Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Revelation 12

Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman, clothed with the sun, standing on the moon, and with the twelve stars on her head for a crown.

Then a second sign appeared in the sky, a huge red dragon…Its tail dragged a third of the stars from the sky and dropped them to the earth, and the dragon stopped in front of the woman as she was having the child, so that he could eat it as soon as it was born from its mother.

12:5 The woman brought a male child into the world, the son who was to rule all the nations with an iron scepter, and the child was taken straight up to God and to his throne,

12:7 And now war broke out in heaven, when Michael with his angels attacked the dragon. The dragon fought back with his angels, but they were defeated and driven out of heaven.

12:9 The great dragon, the primeval serpent, known as the devil or Satan, who had deceived all the world, was hurled down to the earth and his angels were hurled down with him.

12:12 Let the heavens rejoice and all who live there; but for you, earth and sea, trouble is coming - because the devil has gone down to you in a rage, knowing that his days are numbered… Then the dragon was enraged with the woman and went away to make war on the rest of her children, that is, all who obey God's commandments and bear witness for Jesus.

Signum Magnum

May 13, 1967 Pope St Paul VI wrote a letter to the world called, The Great Sign, Signum Magnum. Mary is the Great Sign, and our era is called the Marian Era, because, for those who have eyes to see, chapter 12 of the Book of Revelation is playing out at this very moment in history. The devil knows his days are numbered, he is enraged with the Woman, Mary, but he cannot touch her so he makes war on the rest of Her children, those who bear witness to Jesus.

Pope St. Paul VI wrote this letter as an appeal to all on earth to join in this cosmic battle by:

a.  Consecrating themselves to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, which represents her spiritual motherhood of Mary

b.  Praying the Rosary every day

c.   Penance – taking up your personal cross in union with the Cross of Jesus to help him save souls

d.  Fear of the Lord, the gift of the Holy Spirit that enables us to repent, to convert, to turn away from sin and turn to the love of God.

Jesus wishes to make me known and loved

St Paul VI wrote this letter on May 13, the anniversary of the first apparitions of Fatima where Mary revealed to the visionaries:

Jesus wishes to make me known and loved. He wants to establish in the world devotion to My Immaculate Heart. I promise salvation to those who embrace it, and those souls will be embraced by God like flowers placed by me to adorn his throne.” (June 13, 1917)

‘You have seen hell where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wishes to establish in the world devotion to My Immaculate Heart. If what I say to you is done, many souls will be saved and there will be peace. (July 13, 1917)

From the Cross, Jesus offered Mary to the world, represented by the beloved disciple, to be our Spiritual Mother. Devotion or Consecration to the Heart of Mary means saying yes to this gift, accepting Mary as your Spiritual Mother, so that the Holy Spirit and Mary may form Jesus within you.

Divine activity and human activity

Why does Mary have a role in forming the divine life of Jesus in our soul? Pope St Paul VI explains: “It is the fruit of the continuous and generous cooperation of Mary’s free will in the inner motions of the Holy Spirit.” There is a perfect harmony between the divine activity of the Holy Spirit and the human activity of Mary to form Jesus in the soul of believers. Stated simply, it was the Holy Spirit and Mary that formed Jesus in her womb; it is the Holy Spirit and Mary that form Jesus in our soul. Therefore, the more we belong to Mary, the more the Holy Spirit may form Jesus in our soul, the more the Kingdom of Sacred Heart of Jesus is formed in us, displacing and defeating the kingdom of Satan in the world. That is why consecration to the Heart of Mary is the first weapon in this cosmic battle.

Consecration to the Heart to Mary

Pope St Paul VI concluded his letter by asking us to renew our consecration to the Heart to Mary which we will do now using the formula of daily renewal proposed by St Louis de Montfort:

I am all yours and all I have is yours, O dear Jesus, through Mary, your holy Mother.

We conclude this Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary with a final exhortation from De Montfort:

Beg her to lend you her heart, saying, “O Mary, I take you for my all; give me your heart.”