Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception
"The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin."(Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus, 1854)In 1854, Pope Pius IX's solemn declaration, "Ineffabilis Deus," clarified with finality the long-held belief of the Church that Mary was conceived free from original sin.Mary was granted this extraordinary privilege becau...
December 8, 2023NOVEMBER 21: FEAST OF THE PRESENTATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
The Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, celebrated annually on November 21st, commemorates the presentation of the Blessed Virgin as a child by her parents in the Temple in Jerusalem. Before Mary’s birth, her parents received a heavenly message that they would bear a child. In thanksgiving for the God’s gift of Mary’s birth, they brought her to the Temple to consecrate their only daughter to The Lord.The celebration of the Feast is first documented in the 11th century wit...
November 21, 2023Our Lady of Solitude
Nuestra Señora de la Soledad is one of the titles or advocations of the Blessed Virgin Mary, mother of Christ. The word soledad or solitude refers to Mary in the act of contemplating the death of her son, Jesus. It is both a physical and psychological solitude for only a mother can know the pain of the death of her child. In this way, she is truly isolated from those around her. Under this title, Mary is a model for those who would withdraw from the world to pursue a life of spiritual contempla...
November 12, 2023Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary
On October 7, the Roman Catholic Church celebrates the yearly feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. Known for several centuries by the alternate title of “Our Lady of Victory,” the feast day takes place in honor of a 16th century naval victory which secured Europe against Turkish invasion. Pope St. Pius V attributed the victory to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who was invoked on the day of the battle through a campaign to pray the Rosary throughout Europe.The feast always occurs on...
October 7, 2023Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The Story of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin MaryThe Church has celebrated Mary’s birth since at least the sixth century. A September birth was chosen because the Eastern Church begins its Church year with September. The September 8 date helped determine the date for the feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8.Scripture does not give an account of Mary’s birth. However, the apocryphal Protoevangelium of James fills in the gap. This work has no historical value, but it d...
September 8, 2023Feast of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The Story of the Queenship of MaryPope Pius XII established this feast in 1954. But the Blessed Virgin Mary’s queenship has roots in Scripture. At the Annunciation, Gabriel announced that Mary’s Son would receive the throne of David and rule forever. At the Visitation, Elizabeth calls Mary “mother of my Lord.” As in all the mysteries of Mary’s life, she is closely associated with Jesus: Her queenship is a share in Jesus’ kingship. We can also recall that in the Old Testament the...
August 22, 2023The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Monday, 15 August the Church celebrates the Feast Day of the Assumption of Our Lady when according to our faith, the Holy Mother, “having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory”.Although defined as an article of faith by Pope Pius XII just over half a century ago, the Assumption of Our Lady into heaven has been accepted from back to the earliest of Christian times.The Assumption signals the end of Mary’s earthly life and marks her return to ...
August 15, 2023Our Lady of Mount Carmel
The feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, celebrated on July 16, was first instituted in the late 14th century in commemoration of the approval of the rule of the Carmelite Order a hundred years earlier. According to legend, a religious community was established even before the time of Christ on Mount Carmel. This is the mountain overlooking the Mediterranean Sea on which the prophet Elijah successfully challenged the priests of Baal and won the people to the true God. The feast of Our Lady of Moun...
July 16, 2023Feast of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary
Assuming that the Annunciation and the Incarnation took place around the time of the vernal equinox, Mary left Nazareth at the end of March and went over the mountains to Hebron, south of Jerusalem, to wait upon her cousin Elizabeth. Because Mary's presence, and even more the presence of the Divine Child in her womb, according to the will of God, was to be the source of very great graces to the Blessed John, Christ's Forerunner. (Lk1:39-57).Feeling the presence of his Divine Saviour, J...
May 31, 2023Our Lady of Fatima
She appeared six times to Lucia, 9, and her cousins Francisco, 8, and his sister Jacinta, 6, between May 13, 1917 and October 13, 1917.The story of Fatima begins in 1916, when, against the backdrop of the First World War which had introduced Europe to the most horrific and powerful forms of warfare yet seen, and a year before the Communist revolution would plunge Russia and later Eastern Europe into six decades of oppression under militant atheistic governments, a resplendent figure appeared to ...
May 15, 2023The Month of May
Mary has a unique and privileged place in salvation history and in the Church. Because she responded yes to becoming the Mother of God, she is our first model of discipleship and our model of grace and trust in God. Among Catholics, May is most well-known as “Mary’s Month,” a specific month of the year when special devotions are performed in honor of the Blessed Virgin MaryMary's "yes" to God's will was not without challenges. She faced great difficulties, including the ridicule and reject...
May 1, 2023Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes
On Feb. 11, the Catholic Church celebrates the liturgical memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes, recalling a series of 18 appearances that the Blessed Virgin Mary made to a 14-year-old French peasant girl, Saint Bernadette Soubirous.The Marian apparitions began Feb. 11, 1858, ended July 16 that year and received the local bishop's approval after a four-year inquiry.Coming soon after the 1854 dogmatic definition of her Immaculate Conception, the Virgin Mary's appearances at Lourdes turned the town into...
February 11, 2023Feast of the Presentation of the Lord
Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord which occurs forty days after the birth of Jesus and is also known as Candlemas Day, since the blessing and procession of candles are included in today's liturgy.Founded by Pope St. John Paul II in 1997, today is the World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life. He attached it to "Candlemas Day" because the consecrated men and women are to be the light in the world, imitating Jesus, the Light of the World. The World Day of Prayer ...
February 3, 2023Feast of the Immaculate Conception
The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, also called Immaculate Conception Day, celebrates the sinless lifespan and perfected Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary on December 8, nine months before the feast of the Nativity of Mary, celebrated on September 8"The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all stain...
December 6, 2022Our Lady of Rosary
The feast of Our Lady of the Rosary was instituted to honor Mary for the Christian victory over the Turks at Lepanto on October 7, 1571. Pope St. Pius V and all Christians had prayed the Rosary for victory. The Rosary, or the Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is one of the best prayers to Mary, the Mother of God. Pope Benedict XVI invites all families to pray the rosary for the intentions of the Pope, the mission of the Church and peace. "It is as if every year Our Lady invited us to rediscove...
October 8, 2022The Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows
The title, Our Lady of Sorrows, given to our Blessed Mother focuses on her intense suffering and grief during the passion and death of our Lord. Traditionally, this suffering was not limited to the passion and death event; rather, it comprised the seven dolors or seven sorrows of Mary, which were foretold by the Priest Simeon who proclaimed to Mary, This child [Jesus] is destined to be the downfall and the rise of many in Israel, a sign that will be opposed and you yourself shall be pierced with...
September 15, 2022Birth of Mother Mary: Feast Day - 8th September
We celebrate the birth or the nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary on September 8 which is nine months from December 8 when we celebrate her Immaculate Conception in the Catholic Church. The parents of our mother Mary are Saints Joachim and Anne. The birth of Mary is not documented in the Bible, but not so authoritative accounts of events before and after her birth are recorded in the “Protoevangelium of James”. Mary was not born into the world with the original sin, like other children of Ad...
September 2, 2022 Posts 1-17 of 17 | Page
