This Encyclical Letter of Pope Pius XII (given on 11 October 1954) develops the theological argument for the ancient belief in the Queenship of Mary; and proclaims the new feast, ‘Mary, Queen’, to be observed on 31 May; (“The 1955 National Catholic Almanac”, pp66-73) but was moved to 22 August after the reform of the Second Vatican Council. (“Our Sunday Visitor’s Catholic Encyclopedia”, 1991, p804)
Feast -- The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Celebrated between the solemnity of Anunciation of the Lord and birth of John the Baptist. Mary’s visit to her cousin, St John the Baptist’s mother, records her ‘Magnificat’, another testimony of her humility and greatness before God. Mary’s readiness to serve Elizabeth is a good lesson on fraternal charity. (Fr James Socias, ‘et al’ [Eds], “Daily Roman Missal”, 1989, p1534)
Feast of the Visitation. Based on Mary's visit to Elizabeth (Lk 1:39-56), where Mary spoke “The Magnificat”. (See July 2). (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html)
Serving cheerfully
Soon after the Annunciation, “Mary went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country” (Lk 1:39). Having learned from the angel about Elizabeth’s pregnancy and moved by charity, she hurries to help with her household chores. Nobody obliges Mary to go. God, through the angel, hadn’t asked her; nor did Elizabeth seek help.
Mary could have stayed to prepare for her Son’s arrival. After a hard 4-5 days journey, on entering Zachary’s house Mary greeted Elizabeth. Filled with the Holy Spirit, she replied, “Why must I be honored with the visit of the mother of my Lord? ... when your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy”. (Lk 1:42-3)
Elizabeth calls her ‘blessed’ and explains ‘why’. In the ‘Hail, Mary’ do these words excite us with the same joy? As an aspiration they can unite us to her while working or walking on the street; whenever we see her image.
Today we learn once more that each encounter with Mary implies a new discovery of Jesus. “If you seek Mary, you will find Jesus. And you will learn a bit more about what is in the heart of a God who humbles himself”, (St Josemaria Escrivá, “Christ is passing by”, 144) makes himself accessible amidst the routines of ordinary life.
The mystery of the Visitation is one of joy. John the Baptist stirs exultantly in his mother’s womb. We perceive the true significance of the secret Mary treasured in her heart.
This great mystery finds its purest expression in the ‘Magnificat: My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour’ ... simple words but full of nobility and of intimate union with the Creator, a perfect mirror of Our Lady’s soul.
“From earliest times the Blessed Virgin is honored under the title, ‘Mother of God’, under whose protection the faithful take refuge ... in prayer in all their perils and necessities. Accordingly, following the Council of Ephesus, there was a remarkable growth in the cult of the People of God towards Mary, in veneration and love, in invocation and imitation, according to her prophetic words: ‘All generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me.’” (cf Second Vatican Council, “Lumen Gentium”, 66)
We have invoked her in a special way “... but the month of May cannot end. It has to continue in our life, because of our veneration and our love for her, the devotion cannot disappear from our hearts; but has to grow and express itself in a witness of Christian living.” (John Paul II, “Homily”, 25 May 1979)
The way Jesus looked at people “must have been the same look as shone from the eyes of his Mother, who could not contain her joy: ‘Magnificat anima mea Dominum!’ -- and her soul glorified the Lord while she carried him within her and walked with him by her side.”
“Oh, Mother! May we, like you, rejoice to be with him and to hold him.” (cf St Josemaria Escrivá, “Furrow”, 95)
Ref: Cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 6:235-41
` ` ` MAY DEVOTIONS ` ` `
The Visitation: Mary sings of the Love of God -- “God is interested even in the smallest events in the lives of his creatures, in your affairs and mine; and he calls each of us by our name. This certainty that faith gives enables us to look at everything in a new light; and while remaining exactly the same, becomes different because it is an expression of God’s love. Our life is turned into a continuous prayer, we find ourselves with good humor and a peace which never ends, and everything we do is an act of thanksgiving running through all our day. 'My soul magnifies the Lord', Mary sang, 'and my spirit rejoices in God, my Saviour'.” (St Josemaria Escrivá, “Christ is passing by”, 189)
Let us offer our Mother: ‘The Rosary today and everyday, said with concentration and affection.’
Ref: Fr Charles Belmonte and Fr James Socias (Eds), “Handbook of Prayers”, 1988, p306
· “We are persuaded that families will receive from the recitation of the Rosary a guarantee of heavenly blessings ... When parents and children gather at the end of the day in the recitation of the Rosary, together they meditate on the example of work, obedience and charity which shone in the house of Nazareth; together they learn from the Mother of God to suffer serenely; to accept with dignity and courage the difficulties of life and so acquire the proper attitude toward the daily events of life.” (cf Letter of Pope John XXIII, ‘We have been informed’, to Rev Patrick Peyton, CSC, 1 May 1959.)
· “Mary taught Bernadette to say the Rosary. She gently led her from one ‘Ave’ to the next; she joined her in silence up to the ‘Glory Be’ which she recited with her ... The Rosary has something unique, sweet, and dear about it for each one of us. Does it not enable us to draw near to Mary, Our Lady, in a wonderful way and, through her to draw near to Jesus and to His heart in an atmosphere that is unique for its purity, fervor and power?” -- Cardinal G M Garrone
· “Ah! Mary, Queen of love, the most amiable, the most loved and the most loving of all creatures ... deign to grant me a single drop of your love.” -- St Alphonsus Liguori
Ref: In Rev Joseph A Viano, SSP,”Two Months with Mary”, pp53, 33
• Our Lady of Dolours, in the Church of St Gervase at Paris. This image which was at the corner of des Rosiers Street, was mutilated by a ~, in the year 1528; Francis I had it solemnly carried to St Gervase, and he ordered a statue to be made of silver gilt, which he himself set up in the place of the first. This statue was stolen in the year 1545, and another of stone was substituted for it, which always retained the name of Our Lady of Silver. — Du Brenil, Theatre des Antiquites, lib. iii. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; www.bethlehemobserver.com)
• Our Lady of Suffering (in St Gervase Church, Paris). (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html); (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html)
• Our Lady of Suffering (“Notre-Dame-des-Douleurs”). Church of St. Gervase, Paris. Chapel in Ultrera, Seville. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm)
• Our Lady of All Nations. (www.divinewill.org/feastofourlady.htm); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html); (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html)
• Our Lady Mediatrix of All Graces. (www.divinewill.org/feastofourlady.htm); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html)
• Mary, Mediatrix of All Graces. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm); (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html); (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html)
• Mother of Fair Love. (Title comes from “Ecclesiasticus” 24:23-31: I bud forth delights like the vine, my blossoms become fruit, fair and rich. I am the mother of fair love, and of fear, and of knowledge, and of holy hope. In me is all grace of the way and of the truth, in me is all hope of life and of virtue. Come to me, you yearning ones, and be filled, for my speech is sweeter than honey, my inheritance better than honey and the honeycomb.) (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm)
• Mother of Fair Love. (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html); (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html)
• Our Lady, Queen of All Saints. (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html); (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html)
• Our Lady, Queen of all Saints. Analysis of the title. In homily by Pope John Paul the Great. In the Litany of Saints, “The invocation ‘Queen of All Saints’ was added by Pope Pius VII when he returned to Rome after his long imprisonment by order of Napoleon." (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm)
• Feast of the Visitation. New. Based on Mary's visit to Elizabeth, in Luke 1:39-56, where Mary spoke ‘The Magnificat’. Reflection. (Also see July 2). (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm)
• Feast of the Visitation. (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html)
• Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth (universally Celebrated). (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html)
• Our Lady of Banneaux / Virgin of the Poor. (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html)
• Annual pilgrimage to the chapel of Mary, Help of Christians, in Tra Kieu, Vietnam. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment