the Golden Gate. I saw Joachim and Anna encompassed by a host of angels with heavenly light. They themselves shone and were as pure as spirits in a supernatural state, as no human couple had ever been before [...] February 9 – Our Lady of the Castle (Italy, 1558) – Blessed Anne-Catherine Emmerich (1774-1824) Mary evokes the mysteries of life During her visions of Our Lord’s ministry Catherine Emmerich related the [...] and beatitude. She told them, too, that Joachim and Anna had met in the hall under the Golden Gate in a golden hour; and that God’s grace had been granted to them here in such abundance as to make it possible

saying it fills our souls with profound emotion--that an Ecumenical Council presents such a vast synthesis of the Catholic Doctrine regarding the place which the Blessed Mary occupies in the mystery of [...] hymn of praise in honor to Mary" In promulgating the dogmatic constitution Lumen Gentium at the Second Vatican Council on November 21, 1964, Pope Paul VI declared the Virgin Mary "Mother of the Church." Here [...] which has as its crown and summit a whole chapter dedicated to Our Lady, we can rightly affirm that the present session ends as an incomparable hymn of praise in honor to Mary. It is the first time, in fact--and

this to us?’ Blessed be the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph who sanctify our dazedness: ‘They did not understand what he was saying to them…’ (Lk 2:50) But if we side with Mary when she asks questions, let us [...] Most Holy Trinity - St. Charles Lwanga and Companions Mary herself dared to say: "Why have you done this to us?" Father Guillaume de Menthière, a priest of the Diocese of Paris, gave the following homily [...] (excerpt): "A parishioner of the Church of the Assumption in Paris challenged me yesterday by exclaiming: ‘Father, the death of this priest, who was so good, so loved, and so young, makes no sense!’ From a human

hallmark of Mary's beauty Our relationship with the Virgin Mary is not something abstract. It cannot be, since it is in her that God became incarnate. The miracle of Nazareth is repeated, in a way, when [...] Trinity. In it the Virgin Mary is truly majestic, but not in an intimidating way. She seems to be drawn to Heaven. She sits like a Queen on her throne, or rather, she serves as a throne for the Child Jesus [...] celebrations, events, or images. Personally, I have learned a lot from looking at stained glass windows that represent her. I remember seeing a stunning, but not very well-known, stained-glass window in

41-51); 4. The meeting of the Virgin Mary and Jesus on the Via Dolorosa (Luke 23: 27-31); 5. Mary seeing the suffering and death of Jesus on the Cross (John 19, 25-27); 6. Mary receiving her dead Son into her [...] September 15 – Our Lady of Sorrows Why Mary is Queen of Martyrs On September 15th, the liturgy of the Church invites us to remember the sufferings of the Virgin Mary, Mother of our Savior. “Your pain, O [...] the incredible sort of martyrdom that the August Virgin Mary suffered as co-redemptrix of the human race. Painters represent her Heart pierced with seven swords, the seven principal sorrows of the Mother

Comparing Mary with Eve, they call her 'the Mother of the living,' and still more often they say: ‘death through Eve, life through Mary’" ( Lumen Gentium n. 56). Saint Irenaeus used the symbol of a reverse [...] taken up by the Fathers, ecclesiastical writers and theologians. As a rule, from this comparison there emerges at first sight a difference, a contrast. Eve, as "the mother of all the living" (Gen 3:20), is [...] original sin. Mary is the witness to the new "beginning" and the "new creation" (cf. 2 Cor 5:17). ( Mulieris Dignitatem n.11) Moreover, Mary, the first redeemed in the history of salvation, is "a new creation:"

abuse our own freedom. (1) " A "knot" is not a synonym of sin: sin involves our responsibility and the assent of the will, whereas a "knot" is a more general term used to describe a situation permitted by God [...] between a sin and a knot, even if the two sometimes coincide or one is the result of the other. Isabelle Rolland, Marie qui défait les nœuds : d'un miracle conjugal à une dévotion universelle (Mary Undoer [...] sight, it is only by a careful examination that one can detect their root: It is to be found in a wound in man's inmost self. In the light of faith we call it sin: beginning with original sin, which all

ourselves, we can allow Mary to pull us through. Father Geoffrey A. Brooke Jr. Father Brooke is a priest of the diocese of Jefferson City, Missouri, USA. His website is Padre Geoffrey [...] prayers, the Hail Mary and Our Father. Difficult because it is so easy to get distracted while repeating the same prayers over and over. One of the noted side effects to the new digital age is a rapidly shortening [...] so fast my friends!” Perhaps instead of abandoning the Rosary, it can be looked at in a different light and seen as a great gift to the young faithful. Two of my fondest memories growing up are going to

message of the Immaculate Virgin Mary at Lourdes. Mary had but one wish: to allow all pilgrims to experience the same grace as the man who was born blind so that we could say with him: "I went there, and when [...] of the Immaculate Virgin Mary at Lourdes Faith is like sight, it can be sharp and clear but it can also be short-sided and deficient. One of the graces to ask from Christ during a pilgrimage to Lourdes is

prayer to Mary Following the sudden collapse of a multistory building with people trapped inside, many Catholics around South Florida have fled to a common refuge :the comforting presence of Mary. So it was [...] everyone understands that in pain, you turn to your mother,” said Wency Ortega, who helped organize a virtual online rosary June 27 for students, teachers, families and alumni of Christopher Columbus High [...] Mother, we turn to Jesus.” About 2,000 people tapped into Columbus’ virtual rosary, coordinated by a group of instructors and alumni of the Marist school in Miami. Taking part through YouTube, LinkedIn