Day 6

Virtue

Prayer

Dear Lord,

Help me to place my full trust in You and to grow in holiness and virtue that I may spend eternity with you.

My Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingly power. I love you. Thank you for loving me first.

+ Amen +

Reading

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

“Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life?

“And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O men of little faith?

“Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.

“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day’s own trouble be sufficient for the day.”

– Matthew 6:25-34

Reflection

The Virtues

Dear Mom is the greatest saint God ever created, the pinnacle of God’s virtues in creation. As her children and with her guidance, we too can grow in virtue.

Virtues are holy habits that iron away our sins and imperfections. When they are practiced daily, they become strong habits that help us deal with all of life’s difficulties in a holy way.

There are two types of virtues: theological and human.

Theological Virtues

These virtues, given only by God, are Faith, Hope and Charity.

To receive the theological virtues, we must simply be Baptized, in a state of grace, ask God in prayer to grant us these virtues in abundance and call upon our Dear Mom to advocate for us for these petitions.

Human Virtues

These virtues are holy habits that are attained by practice and grace. They fall under four categories called the cardinal virtues: Prudence, Justice, Fortitude and Temperance.

To receive the human virtues, we have pray for them and exercise them daily. We exercise all of these virtues when we love God first and love our neighbor as Christ loved us.

Humility, the Virtue of Dear Mom

Take up my yoke upon you, and learn of me, because I am meek, and humble of heart: and you shall find rest to your souls.
– Matthew 11:29

As I mentioned earlier, Dear Mom is the pinnacle of virtue in God’s creation. And of all her virtues, the one that defines her is humility.

Humility, oh beautiful humility! The virtue whereby God became man; the virtue whereby Dear Mom accepted being the Mother of God; the virtue that defeats the capital sin of pride!

The most destructive sin is pride because pride leads to all the other sins. The devil was cast out of Heaven because of pride.

The most constructive human virtue is humility because humility leads to all the other human virtues. Mary was exalted in Heaven because of humility.

At La Salette, Dear Mom issued this call:

I address an urgent appeal to the earth: I summon the true disciples of God who lives and reigns in heaven; I summon the true imitators of Christ made man, the one true Saviour of men;

I summon My children, My true devotees, those who have given themselves to Me so that I might lead them to My divine Son, those whom I carry, so to speak, in My arms, those who have lived according to My spirit;

Finally, I summon the Apostles of the Latter Times, the faithful disciples of Jesus Christ who have lived in scorn of the world and of themselves, in poverty and in humility, in contempt and in silence, in prayer and in mortification, in chastity and in union with God, in suffering and unknown to the world.

It is time for them to arise and come forth to enlighten the earth.

– Dear Mom at La Salette

To live in scorn of the world and ourselves, in poverty, in humility, in contempt, in silence, in prayer, in mortification, in chastity, in union with God, in suffering, in hiddeness – this is humility! Dear Mom declares that we are truly her children when we are humble.

Now, how do we practice humility? We practice humility by living in Dear Mom’s house.

Humility in Dear Mom’s Home

The house of the Holy Family was located in Nazareth. However, in 1295, it was moved by angels to Loreto, Italy (full story at the end). The Church has confirmed that this house in Loreto, Italy is the house of the Holy Family and thousands of saints have prayed there.

To this very day, you can visit the Holy House in Loreto. I have walked inside of it, and it is humbling. It is a tiny structure measuring just 13 ft by 31 ft, about 400 sqft – the size of a single bedroom. In fact, it only had one room.¹

If you want humility, then look at the scapular – and in your heart and in your mind, constantly remind yourself that you now live in this tiny home (and you do, because Mary is your mother). Then with every decision, you will be swayed towards humility.

“Her actual life, both at Nazareth and later, must have been a very ordinary one…She should be shown to us as some one who can be imitated, some one who lived a life of hidden virtue, and who lived by faith as we do….”

– St. Therese of the Child Jesus after visiting the Holy House¹

The Enemies of Virtue

Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.

– Matthew 6:25-33

There are two enemies of virtue: worrying and lack of self-love.

Worry

The first enemy of virtue is worry. Worry causes us to think that God will not come to our aid and that we must find a solution ourselves. This is us losing trust in God and this is the start of sin.

So, we must avoid worrying. Instead, pursue God and the virtues, and God will supply the rest. I will again quote Dear Mom to St. Juan Diego to remind us of the aid she gives her children.

Hear me and understand well, my son the least, that nothing should frighten or grieve you. Let not your heart be disturbed. Do not fear that sickness, nor any other sickness or anguish. Am I not here, who is your Mother? Are you not under my protection? Am I not your health? Are you not happily within my fold? What else do you wish? Do not grieve nor be disturbed by anything.

– Dear Mom at Guadalupe to St. Juan Diego

Lack of Self-Love

The second enemy of virtue is a lack of self-love. In addition to loving God and our neighbor, we must also love ourselves (364). When we do not care for ourselves, we limit our growth in virtue because we suffer from needless pain.

Pray for the theological virtues, pray for the grace to accomplish the human virtues, pray for humility, practice humility, do not worry and take care of your health.

Do so, and you will grow in holiness and become more perfect children of our most perfect Mother, and more perfect siblings of our most perfect Savior, Jesus Christ.

Today’s Task

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The Miraculous Translation of the Holy House of Loreto

In 1291, when the Christians were defeated by the Muslims in the Holy Land, the house of the Holy Family was left undefended. Suddenly, it disappeared from its spot and was found again in Tersatto (now Yugoslavia). The local priest received confirmation from Dear Mom that this was indeed the house of the Holy Family.¹

“Know that his house is the same in which I was born and brought up. Here, at the Annunciation….I conceived the Creator of all things. Here, the Word of the Eternal Father became man. The altar which was brought with the house was consecrated by Peter, the Prince of the Apostles. This house has now come to your shores by the power of God….And now in order that you may bear testimony of all these things, be healed. Your unexpected and sudden recovery shall confirm the truth of what I have declared to you.”

– Our Dear Mom to Fr. Alexander Georgevich

In 1294, the house disappeared and was seen translating in the sky (obviously carried by angels) before landing in Banderuolo, Italy, then to Lecanati, Italy and finally, in 1295, to Loreto. Investigators confirmed that the structure was the same mud and brick structure used in the Holy Land and unlike any material in the local area, and the footprint of the empty spot in Nazareth was exactly the same as the footprint of the house in Loreto.

The Church has confirmed that this is indeed the house of the Holy Family. The most astounding basilica to Our Dear Mom wraps around this home now and the Litany of Loreto, the litany for Our Dear Mom, was named after this location in the house’s honor.

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[b1] “Imitation of Christ” by Thomas A Kempis