Episode Transcript  

One

Today, August 5th, is the Feast of Our Lady of the Snows.

It commemorates a powerful intervention of the Mother of God. In 352 AD, a Roman aristocrat named Giovanni and his wife, having no children, consecrated their lives and their wealth to the Virgin Mary, and then they prayed, asking her what they should do. Mary appeared to Giovanni in a dream on August 4th, telling him to build a church in her name on the site where he would find snow the following morning. Bewildered by the dream, he went immediately to tell Pope Liberius. But that same night, Mary had also appeared to the Pope and told him he would find snow on the Esquiline Hill, where he was to outline the dimensions of a new church. On that day, August 5, at the height of the Roman summer, snow fell.  

Faithful to the request of Mary, the Pope marked the walls of the Church in the snow, had the architects draw a rendering, and Giovanni and his wife paid for the basilica of St. Mary Major to be built. 

This miraculous event has come to be known as Our Lady of the Snows, which we celebrate by honoring the Church of St. Mary Major. But this feast is not about a Church building. It’s about the amazing reality that by prayer we can speak directly to God, Mary, the saints, and angels.

Two

The Main Message of the Marian Age: Pray!

Did you know that Mary, the Mother of God and our spiritual Mother, has been appearing with a greater frequency and urgency since 1830? Why does she come, and what is she saying? 

She has made it abundantly clear: mankind has turned away from God, and if we do not turn back, then each person is in danger of turning away permanently, separating themselves from God forever by their own free choice. So, she comes, calling her children to turn back to God. And the easiest and most direct way to turn back to God is by prayer. For example, Our Lady said, “Dear children! The Most High permits me to be among you — to pray for you, to be a Mother to you and to be your refuge. Little children, I am calling you: return to God and to prayer and God will bless you abundantly.” July 25th 2023

So, do you know how to pray?

Three

Most people have never been taught how to pray

What is prayer? Teresa of Avila said, “Mental prayer…is nothing else than an intimate sharing between friends; its means taking time frequently to be alone with him who we know loves us.” CCC 2709 “Prayer is friendship with God",” (CCC 2558)

What does friendship take? Time. Time talking, sharing, listening, understanding, loving, just being together. Vocal prayer is speaking to God silently or out loud. Examples of vocal prayer: Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be, Prayers of the Mass, Liturgy of Hours, the Divine Office, or simply speaking to God from the heart.

What can be the danger of vocal prayer?

It can become mechanical. Just saying the words without thinking of the person we are speaking to. Teresa of Avila insists that vocal prayer doesn’t count as prayer if you are not trying to pay attention to the Lord with whom you are speaking. A relationship involves both talking and listening. People often say, “God never speaks to me.” The question is, do we ever stop talking and listen?

Jesus said to St. Faustina, “Oh, if souls would only want to listen to My voice when I am speaking in the depths of their hearts, they would reach the peak of holiness in a short time.” Diary 584

Four

Meditation - Listening to God 

Mental prayer, discursive meditation, is a great way to listen to God. Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross give us three simple steps to listen to God in prayer.

Read or listen to something from the Word of God. The Word of God is comprised of Scripture, Tradition (the writings of the Saints), and the Magisterium (the teaching of the Church).  As soon as something strikes you, stop reading. Reflect or think about what struck you. Try to understand it. Love God for this truth. Apply it to your life by asking: Am I living this or not? If not, what is preventing me? Pride, vanity, envy, sloth, anger, greed, gluttony, lust, etc.? Practically, what am I going to do about it? This leads us to form a resolution, a game plan for the day. That’s your resolution. Choose something practical and concrete to do that day based on your meditation.

The resolution is the key to mental prayer. If we practice a resolution flowing from our meditation every day, we will change and become a better person. If we don’t practice a resolution, then not only will we not remain the same, we will get worse, because unchecked vice makes a person worse, not better. 

Five

The importance of a resolution:

St. Francis of De Sales writes, “The most important thing of all is that you cling firmly to the resolutions you have taken in meditation so as to practice them carefully.  That is the great fruit of meditation, without which it is often not only useless but harmful.  Why so?  Because the virtues upon which we have meditated but not practiced sometimes puff us up so much in mind and heart that we think we are already what we are resolved to be which no doubt is the case if our resolutions are solid and ardent.  But when, on the contrary, they are not practiced, they are useless and dangerous.” (Introduction to the Devout Life, II Chap 8)

Examples of a resolution: Today I will listen more than I speak. I will not gossip today. I complain too much. Today, I will practice thanking God ahead of time for working everything for good. I am anxious, today I will replace that feeling of Anxiety with an Act of Trust in God.

Suggested Resolutions:

Choose one resolution for today to help you grow closer to God, or create your own. Here are some ideas to inspire you. 

• Reassess how you pray: have you gotten too used to just saying the prayer out loud without thinking? Balance out your prayer time by reading the Word of God and sitting in silence with it.

If you enjoyed this meditation, subscribe below.