Feast Days of Our Blessed Mother for Every Day of the Year
From
THE WOMAN IN ORBIT
Compiled by Sister Manetta Lamberty, S.C.C.
Copyright 1966
Click on today's date
JULY
July 1: OUR LADY OF THE PRECIOUS BLOOD
Every supernatural grace coming to mankind after the Fall of Adam, flows from the bloody sacrifice of Christ on the Cross. Almighty God could have made some other arrangement, but as a matter of fact, He did require the sacrificial shedding of the Blood of Christ for the restoration of fallen man to the order of grace. The Bloody Sacrifice is the price which God demanded; it is the price which the Redeemer paid. To this Bloody Sacrifice, the Blessed Virgin has a most intimate and singular relationship because of which we may rightly call her the MADONNA OF THE PRECIOUS BLOOD.For a sacrifice in the strict sense, there must be a priest who offers and a victim which is offered. In the Sacrifice of Redemption, Christ Himself is both the priest and the victim. The very coming of the Redeemer as Priest and Victim and therefore also the fruits of His Sacrifice, were dependent upon <> <> <> <> <> <> <>
Mary’s consent and cooperation. She could not have refused.
At the time of the Annunciation she gave her consent to become the Mother of Jesus, that is, of Him who “should save His people from their sins.” He was to save them in the manner in which God had predetermined, namely, by His whole lifework, but especially by His Bloody Sacrifice. “Be it done to me according to Thy Word,” is the reply of Mary to the Angel. Thus she gave her consent to all the events of His life, including the Bloody Sacrifice, at least implicitly at the Annunciation and explicitly as the plan of God unfolded itself. She is not the Mother of a Son who became a Priest independently of her after His birth, for Jesus was conceived as a priest. As a Priest He was born and was nourished and clothed and sheltered by Mary. But this Priest is also the Victim. Thus, as only His Mother could, Mary prepared the Priest and Victim for the Bloody Sacrifice of Redemption. With Him she also offered the Sacrifice by sharing His sorrow and suffering by perfectly uniting her intention with His and by resigning herself perfectly to the will of the Father.Furthermore, as God called Mary to be most intimately and uniquely associated with her Priestly Son in the acquiring of grace, He also associated her with Him in the dispensing of grace. This fact is succinctly expressed by the Holy Father when he writes: “By reason of this communion and sorrow between Mary and Christ, she merited to be called most rightly the Restorer of a lost world and therefore the Almoner of all the gifts which Jesus earned for us by His Death and His Blood.Since, then, Mary prepared the Priest and Victim for the bloody Sacrifice of Redemption; since with Him she offered this bloody Sacrifice; and since with Him she dispenses the graces merited by this Bloody Sacrifice, we may very appropriately call her THE MADONNA OF THE PRECIOUS BLOOD.<> <> <> <> <> <> <>
July 2: THE VISITATION
Mary’s first thought after the Archangel’s visit was to hasten to the little city of Ain Kharin and congratulate her cousin Elizabeth on the wonderful event about to take place. As Mary hastened along, those who met her little realized that she bore the Redeemer of the world; being outwardly humble, sweet, and gracious to all. So the little girl from Nazareth passed unobserved upon her way. But as she raised her voice in loving salutation to Elizabeth, when entering the house, a marvelous thing happened, for the unborn infant in Elizabeth’s womb leaped for joy as he heard the voice of God’s Mother sounding in his ears. Elizabeth, stricken with amazement, cried out: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And whence is this to me that the Mother of my God should come to me? For behold, as soon as the voice of your salutation sounded in my ears, the infant in my womb leapt for joy. Blessed are you who have believed, because those things shall be accomplished which were spoken to you by the Lord.”In that instant Elizabeth knew that she was standing in the presence of God; knew that the little girl standing before her was God’s Mother; knew all that had taken place at Nazareth; knew of Mary’s “Fiat”.Then Mary lifted up her voice in high thanksgiving and gave forth the marvelous canticle: “My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior, because He has regarded the lowliness of His handmaid; behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For He who is mighty has done great things in me; and holy is His name; and His mercy is on them that fear Him; from one generation to another. He has shown might with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their heart; He has put down the mighty from their seat; and the humble He has exalted. He has filled the hungry with good things; and the rich He has sent away empty. Mindful of His mercy He has received Israel His servant; as He spoke to our Fathers to Abraham and His seed forever.”In this Magnificat of the humble little girl of Nazareth there is an intense personal note; she sees why it is that she is exalted—her humility. She prophesies as well as she sings, and foretells her future glory. Then she tells that God’s mercy follows those that fear Him; she sings of God’s might’ she returns to the thought of God’s mercy, and with this mercy in mind, the little virgin ends her triumphant song.For three months Mary and Elizabeth rejoiced in each other’s company and gave thanks to God for all the wonderful mercy He had bestowed on them—one, the mother of the Herald of God, the other, the Mother of God Himself. Yet these months saw nothing outwardly extraordinary; it was just the quiet outwardly ordinary daily round, such as might be seen in any family.After those three months the Virgin set out on her way home to Nazareth, and her return was as little noted as her going. She came full of joy and she returned full of joy, for no hint of coming sorrow cast a shadow upon her.<> <> <> <> <> <> <>
July 3: OUR LADY OF LA CAROLLE
During the Middle Ages religion may have waned due to the illiteracy of the people and their subjection to minds too intellectual to believe in the truth.However, though the Holy Spirit may have been a shadowy figure of the past; or at least not well known to the people, yet, there was always their Heavenly Mother. A shrine to the Virgin belonged to every house, every street, village, hamlet and town. The following gives an account of the emotions and the love of the people toward their Madonna.The shrine of Our Lady of la Carolle is at Paris. It is said that this image which was placed at the corner of the Rue aux Oura, was stabbed with a knife in the year 1418, and that it bled profusely. In memory of this, fireworks are set off yearly, during which a waxen figure is burnt. The effigy represents the sacrilegious wretch who gave the blow to the statue.<> <> <> <> <> <> <>
July 4: OUR LADY OF JOY
From the hills of Laon where the cathedral lifts its towers adorned with stone-carved oxen in homage to the men who labor below—one can see for miles and miles over the immense plain, to the village of Liesse.In this village of northern France is a shrine dedicated to Our Lady of Joy. Here the village church is naturally everything. The church transports one back to the thirteenth century. Directly in front of the choir screen are four statues. They are the three knights of d’Eppes and the Princess Ismoria. Their story is the story of the church.During the time of the Crusades about the year 1134, three knights, brothers from this part of the country, dedicated themselves, heart and soul, to God’s cause to fight in Palestine against the Saracens. In a daring raid at Bersake they were taken prisoners and carried off to Egypt. There the Sultan used every means at his disposal to make them apostatize: he starved them, sent his most learned men to discuss with them; but all to no avail. Then he decided to send his beautiful and intelligent daughter, the Princess Ismoria to charm them with her wit. She went to the prison where a discussion was opened, but she was won over by the conviction and constancy of these noblemen, who repeatedly mentioned the Blessed Lady and her Child. Ismoria longed to see a picture or some sort of image of Mary. Couldn’t they make her a representation of that Lady?One of the knights, without reflection, promised to do so; but when she brought wood and carving utensils, they realized they could not—none of the knights had ever carved before. What were they going to do? They spent the night in prayer, pleading with Our Lady to do something about it. The next morning they found a luminous statue of the Virgin and Child near the wood to be used. When the princess returned and saw the beautiful refulgent statue, her mind and heart were open to the truth and she no longer doubted the faith of the Christian knights. “If you give me the statue,” she cried, “I shall become one of you. The knight gladly gave it to Ismoria, who carried it to the palace. The next night she saw, in a vision, the Virgin who told her to change her name to Mary, to free the imprisoned knights, and to flee with them. The prison was miraculously opened and the four escaped to France; while en route they passed through untold dangers, unchallenged and unseen.On the banks of the Nile they found a young man waiting to take them over the river in his boat. Once across, he suddenly disappeared. Fatigued, they decided to rest before pushing on farther. During their sleep they were miraculously transported to France and the knights awoke to find themselves near their home in Picardy. They went to the castle accompanied by the princess. On the way, Ismoria suddenly found the statue too heavy to carry. They interpreted this as a sign from Heaven that Mary wanted her statue left at this spot. The princess was kindly received by the mother and brothers of the knights and after adequate instruction was baptized by the Bishop of the place. Later, a chapel was built on the spot where the statue had been left. The church took on the name of OUR LADY OF JOY, because of the wonderful adventures of the three knights and Ismoria. Great the miracles were performed and countless graces obtained through the intercession of Our Lady of Joy, to whose shrine great and humble went: Joan of Arc, Francis I, Louis IX, XIII, XIV, Marie Antoinette, Marie Therese, Blessed Mary of the Incarnation, the pious Olier, John Baptiste de la Salle, Benedict Labre, saints and sinners alike. Such is the story of Our Lady of Joy.<> <> <> <> <> <> <>
July 5: OUR LADY OF CAMBRAI
In the year 1472, the statue in the shrine of Our Lady of Cambrai was dedicated by Peter de Rauchicourt, Bishop of Arras. The church was built in honor of Our Lady in the year 524. It was reduced to ruins by the Normans in 882; rebuilt by Dossilon, twenty-first Bishop of Arras in 890. Finally, after having been burnt in 1064, and again in 1148, it was rebuilt as it is now in 1251. The statue at the shrine is known as Notre Dame de Grace et Cambrai. It contains a picture ascribed to St. Luke. This formed the model for the present image in stone.As at so many of her shrines, Mary here also bestowed graces and favors and miraculous answers to prayers upon her devotees.<> <> <> <> <> <> <>
July 6: OUR LADY OF IRON
This is one of the shrine stories of Our Lady of Iron, near Blois in Dunois, France. It was in this chapel, about the year 1631, that a child who had been smothered by struggling in its cradle, came to life the moment that its parents brought it to the shrine and devoutly prayed to Our Lady of Iron.The young French couple felt singularly blessed. Were they not fortunate? They had health, work, a small home, a child who was as sweet as the Babe of Bethlehem. Thus they mused on their way home from early morning Mass.As soon as they entered the house, Pierre hurried to the cradle to look at his infant son. The child must have been restless and struggled with the bedclothes which were tossed about and tangled. Why, the tiny body was rigid and cold. The baby was dead! The Madonna at the church shrine always helped. They would take the baby there instantly! Mary did not fail them.<> <> <> <> <> <> <>
July 7: OUR LADY OF ARRAS or HERTOGENBOSCH
The image called “the Kind Mother” at Hertogenbosch, in the north Brabant province of the Netherlands, was an object of derision when it was first heard of, in 1380. It had been found dirty and damaged, in a builder’s junk-yard; but it soon became celebrated for the wonders connected with it. At the Reformation it was taken to Brussels for safety.In 1856 it was returned to the Bishop of Hertogenbosch, and it again became an object of popular devotion in the cathedral. Arras is famous for a miracle that occurred in the year 371, which is recorded by no less a notable than Saint Jerome. In that time there was a great famine in the region, and the inhabitants of Arras turned to the Blessed Virgin Mary in prayer, begging for relief. The famine was relieved in a miraculous way, as “something like white wool, mixed with heavy rain, fell from heaven at Arras.” This substance was found to be, in reality, a heavenly bread commonly called manna. Some remains of this manna were still to be seen in the church dedicated to Mary’s honor until the time of the French Revolution. There is also a legend regarding the above mentioned shrine that Our Lady of Arras bestowed on two itinerant minstrels, a sacred candle which had power to cure persons afflicted with the then raging plague, known as the “Sacred Fire.” This event occurred in the year 1105, when hundreds of people were dying horribly. The Blessed Mother appeared from the church’s bell tower, and the bishop extended a large candle toward her, symbolizing his faith and his desire for healing for his people. Wax that had dripped from the candle was dissolved with water and given to those who were sick with the plague, with the result being that they were healed. Even though the candle was used for many years, it was never consumed even though it burned steadily during the years of the epidemic. The statue of oak is of an unusual pattern: Our Lady’s forearms are extended at right angles to her body; the Child is balanced on her left hand and in her right she holds an apple.
The statue was crowned in 1878. The feast is July 7th and is celebrated with proper Mass and Office in certain places.<> <> <> <> <> <> <>
July 8: OUR LADY OF KAZAN
This miraculous icon was found in the ruins of a burnt-out house at Kazan on the River Volga in 1579. Before the revolution, perhaps still, sometimes, a Russian mother would give a copy of this picture to her daughter at her wedding, as a blessing on her and her new home.There is a Russian feast of Mary under this title as a commemoration of its founding on July 8th. There are many replicas of this picture, of which the best known was in the church of Our Lady of Kazan at Moscow.The Byzantine chapel of the Oriental Institute at Rome is dedicated in honor of Our Lady of Kazan.<> <> <> <> <> <> <>
July 9: OUR LADY OF THE ATONEMENT
The title, Our Lady of the Atonement, was given to Mary in 1901 by Father Paul James Francis, S.A., founder of the Society of the Atonement, while still outside the Church, and it recalls his own simple strong devotion to the Mother of God. The singular character of the name is emphasized by the red mantle which Our Lady wears in honor of the Precious Blood and by the Infant Christ supported in her arms. The Infant bears a cross as a sign of His victory on the altar of the cross.Father Paul, together with Mother Lurana Mary Francis, S.A., the two founders of the Society of the Atonement, Graymoor, N.Y., received the grace to enter the Church on October 30, 1909, precisely because of their devotion to the Mother of God. With their entrance into Peter’s Fold they brought their special devotion to the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Atonement. Under the blessings of the Popes and the indulgences of the Church, devotion has spread ever more widely in various parts of the Catholic world, particularly by the Paulist Fathers.According to Father Paul, Our Lady of the Atonement includes two ideas: the Cross and Unity. He liked to say that the garments of our Blessed Mother were stained with the blood of Jesus when she stood on Calvary and when she held Him in her arms after death. He fully approved of the words of the hymn:“Remind us by thy mantle,All steeped in crimson red,The Precious Blood of Jesus,To save men’s souls was shed.”But there was another explanation he gave for Our Lady of the Atonement. He said the name means Unity, for it may be divided to read At-one-ment, and the Mother of God is surely the great means of uniting men with God. She constantly prays for the union of all men in the one Church established by her beloved Son. With the assurance of an apostolic soul, Father Paul said the title “Atonement” must appeal to Mary in a special way. “We have every reason to believe that the Blessed Virgin especially loves this title that links her name with that of Jesus in the glorious work of the Atonement wrought upon the Cross…Atonement speaks of reconciliation, pardon, peace, and of the fulfillment of the prayer, first breathed by her Divine Son, and so often repeated by herself, that Christian believers may be ONE.”Our Lady is the Guardian and Mother of Unity. She not only preserves the faithful in being united to Christ and with each other, but she prays for all separated from her Son. She longs to bring all Schismatics, Protestants, Jewish people, and even atheists and communists into the Fold of Christ. She is the special patroness of Christian Unity and her Mother’s heart embraces the world.Pope John aroused the interest of people all over the world in Unity. He has made Our Lady the Advocate of his Great Enterprise, the Council of 1962-63. He has said, “Ours is a Marian Age, and it becomes more evident from day to day that the way for men to return to God is assured by Mary; Mary is the basis for men to return to God; Mary is the basis of our confidence, the guarantee of our security, the foundation of our hope.”The title Our Lady of the Atonement was approved by the Church in 1948 with a special Mass and Office. Father Paul claimed Mary wished to keep this title for the latter ages of the Church to furnish great joy to her children—she considered it an especially precious title. The way to Unity is our Blessed Mother, Our Lady of the At-one-ment.<> <> <> <> <> <> <>
July 10: OUR LADY OF BOULOGNE
The French have a beautiful custom. Once each year, on her feast day, they lead a statue of Our Lady of Boulogne in procession through the streets of many cities and towns.The image represents the Mother, with the Child on her arm, standing in a boat, with an angel on either side.The early history of the shrine at Boulogne is lost in legends of the seventh century. Regardless of this fact, there has always been a close connection between this shrine and the seafaring population on both sides of the channel. The remains of the famous statue will undoubtedly continue to be the object of veneration and love throughout not only France, but the entire world. <> <> <> <> <> <> <>
July 11: OUR LADY OF CLERY
The shrine of Our Lady of Clery at Cessales, four leagues from the city of Orleans, France, dates from the thirteenth century.It was visited by Philip the Fair, Philip VI and particularly by King Louis XI, who rebuilt it and was buried there in 1483. This saintly king wore in his hat a leaden image of Notre Dame de Clery. His devotion to the Mother of God was fervent, deep and strong. She was the center of his life and to her he attributed his success, temporally and spiritually. He planned his tomb in this sanctuary, saying he wished to be close to her in death.Among other notables interred at Our Lady of Clery was Dunois, one of the heroes of the Hundred Years War.<> <> <> <> <> <> <>
July 12: OUR LADY OF LURE
Sometime at the beginning of the 6th century, a priest from Orleans, France, named Donat, in search of solitude, made his way into the Alps. The mountain of Lure seemed to be the kind of place he was looking for; and with the approval of the Bishop of Sisteron, he settled there.On the side of the mountain he built an oratory for which he himself made the statue of Our Lady, carving it from native stone. When after 32 years he died, having spent these years in penance and apostolic work, he was replaced by the Benedictines of Val-Benoit.A chapel was built to replace the oratory which proved too small to accommodate the many pilgrims. When the Saracens invaded Provence the religious had to flee and so they hid the statue. Barbarians ravaged the country several times and the convent was destroyed.About 1110 the Countess Adelaide to whom the land of Lure belonged, gave the place of the original oratory to the Bishop of Sisteron. Several nobles aided in the work of restoring the monastery. The ancient statue was found and placed above the tomb of St. Donat. The church became well known and pilgrimages were well attended. In 1318, Pope Jean XII attached the shrine to the metropolitan area or See of Avignon. In 1481, Sixtus IV called back to Avignon the 12 canons at the shrine, and the church, badly cared for, fell to pieces in 1557.For 80 years the place remained desolate. One day a shepherd, who was resting near the ruins, heard a voice saying, “Oh, how many graces I would give to men in this place, if my sanctuary were rebuilt.”The ecclesiastics to whom he told his story took him seriously. The shrine was rebuilt, and the statue, rescued from the debris, was placed on a new altar which was consecrated in 1637. Pilgrimages again flourished. During the French Revolution the chapel was pillaged and the statue mutilated. With the return of peace, pilgrims again came. On a number of occasions, Mary granted the miracle of an abundant rain to pilgrimages that had come to seek this favor. The largest numbers of pilgrims were wont to come on Pentecost, the feast of the Assumption, and the Nativity of Our Lord.<> <> <> <> <> <> <>
July 13: OUR LADY OF CHARTRES
To Chartres belongs the distinction of being not only the oldest shrine in France, but also—in all probability—the oldest Lady shrine in the world. It is actually pre-Christian, like the Athenians’ “altar to the unknown god” and was dedicated to the Virgin who would bring forth a son, at least a century before the birth of Christ.Eleven centuries later, 1140, Christians were returning from the first crusade with new Byzantine dignity added to their idea of the kind of art demanded for the veneration of royalty. In 1144 “men began to laden themselves with stone and wood…and drag them to the site of the church, the towers of which were then a-building. It was a spectacle the like of which he who has seen will never see again.” Rich and poor alike put their strength and their possessions into the work.The result is still standing, as strong as the moment it was consecrated in 1260—an architectural marvel that makes men gape in admiration. Eric Gill listed the sight of it among the five most awe-filled moments of his life.Chartres is the court where Mary sits enthroned beside her Son, receiving her subjects, turning peasant pilgrims into lovers of the beautiful, turning crusty scholars, come to see about some detail, into romantic fools at her feet.Mary sits above the southern door, crowned and robed and sceptered like an eastern empress; Christ sits above the central door, not as Judge but, like Mary, a triumphant benevolent sovereign and long lean figures of kings, queens, saints and prophets stand with oriental dignity, lining the columns of the doorways like courtiers attendant on a king and a queen. The windows above depict the Passion of Christ. Mary enthroned and the Tree of Jesse—windows better than any made by a Byzantine genius.This Cathedral of Notre Dame is probably the most beautiful gothic church in the world; in its crypt is the shrine of Our Lady Underground, in the choir, a statue of Our Lady of the Pillar, a reputed garment of Mary’s is preserved in the treasury. Kings and princes, popes and prelates, saints and sinners, thousands after thousands of ordinary people have come here on pilgrimages for seven hundred years. Miracle upon miracle has been the response to their faith, their confidence and their ardent prayers.<> <> <> <> <> <> <>
July 14: OUR LADY OF THE BUSH or Evora
The shrine of Our Lady at Evora, like so many others of the peninsula, concerns the statues hidden away at the time of the Moorish invasion.During the years of the re-conquest, a shepherd was pasturing his flocks on the site of a camp where Christians had stayed for a time in the earlier wars. He heard a sweet voice calling him and was attracted to a burning bush where amid the flames he saw a statue of Our Lady.Our Lady gave him two messages, one for himself and one for the bishop. The shepherd took the image down into the town to tell the Bishop. Then he returned to the field and set up for himself a small hermitage. He sold everything he had and built a tiny shrine for the statue there, and began public prayers to Mary as she had told him to do.So many people joined in the devotions at the simple chapel that it soon became necessary to build a larger chapel. Several miracles added to the impetus of the pilgrimages and the Bishop had a large church and monastery built at the spot. The monks of St. Jerome were called in to tend the shrine.In 1458 King Alfonso V, crusading against the Moors, made a promise to Our Lady to enrich the shrine if he were victorious. He won the battle, and in gratitude did much to enrich and popularize the shrine of Our Lady of the Bush.<> <> <> <> <> <> <>
July 15: OUR LADY OF MOLANUS
In the year 1099, the Turks were defeated by Godfrey of Bouillon, who took Jerusalem on this day through the help of Our Lady. Godfrey as a result was made King of Jerusalem; in gratitude for the victory, Godfrey, as they were about to crown him King of Jerusalem, pushed aside the crown saying, “I cannot wear a diadem in the place where my Lord word a crown of thorns.”After the victory, clad in white garments, the crusaders expressed in solemn procession, hymns and prayers, their gratitude to the Blessed Mother of God for giving them this singular victory over the enemies of the Church.<> <> <> <> <> <> <>
July 16: OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL
Nine centuries before Christ, the great prophet Elias went to the heights of Carmel to beg God to send rain after three and a half years of drought. In answer to his prayers Elias saw a small cloud rise out of the sea - a promise of the Immaculate Virgin Mary who would give us her Son to save mankind from the punishment of original sin.At the time of the Crusades there were hermits living on Mt. Carmel in imitation of Elias. In their midst was a chapel dedicated to Our Lady. To the medieval members of the Order, Mary was the Gracious Lady who protected them from danger, who won for them the favor of Christ, her Son.The one gift that unites all Catholics to Our Blessed Lady of Mt. Carmel is her scapular. The scapular was given to St. Simon Stock, prior general of the Carmelite Order, on July 16, 1251. Our Lady appeared to the Saint when there was great danger that her order would perish. The words of St. Simon were the prayer, Flower of Carmel, still said daily by Carmelites around the world: “Flower of Carmel, Vine, Blossom-laden, Splendor of Heaven, Child bearing maiden, none equals thee; O Mother benign, who no man didst know, on all Carmel’s children thy favors bestow, Star of the Sea.”The Blessed Mother answered Simon’s prayers by giving him the scapular, telling him: “Receive this habit, this shall be a sign of salvation. Whosoever dies clothed in this shall not suffer eternal fire.”Seven centuries have shown what a generous gift our Mother gave us when she made for us the garment of her scapular. German Catholics call the scapular Mary’s “garment-of-grace”. Mary’s habit is a humble garment, simply two pieces of cloth joined by strings. Yet, we do not measure God’s gifts by ordinary standards. The very simplicity of the scapular is a lesson in modesty and purity. The Queen of Heaven has made the scapular the pledge of her protection, especially at the hour of death. Our mother has clothed us, her children, with her garment of choice. Wearing it, we show that we have dedicated ourselves completely to her service, and are reminded to imitate our Mother. The continual wearing of it is a prayer for Mary’s protection, a sign of our complete dependence on her.
The second promise Mary made is known as the Sabbatine Privilege—Saturday, because our Lady promised scapular-wearers who perform certain additional acts in her honor prompt delivery from Purgatory, especially on the Saturday after death. We believe that God grants all graces through His Mother. Mary showed herself to Bernadette at Lourdes for the last time on July 16; in her last vision at Fatima, she appeared as Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. When we were enrolled in the scapular, the following prayer was said: “May Almighty God, Creator of Heaven and Earth, bless you whom he has been pleased to receive into the Confraternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mt. Carmel. We beg her to crush the head of the ancient serpent in the hour of your death, and in the end obtain for you the palm and crown of your everlasting inheritance. Amen.”<> <> <> <> <> <> <>
July 17: OUR LADY OF CAMPITELLI
The sanctuary of Sancta Maria in Campitelli is one of the most celebrated of Rome. There is venerated a precious image transported from the portico of the place of the roman matron, Galla Patrizia Seveath to whom the Virgin herself appeared on July 17, 524.The temple was erected by vote of the people in thanksgiving for the preservation of the city from the pestilence of 1656. The work of the shrine is that of the architect Rainaldi. Many times the sacred image has been carried in procession through the streets of Rome—the people invoking Mary’s protection against pestilence, epidemics and earthquakes. This image is also invoked under the title of Our Lady of Security, and two feasts are commemorated in Mary’s honor: February second and July seventh.<> <> <> <> <> <> <>
July 18: OUR LADY OF TOLEDO
One of the most strenuous champions of the perpetual virginity of the most Holy Mother of God was Saint Ildephonsus, archbishop of Toledo in Spain. When but ten years old he was placed under the direction of Saint Isidore of Seville that he might learn besides human science, the virtues necessary in a minister of the Lord. Later, notwithstanding the opposition of his parents, he entered the monastery of Saints Cosmas and Damian.Spain at that time was infested by a crowd of Arian Heretics who taught that Jesus Christ was not the equal of His Father but only an adopted Son, and therefore, Mary was not the Mother of God, but an ordinary woman.Saint Ildephonsus directed all his pastoral care against this nefarious doctrine, and proved both by writing and preaching that Jesus Christ is truly God, equal to the Father, and that Mary is the Most Holy Mother of God, and yet a Virgin.One day as Saint Ildephonsus was praying at the tomb of Saint Leocadia in the presence of a large multitude of the Faithful, among whom was the King Recesvintuc, the stone which covered the sacred remains of this Virgin, was suddenly lifted and the Saint coming forth from the tomb addressed the holy bishop, exclaiming: “O Ildephonsus, through thee is my Mistress living”. By this, Saint Leocadia wished to show how efficacious was the preaching of Ildephonsus.As witness of this wonderful apparition, Mary appeared and to confirm the truth which he had defended, bade St. Leocadia to detach a small piece of her veil and give it to the holy bishop. This is preserved to the present day as a precious relic in the cathedral of Toledo. St. Ildephonsus died January 23, 667.<> <> <> <> <> <> <>
July 19: OUR LADY OF MOYEN POINT
It was extremely warm that July day as Giovanni took his sheep to the meadows of Amele. But there were ponds there left by the excessive rains of the last season. He hoped to give his sheep a treat of cool sweet water.As they neared the ponds, the sheep stood still, a few of them bleated and made strange sounds. Giovanni anticipating trouble made his way to the shores, and found lying in the water something that looked like a statue. Yes, it was an image of the Virgin Mary. As he rescued it from the water, the sheep crowded closer, then gazed fixedly at what their shepherd held cradled in his arm.A shrine to Our Lady of Moyen Point was erected near Peronna and the statue placed therein. A church was later built which needed repairs in 1612. The shepherd’s statue is miraculous.<> <> <> <> <> <> <>
July 20: OUR LADY OF PICPUS
Our Lady of Grace at Picpus, Fraubourg, Saint-Antoine, of Paris, contains a statue which is in a small ship of wood, with two angels at the end; it was made in 1629, from a piece of wood taken from the famous image of Our Lady of Boulogne-sur-Mer.Among the famous pilgrimages of Paris, that of the one to the chapel of Picpus ranks fifth. The shrine contains the above mentioned statue, given in the sixteenth century to this monastery by the famous Capuchin Joyeuse, known as Pere Ange, and later transferred to Saint-Antione of Paris.Devotion to Mary retains its pristine fervor here, and many gifts and graces are bestowed on devotees by the Mother of Grace.<> <> <> <> <> <> <>
July 21: OUR LADY OF MERCY
One thing moved Catherine McAuley to action—the pity of God. Her heart was touched by the misery of the Dublin poor. Poverty of body was equaled, among many of them, by poverty of soul. The youth, brought up in the slums, were especially susceptible to the loss of the faith that had defied centuries of persecution.There was, her practical soul pondered, only one remedy. If there might be a group of women who would educate themselves to the works of mercy among these people, some of the corporal and spiritual misery would be lifted. To feed the hungry, to give drink to the thirsty, to clothe the naked, to harbor the harborless—this she planned first; then, when the needs of the body were cared for; to instruct the ignorant, to counsel the doubtful, to pray for the living and the dead.For a patroness of this venture, as old as Christ is old, she had not far to look. Our Lady had been a Mother to her all her life, especially since her parent’s death. The title, Mother of Mercy, had been dear to her when she learned of the ancient Order of Mercy that had ransomed the captives of the Turks, giving not only money for their return to Europe and their families, but often substituting for them, going into harsh captivity in the place of others – and all this in the name of Mary, Queen of Mercy, the Pitiful One.“Sisters of Mercy” she would call her workers, patterning her life and theirs on Our Lady. With her and in her spirit, they would perform the works of mercy wherever the Holy Spirit led them.<> <> <> <> <> <> <>
July 22: OUR LADY OF SAFETY or of SAFE HIDING
This title is a very recent one, having originated in World War II, at Overloon, a small town in Holland, lying about midway between Nijmegen and Venlo, about 30 miles south of Arnhem.After the German armies overran Holland, a great many young Dutchmen fled to escape capture and possible death by the Germans. Many of these young men found a place of hiding in Overloon.There are stories that several times this little town of some 1700 or 1800 inhabitants, had as many as 200 fugitives, hiding in the homes of the town.A great many of these refugees, who found a hiding place in Overloon, promised the Blessed Virgin they would erect a shrine in her honor if she would help save them.After the war was over and peace came to the country, they got together and built the promised shrine at Overloon, dedicating it to the Mother of God under the title of OUR LADY OF SAFE HIDING.<> <> <> <> <> <> <>
July 23: OUR LADY OF PREMONTRE
A little below Lancaster, England, stand the ruins of what was once Cockersands Abbey, also known as Our Lady of the Marshes, and Our Lady of Premontre, because the Premonstratensians were responsible for its erection, changing the bleak and barren lands into fertile profitable ones. When the dissolution of the Lancashire monasteries began in 1537, the Abbey seal was broken and the gold and jewels given to Henry VIII. Furniture and goods were sold, and the monks’ quarters stripped of their lead and left to fall into ruin, and decay. Some who live around the ruins claim up-to-date that at midnight the chant of the monks can be heard amid the cries and moans of the desolate.Since this monastery was dedicated to Mary, at least one monk was set aside as the “Mary priest” whose special duty it was to offer daily or two or three times a week a votive Mass in honor of Our Lady. He also rang the “Mary Bell” morning and evening and kept her shrine decked with flowers and lights and saw that the best vessels and finest linens were used on her feast days. Going on a pilgrimage to Mary’s shrine, people would be “measured” for a candle by taking their length and breadth in the form of a cross and candles were made to equal the sum of these two numbers. The candles were coiled and carried to burn either in supplication or thanksgiving before Our Lady’s image. On her feast days large candles, “wreathed with flowers” were burned in profusion. They were called “Gaud-candles” originally meaning joy and beauty; now the word degenerated from “gaud”—gaudy, means crude, loud, ugly.Hough de Pourte in 1318 left a yearly rent “to maintain a three pound candle to burn before Our Lady’s altar daily at her High Mass, whilst John Baret at Bury requested in his will that at his burial and Requiem Mass five men should follow the coffin dressed in black to represent the five wounds of Our Blessed Lord, and five women dressed in white to represent the five joys of Our Blessed Lady. Each “must hold a candle of clean wax”. Another man left a half acre of ground to purchase “Lady” candles to burn yearly to “lighten Our Lady’s way.” Countless more of these requests could be enumerated.And why this love of candles and light? Because like so much in the Catholic Church is symbolic. A light is put to the wick—the hard wax melts and overflows and is drawn downward with blessings from Our Lady; the light illumines our darkness of mind and soul—when our hearts are lit with God’s love and that of His Blessed Mother, they soften, become filled with God’s grace and light, and inevitably shine before men.May the candles of Premontre continue to lighten Our Lady in our souls and make us more and more Mary-like each day. May the number of votive Masses in Mary’s honor increase and may there be again those who will be proud to style themselves “Mary priests”. May hearts glow with love of her. Only through her intercession may we ever hope for the conversion of our land which is so rapidly falling prey to the mighty evils of these modern times in which we all need our Heavenly Mother more than ever before in the world’s history.Our Lady of Premontre, Light us ever on our way!<> <> <> <> <> <> <>
July 24: OUR LADY OF CAMBRON
The abbey of Cambron was founded by St. Bernard in 1148. It was situated some leagues from Mons and took its name from the land on which it was built. The image of Our Lady formerly honored at Cambron was famous for a great number of miraculous cures. A chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Cambron, was built at Mons in 1550 in a part of the prince’s park. In the following centuries the magistrates of Mons had a beautiful door built for the shrine, and added other embellishments. In 1559, thieves broke into the chapel and stole everything of value to be found there. The small oratory was very much frequented. After the French Revolution when the State took over all properties given to religious services, this chapel was also taken. It was demolished after all the wood, iron, and lead was removed. The statue of the Blessed Virgin which decorated the altar, was then placed in the church of St. Elizabeth at Mons.A story told about Cambron is as follows: In the early 13th century a man named William who had embraced the true faith was employed by the Count of Hainaut. Once when traveling, he stopped at the Abbey of Cambron. In one of the rooms he saw a figure of the Virgin Mary with his pike. A carpenter discovered him and would have killed him on the spot, were it not for the restraining hand of one of the religious. In the confusion, the man escaped.The Pope of Avignon to whom the case was referred, demanded the punishment of the man. He was captured, then released for he continued to deny the accusations.Four years later an old man who had been a smith was inspired to avenge the insult offered to the Mother of God. He consulted the Abbot of Cambron and then asked the Count of Hainaut for authorization to combat the accused man.<> <> <> <> <> <> <>
July 25: OUR LADY OF LAC BOUCHET
On the north shore of Lake Bouchet, in the province of Quebec, there stand the buildings of a friary and the sanctuary of Our Lady of the Sagueney.In 1920, it was a lonely spot, called the hermitage of Saint Anthony, where a seminary professor lived in retirement, Father Elzear de Lamarre. Finding a cave in the rock there, he set up in it an altar and a statue of Our Lady of Lourdes, and so began the pilgrimage-shrine that has since grown steadily in popularity.After Father de Lamarre’s death in 1925, the Capuchin Franciscans took over the property, built their house and church there, and ministered to the thousands of pilgrims who sought out the sanctuary.<> <> <> <> <> <> <>
July 26: OUR LADY OF FAITH
Our Lady’s life fulfilled the true goal of all living: her great achievement was to do the will of God—her vocation, as ours, is to live by FAITH. Every appearance of Mary on the Gospel scene has some connection with the will of God, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done unto me according to Thy word.” During Christ’s infancy we have no recorded words of Mary, but her actions bespoke her magnanimous Faith. When the shepherds and the Wise Men came, she pondered things in her heart. When after forty days she brought her Child to the Temple and was told by Simeon of the “sword of sorrow” that would pierce her heart, she accepted, as also when the will of God was made known to St. Joseph for the escape into Egypt, and later for the return to Nazareth.When the twelve-year old Boy Jesus remained behind in the Temple; she accepted in humble submission to God’s will His mysterious answer: “How is it that you sought me? Did you not know that I must be about my Father’s business?”--“she kept all these things carefully in her heart.” Mary walked by Faith and she lived by it. She had to make acts of Faith each day to accept the divinity of her Son, flesh of her flesh. With the exception of the Annunciation, the great signs given were for others, not for her—no need for extraordinary things to make Mary’s Faith grow.During Jesus’ boyhood, when he, “advanced in wisdom and age and grace before God and men”, she too advanced in wisdom and age and grace before God and men, particularly so in her FAITH. When the public life of Christ began, Mary was there at Cana as well as at Calvary. Christ’s pronouncement, “Blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep it”, covers all for Mary’s perfect Faith-life.The Magnificat is Our Lady’s hymn of thanksgiving to God; she is blessed in her maternity as well as in her spiritual motherhood at the foot of the Cross. The last recorded event of Mary’s life was the Descent of the Holy Ghost in the upper room: “All these with one mind continued steadfastly in prayer with the women and Mary the Mother of Jesus”.Mary’s supreme achievement in life was to hear the word of God and to do it. She had to walk in Faith. Faith is the “evidence of things that do not yet appear”. Mary’s life was a steady progress of Faith as God communicated to her more and more of His secrets.Faith will one day give place to sight in the joy of the vision of paradise; for Mary, our Mother, the timeless woman, is to be found at the side of Christ, body and soul, in heaven. Mary’s concern in Heaven is the same she had on earth—to do the will of God, and by her prayers, by her living presence, she is still advancing the salvation of all her children, of all of us, in Heaven.<> <> <> <> <> <> <>
July 27: OUR LADY OF A HAPPY DEATH
How beautiful and consoling is this title: Our Lady of a Happy Death. It is the title by which we invoke our glorious Mother of Heaven and beg of her to assist us at our last moment; it is the title which makes us hope that death will be for us the portal of a life without end.Without doubt, devotion practiced during life, devotion to the Mother of God, is a sign of predestination and, as such, assures for us at the hour of death the assistance of this divine Mother. Mary could not abandon at this supreme moment anyone who has faithfully called upon her during life. Besides this devotion, in keeping us away from evil, draws us both strongly and calmly to the practice of the Christian virtues; in addition, it is incompatible with a life of sin and vice. It is therefore, like a remote but extremely efficacious preparation for our passage from time to eternity. That is why it is said that to serve Mary is to gain control over the devil; it is likewise written that a true servant of Mary cannot perish because, devotion to this Mother of the Divine, in keeping us virtuous, gives us a certain pledge that Heaven will be ours. Death is the crowning of life: a good life cannot end in eternal loss.Besides, there are other particular reasons, for which Mary’s assistance is especially assured to us at the hour of death; and this assistance, provided we prove ourselves worthy of it, is bound to procure for us the special grace of a holy death. Those reasons are: Mary has merited by her own death (which is the ideal of the death of a Christian) the power of helping her faithful servants at the moment of the great passage from life to eternity. Having assisted her Divine Son in His agony and till His death on the Cross, she has received from Him the mission of assisting us equally during our agony and the hour of our death. She will exercise on our behalf the office of a Mother, at this supreme moment.These considerations will enable us to know and to appreciate better, all that we owe to our Heavenly Mother. It is through Mary that Jesus was given to us, when He came, a tiny infant in the infirmity of human flesh, wrapped in swaddling clothes, in order to save us; it is equally through Mary that on the last day we hope to see face to face this same Jesus surrounded by the glory of the Father—the source of eternal happiness to us: “And after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus.”<> <> <> <> <> <> <>
July 28: OUR LADY OF SMOLENSK
Mary, our Guide of the Way, is the patroness of icon-painters; liturgically she is commemorated thus in Russia on July 28.The title distinguishes a large class of icons of Mary of a primitive type, in which the Child is held in the Mother’s left arm: why they should have been given this name has not been discovered yet, but its general symbolic significance is clear enough.The first known icon is said to have been sent from Jerusalem to the Empress Pulcheria (399-453ad). She enshrined it at Constantinople, where it became a palladium of the city and was associated with many events in its history. At the conquest by the Turks in 1453, it was hacked to pieces, but copies of it, real or alleged, were in existence; one reputed copy of the “Our Lady of Smolensk”, was carried with the Russian Army at the Battle of Borodino in 1812.<> <> <> <> <> <> <>
July 29: OUR LADY OF DELIVERANCE
Devotion to Mary under the above title is one of the most ancient of all Marian devotions. Madrid, Spain, was the scene of its popularization.During the Spanish wars which occasioned the people to seek refuge in the New World, a looting soldier carried off a statue from one of the shrines in Madrid. The image depicted Mary cuddling at her breast the Infant Jesus whom she was lovingly nursing. A poor peasant returning from the fields and making a visit to the shrine, bought the statue for a small sum of money from the drunken soldier, carried it home and enshrined it in his humble cottage. His wife was nearing childbirth, and daily the couple knelt before the statue, begging the Mother of God to give the expectant mother a safe delivery. As the days passed, it was evident that the wife of the poor peasant was threatened with death. The father prayed most fervently before the image of Mary for his wife’s safety. His confidence was rewarded by a happy delivery vouchsafed the little mother. He named the statue accordingly, the Mother of Safe Delivery.The news spread rapidly, and Mary’s devotees under similar circumstances as the peasant’s wife, frequented the home; until it became too small to accommodate all. A chapel was built, and later a church—that of St. Martin. The statue was removed with great pomp; nobility and peasant alike knelt in prayer in their personal and family needs. Our Lady recognized all as her children, bestowing safe deliveries where requested.<> <> <> <> <> <> <>
July 30: OUR LADY OF GRAY
The shrine of our Lady of Gray is near Besancon in Franche Comte. The image is made of oak of Montaign, and was much honored in the country. Miracles are attributed to intercession at the shrine.The oak is believed to date from the time of the Druids, and crested one of the hills in the diocese of Malines. The oak had an adventurous history until some time after 1602 when it was cut up into small pieces and carved by a local craftsman into statuettes similar to the figure of Our Lady of Montaigu or Montaigne. These statues were presented as a mark of respect to patrons of the shrine.<> <> <> <> <> <> <>
July 31: OUR LADY OF THE SLAIN
Our Lady of the Murdered or of the Slain is near Lorban, a Cistercian Monastery in Portugal. It is said that this image was brought from Heaven to the Abbot John, uncle of King Afonso, and that it restored to life several persons who had been murdered.In memory of the miracle, the restored had from that time a red mark on their throats, like that which at present is seen on the throat of the image.<> <> <> <> <> <> <>
