Last Thursday, on the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, my son Jack and I attended a special Mass and outdoor candlelight procession with the recitation of the rosary to honor our Mother. As we were re-entering the church after the procession, one of the doors would not stay open on it's own, so, since Jack and I were near the front of the line, we stood at the door to hold it open as everyone in the procession stepped into the church. At the end of the procession, my dear friend, Fr. Don Hying, the priest who said the Mass and processed with our Lord was walking past us and I couldn't help but notice how his eyes were fixed on Jesus in the Monstrance which was directly in front of his face.
How wonderful it must be for a priest to hold our Lord directly in front of himself for a full twenty minutes! It's no wonder that Fr. Don's face always seems to have a glow about it when I consider that he spends so much time looking directly at Jesus up close! And the fact that he doesn't trip and fall when he is walking in the dark over cracks in the sidewalk, down curbs and steps, and around corners while his eyes are constantly fixed on Jesus, is truly a miracle in itself!
My sweet and tender Jesus, how beautifully you care for us when we are spending time adoring you! You see to it that no danger will ever befall us as long as we keep our eyes fixed on you!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Today my sister Diann, and my niece Jenny and I renewed our consecration to Jesus through Mary via St. Louis de Montfort. Upon arriving at the church, I looked in my rear-view mirror and saw that Fr. Don had pulled up right behind me. I was blessed to spend a few minutes in confession with him, and then attend a lovely Saturday morning Mass. The music director at the parish where the Consecration Conference was held chose all Marian music for the Mass and had asked one of the parish cantors to sing "Panis Angelicus" for an after communion meditation. It was breathtaking, and a rare occurrence for a daily Mass!
Just before the consecration, everyone gathered in front of the Shrine of Mary, Queen of Hearts to pray the rosary. Although this is the third year that I have attended this conference, it was the first time that I noticed that in the shrine, Mary is holding a heart blazing with fire. This was significant to me in light of my family's upcoming consecration to the Sacred Heart. I couldn't help but feel that my most beautiful Mother is truly leading me to her Son and His Most Sacred Heart. It is only fitting that today I consecrated myself to Jesus though Her, and later this month, I will be consecrating myself to His Sacred Heart. She really does always lead us to Him, if only we will let Her.
Mary, My Most Beautiful Mother, thank you for always leading us to Jesus and for giving His Most Sacred Heart to us so that the fire of His love will burn within us forever!
