Mary

[Lil Red]

[quote]In the Gospel According to John, we meet Mary one more time in Christ's lifetime:  at the foot of the cross.  When Jesus looks down and sees Mary standing next to "the disciple whom he loved" (John, the writer of this passage), he says to his mother, " 'Woman, here is your son.'  Then he says to the disciple, 'Here is your mother.' "  He drinks vinegar and hyssop and says, " 'It is finished.'  Then he bowed his head and gave up the spirit."

And so the last thing Christ did before he left this earth was to make sure his mother was taken care of and that the apostle he loved was taken care of, too.  The apostle represented the future church and so Mary would be the mother of that church.  Jesus had ensured that Mary would be around to keep his apostles straight.[/quote]


[quote]In Jesus' lifetime his apostles were always walking around "amazed" at what he did, which annoyed Jesus, because if the apostles had stronger faith, nothing Jesus did could surprise them.

But nothing Jesus did surprised his mother.[/quote]

[Lil Red]

Woah! This one is really cool:

[quote]It's believed that Satan was once the leader of the angels but had a falling-out with God over God's decision to produce a son, born of a woman.  Satan was furious that a mere human would be above him, the archangel Lucifer, in the heavenly pantheon, and led an insurrection.  He lost and was expelled from heaven.  Bitter and vindictive and determined to make humanity suffer for his fall from grace, Satan has been in competition with Jesus for souls ever since.

Among Catholics it's believed that because Mary was the human who bore Christ, Satan harbors an especially venomous hatred for the Blessed Virgin.  And Mary, because she loves and wants to protect her children - and because she gave birth to goodness and redemption in this world - is at the point guard of the battle against Satan.  In paintings, Mary is depicted in front of even the archangel Michael leading a charge of angels against the forces of darkness.

According to legend, Pope Leo XIII, who was subject to visions and auditory messages from heaven, overheard God speaking with Satan at the turn of the twentieth century.  Satan said that he was winning more and more souls and in a short time he would win the world.  God discharged Mary, his strongest force, to win the decisive battle, and so she appears more and more frequently, ardently imploring her children to pray, [b]because prayer is the absolute weapon against evil, and the rosary will win the war.[/b][/quote]

WOAH!

[VeraMaria]

Lil Red, thanks so much for all the little bits and pieces you have shared so far in this thread!!!!

I have to get my hands on that book!!

[Lil Red]

Vera, do! It's such a good book so far, and I'm only on chapter nine!

[Lil Red]

[quote]Day and night I read the Bible with my flashlight:  "Ask and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.  For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened..."  And when I can read no more, I pray the rosary and meditate, picturing Mary patting my heart, or pulling me up by my hands so she can hug me and stroke my head.  I pray Memorare after Memorare, begging Mary to teach me how to love, to know what it is, to feel it in my heart, to teach me how to show it.  I implore her to enter my son's heart to give him the mother he never had, to heal him.[/quote]

[Lil Red]

[quote]Then, next morning, at my first communion in thirty-five years, after the host has been turned into the body of Christ, I kneel and say the same words I've said at masses twice every day in Medjugorje:  "[i]Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed.[/i]"

Only, this time I really hear them.  This time when Father Freed walks from person to person offering communion, I do not bow my head to refuse it but raise my face to him.  As the host melts on my tongue, I imagine forgiveness like a warm stream, flowing to my heart and bathing it with love, healing it.  My tears fall, and fall, like rose petals from heaven.[/quote]

This is right after she had gone through her first Confession in 35 years.

[Lil Red]

bumpity