Walk with Mary throughout the Year

Day 127: September 14 Our Lady of Einsiedeln, Zurich, Switzerland Not very far from the Swiss city of Zurich stands the village of Einsiedeln, small in size, but large in importance.  The name of the village means "hermitage" and refers to the very early Middle Ages when Saint Meinrad hit upon this spot in the search through the Gloomy Forest or Wood, for a quiet place where he could build a cell and meditate and pray, far from the noise and distraction of the world.  St. Meinrad's cell then became a place of pilgrimage, and the clear woodland spring in which he quenched his thirst became a fountain of miraculous power. In the fifteenth century when the good hermit had long been done to death by two villainous thugs, a chapel was built on the site of his ruined cell and in the chapel was placed a simple wooden statue of the Holy Virgin and her Child.  In the centuries that followed, the Madonna of Hermits or of Einsiedeln turned black, and from then on her miraculous powe...

Day 126: September 13 Nuestra Señora del Milagro, Salta, Argentina The bishop of Tucuman, Friar Francisco de Victoria, who was present at the founding of Salta in 1582, after completing his pastoral service, decided from Spain to send two containers to America: one containing a statue of the Immaculate Conception for the convent of St. Dominic in Córdoba and the other with a Crucifix for the Mother Church of Salta. It was here that the first miracle happened. The two containers were seen floating in the port of Callao, Peru, exactly two years after their expedition in 1592 but nothing was ever heard of the ship and the crew carrying them. After the due honors and processions, the authorities decided to carry out the wishes of Bishop Friar Francisco de Victoria by taking the images to their destinations. On the back of a mule, the Holy Crucifix was taken to the sacristy of the main church in Salta, where unfortunately it was forgotten for a hundred years, while the statue of the Immacul...

Day 125: September 12 Holy Name of Mary On this day, the ineffable love of the Mother of God toward her most holy Son is commemorated, and the figure of the Mother of the Redeemer is proposed to the faithful to be devoutly invoked. The feast of the holy name of Mary was granted by Rome in 1513 to a diocese in Spain, Cuenca. Suppressed by St. Pius V, it was restored by Sixtus V and extended in 1671 to the Kingdom of Naples and Milan. On Sept. 12, 1683, John III Sobieski and his Polish army defeated the Turks besieging Vienna and threatening Christendom. Blessed Innocent XI, in thanksgiving, extended the feast to the universal Church and fixed it on the Sunday between the Octave of the Nativity. St. Pius X restored it to September 12. In the history of exegesis, there have been different interpretations of the meaning of Mary’s name: 1) “BITTERNESS” – MIRYAM Some rabbis have given this meaning: they derive the name MIRYAM from the root MRR = in Hebrew “to be bitter.” These rabbis claim ...

Day 124: September 11 Our Lady of Hildesheim A noble youth named Eskil was sent by his father, the prince, to Hildesheim, a city of Saxony, to study; but he gave himself up to a disorderly life.  He fell dangerously ill and received Extreme Unction. While in this state he had a vision; he found himself shut up in a fiery furnace, and believed himself already in hell; but he seemed to escape from it by a hole, and took refuge in a great palace, in a room of which he saw the most Blessed Virgin Mary, who said to him:  "Presemptous man that thou art, dost thou dare to appear before me?  Depart hence, and to that fire which thou hast deserved."  The young man then besought the Blessed Virgin to have mercy on him; and then addressed himself to some persons who were there present and entreated them to recommend him to Mary.  They did so, and the Mother of the Divine replied, "But you do not know the wicked life that he leads, and that he does not even deign to salute ...

Day 123: September 10 Our Lady of Life (Santa Maria della Vita), Bologna, Italy The image of the “Our Lady of Life” placed on the high altar has been variously attributed to the hand of Simone dei Crocifissi (documented from 1355 – 1399), or to his nephew Lippo di Dalmasio. According to tradition, an image of Madonna and Child was frescoed on the wall to the east, towards Via Pescherie, in the first church built in 1286 by the Compagnia di Santa Maria della Vita. With the reconstruction of 1502, the fresco, not considered of particular interest, was covered by a layer of plaster. On 10 September 1614 the ancient image was rediscovered, still in a good state of preservation. Considered miraculous, it became the object of particular veneration by the Confraternity, which elected it as protectress of the adjacent hospital and the sick. The image was relocated in 1617 into a new altar, and the painter Ludovico Carracci drew a new front to be affixed to the fresco as a votive tribute. In th...

Day 122: September 9 Our Lady of Puy On the road which passes the shrine of Our Lady of the Thorn high up in the Jura Mountains, there is the shrine of Our Lady of Puy. All crusaders passed this on their way to the Holy Land on pilgrimage to rescue the Holy Places from the hands of the infidel.  There was scarcely a knight who did not go to bid farewell to Our Lady of Puy and ask her to care for his dear ones, should he not return. Close to this shrine lived a wealthy nobleman, lord of a beautiful, spacious castle in the gorge, who offered hospitality to all while they made their devotions to the Mother of God and entrusted themselves body and soul to the Gracious Virgin Mary. Le Puy claims to be the location of the earliest vision of the Blessed Virgin after her death when she appeared to a sick woman in the first century AD. It happened in this way.  In about the year 46 Saint Peter sent missionaries into a land that was then known as Gaul (modern day France). Saint George o...

Day 121: September 8 Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary The Church has celebrated Mary’s birth since at least the sixth century. A September birth was chosen because the Eastern Church begins its Church year with September. The September 8 date helped determine the date for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8. Scripture does not give an account of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. However, the apocryphal Protoevangelium of James fills in the gap. This work has no historical value, but it does reflect the development of Christian piety. According to this account, Anna and Joachim are infertile but pray for a child. They receive the promise of a child who will advance God’s plan of salvation for the world. Such a story, like many biblical counterparts, stresses the special presence of God in Mary’s life from the beginning. Saint Augustine connects Mary’s birth with Jesus’ saving work. He tells the earth to rejoice and shine forth in the light of her birth. “She i...