Newsletter #47 – Our Lady of Mount Carmel USA

Dear Friends and Benefactors,

We are speaking about the object of our devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary according to the spirit of St. John Eudes, In the previous newsletter we had spoken about her corporeal heart, In this newsletter we are going to learn about the Spiritual Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary and to exalt its merits that it is a treasure filled with celestial riches.

What is the spiritual heart? In order to understand it, we must remember that, although the soul is essentially one, it can nevertheless be considered as having a threefold life.

The first is that of the vegetative life, which is similar in nature to that of plants.
The second is the sensitive life, which we have in common with animals.
The third is the intellectual life, like that of angels and men, comprising the intellectual memory, the intellect proper and the will.

It is this third life called spirit, the mental, superior part of the soul, which renders us like the angels and carries with it in its natural state the image of God and in the state of grace, a participation of the divine nature.

First, this intellectual part is the principle of the natural life of the rational soul, which consists in the knowledge it can obtain of supreme truth with the aid of the natural light of its intelligence, and in its natural love for sovereign goodness. Animated by the spirit of faith and grace, it becomes the principle of the supernatural life of the soul, which knows God by celestial light and loves Him with supernatural
love.

Secondly, this intellectual part is the heart of the soul, because in it is centered the will, the faculty and capacity of loving, but in a manner much more spiritual and noble and exalted and with a love incomparably more excellent, more lively, more active, more solid and durable than the love which proceeds from the sensitive and corporeal heart.

Thirdly, this same part is the real heart of the Christian soul, because divine charity can have no other
abode than the heart which possesses it, according to the words of St. Paul: “The charity of God is
poured forth in our hearts.” (Rom. 5:5)

Fourthly, it is the superior part of our soul, since the God of grace and love cannot dwell in a Christian soul elsewhere than in the part where grace and charity reside.

This being so, the spiritual heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary is the intellectual element of her soul, comprising her memory, intelligence, will and the supreme point of her spirit. This is the heart which expresses itself in the first words of her admirable Canticle, the Magnificat: “My soul doth magnify the Lord: and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.” (Lk. 1: 46)

First of all, Divine Bounty miraculously preserved the heart of the Mother of Our Saviour from the stain of sin, which never touched it because God filled it with grace from the moment of its creation, and clothed it with purity so radiant that, next to God’s, it is impossible to conceive of greater purity.

In the second place, the Father of Light has filled this beautiful Sun with the most brilliant lights of nature and of grace. If we consider the natural illumination shining within Mary, we see that God gave to the chosen Spouse of the Holy Ghost a natural intellect more clear, lively, profound, vaster and more perfect in every way than any other intellect, an intellect worthy of the Mother of God, and worthy of the lofty functions and sublime contemplation to which she was consecrated.

As regards supernatural light, the luminous heart of Mary, Seat of Wisdom, was so filled with its radiance, that there was nothing Our Lady did not know. She possessed infused knowledge of every science, and in a much more eminent degree than the most learned minds that ever existed.

Moreover, Our Lady never experienced undue pleasure in the lights that God imparted to her, never became attached to these favors, never preferred herself to other beings on account of them, but always returned them to God as pure as they sprang from their source.

Such was the knowledge of the Admirable Heart of Mary. What Shall we now say of the two-fold love that inflamed her heart, her love for God and for men?

It was by the force of love and humility that Mary attracted the well-beloved Son of God, the Heart of the Eternal Father, to be the Heart of her heart. The love of Mary’s most blessed heart makes it a source of gifts, favors and blessings for all those who truly love their Mother most amiable, and honor with affection her most lovable heart, according to the words the Holy Ghost puts on her lips: “I love them that love me.” (Prov. 8, 17)

Finally, it is this heart which has loved and glorified God above all the hearts of angels and men, and therefore, can never be revered adequately.

What honor, respect and veneration is due to the noblest part of the holy soul of the Mother of God! What praises must be rendered to all the faculties of the spiritual heart of the Virgin Mother, namely her memory, her intellect, her will, and the most intimate part of her spirit, which were never exercised except for God and by motivation of the Holy Ghost.

Blessed indeed are we the hearts of the true children of Mary, who strive to live in conformity with the most holy Heart of our Mother most admirable! Let us live the consecration to the Immaculate of Mary, that by entering into her heart, we may contemplate the principles of her spiritual heart, and thus become great saints!

Fr. Pancras Raja
Spiritual Director
February 13, 2021

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Consecration of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel to Immaculate Heart of Mary
http://ourladyofmountcarmelusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Consecration-to-Immaculate-Heart-by-Our-Lady-of-Mt.-Carmel-SSPX-Marian-Corps.pdf

Featured Sermon
Given By His Excellency Bishop Pfeiffer

Posted in Newsletters and tagged Father Pancras Raja