Breast Cancer And Lupus

Immaculate Conception Novena - Day 4: Under your protection

"All they fell on the houses of Christians enter at each of who knows, p ruled neighbors, pillaged and destroyed, taken away in the folds of the garments all precious things, throw things away or burning sen za value. It sareb be called a city taken and sacked by the enemy [...]. The Pagans then took the admirable virgin Apollonia, already advanced in age. The hit the masc elle and brought out his teeth. Then, having set fire to a pile outside the city threatened to throw her alive, if n had pronounced on with them impious words. She asked that they leave her alive for a moment: have this, quickly jumped into the fire and was consumed '(Hist. Ecc VI, 41-42). We are at Alexandria, 250 AD, during the persecution of Decio against all those who called themselves Christians. Many could not to withstand the pressures of the executioners, and sacrificed to pagan idols, other cer quarried to obtain a certificate, the "Libellus ", through which were considered in good standing. But the martyrs were numerous. Within the prism and varied society of Alexandria, a remnant faithful to resist strength and devastating power of the Empire is born in this context, the oldest Marian antiphon we know: "Sub tuum presidium confugimus . The recent history there p ermette to understand such statements. In 1917, the John Rylands Library in Manchester acquires a series of papyri from Egypt. One of them, with ten lines and greek text, containing a prayer to the Virgin Mary ( that began with the words: Υπό την σην ευσπλαγχνίαν, and that is "under your mercy" ), was curiously published market only twenty years later, in 1938, this delay is due to the embarrassment of the owner, the Protestant papyrologist Colin Roberts, who for his religious beliefs, namely that the cult of the Virgin is a late phenomenon, following the Council of Ephesus ( no accident that Karl Barth called Mariology "t mood of Catholicism" ), was to deny at all costs that the papyrus could be traced back to the third century AD, during the time of their persecution of D ECIO and Valerian. But alas, his colleagues had to refute: the papyrus belonged with certainty at the time of the glorious martyrs, around 250 AD The cult the Virgin Mary, invoked as the Theotokos, Mother of God, stands to spontaneously ' interior of the church praying. To ensure that our intellect is not only educated but also our spirit to be involved in prayer heartfelt addressed to the Virgin and Mother, trying to dig as deeply as possible in the heart of this appeal. There are many issues to be taken into consideration with (think of the simple word "Praesidium" which in itself would be worth to keep us in this place a long time), but personally I dwell on this lla word that sums up the whole prayer : Of the Holy Genitrix . Mary, Mother of God and our Mother. Jean Paul Sartre (one of the greatest atheist philosophers of all time), in the lager T reviri, was the Christmas of 1940, it talks about the motherhood of Mary, "all that needs painting face of Mary is anxious that it is not a surprise that once appeared on a human face. Christ is her baby [...]. This has led to nine months and will give him the breast and her milk will become known Ngue of God at times the temptation is so strong that you forget who is God hold her in his arms and says my little one! But at other times, and remains banned thinks God is there! " . How sweet it is to hear of Mary in these terms. Mary's divine motherhood makes us a retrace time in memory that is our experience about the subject to be a Mother (although Jesus did the same: "He was obedient to them " - Lk 2:51). What does it mean to have a mother? Recognize that you have a mother is first to admit that it is not self-sufficient, to depend on someone, you need to feel loved, and every mother, in the dignity of the name, want to tighten your child and not leave it until it becomes strong enough to face the life. Having a mother and give her your love means to accept the truth of love be simple creatures applicants. Do not choose it or reject it wreck lies in the absolute freedom of knowing self-manage, heroic, titanic. Feel, to live, work of children and do the deep experience of feeling loved and cherished by "someone". Experience the dark solitude is to experience the remoteness of Love. "Well - said Chiara Lubich - if this is true in relation to the normal mothers, one can well imagine what Mary, Mother of child who was God and spiritual Mother of us all." Mary as the "explanation" of God's Love, an open book that explains God's disciple today, and then each of us can easily fall into the temptation of being without a mother, an orphan, not even capable of wanting more life because it no longer makes sense: Why all this? The truth because he refused to have a loving mother. Gain a true and passionate devotion to the Mother of God is not merely the result of a gift that descends from above, but is also ascetic effort, sometimes even boring in practice, but that's why we are asked to exercise a faithful and persevering. Marian Devotion creates truth in our lives, reminds us that we are born, we come from, and at the same time creates for us a joy in the unquenchable recognize loved and cherished. I wish to conclude my reflection yielding the floor to certainly someone who has understood very well what it means to love a mother like Mary, and these is the Supreme Pontiff Paul VI, "The Madonna has with Christ and the Redemption such an intimate relationship, which can not be said that true Christianity is not Christianity Marian."
comp. Lorenzo Pantanetti, cp

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