May is for Mary; October is the month of the Holy Rosary; November we pray in a special way for our beloved deceased; July we honor the Precious Blood that Jesus shed on Calvary, that first Good Friday, to wash away our sins and to open the gates of heaven for us.
JUNE, what about the month of June? Traditionally, the month of June we honor the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. The third Friday in June is the specific day in which the church celebrates the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus! “Sacred Heart of Jesus, pierced with the lance, have mercy on us”. “Sacred Heart of Jesus, burning furnace of charity, have mercy on us.” “Sacred Heart of Jesus, formed in the womb of the Virgin Mary, have mercy on us.”
The Saturday following the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, the church celebrates the memorial of THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY. On this topic we will speaking with great love, reverence and devotion!
MOST APPROPRIATE! It is most appropriate that the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus be followed by the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The two hearts are inseparable! The closest and most intimate relationship on earth is beween a baby being formed in the womb of his/her mother during those nine months of pregnancy.
Mary, the Mother of Jesus, conceived Jesus through the working of the Holy Spirit— the Virginal conception! How sublime to contemplate this mystery that Jesus had two natures, His Human nature and His Divine nature. His Divine nature always existed, being God of Gods and Lord of Lords. However, His Human nature had a beginning and it all started with the “Yes” of Mary. When Mary gave her consent to the Archangel Gabriel, saying, “Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to thy word,” in that moment the Incarnation of the Son of God took place in that Jesus descended into the womb of Mary. This is called the “Incarnation”— God taking flesh from the Virgin Mary.
The meaning of this sublime mystery! Mary gave to Jesus all that refers to His Humanity: his hair, skin, eyes, nose, inner organs, lungs, His Blood, and she even formed within her womb during those nine months the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. That is why in the Litany of the Most sacred heart of Jesus we pray: “Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, formed in the womb of the Virgin Mary, have mercy on us.
THE HEART: THE SEAT AND CENTER OF EMOTIONS ESPECIALLY LOVE
The essence and center of devotion to the two Hearts of Jesus and Mary is LOVE! Never were there two hearts that loved as much as the Hearts of Jesus and Mary. They beat in unison a symphony of love for both God, first and foremost, and then neighbor in active charity. What were the qualities of the love of the Immaculate heart of Mary.
1. PURITY. The Heart of Mary was the essence of purity. She was conceived without the stain of Original Sin, through the Privilege of her Immaculate Conception and lived a sinless life. Consequently, everything she said or did, as well as the most secrete intentions of her Heart were always motivated by the most pure love for God and neighbor. Mary, attain for us purity of heart!
2. CONSTANT. Our love might be compared to a “Roller-coaster”. One day, we seem to be on fire with the love of God and neighbor; ready, even to the point of shedding our blood as a martyr. The following day, love seems to have been extinguished and we do not even want to get out of bed! How inconstant we are like a weathervane, blown by the wind. Mary, on the contrary, had a constant love at all times for God and neighbor! Her love was like a rocket shot directly to the moon. Her love never wavered, nor diminished, but was in constant growth! Mary, attain for us strength and constant
growth in love!
growth in love!
3. UNIVERSAL/ “Catholic”. The word “Catholic” actually means “universal”, total, all-embracing. The opposite would be that of “prejudicial”. Many of us are like what Jesus says of the Publicans who like only those who like us! Easy! To love the “unlovable”, the rude, uneducated, and selfish demands authentic love. Mary has a “Catholic” heart that embraces in her Immaculate Heart all people of all times, all places, all languages, all cultures, all races. More than anyone aside from Jesus Himself, did Mary implement the last and greatest Commandment of Jesus: “Love one another as I have loved you.”
4. MERCIFUL LOVE. The greatest attribute of the Heart of Jesus, according to Pope John Paul II, as well as St. Faustina Kowalska, is MERCY. What is mercy? Put concisely, mercy is God’s love forgiving the sinner! As Jesus hung on the cross and as Mary stood beneath the cross, Jesus uttered these words: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they are doing.” Here we have mercy— love forgiving the sinner—at its pinnacle! Jesus was forgiving all of humanity, all of the sins(even the most abominable and heinous) until the end of time! At the same time, Our Lady of Sorrows and Our Lady of mercy, hearing these words in her ears, understanding them in her mind and accepting them in her Immaculate and Sorrowful Heart, was mercifully forgiving. As Jesus was redeeming the world, Mary was acting as “Co-Redemptrix” in the plan and economy of salvation.
5. TENDER-LOVING-MATERNAL LOVE. St. Therese of Lisieux, woman Doctor or the Church, always had a great love for Mary. Once she said, “Mary is Queen and Mother, but she is Mother more than Queen.” St. Augustine, with his classical eloquence describes the love of Mary as Mother with these penetrating words: “If we were to put all of the love of all of the mothers of all times together, then the love that Mary has for each and every one of us individually is much greater than all of those loves combined! “ These words of Augustine, the Doctor of grace, should fill us with hope and trust at all times, with the knowledge that Mary’s presence, her arms, her Immaculate Heart is always open to receive us.
Friends united in Jesus and Mary, in the modern world in which we are surrounded by so many struggles, the flesh that rebels within, the devil that tempts constantly from without, and the world than seduces with its insidious lies, we should always remember that there are two havens, refuges, oases of peace, the IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY AND THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS. Sweet Heart of Mary, be my salvation! Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, I trust in you!
