Listen to Father Broom talk about the Immaculate Heart of Mary
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!
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!