December 5 – 2nd Sunday of Advent – Our Lady of the Annunciation (Italy, 1470) Holy Mary, teach us to wait Holy Mary, Virgin of waiting, give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out. See: [...] winter, the sound of the bells ringing on feast days, the arrival of the swallows in spring, the tender and mysterious roundness of the mother's womb, or the scent of lavender that pervaded a room when a cradle [...] because we have run out of hope. Its sources have dried up. We suffer from a deep crisis of desire. And, feeling satisfied with the thousand substitutes that beset us, we risk to no longer expect anything
(Flanders, 1128) Mary is the Full Light of Wisdom “Heavenly wisdom built for Himself a house in Mary: for He so filled her mind that from the very fullness of her mind her flesh became fecund, and the Virgin
(5th C.) O Mary My Mother! Let me nestle up close on your heart, like your son Jesus, where I will be safe. Protect me, console me, reassure me, and comfort me. Listen to me as your own child, Mary my mother [...] (Take a minute to express your heartfelt thoughts to Mary in personal prayer.) Now Mary please turn your gaze on me... (Take a minute to experience Mary's gentle presence in the silence of your soul.) Thank [...] mother, I am your child. By the Holy Spirit, lead me to my Father in Heaven because I am his child. O Mary my mother! Amen.
July 25 – Our Lady of the Castle (Dalmatia) Mary visits all those who suffer The Virgin Mary stands at the side of all those who share in the cross of her Son, as a bearer of hope. Raphael, age 6, was [...] reluctant to leave him alone: "Every night the Virgin Mary comes to sit beside me on my bed. We talk together. I am very comfortable with her!” “And tonight, is she here with you?” “No, not yet! Right now
heart of Mary. This softened his hard heart; he went immediately to confession, and through the intercession of his Advocate, recovered the divine grace. Saint Alphonsus Liguori, The Glories of Mary [...] in 50 days (Canada, 1947) An 8th sword piercing Mary’s heart A certain youth practiced the devotion of visiting every day an image of the sorrowful Mary, in which she was represented with seven swords
Experience the Eucharist with Mary at the foot the Cross Saint John Paul II included the institution of the Eucharist as one of the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary. Mary is the "Eucharistic Woman" because [...] has a sacrificial dimension: it is a memorial of the death and Resurrection of Jesus. We should live the Eucharist with the same attitude that Mary had at the foot of the Cross. On Calvary, Jesus actually [...] is also an act of praise: Let us live it in imitation of Mary's Magnificat! Finally, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI insists on the fact that since Mary is the All Beautiful, in whom the splendor of God's glory
Dove (Bologna, Italy) Mystery of Mary's Virginity The Creator showed us a new creation when He appeared to us who came from Him. For He sprang from a seedless womb, and kept it incorrupt as it was, that
speaks of Mary’s sorrow “As Christ cries: My God, My God, why have you forsaken me - so must the Virgin Mary suffer the human analogue of this. A sword will pierce through your soul - and make manifest [...] wrote these lines. If one of us had said it, it would have been considered excessive to declare that Mary on Calvary was pierced by a suffering which, humanly speaking, matched that of her Son. It is the [...] we emphasize the adverb "humanly". Father Raniero Cantalamessa (Preacher to the Papal Household) In Mary: Mirror of the Church (Adapted)
August 6 - Transfiguration of the Lord – Our Lady of Mercy (Italy) The Virgin Mary protected the seminarian Karol Wojtyla August 6th, the liturgical feast of the Transfiguration, was “Black Sunday” in [...] pounding… The Germans departed empty-handed. _________________________________ (1) Polish Catholic priest and theologian (2) Future Pope Saint John Paul II George Weigel Witness to Hope: The Biography of John
in your cell!” This was the image of the Virgin Mary, before whom the hermit prayed. From that day, the good hermit prayed with increased fervor to Mary in front of her image! The demon, discouraged, left [...] (Cotignac, France, 1519) – Our Lady of Mercy All because the hermit prayed before the image of the Virgin Mary In the late 17 th century, a good hermit in the north of France was assailed by temptations. The demon [...] causing you are nothing in comparison with what you make me suffer. Swear to me that you won’t talk, and I will tell you what you must stop doing for me to leave you alone.” The good hermit agreed, so Satan
