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- Eleanor Rabnett, Lay Oblate on SUNDAY V LENT: I adore Him as he sighs and weeps outside Lazarus’s tomb
- Eleanor Rabnett, Lay Oblate on SOLEMNITY OF THE ANNUNCIATION
- Eleanor Rabnett, Lay Oblate on FRIDAY IV LENT: let me be surprised by the wonder of your love
- Eleanor Rabnett, Lay Oblate on THURSDAY IV LENT: when we ourselves had turned away from you
- Susan Brotherman on SOLEMNITY OF ST. JOSEPH
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SOLEMNITY OF THE ANNUNCIATION
Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” (Lk. 1:38)
Mary Immaculate received Christ in order to share him with all the world, whose hope he is. In her, we recognize the model of the Church’s faith and of our own.
OMI Rule of Life Constitution 10
REFLECTION
O Mary, Blessed Mother of God,
when the angel greeted you
you were surprised and fearful;
yet, in wonder you listened and
opened your heart to the divine message.
Generous and loving God,
like your daughter Mary,
help me to know and do your will
in this life and In the next.
(USCCB)
FRIDAY IV LENT: let me be surprised by the wonder of your love
When the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from. (John 7:27)
On his return to Aix as a new priest, Father Eugene was conscious of his mission to lead people to know who Jesus Christ was.
My chief occupation will be to love him, my chief concern to make him loved. To this I will bend all my efforts, time, strength, and when after much toil I have succeeded in winning but a single act of love towards so good a Master, I will rightly consider myself very well paid.
Eugene de Mazenod’s retreat notes, December 1812, EO XV n. 109
REFLECTION
Father ever ancient, ever new, give me the grace to see you with new eyes and to be surprised once again by the wonder of your love and work in my life.
-Author unknown
THURSDAY IV LENT: when we ourselves had turned away from you
The LORD said to Moses, “Go down at once to your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt, for they have become depraved.
They have soon turned aside from the way I pointed out to them…” (Ex. 32:7)
Faced with such a deplorable situation,
the Church earnestly appeals to the ministers
whom she herself enrolled in the cause of her divine Spouse,
to do all in their power,
by word and example,
to rekindle the flame of faith that has all but died in the hearts of so many of her children.
Eugene de Mazenod’s Preface to the Rule of Life
REFLECTION
Lord, when we ourselves had turned away from you on account of our sins, you brought us back to be reconciled, O Lord, so that, converted at last to you, we might love one another through your Son, whom for our sake you handed over to death.
(Eucharistic Prayer for Reconciliation II)
WEDNESDAY IV LENT: Can a mother forget her infant?
Can a mother forget her infant,
be without tenderness for the child of her womb?
Even should she forget,
I will never forget you.
(Is. 49:15)
The Church, that glorious inheritance purchased by Christ the Saviour at the cost of his own blood, has in our days been cruelly ravaged. The beloved spouse of God’s only begotten Son is torn with anguish as she mourns the shameful defection of the children she herself bore.
Eugene de Mazenod’s Preface to the Rule
REFLECTION
God, our Father, through the life, death and resurrection of Christ your Son, you bring together in your Spirit, from all nations, a people to be your own.
Keep the Church faithful to its mission: may it be a leaven in the world, renewing us in Christ and transforming us into your family. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
(Roman Missal)
TUESDAY IV LENT: Fill me with the healing power of your spirit
Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your mat, and walk.”
Immediately the man became well, took up his mat, and walked. (Jn 5:16)
There is within you an immortal soul made in the image of God whom it is destined to possess one day, a soul ransomed at the price of the blood of Jesus Christ, more precious in the eyes of God than all earth’s riches, than all the kingdoms of the earth, a soul of which he is more jealous than of the government of the entire universe.
Christians, know then your dignity, with St. Leo I will call you sharers in the divine nature…
Notes for the first instruction in the Church of the Madeleine EO. XV n. 114
REFLECTION
Lord, I ask you to touch me
with your power.
For if you created me from nothing,
you can certainly recreate me.
Fill me with the healing power of your spirit.
SOLEMNITY OF ST. JOSEPH
“When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home.” (Mt. 1:24)
Among all the Saints which the novices are especially to honor, Saint Joseph will hold the first place, as much because of his singular privilege in being associated with the mystery of our Lord Jesus Christ as because he is the patron of recollected souls who live a hidden life… They will often pray to him… and join his name almost always with those of Jesus and Mary.
(1896 Directory for those in first OMI formation)
REFLECTION
O glorious Saint Joseph, remind all who work that they are not alone in their labor, their joy or their sufferings, because Jesus is by their side, with Mary, his Mother and ours, supporting them, wiping the sweat from their brow, and setting a value on their toil. Teach them to use their labor, as you did, as a supreme means of attaining holiness. Amen.
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