Feast of the Divine Maternity

October 11: Feast of the Divine Maternity of Our Lady

This feast, observed throughout the Western Church on October 11, honor Mary as Mother of God, and bears the same sort of relation to the Annunciation and to Christmas as does the Synaxis of Our Lady in the Byzantine rite. It was long known in Portugal and elsewhere, but was finally instituted in 1931 by Pope Pius XI in view of the fifteenth centenary of the Council of Ephesus.

At the same time the Pope ordered at his own cost the restoration of the Marian mosaics in Saint Mary Major, much decayed through age. He issued an encyclical letter, “Lux veritatis.” In this, among the objects of the new festival, is named one truth that was particularly close to the heart of Pius XI, “…that Mary, who is loved and revered so warmly by the separated Christians of the East, would not suffer them to wander and be unhappily led further away from the unity of the Church, and therefore from her Son, whose vicar on earth we are.”

Feast of the Divine Maternity, cont:

“On this occasion the heavenly Lady was full of the Holy Ghost and moreover bore within Her, as His Mother, the Divine Word, who proceeds from the Father and the Holy Ghost. Saint Joseph received special enlightenment and the plenitude of divine graces, and altogether renewed in fervor of spirit he said:

“Blessed art Thou, Lady, among all women, fortunate and preferred before all nations and generations. May the Creator of heaven and earth be extolled with eternal praise, since from his exalted kingly throne He has looked upon Thee and chosen Thee for his dwelling place and in Thee alone has fulfilled the ancient promises made to the Patriarchs and Prophets. Let all generations bless Him: for in no one has He magnified his name as He has done in thy humility; and me, the most insignificant of the living, He has in his divine condescension selected for thy servant.”

In these words of praise and benediction Saint Joseph was enlightened by the Holy Ghost, in the same manner as Saint Elizabeth, when she responded to the salutation of Our Queen and Mistress. The light and inspiration, received by the most holy spouse was wonderfully adapted to his dignity and office. The heavenly Lady, upon hearing the words of the holy man, answered in the words of the Magnificat, as She had done on her visit to Saint Elizabeth, and She added other canticles. She was all aflame in ecstasy and was raised from the earth in a globe of light, which surrounded Her and transfigured Her with the gifts of glory.

At this heavenly vision Saint Joseph was filled with admiration and unspeakable delight; for never had he seen his most blessed Spouse in such eminence of glory and perfection. Now he beheld Her with a full and clear understanding, since all the integrity and purity of the Princess of heaven and mystery of her dignity manifested themselves to him. He saw and recognized in her virginal womb the humanity of the infant God and the union of the two natures of the Word. With profound humility and reverence he adored Him and recognized Him as his Redeemer, offering himself to his majesty. The Lord looked upon him in benevolence and kindness as upon no other man, for He accepted him as his foster-father and conferred upon him that title. In accordance with this dignity, He gifted him with that plenitude of science and heavenly gifts which Christian piety can and must acknowledge.

Feast of the Divine Maternity

*from The Woman in Orbit and The City of God by Ven. Mary of Agreda

BOOK OF HEAVEN

 From the writings of the Servant of God, Luisa Piccarreta,

The Little Daughter of the Divine Will

12/8/24 – Vol. 17

But do you want to know what was the greatest prodigy worked by Us in this creature so holy, and the greatest heroism of this creature so beautiful, that no one – no one will ever be able to equal? She began Her life with Our Will, and with Our Will She continued it and fulfilled it. So, one can say that She fulfilled it from the moment She started it, and that She started it there where She fulfilled it; and Our greatest prodigy was that in each one of Her thoughts, words, breaths, heartbeats, movements and steps, Our Will poured upon Her, and She offered Us the heroism of a divine and eternal thought, word, breath, heartbeat, operating in Her. This raised Her so high that what We were by nature, She was by grace. All of Her other qualities, Her privileges, Her very Immaculate Conception, would have been nothing compared to this great prodigy. Even more, this is what confirmed Her and made Her stable and strong during all of Her life. My continuous Will, pouring upon Her, made Her share in the Divine Nature; and Her continuous receiving It, rendered Her strong in love, strong in sorrow – different from everyone. In this Will of Ours operating in Her, She drew the Word upon earth, and the seed of the Divine Fecundity in order to conceive a Man and God without human intervention. And Our Will made Her worthy to be the Mother of Her own Creator.

12/8/31 – Vol. 30

… “In sum, in everything She (the Blessed Virgin Mary) is the Queen, All-Doer, who is unable to remain idle upon Her Throne of Glory, but descends—runs as Mother into the acts and needs of Her children.  Therefore, thank Her for Her many Maternal Cares, and thank God who has given to all generations a Mother so Holy, Lovable, and who Loves so much as to reach the point of acting as the Withdrawer of all their acts in order to cover them with Her Own, and to compensate for what is lacking in them, of Beauty and of Goodness.”

12/8/35 – Vol. 34

“In fact, there is no Grace that descends over the earth, there is no Sanctity that is formed, there is no sinner who is converted, there is no Love that departs from Our Throne, that is not first deposited in Her (the Blessed Virgin Mary’s) Heart of Mother, that forms the maturation of that Good, fecundates it with Her Love, enriches it with Her Graces, and, if necessary, with the virtue of Her Sorrows, and then She deposits it in who must receive it in a way that the one who receives it feels the Divine Paternity and the Maternity of her Celestial Mother.  We can do it without Her, but We do not want to; who will have the heart of setting Her aside?  Our Love, Our Infinite Wisdom, Our Fiat Itself, impose over Us, and do not let Us do anything that does not descend by Her means.

12/8/36 – Vol. 34

But while I remained surprised, and I would have remained there who knows how long if my sweet Jesus had not called me by telling me:  “I want to Honor My Celestial Mother.  I want to narrate the story of Her Immaculate Conception.  Only I can speak of it, being Author of so Great a Prodigy.  Now, My daughter, the First Act of this Conception was one Fiat of Ours, pronounced with such Solemnity and with such Fullness of Grace, as to enclose everything and everyone.  We centralized everything in this Conception of the Virgin.  In Our Divine Fiat, in which past and future do not exist, the Incarnation of the Word was held present, and It made Her Conceived and incarnated in the same Incarnation of Me, future Redeemer.  My Blood that was in act as if I Myself were shedding it, continually sprinkled Her, embellished Her, Confirmed Her, and fortified Her in a Divine Way.

“But it was not enough for My Love.  All Her Acts, Words, and Steps, were first Conceived in My Acts, Words, and Steps, and then they had Life.  My Humanity was the refuge, the hiding place, the embodiment of this Celestial Creature, such that if She Loved Us, Her Love was Incarnated and Conceived in My Love.  And O! how She Loved Us.  Her Love enclosed everything and everyone.  I can say that She Loved as a God knows how to Love.  She had Our same follies of Love for Us and for all creatures, and that Loving one time, She Loves, She always Loves, without ever stopping.  Her prayer was Conceived in My Prayer and therefore it had an Immense Value, a Power over Our Supreme Being—and who could deny Her anything?  Her sufferings, Her Sorrows, Her Martyrdoms, that were so many, were first Conceived in My Humanity, and then She felt in Herself the Life of the sufferings and of the excruciating Martyrdoms, all animated by Divine Strength.  Therefore one can say She was Conceived in Me.  From Me Her Life went forth.  Everything that I did and Suffered lined up around this Holy Creature in order to court Her and continuously pour Myself over Her, and be able to tell Her:  ‘You are the Life of My Life, You are All Beautiful, You are the First Redeemed, My Divine Fiat has molded You, It has Breathed on You, and It has made You be Conceived in My Works, in My Humanity Itself.’

“Now, My daughter, Conceiving this Celestial Creature in the Incarnate Word, was done by Us with Highest Wisdom, with Unreachable Power, with Inexhaustible Love, and with Decorum that befits Our Works.  I, Word of the Father, having to descend from Heaven in order to Incarnate Myself in the Womb of a Virgin, just virginity and having made Her exempt from the stain of original sin was not sufficient for the Sanctity of My Divinity, therefore it was necessary for Our Love and for Our Sanctity that this Virgin first would be Conceived in Me with all those Prerogatives, Virtues, and Beauties that the Life of the Incarnate Word must possess, and then, therefore, I could be Conceived in the One who had been Conceived in Me.

“And I found in Her My Heaven, the Sanctity of My Life, My own Blood that had Generated Her and watered Her so many times.  I found My own Will, that communicating Its Divine Fecundity to Her, formed the Life of Her and the Son of God.  My Divine Fiat, in order to make Her Worthy of being able to Conceive Me, held Her Invested and under Its continuous Empire that possesses all acts as if they were One Single Act.  In order to give Her everything, It called into act My foreseen Merits, My Whole Life, and It continuously poured it within Her Beautiful Soul.

“Therefore I (Jesus) alone can tell the true story of the Immaculate Conception and of Her (the Blessed Virgin Mary’s) whole Life, because I (God) Conceived Her (the Blessed Virgin Mary) in Me and I am aware of everything.  And if the Holy Church speaks about the Celestial Queen, they can say only the first letters of the alphabet about Her Sanctity, Greatness, and Gifts with which She was enriched.  If you knew the Contentment that I feel when I speak about My Celestial Mother, who knows how many demands you would make Me in order to give Me the Joy of letting Me speak about the One whom I Love so much, and who has Love

12/8/37 – Vol. 35

…“Do you see then, the extent of Our (God’s) Power and Our Love in the Conception of this Holy Creature (the Blessed Virgin Mary)?  We reached the point of elevating Her to such a Height and Glory that She can say:  ‘Wherever My Creator is, there I am—to Love Him.  He Invested Me with such Power and Glory that I am Sovereign over all.  Everything is dependent on Me.  My Dominion reaches everywhere, to the extent that, while I am Conceived in all things I keep, Conceived within Me, the sun, the wind, the sea—everything.  I possess everything in Me—even My Creator, and I am the Sovereign and the Owner of all.  This is all of My Unreachable Height; My Glory—that nobody can equal, and My Great Honor:  with My Love I embrace all, I Love all, and I belong to all.  I am the Mother of My Creator.’”

12/8/38 – Vol. 36

My flight in the Divine Will continues.  It seems to me that It can be found in all things, natural and spiritual, saying with Unspeakable Love:  “I am here, let’s act together—do not do it by yourself. Without Me you wouldn’t know how to do it the way I would.  I would remain with the Pain of having been put aside, while you would remain with the sorrow of not having in your acts the Value of one single Act of a Divine Will.”

While I was thinking this, my sweet Jesus, repeating His short little visit, all Goodness told me: “My blessed daughter, My Most Holy Humanity was the depository of My Divine Will.  There was no act, little or great, even the breathing and the motion, that My Humanity, like a veil, did not hide completely in My Divine Fiat.  Even more, I would not have been capable of a breath or a movement if I did not enclose It within Me.  Therefore, My Humanity served as the veil in which to hide My Divinity as well as the Great Prodigy of the Work of My Will in all My Acts.  Otherwise, no one could have come close to Me.  My Majesty and the shining Light of My Divinity would have eclipsed him and would just have floored him—all would have run away from Me.  Who would have dared to cause Me the smallest Pain?  But I Loved the creature and I came on earth not to show off My Divinity, but My Love.  So I wanted to hide Myself inside the veil of My Humanity to get acquainted with man, to do what he did, reaching the point of letting him give Me Unheard-of Pains and even Death.

“The soul that unites with My Humanity in all her acts and pains, by wanting to find My Will and make It her own, breaks the veil of My Humanity, finding in My Acts the fruit, the Life, the Prodigies that My Humanity did within Me, and receiving all that I did within Me as her own Life.  My Humanity will serve to help and guide her, showing her how to Live within It.  In this way, I will still be on earth, continuing to be the veil hiding what My Will wants to do.  But if creatures will look for Me without My Will, they will find only My veil, not the Life of My Will.  They will not be able to produce the Prodigies that It Operated in the hiding place of My Humanity.  It is always My Will that knows how to place inside the creature the Greatest Prodigies—the brightest Suns; Wonders never before seen—as if inside each of My Humanities on earth.  But, alas, I search them and I cannot find them because no one, in Total Firmness, is looking for My Will.”

Then dear Jesus kept silent.  I remained thinking of what He had just said, and I could really see how everything Jesus had done and suffered became Bearer of the Divine Volition.  Then He continued: “My good daughter, it wasn’t only My Humanity that—though in a more special way—was hiding My Divinity and My Will; all created things and the very creatures are veils that hide Our Divinity and Our Adorable Will.  Even Heaven is a veil that hides Our Immense Divinity, Our Firmness and Immutability; while the variety of stars hides the multiple effects that Our Immensity, Firmness and Immutability possess.  O! If man could see Our Divinity revealed under that blue vault without the veil of that blue that covers Us and hides Us, his littleness would remain crushed under Our Majesty.  He would walk trembling, feeling continuously upon him the gaze of a Pure, Holy, Strong and Powerful God.  But since We Love man, We veil Ourselves, lending Ourselves secretly to all that is needed.

“The sun is the veil that hides Our Shining Majesty—We must perform a miracle to restrain Our Uncreated Light so as not to scare the creature.  Veiled by this light Created by us, We approach the creature, kissing her and warming her; We lay this veil of light even under her steps—on the right, on the left, under her head.  We even fill her eye with light, and, who knows, maybe the frail pupil of her eye will recognize Us; but no, in vain—she takes only the veil of light that hides Us and We remain the unknown God in the middle of the creatures.  What Pain!  The wind, too, is a veil that hides Our Empire; the air is a veil, hiding Our Life that continuously gives to the creatures; the sea is a veil, that hides Our Purity, Our Refreshments and Divine Freshness—its murmuring hides Our continuous Love, and when We see We are not listened to, We even storm in huge waves so as to be recognized and loved.  For every Good that man receives, Our Life is hidden inside, offering that Good to him.

“Our Divinity Loves man so much that It even hides inside the earth, making it firm and stable under his steps, not allowing him to vacillate.  Even in the singing bird, in the flowered fields, in the various sweetnesses of the fruits—Our Joys, to make him taste the innocent delights of our Divine Being.  And how much more could I tell you about the many Prodigies of Love by which We are veiled and hidden inside man?  We veil Ourselves in the breathing, in the heartbeat, in the motion, in the memory, in the intellect, in the will; We veil Ourselves in the pupil of his eyes, in his word, in his love, and—O! how Painful it is not to be recognized or loved.  We can say that We Live in him, We carry him and We let Ourselves be carried by him.  He could do nothing without Us; but still, We live together without knowing each other.  What Pain!  If only he knew Us.

“The life of man was supposed to be the first, the Greatest Prodigy of Our Love and Omnipotence.  We had only to offer him, from within its veils, Our Sanctity and Our Love, covering him with Our Beauty—making him enjoy Our Delights.  But since he does not recognize Us, he keeps Us like the far away God—away from himself.  If We are not recognized, We cannot give Our Goods to the blind.  He is forced to live under the nightmare of his own miseries and passions.  Poor man, who does not recognize Us, either in the veils that hide Us within him, or in the veils of each created thing; he just keeps running away from Our Life and from the scope for which he was Created; so, many times, when We cannot tolerate his ingratitude, the very Goods contained in Our veils are turned into chastisement for him.  Therefore, do recognize that you are nothing other than a veil hiding your Creator, in order for you to receive, and for Us to administer, Our Divine Life in all your acts.  Recognize It in the veils of all created things, so that all may help you to receive a  Good so Great.”

After this, I was doing my round in the Acts of the Divine Volition.  How many Surprises in this Will, so Holy.  It is this Will that most awaits the creature, keeping her aware of all Its Works, letting her know how much It Loves her, and offering her everything It does.  It fidgets to give without ceasing, and It is content with a little “I love You” from the creature in return.

Then I arrived at the Conception of My Mother and Queen:  how many wonders!  And My sweet Jesus continued: “My blessed daughter (Luisa), today is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.  It is the Most Beautiful Feast, the Greatest one for Us (God)—for Heaven and for earth.  In the Act of Creating this Celestial Creature from nothing, We made such Prodigies and Wonders that the Heavens and the earth remained completely filled.  We called everyone—nobody was put aside, so that all could be Reborn together with Her.  It was the New Birth of everyone and everything.

“Our Divine Being overflowed so much that, in the Act of Her Conception, we put at Her Disposal Seas of Love, of Sanctity and Light, with which She could Love all, make Saints of all, and give Light to all.  The Celestial Little One felt an innumerable population being Reborn in Her little Heart.  And what did Our Paternal Goodness do?  First, We donated Her to Ourselves, so that We could delight and court Her, and She could delight and court Us; then, We donated Her to every creature.  O! How much She Loved Us, and Loved all—with such Intensity and Fullness that there is no point in which Her Love does not arise.  The whole Creation—the sun, the wind, the sea, are filled with the Love of this Holy Creature, because they too felt Reborn with Her to New Glory.  They even had the Great Glory of possessing their Queen, to the extent that when She prays to Us for the good of Her people with a Love that We cannot resist, she says:  ‘Adorable Majesty, remember that You offered Me.  I am Yours and I am theirs too; so, by right, You must grant what I ask.’”

Our Lord Jesus Christ to the Servant of God, Luisa Piccarreta,

The Little Daughter of the Divine Will

  VOLUME 18

 October 10, 1925

Exchange of wills between the Celestial Father and the Most Holy Virgin, and Luisa.  The Most Holy Virgin repeats for the soul who lives in the Divine Will that which She did for Her Son.

As I was in my usual state, my poor mind found itself within an extremely high atmosphere.  I seemed to see the Divinity, and upon one knee of the Celestial Father, the Queen Mama, dead, as if She had no life.  Surprised, I thought to myself:  ‘My Mama is dead; but what a happy death – to die on the knees of our Creator!’  But, looking more closely, I saw Her will as though detached from Her body, held in the hands of the Divine Father.  Amazed, I looked, and I could not give myself a reason for what I was seeing; but a voice coming from the divine throne said:  “This is the elect among all the elect; She is the all beautiful; She is the only creature who gave Us Her will as gift, and left it, dead, upon Our knees, in Our hands.  And We, in exchange, gave Her the gift of Our Will.  Greater gift We could not give Her, because by acquiring this Supreme Will, She had the power to make the Word descend upon earth, and to have the Redemption of mankind be formed.  A human will would have no power nor attraction over Us; but a Divine Will, given by Ourselves to this incomparable creature, won over Us, conquered Us, enraptured Us; and unable to resist, We surrendered to Her petitions to make the Word descend upon earth.  Now We are waiting for you(Luisa) to come to die upon Our other knee, giving Us your will; and We, in seeing it dead in Our hands, as if it no longer existed for you (Luisa), will give you(Luisa) the gift of Our Will, and through you(Luisa) – that is, through this Will of Ours given to you (Luisa) – Our Fiat will return to live upon earth.  These two wills, dead upon Our knees, will be the ransom for many rebellious wills, and We will keep them as a precious pledge, which will repay Us for all the evils of the other creatures, because with Our Will they will be able to satisfy Us.”

The voice could no longer be heard, and I found myself on the other paternal knee, in the act of breathing my last, and dying.  But at that moment I found myself inside myself, but I am unable to say what I felt within me; only, I prayed from the heart that my will might never again enter into me, but only the Divine might have life in me.  Ah! It alone is the bearer of all goods and the repeater of Jesus within souls; and echoing the Fiat of Creation, It embraces everything and everyone as though in one breath, and requites God for the work of Creation, Redemption and Sanctification.  The Divine Will operating in us can do anything; It is the true Queen who reigns and rules over everything.    

Then, afterwards, I saw my Celestial Mama with Baby Jesus in Her arms, as She kissed Him and placed Him to Her breast to give Him Her most pure milk; and I said to Her:  ‘My Mama, and what about me – don’t You give anything to me?  O please! allow me at least to place my ‘I love You’ between your mouth and that of Jesus while You kiss, so that my little ‘I love You’ may run within everything You do.  And She said to me:  “My daughter (Luisa), please do, place your little ‘I love You’, not only in the mouth, but in all the acts that pass between Me and my Son.  You must know that everything I did toward my Son, I intended to do toward those souls who were to live in the Divine Will, because, being in It, they would be disposed to receive all the acts I did toward Jesus, and I would find sufficient space in which to place them.  So, if I kissed my Son, I kissed them, because I found them together with Him in His Supreme Will.  They were the first to be as though lined up within Him, and my maternal love pushed Me to let them partake in everything I did to my Son.  Great graces were needed for those who were to live in this Holy Will, and I placed all my goods, my graces, my sorrows, at their disposal, as their help, as defense, as strength, as support and as light; and I felt happy and honored with the greatest honors, to have, as my children, the children of the Will of the Celestial Father, which I too possessed; and therefore I looked at them also as births from Me.  Even more, it can be said of them what is said about my Son:  that the first generations found salvation in the merits of the future Redeemer.  In the same way, these souls, these future daughters, by virtue of the Divine Will operating in them, are the ones who incessantly implore salvation and graces for the future generations.  They are with Jesus, and Jesus is in them; and they repeat together with Jesus that which Jesus contains.  Therefore, if you (Luisa) want Me to repeat for you(Luisa) what I did for my Son, let Me always find you (Luisa) in His Will, and I will be generous with my favors toward you(Luisa).”

Cure of Saint John Damascene

October 9: Miraculous Cure of Saint John Damascene by Our Lady (723) (restored severed hand)

The Abbot Orsini wrote: “In the year 723, in the night following the day when the prince of the Saracens had unjustly ordered the hand of Saint John Damascen to be cut off, Our Lady reunited it miraculously to his wrist, after this faithful servant had prayed to her for it with the design of continuing to write in defense of holy images.”

Saint John of Damascus (645-749), also known as Saint John Damascene, was a priest and Doctor of the Church, who is sometimes also referred to as the Doctor of the Assumption, as he wrote on the Assumption of Mary into heaven. During the time of the iconoclasm in the east, Saint John Damascene also wrote in defense of holy images.

According to tradition, a Muslim caliph unjustly ordered that Saint John’s right hand should be cut off and hung up for public display. Some days after this despicable act took place, Saint John prayed for the restoration of his hand. Saint John had an icon of the Blessed Virgin before which he fervently prayed, and soon his hand is said to have been miraculously restored. To recognize the miracle, and in appreciation for the return of his right hand, Saint John had a replica of his restored hand produced in silver, which he then placed at the bottom of the icon. Those who came after him, and saw the third hand on the icon, subsequently named it “Three-handed,” or Tricheirousa.

The Bogorodica Trojerucica is considered the most important icon of the Serbian Orthodox Church. It is currently located in a monastery of Hilandar on Mount Athos, Greece. The portrait is of the Blessed Virgin Mary with the Divine Child in her right arm. It is thought to have possibly been painted by Saint John Damascene himself, but however that may be, it is the very same image before which he prayed for the restoration of his severed hand.

“Gratitude for the benefits received at the hands of the Lord is a virtue so noble, that by means of it we may preserve our intercourse and correspondence with God Himself: He, as rich, generous and powerful conferring upon us his gifts; we, as poor, humble and aware of our needs, returning for them our thanks. He desires to give us plentifully, but at the same time He wishes us to be grateful, rendering Him the glory, honor and praise contained in gratitude.” *

*from The City of God, by Ven. Mary of Agreda

Icon of the Mother of God of “the Three Hands”

Commemorated on June 28

The Icon of the Mother of God, “Of the Three Hands”: In the eighth century during the time of the Iconoclasts, St. John of Damascus (December 4) was zealous in his veneration of holy icons. Because of this, he was slandered by the emperor and iconoclast Leo III the Isaurian (717-740), who informed the Damascus caliph that St. John was committing treasonous acts against him. The caliph gave orders to cut off the hand of the monk and take it to the marketplace. Towards evening St. John, having asked the caliph for the cut-off hand, put it to its joint and fell to the ground before the icon of the Mother of God. The monk begged Our Lady to heal the hand, which had written in defense of Orthodoxy. After long prayer he fell asleep and saw in a dream that the All-Pure Mother of God had turned to him promising him quick healing.

Before this the Mother of God bid him toil without fail with this hand. Having awakened from sleep, St. John saw that his hand was unharmed. In thankfulness for this healing St. John placed on the icon a hand fashioned of silver, from which the icon received its name “Of Three Hands.” (Some iconographers, in their ignorance, have mistakenly depicted the Most Holy Theotokos with three arms and three hands.) According to Tradition, St. John wrote a hymn of thanksgiving to the Mother of God: “All of creation rejoices in You, O Full of Grace,” which appears in place of the hymn “It is Truly Meet” in the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great.

St. John Damascene accepted monasticism at the monastery of St. Sava the Sanctified and there bestowed his wonderworking icon. The Lavra presented the icon “Of Three Hands” in blessing to St. Sava, Archbishop of Serbia (+ 1237, January 12). During the time of an invasion of Serbia by the Turks, some Christians who wanted to protect the icon, entrusted it to the safekeeping of the Mother of God Herself. They placed it upon a donkey, which without a driver proceeded to Athos and stopped in front of the Hilandar monastery. The monks put the icon in the monastery’s cathedral church (katholikon). During a time of discord over the choice of igumen, the Mother of God deigned to head the monastery Herself, and from that time Her holy icon has occupied the igumen’s place in the temple. At the Hilandar monastery there is chosen only a vicar, and from the holy icon the monks take a blessing for every obedience.

In Slavic usage, this Icon is commemorated on July 12.

Our Lady of Gifts

October 8: Church of Our Lady of Gifts, Avignon France (1st Century) founded by St. Martha

Saint Martha of Bethany was the sister of Lazarus and Mary. She it was who is mentioned in the New Testament waiting on Jesus “troubled about many things.” According to the Golden Legend, after Jesus’ death and resurrection, she left Judea with her brother and sister “in a ship without sail, oars, or rudder.” This occurred in about the year 48 AD.

Their boat was conducted on its way by Our Lord from heaven. Martha went first to the territory of Aquenese or Aix, a region now known as Provence, France. After converting the people to the True Faith, she and her siblings then travelled on to settle in Avignon.

There is a tradition that attributes the foundation of the church of Our Lady of Gifts, or “Our Lady of Doms,” at Avignon, to Saint Martha, and this while Our Lady was still alive! This church was built over what remained of a pagan temple atop a hill called “Le Rocher des Doms.” It is reported that this church was visibly consecrated by Our Lord Himself. Later in history the church was demolished by the Saracens, and was repaired by the Emperor Charlemagne.

The Golden Legend also details another event involving Martha.

“There was at that time upon the river of Rhone, in a certain wood between Arles and Avignon, a great dragon, half beast and half fish, greater than an ox, longer than a horse, having teeth sharp as a sword, and horned on either side; head like a lion, tail like a serpent, and defended him with two wings on either side, and could not be beaten with cast of stones nor with other armor, and was as strong as twelve lions or bears; which dragon lay hiding and lurking in the river, and perished them that passed by and drowned ships. He came thither by sea from Galicia, and was engendered of Leviathan, which is a serpent of the water and is much wood, and of a beast called Bonacho, that is engendered in Galicia. To him Martha, at the prayer of the people, came into the wood, and found him eating a man. And she cast on him holy water, and showed to him the cross, which anon was overcome, and standing still as a sheep, she bound him with her own girdle, and then was slain with spears and glaives of the people.”

Also known as Avignon Cathedral, and the Cathedrale Notre-Dame des Doms d’Avignon in French, the church at the present location was constructed in the 12th century in the Romanesque style. The seat of the Archbishop of Avignon, it is also a national monument in France. Atop the western tower is the large gilded statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary shown above.

Our Lord Jesus Christ to the Servant of God, Luisa Piccarreta,

The Little Daughter of the Divine Will

 VOLUME 15

 July 14, 1923

Expectation of a new era.  The surest sign that it is near.

 As I was in my usual state, my good Jesus came, but all afflicted.  It seemed to me that He could not detach from me, and, all goodness, told me:  “My daughter (Luisa), I have come to make you suffer.  Don’t you(Luisa) remember when I wanted to chastise man and you (Luisa) did not want Me to, wanting to suffer yourself in their place, and in order to make you (Luisa) content, I told you (Luisa) that instead of doing ‘ten’, for love of you (Luisa) I would do ‘five’^[]?  Now the nations want to fight against one other, and those which believe themselves to be the most powerful are taking up arms to their teeth in order to destroy the weak nations.  This is about total destruction, my daughter.  This is why I have come to make you (Luisa) suffer – to give you (Luisa) that ‘five’ which I promised you.  My justice will give to fire and water the power of the office which they contain, in order to destroy peoples and entire cities; therefore, a little bit of your suffering is necessary in order to reduce the chastisements by half.” 

Now, while He was saying this, He moved in my interior, as though holding many instruments in His hands; and as He moved them, sufferings and pains were formed, with such tearing of all my members that I don’t know how I remained alive.  And when He would see me moaning and shivering because of the intensity of the pains, with the air of one who has triumphed over everything, Jesus would say to me:  “You (Luisa) are my Life, and with my Life I can do whatever I want.”  And He would continue His crafting to make me suffer.  May everything be for the glory of God, for the good of my soul, and for the salvation of all.

Then, afterwards, He added:  “My daughter (Luisa), the whole world is upside down, and everyone is awaiting changes, peace, new things.  They themselves gather to discuss about it, and are surprised at not being able to conclude anything and to come to serious decisions.  So, true peace does not arise, and everything resolves into words, but no facts.  And they hope that more conferences may serve to make serious decisions, but they wait in vain.  In the meantime, in this waiting, they are in fear, and some prepare themselves for new wars, some hope for new conquests.  But, with this, the peoples are impoverished, are stripped alive, and while they are waiting, tired of the sad present era, dark and bloody, which enwraps them, they wait and hope for a new era of peace and of light. 

The world is exactly at the same point as when I was about to come upon earth.  All were awaiting a great event, a new era, as indeed occurred.  The same now; since the great event, the new era in which the Will of God may be done on earth as It is in Heaven, is coming – everyone is awaiting this new era, tired of the present one, but without knowing what this new thing, this change is about, just as they did not know it when I came upon earth.  This expectation is a sure sign that the hour is near.  But the surest sign is that I am manifesting what I want to do, and that turning to a soul, just as I turned to my Mama in descending from Heaven to earth, I communicate to her my Will and the goods and effects It contains, to make of them a gift for the whole of humanity.

Our Lady of All Help

October 6: Our Lady of All Help, (1640)

This shrine of Our Lady dates back to the year 1640, although the statue had been in the same abbey for probably two centuries before any miraculous occurrence was noticed. As the statue was rather faded, it was not thought stylish enough to be displayed in the chapel. It was therefore placed under a staircase near the infirmary, where its most frequent visitor was the old lay sister who had charge of sweeping the corridor.

One day as the sister was busy about her work, the statue spoke to her and told her to hurry up to the infirmary because one of the sisters needed her right away. The sister the statue named was not one of the patients, but was actually the nurse who cared for them. The lay sister thought the nurse had seemed perfectly well a short time before, and saw no particular reason to think that she was in any danger of dying. Still, she went as she was told and found the nurse as she was dying. She had arrived just in time to summon the priest to administer the last rights to the dying nurse.

Shortly after this miracle became known, there was a second one just as remarkable. There was a community benefactor whose son was at death’s door with a high fever. Invoking Our Lady before this same statue the man saw his son instantly cured.

After this second incident the statue was moved into the chapel, and there were many miracles that followed. One miracle was worked in favor of a sister who had been terribly burned; she was instantly cured. A priest, falsely accused of a crime, was acquitted after special prayers to the “miracle lady.” The statue had had no name before this, but the parishioners decided now to call her Our Lady of All Help, Quick Help, or Our Lady of Good Remedy.

At the time of the French Revolution and during the accompanying Reign of Terror, the abbey was destroyed. A pious lady took the statue of Our Lady of All Help and safeguarded it until the trouble was over. After her death the statue was restored to the community. The statue of Our Lady of All Help has survived several wars since.

The statue itself is only about two feet tall. The Blessed Virgin Mary is crowned, and holds her Infant Son in one arm, and a scepter in the other.

There is a short and very lovely prayer which for centuries has been associated with this statue. It is, “Oh, Mother of All Help, say but one word in our behalf to Thy Divine Son, for he cannot refuse thee any favor. Amen.”