Week 3, Day 5
Daily Prayer
Memorare
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known
that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thine intercession was left unaided.
Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother;
to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful.
O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me.
Amen.
Mary, Bride of the Lamb
Scripture Reading from Genesis 22:1-18 – God will provide the sacrifice
Abraham is willing to give up everything to follow God’s commands, even his only son.
Surrendering Ourselves to God
God wants us to trust Him completely, surrendering everything we love and hold dear into His hands so that He can use it for His glory and our good. We must obey the first commandment and love God above all things. It is always a danger for us to love something more than God. We must love God more than everything, even our own family, our spouse, or our children. God is our loving Father, and because of Abraham’s willingness to detach from all his worldly possessions and even his only son, we have a model for how we should love God.
Do you love God more than your possessions?
Did God provide the Lamb as Abraham told his son Issac He would? God did keep His word, but it took a few years for Him to provide His lamb as a sacrifice. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world through His perfect sacrifice.
God wants us to love Him above all things, He wants us to serve Him, and Him alone. In a way, we are His slaves. When we value other people or things more than God, we risk becoming slaves to them. A good way to see if you are a slave to something or someone other than God is to say ‘no’. For example, if you love a toy and desire to play with it all the time, see if you can say ‘no’ to playing with it when your parents ask you to do a chore. If you can’t stop playing with it, then you may be a slave to that toy. If you can’t stop surfing the Internet when you need to eat dinner, you may be a slave to the Internet. What good is saying ‘yes’, if you can’t say ‘no’?
God knows that we will only find true happiness when we say yes to Him, and love God above all things, and serve Him as a friend.
Daily Practice this week
This week we offer up some small sacrifice at least three times each day.
Closing Prayer
Most compassionate Father, you know our innermost thoughts. You wish us to acknowledge that everything we have comes from you. May the Virgin Mary bring our hearts constantly back to you, the first source of all love, and purify them so that we might love you unto the end. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
God Will Provide the Sacrifice
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