his faith: " For me singing is above all a way of meeting people. I share with my audience the joy of my faith ... In this sharing of my joy, the Mother of Jesus has an essential place." Raymond Fau takes [...] June 28 - Saint Irenaeus of Lyons The importance of Mary when I share my joy as a Christian Raymond Fau, born in 1936, is a French songwriter who has composed many church songs and performed concerts in [...] "Singing is part of my life, but singing Christ-Love is terribly demanding. The Virgin Mary helps me do that." Adapted from Albert MALARY in Messages and Messengers n.101, Collection of Marian Stories,
what we desire in the fruit of the Blessed Virgin Mary” In eating the forbidden fruit, Eve broke the image and likeness of God she possessed. In the blessed fruit of her womb, Mary, and with her all Christians [...] seeking: union with God through Christ and the resemblance of God. Eve sought pleasure and joy, but she found pain and nakedness. In the fruit of the womb of the Virgin, we find grace and salvation: he who eats [...] after a kind of transitory beauty and she picked a deadly fruit, whereas Mary has given mankind the most beautiful fruit that angels will ever contemplate. He is the most handsome among the sons of men (cf
22 – Blessed Isabella of France (d. 1270), foundress of a convent dedicated to the "Humility of Our Lady" Mary full of grace In the greeting of the Angel, Mary is called “full of grace.” In Greek, the [...] divine will in the obedience of faith. The Evangelist Luke tells Mary’s story by aligning it closely to the history of Abraham. Just as the great Patriarch is the father of believers who responded to God’s [...] divine promise, so Mary trusts implicitly in the word that the messenger of God has announced to her, and becomes the model and Mother of all believers. Pope Benedict XVI General Audience of December 19, 2012
Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows (d. 1862) The memory of Mary did not leave him, even during his sleep Brother Gabriele dell'Addolorata (St Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows) was the name in religion of Francis [...] Mother of Heaven. He would never lose sight of Mary, even as he slept, often seeing the Mother of God in his dreams. A few moments before he breathed his last, he asked for the image of Our Lady of the Seven [...] after Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows. He lived a holy life as a religious, and died as a predestined soul on February 27, 1862, in Isola del Gran Sasso, at the age of 24, after only six years of religious life
faithful for the crucial hour ("Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us now and at the hour of our death"). But praying Mary in this way does not constitute a nostalgic regression towards a childish state. [...] is now awaiting us. If we pray to Mary at the hour of our death, it is also because she alone, since the day of her Assumption, has joined her Son Jesus in the glory of heaven with her body and soul. This [...] Paradise. Mary totally fulfilled the course of a human destiny. She precedes us, awaits us, and we hope that she will welcome us. That is why the liturgy of the Church calls her "the Gate of Heaven that
December 15 - Our Lady of the Armed Forces (USA) The Virgin Mary of Nazareth To transform the world, God chose a humble young girl from a village in Galilee, Mary of Nazareth, and challenged her with this [...] "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you." In these words lies the secret of an authentic Christmas. God repeats them to the Church, to each one of us: Rejoice, the Lord is close! With Mary's help, let [...] us offer ourselves with humility and courage so that the world may accept Christ, who is the source of true joy.
Sarah, there were few Mothers of Israel, and none of them, however worthy and beloved of God, had been granted such divine favors. He had prayed countless times at the tomb of Rachel in Jerusalem, and had [...] December 7 - Vigil of the Immaculate Conception A Newly Converted Saul is Confounded by the Greatness of Mary (1) Barnabas said, "As Elias was carried to Heaven in the fiery chariot and Our Lord ascended [...] obvious nobility and grandeur of Rachel she had died and rotted as had millions of women before her. (Saul pondered upon this revelation silently.) It was true that Mary had been chosen among all women
December 3 - Notre Dame of Victories (Paris, 1836) Consecrate Your Parish to the Holy and Immaculate Heart of Mary (II) After giving thanks, I examined the way in which I had offered the Holy Sacrifice [...] possibility of receiving this internal locution. (...) As I stood up (I was alone in the sacristy), I heard these words distinctly again, "Consecrate your parish to the Holy and Immaculate Heart of Mary." I fell [...] fell down on my knees again, and my first reaction was of utter amazement. I had heard the same words, spoken by the same voice and in the same manner. Earlier, I had tried my best not to believe; at least
December 4 - Our Lady of La Chapelle (France, 1400) Consecrate Your Parish to the Holy and Immaculate Heart of Mary (III) I decided not to pay attention to what had just happened to me. I tried hard to [...] parish to the Holy and Immaculate Heart of Mary," kept coming back to my mind. So as to deliver myself from this tiresome thought, I gave in, saying to myself, "An act of devotion to the Blessed Virgin can [...] In fact, I consented not freely, but out of sheer exhaustion. I went home and in order to forget these thoughts, I started doing paper work on the statutes of our association. Hardly had I placed my hand
the faithful and the Church address Mary. It truly is part of the genuine substance of devotion to Mary, finding its justification in the very dignity of the Mother of the Word Incarnate. Just as, in fact [...] himself as head of his Mystical Body which is the Church. Mary, then as Mother of Christ, is mother also of all the faithful and of all the Pastors. We trust then, that with the Promulgation of the Constitution [...] invitation of Pope John XXIII We entered the Council hall, along with "Mary, the Mother of Jesus," so at the close of the third session We leave this Temple with the most holy and sweet name of Mary, Mother
