Thoughts of Mary – 6 May – “Mary’s Month”
The Immaculate Virgin – the Purple Flower of Sacrifice
Moments with Saint Pope John XXIII (1881-1963)
She who was preserved from original sin through the merits of her Son the Redeemer, was granted this privilege because she was predestined for the sublime mission of being the Mother of God.
She, who was to clothe in mortal flesh, the eternal Word of the Father, could not be contaminated, even for an instant, by the shadow of sin.
So, she is immaculate through the power of Christ, because all that was granted to the Mother, was granted through her Son.
The blooming of this snow white flower on our soil, is a sure pledge of the reconciliation of mankind with God.
How apt are the words of the liturgy that we sin on the Feast of the Nativity of the Virgin – “Thy nativity, O Virgin Mother of God, was the herald of joy to the whole world.”
But this joy is also a purple flower of sacrifice – the sacrifice of the Blessed Mother of Jesus who, when she gave her consent: “Be it unto me …” accepted her share in the destines of her Son, from the poverty of Bethlehem, to the self-denials of the secluded life in Nazareth and the martyrdom of Calvary.
So we may not consider ourselves, the beloved children of Our Lord and of His Mother, if our life is without sacrifice and self-denial.
May this reference to the requirement of sacrifice, be then a loving and thoughtful reminder of the strong and solid Christian virtues of self-denial, patience and penitence. Amen
AnaStpaul 
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