Please share any traditions that help you celebrate Christmas as a Catholic with Dr. Sri at info@edwardsri.com so that he can include them in next week’s episode!
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Snippet from the Show
What God did in Mary in an instant, he wants to do in you throughout a lifetime. Mary is an icon of God’s plan for your holiness. _

Why would God preserve Mary from sin?

• It wasn’t for her own sake that God preserved Mary from sin! The Immaculate Conception of Mary is in fact all about Jesus. This dogma reveals that Jesus is no ordinary child—he’s the all holy, eternal Son of God.
• Mary is like the ark of the covenant, carrying the almighty holy presence of God. In the Old Testament, Jews build the Ark of the Covenant with the best of materials, the purest of gold. It’s most fitting that the God of the universe would choose to dwell in the purest of human vessels—a woman without sin.

*What Does the Immaculate Conception Mean for Your Spiritual Life? *

• Everything about Mary shows us what God wants to do in our lives. Mary is full of grace, and God wants to fill us each with grace, too.
• What God wants to do in each of us over time, he did in Mary in an instant. Mary is an icon reminding us of God’s plan for our own holiness.

Two Ways to Seek Grace Alongside Mary

1. Think about a specific sin in your life that you’re really struggling with, and turn to Mary. Say a Hail Mary, and ask her for her help in conquering that sin. “You who are full of grace, pray for me in this weakness.”
2. Reflect on Mary’s journey to visit Elizabeth (Luke 1:39) Imitate her “going in haste” to serve Elizabeth and be in communion with her as they rejoice together in God’s plan. This week, “go in haste” to visit Jesus in the chapel, and “go in haste” to the people who matter most in your life. ** The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe** On the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, remember to ask Our Lady’s intercession to bring about a true culture of life in the midst of this culture of death.

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Using the theology of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Dr. Sri explains how this is the opposite of what God wants us to do. When we fail, instead of navel-gazing, we can recognize our littleness and let the Lord into our hearts by surrendering our shortcomings to him.

Snippet from the Show
Paradoxically, the real victory in the spiritual life comes from surrender. When you say, “Lord, I give this to you because I can’t do it on my own.”

SHOWNOTES

St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Letter 243 - “As soon as God sees us convinced of our own nothingness — He stretches out His hand to us; but if we wish to attempt great things, even under the pretext of zeal, He leaves us alone. It is sufficient therefore to humble oneself and to bear our imperfections meekly: that is true sanctity.”

2 Ways to Surrender

1. Morning offering prayer
2. O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer You my prayers, works, joys and sufferings of this day for all the intentions of Your Sacred Heart, in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, in reparation for my sins, for the intentions of all my relatives and friends, and in particular for the intentions of the Holy Father. Amen.

3. O my God! I offer Thee all my actions of this day for the intentions and for the glory of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. I desire to sanctify every beat of my heart, my every thought, my simplest works, by uniting them to Its infinite merits ; and I wish to make reparation for my sins by casting them into the furnace of Its Merciful Love.
   O my God! I ask Thee for myself and for those whom I hold dear, the grace to fulfill perfectly Thy Holy Will, to accept for love of Thee the joys and sorrows of this passing life, so that we may one day be united together in Heaven for all Eternity. Amen. (Offering Prayer by St. Thérèse of Lisieux)

4. Offer up your suffering.

5. Next time you face a trial or difficulty, use it as an opportunity to surrender your weakness to God. Say, “God, I give this to you.”

Resources
* Men, Women, and the Mystery of Love

• Story of a Soul

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