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| Diocesan Banner carried at Lourdes |
In May we remember the importance of Mary in God's plan and are reminded of the influence of the Holy Spirit on her life.
As it says in the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
In her, the "wonders of God" that the Spirit was to fulfill in Christ and the Church began to be manifested:Like Mary and the disciples waiting in the upper room, our young people are waiting for the Holy Spirit to bring gifts to strengthen them as they become adult members of the church.
722 The Holy Spirit prepared Mary by his grace. ...
723 In Mary, the Holy Spirit fulfills the plan of the Father's loving goodness. ...
724 In Mary, the Holy Spirit manifests the Son of the Father, now become the Son of the Virgin. ...
725 Finally, through Mary, the Holy Spirit begins to bring men, the objects of God's merciful love, into communion with Christ.
726 At the end of this mission of the Spirit, Mary became the Woman, the new Eve ("mother of the living"), the mother of the "whole Christ." As such, she was present with the Twelve, who "with one accord devoted themselves to prayer," at the dawn of the "end time" which the Spirit was to inaugurate on the morning of Pentecost with the manifestation of the Church.
The Dignity Of The Christian
Thou, in toil art comfort sweet;
Pleasant coolness in the heat;
Solace in the midst of woe.
Come, O Blessed Spirit of Fortitude,
uphold my soul in time of trouble and adversity.
O, Divine Trinity, grant that we may be strengthened
to see in ourselves and each other the dignity that is ours
as temples of Your Holy Spirit, to be loved by one
another as each of us is loved by Jesus.