A Moment with Mary

May 21 - Our Lady of the Ardent Ones (Arras, France, 1105)

Tue, 21 May 2013 04:39:00 +0200

Our Lady of Good Welcome

O Mary, give us attentive, humble and gentle hearts

able to welcome with tenderness and compassion

all the poor that you send us.

Give us hearts full of mercy

able to love and serve, and quench all divisions

and to see in our suffering and broken brothers

the presence of the living Jesus.

Lord, bless us from the hand of your poor;

Lord, smile to us through the eyes of your poor;

Lord, receive us one day

in the blessed company of your poor.

Amen

Jean Vanier, Founder of L'Arche

May 20 - Our Lady of Graces (Cuneo, Italy, 1537)

Mon, 20 May 2013 04:39:00 +0200

I Repeat What John Paul II Affirmed in Ecclesia de Eucharistia

During the 2005 Synod of Bishops, which was devoted to the Holy Eucharist, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio reflected on the Blessed Sacrament and the Blessed Virgin Mary:

Our faithful people believe as a Eucharistic people in Mary. They tie together their affection for the Eucharist and their affection for the Virgin, our Lady and Mother (cf. Redemptoris Mater III, 44). In the "school of Mary," (Rosarium Virginis Mariae, § 1), we can reread contemplatively the passages in which John Paul II sees our Lady as a Eucharistic woman, and sees her not alone but "in the company of" (Acts 1:14) the People of God.

We follow here that rule of tradition by which, with different nuances, "what is said of Mary is said of the soul of every Christian and of the whole Church" (Ecclesia de Eucharistia, 57). Our faithful people have the true "Eucharistic attitude" of giving thanks and of praise.

Remembering Mary, they are grateful for being remembered by her, and this memorial of love is truly Eucharistic. In this respect I repeat what John Paul II affirmed in Ecclesia de Eucharistia number 58: "The Eucharist has been given to us so that our life, like that of Mary, can become completely a Magnificat."

Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, (Pope Francis),
www.catholicculture.org

May 19 – Pentecost Sunday

Sun, 19 May 2013 04:39:00 +0200

The Irruption of the Divine Trinity in the Soul

The irruption of the divine Trinity in the soul is the unfathomable mystery of Pentecost. This mystery unfolds at Mary's side, around Mary, in the presence of Mary, and with Mary.

Mary communicates to the Apostles this in-dwelling of the divine Trinity within her, and then through them to all souls who want to follow Christ. Mary kept in her heart everything that happened on the day of the Ascension. Instructed by her Son's example, Mary understood the will of the Father for her.

"Thy will be done": the fiat of the Annunciation and the fiat of the Cross led Mary to the fiat of the Ascension.

Jesus disappeared from her eyes of flesh and she had to live through this mystery of separation. It was a purer and more perfect detachment than any she had experienced before. Mary does not hesitate for a moment. Now she hastens to gather the Apostles.

Such confusing events could have scattered them once again. But Mary has a contemplative soul. She sees well beyond appearances.

Marie-Benoîte Angot,
Adorer avec Marie (Worship with Mary), Editions le Sarment.

May 18 - Saint John I, Pope and Martyr, † 526 (Ravenna, Italy) - Vigil of the Pentecost

Sat, 18 May 2013 04:39:00 +0200

Our Lady of Lavasina

In the 16th century, Lavasina, Corsica, was a modest fishing port situated near the mouth of the creek of the same name. There lived a family of fishermen called the Daneses, who sometimes did business in Rome. It happened that the Daneses had some debtors in that city, who said that they were insolvent and offered to pay their debt by sending them a painting of the Virgin. As the Daneses had a great devotion for Mary, they accepted the deal.

The painting - signed by a master - was sent from Rome, carefully wrapped for the journey. But the Daneses' surprise was great when, instead of a painting, they found a sum of money equal to the money that was owed to them. Upon seeing this prodigy, and after investigating the matter in Rome, the Daneses concluded that the money came miraculously, and resolved to build a small shrine to house the painting of the Madonna. It was a very small chapel, with standing room for only twenty people. (...)

In 1675, a humble Franciscan tertiary known as Sister Maria, who lived in Bonifacio, fell ill with a terrible contraction of her legs, which were folded up under her. She had to remain in bed and was continuously in pain. After several years, Sister Maria asked to be transported to Genoa, where she could receive better medical care.

During the journey, a storm forced the ship to dock at the small port of Lavasina. The invalid woman heard about the Shrine of the Madonna. She wanted to be taken there, and then started to pray. She asked to be anointed with some of the oil from the lamp that burned in front of the image of the Virgin. Her ardent faith was rewarded on the spot. She was instantly and completely cured of her ten-year long illness.

The sailors who had transported her to Genoa witnessed the miracle. Understandably, they were so moved that they spread the news of the miracle all over Corsica. The whole island was shaken by the news. The pilgrimage to Lavasina was born, and it still continues today.

L. Cristiani,
Mary Queen of Corsica
in: Maria – études sur la Vierge Marie – under the direction d'Hubert du Manoir, S. J. - Volume IV, 1956.

May 17 - Our Lady of the Holy Desire (Italy, 1890)

Fri, 17 May 2013 04:39:00 +0200

The Virgin Mary Spoke to Me Tenderly

In Japan, in 1869, the first year of the reign of the Emperor Meiji, when the Christians of Nagasaki were brought to Otometögue, it so happened that two of them were thrown in a prison measuring less than 3 square feet.

The first one, Anthony Mary Wasaburô, died in the cell on October 9, 1869. The other, John Baptist Yasutarô, aged 32, was near death, when a Christian managed to enter his cell. The following conversation ensued:

"You must suffer from loneliness?"

"No," replied the dying man, "every night, from 10 p.m. to dawn, a young woman aged 17 or 18 appears next to me; she looks like the Virgin Mary, and I think it is the Virgin Mary. She speaks to me with a tender voice. But, whatever you do, do not say anything about it as long as I am alive."

"Do you have anything to tell me?"

"No, just tell my mother that I died nailed to the cross of Jesus Christ."

Isn't this apparition of the Queen of Martyrs to one of her devoted servants in the pure line of Catholic tradition?

Henri Mora, M. E. P.
Marian Devotion in Japan
in: Maria – études sur la Vierge Marie – under the direction of Hubert du Manoir, S.J. - Volume IV, 1956.

May 16 - Saint Simon Stock (England, 13th century, the Scapular)

Thu, 16 May 2013 04:39:00 +0200

Behold the Virginity and Life of the Blessed Virgin

It is a divine law that only those who attain everlasting happiness have by such faithful following reproduced in themselves the form of the patience and sanctity of Jesus Christ: "for whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be made conformable to the image of His Son; that He might be the first-born amongst many brethren."

But such generally is our infirmity that we are easily discouraged by the greatness of such an example: by the providence of God, however, another example is proposed to us, which is both as near to Christ as human nature allows, and more nearly accords with the weakness of our nature. And this is no other than the Mother of God.

"Such was Mary," very pertinently points out St Ambrose, "that her life is an example for all." And, therefore, he rightly concludes: "Have then before your eyes, as an image, the virginity and life of Mary from whom as from a mirror shines forth the brightness of chastity and the form of virtue."

Saint Pius X,
Encyclical Ad diem Illum, February 2, 1904

May 15 - Mexico: Nuestra Señora de la Luz

Wed, 15 May 2013 04:39:00 +0200

Mary’s Mission and the Holy Spirit

Mary's heart is abundantly filled with the Holy Spirit.

The day after the Society of the Holy Heart of Mary merged with the Spiritans (the Congregation of the Holy Spirit), Libermann wrote in the Rules:

"The Congregation... especially consecrates its members to the Holy Spirit, author and consummator of all holiness, and inspirer of the apostolic spirit, and to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, abundantly filled with the Holy Spirit, the fullness of holiness and of the apostolate, participating the most perfectly in the life and sacrifice of Jesus Christ, her Son, for the redemption of the world." (...)

"[Members] will consider the Immaculate Heart of Mary like a perfect model of faithfulness to all the divine inspirations of the Holy Spirit and of the interior practice of the virtues of the religious and apostolic life. They will find in it a refuge, to which they will flee in their labors and pains."

Jacob Libermann († 1852)

May 14 – Saint Matthias, Apostle – Our Lady, Patroness of Bavaria (Germany)

Tue, 14 May 2013 04:39:00 +0200

The Price is Very High!

The Virgin Mary has addressed urgent appeals in recent apparitions approved by the local bishops to the people of our times.

Humanity is called to make a serious conversion that will bring them back to God their Creator and their unique Savior Jesus Christ, because Satan leads thousands of deceived souls to hell.

Our heavenly Mother calls out to people of all conditions and religions in many places with a voice full of anguish: "Convert and do penance!" (before it is too late and the punishment from heaven falls on you).

The Virgin Mary gave the same warnings to the world in 1917 at Fatima, Portugal. But her calls were not broadcast (...). The cost was the 50 million casualties of WWII and the 80 million victims of international communism.

The price to pay for not listening to the Virgin Mary is very high! Are we going to keep making the same mistakes?

Fr. Jean-Regis Fropo,
diocesan priest and exorcist,
in his book: Les récentes apparitions de la Vierge Marie dans le monde (1947-2002) reconnues par l’Église catholique, (Recent Apparitions of the Virgin Marie in the World (1947-2002) recognized by the Catholic Church), Éditions Croix du Salut.
www.editions-croix.com/

May 13 – First Apparition of Our Lady in Fatima (Portugal, 1917) - Assassination Attempt of John Paul II (1981)

Mon, 13 May 2013 04:39:00 +0200

God's Grace Will be Your Strength!

The children were playing at building a wall, when suddenly they saw, above an oak tree, a Lady clothed entirely in white, dazzling and brighter than the sun. The beautiful Lady told them: "Do not be afraid, I will do you no harm."

Lucia asked: "Where do you come from, and what do you want from us?" The Blessed Virgin answered: "I come from Heaven. I have come to ask you to return here on the 13th of each month at the same time, for six months. Then, I will tell you who I am and what I want. I will return a seventh and last time."

Then Lucia asked: "Will I go to heaven also?" "Yes." "And Jacinta?" "Yes." "And Francisco?" "He will too, but he will have to recite many rosaries." Then Lucia asked if two girls, aged 16 and 20, who had died not long ago, were in heaven. The Blessed Virgin answered: "The first one, yes; the other, no."

"Would you like to offer your sufferings to God to atone for sins," the Blessed Virgin asked, "and obtain the conversion of sinners?" The children replied with great simplicity: "Yes, we would."

The Virgin then said: "You will suffer a lot, but God's grace will be your strength!" While she was saying these words, she opened her hands. Out came bright rays of light that penetrated into the children's souls (...). Driven by an immense interior force, the children fell to their knees, saying:

"Most Holy Trinity - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - I adore Thee profoundly. I offer Thee the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges, and indifferences whereby He is offended. And through the infinite merits of His Most Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of Thee the conversion of poor sinners."

(...)

Then, slowly, the Virgin rose into the sky and left in the direction of the East.

Sources:
Lucie, Mémoires, Fatima, 1963;
Lucie, Lucie raconte Fatima, éd. by Dom C. Jean-Nesmy, Paris et Montsûrs, 1975;
Lucia, Memorias II, Fatima, 1996, (Lucia’s Memoires).

May 12 – Seventh Sunday of Easter - Our Lady of the Abandoned (Manila, Philippines)

Sun, 12 May 2013 04:39:00 +0200

Your Silence Sets an Example, O Virgin Mary

The murder Jerusalem committed has left it insensitive, Christ has disappeared, the apostles are stuck to your dress, so it is not the time to lose momentum. Peter does what he can to keep the focus on the Master's wishes. He hides, defies the mounting persecution, is filled with fear protecting the Christian ideal by stashing it with his brothers in the Upper Room.

On this point, you would have a lot to say, even to reproach, but you refuse to - rather, you cannot within you - take a different road than the Church, even if this one is slow, unexpected, and unsettling in its winding turns.

This wisdom that we often reject in the name of a so-called efficiency or because our times seem to demand a degree of rebellion against Christ's Vicar, it would be enough, like you O Mary, to simply embrace it by receiving the mystery of the One Church from Christ, so that we would finally stop compromising the effort of sowing the world, and save our precious hours from the petty game of vain battles.

Here again, your silence sets an example ...

Michel – Marie Zanotti-Sorkine,
in Marie mon secret, Conversation avec la Vierge, (Mary My Secret, Conversation with the Virgin),
Editions Liamar-International Publishing Group, Monte Carlo, 2012.