Prayer and Our Lady
1. “He told them a parable—that they must always pray and not lose
heart.” (Luke 18:1) Nobody else on earth ever carried out this command
of Our Lord as perfectly as Our Lady. St. Albert the Great says that,
after Jesus Christ, the spirit of prayer is to be found at its most
perfect in Our Lady. (Sup. Miss., 80) It was because of her immense love
for her divine Son that Mary was able
to put into practice throughout her life the Gospel precept of unceasing
prayer. Prayer in its fullest sense is in fact an act of love rather
than of supplication. It is defined as an elevation of the soul to God,
to adore and praise Him, to thank Him, and to ask Him for His favours.
It leads to lasting and intimate union with God, who should be regarded
as our only good and as the final end of our lives. Since Mary was full
of grace, she was always close to God. Even before she became His
Mother, she constantly enjoyed His intimacy. Despite the many sorrows of
her life, this intimacy became still greater and more beautiful when
she became the Mother of Jesus. From that time she was able to hold Him
to her immaculate bosom and to live in close familiarity with Him. She
was able, too, to follow Him on His apostolic journeys until He reached
Calvary and the Cross, and finally to see Him gloriously risen from the
dead. After Jesus had ascended into Heaven, her soul expanded with a
nostalgic love for her divine Son until her earthly journey was over and
she was taken up into Heaven. There she reigns supreme among the Saints
and Angels and never ceases to pray for us, her exiled children, who
need her help so much. Let us learn from Mary how to pray with love and
perseverance. Then we shall be able to follow her along the difficult
way of perfection which leads towards Heaven.
2. Mary's was a
life of constant prayer. It is a thousand times more necessary that ours
should be the same. We are so weak and so prone to temptation that we
are always in danger of falling into sin. “Without me you can do
nothing,” (John 15:5) Jesus tells us. “I am the vine, you are the
branches... If anyone does not abide in me, he shall be cast outside as
the branch and wither.” (Ibid.) “Ask and it shall be given you; seek,
and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you.” (Mt. 7:7 In
short, Jesus asks us to pray. He wants us to pray because He wants to
give us His graces. We cannot object that it is impossible for us to
pray all the time because we have to work and fulfill other obligations.
The work which has first claim on us is the service of God, which is
prayer. Secondly, we can pray in the course of our daily work and of our
different occupations by offering to God everything which we do. No
matter what we are doing, we can raise our minds to God in an act of
love and so remain always close to Him. It is not our work which
prevents us from praying constantly, but our attachment to worldly
things, our excessive love of ourselves and of other creatures. We must
avoid these distractions if we wish to live like Mary in a continual
state of prayer.
3. Mary, my Mother, obtain for me that spirit
of prayer which will keep me always close to God. I know that sin can
never conquer me if I remain united to God. I know if my heart is filled
with the desire of heavenly gifts, there will be no room in it for
useless or sinful affections. I wish to follow your example and live a
life of prayer and recollection. But I am very weak and unstable. Please
obtain for me the gift of constant and persevering prayer and grant
that I may never lose it. Amen.
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