The Feast of the Visitation of Mary - May 31st

Today, May 31st, is the feast of the Visitation of Mary. We share with you the account from the Gospel of Luke, as it is quoted in our Aquinas Press Book LS004 Bible History for Catholics:

  

During those days Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.” 

And Mary said:

     “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; 

          my spirit rejoices in God my savior. 

     For he has looked upon his handmaid’s lowliness;

          behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed. 

     The Mighty One has done great things for me,

          and holy is his name. 

     His mercy is from age to age

          to those who fear him. 

     He has shown might with his arm,

          dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart. 

     He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones

          but lifted up the lowly. 

     The hungry he has filled with good things;

          the rich he has sent away empty. 

     He has helped Israel his servant,

          remembering his mercy, 

     according to his promise to our fathers,

          to Abraham and to his descendants forever.” 

Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home. 

     - Luke 1:39-56

While one could say much about this encounter, let us just reflect that this was the first visit of God Incarnate, as an embryo, to His people. And the power of this unborn child was so great that it caused another unborn child, John the Baptist, to leap for joy in his mother’s womb! Jesus, the Light of the world, reveals that human life is most definitely present and aware in utero! 

God wants to visit you and me as well today …perhaps hidden in the disguise of a family member, friend, co-worker, or customer. Will we recognize Him? Let’s be on the lookout! 

Our Lady of Fatima Feast Day - May 13th

Our Lady of Fatima

Today, May 13^th, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of Our Lady of Fatima.

 

In a mountainous region near the town of Fatima, Portugal, the Mother of God appeared six times between May 13th and October 13^th, 1917, to three shepherd children: Lucia Santos and her cousins, Jacinta and Francisco Marto. Mary told the children that she had been sent by God with a message for every man, woman, and child in our century. Coming at a time when civilization was torn asunder by war and violence, Mary promised that Heaven would grant peace to the entire world if her requests for prayer, reparation, and consecration were heard and obeyed.

Mary explained that war is a punishment for sin. She warned that if people continued to disobey God’s Will, they would suffer consequences of war, hunger, and persecution of the Church. She also prophesied that Russia would “spread her errors” of atheism and materialism across the earth. Our Lady of Fatima repeatedly emphasized the necessity of praying daily, especially the Rosary, of wearing the Brown Scapular, and of performing acts of reparation and sacrifice. She also promised a sign as proof of her messages.

On October 13, 1917, a crowd of 50,000 people at Fatima, including many noted skeptics, saw the sun rotating and spinning in the heavens; then, leaving its orbit, it plunged toward the earth. The “Miracle of the Sun” is fully documented. On May 13, 1981, Pope John Paul II was shot in the chest and in the abdomen at point blank range in St. Peter’s Square. He credited his miraculous escape from death to the intervention of Our Lady of Fatima. One year later he traveled to Fatima, and placed the bullet in the crown resting upon the statue of Mary. He said, “One finger fired the bullet, but another guided its path.”

Seven years later, the Berlin Wall fell without a bullet being fired, and Communism collapsed across the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.

Finally, last month, in the first weeks of his new pontificate, Pope Francis consecrated his papal ministry to Our Lady of Fatima.

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us.

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