Conversations With Our Mother...

More or less from the time I was seven years old there took root in my soul the greatest devotion to my Mother, the Most Holy Virgin.  I confided to Mary everything that was happening to me, and she spoke to me.

I heard her voice within me, quite clearly and distinctly. She advised me and told me all that I had to do to please Our Lord. 

I thought that it was a perfectly normal thing, and it never occurred to me to relate to others what the Most Holy Virgin was telling me… 

-- Diary, St. Teresa of the Andes

 

More Mother Than Queen...

 

It is true that Our Lady is Queen of Heaven and earth, but at the same time she is more Mother than Queen . . .

-- St. Therese, Conversation with Mother Agnes

Living In Light...

It is now the hour for you to wake from your sleep.  The night is far spent; the day draws near.  Let us cast off deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.  Let us live honorably as in daylight.

- Romans 13:11-14

In Order To Please...

If you wish to please Mary, if you want to make her smile, let her see Jesus in you. 

-- Bl. Maria Candida of the Eucharist

Ark of the Covenant...

My wife and I regularly take communion to a few shut-ins.  We needed to purchase a new pyx, so my wife went looking online. They had several different sizes, colors, and styles, but the one she found shows a beautiful picture of the Blessed Virgin on it.

It's a lovely image -- and yes, a proper repose for the Most Holy presence of God.

At the Feet of Mary...

I should like to have lips that have been purified by fire to pronounce the name of Mary, and a gold pen to write it in gold letters…

At the feet of Mary, my dearest mother, I found life again.

Oh, all you who suffer, come to Mary, at the feet of Mary, I found life again.

Your salvation, your life are at the feet of Mary.…

-- Thoughts of St. Mary of Jesus Crucified, #11

May You Be Blessed...

On earth, children can’t be born without a mother; it’s a woman who brings them into the world.

And it’s also a woman who brings us into heaven. And this woman is Mary.

Ever since the Fall, men have been waiting for the Fruit of Mary, the Fruit of the Gentle, the Humble, Holy Virgin.

May you be blessed, Mary, may you be blessed!

-- Thoughts of St. Mary of Jesus Crucified, #10

The Coronation -- Stained Glass

5/7/2019 --- Traveled to the Mother Cabrini's shrine in Golden, Colorado this last weekend.  They had some lovely stained glass images in the chapel there, including this one of Our Lady's Coronation.

Easter Message 2019 -- Pope Francis

Do not bury hope!

When things go badly, we lose heart and come to believe that death is stronger than life. . . 
We become cynical, negative and despondent. . . 

For Christians, Easter is a day of joy and hope, as they mark their belief that Jesus triumphed over death by resurrection following crucifixion.

Sin seduces; it promises things easy and quick, prosperity and success, but leaves behind only solitude and death.  Sin is looking for life among the dead, for the meaning of life in things that pass away.

Why not prefer Jesus, the true light, to the glitter of wealth, career, pride and pleasure?

Imprimatur Denied

Recently I sent a book and an accompanying note to Bishop Thomas J. Olmstead's office (bishop of Phoenix), requesting a review of the title "Mary and the Carmelite Saints", with the hope of receiving a nihil obstat / imprimatur.

I did this in keeping with the tradition of our Carmelite foundress St. Teresa -- who always allowed her manuscripts to be reviewed by Church authority, and who always encouraged absolute conformity to official teaching.

The bishop's office was kind enough to review the book, but did not provide the declaration.  Perhaps the Lord knows best what is needed...

Prayer To Our Lady Of Sorrows

St. Therese, Pranzini, and The Blessed Virgin

 

There is a well-known story of St. Therese of Lisieux and a criminal, Pranzini.

As a youth of 14 years, Therese had prayed for this "notorious" murderer, who was sentenced to death. Tenacious and unrepentant -- moments before his execution, he asked for a crucifix, which he took and kissed. Therese took this as a sign she had prayed for.

For more background, see:
https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2017/10/01/the-killer-and-the-saint-pranzini-and-therese/ 

There is, however, a bit more to the story.

Evidently this man, in spite of his dreadful crimes and wretched behavior, held at least a small devotion in his heart for the Blessed Virgin. It is said that on a couple of occasions, when passing by the local cathedral, he had stopped in to pay a short visit to her.

While not denying the value or efficacy of Therese's prayers, it was perhaps the intercession of the most Blessed Virgin at work in this instance also. Our Lady looked with love upon this pitiful soul: she would not allow one of her wayward children to perish for all eternity. And she helped obtain the miracle.

This account helps illustrate an important point. At many times and in many events in our life (often without our knowledge or understanding), Mary is there at work behind-the-scenes. Praying, helping, interceding for us...  In ways that only she can.

Epiphany Prayer

Merciful Father, You have called me to meet You in this word of the Gospel, because You wish that I may have life, You wish to give me yourself. Send, I pray You, Your Holy Spirit upon me so that I may let myself be led along the holy way of this passage of Scripture. May I, today, get out of my prison to set out on a journey to seek You. May I recognize the star that You have lit as a sign of Your love on my journey to follow it tirelessly, intensely, committing my whole life. May I, finally, enter Your house and there see the Lord; may I bend low humbly before You to adore You and offer my life to You, all that I am and all that I have. Lord, by Your grace, may I return by a new route, without ever passing through the old paths of sin.