Mary, God’s Mother and Ours
As the Mother of Jesus, the Virgin Mary is the Mother of God and Mother of all of us.
Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament
St. Pope Pius X said that Mary’s title Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament is perhaps the most meaningful of all. In this second part of my talk last week, you will see why. “Mary can guide us toward this most holy sacrament because she herself has a profound relationship with it,” St. Pope […]
Mary at the Annunciation
Monsignor Moriarty, the censor and advisor for our Christ Our Life series, was adamant that we refer to March 25 as the Annunciation of the Lord. We usually associate this solemnity with the Blessed Virgin Mary. But it’s really the celebration of the first moment of the Incarnation, when almighty God initiates the process of […]
Mary, a Sorrowful Mother
On September 15, we celebrated the feast of Mary, the Sorrowful Mother. We tend to associate this title with Mary’s appearance at the foot of the cross where her son was executed. There are many other reasons for calling her “sorrowful.” In fact, there is a devotion named Seven Sorrows of Mary. We might expect […]
Faces of Mary in Honor of the Assumption
I remember that as a child I drew our Blessed Mother over and over. I tried to make her as lovely as possible. Over the centuries she has been a favorite subject of a number of artists…more talented than I’ll ever be. She has been portrayed to represent various cultures. The other year my retreat […]
Why Mary Is the Seat of Wisdom
Today, June 8, is the feast day of Mary, Seat of Wisdom. She was known by this title since the 11th century. In the Litany of Loreto we invoke Our Lady by this name. Images of Mary, Seat of Wisdom, depict her holding Jesus on her lap and sometimes she is seated on a throne. […]
Humility, Humus, and Humiliations
When I was in the novitiate, each Monday we were assigned an act of humility. Of the four possible practices, the easiest was to pray Cardinal Merry del Val’s “Litany of Humility.” Some lines from this prayer are “From the desire of being honored, deliver me, Jesus. From the fear of suffering rebukes, deliver me, […]
Nuggets from a Retreat on Marian Artwork
My annual retreat this year was via Zoom and presented by Father Terry Grachanin, an artist. The topic was Marian art through the ages. Some concepts were new to me, and I thought they might be new to you too. So in this post I will share a few of them. The retreat was in […]
Christmas Musings
Mary Christmas and a Happy New Year! Here is a Christmas gift for you: Two reflections from my book Heart to Heart with Mary: Love Made Flesh December 24 My child, some things are so awesome that words fail us. Imagine what it was like to hold my newborn son in my arms knowing he […]
Mother’s Day and Our Blessed Mother, Mary
This week I’ve been visiting religious goods stores and offering my latest book, “Heart to Heart with Mary: A Yearly Devotional,” in which Mary speaks to us personally each day. This book is perfect now for several reasons. It makes a nice gift for Mother’s Day. We are in the month of May, which is […]
