Day #15: The Spirit of Jesus Christ
MARY: Opposed to the spirit of the world, which is a mass of duplicity, resentment, struggles, presumption and degradation, is the spirit of Jesus Christ, who is the way, the truth and the life. Hear his word: ?Learn from me for I am meek and humble of heart … Blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are those who weep for they shall be consoled, blessed are those who suffer persecution for justice? sake …?
These are words which seem audacious and yet in them is hidden the great secret of happiness and of peace.
What good is it to have many riches, if they leave you always unhappy, even more, if they cause you the disquiet of always wanting more? Far more excellent it is to renounce all that is unused and superfluous and to rest in the desire of possessing God.
What good is it to dominate others with the impetuosity of your character? In reality you do not dominate, but you become the object and the target of a thousand battles which embitter the soul. Far more excellent is the humility and the meekness which give you the possession of the hearts of men.
What good is it to laugh and amuse oneself on earth if the laughter is changed into bitter tears? Calm and resigned suffering, on the other hand gives you freedom for the impulses of the spirit, and thus, even while weeping you are consoled. You remain truly consoled because you feel like a pilgrim on the earth; you detach yourself from what oppresses you and you experience God all the more!
What good are the pleasures of the senses? Every pleasure is changed into a thorn and you feel cast into the distressing gloom of remorse … Far more excellent is the purity which brings you peace and allows you to gaze with clear vision into the immensity of God!
Believe in your Blessed Mother, who more than all other creatures lived in the spirit of Jesus Christ; there is nothing more beautiful, more elevated, more agreeable than to live in him. Therefore renounce your whims, your resentments, your disordered desires. Look upon all things in God and live glorifying him, aspiring to your only goal which is the heavenly fatherland.
ASPIRATION: O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto thine.
LITTLE WORK: When you realize that you are lacking in meekness, perform a little service for the person whom you have displeased.
About the Meditations
The daily School of Mary meditations come from the book, A Month with Mary, written by a holy Italian priest Father Dolindo Ruotolo (1882-1970). Originally written as spiritual thoughts to his spiritual daughter, the work is comprised of thirty-one meditations for the month of May.
Father Dolindo wrote A Month with Mary on pocket-sized pages joined into small fascicles of 8 to 12 pages. He sent them to Laura de Rosis every two to three days and later transcribed them with some modifications in volume III of his autobiography: The Story of My Life in the Plan of the Great Mercy of God, pp. 1140ff (cf. Epistolario 1:212n, 218n). This work is from 1912: one of those years which passed in the life of Father Dolindo with the cadence of a ?Way of the Cross? ? But he, serene as ever, loved Christ the more, loved Our Lady the more and reflected on this love in these few pages to which he wished to give the significant title: A Profound Reform of Heart in the School of Mary. These meditations are written in the style of the Imitation of Christ. (90pp. laminated gloss, saddle stitch)
To obtain a copy of A Month with Mary or other books published by the Academy of the Immaculate, visit our on-line bookstore at http://www.marymediatrix.com/bookstore/academy
Ave Maria!
