Our Lady

Our Lady, pray for us! Picture source

Queen of All Hearts

Thanks Sue!

Our Lady, Mary, Mother of God, Mother to us all,
Beloved above all others by the Father,Son,Holy Spirit

She is the Tabernacle where God became a Child.
She is the great miracle of God's Mighty Arm.
She is the Father's Daughter,
Mother of Jesus Christ,
And by a great mystery
Temple of the Holy Spirit.

St. Louis de Montfort


The Blessed Virgin Mary Through The Ages, as she was known by the Early Fathers of the Church and Popes, Doctors of the Church, and some of the Greatest Saints ! May the life of Mary, who gave birth to God, be for all of you as instructive as if it were written down. Come to know yourselves in her and carry out the good works that you have neglected in the past." - Saint Athanasius (293/297 - 373) +++ [ +++ = Doctor of the Church ]

" O sinners, be not discouraged but have recourse to Mary in all your necessities. Call her to your assistance, for you will always find her ready to help. It is God's will that she should help in every need. " - Saint Basil the Great (329 - 379) +++

"Think often of the Blessed Virgin with love. Those who have received the grace to do so, possess a great sign for predestination."- Saint Ambrose (340 - 397) +++

"Mary, the Mother of Our Lord, accompanied by choirs of Angels, will come to meet you. What a day of joy that will be for you !"- Saint Jerome (340 - 420) +++

"Through Mary, the miserable obtain Mercy, the graceless find grace, and sinners receive pardon."- Saint Augustine of Hippo. (354 - 430) +++

" The Mother of God contained the infinite God under her Heart, the God Whom no space can contain. Through her, the Trinity is adored, demons are vanquished, Satan is cast out of heaven, and our fallen nature is assumed into heaven." - Saint Cyril of Alexandria (376-444) +++

"The devil is always looking for someone to devour. In the same way, Mary is always looking for someone she can help in any way."- Pope Saint Leo I " the Great ", ( Reigned 440 - 461 ) +++

" Mary, ever Virgin, is a true Mother of Mercy, who disposes Jesus to clemency. As a consoler of the human race, she never ceases to pour out before Him her prayer for the salvation of the faithful crushed by the weight of their sins." - Pope Saint Pius V ( Reigned 1566 - 1572)

"Devotion to the Blessed Virgin in no way detracts from the Glory of God. Rather, it leads us directly back to that Author of all good, Who has willed her to be so great and so pure". - Pope Pius Xll ( Reigned 1939 - 1958)

" Because Jesus redeemed us, He is our Lord and our King. In the same way, the Blessed Virgin is our Lady and our Queen, on account of the unique manner in which she assisted in the Redemption, offering her Son to the Father for the salvation of the world." - Pope Pius Xll ( Reigned 1939 - 1958)

"The Blessed Virgin directs to us all of the acts that every mother lavishes on her children. She loves us, watches over us, protects us, and intercedes for us." - Pope John XXlll ( Reigned 1958 - 1963)

"Our life on earth is filled with troubles and temptations. We must let ourselves be captivated by Mary and model our life in some way upon her exemplary holiness." - Pope Paul VI ( Reigned 1963 - 1978)

"Every time that you honor Mary, Mary praises and honors God with you." - Pope John Paul ll ( Reigned 1978 - 2005)

"In entrusting to you, O Mother, the world, all individuals and peoples, we also entrust to you this very consecration of the world, placing it in your motherly heart." - Pope John Paul ll
( Reigned 1978 - 2005)

"To support me in this promise, I invoke the maternal intercession of Most Holy Mary, in whose hands I place the present and future of my person and of the Church." - Pope Benedict XVl ( Reigned 2005 to Now )

" The name ' Mary ' means light or star of the sea. For it was Mary who brought forth the Eternal Light, Jesus Christ !" - Saint Isidore of Seville (540 - 636) +++

" To serve Mary and to be her courtier is the greatest honor we can possibly possess. For to serve the Queen of Heaven is already to reign on high, and to live under her commands is a greater thing than to govern !" - Saint John Damascene (676 - 749) +++

" We today also remain near you, O Lady. Yes, I repeat O Lady, Mother of God and Virgin. We bind our souls to your hope, as to a most firm and totally unbreakable anchor, consecrating to you mind, soul, body, and all our being and honoring you , as much as we can, with psalms, hymns, and spiritual canticles." - Saint John Damascene (676 - 749) +++

"Our Lady is rest for those who work, consolation for those who weep, medicine for the sick, a harbor for those assailed by tempests, pardon for sinners, sweet relief for the sad, succor for those who implore." -Saint John Damascene( 676-749) +++

" May we deserve to have the help of your intercession in heaven, because as the Son of God has deigned to descend to us through you, so we must also come to Him with you." - Saint Peter Damian (1007 - 1072) +++

" The Mother of God is our mother. May the good mother ask and beg for us , may she request and obtain what is good for us." - Saint Anselm of Canterbury (1033 - 1109) +++

" O happy confidence! O perfect refuge! The Mother of God is my Mother. What firm trust we should have, then, since our salvation depends on the judgment of a good brother and a tender Mother." - Saint Anselm of Canterbury ( 1033 - 1109) +++

"Let us not imagine that we obscure the glory of the Son by the great praise we lavish on His Mother. The more Mary is honored, the greater is the glory of her Son." - Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (1090 -1153) +++

"When we speak the name of Mary, heaven becomes more beautiful, and earth rejoices. The demons are terrified, and vanish like dust in the wind"- Saint Francis of Assisi ( 1181 - 1226)

"I command all my brothers, who are living now and who will live in the future, always to praise the Mother of God, and with every means to honor her everywhere as well as they are able, and have recourse to her with the greatest respect and surrender." - Saint Francis of Assisi (1181 - 1226)

" How beautiful you are in soul and resplendent in body, Mary, my Mother. In this world, the Blessed Virgin was poor and unknown, but in heaven, she is glorious and beautiful, the Queen of Angels." - Saint Anthony of Padua (1195 - 1231) +++

" Seek refuge in Mary because she is the city of refuge. We know that Moses set up three cities of refuge for anyone who inadvertently killed his neighbor. Now the Lord has established a refuge of mercy, Mary, even for those who deliberately commit evil. Mary provides shelter and strength for the sinner." - Saint Anthony of Padua (1195 - 1231) +++

" The whole world is indebted to Jesus for His Passion. Similarly, all of us are indebted to our Lady for her compassion." - Saint Albert the Great (1206 - 1280) +++

" Those who enjoy the favor of Mary are recognized by the citizens of heaven. And those that bear her stamp , that is, those that have the grace to be her servants, are inscribed in the Book of Life. " - Saint Bonaventure (1221 - 1274) +++

"The Blessed Virgin Mary is called the Star of the Sea. Those who sail the ocean seas are guided to the port they seek by carefully observing the stars. In the same way, Christians are guided to heavenly glory by keeping their eyes on Mary."- Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225 - 1274) +++

" The Blessed Virgin never committed any actual sin- not even a venial one. Otherwise, she would not have been a Mother worthy of Jesus. The Son would have shared the ignominy of the Mother, for He would have had a sinner for His Mother." - Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225 - 1274) +++

"Have recourse to that dear Mary who is the Mother of Mercy. She will take you into her Son's presence, and use her Motherly intercession with Him on your behalf, so that He will be merciful to you." - Saint Catherine of Siena (1347 - 1380) +++

"The Blessed Virgin Mary has the power of delivering souls from purgatory by her prayers, and by applying her merits for them. This is especially true for souls that were devoted to her on earth." - Saint Bernardine of Siena (1380 - 1444)

" Once, on the Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady, Queen of the Angels, the Lord was pleased to grant me the following favour: in a rapture there was pictured to me her ascent into Heaven and the joy and solemnity with which she was received and the place where she now is. Exceeding great was the glory which filled my spirit when it saw such glory. The fruits of the vision were wonderful and I was left with a great desire to serve Our Lady, because of her surpassing merits." - Saint Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) +++

" While remaining the mother of our Judge, Mary is a mother to us, full of mercy. She constitutes our protection. She keeps us close to Christ, and she faithfully takes the matter of our salvation into her charge." Saint Peter Canisius (1521 - 1597) +++

" Those who want to prevent their heart from being pervaded by the evils of earth should entrust it to the Blessed Virgin, our Lady and our Mother. They will then regain it in heaven, freed from all evils." - Saint Francis de Sales (1567 - 1622) +++

" Let all hearts give themselves to Mary so that she will fill them with her Heart and the Heart of Jesus ! " - Saint John Eudes (1601 - 1680)

" Oh Mother of love, you have given me your Heart. Now take firm possession of my heart and offer it completely to the pure love and sole glory of your beloved Son." - Saint John Eudes (1601 - 1680)

" Give your heart completely to Mary. And beg her to make it like the Heart of her Divine Son." - Saint John Eudes (1601 - 1680)

"It is the nature of Jesus Christ to lead us to the Father. In the same way, it is the nature of the Blessed Virgin to lead us surely to Jesus."- Saint Louis Grignon de Montfort. (1673- 1716)

" To go to Jesus through Mary is truly to honor Jesus Christ. It indicates that we do not esteem ourselves worthy of approaching His infinite holiness directly, that we need Mary to be our Mediatrix with Him, our Mediator. " - Saint Louis Grignon de Montfort (1673 - 1716)

"Mary adorns her clients with her merits, assists them with her power, enlightens them with her light, and kindles them with her love. She imparts her virtues to them and becomes their security, their intercessor, and their all with Jesus. " - Saint Louis Grignon de Montfort. (1673 - 1716)

" Mary is the sure way to go to Jesus and to find Him perfectly. It is through her that holy souls, who are to radiate holiness, must find Jesus !" - Saint Louis Grignon de Montfort (1673 - 1716)

" When the Holy Spirit finds Mary in a soul, He flies to it. He enters therein and communicates Himself to that soul with abundance." - Saint Louis Grignon de Montfort (1673 - 1716)

" Cast yourself in spirit into the Heart of Mary. Then love the Sovereign Good by means of this Heart that is so pure! " - Saint Paul of the Cross (1694 - 1775)

"Although we are sinners, let us be of good heart and feel certain that Mary will come to assist us at death. We need only to serve her with love for the remainder of our time in the world."- Saint Alphonsus Liguori. (1696 - 1787) +++

"Whoever bears the mark of devotion to Mary, God recognizes as His own."- Saint Alphonsus Liguori. (1696 - 1787) +++

"Heap together all of the love of mothers for their children, all of the love of husbands for their wives, and all of the love of the Angels and the Saints for their clients. The total could never equal Mary's love for even a single soul!" - Saint Alphonsus Liguori (1696 - 1787) +++

"Happy is he who lives and dies under the protection of the Blessed Virgin"- Saint Jean-Marie-Baptiste Vianney, the Cure D' Ars, ( 1786-1859)


" When our hands have touched spices, they give fragrance to all they handle. Let us make our prayers pass through the hands of the Blessed Virgin. She will make them fragrant." - Saint John Vianney (1786 - 1859)

"Do you know the surest way to learn the will of God ? It is the way of prayer to our good Mother Mary !" - Saint John Vianney (1786 - 1859)

"Those who have great devotion to Mary not only will be saved, but also will, through her intercession, become great Saints. Furthermore, their holiness will grow from day to day ."- Saint Vincent Pallotti (1795 - 1850)

"We find ourselves on earth as in a tempestuous sea, a desert , and a vale of tears. But Mary is the Star of the Sea, the Solace of our desert, and the Light that guides us to heaven."- Saint John Bosco. (1815 - 1888)

"Do not be afraid to love the Blessed Virgin too much. You can never love her enough. And Jesus will be very happy, because the Blessed Virgin is His Mother." - Saint Therese of Lisieux.
(1873 - 1897) +++

"Let us bind ourselves tightly to the Sorrowful Heart of our heavenly Mother and reflect on its boundless grief and how precious is our soul. " - Saint Padre Pio. (1887 - 1968)

"Some people are foolish enough to believe that they can get through their whole life without any help from the Blessed Virgin Mary." - Saint Padre Pio (1887 - 1968)

"Do not fear the enemy; he will not launch anything against the little ship of your spirit because Jesus is the helmsman and Mary is the star." - Saint Padre Pio (1887 - 1968)

"Love our Lady, make others love her. Always say your Rosary and say it well. Satan always tries to destroy this prayer, but he will never succeed. It is the prayer of her who triumphs over everything and everyone." - Saint Padre Pio (1887 - 1968)

"Those who belong to Mary should do all they can to win the hearts of others to her. And Mary will enlighten those hearts , enkindle them with the love of her Maternal Heart, and inflame them with the fire of charity that burns in the Divine Heart of Jesus. " - Saint Maximilian Kolbe (1894 - 1941)

" Love the Immaculata ! Confide in her and consecrate yourself to her without reservation. Strive to do everything that she herself would do it in your place, especially by loving God as she loves Him. " - Saint Maximilian Kolbe (1894 - 1941)

" If you want to grow in perfection, you cannot advance by yourselves - you need a guide. Hence, when you go to God, go through Mary and with Mary !" - Saint Maximilian Kolbe (1894 -
1941)

"When, O Mother Immaculate, will you become Queen of each and every soul? When will all the souls in the entire world know the goodness and love of your Heart towards them? When will every soul show you its gratitude with ardent love, and not only by passing affection, but by total dedication of the will to you, so that you reign in each and every heart and be able to form them according to the pattern of the Most Sacred Heart of thy Son, to make them happy , to divinise them? When will this come about ? " - Saint Maximilian Kolbe (1894 - 1941)

"My Immaculate Heart shall be your refuge and the road that shall lead you to God " - Our Lady of Fatima, 1917 "Jesus wishes to make use of you ( Lucia ) to make me known and loved. He wants to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. I promise salvation to those who embrace it , and those souls will be loved by God, like flowers placed by me to adorn His Throne" - Our Lady of Fatima, June 13th, 1917

+++ = Doctor of the Church

Mary & Christ

Picture used with permission from Aida Yared
Thanks to my friend Barb for sharing the following:

Mary the dawn, Christ the perfect day;
Mary the gate, Christ the Heavenly Way!

Mary the root, Christ the Mystic Vine;
Mary the grape,Christ the Sacred Wine!

Mary the wheat, Christ the Living Bread;
Mary the stem, Christ the Rose blood-red!

Mary the font, Christ the Cleansing Flood;
Mary the cup, Chirst the Saving Blood!

Mary the temple, Christ the temple's Lord;
Mary the shrine, Christ the God adored!

Mary the beacon, Christ the Heaven's Rest;
Mary the mirror, Christ the Vision Blest!

Mary the mother, Chirst the mother's Son;
By all things blest while endless ages run.

Author unknown

Lovely Lady in Blue

The first time I read the following poem was when a nice gentleman in Church gave me a card with the poem on it. I posted it on Catholic Homeschooling site a few years ago.

It was recently after he passed away, that I learned his name. Thank you Eric!

Lovely Lady, Dressed in Blue
Teach me how to pray.
God was just your little boy
Tell me what to say.
Did you lift Him up sometimes,
Gently on your knee.
And did you sing to Him
The way mother does to me.
Did you try telling Him stories of the world?
And, oh, did He cry?

Do you think He minds if I tell Him things,
Just little things that happen?
And do the angels wings make a noise?

Can He hear me if I speak low?
Does He hear me now?
Lovely lady dressed in blue,
Teach me how to pray.
God was just a little boy
You know the way
You know what to say.

Amen.

Prayer for the Protection Against Demons

Thanks Sue!

PRAYER FOR PROTECTION AGAINST DEMONS

by Saint John Bosco

O Mary, powerful Virgin,You are the mighty and glorious Protector of the Church. You are the Marvelous Help of Christians. You are Terrible as an Army set in Battle Array. You alone have destroyed every heresy in the entire Church.In the midst of my anguish, my struggles and my distress, Defend me from the power of the enemy,and at the hour of my death, Receive my soul into Paradise. Amen

Prayer to Our Lady of Hidden Things

Thanks Sue.

O Blessed Mother of Hidden Things, grant me the hidden way to the Lord, the hidden way to Heaven, the hidden path that shields me from failure and danger and brings me to the fruition of my life mission. Oh dear Blessed Mary of what is hidden, reveal what is in me that should be purged, corrected, or changed, show me the hidden path, shield me, grant me this special hidden need [state it here], remove hidden hurts, hidden sins, hidden lusts, hidden failings. Hide my family from the enemy, oh Blessed Mother, and find for us all that we have lost in life due to the blindness of sin. Amen

The Feast of the Annunciation - Including a Pro-Life Novena

Picture from the Gefroh Family Collection of Rosary pictures.

Because this solemnity falls on a Sunday, it will be celebrated on Monday March 26th.

The following is from St. Michael Center for the Blessed Virgin Mary
H/T to Mary Ann S for the Novena.

Annunciation Prayer

O Holy Mary, Queen of Virgins, through the mystery of the Incarnation
of your beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, by which our salvation was so happily begun, obtain for us light to understandthe benefit He has bestowed on us vouchsafing to become our brother, and in giving us you, His own most beloved Mother, to be our Mother also. Amen.

The Angelus

The angel of the Lord declared unto Mary.
And she conceived of the Holy Ghost.
Hail Mary, ...

Behold the handmaid of the Lord.
Be it done unto me according to Thy word.
Hail Mary, ...

And the Word was made Flesh.
And dwelt among us.
Hail Mary, ...

Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ

Please join St. Stephens Respect Life Committee in praying a
Novena for Preborn Babies
beginning on Sunday, March 25th, the traditional Feast of the Annunciation, and
ending nine days later, on Monday, April 2nd.

The Prayer asking Our Lady of Guadalupe's intercession in protecting the preborn babies is attached. Please say it March 25th through April 2nd.

There is also a wealth of information AND an invitation to add names of preborn babies and their mothers to the American Life League's prayer intentions on their site… American Life League . Scroll down to the link
"Pray for preborn babies on Feast of the Annunciation."

Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mother of Life

O Mary,
Bright dawn of the new world,
Mother of the living,
To you do we entrust the cause of life:
Look down, O Mother,
Upon the vast numbers
Of babies not allowed to be born,
Of the poor whose lives are made difficult,
Of men and women
Who are victims of brutal violence,
Of the elderly and the sick killed
By indifference or out of misguided mercy.
Grant that all who believe in your Son
May proclaim the Gospel of life
With honesty and love
To the people of our time.
Obtain for them the grace
To accept that Gospel
As a gift ever new,
The joy of celebrating it with gratitude
Throughout their lives
And the courage to bear witness to it
Resolutely, in order to build,
Together with all people of good will,
The civilization of truth and love,
To the praise and glory of God,
The Creator and lover of life.
Amen.

A Prayer for Abortion Victims

By now you may have heard that abortion is now legal in Portugal...the land of Our Lady of Fatima and the Little Shepherd children. Very tragic.

Thank you Sue for sharing the following:

Holy Mother of God and of the Church, our Lady of Guadalupe, you were chosen
by the Father for the Son through the Holy Spirit. You are the Woman clothed with the sun who labors to give birth to Christ while Satan, the Red Dragon, waits to voraciously devour your child.

So too did Herod seek to destroy your Son, Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
and massacred many innocent children in the process. So today does abortion, killing many innocent unborn children and exploiting many mothers in its attack upon human life and upon the Church, the Body of Christ.

Mother of the Innocents, we praise God in you for His gifts to you of your
Immaculate Conception, your freedom from actual sin; your fullness of grace,
your Motherhood of God and the Church, your Perpetual Virginity and your
Assumption in body and soul into heaven.

O Help of Christians, we beg you to protect all mothers of the unborn and
the children within their wombs. We plead with you for your help to end the
holocaust of abortion. Melt hearts so that life may be revered!

Holy Mother, we pray to your Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart for all mothers and all unborn children that they may have life here on earth and by the most Precious Blood shed by your Son that they may have eternal life with Him in heaven. We also pray to your Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart for all abortionists and all abortion supporters that they may be converted and accept your Son, Jesus Christ, as their Lord and Savior. Defend all of your children in the battle against Satan and all of the evil spirits in this present darkness.

We desire that the innocent unborn children who die without Baptism should
be baptized and saved. We ask that you obtain this grace for them and
repentance, reconciliation and pardon from God for their parents and their
killers.

Let there be revealed, once more, in the history of the world the infinite
power of merciful love. May it put an end to evil. May it transform
consciences. May your Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart reveal for all the
light of hope. May Christ the King reign over us, our families, cities,
states, nations and the whole of humanity.

O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary, hear our pleas and accept this
cry from our hearts!

Our Lady of Guadalupe, Protectress of the Unborn, Pray for us!

The Magnificat

Mother

Thank you Sue of Catholic Community.

In a garden Mary stood when Springtime's radiant beauty
Wrapped the world in sunlight and filled her heart with joy.

Down the garden-path there ran a slender little Figure
Bringing her a gift of love - He, her God, her Boy!

Mary opened wide her arms to take her sheaf of lilies:
"Mother!" called her little Son, and never had she heard
In the angel's message, in brooklet, or in bird-song,
Music half so lovely as that one tender word.

On a hill-top Mary stood one sadder, later Springtime.

All the earth was wrapped in gloom beneath that blood-stained Cross;
Memories thronged about her, memories of His Childhood,
Adding to her loneliness, her pain, her sense of loss.

Mary opened wide her arms but His were nailed securely "
Mother!" breathed her dying Son, and never had she heard
In her sword-pierced heart that knew the very depths of sorrow
Anything approaching the pathos of that word.

"Mother! Mother Mary!" a million hearts are calling,
"Open wide again those arms, and in their warm embrace,
Take the children Jesus gave you on that darkened hill-top
When He named you Mother of the sin-stained human race."

Sr. Maryanna Robert, Cyril.
Our Lady's Praise in Poetry.
Poughkeepsie, New York: Marist Press, 1944.