If you've ever tried to teach a difficult concept to a child, you know that using something tangible can help, even if it doesn't capture every nuance. That might be the reason God gave us the Holy Family, whom we honor on Dec. 28.
Jesus gave us His mother as our mother and wants us to be close to her. By wearing Mary's Miraculous Medal (feast day: Nov. 27), we place ourselves under her protection as her spiritual children.
August is the month devoted to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. There's hope in the Heart of the Mother of God, in the Eternal Light dwelling there, in the Spirit who burns within her, and she is not consumed.
Theresa Bonopartis helped develop a ministry for women healing from abortion called "Entering Canaan." Learn about the inexplicable details that led her to call Our Lady of Czestochowa, also known as the Black Madonna (feast day: Aug. 26), the patroness of her ministry.
By doing as Our Lady asks, we can help take these thorns out of her Immaculate Heart and assist her in bringing into the world what it most desperately needs: Jesus, the Divine Mercy.
Brother Stephen J.'s recommendation for the best way to celebrate the Feast of Mary, Mother of the Church on Jun. 6, is this: Begin your 33-day preparation to consecrate yourself to Mary, or renew that consecration with some special act of devotion.
Asking Our Lady's help and intervention is the spiritual equivalent of the ancient Israelites sending the Ark of the Covenant before them into battle in obedience to God.
