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The Church's Position Regarding Apparitions - The Church doesn't pay particular attention to any apparitions until they are studied, confirmed and accepted by the local bishops. Even though they may be authenticated, the messages remain as private revelation. Catholics are free to accept them, since they are in harmony with the teachings of the Church but everythings has been revealed in the Holy Scriptures and we must listen to the Church firstly. Marian Apparitions have the effect of helping the faithful to come closer to Jesus through the help of Our Lady. Mary's appearances began in 40 AD, probably before she died, to James the Apostle in Saragossa, Spain. She has been appearing to others at irregular intervals throughout the two thousand years since she gave birth to Jesus. The characteristics of her apparitions has remained fairly consistent. She usually appears in a globe of pure white light, dressed in a long dress and head cover which vary in color depending on the content of her messages. Her feet are usually surrounded by a mist or cloud and she occassionally is seen holding her Son in her arms. A number of her appearances are preceded by unusual phenomena such as observations of lightning and thunder from a clear sky, apparitions of angelic beings or clouds of unusual shapes and religious significance such as a cross or a doorway as well as other inexplicable events.
THE MAGNIFICAT - MARY’S PRAYER: |
BLESSED MARY, OUR LADY:
Our Lady Of Guadalupe - Empress Of The Americas Link
Our Lady Of Fatima - Queen Of Heaven Link
Our Lady Of Lourdes - Bernadette Link
Our Lady Blessed Sacrament Link
Our Lady Assumption Link
Our Lady Of Czestochowa Link
Our Lady Perpetual Help - THEOTOKION Link
Our Lady Queen Of Peace - Medjugorje Link
Our Lady Mount Carmel Link
Our Lady Rosary Link
Our Lady Nations Link
Our Lady Of The Miraculous Medal Link
Our Lady Of The Pillar Link
Our Lady Of LaSalette Link
Our Lady Knock Link
Our Lady Of Pompei Link
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OUR LADY OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT
THE CONSECRATION PRAYER TO OUR LADY OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT:  |
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OUR LADY OF THE ASSUMPTION We are a visual people and look to see the beauty in God’s presence. To see a Catherdral in shimmering white 'jewel' light excites us and gives us joyful knowing that we are in the presence of Our Lord. To have this is to have the heritage given us through the Catholic fullness of faith.
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OUR LADY OF CZESTOCHOWA
Our Lady of Czestochowa at Jasna Gora: The Miraculous Picture of Our Lady of Czestochowa is one of the oldest of the Blessed Virgin in the world. The image portrays the Holy Mother pensive in sufferings, with deep sorrow reflected in her eyes and clouded brow. Science traces the origin of the picture to the 5th or 6th century A.D. But prior to the year 1382, the history of the Miraculous Picture of Our Lady of Czestochowa is shrouded in legend and tradition. Legend claims that St. Luke, the Evangelist, painted this picture on a cypress table top from the Nazareth House. |
Under the heroic leadership of the Prior of the Monastery, the Shrine withstood the attacks of a Swedish invasion of 1655. This great victory proved to be a tremendous boost to the morale of the entire Polish nation. As a result, King Jan Casimir, in 1656, made a solemn vow proclaiming the Mother of God to be the 'Queen of the Polish Crown' and the Shrine of Jasna Gora to be the 'Mount of Victory' and a spiritual capital for Poland.
PRAYER TO OUR LADY OF CZESTOCHOWA:
Holy Mother of Czestochowa, Thou art full of grace, goodness and mercy.
I consecrate to Thee all my thoughts, words and actions - my soul and body.
I beseech Thy blessings and especially prayers for my salvation.
Today, I consecrate myself to Thee, Good Mother, totally - with body and soul amid joy and sufferings to obtain for myself and others Thy blessings on this earth and eternal life in Heaven. Amen.
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OUR LADY PERPETUAL HELP - THEOTOKION
The image of Our Lady of Perpetual Help is perhaps the oldest actual image of the Blessed Virgin herself. According to legend, St. Luke painted a picture of Our Lady while she was still living in Jerusalem. When she saw the beautiful picture of herself holding the Child Jesus in her arms, she blessed both the artist and his work proclaiming, "My grace will accompany this picture." The passage of centuries has proven that Mary did not forget this promise. So numerous were the miracles and favors granted by means of this picture that Pope Innocent III in 1207 stated that Mary’s soul seemed to have entered into this picture since it was so beautiful and so miraculous. When St. Luke completed the image, legend tells us he gave it to his personal friend and patron, Theophilus.
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The Icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help is an authentic expression of Byzantine art from ancient times. The gold background represents the Kingdom of God and the gold shining through the clothing reflects the joy and glory of the Kingdom. The icon invites us to become sharers in this glory. The persons portrayed are: the Mother of God, Jesus Christ, the Archangel Michael, and the Archangel Gabriel. Mary’s head is tilted with maternal affection toward the Christ child on her left arm. Mary’s eyes are not fixed on her Child or on the instruments of the Passion which the two angels hold out to Christ. Rather, she gazes toward those who are looking at the picture. With eyes and attitude of sorrow and love she invites all to place their confidence in her. The Christ Child has the appearance of a teacher or master. In His mother, he finds the greatest comfort and tenderness. In His haste to run into her protective arms, He almost loses one of His tiny sandals thereby signifying to us that we should hasten to seek her loving assistance in our troubles. Christ’s fingers hold his Mother’s right hand, yet they rest quite loosely there. In this lies another lesson. Though Mary is His Mother, He is our God. To Him she owes all her graces. The image inspires the onlooker to exclaim: "Surely, this is the Son of God and His glorious Mother."
THEOTOKION - Our Lady of Perpetual Help O gentle protectress of Christians, unfailing mediatrix before the Creator, do not despise the prayerful voices of sinners, but in your goodness hasten to assist us trustfully cry out to you: "Inspire us to prayer, and hasten to hear our supplication. O Mother of God, intercede always in behalf of those who honor you."
MOTHER OF PERPETUAL HELP
Mother of Perpetual Help, you have been blessed and favored by God. You became not only the Mother of the Redeemer but the Mother of the redeemed as well. We come to you today as your loving children. Watch over us and take care of us. As you held the child Jesus in your loving arms, so take us in your arms. Be a Mother ready at every moment to help us. For God who is mighty has done great things for you, and God's mercy is from age to age on those who love God. Our greatest fear is that, in time of temptation, we may fail to call out to you and become lost children. Intercede for us, dear Mother, in obtaining pardon for our sins, love for Jesus, final perseverance, and the grace always to call upon you, Mother of Perpetual Help.
Glorious and wonderful things are said about you, O Virgin Mary. You are the glory and joy of the Christian people. You are the defender of the poor and rejected. You are a safe refuge of the persecuted and a Mother ever ready to help us. Surround us with the radiance of your loving protection and keep us safe from all that would harm us, glorious and powerful Mother of the Redeemer.
Holy Mary, Pray for us. Mother of Jesus, Pray for us. Tabernacle of the Holy Spirit, Pray for us. Mother of the poor, Pray for us. Health of the sick, Pray for us. Consolation of the suffering, Pray for us. Mother of Perpetual Help, Pray for us.
Let us pray.
All powerful and merciful Lord, you gave us the image of the Mother of your Son to venerate under the title of Our Mother of Perpetual Help. Graciously grant that in all the difficulties of our lives we may be assisted by the continuous protection of the Virgin Mary and obtain the reward of eternal redemption. You live and reign forever and ever. Amen.
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OUR LADY QUEEN OF PEACE MEDJUGORJE We are a visual people and look to see the beauty in God’s presence. To see a Catherdral in shimmering white 'jewel' light excites us and gives us joyful knowing that we are in the presence of Our Lord. To have this is to have the heritage given us through the Catholic fullness of faith.
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OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL
Our Lady of Mount Carmel - Aylesford, England (1251) |
The brown scapular is a badge of salvation. The brown scapular is a shield in time of danger. The brown scapular ia a pledge of peace and special protection, until the end of time."
After this apparition, Friar Stock went on to establish Carmelite communities near university towns in England, France and Italy. He became the Superior-General of his order several years after the apparition. Until very recently, the brown scapular was one of the most widely used religious symbols of personal dedication to the mission of Mary found in her last recorded words in the Bible (John 2:5). The promotion and use of all types of Marian devotional symbols has declined dramatically since the 1960's.
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Our Lady Of The Rosary Domingo de Guzman was a Spanish preacher who went to southern France to oppose the Albegesian heresy which was spreading rapidly. In 1208, while he was praying at a chapel in Prouille, Mary appeared to him and gave him the Rosary and urged him to preach the Rosary to all people as a remedy against heresy and sin. The factual basis for this series of events is questionable. Nonetheless, Domingo (Dominic) founded an order of preaching friars who went on to halt the Albegesian heresy and establish monasteries all over the world. The order is commonly referred to as the Dominicans.
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OUR LADY OF THE NATIONS Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Father, send now Your Spirit over the earth.
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OUR LADY OF THE MIRACULOUS MEDAL In the summer of 1830, a 24 year old novice of the Sisters of Charity was awakened by a young child, about five years old, dressed in white who called to her: "Catherine, Catherine, wake up. Come to the chapel; the Blessed Virgin is waiting for you." |
Five months later, in November,
Catherine experienced another apparition. In this event Mary appeared dressed entirely in white holding a ball topped with a little golden cross. The ball, she was told, represented the whole world, especially France, and each person in particular. Mary stood on a white globe with a green serpent under her feet on the globe. After a moment, an oval shape formed around the Blessed Virgin, and on it were written these words in gold: `O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.' Upon seeing this vision, Catherine heard a voice say: "Have a medal struck after this model. Those who wear it will receive great graces; abundant graces will be given to those who have confidence."
At this point, the oval seemed to turn and Catherine saw the reverse of the medal: the letter M surmounted by a cross, and below it two hearts, one crowned with a crown of thorns, and the other pierced by a sword. After hearing all of her accounts of these apparitions, her spiritual director, Father Aladel, still had doubts as to their veracity. He met
with the local archbishop and after due deliberation the archbishop authorized that the medals be struck since he found nothing contrary to the Faith in anything Catherine said or experienced. Within months there were a flood of reported cures and spiritual conversions
attributed to the medal; so much so that it came to be called the Miraculous Medal. Catherine went back to a life of obscurity in the Sisters of Charity once the medal had been fashioned and died in 1876. By the time of her death there were millions of Miraculous
Medals being worn by the devout all over the world.
NOVENA PRAYER TO OUR LADY OF THE MIRACULOUS MEDAL
Immaculate Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus and my mother,
I come to you with confidence in your powerful intercession,
manifested through your Miraculous Medal.
As your loving, trustful child I ask this favor . . . Obtain for me as well, a pure heart,
that my entire life may give glory to God. Amen.
O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you.
PRAYER OF DEVOTION TO OUR LADY OF THE MIRACULOUS MEDAL
Virgin Mother of God, Mary Immaculate, I unite myself to you under your title of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal.
May this medal be for me a sure sign of your motherly affection and a constant reminder of my devotion to you.
While wearing it, may I be blessed by your loving protection and preserved in the grace of your Son.
Most powerful virgin, Mother of our Savior, keep me close to you every moment of my life so that like you I may live and act according to the teaching and example of Jesus.
Keep me as your faithful child that I may follow your example throughout life and enjoy heaven forever with you. Amen.
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OUR LADY OF THE PILLAR After the crucifixion, resurrection and ascension of Jesus, his Apostles began to spread the message he left throughout Israel and shortly thereafter, through the Roman empire. One of these Apostles, James (the Greater), reportedly travelled as far west as Spain to the village of Saragossa in north east Spain. While James was there, he became disheartened because of the failure of his mission. Tradition holds that while he was deep in prayer Jesus' Blessed Mother appeared to him and gave him a small wooden statue of herself and a column of jasper wood and instructed him to build a church in her honor:
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OUR LADY OF LA SALETTE The Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to two young children, Melanie Mathieu and Maximin Giraud in LaSalete, France in the year 1846. At the time there was corruption, self-indulgence, greed and worldliness. Our Lady appeared sorrounded by light, she was weeping and gave warnings about the chastisements that would hit the world. She complained about people not keeping the commandments, about the apathy for religion and she disclosed the punishment that people would receive if they did not amend their lives. In 1851, five years after the apparitions at La Salette, the Bishop of the diocese, as well as most of the clergy declared the apparition as authentic and divine in origin.
The Memorare to Our Lady of La Salette
The Seven Sorrows & Graces
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OUR LADY OF KNOCK County Mayo was in the center of a region of Ireland that had suffered great distress in the 1870's. Various famines and economic dislocations produced by forced evictions had created yet another wave of Irish immigration. It was into this environment that the Lord again sent His Mother to visit with His oppressed children. |
August 21st, 1879 was another rain-swept day in County Mayo. As evening arrived, Margaret Beirne, a resident of the village of Cnoc Mhuire, was sent by her brother to lock up the local church for the evening. After she had completed this task, as she was returning home she noticed a strange brightness covering the church. However, preoccupied with other thoughts, she mentioned this to no one else. At about this time, another member of the Beirne family, Mary, had just completed a visit with the church's housekeeper, Mary McLoughlin. As they were walking down the road they came to a location where they could clearly see the church and its gables, at which time Mary O'Beirne turned to her companion and said, "O look at the statues! Why didn't you tell me the priest had got new statues for the chapel?" Her companion responded that she had heard nothing about new statues but she decided to look more closely. As they approached the church, Mary Beirne remarked, "But they are not statues, they're moving. It's the Blessed Virgin."
What they and thirteen others saw in the still-bright day was a beautiful woman, clothed in white garments, wearing a large brilliant crown. Her hands were raised as if in prayer. This woman was understood by all who saw her to be Mary, the Mother of Jesus and the Queen of the Angels. On her right stood St. Joseph, his head inclined towards her. On her left stood St. John the Evangelist, dressed as a bishop. To the left of St. John was an altar on which stood a lamb and a cross surrounded by angels. All of this was seen on the gable wall of the church in a cloud of light and lasted for about two hours. Other villagers, who were not involved with the apparition, nonetheless reported seeing a very bright light illuminating the area around where the church was located. There were subsequent reports of inexplicable healings
associated with visits to the church at Knock.
The Church response to this series of events was typically circumspect. A commission was formed to gather testimonies of those
claiming to see the apparition and then a record of purported cures and devotional material was maintained until 1936. At that time, the head of the diocese of Tuam, Archbishop Gilmartin, authorized the publication of a pamphlet supporting devotion to the apparition at
Knock.
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OUR LADY OF POMPEI " O Blessed Rosary of Mary, sweet chain which unites us to God, bond of love which unites us to the angels, tower of salvation against the assaults of Hell, safe port in our universal shipwreck, we will never abandon you. You will be our comfort in the hour of death: yours our final kiss as life ebbs away. And the last word from our lips will be your sweet name, O Queen of the Rosary of Pompei, O dearest Mother, O Refuge of Sinners, O Sovereign Consoler of the Afflicted. May you be everywhere blessed, today and always, on earth and in heaven".
Created:
4/22/2000 |
