November 7 – Feast of Saint Anne, Mother of the Virgin Mary (Coptic Church) Mary's conception was not purely the work of nature When the winter of unbelief was about to end, as the author of the Canticle [...] not only the work of nature, but also of the synergy of the Holy Spirit. Thus, from the beginning, Mary was united to the Spirit, the source of life: not a single particle of her being came into existence
October 25 - Consecration of the Toledo Cathedral to Mary (Spain, 1075) The first portraitist of the Virgin Mary A few days ago, on October 18, we celebrated the feast of Saint Luke (1). But what do we [...] we know about the man who was so close to the Virgin Mary and painted the first portrait of her? According to tradition, it was Saint Luke who first painted three images of the Holy Mother of God holding [...] arms. He submitted them to the approval of the Blessed Virgin, while she was still on this earth. Mary approved these holy images with joy and declared: "May the grace of the One who was born by me be
October 16 – St Margaret Mary Alacoque (d. 1690) The long conversations St Margaret Mary Alacoque with Mary During her childhood, Margaret – the future visionary of the Sacred Heart – recovered from a [...] the very lovable name of Mary. I felt that this was what I was looking for." As a nun, she fell ill, and it was again the Virgin Mary who cured her: she appeared to Margaret Mary, "gave her affectionate [...] a serious illness of four years through Mary's intercession. In gratitude, on the day of her confirmation, she added the name "Mary" to "Margaret". "I went to her with so much trust that I felt I had nothing
October 11 - Feast of the Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Why converts from Islam visit Mary at the shrine of Our Lady of Liesse The first pilgrimage to the French shrine of Our Lady of Liesse (diocese [...] to convert them. Ismeria inquired about their beliefs and also asked to see an image of the Virgin Mary. One of the knights said he would sculpt one for her. The knights began to pray fervently, asking [...] always rejoice the hearts ”. Ismeria was deeply moved by that image. The following night, the Virgin Mary appeared to her in a dream, encouraging her to become a Christian. Ismeria then fled her country with
October 10 - Consecration of Luxembourg to Mary, Consoler of the Afflicted (1666) Did you know this existed? This is amazing! Believe it or not, there is music in Our Lady of Guadalupe’s mantle! How is
October 8 – Mary, Mother of Hungary At the end of WWII, war-torn Hungary turned to Mary, the "Great Lady of Hungary" Hungary was evangelized in the 10th century and since then it has been customary to [...] Hungarian ideal of becoming a kingdom of Mary. In the aftermath of the Second World War in Hungary, entire cities chose to entrust themselves to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on August 15, 1947. A special prayer [...] to call Mary the "Great Lady of Hungary". The country was entrusted to the Mother of God by King Stephen (968-1038). After being under the Ottoman rule from 1541 to 1699, the Marian congregations gave new
Our Lady of Alcazar (Toledo, Spain) - Luxembourg takes Mary as patroness (1666) Jesus wants us to love Mary as he loves her Jesus wants us to love Mary as he loves her, because she is our Mother. Her Immaculate [...] formed in the image of Jesus. In our consecration to Mary, let us ask her to direct our desires, thoughts, words, and actions to the Sacred Heart. When Mary brought Jesus to the temple, he became the New Temple [...] through Mary's intercession, everything - good and bad - is transformed, for the glory of the Father: "God works in all things for the good of those who love him." Through our consecration, Mary takes our
September 10 – Holy Mary of Life (Italy, 1613) Mary helps us make sense of our times Mary has already entered her glory, and the time of trials in our world will come to an end. Here is what our beloved [...] John Paul II said on the subject in 2001: “The dragon, which evokes Satan and evil, rises up against Mary and the Church, as the symbolism of the Old Testament has already indicated; red is the sign of war [...] too is an image of the abusive power that rages in history. Good and evil thus confront each other. Mary, her Son and the Church represent the apparent weakness and smallness of love, truth and justice.
January 1 – Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God We hail you, O Mary Mother of God! I see the assembly of the saints, all zealously gathered together, invited by the holy Mother of God, Mary, Ever-Virgin. I was [...] holy and mystic Trinity, Who have called us together in the church dedicated to Mary, Mother of God. We hail you, O Mary Mother of God, venerable treasure of the entire world, inextinguishable lamp, crown
September 22 – St. Thomas of Villanova (d. 1555) – Saint Mary of the Royal Court (Italy, 1575) She Exceeds All Thought and Intelligence I wondered why the Evangelists, after having spoken about John the [...] the Baptist and the Apostles in great length, skimmed over the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary, although she exceeds them ad infinitum by her excellence and her virtue. Why, I asked myself, have they told [...] about the Blessed Virgin, you will find contained in these few words: Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary. This is her story – it’s a very long and interesting story. Saint Thomas of Villanova (1488-1555)
