the first of a long list of names indicated as followers of the Christ. The first cry of all the apostles is: “Let them do what they like! We will not change, either because of threats or out of prudence [...] Maria Valtorta (1897-1961) was an Italian mystic and member of the Catholic Third Order of the Servites of Mary. She wrote the ten volumes of The Gospel as Revealed to Me, a true "celestial autobiography" [...] December 26 - Mary weeps for St. Stephen (Jerusalem) - Byzantine Church: Synaxis of the Mother of God The Virgin Mary was there at Stephen's burial (I) In these excerpts from Maria Valtorta's The Gospel
September 17 - Our Lady of the Virtues and Grandeurs of Mary (La Flèche, France) Mary's virtues: a model for the Church The Second Vatican Council already drew a parallel between the Virgin Mary and the Church [...] Church from the perspective of virginity and motherhood, and completed this parallel from the standpoint of Mary's holiness, a reflection of the Church's holiness. Because of this, Marian devotion constitutes [...] 25 - 27) Finally, Mary is described as the model of all virtues: “The followers of Christ still strive to increase in holiness by conquering sin. And so they turn their eyes to Mary who shines forth to
August 15 - Solemnity of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary Devotion to the Virgin Mary is not an option The Assumption not only tells us that Mary ascended "into Heaven", but also that she does not remain [...] Emeritus Professor of English at Condorcet College in Paris. A founder of the French edition of Communio, he was Cardinal Lustiger’s Special Adviser and is now his literary executor. He is part of the Oasis Scientific [...] Scientific Committee and of the Observatory for Faith and Culture of the Episcopal Conference of France, and directs the Catholic Academy of France. www.fr.aleteia.org
a product of divine grace. However, Mary’s favor was necessitated by her ability to keep herself pure. No woman of broken virginity would have attracted this favor. Mary played her own role of sanctification [...] June 9 - Mary Mother of Grace (France) - St Ephrem the Syrian, deacon and doctor of the Church (d. 373) The Favored Woman: Mary The woman is not an afterthought, as many would infer from the creation account [...] is: “Hail, thou art highly favored (full of grace), the Lord is with thee: Blessed art thou among women.” The favored woman in this context is Mary the mother of Jesus Christ. The Immaculate Conception
Marcellin Champagnat (1789-1840), founder of the Little Brothers of Mary (Marists) "I have never felt so much peace as in this place" Does God exist? What is the point of living? Why make any effort? When I [...] Church be the only one to hold it? [...] I was in this state of mind when I heard a person who did not believe in God say that she was sure of his existence and that she had been on a pilgrimage to Medjugorje [...] business school that cheating, lying, crushing others to get ahead was the real world. What was the point of all those good principles I had been taught if everyone just did what they wanted to do? Besides, were
with his group of 10 resistance fighters. As a great lover of the Virgin Mary, he prayed his rosary a lot. His mother, of whom he was the only son, had no news of him but, trusting in Mary, she continued [...] May 25 - Our Lady of the Sea (Aix-en-Provence, France) - Saint Mary Magdalene of Pazzi, virgin, Carmelite How the Virgin Mary saved my dad’s life in a concentration camp "During the Second World War, my [...] village house, which happened to have a small niche with a statue of the Virgin Mary. When my father saw the statue, he cried out inwardly, "Mary, save me!" At that very moment, the heavy stone weighed nothing
April 30 - Virgin Mary, Consoler of the Afflicted (Luxembourg) - Our Lady of Africa (Algiers, Algeria, 1876) A novena to Our Lady brings a woman back to life In 1987 my mom suffered a stroke; she was 74 [...] light a candle, because your mother is saved!" Mom died 20 years later, at the age of 94. René Testimonial sent to Mary of Nazareth
Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (1944) "If you do what I tell you, many souls will be saved" In 1917, Mary said to the children of Fatima (Portugal): "You have seen hell where the souls of poor sinners [...] the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Sister Lucia (one of the three visionaries of Fatima) wrote: "The holy Hearts of Jesus and Mary love and desire this devotion, because They use it to draw souls to themselves [...] the 15 mysteries of the Rosary, in a spirit of reparation, I promise to assist them at the hour of death with all the graces necessary for the salvation of their souls." On the subject of devotion to the
remember me in the hour of Your mission.” Maria Valtorta (1897-1961) was an Italian mystic and member of the Catholic Third Order of the Servites of Mary. She wrote the ten volumes of The Gospel as Revealed [...] in front of Him, draws His attention so that He wants to get hold of it to see what it is. Mary and Joseph smile and so do all the others who praise the beauty of the Child. I hear the words of the holy [...] and I see the astonished gaze of Joseph, the deeply moved look of Mary as well as the glances of the little crowd, partly surprised and moved, partly laughing at the words of the old man. Amongst the latter
January 27 - Holy Mary of the Angels (Aix-en-Provence, France) - Coptic Marian Feast of the Dormition St. Maximilian Kolbe and the Most Holy Rosary This year marks the 20th anniversary of the apostolic letter [...] offers the inclusion of the Luminous Mysteries. He additionally teaches, “With the Rosary, the Christian people sits at the school of Mary and is led to contemplate the beauty on the face of Christ and to experience [...] experience the depths of his love. Through the Rosary, the faithful receive abundant grace, as though from the very hands of the Mother of the Redeemer.” (RVM 1) Though clearly Marian in its character,
