Feast of St. Anne, Mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary – July 26

Adapted from The Liturgical Year by Abbot Gueranger

Feast of St. Anne, Mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary – July 26

Uniting the blood of kings with that of pontiffs, the glory of St. Anne's illustrious origin is far surpassed by that of her offspring, without compare among the daughters of Eve. The noblest of all who have ever conceived by virtue of the command to "increase and multiply," beholds the law of human generation pause before her as having arrived at its summit, at the threshold of God; for from her fruit God Himself is to come forth, the "fatherless" Son of the Blessed Virgin, and the Grandson of Sts. Anne and Joachim.

Before being favored with the greatest blessing ever bestowed on an earthly union, the two holy grandparents of the Word Made Flesh had to pass through the purification of suffering. Traditions which have come down to us from the very beginning of Christianity, tell us of these noble spouses subjected to the trial of prolonged sterility, and on that account despised by their people; of St. Joachim cast out of the temple and going to hide his sorrow in the desert; of St. Anne left alone to mourn her widowhood and humiliation.

Warned from Heaven to leave the desert, St. Joachim met his spouse at the golden gate which leads to the Temple on the east side. Not far from here, near the Probatica pool, where the little white lambs were washed before being offered in sacrifice, now stands the restored Basilica of St. Anne, originally called St. Mary of the Nativity. Here, as in a peaceful paradise, the rod of Jesse produced that blessed branch that had blossomed from eternity in the bosom of the Father. It is true that Sepphoris, St. Anne's native city, and Nazareth, where Mary lived, dispute with the Holy City the honor which ancient and constant tradition assigns to Jerusalem. But our homage will not be misdirected if we offer it today to Blessed Anne, in whom were wrought the prodigies, the very thought of which brings new joy to Heaven, rage to Satan, and triumph to the world.

St. Anne was, as it were, the starting point of Redemption, the horizon scanned by the prophets, the first span of the Heavens to be empurpled with the rising fires of dawn; the blessed soil whose produce was so pure as to make the Angels believe that Eden had been restored to us. But in the midst of the incomparable peace that surrounds her, let us hail her as the land of victory surpassing the most famous fields of battle; as the sanctuary of the Immaculate Conception, where our humiliated race took up the combat begun before the throne of God by the angelic hosts; where the serpent's head was crushed, and St. Michael, now surpassed in glory, gladly handed over to his sweet Queen, at the first moment of Her existence, the command of the Lord's armies.

What human lips, unless touched like the prophet's with a burning coal, could tell the admiring wonder of the angelic Powers, when the Blessed Trinity, passing from the burning Seraphim to the lowest of the nine choirs, bade them turn their fiery glances and contemplate the flower of sanctity blossoming in the bosom of St. Anne? The Psalmist had said of the glorious City whose foundations were now hidden in Her that was once barren: The foundations thereof are in the holy mountains (Ps. 86: 1), and the heavenly hierarchies crowning the slopes of the eternal hills beheld in Her heights to them unknown and unattainable summits approaching so near to God, that He was even then preparing His throne in Her. Like Moses at the sight of the burning bush on Horeb, they were seized with a holy awe on recognizing the mountain of God in the midst of the desert of this world; and they understood that the affliction of Israel was soon to cease. Although shrouded by the cloud, Mary was already that blessed mountain whose base – i.e. the starting point of Her graces – was set far above the summits where the highest created sanctities are perfected in glory and love.

How justly is the mother named Anne, which signifies grace, she in whom for nine months were centered the complacencies of the Most High, the ecstasy of the angelic spirits, and the hope of all flesh! No doubt it was Mary, the daughter, and not the mother, whose sweetness so powerfully attracted the heavens to our lowly earth. But the perfume first scents the vessel which contains it, and, even after it is removed, leaves it impregnated with its fragrance. Moreover, it is customary to prepare the vase itself with the greatest care; it must be all pure, made of more precious material, and more richly adorned, according as the essence to be placed in it is rarer and more exquisite. Thus St. Mary Magdalene enclosed her precious spikenard in alabaster. The Holy Ghost, the Preparer of heavenly perfumes, would not be less careful than men. Now the task of Blessed Anne was not limited, like that of a material vase, to contain passively the treasure of the world. She furnished the body of Her who was to give flesh to the Son of God; she nourished Her with her milk; she gave to Her, who was inundated with floods of divine light, the first practical notions of life. In the part of a true Mother: not only did she guide Mary's first steps but she cooperated with the Holy Ghost in the education of Her soul and in the preparation of Her for Her incomparable destiny; until, when the work had reached the highest development to which she could bring it, she, without a moment's hesitation or a thought of self, offered her tenderly loved Child to Him from Whom she had received Her.

Sic fingit tabernaculum Deo – "Thus she frames a tabernacle for God." Such was the inscription around the figure of St. Anne instructing Mary, which formed the coat of arms of the ancient guild of joiners and cabinet-makers; for they, looking upon the making of tabernacles wherein God may dwell in our churches as their most choice work, had taken St. Anne for their patroness and model. Happy were those times when the simplicity of our fathers penetrated so deeply into the practical understanding of mysteries which their infatuated sons glory in ignoring. The valiant woman is praised in the Book of Proverbs for her spinning, weaving, sewing, embroidering, and household cares; naturally, then, those engaged in these occupations placed themselves under the protection of the spouse of St. Joachim. More than once, those suffering from the same trial which had inspired St. Anne's fervent prayer, experienced the power of her intercession in obtaining for others, as well as for herself, the blessing of our Lord God.

The East anticipated the West in the public devotion to the Grandmother of the Messias. Towards the middle of the 6th century a church was dedicated to her in Constantinople. The Typicon of St. Sabbas makes a liturgical commemoration of her three times in the year: on September 9, together with her spouse, St. Joachim, the day after the birthday of their glorious Daughter; on December 9, whereon the Greeks, a day later than the Latins, keep the Feast of Our Lady's Immaculate Conception, under a title which more directly expresses St. Anne's share in the mystery; and lastly, July 25, not being occupied by the Feast of St. James, which was kept on April 30 in their calendar, is called the Dormitio or precious death of St. Anne, mother of the Most Holy Mother of God: the very same expression which the Roman Martyrology adopted later.

Although Rome, with Her usual reserve, did not until much later authorize the introduction into the Latin Churches of a liturgical Feast of St. Anne, She nevertheless encouraged the piety of the faithful in this direction. As early as the time of St. Leo III (795-816) and by that illustrious Pontiff's express command, the history of St. Anne and St. Joachim was represented on the sacred ornaments of the noblest basilicas in the Eternal City. The Order of Carmel, so devout to St. Anne, powerfully contributed, by its fortunate migration into western Europe, to the growing increase of her devotion. Moreover, this development was the natural outcome of the progress of devotion among the people to the Mother of God. The close relation between the two devotions is noticed in a concession, whereby in 1381, Pope Urban VI satisfied the desires of the faithful in England by authorizing for that kingdom a Feast of St. Anne. The Church of Apt in Provence, France, had been already a century in possession of the Feast; a fact due to the honor bestowed on that Church of having received, almost together with the Faith, the Saint's holy body, in the first century of Christianity.

Since Our Lord, reigning in Heaven, has willed that His Blessed Mother should also be crowned there in Her virginal body, the relics of Mary's mother have become doubly dear to the world, first, as in the case of others, on account of the holiness of her whose precious remains they are, and then above all others, on account of their close connection with the mystery of the Incarnation. The Church of Apt was so generous out of its abundance, that it would now be impossible to enumerate the sanctuaries which have obtained, either from this principal source or from elsewhere, notable portions of these precious relics. We cannot omit to mention as one of these privileged places, the great Basilica of St. Paul outside the Walls: St. Anne herself, in an apparition to St. Bridget of Sweden, confirmed the authenticity of the arm which forms one of the most precious jewels in the rich treasury of that Church.

It was not until 1584 that Pope Gregory XIII ordered the celebration of the Feast on July 26 throughout the whole Church, with the rite of a double. Pope Leo XIII in 1879 raised it, together with that of St. Joachim, to the dignity of a solemnity of the II Class. But before that, Pope Gregory XV, after having been cured of a serious illness by St. Anne, had ranked her Feast among those of precept, with the obligation of resting from servile work.

Now that St. Anne was receiving the homage due to her exalted dignity, she made haste to show her recognition of this more solemn tribute of praise. In the years 1623, 1624 and 1625, in the village of Kerouanne, near Auray, in Britanny, she appeared to Yves Nicolazic, and revealed to him an ancient statue buried in the field of Bocenno, which he tenanted. This discovery brought the people once more to the place where, a thousand years before, the inhabitants of ancient Armorica had honored that statue. Innumerable graces obtained on the spot spread its fame far beyond the limits of the Province, whose faith, worthy of past ages, had merited the favor of the grandmother of the Messias; and St. Anne d'Auray was soon so renowned as to be among the chief pilgrimage destinations of the Christian world.

In the family circle, the grandmother's feast day is one of the most touching of all, when her grandchildren surround her with reverential love, as we gather around St. Anne today. Many do not know these beautiful feasts, where the blessing of the earthly paradise seems to revive in all its freshness; but the mercy of our God has provided a sweet compensation. He, the Most High God, willed to come so nigh to us as to be one of us in the flesh; to know the relations and mutual dependencies which are the law of our nature; the cords of Adam, with which He had determined to draw us and in which He first bound Himself. For in raising nature above itself, He did not eliminate it; He made grace take hold of it and lead it to Heaven; so that, joined together on earth by their Divine Author, nature and grace were to be united for all eternity. We then being brethren by grace of Him Who is ever the Grandson of St. Anne by nature, are, by this loving disposition of Divine Wisdom, quite at home under her roof; and today's Feast, so dear to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, is our own family feast.

O Blessed Anne, rescue society, which is perishing for want of virtues like thine. Have pity on unhappy France, for which thou hast shown thy predilection, first, by so early confiding to it thy sacred body; later on, by choosing in it the spot whence thou wouldst manifest thyself to the world. O thou who lovest the Franks, continue to show fallen Gaul, once looked upon as the Kingdom of Mary, that love which is its most cherished tradition.

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Feast of Oulr Lady of Mount Carmel - Campos - RJ Brazil

Article by Rev. Bishop D. Fernando Rifan

Apostolic Administrator and Third Order Member

Today we celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel or Carmel. This has been an ancient devotion in the Church, especially spread out with the use of the Brown Scapular in her honor.

Near the border with Lebanon, the Mount Carmel, stands up 600 meters above the sea level and it is located in the land of Israel. "Carmen" in Hebrew, means "vine" and "El" means "Lord", where Carmelo means the Lord's vineyard.  The prophet Elijah took refuge there, He was the one  performed great miracles there, and then his successor, Elisha. They gathered on Mount Carmel with his disciples and they lived in hermitages. In the small cloud that produced rain after the great drought, Elijah saw symbolically Mary, the mother of the expected Messiah. Therefore,  Mary was prophetically venerated by these hermits and after the coming of Christ, by his Christian successors, as Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

In the twelfth century, the muslims conquered the Holy Land and began to persecute the Christians, among them the hermits of Mount Carmel, many of whom fled to Europe. In the year 1241, the Baron de Grey of England was returning from the Crusades to the Christian armies, summoned to defend and protect against muslims pilgrims of the Holy Places, and brought a group of religious of Mount Carmel, giving them a home in the village Aylesford. Joined them a hermit named Simon Stock, English illustrious family of the county of Kent. So distinguished in the religious life, the Carmelites elected as Superior General of the Order, which had spread throughout Europe.

On July 16, 1251, in the convent of Cambridge in England, the saint man earnestly prayed to so that Our Lady gave him a sign of her maternal affection towards the Carmelite Order, for her beloved, but then very persecuted. The Blessed Virgin heard the fervent prayers of St. Simon Stock, giving him as proof of Her affection and  love for that Order, the Brown Scapular as protective vestment, making sound the well known and comforting promise: "Receive, my son, this scapular of thy Order, which is the earnest of the privilege that I reached for you and all the children of Carmel. Whoever dies with this Scapular shall be preserved from eternal fire. It is therefore a sign of salvation, a defense in danger and pledge of my special protection. "

Pope Pius XII, in a letter to all Carmelites, on February 11, 1950, wrote that among the manifestations of devotion to the Blessed Virgin "should put the devotion of the Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in the first place, for its simplicity , to everyone, and the abundant fruits of holiness, is widely disseminated among the Christian faithful. "But does a warning about its effectiveness, so it is not used as superstition: "The holy Scapular, as Marian vestment, is a pledge and a sign of God's protection; but do not judge those who use power to achieve eternal life, abandoning himself to indolence and spiritual laziness. "




* Bishop of the Personal Apostolic Administration of St. John Vianney
http://domfernandorifan.blogspot.com.br/

542 Article II - OUR LADY OF CARMO.doc

home page : www.flordocarmelo.org

Traditional Third Order Carmelites

Campos - RJ - Brazil

Affiliated to Apostolic Administration

St. John Mary Vianney - 

Extraordinary Form of Latin Mass 

Pastor : Dom Fernando Rifan

Spiritual Director : Fr. Everaldo Bon Robert

Official Website : www.soucarmelita.com.br

Flos Carmeli Vitis Florigera

Flos Carmeli, Vitis Florigera

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In the Footprints of our Faith

Jesus our Lord traveled through many towns and villages of Palestine during the three years of his public life, announcing the Kingdom of God. He exercised his ministry mainly around Lake Genesareth, in Jerusalem, and journeying between those two points, from north to south and from south to north again, along the road that followed the course of the River Jordan, or through Samaria.

Map: J. Gil

The evangelists also tell us that on one occasion he retired beyond the borders of Galilee, to the region of Tyre and Sidon, which was in ancient Phoenicia and is now Lebanon (cf. Mt 15:21 and Mk 7:24). However, we do not know whether he also went as far as the Mediterranean coast, where the people were mostly Gentiles. It is there that Mount Carmel stands, especially linked to the memory of Elijah and Elisha (Elias and Eliseus), two great Old Testament prophets; and, in the Christian centuries, to the birth of the Carmelite Order.

Mount Carmel is a limestone mountain range stretching from the heights of Samaria to the Mediterranean, ending in a promontory above the city of Haifa. It is about twenty-five kilometers long and between ten and fifteen kilometers wide, with an average height of 500 meters. Its name is derived from the word kerem, meaning beautiful orchard, vineyard or garden. This is true: the mountain range is the source of plentiful springs of water, so that its flanks and gorges are covered in rich, varied vegetation characteristic of the Mediterranean area: laurels, myrtles, holm-oaks, tamarinds, cedars, pines, carob trees, and mastic trees. 

The region has always been proverbial for its fruitfulness, and in several of the books of the Old Testament it figures as a symbol of Israel’s prosperity, or else of its misfortune: “The Lord roars from Zion, and utters his voice from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds mourn, and the top of Carmel withers”(Amos 1: 2. Cf. Is 33: 9 and 35: 2; Jer 50: 19; and Nahum 1: 4). There are many caves on Carmel – over a thousand – especially on the west part, with narrow openings but large interiors.

The history of Mount Carmel is closely linked to the Prophet Elijah or Elias, who lived in the ninth century before Christ. The history of Mount Carmel is closely linked to the Prophet Elijah or Elias, who lived in the ninth century before Christ. According to traditions referred to by the Holy Fathers and ancient authors, several places preserved the memory of his presence: a cave on the northern slope, above Haifa, in which Elijah and afterwards Elisha lived; near that, the place where he gathered his disciples, which Christians named “The School of Prophets”, and in Arabic also El Hader or Hadar; and not far away, towards the west, a spring known as “Elijah’s Spring”, which he is supposed to have brought forth from the rock; and, in the southeast of the range, the peak called El-Muhraka and the Kishon River, where he confronted the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal. Through Elijah’s prayer, God sent fire down from Heaven and so the people abandoned their idolatry, as told in the First Book of Kings (cf. 1 Kings 18:19-40).

It was in these areas, which have been venerated from the dawn of Christianity, and in which churches were built in honour of Elijah, that the Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, or Carmelite Order, was born. Its origins go back to the second half of the twelfth century, when St Berthold, originally from France, gathered around him several hermits who had been living on the northern parts of Mount Carmel overlooking Haifa. There they built a church and a little later on, around the year 1200, another on the western slope, at Wadi es-Siah. In the early years of the thirteenth century St Brocard, who succeeded Berthold as prior, requested the official approval of the Patriarch of Jerusalem, together with a Rule for their religious life of solitude, asceticism and contemplation: this is the Carmelite Rule, also known as the Rule of our Saviour, which continues to this day.

For various reasons papal approval was not received until the year 1226. After that point, because of the uncertain situation of Christians in the Middle East, some Carmelite friars returned to their countries of origin in Europe, where they set up new monasteries. This exodus proved to be providential for the survival and spread of the Carmelite Order, because in 1291 the armies of Egypt conquered Acre and Haifa, burned the churches on Mount Carmel and killed the friars.

Wadi es-Siah dating back to the 13th and 17th centuries. 

Photograph: www.biblewalks.com.

Space does not permit a full account of the history of the Carmelite order here. In what refers to the Holy Land, it is enough to say that, except for a brief period in the seventeenth century, there was no Carmelite foundation on Mount Carmel until the early nineteenth century. Between 1827 and 1836 the current monastery and church of Stella Maris were built on the north point of Mount Carmel, above a cave that recalls the presence of the prophet Elijah. The name Stella Maris (“Star of the Sea”) recalls that just as the little cloud seen by Elijah’s servant brought the rain that would restore fruitfulness to the land of Israel after the time of the false prophets (cf. I Kings 18:44), so too the Blessed Virgin Mary brought Christ, through whom the grace of God is poured out on the whole of the earth. The buildings, on three levels, form a rectangular complex seventy meters long by thirty-six wide.

Statue of the prophet Elijah outside the shrine of El-Muhraka. 

Photograph: Leobard Hinfelaar.

To the north there is a magnificent view of the Haifa Bay, and on clear days one can make out Acre by following the line of the coast. The entrance to the church is on the west side; the central space is octagonal in shape and is covered by a dome decorated with scenes of Elijah and other prophets, the Holy Family, the Evangelists, and some Carmelite saints. The paintings were created in 1928.

The marble covering the interior of the church was completed in 1931. The focus of attention is drawn to the sanctuary: behind the altar, in a niche, stands a statue of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, and below it is the cave in which, according to tradition, Elijah lived. This is a space of roughly three by five meters, separated from the nave of the church by two porphyry pillars and some steps; within it there is an altar and a statue of the prophet.

As well as Stella Maris, the Carmelite Order has another church, on the southern tip of Mount Carmel at El Muhraka, known as the Church of the Sacrifice of Elijah. It commemorates the episode of the prophets of Baal referred to above. However, of the ancient monastery founded at Wadi es-Siah (today Nahal Siakh) only ruins now remain.

Cave below the altar, recalling the presence of the 

prophet Elijah on Mount Carmel.

Photo: Israel Tourism – Flickr.The custom of the scapular

Down through the centuries the Carmelite Order has given countless treasures to Christianity: one need only think of the exemplary lives and teachings of St Teresa of Avila, St John of the Cross, or St Theresa of Lisieux, all three proclaimed as Doctors of the Church. Among other treasures is the custom of the Carmelite scapular, which St Josemaria adopted and passed on to others. “Wear on your breast the holy scapular of Carmel. There are many excellent Marian devotions, but few are so deeply rooted among the faithful, or have received so many blessings from the Popes. Besides, how motherly the Sabbatine privilege is!” (The Way, no. 500).

The scapular bestows two privileges on those who wear it with devotion: help to persevere in faith and good works to the moment of death, and deliverance from the sufferings of purgatory. The beginnings of this devotion date back to 1251, during a particularly difficult time for the Carmelite Order which was then taking its first steps in Europe. According to an ancient written account in the Catalogue of Carmelite Saints, which forms the basis for it, St Simon (later identified as St Simon Stock, English Prior General) appealed persistently to our Lady in the following prayer:

“Flos Carmeli/ Vitis florigera/ splendor Caeli/ Virgo puerpera/ Singularis/ Mater mitis/ sed viri nescia/ Carmelitis/ da privilegia/ Stella maris.”

“Flower of Carmel/ flowering vine/ splendor of Heaven/ Virgin and Mother/ unsurpassed/ mild Mother/ untouched by man/ to the Carmelites/ grant privileges/ Star of the Sea.”

Statue of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Stella Maris. 

Photo: Leobard Hinfelaar.

In response to his prayer, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to him holding a scapular in her hand, and said to him, “This is a privilege for you and yours; whoever is wearing it when he dies will be saved.” Or, according to a fuller version, “Whoever is wearing it when he dies, will not suffer the eternal fire, he will be saved.” By that time the scapular was part of the religious habit, though it was originally a type of apron used by servants and workmen. It consisted of a long strip of cloth with a hole for the head, worn over the tunic and hanging down in front and behind.

The “Sabbatine privilege”

The second prerogative, known as the “Sabbatine privilege”, holds that someone who dies in a state of grace and wearing the Carmelite scapular will be released from Purgatory on the first Saturday after his or her death. It derives from a medieval tradition. In 1613 a decree from the Apostolic See stated that the Christian people may devoutly believe in the help of the Blessed Virgin for the souls of Carmelite friars and members of Carmelite confraternities who died in a state of grace, who wore the scapular, who lived chastely in accordance with their state in life, and who prayed the Little Office or, if they were illiterate, who kept the fasts and abstinences prescribed by the Church; and that our Lady will come to their aid especially on Saturday, the day that the Church dedicates to the Mother of God.

"The Scapular becomes a sign of the ‘covenant’ and reciprocal communion between Mary and the faithful."

In other words, the Sabbatine privilege is based on a basic Christian teaching: that of our Lady’s motherly care to ensure that her children who are expiating their guilt in Purgatory will attain the glory of Heaven as soon as possible, through her intercession.

As the Carmelite Order spread, especially in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, thanks to several reforms, its confraternities also spread. They attracted many faithful who, without embracing the religious life, shared in the devotion to our Lady of Carmelite spirituality. Such people manifested their devotion by wearing the Carmelite scapular, which was gradually modified and simplified until it took the form of two small squares of cloth joined by ribbons, worn around the neck.

The Apostolic See has frequently encouraged this custom, attaching indulgences to it and specifying certain pious practices for its use. These include the ceremony of imposition of the scapular, which the individual need only receive once and which can be conducted by any priest; the blessing of a new scapular to replace a worn-out one; and the possibility of wearing a scapular medal of the Sacred Heart and Our Lady of Mount Carmel, instead of the cloth scapular.

Some years ago, for the celebration of the 750th anniversary of the giving of the scapular by our Lady to St Simon Stock, Pope John Paul II, who had worn the scapular ever since he was young, summarized its religious value as follows. “Therefore two truths are evoked by the sign of the Scapular: on the one hand, the constant protection of the Blessed Virgin, not only on life's journey, but also at the moment of passing into the fullness of eternal glory; on the other, the awareness that devotion to her cannot be limited to prayers and tributes in her honour on certain occasions, but must become a ‘habit’, that is, a permanent orientation of one's own Christian conduct, woven of prayer and interior life, through frequent reception of the sacraments and the concrete practice of the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. In this way the Scapular becomes a sign of the ‘covenant’ and reciprocal communion between Mary and the faithful: indeed, it concretely translates the gift of his Mother, which Jesus gave on the Cross to John and, through him, to all of us, and the entrustment of the beloved Apostle and of us to her, who became our spiritual Mother” (Blessed John Paul II, Message to the Carmelite Family, 25 March 2001).

The Stella Maris church, built between 1827 and 1836. 

Photograph: Erez Raviv – Flickr.

These ideas are reflected in the words of the celebrant for the blessing of the Scapular: “O God, look with mercy on these your servants, who receive this scapular for the praise of the Blessed Trinity and in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and grant that they may be conformed to the image of Christ your Son, and so, with the assistance of the Blessed Virgin Mary, they may come to the heavenly home wearing the nuptial garment” (De Benedictionibus, no. 1218).

When St Josemaria spoke of our conversation with God he would often encourage us to become like little children, and recognize that we always need the help of grace. And he taught us to follow that path hand-in-hand with our Blessed Lady: “Because Mary is our mother, devotion to her teaches us to be authentic sons: to love truly, without limit; to be simple, without the complications which come from selfishly thinking only about ourselves; to be happy, knowing that nothing can destroy our hope. ‘The beginning of the way, at the end of which you will find yourself completely carried away by love for Jesus, is a trusting love for Mary.’ I wrote that many years ago, in the introduction to a short book on the rosary, and since then I have often experienced the truth of those words. I am not going to complete that thought here with all sorts of reasons. 

I invite you to discover it for yourself, showing your love for Mary, opening your heart to her, confiding to her your joys and sorrows, asking her to help you recognize and follow Jesus” (Christ is Passing By, no. 143).

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