Everyday after Communion I say the following prayer from St Louis Marie de Montforte:
O Jesus, living in Mary,
Come and live in Thy servants,
In the spirit of Thy holiness,
In the fullness of Thy might,
In the truth of Thy virtues,
In the perfection of Thy ways,
In the communion of Thy mysteries.
Subdue every hostile power
In Thy spirit, for the glory of the Father. Amen.
It has been a part of my prayer life since my consecration to Mary over thirty years ago.
I sometimes think, why would Jesus want to come and live with me? A soul so messy and dirty, soiled by sin, when there are pure souls He can dwell in.
Today as I pondered this, I could not help but think of the manger.
Surely, it was messy and dirty, and even had a terrible smell from all the animals, yet this is exactly where Our Lord chose to come into the world. In fact, it was the very reason for Him coming into the world, to come to us who are messy and dirty and to cleanse and heal us with His love and mercy.
Surely, my soul has a long way to go in this life as I continue to find pies of dirt hidden in its recesses, piles I am sure I will find until the day I die, but I trust that through His life, death and resurrection, Christ is sweeping me clean here on earth so that by His mercy I may dwell in the radiance of heaven forever.
Can I do it alone? Not a chance, but I don't have to. I just need to surrender myself to Him each day, trusting and knowing He will do the rest.
Oh Jesus, living in Mary come and live in your servant...
