The Seven Glories for Children

Glories of Mary meditation for children
(This is written in a free style, the way I spoke to my children. It is a Continuation from a previous post.)

Immaculate Conception
Think of Our Lady as a child your age. Because of her Immaculate Conception she has never made any mistakes. She has no bad habits to unlearn. Every thing she has ever done is good and in conformity to God’s Will. She loves to speak to Him in her heart. She doesn’t have any inordinate desires. She is loving and good.

Mother of God
Is Jesus true God? Is Jesus true Man? Is Mary the mother of Jesus? Is Mary the Mother of God?

Yes, we can even say that Mary is the mother of God (not only of Jesus) because of the miracle of Jesus being both God and Man at the same time.

Perpetual Virginity
The great miracle of God becoming man is what makes Christmas such a wonderful feast in the Church. The great miracle of the God taking on human flesh has to mean that the Mother (of the Son of God) was special too. This birth is something wonderful. Because of her Immaculate Conception, Our Lady was not affected by original sin and did not have the consequence of pain in childbearing. But more than that, the child is so special that the birth of this wondrous mother was something miraculous. Jesus was born in such a special way that the best way to explain it is the similarity of light passing through glass. The glass is unharmed or changed by the light. So too, the birth of Jesus from Mary was as special as light passing through glass.
The shepherds saw and believed… they saw something wonderful.

Coredemption
Who flies the plane? A pilot. Does the pilot have a helper? Yes, the co pilot. Although God needs no helpers in His Omnipotence, He chose to have His Holy Mother share in His life in a way in which no other human being has ever experienced. From the beginning of her existence, she has been in the center of God’s plan for saving us. (As St. Teresa of Calcutta says, “No Mary, No Jesus.”) During Her marvelous childhood (remember she had no sin) God was preparing her for the great mission of His Son, to the time the Angel Gabriel visited her in the Annunciation and then all those hidden years in the bosom of the Holy Family. Finally in her presence at the foot of the Cross, the Mother of God continues to be a presence in the life of her Son. Her heart is joined with His on the Cross. (Remember the St. Joseph Baltimore Catechism picture with Jesus on the Cross and the two hearts’ love symbolized as a burning flame, united and breaking down the closed doors of heaven?) He is the Redeemer – the Messiah. She is the Mother of the Redeemer, sharing in his sufferings and redemptive work, her prayers and sufferings being offered in addition for the salvation of souls.

Spiritual Maternity
"Woman behold your son."
The blessed Virgin Mary took these words of her Son very seriously from the Foot of the Cross. From that moment on she not only took St. John as her son, but every child of God became her real child. She looks on from heaven with her motherly concern in a real way for each of her children. You may not see her but she in a real way wants to share the gifts she has received. She knows that she didn’t deserve to be chosen to be Immaculately Conceived but instead God freely bestowed this gift on her out of His love for Her and mankind. She wants to share this gift with her children so that they may be pleasing to God and live a happy life.

Example of st. Catherine Laboure
“[She] pulled a chair over beneath the shelf, for it was too high for her to reach, even if she stood on tiptoe. Climbing up on the chair, she stretched overhead and took down Our Lady’s image…Throwing her arms about the statue, she hugged it close to her little body, as a child might fondle her favorite doll or teddy bear. But this was no doll. In a sense, it was no longer just a statue of Our Lady. It was Mary herself… ‘Now, dear Blessed Mother’ she said aloud with childlike fervor, ‘now you will be my Mother!’”
Father Joseph Dirvin, Saint Catherine Laboure, (Tan Books: 1981), 15-6

Assumption
Because of all these gifts, Our Lord did not want to let our Lady’s body decay in the ground. So, He brought her to heaven to share with Him the glories of Heaven. Her death is as special as her conception and life.

Queen of Heaven
Good behavior, a life of sinless perfection, is rewarded by God.