Lady in Blue

The following reflection is by Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen on the Wedding Feast at Cana.

Picture the marriage feast of Cana.

There our blessed Lord is beyond the Jordan, gathering up His first disciples. Mary is already at the feast. The Lord comes with His new disciples, and Mary who always knows our wants before we know them, says, "They have no wine."

They had water, the water of the Old Testament, but they had no wine.

And Jesus replies, "Woman"- not mother- "Woman, what to me is to thee?" That is the way it is in the original. "My hour has not yet come." The hour refers to His passion and death, His combat with evil.

Now He is equivalently saying to His mother, "My dear mother, you want me to begin my public life,
to declare myself the Messiah and the Son of God.
Do you realize that the moment I do that, your relationship to me changes?
You will then no longer be my mother.
You will then be the mother of everyone whom I will redeem.
You will be the universal mother of all mankind.
You will be the woman of Genesis.
You will be the mother of the living."

Mary's heart must have burned at not hearing herself called "mother." So our blessed Lord, it seems, anticipated His public life.

It is not often that mothers send their sons to the battlefield. Mary did. If the Father sent the Son, the mother would send the Son.

From Through the Year with Fulton Sheen: Inspirational Selections for Each Day of the Year. Compled by Henry Dieterich.

Immaculee to Lead Pilgrimage to Marian Sites

Mahalo to AJ who left the following comment on this blog entry:

this is great! I just found out when searching for information about the movie that Immaculee is taking people on a pilgrimage. take a look: International Peace Leader and Rwandan Genocide Survivor to Lead Historic Pilgrimage

Immaculée Ilibagiza, Rwandan Genocide survivor, recipient of Mahatma Ghandi International Award for Reconciliation and Peace 2007, and author of the New York Times bestseller Left to Tell, will lead a Catholic Pilgrimage for her first visit to the celebrated Marian Apparition sites from October 28th through November 5th. Immaculée will personally lead the nine-day mission to the Grotto of Lourdes, the Little Chapel of Apparitions, and the Cathedrals in Fatima, Burgos and Santiago de Compostela.

First Saturdays

On December 10, 1925 Sister Lucia had a vision wherein the Blessed Mother appeared to her. There was a Boy suspended on a luminous cloud. The Virgin mary hand rested on the cloud and in her other hand was a heart surrounded by thorns.

The Boy said to Sister Lucia

"Have pity on the Heart of your Most Holy Mother which is covered with thorns with which ingrate men pierce it at every moment with no one to make an act of reparation to pull them out."

The Virgin Mary said to Sister Lucia

"See, my daughter, my Heart surrounded with thorns with which ingrates pierce me at every moment with blasphemies and ingratitude. You, at least, make sure to console me and say that all those who for five months, on the first Saturday:
- go to confession,
- receive Communion,
- say five decades of the Rosary and
- keep me company for 15 minutes meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary, with the purpose of making reparation to me, I promise to

- assist them at the hour of death with all the graces necessary for the salvation of their souls."

Our Lady of Fatima's request is that on the First Saturday of five consecutive months,

- we go to Confession and confess our sins;
- we attend Mass and receive Holy Communion;
- pray 5 decades of the Holy Rosary
- meditate during 15 minutes on the mysteries of the Holy Rosary
- and we do so for the purpose of making reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary for the sins of men.

From Fatima: A Message More Urgent than Ever by Luiz Sergio Solimeo, The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property, Spring Grove, PA. 17362

First Friday

THE 12 PROMISES OF THE SACRED HEART:

1. I WILL GIVE THEM ALL THE GRACES NECESSARY FOR THEIR STATE OF LIFE.

2. I WILL GIVE PEACE IN THEIR FAMILIES.

3. I WILL CONSOLE THEM IN ALL THEIR TROUBLES.

4. THEY SHALL FIND IN MY HEART AN ASSURED REFUGE DURING LIFE AND ESPECIALLY AT THE HOUR OF DEATH.

5. I WILL POUR ABUNDANT BLESSINGS ON ALL THEIR UNDERTAKINGS.

6. SINNERS SHALL FIND IN MY HEART THE SOURCE AND INFINITE OCEAN OF MERCY.

7. TEPID SOULS SHALL BECOME FERVENT.

8. FERVENT SOULS SHALL SPEEDILY RISE TO GREAT PERFECTION.

9. I WILL BLESS THE HOMES IN WHICH THE IMAGE OF MY SACRED HEART SHALL BE EXPOSED AND HONORED.

10. I WILL GIVE TO PRIESTS THE POWER TO TOUCH THE MOST HARDENED HEARTS.

11. THOSE WHO PROPAGATE THIS DEVOTION SHALL HAVE THEIR NAME WRITTEN IN MY HEART, AND IT SHALL NEVER BE EFFACED.

12. I PROMISE THEE IN THE EXCESS OF THE MERCY OF MY HEART, THAT ITS ALL-POWERFUL LOVE WILL GRANT TO ALL THOSE WHO SHALL RECEIVE COMMUNION ON THE FIRST FRIDAY OF NINE CONSECUTIVE MONTHS THE GRACE OF FINAL REPENTANCE; THEY SHALL NOT DIE UNDER MY DISPLEASURE, NOR WITHOUT RECEIVING THE SACRAMENTS; MY HEART SHALL BE THEIR ASSURED REFUGE AT THAT LAST HOUR.

Source Catholic Tradition

Fine Art Friday - Titian

Self-Portrait
The Assumption
The Entombment
Supper at Emmaus
St. Sebastian
Salome
Titian

(TIZIANO VECELLI, called TITIAN).

The greatest of Venetian painters, born at Pieve di Cadore (Friuli); died at Venice, 27 Aug., 1577.

Source Catholic Encyclopedia

5 Ways to Live a Holier Life

Shared by Sue

Make more time for prayer:
Spending time together is the best way to get to know God better.

Practice sharing:
God wants us to take care of each other. Look for more ways to share your money, time, and talents with someone who needs
them.

Celebrate the Sacraments:
Make Sunday Mass the highlight of your week. Go to confession and celebrate God´s forgiving spirit.

Be a voice in the wilderness:
When you notice an injustice, be the first one to speak out and take action. Treat all people with the dignity they deserve as children of God.

Share your faith:
Talk about God with anyone who wants to listen. We shouldn´t keep his love all to ourselves. There´s more than enough to go around.

Picture source here