CHRISTIAN LIVING QUARTER 1

CHRISTIAN LIVING QUARTER 1: VIRTUES OF MARY
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1. Profound humility and Love for God

Profound Humility
• Humility is grounded in truth
 Mary is truly humble. She knew God gave her more graces that any other person
and she acknowledged it humbly.
• Because of her deep humility, she knew exactly who she was before God, saw
herself as nothing compared to the infinite greatness and goodness of God.
Love for God

• Saint Albert - "where we find the greatest chastity, there we find also the greatest
charity."
• The more pure a heart is and the more empty of self, the more it is filled with love
for God.
• Mary was thoroughly humble and thoroughly unselfish, she’s filled with divine
love."Her love for God surpassed that of all men and angels," writes Saint Bernardine. Saint
Francis de Sales - "the queen of love."
• “Divine love burned so ardently in her that no defect of any kind could come
close to her."
• Saint Bernard: "Divine love penetrated and filled the soul of Mary to such an
extent that no part of her was left untouched. She loved with her whole heart, with her whole
soul, with her whole strength, and she was full of grace."
• St. Alphonsus: God, who is love, came to earth to kindle the flame of his divine
love in the hearts of all people. But in no heart did he kindle so much love as in the heart of his
mother. Her heart was entirely free from all earthly loves and fully prepared to burn with this
precious flame.
2. Love of God and neighbor and lively faith

Love of God and Neighbor
• Love of God and love of neighbor are commanded by God in the same law: Love
God above all with all your heart and all your strength, and others as yourself. We love others
because we loved God first.
• Mary aided her cousin Elizabeth, travelling far, even if she herself was pregnant.
Lively Faith
• Eve's unfaithfulness which brought death upon mankind, was remedied by
Mary's faithfulness which brought salvation to Mankind. (St. Irenaeus)
• Saint Augustine says: "It was Mary's faith that opened heaven to men when she
agreed to cooperate in the Incarnation of the Eternal Word."
3. Unwavering hope and Chastity or purity

Unwavering Hope
• Hope is born of faith. God enlightens us by faith to know his goodness and the
promises he has made.
• Hope is confidence in God in everything. Mary never complained about anything,
always trusting int he providence of God.
• Our highest hope is to desire to possess God - Heaven, Christian perfection,
union with God
• St.Alphonsus: Mary never relied either on others or on her own merits but only on
divine grace in which she had the fullest confidence, she continually advanced in the love of
God.
Chastity or Purity
• After the fall of Adam, man's senses became rebellious to reason. As a
consequence, chastity is the most difficult of all the virtues to practice. - St. Alphonsus
• In Mary God gave us a shining example of this virtue."Mary is with good reason
called the Virgin of virgins," says Saint Albert the Great. "Without the advice or example of
others, she was the first to consecrate her virginity to God."
• Chastity or Purity
 also pertains to purity of heart, a heart without malice,
 a heart that always hopes for the best interests of others, who rejoices in the good of
others
 A pure heart never plots the downfall of others, never rejoices in the misfortune of
others.
 Mary's heart is immaculately clean and unstained by sin.
4. Poverty of spirit and blind obedience to God

Poverty of Spirit
• Total dependence on God's providence; Detachment from the World.
• Jesus chose to be poor on earth, so that we could learn from him to despise
worldly things. St. Paul: "Being rich he became poor for your sake, that through his poverty you
might be rich (2 Cor 8:9). Jesus exhorts each one who wishes to be his disciple: If thou will be
perfect, go sell what you have, and give to the poor...and come, follow me (Mt 19:21).
• Mary imitated her Son's example perfectly.
Blind Obedience to God

• Mary's will was totally conformed to the will of God that she called herself merely
a servant: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord" (Lk 1:38; Angelus).
• Presentation at the Temple: Mary and Joseph offered a sacrifice, in accordance
with the Law: "a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons" (Luke 2:24), to redeem the Son of
God, Who needed no redemption. "The Law is made for man, not man for the Law," Christ
Himself would later say, yet here is the Holy Family fulfilling the Law even though it does not
apply to them.
• Mary showed humility in her obedience to the laws of God.
5. Patience and mental prayer

Patience
• Mary suffered patiently during the flight to Egypt, when she had to flee without
bringing to a life that was uncertain.
• She was a loving mother who despite their poor circumstances put all her love
into making a comfortable home for Jesus and her husband, Joseph.
• She is the best example of how a mother and a woman should be.
• The best example of Mary's patience was suffering quietly, following the example
of her Son, through Jesus' passion and death. She experienced many sorrows but she was with
Jesus up to the end. Mary's heart was crucified along with her Son on the cross.
Mental Prayer
• Jesus taught that we must always pray, and not lose heart (Lk 18:1).Saint Albert
the Great asserts that, after Jesus Christ, our Blessed Lady excelled beyond all souls in her
spirit of prayer which was unending and persevering. From the time she gained reason, she
began to pray.
• Mary loved to be alone with God in prayer. Saint Bernard claims that it was
Mary's love of prayer and solitude that prompted her " to avoid the society of men and useless
conversation with them."

CHRISTIAN LIVING QUARTER 1

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CHRISTIAN LIVING QUARTER 1: VIRTUES OF MARY

1. Profound humility and Love for God

Love for God

2. Love of God and neighbor and lively faith

3. Unwavering hope and Chastity or purity

4. Poverty of spirit and blind obedience to God

Blind Obedience to God

5. Patience and mental prayer

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