Mary in Your Home:
A 9-day Preparation for Taking Mary Into Your Home
St Mark’s School of Reading
ASIN 9798314940013
This is the thirteenth volume I have read by Father Mark Goring, and I have read at three times that number from his Saint Mark’s School or Reading. This was a brand new volume, and the first specifically written for the School of Reading. I started this the day it arrived. Only after I started it did I find out Father Mark planned out use it for the school the next month. It is an excellent little volume and one I know I will pray through again.
With each volume I have read by Father Mark, I have been blessed and this is another excellent offering it was well worth picking up. My son who is 16 saw it on my desk and asked if he could pray through it after I finished..
The description of the book is:
“In John’s Gospel, we are told that the Beloved Disciple took Mary into his home. “Taking Mary into your home” might be the best way to describe devotion to Mary. In this little book, we look at an Old Testament foreshadowing and 8 biblical examples of the blessings that come to those who take Mary into their homes. These meditations can be done over 9 days as a novena.”
The sections in the book are:
Introduction
Day 1 Arc of the Covenant
Day 2 Jesus
Day 3 Elizabeth
Day 4 Joseph
Day 5 The Stable in Bethlehem
Day 6 Cana
Day 7 John
Day 8 Pentecost
Day 9 Heaven
A sample day is:
“Day Eight
Pentecost
“They went to the upper room ... All these devoted themselves with one accord to prayer, together with some women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers ... '' - Acts 1:13 – 14
Pentecost took place in the upper room of someone's home. Mary was welcomed into this home. She was in the upper room when power came down from Heaven. The day of Pentecost is another instance of Heavenly wonders happening when Our Lady is present.
Our Blessed Mother had already been overshadowed by the Holy Spirit on the day of the Annunciation. She and Elizabeth were filled with the Holy Spirit during the arrival of Mary at the house of Zechariah. Experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit was nothing new to Our Lady. She was already living a life in the Spirit. In the upper room, she was unique among the disciples of Jesus. She was His mother, and she brought a motherly presence to the disciples gathered there.
One of the titles of Our Lady is "Spouse of the Holy Spirit." Through the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit, Jesus was conceived in Mary's womb. Our Lady brought the joy of the Spirit when she visited Elizabeth. At Cana, it was Our Lady’s intervention that initiated the miracle of water turning into wine. Wine is a symbol of the Spirit. On the day of Pentecost, Mary prayed with the Apostles and disciples as they waited for the Holy Spirit to come. Being full of grace and being the Spouse of the Holy Spirit, she was there to support, guide and intercede for those in the upper room.
Our Blessed Mother was part of the community of believers. Immaculate and free of sin, she was humble, full of mercy, and not ashamed to be among those who were trying to follow her Son Jesus. This included the fishermen, tax collectors and those who were once known as sinners.
Mary was welcomed into the hon1e of the upper room and there she prayed with the disciples and was filled afresh with the Holy Spirit. Everyone in the upper room was anointed for their particular role in bringing the Gospel to all nations. The disciples were gifted with charisms of the Holy Spirit for the building up of the Kingdom of God. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit filled all with overwhelming joy so much so that people said that, "they have had too much new wine. n (Acts 2:13) Our blessed Mother was not ashamed to be among the believers, even while they expressed themselves with great jubilation. The sign of abundant wine in Cana was now being fulfilled as the Church exploded into mission.
When we take Mary into our home, we find ourselves in the company of someone who will lead us into a life in the Spirit. Asking for Our Blessed Mother's help, especially by praying the Holy Rosary, brings tremendous grace into our lives. When we pray the Rosary in a room, whether it's our bedroom, office, workshop, kitchen or anywhere else, we can expect the Holy Spirit to fall afresh on us.
Today, we reflect on the wonderful gift of the Holy Spirit and Mary's desire to lead us into a deeper life in the Spirit.
Marian Aparition
Our Lady of St. Nicholas - In 1983, the Blessed Virgin Mary began to appear to a middle aged housewife in St. Nicolas, Argentina. Over the next couple years, Gladys Quiroga de Motta received around 1,800 messages from Our Lady and 68 messages from Jesus. Most of the 1nessages included scripture references to be read and reflected on. When Gladys described to a priest what the Blessed Mother looked like, the priest immediately took her to the bell tower of !he Cathedral where a 100 year old damaged statue of Our Lady of the Rosary was hidden away. Gladys confirmed that this was what Our Lady looked like when she appeared to her. The statue was repaired and placed in a prominent place in the Cathedral. Many signs and wonders surrounded the experience of Gladys 1 daily apparitions. In her messages, Our Lady had a deep concern for young people. She said: "At this moment young people become slaves of Satan in the most cruel manner... Young people are sadly running to their perdition, the easy life and drugs ... Drugs are a great danger for young people. They lead them to live in the most complete immorality." Many small prayer groups formed in response to these apparitions including young people gathering to pray the Rosary together. The apparitions were approved by the Church in 2016.
Saint
St. Faustina Kowalska - St. Faustina, a polish nun who died in 1938 at the age of 33, is known as the Apostle of Mercy. She wrote in her diary: ((Jesus appeared suddenly at my side clad in a white garment with a golden girdle around His waist, and He said to me, I give you eternal love that your purity may be untarnished and as a sign that you will never be subject to temptations against purity. Jesus took off His golden cincture and tied it around my waist. Since then I have never experienced any attacks against this virtue, either in my heart or in my mind. l later understood that this was one of the greatest graces which the Most Holy Virgin Mary had obtained for me, as for many years I had been asking this grace of Her. Since that time I have experienced an increasing devotion to the Mother of God. She has taught me how to love God interiorly and also how to carry out His holy will in all things, O Mary, Your arc joy, because through You God descended to earth (and] into my heart. '' (par. 40) St. Faustina would sometimes do a nine day novena during which time she would pray 1000 Hail Marys a day! (par. 1413)”
This is an excellent little volume. I really enjoying using this novena. And sitting and learning. I especially appreciated that each day had a focuses apparition and saint for that day. There were a couple I was unfamiliar with that I will need to learn to learn more about. And I look forward to reading it again with the School of Reading.
It is an amazing resource so pick up a copy or pick up a few and give them to friends and family. I believe this is a book any Catholic would benefit from praying through. A great read I can easily recommend!
Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2025 Catholic Reading Plan!
Books by Father Mark Goring:
Journal's by Father Mark:
40 Days Freedom Walk Journal: Volume III St. Luke Workman Edition
40 Days Freedom Walk Journal: Volume IV St. John Life is Good Edition
Notebooks by Father Mark:
Disciple Notebook: Discipleship. Living in the Spirit. Evangelization 2018
Disciple Notebook: Discipleship. Living in the Spirit. Evangelization 2019
Non-English Editions:
San Jose el Protector: Una Preparacion de Nueve Dias para Consagrarse a San Jose
Duc Thanh Giuse Dang Bao Tro: Chin Ngay Chuan Bi de Dang Minh Cho Duc Thanh Giuse
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