Walk with Mary throughout the Year

Day 38: June 18 This “little lamb” was born not far from Montepulciano in 1268. She expressed a desire to give her life to God and practiced pious exercises from an early age. Now and then, her parents gave in to her requests to visit the various convents in town. On one such occasion, Agnes and her mother were passing a house of ill repute, when a flock of crows suddenly descended upon her, pecking and scratching the little girl. Her mother remarked that the crows represented demonic forces threatened by her purity. Indeed, years later, Agnes would be asked to found a convent on that very spot. In her teens, Agnes joined the Franciscans in Montepulciano and rose to become its prioress. Small white flakes in the form of crosses fell gently from the heavens in celebration. It is said that the sisters have preserved some of these until today. In 1306, God inspired Agnes to found a Dominican convent with three stones given her by the Blessed Mother in honor of the Trinity. The Blessed Mot...

 Day 38: June 17 In 1380 there lived near Lesneven a good old man named Salaun or Solomon. He had no one to care for him, lived alone, and did not associate with any person; he walked with his eyes to the ground, but his heart in Heaven. As the years went by, old and crippled as he was, he might be seen every evening hobbling toward the chapel of the Blessed Virgin where he spent most of the night in prayer after the villagers had returned to the warmth and security of their own homes. He was a simple man of the woods, and here where the chapel of Our Lady of the Forest was later built he slept in the open under an oak tree near a fountain. Solomon loved to swing from the branches of a tree that hung over the fountain, all the while singing his praises to “Ave Maria!” at the top of his lungs. He begged for bread each day to obtain his meals, and in doing so he was often laughed at, jeered at and otherwise mistreated by the small boys. He was commonly known to one and all as “The Fo...

 Day 37: June 16 Charlemagne began the construction of the Palatine Chapel around 792, along with the building of the rest of the palace structures. It was consecrated in 805 by Pope Leo III in honor of the Virgin Mary. The building is a centrally planned, domed chapel. The east end had a square apse, and was originally flanked by two Basilican structures, now lost but known through archaeology. The chapel was entered through a monumental atrium, to the west. The plan and decoration of the building combines elements of Classical, Byzantine and Pre-Romanesque, and opulent materials as the expression of a new royal house, ruled by Charlemagne. The antique bronze doors of Our Lady of Aix la Chapelle are surmounted by regal lion heads, and they date from the time of Charlemagne. The short pillars of what is called the nave support an octagon shaped cupola of 50 feet in diameter. They date from the 12th and 13th centuries, and were brought from Rome for that purpose. These pillars were ...

 Day 36: June 15 Popular tradition tells how, in the Middle Ages, a beautiful statue of Our Lady, her Son on her lap, and a burning taper in her hand, appeared on the banks of the River Teifi in Cardiganshire.  Any attempt to move the statue to the parish church in Cardigan resulted in its reappearing at the spot where it first appeared.  It became a place of pilgrimage and St Mary’s church was built on that spot in 1158.  The original statue was destroyed in the Reformation. At the beginning of the 20th century, monks from Brittany gave their abbey church the name of Our Lady of Cardigan and revived the devotion.  They made the same dedication to the small church they built in Cardigan in 1912.  The monks left in 1916 and the devotion lapsed. In 1952, Bishop Petit learned that there had once been a shrine in Cardigan and decided to restore it.  He commissioned a new statue, which was blessed in Westminster Cathedral in 1956. Unfortunately the statue w...

 Day 35: June 14 In the year 371, there fell from heaven at Arras, something like white wool, mixed with heavy rain, of which mention is made by St. Jerome.  It is maintained that the famine, great in the country, was alleviated thus, because the inhabitants of Arras prayed to the Blessed Virgin who sent them this heavenly bread, commonly called manna.  Some remains of this are still to be seen in the church dedicated to Mary’s honor. There is also a legend regarding the above-mentioned shrine, that Our Lady bestowed on two jongleurs a sacred candle which had power to cure persons afflicted with the then raging plague, known as the “Sacred Fire”. St Justin Russolillo Writes... "We believe in the participation of Mary in the divine perfections, and in the divine immensity. We feel her presence near every soul, in all the houses of God, in all religious houses of formation for the apostolate, in all our Vocationist residences."  ( Opera Omnia, Vol I , no. 352, quoted i...

 Day 34: June 13 June 13, 1917. It was children's feast in Portugal, so the parents of Lúcia naturally thought that the festivities at the parish church in Fátima would distract her from the appointment at the Cova. However, undismayed by this tactic Lúcia and the Marto children proceeded to the apparition site to keep their noon day rendezvous. When they arrived they found a small crowd awaiting them. After having said the rosary with Jacinta and Francisco and other people who were present, we saw again the reflection of light nearing us, (we used to say it was lightening), and following, Our Lady on the holm oak as in May. "Please tell me, Madam, what it is that you want of me?" I want you to come here on the thirteenth of next month. I want you to continue saying the Rosary every day. And after each one of the mysteries, my children, I want you to pray in this way: O my Jesus, forgive us our sins , save us from the fire of hell. Take all souls to heaven, especially tho...

 Day 33: June 12 In the East Indies stands the church and the shrine of Our Lady of Cranganor, which it is asserted, was built by one of the three Kings who visited the Divine Child and His Blessed Mother. India was one of the countries that had the privilege of receiving the light of Faith at the dawn of Christianity. History relates that Saint Thomas the Apostle came to India at Cranganor in 52 AD. Cranganor was a leading port and commercial center in ancient and medieval India, associated with the ancient port of Miziris, north of Cochin. Medieval travelers (including Benjamin of Tudela) refer to it as Shingli, Shinkali or Ginjalek. The place is now known as Kodungallur. There the Christians are still known as Saint Thomas Faithful. Kerala, as the place is also known, is cut off by the mountain ranges from the rest of India, and has held firmly to the Faith, regardless of the gloom of the rest of the continent. The deep spirituality of the Catholics evidences their great love fo...

 Day 32: June 11 The association between Mary and the priesthood dates back to its very institution.  Christ became Himself our Priest in His Mother’s womb, at the moment when she was dedicating herself to be the Mother of the Redeemer.  When Christ, the High Priest was sacrificing Himself on the Cross, His dying words announced Mary’s maternal office in the Church, and were addressed to the newly ordained St. John – who “took her for his own”.  When the Holy Ghost came upon the infant church at Pentecost, we know that Mary was there, and had by her prayers and example already begun her motherly charge of the Mystical Body of Christ. No priest need ever fear that in paying attention to Mary, he is neglecting her Son; Mary never retains anything for herself; everything we give her is given immediately to her Son.  She is a perfect mediatrix.  She only intervenes to unite more closely; she only receives to give more perfectly.  The real devotion to Mary ...

 Day 31: June 10 We honor Mary as Our Lady, Mother of Divine Grace since she is the Mother of the Son of God, the Author of Grace.  ‘The Blessed Virgin Mary was eternally predestined, in the context of the Incarnation of the divine Word,  to be the Mother of God. As decreed by divine Providence, she served on earth as the loving Mother of the divine Redeemer, His associate, uniquely generous, and the Lord’s humble servant. She conceived, bore, and nourished Christ; presented Him to the Father in the Temple; and was united with Him in His suffering as He died on the cross. In a completely unparalleled way she cooperated, by her obedience, faith, hope and burning charity, with our Savior’s work of restoring supernatural life to souls. For this reason she is Mother to us all in the order of grace’ (Lumen Gentium, the Constitution on the Church, 61). St Justin Russolillo Writes... "The Virgin Mother of the Incarnate Word is the supreme type of correspondence of the human hear...

Day 30: June 9 Since 2018, every Pentecost Monday, Mary is celebrated under the title of Mother of the Church, initiated by Pope Francis. All dioceses and parishes officially celebrate this feast, which emphasizes that Mary is both the Mother of Christ and the Mother of the Church. In line with Pope Francis' formal announcement, the memorial of Mary, Mother of the Church, is now obligatory for the entire Roman Rite Church, on the Monday after Pentecost. In the decree Ecclesia Mater by the then Congregation for Divine Worship published on February 11, 2018, the day of the 160th anniversary of the first apparition of Mary to Bernadette in Lourdes, the pope inscribed a mandatory memorial day in the Roman calendar in homage to Mary, "Mother of the Church." Christians around the world are therefore called to participate in the celebration dedicated to her and to pray to her. During the first celebration of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, on May 21, 2018, Pope Fr...

 Day 29: June 8 Father Bernard Francis de Hoyos, SJ. (1711-35), apostle of devotion to the Sacred Heart, described a vision he had which identifies Mary as the mediatrix of All Grace, “I saw the Heart of the Eternal Father in the form of an immense globe of Fire whose infinite grandeur extended over the earth, the heavens, and out beyond the abysses.  The rays of light, which spread out, concentrated in the Sacred Heart of Jesus and narrowed until they were received in all their intensity in the most amiable Heart of Our Most Holy Mother Mary.  This appeared in the form of a brilliant and beautiful sun, which at once communicated to men and the whole earth, the multitude of lights and rays which it had received.  In this mysterious symbol I understood how the Most Loving Heart of Jesus communicated to men the infinitude of gifts and benefits which He receives from the Father and from the Divinity of the Word, by means of the most pure Heart of His Most Holy Mother Ma...

 Day 28: June 7 Our Lady of the Valley or Marienthal, as the monastery is called, is located on the north bank of the Rhine River in the Rhinegau, about fifteen miles from Wesbaden, Germany. According to legend, someone in the early years of the thirteenth century placed a wooden statue of the Blessed Virgin in the recess of a hollow tree—the statue represented Our Lady of Sorrows, with the wounded body of Christ from the Cross held in her arms. Soon the people of the neighborhood came to pray before the little statue framed by the niche of the tree, and reports began to circulate of cures obtained through the intercession of Our Lady. One day a blind man came to pray before the image.  He regained his sight.  The story of this outstanding favor quickly spread far and wide and pilgrimages began to come to Marienthal from all parts of Germany. Shortly thereafter people erected a church—probably in 1225—and in it enshrined the statue.  As the fame of the place grew, th...

 Day 27: June 6 Monte Santo, Camporosso and Gorizia in Italy, -- the first is the oldest Marian sanctuary of the Italian region of Venezia Giulia, founded in 1360.  It was destroyed in World War I, and rebuilt. It stands nearly 2,000 feet above the sea and before World War II, attracted 100,000 Italian, Slovene, and Austrian pilgrims every year. This is distinguished from the Monte Santo shrine near Gorizia as Il Chiarore, the Shining. Gorizia, in Austria, dated from 1539, when Mary appeared to a young girl on the mountainside. The image was crowned in 1717. The shrine of Gorizia was also destroyed in World War I, and built up again. It is in charge of the Franciscans. Both shrines by the same name but in different countries are famous as being miraculous. Marian Poem 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? Did you sing to Him the way Mother does to me? Did you...

 Day 26: June 5 Some Catholic traditions celebrate Our Lady of Haut on June 5th, referencing a miracle related to the shrine in Hainault, France. This miracle involved a child being restored to life after several days of death to receive baptism. This happened in 1428. Benedictines have maintained the memory of this miracle and the shrine with daily prayers and praise of Mary, and some sources report more miracles occurring. Prayer to Mary Allow me to praise you, O Virgin Most Holy. Allow me to praise you with my commitment and personal sacrifice. Allow me to live, work, suffer, be consumed and die for you, only for you. Allow me to bring the whole world to you. Allow me to contribute to an ever-greater exaltation of you, to the greatest possible exaltation of you. Allow me to render such glory unto you as no one has ever rendered unto you so far. Allow others to pass me in zeal for your exaltation, and grant that I may surpass them, so that in noble emulation, your glory may grow ...

 Day 25: June 4 A sanctuary was built at Varese in Lombardy, Italy to commemorate Our Lady’s apparition to Saint Ambrose of Milan during the later fourth-century. Saint Ambrose, a bishop as well as an early Church Father, fought heroically against the Ayrian heresy for a good part of his life. The heresy of Arianism takes its name from a heretic named Arius, who taught falsely that the Son of God was a mere creature, created by God and distinct from the Father. This very notion is refuted by Saint John, who begins his gospel: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him: and without him was made nothing that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” Arius was condemned at the First Council of Nicaea, and again at the First Council of Constantinople. Saint Ambrose was also a great propo...

 Day 24: June 3 There was a little shrine on a hill in the range of Mount Giovi, Florence, Italy and it contained a tablet depicting the Blessed Virgin and the Child. Since the plaque is, according to experts, a work of the Giotto School, it must have been made some time between 1300 and 1490 since Giotto was in Florence between 1300 and 1334, and died in 1336. Many people come to pray at the shrine and among these were two young shepherdesses of the Ricovera family. On July 2, 1490, the two girls were praying at the shrine. As their father was gravely ill, they were imploring the Virgin to restore him to health. They heard a sound and looking around, they saw sitting on a nearby stone a lovely lady with a child in her arms. Before they recovered from their surprise the lady spoke to them. She told them not to be afraid and not to worry, that she was the one to whom they had been praying so fervently, and that she wished to have a church built on that spot in her honor. She asked t...

 Day 23: June 2 The devotion to Our Lady of Edessa originates from the life of St Alexis. St Alexis was born at Rome into the family of the pious and poverty-loving Euphemianus and Aglais. The couple was childless for a long time and constantly prayed the Lord to grant them a child. And the Lord consoled the couple with the birth of their son Alexis. At six years of age the child began to read and successfully studied the mundane sciences, but it was with particular diligence that he read Holy Scripture. When he was a young man, he began to imitate his parents: he fasted strictly, distributed alms and beneath his fine clothing he secretly wore a hair shirt. Early on there burned within him the desire to leave the world and serve God. His parents, however, had arranged for Alexis to marry a beautiful and virtuous bride. On his wedding night, Alexis gave her his ring and his belt (which were very valuable) and said, “Keep these things, Beloved, and may the Lord be with us until His g...