Matt 1:23 (Holy Mary, Mother of God) by Charlie Rice

Welcome God now with this LIFE Group Devotion (FB), provided by LIFE Runners (FB). Guest Authors schedule. LIFE Minute radio.

“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son; and they shall call his name Emmanuel; which is interpreted, ‘God with us.’” ~ Matt 1:23 (full readings)

Charlie's Reflections: The Church celebrates the birth of Mary as the first visible event in the Incarnation. “It was through Mary,” wrote St. Louis de Montfort, “that the salvation of the world was begun, and it is through her that it must be consummated.” We tend to overlook the final part of that sentence. Montfort was explicit about Mary’s role “in the second coming of Jesus Christ…in order that, through her, Jesus Christ may be known, loved and served.” As foretold in Gen 3:15, Mary will vanquish Satan. Listen to Montfort again: “[T]he power of Mary over all the devils will especially shine forth in the latter times, when Satan will lay his snares against her…children. They shall be little and poor in the world’s esteem…but in union with Mary, they shall crush the head of the devil and cause Jesus Christ to triumph.” Mary, in other words, is a winner, guaranteed. “The formation and education of the great saints who shall come at the end of the world,” Montfort said, “are reserved for her.” Montfort died in 1716. Whether or not these are what he called “the latter times,” Mary has already produced “great saints” in our own day. One is St. Maximilian Kolbe, who gave up his life at Auschwitz in 1941. “The devil,” Kolbe said, “does all in his power to divert our souls from drawing close to her by tempting us to be arrogant.” To keep Mary at a distance is more than arrogant...it is not wise. She is our Mother, John 19:26-27, and we can count on her. Mary is the patron of the United States. So let us go to her. Let us pray the Rosary, not only for our personal needs but especially for the conversion of our country to her Son.
* Charles Rice is Professor Emeritus at Notre Dame Law School. His concentration is mainly on Catholic, pro-life and constitutional issues. He is a LtCol in the Marine Corps Reserve (ret). He and his wife, Mary, live in Mishawaka, IN and have 10 children (41 grandchildren).
* Today’s image, "Word Made Flesh", is by LIFE Group guest author Nellie Edwards.

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Faith Quote: "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death." Amen.

Through Christ our Lord,
Charlie
Matt 6:31-33

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