Friends in Christ. in the city of Aragona, a beautiful girl named Alexandra was loved by two men. Through jealousy, they fought and killed each other. The enraged relatives in return, killed the poor girl, cut off her head and threw it down a well.
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A few days later, St. Dominic was passing by that place, and inspired by the Lord, he called to the well: ‘Alexandra, come forth;’ immediately the head of the girl came forth, placed itself on the edge of the well, and asked Dominic to hear her confession. He did, and then gave her Holy Communion; a large number of people were there to see this miracle.
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Then Dominic asked her, ‘why do you think God gave you this last chance, this way?’ Alexandra said, when she was beheaded she was in the state of mortal sin, but that because she was in the habit of praying the Rosary, Mary preserved her so that she could confess.
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Friends, the Holy Rosary is one of the best of all devotions. So many, through the Rosary, have obtained the grace to turn from sin, fight their temptations, and safely reach heaven.[i]
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Pope Pius V, one of the greatest Popes never allowed even the busiest affairs of the Church to stop him from his daily Rosary. St. Charles Borromeo was also faithful to the Rosary, despite the enormous responsibilities he had.
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The list of saints is nearly endless who used and recommended the Rosary. St. Francis Xavier, by the mere touch of his beads restored health to sick people.
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The Rosary is a meditation. It is not just to recite the prayers. It is to ponder the Mysteries of our Salvation. We can pray it on our knees or while taking a walk; we can pray the Rosary sitting or while we are driving. There are long rosaries, car rosaries, and finger rosaries.
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Heretics have tried to stop this devotion over the centuries; the secularism of the 1960’s tried to stamp out all devotions, especially the Rosary. But it tenaciously holds as the devotion of the Church most treasured by people.
The Rosary is prayed by truck drivers and pipe-fitters, professional men and women, mothers and fathers, the elderly and the sick, and it is the family prayer of many homes. The Holy Rosary is the best way to stay close to the Gospel in the course of our busy day.
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We can follow the example of St. Stanislaus Kostka; it is said that when he recited the rosary he seemed to be speaking face to face with Mary; when asked one day by a priest how much he loved Mary, he answered, what can I say? She is my mother.
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[i] The Mirror of Priests, p. 120-130.
Friends in Christ, today in the gospel, at first glance, it appears that Jesus does not welcome the praise of his Mother. “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts that nursed you.’ “Rather, he says, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it.’
Strange. Yet as with many mysteries in the Holy Scriptures, if we ponder it, we see something great.
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Jesus downplays relationships of the flesh, and says that the greatest in the Kingdom, are those who do God’s will. But if we stop and think of what Jesus said, we will notice that the one who DID hear God’s word, and obey it – the one who did it perfectly – is his Mother!
So Our Lord’s statement was best carried out in Mary. The crowd would not have gotten it, but the reader of the Gospel is supposed to see it. The Blessed Virgin did the will of God in her life perfectly.
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St. Francis de Sales[i] says that the members of the Church hear the Word of God often – the Lord gives his inspirations and promptings, communicates his will. But many do not listen to, or keep, this word of God. Some live only a worldly life, and frequently act contrary to these inspirations.
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Others indeed listen to the promptings of God in their life, and sometimes follow them, but more often choose their own will, the keep some back for themselves.
But Mary was different. She was blessed, because she heard the word of God and kept it.
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Consider her flight into Egypt with St. Joseph. ‘Mary, where are you going with this little Child? I am going to Egypt.
What makes you go there? God’s will.
Will it be for very long? As long as it pleases God.
When will you return? When God commands it.
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Mary DID do God’s will, better than any others, and so it is his Mother that Jesus has in mind, when he says this.
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But God’s will is also, that Mary would be our Mother. ‘Behold, she is your Mother,’ Jesus said on the Cross.
And so that lady in the crowd is speaking of us as well: ‘Blessed are the breasts that nursed you.’
Mary is nursing us, as well as Jesus: all her children.
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Richard of St. Laurence[ii] says that the breasts of Mary readily give the milk of mercy. The mercy of Mary, he says, is bestowed on all who ask it.
St. Peter Chrysologus says, this favored Virgin, having received God in her womb, demands in return, peace for the world, salvation for the lost, and life for the dead.
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Mary, pray for us, that we may be worthy children of yours;
that we may become worthy of the promises of Christ.
[i] The Sermons of St. Francis de Sales on Our Lady, p. 130.
[ii] Glories of Mary, p. 132
Friends in Christ, today is the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. It is a day to consider the sorrows that were part of the life of the Blessed Virgin.
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The Book of Genesis says that after the Fall, Eve and other women would have pain in childbirth, and so it has been. Nevertheless, when it comes to the case of the Blessed Virgin, the Fathers of the Church tell us that Mary did not have pain.
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St. Bonaventure says, ‘without travail she has brought Christ forth.’ St. Gregory of Nyssa says, ‘the birth was immaculate, the delivery without pain.’ And St. John Damascene says, regarding the birth of Christ, ‘As pleasure did not precede it, pain did not follow it.’ The Fathers are near-unanimous on this, along with St. Thomas Aquinas and others.
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But let us see that, despite what these venerable fathers say, Mary did have a painful childbirth.
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The belief of many saints, as well as private revelations tell us that along the way to Calvary Mary stopped to meet Jesus; In Jerusalem, there is a Church at that place, (Our Lady of the Spasm) and we meditate on this in the 4th station of the Cross: Jesus meets his sorrowful Mother.
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‘O Mother of Sorrow, exclaims St. Bonaventure, ‘all was braved by thee, because thy heart was filled with a mighty sorrow.’
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‘To what shall I compare thee; or to what shall I liken thee, O virgin daughter of Jerusalem? For great as the sea is thy distress. A sword of sorrow hath pierced thy soul, And hath filled thy heart with bitter pain.’
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This sorrow of Mary came to its height at the Cross. But at that point of her maximum suffering, what does her Son say to her? ‘When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved, he said, “Woman, behold, your son.” Then to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.”
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All scripture scholars will attest to the fact, that this Beloved Disciple in John’s Gospel represents us. We are Christ’s beloved disciple, and it was at the Cross, that she became our Mother; it was at the Cross, that she gave birth to us.
And so we are able to see, that although Mary had no pain in bringing Jesus into the world. It was only through many sorrows, by which we were born to Life.
Good morning dear young people. Today is the feast of the Holy Name of Mary, and so then, it is a very nice day for us to think about Our Mother in heaven.
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Mary is the Mother of Jesus, who is God, and Jesus says, that we are his brothers, so that means that Mary is Our Mother, which she is.
The Holy Bible says that if we call on Mary, she will ask many things from Jesus for us. One time, some people ran out of wine at a wedding; what do you think Mary did? She asked Jesus to do a miracle for them, and he did. He made them lots of wine from water.
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We ourselves should talk to the Blessed Virgin many times a day and ask for favors. You may notice that at times if you are sad about something, if you just say the Name of Mary a few times, you feel a lot better! He name has power to help us a lot.
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I was reading in a book, there was this lady, she was worried about her husband, because he had not gone to confession for many years; (see Glories p. 315; 265-) If she told him he should go, he would become very angry. One day she asked a priest what to do; the priest told her simply to give him a picture of Mary. So she got a very nice picture of Mary, and gave it to her husband: here it is!
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Well, he had hardly received it when he said, ‘When shall we go to confession?’ The lady was surprised. At confession the priest asked the man how long it had been: 28 years since he confessed. ‘What made you come back,’ he asked him. ‘Last night my wife gave me a nice picture of the Blessed Virgin, and in that moment I felt my heart changed.
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Today is the feast of the Holy Name of Mary. And it cannot be counted how many people’s hearts are changed by the love of this good Mother. Some people can even become emotional when they hear Mary’s name, or see a picture of her.
But Jesus really wants us to know and love his Mother; that’s why he said to St. John in the Holy Gospel: ‘Now she is your Mother too!’ He means she’s all of our Mother.
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And calling on Mary helps us with a lot of problems that we have. Long ago there was a soldier who lived in France named Ansaldo. He was in a battle one time, and an arrow was shot into his jaw, which entered so deep into the jaw-bone that it was impossible to get the iron arrowhead out.
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After 4 years of suffering with this iron in his jaw, he decided he had to do something. He knelt down and made a promise to Mary. He said, that if she would help him, he promised that he would go to a certain shrine every year where her picture was, and give a large amount of money to help the needy.
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He no sooner made this promise, than the iron fell right out of his jaw. The next day he visited that shrine and gave the money to help the poor, and he was completely cured.
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Mary loves us, and she wishes that we speak to her often every day. We can say the Hail Mary, and Pray the Rosary; and we can just easily say: ‘Mary I love you, help me to love Jesus more.
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So, Happy Feast day of Mary’s Holy Name!
Friends in Christ, today is the Birthday of Mary.
There are many people who have become saints in history; Mary was born a saint. She was born for a great purpose, to bear the Savior of the world, we read about that today; she herself would become the Gate of Heaven, the way by which salvation comes to earth.
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Now the Birthday of the Blessed Virgin should be celebrated even more than normal birthdays, because at Mary’s birth, she was full of grace. She was full of grace, because she was destined to be the Mother of us, the Mother of All the Living.
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We celebrate many feasts through the year in honor of Mary, but rarely, except on today, do we consider Mary as an infant. In this regard I was reading about a beautiful devotion called Maria Bambina.[i] This devotion of Mary as a baby is centered on a miraculous image of the 18th century.[ii] It is a wax image of baby Mary, tightly snuggled in white swaddling clothes in a crib. There is a little crown on her head, or on top of her bonnet.
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Now during the course of the years, this image came under the care of the Sisters of Charity, who brought it to their mother house in Milan, Italy where it is to this day.
As the years past, the image of Maria Bambina became discolored, so it was normally kept out of sight, only brought out for veneration on September 8th , this feast of the birth of Mary.
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In 1884, a Sister Josephine sustained paralysis in her arms and feet. On the 8th of September, she asked the sisters to get Maria Bambina and leave the image near her overnight.
The following morning, the Mother General thought to take the image to other sick Sisters so they could kiss it. In the infirmary there was a novice named Giulia Macario who was unable to move because of a serious illness; overcome with faith, she took the image in her arms and kissing infant Mary, pleaded for her recovery. She was immediately cured, as was Sister Josephine and others.
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At the same time, the image itself, which was a worn, dull, gray color, suddenly became changed: it became bright and warm looking, tones which it has never lost to this day. Because of these events, the Sisters are often called the Sisters of Maria Bambina.
Couples began to venerate the image when they were trying to conceive a child, and it became a custom to give newlyweds a small wax image of Maria Bambina on their wedding day.
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Oh dear Infant Queen of heaven, Maria Bambina, pray for us.
[i] This devotion is described at: http://www.sacramentals.org/MariaBambina.htm
[ii] The image apparently was made by Sister Isabella Chiara Fornari, superior of the Poor Clares in Todi, Italy, in 1735.
Friends in Christ, today is 1st Saturday, and an occasion for us to consider the love of our Mother in heaven.
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St. Fulgentius says,[i] ‘Mary is the bridge over which God passed in order to live with men; therefore, she is also the bridge over which men must pass to reach God.’
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There are important ways by which we remain close to the Blessed Virgin in this life: Praying the Rosary, saying the Angelus, paying visits to her image, aspirations of love – today, let us speak a bit, about wearing Our Lady’s Scapular.
The history of the Scapular was discussed on the Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, but today let us look at the power of the Scapular.
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During the Spanish Civil war, when Cardinal Taracon was bishop of Solsona, 10 prisoners from the communist army had been captured and were sentenced to death; they asked the bishop and three of his priests to give the usual spiritual help to condemned prisoners. It was about 11 at night, they were to be shot at 6 in the morning.
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8 of the prisoners responded well and went to confession. An avowed communist refused completely. That left one man, about 50 years old, very well educated. This man said, Father, I am grateful for what you people are doing for me, but I’m not interested, and I can assure you that I am not going to Confession.
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The Bishop asked, ‘Would you be able to do me a favor” Whatever you want, he answered, provided that it has nothing to do with confession.
OK: Would you allow me to place a scapular on you. I have no problem with that – these things mean nothing to me.. But if it makes you happy I’ll do it. The bishop, after placing the scapular on him, sat down in a nearby chapel and prayed before a picture of Our Lady.
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He had been there less than five minutes when he heard a person crying loudly, sobbing. ‘I found it alarming, he said. ‘I entered again into his room and I saw the man, and he came to me crying inconsolably, and said to me in the middle of his tears: ‘Father, I want to go to confession; I would like to go to confession.’ I do not deserve this grace from God; Our Lady has saved me.
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The next morning, the Bishop says, ‘As they were being taken out to be shot, the man hugged me and said, ‘In heaven I will pray for you. Thanks again Father. Our Lady has saved me.
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Father Valuy says, ‘Wear the Scapular with faith and respect, by night no less than by day. Never leave it off under any pretext. Press it to your heart with confidence and love.'[ii]
The Scapular is a Pledge of Our Mother.
[i] The Mirror of Priests, p. 119
[ii] The Mirror of Priests, p. 122.
Beloved in Jesus Christ, today is the Assumption of Mary into heaven; When a great saint passes from this life to the next – – we can think of John Paul II, or Mother Theresa, or Padre Pio for example – when such a saint passes from this life, the body is attended at the Funeral with so much love and reverence – well, it could not be any different with the end of the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary. No doubt, all of Jesus’ disciples who were at Jerusalem[i] drew near to the bier that carried the Holy body of Mary; – feeling themselves so favored to have gazed on her lovely face and spoken with her in life.
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St. John Damascene says it is quite probable that then a great many miracles took place, as has happened at the deaths of other saints.
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As Gentilucci(ii) says, when the hour arrived to carry to the grave the sacred body of Mary, the Apostles took on their shoulders this sweet burden; the priests and Deacons and a multitude of men and women accompanied them, full of joy and weeping, because all wished to be near the Mother of God. As the funeral procession reached the base of the Mt of Olives in the Valley of Josaphat, they placed her in the tomb. At first, the people did not depart, but remained by the tomb, and they could hear some kind of heavenly music in the air.
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On the 3rd day, there finally arrived St. Thomas who was the only apostle who had not been present. As he heard everything described, his face was covered with tears and he asked to see the tomb. As they opened the tomb, amidst the scent of roses, they saw the cloths in which the body had been wrapped, but no body – she had been assumed to heaven. The heavenly music could still be heard, as they sealed again the tomb, and pondered this marvel of God.
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This account of the resurrection and assumption of Mary is given by St. John Damascene, St. Basil, St. Juvenal of Jerusalem, and others. St. Nicephorus says, that from the Holy Apostles this has been handed down to our day.’
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Friends in Christ, this is the most common of the various accounts that have come down to us, but we can’t be sure of the details of what occurred at that time; but that Mary was raised in body and soul is true, and it is for sure most fitting in the economy of salvation for many reasons:
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For example, it was required because of Mary’s intimate union with her Son, since Our Lord’s risen flesh in heaven is the same flesh taken from Mary who conceived him.
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It was required, because of her holy and sinless life, which made her the Queen of all the saints. Therefore it was fitting that she should be assumed into heaven. And if Our Savior so honored and loved his Mother on earth, how could he not honor her this way in heaven?
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At the resurrection of Christ, scripture says that some others rose from the dead at the same time, and many theologians believe that those ascended to heaven with Christ; if this is true of them, how can it not be true of the Mother of God?
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Of course it is a Dogma of the Holy Faith, that Mary was taken, body and soul to heaven. If any ask of where is this in the bible, we can easily point to the 12th chapter of Revelation, in which seen in heaven, is Mary, clothed with the sun.
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If anyone wishes to go to pray at the sacred remains of Mary, they would find that it is impossible, because of all the saints whose mortal remains are honored, there exist no such remains for Mary, only her empty tomb near the Mt. of Olives; because she is not here, she is risen and assumed to heaven.
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So today we honor this dear Mother, who has not only led us on the way by the example of a holy life, but who shows us as well the destiny promised to her children: resurrection and glorification of our whole self, body and soul.
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Let us conclude with words of Msgr. Gentilucci: ‘If Mary ascended to heaven without even leaving us her mortal remains, well – she does not any less have a tender love for us. Let us rejoice then, that Mary anticipates for ourselves the resurrection promised to all the just.
[i] It seems most probable that Mary lived at Ephesus (Mary’s House) for a time; it is a debated point whether her death was at Ephesus or Jerusalem. Gentilucci provides a thorough study of this question, settling on Jerusalem. p. 426.
[ii]The traditions mentioned here can be found in Life of the Blessed Virgin Mary by R. Gentilucci.
Friends in Christ. today is Saturday, Our Lady’s Day, and so let’s take for our reflection this morning, the first words we say in the Hail Holy Queen. We say: ‘Hail Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, ‘Our life, our sweetness, and our hope …
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Here we address Mary as our ‘Mother of Mercy.’ Now the Blessed Virgin has been given this office of mercy by her Son Jesus, to gather up the sinners and to bring them home. Our Lord revealed to St. Catherine of Sienna that he had created Mary to catch men and especially sinners.[i] It is only required that the sinner call on this Mother, and repent of his sins.
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When any mother sees her child crying before her because of his misdeeds, she does not consider his failures but rather the intentions with which he comes to her. In fact, Mary said to St. Bridget: ‘However much a man sins, I am ready immediately to receive him when he repents; nor do I pay attention to the number of his sins, but only to the intention with which he comes, for I am the Mother of Mercy.'[ii]
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St. Bernard says, if a mother knew that her two sons were at enmity with each other, that each plotted against the other’s life, would she not work as hard as possible to reconcile them? This would be the duty of a good mother. And thus he says, does Mary act. For she is the Mother of Jesus and the mother of us. When she sees a sinner at enmity with Jesus Christ, she cannot endure it, and so she does everything in her power to make peace between them.[iii] The Blessed Virgin will do anything she can to get us safely home.
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I recall in my own youth, returning home late, past curfew; quietly tip-toeing upstairs in the dark; only to hear mom call out: ‘Son, is that you, are you home?’ A mother cannot rest until her child is safely home. Mary awaits any sinner who wishes to come home, but he must repent and turn from his sin.
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St. Alphonsus says, ‘whoever aspires to be a child of this great mother, must first abandon sin.’ Richard of St. Lawrence says, ‘no one can be a child of Mary without first trying to rise from the fault into which he has fallen.’
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So on this Saturday let us find confidence in Mary. And if we fear to face our Heavenly Father for the dread of the sins of our life, let us first go to our Mother. St. Gregory says: ‘Resolve to sin no more, and I promise that undoubtedly you will find Mary more ready to love thee than any earthly mother.’
[i] Glories of Mary, p. 204
[ii] Glories of Mary, p. 72-74
[iii] Glories, p. 74
Beloved in Christ, it is a heresy to say that Jesus is a human person. He is not. He is a Divine Person who united himself to human nature. So in Christ, God joined himself to the whole human race, and because his Person is Infinite, he is able to contain all of us.
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Yet this connection to the entire human race – this bond that God formed with the human family – it took place when the Divine united himself to the Blessed Virgin Mary. For the Mystical Body of Christ, for the entire human family, the Blessed Virgin is the point of junction with God.[i]
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Jesus Christ possessed not only a physical body, but also his Mystical Body. Therefore, Mary, who bore the Savior in her womb, may also be said to have given birth to all of us, whose lives are contained in Christ. Mary is therefore the true Mother of all the Living.[ii]
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Today is the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. And this Heart of our Mother – well, we cannot live without it. Maternal love is so inseparable from life, that we see it reflected even in the animal world. The need for our mother is an instinct of life, which we see from the first cry of an infant in the cradle to the last appeals of a dying man for his mother. And God did not intend that the supernatural life should be less human, than natural life, so he created Mary.
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The Divine Maternity, says St. Thomas, belongs to the order of infinite things. In some sense, the maternal love of Mary is infinite.
Because of Mary, Christianity has a unique spirit of hope and joy. Because of her it remains a religion of freshness and youth. Because of her it is a religion whose great mysteries are perfectly accessible even to little children. Their mothers on earth still tell them about the little Jesus and his mother, who is also their mother in heaven, and this was the same with St. Augustine, and St. Thomas, and all the rest.
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After the children and their innocence come the sinners; the sinners – For them especially, Christianity would lack some of its goodness if this Blessed Mother, were not there. The more wretched men may be, the more merciful is her response; she knows how to change their hearts by the goodness of her Immaculate heart.
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Just look at religions where Mary is lacking, or where she is not known. There, God does not seem to be so much a Father, and Christ is not so close; the Church is less of a family. Without Mary, our religion would resemble a Protestant church which has no Living Presence; a system that is well-ordered but cold: because there is no longer a Mother in the home.
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In reality, mothers are often servants, handmaids, of their children, giving their all to help them. Mary was the handmaid of the Lord, and of her Son, and really of all her children – helping them, praying for them, serving them – all because, of her Immaculate Heart.
[i] Theology of the Mystical Body, Mersch, pp. 172-173.
[ii] ibid, p. 187.
Good morning students of St. John Vianney! Well, today you have very well, honored Mary with all these millions of flowers and the crown you put on her, and your singing. You know, there is a beautiful poem written called ‘A mother’s crown.’ if you ever read it, you will find that a mother’s real crown, the greatness of her life, is her children. The same is for our Mother in heaven, her crown, her glory, is when her children are good and holy. So when we honor Mary this way, she is happy, why? Because we are happy. That’s how mothers are.
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So what can we say about this Blessed Mother today? Well, here is a true story of how Mary rewards those who honor her. A long time ago, there was a 10-year old girl named Domenica.[i] As a little girl on Saturdays – Saturday is the day we often honor Mary – on Saturdays, she went to the neighboring fields and gathered all the flowers that she could find. Then she would go back to her house, and place these flowers before a stature of Mary holding the baby Jesus which was in her house.
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One day, when she was looking out the window, she saw in the street a Lady, accompanied by a small child who asked for help. She went to get some bread for them, when in a moment, without the door being opened, she saw them standing by her side. She noticed that the child’s hands, feet, and side were wounded and she asked the Lady who had wounded the child. The Lady answered, ‘It was love that wounded him.’ At the sight of the beauty and goodness of the child, she asked him if the wounds were painful? But his only answer – was a smile.
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Standing near the stature, adorned in flowers, the Lady asked her, ‘Domenica, why do you place flowers here?’ ‘It is the love that I have for Jesus and Mary,’ she said. Then continue to love them, said the Lady, and they will repay you in heaven.
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Now Domenica could smell a lovely scent which came forth from the child’s wounds, and she asked the Lady what ointment she used on the child’s wounds? She said: this ointment is purchased only with faith and good works.
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The Child then seemed filled with joy and turning towards Domenica, asked her how much she loved Jesus. She said that she loved him so much, that night and day she always thought of him, and wanted only to please him as much as she could. ‘This is very good,’ he replied. In that moment, the Lady was changed and appeared as a beautiful Queen, and a brilliant light shone about the Child. Then the Child took some flowers and placed them on the head of Domenica, who was very happy. With that, the vision ended.
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Now it is rare that such miraculous visions are given to us in this life; but it is nevertheless true, that loving Jesus and Mary with our whole heart will most certainly make us very happy.
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[i] This is from the life of Sister Domenica del Paradiso, found in the Glories of Mary, p. 348. In reality, ‘Domenica’ was the name she took as a religious.
