August Reflection
Our spiritual enemy, the devil, appears in many various deceiving forms. We cannot just relax and leave ourselves unguarded. He knows our weaknesses and in his armory are an array of temptations that are seemimgly harmless but can stop us in our tracks. We must not take the devil lightly. We have to be prepared to defend ourselves against his attacks.
We have to pray fervently. Going to Mass is essential on at least a weekly basis. Daily, if at all possible. You need to remit your sins to God in the sacrament of Reconciliation. God loves to receive our sins, because then He has something to work with to help better us. Offer yourself, offer all of yourself, sins, sufferings, failures, joys, triumphs, and successes to God during the celebration of the Mass. Remain focused, participate fully, actively and consciously. Listen to God's Word and do not resist but just accept it.
During communion time, celebrate it with the worthy reception of the Holy Eucharist and bask in the glory of knowing that we are saved. Continually thank the Lord, even if the Mass has already ended and everyone has gone.
With these sacred habits, the rest of the day and the week will be full of grace and spiritual victories.
The devil must be brought to his knees and defeated. We must be ever vigilant because he is just around the corner, lurking, and ready to attack at a moment's notice.
In life, things are not done only in one sitting. We need enduring patience to sustain us, if we have it, and with the presence of God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit in our lives, in time, we will all be able and ready to defend and strike a paralyzing blow to the enemy.
Reflection About Our Lady
To be a child of Mary means behaving as a child belonging to Mary; that is, to live and love Our Lady as children: it is not possible to give Mary an offering of oneself which would have more beauty, depth and love than this. This type of devotion is known as filial love, and all Marian devotion of the saints has had this particular expression of intense filial love for her as their "dearest Mother" (St. Maximilian Kolbe), "good Mother" (St. Margaret Mary Alacoque), "precious Mother" (St. Veronica Giuliani), "beautiful Mother" (St. Bertilla), "beloved Mother" (St. Alphonsus Liguori), and "my Mamma" (SS. Paul of the Cross, Gemma and many others).
The mere name of Mary "increased the heartbeats" of St. Therese of Lisieux, caused St. Joseph of Cupertino to levitate in ecstasy, and brought tears of tender devotion to the eyes of St. Pio of Pietrelcina. Saints Vincent Pallotti, Bernadette, Gabriel of the Sorrowful Mother gave many fond kisses to Mary's image. St. Stephen Bellesini wore out many images of Mary with his fond kisses. Saints Louis de Montfort and Joseph Cottolengo wished to be buried under Mary's altar.
We must ask Our Lady for this filial love. Beg for it with persistence, with humble and affectionate determination. We shoud imitate St. Felix of Cantalice who was so attentive to being a good son of Mary that for forty years he always made this his prayer when passing before a Marian shrine or altar: "O noble Mother of God, I desire to love you like a good son..."