Knowledge of Jesus: Day Six

Immaculate Heart of Mary by Leopold Kupelwieser, downloaded from Wikipedia

Day thirty two at Fish Eaters.

Day thirty two at The Catholic Company.

Today's readings are from Imitation of Christ and True Devotion. The Imitation has us reflecting on who or what rules our hearts: "Your Beloved is such that He will not accept what belongs to another and He wants your heart for Himself alone, to be enthroned therein as King in His own right." Why should we want Jesus enthroned in our hearts? The Imitation of Christ explains,

Affection for creatures is deceitful and inconstant, but the love of Jesus is true and enduring. He who clings to a creature will fall with its frailty, but he who gives himself to Jesus will ever be strengthened.

Love Him, then; keep Him as a friend. He will not leave you as others do, or let you suffer lasting death. Sometime, whether you will or not, you will have to part with everything. Cling, therefore, to Jesus in life and death; trust yourself to the glory of Him who alone can help you when all others fail.

The selection from True Devotion gives guidance on how to bring about this interior change. Both Fish Eaters and The Catholic Company pages use a slightly different list than the translation by Fr. Faber (TAN Books). Fr. Faber's translation says that we are "to do all our actions by Mary, with Mary, in Mary, and for Mary; so that we may do them all the more perfectly by Jesus, with Jesus, in Jesus, and for Jesus." Instead of "by" the two pages use "through." I understand why they have done this, because it has been confusing to me. But after some thought, I prefer Fr. Faber's translation because we're to do all our actions by the spirit of Mary, whose spirit is so united to that of the Holy Spirit, that we are doing all our actions by the Holy Spirit. So "by the Holy Spirit" seems better than "through the Holy Spirit" in that it captures the source of good in the Holy Spirit, rather than in ourselves. One could argue that we do our actions by the Holy Spirit through Mary, but that requires remembering two prepositions instead of one; and I think that I can easily remember that "by Mary", it means "by the spirit of Mary" or "by the Holy Spirit."

The other preposition covered for today is "with" (the remaining prepositions will be covered tomorrow). By "with" we are to consider Mary as a model in our actions. How did she do it? Or how would she have done it if she were in our shoes? We should consider her virtues, especially her "lively faith" and her "deep humility." It is these two virtues which will help us obtain deeper knowledge of Jesus, to trust in him and to have confidence in him in our relationship with him. Indeed, that Jesus may be truly enthroned in our hearts.