Jesus, Man of Sorrows, those drops of Blood that flow down Your Face, those deep gashes caused by the thorns that cir­cle Your holy head, make You dearer to me than if Your forehead shone with pre­cious stones. Such signs remind me of the Divine love that burns in Your Heart for me. I love the noble, sorrowful maj­esty of Your holy Face. You reject the crown of gold and the rich robes of royal state, and accept instead a crown of thorns and the purple rags of mockery and scorn.

You consent to be a mock-king, a king of fools, only to be the real King of my soul. My thorn-crowned King,  I adore You as my very God.  I subject myself entirely to Your Divine Kingship of love. I would rather be a fool in the eyes of men for Your sake and have You reign over me, than be king of the world and be the slave of the prince of darkness.  I adore You as the Conqueror of hearts, whose Kingdom is not of this world, but of heav­en.

Fr. Lawrence Lovasik

The post The King of Love is Crowned with Thorns first appeared on AirMaria.com.

“His Blood Be on Us!”

Jesus, Man of Sorrows, the crime of the Jews reminds me of my own sinning. I heard Your Father say to me, “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased,” and yet my sins made me cry out, “Away with Him! Crucify Him!” I have loved death and slain the God of my salvation.

Give me an attitude toward sin like unto Yours; yes, one with Yours. because of the infinite iniury it causes the sovereign goodness of Your heavenly Father and its fatal hurt to my own immortal soul. When I sinned, I cried out that Your Blood might be upon me. May it be upon me henceforth, because I come to You in repentance for my sinful past. May Your Blood be upon the outward life I live, a sign that Your love now reigns within my soul, as a proof of my sincerest love. gratitude and loyalty. May Your Blood be upon my children, namely, upon all my works and words, and ever redden with Its glorious merit the whole stream of my life. And when life’s day is done, may the seal of Your Blood be a lasting, shin­ing mark upon my soul, to place me among those of whom it is said, “These are they who have washed their robes and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb” (Rev. 7:14).

The Meeting of Martyrs

Jesus, Man of Sorrows, there is one who remains close to You in joy and in pain – Your own dear Mother. Who will describe the sorrow that pierces her loving soul when she catches sight of You, the dear and beloved Son of her heart of hearts, with Your head crowned with thorns, Your face stained with blood and spittle, miserably swollen and disfigured? She had once known You beautiful, with the freshness of Divine innocence and peace upon Your sacred face; now she sees You so changed and deformed that she can scarcely recognize You. Not a feature, not a limb but speaks of the frightful guilt of sin, of punishment, of agony.

Jesus, in Your glance upon her so desolate, every fiber of Your Heart seems to be torn. And she feels all Your pain together with You. How she would have snatched that hide­ous crown from Your head, cleansed and kissed Your wounds, knelt down and adored You, taken You away and nursed You to health. But no! She remembers why You are suffering all this. That dear Mother of Sorrows gives You up to die for my redemption.

That blessed meeting when only a word of love passes between you is full of love, for never did son love his mother as You love Yours. When You, when her hands and Yours touch the Cross together as a pledge of joint suffer­ing, lasts but an instant, and then Your Mother is thrust back into that mob, thirsty for Your death, by the soldiers who know not who she is, nor care.

The Divine Mediator

Jesus, Man of Sorrows, at last the dearest wish of Your life is granted ­You are crucified. You have been the Victim of the envy of the high priests, of the mockery of Herod, of the weakness of Pilate, of the ingratitude of the people; but You will to die unavenged. Patiently You hang there on the open wounds of Your hands and feet, exhausted almost to death by the long stretch of the physical and mental suffer­ing You have undergone. Your Sacred Body, which suffers so much because It has so great a Soul, is now turned into a crucible of pain where all the sufferings of the world burn together.

My Savior, I am surprised at the cruelty of Your ene­mies and the greatness of Your torments, but what have I done to ease or lessen Your suffering? On the contrary, how much I have done to increase it!  Never before did You appear more lovable in Your prayer than now, as You hang between heaven and earth, an inter­mediary between an infinite God and His sinful creatures. With extended arms, and hands dug with nails, in an upright peni­tential posture of prayer, as our elder Brother, You plead the cause of wayward children before Your offended Father and offer Yourself to Him as a Victim for the sins of the world. Your bleeding wounds are proofs of a love unto death.

I see Your head bent down to reach me in my sinfulness ; Your arms extended to embrace me, though it was I who nailed them there; Your Body hanging to redeem me, though I sometimes hardly seemed to care. You love me with a Heart I myself have broken, and offer Your death, the most painful and most disgraceful known to the human race, to save me from eternal death; yet too often You have found me so slow to appre­ciate all You have done.

“I Will Draw All Things to Myself”

Jesus, hatred lifted You up on a cross; hut once on it You said You would lift all lovers up to Your Heart, which is Love, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to Myself” (John 12: 32) . You are now fulfilling that promise, for You are drawing heaven to Yourself, as You hang on the Cross, to give me the possession of it, and God, to make me His child and friend again. Oh, draw also my poor heart, so cold and ungrateful, to Yourself to inflame it with Your own love and generosity; my sinful soul as well, to cleanse and save it. You are true to me till death.

Then draw me, Lord, and make me true to Yon forever, both in my inner­most soul by faith in Your doctrine, hope in Your Divine promises and love of Your holy Person, and in my outward behavior by daily imitation of Your crucified life and by an unceasing union of my life with Your Sacrifice on the Cross. Dear Savior, draw all the world to Your crucified Self, as You promised, that all men may find in Your broken Heart, peace, consolation, and joy here, and eternal life and bliss hereafter.Let me at last learn that the Crucifix does not teach pain, but sacrifice, for sacri­fice is pain with love. Let me mount the cross with You so that the pain I hear in life may he transformed through love into a joyful sacrifice.

Fr. Lawrence Lovasik : Heart Talks with the Man of Sorrows

The post The Friday that is called Good first appeared on AirMaria.com.

The post Thanks for Suffering first appeared on AirMaria.com.

O God, I see that nothing in nature happens by chance. All creatures have a reason for their existence. There is also a reason for the existence of pain in the world otherwise You would never permit it.

It is not for me to question Your divine plan. My duty is to accept life with its sorrows and joys willingly. As a creature I am bound to You,my Creator. You did not abandon me after bringing me into this life, and You do not intend to do so. Give me faith that I may be able to fit the stark realities of life into Your divine plan. My daily trials cannot harm me unless I rebel against them and Your divine plan.

Jesus, teach me that I must pass through the valley of suffering here on earth before I can reach the mountain of happiness in heaven. Suffering, sadness, and cares come to me to remind me that earth is not a para­dise and that the life, truth and love I crave, is not to be found here below. The possession of You is my end in life, as St. Augustine said. “Thou hast made us for Thyself, O Lord, and our hearts are rest­less until they rest in Thee.”

Lord, suffering teaches me the most im­portant lesson of wisdom, that this life is but a preparation for the next. Every new trial has its present blessing and will pur­chase the happiness to be found hereafter. In times of illness and pain I am forced to answer questions that really matter in life. Where did I come from? Why am I on earth? Where am I going?

May suffering give me a broader view of life, an opportunity of studying myself. All my longings,hopes, and fears point to a life beyond the grave where I shall completely possess You.

Life on earth does not satisfy the yearnings which Your wise Providence implanted in my heart. Help me to live for the life above by ac­cepting pain and suffering as my daily cross sent by You. Then only shall I have a foretaste of the joys to come. My only duty in life is to submit myself willingly to Your holy plan for true submission can help me find myself and find You, Who measures my pain for a definite pur­pose.

My God, You never promised that I would be free from trials and temptations. You did promise me Your aid to carry me through them. You ask me only to fol­low Your plan willingly, not mine. If I had done so in the past. I would have been happy. I cannot understand Your plan now. Nevertheless. let me follow it willingly and always. Amen.

My God. my only Good. Thou art all mine; may I be always Thine.

+Fr.Lawrence Lovasik (Consolation in Suffering I)

Jesus, my King. I have crucified Thee:

Now it is Thy turn, crucify me.

Make Thou the cross. be it only like Thine;

Mix Thou the gall, let Thy love be the wine.

Shrink not to strip me of all save Thy grace;

Stretch me out well. ’till I fit in Thy place.

Here are my hands, felon’s hands and my feet;

Drive home the nails, my King, the pain will be sweet.

Raise me and take me not down ’till I die.

Only let Mary, my mercy, stand by.

And last, let the spear – while I live – do its part,

Right through the heart, my King, right through the heart.

The post The Mystery of Suffering first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Jesus, Man of Sorrows, at last the dearest wish of Your life is granted: ­You are crucified.

You have been the Victim of the envy of the high priests, of the mockery of Herod, of the weakness of Pilate, of the ingratitude of the people; but You will to die unavenged. Patiently You hang there on the open wounds of Your hands and feet, exhausted almost to death by the long stretch of the physical and mental suffering You have undergone. Your Sacred Body, which suffers so much because It has so great a Soul, is now turned into a crucible of pain where all the sufferings of the world burn together.

My Savior, I am surprised at the cruelty of Your ene­mies and the greatness of Your torments, but what have I done to case or lessen Your suffering? On the contrary, how much I have done to increase it!

Never before did You appear more lovable in Your prayer than now, as You hang between heaven and earth, an inter­mediary between an infinite God and His sinful creatures. With extended arms, and hands dug with nails, in an upright peni­tential posture of prayer, as our elder Brother, You plead the cause of wayward children before Your offended Father and offer Yourself to Him as a Victim for the sins of the world. Your bleeding wounds are proofs of a love unto death. I see Your head bent down to reach me in my sinfulness; Your arms extended to embrace me, though it was I who nailed them there; Your Body hanging to redeem me, though I sometimes hardly seemed to care. You love me with a Heart I myself have broken, and offer Your death, the most painful and most disgraceful known to the human race, to save me from eternal death; yet too often You have found me so slow to appre­ciate all You have done.

Jesus, hatred lifted You up on a cross; hut once on it You said You would lift all lovers up to Your Heart, which is Love, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to Myself” (John 12: 32) . You are now fulfilling that promise, for You are drawing heaven to Yourself, as You hang on the Cross, to give me the possession of it and God, to make me His child and friend again. Oh, draw also my poor heart, so cold and ungrateful, to Yourself to inflame it with Your own love and generosity; my sinful soul as well, to cleanse and save it. You are true to me till death. Then draw me, Lord, and make me true to You forever, both in my inner­most soul by faith in Your doctrine, hope in Your Divine promises and love of Your holy Person, and in my outward behavior by daily imitation of Your crucified life and by an unceasing union of my life with Your Sacrifice on the Cross. Dear Savior, draw all the world to Your crucified Self, as You promised, that all men may find in Your broken Heart, peace, consolation, and joy here, and eternal life and bliss hereafter.

Rev. Lawrence Lovasik: Heart Talks with the Man of Sorrows

The post It is Consummated first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Ave Maria Meditations

Mary, Mother of God, you are the Virgin who is promised as the Mother of the Savior… Prophets foretold the coming of the Savior and the manner in which the redemption would take place. They spoke of you as His Virgin Mother and of the part you would play in the redemption of mankind…

Your birth was awaited as the nearest sign of the deliverance of the human race. The Church regards you as the rising dawn. As the dawn precedes and announces the coming of the sun, makes the darkness of the night disappear, consoles the sick and rejoices all nature, so you went before and announced Jesus, “the Son of Justice,” Who made the darkness of the world disappear by the light of His gospel, consoled and cured the sick in soul and body, and brought an abundance of graces and blessings to the whole world.

Mary, at the very beginning of your existence you received grace exceeding in greatness that of all of the saints because you were destined to be the Mother of the Redeemer and the Mediatrix of the world. From the first instance of your existence your mind was filled by the supernatural light of faith and your soul with love of God. Who can describe the grace that adorned your soul at the glorious instant of your nativity! Your soul had never been touched by original sin. With my whole heart, I think God for all He has done for you and for all mankind through you.

+Fr. Lawrence Lovasik S.V.D.

The post September 8th: Celebrate the Birth of Our Lady! first appeared on AirMaria.com.