MAY, THE MONTH OF MARY (MAY 4) – MARY, STRENGTH OF THE WEAK
The obstinate sinners are those who neglect their souls and give themselves up to their passions, not willing to leave their life of sin.
The spiritually weak are those who would like to maintain their friendship with God, but they are not determined nor decided in fleeing sin and the grave occasions of sin.
One day they are with God and another day with the devil; today they receive Communion and tomorrow they sin gravely; falls and repentance, confession and sins. How many souls are in this sad condition! They have a very weak will and run the risk of dying in sin. Woe if death catches them while they are not in the grace of God!
The Blessed Virgin has great compassion for them and is always eager to come to their aid. As the mother supports her child so that he does not fall and always with a ready hand to raise if her child falls, so Our Lady, mindful of human misery, is prompt to support those who rely on Her with confidence.
It is good to consider what are the causes that produce spiritual weakness:
1) First of all, one becomes spiritually superficial and not taking notice of small faults, so they are committed often and without any remorse. He who despises small things, will gradually fall into the big ones.
2) The will is weakened when one thinks of temptations as a question of how far I can get without sinning … Saying that I can do this or that since it is not yet a mortal sin! Like saying, I will stop at the edge of the precipice. Acting in this way, God’s grace slows down, Satan intensifies the assault and the soul falls miserably.
3) Another cause of spiritual weakness is the saying to oneself: Now I will sin and then I will confess; after I will remedy everything. One is mistaken, because even when one confesses, that voluntary sin leaves a great weakness in the soul; the more sins one commits, the more one remains weak, especially if one is offending the virtue of purity.
4) Those who cannot dominate their heart and consequently cultivate disordered affections easily fall into sin. They say: I do not have the strength to leave that person! I do not feel like depriving myself of that visit …
Such weaken souls, entangled in their spiritual life, should resort to Mary for help, imploring her maternal mercy. Much prayers are needed, like novenas and even a whole month of devout practices, in order to ask for this great grace, that is, the strength of will to reject sins, on which the eternal salvation depends.
Many pray to Our Lady for the health of the body, for providence, or to succeed in some affair, but few beg the Queen of Heaven and make devout prayers and novenas to have the strength in temptations or to sever some grave occasion of sin.
EXAMPLE:
A young woman for years had abandoned herself to a life of sin; she tried to keep his moral miseries hidden from her family. The mother began to suspect something and scolded her bitterly.
The unhappy soul, once found out by her mother, opened her eyes to the poor state of her soul and was beset by a strong remorse. Accompanied by her mother, she went to confession. She then repented, proposed to change and even cried.
But she was very weak, and after a short time, she plunged again into the same bad habit of sinning. She was already at a point to take the next terrible step to plunge herself into the abyss of sin. When our Lady, invoked by her mother, came to the sinner’s help through a special grace.
A providential good book fell into the hands of the young woman; she read it and was completely struck by the story of a woman, who hid serious sins in Confession and, although she later lived a normal life and was reminded often by God to confess these serious sins. In the end, because of this voluntary sacrilege she was lost and damned.
She was shaken by remorse after reading the story; she thought that damnation was prepared for her too, if she had not remedied these bad Confessions and had not decided to change her life.
She thought seriously about the matter and began praying fervently to the Blessed Virgin to help her. Finally, she decided finally to put her conscience in order. When she knelt before the priest to confess her sins, she started by saying: “It was Our Lady who brought me here! I want to change my life.”
While before she felt very weak in front of many temptations, she then acquired this strength not to go back to her former life. She persevered in much prayer and in the receiving often the Sacraments and inflamed with holy ardor towards Jesus and the Celestial Mother, she eventually decided to dedicate herself to the service of God with the help of Mary as a consacrated person.
A Little Spiritual Flower Offering to our Lady (fiorétto spirituale):
– Examine the conscience to see how your confession is: That is, if you are hiding some serious sin, if the purpose of fleeing the bad occasion of sin is resolute and effective, if you really go to Confession with the proper disposition. Let’s make up for badly made confessions.
Prayer to Mary:
– My Dear Virgin Mother Mary, help me save my soul!
Source:
MARIA REGINA E MADRE DI MISERICORDIA (Mese di Maggio) – di DON GIUSEPPE TOMASELLI
