Mother of God, He broke thy heart That it might wider be, That in the vastness of its love There might be room for me. Fr. Frederick William Faber (b. 1814- d. 1863) Fr. Frederick William Faber was a talented poet and hymn writer, incorporating his devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary into his writings. As we have done in the past, during this month which is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, we will peruse some of his works, for they never fail to inspire and delight. Fr. Faber wrote of Our Lady in the poem Mother of Mercy Day by Day: Mother of mercy day by day my love of thee grows more and more. Thy gifts are strewn upon my way like sands upon the great sea shore. (2) Though poverty and work and woe the masters of my life may be, when times are worst who does not know darkness is light with love of thee? (2) But scornful men have coldly said thy love was leading me from God; and yet in this I did…
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May, The Month of Mary
In the picture on this post you will see a statue of Our Lady adorned with a homemade crown, set before roses and a lit candle. This picture was taken on Mother’s Day in the state of New Mexico. It is the picture of a home May altar set up for the month of May, the month that is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Roman Catholic Church. Home altars are common in Catholic houses around the world; and during the month of May the home statues of Our Lady often receive flowers as tokens of love and devotion to her; the mother of Christ, the Immaculate Conception. May, as the month dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, was sung by the poet/priest Fr. Gerard Manley Hopkins in the poem, The May Magnificat: May is Mary’s month, and I Muse at that and wonder why: Her feasts follow reason, Dated due to season— Candlemas, Lady Day; But the Lady Month, May, Why fasten that upon her, With a feasting in her honour? Is it only its being brighter Than…
The Glories of a Plain Day Redux
It’s a plain day in a plain week, Not much happening. I hear the birds, They talk. I must get the laundry done.* *this is a tribute to the generations of housewives who took loving care of their husbands and children without fanfare and drama. May the art of housewifery be returned to the honorable place it once held in our culture. I posted the above text (in bold) on the first of March in 2018. The sentiments I expressed there remain unchanged. I hope that the art of housewifery; the love of hearth and home, the love of children and family, might return to our culture, and to our world. Pope St. Pius X told us in 1903 how this (and the restoration of all culture) might be accomplished: by restoring all things in Christ (here). So, in this Eastertide, the time of resurrections, when green leaves are bursting out, may the love of God reign in our hearts, in our families, and in our homes. And, to the model wife and mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, Hail! …
Our Lady on Holy Saturday: The Tower of Ivory
“There is never a crack in the ivory tower Or a hinge to groan in the house of gold Or a leaf of the rose in the wind to wither And she grows young as the world grows old. A Woman clothed with the sun returning to clothe the sun when the sun is cold.” ~G.K. Chesterton, excerpt from The Towers of Time* One of the titles of the Blessed Virgin Mary is Tower of Ivory. What does it mean that Our Lady has been referred to as thus? Blessed John Henry Newman (b. 1801- d. 1890) wrote a short piece on this topic; and that is the subject of today’s post: Our Lady as the Tower of Ivory. Fr. Newman wrote: Mary is the “Turris Eburnea,” the Ivory Tower A tower is a fabric which rises higher and more conspicuous than other objects in its neighbourhood. Thus, when we say a man “towers” over his fellows, we mean to signify that they look small in comparison of him.This quality of greatness is instanced in the Blessed Virgin.…
Remembering Her Sorrows in Passiontide, 2022
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 apart…