Speak of the Splendor

The words at the bottom read, ‘For God so loved the world.’

Unkown artist.

Mary Vitamin for May 14th
Topic: Spiritual Falls

Quote:
St. Maximilian Kolbe
“The Immaculata permits our falls to cure us of self-love, pride and the rest, and to bring us to humility that we may be dependent on the graces of the Lord.”
Will to Love, (Marytown Press), 81

Meditation:
St. Maximilian Kolbe
“In case of a fall, do not be saddened for that is a form of decadent pride; rather with great love and joy of heart arise at once and go forward! Make up for the fall with a perfect act of love.and, of course, with constant, constant effort. . Let us always put our foot on the first rung, as St. Therese of the Child Jesus says, until we win over God, who will come and pick us up and take us above.”
Will to Love, 83

Resolution:
One time today, after a failing, I will turn to the Blessed Virgin Mary and ask her to send me one sacrifice to make up for my fault. She knows my capacities. She will send me the right sacrifice, one suited to my weakness.

Marian Vow:
St. Maximilian Kolbe
“Falls serve a purpose and teach us that we must not depend upon ourselves, but put all our trust in God’s hands and in the hands of the Immaculate Mediatrix of All Graces. Always peacefully, always serenely, never in sadness.”
Will to Love, 82

I give this resolution to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Thanks be to God for graces received.

I LOVE being Catholic, and my heart breaks for those who are not blessed to know the fullness of our Faith.

Today my family starts this novena, and I am absolutely in love with it. Each verse leaves me breathless.

Join me as I pray….

Novena of the Holy Spirit
by St. Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein)

Who are you, sweet light, that fills me
And illumines the darkness of my heart?
You lead me like a mother’s hand,
And should you let go of me,
I would not know how to take another step.
You are the space
That embraces my being and buries it in yourself.
Away from you it sinks into the abyss
Of nothingness, from which you raised it to the light.
You, nearer to me than I to myself
And more interior than my most interior
And still impalpable and intangible
And beyond any name:
Holy Spirit eternal love!

Are you not the sweet manna
That from the Son’s heart
Overflows into my heart,
The food of angels and the blessed?
He who raised himself from death to life,
He has also awakened me to new life
From the sleep of death.
And he gives me new life from day to day,
And at some time his fullness is to stream through me,
Life of your life indeed, you yourself:
Holy Spirit eternal life!

Are you the ray
That flashes down from the eternal Judge’s throne
And breaks into the night of the soul
That had never known itself?
Mercifully relentlessly
It penetrates hidden folds.
Alarmed at seeing itself,
The self makes space for holy fear,
The beginning of that wisdom
That comes from on high
And anchors us firmly in the heights,
Your action,
That creates us anew:
Holy Spirit ray that penetrates everything!

Are you the spirit’s fullness and the power
By which the Lamb releases the seal
Of God’s eternal decree?
Driven by you
The messengers of judgment ride through the world
And separate with a sharp sword
The kingdom of light from the kingdom of night.
Then heaven becomes new and new the earth,
And all finds its proper place
Through your breath:
Holy Spirit victorious power!

Are you the master who builds the eternal cathedral,
Which towers from the earth through the heavens?
Animated by you, the columns are raised high
And stand immovably firm.
Marked with the eternal name of God,
They stretch up to the light,
Bearing the dome,
Which crowns the holy cathedral,
Your work that encircles the world:
Holy Spirit God’s molding hand!

Are you the one who created the unclouded mirror
Next to the Almighty’s throne,
Like a crystal sea,
In which Divinity lovingly looks at itself?
You bend over the fairest work of your creation,
And radiantly your own gaze
Is illumined in return.
And of all creatures the pure beauty
Is joined in one in the dear form
Of the Virgin, your immaculate bride:
Holy Spirit Creator of all!

Are you the sweet song of love
And of holy awe
That eternally resounds around the triune throne,
That weds in itself the clear chimes of each and every being?
The harmony,
That joins together the members to the Head,
In which each one
Finds the mysterious meaning of his being blessed
And joyously surges forth,
Freely dissolved in your surging:
Holy Spirit eternal jubilation!

This novena reminds me yet again why I so, so love to be Catholic. When you’re Catholic, you can’t escape the beauty or the excellence. One of my main gripes against our secular culture is the lack of real beauty and real excellence. This novena is so beautiful and so excellent, so Holy Spirit driven.

Did anyone else get goosebumps?