– Our Lady of Mercy (Italy, 1586) Mary of Heaven One summer evening in 1859, near the Picheloup Woods in Arnaud-Guilhem (France), four girls aged 8 to 9, met a little girl between the age of 4 or 5, who [...] Thinking that she was lost, the children asked her what her name was. She answered, "Mary of Heaven." At first the Virgin Mary appeared to the four girls every evening looking like a child. As time went by, [...] girls entered the convent. Several miracles were recognized, some by the priest of Arnaud-Guilhem. The apparitions of Our Lady of Arnaud-Guilhem are more numerous and more documented than any other apparition
1650) - St Rafqa (Lebanon) With Mary, getting out of our comfort zone! When Mary said yes to becoming the mother of God, she embarked on a great adventure. Adventures are full of excitement, but also bring [...] y, and maybe even sorrow. Mary followed her Son through all the highs and lows of his life, including staying by his side during his death. It is understandable that many of us are satisfied with our [...] comfortable routines, but sometimes a bit of adventure, with all of its good and bad, is exactly what we need. Don’t be afraid to get out of your comfort zone! Saying yes to a new goal can be daunting
March 21 – Our Lady of the Rain (Italy, 1367) The house of Mary and Joseph, the school where everything began The simple life of Jesus, Mary and Joseph was so much like ours. Mary was a mother like our [...] for us, as Blessed Pope Paul VI teaches: "The house of Nazareth is the school where we begin to understand the life of Jesus, that is, the school of the Gospel. There, one learns to observe, to listen [...] listen, to meditate, and to penetrate the profound and mysterious meaning of this manifestation of the Son of God, which is so simple, so humble and so beautiful." Monsignor Francesco Follo Homily at Nazareth
February 9 – Our Lady of the Castle (Italy, 1558) Mary is the Queen of Angels The reason why Padre Pio used to tell people to pray to the Virgin each evening in order to enter Paradise more easily, is [...] simply because Mary is the Queen of Angels, who, under her command, have the power to chase away the demons that afflict men, and to repress them, to defeat their enemies. Through the angels, Mary intercedes [...] on behalf of sinners that would turn to her Son. For Padre Pio, the angels were a very concrete reality. He was always in direct contact with them, thanks to his absolute faith in the Mother of God. And
January 9 – Virgin of the Annunciation (Italy, 1490) - Pauline Jaricot (d. 1862) In heaven, Mary teaches us the virtue of waiting Mary appears to us as one of the many mothers of our world, courageous [...] the history of a new man to be born. That ‘yes’ is the first step in a long list of examples of obedience — a long list of examples! — that will accompany her journey as mother. Thus, Mary appears in the [...] and Mary is a woman who listens. Mary welcomes life as it is conveyed to us, with its happy days, but also with its tragedies … until Mary’s supreme night, when her Son is nailed to the wood of the cross…
January 8 – Our Lady of Prompt Succor (New Orleans, USA) The Virgin Mary Protectress of New Orleans Our Lady of Prompt Succor is the patron saint of the city of New Orleans and the state of Louisiana, in the [...] Sisters of the convent for a vigil of prayer in their chapel, imploring Our Lady of Prompt Succor. The Mother Superior promised an annual sung Mass of thanksgiving to Our Lady if the defenders of the city [...] the fire lost momentum, leaving the rest of the city untouched by the flames. Another famous intervention of Our Lady of Prompt Succor happened during the Battle of New Orleans on January 8, 1815. The night
Miraculous Transfer of the Holy House of Loreto (1294) England to be re-dedicated as Dowry of Mary in 2020 England will be re-dedicated as the Dowry of Mary in 2020, the rector of Walsingham Shrine has [...] Lady of Walsingham: “This novena in honor of Our Lady of Walsingham is the beginning of a National Novena of Prayer for our country which will help us prepare spiritually for the re-dedication of England [...] England as the Dowry of Mary in 2020 on the Solemnity of the Annunciation.” England has been called the “Dowry of Mary” since around the 11th century. The title means that she acts in a special way as the
August 20 - Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Doctor of the Church (d. 1152) The sign of Mary’s inherent goodness Mary was reserved, the gospels testify to it: she was never seen as talkative or presumptuous [...] servants to do what her Son said. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux Sermon for the Octave of the Assumption § 10 The 12 prerogatives of the Blessed Virgin Mary [...] The next time was at Elizabeth's house, where the sound of Mary’s voice made John leap in his mother's womb: her cousin has just praised her and Mary immediately turned to praise the Lord himself. The third
tion of the Lord – Our Lady of Mercy (Italy) The Transfiguration in the Life of the Virgin Mary The fact that Mary was absent at the Transfiguration does not mean that she never had a glimpse of Jesus’ [...] her pilgrimage of faith, we can say that Mary did not see his full glory, which must have represented a form of trial for her, "a particular heaviness of heart, linked with a sort of night of faith." ( R [...] places Jesus in front of Moses and Elijah, to discuss Jesus’ own Exodus, that is, his death in Jerusalem. Even though she was not there that day on the Mount of the Transfiguration, Mary knew about the life
July 23 – Saint Bridget of Sweden (d. 1373) How a medal of Mary saved a soldier during WWII It was on the night of November 10, 1939. I had been sent to reconnoiter the position of the German troops, and [...] right wrist I was wearing a medal of Our Lady of Victories that I never took off. It was around midnight. One of the men carried an electrical system. He walked ahead of me, moving and stopping, depending [...] depending on the slightest sounds he heard. From time to time a burst of machine-gun fire warned us that the Germans were on the alert. All of a sudden I saw a little light on the ground. I bent over to take
