The life of our blessed Mother Mary.
Dearest Brother and Sister in the Lord,
You are now taking your first steps on a spiritual journey with your Mother Mary, Heaven's "Mystical City of God." I know this pilgrimage will be one you wish you had taken many years ago. Read "The Mystical City of God" slowly. Digest everything your blessed Mother is sharing with you. In most instances this will mean reading it many times, it is not easy to receive so much Light when we are so spiritually blind. Be faithful in sharing your day, your thoughts, your responses to this book, to the Bible and your experiences on discernment with your dearest mother Mary, through your spiritual journal.
What you will need:
1.The book, "The Mystical City of God." By Venerable Mary of Agreda. (A popular abridgement.) If not available from your bookstore, write to, AMI Press, Mountain View Road, P.O. Box 976, Washington, N.J. U.S.A. 07882-0976.
If you are unable to purchase the abridged version, it can be found on the internet at: Journey with our Mother Mary.
2. A three ring binder and lined and blank page refills. This will be:
a-your spiritual diary.
b-the place where you will draw or paint the mysteries of the Rosary.
c-the place where you will respond to the assignments given with most of the chapters.
d-a section for prayer intentions. As different intentions come to your mind, for persons or situations that you would like to pray for, note that person's name and the intention in your prayer journal. Be sure your intention is very specific. Whenever you pray your chaplet, or the Liturgy of the Hours, or psalms from the Bible, offer your prayers for all those persons listed in your book of intentions.
3. This is a 59 week journey, BUT... take the time you need to get everything you can out of it. This singular blessing should not be shortchanged because of time. Except for the materials shown above, there is no other cost.
4. My email address is: deaconraymond@magma.ca.
Follow the itinerary week by week. Try to respond to the suggestions as well as you can. If you have any questions, or if there are experiences you would like to share, experiences you have profited from or obstacles you would like to overcome and so on, please let me know. At the end of each day, share your day with your spiritual Mother Mary, in your spiritual diary. Share what you learned on your journey with Her. Talk with Her like a child who is eager to share with a loving Mother.
Glossary.
thren, "threnody" from the Greek, "threnoidia" meaning lamentation. A reference to the Book of Lamentations (Bible Old Testament). Example, Thren. 3, 27, refers to Book of Lamentations Chapter 3 verse 27.
God bless you.
Deacon Raymond.