“Let us transport ourselves in spirit to the holy mountain of Calvary, to the foot of the cross, beside Mary… She practices there an unalter- able patience. She stands up in the midst of the horrible tempest like a rock surrounded by waves, which beat against it without causing it to fall. Neither the abyss into which she is plunged by her grief, nor the spectacle of death, nor the fury of man, nor the rage of demons is able to cast her down. Her demeanor is full of resolution and courage. Without allowing a complaint to escape her, she adores the designs of God in silence and submits to them. Let us look at ourselves in this beautiful mirror of patience, and let us be confounded. It requires so little to cast us down, to make us lose heart, to excite complaints and murmurings! The humility of Mary is here equal to her patience. A mother whose son is suffering capital punishment is ashamed to show her- self; she is afraid lest the ignominy of her…
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Friday of Passion Week 2023: Our Lady of Sorrows
Today, on the Friday of Passion Week, the Church takes a day to remember the sufferings of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the foot of the Cross, one of her Seven Sorrows. The following is an excerpt from Dom Prosper Gueranger’s The Liturgical Year which tells us about today’s commemoration. I think you will find it to be most informative. Gueranger’s excerpt begins now: This Friday of Passion Week is consecrated, in a special manner, to the sufferings which the Holy Mother of God endured at the foot of the Cross. The whole of next week is fully taken up with the celebration of the mysteries of Jesus’ Passion, and although the remembrance of Mary’s share in those sufferings is often brought before the faithful during Holy Week, yet, the thought of what her Son, our Divine Redeemer, goes through for our salvation so absorbs our attention and love that it is not then possible to honour, as it deserves, the sublime mystery of the Mother’s Compassion. It was but fitting, therefore, that one day in the year should be set…
The Annunciation 2023
“Let us run to Mary, and, as her little children, cast ourselves into her arms with a perfect confidence.” ~Saint Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church Tomorrow, the Roman Catholic Church commemorates possibly the most beautiful moment in the history of the world, the Annunciation; or, as the day of the Annunciation is known, Lady Day. Dom Prosper Gueranger (b. 1805- d. 1875) wrote a beautiful piece for this day, and I am posting it in its entirety. Dom Prosper wrote: This is a great day, not only to man, but even to God Himself, for it is the anniversary of the most solemn event that time has ever witnessed. On this day the Divine Word by which the Father created the world was made flesh in the womb of a virgin and dwelt among us (John i. 14). We must spend it in joy. While we adore the Son of God who humbled Himself by thus becoming Man let us give thanks to the Father who so loved the world as to give His Only…
On the History and Meaning of the Holy Name of Mary
Several weeks ago, I came upon a portion of a book about the Blessed Virgin Mary online. It was a cold day in February, and I went down the proverbial rabbit hole looking into old books that teach of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The one I stumbled upon was written in 1922 by Cardinal Alexis-Henri-Marie Lépicier, O.S.M., and is titled The Fairest Flower of Paradise: Considerations on the Litany of the Blessed Virgin, Enriched with Examples Drawn from the Lives of the Saints. As you might note (above), there is a link in the book title by which you might read the original online source for this item; but, for today, I am posting one portion of the book which is titled, Holy Mary- Predestination and Name of Mary. The text is quite informative, and chock-full of Catholic teaching on the history and meaning of the name of our Mother and Queen, Mary. The text begins now: “Thy name and thy remembrance are the desire of my soul: my soul hath desired thee in the night.” (Isaiah 26:8-9) God, having decreed that He would become…
Our Lady of Lourdes 2023
“She is the brightness of eternal light, and the unspotted mirror.” ~Antiphon for the feast of the Apparition of the Immaculate Virgin Mary at Lourdes Hail to Mary on the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes 2023!