June 15 - Feast of all the Churches in the Holy Land (Ethiopia) Mary’s role as co-operator with the One Redeemer The Church’s teaching makes a clear distinction between the Mother and the Son in the work [...] 3:9), he maintains the real possibility for man to co-operate with God. [...] However, applied to Mary, the term “co-operator” acquires a specific meaning. The collaboration of Christians in salvation [...] takes place after the Calvary event, whose fruits they endeavor to spread by prayer and sacrifice. Mary, instead, co-operated during the event itself and in the role of mother; thus her co-operation embraces
June 13 - Second Apparition in Fatima (Portugal, 1917) Mary is the mother of all men, whether they know it or not Mary plays a maternal role with regard to all men, whether they know it or not. Christ [...] against the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The third type of offense is: "Blasphemies against her divine motherhood, refusing at the same time to recognize her as the Mother of men." Mary must be recognized as the [...] Mother of men, as the New Eve. Pope John Paul II stated that through veneration of the Virgin Mary, the power of Mary's "universal motherhood" is exercised, under the action of the Holy Spirit. Adapted from:
flesh born of Mary is the bread that came down from heaven One cannot contemplate Mary without being attracted to Christ, and one cannot look at Christ without immediately perceiving Mary's presence. There [...] filled us with the angelic gift. Mary has restored to salvation what Eve had destroyed by her fault." And St. Peter Damian notes: "This body which the most blessed Virgin Mary begot, nourished in her womb [...] theologians have pointed out since the first centuries. St Hilary of Poitiers affirms: "The flesh born of Mary from the Holy Spirit is the bread that came down from Heaven". We also read in the 9th century Bergomense
Italy, 1526) A great victory is reserved for Mary in our day All the ages of the Church have been marked by the battles and glorious triumphs of the august Mary. Since the Lord set an enmity between her and [...] universal apostasy. This sad yet accurate picture of our times is far from discouraging us, however. Mary's power is not diminished. We firmly believe that she will defeat this heresy like all the others [...] shipwreck that threatens to destroy it. Father Joseph Chaminade (1761-1850), founder of the Society of Mary (Marianists) Letter of August 24, 1839
rubble fell on me, I fell to the ground, crying out from the bottom of my heart: O MARY!” “I continued to call the Virgin Mary for the next 40 seconds until the earthquake stopped,” he continued. “Then I prayed [...] May 23 - La Linda (Peru, 1664) Survivor of the Turkey earthquake credits the Virgin Mary for saving him Only a few hours after Bassel Habkouk, a young Lebanese Catholic and father of two, arrived for a [...] Miraculously, Habkouk survived, and he recently shared details of his ordeal and the role the Virgin Mary played in it. [...] Habkouk described his first moments under the rubble and his immediate prayer:
Ascension of the Lord - Saint John I, pope and martyr (d. in 526 in Ravenna, Italy) Mary's joy at the Ascension of Jesus If Mary enjoyed great joy when her Son lived bodily beside her and just as much joy when
recourse to Mary, while embracing the Cross." (letter 267)(1) Faith in Providence is not, therefore, a blissful belief that everything will go easily; the Christian follows Jesus to the Cross, with Mary. The [...] Dominican tertiary, Doctor of the Church, patroness of Europe Saint Catherine of Siena: "Have recourse to Mary, while embracing the Cross" Faith in Providence flows from a complete faith in God the Creator: after [...] mercenary love, but the love of God for his own sake (infinite)(2). This is why we must have recourse to Mary (letter 267), in order to arrive at a spiritual love, centered on God. F. Breynaert (1) Letter 267
Lady of Monticino (Italy, 1776) The wonderful effects of devotion to Mary (I) By the light that the Holy Spirit will send us through Mary, his dear Spouse, we will know our evil nature, our corruption and [...] everything with its slime, or as a malicious snake that thinks only of deceiving. Finally, the humble Mary will share with us her profound humility, so that, because we despise ourselves, we will no longer [...] longer despise anyone and will love being treated with contempt. Like the best of all mothers, Mary tends lovingly to our needs, especially for those who love her. She loves us tenderly because she is our true
May 1 - Saint Joseph the Worker Joseph, like Mary his spouse, was of royal blood and yet passed his life in labor These are the reasons why men of every rank and country should fly to the trust and guard
(Italy, 1658) - Icon of the Life-giving Spring in Constantinople “Mary leads us to Christ, but Christ leads us to his Mother.” We need Mary the Mother of God to keep us from turning Jesus into an abstraction [...] Mother of God loves Jesus the way that he deserves. Which is why St. John Paul II made the point that “Mary leads us to Christ, but Christ leads us to his Mother.” Making things concrete is the very essence [...] returns us to the heart of the matter: the humanity of her divine Son. As Bl. Guerric of Igny insists, “Mary is the Mother of the Life by which all things live.” There is nothing vague or speculative or impersonal
