Our Lady of Siluva V

The Painting is the Finest Copy of Hodegetria
It has been discovered that the painting of Mary and the Christ Child brought by Peter Gedgaudas from Italy to the church in Siluva in 1457 is the finest copy of Hodegetria, one of St. Luke’s pictures, which was in Constantinople until 1453.
The same painting can be found in Rome in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.
In 1770, Fr. J. Skirmantas had a Goldsmith make a dress of gold for Our Lady in the painting.
Ona Smigelskaite of Vilnius, during the process of restoration of Our Lady's painting in 1959, discovered the signs of the picture having been folded – it had been folded four times and had been stored for a long time. This further confirms the picture's storage in the ironclad box.

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Other Our Lady of Siluva images

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St. Edward the Confessor

Anglo Saxon King of England 1042 - 1066
Royal House of Wessex

Canonized 1161
Patron saint of kings
Place of burial: Westminster Abbey, London England

Edwardus Rex - Ora Pro Nobis!

Our Lady of Siluva IV

Blind man regains his sight
In many apparitions of the Blessed Mother there is usually a picture or statue associated with the event. Our Lady of Siluva is not an exception. A blind man, more than 100 years old, lived in a nearby village. The stories of the apparitions reached him and he recalled a night, some eighty years before, when he helped Father Holubka bury an ironclad chest filled with church treasures beside a large rock. The villagers led him to the field of the apparitions to see if he could help locate the place where the treasures were buried. No sooner had he reached the spot, then his sight was miraculously restored. Falling to his knees with joy and gratitude, he pointed to the exact spot where the chest had been buried.
Villagers find the buried treasure
The ironclad chest was dug out of the ground and when it was opened, there – perfectly preserved – was the large painting of the Madonna and Child, several gold chalices, vestments, church deeds, and other documents. The painting was enshrined permanently in the Basilica of the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary and is venerated to this day as the Miraculous Image of Siluva.
Miracles continue
Over the years, many miracles have been recorded and the shrine has experienced numerous changes and larger churches had to be built to accommodate the pilgrims. Devotion to Our Lady of Siluva was growing until World War II brought about the destruction of freedom in Lithuania.
Since then, this world has seen many changes. We find ourselves surrounded by moral decay and many have lost their way. Today, Our Lady of Siluva is our most powerful intercessor before Almighty God.
She once brought Lithuania back to the Church, so let us pray that . . .
“ moved by your tears, may we as our forefathers did, revive the spirit of adoration of your Son in our hearts, strengthen the tottering structure of the shrine that is the family, bring back your wandering children and forgive the sins of our nation.
“ Our Lady of Siluva, intercede for your wandering children . . . bring them home to Jesus.”

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Our Lady of Siluva III

Our Lady of Siluva in stained glass

The Blessed Virgin reappears
The Calvinist pastor, aware of the crowd that had gathered, became alarmed at the gullibility of his people in believing this “Roman superstition,” as he labeled the story. He warned them that this was the work of Satan, who wanted to lead them away. As the Calvinist pastor paused to catch his breath, a heart-rending sound of sobbing was heard. All eyes turned to the rock, and there, standing in their midst, was the weeping lady with the baby in her arms, just as the children had described her.
The people stood in amazement. The pastor, too, could do nothing but stare. The woman’s face was clouded in deep sorrow and her cheeks were bathed in bitter tears. Finally the pastor regained his composure and asked, “Why are you weeping?” In a voice filled with sorrowful emotion, she replied, “There was a time when my beloved Son was worshipped by my people on this very spot. But now they have given this sacred soil over to the plowman and the tiller and to the animals for grazing.” Without another word, she vanished.
People return to the Church
The belief that the Mother of God had appeared in person to chide them for their neglect of the Catholic Faith quickly grew among the people. Most of them heeded her message and began to return to the One True Church founded by her Divine Son, Jesus Christ. So complete was this return that a decade later, on the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, more than 11,000 people received Holy Communion during a mass offered at the scene of the apparitions.
A miracle occurs
Such was the miracle that the Mother of God wrought in the village of Siluva where there had been no church, no priest, no Mass, for almost eighty years. The Bishop appointed Fr. John Kazakevicius to investigate the phenomenon and question all witnesses to the events.

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Our Lady of Siluva II

Picture from a US shrine of Our Lady of Siluva

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God miraculously intervenes

Eighty years passed and the Catholic flock, with no shepherd to guide and nourish it, gradually died out. Only a few of the very oldest villagers dimly remembered that there had been a Catholic Church in their village. Children were reared in the Calvinist creed. Suddenly, through an apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, God miraculously intervened. This apparition has been proven an actual event, authenticated by a Papal Decree issued by Pope Pius VI on August 17, 1775. The most remarkable feature is the fact that the miracle took place in a completely un-Catholic atmosphere.

Children see a beautiful woman on a rock

One summer day, in 1608, a number of children were tending their sheep in a field on the outskirts of the village of Siluva. They were playing near a large rock, close to a wooded section of the field, shouting merrily to one another in carefree fun. Suddenly one after another stood transfixed, staring in the direction of the rock. In the silence, there could be heard the sound of loud sobbing. Then the children beheld a beautiful young woman standing on the rock holding a baby in her arms and weeping bitterly. Her overwhelming grief was only too evident. She did not speak, but looked at them sadly as she stood there, weeping as though her heart was breaking. So profuse were her tears that they ran down her cheeks and some of them splashed on the rock. The woman was dressed in flowing blue and white robes, unlike any costume with which the children were familiar. Her long, light-brown hair fell softly over her shoulders. A strange light surrounded both the woman and child.

Boy runs to Calvinist pastor

So startled were the children, they could not speak, but merely stood and stared. Amazement soon turned to fright when the woman with her baby disappeared as mysteriously as she had appeared. Then all began to talk excitedly about what they had seen. One of the boys ran to the village to tell the Calvinist pastor. He was told to stop making up such a fantastic tale and to go back to the fields.

Children tell their parents

When the children returned home in the evening, they told their parents and neighbors about the weeping woman. The news spread quickly through the little village, and the next morning most of the townspeople had gathered around the rock. Some were scoffing loudly, but others were impressed by the children's tearful insistence that they were telling the truth. This was proven because, whether the children were questioned separately or together, each told the same identical story, even to the smallest detail.

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Our Lady of Siluva I

"Lithuania's Greatest Treasure"

The following posts will have Our Lady of Siluva as a topic - an approved Marian apparition I only found out about today. This is a beautiful story which I hope you will find edifying to your faith as I have.

First Widely Known Apparition of the Mother of God in Europe

Lithuania becomes the youngest daughter of the Church. In 1251, Lithuania was the last European nation to accept Christianity, becoming the youngest daughter of the Church.
There was a time when Lithuania came very close to leaving the Catholic faith. Something happened in 1608 in the little village of Siluva which turned back, once and for all, the tide of the Reformation heresy which was sweeping over Europe and threatening to engulf this little country.
Two hundred fifty years before Lourdes and Fatima the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared in the village of Siluva, Lithuania. The story begins in 1457.
The story of Our Lady of Siluva actually began in 1457, when Peter Giedgaudas, a diplomat for Vytautas the Great, built the first church in the area and gave the land to the Catholic Church. On one of his many travels he went to Rome and there obtained a magnificent painting of the Blessed Virgin Mary holding the child Jesus. He brought the painting back to Lithuania and put it in the sanctuary of the new church in Siluva.
For several generations the faithful worshiped God and honored the Blessed Mother in their little shrine church.

Calvinist Controversy

When the Protestant "Reformation" swept over Europe, not even this little village escaped its impact. In 1532, the local governor became a zealous Calvinist as did many nobility and intellectuals . . . they in turn forced their will upon the people. The Catholics of Siluva were helpless to resist the repression of their Faith by the powerful gentry. Property owned by the Church was to be confiscated and the land turned over to the Calvinists.

Parish priest hides the treasured painting

When Fr. John Holubka, the parish priest of the Siluva Church, heard what was to happen, he built an ironclad box. He carefully wrapped the treasured painting of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Child, liturgical vestments, and documents which proved that Vytautas the Great had given the land to the Catholic Church and placed them in the box. Then he sealed the box and buried it deep in the ground near a large rock. His action was truly inspired because a short time later the authorities seized the church. It seemed as if the Catholic faith had come to an end in the once fervent village of Siluva.

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To those in moral sin...

~ Posted by Mark Mallett today on his blog...~

To those lost souls bound in mortal sin:

THIS IS YOUR HOUR OF MERCY!

To those enslaved by pornography,
Come to Me, the Image of God

To those who are committing adultery,
Come to Me, the Faithful One

To prostitutes, and those who use or sell them,
Come to Me, your Beloved

To those engaging in unions outside the bounds of marriage,
Come to Me, your Bridegroom

To those who worship the god of money,
Come to Me, without paying and without cost

To those in witchcraft or bound in the occult,
Come to Me, the Living God

To those who have made covenant with Satan,
Come to Me, the New Covenant

To those drowning in the abyss of alcohol and drugs,
Come to Me, who am Living Waters

To those enslaved in hatred and unforgiveness,
Come to Me, Fount of Mercy

To those who have taken the life of another,
Come to Me, the Crucified One

To those who are jealous and envious, and murder with words,
Come to Me, who am jealous for you

To those who are enslaved by love of self,
Come to Me, who has laid down His life

To those who once loved me, but have fallen away,
Come to Me, who refuses no soul…. and I will blot out your offences, and forgive your transgressions. I will remove your sins, as far as the east is from the west. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, I command the chains which hold you to be broken. I command every principality and power to release you. I open my Sacred Heart to you as a hiding place and refuge. I will refuse no soul who returns to Me trusting in My infinite Mercy and Love.
THIS IS YOUR HOUR OF MERCY

Go here to read the full post. I have seen no better guide to repentance and alleviation of the burdens of the soul than this. Go read it now and send a link to everyone you know!

Black Scapular

I kind reader sent me a link to another source where the black scapular can be purchased. They are inexpensive and unfortunately made of felt - but beggars can't be choosers right? Go here to check it out.

Remember the promises for devotion to Our Lady's Sorrows?

The following are the seven graces promised by the Blessed Virgin Mary to souls who honor her daily by saying seven Hail Mary's and meditating on her tears and sorrows. This devotion was passed on to us by Saint Bridget, who received them directly from Our Lady.

1. "I will grant peace to their families."
2. "They will be enlightened about the divine mysteries."
3. "I will console them in their pains and I will accompany them in their work."
4. "I will give them as much as they ask for as long as it does not oppose the Adorable Will of my Divine Son or the sanctification of their souls."
5. "I will defend them in their spiritual battles with the infernal enemy and I will protect them at every instant of their lives."
6. "I will visibly help them at the moment of their death; they will see the face of their mother."
7. "I have obtained (this Grace) from my Divine Son, that those who propagate this devotion to my tears and sorrows, will be taken directly from this earthly life to eternal happiness since all their sins will be forgiven and my Son will be their eternal consolation and joy."

Black Scapular is a Catholic sacramental of the Order of Friar Servants of Mary (Servites)A.D. 1240 "The Black Scapular of the Seven Dolors of Mary," or "The Our Lady of Sorrows Scapular," has on its front a depiction of Our Lady of Sorrows. Our Lady appeared to seven rich and prominent citizens of Florence who decided to give up their worldly possessions and follow Christ, promising to honor His Mother in her sorrows. Thus began the Servite Order. Mary gave them the Servite habit and said that "these garments shall be to you a perpetual memory of the sufferings of my heart." This is available to everyone now through the more common Black Scapular. The General of the Servite Order has granted the faculty of investment with this scapular to other priests.

Buy one, wear it, compassionate our Lady's Sorrows and your reward will be great in Heaven!

Joy in Suffering

“Those who love God are always happy, because their whole happiness is to fulfil, even in adversity, the Will of God. Afflictions do not mar their serenity, because by accepting misfortune, they know they give pleasure to their beloved Lord. Indeed, what can be more satisfactory to a person than to experience the fulfilment of all his desires? This is the happy lot of the man who wills only what God wills, because everything that happens, save sin, happens through the Will of God. This is the beautiful freedom of the sons of God, and it is worth vastly more than all the rank and distinction of blood and birth, more than all the kingdoms in the world.”

Saint Alphonsus de Ligouri wrote these words in his beautiful treatise on Conformity to the Will of God.

Lord vouchsafe to me the graces I need to bear my sufferings with joy not impatience. I enjoin everything to Christ's suffering upon the cross in payment of the debts of the souls in purgatory. Amen+

New English Marian Shrine

I think this statue is beautiful. Some good people in England are pilgrimmaging to the shrines destroyed by King Henry VIII during his "smash and grab" schism with Rome. That poor country suffers greatly to this day due to this kings slavery to his pride and sin. I love England and pray the C of E returns home. Go here to read the full story.

St. Winifred III

St. Winifred's Well, commonly called Holy Well.

The holy spring of St Winifred, an important center of medieval pilgrimage still venerated today, is said to have risen where St Beuno restored his niece St Winifred to life after her head had been severed by Cardoc, a rejected local chieftan suitor. St Beuno is a well-attested 7th-century figure, responsible for bringing Celtic monasticism to much of north Wales.

The spring became renowned for its healing powers and throughout the centuries and even until today, pilgrims travel here in their thousands from all over the world to bathe in its waters and worship at its shrine that has become known as the Lourdes of Wales. The holy well is mentioned in an old rhyme as one of the Seven Wonders of Wales (photo credit)

The Jesuits have traditionally supported the holy well.

It is also believed to be connected to St Mary's well and chapel in Cefn Meiriadog, Denbighshire.
As one of the few locations mentioned by name in the anonymous medieval alliterative poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, it is interesting to compare the site's beheading history with the beheading game in the poem.

Happy Feast Day St. Jehanne d'Arc!

Thank you for all your prayers on behalf of my poor soul. I anxiously await seeing you face to face. Pray that I make it, I entrust myself to your prayers. Amen+

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Meditations on Heaven V

"By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible." Hebrews 11:24-27

Again we have an example of how we can avoid evil and perservere in goodness by keeping our mind, eyes, heart and soul on the prize - the prize of Heaven.

To my knowledge there was no other to whom God spoke face to face in the old Covenant. God loved Moses more than all the others - and did Moses have an easy, pain free, untroubled life?? Not hardly. He was tried and suffered continually from the burdens given him in leading the Jews out of Egypt. Despite all his afflictions, he kept his eyes on the reward - the reward of Heaven. Amen+

Saint Winifred II

Notice the bloody line around her neck in most of them.

St. Winifred ~ Ora pro nobis!

Saint Winifred

St. Winefride/Winifred/Gwenfrewi

Born: Flintshire, Wales

Died: c. 660

Feast Day: November 3

I came across this amazing saint whom I had not heard of before. Go here or here for more of her story. Here's a short version of her life ~ and yes, I'm planning to add a visit to her "Holywell" on my must-do list before I die:

Saint Winefride (called in her native Welsh Gwenfrewi; in modern English Winifred and various variations) was the 7th century daughter of the Welsh nobleman, Tyfid ap Eiludd. She had her head severed from her body by an enraged suitor, Caradog. He was displeased because her religious devotion and a pledge to become a nun caused her to resist his advances.
In one version of this tale, her head rolled downhill, and, where it stopped, a healing spring appeared. These healing waters are now a shrine called St Winefride's Well in Holywell, the Lourdes of Wales. Saint Winefride's head was subsequently rejoined to her body due to the efforts of her maternal uncle, Saint Beuno, and she was restored to life. She later became a nun and abbess at Gwytherin in Denbighshire, after Caradog, cursed by Beuno, melted into the ground. More elaborate versions of this tale relate many details of her life, including Winefride's pilgrimage to Rome.
In spite of the slim records for this period, there appears to be a historical basis for this personage. Winefride's brother Owain is known to have killed Caradog as revenge for a crime. She succeeded the Abbess, Saint Tenoi, who is believed to be her maternal grand-aunt.
After her death (c. 660) she was interred at her abbey. In 1138 relics were carried to Shrewsbury to form the basis of an elaborate shrine. (This event was woven into A Morbid Taste for Bones, the first of Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael novels.) The shrine and well became major pilgrimage goals in the Late Middle Ages, but the shrine was destroyed by Henry VIII in 1540.
A well named after St Winifred is in the hamlet of Woolston near Oswestry in Shropshire. It is thought that on her way to Shrewsbury abbey Winifred's body was laid here overnight and a spring sprang up out of the ground. The water is supposed to have healing powers and be good at healing bruises, wounds and broken bones. The well is covered by a 15th century half-timbered cottage. The water flows through a series of stone troughs and into a large pond, which then flows into a stream. The cottage is in a quiet, peaceful setting in the middle of the countryside, and is maintained by the Landmark Trust.
There is also another place where her body was laid and a spring sprang up. Holywell farm midway between Tattenhall and Clutton, Cheshire. There is a spring in the garden of this non working farm which supplies two houses with their drinking water. The water is very tasty.
A Norman church dedicated to Saint Winifred can be found in the village of Branscombe, Devon. There is some archaeological evidence to suggest an earlier Saxon church may have occupied the site.
English poet Gerard Manley Hopkins memorialized Saint Winefride in his unfinished drama, "St Winefred's Well."
In modern times, St Winefride has been unofficially adopted as the patron saint of unwanted advances, payrolls and payroll clerks.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winefride"

If anyone out there has ever visited St. Winifred's well, leave a comment and tell us about it!

St. Winefride ~ Pray for us!

St. Michael the Archangel II

(photo credit)

Breathtaking...

St. Michael ~ Defend us in battle!

Beautiful Mary Holding Jesus

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This is a 1950s work in the late medieval style by the King workshop of Norwich at Acle in Norfolk, England. This stained glass image of Our Lady holding the infant Jesus almost got me choked up it is so beautiful - the tender way which Jesus touches her, the regal flowing gown. I know its a bit crude in that medieval style, but stunning at the same time.

Regina Caeli - Ora pro nobis!

Meditations on Heaven IV

"Resurrection of the Flesh" by Luca Signorelli c. 1500

(photo credit)

"For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame - who set their mind on earthly things. For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself." Php 3:18-21

When Jesus returns to earth, He will physically raise all the dead, giving them back the bodies they lost at death. These will be the same bodies people had in earthly life—but our resurrected bodies shall never die and, for the elect, shall be place in a glorified state - no more suffering, pain, thirst or hunger. They will be able to do the many amazing things Jesus could do with His glorified body such as walk through walls and disappear.

We must pray, pray and never cease to pray that we may, by God's great mercy, be counted among His elect. May we not be resurrected to eternal suffering and damnation. All souls will be reunited with the body they had on earth - to be taken into Heaven or Hell. Pray for the conversion of sinners and the salvation of souls. The thought of even one person lost forever is an unspeakable tragedy which can never be undone!

St. Agnes

St. Agnes in stained glass at Swanton Morley, Norfolk England. St. Agnes is my daughter's confirmation patron saint. I have entrusted my little one to her care and prayers and I'm counting on Agnes guiding her to Heaven. This is a beautiful depiction of her don't you think?

St. Agnes, ora pro filius meus. Amen+

Harrowing of Hell

"The Harrowing of Hell" by Luca Signorelli in Orvieto Spain, circa 1499.

"And fear ye not them that kill the body, and are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him that can destroy both soul and body in hell." Matthew 10:28

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St. Michael the Archangel

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This unique image of God's general is found in Bavaria, Germany at the warrior memorial at the St. Michael church in Neunkirchen am Brand.

St. Michael the Archangel - Ora Pro Nobis!

Meditations on Heaven III

Jesus Ascending into Heaven by William Pole

"If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory." Colossians 3:1-4

As we age, the body starts to give out on us. It can be depressing to see the sagging face in the mirror, to bear the aches, pains and fatigues of age. Enduring disease and illness is a difficult trial to say the least. All these sufferings can be borne with patience with God's help and grace if we ask Him. I am of the belief that physical, emotional and spiritual suffering, especially towards the end of life serve the purpose of turning the soul away from the earth to Heaven, from this life to the next.

We have heard said that no earthly attachments may enter Heaven - all must be purified. The Lord gives us these difficult trials as a mercy, a veritable balm for our worldliness. This suffering can also reduce the strong to childlike dependence, often breaking our pride and making us more amenable to God's grace. Let us pray often for the grace to bear our sufferings with patience. Pray not for deliverance from our burdens, but rather a stronger back with which to bear them. Amen+

Meditations on Heaven II

"By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God." Heb 11:8-10

Let us reflect for a bit on the faith of Abraham. He did as the Lord said - period. He picked up and left his homeland, everything he knew. Scripture does not record that he complained, resisted or suffered from an over attachment to worldly things. God spoke to him and he did as he was told. He was even willing to sacrifice his much loved and long awaited son as depicted above.

How does one dwell on earth and be so unattached to the world? I am no theologian, but I think one way is to keep the eyes of your soul continually upon Heaven. Do not think your reward shall be here on earth, but rather in Heaven. Let us walk humbly with our God, strive to accept everything that comes to us as a gift - every suffering, every loss, every anguish as if it is the greatest treasure and thank Him for it. He orders all things to our good. If we ask for our purification here on earth, we will need less in purgatory. Amen+

Meditations on Heaven I

"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." (Romans 8:18)

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know.”
Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." John 14:1-6

"To the churches of Galatia: Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.+
Ga 1:3-5

During this time of tribulation on the earth, so much suffering and devastation. Let us not fear, but instead cling to the Lord. Heaven is our true home. We cannot enter into Heaven unless we die, therefore death is a gift. Let us pray for those who are dying, for those who have died. Let us pray for the grace to accept our own deaths. Amen+

Joan of Arc

by Jules Bastien-LePage

In the background is St. Michael the Archangel and to his left is either St. Catherine of Alexandria or St. Margaret, who also appeared to her regularly.

St. Jeanne - Ora pro nobis!

Let us entrust ourselves to Mary's protection

Holy Cards For Your Inspiration: Under Mary's Mantle

Most holy Virgin and Queen of Martyrs, Mary, would that I could be in Heaven,
there to contemplate the honours rendered to thee
by the Most Holy Trinity and by the whole Heavenly Court!
But since I am still a pilgrim in this vale of tears,
receive from me, thy unworthy servant and a poor sinner,
the most sincere homage and the most perfect act of vassalage
a human creature can offer thee. In thy Immaculate Heart,
pierced with so many swords of sorrow, I place today my poor soul forever;
receive me as a partaker in thy dolors, and never suffer that I should depart from that Cross
on which thy only begotten Son expired for me. With thee, O Mary,
I will endure all the sufferings, contradictions, infirmities,
with which it will please thy Divine Son to visit me in this life.
All of them I offer to thee, in memory of the Dolors
which thou didst suffer during thy life, that every thought of my mind,
every beating of my heart may henceforward be an act of compassion to thy Sorrows,
and of complacency for the glory thou now enjoyest in Heaven.

Since then, O Dear Mother, I now compassionate thy Dolors, and rejoice in seeing thee glorified, do thou also have compassion on me, and reconcile me to thy Son Jesus,
that I may become thy true and loyal son (daughter);
come on my last day and assist me in my last agony,
even as thou wert present at the Agony of thy Divine Son Jesus
that from this painful exile I may go to Heaven, there to be made partaker of thy glory.
Amen+

Mother of Sorrows VI ~ Final

Image - The Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order

A Religious Order Dedicated to the Sorrowful Mother

From the fact that Mary wished to have a religious Order in the Church which would have the veneration of her sorrows as its special object, we may infer how much Mary herself desires us to venerate her dolors. Devotion to the sorrows of Mary has been practiced in the Church at all times. This is proved by numerous passages from the writings of the holy fathers, by prayers, pictorial representations and touching hymns. But God desired that devotion to the sorrows of the Mother of His Son should remain an abiding practice among all the faithful. To accomplish His design, He called into existence an Order whose special object should be to practice and foster devotion to the sorrows of Mary.

The Mother of Sorrows entrusted the establishment of this Order to seven pious noblemen of Florence. In 1223, on Good.Friday, as these men were meditating together on the Passion of Our Lord and the sufferings of His Blessed Mother, Mary appeared to them in heavenly beauty, accompanied by hosts of Angels. Some of the Angels carried the instruments of Our Lord's Passion; others carried black garments in their hands. One of the Angels held a book, the rule of St. Augustine; another held in his right hand a scroll bearing the title of the new Order, "Servants of Mary," in letters of gold, and in his left hand, a palm. The Blessed Virgin invested her servants with the black garment ---- it was the black scapular.

While these Saintly men were enraptured at what they beheld, they heard these words from the lips of the Blessed Virgin: "I have come, my elect servants, to comfort you in reply to your earnest petitions. Behold this garment; wear it in future. The black color should continually remind you of the sorrows which I experienced on this day at the death of my Son. The palm which you behold announces to you the glory that awaits you in Heaven if you serve me faithfully on earth."

The holy founders did as Mary bade them. Their spiritual sons have likewise propagated the devotion to the sorrows of Mary with great zeal. Even persons who are not members of the Order may participate in the merits and good works of its members by being invested with the black scapular of the Order. This scapular is usually included in the so-called fivefold scapular. Many graces and benefits may be gained by devoutly wearing this scapular, but those who wear it must also venerate the sorrows of Mary.

Eternal Father, we offer Thee the Blood, the Passion, and the Death of Jesus Christ, the sorrows of Mary most holy, and of St. Joseph, in satisfaction for our sins, in aid of the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for the needs of holy Mother Church, and for the conversion of sinners. Virgin most sorrowful, pray for us!

The Black Scapular can be obtained here, and here. Buy it, wear it.

Mother of Sorrows V

Image: Crucifixion (fragment) Church at Walburg, Lower Rhine

Special Lovers of Mary Sorrowful

Many Saints have cherished a special love for Mary as the Mother of Sorrows. Saint Ignatius Loyola constantly wore an image of the Sorrowful Mother on his bosom, and venerated her with tender devotion.

Blessed Henry Susso, who cherished a most tender compassion for the Dolorous Mother and meditated often on her sorrows, received wonderful revelations from her own lips. Mary said, among other things: "Consider that all the grief ever endured by a human heart would be as a drop of water to the vast ocean compared to the fathomless grief and anguish that my maternal heart endured at the foot of the Cross!"

Saint Alphonsus Liguori made the sorrows of Mary the subject of his daily meditations and his deepest compassion. When he conducted a mission he usually placed a picture of the Sorrowful Mother beside the pulpit, so that the faithful, by gazing upon it, might devoutly reflect on Mary's sufferings and be encouraged to confide in her merciful intercession. During his sermons he often invoked the Mother of Sorrows and exhorted sinners to turn to her to obtain the grace of sincere conversion. Among his writings are several treatises on the sorrows of Mary.

The Saintly Pope Pius IX nourished a deep devotion to the bitter sufferings of our Savior and those of His Sorrowful Mother. The frequent remembrance of Our Lord and His Mother in their sorrows and sufferings seemed to him an efficacious means of converting sinners, affording them a lasting incentive to contrition, penance and amendment. Therefore [in 1847] he approved a new "Hail Mary" composed in honor of the Dolorous Mother. The prayer is as follows:

"Hail Mary, full of sorrows, the Crucified is with thee; thou art pitiable amongst women, and pitiable is the Fruit of thy womb, Jesus! Hail Mary, Mother of the Crucified, implore for us, the crucifiers of thy Son, tears of contrition, now and at the hour of our death. Amen."

(Source: About Devotion to our Mother of Sorrows. Nihil Obstat: Gulielmus J. Blacet, J.C.L. Censor Librorum Imprimatur + Joannes P. Cody, S.T.D. Episcopus Kansanopolitana-Sti. Josephi March 10, 1951)

Mother of Sorrows IV

"Man of Sorrows" by Geertgen tot Sint Jans

Mary's Sorrows Merit Our Grateful Veneration

The sufferings of Mary at the death of her Divine Son rent her heart. Our Lord therefore said to St. Mechtilde: "Greet the heart of My Mother as the most patient of hearts; for it was pierced by thousands of swords, both during My Passion and Death, and afterwards when she remembered these dreadful torments."

For fifteen years after the death of her beloved Son, until her own happy departure, the Passion of Our Lord was renewed over and over again in the heart of the Blessed Virgin. It was revealed to Mary of Agreda that after the ascension of her Son, Mary suffered inexpressibly every Friday, as do certain privileged souls who are favored with the stigmata. All these sufferings Mary endured for love of us.

(Source: About Devotion to Our Mother of Sorrows. Nihil Obstat: Gulielmus J. Blacet, J.C.L. Censor Librorum Imprimatur + Joannes P. Cody, S.T.D. Episcopus Kansanopolitana-Sti. Josephi March 10, 1951)

How I Picture Heaven

Another beautiful post from Ken and Hallowed Ground.