Day #31: The Offering of One?s Heart to Mary
THE SOUL: O Mary, O my dear Mother, I?ve come to the end of your month and I feel a regret within my heart: during this time I?ve entrusted myself to you, and like a good mother, you have taken me by the hand and have taught me so many truths. Now that the month is at an end, it seems that I am now almost abandoned to myself. I am inexperienced, weak and forlorn; I always need you, my Mother, and, hence, I entrust and consecrate to you my heart.
Here it is; I place it in your hands; I entrust it to your mercy. Will you accept it, O good Mother? I give it to you without reserve, because I know that in giving it to you, I give it to God. You are the mediatrix between him and creatures; you are the advocate of poor sinners; you are our hope!
MARY: Come, my little child; I receive you and welcome you into my Heart. Here is your refuge, your peaceful shelter; I seal you in it … come to me! This Heart of mine is the way to heaven; I make you pass through me in order to lead you one day into the bosom of God. Trust in me; be consoled! Your painful exile will pass and I myself will accompany you into the heavenly fatherland.
This month with me has ended, but not my love for you: I bless you.
Live in peace, in communion with the Eucharistic Jesus; live a life of submission to the will of God, of prayer and of charity; flee from sin; love virtue … one day you will see me in heaven and all of your anxieties and your sufferings will end. Amen.
ASPIRATION: Sweet Heart of Mary, be my salvation.
LITTLE WORK: Spend this day in an act of unconditional trust in Mary.
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!
