The Madonna Of Hungary

FYI -- This article on Our Lady in Hungary should be specially read by Irish Catholics as it has a special "Irish Connection"'.

The veneration of Our Lady unites men all over the world in love, homage, and supplication. 

It is not surprising therefore that an image of her which is dear to the hearts of one nation calls forth a sense of brotherhood and reverence in a far distant land. It is almost as if these images formed the material links in a vast chain of prayer. 

So the Irish Madonna of Hungary has joined two nations.

There is a touching custom among the inhabitants of the Hungarian town of Gyor and the villages located in the vicinity. This custom has been kept alive ever since the seventeenth century, particularly among the deeply religious peasantry. When a boy or girl is old enough to undertake a long march on foot, sometimes of from fifteen to twenty miles, the child is accompanied by his parents to the diocesan cathedral in Gyor and there dedicated by them to the Madonna whose picture now adorns the main altar. 

This Madonna is called the "Irish Madonna" because it was brought during troubled times of Cromwell's rule from Ireland, and has played a considerable role not only in the life of the immediate region but is connected with important historical events both in Hungary and the country of its origin.

Hungarians attach great importance to this picture of the Madonna because it comes from another country whose people have also fought and suffered for their faith. There are many other pilgrim places and shrines of the Madonna in Hungary, for ever since the tenth century the country has been dedicated to her and she is considered its patroness. The veneration of Mary is indeed ingrained in the Hungarian national character. 

A small nation, living for many centuries among peoples not related to them by ties of blood, the Hungarians have gone through continuous spiritual and material struggles and have a strongly developed sense of loneliness and tragedy. For them the Madonna is particularly the comforter of the afflicted and the protector of Christians.

The sorrow of the Eastern European peasant can reach depths sometimes unimaginable to the Western mind--as it can also reach the heights of joy. It is a common sight to see one of those millions submerged in personal or national sorrow wiping away his tears before the Madonna and rising up with a smile on his lips. The Madonna is the Mother of everyone in those regions. 

She is the one who in times of adversity comforts their souls and teaches them to hope and smile again. With the Hungarians, as with many other Eastern Europeans, one of the most important events in their religious life is a sign from the Madonna that she is with them. 

Thus there is a legend that the picture of the Madonna in Andocs, a village in Southern Hungary, was brought to its present location by two angels flying day and night, and at a time when the people of this region needed to be reassured that their Mother had not deserted them.

The extraordinary story of the Irish Madonna in Gyor, however, is not a legend but appears as a reality based on fact and the testimony of reliable witnesses. 

This picture hung in the Cathedral of Clonfert, in the diocese of Tuam, when in 1649 England dispatched Oliver Cromwell on a punitive expedition to Ireland and the religious persecution began. Walter Lynch, Bishop of Clonfert, and some of his fellow prelates were arrested and herded to an island called Innisboffin, where they were imprisoned. Bishop Lynch always carried with him the picture of the Madonna from Clonfert Cathedral, fearing that this treasured relic might fall into impious hands. 

In 1652, with some members of his group he succeeded in escaping to the Continent, where the Irish refugees were warmly received in various countries by their brothers who enjoyed a better lot. Bishop Lynch spent some time in Belgium and in Portugal. Later on he traveled as far as Hungary, for what reason we do not know, although he was doubtless acquainted with the close medieval ties that bound that nation to his own. 

And indeed he was received with open arms at the first bishopric he reached after crossing the Hungarian border. This was the city of Gyor, where the Hungarian Bishop appointed him as his auxiliary and he was made a member of the diocesan chapter. The Irish Bishop learned Hungarian and worked ten years among the faithful, but although grateful for the hospitality he received, his heart still longed for his native country. 

Thus, after ten years when the persecution in Ireland had subsided, he prepared with great expectation for his return journey. However, God decided otherwise. The Irish prelate fell suddenly ill and died in Hungary. On his deathbed he bequeathed the picture of the Madonna to the Bishop of Gyor, who placed it in the cathedral. Bishop Lynch himself is buried in the cathedral crypt.

In 1697 the Hungarians enjoyed greater peace than they had known for many years. But during that year in Ireland, a greater blow than ever was to fall upon Bishop Lynch's coreligionists. In that year Parliament passed an edict that all priests were to be expelled from the territory of Ireland and from all the British Isles, the churches confiscated and all traces of the Catholic religion wiped out. A national Irish church was established and the dead could only be buried by ministers of that religion.

On March 17, 1697, Saint Patrick's Day, as thousands were praying during early morning Mass in the Cathedral of Gyor, priests and faithful suddenly saw that the eyes of the Madonna on the picture donated by the Irish prelate were shedding tears and blood, which dropped down upon the Child in the crib over which she was bending. 

This miracle lasted more than three hours. The face of the Madonna was wiped with linen (this linen is still preserved in the Cathedral of Gyor), but the blood and tears did not cease to flow. The picture was immediately taken from the wall and removed from its frame; the phenomenon continued. News of the marvel immediately spread to the far corners of the city and not only Catholics, but Protestants and Jews flocked to see the miracle. 

It was witnessed by thousands, and many of them gave testimony of what they saw. A document signed by more than a hundred persons bears the signature of the imperial governor of the city, the mayor, all the councilmen, the Bishop, some priests, Calvinist and Lutheran ministers and a Jewish rabbi--all of whom, volunteered to give their testimony to an undeniable fact.

The miracle of the Irish Madonna on St. Patrick's Day in 1697 remained deeply inscribed in the hearts of many Hungarians. Since that time the people have come to her shrine in times of personal sorrow and during the many disasters that have afflicted their country. There they have found strength in their despair, and their sorrow has been changed to hope.

Credits : Catholic Culture

Also Read The Following Article Courtesy of the National Catholic Register 

The Hungarian Loreto 

http://www.ncregister.com/site/article/hungarian_loreto_lures_catholic_pilgrims

Mother Mary : Perpetual Seat of Wisdom

Mother Mary is the Seat of Wisdom because she bears within herself the Wisdom Of The Father, Jesus Christ who illumines every Human Being who comes into the World.

When We consider Mary as The Seat of Wisdom we contemplate the Incarnation Of the Son the Word Made Flesh who pitches his tent among men having made Mary His Abode.

Thus, When we revere Mary as the Seat of Wisdom we enter that tent which is Christ and we reach there through Mary -- The Gate of Salvation.

Mary is the Seat of Wisdom because she is the Mother of Jesus Christ -- Fully God and Fully Man.

Mary is that wise virgin who does not remain ignorant of how God encounters her along Life's Journey. She allows him to teach her through the events of every day life.

That is how she assesses and deepens her understanding of Jesus who would otherwise be an "Ineffable Mystery". To Her, Ordinary Life becomes History and events become symbols of deep significance and maternity becomes discipleship.

As, a Disciple of Christ Mary always enter more deeply in the plan of salvation that unfolds before her eyes specially the Mystery Of The Cross and Easter.

Finally at Pentecost, Mary reaches the pinnacle of illumination regarding her Risen Son and the Church through the Gift of the Holy Spirit.

Mary Shines as The Seat of Wisdom not only because Christ -- The Incarnate Wisdom made her womb his abode but also and above all because she possessed the spiritual knowledge inaccessible to human reasoning and attained it through faith -- the most sublime knowledge.

Credits : Mary : Seat of Wisdom
              By Lorenzo Villar
              Pages 18-19
              Don Bosco's Madonna, Mumbai
             October 2009
             Vol - 11, N0-6

Mother Mary -- Comforter Of Those In Pain

Transylvania is one of those small areas of Central Europe, which clearly displays through its very continuity of existence the ageless struggle between European West and European East. 

The country has suffered some wounds as well as gaining great benefits from Central Asiatic influences. Transylvania for many hundreds of years was part of Hungary. Then it became independent, ruled by Hungarian princes who nevertheless considered themselves Transylvanian rather than Hungarian. After World War I, the country was joined to Romania, then parts of it were returned to Hungary; and when World War II ended, the country found itself once more under Romanian rule.

Today its population is more than half Romanian; the next largest group is Hungarian, while the third determining cultural and folk element is German-Saxon; it is a place where East and West really meet. The Germans began to settle there in the twelfth century and some, mostly Lutherans, remain there now. 

The statue of Our Lady of Csiksomlyo is clearly a peasant Madonna. Her round face shows the characteristics of the Southeast European racial mixture. Like the Madonna and her shrines in this and other territories of Eastern Europe, she was primarily the refuge of Christians in their tremendous adversities. 

The Sekler folk, who have the most colorful folklore in every respect--literature, dress and forms of religiosity--in order to show their gratitude for the miracles and help, built her a sumptuous Gothic cathedral, which was later rebuilt in Baroque style. But church and shrine have distinct Byzantine characteristics as well. From their establishment in the fifteenth century, the shrine and church were open to all nations. 

Documents prove that the statue was considered a worker of miracles as far back as the middle of the sixteenth century.

The monastery and the shrine were attacked many times. A Tartar officer attempted to pierce the statue with his lance. Surrounding buildings burned down six times, but the statue remained untouched. The invading Tartars once were driven back by a small force of women dressed in soldier uniforms. The people, harassed by civil and foreign wars, despoiled by the invaders and by their own lords, very often felt themselves entirely helpless and ran for aid to the shrines of Mary, and if at all possible, first to the sanctuary of Csiksomlyo-Sumuleu.

Credits : Catholic Culture 

The Black Madonna of Poland

The History of the Polish National Shrine of Czestochowa is a mirror of the tormented and troubled history of the nations of Central and Eastern Europe and a key to the understanding of their spiritual resistance during their trials. 

According to the legend, St. Luke painted a portrait of the Blessed Virgin on the table made by Jesus Himself when He was an apprentice carpenter under the paternal guidance of St. Joseph. After the Crucifixion, this table was brought to Jerusalem; when the Holy City had fallen to the Romans the disciples kept it hidden during their wanderings. 

It was St. Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, who while searching for the Holy Cross found the picture of the Mother of Christ and took it to Constantinople. The venerated portrait of the Virgin thus remained from the third to the eighth century in Constantinople in a church built for the purpose of housing the precious relic. 

In the troublesome eighth century the picture was again in great danger and was carried to the wilderness to be hidden in remote places like the forests of Belsk, in Eastern Poland. Even in that part of Europe there was no real peace, because of the migrations from the East, which constantly moved westward. During the first Tartar invasion of Europe the picture escaped harm. In 1382 the Tartars occupied Belsk, murdering and looting, but the portrait of the Holy Virgin was not discovered by the heathen invader, for a mysterious cloud enveloped the chapel. 

After the Tartars returned to their Asiatic homeland the Prince of Belsk was ordered in a dream by an angel to take the picture to an insignificant, obscure village named Czestochowa. There it was confided to the custody of the monks of St. Paul of the Desert who have guarded it down to the present day.

Comparative calm reigned around Czestochowa until 1430 and the renown of the miraculous picture grew. During this time King Jagiello united Poland and Lithuania and himself became an ardent Christian. He built a great Gothic cathedral around Our Lady's chapel and kings, princes, noblemen and peasants provided the sanctuary with precious and priceless votive offerings. 

In 1430 a new danger appeared on the horizon as religious wars began to ravage this part of Europe. These were first the wars between the followers of Jan Hus and the Catholic princes. The Hussites attacked Czestochowa, murdered, burned, robbed and took the Holy Picture. There is a story that as they bore it away their horses stopped at the limits of the village and no beating could incite them to move forward. 

Thus the picture of the Virgin was saved. When the pious monks found the picture, retaken from the Hussites, it lay in the mud covered with earth and blood. They immediately wanted to clean it but found that all wells had gone dry in fighting the fire. It was at this time that a miraculous fountain sprung up, a spring that has since healed thousands and thousands of sick and has supplied water to millions of pilgrims.

The Polish Nation attributes its very existence to the help of the Virgin of Czestochowa. The veneration of the picture of the Madonna is the expression of the Polish nation's faith and gratitude. After the Hussite invasion the Poles fought for three hundred years with the Teutonic Crusaders, and all the decisive victories won by the Polish nation in these battles are attributed to the miraculous help of the Holy Virgin. 

Thus the safety of the shrine of Czestochowa is identified with the very safety and independence of the whole nation. During the wars with the Swedes in the seventeenth century Czestochowa was besieged by the whole Swedish army for more than six weeks, but the army of the enemy was defeated and the invader driven from Polish soil. Thus Czestochowa again defended Polish unity and independence. 

The following year, 1656, the Holy Virgin was acclaimed Queen of Poland and Czestochowa became the spiritual capital of the nation. But there was little peace around Czestochowa for warfare continued first against the Princes of the Reformation and then against the Turks who, having enslaved the whole Balkan Peninsula and the greater part of Hungary, had arrived at the very doors of Vienna. It was the last minute help of the Polish king Sobieski that saved Vienna and the West. Before Sobieski and his army undertook their crusade he and his knights gathered at Czestochowa and dedicated themselves to their Mother in Heaven.

After the partition of Poland between Austria, Prussia, and Russia the Polish people, although divided into three different states under foreign domination, remained undivided in their faithfulness to Mary, Queen of Poland. In every Polish church there was and there is still a reproduction of the Madonna of Czestochowa. 

When in 1919 Poland regained its independence the newly organized Soviet Russian Red Army immediately invaded the unified country and again the whole of Poland had recourse to its protectress. The Holy Eucharist was carried in procession in every city and every village, novenas were held to Our Lady of Czestochowa in each church. 

On September 14, 1920, the Russians stood at the Vistula and threatened Warsaw. 

According to the legend, on September 15th, the day of Our Lady of Sorrows, the Madonna appeared in the clouds above Warsaw. This day was the turning point in the war. In Polish history this victory is called "the Miracle at the Vistula." During the Nazi invasion and subsequent occupation, people came only secretly to Czestochowa because Hitler prohibited the pilgrimages. The chapel was damaged during World War II but was later repaired and in 1945 half a million pilgrims came to express their gratitude for liberation from Nazism. 

On September 8, 1946, 1,500,000 persons participated at the National Shrine in the rededication of the entire nation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. 

Credits : Catholic Culture 

Our Lady Of Kursk

The first historical data concerning the miraculous icon of Our Lady of Kursk go back to the year 1295. The holy image was found in that year at the foot of an old oak tree in the neighborhood of the city of Rilsk. 

At the moment when a passerby discovered the image, so the legend relates, a fountain suddenly sprang from the earth-- and this fountain still exists. The populace of the city and the neighboring province immediately erected a log chapel and placed the icon at its main altar.

In 1898, revolutionaries threw bombs into the cathedral of Kursk. The church and even that small corner where the icon was placed were heavily damaged. The image of the Mother of God, however, remained undamaged. In 1918, after the Bolshevik Revolution, the picture disappeared again from the monastery. It was found after two months at the bottom of a deep well concealed in a sack, robbed of all its jewels. 

During the fights of the revolutionaries with the White army, the image remained safely in the monastery of Kursk. 

But in 1919, the anti-Bolshevik army withdrew from Kursk and the population feared that the image might fall into the hands of the godless. Thus the icon was carried secretly and given from hand to hand. Finally, in 1920, it reached Constantinople where it did not remain very long, being taken away by Tsarist officers and priests into Yugoslavia. This country sheltered for a long time the refugees of the White Russian army and the highest representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church. 

Between the two wars, the miraculous image of Our Lady of Kursk continued to visit various centers of the Russian emigration. Always in the care of Metropolitan Anasthassy, it escaped destruction during World War II; its hiding place was known only to those entrusted with its safe-keeping. 

After the war, it was announced that the miraculous icon of Our Lady of Kursk was in Munich, Germany, but that it was in the care of only the highest dignitaries of the Russian Orthodox Church in exile.

The holy image of the Madonna of Kursk is at this time the most sacred relic of the entire Russian Orthodox Church in exile. After its short stay in Munich, it crossed the ocean and its temporary dwelling place today is in New York City at the chapel of the Synod of the Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church. 

But it travels continuously. There is in the world no other holy image of Our Lady that has been carried to so many different places and countries; that has suffered such adventurous, dangerous voyages. Of this we can be certain: no matter how long this holy image is forced to remain far from its place of origin, there will be no permanent abode for her until she returns to the vicinity of the oak tree in the forest of Rilsk.

Credits : Catholic Culture 

Our Lady of Iviron

Our Lady of Iviron is the famous wonder-working icon of Our Blessed Mother, which was formerly kept in a special small chapel at the gate to the Red Square in Moscow, and venerated as the special protectress of Moscow. 

Iviron, means of Georgian origin. 

There was no Tsar who would come to the city of Moscow without first driving to this shrine and offering his homage. 

Before the 1917 revolution, men and women flocked to this little chapel to offer their prayers to Our Lady. But the miraculous image was not confined to this chapel at the gates of the city. 

The Madonna of Iviron was borne away each day in a stagecoach, drawn by six horses, to visit the houses of the sick, to bless with her presence a wedding, a christening, or some other great religious celebration. While this original was carried around, a copy of the sacred image replaced it in the shrine.

The Iviron Madonna is a copy of the famous icon that rests in the Greek Orthodox monastery of Iviron on Mount Athos. This monastery was founded in the tenth century by three Georgian monks.

The Mount Athos community of Greek Orthodox monks most probably became a general monastery when the individual hermits who chose this secluded spot decided to create a community.

Athos is a small tongue of land projecting from high mountains into the Aegean Sea. The city of the orthodox monks comprises about 120 monasteries, housing approximately four thousand monks. All monasteries are dedicated to the Holy Virgin, Mother of God.

In the year 999, the monks observed a flaming shape on the ocean; at the same time, the Mother of God appeared in the dream of an old Georgian hermit monk named Gabriel who lived in the monastery of the Georgians in the Mount Athos community. 

The Mother of God ordered the Georgian monk to go to the seashore, walk on the waves and retrieve the icon. The old Georgian acted accordingly before the astonished eyes of the people. He walked on the surface of the water, took the icon and brought it to the altar in the church of the Georgian monastery of the Iberians.

At the beginning of the seventeenth century, Tsar Alexis of Russia suddenly fell ill. 

Compelled by an inner conviction, he asked that the Virgin of the Gate be brought from Athos to heal him. The monks, however, were not willing to separate themselves from the cherished protectress of their gate. 

They decided that a special copy be made.

The copy was carried to Moscow in 1648 and the Tsar was cured instantly. After that, the holy image was placed in the little chapel on the square before the Kremlin and it became a sign of safety, a place of repose for the people. 

Following the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, the Moscow chapel of the Iviron Madonna was destroyed, but loving hands saved the icon and for many years it was hidden away in the closed Donskoi monastery. In 1943, it was moved to the Sokholniki Cathedral and Moscow believers pray there, to their beloved protectress.

Credits : Catholic Culture