Made Worthy of the Promises of Christ
Fr. Hugh Gillespie, SMM
This is the End of the Special Devotional Series First Phase of Preparation
The Next Phase of Preparation is the Queen of All Hearts Novena
M ade Worthy of the Promises of Christ
This conference brings to conclusion the first phase of the Preparation for our Consecration Renewal and the Renewal of the Shrine of Our Lady of the Island’s Consecration. In the prior two conferences, this devotional series explores The Goodness of Mary and Mary, Queen of All Hearts.
Often, when we say the Holy Rosary, we include as part of the prayer … Pray for us Mother of God that we may be Made Worthy of the Promises of Christ. What does that actually mean?
The beginning of the Litany of Loreto starts by calling for the mercy of God, then calls upon the Blessed Trinity, and then calls upon Our Lady. The structure of the Litany calls upon the help of Our Lady. It is how we call upon God’s Mercy. The prayer flows through the titles of Our Lady, which gives us confidence in and the love for Our Lady to help in our desire for mercy.
Strengthen with Our Lady, the prayer turns to the Lord. We turn to Him, strengthen by the presence of Our Lady. She is united with us! As we pray, so does she. This is important to realize. We do not simply pray to Our Lady, for example, when we say the Holy Rosary. If we are conscience of it, we actually unite our pray with her as she prays with us.
In turning to the Lord, the Litany has three prayer verses.
- Lamb of God: Spare Us O Lord!
- Lamb of God: Graciously Hear Us O Lord
- Have Mercy On Us
The Ascension of Christ: Dutch Painter: Rembrandt: 1636
Spare Us O Lord
In turning to the Lord, we are recognizing we are not worthy (see slide #1). We recognize that what we have earned in this life time is punishment. We sin and act in-different to the Lord. These actions do not merit grace. We ask to Spare Us O Lord.
In Mass, just before Holy Communion, we pray … Lord, I Am Not Worthy … We don’t deserve it, but we call upon His mercy. We don’t deserve it, but Mary prays along with us. Be conscience of it. Spare Us O Lord. Jesus will return as King and as Judge. We will all be judged someday. We do not deserve grace, and seek His mercy.
Fear the Lord (see slide #1), but do not run. Be confident of Mary standing along side of us when the time comes. We alone can not be secure in front of the judge. There is only one person who is worthy to stand before the judge, and that is Mary. She is perfect. We are not. Have confidence in the person standing with you in front of the judge. We turn to the Lord with confidence by the strength and presence of Our Lady. Give me Lord not what I deserve, but give me your mercy.
Graciously Hear Us
Lord, you have every reason to not to listen to us, but we ask you Lord to hear our voice. In prayer, we ask you Lord to Graciously Hear Us.
We call upon you, appealing to your kindness. We call to be spared the wrath of judgement. Lord, we graciously ask for forgiveness. Hear more in the audio and the call to Graciously Hear Us!
Have Mercy On Us
St. Louis de Montfort, within his prayer, asks for Contrition and Pardon for my sins. The call for mercy calls for a response. In numerous stories within the Gospel, we hear people calling out…crying out to the Lord. In calling out to the Lord, Jesus hears us (see slides #3-#7). The people cry out for mercy, and Jesus grants them mercy. In many stories we read that Jesus cures the sick or blind person, saying your faith has healed you. In crying out for mercy, the Lord indeed hears us. If we cry out seeking mercy…mercy is then given to us. Have Mercy on Us O Lord!
The Promise of Christ
Blessed Mother, Pray for Us So We May Be Made Worthy of the Promises of Christ. We are not worthy. But through the Mother of God, with her help, my unworthy heart and soul may be Made Worthy.
Think then how important the next nine days are to all of us. When Jesus ascends to Heaven, He makes a promise to us all! He will send the Holy Spirit. Recall on Easter Sunday Jesus breathed on the Apostles. He breathed His Spirit. On Pentecost Sunday, the Apostles were given the gift of the Holy Spirit. In between, the Apostles united in prayer with the Mother of God. You are also invited to do so during the novena, so that we may prepare our heart and soul for receiving the Holy Spirit.
Listen to this conference and it will influence your Spiritual Pray Life. In hearing this audio we believe it will change how we all pray.
Made Worthy of the Promises of Christ
Note: *
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SLIDES UTILIZED WITHIN THE CONFERENCE
AND THEY SAY TO THE MOUNTAINS AND ROCKS:
FALL UPON US AND HIDE US FROM THE FACE OF HIM THAT SITTETH UPON THE THRONE AND FROM THE WRATH OF THE LAMB.
FOR THE GREAT DAY OF THEIR WRATH IS COME. AND WHO SHALL BE ABLE TO STAND?
Revelation 6:16-17
THE LORD HATH BEEN ZEALOUS FOR HIS LAND, AND HATH SPARED HIS PEOPLE.
Joel 2:17-18
HAVE MERCY ON ME O GOD, ACCORDING TO THY GREAT MERCY.
AND ACCORDING TO THE MULTITUDE OF THY TENDER MERCIES BLOT OUT MY INIQUITY.
Psalm 50
RESTORE UNTO ME THE JOY OF THY SALVATION, AND STRENGTHEN ME WITH A PERFECT SPIRIT.
Psalm 50
AND AS JESUS PASSED FROM THENCE, THERE FOLLOWED HIM TWO BLIND MEN CRYING OUT AND SAYING:
HAVE MERCY ON US SON OF DAVID.
Matthew 9: 17
AND HIS MERCY IS FROM GENERATION UNTO GENERATIONS, TO THEM THAT FEAR HIM.
Luke 1:50
HE HATH RECEIVED ISRAEL HIS SERVANT, BEING MINDFUL OF HIS MERCY.
AND HE SPOKE TO OUR FATHERS: TO ABRAHAM AND TO HIS SEED FOREVER.
Luke 1: 54-55
