On This Feast of The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 2012

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Our Lady Mother of Mercy and Love

Feast of the Assumption

Be Like the Blessed Mother of God

Mary is a Mother to Penitent Sinners

Pope: Mary First and Most Perfect

The Dispositions Necessary for Prayer

Prayer What to Ask and How to Ask For It

Miracle of Fatima: A Miracle of Biblical Proportions in Modern Times

From Satanic Priest to Man of Mary

MAKE THIS DEVOTION. IT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE. IT DID MINE.

We KNOW Our Lady is in Heaven because of the strength of her intercession, especially visible in the conversions to poor sinners, as she instructs their hardened hearts, as she did the servants at the marriage feast:
"DO WHATEVER HE TELLS YOU."
John, Chapter 2

We KNOW Our Lady was ASSUMED INTO HEAVEN because she gave birth to the NEW ADAM, JESUS CHRIST
Who was born not from sinful flesh, but flesh that did not sin, nor did it inherit sin, for had it been otherwise, it would have meant that Jesus was less than Adam,
and therefore not God.
JESUS CHRIST IS GOD,
the Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity,
with two natures:  man and human, hypostatically united.
The Mother of God, therefore, did not suffer ANY of the consequences borne to mankind
as the effects of original sin because she is
the Immaculate Conception.

ALL GLORY AND HONOR TO GOD
WHO HAS MADE HEAVEN AND EARTH
ALL ALL HIS CREATURES
WHO BEGOTTEN OF THE FATHER
CAME TO US
IN THE FORM OF MAN,
BORNE OF A WOMAN, HIS OWN CREATURE,
WITHOUT ORIGINAL SIN.
AS CHRIST DID NOT DISDAIN THE WOMB OF A VIRGIN
IMMACULATE CONCEIVED,
COMING FROM THAT SAME WOMAN
HE COMES EVEN YET TO THOSE
WHO SEEK HER REFUGE.

God the Father be glorified in Your MOST OBEDIENT creature*.
God the Holy Ghost be glorified in your most trusting and most holy spouse.
God the Son be glorified in Your Perfect, most gracious Mother.

Regina Caeli, ora pro nobis.

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Our Lady of the Holy Rosary / Battle of Lepanto

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Sermon:
Our Lady of the Holy Rosary / Our Lady Help of Christians


5-Part Documentary:
Battle of Lepanto - Part I
Battle of Lepanto - Part II
Battle of Lepanto - Part III
Battle of Lepanto - Part IV




Litany of Loreto

V. Lord, have mercy.
R. Christ have mercy.
V. Lord have mercy. Christ hear us.
R. Christ graciously hear us.

God the Father of heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, pray for us.
Holy Mother of God, pray for us.
Holy Virgin of Virgins, pray for us.
Mother of Christ, pray for us.
Mother of divine grace, pray for us.
Mother most pure, pray for us.
Mother most chaste, pray for us.
Mother inviolate, pray for us.
Mother undefiled, pray for us.
Mother most amiable, pray for us.
Mother most admirable, pray for us.
Mother of good Counsel, pray for us.
Mother of our Creator, pray for us.
Mother of our Savior, pray for us.
Virgin most prudent, pray for us.
Virgin most venerable, pray for us.
Virgin most renowned, pray for us.
Virgin most powerful, pray for us.
Virgin most merciful, pray for us.
Virgin most faithful, pray for us.
Mirror of justice, pray for us.
Seat of wisdom, pray for us.
Cause of our joy, pray for us.
Spiritual vessel, pray for us.
Vessel of honor, pray for us.
Singular vessel of devotion, pray for us.
Mystical rose, pray for us.
Tower of David, pray for us.
Tower of ivory, pray for us.
House of gold, pray for us.
Ark of the covenant, pray for us.
Gate of heaven, pray for us.
Morning star, pray for us.
Health of the sick, pray for us.
Refuge of sinners, pray for us.
Comforter of the afflicted, pray for us.
Help of Christians, pray for us.
Queen of Angels, pray for us.
Queen of Patriarchs, pray for us.
Queen of Prophets, pray for us.
Queen of Apostles, pray for us.
Queen of Martyrs, pray for us.
Queen of Confessors, pray for us.
Queen of Virgins, pray for us.
Queen of all Saints, pray for us.
Queen conceived without original sin, pray for us.
Queen assumed into heaven, pray for us.
Queen of the most holy Rosary, pray for us.
Queen of peace, pray for us.


V. Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
R. Spare us, O Lord.
V. Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
R. Graciously hear us, O Lord.
V. Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
R. Have mercy on us. V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray. Grant, we beseech Thee, O Lord God, that we thy servants may enjoy perpetual health of mind and body, and by the glorious intercession of blessed Mary, ever Virgin, may we be freed from present sorrow, and rejoice in eternal happiness. Through Christ our Lord. R. Amen.

St. Bernard on the Annunciation

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This is an excerpt from a homily In Praise of the Virgin Mother by St. Bernard (Hom. 4, 8-9: Opera omnia, Edit. Cisterc. 4 [1966], 53-54) and used in the Roman Office of Readings on December 20, in the fourth week of Advent, but it is also a great reading for the Solemnity (Feast) of the Annunciation of the Lord on March 25. Bernard dramatically celebrates Mary's Fiat, or statement of consent in response to the announcement by the archangel Gabriel, behold the handmaiden of the Lord; "let it me done to me according to your word."

You have heard, O Virgin, that you will conceive and bear a son; you have heard that it will not be by man but by the Holy Spirit. The angel awaits an answer; it is time for him to return to God who sent him. We too are waiting, O Lady, for your word of compassion; the sentence of condemnation weighs heavily upon us.

The price of our salvation is offered to you. We shall be set free at once if you consent. In the eternal Word of God we all came to be, and behold, we die. In your brief response we are to be remade in order to be recalled to life.

Tearful Adam with his sorrowing family begs this of you, O loving Virgin, in their exile from Paradise. Abraham begs it, David begs it. All the other holy patriarchs, your ancestors, ask it of you, as they dwell in the country of the shadow of death. This is what the whole earth waits for, prostrate at your feet. It is right in doing so, for on your word depends comfort for the wretched, ransom for the captive, freedom for the condemned, indeed, salvation for all the sons of Adam, the whole of your race.

Answer quickly, O Virgin. Reply in haste to the angel, or rather through the angel to the Lord. Answer with a word, receive the Word of God. Speak your own word, conceive the divine Word. Breathe a passing word, embrace the eternal Word.

Why do you delay, why are you afraid? Believe, give praise, and receive. Let humility be bold, let modesty be confident. This is no time for virginal simplicity to forget prudence. In this matter alone, O prudent Virgin, do not fear to be presumptuous. Though modest silence is pleasing, dutiful speech is now more necessary. Open your heart to faith, O blessed Virgin, your lips to praise, your womb to the Creator. See, the desired of all nations is at your door, knocking to enter. If he should pass by because of your delay, in sorrow you would begin to seek him afresh, the One whom your soul loves. Arise, hasten, open. Arise in faith, hasten in devotion, open in praise and thanksgiving.Behold the handmaid of the Lord, she says, be it done to me according to your word.


More on St. Bernard
Also: Gabriel Appeared

Caccini's Ave Maria Sung by Andrea Bocelli

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Below is a performance by Andrea Bocelli, a famous practicing Catholic with a great love and respect for the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God.  This song was written by Guilio Caccini (1551 - 1618), who composed at the tail end of the Renaissance, the cusp of the Baroque period.  While it does not have the complexity and solemnity of some of the most notable polyphonic music most prominent from the Renaissance, it does have a simplicity that is elegant and suitable for listening outside of the Mass.  ENJOY!

Click "Follow" on the right, and stay tuned throughout Lenten themed music and reflections.  


Also see: Sumi Jo Sings Caccini

Our Greatest Loss

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Society's greatest moral loss is the sense of the sacred.

There is no wonder why many Christians today do not hold sacred even the Commandments from God.  The Most Holy Living Tabernacle of God the Son, espoused to the Holy Spirit and chosen by God the Father is regarded very little today by most folk.  She that was chosen from the beginning of time to be the woman who would "crush the head of Satan" (Genesis 3), is regarded little more than a utility for God for some short space in time, for so little is spoken of her in the amount of content in the Bible.  What nonsensical thoughts!   Such persons who believe such blasphemy *(and blasphemy it is, indeed, to belittle that which belongs to God in a most special way --- His most perfect creation --- as Christ was not created, but existed from the beginning, having later taken the flesh of the Holy Virgin Mary in time) do so because they do not have spiritual eyes, and have lost the sense of obedience with which comes the loss of the sense of the sacred.  

Jesus is not a human person.  He was and is a Divine person, one with two natures united to each other (hypostatically; the divine nature acted when also at the same time the human nature acted, and vice versa): human and divine.   It is undeniable that The Virgin Mary gave birth to God, although Jesus was needed to redeem her.  Jesus was needed to redeem her not for sin, since she had no sin and never sinned, but because the redemption given to mankind through/by Christ also gave sanctification to those in his Church, giving them the ability to be without sin (even while many do not yet remain in this grace and are in need of the redeeming graces of the Sacraments of Penance and our Lord Himself in Holy Communion).   Mary is the Mother of God, and since she is so, and God must be adored, it stands to reason that the Mother of God should be venerated that one may adore God.

The Blessed Mother is the New Eve and was born immaculate.  She is not less than the 1st Eve, but greater.  The first man and woman were brought into the world without sin --- Adam, from the pure slime of the earth, and Eve from the rib of Adam.  Did God the Father give flesh to Jesus by impure matter?   Not at all.  Such an accusation is blasphemous.  Honoring the Mother of God is honoring God Himself as she belongs to Him in a most special way, and brings Christ to us through her example of her most holy obedience.  Those who know her by way of prayer and veneration will benefit from her prayers on their behalf and subsequently grow in holy obedience, making the way for Christ to be formed in their own hearts.  The Blessed Virgin Mother, in this way, continues to be the Living Tabernacle of Christ, bringing those under her mantle to better know and love him.  

Example of the Greatness of This Mother's Love

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Taken from "The Glories of Mary", by St. Alphonsus Ligouri

Chapter I, Section IV

The Greatness of the love
which this Mother bears for us

EXAMPLE

Father Auriemma (Aff. Scamb. p. 2, c. 8) relates that there was a certain poor shepherdess, whose sole delight was to go to a little chapel of our Blessed Lady, situated on a mountain, and there, whilst her flocks were browsing, she conversed with her dear Mother and rendered honor to her. Seeing that the little image of Mary (which was carved in relief) was unadorned, she set to work to make her a mantle. One day, having gathered a few flowers in the fields, she made a garland, and climbing on the altar of the little chapel, placed it on the head of the image, saying, "My Mother, I would place a crown of gold and precious stones on thy brow, but, as I am poor, receive this crown of flowers, and accept it as a mark of the love that I bear thee." With this and other acts of homage, the pious maiden always endeavored to serve and honor our beloved Lady. But let us now see how the good Mother on her part recompensed the visits and the affection of her child. The latter fell ill, and was at the point of death. It so happened that two religious were passing that way, and, fatigued with their journey, sat down under a tree to rest: one fell asleep, and the other remained awake; but both had the same vision. They saw a multitude of most beautiful young women, and amongst these was one who in beauty and majesty far surpassed them all. One of the religious addressed himself to her: "Lady, who art thou, and where art thou going by these rugged ways?" "I am," she replied, "the Mother of God, and am going with these holy virgins to a neighboring cottage to visit a dying shepherdess who has so often visited me." Having said these words, all disappeared. At once these two good servants of God said, "Let us go also to see her." They immediately started, and having found the cottage of the dying virgin, they entered it and found her stretched on a little straw. They saluted her, and she said, "Brothers, ask our Lord to let you see the company that is assisting me." They immediately knelt, and saw Mary by the side of the dying girl, holding a crown in her hand and consoling her. All at once the virgins began to sing, and at the sound of this sweet harmony her blessed soul left her body. Mary placed the crown on her head, and taking her soul, led it with her to Paradise. (This account bears much resemblance to the account of the circumstances of the life and death of St. Germaine Cousin, deceased in 1601 at Pibrac, near Toulouse, aged about twenty two years, beatified May 7, 1854, canonized June 29, 1867.—ED.)

Prayer

O Lady, O ravished of hearts! ("O Domina, quae rapis corda.") I will exclaim with St. Bonaventure: "Lady, who with the love and favor thou showest thy servants dost ravish their hearts, ravish also my miserable heart, which desires ardently to love thee. Thou, my Mother, hast enamoured a God with thy beauty, and drawn him from heaven into thy chaste womb; and shall I live without loving thee? "No, I will say to thee with one of thy most loving sons, John Berchmans of the Society of Jesus, I will never rest until I am certain of having obtained thy love; but a constant and tender love towards thee, my Mother, who hast loved me with so much tenderness" ("Nunquam quiescam, donec habuero tenerum amorem erga Matrem meam, Mariam"), even when I was ungrateful towards thee. And what should I now be, O Mary, if thou hadst not obtained so many mercies for me? Since, then, thou didst love me so much when I loved thee not, how much more may I not now hope from thee, now that I love thee? I love thee, O my Mother, and I would that I had a heart to love thee in place of all those unfortunate creatures who love thee not. I would that I could speak with a thousand tongues, that all might know thy greatness, thy holiness, thy mercy, and the love with which thou lovest all who love thee. Had I riches, I would employ them all for thy honor. Had I subjects, I would make them all thy lovers. In fine, if the occasion presented itself I would lay down my life for thy glory. I love thee, then, O my Mother; but at the same time I fear that I do not love thee as I ought; for I hear that love makes lovers like the person loved. If, then, I see myself so unlike thee, it is a mark that I do not love thee. Thou art so pure, and I defiled with many sins; thou so humble, and I so proud; thou so holy, and I so wicked. This, then, is what thou hast to do, O Mary; since thou lovest me, make me like thee. Thou hast all power to change hearts; take, then, mine and change it. Show the world what thou canst, do for those who love thee. Make me a saint; make me thy worthy child. This is my hope.

Mary is the Mother of Penitent Sinners

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Taken from, "The Glories of Mary", by St. Alphonsus Ligouri

Chapter I, Section IV

Mary is the Mother of penitent Sinners.

Our Blessed Lady told St. Bridget that she was the mother not only of the just and innocent, but also of sinners, provided they were willing to repent ("Ego sum Quasi Mater omnium peccatorum se volentium emendare."—Rev. 1. iv. c. 138). O how prompt does a sinner (desirous of amendment, and who flies to her feet) find this good mother to embrace and help him, far more so than any earthly mother! St. Gregory VII wrote in this sense to the princess Matilda, saying: "Resolve to sin no more, and I promise that undoubtedly thou wilt find Mary more ready to love thee than any earthly mother" ("Pone finem in-voluntate peccandi, et invenies Mariam, indubitanter promitto, promptiorem carnali matre in tui dilectione."—Lib. i. ep. 47).

But whoever aspires to be a child of this great mother, must first abandon sin, and then may hope to be accepted as such. Richard of St. Laurence, on the words of Proverbs, up rose her children ("Surrexerunt filii ejus."—Prov. xxxi. 28.), remarks that the words "up rose" come first, and then the word "children," to show that no one can be a child of Mary without first endeavoring to rise from the fault into which he has fallen; for he who is in mortal sin is not worthy to be called the son of such a mother ("Nec dignus est, qui in mortali peccato est, vocari filius tantae Matris."—De Laud. B. V. lib. ii. p. 5). And St. Peter Chrysologus says that he who acts in a different manner from Mary, declares thereby that he will not be her son. "He who does not the works of his mother, abjures his lineage" ("Qui genitoris opera non facit, negat genus."—Serm. 123). Mary humble, and he proud; Mary pure, and he wicked; Mary full of love, and he hating his neighbor. He gives thereby proof that he is not, and will not be, the son of his holy Mother. The sons of Mary, says Richard of St. Laurence, are her imitators, and this chiefly in three things; in "chastity, liberality, and humility; and also in meekness, mercy, and such like" ("Filii Mariae, imitators ejus in castitate, humilitate, mansuetudine, misericordia.—Loco cit).

Whilst disgusting her by a wicked life, who would dare even to wish to be the child of Mary? A certain sinner once said to Mary, "Show thyself a Mother;" but the Blessed Virgin replied, "Show thyself a son" ("Monstra te esse matrem . . . Monstra te esse filium."—Aur. Aff. Scamb. p. 3, c. 12). Another invoked the divine Mother, calling her the Mother of mercy, and she answered: "You sinners, when you want my help, call me Mother of mercy, and at the same time do not cease by your sins to make me a Mother of sorrows and anguish" (Pelb. Stell. 1. xii. p. ult. c. 7). He is cursed of God, says Ecclesiasticus, that angereth his mother ("Maledictus a Deo, qui exasperate matrem."—Ecclus. iii. 18). "That is Mary" ("Matrem, id est Mariam"—De Laud. B. M. l. 2, p. 1), says Richard of St. Laurence. God curses those who by their wicked life, and still more by their obstinacy in sin, afflict this tender mother.

I say, by their obstinacy; for if a sinner, though he may not as yet have given up his sin, endeavors to do so, and for this purpose seeks the help of Mary, this good mother will not fail to assist him, and make him recover the grace of God. And this is precisely what St. Bridget heard one day from the lips of Jesus Christ, who, speaking to his mother, said, "Thou assistest him who endeavors to return to God, and thy consolations are never wanting to any one" ("Conanti surgere ad Deum tribuis auxilium, et neminem reliquis vacuum a consolatione tua"—Rev. 1. 4, c. 19). So long, then, as a sinner is obstinate, Mary cannot love him; but if he (finding himself chained by some passion which keeps him a slave of hell) recommends himself to the Blessed Virgin, and implores her, with confidence and perseverance, to withdraw him from the state of sin in which he is, there can be no doubt but this good mother will extend her powerful hand to him, will deliver him from his chains, and lead him to a state of salvation.

The doctrine that all prayers and works performed in a state of sin are sins was condemned as heretical by the sacred Council of Trent (Sess. vi. can. 7). St. Bernard says (De Div. s. 81), that although prayer in the mouth of a sinner is devoid of beauty, as it is unaccompanied with charity, nevertheless it is useful, and obtains grace to abandon sin; for, as St. Thomas teaches (2. 2, q. 178, a. 2.), the prayer of a sinner, though without merit, is an act which obtains the grace of forgiveness, since the power of impetration is founded not on the merits of him who asks, but on the divine goodness, and the merits and promises of Jesus Christ, who has said, Every one that asketh, receiveth ("Omnis enim qui petit, accipit."—Luke, xi. 10). The same thing must be said of prayers offered to the divine mother. "If he who prays," says St. Anselm, "does not merit to be heard, the merits of the mother, to whom he recommends himself, will intercede effectually" ("Si merita invocantis non merentur, merita tamen Matris intercedunt, ut exaudiatur."—De Excell. Virg. c. 6).

Therefore, St. Bernard exhorts all sinners to have recourse to Mary, invoking her with great confidence; for though the sinner does not himself merit the graces which he asks, yet he receives them, because this Blessed Virgin asks and obtains them from God, on account of her own merits. These are his words, addressing a sinner: "Because thou wast unworthy to receive the grace thyself, it was given to Mary, in order that, through her, thou mightest receive all" ("Quia indignus eras, cui donaretur, datum est Mariae, ut per illam acciperes quidquid haberes."—In Virg. Nat. s. 3). "If a mother," continues the same saint, "knew that her two sons bore a mortal enmity to each other, and that each plotted against the other's life, would she not exert herself to her utmost in order to reconcile them? This would be the duty of a good mother. And thus it is," the saint goes on to say, "that Mary acts; for she is the mother of Jesus, and the mother of men. When she sees a sinner at enmity with Jesus Christ, she cannot endure it, and does all in her power to make peace between them. O happy Mary, thou art the Mother of the criminal, and the Mother of the judge; and being the Mother of both, they are thy children, and thou canst not endure discords amongst them" ("O Maria! tu Mater rei, tu Mater judicis: cum sis Mater utriusque, discordias inter tuos filios nequis sustinere."—Ap. S. Bonav. Spec. B. V. lect. 3).

This most benign Lady only requires that the sinner should recommend himself to her, and purpose amendment. When Mary sees a sinner at her feet, imploring her mercy, she does not consider the crimes with which he is loaded, but the intention with which he comes; and if this is good, even should he have committed all possible sins, the most loving mother embraces him, and does not disdain to heal the wounds of his soul; for she is not only called the Mother of Mercy, but is so truly and indeed, and shows herself such by the love and tenderness with which she assists us all. And this is precisely what the Blessed Virgin herself said to St. Bridget: "However much a man sins, I am ready immediately to receive him when he repents; nor do I pay attention to the number of his sins, but only to the intention with which he comes: I do not disdain to anoint and heal his wounds; for I am called, and truly am, the Mother of Mercy" ("Quantumcumque homo peccet, si ex vera emendatione ad me reverses fuerit, statim parata sum recipere revertentem; nec attendo quantum peccaverit, sed cum quail voluntate venit; nam non dedignor ungere et sanare plagas ejus, (quia) vocor (et vere sum) Mater misericortiae."—Rev. l. 2, c. 23.—l. 6, c. 117).

Mary is the mother of sinners who wish to repent, and as a mother she cannot do otherwise than compassionate them; nay more, she seems to feel the miseries of her poor children as if they were her own. When the Canaanitish woman begged our Lord to deliver her daughter from the devil who possessed her, she said, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David, my daughter is grievously troubled by a devil ("Miserere mei, Domine, Fili David! filia mea male a daemonio vexatur."—Matt. xv. 22). But since the daughter, and not the mother, was tormented, she should rather have said, "Lord, take compassion on my daughter:" and not, Have mercy on me; but no, she said, "Have mercy on me," and she was right; for the sufferings of children are felt by their mother as if they were their own. And it is precisely thus, says Richard of St. Laurence, that Mary prays to God when she recommends a sinner to him who has had recourse to her; she cries out for the sinful soul, "Have mercy on me!" "My Lord," she seems to say, "this poor soul that is in sin is my daughter, and therefore, pity not so much her as me, who am her mother" ("Maria clamat pro peccatorice anima: Miserere mei."—De Laud. B. M. l. 6).

Would that all sinners had recourse to this sweet mother! for then certainly all would be pardoned by God. "O Mary," exclaims St. Bonaventure in rapturous astonishment, "thou embracest with maternal affection a sinner despised by the whole world, nor dost thou leave him until thou has reconciled the poor creature with his judge" ("O Maria! peccatorem toti mundo despectum materno affectu complecteris; nec deseris, quousque horrendo Judici miserum reconcilies."—In Spec. B. V. lect. 5); meaning that the sinner, whilst in the state of sin, is hated and loathed by all, even by inanimate creatures; fire, air, and earth would chastise him, and avenge the honor of their outraged Lord. But if this unhappy creature flies to Mary, will Mary reject him? Oh, no: provided he goes to her for help, and in order to amend, she will embrace him with the affection of a mother, and will not let him go, until, by her powerful intercession, she has reconciled him with God, and reinstated him in grace.

In the second book of Kings (2 Kings, xiv. 5), we read that a wise woman Thecua addressed King David in the following words: "My lord, I had two sons, and for my misfortune, one killed the other; so that I have now lost one, and justice demands the other, the only one that is left, take compassion on a poor mother, and let me not be thus deprived of both." David, moved with compassion towards the mother, declared that the delinquent should be set at liberty and restored to her. Mary seems to say the same thing when God is indignant against a sinner who has recommended himself to her. "My God," she says, "I had two sons, Jesus and man; man took the life of my Jesus on the cross, and now Thy justice would condemn the guilty one. O Lord, my Jesus is already dead, have pity on me, and if I have lost the one, do not make me lose the other also."

Most certainly God will not condemn those sinners who have recourse to Mary, and for whom she prays, since he himself commended them to her as her children. The devout Lanspergius supposes our Lord speaking in the following terms: "I recommended all, but especially sinners, to Mary, as her children, and therefore is she so diligent and so careful in the exercise of her office, that she allows none of those committed to her charge, and especially those who invoke her, to perish; but as far as she can, brings all to me" ("Mariae . . . peccatores in filios commendavi; . . . propterea adeo est sedula, ut, officio suo satisfaciens, neminem eorum, quantum in se est, qui sibi commissi sunt, praecipue se invocantium, perire sinat, sed, quantum valet, omnes mihi reducat"—Alloq. l. 1, p. 4, can. 12). "And who can ever tell," says the devout Blosius, "the goodness, the mercy, the compassion, the love, the benignity, the clemency, the fidelity, the benevolence, the charity, of this Virgin Mother towards men? It is such that no words can express it" ("Hujus Matris bonitas, misericordia, fidelitas, charitas erga hominess, tanta est, ut nullis verbis explicari posit"—Sacell. An. p. 3, c. 5).

"Let us, then," says St. Bernard, "cast ourselves at the feet of this good mother, and embracing them, let us not depart until she blesses us, and thus accepts us for her children" ("Beatis illius pedibus provolvamur; teneamus eam, nec dimittamus, donec benedixerit nobis"—In Sign. magn). And who can ever doubt the compassion of this mother? St. Bonaventure used to say; "Even should she take my life, I would still hope in her; and, full of confidence, would desire to die before her image, and be certain of salvation." And thus should each sinner address her when he has recourse to this compassionate Mother; he should say:

"My Lady and Mother, on account of my sins I deserve that thou shouldst reject me, and even that thou shouldst thyself chastise me according to my deserts; but shouldst thou reject me, or even take my life, I will still trust in thee, and hope with a firm hope that thou wilt save me. In thee is all my confidence; only grant me the consolation of dying before thy picture, recommending myself to thy mercy, then I am convinced that I shall not be lost, but that I shall go and praise thee in heaven, in company with so many of thy servants who left this world calling on thee for help, and have all been saved by thy powerful intercession" ("Etiamsi occiderit me, sperabo in eam; et totus confidens, juxta ejus imaginem mori desidero, et salvus ero"—Paciucchelli, In Ps. 86, exc. 3). Read the following example, and then say if any sinner can doubt of the mercy and love this good mother.

EXAMPLE

A noble youth named Eskil was sent by the prince, his father, to Hildesheim, a city of Saxony, to study; but he gave himself up to a disorderly life. He afterwards fell so dangerously ill that he received Extreme Unction. While in this state he had a vision: he found himself shut up in a fiery furnace, and believed himself already in hell; but he then seemed to escape from it by a hole, and took refuge in a great palace, in an apartment of which he saw the most Blessed Virgin Mary, who said to him: "Presumptuous man that thou art, dost thou dare to appear before me? Depart hence, and go to that fire which thou hast deserved." The young man then besought the Blessed Virgin to have mercy on him; and then addressed himself to some persons who were there present, and entreated them to recommend him to Mary. They did so, and the divine Mother replied, "But you do not know the wicked life which he leads, and that he does not even deign to salute me with a Hail Mary." His advocates replied: "But, lady, he will change his life"; and the young man added, "Yes, I promise in good earnest to amend, and I will be thy devout client." The Blessed Virgin's anger was then appeased, and she said to him, "Well, I accept thy promise; be faithful to me, and meanwhile, with my blessing, be delivered from death and hell." With these words the vision disappeared. Eskil returned to himself, and, blessing Mary, related to others the grace which he had received: and from that time he led a holy life, always preserving great devotion to our Blessed Lady. He became archbishop of Lunden in Sweden, where he converted many to the faith. Towards the end of his life, on account of his age, he renounced his archbishopric, and became a monk in Clairvaux, where he lived for four years, and died a holy death. Hence he is numbered by some authors amongst the Cistercian saints (Manriquez, Ann. Cisterc. 1151, c. 13; 1181, c 2).

Prayer

O my sovereign Queen and worthy Mother of my God, most holy Mary; I seeing myself, as I do, so despicable and loaded with so many sins, ought not to presume to call thee Mother, or even to approach thee; yet I will not allow my miseries to deprive me of the consolation and confidence that I feel in calling thee mother; I know well that I deserve that thou shouldst reject me; but I beseech thee to remember all that thy Son Jesus has endured for me, and then reject me if thou canst. I am a wretched sinner, who, more than all others, have despised the infinite majesty of God: but the evil is done. To thee have I recourse; thou canst help me; my Mother, help me. Say not that thou canst not do so; for I know that thou art all-powerful, and that thou obtainest whatever thou desirest of God; and if thou sayest that thou wilt not help me, tell me at least to whom I can apply in this my so great misfortune. "Either pity me," will I say with the devout St. Anselm, "O my Jesus, and forgive me, and do thou pity me, my Mother Mary, by interceding for me, or at least tell me to whom I can have recourse, who is more compassionate, or in whom I can have greater confidence than in thee" ("Aut miseremini miseri, tu parcendo, tu interveniendo; aut ostendite, ad quos tutius fugiam misericordiores; et monstrate, in quibus certius confidam potentiores"—Orat. 50).

Thoughts on the Vigil of the Queenship of Mary

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Mother Angelica remarked on an episode of "Mother Angelica Live" back in 1999, that Jesus's public ministry began with the Blessed Virgin Mother's "second fiat".   Our Lord, addressing his mother lovingly with, "woman", as an allusion to what was written in Genesis ("I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel." Gen. 3:15) and what was to be written yet in Revelation ("And a great sign appeared in heaven: A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars... " Revelation 12:1) he asks her what was this to him since his time for public ministry had not yet come.  The Blessed Virgin Mother's response was prompt, knowing that her son was saying, "my ministry does not come until you give your second fiat."  She immediately then tells the servants, "Do whatever he tells you."  She KNEW that Jesus would make the wine from a miracle, but that he would require faithful servants, as she knew that her first fiat was required by God the Father to bring God the Son to take flesh.  The Blessed Mother knew that obedience to God is the condition God requires for in making "new wine" from old wine skins.  When we become of the age of reason, we then have the responsibility of chosing God's Will.  The Blessed Mother's first fiat was to the Holy Ghost, who espoused her after she gave her word that she would accept whatever was the holy Will of God.  God the Father chose Mary to bring about the physical manifestation of His love, that is Jesus Christ, through her espousal to the Holy Ghost.   This is the reason it is fitting to celebrate the QUEENSHIP OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN soon after the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity.    There is no greater queen than the one who is most intimately connected to the Most Holy Trinity, since she has power given to her by God by her submission to Him, and because He chose her out of all His creation for this role.

Majestic Queen of Heaven and Mistress of the Angels, thou didst receive from God the power and commission to crush to head of Satan:  wherefore we humbly beseech thee, send forth the legions of heaven, that, under thy command, they may seek out all evil spirits, engage them everywhere in battle, curb their insolence, and hurl them back into the pit of hell.  "Who is like unto God?" 

O good and tender Mother, thou shalt ever be our hope and the object of our love.

O Mother of God, send forth the holy Angels to defend me and drive far from me the cruel foe.

Holy Angels and Archangels, defend of and keep us. 

An indulgence of 500 days (S.C. Ind., July 8, 1908; S.P. Ap., March 28, 1935).

O Mary, my dear Mother and mighty Queen, take and receive my poor heart with all its freedom and desires, all its love andaffection, and all the virtues and graces with which it can be adorned.  All that I am, all that I might be, my Lady and Queen, all that I have and hold in the order of nature as well as of grace, I have received from God through thy loving intercession; into thy soverign hands I commit it all, that it may be returned to its noble original; wherefore we confess that thou art the channel whereby the graces of heaven decent upon us; thou art likewise the aqueduct which carries them back to their source; thou art, as it were, an electric wire, whereby we are put in direct communication with our heavenly Father; thou art the immaculate way which leads us safe to the Heart of God.  Take, then, and accept all that I am, O Mary, Queen of every heart, and bind me to thee with the bonds of love, that I may be thine for ever, and may be able to say in truth:  "I belong to Jesus through Mary."  Thee onlly will I love, my Mother most pure; lend me thy heart; give me love for thee and for Jesus, and it is enough to make me happy and blessed in live, in death and in eternity.  Amen.

An indulgence of 500 days.

A plenary indulgence once a month on the usual conditions for the daily recitation of this prayer
(S.P. Ap., July 29, 1924 and July 12, 1933).

Pope: Mary - first and most perfect disciple

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A Love Letter to My Mother

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Dear Mother,

This Mother's Day, I wished to tell show you how much you mean to me.  I hope you liked the roses I gave  you, although, they were not as beautiful as many other roses by more devoted children. 

It is difficult for me to say how greatful I am to you in any other way than to say that I know that every peace and joy I have in my life is because you arranged for me to have these things.  You seek not only for me to have the best, but the best of the best in life. 

Mama, let me never be ashamed to attempt to tell the world of your great love, and how much you have loved and continue to love me.  You are so generous, I wish each and every person would love you at least as much.   How happy they would be if the came to you!  And I never feel left out by you, because you make me feel always so loved, eventhough I am far from the most devoted of your children.

Thank you, also, for all the 'little' things you have done for me.  Even when you are not physically here with me, these little gifts are reminders of your love, and of the greater gifts given to you that you shared with me.  Please know that I treasure these relatively smaller gifts, and that they are a big help to me day to day in all my tasks.  I remember how much you suffered in this life because of me.  Yet, you chose to suffer out of Love, and still you had the love in your heart to adopt me into your most royal family.

Thank you for not giving up on me and for everything you had done for me, still yet even giving me a portion of your incomparable faith, for without it I could not obey let alone believe.  Even while you are in Heaven your presence is all the more known.  Heaven itself seems to bow to you, as it seems so much closer for your love and affection.  Thank you for recommending me to to your son, and thank him for me for recommending me to you. I did not know how much how either of you cared for me until I came to you. Humble mother, you looked on me with pity, and gave me much which was yours. It seems, even still today, that you would do anything for me, even as if I was he who is your first and only child born of your womb. By his love I become a member of your family by blood, but because in your obedience you said to the Father, "Fiat."

Mama, give to Him for me my 'fiat':

Fiat!

 

Beata Dies Matris!

The Nobility of St. Joseph

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+The other day we celebrated the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker.  A sermon I heard that morning inspired by the mystical writings of St. Bernardine of Sienna, made me think a little deeper on St. Joseph's role in the Holy Family. 

St. Joseph is often underestimated by Catholics for his saintliness and efficacy of his intercessions.  It is important to point this out because any Catholic who doesn't already have a devotion to St. Joseph lacks in some basic understanding and/or appreciation for the Holy Family, and therefore of the love of God represented here.

St. Joseph was more than merely a carpenter, for he was a man from a most noble background.  The Holy Ghost emphasizes this because here this is something for us to admire and from which to learn a bit about natural moral law.  There is, indeed, a hierarchy in nature, even human nature.  Although, this doesn't say whether or not a person has a propensity to enter heaven, it does demonstrate God's desire for man to see His Authority here on earth in a form of hierarchy, even if the man is a carpenter, who happens to come from a noble lineage. St. Bernadine points out, "Whenever divine grace selects someone to receive a particular grace, or some especially favoured position, all the gifts for his state are given to that person, and. enrich him abundantly." -- St. Bernardine, Sermon 2

The Blessed Mother, who was "full of grace", depended upon St. Joseph for his strength.  How can this be, when no other creature ever created or to be created would be more united to the Holy Trinity and have as great a fullness of grace?   The Holy Ghost hints to this by emphasizing the lineage of St. Joseph.  St. Joseph, also was full of grace but not in the sense of how the Blessed Mother had fullness.  The Blessed Mother was indeed "full of grace", but her nature was already fully united to God, so that everything she did was most significantly an action of her spiritual spouse, the Holy Ghost.  St. Joseph, being a man of highest virtue, was enobled by God with the graces required of his lineage, and of his state (as foster-father of Jesus).   He demonstrated a strength of will because of this enoblement, and this is how the Blessed Mother was able to depend upon the strength and wisdom of St. Joseph, the earthly authority of God, the 2nd Person and the Most Holy Trinity, as well as her authority as her earthly husband.  Whatever direction St. Joseph gave, she had no need to question that it was from anywhere else but Divine judgement, and even according to His Perfect Will.

Almighty God, at the beginnings of our salvation, when Mary conceived your Son and brought him forth into the world, you placed them under Joseph's watchful care. May his prayer still help your Church to be an equally faithful guardian of your mysteries, and a sign of Christ to mankind.

(We make our prayer) through our Lord.

(Through Christ our Lord.)

Can One be Called Truly Christian without Devotion to the Blessed Virgin?

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If someone says that he is Christian, what is that he believes? Is it only that Jesus 'was a good guy'? Can one really profess and then hide that Jesus is truly his Lord and Redeemer? If he professes Jesus is Lord, God the 2nd Person of the Holy Trinity, and one professes obedience to him, then he must not put anything or anyone before him*. If he professes that Jesus is Redeemer, than from what has he been redeeded and AT WHAT COST? If this is not something to at least be excited about every day of one's life, than one is dead to sin, and/or hasn't examined his conscience. And by my saying this, it is not I who judges, but he who speaks of our Lord when it suits him out of human respect causes himself to be judged by our Lord.

*As a side note: Veneration to the Blessed Virgin Mother is not putting someone before Christ because in true devotion to Christ's mother, we are giving ourselves most fully to Christ.  It is not possible for us to give ourselves so unreservedly as to do so by not our own merits but by the merits of the Blessed Virgin.  When we truly devote and consecrate all our good actions -- interior and exterior, and goods to Jesus through Mary, we rely on her merits, and not our own. Thereby, we most expediently give ourselves entirely to Jesus, rather than to chip away --- if at all -- little by little, or little by nothing, of giving ourselves to Jesus. Even our most heroic efforts to give Jesus glory cannot be sufficient on their own to merit the graces the Holy Trinity has given to the Blessed Virgin Mother of Jesus Christ.

Anyone who boasts that he has no need of the Blessed Mother offends Jesus Christ. Such a person puts himself at a higher degree of sanctity than God the Son himself, "Who being in the form of God ... But emptied himself, taking the form of a servant." Yet such an impious person will not humble himself as a servant to the Virgin that conceived the Savior, nursed and raised him, and followed him on his way to Calvary and remained at his crucifixion. All the apostles except for St. John, to whom was given the Blessed Mother and she to him as his Mother, ran away to save their lives, while you without the smallest humility, run away to save your indifference to the one creature who God made the purest of all creatures -- the sacred tabernacle of God the Son. You run away to remain in sin, not to save your soul, but your (way of) life. But our Lord warns us, "He who saves his life will lose it".

Any person without true reverence and devotion to the Blessed Mother will practice disobedience. If they have any and all of the other virtues but this one, they are a living proof that they have the devil for a father and not the Lord, because the devil himself can immitate every virtue but obedience. And, he too, is in emnity with the Blessed Virgin ( "I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel.").

Who does not need the merits of the Blessed Virgin to approach Jesus Christ? She to whom the angels bow and the devils flee is the humblest of all God's creatures. Anyone who thinks most presumptiously that he can stand before Christ on his own merits has not examined himself, while even Mary, who did not sin, and was even conceived without sin, was in need of redemption. If anyone has any sense of truth and of that which is sacred, let him come prostrate himself interiorly and exteriorly before our Lord's True Presence and commit himself to Jesus as his Lord and Savior, through the merits of his Blessed Mother.+

Miracle of Fatima

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The greatest miracle since biblical times:

Witnessed by approx. 70,000 people, reported by Il Seculo -- the secular newspaper.

Jesu Corona Virginum

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+

Jesu corona Virginum,

quem Mater illa concipit
quae sola Virgo parturit,

haec vota clemens accipe.

Quocumque pergis,

virgines sequuntur,

atque laudibus

post te canentes cursitant

hymnosque dulces personant.

Jesu, tibi sit gloria,

qui natus es de Virgine,

cum Patre et almo Spiritu,

in sempiterna saecula.

Qui pascis inter lilia,

septus choreis Virginum

sponsas decorans gloria,

sponsisque reddens praemia.

Te deprecamur largius

nostris adauge sensibus

nescire prorsus omnia,

corruptionis vulnera. Amen.+

St. Therese of Lisieux* (*in a play she herself wrote while in Carmel) as St. Joan of Arc just before her martyrdom.

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

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"For which reason, after we have poured forth prayers of supplication again and again to God, and have invoked the light of the Spirit of Truth, for the glory of Almighty God who has lavished his special affection upon the Virgin Mary, for the honor of her Son, the immortal King of the Ages and the Victor over sin and death, for the increase of the glory of that same august Mother, and for the joy and exultation of the entire Church; by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and by our own authority, we pronounce, declare, and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma: that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory. (Gen 3:15)

Hence if anyone, which God forbid, should dare willfully to deny or to call into doubt that which we have defined, let him know that he has fallen away completely from the divine and Catholic Faith." (Rom 5-6; I Cor. 15:21-26, 54-57)

taken from

APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTION OF POPE PIUS XII
MUNIFICENTISSIMUS DEUS
DEFINING THE DOGMA OF THE ASSUMPTION
November 1, 1950

Quotes from the Early Church Fathers:

Pseudo – Melito
"If therefore it might come to pass by the power of your grace, it has appeared right to us your servants that, as you, having overcome death, do reign in glory, so you should raise up the body of your Mother and take her with you, rejoicing, into heaven. Then said the Savior [Jesus]: "Be it done according to your will" (The Passing of the Virgin." 16:2-17 [A.D. 300]).

Timothy of Jerusalem
"Therefore the Virgin is immortal to this day, seeing that he who had dwelt in her transported her to the regions of her assumption." (Homily on Simeon and Anna [A.D. 400]).

John the Theologian
"The Lord said to his Mother, "Let your heart rejoice and be glad. For every favor and every gift has been given to you from my Father in heaven and from me and from the Holy Spirit. Every soul that calls upon your name shall not be ashamed, but shall find mercy and comfort and support and confidence, both in the world that now is and in that which is to come, in the presence of my Father in the heavens". . . And from that time forth all knew that the spotless and precious body had been transferred to paradise." (The Dormition of Mary [A.D. 400]).

Gregory of Tours
"[T]he Apostles took up her body on a bier and placed it in a tomb; and they guarded it, expecting the Lord to come. And behold, again the Lord stood by them; and the holy body having been received, He commanded that it be taken in a cloud into paradise: where now, rejoined to the soul, [Mary] rejoices with the Lord's chosen ones. . . "" (Eight Books of Miracles 1:4 [A.D. 575]).

Theoteknos of Livias
"It was fitting ... that the most holy-body of Mary, God-bearing body, receptacle of God, divinised, incorruptible, illuminated by divine grace and full glory ... should be entrusted to the earth for a little while and raised up to heaven in glory, with her soul pleasing to God." (Homily on the Assumption [ca. A.D. 600]).

Modestus of Jerusalem
"As the most glorious Mother of Christ, our Savior and God and the giver of life and immortality, has been endowed with life by him, she has received an eternal incorruptibility of the body together with him who has raised her up from the tomb and has taken her up to himself in a way known only to him." (Encomium in dormitionnem Sanctissimae Dominae nostrae Deiparae semperque Virginis Mariae [ante A.D. 634]).

Germanus of Constantinople
"You are she who, as it is written, appears in beauty, and your virginal body is all holy, all chaste, entirely the dwelling place of God, so that it is henceforth completely exempt from dissolution into dust. Though still human, it is changed into the heavenly life of incorruptibility, truly living and glorious, undamaged and sharing in perfect life." (Sermon I [A.D. 683]).

John Damascene
"It was fitting that the she, who had kept her virginity intact in childbirth, should keep her own body free from all corruption even after death. It was fitting that she, who had carried the Creator as a child at her breast, should dwell in the divine tabernacles. It was fitting that the spouse, whom the Father had taken to himself, should live in the divine mansions. It was fitting that she, who had seen her Son upon the cross and who had thereby received into her heart the sword of sorrow which she had escaped when giving birth to him, should look upon him as he sits with the Father, It was fitting that God's Mother should possess what belongs to her Son, and that she should be honored by every creature as the Mother and as the handmaid of God." (Dormition of Mary [A.D. 697])

Gregorian Sacramentary
"Venerable to us, O Lord, is the festivity of this day on which the holy Mother of God suffered temporal death, but still could not be kept down by the bonds of death, who has begotten Thy Son our Lord incarnate from herself." (Gregorian Sacramentary, Veneranda [ante A.D. 795]).