First week - Prayer to the Holy Spirit - 1 Our Father, 3 Hail Marys
How should I read these meditations? One is meant not to read them but to pray them. Meditation means to chew your food slowly. Therefore pray these meditations slowly. Read the first sentence, then study how this applies to you. Sometime you may have to read a sentence ten times before it eventually takes form. The sentence is a message for you. When you pray these words about Mary Immaculate always remember that you are reaching contact with the Blessed Virgin. (St. Maximilian Kolbe) These words are human, taken from earthly language. Remember you are entering into a relationship with a living, loving person, the Blessed Mother who is pure, without any stain of sin. You appear before her in your sin. St. Louis de Montfort says, "We are like a cask that smells and when you put good wine in it the good wine is spoiled, because of original sin." When Our Lady of Guadalupe told Juan Diego to put the Castilian roses in his mantilla, they were not neatly arranged so Mary lovingly arranged the roses herself. That is what she does with our prayers and good works. She cleans them and takes all our rust from them before she offers them to her Divine Son. One would be foolish not to want Mary to clean the prayers and good works before they are presented to her Son. Allow Mary to serve you, you who are so undeserving of this great honor.

Second week - Prayer to the Holy Spirit - 1 Our Father, 3 Hail Marys
We can never completely understand the Blessed Virgin. Only God knows her as she is. "Mary Immaculate is the being completely belonging to God. She surpasses all others in an infinite way. She will reveal herself to you through the sentences you read, and she will inspire you with thoughts, conviction, and feelings, which even the author himself would not think of at the moment of his writing." (St. Maximilian Kolbe) Her beauty surpasses all the beauty in the world put together. The person that truly gives oneself to Mary will advance from virtue to virtue. If you are the same way as you were five or ten years ago, you might desire to give yourself to her or to give oneself to Jesus through Mary. Your devotion to Mary must be very weak, as this is the reason you don't advance. You are still attached to things of the world; especially to self-love and pride. When one gives oneself to Jesus through Mary, the soul must put itself on the line and be ready to die for Jesus if one has to. St. Louis de Montfort states, "Die daily to oneself, so that one can live for God alone. I repeat for God alone."

Third week - Prayer to the Holy Spirit - 1 Our Father, 3 Hail Marys
St. Maximilian says, "Concentrate as you read, on purifying your conscience." Look at yourself. If God were to call you, how would you stand before Him? Would you be there with all your sins, faults and imperfections? You must go to confession. St. Maximilian states, "The more frequently you purify your soul by the Sacrament of Penance, the nearer your thoughts will be to the truth as regards to Mary Immaculate." Ask her; O Blessed Virgin what will you have me do? Many people don't ask Mary for this as they are afraid of what answer Mary may give them. Most do not want to face the truth about themselves. Meditate on this. Ask Mary what she wants from you. By asking her and saying the Holy Rosary she will answer you. Set your heart on Jesus and Mary. Ask them to take all these rusting things which dwell in our hearts and strip them away. I promise you that if one's heart purely seeks this you will definitely get an answer.

Fourth week - Prayer to the Holy Spirit - 1 Our Father, 3 Hail Marys
St. Maximilian says, "Acknowledge sincerely that without her help, you are unable to know anything about her, and in consequence you would be unable to love her." St. Alphonsus Liguori relays in the Chronicle of the Order of St. Dominic that "one of the friars Leonard used to recommend himself two hundred times a day to this Mother of Mercy, and that when he was attacked by his last illness, he saw a most beautiful queen by his side, who addressed him; Leonard, wilt thou die, and come and dwell with my Son and with me?" And who are you he replied. "I am the Mother of Mercy. You have so many times invoked me, behold, I have now come to take you; let us go to paradise." On the same day Leonard died, and passed on to the kingdom of the Blessed. Today Leonard is a saint. Those who give themselves to Mary will surely become a saint.

Let me make this clear to you for the best results. You are to pray and meditate very slowly. On many occasions one sentence might take you hours. Go over it several times to receive many benefits. One sentence can inspire good meditation. The following day meditate on this one sentence again as this is a true meditation. At the end of the meditation pray the Sorrowful Mother prayer.

Oh Mary let my heart be on fire, that it will consume me in the fire and be transformed in Jesus Christ through you, oh Merciful Mother. Blessed Virgin pray for me, a sinner. Jesus I trust you.

In Saragossa there was a nobleman named Peter, a relation of Saint Dominic, but who was a most wicked man. One day when the Saint was preaching he saw Peter enter the church, and begged our Lord to manifest the state of that miserable sinner to the congregation. In an instant Peter appeared as a monster from hell, surrounded and dragged about by many devils. Every one, even his wife, who was in the church, and the servants who accompanied him, began to fly. Saint Dominic then sent him word by a companion that he should recommend himself to Mary, and begin to recite the rosary, which he also sent him. When Peter had received the message he humbled himself, went to thank the Saint, and then had himself the grace to see the devils who surrounded him. He then confessed his sins with many tears to the Saint, from whom he received the assurance that they were already forgiven. He persevered in saying the rosary; and became so holy, that one day our Lord made him appear in church in the presence of the whole congregation crowned with a triple crown of roses.


Readings taken from:
The Glories of Mary
Tan Books and Publishers, Inc.
PO Box 424
Rockford, II. 61105
and
Montfort Publications
Bay Shore, NY 11706

Any questions contact -
Rocco Colontuono, O. C. D. S.
Disciples of Jesus & Mary
Box 183, Peapack, NJ 07977
908-234-0488

Spiritual Director
Rev. Anthony Alvarez

Director
Mary Clare Windisch

Spiritual Exercises of Mary:
Lesson 13
Lesson 12
Lesson 11
Lesson 10
Lesson 9
Lesson 8
Lesson 7
Lesson 6
Lesson 3
Lesson 2
Lesson 1