But we, too, by our union with Jesus, and by the power of His grace, will also be united with Him in His victory over the devil. Give me charity like yours, which recognized in every human being a brother or sister in Jesus Christ, to be treated with respect and tenderness and to be aided according to the measure of my power. He preserved you from original sin and the sway of the devil; He filled you with grace. You are above not only patriarchs, prophets, apostles, martyrs, and all the saints but even all angels. . You possessed, according to the words of the Archangel, such a fullness of grace that you were worthy to become the Mother of God. How well your name gives expression to your position and your mission in lifeyour divine Motherhood In virtue of this privilege, you reflect as a spotless mirror the eternal Light of the Word, which is first poured into you and illuminates you. The divine maternity permits you to love God with a very singular kind of love and to be loved by Him with an equally singular love. You learned to read the sacred books by yourself and tried to penetrate their hidden meaning. Rather, your death was accompanied by three graces that made it precious and full of joy. Three swords brought anguish to you while Jesus was yet a young child, four swords pierced your soul in His Holy Passion. December 12, 2021: "Our Lady of Guadalupe came to be the Mother of the Americas, to announce the new birth of Jesus Christ among the peoples and nations of the New World. No apostolic act bears fruit without grace. The Feast of Our Lady of Palestine was established in 1927 by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, . You share so entirely in His Passion that, if it had been possible, you would gladly have borne all the torments your Son bore. To you we owe the life of grace, without which there is no escape from the death of sin. You received from the Adorable Trinity the crown and sceptre, which made you Queen of all the angels and saints and the all-powerful Mediatrix between God and men. Because you were full of God's grace and a Virgin most pure, Gabriel could exclaim, "You have found grace with God." He works in my soul by His grace. Enlighten the beginning of my efforts, direct my progress, bring my completed work to perfection. Give me your good counsel, so that following it humbly I may ever please God, find true happiness on this earth and eternal life in the world to come. How many are now in heaven because of the protection given them by your merciful Heart! You were soon really to see the Face of God the created image of divine perfection, the sight of which rejoices heaven and earth, from which all beings derive life and joy; the Face whose features enraptured God from all eternity, the Face for which all ages had expectantly yearned. Your Immaculate Conception is a triumph over Satan the author of evil, who under your heel, suffered his first complete defeat. Mary, My Mother, at my baptism you gave me life at the moment when sanctifying grace was infused into my soul at the baptismal font. You will be inspired by the overflow of love for Our Lady. Prophets foretold the coming of the Savior and the manner in which the Redemption would take place. After the prophecy of Simeon, the Scriptures mention that "His father and mother" were wondering at those things which were spoken concerning Him. But you are not the adoptive Mother of the Son of God; you are His real Mother. 1. The suffering of Jesus in His dereliction was the most difficult test of your faith. Your divine maternity is great also because this privilege is the reason for your other privilegesyour Immaculate Conception, miraculous virginity, fullness of grace, Assumption and the spiritual maternity of all mankind. I trust that through you I shall obtain the help I need to keep the commandments, avoid sin, receive the Sacraments frequently, pray much and save my soul. Help me to realize that it is only through the cross that I can attain to its glory and that it is only through suffering that I can possess the kingdom of heaven. Mary, My Mother, I rejoice with you that you are so privileged, so exalted as to become the worthy Mother of God. No one is saved, except through you, no one comes to life, except through you. Infirmities of the body are nature's warning voice concerning the approach of death, which I cannot finally escape. Mary is the mother of mankind - she watches . You are indeed all-powerful in Heaven, but your omnipotence is not one of authority and command, but of intercession. It is impossible for any one to perish who sincerely and humbly cultivates devotion to you. If to live of the Eucharist and by the Eucharist was the very special spirit of the early Church"And they continued steadfastly in the communion of the breaking of the bread" (Acts 2, 42)it must have been the summary of your last years on earth. Penance and reparation is the one sure way of winning God's love and blessing for a misguided and sinful world. Reign over my mind and heart and will and body, so that I may belong completely to Jesus through you. So, as daughter of Adam you submitted to the sentence passed in the garden of Eden. Though you had already been assured by the angel that you were this happy Mother chosen by the Lord, you did not stop to rejoice in your exaltation. Altogether 24 popes have officially honored Our Lady of Guadalupe. Mary, Mother of God, though marriage and motherhood were the cherished ideals of every Jewish maiden, you vowed your virginity to God, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Fr. How often am I confused in the problems of life. Mary, Blessed Virgin, full of grace, Queen of all Saints, how consoling it is for me to venerate you under the title of Our Lady of Mount Carmel! People became the poor banished children of Eve. Amen. Obtain for them that deep conviction of faith, that unwavering hope, that Jesus, Infinite Love, who died for them, will b completely ready to welcome them, to take them in His arms, press them to His Heart and once again say, "Father, forgive them . Mary, Mother of God, how beautifully you expressed your gratitude and humility! You are far more than an instrument of God's mercy towards us. Our Lady of Good Counsel, I beg you to teach me true heavenly wisdom which was the source of every good deed you performed. It was, therefore, befitting that you, His Immaculate Mother, destined to cooperate with Him in the work of Redemption, should teach the world, by your submission to the law of purification, this great truth, that humility is the beginning of our salvation, as pride has been the root of our ruin. By consenting to give natural life to Jesus, you consented to give us supernatural life. Who would not love you and endeavor to imitate you, most beautiful and immaculate Mother of God? Never did a mother love her son as you loved Jesus; and so never did a mother share in her son's agony so deeply as you shared the Passion. The feast of Our Lady of Sorrows is celebrated on September 15 and is dedicated to honoring the spiritual martyrdom of Mary. All the tsars were crowned and patriarchs installed in the presence of this image, up until the revolution. No one ever belonged to Jesus as completely as you, for you are His Mother. With your own eyes you saw Him brought first to Pilate, then to Herod and then again to Pilate. Unceasingly praying for sinners, you stand before your Son. Though receiving all you obtain through Jesus Christ, because you pray and ask for it in the Name of Jesus, yet whatever graces we receive, come to us through your intercession. But you needed the redeeming Savior to obtain this exemption, and deliverance from the universal debt of being subject to original sin. As Mother of God, you became a cooperator in the Redemption of mankind. No creature loved Jesus more than you, and consequently, no one loves the souls redeemed by His Blood more than you. He died out of love for us; this was His final proof of love. By consenting to His birth, you made Him King. Feast Days of Mary January 1Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God *January 8Our Lady of Prompt SuccorFebruary 2Presentation of the LordFebruary 11Our Lady of LourdesMarch 25AnnunciationMay 13Our Lady of FatimaMay 31VisitationJune 27Our Mother of Perpetual HelpJuly 16Our Lady of Mount CarmelAugust 15Assumption *August 22Queenship of MarySeptember 8Birth of . "Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb and shalt bring forth a son; and thou shalt call His name Jesus. For my proud nature, humility is most difficult to practise. St. Joan of Arc Feast Day May 30. Feast, February 2 (Novena, Jan. 24-Feb. 1). Mary, My Mother, the beloved disciple, St. John, tells us that "a great sign appeared in heaven: "a Woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars" (Apoc. You remained there working for God, meditating on His holy Law, praying and praising His divine Goodness. You were the first to offer to the Eternal Father His Divine Son as the Victim for the world's Redemption. May your holy marriage be an inspiration to Christian husbands and wives so that they may always live in sincere love and peace and be obedient to the commandments of God. However, my sick soul is entitled to more vigilant care, for Jesus reminded me, "What does it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, but suffer the loss of his own soul" (Matt. Not only did the Holy Spirit pour into your soul a fullness of grace, but He entrusted to you, the Mother of the human family, the distribution of all grace. 1. You are also called the temple of the Holy Spirit because, in virtue of your Immaculate Conception and your fullness of grace, He dwells within you in a most singular manner. Mary, My Mother, more courageous than the martyrs, you stood at the foot of the cross. I cannot for a moment suspect, all good and all powerful as you are, that you are unwilling to implore for me the graces which I need so much and above all. Monday, September 15, 2014. All that He could give, He bestowed upon you, His Immaculate Bride. Your power and motherly care not only embrace spiritual miseries but also extend to the ills of the body. You expressed this to Saint Bernadette at Lourdes when you said, "I am the Immaculate Conception.". In the . In union with you may my heart yield itself up to childlike confidence in Jesus so that the graces of His Nativity may be brought to my soul in abundance, and He may be born anew within my heart. Joseph, so humble, so pure, so loving respected your consecration to God, and he was willing to live with you a life of spotless virginity. And so it is even now in heaven. It was an answer which had scarcely fallen from your lips, before It drew the only-begotten Son of God from the bosom of His Eternal Father, to become Man in your most pure womb! Your motherly interest in my needs and the salvation of my soul encourage me to make a prompt appeal to you in all my needs and dangers. You formed His Heart, to love us, and His Precious Blood, to shed for us and to be given to us for our drink. 3. Now you realize human misery more fully and, therefore, show your mercy and compassion and help more generously. In order to free yourself from legal uncleanness and to give us an example of obedience to God's law, you submitted to the ceremony of the purification and made the offering demanded of the poortwo pigeons or turtledoves. Make me Eucharist-minded to the extent that my very life may be the Eucharistin union with you, Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament. Happy Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe! Mary, My Mother, give me a rich share in the graces merited for me by your Son. During your Son's public ministry you seldom appeared, because this was the prudent thing to do on account of your close relationship to the Redeemer. In so doing I simply imitate God who gave Himself and His Son to us through you. Let me never separate my sufferings from the sufferings of Your divine Son. 2. Mary, My Mother, in the mystery of the Visitation, you began your high office of bringing Jesus into the souls of men. And yet, in the whole work of the redemption, your Son wanted to associate you with Himself. Mary, My Mother, help me to realize that the closer my union with you, the more intimate is my union with your Son. 1. As a child runs to its mother in every need and finds comfort in her glance and kind word, I can turn to you for help when I need it, for you are truly my Mother, whose heart is overflowing with kindness and mercy. Wicked lust, the source and occasion of sin, flowing directly from original Sill and inclining to evil, drags me along in spite of myselfalthough always voluntarilyto personal sins, sins that I know only too well are my own.