regain control of his whole kingdom. After his reconquest of the country, King John II Casimir consecrated Poland to Our Lady of Jasna Góra, "Queen of Poland" in 1656. Later, after World War I, Poland’s in [...] garrison of 170 soldiers, 20 officers and 70 monks of a fortified monastery devoted to the Virgin, held the 5,000- men strong Swedish army in check. This Swedish defeat enabled the King of Poland to regain [...] August 26 – Our Lady of Czestochowa (Poland) Poland was saved from the invader through its consecration to Mary In the 17th century, Catholic Poland was invaded by Protestant Sweden. Nothing could stop
December 29 – Our Lady of Flowers (Bra, Italy, 1336) Mary used the same words that were spoken to her In the narrative of the Annunciation we see how the Virgin Mary welcomes God’s mercy, which brings [...] brings her out of herself and leads her towards new paths. For me this text is the model of all prayer—it shows us the importance of making ourselves available, so that our heart and our whole being are ready [...] according to your word." (v.38) Even without fully understanding what is asked of her and all that is going to happen, Mary declares herself totally available to the Word. In this moment several things
November 30 – Our Lady of Good Help (Nantes, France) “I wanted to have a baby…” I live in Congo and am from a Muslim background. After the birth of my son, I was no longer able to bear a child. After another [...] through the intercession of the Virgin Mary. I learned to recite the Rosary. My daughter was born on April 21, 2006. The following summer, I took her to Lourdes to give thanks to God and Mary. Today I have [...] another miscarriage in 2005 while on vacation in Paris, I decided on a whim to go to Lourdes, with my 9-year-old son. I knew nothing about the town. Being Muslim, I don’t pray the Rosary, but I do believe
November 23 - Our Lady of the Assumption (Italy, 1624) Can a Christian pretend to be an orphan? Mary is Mother, and one cannot conceive any other title of Mary that is not ‘Mother.’ She is Mother, because [...] the right — and if we think we do we are mistaken – to have a psychology of orphans. A Christian does not have the right to be an orphan. He has a Mother! We have a Mother. An elderly preacher once ended [...] will have her as a mother-in-law!” Pope Francis Speech given to 7,500 members of the Schoenstatt Movement, in Rome for the 100th anniversary of their foundation, October 25, 2014
choose the icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa? TW: It is the most well-known and unifying tradition in the East as well as in the West and in Russia Our Lady of Czestochowa is the patron of those who desire [...] Thomas Ward, member of the International Executive Committee of From Ocean to Ocean: CF NEWS: What is From Ocean to Ocean? Dr. WARD: It is an act of entrustment of the Civilization of Love and Life into [...] into the hands of the Mother of God. CFN: Why the name From Ocean to Ocean? TW: It is a pilgrimage of an icon of the Mother of God from the Pacific Ocean at Vladivostok to the Atlantic Ocean at Fatima. CFN:
February 8 – Our Lady of Casimir (Poland, 1411) Getting to know Mary better Mary comes into our lives in a unique way without imposing herself. She comes to serve us so that we can better discover her [...] her well or very little, I invite you to simply open the door of your heart to her. How? By telling her in your own way: "You see where I am. I would like to get to know you better, and like Elizabeth at [...] I am waiting for you to come." The Lord wants us to enter into an intimate and strong relationship with the Virgin Mary. Jesus so wanted us to love her that He gave her to us as our Mother. Mary is a precious
February 11 – Our Lady of Lourdes (France) Lutheran theologians’ loyalty to Mary A group of Lutheran theologians from East Germany published a manifesto in 1971 that contains lines of moving loyalty to Mary: "At [...] impartial critic is faced with supernatural facts that intimately relate to the Virgin Mary, either because of the apparitions or because of the miraculous graces requested and obtained by her intercession. These [...] recognized by doctors to be scientifically inexplicable. Even so, the Catholic Church has only declared 44 of them as miraculous. For 30 years, 11,000 doctors, without distinction of religion or scientific
February 1 – Our Lady of Copacabana (Bolivia) Saint Therese’s “naïve” prayer to the Blessed Virgin ”Speaking of that Blessed Mother, I must tell you of one of my simple ways. Sometimes I find myself saying [...] Him to me; and He, from the Cross, has given you to be our Mother – thus we are richer than you! Long ago, in your humility, you wished to become the little handmaid of the Mother of God; and I – poor [...] saying to her: “Dearest Mother, it seems to me that I am happier than you. I have you for my Mother, and you have no Blessed Virgin to love… It is true, you are the Mother of Jesus, but you have given Him
hands of God. Let us return to the oldest sources of our Hungarian patrimony! Let us give back to the Virgin Mary the name of Queen, so she may take hold of our destiny." Listen to his prayer to the Mother [...] October 29 - Our Lady of Follina (1150, Italy) Cardinal Mindszenty's Instructions to the Hungarian People On the day of his elevation to the dignity of Prince-Primate, Cardinal Mindszenty adjured his faithful [...] Mother of God: "Mary, our Mother, the pains we endure are offered up for our expiation. May the sighs and tears, the fear, the bitterness, the silent complaining of the world serve to expiate our sins.
went to live there, and was in charge of keeping up the temple; one of her chores was to take care of the many tombs and burn incense during the funeral feasts. Her husband would have allowed her to go to [...] October 6 - Our Lady of People (Italy) The Chain that Leads to Heaven A thousand uprooted people lived in former military barracks at the "Wooden Bridge," a suburb of Tokyo. These people for the most part [...] three years and at the age of 17 she became a Christian. "I received the Holy Water and the Bread of God," she told me. But later she got married, following her family's wishes, to a Buddhist monk who owned
