Happy Birthday, Jesus!

"...and she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger,
because there was no room for them in the inn."                    Lk 2:7

Lord Jesus, there was no room at the inn at your birth. May you find the chambers of our hearts ready and waiting for you. And may all find rest in the Sacred Chambers of your Merciful Heart this Christmas Day. Happy Birthday, Jesus.

Our Lady of Guadalupe

Today is the feast day of Our Lady Of Guadalupe, Patron St. of the Americas. Today I went to Mass and Communion and offered it for the end of abortion in our country and world. As Father K., the priest at my church stated in one of his homilies this week: "The biggest stain on America is the stain of abortion." Sadly, this is true, America is mostly a pro-choice nation. Pro-choice is simply a politically correct way of saying murder is okay. They cannot come straight out and say that they believe murder is fine so they sugar-coat it behind the word pro-choice but underneath the sugar is poison.

I also offered up my rosary and sufferings today to end this blight on our country and I ask  Our Lady of Guadalupe's intercession so that the hearts of many may be laid bare and that the entire world may embrace life.

" A woman who deliberately destroys the fetus is answerable  for murder. And any fine distinction as to its being completely formed or unformed is not admissible amongst us."      St Basil  (Letters)

" Thou shall not kill"

"Father, forgive them. They know not what they do."

The Rosary

http://openingthefloodgatesofmercy.blogspot.com/2009/12/prayer-rosary.html

What's in a name?

One of my favorite titles of Our Lady is "The Mystical Rose" and this is the reason I named my blog this way. The title "Mystical Rose" comes from the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary. I love this name for Our Lady so much that  my daughter's middle name is Rose, named after this title. I actually picked out her name two months before I even got pregnant because of a word the Lord had given me that I would have a baby the following year. Michaela after St. Michael the Archangel and Rose after Mother Mary. I asked the Lord for a confirmation of this name and I feel that I got it. Randy's family was visiting from Texas and we took them on a little cruise out of Boston Harbor. The name of this cruise was " The Spirit of Boston". We were served dinner and there was some dancing, after which, I stepped out onto the deck to look at the water. As I gazed out, a yacht passed us and I felt the Holy Spirit flooding my body. I looked at the side of the yacht and in big letters were painted, "THE MICHAELA ROSE". People may say that is just coincidence, but I don't believe this. I had chosen the traditional spelling of Michaela which is rarely used anymore, I was on the Spirit of Boston Cruise, I stepped out on the deck at just the right time, the middle name was the same, and I had been praying for a confirmation of the name I had chosen. I felt that it was the Lord telling me I had chosen well.

Mary is called the Mystical Rose because the rose is the queen of all flowers, as Mary is the queen of the Father's heavenly garden. She is also the greatest mystic of all time for she pondered all things in her heart and her delight was the will of God. Fiat! Her life was one long fiat from beginning to end.

Five things

In Mother Mary's various apparitions around the world there seems to be five things she is asking of us. These are things which we as Catholics should be doing anyway:

1. Prayer
2. Fasting
3. Reading the Bible
4. Confession
5. Holy Mass  

These are all ways that help us grow in love of God and neighbor. Anybody can do this. She especially asks that we pray from the heart... quality not quantity. We are blessed to have such a wonderful mother :) Thank you, Jesus, for sharing her with us.

Medjugorje - Nov. 2nd

Here is Our Lady's message to Mirjana on Nov. 2nd  http://www.medjugorje.net/content/view/354/

Consecration

I am consecrated to Jesus through the Immaculate Heart of Mary. I know that many people have a difficult time understanding the Catholic perspective on Mary and many may not understand why we do this. One thing is clear though: The Father of all creation, the Author of Life entrusted His Beloved Son into the arms of this woman; she cradled Him in her womb, she cradled Him as a baby, and she cradled Him in her arms after He was taken down from the cross. If the Great I Am could place such trust in Mary....then why shouldn't I?

Mary is a stumbling block to many religions. Catholics do not worship Mary, we honor her. As the mother of the Savior of the world, this honor is rightfully hers. The quickest way to learn about Mary is to ask the Holy Spirit for help. He is Truth Itself. He will show you the meaning of the words that Jesus spoke from the cross, "Behold, your mother". 

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival  hosted by RAnn at This That and the Other Thing is a weekly meme where bloggers share their favorite posts. For the month of October I will be doing this meme from The Mystical Rose because it is the month of the Rosary. This week I'd like to share this post http://fiat-themysticalrose.blogspot.com/2009/09/woman.html ; this thought popped into my head while praying the Rosary one day and stayed there. Another post I'd like to share is http://fiat-themysticalrose.blogspot.com/2009/08/o-mary.html ; though the loss of this child caused me tremendous grief, I know I will meet this son or daughter in heaven someday.

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

I am joining RAnn today at http://rannthisthat.blogspot.com/ for Sunday Snippets - A Catholic Carnival, where Catholic bloggers join together to share some of there favorite posts. I decided to use The Mystical Rose this time for the Meme because it's the month of the Rosary and I wanted to honor Mother Mary. My husband is a convert to Catholicism and also loves Our Lady. Today I'd like to share these posts:

1. http://fiat-themysticalrose.blogspot.com/2009/08/biblical-prayer.html
2. http://fiat-themysticalrose.blogspot.com/2009/08/funny-dream.html
3. The third post is a poem about Mother Mary; http://fiat-themysticalrose.blogspot.com/2009/09/woman_19.html

I love writing poetry because it comes from the heart. Thank you Jesus for giving us your mother!

St. Therese

O Little Flower
Even now I hear the ringing of bells and angelic applause
which greeted your arrival at the narrow gate.
In your little way, you slipped right through
the eye of the needle with a childlike grace.
Plucked from the world in the tenderness of  your youth,
a flower in full bloom, petals raised to the Son,
the odor of your sanctity reaches us still.
A shower of roses....A heavenly bouquet.
We ask for your intercession and help.
May we learn from you, St. Therese
that little acts done with great love
are more pleasing to the Father
than great acts done with little love.
Pray for us...that when we pass into eternity,
we too may slip easily through the narrow gate.

An endless refrain

Tears flow
A gentle rain
A mother's heart
Broken again

Children, come back
Heed my call
Return to my son
He died for you all

Soften your hearts
Pray! Pray! Pray!
Will we listen? I ask
To her message today?

Medjugorje

Our Lady's messages have been changing in tone lately. Here is her Oct. 2nd message to Mirjana
http://www.medjugorje.net/

A Marian Psalter

I greet you, rose garden of heaven,
The chosen, the pure, the tender one.
You noble, sweet rose blossom
Entreat God for me through your goodness.

[A Marian Psalter]

I thought this was a beautiful description of Mary and her intercessory power. I am not sure in which century it was written or who the author was.

Pray

There have been more apparitions of the Blessed Mother in the past century than ever before. Why? Because we live in critical times. She asks us to pray. Maybe we should listen.

The Fruit

Hail!  Full of Grace
Heavenly Rose
From thy Fiat
Salvation arose

Unto thy womb
The Spirit flew
And sowed the seed
Of  life anew

O Beautiful Dove
Star of the Sea
In the cradle of thy womb
Dwelt Divinity

Flower of Carmel
Enfolded in thee
The Word made Flesh
Nestled peacefully

Salvation poured forth
One silent eve
A signal for men
That all might believe

On this holy night
In the fullness of time
"The Woman" gave birth
The Child.... Divine

For You....My Mother

The Woman raised eyes sorrowful
Bedimmed with grief and loss
Suffering she spoke not a word
But leaned upon the cross
In agony, her tears flowed down
A soldier pierced His side
Her Baby's head was crowned with thorns
Her Life, Her Joy, Her Pride
Upon this scene I entered
Espied, entwined, two Hearts
Naked He came from Her Womb
....and naked He departs

Tug of war

http://openingthefloodgatesofmercy.blogspot.com/2009/08/tug-of-war.html

The Woman

The fall from grace began through a woman's yes to the devil.
The restoration began through "The Woman's" yes to God.

FIAT!

The forbidden fruit was stolen by Eve from a tree.
"The Fruit" of Mary's womb was nailed on the tree of the cross.

The restoration is greater than the fall.

"But the gift is not like the transgression. For if by that one person's transgression the many died, how much more did the gracious gift of the one person Jesus Christ overflow for the many." Rom. 5:15

Mother of God

It seems that Martin Luther and John Calvin had some surprisingly Catholic viewpoints. Martin Luther had this to say regarding Mother Mary:

Mary is the Mother of Jesus And the Mother of us all...
If He is ours, we ought to be in his situation; there where he is, we ought also to be and all that he has ought to be ours, and his mother is also our mother.

Our prayers should include the Mother of God....What the Hail Mary says is that all glory should be given to God, using these words: "Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee; blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus Christ. Amen! You see that these words are not concerned with prayer, but purely with giving praise and honor....We can use the Hail Mary as a meditation in which we recite what grace God has given her. Second, we should add a wish that everyone may know and respect her...He who has no faith is advised to refrain from saying the Hail Mary....

Although she was without sin , yet that grace was far too great for her to deserve it in any way. How should a creature deserve to become the Mother of God? ....It is necessary also to keep within bounds and not to make too much of calling her "Queen of Heaven," which is a true-enough name.... M. Luther

Sounds to me as if Martin Luther prayed the Rosary! Next is a comment by John Calvin:

We cannot give praise for the blessing which Christ has given to us without remembering at the same time the glorious privilege which God bestowed on Mary by choosing her to be the mother of his only Son....Now she is called Blessed because, receiving by faith the blessing which is offered to her, she opened the way for God to accomplish his work.

Let us learn to praise the holy Virgin. When we confess with her that we are nothing...and that we owe all to the pure goodness of God, see how we will be disciples of the Virgin Mary?
J. Calvin

The Rosary

The other day someone asked me why I do the Rosary and "Why don't you pray directly to Jesus?" The answer is: I do pray to Jesus....constantly. From the moment I wake up and straight through the day. I have even caught myself praying to Him while asleep. Many times I have awakened in the middle of dreams in which I was conversing with the Lord. I eat, drink [I mean these literally], sleep and breathe the Lord. I walk with Him during the day and during the night. I also walk with Him in the Rosary. The Rosary is the life of Jesus and Mary; I meditate on different aspects of their lives while I am saying it. The Rosary is beautiful and Mother Mary leads hearts to her Son. I do not worship Mary, but rather I revere her as the Mother of God. She is dear to my heart, this heavenly mother of mine.

In my next post, I will write a little about what Martin Luther and John Calvin said about Our Lady. You might be surprised. Pleasantly.

Mantle of Grace

O Beautiful one
Full of Grace
I am pierced
By the sorrow
Of your Immaculate Heart
I grieve for my sins
Which nailed
Your beloved Son
Upon this Cross
You stood there crying
Intense your suffering
I tasted the bitterness
Of your tears
I covered my head
In my shame
You unclasped my hands
And covered me instead
With your Motherly Mantle

The Feast of the Queenship of Mary

My husband is a convert to Catholicism. Before he converted he attended a Baptist Church. One of His friends, who was also Baptist, was horrified when he learned that my husband was converting. He started sending us pamphlets and links to internet sites that claimed that Catholics worshipped Mary. Fortunately, my husband knew the difference between worship and reverence and wasn't too offended. He tried explaining this to his friend, but his ears were closed to any mention of Mary at all. He sent us a pamphlet comparing Mary with the Old Testament passage Jer. 7:18 which speaks about Ishtar, the queen of heaven [a goddess worshipped by many in Jeremiah's time]. Yes, folks, he actually compared Mary with this demon. Needless to say, I was highly offended. Insult me if you want, but do not insult the mother of my Lord and my mother, too. Next, he sent us something about praying to the dead. After that he sent us the passage in Matthew [Mt. 12:46-50] , part of which says " Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?" By this time, I was steaming! Was he trying to insinuate that Mother Mary was in hell?!! In my head I was thinking;"Read your bible, buddy."

Number one, Mary is not Ishtar! Read Luke 1:26-38. This passage alone refutes this.
Or read Luke 1:39-56. How about John 19:25-27. Mary is the mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ!
One of the ten commandments says,"Honor Thy Mother And Father"; Jesus did this, He was without sin. Catholics do not pray to the dead. I assure you that Mary is alive and well in Heaven. She is the mother of " The King of Kings". The mother of a king is a queen. Mother Mary is the true , "Queen of Heaven"! I believe that Jesus is insulted when his mother is abused and pleased when she is honored. I do not get angry if someone asks about Catholicism with honest intentions. If someone sincerely asks me why I am Catholic I am happy to give my reasons. However, I do get angry when Mary is insulted.

HAIL, HOLY QUEEN!!

p.s. [Of course, I asked Mother Mary to intercede for Randy's friend :) ]

A biblical prayer

I was thinking of the " Hail Mary" this morning and meditating on the beauty of this prayer. What a biblical prayer this is:

When we say, "Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee" we are uniting our voices with the Archangel Gabriel, whose words came from the Lord, Himself.

" Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb" - Elizabeth, filled with the holy spirit, cried this out in a loud voice. We too, filled with the Holy Spirit, repeat her words.

" Jesus " Self explanatory. Second person of the Holy Trinity

"Holy, Mary, mother of God"
Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit calls Mary, "the mother of my Lord". To call Mary the mother of God is biblical. Jesus is God, who could say otherwise?

"Pray for us, sinners, now and at the hour of our death" We simply are asking her to intercede for us. It is no different than asking our friends and family to pray for us [though her prayers are more powerful because she always lived in God's Will]. She is alive and well in heaven and was given to us on the cross by her dying son, "Behold your mother". All of Jesus' words from the cross have eternal significance.

"Amen" .... AMEN!

The Assumption

" A great sign appeared in the heavens, a woman clothed with the sun, the moon was under her feet,and upon her head was a crown of twelve stars."

Thank you , Mother Mary for your FIAT! You are my beautiful one.


Utterly Thine, O Lord! May it be done to me according to Thy word.

A Mystical Rose Tree

I came upon the book, "God Alone", while searching my room for another book. I cracked it open, took a peek and found this gem:

A mystical rose tree is Jesus and Mary in life, death and eternity.

"It's green leaves are the Joyful Mysteries, the thorns the Sorrowful ones, and the flowers the Glorious Mysteries of Jesus and Mary. The buds are the childhood of Jesus and Mary, and the open blooms show us both of them in their sufferings, and the full-blown roses symbolize Jesus and Mary in their triumph and glory."

" So please do not scorn this beautiful and heavenly tree, but plant it with your own hands in the garden of your soul, by making the resolution to say it every day."
St. Louis de Montfort

Rosary to be prayed on five continents

I will definitely do THIS! Here is the link. http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=16802 This link has the time and date, etc...

Randy and Mother Mary

Unlike many converts to Catholicism, Mother Mary was never a stumbling block for Randy. He took to the Rosary right away. I questioned him on why this was. He said, " One of the ten commandments is Honor thy mother and father; We know Jesus followed these commandments. If he can honor His mother then I should too."

He also instantly understood that when Jesus said,"Behold, your mother", that He was giving her to all of us because everything that Jesus spoke from the cross has eternal significance.

What treasures Our Lord will give to those with open hearts!

Randy

My husband is a convert to Catholicism, with a Baptist/Pentecostal background . What led him to the Church, after a considerable amount of prayer and fasting, was searching for the complete truth about what Jesus had taught and what he really meant in the Gospels. One of the bible passages that had the greatest impact on him was the "Bread of Life Discourse", especially John, 6:52-71. Randy said that Jesus never said, "Wait! Wait! Come back, I was just kidding." Rather, He let them walk away. The fact that Jesus watched them go without retracting His statement made him realize the complete sincerity and the profound truth of Our Lord's words. My husband didn't want to be one of those who walked away. Randy entered the Church ten years ago, absolutely convinced that this was where God wanted Him.

A funny dream

Many years ago when I first started praying the rosary regularly, I had a funny dream. In this dream I had a 7 story house . I was walking around this house when I came upon a lady with a broom and dustpan bustling around my house cleaning it. And good grief was it a mess! But she started on the top floor and was working her way down. The house had no stairways, it had an elevator and she was using it to get from floor to floor. I followed her and then she turned around and looked at me. It was Our Lady! When I woke up I had to laugh because I always ask Mother Mary to help clean me up so I will be spotless for Jesus.

O Mary

I suffered from infertility for years before my daughter was born. A couple years before she was born, I got pregnant. My husband and I were so happy. Until the day we found out it was an ectopic pregnancy [in one of the fallopian tubes]. I was utterly devastated . I cried so hard I couldn't catch my breath. I placed myself and this baby in the hands of Our Lady. She took my hand and held it during the three months I carried this baby in my tube. The doctor wanted to operate but I wouldn't let him. He was angry and thought I was placing myself at risk of the tube rupturing. Here was the thing; I believe God gives a baby a soul at the instant of conception. As long as the hCG [ a hormone that is made by the embryo soon after conception] levels were rising I felt the soul was still in the body so I didn't dare do anything. Mother Mary lead me to a beautiful Catholic woman from Birthright named Evelyn. This woman was wonderful and found me a committed Catholic doctor who helped guide me in this. Every night I prayed the rosary and received so much consolation through her intercession. The Lord called me to offer the suffering up in reparation for the sins against life in our world. The hCG numbers finally plunged but I still waited. I asked Mother Mary for a sign of when it would be okay for the doctor to operate. A few weeks later I had a dream that I was pushing a baby carriage and I came upon a tiny gravestone. In this dream I was shouting " O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee" and complete peace surrounded my soul. I knew my baby's soul had gone to be with the Lord. When the doctor finally went in there no sign of the ectopic pregnancy was found, just endometriosis which probably caused this to happen [blocked tubes]. Six months later I conceived my daughter .

Mother Mary,
Thank you for loving us as your own and your intercession for this world.

Evelyn,
I will never forget you. I have you tucked into my heart. Thank you for your kindness and caring. You were a ray of sunshine for me during this dark hour. May God bless you!

Pray, pray, pray

These are often Mother Mary's messages to the world. "Pray, pray, pray" and also " Pray for peace in this world."



Just a soft whisper
Let there be peace
Unheard by those thundering
Figureheads of society
Who bellow their war chants
Righteous, superior voices
Drowning out choices
Years spent fighting wars
Nobody can win
For land that
Nobody can own
Just borrowed soil
Lent to sons
Who die fighting for it

Fiat

http://openingthefloodgatesofmercy.blogspot.com/2009/07/fiat.html May we all follow our Blessed Mother's example and give our YES to God. This is my prayer.

A strong word

http://heavenlyhand.blogspot.com/2009/07/strong-word.html

Hail Mary

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

I just had to start a blog about Mother Mary. Through her constant intercession, I have grown so very close to Jesus. He is my heart's delight, my joy, my life. One of my favorite titles of Our Lady is The Mystical Rose. As a matter of fact, my daughter's middle name is Rose because of this title. She was born on the feast day of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel and I believe it is through Mother Mary's intercession that I was given this precious gift. My daughter is a miracle. For the full story, click on this link. http://openingthefloodgatesofmercy.blogspot.com/2009/06/immaculate-heart-of-mary.html