A Mother's Meditations on the Seven Sorrows

The Seven Sorrows of Our Lady are an interesting meditation, especially considering how very different Our Blessed Mother's sorrow must have been from sorrow as we generally understand it. All of the experiences of Mary's life were colored by her complete, unquestioning surrender to the Will of God. She was not affected by any of the vices of thought or deed that we are prone to due to original sin, but her knowlege and understanding were far keener. The sorrow she felt was unselfish and true. I can't help but think that her sorrow must be largely for us and, especially for those who do not save their souls...

I don't consider myself an authority in any way on the Bible, or the life of Our Blessed Mother, or theology, or much, in fact, except maybe diaper changing and laundry. What follows are just some of my random thoughts and impressions on the Seven Sorrows, and what lessons I found in thinking about them today.

The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Mother:

1) The Prophesy of Simeon, in which he foretold to Our Blessed Mother that her child was "set for the fall, and for the resurrection of many in Israel, and for a sign which shall be contradicted; and thy own soul a sword shall pierce..."

As a mother, this immediately brings to mind for me the terror and worry I would have for the future if someone said those same words to me. I'd be a nervous wreck! But, we know for a certainty that Jesus' Mother didn't worry. At most she "wondered at those things which were spoken concerning Him." If we place our complete trust in God as she did, we can have no worry for our future. Of course we'll need to ask her help in this. It doesn't come as naturally to us with our fallen human natures. But, that is why God has been so good to us to give us the help of all our Heavenly family, and especially His Mother, Our Mother, who has such a tender love for us.
Learn not to worry!

2) The Flight of the Holy Family into Egypt

Oh, wow, this is a hard one. Imagine your husband wakes you up in the morning and says, "Pack up, dear. We're going to Egypt." You have a new baby, and your bank account is not just low, it's nonexistent. You don't know a soul in Egypt, and you will have to walk or ride a donkey across a desert to get there. But, you go. Mary went. I doubt she even asked any questions of St. Joseph, but started packing their meager belongings immediately. This not only teaches us abandonment, once again, to the Will of God, but obedience to our husbands!

In the God-given roles of husband and wife, the Bible makes it very clear what is expected of each of us. We are a team, yes, because our skills and roles were designed to complement one another. My job, as a wife and mother is to tend to the details of the family and to love and honor my husband; my husband's job is take care of the big decisions and to cherish his wife and family. Do we consult one another on these things? Of course we do, or it'd be a miserable existence for both of us. But the final word on where my husband takes a job, for instance, belongs to my husband, while what we have for dinner and how the children are dressed rests mainly in my hands. This is an arrangement I am blessed to be able to comply with, as I have a Godly husband. For this I need to be grateful. And to be content to obey.

The Mother of God is our best example for fulfilling and obeying the demands of our stations in life.

3) The Losing of the Child Jesus in the Temple

This sorrow (which accompanies the the 4th Joyful Mystery) has always given me comfort in a way. Picture the scenario: You're traveling with a large group of family members and friends, on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, a very large and unfamiliar city. On the way home, you're sure you'd seen your twelve year old son in the group at departure, so aren't worried when you don't spot him again throughout the day. You assume he's with friends in the company. But, at the end of the day you can't find him. You go all the way back to Jerusalem to look for him. You're frantic. How could you have left him behind? Finally, you go back to the Temple, and there He is, surrounded by a group of church scholars, deep in conversation.

Didn't He know that you had to be concerned for Him? How could He not have known that you were looking for Him?? When you ask Him, His answer is strange and somewhat vague: Why were you looking for me? Didn't you know I had to be about my Father's business?

Alllrighty then! How do you answer that one? I think that Our Blessed Mother and holy St. Joseph knew better than to be terribly miffed; this was no ordinary boy they were raising. But, there is the comfort for me... If Our Lady and St. Joseph had trouble with their adolescent, who am I to be surprised when my teenagers give me pains? And who better for me to call upon in my distress over them?

Our Blessed Mother is our best counselor on child rearing!

4. The Blessed Mother meets her Son on the Way to Mount Calvary

This scene, as it plays in my mind, is heartbreaking. How can we, as mothers, even imagine the horror? Our dearest child is suffering unimaginably, and we are unable to do anything to help! We can only watch. Or is that all that His Mother did? Sometimes we are faced with situations in our lives over which we truly have no control. Our loved ones suffer, we suffer, and though we may not be able to change the earthly situation, we can affect the landscape of our own souls by prayer. When Our Blessed Mother followed Our Lord up the hill to Calvary, I believe she filled all the sorrow of that time with some of the Earth's most fervent prayer. Prayer, I bet, mostly that God's Will be done. We can affect change through prayer. Prayers left in Our Lady's hands will always be perfectly handled and distributed.

When all else fails, pray!

5) The Crucifixion and Death of Our Lord on the Cross

When I meditate on Our Lord's three hours on the cross, I am always glad that His Mother was not alone there. How her mother's heart must have been breaking. And, though the mystics tell us she was constantly surrounded by angels, how comforting it must have been, in a human way, to have the arm of St. John around her shoulders in that awful time. How good it must have been that the other women were there at the foot of the cross, mourning with her. I know she was aware of their sorrow, and that they had ultimate concern for her at that time as well. The company of our friends in the Faith should never be taken for granted. Though we have the ever-ready help of the heavenly court, it's important to remember that oftentimes, God answers our prayers through concrete comfort and help.

God often gives His help through His friends here on earth!

6) The Body of Our Lord is Taken Down from the Cross and Laid in the Arms of His Mother

How bittersweet these moments must have been. Our Lady's heart must have been drowning in sorrow; she must have already begun simply to miss Jesus' earthly presence near her. But, she knew, too, that His suffering was over and that He was now with His Heavenly Father, His mission on Earth was completed. It is always so touching and deeply meaningful to me to see how God gives Christ to us through His Mother. She bore Him, through the Holy Ghost, and brought Him into the world. After His sacrifice on Calvary, the Body of Christ was laid in her arms. I like to think that His Mother must be present, too, in a way, at every Holy Communion.

Who can better help us prepare for the Sacrament of His Body and Blood than His Holy Mother?

7) The Burial of Jesus

In another example of Christian charity and practical solicitude, it appears the friends of Mary took chief responsibility for the preparation of Our Lord's body for death. Perhaps Our Lady looked on as they gathered together spices and someone located fine linen in which to wrap His precious body. I imagine she was grateful, but not surprised, when Joseph of Arimethea eagerly contributed his own new tomb. Everything had to be taken care of quickly, because the Sabbath was fast approaching, but everything was done as carefully and perfectly as possible. Do we prepare ourselves with as much care when we approach the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist? Do I take the time and trouble to fast appropriately? Do I really try my hardest to understand the great privilege of this sacrament? How can I complain to myself that it's too difficult to focus on my prayers when I'm hungry and the children are acting up and I'm in a bad mood... relative to the scene on that Friday?

We should carefully prepare ourselves body, mind and soul both to receive Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, and to meet Him someday at the end of our lives.

* Reposted from September, 2007 -- one of the first I ever posted on this blog!

The Holy Name of Mary

I remember when I was a little girl being jealous of girls named Mary. It was the highest of honors to share a name with the Queen of Heaven and the fact that Lisa is a derivative of Mary's dear and holy cousin, Elizabeth hadn't hit home for me yet. Dang it all, anyway. I wanted to be named Maria! Alas! It was not to be.

But I was consoled by the fact that my birthday got to be in the perfect spot, right between Our Lady's birthday and the feast of the Holy Name of Mary. And my birthstone is a saphire ~ Ha! Blue is Mary's color! So I had that going for me, too. So, in spite of recent tragic events. September 11th is still a pretty darn good day to have been born.

I love all feasts of Our Lady, but I think today's is a feast especially beautiful in concept and imagery. The Holy Name of Mary. To think of her name, to speak it, is to join in the music of Heaven!

Thoughts on the celebration: Though we aren't going to be able to do it up big today, in past years, we have celebrated this feast day with high tea, including blueberry scones with clotted cream, and other confections in the theme of white and blue. We decorated with white roses, made Our Blessed Mother's statue a special crown for the day and along with the rosary, recited the Litany of Our Lady, honoring Our Heavenly Mother through many of her titles and virtues. One year, we bought an inexpensive plastic white tablecloth for our tea party and wrote on it all of her titles from the litany with a blue sharpie. Today, each of us chose our favorite title of Mary and found a corresponding image on the computer to print out. We backed our pictures with construction paper, found a prayer to go with each, and covered them with contact paper to make our very own holy cards.

The images (at top and bottom) that I posted here today represent two of my most favorite titles for Mary. Do you know what they are?

**Oh, Oh! I forgot to link Charlotte's coloring pages for the day! Thanks again, Diva of the Catholic Crayon Set, for these wonderful Saints' Day projects!

(Repost from 2008)

The Immaculate Heart of Mary!

As the vine I have brought forth a pleasant odour, 

and my flowers are the fruit of honour and riches. 

 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 over to me, all ye that desire me, and be filled with my fruits;

for my spirit is sweet above honey,

and my ineritance above honey and thehoney-comb. 

My memory is unto everlasting generations.

  They that eat me, shall yet hunger; and they that drink me, shall yet thirst. 

He that hearkeneth to me shall not be confounded,

and they that work by me shall not sin. 

They that explain me shall have life everlasting.

~Ecclesiasticus 25: 23-31

In the midst of the second world war Pope Pius XII put the whole world under the special protection of our Saviour's Mother by consecrating it to her Immaculate Heart, and in 1944 he decreed that in future the whole Church should celebrate the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary on August 22, octave day of the Assumption.  This is not a new devotion.  In the 17th century, St. john Eudes preached it together with that of the Sacred Heart; in the 19th  century, Pius VII and Pius IX allowed several churches to celebrate a feast of the Pure Heart of Mary, fixed first on the Sunday in the octave of the Assumption, and later on the Saturday following the feast of the Sacred Heart.

Pius XII instituted today's feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary for the whole Church, so as to obtain by her intercession "peace among nations, freedom for the Church, the conversion of sinners, te love of purity and the practice of virtue."  (Decree of May 4, 1944)

~ from the St. Andrew Daily Missal by Dom Gaspar Lefebvre, O.S.B., imprimatur 1953


Almighty and everlasting God, who in the heart of the blessed Virgin Mary didst prepare a dwelling worthy of the Holy Ghost; grant in Thy mercy, that we who with devout minds celebrate the festival of that immaculate heart, may be able to live according to Thine own heart.  Through Our Lord...  in the unity of the same Holy Ghost.  Amen.

~ from the Collect from the Mass of the day

Click to copy and print for a coloring page.

On the Feast of Maria, Auxilium Christianorum

or...

Mary, Help of Christians


Most Holy Virgin Mary, Help of Christians,
how sweet it is to come to your feet
imploring your perpetual help.
If earthly mothers cease not to remember their children,
how can you, the most loving of all mothers forget me?

Grant then to me, I implore you,
your perpetual help in all my necessities,
in every sorrow, and especially in all my temptations.
I ask for your unceasing help for all who are now suffering.
Help the weak, cure the sick, convert sinners.
Grant through your intercessions many vocations to the religious life.
Obtain for us, O Mary, Help of Christians,
that having invoked you on earth we may love and eternally thank you in heaven.

~ written and prayed by St. John Bosco

Pictured:  Mary Help of Christians (MarijaPomagai) as Our Lady of Brezje, in Slovenia, painted in 1814 by an artist in thanksgiving for his own liberation from five years imprisonment during the Napoleonic wars.

History of the title "Mary Help of Christians"  here.

Titles of Mary: Star of the Sea

WHEN for me the sun is setting
At the close of life's brief day;
When my little ship is nearing
Port in yonder crystal bay;
Then, 0 my beloved Mother,
Stretch thy kind hand out to me,
Shield me, till my feet have touch'd the

Shore sand of eternity.

When my strength begins to vanish,
And earth's memories to fade;
When my friends stand sad and silent,
Powerless to give me aid;
Then, my beloved Mother,
Hold my trembling hand in thine,
Till my eyes shall see the steeples
Of the Holy City shine.

When at last my weary spirit
Seeks admission to thy throne,
When my lips in anxious longing
For thy gracious blessing moan!
Then, 0 thrice beloved Mother,
Open wide thy home and heart,
And let me, thy child, dwell ever,
Where thou Queen and Mother art.

~Anon.

Title of Our Lady:  Star of the Sea

 The second Sunday in May has been traditionally designated as Stella Maris Sunday in many parts of the world.  This title of Our Lady, Star of the Sea -- or Stella Maris -- has always been one of my favorites.  As the daughter of a Navy man, I grew up near the ocean and always tended toward tales of the sea -- and even as a child, when asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I'd say, "an oceanographer."  Which didn't happen.   Alas, now I'm about as landlocked as a person can get, living in Colorado, but I still appreciate the meaning of Mary -- as a Star of the Sea. She is our refuge, our guide, our compass -- our North Star.  As sailors once depended upon the night sky to find their way, we can depend upon our Blessed Mother in the stormy seas of life. 

St. Bernard of Clairvaux (12th century) tells us:

"If the winds of temptation arise; If you are driven upon the rocks of tribulation look to the star, call on Mary; If you are tossed upon the waves of pride, of ambition, of envy, of rivalry, look to the star, call on Mary. Should anger, or avarice, or fleshly desire violently assail the frail vessel of your soul, look at the star, call upon Mary."

Going back to the Old Testament from the time of St. Bernard, we find the first reference to the Mother of God as Star of the Sea in the Bible -- in 1 Kings 18:41-45:

 ⁴¹And Elias said to Achab: Go up, eat, and drink: for there is a sound of abundance of rain.

⁴²Achab went up to eat and drink: and Elias went up to the top of Carmel, and casting himself down upon the earth put his face between his knees,

⁴³And he said to his servant: Go up, and look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said: There is nothing. And again he said to him: Return seven times.

⁴⁴And at the seventh time, behold, a little cloud arose out of the sea like a man's foot. And he said: Go up and say to Achab: Prepare thy chariot and go down, lest the rain prevent thee.

⁴⁵And while he turned himself this way and that way, behold the heavens grew dark, with clouds, and wind, and there fell a great rain. And Achab getting up went away to Jezrahel:

The little cloud that Elias and Achab saw from Mt. Carmel has been interpreted(1) as the 'Star of the Sea' and Mary, then, like the quenching rains, is the sign of hope for mankind. It was on this same hill of Carmel that the Carmelites built a church in the early thirteenth century that they titled Stella Maris.   Though the abbey has been destroyed several times, it is always rebuilt and is still considered the headquarters of the Carmelite order to this day.

St. Jerome is believed to have had a part, as well, in the coining of this title of Our Blessed Mother(2).  In his writings of the early fifth century he refers to Mary as Stilla Maris, which is translated "drop of the sea."  It's possible that a transcriber inadvertently substituted an "e" for the "i" in Stilla -- and thus we have changed "drop" to "star."  However it came about, we have numerous references to Our Lady as Stella Maris through the centuries; St.  Isidore of Seville (d. 636); Alcuin (d. 804); and Rhabanus Maurus (d. 856) all use the title, as well as  Paschasius Radbertus (d. 865) who wisely pronounced:

Mary, Star of the Sea, must be followed in faith and morals lest we capsize amidst the storm-tossed waves of the sea. She will illumine us to believe in Christ, born of her for the salvation of the world. 

Through the centuries, many hymns have also been dedicated to Our Lady under the title Star of the Sea.  We have Ave Maris Stella (eigth-ninth century); and Alma Redemptoris Mater (by Hermann of Reichenau, eleventh century), for instance, as well as one of my all-time favorites:

Our Lady, Star of the Sea, is patroness of the Catholic missions to seafarers, the Apostleship of the Sea, and to many coastal churches around the world which have been named in her honor.

Mother of Christ,

Star of the sea,

Pray for the wanderer,

pray for me!

Sources:  Campus Questions, Wikipedia, Catholic Encyclopedia

Christmas Joys!

Mary of Christmas

I know not how, dear Lady love,

To offer you my praise,

I cannot fashion as I wish

The words that I world raise.

You stand afar, celestial Queen,

The stars are in your crown,

They spangle at each gesture's path

And dust upon your gown.

Perhaps I might recall the night

You knelt beside the crib,

The night when doors and casements shut

And left a mountain's rib,

Alone, exposed, to hoard you close

Beside the new-born Child

And seek in Joseph's kindly eyes

For something worldly-mild.

To counteract such mundane chill

I hereby set my heart,

Dim mirror of an Infant's warmth,

Its flaming but a part,

A small, sad part of Endless Love

That came on Christmas day

To show a mother wonder-bright

To guide us on our way.

--Anonymous

The paper whites in the above photo we found blooming on Christmas morning!  I'd picked them up less than a month before Christmas, not expecting them to sprout and bloom in time for the big day...  It usually takes longer.  Such a sweet and wonderful little surprise for us! And as there are no accidents in the universe, we're grateful for them as a gift -- not to us but to the dear Mother of the Infant Jesus.

Happy Feast of the Immaculate Conception!

The Lord possessed me

In the beginning of His ways,

Before He made anything

From the beginning.

I was set up from eternity, and of old,

Before the earth was made.

The depths were not as yet,

and I was already conceived;

Neither had the fountains of waters

 as yet sprung out;

The mountains with their huge bulk

had not as yet been established:

Before the hills I was brought forth;

He had not yet made the earth,

Nor the rivers,

Nor the poles of the world.

When He prepared the heavens, I was present;

When with a certain law and compass

 He enclosed the depths;

When He established the sky above,

And poised the fountains of waters;

When He compassed the sea with its bounds,

And set a law to the waters that they should not pass their limits;

When He balanced the foundations of the earth;

I was with Him forming all things;

And was delighted every day,

Playing before Him at all times;

Playing in the world:

And my delight is to be with the children of men.

Now, therefore ye children, hear me:

Blessed are they who keep my ways.

Hear instruction, and be wise,

And refuse it not.

Blessed is the man who hears me,

Who watches daily at my gates,

And waits at the posts of my doors.

He who shall find me shall find life,

and shall have salvation from the Lord.

Proverbs 8, 22-35 and the Epistle for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception

* Congratulations to all those who today were Consecrated to the Blessed Mother according to the method of St. Louis DeMontfort:  Our friends, Erin and Jan Marie, and our family members, whose very special devotions to the Blessed Mother are now under these titles:

Daniel Mark of Mary, Ark of the Covenant
Theresa Philomena of Mary, the Ivory Tower
Catherine Cecilia of Our Lady, House of Gold
Anna Germaine of Mary, Cause of our Joy
Gabriel Joseph of Mary, Queen of Apostles

...and William who is too young to be consecrated, but who insists that he is now William Thomas of Our Lady, Queen of Peace.  (Which is a very good devotion for him, indeed, so I'm not arguing.)

And my title of devotion for the Blessed Mother is Lisa Bernadette, of the Immaculate Conception.

Our BestWishes for a Happy, Holy

Feast of the Immaculate Conception!

September's Child

September's Child

September's skies are sapphire hue;
Blue gentians star the woods at morn
Near crystal pools in woodland aisles --
In this bright month a Queen was born.

No silver fanfare filled the air
As angel wings flashed round the child;
No crown was placed upon her head,
But at her halo, Heaven smiled.

October's trees wear rosaries
Of gold and scarlet, green and brown,
And as the west wind fingers them
The Ave-leaves drift slowly down.

May raises high her blossom-shrines
Where bird-choirs sing their wood-notes wild,
But both these months pay homage to
A blue-gowned queen -- September's child.

On the Birthday of Our Blessed Mother

Sung by the Mater Dei Seminary and Men's Choir, with our sons, Dominic (Br Pius at that time), Jonathan (Br. Philip), and Kevin (the Magnificent ;0) participating.  This slideshow created by Theresa.

(*Sorry!  This is posted one day late...)

On the Feast of Our Lady's Glorious Assumption

Dominic made this slide show to honor the feast day today!  The arrangement of "Who Is She Ascends So High" was performed by the Mater Dei Seminary and Men's Choir.  Dominic, his brothers Kevin and Br. Philip (Jon), and many of our dear family friends provide the God-gifted voices.

Beauty

This is my mother's high school graduation picture.  Doesn't she look like a movie star?  Everyone looked glamorous in portraits taken in the 1940s and '50s, didn't they?  But, still, really... while my Mom was truly lovely, inside and out, she was just a simple country girl from rural North Carolina, prettily freckled, with auburn hair and a decided tendency toward wearing plaid. She had nothing whatsoever in common with a Hollywood Startlette -- except for her glamorous senior picture.

 Back in Mom's day, everyone wanted to look like Audrey or Liz or Grace.  And why not?  Their images were not necessarily untarnished, but the persona that exuded from their publicity shots was graceful, feminine, and really, truly beautiful.  They appealed to our naturally ingrained idea of aesthetics, and with a practiced hand at makeup, a carefully chosen wardrobe, and a phographer who knew how to get the look, almost any girl of my mother's day could look -- and feel -- like a movie star -- at least for her senior portraits.

But, oh my stars! Perish the thought that any of my daughters would want to look like a movie star nowadays!

Not to say that modern movie stars aren't beautiful women; many really are.  But, a large majority of the publicity shots they circulate are neither attractive, nor particularly dignified.  They can certainly "clean up" well when they want to, but, more often than not, their dirty laundry is hanging out for everyone to see, figuratively and literally.  The classic beauties of our day, in the media, and very often out here in the real world,  are either lost under faddy attempts to be extreme and "cutting edge" or they're purposely blase'.  And they leave nothing to the imagination, if you know what I mean.

It's shameful.  What a distraction from the real beauty God has given them.

The classic beauties of my mother's day were worthy of imitation --  if not always in their lifestyle, usually in their appearance -- while today's teenagers have women like Lady Gaga and Brittany Speers for role models. Heaven help us.  And, though, most teenage girls don't try to imitate Lady Gaga in their senior pictures, it's unfortunate that her media popularity forms part of the background against which girls today form their tastes -- and their values.  This worries me, because it's practically impossible to completely insulate our children from what goes on in the world -- and it's really not a good idea to even try.  Kids have to know what they're inheriting from us, and what they have a responsibility to try to fix if they're going to make their world better.

But what's a Catholic mother to do?

I have my mother's senior picture displayed, along with many images of the Mother of God -- all over the house--  in hopes that these are the models our girls will use to compare against what they see in the world.  I want the gentle smiling face of the Blessed Virgin, in her purity and modesty, to form the background of their decision-making, every morning when they get dressed.  I want them to remember the beautiful, modest image of my mother's senior portrait and aspire to that kind of dignified and graceful beauty.

It's also a good exercise to discreetly comment to the children (the boys and girls) about someone who is inappropriately dressed, judging the outfit, mind you, and not the person.  We say things like, "Well, that would be a really cute shirt if it were a couple sizes bigger," or that dress would be perfect with a satin and lace neckline and sleeves, wouldn't it?"  And we make sure to comment on well-chosen, modest outfits, too.  The Sisters, especially, point this out to the young people, complimenting them to encourage them in wholesome choices.

And, not the least important, we just simply don't buy clothes that are immodest.  Just doesn't happen on my watch.  When the children grow up and begin to buy their own clothes, I continue to observe and remark on how beautiful and how handsome they are -- and how their Guardian Angel would or would not be pleased with how they looked.  And did they consider that when they got dressed this morning? 

It's a choice we need to teach our children gently but firmly:  Decide, dear children, to be beautiful inside and out.

On the Feast of the Presentation

From Abbot Gueranger, O.S.B.
in the Liturgical Year

Our new-born King and Saviour is eight days old today; the Star that guides the Magi is advancing towards Bethlehem, and five days hence will be standing over the Stable where our Jesus is being nursed by His Mother.  Today the Son of Man is to be circumcised; this first sacrifice of His innocent Flesh must honour the eighth day of His mortal life.  Today also a Name is to be given him; the Name will be Jesus, and it means Saviour.  So that mysteries abound on this day; let us not pass one of them over, but honour them with all possible devotion and love.

But this day is not exclusively devoted to the Circumcision of Jesus.  The mystery of this Circumcision forms party of that other great mystery, the Incarnation and Infancy of our Saviour -- a mystery on which the Church fixes her heart not only during this Octave, but during the whole forty days of Christmastide.  Then, as regards our Lord's receiving the Name of Jesus, a special Feast, which we shall soon be keeping (* The Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus is celebrated tomorrow, January 2nd!), is set apart in honour of it.  There is another object that shares the love and devotion of the Faithful on this great Solemnity.  This object is Mary, the Mother of God.  The Church celebrates today the august prerogative of this divine Maternity which was conferred on a mere creature, and made her the co-operatrix with Jesus in the great work of man's salvation;.

The holy Church of Rome used formerly to say two Masses on the first of January; one was for the Octave of Christmas Day, the other was in honour of Mary.  She now unites the two intentions in one Sacrifice, in the same manner as, in the rest of this Day's Office, she unites together the acts of her adoration of the Son, and the expressions of her admiration for and confidence in the Mother.

The Greek Church does not wait for this eighth day, in order order to pays her tribute of homage to her who has given us our Emmanuel.  She consecrates to Mary, the first day after Christmas, that is December 26th, and calls it the Synaxis of the Mother of God, making the two days one continued Feast.  She is thus obliged to defer the Feast of St. Stephen to December 27th.

But it is today that we, the children of the Roman Church, must pour forth all the love of our hearts for the Virgin Mother, and rejoice with her in the exceeding happiness she feels at having given birth to her and our Lord.  During Advent we contemplated her as pregnant with the world's salvation; we proclaimed the glory of that Ark of the New Covenant, whose chaste womb was the earthly paradise chosen by the King of Ages for his dwelling place.  Now she has brought him forth, the Infant God; she adores Him, He who is her Son.  She has the right to call Him her Child and He, God as he is, calls her in strictest truth His Mother.

Collect for the day's Mass:

O God, who by the fruitful Virginity of Blessed Mary hast given to mankind the rewards of eternal salvation; grant, we beseech thee, that we may experience her intercession, by whom we received the Author of Life, our Lord Jesus Christ, thy Son.  Who liveth, etc.

December: Month of the Holy Infant

Some of our favorite images to celebrate the month!



I love how personal this painting (by an unknown artist) is.
See sweet Jesus' little hand on His Mother's cheek?
==sigh== Just love it.



Bouguereau.  What more can you say?  William Adolph Bouguereau.   One of our all-time favorite artists. This is a detail of the painting called "L'innocence."

"Song of the Angels" Bougeureau



"The Virgin with Angels"  Bougeureau






"The Lambs"  Bougeureau



"Virgin of the Lilies"
Bougeureau




"Madonna of the Roses"
Bougeureau



"Kissing the Face of God"  by Morgan Weistling



Unknown Artist

Another take on "Kissing the Face of God."  Beautifully real and intimate. 



Unknown Artist
Searched and searched for the artist of this painting, a particular
favorite of ours.  I love the gravity in the Blessed Mother's eyes
and how the Infant Saviour looks so much like a real infant.



"Mother and Child" by another favorite:  Charles Bosseron Chambers




Unknown Artist
Another one where the Holy Infant looks very
much like an infant.  And the Blessed Mother
looks decidedly Hebrew.  A nice change from the
ordinary.



A contemporary religious artist, Simon Dewey paints
remarkably realistic scenes from the life of Christ.
This one is called "In the Arms of Mary."

There are many, many beautiful paintings of the Baby Jesus and His Mother painted by the Masters, as well.  It's been a favorite subject of artists since the time of Christ, the image of the Mother of God tenderly holding the Infant Saviour -- and with good reason.  Could there be a more sublime scene to contemplate?

Veni, Veni, Emanuel!

Happy December, 2012

Hope everyone's having a blessed Advent so far!