Virgin of Aparecida stands over a crescent moon with her hands lifted to her breast in prayer. She gazes upward with a beatific smile on her face. She appeared in 1717 in a small Brazilian town. Some fishermen [...] of the Blessed Virgin Mary is the belief that God interrupted the flow of human history by a special act and preserved Mary from the stain of original sin from the first moment of her conception. This [...] hauled up the image in their net and, after a night of empty netted fishing, pulled in a great catch. After the image remained in the fisherman’s family for 15 years, a series of miracles began to be attributed
Balkans. My plan was to meet up with a pilgrimage there. With the look of a tourist and a deep tan, sunglasses and a camera, I finally reached my destination after a long drive through Italy, Slovenia, [...] November 25 – Mary, Consoler of the Afflicted (Rome, Italy) Now I know that Mary is there! In July 2010, I went to Medjugorje (Bosnia-Herzegovina) at the spur of the moment, while vacationing in the Balkans [...] and Croatia. Welcome to Medjugorje, with its 40 million pilgrims in 30 years, in a country that still shows scars from the war in the Balkans. My head was full of the arguments from several books I had
Visitation of Mary - Saint Louis Gonzaga, Jesuit novice (d. 1591) The Magnificat is the essence of true prayer “During those days Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah [...] Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Most blessed are you among [...] For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed* that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.” Mary then said
only, Mary, to gaze upon you. To gaze upon you, to weep with joy, to know this – That I am your son and that you are here. Only for that moment when everything stops. Noon! To be with you, Mary, in this [...] finds my heart all of a sudden, and makes collected tears spring forth, … Because it is noon, because we are here today, Because you are there forever, simply because you are Mary, simply because you exist [...] May 9 – Our Lady of the Wood (Italy, 1607) To gaze upon you, to weep with joy, to know that I am your son It is noon. I see the church open. I must enter. Mother of Jesus Christ, I have not come to pray
Jesus through Mary, mediatrix of all graces. My life is all in union with Our Lord through union with his Holy Mother.” Father Finet, her spiritual father, was by her side during her last moments. He remembers: [...] Marthe Robin (d. 1981) Marthe Robin’s motto was: "All to Jesus through Mary" Marthe Robin (March 13, 1902 - February 6, 1981) was a French Catholic mystic, who lived in Châteauneuf-de-Galaure (Drôme, France) [...] whole body. She never left her room in her parents' farm where she had grown up. There, she founded, with Father Georges Finet, the Foyers de Charité , which have since spread to all continents. Marthe, who
hands of Mary, no one obtains pardon but through the intercession of Mary. Gratefully acknowledge the goodness of Jesus, have recourse with confidence to Mary, and let thy conduct be that of a son in her [...] expiring, overwhelmed with ignominy and suffering, Thou dost bestow upon us the happiness of having Thee for our Elder Brother, and Mary for our Mother. I humbly beseech Thee, since Mary is my Mother, to give [...] to all Christians in his person. He bequeaths this tender Mother to us at the very moment when her soul is pierced by a double-edged sword of grief, and her heart distracted between anguish for the death
the Immaculate Heart (1952) Fight Against Death With a Hail Mary (II) And I started saying non-stop, initially to myself, then in a low voice, ‘Hail Mary, full of grace…’ I was just so desperate. We laid [...] me that it was time to prepare a cloth in which to wrap the body of my child. I was in such a state of anguish that I could not articulate a sound, except for my “Hail Marys” and the “Lord's Prayer” and [...] invocations like: “Save my child!” I told my mother where she could find a cloth and continued clinging to my “Hail Marys” like to a life buoy. At this point, I started following the Way of the Cross in my
the Immaculate Heart (1952) Fight Against Death With a Hail Mary (II) And I started saying non-stop, initially to myself, then in a low voice, ‘Hail Mary, full of grace...' I was just so desperate. We laid [...] me that it was time to prepare a cloth in which to wrap the body of my child. I was in such a state of anguish that I could not articulate a sound, except for my "Hail Marys" and the "Lord's Prayer" and [...] invocations like: "Save my child!" I told my mother where she could find a cloth and continued clinging to my "Hail Marys" like to a life buoy. At this point, I started following the Way of the Cross in my
me was the prayer of Blessed Charles de Foucauld, who was a victim of violence but decided to devote his life in a monastery to dialogue with Islam.” These “weapons” sustained him for 84 days of captivity [...] captivity,” Fr. Mourad said. “First, praying the Rosary. Mary, Our Lady, was always present and she helped keep me going from the first moment. Every time I prayed the Rosary, I felt an extraordinary peace [...] 1771) - Saint Thomas Aquinas Every time I prayed the Rosary, I felt an extraordinary peace in my heart A Syrian priest who spent 84 harrowing days in an ISIS prison says it was the Rosary and the prayer of
Charbel Trust in Mary is stronger than Covid-19 On March 22, 2020, Madagascar, like most countries in the world, declared a state of health emergency. "The churches were closed at a central moment of the Christian [...] of the Marian month to recite the Rosary with their families. This event put them in search of God's presence and power." "The Head of State has consulted with Church leaders on the decisions to be taken [...] situation of the country, like many other countries in the world, the Church has remained a source of life and a place of hope for the Malagasy people," concluded the National Director of the Pontifical
