If there is anyone who is interested in releasing souls from Purgatory, it is the Blessed Virgin Mary. When her Son went to “preach to the souls in prison” (1 Peter 3:19) immediately after His Death, Mary waited for Him, not in despair but in hope of the Resurrection. She continues to help souls who [...]
The Mother of Jesus, after assisting the Apostles at the birth of the Church, was released from her mortal life at the Assumption and given a greater ability to help her children from Heaven. Mary’s Assumption provides the spiritual force to undo the many degrading knots of worldliness and helps us become more spiritual people [...]
The Catholic priesthood is undoubtedly experiencing a profound crisis at this moment. The vast majority of good priests are tainted by the scandals, but Our Lady, Mother of Priests, does not give up hope for them, even though the world and some Catholics do. She can free the clergy of the weight of scandal and [...]
Ascension Thursday begins what we may call the Church’s first novena. It is the nine-day period between Ascension Thursday and Pentecost Sunday in which the disciples were locked in the Upper Room, united in prayer with Our Lady, and obedient to the Lord’s wishes: “to wait for ‘the promise of the Father’” (Acts 1:4). This [...]
While the Blessed Virgin Mary has a very visible role to play in the season of Advent, she is less prominent in Lent. She acts behind the scenes, so to speak, accompanying us on our penitential journey, leading us to the apex of the season, which is the Hill of Calvary, where she stands interceding [...]
For many years I struggled to understand the “vessel” images applied to the Virgin Mary in the Litany of Loreto. In the Litany she is described variously as a “spiritual vessel,” a “vessel of honor,” and a “singular vessel of devotion.” These are gracious but mysterious descriptions, to be sure. Pope St. John Paul II [...]