This week we look at Mary in two ways. First, we explore the 100th anniversary of Our Lady’s appearance in 1917 to three peasant children in Fatima, Portugal. Second, we explore a mother’s life with the help and assistance of Mary — especially during times of great sufferings and trials. My guest is Judy Klein, who shares her story with us, as found in her latest book, Mary’s Way: The Power of Entrusting Your Child to God.
“Why then is it the woman who is veiled? First, the woman is the model of Church (as pointed out by Saint Paul), and the Church is the mystical body of Christ. Much like the Eucharistic body of Christ is veiled under various layers, so too is the Church, and the woman represents Church.
Second, it is the woman that brings forth new life, the most profound manifestation of mystery capable in the created realm. It is the woman that gives birth to a new person and thereby changes the entire created order – even the angels are not capable of such a mystery. As Christ turned His blood into the Eucharistic food for his disciples, so too does the woman change her own blood into food for her infant.
We veil what is most sacred, and understood in this manner it is not so much that the woman wears a veil out of respect for the Church, but rather the Church gives a veil out of respect for the woman” (Jake Tawney).
And Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed; 49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. 50 And his mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation. 51 He has shown strength with his arm, he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts, 52 he has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted those of low degree; 53 he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away. 54 He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, 55 as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his posterity for ever.”
2 Chronicles 16:9, For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show his might in behalf of those whose heart is blameless toward him.
Genesis 49:26, The blessings of your father are mighty beyond the blessings of the eternal mountains, the bounties of the everlasting hills; may they be on the head of Joseph, and on the brow of him who was separate from his brothers.
1 Corinthians 11:13-17, Judge for yourselves; is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? Does not nature itself teach you that for a man to wear long hair is degrading to him, but if a woman has long hair, it is her pride? For her hair is given to her for a covering.
In Old Testament times, uncovering a woman’s head was seen as a way to humiliate a woman or to punish adultresses and those women who transgressed the Law (e.g.., Numbers 5:12-18, Isaiah 3:16-17, Song of Solomon 5:7).
John 12:1-8, Mary Magdalene uncovers her hair and anoints Jesus.
CCC 490-492, To become the mother of the Saviour, Mary “was enriched by God with gifts appropriate to such a role.” The angel Gabriel at the moment of the annunciation salutes her as “full of grace”. In fact, in order for Mary to be able to give the free assent of her faith to the announcement of her vocation, it was necessary that she be wholly borne by God’s grace…
The “splendour of an entirely unique holiness” by which Mary is “enriched from the first instant of her conception” comes wholly from Christ: she is “redeemed, in a more exalted fashion, by reason of the merits of her Son”. The Father blessed Mary more than any other created person “in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” and chose her “in Christ before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless before him in love”.
This week’s lectio exercise is based on an Ignatian approach. Go on! Try it!
Read (Lectio)
Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Laz’arus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. There they made him a supper; Martha served, and Laz’arus was one of those at table with him. Mary took a pound of costly ointment of pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment.
But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was to betray him), said, “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” This he said, not that he cared for the poor but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box he used to take what was put into it. Jesus said, “Let her alone, let her keep it for the day of my burial. The poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”
Meditate (Meditatio)
Place yourself in this narrative, first as Jesus, then Mary Magdalene, and lastly, as Judas. What do you see, hear, feel on or against your skin, smell, taste? What are your thoughts and emotions from each point of view as the episode plays out?
Pray (Oratio)
Talk to God about whatever rises up in your heart and mind. What do you sense He might want you to do this week? How do you feel about that?
Rest (Contemplatio)
Perhaps you’d like to take a few minutes to sit at Jesus’ feet like Mary Magdalene.
Sonja Corbitt is the Bible Study Evangelista. She’s a Catholic Scripture teacher with a story teller’s gift – a Southern Belle with a warrior’s heart and a poet’s pen.
We’re all sweating and dirty with the effort to love and lift all He’s given to us – those people, duties, callings, and longings that break our hearts and make them sing, sometimes at the same time. But most times, we need to be loved and lifted ourselves.
So her Bible study media are created with you in mind, bites of spinach that taste like cake, to help you make space in your busy heart and schedule for God to love and lift you all the way up into His great lap, where all you’ve been given is loved and lifted too.
SP#1 “Opening Our Hearts in Prayer” – The School of Prayer: Foundations for the New Evangelization
Fr. Scott Traynor begins this series on prayer by describing how Jesus Christ desires a deep personal relationship of the heart with each of us and how this is the true foundation for the New Evangelization. He discusses the adventure of the life of faith and the gifts the Father wishes to shower upon us in union with Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. He breaks open the reality of the indwelling Holy Spirit, who is the great teacher of prayer. Fr. Traynor encourages us to grow in union with Trinity through opening our hearts in prayer. In Father Scott Traynor’s book, Blessed John Paul II’s memorable call to make of the parish a school of prayer takes on flesh and becomes concretely attainable. Those you read these faith-filled pages will find renewed desire to create such parishes and a clear road-map toward this goal.
–Father Timothy Gallagher, OMV
Father Scott Traynor received his STB from the Pontifical Gregorian University and his JCL from Catholic University of America. He has been an instructor and spiritual director for many of the programs at the Institute for Priestly Formation.
Father Traynor is a retreat master and spiritual director who has travelled the country as a speaker at various conferences, diocesan gatherings and national conferences.. He is especially sought after to present on the topics of prayer, discernment and priestly identity and mission.
He serves the Rector of the St. John Vianney Theological Seminary in Denver Colorado.
Join host Donna Garrett, with Fr. Daniel Brandenburg, LC, as they discuss the spiritual classic “Interior Freedom” by Fr. Jacques Philippe a priest of Communaute des Beatitudes, an international association of the faithful of Pontifical Right founded in France in 1973. The members of the Community, which has a contemplative vocation based on Carmelite spirituality, are actively engaged in the service of the poor and the proclamation of the Gospel.
Discussed in this episode, among other topics, from “Interior Freedom” page 121-122
Donna Garrett is joined in this particular series by Fr. Daniel Brandenburg, LC
“Identity is not rooted in the sum of one’s aptitudes. Individuals have a unique value and dignity independently of what they can do. Someone who doesn’t realize this is at risk of having a real identity crisis. on the day he or she experiences failure, or of despising others when faced with their limitations. Where is there room for the poor and handicapped in a world where people are measured by the efficiency and the profit they can produce?
Here it is worth reflecting on the problem of pride. We are all born with a deep wound, experienced as a lack of being. We seek to compensate by constructing a self different than our real self. This artificial self requires large amounts of energy to maintain it, being fragile it needs protecting. Woe to anyone who contradicts it, threatens it, questions it, or inhibits its expansion. When the Gospel says we must ‘die to ourselves’, it means this artificial ego, this constructed self must die so that the real self given us by God can emerge.”
On the feast of St. Philip Neri, Msgr. Esseff shares a special reflection on the Gospel of the Day. Also, he asks if you have unforgiveness in your heart towards someone who has died. He offers a remedy to that alienation.
Gospel JN 16:20-23
Jesus said to his disciples:
‘I tell you most solemnly,
you will be weeping and wailing
while the world will rejoice;
you will be sorrowful,
but your sorrow will turn to joy.
A woman in childbirth suffers,
because her time has come;
but when she has given birth to the child she forgets the suffering
in her joy that a man has been born into the world.
So it is with you: you are sad now,
but I shall see you again, and your hearts will be full of joy,
and that joy no one shall take from you.
When that day comes,
you will not ask me any questions.’
The readings on this page are from the Jerusalem Bible, which is used at Mass in most of the English-speaking world.
In this episode, Fr. Timothy Gallagher discusses the deep devotion Ven. Bruno Lanteri had for the Blessed Virgin Mary. It was a deep relationship of love between Ven. Lanteri and Our Lady. Fr. Gallagher offers what a Marian devotion can bring to the spiritual life. He goes on to say that there is something safe about turning to the Blessed Mother in our struggles which is deeply rooted in our Catholic tradition.
Can you imagine how deliriously happy Mary must have been at the miraculous word of that angel as it took root in her? I wonder how many motherhood scenarios she imagined in her heart in the months before He arrived. What would He smell like, what would He look like, what would He be like? Did she fight heartburn and sew tiny clothes and embroider swaddling cloths?
What am I waiting for? When will my life take on that breathless anticipation with which I barely sleep three winks, and awaken before dawn to charge into whatever the new day holds?
I asked the Lord, once, why adulthood is solemnly bereft of such excitement, if we’re supposed to be such a joyful people. I asked if, just one more time, He might give me that experience, the I-can’t-sleep-I’m-so-excited giddiness of Christmas Eve. What followed has been a breathless discovery of His full-blown love and the desire of His heart for me through the Scriptures, faith to faith (Rom 1:17), word upon word.
Mary knows. It’s the Word of God that brings the crazy, twirly, fist-pumping joy.
And Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed; 49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. 50 And his mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation. 51 He has shown strength with his arm, he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts, 52 he has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted those of low degree; 53 he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away. 54 He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, 55 as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his posterity for ever.”
Romans 6:23, The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Wisdom 11:16, One is punished by the very things by which he sins.
Revelation 12, Mary as Queen of Heaven and “the woman” of Genesis 3.
Revelation 12:17, Mary as our Mother: Then the dragon was angry with the woman, and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and bear testimony to Jesus.
This week’s lectio exercise is based on an Augustinian approach. Go on! Try it!
Read (Lectio)
As you read through the words of the Magnificat, above, imagine that Mary is speaking them directly to you about herself.
Meditate (Meditatio)
Revelation 12:7 (see above) is one place the Bible speaks of Mary as the mother of all Christians. Spend a few moments rewriting or re-wording Mary’s Magnificat so that it could be a prayer that Mary is praying for you and over you as your Mother, at this very moment in your life. Change or omit whatever words or phrases that do not apply to you. Close your eyes and imagine Mary praying this song over you today. Like this:
And Mary said: “Sonja’s (your name’s) soul magnifies the Lord, and her spirit rejoices in God her Savior…”
Pray (Oratio)
Pray your new prayer back to God for your own children and/or grandchildren. As you consider yourself, and then your own children or grandchildren as the object(s) of this prayer, what emotions and/or inspirations arise in you? What does God want you to do now?
Rest (Contemplatio)
Perhaps you’d like to take a few minutes to simply bask in the warmth of God’s love in giving you a spiritual mother in addition to His Son.
Sonja Corbitt is the Bible Study Evangelista. She’s a Catholic Scripture teacher with a story teller’s gift – a Southern Belle with a warrior’s heart and a poet’s pen.
We’re all sweating and dirty with the effort to love and lift all He’s given to us – those people, duties, callings, and longings that break our hearts and make them sing, sometimes at the same time. But most times, we need to be loved and lifted ourselves.
So her Bible study media are created with you in mind, bites of spinach that taste like cake, to help you make space in your busy heart and schedule for God to love and lift you all the way up into His great lap, where all you’ve been given is loved and lifted too.
Idleness is the enemy of the soul; and therefore the brethren ought to be employed in manual labor at certain times, at others, in devout reading. Hence, we believe that the time for each will be properly ordered by the following arrangement; namely, that from Easter till the calends of October, they go out in the morning from the first till about the fourth hour, to do the necessary work, but that from the fourth till about the sixth hour they devote to reading. After the sixth hour, however, when they have risen from table, let them rest in their beds in complete silence; or if, perhaps, anyone desireth to read for himself, let him so read that he doth not disturb others. Let None be said somewhat earlier, about the middle of the eighth hour; and then let them work again at what is necessary until Vespers.
If, however, the needs of the place, or poverty should require that they do the work of gathering the harvest themselves, let them not be downcast, for then are they monks in truth, if they live by the work of their hands, as did also our forefathers and the Apostles. However, on account of the faint-hearted let all things be done with moderation.
From the calends of October till the beginning of Lent, let them apply themselves to reading until the second hour complete. At the second hour let Tierce be said, and then let all be employed in the work which hath been assigned to them till the ninth hour. When, however, the first signal for the hour of None hath been given, let each one leave off from work and be ready when the second signal shall strike. But after their repast let them devote themselves to reading or the psalms.
During the Lenten season let them be employed in reading from morning until the third hour, and till the tenth hour let them do the work which is imposed on them. During these days of Lent let all received books from the library, and let them read them through in order. These books are to be given out at the beginning of the Lenten season.
Above all, let one or two of the seniors be appointed to go about the monastery during the time that the brethren devote to reading and take notice, lest perhaps a slothful brother be found who giveth himself up to idleness or vain talk, and doth not attend to his reading, and is unprofitable, not only to himself, but disturbeth also others. If such a one be found (which God forbid), let him be punished once and again. If he doth not amend, let him come under the correction of the Rule in such a way that others may fear. And let not brother join brother at undue times.
On Sunday also let all devote themselves to reading, except those who are appointed to the various functions. But if anyone should be so careless and slothful that he will not or cannot meditate or read, let some work be given him to do, that he may not be idle.
Let such work or charge be given to the weak and the sickly brethren, that they are neither idle, nor so wearied with the strain of work that they are driven away. Their weakness must be taken into account by the Abbot.
Father Mauritius Wilde, OSB, Ph.D., did his philosophical, theological and doctoral studies in Europe. He is the author of several books and directs retreats regularly. He serves as Prior at Sant’Anselmo in Rome.
Join host Donna Garrett, with Fr. Daniel Brandenburg, LC, as they discuss the spiritual classic “Interior Freedom” by Fr. Jacques Philippe a priest of Communaute des Beatitudes, an international association of the faithful of Pontifical Right founded in France in 1973. The members of the Community, which has a contemplative vocation based on Carmelite spirituality, are actively engaged in the service of the poor and the proclamation of the Gospel.
Discussed in this episode, among other topics, from “Interior Freedom” page 112
Donna Garrett is joined in this particular series by Fr. Daniel Brandenburg, LC
“Instead of following the impulses of the Spirit, people give themselves up, under a pretext of freedom, to their passions to selfishness and sin and sin in all its forms: immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, envy, drunkenness carousing and the like. St Paul reminds us of a classic teaching worth repeating in these confused times; licentiousness is not freedom. It s slavery in which people are trapped by what is most superficial in humanity selfish desires, fears weaknesses and so on. We must wage an unceasing fight against the tendencies described by St Paul and must remain permanently open to the healing graces that come from the Cross of Christ. Then we become truly capable of accomplishing good.”
In this episode Pat talks about finding a way through grief, loss, and tribulation. She speaks with Catholic author and singer-songwriter Susan Bailey. Together they discuss recovery from loss or grief and how to deal with it creatively and with the help of prayer and the sacraments. Pat and Susan talk about her kayaking experiences and the spiritual lessons she learned from it, as captured in her book, River of Grace.
Also AW listeners are among the first to get a sneak peak at my latest book.
Fr. Scott Traynor begins this series on prayer by describing how Jesus Christ desires a deep personal relationship of the heart with each of us and how this is the true foundation for the New Evangelization. He discusses the adventure of the life of faith and the gifts the Father wishes to shower upon us in union with Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. He breaks open the reality of the indwelling Holy Spirit, who is the great teacher of prayer. Fr. Traynor encourages us to grow in union with Trinity through opening our hearts in prayer.
On the feast of St. Philip Neri, Msgr. Esseff shares a special reflection on the Gospel of the Day. Also, he asks if you have unforgiveness in your heart towards someone who has died. He offers a remedy to that alienation.
From the 
