Preparation for Total Consecration Day 7

Meditation: 

There are two kinds of poverty in this world, both of which are equally distressing. Material poverty, in which people are deprived of necessary goods or the means to obtain those goods, is the easiest kind of poverty to spot. It is to be fought because it robs those who are trapped in it of the very things necessary for them to fulfill the purpose for which they were created and prohibits them from pursuing the vocation intended for them. Material poverty is easy to see and easy to address.

The second kind of poverty is spiritual poverty. This kind of poverty is harder to spot with the naked eye, but is rampant in our society. It is a poverty that comes from focusing too much on what we can get rather than what we can do for others. Nothing is ever good enough. The latest gadget is constantly replaced by something bigger, better, newer, or more expensive. We become blinded to all that we have, pursuing possessions as our goal rather than a closer relationship with God. We think nothing of those who have less than we do, and we begin to see the things we own as “ours” rather than acknowledging that everything we have comes from God and belongs to Him and is therefore to be used for the good of all. It is not having nice things which is the problem, nor the desiring of nice things, but that these things become a false idol because we place them above God rather than in service to God.

Mary is the greatest weapon we have against both material and spiritual poverty. If we call upon Mary to aid us, she will show us the way. For those who suffer from spiritual poverty, she teaches gratitude, humility, and service as the cure for it. She teaches them to be grateful for what they have been given, asking no more, to acknowledge the One who gave it to them, and to place everything they have in service to their Maker that through His power their simple acts might do great good.

For those who suffer material poverty, she is a beacon of hope reminding them not to give up, reassuring them that the Lord will be faithful to them, and that He sees their troubles. She sings the Magnificat to them, reminding them that ’God has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty’ (Luke 1:53). She reminds them that their God is not a God without compassion for their plight, but one who joined them in it. Was there anyone whose material poverty was greater than Jesus Christ? He who said, “foxes have dens, and birds of the sky have nests, but the son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.” (Matthew 8:20)

50f Jesus Defines Consecration – page 329

Rosary Mysteries for Thursday: Luminous

46e Holy Spirit: Secret to Sanctity and Happiness – Page 311