The precious Carmelite heritage of love for Mary: mother, sister and model of virtues, comes to us, CMT sisters, with Francisco Palau and its proper characteristics. Mary is above all the great revelator of the Church.

Palau contemplates and announces Mary as the perfect type of the Church. The key idea of his thought respecting Mary is the one of a mysterious unity and holiness of Mary in relation to the Church. Without forgetting the gifts and titles traditionally attributed to the Virgen Mary, he doesn’t consider her isolated but he contemplates her in the totality of ecclesial mystery: Mary is a part, a member and a type of the Church, mediator and perfect figure. In palautian spirituality we have to contemplate Mary as a singular member, created and constituted to be the unique, perfect and furnished type of the Church.

 Year 1864 marked a milestone in his process with a vision of Mary completely inserted in the mystery of the Church. He discovered Her as furnished and perfect figure of virginity and maternity of the Church, and proclaimed Her totally linked to Christ in his mystical Body:

«It’s been many years since I was making efforts of spirit exciting my love for Mary, the Mother of God, and my devotion for Her wasn’t satisfying me […] In this mission that I ended in this island, Mary was brought in triumph by the children of the peoples. And I heard one word, and this word came from the lips of the Mother of God [image of the Virgin of Carmen], and this word was: ‘Until now you haven’t known me, because I haven’t revealed myself to you; from now on, you will know me and love me’. I will keep this word” (MR 1,5).

“In order that the virginity and maternity, purity, holiness and beauty of the spouse of my Son, the Holy Church, would have a perfect and furnished type in human conception that would represent her, the eternal paternity of God has chosen me” (MR 1,12).

Contemplated and loved in this way, Mary became for Father Palau and his doctrinal teaching a prototype to discover, love, announce and serve to the Church. Mary revealed to him with this missionary perspective that she wasn’t an ultimate and perfect object of love, she wasn’t an object that could give meaning to his vocation and mission. This object could be only the Church.

 

Silence

Prayer

You, Virgin of listening and contemplation, Mother of love, Spouse in eternal wedding feast, intercede for the Church, of whom you are the purest icon, so that she may never enclose herself nor stop in her passion for restoring the Kingdom (Pope Francis, EG 288)

Song

AVE MARIA, GRATIA PLENA

DOMINUS TECUM, BENEDICTA TU

 As I kneel before you, as I bow my head in prayer,

Take this day, make it yours, and fill me with your love.

  

All I have I give you, every dream and wishes are yours,

Mother of God, mother of mine, present them to my Lord.

 

 As I kneel before you and I see your smiling face,

Every thought, every word is lost in your embrace.

Download in PFD: Day 2 – Mary, the FIGURE