ncy. We cannot enter into the Heart of Mary—in her mystery of grace—if we do not engage in this path and decide to become truly little! To live Advent with Mary means to convert to what the world despises [...] December 19 – Holy Mary of Remedies (Portugal) Truly little? To enter into the marvelous atmosphere of Advent and fully taste the characteristic grace of this liturgical period, we are invited to follow [...] was expected, is coming, has already come, and remains with us forever—"Emmanuel"—God with us. With Mary we go to Nazareth, and from Nazareth to Bethlehem. It is a road paved with great simplicity, great

(Italy) - Melanie Calvat, seer of La Salette (d. 1904) – Mary Mediatrix The Cumaean Sibyl: "Here comes the Virgin" In the time of the Virgin Mary, the expectation of the Romans might have come from the [...] Emperor Augustus will eliminate the iron race and create a generation of gold everywhere." The Virgin Mary, in whom the Son of God descended, probably had not heard of that oracle, but Jesus, who was born

(Spain) – Feast of the Expectation of the Delivery of the Virgin Mary (654) 25 years of peace. Without any wars? At the time when the Virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus, all armed conflicts had ceased on earth

Lady of Victories to the Most Holy Immaculate Heart of Mary (France, 1836) Both virgins are the mothers of Christ Advent reminds Christians that Mary, like all mothers, waited for the birth of Jesus. Moreover [...] those who write about the Virgin Mary: "Thus, in the divinely inspired Scriptures, what is universally said of the Virgin-Mother Church is understood in a particular way of Mary the Virgin-Mother" (and we could [...] experience that women have, i.e. to carry a child their womb. Isaac of Stella makes this parallel between Mary and the Church: both are mothers, and both are virgins. Both of them, without any carnal contact,

Fraternity of Mary’s Heart at the Church of Our Lady of Victories (Paris, France, 1836) Divine and joyful childhood! The Advent season is about trusting and waiting like Mary, and with Mary. The liturgical

Nov. 25 - Italy, Rome: Mary Consoler of the Afflicted "You have not allowed God to die in this city!" In the 1950s, the Polish government had planned to create a city without God. It was supposed to be [...] architecture, this church is a testimony of the faith and ardent love of the Polish people for the Virgin Mary. Presiding over the inauguration, the Cardinal of Krakow congratulated the faithful exclaiming: "You

November 19 – Feast of Mary Seyom (Church of Ethiopia) – Our Lady of the Good News Loving the Marian Church (II) The Marian Church stands at the foot of the Cross. She doesn’t run for her life and hide

the frame nor the protective glass were damaged. In 365 méditations sur la Vierge Marie (365 Meditations on the Virgin Mary), Presses de la Renaissance [...] November 14 – Our Lady of Olmetti (Turin, Italy, 1738) – Our Lady of Pasenika or Mary’s Victory (Constantinople) - Saint Gregory Palamas (d. 1360) The brass crucifix was twisted by the blast, but the image [...] wreath laced with dynamite at the foot of the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The image of the Virgin Mary miraculously inscribed on Saint Juan Diego’s garment or tilma was displayed in a silver frame next

November 8 – Mary of Victory – Blessed John Duns Scotus How Duns Scotus won the debate on the idea of the Immaculate Conception Not only Christ's role in the history of salvation but also that of Mary is the [...] thought. In the times of Duns Scotus the majority of theologians countered the doctrine which holds that Mary Most Holy was exempt from original sin from the very first moment of her conception, with a seemingly [...] the Redemption brought about by Christ might seem to be jeopardized by such a statement, as though Mary had had no need of Christ or his redemption. Therefore the theologians opposed this thesis. Thus,

become love for Mary, and vice versa, since the one cannot exist without the other " (#28). The relationship between Mary and the Church is so intimate that it is not possible to love Mary without loving [...] November 3 – Holy Mary of Petition (Italy) – Our Lady of Coromoto (Venezuela) One of the most beautiful expressions of the spirituality of the Council The place of Mary in the mystery of the Church is [...] loving the Church, or to love the Church without loving Mary! Fr. François-Marie Léthel, ocd Fr. Léthel is a Discalced Carmelite from the Province of Paris and a professor at the Teresianum Pontifical Theological