Thursday, June 13, 2013

Mary TV Daily Reflection 6/13/2013



Cross Mountain      
(c)Mary TV 2013
Purification on Cross Mountain

J.M.J.
June 13, 2013
St. Anthony of Padua

Dear Family of Mary!

"...Pray and fast, because that is the way to your purification, it is the way of coming to know and becoming cognizant of the Heavenly Father. When you become cognizant of the Father, you will comprehend that He is all you need..." (June 2, 2013)

Our Lady's words about prayer and fasting, purification and becoming cognizant of the Heavenly Father, remind me of the stories in the Book of Exodus of Moses and God. We read in Exodus 34 that the Lord told Moses to come back up the mountain to again receive the Covenant. Moses had broken the tablets he first received because of the idolatry of the people. But God again called Moses up to receive the Covenant:

The LORD said to Moses, "Cut two tables of stone like the first; and I will write upon the tables the words that were on the first tables, which you broke. Be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to me on the top of the mountain. No man shall come up with you, and let no man be seen throughout all the mountain; let no flocks or herds feed before that mountain."  
   
So Moses cut two tables of stone like the first; and he rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and took in his hand two tables of stone. And the LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. The LORD passed before him, and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation."

...And the LORD said to Moses, "Write these words; in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel." And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments. When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tables of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. (Ex 34:1-7, 27-29)

God called Moses to come up the mountain. He remained there for 40 days and 40 nights, fasting and praying. And during that time of fasting and prayer, Moses received the Ten Commandments, and with those commandments, a deep understanding of the Father. He was the only man who could endure being in the presence of God. Because of his great faith, Moses was able to stand before God and speak with Him. Moses was totally "cognizant" of the Father. His face to face encounter with God left a mark on Moses that was terrifying for the people. Moses' face radiated, it glowed with the power of God.

Moses was purified by his fasting and prayer, and was able to converse with God. Our Lady would have us grow close to the Heavenly Father, but to do so we must follow Moses' example of prayer and fasting. We must climb the mountain alone (go into our personal prayer) every day. And we must fast in order to leave the world behind. We are being invited into a relationship with the Father, through Jesus and by the power of the Holy Spirit. If we accept the invitation, we will begin to understand that God is all we need! All we need!!

carried up Cross Mountain  
 (c)Mary TV 2013 

Those who climb Mt. Krizevac, difficult as it may be, and pray the stations with reverence and quiet, experience a little of what Moses experienced on Mt. Sinai. The climb is purifying, and the prayer is deep. At the summit, God waits with His love and His comforting acceptance. Like Moses, we can become "friends" of God. Our faces may not glow, but the peace we receive will radiate to our family and friends at the bottom of the hill and back home.  

bare feet on Cross Mountain  
(c)Mary TV 2013  

Prayer and fasting are possible for each and every one of us. Through these two means, we can encounter the Heavenly Father. With Mother Mary's help, may we avail ourselves of these two means to purification, and draw close to the One who loves us!

In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!
Cathy Nolan
©Mary TV 2013     



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