AS I GET NEARER TO THE PRIESTHOOD I BEG MARY TO TAKE ME UNDER HER PROTECTION

Posted on December 2, 2024 by franksantucci

The last step before his ordination to the priesthood was ordination as a deacon. In his time of prayer before receiving diaconate, mindful of his unworthiness, he invited Mary to accompany him and intercede for him.

As far as possible, I will not let a single day go by without reminding myself that with every day I am getting nearer to the priesthood; and, recognizing that I am totally unready to receive this sublime order worthily, I will humble myself profoundly before God, confessing my guilt for not having responded to the advances that his infinite goodness had in all truth desired in my regard, and begging him who has always covered me with his shadow, in his great mercy to forget my infidelities, to strengthen and confirm my resolutions, and to pour out anew on me in even more abundance, if it be possible, his grace and blessings, and not to let me misuse them as in the past.

Lastly, I will beg the Blessed Virgin Mary to take me under her protection and to intercede on my behalf.

Retreat in preparation for his ordination to the diaconate, May 1811. EO XIV n 85

REFLECTION

“This was also the experience of the Virgin Mary. At the message of the angel, she does not hide her surprise. It is the astonishment of realising that God, to become man, had chosen her, a simple maid of Nazareth: not someone who lived in a palace amid power and riches, or who had done extraordinary things, but simply someone who was open to God and put her trust in him, even without understanding everything: … God always surprises us, he overturns our categories, he wreaks havoc with our plans. And he tells us: Trust me, do not be afraid, let yourself be surprised, leave yourself behind and follow me!”     Pope Francis

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1 Response to AS I GET NEARER TO THE PRIESTHOOD I BEG MARY TO TAKE ME UNDER HER PROTECTION

  1. Eleanor Rabnett, Lay Oblate Associate says:
    December 2, 2024 at 12:32

    How many of us I wonder, have been like Eugene in our own lives? How many of us remember how sinful we were in the first part of our lives, how diminished and abandoned we felt and so struck out at others because we secretly wanted what those other(s) seemed to have?

    We are not only astonished when we hear God say our name, we like Mary are filled with awe and wonder. We might not have realised it, but we (and so all that surrounds us) becomes transformed. We become a part of all of God’s creation – no longer in the dark. and it might have been then that we realised that the only way to respond to that love was to give ourselves over to Jesus and so through God, aspiring to love everyone else. The Spirit herself who inspired (and continues to inspire) us must have whispered the response we continue to offer throughout our lives.

    And do we not now realise and accept that we were and continue to be accompanied by Mary, God’s Mother and now ours. It is with her that we learn to walk with tenderness as we offer ourselves to God. It is Mary who embraces us, walking with and teaching us what oblation means and looks like. Hers was the first “fiat” and she shares herself with us. That “image” of being sent out, with her also walking with us.

    “We shall always look on her as our mother. In the joys and sorrows of our missionary life we feel close to her who is the Mother of Mercy. Wherever our ministry takes us, we will strive to instill genuine devotion to the Immaculate Virgin who pre-figures God’s final victory over all evil.” (C 10)

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