CARMEL'S OWN: 2009

Thursday, December 24, 2009

A Blessed and Happy Christmas

He was born in a stable.

He is the Son of God.

He was conceived by the Virgin Mary.

He did it all for our salvation.

He you and me and you...and all.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

The Immaculate Conception of Mary

If a very rich mother and father had a great quantity of children, and those children chose to die, and only one survived, that one would inherit everything. Similarly, Adam as well as his children died to grace through original sin. And Mary, the only one exempt of sin, remained the heir of the graces of innocence and of the favors destined to Adam's children. If they had remained in the state of innocence, what richness of gifts they would have received! What favors! God made her the depository of his graces.

The Gospel says that a father left his house early one morning to find hired hands to work in his vineyard. Weren't there people already in that vineyard? Yes, Mary was there; she was born in that vineyard. And what is the vineyard? It is grace. Yes, Mary was born in it, since she was conceived free of sin. As for us, we were called to it, the Father went looking for us; but Mary was always in it. Oh, such a beautiful worker! She is pure, unspoiled. The Good Lord could have created a more beautiful world than this one, but he could not have created a more perfect creature than Mary.

Saint John Mary Vianney

In: Mgr. R. Fourrey, The Virgin Mary and the Cure of Ars, 1989, Ars

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of death. Amen.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Mary's Humility at the Visitation

Since the Virgin was most thoughtful, not only did she go to Elizabeth's house without any conceit about the angel's words, but she even took the first step in greeting her cousin, showing her the respect due to her more advanced age and dignity as a mother. It wasn't Elizabeth who greeted Mary first, but Mary who greeted Elizabeth.

One must observe that Mary, who was superior, went to Elizabeth, who was inferior, and that the Son of God came to the Baptist: this teaches us that we shouldn't hesitate to help those who are inferior to us, and it also teaches us modesty.

Better men go to weaker men to give them some advantage by their visits. Thus the Savior came to John to sanctify John's baptism. And as soon as Mary heard the angel announce that she would conceive the Savior and that her relative Elizabeth was with child, "she rose up in haste and went into the mountain country, and entered Elizabeth's house." Jesus was in her womb, and He hastened to sanctify John, who was still in his own mother's womb.
Origen,

Homily on the Gospel of Luke VII, 1.

Taken from Origen, by Joseph T. Lienhard; Catholic University of America Press, 1996. http://www.mariedenazareth.com/13297.0.html?&L=0

MULTIMEDIA : Pietro Lorenzetti, Madonna dei TramontiOlivier Messiaen, Regard de la Vierge

Friday, November 6, 2009

Mary and the Souls in Purgatory

What is Purgatory?
The Holy Church of God, considered in its totality, is composed of three parts: the Church militant, the Church triumphant, and the Church suffering, or purgatory. This triple Church constitutes the mystical body of Jesus Christ, and the souls in purgatory are no less her members than the faithful on earth and the elect in heaven. In the Gospel, the Church is ordinarily called the Kingdom of God; purgatory, just like heaven and the Church on earth, is a province of that vast Kingdom. The three sister-Churches have between them an incessant exchange, a continual communication, called the Communion of Saints. These relationships have no other object than to lead souls to glory, the final term toward which all the elect tend. The word purgatory means sometimes a place, sometimes a state half-way between hell and heaven. It is, properly speaking, the situation of the souls who, at the time of death, find themselves in a state of grace, but haven't completely expiated their faults or attained the degree of purity necessary to enjoy the vision of God. Purgatory is therefore a temporary state, which ends in the beatific life. The Church teaches two things about purgatory, truths that are clearly defined as dogmas of faith: first, that there is a purgatory; secondly, that the souls in purgatory can be helped by the petitions of the faithful, especially by the holy sacrifice of the Mass.
Rev. Fr. François-Xavier Schouppe, s.j.

The Dogma of Purgatory Illustrated by Facts and Private Revelations

No Unholy Soul Can Be Happy in Heaven
I answer as follows: That, even supposing a man of unholy life were suffered to enter heaven, he would not be happy there; so that it would be no mercy to permit him to enter. (...) How forlorn would he wander through the courts of heaven! He would find no one like himself; he would see in every direction the marks of God's holiness, and these would make him shudder. He would feel himself always in His presence. He could no longer turn his thoughts another way, as he does now, when conscience reproaches him. He would know that the Eternal Eye was ever upon him; and that Eye of holiness, which is joy and life to holy creatures, would seem to him an Eye of wrath and punishment. God cannot change His nature. Holy He must ever be. But while He is holy, no unholy soul can be happy in heaven.
John Henry Cardinal Newman Sermon (1: 3 & 8, 1834 - 1869)

The Rust of Sin
I don't believe there can be found a comparable contentment to that of a soul in purgatory, if you except the saints that are in heaven. Each day this contentment increases through God's action in those souls, and this action keeps augmenting at the same time as all that impedes this divine action burns away. This impediment is the rust of sin. Fire slowly consumes this rust and thus the soul exposes itself more and more to the divine influx. Just like an object shrouded by something cannot respond to the radiance of the sun - not because the sun is insufficient since it keeps on shining but because of the impediment caused by what is wrapping the object. If the obstacle that acts as a screen is burnt away, the object will expose itself to the action of the sun; it will experience this action in proportion to the diminution of the obstacle. Thus the rust of sin is what shrouds the soul. In purgatory this rust is consumed by fire. The more it is consumed, the more the soul exposes itself to the true sun which is God. Its joy increases as the rust disappears and the soul is exposed to the divine ray of sun. Thus the one increases and the other diminishes until the time is accomplished. Suffering isn't what diminishes, only the time to spend in that pain becomes shorter. The souls that are in purgatory find themselves without the guilt of sin. Consequently, there is no obstacle between God and them besides this suffering that hinders them and consists in that their beatific instinct hasn't reached its full perfection.
Saint Catherine of Genoa

Treatise on Purgatory

Joy and Suffering
We can draw from the thought of purgatory more consolation than apprehension. Most of those who greatly fear purgatory are more focused on their own interest than on the interests of God's glory; and this comes from their envisaging only the pains of that place, without considering at the same time the felicity and peace God lets them taste. It is true that the torments one experiences there are so great that the most extreme pains of this life cannot be compared to them; but at the same time the inner satisfactions are such, that no degree of prosperity or contentment on earth equals them.
Saint Francis De Sales

Consoler of the Afflicted
The mystical body of Jesus belongs to Mary, i.e. to the Church militant, triumphant and suffering: or, to say it more eloquently, to Jesus fighting on earth against hell, Jesus triumphing in heaven, and Jesus suffering in his members in purgatory; this is because when that same Jesus gave himself to his divine Mother, he gave all things to her along with himself. And Mary belongs to the Church militant, triumphant and suffering, because her Son Jesus gave her to the Church militant to be the general of his armies. He gave her to the Church triumphant, like a dazzling sun that fills the hearts of all the citizens of heaven with an incredible joy, second only to the beatific vision of the adorable face of the almighty God. He gave her to the Church suffering in her quality as Mother of Mercy and Consoler of the Afflicted, who pours out continual consolations and refreshments amidst these very fiery flames of the divine Justice; since she herself assured Saint Bridget that no pain in purgatory was beyond her power to assuage.
Saint John Eudes

The Admirable Heart of the Most Sacred Mother of God, Book 6, Ch. I, Oracle X, 8th Explanation.

MULTIMEDIA : Filippo Lippi, Madonna col Bambino Bach, Magnificat, Esurientes

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of death. Amen.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

ALL SAINTS........

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

End of OCTOBER Reflections

Church of Mary

May the Virgin Mary, so loved and venerated in every part of Italy, precede and guide us in our union with Christ. In her we meet, pure and undeformed, the true essence of the Church, and so through her, we learn to know and love the mystery of the Church that lives in history, we deeply feel a part of it, and in our turn we become "ecclesial souls," we learn to resist the "internal secularization" that threatens the Church of our time, a consequence of the secularization process that has profoundly marked European civilization.

Pope Benedict XVI, Address, October 19, 2006

MULTIMEDIA : Les riches heures du duc de Berry (Limbourg) Magnificat (Telemann)

Carried by the Virgin Mary

We are all until our death in the moment of being born. Even the greatest saints are carried, so to speak, in the Blessed Virgin Mary's womb.

Theology of the Apostolate By Mgr Suenens

MULTIMEDIA : Cantiga de Santa Maria 140 A Santa Maria dadas sejan loores onrradas

Friday, October 16, 2009

Let your Rosary Be Your Work Tool

Let your rosary be one of your work tools... Each « ave » whispered with love and faith is a pure seed that falls in the field of souls. So remember to love the beads between your fingers.

Clémence Ledoux Fraternity of Mary the Immaculate Queen

MULTIMEDIA : Buna Vestire

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of death. Amen.

THE SUN AT FATIMA

The Miracle of the Sun

On October 13, when the crowds saw the ball of fire leave its orbit and race down towards them, their reaction was immediate. They didn't go into a subtle exegesis to convince themselves that this « sign in the sky» was purely symbolic. Instead, they realized that this fire, if it approached only a second longer, would annihilate them.

Just as the people of Israel had seen the fire from heaven race down over Elijah as its holocaust and consume him in the blink of an eye, these people fell on their knees and cried out: « My God, I believe in you! » And they asked for forgiveness, pity and mercy. In their own way they were saying anew: « It is Yahveh who is God! It is Yahveh who is God! » (1 Kings 18: 39).

Through their conversion and their supplication, they obtained that the chastisement be averted: the sun resumed its place in the sky. And they found, along with faith, the peace and the joy of being reconciled with God.

The miracle done for the entire population manifested what must be Mary's victory: the sun leaves its orbit, spins on itself like a wheel of fire, rushes down on the crowd and then finally regains its normal place and state.

Let us understand these three signs, or rather, the three moments of this sign. The sun that exhibits these disorderly movements means that the order of divine Wisdom has been disrupted in the cosmos by human sin. When it races down like a destructive fire upon humanity, it manifests the punishment chastisement that sin attracts from divine justice.

By stopping its deadly course, it shows that God wants to be merciful and not to destroy, and that this sign is a warning and a call (like the drought and famine sent to Israel by the prophet of Mt Carmel). In the end, for those who hear this message, mercy wins--the sun regains its proper place, humanity is spared, and after its conversion, order is restored.

The Virgin of Mt Carmel, by Joseph de Sainte Marie, Lethielleux, 1985

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

THE ROSARY

The Pedagogical Value of the Rosary

If one carefully reads the encyclicals of the Holy Pontiffs on the Rosary and, in particular, those of Leo XIII and his successors, one is struck by the insistence with which they like to emphasize the value of the Rosary for Christian formation. If, for them, the Rosary is an excellent prayer, a commendable devotion in many respects, it seems that its most eminent title in their eyes, the one which gives it exceptional value, is that it is not only a privileged prayer, nor even in the words of Pope Leo XII, the highest Marian devotion that seems to condense in itself all the cult we owe to Mary, but it is a true method of Christian initiation and formation, a school which trains the mind and manners, a divine method, a very efficient school of Christian life.

If we had to synthesize the thoughts of the popes in a concise manner on the remarkable pedagogical value of the Rosary, we could condense them this way: It is the role of the mother to form and educate her children. Now the chief mission of Mary is to be a mother, the Mother of Jesus Christ, but also the mother of mankind. The Rosary is precisely the privileged way by which Mary initiates and forms her children to the Christian life.

Benoit Thierry D'Argenlieu, The Theology of the Rosary in Maria, Etudes sur la Vierge Marie, Vol. V

October, Month of the Holy Rosary

Church tradition tells us that, in the year 1208, Saint Dominic had a vision of the Virgin Mary while praying in his church. The Blessed Mother reportedly taught him to pray the Rosary, telling him to use this weapon to defeat the heretics. Aflame with enthusiasm, St Dominic called on Catholics and heretics alike to pray the Rosary. By 1213, many Catholic crusaders had followed St Dominic's advice. Devotion to Our Lady of the Rosary spread like wildfire among them.

MULTIMEDIA : Fra Angelico

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of death.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

HER SMILE

The Richest of the People will Seek Your Smile

"In the smile of the most eminent of all creatures, looking down on us, is reflected our dignity as children of God, that dignity which never abandons the sick person. This smile, a true reflection of God's tenderness, is the source of an invincible hope. Unfortunately we know only too well: the endurance of suffering can upset life's most stable equilibrium; it can shake the firmest foundations of confidence, and sometimes even leads people to despair of the meaning and value of life.

There are struggles that we cannot sustain alone, without the help of divine grace. When speech can no longer find the right words, the need arises for a loving presence: we seek then the closeness not only of those who share the same blood or are linked to us by friendship, but also the closeness of those who are intimately bound to us by faith.

Who could be more intimate to us than Christ and his holy Mother, the Immaculate One? More than any others, they are capable of understanding us and grasping how hard we have to fight against evil and suffering.

The Letter to the Hebrews says of Christ that he "is not unable to sympathize with our weaknesses; for in every respect he has been tempted as we are" (cf. Heb 4:15). I would like to say, humbly, to those who suffer and to those who struggle and are tempted to turn their backs on life: turn towards Mary! Within the smile of the Virgin lies mysteriously hidden the strength to fight against sickness and for life. With her, equally, is found the grace to accept without fear or bitterness to leave this world at the hour chosen by God."

( Homily of His Holiness Benedict XVI, Eucharistic Celebration fortheSick. Esplanade in front of the Basilica of Notre-Dame du Rosaire, Lourdes September 15, 2008)

* Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of death. Amen.

Saturday, September 12, 2009

She is on Earth a Celestial Paradise

This holy and divine soul is in the Church what the dawn is to the firmament, and she immediately precedes the sun. But she is more than the dawn. God is and acts in her more than she does. She has no thoughts but by his grace, no movement but by his spirit, no action but for his love. The course of her life is a perpetual movement which, without interruption, without relaxation, tends to the One who will soon become her life...

The time is near, and the Lord is with her, he fills her with himself, and establishes her in a grace so rare that it fits her alone, for this Virgin hidden in a corner of Judea, unknown to the universe, betrothed to Joseph, forms a chorus of her own in the order of grace, so unique is she!

Years go by, graces increase. She enters, day after day, into an admirable elevation, by special infusion and perfect cooperation... She is on earth a celestial paradise that God planted with his own hand, and that his angel keeps for the second Adam. But this is hidden from her eyes, and her spirit, sunk in the depth of her humility, doesn't see the lofty design that God has for her.

Cardinal Pierre de Bérulle (1575 - 1629)
*************************************************

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of death. Amen.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

TRUE DEVOTION......

Imitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Two great tasks entrusted to women merit the attention of everyone. First of all, the task of bringing full dignity to married life and to motherhood. Today new possibilities are opened to women for a deeper understanding and a richer realization of the human and Christian values implied in married life and the experience of motherhood.

Man himself--husband and father--can be helped to overcome forms of absenteeism and of periodic presence as well as a partial fulfilment of parental responsibilities--indeed he can be involved in new and significant relations of interpersonal communion--precisely as a result of the intelligent, loving and decisive intervention of woman. Secondly, women have the task of assuring the moral dimension of culture, the dimension, namely of a culture worthy of the person, of an individual yet social life.

The Second Vatican Council seems to connect the moral dimension of culture with the participation of the lay faithful in the kingly mission of Christ: "Let the lay faithful by their combined efforts remedy the institutions and conditions of the world when the latter are an inducement to sin, that all such things may be conformed to the norms of justice, and may favor the practice of virtue rather than hindering it. By so doing, they will infuse culture and human works with a moral value."

Apostolic Exhortation, Christifideles Laici Of His Holiness John Paul II Given at Rome, in St. Peter's, on 30 December, 1988

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

And She cried.....!!!!!

Syracuse: The Mysterious Language of Her Tears

It all took place on Saturday, August 29th, at the octave day of the festival of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, in Syracuse, Sicily, in the district of the suburb St Lucia, the poorest one in the city. Sanctified early on by the martyrdom of Saint Lucia, this district had been a cradle of Christianity, but now was it for the most part a communist district. The Gardens of Saint Georges Street was among the humblest of this populous neighborhood and, at number 11, there used to be a very simple home, inhabited by poor people: a young, hard-working couple, the Giusto-Iannuso. The couple had a plaster statue of the Virgin Mary in their modest bedroom, given to them as a wedding gift by a relation some months before. The statue depicted Virgin Mary showing her Heart, not transpierced by a sword of pains, according to traditional iconography, but surrounded by thorns with flames rising up from it, as in Our Lady's apparition at Fatima on June 13, 1917.

That morning, Antonina, the young wife, who had been suffered terribly from a difficult pregnancy for several months, was still in bed. She was to be the first to see the astonishing miracle, followed by her sister-in-law, Grazia Iannuso, who said: "I saw the Madonna cry, she truly cried, tears just poured from her eyes." Neighbors, and soon a small crowd, noted the marvelous phenomenon. On that morning of Saturday, August 29th, the statue of the Blessed Virgin "cried" six or seven times, and shed tears again in the evening, shortly after Angelo, the husband, had returned. Later, he witnessed: "Then, I knelt down and I prayed."

On both Sunday, the 30th and Monday the 31st of August, the same wonder was noted by thousands of witnesses. The statue did not cry nonstop, but rather at certain intervals, and not only in the bedroom but also when set outside on a wall in the courtyard, or on the makeshift altar, across the street where the statue was exhibited. On Tuesday, September 1st, at 11 AM, a commission of experts named by the Archiepiscopal Curia was sent to the Gardens of Saint Georges Street. It was made up of several doctors, an engineer, and a priest named Fr. Bruno. A report was later written up under oath. As soon as the expertise was finished, the lacrymation ended. One week later the city of Syracuse celebrated the Nativity of Our Lady, patroness of the Cathedral and the city, while in Rome Pope Pius XII was publishing the Encyclical "Fulgens Corona" announcing the Marian Year, which was to commemorate the centenary of the definition of the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception. After the miraculous lacrymations, extraordinary cures were produced. On Wednesday, September 2nd, the Archbishop of Syracuse, Mgr Baranzini, returned on the spot to interrogate several eye-witnesses. On September 9th, the consulted laboratory published the detailed report of the analyses carried out on the liquid emanating from the plaster statuette: this liquid was in every way very similar to human tears. On September 19th, Mgr Baranzini transferred the Madonnina to a square close by and installed the statue in a niche. During the months of September and October more than a million pilgrims came to pray near the little statue.

As early as December 12th, a little more than three months after the event, the Sicilian Episcopate, gathered together around the Cardinal Ruffini, was able to emit a judgment in an official press release. The cardinal exposed the decision on a radio broadcast message: "We saw the Madonna shedding tears over a 4-day period, on August 29th, 30th, and 31st, and on September 1st. The statue "cried" so profusely that those tears impregnated many cotton balls, which became the object of scientific appraisal. The bishops of Sicily, after scrupulously examining the many depositions under oath of witnesses above any suspicion and taking act of the positive tests of the diligent chemical analyses to which the inexplicable tears were subjected, emitted with unanimity the judgment that one cannot question the reality of the facts. Consequently, these men expressed the wish that such a merciful demonstration of our Heavenly Mother may cause the entire population to do salutary penance and to have a stronger devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, by building a Marian shrine without delaying, so as to perpetuate the memory of the wonder."

"No, the Madonna is not shedding tears of joy. They are tears of affliction and sadness. They are a warning to me, to my clergy, to you all, the faithful, so that we become better people, and that we take the good path of our individual, family and social duties again." Mgr Baranzini "Everyone wonders why the Most Blessed Virgin cried in such a manner for 4 long days (...) If we remember the apparitions in Lourdes and Fatima, the answer is simple. (...) Our Lady cried here in Sicily, in Syracuse, because her tears would not flow in vain; because here, a multitude of hearts would endeavor to comfort her and have others console her." Cardinal Ruffini "Can mankind understand the mysterious language of these tears?" Pope Pie XII

According to Br. Michael of the Holy Trinity, The Whole Truth on Fatima, 1986 Dr. Ottavio Musumeci, The Madonna Cried in Syracuse, Ed. Salvator, 1956

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of death. Amen.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Human Weakness

Why Would Human Weakness be Afraid to Draw Near Mary?

Why would human weakness be afraid to draw near Mary? There is nothing austere or terrible in her, she is all sweetness and has only milk and wool to offer us.

Read attentively the whole Gospel story and if you find in Mary a single word of reproof, a single harsh word, the smallest mark of indignation, I will allow you to suspect her for the rest, and to be afraid to go near her.

But on the contrary, if you find her instead, on every occasion, as you will indeed, full of grace and kindness, full of mercy and sweetness, give thanks to Him who, in his infinitely sweet mercy, gave you a mediatrix such that you will never have anything to fear from her.

After all, she made herself completely available to all, and through her immense charity, obliging fools as well as wise.

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (+1152) Doctor of the Church Sermon for the Sunday in the Octave of the Assumption of Mary

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of death. Amen.

Saturday, August 15, 2009

The Assumtion of the B V Mary into Heaven

Prayer for the Assumption of the Virgin Mary

Mary, Queen assumed into Heaven, I rejoice that after years of heroic martyrdom on earth, you have at last been taken to the throne prepared for you in Heaven by the Holy Trinity.

Lift my heart with you in the glory of your Assumption above the dreadful touch of sin and impurity. Teach me how small earth becomes when viewed from Heaven. Make me realize that death is the triumphant gate through which I shall pass to your Son and that someday my body shall rejoin my soul in the unending bliss of Heaven. From this earth, over which I tread as a pilgrim, I look to you for help.

When my hour of death has come, lead me safely to the presence of Jesus to enjoy the vision of my God for all eternity together with you. Amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of death. Amen.

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Thursday, August 6, 2009

OUR LADY OF COPACABANA - BOLIVIA

Nuestra Señora of Copacabana

In Bolivia, the original Shrine of Copacabana does not suggest joyous social life; it spells a wonderful story of faith and love. The tiny cove of Copacabana lies on a peninsula overlooking Lake Titicaca. The name means "one who looks at the precious stone," because in the distance stretches the majestic, ice-capped mountain of the Cordillera of the Andes. This is where devotion to the "Most Blessed Virgin, Our Lady of Copacabana," originated.

The statue of the Virgin Mary stands four feet tall and is made of plaster and fiber from the maguey tree, completely covered with gold leaf, except for the face and hands; the garments reproduce the colors and dress of an Incan princess. Her soft expression-and that of the Child she holds as if he were about to fall-recall the features of the inhabitants of the region. The original shape is permanently hidden by rich robes and cloaks, and the carved hair has been covered by a wig. The image never leaves the basilica; a copy is used for processions.

The statue is the work of Francisco Yupanqui, a descendant of the Inca Huayna Capac, who fervently desired that his town be dedicated to Our Lady. His inexperienced efforts were rejected by his townspeople, who laughed at him in scorn, for Francisco knew nothing about art and his statue proved it. Finally after months of disappointments and perseverance, he produced this image of the Virgin which was humbly enthroned in a poor adobe church on February 21, 1583, making it one of the oldest Marian sanctuaries in the Americas. Over the centuries devout people showered the shrine with valuable jewels, but the treasures were later looted by presidents, dictators and generals. Francisco entered a monastery where he died a happy, holy death.

Many legends grew up around his statue; it is said that if you look at her and think her beautiful, that is a sign that you are in her favor; if not your soul is ugly. Many cures and miracles have been attributed to this Virgin, the greatest, that of the faith of Francisco Yupanqui and the faith of the millions of Indians who came after him.

Presently the image, which the Indians call "La Coyeta," has rich jewels on her neck, hands and ears, the gifts of her devotees. In her right hand she holds a straw basket and a baton, the gift and souvenir of the visit of the viceroy of Peru in 1669. Today's shrine dates from 1805. The image was crowned during the reign of Pope Pius XI, and its shrine was elevated to a basilica in 1949.

Adapted from http://www.marypages.com/LadyCopacabana.htm

Friday, July 31, 2009

The Fruits of the Vision of the Virgin

Saint Ignatius of Loyola spent nine months in convalescence from March 1522 to February 1523, in Manresa, close to the Benedictine monastery of Montserrat (Spain, diocese of Barcelona), due to a war wound.

Ignatius had a vision that he told in his autobiography. One night, he was awoken and he saw the Blessed Virgin with the Holy Child; during this vision, which lasted a good length of time, he received great spiritual consolation and the memory of his past life became very distasteful to him, especially the things concerning the flesh. He had the impression that all the images that had been imprinted in his heart before had been completely removed.

From that moment until August 1533, when he wrote these words, he never again gave even the smallest consent to the things of the flesh.
Without indicating the origin of this vision, he simply recorded the fruits, which in their sobriety, where never doubted.

Saint Ignatius of Loyola (d. 1556)

From the saint's autobiography, known as The Account of the Pilgrim Quoted in the Dictionary of Apparitions by Father Laurentin, Fayard Press 2007

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

THERE SHE IS..., AGAIN!!

The following account was told by Father Sineux, during a spiritual retreat given on July 29, 196.

: A Protestant pastor from Scotland had a large number of Irish families in his parish and, consequently, some fervent Catholics. He was extremely annoyed by these people and, being fervent himself in his religion, tried to fight against their beliefs in any way he could.

He went readily to children with his ideas. One day he came across a young Irish girl of about eight years of age on the roadside. He stopped her, spoke a few nice words to her and then asked her to recite a few prayers, promising to give her two pennies if she recited them well. At once, the girl recited the "Our Father" and the pastor congratulated her.

"Do you know any others? Can you say another one?" he asked her. The child began the "Hail Mary," but the pastor interrupted her. "That one is not a prayer, because you mustn't pray to a woman, you should only pray to the Good Lord." The small girl was a little embarrassed, but she continued and recited the Creed and the pastor encouraged her this time.

However, when she arrived to the words "was born of the Virgin Mary", the child sighed in annoyance and said, "There she is again! What am I to do?"

The pastor later acknowledged that he was stunned when he heard the words of the young Irish girl. He gave her two pennies, sent her home and returned to his own abode very upset. There she is again, that Virgin Mary, even in the Creed, which he had recited so many times without noticing the words he was pronouncing!

There she is in the center of our Christian faith! This marked the beginning of long reflections, which resulted in his own abjuration, shortly afterwards. He himself told this story many times, which was so decisive for his vocation, when he had later become a Catholic priest.

F.J.E. Marian Collection # 25, 1991

Sunday, July 19, 2009

HER MERCY....

The Mother of God Pours Out Her Mercy

O people, let us run to that quiet good haven, to the speedy helper, the warm salvation, to the Virgin's protection. Let us speed to prayer and hasten to repentance.

For the Mother of God pours out her mercy, anticipates needs, and averts disasters for her patient and God-fearing servants.

Orthodox Hymn

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Our Lady of Mt Carmel - July 16

HEALTH AND BLESSINGS TO ALL MEMBERS OF THE CARMELITE FAMILY ON THE SOLEMN LITURGICAL FEAST OF OUR LADY OF MT CARMEL

The Apparition of Our Lady of Mount Carmel to Saint Simon Stock

The origin of the Carmelite Order is as old as it is glorious. It is believed, not without reason, that this Order is the continuation of the established school of the prophets of Mount Carmel, nine centuries before Christ, by the great prophet Elijah. The followers of this school were among the first converts to Christianity and the Carmel became the cradle of monastic life. After the dispersal of the Apostles, in the year 38, they built a chapel in honor of Mary and vowed to particularly sing her praises.

Later, France, along with other European countries, began the Crusades to wrest the Holy Land from the infidels. Since the Saracens intensified the persecution of religious orders in Palestine, the Carmelites migrated to France with Saint Louis, King of France. They established several houses and even travelled north as far as England. In 1241, the Earl of Kent gave the Carmelites a house on his property of Ayleshire. Simon Stock, an Englishman, was elected the head of the Order in England, and became Superior General of the Carmelites. He was ready to do anything in order to rekindle Marian devotion among the Carmelites.

By 1245, Stock was already deeply discouraged by the climate of antagonism with the other clergy, who even conspired against them in Rome and there was great danger that his order would perish. Stock spent the night of July 15, 1251, in prayer to the Virgin Mary seeking her assistance. She appeared to him holding the Infant Jesus, in the early morning of July 16, accompanied by a multitude of angels, surrounded by light and clothed in the habit of Carmel. She handed him the scapular of the Order, telling him: "Receive this scapular for your Order. It shall be a special sign of salvation. This is a privilege for you and all Carmelites. Those who die wearing this scapular shall be preserved from eternal fire."

Miracles occurred to confirm the truth of this apparition. This was the beginning of the Confraternity of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, for Christians not ready to embrace the Carmelite Rule, in order to bring them, too, the blessings promised by wearing the scapular. The most important privilege granted to the Brotherhood of Mount Carmel after the scapular was given to St Simon Stock, is the one that was revealed to Pope John XXII: the Sabbatine Privilege -- on Saturday, because Our Lady promises scapular-wearers, who have been faithful to the spirit and rules of the Brotherhood, prompt delivery from Purgatory, especially on the Saturday after their death. Besides these two privileges, there are also many other indulgences attached to the scapular.

Adapted from Fr. L. Jaud, Lives of Saints for Every Day of the Year, (Vie des Saints pour tous les jours de l'année, Tours, Mame, 1950)

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of death.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

THE B V MARY'S PROTECTION

You Love and Watch Over Us

What Mother loves her children and takes care of them as much as you do, gentle Queen? You love and watch over us.

St Bonaventure, Doctor of the Church

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of death. Amen.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

WHO CARES???????

The Virgin Mary Cares

By her maternal charity, Mary cares for the brethren of her Son who still wander through this world in the midst of dangers and difficulties until they are led to the happiness of their heavenly home.

Second Vatican Council, Lumen Gentium §61

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Flos Carmeli

Vitis Florigera

Splendor Coeli

Virgo Puerpera

Singularis

Mater Mitis

Sed Viri Nescia

Carmelitis Esto Propitia

Stella Maris

The Month of O L of MT. CARMEL

If You Knew God's Gift!
Si scires donum Dei: "If you knew God's gift," Christ said one evening to the Samaritan woman. But what is this gift of God, if not God Himself? (...) There is a creature who knew this gift of God, a creature for whom not a parcel was lost, who was so pure, so radiant, that she seemed to be Light itself--Speculum justitiae--the Mirror of Justice. We can hardly say anything about Mary's life because it was so simple and so totally abandoned to God. She is the Virgo fidelis: the faithful Virgin, who "kept all these things in her heart." Before God, in the secret of the Temple, she stood so small, so calm and quiet, that the Blessed Trinity could only delight in her. "Because He looked upon his lowly servant, from this day all generations will call me blessed!" Bending down to this beautiful creature, so ignorant of her beauty, the Father willed that she would be, in Time, the Mother of the One for whom He is the Father in Eternity. Then the Spirit of love, who presides over all of God's operations, came; and the Virgin spoke her fiat: "I am the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to your word," and the greatest of all mysteries was accomplished. By the descent of the Word in her, Mary became God's prey forever.

Blessed Elisabeth of the Trinity (carmelite)