Mary did not have another Virgin Mary to lean on!

There are moments in life when one is weary, when one needs rest and shelter. In these moments we can turn to Mary, to her Immaculate Heart, to her image that is a place of sweet refuge... Yes indeed! See how she went through fatigue and trials! How she walked up the path to Calvary with her Son, never pausing or stopping! ... Yet Our Lord gave something to us that he did not grant to his own Mother: Mary did not have another Virgin Mary to lean on!

Happy is the soul who knows how to find this shelter, this refuge! All troubles, lack of motivation and fear disappear when one flees to this motherly Heart and says to her: "I am tired, I can’t go on anymore… Oh Mother, I want to rest near you... Please bring me peace, shelter from the storm. Please shield me..."

Mary protects us, shelters us, even lulls us to sleep like a good mother who sings to her child and cradles him. If we need strength, she teaches us how to be stronger, and leads us to the heart of Jesus crucified!

Saint Bernadette quoting Father Gustave Delacroix de Ravignan (French Jesuit preacher and author who died a saintly death in the same month as the first Lourdes apparition, February 1858. Dubbed “The Apostle of Paris.”)

Magnificat - February 18, 2021