"Risen Lamb Writings"
"Whispers of Light (part 11)"
There is a great need today for
prayer circles gathered around Mary-- "circles of fire"--comprised of a totally
committed people of transformed heart, mind and will, and animated by the power
of the Holy Spirit. Yes, there is an urgent need for "upper rooms" of
empowered, informed intercession, "cenacles" of sustained supplication guided
by Mary's intercessory influence, her pleading power.
The upper room is a place of
transformation. Historically, it is a place where new, miraculous realities
of God have taken place. In the upper room, at the Last Supper on the night
before he died, Jesus transformed the common elements of bread and wine into
his Body and Blood to be offered sacrificially for others ("The sacrifice of Christ and the
sacrifice of the Eucharist are one single sacrifice") (CCC 1367). In the upper
room on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit filled common human lives and transformed
them forever to live as "sacrificial offerings" for others.
Mary's presence in the upper room in
the midst of the Apostles helped to foster an atmosphere of expectation among
those gathered. Those who are to be formed as intercessors need to begin first
as the Apostles did in an upper room experience of empowerment of the Holy
Spirit in the presence of Mary. Even those who have been living the lifestyle
of an intercessor for years need periodic times of renewal by the Spirit. This
intercessory, missionary call of the Lamb requires of us an ongoing empowerment
and renewal by the Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit and Mary, we will have no
real sense of mission--only self-preservation and maintenance. Mary's presence
with us gives us the assurance that our hearts will be renewed by the Spirit.
Her presence is the guarantee of good things to come.
Through Mary God begins and ends
his most important works. The Incarnation--the fact that Jesus assumed a
human nature from Mary in order to die on the cross for us--is the greatest
work ever accomplished by God (see CCC 461). Charisms are gifts of the Holy
Spirit given that we may accomplish the works of God. For this charism of
communal, contemplative intercession, Mary's presence is indispensable. She
is "the mold" through which Jesus is formed in the world (see Jesus
Living in Mary: Handbook of the Spirituality of St. Louis Marie de Montfort;
p. 541). Mary is God's mold through which true intercessors are formed.
At the Annunciation, The Holy Spirit
intervened mysteriously in the life of Mary and "made her the way by which the
Savior came into the world" (John Paul II; General audience of May 28, 1997). The
Holy Spirit entered into the history of the world in a new way through her
heart. It is also through the heart
of Mary that the Holy Spirit entered into the human members present in the
upper room on the day of Pentecost, making of them living members, foundation
stones, of the "Mystical Body of Christ". Today, through the heart of Mary the
Holy Spirit desires to enter into us to renew us in His Love, to equip us, so
the Lamb of God may continue to live his intercessory mission through our
humanity.
(to be continued)
Questions:
1) How
strong is my sense of mission in regards to this charism of intercessory
prayer?
2) Is
there an aspect of my life that I need to submit more willfully to the "mold"
of Mary?
Scriptures:
Acts 1:13-14; 1 Th.1: 5-6; Titus 3: 4-7
