Our Lady of Mt. Carmel- DAY 5

MARY, most obedient, pray for us.

Feast of St. Benedict: The rule of St. Benedict has been followed in monasteries for over 1500 years. It is based off of Proverbs when it admonishes one to listen; if today you hear His voice, harden not your hearts.
Obedience seems to offend the American ideal.
Jesus argues for observance of the law: He did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. He gives a new understanding- obedience is a yielding to love within us. It affects the roots of our being. We can only be obedient by having our hearts reshaped by God. Obedience is a posture of the heart; the inclining of our inner ear to God. To listen is to have life. It is like a plant leaning toward the sun in order to receive nourishment from it. We will wilt if we are deafened by desires.
To whom or to what do we lean, incline our hearts?
Mary, the Mystical Rose, is like a living Thirst for God.

(My notes of the homily of Fr. Michael Berry.)

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel- DAY 4

MARY, virgin and mother most prudent, pray for us.

Prudence is practical wisdom; making good decisions. Mary was a prudent virgin. If we struggle to be like her, we can at least turn to her as our mother, who places her virtues at our service.
At the wedding at Cana, the groom was responsible for providing for the wedding feast, which could last up to a full week in those days. If they ran out of wine, it would have been an embarrassment to him as well as to his new wife.
Mary points out to Jesus that they have no wine. When Jesus replies that His hour has not yet come, He refers to the moment when He will reveal the Father's glory through His death on the cross.
Mary is a true daughter of God- the God who knows how many hairs are upon your head, or when even the smallest sparrow falls from the sky. Despite her care for minute details, when she speaks about the wine, she is really expressing her thirst for God to be glorified. This is her true desire.
Her prudence causes her to point us to God always.
Jesus wishes to take the ordinary water of our lives and turn it into the wine of divine life.

(My notes on the homily of Fr. Michael Berry.)

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel- DAY 3

MARY, most faithful, pray for us.

Mary shows us fidelity in the midst of daily life.
St. Teresa of Avila wrote that God does not look at the greatness of our works, but rather at the love with which they are done.
Mary's greatness is in her FIAT. God asked her to be a mother. Right away she went to help Elizabeth with her pregnancy, relying on God to help her. (Joseph was not there to support her yet.) She went to Bethlehem and then to Egypt, trusting in God's plan. She did not receive angelic messages after the annunciation to reassure her.
She follows God by the ordinary way with great love.
Each day there are many opportunities to believe, hope and love. Give God an open heart.

(My notes on the homily of Fr. Michael Berry.)

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel- DAY 2

MARY, most prayerful, pray for us.

Prayer, according to Mary:
1) God is the protagonist. We must allow Him to breathe in us, to draw us into a relationship with Him.
2) It is not about thinking much, but loving much. It involves a desire for God's will + charity + generosity. We must love God for who He is, not what He can do.
Mary allows God to be free within herself.

(My notes from the homily of Fr. Michael Berry.)

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel- DAY 1

MARY, most devoted, pray for us.

Mary prefers imitation to admiration. She is devoted, id est, wholly dedicated to another. She knows she is full of grace and gives her life to others. "Grace consists in giving God's power back to Him." We are all called to do this and respond to the Holy Spirit.

(My notes on the homily of Fr. Michael Berry.)

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