Mary is exalted above the angels As glorious as the angels may be, St. Alphonsus observes, God has placed her above them, the Queen Mother at the right hand of King Jesus. Rightly does the Church sing in her liturgy, that because Mary loved God more than all the angels, “the Mother of God has been exalted above them all in the heavenly kingdom.” Yes, “she was exalted above the angels,” says the Abbot Guarric, “so that she sees no... Read more
Mary, Queen of Angels The Church has long affirmed that the angels are arranged in a hierarchy of ranks. Blessed John Henry Newman tells why Mary stands as queen above that hierarchy. The great title “Queen of Angels” may be fitly connected with the maternity of Mary, that is, with the coming upon her of the Holy Spirit at Nazareth after the angel Gabriel’s annunciation to her, and with the consequent birth of our Lord at Bethlehem. She, as the mother... Read more
This week Ave Maria Press is sponsoring the giveaway. One lucky winner will receive one copy of New Testament Bible Basics for Catholics by John Bergsma (you can read my review here). I use Rafflecopter to run my giveaways which makes it simple for you and me! Enter below. The contest starts at midnight tonight EST and will end 12 AM EST 1/15 with a winner being announced later that day. a Rafflecopter giveaway Read more
Mary, Mother of Oil Why would Our Lady be called “Mother of Oil?” St. Alphonsus explains. The words of the biblical Book of Sirach have been applied to Mary: “like a beautiful olive tree on the plain” (see Sir 24:14). For just as from the olive, only oil—a symbol of mercy—is extracted, so from the hands of Mary, only graces and mercy proceed. For this reason the venerable Fr. Louis de Ponte says, “Mary may properly be called the Mother... Read more
John Bergsma is back with a follow up to his very popular book Bible Basics for Catholics: A New Picture of Salvation History. This time around he tackles the New Testament exclusively in New Testament Basics for Catholics. This is a longer volume than the first, coming in at nearly 100 pages more. Considering the first book covered all 27 books of the Bible you can quickly see that this is going to be a highly detailed look at the... Read more
Mary, Model of Virtue If we truly love Mary, St. Alphonsus insists, we will imitate all her virtues. St. Augustine says that to obtain the favor of the saints with more cer- tainty, and in greater abundance, we must imitate them. For when they see us practice their virtues, they are more roused to pray for us. So as soon as the Queen of Saints and our principal advocate, Mary, delivers a soul from Lucifer’s grasp and unites it to... Read more
Mary, Most Faithful Virgin Blessed John Henry Newman examines the meaning of faithfulness, as it ap- plies to Mary, to all God’s servants, and to God himself. One title of the Blessed Virgin is Virgo Fidelis, “Most Faithful Virgin.” The word faithfulness means loyalty to a superior, or exactness in fulfilling an engagement. In the latter sense it is applied even to Almighty God himself who, in his great love for us, has promised to limit his own power in... Read more
Mary, Morning Star Blessed John Henry Newman considers why a star—and in particular, the morning star—is such a fitting symbol of Mary. What is the nearest approach in the way of symbols, in this world of sight and sense, to represent to us the glories of that higher world which is beyond our bodily perceptions? What are the truest tokens and promises here, poor though they may be, of what one day we hope to see hereafter, as being beautiful... Read more
Run to your mother! When small children are in danger, to whom do they run and call for help? To their mother, of course! And so should we, says St. Alphonsus. Our Blessed Lady herself in a vision addressed these words to St. Bridget: “Just as a mother, if she saw her son surrounded by the swords of his enemies, would use every effort to save him, so will I. And I will do this for all sinners who seek... Read more
Two occasions when Mary became our mother We typically think of Jesus’ words from the Cross, “Behold your mother!” (Jn 19:27) as the moment when we all became her spiritual children. But St. Alphonsus points to two other occasions when Mary became our spiritual mother. On two occasions, according to the holy Fathers of the Church, Mary became our spiritual mother. The first, according to St. Albert the Great, was when she merited to conceive in her virginal womb the... Read more
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