverse applies. Where Mary is restricted, the Holy Spirit cannot come in His fullness. In other words, by restricting Mary, we are restricting the Holy Spirit to work fully within this God-created union.

So irrespective of your favourite spirituality, it is important that we acknowledge in our mind and through our prayers, the unity of Holy Spirit and Mary.

The post Mary, Spouse of the Holy Spirit appeared first on Cradio.

Paul Elarde reflects on the tremendous power of praise in this edition of A Minute with Mary. 

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The Scriptures are filled with texts about the importance of giving God praise. And in paragraph 2097 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, we read the following:

To adore God is to acknowledge, in respect and absolute submission, the “nothingness of the creature” who would not exist but for God. To adore God is to praise and exalt him and to humble oneself, as Mary did in the Magnificat, confessing with gratitude that he has done great things and holy is his name.

Now the effects of praise are powerful. When we praise God we lift Him up and give Him first place in our hearts; the idols of money, power and inordinate affections are stripped out of us. God is enthroned in our hearts and He takes His rightful place as Lord of our lives. United to Him through praise, we are then empowered to begin to truly know who we are. We are of royal blood through being a son or daughter of Almighty God.

At the same time, we are humbled being in awe of His presence and the realisation how much He loves us even though we have done nothing to deserve it.

If your heart and spirits are down, despondent or depressed, then your prayers of praise will lift you to new heights to know that God loves you unconditionally; that He is in charge. Then let us celebrate in the peace, joy and consolation that praise brings to our souls.

The post The Power of Praise appeared first on Cradio.

In your prayer life, how much time do you spend in petition, and how often do you give thanks for what you’ve already received? Paul reflects on the importance of thanksgiving…

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One of the great gifts that God has renewed in the world today, especially through the Charismatic renewal movement, is the importance of prayers of praise. It’s easy to become so focused on our worries and troubles that we forget to give thanks for all the blessings in our lives.

We think nothing of listing in detail, all that we want God to give us, but do we apply that to what He has already given us? It is important we take time to list and name all that we have already been given. When you start to list them, you will be surprised just how many there are! Countless blessings – every day!

It’s easy to fall into the trap of deluding ourselves that it is because of our own achievements that we have good things in our lives. But if we are honest, and open our hearts in prayer, especially before the Blessed Sacrament, we will start to see the truth. We realise that everything we have is pure gift from God.

God is worthy of all our praise simply because of who God is. When we praise God we acknowledge the greatness of His Person. When we give thanks, we train ourselves not to be selfish but to look to others in gratitude and realise that God is the source of all life and all that is good.

The post Are You Grateful? appeared first on Cradio.

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When Mary visited her cousin St Elisabeth, we read in Luke 1:46-55, of Mary’s beautiful prayer that we call the Magnificat. Notice this is a prayer of praise. Mary does not utter one word of petition. Why? Because Mary is carrying the baby Jesus – the God-man. What more could She want? She has Jesus, so She has everything! Mary’s focus is to declare prayers of praise, trust and thanksgiving.

Now this is a great example for us. While it is important we bring all our needs to Jesus and Mary without limitation, we must also include in our prayers, quality time for giving God glory, declarations of trust and heartfelt gratitude through our praise and thanksgiving.

Scripture teaches us the importance of gratitude. We see this in Jesus reaction when the ten lepers were healed and only one returned to Jesus to say ‘thank you’. Jesus calls us to charity and to look beyond ourselves. Failure to give thanks reveals that we are still totally focused on our own selfish wants, and this is totally incompatible with the Christian way of life.

One perfect time for thanksgiving is when we too, like Mary, are carrying Jesus – after receiving Him in Holy Communion. Be sure not to leave the Church after Mass until you have had time to give thanks for all His countless graces. After all, the word ‘Eucharist’ means ‘to give thanks’.

The post How to Pray Like Mary appeared first on Cradio.

Paul Elarde reflects on how we need to tap into the Source of Love through prayer.

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We think nothing of inviting someone to watch a movie, however if we invite someone to pray for say a couple of hours, we risk getting labelled as some kind of a ‘religious fanatic’.

The only thing we can take into the next world is our love. And the reason we pray, is so we can love. God is not just loving – HE IS LOVE ITSELF! So how can we possibly love if we do not tap into the source of all love? Without this connection, our hearts become dry and empty. Satan tries to fill our empty hearts with the things of the world so as to keep us distracted from the truth. But these can never satisfy the deepest yearnings of our hearts.

Only love can contribute to our eternal existence. But without prayer, we cannot truly love. Have you noticed at funerals how the only thing that matters then is how good and loving the person was? This reveals to us a truth about life and its real meaning. Why waste your life? Sadly some people live their whole lives around the superficial! Jesus and Mary call us to a full life rich in meaning. And this, in the end, is what actually makes us happy. This is the truth about life. How sad for those who never discover this truth. Let us live life to the full – ignite up your prayer life today and with grace, build a personnel relationship with Jesus and Mary that is real, life-giving and eternal!

The post Finding the Love We Long For appeared first on Cradio.

Paul Elarde reflects on why we need to ensure we are prioritising time to be still with God.

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The crisis in Christianity today is a crisis caused by a lack of prayer. Our world is full of superficial distractions that continually pull us away from the interior life. Jesus left us with everything we could possibly need to have a rich and fulfilled life. His Church with all its spiritual treasures and the priceless gift of the Sacraments, all mean we lack absolutely nothing. However, if we don’t spend quality time with Jesus, then we shut the door on all the gifts He wants so much to give us!

Without prayer, we kid ourselves that we can live an authentic Christian life. Without prayer, we cannot love. The whole reason we pray is to love. Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta said that prayer expands the heart. It was only possible for Mother Teresa and her sisters to do such astounding works of charity because they spent three hours a day in prayer!

Some people claim their work is their prayer; possibly, but unless we spend many hours in the stillness of prayer, it is not possible to keep a prayerful disposition and an active connection with God within the stressful environment of demanding work.

This is why Our Lady calls us continually to pray – pray from the heart. Christianity is not an ethical choice but an encounter with a person! So without constant, deep and meaningful prayer there can be no encounter, just mere head knowledge. The answer to ALL our problems is to pray deeper, and more often. It‘s that simple.

The post Without Prayer, Christian Life Cannot be Authentic appeared first on Cradio.

Paul Elarde reflects on three pillars of faith that help light the path to salvation.

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We live in critical times. Much confusion reigns today. Our Lady has given us a clear path to specifically get through these difficult times, that is why She has been appearing like never before in the history of the Church.

Our Lady comes to call us to conversion and renewal. She calls us to live the Gospel built on three foundation pillars: Adoration of Her Son’s Real Presence in the Eucharist, Consecration to Her Immaculate Heart and loyalty to the Pope. These pillars of faith, light the path for salvation and clarity through the difficult times we are now experiencing. Our Lady gives us hope and direction to be faithful to Her Son, so that we can share in the Triumph of Her Immaculate Heart and the great era of peace that She promised is coming.

Our Lady calls us to prepare ourselves for spiritual battle. But remember the outcome of this battle has already been won, just as foretold in Genesis 3:15. Jesus victory won at the Cross, will triumph in the world through Mary.

So with great confidence and conviction, we respond to Mary’s invitation. Within our Consecration to Her Immaculate Heart, Mary calls us to heartfelt conversion and a life of prayer. Just a few minutes of daily prayer is not enough to heal our wounded hearts. Only a meaningful relationship with Jesus and Mary that allows for a real, personal exchange can renew us. Prayer – much prayer – is the answer to your every problem.

The post 3 Pillars of Faith appeared first on Cradio.

Paul Elarde provides a brief background on the brown scapular, its origins and its association with Marian consecration.

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Around the 12th century, Our Lady appeared to the Carmelite, St Simon Stock, holding the brown scapular in one hand and saying:

“Receive, my beloved son, this scapular of your Order; it is the special sign of my favour, which I have obtained for you and for your children of Mount Carmel. He who dies clothed with this habit shall be preserved from eternal fire. It is the badge of salvation, a shield in time of danger, and a pledge of special peace and protection.”

Now the word scapular from Latin, means “shoulder blade”. It consists of two pieces of cloth, one worn on the chest, and the other on the back, which were connected by straps or strings passing over the shoulders. For the Carmelite Order it is a garment, but for the rest of us, it is two small pieces of cloth each about the size of a large medal.

The brown Scapular is a sign of our devotion and dependency upon Mary’s motherly love. It is a perpetual physical expression of Marian love and devotion that acknowledges Her intercessory role throughout this life and trust in Mary’s intercession that our salvation will not be lost.

When fully understood, the brown Scapular can become a physical sign of the complete gift of self that takes place in any authentic Marian consecration. I urge you to enrol and wear a brown scapular with joy and trust!

The post What is the Scapular? appeared first on Cradio.

Paul continues his reflections on Marian consecration, showing how Mary helps us in our call to embrace the cross of Christ.

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A mystical aspect of consecrating ourselves to Jesus through Mary, is that the whole process is grounded in the Mystery of the Cross, because Marian Consecration is also a call to the Cross. Remember, those who embrace the Cross of Jesus, are guaranteed Resurrection, even in this life! However there can be no experience of Resurrection without first the Cross. Do not be deceived by the lies of Satan. No one goes through life without crosses. We either experience the cross of Satan that provides no hope, no resurrection; or, we can experience the cross of Jesus that has guaranteed Resurrection.

Mary was the one who stayed faithful surrendering her sorrows at the foot of the Cross. All the apostles except John were too afraid to join them. Mary’s love for Jesus and the rest of Her children – that’s us – never waivers. She has proven She is our faithful Mother – to the end!

The major cross and resurrection experiences of our lives are rich in profound meaning. They provide us with opportunities to embrace the Cross and be united there with Jesus, which creates appreciation and allows us to unite with Jesus to witness the power of redemptive suffering. And oh what joy when we experience the triumph of the resurrection. Then we happily proclaim the cross experience had definitely been worth it! When we unite our sorrows and joys with Jesus and Mary, the power of Marian Consecration is witnessed as a profound truth and reality.

The post Marian Consecration & the Power of the Cross appeared first on Cradio.

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When we consecrate or entrust ourselves to Jesus through Mary, it may appear that apart from praying suitable prayers, we do nothing else. But no, we do much more – we ‘actively surrender’ ourselves and all our worries to Mary’s motherly care. However, this abandoning is not as simple as it sounds.

We can be sure that the enemy will tempt us to take control through our actions or words, which on the surface, may appear to be helping the situation. But do not be deceived. The secret power of Marian consecration is in the letting go! As soon as we take control through our actions or words, we are in fact interfering with the Lord’s work and at the same time, reveal our doubts.
Satan will use fear tempt us; that unless we ‘do this’ or ‘say that’, something bad might happen, but no, the challenging part from our side is to humbly keep handing ourselves and the difficult situation back to Our Lady so She can bring Her love to triumph in the final outcome. And this requires constant effort from our side through our actively letting go.

Through our continual prayers, we keep close to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, and we will then witness the victory of surrendering all our cares. Each time we surrender, we allow the floodgates of graces to pour into our lives and we declare to Jesus and Mary – I trust in You!

The post Are You Afraid to Surrender Control? appeared first on Cradio.

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Consecrating oneself to Jesus through Mary represents the crowning of Marian devotion. There are two principle actions from our side that help make Consecration to Mary so powerful. One is the active prayer life we undertake, the other is the surrendering of all our cares to Jesus and Mary as a way of proclaiming our trust.

The Gospels are full of stories where Jesus stresses the importance of having trust. Remember when Jesus walked across the water to meet the apostles in their boat and Peter says, “Jesus, if it really is you, tell me to come to you across the water.” Jesus answers, “Come!” So Peter steps out of the boat and begins to walk on the water, but as soon as he takes his eyes off Jesus and starts to focus on the wind, he begins to sink. Jesus recues him saying, “Man of little faith, why did you doubt!”

One reason Marian consecration has such great power is because it includes surrendering all our cares to Jesus and Mary. So our cares, instead of being a source of stress and worry, now become opportunities for ‘declarations of trust’! Each little surrender and refusal to worry, opens portals for huge amounts of grace to flow, through Mary’s powerful intercession. Each time we refuse to worry about our ‘storm’, we proclaim our trust and it is this very trust that allows the enormous power of Marian Consecration to flow into our lives.

The post How to Turn Your Worries into Grace appeared first on Cradio.

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Dr Mark Miravalle says Marian consecration is not simply as added devotion or prayer, but rather, a new Marian way of life, the highest devotion to Our Lady that invites Her and Her powerful intercession into every aspect of the Christian life!

In other words, this new Marian way of life essentially consists of one act which under various formulas and conditions we apply to our whole life, both interior and exterior. Marian consecration leads to a permanent disposition of living and acting habitually in total dependence on our Blessed Mother – ‘Totus Tuus’ as St John Paul would declare. The act of consecration embraces one’s entire life, not just one’s prayer times or specific religious acts.

God has given us free will. But the paradox is that we can give God nothing that He already does not have in abundance, except our free will. Our will is the perfect and only meaningful gift we can give God. In a similar way, Our Lady can only intercede for us to the extent that each adult person freely allows Her to do so. When a person consecrates themselves to Mary, this free and total gift of self to Mary allows Her to use Her full God-given power of intercession to sanctify the person in the graces of Jesus Christ and to provide them with spiritual protection from Satan.

The post ‘Totus Tuus’: not just a prayer, but a lifestyle appeared first on Cradio.

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We read in the Vat II document of Lumen Gentium that calling upon Mary’s intercession “does not hinder in any way the immediate union of the faithful with Christ, but, on the contrary, fosters it”. So coming “To Jesus through Mary” in our Marian consecration is not an extraordinary way of worshipping God and bringing about our sanctification; rather, it is the best way.

Consecrating oneself to Jesus through Mary represents the pinnacle of Marian devotion – it’s not simply an added or isolated Marian piety but a dynamic Marian dimension of the Christian life that has been enthusiastically experienced and witnessed by great holy men and women throughout the ages. Why? Simply because it adds a nuclear powerhouse to our spirituality! If you doubt, then take up the challenge and prove it for yourself.

One tried and proven format of Marian Consecration is the approach used by St. Louis de Montfort. Just Google, “Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary”. Basically, it works like this: We prepare for 33 days, then on the 34th day, we make the act of consecration. The 33 days of preparation are critical because they open our minds and hearts to the power of the Holy Spirit.

St John Paul II said that de Monfort’s book – ‘True Devotion to Mary’ – was a decisive turning point in his life! And whenever I renew my Marian Consecration, it reminds me, that this is THE most powerful prayer I have ever experienced!

The post A Powerhouse For Your Spirituality appeared first on Cradio.

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When Our Lady appeared at Fatima in 1917, She asked that the Holy Father together with the Bishops of the world, consecrate the world – which would include the intention of Russia – to Her Immaculate Heart. She promised if this was done there would be peace.

Even though several Popes did consecrate the world, Sr Lucia who at the time was the last remaining living visionary from the Fatima apparitions, said that Mary told her it did not fulfil Her request because it was not in union with the Bishops of the world.

Then in 1981, after the attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II, he was rushed to hospital, the bullet being just millimetres from a major blood artery. John Paul attributed his survival to the intervention of Our Lady. He said, ‘a mother’s hand guided the bullet’. It was when he was recovering in hospital that John Paul realised the 3rd secret of Fatima was in fact about him, because, as Pope, he had already read the confidential file.

John Paul from his hospital bed, made his first consecration of the world to Mary. But it was not until 1984 that this was done in union with the Bishops, did Sr Lucia confirm Our Lady said it had fulfilled her request. Just 5 years later Communist Europe began dissolving with the collapse of the Berlin Wall. All this, from just one prayer of consecration to Mary from the Pope and the Bishops!

The post How One Prayer Changed the World appeared first on Cradio.

What is Marian Consecration? What benefit is it to give ourselves to Mary, when in fact we ought to belong to Christ?

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When Our Lady appeared at Fatima, She asked for Consecration to Her Immaculate Heart. What is Marian Consecration and why does Jesus want us to consecrate ourselves to His Mother’s Heart?

Well Dr Mark Miravalle explains:

Marian consecration is fundamentally a promise of love and a gift of self that gives all that the Christian is and does completely and directly to the Mother of the Lord, which thereby allows her to unite us to her Divine Son in ways simply not possible without her powerful maternal intercession. Consecration to Jesus through Mary is to give oneself entirely to Mary in a self-donation of love that enables the Mediatrix of all graces to use her full intercessory power to keep a person faithful to his or her baptismal promises to Jesus Christ.

St John Paul II said this about Marian consecration: Our entire perfection consists in being conformed, united and consecrated to Jesus Christ.

Our entire perfection consists in being conformed, united and consecrated to Jesus Christ. Hence the most perfect of all devotions is undoubtedly that which conforms, unites and consecrates us most perfectly to Jesus Christ.Now, since Mary is of all creatures the one most conformed to Jesus Christ, it follows that among all devotions that which most consecrates and conforms a soul to our Lord is devotion to Mary, his Holy Mother, and that the more a soul is consecrated to her the more will it be consecrated to Jesus Christ.

Now, since Mary is of all creatures the one most conformed to Jesus Christ, it follows that among all devotions that which most consecrates and conforms a soul to our Lord is devotion to Mary, his Holy Mother, and that the more a soul is consecrated to her the more will it be consecrated to Jesus Christ.

Let us not waste any time, Jesus is waiting – give yourself to Jesus, through the Heart of Mary!

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While Mary’s title of ‘Mediatrix of all graces’ is a universal teaching of the Church, people sometimes struggle to understand this truth.

Virtually every pope for the past 200 years has referred to Mary as ‘Mediatrix of all graces’. Pope Leo XIII, frequently referred to Mary’s role as “Dispenser of all heavenly graces”. He boldly stated… “by the will of God, nothing of the immense treasure of every grace which the Lord accumulated, comes to us except through Mary.”

Later Pope St Pius X continued this remarkable papal consistency by calling Mary, “the dispenser of all gifts” and discusses how Jesus is the source of all graces and Mary is the channel of all graces. Vatican II referred to Mary’s title as ‘Mediatrix’ and Pope Benedict XVI – the day before he retired – also invoked Mary as the “Mediatrix of all graces”.

The great 17th Century Marian saint, Louis De Montfort explains:

The Most High has made [Mary] sole treasurer of His treasures and the sole dispenser of His graces, to enable, to exalt, and to enrich who She wishes…. It was through Her that Jesus Christ came to us, and it is through Her that we must go to Him.

Now if you struggle to accept this Church teaching, why not simply earnestly ask Mary to show you the power of Her intercession. It’s a marvellous gift from Jesus, and is available to anyone who simply asks!

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Ever wondered why Catholics have processions with statues of Our Lady? Paul takes the answer from the Old Testament…

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What made the old Ark of the Covenant holy was that it contained the covenant items; the Ten Commandments, manna – the heavenly sent bread and the priestly rod of Aaron. What makes the new Ark, Mary holy was that it contained the fuller and living expression of the covenant – the living Word of God, the high priest, enfleshed in the womb of Mary to give eternal life through the bread of the Eucharistic!

When we look at Luke’s gospel, there is no doubt that Luke understood Mary as the New Testament Ark of the covenant, as he highlights parallels between Mary and the old Ark. He writes Mary “arose and went” parallels how David’s journey is described in 2Samuel 6:2. Both Mary’s and David’s journey proceed to the hill country of Judah. David acknowledges his unworthiness when he says, “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?” This echoes Elizabeth’s greeting to Mary, “Why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” David danced for joy before the ark; we find a similar expression to describe the leaping of the child within Elizabeth’s womb as Mary approached. The old Ark remained in the hill country for three months, the same amount of time Mary spent with Elizabeth.

The old Ark had to be carried in procession shoulder high on timber bearers, and this is why we see the statue of Mary carried in the same way in processions at great Marian shrines like Lourdes and Fatima.

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Paul looks at how St John describes his vision of the Ark of the Covenant as a woman, and how the old Ark foreshadowed the new one.

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In the Book of Revelations, St John describes his vision of seeing the Ark of the Covenant which at this time, had been lost for nearly 600 years. He builds his description very dramatically and then shows us that the Ark of Covenant is a woman, not any woman but THE Woman prophesied by God in Genesis 3:15 – Mary!

For the Israelites wondering through the wilderness, the Ark of the Covenant was the point of contact for the presence of God within the Holy of Holies – that inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle tent.

The Ark of the Covenant was made of a non-corrupting acacia wood, wrapped in gold. While it was the contents of the Ark that was sacred, nevertheless the Ark itself – like Mary – was still considered very holy. So much so, that apart from the high priest, those who even touched the Ark, were struck dead. So if God demands that high level of respect to the Old Ark, how much more will He demand for the new living Ark – the Immaculate Mary, wrapped in sinless purity, who at the same time, is also the very Mother of God Incarnate! The old Ark was a foreshadowing of an even greater, more significant and living expression to be revealed in the new Ark – Mary.

The Old Ark had tremendous power. Many battles were won and even the walls of Jericho collapsed in its presence. It should be no surprise then that the new Ark, Mary – has been given unlimited power to defeat Satan.

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Have you ever heard Mary referred to as ‘Ark of the Covenant’? What does this mean, and why is it significant?

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St Augustine said that the New Testament is concealed in the Old, and the Old, is revealed in the New. The Catechism teaches us that the Bible should be interpreted on the literal sense – which is simply the way we read any human literature; and the spiritual sense – where we search for what the Holy Spirit is trying to tell us through deeper levels of meanings. This is the way Jesus interpreted the scriptures.

Christological and Marian types abound in the Old Testament. One of the most important of these in relation to Mary is the Ark of the Covenant – the most sacred item to ever exist in Jewish history. The Ark of the Covenant is revealed to be a foreshadowing of Mary.

While the Old Ark was the physical dwelling place of the Shekinah Glory, the New Ark, Mary, was the physical dwelling place of the Word Incarnate. The Old Ark contained the 10 Commandments – the Word of God in stone, Mary carried in Her womb, the living Word of God. The old Ark contained Aarons Rod – the sign of priestly authority, Mary carried Christ, the eternal King and high priest. The old Ark contained the heavenly manna that feed the Israelites in the desert. Mary carried the Eucharistic Jesus – the Bread of eternal life.

When we look at the correlation of the Ark of the Covenant and Mary, we see the Bible teaching us and revealing deeper mysteries of the person of Mary.

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The Fifth Glorious Mystery: Mary is crowned Queen of Heaven and Earth

You are the glory of Jerusalem the honour of our people…the hand of the Lord has strengthened you, and therefore you shall be blessed forever… (Judith 15: 9-11)

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Jesus honours His Mother by crowning Her Queen of Heaven and Queen of Earth. As such, Our Lady is Queen of all the angels and saints, and Queen of the Church. She has these titles because of Her holiness. Even at Mary’s conception, She had a much higher degree of grace than all the angels and saints together! God gave her these graces and Mary fully cooperated with them. Mary then, is for every disciple the perfect model of what it means to be a Christian and she intercedes for us.

Mary’s role as Mother means she will never rest until all her children are safely home in Heaven to share the glory of her Son Jesus. He has given her every grace to make this possible. Mary calls us to prayer. Without prayer we cannot love; without prayer our hearts will be closed and the graces from Heaven will be not recognised. Do I open my heart to Mary in prayer? Can I say like Pope John Paul II, ‘Totus Tuus?’ – completely yours Mary!

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The Fourth Glorious Mystery: Mary is assumed into Heaven

And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon was under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars. (Revelation 12:1)

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As Scripture reveals and the Church definitively teaches Mary was taken body and soul into heaven. Rightly and logically, Mary was the first of humanity to receive the fruits of the Redemption of Her Son. Like Jesus, Her body was gloriously resurrected and we too look with hope to join them in the day of the final resurrection.

No one has ever lived the fourth commandment better than Jesus! He honoured His Father AND Mother, by giving to Her as gift, all the graces that He had, by nature of His Divinity….would we expect Jesus to do anything less! Jesus gave us His Mother as our Mother so we too could benefit by Her embrace and love, just as He did. Jesus has given Her the power of intercession like no one else.

Mary mothers us spirituality in caring for us, sharing our joys and sorrows, anticipating our needs and protecting us from evil. Only Mary can take us to the depths of Sacred Heart of Jesus, because only Her Immaculate Heart is united to His in this unique, mystical way. Let us never fail to thank God for the gift of His holy Mother.

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The Third Glorious Mystery: the Descent of the Holy Spirit

And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in foreign tongues, even as the Holy Spirit prompted them to speak. (Acts 2:4)

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In the upper room the Apostles were gathered with Mary in prayer, waiting for the Holy Spirit as Jesus promised. The Spirit descended upon them with the sound of a strong wind and tongues as of fire rested on each of them. The Spirit gave them the gift of tongues and no longer where they afraid – they went openly into the streets and started to preach the Good News of Jesus. People from many places and languages, heard them in their own language speaking of the mighty acts of God. Three thousand converted to Christianity, and the Church was born on that day.

St Francis of Assisi was the first to refer to Mary as the spouse of the Holy Spirit. Let us ask Mary to renew the gifts of the Holy Spirit we received at Baptism and Confirmation, to bring them alive with a new power and zeal so that we too may proclaim the Gospel without fear! Let us prayer always, “Come Holy Spirit, come by means of the powerful intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Your well-beloved Spouse.”

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The Second Glorious Mystery: the Ascension

So then the Lord, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God. (Mark 16:19)

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During the forty days after His resurrection, Jesus instructed the Apostles on their mission to preach the gospel to the ends of the earth. He then ascended gloriously into Heaven, with the promise to send them His Holy Spirit.

The Apostles witnessed Jesus ascending with angels, into the clouds. But no sooner had Jesus left them when an angel called the Apostles not to waste time but begin spreading the message of the Gospel.

Tradition has it that Mary remained on earth from many years, praying and counselling the Apostles in the mission to build the Church. We too are called to evangelise the Good News of Jesus. In fact the Church exists to evangelise! We will have eternity to rejoice in the Ascension of Jesus. With that as our final goal, let us be filled with hope to witnesses to Christ and embrace Pope John Paul II’s call to the New Evangelisation! New in zeal, new in method: Sharing our story coming out of our own personal encounter with the Risen Christ. Lets us do this with Mary, our guiding light, as Pope John Paul II referred to Her as ‘The Star of the New Evangelisation’.

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The First Glorious Mystery: the Resurrection

He has risen, he is not here. Behold the place where they laid him. (Mark 16:6) 

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After Jesus was killed the apostles were sure that all they had hoped for was lost, but God’s ways are so different to ours. The Father raised Jesus from the dead. He gave Him power of sin and therefore power over death. The Father not only brought Jesus back to life but gave Him a glorified Resurrected body.

Pope John Paul II wrote that although it is not recorded in Scripture, it would be expected that the first person Jesus appeared to after rising from the dead would be His Mother Mary. Imagine the joy of Mary as She sees Her Son now gloriously Resurrected!

When we unite our crosses with Jesus, we always have the guarantee of resurrection – even in this life. There is no such thing a cross-less Christianity. The only way we can experience resurrection in the many aspects of life is to go via the cross of Jesus! We too are destined to have a glorious Resurrected body. We too are destined to experience our eternal home, where ‘every tear will be wiped away, and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain!’

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The Fifth Sorrowful Mystery: Jesus is Crucified

And Jesus cried out with a loud voice and said, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit”. And having said this, he expired. (Luke 23:46)

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After many hours of torture, Jesus finally reached Calvary where His hands and feet were nailed to a Cross. Scientific evidence from the Holy Shroud reveals that the leg of Jesus was stretched to the point that the bone was pulled from its socket!

Innocent though He was, Jesus hung on the cross for three hours. Why did He endure all this? Because of love! It seems almost madness that someone would suffer that much for another simply out of love, especially when often that love is rejected.

Forgive me, Jesus, when I fail to appreciate Your love. At the foot of the Cross stood Mary His mother. She had to witness all of this, and then watch a sword thrust into His chest. We really can’t imagine the pain Mary had to suffer, but it was in this most solemn setting that Jesus gave us His mother! Though Mary was sinless, her tears and sufferings were immense. The Apostle John, who represents you and I, accepted this holy gift on behalf of all of us and took Mary into his heart. Do we also accept Mary into our hearts with love and gratitude?

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The Fourth Sorrowful Mystery: Jesus carries His cross

And bearing the cross for himself, he went to the place called the Skull, in Hebrew, Golgotha. (John 19:17) 

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The weight of the Cross cut deeply into Jesus’ shoulder, and combined with the wounds from His scourging and the crown of thorns, meant every step was excruciatingly painful. Yet Jesus does all this for us! When Jesus would rise again after each fall, He won for us the grace to rise again from our falls into sin. Finally when Jesus could go no further, Simon of Cyrene was enlisted to carry Jesus’ Cross.

Jesus calls me to imitate Him and embrace my crosses with the same love and tenderness that Jesus embraced His. Am I reluctant like Simon of Cyrene, to help carry the cross of others? And conversely, do I allow others to help me carry my cross?

And how heart wrenching it must have been when Mary met Jesus carrying His cross! In some way it would have been easier for Mary to have been crucified than to watch Her Son and Lord of all Creation suffer so much. But the love in their eyes cries out in prayer, we offer all this for love of souls! Your soul and mine!

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The Third Sorrowful Mystery: Jesus is crowned with thorns

And they stripped him and put on him a scarlet cloak; and plaiting a crown of thorns they put it on his head, and a reed into his right hand. (Matthew 27: 28-29)

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The Holy Shroud reveals that the crown of thorns that was placed upon the head of Jesus, was more like a cap of thorns that covered the whole head of Jesus, inflicting deep wounds across all of His sacred head and forehead, even down into His eyes. Jesus was beaten, mocked and spat upon – the King of Kings, the Lord and God of creation, was treated in such a terrible way!

Do I have gratitude for the price Jesus paid to save me? Am I truly sensitive to the sufferings Jesus took on for me in His passion? What more must our God do to prove His love for us! When will our hearts soften and respond to His love?

Throughout the passion of Jesus, Mary suffered in silence. Always submitting herself to the will of the Father and keeping focused on the purpose and fruits of all this suffering. Mary trusted that God’s love would triumph and that the door for salvation would be open for the whole world.

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The Second Sorrowful Mystery: the Scourging at the Pillar

Pilate, then, took Jesus and had him scourged. (John 19:1)

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During the scourging Jesus was beaten and whipped until the flesh was ripped off His sacred Body. Jesus scourging made reparation for all the sins of the flesh.

The scientific evidence from the Holy Shroud reveals that there was hardly a patch of Jesus’ Body that was not wounded – even the souls of His feet. Why all this suffering? Because only Jesus – the perfect sinless Divine offering – could repair the damage for all our sins. No other person was able to compensate our debt. What kind of a God must He be, to love us like that!

Let us reflect on the wonder of such a love and give thanks for the price Jesus paid for our salvation. And who can understand the pain of Mary as she endured the realisation of this torture towards her Son. Her only Son, the Lord of all, suffering unspeakable pain, offering all for our sake and calling even His own mother to unite her suffering with His in a ‘love beyond all telling’. Let us be grateful also to Mary for uniting her suffering to Her Son’s to cooperate in the work of Redemption.

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And his sweat became as drops of blood running down upon the ground. And rising from prayer he came to the disciples, and found them sleeping. (Luke 22: 44-45)

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In the garden of Gethsemane Jesus felt the weight of the sins of the world across all time, yet the apostles were not able to support Him in His last hours because they kept falling asleep.

Jesus knew that in spite of all the suffering He was about to submit to, there would be many souls who would reject Him and thereby lose their salvation forever. The loss of those souls tore at the Heart of Jesus. All this combined with the feeling of abandonment, meant Jesus suffered so much that He began to sweat drops of blood.

Let us comfort Jesus in the sufferings in the garden, and realise that Jesus suffered all this so our sins could be forgiven. Throughout all of the passion of Jesus Mary also suffered knowing that the time she had dreaded for so many years had now begun. But Her role was also to freely surrender to the sufferings and offer all united with Jesus. We too are called to unite our sufferings with the passion of Jesus so that we may experience the joy of Resurrection.

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“Mary, due to Her Immaculate Conception and Her giving birth to Mercy Incarnate, is first to praise the omnipotence of God’s mercy.”

Why does Our Lady have such a special relationship with The Divine Mercy? Paul explains in this episode of A Minute with Mary.

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A friendly reminder that the Divine Mercy Novena begins Good Friday – so be sure to receive the wonderful Gifts which God wishes to bestow upon us!

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“St Faustina teaches that we can ask Mary for strength to offer up our crosses!”

St Faustina suffered many hardships throughout her life, but her example shows us how we can go to Our Lady for assistance in carrying our own crosses.

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A friendly reminder that the Divine Mercy Novena begins Good Friday – so be sure to receive the wonderful Gifts which God wishes to bestow upon us!

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“Know, My daughter, that although I was raised to the dignity of Mother of God, seven swords of pain pierced My heart. Don’t do anything to defend yourself; bear everything with humility; God Himself will defend you.” (Diary of St Faustina, 786)

Most of us would know about St Faustina as the apostle for Christ’s message of Divine Mercy, but did you know she was also an apostle of Mary in learning holiness?

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A friendly reminder that the Divine Mercy Novena begins Good Friday – so be sure to receive the wonderful Gifts which God wishes to bestow upon us!

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In this edition of A Minute with Mary, Paul reflects that though Mary was without sin, she embraced suffering according to the will of God and for her children.

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The great Marian saint, Bernard of Clairvaux, once wrote: “But perhaps someone will say, ‘Did Mary not know ahead of time that her Son was going to die?’ Yes, undoubtedly”, says St Bernard. When we reflect on this we realise that when Mary said ‘Yes’ to God, it was with a full understanding of what She was going to have to face. We can’t help but be in awe of Mary’s complete commitment to God even in the face of having to embrace pain and suffering.

Suffering is the result of original sin. When we consider that Mary was free from original and all sin and yet She still embraced suffering, in a way we could reason it was unfair Mary had to suffer. But Mary was called to imitate Her Son, so even though Jesus and Mary were sinless, they took on suffering. Why? In order to save us!

Mary was given more graces than any person, saint or even angel! She lived continually in the will of God, and suffered so much throughout Her hidden life, thereby winning even more countless graces and blessings.

What does Mary do with all this ‘accumulated wealth’? She spends it on us! – Her children! Because that’s just the way God planned it to be.

All this should make us just want to cry out in praise and thanksgiving to Jesus for all His graces and especially the gift of His very own Mother, to be our Mother too!

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In this edition of A Minute with Mary, Paul reflects on how Mary teaches us to have faith, to trust in God and to open ourselves to His perfect will.

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When we speak of Mary’s Fiat we speak of Her total commitment to God’s will. Mary’s reply to the angel Gabriel was more than just ‘ok’ as if it was something to be contended with, but rather She received it as a treasure, wholeheartedly without reservation, restriction or limitation.

St Augustine says that “Mary is more blessed in receiving the faith of Christ than in conceiving the flesh of Christ.” By this St Augustine means that Mary bore Christ first in Her heart as She lived out Her faith believing in the angels words and responding to them with Her fiat from the deepest, most vital and intimate core of Her heart, always surrendering to the Will of God.

While there truly is a lifetime of spirituality in reflecting upon Mary’s Fiat, one simple aspect is that Mary teaches us how to have faith. Mary first hears the invitation and opens up to it completely. We the believer are called to do the same – we first hear about God’s Word and before we can experience it or test it, we are called to trust in it completely. Mary listens to the Word and keeps it in Her heart allowing it to develop; neither Her intelligence or Her heart opposes God’s action.

Let us unite our Fiat with Mary’s – ‘May it be done to me according to Your Word!’

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What does the Angel Gabriel’s greeting ‘Hail, Full of Grace’ mean? Paul reflects in this edition of A Minute with Mary.

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Popular Scripture scholar Tim Staples, when reflecting upon the Annunciation, comments that in the original Greek it is clear that instead of using Mary’s name in the greeting, Gabriel uses Mary’s role of “Full of Grace”, in place of Her name. By doing this Gabriel stresses Mary’s unique privileges and graces. A better translation could be, “You who have been and still are, full of grace”!

This unusual greeting, full of praise for Mary, made Her somewhat guarded that the angel may not be from God. The Scripture text makes it clear that Mary was not troubled by the angel per se but by “what sort of greeting this might be”.

Gabriel tells Mary that She is to bear a son and name Him Jesus. The logical question arises why would Mary respond to Gabriel with the question “how could this be, since I have no husband?” when She was betrothed to Joseph!

St. Augustine answers this when he rightly says, that “Mary certainly would not have spoken those words if she had not vowed her virginity.”

Now reflect on this: God would have had to give Mary infused graces for Her to comprehend the very notion of God as Trinity and to understand the enormity of the event that the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity was about to become flesh in Her womb!

What awe and wonders await us in heaven when we will come to fully understand the greatness and the mysteries of Mary!

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“Pope John Paul II presents St Joseph as breaking the old vice of male domination, with a model of a loving father, a man who well understood the importance of giving the highest priority to the interior life.”

In this edition of A Minute with Mary Paul looks at St Joseph as a model of masculinity and fatherhood.

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“Mary’s faith and Joseph’s faith became very much a joint adventure through being focused so personally on the mystery of the Divine Child.”

In this edition of A Minute with Mary Paul continues his reflections on the role of St Joseph in the Holy Family.

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“…God the Father handed over the two most important Persons that ever walked the earth – Jesus and Mary – completely into the care of St Joseph – now that’s huge!”

In this edition of A Minute with Mary Paul reflects on the perfect father-son relationship that existed between Christ and St Joseph.

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The post Joseph: Foster-Father of the Redeemer appeared first on Cradio.

In this edition of A Minute with Mary, Paul reflects on how we are called to be sons of the Father and co-workers with Christ.

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When you were a kid and perhaps injured yourself, did anyone ever say, “offer it up!” This idea relates to what St Paul said (Col 1:24), “I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of His body, the Church”.

Now obviously, this could not mean that Christ did not suffer enough. No, this is related with what Paul also said that “we are God’s co-workers” (1 Cor 3:9). Why then does Christ, the sole mediator, require co-workers?

Because God as His role in being Father, raises up sons and daughters to share in that one mediation. By consciously offering up, by uniting our sufferings to our Lord’s redemptive sufferings, we become co-workers.

When Mary united Her Heart to Her Son’s, especially at Calvary, the Blessed Mother became the co-worker par excellence!

What makes Christianity unique? It is that we dare to call God ‘Father’!

Judaism raises believers to be good servants of God. The very word Islam literally means submission to Allah. But Christianity consists neither in servility nor submission but consists in the love of sonship, that divine love in which we all called to partake as co-workers.

The post Dare to Call Him ‘Father’ appeared first on Cradio.

“If you want to check how well you grasp the Gospel in its essence, ask yourself how much do I ‘feast on’ having God as my Father and Mary as my mother? “

In this edition of A Minute with Mary Paul asks us to look at the things we can feast on during this time of Lent…

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In the northern hemisphere, Lent is experienced during spring rather than autumn. Spring time conjures up images of new life and the promise of better times ahead.

For real change in our lives, we need to be challenged to leave behind our negative ways and be truly motivated by the call to experience the fullness of a life lived with Christ. This could be seen as ‘fasting from and feasting on’! My parish priest this week called us to fast from judging and being indifferent to others, and to feast on discovering in them the presence of Christ.

This reflects what our whole attitude should be to our faith. Salvation then is not only FROM sin, but FOR sonship – divine sonship in Christ. We are not merely forgiven by God’s grace; we are adopted and divinized to become partakers of the divine nature as 2 Peter 1:4 states. ‘Children of God, that’s what we are’, says 1 John 3:1.

Mary then, as Mother of God and Mother of His children, shows us how to glorify the Father by receiving the gift of His Son in the fullness of the Spirit. If you want to check how well you grasp the gospel in its essence, ask yourself how much do I ‘feast on’ having God as my Father and Mary as my Mother?

The post Feast While You Fast appeared first on Cradio.

“We are not merely forgiven; we are adopted by the Father as sons and daughters in spite of our sinfulness through the death and resurrection of Jesus.”

In this episode of A Minute with Mary, Paul reflects that we are all children of God, and of Mary, sharing in the very Blood of our Divine King in the Eucharist.

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Maybe we feel distance from Mary because while She is the sinless, royal Queen of heaven, we feel unworthy, stuck in our sin and far from anything royal. But this, as Scott Hahn says, reveals how poorly we have applied the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Pope Leo the Great said, “this is the gift that exceeds all others: God calls man His son, and man calls God ‘Father’.” Through baptism, we are indeed made children of God as St John stresses. The ancient Christians dared to call this action, ‘our divinization’. Then, 200 years later, St Athanasius would say, ‘we need – right now – to recover the early Church’s sense of awe, astonishment and gratitude for the gift at the heart of our redemption’.

The fact we are children of God is the central and most profound fact about redemption. We are not merely forgiven; we are adopted by the Father as sons and daughters in spite of our sinfulness through the death and resurrection of Jesus.

To be a brother or sister of Christ means we came from the same womb. So we can be confident that no matter what we have done or where we’ve been, we can approach the queen of heaven because we are Her children of royal birth, of noble blood – the Blood of Christ that we consume and becomes part of us – through the Eucharist!

The post You are of Royal Blood appeared first on Cradio.

Why do Catholics pray to Mary? Can’t we go straight to Jesus? Paul gives a brief explanation of a common misunderstanding in this edition of A Minute with Mary. 

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Scripture teaches that ‘there is only one mediator between God and man, the man Jesus Christ’ (1 Tim 2:5), and Christianity is all about the community of believers being a part of the Body of Christ, sharing in that one mediation.

Now we think nothing of asking someone to pray for us. In fact, we all know people who seem to have a deep relationship with Jesus, so we especially like to ask them to pray for us because we know their prayers will be more powerful. Well, imagine the depth of the relationship between Jesus and His own Mother Mary! It’s only logical then, and makes good sense to ask Mary to pray for us because Her prayers are THE most powerful of any creature ever created!

When Jesus created His Mother Mary He held back nothing in giving Her every gift He could possibly give Her. Why? So She, in turn, could help us! Just like we see in Scripture at the wedding of Cana.

Mary is one of the greatest gifts Jesus left His Church. How sad it must be for Jesus when people reject the gift of His Mother, and tragically, they do so believing that somehow this is pleasing to Jesus! We need to properly understand Scripture and be faithful to the 2,000 years of Sacred Holy Tradition that Jesus has given us and pray with confidence for Mary’s powerful intercession.

The post Why Do Catholics Pray to Mary? appeared first on Cradio.

Sometimes we hear people say that Christians should never pray to Mary, quoting as proof 1 Tim 2:5 that describes how Jesus Christ is the sole mediator. How are we to understand this?

Paul provides a brief answer in this edition of A Minute with Mary. 

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Sometimes we hear people say that Christians should never pray to Mary or the saints and they usually quote as proof 1 Tim 2:5 that describes how Jesus Christ is the sole mediator.

Christianity is founded on the whole idea of mediation – going through one to get to others. We come to the Father through the Son who certainly is the sole mediator. But we are members of the Body of Christ that St Paul stresses so much and we are called to share in Christ’s one mediation. Without this we could reason we should never pray for anyone else, but of course we know well that St Paul urges us that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be prayed for all people.

That’s exactly what happens when we ask our brothers and sister to pray for us. For Catholics, our brothers and sisters are not just limited to those on earth, but include those in heaven. They too are part of the Kingdom just as Jesus taught in Matt 22:32 that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are, in God’s eyes, not dead but living in heaven.

And of course, Jesus came to us through Mary, so for us to go to Jesus through Mary; we are simply imitating what Jesus did! And of course imitating Jesus is exactly what Scripture calls us to do.

The post If Christ is the Sole Mediator, Why Pray to Mary? appeared first on Cradio.

“Mary’s greatness is not just found in what she says, but the fact that at every crucial moment in the life of Jesus, Mary was also present”.

In this edition of A Minute with Mary, Paul reflects on the important role of Our Lady in Scripture.

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When we read the Gospels we may be tempted to reason that since we only find recorded a limited amount of what Mary spoke, perhaps we could justify not accepting Her significance and importance. But Mary’s greatness is not just found in what She says, but the fact that at every crucial moment in the life of Jesus, Mary was also present.

In the gospels of Matthew and Luke we read about the infancy stories of Jesus. Did you ever stop to think where the evangelists sourced those stories from? The only person who was around to recall those stories was Mary! She would have had to share those events for the evangelist to even know they happened. So again we see Mary humbly, quietly in the background, living out the will of God at every moment.

The early Christians understood the importance of Mary and that’s why from 250 AD they painted Her image and recorded prayers in their catacombs, and dedicated churches to Her. It’s only been in the latter times of Christian history that protestant churches discouraged devotion to Mary.

So let us be faithful to Scripture and the 2,000 years of Sacred Tradition passed down to us from the Apostles and accept the gift – from Jesus – of His own Mother, so that we too can experience Her powerful intercession, guidance and love.

The post Mary & Scripture appeared first on Cradio.

In this edition of A Minute with Mary, Paul reflects on the last moments of life, the importance of trusting in God and intercession of Our Lady.

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At the end of the ‘Hail Mary’ prayer, we ask Mary to prayer for us ‘now, and at the hour of our death’. The time of our death is critical. Even for those who may have neglected their faith throughout their life, salvation is always possible at the last moment. That’s why we must pray for the dying. At the time of our death we must throw ourselves at the mercy of God and TRUST in that mercy. Jesus told St Faustina that the more we trust the more mercy we receive.

We can be sure that Satan the accuser will be hitting us hard with reasons why I should not trust, but remember, God is a bigger Saviour than I am a sinner. There is no sin that cannot be forgiven. In the end, it is the sin of despair than causes us to lose our salvation because we fail to claim God’s mercy with trust. Jesus I trust in you!

But of course lets us not put our salvation at risk by waiting until the last moment. After all it will be very easy to trust in God’s mercy at the moment of death if we have experienced it often throughout our lives! Happy is the person who lives a faithful life and can have a peaceful death by knowing that during his life he asked Mary in the Rosary, countless times – to pray for him now and at the hour of death.

The post Now and at the Hour of Our Death appeared first on Cradio.

Paul explains the devotion to Our Lady, Untier of Knots: a favourite devotion of Pope Francis’.

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Pope Francis has a great devotion to Our Lady under the title of ‘Mary, Untier of Knots’. He was introduced to this devotion during the time he spent studying in Germany back in the 80’s. The devotion is based on a Baroque style painting by that shows the Blessed Virgin Mary surrounded by angels and with the Holy Spirit Dove hovering above a circle of stars as she unties knots into a long strip and at the same time rests her foot on the head of a “knotted” snake that represents Satan.

This concept of Mary untying knots is derived from a work by St. Irenaeus when he presented a parallel between Eve and Mary, describing how the knot of Eve’s disobedience was loosed by the obedience of Mary. What the virgin Eve had tied through unbelief, the Virgin Mary set free through faith.

It’s the simplicity and the motherly dimension of Mary untying the knots in the lives of Her children that makes this devotion popular, but more than that, the lives of countless people have been witnesses to Mary’s powerful intercession in seeing complicated situations in their lives, turned around for the better. If devotion to Mary is not part of your regular prayer life, why not call upon Mary to help you untie the knots in your life.

The post Mary, Untier of Knots appeared first on Cradio.

In this edition of A Minute with Mary, Paul Elarde gives a brief overview of why the belief that Catholics worship Mary is an unfortunate misunderstanding.

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Sometimes we hear people say that Catholics worship Mary. How should we intelligently respond to such a claim? Well, firstly Catholics never have and never will worship Mary or anyone other than God. Personally, I have never known of any Catholic ever who worshiped Mary; to Catholics it seems such a ridiculous thing to say! But I think confusion can come about because some people equate prayer and worship as the same thing. As soon as they see someone praying to Mary or the saints, they immediately regard it as worship. Let me assure you that Catholics do not worship Mary or the saints.

It is important to understand that for Catholics, we generally associate worship with Holy Mass or during Eucharistic adoration, although of course it’s not limited to these occasions. Prayer however, is regarded simply as communication. So while we pray to Mary and the saints – and without going into the technical Latin expressions – worship and adoration are reserved only for God. We use the lesser expressions like ‘honour’ for Mary and the saints.

But it makes me sad to think of how many people through this misunderstanding have never been able to experience in their faith journey, what Jesus Himself was able to experience – that is, the tender embrace and love of His Holy Mother Mary.

The post Do Catholics Worship Mary? appeared first on Cradio.

In this edition of A Minute with Mary, Paul Elarde reflects on how we can learn to be free from anxiety and fear.

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Tradition has it that even though St Peter was head of the Church, St John was regarded as the holiest. It was His devotion to Mary that enabled him to reach those heights of holiness. So for us to grow in holiness there is no better way than to include a strong devotion and love for Mary.

When St John had his head on the heart of Jesus he was not concerned with what others may think of him – that is really a form of pride. John, who was the youngest, was blest to be free from much of the brokenness that so often allows fear to rule our lives. Remember that fear is the favourite tool of Satan. He loves to get us to dwell on thoughts until fear arises. At that point, he can then begin to influence our actions. However, scripture teaches that perfect love casts out fear. St John shows us this throughout the gospels, especially at the foot of the Cross.

If we want to imitate John, then let’s run to Mary and allow Her to guide and lead us in prayer that frees us from all fears and anxiety. St Francis De Sales said that next to sin, anxiety was the greatest evil that can happen to the soul. O Mary, free us from all anxiety, now and at the hour of our death, amen.

The post Anxiety: the Hidden Evil appeared first on Cradio.

In this edition of A Minute with Mary, Paul Elarde reflects on what we can learn from the beloved apostle.

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At the Last Supper, Scripture tells us that John was resting his head on Jesus, then when Jesus announced that someone among them was going to betray Him, it was Peter who nodded to John to ask Jesus who it was. It was as if none of the apostles were comfortable enough to ask Jesus this question, but they all knew John would be able to do this. Why was that the case? Because John’s love for Jesus was uninhibited, it was sincere and very open. In other words, John loved Jesus, and very importantly, John understood Jesus’ love for him. John was able to be himself – without any fear, like none of the other apostles could.

John was able to freely express himself in words and actions because he was so sure of Jesus love for him. He was able to be himself and he knew that Jesus understood and loved him perfectly. That’s a great example of how we should be in our relationship with Jesus.

Tradition has it that John allowed himself to be guided by Mary, being the youngest may have made it very natural to respect Mary, but also he must have been very humble and had an open heart to both Jesus and Mary. Let us then ask St John to pray for us that we can love Jesus and Mary the way he did.

The post A Lesson from St John appeared first on Cradio.

In this edition of A Minute with Mary, Paul Elarde reflects on how the unique relationship between Our Lady and St John the Beloved Apostle.

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When we think of great Marian saints we recall people like St Maximilian Kolbe, St Louis De Montfort or even Pope John Paul II. But did you ever stop to think that the greatest Marian saint of all time is the apostle, St John? Why? Because St John’s spiritual life was formed directly by Mary, the Mother of Jesus.

Scripture tells us that Jesus gave to St John, Mary, to be his and our mother. St John responded to this call by caring for Her for the rest of Her days on earth. We can only imagine what spiritual graces and wonders were passed from Mary to John over those many years of him caring for Her. And St John as his role as priest, for sure would have been able to offer Mass for Mary.

Imagine having the Mother of Jesus speaking to you daily, teaching and guiding you in the ways of the spiritual life? That’s the gift that St John received for being faithful and putting His complete trust in Mary by standing with Her at the foot of the Cross when all the other apostles had fled in fear.

Now we may not be able to hear Mary audibly speaking to us like St John could, but we certainly can experience Mary’s guidance and motherly love for us if we open ourselves to the Holy Spirit and invoke Her powerful intercession.

The post Who is the Greatest Marian Saint? appeared first on Cradio.

In this edition of A Minute of Mary, Paul Elarde continues his reflections on the apparitions and miracles of Lourdes.

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Hear the full story of how Paul’s wife was healed at Lourdes. 

More on the story of Lourdes. 

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When Our Lady appeared to St Bernadette in Lourdes, the parish priest asked Bernadette to ask the Lady who She is – prudently fearing that the apparition may be of Satan. Finally, during the 16th apparition, Our Lady said: “I am the Immaculate Conception”. The uneducated Bernadette had no idea what this meant but when She gave the reply to her priest, he was taken aback because he knew young Bernadette could not have made this up. It also confirmed the recently proclaimed Dogma of the Church that because of the merits of the Cross of Jesus, Mary was conceived without original sin.

Our Lady told Bernadette, “I do not promise to make you happy in this world but in the next.” And so Bernadette suffered much, through illness during her short life as a nun and died at the age of 22. Her body was later found to be incorrupt and can be still seen today in a glass case at her convent in Never, France.

In 2008, while on pilgrimage, I witnessed a lady walk out of her wheelchair in Lourdes after nine pain-filled years. Today she is completely and permanently healed, and also my wife! You can hear her amazing story from the Cradio library under the talks of ‘Our Queen, Our Mother’. Obviously, this experience greatly impacted my faith and reinforces the truth and the seriousness of the messages that Our Lady calls us to embrace.

The post Miracles Do Happen appeared first on Cradio.

In this edition of A Minute with Mary, Paul Elarde reflects on the main message Our Lady gave to Bernadette at Lourdes.

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At Lourdes, like so many other apparitions, Our Lady calls us to conversion, penance and prayer. Why, because this is essential for our salvation. ‘Repent and believe’, is the first call of the gospel. In our times, much of the world rejects this message – to its own peril. To save us from our own self-destruction, Our Lady appears at places like Lourdes and calls us to life with Her Son Jesus. Only through Jesus does anyone obtain salvation.

Our Lady said to Bernadette, “Penance, penance, penance, pray for sinners”. Our Lady directed Bernadette to scrape the ground, saying to her: “Go to the spring, drink of it and wash yourself there”. And so began the waters of the underground spring, which started as a trickle and now for the last 150 years has produced over 100,000 litres of water every week. These waters represent the washing and renewal of our spiritual life. Sometimes miraculous physical cures also occur. But everyone who comes to Lourdes with a sincere heart can experience some level of healing whether spiritual, emotional or physical – all in accordance with God’s perfect will of love for us.

During the thirteenth apparition, Our Lady said to Bernadette: “Go, tell the priests to come here in procession and build a chapel here.” Today, every night during the summer months, 70,000 people come in procession around the large basilica that has been built to honour Her Son Jesus.

The post The Message of Lourdes appeared first on Cradio.

In this edition of A Minute with Mary, Paul Elarde reflects on the apparition of Our Lady at Lourdes.

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In 1858 in Lourdes, France, Our Lady appeared to a young fourteen-year-old girl named Bernadette Soubirous. Mary would appear to her eighteen times starting on the 11th February to 16th July. Now Bernadette was a simple, uneducated girl who had poor health. One day, when collecting firewood, Bernadette heard a noise like a gust of wind although no trees were moving. She saw a beautiful lady dressed in white above the grotto. This grotto was a place where the pigs sheltered.

It was not until the 3rd apparition that Our Lady speak. By this time Bernadette had pen and paper ready, but Our Lady told Bernadette that what She has to say, did not need to be written down. This simple yet extraordinary message tells us that Our Lady wanted a relationship of the heart. She calls us today to the same kind of relationship with Her – one of the Heart, one of a Mother who protects, guides and loves Her children.

Our Lady appears over a pig shelter as a sign that She wants to transform us into something beautiful. She wants to transform our souls so that we can become holy for Her Son and reflect His love to our world which so desperately needs to know and experience the power of God’s love.

The post Our Lady Appears at Lourdes appeared first on Cradio.

Paul Elarde reflects on what Mary shows us about what it means to be great in God’s eyes.

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It’s important to remember that the greatness of Mary in the Scriptures is not found in what Mary says nor even what She does. We don’t see her performing miracles for example. Mary is great because She lives out the will of God in every moment of Her existence! And She does it like no one else has ever done, or will do! Remember living out the will of God is much more than simply avoiding sin. There is so much for us to reflect about in imitating Mary in this regard and its profound implications into how we are pleasing in God’s eyes. To be great in God’s eyes we don’t have to do great things. That’s the way of the world. No, to be great in God’s eyes will have to do His will in every moment. This may well include doing some great things, but these acts only have value to God because they are first and foremost His will. In this way we allow God to be directly active in the world.

At the foot of the cross we see Mary’s bravery and fidelity to God’s will. It cost Her greatly to have to witness the suffering and death of Her Son on the Cross. She calls us also to be at the Cross because it’s only at the Cross that we can allow the grace of resurrection to transform our lives – even in this life!

The post Greatness in the Little Things appeared first on Cradio.

Why do you need Mary when you can go straight to Jesus? Paul Elarde explains the answer to this common question in the latest edition of Minute with Mary.

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We sometimes hear people say “I don’t pray to Mary, I go straight to Jesus” as if leaving out Mary was some kind of a shortcut! However, the exact opposite is, in fact, the case! The shortcut to Jesus is through Mary! She knows Jesus better than any person who ever lived. Why should we be surprised at this truth, after all, Mary is the Mother of Jesus! Who understands you better than your mother?

If our image of God is master-slave, then we will always see Mary as a threat to Jesus. In Catholic theology, we see ourselves more than ‘freed prisoners’ or “snow covered dung” as Calvin would say. Catholic theology teaches we see ourselves as children of God, yes we are sinners, but with grace, we can rise to be holy. God as our loving Father then empowers us with His love, and in Mary, He has empowered Her the most!

There is a beautiful quote that I love from the great St Maximilian Kolbe; it goes like this: “Never be afraid of loving the Blessed Virgin Mary too much…you can never love her more than Jesus did! If anyone does not wish to have Mary Immaculate for his mother, he will not have Christ for his brother.”

The post How Mary is the Shortcut to Jesus appeared first on Cradio.

Many Catholics struggle with devotion to Our Lady and the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception. Paul helps us understand why she is crucial to our understanding of who Christ is.

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Devotion to Mary goes back to ancient times; the prayer, “We Fly to Thy Patronage O Holy Mother of God”, which I use to say every day at school, was found written on the walls of the catacombs so we know that has been prayed, from at least 250AD. That’s more than a hundred years before the New Testament was formally declared as part of the canon of Scripture.

Now if you think you have ‘a problem with Mary’, can I respectfully suggest to you that you really are having ‘a problem with Jesus’? If Mary is not part of your spirituality then you have not correctly understood who Jesus is and the immense significance it is that God chooses to become a human person, ‘born of a woman’! (Gal 4:4). God cannot be made in the human flesh from anything that is a part of sin, so Mary has to be sinless! If you disagree, then can I put it to you that you are not understanding the truth of who Jesus is!

Did you ever stop to think that Jesus is the only one who could choose and create His mother! If you could choose and create your mother – would you preserve her free from sin? Of course, you would but that is an absurd concept! But not for Jesus! Jesus can, and, in fact, did just that…preserved His Mother free from sin in view of the merits of His Cross.

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The post Why a Problem with Mary is Really a Problem with Jesus appeared first on Cradio.

“Behold I bring you good news of great joy which will come to all the people!” (Lk 2:10)

What is this joy that the angels speak of? It is a Divine joy of friendship offered to us from God’s superabundance of love. Paul Elarde reflects on the joy of Christmas in this edition of A Minute with Mary. 

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The post Discover the True Joy of Christmas appeared first on Cradio.

God could have easily chosen to appear on earth as a fully grown man and the story of Jesus could have begun from there. But no, God chose that Jesus should become a tiny embryo in the womb of Mary and be born as a helpless baby! In this edition of A Minute with Mary, Paul reflects on Our Lady’s role in the plan of salvation.

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The post No Mary, No Jesus; Know Mary, Know Jesus appeared first on Cradio.

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The post Honour Thy Father AND Thy Mother appeared first on Cradio.

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The post Why Do Catholics Honour Mary? appeared first on Cradio.

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The post If Mary Was Without Sin, Did She Need to be Saved? appeared first on Cradio.

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The post What’s so Special About Mary? appeared first on Cradio.

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The post The Challenge of Waiting and Trusting appeared first on Cradio.

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The post Afraid of the End Times? appeared first on Cradio.

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The post What Does it Mean to ‘Hope’ in God? appeared first on Cradio.

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The post The Power of Praise appeared first on Cradio.

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The post The World’s Most Powerful Prayer appeared first on Cradio.

Maintaining relationships requires communication, if there is no communication there is no relationship. In this edition of A Minute with Mary Paul reflects on how this is true also in our relationship with God and Our Lady. 

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The post No Prayer, No Relationship appeared first on Cradio.

One of the keys to living a holy life is to know yourself: once you see who you are you will see your littleness and the greatness and mercy of God. In this edition of A Minute with Mary Paul reflects on how Our Lady exemplifies this understanding. 

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The post There is a God, It’s Not You appeared first on Cradio.

Everything we have is a gift from God – do we recognise these gifts and give thanks, or do we take them for granted and fall into pride? In this edition of A Minute with Mary Paul reflects on how we can sometimes mistake God’s gifts as our own. 

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In this edition of A Minute with Mary Paul reflects on the Gospel account of the Visitation of Our Lady to her cousin Elizabeth and her example of humility. 

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In Revelations 12:17 we read: ‘The dragon became angry with the woman.’ Notice the use of Mary’s royal title of ‘woman’. The text goes on, “and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring.” Now we know that Mary only gave birth to Jesus, so who are the rest of Mary’s offspring that scripture is referring to here? Well, the very next line of the text tells us; “those who keep God’s commandments and bear witness to Jesus.” So in other words scripture is saying that all who keep God’s commandments and bear witness to Jesus are children of Mary! And conversely, those who do not, are ‘offspring’ of the serpent.

The battle we see against our Catholic faith today is very real. Never be deluded that what you are witnessing is nothing other than a spiritual battle between Heaven and Hell. Those who deny the existence of Satan have already lost their battle. There is absolutely no doubt of the outcome of this battle. Be assured the Word of God is final – it has already been decided. It was won at the Cross of Jesus; with Mary leading the victorious and faithful disciples to the foot of the Cross!

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In the Gospel of St John (19:25-27) we read Mary, the Mother of Jesus was at the foot of the Cross. “When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, behold, your son.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold, your mother.’ And from that hour, the disciple took her into his home.” Notice how St John uses the word ‘mother’ three times, however when Jesus speaks to His Mother directly, He calls Her ‘woman’. The use of this expression by Jesus is deliberate. ‘Woman’ is, if you like, Mary’s ‘royal title’ that links back to Genesis 3:15, the prediction that the offspring of ‘the woman’ will crush the head of Satan.

Jesus gave us His Mother because He knew that we would need Her maternal love. In the midst of His suffering on the cross – what was His solution for all our troubles? – Take my Mother! Once your heart is open to this reality of the love of Mary, then you allow God to bless you from the riches of Her maternal Heart. Mary cares about everything that happens to us because after all, that’s what mother do!

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Genesis 3:15 was referred to by the Church Fathers as the first statement of the Gospel. Here, God, responding to Satan, says: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel.” This text predicts that there will be a war between Satan and ‘the woman’, however, the offspring of ‘the woman’ will crush the head of Satan. So in predicting a war between Satan and Mary, God promises Mary and Jesus Her offspring, will be victorious!

If you ever doubt the reality of this war, just look at how everything beautiful that is associated with the feminine genius (to quote J), has been under Satan’s attack – motherhood, fertility – especially through contraception and abortion, the degrading of women’s sexuality in fashions, pornography, and the physical, emotional and sexual abuse of women. Understand that these attacks of Satan are – in the final analysis – an attack against Mary. But do not be afraid, never doubt God will fulfil His promise. The Immaculate Heart of Mary will triumph! Mary is leading the battle for this victory and for the salvation of all Her children.

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There is no other relationship like mother and child. Why? Because we grow from a single cell to a complete human baby within our mothers and then for so much of our early life, we are totally dependent upon our mothers. God made things that way.

Now Mary wants us to be spirituality formed in Her, just as Jesus was physically. If it was good enough for Jesus then it is good enough for us!

There is a heart to heart bond between mother and child that is beyond words. But don’t be concerned if you may not have experienced this from your earthly mother – because no mother is perfect no matter how sincere she may be. But the great news is that you still can experience a perfect mother’s love from your heavenly Mother, who loves you more than you can even possibly imagine. Mary will bring comfort and love to console you, heal your wounds and wipe away your tears. And only Mary can bring to you the fullness of the Heart of Her Son Jesus, who is THE source of all happiness!

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In this edition of A Minute with Mary, Paul reflects on a crucial aspect of the Christian life: childlike dependency on God Our Father and on the tender care of our heavenly mother.

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When we are called to love God like a child, what does that really mean? Well, what do all children have in common? Dependency! Dependency upon their parents! So we are called to be dependent upon Jesus and Mary. A small helpless baby, held by its mother, is the perfect example of dependency and tenderness. Mary’s Heart is our refuge of tenderness – just as it was for Jesus! He wants us to experience that same tenderness as He did!

Do we open or close our heart to the gift of our heavenly Mother? Like some children – there are those who reject the love of their mother. They suffer badly in life because of their poor choices. Perhaps Mary’s motherly love will challenge us where we might be in our lives. Maybe Her purity or humility might really challenge us. In some ways, it might appear easier to reject than accept Her love. But never forget, Mary’s love is full of compassion and is united with God’s powerful love to heal and transform no matter where we are or what we have done in the past. But remember, it all begins with prayer!

The post What Does it Mean to ‘Become Like Little Children’? appeared first on Cradio.

In this edition of A Minute with Mary Paul reflects on Mary’s role in the heart of the Blessed Trinity as mother of Christ and of us.

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Pope John Paul II said that ‘God in His deepest mystery is not a solitude, but a family.’ Popular Catholic author Scott Hahn says, notice the Pope did not say God is like a family, but God is a family. When we look at who God is, it tells us so much about who we are and how we were designed to function. We are made in God’s image and likeness. God lives in a harmonious relationship within Himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit – each self-donating within this loving relationship. God expresses Himself so that our natural world reflects realities of the supernatural world.

All Christians understand that we have a Father in Heaven. This Father gives us His Son, so that we can be brothers and sisters of Jesus. And what’s obviously missing in this family? A mother!! So if Mary is the Mother of Jesus and we are brothers and sisters of Jesus, then Mary is our Mother as well! – yours and mine – our spiritual Mother. It’s no coincidence that God uses family and Motherhood as a means to teach us spiritual truths and realities.

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The Fifth Luminous Mystery: Institution of the Holy Eucharist

“He took bread, gave thanks, broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My Body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” (Luke 22:19)

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The miracle that happens at every Holy Mass is the greatest miracle of all – Jesus, the King of Kings, humbles Himself to become bread and wine! Why? So that we might be united with Him in Holy Communion and allow Him to spiritually nourish us within that union.

In John’s Gospel Jesus keeps stressing and repeating over and over the truth of His Real Presence, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.” (Jn6:53)

Jesus is present in the Eucharist ‘par excellence’ because His presence is substantial and through it Christ becomes present whole and entire, both God and man. That’s why the Church teaches we must be in a state of grace to worthily receive Jesus in Holy Communion.

Let us reflect on how Jesus patiently waits for us in every Tabernacle! He longs to give His Heart to us through His presence in the Eucharist. Do I spend time with Jesus, adoring Him in the Eucharist? Our Lady has made it known that She is always present adoring Her Son at every Eucharist Adoration.

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The Fourth Luminous Mystery: the Transfiguration

“And he was transfigured before them, and His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became dazzling white.” (Matt 17:2)

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When Jesus’ body was transfigured we are reminded of our final destiny and true reality – that like Jesus, we the faithful, are destined for eternal glory.

As Our Lady once said, ‘this life is but a drop in the ocean of eternity!’ What wonders did the apostles witness that day! How they must have treasured this experience in their hearts for the rest of their lives. They would have been able to draw strength from that experience when the times got difficult. But we too have rare special moments of grace when we glimpse the glory of God.

What are the special moments for you when Jesus or Mary deeply touched your heart? Do you still treasure those moments now or have you allowed your reasoning to dismiss them? Let us remember to give thanks for the unique experiences of grace that God allowed to speak only to us – that’s why no one else understands them. What strength we can draw, right now, from those special moments!

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The Third Luminous Mystery: the Proclamation of the Kingdom of God

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” (Mark 1:15)

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The Proclamation of the Kingdom is the foundational call to conversion – ‘repent and believe’.

Humility and honesty are important when admitting that I have sinned against God’s love. How often do I repent of my failings? Jesus came to set us free so that we are not burdened with our misery and sins. Only Jesus can do this through His death and resurrection. We cannot save ourselves.

Sadly, many people do not understand the enormity of God’s mercy. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is where, as Jesus said, we experience the miracle of God’s Love and Mercy. It’s not about guilt or blame – it’s all about love! Jesus wants to set us free from our burdens but it all begins with an honesty to admit that we have failed and to trust in God’s mercy. As Jesus told St Faustina, trust is the key to mercy. There is no sin that can block the mercy of God. Jesus is a greater Saviour than I am a sinner!

Jesus I trust in You! Mary, Mother of Mercy, pray for me.

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The Second Luminous Mystery: the Miracle at the Wedding Feast at Cana

Jesus changed water into wine, the first of His signs, and revealed His glory; and His disciples believed in Him. (John 2:11)

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It was at Cana that Jesus revealed His glory by His first public miracle, at the special request of His Mother Mary.

Even though solving the problem of embarrassment of the bride and groom because they had ran short of wine did not seem to be as significant as other miracles Jesus would later do, nonetheless He did this miracle through Mary’s intercession, to begin His public life.

Do I ever think that my prayer is too small for Jesus to be concerned with? Do I pray through Mary as the ‘shortcut to Jesus’ to maximise my prayer?

Mary knew Jesus so well. She knew He would respond to Her request. What wonders must have flowed between Jesus and Mary for all those 30 years before his public life so that they were able to understand each other so well? Who can deny a mothers request? But Mary acknowledges her Son’s Divinity and reminds us that the will of God can always be trusted when she says “Do whatever He tells you!”

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The First Luminous Mystery: The Baptism of Our Lord

The Spirit descended like a dove on Him. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; and with You I am pleased.” (Mark 1:10)

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When Jesus was baptised, He showed us the importance of Baptism, even though He had no need of repentance Himself.

At the Baptism of Jesus, for the very first time, the Holy Trinity is publicly revealed; The Father voices His love for Jesus, His Son; and the Holy Spirit is present in the form of a dove.

In baptism I am made a child of God – heir to an eternal life with Him in heaven! As Scripture clearly teaches, it is only through baptism that I can be born again. In today’s world, so many problems exist because of our poor self-worth. How many want to be famous, rich or powerful; all trying to give meaning to their life. But the truth is, my fulfilment in life is only possible through the realisation of my greatness because my Father in heaven loves me – as if I were His only child – and has invited me to realise my greatness that I am made in God’s image and likeness. He has given me a spiritual Mother in Mary to help me discover that it is through love alone, that I find fulfilment in my life.

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The Fifth Joyful Mystery: the Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple

And it came to pass after three days, that they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. (Luke 2:46) 

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The story of Jesus going missing as a child calls us to enter deeply and trust in the mysterious ways of God. Mary and Joseph could not understand why Jesus had gone missing, but in some mysterious way the Father wanted to give Mary and Joseph a further opportunity to grow in grace and virtue by surrendering and trusting everything to Him – even their precious Child.

For three days Jesus was missing. Later in life Jesus would again reveal Himself on the third day. Mary and Joseph eventually found Jesus in the temple – in His Father’s house, doing the will of His Father. Mary pondered God’s mysteries in her heart.

Let us too ponder the often mysterious ways that God works in our lives but always at the same time trusting in His perfect love. Remember also, this Scripture reminds us that when we want to find Jesus, we find Him in His Church – we find Him in the Eucharist!

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The Fourth Joyful Mystery: the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple

And when the days of her purification were fulfilled according to the Law of Moses, they took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. (Luke 2: 22-23) 

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When Mary presented the baby Jesus in the temple she entrusted Him to the Father. By this consecration, Mary surrendered Her will to the Father’s trusting completely that God’s ways will bring about the best possible outcome for herself and for everyone who trusts in God – even though She may not have completely understood everything at the time.

Let us imitate Pope John Paul II and completely entrust ourselves to Mary, so that She can present us, through Her Son, to the Father. In entrusting ourselves to Mary we surrender and trust that God’s will is nothing but the perfect expression of His love for us.

At the temple Simeon and Anna rejoiced at witnessing the presence of Jesus. We also rejoice at Jesus presence, especially in the Holy Eucharist. Through the poverty of the Holy Family and their example, they teach us to be faithful to the laws of the Church and to trust completely in God’s loving provision for us.

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The Third Joyful Mystery: the Birth of Our Lord

“And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” (Luke 2:7)

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In becoming man, God in a profound and mysterious way offers Himself to be united to every person, sanctifying all humanity and enabling us to become children of God! Jesus not only reveals the love of God our Father, but ‘fully reveals man to himself and brings to light his most high calling’, showing us the special dignity we have, and calling us to live worthy lives, as royal children of God.

Today, human life is treated with much disrespect. But when we recognise our uniqueness, what it really means to be children of God, we will no longer look down upon any person. This life is very short, it’s worth every effort to make sure don’t live a wasted life by missing out on our eternal inheritance as children of God. And just as Mary is the Mother of Jesus, we as His disciples, are given Mary as our spiritual Mother.

Jesus allowed Himself to be born in an animal trough: Jesus’ Body would later become food for our souls by nourishing us in the gift of His very Self in the Holy Eucharist.

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