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 

Our Lady of Lujan -- Patroness of Argentina

According to Facts and History The Statue of Our Lady of Lujan owes its origin to a Portuguese Settler who lived for many years as a Rancher in Argentina.Once on a visit to Brazil He was enchanted by a Beautiful Statue of Our Lady and brought it back with him to Argentina.

Let us forward to a couple of hundred years back now. The Marian Basilica of Our Lady of Lujan is the most important Marian Centre of Pilgrimage for all Catholics of South America and Central America as well.

Lujan is a great religious center, with many churches.

Soon after the first church had been completed, it proved insufficient to provide for the pilgrims who came from all over the vast country. Many recorded miracles occurred, and various Kings of Spain (Argentina was then a colony of Spain) bestowed upon the shrine gifts and jewels as ornate as those donated to the oldest and most famous ones in Europe.

Argentina has many other holy places dedicated to the Virgin, but Lujan is the most outstanding.Several religious orders, the Carmelites, the Dominicans, the Jesuits, the Franciscans and others have established churches and monasteries around the shrine, which now is in the custody of the Lazarists.

In 1904, the image was placed in the new cathedral, while it was still under construction. The cathedral was completed and consecrated in 1910. It is one of the most important in the world and can best be compared with the Gigantic Spanish Cathedrals.The Tiny Figure of the Madonna, with her wide open blue eyes, surrounded by a golden aureole, clothed in heavy, shining robes looks into the distance. Everything about her is of a corresponding grandeur. Both the material wealth of a country and the vigorous faith of its people here give expression to the spirit of the New World.

By the end of the eighteenth century Lujan became the most important national pilgrimage site in Argentina. During the fight for independence, she became the symbol of victory and the captured flags were placed in the sanctuary.

General San Martin, who passed through the Andes with his army following his successful campaign, laid his sword down forever in the cathedral in honor of Our Lady of Lujan.

In 1930, on the occasion of the three hundredth anniversary of the foundation of the sanctuary, the church housing the image was elevated to the rank of a Basilica. At the same time, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay recognized Our Lady of Lujan as their Protectress.

Recently the Argentine Army chose the Virgin of Lujan as its patroness. And according to an old custom a regiment of the army was dedicated to her services. This regiment becomes her "property" and the members of the regiment call her "La generala del Lujan."

Credits : Catholic Culture on Our Lady of Lujan  

Brazil's Patroness

Popular Religiosity has an important place in the life of Brazilian Catholics and has helped to bring people closer to God and deepen their faith.

By far the biggest religious attraction of all is the Shrine of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception at Aparecida (Nossa Senhora de Conceicao Aparecida). 

As many as 8 million pilgrims come here every year to pray to Our Lady of Aparecida ("Our Lady Who Appeared"), who is not only Patron Saint of Brazil, but also of mothers-to-be, the newborn, the rivers, the sea, gold, honey and beauty. 

It is arguably the most important Marian shrine in the Americas.

Saint Pope John Paul II prayed there in 1980.

The devotion's origins date to 1717, when three fishermen threw a net into the Paraiba River, less than 200 miles from Sao Paulo. On hauling it in, they found a headless statue of a Black Virgin. 

Casting their net a second time, they dragged in the head. After that, they caught enormous amounts of fish and concluded that the statue had miraculous powers.

One of the fishermen, Felipe Pedroso, took the 3-foot-tall dark brown wooden statue back home. 

People flocked to see it, and a cult soon started. Many graces were reported as people in Brazil and all over Latin America came to know about the miraculous statue.

In 1904, the 50th anniversary of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, Sao Paulo's Archbishop crowned the statue, which by then was covered with a heavy mantle of richly embroidered cloth. 

In 1930, Pope Pius XII proclaimed Our Lady of Aparecida, whose feast day is Oct. 12, to be the Principal patroness of Brazil.

After many earlier churches, a Shrine was built in 1955 to accommodate the crowds. 

Pope John Paul II blessed the shrine during his visit in 1980. 

It holds 45,000 people.

Credits : Our Sunday Visitor 

National Shrine of Mary Help of Christians Slovenia

Many faithful are rediscovering the traditional walking pilgrimage on some truly outstanding routes.

Many were almost forgotten.

One outstanding shrine is in the Julian Alps—mountains named after Julius Caesar, who founded the city at the foot of the mountains.

There, in the southern limestone mountains near the Austrian border, along the Slava River, a tributary of the Danube, is the National Marian Shrine of Brezje, in the beautiful and friendly land of Slovenia. It's an easy train ride from Venice, Italy.

The story of the Slovene National Shrine begins in 1800, when a parish priest gave orders to enlarge the Church of St. Vitus with a small chapel in honour of Mary, Help of Christians. In the Austro-Hungarian Empire, there was great devotion to Our Lady under this title.

In 1814, Leopold Layer, a Slovenian artist from nearby Kranj, painted the image of Our Lady enshrined there today, based upon a popular motif from Innsbruck, Austria. In 1863, after several miraculous healings, word spread and pilgrimages began to be organized.

Brezje became a popular place of prayer, and the church was too small for all the pilgrims, so a new and truly majestic basilica was built in 1900.

Today the shrine, staffed by Franciscans, draws many pilgrims. Some choose to walk from nearby Ljubljana, a former Roman city and today the capital of Slovenia and the largest city in the country.

St. John Paul II made a pilgrimage to Brezje in May 1996. He said, "A pilgrimage is an image of our life, and pilgrimage shrines are images of the heavenly Jerusalem."

Pilgrims who set off on foot to Brezje find many others on their path. This journey requires a firm will and some sacrifice to reach the destination to meet Mary, Mother of hope and consolation.

The miraculous image of Our Lady is enshrined in a massive golden frame held in place by an exquisite golden-leaf reredos, a work of art itself, visible to all pilgrims in an intimate side chapel where arriving groups gather for prayer.

Each day grace can be seen at work in the presence of the image: arriving pilgrims make their peace with God, seeking holy things and receiving reconciliation with the God of peace and mercy through the sacrament of mercy, confession.

The Basilica of Mary, Help of Christians, at Brezje is a national shrine not only for Slovenians, but also for their diaspora throughout the world. Since Slovenia opened up from Soviet oppression in 1991, the site has drawn thousands of Slovenian nationals and a growing number of others.

The shrine is amid majestic Alps, with the highest peak in Slovenia, Triglav, towering above. The Creator's magnificent works are visible for all to contemplate.

The pilgrimage to Brezje, an important undertaking historically for the Slovenian people, is today being rediscovered and growing in popularity. Making a vow to reach Brezje on foot is a longstanding custom. The walk 40 kilometres can be done in one long day.

An important decision in any pilgrim's life is where to travel and visit. Brezje is highly recommended for those who have the time or wish to enjoy untouched countryside. Travel back in time to a country described by many as one of Europe's best-kept secrets.

As a sign of gratitude and devotion to Mary, Help of Christians, locals take part in a candle-lit procession after Mass on Saturdays from Pentecost to All Saints Day. The candles are handmade by Carthusian Monks, and the devotion includes praying the rosary and singing folk songs. Entire Slovenian Parishes participate.

A pilgrims' office, gift shop, and museum are open year round. Picnics in the lovely park in front of the church are welcome. The church is open at 7 a.m. each day of the year. It closes at 8 p.m. in the summer and 7 p.m. in the winter.

Many groups conclude their pilgrimage with a prayer to Our Lady, Help of Christians, strengthening their devotion to Our Lady.

Devotion to Our Lady under this title has long had a special place in the hearts of many Europeans: Austrians, Croats, Italians, and Hungarians.

May this custom continue to develop among the new generation.

Credits : B.C. Catholic 

The Queenship of Our Lady

This Feast is celebrated every year on August 22.

With the certainty of faith we know that Jesus Christ is king in the literal, and absolute sense of the word; for He is true God and Man. This does not, however, prevent Mary from sharing His royal prerogatives, though in a limited manner; for she was the Mother of Christ, and Christ is God; and she shared in the work of the Divine Redeemer, in His struggles against enemies and in the triumph He won over them all.

From this union with Christ the King she obtains so eminent a status that she stands high above all created things; and upon this same union with Christ is based that royal privilege enabling her to distribute the treasures of the kingdom of the Divine Redeemer.

And lastly, this same union with Christ is the fountain of the inexhaustible efficacy of her motherly intercession in the presence of the Son and of the Father. Without doubt, then, The Blessed Mother possesses a dignity that far transcends all other creatures. In the eyes of her Son she takes precedence over everyone else. In order to help us understand the preeminence that the Mother of God enjoys over all creation, it would help to remember that from the first moment of her conception the Holy Virgin was filled with such a plenitude of grace as to surpass the graces enhancing all the saints.

Credits : Catholic Culture on the Queenship of Mary

Mother Mary The Perfect Companion For Lent

Mary is the perfect companion for Lent, and Lent is a perfect time to deepen our love, knowledge and veneration of the Mother of God.

At the wedding feast of Cana, Mary told the servers: “Do whatever he tells you” (Jn 2:5). In a similar way, Mary directs us all to be faithful to Christ, her divine Son. If we wish to draw closer to Christ during Lent, there is no better way than by entrusting ourselves to Mary, our spiritual mother.

In his great work, “True Devotion to Mary” St. Louis de Montfort (1673–1716) teaches that the entire purpose of devotion to Mary is to provide “a smooth but certain way of reaching Jesus Christ” (No. 62). He says that devotion to Mary “is a way of reaching Jesus perfectly, loving him tenderly, and serving him faithfully”.

For St. Louis, “the more one is consecrated to Mary, the more one is consecrated to Jesus,” and consecration to Mary “is the perfect renewal of the vows and promises of holy baptism"'. If Lent is a season when we recall our own baptism , devotion to Mary is one of the best ways to do this.

 Lent is a perfect time to renew our devotion to Mary as our spiritual mother who cares for us in the midst of challenges and difficulties.

 Because Lent is a time to turn away from sin, it is also an ideal time to recognize the gift that Our Lord himself gave us, giving us his own mother as our mother while he was dying on the cross (Jn 19:25–27). Pope St. John Paul II recognized that Jesus gave Mary as mother not only to the beloved disciple but to all of the faithful. Mary’s spiritual motherhood is the basis for the “Marian dimension” of the life of each of the disciples of Christ.

 Lent is a time to deepen our prayer life, and Mary provides the best example of prayer in her canticle, known as the Magnificat (Lk 1: 46–55). This canticle expresses the attitudes of praise, gratitude and humility that are at the heart of all authentic prayer to God.

In the Gospel of Luke, Simeon told Mary that her heart would be pierced so that “the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed” (Lk 2:35). This prophecy was fulfilled during Christ’s passion when Mary stood beneath the cross witnessing her Son’s crucifixion (Jn 19:25–27).

Vatican II tells us that Mary “faithfully persevered in her union with her Son unto the cross, where she stood, in keeping with the divine plan, grieving exceedingly with her only begotten Son, uniting herself with a maternal heart with His sacrifice, and lovingly consenting to the immolation of this Victim which she herself had brought forth” (Lumen Gentium, No. 58).

 Because Lent points to Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil, Mary as Our Lady of Sorrows assumes particular importance. But even under the cross, Mary remains a teacher and a model. She shows how all of the faithful, like her, can unite their sufferings to the passion of Christ for the redemption of the world.

Credits : Our Sunday Visitor

A Sacred Gem of Austria

The Basilica of Mariazell shows an astonishing theological concept. The pilgrim is invited to recognize a copy of his/her earthly pilgrimage when walking through the building and to get inspiration from it.

The pilgrim enters the Mariazell Basilica through its main entrance. The arch of the main entrance shows a crucifixion scene as well as depictions of the founding process of the pilgrimage site. On both sides of the main entrance, two lead figures - Duke Henry of Morovia and King Louis I., both important figures for Mariazell - invite the pilgrims to enter the Basilica. Upon entrance, the pilgrim is captivated by the Baroque beauty of the Basilica's interior.

The Chapel of Grace attracts the pilgrim's attention right away and constitutes the center of the Basilica. The plain wooden statue of the Mother of God welcomes the faithful and points at the aim of the pilgrimage: Jesus Christ. The Mariazell Mother of God is 48 cm tall and is made of linden wood. The early-Gothic statue of Mary is holding Baby Jesus on her lap. The child is holding an apple and reaches with His left hand for the fruit which Mary is offering Him. The fruits are a symbol for the salvation from Adam's fall. With her right hand, Mother Mary points at Jesus indicating the mystery of her and all human life: "Looking on Christ!" Since the 16^th century, statues of grace have been decorated with preciously embroidered clothes. The statue can be seen without the so-called "Embroidered Clothes" on only two days a year: the founding day of Mariazell, December 21, and the day of  Mary's Birth, September 8.

The Chapel of Grace is still located at the place of the foundation and was altered several times in the course of the centuries. The trapezoid ground plan goes back to 1690. The columns on the outside covered by Gothic canopies are the statues of St. Benedict and St. Lambrecht, the two patrons of the convent.

Statues of St. Joseph and Mary's parents, Joachim and Anne, crown the Chapel of Grace. These statues are works of Lorenzo Mattielli dating back to 1734.

Facing the Mariazell Mother of God, the pilgrim notices the space within the Basilica behind the Chapel of Grace. Continuing on the way through the Basilica, the pilgrim meets Mary again, when approaching the Statue of Mother Mary on the Woman's Column, who always accompanies humans on their ways. The Statue of Mother Mary on the Woman's Column is also venerated as a Statue of Grace. The impressive statue with a height of almost 2m was made in 1520 and is located on a 5m-high marble column. The Madonna is portrayed as crowned Queen of the Heavens and is carrying Baby Jesus on her right arm. In the left hand she is holding a scepter. This Marian statue, also called the "Pilgrims' Madonna," used to be the center of various penitential rituals. Today, devotional pieces are blessed at the foot of the statue.

The "Mother of God on the Woman's Column" is looking at the high altar which was designed by the famous Baroque-artist Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach and was consecrated in 1704. In a visionary mode, the artist portrays central teachings of traditional Christianity: the salvation of humanity through Christ's death and resurrection as well as the Holy Trinity, in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. At Jesus' hour of death, God, the Eternal Father, descends from the golden Heavenly Spheres to the silver earthly reality to extend His hand to His Son, and lead Him from death to resurrection. In this way, God the Father points out the aim of the pilgrimage to the faithful: Jesus Christ, the crucified and resurrected Son of God.

The globe serves as the tabernacle and holds the sacramental Body of Christ in the bread of the Eucharist. For believers, this is a powerful source of comfort. The Eucharist inside the globe makes clear that the saving love of Christ lives inside a world which is threatened by evil forces but even in the face of evil Christ's love turns into the Bread of Life. The altar is the place of the celebration of the Eucharist. The Eucharist is the highlight of every pilgrimage which shall transform the pilgrim's life.

Like many other churches, the Mariazell Basilica is directed east. The East is the place of the rising sun, the symbol of Christ, whose return has traditionally been expected to start from this direction.

The building and its fascinating theological concept help the pilgrim to direct themselves towards Christ while walking through the Basilica. This walk through the Basilica leading towards Christ shall act as an instruction and example for the pilgrim's "pilgrimage on earth."

Credits : The Theological Concept of Mariazell 

Lourdes Where Jesus Christ Is At The Heart of Everything

In the Apparitions at the Grotto, Mother Mary led Saint Bernadette to Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist and today intercedes for pilgrims and leads them to Jesus Christ.

At the Grotto in the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, a Statue of Mother Mary stands on the right side and the altar for the Holy Eucharist is at the centre, because the Holy Eucharist is the "Centre of Devotion".

The Lourdes Motto is very simple.

"Through Mary to Jesus". Our Blessed Lady asked that a Chapel be built here wherein the "Living Sacrifice of the Mass" be offered up in supplication and atonement.

Devotion to Holy Mass and Frequent Holy Communion are the "Fruits of a Lourdes Pilgrimage".

Every major Marian Shrine is Christ-centred because it is centred around the Holy Eucharist.

Most of the reported miracles that take place at Lourdes, take place not only amidst a bath in those sacred waters but most specially during a Blessing with the Blessed Sacrament.

It is of utmost significance, that there is a Huge Basilica at Lourdes dedicated to Pope Saint Pius -- The Tenth -- The Pope of the Holy Eucharist.

In the Pius The Tenth Basilica the sick, the crippled, and others are daily blessed by the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist.

The chief form of reparation at Lourdes will always be through the Holy Eucharist. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is infinite reparation for the sins and errors of mankind.

When we come to Mother Mary, she looks upon us with motherly affection and tenderness and directs us to her Son in the Blessed Sacrament who is the Saviour of the World.

Conclusion :

To sum up Lourdes, is a "House of Gold", A Treasure House of grace, a "Tower of Ivory, beaconing the way to sanctity and salvation; a garden in the wilderness ready to enrich our souls and thirsting with the desire of our "Eucharistic Love".

Immaculate Queen of Heaven, Pray for us.

Credits and References :

1) Lourdes
    Page 27
   Newsbits
   Don Bosco's Madonna, Mumbai
   May 2008
   Vol -10, N0-1

2)  Guide to Lourdes
     Special Centenary Edition 1958
     By Rev. Father J.A. Shields Pages 34 and 67
     Published by C.J. Fallon Ltd
     Dublin
     Republic of Ireland

Our Lady of Divine Love

The Appian Way leading from Rome southward as far as Brindisi was built by Claudius Appius in 312 B.C.

This road, more than two thousand years old, is still in use though a Via Appia Nuova, a new Appian Way was built between the two world wars, to facilitate the increasing traffic around the Eternal City.

The existence of the new Appian Way did not alter the importance of the old one. Here the Roman legions, barbarian armies and Christian martyrs marched.

Leaving Rome on the Via Appia Antica, we have before us the Campagna and the hills of Frascati, Albano, and Castel Gandolfo, which are called the "Castelli Romani." Between the hills and walls of Rome lies that part of the Via Appia, which was the scene of much of Rome's spiritual and secular history.

This road, lined with tall pines, was a favorite burial place of rich families of ancient Rome.

Many monuments of the dead are still there and even in their silence speak of the presence of pagan Rome in the center of Christianity. Beneath the earth, there are other monuments of even greater importance: the catacombs.

Thus, Rome's present and Rome's manifold past give the particular setting to one of the most cherished Shrines of Mary in the Eternal City.

The Sanctuary of the Madonna of Divine Love is situated on the Via Ardeatina, in the region of the Via Appia and the Catacombs. La Madonna del Divino Amore is known to all pilgrims to Rome, but it is particularly dear to the hearts of the Romans and specially to those living on the outskirts of the city. This shrine's popularity is surpassed only by that of the shrine dedicated to the Protectress of Rome, the Salus Populi Romani in the Basilica of St. Mary Major.

The Sanctuary of the Madonna of  Divine Love was built in the middle of the eighteenth century; the image dates back to the early fourteenth century.

During World War II, when Rome was constantly in danger of becoming a center of actual fighting, the population journeyed daily by the tens of thousands in spontaneous pilgrimages to this lovely shrine, asking relief from the overpowering uncertainty and tension. The climax of the crisis approached when the Allies landed at Anzio.

At the insistent request of the population, the clergy removed the mural from the shrine on the Via Ardeatina, which was then about thirteen miles from the front.

The image was set up in the Church of St. Ignatius within the city of Rome. At that time the Holy Father placed Rome under the special protection of the Madonna of Divine Love.

After the liberation, Pius XII immediately went to the Church of St. Ignatius and, in a most moving ceremony, declared her the Saviour of Rome. After the war the image was returned to its original sanctuary.

Credits : Catholic Culture 

The Image Of Our Lady of Las Lajas

On the border between Colombia and Ecuador is a beautiful sanctuary, a wonder to its visitors.

There is a venerated image of Our Lady of Las Lajas, and thousands and thousands of pilgrims from both countries visit it each year and obtain many favors from God.

Back in the eighteenth century, María Mueses de Quiñones, a local woman from the village of Potosi, Colombia, often walked the six miles between her village and the neighbouring one of Ipiales.

One day in 1754 as she was making the journey, she approached the place called Las Lajas (the Rocks), where the trail passes through a deep gorge of the Guaitara River. Maria never liked this part of the trail because there were rumors that a cave in Las Lajas was haunted.

Such superstitions remained among the converted South American Indians.

Maria was carrying her daughter Rosa, a deaf-mute, on her back. And by the time she had climbed to Las Lajas she was weary and sat on a rock to rest. The child got down from her back to play.  The next thing Maria knew Rosa was at the cave shouting: “Mommy, there is a woman in here with a boy in her arms!” Maria became very frightened. This was the first time she had ever heard her daughter speak! She didn’t see the figures the girl was talking about, nor did she want to. She grabbed the child and ran on to Ipiales.

When she told the people what happened nobody took her seriously at first. However, as the news spread some asked if maybe it was true. After all, the child was now able to speak. A few days later Rosa disappeared from home. After looking everywhere the anguished Maria realized that her daughter must have gone to the cave. She often said that the woman was calling her. Maria ran to Las Lajas to find her daughter kneeling in front of a splendid woman and playing affectionately with a child who had come down from His mother’s arms to let the girl enjoy His divine tenderness.

Maria fell to her knees before this beautiful spectacle; she had seen the Blessed Virgin and Jesus.

Fearful of ridicule, Maria kept quiet about the event. But frequently she and Rosa went to the cave to place wild flowers and candles in the cracks of the rocks.  The months went by with María and Rosa keeping their secret. However, one day the girl fell gravely ill and died. A distraught Maria decided to take her daughter’s body to Las Lajas to ask Our Lady to restore Rosa to life.

Pressed by the sadness of Maria’s unrelenting supplications, the Blessed Virgin obtained Rosa’s resurrection from Her Divine Son. Overflowing with joy, Maria went home. It didn’t take long for a crowd to gather. Early next morning everyone went to Las Lajas, each wanting to check the details for themselves.

That was when the most beautiful picture of Our Lady on the wall of the grotto was discovered.

Maria Muese de Quinones could not recall noticing it until then. The Child Jesus is in Our Lady’s arms. On one side of Our Lady is Saint Francis; on the other is Saint Dominic.

Her delicate and regal features are those of a Latin American, perhaps an Indian. Her abundant black hair covers her like a mantle (The two-dimensional crown is metal and was added by devotees much later on). Her eyes sparkle with a pure and friendly glow. She looks about fourteen years old.

The Indians had no doubt: this was their Queen.

As Devotion to the image grew, a good road replaced the old trail. In the early 20th century a tasteful Gothic church was built over the cave.  But who put this magnificent image there? The artist has never been identified!

But tests done when the church was built show how stupendous this image actually is. Geologists from Germany bored core samples from several spots in the image. There is no paint, no dye, nor any other pigment on the surface of the rock.

The colors are the colors of the rock itself. Even more incredible, the rock is perfectly colored to a depth of several feet!

So the mystery remains unsolved. Did angels do it? Or did God Himself do it at the dawn of creation, when he contemplated the most excellent of all His creatures?

The One whom He would make Queen of Heaven and Earth and to whose maternal care the future nation of Colombia would be entrusted.

Credits : My Consecration 

The Lourdes Of Poland

There is only one approved Marian apparition from Poland, and this year 2017 marks the 140th anniversary of the occurrence.

It was June 27, 1877. Thirteen-year-old Justyna Szafryńska was on her way home from church. As she heard the Angelus bells and said the prayer, she suddenly saw a strange light and a figure dressed in white on the nearby maple tree.


The Church in Gietrzwałd (German: Dietrichswalde) at this time was facing difficult circumstances.  

In 1873 the Polish language had been banned in all the schools in the region. Because of This, “rebellious” Catholic priests and religious congregations, with the exception of those actively involved in social work, were removed from Warmia.


Thus was the social context on June 27, 1877, when 13-year-old Justyna Szafryńska was on her way back home from the church in Gietrzwałd. She was making preparations to receive her First Communion and had just passed an exam administered by the parish priest, Fr. Augustyn Weichsel. 

As she prayed the Angelus, she saw a strange light and a figure dressed in white on the maple tree near the presbytery; the figure was seated on a gold, pearl-studded throne.


A moment later the girl saw the glowing figure of an angel; with golden wings, clad in white, the angel descended from heaven. 

When the young Justyna prayed the Hail Mary, the figure rose from the throne and ascended into heaven together with the angel.

The apparitions would continue for almost three months, concluding on September 16.


Justyna recounted everything to the parish priest, who told her to revisit the place on the following day. Again, as the Angelus bells were heard, the maple tree was brightly illuminated. A golden circle appeared around it with a throne of gold; two angels escorted the Blessed Mother to the throne.


When Our Lady was seated, two other angels brought Baby Jesus in a heavenly glow and placed Him on the left knee of Our Lady; the Child was holding the orb in his left hand. 

Still other angels were raising a crown above Mary’s head. 

Yet another angel brought a gold spectre and held it in the right hand above the crown. One more angel hovered above the entire scene, pointing to a cross.


On June 30, Our Lady appeared on Her own, unaccompanied by angels. Justyna, though, had with her 12-year-old Barbara Samulowska.


During the apparition Justyna asked: “What do you want, Holy Mary?” The reply she received was, “I want you to pray the Rosary daily.” Our Lady spoke in the local dialect similar to the Polish language.


On July 1, Justyna asked: “Who are You?” and heard in reply: “I am the Blessed Virgin Mary of Immaculate Conception.”


Bear in mind that the apparitions in Gietrzwałd took place a mere 20 years after those of Lourdes, where the Mother of God told Bernadette Soubirous “I am the Immaculate Conception,” and barely 23 years after Pope Pius IX announced the dogma of Our Lady’s Immaculate Conception.


During July, Szafryńska and Samulowska were daily visited by Our Lady during the evening Rosary service. The girls asked the Lady about the health and salvation of various people, and also if the Church in Poland would be liberated. 

They also wanted to know if new priests would soon be assigned to the parishes in south Warmia.


In reply, the girls heard: “Yes, provided people pray fervently. Then the Church will not be persecuted and the orphaned parishes will receive priests!”


Word of the apparitions attracted numerous pilgrims to Gietrzwałd. 

The first news about the apparitions was published by a Polish Periodical, issued in Pelplin in 1877. 

The three-day celebrations of the September 8 feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary attracted as many as 50,000 faithful to Gietrzwałd.


That day, Our Lady blessed a spring. Pilgrims have for years drawn water from it and healings have been reported.


Due to the increasingly difficult position of the Polish population in the Prussian state, the apparitions were seen as a powerful sign, a symbol of the defense of both Catholics and the Polish community.  

While the apparitions contributed to the revival of a Polish national spirit, in the religious sense they had a universal appeal.


Each year Gietrzwałd attracted a great number of pilgrims and successive local parish priests extended the shrine.


Following the apparitions, both the visionaries entered the religious congregation of the Daughters of Charity (of St. Vincent de Paul), first in Chełmno and then in Paris.


Sr. Barbara Samulowska took the religious name Stanisława. She left Paris for the missions in Guatemala. She died there on December 6, 1950. 

On February 2, 2005, Archbishop Edmund Piszcz of Warmia inaugurated the beatification process of Sister Stanisława.


Justyna Szafryńska, in turn, left the congregation in 1897 and returned to lay life. In 1899, in Paris she married Raymond Etienne Bigot. But after 1904, history loses track of her, and it is not known where she is buried.


While the apparitions were going on, the Bishop of Warmia, Filip Krementz, convened a special commission of theologians to thoroughly examine the case. 

A 47-page report gave a favorable verdict, and the girls themselves were defined as “unassuming, simple, natural, and alien to any deceitfulness.”


In early September 1877, the bishop moreover asked three physicians to examine the visionaries during the apparitions. When the girls were seeing the Blessed Virgin Mary, their pulse slowed down, their upper and lower extremities got cooler and their gaze was fixated.


On September 1, 1977, centennial celebrations took place, presided over by the future John Paul II, Cardinal Karol Wojtyła, then Metropolitan Archbishop of Krakow. 

On that day Bishop Józef Drzazga of Warmia solemnly recognized the veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Gietrzwałd. 

He issued a decree validating the credibility of the apparitions and proclaiming them as in compliance with Christian faith and morality.

Credits : Aleteia

Who Is Our Lady of Chiquinquirá

During the 16th Century, Spanish Painter Alonso de Narvaez created a portrait of the Virgin of the Rosary.

To create the image he used pigments from the soil, herbs and flowers of the region. On either side of the Virgin Mary are Saint Anthony of Padua and Saint Andrew the Apostle, the personal patrons of the colonist, Don Antonio de Santana, and Monk, Andrés Jadraque, who commissioned the painting.

In 1562, the Image was displayed in a chapel. Over time, and with water damage from the chapel’s leaky roof, the painting’s natural pigments faded, until it became almost unrecognizable.

By 1577, the image was discarded in an abandoned oratory in the town of Chiquinquira.

A few years later, in 1585, the image was discovered by a laywoman, Maria Ramos, who had taken it upon herself to clean and restore the oratory. According to tradition, on December 26, 1586, the image was miraculously renewed. It suddenly received back all its colors and was restored to its original glory.

The image soon became a frequent pilgrimage destination, and in the centuries that followed it remained in its renewed state, even though it was exposed to the temperature changes, candle smoke, and the enthusiastic veneration of the pilgrims.

In 1829, Pope Pius VII declared the Virgin of Chiquinquirá Patroness of Colombia.

Credits : Aleteia 

Merrry Christmas And A Happy And Holy New Year

Dear Friends in Jesus and Mary,

Greetings.

I would like to wish all the Readers of This Blog dedicated exclusively to Mother Mary a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Holy New Year.

 

Celebrating Christmas With Mother Mary

Mother Mary In My Humble Opinion is The "Yes Woman Of God". 

If It was not for Her Yes, We would never have a Benevolent Savior Namely Jesus Christ. 

“To celebrate Advent means: to become Marian, to enter into that communion with Mary’s ‘Yes,’ which, ever anew, is room for God’s birth, for the ‘fullness of time,’” said Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. 

Advent is a Marian time in many ways, from preparing for Jesus’ birth to celebrating Feasts such as the Immaculate Conception.


In his Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae (The Most Holy Rosary), St. John Paul II wrote, “Among creatures, no one knows Christ better than Mary; no one can introduce us to a profound knowledge of his mystery better than his Mother.”


It’s inconceivable to celebrate Advent without the woman who makes it possible — the Mother.


“Our Lady in Advent goes to the whole root of what Advent is celebrating — the coming of Jesus,” 

“To quote St. Teresa of Calcutta: ‘No Mary, no Jesus.’”


Even though we’re so familiar with Mary being Jesus’ mother, It's “a wonderment of nature that a creature gave birth to her Creator. 

There still should be awe in the fact.” 

Quoting St. John Paul II, explaining, “It was God himself, the Eternal Father, who entrusted himself to the Virgin of Nazareth, giving her his own Son in the mystery of the Incarnation.”

“So who better to grace us with the ability to say once again the ‘Yes’ in our hearts for the coming of this Savior in the season of Advent.  

Credits : National Catholic Register 

The Lourdes of Germany

Altotting, called "the Heart of Bavaria," is one of the oldest and most popular of Marian Shrines in which Central and Eastern Europe abound.

Had records been kept of the number of pilgrims who came to it during the early ages it might even be proved that it has been one of the most frequented shrines in the whole world. For the origin of Altotting goes back to the eighth century, and for over twelve hundred years people of many races and nations have come to it in a steady, unceasing flow.

Other holy places have suffered destruction and temporary oblivion, but at the Shrine of Altotting little has changed save the dress of the generations who come and go.

Around the town the once thick German forests are thinner but they are there; the villages are more numerous, but they remain the humble, unimposing dwellings of the laborious peasants. Altotting and its devotion to the Madonna are the expression of the organic Christian life and living faith of the European peasantry, that massive force which maintained the unity of Europe despite feudal and national wars.

It was as if Our Lady wanted to preserve one place for the humble people of Europe harassed by armies. Once the pilgrim's eyes fall upon the Black Madonna of Altotting smiling at the Child she holds in her arms, he feels that the peace and simplicity of the shrine is due to her.

The face of the statue was not originally black but has been darkened by the ages and the millions of candles burned around it. When one's eyes become used to the half-light in the chapel, one sees the image's original medieval coloring and that parts of the walls are covered with solid silver, and the altar is of silver, too.

Altotting, oddly enough, is one of the richest shrines in the world in endowments and in treasure--but these riches, donated by rulers, princes and humble people as well, are hidden in a special treasury not often seen by the visitor.

Though many miracles have taken place in Altotting and the chapel is filled with emblems of gratitude for graces, healings, and help received, the greatest miracle perhaps is the continuous existence of the shrine itself.

Credits : The Shrine That Has Never Been Destroyed
                By Zsolt Aradi
                Catholic Culture